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  • MIL-OSI Russia: Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Russian Far East and the Northeast of China

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Russian Far East and the Northeast of China

    May 20, 2025

    Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Russian Far East and the Northeast of China

    May 20, 2025

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    Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Russian Far East and the Northeast of China

    A meeting of the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Cooperation and Development of the Russian Far East and the Northeast of the People’s Republic of China was held in Moscow. The Russian part of the commission is headed by Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev. The head of the Chinese part of the commission is Vice Chairman of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Zhang Guoqing.

    “Our meeting is taking place immediately after an important political event – the official visit of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping to Russia and his participation in the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The leaders of our countries confirmed their course to strengthen good-neighborliness and cooperation. In late August – early September, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin plans to visit China to participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the celebrations of the anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II. Relations between Russia and China are an important stabilizing factor in global politics and economics. I am confident that the work of our commission as one of the bridges of cooperation between Russia and China is of particular importance today. In recent years, our countries have faced unprecedented challenges, destabilization of international relations and the global economy. At the same time, Russian-Chinese ties continue to strengthen. In 2024, mutual trade turnover once again set a record, reaching almost 245 billion US dollars. “I am confident that our meeting today will contribute to the implementation of the agreements of the heads of state and government, primarily in the development of cooperation between the Russian Far East and Northeast China,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.

    “In recent years, under the strategic leadership of the Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Sino-Russian relations reached the highest level in their history and have become the standard of cooperation between world powers and neighboring countries. Our leaders set a course and direction for our further interaction, sent the whole world a clear signal about the stable and healthy development of Sino-Russian relations at a high level, which introduced stability and positive to a complex international situation. The key task of today’s meeting is to implement agreements between our leaders and conduct appropriate preparations for the upcoming meeting between them, as well as for regular meetings of the heads of government. Currently, individual countries under various pretexts abuse tariff measures, which grossly violating the laws, rights and interests of other states and seriously contradicts the Rules of the WTO, damages the multilateral trading system, undermines the stability of the global economic order. Such actions have a negative impact on the world supplies and production chains. In these conditions, it is important for us to consistently deepen cooperation in all areas, including the interaction of the north-east of the People’s Republic of China and the Far East of the Russian Federation in order to make an even greater contribution to the development of our countries, ”said Zhang Gotsin.

    The results and promising areas of joint work in the Russian Far East and the North-East of the People’s Republic of China were discussed. Over 6 years (from 2018 to 2023), the trade turnover of the Russian Far East with the People’s Republic of China increased by almost 2.5 times and exceeded 1.9 trillion rubles in 2023.

    In the territories of advanced development and in the free port of Vladivostok, 65 investment projects with a total investment volume of 1 trillion rubles are being implemented with the participation of Chinese capital. Projects with the participation of Chinese companies in the total investment volume in the Far East make up 10%. In a number of large projects, Chinese companies are technological partners, carry out work on the construction of new enterprises, and participate in start-up work.

    Work on the creation of a new preferential regime – an international territory of advanced development – is being completed. The regime was developed in cooperation with representatives of China and other countries. The draft law on international territories of advanced development was adopted in the first reading by the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The regime will be created by the end of this year. Chinese companies are showing interest in interaction within the new legal framework. Five companies from China have already applied as residents.

    The development of transport infrastructure was discussed. In 2024, the volume of bilateral foreign trade cargo transportation through border crossings and seaports of Russia and China increased by 9% to almost 176 million tons. In 2024, land checkpoints on the border with China increased cargo turnover from 40.4 to 45.9 million tons. A significant contribution to the growth was made by the opening of two new bridge crossings in 2022: Blagoveshchensk – Heihe and Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang. In 2024, 6.2 million tons of cargo were transported through them.

    The construction of a bridge in the area of the settlements of Jalinda (Russia) and Mohe (China) can contribute to the increase in freight traffic. Amur Region and Heilongjiang Province have formed a promising freight base. The location of the bridge has been agreed upon. On the Russian side, key participants in the project and the main technical parameters have been determined.

    The Russian side invited Chinese partners to further develop the Northern Sea Route. In 2024, the number of voyages carried out by Chinese companies in the NSR waters doubled and amounted to 14 voyages.

    On the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a project to create an innovative scientific and technological center on Russky Island is being implemented. Research and development centers in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, marine engineering, artificial intelligence and big data are being created. The construction of a pilot building is nearing completion. Chinese organizations and departments, representatives of scientific communities have been invited to participate in the implementation of joint projects in these areas.

    “This September, the anniversary, tenth Eastern Economic Forum will be held in Vladivostok with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation. This event is invariably an important platform for developing cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. China is traditionally one of the main guests of the Eastern Economic Forum. We invite our Chinese colleagues to take part in the work of the tenth Eastern Economic Forum in September this year,” said Yuri Trutnev.

    Summing up the meeting, Yuri Trutnev once again emphasized: “The Russian government is open to dialogue and is ready to provide support to Chinese partners in the Far East.”

     

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Kingdom of the Netherlands–The Netherlands: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2025 Article IV Mission

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    May 20, 2025

    A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

    The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    An IMF team, led by Mr. Fabian Bornhorst, visited the Netherlands during May 7–20 to conduct the 2025 Article IV consultation. The following statement was issued at the end of the visit:

    The Dutch economy is among the most developed countries globally and has drawn strength from integration in global value chains. In recent years, it has weathered shocks well, yet its resilience is being tested, again—this time by trade tensions and geoeconomic fragmentation. Fiscal buffers are ample, and the financial system is well-positioned to absorb shocks. At the same time, the economy is operating at capacity and inflation is elevated. And increasingly binding constraints—in the labor market, housing, emissions space, and the electricity grid—are limiting the ability to grow and adapt. Futureproofing the economy will therefore require policies that both tackle bottlenecks and expand supply capacity, and align with a long-term vision for sustainable growth. Reforms, complementary to EU initiatives, should aim to increase labor input and firm productivity, expand the availability of SME financing, and effectively manage the green and demographic transitions.

    Outlook

    1. After a weak start, domestic demand is projected to drive growth in 2025 even as trade tensions affect momentum. Real GDP growth is projected to reach 1.1 percent this year. Fundamentals remain strong: unemployment is low, wage growth is robust, and real household purchasing power is solid—supporting private consumption. However, tariffs, trade tensions, and lower trading partner growth are expected to dampen external demand. Combined with uncertainty over future trade policies and less favorable financial conditions, these factors hold back investment and weaken consumer confidence. With a cooling economy, the small positive output gap is expected to close next year; medium-term growth will converge to its estimated potential of 1.2 percent.
    2. Elevated inflation is projected to decline gradually and reach the 2 percent target in late 2026. Inflation is projected at 3 percent in 2025. Wage growth has been robust, although real wages have not reached pre-pandemic levels. Going forward, wage growth is projected to moderate as indicated by recent collective wage agreements and early signs of easing labor market tightness. Fiscal measures, on net, will contribute positively to inflation in 2025 and 2026, as the roll-back of some reduced VAT rates and the increase in excise rates are partly offset by energy subsidies and the freeze on social housing rents. As the trade shock reverberates through the global economy, deflationary forces are expected to arise from lower global growth and energy prices, and appreciation of the euro.

    Risks

    1. Downside risks to growth dominate and arise mainly from trade tensions. Possible direct effects from new/higher U.S. tariffs on currently exempt items (e.g., pharmaceuticals) would lower exports. More generally, rising geoeconomic fragmentation and stronger-than-expected indirect effects from global trade disruptions pose downside risks to growth. The disruption to supply chains could be more severe than expected, leading to upward price pressures even in the context of subdued growth. Policy makers should stay vigilant and nimble. Barring more extreme scenarios, automatic stabilizers in the fiscal framework are sufficient to weather shocks. Domestically, uncertainties in economic policy and the extent to which growth bottlenecks are binding represent risks to the outlook. These can be addressed by implementing consistent, forward-looking, and confidence-building measures.

    Fiscal Policy

    1. Fiscal policy is geared to supporting households in the near term, while aiming to keep the deficit below 3 percent of GDP by 2030. In view of many, and competing, demands, it is welcome that revised plans in the Spring Memorandum adhere to the trend-based fiscal policy (the Dutch Medium-Term Fiscal Framework) and are in line with national fiscal rules. Key measures in 2025 to support household purchasing power include income tax relief, extending reduced fuel excise duties, energy subsidies, and rent support. To meet the deficit target by 2030, spending cuts in public administration, international cooperation, education, and asylum are proposed. The plans, however, are more backloaded than before, and, in many cases, specific measures have yet to be formulated.
    2. Pivoting fiscal policy from stimulating demand to expanding supply would help the economy grow and adapt. Fiscal policy is set to provide an impulse of around 1 percent of GDP in 2025-26. As household real incomes now exceed pre-pandemic levels and the economy is operating at capacity with elevated inflation, broad fiscal support is no longer needed. Scaling back demand support is timely and advisable. While underspending and revenue overperformance could deliver a neutral fiscal stance—as in 2024—proactively identifying and implementing measures would allow for steering the adjustment. To boost the supply capacity of the economy, the government should invest in infrastructure, education, and R&D, foster investment to increase the housing supply and productivity, implement growth-enhancing tax reforms, and tackle bottlenecks from nitrogen and electricity grid congestion. Fostering private and increasing public investment will also contribute to reducing the high external current account surplus.
    3. Better aligning policies with long-term goals would improve the effectiveness of fiscal policy. For example, while freezing social rents provides immediate support to some households, it weakens the financial health of housing associations and limits investment to expand and upgrade the housing stock—key to addressing shortages. Extending the reduction of fuel excises disincentivizes the clean energy transition, countering efforts to reduce implicit fuel subsidies and foster EV adoption through subsidies. Limited inflation adjustment of income tax brackets—including to finance reduced VAT rates—offsets previous income tax relief, disproportionately affects poorer households, and disincentivizes labor supply. Education and R&D spending cuts are at odds with fostering high levels of human capital and innovation. In this context, the announced tax and benefits system reform is welcome, offering an opportunity to simplify and align policies.
    4. Tackling medium-term spending pressures through structural fiscal reforms will increase fiscal room to maneuver. With a low debt-to-GDP ratio of 43.4 percent, the fiscal position is strong. Moreover, deficits and debt are projected to remain structurally below 3 and 60 percent of GDP through 2030. However, projections also indicate that, by 2050, spending on health, ageing, and climate change will increase by about 4 percent of GDP. Ambitions to scale up defense spending beyond 2 percent of GDP adds to these pressures. Addressing cost drivers early would free fiscal room to maneuver, including: (i) reversing the reduction of health deductibles, increasing health care co-payments, and adjusting the basic policy package while supporting solidarity; (ii) linking the retirement age one-to-one to greater life expectancy for tax-funded old-age pensions; and (iii) moving away from fuel subsidies to revenue-generating carbon pricing and taxation.
    5. Implementing the planned tax reforms would support growth. The Building Blocks Tax report rightly recommends streamlining inefficient and ineffective tax expenditures, including abolishing reduced VAT rates. This would lower compliance costs, broaden the tax base, and may open the door to a lower tax rate. Speedy implementation of the proposed capital income taxation reform (‘Box 3’) would align investment incentives by taxing capital income more consistently. and encouraging better resource allocation. Together, the reforms will foster higher investment, productivity, and growth.

