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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ4: Unleashing “silver productivity”

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by the Hon Lam Chun-sing and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
     
    Question:
     
         In May this year, the Government announced various measures to promote the silver economy. There are views that in terms of unleashing “silver productivity”, the authorities should introduce more measures to help grass-roots elderly to overcome employment difficulties and improve employment conditions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) as quite a number of grass-roots elderly persons have relayed that under the existing labour importation policies, employers tend to hire younger imported workers, resulting in fewer job opportunities for the elderly, particularly for the job categories covered by the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, whether the Government will consider tightening such scheme, for example, by setting quota ceilings for all job categories, so as to enhance employment opportunities for the elderly;
     
    (2) as some elderly job seekers have relayed that even if they met the job requirements, some employers explicitly indicated that they refused to hire them due to their advanced age, whether the authorities will actively study the enactment of legislation to combat age discrimination in the workplace; and
     
    (3) given that the Government proposed in 2023 to increase tax deduction for Mandatory Provident Fund voluntary contributions made by employers for their employees aged 65 or above to encourage them to make contributions for mature employees, with a view to increasing the retirement savings of the silver-haired group, and proposed in the 2024 Policy Address to put the relevant measure under the work of the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy, of the progress of taking forward the relevant measure?

    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         The Government has been implementing various measures to assist job seekers in securing employment. Taking account of the employment needs of older and middle-aged persons, the Government provides diversified employment support and promote elderly-friendly employment practices to encourage and assist them to re-enter or remain in the employment market, and to unleash the labour force of older persons.
     
         On July 15 last year, the Labour Department (LD) launched the three-year Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme to encourage persons aged 40 or above who have not been in paid work for three consecutive months or more to re-join the employment market. Each eligible participant who has worked for 12 months continuously will be provided with a re-employment allowance up to $20,000. Response to the Scheme is very favourable. As at June this year, over 45 000 participants and nearly 23 000 placements were recorded. About a quarter of the participants and placements are persons aged 60 or above. In tandem with the above Scheme, the LD, through the training subsidy of the Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, encourages employers to hire persons aged 40 or above and provide them with training to uplift the work skills of older and middle-aged persons.
     
         In consultation with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
     
    (1) On the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, the Government suitably allows employers to apply for importation of workers to replenish the labour force in Hong Kong. The LD has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023 to suspend the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation under the previous Supplementary Labour Scheme for two years.
     
         When implementing the ESLS, the LD is committed to safeguarding employment priority for local workers. Applicant employers of the ESLS must undertake a four-week local recruitment exercise and give priority to employing suitable local workers to fill the vacancies at a salary not lower than the prevailing median monthly wage of a comparable position in the market. The ESLS requires that employers taking on local job seekers through any recruitment channels during the local recruitment period must not offer employment terms less favourable than those agreed by the LD, nor can they impose on job seekers any restrictive requirements such as age or gender. The ESLS also requires employers to meet the manning ratio requirement of full-time local employees to imported workers of 2:1 on a continuous basis. At the same time, employers shall not displace serving local workers with imported workers. To protect the employment opportunities of local workers, employers should retrench imported workers first in the event of redundancy.
     
         To further strengthen the protection of employment priority for local workers, the LD implemented new measures on June 17, including displaying the names of applicant companies on the Interactive Employment Service website when publishing the job vacancies in respect of the ESLS applications which pass the initial screening and commence the four-week local recruitment process after that date to increase the transparency of local recruitment and encourage job seekers to apply for relevant jobs.
     
    The LD will review the experience and effectiveness of the ESLS, including the Scheme’s coverage, operation and implementation arrangements, measures to promote and ensure employment priority for local workers (including older persons), measures to protect the rights and benefits of imported workers, as well as other requirements and matters relating to the ESLS. The Government will take full account of and balance the views of stakeholders during the review when mapping out the future arrangements of the ESLS.

    (2) The Government is committed to eliminating all forms of discriminatory ideas and behaviours. In the realm of employment, the Government encourages employers to adopt the principle of “Count on Talent, Not Age in Employment” when assessing the abilities of candidates or employees, and use reasonable and standardised selection criteria. According to the results of a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, the vast majority of respondents did not view age as an important factor affecting employment, reflecting that age discrimination is not a major problem in Hong Kong’s employment market.
     
         The Government will continue to promote and uphold equal employment opportunities by disseminating and advocating the message of fairness in employment, as well as strengthening training and retraining to enhance the employability of individuals across all age groups.
     
    (3) The proposed tax initiative to employers to make more Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) voluntary contributions for their employees aged 65 or above aims to encourage more mature employees to consider staying in the labour force and continue to contribute to economic growth after reaching age 65 while increasing their retirement savings. Given that there were views on the limited effect for this standalone measure and recommendations that this measure should be combined with the other initiatives on silver economy for creating synergy, the Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address announced that this proposal would be included in the work of the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy (Working Group). Upon review, the Working Group considered that the proposal has complicated the policy objective of MPF, and the restriction on employees receiving voluntary contributions also casts doubt on the effectiveness of the proposal. In terms of encouraging the elderly to join the labour force, the Working Group has already rolled out various targeted measures to help unleash “silver productivity” as part of the 30 measures for promoting silver economy announced on May 27 this year, such as accord priority to post-50s for receiving training consultation service, reviewing the Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme and Employment Programme for the Elderly and Middle-aged, and stepping up the promotion of elderly-friendly employment practices. The Government considers that resources should be concentrated on the aforementioned measures to promote employment of older persons in a more focused and direct manner.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • Trump says steep copper tariffs in store as he broadens his trade war

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would impose a 50% tariff on imported copper and soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, broadening his trade war that has rattled markets worldwide.

    One day after he pressured 14 trading partners, including powerhouse U.S. suppliers like South Korea and Japan, with fresh tariff letters, Trump reiterated his threat of 10% tariffs on products from Brazil, India and other members of the BRICS group of countries.

    He also said trade talks have been going well with the European Union and China, though he added he is only days away from sending a tariff letter to the EU.

    Trump’s remarks, made during a White House cabinet meeting, could inject further instability into a global economy that has been shaken by the tariffs he has imposed or threatened on imports to the world’s largest consumer market.

    U.S. copper futures jumped more than 10% after Trump’s announcement of new duties on a metal that is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods. They would join duties already in place for steel, aluminum and automobile imports, though it was unclear when the new tariffs might take effect.

    U.S. pharmaceutical stocks also slid following Trump’s threat of 200% tariffs on drug imports, which he said could be delayed by about a year.

    Other countries, meanwhile, said they would try to soften the impact of Trump’s threatened duties after he pushed back a Wednesday deadline to August 1.

    Trump’s administration promised “90 deals in 90 days” after he unveiled an array of country-specific duties in early April. So far only two agreements have been reached, with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Trump has said a deal with India is close.

    Trump said countries have been clamoring to negotiate.

    “It’s about time the United States of America started collecting money from countries that were ripping us off … and laughing behind our back at how stupid we were,” he said.

    He said late Tuesday that “a minimum of seven” tariff notices would be released on Wednesday morning, and more in the afternoon. He gave no other details in his Truth Social post.

    Trading partners across the globe say it has been difficult to negotiate even framework agreements with the U.S. given the haphazard way new tariffs are announced, complicating their internal discussions about concessions.

    HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE 1934

    Following Trump’s announcement of higher tariffs for imports from the 14 countries, U.S. research group Yale Budget Lab estimated consumers face an effective U.S. tariff rate of 17.6%, up from 15.8% previously and the highest in nine decades.

    Trump’s administration has been touting those tariffs as a significant revenue source. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington has taken in about $100 billion so far and could collect $300 billion by the end of the year. The United States has taken in about $80 billion annually in tariff revenue in recent years.

    The S&P 500 finished slightly lower on Tuesday, a day after Wall Street markets sold off sharply following Trump’s new tariffs announcement.

    Trump said he will “probably” tell the European Union within two days what rate it can expect for its exports to the U.S., adding that the 27-member bloc had been treating his administration “very nicely” in trade talks.

    The EU, the largest bilateral trade partner of the U.S., aims to strike a deal before August 1 with concessions for key export industries such as aircraft, medical equipment and spirits, according to EU sources. Brussels is also considering an arrangement that would protect European automakers with large U.S. production facilities.

    However, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil warned that the EU was prepared to retaliate if necessary.

    “If we don’t reach a fair trade deal with the U.S., the EU is ready to take counter measures,” he said in the lower house of parliament.

    Japan, which faces a possible 25% tariff – up from 24% first threatened in April – wants concessions for its large automobile industry and will not sacrifice its agriculture sector, a powerful domestic lobby, for the sake of an early deal, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday.

    South Korea, which also faces a possible 25% tariff, said it planned to intensify trade talks over the coming weeks “to reach a mutually beneficial result.”

    Washington and Beijing agreed to a trade framework in June, but with many of the details still unclear, traders and investors are watching to see if it unravels before a separate, U.S.-imposed August 12 deadline or leads to a lasting detente.

    “We have had a really good relationship with China lately, and we’re getting along with them very well. They’ve been very fair on our trade deal, honestly,” Trump said, adding that he has been speaking regularly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    Trump said the United States would impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; 30% on South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina; 32% on Indonesia; 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh; 36% on Cambodia and Thailand; and 40% on Laos and Myanmar.

    (Reuters)

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

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ‘FIND EVERY SINGLE PERSON’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MAKINGS OF A DISASTER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    (Reuters)

  • UK and France must end dependency on US and China, Macron warns

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Britain and France must work together to counter the world’s many destabilising threats and protect Europe from “excessive dependencies” on the United States and China.

    Macron, in a rare address to both houses of the British parliament, celebrated the return of closer ties between the two countries as he became the first European leader to be invited for a British state visit since Brexit.

    Having been greeted earlier by the British royal family, Macron set out to parliament where he said the two countries needed to come together to strengthen Europe, including on defence, immigration, climate, and trade.

    “The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” he said.

    “The only way to overcome the challenges we have, the challenges of our times, will be to go together hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.”

    Listing the geopolitical threats the countries face, Macron argued they should also be wary of the “excessive dependencies of both the U.S. and China,” saying they needed to “de-risk our economies and our societies from this dual dependency.”

    But he also set out the opportunities of a closer union, saying they should make it easier for students, researchers and artists to live in each other’s countries, and seek to work together on artificial intelligence and protect children online.

    The speech symbolised the improvement in relations sought by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party, as part of a broader reset of ties with European allies following the rancour over Britain’s departure from the European Union.

    ‘ENTENTE AMICALE’

    Macron, who enjoys a strong personal relationship with King Charles, was earlier greeted by the royal family, including heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Princess Catherine, before they travelled in horse-drawn carriages to Windsor Castle.

    Charles used his speech at the evening’s opulent state banquet to christen a new era of friendly relations, upgrading the “entente cordiale” – an alliance dating from 1904 that ended centuries of military rivalries – to an “entente amicale.”

    “As we dine here in this ancient place, redolent with our shared history, allow me to propose a toast to France and to our new entente. An entente not only past and present, but for the future – and no longer just cordiale, but now amicale,” he said.

    The 76-year-old monarch, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, had a noticeably red right eye. A Buckingham Palace source said he had suffered a burst blood vessel that was unrelated to any other health condition.

    Britain and France marked the three-day visit with an announcement that French nuclear energy utility EDF would invest £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in a nuclear power project in eastern England.

    The two also said France would lend Britain the Bayeux Tapestry, allowing the 11th-century masterpiece to return for the first time in more than 900 years, in exchange for Britain loaning France Anglo-Saxon and Viking treasures.

    The state visit comes 16 years after the late Queen Elizabeth hosted then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

    Despite tensions over post-Brexit ties and how to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have been working closely to create a planned military force to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.

    Starmer is hoping that will help persuade Macron to take a different approach to stopping people smuggling, with London wanting to try out an asylum seekers’ returns deal. This would involve Britain deporting one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case to be in Britain.

    A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats in the first six months of this year.

    Starmer, whose party is trailing Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party in the polls, is under pressure to find a solution.

    France has previously refused to sign such an agreement, saying Britain should negotiate an arrangement with all EU countries.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Australia: DGRs required to be a registered charity

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    Summary of changes

    Legislation amended in September 2021 requires non-government deductible gift recipients (DGRs) to be a registered charity from 14 December 2021.

    Charity registration is an existing requirement for the majority of general DGR categories. The amendment extends this requirement to the remaining DGR categories, except for ancillary funds or DGRs that are specifically listed in tax law.

    These changes form part of the Deductible gift recipient reform announced by the government in December 2017. They are designed to improve the consistency of regulation, governance and oversight of DGRs in order to uphold community confidence and trust in the sector.

    DGRs that were already endorsed on 14 December 2021, as well as certain applicants with a DGR application pending, were eligible for transitional arrangements. Transitional arrangements provided additional time to meet the new requirements and included an:

    • automatic 12–month general transition period, giving DGRs until 14 December 2022 to become a registered charity
    • additional 3–year extension in limited circumstances – this application period has now closed.

    Requirements for DGR endorsement

    From 14 December 2021, a requirement for DGR endorsement is that a fund, authority or institution must be one of the following:

    The requirement to be a registered charity or an Australian government agency does not apply for ancillary funds or DGRs specifically listed by name in tax law. See DGR categories.

