Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Mikhail Mishustin congratulated the Honored Artist of Russia, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts on his 70th birthday.
The telegram states, in particular:
“For many years you have been implementing large-scale projects, preserving monuments of national and world culture, developing the famous Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, recreating Orthodox shrines and churches.
Today, thanks to your professionalism, scientific research, and painstaking work, hundreds of thousands of people are discovering the true beauty of ancient Russian architecture, admiring the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the Archangel and Assumption Cathedrals, the Faceted Chamber, and the majestic Donskoy Stavropegic Monastery.
I wish you success, health, prosperity and all the best.”
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Since the start of the third season of the All-Russian competition “Far East – Land of Adventures”, 95 films have been submitted to the jury. This was reported by the initiator of the project, Deputy Prime Minister – Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev.
“This year we are holding the “Far East – Land of Adventures” competition for the third time. Films about travels throughout the Far East and beyond are submitted for the jury’s evaluation. Each of them is made with love for our country, tells about the beautiful places and amazing discoveries made by the author of the film, as well as about the trials that befell the traveler. The jury will have to make a difficult choice and determine which travels will be the winners in the nominations,” said Yuri Trutnev.
Most of the works were filmed about travels in the Far Eastern regions. The leaders in the number of films were Sakhalin Region and Khabarovsk Krai – 39 and 30 respectively. In addition, six films about Amur Region and Kamchatka Krai were admitted to the jury’s assessment, five participants sent video works about Primorsky Krai, three – about Zabaikalsky Krai, two films – about the Republic of Buryatia, one film each – about hiking in Yakutia and Chukotka. The Arctic is represented by two films about a trip to Krasnoyarsk Krai.
Most of the films were shot by residents of the Far Eastern regions. But there are already three participants from Sevastopol, Krasnodar Krai and Kemerovo Oblast.
The most popular nomination is “Hiking Trip”: 62 films from participants have been received so far. In second and third place are “Winter Journey” (17 videos) and “Water Journey” (14 videos). In the “Arctic Journey” nomination, there are only two videos so far.
The third season of the All-Russian competition for the best trip to the Far East “The Far East – Land of Adventure” started on May 1, 2025. To take part in it, you need to make a short film up to 8 minutes long about your trip to the Far East or the Arctic and send it to the jury for evaluation by January 15, 2026 via the website puteshestvendv.rf. The trip must be completed no earlier than May 1, 2023 and no later than January 15, 2026. The competition is held in several nominations – “Walking Trip”, “Water Trip”, “Winter Trip”, as well as in the new nomination “Arctic Trip”. The main prize for the best video is 3 million rubles.
Not only experienced travelers, but also amateurs and children accompanied by adults can take part in the competition. Among the winners of the first and second seasons were both professional films created using special equipment and videos shot on a regular phone.
The competition is held with the support of the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in the Far Eastern Federal District, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, JSC Far East and Arctic Development Corporation and the NGO Social Initiatives Development Fund.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
SANTIAGO, Chile, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — You are cordially invited to participate in Banco Santander Chile’s (NYSE: BSAC) conference call-webcast on Tuesday August 5, 2025, at 11.00 AM (ET time) where we will discuss 2Q 2025 financial results. The Bank’s Officers participating in the conference call are: Patricia Pérez, CFO, Cristian Vicuña, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of IR and Andrés Sansone, Chief Economist. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.
The Management Commentary report will be published on July 31, 2025, before the market opens. The quiet period begins on July 17.
Banco Santander Chile is one of the companies with the highest risk classifications in Latin America with an A2 rating from Moody’s, A- from Standard and Poor’s, A+ from Japan Credit Rating Agency, AA- from HR Ratings and A from KBRA. All our ratings as of the date of this report have a Stable Outlook.
As of March 31, 2025, the bank had total assets of Ch$67,059,423 million (US$70,284 million), total gross loans (including those owed by banks) at amortized cost of Ch$41,098,666 million (US$43,075 million), total deposits of Ch$30,607,715 million (US$32,080 million), and bank owners’ equity of Ch$4,400,233 million (US$4,612 million). The BIS capital ratio was 16.9%, with a core capital ratio of 10.7%. As of March 31, 2025, Santander Chile employed 8,712 people and had 237 branches throughout Chile.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Almaty, July 1 (Xinhua) — In an exclusive article for DKnews.kz, Chinese Consul General in Almaty Jiang Wei shared her views on the historic 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, where the leaders of the six countries opened a new page in centuries-old cooperation. She stressed that Kazakhstan continues to play a key role in deepening Central Asia’s strategic partnership with China.
As the Consul General noted, an unprecedented level of political mutual trust has been achieved between the parties. According to her, after establishing diplomatic relations, China and the Central Asian countries have built a comprehensive strategic partnership, secured it with numerous documents within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative, and are promoting the concept of a community with a common destiny both at the bilateral and regional levels.
The Astana Declaration became a symbol of political unity, the diplomat said, adding that in it the parties confirmed their readiness to support each other on key issues, and the declaration itself became a powerful expression of political consensus and a signal of stability in conditions of global uncertainty.
Jiang Wei also stressed that China and Central Asian countries have achieved impressive results in practical cooperation. “The summit announced that 2025-2026 will be the Years of High-Quality Development of China-Central Asia Cooperation, focusing on six priority areas, such as unimpeded trade, industrial investment, connectivity, green resource management, agricultural modernization, and facilitating people-to-people exchanges,” the consul general noted.
Speaking about the Action Plan for the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road signed by the heads of six states, she noted that this is the first time that China has signed such a document with all the countries in the border region at once.
“The summit also decided to establish a poverty alleviation center, an educational exchange and cooperation center, a desertification control center, and a platform to create favorable conditions for trade within the China-Central Asia format. These initiatives are aimed at improving the well-being of the Central Asian population, training highly qualified specialists, managing water and natural resources, and promoting high-quality economic development. All this clearly demonstrates the deep meaning of the slogan “promoting joint modernization through high-quality development,” Jiang Wei emphasized.
The Consul General said that the summit demonstrated a new level of good-neighborliness and friendship. Speaking about the Treaty on Eternal Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation signed by the six parties, a document that legally enshrines the principle of eternal friendship between peoples, she said: “This agreement has become a new milestone in the history of Chinese-Central Asian relations, opening the way for cooperation for decades to come.”
“More than 100 agreements on sister cities were signed, which forms a solid humanitarian basis for people’s diplomacy. These “bridges of friendship” contribute to the expansion of cultural and humanitarian interaction. The parties also agreed to intensify cooperation in such areas as parliamentary and inter-party ties, contacts between women and youth, the work of the media, analytical centers and public organizations,” the consul general added. “All this will become a new impetus for the dialogue of civilizations and a continuation of the thousand-year tradition of friendship between peoples,” she emphasized.
In addition, as the diplomat reported, following the summit, more than 60 bilateral agreements were signed, covering such areas as trade, investment, science and technology, customs regulation, tourism, and the media. These agreements, in her opinion, will give a powerful impetus to further deepening ties between the parties in the “golden period.” –0–
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On July 1, 2025, a joint meeting of the commissions of the State Council of the Russian Federation in the areas of “Personnel”, “Youth and Children”, “Family” was held at the site of the State University of Management to consider the draft Strategy for the Development of Education in the Russian Federation until 2036.
The moderator of the meeting, Russian journalist and TV presenter Ernest Matskyavichyus, introduced the main participants in the discussion and reported that more than 1,000 experts worked on the text of the Education Development Strategy, many of whom are present at the meeting.
The Chairman of the Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation on “Personnel”, Governor of the Kaluga Region, and graduate of the State University of Management Vladislav Shapsha noted in his welcoming speech that the education system should be flexible and adaptive, integrated into the real sector of the economy and continuous.
“Today, a situation has arisen where one specialty is no longer enough for an educated person; at least two are needed to always be prepared for the changing situation on the labor market. Qualified specialists of a new type must think innovatively and be able to solve problems in the context of rapid digital transformation and global competition. The key tasks now are: synchronizing education with the labor market, overcoming imbalances in personnel training and forming a system of advanced training, since in the future the situation will change even faster, and artificial intelligence can sharply reduce employment in many areas of labor activity,” warned Vladislav Shapsha.
The Chairman of the State Council of Russia Commission on “Youth and Children”, Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Dmitry Artyukhov expressed pleasure at the representative meeting on such a comprehensive topic.
“Education is a vital area that concerns absolutely everyone: teachers, parents, and millions of children and young people across the country. We have done serious work on the Education Development Strategy on the instructions of the President. Now it is time to move on to action – to focus on implementing our plans. Together, we are laying the foundation for the future of Russian education. This is a vital state task, because it is education that solves key problems for the country: it provides knowledge and skills, trains personnel for the economy, and most importantly, brings up a new generation of Russians,” said Dmitry Artyukhov.
The Chairman of the State Council of Russia’s Commission on the “Family” Direction, Head of the Republic of Mordovia Artem Zdunov drew the attention of those gathered to the fact that the document under discussion will determine the development vectors not only of education itself, but also through it of the entire country as a whole.
“I will note two key priorities of the Strategy. The first is the further implementation of high-quality education regardless of the place of residence and social status of the family. Much has already been done for this: new schools and kindergartens have been built, major repairs have been carried out, and institutions have been equipped with modern equipment. The second priority is that the education system should be built on the basis of traditional Russian values, including a strong family. Efforts in this direction should be systemic and continuous, starting from kindergarten to university. The cult of large families should be spread everywhere, similar to how this year we widely celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – information should be broadcast from TV screens, from the Internet, from billboards on city streets and in educational institutions,” said Artem Zdunov.
Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Irina Shvartsman said that a public opinion poll was conducted to prepare the draft Strategy for the Development of Education, which affected 338 thousand people. The structure of the Strategy was developed by 15 working groups, including representatives of all departments, the Presidential Administration, the Russian Academy of Education and other experts.
“The strategy does not hide the problems, it is designed to identify and eliminate them. These are the problems of a shortage of personnel and wages, dilapidated buildings, bureaucratic burden on teachers, and the ideological gap between teachers and students. One of the main values in the education system should be a person. The rights of children and teachers should be equally protected. And to achieve humanitarian and scientific-technical leadership of Russia in the world, it is necessary not only to train qualified specialists, but also to work systematically in the direction of patriotic education,” said Irina Shvartsman.
Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Dmitry Afanasyev noted that for the first time in Russia a single document on issues of education development is appearing.
“In response to current challenges, the Ministry of Education and Science proposes to create a new list of specialties that meet the country’s strategic objectives, reboot and update state programs such as “Priority 2030” and “Advanced Engineering Schools”, and continue to build new university campuses. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the influence of domestic education abroad, develop online forms of education, and promote the Russian language as the language of international communication. In this area, the Strategy still requires revision,” Dmitry Afanasyev said.
Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev noted the significant number of GUU graduates at a meeting of the State Council commissions and spoke about the work of the university.
“The need to change the education system is obvious, but its conservatism can also have its advantages. Until the 1990s, GUU was not a management university, but an engineering and economics university. And we managed to preserve elements of the previous system. Starting in 2022, we are actively reviving the system of training industry managers who understand and know the production base well. For this purpose, GUU is implementing a system of seamless project-based learning. The structure of the university includes the Pre-University – a budget school where, in addition to studying general subjects, students begin to get used to practice-oriented learning. GUU is probably the only university in the country where project-based learning is practiced in 100% of areas of education, starting from the 1st year, which by the end of the study leads to a high level of graduate employment. In addition, we do not forget about the meanings – we are a leading university in the field of educational work, we support student families, and we encourage employees to have children. Our task is not only to raise a competent manager, but also to educate him as a responsible citizen who works for the benefit of the state and society,” said Vladimir Stroyev.
In addition, the rector of the State University of Management introduced the meeting participants to the scientific and technical achievements of the university, in particular, to the system of work of the inter-university design bureau, and invited those interested to take a tour of the university.