    Financial Sector Policies

    1. Risks to financial stability are elevated and have risen, warranting continued close monitoring. Trade policy tensions and uncertainty have increased financial market volatility and weighed on investor confidence in recent months. More volatility in asset prices could trigger periodic margin calls, particularly on pension funds’ derivatives. Elevated inflation still poses non-negligible risks for insurers. While household and corporate indebtedness is declining, it remains well above the euro area average. In real estate, developments in the commercial sector signal reduced risks. However, the residential market shows renewed signs of overheating. Nominal and real house prices, as well as sales, have picked up again, and housing valuations remain among the highest in Europe.
    2. Even so, the financial sector remains resilient to shocks as buffers are ample and commensurate to risks, and the macroprudential policy stance is broadly appropriate. Banking, insurance, and pension fund (PF) fundamentals remain sound. Banks are well capitalized and liquid. Bank profits remain robust and loan delinquencies low, despite a pick-up in corporate bankruptcies, which reflects normalization following phasing out of pandemic support. The countercyclical capital buffer has been maintained at the 2 percent positive neutral rate since May 2024. Other buffers for the largest banks remain in a 0.25‑2 percent CET1-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio range. The insurance sector is profitable and solvent. Funding ratios of occupational PFs have declined as interest rates fell but are rebounding ahead of the system’s transition to defined-contribution schemes and stood comfortably at 120 percent, on average, at end-2025Q1. PFs are resilient to liquidity risks in adverse stress scenarios and can raise cash at short notice if needed from repo or other money markets to meet margin calls on interest derivatives.
    3. Addressing access to homeownership through policies that increase housing supply would allow recalibrating borrower-based macroprudential measures towards minimizing financial risks. Housing market risks continue to be mitigated by structural factors including rising real disposable incomes, the large share of fixed-rate mortgages, and full legal recourse in case of default. The maximum LTV limit was lowered to 100 percent in 2018. Eligibility for, and duration of the mortgage interest deductibility were tightened, and the maximum rate reduced. Mortgage risks are further mitigated by the recent extension of risk-weight floors until November 2026. Efforts to ensure a clear legal basis for supervisory authorities’ regular access to granular transaction and loan-level data for risk monitoring and analysis—to identify pockets of vulnerability as they emerge—should continue. Still, as recommended in the 2024 IMF Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP) report, to cool the housing market, maximum LTV limits should be progressively lowered even more, to 90 percent, mortgage interest deductibility gradually removed, and borrowers further incentivized to lower exposures to interest-only mortgages. A significant increase in housing supply is needed to boost housing affordability, facilitate broad access to the property ladder, and to reduce banking and insurance risks from residential mortgage exposures. This will require reconsideration of the roles of housing associations and private investors, revisiting rent controls, revising land-use policies and streamlining building regulations.
    4. The pension reform will strengthen PFs financial sustainability, and offers an opportunity to improve intergenerational fairness, and rebalance portfolios. Most defined-benefit schemes (DBs) have faced financial pressure since 2008. Many have struggled to index benefits in the low-interest-rate environment, and some were forced to cut benefits. Also, DBs asset allocations do not reflect age-related risk preferences. This has raised concerns about intergenerational fairness. Together, these factors weakened confidence in the system. The transition to defined-contribution schemes will alleviate pressures from ageing on PFs sustainability. It will also allow for portfolio allocations that better align with risk preferences of age cohorts, including more investments in equity, while maintaining a high degree of solidarity and collective risk-sharing. Notably, about 80 percent of plans are expected to combine individual investment accounts with collective investments that bundle assets and distribute returns across individual accounts.

    Addressing Growth Bottlenecks

    1. A legally-robust and future-oriented nitrogen strategy is urgently needed. Developers now face permit uncertainty, investors lack confidence, and farmers remain in limbo, as environmental targets slip further out of reach. Recognizing the urgency, the government is developing a strategy that includes shifting from deposition to direct emission measurement and extending the timeline to halve emissions by 5 years. More details on possible measures are paramount. Economic considerations suggest that fees on emitters are the most cost-effective and efficient way to reduce emissions. To avoid tax increases for the average farmer, a system of feebates—where emissions-intensive farming pays fees that fund rebates for lower emission practices—offers a balanced approach. Socially-acceptable solutions and emission reductions have been achieved through a combination of taxation, regulation, subsidies, and science-based guidance.
    2. Plans to relieve electricity grid bottlenecks and ready the grid for the green transition should be accelerated and paired with dynamic pricing. The government’s strategy focuses on expediting high-voltage grid extensions and streamlining permitting. There are plans to guarantee debt issuance by the grid operator of about 4.4 percent of GDP to facilitate grid expansion. However, in the meantime, connection wait-times remain too long. Efforts to manage grid pressures should also include increasing storage capacity and incentivizing energy efficiency of households and industry, while helping the energy-poor adapt. To better manage demand, energy savings could be further incentivized by promoting greater use of dynamic metering and pricing. These are effective in shifting consumption to off-peak periods, help consumers save money, and reduce the need for extra capacity to meet peak demand.

    Strengthening Labor and Firm Productivity

    1. Labor market reforms should continue to focus on enhancing human capital. Given the aging population and labor shortages, it is critical to fully utilize the potential of workers across all generations and smaller firms. Reforms should improve educational outcomes and vocational training to address skill shortages and enhance lifelong learning. Recent progress to address labor market duality, such as reducing false self-employment, are welcome. Introducing mandatory disability insurance and strengthening pension arrangements for the self-employed are important measures to be implemented.. Additionally, better integration of workers with a migratory background would be facilitated by stepped-up language training, job search support, and recognition of qualifications acquired abroad.
    2. Policies to support firm productivity should address several key areas. First, business dynamism should be promoted by reducing entry/exit barriers to enhance firm-level allocative efficiency. Second, productivity-enhancing investment should be increased by improving the investment climate and addressing growth bottlenecks, advancing digitalization, and encouraging R&D. Third, productivity spillovers should be fostered by investments with large spillover effects (e.g., research parks and networks) to build connections among firms, research institutions, and regions. Fourth, efforts are needed to support firms to grow from start-ups to scale-ups and beyond. Plans to equalize tax treatment of stock options for small firms are welcome and should be expanded to include eliminating the reduced profit tax rate for SMEs as well as providing a menu of financing options along a firm’s development stages.  

    Domestic Capital Market Reforms

    1. Capital market reforms would help expand SME financing by improving valuations, stimulating investor demand for both equity and debt instruments, and simplifying debt issuances.  
    • Improving valuations—thereby increasing the amount of capital firms can raise when they issue stocks or bonds—will require increasing the size and liquidity of secondary markets. This should be combined with measures to narrow information gaps, such as easing investor benchmarking, to help reduce investor risk, and with reforming the Bankruptcy Act and securities laws to help investors shorten the settlement cycle for transferable securities and reallocate capital from failed startups more quickly. The authorities should also continue to push forward EU-level reforms, as integration into a larger, EU-wide capital market would also improve liquidity, and hence valuations.
    • Increasing PFs’ and insurers’ investments in domestic venture capital and other equity funds would also increase equity market size and raise valuations. The pension reform offers such an opportunity. Higher pension investment, including from abroad, in domestic equity may also be supported at the EU level by revised legal and supervisory requirements for pan-European private pension products that allow for more venture capital investment.
    • Standardizing and simplifying procedures for smaller-denomination corporate debt securities issuance, lowering the minimum denomination, making pricing more transparent, and leveraging online platforms and other dealer markets would help increase retail investor participation and make more debt capital available to firms.

    Managing the Green Transition

    1. To meet national and European climate goals, stronger policies will be needed, including to reduce uncertainty and build public support.  The current policy settings are projected to fall short of the 2030 goals. Clear and consistent policies are required to provide investment certainty for the private sector. The EU climate agenda—including introduction of CBAM and phasing out of free ETS allowances and expansion of ETS coverage—will facilitate progress. These measures may impact purchasing power. Lower-income households may struggle to adapt even though the burdens of ETS reforms across different income groups are estimated to be uniform relative to consumption. To manage these challenges, implementing compensatory funds and other targeted fiscal tools can help balance policy trade-offs and enhance public support.
    2. Recalibrating transport policies can prevent a decline in fiscal revenues and address congestion, while meeting climate targets and managing electricity demand. By 2035, revenue from transport is projected to decline by 0.5 percent of GDP, while electricity demand could rise by 20 percent with electrification of the vehicle fleet. These challenges would be best addressed with congestion pricing in urban areas and distance-based charges.

    Supporting EU Reforms

    1. The authorities should continue to push for rapid implementation of EU-wide reforms, including as the Netherlands stands to gain from these initiatives. With its mature markets, enhancing EU-wide competition by cutting intra-EU trade barriers would complement national efforts to boost business dynamism and productivity. EU-level actions to foster intra-EU labor mobility—recognition of professional qualifications, pension portability—are complementary to addressing labor and skill shortages at home. A European Savings and Investment Union (SIU) would broaden investment opportunities for Dutch savers and allow Dutch firms to more easily tap a wider pool of European savings. Finally, completing the EU energy market would ensure better connectivity and energy security, lower prices, and also lower investment needs to match increasing demand.

    *   *   *   *   *

    The IMF team thanks the authorities and other counterparts for the constructive policy dialogue and productive collaboration.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Eva-Maria Graf

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/05/19/mcs-05192025-kingdom-of-the-netherlands-staff-concluding-statement-of-2025-art-iv-mission

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: First Busey Corporation Closes Depositary Share Offering

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LEAWOOD, Kan., May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Busey Corporation (“Busey”) (Nasdaq: BUSE), the holding company for Busey Bank and CrossFirst Bank, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 8,600,000 depositary shares (inclusive of 600,000 depositary shares offered in connection with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), each representing a 1/40th ownership interest in a share of its 8.25% Fixed Rate Series B Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, with a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share (equivalent to $25.00 per depositary share). As a result of the public offering, Busey received proceeds of approximately $207,477,500, net of estimated expenses and underwriting discounts and commissions.

    Piper Sandler & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. acted as joint bookrunning managers for the offering, and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC is acting as the co-manager.

