NewzIntel.com

Category: Security

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

    Source: NATO

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

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

    Source: NATO

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: 4BIO Capital co-leads Actithera’s oversubscribed $75.5 million Series A financing

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    4BIO investing in unique radiopharmaceutical platform company, developing radioligands with prolonged tumour retention

    Series A was co-led by 4BIO Capital, founding investor M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners, with syndicate including Bioqube Ventures, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and others

    Proceeds will support clinical development of Actithera’s fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting candidate and pipeline expansion

    London, United Kingdom, 9 July 2025 – 4BIO Capital (“4BIO” or “the Group”), an international venture capital firm unlocking the treatments of the future by investing in advanced therapies and other emerging technologies, today announces that it has co-led a $75.5 million Series A Financing round of Actithera (the “Company”).

    Radiopharmaceutical therapy (or radioligand therapy, RLT) is a targeted form of radiotherapy that can treat cancers resistant to other therapies and represents a $7.5 billion market projected to grow to $14.4 billion by 20341. RLTs with the appropriate pharmacokinetic profile can achieve efficacy with minimal toxicity; however, attaining the ideal pharmacokinetic characteristics is not trivial. 4BIO’s investment in Actithera highlights the clear need for a more systematic approach to optimizing RLT vectors and exemplifies the Group’s strategy of identifying critical technology gaps, backing innovative solutions, and supporting them in high-growth markets.

    4BIO co-led the oversubscribed round alongside founding investor M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners with additional participation from Bioqube Ventures, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund, Investinor, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and the second founding investor, Arkin Bio Ventures II.

    Therese Liechtenstein, incoming Board Member and Investment Director at 4BIO Capital, said: “At 4BIO we invest in companies solving technical unmet needs to enable next-generation therapeutics. We are honoured to support Actithera, whose pipeline of molecules addresses key challenges in the nascent radioligand therapies space; a large therapeutic window through high tumour retention and low systemic exposure, applied to a lead programme that has significant pan-tumour therapeutic potential.”

    Dr Andreas Goutopoulous, Founder and CEO of Actithera, added: “We are grateful for 4BIO Capital’s support in this oversubscribed Series A, which is a strong validation of our approach. We set out to bring structure-based and kinetics-driven thinking from small molecule drug design into the world of radiopharmaceuticals. We engineer our radioconjugates for extended retention within tumours, making them ideally suited for longer-lived radionuclides and ultimately delivering more convenient dosing schedules and enhanced efficacy and safety for patients.”

    As part of the Series A financing, Therese Liechtenstein, Investment Director at 4BIO Capital will join the Actithera Board of Directors.

    The financing will support the advancement of Actithera’s lead FAP asset into clinical development in multiple indications, while also enabling the continued development of its proprietary RLT discovery platform and preclinical pipeline.

    The Company’s discovery platform combines rational drug design with radiochemistry to create novel small molecule radioligands that overcome current limitations in radiopharmaceutical development. Its three-pillar platform includes first-in-class covalent targeting strategies, designed to optimize tumour residence time, while ensuring rapid systemic clearance – improving precision, safety, and efficacy. Two additional proprietary approaches further support compound differentiation and improve tumour residence time and selectivity. This platform was validated through Actithera’s work on FAP, a high-value theranostic target known for being difficult to drug with molecules that maintain prolonged tumour residency. These efforts have resulted in a FAP-directed RLT development candidate with best-in-class potential due to its optimal pharmacokinetic profile and tumour specificity.

    Dr Andreas Goutopoulos, founder and CEO, brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech industry experience, including a track record of more than a dozen development candidates. His background includes over a decade of discovery leadership at EMD Serono, where he led medicinal chemistry. In his role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at M Ventures, he led the scientific efforts of and supported a number of oncology small molecule biotechs. At Actithera, he is pioneering a chemistry-driven, precision approach to RLTs by integrating novel covalent-targeting chemistries, rational drug design principles and an isotope-agnostic philosophy.

    – End –

    Contacts

    4BIO Capital +44 (0) 203 427 5500
    info@4biocapital.com
       
    ICR Healthcare
    Amber Fennell, Jonathan Edwards, Kris Lam    		 +44 (0)20 3709 5700
    4biocapital@icrhealthcare.com

    About 4BIO Capital
    4BIO Capital (“4BIO”) is an international venture capital firm focused on investing in advanced therapies and emerging modalities, to unlock the treatments of the future. 4BIO’s mission is to invest in, support, and grow early-stage companies solving technical bottlenecks that enable next generation therapeutics in areas of high unmet medical need, with the ultimate goal of ensuring access to these potentially transformative therapies for all patients. The 4BIO team comprises leading advanced therapy scientists and experienced life science investors with an unrivalled network within the advanced therapy sector and a unique understanding of the criteria that define a successful investment opportunity in this space. For more information, connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @4biocapital and visit www.4biocapital.com.

    About Actithera
    Actithera is a radiopharmaceutical biotech company translating medicinal chemistry insights into next-generation radioligand therapies (RLTs). Founded in 2021 by drug discovery innovator Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos, and seed investors M Ventures, and Arkin Bio-Holdings, Actithera applies various molecular design strategies, including covalent-targeting and an isotope-agnostic philosophy to invent RLTs with significant differentiation and larger therapeutic windows. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Actithera is committed to advancing a differentiated pipeline addressing critical unmet needs in oncology. Learn more at www.actithera.com and on LinkedIn.

