Category: Transport

MIL-OSI: Baker Hughes to Acquire Chart Industries, Accelerating Energy & Industrial Technology Strategy
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
- Significant step high-grades the portfolio and adds value accretive customer offerings, transforms Baker Hughes’ Industrial & Energy Technology segment
- Chart Industries brings differentiated capabilities across a diverse set of end markets advantaged by secular growth drivers such as natural gas, data centers and decarbonization
- Highly complementary capabilities enable enhanced value-creation solutions for customers across the lifecycle of projects and accelerate aftermarket growth through increased service penetration of combined installed base
- $325 million in annualized cost synergies expected to be realized at end of third year
- Compelling financial impact, as it is accretive to growth, margins, EPS and cash flow
- Baker Hughes to host conference call today to discuss the transaction at 8:30 a.m. ET / 7:30 a.m. CT
HOUSTON and LONDON and ATLANTA, July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) and Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS) (“Chart”) announced Tuesday they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Baker Hughes will acquire all outstanding shares of Chart’s common stock for $210 per share in cash, equivalent to a total enterprise value of $13.6 billion.

Chart is a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of process technologies and equipment for gas and liquid molecule handling across a broad range of industrial and energy end markets. Chart’s highly differentiated products and solutions are used in every phase of the liquid gas supply chain, from engineering and design to installation, preventative maintenance to repair and service, as well as ongoing digital monitoring. A technology leader in its markets, Chart generated $4.2 billion in revenue and $1.0 billion adjusted EBITDA in 2024. It operates 65 manufacturing locations with over 50 service centers globally.

“This acquisition is a milestone for Baker Hughes and a testament to our strong financial execution and strategic focus as we continue to define our position as a leading energy and industrial technology company,” said Baker Hughes Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli. “We know Chart well, having worked alongside them on many critical energy infrastructure projects. Their products and services are highly complementary to our offerings and strongly aligned with our intent to deliver distinctive and efficient end-to-end lifecycle solutions for our customers across their most critical applications. The combination positions Baker Hughes to be a technology leader that can provide engineering and technology expertise to meet the growing demand for lower-carbon, efficient energy and industrial solutions across attractive growth markets such as LNG, data centers and New Energy.

“The acquisition also delivers compelling financial returns for our shareholders. Adding this high-growth, high-margin business to our Industrial & Energy Technology segment will deliver strong earnings accretion and returns, contributing to an improved growth and margin profile,” Simonelli said. “We look forward to welcoming Chart into the Baker Hughes organization and, together, achieving even greater success and driving long-term value for shareholders.”

“This all-cash transaction with Baker Hughes delivers immediate value to Chart shareholders,” said Chart President and CEO Jill Evanko. “Thanks to the outstanding work of our global OneChart team, we have successfully built a product and solution portfolio that spans front-end engineering design through aftermarket services. The Baker Hughes team shares our engineering-focused culture and commitment to operational excellence. Our complementary solutions fit seamlessly with Baker Hughes’ Industrial & Energy Technology segment, and together we can help our customers solve the most critical energy access and sustainability needs. Our Board is proud to deliver this outcome to our shareholders.”

Compelling Strategic and Financial Benefits
- Advances Baker Hughes’ Strategic Vision to be an Energy & Industrial Technology Leader: Chart and Baker Hughes together bring a highly differentiated set of capabilities to solve complex energy challenges and support customers’ sustainability goals – positioning the combined company as a leader in a lower-carbon, more resource-efficient future.
- Expands Baker Hughes’ Offerings in Attractive Growth Markets: Chart’s offering is well positioned to deepen Baker Hughes’ exposure to attractive high-growth markets, including data centers, space and New Energy. The acquisition also broadens Baker Hughes’ exposure to more durable industrial sectors including industrial gas, metals and mining, and food and beverage, significantly increasing Baker Hughes’ addressable market and through-cycle growth potential.
- Complementary Product Capabilities: Each company has distinctive products and solutions that together improve customer value proposition. Baker Hughes’ core competencies in rotating equipment, flow control and digital technology pair well with Chart’s competencies in heat transfer, air and gas handling, and process technologies.
- Strengthens Baker Hughes’ Lifecycle Revenue Mix: The combined company will have a large and structurally growing installed base creating opportunities to drive growth in high-value aftermarket products and services, as well as digital services using Chart’s Uptime digital platform. Baker Hughes’ expansive service footprint is expected to increase service rates for Chart’s installed base driving more profitable, recurring revenue across the combined portfolio.
- Delivers Substantial Synergies: Baker Hughes has identified $325 million of annualized cost synergy opportunities by the end of year three. Baker Hughes intends to drive productivity improvements by leveraging Baker Hughes’ scale in manufacturing and consolidating the companies’ supply chains, as well as optimizing costs across the SG&A and R&D functions. Baker Hughes’ confidence in realizing these synergies is supported by the continued success of its business system, a key driver of IET margin expansion over the past three years.
- Attractive Financial Profile and Returns for Shareholders: The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to growth, margins and cash flow, with double-digit EPS accretion in the first full year after the transaction closes. Chart’s differentiated position in attractive and growing markets is expected to deliver sustainable underlying growth that will be accretive to Baker Hughes’ through-cycle growth profile. The combination of strong growth, attractive margins and the synergy potential to expand operating margins meet all of Baker Hughes’ return criteria, including double-digit ROIC.
Transaction Details & Approvals
Under the terms of the agreement, Chart shareholders will receive $210 per share of common stock in cash. The purchase price represents an enterprise value of $13.6 billion, and a multiple of ~9x Chart Consensus 2025 EBITDA on a fully synergized basis.

Baker Hughes has secured fully committed bridge debt financing to fund the transaction, provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC, and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., which is expected to be replaced with permanent debt financing prior to close. Baker Hughes remains committed to maintaining its A credit rating and will use its strong free cash flow and expected divestiture proceeds to support debt reduction while maintaining, and growing over time, its strong dividend. Baker Hughes projects net leverage at close will be 2.25x and will de-lever to 1.0-1.5x net leverage within 24 months after close. Flexibility will be maintained on share repurchases until leverage reaches the 1.0-1.5x target, after which Baker Hughes intends to return 60-80% of FCF to shareholders.

The Boards of Directors of Baker Hughes and Chart have each unanimously approved the transaction, and the Chart Board of Directors has unanimously recommended that Chart shareholders approve the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval by Chart shareholders, and the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-year 2026.

Advisers
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Centerview Partners LLC, and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisers to Baker Hughes, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and WilmerHale are serving as legal advisers. Wells Fargo is serving as financial adviser to Chart, and Winston & Strawn is serving as legal adviser.

Investor Conference Call and Presentation
Baker Hughes will host a conference call to discuss the transaction on July 29 at 8:30 a.m. ET, 7:30 a.m. CT. The conference call will be broadcast live via a webcast and can be accessed by visiting the Events and Presentations page on the company’s website at: investors.bakerhughes.com. Those who wish to dial in may call 1-800-343-1703 (U.S.) or 1-785-424-1226 (international) and enter passcode 52472. An archived version of the webcast will be available on the website for one month following the webcast.

About Baker Hughes
Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com

About Chart Industries, Inc.
Chart Industries, Inc. is a global leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of process technologies and equipment for gas and liquid molecule handling for the Nexus of Clean™ – clean power, clean water, clean food, and clean industrials, regardless of molecule. The company’s unique product and solution portfolio across stationary and rotating equipment is used in every phase of the liquid gas supply chain, including engineering, service and repair and from installation to preventive maintenance and digital monitoring. Chart is a leading provider of technology, equipment and services related to liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biogas and CO2 capture amongst other applications. Chart is committed to excellence in environmental, social and corporate governance issues both for its company as well as its customers. With 64 global manufacturing locations and over 50 service centers from the United States to Asia, Australia, India, Europe and South America, the company maintains accountability and transparency to its team members, suppliers, customers and communities. To learn more, visit www.chartindustries.com.

For more information, please contact:

Media Relations

Baker Hughes
Adrienne M. Lynch
+1 713-906-8407
adrienne.lynch@bakerhughes.com

Chart Industries
Jim Golden / Jude Gorman / Jack Kelleher
Collected Strategies
Chart-CS@collectedstrategies.com

Investor Relations

Baker Hughes
Chase Mulvehill
+1 346-297-2561
investor.relations@bakerhughes.com

Chart Industries
John Walsh
1-770-721-8899
john.walsh@chartindustries.com

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (each a “forward-looking statement”). All statements, other than historical facts, including statements regarding the presentation of Baker Hughes’ operations in future reports and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts and are sometimes identified by the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “intend,” “expect,” “would,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “overestimate,” “underestimate,” “believe,” “could,” “project,” “predict,” “continue,” “target,” “goal” or other similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: Baker Hughes’ ability to consummate the proposed transaction with Chart (the “Proposed Transaction”); Baker Hughes and Chart obtaining the regulatory approvals required for the Proposed Transaction on the terms expected or on the anticipated schedule or at all; the failure to satisfy other conditions to the completion of the Proposed Transaction, including the receipt of Chart stockholder approval; Baker Hughes’ ability to finance the Proposed Transaction; Baker Hughes’ indebtedness, including the substantial indebtedness Baker Hughes expects to incur in connection with the Proposed Transaction and the need to generate sufficient cash flows to service and repay such debt; the possibility that Baker Hughes may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies from the Proposed Transaction within the expected time-frames or at all and to successfully integrate Chart’s operations with those of Baker Hughes; such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; operating costs, customer loss and business disruption (including, without limitation, difficulties in retaining or maintaining relationships with employees, customers or suppliers) may be greater than expected following the Proposed Transaction or the public announcement of the Proposed Transaction; Baker Hughes and Chart being subject to competition and increased competition is expected in the future; general economic conditions that are less favorable than expected; the potential for litigation related to the Proposed Transaction. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include, among others, the risk factors identified in the “Risk Factors” section of Part 1 of Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was filed with the SEC on February 4, 2025, and those set forth from time-to-time in other filings by Baker Hughes with the SEC. Additional risks that may affect Chart’s results of operations are identified in the “Risk Factors” section of Part 1 of Item 1A of Chart’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, which was filed with the SEC on February 28, 2025, and those set forth from time-to-time in other filings by Chart with the SEC. These documents are available through our website or through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering and Analysis Retrieval (EDGAR) system at http://www.sec.gov.

Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Neither Baker Hughes nor Chart undertakes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or developments, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements.

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Important Additional Information

This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed merger transaction between Chart and Baker Hughes. In connection therewith, Chart intends to file relevant materials with the SEC, including a proxy statement of Chart (the “proxy statement”) that will be mailed to Chart stockholders seeking their approval of its transaction-related proposals. However, such documents are not currently available. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR ANY INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement and other documents containing important information about each of Chart and Baker Hughes, once such documents are filed with the SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Chart will be available free of charge on Chart’s website at ir.chartindustries.com.

Participants in the Solicitation

Chart and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Chart’s stockholders in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding Chart’s directors and executive officers, including a description of their direct interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in Chart’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2025, and its proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 8, 2025. To the extent holdings of Chart’s securities by its directors or executive officers have changed since the amounts set forth in Chart’s 2025 proxy statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 3, Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 or Annual Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership of Securities on Form 5 subsequently filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed merger transaction will be included in the proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. These documents (when available) can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.

The MIL Network –
July 30, 2025
The vicious injury cycle of India’s fast bowlers: what’s causing it and how can it be fixed?

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

India’s persistent fast-bowling injury crisis is back in focus after a string of setbacks ahead of the Manchester Test against England. Young quicks Akash Deep (groin), Nitish Kumar Reddy (knee ligament), and Arshdeep Singh (cut on bowling hand) were ruled out, compounding a problem that has increasingly derailed India’s pace resources in recent years.

The latest absentees join a growing list of sidelined fast bowlers, including Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik — both of whom have missed substantial game time due to recurring injuries. Mayank, who impressed with raw pace in the IPL, is now recovering from back surgery in New Zealand. Umran, who briefly returned for Kolkata Knight Riders, is still under rehabilitation after a hip injury and dengue.

Injuries to Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan, both recovering from knee surgeries, have triggered fresh scrutiny of India’s pace management systems. Concerns now extend beyond injury prevention to how workload, preparation, and rehabilitation are structured.

‘Under-bowled generation’

Steffan Jones, a specialist fast bowling coach and former Rajasthan Royals consultant, said India’s current crop of quicks is suffering from inadequate exposure to sustained high-intensity bowling during formative years.

“There’s a generation of bowlers getting injured because they didn’t bowl enough when they were younger,” Jones told IANS. “Workload spikes — such as bowling 10 overs one week and 50 the next — are causing these problems. The body hasn’t adapted gradually.”

He added that bowling in nets lacks the match-day intensity and shouldn’t be counted towards workload totals. “The mismatch between low-volume, high-intensity loads is a key factor. Bowlers are undercooked when asked to deliver in pressure situations.”

Technique, strength and flawed coaching methods

Jones also pointed to biomechanical flaws and strength deficiencies. “Fast bowling is about torque and speed — generated through trunk-pelvis separation — and that isn’t being taught properly. Many coaches coach the way they played, which is outdated.”

On strength, Jones said cricketers are not as physically developed as athletes in sports with similar movement profiles, such as javelin or sprinting. “Cricketers across nations are just not strong enough. That’s a fact.”

Lumbar stress fractures: a recurring theme

Several Indian quicks, including Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna, have suffered lumbar stress fractures — often linked to workload surges. John Gloster, Rajasthan Royals’ head physiotherapist and former India physio, said such injuries carry long-term risks.

“Post-fracture, bone mineral density in the injured area remains low for 12–18 months, increasing the chance of recurrence,” Gloster said. “Spikes in load, along with low Vitamin D3 levels, make the bone extremely vulnerable.”

Bumrah vs Mayank: A case study in development

Bumrah, despite early doubts over his unorthodox action, climbed steadily through U-19, domestic, and IPL levels before breaking into the national team — playing over 20 domestic matches before his India debut. In contrast, Mayank featured in only one Ranji Trophy match and limited List A and T20 appearances before being fast-tracked.