    Amended DGR categories

    From 14 December 2021, the following updated general DGR categories require non-government organisations to be registered as a charity:

    • public fund for hospitals
    • public fund for public ambulance services
    • public fund for religious instruction in government schools
    • Roman Catholic public fund for religious instruction in government schools
    • school building fund
    • public fund for rural school hostel building
    • approved research institute
    • public fund for persons in necessitous circumstances
    • fire and emergency services fund
    • environmental organisation
    • cultural organisation.

    Transitional arrangements

    DGRs that were already endorsed on 14 December 2021, as well as certain applicants with a DGR application pending, were eligible for transitional arrangements. Transitional arrangements provided additional time to meet the new requirements and included an:

    • automatic 12–month general transition period, giving DGRs until 14 December 2022 to become a registered charity
    • additional 3–year extension in limited circumstances.

    Three-year extension

    Eligible organisations had to apply for a 3–year extension before 14 December 2022 if they needed more time.

    Approved organisations have up to 14 December 2025 to meet the new eligibility requirements for DGR endorsement.

    The defined criteria used to assess the 3–year extension is outlined in the DGR (extended application date) legislative instrumentExternal Link.

    Applications for DGR endorsement made after 14 December 2021

    Non-government organisations that apply for DGR endorsement after 14 December 2021 must register as a charity before we will consider their endorsement application.

    Registering as a charity

    Before applying to be registered as a charity, refer to the ACNC website for:

    To apply for charityExternal Link registration, you need to log in to the ACNC Charity Portal and complete the application.

    As part of your application, you will need to provide copies of your governing documents in either a Word or PDF file format. Image files may cause issues and may delay your application.

    Other changes affecting your endorsement

    If your organisation has changed its main purpose, activities or governing documents, you may no longer be entitled to DGR endorsement.

    Check your organisation’s continued eligibility to be endorsed as a DGR by completing a review of your DGR endorsement.

    If your organisation is no longer eligible for DGR endorsement or it no longer requires it, you must notify us:

    • Complete and submit the Not-for-profit advice request (PDF, 121KB)This link will download a file form requesting cancellation of your DGR endorsement.
    • The form must be completed by an authorised contact listed on the account and must specify the date of cancellation. We may contact you to discuss the cancellation request.
    • We will cancel your organisation’s DGR endorsement and issue a written confirmation noting the cancellation date of effect.

    After DGR cancellation, your organisation will:

    • no longer be entitled to receive tax-deductible donations or gifts
    • be required to remove tax-deductible status from your organisation’s website or other materials
    • need to arrange for surplus income or assets to be distributed to another eligible DGR.

    Revocation of DGRs ineligible for endorsement

    To maintain DGR endorsement, affected entities had to, before 14 December 2022, either:

    • register as a charity
    • be an Australian government agency
    • be operated by a registered charity or an Australian government agency.

    If you didn’t register as a charity, or were not granted a 3–year extension, your DGR endorsement has been revoked. If revoked, your organisation is:

    • no longer entitled to receive tax-deductible donations or gifts
    • required to remove tax-deductible status from their website or other materials
    • required to distribute surplus gifts and donations to an eligible DGR.

    If your DGR endorsement was revoked and you are dissatisfied with our decision, you can lodge an objection.

    Next steps

    Check your organisation’s continued eligibility to be endorsed as a DGR, by completing a review of your DGR endorsement.

    If your DGR endorsement was revoked, you must register as a charity with the ACNC before re-applying for your endorsement. The ACNC page, Start a charityExternal Link, has useful information for charities.

    If you have any questions about DGR endorsement, phone us on 1300 130 248 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fun Food Taiwan 2.0: Let the FUN Begin! 2025 Fun Food Taiwan Awards Ceremony Grandly Held at Taipei International Food Show

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan

    The 2025 Fun Food Taiwan Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Industrial Development Administration (IDA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and organized by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI), took place on June 25 at the 7th floor of Hall 2, Nangang Exhibition Center, in conjunction with the Taipei International Food Show. The grand event drew enthusiastic participation from industry, government, academia, and media representatives.

    During the ceremony, Secretary-General Mr. Kuo-Hsuan Chen of the Industrial Development Administration (IDA), MOEA, emphasized the vitality of innovation and transformation displayed by Taiwan’s food industry. The awarded entries reflect major trends, including health-focused processing, environmental sustainability, innovative packaging, the use of local ingredients, and lively demonstrating the diversity and competitiveness of Taiwan’s food industry. He expressed confidence that this award will serve as a launching point for enterprises to pursue excellence and strengthen their brands, opening up broader opportunities for Taiwan’s quality food products in global markets. IDA pledged continued collaboration across sectors to guide Taiwan’s food industry toward greater value creation, intelligence, and sustainability-allowing Taiwan’s food brands to shine internationally.

    Launched in 2020, “Fun Food Taiwan” has focused on value-driven food innovation and international connections. Entering its 2.0 phase in 2025, the program introduces three new evaluation pillars: Evolution, Decarbonization, and Experience, supporting food companies in enhancing competitiveness and branding. Under the theme “Trend 2.0, Let the FUN Begin”, this year’s award attracted 119 companies and 264 product entries. Following a rigorous multi-stage review process-including qualification review, requirement checks, preliminary, semi-final, and final evaluations-90 products from 63 companies were recognized with the Fun Food Taiwan Award. Among them, 17 products received top honors including Gold Awards, Silver Awards, and Special Prizes under the three new pillars.

    Award Highlights
    Baked Goods:

    1.Gold Award: SHI FENG SHIANG 40th Anniversary Gift Box by SHI FENG SHIANG 1985 TAIWAN PASTRY.
    Merging artistic aesthetics with traditional cake molds; low-sugar, additive-free, trans-fat-free; recyclable and minimalist packaging showcasing sustainability.

    2.Silver Award: Pineapple Financier by Cheese Duke Co., Ltd.
    Low-oil, low-sugar, additive-free; carbon footprint certified.

    3.Silver Award: Jiachuan rice snack gift box by TONG BAE FOOD CO., LTD.
    Made with 100% Taiwanese rice; additive-free, trans-fat-free with rich texture.

    4.Special Prize – Evolution: Layered Tofu Rock Handmade Pancakes by TSAI JI ENTERPRISE CO., LTD.
    Represents Keelung’s local spirit, blends cultural depth with eco-conscious design.

    5.Special Prize – Decarbonization: red dragon fruit pastryby County Specialty Industry Co., Ltd.
    Targets carbon reductions in electricity and fuel use by 2026; implements green energy and energy-saving equipment.

    6.Special Prize – Experience: Lace Rice Crisp-Hand Carved Wooden Gift Box by Joy Joy Golden
    Infuses marine flavors and culture, with traditional Taiwanese window frame wood boxes and floral tile designs.

    Prepared Foods:

    7.Gold Award: Fermented Pineapple Chili Sauce by Leezen Company Limited.
    Made with native Taiwanese pineapple and naturally fermented chili; additive-free, low-carbon processing.

    8.Silver Award: Taro Pork Meatball (Additive Free) by ZHEN FANG CO., LTD.
    Made with contract-farmed pork and rich taro; 100% additive-free, user-friendly, aligned with modern health trends.

    9.Special Prize – Evolution: Cold-Smoked Albacore Tuna Slices by Zheng Cheng Aquatic Products Co., Ltd.
    Rare cold-smoke technique with distinctive packaging conveying ocean identity and brand strength.

    10.Special Prize – Decarbonization: Creamy Pumpkin Calendula Noodles by Yuan Yung Fong Foods. Co., Ltd.
    Clear decarbonization targets: 15-20% carbon emission reduction, over 15% energy savings.

    11.Special Prize – Experience: Signature Collection – Black Truffle Tuna by Blaire & Claire Company.
    Rich truffle flavor with elegant minimal packaging and golden spoon detail creating a surprising unboxing moment.

    Other Food Categories:

    12.Gold Award: Mesona Tea by Yuanlin Food Co., Ltd.
    Uses local Taiwanese ingredients; reduced sugar, additive-free; chic packaging blends youthful visuals for market expansion.

    13.Silver Award: Three-Time Roasted Bamboo Salt by DUO LI DUO FOODS CORPORATION.
    Pure, natural, sodium-reduced; artistic floral packaging conveys premium image, adheres to ISO 14067.

    14.Silver Award: Amazake by RUHN CHAN INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Alcohol-free, sugar-free, additive-free formula with multiple functional ingredients and eco-friendly Japanese minimal packaging.

    15.Special Prize – Evolution: Fragrant Bloom – Taiwanese Blossom Tea by LuYuan Tea
    Rich flavor and layered taste using local spices; block print-style packaging tells tea-making stories.

    16.Special Prize – Decarbonization: Taiwan Corn Snacksby Djulis International Food Company Limited.
    Made with local sweet corn; additive-free, low-burden; reusable packaging and clear decarbonization plan targeting 10% annual carbon reduction.

    17.Special Prize – Experience: BalsaUme by BALSALIA INC.
    De-seeded aged plum blended with balsamic vinegar for a unique aroma; distinctive bottle shape with memorable minimalist packaging aligns with premium brand identity.

    Award Showcase During the Taipei International Food Show
    During the Taipei International Food Show (June 25-28), a dedicated “Fun Food Taiwan” display area (Booth S0123) is set up on the 4th floor of Hall 2, Nangang Exhibition Center. It features physical exhibits of the award-winning products and invites both domestic and international visitors to experience the new charm and high quality of Taiwanese food-paving the way for future global collaboration.

    Spokesperson:
    Deputy Director-General Pei-Li Chen
    Industrial Development Administration
    Tel: +886-2-2754-1255 ext. 2903
    Mobile: +886-925-775-150
    Email: plchen@ida.gov.tw

    Business Contact:
    Section Chief Ku-Sung Weng
    Livelihood Chemical Industry Division
    Industrial Development Administration
    Tel: +886-2-2754-1255 ext. 2301
    Mobile: +886-926-002-537
    Email: ksweng@ida.gov.tw

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI: HERE and Genesys Partner to Tackle Distracted Driving and Deliver Next-Generation Navigation Experiences in India

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Strategic collaboration brings dynamic maps, real-time traffic updates and integrated safety features to Indian vehicles
    • Partnership supports India’s automotive shift toward software-defined, connected driving experiences

    Mumbai, India – HERE Technologies, the global leader in digital mapping and location data, and Genesys International, a leading Indian geospatial solutions company, have joined forces to radically improve the in-car navigation experience and strengthen road safety efforts across India.

    Together, HERE and Genesys International are planning to develop a next-generation, in-car navigation system that targets distracted driving. The companies are focused on providing Indian drivers with a seamless digital cockpit user experience with rich features that include live map and navigation capabilities, road hazard alerts and real-time traffic information from HERE, alongside integrated Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) functions from Genesys International.

    Approximately 80,000 people are killed in road crashes every year across India, with more than 3,000 fatalities attributed to mobile phone use, according to India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This presents a clear opportunity to integrate in-car navigation and the vehicle systems to reduce driver distraction, enhance safety and deliver advanced user experiences.

    A recent HERE survey involving a representative sample of road users across India revealed 98% of respondents expressed concerns about road safety. Furthermore, 91% of respondents believed ADAS functions are key for road safety. The shift toward Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) and the broader digital transformation in the automotive sector is creating momentum for change. As automakers in India look to match global trends, embedded navigation systems that work seamlessly with a vehicle’s safety and infotainment platforms are becoming essential.

    “There is a clear call from road users in India for more accessible and advanced vehicle safety technologies, including ADAS,” said Deon Newman, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific, at HERE Technologies. “Our collaboration with Genesys International bridges global expertise and local innovation enabling automakers to integrate intelligent, ADAS-ready solutions that support safer, smarter, and more connected driving experiences in India.

    In recent years, Indian automotive manufacturers have begun offering digital navigation systems in newer models. However, solutions have faced challenges in keeping pace with the expectations of today’s drivers. To address this gap, this partnership combines HERE Navigation’s customizable, digital cockpit-ready software with ADAS from Genesys International to deliver a dynamic, intuitive and safe in-vehicle experience. Powered by AI, HERE’s mapping architecture provides real-time updates on road conditions, speed limits, real-time traffic, optimized routes for EV, and charging stations, ensuring precise, context-aware guidance for drivers.

    Commenting on this partnership, Sajid Malik, Chairman & Managing Director of Genesys International Corporation, said: “This partnership with HERE is a significant step in our effort to improve the safety and intelligence of India’s roads. We are combining our India-specific ADAS map technology with HERE’s worldwide navigation platform to assist automakers in offering truly connected, context-aware driving experiences. This strategic partnership supports India’s automotive transition to software-defined, connected mobility by providing Indian cars with integrated safety features, dynamic maps, and real-time traffic updates.”

    HERE has a strong presence in India, with over 3,000 employees working across offices in three major Indian cities. Committed to the principle of “Made in India, for India”, this partnership reinforces the commitment of both companies to support OEMs in shaping the future of mobility in India – one that prioritizes safety, convenience, and real-time intelligence.

    Looking ahead, HERE and Genesys International plan to jointly innovate on advanced mobility solutions focused on keeping drivers safe on the roads in India. As part of their long-term vision and commitment to India, both companies will explore the establishment of a dedicated mobility innovation center in India, where local teams will co-develop and pilot solutions that directly addresses the challenges Indian drivers face daily.