    1 https://www.precedenceresearch.com/radiopharmaceuticals-market

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: 4BIO Capital co-leads Actithera’s oversubscribed $75.5 million Series A financing

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    4BIO investing in unique radiopharmaceutical platform company, developing radioligands with prolonged tumour retention

    Series A was co-led by 4BIO Capital, founding investor M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners, with syndicate including Bioqube Ventures, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company) and others

    Proceeds will support clinical development of Actithera’s fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting candidate and pipeline expansion

    London, United Kingdom, 9 July 2025 – 4BIO Capital (“4BIO” or “the Group”), an international venture capital firm unlocking the treatments of the future by investing in advanced therapies and other emerging technologies, today announces that it has co-led a $75.5 million Series A Financing round of Actithera (the “Company”).

    Radiopharmaceutical therapy (or radioligand therapy, RLT) is a targeted form of radiotherapy that can treat cancers resistant to other therapies and represents a $7.5 billion market projected to grow to $14.4 billion by 20341. RLTs with the appropriate pharmacokinetic profile can achieve efficacy with minimal toxicity; however, attaining the ideal pharmacokinetic characteristics is not trivial. 4BIO’s investment in Actithera highlights the clear need for a more systematic approach to optimizing RLT vectors and exemplifies the Group’s strategy of identifying critical technology gaps, backing innovative solutions, and supporting them in high-growth markets.

    4BIO co-led the oversubscribed round alongside founding investor M Ventures, Hadean Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners with additional participation from Bioqube Ventures, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund, Investinor, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and the second founding investor, Arkin Bio Ventures II.

    Therese Liechtenstein, incoming Board Member and Investment Director at 4BIO Capital, said: “At 4BIO we invest in companies solving technical unmet needs to enable next-generation therapeutics. We are honoured to support Actithera, whose pipeline of molecules addresses key challenges in the nascent radioligand therapies space; a large therapeutic window through high tumour retention and low systemic exposure, applied to a lead programme that has significant pan-tumour therapeutic potential.”

    Dr Andreas Goutopoulous, Founder and CEO of Actithera, added: “We are grateful for 4BIO Capital’s support in this oversubscribed Series A, which is a strong validation of our approach. We set out to bring structure-based and kinetics-driven thinking from small molecule drug design into the world of radiopharmaceuticals. We engineer our radioconjugates for extended retention within tumours, making them ideally suited for longer-lived radionuclides and ultimately delivering more convenient dosing schedules and enhanced efficacy and safety for patients.”

    As part of the Series A financing, Therese Liechtenstein, Investment Director at 4BIO Capital will join the Actithera Board of Directors.

    The financing will support the advancement of Actithera’s lead FAP asset into clinical development in multiple indications, while also enabling the continued development of its proprietary RLT discovery platform and preclinical pipeline.

    The Company’s discovery platform combines rational drug design with radiochemistry to create novel small molecule radioligands that overcome current limitations in radiopharmaceutical development. Its three-pillar platform includes first-in-class covalent targeting strategies, designed to optimize tumour residence time, while ensuring rapid systemic clearance – improving precision, safety, and efficacy. Two additional proprietary approaches further support compound differentiation and improve tumour residence time and selectivity. This platform was validated through Actithera’s work on FAP, a high-value theranostic target known for being difficult to drug with molecules that maintain prolonged tumour residency. These efforts have resulted in a FAP-directed RLT development candidate with best-in-class potential due to its optimal pharmacokinetic profile and tumour specificity.

    Dr Andreas Goutopoulos, founder and CEO, brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech industry experience, including a track record of more than a dozen development candidates. His background includes over a decade of discovery leadership at EMD Serono, where he led medicinal chemistry. In his role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at M Ventures, he led the scientific efforts of and supported a number of oncology small molecule biotechs. At Actithera, he is pioneering a chemistry-driven, precision approach to RLTs by integrating novel covalent-targeting chemistries, rational drug design principles and an isotope-agnostic philosophy.

    – End –

    Contacts

    4BIO Capital +44 (0) 203 427 5500
    info@4biocapital.com
       
    ICR Healthcare
    Amber Fennell, Jonathan Edwards, Kris Lam    		 +44 (0)20 3709 5700
    4biocapital@icrhealthcare.com

    About 4BIO Capital
    4BIO Capital (“4BIO”) is an international venture capital firm focused on investing in advanced therapies and emerging modalities, to unlock the treatments of the future. 4BIO’s mission is to invest in, support, and grow early-stage companies solving technical bottlenecks that enable next generation therapeutics in areas of high unmet medical need, with the ultimate goal of ensuring access to these potentially transformative therapies for all patients. The 4BIO team comprises leading advanced therapy scientists and experienced life science investors with an unrivalled network within the advanced therapy sector and a unique understanding of the criteria that define a successful investment opportunity in this space. For more information, connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @4biocapital and visit www.4biocapital.com.

    About Actithera
    Actithera is a radiopharmaceutical biotech company translating medicinal chemistry insights into next-generation radioligand therapies (RLTs). Founded in 2021 by drug discovery innovator Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos, and seed investors M Ventures, and Arkin Bio-Holdings, Actithera applies various molecular design strategies, including covalent-targeting and an isotope-agnostic philosophy to invent RLTs with significant differentiation and larger therapeutic windows. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Actithera is committed to advancing a differentiated pipeline addressing critical unmet needs in oncology. Learn more at www.actithera.com and on LinkedIn.

    1 https://www.precedenceresearch.com/radiopharmaceuticals-market

    The MIL Network –

  • ICC issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders over persecution of women

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.

    The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, chief justice of the Taliban, had committed the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression.

    Since the Islamist Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has clamped down on women’s rights, including limits to schooling, work and general independence in daily life.

    The Taliban condemned the warrants as an example of hostility towards Islam.

    “We neither recognise anything by the name of an international court nor do we consider ourselves bound by it,” the Taliban government’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, added in a statement.

    It is the first time judges of the ICC have issued a warrant on charges of gender persecution.

    “While the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms,” the court said.

    The full warrants and details on the specific incidents they are based on remain under seal to protect witnesses and victims, the court said.