    A shelf registration statement, including a prospectus, with respect to the offering was previously filed by Busey with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 21, 2023. A prospectus supplement relating to the offering has been filed with the SEC. The offering has been made by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained free of charge by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, Busey or any underwriter or any dealer participating in the offering will arrange to send you the prospectus supplement if you request it by emailing Piper Sandler & Co. at fsg-dcm@psc.com or calling Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC toll-free at 1-866-718-1649 or Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company at 1-800-966-1559.

    Corporate Profile
    As of March 31, 2025, First Busey Corporation (Nasdaq: BUSE) was a $19.46 billion financial holding company headquartered in Leawood, Kansas.

    Busey Bank, a wholly-owned bank subsidiary of First Busey Corporation headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, had total assets of $11.98 billion as of March 31, 2025. Busey Bank currently has 62 banking centers, with 21 in Central Illinois markets, 17 in suburban Chicago markets, 20 in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area, three in Southwest Florida, and one in Indianapolis. More information about Busey Bank can be found at busey.com.

    CrossFirst Bank, a wholly-owned bank subsidiary of First Busey Corporation headquartered in Leawood, Kansas, had total assets of $7.45 billion as of March 31, 2025. CrossFirst Bank currently has 16 banking centers located across Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. More information about CrossFirst Bank can be found at crossfirstbank.com. It is anticipated that CrossFirst Bank will be merged with and into Busey Bank on June 20, 2025.

    Through Busey Bank’s Wealth Management division, Busey provides a full range of asset management, investment, brokerage, fiduciary, philanthropic advisory, tax preparation, and farm management services to individuals, businesses, and foundations. Assets under care totaled $13.68 billion as of March 31, 2025. More information about Busey’s Wealth Management services can be found at busey.com/wealth-management.

    Busey Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, FirsTech, Inc. (“FirsTech”) specializes in the evolving financial technology needs of small and medium-sized businesses, highly regulated enterprise industries, and financial institutions. FirsTech provides comprehensive and innovative payment technology solutions, including online, mobile, and voice-recognition bill payments; money and data movement; merchant services; direct debit services; lockbox remittance processing for payments made by mail; and walk-in payments at retail agents. Additionally, FirsTech simplifies client workflows through integrations enabling support with billing, reconciliation, bill reminders, and treasury services. More information about FirsTech can be found at firstechpayments.com.

    For the fourth consecutive year, Busey was named among 2025’s America’s Best Banks by Forbes. Ranked 88th overall, Busey was one of seven banks headquartered in Illinois included on this year’s list. Busey was also named among the 2024 Best Banks to Work For by American Banker, the 2024 Best Places to Work in Money Management by Pensions and Investments, the 2024 Best Places to Work in Illinois by Daily Herald Business Ledger, the 2025 Best Places to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and the 2024 Best Companies to Work For in Florida by Florida Trend magazine. We are honored to be consistently recognized globally, nationally and locally for our engaged culture of integrity and commitment to community development.

    First Busey Corporation Contacts
    For Financials: For Media:
    Scott Phillips, Interim CFO Amy L. Randolph, EVP & COO
    First Busey Corporation  First Busey Corporation
    (239) 689-7167 (217) 365-4049
    scott.phillips@busey.com amy.randolph@busey.com
       

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to Busey’s financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, and business. Forward-looking statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations, and assumptions of Busey’s management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “position,” or other similar expressions. Additionally, all statements in this document, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and Busey undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

    A number of factors, many of which are beyond Busey’s ability to control or predict, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: (1) the strength of the local, state, national, and international economies and financial markets (including effects of inflationary pressures, the threat or implementation of tariffs, trade wars, and changes to immigration policy); (2) changes in, and the interpretation and prioritization of, local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and governmental policies (including those concerning Busey’s general business); (3) the economic impact of any future terrorist threats or attacks, widespread disease or pandemics, or other adverse external events that could cause economic deterioration or instability in credit markets (including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East); (4) unexpected results of acquisitions, including the acquisition of CrossFirst, which may include the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions and the possibility that the transaction and integration costs may be greater than anticipated; (5) the imposition of tariffs or other governmental policies impacting the value of products produced by Busey’s commercial borrowers; (6) new or revised accounting policies and practices as may be adopted by state and federal regulatory banking agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; (7) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of Busey’s assets (including the impact of sustained elevated interest rates); (8) increased competition in the financial services sector (including from non-bank competitors such as credit unions and fintech companies) and the inability to attract new customers; (9) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (10) the loss of key executives or associates, talent shortages, and employee turnover; (11) unexpected outcomes and costs of existing or new litigation, investigations, or other legal proceedings, inquiries, and regulatory actions involving Busey (including with respect to Busey’s Illinois franchise taxes); (12) fluctuations in the value of securities held in Busey’s securities portfolio, including as a result of changes in interest rates; (13) credit risk and risk from concentrations (by type of borrower, geographic area, collateral, and industry), within Busey’s loan portfolio and large loans to certain borrowers (including commercial real estate loans); (14) the concentration of large deposits from certain clients who have balances above current Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits and may withdraw deposits to diversify their exposure; (15) the level of non-performing assets on Busey’s balance sheets; (16) interruptions involving information technology and communications systems or third-party servicers; (17) breaches or failures of information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents; (18) the economic impact on Busey and its customers of climate change, natural disasters, and exceptional weather occurrences such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, and droughts; (19) the ability to successfully manage liquidity risk, which may increase dependence on non-core funding sources such as brokered deposits, and may negatively impact Busey’s cost of funds; (20) the ability to maintain an adequate level of allowance for credit losses on loans; (21) the effectiveness of Busey’s risk management framework; and (22) the ability of Busey to manage the risks associated with the foregoing. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

    After a two-hour phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on May 19, US president Donald Trump took to social media to declare that Russia and Ukraine will “immediately start negotiations” towards a ceasefire and an end to the war. He did, however, add that the conditions for peace “will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be”.

    With the Vatican, according to Trump, “very interested in hosting the negotiations” and European leaders duly informed, it seems clear that the US has effectively abandoned its stalled mediation efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

    It was always a possibility that Trump could walk away from the war, despite previous claims he could end it in 24 hours. This only became more likely on May 16, when the first face-to-face negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for more than three years predictably ended without a ceasefire agreement.

    When Trump announced shortly afterwards that he would be speaking to his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts by phone a few days later, he effectively mounted the beginning of a rearguard action. This was further underlined when, shortly before the Trump-Putin call, Vice-President J.D. Vance, explicitly told reporters that the US could end its shuttle diplomacy.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    The meagre outcomes of the talks between Russia and Ukraine – as well as between Trump and Putin – are not surprising. Russia is clearly not ready for any concessions yet. It keeps insisting that Ukraine accept its maximalist demands of territorial concessions and future neutrality.

    Putin also continues to slow-walk any negotiations. After his call with Trump, he reportedly said that “Russia will offer and is ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement”, including “a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, should relevant agreements be reached.”

    The lack of urgency on Russia’s part to end the fighting and, in fact, the Kremlin’s ability and willingness to continue the war was emphasised the day before the Trump-Putin call. Russia carried out its largest drone attack against Ukraine so far in the war, targeting several regions including Kyiv.

    There has been no let-up in the fighting since. And the fact that Putin spoke to Trump while visiting a music school in the southern Russian city of Sochi does not suggest that a ceasefire in Ukraine is high on the Russian leader’s priority list.

    A large part of the Kremlin’s calculation seems to be its desire to strike a grand bargain with the White House on a broader reset of relations between the US and Russia. It is signalling clearly that this is more important than the war in Ukraine and might even happen without the fighting there ending.

    This also appears to be driving thinking in Washington. Trump foreshadowed an improvement in bilateral relations by describing the “tone and spirit” of his conversation with Putin as “excellent”. He also seemed pleased about the prospects of “large-scale trade” with Russia.

    Abandoning European allies

    Trump is on record as saying that there would be no progress towards peace in Ukraine until he and Putin get together. But it is worth bearing mind that very little movement towards a ceasefire in Ukraine – let alone a peace agreement – occurred after the last phone call between the two presidents in February.

    Part of this lack of progress has been Trump’s reluctance to put any real pressure on Putin. And despite agreement in Brussels and preparations in Washington for an escalation in sanctions against Russia, it is unlikely that Trump will change his approach.

    In this context, the sequence in which the calls occurred is telling. Trump and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had a short call before the former spoke with Putin. Zelensky said he told Trump not to make decisions about Ukraine “without us”.

    But rather than presenting Putin with a clear ultimatum to accept a ceasefire, Trump apparently discussed future relations with Putin at great length before informing Zelensky and key European allies that the war in Ukraine is now solely their problem to solve.

    This has certainly raised justifiable fears in Kyiv and European capitals that, for the sake of a reset with Russia, the US might yet completely abandon its allies across the Atlantic.

    However, if a reset with Russia at any cost really is Trump’s strategy, it is bound to fail. As much as Putin seems willing to continue with his aggression against Ukraine, Zelensky is as unwilling to surrender. Putin can rely on China’s continued backing while Zelensky can count on support from Europe.

    Supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine is essential for China to keep Moscow on side in its rivalry with the US. And for Europe, supporting Ukraine has become an existential question of deterring and containing a revisionist Russia hell-bent on restoring a Soviet-style sphere of influence in central and eastern Europe.

    In a world that has been in flux since Trump’s return to the White House, these are some of the emerging constants. And they make a US-Russia reset highly improbable.

    Even if it were to happen, it would not strengthen Washington’s position with Beijing. Walking away from Ukraine and Europe now will deprive the US of the very allies it will need in the long term to prevail in its rivalry with China.

    By abandoning his mediation between Moscow and Kyiv, Trump may have broken the deadlock in his efforts to achieve a reset with Russia. But getting this deal over the line will be a pyrrhic victory.

    Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

    – ref. After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/after-another-call-with-putin-it-looks-like-trump-has-abandoned-efforts-to-mediate-peace-in-ukraine-257021

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China urges US to stop politicizing COVID-19 source tracing issue

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    GENEVA, May 20 (Xinhua) — A spokesperson for the Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday called on the United States to stop political manipulation over the issue of tracing the source of COVID-19 and stop pressuring international organizations.

    As the official representative said in response to the baseless statements of the US delegation at the ongoing 78th session of the World Health Assembly, it is astonishing that the United States, a country that once announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), is now making baseless attacks on countries that have consistently increased their contribution to the organization. According to the diplomat, the US has clearly lost its basic understanding of truth and lies. China has always provided selfless support to the WHO, without any so-called undue influence, he emphasized.