While Bumrah has battled injuries — notably back fractures in 2019 and 2023 — his progress has been more consistent. Mayank’s stop-start career, punctuated by side strains, toe issues, and back problems, underscores the challenges facing fast-tracking decisions.

“Mayank doesn’t have any technical flaw that would make him prone to constant injuries,” said Jones. “But I’d question how much bowling he did when younger. Over- or under-bowling at that stage can both be harmful.”

Rehab under scrutiny

The standard rehabilitation protocol begins with injury assessment at the National Cricket Academy’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), followed by a return-to-play process. But sources say the system lacks consistency.

“There’s often no structured plan,” a source familiar with the process said on condition of anonymity. “Players rest for 15 days, then start running and training without proper progression. It’s a disorganised approach.”

Ashish Kaushik, former CoE head physio and now with Lucknow Super Giants, acknowledged the complexity of fast-bowler rehab. “Diagnoses are usually accurate, but the post-diagnosis rehab and return timelines must be precise. That’s where we need to improve.”

He also raised questions about workload monitoring. “Managing gym and on-field workload is just as important as monitoring skills workload. Definitions of workload management need to evolve.”

Fast-tracking pace at a cost

India’s dearth of genuine 150+ kmph bowlers — such as Mayank and Umran — puts added pressure on rare talents, who are often rushed into top-level cricket. Without patient, long-term development plans, injuries become almost inevitable.

“Mayank’s body went into protection mode after repeated breakdowns,” Jones said. “He needs a tailored plan — not added muscle, but a stronger core and specific movement training, including sprinting and jumping.”

The broader concern, experts say, is cultural. A shift in mindset is needed among coaches, support staff, and administrators — one that prioritises long-term sustainability over short-term gains.

A system under strain

As India continues to suffer from recurring fast-bowling breakdowns, questions grow louder: Are players being rushed back? Are rehab protocols being followed correctly? And most crucially, is the system equipped to manage and preserve its rarest pace talents?

Unless those questions are addressed, the cycle of injuries — and setbacks for team strategies — may continue.

(With agency input)

July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China Red Cross sends work group, supplies to Beijing’s flood-hit district

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

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) said on Tuesday that it has dispatched a working group to Miyun District in Beijing to carry out disaster relief efforts.

Based on reports of heavy rain and flooding situation from its Beijing branch, the RCSC launched a special emergency response on Monday, dispatching 2,000 family relief packages to disaster-stricken areas to assist local Red Cross organizations in relocating and resettling affected residents, said the organization.

All-out disaster relief and rescue operations are underway in the Chinese capital as the latest round of intense rainstorms have left 30 people dead as of midnight Monday, damaging roads, disrupting power supply and prompting mass evacuation.

The deaths occurred in Beijing’s northern mountainous districts, with 28 in Miyun and two in Yanqing, according to local authorities.

MIL OSI China News –

July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Film on Nanjing Massacre ignites strong emotions across China

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

A harrowing new Chinese film about the Nanjing Massacre has stirred strong emotions across the country, sparking widespread reflection on a traumatic chapter in China’s history.

“Dead To Rights” centers on a group of Chinese civilians who take refuge in a photography studio during the Japanese aggressors’ brutal occupation of Nanjing.

In a desperate attempt to stay alive, they are forced to assist a Japanese military photographer in developing film — only to discover that the negatives contain damning evidence of atrocities committed by Japanese forces across the city. They secretly keep the negatives and risk their lives to deliver them to the outside world, in the hope that the truth would be revealed.

Recognized for its emotional weight and stark portrayal of a national trauma, “Dead To Rights” has resonated deeply with audiences. The film’s Douban rating, a key gauge of public sentiment, reached 8.6 out of 10.

A popular comment on Douban observed, “The simplicity and restraint of the storytelling make every scene piercingly poignant. The few images — such as the knife held to a baby, the rolling heads, the red river of blood — are more than enough to communicate the horror. The film doesn’t sensationalize; it lets these chilling images speak for themselves.”

On ticketing platform Maoyan, one user shared a poignant reflection after taking two children to see the film: “At first, I was worried they’d be scared, but then I realized: if we can’t face history, what will we do in the future? I want them to understand real history, which is harsher than what’s depicted in the movie. Our land must never be surrendered!”

In another post, a Maoyan user recalled a tender moment after the screening, when a young girl asked her mother if there were any “post-credit scenes.” The mother replied, “The true ‘post-credit scene’ is when we step out of the cinema.” “Indeed, the lively streets, the bustling crowd, the smell of food in the air — this is the true miracle,” noted the comment. This sentiment captures the essence of the film’s call to cherish the peace and vitality of modern China, all made possible by the sacrifices of the past.

Renowned director Feng Xiaoning, speaking in a video circulated widely online, shared his reaction to the film. “When the film ended, the entire audience remained seated, unmoving, until the credits had fully rolled. Everyone was lost in deep thought,” he said. “I believe every Chinese person, and everyone in the world with a conscience, will be shaken by this film.”

By the end of Sunday, its third day of release, “Dead To Rights” had grossed over 400 million yuan (56 million U.S. dollars), with over 10 million admissions nationwide, according to data from Maoyan.

Largely driven by this film, China’s daily box office on Sunday surpassed 300 million yuan, marking the first time in 154 days that the threshold had been crossed.

According to Maoyan’s latest projection, “Dead To Rights” is expected to earn more than 3.2 billion yuan in total revenue, a substantial upward revision from earlier estimates.

MIL OSI China News –

July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation opens into Rathlin Energy permit draft decision
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Consultation opens into Rathlin Energy permit draft decision

The Environment Agency has opened a consultation into its ‘minded to’ decision to grant a permit variation to a Yorkshire company.
Rathlin Energy UK Ltd, which has operated at West Newton in East Yorkshire since 2013, has an environmental permit for drilling wells and long-term oil and gas production.

It has applied to vary the permit for West Newton A well site (WNA) at Fosham Road in High Fosham.

After reviewing comments and evidence from the original consultation at the end of last year, the Environment Agency is ‘minded to’ issue the permit variation.

This means after exploring the issues and concerns that have been raised, it can’t find any reason to refuse the application, but is yet to make a final decision.

A draft permit document and draft decision document can be found on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space page.

The draft decision document explains the Environment Agency’s decision-making and outlines how it has considered the comments from the original consultation. The draft permit outlines the conditions would need to meet if the permit is granted.

The consultation into the ‘minded to’ decision documents will close at the end of 9 September, 2025.

Public encouraged to send comments

Kathryn Richardson, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said:

We have carefully considered all the documents, as well as the consultation comments, and currently can’t find any reason to refuse the variation application.

I’d encourage interested parties to view the decision document and send us their comments.

We will make our final decision once we have reviewed the responses to this consultation.

The original consultation into this application started on 19 November last year and ran until 24 January.

The Environment Agency may only refuse a permit application if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have an unacceptable impact on the environment or harm human health.

If all the requirements are met, it is legally obliged to issue a permit. 

Rathlin Energy has applied to carry out ‘well stimulation’ (or ‘proppant squeeze’) on the existing WNA-2 well. This is a process used by the oil and gas industry, which is designed to improve the efficiency of the flow of oil or gas through the reservoir rock and into the well.

Mining and extractive industries must have an environmental permit to operate. Issued by the Environment Agency, environmental permits detail the conditions that an operator is required to meet to ensure its activities minimise the risk of harm to people and the environment.  

People can respond to the consultation directly on the website or alternatively by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk

Those unable to access this information online should contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.  

Background

Consultation

The reservoir stimulation will result in some extractive waste – waste produced by the extraction, treatment and storage of minerals – being retained in the ground. Therefore the operator has also applied for a ‘mining waste facility’ to authorise this.

Changes are also proposed to the surface water discharge process, and the location of the already permitted crude oil storage facility.

Responses to the consultation can be made electronically. To access the relevant documentation, visit our consultation website on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space page.

Information on the website explains how you can view the consultation documents and how you can make your comments. We also explain what we can and can’t take into account when deciding on the application.

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposals is urged to read the documentation online before responding directly on the website or by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk

Those unable to make representation via the consultation website or by email should contact the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506.  

Environment Agency regulation of onshore gas and oil

The Environment Agency’s regulatory controls for the onshore oil and gas industry are designed to protect people and the environment.  We do not permit activities that pose an unacceptable risk

Our regulatory process – permitting, inspecting, monitoring and enforcement – is designed to protect our water, land and air, and the people and wildlife that depend on them.

We will not allow any activity that could pollute water (rivers and streams, surface water, groundwater, drinking water) or any removal of water if it could affect the public water supply or damage the environment.

We ensure waste material is minimised, stored, and disposed of safely so it doesn’t harm the soil or the wider environment.

We protect the air by requiring that any waste gas is burnt in a safe and controlled way, and that any emissions are minimised and monitored.

Environmental permits

Environmental permits set out strict legal conditions by which an operator must comply in order to protect people and the environment. Should an environmental permit be issued, the Environment Agency has responsibility for enforcing its conditions.

Our powers include enforcement notices, suspension and revocation of permits, fines and ultimately criminal sanctions, including prosecution.

We may only refuse a permit if it does not meet one or more of the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have a significant impact on the environment or harm human health. If all the requirements are met, we are legally required to issue a permit.

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Published 29 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Sergei Sobyanin spoke about the improvement of Shchyolkovskoye Highway

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Thousands are sold in Moscow every year improvement projects in different urban areas: from courtyards andparks to the streets and areas near transport facilitiesSergei Sobyanin reported this in on your telegram channel.

“This year, there are plans to put about 700 city streets in order, including three major outbound highways: Profsoyuznaya Street with 60th Anniversary of October Avenue,

Volgogradsky Prospect with Marxistskaya Street and Shchelkovskoye Highway with Krasnoprudnaya and Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya Streets,” the Mayor of Moscow wrote.

Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin

Shchyolkovskoye Highway is one of the largest outbound highways in Moscow, with about 570,000 city residents living nearby. It handles more than 22,000 vehicles per day. There are 51 public transport routes along the highway, with a daily passenger flow of 250,000 people.

The comprehensive improvement of Shchelkovskoye Shosse, Krasnoprudnaya and Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya streets began in April 2025. Specialists are carrying out work on the section from Komsomolskaya Square to the Moscow Ring Road with a total length of 8.9 kilometers. The main objective is to make the urban environment more functional and comfortable for local residents, while maintaining the transport function of the highway.

The implementation of the project will reduce the load on sections of Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya Street from Preobrazhensky Val Street to Khalturinskaya Street by seven percent, Shchyolkovskoye Highway from Montazhnaya Street to the exit to the Moscow High-Speed Diameter by 11 percent, Khalturinskaya Street from Otkrytoye Highway to Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya Street by six percent.

Instead of outdated stops, specialists will install nine modern pavilions. Thanks to the infrastructure upgrade, as well as due to the adjustment of traffic lights and the provision of priority to city transport, its travel speed will increase by 17 percent.

More than 720 benches and trash bins will be placed on the sidewalks and in other suitable places. 38 new information steles will help to find your way around. Shchyolkovskoye Highway will become lighter and safer in the evening and at night thanks to the replacement of 70 lanterns and more than 1.6 thousand old gas-discharge lamps with LED ones. At unregulated pedestrian crossings, specialists will install contrast lighting supports.

By creating 123 thousand square meters of lawns and planting more than 700 large trees, Shchyolkovskoye Highway will become much greener. To add color to the autumn-winter landscape, four decorative compositions of coniferous plants will be created on the scenic sections of the highway.

To improve the appearance of the highway, decorative cladding will appear near ventilation shafts and other engineering structures. Thanks to it, they will become attractive accents of the urban environment.

The specialists will also replace the surface of about 150 thousand square meters of sidewalks and more than 450 thousand square meters of roads, remove overhead cable lines underground and install an additional drainage system.

At the moment, 43 percent of the work has been completed. About 240 people and more than 70 units of equipment are involved.

“We began the comprehensive improvement of Shchyolkovskoye Highway with Krasnoprudnaya and Bolshaya Cherkizovskaya Streets in April 2025. Large-scale, voluminous work is being carried out on the section from Komsomolskaya Square to the Moscow Ring Road. We plan to finish them this fall,” the Moscow Mayor wrote in

on your telegram channel.

Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin

Improvement of Shchyolkovskoye Highway has begun in the east of the capital Moscow’s outbound highways will become more modern and functional — Sergei Sobyanin

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

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: SED shares Hong Kong’s experience in achieving quality and equitable education in Osaka

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

SED shares Hong Kong’s experience in achieving quality and equitable education in Osaka
     The seminar, held on July 28, aimed at exploring how to guarantee equitable learning opportunities for all. In her speech titled “Provision of Quality and Equitable Education in Hong Kong”, Dr Choi outlined Hong Kong’s policy measures and achievements in providing quality and equitable education at the systemic levels.

     Dr Choi said that the Government is committed to investing in education and ensuring equitable distribution of educational resources. In addition to providing 12 years’ free primary and secondary education through public sector schools, it caters to individual differences and promotes whole-person development through diversified support mechanisms. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 results, Hong Kong ranked second in educational equity among countries or economies with high academic achievements, indicating that the family socio-economic status of students had minimal bearing on their performance. Moreover, the Government has launched the Kindergarten Education Scheme to provide good-quality and highly affordable kindergarten education, enabling all children aged from 3 to 6 to access different modes of kindergarten education based on their needs. Currently, about 90 per cent of half-day kindergarten programmes are free of charge, while school fees for whole-day programmes are maintained at a low level.

     On primary and secondary education, the Education Bureau (EDB) has developed a broad and balanced school curriculum framework that helps students build a solid knowledge foundation, nurture proper values and attitudes, and develop generic skills. A diverse range of life-wide learning activities is also provided to enrich students’ horizons. Coupled with the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) as the university entrance examination, the curriculum features flexibility and diversity, offering not only traditional academic subjects but also applied learning subjects for selection, which demonstrates the concept of convergence of vocational and general education and helps students plan their careers. Adopting the standards-referenced reporting system to report candidates’ examination results, which is in line with the international standards, the HKDSE is widely recognised locally and abroad.

     In the seminar, Dr Choi also talked about the EDB’s targeted support for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students and students with special educational needs (SEN). It has been providing NCS students, from pre-primary to secondary levels, with all-encompassing learning support to facilitate their mastery of Chinese language for integration into the community. The EDB is also dedicated to promoting an inclusive learning environment. It has been encouraging schools to adopt the Whole School Approach in supporting students with SEN and implement integrated education based on the spirit of “equal opportunities and teaching students in accordance with their abilities”, enabling students with SEN to integrate into ordinary schools.

     Dr Choi said that Hong Kong’s post-secondary education is highly internationalised and diversified. The quality of teaching and learning is consistently ranked among the top in the international comparative studies, with five publicly funded universities ranking among the world’s top 100. In addition to the Government’s substantial subsidy for tuition fees (87 per cent), various universities provide scholarships, grants and loans to students to ensure that no qualified students will be denied access to higher education due to financial difficulties.

     The Government is committed to developing Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub to provide students with broader international perspectives and attract more outstanding talent from around the world. At present, around one out of five students and 70 per cent of academic staff of publicly funded universities come from outside Hong Kong. These universities have also signed over 2 600 student exchange agreements with institutions around the world. In the 2025 ranking of the world’s most international universities published by the Times Higher Education, Hong Kong’s publicly funded universities achieved encouraging results by claiming all top four spots.

     Furthermore, the Government has been actively promoting vocational and professional education and training. By developing universities of applied sciences, and supporting the Vocational Training Council and other post-secondary institutions’ provision of post-secondary programmes of applied nature that blend theory and practice, the Government fosters co-operation between industries and education and collaboration between schools and businesses, and provides young people with diversified learning and employment opportunities as well as multiple pathways, with a view to nurturing more high-quality talent with applied knowledge and skills.

     On July 27 and 28, Dr Choi met representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, officials of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, representatives from several Japanese universities, and education representatives from other places attending the “Theme Weeks” of the Expo to discuss further education collaboration and exchanges.

     On July 27, she exchanged views with a Hong Kong person working in the field of basic education in Japan to learn about the latest developments in Japanese basic education. On the same day, she visited the Sakai City Traditional Townhouse Museums together with Hong Kong secondary students participating in an exchange tour in Japan and learned about the students’ experiential learning.

     This morning, Dr Choi paid a courtesy call on the Consul-General of China in Osaka, Mr Xue Jian, to introduce Hong Kong’s latest education policies. She also visited the Confucius Institute at Osaka Sangyo University and met its teachers and students to learn about the Institute’s experience in promoting Chinese language studies and Chinese culture in Japan. Dr Choi will conclude her visit this afternoon and return to Hong Kong.
Issued at HKT 18:43

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CategoriesMIL-OSI

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 30, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: US and EU reach trade deal – D. Trump, W. von der Leyen

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

LONDON, July 28 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that the two sides have reached a trade deal under which the United States will impose a basic 15 percent tariff on goods from the European Union.

The statement was made at a joint press briefing on Sunday afternoon following talks at US President Donald Trump’s golf club in Turnberry, Scotland.

Pharmaceuticals were excluded from the deal, while existing 50 percent tariffs on EU steel and aluminum exports to the United States will remain in place.

While both leaders described the deal as a step toward restoring “trade balance” and promoting more equitable bilateral trade, the agreement allows the United States to impose broad 15 percent tariffs on EU goods while providing zero-tariff access to a range of strategic American exports. In return, the EU has committed to purchasing $750 billion in American energy and investing an additional $600 billion in the United States.

At a press briefing, D. Trump said the agreement would allow American cars to re-enter the European market and make American agricultural exports more accessible to the EU. –0–

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

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Two Maslin Beach men in court over drug trafficking

Source: New South Wales – News

Two men were arrested for drug trafficking after police searched a Maslin Beach home on Saturday.

Southern District CIB detectives searched the Maslin Beach property on Saturday 26 July and allegedly located 7.5 litres of 1,4-Butanediol (liquid fantasy), 23 steroid vials, 81 suboxone strips, various prescription medications, cannabis products, $5550 in cash and drug equipment.

A 35-year-old man and a 24-year-old man, both occupants of the address, were arrested and charged with trafficking in a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug and other serious drug offences.

They were refused police bail and will appear in the Christies Beach Magistrates Court today.

Anyone with information about illicit drugs can report it anonymously to police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperssa.com.au

CO2500030688

MIL OSI News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Early Childhood Education and Care (Strengthening Regulation of Early Education) Bill 2025

Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority

Mr Speaker, in the last few weeks Australians right across the country have been shocked and sickened by the news in Victoria.

A person arrested and charged with multiple heinous offences against children.

Offences allegedly committed in child care centres.

The mums and dads of thousands of children are now dealing with the fear that their children could be hurt or are sick, and the trauma of getting them tested.

This is a live investigation and the matter remains before the courts.

But I have been pretty blunt in the last few weeks.

People have been arrested and convicted for offences like those alleged before.

And governments of different colours, State and Federal have taken action.

But not enough.

And not fast enough.

That’s the truth.

We have to do everything that we can to ensure the safety of our children when they walk – or when they are carried – through the doors of an early childhood education and care service.

At centres across the country big and small. But not just there. In family day care, and in-home care and at outside school hours care.

And this Bill is part of that.

In short, it will give us the power to cut off funding to child care centres that aren’t up to scratch when it comes to safety and quality.

Services that don’t meet the standard when it comes to safety and quality, or where they are in breach of the law or are acting in a way that puts the safety of children at risk.

This power will apply to all forms of early education and care that are eligible for the Child Care Subsidy.

Centre-based day care.

Family Day Care.

In Home Care.

And Outside School Hours care too.

Funding is the big weapon that the Australian Government has to wield here.

Australian taxpayers are the biggest funders of child care centres.

We do that through the Child Care Subsidy.

$16 billion dollars a year.

Centres can’t operate without it.

It covers about 70 per cent of the average cost of running a centre.

It pays for things like wages and rent and electricity.

This legislation gives us the power to suspend or cancel that funding if a centre is not meeting the quality, safety and other compliance requirements that are put in place by our national system of early childhood regulation.

This is how that system works.

The Education and Care Services National Law sets the standards we expect child care centres to meet.

State Government Regulators are responsible for rating centres and enforcing the standards.

Most centres meet the standards now, but not all.

If State Regulators think there is a real and imminent threat to safety they can shut a centre on the spot.

And they do.

Sometimes though they will identify problems in centres that can and need to be fixed.

And sometimes those problems remain unfixed.

That’s where this legislation comes in.

The real purpose of this legislation isn’t to shut centres down but to raise standards up.

To make sure that the safety and quality in child care centres is what parents expect and what our children deserve.

This is how it will work.

It will give the Secretary of my Department the power to take into account a provider’s quality, safety and compliance history when considering whether a provider should be approved to administer the Child Care Subsidy, or whether they should continue to be approved, or if they should be approved to operate a new service.

That has never been part of the Child Care Subsidy system since it started in 2018. It will be now.

This change will tie a centre’s eligibility to administer the Child Care Subsidy directly to their record on quality, safety and compliance.

And it will allow the Secretary of my Department to cut off access to the Child Care Subsidy where standards are not being met.

That might mean cutting funding to an existing provider or service, or denying a provider the ability to expand until they have met the required standards.

Under these changes, the Secretary of my Department will be able to impose conditions on a provider’s approval, or to move immediately to a process to suspend or cancel that approval on the basis of safety and quality concerns.

Where conditions are imposed, a provider must meet those conditions within a specified timeframe if they want to maintain their approval.

This could include a condition that the provider comply with directions from their state regulator. It might require them to follow a quality improvement plan or hire a quality and safety expert to help them lift their standards.

As I said a moment ago, the Secretary of my Department can also move immediately to a process to suspend or cancel a provider on the basis of quality and safety concerns. That involves issuing a formal notice to the provider requiring a response within 28 days.

If the provider doesn’t give a good explanation in that period, the Secretary of my Department can cancel or suspend their approval.

It’s a process that permits providers an opportunity to engage with my Department where they have a genuine commitment to improve.

These powers will be used in close collaboration with states and territories, backing in their core role and responsibility regulating quality and safety.

It means the Commonwealth can use the power of the Child Care Subsidy funding to lift the standards of providers not doing the right thing – and ensure those that aren’t up to scratch don’t get access to Commonwealth funding.

This Bill also expands the Commonwealth’s powers to publish information about providers that are sanctioned for non-compliance.

The Secretary of my Department already has the power to publicise actions such as suspending or cancelling a provider’s approval for the Child Care Subsidy.

The information is available in the Enforcement Action Register on the Department’s website, along with other information such as how the department issues infringement notices and imposes conditions on approvals.

This Bill expands that power to include the power to publicise when a provider is refused approval for a new service.

It also gives the Secretary of my Department the power to publish other compliance action taken against providers, such as when conditions are applied – including the details of those conditions.

Or where an infringement notice has been issued, including the details of the notice, such as the alleged contravention and the fine amount.

Conditions and infringements are very important, because they point to specific things a provider must fix to stay eligible for the Child Care Subsidy.

Parents should know when a centre their child attends, or one they are thinking of using, is subject to a condition or has received an infringement.

When this legislation is passed, the Secretary of my Department will expand the breadth of the Enforcement Action Register to include those things I have just outlined.

I have asked the Secretary of my Department to ensure the Enforcement Action Register provides parents and other organisations with as much information as possible, given the circumstances of each matter.

Providing more detailed information on compliance actions and refusals of new services is important to ensure parents have the information that they need to make one of the most important decisions in their child’s early years.

About who they want to put their trust in to care for their child.

It will also ensure transparency for company directors and board members, who may not be directly responsible for the day-to-day management of the provider, but who play an important role in ensuring their organisations are taking the steps needed to keep children safe in early childhood education and care.

The Bill also gives the Commonwealth’s authorised officers more powers to do their job. It allows them to perform spot-checks and to enter premises without consent during operating hours to detect non-compliance across the sector.

It means that the Commonwealth’s officers don’t need to get a warrant or other pre-authorisation to inspect a centre, an outside schools hours care service, or family day care service.

These Commonwealth powers largely mirror arrangements that are already in place for state and territory regulators of early child and education care under the National Law and Regulations.

The primary purpose of these compliance officers is to monitor compliance with the family assistance law. This is a serious issue in early education and care.

Over the last three years, this Government has allocated $221 million dollars in additional funding to detect and prevent Child Care Subsidy fraud, and this has helped claw back around $318 million dollars for the taxpayer.

These new powers add to this.

If while the compliance officers are there, they identify safety and quality concerns, they will also be able to share that information with State Government regulators to take action.

A person who does not co-operate with an authorised person seeking access commits a criminal offence – and is liable to a civil penalty.

The Bill also includes a number of other integrity measures.

It will allow the Secretary of my Department to delegate the power to apply for a monitoring warrant to an appropriately qualified Executive Level officer.

Monitoring warrants are an effective tool in conducting Child Care Subsidy fraud and compliance investigations. These changes will streamline processes allowing warrants to be requested and issued more quickly.

The Bill also makes amendments to allow the Secretary of my Department to delegate their existing power to appoint an appropriately qualified and experienced expert to conduct audits of large child care providers.

This power is expanded to allow delegation to a Senior Executive Service employee. This will further streamline the process for appointing auditors, an important tool in ensuring integrity and compliance in the sector.

The Bill also makes important changes to how gap fees are collected from families who use Family Day Care and In Home Care.

The Bill makes an amendment to require all Family Day Care and In Home Care Providers to collect Child Care Subsidy gap fees directly from families. This will reduce the administrative burden on individual educators so they can focus on providing education and care to children. It will also improve transparency and integrity of Child Care Subsidy funding.

Mr Speaker, the purpose of this Bill is not to shut child care centres down.

It’s to raise standards up.

This is not about leaving parents stranded without care for their children because of fixable or minor short-comings at their service.

But this legislation is also not an idle threat.

Services, be they are centre-based day care, or family day care, or in-home care, or outside school hours care, know what they have to do to consistently meet national quality standards.

Providers that can improve their services to meet the standard will get the chance to do that.

Services that don’t, can’t, or won’t will lose their access to funding.

I think that’s fair. And I think most Australian parents will too.

Mr Speaker, this Bill also isn’t the only thing we have to do to improve safety in child care centres.

There is a lot more.

After Ashley Paul Griffith was arrested and charged in Queensland with multiple child sex offences, Education Ministers across the country commissioned the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority – ACECQA – to conduct a Child Safety Review.

Education Ministers have agreed in principle to the key recommendations of that review.

Some have been implemented. But there is more work that needs to be done.

That includes establishing a National Educator Register to help track workers from centre to centre. And from state to state.

It also means mandatory child safety training to support the 99.9 per cent of educators who care for our children every single day and do a fantastic job, to help them to recognise the people in their centres who are up to no good.

After 4 Corners exposed appalling examples of abuse and neglect on 17 March this year, the New South Wales Government commissioned Chris Wheeler, a former Deputy New South Wales Ombudsman, to undertake an independent review of the New South Wales Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority.

That Review recommends increasing penalties on services for offences that are largely factual or procedural, and for which prosecution is currently the only avenue available.

It also recommends services be required to display their compliance history alongside their quality ratings to help families make informed choices about child care.

The Wheeler Review also recommends allowing the regulator to require that a provider install CCTV when they identify a potential risk to the health and safety of children at a service, or when the service has failed to meet quality standards for an unreasonable period of time.

These recommendations and more will be considered by Education Ministers when we meet next month.

The other area where serious work is needed is to improve the operation of Working with Children Checks.

Problems here were identified a long time ago.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended the Commonwealth Government facilitate a national model for Working with Children Checks.

At the moment the systems in different states work differently.

In some States the Working with Children Check is valid for five years. In others it’s two or three years.

In some States only people over eighteen working with children require a Check. In others this is required from the age of fourteen or fifteen.

Jurisdictions also differ in how they assess both criminal and non-conviction information, as well as patterns of behaviour.

There are also issues with getting real time updates to Working with Children Checks and information sharing between jurisdictions.

This system isn’t run by Education Ministers. In some States it is run by the Attorney General. In others it is Ministers with responsibility for Child Protection, Human Services, or Families and Communities.

Next month the Commonwealth Attorney General will also bring her state and territory counterparts together to address these serious issues.

Mr Speaker, there is no more serious work than this.

I want to thank my friend and colleague, Senator Jess Walsh, the Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth, for her leadership on quality and safety in early learning and her work in bringing this Bill to the Parliament.

And I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Minister for Education, Jonno Duniam, and the Assistant Minister, Zoe Mckenzie, and their teams for the serious and professional and bipartisan way they have engaged with us on this legislation.

To make sure we get it right.

It’s what mums and dads across the country want of us. And expect of us.

They are not interested in excuses.

They expect action.

They expect all levels of Government to work together and the people that run child care services to join us in this work as well.

We all know, no party, no government, State or Federal, has done everything we need to do here.

That’s obvious.

But I think everyone here is determined to do what needs to be done to rebuild confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in.

A system that more than a million mums and dads rely on to care for and to educate the most important people in their world – their children.

This legislation is an important part of that.

It’s not everything.

The truth is this work will never end.

But this is an important step.

And I commend this Bill to the House.

MIL OSI News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid begin entering Gaza through Kerem Shalom border crossing

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

An aid truck waits to enter Gaza on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Jan. 28, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid began entering the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, according to local Palestinian sources.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua the aid convoy initially gathered at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing under the supervision of the Egyptian Red Crescent.

The trucks then proceeded to the Kerem Shalom crossing, where they underwent inspection by Israeli authorities before being allowed into the besieged enclave, the sources said.

The flow of humanitarian assistance comes amid growing international appeals to facilitate urgent aid delivery to Gaza, where residents continue to face severe shortages of food, medicine, and other essential supplies.

Airdrops of humanitarian aid resumed Saturday over various locations in the northern Gaza Strip, but the approach was criticized by head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Philippe Lazzarini as “the most expensive and inefficient way” to deliver humanitarian assistance.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Sunday morning that to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, a local “tactical pause” in military activity will take place for humanitarian purposes from 10:00 to 20:00, starting Sunday.

“The pause will begin in the areas where the IDF is not operating: Al Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City, every day until further notice,” it said.

Additionally, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., designated secure routes will be open to facilitate the safe movement of UN and humanitarian convoys distributing aid throughout the Gaza Strip.

Also on Sunday, Gaza’s health authorities said in a brief statement that hospitals in Gaza recorded six new deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, raising the number of such fatalities since October 2023 to 133, including 87 children.

“In Gaza, people who have survived bombs and bullets are now starving,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on social media platform X on Sunday.

“Medical and humanitarian workers are fainting while on duty. UNRWA staff are struggling to find food yet continue to work,” it said, adding that a flow of aid at scale, under the coordination of the United Nations, including UNRWA, is urgently needed.

MIL OSI China News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Chinese medical teams launch health education, free clinic campaign in Tanzania’s Zanzibar

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

The Chinese schistosomiasis control project team and the 34th Chinese medical team in Zanzibar on Saturday launched a health education and free clinic campaign in Zanzibar.

The campaign was launched against the backdrop of an unusually long rainy season that triggered a spike in waterborne infections and trauma cases, said Dai Yang, leader of the schistosomiasis control project team.

He noted that heavy rains caused widespread flooding and road damage, creating optimal conditions for the mass reproduction of Biomphalaria snails, the primary carrier of schistosomiasis, as medical access was severely disrupted, leaving many residents untreated for fractures and infections.

Despite logistical hurdles, including a stranded clinic bus that required emergency vehicle transfers, the expert teams reached Wambaa safely and initiated public health outreach.

Recognizing the risk of children playing in stagnant water, the schistosomiasis control project team placed special emphasis on educating students. “Every seemingly calm puddle may harbor schistosomes, the invisible threat surging after rainfall,” warned Dai.

The Chinese medical team offered free consultations and treatment across internal medicine, surgery, and pediatrics to hundreds of residents. Vital medications, including antibiotics, deworming treatments, and antivirals, were distributed at no cost.

This collaborative effort not only mitigated an emerging public health crisis but also deepened the ties between China and Tanzania, with the team’s compassion and resilience leaving a lasting impression on the community, said Dai.

MIL OSI China News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: State Highway 6 Rocks Road – getting ready for more bad weather

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Contractors will be working hard on the cliff above State Highway 6 Rocks tomorrow (Monday, 28 July) to further protect the road from slips and debris falls ahead of bad weather forecast for Tuesday.

Rob Service, System Manager Nelson/Tasman, says abseilers will install bidim material – a geotextile material designed to help prevent erosion – along the cliff face in areas where slips have recently occurred, causing the highway to close.

“With more heavy rain coming, we want to reduce the risk of further slips and rockfalls along Rocks Road,” Mr Service says.

“Getting the bidim sheets in place will help mitigate the impact of the heavy rain on the cliff,” Mr. Service says.

He says further work will also be done at the road level to help protect road users and the public.

“Contractors will be extending water-filled safety barriers further south, towards Magazine Point. These will reduce the risk of debris falls reaching the road,” Mr Service says.

Contractors removing slip debris earlier this month, SH6 Rocks Road.

The work will require traffic management, and Mr Service warns it will create disruption and delays for drivers.

“We will have to run stop/go traffic management at the site while the work is underway. This will result in travel delays and queues on one of Nelson’s busiest roads,” Mr. Service says.

“We are timing it to start from nine am, after the morning peak commuting time. But we expect it will continue into the afternoon peak travel time. Delays can be expected, and we urge the public to be ready for them,” Mr. Service says.

He says the traffic management is essential.

“We need to get this additional protection for Rocks Road in before the rain arrives. Our crews need time and space to get these measures installed to help protect a key transport route.”

Contractors removing slip debris, SH6 Rocks Road

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Clearer rules and prequalification guidance to support construction

Source: New Zealand Government

As part of wider Government health and safety reforms, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden will be consulting with builders and construction professionals to improve productivity.

“We’re simplifying scaffolding rules and streamlining the prequalification process to make them more practical and better aligned with the level of risk.

“I have heard concerns from the construction sector that scaffolding rules are too complex,” says Ms van Velden.

The current rules have led to a common view that scaffolding should be used in all situations regardless of risk. This has resulted in the overuse of costly scaffolding when it isn’t required for safety.

“Over-compliance needlessly drags down construction productivity, increasing building time and costs for the sector, and impacting new builds and Kiwi homeowners.

“My officials will be consulting on proposed new rules that will let people choose safe options based on how dangerous the job is. Officials are currently refining options for a risk-based hierarchy of controls for work at heights (i.e. when to use ladders, harnesses, scaffolding) to test with industry,” says Ms van Velden.

“Changes will ensure scaffolding use is better aligned with the level of risk. If it’s not very risky, they will not need to use expensive scaffolding. For example, they will be considering whether a ladder could be used instead of scaffolding for a simple roof gutter repair or minor electrical maintenance when working at height.

“I believe changes to scaffolding rules should help reduce costs and speed up work for tradies, construction firms, homeowners and anyone else who needs construction, painting, maintenance or other work done at height.

“One of the other common themes I heard on the roadshow was frustration with the wide range of prequalification systems and the time and money they take to complete. I have listened, which is why I am acting to help this sector.

“Businesses feel like they have to jump through hoops to tick a compliance box when getting prequalified, even though the prequalification often involves little reflection of the real-world risks workers face. Some have said they have walked away from clients as the cost of getting prequalified is not worth the value of the work.

“A lack of consistency across providers means that suppliers need to get a new prequalification for every job they tender for, with one submitter saying they completed 76 in a year. That’s not a good use of anyone’s time or money.

“I’ve asked WorkSafe to work with industry to revise its prequalification guidance, including developing free-to-use templates to improve national consistency.”

There is also a need for clearer guidance on overlapping duties. This is when multiple businesses share responsibility for managing risks on the same site, such as when builders and drainlayers are both working on the same site and must work together to manage risks.

“I have asked WorkSafe to develop an Approved Code of Practice [ACOP] on clarifying overlapping duties, as the current ambiguity may be encouraging the over-use of prequalifications in situations where it is not necessary. Clearer guidance will help businesses understand when and how they need to work together to manage risks.”

Work is also underway to update the scaffolding certificate of competence categories, with a review of certificate fees to follow. These certificates show what types of scaffolding work a person is qualified to carry out, from basic to more advanced scaffolding.

“Concerns have been raised about the distinction between qualifications and actual competency. Many feel that on-the-job experience should be better recognised. There’s also confusion about what constitutes sufficient training, and frustration with inconsistent advice from regulators.

“After consultation, I will be seeking Cabinet approval to update the categories and fees to ensure they better reflect current costs and industry best practice.

“I am confident that these changes, which are designed to address the concerns of the construction sector, will support safe and more efficient practices,” says Ms van Velden.

“These changes will save time and costs for businesses and workers as we cut red-tape to make it easier to do business. When our Kiwi businesses thrive, there are more jobs and lower prices for all New Zealanders.”

Editor notes:

• These changes are part of the wider health and safety reform, which delivers on the ACT-National Coalition Agreement commitment to reform health and safety laws and regulations.

• Prequalification is a common way construction businesses check if a company or contractor is ready and able to do a construction job safely, before they’re allowed to bid for or start work. Prequalifications are also often used by businesses outside of the construction sector – for example, local councils using them for groundskeeping tenders. However, prequalifications are most prominently used in the construction industry.

• A summary of all the changes and major milestones:

Amend the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations to simplify the scaffolding rule for construction, including the general work at height 3-metre rule.

Targeted stakeholder consultation July – Sept 2025

Cabinet decisions in November/December

Commencement mid 2026

Amend the Health and Safety in Employment Regs to update the fee for scaffolding certificates of competence.

Targeted stakeholder consultation July – Dec 2025

Cabinet decisions in March 2026

Commencement mid 2026

Amend the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations to update the scaffolding certificate of competence definitions

Cabinet LEG decisions Aug

Commencement Sep 2025

WorkSafe will work with the industry to revise prequalification guidance and clarify overlapping duties by developing a construction roles and responsibilities ACOP.

Targeted stakeholder consultation Aug – Sep 2025

Develop guidance and ACOP Oct 2025 – April 2026

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Not Done Yet: Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity

Source: NZCTU

On Saturday 20 September communities across Aotearoa will unite for a Women’s Day of Action for Pay Equity – taking place 132 years after New Zealand women secured the right to vote. This mobilisation responds directly to the Government’s gutting of pay equity.

“This week, alongside our affiliated unions, we handed the Government a petition with 93,924 signatures demanding they stop this attack on workers. But we’re not done. The Women’s Day of Action is another opportunity for women to show the Government that this issue is not going to go away,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.

“These changes have hurt Māori, Pacific, migrant, and low-paid women – nurses, teachers, care and support workers and more who are the backbone of Aotearoa. We will keep fighting until pay equity is restored, and workers’ rights are respected.

“Over 180,000 workers have already had their pay equity claims scrapped. The changes make it nearly impossible to lodge new claims and allow employers to opt out entirely.

“Pay equity isn’t just the right thing to do – for many workers, it’s the difference between working one job or two, between feeding their kids or going without.

“The Women’s Day of Action is both a protest and a celebration of women’s legacy, honouring the suffrage movement while amplifying collective power. The event is family-friendly and community-led, with kai, performances, and opportunities to hold politicians accountable. Participants are encouraged to wear purple, green, and white in honour of suffragists.

“A range of actions all over the country are being planned. Whether you march in Auckland, gather in Porirua or Christchurch, raise your voice in Wellington, have a crafternoon in Invercargill or show support online – you are part of this movement.

“On September 20, we are sending a clear message: pay equity is not optional, and we will not back down,” said Ansell-Bridges.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Weather News – Heavy rain, strong wind, and potential downpours on the cards – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Monday 28 – Thursday 31 July – Severe Weather Warnings and Watches issued for heavy rain and strong winds – Potential upgrade to Red Heavy Rain Warning for southeast Tasman – Large northeast swells expected for the east coast of the upper North Island.

MetService has issued Severe Weather Warnings and Watches for heavy rain and strong wind, as a frontal system is set to move slowly over the motu tomorrow (Tuesday). Large northeast swells are also expected for the east coast of the upper North Island.

While the front arrives early on Tuesday and departs to our east Wednesday afternoon, it packs a punch while it crosses the country. Blustery northeasterly winds, widespread heavy rain and even the potential for downpours are all on the cards.

Orange Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued over the North Island for Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki Maunga, and the Central North Island mountains. For the South Island, Orange Heavy Rain Warnings are in force for Tasman, Nelson, western Marlborough, the ranges of Westland, and the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers, and of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthurs Pass. Much of the central and upper North Island is covered by Watches for heavy rain and strong wind.

MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker advises to pay extra attention to “Tasman east and south of Motueka, excluding Nelson City District, where there is a high chance the Orange Warning will be upgraded to a Red Warning. Aside from Motueka township, this is the same region that was covered by a Red Warning back on 11 July.” There is also a moderate risk for inland parts of the Bay of Plenty to be upgraded to a Red Warning.

Swells of 3 to 4.5 metres are forecast on Tuesday for parts of the coast between the Bay of Islands and Whakatane.

“Northeast swell is expected to peak at 4 metres in the Bay of Islands on Tuesday morning, and at 4-4.5 metres at Great Mercury Island in the evening. Northerly swell is expected to peak at 4-4.5 metres at Whakatane around midnight,” states Bakker.

Along with the wind and rain, overnight temperatures are expected to rise. Much of the North Island will stay above 10°C on Tuesday night. Whakatane will be particularly notable, with its overnight minimum of 13°C only two degrees cooler than its recorded maximum temperature on Sunday.

Towards the end of the working week, a deep low to the east of Aotearoa New Zealand is forecast to direct a strong southerly flow onto the eastern North Island, while a second low is expected to move east past the far north.

“At this stage, the risk of Severe Weather from Thursday onwards is minimal, but MetService advises that people keep an eye on the forecast,” Bakker notes.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: US, EU seal trade deal amid concerns over tariff imbalance

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

U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen claimed Sunday that they had reached a trade deal under which the United States would impose a baseline tariff of 15 percent on European Union (EU) goods.

The announcement was made at a joint press briefing Sunday afternoon following trade talks at the Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Although both leaders described the deal as a step toward restoring “trade balance” and promoting more equitable two-way commerce, the agreement allows the United States to impose a broad 15 percent tariff on EU goods while securing zero-tariff access for a range of strategic American exports. In contrast, the EU has pledged to purchase 750 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of American energy and commit an additional 600 billion U.S. dollars in investments in the United States.

At the press briefing, Trump claimed the agreement would enable American cars to re-enter the European market and make U.S. agricultural exports more accessible in the EU. He also said that pharmaceuticals were excluded from the agreement, while existing 50 percent tariffs on EU steel and aluminium exports to the United States will remain in place.

However, at a separate press briefing, von der Leyen clarified that the EU and the U.S. had agreed to include pharmaceuticals under the 15 percent tariff framework. She did not rule out the possibility of further U.S. trade actions in the future.

When asked whether a 15 percent tariff for EU carmakers-up from 2.5 percent under the Biden administration-was a favorable outcome, von der Leyen responded that, prior to this agreement, European vehicles faced a total tariff of 27.5 percent when entering the U.S. market. This included a 25 percent levy imposed during Trump’s previous term in addition to the original 2.5 percent. The new 15 percent rate, she argued, represents a reduction from that level.

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, criticized the newly reached deal as “unsatisfactory” and “significantly imbalanced,” warning that it could undermine the EU’s economic stability and job security.

“This is a deal with a slant. Clearly, concessions have been made that are difficult to bear,” Lange said in a statement on Sunday.

Prior to the agreement, over 70 percent of EU exports to the United States were subject to tariffs, including 50 percent on steel and aluminium, 25 percent on automobiles and parts, and a 10 percent duty on most other goods. Trump had warned that if no deal was reached by Aug. 1, the 10 percent tariff would be raised to 30 percent.

MIL OSI China News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: How to apply for release of super on compassionate grounds
Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Assistance with your application

You can apply onlineExternal Link or on a paper form for early release on compassionate grounds.

We’re unable to process applications over the phone, but we can answer any questions you have about completing your application – phone us on 13 10 20.

We don’t charge for processing applications, but some third parties may charge a fee to assist with preparing and submitting an application on your behalf. These entities can only charge you a fee if they’re a registered tax agent. To check if a provider is a registered tax agent, use the Tax Practitioners Board registerExternal Link.

Your super can’t be released to cover the fees of registered agents that assist you to apply. Where you have paid a fee to a registered agent who assisted you to apply, you can’t claim this fee as a deduction in your income tax return.

Sharing myGov details

You should never share your myGov sign in details with anyone else, including registered agents or health practitioners. Doing so is a breach of the myGov terms ofExternal Link use, compromises the security of your records, and can result in significant consequences for you, including having your myGov account being locked, suspended, or deactivated permanently.

Where you share your myGov sign in details with third parties, you are responsible for everything they do with your account, including any penalties where false or misleading statements have been made.

Before you apply
Before you apply you should:
1. carefully review the information we provide here to
2. confirm you have a sufficient super balance to cover the expense and withholding tax
3. check if your super fund allows early release of super
4. collect all the documents and evidence required to support your application.
If you have a self-managed super fund (SMSF), you must still apply to us and get our approval before releasing any money from the fund.
Before submitting your application, you need to ensure that all the information you’re providing is accurate, including the content within medical reports and other documents you provide. Penalties can apply to anyone who provides inaccurate information in their application.

Common errors when applying

Applications need to be supported by the right evidence for the specific compassionate release ground. Failing to provide the right evidence will result in delays in processing the application or it not being approved.

Common errors when applying include:
- Attaching out of date quotes or invoices for unpaid expenses.
  - Quotes must be no more than 6 months old.
  - Invoices must be no more than 30 days old.
- Not providing the right medical reports to support your medical treatment.
  - You must obtain a medical report from the relevant registered medical specialist in the area of the medical condition that you’re applying for release to treat.
  - If you’re applying for treatment to alleviate an acute or chronic mental illness, the relevant medical specialist report must be completed by a psychiatrist.
- Applying to prevent the foreclosure or forced sale of your home from a mortgage lender and not providing all evidence requirements: default notice, letter from the mortgage lender and a utility bill.
- Applying for release to prevent foreclosure or forced sale of your home for ineligible expenses such as a personal credit card debt, outstanding rent, or other personal loans.
- Applying to purchase a vehicle for medical transport where the vehicle costs more than $20,000 and not including additional information that supports the need for the specific vehicle.
- Applying for the expense of a dependant and not including sufficient evidence to support the existence of an interdependent or substantial financially dependent relationship.
For more information on evidence requirements, see Access on compassionate grounds – what you need to know.

How to apply

Online application process

You can access our online application form via your myGov accountExternal Link linked to ATO online services.

From the ATO online services home page, select the heading option Super, then Manage, then Compassionate release of super.

Ensure you’re aware of the following information before completing your online application:
- You need digital copies of the required evidence. We accept photos of documents. Supported file formats are PDF, gif, jpeg and png. We don’t accept screen shots of text messages, emails or Google documents.
- Our system can’t accept more than 20 attachments.
- Each attachment needs to be smaller than 10 MB.
Applying to repay borrowed amounts

Our online and paper application forms currently indicate that paid expenses are not allowable expenses for compassionate release of super purposes, including where the expense was paid using borrowed money – such as through obtaining a loan, using credit facilities, or other borrowing of money, including from family or friends.

We’re currently in the process of updating these forms to be consistent with the information on our website. Until the forms are updated, if you’re applying to repay a borrowed amount that is still outstanding and can’t be paid via other means (in part or full), you’ll need to do the following.

When completing our:
- online application, you need to select the tick box advising ‘The expenses have not been paid’ because the unpaid expense is the outstanding balance of the borrowed amount
- paper application, the question ‘Have the expenses been paid?’ needs to be answered ‘No’ because the unpaid expense is the outstanding balance of the borrowed amount.
You will also need to provide additional documents to support the borrowed amount, including a paid invoice or receipt, statutory declarations and financial documents.

Benefits of applying online
- Online applications are generally processed more quickly than paper applications, which can take up to 28 days to process.
- You can view your application and the documents you provide at any time.
- You will receive a receipt ID that confirms we have received your application and can be used to discuss it with us.
- You don’t have to make copies of your evidence or send them via post.
- You’ll receive the outcome of your application quicker via your myGov inbox.
- Our online application includes a help function to help you apply correctly.
If you can’t apply online

If you don’t have access to our online services to submit your application, request a paper application form by:
- phoning us from within Australia on 13 10 20 (8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday AEST).
- phoning us from overseas on +61 2 6216 1111 (8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday AEST) to request a paper application form.
If you apply from overseas:

More than one person applying for the same expense
You can apply for the same expense as another person if all people applying need to pay different parts of the same expense. If you and another person are applying for the same expense, each person will need to:
- complete and submit a separate application
- meet the eligibility criteria
- provide the applicable evidence (including documents showing the expense is in the names of all applicants).
The sum of the amount requested in the separate applications must not be more than the total amount of the invoice or quote.
What to expect after you apply

When reviewing your application, we will treat you respectfully and professionally. We will respond to your application fairly and in a timely manner as outlined in the ATO Charter.

We will assess your eligibility in accordance with the limited grounds for compassionate release of super. This normally occurs within 14 days (28 days for paper applications). You can check the progress of your application by using our self-help interactive voice response. You will need to provide your tax file number (TFN) and date of birth.

While assessing your application, we may contact you or third-party providers about the evidence you provided, particularly if there is incomplete or missing information. This includes validating expenses in the invoices and quotes, and the information provided in reports.

Once we have assessed your application, we will let you know the outcome by either phone or SMS and you will receive a letter in your myGov InboxExternal Link or via post if you apply on a paper form. You will also be able to access our letter on ATO online services under communication history. Our letter may take up to 72 hours to arrive (or more if it is sent by post).

If your application is successful, we will send a copy of the approval letter to your super fund. You will then need to contact them directly to release your super.

How to withdraw your application

You can’t amend your application after it has been submitted.

To withdraw an application, contact us and provide us with your application reference number.

If your application is approved

Release of your super

If your application is approved, once you receive our approval letter, you must contact your super fund to arrange release of your money.

You’ll need to provide your fund with a copy of our approval letter to process your payment. The letter can only be used to release one lump sum payment. You should wait for your approval letter before contacting your super fund to arrange for release of the approved amount.

Your super fund will automatically deduct the tax from your super account. See Tax on super benefits and Schedule 12 Tax table for superannuation lump sums for more information.

Super funds have their own processes and timeframes for releasing money from super. If you need to know how long it will take for your fund to release your money, you will need to ask them. We don’t have any role in determining how long this takes, and we can’t assist you in relation to the release after we send the approval letter.

After you have received your amount

After you have received your release from your super fund, you must pay the expenses that were approved with the amount released from your super fund.

You also need to keep your receipts for the paid expense as you may need to provide this information to us.

Your super fund will also issue you a payment summary that will display the amount released from your super balance and the tax withheld.

When lodging your income tax return for the relevant financial year, you need to include any taxable amounts shown on the payment summary. If any releases from your super aren’t pre-filled when completing your income tax return, you need to manually include these as per the payment summary. See Tax return instructions for more information.

If your application is not approved
You’ll receive a letter advising the reasons your application was not approved. We will also try to contact you via phone to explain our decision.

The reasons for non-approval generally fall into the following categories:
- You didn’t meet eligibility conditions. You or the expense you applied for are ineligible (because, for example, you paid the expense without borrowing money). Submitting further applications or a review request will result in the same outcome.
- If your application was not approved because you didn’t provide sufficient evidence, you need to submit a new application with all the required documentation. If you request a review of our decision without providing additional evidence, it will generally be unsuccessful.
- If your application was partially approved and you have new evidence, you need to submit a new application with the required documentation for the additional amount.
If you don’t understand our decision or believe we have made a mistake under the law, you can contact us so we can explain our decision.

Request a review of our decision

If after contacting us, you consider that we made a decision that was incorrect based on the information in your application, you can request a review of our decision.

Generally, you must submit your request within 14 days of the date of the original decision letter. In your review request, you need to specify why you believe our decision is incorrect.
For instructions on requesting a review, see Compassionate release of superannuation – request for review of decision.

MIL OSI News –
July 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Uganda’s land eviction crisis: do populist state measures actually fix problems?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rose Nakayi, Senior Lecturer of Law, Makerere University

Populism is rife in various African countries. This political ideology responds to and takes advantage of a situation where a large section of people feels exploited, marginalised or disempowered. It sets up “the people” against “the other”. It promises solidarity with the excluded by addressing their grievances. Populism targets broad social groups, operating across ethnicity and class.

But how does populism fare when it informs state interventions to address long-standing societal issues under capitalism? Do populist state measures – especially when launched by a politically powerful leader – deliver improvements for the stated beneficiaries?

As academics who have researched populism for years, we were interested in the implementation and outcomes of such policies and programmes. To answer these questions, we analysed a populist intervention by President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda to address rampant land conflicts. In 2013 he set out to halt land evictions.

What good came of this? Did it help the poor?

We analysed land laws, court cases, government statements and media reports and found that, for the most part, the intervention offered short-term relief. Some people returned to the land, but the underlying land conflict was unresolved.

This created problems that continue to be felt today, including land disputes and land tenure insecurity. The intervention also increased the involvement of the president and his agents personally in providing justice.

It didn’t make pro-poor structural changes to address the root of the problem.

Yet, the intervention had several political benefits:
- it enhanced the political legitimacy of the president and state
- it offered a politically useful response to a land-related crisis and conflict
- it addressed broader criticisms over injustice and poverty by sections of the public and opposition leaders, some of whom (like Robert Kyagulanyi) also relied on populist rhetoric.
The promise to deal with land evictions “once and for all” has yet to be realised over a decade later. During Heroes Day celebrations on 9 June 2024, Museveni’s speech repeated his promise to stop evictions.

Such promises of getting a grip on and ending evictions via decisive state actions, including proposed new legal guidelines, were also made more recently, for example during Heroes Day 2025. This indicates that evictions – and state responses to them – remain a top issue on the political agenda ahead of Uganda’s 2026 election.

Persistent evictions

Evictions were rampant in the 2010s, especially in central Uganda’s Buganda region. They were driven by increased demand for land amid a growing population and legal reforms that seemed to protect tenants over landlords. Some landlords, desperate to free their land of tenants, were carrying out the evictions themselves.

The president condemned the evictions, but they continued. Soon, the number of evictees was in the thousands.

In response, Museveni set up a land committee within the presidency. He announced at a press conference in early 2013 that:

all evictions are halted. There will be no more evictions, especially in the rural areas. All evictions involving peasants are halted.

The dynamics of populism-in-practice

Museveni’s attempts to personally deal with evictions illustrate a continued power shift in Uganda, from institutions to the president’s executive units.

Despite its shortcomings, such as case backlogs, the judicial system offers an opportunity to present cases in a more neutral environment. It also allows parties to appeal decisions. This way, higher courts can correct errors where necessary.

The presidential land committee, we found, tended to be biased in favour of tenants, paying less attention to the landlords’ cases.

The president’s intervention wasn’t adequate to address the immediate causes and effects of the evictions, nor the root causes.

Those included land tenure insecurities. Due to legal reforms, land-rich landlords were unable to get rent at market value from tenants. Neither could they evict them lawfully where rent was in arrears.

In some cases, legal options such as land sales between landlords and tenants were applied. This was often to the detriment of tenants, especially where there was no neutral actor to oversee negotiations.

Land reforms need to be institutionalised and funded to deliver the intended outcomes. Otherwise, unlawful sales and evictions become a quick option for landlords.

Museveni’s populist initiative also unleashed new problems for beneficiaries. Some secured land occupancy in the interim but lived in fear of a relapse of conflict. Mistrust and scarred interpersonal relationships hampered cohesion in some communities. Disputes over land put political actors who would ideally be working together to restore calm at loggerheads.

Populism as power

The creation of populist presidential units has become routine in Uganda. More recently, Museveni created a unit to protect investors, which has resolved some investment-related land disputes. Another one was established to fight corruption. Both units remain very active.

Our research finds that the government needs these units and interventions for a number of reasons. It uses them to govern the country’s conflict-ridden economy and society. They allow the government to assemble a politically useful response to crises and to address some on-the-ground problems. They make the state look concerned and responsive to people’s needs. And they allow ruling party political actors to increase their popularity locally.

Museveni and his ruling party, the National Resistance Movement, therefore, benefit from a key aspect of populism. It allows the merging of disparate, competing and contradictory views, interests and demands of members of various societal classes and groups into a significantly simplified and uniform narrative that (potentially) speaks to all. This could mean: end corruption, end evictions, wealth for all, and so on.

A general election is due in early 2026. The steps Museveni has taken on evictions, and the units set up to fight corruption or protect investors, need to be seen with this political context in mind.

Museveni has put protecting people from evictions high on his government’s agenda. Speaking to party members in August 2024, he emphasised

the importance of adhering to the mass line, which prioritises the needs and rights of the masses over those of the elite.

In our view, this pre-election narrative signifies the continued political and social relevance of populism in today’s Uganda. This could result in heightened populist state activity in the run-up to and after the election.

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

– ref. Uganda’s land eviction crisis: do populist state measures actually fix problems? – https://theconversation.com/ugandas-land-eviction-crisis-do-populist-state-measures-actually-fix-problems-260512
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
July 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: How Marvel’s Fantastic Four discovered the human in the superhuman

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By J. Andrew Deman, Professor of English, University of Waterloo

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the second cinematic reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise, and there’s a lot riding on this film.

While cinema-goers have responded enthusiastically to many of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the history of the Fantastic Four on the silver screen is less heralded.

All the previous Fantastic Four films have been “commercial and critical failures,” with the 2015 film being an infamous box office bomb.

Yet in comics history, the Fantastic Four have been up to the challenge of driving a popular media enterprise forward — something that the film producers and Marvel fans alike are both now hoping for.

‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ trailer.

In the 1960s — the era in which Fantastic Four: First Steps, is notably set — the comics presented a new class of superhero.

From their 1961 debut, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/the Invisible Girl, Johnny Storm/the Human Torch and Ben Grimm/the Thing were celebrities who rented office space in a Manhattan highrise and found themselves variously beloved and reviled by both the public and the government.

Cover of ‘The Fantastic Four’ No. 1, 1961.
(Marvel)

The team also rejected secret identities. Until the third issue of their series, they even eschewed superhero costumes (in part because of a restriction imposed by the owner of Marvel’s then-distributor, DC Comics).

Pushed representational boundaries

The Fantastic Four comics of the 1960s also pushed boundaries in a number of significant ways. They featured the first pair of married superheroes (Reed and Sue wed in 1965) and the first superhero pregnancy (Sue gave birth to her son Franklin in 1968).

In 1966, Fantastic Four No. 52 introduced the Black Panther, who is widely recognized as the first high-profile Black superhero.

Read more:
*Black Panther* roars. Are we listening?

And though not canonical until 2002, it has been suggested by scholars that Ben Grimm was always envisioned as a Jewish superhero by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, offering another milestone in representation (at least for those readers attuned to the character’s Jewish coding).

These milestones emphasize a dedicated concern for the human aspects of superheroes.

A family with relatable issues

Set amid fittingly fantastic science-fiction landscapes inspired by Space Age optimism was a story about a family who “fought among themselves, sometimes over petty jealousies and insults,” in the words of Christopher Pizzino, an American scholar of contemporary literature, film and television.

This approach of building character dynamics out of internal conflict proved deeply influential.

Famed comics writer Grant Morrison argues that through the example of Fantastic Four, “the Marvel superhero was born: a hero who tussled not only with monsters and mad scientists but also with relatable personal issues.”

In his bestselling book All the Marvels, comics critic and historian Douglas Wolk concurs that the “first hundred issues of Fantastic Four are Marvel’s Bible and manual,” establishing the style, theme, genre and approach of the company’s comics for decades to come.

Marvel’s universe continued to expand following the Fantastic Four debut.
(Marvel)

Defining personal conflicts

In contrast to moral paragons such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (all published by rival DC Comics), each member of Marvel’s Fantastic Four had defining personal conflicts.

Reed Richards, the team’s patriarch, was a world-altering genius who often fell victim to his own hubristic ambition.

Two years before American feminist author Betty Friedan identified “the problem that has no name” in The Feminine Mystique (that post-war suburban housewives faced social expectations of being fully fulfilled as wives and mothers, the Fantastic Four gave audiences Sue Storm, with the superpower to render herself — and others — invisible at will.

Storm, according to scholar Ramzi Fawaz, “made the concept of women’s social invisibility an object of visual critique by making invisible bodies and objects conspicuous on the comic book page.”

Her younger brother, Johnny Storm, a playboy and showboat, had a lot of growing up to do, a journey that was frustrated by his flashy powers.

Ben Grimm, Reed’s college roommate turned best friend turned rock monster, oscillated between childlike rage and world-weary depression, his rocky hide granting him super-strength and invulnerability while burdening him with social isolation.

While none of us are likely to acquire superpowers through exposure to cosmic rays like the Four, we’ve all dealt with anxiety and grief like these heroes.

Origin of the Marvel universe

The world of the Fantastic Four didn’t just feel unusually human. It also felt unusually lived in, partly because the Fantastic Four comics of the 1960s weren’t just the origin of the Marvel style of storytelling — they were also the origin of the Marvel universe.

Fantastic Four began and became the model for Marvel’s shared continuity universe, in which dozens of superheroes passed in and out of each other’s stories and occasionally intersected long enough for whole crossover story arcs and events. For a time, Marvel’s superheroes even aged alongside their readers, with teenage characters like Johnny Storm graduating high school and enrolling in college.

Previous superhero comics hadn’t embraced this shared continuity in a meaningful way, tending to prioritize discrete stories that had no effect on future tales. But Fantastic Four pitched what comics scholar Charles Hatfield calls “intertitle continuity,” which quickly became “Marvel’s main selling tool.”

Case in point, the Fantastic Four shared the cover of 1963’s Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, helping sell the newly created wall-crawler to their adoring readers.

Voluminous, chaotic universe

The 1965 wedding of Reed and Sue in Fantastic Four Annual No. 3 showcased how quickly the Marvel comics universe became vibrantly voluminous and charmingly chaotic.

This event featured at least 19 superheroes fighting 28 supervillains and foregrounded the Fantastic Four’s symbolic mother and father as the progenitors of an extended super-family.

It also featured a cameo by the Fantastic Four’s creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, previously introduced in 1963’s Fantastic Four No. 10 as the official creators of imaginary adventures starring the “real” Fantastic Four, further blurring the boundary between fiction and reality.

Decades later, this sprawling comics universe would become a sprawling cinematic universe. This informs the pressure facing the latest Fantastic Four adaptation.

Phase 6 of universe

Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the start of what Marvel calls “Phase Six” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began in 2008 with the first Marvel Studios film, Iron Man.

Essentially, Fantastic Four: First Steps is meant to launch a new cluster of shared universe stories, just as Fantastic Four No. 1 did for Marvel Comics in the 1960s.

This cluster will culminate in the release of Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027. Will Marvel’s first family deliver?

This article is co-authored by Anna Peppard, an independent scholar and editor of ‘Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero.’

J. Andrew Deman 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. How Marvel’s Fantastic Four discovered the human in the superhuman – https://theconversation.com/how-marvels-fantastic-four-discovered-the-human-in-the-superhuman-260883

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Women’s rugby is booming, but safety relies on borrowed assumptions from the men’s game

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Dane, Postdoctoral associate, University of Calgary

Rugby union, commonly known as just rugby, is a fast-paced and physical team sport. More girls and women in Canada and around the world are playing it now than ever before.

As of 2021, women’s rugby reached a record 2.7 million players globally, a 25 per cent increase over four years, and by 2023, women’s rugby participation was growing at a rate of 38 per cent year-over-year.

Countries including Australia, England, Ireland and the United States offer professional contracts for women’s teams. While these remain modest compared to the men’s game, they still represent a clear step forward.

Canada’s senior women’s XVs team is currently ranked second in the world and heading into the 2025 Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on Aug. 22 in England. The national sevens team also captured silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics — further evidence of the game’s growing competitiveness in Canada.

However, many systems, including coaching and medical support, have not kept pace with the demands of elite competition. With visibility increasing ahead of the 2025 World Cup, stronger institutional support is needed to match the sports’ growing professionalism and popularity.

Safety concerns

Often described as a “game for all”, rugby builds confidence, resilience and lifelong friendships. For girls and women especially, rugby can be empowering in ways few sports can match. It embraces the physicality of tackling, pushes back against traditional gender expectations and fosters solidarity and inclusion by valuing all body shapes and abilities.

But rugby is also a collision sport, and as such, it carries inherent risks. Tackling is the top cause of injury in rugby, and it has one of the highest concussion rates among youth girls’ sports in Canada. Concussions can have long-term effects on players’ health.

Read more:
Concussion is more than sports injuries: Who’s at risk and how Canadian researchers are seeking better diagnostics and treatments

These concerns are especially urgent as the women’s game becomes more physical and professionalized, and players are hit harder and more often. Unlike men’s rugby, women’s teams often operate with fewer medical or coaching support resources, which can lead to inconsistent or absent injury prevention programs.

Compounding the risk is the fact that many women also come to rugby later in life, often with less experience in contact sports. This delayed exposure restricts proper tackle skill development and player confidence in contact. This means safe tackling is even more important.

Without proper supports, the physical risks of the game may outweigh its benefits.

Science is still playing catch-up

While women’s rugby is growing rapidly, the science behind it is has not kept pace. Most of what we know about rugby safety — how to tackle, how much to train or when it’s safe to return to play after injury — largely comes from research on men.

Decisions around coaching and player welfare have been based on male data, leaving female players under-served and potentially at greater risk. While these foundations may well apply to girls and women, the problem is we don’t yet know for sure.

Only four per cent of rugby tackle research has focused on women. Much of the early evidence on girls rugby comes from Canada, underscoring the country’s leadership in this space. Still, most coaches and clinicians rely on a “one-size-fits-all” approach that may not account for menstrual cycles, pregnancy, different injury profiles or later sport entry.

The differences matter because strength, speed and injury risk all vary. Women are 2.6 times more likely than men to sustain a concussion. Gender also shapes access to training, care and facilities, often limiting opportunities for women to develop safe tackling skills, receive adequate support and train in safe, well-resourced environments, factors that impact both performance and safety.

Read more:
Prevention is better than cure when it comes to high concussion rates in girls’ rugby

Even safety tools reflect this gap. World Rugby’s Tackle Ready and contact load guidelines were designed around male athletes. While well-intentioned, we know little about how they work for girls and women. Instead of discarding these tools, we need to adapt and evaluate them in female contexts to ensure they support injury prevention and provide equal protection.

Women’s rugby needs better data

Change is underway. More research and tools are being designed specifically for girls and women. A search of PubMed, a database of published biomedical research, reveals a steep rise in studies on women’s rugby over the past decade, especially in injury surveillance, injury prevention, performance, physiology and sociocultural contexts.

New rule trials, such as testing lower tackle heights, are being evaluated on women athletes. New technologies like instrumented mouthguards and video analysis are also helping researchers understand how girls and women tackle, how head impacts happen and how they can be prevented.

Much of this new research is led by our team at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, a pan-Canadian, multidisciplinary group focused on moving upstream to prevent concussions in adolescent girls’ rugby.

The women’s game is also driving its own innovations. Resources like World Rugby’s Contact Confident help girls and women safely build tackle skills, particularly those new to contact sport.

Researchers are analyzing injury patterns, interviewing players and coaches and studying return-to-play pathways that reflect girls’ and women’s physiology and life stages.

The scope of research is also expanding to pelvic health, breast protection and more tailored injury prevention. Global collaboration is making this work more inclusive, spanning different countries, skill levels and age groups, not just elite competitions.

But this is just the start.

A golden opportunity lies ahead

Girls’ and women’s rugby is experiencing unprecedented growth. Rising participation, media attention and new sponsorships are fuelling momentum. It’s a golden opportunity to build strong, sustainable foundations.

Gold-standard support requires focused, ongoing research and a commitment to sharing that evidence with players, coaches, health-care providers and policymakers. It’s time to build systems for women’s rugby based on women’s data, not borrowed assumptions from the men’s game.

But challenges remain. Some national teams still have to raise funds to attend World Cups. Others train without consistent access to medical or performance staff — clear signs that the women’s game is still catching up.

To sustain and accelerate the growth of girls’ and women’s rugby, the sport deserves more resources and research tailored specifically to participants. A “one-size-fits-all” model no longer works. By investing in systems that are safer, focused on prevention, more inclusive and grounded in evidence, we can build a thriving future for women’s rugby that lasts for generations to come.

Isla Shill has received funding from World Rugby.

Stephen West has previously received funding from World Rugby

Kathryn Dane 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. Women’s rugby is booming, but safety relies on borrowed assumptions from the men’s game – https://theconversation.com/womens-rugby-is-booming-but-safety-relies-on-borrowed-assumptions-from-the-mens-game-261055

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Sweden and United Arab Emirates strengthen cooperation to combat organised crime

Source: Government of Sweden

On 26 November, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed two bilateral agreements – one on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and one on extradition. This is to strengthen the cooperation to combat organised crime and reduce criminals’ to carry out criminal activities in our respective countries.

MIL OSI Europe News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Health – Health Accelerator launches to fast-track innovation in primary care across NZ

Source: Health Accelerator

A bold new initiative is set to help transform the future of primary care in New Zealand. Today marks the official launch of Health Accelerator, an innovation hub dedicated to developing and deploying digital solutions that empower primary care and improve patient care.

Health Accelerator is a collaborative joint venture between four of New Zealand’s largest primary care organisations — Pegasus, Pinnacle, ProCare, and Tū Ora Compass Health — collectively representing more than 500 general practices and serving over 2 million patients across the country.

Bindi Norwell, Co-Chair at Health Accelerator says: “Our purpose is a simple but powerful one. We want to help drive innovation in primary care to improve clinical workflows, enhance patient experiences, and reduce the administrative burden on healthcare teams — so doctors, nurses, and practice staff can focus on what they do best: caring for their patients.

“This is about game changing innovation, increasing productivity and expanding innovation for primary care, particularly through leveraging AI and digital solutions,” says Norwell.

“New Zealand’s health tech sector is valued at $3.7 billion and experiencing an annual growth rate of 8%. Health Accelerator is designed to speed up healthcare innovation by pooling resources, insights, and expertise. Essentially, it’s about creating a smarter, and faster path to innovation,” continues Norwell.

Justine Thorpe, fellow Co-Chair at Health Accelerator adds: “We know there are innovative digital solutions that can help address many of the challenges our network of practices face. Through Health Accelerator, we’re partnering closely with practices, start-ups, researchers, and government agencies to identify real-world problems and co-design scalable solutions that can benefit the entire sector.

“The first innovation we rolled out across the country was robots, which are aimed at supporting cardiovascular disease risk assessments (CVDRA), ensuring all ACC funding is claimed by practices where applicable, and two inbox management assistants. These tools are already making a difference by reducing the time clinicians spend on administrative tasks. We have developed about 10 robots to date and plan to develop more.” continues Thorpe.

“We are now looking at what other opportunities it will be able to announce soon, with AI scribes likely to be high on the list,” concludes Thorpe.

Health Accelerator is also encouraging healthcare practices facing challenges that could be addressed through a digital innovation to reach out, so solutions can be co-designed with users of the solutions in mind. Equally, the company is actively seeking partnerships with healthcare providers, innovators, and organisations who share its vision for a more connected, patient-focused future.

For more information, visit www.healthaccelerator.co.nz

About Pinnacle Incorporated
Pinnacle Incorporated is a not-for-profit primary care network supporting over 85 general practices across the Te Manawa Taki region, including Waikato, Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupō-Tūrangi, Thames-Coromandel, and Tairāwhiti. Serving nearly half a million enrolled patients, Pinnacle is committed to delivering high-quality, equitable, and innovative primary healthcare. Through its operational arm, Pinnacle Midlands Health Network (MHN), the organisation provides funding, clinical support, and digital solutions to help general practices thrive and improve health outcomes for their communities.

About Pegasus Health
Pegasus Health is a charitable organisation dedicated to improving health outcomes for the people of Waitaha Canterbury. We achieve this through innovative service design and delivery, collaboration with partners, and a commitment to continuous improvement. We lead and collaborate across the primary health care sector with a special focus on Te Waipounamu. We are dedicated to ensuring that all people have access to the primary health care they need, when they need it, closing the health equity gap. Pegasus is committed to overtly, purposefully, and strategically threading equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi through all we do and how we operate.

About ProCare
ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to nearly 700,000 patients across Auckland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go to www.procare.co.nz

About Tū Ora Compass Health
Tū Ora Compass Health Primary Health Organisation is a not-for-profit enterprise supporting an enrolled population of over 347,000 patients, through a network of 58 General Practice across Wellington, Porirua, Kāpiti, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa. We also support with a range of clinical services, health promotion and population health initiatives funded through various contracts throughout the region.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Education – Family Tradition: Son Joins Mum’s Path in Civil Engineering at Whitireia and WelTec

Source: Whitireia and WelTec

Young Wellingtonian Sean Hoffman is forging his own path in civil engineering, inspired by the journey of his mother, Michelle-herself a graduate of the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Civil) at Whitireia and WelTec. Their story is a testament to the power of family influence, hands-on learning, and the exceptional support provided by the Whitireia and WelTec teaching staff.

Michelle and Sean share more than a surname; both found their passion outside the classroom, preferring hands-on activities over textbooks from an early age. Their natural inclination for building and creating led them to careers in engineering.

Michelle’s journey began after she left school at year 12, completed a Diploma in Business, and spent several years as a stay-at-home mum before stepping into the world of civil engineering through an administrative role.

“Once the kids went to school and I had a bit of extra time, I decided to go back to work and got a receptionist role,” Michelle recalls. “I didn’t know much about the company or the industry initially, but I gradually progressed through different roles from reception to contract administrator and was learning more and more. It was at that point that I decided to upskill and found the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Civil) at Whitireia and WelTec.”

Balancing full-time work and part-time study, Michelle is now a qualified project manager. “I’m now working as a project manager and am really loving the variety. It means that I can be in the office or out on the site depending on what work needs to be done. It’s the best of both worlds,” Michelle says.

Sean, inspired by his mother’s determination and success, is now in his first year of the same diploma. Having worked with civil contracting companies since he was young, Sean initially resisted the idea of following in his mother’s footsteps, even spending a year at university in Otago. But the pull of Civil Engineering-and Michelle’s gentle encouragement-proved too strong to ignore.

“Mum says she always saw that I had the right kind of brain for Civil Engineering but I kind of pushed against the idea of going into the industry and decided to get out of Wellington and went to University in Otago for a year. I guess Mum was right though, and after that year I came back and decided to study Civil Engineering at Whitireia and WelTec and I am really enjoying it,” Sean admits. “The close-knit learning environments and supportive teaching staff have made a huge difference for my learning.”

He’s now thriving at Whitireia and WelTec, relishing the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world projects during his weekend job. “I have been working for different civil engineering firms on week

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Fenghuangjing Pumping Station of Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project starts operation in Wuhu

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

Fenghuangjing Pumping Station of Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project starts operation in Wuhu

Updated: July 28, 2025 07:02 Xinhua

An aerial drone photo taken on July 27, 2025 shows the Fenghuangjing Pumping Station, which is part of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project, in Wuhu, east China’s Anhui Province. The Fenghuangjing Pumping Station of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project started its operation on Sunday, enabling dual-channel water diversion from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River. The Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project is one of China’s 172 major water conservancy projects, with multiple functions including water supply, waterway transport and ecological protection. Stretching along a 723-kilometer water transmission route, the project serves 55 counties, cities, and districts in 15 cities across Anhui and Henan provinces, benefiting an area of 70,600 square kilometers. Over the past 10 days, about 150 million cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River have been diverted into the Huaihe River basin, relieving drought conditions in Anhui. As of 2025, about 360 million cubic meters of water have been diverted into the basin through four separate transfer operations. [Photo/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on July 27, 2025 shows the Fenghuangjing Pumping Station, which is part of the Yangtze-to-Huaihe Water Diversion Project, in Wuhu, east China’s Anhui Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

MIL OSI China News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: City to undertake major tram track works in High Street and Pall Mall
Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The City of Greater Bendigo is preparing to commence a $5.68 million project in mid to late October to remove and replace a 660-metre section of the ageing dual tram tracks in High Street and Pall Mall between Short Street and Mundy Street.

The City will be undertaking preliminary survey work this week from Tuesday July 29 until Thursday July 31 along High Street and Pall Mall. These works will require temporary lane closures at various times.

City of Greater Bendigo Engineering Manager Ian McLauchlan said this section of the tram track has not been renewed since the 1930’s and is now in need of replacement to ensure Bendigo’s famous talking trams can continue to operate.

“Bendigo Tramways is a much valued and loved local attraction for both residents and visitors and this work is necessary to help preserve one of Greater Bendigo’s most important heritage attractions into the future,” Mr McLauchlan said.

“During the works period this section of High Street and Pall Mall will be reduced to one lane on either side of the tram tracks and a reduced speed limit of 40 km/h will be applied through the work zone.

“The City strongly encourages motorists travelling between White Hills and Golden Square and beyond to avoid the area where possible and use Weeroona Avenue / Lucan Street / Barnard Street / Don Street as alternative routes to avoid any potential delays.”

Project works will include:
- Establishment of site and works storage compound in Sidney Myer Place, installation of temporary fencing, traffic barriers and signage
- Protection of the existing infrastructure including heritage poles and utilities
- Removal of existing historic granite cobble stones and existing track
- Earthworks to subgrade level and disposal of all excess material
- Installation of new track and associated infrastructure and reinstatement of cleaned granite cobble stones and asphalt road pavement to centre of adjacent traffic lane
- New line-marking
When the works are underway there will be no right turns allowed into Forest, Mitchell, View, Williamson, Bull, and Mundy Streets and Easter Fair Way from High Street and Pall Mall. Sidney Myer Place will be used as a work site compound and will be closed to traffic.

Right hand turns will be available at Short Street and Chapel Street.

Left hand turns will be available into High Street and Pall Mall from Forest, Mitchell, View, Williamson, Bull, and Mundy Streets and from Easter Fair Way.

The southernmost pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Pall Mall and Williamson Street will remain open during the works.

The northernmost pedestrian crossing at Mitchell Street will remain open for the majority of the project. However, the remainder of the intersections will be closed to crossing and right turning vehicle traffic.

Providing the project runs according to plan, the Forest Street and Mitchell/View Street intersections will be reopened in early November once this section of track replacement works have been completed.

Works are anticipated to take place between 7am and 7pm, seven days per week with the possibility of some night works. The project is expected to be completed by late November subject to weather conditions and the availability of supplies and materials.

The tourist trams will not operate while works are underway. For more information on the operation of the trams, visit:

MIL OSI News –
July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Hoyer Opening Remarks During Full Committee Markup of Fiscal Year 2026 National Security and Department of State Bill

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), delivered opening remarks at the House Appropriations Full Committee Markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Agencies Bill. Below is a transcript of his remarks:

“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. There are many ways to sound retreat. Silence is one of them. Failure to articulate the principles of democracy and defense. Failing to fund properly the defense of democracy here and around the world. The chairman of this subcommittee and I have voted almost exactly alike over a long period of time, ensuring that we opposed communist dictatorship in a little island not too far from our shores.

“Some of you perhaps saw my statement the day after we bombed Iran’s nuclear capacity in support of that action. I fully subscribe to the remarks of the Subcommittee Chairman in articulating the deficiencies of this bill, in articulating, in sounding a clear trumpet again here and around the world of America’s willingness to stand against dictators, despots, and war criminals. I also will take no second spot in my defense of Israel. And I thank the gentleman for – and the gentlelady for assuring that our intent to defend Israel and oppose those who want to kill Jews.

“A few months ago, when DOGE eliminated [the] Near Eastern Regional Democracy Fund – which supported pro-democracy Iranian activists – the Ayatollah’s regime celebrated. An Iranian newspaper affiliated with Khomeini’s government praised the decision, writing, and I quote, ‘Trump, who was expected to undermine Iran, has instead disrupted the opposition.’ I think perhaps they’ve changed their views as a result of the Administration’s action in Iran just a few days ago. China was similarly elated when the Trump Administration gutted Voice of America early this year. Reacting to that news, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper said, ‘How truly gratifying.’ He said that China was thrilled to see the program and, I quote, ‘crumble from within, scattering like a flock of startled birds.’ The reaction was similar in Russia, where the head of one of Vladimir Putin’s state media agencies said, and again, I quote, ‘Today is a holiday for me and my colleagues.’ These are Russian colleagues. ‘This is an awesome decision by Trump.’ ‘We couldn’t shut them down,’ the spokesman continued, ‘unfortunately, but America did so itself.’ The axis of aggression will have the same reaction to this bill.

“Russia, China, Iran, and others are already working to fill in the vacuum the bill would help create on the global stage. China, Russia, and other adversaries are pouring money into foreign initiatives to expand their influence around the world. They’re training more diplomats and analysts. They are forging closer economic ties with developing nations, as the Chair Lady [Frankel] said. Investing in diplomacy and foreign aid is not simply the right thing to do, it is also the smart thing to do. It builds goodwill toward the United States. It helps stop humanitarian crises that would otherwise put additional strain on our broken immigration system. It helps stop the spread of dangerous diseases from HIV to Ebola to Covid. Crucially, investing in these programs enhances our national security without endangering our military service members.

“I echo what Marco Rubio said in 2017: ‘Foreign aid is not charity. We must make sure it is well spent, but it is less than 1% of our budget and critical to our national security.’ That was the Secretary of State who said that in 2017. How sad to see him rationalize disinvestment, contradicting his own words. In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen the Administration purge over 1,300 employees from the State Department, allegedly to improve efficiency and perhaps because our foreign challenges have become less complicated. I had two separate constituents who were dismissed. They’re concerned that the purge will undermine the State Department’s ability to process American passports.

“I will yield, and I would hope somebody would yield to me to continue my statement.”

(Rep. Jim Clyburn yields for Mr. Hoyer to continue his remarks.)

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Alford is one of my better friends on the Republican side. I respect him. I respect his remarks, and we are pleased, as the gentleman observed, that PEPFAR has been saved. It was saved from DOGE, it was saved from the Trump Administration. And yes, we support that effort, and we applaud the Chairman of the Subcommittee for doing that. However, when the gentleman talks about limited resources, there are limited resources. I care a great deal about the debt. We need to deal with $37 trillion of debt or my great grandchildren are going to be in real trouble. My grandchildren are going to be in trouble. Maybe my children won’t be in so much trouble. But we need to deal with that debt.

“But a Republican former vice president who was governor of our state once said: ‘The cost of failure far exceeds the price of progress.’ That was Spiro Agnew. The cost of failure exceeds the price of progress. On your side, you made a determination. You were going to raise our debt by $5 trillion. Some people who had never voted to raise debt before voted to raise the debt by $5 trillion, and then you spent that additional debt, giving $3.4 trillion to some of the wealthiest people in America. Now, there were some who were not so wealthy [who] also got some small relief. So yes, this bill does some good things, but it is silent, and I think one of the biggest challenges to which John Kennedy was speaking, that, ‘we will pay any price, bear any burden to defend freedom here and around the world.’

“And we have a dictator, despot, anti-democrat – with a small ‘d’ – attacking a democratic country, an ally of ours. We have had 12 votes on supporting Ukraine. There’s not a single Democrat [that] voted against Ukraine in those, and the overwhelming majority of Republicans voted for these 12 votes. An average of 79% of us in the Congress of the United States supported defending and helping Ukraine defend itself. Yet, as I understand it, there’s not a single word in this national security bill about Ukraine. I think the gentleman from Illinois has an amendment that may deal tangentially with Ukraine, but this bill is essentially silent. That’s what I mean about sounding retreat.

“Now, we won’t know the full scope of the damage of this bill for a long time to come. I hope it’s a long time. It maybe sooner. We talk about China. We talk about Taiwan and supporting that $500 million. I guarantee you the message we send to China if Ukraine loses will be louder than anything this bill says. Many of those forced out of [the Department of State] were intelligence analysts specializing in Russia and China. Others focused on counterterrorism, on stopping drug trafficking. Some were tasked with ensuring America’s energy dominance. Maintaining America’s security and influence around the world is not a partisan issue. It has not been for me a single day I’ve been in this institution. I supported almost all of Ronald Reagan’s buildup, and I think it led directly to the ability of Gorbachev to look his industrial complex in the eye and say, ‘We can’t compete with America.’

“We ought to put this legislation aside and act on the bipartisan consensus that I believe still exists on these priorities. I pray it still exists. If America retreats, our adversaries will inevitably advance. Are there some good things in this bill? There are. But they are woefully inadequate in so many other ways. I urge the defeat of this bill and yield back the balance of my time.”

MIL OSI USA News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Hoyer Statement on the 35th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today to recognize the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

“When President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law thirty-five years ago today, we took one of the greatest steps in our nation’s history toward expanding the ‘the blessings of liberty’ promised to all Americans under the Constitution. It opened doors, both literally and figuratively, for millions of people living with disabilities, enabling them to live with greater dignity, independence, equality, and opportunity. Crucially, it changed the hearts and minds of the American people. The ADA sought to alleviate the stigma and prejudice against those with disabilities.

“I was proud to serve as the lead House sponsor of the ADA. That historic legislation was only possible because of bipartisan cooperation in the Congress and grassroots advocacy throughout the country. Later, we built on that civil rights progress with the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

“At a time of division and gridlock, and an Administration undermining access to health care for millions, this anniversary ought to remind us of what we can achieve through cooperation. Today, many people with disabilities still face discrimination in health care, housing, employment, and other crucial aspects of American life. We have a duty to support with them not simply for their sake but for the sake of that age-old American promise that ‘all men are created equal.’ Let us make it so.”

MIL OSI USA News –

July 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Barnaby Joyce wants Australia to abandon net zero – but his 4 central claims don’t stack up

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Vines, Post-doctoral researcher, Green Lab, Monash University

One-time Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce sought to dominate the first sitting week of the current federal parliament by proposing a divisive plan to reverse Australia’s net zero emissions target.

The campaign, backed by fellow former Nationals leader Michael McCormack, aims to repeal what Joyce calls Australia’s “lunatic crusade” of net zero by 2050. It comes as Opposition Leader Sussan Ley convenes a working group to set a way forward on climate and energy policy following the Coalition’s historic election defeat.

Meanwhile, the Albanese government is considering Australia’s next round of emissions reduction targets. And scientists warn just three years remain for the world to keep global warming below the vital 1.5°C threshold.

If Australia is to take meaningful climate action, federal parliament must engage with the facts honestly and without distortion. So let’s take a closer look at whether Joyce and McCormack’s latest claims withstand scrutiny.

Claim 1: Australia’s net zero policy will not address climate change

Joyce describes as “perverse” the notion that Australia’s net zero goal can meaningfully help address global climate change.

This claim is not backed by science.

Every tonne of greenhouse gas emissions adds to global warming. What’s more, Joyce’s claim ignores the near-universal agreement of nations signed up to the Paris Agreement – including Australia – to pursue efforts (including domestic measures) to limit the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

It’s true that collective national efforts to curb warming have so far been insufficient. But that doesn’t mean they should be abandoned.

Claim 2: Global support for net zero is waning

McCormack claims there is a growing global shift against net zero, and Joyce describes it as “a peculiar minority position”.

This statement is not backed by evidence.

In fact, the number of countries, cities, businesses and other institutions pledging to get to net-zero is growing.

In the United States, President Donald Trump has dismantled climate policy, damaging that nation’s progress towards net zero. But many US states have retained the target, and global climate action will continue regardless of Trump’s actions.

A landmark court ruling this week is likely to further strengthen global pressure for nations to ramp up emissions reduction. The advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice observed countries are legally obliged to prevent harms caused by climate change – including by regulating the fossil fuel industry.

As others have noted, Australia must now reconsider its stance on approving new fossil fuel projects – including those geared to export markets.

the International Court of Justice said countries are legally obliged to prevent harms caused by climate change.
JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images

Claims 3: the net zero goal is a security threat

Joyce claims a net zero policy agenda is “treacherous” for Australia’s security and will “inflame our incapacity” to contend with geopolitical threats.

But evidence suggests the opposite is true. There is a significant link between climate change and certain types of military conflicts.

Research predicts the Australian Defence Force will become involved in more wars as the climate crisis escalates, and respond to more frequent climate-related disasters inside our borders.

Claim 4: net zero is bad for regional Australia

Both Joyce and McCormack say the net zero target and associated renewable energy rollout is devastating regional Australia. The Institute of Public Affairs, a prominent right-wing think tank, this week launched a documentary making similar claims.

Joyce cited division in rural communities over renewable energy. In reality, there is significant support in regional Australia for such technology. A poll last year by Farmers for Climate Action found 70% of regional Australians in renewable energy zones support the development of renewable energy projects on local farmland.

Joyce also pointed to “the removal of agricultural land from production” to support his stance. However, analysis shows very little farmland is required for the clean energy transition.

What’s more, the cost of inaction is high. Climate change is disproportionately affecting cost of living for regional households – for example, due to higher insurance premiums.

Joyce also appears deaf to the myriad regional voices calling for stronger climate action.

The Mackay Conservation Group, for example, is challenging Whitehaven’s Winchester South coal mine in Queensland’s Land Court. Similarly, an environment group based in the NSW Hunter Valley this week successfully appealed the expansion of MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant coal mine.

Only facts can stop a new wave of climate wars

Clearly, the efforts of Joyce and McCormack to undermine Australia’s net zero goal are not backed by evidence.

The Coalition must heed the facts – not backbench pressure – as it weighs its climate and energy policy. Only then can Australia avoid reigniting the divisive climate wars that stalled progress and positioned Australia as a global laggard.

Likewise, the Albanese government must not be distracted from the climate action task. Australia’s next round of climate targets should be based on the best available science, and make a meaningful, credible contribution to the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Ella Vines 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. Barnaby Joyce wants Australia to abandon net zero – but his 4 central claims don’t stack up – https://theconversation.com/barnaby-joyce-wants-australia-to-abandon-net-zero-but-his-4-central-claims-dont-stack-up-261837

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 28, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: ‘We pose no threat – our aim is to break the siege’: Tan Safi on joining the Handala Gaza flotilla

No New Zealanders were on board the Handala in the latest arrest and abductions of Freedom Flotilla crew on humanitarian siege-busting missions to Gaza. However, two Australians were and one talks to The New Arab just before the attack on Saturday.

INTERVIEW: By Sebastian Shehadi

The Handala, a 1968 Norwegian trawler repurposed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), set sail for Gaza from southern Italy on July 20, carrying around 21 people and a cargo of food, medical kits, baby formula, water desalination units and more.

The ship is named after the iconic Palestinian cartoon figure, Handala, who symbolises Palestinian identity, resilience and the ongoing struggle against displacement and occupation.

Just hours before departure, the crew uncovered deliberate sabotage: a rope tightly bound around the propeller and a sulfuric acid swap mistaken for water, leading to chemical burns in two people.

Despite this alarming start, the mission continued, echoing the defiance of past flotilla efforts such as the interception of the Madleen in June and the Israeli drone strike on the Conscience in May.

However, contact with the vessel was reported lost on July 24, with coalition officials warning that communications have been jammed and drones have been seen near the ship, raising concerns about interception or further hostile action.

The mission resumed following the brief two-hour communications blackout. “Connection has now been re-established. ‘Handala’ is continuing its mission and is currently less than 349 nautical miles from Gaza,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announced on Telegram on July 25.

Then on Saturday, the Israeli military attacked the ship and violently detained and “abducted” the entire crew and issued a statement saying they were “safe” and on their way to Israel.

‘Handala’ was illegally boarded by Israel military in international waters, around 40 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

Before interception the 21 crew made this statement: if attacked they will join the global hunger strike for Gaza.

Call your governments now and hold them… pic.twitter.com/QbqUaduXG1

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) July 27, 2025

The New Arab spoke to one of Handala’s crew, Lebanese-Australian filmmaker, human rights activist and journalist Tan Safi, before the arrest to find out more about the mission and why she chose to be on board this mission:

The New Arab: How’s the mood on the ship at the moment?
Tan Safi: The morale of everyone at the moment is high, as everyone is happy to be here. Of course, different emotions come up, and we talk them out, but as a collective, we’re all looking out for one another. Everyone is very caring and kind.

We are a group of 21 people from 10 different countries. We have a very proud grandmother, as well as MPs, nurses, a human rights lawyer, a comedian, an actor, human rights activists and more. We’re from many different walks of life, and we pose absolutely no threat to anyone.

We’re simply trying to challenge something illegal. Like previous Freedom Flotilla actions, we will be sailing through international waters into Palestinian territorial waters.

Australian Handala crew member Tan Safi . . . “Back in 2010, we sent a flotilla that was caught in a deadly raid. The Israelis came in a helicopter, boarded the ship and killed nine people instantaneously, while another person died from a coma years later.” Image: FFC

How are you preparing for the very real threat of Israeli violence?
Back in 2010, we sent a flotilla that was caught in a deadly raid. The Israelis came in a helicopter, boarded the ship and killed nine people instantaneously, while another person died from a coma years later.

So we know very well that Israel poses a real threat.

More importantly, we’ve seen what they’re capable of over the last two years. The most horrific things imaginable. Israeli soldiers are committing endless crimes against Gazan children, and then going into the homes of the Palestinians they’ve murdered and taking selfies in women’s lingerie. We know what they’re capable of.

Any interception of our vessel would violate international maritime law. The ICJ [International Court of Justice] itself ordered Israel not to interfere with any delivery of international aid. Of course, we know that Israel gets to exist in this world by hopping over international law, without any accountability, without any real sanctions.

In terms of processing, what might happen to me? I’ve had to do it time and time again whenever I’ve joined FFC missions over the last two years. I’ve had to say goodbye to my friends and family, but also try to keep them reassured.

Sometimes I feel like I’m lying, to be honest. I tell them that “everything will be okay”. But it’s psychologically impossible to explain.

Are you worried that Handala is less protected than the last ship, Madleen, which had the global media attention (and protection) of having Greta Thunberg on board?

A Gaza Freedom Flotilla Instagram poster. Image: Instagram/@loremresists

No matter how many Instagram followers you have, your life is just as important as the next person’s. We have people on this boat who have Instagram. We have people who do.

The lives of all these people are as valuable as everyone else’s. I would just try to focus on the fact that we’re all human beings, just as every Palestinian in Gaza is. I’m more worried that Israel’s violence will expand until it’s too late, and people wish that they had done more. The time is now.

What is your message to global or Australian leaders?
I’m Lebanese, but I grew up in so-called Australia, a country that has such a dark history. What our politicians forget is that so-called Australia was not theirs to begin with. Australia was, and will always be, Aboriginal land. They can try to hide their dark truths, just like Israel used to as well. But the truth will become exposed in time.

To this day, Aboriginal people are abused and discriminated against by the state. My message to Australia’s leadership is: how can you watch tens of thousands of men, women and children being slaughtered and still be enabling Israel’s siege and genocide?

The Australian embassy in Israel sent me a message urging me to “please reconsider your decision to join a humanitarian aid trip to Gaza”. If they’re so concerned about the two Australians on this boat, I would urge them to be more concerned with the millions of Palestinians who are suffering daily.

The Palestinian cartoon character Handala . . . reimagined with deliberate starvation by the Israeli military forces. Image: X/@RimaHas

Can you tell us more about daily life and organisation on the ship?
We all put our hands up to volunteer for various tasks throughout the day. Some of us are more skilled in certain areas than others. For example, we have someone here from France who is a nurse, and they’re helping anyone who is feeling sick.

We have the proud grandmother, Vigdis from Norway, who loves to cook. And then someone will put their hand up to do the dishes. No one is too good to clean the toilets.

We’re all helping out to keep this ship organised. We also do shifts, helping out with the crew when needed. No one is sitting around. And if someone is, it’s because it’s really hot or the seas are rough.

What do you hope Handala will achieve, beyond potentially breaking the siege?
I hope this action will encourage all forms of solidarity and, more importantly, inspire direct action. I know that protests and non-direct actions serve a purpose, but we have talked and talked and talked at length. I don’t know how people are finding the strength.

Sometimes when I’m asked to talk at events, I just don’t know what to say, because if you need me to explain this, maybe you will never understand.

But what we clearly need to do is disrupt the financial flow that enables and fuels this genocide. The BDS movement is huge. People used to look down on it and question its efficacy. But now we’re able to quantify that it’s actually affecting real, big business.

I’ve always been advocating for that and asking people to be aware of the companies they consume from, such as Unilever, Nestle and Coke. This is having a real impact on these companies that are profiteering from unethical practices to begin with, that extends far beyond the genocide in Gaza.

Direct action could also involve blockading shipments of weapons from ports and docks, as seen in Greece. It’s amazing to see more countries step up. However, we often see a lot of lip service as well. It takes everyday people to actually stand up and say: “I’m able-bodied. I’m sick to my stomach. I’m gonna listen to my instinct and explore other options”.

If protesting is not working, explore other options. If there is no direct action group, create one. All it takes is one person to begin.

Are there any final or other messages you’d like to convey?
The Handala ship is the 37th boat from the FFC to travel to Gaza. There are thousands of people behind each of these journeys who make these voyages happen.

The FFC has existed for as many years as Israel’s siege on Gaza has. The FFC exists only because of Israel’s illegal siege.

We are people from around the world who are united in our shared consciousness and care for Palestine. We pose no threat. I’m looking at a bunch of toys and baby formula. We have as much food as we can carry, but our main goal is to break Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza because you need to fix a problem at the root of the cause.

Sebastian Shehadi is a freelance journalist and a contributing writer at the New Statesman. This article was first published by The New Arab. Follow Shehadi on X: @seblebanon

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 28, 2025

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