    Customers of HERE include nearly every global automaker, leaders in transportation and logistics, and public sector agencies worldwide. HERE is the global market leader for automotive-grade maps designed to power navigation, advanced driving assistance, EV and automated driving systems. More than 54 million vehicles today rely on maps from HERE for advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving functions. HERE location data and software services have now been used in 222+ million vehicles globally.

    Genesys International Corporation Ltd. is a leading provider of advanced mapping, surveying, and geospatial solutions. With over 23 years of domain expertise and 2,000+ professionals, Genesys delivers high-precision 3D mapping, ADAS-ready HD maps, and cutting-edge digital twin and AI-driven platforms. Headquartered in Mumbai with multiple production centers, Genesys serves a global client base—including Fortune 500 companies and SMEs—across automotive, infrastructure, utilities, and e-governance sectors. As one of the world’s largest LiDAR acquisition and processing firms, Genesys has mapped over 2 million kilometers, powering critical applications in navigation, autonomous systems, and smart mobility, shaping the future of connected, safe, and sustainable transportation.

    Media Contacts

    Genesys International Corporation

    investors@igenesys.com

    Branding Edge

    Shreeya Namjoshi

    +91 7715836283

    shreeya@Brandingedgestrategies.com

    HERE Technologies

    Vanessa Lee

    +65 9188 6199

    Vanessa.lee@here.com

    About Genesys International Corporation

    Genesys International Corporation Ltd is a premier advanced mapping company. With a team of over 2,000 professionals along with the nationwide Genesys constellation of sensors, the company is building the new India map stack. Genesys International has unique expertise, encompassing an understanding of emerging consumer applications related to mapping technology and the capability to provide cutting-edge solutions on the enterprise and government markets.

    About HERE Technologies
    HERE has been a pioneer in mapping and location technology for 40 years. Today, HERE’s location platform is recognized as the most complete in the industry, powering location-based products, services and custom maps for organizations and enterprises across the globe. From autonomous driving and seamless logistics to new mobility experiences, HERE allows its partners and customers to innovate while retaining control over their data and safeguarding privacy. Find out how HERE is moving the world forward at here.com. 

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Expresses Condolences For The Lives Lost And Those Impacted By The Flooding In Central Texas

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    July 08, 2025

    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today shared his condolences for the lives lost and those impacted by the flash floods that devastated Central Texas this past weekend and thanked the first responders and volunteers who have worked around the clock to save lives.

    “I know I speak for millions of Americans when I say we are heartbroken over the flash floods that devastated Central Texas this past weekend. Early Friday morning, while most were fast asleep, a foot of rain fell onto Texas Hill Country. This deluge flowed into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise by 26 feet in 45 minutes,” Durbin said. “Near the Guadalupe, a girl’s sleepaway camp, Camp Mystic, which had been there for 99 years, was all but destroyed by the floods. Already, Camp Mystic has confirmed that 27 of their campers and counselors died in that flood. I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those campers and counselors.”

    Durbin continued, “Tragically, the flooding in Texas continues to take lives. More than 100 people have perished, and that number is expected to grow, sadly, in the coming days. In the midst of this disaster, I am heartened by the kindness and courage shown by the first responders and volunteers. Twenty separate agencies, at every level of government, have come together to help save lives. At Camp Mystic, counselors, many of whom had just graduated from high school, risked their own lives to save younger campers. We will never forget their bravery.”

    Durbin concluded, “This disaster has impacted people of both political [parties]— Republicans and Democrats and Independents as well… I would hope that the Senate and the House would stand together, Democrats and Republicans, and say we’re going to be there for the victims of this disaster. I pray that we find the missing loved ones and that we take the necessary steps to stop another tragedy like this from occurring.”

    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Durbin Slams Republicans’ So-Called “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Which Slashes Health Care Coverage For 17 Million Americans To Provide Massive Tax Breaks For Billionaires

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin

    July 08, 2025

    Durbin voted against final passage of the bill last week

    WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed the Republicans’ so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will slash Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, and Medicare coverage for 17 million Americans to provide massive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. During his speech, Durbin underscored the dangers of this Republican bill, which was signed into law by President Trump on the Fourth of July.

    “Americans across this nation overwhelmingly opposed this bill—and for good reason. This bill signed by the President on the Fourth of July was the largest cut to health care and the largest cut to nutrition assistance in history, slashing more than $1 trillion from health care programs like Medicaid and $200 billion from SNAP. Seventeen million Americans will lose their health insurance, health insurance premiums will rise for another 20 million families, and three million people will have food taken off the table, including kids, seniors, and veterans… Why would the government do these things to so many innocent people? In this case, very simply, to give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and big corporations with the richest Americans seeing $400,000 back in their pockets every year because of this legislation,” said Durbin.

    More than 300 rural hospitals may be forced to close because the Republican bill cripples the Medicaid program that keep our rural hospitals and their communities afloat. Illinois hospitals at risk of closing includes HSHS St. Francis Hospital in Litchfield, Illinois, where Medicaid pays for 53 percent of hospitalizations; St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, Illinois, where Medicaid pays for 42 percent of hospitalizations; and OSF St. Clare Hospital in Princeton, Illinois, where Medicaid covers 45 percent of hospitalizations.

    Durbin continued, “Aside from hospitals, this bill will also have major consequences on American energy… This bill kills solar, wind, and EV tax credits enjoyed by companies and consumers alike, all but ceding the future of electricity to China and risking billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy, ironically mostly in Republican states. And while working families grapple with the consequences of these cuts, they’ll also see their family home expenses increase by $1,000 a year—utility bills are going up because of this bill.”

    During his floor speech, Durbin highlighted a constituent, Isaiah Rogers, who will be impacted by the Republican bill. Isaiah is a 61-year-old man who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. As a result of his diagnosis, he has not been able to return to his job trimming trees and has been working small side jobs. Medicaid pays for Isaiah’s doctors’ visits and insulin. A single father without a high school degree, he’s concerned the bill’s cuts and changes to Medicaid will result in him losing his health coverage.

    Durbin continued, “And if Isaiah loses Medicaid, he’ll no longer be able to afford his insulin and other medications, and he may face a diabetic complication or even suffer a stroke. What would that mean for his 12-year-old son? It’s unconscionable to think the other party would pull-the-plug on life-saving health coverage and deny food from our most needy children—but that’s exactly what they voted for.”

    Durbin then highlighted Democrats’ efforts to push back on the bill. Over the course of 27 hours, Senate Democrats forced votes on a slew of amendments to put Republicans on-notice and show their constituents how they’re betraying them. It was the longest vote-a-rama in Senate history.

    “It [the amendments] included Republicans voting against: Nursing home care and home health aides, food assistance for children and veterans, protections for Medicaid, clean energy jobs… and an expansion of the Child Tax Credit… all to give billionaires another tax cut instead. In the end, three sensible Senate Republicans looked at this ugly betrayal of a bill and agreed that they couldn’t be part of the process. I commend them, but sadly, it wasn’t enough. And who swooped in to cast the decisive vote? Vice President Vance… This Vice President cast the deciding vote that will be painful for so many families across America.”

    Durbin concluded, “As the effects of this bill take shape and slither their way through our communities, my Republican colleagues will have to look their constituents in the eye and explain their votes. They will have to explain to the farmer who now must drive 50 miles to the nearest hospital why they voted to shut his community’s hospital doors. They will have to explain to the grandmother in a nursing home why her care is being slimmed down because of cuts to Medicaid, and they will have to explain to the young mother who is preparing to have a baby why there is no longer a maternity ward in her county. This bill flies in the face of American values that we celebrate on the Fourth of July. The other party has a lot of explaining to do and the American people are going to face the consequences.”

    The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that Senate Republicans’ proposal will cost $4.45 trillion, but despite the price tag, the legislation primarily helps billionaires at the expense of American working families. In fact, this legislation provides a huge, permanent tax cut of nearly $350,000 for multimillionaires and billionaires while people earning $40,000 a year will see a comparatively meager average tax decrease of $442 per year.

    Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

    Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

    -30-

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • Supreme Court clears way for Trump to pursue mass federal layoffs

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to pursue mass government job cuts and the sweeping downsizing of numerous agencies, a decision that could lead to tens of thousands of layoffs while dramatically reshaping the federal bureaucracy.

    Tuesday’s ruling stemmed from an executive order Trump issued in February ordering agencies to prepare for mass layoffs. At Trump’s direction, the administration has come up with plans to reduce staff at the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Veterans Affairs and more than a dozen other agencies.

    In a brief unsigned order, the court said the Trump administration was “likely to succeed” in its argument that his directives were legally within his power.

    The decision is the latest win for Trump’s broader efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch. The Supreme Court has sided with Trump in several cases on an emergency basis since he returned to office in January, including clearing the way for implementation of some of his hardline immigration policies.

    The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday lifted San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s order in May that temporarily blocked large-scale federal layoffs while the case proceeded.

    Illston had ruled that Trump exceeded his authority in ordering the government downsizing without consulting Congress, which created and funded the agencies in question.

    “As history demonstrates, the president may broadly restructure federal agencies only when authorized by Congress,” Illston wrote.

    While Tuesday’s decision cleared one major legal obstacle for the White House, the court noted that it was not assessing the legality of any specific layoff plans at federal agencies.

    Those layoff proposals, some of which were submitted earlier this year, could still face legal challenges on a variety of grounds, including union opposition, statutory restrictions and civil service protections.

    The White House said in a statement that the decision is a “definitive victory for the president and his administration” that reinforced Trump’s authority to implement “efficiency across the federal government.”

    However, two White House sources familiar with the matter, who asked to remain unidentified, said the ruling did not permit agencies to execute layoffs immediately. One of the sources said additional delays or legal hurdles “could alter the scope and timing of the cuts.”

    A group of unions, nonprofits and local governments that sued to block the administration’s mass layoffs said the ruling “dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy” and vowed to continue fighting as the case proceeds.

    The plaintiffs had warned in court filings that Trump’s plans, if allowed to proceed, would result in hundreds of thousands of layoffs.

    A Reuters/Ipsos poll in April found that Americans narrowly favored Trump’s campaign to downsize the federal government, with about 56% saying they supported the effort and 40% opposed. Their views broke down along party lines, with 89% of Republicans but just 26% of Democrats supportive.

    Some agencies whose downsizing plans had been put on hold said they would resume advancing those efforts.

    “We will continue to move forward with our historic reorganization plan,” the State Department, which has proposed laying off nearly 2,000 employees, said on X.

    DOGE CUTS

    Upon taking office in January, Trump launched a massive campaign to cut the 2.3-million strong federal civilian workforce, led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency.

    Musk and his mostly young lieutenants immediately moved into key government agencies, fired workers, gained access to government computer systems and virtually shuttered two agencies – the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

    Trump and Musk said the bloated federal bureaucracy needed to be downsized. Federal workers’ unions and most Democrats say the cuts so far, and the plans for further mass layoffs, have been carried out haphazardly, leading to chaos inside many agencies and threatening important public services such as the processing of Social Security claims.

    By late April, about 100 days into the effort, the government overhaul had resulted in the firing, resignations and early retirements of 260,000 civil servants, according to a Reuters tally.

    Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the nine-person court to publicly dissent from Tuesday’s decision, criticizing the “court’s demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this president’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”

    Tuesday’s decision extended Trump’s winning record at the Supreme Court since taking office. The court has let Trump’s administration resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face and end temporary legal status previously granted on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.

    In addition, it has allowed Trump to implement his ban on transgender people in the U.S. military, blocked a judge’s order that the administration rehire thousands of fired employees and curbed the power of federal judges to impose nationwide rulings impeding presidential policies.

    Most of these decisions have been issued as emergency orders, known colloquially as the shadow docket, that respond to applications for immediate action from the court.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia

    Henryk Siemiradzki via Wikimedia Commons

    To love and be loved is something most people want in their lives.

    In the modern world, we often see stories about the difficulties of finding love and the trials of dating and marriage. Sometimes, the person we love doesn’t love us. Sometimes, we don’t love the person who loves us.

    Ancient Greeks and Romans also had a lot to say about this subject. In fact, most of the issues people face today in their search for love are already mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature.

    So, what did they say? And is the advice they put forward still relevant for modern people?

    Advice for finding a lover

    The Roman poet Ovid (43BCE–17CE) wrote a poem called The Art of Love (Ars Amatoria). In it, he offered advice for those who are still single.

    First, Ovid says, you should make an effort to find someone you’re interested in. Your lover “will not come floating down to you through the tenuous air, she must be sought”.

    As suitable places to find a lover, Ovid recommends walking in porticos and gardens, attending the theatre, or (surprisingly enough) lingering near law courts.

    You need to catch someone’s eye and then invent an excuse to talk with them, he says.

    Seek your lover in the daytime, says Ovid. Be careful of the night. You won’t choose the right person if you’re drunk. And you can’t see their face properly if it’s too dark – they might be uglier than you think.

    Second, Ovid says you need to look presentable. Make sure your clothes are clean and you have a good haircut. Moreover, keep yourself groomed properly at all times:

    Do not let your nails project, and let them be free of dirt; nor let any hair be in the hollow of your nostrils. Let not the breath of your mouth be sour and unpleasing.

