NewzIntel.com

Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Russia: HSE Design School to Take Part in ARTDOM 2025 International Exhibition

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    Environmental design shapes the reality around a modern person. It is the appearance of spaces and objects that surround us: architects and environmental designers design interiors and furniture, buildings and landscapes.

    This sphere, like no other, combines conceptuality and utility. At the HSE School of Design they teach both: students simultaneously create a comfortable environment and express complex thoughts through graphic communication.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Transocean Ltd. Announces CEO Succession Plan

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, Feb. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) today announced its plan for key leadership changes pursuant to the company’s multi-year succession planning strategy. As part of this plan, Keelan Adamson, the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, will become President and Chief Executive Officer following a transition period, which is expected to conclude during the second quarter of 2025. Mr. Adamson will succeed Jeremy Thigpen, who has led Transocean as Chief Executive Officer since 2015. Mr. Adamson is also expected to be nominated to join the Board of Directors at the company’s 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders.

    Mr. Thigpen will continue serving as Chief Executive Officer until Mr. Adamson’s appointment and will continue his service as a member of the company’s Board of Directors through his current term. Thereafter, subject to shareholder approval at the 2025 annual general meeting, Mr. Thigpen is expected to be appointed as Executive Chair of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Chad Deaton, Transocean’s current Chair of the Board, will transition to Lead Independent Director.

    “Keelan is an experienced executive who has a deep understanding of our business, our customers and our industry,” Mr. Deaton said. “Throughout his three decades with Transocean, where his experience has taken him from the drill floor to the executive level, Keelan has helped to shape the foundation of the company and position Transocean for sustained success as the industry’s market leader. This transition represents the culmination of a key part of our multi-year, rigorous and thoughtful succession plan designed to develop internal talent and maintain business and leadership continuity.  Keelan is well-prepared for this opportunity.” 

    Mr. Deaton continued, “On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to recognize and thank Jeremy for leading Transocean through the most challenging market in the history of offshore drilling. He guided Transocean as we transformed our fleet through opportunistic asset transactions, as well as the acquisition of two major competitors; under his leadership, we placed into service the most technologically advanced rigs in the world, including the first 8th generation, 20K drillships. He oversaw the continuation of Transocean’s legacy for leading the industry in innovation, with the application of new technologies that improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of our operations. Jeremy’s contributions and leadership have been recognized and appreciated by the entire industry, and we look forward to his continued work with Transocean as he transitions into his new role.” 

    Mr. Adamson has served as Transocean’s President and Chief Operating Officer since February 2022. Prior to that time, he served as the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer from August 2018 to February 2022, as Senior Vice President, Operations from October 2017 to July 2018, and as Senior Vice President, Operations Integrity and HSE, from June 2015 to October 2017. As part of his responsibilities during this period, Mr. Adamson oversaw the company’s Technical Services team from May 2016 to October 2017. He also served as the company’s Vice President, Human Resources from December 2012 to May 2015, and has held other executive positions with the company, including as the Vice President overseeing Major Capital Projects and Engineering. He joined Transocean in 1995 and has held rig management positions in the United Kingdom, Asia and Africa, sales and marketing leadership roles, and served as the Managing Director for the company’s business in North America, Canada and Trinidad. Mr. Adamson earned a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from The Queens University of Belfast and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

    “I am honored by and grateful for the opportunity to lead Transocean and its talented and dedicated workforce,” said Mr. Adamson. “With the highest specification fleet in the industry and the unparalleled experience of our offshore crews and shore-based support personnel, we are well-positioned for success. As I work alongside the entire Transocean team as CEO, we will maintain a sharp focus on executing our business strategy – delivering enhanced shareholder value by optimizing operations, safely and efficiently meeting our customers’ objectives and meaningfully reducing our debt. It is an honor to succeed Jeremy, who skillfully guided Transocean through an unprecedented industry downturn and prepared it for the opportunities that we are realizing today.”

    In reflecting on his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Thigpen said, “The trust and support the Board and the entire Transocean team provided during my tenure as CEO helped assemble an impressive team that operates the industry’s most technologically advanced assets, while executing on strategies that preserved and enhanced shareholder value. Transocean is a resilient and strong organization, made stronger by leaders like Keelan whom I have had the pleasure of working closely with for the past decade. Keelan is the right person to lead Transocean as we build upon the company’s position as the leader in offshore drilling.”

    About Transocean

    Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.

    Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 34 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 26 ultra-deepwater floaters and eight harsh environment floaters.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    The statements described herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements could contain words such as “possible,” “intend,” “will,” “if,” “expect,” or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are beyond our control, and in many cases, cannot be predicted. As a result, actual results could differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, estimated duration of customer contracts, contract dayrate amounts, future contract commencement dates and locations, planned shipyard projects and other out-of-service time, sales of drilling units, the cost and timing of mobilizations and reactivations, operating hazards and delays, risks associated with international operations, actions by customers and other third parties, the fluctuation of current and future prices of oil and gas, the global and regional supply and demand for oil and gas, the intention to scrap certain drilling rigs, the effects of the spread of and mitigation efforts by governments, businesses and individuals related to contagious illnesses, and other factors, including those and other risks discussed in the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and in the company’s other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC’s website at: www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. We expressly disclaim any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations or beliefs with regard to the statement or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based, except as required by law. All non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations to the most comparative GAAP measure are displayed in quantitative schedules on the company’s website at: www.deepwater.com. 

    This press release, or referenced documents, do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and do not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”) or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of Transocean and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of Transocean.

    Analyst Contact:
    Alison Johnson
    +1 713-232-7214

    Media Contact:
    Pam Easton
    +1 713-232-7647

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cookies, Cream, and Crumbling Cores

    Source: NASA

    Perseverance’s drives over the last few weeks have doubled back several times. Why such an unconventional route? Team scientists have been delighted to find new kinds of rocks that could be the oldest ever found on Mars and are eager to collect samples.
    Perseverance embarked on the Crater Rim Campaign in search of ancient uplifted rock, to better understand the geologic processes occurring early in Mars’ history, and search for ancient habitable environments. Recent discoveries have not disappointed: so far in this portion of the rim, every outcrop that the rover has taken a close look at using the science instruments on its robotic arm has ended up being something new. As explained in the previous update, after acquiring the “Silver Mountain” core, which is rich in the mineral pyroxene, Perseverance approached a nearby rock that had signatures of the mineral serpentine, fittingly nicknamed “Serpentine Lake.” Following this, the rover used its abrasion tool to clean the rock of dust and coatings for detailed scientific interrogation, and the team was wowed by the intriguing rock texture, which resembles “cookies & cream” dessert (see photo above), and the very high abundance of minerals like serpentine, which form in the presence of water.
    After finishing that investigation, the operations team decided to have Perseverance head back along its path once more to the site of its first abrasion in this part of the rim, named “Cat Arm Reservoir,” to acquire a sample. Results from that earlier analysis showed a rock texture with coarse pyroxene and feldspar crystals consistent with an igneous origin. However, the sample tube turned up empty. What happened? Perseverance has encountered this problem before: flashback to our first ever coring attempt. It’s not a common occurrence, but sometimes the rocks Perseverance tries to sample are so weak that upon coring they essentially disintegrate into a powder instead of remaining in the tube. The rover drove to a nearby spot and tried again, but when a second attempt to core this rock did not retain any sample, the team decided to move on.
    This week, Perseverance will return once again to the site of the Serpentine Lake abrasion patch to acquire a core of this fascinating rock, which records intense alteration by water. The team hopes that it will prove strong enough to acquire a core, and if successful, Perseverance may perform more scans on the abrasion patch. Afterward, the plan is to drive downhill to an area called “Broom Point,” home to a spectacular sequence of layered rock, where I’m sure more surprises and exciting scientific discoveries await.
    Written by Athanasios Klidaras, Ph.D. student at Purdue University

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: University awarded funding to create a new ‘Aberdeen Tapestry’ The University of Aberdeen has been awarded funding for a new piece of contemporary art that will enrich UK public collections and inspire conversations about cultural identity, history, and belonging.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Sekai Machache with Lively Blue Tapestry by Dovecot Studios. Image (c) Dovecot Studios. Photo by Phil WilkinsonThe University of Aberdeen has been awarded funding for a new piece of contemporary art that will enrich UK public collections and inspire conversations about cultural identity, history, and belonging.
    It is one of two projects to be supported by a new partnership between Art Fund and Jerwood Foundation – Jerwood Art Fund Commissions – and will see one of the UK’s most exciting contemporary artists, Sekai Machache,create anew tapestry for the Sir Duncan Rice Library.
    The Zimbabwean-Scottish visual artist will work with Dovecot Studios,the world-renowned tapestry studio in Edinburgh, to create a new piece drawing inspiration from the University’s extensive collections which span Scottish history, archaeology, science and global cultures.
    The University has been selected for the commission, which has the working title ‘The Aberdeen Tapestry, alongside Tate Liverpool in partnership with the International Slavery Museum which will work with by poet, filmmaker, and visual artist Julianknxx.
    Jerwood Art Fund Commissions programme aims to further artists at pivotal stages in their careers, while enriching public collections through new contemporary art, ensuring they remain dynamic and representative of contemporary society.
    The commissions build on Jerwood Foundation and Art Fund’s long-standing, shared commitment to fund new art and highlight the transformative power of collections in keeping museums vibrant spaces of engagement, learning, and artistic ambition.
    Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said:“Commissioning contemporary artists to create new work brings a fresh dynamic and perspective to museum collections. In today’s challenging economic landscape, dedicated support for commissions is more important than ever. Art Fund is delighted to be working in partnership with Jerwood Foundation to support these two ambitious inaugural commissions, which will inspire audiences in Aberdeen and Liverpool with powerful and thought-provoking storytelling.”
    Sekai Machache is a visual artist, film-maker and curator based in Glasgow. Known for her interest in spirituality and imagination, her practice often engages with themes of history, identity, and the visibility of Black communities in Scotland.
    Dovecot Studios and Sekai Machache began collaborating in 2022 with a tapestry for the exhibition Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception. The new commission is an opportunity to develop their collaborative practice and take inspiration from the University of Aberdeen Collections, recognised as a Nationally Significant Collection by the Scottish Government.
    Machache and Dovecot will initially work with the University teams to investigate and to engage with the Collections, which span Scottish history and archaeology, the natural, medical and physical sciences, and World Culture. This research will inform both the artist’s and the Dovecot weavers’ approach to the commission and provide opportunities for wider public engagement.
    Once Machache’s design for the tapestry is agreed, visitors to Dovecot in Edinburgh will be able to observe the weaving process, as the tapestry is created live in the Studios’ public viewing space. The tapestry will be unveiled at the University of Aberdeen’s Sir Duncan Rice Library by early 2026.
    Lisa Collinson, University of Aberdeen Collections, said:“This is an exciting opportunity for the University to work with a contemporary artist with a growing reputation and to collaborate with the artists at the world-renowned Dovecot Studios. We look forward to Sekai exploring the University’s collections as well as thinking about the challenging legacies they embody.
    “The project also offers the chance for the University community to engage with the process of creating a new work of contemporary art inspired by the collections and we look forward to displaying the finished piece – and incorporating it into the collections so it can inspire generations to come.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Enhance Strengths and Thrive through Innovation and Connectivity (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat, chaired Customs’ 2024 year-end press conference held at the Customs Headquarters Building today (February 18) to review the department’s law enforcement results and sustainability in the provision of trade and clearance facilitation during the year. Mr Chan also outlined that, while carrying on its fine tradition of providing simple and efficient customs clearance that makes Hong Kong a trading and logistic hub for different sectors, the department will actively adopt new technology, adjust enforcement strategies and reinforce collaboration with other customs administrations to enhance enforcement efficiency. Hong Kong Customs will continue its efforts to strengthen and uphold its leading role in customs affairs and combat cross-boundary crimes in the Asia-Pacific region.  

    Overall enforcement situation
    ———————————
     
         In 2024, a total of 31 242 cases were detected, an increase of 63 per cent from the 2023 figure. About 68 per cent of the cases are related to illicit cigarettes, followed by cases related to dangerous drugs and intellectual property rights infringement.

    Illicit cigarettes
    ——————
     
         On the anti-illicit cigarette operation front, the number of detected cases in 2024 increased by 80 per cent to 21 284 cases from 2023, with 614 million cigarettes seized, representing a 6 per cent drop as compared to the figure for 2023.

         The significant increase in the number of illicit cigarette cases stemmed from a huge surge in cases involving inbound persons bringing in cigarettes exceeding the duty-free concessions by imposing a penalty on offences compoundable. Such cases rocketed by 94 per cent to 19 072 cases from 2023. Moreover, 40 large-scale illicit cigarette smuggling cases were detected last year, which was the same as 2023.

         In addition, 2 451 cases involving alternative smoking products, with seizures of over 12 million pieces of relevant products, including electronic cigarettes and heat-not burn products, and 2 255 arrestees in total, were detected last year.
     
    Dangerous drugs
    ——————-
     
         In 2024, 1 363 drug cases were detected, which was about the same as the 2023 figure. A total seizure of about 6.3 tonnes of drugs was made, representing a drop of 33 per cent from 2023.

         The five major drug seizures in order of quantity were cannabis (2 874.8 kilograms, a 22 per cent increase), ketamine (1 202.8kg, a 34 per cent decrease), methamphetamine (“Ice”) (1 111.7kg, a 50 per cent decrease), cocaine (711.4kg, a 64 per cent decrease) and MDMA (Ecstasy) (149.6kg, a 3 per cent decrease) compared to the figure for 2023.

         Customs noticed that drug syndicates resume to traffic drugs by exploiting inbound air passengers, and the number of such cases and seizure quantity showed a noticeable upward trend, with 113 relevant cases detected and 988kg drugs seized last year, representing an increase of 38 per cent and a 1.9-fold increase as compared to figures for 2023. Moreover, etomidate (the main ingredient of “space oil drug”) was put under control of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance on February 14, and Customs has stepped up enforcement efforts to combat the dangerous drug on various fronts.
          
    Smuggling
    ————
     
         A total of 233 smuggling cases with a seizure value of $4.340 billion in total were detected last year, representing an increase of 5 per cent and 37 per cent from 2023 respectively.
          
         Smuggling syndicates still mainly conduct smuggling activities by sea. Apart from making use of barges, speedboats and fishing vessels, Hong Kong Customs also found criminals using river trade vessels to smuggle large amounts of goods to nearby Mainland cities and Macao, or even adopting more circuitous routes by shipping goods overseas and then re-exporting them to the Mainland to evade the department’s detection.

    Money laundering
    ——————–
     
         Customs last year detected eight money laundering cases with $19 billion involved.
     