The meeting was also attended by: Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Antony Shvindt, Director of the Department of Personnel Policy of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Alexey Svistunov, Deputy Governor of the Kaluga Region Tatyana Leonova, Deputy Head of the Federal Service for Supervision in Education and Science Evgeny Semchenko and many other experts.
Summing up the panel discussion, the Chairman of the State Council of the Russian Federation Commission on Personnel Vladislav Shapsha particularly highlighted the topic raised by many speakers about the key role of education within the Education Development Strategy. “You can teach a lot, but if a person does not have a moral core, then his technical skills can be harmful. The Russian person has always been spiritual. You cannot understand Russia with your mind, you cannot measure it with a common yardstick…”, Vladislav Valerievich concluded the meeting of the State Council commissions with a quote from a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev.
After the end of the panel discussion, the participants of the meeting of the State Council commissions were given a tour of the State University of Management, as promised by the rector. In addition to the experts, the moderator of the discussion, Ernest Matskyavichyus, did not miss this opportunity.
The guests were shown the new workshop of the student design bureau “Innovative Solutions”, the Engineering Project Management Center and the Media Center of the State University of Management. Antoniy Shvindt paid special attention to the scientific and technical developments of the State University of Management. Aleksey Svistunov appreciated the comfort and equipment of the premises. Ernest Matskyavichyus, naturally, was most interested in the studios, and Tatyana Leonova even proposed a project for a series of short educational videos on the topic of management science.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Headline: Jasper Sleet: North Korean remote IT workers’ evolving tactics to infiltrate organizations
Since 2024, Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed remote information technology (IT) workers deployed by North Korea leveraging AI to improve the scale and sophistication of their operations, steal data, and generate revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Among the changes noted in the North Korean remote IT worker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) include the use of AI tools to replace images in stolen employment and identity documents and enhance North Korean IT worker photos to make them appear more professional. We’ve also observed that they’ve been utilizing voice-changing software.
North Korea has deployed thousands of remote IT workers to assume jobs in software and web development as part of a revenue generation scheme for the North Korean government. These highly skilled workers are most often located in North Korea, China, and Russia, and use tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools together with witting accomplices to conceal their locations and identities.
Historically, North Korea’s fraudulent remote worker scheme has focused on targeting United States (US) companies in the technology, critical manufacturing, and transportation sectors. However, we’ve observed North Korean remote workers evolving to broaden their scope to target various industries globally that offer technology-related roles. Since 2020, the US government and cybersecurity community have identified thousands of North Korean workers infiltrating companies across various industries.
Organizations can protect themselves from this threat by implementing stricter pre-employment vetting measures and creating policies to block unapproved IT management tools. For example, when evaluating potential employees, employers and recruiters should ensure that the candidates’ social media and professional accounts are unique and verify their contact information and digital footprint. Organizations should also be particularly cautious with staffing company employees, check for consistency in resumes, and use video calls to confirm a worker’s identity.
Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracks North Korean IT remote worker activity as Jasper Sleet (formerly known as Storm-0287). We also track several other North Korean activity clusters that pursue fraudulent employment using similar techniques and tools, including Storm-1877 and Moonstone Sleet. To disrupt this activity and protect our customers, we’ve suspended 3,000 known Microsoft consumer accounts (Outlook/Hotmail) created by North Korean IT workers. We have also implemented several detections to alert our customers of this activity through Microsoft Entra ID Protection and Microsoft Defender XDR as noted at the end of this blog. As with any observed nation-state threat actor activity, Microsoft has directly notified targeted or compromised customers, providing them with important information needed to secure their environments. As we continue to observe more attempts by threat actors to leverage AI, not only do we report on them, but we also have principles in place to take action against them.
This blog provides additional information on the North Korean remote IT worker operations we published previously, including Jasper Sleet’s usual TTPs to secure employment, such as using fraudulent identities and facilitators. We also provide recent observations regarding their use of AI tools. Finally, we share detailed guidance on how to investigate, monitor, and remediate possible North Korean remote IT worker activity, as well as detections and hunting capabilities to surface this threat.
From North Korea to the world: The remote IT workforce
Since at least early 2020, Microsoft has tracked a global operation conducted by North Korea in which skilled IT workers apply for remote job opportunities to generate revenue and support state interests. These workers present themselves as foreign (non-North Korean) or domestic-based teleworkers and use a variety of fraudulent means to bypass employment verification controls.
North Korea’s fraudulent remote worker scheme has since evolved, establishing itself as a well-developed operation that has allowed North Korean remote workers to infiltrate technology-related roles across various industries. In some cases, victim organizations have even reported that remote IT workers were some of their most talented employees. Historically, this operation has focused on applying for IT, software development, and administrator positions in the technology sector. Such positions provide North Korean threat actors access to highly sensitive information to conduct information theft and extortion, among other operations.
North Korean IT workers are a multifaceted threat because not only do they generate revenue for the North Korean regime, which violates international sanctions, they also use their access to steal sensitive intellectual property, source code, or trade secrets. In some cases, these North Korean workers even extort their employer into paying them in exchange for not publicly disclosing the company’s data.
Between 2020 and 2022, the US government found that over 300 US companies in multiple industries, including several Fortune 500 companies, had unknowingly employed these workers, indicating the magnitude of this threat. The workers also attempted to gain access to information at two government agencies. Since then, the cybersecurity community has continued to detect thousands of North Korean workers. On January 3, 2025, the Justice Department released an indictment identifying two North Korean nationals and three facilitators responsible for conducting fraudulent work between 2018 and 2024. The indicted individuals generated a revenue of at least US$866,255 from only ten of the at least 64 infiltrated US companies.
North Korean threat actors are evolving across the threat landscape to incorporate more sophisticated tactics and tools to conduct malicious employment-related activity, including the use of custom and AI-enabled software.
Tactics and techniques
The tactics and techniques employed by North Korean remote IT workers involve a sophisticated ecosystem of crafting fake personas, performing remote work, and securing payments. North Korean IT workers apply for remote roles, in various sectors, at organizations across the globe.
They create, rent, or procure stolen identities that match the geo-location of their target organizations (for example, they would establish a US-based identity to apply for roles at US-based companies), create email accounts and social media profiles, and establish legitimacy through fake portfolios and profiles on developer platforms like GitHub and LinkedIn. Additionally, they leverage AI tools to enhance their operations, including image creation and voice-changing software. Facilitators play a crucial role in validating fraudulent identities and managing logistics, such as forwarding company hardware and creating accounts on freelance job websites. To evade detection, these workers use VPNs, virtual private servers (VPSs), and proxy services as well as RMM tools to connect to a device housed at a facilitator’s laptop farm located in the country of the job.
Figure 1. The North Korean IT worker ecosystem
Crafting fake personas and profiles
The North Korean remote IT worker fraud scheme begins with the procurement of identities for the workers. These identities, which can be stolen or “rented” from witting individuals, include names, national identification numbers, and dates of birth. The workers might also leverage services that generate fraudulent identities, complete with seemingly legitimate documentation, to fabricate their personas. They then create email accounts and social media pages they use to apply for jobs, often indirectly through staffing or contracting companies. They also apply for freelance opportunities through freelancer sites as an additional avenue for revenue generation. Notably, they often use the same names/profiles repeatedly rather than creating unique personas for each successful infiltration.
Additionally, the North Korean IT workers have used fake profiles on LinkedIn to communicate with recruiters and apply for jobs.
Figure 2. An example of a North Korean IT worker LinkedIn profile that has since been taken down.
The workers tailor their fake resumes and profiles to match the requirements for specific remote IT positions, thus increasing their chances of getting selected. Over time, we’ve observed these fake resumes and employee documents noticeably improving in quality, now appearing more polished and lacking grammatical errors facilitated by AI.
After creating their fake personas, the North Korean IT workers then attempt to establish legitimacy by creating digital footprints for these fake personas. They typically leverage communication, networking, and developer platforms, (for example, GitHub) to showcase their supposed portfolio of previous work samples:
Figure 3. Example profile used by a North Korean IT worker that has since been taken down.
Using AI to improve operations
Microsoft Threat intelligence has observed North Korean remote IT workers leveraging AI to improve the quantity and quality of their operations. For example, in October 2024, we found a public repository containing actual and AI-enhanced images of suspected North Korean IT workers:
Figure 4. Photos of potential North Korean IT workers
The repository also contained the resumes and email accounts used by the said workers, along with the following tools and resources they can use to secure employment and to do their work:
VPS and VPN accounts, along with specific VPS IP addresses
Playbooks on conducting identity theft and creating and bidding jobs on freelancer websites
Wallet information and suspected payments made to facilitators
LinkedIn, GitHub, Upwork, TeamViewer, Telegram, and Skype accounts
Tracking sheet of work performed, and payments received by the IT workers
Image creation
Based on our review of the repository mentioned previously, North Korean IT workers appear to conduct identity theft and then use AI tools like Faceswap to move their pictures over to the stolen employment and identity documents. The attackers also use these AI tools to take pictures of the workers and move them to more professional looking settings. The workers then use these AI-generated pictures on one or more resumes or profiles when applying for jobs.
Figure 5. Use of AI apps to modify photos used for North Korean IT workers’ resumes and profilesFigure 6. Examples of resumes for North Korean IT workers. These two resumes use different versions of the same photo.
Communications
Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed that North Korean IT workers are also experimenting with other AI technologies such as voice-changing software. While we haven’t observed threat actors using combined AI voice and video products as a tactic first hand, we do recognize that combining these technologies could allow future threat actor campaigns to trick interviewers into thinking they aren’t communicating with a North Korean IT worker. If successful, this tactic could allow the North Korean IT workers to do interviews directly and no longer rely on facilitators standing in for them on interviews or selling them account access.
Facilitators for initial access
North Korean Remote IT workers require assistance from a witting facilitator to help find jobs, pass the employment verification process, and once hired, successfully work remotely. We’ve observed Jasper Sleet advertising job opportunities for facilitator roles under the guise of partnering with a remote job candidate to help secure an IT role in a competitive market:
Figure 7. Example of a job opportunity for a facilitator role
The IT workers may have the facilitators assist in creating accounts on remote and freelance job websites. They might also ask the facilitator to perform the following tasks as their relationship builds:
Create a bank account for the North Korean IT worker, or lend their (the facilitator’s) own account to the worker
Purchase mobile phone numbers or SIM cards
During the employment verification process, the witting accomplice helps the North Korean IT workers validate the latter’s fraudulent identities using online background check service providers. The documents submitted by the workers include fake or stolen drivers’ licenses, social security cards, passports, and permanent resident identification cards. Workers train using interview scripts, which include a justification for why the employee must work remotely.
Once hired, the remote workers direct company laptops and hardware to be sent to the address of the accomplice. The accomplice then either runs a laptop farm that provides the laptops with an internet connection at the geo-location of the role or forwards the items internationally. For hardware that remain in the country of the role, the accomplice signs into the computers and installs software that enables the workers to connect remotely. Remote IT workers might also access devices remotely using IP-based KVM devices, like PiKVM or TinyPilot.
Defense evasion and persistence
To conceal their physical location as well as maintain persistence and blend into the target organization’s environment, the workers typically use VPNs (particularly Astrill VPN), VPSs, proxy services, and RMM tools. Microsoft Threat Intelligence has observed the persistent use of JumpConnect, TinyPilot, Rust Desk, TeamViewer, AnyViewer, and Anydesk. When an in-person presence or face-to-face meeting is required, for example to confirm banking information or attend a meeting, the workers have been known to pay accomplices to stand in for them. When possible, however, the workers eliminate all face-to-face contact, offering fraudulent excuses for why they are not on camera during video teleconferencing calls or speaking.
Attribution
Microsoft Threat Intelligence uses the name Jasper Sleet (formerly known as Storm-0287) to represent activity associated with North Korean’s remote IT worker program. These workers are primarily focused on revenue generation, use remote access tools, and likely fall under a particular leadership structure in North Korea. We also track several other North Korean activity clusters that pursue fraudulent employment using similar techniques and tools, including Storm-1877 and Moonstone Sleet.