    Ovid’s The Art of Love may be regarded as a kind of love manual. But aside from making personal efforts to find a lover, people could also use matchmakers.

    However, matchmaking was a difficult process. Sometimes matchmakers didn’t tell the truth about the situations of the parties involved. So the Athenian writer Xenophon (430–353 BCE) says people were sometimes “victims of deception” in the matchmaking process.

    What if you’re not in love?

    The ancients recognised that not being in love can be a problem. They thought it bad for your mental and physical health, but also for society more broadly.

    For example, the Roman writer Claudius Aelian (2nd–3rd century CE) in his Historical Miscellany says soldiers who are in love will fight better than soldiers who are not in love:

    In the heat of battle when war brings men into combat, a man who is not in love could not match one who is. The man untouched by love avoids and runs away from the man who loves, as if he were an outsider uninitiated into the god’s rites, and his bravery depends on his character and physical strength.

    According to Aelian, the Spartans had a punishment for men who did not fall in love:

    Any man of good appearance and character who did not fall in love with someone well-bred was also fined, because despite his excellence he did not love anyone […] lovers’ affection for their beloved has a remarkable power of stimulating the virtues.

    So, when two people are in love, they can inspire each other and bring out the best in one another. Being in love can help a person become better and achieve more.

    Fighting for and keeping a lover

    If we are lucky, the person we love will also love us back, and we won’t have any love rivals.

    But what happens when the person we love is also loved by someone else? We may need to put in more effort to win the affection of that person, but sometimes this brings us into conflicts.

    For example, the Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BCE), in his On the Orator, tells how Gaius Memmius, Roman tribune of the year 111 BCE, apparently took a bite out of his love rival’s arm, “when he had a quarrel with him at Tarracina over a girlfriend”.

    Some ways to keep one’s lover interested that are mentioned in ancient sources include showing off one’s wealth.

    For example, in one of the plays of the poet Alexis (375–275 BCE) a young man who is in love puts on a large banquet to impress his girlfriend with a display of wealth. Engagements were at that time sometimes cancelled if it turned out the husband was too poor.

    Of course, things did not always work out, and people had grievances against former lovers. One particularly famous invective was from the poet Martial (38–104 CE) to a woman called Manneia:

    Manneia, your little dog licks your face and lips. Small wonder that a dog likes eating dung!

    Timeless concerns

    Today, we often see debates about whether it’s better to stay single or get into a relationship.

    The same goes for antiquity. In the 4th-century BCE play Arrephoros or The Pipe Girl by poet Menander, one character says:

    If you’ve got any sense, you won’t get married […] I’m married myself – which is why I’m advising you not to do it.

    Others lamented that they missed their opportunity for love. So the poet Pindar (6th–5th century BCE) wrote a poem regretting that he could not make the much younger Theoxenus his boyfriend:

    You should have picked love’s flowers at the right time, my heart, when you were young. But as for the sparkling rays from Theoxenus’ eyes, whoever looks on them and is not roiled with longing has a black heart forged with cold fire out of steel or iron.

    Clearly, finding a lover was as difficult then as it is now.

    Konstantine Panegyres 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. Avoid bad breath, don’t pick partners when drunk: ancient dating tips to find modern love – https://theconversation.com/avoid-bad-breath-dont-pick-partners-when-drunk-ancient-dating-tips-to-find-modern-love-250792

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: ‘Next time bring my daughter’: Barbara Demick reunited a Chinese family with the stolen ‘missing twin’ adopted in the US

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Kathryn Shine, Associate Professor, Journalism, Curtin University

    Reunited twins Esther (left) and Shuangjie Barbara Demick

    At the end of a long road trip through rural China in 2009, American journalist Barbara Demick had an encounter that would change the course of her life. In the previous days, she had interviewed several parents whose children had been forcibly removed from them by government officials. Demick suspected there may be a link between the missing children and China’s booming international adoption industry.

    She had enough for her story, but some instinct compelled her to follow the next lead to remote Gaofeng Village, high in the mountains of Hunan Province.

    Her driver could only take her so far. The dirt road ended at a stream, where she was met by local woman Zanhua Zeng and her daughter Shuangjie. They guided her across a makeshift bridge and into the village where “everything was in the process of falling down or going up”.

    Zanhua Zeng and daughter Shuangjie, meeting Barbara Demick in a moment that would change all their lives.
    Barbara Demick

    There, she learnt about two-year-old Fangfang, daughter of Zanhua and twin sister of Shuangjie, violently taken from her aunt’s care in 2002. Government officials had told the family they were in breach of China’s One Child Policy and were not allowed to keep the baby. They had no idea what had happened to their daughter and sister.

    Zanhua’s parting words were: “Come back again and next time bring my daughter.”

    Review: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, A True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins – Barbara Demick (Text)

    Extraordinary consequences

    At the time, Demick had no premonition of the significance the Zeng family and their story would play in her life – and those of many others. But in writing a front-page report for the Los Angeles Times about the links between China’s stolen children and international adoptions, including a small piece about the missing twin Fangfang, she started a chain of events with extraordinary consequences.

    Fangfang (renamed Esther), in the referral photo supplied by the orphanage.

    For Zanhua and Shuangjie, it would eventually lead to a reunion with Fangfang, accompanied by Demick, who helped organise it. She was to develop an enduring connection with the family – and with Fangfang’s adoptive American family, too.

    Daughters of the Bamboo Grove does what the best stories do: humanises a big issue. In this case, China’s one child policy and the international adoption industry it created.

    Demick’s book is a story of China, and of incomprehensible government control. But as told through this case of the separated twins, it’s also a story of family, identity, loss and resilience.

    It’s personal and moving, but also thoroughly researched, strengthened with compelling and confronting statistics and anecdotes.

    The twins’ meeting as young women was documented by Barbara Demick for the Los Angeles Times.

    Demick outlines the population growth that led to the introduction of the One Child Policy in 1979 and the rise of the State Family Planning Commission, set up to enforce the law limiting most Chinese families to one child.

    “Family Planning morphed into a monstrous organization that dwarfed the police and military in manpower,” she writes. “By the 1990s, it was estimated that eighty-three million Chinese worked at least part-time for Family Planning.” (By comparison, China’s combined armed forces were estimated to number roughly three million at the time.)

    The organisation was “intrusive in the extreme”, with female workers having to report when they had their periods and, in some cases, show their blood-stained sanitary pads. After giving birth to their first child, women were forced to have an IUD or were sterilised.

    People who violated the law received fines of two to six times their annual income. If violators were civil servants, they could lose their jobs. In rural areas, where people were less reliant on government jobs, the policy was implemented with “brute force”.

    People were beaten. Sometimes their homes were demolished or set on fire. “If you violate the policy, your family will be destroyed,” read a sign on a wall not far from the Zeng’s home. Family Planning officials regularly checked even the most remote villages, sometimes tipped off by neighbours.

    If a woman was discovered to be pregnant after having a child, she would be forced to undergo an abortion. The methods were “crude, often barbaric,” Demick writes. “Doctors would sometimes induce labor and then kill the baby with an injection of formaldehyde into the cranium before the feet emerged.”


    Although Chinese people, particularly those from rural communities, often wanted to have bigger families, they had no power to fight the authorities. Those who tried to quietly subvert the system were ruthlessly punished.

    These practices were so common, they were generally accepted. But when government officials started to take babies from families who had defied the policy, resistance grew. Other families started reporting cases like what had happened to Fangfang. Family Planning had forcibly removed children, refusing to provide any details about their whereabouts.

    Officials miscalculated in 2005 when they dared to take a boy, Demick writes. He lived in a town, attended school and was not as poor as some of the other affected families. The school made a complaint, which was supported by a local politician. The boy was returned to his family after 29 days.

    Hearing about this case emboldened other families to mobilise and fight back. These were among the first families Demick met when she travelled to cover the story of the missing children in 2009.

    Child trafficking by ‘good Samaritans’

    In the meantime, news was starting to emerge about the child trafficking of children through Chinese orphanages, with “good Samaritans” who “rescued” babies being paid increasingly large amounts of money. “The orphanages were competing with one another to procure babies,” Demick writes.

    Chinese babies were in high demand for international adoption, and it had become a lucrative business. One Hunan orphanage director later told police they started a service to allow foreigners to adopt babies in 2001; they were charged a US$3,000 cash donation per baby. In some cases, the babies genuinely needed homes and families, Demick writes, but the payment was “in effect a bounty that incentivised a wave of kidnapping of female babies and toddlers”.

    Shaoyang Social Welfare Institute, where Esther spent the last six months of her life in China.
    Barbara Demick

    It gradually became clear that many of the children removed by Family Planning officials were among the wave of Chinese babies and toddlers adopted by families from other countries, all of whom paid significant fees to do so, as well as donating to the orphanages. It was later revealed that orphanages routinely fabricated information about how and where the babies had been reportedly left.

    By the time Demick’s reports were published in 2009, nearly 100,000 babies had been sent out of China, more than half to the US. The worldwide number would reach 160,000 by 2024, when China ended its international adoption program.

    Demick’s story about stolen babies, plus other reports from within China and elsewhere, stunned the international adoption community and parents of Chinese adoptees around the world. Until then, China was perceived to be the most ethical choice for international adoption. For adoptive parents who now feared their adopted children could be taken from them, the revelations were terrifying, Demick says.

    Marsha and Esther (background) in their Texas kitchen.
    Barbara Demick

    One of these parents was a Texan women named Marsha. She and her husband Al had adopted two Chinese girls: Victoria in 1999 and Esther in 2002. Through developing connections among families who had adopted from China, Demick came across Marsha – and realised Esther may be Fangfang: the missing twin.

    She was correct. However, the story was far from resolved, which explains, in part, why Demick had plenty of material for her book.

    Reporter as dogged detective

    Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is a testament to dogged reporting. Demick’s skills as a researcher, interviewer – and effectively, a detective – imbue the book with substance and credibility.

    She handles difficult subject matter sensitively, portraying the Zeng family in China and adoptive mother Marsha in the US with empathy. She acknowledges the challenges they faced and recognises their devotion to their children.

    Her descriptions of the twin sisters, Shuangjie and Esther, are perceptive and gentle. Restraint is a powerful writing tool and Demick uses it here to great effect.

    This is the moment where the twins first meet, outside the Zeng family home in China:

    When everybody was out of the van, the two of them stood next to each other, side by side, facing the photographer. Nobody embraced. Nobody spoke. I imagined the twins as bride and groom in an arranged marriage, meeting for the first time, willing to pose for the photographer but not yet able to engage in conversation.

    Twins Esther (left) and Shaungjie, separated most of their lives, meet for the first time since babyhood.
    Barbara Demick

    Demick came to this story with the perspectives and limitations of an American journalist, but has gone to remarkable lengths to hear and convey the voices of Chinese people impacted by the One Child Policy.

    At the same time, she challenges Western paternalistic ideas around adoption, questioning the view expressed by many she encounters that the Chinese children adopted by Westerners were lucky, guaranteed to have better lives elsewhere.

    China’s One Child Policy was not formally abolished until 2015. In its 35 years, it did almost unimaginable damage, concludes Demick:

    the policy shattered marriages, led to the deaths of countless children and suicides of parents, and left China with a population expected to continue declining into the next century. It was all encompassing, leaving almost everyone a victim or perpetrator or both.

    For the hundreds of thousands of children sent out of China during this period, the legacy of One Child endures. As Demick writes, they are

    citizens of their adopted countries but tethered by blood to another family and country they struggle to comprehend. Living in this in-between space between worlds.

    In dedicating Daughters of the Bamboo Grove to Chinese adoptees around the world, Demick says she hopes in some small way it helps them to understand where they came from, and how they got to where they are today.

    Kathryn Shine 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. ‘Next time bring my daughter’: Barbara Demick reunited a Chinese family with the stolen ‘missing twin’ adopted in the US – https://theconversation.com/next-time-bring-my-daughter-barbara-demick-reunited-a-chinese-family-with-the-stolen-missing-twin-adopted-in-the-us-259993

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Are ‘ghost stores’ haunting your social media feed? How to spot and avoid them

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology

    CC BY

    The offer pops up in your social media feed. The website is professional and the imagery illustrates an Australian coastal region, or chic inner-CBD scene.

    The brand name indicates this exclusive fashion retailer is based in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, or an exclusive enclave such as Double Bay or Byron Bay.

    The businesses have history, having apparently been “established” 30–40 years ago, and a story. The owners have reluctantly decided to close or relocate, resulting in significant discounts.

    However, behind the illusion of prestige and luxury, is cheap, poorly manufactured clothing from Chinese factories.

    The recent growth of these online “ghost stores” has led the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission to issue public warning notices about four websites.

    Everly-melbourne.com, willowandgrace-adelaide.com, sophie-claire.com and doublebayboutique.com are the four named.

    A new type of scam

    The ACCC’s Targeting Scams report estimated Australians lost A$2.74 billion in 2023. Most losses were from investment scams ($1.3 billion), remote access scams ($256 million), and romance scams ($201.1 million).



    Read more:
    3.5 million Australians experienced fraud last year. This could be avoided through 6 simple steps

    However, online ghost store scams are so new, researchers and government agencies have not yet had time to measure the financial impact these businesses are having on consumers or legitimate fashion businesses.