    NGOs hailed the warrants and called on the international community to back the ICC’s work.

    “The international community should fully back the ICC in its critical work in Afghanistan and globally, including through concerted efforts to enforce the court’s warrants,” Human Rights Watch International Justice director Liz Evenson, said in a statement.

    The ICC has been under increased criticism from non-member states such as the United States, Israel and Russia.

    Last year the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine.

    Neither Russia nor Israel is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction.

    Last month the United States imposed sanctions on four ICC judges including two who were involved in a ruling that allowed prosecutors to open a formal investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including alleged crimes committed by American troops.

    The ICC said it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution that provides hope and justice to millions of victims.

    (Reuters)

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ‘Illegal and inhumane’

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

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

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

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

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

    For their own protection?

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

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

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

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

    Aid dilemma

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Mass expulsion?

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

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

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

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

    Voluntary exodus?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Shannon Bosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ17: Combating online investment scams

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):

    Question:

         According to the data provided by the Government in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council in June this year, the Police recorded a total of 1 534 cases of online investment scams involving an amount of about $1.02 billion in the first four months of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (1) given that the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched anti-scam publicity and education programmes targeting three common investment scam scenarios, whether the Government has formulated specific measures to support SFC’s anti-scam publicity programmes, so as to raise public vigilance against investment scams; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (2) whether it has plans to strengthen its co-operation with the SFC to update and enhance investor education, so as to ensure that investors can effectively identify and guard against emerging investment risks as well as evolving fraudulent practices and technologies; and

    (3) whether it has devised further strategies or allocated additional resources to extend the impact of the “Don’t be Sucker” anti-scam publicity campaign launched by the SFC, so as to enable more investors to benefit from the campaign and avoid becoming victims of online investment scams; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

    Reply:

    President,

         The Government attaches great importance to investor education, and is committed to supporting the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and its subsidiary, the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC), in enhancing the financial literacy of the public through various means and channels. In consultation with the Security Bureau, the SFC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), my reply to the various parts of the question is as follows.

    (1) and (2) In the first five months of 2025, there were 1 849 cases of online investment scams recorded by the Police, involving about $1.24 billion. The Government accords high priority to investor protection, and strives to combat online investment scams through two main directions, namely promotion and enforcement.

         On promotion, the Government, together with the SFC and the IFEC, has been striving to enhance investors’ anti-financial scam capabilities, raise the public’s knowledge in relevant financial products, and remind investors of the risks associated with digital finance.

         In March 2025, the IFEC in collaboration with various stakeholders organised the “Hong Kong Money Month” with the theme of “Guard against Fraud Thrive with Resilience” to comprehensively promote anti-scam messages by publicising anti-scam information targeting different segments of the community through cross-media promotion. The promotion videos recorded a total of 20.6 million views during the promotion period. In the face of ever-changing technology and evolving fraud tactics, the IFEC has also introduced various anti-financial scam education resources, animated videos, online seminars, etc to educate the public on safeguarding against investment scams including “ramp and dump” schemes, social media investment groups, fraudulent trading apps or investment platforms, impersonation scams, deepfake technology and phishing messages, etc. The IFEC website also features fraud prevention online games and an anti-scam online quiz, enabling the public to gain anti-scam knowledge through engaging and interactive games.

         The IFEC launched Hong Kong’s first digital financial education experiential learning centre, the IFEC FinEd Hub, in March 2024 to offer investment and anti-scam education to a wider audience through immersive and interactive learning experiences. The FinEd Hub features various interactive anti-scam games for visitors to learn how to identify and respond to various financial scams. As of end-June 2025, the FinEd Hub has recorded over 26 500 visits, with the vast majority of visitors indicating that their visit had enhanced their anti-scam knowledge.

         On the other hand, the HKMA has introduced “Money Safe” with banks to provide an extra layer of security to customers’ bank deposits. “Money Safe” enables customers to segregate a portion of their deposits maintained at banks, protecting them from fund outflows through online and other channels. When releasing the protected deposits, customers would need to undertake extra verification process by staff at bank branches. All retail banks will fully implement “Money Safe” by the end of this year.

         As regards enforcement actions against online investment scams, given that most fraud cases in Hong Kong currently involve the use of stooge accounts for receiving funds, targeting such accounts is an effective way to disrupt the fraud value chain. In the first five months of 2025, the Police arrested a total of 3 028 persons in connection with various fraud and money laundering offences, about 70 per cent of whom were holders of stooge accounts. Since the end of 2023, the Police have also applied to the courts to invoke section 27 of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455) to seek enhanced penalties for cases involving stooge accounts, so as to strengthen deterrence. There have been cases where convicted stooge account holders received sentences increased by more than 30 per cent.

         The Hong Kong Police Force, together with the police authorities of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand, has also conducted the first joint operation under the anti-fraud cross-boundary co-operation platform “FRONTIER+” to jointly combat cross-boundary fraud criminal activity. The operation successfully identified and dismantled multiple cross-boundary fraud syndicates, resulting in the arrest of 1 858 persons and involving 9 268 fraud cases, including investment fraud. In addition, noting the increase in online investment scams at the beginning of 2025, the Hong Kong Police have, over the past few months, held press conferences from time to time and stepped up publicity through various channels to remind the public to remain vigilant.

    (3) The SFC launched a new anti-scam campaign “Don’t be Sucker” in December 2024 to caution the public against common tactics used in fraudulent schemes. An original cartoon character “Shui Yu”, symbolising an impulsive and gullible personality that easily fall prey to investment scams, debuted in the campaign.

         Complementing the SFC’s focused promotion of three common scams that the public should avoid (namely online romance scams, impersonation, and deceptive tips from financial influencers), the SFC has rolled out an original campaign theme song and a music video featuring “Shui Yu”, which has recorded over one million views within about three months since its launch. As of end-June 2025, the SFC has published about 50 posts on the social media platform of “Shui Yu”, which has attracted more than 1 500 followers and over 423 000 views by unique users.