How Microsoft disrupts North Korean remote IT worker operations with machine learning
Microsoft has successfully scaled analyst tradecraft to accelerate the identification and disruption of North Korean IT workers in customer environments by developing a custom machine learning solution. This has been achieved by leveraging Microsoft’s existing threat intelligence and weak signals generated by monitoring for many of the red flags listed in this blog, among others. For example, this solution uses impossible time travel risk detections, most commonly between a Western nation and China or Russia. The machine learning workflow uses these features to surface suspect accounts most likely to be North Korean IT workers for assessment by Microsoft Threat Intelligence analysts.
Once Microsoft Threat Intelligence reviews and confirms that an account is indeed associated with a North Korean IT worker, customers are then notified with a Microsoft Entra ID Protection risk detection warning of a risky sign-in based on Microsoft’s threat intelligence. Microsoft Defender XDR customers also receive the alert Sign-in activity by a suspected North Korean entity in the Microsoft Defender portal.
Defending against North Korean remote IT worker infiltration
Defending against the threats from North Korean remote IT workers involves a threefold strategy:
Ensuring a proper vetting approach is in place for freelance workers and vendors
Monitoring for anomalous user activity
Responding to suspected Jasper Sleet signals in close coordination with your insider risk team
Investigate
How can you identify a North Korean remote IT worker in the hiring process?
To protect your organization against a potential North Korean insider threat, it is important for your organization to prioritize a process for verifying employees to identify potential risks. The following can be used to assess potential employees:
Confirm the potential employee has a digital footprint and look for signs of authenticity. This includes a real phone number (not VoIP), a residential address, and social media accounts. Ensure the potential employee’s social media/professional accounts are not highly similar to the accounts of other individuals. In addition, check that the contact phone number listed on the potential employee’s account is unique and not also used by other accounts.
Scrutinize resumes and background checks for consistency of names, addresses, and dates. Consider contacting references by phone or video-teleconference rather than email only.
Exercise greater scrutiny for employees of staffing companies, since this is the easiest avenue for North Korean workers to infiltrate target companies.
Search whether a potential employee is employed at multiple companies using the same persona.
Ensure the potential employee is seen on camera during multiple video telecommunication sessions. If the potential employee reports video and/or microphone issues that prohibit participation, this should be considered a red flag.
During video verification, request individuals to physically hold driver’s licenses, passports, or identity documents up to camera.
Keep records, including recordings of video interviews, of all interactions with potential employees.
Require notarized proof of identity.
Monitor
How can your organization prevent falling victim to the North Korean remote IT worker technique?
To prevent the risks associated with North Korean insider threats, it’s vital to monitor for activity typically associated with this fraudulent scheme.
Monitor for identifiable characteristics of North Korean remote workers
Microsoft has identified the following characteristics of a North Korean remote worker. Note that not all the criteria are necessarily required, and further, a positive identification of a remote worker doesn’t guarantee that the worker is North Korean.
The employee lists a Chinese phone number on social media accounts that is used by other accounts.
The worker’s work-issued laptop authenticates from an IP address of a known North Korean IT worker laptop farm, or from foreign—most commonly Chinese or Russian—IP addresses even though the worker is supposed to have a different work location.
The worker is employed at multiple companies using the same persona. Employees of staffing companies require heightened scrutiny, given this is the easiest way for North Korean workers to infiltrate target companies.
Once a laptop is issued to the worker, RMM software is immediately downloaded onto it and used in combination with a VPN.
The worker has never been seen on camera during a video telecommunication session or is only seen a few times. The worker may also report video and/or microphone issues that prohibit participation from the start.
The worker’s online activity doesn’t align with routine co-worker hours, with limited engagement across approved communication platforms.
Monitor for activity associated with Jasper Sleet access
If RMM tools are used in your environment, enforce security settings where possible, to implement MFA:
If an unapproved installation is discovered, reset passwords for accounts used to install the RMM services. If a system-level account was used to install the software, further investigation may be warranted.
Monitor for impossible travel—for example, a supposedly US-based employee signing in from China or Russia.
Monitor for use of public VPNs such as Astrill. For example, IP addresses associated with VPNs known to be used by Jasper Sleet can be added to Sentinel watchlists. Or, Microsoft Defender for Identity can integrate with your VPN solution to provide more information about user activity, such as extra detection for abnormal VPN connections.
Monitor for signals of insider threats in your environment. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management can help identify potentially malicious or inadvertent insider risks.
Monitor for consistent user activity outside of typical working hours.
Remediate
What are the next steps if you positively identify a North Korean remote IT worker employed at your company?
Because Jasper Sleet activity follows legitimate job offers and authorized access, Microsoft recommends approaching confirmed or suspected Jasper Sleet intrusions with an insider risk approach using your organization’s insider risk response plan or incident response provider like Microsoft Incident Response. Some steps might include:
Restrict response efforts to a small, trusted insider risk working group, trained in operational security (OPSEC) to avoid tipping off subjects and potential collaborators.
Rapidly evaluate the subject’s proximity to critical assets, such as:
Leadership or sensitive teams
Direct reports or vendor staff the subject has influence over
Suppliers or vendors
People/non-people accounts, production/pre-production environments, shared accounts, security groups, third-party accounts, security groups, distribution groups, data clusters, and more
Conduct preliminary link analysis to:
Detect relationships with potential collaborators, supporters, or other potential aliases operated by the same actor
Identify shared indicators (for example, shared IP addresses, behavioral overlap)
Avoid premature action that might alert other Jasper Sleet operators
Conduct a risk-based prioritization of efforts, informed by:
Placement and access to critical assets (not necessarily where you identified them)
Stakeholder insight from potentially impacted business units
Business impact considerations of containment (which might support additional collection/analysis) or mitigation (for example, eviction)
Conduct open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection and analysis to:
Determine if the identity associated with the threat actor is associated with a real person. For example, North Korean IT workers have leveraged stolen identities of real US persons to facilitate their fraud. Conduct OSINT on all available personally identifiable information (PII) provided by the actor (name, date of birth, SSN, home of record, phone number, emergency contact, and others) and determine if these items are linked to additional North Korean actors, and/or real persons’ identities.
Gather all known external accounts operated by the alias/persona (for example, LinkedIn, GitHub, freelance working sites, bug bounty programs).
Perform analysis on account images using open-source tools such as FaceForensics++ to determine prevalence of AI-generated content. Detection opportunities within video and imagery include:
Temporal consistency issues: Rapid movements cause noticeable artifacts in video deepfakes as the tracking system struggles to maintain accurate landmark positioning.
Occlusion handling: When objects pass over the AI-generated content such as the face, deepfake systems tend to fail at properly reconstructing the partially obscured face.
Lighting adaptation: Changes in lighting conditions might reveal inconsistencies in the rendering of the face
Audio-visual synchronization: Slight delays between lip movements and speech are detectable under careful observation
Exaggerated facial expressions.
Duplicative or improperly placed appendages.
Pixelation or tearing at edges of face, eyes, ears, and glasses.
Engage counterintelligence or insider risk/threat teams to:
Understand tradecraft and likely next steps
Gain national-level threat context, if applicable
Make incremental, risk-based investigative and response decisions with the support of your insider threat working group and your insider threat stakeholder group; one providing tactical feedback and the other providing risk tolerance feedback.
Preserve evidence and document findings.
Share lessons learned and increase awareness.
Educate employees on the risks associated with insider threats and provide regular security training for employees to recognize and respond to threats, including a section on the unique threat posed by North Korean IT workers.
After an insider risk response to Jasper Sleet, it might be necessary to also conduct a thorough forensic investigation of all systems that the employee had access to for indicators of persistence, such as RMM tools or system/resource modifications.
For additional resources, refer to CISA’s Insider Threat Mitigation Guide. If you suspect your organization is being targeted by nation-state cyber activity, report it to the appropriate national authority. For US-based organizations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recommends reporting North Korean remote IT worker activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Microsoft Defender XDR detections
Microsoft Defender XDR customers can refer to the list of applicable detections below. Microsoft Defender XDR coordinates detection, prevention, investigation, and response across endpoints, identities, email, apps to provide integrated protection against attacks like the threat discussed in this blog.
Customers with provisioned access can also use Microsoft Security Copilot in Microsoft Defender to investigate and respond to incidents, hunt for threats, and protect their organization with relevant threat intelligence.
Microsoft Defender XDR
Alerts with the following titles in the security center can indicate threat activity on your network:
Sign-in activity by a suspected North Korean entity
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Alerts with the following titles in the security center can indicate Jasper Sleet RMM activity on your network. These alerts, however, can be triggered by unrelated threat activity.
Suspicious usage of remote management software
Suspicious connection to remote access software
Microsoft Defender for Identity
Alerts with the following titles in the security center can indicate atypical identity access on your network. These alerts, however, can be triggered by unrelated threat activity.
Atypical travel
Suspicious behavior: Impossible travel activity
Microsoft EntraID Protection
Microsoft Entra ID Protection risk detections inform Entra ID user risk events and can indicate associated threat activity, including unusual user activity consistent with known patterns identified by Microsoft Threat Intelligence research. Note, however, that these alerts can be also triggered by unrelated threat activity.
Microsoft Entra threat intelligence (sign-in): (RiskEventType: investigationsThreatIntelligence)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
Alerts with the following titles in the security center can indicate atypical identity access on your network. These alerts, however, can be triggered by unrelated threat activity.
Impossible travel activity
Microsoft Security Copilot
Security Copilot customers can use the standalone experience to create their own prompts or run the following pre-built promptbooks to automate incident response or investigation tasks related to this threat:
Incident investigation
Microsoft User analysis
Threat actor profile
Note that some promptbooks require access to plugins for Microsoft products such as Microsoft Defender XDR or Microsoft Sentinel.
Hunting queries
Microsoft Defender XDR
Because organizations might have legitimate and frequent uses for RMM software, we recommend using the Microsoft Defender XDR advanced hunting queries available on GitHub to locate RMM software that hasn’t been endorsed by your organization for further investigation. In some cases, these results might include benign activity from legitimate users. Regardless of use case, all newly installed RMM instances should be scrutinized and investigated.
If any queries have high fidelity for discovering unsanctioned RMM instances in your environment, and don’t detect benign activity, you can create a custom detection rule from the advanced hunting query in the Microsoft Defender portal.
Microsoft Sentinel
The alert Insider Risk Sensitive Data Access Outside Organizational Geo-locationjoins Azure Information Protection logs (InformationProtectionLogs_CL) with Microsoft Entra ID sign-in logs (SigninLogs) to provide a correlation of sensitive data access by geo-location. Results include:
User principal name
Label name
Activity
City
State
Country/Region
Time generated
The recommended configuration is to include (or exclude) sign-in geo-locations (city, state, country and/or region) for trusted organizational locations. There is an option for configuration of correlations against Microsoft Sentinel watchlists. Accessing sensitive data from a new or unauthorized geo-location warrants further review.
References
Acknowledgments
For more information on North Korean remote IT worker operations, we recommend reviewing DTEX’s in-depth analysis in the report Exposing DPRK’s Cyber Syndicate and IT Workforce.
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Thank you all for joining us today as we announce the largest coordinated health care fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice.
Today marks a decisive moment in our fight to protect American taxpayers from fraudsters and to defend the integrity of our nation’s health care system.
We are announcing charges against 324 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $14.6 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care programs.
In a takedown this large, I can’t possibly describe all of the work that went into dismantling each scheme, but there are four key points that bear emphasizing.
First, let me be clear about what these health care fraud schemes mean for every hardworking American family: These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money — they stole from you. Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers, who fund these essential programs through their hard work and sacrifice. And when criminals defraud these programs, they’re not just committing theft — they’re driving up our national deficit and threatening the long-term viability of health care for seniors, disabled Americans, and our most vulnerable citizens.
This enforcement action involves the seizure of cash, as well as luxury vehicles and properties, returning real money to American taxpayers and to our government health care programs.
Second, we are seeing a disturbing trend of transnational criminal organizations engaging in increasingly sophisticated and complex criminal schemes that defraud the American health care system.
As part of this takedown, we’ve identified and charged defendants operating from Russia, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, and other foreign countries who have infiltrated our health care system to steal American taxpayer dollars.
As one example, we dismantled a scheme involving a sophisticated operation run from Russia and Eastern Europe that strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies in the United States and submitted more than 10 billion dollars in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare. To make matters worse, these perpetrators used the stolen identities of more than one million Americans, spanning all 50 states, to submit these false claims.
But I’m pleased to report that federal agents intercepted and arrested key members of that organization at U.S. airports and at the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting off their intended escape routes.
The days of transnational criminal organizations using American health care programs as their personal piggy banks are over.
Third, this takedown resulted in criminal charges against 74 defendants, including medical professionals, who fueled America’s deadly opioid epidemic for personal profit. These are not isolated instances of poor judgment. These are calculated schemes designed to exploit Americans struggling with addiction while enriching the very people who were duty-bound to help them heal.
We charged pill mill operators who prescribed unnecessary opioids. We dismantled networks of corrupt pharmacies that existed solely to distribute drugs to addicts and dealers, feeding the addiction crisis that has devastated so many American communities.
This is not health care; it is a staggering breach of trust. And under my leadership, the Criminal Division will prosecute these criminals as aggressively as we would prosecute any drug dealer — because that’s exactly what they are.
Fourth, many of the defendants charged as part of this takedown specifically targeted some of our most vulnerable citizens: elderly Americans in nursing homes, individuals with disabilities, those battling serious illnesses, and more. For example, our prosecutors charged seven defendants, including five medical professionals, in connection with approximately $1 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare and other health care benefit programs for performing medically unnecessary skin grafts on dying patients as they were seeking to spend their final days with dignity and grace.
That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds. Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care, they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes.
Today’s takedown marks a historic day. In addition to the tireless work of our Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit, this extraordinary effort would not have been possible without the law enforcement agencies with me here today: Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
And of course, countless other partners across the federal, state, and local law enforcement community and dozens of United States Attorneys’ Offices. Thank you to all who made today possible.
Despite these historic achievements, we aren’t resting on our laurels. We’re making advancements to stay ahead of criminals and their illicit schemes.
That is why, today, I am also announcing that we are working with our partners at FBI, HHS-OIG, and other federal agencies to create a Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center to revolutionize how we detect, investigate, and prosecute health care fraud. These efforts will be led by the Criminal Division, specifically, the Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit and comprised of data specialists from the Unit’s Data Analytics Team. The Fusion Center will break down information silos, using coordinated data analysis to enable our investigative teams to quickly identify and dismantle emerging fraud schemes.
This takedown represents the largest health care fraud takedown in American history.
But it’s not the end—it’s the beginning of a new era of aggressive prosecution and data-driven prevention.
Thank you.
I will now turn it over to Acting Inspector General Juliet T. Hodgkins, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Thank you all for joining us today as we announce the largest coordinated health care fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice.
Today marks a decisive moment in our fight to protect American taxpayers from fraudsters and to defend the integrity of our nation’s health care system.
We are announcing charges against 324 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud schemes involving approximately $14.6 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health care programs.
In a takedown this large, I can’t possibly describe all of the work that went into dismantling each scheme, but there are four key points that bear emphasizing.
First, let me be clear about what these health care fraud schemes mean for every hardworking American family: These criminals didn’t just steal someone else’s money — they stole from you. Every fraudulent claim, every fake billing, every kickback scheme represents money taken directly from the pockets of American taxpayers, who fund these essential programs through their hard work and sacrifice. And when criminals defraud these programs, they’re not just committing theft — they’re driving up our national deficit and threatening the long-term viability of health care for seniors, disabled Americans, and our most vulnerable citizens.
This enforcement action involves the seizure of cash, as well as luxury vehicles and properties, returning real money to American taxpayers and to our government health care programs.
Second, we are seeing a disturbing trend of transnational criminal organizations engaging in increasingly sophisticated and complex criminal schemes that defraud the American health care system.
As part of this takedown, we’ve identified and charged defendants operating from Russia, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, and other foreign countries who have infiltrated our health care system to steal American taxpayer dollars.
As one example, we dismantled a scheme involving a sophisticated operation run from Russia and Eastern Europe that strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies in the United States and submitted more than 10 billion dollars in fraudulent health care claims to Medicare. To make matters worse, these perpetrators used the stolen identities of more than one million Americans, spanning all 50 states, to submit these false claims.
But I’m pleased to report that federal agents intercepted and arrested key members of that organization at U.S. airports and at the U.S.-Mexico border, cutting off their intended escape routes.
The days of transnational criminal organizations using American health care programs as their personal piggy banks are over.
Third, this takedown resulted in criminal charges against 74 defendants, including medical professionals, who fueled America’s deadly opioid epidemic for personal profit. These are not isolated instances of poor judgment. These are calculated schemes designed to exploit Americans struggling with addiction while enriching the very people who were duty-bound to help them heal.
We charged pill mill operators who prescribed unnecessary opioids. We dismantled networks of corrupt pharmacies that existed solely to distribute drugs to addicts and dealers, feeding the addiction crisis that has devastated so many American communities.
This is not health care; it is a staggering breach of trust. And under my leadership, the Criminal Division will prosecute these criminals as aggressively as we would prosecute any drug dealer — because that’s exactly what they are.
Fourth, many of the defendants charged as part of this takedown specifically targeted some of our most vulnerable citizens: elderly Americans in nursing homes, individuals with disabilities, those battling serious illnesses, and more. For example, our prosecutors charged seven defendants, including five medical professionals, in connection with approximately $1 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare and other health care benefit programs for performing medically unnecessary skin grafts on dying patients as they were seeking to spend their final days with dignity and grace.
That conduct is exactly as callous and disturbing as it sounds. Patients and their families trusted these providers with their lives. Instead of receiving care, they became victims of elaborate criminal schemes.
Today’s takedown marks a historic day. In addition to the tireless work of our Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit, this extraordinary effort would not have been possible without the law enforcement agencies with me here today: Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
And of course, countless other partners across the federal, state, and local law enforcement community and dozens of United States Attorneys’ Offices. Thank you to all who made today possible.
Despite these historic achievements, we aren’t resting on our laurels. We’re making advancements to stay ahead of criminals and their illicit schemes.
That is why, today, I am also announcing that we are working with our partners at FBI, HHS-OIG, and other federal agencies to create a Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center to revolutionize how we detect, investigate, and prosecute health care fraud. These efforts will be led by the Criminal Division, specifically, the Fraud Section’s Health Care Fraud Unit and comprised of data specialists from the Unit’s Data Analytics Team. The Fusion Center will break down information silos, using coordinated data analysis to enable our investigative teams to quickly identify and dismantle emerging fraud schemes.
This takedown represents the largest health care fraud takedown in American history.
But it’s not the end—it’s the beginning of a new era of aggressive prosecution and data-driven prevention.
Thank you.
I will now turn it over to Acting Inspector General Juliet T. Hodgkins, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
July 01, 2025
Austin publicly promised Warren in 2021 he would not become a lobbyist after leaving government service
“When our highest-ranking government officials and military officers treat their positions as steppingstones to personal enrichment, they corrupt the very institution they swore to defend.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking an explanation and further information on his recent decision to start a strategic advisory firm. Austin had publicly promised Senator Warren during his 2021 confirmation process that he would not become a lobbyist after his government service ended.
On June 3, 2025, Politico reported that Austin was launching Clarion Strategies, along with other former Biden defense and national security officials, to help clients “navigate geopolitical upheaval…, advancements in defense technology…, [and] global trade shifts and emerging alliances among U.S. adversaries like Russia, China, North Korea and China.” This new venture undermines his promises to Senator Warren to “ensure that the public has no reason to question my impartiality” and “[had] no intent to be a lobbyist.”
“The revolving door between the Pentagon and K Street has been spinning for years during both Democratic and Republican administrations. In your case, this move is particularly disappointing because you made a clear promise during your nomination hearing to uphold the public trust,” wrote the senators.
Austin’s pledges helped secure similar commitments from other defense nominees, including Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu, and Under Secretary of the Army Gabriel Camarillo.
Austin appears to have found a loophole by serving as an “adviser” rather than a registered lobbyist.
“[That] undermines the very purpose of the promise that you made to the American people: to close the revolving door of government officials cashing in on their public service by lobbying, advising…” wrote the lawmakers.
The senators demanded clarity on Austin’s new role by July 14, 2025, including whether he’ll register to lobby on behalf of any company; if any current or prospective clients have contracts with the Defense Department; if he’ll work on behalf of any foreign government; if he’ll recuse from any matters involving any companies he worked with as Defense Secretary; and whether any clients would benefit from his security clearance.
As leaders of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senators Warren and Scott held a hearing on the dangers of the revolving door. Both have also introduced legislation to tackle the revolving door, with Senator Warren introducing the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act and Senator Scott introducing the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust (BLAST) Act to ban members of Congress from lobbying.
Senator Warren has long sought to protect servicemembers and national security by pushing defense nominees to resolve their conflicts of interest:
In May 2025, Senator Warren pressed Mr. Michael Obadal, nominee for Under Secretary of the Army, on his refusal to divest from major defense contractors.
In April 2025, Senator Warren secured a commitment from Lieutenant General John D. Caine, President Trump’s nominee to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to work for any major defense contractors—or companies affected by his official actions—after leaving government service.
In March 2025, ahead of his confirmation vote, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Deputy Defense Secretary Nominee Stephen Feinberg, urging him to recuse himself from all matters related to Ligado Networks, which has a pending $39 billion lawsuit against the DoD.
In March 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Mr. Emil Michael, nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, with concern over his history of inappropriate behavior at work, his attacks on journalists and public accountability, and his ties to technology companies that may seek contracts with the Department of Defense.
In February 2025, ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Mr. Stephen Feinberg, nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Defense, pressing him to explain his “serious conflicts of interest” and his track record of mismanagement.
In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Mr. Michael Duffey, nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment of the Department of Defense, ahead of his confirmation hearing, with serious concerns about his record, which include violating the law, disregarding Congressional authority, and his involvement in Project 2025.
In January 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Mr. Pete Hegseth, nominee for Secretary of the Department of Defense, regarding his ethics conflicts ahead of the Senate’s consideration of his nomination. Mr. Hegseth’s household’s ownership of stock in several defense contractors and his unwillingness to commit to the same post-employment restrictions he previously advocated for were particularly troubling for a prospective Secretary of Defense.
In March 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren secured ethics commitments from Douglas Schmidt, ahead of his confirmation to be the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) for the Department of Defense.
In July 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren secured a commitment from General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., President Biden’s nominee to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not to become a defense industry lobbyist or receive compensation from a defense contractor for four years after leaving government service.
In June 2023, Senator Elizabeth Warren and representative Andy Kim reintroduced the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act, to limit the influence of contractors on the military, constrain foreign influence on retired senior military officers, and assert greater transparency over contractors and their interaction with DoD.
In July 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren secured agreements to four-year recusals from former clients’ and employers’ party matters from then-Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and then-USD(R&E) Heidi Shyu.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, July 1 /Xinhua/ — Economic power, international activity and contribution to global development – these factors have a positive effect on China’s image on the world stage, which is recognized in various countries, Nikita Stepanov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the central board of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, told Xinhua in an interview.
“China’s international image has indeed improved significantly in recent years and is worthy of recognition in various parts of the world. This is due to a combination of factors, primarily its active economic influence and the successful implementation of large-scale international projects, such as the Belt and Road Initiative. China has become an important trading partner for many countries, investing heavily in infrastructure and economic development, which has strengthened trust and respect for it on the world stage,” the expert noted.
As N. Stepanov pointed out, today China plays a key role in the formation of inclusive economic globalization, demonstrating a development model that takes into account national characteristics and needs. The Chinese experience of sustainable growth and successful adaptation of economic reforms has become, in his opinion, an important reference point for many countries, especially for the states of the Global South and developing regions. “China has proven that it is possible to combine an open economy with active state participation, which has caused a wide response and interest in the modern world,” he believes.
According to the Russian economist, China’s Belt and Road initiative strengthens the integration of developing countries into the global economy, stimulating infrastructure and industrial development. By promoting trade, investment and technological exchange, China acts as a stabilizing factor in maintaining the global economic order. “China not only offers alternative models, but also plays a driving role in stimulating growth and reducing the gap between developed and developing countries, maintaining balance and diversity in the global economic order,” he emphasized.
N. Stepanov drew attention to the fact that China demonstrates a desire not only to develop the economy and infrastructure, but also to promote sustainable development and innovation at the global level. China is actively involved in reforming international institutions, stimulating their adaptation to modern challenges and the needs of different countries, especially developing ones. “Thus, China’s role in the global governance system is becoming increasingly significant, contributing to the formation of a more just and inclusive international order,” the expert noted.
The Xinhua interlocutor emphasized that the hegemonic and intimidating behavior of the United States, which manifests itself in the abuse of tariff measures and military interventions without the sanction of the UN Security Council, raises serious concerns, undermines the international order, leads to the escalation of trade conflicts and instability in the global economy. At the same time, according to N. Stepanov, China plays an important role in maintaining the international order and developing the global governance system. “Over the past decades, it has consistently advocated respect for international law and the sovereignty of states, which contributes to strengthening multilateralism in international relations,” the economist recalled, adding that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind reflects China’s commitment to cooperation, mutual respect and joint development, which is important in the era of global challenges.
According to the Russian expert, the concept of building a community of common destiny for humanity has had a significant impact on the development of world diplomacy and international relations. “This concept emphasizes the need for global cooperation and mutual respect to address common challenges — climate change, pandemics, economic instability and conflicts. It encourages the search for compromises and joint actions, emphasizing the interdependence of all countries regardless of their level of development,” he explained.
N. Stepanov is confident that the concept of a common destiny for humanity has strengthened multipolarity in world politics, supporting the principles of justice and equality. “China is actively promoting this idea through the Belt and Road initiative, promoting economic development and infrastructure cooperation in developing countries. Thus, the concept unites the efforts of different states on the path to sustainable and inclusive development of humanity,” he said.
In addition, cultural diplomacy, as well as the dissemination of the Chinese language and traditional culture through Confucius Institutes, play an important role in improving China’s international image, according to the expert. “This expands the positive perception of the country,” concluded N. Stepanov. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Kyiv, July 1 (Xinhua) — In the 2024-2025 marketing year (MY, July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), Ukraine exported 40.6 million tons of grain and leguminous crops, down 20.5 percent from the previous MY, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
The department noted that in the specified period, a decline was recorded for all major grain export items. Thus, corn supplies abroad decreased by 25.5 percent to 22 million tons, wheat – by 15.1 percent to 15.7 million tons, barley – by 8 percent to 2.3 million tons.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy added that, according to the results of 2024-2025 MY, flour exports from Ukraine amounted to 71.1 thousand tons, decreasing by 27.6 percent.
In 2023-2024 MY, Ukrainian farmers supplied 51.1 million tons of grain and leguminous crops to foreign markets. –0–
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Alexandra Polyanskaya (left of monitor) and her team at the project presentation
A graduate student of the architecture faculty of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Alexandra Polyanskaya, took part in the School-Conference “The Future of Cities” in Sirius and became part of the team whose project for the development of the urban environment of the federal territory “Sirius” was recognized as the winner.
The conference school was attended by senior undergraduate and specialist students, master’s and postgraduate students in architectural, urban planning, environmental, biological and IT fields, whose scientific and professional activities are related to urban planning and architecture, greening of populated areas, climate-resistant design, environmental development of territories and digitalization of urban management. The participants studied advanced approaches in the field of ecology and sustainable development, visited the largest laboratory complex in Russia at the Sirius University of Science and Technology, and got acquainted with the biodiversity of the urban landscapes of the Black Sea coast.
In addition, the participants developed their own concepts for the development of Sirius as part of teams formed by drawing lots. The teams included representatives of various universities of various specialties, including architects.
“The concept proposed by our team is based on the “Bio-Techno-Oasis”, which is a hybrid of nature, high technology and the idea of preserving cultural traditions. We see the city sections No. 1 and No. 2 of “Sirius” as part of the city, where nature and technology do not oppose, but rather reinforce each other. The architecture is inspired by biological forms, and the social structure is built on the principles of sustainable development and harmony with the environment, including through the use of green energy. We use self-healing materials based on mycelium or bacteria, vertical garden technology, innovative technology of green facades that generate electricity. Phytowalls filter the air and are used as a bioindicator of pollution. Wind turbines provide energy to part of the blocks,” explained Alexandra Polyanskaya.
According to the master’s student, digital twins help optimize resources and scheduled maintenance of equipment. Thus, the team designed not just a “smart city”, but a living organism, where “technologies adapt to people and there is no division into digital and natural – they merge in symbiosis,” Alexandra emphasized.
“Participation in the school-conference at Sirius gave me experience working on real tasks for the development of the urban environment, skills in interdisciplinary cooperation, and helped me improve my professional skills,” concluded Alexandra Polyanskaya.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, July 1 /Xinhua/ — Three people were killed and 35 others were hospitalized, including 10 in serious condition, after unmanned aerial vehicles /UAVs/ of the Armed Forces of Ukraine /AFU/ attacked an enterprise in Izhevsk, the head of Russia’s Udmurt Republic Alexander Brechalov said on Tuesday.
“I visited the victims in the hospital – at the moment, 35 people are hospitalized, 10 of them are in serious condition. Our doctors are providing assistance to everyone – including consultations with colleagues from the federal center. To our great regret, we have 3 fatalities,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian air defense forces destroyed and intercepted 60 Ukrainian UAVs over Russian regions overnight. –0–
Comprehensive reforms have fueled Seychelles’ journey out of crisis and its continued resilience in the face of shocks
Seychelles—a nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean—today enjoys a comparatively high degree of economic stability. Inflation is below 2 percent, real GDP has largely recovered from the pandemic, public debt is on course to reach the government’s target of less than 50 percent of GDP before 2030, and per capita income is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. But this stands in stark contrast to the country’s fortunes twenty years ago when it faced an economic crisis. What’s behind this turnaround?
From times of crisis
In the mid-2000s, Seychellesfaced significantmacroeconomic challenges stemming from expansionary fiscal policies and a rigid state-led economy. Large fiscal deficits were driven by high public spending on capital projects, subsidies, transfers to state enterprises and high debt service payments, while government revenues were constrained by significant tax concessions to foreign investors in the growing tourism sector. An expansionary monetary policy within a fixed exchange rate framework and extensive exchange controls led to external imbalances and depletion of foreign reserves. By 2008, gross public debt exceeded 192 percent of GDP and reserves had dwindled to just 2 weeks of import cover. The global financial crisis exacerbated these vulnerabilities, and the crisis came to a head in mid-2008 when the Seychelles authorities missed payments on the nation’s private foreign debt and Standard & Poor’s downgraded Seychelles to selective default.
Changing course
In response to this crisis, the government launched a comprehensive reform program with support from the IMF and other development partners. Key actions included abolishing all exchange restrictions and floating the rupee, consolidating public finances, reforming state enterprises, and abolishing indirect product subsidies in favor of a targeted social safety net. Paris Club creditors agreed to a debt stock reduction. These measures quickly yielded positive outcomes: inflation fell, foreign reserves were restored to over 3 months of import cover, and public debt declined to below 70 percent of GDP within five years. This turnaround rebuilt investor confidence, and the restoration of macroeconomic stability allowed policymakers room to shift from crisis management to macro-structural reforms in support of sustainable growth.
Resilience and commitment tested
The COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a sudden collapse in global tourism, was another tremendous shock. But its years of macroeconomic stability enabled Seychelles to face this new challenge from a position of strength. Confronted with an economic contraction of nearly 12 percent in 2020, the government implemented timely fiscal and monetary measures to support households and businesses, utilized emergency financing from the IMF, and moved quickly to resume tourism. As tourism rebounded in 2021 and 2022, economic growth surged to nearly 13 percent in 2022, helping to regain lost ground. Foreign exchange reserves were maintained above 3 months of import cover, and the exchange rate was allowed to move to facilitate adjustment. Key to managing the effects of the pandemic and the international commodity shock that followed were the fiscal and foreign exchange buffers built up in prior years and a commitment to macro fiscal discipline demonstrated by the government.
Staying on course
Given highly volatile global economic and financial conditions, Seychelles’ hard-won macroeconomic stability will likely be put to the test again. Environmental pressures limit scope to expand tourism, while vulnerability to external shocks argues for continued strong fiscal discipline and external buffers. To ensure continued economic growth and resilience, vital investments in infrastructure will be necessary, together with deeper development of human capital, more efficient public services, and financial sector deepening and inclusion. Concerted efforts are also needed to strengthen the social safety net and address critical social ills that hamper productivity and economic development. Some of these areas fall within the reform agenda under the current IMF-supported Extended Fund Facility and Resilience and Sustainability Facility, but others will require new policy commitments.
Seychelles’ economic record highlights the importance of sound macroeconomic management and institutional strengthening in achieving and sustaining economic prosperity. Its journey offers valuable lessons for other small economies aiming at building resilience in an increasingly uncertain global landscape.
Todd Schneideris IMF mission chief to Seychelles and an advisor in the IMF’s African Department, whereHany Abdel-Latifis an economist,Pedro Macielis a senior economist, andHenry Quachis a research analyst.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
A memorial plaque in memory of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR, director and teacher, artistic director and president of the Moscow Academic Satire Theater Alexander Anatolyevich Shirvindt will be installed on the house where he lived. The Moscow Government order on this issue was signed by Sergei Sobyanin.
The memorial plaque will be installed at the address: Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, Building 1/15, Block A. The work is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.
Alexander Anatolyevich Shirvindt (1934-2024) left a large and bright mark in the history of Russian art. He played dozens of roles in plays and films that became classics of theater and cinema. In addition, as a director, Alexander Shirvindt staged more than 20 plays on the stage of the Satire Theater.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
A decision was made on the comprehensive development of two territories: an undeveloped territory with an area of 4.74 hectares in the Teply Stan district in the southwest of the capital and five non-residential development sites with an area of 2.69 hectares in the Sokolinaya Gora district in the east of the capital.
Resolutions on these issues were signed by Sergei Sobyanin.
The reorganized territory in the Teply Stan district is located in the area of the 41st kilometer of the Moscow Ring Road, near General Tyulenev Street. The urban development potential of the site is 151.1 thousand square meters of real estate. A modern residential quarter will be built here, including housing for the purposes of the renovation program, and public and business facilities. In addition, landscaping of the territory and organization of the street and road network are planned.
The implementation of the integrated development project for the territory will create approximately 900 jobs.
The second area to be reorganized concerns 8th Sokolina Gora Street, Shcherbakovskaya Street and Mazhorov Lane. Currently, there are obsolete buildings there.
The urban development potential of the sites in the east of Moscow is 59.5 thousand square meters of real estate, which will allow the construction of a modern residential quarter (41.6 thousand square meters) for the implementation of the renovation program and public and business facilities, including multifunctional public and medical centers.
The implementation of the integrated development project for the territory will create approximately 290 jobs.
As of July 1, 2025, the Moscow Government has approved and is in the implementation stage of 117 projects for the integrated development of territories with a total area of about 1.4 thousand hectares, within the framework of which it is planned to build over 28.5 million square meters of real estate. As a result, about 340 thousand jobs will be created.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
The following is a guest post by Clare Feikert-Ahalt, a senior foreign law specialist at the Law Library of Congress covering the United Kingdom and several other jurisdictions. Clare has written numerous posts for In Custodia Legis, including Revealing the Presence of Ghosts; Weird Laws, or Urban Legends?; FALQs: Brexit Referendum; 100 Years of “Poppy Day” in the United Kingdom; and Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office Spurs Possible Law Change.
Yesterday’s post described the historic status of the Chagos Archipelago and the United Kingdom’s (UK) power over the territory. Today’s post describes the new agreement, which returns sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and allows for the continued use of the UK-US military base.
On May 22, 2025, the United Kingdom and Mauritius signed an agreement that “recognis[es] the wrongs of the past” with regards to the Chagos Archipelago. The agreement transfers sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) from the UK to Mauritius, while providing the UK with “rights and authorities [over Diego Garcia] that the United Kingdom requires for the long-term, secure and effective operation of the Base.”
The agreement, which took over two years and 13 rounds of negotiations to achieve, secures British interests in Diego Garcia, including an area of 12 nautical miles surrounding the island, for 99 years. The agreement provides the UK with the right to access, maintain, and invest in the base, along with the ability to use it for defense purposes. It places a binding obligation on both parties to ensure the secure and effective operation of the base. The UK’s secretary of state for defence notes the agreement achieves the “secured unrestricted access to, and use of, the base, as well as control over movement of all persons and all goods on the base and control of all communication and electronic systems.”
Any activities on the wider islands of the Chagos Archipelago, such as the construction of any structure, artificial island, sensor, or barrier within 24 nautical miles, must be approved through a joint decision process between the UK and Mauritius, which serves as an “effective veto” of development in the islands surrounding Diego Garcia as the UK does not want other countries, particularly those hostile to the UK, to have a presence near this facility.
The 99 years can be extended for a further 40 years if both parties agree, and it may be extended again thereafter. The estimated cost to UK for 99 years “is £101 million [annually] and the net present value of payments under the treaty is £3.4 billion” (approximately US$136 million and US$4.6 billion respectively) accounting for approximately 0.2% of the defense budget. The government has stated this is less than the cost of running an aircraft carrier, without aircraft, for a year.
The agreement provides for the resettlement of the residents of Diego Garcia, known as the Chagossians, on the islands of the Chagos Archipelago, with the exception of Diego Garcia. It also provides for the establishment of a trust fund of £40 million (approximately US$54 million) to benefit Chagossians and an annual grant of £45 million (approximately US$61 million) for 25 years to fund projects that promote economic development and welfare in Mauritius. Article 11 of the agreement states that it “constitutes the full and final settlement of all claims by Mauritius in relation to the Chagos Archipelago.”
The treaty was laid before both Houses of Parliament on May 22, 2025, and either of the Houses of Parliament may object to its ratification until July 3, 3035.
The Defense Facility on Diego Garcia
The secretary of state for defence for the UK stated “[t]he importance of Diego Garcia cannot be overstated” and a government press release announcing the agreement notes that the base is central to both the UK and US’s emergency planning and operations, with the base serving as:
“a critical logistics hub at a strategic location, with a full range of facilities that acts as a key refueling and resupply station for naval and air operations. This enables power projection and global reach, allowing for rapid and flexible deployment of our forces across the Middle East, East Africa, and South Asia.”
While most of the work on, and capabilities of, Diego Garcia are not disclosed, the secretary of state for defence and the UK prime minister have publicly acknowledged that the base supports operations, including those related to counter-terrorism, in the Middle East, East Africa, and South Asia. Public statements detail that the base houses:
an airfield enabling strike operations and the rapid deployment of the military in this area, “… creat[ing] real military advantage across the Indo-Pacific;”
a deep-water port that, among other uses, “supports missions from nuclear-powered submarines to [the UK’s] carrier strike group;”
advanced communications, which includes management of the electromagnetic spectrum satellite;
surveillance capabilities;
facilities that support the global operation of GPS, notably one monitoring station and one of four ground antennas;
Ground-Base Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) System, which “provides situational awareness of objects in Earth’s orbit, helping to track space debris that pose a risk to space systems”; and
“three pieces of critical Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty monitoring equipment”, including seismic monitoring equipment that checks for indicators of nuclear testing, helping to secure compliance with the nuclear test ban treaty.
The presence of the base in the center of the Indian Ocean also helps to safeguard an important trade route, through which “a third of the world’s bulk cargo and two-thirds of global oil shipments are transported.”
The US Navy describes the facility on Diego Garcia as “the tip of the spear” and states that it “provides logistic support to operational forces forward deployed to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf areas of responsibility in support of national policy objectives.”
The prime minister stated that the agreement is vital to the UK’s defence and intelligence, and for securing the safety and security of the British people at this time. He stated “… the base was under threat” from legal challenges by Mauritius, and the government believes there is no viable alternative to protect the base and secure the islands surrounding it.
The prime minister further noted that if the UK disregarded any future legal judgements, “international organisations and other countries would act on them. And that would undermine the operation of the base.” The UK was particularly concerned at the prospect of other countries establishing a presence in the islands surrounding Diego Garcia, or conducting training exercises nearby, which could impact the operation of the base, and that it would be unable to prevent this without an agreement.
The prime minister has described the base as “one of the most significant contributions we make to our security relationship with the United States.” The UK foreign secretary stated the US was unhappy with the uncertainty created by the situation and “strongly encouraged [the UK] to strike a deal.” It was against this background that negotiations were commenced and the treaty was made.
Reaction to the Agreement
The opposition conservative party has been critical of the agreement, stating that the government “prioritised heeding the most pessimistic legal advice” concerning the potential of legal judgments. The opposition further stated that the agreement puts the defense facility at risk due to Mauritius’ ties to Russia and China. The UK shadow secretary of state said in parliament that “[t]he Government should not be surrendering strategically vital sovereign territory, especially when we face such threats, and they certainly should not be paying billions for the privilege”, noting further that the agreement does not offer any protection to the Chagossians.
Internationally, the agreement has been backed by the UK’s “Five Eyes” partners, which include the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Japan, India, and the African Union have also welcomed the agreement. US President Donald Trump expressed his support for the agreement and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stated that while the administration is not a party to the agreement, it “remain[s] responsible for operating the U.S. Naval Support Facility on Diego Garcia, which continues to play a vital role in supporting forward-deployed operational forces and advancing security across the region.”
The US secretary of state stated:
“The Trump Administration determined that this agreement secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-UK military facility at Diego Garcia. This is a critical asset for regional and global security.”
While the agreement has been welcomed by the UK and several of its allies, the United Nations has condemned the agreement, issuing a press release stating:
“By maintaining a foreign military presence of the United Kingdom and the United States on Diego Garcia and preventing the Chagossian people from returning to Diego Garcia, the agreement appears to be at variance with the Chagossians’ right to return, which also hinders their ability to exercise their cultural rights in accessing their ancestral lands from which they were expelled.”
The UN has urged the UK to “apply a human rights-based approach in addressing historical injustices against the Chagossian people.”
Additional Law Library of Congress Resources on the Laws of Mauritius and the UK
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Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kassem Fawaz, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Many apps and social media platforms collect detailed information about you as you use them, and sometimes even when you’re not using them.Malte Mueller/fStop via Getty images
You wake up in the morning and, first thing, you open your weather app. You close that pesky ad that opens first and check the forecast. You like your weather app, which shows hourly weather forecasts for your location. And the app is free!
But do you know why it’s free? Look at the app’s privacy settings. You help keep it free by allowing it to collect your information, including:
What devices you use and their IP and Media Access Control addresses.
Information you provide when signing up, such as your name, email address and home address.
App settings, such as whether you choose Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Your interactions with the app, including what content you view and what ads you click.
Inferences based on your interactions with the app.
Your location at a given time, including, depending on your settings, continuous tracking.
What websites or apps that you interact with after you use the weather app.
Information you give to ad vendors.
Information gleaned by analytics vendors that analyze and optimize the app.
This type of data collection is standard fare. The app company can use this to customize ads and content. The more customized and personalized an ad is, the more money it generates for the app owner. The owner might also sell your data to other companies.
Many apps, including the weather channel app, send you targeted advertising and sell your personal data by default. Jack West, CC BY-ND
You might also check a social media account like Instagram. The subtle price that you pay is, again, your data. Many “free” mobile apps gather information about you as you interact with them.
As an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and a doctoral student in computer science, we follow the ways software collects information about people. Your data allows companies to learn about your habits and exploit them.
It’s no secret that social media and mobile applications collect information about you. Meta’s business model depends on it. The company, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is worth US$1.48 trillion. Just under 98% of its profits come from advertising, which leverages user data from more than 7 billion monthly users.
Before mobile phones gained apps and social media became ubiquitous, companies conducted large-scale demographic surveys to assess how well a product performed and to get information about the best places to sell it. They used the information to create coarsely targeted ads that they placed on billboards, print ads and TV spots.
Mobile apps and social media platforms now let companies gather much more fine-grained information about people at a lower cost. Through apps and social media, people willingly trade personal information for convenience. In 2007 – a year after the introduction of targeted ads – Facebook made over $153 million, triple the previous year’s revenue. In the past 17 years, that number has increased by more than 1,000 times.
Five ways to leave your data
App and social media companies collect your data in many ways. Meta is a representative case. The company’s privacy policy highlights five ways it gathers your data:
First, it collects the profile information you fill in. Second, it collects the actions you take on its social media platforms. Third, it collects the people you follow and friend. Fourth, it keeps track of each phone, tablet and computer you use to access its platforms. And fifth, it collects information about how you interact with apps that corporate partners connect to its platforms. Many apps and social media platforms follow similar privacy practices.
Your data and activity
When you create an account on an app or social media platform, you provide the company that owns it with information like your age, birth date, identified sex, location and workplace. In the early years of Facebook, selling profile information to advertisers was that company’s main source of revenue. This information is valuable because it allows advertisers to target specific demographics like age, identified gender and location.
And once you start using an app or social media platform, the company behind it can collect data about how you use the app or social media. Social media keeps you engaged as you interact with other people’s posts by liking, commenting or sharing them. Meanwhile, the social media company gains information about what content you view and how you communicate with other people.
Advertisers can find out how much time you spent reading a Facebook post or that you spent a few more seconds on a particular TikTok video. This activity information tells advertisers about your interests. Modern algorithms can quickly pick up subtleties and automatically change the content to engage you in a sponsored post, a targeted advertisement or general content.
Your devices and applications
Companies can also note what devices, including mobile phones, tablets and computers, you use to access their apps and social media platforms. This shows advertisers your brand loyalty, how old your devices are and how much they’re worth.
Because mobile devices travel with you, they have access to information about where you’re going, what you’re doing and who you’re near. In a lawsuit against Kochava Inc., the Federal Trade Commission called out the company for selling customer geolocation data in August 2022, shortly after Roe v Wade was overruled. The company’s customers, including people who had abortions after the ruling was overturned, often didn’t know that data tracking their movements was being collected, according to the commission. The FTC alleged that the data could be used to identify households.
Information that apps can gain from your mobile devices includes anything you have given an app permission to have, such as your location, who you have in your contact list or photos in your gallery.
If you give an app permission to see where you are while the app is running, for instance, the platform can access your location anytime the app is running. Providing access to contacts may provide an app with the phone numbers, names and emails of all the people that you know.
Cross-application data collection
Companies can also gain information about what you do across different apps by acquiring information collected by other apps and platforms.
The settings on an Android phone show that Meta uses information it collects about you to target ads it shows you in its apps – and also in other apps and on other platforms – by default. Jack West, CC BY-ND
This is common with social media companies. This allows companies to, for example, show you ads based on what you like or recently looked at on other apps. If you’ve searched for something on Amazon and then noticed an ad for it on Instagram, it’s probably because Amazon shared that information with Instagram.
Companies, including Google, Meta, X, TikTok and Snapchat, can build detailed user profiles based on collected information from all the apps and social media platforms you use. They use the profiles to show you ads and posts that match your interests to keep you engaged. They also sell the profile information to advertisers.
Meanwhile, researchers have found that Meta and Yandex, a Russian search engine, have overcome controls in mobile operating system software that ordinarily keep people’s web-browsing data anonymous. Each company puts code on its webpages that used local IPs to pass a person’s browsing history, which is supposed to remain private, to mobile apps installed on that person’s phone, de-anonymizing the data. Yandex has been conducting this tracking since 2017, while Meta began in September 2024, according to the researchers.
What you can do about it
If you use apps that collect your data in some way, including those that give you directions, track your workouts or help you contact someone, or if you use social media platforms, your privacy is at risk.
Aside from entirely abandoning modern technology, there are several steps you can take to limit access – at least in part – to your private information.
Read the privacy policy of each app or social media platform you use. Although privacy policy documents can be long, tedious and sometimes hard to read, they explain how social media platforms collect, process, store and share your data.
Check a policy by making sure it can answer three questions: what data does the app collect, how does it collect the data, and what is the data used for. If you can’t answer all three questions by reading the policy, or if any of the answers don’t sit well with you, consider skipping the app until there’s a change in its data practices.
Remove unnecessary permissions from mobile apps to limit the amount of information that applications can gather from you.
Be aware of the privacy settings that might be offered by the apps or social media platforms you use, including any setting that allows your personal data to affect your experience or shares information about you with other users or applications.
These privacy settings can give you some control. We recommend that you disable “off-app activity” and “personalization” settings. “Off-app activity” allows an app to record which other apps are installed on your phone and what you do on them. Personalization settings allow an app to use your data to tailor what it shows you, including advertisements.
Review and update these settings regularly because permissions sometimes change when apps or your phone update. App updates may also add new features that can collect your data. Phone updates may also give apps new ways to collect your data or add new ways to preserve your privacy.
Use private browser windows or reputable virtual private networks software, commonly referred to as VPNs, when using apps that connect to the internet and social media platforms. Private browsers don’t store any account information, which limits the information that can be collected. VPNs change the IP address of your machine so that apps and platforms can’t discover your location.
Finally, ask yourself whether you really need every app that’s on your phone. And when using social media, consider how much information you want to reveal about yourself in liking and commenting on posts, sharing updates about your life, revealing locations you visited and following celebrities you like.
This article is part of a series on data privacy that explores who collects your data, what and how they collect, who sells and buys your data, what they all do with it, and what you can do about it.
Kassem Fawaz receives funding from the National Science Foundation. In the past, his research group has received unrestricted gifts from Meta and Google.
Jack West does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
QINGDAO, July 1 (Xinhua) — An exhibition of sculptures by Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries titled “Light of Unity in Harmony” opened in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, on Thursday.
The exhibition, which will run until July 6, features 48 sculptures created by artists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Iran and other countries. At the same time, the exhibition also features sculptures by Chinese artists dedicated to cultural figures from India, Tajikistan and other countries.
A Xinhua reporter saw numerous city residents and tourists visiting the exhibition pavilion, who came here and admired the sculptures. Some stopped for a long time in front of the sculptures, contemplating and thinking intently, while others took pictures together in front of their favorite works.
The opening of the SCO Sculpture Exhibition, which is the first event of the SCO Summer 2025 program, marks the beginning of the SCO Summer 2025 series of events. During this period, Qingdao will host more than one hundred events in such areas as culture and art, tourism promotion, exhibitions and festivals, education and study, sports and recreation.
In early July 2024, China assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-2025. It was previously announced that the organization’s next summit would be held this fall in the Chinese city of Tianjin. -0-
Over three years of Russia’s war in Ukraine have taken a staggering social, humanitarian, and economic toll. Despite efforts for a ceasefire, the evolution of the war remains subject to exceptionally high uncertainty. Nevertheless, the authorities’ commitment to reforms and fulfillment of all necessary Fund policies support completion of the review. First, despite some structural reform delays, the authorities have met all quantitative conditionality for this review and remain committed to the overall program objectives of restoring sustainability. Second, the program remains fully financed. Looking ahead, despite the authorities’ program implementation and the large-scale external support, the program has limited space to absorb any further shocks, including from a more prolonged and intense war, while achieving the restoration of external viability by the end of the program.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — A freight train carrying goods from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area departed from Zengcheng Railway Station in Guangzhou City, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, on Thursday, and will cross the border at Horgos Port in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Kazakhstan. The goods on board mainly include dishwashers, refrigerators and clothing, worth about 15.3 million yuan, the Guangzhou Daily reported, citing local customs information.
In recent years, the pace of urbanization in Central Asian countries has accelerated, and local consumers’ demand for various goods has increased significantly. A wide range of goods produced in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, including household appliances, clothing and footwear, are popular in the Central Asian market.
“The trains to Central Asian countries mainly carry consumer goods produced in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The return trains carry agricultural and food products from Central Asia,” said Li Siqiang, an official with the International Freight Train Management Company of Guangzhou Transport Investment Corporation.
“China-Central Asia train services are highly efficient, low-cost and flexible. The transportation time is about 10-15 days, more than twice as fast as sea transportation. It is suitable for transporting goods such as electronic products and auto parts,” said Xiao Shuailun, a manager at a local supply chain company.
Since May 2021, when China-Central Asia freight train services from Guangzhou were first launched, there have been 126 departures of such trains, carrying goods worth more than RMB 1.6 billion. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — The Central Folk Instrument Orchestra of China recently gave a gala concert “Ode to Peace” in Beijing under the direction of conductor Vyacheslav Valeev.
The Russian conductor was specially invited to the musical event, which took place on the stage of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) of China. The orchestra’s programs also featured pianist Elena Endeberya.
The concert, dedicated to the theme “Peace,” featured four Chinese and Russian classical works, namely the Fantasy-Symphony for Folk Orchestra in F major, Fantasy on Themes by Ryabinin for Piano and Orchestra, as well as “Ode to the Yellow River” and “Ode to Peace” from the second part of the Chinese folk orchestral music work “The Yellow River.” -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — The roar of container ships in the port of Lianyungang (Jiasu Province, east China) and the hoot of China-Europe freight trains sound in unison. “Steel caravans” loaded with photovoltaic panels and precision instruments set off from the banks of the Yangtze River to the deserts of Central Asia. And on the shelves of Jiangsu stores, dried fruits from Central Asia look tempting, spreading a subtle aroma; cotton yarn from Central Asia dances briskly between the machines of textile factories, adding a special flavor to the “Made in Jiangsu” brand… According to the latest data from Nanjing Customs, in the first five months of 2025, Jiangsu Province’s export volume to five Central Asian countries amounted to 8.9 billion yuan, up 21.4 percent year on year.
As part of the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road, Jiangsu and Central Asia are entering a “golden period” of cooperation together, local newspaper Xinhua Daily reported.
Engineering projects are like a “steel frame”, trade flows are like “digital channels”, and high-level mutual visits and the implementation of policies and initiatives are “bridge pillars”, which are all involved in building the “Golden Bridge of the Silk Road” between Jiangsu and Central Asia. Despite the thousands of mountains and rivers separating them, thanks to the close industrial ties, Jiangsu and the Central Asian region have achieved deep integration. With unprecedented depth and breadth, the two sides continue to strengthen the foundation of mutually beneficial cooperation.
Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia and a key hub on the ancient Silk Road, has been accelerating its industrialization in recent years and has been actively working with Jiangsu to develop practical cooperation.
From the construction of a new district in Samarkand to the processing plant of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Plant… The equipment of the Chinese engineering giant – Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (XCMG) – has become the “standard equipment” for infrastructure construction for industrialization in Central Asia. “In Uzbekistan, XCMG equipment is present at almost all large construction sites,” said Sun Si, the responsible project manager of XCMG Corporation. Over the past three years, XCMG equipment exports to Uzbekistan have exceeded 2 billion yuan, and the current stock of such equipment in the country exceeds 8,000 units. Close partnerships have been formed with many local large construction companies, equipment rental companies and mining companies.
As the e-commerce data and platform services of SOHO Holding intersect in the Central Asian digital space, the “Golden Bridge of the Silk Road” between Jiangsu and Central Asia will build more industrial highways. In January this year, SOHO Holding opened a representative office in Kazakhstan. This trading platform, located in the hinterland of Central Asia, will help enterprises in Jiangsu Province and other parts of the country to develop the Central Asian market.
“We are creating not only a trading platform, but also a high-speed channel for industrial integration,” explained the project manager in charge. The main areas of cooperation were the creation of B2C e-commerce and car trade platforms, as well as the construction of foreign warehouses in Kazakhstan. According to the set goals, this cooperation will allow SOHO Holding to achieve a bilateral trade volume of USD 1 billion with Central Asia in 5 years.
“Good products from Jiangsu” appear one after another on the market of Central Asian countries, and high-quality products from Central Asia continuously fill the shelves of stores in Jiangsu Province. “Last year, 14,800 tons of barley and 2,700 tons of feed wheat flour from Kazakhstan arrived in China on 11 China-Europe freight trains,” said a responsible executive of SUMEC International Technology Co., Ltd., which signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the field of agricultural products for 2024 with Kazakhstan’s Fort LLP worth about 500 million yuan. The company uses the direct purchase model from the manufacturer to reduce costs. In the future, it also plans to actively build a complete supply system for agricultural products within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, using Kazakhstan’s breadbasket.
Crossing deserts and seas, linking the East and Central Asia, China-Europe freight trains, like racing “steel dragons,” carry hopes for cooperation and development opportunities. Since the launch of China-Europe freight train services, a total of more than 14,000 trains have been sent from Jiangsu to Central Asia with wagons loaded at 100 percent. Jiangsu Province has firmly held its position as the main transit corridor to Central Asia. -0-
San Francisco, USA, July 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Market Dynamics
The Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) market was valued at US$ 8,940.29 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at a robust CAGR of 12.91% from 2025 to 2032, reflecting increasing global emphasis on vehicle safety and performance. This impressive growth trajectory is fueled by a combination of regulatory mandates and consumer demand for enhanced driving safety. As underinflated tires contribute to poor fuel efficiency, tire wear, and accident risk, TPMS is becoming a crucial component in modern vehicles.
Regulatory mandates across developed economies such as the United States, European Union, Japan, and China have made TPMS installation mandatory in all new vehicles. These regulations are significantly propelling market demand, particularly for Direct TPMS (DTPMS), which offers higher accuracy compared to Indirect TPMS (ITPMS). Furthermore, with the rise in global vehicle production and sales, especially in emerging markets where automotive demand is rapidly increasing, the adoption of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) as a standard safety feature is becoming more widespread. In 2022, global motor vehicle production reached 85.4 million units, marking a 5.7% increase from 2021, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Many countries have introduced regulatory mandates requiring TPMS installation to enhance road safety by providing drivers with real-time tire pressure information, thereby reducing the risk of accidents caused by underinflated tires.
North America (U.S., and Canada) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Rest of Europe) Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Rest of APAC) Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Rest of LATAM) The Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Rest of MEA)
Key Drivers
Stringent Safety Regulations: Government regulations worldwide mandating the use of TPMS in new vehicles are a major growth driver. For instance, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires TPMS in all passenger vehicles sold post-2007. Similarly, the European Union and countries like China, South Korea, and Japan have enforced comparable safety mandates, accelerating market adoption.
Increasing Focus on Fuel Efficiency: Properly inflated tires reduce rolling resistance, which leads to better fuel efficiency. As consumers and fleet operators look to cut fuel costs, TPMS has become a vital tool. In commercial fleets, particularly, optimizing tire pressure can result in substantial savings on fuel and tire maintenance.
Growing Vehicle Production: The post-pandemic recovery of the global automotive industry and the continued expansion of electric vehicle (EV) production contribute significantly to TPMS demand. EVs, often equipped with the latest safety tech, are more likely to include TPMS as a standard feature.
Technological Advancements: The market is witnessing innovations such as battery-less TPMS, wireless sensors, and systems integrated with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). These enhancements not only improve system reliability but also reduce maintenance requirements, making TPMS more appealing to OEMs and consumers alike.
Restraints
High Initial Costs: TPMS, especially direct systems with individual sensors on each tire, can increase the overall vehicle cost. This price sensitivity is a significant deterrent in cost-conscious markets, particularly in entry-level and budget vehicle segments.
Maintenance and Repair Challenges: TPMS components are prone to damage during tire replacement or servicing. Additionally, battery-powered sensors have a limited lifespan, typically around 5-10 years, which may require costly replacements.
Lack of Consumer Awareness in Developing Markets: In regions such as parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, awareness regarding the benefits of TPMS is relatively low. This hampers adoption, despite the system’s proven advantages in safety and efficiency.
Opportunities
Aftermarket Growth: The aftermarket TPMS segment presents vast potential, especially as older vehicles are retrofitted to meet safety standards or improve performance. Rising e-commerce penetration is also making it easier for consumers to purchase and install aftermarket solutions.
Electric and Autonomous Vehicles: The rising trend of connected vehicles, EVs, and autonomous cars paves the way for more sophisticated tire pressure and health monitoring systems. Manufacturers are developing smart TPMS integrated with telematics and real-time data analytics, providing broader vehicle management capabilities.
Market segmentation :
GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPE- MARKET ANALYSIS, 2019 – 2032
Direct
Indirect
GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM MARKET, BY VEHICLE TYPE- MARKET ANALYSIS, 2019 – 2032
Passenger Vehicles
Commercial Vehicles
GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM MARKET, BY COMPONENT- MARKET ANALYSIS, 2019 – 2032
Sensors
Transmitters
Receivers
Display Units
Control Units
GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM MARKET, BY SALES CHANNEL- MARKET ANALYSIS, 2019 – 2032
OEM
Aftermarket
Regional Insights
North America
North America remains a leading market for TPMS, primarily driven by regulatory enforcement and high consumer awareness. The U.S. is the dominant player due to early legislation mandating TPMS and widespread OEM adoption. The region is also a hotspot for aftermarket sales, supported by a well-established automotive service ecosystem.
Europe
Europe follows closely, with countries like Germany, France, and the U.K. leading TPMS penetration. The region’s strong focus on vehicle safety and environmental concerns (such as CO2 emission reduction) has fostered widespread TPMS adoption. Moreover, the European Union’s General Safety Regulation (GSR) continues to enforce TPMS requirements across all new vehicle segments.
Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region, led by China, Japan, South Korea, and India, is emerging as the fastest-growing market. China’s TPMS mandate for new vehicles starting 2019 has significantly boosted local demand. Additionally, rising disposable incomes, rapid urbanization, and growing automotive manufacturing hubs in India and Southeast Asia offer enormous growth potential. However, aftermarket awareness and infrastructure still lag behind developed markets.
Latin America & Middle East Africa
These regions are in the nascent stages of TPMS adoption. While vehicle ownership is rising, the lack of strict safety norms and consumer education limits the market. Nonetheless, growing automotive imports and gradual economic development are creating long-term opportunities.
Global Regulatory Support: With safety becoming non-negotiable, TPMS has become a compliance requirement in many parts of the world. Investors can bank on this long-term regulatory support driving consistent demand.
EV Integration and Smart Mobility: As electric and smart vehicles become mainstream, integrated TPMS solutions are evolving. These systems go beyond just pressure monitoring—providing tire temperature, wear analysis, and real-time alerts through mobile apps or vehicle dashboards. The synergy with ADAS and IoT provides avenues for value-added services and recurring revenue.
High Growth Potential in Aftermarket: Millions of vehicles worldwide still operate without TPMS. This opens a vast aftermarket potential, especially in regions where regulations have recently come into effect or are under proposal. Startups and component suppliers focusing on plug-and-play solutions can capitalize on this underserved segment.
Rising OEM Collaborations and Strategic Partnerships: Tier-1 suppliers are collaborating with vehicle manufacturers to embed next-gen TPMS as part of their safety and telematics packages. This trend ensures steady B2B revenue streams and fosters innovation in customized solutions.
Advancements in Sensor Technology: The evolution of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) and sensor miniaturization is reducing costs while improving performance. This technological edge is lowering entry barriers for new players and making TPMS feasible even for low-cost vehicles.
Fleet Management Optimization: For commercial fleets, TPMS offers tangible benefits in maintenance planning, fuel efficiency, and downtime reduction. As logistics and transport companies digitize operations, TPMS becomes an integral component of their fleet health systems—driving up volume demand.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
Part of the former industrial zone Yuzhnoye Butovo, located in the South-West Administrative District of the capital, will be reorganized. This was announced by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development Policy and Construction Vladimir Efimov.
“The city has signed an agreement with the company on the redevelopment of two sections of the former industrial zone Yuzhnoye Butovo with a total area of 30.7 hectares. The contract price was 109.6 million rubles. The developer intends to transform the former depressed site into a new comfortable urban space. The emphasis will be on creating a balanced development: along with housing, social, public and business, industrial and municipal infrastructure facilities will be built there. Investments in the development of the site are estimated at more than 106 billion rubles, and the annual budget effect will be at least 1.7 billion rubles. As a result of the project, more than four thousand jobs will be created,” said Vladimir Efimov.
The only participant trades The Moscow company “Specialized developer “Grad Pekhotnaya”” won the right to conclude an agreement on the integrated development of the territory (IDT). Both sites, which it will redevelop, are located near the Butovo station of the second Moscow Central Diameter. One of them is adjacent to 2-nd Melitopolskaya Street, the other is located closer to Varshavskoe Shosse.
“As part of the project, about 27 thousand square meters of housing will be built to implement the renovation program. An educational complex will be built next to the new buildings. It will include a school for 900 students and a kindergarten for 200 children. The investor will also build a sports center with a swimming pool, a multifunctional public complex with a hotel, facilities for two court areas and other real estate on the territory. Improvement and landscaping work will be carried out in the new city block. Thus, part of the former industrial zone will turn into a self-sufficient, attractive residential area,” said the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy
According to the KRT program, multifunctional city blocks are being created, where roads, comfortable housing and all the necessary infrastructure are being designed on the sites of former industrial zones and inefficiently used areas. Currently, 302 projects for the integrated development of territories with a total area of about 4.2 thousand hectares are at various stages of development and implementation in Moscow. This work is being carried out on behalf of Mayor of Moscow.
The renovation program was approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin ordered an increase implementation rates renovation programs twice as much.
Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — As a friendly neighbor, China hopes Thailand will maintain stability and development, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Tuesday.
She made the statement at a regular departmental press conference, answering a question related to the fact that the Constitutional Court of Thailand suspended Prime Minister Phetongthan Shinawatra from her duties on Tuesday.
“This is Thailand’s internal matter. I will not comment on it,” Mao Ning said. “As a friendly neighbor, China hopes Thailand will maintain stability and development,” she added. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) — Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), met with Marinko Kavara, vice-speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in Beijing on Tuesday.
Wang Huning said that in recent years, under the strategic leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the BiH Presidency, the two countries have maintained strong political mutual trust and close people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and achieved fruitful results in trade and economic cooperation.
Wang Huning noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and BiH. China is ready to cooperate with BiH to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, as well as to deepen cooperation with BiH on the basis of equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win.
Wang Huning added that the CPPCC National Committee is willing to make new contributions to promoting the development of bilateral relations.
M. Kawara highly praised the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by Xi Jinping.
M. Kawara said that BiH firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is ready to deepen practical cooperation with China in various fields to promote new development of bilateral relations. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
TAIYUAN, July 1 (Xinhua) — From AI-powered data analytics platforms to drones roaming the skies, young Generation Z farmers in China are actively adopting modern farming methods, redefining the very essence of being a farmer.
Zoomers are generally defined as people born between 1995 and 2009 who grew up with access to the internet and digital technologies from an early age.
Born and raised in a farming family in Yicheng County, north China’s Shanxi Province, 21-year-old Wang Huan still remembers the hardships of traditional farming in the pre-drone era of his childhood.
“Back then, my family members had to carry tanks on their backs, manually spraying pesticides and fertilizers in the scorching summer sun. It seemed like there would be no end to the work,” he says.
For Wang Huan, now an experienced drone pilot, the technology has revolutionized his life and work. He says a drone can spread two tons of fertilizer in just over a day, compared to four to five days it used to take farmers to do the same amount of work.
In addition to drones, the young farmer also mastered other modern agricultural equipment: combines, seeders and balers.
Stories like these are common across rural China. Ding Zehui, a native of Wanrong County in Shanxi Province, returned to his hometown after graduating from college last year to become a farmer.
The 22-year-old joined a local cooperative that provides agricultural machinery rental services. He also convinced his family to buy an unmanned seed drill equipped with a Beidou navigation system, as it can operate around the clock, greatly improving the accuracy and efficiency of sowing.
“Agricultural machinery is becoming more sophisticated, with air-conditioned cabins and more convenient controls. This has significantly improved working conditions,” the young man noted.
As momentum for rural revitalization and agricultural modernization gathers pace in China, a new generation of tech-savvy young farmers like Wang Huan and Ding Zehui are aggressively adopting artificial intelligence, big data, advanced technology and smart machines to transform traditional farming methods once based on simple tools and backbreaking physical labor.
Official data shows that the comprehensive mechanization rate of cultivation, planting and harvesting of agricultural crops in China has exceeded 75 percent. Moreover, as of 2024, more than 2.2 million units of agricultural machinery across the country have been equipped with the Beidou navigation system, helping them achieve world-leading levels of efficiency and precision in operation.
The rise of smart farming is also giving farming a new, attractive image that is attracting young Chinese to the field. Unlike older generations, who often viewed farming as a humble, physically demanding job, today’s young Gen Z farmers bring a greater sense of pride and purpose to the job.
“When you see a sea of wheat ready to be harvested at the end of a hard day’s work, no words can describe the sense of satisfaction you feel at that moment,” says Ding Zehui.
Hashtags like “Zoomer tractor drivers” and “Zoomers transform their farm” regularly trend on Chinese social media, while creative videos like “drone farmer’s diary” and “AI pig farming vlog” go viral, racking up countless views. Last year, a video of young Chinese farmer Gao Yinghao arriving at his own wedding in a combine harvester caused a wave of admiration online.
Wang Shumin, Wang Huan’s father and head of a local agricultural cooperative, said three of his son’s classmates, inspired by his example, joined the cooperative this year and quickly learned to operate various types of farm machinery.
“They learn quickly, are genuinely passionate about farming and aren’t afraid of hard work,” he said. “Their results have exceeded my expectations.” -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HOUSTON, July 1 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a memorandum to tighten policies toward Cuba, including restrictions on some financial transactions and travel.
According to a White House fact sheet, the memo prohibits tourist travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba, requires mandatory records of all travel-related transactions for at least five years and regular compliance audits.
The Trump administration seeks to end economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, and security services.
The memorandum prohibits direct or indirect financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban military, such as Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA /GAESA/ and its subsidiaries. A growing number of Cubans and entities are now prohibited from doing business with Americans as the decades-long U.S. economic embargo intensifies.
D. Trump has always taken a tough stance on Cuba. On the first day of his second term, he returned the island nation to the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, reversing the decision of his predecessor, Joseph Biden.
In the final days of his first presidential term in 2021, D. Trump called Cuba a “state sponsor of terrorism.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla called the memorandum “criminal behavior that violates the human rights of the entire nation.”
“The presidential memorandum against Cuba, released today by the US government, intensifies the aggression and economic blockade that punishes the entire Cuban people and is the main obstacle to our development,” Minister X wrote on social media. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NEW DELHI, July 1 (Xinhua) — At least six people, including two women, were killed and several others injured in a powerful blast at a fireworks factory in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, local police said by telephone.
The blast, which led to a massive fire, took place at a factory in a village in Virudunagar district. Bodies of six people have been recovered so far and the injured have been admitted to a local hospital.
The rescue operation is ongoing. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. –0–