    It is possible a consumer, once stung by a ghost store scam, will be less likely to shop with a legitimate online fashion retailer.

    This type of emerging scam was touched on in a 2015 report called Framework for a Taxonomy of Fraud. The report noted there were businesses selling “worthless or non-existent products”. Their sites made:

    misleading claims about products that are exaggerated, undervalued, or non-existent.

    Since the beginning of 2025, the ACCC reports it has received at least 360 complaints about 60 online ghost retailers. It says many more may be operating across several social media sites.

    Tricky tactics

    Ghost stores use a variety of tactics to attract unsuspecting customers.

    Price: Customers regularly assume higher prices mean higher quality. Most customers seeing a “leather” jacket for $19.74 on Temu would expect low quality. However, a silk maxi-dress from Everly Melbourne reduced from $209.95 to $82.95 – a 60% saving – seems reasonable and reflective of normal mid-season clearance pricing. That fact it’s still priced at more than $80 also implies good quality.

    Cosmopolitan localism: Researchers have reported that so-called cosmopolitan localism fosters meaningful consumer relationships with brands. Consumers are more likely to trust a business based in Melbourne or Byron Bay over one based internationally.

    Adding images of a physical store front creates credibility and “realness”. Customers feel confident to buy from a little business based in Melbourne, Sydney or somewhere well known to them.

    Storytelling: Storytelling can influence shoppers’ emotions and affect purchasing. It helps stimulate deeper emotional connections to a brand. Ghost stores will regularly create a narrative around “going out of business” to justify price discounts and pull on heart-strings.

    Layout: A professionally developed website, with high-quality images, detailed product information, online payment methods and order tracking, creates the illusion of authenticity. Researchers have found luxury brand website designs can create a strong sense of luxury. This increases a willingness to buy.

    How to spot a “ghost”

    When the post indicates “closing today” or “closing down sale ends tonight”, it is very easy to impulsively jump in to take advantage of the savings. However, before you click, check for these red flags:

    1. The website does not provide a contact phone number or physical address for the store. There might just be an email address or web form. Simply entering the suspected store into google maps will indicate no physical location.

    2. The website domain is “.com” rather than “.com.au”. This indicates the store is not an Australian-based business.

    3. Is the business registered? ABN Lookup is the free public view of the Australian Business Register – a quick search will identify that the Double Bay designer isn’t registered locally.

    4. Review platforms, including Trustpilot, often have negative reviews for the business, whereas the business’ website only features very positive reviews.

    5. The images of products or even the owner maybe AI generated. For example, Harry – Melbourne, is apparently an artisan watchmaker. However, simply right-clicking on the image reveals Harry is an AI-generated image.

    A cautionary note

    Online shopping is risky. You can’t physically touch or interact with the product to determine its quality. Three types of risks are common when shopping online. These are performance risk (it doesn’t work, doesn’t fit well, or the quality is poor), financial risk (losing your money on a poor-quality product), and time-loss risk (refund processing takes weeks).

    As such, customers must trust the online retailer to act honestly and describe products accurately. When trust is breached, consumers will naturally become cautious even about legitimate online retailers.

    As ghost stores scams increasingly populate social media feeds, unsuspecting consumers will continue to get caught out. This will leave legitimate retailers exposed to scepticism and mistrust.

    Gary Mortimer receives funding from the Building Employer Confidence and Inclusion in Disability Grant, AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Program, National Clothing Textiles Stewardship Scheme, National Retail Association and Australian Retailers Association.

    – ref. Are ‘ghost stores’ haunting your social media feed? How to spot and avoid them – https://theconversation.com/are-ghost-stores-haunting-your-social-media-feed-how-to-spot-and-avoid-them-260583

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Asia pacific – UN flags low uptake of sustainable trade facilitation measures and support for vulnerable groups – UN ESCAP

    Source: United Nations – ESCAP

    The United Nations is urging governments to accelerate efforts to make trade systems more inclusive and sustainable, highlighting limited support for vulnerable groups including small and medium-sized enterprises, women traders and the agricultural sector despite steady progress in broader trade facilitation.

    “The global trading environment has recently faced unprecedented challenges. Extensive tariff measures have introduced uncertainty and increased trade costs, while broader disruptions have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains. These tr

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China to develop zero-carbon industrial parks to accelerate country’s green transformation

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) — China on Tuesday released a document supporting the development of zero- or near-zero-carbon-emission industrial parks, aiming to accelerate the country’s green transformation.

    A document released by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other government departments calls on regions with suitable conditions to build zero-carbon or near-zero-carbon industrial parks that can reduce carbon emissions “to almost zero” through advance planning and design, technology and management standards, etc.

    The document outlines eight major tasks in such aspects as transforming energy structures, improving energy efficiency, optimizing industrial structures, promoting resource conservation, upgrading infrastructure, applying advanced technologies, improving energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission management, and promoting the reform and innovation of industrial parks.

    To support the construction of zero-carbon industrial parks, the SCRR said it would use existing funding channels and encourage local authorities to provide financial support for the construction of industrial parks.

    Industrial parks will also be supported in attracting talent, technology and professional institutions to promote the upgrading of energy-saving systems, carbon accounting and carbon footprint certification of products. -0-

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

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: GBA to host upcoming 15th National Games

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

    The 15th National Games, to be jointly organized by Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, will accelerate the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area, according to a news conference held in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong on Tuesday.

    Under the guidance of the General Administration of Sport, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the three regions have reached consensus in six key areas through high-density communication and negotiations, said Huang Mingzhong, director of the office of the 15th National Games Organizing Committee.

    “The areas are cross-border events, port clearance, personnel and vehicle documents, food safety, green event management and event schedule,” Huang said at the news conference, which disclosed the progress of the three regions’ joint organizing work for the 15th National Games.

    “The three regions have now explored a joint competition model of ‘three regions with three similarities’, indicating ‘same frequency communication, concerted decision-making and synchronous execution’,” he said.

    “Taking the emblem design as an example, our emblem consists of three petals. With Guangdong’s kapok, Hong Kong’s bauhinia and Macao’s lotus overlapping and rotating, it forms a concentric floral pattern, symbolizing the unity and deep integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” said Huang, who is also deputy secretary-general of the Guangdong provincial government.

    Huang revealed that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Road Cycling Race, as a part of the 15th National Games, will take place in the three regions.

    “At that time, cyclists will depart from Zhuhai and first reach Macao via the Macao Bridge and then arrive at Hong Kong’s Lantau Island via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge,” said Huang.

    Zhang Zhihua, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong province, said relevant departments have set up a dedicated channel at entry and exit ports, allowing relevant delegations to enter and leave whenever they need.

    “We have also opened a green channel for our ticket holders, with nationwide application for entry and exit documents,” he said.

    “With special treatment for entry and exit, we will contribute to the development of a one-hour life circle within the GBA,” said Zhang, who is also the deputy director of the coordinating department of the 15th National Games Organizing Committee.

    During the National Games, visitors can enjoy entry and exit without the need to show documents, he said.

    The 15th National Games, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities, and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, are expected to attract more than 6,000 athletes from the Chinese mainland to cross the borders to Hong Kong and Macao to compete, while another more than 3,000 athletes from the two Chinese SARs are expected to come to the mainland for the competition, according to Zhang.

    Guangzhou will host the opening ceremony, while Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, will host the closing ceremony.

    The 15th National Games will take place from Nov 9 to 21.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: GBA to host upcoming 15th National Games

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

    The 15th National Games, to be jointly organized by Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, will accelerate the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area, according to a news conference held in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong on Tuesday.

    Under the guidance of the General Administration of Sport, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation and the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the three regions have reached consensus in six key areas through high-density communication and negotiations, said Huang Mingzhong, director of the office of the 15th National Games Organizing Committee.

    “The areas are cross-border events, port clearance, personnel and vehicle documents, food safety, green event management and event schedule,” Huang said at the news conference, which disclosed the progress of the three regions’ joint organizing work for the 15th National Games.

    “The three regions have now explored a joint competition model of ‘three regions with three similarities’, indicating ‘same frequency communication, concerted decision-making and synchronous execution’,” he said.

    “Taking the emblem design as an example, our emblem consists of three petals. With Guangdong’s kapok, Hong Kong’s bauhinia and Macao’s lotus overlapping and rotating, it forms a concentric floral pattern, symbolizing the unity and deep integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” said Huang, who is also deputy secretary-general of the Guangdong provincial government.

    Huang revealed that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Road Cycling Race, as a part of the 15th National Games, will take place in the three regions.

    “At that time, cyclists will depart from Zhuhai and first reach Macao via the Macao Bridge and then arrive at Hong Kong’s Lantau Island via Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge,” said Huang.

    Zhang Zhihua, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong province, said relevant departments have set up a dedicated channel at entry and exit ports, allowing relevant delegations to enter and leave whenever they need.

    “We have also opened a green channel for our ticket holders, with nationwide application for entry and exit documents,” he said.

    “With special treatment for entry and exit, we will contribute to the development of a one-hour life circle within the GBA,” said Zhang, who is also the deputy director of the coordinating department of the 15th National Games Organizing Committee.

    During the National Games, visitors can enjoy entry and exit without the need to show documents, he said.

    The 15th National Games, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities, and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, are expected to attract more than 6,000 athletes from the Chinese mainland to cross the borders to Hong Kong and Macao to compete, while another more than 3,000 athletes from the two Chinese SARs are expected to come to the mainland for the competition, according to Zhang.

    Guangzhou will host the opening ceremony, while Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, will host the closing ceremony.

    The 15th National Games will take place from Nov 9 to 21.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xiplomacy: Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

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

    Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

    “We are extremely honored to receive a response from President Xi,” said Jeffrey Sullivan, head of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping recently replied to the delegation’s letter, congratulating them on their successful visit to China. In April, Sullivan led a group of 44 teachers and students from 13 U.S. schools to China under Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, which aims to bring 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

    After visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, the delegation sent a letter to Xi, expressing their gratitude for the initiative, noting they had forged unforgettable friendships with Chinese youths during the trip.

    In his reply, Xi said he was pleased to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States. The future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth, said Xi, expressing the hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples.

    A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY

    “Thank you again for your vision and commitment to providing opportunities for our students and our countries to come together and build friendships, relationships and cultural learning opportunities,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    Hailing the trip as life-changing, Sullivan said it enabled his delegation to immerse themselves in the Chinese culture and experience interpersonal relationships.

    “That was made possible because of the hospitality of the Chinese people, who opened their doors to us, who served us wonderful food, who had wonderful performances showcasing the culture and traditions of China,” he said, adding, “It (the visit) would be something that we would take with us forever.”

    Echoing Sullivan, Wang Pengfei, one of the initiators of the tour, said, “We want young Americans to see today’s China for themselves.”

    “Every high-five on the court, every hands-on experience in traditional craft workshops and every visit to a high-tech company is reshaping how they perceive China’s development,” said Wang.

    For student Isabella Brant, celebrating her birthday in China was the most memorable part of the trip. She recalled playing pickleball with her Chinese partners on that day, receiving flowers, but more importantly, gaining friendship.

    “Definitely life-changing!” said Brant, adding, “I was a little nervous to go over to China, but it definitely changed my perspective on things and how I viewed everything.”

    NEW BONDS

    “It was an amazing trip for our students to build friendships through sport,” Sullivan said, adding that the exchange between American and Chinese youths during this tour is “not just on the pickleball court, but also off the court.”

    Pickleball, a paddle sport that originated in the United States that blends elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, is easy to pick up for beginners and has rapidly gained popularity in China.

    According to Sullivan, Montgomery is the first U.S. school district to offer pickleball as a varsity sport, as this activity is fully inclusive and continues to bring people of all ability levels together.

    The Montgomery County public schools have now begun cooperation with Shenzhen Nanshan District Education Bureau, education groups of Beijing Middle School and Beijing No. 10 Middle School to establish long-term partnerships, with pickleball included as a key area of exchange.

    “I witnessed firsthand how the power of sports can transcend borders and bring people from different cultural backgrounds closer together,” said Xie Yuan, a student from Wenhua School in Shenzhen who took part in the event.

    Speaking of the friends she made during the tour, Ella Geary, a student from the delegation, said, “I find it amazing that you can just instantly bond with someone who lives on the other side of the globe.”

    Echoing Geary, Sullivan’s daughter, Reagan Sullivan, also a student from the delegation, depicted the bonds they built as “amazing and unbreakable.”

    Pickleball has become a new bond for building friendships, she said.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE FRIENDSHIP

    In April 1971, a 15-member U.S. table tennis delegation took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades.

    Recalling the China-U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” 54 years ago, Sullivan said that sports have a unique power to bring people together.

    Beyond discovering China’s cultural charm and technological innovation, many students played Ping-Pong for the first time. Sullivan said a visit to the China Table Tennis Museum gave them deeper insight into the history of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which once helped bridge U.S.-China relations.

    Upon hearing Xi’s reply, Stephen Mull, former U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, emphasized the unifying power of sports.

    “It encourages each participant to be the very best version of himself or herself while underscoring the common humanity that binds us all together on the field of play,” he explained.

    “Pickleball has served as a unique and joyful bridge between our two cultures, one that allowed for connection, mutual respect and shared learning. Like your vision, we believe that sports engagement is essential in building the foundation for lasting international friendship,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    The vision refers to Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, launched in November 2023. Nearly 15,000 American youth visited China by the end of 2024 under the initiative, observing China with their own eyes and traveling the expanse of the country on their own feet.