         To further promote anti-scam messages through “Shui Yu”, the SFC has produced “Shui Yu”-themed messaging app stickers to spread anti-scam messages in a light-hearted way. Apart from various online and offline advertisements, the SFC extended the “Don’t be Sucker” anti-scam publicity campaign through MTR station commercials and a TV infotainment programme in May to June 2025, garnering more than 1.6 million views in estimate.

         In fact, the Government has been proactively enhancing public awareness of various kinds of scams. The Police have set up the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre since July 2017 to consolidate the efforts of the Police in combating and preventing scams, and have introduced various initiatives including the 24-hour enquiry hotline “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222”, and the “Upstream Scam Intervention” scheme to actively identify potential scam victims.

         In addition, the Police have introduced an anti-scam mascot “The Little Grape” since June 2020 to explain the latest tactics of scammers and disseminate simple anti-scam messages in a friendly and interactive manner. Various “The Little Grape” anti-scam promotional campaigns have also been organised over the past five years. Thanks to these initiatives and the collective efforts of the community, the annual growth rate of scam cases has significantly decelerated from nearly 90 per cent in 2020 to 11.7 per cent last year, indicating a rise in public awareness of scam prevention.

         Going forward, the Government will continue to support relevant organisations and stakeholders in collaboratively launching targeted promotion activities to raise the anti-scam awareness of the public.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ6: Indecent assault cases on public transport

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Following is a question by the Hon Lam San-keung and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):

    Question:

    In recent years, there have been sporadic cases of indecent assault on public transport which arouse public concern. On the other hand, there are views that physical contact between individuals is difficult to be avoided in crowded vehicle compartments and could be mistaken for indecent assault. Moreover, society’s expectations for safety, comfort and mutual respect among passengers on public transport are increasing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) of the number of indecent assault cases occurred on public transport that the Police received in each of the past five years, and the percentage of these cases out of the total number of cases occurring on public transport; the number of convictions among these indecent assault cases; whether it knows the average time taken by the courts to adjudicate these indecent assault cases; and

    (2) whether it will consider introducing women-only or men-only zones or compartments on public transport mass-carriers (e.g. the MTR and franchised buses); if so, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

    Reply:

    President,
     
    The Police attach great importance to all cases involving sexual offences and are dedicated to investigating each of them thoroughly, with particular focus on offences taking place on public transport. At present, sexual offences occurred on public transport are mainly indecent assault cases (i.e. offence of indecent assault under the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200)), for which offenders shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 10 years. There are also cases of voyeurism and unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts (commonly known as “upskirt photography”), both of which carry a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment under the Crimes Ordinance.

    The Police will continue to strengthen patrols by uniformed and plain-clothes officers in relevant areas, and will work closely with public transport operators to jointly combat indecent assault and its related offences on public transport. In parallel, the Police will step up publicity and education efforts to enhance public awareness and encourage members of the public to report crimes.

    In consultation with the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

    (1) In the past five years, the number of reports received by the Police on sexual offences occurred on public transport/interchanges/transport stations, including offences of indecent assault, voyeurism and unlawful recording or observation of intimate parts under the Crimes Ordinance, accounted for about seven per cent to 21 per cent of all offences occurred on public transport. Please refer to the Annex for details. For the first five months of 2025, the Police received a total of 141 relevant reports, which accounted for about 14 per cent of the total number of offences occurred on public transport/interchanges/transport stations.

    The Government maintains neither a breakdown on the number of convictions of the above sexual offences by place of occurrence nor relevant statistics on the time taken by courts to adjudicate such cases.

    (2) As to whether women-only or men-only zones or compartments shall be introduced on various mass public transport modes (such as MTR and franchised buses), a number of considerations are relevant. The public transport system in Hong Kong carries a total patronage of more than 11 million passenger trips daily, with the MTR and franchised buses being the main travelling means handling over 5 million and 3.7 million passenger trips per day respectively.

    The MTR is one of the railway systems with the most frequent services in the world. In 2024, the heavy rail and light rail operated over 2.71 million trips, with train services reaching about one train in every two minutes during peak hours.

    The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has made reference to some overseas experience but assessed that it would not be appropriate to introduce women-only or men-only compartments in the MTR network. At present, during peak hours, the MTR system is generally crowded at platforms (especially at interchange stations), and the MTRCL has to make good use of the space on platform as well as inside train compartment to ease the passenger flow. Introducing dedicated train compartments would affect the management of passenger flow at stations and platforms, as well as the flow of passengers between train compartments. In addition, most of the MTR train compartments are of open design and it is operationally difficult to control passengers to follow the arrangement. Therefore, the MTRCL has no plan at this stage to introduce dedicated train compartments.

    To prevent crimes of indecent assaults in the railway premises, the MTRCL has put up posters at stations to step up the promotion of anti-crime messages on indecent assaults. Passengers are encouraged not to remain silent, and report incidents or crimes of indecent assaults immediately to the Police or station staff.  The MTR station staff are properly trained to assist the Police in combating crimes.  In addition, the MTRCL and the Police hold regular anti-crime meetings to share information about the latest crime trend and intelligence, and to deliberate on specific strategies to combat crimes. The MTRCL also organises publicity activities in collaboration with the Police (including regular anti-crime publicity activities organised annually) so as to raise passengers’ anti-crime awareness.

    In respect of franchised buses, many routes have high occupancy rates during peak hours. As there is limited space in the compartments and passengers board and alight in the same aisle, setting up dedicated areas inside the compartments will affect the passenger-carrying efficiency of buses. In addition, it will be operationally difficult to ensure that passengers follow the arrangements. Franchised bus companies will co-operate with the police to enhance efforts in combating crimes.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

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

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    (With agencies inputs)

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Police and council achieve positive change in Glenorchy

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Police and council achieve positive change in Glenorchy

    Wednesday, 9 July 2025 – 4:08 pm.