    Intellectual property rights
    ——————————
     
         Customs detected 783 intellectual property rights infringement cases last year, representing an annual increase of 11 per cent. The seizure value of infringing items increased 7 per cent to around $309 million (4 million items) as compared to the figure for 2023.

         As for Internet infringement, 130 cases were detected, representing an increase of 29 per cent from 2023.

         Customs last year applied the “communication right” under the Copyright Ordinance for the first time to detect a case of unauthorised communication of live football matches to the public by a restaurant in the course of business.

    Consumer protection
    ————————

         Customs last year received 12 436 complaints regarding suspected cases of violating the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), a drop of 34 per cent from 2023. Among them, 11 601 complaints were handled:
     
    (i) Detailed investigations have been made on 7 492 complaints;
     
    (ii) The remaining 4 109 complaints have been closed since they were not in contravention of the TDO, or have been referred to other relevant departments or institutions for follow-up actions.
     
         There were 3 003 complaints involving fitness services last year, accounting for 47 per cent of the total number of complaints regarding services and an increase of 14-fold from 2023. This was mainly due to the announcement of business temporary closure of a chain fitness and beauty centre.

         Complaints on medicine shops involving quantities of unclear pricing units in selling ginseng and dried seafood, or Chinese medicine (also known as cases concerning catty, tael and mace) or sale of proprietary medicines slightly decreased to 497 cases in total, among which 86 percent were made by Mainland tourists. The department’s Quick Action Team has been deployed to handle and follow up with complaints by short-term visitors to Hong Kong, and 208 such complaints were handled last year, with 11 shop owners and staff arrested. Customs is also committed to conducting promotion and education through multiple channels, informing Mainland visitors about common unfair trade practices by medicine shops, deploying mobile promotion vehicles at popular tourist hotspots during festivals, conducting patrols with the Travel Industry Authority, and promoting compliance among traders.
     
    Clearance and trade facilitation
    ———————————–

         Customs has continued to facilitate clearance and trade and implement various related measures.
     
    (i) Since the full resumption of normal travel with the Mainland, the number of inbound and outbound passengers and vehicle trips at each control point was about 300 million and about 14.9 million. The number of inbound and outbound passengers has recovered to the number before the 2019 epidemic, while the number of vehicle trips has recovered to about 95 per cent. To further enhance clearance mode, Customs is actively participating in the redevelopment project of the boundary control point in Huanggang taken forward by the HKSAR Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, and will provide suggestions on the design and clearance mode of the boundary control point. Details are still under discussion.

    (ii) Based on the Smart Customs Blueprint, Customs has given full play to the advantages of innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and blockchain, and has introduced nine CT scanners that provide high-resolution three-dimensional scanning images and the function of automatically detecting contrabands, improving customs clearance efficiency and law enforcement capabilities. Also, the department is researching on the Customs Big Data Application System that could strengthen the capabilities to detect and crack down on smuggling and other crimes related to Customs through an integrated database.

    (iii) Customs actively expands the global network of the Hong Kong Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA). Last year, Customs signed the AEO MRAs with the Bahrain and the South African Customs. The MRAs with Saudi Arabia and the Philippines Customs are expected to be signed in early 2025. As of now, there are a total of 16 MRAs ratified between Hong Kong Customs and other economies. AEO MRA Action Plans with the United Arab Emirates, Lao, Chilean and Peruvian Customs were also concluded last year, while the discussion about MRA with other countries along the Belt and Road Initiative is ongoing.

    (iv) Hong Kong Customs and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) actively enhanced the “Single Submission for Dual Declaration” Scheme. The Scheme was expanded to southbound cargo at all Shenzhen highway ports in November last year, and is planned to cover northbound cargo by the second quarter of 2025 or earlier. Under the Scheme, companies can synchronise cargo information declared with the system on the Mainland through the Hong Kong system, significantly reducing customs clearance time and possible declaration input errors. The Scheme is conducive to the design of system functions of the third phase of Hong Kong Trade Single Window.

    (v) Last year, Hong Kong and Mainland Customs actively extended the Single E-lock Scheme. As of December last year, the number of clearance points under the scheme has reached 93, including 66 in Guangdong, four in Hunan, six in Fujian, four in Macao and 13 in Hong Kong, providing the industries with more than 1 000 cross-boundary route options. Hong Kong Customs and the Nanning Customs are looking into extending the scheme to Guangxi.

    (vi) To cope with the rapid development of the global electronic commerce industry, Customs launched the Cross-boundary Express Cargo Clearance Facilitation Arrangement (CEFA), providing an innovative customs clearance model of “free flow through the first line and efficient control at the second line” to qualified logistics providers. A Memorandum of Understanding with an express courier company was signed at the end of last year, marking the official commencement of the CEFA. As of December last year, over 2 000 cargo vehicle trips and 470 000 declared goods were facilitated under the CEFA.
     
    Strengthen Mainland and international co-operation
    ———————————————————-
     
         Hong Kong Customs last year continued to reinforce connection with both the Mainland and the world, promoting two-way or multi-way communication and collaboration with different regions. These included meeting with the GACC on customs affairs and signing a co-operative arrangement about drug detector dogs; cohosting a conference on combating illicit cigarettes with the Australian authority; organising forums and workshops on combating money laundering and transnational organised crimes, and risk management and intelligence analysis with overseas law enforcement agencies.

         The co-operation between Hong Kong Customs and customs and enforcement agencies around the world has a long history, and the Customs Co-operative Arrangement (CCA) serves as the cornerstone for establishing and maintaining these co-operative relationships. As of last year, Hong Kong Customs signed the CCA with 31 customs authorities worldwide. Hong Kong Customs also signed a CCA with the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority of Saudi Arabia and is actively seeking co-operation with other Middle East countries.

         Since assuming the office of the Vice-Chairperson for the Asia/Pacific (A/P) region of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in July last year, Hong Kong Customs has hosted a series of global or regional meetings and workshops, covering areas such as combatting illicit cigarettes, canine enforcement and anti-money laundering, and gathered representatives from around the world to communicate and exchange views on relevant issues, hence strengthening co-operation among law enforcement agencies in the region.
     
    Human resources
    ——————–
     
         On manpower recruitment, the department continued to adopt an active recruitment strategy last year, including participating in large-scale career fairs and organising seminars, promoting recruitment through social media platforms, visiting different tertiary institutions to facilitate on-the-spot applications. Mainland Hong Kong students are one of the target groups for Customs recruitment. The department held recruitment seminars on the Mainland in March last year and received more than 290 applications on the spot. Last year, more than 8 400 applications were received for the recruitment of Customs Inspectors, an increase of 12 per cent compared with 2023. About 9 600 applications were received for the recruitment of Customs Officers, representing an about 13 per cent increase compared with 2023. Last year, 82 Customs Inspectors and 355 Customs Officers were recruited. The department will continue its recruitment exercise to fill vacancies this year.

         To strengthen officers’ training in various professional aspects, co-operative Memoranda of Understanding were also signed with the National Academy of Governance, the Vocational Training Council and the University of Hong Kong last year.
     
    Youth development
    ———————-

         Customs continues with its commitment to youth development work. By end-2024, Customs YES recruited 7 935 individual members and 58 organisation members, and held over 490 activities. In addition, a 40-person Foot Drill and Flag Party of the Customs Youth Leader Corps, the first youth group under the Security Bureau to perform Chinese-style rifle foot drill, was set up last year.

    Future development
    ———————–
     
         Hong Kong Customs, as the Vice-Chairperson for the A/P region of the WCO, will continue to foster connection, and promote trade facilitation measures and development in the A/P region by continuing to organise large-scale meetings and workshops on multiple topics this year, including data strategies, e-commerce and Smart Customs.

         Furthermore, Hong Kong Customs has suggested introducing a duty stamp system to differentiate and crack down on duty-not-paid illicit cigarettes during a public consultation on tobacco control by the Health Bureau (HHB). A consultancy study on the duty stamp system was launched by Hong Kong Customs, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the HHB, and the report has been completed by end-2024. Affixing duty-paid labels on the packages of cigarettes is proposed. Based on the report, Hong Kong Customs will invite cigarette manufacturers to participate in a pilot scheme on the duty stamp system to assess the feasibility and technical issues concerning the stamp duty system, which will help with Customs’ improvement work and the implementation of the system in future. The pilot scheme is expected to be rolled out in mid-2025, while the system is expected to be officially launched within 2026. Hong Kong Customs will announce the details to the industry and the public in due course.
     
    Conclusion
    ————
     
         Concluding his briefing, Mr Chan pledged that the department will continue to leverage Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under “one country, two systems” to consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre.      

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HKMoA receives donation of over 40 precious Chinese antiquities from Ming and Qing dynasties by collector Cheung Kee-wee (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    HKMoA receives donation of over 40 precious Chinese antiquities from Ming and Qing dynasties by collector Cheung Kee-wee (with photos)
    HKMoA receives donation of over 40 precious Chinese antiquities from Ming and Qing dynasties by collector Cheung Kee-wee (with photos)
    ******************************************************************************************

         The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) is deeply honoured to receive another generous donation from Mr Cheung Kee-wee, renowned collector and owner of the Huaihaitang Collection. The donation comprises 46 sets of precious artefacts, including Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, Ming textiles, and Ming lacquerware and cloisonné enamel, which are remarkable for their quality and rarity. The HKMoA will make good use of these precious cultural relics to promote the essence of Chinese culture, providing more people with the opportunity to understand and appreciate the treasures of Chinese art in depth.     Since 2018, Mr Cheung has made 16 donations to the HKMoA, totalling more than 340 Chinese artefacts and paintings. He has generously shared these cultural treasures with the public, enriching the museum’s collections and providing valuable materials for the study and promotion of Chinese art. The latest donated artefacts were displayed at the “Eternal Enlightenment: the Virtual World of the Jiajing Emperor” exhibition held at the HKMoA in 2022. Among them is the jar with clouds, dragons and shou characters design in underglaze blue, which is notably large in size and difficult to fire. Between a pair of dragons in motion, a “shou” character is depicted in cursive script, the continuous single stroke of which symbolises longevity and is a common motif during the Jiajing period of the Ming dynasty. The jar exhibits a lush and dense blue tone that carries a tinge of purple, demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of porcelain from that era. These artefacts not only exemplify exquisite craftsmanship but also bear witness to the artistic characteristics and cultural landscape of the late Ming era, holding significant historical and artistic value.           Mr Cheung is a renowned local art collector and Honorary University Fellow of the University of Hong Kong. He is also a Museum Expert Adviser for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. He is passionate about Chinese art, and his private Huaihaitang Collection is well-known for its imperial porcelains from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Mr Cheung serves as the longstanding Vice Chairman of the well-known collectors’ organisation, the Min Chiu Society, and possesses vast experience in art appreciation and connoisseurship. Guided by his mantra that “appreciation and research are more important than possessing and collecting”, he has long been committed to promoting art and culture and has generously donated items from his collection to public and university museums, including the HKMoA, for research and public appreciation.     Established in 1962, the HKMoA is the first public art museum in the city, now the custodian of an art collection of over 19 700 items. The rich collections span historical eras from the Neolithic Age to contemporary times, representing the artistic legacy of Hong Kong and beyond. Over the years, the museum has received multiple precious collections from collectors and artists, reflecting that the mission of the HKMoA to inherit and protect art is well recognised by them. Donations received since its expansion and reopening in 2019 include a total of 363 artworks from the Chih Lo Lou Collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy, which was built up by the late Ho Iu-kwong, a philanthropist and passionate collector, and donated by the Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion (Non-profit Making) Limited; over 450 items of the late celebrated artist Wu Guanzhong’s works and personal archives from Wu and his family over the years; a precious art collection with more than 1 000 works featuring 20th-century Chinese paintings and calligraphy donated by renowned collector and photographer and master of Jingguanlou, Dr Wong Kwai-kuen; and nearly 500 pieces of Chinese snuff bottles from the Fuyun Xuan Collection donated by the late local collector Christopher Sin’s wife, Josephine Sin. Last year, the museum has received a generous donation of $100 million from Wu Keyu, the son of Wu Guanzhong, for the establishment of the Wu Guanzhong Art Sponsorship, to support the promotion of Wu and related Chinese modern art.

     
    Ends/Tuesday, February 18, 2025Issued at HKT 16:30

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Speech by SJ at opening ceremony of National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong) (English only)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Speech by SJ at opening ceremony of National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong) (English only)
    Speech by SJ at opening ceremony of National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong) (English only)
    ******************************************************************************************

         Following is the speech by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the opening ceremony of the National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong) today (February 18):      Director Yang (Director of Bureau of Public Legal Services Administration of Ministry of Justice, Mr Yang Xiangbin), Secretary Jiang (Council Chair of the China University of Political Science and Law, Mr Jiang Zeting), Director Liu (Director of China Legal Service (H.K.) Limited, Ms Liu Changchun), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,           Good afternoon, and a warm welcome to you all to the National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong). It is my pleasure to address such an accomplished gathering of professionals in foreign-related arbitration.       The Course           This Course is the first specialised training programme on arbitration under the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Justice and the China University of Political Science and Law and also the China Legal Service (H.K.) Limited for their unwavering support in making this Course a reality. This Course in fact marks an important milestone to implement the record of meeting between the Ministry of Justice and our Department signed in July 2023 when Ms He Rong visited Hong Kong, to further deepen exchanges and co-operation on talent nurturing and legal and dispute resolution services between the Mainland and Hong Kong.           To contribute to the national strategy of developing foreign-related rule of law, it is our collective goal to cultivate a team of foreign-related arbitration professionals with a global vision, good understanding of international rules, and capability in providing specialised services in the cross-border legal service market.           This Course will provide a comprehensive overview of arbitration in Hong Kong, including comparative analyses with the Mainland and international frameworks. In addition to the informative lectures, there will be exchange sessions with arbitration institutions, professional legal bodies, and visits to barristers’ chambers, international law firms and also court visits, during which participants will have the chance to interact directly with experienced legal professionals, and gain first-hand experience of the legal and arbitration practice in Hong Kong. I hope that by the end of this Course, you will have developed a deeper understanding of international arbitration and its intricacies, and the various topics that we will explore together.           We are truly privileged to have a distinguished line-up of speakers who are prominent practitioners in the field of arbitration. I am confident that their expertise, insights, and practical experiences can be effectively applied and incorporated into practices. As talent handling foreign-related arbitration with different backgrounds, each of you brings a unique perspective to this Course. The diversity of experiences in this room is a tremendous asset that enriches our discussions and learning experience. In this regard, I invite you to actively engage in discussions, raise questions that come to mind, and share your thoughts. This Course offers more than just an opportunity to learn from our esteemed speakers; it is also about fostering an interactive learning atmosphere where we can all benefit from each other’s experiences and perspectives.           Furthermore, the lectures in this Course are primarily conducted in English. English is one of the official languages in Hong Kong, and is frequently the language of choice due to its global prevalence in business and legal matters. Many arbitration proceedings are conducted in English, particularly those involving international parties. As a bridge between East and West, Hong Kong’s bilingual proficiency facilitates cross-border transactions and dispute resolution, making it an attractive venue for international arbitration. By engaging with the lectures and course materials in English, you will have the opportunity to practise English in legal and business contexts, unlocking unparalleled opportunities for advancement for yourselves in the field of global arbitration.      Arbitration in Hong Kong           In fact, a significant number of our legal and dispute resolution professionals are bilingual, or even multilingual, and many are qualified in multiple jurisdictions. This ensures that that parties involved in arbitration can readily find suitable representation or arbitrators for their proceedings.           Hong Kong is a leading global hub for international arbitration, and one of the most preferred seats of international arbitrations worldwide. With the strong support from the Central People’s Government, the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) all explicitly endorse Hong Kong’s development into a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region.           While Hong Kong legal practitioners are trained in the common law, many have developed significant expertise and experience in handling issues involving Mainland elements. In particular, since 2020, the Central Authority has launched a pilot scheme permitting eligible Hong Kong and Macao legal practitioners to practise civil and commercial matters in nine Mainland cities in the GBA after passing the GBA Legal Professional Examination, and completed some practical training.           While we are confident in the depth and breadth of Hong Kong’s existing legal talent pool, participation of overseas professionals in international arbitrations conducted in Hong Kong is essential. The nationalities or qualifications of arbitrators or legal representatives are not restricted in any way under our Arbitration Ordinance. In other words, clients are completely free to choose their preferred arbitrators or legal representatives. We have put in place a scheme to further facilitate the participation of non-Hong Kong residents in arbitral proceedings on a short-term basis by offering immigration convenience, enabling all visitors to come and participate in arbitral proceedings in Hong Kong without any employment visa as arbitrators, counsel, and factual or expert witnesses.           Furthermore, two measures are introduced to the CEPA Agreement on Trade in Services to facilitate Hong Kong investors. First of all, Hong Kong-invested enterprises registered in the pilot cities of the GBA may adopt Hong Kong law or Macao law as the applicable law in their contracts. Secondly, Hong Kong-invested enterprises registered in the nine Mainland cities in the GBA may choose Hong Kong or Macao as the seat of arbitration. The expansion of these measures will not only facilitate the internationalisation of the GBA’s business environment and benefit the collaborative development of its legal and dispute resolution sectors, but also, more importantly, encourage Mainland enterprises to leverage Hong Kong as a springboard for overseas expansion and empower foreign investors to utilise Hong Kong as a gateway to the Mainland.           In recent years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has actively pursued a range of initiatives to enhance its arbitration-related legal framework, for example the funding options for arbitration, attract leading international arbitration institutions to establish regional offices in Hong Kong, and host major international legal and dispute resolution events, with an aim of promoting Hong Kong as a premier centre for international legal and arbitration services.           Looking ahead, we anticipate sustained growth in demand for HK’s legal and dispute resolution services, especially in the GBA and in the Belt and Road region, and hence there is a growing need for nurturing talent for a sustainable supply of legal and dispute resolution professionals.       The Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy           In this connection, the Chief Executive announced in his 2023 and 2024 Policy Address to establish the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. Through the Academy, Hong Kong can build on the unique advantages and position in connecting our country to the rest of the world at the interface of the rule of law, contributing to the country’s efforts in training foreign-related legal talent and actively participating in the next decade of the Belt and Road Initiative as a capacity building hub.           The Academy will make good use of Hong Kong’s bilingual common law system and international status, and organise practical training courses, seminars, international exchange programmes to promote exchanges among talent in the regions along the Belt and Road. Training programmes will cover topics including international law, common law, civil law and national legal systems of other Belt and Road countries.           As this Course is the Academy’s first training programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, we value your insights and encourage you to share your honest feedback on what worked well and what could be improved in this Course. Your input will directly shape the future of our training programs, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of the arbitration community.      Conclusion           Ladies and gentlemen, this Course is not just about acquiring knowledge about international arbitration; it is also about connecting with fellow professionals in Hong Kong and finding out why Hong Kong is a prime venue for dispute resolution in the world. I also encourage you to discover all that Hong Kong has to offer, from its bustling streets to its stunning views, before and after all the lectures and visits on each day.           In closing, I wish to reiterate my appreciation to the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, the China University of Political Science and Law, the China Legal Service (H.K.) Limited, and to each and everyone of you for taking part in this Course. I look forward to the inspiring and productive training in the coming week. Thank you.

     
    Ends/Tuesday, February 18, 2025Issued at HKT 13:39

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: SFST’s keynote address at Institutional Summit at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 (English only) (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is the keynote address by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at the Institutional Summit at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 this morning (February 18):
     
    Tira (Managing Director of CoinDesk Events, Ms Tira Grey), Michael (Chairman of Consensus Hong Kong, Mr Michael Lau), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
     
         It is my profound honour to join you today at Consensus Hong Kong 2025 – a landmark event that celebrates innovation, brings together global pioneers in blockchain, Web3, virtual assets, and artificial intelligence, and galvanises the forces driving the future of our financial ecosystem. I welcome you all to a market where vision meets policy, and where transformative ideas are nurtured under a forward-looking policy and regulatory framework.
     
         Today, Hong Kong stands poised on the threshold of a new chapter – one in which traditional finance and digital innovation integrate to create efficiency, transparency, and inclusive growth.
     
         It is no coincidence that Consensus Hong Kong 2025 is taking place in our vibrant city. The Government remains steadfast in our mission to foster an environment where innovation is underpinned by robust regulation, ensuring that our financial markets not only thrive on competitiveness but also maintain the highest standards of investor protection and market integrity.
     
         Today, I wish to share with you my vision for the future, one built upon three defining trends. The first is financial market innovation through tokenisation. Tokenisation is not merely a buzzword – it is a profoundly transformative development that holds the promise of reshaping traditional financial markets. By converting conventional financial instruments and physical assets into digital tokens, we are building bridges between traditional finance and the emerging digital economy. Our regulatory framework has laid a solid foundation for this evolution. Our securities regulator has proactively issued circulars to guide intermediaries engaging in tokenised securities-related activities and expectations for the tokenisation of SFC (Securities and Futures Commission)-authorised investment products.
     
         These measures have provided critical clarity to market participants and investors alike, fostering an environment of trust and informed innovation. We have witnessed encouraging developments that testify to our approach. Consider, for instance, the tokenisation of gold – where physical gold is integrated with blockchain technology to offer investors greater flexibility, fractional ownership, and enhanced security. Similarly, the emergence of tokenised money market funds shows how traditional liquidity management can benefit from digital innovations, enabling more efficient market making alongside expanded secondary market liquidity for institutional investors.
     
         An important initiative to foster tokenisation development is Project Ensemble, a sandbox launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This initiative is designed to experiment with the tokenisation of money enabling seamless interbank settlements. By exploring tokenisation across fixed income and investment funds, liquidity management, green and sustainable finance, and trade and supply chain finance, Project Ensemble exemplifies Hong Kong’s commitment to harnessing emerging technology to enhance financial market infrastructure. This experimental Sandbox not only embraces innovation but also ensures that the innovations are implemented with a clear focus on stability and investor protection.
     
         The second trend that will shape our future financial landscape is the integration of Web3 innovations into the real economy. In our ongoing efforts to narrow the gap between digital finance and everyday business operations, the Government has taken decisive steps to develop a regulatory regime for stablecoin issuers. We are actively engaging with the real economy – where businesses that support cross-border payments, international trade, and digital commerce are eager to solve longstanding issues such as high costs, delayed transfers, and the challenges posed by the sometimes unpredictable FX (foreign exchange) markets.
     
         In recognition of these challenges, the regulator has established a Sandbox to obtain feedback and provide clarity to entities interested in issuing fiat-referenced stablecoins. This Sandbox serves not only as an incubator for innovations but also as a platform that bridges industry needs with prudent regulation. We see promising potentials for stablecoins to streamline payment systems, fostering a more efficient and integrated financial landscape that benefits businesses and consumers alike.
     
         Furthermore, the application of tokenisation extends far beyond traditional financial instruments. Already, we observe its impact across various sectors. From financing EV (electric vehicle)-charging infrastructure through tokenised management fee, to facilitating more agile supply chain finance, our digital infrastructure is now robust enough to support longstanding economic practices, albeit with a modern twist. These developments illustrate how the convergence of digital technologies with real-world assets can unlock significant economic value and propel us into a new era of cross-sector collaboration.
     
         The third and perhaps most transformative trend is the integration of AI with blockchain and Web3 technologies. In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, AI represents not just an opportunity but a necessity to enhance our digital infrastructures. Decentralised AI platforms, built on blockchain principles, provide a promising avenue for ensuring data privacy, security, and collaborative innovation.
     
         Decentralised AI has the potential to revolutionise how we manage, train, and deploy machine learning models. By enabling secure data sharing across multiple stakeholders, we create a system in which AI models can be trained collaboratively using diversified databases. This collaborative approach ensures that the resulting models are not only more widely applicable but also benefit from the collective insights of multiple organisations. Moreover, an open-source philosophy in model development promotes transparency, accountability, and a shared economic vision in which the fruits of innovation are accessible to all.
     
         Recognising these immense opportunities, the Government has set forth a policy statement to foster responsible AI innovation in our financial markets. Last October, we issued a detailed statement outlining our vision for the responsible usage of AI, balancing innovation with the imperative for control, transparency, and fairness. In line with our policy, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has embarked on a collaborative initiative, making its InvestLM model available to the financial services industry. This programme offers both advisory and training services – providing options for on-premises deployment as well as application programming interfaces (APIs) and web interfaces that utilise the HKUST’s computing resources.
     
         The transformative trends of tokenisation, real economy adoption, and AI integration can only reach their full potential within a reliable and adaptable regulatory system. Our guiding principle – “same activities, same risks, same regulations” – underscores our commitment to fairness, consistency, and the highest standards of market protection.
     
         We are continuously reviewing and refining our regulatory regime to foster a complete ecosystem for virtual assets. By developing comprehensive frameworks that include virtual asset exchanges, stablecoin issuers, custodians, and over-the-counter trading activities, we pave the way for an interconnected value chain that will underpin Hong Kong’s financial markets.
     
         In closing, I invite all stakeholders here today – from seasoned financial experts to the visionary entrepreneurs shaping tomorrow’s digital economy – to embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Consensus Hong Kong 2025 is more than just an event; it is a call to action. It is a recognition that our collective ingenuity, when harnessed under a principled regulatory framework, has the power to drive sustainable progress.
     
         I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Consensus event organisers, our trusted partners at Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and every individual contributing to the success of this event. I wish you a productive and transformative gathering at Consensus Hong Kong 2025, and I look forward to witnessing the many innovations that will shape our shared future.
     
         Thank you.   

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: MIL Analysis – Five best articles in Russian for 17.02.2025

    MIL Analysis: Here are the top five Russian language articles published today. The analysis includes five key articles prioritized at the moment.

    Samaraneftegaz again shows its results for efficient production.

    Russia’s banks continue to fight the onslaught of cyber fraud with new measures and surveys to protect against cyber attacks.

    Education is effective and stable. There are more and more new opportunities for students of different types of education.

    Also on the agenda is the environmental issue of preserving Lake Baikal.

    You can read one of the articles below.

    1. The economic effect of Samaraneftegaz’s production efficiency program exceeded RUB 2.7 billion.

    Samaraneftegaz (part of Rosneft’s oil and gas production complex) received an economic effect of more than 2.7 billion rubles in 2024 due to the implementation of the production efficiency improvement program.

    2. Financial news: Portrait of a cyber fraud victim in 2024.

    In 2024, 34% of citizens who participated in the Bank of Russia survey have experienced various types of cyber fraud. At the same time, 9% of those who came into contact with cybercriminals lost money. Based on these and other data, the regulator has compiled a portrait of a victim of cyber fraud.

    3. Acceptance of projects for the Big Mathematical Workshop – 2025 has started.

    The Mathematical Center in Akademgorodok (MCA) is accepting projects for consideration for implementation at the Large Mathematical Workshop 2025. The workshop consists of three parts: intensive face-to-face work for a week, followed by more free “inter-module” activities, and finally another week of intensive face-to-face work. In 2025, the first module of the Workshop will take place from July 6-12 and the second module from July 14-19.

    4. NSU, together with the Gorchakov Foundation, has opened applications for the internship program for foreign specialists.

    Novosibirsk State University – NSU in cooperation with the Gorchakov Foundation has opened applications for the internship program for foreign specialists in the areas of “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine” and “Modern Quantum and Information Technologies in Electronics and Photonics”.

    Last day for applications: March 20, 2024, 23:59 Moscow time.

    Date of the event: June 1 – 29, 2025.

    5. Dmitry Patrushev and Alexey Tsydenov, Head of the Republic of Buryatia, discussed the preservation of Lake Baikal.

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev held a working meeting with the Head of the Republic of Buryatia Alexey Tsydenov. The topic of discussion was the environmental agenda, in particular the preservation and restoration of Lake Baikal.

    Learn more about MIL’s content and data services by visiting milnz.co.nz.

    Regards MIL!

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University acted as an expert at a meeting at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University continues to actively develop the activities of the consortium “Russian-African Network University”. Following the visit of Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky to Mali, Guinea and Ethiopia, the Malian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research asked for assistance in reforming higher education in the republic. The development of National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and the creation of a concept for a modern polytechnic university in Bandiagara. For this purpose, an expert group was formed on the Russian side, which included representatives of SPbPU. Mali is represented by the country’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, rectors of leading universities and the director of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Sogoba Jacqueline Konate.

    The second meeting of the working group on the implementation of agreements reached during the visit of the Russian delegation to African countries was held recently. The event was organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

    It was attended by Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation Stepan Sokolov, Director of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova, as well as representatives of SPbPU and other Russian universities. In an online format, the discussion was joined by Vice-Rector for International Affairs of SPbPU Dmitry Arsenyev, Head of the RAFU Project Office Maxim Zalyvsky, Secretary of the RAFU Presidium, Deputy Head of the SPbPU International Cooperation Department Alla Mazina.

    Active work is currently underway to agree on the final version of the intergovernmental agreement, including issues of mutual recognition of education and qualifications. This document will replace the existing procedures for hiring. Work is also underway to open Russian language and Russian education centers, promote the Russian language in Mali and Ethiopia, including holding Olympiads and cultural and educational events, Stepan Sokolov noted.

    One of the key topics of discussion was assistance to the Republic of Mali in creating a network of regional universities, namely a modern polytechnic university of international level in the Bandiagara region.

    Vice-Rector of SPbPU Dmitry Arsenyev presented a report on the activities of the expert group. He emphasized that on January 23, 2025, at the initiative of the Polytechnic University and with the assistance of the Honorary Consul of Mali in St. Petersburg Issa Togo, a meeting of the Mali expert group and the SPbPU working group was held.

    The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Mali, Bourema Kansaye, opened the meeting, noting that the main goal of reforming higher education in Mali is to transform higher education and scientific research into a driving force for the socio-economic development of the country.

    However, as noted by the participants of the meeting, Mali faces a multidimensional crisis, including a shortage of human resources and a lack of specialists in key areas of knowledge. To address these issues, priority areas for the country in training and retraining personnel have been identified: artificial intelligence and robotics, energy and renewable energy sources, agriculture, geological exploration and extraction of raw materials, space technology and satellites.

    Russian-African cooperation in the educational sphere continues to gain momentum, opening up new opportunities for the development of African countries.

    The establishment of a university with an emphasis on training highly qualified personnel for the industrial, economic and social development of Mali, as well as the development of a scientific and technical base, is a strategically important step. Priority areas are agriculture, construction using local materials, environmental management, traditional medicine, pharmaceuticals, art, culture and sports. They not only meet the current needs of the country, but also create a solid foundation for its future. This approach ensures a harmonious combination of tradition and innovation, contributing to sustainable development and strengthening the sovereignty of Mali, – emphasized Dmitry Arsenyev.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: The “road map” for the implementation of the Concept for training personnel for the construction industry and housing and communal services has been approved

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Construction site, Republic of Mordovia

    Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin approved an action plan for the implementation of the Concept for training personnel for the construction industry and housing and utilities until 2035. The document was developed by the Ministry of Construction in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor and the industry community and is aimed at achieving the national development goals of Russia outlined by the President.

    “Training personnel for the construction and housing and utilities sectors is of strategic importance for the entire country, especially in the context of large-scale national development goals for Russia. Construction of comfortable housing, high-quality roads, infrastructure modernization, and improvement of populated areas require qualified specialists. Without them, it is impossible to ensure the fulfillment of all the tasks set. Their work directly affects the quality of life of millions of Russians. Last year, the Prime Minister approved the Concept for training personnel for the construction and housing and utilities sectors until 2035, and now we have prepared a “roadmap” in this area. We expect that over the next six years, over 850 thousand young specialists with various qualifications will be attracted to the industry. Systematic work to expand the human resources potential of the industry will also contribute to the fulfillment of the indicators of the national project “Infrastructure for Life”, – said Marat Khusnullin.

    The Deputy Prime Minister specified that the “road map” covers all stages of personnel training, from career guidance to scientific activity. The document provides for the development and implementation of new federal state educational standards and programs, including mechanisms for reducing training periods, as well as new professional standards.

    “The total number of students enrolled in industry-related programs has been steadily growing in the country over the past four years. The leading role here is given to the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, which was recently included in the list of universities that provide training for engineering personnel and scientific developments for the country’s technological leadership. It is also the basic organization for training and advanced training of personnel in the construction and housing and communal services industries not only in Russia, but also in all CIS countries. In addition, the President supported the project to create a world-class campus on the basis of the National Research University MGSU,” added the Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering.

    According to Marat Khusnullin, the roadmap plans to develop interaction between educational organizations and industry companies. This work includes increasing the target student intake, expanding educational opportunities for foreign students, raising the status of professions related to architecture and construction, and popularizing the construction industry as a whole.

    “Taking into account the implementation of the new national project “Infrastructure for Life”, which involves large-scale construction of housing, utilities, transport, industrial and social infrastructure in all regions of Russia, as well as on the basis of the Strategy for the Development of the Construction Industry and Housing and Public Utilities, the projected number of specialists in construction and housing and public utilities by 2030, taking into account data from the Ministry of Labor of Russia, is estimated at 6.8 million people. Currently, the system of training personnel for the construction industry and housing and public utilities includes more than 270 higher education institutions and their branches, as well as over 1.5 thousand vocational education organizations. In 2024, compared to 2020, the number of students in construction universities increased by 9.3 thousand people (18.7%), technical schools and colleges – by 11.7 thousand people (6.3%),” said Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Irek Fayzullin.

    In areas of training and specialties related to architecture, construction and housing and public utilities, the annual average number of university graduates exceeds 34 thousand people, technical schools and colleges – over 117 thousand people.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Arbitration training ceremony held

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Secretary for Justice Paul Lam today attended the opening ceremony of the National Training Course for Talents Handling Foreign-related Arbitration (Hong Kong), which is organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and the Ministry of Justice.

    As he addressed those gathered at the event, Mr Lam highlighted that the Government spares no effort in implementing several measures, including improving the legal framework related to arbitration, attracting globally renowned arbitral institutions to establish a presence in Hong Kong, and hosting international conferences on legal and dispute resolution services to promote the city’s international legal and arbitration services.

    He expressed the hope that the training course will facilitate exchanges to bridge the arbitration systems of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and deepen participants’ understanding of arbitration and dispute resolution in Hong Kong so that they can put what they have learnt into practice in future.

    The two-week training course, which commenced yesterday, provides a comprehensive introduction of the system and practice of arbitration in Hong Kong to more than 80 participants comprising Mainland in-house counsel, experienced arbitrators, lawyers and arbitration practitioners through lectures, exchanges and visits.

    Speakers include experienced Hong Kong legal professionals and members of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Expert Committee.

    Before the opening ceremony, Mr Lam signed a new legal exchange and co-operation arrangement with the China University of Political Science & Law to replace the arrangement signed by the two sides in 2016.

    Noting that legal exchanges and co-operation between the two sides have been achieving progress, he said that the new co-operation arrangement will enhance mutual collaboration on nurturing foreign-related legal talents and promote the rule of law, as well as exchanges on legal issues such as international arbitration, mediation and the national development strategy of the Belt & Road Initiative.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Foreign Minister Lin hosts a welcome luncheon for Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Dladla

    Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    February 12, 2025 

    No. 037

    Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a welcome luncheon on February 12 for a delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini led by Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla. He thanked Eswatini for its staunch commitment to diplomatic alliance with Taiwan and for its firm support for Taiwan’s international participation over the years.

     

    In his remarks at the event, Minister Lin also spoke about the heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in Eswatini that had seriously impacted the lives of people in some areas. He extended sympathies to those affected and recounted President Lai Ching-te’s instruction that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) must do its utmost to assist in the Eswatini government’s relief efforts and increase food donations so that the disaster victims could resume normal life as early as possible. 

     

    Commenting on the close bilateral cooperation across various domains, Minister Lin stated that the strategic oil reserve project currently underway in Eswatini was the largest infrastructure project by the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties. He added that Taiwan and Eswatini had steadily strengthened collaboration in such areas as energy, agriculture, education, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. He noted that among the joint projects, the Women’s Business Start-Up Microfinance Revolving Fund established in 2023 with assistance from the Taiwan government had effectively provided start-up capital to female entrepreneurs in rural areas of Eswatini. Minister Lin affirmed that more than 500 women had benefited from the program and that a beneficiary family had named their newborn daughter Taiwan out of gratitude, highlighting the positive impact of the friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini on the people’s well-being. He further expressed that such developments were inspiring.

     

    During the luncheon, Deputy Prime Minister Dladla thanked Taiwan for assisting in the national development of Eswatini. She reiterated that Eswatini would not falter in its support for Taiwan under any external pressure; that it would stand by Taiwan in the face of all challenges; and that it would continue to uphold Taiwan’s right to participate in all international organizations, including the United Nations. 

     

    Deputy Prime Minister Dladla emphasized that Taiwan and Eswatini enjoyed deep and extensive cooperation, having built a partnership as strong as family ties. As an example, she cited Taiwan’s prompt evacuation assistance to Eswatini expatriates in Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war erupted as testament to the genuine friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini.

     

    The luncheon was also attended by Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lue Jen-der, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chihchung Wu, Superintendent of Taipei Medical University Hospital Shih Chun-ming, and Board Chairperson of the Garden of Hope Foundation Pan Ay-woan. Participants exchanged views on healthcare, education, and energy collaboration between Taiwan and Eswatini; the creation of social safety nets; protection of vulnerable groups; and other issues.

     

    Eswatini established diplomatic relations with Taiwan immediately after it gained independence in 1968. MOFA will maintain close cooperation with the government of Eswatini to steadily promote the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project, foster a reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnership, enhance the well-being of the peoples of Taiwan and Eswatini, and further consolidate bilateral ties. (E) 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: KGIOP and Polytechnic are developing a GOST for creating digital models of cultural objects

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    At the All-Russian scientific and practical conference “Innovative approaches in urban development: science, education, practice”, organized by the Institute of Civil Engineering of SPbPU, the Committee for Urban Development Policy of the Leningrad Region and the Research Institute of Advanced Urban Development under the patronage of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, a panel discussion entitled “Digitalization in Urban Development and Architecture” was held.

    Director of the Civil Engineering Institute Marina Petrochenko and Deputy Chairperson of KGIOP Alexandra Komissarova spoke about the joint work of KGIOP and the Polytechnic University to create a methodology for digitalizing the subject of monument protection, presenting a report “Digitalization of Cultural Heritage Sites”. Using the example of the MetaCampus Polytech project, Marina Petrochenko shared her experience in creating digital models of cultural heritage sites and protected items.

    The subject of protection of a cultural heritage site is a document that takes into account all the features of a cultural heritage site that are the basis for its inclusion in the register and are subject to mandatory preservation, including its architectural decoration and design characteristics.

    Work on digitalization of the subject of protection is carried out within the framework of the agreement on information interaction between KGIOP and SPbPU, signed in December 2024.

    In 2024, the Union of Restorers of St. Petersburg outlined the need to create a GOST that could methodically ensure the transition of the main parameters of the subject of protection of a cultural heritage site to digital information models of monument buildings. Today, each expert tries to interpret this document in their own way. We collect successful practices, systematize them and want to offer a methodological development that can facilitate the transition to digital models of protected objects. This will eliminate duality and subjectivity in the interpretation of the subject of protection. As part of cooperation with the Polytechnic University, we are implementing a project to prepare such a GOST, – commented Alexandra Komissarova.

    We are talking about GOST R “Works on the preservation of cultural heritage sites. Rules for the formation and maintenance of an information model of a cultural heritage site. Subjects of protection” (TC 082, TC 505).

    The KGIOP representative also spoke about the features and diversity of cultural heritage sites in St. Petersburg, the documents required to organize work with monuments, the promising possibility of creating a digital model of a cultural heritage site at the design stage, as well as the need to coordinate legislation on the protection of cultural heritage sites and construction legislation.

    Representatives of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, the Committee for Urban Development Policy of the Leningrad Region, the Committee for Urban Development and Architecture of St. Petersburg, the Government of the Leningrad Region, the SAR, the State Institution “GRT LO”, St. Petersburg Polytechnical University, Moscow Architectural Institute, National Research University of Metrology and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg State Forest University, St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, the Unified Institute of Spatial Planning of the Russian Federation, the Research Institute of Industrial Geosciences, the Research Institute for General Planning of Moscow, the Research Institute for IGSP, LabGrad and others took part in the conference.

    The reports of the panel discussion participants were also devoted to digitalization in urban development and architecture, historical stages, tools and methodological mechanisms of urban development in Russia, as well as the problems of modern master planning.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University and Russian Student Teams Sign Agreement

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    On February 17, the Day of Russian Student Teams, a cooperation agreement was signed between Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the St. Petersburg regional branch of the youth all-Russian public organization “Russian Student Teams”. The document was signed by the rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy and the commander of SPbRO Alena Chuprova.

    The signed agreement envisages cooperation in the following areas: development of the student brigades movement in St. Petersburg, organization and implementation of events, projects and programs aimed at developing labor, patriotic, spiritual, moral and civic education of students, as well as information interaction.

    Like many Polytechnic University graduates, I have great respect for this movement, since I myself worked as part of construction teams, found real friends and invaluable life experience there. I am glad that student teams are still relevant today, and more and more guys are trying to join them, – noted SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy.

    The meeting was attended by the Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Communication Technologies of SPbPU Maxim Pasholikov, the commander of the Polytechnic headquarters Anri Oganisyan and the commissioner Alena Vasilyeva, as well as the commander of the North-West Federal District of Russian student brigades Yuri Komolyatov and the chairman of the SPbRO branch Semyon Kiselev. Andrei Rudskoy said that he began working in the SSO from his second year, worked in Karelia, the Leningrad Region, Dombay, the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, and was the commissioner of the zonal detachment. The rector of SPbPU also shared his memories of his trip in 1978 to the festival of youth and students in Havana.

    We would like to note the enormous contribution of the Polytechnic University to the development of the student brigades movement not only at the university, but also in St. Petersburg. It is safe to say that SPbPU serves as an example to which the headquarters of educational organizations of our city and other regional branches follow, – emphasized the commander of SPbRO Alena Chuprova.

    The Polytechnic University traditionally holds the opening line of the youth patriotic campaign “Nevsky landing”, and this action in St. Petersburg began with the student teams of the Polytechnic University. The SPbPU headquarters has the largest number of linear student teams. The Polytechnic University has most often won the competition for the best headquarters of the SPbRO student teams and the best press center.

    In memory of the meeting, the participants exchanged gifts. Representatives of the SPbRO presented Andrey Rudskoy with a personalized windbreaker of “Nevsky Desant” and a “brick” – a limited badge from the student teams.

    Photo archive

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Foreign Minister Lin hosts a welcome luncheon for Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Dladla

    Source: Republic of China Taiwan 3

    February 12, 2025 
    No. 037Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a welcome luncheon on February 12 for a delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini led by Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla. He thanked Eswatini for its staunch commitment to diplomatic alliance with Taiwan and for its firm support for Taiwan’s international participation over the years.
     
    In his remarks at the event, Minister Lin also spoke about the heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in Eswatini that had seriously impacted the lives of people in some areas. He extended sympathies to those affected and recounted President Lai Ching-te’s instruction that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) must do its utmost to assist in the Eswatini government’s relief efforts and increase food donations so that the disaster victims could resume normal life as early as possible. 
     
    Commenting on the close bilateral cooperation across various domains, Minister Lin stated that the strategic oil reserve project currently underway in Eswatini was the largest infrastructure project by the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic ties. He added that Taiwan and Eswatini had steadily strengthened collaboration in such areas as energy, agriculture, education, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. He noted that among the joint projects, the Women’s Business Start-Up Microfinance Revolving Fund established in 2023 with assistance from the Taiwan government had effectively provided start-up capital to female entrepreneurs in rural areas of Eswatini. Minister Lin affirmed that more than 500 women had benefited from the program and that a beneficiary family had named their newborn daughter Taiwan out of gratitude, highlighting the positive impact of the friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini on the people’s well-being. He further expressed that such developments were inspiring.
     
    During the luncheon, Deputy Prime Minister Dladla thanked Taiwan for assisting in the national development of Eswatini. She reiterated that Eswatini would not falter in its support for Taiwan under any external pressure; that it would stand by Taiwan in the face of all challenges; and that it would continue to uphold Taiwan’s right to participate in all international organizations, including the United Nations. 
     
    Deputy Prime Minister Dladla emphasized that Taiwan and Eswatini enjoyed deep and extensive cooperation, having built a partnership as strong as family ties. As an example, she cited Taiwan’s prompt evacuation assistance to Eswatini expatriates in Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war erupted as testament to the genuine friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini.
     
    The luncheon was also attended by Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lue Jen-der, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs François Chihchung Wu, Superintendent of Taipei Medical University Hospital Shih Chun-ming, and Board Chairperson of the Garden of Hope Foundation Pan Ay-woan. Participants exchanged views on healthcare, education, and energy collaboration between Taiwan and Eswatini; the creation of social safety nets; protection of vulnerable groups; and other issues.
     
    Eswatini established diplomatic relations with Taiwan immediately after it gained independence in 1968. MOFA will maintain close cooperation with the government of Eswatini to steadily promote the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project, foster a reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnership, enhance the well-being of the peoples of Taiwan and Eswatini, and further consolidate bilateral ties. (E) 

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sergey Netesov: “You have to root for the positive”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    At the popular science marathon “Darwin Week”, a doctor of biological sciences, professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the laboratory of bionanotechnology, microbiology and virology spoke with a report “Evolution of a set of respiratory infections” Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU Sergey Netesov.

    Evolution of the virus

    In Russia, doctors register 28 to 33 million cases of acute respiratory infections every year, but these are official statistics. When seeing a patient, the doctor fills out a statistical form, which is sent for processing to the health authorities, where statistical data is collected. However, not everyone comes to see a therapist, especially if the disease is mild, preferring to endure it “on their feet” or use home remedies to fight the infection. Such patients are not included in these statistics. Therefore, experts assume that the actual number of cases exceeds the official data at least twice.

    Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are caused by viruses, bacteria, mycobacteria and mycoplasma. In addition, most likely not all pathogens of ARI in humans have been discovered yet.

    Previously, doctors officially diagnosed ARVI without specifying the pathogen and specifically – influenza viruses, and even then the diagnosis was made by the doctor, guided only by the symptoms observed in the patient, and the laboratory diagnostic methods that existed before the 2000s were lengthy, inaccurate and insensitive. More or less reliable test systems for diagnosing influenza viruses based on the polymerase chain reaction PCR method appeared only in the late 90s, and for diagnosing other pathogens – only in the last 5-10 years. The data from a study of the causes of ARVI using the example of one of the counties of the state of Michigan (USA), published in 2002, surprised epidemiologists: influenza was not in the leading positions – its share was only 9%, while ordinary coronaviruses – 14%, rhinovirus – 34%. Unknown infections then accounted for 23%. Later, metapneumoviruses were identified, and their share in the structure of pathogens was about 10% in the category that was previously designated as “unknown infections.” Common coronaviruses, as a rule, have “overtaken” the flu in the share of infected people in the last 20-30 years, but did not pose a serious danger in the form of fatalities – until SARS-CoV-2 appeared, which took millions of lives around the world. At the initial stage of the pandemic, it posed a very serious danger with a mortality rate of up to 6%, but over time, due to the evolution into much less pathogenic variants, it almost equaled the mortality rate of the common flu – 0.1 – 0.2%.

    — The high mortality rate from the new coronavirus infection was due to vascular thrombosis, which was classified as a circulatory disease at the initial stages of the pandemic, and a cytokine storm — an overly aggressive immune response of the body to a viral infection. It manifests itself in different ways, depending on the chronic diseases of the infected person — in the form of circulatory diseases, pneumonia, complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and sometimes — digestive organs. In the first six months of the pandemic, there were no reliable diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 markers. Partly due to this, some cases of death from the new coronavirus infection were attributed to serious chronic diseases that the deceased patients suffered from – diseases of the circulatory system, respiratory system, endocrine system, etc. In addition, unlike most respiratory diseases, people died from the new coronavirus not during the first two weeks of the disease, but within a month or two, so it was believed that the patient’s death was the result of complications rather than an acute viral disease, explained Sergei Netesov.

    Over the past few years, the deadly coronavirus has evolved towards changing its antigenic properties and reducing pathogenicity, and is no longer as dangerous in terms of mortality as before. Large-scale vaccination of the population, as well as the immunity formed in those who have recovered, have also had an effect, but in terms of morbidity, this virus still sometimes outpaces the combined influenza viruses A and B, and mortality from it has not been reduced to zero. Last fall, 20-30 people died from Covid every week in Russia. These were mainly elderly people with serious chronic diseases.

    Currently, another pathogen of ARVI, the respiratory syncytial virus, is no less dangerous in terms of severe progression and mortality. In certain periods of the 2023-2024 season, its share in the causes of the overall incidence of ARVI was 40%. Scientists and doctors have long found out that it is one of the main causes of severe pneumonia in children and the elderly. Since last year, trials of vaccines against this virus have begun in the European Union and the United States.

    In the winter of 2024, rhinovirus was the leading cause of acute respiratory viral infections in Russia. It has unpleasant symptoms because it causes inflammation of the nasal sinuses, but does not pose a danger to humans.

    — Only in rare cases is the cause of ARI or ARVI only one pathogen, more often two or three. It often happens that the same patient has one or two ARI pathogens — viral and one — bacterial. In this case, the picture of the disease becomes complex. Viral infections, as a rule, prepare the ground for infection with pathogenic bacteria, — said Sergey Netesov.

    Reliable protection

    To reduce the risk of severe respiratory viral infections, it is necessary to get vaccinated in a timely manner, and it is advisable for people at increased risk of severe acute respiratory infections to wear medical masks in public places. Sergei Netesov also spoke about the influenza vaccines used in Russia. According to him, it is necessary to choose, if possible, four-component drugs with a share of 15 micrograms of antigens of each subtype of the virus. At the same time, the probability of severe disease is reduced by about 20-30 times. And for unvaccinated people, increased risks of severe acute respiratory infections remain for people with impaired immune systems, diabetics and representatives of other risk groups.

    In favor of the effectiveness of masks, Sergei Netesov noted that the mask will not hold a single viral particle, because the size of its pores is too large for this. But viruses in the form of single particles do not fly through the air. They move on microdroplets of fluids in our bodies, released from the body when talking, singing, coughing or sneezing. But these drops have a larger diameter and do not pass through the pores of the mask. And even the most primitive mask holds about 75-80% of such particles, of course, if you cover both your mouth and nose with it. And for infection, the size of the pathogen dose that a person receives is very important. Reducing this dose often leads to zeroing out the infection or getting a very small dose – then the disease does not develop quickly, and the body copes with it much easier.

    The flu virus is constantly evolving, and this process is aimed at an important goal for it – to “break through” the previous immunity and infect as many carriers – susceptible people – as possible.

    In early 2024, several publications were published in the United States stating that cow milk yields in some regions of the country had begun to decline; later, veterinarians identified the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza in them. The influenza virus of this subtype was first isolated not only from birds, but also from some sick people in 1997 in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. The virus also affected people, with a very high mortality rate. The reason was soon revealed: in most cases, it was a rare mutation characteristic of the inhabitants of these countries, in which one of the receptors in their lungs turned out to be similar to a similar receptor in birds. This feature is not typical for residents of other countries. And so in 2024, the virus spread not only among birds, but acquired new mutations and “switched” to cattle and more. Several dead cats that had previously drunk cow’s milk were found near the barns with sick cows. The cause of their death, like the illness of the cows on the farm, was the avian influenza virus. And although humans and animals do not have many common infections, this virus has become one of them. It turned out that at the end of 2023, the virus acquired mutations that allowed it to move from birds to cattle. From the beginning of 2024 to February 2025, 68 cases of infection of dairy and poultry workers were noted worldwide. It seems that this flu virus has not yet spread widely, but careful monitoring of its evolution is necessary.

    Race for survival

    Scientists believe that the more common this subtype of the virus becomes, the more likely it is to acquire a combination of mutations that will increase the risk of infection in humans. On the other hand, this subtype of flu has been circulating in various bird species and causing rare sporadic infections in humans for more than two decades, but so far there has been no pandemic. This is one of those cases where a pandemic could start next week or never.

    — Not only pathogens of viral diseases evolve, but also our immune system. It is a kind of race. Therefore, it is necessary to study not only pathogens, but also the parameters of our immunity. Increase the number and effectiveness of vaccines, increase the volume of vaccination. This really improves the quality of life of the population and increases its duration. At the same time, long-term monitoring studies are needed to study the occurrence of pathogens, their molecular genetic diversity and molecular evolution, including drug resistance. Russia has the necessary instrumental and material-reactive bases, including its own high-tech production of many (but not all) modern vaccines and diagnostics. But their wider implementation in practice is required. It is also necessary to develop new vaccines against a number of viral and bacterial pathogens. Unfortunately, so far the diagnostic algorithms in our compulsory insurance medicine have been worked out to a minimum — primarily due to underfunding. But it is possible to distinguish a bacterial infection from a viral one using a very simple test for the content of procalcitonin and some other markers in the blood, said Sergei Netesov.

    The scientist also noted that when fighting a viral disease, regardless of what virus caused it, the patient’s psychological state and the support of loved ones are also important. It is important to be sick in a good mood, then recovery will be faster.

    — You should always be positive when you are sick! A person with a bad emotional background is objectively sicker. You need to look to the future with confidence and optimism and tell your body: “Get well.” The human body is a very complex unified system, where all components influence each other. In this case, you need to establish positive feedback between the body and the brain, try to create a good mood for yourself and, of course, follow all the doctor’s recommendations, — said Sergey Netesov.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: National Insurance: Labour should be taxing wealthy not cutting services

    Source: Scottish Greens

    18 Feb 2025 Economy

    Labour’s National Insurance hike could do serious damage to vital services.

    More in Economy

    Unless Labour’s increase on Employer National Insurance Contributions is funded it could have a devastating impact on Scotland’s services, says Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater.

    Ms Slater, who was speaking ahead of a Scottish Government debate on the increase, has urged the UK government to introduce a wealth tax which would raise far more funding while ensuring it is the best-off that are paying the most rather than causing anxiety and possibly cuts by implementing a tax increase on service providers.

    Ms Slater said:

    “Without full funding, this increase could do a lot of damage to vital services like health and social care as well as punishing small businesses and charities.

    “There is more than enough money to ensure that services are fully funded and that everyone can have security and a good standard of living, but so much of it is being hoarded by a small number of very wealthy people.

    “Labour has refused to provide clarity about how it will offset the costs it is choosing to inflict.

    “It’s a cowardly move which has been done to avoid raising taxes on the richest people, including the ones who bankroll the Labour Party.

    “Rather than saddling overstretched service providers with anxiety and extra costs, the Prime Minister and his chancellor should be asking the super wealthy to pay their fair share.”

    Analysis from the University of Greenwich shows that a wealth tax starting at a marginal rate of 1%, rising to 5% for those with £5.7 million and above (the richest 0.5%), and 10% for those with £18.2 million (the richest 0.15%) would raise over £70 billion a year.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: We invite you to participate in the qualifying round of the VI Finathlon Forum

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    From February 10 to March 15, 2025, registration and collection of scientific papers of students, postgraduates, young teachers on sustainable development, investments and financial risks under the age of 35 is underway to participate in the remote selection round of the VI Finathlon Forum – the International Scientific and Practical Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists in Sustainable Development, Investments and Financial Risks.

    Over the years, the Forum has become a platform that unites young professionals who focus their efforts on developing and solving problems of sustainable development, investments and financial risks in the economy of Russia and neighboring countries. A unique environment has been created for exchanging opinions, discussions, building cooperation, professional communications and personal development. Leading industry experts take part in the Forum.

    This year, the Forum will include more than 20 thematic sections, which will be attended by more than 400 students, young professionals and teachers from Russia and friendly countries. The works that pass the selection round will take part in the in-person final at the Conference, which will be held in Moscow on April 15, 2025. The finalists’ works will be published in the Forum’s electronic collection in the Russian Science Citation Index.

    The forum was organized by the Department of State Youth Policy and Educational Activities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with the support of the Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Transport of Russia, and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia.

    Details of the Forum program and registration form are available on the official Finathlon website.

    Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 02/18/2025

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    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU students’ project included in the rating of 100 promising Russian startups of 2024, according to RB.RU

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    RB.RU is a media outlet for business owners and those who want to become one. RB Chuyka — an annual special project in which the media selects 100 promising Russian company projects. The goal is not just to highlight companies that have shown themselves in the past year, but also to introduce readers to new faces on the market, as well as to show which niches are promising for startups and investors.

    Startup Lexis Voice from NSU Catalist— a special acceleration program from NSU Startup Studios, which helps to reveal creative and scientific potential, create and bring technological projects to the market, was included in the RB Choice rating. Its founders are students of the Higher College of Informatics of NSU and the Faculty of Economics of NSU.

    The Lexis Voice project is a practical simulator for training managers in “cold sales” using artificial intelligence. The system simulates dialogues with clients, analyzes the results and offers recommendations for improving sales skills. This solution frees experienced employees from performing the standard procedure for training newcomers.

    “We help companies with sales departments that want to improve the skills of sales managers and reduce the time for their training through our AI Model, which is able to parody the client’s behavior and give personalized recommendations for training the manager based on his conversation with it,” they write in their telegram channelfounders of the project.

    In 2024, Lexis Voice entered the TOP-5 projects of the Phystech.Idea accelerator from MIPT and successfully conducted a pilot project with Rostelecom. The main goal of the experiment was to identify the key problems that sales managers face during the onboarding process, as well as to assess the potential of the Lexis Voice product being developed to solve these problems.

    — During the experiment, we focused on the following aspects. The first was to analyze existing training methods and their effectiveness. The second was to test the hypothesis that our AI-based training algorithm could significantly reduce the onboarding time for new employees. The third was to evaluate the potential increase in manager performance in the long term. The approach we used included a comparison of the standard employee training process and the updated process we offer, — the developers say.

    The team divided the employees into two groups of four people each: one group underwent the training that the company provides, and the other followed the new algorithm that underlies the product. Results:

    1. The adaptation time was reduced by 5 times in the group that followed the new method.

    2. Managers from the AI group achieved their KPIs faster.

    3. The level of skills in handling objections and closing deals increased by more than 30%.

    More details about the results of the experiment can be found by link.

    It is safe to say that the guys’ hypothesis was confirmed. Acceleration of training, reduction of the workload of senior managers and increase in the efficiency of new employees are indicators that can be reproduced in other companies.

    There is a high probability that this approach can revolutionize this conservative area and significantly change the standard methods of training employees.

    “We are confident that these achievements can be scaled and benefit companies and, most importantly, the people who work in them,” the students conclude.

    Currently, more than 10 companies from various fields, from fitness centers to remote sales departments, are showing interest in implementing the solution.

    In addition to Lexis Voice, the list of 100 promising startups in Russia also included the MPlays project, a service that analyzes external advertising traffic on marketplaces. The startup from Novosibirsk received support from the Innovation Assistance Fund and the federal project University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform.

    The following materials were used in preparing the news: RB.ru.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Having dense breasts is linked to cancer. But advice about breast density can depend on where you live

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia

    Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

    Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms.

    Yet you might not be aware you have dense breasts, even after mammographic screening.

    In Australia, advice for women with dense breasts and their health-care professionals can be inconsistent and confusing.

    This is because there’s not currently consensus on whether women who have dense breasts, but no symptoms, benefit from further imaging such as ultrasounds. Concerns include potential cost of these tests and the risk they can produce false positives.

    What is breast density?

    Breasts are made up of fatty tissue and fibroglandular tissue (including glands that make milk, held together by fibrous tissue).

    On a mammogram – an x-ray of the breast – fibroglandular tissue appears white and fatty tissue appears dark. The white areas are referred to as breast density.

    Fibroglandular tissue shows up white on a mammogram.
    Nata Sokhrannova/Shutterstock

    A higher proportion of fibroglandular tissue means your breasts are dense.

    There are four categories to classify breast density:

    • A: almost entirely fatty
    • B: scattered areas of fibroglandular density
    • C: heterogeneously or consistently dense
    • D: extremely dense.

    Breast density is very common. Around 40% of women aged 40–74 are estimated to have “dense breasts”, meaning they fall in category C or D.

    What’s the link to cancer?

    Breast density is associated with the risk of breast cancer in two ways.

    First, breast density usually decreases with age. But if a woman has high breast density for her age, it increases her likelihood of breast cancer.

    One study looked at the risk of breast cancer over the age of 50. It found there was a 6.2% risk for the one-third of women with the lowest density. For the 5% with the highest density, the risk was 14.7%.

    Second, breast density “masks” cancers if they develop. Both cancers and breast density appear white on a mammogram, making cancers very hard to see.

    Breast cancer screening saves lives through early detection and improved treatment options. But we don’t yet know if telling women about their breast density leads to earlier cancer detection, or lives saved.

    In Australia, screening mammography is free for all women* aged 40 and older. This is run through BreastScreen Australia, a joint national, state and territory initiative. Those aged 50-74 are invited to have a mammogram, but it’s available for free without a referral from age 40.

    However, the messages Australian women currently receive about breast density – and whether it’s recorded – depends on where they live.

    What does the advice say?

    In 2023, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists updated its position statement to recommend breast density is recorded during screening and diagnostic tests in Australia and New Zealand.

    Meanwhile BreastScreen Australia says it “should not routinely record breast density or provide supplemental testing for women with dense breasts”. However this position statement is from 2020 and is currently under review.

    Some state and territory BreastScreen programs, including in Western Australia, South Australia and soon Victoria, notify women if they have dense breasts. Victoria is currently at an early stage of its roll-out.

    While the messaging regarding breast density differs by state, none currently recommend further imaging for women with dense breasts without speaking to a doctor about individual risk.

    What are the issues?

    Providing recommendations for women with dense breasts is difficult.

    The European Society of Breast Imaging recommends women with extremely dense breasts aged 50–70 receive an MRI every two to four years, in addition to screening mammography. This is based on a large randomised controlled trial from the Netherlands.

    But the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists describes this recommendation as “aspirational”, acknowledging cost, staffing and accessibility as challenges.

    That is, it is not feasible to provide a supplemental MRI for everyone in the screening population in category D with extremely dense breasts (around 10%).

    Further, there is no consensus on appropriate screening recommendations for women in the category C (heterogeneous density).

    We need a national approach to breast density reporting in Australia and to do better at identifying who is most likely to benefit from further testing.

    BreastScreen Australia is currently undergoing a review of its policy and funding.

    One of its goals is to enable a nationally consistent approach to breast screening practices. Hopefully breast density reporting, including funding to support national implementation, will be a priority.

    *This includes those recorded female at birth and who are gender diverse.

    Jennifer Stone receives funding from Cancer Council Western Australia and the NHMRC. She is affiliated with the University of Western Australia and the University of Melbourne. She is Co-chair of the Australian Breast Density Consumer Advisory Council and member of the InforMD Alliance (www.informd.org.au).

    – ref. Having dense breasts is linked to cancer. But advice about breast density can depend on where you live – https://theconversation.com/having-dense-breasts-is-linked-to-cancer-but-advice-about-breast-density-can-depend-on-where-you-live-249863

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: NACC belatedly to investigate whether six Robodebt referrals engaged in ‘corrupt conduct’

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct.

    This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey Nettle, who examined the NACC”s original decision not to pursue the referrals.

    That decision was highly controversial, bringing a plethora of complaints, and sharp criticism of NACC chief Paul Brereton.

    The NACC’s inspector, Gail Furness, found Brereton had not adequately excused himself when the matter was considered. Brereton had delegated the decision-making because he knew one of the people referred professionally, but the inspector found he was still involved in the process.

    In its Tuesday statement the NACC said:“The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether or not any of the 6 referred persons engaged in corrupt conduct”.

    The names of those referred to the NACC – contained in a sealed section of the royal commission report – were not made public. The sealed section has not been released.

    The NACC statement said: “Consistent with its usual practice, the Commission does not publish reasons for commencing an investigation, as doing so may prejudice the investigations, disclose information which the Commission is required by law to keep confidential, compromise investigative pathways and/or unfairly impact reputations and rights of individuals to impartial adjudication.”

    The NACC stressed its arrangements would ensure the investigation was “impartial and fair”. Brereton and those deputy commissioners involved in the original decision not to investigate the referrals won’t be part of the investigation.

    Robodebt used a flawed system of income averaging to determine debts. The scheme, later found to be illegal, raised $1.76 billion from hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients. But many of the debts were wrong, and eventually the money had to be repaid.

    In its findings, the royal commission targeted multiple public officials including ministers who had overseen the scheme (one of them Scott Morrison who as social services minister had been an initiator of it) and public servants.

    A number of the bureaucrats who’d been involved with the scheme, including two who had been departmental heads, were later found to have breached the public service code of conduct.

    Michelle Grattan 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. NACC belatedly to investigate whether six Robodebt referrals engaged in ‘corrupt conduct’ – https://theconversation.com/nacc-belatedly-to-investigate-whether-six-robodebt-referrals-engaged-in-corrupt-conduct-250145

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The Reserve Bank has cut rates for the first time in four years. But it is cautious about future cuts

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra

    The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”.

    However, the central bank said the outlook for economic activity and inflation remains uncertain, with a risk that household spending may be slower than expected.

    The reduction in the cash rate target will come as a relief to the one-third of households with a mortgage. It will help to ease the cost of living crisis for them.

    The cut from a 13-year high of 4.35% to 4.1% had been widely expected by economists and financial markets.

    The interest rate cut may help tip the scales for the government to call an early election. But recent opinion polls suggest the government still has work to do to put itself in a winning position.

    Announcing its decision, the Reserve Bank said it had “more confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards the midpoint of the 2-3% target”.

    All four of the major banks swiftly passed on the cut in official rates to mortgage-holders. The average new housing loan is $666,000. Reducing the interest rate on this by 0.25% will mean $110 less a month in repayments (assuming a standard 30-year loan).

    It is the first change in the cash rate since November 2023 and marks the first small reversal of 13 rate increases. The central bank had hiked interest rates quickly from the near-zero emergency level during the COVID epidemic and lockdowns.

    Why did the Reserve Bank cut now?

    The interest rate cut comes after headline inflation eased, to 2.4% during 2024, within the Bank’s 2-3% inflation target range.

    However, the Bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, the “trimmed mean”, which excludes temporary factors such as the government’s electricity rebates, rose by 3.2% during 2024. This is just above the target range but a little less than the 3.4% the Bank had been forecasting.

    “We cannot declare victory on inflation just yet,” Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock told a press conference after the decision. “It’s not good enough for it to be back in the target range temporarily, the board needs to be confident it’s returning to the target range sustainably.”



    Read more:
    Lower inflation in the December quarter boosts chances of an interest rate cut

    The RBA and the election

    In its first meeting for the year, the Reserve Bank board rejected the notion that they should hold off changing rates because an election is approaching.

    While cutting interest rates will suit one side of politics, not cutting would have benefited the other. The impartial approach is to take the same decision as if no election were looming.

    As then RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in 2007 after raising rates during an election campaign:

    I do not think we ever could accept the idea that in an election year — which, after all, is one year out of three — you cannot change interest rates.

    How does the Reserve Bank compare with other central banks?

    Some central banks in comparable economies had already started lowering interest rates and have cut them by more than the RBA. But that is because most had raised interest rates by more.

    The Reserve Bank adopted a strategy of being more patient in returning inflation to its target, so as to limit the increase in unemployment.

    The strategy has worked. Unemployment in Australia peaked at 4.2% and is now 4.0%. By contrast, in New Zealand it is over 5% and in the euro area and Canada it is over 6%.

    The Reserve Bank hasn’t received the credit it deserves for this strong performance.

    Where to from here?

    This is the last meeting of the current Reserve Bank board. It is being replaced by a new monetary policy committee, and a separate governance board as part of an overhaul of the bank. Two new members will replace two members of the current board for its next meeting on April 1.

    The RBA board’s statement said that it “remains cautious on prospects for further policy easing”. This is central bank-speak for not rushing into further interest rate cuts.

    The RBA also noted that “geopolitical and policy uncertainties are pronounced”. This is a reference to the economic fallout from United States President Donald Trump’s policies on trade and slashing jobs.

    His proposed tariffs and deportations will increase inflation in the US and make US interest rates higher than they otherwise would be.



    Read more:
    What would a second Trump presidency mean for the global economy?

    But this does not mean interest rates need to be higher here. Indeed, a trade war would weaken the global economy, which could lead to less inflation in Australia.

    The Reserve Bank also released its updated forecasts. These show the underlying inflation rate dropping to 2.7% by June and then staying around there through 2026 and 2027.

    Unemployment is low at 4%, and below what the Bank has previously regarded as “full employment”. But it is not leading to any surge in wage growth.

    Indeed, the Bank commented that wages growth has been a little lower than it had forecast. Inflationary expectations are also well contained.

    This offers hope there may be at least one further interest rate cut later this year (and the Reserve Bank’s forecasts assume this). But borrowers should not get their hopes up that interest rates will revisit the COVID-era lows. That is very unlikely.

    John Hawkins was formerly a senior economist at the Reserve Bank.

    – ref. The Reserve Bank has cut rates for the first time in four years. But it is cautious about future cuts – https://theconversation.com/the-reserve-bank-has-cut-rates-for-the-first-time-in-four-years-but-it-is-cautious-about-future-cuts-249704

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from the Hill: will Albanese opt for an April election now a rate cut has him breathing more easily?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election.

    The cut is unlikely to be a major vote changer, after 13 increases. But it was absolutely vital to the government. Labor would have suffered a big knock if Michele Bullock and her board had held out.

    The cut underpins the narrative of things improving, and may put voters in a better mood. At least that’s the government’s thinking.

    But the bank is highly circumspect in its tone. It warned in its statement:

    The forecasts published today suggest that, if monetary policy is eased too much too soon, disinflation could stall, and inflation would settle above the midpoint of the target range. In removing a little of the policy restrictiveness in its decision today, the Board acknowledges that progress has been made but is cautious about the outlook.

    Speculation about the election date is a frustrating exercise, given only Anthony Albanese – and perhaps a few closest to him – knows his thinking, which could still be, as he suggested recently, “fluid”. In recent days the PM has played the tease. Periodically he talks about the intense work on budget, set for March 25; if that went ahead, it would mean a May election. But last week, he was also talking about parliament having seen its last day, which pointed to April.

    It is hard to see the logic of Albanese launching a campaign before the March 8 Western Australian election, given that would be confusing for both state and federal campaigns and put maximum pressure on Labor’s WA volunteers. If Albanese opts for April 12, he would have to call it immediately after the WA poll.

    Many in the business world would like the election done and dusted ASAP, because the pre-election period means a hiatus of sorts.

    The opinion polls can be read various ways, but as things stand, they point to a minority government.

    This is already putting pressure on crossbenchers, notably the teals, to indicate what factors they’d take into account in deciding who they’d support. The Coalition, if it reached about 72 seats (76 is a majority), would be eyeing off crossbenchers Bob Katter, Rebekha Sharkie, Allegra Spender and Dai Le as potentials to guarantee them confidence and supply. Of course that would assume they all were re-elected.

    But this is putting several carts before the horse. Much will happen in the next few weeks, whether the election is April or May. Current polls that make predictions down to individual seats should be treated with much caution.

    While the polls are presently depressing for Labor, this week’s Newspoll had a finding on inflation that might cheer treasurer Jim Chalmers. It found that less than a quarter of people believe inflation would have been lower under a Coalition government. In other words, while high prices are making voters sour, that is not necessarily directly translating into blame for Labor.

    When the campaign proper is underway, the smallest things can blow up in leaders’ faces.

    Albanese failed to remember key numbers in 2022. He had enough fat so his generally lackluster performance didn’t matter in the end. Dutton is yet to be campaign-tested. Rather disconcertingly for his handlers, in his Sky interview last Sunday he forgot deputy prime minister Richard Marles had just been in Washington.

    Meanwhile Dutton is hard at work humanising his image in a series of interviews, and the obligatory 60 Minutes family get together with Karl Stefanovic (who did the Meet the Morrisons – the Duttons-at-home came without an musical performance).

    Albanese worked hard at this before the last election, repeating over and over his story of being brought up in council housing, son of a single mother.

    Dutton’s more complicated back story involves a stint as a youngster in a butcher’s shop, buying a house at 19, an early divorce, and a failed relationship that produced a baby who became his first child in his second marriage. And of course his career as a policeman.

    One can imagine that some of these memories are painful to have to canvas in public, but the campaign’s hard heads say the public want to know all about a potential PM. So it has to be done.

    (One Dutton incident is rarely recalled these days, that involved a temporary loss of political nerve. In 2009, after a redistribution made his seat of Dickson notionally Labor, Dutton sought to jump to the Gold Coast seat of McPherson. But he was beaten in a preselection by Karen Andrews, who is retiring at this election. That forced him back to Dickson, which he then held at the 2010 election.)

    Albanese does not need to canvass his backstory as much these days but he took advantage of Valentine’s day to put out some sentimental social media fodder.

    He and fiancé Jodie (to whom he proposed on Valentine’s day last year) sat, with Toto between them, turning over cards with questions said to be posed by the public. With each question (such as “who said I love you first”) they pointed to each other or themselves.

    Opinion was divided about the video. Toto fell into the sceptics’ camp, jumping to the ground before it was finished.

    Michelle Grattan 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. View from the Hill: will Albanese opt for an April election now a rate cut has him breathing more easily? – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-will-albanese-opt-for-an-april-election-now-a-rate-cut-has-him-breathing-more-easily-250136

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Trump’s view of the world is becoming clear: America’s interests matter more than any set of rules

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University

    Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order.

    US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich Security Conference that Europe has an “enemy within”, referring to leaders who ignore their citizens’ concerns and values. He also advocated for right-wing political groups to be brought into the mainstream.

    Meanwhile, at a meeting of NATO defence ministers, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth talked about hard power, the warrior ethos and the need for NATO members to spend up to 5% of their GDPs on defence. Most have only just climbed to about 2%, the longstanding NATO guideline.

    In Poland, he reaffirmed the US commitment to the defence of Poland (and NATO) and committed to bolstering the US military presence there. So, despite the mixed messaging, the United States is not leaving Europe anytime soon.

    Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding a significant levy from Ukraine as payback for US protection and support.

    The combination of remarks has left pundits and policymakers wondering – is the US-led international order, with its multilateral institutions, nearing its end?

    The demise of the rules-based order?

    The United States played a leading role in establishing the rules-based international order from the ashes of the second world war.

    Critics have decried the UN-related institutions that arose at this time. But the rules-based order is perhaps best viewed as Voltaire saw the Holy Roman Empire: “no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire”. Those proclaiming the demise of the rules-based order should be careful what they wish for.

    Such a system of trusted international exchanges barely existed prior to 1945. And while superpowers have carved out many exceptions for themselves, the rules-based order has nonetheless resulted in a time of remarkable stability and prosperity for the world.

    So, why would the United States now appear to be retreating from this arrangement? The declining centrality of US influence goes some way to explain this.

    China’s rise and the rise of Trump

    To place the current events in proper context, we need to go back 25 years, when China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

    This move was supported by and facilitated by then US President Bill Clinton in a belief that market liberalisation would eventually lead to political liberalisation.

    Since then, China’s growth has skyrocketed thanks to its ready access to global markets. But it’s retained a strong mercantilist approach, counter to the spirit of the WTO. This has generated much resentment and nervousness among Western powers about the changing global power balance.

    Since Xi Jinping’s rise to power in 2012, in particular, China has taken on an adversarial position to the rules-based order, following its own set of rules.

    In effect, the world got neither the political nor the trade liberalisation that it once sought from China. Rather, the rules as they applied in China (and to an extent in Russia) allowed state-owned enterprises to co-opt – if not outright steal – technology shared by their international industry partners.

    Foreign companies were squeezed out of China and had difficulty competing with lower-priced Chinese products at home.

    Trump’s rise is, in part, a reaction to these developments. During his first term from 2017–20, Trump fitfully attempted to take a retaliatory, transactional approach to international relations. Now, as he begins his second term, he has a much more clear-eyed plan of action.

    What Trump expects now

    What became startlingly clear at the Munich Security Conference was Trump’s new vision of transactional alliances with America’s traditional partners.

    In his view, the United States is not so much retreating into isolationism as much as it’s acting as a great power with its own economic interests at heart. Trump is eager for the US to assert its place in a world where spheres of influence matter as much – if not more – than any particular set of rules.

    Evidently, the US is no longer advocating for multilateralism, in which states cooperate as equals. Now, it’s focused more on multi-polarity – a world with several great powers, in which the US puts its own interests first. As Trump frequently reminds us, “America First”.

    According to this world view, allies and adversaries have equally been taking unfair advantage of:

    • America’s famous openness (notably its borders)
    • its liberal trade policies (which, according to Trump, has led to the de-industrialisation of the American heartland).

    Its allies have also taken advantage of the generosity of its security umbrella, leading to their cavalier approach to security.

    The Trump administration’s remedy to all of this involves doling out sanctimonious advice. An example of this: Vance telling European allies they should unwind their relaxed immigration policies.

    JD Vance’s speech to the Munich Security Conference.

    It’s also doling out some tough medicine, apparently trying to provoke a reaction in European capitals so they significantly increase their defence spending. This would enable the US to step back from being Europe’s security guarantor and finally undertake its long-talked-about pivot to Asia and focus on its main adversary: China.

    Russia evidently features as part of this plan. Trump appears intent to try to cleave Russia from its Chinese embrace in order to either isolate or weaken China. A hard-nosed deal with Russia over Ukraine may well be the price he’s willing to pay to make that happen.

    For America’s close security and economic partners, this presents an unprecedented challenge. The old preconceptions and expectations no longer seem to apply. What’s important now is not so much America’s shared values with Europe, it’s their overlapping interests.

    For America’s allies, as well as its adversaries, this is going to require some hard thinking and new strategies, both economically and militarily.

    John Blaxland 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. Trump’s view of the world is becoming clear: America’s interests matter more than any set of rules – https://theconversation.com/trumps-view-of-the-world-is-becoming-clear-americas-interests-matter-more-than-any-set-of-rules-250144

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: University Research – Pressure on Adelaide dolphins and other marine species across southern Australia – Flinders

    Source: Flinders University

    Marine scientists are calling for more focused management strategies and further interventions to secure the future of marine ecosystems and key fish species, as well as ‘near threatened’ dolphins and shellfish species around South Australia’s coastline.

    With ongoing pressure from human activities and climate change, three new research articles led by Flinders University experts have warned of the need for more research and regular monitoring to take into consideration rising pressure on marine ecosystems.

    Leading South Australian Whale & Dolphin Conservation scientist Dr Mike Bossley and his team have been tracking the local Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary for 34 years.

    Despite living in this highly urbanised estuary, these dolphins have shown remarkable resilience, say Flinders University researchers in a recent article in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

    The Flinders University Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL) study of Dr Bossley’s long-term data highlighted a troubling population decline between 2012 and 2020.

    Fortunately recent dolphin sightings have stabilised in 2021-24, according to Dr Bossley’s observations.

    “Despite numerous environmental and anthropogenic disturbances, the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is a shallow, protected area and it’s likely that the dolphins are continuing to use this area for its benefits,” says Kennadie Haigh, a PhD candidate at the Flinders College of Science and Engineering.

    “It’s important to focus conservation strategies on improving the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary ecosystem and  promoting connectivity to the surrounding waters to help secure the future of these dolphins.”

    The Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Port Adelaide and was established in 2005 with the intention to protect the dolphins and the habitat that sustains them.  

    The article, ‘Long-term demographic trends of near threatened coastal dolphins living in an urban estuary’ (2025) by Kennadie Haigh, Guido J Parra, Luciana Möller, Aude Steiner and Mike Bossley was published in Ecology and Evolution First published: 06 January 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70834

    Meanwhile, a second Flinders University study examined the historical exploitation of South Australian shellfish reefs – and calls for urgent interventions to restore native marine species for local ecosystem health.

    “Human and environmental stresses, as well as overfishing and dredge harvesting, have combined to significantly diminish our local multi-species shellfish reefs, which once covered more than 2600 square kilometres of the state’s coastline,” says PhD candidate Brad Martin.

    “Based on historical records, we documented 140 potential shellfish reef locations, and we estimate that over 43 million flat oysters were commercially harvested statewide between 1849 and 1915, prior to their functional extinction by the 1940s.

    “Shellfish reef decline was also influenced by environmental factors including drought and salinity issues, disease, heavy predation by marine species and sediment deposition from storms.”

    Researchers say the demise of these coastal features since colonisation should be reflected in future conservation and restoration efforts, to include these important native shellfish species in policy-setting and coastal management strategies

    See more, ‘Reviving shellfish reef socio-ecological histories for modern management and restoration’ (2025) by Brad Martin, Charlie Huveneers, Simon Reeves (The Nature Conservancy Australia) and Ryan Baring as published in Ocean and Coastal Management (Elsevier) DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107540.

    In a third article published in Environmental DNA , scientists at Flinders University and South Australia’s Department of Environment and Water conducted a study in collaboration with Parks Australia to assess the best method to detect fish communities in marine ecosystems, including remote regions of the Great Australian Bight.  

    Environmental DNA (eDNA) and Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS) were assessed and compared across offshore seamounts and islands in SA’s Nuyts Archipelago marine park and the Commonwealth South West Marine Park Network.

    “Fish communities are critical indicators of ecosystem health, and comprehensive monitoring strategies are vital to effective management of marine fishes,” say Flinders University senior author Dr Michael Doane.

    The study found the two survey methods were effective and complementary in detecting different fish species.

    “By combining both methods, we gain a much fuller picture of fish communities,” says first author Ewan Burns. “eDNA excelled at detecting large pelagic species like white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii), while BRUVS revealed more bottom-dwelling fish,” he says.

    This dual approach is particularly valuable in remote, challenging environments like the Great Australian Bight, where it enables monitoring of key species – both those of conservation concern with high economic value – while providing crucial insights into reef health, researchers add.

    The third article, ‘Complementary Non-invasive Fish Monitoring Distinguishes Depth-Dependent Fish Communities’ (2024) by Ewan Burns, Vijini Mallawaarachchi, Thomas M. Clarke, Belinda Martin, Joseph D DiBattista, Jamie Hicks, Danny Brock, Elizabeth A Dinsdale, Charlie Huveneers and Michael P Doane has been published in Environmental DNA (Wiley). DOI: 10.1002/edn3.70050 First published: 21 December 2024 https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.70050

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What is divestiture and how would it stop insurance companies ‘ripping off’ customers?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne

    Australia is creeping towards adding a divestiture power to its Competition and Consumer Act.

    Under such a law, the courts, on the recommendation of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, could break a firm into parts.

    Divestiture is currently used in Australia when the competition and consumer commission considers proposed mergers. Often it will only approve a merger when certain parts of the business are broken up to prevent monopolies.

    It has also been used to deal with abuse of market power by electricity providers.

    Under the proposed change, a company with substantial market power which breaches the Consumer and Competition Act may be forced to divest assets to restore balance and ensure the market is competitive. This would reduce the possibility of consumers being over-charged.

    The Coalition has already proposed breaking up the major supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths which have been long-accused of price gouging customers.

    On Sunday, Coalition leader Peter Dutton signalled he was likely to introduce divestiture if elected to stop insurers from “ripping off” customers by charging exorbitant premiums or refusing to pay claims.

    Premiums have soared by 16.4% in the last year as Australia has been hit by major floods and bushfires. Climate Valuation analysts last month warned one in ten properties could be uninsurable by 2035.

    Repeating his position on Monday, Dutton said:

    If we have a situation where people are being priced out of insurance or they’re deemed an uninsurable risk when they shouldn’t be, that is a failure of the market and we’ll respond accordingly to that.

    He said insurance companies had to be responsible corporate citizens and work with their customers.

    We’re not going to have a situation where people can’t afford insurance or they’re being priced out of products.

    Previously the Morrison government enacted laws which enabled a breakup of energy companies in certain circumstances.

    Labor has not supported a divestiture power. One reason is the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association has opposed such measures.

    The case for divestiture

    In principle there is a strong case for a divestiture law.

    Monopolies and market power stem from an industry being highly concentrated. Often the only way to prevent them from misusing their monopoly is to break them up. The solution could be left to the market or to price regulation or other remedies but these do not address the source of the problem.

    A divestiture power has long existed in the United States. It was used to break up oil, cigarettes, and chemicals in the early days of antitrust law. In the mid-80s it was successfully used to break up the AT&T telephone monopoly. AT&T controlled both long distance and local calls before it was broken up.

    But divestiture is only occasionally used and only when stringent criteria are satisfied.

    Some 20 years ago the US Department of Justice proposed a breakup of Microsoft – the case was never finalised because of procedural problems. However, the Federal Court laid out many prerequisites before this drastic remedy could occur.

    The power has been used in a number of other OECD countries including the United Kingdom.

    When divesting is necessary

    There has been heavy use in Australia of divestiture powers to break up gas and electricity monopolies in the last 30 years

    And there is a strong case for making it a general remedy available for all industries, even though its use would be infrequent.

    Importantly, the availability of this sanction would provide an incentive for firms to comply with abuse of market power provisions of the competition law. These provisions are intended to stop powerful businesses from deterring competition by making it difficult for new entrants to join the market.

    The sanctions for this part of the law currently are very weak. Fines are rarely imposed and if they are, they are small and seen as a cost of doing business to be weighed up against the benefits of anti-competitive behaviour.

    Another reason is that cases take many years. For example, the ACCC case v Safeway 19 years ago took seven years before a court resolution.

    A divestiture power would make firms far more careful before breaching the law.

    Too ‘Russian’?

    Occasionally people question the desirability of this power on the grounds it is the sort of thing you would only see in a country like Russia.

    In an ABC interview last February, Prime Minister Albanese said:

    We have a private sector economy in Australia and not a command and control economy […]We’re not the old Soviet Union. What we have the power to do is to encourage competition and encouraging new entrants.

    However, most observers agree one of the big failures of the Soviet economy has been failure to divest monopolies in energy, transport and other parts of the economy.

    The Coalition’s adoption of a divestiture remedy in three industries is welcome. We need at some point to move to a divestiture power that is available for the whole economy.

    Allan Fels is a former chair of the ACCC.

    – ref. What is divestiture and how would it stop insurance companies ‘ripping off’ customers? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-divestiture-and-how-would-it-stop-insurance-companies-ripping-off-customers-250036

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from the Hill: will Albanese opt for an April election now that a rates cut has him breathing more easily?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election.

    The cut is unlikely to be a major vote changer, after 13 increases. But it was absolutely vital to the government. Labor would have suffered a big knock if Michele Bullock and her board had held out.

    The cut underpins the narrative of things improving, and may put voters in a better mood. At least that’s the government’s thinking.

    But the bank is highly circumspect in its tone. It warned in its statement:

    The forecasts published today suggest that, if monetary policy is eased too much too soon, disinflation could stall, and inflation would settle above the midpoint of the target range. In removing a little of the policy restrictiveness in its decision today, the Board acknowledges that progress has been made but is cautious about the outlook.