    The official representative recalled that since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has shared with the international community information on the epidemiological situation and the genomic sequence of the virus in the shortest possible time. In addition, the Chinese side has provided medical supplies and financial assistance to the WHO and 153 countries, including the United States. All this, as the diplomat emphasized, demonstrates China’s firm commitment to protecting the common well-being of all mankind.

    He noted that in an effort to carefully conceal their ineffective anti-epidemic measures, some countries resort to denigrating others. In his opinion, such attempts to politicize pandemic issues are disgusting and doomed to failure.

    China is calling on the United States to share data on early cases with the WHO and to disclose information about the Fort Detrick facility and the network of U.S. biological laboratories around the world, an official said. The U.S. side should stop political manipulation around the issue of tracing the source of COVID-19 and stop pressuring international organizations, he concluded. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UK continues to call on North Korea to end grave human rights violations: UK statement at the UN General Assembly

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    The UK continues to call on North Korea to end grave human rights violations: UK statement at the UN General Assembly

    Statement by Archie Young, UK Ambassador to the UN General Assembly, at the UN General Assembly meeting on Human Rights Abuses and Violations in North Korea.

    I thank the briefers for their brave testimonies and tireless advocacy. It is essential that we continue to shine a light on the grave human rights situation in the DPRK, about which the UK remains deeply concerned.

    Human rights abuses against North Koreans remain widespread and systematic. Those who perpetrate these abuses remain unaccountable.

    The regime refuses to acknowledge or act on the 2014 Commission of Inquiry report, which illustrates the multiple human rights violations committed in DPRK. 

    And the DPRK has repeatedly rejected UN resolutions which set out the many concerns shared by the international community, including the operation of prison camps and forced labour, violations of freedom of religion or belief and women’s rights.

    North Koreans are denied freedom of movement, and many workers are sent overseas, often into modern slavery. 

    We urge the DPRK to cease these practices without delay.

    Those wishing to leave do so clandestinely, at huge personal risk. We call on all Members to respect the principle of non-refoulement and not return escapees to DPRK.

    On 7 November last year, the UK issued several recommendations to the DPRK as part of the Universal Periodic Review process, including ratifying the UN Convention against Torture and to reform the judicial system to ensure respect for the right to a fair trial. 

    We are pleased that the DPRK engaged with the Universal Periodic Review in November and encourage them to implement recommendations. 

    We need DPRK to make real and lasting change for the people of the DPRK.

    We have repeatedly made it clear that the primary cause of the DPRK’s humanitarian and food crisis is their continued development of their illegal weapons programme, representing multiple breaches of Security Council resolutions. 

    Indeed, we have heard clearly today also the links between the human rights situation in DPRK and their support for Russia in its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine in brazen disregard towards UN sanctions. 

    We condemn these and call on the DPRK to prioritise the well-being of the people in North Korea.

    We strongly encourage the DPRK to grant access to the Special Rapporteur on the situation on human rights in the DPRK and accept technical cooperation from UN human rights mechanisms, and to enable the return of UN agencies, to ensure help reaches those who are most vulnerable.

    The UK continues to call on DPRK to engage in meaningful diplomacy and accept offers of dialogue. 

    We believe diplomacy and negotiations are the best way to secure peace and stability and improve the lives of all North Koreans.

    Updates to this page

    Published 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Importance of regional airport infrastructure – E-001864/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001864/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Markus Ferber (PPE), David McAllister (PPE), Stefan Köhler (PPE), Christian Doleschal (PPE)

    Europe’s many regional airports enable international exchange and connect citizens, companies and SMEs from all over Europe with the world.

    Despite this key role for economic activity, in recent years the financial situation for regional airports has worsened mainly due to extrinsic shocks, such as the COVID-19 crisis, global turbulence in the aviation sector and Russia’s war against Ukraine. The financial situation of many regional airports is bleak, threatening their core existence and endangering their important role for societies and regional prosperity.

    In this light I would like to ask:

    • 1.Will the Commission, in its evaluation of the aviation State aid guidelines, consider the need for maintaining and modernising Europe’s regional airport network, which is not only about mobility, but also about safeguarding jobs and innovation in its industrial sectors?
    • 2.Could the Commission support a framework where State aid rules take into account the long-term industrial and technological strategies of Germany, particularly in relation to decarbonised aviation?
    • 3.How will the Commission assess the need for German regional airports to remain ready to support the rollout of electric aircraft and other innovations that are critical to the competitiveness of Germany’s industry?

    Submitted: 8.5.2025

    Last updated: 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese Foreign Minister Meets with Asia Society President

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Asia Society President Kang Kyung-wha in Beijing on Tuesday.

    As Wang Yi, also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, noted, progress has been made in high-level China-US economic and trade talks recently, which once again proves that equal dialogue, mutual respect and proper resolution of legitimate mutual concerns are in the common interests of China and the US.

    At the same time, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry pointed out that the United States continues to restrain and suppress China’s legitimate right to development. The diplomat stressed that China is resolutely against such unilateral bullying.

    According to Wang Yi, China and the United States should first achieve positive interaction in the Asia-Pacific region, which will help to form the right path for coexistence between the two countries and find effective channels for mutually beneficial cooperation.

    For her part, Kang Kyung-wha said that the Asia Society has accumulated deep knowledge of China’s thousand-year-old cultural heritage and stands ready to continue sharing fact-based, objective perceptions of China and, together with forward-thinking members of the American society, create a platform for dialogue to clear up misconceptions and promote mutual understanding. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Armenian Prime Minister Meets with Chairman of House of Representatives of Cyprus

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Yerevan, May 20 (Xinhua) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday received a delegation led by Cypriot House of Representatives (parliament) Speaker Annita Demetriou, the press service of the head of the Armenian government reported.

    N. Pashinyan stated that Cyprus is a friendly country for Armenia, with which deep historical, cultural and value-based ties have been formed. In this context, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of consistently developing bilateral political dialogue and deepening inter-parliamentary cooperation.

    A. Dimitriou pointed out that Cyprus supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and the democratic reforms implemented by the country’s government.

    The parties discussed a number of topical issues of bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus, including the development of economic ties and investment opportunities, as well as the expansion of multi-sectoral cooperation. In addition, an exchange of views took place on the progress of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: What Is the International Space Station? (Grades 5-8)

    Source: NASA

    This article is for students grades 5-8.
    The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory. Several nations worked together to build and use the space station. The space station is made of parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. It orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 250 miles. It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes. NASA is using the space station to learn more about living and working in space. These lessons will make it possible to send humans farther into space than ever before.

    The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in November 1998. A Russian rocket launched the Russian Zarya (zar EE uh) control module. About two weeks later, the space shuttle Endeavour met Zarya in orbit. The space shuttle was carrying the U.S. Unity node. The crew attached the Unity node to Zarya.
    More pieces were added over the next two years before the station was ready for people to live there. The first crew arrived on Nov. 2, 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since. More pieces have been added over time. NASA and its partners from around the world completed construction of the space station in 2011.

    ______________________________________________________________________
    Words to Know
    Airlock: an air-tight chamber that can be pressurized and depressurized to allow access between spaces with different air pressure.
    Microgravity: a condition, especially in space orbit, where the force of gravity is so weak that weightlessness occurs.
    Module: an individual, self-contained segment of a spacecraft that is designed to perform a particular task.
    Truss: a structural frame based on the strong structural shape of the triangle; functions as a beam to support and connect various components.
    ______________________________________________________________________

    The space station has the volume of a six-bedroom house with six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window. It is able to support a crew of seven people, plus visitors. On Earth, the space station would weigh almost one million pounds. Measured from the edges of its solar arrays, the station covers the area of a football field including the end zones. It includes laboratory modules from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe.

    In addition to the laboratories where astronauts conduct science research, the space station has many other parts. The first Russian modules included basic systems needed for the space station to function. They also provided living areas for crew members. Modules called “nodes” connect parts of the station to each other.
    Stretching out to the sides of the space station are the solar arrays. These arrays collect energy from the sun to provide electrical power. The arrays are connected to the station with a long truss. On the truss are radiators that control the space station’s temperature.
    Robotic arms are mounted outside the space station. The robot arms were used to help build the space station. Those arms also can move astronauts around when they go on spacewalks outside. Other arms operate science experiments.
    Astronauts can go on spacewalks through airlocks that open to the outside. Docking ports allow other spacecraft to connect to the space station. New crews and visitors arrive through the ports. Astronauts fly to the space station on SpaceX Dragon and Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Robotic spacecraft use the docking ports to deliver supplies

    The space station has made it possible for people to have an ongoing presence in space. Human beings have been living in space every day since the first crew arrived. The space station’s laboratories allow crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else. This scientific research benefits people on Earth. Space research is even used in everyday life. The results are products called “spinoffs.” Scientists also study what happens to the body when people live in microgravity for a long time. NASA and its partners have learned how to keep a spacecraft working well. All of these lessons will be important for future space exploration.
    NASA currently is working on a plan to explore other worlds. The space station is one of the first steps. NASA will use lessons learned on the space station to prepare for human missions that reach farther into space than ever before.

    Are you interested in a career that is related to living and working in space? Many different types of jobs make the space station a success. Here are a few examples:
    Astronaut: These explorers come from a wide variety of backgrounds including military service, the medical field, science research, and engineering design. Astronauts must have skills in leadership, teamwork, and communications. They spend two years training before they are eligible to be assigned to spaceflight missions.
    Microgravity Plant Scientist: These scientists study ways to grow plants in the microgravity environment of space. Growing plants on future space missions could provide food and oxygen. Plant scientists design experiments to be conducted by astronauts on the space station. These test new techniques for maximizing plant growth.
    Fitness Trainer: Spending months on the space station takes a toll on astronauts’ bodies. Fitness trainers work with astronauts before, during, and after their space station missions to help keep them strong and healthy. This includes creating workout plans for while they’re living and working in space.

    International Space Station Home Page
    Spot the Station
    Video: #AskNASA What Is the International Space Station?
    Read What Is the International Space Station? (Grades K-4)

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Press briefing on the 21 – 22 May plenary session

    Source: European Parliament

    European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 21 – 22 May plenary session on Wednesday at 14.30.

    When: Wednesday 21 May at 14.30

    Where: Anna Politkovskaya press room in Brussels and via Interactio

    Key topics next week include:

    • Debate on the EU’s response to the Israeli government’s plan to seize the Gaza Strip, and how to provide effective humanitarian support and secure the hostages’ release
    • Debate and vote on simplifying the EU’s carbon leakage instrument
    • Debate on the phasing-out of Russian gas, nuclear energy and oil imports
    • Vote on imposing new tariffs on fertilisers and additional ones on other agricultural products imported from Russia and Belarus
    • Debate on the new single market strategy
    • Debate on ways to make Europe more attractive to scientists
    • Formal sitting: Address by Nataša Pirc Musar, President of the Republic of Slovenia

    Interpretation of the press briefing will be available in English and French.

