Blog

MIL-OSI China: 6 killed, 43 injured in Israeli airstrike on municipal building in S. Lebanon

Source: China State Council Information Office

Six people, including the mayor, were killed, and 43 others wounded on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the buildings of the Nabatieh Municipality in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese medical and military sources.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that an Israeli warplane fired four air-to-ground missiles at the Nabatieh Municipality building and the building of the Union of Municipalities, killing the mayor, Ahmad Kahil, and a number of municipality members, injuring several others, and destroying the infrastructure.

The Civil Defense teams, the Lebanese Red Cross, and the Islamic Health Authority are working to remove the rubble of the two buildings and search for missing persons, the sources said.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, saying it deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council discussing the city’s service and relief situation.

The new “aggression” conveys the message that “the international community should act immediately instead of remaining silent about Israeli crimes,” Mikati said.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants announced on Wednesday that it had filed a new complaint with the UN Security Council regarding the Israeli attacks on Lebanon during the period Oct. 3-14.

This is part of the periodic complaints submitted by the ministry through the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the UN headquarters in New York to document the Israeli offensive and pressure the international community and the Security Council to act to stop it.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has been conducting intensive airstrikes on Lebanon in a sharp escalation with Hezbollah.

The death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the beginning of the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict on Oct. 8, 2023 has reached 2,350, while injuries went up to 10,906, Health Ministry figures showed on Tuesday.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Over 1.4 mln DPRK youngsters apply to join army following drone incursion incident: report

Source: China State Council Information Office

More than 1.4 million youngsters in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) applied to join or rejoin the military earlier this week, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Wednesday.

More than 1.4 million youth league officials and youth and students across the country volunteered to join or rejoin the army on Oct. 14 and 15, said the KCNA, following an alleged South Korean drone infiltration into Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK.

The DPRK called the drone incident “a serious provocation of violating its sovereignty.”

The DPRK’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement late last Friday accusing South Korea of sending drones over Pyongyang. The South Korean military has denied the accusation.

In the latest sign of the heightened tensions between the two countries, the DPRK military blew up parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae lines north of the Military Demarcation Line on Tuesday, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.

The DPRK has yet to respond to the road explosion claim.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China reports home appliance sales surge under trade-in program

Source: China State Council Information Office

China’s ongoing trade-in program for home appliances has led to a surge in sales revenues which topped 69.09 billion yuan (9.7 billion U.S. dollars) since August, the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Wednesday.

As of Oct. 15, around 10.13 million consumers have benefited from the program for which the central government has provided more than 13.17 billion yuan in subsidies for consumers, the MOC said.

MOC data showed that green and smart home appliances are favored by consumers, with products labeled with top-level energy efficiency accounting for more than 90 percent of the sales revenues during the period.

Regions such as Hubei Province, Chongqing and Shanghai municipalities, and the city of Shenzhen have expanded the categories of home appliances eligible for subsidies according to local conditions, incorporating green and intelligent products such as sweeping robots, dishwashers, air purifiers, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the ministry said.

In the next step, the ministry will continue to encourage various regions to speed up the implementation of subsidy policies and guide home appliance manufacturers as well as distribution companies to seize the consumption boom periods such as the Double Eleven online shopping festival to boost consumption under the trade-in program, it said.

The Double Eleven online shopping festival, also known as the Singles’ Day shopping festival, is a Chinese version of Black Friday when discounts and sales promotions are usually offered for consumers in the month of November.

In a significant push to stimulate consumer spending, China has rolled out an expansive trade-in policy across multiple sectors since August.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: FACT SHEET: U.S. Achievements in the Global Fight Against Corruption

US Senate News:

Source: The White House
Corruption poses a grave and enduring threat to U.S. national interests and those of our partners. When officials abuse their entrusted power for personal or political gain, the interests of authoritarians and corrupt actors win – at the expense of citizens, honest businesses, and healthy societies. As the Biden-Harris Administration took office, this longstanding challenge had metastasized. In some countries, oligarchs were teaming up with foreign kleptocrats to warp policy and procurement decisions in exchange for kickbacks – with no accountability. Corrupt officials were laundering stolen assets through the U.S. and global financial systems, while local investigators were ill-equipped to follow the money. Reformers in countries saddled with corruption had scarce public resources to actually address development needs. The Biden-Harris Administration tacked these challenges starting Day One, to ensure democracy delivers and corrupt actors are held to account.
The first National Security Study Memorandum of the Biden-Harris Administration established countering corruption as a “core U.S. national security interest,” leading to the issuance in December 2021 of the first United States Strategy on Countering Corruption. Since then, the United States has taken action at home and around the world to curb illicit finance, hold corrupt actors accountable, forge multilateral partnerships, and equip frontline leaders to take on transnational corruption. The result has been historic progress in protecting the U.S. financial system from money-laundering, including in the residential real estate sector, while enhancing corporate transparency. This Administration has mobilized record levels of foreign assistance dedicated to anti-corruption, including $339 million in Fiscal Year 2023 alone – almost double the yearly average during the previous four years. This new assistance has unlocked support for anti-corruption institutions, leveled the playing field for law-abiding businesses, enabled journalists to team up across borders, and more. Expanded law enforcement cooperation and capacity-building have generated convictions of corrupt actors as well as the seizure, forfeiture, and return of criminal proceeds, while new anti-corruption offices at the Department of State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) energized diplomatic and stakeholder engagement. The United States imposed sanctions on more than 500 individuals and entities for corruption and related activities, and established – for the first time in any jurisdiction globally – a new visa restriction for those who enable corrupt activity.
U.S. progress on anti-corruption has produced concrete benefits for the American people and stakeholders around the world – enhancing prosperity, economic security, safety, and democracy, as outlined below. To bolster and sustain this work, the U.S. government has also modernized its approach to addressing corruption as a cross-cutting priority. Today, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Daleep Singh will highlight the benefits of this work to American businesses and workers at a White House anti-corruption roundtable with leaders from 15 major U.S. companies.
Advancing economic opportunity abroad
Improving the business enabling environment: U.S. assistance advanced governments’ capacity to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute corruption, while encouraging anti-bribery compliance. State expanded its Fiscal Transparency Innovation Fund – to help willing partners improve budget transparency – while holding countries to account for progress in its Fiscal Transparency Report. In the past two years alone, a newly expanded State-Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) program facilitated U.S. collaboration with foreign counterparts on more than 50 transnational corruption and money laundering cases with a U.S. nexus. In coordination with State, experienced legal advisors from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) assisted foreign justice partners around the world in investigating and prosecuting corruption and money laundering cases, and recovering assets. And DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, in partnership with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, has recovered more than $1.7 billion and returned or assisted in returning more than $1.6 billion for the benefit of the people harmed by the corruption.
Enforcing our bans on foreign bribery and money-laundering – and pressing other countries to do the same: To enable honest companies to compete overseas, the United States upheld its commitments under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention by enforcing its foreign bribery and related laws and working with partners to monitor other countries’ progress in implementing the Convention, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. Since the start of the Administration, DOJ has imposed more than $3.5 billion in total monetary sanctions under the Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA) in 16 corporate resolutions, and announced charges against more than 70 individuals. For instance, this April the former Comptroller General of Ecuador was convicted of money laundering relating to his receipt of over $10 million in bribes from, among others, the Brazil-based construction conglomerate Odebrecht S.A. The Securities and Exchange Commission continued civil enforcement of the FCPA, with approximately $1 billion in total monetary sanctions in 22 corporate resolutions, spanning conduct in 24 countries, since the start of the Administration. DOJ is also enforcing the recently enacted Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, which criminalizes demands for bribes by foreign officials from U.S. companies and others. In addition, this August DOJ announced a new Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program to uncover and prosecute corporate crime – with a particular focus on foreign and domestic corruption, as well as violations by financial institutions of their obligations to take steps to detect and deter money laundering.
Seizing windows of opportunity: U.S. assistance has become more agile via the establishment of USAID’s Anti-Corruption Response Fund (providing flexible support to countries experiencing new opportunities or backsliding), the State-DOJ Global Anti-Corruption Rapid Response Fund (providing assistance and case mentoring to foreign partners on short notice), and USAID’s Democracy Delivers initiative (which has marshalled $500 million in funding from the United States and others to help reformers deliver, including on their anti-corruption commitments). These innovations, informed by USAID’s Dekleptification Guide, are enabling the U.S. government to more nimbly pivot toward environments where local momentum can be bolstered by outside assistance.
Bolstering integrity in high-risk sectors: In April 2024, the United States and its partners launched the Blue Dot Network – a mechanism to certify infrastructure projects that have met global standards for quality and sustainability, including transparency in procurement and provisions to limit opportunities for corruption. The United States also supported the launch of PROTECT, a collective action project to address corruption risk in the supply chain for critical minerals.
Strengthening corruption safeguards in the Indo-Pacific: In June, the United States and thirteen other partners held a signing ceremony, after concluding eight rounds of negotiations in record time, for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Fair Economy Agreement. The Agreement aims to create a more transparent, predictable trade and investment environment across IPEF partners’ markets, including through binding obligations to prevent and combat corruption. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) and State are accelerating implementation by offering new anti-corruption technical assistance to IPEF partners, including workshops on procurement corruption.
Dialoguing with the private sector: In 2021, State launched the Galvanizing the Private Sector as Partners in Combatting Corruption initiative, which connects companies and governments to strengthen business integrity and encourage governance reform. Commerce’s International Trade Administration organized the 2024 forum of the Business Ethics for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Small and Medium Enterprises Initiative – the world’s largest public-private partnership on ethical business conduct – at which stakeholders formalized policy recommendations on business integrity in public procurement.
Protecting the U.S. financial system from abuse
Expanding corporate transparency: To deter kleptocrats and criminals from laundering money through anonymous shell companies, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) operationalized a new filing system for certain companies operating in the United States to report their beneficial owners – the real people who own or control them – pursuant to the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act. Treasury held hundreds of outreach events across all states and territories, reaching thousands of stakeholders, to enable companies to quickly and easily comply with this reporting requirement.
Closing loopholes for money-laundering: Treasury finalized rules to close two major loopholes in the U.S. financial system: (1) to increase transparency in the U.S. residential real estate sector, to ensure that law-abiding homebuyers are not disadvantaged by individuals laundering their ill-gotten gains, and (2) to safeguard the investment adviser industry from illicit finance. Treasury also proposed a rule to modernize financial institutions’ anti-money-laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs, to make them more effective and risk-based. Together, these rulemakings represent historic advances for the U.S. AML/CFT regime, in line with international standards, that will help the United States urge other countries to undertake similar reforms to curb illicit finance. The Biden-Harris Administration has also called on Congress to close even more loopholes that facilitate money-laundering by passing the ENABLERS Act.
Blocking assets and denying entry to corrupt actors: Since the start of the Administration, Treasury has designated more than 500 individuals and entities for corruption and related activities, across six continents. That includes blocking the assets of 20 individuals and 48 companies in Fiscal Year 2024 for corruption in Afghanistan, Guatemala, Guyana, Paraguay, Western Balkans, and Zimbabwe. In tandem, State publicly issued corruption-related visa restrictions for 76 foreign officials and family members in Fiscal Year 2024, and 292 over the course of the Administration. These actions have protected the U.S. financial system from corrupt actors and promoted accountability in domestic jurisdictions. For example, just one week after the U.S. issuance of a public visa restriction on former Director of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Intelligence Services Osman Mehmedagic for significant corruption, he was arrested by BiH authorities for abuse of office.
Taking aim at enablers of corruption: In December 2023, President Biden issued an historic Presidential Proclamation establishing a visa restriction for those who facilitate and enable significant corruption and their immediate family members. This new visa restriction complements existing commitments to use sanction and law enforcement capabilities to target private enablers of public corruption. Earlier this year, the FBI and DOJ secured a guilty plea and a criminal penalty of $661 million from Gunvor – one of the largest commodities trading firms in the world – for facilitating bribery of Ecuadorian officials and laundering those bribes through U.S. banks. In addition, USAID launched new activities to incentivize integrity within professions that serve as gatekeepers to the international financial system.
Upholding international standards: The United States has helped lead efforts to expand anti-corruption work at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including improving assessment tools, mitigating risks associated with “golden passport” programs, and highlighting how non-financial sectors can be abused by corrupt actors.
Keeping America and our partners safe
Addressing corruption risk in the security sector: Security sector corruption can divert essential supplies, empower malign actors, threaten the safety of U.S. service members, and undermine U.S. military missions writ large. In the past year, the Department of Defense (DOD) incorporated corruption risk into its security cooperation planning – subjecting certain proposals to further scrutiny and identifying risk mitigation measures as needed. State also created new resources to weigh corruption risk as part of security sector assistance decision-making. In addition, State’s Global Defense Reform Program and DOD’s institutional capacity building programs advanced more transparent, accountable, and professional defense institutions. DOD continued running a training course on combatting corruption for partner military commanders and civilian leaders.
Tackling organized crime and corruption: Transnational criminal organizations often rely on corruption to enable their criminal activities and evade accountability – which fuels narcotrafficking into the United States, human smuggling, cybercrimes, and more. The U.S. government is deploying anti-corruption tools to target criminal networks and their financial enablers, in line with the 2023 White House Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime.
Standing up to Russia’s aggression: The United States has adapted to address the wartime needs of Ukraine’s anti-corruption stakeholders, as they close off a key vector for Russian dominance and advance Ukraine’s democratic future. In 2023, Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators and prosecutors achieved an 80 percent increase in prosecutions and a 50 percent increase in convictions, plus opened cases against high-ranking officials including the former head of the Ukrainian Supreme Court. With U.S. support, Ukraine has advanced significant reforms on asset disclosure, launched a whistleblower portal, strengthened the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and enhanced transparency and integrity in reconstruction.
Securing a greener future: The United States has integrated an anti-corruption lens across sectors, with particular emphasis on addressing corruption vulnerabilities that threaten a secure, just energy transition for all. This includes USAID support to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), increased mining transparency in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, and innovations that address transnational corruption in green energy mineral supply chains across 15 countries.
Protecting global health: Corruption curtails the ability of states to respond to pandemics and undercuts access to basic healthcare. USAID is tackling this challenge by releasing cutting-edge guidance on anti-corruption in the health sector and launching integrated programming. For example, in Liberia the United States is working with the government to curb theft of pharmaceuticals through civil society monitoring, law enforcement trainings, and public awareness campaigns.
Addressing the root causes of migration: Combating corruption is a core component of improving conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – so people do not feel compelled to leave their homes, in line with the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America. Recent U.S. actions have included training up to 27,000 justice sector stakeholders in those countries to more effectively address corruption.
Defending democracy by rooting out corruption
Tackling electoral corruption: When candidates can be bankrolled by foreign adversaries and institutions captured by kleptocrats, citizens lose faith in their governments—or even in democracy itself. In response, USAID has launched new programs to bolster electoral integrity, strengthen independent media, and increase the transparency of political finance in high-risk locations.
Lifting up civil society and independent media: The U.S. government has substantially expanded support to frontline activists and journalists, including through the Global Anti-Corruption Consortium. In addition, a new State Department initiative is training hundreds of journalists in transnational corruption investigations, while USAID’s new investigative journalist networks in Asia and Southern Africa are building capacity to track corruption across sectors and across borders. The Secretary of State established a new award for Anti-Corruption Champions, which has honored dozens of courageous civil society leaders and embattled reformers. In 2022, the United States also hosted the largest regular gathering of civil society activists fighting corruption – the International Anti-Corruption Conference – in Washington, DC, with keynote remarks from APNSA Jake Sullivan.
Protecting sovereignty: Authoritarian actors like Russia and the PRC use bribery to interfere in the policy, procurement, debt, and electoral processes of other countries – undermining both sovereignty and democracy. The United States is standing up to this tactic by building the resilience of frontline actors to detect and deflect foreign-backed strategic corruption, educating partners about the kleptocrats’ playbook, harnessing sanction tools to deter threats, and increasing collaboration between practitioners working on anti-corruption and those addressing foreign malign influence – both within the USG and with likeminded partners. For example, in June the United States joined with Canada and the UK to expose Russia’s use of corruption and covert financing, among other tactics, to undermine democratic processes in Moldova.
Restoring trust in American democracy: The Biden-Harris Administration has established the strongest ethics standards of any U.S. presidency. On his first day in office, the President signed an Executive Order requiring administration officials to take a stringent ethics pledge, which extends lobbying bans, limits shadow lobbying, and makes ethics waivers more transparent. The Administration also restored longstanding democratic norms by protecting DOJ cases from political interference, releasing the President’s and Vice-President’s taxes, and voluntarily disclosing White House visitor logs. And in the last year, the Office of Government Ethics finalized rules updating the standards for ethical conduct and legal expense funds for executive branch employees.
Protecting American democracy from malign finance: Just as we defend democracy around the world, the U.S. government is working to keep American democracy safe from foreign adversaries. Actions to curb money laundering in the United States can help reduce the ability of foreign and domestic actors to make illegal campaign contributions and evade U.S. election laws. President Biden has called on Congress to go even further by passing the DISCLOSE Act, which would curb the ability of foreign entities and special interests to use dark money loopholes to influence our elections.
Revitalizing participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP): The United States rejoined the Steering Committee of OGP – a platform for civil society and governments to forge joint commitments and learn from each other– and provided assistance for OGP’s work on anti-corruption. Domestically, the United States has turbocharged OGP implementation by creating the U.S. Open Government Secretariat at the General Services Administration, an Open Government Federal Advisory Committee, an Interagency Community of Practice – spanning federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, and engaged with hundreds of stakeholders to exchange lessons and expand transparency, accountability, and public participation. The United States also launched the first-ever Request for Information to feed into the 6th U.S. OGP National Action Plan and announced development of a toolkit to help federal agencies more meaningfully engage with the public.
Modernizing and coordinating U.S. government efforts to fight corruption
Institutionalizing anti-corruption as an enduring priority: Over the past four years, Departments and Agencies have made substantial organizational improvements to elevate corruption concerns. For example:
The State Department’s new Office of the Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption leads the integration of anti-corruption priorities into bilateral and other policy processes, conducts targeted diplomatic engagements, and drives strategic planning, including through the Department’s senior-level Anti-Corruption Policy Board. In the past year, the Office jumpstarted implementation of the Combating Global Corruption Act and completed an analysis of anti-corruption assistance to inform future State Department decision-making.
USAID’s new Anti-Corruption Center, within the newly established Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, serves as a hub of technical expertise and thought leadership – driving the integration of corruption considerations across USAID’s portfolio, supporting USAID Missions in developing localized approaches, managing a suite of programming focused on transnational corruption, and using its convening power and policy insights to forge strategic partnerships. Since 2022, USAID has released its first-ever Anti-Corruption Policy, which outlines a cross-sectoral approach to constraining opportunities for corruption, raising the costs of corruption, and incentivizing integrity – plus a host of tools to drive uptake across USAID.
FBI’s International Corruption Unit expanded an agreement with the State Department to deploy six regional anti-corruption advisors to strategic locations around the world, where they organize regional working groups with local law enforcement officials, provide case-base mentorship, and facilitate coordination with the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre.

Expanded interagency capacity has been complemented by the National Security Council’s establishment of a dedicated Director for Anti-Corruption position, for the first time, to ensure whole-of-government coordination and advance anti-corruption within key policy processes.
Leading in multilateral fora: The United States has regained its leadership role in the international bodies that shape anti-corruption norms globally and can sustain momentum across time. In particular, the United States stepped into the presidency of the UN Convention against Corruption Conference of States Parties (UNCAC COSP), proudly hosting in December 2023 thousands of stakeholders in Atlanta, Georgia, led by the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. As part of its commitment to championing the role of non-governmental actors in the fight against corruption, the United States facilitated record civil society participation in UNCAC working group meetings, hosted the first UNCAC Private Sector Forum, and supported inclusive implementation of UNCAC commitments in Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. The United States also participated in several peer reviews of our own anti-corruption practices over the last three years, and proudly made these results public. Alongside these multilateral fora, we convened the Global Forum on Asset Recovery action series to accelerate practitioner cooperation across the United States, Algeria, Honduras, Iraq, Moldova, Nigeria, Seychelles, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Zambia.
Understanding corruption dynamics: The Intelligence Community developed and disseminated new resources to bolster intelligence prioritization, collection and analysis on corrupt actors and their networks. USAID commissioned research on topics like countering corruption through social and behavioral change and State initiated an interagency anti-corruption learning agenda and a small grants program to support it.
Deepening external partnerships: The United States convened a series of coordination meetings with other bilateral donors and philanthropies in order to harmonize our anti-corruption approaches and galvanized anti-corruption resources across the donor community through the Integrity for Development campaign. USAID’s Countering Transnational Corruption Grand Challenge for Development brought together technologists, businesses, activists, and others to collaboratively address concrete corruption challenges.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China’s Hainan sees robust foreign trade in first three quarters

Source: China State Council Information Office

China’s Hainan Province posted imports and exports of goods totalling 205.95 billion yuan (about 28.93 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, a record high in the same period and up 20.2 percent year on year, customs statistics showed Wednesday.

It is the first time that the province’s trade in goods has exceeded the 200 billion yuan mark in the same period, according to information revealed at a press conference held by the Haikou Customs.

The province’s trade in goods with Belt and Road partner countries reached 117.25 billion yuan in the first three quarters, up 43.9 percent year on year and accounting for 56.9 percent of the province’s total. Meanwhile, Hainan’s goods trade with ASEAN countries surged 70 percent year on year.

The export of the province’s industrial finished products grew rapidly during the period, accounting for over 70 percent of the total export value, becoming a strong factor in driving the overall growth of its foreign trade, said Haikou Customs.

Notably, with the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the number of newly registered foreign trade companies in Hainan has exceeded 70,000 since June 2020, bringing significant increment to the development of the province’s foreign trade.

During the first three quarters of this year, the general trade with longer industrial chains and higher added value accounted for more than 70 percent of Hainan’s total foreign trade, according to the customs.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Appeal for information following assault in west London

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Met officers have released an image of a man they would like to speak to following an assault in Notting Hill, west London.

An unknown male was walking westbound along Westbourne Grove, W2, on Saturday, 5 October at 13:02hrs where he was seen on CCTV pushing a male victim to the floor.

The victim, who was walking with his 3-year-old child at the time, was captured falling to the floor and hitting his head into a wall, which caused quite serious injuries, including bleeding, a fractured eye socket and heavy bruising.

The victim and his child have since been discharged from hospital, but require further treatment.

The man has been described as a black male, of medium to large build, around the age of 40.

He was last seen wearing a blue jacket, blue trousers, with a pair of white trainers and a blue baseball cap.

Enquiries are ongoing but police say it appears at this stage to be an unprovoked attack.

If you recognise this man or if you have any information which could help, please report it to police online or call 101 quoting 3239/05OCT24.

Alternatively this can be reported to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Chicago member bounces his way to gold

Source: US International Brotherhood of Boilermakers

Working in the union gives me the freedom of lifestyle. If I was working a regular job, I wouldn’t be able to train the way I did for this competition.

Earl Pote, Local 1

Earl Pote, a Local 1 Boilermaker from Chicago, discovered a fascination for pogo sticks at age 12, after seeing one at a local carnival. Decades later, his passion and dedication have secured him the 2024 Tech Pogo Stick World Championship, earned at the Pogo World Championships in Pittsburg last summer. He previously won gold in Tech in 2009 and 2010 and claimed silver in 2011, despite competing with a broken foot.

Pote said that from 2009 to 2011, he also competed in the Big Air competition, as well as in the Tech. He had to stop because he joined the military in 2012, and said he couldn’t risk getting severely injured while in the military.

Pote’s most recent victory came in the Tech category, which requires participants to use steel spring pogo sticks. The tech style keeps pogoers closer to the ground and focuses on technical skills, unlike other categories, like Big Air, which allow for pneumatic pogo sticks that are lighter and can bounce higher.

“Pogoing requires a lot of balance,” Pote explained. “The tech side, especially, requires a lot of balance. There are a lot of tricks that demand precise control. It comes with time and hours of practice.”

Watch Earl Pote practice pogoing!

Although his love for pogoing came first, joining the union gave him the freedom to practice the hundreds of hours needed to become a champion.

Pote’s journey into the Boilermakers began in February 2019, after serving six years in the United States Air Force. He discovered the union through Helmets to Hardhats, a program that helps military veterans transition into civilian trades. His military experience involved working on aircrew egress systems. Joining the union opened new doors for him and gave him a trade he could use to support himself and his pogo ambitions.

Before indenturing into the Boilermaker’s apprenticeship program, Pote had no welding experience. “I hadn’t even struck an arc,” he said. “I put a lot of time into learning how to weld. I’d be at the hall for eight hours a day practicing when I was laid off. I also learned layout, something I didn’t know how to do before becoming a Boilermaker.”

His new boilermaker skills made it possible for Pote to begin crafting his own brand of pogo stick called The Reaper. He began fabricating them out of his garage after the company that originally produced tech pogo sticks stopped making them. He decided if he couldn’t buy the pogo stick he needed, he’d design one himself.

“I’m a Boilermaker at the end of the day, and I can make a pogo stick,” Pote said.

The biggest challenge he faced in creating The Reaper was sourcing the right spring. After struggling to find a manufacturer, he finally located one in Chicago. They produced a prototype, which he tested and approved with the help of a friend.

Pote used his own creation, The Reaper, to win the 2024 championship, a victory driven by skill, hours of practice, and the benefits of the union way of life.

“Working in the union gives me the freedom of lifestyle,” Pote said. “If I was working a regular job, I wouldn’t be able to train the way I did for this competition.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Birdton — Have you seen this stolen trailer?

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Keswick RCMP Detachment is asking for the public’s help locating a stolen trailer from Birdton, N.B.

The theft is believed to have occurred on September 30, at an open field on Crow Hill Road, in Birdton.

The trailer is described as a white 2010 K-Z Cayote, with New Brunswick licence plate TPX 030, and vehicle identification number 4EZTC222XA8041333.

Anyone with information about the theft, or who has seen the trailer since September 30, is asked to contact the Keswick RCMP at 506-357-4300. Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by downloading the secure P3 Mobile App, or by Secure Web Tips at http://www.crimenb.ca.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former Castroville Police Chief Convicted of Wire Fraud

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury convicted former Castroville Police Chief, Christopher Filline, for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Filline, 58, developed a scheme in 2016 to defraud Farmers Insurance Group by destroying his vehicle that he insured through the company, and claiming it had been stolen. Filline arranged for two co-conspirators to take the vehicle and light it on fire using an accelerant. He subsequently filed a false report with the Lytle Police Department and an insurance claim with Farmers Insurance Group, declaring his vehicle had been stolen. The filing resulted in Filline receiving a $14,388.25 payment.

Filline was indicted in January 2020. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentence hearing has been set for Jan. 22, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

The FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg Surovic and Christina Playton are prosecuting the case.

###

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Remarks by CE at press conference on “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” (with photos/video)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the press conference on “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” today (October 16): Reporter: Some opinions, such as the League of Social Democrats, have demanded democratic reform for Hong Kong. Are political reform and universal suffrage on the agenda of this administration? The second question: the proposed regulation on subdivided flats do not cover the so-called “coffin homes” or “cage homes”. Why is this so? Will the Government consider extending the regulation to cover this type of subdivided flats? Thank you. Chief Executive: I have said more than once that the political reform has been settled at this moment with the introduction of, first of all, the new election system for LegCo (Legislative Council) members, for the Chief Executive, and also after improving the district administration system. At this moment, I think it is important to ensure that all these improvements of the different election systems will be run smoothly and also that they function effectively to realise the maximum benefit that all these improved measures intend to create. We still have time to make all these systems run, so that they could synergise and create extra value for society. It takes the efforts of everybody in these three systems to think of what they should do: they reform themselves so that they can contribute even bigger value to the overall good. And all these three systems work towards the same goal of creating positive value for Hong Kong as a whole. So what you have just said, I think, is settled. It will not be an issue in this term of the Government. The second thing regarding subdivided flats. The system that I want to introduce through legislation is not to make what is illegal now legal. What is illegal now will continue to be illegal under the respective ordinances. Enforcement will be taken accordingly. And of course, we will step up the enforcement in concert with the new policy on subdivided flats, which will be introduced in residential buildings. So the intention is to, first of all, regulate subdivided flats using this basic housing concept, so that we will have a standard below which we will take action against, because they will not be regarded as the right standard for our households to live in. I think that is the intention, and we make this policy knowing that it is a difficult matter. That is why I hope it will be thoroughly debated in LegCo so that we can enhance it. We also want to ensure that this new system will be able to tell the market, which in some way needs to exist – by the sheer evidence that over 110 000 households are living in these accommodations. We want this market to be healthy in existence. In other words, all the standards have to be met, and we will be taking action after a reasonable registration period and a reasonable grace period, giving the Secretary for Housing the flexibility to define the unsatisfactory units and enforce actions according to the actual situation, so that we will take them off the market, lot by lot, to ensure that things will progress in an orderly manner. It is not easy, but I think it is a problem everybody wants to see solved, and it is under this determination that I would really request that collectively, we discuss the system that I have recommended, and then come to a good consensus eventually at LegCo, so that we can pass a law for all these things to happen. And I think, in due course, we should be able to solve the problem of people having to live in substandard accommodation.Reporter: Two questions. First, some residents who are living in substandard subdivided units are worried that the new standards for Basic Housing Units will lead to higher rents, or that landlords will kick them out. How will the Government support these people who may lose their homes that they are currently living in? Second, in the sections on national security, part of the focus was put on public officers, such as proposing a new set of guidelines for them to abide by Article 23. Does this show that there are still some loopholes for public officers, such as within the civil service? Are civil servants confused on how to follow Article 23? Thank you. Chief Executive: First of all, the problem of some households living in substandard subdivided flats is a problem that has been long-lasting. In other words, it has accumulated over the years. We are very conscious of the fact that we have to do it in an orderly manner, so that adjustments can be made by the parties affected. From now to the time we will actually take enforcement action, I think there will be a few years, because, first of all, we will have to pass the legislation, which I think it will probably be next year the earliest. Then, we will introduce a registration period. My suggestion is either 12 months or 18 months, because we are talking about 110 000 households. If you are talking about a 12-month registration period, it is roughly 9 000 a month. Whether it should be 12 months or 18 months, I think we can debate. We can let LegCo debate it. I am very willing to listen. Then, we will introduce a grace period for adjustments to be made structurally. That may be one year, two years again, subject to discussion by LegCo, because under the present legislation, tenants of these units are guaranteed two tenancies. We have to ensure that tenants’ rights are protected under the present law. Again, that is an issue for LegCo to debate. Over this period of time, I think people can make the right adjustment. The third important point is the new entries. When there is a new supply of subdivided flats that haven’t been rented out, i.e. there are no tenants yet, and if it is a new operator, they can only enter the market with units that satisfy the standard. Otherwise, they will not be allowed to register. It is designed this way so that there will be no increase in the number of substandard subdivided flats. In other words, all new supplies will have to be conforming to our standard. And this new supply will, of course, be available for present tenants to consider moving into, because I believe that once the standards are clearly defined, operators will know very well how to do their calculation on what subdivision they will create, what flats they will then have to build to satisfy our standard. This supply of flats will also come out for people to consider. Then, of course, if the rent is not set reasonably, they will not have tenants. There are a lot of things, and also individual cases – as we always have very special individual cases – we will deal with individual cases specifically. But overall, I think what is important is when I design any new measures, I always ask myself a question: if this new measure solves 95 per cent of the problem, should I still go ahead and deal with the remaining 5 per cent after the first implementation, or should I ignore it until I have a perfect solution to solve 100 per cent of the problem? I decide to go all out, even though there may be individual cases that we need to address, but overall, if the system solves the majority of the problem, I think we should go ahead, and then, after implementation, we deal with the special cases. Regarding national security, the law has been created. We are now talking about implementation, and for implementation, there is never the best, only the better. I have always said I look for continuous improvement. The law is new, and we all need to increase our knowledge about it. It is just natural. I think it is a natural thing for any government when there is a new law, they, first of all, have to do some education, enhance familiarisation, do some system building and do some enhancement in the course. It is a natural process. Reporter: Good afternoon, Mr Lee. Firstly, with regards to the measure regarding the housing market in the Policy Address, why does the Government see the need to introduce property loan relaxation measures, and will this only benefit those who are looking to purchase high-end flats? And with subdivided units, how transparent would the Government be with the requirements and the corresponding criminal liabilities regarding the subdivided units? Is it worried that what it’s doing right now is going against the wish of Beijing to get rid of subdivided housing altogether? And lastly, with the focus of the Government on the economy for this year’s Policy Address, there doesn’t seem to be further efforts to stimulate the economy beyond areas such as those vis-a-vis access for some countries, relaxation of loans and even the reduction of spirits tax. Would you be concerned that these efforts would not be enough to kick-start the economy? And what do you think is the most eye-catching point of this year’s Policy Address? Thank you. Chief Executive: Well, thank you very much. First of all, we allow the mortgage rate to go back to 70 per cent for all kinds of properties because I think the introduction of extra measures were made at a time when the property market was too much of a problem for people to buy flats, so it has gone out of control. And you know that the property market has somehow consolidated. It has now settled down, so it will be unreasonable for measures that were introduced for a specific purpose that no longer exists now to continue. I think it will be something you don’t want the Government to not act on when some situation no longer exists, where what may be regarded as inappropriate still continues. So that is the first point. The second point is, I do want to help people to buy their own flats if they can afford it, and from a lot of opinions I received in the consultation, the desire of Hong Kong people to buy their own flats continues to appear very strongly at the back of my mind. So I do want to help them to buy property by alleviating their burden of finding enough of a down payment. Of course, at the end of the day, he has to make his own calculation to assess whether he can afford it, but helping them in the first step to realise their dream, I think is something I should try to do my best. And that is why, when now I think the situation allows it, I set the mortgage rate to 70 per cent for all properties. Regarding subdivided flats, I think we have to be realistic as to why subdivided flats exist. They exist over a long period of time because of need, because of actual needs of households, because of the lack of enough supply of flats. So we have to be realistic, pragmatic. We don’t live in a dream world. We live in the real world. So how do we pragmatically address the problem? It’s not easy, but I’m determined, and I think society supports that we should solve the problem. So I need collective wisdom, I think, during our consultation, during the study, when the study team worked very hard to do their own studies and consult stakeholders, they did an excellent job. And now I have come to a decision that, first of all, it has to be a legislative process so that it is clear. And when people are clear about what the rules are, then the market, which now exists but is not properly regulated, will become a regulated market, supplying flats which satisfy the standard. I think that is what any government would want to do. And I think what is done, what is proposed, is necessary according to the actual situation of Hong Kong. And I have said, the intention is not to make things that are illegal, legal. We just want to regulate residential flats that mainly create this market of subdivided flats, so the market will be providing flats of what we think will be a reasonable and liveable standard. And if you spend time to read the Policy Address – in a way, I can understand why all these questions come out, because it is the first day of the release of the document. It has, in Chinese, over 31 000 words, so it does take time to really look at the things in detail. But a lot is done to help the economy to grow. What is important is that what we can strengthen, we will strengthen. At the same time, we look for new opportunities of growth. That is why, for some areas, we are recommending measures which I think is only probably 10 per cent of the final goal that I want to go. Some may be at a position of 20 per cent. So when all these things work together, they create a synergy effect. Hong Kong has been growing as a whole from the macro angle because last year, the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth was over 3 per cent. This year, the economy will still grow. The GDP is expected also to grow between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent, and some analysts have suggested a rate of 3 per cent, so overall, we’re still growing. The economy is still going ahead. But of course, different sectors are at different stages, and I have to tell those sectors that are not doing too well, that I will roll out measures to help you, but you also have to help yourself. You have to change. You have to reform, find new ways to make a difference, a difference for you to be able to win. I think that has been in the DNA of Hong Kong people. And I make it no secret that we all have to work hard. That is why I say “reform together and build our economy together”. It is this togetherness that I want everybody to subscribe to, because working together will ensure that one plus one will be bigger than two. And when 7.5 million work together, when we work together, it will be bigger than a “7.5 million effect”. Thank you. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: O’Fallon, Missouri, Man Admits Child Sex Charges

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

ST. LOUIS – A man from O’Fallon, Missouri on Wednesday admitted engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old that he met online and discussing child sex with another 15-year-old victim.

Andrew Haller, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to all of the charges he faced: two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.

Haller admitted separately meeting two 15-year-old girls on Tumblr before moving their conversations to the encrypted app Telegram.

The 15-year-old California victim told the FBI that Haller introduced the topic of “daddy dom,” and told her he was also sexually abusing another teen. Haller listed rules for the victim, including that she would have to ask his permission once a day to urinate, wear a collar at all times, and refer to him only as “Sir,” Dad” or “Daddy.” He also asked her for nude photos and sent her photos and videos of the other victim.

After identifying Haller and performing a court-approved search of his home in November of 2023, the FBI identified the other victim. She told the FBI that she sent Haller sexually explicit photos at his direction. They met in person twice in 2023 and engaged in sexual activity. Haller struck her during the first visit and took pictures and videos of her, his plea says. He also discussed with her his desire to abuse children too young to talk or remember the abuse.

Haller possessed 195 images and 92 videos of known or suspected child sexual abuse material, and sent that material to others via Telegram and Signal, another encrypted app, his plea says.

Haller is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28, 2025. The coercion charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and the child pornography charges each carry a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes has agreed as part of the plea to ask for no more than 25 years in prison.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mental Health Partnership goes from strength to strength
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

A Sellafield Ltd investment in The West Cumbria Mental Health Partnership via our Social Impact, Multiplied programme is making a difference to our community.
Since our initial investment of £1.8 million in 2022, the partnership which is delivered by Cumbria Community Foundation has:

provided funding to more than 20 charitable organisations to provide accessible, community-based mental health support services

provided support to more than 5,000 adults and 2,000 young children and young people

of those supported in the first three years, 61% reported improved mental health or wellbeing, 58% reported increased self-esteem and confidence, and 58% saw a reduction in stress and anxiety

Kelvyn James is an international mountain leader, qualified counsellor and volunteer with the Samaritans.

He founded the social enterprise Mental Health North West which secured £31,320 of funding via the partnership to deliver 120 guided walks over 3 years for people experiencing mental health issues.

Participants are not required to have had a formal diagnosis. They join the walks if they feel it would help them. There is no charge.

Kelvyn said:

It’s a spectrum, from those who are suicidal to people experiencing a bad day. When we take them for a walk, it’s an opportunity to talk.

We have one chap who says the walks are the only things in his life that he looks forward to. We have a lady who says it’s the only time that she speaks to other people.

The partnership has 3 core activity areas: support to adults, support to children and young people, and to maintain recovery via the Recovery College.

More than 80 organisations who now meet regularly to understand the services available, how they can refer people to those services, and any gaps in support.

Confirming that our financial support to the West Cumbria Mental Health Partnership will continue in this financial year, our head of corporate sustainability and supply chain development, Eirini Etoimou, said:

Continuing to empower the West Cumbria Mental Health Partnership is a testament to our commitment to fostering resilience and well-being in our communities.

With the support of our Social Impact, Multiplied programme, and the dedication of the Cumbria Community Foundation, we are paving the way for innovative mental health initiatives that will uplift lives and strengthen the fabric of West Cumbria.

Annalee Holliday, head of grants practice and programmes at Cumbria Community Foundation, said:

We know that NHS mental health services in West Cumbria are overstretched, with long waiting lists, so the support which has been made possible by the West Cumbria Mental Health Partnership has been critical to thousands of people in real need over the past 3 years.

By working collaboratively, charities with shared aims can increase their impact and effectiveness, amplify their reach and combine resources.

If you or someone you know needs help with their mental health, please visit wcmhp.org.uk. If you are in crisis and need immediate help, please call NHS 111.

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 16 October 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Banking: Inflation decreases to 1.5 percent in September 2024

Source: Bank of Botswana

Headline inflation decreased significantly from 3.9 percent in August to 1.5 percent in September 2024, breaching the lower bound of the medium-term objective range of 3 – 6 percent, and was notably lower than the 3.2 percent recorded in September 2023. The decrease in inflation between August and September 2024 was mainly due to the base effects associated with the increase in domestic fuel prices on 13 September 2023, which added 1.31 percentage points to headline inflation. Furthermore, inflation fell due to the reduction in domestic fuel prices effected on 11 September 2024, which subtracted 0.8 percentage points from headline inflation, as well as the deceleration in the rate of annual price change for most categories of goods and services. Inflation for domestic tradeables increased from 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent between August and September 2024, due to the broad-based increase in food prices. However, inflation for imported tradeables decreased sharply from 5.2 percent to -0.2 percent during the same period, mainly on account of base effects associated with the upward adjustment of domestic fuel prices in September 2023 and the downward adjustment in domestic fuel prices in September 2024. As a result, all tradeables inflation decreased from 4.9 percent to 0.9 percent between August and September 2024. Inflation for non-tradeables declined slightly from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent in the same period.

Similarly, the 16 percent trimmed mean inflation and inflation excluding administered prices decreased from 3.7 percent and 3.2 percent to 1.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, between August and September 2024.

MIL OSI Global Banks –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: Paytronix Gift Card Trend Report: Digital Card Sales Surge 7% Year over Year

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEWTON, Mass., Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Paytronix, the leader in guest engagement for restaurants and convenience stores, today unveiled the much-anticipated 2024 Paytronix Gift Card Trend Report. It’s most robust to date, it finds that while the number of cards sold in 2023 is on par with 2022, overall revenue from gift card sales is up four percent year over year. Among Paytronix clients, the number of digital gift cards sold grew 7% in 2023 to make up 34% of the total gift card market and become the fastest-growing gift card segment

Download the 2024 Paytronix Gift Card Report for all the numbers and insights.

“Forward-thinking restaurants are embracing digital gift cards, offering seamless purchasing, sending, redemption, and reloading experiences through mobile apps and websites,” said Lee Barnes, the Chief Data Officer of Paytronix. “In our latest report we’re helping brands understand that, by viewing gift cards as more than just a sales channel, they can expand their reach, empower their advocates, drive loyalty, and create personalized experiences that keep guests coming back for more.”

Adopting a Mobile-First Strategy
The report explores why a mobile-first approach to digital gift cards is becoming increasingly important for restaurants. Mobile gift cards can easily integrate with a restaurant’s existing app, loyalty program, and online ordering system. This cohesion creates a unified digital ecosystem that deepens a guests’ experiences and keeps their favorite establishment at their fingertips.

Mobile gift cards seamlessly merge with popular digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing guests to easily store and access their gift cards for online orders and in-store purchases via NFC or QR code scans. A mobile-first approach to gift cards also provides valuable data on customer behaviors and preferences that can be used to create personalized promotions, fine-tune a loyalty program, and guide strategic business decisions.

Key findings from the report include:

Digital Cards Redeemed Twice as Fast – While unredeemed gift cards may seem profitable in the short term, encouraging swift redemption can cultivate lifelong customers. Report data reveals that the average online card was redeemed in 16.8 days, while cards purchased in-store took 35.3 days for redemption.

Increasing Sales – Year-over-year gift card sales continue to increase with 2023 revenue up 6 percent over 2022. Digital gift cards grew the most with sales up 229% between 2019 and 2023. Gift card growth among full-service restaurants (FSRs) also jumped with sales up around 1% (2022, 2,259,621 to 2023 2,342,083).

Most Popular – By far the most popular denomination are $25 cards, which made up 34% of cards sold in 2023. But $50 cards were the biggest mover with an increase of 17% in sales.

Holiday Sales – Year-over-year change in holiday gift cards were up five percent, with 80 percent of all physical gift cards, both in-store and third-party, sold in November and December.

Methodology
The 2024 Paytronix Gift Card Report draws on data sourced from aggregate gift card sales for 241 merchants continually operating gift card programs between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2023. These merchants all had at least six months of gift card sales data starting in July 2018.

About Paytronix
Paytronix is the leader in Digital Customer Engagement for restaurants, convenience stores, and other retailers who seek to build lasting guest relationships. Paytronix continually advances digital guest engagement by developing technologies that uncover new insights about guest attitudes and behaviors that create brand preferences. For more information visit Paytronix.com.

Media Contact:
Calen McGee
Paytronix Systems, Inc.
cmcgee@paytronix.com
646-957-7758

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: MELD makes Strategic Investment in AI Wallet for the Future of Finance

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SINGAPORE, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MELD, a crypto native Neobank has announced a strategic investment in Armor Wallet, an AI powered web3 wallet promising to revolutionize crypto investing for both new users and professional traders. In this strategic investment MELD is committing to a future vision of finance where AI drives the market.

Today, professional institutions and traders have access to specialized AI tools giving them an edge against your average trader. Armor Wallet is building an AI powered wallet with autonomous agent technology to level the playing field and give the average user powerful AI tools to better compete.

“This strategic partnership with Armor helps MELD build a future of finance where the average person can invest like a professional without specific knowledge or large budgets. “MELD brings investment products and Neobank technology and Armor brings mind blowing AI tools.”, says Ken Olling, founder of MELD.

MELD has been building for three years towards a future where normal people can get access to financial tools normally only available to wealthy individuals or large corporations. Bringing these tools to the common investor means they get the most out of their money and see it grow. It’s not about saving the world, it’s about giving the bartender in Brazil the same opportunities that a stock broker in New York city has.

Armor is a natural fix in the eyes of MELD because they are building a web3 wallet that is powered by a chatGPT style interface where a user can simply type what they want to do and the AI in concert with autonomous agents will execute those trades, no matter how complex or what time of day. A 24/7 trading desk that is always available and always working for you.

The partnership involves both an investment of capital and also sharing of technology to build a more complete and cohesive set of financial tools. MELD will work to help integrate Armor more tightly into their service offering and Armor will use MELD and its services in the training of their AI as well as product integration.

AI has a bright future in finance, but it’s not about telling the future price of Bitcoin, it’s about onboarding the next billion users into crypto in a way that’s easy, friendly and intuitive.

About MELD
MELD is a crypto native global neobank powered by the blockchain. Bringing fiat currencies like (30+ including USD and EUR) and crypto currencies (2000+ including BTC and ETH) together in one seamless wallet supporting more than 150+ countries. MELD makes it easy to navigate between these two worlds and get the best out of both. From generating a yield on your crypto to debit cards and business accounts, MELD brings fundamental banking services to everyone.

The MELD blockchain powers more than just the MELD Neobank, with a non-custodial lending and borrowing protocol and more than 30 businesses building on MELD. Users interact with all of this through the MELD web and Mobile apps helping people and businesses take full advantage of both their crypto assets and fiat assets.

You can follow the project and stay up to date with its development at these links: Website | X (Twitter) | Telegram |

Contact:
press@meld.com

Disclaimer: This content is provided by MELD. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5c1f5937-2055-4aa3-b863-f75e8c79c3c9

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Cohen Announces $800,000 Community Economic Development Grant

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

Funding for South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation Innovation and Technology Center

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that the South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation (SMRCDC) will receive an $800,000 grant to complete the construction of the 38126 Innovation and Technology Center from the Community Economic Development (CED) Program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CED program expands employment for low-income communities facing persistent poverty and high unemployment by investing in community development corporations.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“This funding for the SMRCDC promises to create new businesses and more than 30 jobs in the area of South Memphis it serves. I look forward to seeing the completion of the Innovation and Technology Center, and the continued success of its efforts.”

# # #

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: NAS Pensacola Security Force Participates in Training Exercise

Source: United States Navy

The exercise was unrelated to any current threats, but was designed to enhance the training and readiness of Navy security personnel and better prepare Department of the Navy (DoN) personnel for potential force protection situations.

“It’s important that we constantly evaluate our response procedures to a variety of realistic threats to enhance our personnel and force-wide readiness,” said NAS Pensacola Installation Training Officer Erich Brinkmeier. “These exercises test information dissemination, individual response plans, security force response and our ability to coordinate with local emergency responders and the community.”

The exercise included an unmanned aerial surveillance exercise and an active shooter drill, each of which members of the NAS Pensacola Anti-Terrorism Training Team (ATTT) used to gauge readiness from responding NAS Pensacola Naval Security Forces personnel.

“As an installation, it’s critical that we remain prepared for any potential threat,” said NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Terry ‘Village’ Shashaty. “These exercises test our readiness to communicate efficiently across all departments and ensure the safety and security of our service members, their families and visitors to the installation.”

For more than one hundred years, NAS Pensacola, referred to as the Cradle of Naval Aviation, has supported the operational and training missions of tenant commands, including Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), Marine Aviation Training Support Groups
(MATSG) 21 and 23 and is the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: African Development Bank Group Appoints Moono Mupotola as Deputy Director General for Southern Africa

Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, October 16, 2024/APO Group/ —

The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has appointed Moono Mupotola, as Deputy Director General for the Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and BusinessDelivery Office, effective 16th October 2024.

Mupotola, a Zambian national, brings over 25 years of development experience across Africa to her new role. Her expertise spans infrastructure development, trade and regional integration. Since December 2020, until her appointment, she served as the Bank’s Country Manager for Zimbabwe where she has been instrumental in the Bank’s support for the country’s re-engagement with the international community and in its efforts to address outstanding debt and arrears obligations.

Mupotola’s career at the African Development Bank began in 2009, when she was appointed Division Manager for Regional Integration and Trade. She was appointed Director of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Regional Integration and Trade in 2015, and Director of Regional Integration Coordination Office in 2018.

Her oversight of the Lusophone Compact, a program supporting the private sector in six Portugues-speaking African countries, demonstrated her commitment to advancing regional integration. She also initiated several vital programs, including the Bank’s Africa Trade Fund, the Visa Openness Index, and the Regional Integration Index with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union Commission.

Mupotola managed the African Development Fund’s Regional Operations Envelope and oversaw the Bank’s regional project preparation facility. She led the Bank’s trade and regional integration agenda by supporting research, infrastructure projects, capacity-building programs and the reform of regulations and policies in regional member countries.

Before joining the African Development Bank Group, Mupotola held several senior positions. These included Regional Policy Specialist for the Food and Agriculture Organization in Zimbabwe, Trade Specialist at the Southern African Development Community Trade Hub in Botswana and Zimbabwe, and Division Head of Trade and Marketing at the Ministry of Agriculture in Namibia. She also served as a Researcher at the Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit and a Banker at Zambia National Commercial Bank.

Mupotola holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Bennington College, Vermont, United States of America and an MPhil in Development and Sociology from Cambridge University, United Kingdom.

Commenting on her appointment, she said: “I am deeply honored by this opportunity and grateful to President Adesina for his trust and confidence in me. The role of Deputy Director General for the Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office is challenging and exciting. I look forward to working efficiently with our teams and stakeholders to deliver on the Bank’s vision and High 5 priorities for sustainable development.”

Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, stated: “I am delighted to appoint Mrs. Moono Mupotola as Deputy Director General for the Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office. Moono has extensive experience in regional operations, having served previously as Director of Regional Operations. She was subsequently assigned to Zimbabwe as Country Manager. Moono has demonstrated exceptional leadership, diplomatic acumen and strong execution capacity in working with the Government of Zimbabwe and all the development partners in advancing the structured dialogues for the arrears clearance for Zimbabwe, as well as major reforms. Her astute leadership and experience and in-depth knowledge of the countries in the Southern Africa region will significantly advance the work and partnerships with the African Development Bank Group in the region.”

MIL OSI Africa –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: Carderock Hosts Small Business Industry Day and Navy Small Business Symposium with Capital Tech Bridge

Source: United States Navy

WEST BETHESDA, Md. – Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division hosted its annual Industry Day virtually on Oct. 9, 2024. This was followed by the in-person Navy Small Business Symposium, facilitated by the NavalX Capital Tech Bridge and the Pike District Partnership, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center on Oct. 10.

Industry Day provided a virtual platform for Carderock’s technical experts to connect with industry members and showcase Carderock’s mission, focus areas, and technical capabilities. The goal was to expand the pool of small business partners to foster innovation between the Navy and the private sector.

Carlos Duran, Carderock’s Deputy of Small Business Programs, facilitated the virtual program in collaboration with the Capital Tech Bridge. Duran was also the 2024 recipient of Naval Sea Systems Command’s Excellence Award in Small Business.

“The intent of Carderock’s Annual Industry Day is to share technical information with industry, so they have a better understanding of our mission and needs. This approach augments the ecosystem of technically available small business concerns that can compete for our contracts,” said Duran.

The Navy Small Business Symposium, coordinated by Capital Tech Bridge, offered an in-person forum for small businesses to connect with the Navy, specifically Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR). The Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) provided information for participants explaining how to do business with the Navy. Presenters included Maryland APEX Accelerators and Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).

The Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs is “bringing more players to the field,” by inclusion of new businesses from atypical sources through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

“Annually the Navy includes 21% of businesses [that] are owned by socially or economically disadvantaged persons and 41% of the businesses that participate in SBIR and STTR programs are new to the program and to the Navy. The Navy is responsible for 50% of all transitions to the commercialization phase out of the entire DoD,” said Susie Drummond, Naval Sea Systems Command SBIR/STTR Outreach.

Capital Tech Bridge facilitated the event and continues to seek new venues to provide these connecting opportunities. This effort has expanded since the July announcement of a Partnership Intermediary Agreement between Carderock and the Pike District Partnership.

Increased local economic development is a shared goal of Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Capital Tech Bridge and the Pike District Partnership. By creating a welcoming business environment and new avenues for collaboration, the hope is for Montgomery County to remain a strong economic base that will support the Navy and Marine Corps mission for years to come.

Eugene Cornelius, Director of Pike District Partnership, shared the objective of the partnership.

“We are the advocate for economic development here in the North Bethesda area. One of the things that we have learned when it comes to small businesses and government contracting is that a lot of those in this city and [at this symposium] will need technical assistance…We’re learning as we go and we are providing information that we think is valuable to [them] as we go,” said Cornelius.

The symposium also provided opportunities to network, share ideas and challenges, and connect directly with technical experts during the “Ask Me Anything” panel. The panel included Lauren Hanyok, Carderock’s Capital Tech Bridge director, Eugene Cornelius, Director of Pike District Partnership, and Susie Drummond, Naval Sea Systems Command SBIR/STTR Outreach, who provided keen insight into new applications, emerging technologies and ways to leverage existing capabilities.

Hanyok provides the logistical glue and serves as a facilitator for connecting efforts like the Navy’s Small Business Symposium. In her role at Capital Tech Bridge, she also understands the value of creating Partnering Intermediary Agreements with organizations like the Pike District Partnership and Navy labs under Carderock.

“All Navy labs have the ability to enter into Partner Intermediary Agreements with non-profits like the Pike District Partnership. They have access to county resources to help Capital Tech Bridge host its events outside of the Carderock fence line so that we can reach a bigger audience with less barriers to entry,” said Hanyok.

“Not a lot of people in Montgomery County know what Carderock is, so partnering with a hyper-local PIA helps us better engage with the community and learn that a Navy organization is right in their backyard with not only small business opportunities, but a fantastic STEM program and there are job opportunities in all fields.”

By fostering innovation and technological advancement, the Capital Tech Bridge aims to strengthen this partnership to driving progress that benefits both the Navy and the region. The Capital Tech Bridge encompasses a vibrant innovation ecosystem for the Navy and Marine Corps, partnering with naval warfare centers and national labs to solve complex problems for Sailors and Marines.

For more information on the Capital Tech Bridge or upcoming events by the Capital Tech Bridge, please contact Lauren “Tink” Hanyok at lauren.w.hanyok.civ@us.navy.mil

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former Official Accused of Stealing Nearly $700,000 from St. Louis County Charity

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

ST. LOUIS – A former official of a charity that houses adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been indicted and accused of embezzling about $690,000 over more than a decade.

Joelle Fouse, 57, was indicted October 9 with three felony counts of wire fraud. She is surrendering Tuesday and will appear in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to plead not guilty.

The indictment says that Fouse was the manager / director of finance and human resources for the charity from October 2012 through December 2023, when she was terminated. Fouse was responsible for payroll, expense reimbursement and maintaining the charity’s books and records. She stole from the charity in three ways, the indictment says. Fouse provided false information to a third-party payroll processing company that caused the company to make 71 unauthorized payments totaling $139,810 to multiple bank accounts controlled by Fouse, the indictment says. The indictment also accuses Fouse of triggering 181 unauthorized expense payments into bank accounts she controlled, totaling $407,186. Finally, Fouse allegedly used her company credit card to make184 unauthorized purchases totaling $133,210. The charity also overpaid the employer portion of payroll taxes by about $10,694 due to the inflated payroll, the indictment says.

The indictment says Fouse took cash out of ATMs and used the charity’s funds for travel, clothing, entertainment, restaurant meals, rent payments and day-to-day expenses for herself and relatives. She tried to cover up her crimes by making false entries in financial and accounting records, it says.

The charity contacted the FBI and cooperated with their investigation.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Each wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: Iranian Cyber Actors’ Brute Force and Credential Access Activity Compromises Critical Infrastructure Organizations

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Summary

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory to warn network defenders of Iranian cyber actors’ use of brute force and other techniques to compromise organizations across multiple critical infrastructure sectors, including the healthcare and public health (HPH), government, information technology, engineering, and energy sectors. The actors likely aim to obtain credentials and information describing the victim’s network that can then be sold to enable access to cybercriminals.

Since October 2023, Iranian actors have used brute force, such as password spraying, and multifactor authentication (MFA) ‘push bombing’ to compromise user accounts and obtain access to organizations. The actors frequently modified MFA registrations, enabling persistent access. The actors performed discovery on the compromised networks to obtain additional credentials and identify other information that could be used to gain additional points of access. The authoring agencies assess the Iranian actors sell this information on cybercriminal forums to actors who may use the information to conduct additional malicious activity.

This advisory provides the actors’ tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs). The information is derived from FBI engagements with entities impacted by this malicious activity.

The authoring agencies recommend critical infrastructure organizations follow the guidance provided in the Mitigations section. At a minimum, organizations should ensure all accounts use strong passwords and register a second form of authentication.

Download the PDF version of this report:

For a downloadable list of IOCs, see:

Technical Details

Note: This advisory uses the MITRE ATT&CK^® for Enterprise framework, version 15. See the MITRE ATT&CK Tactics and Techniques section in Appendix A for a table of the actors’ activity mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques.

Overview of Activity

The actors likely conduct reconnaissance operations to gather victim identity [T1589] information. Once obtained, the actors gain persistent access to victim networks frequently via brute force [T1110]. After gaining access, the actors use a variety of techniques to further gather credentials, escalate privileges, and gain information about the entity’s systems and network. The actors also move laterally and download information that could assist other actors with access and exploitation.

Initial Access and Persistence

The actors use valid user and group email accounts [T1078], frequently obtained via brute force such as password spraying [T1110.003] although other times via unknown methods, to obtain initial access to Microsoft 365, Azure [T1078.004], and Citrix systems [T1133]. In some cases where push notification-based MFA was enabled, the actors send MFA requests to legitimate users seeking acceptance of the request. This technique—bombarding users with mobile phone push notifications until the user either approves the request by accident or stops the notifications— is known as “MFA fatigue” or “push bombing” [T1621].

Once the threat actors gain access to an account, they frequently register their devices with MFA to protect their access to the environment via the valid account:

In two confirmed compromises, the actors leveraged a compromised user’s open registration for MFA [T1556.006] to register the actor’s own device [T1098.005] to access the environment.
In another confirmed compromise, the actors used a self-service password reset (SSPR) tool associated with a public facing Active Directory Federation Service (ADFS) to reset the accounts with expired passwords [T1484.002] and then registered MFA through Okta for compromised accounts without MFA already enabled [T1556] [T1556.006].

The actors frequently conduct their activity using a virtual private network (VPN) service [T1572]. Several of the IP addresses in the actors’ malicious activity originate from exit nodes tied to the Private Internet Access VPN service.

Lateral Movement

The actors use Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) for lateral movement [T1021.001]. In one instance, the actors used Microsoft Word to open PowerShell to launch the RDP binary mstsc.exe [T1202].

Credential Access

The actors likely use open-source tools and methodologies to gather more credentials. The actors performed Kerberos Service Principal Name (SPN) enumeration of several service accounts and received Kerberos tickets [T1558.003]. In one instance, the actors used the Active Directory (AD) Microsoft Graph Application Program Interface (API) PowerShell application likely to perform a directory dump of all AD accounts. Also, the actors imported the tool [T1105] DomainPasswordSpray.ps1, which is openly available on GitHub [T1588.002], likely to conduct password spraying. The actors also used the command Cmdkey /list, likely to display usernames and credentials [T1555].

Privilege Escalation

In one instance, the actors attempted impersonation of the domain controller, likely by exploiting Microsoft’s Netlogon (also known as ”Zerologon”) privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2020-1472) [T1068].

Discovery

The actors leverage living off the land (LOTL) to gain knowledge about the target systems and internal networks. The actors used the following Windows command-line tools to gather information about domain controllers [T1018], trusted domains [T1482], lists of domain administrators, and enterprise administrators [T1087.002] [T1069.002] [T1069.003]:

Nltest /dclist
Nltest /domain_trusts
Nltest /domain_trusts/all_trusts
Net group “Enterprise admins” /domain
Net group “Domain admins” /domain

Next, the actors used the following Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) query in PowerShell [T1059.001]to search the AD for computer display names, operating systems, descriptions, and distinguished names [T1082].

                                           $i=0
                                           $D= [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
                                           $L='LDAP://' . $D
                                           $D = [ADSI]$L
                                           $Date = $((Get-Date).AddDays(-90).ToFileTime())
                                           $str = '(&(objectcategory=computer)(operatingSystem=*serv*)(|(lastlogon>='+$Date+')(lastlogontimestamp>='+$Date+')))'
                                           $s = [adsisearcher]$str
                                           $s.searchRoot = $L.$D.distinguishedName
                                           $s.PropertiesToLoad.Add('cn') > $Null
                                           $s.PropertiesToLoad.Add('operatingsystem') > $Null
                                           $s.PropertiesToLoad.Add('description') > $Null
                                           $s.PropertiesToLoad.Add('distinguishedName') > $Null
                                           Foreach ($CA in $s.FindAll()) {
                                                         Write-Host $CA.Properties.Item('cn')
                                                         $CA.Properties.Item('operatingsystem')
                                                         $CA. Properties.Item('description')
                                                         $CA.Properties.Item('distinguishedName')
                                                         $i++
                                           }
                                           Write-host Total servers: $i

Command and Control

On one occasion, using msedge.exe, the actors likely made outbound connections to Cobalt Strike Beacon command and control (C2) infrastructure [T1071.001].

Exfiltration and Collection

In a couple instances, while logged in to victim accounts, the actors downloaded files related to gaining remote access to the organization and to the organization’s inventory [T1005], likely exfiltrating the files to further persist in the victim network or to sell the information online.

Detection

To detect brute force activity, the authoring agencies recommend reviewing authentication logs for system and application login failures of valid accounts and looking for multiple, failed authentication attempts across all accounts.

To detect the use of compromised credentials in combination with virtual infrastructure, the authoring agencies recommend the following steps:

Look for “impossible logins,” such as suspicious logins with changing usernames, user agent strings, and IP address combinations or logins where IP addresses do not align to the user’s expected geographic location.
Look for one IP used for multiple accounts, excluding expected logins.
Look for “impossible travel.” Impossible travel occurs when a user logs in from multiple IP addresses with significant geographic distance (i.e., a person could not realistically travel between the geographic locations of the two IP addresses during the period between the logins). Note: Implementing this detection opportunity can result in false positives if legitimate users apply VPN solutions before connecting into networks.
Look for MFA registrations with MFA in unexpected locales or from unfamiliar devices.
Look for processes and program execution command-line arguments that may indicate credential dumping, especially attempts to access or copy the ntds.dit file from a domain controller.
Look for suspicious privileged account use after resetting passwords or applying user account mitigations.
Look for unusual activity in typically dormant accounts.
Look for unusual user agent strings, such as strings not typically associated with normal user activity, which may indicate bot activity.

Mitigations

The authoring agencies recommend organizations implement the mitigations below to improve organizations’ cybersecurity posture based on the actors’ TTPs described in this advisory. These mitigations align with the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) developed by CISA. The CPGs, which are organized to align to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, are a subset of cybersecurity practices, aimed at meaningfully reducing risks to both critical infrastructure operations and the American people. These voluntary CPGs strive to help small- and medium-sized organizations kick-start their cybersecurity efforts by prioritizing investment in a limited number of essential actions with high-impact security outcomes. Visit CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals for more information on the CPGs, including additional recommended baseline protections.

Review IT helpdesk password management related to initial passwords, password resets for user lockouts, and shared accounts. IT helpdesk password procedures may not align to company policy for user verification or password strength, creating a security gap. Avoid common passwords (e.g. “Spring2024” or “Password123!”).
Disable user accounts and access to organizational resources for departing staff [CPG 2.D]. Disabling accounts can minimize system exposure, removing options actors can leverage for entry into the system. Similarly, create new user accounts as close as possible to an employee’s start date.
Implement phishing-resistant MFA [CPG 2.H]. See CISA’s resources Phishing-Resistant Multifactor Authentication and More than a Password for additional information on strengthening user credentials.
Continuously review MFA settings to ensure coverage over all active, internet-facing protocols to ensure no exploitable services are exposed [CPG 2.W].
Provide basic cybersecurity training to users [CPG 2.I] covering concepts such as:
- Detecting unsuccessful login attempts [CPG 2.G].
- Having users deny MFA requests they have not generated.
- Ensuring users with MFA-enabled accounts have MFA set up appropriately.
Ensure password policies align with the latest NIST Digital Identity Guidelines.
- Meeting the minimum password strength [CPG 2.B] by creating a password using 8-64 nonstandard characters and long passphrases, when possible.
Disable the use of RC4 for Kerberos authentication.

These mitigations apply to critical infrastructure entities across sectors.

The authoring agencies also recommend software manufacturers incorporate secure by design principles and tactics into their software development practices to protect their customers against actors using compromised credentials, thereby strengthening the security posture of their customers. For more information on secure by design, see CISA’s Secure by Design webpage and joint guide.

Validate Security Controls

In addition to applying mitigations, the authoring agencies recommend exercising, testing, and validating organization security programs against the threat behaviors mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK for Enterprise framework in this advisory. The authoring agencies recommend testing your existing security controls inventory to assess how they perform against the ATT&CK techniques described in this advisory.

To get started:

Select an ATT&CK technique described in this advisory (see Table 1 to Table 12).
Align your security technologies against the technique.
Test your technologies against the technique.
Analyze your detection and prevention technologies’ performance.
Repeat the process for all security technologies to obtain a set of comprehensive performance data.
Tune your security program, including people, processes, and technologies, based on the data generated by this process.

The authoring agencies recommend continually testing your security program, at scale, in a production environment to ensure optimal performance against the MITRE ATT&CK techniques identified in this advisory.

Contact Information

Organizations are encouraged to report suspicious or criminal activity related to information in this advisory to:

CISA via CISA’s 24/7 Operations Center [report@cisa.gov or 1-844-Say-CISA (1-844-729-2472)] or your local FBI field office. When available, please include the following information regarding the incident: date, time, and location of the incident; type of activity; number of people affected; type of equipment used for the activity; the name of the submitting company or organization; and a designated point of contact.
For NSA cybersecurity guidance inquiries, contact CybersecurityReports@nsa.gov.

Disclaimer

The information in this report is being provided “as is” for informational purposes only. The authoring agencies do not endorse any commercial entity, product, company, or service, including any entities, products, or services linked within this document. Any reference to specific commercial entities, products, processes, or services by service mark, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the authoring agencies.

Intrusion events connected to this Iranian group may also include a different set of cyber actors–likely the third-party actors who purchased access from the Iranian group via cybercriminal forums or other channels. As a result, some TTPs and IOCs noted in this advisory may be tied to these third-party actors, not the Iranian actors. The TTPs and IOCs are in the advisory to provide recipients the most complete picture of malicious activity that may be observed on compromised networks. However, exercise caution if formulating attribution assessments based solely on matching TTPs and IOCs.

Version History

October 2, 2024: Initial version.

Appendix A: MITRE ATT&CK Tactics and Techniques

See Tables 1–12 for all referenced actors’ tactics and techniques in this advisory. For assistance with mapping malicious cyber activity to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, see CISA and MITRE ATT&CK’s Best Practices for MITRE ATT&CK Mapping and CISA’s Decider Tool.

*Table 1: Reconnaissance*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Gather Victim Identity Information	T1589	The actors likely gathered victim information.

*Table 2: Resource Development*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Obtain Capabilities: Tool	T1588.002	The actors obtained a password spray tool through an open-source repository.

*Table 3: Initial Access*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Valid Accounts	T1078	The actors used password spraying to obtain valid user and group email account credentials, allowing them access to the network.
Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts	T1078.004	The actors used accounts hosted on Microsoft 365, Azure, and Okta cloud environments as additional methods for initial access.
External Remote Services	T1133	The actors exploited Citrix systems’ external-facing remote services as another method for gaining initial access to the system.

*Table 4: Execution*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell	T1059.001	The actors used PowerShell commands to maintain and expand access.

*Table 5: Persistence*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Account Manipulation: Device Registration	T1098.005	The actors used PowerShell commands to maintain and expand access.
Modify Authentication Process	T1556	The actors used a public facing Active Directory Federation Service (ADFS) domain to reset the passwords of expired accounts.
Modify Authentication Process: Multi-Factor Authentication	T1556.006	The actors used an MFA bypass method, such as Multi-Factor Authentication Request Generation, providing the ability to modify or completely disable MFA defenses.

*Table 6: Privilege Escalation*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Exploitation for Privilege Escalation	T1068	The actors attempted impersonation of the domain controller likely by exploiting CVE-2020-1472, Microsoft’s Netlogon Privilege Escalation vulnerability.
Domain or Tenant Policy Modification: Trust Modification	T1484.002	The actors leveraged a public-facing ADFS password reset tool to reactivate inactive accounts, allowing the actor to authenticate and enroll their devices as any user in the AD managed by the victim tenant.

*Table 7: Defense Evasion*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Indirect Command Execution	T1202	The actors attempted impersonation of the Domain Controller likely by exploiting CVE-2020-1472, Microsoft’s Netlogon Privilege Escalation vulnerability.

*Table 8: Credential Access*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Brute Force: Password Spraying	T1110.003	The actors targeted applications, including Single Sign-on (SSO) Microsoft Office 365, using brute force password sprays and imported the tool `DomainPasswordSpray.ps1`.
Credentials from Password Stores	T1555	The actors used the command `Cmdkey /list` likely to display usernames and credentials.
Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets: Kerberoasting	T1558.003	The actors performed Kerberos Service Principal Name (SPN) enumeration of several service accounts and received Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4) tickets.
Multi-Factor Authentication Request Generation	T1621	The actors sent MFA requests to legitimate users.

*Table 9: Discovery*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Remote System Discovery	T1018	The actors used LOTL to return information about domain controllers.
Permission Groups Discovery: Domain Groups	T1069.002	The actors used LOTL to return lists of domain administrators and enterprise administrators.
Permission Groups Discovery: Cloud Groups	T1069.003	The actors used LOTL to return lists of domain administrators and enterprise administrators.
System Information Discovery	T1082	The actors were able to query the AD to discover display names, operating systems, descriptions, and distinguished names from the computer.
Account Discovery: Domain Account	T1087.002	The actors used LOTL to return lists of domain administrators and enterprise administrators.
Domain Trust Discovery	T1482	The actors used LOTL to return information about trusted domains.

*Table 10: Lateral Movement*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol	T1021.001	The actors used Microsoft Word to open PowerShell to launch RDP binary mstsc.exe.

*Table 11: Collection*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Data from Local System	T1005	The actors downloaded files related to remote access methods and the organization’s inventory.

*Table 12: Command and Control*
Technique Title	ID	Use
Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols	T1071.001	The actors used `msedge.exe` to make outbound connections likely to Cobalt Strike Beacon C2 infrastructure.
Ingress Tool Transfer	T1105	The actors imported a tool from GitHub and used it to conduct password spraying.
Protocol Tunneling	T1572	The actors frequently conduct targeting using a virtual private network (VPN).

Appendix B: Indicators of Compromise

See Tables 13 to 15 for IOCs obtained from FBI investigations.

*Table 13: Malicious Files Associated with Iranian Cyber Actors*
Hash	Description
1F96D15B26416B2C7043EE7172357AF3AFBB002A	Associated with malicious activity.
3D3CDF7CFC881678FEBCAFB26AE423FE5AA4EFEC	Associated with malicious activity.

Disclaimer: The authoring organizations recommend network defenders investigate or vet IP addresses prior to taking action, such as blocking, as many cyber actors are known to change IP addresses, sometimes daily, and some IP addresses may host valid domains. Many of the IP addresses provided below are assessed VPN nodes and as such are not exclusive to the Iranian actors’ use. The authoring organizations do not recommend blocking these IP addresses based solely on their inclusion in this JCSA. The authoring organizations recommend using the below IP addresses to search for previous activity the actors may have conducted against networks. If positive hits for these IP addresses are identified, the authoring organizations recommend making an independent determination if the observed activity aligns with the TTPs outlined in the JCSA. The timeframes included in the table reflect the timeframe the actors likely used the IPs.

*Table 14: Network Indicators*
IP Address	Date Range
95.181.234.12	01/30/2024 to 02/07/2024
95.181.234.25	01/30/2024 to 02/07/2024
173.239.232.20	10/06/2023 to 12/19/2023
172.98.71.191	10/15/2023 to 11/27/2023
102.129.235.127	10/21/2023 to 10/22/2023
188.126.94.60	10/22/2023 to 01/12/2024
149.40.50.45	10/26/2023
181.214.166.59	10/26/2023
212.102.39.212	10/26/2023
149.57.16.134	10/26/2023 to 10/27/2023
149.57.16.137	10/26/2023 to 10/27/2023
102.129.235.186	10/29/2023 to 11/08/2023
46.246.8.138	10/31/2023 to 01/26/2024
149.57.16.160	11/08/2023
149.57.16.37	11/08/2023
46.246.8.137	11/17/2023 to 01/25/2024
212.102.57.29	11/19/2023 to 01/17/2024
46.246.8.82	11/22/2023 to 01/28/2024
95.181.234.15	11/26/2023 to 02/07/2024
45.88.97.225	11/27/2023 to 02/11/2024
84.239.45.17	12/04/2023 to 12/07/2023
46.246.8.104	12/07/2023 to 02/07/2024
37.46.113.206	12/07/2023
46.246.3.186	12/07/2023 to 12/09/2023
46.246.8.141	12/07/2023 to 02/10/2024
46.246.8.17	12/09/2023 to 01/09/2024
37.19.197.182	12/15/2023
154.16.192.38	12/25/2023 to 01/24/2024
102.165.16.127	12/27/2023 to 01/28/2024
46.246.8.47	12/29/2023 to 01/29/2024
46.246.3.225	12/30/2023 to 02/06/2024
46.246.3.226	12/31/2023 to 02/03/2024
46.246.3.240	12/31/2023 to 02/06/2024
191.101.217.10	01/05/2024
102.129.153.182	01/08/2024
46.246.3.196	01/08/2024
102.129.152.60	01/09/2024
156.146.60.74	01/10/2024
191.96.227.113	01/10/2024
191.96.227.122	01/10/2024
181.214.166.132	01/11/2024
188.126.94.57	01/11/2024 to 01/13/2024
154.6.13.144	01/13/2024 to 01/24/2024
154.6.13.151	01/13/2024 to 01/28/2024
188.126.94.166	01/15/2024
89.149.38.204	01/18/2024
46.246.8.67	01/20/2024
46.246.8.53	01/22/2024
154.16.192.37	01/24/2024
191.96.150.14	01/24/2024
191.96.150.96	01/24/2024
46.246.8.10	01/24/2024
84.239.25.13	01/24/2024
154.6.13.139	01/26/2024
191.96.106.33	01/26/2024
191.96.227.159	01/26/2024
149.57.16.150	01/27/2024
191.96.150.21	01/27/2024
46.246.8.84	01/27/2024
95.181.235.8	01/27/2024
191.96.227.102	01/27/2024 to 01/28/2024
46.246.122.185	01/28/2024
146.70.102.3	01/29/2024 to 01/30/2024
46.246.3.233	01/30/2024 to 02/15/2024
46.246.3.239	01/30/2024 to 02/15/2024
188.126.89.35	02/03/2024
46.246.3.223	02/03/2024
46.246.3.245	02/05/2024 to 02/06/2024
191.96.150.50	02/09/2024

*Table 15: Devices*
Device Type	Description
Samsung Galaxy A71 (SM-A715F)	Registered with MFA
Samsung SM-G998B	Registered with MFA
Samsung SM-M205F	Registered with MFA

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada to announce support for Cape Breton University

Source: Government of Canada News

Sydney, Nova Scotia · October 16, 2024 · Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)

Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Member of Parliament for Cape Breton-Canso, will make an announcement regarding a significant federal contribution for the Canada Games Complex.

This announcement will be made on behalf of the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA.

Date: October 17, 2024

Time: 11:00 a.m. AST

Location:
Cape Breton University
Yvonne LeVert Hospitality Suite
1250 Grand Lake Road
Sydney, Nova Scotia
B1M 1A2

Connor Burton
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Rural Economic Development and of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Connor.Burton@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

Lori Selig
Acting Communications Director
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
902-266-7477
lori.selig@acoa-apeca.gc.ca

MIL OSI Canada News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/16/2024, 13:30 the values of the lower limit of the repo price corridor, the carry rate and the range of interest rate risk assessment for the MGKL security were changed.

MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

10/16/2024

13:30

In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC), on 16.10.2024, 13-30 (Moscow time), the values of the lower limit of the repo price corridor with the settlement code Y0/Y1Dt (up to -23.59%), the transfer rate and the range of interest rate risk assessment (up to -0.0019 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 46.36%) of the MGKL security were changed.

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.

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://www.moex.com/n74033

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: Decommissioning of the client part of the “CED” software

MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

Dear users of EDI services,

We inform you that the service “Client part of the software “CED”” will be decommissioned from January 1, 2025. This service provides the ability to conclude purchase and sale agreements in electronic form between organizations participating in the CED system. There are no plans to transfer this functionality to other systems. For the purpose of concluding purchase and sale agreements in electronic form, we recommend using the MOEX Dealing / Trade Radar systems, which have the closest similar functionality (these systems do not have the ability to sign documents with an EDS, which can be implemented using the back office systems of your organization). The services will be canceled by Moscow Exchange PJSC unilaterally. Signing of any additional agreements or applications is not required. We ask you to bring this information to the attention of the responsible departments. For all questions related to this notice, you can contact us at itssales@moex.com

Contact information for media 7 (495) 363-3232PR@moex.com

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.

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://www.moex.com/n74032

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/16/2024, 12:03 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for security RU000A102986 (SUEK-F1P6R) were changed.

MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

10/16/2024

12:03

In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on 16.10.2024, 12-03 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 100.02) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1112.12 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 8.75%) of the security RU000A102986 (SUEK-F1P6R) were changed.

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.

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://www.moex.com/n74029

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services

Note: The information included in this Fact Sheet is based on the 2025 Star Ratings published on the Medicare Plan Finder on October 10, 2024. For details on the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Star Ratings, please refer to the 2025 Part C & D Star Ratings Technical Notes available at http://go.cms.gov/partcanddstarratings.

Introduction

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Halloween events with Leeds City Council

Source: City of Leeds

Halloween Trail at Leeds City Museum

Dare to explore a Halloween trail with artworks created by local schools, families, and our arts and crafts groups inspired by Halloween themed objects in the museum. Along the way, learn fun Halloween facts about the history of the holiday and how it’s celebrated around the world.

Friday 25 October to Friday 29 November, cost: free

Find out more: Halloween Trail https://bit.ly/3U8zXbY

Once Upon a Nightmare: Twisted Tales Unveiled at Lotherton

Experience a spine-chilling experience for brave souls aged 8 to 15. Step into the pages of twisted fairy tales and witness the serene grounds of Lotherton transform into a haunting world where your favourite fairy tale characters live out their darkest versions of reality.

Friday 25 to Thursday 31 October, 5pm to 8:30pm, cost: £12.50 (£10 for children with a Breeze Pass/Lotherton members)

Find out more: Once Upon a Nightmare: Twisted Tales Unveiled https://bit.ly/3Y3xQHr

Spooky Skeleton Safari at Tropical World

With Tropical World decorated for Halloween, come and explore the indoor zoo over the October half term. Uncover a host of spooky animal skeletons hidden in their mangroves, rainforest and enclosures, and discover interesting facts as you take part in the trail.

Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November, cost: adults – £8.40, children 3 to 15 – £4.20, under 3s free

Find out more: Spooky Skeleton Safari https://bit.ly/3ZZTK0I

Spooky Skeletons: Scarytales at Lotherton

This is a daytime event perfect for all ages. As you follow the twisted fairytales trail through the haunting grounds, gardens and house at Lotherton, all is not as it seems. Rattle your bones as you come face-to-face with a series of skeletons – making themselves at home and reimagining classic tales with a Halloween twist.

Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November, cost: included in admission to Lotherton

Find out more: Spooky Skeletons: Scarytales https://bit.ly/3ZX7N7v

Halloween Hauntings at Temple Newsam

Temple Newsam is infamous for its ghostly residents. Visit over October half term for spooky family fun. Enjoy the themed rooms and creepy crafts. Staff will be hand to tell you eerie stories of past residents.

Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November, cost: included in admission to Temple Newsam

Find out more: Halloween Hauntings at Temple Newsam https://bit.ly/3Yijh49

Spooky Streets: Halloween at Abbey House Museum

Wander the museum’s Spooky Streets to encounter scary spiders, wicked witches, wily wolves, beguiling bats and skeletons pulling pints! Come dressed as your favourite Halloween character and pose for petrifying pics. There will be a terrifying trail and creepy competitions as you go around the museum and a monster bag of crafts and activities to take home.

Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November, cost: included in admission to Abbey House Museum

Find out more: Spooky Streets: Halloween at Abbey House Museum https://bit.ly/3Yjbumx

Haunted Halloween Hunt at Kirkstall Abbey

Join the Abbey’s family trail through the ruins to find creepy creatures, spooky statues and peculiar props. It’s not too scary so suitable for all the family.

Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November, cost: included in admission to Kirkstall Abbey (free for Leeds residents)

Find out more: Haunted Halloween Hunt https://bit.ly/3Nt4Xzn

Calacas Crafts at Leeds City Museum

Celebrate Mexican and Latin American artists by designing your own Day of the Dead mask or assembling your own flower crown. To help celebrate Day of the Dead at Leeds City Museum, your family can also add to one of their giant skull paintings!

Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 October, 10am to 12pm and 1pm to 3pm, cost: free

Find out more: Half Term: Calacas Crafts https://bit.ly/4dDEqu4

Leeds Zine Library Lates! Hallow’zine at Leeds Central Library

Join the libraries team on the spookiest month for their Halloween edition of the zine library lates. There will be cats, bats and a monster of a party! On the night you can make a spooky zine, create some monster badges, and sew felt creatures all while enjoying their Halloween playlist.

Wednesday 30 October, 5:30pm to 7:30pm, cost: free

Find out more: Leeds Zine Library Lates! Hallow’zine https://bit.ly/4dCQ5Jy

Spooktacular Family Day at Leeds Central Library

Join authors and artists for spine-tingling stories, creepy draw-a-longs, and eerie activities.

A light breakfast and drinks will be available on arrival, bring your own packed lunch and spooky outfits are encouraged. Family friendly and most suitable to children aged 6 years and over. A BSL interpreter will be present at all author talks in the Tiled Hall and at Jack’s Ghastly Masterclass.

Thursday 31 October, 10:15am to 2:30pm, cost: free

Find out more: Spooktacular Family Day https://bit.ly/4eBCp2P

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Jobs fair to showcase careers in care
Source: City of Sunderland

Those looking for careers in social care can take advantage of a free recruitment fair showcasing opportunities in the sector later this month.
Sunderland Care and Support (SCAS), one of the largest social care providers in the region, will hold a recruitment fayre on Thursday 24 October at the Leechmere Centre, where attendees will be able to find out more about working in care, meet staff and senior managers, and even get support with applying for roles.

Councillor Kelly Chequer, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet member for Health, Wellbeing and Safer Communities, said: “As a leading provider of adult care services for some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community, SCAS operates a diverse range of vital services designed to support those with conditions ranging from autism to mental health challenges to complex needs.

“The people working in these roles make a huge difference to people’s lives and if you think you could be one of them, I would encourage you to come along to this recruitment event to find out more about a rewarding career in social care.”

Among the roles being recruited as SCAS are jobs relating to:

Supported Living Services

Day Services

Short Breaks

Planned Care and Reablement Services

Community Equipment

Community and Bed-Based Intermediate Care

Digital and Telecare Services

Business Relationship Teams

The Sunderland Care and Support Recruitment Fayre will be held at the Leechmere Centre, Carrmere Road, Sunderland, SR2 9TQ on Thursday 24 October from 4-8pm.

Anyone interested in finding out more is welcome to drop in during the session.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: BSC: The Best of the Best! | U.S. Army

Source: US Army (video statements)

: AMVID

The most influential level of leadership is at the Squad — where the majority of our Soldiers reside. “Squad” extends beyond a traditional infantry squad to any small-unit group of Soldiers, connected by a squad leader, who has the most direct impact on their lives. Soldiers never fight alone, the unbreakable bonds forged through shared hardship and unending support for one another are the hallmark of our most successful small units.

The week-long competition will assess each squad on their technical and tactical proficiency, as well as their ability to work as a disciplined and cohesive team. The competition features a multitude of different fitness and combat related events ranging from the Army Combat Fitness Test and various weapons lanes, to a strenuous 12-mile foot march and detailed individual warrior tasks and squad battle drills.

About the U.S. Army:

The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt & sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.

Interested in joining the U.S. Army?
Visit: spr.ly/6001igl5L

Connect with the U.S. Army online:
Web: https://www.army.mil
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/
X: https://www.twitter.com/USArmy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-army
#USArmy #Soldiers #Military #BSC #BSC2024 #BestSquad2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oeP3vkqFJM

MIL OSI Video –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Event celebrates the Tak£500+ project success within local communities!

Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

PB Working Group members#.

The recent Tak£500+ Participatory Budgeting Project exceeded all expectations with an incredible £105,906 allocated to 108 fantastic local community projects – and an event to celebrate all of the wonderful projects took place at Seagoe Hotel, Portadown.

Over 200 people came along to hear how the Tak£500+ Project had benefited communities right across the borough and to hear more about Participatory Budgeting and how it enables local people to decide how public funds are used to address needs in their area.

Organised by the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Community Planning Partnership, an amazing 4286 people voted for the projects they wanted to see receive up to £1,000 funding, and the impact these projects left on each area was remarkable. All projects were centred around the Take 5 public health message.

“This was the third year of the Tak£500+ project and it really did exceed all expectations once again,” commented the Lord Mayor, Councillor Sarah Duffy, “and the success of this project is all down to the local communities who put forward their ideas and then made them a reality.

“Putting the decision making process in the hands of local people to tell us how public funds can be spent to address needs in their areas is vitally important and ensures that this money is spent in the best way possible, to really make a difference and a lasting impact on our residents

“We are lucky to have such a rich community life in this borough and along with the Community Planning Partnership – and in particular the PB Working Group – made this project a huge success with lasting results across the borough.”

Colette Rogers, Chair of Community Planning Strategic Partnership added, “This event was a wonderful reflection on just how meaningful and valuable the Tak£500+ Project is and demonstrated how powerful local communities can be at making decisions that leave a real and lasting impact in their areas.

“This project is something we are passionate to build upon moving forward and we would love to welcome more partners on board to contribute their expertise and resources – as this is how we can increase our funding and support even more projects, with local communities reaping the benefits.”

If you would like more information on how you can get involved as a partner, please contact Michelle Markey on 0300 0300 900.

Also, watch this space for more details on the next Tak£500+ Project and how you can apply for funding for your community!

Back row: Tracey Powell, Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Stephen Harland, Ark Housing, Austin Kelly, Clanmil Housing, John Beattie, Triangle Housing. Front row: Colette Rogers, PHA, Roger Wilson, Chief Executive of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Councillor Sarah Duffy, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

Back Row: Michelle Markey, Donna Stewart, Vice Chair of SLCE, Jennie Dunlop, Paddy Haughian, Elaine Devlin, Helena Thornton. Front row: Colette Rogers, PHA, Roger Wilson, Chief Executive of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Councillor Sarah Duffy, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

Geraldine Lawless, Chair of CVSP, Roger Wilson, Chief Executive of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Donna Stewart. Front row: Colette Rogers, PHA and Councillor Sarah Duffy, Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon.

Aghagallon Folk Group

New-Bridge College representatives

Aghagallon Community Centre

7th Dromore Scouts

Armagh Harps, Armagh GAA, Clan na Gael, Lurgan Swimming Club and Friends of St Francis

Appleblossom 50+, Fair Hill Primary School, Paul Russell Foundation and ABC Seniors Network

Banbridge Toy Library and Loughgall & District Improvement Association

Jim Bell and Lindasy from Road Safety Group

Arbour Housing Association and Craigavon Food Bank

A full house for the event

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 23, 2025