    Tasmania Police and Glenorchy City Council Mayor Sue Hickey have today championed the positive impact high-visibility policing is having in the community.
    At a joint media event in Glenorchy on Wednesday, Inspector Jason Klug and Ms Hickey highlighted recent police data which showed a 16 per cent reduction in total offences in the Glenorchy division over the past 12 months.
    There were 4578 total offences in the 2023-24 financial year, compared with 3848 total offences in the 2024-25 financial year.
    Youth offences in 2023-24 were 928 and fell to 731 in 2024-25, a reduction of 21 per cent.
    Audio and photographs from Wednesday’s media event are available here.
    Inspector Klug said results since the implementation of Taskforce Respect in mid-May had been particularly encouraging.
    “What we’ve seen in regard to calls for police assistance in the CBD is that our calls have reduced by about 40 per cent since the introduction of Taskforce Respect, so these are some really positive figures,” Inspector Klug said.
    “But we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal.
    “We’re going to continue the hard work that we’re doing. We’re going to continue working with our partners across the Glenorchy area to ensure that our community is safe, and feels safe, and enjoys the wonderful public spaces we have.”
    Inspector Klug said community engagement and collaboration with local business and the Glenorchy City Council was key to making a positive change.
    Supporting police, Ms Hickey thanked officers from Taskforce Respect and the wider police service for their work in targeting anti-social behaviour and retail crime in Glenorchy, and backed the continuation of the taskforce.
    Ms Hickey said the council would continue to deliver programs to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, including a youth engagement program with additional activities on offer in the school holiday period.
    “Seeing our youth engagement officers and police working directly with young people, whether it’s by having a game of street basketball or just being available for a quiet chat and understanding any issues they may be dealing with, is something I am particularly proud of as Mayor,” she said.
    “Our young people are part of our community too, and they do not deserve to be tarnished by the same brush wielded by a minority of their peers who do the wrong thing.”
    Ms Hickey said council youth engagement staff would be running basketball sessions in the Glenorchy CBD each day of the school holidays, with other school holiday activities available at the Moonah Arts Centre, ranging from beatboxing workshops to art programs.
    These activities can be accessed by visiting the Moonah Arts Centre website – www.moonahartscentre.org.au
    As part of the council’s ongoing collaboration with Tasmania Police, Crime Stoppers and Neighbourhood Watch, a pop-up stall focusing on community safety will be held at Northgate Shopping Centre on Thursday, from 11am to 3pm.
    Attendees will have the opportunity to speak directly with Inspector Klug and Glenorchy Council’s Safe City Lead, Ben Hughes.
    If you need to report a crime, contact police on 131 444 or you can report anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1800 333 000 or crimestopperstas.com.au
    CAPTIONS:
    Glenorchy City Council Mayor Sue Hickey and Tasmania Police Glenorchy Inspector Jason Klug, with members of Taskforce Respect, working to target anti-social behaviour and retail crime in Glenorchy. (Picture: Tasmania Police)
    Tasmania Police Constable Emily Griggs, from Taskforce Respect, has been working with the community to bring positive change to incidents of retail crime and anti-social behaviour in Glenorchy. (Picture: Tasmania Police)

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Drugs taken off Waikato streets

    Source: New Zealand Police

    Police have seized a gun, cash and over half a kilogram of cocaine in an operation targeting drug suppliers in Matamata-Piako today.

    Officers found more than half a kilogram of cocaine, a pump action shotgun and $20,000 dollars when they visited properties in Matamata and Cambridge this morning.

    “The two warrants executed today are the result of an investigation into the supply of drugs in the area,” says Detective Sergeant Ben Norman.

    “Police will remain focused on targeting gang members involved in the distribution of illicit drugs, aiming to remove these harmful drugs from our communities.”

    A half-kilo bag and five 1-ounce bags of cocaine were located at a Matamata address, as well as a pump action shotgun. One ounce is 28 grams.

    A further 3 ounces of cocaine and $20,000 were seized from a Cambridge address.

    “Police simply will not tolerate gangs making money from inflicting misery on our communities.

    “They feed people’s addiction, and that in turn fuels crime, with people stealing to feed their habit.

    The supply of illegal drugs causes untold harm and we will do everything we can to tackle it.

    A 39-year-old man has been remanded in custody and is due to re-appear in the Hamilton District Court on 28 July, facing drug and firearms charges.

    Further charges are being considered for a person found at the Cambridge address.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre.
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • FBI launches probes into former FBI, CIA directors, Fox News reports

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The FBI has launched criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

    The probes are over alleged wrongdoing related to past government investigations about claims of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections in which President Donald Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the news report said.

    The CIA and the Justice Department had no immediate comment. The FBI declined to comment.

    The scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey was unclear, the report added. Trump-nominated CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan, who served in that role under former Democratic President Barack Obama, for potential prosecution, according to the report.

    A criminal investigation does not necessarily result in charges. Brennan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Comey could not immediately be reached.

    Fox said its sources were from the Justice Department but did not specify the number of sources.

    “I am glad to see that the Department of Justice is opening up this investigation,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” show in an interview.

    The probes reportedly target two former officials who have long drawn the ire of Trump and his supporters for their role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

    Comey led the FBI when authorities began a criminal investigation in 2016 into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the election. Trump fired Comey in 2017 early in his first term after Comey publicly confirmed Trump was under investigation.

    The probe was then taken over by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.

    Trump railed against the investigation for years and has repeatedly dismissed it as the “Russia hoax.”

    Brennan led the CIA when U.S. intelligence assessed, in a report made public in January 2017, that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to sway the 2016 U.S. vote in favor of Trump.

    A CIA review released last week found flaws in the preparation of the 2017 assessment, but it did not contest its underlying conclusion.

    The Fox News report on the investigations broke as Trump’s top officials at the FBI and Justice Department faced online criticism from some Trump supporters for concluding that there was no evidence to support long-held conspiracy theories about the death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

    During Trump’s first term, the Justice Department appointed a separate special counsel, John Durham, to examine any missteps in the FBI’s Russia investigation. Durham brought charges against three lower-level figures who worked on the probe or provided information to investigators, but did not find evidence of a conspiracy to target Trump.

    (Reuters)

  • Latest Red Sea attack on Greek ship kills four crew, wounds two

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    A drone and speedboat attack off Yemen killed four seafarers on a Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, an official with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, the second incident in a day, following months of calm.

    Traffic in the Red Sea, a key waterway for oil and commodities, has dropped since Yemen’s Houthi militia aligned with Iran began targeting ships in 2023 in what it called solidarity with Palestinians under assault in Israel’s war in Gaza.

    The deaths on the Eternity C, the first involving shipping in the Red Sea since June 2024, take to eight the total of seafarers killed in the Red Sea attacks.

    One more injured crew died on board after the attack, a source with knowledge of the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    The Houthis have not commented on the Eternity C, but hours earlier claimed responsibility for a strike on another Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier, the MV Magic Seas, off southwest Yemen on Sunday, saying the vessel sank.

    “After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said on Tuesday.

    The U.S. State Department condemned the “unprovoked Houthi terror attack on the civilian cargo vessels MV Magic Seas and MV Eternity C”, as demonstrating the threats the Houthis posed to freedom of navigation and regional security.

    Washington “will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping,” it added in a statement.

    The Eternity C’s operator, Cosmoship Management, was not immediately available to comment.

    Eternity C, with 21 Philippine nationals and a Russian making up a crew of 22, was adrift and listing after the attack with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades fired from manned speed boats, maritime security sources told Reuters.

    Greece was in diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia over the incident, sources said, as two maritime security firms, including Greece-based Diaplous, prepared to mount a rescue mission for the crew trapped on Eternity C.

    An official with Aspides, the European Union’s mission assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping, also said at least two other crew were injured. Earlier, Liberia’s shipping delegation told a U.N. meeting that two crew were killed.

    The Houthis released a video they said depicted their attack on the Magic Seas, including the Mayday call, explosions, and the vessel’s ultimate submersion. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

    The vessel’s manager said the information about the sinking could not be verified.

    But Joshua Hutchinson, managing director of maritime security firm Ambrey, told Reuters it had a response vessel in the area and confirmed the Magic Seas had gone down.

    All crew on the Magic Seas were rescued by a passing merchant vessel and arrived safely in Djibouti on Monday, Djibouti authorities said.

    Since November 2023, the Houthis have disrupted commerce by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel.

    While the Houthis struck a ceasefire with Washington in May, the militia has vowed to keep attacking ships it says are connected with Israel.

    “Just as Liberia was processing the shock and grief of the attack against Magic Seas, we received a report that Eternity C again has been attacked … causing the death of two seafarers,” Liberia’s delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization.

    ‘ELEVATED RISKS’

    Both vessels attacked were part of commercial fleets whose sister vessels have called at Israeli ports over the past year.

    “The pause in Houthi activity did not necessarily indicate a change in underlying intent,” said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with the Britain-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech.

    “As long as the conflict in Gaza persists, vessels with affiliations, both perceived and actual, will continue to face elevated risks.”

    The Philippines has urged its seafarers, who form one of the world’s largest groups of merchant mariners, to exercise their right to refuse to sail in “high-risk, war-like” areas, including the Red Sea after the latest strikes, its department of migrant workers said.

    Shipping traffic through the region has shrunk about half from normal levels since the first Houthi attacks in 2023, said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer with shipping association BIMCO.

    “This reduction in traffic has persisted due to the ongoing unpredictability of the security situation,” Larsen said. “As such, BIMCO does not anticipate the recent attacks will significantly alter current shipping patterns.”

    Monday’s attack on Eternity C, 50 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port of Hodeidah, was the second on merchant vessels in the region since November 2024, an official at Aspides said.

    On Monday, Israel’s military said it had struck Houthi targets at three Yemeni ports and a power plant, in its first attack on Yemen in a month.

    The Houthis say their attacks are an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza where Israel’s military assault since late 2023 has killed more than 57,000 people, Gaza authorities say.

    The Israeli assault has unleashed a hunger crisis, internally displaced the entire population of Gaza and spurred accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court.

    Israel denies the accusations.

    The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Deductible gift recipient reforms

    Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

    Why DGR reforms were made

    The government has announced several reforms to the administration and oversight of organisations with deductible gift recipient (DGR) status.

    These changes are designed to:

    • strengthen governance arrangements
    • reduce administrative complexity
    • ensure continued trust and confidence in the not-for-profit sector.

    DGRs to be registered as a charity

    On 13 September 2021, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Act 2021External Link became law.

    As a precondition for DGR endorsement, this Act amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to require a fund, authority or institution to be either:

    • a registered charity
    • an Australian Government agency
    • operated by a registered charity or an Australian Government agency.

    Before the amendments, a majority of DGR categories required non-government organisations to be registered as charities. The amendments extended this requirement to 11 general DGR categories. This measure doesn’t apply to ancillary funds or DGRs specifically listed in the tax law.

    For more information, see:

    DGR registers reform

    On 28 June 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Refining and Improving our Tax System) Act 2023 became law.

    This Act amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to transfer administrative responsibility of 4 unique DGR categories from other government departments to the ATO.

    These changes started on 1 January 2024 and repealed provisions that required each of the 4 departments to maintain a separate register.

    From 1 January 2024, transitional provisions apply to those organisations that were already DGR endorsed in one of the 4 unique DGR categories before 1 January 2024. These organisations remain endorsed if they continue to meet eligibility criteria.

    Transitional provisions also apply to those organisations that had an in-progress application with one of the 4 government departments before 1 January 2024. These applications were transferred to us from 1 January 2024.

    For more information, see DGR registers reform transitional provisions.

    Before the transition

    Before 1 January 2024, the 4 unique DGR categories were administered by other Australian Government departments as follows:

    • Register of Cultural Organisations – Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
    • Register of Environmental Organisations – Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
    • Register of Harm Prevention Charities – Department of Social Services
    • Overseas Aid Gift Deductibility Scheme – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    After the transition

    From 1 January 2024, the ATO started assessing eligibility for DGR endorsement for:

    These changes mean we now administer all 52 DGR categories set out in Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

    For more information on the transition, see:

    On 28 June 2024, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and Other Measures) Act 2024External Link became law.

    This Act amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Taxation Administration Act 1953 to establish:

    • 2 new general DGR categories for
      • community charity trust
      • community charity corporations
    • a requirement for a Treasury Minister to formulate guidelines for the 2 new DGR categories.

    These amendments started on 29 June 2024.

    To be eligible for DGR endorsement as a community charity trust or corporation, a trust or company must, among other requirements, be specified in a ministerial declaration in force. Entities seeking to be specified in a ministerial declaration should contact Treasury at dgr@treasury.gov.au.

    Guidelines

    Treasury opened public consultation on the exposure draft guidelines and accompanying explanatory material on 5 November 2024. The consultation period ended on 3 December 2024. You can refer to the outcomes of Treasury’s consultation at Building Community – ministerial guidelines for community foundationsExternal Link.

    The finalised guidelines were registered on 24 February 2025 and are accessible on the Federal Register of Legislation websiteExternal Link.

    Background

    Originally announced by the previous government in the Budget March 2022–23 – Budget Paper No. 2: Budget MeasuresExternal Link, it was proposed that the tax law be amended to specifically list up to 28 community foundations affiliated with the peak body Community Foundations Australia. The specific listing would be time-limited for 5 years, from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2027.

    A refined model was proposed in the Budget 2023–24– Budget Paper No. 2: Budget MeasuresExternal Link which includes:

    • the removal of the 5-year time limit requirement
    • DGR endorsement by the Commissioner of Taxation under new ministerial guidelines.

    More information

    For more information, see:

    Subscribe to our newsletter for updates

    Subscribe to our monthly not-for-profit newsletter to keep up-to-date with:

    • our new and refreshed guidance
    • the progress of the proposed amendments
    • how to meet your not-for-profit’s tax and super obligations.

    MIL OSI News –

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

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ‘FIND EVERY SINGLE PERSON’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MAKINGS OF A DISASTER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash, Whitiora

    Source: New Zealand Police

    The intersection of Willoughby Street and Mill Street is closed following a serious crash.

    At around 3:30pm emergency services received reports of a two-vehicle crash.

    Motorists are asked to avoid the area.

    Updates will be provided proactively.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ14: Ocean Park Cable Car

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Following is a question by the Hon Michael Tien and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
     
    Question:

    According to information from the Ocean Park Corporation, the total visitor numbers of Ocean Park (OP) in 2023-24 reached 3.14 million. It is learnt that the Cable Car is an immensely popular attraction that offers visitors the opportunity to relish scenic views during their journey. However, quite a number of members of the public have recently relayed to me that while the OP Cable Car is a two-lane ropeway system comprising two sets of round-trip cable cars with a total of four lanes, the OP only operates one set of two-lane ropeway for visitors on most weekends and public holidays, and as a result the waiting time for cable cars is at least half an hour, which has significantly undermined visitors’ experience and their image of Hong Kong. I have learnt that as cable car operators are required to have high-angle rescue skills and obtain a licence, the OP is unable to put all four cable car lanes into full operation on all weekends and public holidays throughout the year (approximately 120 days) due to limited manpower resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

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

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    DOGE CUTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Targeting criminals, not Kiwi businesses

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee today announced further steps in the Government’s overhaul of the AML/CFT regime, strengthening efforts to combat serious financial crime.

    “This Government is serious about targeting criminals, not tying up legitimate businesses in unnecessary red tape,” Mrs McKee says.

    “Cabinet has agreed to introduce a bill to strengthen enforcement powers for Police and regulators to crack down on those involved in money laundering.

    “It will also establish a new financial sanctions supervisory regime and initiate engagement on a sustainable levy to fund AML/CFT system improvements.

    “The new approach will deliver more clarity and consistency for businesses while maintaining a strong focus on preventing criminal misuse of the financial system.

    “An upper limit will be set on how much cash can be transferred internationally ($5,000 per transfer), reducing the ability of the criminal organisation to move its funds offshore.

    “We will also make it more difficult for criminals to convert cash to high-risk assets such as crypto currencies by banning crypto ATMs.

    “We will also enable the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to order banks and other businesses subject to the AML/CFT Act to provide ongoing relevant information on persons of interest. The FIU will also be able to order the production of important contextual information other businesses on the financial activities of persons of interest. This will enable the more effective development of the financial intelligence needed to bring the criminals to justice.

    “Since 2019, the global financial and regulatory landscape has shifted significantly. We need a smarter, more agile AML/CFT system – one that targets criminals ability to launder money, while enabling New Zealand businesses to operate efficiently and competitively.

    “Already, progress is being made. Two amendment bills currently before Parliament will remove some of the most burdensome compliance requirements, delivering practical relief for businesses by the end of the year.

    “I have also this week announced plans to remove address verification requirements for many lower-risk customers and relax due diligence requirements for lower-risk trusts. 

    “This means businesses can focus their time and resources where the real risks lie, rather than being stuck chasing paperwork from low-risk clients.

    “These are the types of issues businesses have raised with us, and we’re acting. This is not about dropping standards, it’s about applying them intelligently.

    “We want New Zealand to be one of the easiest places in the world to do legitimate business and one of the hardest for criminals to hide. By cutting unnecessary red tape, we’re giving honest businesses room to grow, while sharpening our focus on serious threats,” Mrs McKee says.

    Targeted consultation with industry and stakeholders will begin shortly to inform the new national strategy and levy framework.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Targeting criminals, not Kiwi businesses

    Source: New Zealand Government

    Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee today announced further steps in the Government’s overhaul of the AML/CFT regime, strengthening efforts to combat serious financial crime.

    “This Government is serious about targeting criminals, not tying up legitimate businesses in unnecessary red tape,” Mrs McKee says.

    “Cabinet has agreed to introduce a bill to strengthen enforcement powers for Police and regulators to crack down on those involved in money laundering.

    “It will also establish a new financial sanctions supervisory regime and initiate engagement on a sustainable levy to fund AML/CFT system improvements.

    “The new approach will deliver more clarity and consistency for businesses while maintaining a strong focus on preventing criminal misuse of the financial system.

    “An upper limit will be set on how much cash can be transferred internationally ($5,000 per transfer), reducing the ability of the criminal organisation to move its funds offshore.

    “We will also make it more difficult for criminals to convert cash to high-risk assets such as crypto currencies by banning crypto ATMs.

    “We will also enable the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to order banks and other businesses subject to the AML/CFT Act to provide ongoing relevant information on persons of interest. The FIU will also be able to order the production of important contextual information other businesses on the financial activities of persons of interest. This will enable the more effective development of the financial intelligence needed to bring the criminals to justice.

    “Since 2019, the global financial and regulatory landscape has shifted significantly. We need a smarter, more agile AML/CFT system – one that targets criminals ability to launder money, while enabling New Zealand businesses to operate efficiently and competitively.

    “Already, progress is being made. Two amendment bills currently before Parliament will remove some of the most burdensome compliance requirements, delivering practical relief for businesses by the end of the year.

    “I have also this week announced plans to remove address verification requirements for many lower-risk customers and relax due diligence requirements for lower-risk trusts. 

    “This means businesses can focus their time and resources where the real risks lie, rather than being stuck chasing paperwork from low-risk clients.

    “These are the types of issues businesses have raised with us, and we’re acting. This is not about dropping standards, it’s about applying them intelligently.

    “We want New Zealand to be one of the easiest places in the world to do legitimate business and one of the hardest for criminals to hide. By cutting unnecessary red tape, we’re giving honest businesses room to grow, while sharpening our focus on serious threats,” Mrs McKee says.

    Targeted consultation with industry and stakeholders will begin shortly to inform the new national strategy and levy framework.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Traffic delays southbound at Tristram Ave

    Source: New Zealand Police

    A three-vehicle-collision is causing delays for southbound traffic on SH1 at Tristram Ave.

    A car towing a caravan is blocking one of two access lanes onto the motorway.

    Emergency services are onsite and working to move the vehicles.

    Motorists are advised to take an alternative route.

    ENDS

    Nicole Bremner/NZ Police 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Traffic delays southbound at Tristram Ave

    Source: New Zealand Police

    A three-vehicle-collision is causing delays for southbound traffic on SH1 at Tristram Ave.

    A car towing a caravan is blocking one of two access lanes onto the motorway.

    Emergency services are onsite and working to move the vehicles.

    Motorists are advised to take an alternative route.

    ENDS

    Nicole Bremner/NZ Police 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

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

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

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

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

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



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

    A not-so-wholesome family lunch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Public obsession

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The courtroom as a stage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

    Humanity behind the spectacle

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Xanthe Mallett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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

    MIL OSI Analysis –

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

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

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

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

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

    What is a coroners court?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

    So what is a coronial inquest?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    • where the identity of the deceased is unknown

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

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

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

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

    Why does all this matter?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE study visit on Small Arms and Light Weapons strengthens co-operation between Sweden and Ukraine

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE study visit on Small Arms and Light Weapons strengthens co-operation between Sweden and Ukraine

    Ukrainian specialists working on small arms and light weapons (SALW) control during a study visit to the Swedish National Police Force, Stockholm, 26 June 2025. (OSCE) Photo details

    From 24 to 26 June 2025, the OSCE’s Conflict Prevention Centre facilitated a study visit to the Swedish National Police Force in Stockholm for Ukrainian specialists working on small arms and light weapons (SALW) control. Participants included representatives from the National Police of Ukraine, State Border Guard Service, State Customs Service and Security Service.
    Hosting the visit, Swedish specialists presented their national firearms legislation and shared good practices on border management, detection methods, forensic analysis and investigations of cases of illicit trafficking of SALW. The visit strengthened collaboration and professional relationships between Ukraine and Sweden in firearms control, countering smuggling, and border security.
    By enhancing the authorities’ skills and capacities, this initiative boosted the co-ordination efforts within the National Firearms Focal Points and the National Coordination Centre of Ukraine, recently established to strengthen collaboration and improve response to security threats.
    The visit was organized under the OSCE’s extrabudgetary project supporting Ukrainian authorities in preventing and combating illicit trafficking in weapons, ammunition, and explosives. It aimed to foster international collaboration and enhance Ukrainian authorities’ expertise in this field.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

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

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

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

    MIL Security OSI –

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

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

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

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USS George Washington Departs Manila, Continues Indo-Pacific Patrol

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    MANILA, Philippines – Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), the flagship of the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWA CSG), with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 embarked, departed Manila, Philippines, following a scheduled port visit, July 7, 2025.

    MIL Security OSI –