    “If I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back,” said Joel Geary, a student from the delegation.

    “We are all part of the ‘50,000 in Five Years’ initiative,” said Sun Yuyan, a student who participated in the event from Shanghai Luwan High School, adding, “The future of China-U.S. relations should be a shared future shaped by our generation, one that lives up to the promise of our youth.”

    “I would love to organize additional exchanges and opportunities, whether it’s through pickleball or other sports, using them as a platform to bring people together,” said Sullivan.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xiplomacy: Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

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

    Xi’s reply inspires American, Chinese youths to carry on friendship forged through pickleball

    “We are extremely honored to receive a response from President Xi,” said Jeffrey Sullivan, head of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping recently replied to the delegation’s letter, congratulating them on their successful visit to China. In April, Sullivan led a group of 44 teachers and students from 13 U.S. schools to China under Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, which aims to bring 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

    After visiting Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, the delegation sent a letter to Xi, expressing their gratitude for the initiative, noting they had forged unforgettable friendships with Chinese youths during the trip.

    In his reply, Xi said he was pleased to see that pickleball has become a new bond for youth exchanges between China and the United States. The future of China-U.S. relations depends on the youth, said Xi, expressing the hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing the friendship between the two peoples.

    A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY

    “Thank you again for your vision and commitment to providing opportunities for our students and our countries to come together and build friendships, relationships and cultural learning opportunities,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    Hailing the trip as life-changing, Sullivan said it enabled his delegation to immerse themselves in the Chinese culture and experience interpersonal relationships.

    “That was made possible because of the hospitality of the Chinese people, who opened their doors to us, who served us wonderful food, who had wonderful performances showcasing the culture and traditions of China,” he said, adding, “It (the visit) would be something that we would take with us forever.”

    Echoing Sullivan, Wang Pengfei, one of the initiators of the tour, said, “We want young Americans to see today’s China for themselves.”

    “Every high-five on the court, every hands-on experience in traditional craft workshops and every visit to a high-tech company is reshaping how they perceive China’s development,” said Wang.

    For student Isabella Brant, celebrating her birthday in China was the most memorable part of the trip. She recalled playing pickleball with her Chinese partners on that day, receiving flowers, but more importantly, gaining friendship.

    “Definitely life-changing!” said Brant, adding, “I was a little nervous to go over to China, but it definitely changed my perspective on things and how I viewed everything.”

    NEW BONDS

    “It was an amazing trip for our students to build friendships through sport,” Sullivan said, adding that the exchange between American and Chinese youths during this tour is “not just on the pickleball court, but also off the court.”

    Pickleball, a paddle sport that originated in the United States that blends elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, is easy to pick up for beginners and has rapidly gained popularity in China.

    According to Sullivan, Montgomery is the first U.S. school district to offer pickleball as a varsity sport, as this activity is fully inclusive and continues to bring people of all ability levels together.

    The Montgomery County public schools have now begun cooperation with Shenzhen Nanshan District Education Bureau, education groups of Beijing Middle School and Beijing No. 10 Middle School to establish long-term partnerships, with pickleball included as a key area of exchange.

    “I witnessed firsthand how the power of sports can transcend borders and bring people from different cultural backgrounds closer together,” said Xie Yuan, a student from Wenhua School in Shenzhen who took part in the event.

    Speaking of the friends she made during the tour, Ella Geary, a student from the delegation, said, “I find it amazing that you can just instantly bond with someone who lives on the other side of the globe.”

    Echoing Geary, Sullivan’s daughter, Reagan Sullivan, also a student from the delegation, depicted the bonds they built as “amazing and unbreakable.”

    Pickleball has become a new bond for building friendships, she said.

    PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE FRIENDSHIP

    In April 1971, a 15-member U.S. table tennis delegation took a historic trip to China, becoming the first delegation of Americans to visit China in decades.

    Recalling the China-U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” 54 years ago, Sullivan said that sports have a unique power to bring people together.

    Beyond discovering China’s cultural charm and technological innovation, many students played Ping-Pong for the first time. Sullivan said a visit to the China Table Tennis Museum gave them deeper insight into the history of “Ping-Pong Diplomacy,” which once helped bridge U.S.-China relations.

    Upon hearing Xi’s reply, Stephen Mull, former U.S. acting undersecretary of state for political affairs, emphasized the unifying power of sports.

    “It encourages each participant to be the very best version of himself or herself while underscoring the common humanity that binds us all together on the field of play,” he explained.

    “Pickleball has served as a unique and joyful bridge between our two cultures, one that allowed for connection, mutual respect and shared learning. Like your vision, we believe that sports engagement is essential in building the foundation for lasting international friendship,” the delegation wrote in the letter to Xi.

    The vision refers to Xi’s “50,000 in Five Years” initiative, launched in November 2023. Nearly 15,000 American youth visited China by the end of 2024 under the initiative, observing China with their own eyes and traveling the expanse of the country on their own feet.

    “If I had the opportunity, I would definitely go back,” said Joel Geary, a student from the delegation.

    “We are all part of the ‘50,000 in Five Years’ initiative,” said Sun Yuyan, a student who participated in the event from Shanghai Luwan High School, adding, “The future of China-U.S. relations should be a shared future shaped by our generation, one that lives up to the promise of our youth.”

    “I would love to organize additional exchanges and opportunities, whether it’s through pickleball or other sports, using them as a platform to bring people together,” said Sullivan.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 9, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 9, 2025.

    Teeth record the hidden history of your childhood climate and diet
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University Douglas Sacha / Getty Images The climate we live in affects our lives in profound ways: hot summers, cold winters, dry spells and wet weather

    Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast Netflix In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer. But the star of the documentary is not

    How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage’s inquest findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker have sparked conversations across Australia. The coroner found the NT police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was “racist”, and she couldn’t exclude the possibility that

    Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney Acteon, having accidentally seen the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing, begins to change into a stag. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. George S. Amory, Object Number: 64.208. Could you ever be

    American science is in crisis. It’s a great opportunity for Australia to snap up top scientists
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Stellalevi / Getty Images Science in the United States in in trouble. The National Science Foundation, a key research funding agency, has suffered devastating funding cuts under the current administration. Critics say

    Some young people sexually abuse. Here’s how to reduce reoffending by up to 90%
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Cale, Associate Professor of Criminology, Deputy Director Research (Griffith Youth Forensic Service), Griffith University When we think about who’s responsible for sexual abuse in Australia, we usually picture adults. But young people are responsible for a substantial proportion of sexual offences nationwide. Up to a third

    XFG could become the next dominant COVID variant. Here’s what to know about ‘Stratus’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland visualspace/Getty Images Given the number of times this has happened already, it should come as little surprise that we’re now faced with yet another new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID. This new subvariant

    Can a pizza box go in the yellow bin – or not? An expert answers this and other messy recycling questions
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pooria Pasbakhsh, Research Fellow in Polymer Upcycling, The University of Melbourne ViDCan/Shutterstock Have you ever gone to toss something into the recycling bin – a jam jar, a pizza box, a takeaway container encrusted with yesterday’s lunch – and wondered if you’re doing it right? Perhaps you

    AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential. That process did two things: it

    Academic slams NZ government over ‘compromised’ foreign policy
    Asia Pacific Report A prominent academic has criticised the New Zealand coalition government for compromising the country’s traditional commitment to upholding an international rules-based order due to a “desire not to offend” the Trump administration. Professor Robert Patman, an inaugural sesquicentennial distinguished chair and a specialist in international relations at the University of Otago, has

    Interest rates are on hold at 3.85%, as the Reserve Bank opts for caution over mortgage relief
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Thurtell/Getty Images The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at 3.85%, after cutting it in February and May. Those earlier moves were aimed at supporting the economy as growth slowed and inflation eased. This

    The US has high hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, but Israel’s long-term aims seem far less peaceful
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University US President Donald Trump has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House, where he has declared talks to end the war in Gaza are “going along very well”. In turn, Netanyahu revealed he

    What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney FOTOSPLASH/Shutterstock “And do you work well with AI?” As tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become part of everyday workflows, more companies are looking for employees who can answer

    Saying goodbye is never easy: why we mourn the end of our favourite TV series
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Gerace, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course – Positive Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Netflix Has the ending of Squid Game left you feeling downhearted? The South Korean megahit struck a nerve with audiences worldwide, with millions logging in to Netflix to follow protagonist Seong Gi-hun and fellow

    Are chemicals to blame for cancer in young people? Here’s what the evidence says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Cancer is traditionally known as a disease affecting mostly older people. But some worrying trends show cancer rates in younger people aged under 50 are on the

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 8, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 8, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 9, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 9, 2025.

    Teeth record the hidden history of your childhood climate and diet
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tanya M. Smith, Professor in the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution & Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University Douglas Sacha / Getty Images The climate we live in affects our lives in profound ways: hot summers, cold winters, dry spells and wet weather

    Netflix’s Shark Whisperer wants us to think ‘sexy conservation’ is the way to save sharks – does it have a point?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hopkins, Senior Lecturer in Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy), University of the Sunshine Coast Netflix In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover – from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer. But the star of the documentary is not

    How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage’s inquest findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker have sparked conversations across Australia. The coroner found the NT police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was “racist”, and she couldn’t exclude the possibility that

    Greek and Roman nymphs weren’t just sexy nature spirits. They had other important jobs too
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kitty Smith, PhD Candidate in Classical Greek and Roman History, University of Sydney Acteon, having accidentally seen the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing, begins to change into a stag. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. George S. Amory, Object Number: 64.208. Could you ever be

    American science is in crisis. It’s a great opportunity for Australia to snap up top scientists
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Stellalevi / Getty Images Science in the United States in in trouble. The National Science Foundation, a key research funding agency, has suffered devastating funding cuts under the current administration. Critics say

    Some young people sexually abuse. Here’s how to reduce reoffending by up to 90%
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jesse Cale, Associate Professor of Criminology, Deputy Director Research (Griffith Youth Forensic Service), Griffith University When we think about who’s responsible for sexual abuse in Australia, we usually picture adults. But young people are responsible for a substantial proportion of sexual offences nationwide. Up to a third

    XFG could become the next dominant COVID variant. Here’s what to know about ‘Stratus’
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland visualspace/Getty Images Given the number of times this has happened already, it should come as little surprise that we’re now faced with yet another new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID. This new subvariant

    Can a pizza box go in the yellow bin – or not? An expert answers this and other messy recycling questions
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pooria Pasbakhsh, Research Fellow in Polymer Upcycling, The University of Melbourne ViDCan/Shutterstock Have you ever gone to toss something into the recycling bin – a jam jar, a pizza box, a takeaway container encrusted with yesterday’s lunch – and wondered if you’re doing it right? Perhaps you

    AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential. That process did two things: it

    Academic slams NZ government over ‘compromised’ foreign policy
    Asia Pacific Report A prominent academic has criticised the New Zealand coalition government for compromising the country’s traditional commitment to upholding an international rules-based order due to a “desire not to offend” the Trump administration. Professor Robert Patman, an inaugural sesquicentennial distinguished chair and a specialist in international relations at the University of Otago, has

    Interest rates are on hold at 3.85%, as the Reserve Bank opts for caution over mortgage relief
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney Thurtell/Getty Images The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the cash rate at 3.85%, after cutting it in February and May. Those earlier moves were aimed at supporting the economy as growth slowed and inflation eased. This

    The US has high hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, but Israel’s long-term aims seem far less peaceful
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University US President Donald Trump has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dinner at the White House, where he has declared talks to end the war in Gaza are “going along very well”. In turn, Netanyahu revealed he

    What makes a good AI prompt? Here are 4 expert tips
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sandra Peter, Director of Sydney Executive Plus, Business School, University of Sydney FOTOSPLASH/Shutterstock “And do you work well with AI?” As tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems become part of everyday workflows, more companies are looking for employees who can answer

    Saying goodbye is never easy: why we mourn the end of our favourite TV series
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Gerace, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course – Positive Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Netflix Has the ending of Squid Game left you feeling downhearted? The South Korean megahit struck a nerve with audiences worldwide, with millions logging in to Netflix to follow protagonist Seong Gi-hun and fellow

    Are chemicals to blame for cancer in young people? Here’s what the evidence says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) Cancer is traditionally known as a disease affecting mostly older people. But some worrying trends show cancer rates in younger people aged under 50 are on the

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for July 8, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on July 8, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: The 2025 Vulnerability Assessment brings an encouraging outcome

    Source: Frontex

    The year 2025 brought important anniversaries to the European Border and Coast Guard community – 40 years of the Schengen Agreement and 20 years of Frontex are truly important milestones.

    The Agency‘s vulnerability assessment function is still two years short of its first round anniversary. With the important inputs from border guard colleagues in the 29 Member States and Schengen Associated Countries, this year we shared the eighth edition of individual country assessments with our stakeholders on Thursday, 26 June.

    The overall results are encouraging – the total number of identified vulnerabilities concerning the capacities and preparedness of border control in our Member States show a relevant overall downward trend. Less vulnerabilities and, potentially, less recommended measures for remedial action down the line do however not automatically translate into a situation where all is just fine at the European external borders. For that, the geopolitical faults at our doorstep are too manyfold, furthermore, the digitalisation of borders might herald new challenges of which currently only rough contours have become visible.

    Together we will set out to implement remedies – all this with one common goal: to ensure today‘s external borders of the European Union remain secure tomorrow

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Patrick Dodd, Professional Teaching Fellow, Business School, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    For a long time, universities worked off a simple idea: knowledge was scarce. You paid for tuition, showed up to lectures, completed assignments and eventually earned a credential.

    That process did two things: it gave you access to knowledge that was hard to find elsewhere, and it signalled to employers you had invested time and effort to master that knowledge.

    The model worked because the supply curve for high-quality information sat far to the left, meaning knowledge was scarce and the price – tuition and wage premiums – stayed high.

    Now the curve has shifted right, as the graph below illustrates. When supply moves right – that is, something becomes more accessible – the new intersection with demand sits lower on the price axis. This is why tuition premiums and graduate wage advantages are now under pressure.

    According to global consultancy McKinsey, generative AI could add between US$2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion in annual global productivity. Why? Because AI drives the marginal cost of producing and organising information toward zero.

    Large language models no longer just retrieve facts; they explain, translate, summarise and draft almost instantly. When supply explodes like that, basic economics says price falls. The “knowledge premium” universities have long sold is deflating as a result.

    Employers have already made their move

    Markets react faster than curriculums. Since ChatGPT launched, entry-level job listings in the United Kingdom have fallen by about a third. In the United States, several states are removing degree requirements from public-sector roles.

    In Maryland, for instance, the share of state-government job ads requiring a degree slid from roughly 68% to 53% between 2022 and 2024.

    In economic terms, employers are repricing labour because AI is now a substitute for many routine, codifiable tasks that graduates once performed. If a chatbot can complete the work at near-zero marginal cost, the wage premium paid to a junior analyst shrinks.

    But the value of knowledge is not falling at the same speed everywhere. Economists such as David Autor and Daron Acemoglu point out that technology substitutes for some tasks while complementing others:

    • codifiable knowledge – structured, rule-based material such as tax codes or contract templates – faces rapid substitution by AI

    • tacit knowledge – contextual skills such as leading a team through conflict – acts as a complement, so its value can even rise.

    Data backs this up. Labour market analytics company Lightcast notes that one-third of the skills employers want have changed between 2021 and 2024. The American Enterprise Institute warns that mid-level knowledge workers, whose jobs depend on repeatable expertise, are most at risk of wage pressure.

    So yes, baseline knowledge still matters. You need it to prompt AI, judge its output and make good decisions. But the equilibrium wage premium – meaning the extra pay employers offer once supply and demand for that knowledge settle – is sliding down the demand curve fast.

    What’s scarce now?

    Herbert Simon, the Nobel Prize–winning economist and cognitive scientist, put it neatly decades ago: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” When facts become cheap and plentiful, our limited capacity to filter, judge and apply them turns into the real bottleneck.

    That is why scarce resources shift from information itself to what machines still struggle to copy: focused attention, sound judgement, strong ethics, creativity and collaboration.

    I group these human complements under what I call the C.R.E.A.T.E.R. framework:

    • critical thinking – asking smart questions and spotting weak arguments

    • resilience and adaptability – staying steady when everything changes

    • emotional intelligence – understanding people and leading with empathy

    • accountability and ethics – taking responsibility for difficult calls

    • teamwork and collaboration – working well with people who think differently

    • entrepreneurial creativity – seeing gaps and building new solutions

    • reflection and lifelong learning – staying curious and ready to grow.

    These capabilities are the genuine scarcity in today’s market. They are complements to AI, not substitutes, which is why their wage returns hold or climb.

    What universities can do right now

    1. Audit courses: if ChatGPT can already score highly on an exam, the marginal value of teaching that content is near zero. Pivot the assessment toward judgement and synthesis.

    2. Reinvest in the learning experience: push resources into coached projects, messy real-world simulations, and ethical decision labs where AI is a tool, not the performer.

    3. Credential what matters: create micro-credentials for skills such as collaboration, initiative and ethical reasoning. These signal AI complements, not substitutes, and employers notice.

    4. Work with industry but keep it collaborative: invite employers to co-design assessments, not dictate them. A good partnership works like a design studio rather than a boardroom order sheet. Academics bring teaching expertise and rigour, employers supply real-world use cases, and students help test and refine the ideas.

    Universities can no longer rely on scarcity setting the price for the curated and credentialed form of information that used to be hard to obtain.

    The comparative advantage now lies in cultivating human skills that act as complements to AI. If universities do not adapt, the market – students and employers alike – will move on without them.

    The opportunity is clear. Shift the product from content delivery to judgement formation. Teach students how to think with, not against, intelligent machines. Because the old model, the one that priced knowledge as a scarce good, is already slipping below its economic break-even point.

    Patrick Dodd 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. AI is driving down the price of knowledge – universities have to rethink what they offer – https://theconversation.com/ai-is-driving-down-the-price-of-knowledge-universities-have-to-rethink-what-they-offer-260493

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: A Shakespearean, small-town murder: why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Xanthe Mallett, Criminologist, CQUniversity Australia

    The “mushroom murder trial”, as it has popularly become known, has gripped Australia over the past 11 weeks. More than that, it’s prompted worldwide headlines, multiple daily podcasts, and even YouTube videos of self-proclaimed “body language experts” assessing defendant Erin Patterson’s every move.

    There’s an ABC drama series in the works. Acclaimed Australian author Helen Garner has been in the courtroom.

    But why did this tragedy, in which three people died and a fourth was lucky to survive, grip the public consciousness in way no other contemporary Australian case has?



    Read more:
    Erin Patterson has been found guilty in the mushroom murder trial. Legal experts explain why

    A not-so-wholesome family lunch

    On July 29 2023, in a sleepy town called Leongatha in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges in Victoria, a very normal woman called Erin Patterson made an ostensibly very normal lunch of beef Wellington.

    She was cooking for her in-laws, Gail and Don Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, and Heather’s husband Ian. Erin’s estranged husband, Simon Patterson, was also invited, but chose not to attend.

    Simon and Erin had two children, a boy and a girl, who did not attend the lunch either.

    Shortly after the lunch, all four guests were admitted to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis. Erin Patterson also presented to hospital, but refused to be admitted.

    Within a few days, Gail, Don, and Heather all died as a result of what was later confirmed as poisoning with Amanita phalloides, better known as death cap mushrooms.

    Ian survived, but he was lucky. He spent seven weeks in hospital and needed a liver transplant.

    The questions became, how did the mushrooms get into the beef Wellington? Was this an awful accident or something more sinister?

    Public obsession

    These questions became the focus of very significant public and media attention.

    Erin Patterson spoke to the media in the days after the incident. She presented as your typical, average woman of 50.

    That is, in my opinion, where the obsession with this case began.

    This case had the feel of a Shakespearean drama: multiple deaths within one family, death by poison, and a female protagonist.

    The juxtaposition between the normality of a family lunch (and the sheer vanilla-ness of the accused) and the seriousness of the situation sent the media into overdrive.

    Then there were the lies. Patterson lied about foraging for mushrooms, and about having cancer to encourage the guests to attend.

    The location also played a huge part. Leongatha is known for its staggering natural beauty and thriving food and wine scene. It’s hardly a place where the world expected a mass murderer to live.

    However, the perception that rural areas are utopias of safety and social cohesion, and cities are dark and dangerous places, is a myth.

    One study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare paints a different picture.

    For serious assault cases that resulted in hospitalisation, for major cities the rates were 65 per 100,000 people. In rural areas, this rose to 1,244 people per 100,000. And for murder, in very remote areas the rate was five per 100,000 population, but fewer than one per 100,000 in urban areas.

    Then there was Erin Patterson’s unusual behaviour. She disposed of the desiccator in which the mushrooms she had foraged were dehydrated. She used multiple phones, one of which underwent multiple factory resets on in the days following the lunch. One of these resets was done remotely after police seized her phone.

    There are also the much-discussed plates. The court heard she prepared her meal on a different-coloured plate to those of her other guests so they were easily identifiable.

    The public latched onto these details, each providing a new talking point around water coolers or spurring new Reddit threads dedicated to unpacking their significance.

    The courtroom as a stage

    Ultimately, after three months, Erin Patterson was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. She pleaded not guilty.

    The trial lasted 40 days. The prosecution alleged Patterson intentionally poisoned her guests, whereas the defence suggested it was all an awful, tragic accident.

    The jury took six and a half days to deliberate. During that time, various media outlets did everything they could to keep the story on the front page.

    Bizarre pieces began appearing online from credible sources such as the ABC, profiling people who had attended court. They included stories of people turning down work to attend the court daily, cases of friendships blossoming during the trial between regular attendees, and the outfit choices of locals turning up every day to watch the drama unfold.

    There were also articles profiling local cafe owners and how they felt about being at the centre of the legal theatrics. The daily podcasts continued even when news from the courtroom didn’t.

    The vibe felt more appropriate for a royal visit than a triple murder trial.

    It seemed everyone in Australia was gripped by one event, united in a way few other things could manage. We all waited with bated breath to see what the 12 men and women of the jury would decide.



    Read more:
    Justice on demand? The true crime podcasts serving up Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder trial

    Humanity behind the spectacle

    The end to this strange and unique criminal case came on Monday July 7.

    The result? Guilty on all four counts. Erin Patterson is formally a mass murderer, though many in the court of public opinion had reached the same conviction months earlier.

    Leongatha will always be known for being the setting of (arguably) the most infamous multiple murder case in Australian history. It will join Snowtown in South Australia (home of the “bodies in the barrell” murder case), Kendall in New South Wales (where William Tyrrell disappeared), and Claremont in Western Australia (the murder or disappearance of three women) as places forever linked to tragic crimes.

    While the trial is over, there’s much more content still to come, the public’s appetite yet to be satiated.

    But the final word should be saved for the Patterson and Wilkinson families. This is an awful tragedy, and there are no winners. Ian and Simon have lost loved ones. The Patterson children have lost grandparents and now have to come to terms with the fact their mother caused those deaths intentionally.

    Amid the spectacle, it’s easy to lose sight of the humanity at the centre. As the media spotlight dims, may the families get the privacy and respect they deserve.

    Xanthe Mallett 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. A Shakespearean, small-town murder: why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case – https://theconversation.com/a-shakespearean-small-town-murder-why-australia-became-so-obsessed-with-the-erin-patterson-mushroom-case-259982

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hawley Holds RECA Victory Rally to Celebrate Justice for Victims of Radioactive Waste

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

    Tuesday, July 08, 2025

    Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) led a RECA victory rally in St. Louis to celebrate new funding for radioactive waste survivors in Missouri and other states. His announcement comes after a two-year battle that resulted in theRadiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expansion in the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which President Trump signed into law last week.

    The Senator’s expansion provision revives RECA for survivors, allows tens of thousands of new claimants to receive life-saving assistance—including those across Missouri—and protects the program for years to come. For two years,Senator Hawley has led the fight to secure funding for survivors of nuclear contamination across the country, passing a reauthorization bill through the Senate in July 2023 and March 2024. 

    “It wasn’t just the people of Missouri who had waited for seventy years to have justice done. It was the people of the Navajo Nation; It was the people of Utah; It was the people of New Mexico; It was the people of Idaho; It was the uranium miners and atomic veterans from all over the country, who have been waiting for decades for the federal government to finally own up to what it had done,” Senator Hawley said. “RECA is the government saying, ‘what we did was wrong. Lying to you was wrong, and we are finally going to make it right.’”

    Displaying the nationwide impact of the legislation, Senator Hawley was joined at the RECA victory rally by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren; Missouri RECA activists Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel; New Mexico downwinders Maggie Billman and Laura Greenwood; Arizona downwinder Sherrie Hanna; Keith Kiefer of the National Association of Atomic Veterans, and many more.

    Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren thanked Senator Hawley in his remarks for leading the fight in Congress to obtain compensation for radiation victims in Missouri and across the nation.

    “Senator Hawley, thank you to you and your team and your constant willingness to champion on behalf of all of America. Especially people that have sacrificed so much for this country. So on behalf of the Navajo Nation and the Navajo people, I want to say thank you,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marc Trabsky, Associate Professor of Law, Monash University

    Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage’s inquest findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker have sparked conversations across Australia.

    The coroner found the NT police officer who shot Walker, Zachary Rolfe, was “racist”, and she couldn’t exclude the possibility that his “values […] contributed to his decision to pull the trigger”.

    For many, the findings have raised questions about the history, role, purpose and limitations of coronial inquests. So what are they, and what do they do?

    What is a coroners court?

    The office of coroner emerged in England in 1194. Coroners were powerful officers of the realm – collecting taxes, adjudicating treasure troves and investigating deaths.

    During the industrial revolution, they became known as the “Magistrates of the Poor”, holding governments and corporations to account for causing sudden, unnatural or violent deaths.

    In the 21st century, each state and territory in Australia has its own coroners court. A coroners court consists of a state coroner or chief coroner, who is the equivalent of a judge, and other coroners, who hold the position of a magistrate (beneath a judge in the court hierarchy).

    All coroners are legally trained. In the 19th century, all coroners in Australia were doctors. There is no longer a requirement for coroners to have medical qualifications.

    The office of the coroner came about in England centuries ago.
    Getty

    Coroners investigate unexpected, unnatural, violent and accidental deaths. In Victoria, for instance, this is about 7,400 deaths each year.

    Legislation requires coroners to determine the who, when, where, what and how of such “reportable” deaths.

    This means they need to determine the identity of the deceased, when and where that person died, what caused their death, and the circumstances or manner in which they died. In many instances, they make recommendations for reducing preventable deaths in the future.

    Police help coroners in their investigations by providing a brief of evidence, but the coroners court is separate from the police, just as other law courts are. Forensic pathologists assist coroners in finding the medical cause of death.



    Read more:
    What happens in an autopsy? A forensics expert explains

    Since 2005, first in Victoria and then elsewhere in Australia, forensic pathologists and radiologists have used postmortem CT scans to determine cause of death. This has greatly reduced the need for invasive autopsies.

    Coroners can make findings “on the papers” – which means investigations won’t proceed to an inquest – or deliver findings at the conclusion of an inquest.

    So what is a coronial inquest?

    A coronial inquest is a formal public hearing into why someone (or sometimes a group of people) died. It’s often held across multiple days, during which the facts can be examined, witnesses can be questioned, and the community can come together to understand how a person died.

    What is unique about the Coroners Court is that it’s inquisitorial, not adversarial. This means there shouldn’t be any warring parties.

    In addition, inquests have an expansive scope compared to a criminal trial. They can investigate the wider institutional, social and economic contexts of a death, examining what may have contributed to it, and comment on factors connected to the death, such as public health and safety.

    Not all investigations proceed to an inquest. In fact, the number of inquests across Australia has been steadily declining since the early 2000s. In New South Wales there were 142 held in 2013 and only 103 in 2023. This is despite the number of investigations over that period increasing by 37%.

    The former Deputy State Coroner of NSW, Hugh Dillon, cites a lack of funding, delays due to backlog, and structural design flaws as some reasons for the decline in holding inquests into reportable deaths.

    Juries were a feature of inquests in Australia in the 19th century. They were no longer compulsory in the early 20th century, and were formally abolished in NSW in 1999.

    Coroners must hold an inquest in certain circumstances. For example:

    • where the deceased was in custody or care immediately before death

    • where the identity of the deceased is unknown

    • or where there is suspicion that the death was due to homicide (though in this situation an inquest will most likely be superseded by a criminal trial).

    Coroners are prohibited from making findings of guilt or liability. The purpose of the investigation is to issue findings of facts about unnatural deaths, not to determine questions of law.

    Researcher Rebecca Scott Bray points out that coronial proceedings have the potential to be positive experiences, especially for grieving families.

    But these processes can fail to live up to that potential, particularly with respect to inquests into deaths in custody.

    Why does all this matter?

    There is little understanding of the purpose of the Coroners Court in Australian society. More research is required to ascertain why this is the case, but even law graduates have a low level of literacy about the powers and limitations of coroners. They are seldom taught about the coroner in law school.

    This results in misunderstandings that coroners can find someone guilty of causing a death, or that coronial recommendations for preventing similar deaths in the future must be implemented.

    It isn’t mandatory, for instance, for the NT government to implement any of Coroner Armitage’s 32 recommendations for preventing deaths in custody in the future.

    Coronial investigations matter for families and friends of the bereaved: discovering the “truth” of how a person died, memorialising their life, and hoping their death prevents similar deaths from occurring in future.

    It also matters for Australian society: improving health and safety for all, healing a community amid tragedy, and giving voice to the dead.

    Marc Trabsky’s research for this article received funding from an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE220100064).

    – ref. How do coronial inquests work? Here’s what they can and can’t do – https://theconversation.com/how-do-coronial-inquests-work-heres-what-they-can-and-cant-do-260692

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Grigorenko: Roskomnadzor blocked over 44 thousand fraudulent sites last year

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Dmitry Grigorenko at a working meeting at Roskomnadzor

    July 8, 2025

    Working meeting at Roskomnadzor

    July 8, 2025

    Dmitry Grigorenko at a working meeting at Roskomnadzor

    July 8, 2025

    Dmitry Grigorenko and Minister of Communications and Mass Media Maxim Shadayev at a working meeting at Roskomnadzor

    July 8, 2025

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Grigorenko at a working meeting at Roskomnadzor

    Roskomnadzor is actively involved in the Government’s systematic work to protect citizens from fraudsters. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister – Head of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during a working meeting at Roskomnadzor.

    The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the department has a number of information systems that can identify and block fraudulent websites and calls. In 2024 alone, more than 44,000 fraudulent resources used to steal personal data and financial resources were blocked. Roskomnadzor’s system processes over 455 million calls daily, of which about 1.2 million are calls with a spoofed number. Fraudsters use such numbers to deceive users.

    The agency is also taking part in the discussion of the second package of measures to combat fraud. Among the measures is the creation and implementation of a service based on artificial intelligence that will identify suspicious calls and warn citizens about telephone scammers.

    Dmitry Grigorenko recalled that at the beginning of this year, a government package of measures was adopted, including 30 initiatives to protect citizens from cybercriminals. It has already entered into force. In particular, a ban was introduced on the use of instant messengers for employees of government agencies, banks and telecom operators when interacting with clients. In addition, messages with access codes to government services are now blocked if the subscriber is talking on the phone when sending such a message.

    A law on criminal liability for droppers – individuals who provide their bank cards or e-wallets for the transfer of illegal funds – has also come into force. Criminal liability will only apply to those who knowingly received a reward for transferring details to criminals. The fact of payment is the key evidence of intent. Those who transferred the data for free (for example, out of ignorance or under pressure) will not be punished.

    “The government is systematically working to improve the level of security for citizens in the digital environment, and Roskomnadzor plays a significant role in it. The agency promptly identifies and blocks fraudsters’ schemes. Last year alone, more than 44,000 fraudulent websites were blocked, and Roskomnadzor stops over a million suspicious calls every day. Now, together with Roskomnadzor and other interested agencies, we are working on additional measures to combat fraudsters on the Internet,” said Dmitry Grigorenko.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: The Ministry of Economic Development has updated measures to support the socio-economic development of Siberia

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Svyatoslav Sorokin took part in a meeting on the socio-economic development of the Siberian Federal District, which was held on July 8 in Omsk under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev. The event was attended by the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Siberian Federal District Anatoly Seryshev, heads of regions, representatives of federal ministries and key industry companies.

    “Our main goal is to create opportunities to accelerate the pace of economic growth in Siberian regions, and, of course, to improve the quality of life of people. First of all, we control the implementation of the government’s Strategy for the Development of the Federal District until 2035. About two trillion rubles have already been attracted to its activities, and more than 42 thousand jobs have been created,” said Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev during the meeting.

    Svyatoslav Sorokin presented a report on amendments to the plan for implementing the Strategy for Socioeconomic Development of the Siberian Federal District. On behalf of the Government, the revised document was submitted on June 27. The updated plan includes individual development programs for the subjects, as well as new investment and infrastructure projects.

    The proposed measures will increase the volume of investment in the district’s economy to 18 trillion rubles, as well as create over 195 thousand jobs. The plan is synchronized with the updated national projects and will be further specified within the framework of the implementation of the Strategy for Spatial Development of the Russian Federation until 2030. Special attention is paid to the development of key settlements: a list of 294 key settlements in the regions of Siberia has been approved.

    During the meeting, an assessment was also given of the implementation of the so-called curatorship projects – these are priority regional initiatives, for the implementation of which the leadership of the Ministry of Economic Development is personally responsible. According to Svyatoslav Sorokin, these projects play a key role in the development of infrastructure, industry, tourism and other sectors. Thanks to these initiatives, over 21 thousand jobs have been created in the district and about 1.4 trillion rubles of extra-budgetary investments have been attracted.

    The report paid special attention to the work on forming a list of priority investment projects in Siberia. On the instructions of the Government, the Ministry of Economic Development, together with other departments, selected 103 projects that have the greatest socio-economic effect on the development of the district’s subjects. The priority list included initiatives with an investment volume of over 3 billion rubles, as well as curatorship projects, industry clusters and initiatives in the field of rare earth metals, agreed upon with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

    Particular attention was paid to the implementation of the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) in the Siberian Federal District. As Svyatoslav Sorokin emphasized, Siberia is in the focus of the federal agenda: by 2030, the target indicators are defined as stabilization of the population at a level no lower than 2023, an increase in the district’s share in housing commissioning to 15.4%, as well as an increase in the ratio of gross regional product per capita to 83.6% of the Russian average.

    To achieve these indicators, the key priority of the SPR is the development of support settlements (SSC). The list approved by the Government Commission for Regional Development included 294 settlements in the territory of the Siberian Federal District.

    “Development of key settlements is a key point of concentration of efforts in Siberia. We see that it is in these territories that the potential for economic growth, improvement of quality of life and increase of investment attractiveness is concentrated. It is important that all support measures are built with an orientation towards spatial logic of development – so that investments work for the comprehensive development of territories, and not pointwise, without taking into account connections and prospects,” emphasized Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Svyatoslav Sorokin.

    Also, within the framework of the implementation of the Spatial Development Strategy and in pursuance of the message of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Economic Development, together with the regions, is forming a list of cities for the development of master plans. This process is being carried out in the development of decisions of the strategic session of the Government and should be completed by January 2026.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Alexey Overchuk took part in the meeting of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    A wide range of issues aimed at improving the business climate in the EAEU and improving the legal framework of the union were considered.

    Alexey Overchuk took part in the meeting of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission

    Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk took part in a meeting of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission. In a videoconference format, the meeting participants considered a wide range of issues aimed at improving the business climate in the EAEU and improving the legal framework of the union.

    The parties approved a program for the development of exchange trading on the common exchange (organized) market of goods within the Eurasian Economic Union.

    Changes have been made to the Rules for Registration and Expertise of Safety, Quality and Efficiency of Medical Products. The changes provide for clarification of the registration procedure when it is necessary to include a new type of medical product in the nomenclature of medical products of the Union, as well as adjustment of the list of documents required for registration of medical products.

    The meeting also introduced amendments to the Union’s Unified Quarantine Phytosanitary Requirements aimed at protecting apple and pear seedlings and cuttings from pathogens causing harmful plant diseases.

    The commission’s reports on the progress of the formation of common oil and oil product markets and a common gas market of the EAEU by the end of 2024 were approved. The report on the implementation of the instruction of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on the climate agenda within the EAEU was considered.

    The annual report of the commission on the transfer and distribution of import customs duties between the budgets of the EAEU member states in 2024 was reviewed. According to the results of 2024, there was an increase in the receipt of import customs duties in the budgets of the member states; compared to 2023, the revenues of the budgets of the member states from import customs duties increased from 14.8 billion to 15.2 billion dollars.

    The meeting participants also approved the draft agendas for two meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council scheduled to be held in August 2025 in the Kyrgyz Republic and in September in the Republic of Belarus.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Russia: State Duma deputies supported the bill “on platforms”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The State Duma considered draft federal laws on regulating the platform economy and changes to industry laws in connection with the introduction of new requirements. Deputies discussed the balance of interests of participants in legal relations, the nuances of regulation, and liability for violating the provisions of the future law. Parliamentarians supported the adoption of the bills in the first reading.

    The key discussion took place in the Economic Policy Committee chaired by Maxim Topilin. The main provisions of the draft law were presented by the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Reshetnikov. According to him, the platform economy is developing rapidly: in the last 4 years alone, online sales have grown 4 times, and 80% of Internet users regularly place orders through platforms. On the one hand, this opens up new opportunities for business, especially for SMEs. On the other hand, large platforms have become de facto regulators of access to the market, not being responsible for the quality of goods and services, and the relations between platforms and the self-employed and individual entrepreneurs remain unregulated.

    “All this determined the emergence of a strong public demand for the creation of clear rules for the operation of platforms. And in order to respond to it, on behalf of the Government, draft laws were developed. The proposed regulation and clear set of rules are aimed at protecting the interests of all market participants and ensuring its further growth. This is especially important for accelerating, on behalf of the President, structural changes in the economy,” emphasized Maxim Reshetnikov.

    The new regulation introduces uniform standards for platforms: verification of sellers, control over the quality of goods, transparency of contracts and protection of the rights of entrepreneurs. For example, platforms will not be able to impose discounts without the consent of the seller, and disputes can be resolved not only in court, but also through the pre-trial appeal mechanism.

    The regulation will come into effect in 2027, so that businesses and platforms have time to adapt. The intermediary digital platforms themselves will be included in a separate register, which will ensure flexibility of regulation for all players, noted Maxim Reshetnikov. The criteria for their selection will be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation. Among the main ones discussed are the volume of transactions, the number of active users and sellers.

    “Today we considered issues related to ensuring, first of all, additional requirements for platforms and obligations that will be established for platforms. This includes the formation of product cards, interaction with labeling, certification, and licensing systems. On the one hand, this will protect consumer rights and, on the other hand, will certainly create a unified legal regulation. It is very important, and everyone noted this, that laws allow a very large number of small entrepreneurs who previously could not break into retail chains to very quickly find their niche thanks to platform technologies. This is an additional incentive to support, including small businesses, the development of jobs and the formation of a small economy in different regions,” Maxim Topilin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, commented on the meeting.

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

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