    Journalists wishing to participate actively and ask questions, please connect via Interactio using this link: https://ep.interactio.eu/link/pressconfp1611820

    You can follow it live from 14.30 on Friday in Parliament’s Anna Politkovskaya press room or via Parliament’s webstreaming and EbS+.

    Information for the media – Use of Interactio to ask questions

    Interactio is only supported on iPads (with the Safari browser) and Mac/Windows (with the Google Chrome browser).

    When connecting, enter your name and the media you are representing in the first name / last name fields. For better sound quality, use headphones and a microphone. Interpretation is only possible for questions asked on video.

    Journalists who have never used Interactio before are asked to connect 30 minutes before the start of the press conference to perform a connection test. IT assistance can be provided if necessary. When connected, open the chat window (upper right corner) to be able to see the service messages.

    For more details, check the connection guidelines and recommendations for remote speakers.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 20 May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 20 May 2025

    The Prime Minister spoke to President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy this evening.

    The Prime Minister spoke to President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this evening.

    The leaders began by reflecting on their meeting in Tirana, Albania, on Friday before discussing the UK’s latest package of sanctions on Russian military, energy and financial sectors announced today.

    It was vital to keep the pressure on Russia while they continued their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the leaders agreed.

    Looking ahead to further peace talks, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine and said he was steadfast in his commitment to helping Ukraine secure a just and lasting peace.

    The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

    Updates to this page

    Published 20 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: ESET Research APT Report: Russian cyberattacks in Ukraine intensify; Sandworm unleashes new destructive wiper

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • ESET has released its latest advanced persistent threat (APT) report.
    • Russian APT groups intensified attacks against Ukraine and the EU, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities and deploying wipers.
    • China-aligned groups like Mustang Panda and DigitalRecyclers continued their espionage campaigns targeting the EU government and maritime sectors.
    • North Korea-aligned groups expanded their financially motivated campaigns using fake job listings and social engineering.

    BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ESET Research has released its latest APT Activity Report, which highlights activities of select APT groups that were documented by ESET researchers from October 2024 through March 2025. During the monitored period, Russia-aligned threat actors, notably Sednit and Gamaredon, maintained aggressive campaigns primarily targeting Ukraine and EU countries. Ukraine was subjected to the greatest intensity of cyberattacks against the country’s critical infrastructure and governmental institutions. The Russia-aligned Sandworm group intensified destructive operations against Ukrainian energy companies, deploying a new wiper named ZEROLOT. China-aligned threat actors continued engaging in persistent espionage campaigns with a focus on European organizations.

    Gamaredon remained the most prolific actor targeting Ukraine, enhancing malware obfuscation and introducing PteroBox, a file stealer leveraging Dropbox. “The infamous Sandworm group concentrated heavily on compromising Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In recent cases, it deployed the ZEROLOT wiper in Ukraine. For this, the attackers abused Active Directory Group Policy in the affected organizations,” says ESET Director of Threat Research Jean-Ian Boutin.

    Sednit refined its exploitation of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities in webmail services, expanding Operation RoundPress from Roundcube to include Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra. ESET discovered that the group successfully leveraged a zero-day vulnerability in MDaemon Email Server (CVE-2024-11182) against Ukrainian companies. Several Sednit attacks against defense companies located in Bulgaria and Ukraine used spearphishing email campaigns as a lure. Another Russia-aligned group, RomCom, demonstrated advanced capabilities by deploying zero-day exploits against Mozilla Firefox (CVE 2024 9680) and Microsoft Windows (CVE 2024 49039).

    In Asia, China-aligned APT groups continued their campaigns against governmental and academic institutions. At the same time, North Korea-aligned threat actors significantly increased their operations directed at South Korea, placing particular emphasis on individuals, private companies, embassies, and diplomatic personnel. Mustang Panda remained the most active, targeting governmental institutions and maritime transportation companies via Korplug loaders and malicious USB drives. DigitalRecyclers continued targeting EU governmental entities, employing the KMA VPN anonymization network and deploying the RClient, HydroRShell, and GiftBox backdoors. PerplexedGoblin used its new espionage backdoor, which ESET named NanoSlate, against a Central European government entity, while Webworm targeted a Serbian government organization using SoftEther VPN, emphasizing the continued popularity of this tool among China-aligned groups.

    Elsewhere in Asia, North Korea-aligned threat actors were particularly active in financially motivated campaigns. DeceptiveDevelopment significantly broadened its targeting, using fake job listings primarily within the cryptocurrency, blockchain, and finance sectors. The group employed innovative social engineering techniques to distribute the multiplatform WeaselStore malware. The Bybit cryptocurrency theft, attributed by the FBI to TraderTraitor APT group, involved a supply-chain compromise of Safe{Wallet} that caused losses of approximately USD 1.5 billion. Meanwhile, other North Korea-aligned groups saw fluctuations in their operational tempo: In early 2025, Kimsuky and Konni returned to their usual activity levels after a noticeable decline at the end of 2024, shifting their targeting away from English-speaking think tanks, NGOs, and North Korea experts to focus primarily on South Korean entities and diplomatic personnel; and Andariel resurfaced, after a year of inactivity, with a sophisticated attack against a South Korean industrial software company.

    Iran-aligned APT groups maintained their primary focus on the Middle East region, predominantly targeting governmental organizations and entities within the manufacturing and engineering sectors in Israel. Additionally, ESET observed a significant global uptick in cyberattacks against technology companies, largely attributed to increased activity by North Korea-aligned DeceptiveDevelopment.

    “The highlighted operations are representative of the broader threat landscape that we investigated during this period. They illustrate the key trends and developments, and contain only a small fraction of the cybersecurity intelligence data provided to customers of ESET APT reports,” adds Boutin.

    Intelligence shared in the private reports is primarily based on proprietary ESET telemetry data and has been verified by ESET researchers, who prepare in-depth technical reports and frequent activity updates detailing activities of specific APT groups. These threat intelligence analyses, known as ESET APT Reports PREMIUM, assist organizations tasked with protecting citizens, critical national infrastructure, and high-value assets from criminal and nation-state-directed cyberattacks. More information about ESET APT Reports PREMIUM and its delivery of high-quality, actionable tactical and strategic cybersecurity threat intelligence is available at the ESET Threat Intelligence page.

    Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter (today known as X), BlueSky, and Mastodon for the latest news from ESET Research.

    About ESET

    ESET® provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of emerging global cyberthreats, both known and unknown — securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it’s endpoint, cloud, or mobile protection, our AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption, and multifactor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow our social media, podcasts and blogs.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/916569c8-b3c1-41ce-bc7a-dfd407156187

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: ESET Research uncovers Operation RoundPress: Russia-aligned Sednit targets entities linked to the Ukraine war to steal confidential data

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • ESET researchers uncovered the Operation RoundPress espionage campaign, with Russia-aligned Sednit group most likely behind it.
    • In Operation RoundPress, the compromise vector is a spearphishing email leveraging an XSS vulnerability to inject malicious JavaScript code into the victim’s webmail page. It targets Roundcube, Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra webmail software.
    • Most victims are governmental entities and defense companies in Eastern Europe, although ESET has observed governments in Africa, Europe, and South America being targeted as well.
    • The payloads are able to steal webmail credentials, and exfiltrate contacts and email messages from the victim’s mailbox.
    • Additionally, SpyPress.MDAEMON is able to set up a bypass for two-factor authentication.

    MONTREAL and BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, May 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ESET researchers have uncovered a Russia-aligned espionage operation, which ESET named RoundPress, targeting webmail servers via XSS vulnerabilities. Behind it is most likely the Russia-aligned Sednit (also known as Fancy Bear or APT28) cyberespionage group, holding the ultimate goal of stealing confidential data from specific email accounts. Most of the targets are related to the current war in Ukraine; they are either Ukrainian governmental entities or defense companies in Bulgaria and Romania. Notably, some of these defense companies are producing Soviet-era weapons to be sent to Ukraine. Other targets include African, EU, and South American governments.

    “Last year, we observed different XSS vulnerabilities being used to target additional webmail software: Horde, MDaemon, and Zimbra. Sednit also started to use a more recent vulnerability in Roundcube, CVE-2023-43770. The MDaemon vulnerability — CVE-2024-11182, now patched — was a zero day, most likely discovered by Sednit, while the ones for Horde, Roundcube, and Zimbra were already known and patched,” says ESET researcher Matthieu Faou, who discovered and investigated Operation RoundPress. Sednit sends these XSS exploits by email; the exploits lead to the execution of malicious JavaScript code in the context of the webmail client web page running in a browser window. Therefore, only data accessible from the target’s account can be read and exfiltrated.

    In order for the exploit to work, the target must be convinced to open the email message in the vulnerable webmail portal. This means that the email needs to bypass any spam filtering, and the subject line needs to be convincing enough to entice the target into reading the email message — abusing well-known news media such as Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Post or Bulgarian news portal News.bg. Among the headlines used as spearphishing were: “SBU arrested a banker who worked for enemy military intelligence in Kharkiv” and “Putin seeks Trump’s acceptance of Russian conditions in bilateral relations”.

    The attackers unleash JavaScript payloads SpyPress.HORDE, SpyPress.MDAEMON, SpyPress.ROUNDCUBE, and SpyPress.ZIMBRA upon the targets. Those are capable of credential stealing; exfiltration of the address book, contacts, and log-in history; and exfiltration of email messages. SpyPress.MDAEMON is able to set up a bypass for two-factor authentication protection; it exfiltrates the two-factor authentication secret and creates an app password, which enables the attackers to access the mailbox from a mail application.

    “Over the past two years, webmail servers such as Roundcube and Zimbra have been a major target for several espionage groups, including Sednit, GreenCube, and Winter Vivern. Because many organizations don’t keep their webmail servers up to date, and because the vulnerabilities can be triggered remotely by sending an email message, it is very convenient for attackers to target such servers for email theft,” explains Faou.

    The Sednit group — also known as APT28, Fancy Bear, Forest Blizzard, or Sofacy — has been operating since at least 2004. The U.S. Department of Justice named the group as one of those responsible for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack just before the 2016 U.S. elections and linked the group to the GRU. The group is also presumed to be behind the hacking of global television network TV5Monde, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) email leak, and many other incidents.

    For a more detailed analysis and technical breakdown of Sednit’s tools used in Operation RoundPress, check out the latest ESET Research blogpost “Operation RoundPress” on WeLiveSecurity.com. Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter (today known as X), BlueSky, and Mastodon for the latest news from ESET Research.

    Map of operation RoundPress targets, according to ESET telemetry

    About ESET

    ESET® provides cutting-edge digital security to prevent attacks before they happen. By combining the power of AI and human expertise, ESET stays ahead of emerging global cyberthreats, both known and unknown — securing businesses, critical infrastructure, and individuals. Whether it’s endpoint, cloud, or mobile protection, our AI-native, cloud-first solutions and services remain highly effective and easy to use. ESET technology includes robust detection and response, ultra-secure encryption, and multifactor authentication. With 24/7 real-time defense and strong local support, we keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands a progressive approach to security: ESET is committed to world-class research and powerful threat intelligence, backed by R&D centers and a strong global partner network. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow our social media, podcasts and blogs.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eee3ee68-80dc-4136-a11d-6f498092f7d1

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Marshall Joins Fox Business to Discuss the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ and Potential Coverup of Biden’s Health

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall

    Washington – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business this morning to discuss Joe Biden’s cancer announcement and the questions surrounding the timing of these revelations and the need to quickly pass President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill.’

    You may click HERE or above to watch Senator Marshall’s full interview on Fox Business.
    President Trump commented on Senator Marshall’s interview on Truth Social:

    Highlights from the interview include:
    On the next great cover-up from Joe Biden’s Administration:
    Senator Marshall: “What we do know is that, typically, this type of cancer takes at least two years to spread to the bones, at least two years, typically five years. It’s inconceivable to me that they weren’t doing PSA tests. If they were doing them, show them to us. If they weren’t, then show us that as well. All they have to do to dispel this rumor is show us the data. Show us the President’s records.
    “But the big issue here, to me is, what about six months from now when. Let’s just assume that Joe Biden will be completely mentally incapacitated in six months now they’re going to go back and say, Oh, these are metastases from the prostate, the cancer that caused this, not the Alzheimer’s that we’ve been seeing or the Parkinson’s, whichever it is, if not both of them, that’s been affecting his mental capacity now for several years.”
    On how this is seemingly yet another cover-up by the Biden Administration:
    Senator Marshall: “And they’ll continue the lie. The legacy media is complicit in all this, the White House, his White House, surrounding him, is complicit in this. Look, they’ve lied to us about Russia, Russia, Russia. They lied to us about the Hunter Biden laptop. They lied to us about all things COVID, and now there is one more cover-up.
    “Joe Biden has been out of office now for, what, not even six months a year, and there’s one more cover-up here. The great great cover-up is upon us. So coincidental, right after the Hur testimony comes out, that recording, which was way worse than I would have thought it would have been. Joe Biden had tangential thought processes going on. There is a classic sign of Alzheimer’s disease, as we know that he couldn’t complete sentences, really. He didn’t have any memory recollection beyond 2015 if you listen to that tape.”
    On how the cover-up put America and the world at risk:
    Senator Marshall: “Is there any doubt why Putin was not afraid to invade Ukraine? Is there any doubt why President Xi in China was going to walk all over us on trade agreements? All this points to we had a very weak leader. And again, who was running the country? And you’ve said this on your show so many times, who was running the country, who was signing those executive orders, who was signing the bills into law, all the people that he pardoned. Did you really know the story of who they were pardoning, but it was not the person that America elected.”
    On what’s next for the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’:
    Senator Marshall: “So I do have confidence, I have all the confidence in the world in Speaker Johnson, all the confidence world in leader, soon, if this is a ball game, we’d be in the third inning. The starting pitchers have both been knocked out. We’re into our middle relief, but we had the greatest closer of all time in Donald Trump. I mean, I think about Mario Rivera and his cutter fastball. That’s what President Trump has. I’m very confident. The big difference, I think, is this, the Republican Senate is more conservative than the House Republican caucus right now. We don’t have Senators from a SALT state.
    “Look, they’re probably trying to cut about one and a half trillion dollars. We think we need to cut at least a minimum of $2 trillion that’s probably the biggest difference between the two bills. The SALT is a great example. We don’t have a senator from a SALT state. What they’re talking about doing is going to cost American taxpayers a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. So, people from Kansas look like we’re supplementing folks from California, from Illinois, from New York, on this SALT deduction tax to the tune of a trillion dollars. We don’t think that that’s fair. So, they’ll get something across the finish line. Give it to us. We’ll make it better. We’ll work with President Trump and get him this One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
    On the importance of getting the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ across the finish line:
    Senator Marshall: “We don’t have any choice. We have to get this bill across the finish line, or we’re going to see the largest tax increase in American history, a $4 trillion tax increase. We have to get it across the finish line. President Trump says we need to take care of this ceiling, of this debt ceiling… To your point, if we don’t, then the Democrats will weaponize it against us. So, we have to take care of it now, and that’s going to allow us to work towards a balanced budget as we go forward. We need to get last year behind us, focus on the future, and start working towards a balanced budget.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese Foreign Minister to Attend Signing Ceremony of Convention Establishing International Mediation Organization /more details/

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will attend the signing ceremony of the Convention Establishing the International Mediation Organization (IMO) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on May 30, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday.

    As Mao Ning recalled at a regular briefing for journalists, in 2022, China and about 20 countries with similar positions jointly put forward the initiative to establish an IGO. Thanks to their joint efforts, negotiations on the Convention Establishing the IGO were completed, and all parties agreed to locate its headquarters in Hong Kong.

    The official representative announced that nearly 60 countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, as well as about 20 international organizations, including the UN, will send high-ranking representatives to the signing ceremony on May 30. The Global Forum on International Mediation will be held in the afternoon of the same day to discuss “mediation of interstate disputes” and “mediation of international investment and commercial disputes.”

    According to Mao Ning, the establishment of the IGO is a response to the common need of all countries for peace, stability and development, and is in line with the modern trend of cooperation for mutual benefit. The new organization will combine the advantages of all major legal systems and promote the development of global governance in the area of the rule of law in a more just and reasonable manner.

    “We invite more countries to actively support the establishment of the IGO and participate in it, and coordinate the activities of the IGO with the existing international dispute settlement mechanisms to mutually enhance effectiveness, so as to jointly provide more opportunities and ways for resolving international disputes through effective and peaceful means, and better safeguard international fairness and justice,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Britain suspends trade talks with Israel over Gaza blockade

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    LONDON, May 20 (Xinhua) — Britain has suspended talks with Israel on a free trade agreement over Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Tuesday, adding that Israel’s ambassador to Britain has been summoned to the ministry.

    Speaking in the House of Commons, the lower house of the British parliament, David Lammy stressed that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “morally wrong, unjustifiable and must end.”

    The diplomat noted that, in his opinion, all parliamentarians “must strongly condemn the Israeli government for depriving hungry children of food.” –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leading National Security Senators to Trump: If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, “America First” may result in “America Alone”

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

    WASHINGTON, DC — This week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to President Donald Trump expressing concern about the Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security.

    The leading national security Senators warned that tariffs announced this year will cost American households thousands of dollars, increase inflation and undermine longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships—ultimately harming U.S. national security interests. They urged President Trump to reassess the long-term national security consequences of a trade policy that isolates the U.S. from its closest partners. 

    “We are writing to express our deep concern over your Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security,” wrote the Senators. “The tariffs announced this year will raise trade barriers to their highest level in more than a century, costing the average American household $4,900 per year, increasing inflation to as high as 5.5 percent and risking bankruptcy for small businesses across the country.”

    “Global stock markets have experienced wild fluctuations and companies have paused shipments to the United States, laid off workers and delayed new investments and expansion due to the uncertainty these tariffs have caused,” continued the Senators. “Yet this decision has an additional consequence: it undermines longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships and harms our national security interests. We urge you to assess the long-term national security implications of your short-sighted, impulsive tariff agenda.”

    “As the Senate considers the Administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, we will hold a number of hearings,” concluded the Senators. “We expect Administration officials to speak to the impact of U.S. tariff actions on our alliances and partnerships as part of that process. If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, ‘America First’ may result in ‘America Alone,’ leaving our citizens less safe and our Nation less strong and less prosperous.”

    Full text of the letter follows:

    Dear President Trump,

    We are writing to express our deep concern over your Administration’s tariff policy and its harmful impact on U.S. national security. The tariffs announced this year will raise trade barriers to their highest level in more than a century, costing the average American household $4,900 per year, increasing inflation to as high as 5.5 percent and risking bankruptcy for small businesses across the country. Global stock markets have experienced wild fluctuations and companies have paused shipments to the United States, laid off workers and delayed new investments and expansion due to the uncertainty these tariffs have caused. Yet this decision has an additional consequence: it undermines longstanding U.S. alliances and partnerships and harms our national security interests. We urge you to assess the long-term national security implications of your short-sighted, impulsive tariff agenda.

    The April 2nd Executive Order has been deeply felt by partners and allies across the world. All NATO allies have been affected, in addition to Indo-Pacific partners whom the United States relies upon to deliver the “free and open Indo-Pacific” that Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio has continued to call for. However, the rationale for these tariffs remains unclear to both Americans and our allies. While the April 9th announcement to pause some tariffs and apparent willingness to negotiate was a positive step, it remains unclear what goals this negotiation is meant to achieve and thus what actions countries should be prepared to take. In addition, the ten percent universal tariff appears likely to remain in place, weakening relationships with our allies and partners.

    Some of our allies, arguably our most critical allies who have stood by us in our most challenging times, have announced economic counter measures against the United States. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen has said the European Union is readying its “first package of countermeasures,” while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has noted “we are going to fight these tariffs” after having warned that Canada’s “trade and security relations are too reliant on the United States. We must diversify.” We are also concerned that US-EU negotiations show no sign of progress, with reports that the Trump Administration refuses to engage in good faith with America’s largest trading partner.

    At the same time as the Administration is imposing new tariffs, we are also urging our European and Indo-Pacific partners to increase defense spending. The Administration has called on NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product and Taiwan to increase their defense spending to 10 percent; only to turn around and undermine such an effort by threatening a trade war that stifles economic growth and raises costs. We are already seeing reports that partners will have to diversify away from U.S. parts in weapons production and procurement and critical security partnerships, like AUKUS, could end up too expensive to pursue.

    The tariffs are also likely in conflict with our U.S. treaty commitments. For instance, the tariffs imposed on NATO members could be a violation of Article II of the North Atlantic Treaty, which calls on all NATO partners to “eliminate conflict in their international economic policies,” and “encourage economic collaboration.” The same language exists in our mutual defense treaty with Japan. The Administration must explain to how the tariff announcements are in accordance with U.S. treaty commitments. 

    Our networks of allies and partners are our greatest competitive advantage. We must work to foster greater unity and resolve to address the most pressing national security challenges together. Your administration’s policy approach is undermining such efforts. Strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be far harder to win alone. As we learned in 2022, following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we can impose significant economic pain when the United States, the European Union, and our Indo-Pacific partners act in unison. We are stronger together. And launching a trade war against our allies and partners undermines that strength. We urge you to rethink this harmful policy.  

    As the Senate considers the Administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request, we will hold a number of hearings. We expect Administration officials to speak to the impact of U.S. tariff actions on our alliances and partnerships as part of that process. If your tariff tirade continues to spiral, “America First” may result in “America Alone,” leaving our citizens less safe and our Nation less strong and less prosperous.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Risch Leads Legislation to Counter Adversary Nuclear Energy Programs

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-Del.), senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mike Lee (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the International Nuclear Energy Act. This legislation aims to support the U.S. domestic nuclear energy industry’s leadership and offset China and Russia’s growing influence on international nuclear energy development.

    “If the U.S. doesn’t lead on nuclear energy development, Russia and China will,” said Risch. “This bill will give us the tools we need to compete with these authoritarian aggressors and build long-lasting nuclear energy deals that benefit our economy and ensure America remains the leader on nuclear energy for generations to come.”

    “With the International Nuclear Energy Act, we’re not asking for a seat at the table—we’re setting the agenda on global nuclear development,” said Lee. “Achieving American energy dominance will require us to streamline our nuclear exports, foster our relationships abroad, and bring the full weight of American industry to bear in out-competing our geopolitical adversaries. I’m grateful to partner with Senator Risch to ensure that America remains at the forefront of nuclear power for decades to come.”

    The International Nuclear Energy Act would:

    • Support the establishment of an office to coordinate civil nuclear exports strategy; establish financing relationships; promote regulatory harmonization; enhance safeguards and security; promote standardization of licensing framework; and create a nuclear exports working group.

    • Create programs to facilitate international nuclear energy cooperation to develop financing relationships, training, education, market analysis, safety, security, safeguards and nuclear governance required for a civil nuclear program.

    • Require a cabinet-level biennial summit focused on nuclear safety, security, and safeguards, and to enhance cooperative relationships between private industry and government.

    • Establish a Strategic Infrastructure Fund Working Group to determine how to best structure a Fund to finance projects critical to national security.

    The International Nuclear Energy Act is supported by the Idaho National Lab, Nuclear Energy Institute, and Clearpath Action.

    “I commend Senator Risch for his continued leadership and attention to advancing U.S. nuclear energy policy on the global stage. Securing American leadership in global nuclear deployment is essential to national security, meeting international energy demand, and ensuring that safe, reliable technologies define the global standard,” said John Wagner, Director of Idaho National Laboratory.

    “From Europe and the Asia-Pacific, from the Americas to the Middle East and Africa, countries are turning to nuclear energy to meet growing energy demands with reliable, secure, abundant, affordable, and clean sources. Now more than ever, U.S. nuclear energy leadership is needed. The International Nuclear Energy Act includes important provisions that will facilitate the deployment of U.S. nuclear energy technologies to partner nations, generating American jobs and extending U.S. influence in nuclear safety, nonproliferation, and security. We commend Senators Risch, Coons, Lee, and Heinrich for advancing legislation that will help maintain U.S. global leadership in commercial nuclear technology,” said Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

    “Investing in our domestic nuclear energy supply chain and fostering export opportunities abroad will increase the energy security of our allies and create jobs here in America. While the United States remains the foremost nuclear power in the world, from our power plants to our nuclear navy, developing countries have more recently looked to Russia and China for their new nuclear needs. INEA wisely puts new tools in America’s energy tool belt to support domestic technologies racing to the global marketplace to compete,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath Action.

    Idaho is home to the Idaho National Lab (INL), which is the flagship laboratory for civil nuclear research energy and the first place in the world to generate electricity with a nuclear reactor. INL is driving significant progress in new nuclear research by collaborating with industry to demonstrate advanced technologies like small modular reactors, microreactors, and safer, more efficient nuclear fuels. These efforts, made possible through public-private partnerships at INL, will contribute to the nation’s energy independence and strengthen U.S. leadership in civil nuclear energy around the world. 

    Senator Risch has long advocated for domestic nuclear energy production and the commercialization of advanced nuclear technologies. In a recent Washington Times editorial, Senator Risch underscored the critical role of nuclear energy in powering America’s current and future energy needs.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robert Dover, Professor of Intelligence and National Security & Dean of Faculty, University of Hull

    Denmark’s foreign affairs minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen sounded surprised and emotional as he addressed a press conference on May 7. He announced he would call in the acting head of the US embassy in Copenhagen, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over highly charged allegations that Washington has instructed its intelligence agencies to step up espionage on Greenland and Copenhagen.

    According to the Wall Street Journal, US intelligence operatives have been asked to collect information on Greenland’s politicians, independence activists and mining interests that could be leveraged in a potential purchase or coerced transfer of Greenland to the US.

    Greenland is a semi-autonomous Danish territory that Donald Trump has stated he would like to become part of the US. The US State Department has refused to comment on the allegations and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said she was opening an investigation into leaks of classified information.

    This looks like a large powerful nation doing all it can to undermine an ally and fellow member of Nato, which is why the Danes are so affronted.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    The real surprise of the story is that it became so public. But this drama comes at a time of increasingly frosty relations between Denmark and the US, made worse by a visit by US vice-president, J.D. Vance, that didn’t go through diplomatic channels. Even before this, Danish supermarkets were marking US products so consumers could boycott them.

    In another case with some parallels to the Greenland spy saga with one ally spying on another, there has been reports of a newly uncovered Hungarian spy ring in Ukraine, collecting military data for Russia. Hungary said the reports were propaganda.

    Hungary is, in theory, aligned with Ukraine as a member of the EU and Nato. However, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has expressed sympathy for Russian agendas and has the closest relationship with Moscow of any current EU leader. Orbán has even repeatedly attempted to block EU aid to Ukraine.

    The alleged discovery of a Hungarian spy network may ramp up the creeping distrust of Hungary by other EU members and the sense of it becoming even more closely aligned with Russia.

    There has even been a recently reported example of spying going on among countries that are loosely considered allies. North Korean spies were recently caught spying on China, for example.

    The Greenland and Hungary episodes, particularly, shed light on how the world order is being remade. We are in the middle of this shift, with technology-enabled intelligence playing a significant part. These episodes demonstrate that governments who thought they were allies are quickly discovering they could be adversaries.



    Read more:
    How Donald Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland really went down in Denmark

    Regulation by revelation

    The US’s reported efforts at spying on Greenland and Denmark is a window into intelligence business.

    Intelligence efforts against allies are generally only curtailed when they become subject to a public scandal. Intelligence historian Richard Aldrich described this as “regulation by revelation”. The inquiries into these operations normally result in a light censure from politicians or judges, pledges not to repeat the offences and subsequent changes to processes.

    Denmark claims the US has been spying on Greenland.

    What will happen in the Greenland case is as yet unclear, particularly when the Trump administration has shown itself to be particularly immune from public, media and political challenge. The most effective challenge to hostile activity against Greenland could be any ramifications for international stock market sentiment, but even that is not guaranteed.

    The reliance of the US constitution and international law on participants behaving appropriately now looks strained under the Trump administration. The lack of restraint on US power may cause nations to rely more heavily on their own intelligence capabilities.

    Intelligence could, as a policy area, begin to mirror that of tariffs and trade as a way that the US can create further uncertainty among other nations about its foreign policy objectives.



    Read more:
    US and Russia squabble over Arctic security as melting ice opens up shipping routes

    Technology makes it easy

    But another factor in contemporary intelligence is that nations can now spy on each other much more easily. Technical capabilities are getting cheaper and easier to use.

    For instance, communications intercepts, satellite imagery and open source data-analysis spying methods are cheaper than ever before. These approaches offer more insight, because of the development of machine analytics and the ready availability of computing power and data storage.

    So, allies will continue to spy on allies because they are able to. That ability drives a demand, even in peace time, to know what other national leaders, and their public, are thinking and doing.

    Nations will also aggressively spy at the moment because the world is particularly unstable, and on the edge of conflict in many regions. Understanding where conflicts might erupt, why and with what force and consequence is essential to any nation’s defence posture.

    Nations only know what equipment to buy, what resources to stockpile and how many people to employ in their militaries with this insight. Intelligence is as much about avoiding surprise as it is creating the circumstances to surprise others. In this sense, intelligence is just another tool of statecraft.

    Most nations have spied on their allies for as long as they have been able. During the cold war the US purchased the Swiss encrypted communications company Crypto AG and sold hundreds of secure communications devices with weakened security, which allowed it to listen in on the countries that were using it and gain intelligence

    This type of operation was the forerunner of the widespread intelligence practices of the US National Security Agency, which is in charge of collecting information for counter intelligence purposes, in recent years.

    For Denmark, the challenges of working with its allies through Nato, while defending Greenland, are increasingly complex. Meanwhile, the EU will also be concerned about what Hungary is sharing with its other “friends”. International allies and alliances are increasingly untrustworthy as part of 2025 tectonic shifts in global geopolitics. The recent revelations are just part of that moving picture.

    Robert Dover has previously received funding from the AHRC around the subject of lessons learned from intelligence operations.

    – ref. Recent spy scandals reveal how western allies are increasingly unreliable friends – https://theconversation.com/recent-spy-scandals-reveal-how-western-allies-are-increasingly-unreliable-friends-256353

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese Foreign Minister Meets with Indonesian National Economic Council Chairman

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indonesian National Economic Council Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan in Beijing on Tuesday.

    As Wang Yi, who is also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, recalled, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Chinese-Indonesian diplomatic relations.

    The Chinese Foreign Minister pointed out that China is willing to work with Indonesia to deepen political mutual trust, efficiently promote such landmark projects as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor, strengthen cooperation in various fields including maritime activities and mining, and unleash the potential for cooperation in emerging sectors.

    Wang Yi stressed that the world is currently facing the regressive attacks of unilateralism, and trade bullying is detrimental to the interests of all countries. He said China and Indonesia should adhere to independence and self-reliance, expand cooperation for mutual benefit, and uphold fairness and justice.

    China congratulates Indonesia on its official entry into BRICS and stands ready to work with it to uphold the “Bandung spirit,” promote regional economic integration, resist the attacks of unilateralism and deglobalization, jointly build a common home in the Asia-Pacific region, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for mankind, the Chinese Foreign Minister added.

    Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, for his part, noted that the Indonesia-China friendship is extremely strong. Noting that Indonesia’s economic development is inseparable from mutually beneficial cooperation with China, he noted that bilateral cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, finance, technology transfer and human resource training is fruitful, and such landmark projects as the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway benefit the people of both countries. Bilateral cooperation also has a positive impact on neighboring countries, the Chairman of the National Economic Council of Indonesia emphasized.

    Indonesia hopes to strengthen exchanges with China at all levels, expand areas of cooperation, strengthen cultural and humanitarian exchanges, promote the development of an Indonesia-China community with a shared future, and jointly advance solidarity and cooperation among countries in the Global South, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan added. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Chinese State Councilor calls for all-out efforts to stabilize employment

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    HANGZHOU, May 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin has called for speeding up the implementation of employment incentives to ensure stable employment.

    Shen Yiqin made the remarks during an inspection tour of Hangzhou and Ningbo, both in east China’s Zhejiang Province, from May 17 to 20, focusing on employment and vocational training.

    During the trip, Shen Yiqin learned about the employment situation by visiting various enterprises and schools, and called for stronger support for sectors and enterprises with strong job creation potential. She also stressed the need to help enterprises ease the burden and stabilize employment to effectively cope with external shocks.

    She said it was critical to ensure employment for key groups, including college graduates and migrant workers, especially those who had escaped poverty. Shen Yiqin also called for large-scale vocational training programs to improve workers’ skills and produce more highly skilled professionals. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Video: EU Reaffirms Support for Ukraine as Trump Re-Enters Global Stage Amid Russia Tensions

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    The EU’s position on the war in Ukraine hasn’t changed and neither has its commitment to peace. As President Trump re-engages and global conversations continue, European leaders are standing firm. President Zelensky has once again made clear he’s ready to do what it takes to achieve a ceasefire. But with no signs of willingness from the Kremlin, the EU is moving forward with a fresh set of sanctions aimed at cutting off the funds fueling Russia’s aggression. 
     
    It’s a difficult path but Europe is staying the course: defending peace, supporting Ukraine, and pushing for a fair and lasting end to the war.

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

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Pat Fallon Leads Letter to Bolster US Grid Resiliency

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Pat Fallon (TX-04)

    Washington, DC — Rep. Pat Fallon (TX-04) led a letter yesterday to Energy Secretary Chris Wright requesting a briefing by the Department of Energy on the state of US grid resiliency both from an energy use and national security perspective.

    In an exclusive with the Washington Reporter, Rep. Fallon commented:

    “The U.S. needs prioritize dependable sources of energy like natural gas, oil, and coal to power our nation and protect our national security.”

    “At the same time, the longer we leave our electrical grid vulnerable, the longer we invite cyberattacks from adversaries like China or Russia, risking widespread outages that endanger American lives,” Rep. Fallon continued. “We must ensure we have planned for future threats to our grid to safeguard America’s future.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Secretary General calls for stronger NATO-EU cooperation to strengthen deterrence and defence

    Source: NATO

    On Tuesday (20 May 2025), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attended the Foreign Affairs Council with EU Defence Ministers. He highlighted the importance of closer NATO-EU relations, in light of the threats from Russia, China’s military build-up, and terrorism.

    Mr Rutte underlined the need to ramp up defence spending and production, and “to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to bring this war to a lasting and durable end.”

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Donald Trump doing the world a favour by isolating the United States?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shaun Narine, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)

    United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs against most of the world tanked stock markets, disrupted the U.S. bond market and destabilized the global economy.

    Trump has economically and politically threatened American allies, shattering the unity of the western world. But Trump’s chaos may have inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world.

    Some western commentators argue that the U.S. has been a benevolent superpower.

    That may have been true for a small group of mostly western states that have benefitted from American domination. But much of the Global South was victimized by American military, economic and political interventions.

    Losing dominance?

    The West could be in the midst of losing its dominant position in the global order. This is probably inevitable, but it may not be the tragedy some western commentators assume it to be.

    In most of the world, there is a desire for a more equitable world order that doesn’t feature the moral, racial and cultural double standards of the western-dominated system. A world where American and western power is limited and contained could not only end up being more peaceful but, over time, more prosperous.

    Without the co-operation of the allies alienated by Trump, it may be harder for the U.S. to initiate conflict around the world as it often has since the end of the Cold War.

    In a recent Foreign Affairs article, American political scientist Stacie Goddard argues the emerging multipolar, post-American world will be one in which great powers — primarily the U.S., Russia and China — will divide the globe into “spheres of influence.”

    The U.S. is seeking to maintain disproportionate power in Asia. Closer to home, neighbours of the U.S. have reason to fear American expansionism.

    By contrast, even if it has imperialist ambitions, Russia doesn’t have the military might to dominate Europe. It’s a country of 144 million people with one-sixth the GDP of the European Union. Russia can cause trouble within countries with sizable Russian minorities, but its ability to project power is limited, as demonstrated by its grinding war in Ukraine.



    Read more:
    After another call with Putin, it looks like Trump has abandoned efforts to mediate peace in Ukraine

    China’s stance

    The Chinese have scored a win against Trump’s tariffs with a 90-day tariff pause that’s being hailed as vindication of China’s defiant negotiating strategy. China called Trump’s bluff and won as global stocks soared.



    Read more:
    China-US trade war: the next 90 days are a big deal for Beijing as it seeks long-term solutions

    This has bolstered China’s goal to have a sphere of influence. However, Chinese foreign policy is largely non-interventionist and, compared to the U.S., remarkably restrained.

    China may intimidate its rivals in the South China Sea, Senkaku Islands, and Taiwan, but it does not easily resort to military force. China has not resorted to military force since its war with Vietnam in 1979.

    China is committed to most of the guiding structures of the current international system and values a stable and mutually beneficial global economic order that enables it to focus on and improve its domestic development.

    Its export-oriented economic sectors need customers abroad. Unlike the West, China has a vested interest in helping the Global South develop and prosper in order to create those customers.

    Asian trade alliance?

    The Chinese are using their resources to promote economic and technological development in the Global South.

    As China spreads its renewable energy technologies globally, some of the poorest countries may leapfrog carbon-based fuels and go directly to renewable energy to make development affordable and attainable, and to mitigate climate change.



    Read more:
    What Canada can learn from China on effectively engaging with Africa

    In response to Trump’s tariffs, China, South Korea and Japan have discussed a renewed free-trade arrangement. President Xi Jinping has toured Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia to encourage a common front against American actions.

    Asian states are wary of China, but they remain committed to global trade. The U.S. may be retreating from globalization, but the rest of the world is not, though China’s manufacturing dominance concerns many states.

    Emerging international order

    New institutions may help to manage the evolving world order. The BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates — have created the New Development Bank (NDB). China has created the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

    The United Nations remains the favoured instrument of global diplomacy, even if western states have been accused of undermining its authority and efficacy.

    The European Union will continue as a major global power in the emerging international order, but on a more even footing with the rest of the world.

    Europe is reconsidering its trade war with China. In the words of Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission: “The West as we knew it no longer exists.”

    Western states will undoubtedly continue to try to exercise disproportionate global influence. Canada has suggested that “like-minded states” form an alliance to promote international trade and institutions that remain dominated by western interests. This idea seems designed to continue marginalizing the Global South in the international decision-making process.

    Most Global South states are not high-functioning liberal democracies. Many struggle with the legacies of colonialism while managing an international system dominated by the West that keeps them subservient. Others have created governments that fit their particular circumstances, cultures and levels of development.

    But many weaker countries generally share a commitment to international law that is seemingly stronger than the West. They need a stable, predictable, fairly applied set of global rules more than stronger nations. Ironically, the decline of the U.S. may facilitate a much more genuine and legitimate rules-based international order.

    America’s loosening grip

    Readjusting the world economy away from the U.S. to a more diverse, evenly distributed economic model will be difficult and disruptive.

    Nonetheless, loosening the American grip on global power is an essential first step towards achieving a more just and balanced international order.

    For putting this process in motion, the world may owe Trump a measure of thanks.

    Shaun Narine is affiliated with Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East and Jewish Voice for Peace.

    – ref. Is Donald Trump doing the world a favour by isolating the United States? – https://theconversation.com/is-donald-trump-doing-the-world-a-favour-by-isolating-the-united-states-252671

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China welcomes and supports Pakistan, India’s efforts to resolve differences through dialogue: Chinese FM

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — China welcomes and supports Pakistan and India’s efforts to properly resolve their differences through dialogue, achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire and find fundamental solutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing on Tuesday.

    Wang Yi, also a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, made the statement during talks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The Chinese diplomat noted that this meets the fundamental and long-term interests of both sides, promotes regional peace and stability, and is the common aspiration of the international community. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China Coast Guard monitors Philippines resupplying warship illegally grounded near Ren’ai Reef

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) — Under China’s approval, the Philippines used a civilian vessel to resupply a warship that ran aground illegally in waters near Ren’ai Reef in the South China Sea on May 16, China Coast Guard (CCG) spokesman Liu Dejun said Tuesday.

    He noted that the BOC had requested the Philippine vessel to identify it and had been supervising it throughout the process.

    Liu Dejun called on the Philippine side to fulfill its obligations and cooperate with China to keep the maritime situation under control.

    “The BOC will continue its human rights and law enforcement activities in the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters, including Ren’ai Reef,” he stressed.

    In May 1999, the Philippines “grounded” the tank landing ship BRP Sierra Madre /LT-57/ in the area. The Chinese side immediately made a stern representation to the Philippine side, demanding that it immediately tow the ship away. The Philippines repeatedly promised to do so in the near future. However, more than 25 years later, the Philippine warship is still in the same place. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China Launches New Communications Satellite

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    WENCHANG, HAINAN PROVINCE, May 20 (Xinhua) — China on Tuesday successfully launched a new communications satellite into orbit from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan Province.

    The ChinaSat-3B satellite was launched at 19:50 Beijing time by a Long March-7A carrier rocket. The satellite successfully entered its designated orbit.

    The satellite will primarily provide voice, data, radio and television signal transmission services.

    The current launch was the 577th flight mission for the Long March series of launch vehicles. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Over 1 million tourists from China visited Russia in 2024

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Moscow, May 20 /Xinhua/ — In 2024, 1.1 million travelers from China visited Russia and stayed in hotels, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov said at the Russian-Chinese Forum in Khabarovsk, as quoted by the ministry’s press service.

    As D. Vakhrukov noted, this is almost a two-fold increase. At the same time, the single electronic visa to Russia, which has already been used by more than 400 thousand Chinese tourists, turned out to be an extremely effective mechanism. According to the Deputy Minister, in the near future it is planned to extend the period of stay on such a visa from 16 to 30 days.

    Russia and China also have a visa-free travel mechanism for organized tourist groups of five or more people, which has been used by over 1 million Russian and Chinese tourists. D. Vakhrukov added that negotiations are currently underway to improve the conditions for such trips, in particular to increase the maximum travel period by 1.5 times. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –