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  • MIL-OSI United Nations: IOM and Partners Launch Project to Strengthen Environmental Health Awareness in Lebanon 

    Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    Beirut, Lebanon – December 2024 – In cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with Seed Global Health, has launched the “Environmental Health Capacity and Awareness Strengthening in Primary Healthcare Facilities” project. This initiative aims to empower healthcare workers at selected primary healthcare centers across Lebanon by addressing the growing challenges of climate-related health impacts.   

    A recent study by the Lebanese Red Cross Climate Center highlighted the significant health risks posed by climate change in Lebanon. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events increase the risks of heat-related health issues, including heatstroke and dehydration, particularly in urban areas. Furthermore, climate change in Lebanon is expected to worsen water scarcity and quality, with more frequent droughts, variable rainfall, and disrupted agriculture. This will lead to higher risks of waterborne diseases, malnutrition, and food insecurity, further straining Lebanon’s already fragile healthcare system.  

    The project, which will run from January to April 2025, is aligned with the Ministry of Public Health’s National Strategy and brings together interdisciplinary expertise to strengthen the health sector’s resilience.  

    Dr. Firas Abiad, the Minister of Public Health in Lebanon stated: “Public, private and peripheral hospitals have proven their critical role during the Lebanese conflict, not only in providing care but also in addressing the broader health needs of the population. While the priority for international support to Lebanon remains the health sector, we must seize this opportunity to advance in all areas, including environmental health. Strengthening environmental health measures will ensure that facilities across Lebanon can provide safer, and more sustainable healthcare services. A resilient health system integrates environmental health into its foundations to safeguard the well-being of both residents of the region and the Lebanese population.” 

    Dr. Vanessa Kerry, CEO of Seed Global Health, said, “Health workers are our frontline defense against the impacts of climate change on health and it is crucial they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to better understand and respond to these impacts. Seed Global Health is proud to partner with IOM and others to ensure people in Lebanon and elsewhere are better protected against the growing threat of climate change on health.”  

    The project will take a phased approach, starting with a comprehensive needs assessment to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of primary healthcare staff regarding environmental health and climate change. The results will inform tailored training programs, equipping healthcare workers with the tools to address climate-health challenges. Key activities include developing gender-sensitive, equity-focused survey tools, engaging stakeholders, and gathering actionable data to enhance preparedness and capacity.  

    The project will be supported by technical experts from global and academic institutions, including the University of Melbourne and its Climate CATCH Lab, and will involve active collaboration with local stakeholders such as the Ministry of Public Health, PHCC managers, and NGOs.  

    About the Project  

    This initiative reflects IOM’s commitment to addressing the intersection of climate change and health. The project’s key outcomes include a final needs assessment report, recommendations for future capacity-building efforts, and a roadmap for sustained environmental health interventions.  

    About Seed Global Health  

    Seed Global Health partners with governments, health professional schools, hospitals, and clinics to educate health workers, strengthen the quality of health services, and support policies that enable health professionals to deliver high-quality services to those in need. To date, Seed Global Health has trained more than 45,000 health workers who work in health facilities serving over 76 million people. 

    For more information, please contact:
    In Lebanon: Joelle Mhanna, jmhanna@iom.int

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: GRBA’s successful appeal for its House Bed & Bath mark: a warning for well-known brands

    Source: Allens Insights

    Proactive trade mark strategies are essential 12 min read

    In allowing the appeal by Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd (GRBA), the Full Court of the Federal Court found that its use of the mark (the House B&B Mark) did not constitute misleading or deceptive conduct or passing off in relation to proceedings brought by Bed Bath ‘N’ Table Pty Ltd (BBNT) concerning its registered mark (the BBNT Mark).

    In this Insight, we examine GRBA’s successful appeal, including why the decision is a cautionary tale, particularly for well-known brands in relation to the importance of building up reputation in sub-brands or truncated versions of key marks, and provide valuable insights in relation to proactive trade mark strategy.

    Key takeaways

    • Whether or not conduct is likely to mislead or deceive is an objective question which the court must determine for itself. Conduct will be likely to mislead or deceive if there is a real or not remote chance or possibility that the relevant person or class of persons will be misled or deceived. It is not sufficient to merely demonstrate that the conduct may cause ordinary and reasonable consumers to wonder if there is an association.
    • A finding of subjective wilful blindness on the part of a respondent does not rise to the level of, and should not be confused with. an intention to mislead or deceive.
    • In borderline cases of misleading or deceptive conduct, evidence of an intention to deceive or cause confusion can be a relevant factor to take into account in the evaluation of whether there was objectively misleading or deceptive conduct.
    • Expert evidence may be of limited assistance in determining whether consumers are likely to be misled, and the question is ultimately a matter for the court’s impression.

    Overview

    BBNT brought trade mark infringement proceedings in relation to the BBNT Mark, as well as claims under the Australia Consumer Law (ACL) and for passing off. At first instance, Justice Rofe found that BBNT failed in its trade mark infringement claim, but somewhat surprisingly, succeeded in its ACL and passing off claims. This was despite findings by Justice Rofe that the marks were not deceptively similar and that BBNT did not have any independent reputation in BED BATH or in BED & BATH alone (only in the composite phrase BED BATH N TABLE).

    The Full Court allowed the appeal and found that the primary judge had erred in holding that the use by GRBA of its House B&B Mark constituted misleading or deceptive conduct and passing off. BBNT’s cross-appeal on infringement failed.

    The ACL appeal

    Background to the dispute

    BBNT has traded under and by reference to the name BED BATH ‘N’ TABLE since 1976. Since the 1990s, it has consistently used the branding. The appearance of BBNT stores is typically a Hampton’s style, with white walls, wooden floorboards, and no discount signage. It has a dominant position in the soft homewares sector. The evidence also established that no other retailer had used the words ‘bed’ or ‘bath’ in their store names or external signage since that time up to the present. Other retailers had used “bed” and “bath” inside their stores as category descriptors only (not as trade marks).

    GRBA has operated retail stores under the House brand since at least 1978 and is well-established in the hard homewares market. It has operated under the trade mark ‘House’ as well as under a series of sub-brands (‘House WAREHOUSE’, ‘House OUTLET’ etc). House stores typically feature discount marketing in crowded displays.

    In May 2021, GRBA began operating a new soft homewares business using the House B&B Mark. GRBA contended that the intention of adopting the House B&B Mark was to advertise that House had extended into bedroom and bathroom products. GRBA considered obtaining legal advice for the re-branding, but apparently ultimately adopted the new branding without legal consultation. There was also evidence that GRBA was aware of BBNT’s marketing of its brand, including an email in which an employee of GRBA stated ‘we will have Bed bath and table running scared’.

    The dispute

    BBNT brought a claim against GRBA in the Federal Court, alleging that GRBA, in using its House B&B Mark, had:

    1. infringed the BBNT Mark, contravening section 120 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) (TMA);
    2. contravened ss 18(1) and 29(1)(a), (g) and (h) of the ACL; and
    3. engaged in the tort of passing off.

    BBNT also had a trade mark opposition on foot but deferred this to run the Federal Court proceedings.

    At first instance, Justice Rofe was not satisfied that GRBA had infringed BBNT’s trade marks because her Honour found that the House B&B Mark was not substantially identical or deceptively similar to the BBNT Mark. There were a number of key differences between the marks including the presence of ‘N’ TABLE’ in the BBNT mark, the presence of the visually significant ‘House’ in the House B&B mark, and differences in presentation and orientation.

    Her Honour did find, however, that, by using its House B&B Mark, GRBA had contravened the ACL, and engaged in the tort of passing off.

    GRBA appealed the finding with respect to the ACL and passing off claims, and BBNT challenged the finding of lack of trade mark infringement in a cross claim (which ultimately failed). This Insight focuses on the Full Court’s reasoning with respect to the ACL claim.

    Misleading or deceptive conduct?

    The primary judge had found that GRBA’s use of the House B&B Mark was likely to mislead or deceive the ordinary and reasonable consumer, even though the marks were not deceptively similar. The Full Court challenged a number of aspects of her Honour’s reasoning. We focus below on how the issues of reputation, the test for misleading or deceptive conduct, descriptiveness, and intention played into the decision:

    (a) Reputation

    Justice Rofe considered that the reputation of BBNT was ‘crucial’ to the different outcomes for the trade mark infringement claim and the misleading conduct claim. Her Honour noted that BBNT had acquired an extensive reputation in the BBNT Mark in the soft homewares market in Australia for over 40 years. Although Justice Rofe found that BBNT had a reputation in the BBNT Mark, her Honour did not find that it had an independent reputation in BED BATH or in BED & BATH alone. BBNT had provided some evidence of truncation of the BBNT Mark by consumers to ‘BED BATH’ or ‘BED & BATH’, however, Justice Rofe ultimately did not think the evidence provided of some truncation in informal settings (such as telephone calls and in-store conversations) justified a finding that ordinary consumers typically truncated the mark, or that BBNT had any reputation in ‘BED BATH’ or ‘BED & BATH’. Her Honour nevertheless went on to find that reasonable consumers coming across the House B&B Mark and store for the first time would question whether there was some association between this brand and BBNT (for instance, questioning whether they had merged or whether GRBA had taken over BBNT).

    The Full Court, however, considered that Justice Rofe’s finding that there was no independent reputation in ‘BED BATH’ or ‘BED & BATH’ demonstrated that it was the use of the composite phrase ‘BED BATH ‘N’ TABLE’ or ‘BED BATH AND TABLE’ only that would indicate the existence of a commercial association between the business operating under that name and another business using a different name which also included the words ‘BED & BATH.’ As a result, the Full Court found that Justice Rofe’s findings on reputation were inconsistent with her conclusion that the use by GRBA of the House B&B Mark was likely to lead ordinary and reasonable consumers to believe that the store was associated in some way with stores operated under the BBNT name.

    (b) Test for misleading or deceptive conduct

    Further, the Full Court found that Justice Rofe erred in applying the test for misleading or deceptive conduct. The court highlighted that even if use of the House B&B Mark by GRBA ‘may cause ordinary and reasonable consumers to wonder if there is any such association’ (which, as outlined above, the Full Court considered unlikely), that would not be sufficient to justify a finding that GRBA had engaged in conduct likely to mislead or deceive. Rather, conduct will be likely to mislead or deceive if there is a real or not remote chance or possibility that the relevant person or class of persons will be misled or deceived. This is an objective question which the court must determine for itself.

    (c) Descriptiveness

    The Full Court also emphasised that conduct that causes confusion is not necessarily co-extensive with misleading or deceptive conduct. It cited a passage from Hornsby Building Information Centre Pty Ltd v Sydney Building Information Centre Ltd which highlights that choosing descriptive words as a part of a trade name can enliven the possibility of blunders by members of the public, and that this small risk of confusion must be accepted:

    ‘So long as descriptive words are used by two traders as part of their respective trade names, it is possible that some members of the public will be confused whatever the differentiating words may be.” The risk of confusion must be accepted, to do otherwise is to give to one who appropriates to himself descriptive words an unfair monopoly in those words and might even deter others from pursuing the occupation which the words describe.’

    The Full Court accepted that the BBNT Mark is not purely descriptive (BBNT does not sell beds, baths or tables); rather it is partly descriptive.  Drawing a somewhat long bow, the Full Court considered that the BBNT Mark conveys that the products on sale in the stores trading under the BBNT mark are related in some way to beds baths and tables.

    The Full Court considered that there are two ways that consumers might be confused by use of the House B&B Mark:

    1. by confusing the two marks despite the differentiating element of HOUSE; or
    2. by drawing an inference from the presence of BED BATH or BED & BATH in the two marks that there was some association between the businesses using them.

    The Full Federal Court dismissed the first option, opining that the differences between the two marks were substantial and obvious to anyone but a careless observer. It dismissed the second option on the basis that their Honours considered that, even if consumers associated the words BED & BATH with BBNT, they were unlikely to be misled into thinking that the two businesses were associated, given the significant differences between the two names. In the Full Court’s opinion, consumers were likely to do no more than infer that both businesses were engaged in the supply of soft homewares for bedrooms and bathrooms.

    (d) Intention

    The case law indicates that an intention to deceive can be relevant to whether conduct is likely to mislead or deceive. At first instance, Justice Rofe found that GRBA’s failure to seek legal advice in relation to the re-branding, its knowledge of BBNT’s reputation and ‘fierce’ determination not to alter the House B&B Mark even after becoming aware of some evidence of confusion with BBNT’s brand, fell short of intention to deceive, but did amount to ‘wilful blindness’. Her Honour took this wilful blindness into account when she considered whether there was misleading or deceptive conduct. However, the Full Court noted that intention is only one factor among many in the assessment, and ultimately even if there is an intention to deceive, if the impugned mark does not sufficiently resemble the registered owner’s mark, there will be no likelihood of deception. The Full Court also highlighted that the case law (Verrocchi v Direct Chemist Outlet Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 104) indicates that an intention to deceive ought only to be taken into account in borderline cases of misleading or deceptive conduct, which their Honours considered this case was not. In any event, ‘wilful blindness’ was not equivalent to an ‘intention to deceive’. The Full Court found that the primary judge had misapplied the test, by relying on wilful blindness to the risk of confusion as ‘reliable and expert opinion on the question of whether GRBA’s conduct was likely to deceive, particularly in circumstances where her Honour declined to find that GRBA had any commercial dishonest intention to appropriate part of BBNT’s trade or reputation.’

    Ultimately, the Full Court found that the primary judge erred in concluding that, by using the House B&B mark, GRBA had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, and the appeal was allowed.  

    Actions you can take now

    • This decision indicates the importance of proactive trade mark strategies, even for longstanding brands with significant reputation. Reputation cannot be taken into account in trade mark infringement proceedings under sections 120(1) or 120(2) TMA, and generally only under s60 at the opposition stage, although in the context of registration it may still be possible to consider reputation under section 44 in arguments concerning imperfect recollection. So, even if a company’s brand is very well known in Australia, this does not matter for an assessment of infringement (whether the impugned mark is substantially identical or deceptively similar to the well-known mark).
    • Careful and proactive branding strategies should be considered, for instance: ensuring that any sub-brands, brand extensions, or truncated versions of the brand are protected alongside the core marks. It is advisable to monitor actual use of your company’s marks in the market and keep up to date with any changes in how the marks are used by consumers. If there are truncated versions being used, or quasi descriptive aspects of the marks that you would nevertheless not like a competitor to be able to capitalise on (such as BED & BATH or BED N BATH), it will be important to seek to register these versions with appropriate modifications.
    • Similarly, even if these sub-brands or truncated versions cannot be registered immediately, companies can nevertheless implement strategies to build up reputation in them (with a view to future registration). In this case, a failure to build up reputation in BED BATH or BED & BATH made it difficult for BBNT to make out an ACL claim in relation to GRBA’s use of the House B&B Mark. GRBA was able to argue its use was not misleading or deceptive as BBNT did not have reputation in BED BATH or BED & BATH alone.
    • When making strategic decisions between trade mark opposition proceedings and actions for infringement and under the ACL, it is important to consider which provisions best serve your interests and enforcement objectives. In this case, BBNT deferred its opposition proceeding to the House B&B Mark in order to bring proceedings in the Federal Court. With the benefit of hindsight, might BBNT have fared better by focusing on the opposition, which allows prior reputation in a mark that is not deceptively similar to the opposed mark to be taken into account? While a successful opposition would not have prevented use of the challenged mark, it may have encouraged the parties to review their respective positions.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs combats unfair trade practices at pre-sale game card company

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Hong Kong Customs yesterday (January 27) arrested a sole director and a person-in-charge of a trading company suspected of engaging in wrongly accepting payments when selling game cards, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

         Customs earlier received a number of reports alleging that a trading company, when selling game cards, had failed to supply the ordered goods within the specified date or a reasonable period after accepting payments from customers.  Also, no refund was offered.  The total amount involved in the case is approximately $450,000, with the largest individual case amounting to around $65,000.

         After an investigation, Customs officers arrested a female sole director, aged 30, and a 31-year-old man-in-charge of the company. 

         The investigation is ongoing. The two arrestees are released on bail pending further investigation.

         Customs has long been concerned about illegal activities involving pre-sold products and strived to combat unfair trade practices to protect consumer interests.

         Under the TDO, it is an offence for a trader to accept payments for a product if at the time of accepting the payments, he does not intend to supply it or intends to supply another materially different product, or if there are no reasonable grounds for believing that he will be able to supply the product within a specified or reasonable time. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment of five years.

         Customs reminded traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO. Traders should not accept advance payments from consumers if they are uncertain whether the pertinent goods or services can be delivered to consumers within a specified or reasonable time. Before buying a popular product, consumers should pay attention to its supply quantity and supply period, including the announcement made by the brand owners for reference. Also, they should make orders through reputable traders. After purchasing the products, consumers should keep the transaction documents, such as records of communication, receipts of payment, etc., as the basis of a potential complaint in the future.

         â€‹Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Marat Khusnullin: 56% of Russians are satisfied with the quality and accessibility of roads in the regions

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    Overpass on the Ivanovo-Rodniki highway, Ivanovo region

    According to a study by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), about 56% of Russians are satisfied with the quality and accessibility of regional and local roads. The survey was conducted in December 2024 to measure the relevant indicator of the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads.” This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

    “We can now confidently say that the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads” has demonstrated successful results. We have met all the key indicators, and even exceeded some. The main thing is that people notice positive changes. This is confirmed by social surveys. According to VTsIOM, 56% of Russians are satisfied with the quality and accessibility of regional and local roads. Improving the quality of roads in the regions is not only a matter of travel comfort, but also a tangible contribution to the overall improvement of the quality of life of citizens. Safe, modern roads contribute to the development of territories, increase population mobility and open up new socio-economic opportunities. Of course, not all roads have become high-quality yet. There are still many problems in this area, but we are gradually solving them. Although the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads” has been completed, the work will be continued in the new national project “Infrastructure for Life”, – said Marat Khusnullin.

    The results obtained during the survey are significantly higher than the planned indicators set by the national road project passport. The target value of the indicator in 2024 is 50%.

    “The results of the implementation of the national project “Safe High-Quality Roads” have not gone unnoticed. Over six years, in order to achieve the road national project indicators for all programs with federal funding, we have repaired, reconstructed and built more than 150 thousand km of roads across the country. The main task that we set for ourselves has been accomplished – to improve the quality of life of the population, to ensure that in every region, in every city, in every village, people feel positive changes in the road industry. This is why we controlled all stages of the implementation of road activities with an accuracy of up to a penny of budget funds spent and up to every centimeter of asphalt laid,” said the head of the Federal Road Agency Roman Novikov.

    The survey, which involved 172 thousand respondents, was conducted in 89 regions. The regions that were leaders in terms of population satisfaction with the quality and accessibility of regional and local roads were the Chechen Republic (84%), the city of Sevastopol (83%) and the Belgorod Region (78%).

    The leading regions (the indicator value is 65% and higher) also include: Tyumen Oblast (74%), Moscow (73%), the Republic of Crimea (73%), the Republic of Tatarstan (73%), Kaliningrad Oblast (70%), Lugansk People’s Republic (68%), Murmansk Oblast (66%), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (66%), Zaporozhye Oblast (65%), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (65%), Vologda Oblast (65%), Mari El Republic (65%), Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (65%).

    According to a study by VTsIOM, citizens note positive changes in the provision of high-quality, accessible and safe roads, primarily due to timely, high-quality repair work and the construction of new roads, interchanges and infrastructure.

    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: Netcompany – Interim report for the 12 months ended 31 December 2024 and Annual Report 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company announcement
    No. 06/2025

                                                     28 January 2025

    Continued growth and margin improvement in a challenging market
    Summary full year 2024

    • For the full year, Netcompany grew revenue by 7.6% (constant 7.4%) to DKK 6,540.6m, in line with guidance.
    • Adjusted EBITDA was DKK 1,097.9m in 2024 compared to DKK 901.2m in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 16.8% for 2024 (constant 16.9%) compared to 14.8% in 2023.
    • Average workforce increased to 8,007 FTEs.
    • Free cash flow in 2024 was DKK 821.1m compared to DKK 552.1m in 2023.
    • Cash conversion ratio increased to 147.1% in 2024 from 135.1% in 2023.
    • Debt leverage was 1.2x.
    • For 2025, Netcompany expects revenue growth in constant currencies of between 5% and 10% and adjusted EBITDA margin measured in constant currencies is expected to be between 16% and 19%.

    Performance highlights Q4

    • Revenue increased by 6% to DKK 1,678.2m in reported currencies and by 5.7% in constant currencies.
    • Adjusted EBITDA increased 12.8% to DKK 275.3m in Q4. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 16.4% (constant 16.5%) compared to 15.4% in Q4 2023.
    • Average workforce increased by 484 FTEs to 8,249 FTEs.
    • Free cash flow was DKK 532.4m.  
    • Cash conversion ratio (tax normalised) was 407.8%.

    “We realised revenue growth of 7.6% (constant 7.4%) and adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.8% (constant 16.9%) in 2024, which was another year of high macro and geopolitically uncertainty.

    I am pleased to see the impacts of our significant investment into our operation materialising in continued growth and an improvement of more than 53% in our earnings compared to last year. This, combined with the significant work spent on business development in the last quarter of the year comforts me in Netcompany’s ability to deliver continued growth and margin expansion going forward.

    During the year we have welcomed more than 1,700 new employees to our Group and at the end of 2024 we were more than 8,250 impressive individuals whom, together with our customers, will pave the way forward for continued success – for all parties.

    Despite the continued uncertainty on both macro and geopolitical matters we expect to grow between 5% and 10%, and deliver an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 16% and 19% in 2025. At the same time, we reiterate our mid-term adjusted EBITDA margin target of 20%, but defer the timing for realising DKK 8.5bn in revenue to 2027. We remain committed to a total redistribution of cash of at least DKK 2bn to our shareholders by 2026, however, due to ongoing strategic considerations we are not initiating a new share buyback programme at this particular point in time.

    These are truly exiting times, and I look forward to continue to grow Netcompany successfully with all our stakeholders in 2025.”

    André Rogaczewski,
    Netcompany CEO and Co-founder

    Financial overview
    For full details on financial performance, see enclosed Company announcement Q4 2024 and Annual Report 2024 (incl. iXBRL)

    Conference details
    In connection with the publication of the results for Q4 2024, Netcompany will host a conference call on 28 January 2025 at 11.00 CET.

    The conference call will be held in English and can be followed live via the company’s website; www.netcompany.com

    Dial-in details for investors and analysts
    DK: +45 7876 8490
    UK: +44 203 769 6819
    US: +1 646 787 0157
    PIN: 598046

    Webcast Player URL: https://netcompany-as.eventcdn.net/events/annual-report-2024

    Additional information
    For additional information, please contact:

    Netcompany Group A/S
    Thomas Johansen, CFO, +45 51 19 32 24
    Frederikke Linde, Head of IR, +45 60 62 60 87

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: ING to sell its business in Russia to Global Development JSC

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ING to sell its business in Russia to Global Development JSC

    ING announced today that it has reached an agreement on the sale of its business in Russia to Global Development JSC, a Russian company owned by a Moscow-based financial investor with a background in factoring services. This transaction will effectively end ING’s activities in the Russian market. Under the terms of the agreement, Global Development will acquire all shares of ING Bank (Eurasia) JSC, taking over all Russian onshore activities and staff. Global Development intends to continue to serve customers in Russia under a new brand. The transaction, which has been preceded by extensive due diligence, is subject to various regulatory approvals and is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2025.

    Since February 2022, ING has taken on no new business with Russian companies, has scaled down operations and has taken actions to separate the business from ING’s networks and systems. At the same time ING’s total lending exposure to Russian clients has been reduced by more than 75%.

    ING expects a negative P&L impact of around €0.7 billion post tax. This includes an estimated book loss of around €0.4 billion, representing the difference between the sale price and the book value of the business, which would have a negative impact of around 5 basis points on ING’s CET1 ratio. It also includes an estimated negative impact of around €0.3 billion from recycling the currency translation adjustment through P&L, that is currently booked in equity for past changes of the value of ING Bank (Eurasia) JSC as a result of exchange rate movements. This currency translation adjustment recycling will not affect ING’s CET1 ratio and resilient net profit.

    After the transaction, ING will continue to further reduce its offshore exposure to Russian clients. This exposure, which is booked by other ING entities outside of Russia, amounted to €1.0 billion as of 30 September 2024, of which €0.5 billion is under ECA or CPRI cover.

    Note for editors

    For more on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroom or via X @ING_news feed. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr.

    ING PROFILE
    ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank’s more than 60,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries.

    ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

    ING aims to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. Our policies and actions are assessed by independent research and ratings providers, which give updates on them annually. ING’s ESG rating by MSCI was reconfirmed by MSCI as ‘AA’ in August 2024 for the fifth year. As of December 2023, in Sustainalytics’ view, ING’s management of ESG material risk is ‘Strong’. Our current ESG Risk Rating, is 17.2 (Low Risk). ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers. Here are some examples: Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. Society is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. So are our clients, and so is ING. We finance a lot of sustainable activities, but we still finance more that’s not. Follow our progress on ing.com/climate.

    Important legal information

    Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014 (‘Market Abuse Regulation’).

    ING Group’s annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘IFRS- EU’). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2023 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.

    Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions and customer behaviour, in particular economic conditions in ING’s core markets, including changes affecting currency exchange rates and the regional and global economic impact of the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and related international response measures (2) changes affecting interest rate levels (3) any default of a major market participant and related market disruption (4) changes in performance of financial markets, including in Europe and developing markets (5) fiscal uncertainty in Europe and the United States (6) discontinuation of or changes in ‘benchmark’ indices (7) inflation and deflation in our principal markets (8) changes in conditions in the credit and capital markets generally, including changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness (9) failures of banks falling under the scope of state compensation schemes (10) non-compliance with or changes in laws and regulations, including those concerning financial services, financial economic crimes and tax laws, and the interpretation and application thereof (11) geopolitical risks, political instabilities and policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, including in connection with the invasion of Russia into Ukraine and the related international response measures (12) legal and regulatory risks in certain countries with less developed legal and regulatory frameworks (13) prudential supervision and regulations, including in relation to stress tests and regulatory restrictions on dividends and distributions (also among members of the group) (14) ING’s ability to meet minimum capital and other prudential regulatory requirements (15) changes in regulation of US commodities and derivatives businesses of ING and its customers (16) application of bank recovery and resolution regimes, including write down and conversion powers in relation to our securities (17) outcome of current and future litigation, enforcement proceedings, investigations or other regulatory actions, including claims by customers or stakeholders who feel misled or treated unfairly, and other conduct issues (18) changes in tax laws and regulations and risks of non-compliance or investigation in connection with tax laws, including FATCA (19) operational and IT risks, such as system disruptions or failures, breaches of security, cyber-attacks, human error, changes in operational practices or inadequate controls including in respect of third parties with which we do business and including any risks as a result of incomplete, inaccurate, or otherwise flawed outputs from the algorithms and data sets utilized in artificial intelligence (20) risks and challenges related to cybercrime including the effects of cyberattacks and changes in legislation and regulation related to cybersecurity and data privacy, including such risks and challenges as a consequence of the use of emerging technologies, such as advanced forms of artificial intelligence and quantum computing (21) changes in general competitive factors, including ability to increase or maintain market share (22) inability to protect our intellectual property and infringement claims by third parties (23) inability of counterparties to meet financial obligations or ability to enforce rights against such counterparties (24) changes in credit ratings (25) business, operational, regulatory, reputation, transition and other risks and challenges in connection with climate change and ESG-related matters, including data gathering and reporting (26) inability to attract and retain key personnel (27) future liabilities under defined benefit retirement plans (28) failure to manage business risks, including in connection with use of models, use of derivatives, or maintaining appropriate policies and guidelines (29) changes in capital and credit markets, including interbank funding, as well as customer deposits, which provide the liquidity and capital required to fund our operations, and (30) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the most recent annual report of ING Groep N.V. (including the Risk Factors contained therein) and ING’s more recent disclosures, including press releases, which are available on www.ING.com.

    This document may contain ESG-related material that has been prepared by ING on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other third-party sources believed to be reliable. ING has not sought to independently verify information obtained from public and third-party sources and makes no representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, reasonableness or reliability of such information.

    Materiality, as used in the context of ESG, is distinct from, and should not be confused with, such term as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or as defined for Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’) reporting purposes. Any issues identified as material for purposes of ESG in this document are therefore not necessarily material as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or for SEC reporting purposes. In addition, there is currently no single, globally recognized set of accepted definitions in assessing whether activities are “green” or “sustainable.” Without limiting any of the statements contained herein, we make no representation or warranty as to whether any of our securities constitutes a green or sustainable security or conforms to present or future investor expectations or objectives for green or sustainable investing. For information on characteristics of a security, use of proceeds, a description of applicable project(s) and/or any other relevant information, please reference the offering documents for such security.

    This document may contain inactive textual addresses to internet websites operated by us and third parties. Reference to such websites is made for information purposes only, and information found at such websites is not incorporated by reference into this document. ING does not make any representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy or completeness of, or take any responsibility for, any information found at any websites operated by third parties. ING specifically disclaims any liability with respect to any information found at websites operated by third parties. ING cannot guarantee that websites operated by third parties remain available following the publication of this document, or that any information found at such websites will not change following the filing of this document. Many of those factors are beyond ING’s control.

    Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the date they are made, and ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or for any other reason.

    This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction.

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: BAWAG Group: Mandates of Management Board Members extended through end of 2029

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VIENNA, Austria – January 28, 2025 – The Supervisory Board of BAWAG Group has decided to extend the mandates of all six Management Board members through the end of December 2029. This reflects the long-term commitment of both the Supervisory Board and Management Board members to the long-term profitable growth and success of the Group.

    “My Supervisory Board colleagues and I are proud to announce that we’ve extended the mandates of the Management Board through the end of 2029. I am personally excited about the journey ahead for the Group. Given the recent acquisitions, I wanted to ensure that the same team, which successfully transformed the franchise over the last decade, continues to drive forward the execution of our strategy while keeping the continuity of leadership,” commented Chair of the Supervisory Board Egbert Fleischer.

    “First and foremost, I want to thank the Supervisory Board for securing the long-term commitment of the Management Board and supporting our leadership team over the years. We have worked together as a team for more than a decade and built a great senior leadership team that has driven the transformation of the Group. Our success is a testimony to the merits of being patient, disciplined, and making strategic decisions with a long-term perspective. I am grateful for the support from our Supervisory Board, investors, customers, and team members that have placed their trust in the Management Board as stewards of this great company. The future of the bank has never looked so bright, and the team is excited about the many opportunities ahead. We will do our best to continue delivering for all stakeholders,” comments Anas Abuzaakouk, CEO of BAWAG Group.

    BAWAG Group will report FY 2024 results on March 4, 2025 and will host an Investor Day on the same day.

    About BAWAG Group

    BAWAG Group AG is a publicly listed holding company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, serving 2.5 million retail, small business, corporate, real estate and public sector customers across Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Western Europe, and the United States. The Group operates under various brands and across multiple channels offering comprehensive savings, payment, lending, leasing, investment, building society, factoring and insurance products and services. Our goal is to deliver simple, transparent, and affordable financial products and services that our customers need. BAWAG Group’s Investor Relations website https://www.bawaggroup.com/ir contains further information, including financial and other information for investors.

    Forward looking statement

    This release contains “forward-looking statements” regarding the financial condition, results of operations, business plans and future performance of BAWAG Group. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could” and other similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, the regulatory environment, loan concentrations, vendors, employees, technology, competition, and interest rates. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements as actual results may differ materially from the results predicted. Neither BAWAG Group nor any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its content or otherwise arising in connection with this document. This report does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities and neither it nor any part of it shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. This statement is included for the express purpose of invoking “safe harbor provisions”.

    Contact:

    Financial Community:

    Jutta Wimmer (Head of Investor Relations)
    Tel: +43 (0) 5 99 05-22474
    IR Hotline: +43 (0) 5 99 05-34444
    E-mail: investor.relations@bawaggroup.com

    Media:

    Manfred Rapolter (Head of Corporate Communications and Social Engagement)
    Tel: +43 (0) 5 99 05-31210
    E-mail: communications@bawaggroup.com

    This text can also be downloaded from our website: https://www.bawaggroup.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Viridien Awarded a Three-Year Contract by Petroleum Development Oman for Dedicated Seismic Processing Services

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Paris, France – January 28, 2025

    Viridien has been awarded a three-year contract by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to provide advanced land seismic imaging services at its dedicated processing center (DPC) in Muscat, Oman. This new contract continues a longstanding collaborative partnership between Viridien and PDO.

    Viridien geophysical experts at the Muscat center, its largest DPC worldwide, will work to deploy the most advanced proprietary algorithms to bring step-changes in image quality to PDO’s ever-growing library of seismic data. Oman land data is characterized by complex near-surface conditions and strong multiples. High-resolution velocity model building, and elastic full-waveform inversion will be key to overcoming these challenges and to enhancing subsurface understanding. Viridien also will address new challenges, such as increased data density, developing land 4D monitoring and reinforcing synergies between seismic imaging and reservoir characterization. To support these capabilities, Viridien HPC & Cloud Solutions specialists will deliver the in-house High-Performance Computing (HPC) capacity required to implement the most advanced workflows.

    Viridien remains committed to its significant In-Country Value initiatives within Oman that promote talent development, education, and outreach through close ties with local universities.

    Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, Viridien, said: “Congratulations to our Muscat DPC team whose technical excellence and outstanding service have led to this new contract award. We will build on this success, by continuing to advance our geoscience and HPC technologies to address PDO’s unique E&P challenges and support their business objectives.”

    About Viridien:

    Viridien (www.viridiengroup.com) is an advanced technology, digital and Earth data company that pushes the boundaries of science for a more prosperous and sustainable future. With our ingenuity, drive and deep curiosity we discover new insights, innovations, and solutions that efficiently and responsibly resolve complex natural resource, digital, energy transition and infrastructure challenges. Viridien employs around 3,500 people worldwide and is listed as VIRI on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: FR001400PVN6).

    Contacts

    Investor Relations

    Jean-Baptiste Roussille
    Tel: + 33 6 14 51 09 88
    E-Mail: jean-baptiste.roussille@viridiengroup.com

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: HSBC’s Zing shutdown a $150 million innovation misstep, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    HSBC’s Zing shutdown a $150 million innovation misstep, says GlobalData

    Posted in Banking

    HSBC has officially shut down Zing, its $150 million attempt to challenge fintech giants like Wise and Revolut in cross-border payments. The ambition was clear: create a cutting-edge app with low fees and sleek functionality to capture a share of the booming international payments market. In 2024, $503 trillion in cross-border payments were made, underscoring the vast potential of this space. However, Zing’s journey has become a cautionary tale about why traditional banks struggle to innovate effectively, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    Joanne Kumire, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The app’s concept may have been sound, but its execution was flawed from the start. Existing customers were forced to undergo re-KYC, an unnecessary hurdle. The product itself was incomplete, failing to offer meaningful differentiation from Wise or Revolut.

    “Worst of all, HSBC spent over three years developing Zing before engaging with real users, sinking more than $150 million before generating any revenue. In contrast, Wise and Revolut had already captured the market by rapidly iterating their platforms, expanding globally, and building deep customer loyalty.”

    The underlying problem wasn’t HSBC’s lack of talent or resources, it was the cultural and structural challenges that plague many large banks. Innovation at scale requires speed, adaptability, and a willingness to experiment, traits that traditional financial institutions often struggle to embody.

    Kumire continues: “There are valuable lessons to be learned from Zing’s failure that banks must internalize to succeed in today’s hyper-competitive financial landscape. Banks need to prioritize moving quickly and gathering user feedback early in the process to guide development. Additionally, excessive spending should be avoided until there is clear evidence of product-market fit, and in many cases, partnering with experienced providers may be far more effective than attempting to build everything in-house.”

    Kumire concludes: “The future of such propositions lies in a more agile, customer-centric approach. Success will require banks to adopt the more entrepreneurial mindset of fintechs, where speed, experimentation and responsiveness takes precedence over rigid planning and internal processes. As cross-border payments continue to grow exponentially, those who can marry innovation with execution will be the ones who redefine the market. The future of banking innovation will be defined not by who builds it first, but by who delivers the best solution, whether independently or through collaboration.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: WH Smith has outgrown its High Street roots, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    WH Smith has outgrown its High Street roots, says GlobalData

    Posted in Retail

    Following the news that WH Smith is considering the sale of its high street fascia;

    Tash Van Boxel, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

    “This arm of the business has consistently pulled down group revenue over the last three years, with its high street chain accounting for nearly 25% of group revenue. WH Smith’s struggles in its high street arm have come amid slow reactions to weakening demand for its core offer, with consumers turning to the likes of Home Bargains and B&M for stationery and greeting cards, unable to justify WH Smith’s higher price points.

    “WH Smith’s attention on its flourishing travel division was the best course of action, but it has left its high street fascia to fall further behind. Recently, WH Smith attempted to revitalize its high street division with Toys “R” Us shop-in-shops to extend its proposition and appeal to a broader audience. It also has 195 post offices operating in its branches, and while there may be concerns about the future of this partnership, we would expect such a mutually beneficial arrangement to continue under any new owners.

    “While we expect a new owner to want to continue to operate the stores under the WH Smith fascia, given its long history and the affection it is held in by consumers, it is not clear that a new buyer would continue to operate such a large store portfolio in the long term. WH Smith’s store portfolio has been well managed and has an average remaining lease length of under two years, meaning that buyers will not be committed to keep unprofitable stores open for long.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: KDX-II modernization to enhance South Korea’s combat readiness amid rising maritime tensions, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    KDX-II modernization to enhance South Korea’s combat readiness amid rising maritime tensions, says GlobalData

    Posted in Aerospace, Defense & Security

    South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has launched a significant performance improvement program (PIP) for its Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyers (KDX-II), aiming to modernize critical systems and enhance combat readiness. The KDX-II upgrade underscores South Korea’s focus on leveraging indigenous technologies to maintain a modern and effective naval fleet amid rising regional maritime tensions, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s latest Fleet Size dashboard reveals that approximately 23% of the Republic of Korea Navy’s fleet comprises vessels with an average age exceeding 20 years. The KDX-II upgrade program is part of a broader effort to modernize South Korea’s naval fleet, ensuring it remains capable of countering emerging threats from adversarial forces.

    Harpreet Sidhu, Aerospace and Defense Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The replacement of outdated combat systems with advanced domestic alternatives is particularly significant, as it aligns with South Korea’s ambition to establish itself as a regional naval manufacturing powerhouse.

    “With North Korea’s increasingly complex undersea threats and growing range of ballistic missiles arsenal, the integration of advanced sonar and missile systems improves anti-submarine and air-defense capabilities of the destroyer fleet. Additionally, this upgrade addresses vulnerabilities that were made public during high-profile exercises such as the RIMPAC 2022, where weaknesses around operational readiness owing to system malfunctions were brought to light.”

    A key point to note in the PIP program is the simultaneous integration of advanced domestic technologies and selective reliance on critical components like the MK 99 fire-control system procured via Foreign Military Sales (FMS). This hybrid approach supplements local innovations by utilizing relationships with global OEMs, thus reflecting a more nuanced strategy.

    Sidhu concludes: “While the current program does not include a radar upgrade, it leaves room for future enhancements such as integrating advanced AESA radar systems like SPS-560K or AN/SPY-7. This multi-phased strategy demonstrates South Korea’s intention to develop capabilities of its naval platforms in line with technological breakthroughs it achieves over the future years, guaranteeing the fleet’s long-term viability.

    “The KDX-II upgrades, in essence, are not just about modernizing older naval platforms, but are a cornerstone of South Korea’s broader strategy to assert its presence in the increasingly contested waters of the Indo-Pacific.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI China: Tensions remain high in DR Congo amid rebellion attacks in major city

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The United Nations (UN) staff and their family are seen outside the UN peacekeeping mission bureau in Goma, North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Jan. 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Tensions remained high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday as the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion advanced in the country’s North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

    President of the DRC Felix Tshisekedi is expected to address the nation amid the humanitarian crisis and major advances by the rebellion in the eastern part of the country, a DRC official said late Monday. However, he did not specify the exact time of the president’s national address.

    Vital Kamerhe, president of the National Assembly, the country’s lower house of parliament, made the announcement after a high-level meeting chaired by Tshisekedi on the humanitarian and security situation in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, which is currently facing attacks by the rebels.

    Since Sunday evening, gunfire has been heard across Goma, a city with over 700,000 internally displaced people living on its outskirts. On Monday morning, fighting intensified in various parts of the city, including areas near the border with Rwanda, local sources told Xinhua.

    “Active combat zones have spread to all neighborhoods of the city,” Bruno Lemarquis, the deputy U.N. envoy and top U.N. humanitarian official in the DRC, told a news conference on Monday. The situation in Goma remains “fast-evolving,” he added.

    Other local sources said the rebels gained the upper hand after capturing Mount Goma, a strategic hill 1,500 meters above sea level in the city’s center. Several M23 columns entered neighborhoods in the city, and residents saw their movement along both major and minor roads.

    According to UN sources, the border between Rwanda and the DRC near Goma was closed Monday morning. For several days, a significant number of Goma residents crossed the border to seek refuge in Gisenyi, a Rwandan town bordering the DRC, where panic has been mounting amid reports of gunfire.

    In its latest statement released early Monday, M23 announced that the “liberation of the city has been completed” and that “the situation is under control” following a 48-hour ultimatum given to Congolese soldiers.

    According to sources in the UN peacekeeping mission, the rebel group has taken over several important facilities, including the airport, the port, and a DRC military base. The latest report from a UN group of experts said the rebels have also seized several towns and established a parallel administration.

    A second emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is expected to be held on Tuesday over the security situation in eastern DRC.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that he was deeply concerned by the escalating violence in eastern DRC and reiterated his strongest condemnation of the M23 armed group’s ongoing offensive and advances towards Goma.

    Guterres called on the M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas. More than 400,000 people have been displaced since the start of 2025 in the eastern DRC, according to the UN.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: DeepSeek: how a small Chinese AI company is shaking up US tech heavyweights

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tongliang Liu, Associate Professor of Machine Learning and Director of the Sydney AI Centre, University of Sydney

    Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek has sent shockwaves through the tech community, with the release of extremely efficient AI models that can compete with cutting-edge products from US companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

    Founded in 2023, DeepSeek has achieved its results with a fraction of the cash and computing power of its competitors.

    DeepSeek’s “reasoning” R1 model, released last week, provoked excitement among researchers, shock among investors, and responses from AI heavyweights. The company followed up on January 28 with a model that can work with images as well as text.

    So what has DeepSeek done, and how did it do it?

    What DeepSeek did

    In December, DeepSeek released its V3 model. This is a very powerful “standard” large language model that performs at a similar level to OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Anthropic’s Claude 3.5.

    While these models are prone to errors and sometimes make up their own facts, they can carry out tasks such as answering questions, writing essays and generating computer code. On some tests of problem-solving and mathematical reasoning, they score better than the average human.

    V3 was trained at a reported cost of about US$5.58 million. This is dramatically cheaper than GPT-4, for example, which cost more than US$100 million to develop.

    DeepSeek also claims to have trained V3 using around 2,000 specialised computer chips, specifically H800 GPUs made by NVIDIA. This is again much fewer than other companies, which may have used up to 16,000 of the more powerful H100 chips.

    On January 20, DeepSeek released another model, called R1. This is a so-called “reasoning” model, which tries to work through complex problems step by step. These models seem to be better at many tasks that require context and have multiple interrelated parts, such as reading comprehension and strategic planning.

    The R1 model is a tweaked version of V3, modified with a technique called reinforcement learning. R1 appears to work at a similar level to OpenAI’s o1, released last year.

    DeepSeek also used the same technique to make “reasoning” versions of small open-source models that can run on home computers.

    This release has sparked a huge surge of interest in DeepSeek, driving up the popularity of its V3-powered chatbot app and triggering a massive price crash in tech stocks as investors re-evaluate the AI industry. At the time of writing, chipmaker NVIDIA has lost around US$600 billion in value.

    How DeepSeek did it

    DeepSeek’s breakthroughs have been in achieving greater efficiency: getting good results with fewer resources. In particular, DeepSeek’s developers have pioneered two techniques that may be adopted by AI researchers more broadly.

    The first has to do with a mathematical idea called “sparsity”. AI models have a lot of parameters that determine their responses to inputs (V3 has around 671 billion), but only a small fraction of these parameters is used for any given input.

    However, predicting which parameters will be needed isn’t easy. DeepSeek used a new technique to do this, and then trained only those parameters. As a result, its models needed far less training than a conventional approach.

    The other trick has to do with how V3 stores information in computer memory. DeepSeek has found a clever way to compress the relevant data, so it is easier to store and access quickly.

    What it means

    DeepSeek’s models and techniques have been released under the free MIT License, which means anyone can download and modify them.

    While this may be bad news for some AI companies – whose profits might be eroded by the existence of freely available, powerful models – it is great news for the broader AI research community.

    At present, a lot of AI research requires access to enormous amounts of computing resources. Researchers like myself who are based at universities (or anywhere except large tech companies) have had limited ability to carry out tests and experiments.

    More efficient models and techniques change the situation. Experimentation and development may now be significantly easier for us.

    For consumers, access to AI may also become cheaper. More AI models may be run on users’ own devices, such as laptops or phones, rather than running “in the cloud” for a subscription fee.

    For researchers who already have a lot of resources, more efficiency may have less of an effect. It is unclear whether DeepSeek’s approach will help to make models with better performance overall, or simply models that are more efficient.

    Tongliang Liu 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. DeepSeek: how a small Chinese AI company is shaking up US tech heavyweights – https://theconversation.com/deepseek-how-a-small-chinese-ai-company-is-shaking-up-us-tech-heavyweights-248434

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash, Johnsonville-Porirua motorway

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    State Highway 59 at Tawa is closed southbound due to a vehicle incident.

    Police were called to the scene about 5:55pm, and on arrival located a person with critical injuries.

    They have since been transported to hospital, and the Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

    The highway is blocked southbound between Mungavin and Tawa while emergency services attend – motorists are advised to take alternate routes.

    ENDS

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitfarms Enters into a Binding LOI with HIVE Digital Technologies for the Sale of its Yguazu, Paraguay Site

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    -Bitfarms to reinvest capital in US growth opportunities-

    -Accretive transaction values the completed site at ~$85 million and significantly reduces anticipated 2025 capital requirements-

    -Rebalances YE 2025 proforma energy portfolio to ~80% North American & 20% international-

    -Reduces expected average power costs by ~10%-

    This news release constitutes a “designated news release” for the purposes of Bitfarms’ second amended and restated prospectus supplement dated December 17, 2024, to its short form base shelf prospectus dated November 10, 2023.

    TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ/TSX: BITF), a global vertically integrated Bitcoin data center company, today announced that it has entered into a binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to sell its 200 MW site in Yguazu, Paraguay to HIVE Digital Technologies, Ltd (“HIVE”). The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.

    Bitfarms CEO Ben Gagnon stated, “We are pleased to announce the sale of our Yguazu site to HIVE as we continue to streamline our operations and rebalance towards North America. Bitfarms will be reinvesting the capital from this sale towards its 1 GW growth pipeline in the U.S. for BTC and HPC/AI infrastructure which marks a significant milestone in our transition from an international Bitcoin miner to a North American energy and compute infrastructure company.”

    “We remain fully committed to our current operations in Latin America, with three sites totaling 144 MW that all benefit from long-term power contracts, competitive pricing and geographical diversification. This shift towards U.S.-based assets is in-line with our strategy to diversify beyond Bitcoin mining and capitalize on the significant growth opportunities in HPC/AI.”

    Terms
    Under the terms of the binding LOI, HIVE will purchase from Bitfarms its 100% ownership stake of its Yguazu, Paraguay Bitcoin mining site. The proposed transaction values the completed site at approximately $85 million, inclusive of approximately $19 million of power deposits with ANDE and the assumption of remaining capital obligations.

    Bitfarms to receive:

    • $25 million upon closing of this transaction
    • $31 million over 6 months following closing
    • $19 million as reimbursement for power deposits made to ANDE by Bitfarms
    • Approximately $10 million in remaining capital obligations

    Transaction Benefits

    • Significantly reduces Bitfarms’ anticipated 2025 capital requirements.
    • Rebalances portfolio to ~80% North American and 20% International by YE 2025, when coupled with our acquisition of Stronghold Digital Mining, which is expected to close in the next couple of months.
    • Reduces estimated average power costs by ~10%.
    • Does not impact miner deployment schedule. Reduces YE 2025 MW capacity from 955 MW to 755 MW.

    About Bitfarms Ltd.

    Founded in 2017, Bitfarms is a global vertically integrated Bitcoin data center company that contributes its computational power to one or more mining pools from which it receives payment in Bitcoin. Bitfarms develops, owns, and operates vertically integrated mining facilities with in-house management and company-owned electrical engineering, installation service, and multiple onsite technical repair centers. The Company’s proprietary data analytics system delivers best-in-class operational performance and uptime.

    Bitfarms currently has 12 operating Bitcoin data centers and two under development, as well as hosting agreements with two data centers, in four countries: Canada, the United States, Paraguay, and Argentina. Powered predominantly by environmentally friendly hydro-electric and long-term power contracts, Bitfarms is committed to using sustainable and often underutilized energy infrastructure.

    To learn more about Bitfarms’ events, developments, and online communities:

    www.bitfarms.com
    https://www.facebook.com/bitfarms/
    https://twitter.com/Bitfarms_io
    https://www.instagram.com/bitfarms/
    https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitfarms/

    Glossary of Terms

    • Y/Y or M/M= year over year or month over month
    • EH or EH/s = Exahash or exahash per second
    • MW or MWh = Megawatts or megawatt hour
    • HPC/AI = High Performance Computing / Artificial Intelligence

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This news release contains certain “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking information”) that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release and are covered by safe harbors under Canadian and United States securities laws. The statements and information in this release regarding the sale of the Yguazu, Paraguay Site, the merits of the rebalancing operations to North America, the reinvestment of the proceeds of the sale for growth, the North American energy and compute infrastructure strategy, and other statements regarding future growth, plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking information. Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as “expects”, or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “prospects”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information.

    This forward-looking information is based on assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time they were made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to: an inability to complete the sale of the Yguazu, Paraguay Site on the terms as announced or at all; the reinvestment of the proceeds of the sale may not occur on an economic basis; the anticipated benefits of the rebalancing of operations to North America and the North American energy and compute infrastructure strategy may not be realized; expansion may not materialize as currently anticipated, or at all; the digital currency market; the ability to successfully mine Bitcoin; revenue may not increase as currently anticipated, or at all; it may not be possible to profitably liquidate the current Bitcoin inventory, or at all; a decline in Bitcoin prices may have a significant negative impact on operations; an increase in network difficulty may have a significant negative impact on operations; the volatility of Bitcoin prices; the anticipated growth and sustainability of hydroelectricity for the purposes of Bitcoin mining in the applicable jurisdictions; the inability to maintain reliable and economical sources of power for the Company to operate Bitcoin mining assets; the risks of an increase in the Company’s electricity costs, cost of natural gas, changes in currency exchange rates, energy curtailment or regulatory changes in the energy regimes in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates and the adverse impact on the Company’s profitability; the ability to complete current and future financings; the risk that a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting could result in a misstatement of the Company’s financial position that may lead to a material misstatement of the annual or interim consolidated financial statements if not prevented or detected on a timely basis; any regulations or laws that will prevent Bitfarms from operating its business; historical prices of Bitcoin and the ability to mine Bitcoin that will be consistent with historical prices; and the adoption or expansion of any regulation or law that will prevent Bitfarms from operating its business, or make it more costly to do so. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Company’s filings on www.sedarplus.ca (which are also available on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov), including the restated MD&A for the year-ended December 31, 2023, filed on December 9, 2024. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including factors that are currently unknown to or deemed immaterial by the Company. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law . Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or any other securities exchange or regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

    Investor Relations Contacts:

    Tracy Krumme
    SVP, Head of IR & Corp. Comms.
    +1 786-671-5638
    tkrumme@bitfarms.com

    Media Contacts:

    Caroline Brady Baker
    Director, Communications
    cbaker@bitfarms.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Their Profits, Our Loss: International oil and gas companies’ 2024 profits

    Source: Greenpeace Statement –

    SYDNEY, Tuesday 28 January 2025 — Interested media are advised of the annual results announcements by some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies for 2024, which was confirmed to be the hottest on record. This includes Australian-based gas giant Woodside. 

    As LA continues to burn and extreme weather events impact regions across the world, Greenpeace spokespeople in Australia and globally are available to discuss the role of oil and gas majors in fuelling climate chaos. Spokespeople can also present Greenpeace’s demand that governments worldwide introduce equitably designed taxes and fines to reclaim money from the industry to pay for the spiralling costs of extreme weather events.

    Annual profit announcements will be made in the coming weeks:

    • Shell: 30 January
    • ExxonMobil: 31 January
    • Chevron: 31 January 
    • TotalEnergies: 5 February
    • Equinor: 5 February 
    • BP: 6 February 
    • Woodside: 25 February

    Solaye Snider, Climate and Energy campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Off the back of the hottest year on record, Woodside will soon announce its annual profits from extracting and exporting fossil fuels. Right now, much of Australia is gripped by an extreme heatwave stretching from Perth to Brisbane, with sweltering temperatures, wild storms and flash flooding battering communities across the country.

    “In the midst of a cost of living crisis, it’s not right that fossil fuel executives are taking home million dollar pay cheques while fuelling climate destruction across the globe. Everyday Australians should not be footing the bill for climate-fuelled disasters, while fossil fuel corporations like Woodside and Santos continue to profit. Big polluters should pay for the damage their reckless pursuit of profit is causing to communities and the environment across the world.”

    Ian Duff, Co-Head of Greenpeace International’s Stop Drilling Start Paying campaign, said: “The annual profits of oil and gas companies are driving our losses. While their earnings go from extremely high to very high, their pollution remains at record levels. Ordinary people can no longer foot the bill for the greed of dirty energy companies or bear the costs for loss and damage which are fuelled by Big Oil’s emissions. Governments must stand with the people – not the oil and gas lobby – and finally enforce the Polluters Pay principle.” 

    The Greenpeace Stop Drilling Start Paying global campaign is working with millions of people to stop oil and gas companies from expanding, resist their intimidation, and ensure they pay for climate damages already felt by people across the world. greenpeace.org.au/act/make-polluters-pay

    -ENDS-

    For more information or interviews contact Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or [email protected]

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: Russia will host 95 international tournaments in 2025

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    In 2025, 14.4 thousand sporting events are planned in Russia, of which more than 9 thousand have already been included in the unified calendar plan. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev presented plans for the development of competitive activities and Russia’s participation in the international sports movement.

    Of the planned events, 290 competitions have been classified as priorities.

    “As President Vladimir Putin noted, Russia has always been and will remain true to the ideals of sport and will continue to actively promote them in the country and in the world – in close cooperation with our friends from other countries. This year, the Russian Federation will host 95 international tournaments, including with athletes from BRICS, SCO, EAEU and CIS, 40 all-Russian complex competitions with foreign participants and teams, as well as 155 Russian championships in Olympic sports and other important sports disciplines,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that, despite external restrictions, Russia maintains high competitive activity.

    “On the international stage, Russian athletes will take part in 57 world championships in Olympic sports. One of the key events will be the Games of the Future, which were first held in Russia in 2024, and this year will be held in the United Arab Emirates,” added Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    According to him, the Government continues to support Russian athletes and create conditions for their training and participation in competitions.

    “Russia is planning to host 25 major international competitions with the participation of foreign athletes. The Silk Way Race will once again pass through Russia and Mongolia, bringing together the best racers in the world. Our athletes must be ready for the largest world competitions – this is the strategic goal that President Vladimir Putin sets for our industry,” said Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev.

    These tournaments include the Ivan Yarygin Wrestling Cup, which was attended by representatives from 20 countries, the Alina Kabaeva Rhythmic Gymnastics Champions Cup, and the Moscow Sabre International Fencing Tournament, which will bring together athletes from 15 countries.

    “We will increase the number of major international competitions in Russia and are ready to offer our partners modern sports venues and a high level of organization. We are waiting for a consolidated plan for holding world championships and other international tournaments up to 2038 from sports federations by February 1,” the minister emphasized.

    Mikhail Degtyarev also noted that 2025 will be a special year in terms of sporting events.

    “The year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War has been declared the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland by Russian President Vladimir Putin. We have proposed that sports leagues, clubs and federations use the approved brand book of the Pobeda organizing committee at each match and tournament, inform spectators about the significance of this year and hold patriotic events. More than 70 major sporting events, including the Cross of Nations, the Run.RF, the Spartakiad of Pre-Conscription Youth and many others, will be dedicated to this important date,” the Minister of Sports said.

    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 China: Xi Story: Celebrating traditional new year with the people

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

    BEIJING, Jan. 28 — Red lanterns swayed above doorways, their vibrant tassels dancing in the biting winter breeze. Inside the modest village homes, the warmth of friendship and tradition crackled like a well-tended hearth as families opened their doors to an unexpected guest: President Xi Jinping.

    Xi traveled to Liaoning Province in northeast China last week, where he joined ordinary people in the traditions that define Spring Festival, the country’s most important holiday. He mingled with residents who were writing Spring Festival couplets, weaving intricate Chinese knots, and performing the spirited Yangge dance. Like millions across the country at this time of year, Xi threw himself into customs that have been cherished by generations.

    Given its rich heritage, Spring Festival — the social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional new year — was acknowledged by UNESCO in December with its inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

    This year is not the first time that Xi has headed to the grassroots to join Spring Festival celebrations. Indeed, his pre-festival inspections have become a tradition in their own right, and provide a glimpse into the vibrant, diverse customs of the Chinese people.

    DECORATION OF HOMES

    Much like the people in the West who decorate their houses for Christmas, Chinese families prepare for the Spring Festival by cleaning and adorning their homes. The color red, symbolizing joy, enthusiasm and energy, fills every corner.

    When Xi stopped by a traditional courtyard house in Beijing in the lead-up to the Spring Festival in 2019, he found the atrium bustling with neighbors who had come seeking Spring Festival couplets, known as “chunlian,” written by septuagenarian Hou Yaming.

    People usually hang “chunlian” and the calligraphy “fu” on their gates. “Chunlian” features poetic lines that express good wishes and blessings, while the character “fu”, meaning “good fortune,” is traditionally handwritten on red, diamond-shaped paper.

    Lanterns hung under the eaves, red paper-cuttings adorned the windows, and the air was filled with festive cheer. Xi joined in by picking up a large “fu” written in golden ink and pasting it on a door himself. “May everyone here always be happy.”

    NEW YEAR GOODIES

    Ahead of the Spring Festival, people typically stock up on food, gifts, new clothes, and firecrackers. In 2015, these preparations were particularly meaningful for Xi as he returned to Liangjiahe, a village in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, where he had spent seven transformative years working the land as a young man.

    For him, this visit was a heartfelt homecoming to the place that shaped his life and values.

    That year, Xi brought with him a bounty of new year essentials including flour, rice, oil, meat products, and Spring Festival couplets and paintings. As he handed out his gifts, his thoughts returned to the immense care and love he had received during his time living and working in the village.

    “I will never forget Liangjiahe,” he said, “the villagers here, and the people in the old revolutionary base.” Xi’s gifts to the villagers are not mere common new year goodies, but rather a symbol of the bonds between him and the people.

    FESTIVE FOODS

    Homemade dishes and treats are a hallmark of the Spring Festival, embodying family prosperity, good fortune and reunion. The variety of festive foods highlights the diversity of Chinese culture.

    During a visit to another family in Beijing in 2019, Xi joined them in making fennel jiaozi (dumplings). “My family prefers the fennel filling too,” he shared as he deftly encased the filling with the dough into shapes resembling ancient silver ingots. “I haven’t made them in years due to my schedule, but you see — the more I make, the better I get at it. As is life.”

    For the people of Shenshan, a mountainous village in east China’s Jiangxi Province, the season is marked by the busy preparation of glutinous rice cakes known as ciba.

    Xi had the opportunity to try his hand at making this local speciality in the run-up to the Spring Festival in 2016. After joining villagers in pounding the rice with a mallet for a while, Xi joked that doing so for 10 minutes each day could be a good workout.

    CELEBRATIONS

    The Spring Festival is a celebration brimming with joy and energy. Temple fairs, much like carnivals, offer a cornucopia of traditional snacks, toys and entertainment. Streets and squares come alive as stilt walkers, dragon dances and lion dances captivate onlookers.

    As Xi departed from a recently renovated residential community in Shenyang, Liaoning, on Thursday, residents performed a local Yangge dance in a unique goodbye gesture.

    Yangge dance is believed to have originated in the ancient fields, with farmers singing to ease the strain of their toil. Today, people perform it in both villages and towns to express their joy and hope for a better life.

    Dressed in richly-colored costume, residents of the Chang’an apartment complex danced with red fans in hand, moving to the lively rhythms of gongs, drums, and suona horns.

    HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS

    Family reunion lies at the heart of the Spring Festival. Each year, hundreds of millions of travelers hit the road around this time to celebrate the occasion with their families, a phenomenon known as chunyun, the largest annual migration of people on the planet.

    Ahead of the Spring Festival in 2013, Xi visited steel bar setter Fan Yong at a temporary home provided by his employer at a subway construction site in Beijing. Fan had chosen to stay and work rather than return home for the festival, and his wife and children joined him in the city.

    Xi took stock of their living conditions and spoke highly of the invaluable role migrant workers like Fan play in the country. “It was not easy to make the trip to Beijing. Take some time to explore the city and enjoy a happy reunion,” he told the family.

    For Xi, a wonderful Spring Festival marks a good start to the new year. “When every household is filled with happiness and people of all ages are celebrating, that is true beauty.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese New Year drives up demand for New Zealand dairy exports

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Chinese New Year is driving demand for New Zealand dairy ingredients as bakeries, pizza chains and other food retailers stock up.

    Chinese New Year typically is a boost for New Zealand dairy exports, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra’s Vice President for Foodservice in Greater China Justin Dai, said on Tuesday.

    Demand for food service ingredients in China has been robust over this period, and Fonterra’s food service sales in China are expected to continue to grow rapidly, Dai said, adding that global dairy commodity prices have climbed nearly 5 percent since October 2024.

    “Chinese New Year is all about family gatherings and celebrating with loved ones. Chinese consumers love shopping and dining during this time, which is great for our Foodservice channel,” he said.

    Applications like strawberry cream cake for instance are becoming more popular, as Chinese consumers love red-theme food during this time of the year because red is associated with prosperity and good luck, Dai said, adding the growth in demand has also been driven by restaurants developing new dishes and tasty treats for the new year, which is a big part of the food service industry in China.

    Some of these applications are developed at Fonterra’s six applications centers in China, he said, adding the Fonterra team of chefs at these centers work closely with customers to co-create applications that cater to the local taste, which is crucial for the cooperative’s food service supplying to more than 500 cities in China.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Release: Luxon misleading on the economy

    Source: New Zealand Labour Party

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is misleading the public by falsely claiming the economy has been in recession for three years.

    “Let’s set the record straight: National’s economic mismanagement has caused a recession that began after they took office,” Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

    A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, which has been the case for the last two quarters where official data is available.

    “Trying to claim the economy was in recession when it wasn’t is frankly embarrassing for a Prime Minister.

    “Recession indicators are easily verifiable from official sources, so for Luxon to make such an uninformed comment is truly mind boggling. Either Nicola Willis isn’t briefing him, or he’s not listening to her – either way it’s dysfunctional.

    “Instead of taking responsibility and presenting a real plan to grow the economy, they are trying to rewrite history.

    “New Zealanders deserve honesty and leadership, not excuses and spin,” Barbara Edmonds said.

    Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Hamish Macdonald, Sydney Mornings, ABC Radio

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    Hamish Macdonald:

    Are you finding the cost of living getting any better this year, or are things as tight as they ever have been? The federal Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is pointing some good news on inflation this morning. The latest quarterly figure show petrol, furniture, games, toys all down – the biggest price fall, though, seems to be electricity down almost 16 per cent, that’s due largely to those household energy rebates.

    So what I want to hear from you this morning is, are you noticing any of this? How’s the bank statement looking at the end of the month? 1300 222 702 is the number. Let me know what you’re thinking about this. And perhaps the big question is, might these numbers point to a cut in your mortgage rates anytime soon? Jim Chalmers is here, good morning.

    Jim Chalmers:

    Good morning Hamish, thanks for having me on your show.

    Macdonald:

    We haven’t been getting a lot of good news on the cost‑of‑living front for some time. Have you got any good news for us this morning?

    Chalmers:

    Well, tomorrow we’ll get a big update on the inflation numbers in our economy. And first of all, I want to acknowledge that even at the same time as we are making as a country very substantial, very now sustained progress on the fight against inflation, we know that people are still under pressure. I suspect when people call into the program after the interview, they will convey that to you as they convey that to us, and we take that very seriously – but in aggregate, in the in the national economic data, what we have seen over the last couple of years is a quite remarkable moderation in inflation. Remember, when we came to office, inflation was higher than 6 per cent and rising. It’s now got a 2 in front of it.

    So we’ll get that update tomorrow. It will remind us of that substantial progress that we’ve made on inflation. Any number with a 2 in front of it will show that inflation has more than half since this government came to office. Any number with a 2 in front of it in the headline number will show that it’s within the Reserve Bank’s target band. Any progress on underlying inflation would be welcome as well. But we know that it doesn’t always immediately translate into how people are feeling and faring in the economy. We know that people are still battling to make ends meet.

    Macdonald:

    How do you explain that? Because obviously that’s what I hear from Sydney listeners. It’s obviously what people come and talk to you about; the sense that maybe the statistics, maybe the trend lines, are pointing to things getting better, but that it doesn’t necessarily feel that way. How do you explain that?

    Chalmers:

    Because the fight against inflation isn’t over. You know, it’s not mission accomplished, even if we get very encouraging numbers tomorrow, as we have been getting encouraging inflation numbers for some months now, you know, we would recognise that it’s not, it’s not mission accomplished – because people are still dealing with stresses and strains in their household budget.

    But what’s happened over the last 2 and a half years since this government’s come to office, is inflation’s come down very substantially, but what we’ve been able to do, unlike a lot of other countries, is we’ve been able to do that at the same time as we’ve got wages up, we’ve kept unemployment very low, we’ve got the budget into better condition. Even though we recognise those pressures are still there, we shouldn’t diminish what Australians have achieved together over the course of the last couple of years. Not every country has been able to do what we’ve been able to do, to get inflation down and wages up and unemployment low, all at the same time.

    I think it’s possible to do, as we do, to recognise those pressures are still there. It’s still very important that we’re rolling out those tax cuts, the energy bill relief that you referred to, and all the cost‑of‑living help that Peter Dutton opposed. That’s still important that we roll it out because people are under pressure. But we should recognise at the same time that we’ve made substantial and sustained progress in the fight against inflation and those new numbers tomorrow will reflect that.

    Macdonald:

    Now, I know you don’t speculate on the Reserve Bank will or won’t do when it meets, but a lot of people are very focused on that February meeting. People here in Sydney are really feeling it with home loan repayments. Do you think this year will be a better year?

    Chalmers:

    Well, I do acknowledge – especially in Sydney, but not just in Sydney – that interest rates, which started going up before the election, have gone up a number of times. They are one of the causes of this cost‑of‑living pressure that people are enduring and trying to deal with. So I do recognise that. You’re right, that I don’t make commentary or predictions or try and give free advice to the independent Reserve Bank. I focus on my job, which is doing what we can to fight inflation and roll that cost‑of‑living relief in a responsible way, keep unemployment low, get wages growing, all of those things that we’ve been talking about this morning. I leave the predictions or the commentary about rates decisions to others, to the independent Reserve Bank, primarily, and also to all of the other commentators who are interested in this at the moment.

    Macdonald:

    Sure, but this is really a question about what might unfold around those things this year. I mean, you must think about all the time. As most Sydneysiders with mortgages would as well.

    Chalmers:

    I do, and in the broad, in the main, I think that there are real reasons for people to be confident about 2025 – acknowledging that the last few years have been especially difficult for people, I think there is good cause for confidence, not complacency, about our economy in 2025 for a couple of reasons.

    First of all, we are making progress on inflation. We have got those real wages growing. We have kept the jobs market in really quite extraordinary condition. So all of those things will flow through into some of the other indicators, we expect growth in our economy to pick up a little bit, not a lot, a little bit, and that will be a good thing – but primarily the reason why people can be more confident about 2025 than 2024 is we’re seeing some of the fruits of our collective efforts. If you look at that most recent data we got from the national accounts – which is the big report card on our economy – growth was weak in our economy, but the combination of real wages growing again, inflation coming down and the tax cuts rolling out, means that we are starting to make up some of the ground that’s been lost over the last few years when it comes to living standards. And so that does give me a bit more confidence, not getting carried away about 2025 – there’s still a lot of global economic uncertainty, for example. But we are more confident about 2025 than we have been about the last couple of years.

    Macdonald:

    I read a piece, you’ve written an op‑ed in News Limited publications in the last few days. And you say every taxpayer is better off as a result of the decision you took 12 months ago, that’s obviously referring to changes you made to the stage 3 tax cuts. You say not just some, and those benefits will be even bigger from July this year. It seems to me that this is going to be a central question at the election, because Peter Dutton is saying are you better off after a term of the Albanese government? It’s pretty obvious a lot of people don’t necessarily feel better off. So the question is, would we all be better off if you’re re‑elected. It sounds like you’re making an argument to say we would be. Why is that?

    Chalmers:

    Well, the point I’m referring to in that piece I wrote for the media is that as we get wages growing, the tax cuts get bigger as well. I see those 2 things really as of a piece. You know, we’re all about making sure people can earn more and keep more of what they earn, getting wages growing, giving every Australian taxpayer a tax cut, getting inflation down, keeping unemployment low. These are our objectives, and these are the things that we have been achieving as a government, recognising that a lot of the pressures are still there.

    Now, you asked me about the choice at the election. I think one of the most important things for people to understand as we get nearer and nearer to this election is that if Peter Dutton had his way, not every taxpayer would’ve got a tax cut. No households would’ve got energy bill relief. They like lower wages, he went after Medicare when he was the Health Minister. The biggest risk to household budgets, and I think to the economy more broadly in 2025, is Peter Dutton and a Coalition government. And we know that they are a risk to household budgets because we know their record on some of these things: Medicare, wages, cost‑of‑living relief and the like.

    Macdonald:

    Just on that, though – you’re taking a pretty big swing there, the opposition says that they would tame the budget more, this would get our economy moving better, and we’d all benefit from that. So some of these pressures would reside. How do you answer that?

    Chalmers:

    Well, they have 2 economic policies, Hamish. One is taxpayer funded long lunches for bosses, and the other one is to push up electricity prices with this nuclear insanity that they’re pushing. Those are the 2 economic policies that they have announced. They say there’s hundreds of billions too much spending in the Budget, but they won’t come clean on what the cuts would be if they came to office. We know that after many cared last time, so it’s within our rights to point out. But the key question here really is the cost of living in this election campaign. People would have been worse off by thousands of dollars over the last couple of years if Peter Dutton had have his way, and they’ll be worse off still if he wins the election. And that is part of the choice that people will weigh up as we get closer and closer to election day this year.

    Macdonald:

    I’m talking to the federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, I should make it clear we have been talking to Peter Dutton about joining the program to speak to you here in Sydney as well. We hope that will happen very soon.

    Jim Chalmers, a text from Jeff asking this: Hamish, ask Jim what’s caused the deep per capita recession we’re in? Why they run immigration at unheard of levels during a housing crisis?

    Chalmers:

    Well Jeff, a couple of things about your question – I appreciate you texting in. First of all, on migration, we saw a big recovery in the numbers after COVID, but we’re managing that level down to more normal levels, and we expect to see the fruits of that over the next year or 2. So that’s part of your question. When it comes to the per capita measure of growth in our economy, growth in our economy is remarkably weak, we have acknowledged that – but unlike a lot of other countries around the world, we’ve actually managed to keep the economy growing.

    The UK has had a recession, New Zealand is in recession right now, most of the OECD countries have had a negative quarter of growth. We’ve been able to avoid that, but growth is weak in the economy, and we see that reflected in the per capita measure. If you take a step back – Jeff and Hamish and all your listeners – acknowledging the pressures that people are under, acknowledging growth in our economy is week. We have a combination of things in our economy which a lot of other countries would like. We’ve kept the economy ticking over. We’ve got inflation down, we’ve got wages up, we’ve kept unemployment low, we’ve delivered 2 budget surpluses, we’ve got the Liberal debt down, and that means we’re paying less interest on it. All of these things are good things. We don’t pretend the job is finished – obviously it’s not because people are still under pressure and we know we’ve got more work to do, but the biggest risk to this progress would be a Dutton Coalition government who would make people worse off, not better off.

    Macdonald:

    For all of that, that list you rattle off about what you say are your achievements, many Australians are not that happy with you. You know, the polls – I don’t want to get into poll arguments – pointing to many Australians considering Peter Dutton as Prime Minister. Clearly, the shift is afoot in terms of polling. Why are you not getting credit for it, then?

    Do you acknowledge that perhaps Australians are feeling quite so positive and optimistic as you paint it?

    Chalmers:

    I think I’ve acknowledged that probably half a dozen times in the course of this conversation, Hamish – that people are under pressure, I think you see that reflected in opinion polls. Obviously I notice these opinion polls, I don’t obsess over them – the numbers I’m focused on are the numbers in the economy, but I think I’ve acknowledged numerous times today that people are still under pressure and we see that reflected in the polls.

    Macdonald:

    A question about something slightly related to this: Donald Trump’s established something called a DOGE – a Department of Government Efficiency – that will be led in part by Elon Musk. Peter reshuffled his shadow cabinet and we now have a SMOGE – I think is the abbreviation – a Shadow Minister for Government Efficiency. Now we can see how that worked out for Trump’s opponent. What are you going to do to counter this idea?

    Chalmers:

    What do you mean you can see how this worked out –

    Macdonald:

    – Trump’s opponent. Kamala Harris. She didn’t win. So the question is, how are we going to –

    Chalmers:

    Oh, okay, you’re saying that was decisive in the American election, okay. I think a couple of things about that. I saw that reshuffle that Peter Dutton made on the weekend. I don’t think it’s much of a vote of confidence in Shadow Finance Minister or Shadow Treasurer that he thought it necessary to make that appointment. And I’d also point out that this Labor government, as part of delivering those 2 surpluses and a $200 billion positive turnaround in the Budget and getting the debt down, one of the big reasons for that is this government has found $92 billion worth of savings across 3 Budgets and updates. And what that’s shown is we can find the necessary savings to get the budget in much better nick without making these sorts of announcements that Peter Dutton made.

    I compare that $92 billion in savings to the last Budget of the Coalition government before we came office, which had zero savings in it. What we’ve shown, is we can have all the fancy titles that they like, but we’ve got a Finance Minister in Katy Gallagher and a cabinet for whom responsible economic management is really the defining feature of how we go about managing the budget. We found those savings without finding it necessary to have these kinds of titles that Peter Dutton gave to one of his colleagues on the weekend.

    Macdonald:

    I want to ask you about the position the government’s ended up in on gambling advertising, it seems, a lot of listeners pretty upset about this. We heard from Mary‑Lynne yesterday on the question of gambling ads, and whether she’d vote for your government again.

    [Excerpt]

    Listener:

    Well, I can’t actually see myself going voting for either side at the moment. I think I’m going independent this time, well and truly – but one of my main criticisms is that Albanese came in, was going to do something about the gambling ads. As soon as he was in, he became wishy‑washy about the gambling ads, and there’s been absolutely nothing done about the gambling ads. All through the tennis, all through TV, day and night, we’re up to our eyeballs in gambling ads, and neither side is doing anything about this. And I think it’s just completely a reflection of the lack of action by the government.

    [End of excerpt]

    Macdonald:

    That was Mary‑Lynne speaking to us yesterday.

    Now, I’ve been reading in the papers that the Prime Minister had met with the bosses at the TV networks, the sporting codes, just a fortnight before essentially ditching the plans that you had in place. Did you get rumbled by these big executives on this?

    Chalmers:

    No, of course not. But I do want to acknowledge that there are a lot of people like Mary‑Lynne who want us to go further and faster when it comes to gambling advertising. But where I differ respectfully with Mary‑Lynne’s comments is when I point out that we have actually done a lot when it comes to gambling reform. You know, we introduced Betstop, we introduced the warnings, we banned credit cards from online gambling – and we’ll continue to work through the recommendations of the Murphy inquiry into online gambling, and we are doing a lot of consultation.

    We know that there are a range of views in the community, including Mary‑Lynne’s, but I don’t agree, respectfully, that nothing has happened. We have done probably more to crack down on the harms of online gambling, particularly for young people, than any government before. We acknowledge people want us to do more than that, but we haven’t done nothing.

    Macdonald:

    I want to play a bit of music that I think we familiar to you.

    [Tupac’s Changes plays]

    Now, I think you write the budget to this track. Is that correct?

    Chalmers:

    I listen to it a lot, Hamish. I wasn’t expecting Tupac on Sydney morning radio today, but it’s a real favourite of mine. It’s a very regular feature of my playlist.

    Macdonald:

    So what are you listening to while you write this year’s Budget?

    Chalmers:

    I find that my musical tastes are mellowing over time, and so I listen to a lot of very chilled electronic music now. I still listen to Tupac from time to time, usually on a running playlist rather than a working playlist.

    Macdonald:

    Alright. Treasurer Jim Chalmers, thank you for your time, we appreciate it.

    Chalmers:

    Appreciate your time Hamish, all the best.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Expression of interest opens for Bendigo Airport Business Park

    Source: State of Victoria Local Government 2

    The City of Greater Bendigo is pleased to open an expression of interest for the new Bendigo Airport Business Park and businesses and developers are encouraged to apply.

    Bendigo Airport is offering nine business park lots for lease ranging in size from 600m2 to 1,357m2.

    This is a prime location within the landside area of the airport to support businesses either from Greater Bendigo or outside of the region who are seeking new opportunities and future growth.

    Each lot features road frontage, service connections and convenient access to the airport for freight and passenger movements.

    Due to the prominent and highly visible location next to the airport, businesses will be required to provide aesthetically appropriate infrastructure on the lot site which will require a planning and building permit to be constructed.

    There are six additional lots of vacant land that will be released in the future. Expansion into these additional lots will be considered for the right business proposals.

    Manager Economy and Experience James Myatt said the new business park offered new and exciting business opportunities.

    “The Bendigo Airport Business Park is in a prime location within the landside area of the airport providing businesses with the chance to become part of a thriving commercial hub,” Mr Myatt said.

    “The airport precinct in East Bendigo is strategically well positioned with the potential for strong investment returns.

    “This business park is designed to complement the recent airport terminal development which has increased capacity and created additional business opportunities to support regional growth.

    “The City has opened an expression of interest with nine lots available for businesses to lease land and establish their business within the airport precinct.

    “I encourage businesses and developers to submit an expression of interest and tell us how the Airport Business Park will benefit your business and the airport.”

    To submit an expression of interest, please visit: 

    VendorPanel Public Tenders

    Submissions close on Tuesday March 11 2025.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK will show agility, resilience: CE

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee

    Celebrating the Chinese New Year is one of our happiest moments. We are busy gathering with family and friends, doing New Year shopping and buying festive flowers for our homes, preparing for the New Year to come.

    Hong Kong is full of cheerful events. Last year, we received two adorable giant pandas from the motherland, and the giant panda babies born in Hong Kong will be ready to meet everyone in mid-February.

    This year is the Year of the Snake. In Chinese culture, the snake is nimble and agile, and is a symbol of prosperity and wealth. This year, Hong Kong will once again show its agility and resilience with flexible thinking to innovate, to reform, and to seek further development as we strive to build a bright future.

    My wife and I wish the people of Hong Kong good health in the Year of the Snake. May you have joy, prosperity and good fortune in the Year of the Snake!

    This is a translation of the Chinese New Year message delivered by Chief Executive John Lee on January 28.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Result of the Daily Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction held on January 28, 2025

    Source: Reserve Bank of India

    Tenor 1-day
    Notified Amount (in ₹ crore) 2,00,000
    Total amount of bids received (in ₹ crore) 1,39,281
    Amount allotted (in ₹ crore) 1,39,281
    Cut off Rate (%) 6.51
    Weighted Average Rate (%) 6.51
    Partial Allotment Percentage of bids received at cut off rate (%) NA

    Ajit Prasad          
    Deputy General Manager
    (Communications)    

    Press Release: 2024-2025/2021

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Reinstating Service Members Discharged Under the Military’s COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

    Source: The White House

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

    Section 1.  Purpose and Policy.  On August 24, 2021, the Secretary of Defense mandated that all service members receive the COVID-19 vaccine.  The Secretary of Defense later rescinded the mandate on January 10, 2023.  The vaccine mandate was an unfair, overbroad, and completely unnecessary burden on our service members.  Further, the military unjustly discharged those who refused the vaccine, regardless of the years of service given to our Nation, after failing to grant many of them an exemption that they should have received.  Federal Government redress of any wrongful dismissals is overdue. 

    Sec. 2.  Redress.  Consistent with the policies announced in section 1 of this order, the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, shall take all necessary action permitted by law to:

    (a)  make reinstatement available to all members of the military (active and reserve) who were discharged solely for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and who request to be reinstated;

    (b)  enable those service members reinstated under this section to revert to their former rank and receive full back pay, benefits, bonus payments, or compensation; and

    (c)  allow any service members who provide a written and sworn attestation that they voluntarily left the service or allowed their service to lapse according to appropriate procedures, rather than be vaccinated under the vaccine mandate, to return to service with no impact on their service status, rank, or pay.

    Sec. 3.  Additional Agency Responsibilities.  (a)  Nothing in this order precludes disciplinary or administrative action for conduct that is proscribed by chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 801-946a).

    (b)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall report to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs on their progress in implementing this order.

    Sec. 4.  Severability.  If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

    Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

    (i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

    (ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

    (c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

    THE WHITE HOUSE,

        January 27, 2025.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Mandatory service standards for the superannuation industry

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    The Albanese Government is taking action to raise the bar for member service in superannuation by introducing mandatory and enforceable service standards for all large APRA‑regulated superannuation funds.

    These reforms are all about strengthening the superannuation system by improving member outcomes.

    The new standards will improve how funds engage with their members and put member interests at the heart of service delivery.

    Superannuation is a powerhouse of prosperity for Australians. With a $4.1 trillion system delivering strong returns, workers are retiring with an average balance of over $200,000.

    The Government is ensuring that the same high standards Australians expect in investment performance also apply to member service.

    While most funds offer services that meet or often surpass community expectations, there have been some areas where some funds have fallen short.

    The new standards will initially target critical areas where complaints data shows the greatest need for improvement, such as:

    • The timely and compassionate handling of death benefits;
    • Fair and efficient processing of insurance claims; and
    • Clear, respectful and accessible communications with members.

    Better service is especially important during sensitive and vulnerable moments in members’ lives.

    Super funds have a responsibility to support members or their beneficiaries during these times, not add to their stress.

    Treasury will work closely with consumer advocates, regulators and industry stakeholders to develop the standards. Draft standards will be released for public consultation.

    This reform aligns with the newly legislated objective of superannuation: “to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement, alongside government support, in an equitable and sustainable way.”

    It also complements the Government’s retirement phase of super reforms and the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package, which are about ensuring Australians receive better advice and information, improved products and greater transparency.

    With this reform, the Albanese Government is making sure the superannuation system not only delivers financial security for retirement but does so with fairness and dignity for members along the way.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: January 27th, 2025 Heinrich, Luján Introduce Resolution Condemning Pardons of Individuals Found Guilty of Assaulting Capitol Police Officers

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    Resolution comes after Trump pardons 1,500 criminals convicted of violently assaulting police officers
    WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced a new resolution condemning the pardons of individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police Officers.
    The resolution follows the reckless action by President Trump, on the first day of his second term, to grant full, complete, and unconditional pardons to over 1,500 people charged, and in many cases already convicted and incarcerated, with committing crimes in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and to commute the sentences of 14 others, including leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, far-right militias. Among those pardoned by Trump were 169 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on January 6th. During the siege of the Capitol that day, over 80 U.S. Capitol Police Officers were assaulted, as well as over 60 officers from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
    The senators’ resolution, condemning the pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police Officers, simply states: “Resolved, That the Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers.” This week, Senate Democrats will seek unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the resolution.
    “These criminals used flagpoles, fire extinguishers and bear spray to assault the police securing the Capitol on January 6. No one who assaults a police officer should be given a ‘get out of jail free card’ from the President,” said Heinrich.
    “What took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th is a stain on American history. The events of that have left a scar on many, including the law enforcement officers that defended the Capitol. President Trump’s pardons of violent criminals is a betrayal of the rule of law and our brave law enforcement officers,” said Luján. “I urge my Republican colleagues to join us in condemning this vicious attack on law enforcement and in showing the nation that political violence is unacceptable.”
    According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, approximately 1,572 defendants have been federally charged with crimes associated with the attack of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. This includes approximately 598 charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement agents or officers or obstructing those officers during a civil disorder, including approximately 171 defendants charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. As proven in court, the weapons used and carried on the Capitol grounds during the January 6th attack include firearms; OC spray; tasers; edged weapons, including a sword, axes, hatchets, and knives; and makeshift weapons, such as destroyed office furniture, fencing, bike racks, stolen riot shields, baseball bats, hockey sticks, flagpoles, PVC piping, and reinforced knuckle gloves.
    Among others, the individuals who assaulted law enforcement officers and were granted full, unconditional pardons by President Trump this week include:
    Rockne Gerald Earles, of Chama, N.M., who pled guilty last year to two felony assault charges on Capitol Police officers. In one attack, captured on video, Earles wrestled a police officer to the steps outside the Capitol Building. That officer was later hospitalized with a concussion and missed 45 days of work due to his injuries. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of 52 months in prison for Earles.
    Taylor James Johnatakis, of Kingston, Washington, was convicted of three felonies in November 2023, including assaulting officers. Prosecutors said that he “coordinated a violent assault on a line of police officers defending” the Capitol and that video shows he “used a metal barricade to attack officers head on and grabbed one officer to prevent him from defending himself against other attacking rioters.”
    Julian Khater, who assaulted a U.S. police office—Brian Sicknick—and later pled guilty to assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon.
    Robert Palmer, who attacked police with a fire extinguisher, a wooden plank, and a pole.
    Tyler Bradley Dykes of Bluffton, South Carolina, who was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for stealing a police riot shield and twice using it against officers. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.
    Devlyn Thompson, who hit a police officer with a metal baton.
    Andrew Taake, of Houston, Texas, who was sentenced to a little more than six years for assaulting law enforcement officers with bear spray and a metal whip.
    Christopher Quaglin, who federal prosecutors said “viciously assaulted numerous officers” and was one of the most violent rioters, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
    David Dempsey, who, according to prosecutors, “was one of the most violent rioters,” and received 20 years in prison. Prosecutors also said Dempsey had a “very significant history of arrests and convictions” prior to the January 6th attack.
    Daniel Rodriguez, of Fontana, California, who plunged a stun gun into the neck of Washington Police Officer Michael Fanone multiple times.
    Ryan Nichols, of Longview, Texas, who assaulted officers with pepper spray, and later on Jan. 6, at his hotel room, he called for additional violence.
    Howard Richardson, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, who struck a police officer three times with a flagpole, hard enough to break the flagpole.
    Robert Sanford, from Chester, Pennsylvania, who hit two police officers in the head with a fire extinguisher and threw a traffic cone at another officer.
    Jonathan Munafo, of Albany, New York, who punched a police officer, stole the officer’s riot shield, and struck a Capitol office window with two poles.
    The resolution is led by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.). Alongside Heinrich and Luján, the resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    The text of the resolution is here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Detainee returns to HK

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Security Bureau today said that a Hong Kong resident who was recently rescued after being detained in Myanmar, where he was forced to work illegally, returned to Hong Kong from Thailand with the bureau’s dedicated task force last night.

    The task force travelled to Bangkok on confirmation of the Hong Kong resident concerned having arrived there from Myanmar. Its co-ordination and liaison with various other parties resulted in the man being reunited with his family in Hong Kong before the Lunar New Year.

    The task force expressed gratitude to the Thai authorities for their humane handling of the case, saying it had allowed him to return to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

    The bureau also thanked the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand; the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Chiang Mai; the Consulate-General of Myanmar in Hong Kong; the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Hong Kong; and the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Bangkok.

    The task force is following up on the cases of the remaining 10 cases of 10 individuals who have not yet returned to Hong Kong. It is exchanging intelligence with directors of special investigations and human trafficking in Thailand’s Ministry of Justice.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: MEDIA RELEASE: WGEA confirms 4 March for next release of employer gender pay gaps

    Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency

    MEDIA RELEASE

    The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has announced it will publish the next set of Australian private sector employer gender pay gaps on 4 March 2025.

    Australians will be able to search and compare the gender pay gaps of more than 9,200 private sector employers when their 2023-24 results are published on the Agency’s website in the interactive Data Explorer dashboard and in a WGEA Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report.

    Legislative changes in 2023 enable WGEA’s second release of employer gender pay gaps to include more detailed insights on the state of gender equality in Australian workplaces.

    On 4 March, WGEA will again publish employer gender pay gaps by median, for total remuneration and base salary, and the gender composition of the workforce, by pay quartile.

    The inclusion of CEO remuneration in employer gender pay gap calculations for the first time means WGEA will also publish each individual employer’s average gender pay gap, for total remuneration and base salary, and their average remuneration, by pay quartile.

    WGEA Chief Executive Officer Mary Wooldridge said publishing individual results each year is an important catalyst for employers to take action to end their gender pay gap.

    “In Australia, we have a strong sense of fairness and the right to a fair go, but a national gender pay gap of 21.8% means women earn, on average, just 78 cents for every $1 men earn,” Ms Wooldridge said.

    “The gender pay gap limits women’s ability to meet costs of essentials like groceries, fuel or rent or the ongoing costs of children’s education. This financial pressure has a flow-on effect.

    “With less money left over after paying for daily essentials, a woman’s ability to build long-term financial security for themselves and their family is reduced. They also have less money to put aside extra savings to invest for retirement, but we know that women, on average, live longer than men.

    “Employers are in a unique position to take action to create environments where all people are fairly represented and equally valued and rewarded in the workplace.

    “Employers aren’t alone in working to this goal. WGEA has a comprehensive suite of tools and resources on the Take Action page of our website to support employers to investigate and act on their gender pay gap as well as personalised advice at our gender equality masterclasses and 1:1 direct advisory sessions.”

    In 2025, WGEA will publish the 2023-24 employer gender pay gaps for corporate groups, subsidiaries of corporate groups and standalone employers, where each organisation has 100 or more employees. This is more comprehensive than how WGEA published employer gender pay gaps in 2024 when results were published by how corporate groups submitted their data to WGEA.

    More details about what WGEA will publish on 4 March is available on the ‘Gender pay gap publishing 2025 FAQ’ webpage on the WGEA website at www.wgea.gov.au/about/our-legislation/publishing-employer-gender-pay-gaps.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Capito Votes to Confirm Bessent for Treasury Secretary

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) issued the following statement after voting to confirm Scott Bessent to serve as the next Secretary of the Treasury.
    “The American people, frustrated with the high cost of living and barriers to growth, elected President Trump to restore strength and confidence in the U.S. economy,” Senator Capito said. “Mr. Bessent is a well-qualified choice to lead the Treasury Department and I was proud to vote to confirm him. I am confident that Mr. Bessent will lead in this crucial position in a way that will support pro-growth economic policies, protect our national security, and improve global competitiveness.”

    MIL OSI USA News –