    Speculation about the election date is a frustrating exercise, given only Anthony Albanese – and perhaps a few closest to him – knows his thinking, which could still be, as he suggested recently, “fluid”. In recent days the PM has played the tease. Periodically he talks about the intense work on budget, set for March 25; if that went ahead, it would mean a May election. But last week, he was also talking about parliament having seen its last day, which pointed to April.

    It is hard to see the logic of Albanese launching a campaign before the March 8 Western Australian election, given that would be confusing for both state and federal campaigns and put maximum pressure on Labor’s WA volunteers. If Albanese opts for April 12, he would have to call it immediately after the WA poll.

    Many in the business world would like the election done and dusted ASAP, because the pre-election period means a hiatus of sorts.

    The opinion polls can be read various ways, but as things stand, they point to a minority government.

    This is already putting pressure on crossbenchers, notably the teals, to indicate what factors they’d take into account in deciding who they’d support. The Coalition, if it reached about 72 seats (76 is a majority), would be eyeing off crossbenchers Bob Katter, Rebekha Sharkie, Allegra Spender and Dai Le as potentials to guarantee them confidence and supply. Of course that would assume they all were re-elected.

    But this is putting several carts before the horse. Much will happen in the next few weeks, whether the election is April or May. Current polls that make predictions down to individual seats should be treated with much caution.

    While the polls are presently depressing for Labor, this week’s Newspoll had a finding on inflation that might cheer treasurer Jim Chalmers. It found that less than a quarter of people believe inflation would have been lower under a Coalition government. In other words, while high prices are making voters sour, that is not necessarily directly translating into blame for Labor.

    When the campaign proper is underway, the smallest things can blow up in leaders’ faces.

    Albanese failed to remember key numbers in 2022. He had enough fat so his generally lackluster performance didn’t matter in the end. Dutton is yet to be campaign-tested. Rather disconcertingly for his handlers, in his Sky interview last Sunday he forgot deputy prime minister Richard Marles had just been in Washington.

    Meanwhile Dutton is hard at work humanising his image in a series of interviews, and the obligatory 60 Minutes family get together with Karl Stefanovic (who did the Meet the Morrisons – the Duttons-at-home came without an musical performance).

    Albanese worked hard at this before the last election, repeating over and over his story of being brought up in council housing, son of a single mother.

    Dutton’s more complicated back story involves a stint as a youngster in a butcher’s shop, buying a house at 19, an early divorce, and a failed relationship that produced a baby who became his first child in his second marriage. And of course his career as a policeman.

    One can imagine that some of these memories are painful to have to canvas in public, but the campaign’s hard heads say the public want to know all about a potential PM. So it has to be done.

    (One Dutton incident is rarely recalled these days, that involved a temporary loss of political nerve. In 2009, after a redistribution made his seat of Dickson notionally Labor, Dutton sought to jump to the Gold Coast seat of McPherson. But he was beaten in a preselection by Karen Andrews, who is retiring at this election. That forced him back to Dickson, which he then held at the 2010 election.)

    Albanese does not need to canvass his backstory as much these days but he took advantage of Valentine’s day to put out some sentimental social media fodder.

    He and fiancé Jodie (to whom he proposed on Valentine’s day last year) sat, with Toto between them, turning over cards. with questions said to be posed by the public. With each question (such as “who said I love you first”) they pointed to each other or themselves.

    Opinion was divided about the video. Toto fell into the sceptics’ camp, jumping to the ground before it was finished.

    Michelle Grattan 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. View from the Hill: will Albanese opt for an April election now that a rates cut has him breathing more easily? – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-will-albanese-opt-for-an-april-election-now-that-a-rates-cut-has-him-breathing-more-easily-250136

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Ukraine isn’t invited to its own peace talks. History is full of such examples – and the results are devastating

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University

    (From left to right): Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano before signing the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany. German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

    Ukraine has not been invited to a key meeting between American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week to decide what peace in the country might look like.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will “never accept” any decisions in talks without its participation to end Russia’s three-year war in the country.

    A decision to negotiate the sovereignty of Ukrainians without them – as well as US President Donald Trump’s blatantly extortionate attempt to claim half of Ukraine’s rare mineral wealth as the price for ongoing US support – reveals a lot about how Trump sees Ukraine and Europe.

    But this is not the first time large powers have colluded to negotiate new borders or spheres of influence without the input of the people who live there.

    Such high-handed power politics rarely ends well for those affected, as these seven historical examples show.

    1. The Scramble for Africa

    In the winter of 1884–85, German leader Otto von Bismarck invited the powers of Europe to Berlin for a conference to formalise the division of the entire African continent among them. Not a single African was present at the conference that would come to be known as “The Scramble for Africa”.

    Among other things, the conference led to the creation of the Congo Free State under Belgian control, the site of colonial atrocities that killed millions.

    Germany also established the colony of German South West Africa (present-day Namibia), where the first genocide of the 20th century was later perpetrated against its colonised peoples.

    How the boundaries of Africa changed after the Berlin conference.
    Wikimedia Commons/Somebody500

    2. The Tripartite Convention

    It wasn’t just Africa that was divided up this way. In 1899, Germany and the United States held a conference and forced an agreement on the Samoans to split their islands between the two powers.

    This was despite the Samoans expressing a desire for either self-rule or a confederation of Pacific states with Hawai’i.

    As “compensation” for missing out in Samoa, Britain received uncontested primacy over Tonga.

    German Samoa came under the rule of New Zealand after the first world war and remained a territory until 1962. American Samoa (in addition to several other Pacific islands) remain US territories to this day.

    3. The Sykes-Picot Agreement

    As the first world war was well under way, British and French representatives sat down to agree how they’d divide up the Ottoman Empire after it was over. As an enemy power, the Ottomans were not invited to the talks.

    Together, England’s Mark Sykes and France’s François Georges-Picot redrew the Middle East’s borders in line with their nations’ interests.

    The Sykes-Picot Agreement ran counter to commitments made in a series of letters known as the Hussein-McMahon correspondence. In these letters, Britain promised to support Arab independence from Turkish rule.



    Read more:
    What was the Sykes-Picot agreement, and why does it still affect the Middle East today?

    The Sykes-Picot Agreement also ran counter to promises Britain made in the Balfour Declaration to back Zionists who wanted to build a new Jewish homeland in Ottoman Palestine.

    The agreement became the wellspring of decades of conflict and colonial misrule in the Middle East, the consequences of which continue to be felt today.

    Map showing the areas of control and influence in the Middle East agreed upon between the British and French.
    The National Archives (UK)/Wikimedia Commons

    4. The Munich Agreement

    In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier met with Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, and Germany’s Adolf Hitler to sign what became known as the Munich Agreement.

    The leaders sought to prevent the spread of war throughout Europe after Hitler’s Nazis had fomented an uprising and began attacking the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland. They did this under the pretext of protecting German minorities. No Czechoslovakians were invited to the meeting.

    The meeting is still seen by many as the “Munich Betrayal” – a classic example of a failed appeasement of a belligerent power in the false hope of staving off war.

    5. The Évian Conference

    In 1938, 32 countries met in Évian-les-Bains, France, to decide how to deal with Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Nazi Germany.

    Before the conference started, Britain and the US had agreed not to put pressure on one another to lift the quota of Jews they would accept in either the US or British Palestine.

    While Golda Meir (the future Israeli leader) attended the conference as an observer, neither she nor any other representatives of the Jewish people were permitted to take part in the negotiations.

    The attendees largely failed to come to an agreement on accepting Jewish refugees, with the exception of the Dominican Republic. And most Jews in Germany were unable to leave before Nazism reached its genocidal nadir in the Holocaust.

    6. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

    As Hitler planned his invasion of Eastern Europe, it became clear his major stumbling block was the Soviet Union. His answer was to sign a disingenuous non-aggression treaty with the USSR.

    Joseph Stalin and Joachim von Ribbentrop after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
    German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons

    The treaty, named after Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop (the Soviet and German foreign ministers), ensured the Soviet Union would not respond when Hitler invaded Poland. It also carved up Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres. This allowed the Soviets to expand into Romania and the Baltic states, attack Finland and take its own share of Polish territory.

    Unsurprisingly, some in Eastern Europe view the current US-Russia talks over Ukraine’s future as a revival of this kind of secret diplomacy that divided the smaller nations of Europe between large powers in the second world war.

    7. The Yalta Conference

    With the defeat of Nazi Germany imminent, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and US President Franklin D Roosevelt met in 1945 to decide the fate of postwar Europe. This meeting came to be known as the Yalta Conference.

    Alongside the Potsdam Conference several months later, Yalta created the political architecture that would lead to the Cold War division of Europe.

    At Yalta, the “big three” decided on the division of Germany, while Stalin was also offered a sphere of interest in Eastern Europe.

    This took the form of a series of politically controlled buffer states in Eastern Europe, a model some believe Putin is aiming to emulate today in eastern and southeastern Europe.

    Matt Fitzpatrick receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the History Council of South Australia.

    – ref. Ukraine isn’t invited to its own peace talks. History is full of such examples – and the results are devastating – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-isnt-invited-to-its-own-peace-talks-history-is-full-of-such-examples-and-the-results-are-devastating-250049

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Australia is deporting 3 non-citizens from the ‘NZYQ’ group to Nauru. What could it do instead?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University

    Australia’s minister for home affairs announced on Sunday that the federal government has struck a deal with Nauru to “resettle” three non-citizens from what’s come to be known as the “NZYQ cohort”.

    The NZYQ cohort is a group of people released from long-term immigration detention after the High Court’s NZYQ 2023 decision.

    The court found their ongoing detention was unconstitutional where there was no reasonable prospect of removing them to another country. This led to the release of over 200 people from detention, the majority of whom had previously had visas cancelled on character grounds or had committed crimes.

    This new deal with Nauru has significant implications.

    What happened on the weekend?

    According to the home affairs minister, three people from the NZYQ group have now been granted 30-year visas by Nauru, and will soon be removed to that country.

    The minister said all three have criminal histories. One has been convicted of murder.

    Nauru may accept more people from the NZYQ cohort, referring to these people as “the first three”. The minister says he expects a legal challenge to their removal.



    Read more:
    High Court reasons on immigration ruling pave way for further legislation

    Why it is this development significant?

    Once a non-citizen has had their visa cancelled on criminal grounds, they are often deported to their country of origin after serving their prison sentence.

    However, the individuals in the NZYQ group cannot be returned to their country of origin. That could be because international law prevents Australia returning them to places where they may face harm (a principle known as “non-refoulement”).

    Or, they may have no recognised nationality and no country to accept them.

    This raises the question of what should be done with them after they complete their prison sentence.

    Up until the decision in NZYQ, people in this situation were simply kept in immigration detention. It was often almost impossible to get another country to accept them.

    The Australian government tried to get many other countries to accept the man at the centre of the NZYQ case. This person, a stateless Rohingnya man given the pseudonym NZYQ, had been convicted of a serious crime.

    The High Court noted no country had a standard practice of resettling people in situations such as this. It noted the immigration department had never successfully transferred such a person to a third country (in other words, to a place that was not Australia, and not their country of origin).

    The Nauru deal announced on the weekend is an important development, in part because it is the first significant use of new migration laws rushed through late last year.

    What do the new migration laws allow?

    These laws aimed to respond to concerns around the NZYQ cohort being released into the community.

    The new laws allow the government to transfer non-citizens to third countries, in this case Nauru, under “third country reception arrangements.”

    The details of these agreements are left entirely to the discretion of government. The laws grant broad powers to remove people and provide payments to those third countries.

    People who may be removed to a third country include those in the NZYQ group who, since the High Court decision, have been living in the community on bridging visas.

    The new laws allow the government to transfer non-citizens to third countries, in this case Nauru.
    Robert Szymanski/Shutterstock

    Why are some concerned?

    A major issue is the uncertainty surrounding the rights and support of individuals sent to Nauru.

    It’s unclear how or whether these people will be able to get housing and access to work, or how they might be treated in a country with high unemployment. Some may have family members in Australia and may be separated indefinitely from them.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has raised significant concerns around what it calls “externalisation” of international protection obligations without adequate protection safeguards or standards of treatment.

    Externalisation, it says, can lead to

    indefinite “warehousing” of asylum-seekers in isolated places, exposing them to indirect refoulement and other dangers.

    The UN Human Rights Committee has also said that outsourcing operations to another country did not absolve Australia of accountability and its human rights obligations.

    A possible precedent

    A final concern is the precedent this agreement with Nauru sets for how other countries may treat refugees with criminal convictions.

    Australia’s model of offshore processing has already been used as a reference by other countries, including the UK.

    With the growing international debate about managing refugees with criminal convictions, this arrangement may end up being replicated elsewhere.

    The lack of safeguards for people in third countries, such as Nauru, could mean refugees and asylum seekers are transferred without proper protection, exposing them to further harm.

    How do other countries handle cases like this?

    It is not uncommon for countries to send criminal deportees to their home countries. But in situations where people are stateless or cannot be sent home due to a fear of serious harm, countries either have to allow the person to remain or seek an alternative country to send them to.

    However, it remains very hard for countries to convince other countries to accept people who have criminal convictions.

    Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prepare a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in order to hold up to 30,000 “high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States”.

    Exact details of the arrangement remain unclear and the plan has been criticised by a range of human rights groups and legal organisations.

    What are the alternatives to Australia’s Nauru plan?

    Other countries have established systems for managing non-citizens who are not entitled to protection or whose visas have been revoked due to criminal offences, ensuring they are not detained indefinitely.

    After completing their prison sentences, these individuals are typically released into the community, where domestic law enforcement handles any further offending.

    Neglecting to address offending behaviour or rehabilitation within the Australian system – whether during imprisonment, detention, or in the community – and then deporting individuals to developing countries doesn’t really solve the problem.

    It simply means we are externalising the problem to a poorer country.

    Mary Anne Kenny has received funding from the ARC. She is a member of the Migration Institute of Australia and the Law Council of Australia and an affiliate of the UNSW Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. She previously was an independent advisor to the governments of Australia and Nauru as part of the Joint Advisory Committee on Nauru between 2012 – 2016.

    Lisa van Toor receives funding from Research Training Plan (RTP) scholarship for her PhD. She is currently a PhD student with the UNSW Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. She previously was a Judge’s Associate in the Supreme Court of Nauru between 2018-2019. Lisa is a member of the Greens WA.

    – ref. Australia is deporting 3 non-citizens from the ‘NZYQ’ group to Nauru. What could it do instead? – https://theconversation.com/australia-is-deporting-3-non-citizens-from-the-nzyq-group-to-nauru-what-could-it-do-instead-250053

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –