NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Financial Accounts Workshop | UNECE

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    Provisional Timetable PDF PDF
    Session 1. New Recommendations in the 2025 SNA pertaining to financial accounts    
    Recommendations in the 2025 SNA pertaining to the financial accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
    Session 2. Use of financial accounts for analytical purposes    
    Use of Financial Account Balance Sheet in the EU (Eurostat) PDF PDF
    Use  of Financial Accounts for Analytical Purposes (Central Bank of The Republic of Türkiye) PDF  
    Use of financial accounts for analytical purposes. Private Sector Debt with a focus on NFCs (National Bank of Belgium) PDF PDF
    Session 3. Issues related to non-financial corporations    
    Analyzing Non-Financial Corporation Using Institutional Sector Accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
    Compilation of Financial Accounts for Non-Financial Corporations (Central Bank of The Republic of Türkiye) PDF PDF
    Financial Accounts in Armenia (Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia) PDF PDF
    Non-financial corporations: compilation process in the Belgian financial accounts matrix (National Bank of Belgium) PDF PDF
    Non-financial Corporations (Statistics Iceland) PDF  
    Compilation and Utilisation of the Financial Account of the Non-financial Corporations (NFC) Sector: Experience, Challenges, and Opportunities (Bank Indonesia) PDF  
    Session 4. Issues related to household sector    
    Household Sectors Issues Using Institutional Sector Accounts (IMF) PDF PDF
    The household sector (Statistics Iceland) PDF  
    Recording Crypto Assets in Macroeconomic Statistics (IMF) PDF PDF
    Challenges with Cryptocurrencies in Georgia (National Statistics Office of Georgia) PDF  
    Foreign currency held by Households (National Bank of Moldova) PDF PDF
    Session 5. Issues related to financial instruments and specific transactions    
    Financial instruments (ECB) PDF PDF
    Statistical measurement of illicit financial flows (UNCTAD) PDF  
    Non-financial Corporations equity liabilities (National Bank of Moldova) PDF PDF
    Session 6. Who-to-whom, consistency and balancing    
    Recommendations to improve the Vertical Consistency of EU Sector Accounts (ECB) PDF PDF
    Combining sources and balancing the accounts (ECB) PDF PDF
    Financial Accounts in Kyrgyzstan (National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic) PDF PDF
    From-whom-to-whom – practical solution for compiling FA statistics, NBRNM case (National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia) PDF  
    Who-to-whom, consistency and balancing (Statistics Iceland) PDF PDF
         

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIH awards $27M to establish new network of genomics-enabled learning health systems

    Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2

    News Release

    Monday, September 23, 2024

    Network will analyze and improve how genomic information is integrated into patient care.

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is awarding $5.4 million in first-year funding to establish a new program that supports the integration of genomics into learning health systems.

    Present in many hospitals across the United States, learning health systems are a type of clinical practice that bridges research and patient care. These systems use a variety of methods to continually analyze patient data. Clinicians then use the results of those analyses to refine practices and improve future care.

    The new Genomics-enabled Learning Health System (gLHS) Network aims to identify and advance approaches for integrating genomic information into existing learning health systems. As genomic testing becomes increasingly common, more and more genomic data are available in clinical settings, and learning health systems present an opportunity to translate this evidence quickly and directly into improvements in medical care.

    The network consists of six clinical study sites and a coordinating center, all of which have an operating learning health system. Each clinical site will propose a project that uses patient data to develop and refine some aspect of genomic medicine. These could include implementing testing for hereditary diseases or using genomic information to select which medications a patient is given.

    The network also includes a coordinating center, which will select a set of projects that both seem feasible in the program’s five-year duration and have the potential to be shared throughout the network.

    “We are excited to bring this network together to move genomic discoveries into clinical practice,” said Robb Rowley, M.D., a program director in the Division of Genomic Medicine at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of NIH. “Learning health systems present an excellent opportunity to generate new medical understandings from genomic data, which is critical to realizing the promise of precision health for everyone.”

    A major aim of the gLHS Network is to create generalizable knowledge and genomic medicine practices so that data collected at each clinical site can improve patient care more broadly. Beyond exchanging information within the network, the coordinating center will orchestrate sharing the network’s tools and resources with the greater clinical and scientific communities.

    Such sharing practices have the potential to reach patients outside of hospitals with learning health systems. This includes many under-resourced settings, such as rural hospitals or other clinical settings in low-income areas.

    “Currently, the success of learning health systems is typically limited to highly-resourced medical centers,” said Teri Manolio, M.D., Ph.D., director of NHGRI’s Division of Genomic Medicine. “We hope this initiative will provide generalizable tools that enable limited-resource settings to learn from their ongoing experiences to improve their implementation of genomic medicine.”

    The awards are jointly funded by NHGRI and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and total $27 million, which will be distributed over the program’s five years, pending the availability of funds.

    Coordinating center and principal investigators

    Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, TN

    • Josh F. Peterson, M.D., M.P.H.
    • Carolyn Audet, Ph.D.
    • Wesley Self, M.D., M.P.H.

    Clinical sites and principal investigators

    Boston Veterans Administration Research Institute — Boston, MA

    • Jason Vassy, M.D., M.P.H.
    • Maren Scheuner, M.D., M.P.H.
    • Deepak Voora, M.D.
    • Lori Orlando, M.D.

    Geisinger Health System — Danville, PA

    • Adam Buchanan, M.P.H.

    Indiana University School of Medicine — Indianapolis, IN

    • Todd C. Skaar, Ph.D.
    • Paul R. Dexter, M.D.

    Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine — Chicago, IL

    • Patricia D. Franklin, M.D., M.P.H.
    • Elizabeth M. McNally, M.D., Ph.D.
    • Lucy A. Godley, M.D., Ph.D.
    • Rinad S. Beidas, Ph.D.

    University of Utah Health—Salt Lake City, UT

    • Kensaku Kawamoto, M.D., Ph.D.
    • Mark Yandell, Ph.D.
    • Martin Tristani-Firouzi, M.D.

    Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Nashville, TN

    • Dan Roden, M.D.
    • Sunil Kripalani, M.D.
    • Alexander Bick, M.D., Ph.D.

    About the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI): At NHGRI, we are focused on advances in genomics research. Building on our leadership role in the initial sequencing of the human genome, we collaborate with the world’s scientific and medical communities to enhance genomic technologies that accelerate breakthroughs and improve lives. By empowering and expanding the field of genomics, we can benefit all of humankind. For more information about NHGRI and its programs, visit www.genome.gov.

    About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

    NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Washington Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting His Partner with a Knife and Attempting to Suffocate Her

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)

    Spokane, Washington – United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Marvin Samson Butterfly, age 40, to 70 months in federal prison on charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Indian Country, Assault of an Intimate Partner and Dating Partner by Suffocating and Attempting to Suffocate in Indian Country, and Attempted Witness Tampering (70 months on each count to be served concurrently). Butterfly was convicted of those crimes on April 9, 2024, following a jury trial. Judge Rice also imposed 3 years of federal supervision after Butterfly is released from prison.

    According to court documents and information introduced at trial and sentencing, on September 16, 2023, officers with the Spokane Tribal Police Department were called to a home in Ford, Washington, for a reported domestic assault. The victim, who is an enrolled member of the Spokane Tribe told officers that Butterfly assaulted her. Butterfly was upset with the victim because she had let another woman shelter in her home during a spell of cold weather. Butterfly began shouting, took out a long knife, and stabbed the floors, doors, and furniture. Butterfly assaulted the victim by holding the knife against her throat. Butterfly then pushed the victim down on the couch, placed his hand over her mouth and attempted to suffocate her. After the victim was able to pry Butterfly’s fingers off her face, Butterfly left the home in the victim’s car. Officers found Butterfly the next morning asleep in the victim’s car.

    On November 2, 2023, while in jail, Butterfly placed a recorded telephone call to his neighbor. During the call, Butterfly made several statements indicating he did not want the victim to testify. Butterfly encouraged his neighbor to stress to the victim that he would be coming home – i.e., getting out of jail – so long as the victim did not cooperate with investigators.

    “The victim in this case suffered terrifying acts of abuse and intimidation, stated Vanessa Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “Domestic violence is one of the root causes underlying the MMIP crisis. My office is committed to working with our partners in Tribal and Federal law enforcement to secure justice for the victims and to build safer and stronger communities on Tribal lands and throughout Eastern Washington. I am grateful that the victim in his case was undeterred and that my office has built a strong support mechanism to protect the brave victims, that seek to end the abusive cycle of violence.”

    “Terrifying is the word that best describes the ordeal Mr. Butterfly inflicted upon the victim in this case.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “I’m thankful the victim was courageous and advocated for herself to help put Mr. Butterfly in custody where he belongs. Curbing violent crime on our state’s reservations remains a priority for the FBI and our partners here in Washington.”

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Spokane Tribal Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Ellis.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: QUADIENT: H1 2024 results: Solid 3.2% reported revenue growth and sharp improvement in profitability from Digital

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    H1 2024 results: Solid 3.2% reported revenue growth
    and sharp improvement in profitability from Digital

    Key highlights

    • H1 2024 consolidated sales of €534 million, up +3.2% on a reported basis including the contribution of the latest acquisitions (Daylight and Frama) and up +0.8% organically(1)
    • H1 2024 subscription-related revenue up +0.7% on an organic basis, representing 72% of total revenue
    • Strong performance from North America at +2.8% organic growth in H1 2024, representing 58% of Group Sales
    • H1 2024 EBITDA of €111 million, up 2.6% organically, primarily driven by a strong increase in profitability in Digital
    • H1 2024 Group current EBIT of €61 million, up 0.3% organically
    • Net attributable income of €24 million
    • Leverage ratio excluding leasing reduced to 1.6x2
    • FY 2024 outlook confirmed
    • Launch of share buyback program for up to €30 million

    Paris, 23 September 2024

    Quadient S.A. (Euronext Paris: QDT), a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, , today announces its 2024 second-quarter consolidated sales and first half results (period ended on 31 July 2024). The first-half 2024 results were approved by the Board of Directors during a meeting held on 20 September 2024.

    Geoffrey Godet, Chief Executive Officer of Quadient S.A., stated:

    “Quadient achieved a solid performance in the first half of 2024, setting a good start to the execution of our new strategic plan, ‘Elevate to 2030’, which aims at delivery €1 billion of subscription-related revenue by 2030. The various modules of our SaaS communication and financial automation platform are further recognized for their technical specificities as well as for their ease of use, reflecting our strong customer centric approach. Our highly recurring business model continues to be fueled by good results in both cross-selling and up-selling our solutions, by the strong outperformance of our Mail business as well as by a solid volume increase within our European parcel lockers open networks.

    In parallel, the profitability of our Digital business has sharply increased. Indeed, our Digital EBITDA margin gained 6 points compared to the first half of 2023, demonstrating our commitment to strengthen our investment proposition. Confident in our value-creation potential and in our capacity to achieve our short- and long-term guidance, including our 2026 leverage target, we are announcing today a share buy-back program aimed at improving the return to our shareholders. More than ever, our objective is to accelerate our existing growth trajectory and propel Quadient as the leader in intelligent automation.”

    Comments on H1 2024 performance

    Group sales came in at €534 million in H1 2024, a 3.2% increase on a reported basis, and 0.8% organic growth compared to H1 2023 in line with Quadient’s expectations. The reported growth includes a positive currency impact of €1 million and a positive scope effect of €12 million, which is related to the acquisition of Daylight in September 2023 and to the acquisition of Frama in February 2024. In Q2 2024, organic revenue growth reached 0.6% compared to Q2 2023.

    Consolidated sales and EBITDA by solution

    H1 2024 consolidated sales

    In € million H1 2024 H1 2023
    restated(a)    		 Change Organic change
    Digital 130 120 +8.3% +5.9%
    Mail 362 353 +2.5% (0.5)%
    Lockers 43 45 (4.7)% (2.5)%
    Group total 534 517 +3.2% +0.8%
    (a)  The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 revenue from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

    EBITDA and EBITDA margin

      H1 2024 H1 2023 restated (a)
    In € million EBITDA EBITDA margin EBITDA EBITDA margin
    Digital 20 15.7% 11 9.3%
    Mail 94 25.8% 102 29.0%
    Lockers (3) (6.7)% (1) (3.0)%
    Group total 111 20.8% 112 21.7%
    (a)  The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 EBITDA from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated EBITDA of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

    Digital

    In H1 2024, revenue from Digital reached €130 million, up 5.9% organically (+5.8% in Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023) and up 8.3% on a reported basis (including the contribution from Daylight) compared to H1 2023. Importantly, growth for the Solution was still impacted by the delay in the implementation of two large contracts, announced in Q3 2023.

    At the end of H1 2024, annual recurring revenue (ARR), which is a forward-looking indicator of future subscription-related revenue, reached €221 million, up from €206 million at the end of FY 2023, representing a 15.3% organic(3)growth on an annualized basis.

    In H1 2024, subscription-related revenue recorded a strong 8.7% organic growth, now representing 82% of Digital total sales, a further increase compared to 80% in H1 2023. The share of SaaS customers stands at 83% at the end of H1 2024.

    EBITDA for Digital was €20 million for the period, representing a 15.7% EBITDA margin, up 6.4 points compared to H1 2023. Strong improvement in profitability continues, supported by the combination of subscription-related revenue growth, and platform size benefits, despite further commercial and innovation investments. The profitability is expected to continue improving in FY 2024.

    As part of the customer acquisition focus, Digital continues to experience strong commercial dynamics, supported by solid cross-selling with Mail including some large deals (notably one deal above USD1 million) in North America. Digital is benefiting from a positive start to Q3 2024 thanks to a new large deal with a US insurance company worth more than USD7 million over 5 years. Regarding the upcoming e-invoicing regulation in Europe, Quadient is now officially registered as a Partner Dematerialization Platform in France.

    As part of the customer expansion process, the onboarding of all eligible customers on the Quadient Hub is now completed. Focus continues on further increasing up-selling. New partnerships, notably with Microsoft business central, Sage200 (ERP solutions) and Stripe (payment solution), have also been signed. Lastly, the churn rate in Digital continues to decline, now standing well below 5%.

    Mail

    Mail revenue reached €362 million in H1 2024, down only 0.5% on an organic basis (-0.8% in Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023). The reported growth stood at +2.5%, including the contribution of Frama.

    Hardware sales recorded a 4.8% organic growth in H1 2024, with strong contributions from North America, including a positive impact from decertification. The focus on investing into renewing the products offering continues to support product placements, as seen in the further increase in the share of the upgraded installed base, reaching 36.6% at the end of H1 2024 vs. 31.5% at the end of FY 2023.

    Subscription-related revenue (68% of Mail sales) recorded a limited 2.8% organic decline in H1 2024.

    EBITDA for Mail was €94 million for H1 2024. EBITDA margin reached 25.8%, down 3.2 points compared to H1 2023. The level of EBITDA margin of Mail was impacted by the higher proportion of revenue from equipment sales as well as by the dilution due to Frama acquisition, which performance is expected to improve significantly from 2025.

    Thanks to its strong customer acquisition focus, Quadient’s Mail business continues to outperform the market. The commercial performance is expected to be resilient in Q3 2024. On the acquisition side, the aim is to upgrade the installed base.

    As part of the customer expansion focus, the cross-selling remains solid, especially in the US, with several large contracts signed. Lastly, Mail benefited from the positive impact of the ongoing US mailing systems decertification.

    Lockers

    Lockers revenue reached €43 million in H1 2024, a 2.5% decrease on an organic basis (-1.8% in Q2 2024 vs Q2 2023) and a 4.7% decrease on a reported basis compared to H1 2023.

    Subscription-related revenue was up 5.3% organically in H1 2024, benefiting from the solid volumes ramp up within the UK and the French open networks, as well as the contribution of the existing installed base, supported by the higher number of carriers committed to use Quadient’s open networks. However, change in commercial agreements with Yamato in Japan in Q3 2023 leading to a greater focus on usage as opposed to a rental-based model, continues for now to weigh on the subscription-related revenue. Overall, subscription-related revenue stood at 65% of total revenue in H1 2024, up from 61% in H1 2023.

    Non-recurring revenue (license & hardware sales and professional services) were down 15.1% organically in H1 2024. Hardware sales were still impacted by slower new installations in North America.

    Quadient’s global locker installed base reached c.21,400 units at the end of H1 2024 vs. c.20,200 units at the end of FY 2023. This is reflecting an acceleration in the pace of installation of new lockers, notably in the UK, fueled by the partnerships signed by Quadient to host parcel lockers in new suitable locations.

    EBITDA for Lockers was negative at €(3) million in H1 2024. EBITDA margin stood at (6.7)%, down by 3.7 points. The decrease in EBITDA margin was mainly due to the negative impact from the change in commercial agreement with Yamato for the Japanese installed base at the start of H2 2023.

    As part of the customer acquisition focus, Quadient is accelerating the installation pace for lockers in the open networks in Europe, mostly in France and in the UK. This is supported by the additional deals signed for premium locations and conversion of existing lockers. Conversely, the trend remains slow in North America.

    As part of the customer expansion focus, volume increased strongly from both pick-up and drop-off in the open networks. The lockers business is also fueled by innovation in usage offerings, notably with new partnership with KeyNest in the United Kingdom, bringing additional volumes into the open network.

    REVIEW OF 2024 FIRST HALF-YEAR RESULTS

    Simplified P&L

    In € million H1 2024 H1 2023 restated (a) Change
    Sales 534 517 +3.2%
    Gross profit 399 387 +3.2%
    Gross margin 74.4% 74.8%  
    EBITDA 111 112 (1.1)%
    EBITDA margin 20.8% 21.7%  
    Current EBIT 61 65 (6.0)%
    Current EBIT margin 11.5% 12.6%  
    Optimization expenses and other operating income & expenses (16) (6) n/a
    EBIT 45 59 (24.4)%
    Financial income/(expense) (21) (16) +32.3%
    Income before tax 24 43 (45.4)%
    Income taxes 2 (6) n/a
    Net income of continued operations 26 37 (31.0)%
    Net income from discontinued operations (1) (0) n/a
    Net attributable income 24 36 (32.8)%
    Earnings per share 0.71 1.05 n/a
    Diluted earnings per share 0.71 1.05 n/a
    (a)  The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 contribution from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated P&L of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

    Gross margin stood at 74.4% in H1 2024 from 74.8% in H1 2023, due to slightly higher cost of sales and the impact of Frama integration.

    EBITDA(4) for the Group reached €111 million in H1 2024, almost flat compared to H1 2023. Organically, the EBITDA grew by 2.6%, thanks to a solid increase at Digital offsetting a weaker EBITDA performance in Mail. EBITDA margin stood at 20.8% in H1 2024, vs 21.7% in H1 2023.

    Depreciation and amortization stood at €50 million in H1 2024, compared to €47 million in H1 2023. This is mainly due to slightly higher amortization of Lockers’ capex for rent.

    Current operating income (current EBIT) reached €61 million in H1 2024 compared to €65 million in H1 2023, down 6.0% on a reported basis and up 0.3% on an organic basis. Current operating margin stood at 11.5% of sales in H1 2024 compared to 12.6% in H1 2023.

    Optimization costs and other operating expenses stood at €16 million in H1 2024, versus €6 million in H1 2023 which was impacted by the write-off of an IT project and additional office optimization in the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Consequently, EBIT reached €45 million in H1 2024, versus €59 million recorded in H1 2023.

    Net attributable income

    Net cost of debt was up year-on-year at €20 million, against €15 million in H1 2023, impacted by higher interest rates on the variable portion of the debt (one third of Quadient’s debt). The currency gains & losses and other financial items was a loss of €(1) million in H1 2024, stable vs. H1 2023. Overall, net financial result was a loss of €21 million in H1 2024 compared to a loss of €16 million in H1 2023.

    Income tax reached a €2 million profit in H1 2024, benefitting from the positive impact of internal IP transfers. It compares to an expense of €6 million in H1 2023.

    Net income from discontinued operations of the Mail Italian subsidiary amounts to €(1) million, including additional fees related to the ongoing sale process for this subsidiary.

    Net attributable income after minority interest amounted to €24 million in H1 2024 compared to €36 million in H1 2023.

    Earnings per share from continued operations came in at €0.74 in H1 2024 compared to €1.06 in H1 2023. The fully diluted earnings per share(5) was €1.05 in H1 2023.

    Earnings per share stood at €0.71 in H1 2024 compared to €1.05 in H1 2023. The fully diluted earnings per share(5) was €0.71 in H1 2024 compared to €1.05 in H1 2023. The impact of dilutive instruments is accretive, dilutive earnings per share is therefore brought into line with net earnings per share.

    Cash flow generation

    The change in working capital was a net cash outflow by €19 million in H1 2024 compared to a net cash outflow of €55 million in H1 2023, mostly reflecting a better level of cash collection and the one-off positive impact from timing differences in VAT payments.

    The leasing portfolio and other financing services stood at €591 million as of 31 July 2024, compared to €598 million as of 31 January 2024 (only down by (1.0)% on an organic basis), thanks to the solid performance of the Mail activity. While generating future subscription-related revenue, the expected increase in lease receivables resulting from the good performance in the placement of new equipment will translate into a cash outflow in H2 2024. At the end of H1 2024, the default rate of the leasing portfolio stood at around 1.2% compared to c.1.3% at the end of FY 2023.

    Interest and taxes paid increased slightly to €38 million in H1 2024 versus the amount of €35 million paid in H1 2023. The difference was mostly explained by higher interest rates in H1 2024.

    Capital expenditure reached €46 million in H1 2024, stable compared to H1 2023 reflecting an increase in capex for rent offset by the non-renewal of office leases (lower IFRS 16 capex). Capex for Digital reached €12 million in H12024, slightly up compared to €11 million in H1 2023 and was mainly focused on R&D. Capex for Mail decreased from €25 million to €22 million, due to lower IFRS 16 capex linked to less office leases renewal. Capex for Lockers increased from €10 million to €13 million to support the open network deployment in the UK and France.

    All in all, cash flow after capital expenditure was up from a negative amount of €15 million in H1 2023 to a positive amount of €3 million in H1 2024.

    Leverage and liquidity position

    Net debt stood at €726 million as of 31 July 2024, a slight increase against the €709 million of net financial debt recorded as of 31 January 2024. In June 2024, the Group extended by an additional year the maturity of its Revolving Credit Facility to 2029. In July 2024, Quadient proceeded to a partial bond buy-back for a total amount of €7 million, leaving the outstanding amount of the 2.25% bond at €260 million.

    The Group is well positioned to refinance its 2.25% bond, maturing early 2025.

    The leverage ratio (net debt/EBITDA) remained broadly stable from 3.0x(2) as of 31 July 2024 compared to 2.9x(2) as of 31 January 2024. Excluding leasing, Quadient leverage ratio improved from 1.65x(2) as of 31 January 2024 to 1.6x(2) as of 31 July 2024.

    As of 31 July 2024, the Group had a robust liquidity position of €494 million, split between €194 million in cash and a €300 million undrawn credit line, maturing in 2029.

    Shareholders’ equity stood at €1,064 million as of 31 January 2024 compared to €1,069 million as of 31 January 2024. The gearing ratio(6) stood at 68,2% as of 31 July 2024.

    MAIL ITALIAN SUBSIDIARY

    Following the reclassification of the Mail Italian Subsidiary as discontinued operations under IFRS 5 in full-year 2023, an agreement for its sale has been signed with a local mail distribution company in July 2024.

    CAPITAL ALLOCATION

    In line with Quadient’s capital allocation policy, the Company announces the launch of a share buyback program for a total consideration of up to €30 million to be executed on the market over an18-month(7) period.

    This operation aims at improving shareholders’ return. It also demonstrates Quadient’s confidence in the value creation potential of its new Elevate to 2030 strategic plan, its ability to reach its FY 2026 leverage ratio target(8) and is in line with the capital allocation policy of the Company. A press release detailing this share buyback program has been published alongside today’s H1 2024 results.

    OUTLOOK

    With H1 2024 organic growth in line with expectations, Quadient confirms its FY 2024 financial guidance of organic growth both at the revenue and current EBIT levels. H2 2024 will benefit from an easier comparison basis for both Digital and Lockers as there will no longer be any negative impact neither from the delay in implementation of the two large SaaS contracts, nor from the change in commercial agreement with Yamato, which took place at the beginning of H2 2023.

    Q2 2024 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

    Approval of all resolutions by the combined Shareholders’ meeting of 14 June 2024
    On 17 June 2024, Quadient announced that its combined Annual General Meeting was held on 14 June 2024, under the chairmanship of Mr. Didier Lamouche. All submitted resolutions were ratified, with an attendance rate of 74.19% (quorum for ordinary and extraordinary resolutions).

    The Annual General Meeting approved the renewal of the three-year terms of directorship of Hélène Boulet-Supau, Geoffrey Godet, Richard Troksa. Vincent Mercier’s directorship was renewed for an 18-month term, until 31 December 2025. The Annual General Meeting also approved the co-option and approved the renewal for a three-year term of Bpifrance Investissement, represented by Emmanuel Blot.

    Quadient expands its Open Locker Network in new high traffic locations in Japan, leveraging existing JR East Smart Logistics Lockers
    On 21 June 2024, Quadient announced a significant expansion of its open locker network in Japan through a strategic partnership with JR East Smart Logistics Co., Ltd., the logistics arm of the major Japanese rail company. This collaboration integrates Quadient’s advanced parcel delivery and pickup functionalities into JR East’s existing multifunctional locker system, Multi E-Cube, across Japan’s extensive railway network. This marks the first time Quadient is expanding its intelligent locker capacities to third-party networks, highlighting its agility in deploying an open and interoperable logistics ecosystem with new approaches.

    Quadient reports cross-selling success in North America, reinforcing strategic vision
    On 2 July 2024, Quadient announced that nearly 50% of the large deals signed in North America with mail automation customers in May included digital automation platform applications, confirming the critical role its software solutions play in influencing customer decisions. Additionally, two-thirds of these cross-sell deals, secured by Quadient’s mail teams, featured both mail and digital automation solutions, reaching an over 60% integration rate.

    Quadient launches new cloud-based application to empower small businesses in their Mail management processes
    On 4 July 2024, Quadient announced the launch of Secure Barcode, a cloud-based application designed to enhance the security of customer physical communications through seamless barcode generation and insertion into documents. This innovative solution is tailored for small businesses that are beginning their journey into digital mail solutions, providing immediate benefits in document management and operational efficiency.

    Quadient and Punch Pubs Partner to enhance parcel locker access for UK communities
    On 11 July 2024, Quadient announced a new contract with Punch Pubs, a leading pub company in the UK. This partnership will see the deployment of Quadient’s Parcel Pending open locker network across 1,261 pub locations managed by Punch Pubs, enhancing the accessibility and convenience of parcel deliveries and returns for communities nationwide. This collaboration supports sustainable growth strategies, leveraging Punch Pubs’ nationwide commercial properties to deliver value to local populations. 

    More than 1.5 million higher education Students in the U.S. now rely on Quadient smart lockers for package delivery
    On 25 July 2024, Quadient announced it has reached a new milestone of installed smart lockers totaling more than 250 colleges and universities across the United States. Across the campuses, more than 1.5 million students per year are served by the automated lockers.

    POST-CLOSING EVENTS

    Quadient recognized as a major player for first time in IDC MarketScape for worldwide accounts payable automation software for midmarket and small businesses
    On 14 August 2024, Quadient announced it has been named a Major Player for the first time in two IDC MarketScape reports – IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Midmarket 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc # US52378624, July 2024) and IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Small Businesses 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc # US52378824, July 2024).

    Quadient secures major contract in North America, demonstrating strength in integrating Digital communications and Mail automation solutions
    On 28 August 2024, Quadient announced a new contract with a North American global leader in financial services, worth approximately €1.4 million per year over an initial period of three years. This successful deal underscores Quadient’s capability to meet the complex communication needs of large organizations through its extensive portfolio of digital and mail automation platforms, combined with high-level consulting and professional services.

    Quadient unveils new mobile app, enabling any local business to offer parcel locker delivery services to customers
    On 4 September 2024, Quadient announced the launch of a mobile app that enables local businesses to deliver customer orders directly to Quadient open network lockers without the need for specific software integrations. The app is already available in the Japanese market under the name PUDO ACCESS and will soon be made available in other countries, continuing to create value for merchants and their local communities.

    E-invoicing mandate for businesses in France: Quadient officially registered as a Dematerialization Platform Partner
    On 12 September 2024, Quadient announced its official registration as a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) under number 0060. This registration, issued on 12 September 2024 by the PDP Registration Service of the Public Finance Department, acknowledges that Quadient meets all the requirements of the new Finance Law and is authorized to participate in the next phase of interoperability tests with the tax authorities’ platform when it becomes available.

    Quadient Named a Leader in 2024 SPARK Matrix for Accounts Payable Automation
    On 19 September 2024, Quadient announced it has been recognized as a Technology Leader in the “SPARK Matrix: Accounts Payable Automation” report, a detailed analysis of the accounts payable (AP) automation market by independent analyst firm QKS Group. The recognition comes on the heels of Quadient also being named a Technology Leader in the “2024 SPARK Matrix: Accounts Receivable (AR) Applications” report, which was published in May. This marks the second year in a row that Quadient has been named a leader in both AP and AR in the SPARK Matrix reports.

    To know more about Quadient’s news flow, previous press releases are available on our website at the following address: https://invest.quadient.com/en/newsroom.

    CONFERENCE CALL & WEBCAST

    Quadient will host a conference call and webcast today at 6:00 pm Paris time (5:00 pm London time).

    To join the webcast, click on the following link: Webcast.

    To join the conference call, please use one of the following phone numbers:

    ▪ France: +33 (0) 1 70 37 71 66.

    ▪ United States: +1 786 697 3501.

    ▪ United Kingdom (standard international): +44 (0) 33 0551 0200.

    Password: Quadient

    A replay of the webcast will also be available on Quadient’s Investor Relations website for 12 months.

    Calendar

    • 27 November 2024: Third quarter 2024 sales release (after close of trading on the Euronext Paris regulated market).

    About Quadient®

    Quadient is a global automation platform provider powering secure and sustainable business connections through digital and physical channels. Quadient supports businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation and growth journey, unlocking operational efficiency and creating meaningful customer experiences. Listed in compartment B of Euronext Paris (QDT) and part of the CAC® Mid & Small and EnterNext® Tech 40 indices, Quadient shares are eligible for PEA-PME investing.

    For more information about Quadient, visit https://invest.quadient.com/en/.

    Contacts

    APPENDIX

    Digital: New name for Intelligent Communication Automation

    Mail: New name for Mail-Related Solutions

    Lockers: New name for Parcel Locker Solutions

    H1 2024 and Q2 2024 consolidated sales

    H1 2024 consolidated sales by geography

    In € million H1 2024 H1 2023
    restated (a)    		 Change Organic
    change
    North America 308 295 +4.1% +2.8%
    Main European countries(b) 182 173 +4.9% (1.6)%
    International(c) 45 49 (8.0)% (2.5)%
    Group total 534 517 +3.2% +0.8%
    (a)  The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.
    (b)  Including Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy (excluding Mail), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
    (c)  International includes the activities of Digital, Mail and Lockers outside of North America and the Main European countries

    Q2 2024 consolidated sales by Solution

    In € million Q2 2024 Q2 2023
    restated (a)    		 Change Organic change
    Digital 66 61 +8.1% +5.8%
    Mail 183 179 +2.4% (0.8)%
    Lockers 23 24 (3.2)% (1.8)%
    Group total 273 264 +3.3% +0.6%
    (a)   The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, Q2 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in Q2 2024.

    Q2 2024 consolidated sales by geography

    In € million Q2 2024 Q2 2023
    restated (a)    		 Change Organic
    change
    North America 157 150 +4.9% +3.2%
    Main European countries(b) 93 89 +4.2% (1.8)%
    International(c) 22 25 (10.1)% (5.8)%
    Group total 273 264 +3.3% +0.6%
    (a)  The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months.
    As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, Q2 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in Q2 2024.
    (b)  Including Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy (excluding Mail), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
    (c)  International includes the activities of Digital, Mail and Lockers outside of North America and the Main European countries

    First half-year 2024

    Consolidated income statement

    In € million H1 2024
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2024)    		 H1 2023 restated
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2023)
    Sales 534 517
    Cost of sales (135) (131)
    Gross margin 399 387
    R&D expenses (31) (31)
    Sales and marketing expenses (143) (139)
    Administrative and general expenses (97) (90)
    Service and support expenses (58) (55)
    Employee profit-sharing, share-based payments and other expenses (5) (3)
    Acquisition-related expenses (4) (3)
    Current operating income 61 65
    Optimization expenses and other operating income & expenses (16) (6)
    Operating income 45 59
    Financial income/(expense) (21) (16)
    Income before taxes 24 43
    Income taxes 2 (6)
    Share of results of associated companies 0 (0)
    Net income from continued operations 26 37
    Net income of discontinued operations (1) (0)
    Net income 25 37
    Of which:

    • Minority interests
    		 1 1
    • Net attributable income
    		 24 36

    Simplified consolidated balance sheet

    Assets
    In € million    		 H1 2024
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2024)    		 FY 2023
    (period ended
    on 31 January 2024)
    Goodwill 1,089 1,082
    Intangible fixed assets 118 121
    Tangible fixed assets 158 156
    Other non-current financial assets 66 65
    Other non-current receivables 2 2
    Leasing receivables 591 598
    Deferred tax assets 47 17
    Inventories 71 67
    Receivables 193 228
    Other current assets 74 84
    Cash and cash equivalents 194 118
    Current financial instruments 2 2
    Assets held for sale 11 9
    TOTAL ASSETS 2,617 2,550
    Liabilities
    In € million    		 H1 2024
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2024)    		 FY 2023
    (period ended
    on 31 January 2024)
    Shareholders’ equity 1,064 1,069
    Non-current provisions 15 12
    Non-current financial debt 552 715
    Current financial debt 329 66
    Lease obligations 39 46
    Other non-current liabilities 4 2
    Deferred tax liabilities 119 104
    Financial instruments 4 5
    Trade payables 69 79
    Deferred income 190 212
    Other current liabilities 219 225
    Liabilities held for sale 13 15
    TOTAL LIABILITIES 2,617 2,550

    Simplified cash flow statement

     

    In €millions

    		 H1 2024
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2024)    		 H1 2023 restated
    (period ended
    on 31 July 2023)
    EBITDA 111 112
    Other elements (11) (7)
    Cash flow before net cost of debt and income tax 100 105
    Change in the working capital requirement (19) (55)
    Net change in leasing receivables 6 16
    Cash flow from operating activities 87 66
    Interest and tax paid (38) (35)
    Net cash flow from operating activities 49 31
    Capital expenditure (46) (46)
    Net cash flow after investing activities 3 (15)
    Impact of changes in scope (8) 0
    Others 0 (0)
    Net cash flow after acquisitions and divestments (5) (15)
    Dividends paid 0 (0)
    Change in debt and others 64 25
    Net cash flow from financing activities 64 25
    Cumulative translation adjustments on cash (0) (1)
    Net cash from discontinued operations 2 (1)
    Change in net cash position 60 10

    Figures exclude Mail Italian subsidiary which has been reclassified as discontinued operations in 2023.
    (1) H1 2024 sales are compared to H1 2023 sales, to which is added pro rata temporis the revenue of Daylight and Frama for a consolidated amount of €12 million. The currency impact is positive for €1 million.
    (2) Including IFRS 16
    (3) H1 2024 ARR impacted by a €0.2 million negative currency effect vs 31 January 2024
    (4) EBITDA = current operating income + provisions for depreciation of tangible and intangible fixed assets.
    (5) For the H1 2024, the average compounded number of shares is 33,950,930. Diluted number of shares is 34,487,900.
    (6) Net debt / shareholders’ equity
    (7) Subject to the renewal of the share buyback authorizations at the 2025 AGM
    (8) FY 2026 leverage ratio excluding leasing target of 1.5x

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI USA: During Climate Week, Markey, Badum, Merkley, Barragán Lead Over 100 International Lawmakers in Urging Biden Administration to Reject New LNG Exports

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Letter Text (PDF)

    Washington (September 23, 2024) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, today partnered with Representative Lisa Badum, group coordinator in the German Bundestag’s Climate and Energy Committee and chairwoman of the Subcommittee on International Climate and Energy Policy, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Senate and House colleagues, and leaders from around the world in sending a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, urging the administration to reject new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports amidst the global climate crisis.

    The United States is already the world’s largest exporter of LNG and is on track to exponentially increase export capacity – a full build-out that could yield hundreds of million metric tons of additional greenhouse gases at home and abroad. Pushing back on arguments that United States’ international allies need the country’s LNG, members of the U.S. Congress and Parliaments around the world are requesting that the administration reject these applications. 

    In their letter to the administration, the lawmakers wrote, “Far from being a clean ‘bridge’ fuel, LNG causes significant environmental harm. In addition to the greenhouse gas released when LNG is burned, the potent greenhouse gas effects of pervasive methane leaks throughout the LNG supply chain — which extends from initial exploration all the way through gas production, pipeline transportation, liquefaction, vessel transportation, regasification, distribution, and end-use consumption — likely eliminate any climate advantage of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

    The lawmakers continued, “In addition to the environmental and health benefits, limiting U.S. LNG exports will actually support global energy security, not jeopardize it. In both emerging and developed markets, overinvestment in LNG diverts resources away from cheaper, more stable, and less trade-dependent clean energy investments.”

    In Europe:

    “While Europe’s energy system was strained in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, it has since recovered. Europeans united to slash overall gas demand by 20 percent over the past two years. Gas prices are lower than before the start of the war, despite drastically lower supply from Russia.”

    In Asia:

    “China, the world’s largest LNG importer, has emerged as a major re-exporter within the region and globally, cashing in on lucrative price differentials that are facilitated by long-term agreements with the United States. Similarly, Japan, facing declining domestic demand and oversupply, is redirecting LNG trade volumes to emerging markets in South and Southeast Asia, bolstering profitable re-trading ventures.” Additionally, “South Korea, despite existing low terminal utilization and climate commitments, has invested significantly in expanding LNG infrastructure, highlighting a mismatch between capacity expansions and actual demand.”

    In Africa:

    “The expansion of LNG export infrastructure has sparked displacement, conflict, and environmental degradation, with many projects facing the risk of becoming stranded assets amid declining global demand. The African LNG export market parallels the United States in prioritizing foreign market interests over local needs amidst declining demand. U.S. participation in the LNG export market fuels this exploitative industry, undermining claims of leadership in a just global energy transition.”

    In the Americas:

    “Investments in new re-exporting infrastructure in Mexico will soon become stranded assets with poor financial viability, threatening the economic stability of the country for the benefit of short-term U.S. interests. Moreover, the export of U.S. LNG through Mexico also transfers environmental and climate justice burdens associated with LNG infrastructure, expanding the footprint of the industry’s harm to the country’s unique biodiversity and frontline communities in Mexico.”

    Cosigners in the U.S. include Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Representatives Jared Huffman (CA-02), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC). Cosigners internationally include 30 Members of the Thailand Parliament, 15 Members of the European Parliament, 10 Members of the German Parliament, 3 Members of the United Kingdom Parliament, 2 Members of the Flemish Parliament, 2 Members of the National Assembly of the Gambia, 2 Members of the South Sudan Parliament, 2 Members of the Tanzanian Parliament the Australian Senator for Victoria, Brazilian State Deputy for Para, Canadian Senator for Quebec, the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, 1 former Member of the Sierra Leone Parliament, 1 former Member of the Catalan Parliament, 1 former Member of the Flemish Parliament, 1 Member of the Timor-Leste Parliament, Member of Parliament and Special Envoy on Climate Change and Environment from the Republic of Vanuatu, 1 Member of the Sierra Leone Parliament, 1 Member of Tasmania’s Legislative Council, 1 Member of the Australian Parliament, 1 Member of the Austrian Parliament, 1 Member of the Cambodian Parliament, 1 Member of the Cameroon National Assembly, 1 Member of the Colombian Congress, 1 Member of the Gambian Parliament, 1 Member of the Ghanaian Parliament, 1 Member of the Liberian House of Representatives, 1 Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1 Member of the Scottish Parliament, 1 Member of the Swedish Parliament, 1 Member of the Swiss Parliament (National Council), 1 Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly, 1 Member of the Ugandan Parliament, 1 Member of the UK House of Lords, and 1 Member of the Victorian Parliament in Australia on behalf of the Victorian Greens Members of Parliament.

    In July 2023, Senator Markey and several New England Senators sent a letter to the Department of Energy urging it to consider the disproportionate negative impacts of LNG on New England as the department considers updates to its underlying environmental and economic analyses to improve export authorization decisions for LNG. 

    In May 2024, Senator Markey and Representative Yvette Clarke (NY-09) announced the reintroduction of the Block All New (BAN) Fossil Fuel Exports Act, legislation that would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act and ban the export of American crude oil and natural gas abroad to protect frontline communities from dangerous export infrastructure, prioritize U.S. consumers against fossil fuel profiteering, and help ensure the United States meets its climate and clean energy commitments on the world stage.

    In March 2023, Senator Markey and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) reintroduced the Fossil Free Finance Act, legislation that would direct the Federal Reserve to require major banks and other Systemically Important Financial Institutions (SIFIs) to stop financing projects and activities linked to increased greenhouse gas emissions and submit a plan on how they would meet these requirements. In October 2022, Senator Markey reintroduced the OPEC Accountability Act, legislation to require the U.S. President to initiate consultations with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-OPEC countries to reduce crude oil production.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: Amundi: Launch of the capital increase reserved for employees

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Amundi: Launch of the capital increase reserved for employees

    Amundi launches a capital increase reserved for employees (under the name We Share Amundi). This capital increase was initially decided on 6 February 2024 under the terms specified below.

    This offer reflects Amundi’s desire to involve employees not only in the Company’s development but also in the creation of economic value. This will strengthen the employees’ sense of belonging.

    The discount offered to employees will be 30%, as for the five previous capital increase reserved for employees.

    Eligible employees can subscribe to the offering between 23 September and 4 October 2024 included. The capital increase is scheduled for 31 October 2024 and the newly issued Amundi shares will be listed on Euronext Paris on 4 November 2024.

    As a reminder, employees currently own 1.41 % of Amundi’s share capital.

    The impact of this offering on the net earnings per share should be negligible. The maximum number of Amundi shares to be issued will be capped at 1,000,000 shares (i.e. less than 0.5% of the Company’s share capital and voting rights).

    Terms of the capital increase

    Issuer

    Amundi, a French limited company (société anonyme) with share capital of €511.619.085 and with its offices located at 91-93, Boulevard Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Registry under number 314 222 902 (the “Company”).

    Securities offered

    The offering is a capital increase in cash reserved for employees, employees who have taken early retirement and retired employees of Amundi Group companies that are members of the UES Amundi Company Savings Plan (“PEE”) or Amundi’s International Group Savings Plan (“PEGI”). The capital increase will be carried out pursuant to Resolution 24 of the Annual General Meeting of 12 May 2023, without preferential shareholder subscription rights.

    The capital increase will be capped at 1,000,000 shares with a par value of €2.50 per share. The newly issued shares will be fully assimilated to existing ordinary shares.

    Amundi will request that the newly issued shares under the offering be admitted for trading on Euronext Paris as soon as possible after the capital increase is completed, currently scheduled for 31 October 2024. These shares will be listed on the same line as the existing shares, under ISIN code FR0004125920.

    Terms of the 2024 offering

    We Share Amundi is being made available to employees in France and Amundi Group entities in the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States.

    Employees of companies that are members of the PEE or PEGI, with at least three months of employment, whether consecutive or not, between 1 January 2023 and the last day of the subscription period, as well as retired employees in France that have kept assets in the PEE, are eligible to the 2023 offering.

    The subscription price is set at 47.00 euros. This subscription price is the average of the share opening price over the 20 trading days between 23 August and 19 September 2024 (included), minus a 30% discount.

    Eligible employees can subscribe to the offering between 23 September 2024 and 4 October 2024 included. Shares can be subscribed to via the FCPE (Employment Shareholding Fund) AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT      RELAIS 2024 or FCPE AMUNDI SHARES RELAIS 2024, with the exception of certain countries where shares will be subscribed to directly. Once the capital increase is completed, and following decisions by the funds’ Supervisory Boards and the approval of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the FCPE AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT RELAIS 2024 will be merged into the FCPE AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT, and the FCPE AMUNDI SHARES RELAIS 2024 will be merged into the FCPE AMUNDI SHARES.

    The voting rights attached to the shares held via the Funds will be exercised by the Fund’s Supervisory Board. The voting rights attached to the directly-held shares will be exercised by the subscribers.

    The shares subscribed to under We Share Amundi will be subject to a five-year lock-up period, unless an early-exit event occurs as described in the PEE or PEGI plan rules. Early-exit events will be adjusted where applicable for certain countries.

    An employee can invest up to a maximum of €40,000. This cap is assessed on all the employee shareholding operations of the Crédit Agricole group in which Amundi employees could participate in 2024. Employees may finance their subscription by making voluntary contributions to the plans, up to the annual cap on investments in employee savings plans which is set at 25% of their gross annual compensation. Members of the UES Amundi PEE are also entitled to use their     assets held in another specific fund of the PEE.

    Should subscription requests exceed the maximum number of shares available under the offering, the smallest subscriptions will be fully honoured while the highest subscriptions will be subject to successive caps until all available shares are subscribed. In France, any cap on subscriptions will first be applied to portions of subscriptions financed by voluntary contributions, then on the subscriptions financed by the transfer of available assets held in another specific fund of the PEE, and finally on the subscriptions financed by the transfer of unavailable assets held in another specific fund of the PEE.

    Disclaimer

    This press release is for information only and is not a solicitation to subscribe to Amundi shares.

    We Share Amundi is strictly reserved to the eligible employees mentioned in this release and shall only be available in countries where such an offer has been registered with the competent local authorities, or the latter has been notified thereof, and/or following the approval of a prospectus by the competent local authorities, or if an exemption has been granted from the obligation to publish a prospectus or to register the offering with the authorities, or to notify the latter thereof.

    More generally, We Share Amundi will only be available in countries where all required registration and/or notification procedures have been completed and the necessary authorizations obtained.

    Contact

    For any questions about We Share Amundi, eligible employees may contact their Head of Human Resources or visit the following website: www.weshare.amundi.com

    ***

    About Amundi

    Amundi, the leading European asset manager, ranking among the top 10 global players1, offers its 100 million clients – retail, institutional and corporate – a complete range of savings and investment solutions in active and passive management, in traditional or real assets. This offering is enhanced with IT tools and services to cover the entire savings value chain. A subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and listed on the stock exchange, Amundi currently manages more than €2.15 trillion of assets2.

    With its six international investment hubs3, financial and extra-financial research capabilities and long-standing commitment to responsible investment, Amundi is a key player in the asset management landscape.

    Amundi clients benefit from the expertise and advice of 5,500 employees in 35 countries.

    Amundi, a trusted partner, working every day in the interest of its clients and society

    www.amundi.com    

    Press contacts:        
    Natacha Andermahr 
    Tel. +33 1 76 37 86 05
    natacha.andermahr@amundi.com 

    Corentin Henry
    Tel. +33 1 76 36 26 96
    corentin.henry@amundi.com

    Investor contacts:
    Cyril Meilland, CFA
    Tel. +33 1 76 32 62 67
    cyril.meilland@amundi.com 

    Thomas Lapeyre
    Tel. +33 1 76 33 70 54
    thomas.lapeyre@amundi.com 

    Annabelle Wiriath

    Tel. + 33 1 76 32 43 92

    annabelle.wiriath@amundi.com

    1Source: IPE “Top 500 Asset Managers” published in June 2023, based on assets under management as at 31/12/2022
    2Amundi data as at 31/12/2023
    3Boston, Dublin, London, Milan, Paris and Tokyo

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Starmer expresses interest in Italy’s migration approach – how different is it from the Rwanda plan?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Chiara Graziani, Assistant professor, Law, Bocconi University

    One of Keir Starmer’s first actions as UK prime minister was to put an end to the controversial Rwanda asylum scheme. The plan, introduced by his predecessors, aimed to deter small boat crossings by sending those who reached the UK to Rwanda to have their claims assessed.

    So it was surprising to many observers to see Starmer visit Italy for a meeting with Giorgia Meloni about Italy’s handling of asylum seekers through an arrangement with Albania. At first glance, this approach is similar to the Rwanda plan.

    Both are examples of “externalisation” of immigration. This consists of collaborating with other countries to manage migration, often by moving immigrants who arrive on the soil of a certain country to the territory of another country. Forms of externalisation are used by several other countries, such as Australia, Canada and the US.

    The UK pursued this approach through its Rwanda scheme, under which anyone arriving irregularly in the UK to claim asylum would be moved to Rwanda to have their claims processed by Rwandan officials. In exchange, the UK had agreed to give Rwanda nearly £500 million in development funding, plus additional funds for each person moved.

    The policy faced serious political opposition and legal challenges, and ultimately never got off the ground before the general election.

    Want more politics coverage from academic experts? Every week, we bring you informed analysis of developments in government and fact check the claims being made.

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    Italy’s partnership with Albania is different in some ways. Under a protocol signed by both countries, asylum seekers rescued at sea while trying to reach Italy will be moved to Albania for their applications to be examined. This will take place in processing centres that Italy will finance and build for this purpose.

    In those areas, however, Italian – and not Albanian – law will be applied and Italian authorities will be competent for the implementation of the process. Under the Rwanda scheme, Rwandan officials (and law) would have governed the asylum procedure once seekers were moved there. This was part of why the UK supreme court said it was not a “safe” country and ruled the plan unlawful.

    Additionally, successful applicants will be granted asylum in Italy, while the Rwanda plan would have only allowed them to stay in Rwanda (not come to the UK).



    Read more:
    Is the Rwanda plan acting as a deterrent? Here’s what the evidence says about this approach

    The Albanian programme is not up and running yet, but Starmer has praised Meloni’s “remarkable progress” in reducing irregular arrivals to Italy by 60%.

    In recent years, Italy has enacted other measures to manage migration by paying North African countries to stop illegal migration to Italy. Italy financed the construction of a maritime area where Tunisian boats can intervene and bring migrants to Tunisian soil.

    Similarly, Italy has outsourced search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean to the Libyan Coast Guard, in exchange for funding to enhance Libyan migration infrastructure and a commitment to improve conditions of reception centres.

    However, human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have raised serious concerns about these arrangements. In both cases, they say, reception centres amount to fully fledged detention centres, under poor conditions potentially amounting to inhumane and degrading treatment. Meloni has called such accusations “completely groundless”.

    An investigation by The Guardian newspaper, published after Starmer’s visit to Italy, detailed harsh abuse of migrants by Tunisian coast guard and border patrol. Human rights groups have been raising concerns for years about the Libyan Coast Guard’s treatment of migrants in distress at sea, including potentially conducting illegal “pushback” operations, which involve pushing boats back across a border they have crossed.



    Read more:
    The EU’s outsourced migration control is violent, expensive and ineffective

    Potential hurdles

    Starmer has said he is “interested” in Italy’s plan with Albania, and has expressed openness to other forms of externalisation. He also wants the UK to work closer with other European states to cooperate on migration.

    One positive side to the Italian model is undoubtedly that Italy does not waive its legal jurisdiction. Italian law applies in the Albanian processing centres, although conflicts with Albanian law (whose jurisdiction can’t be eliminated totally) may arise. If the UK incorporates this aspect in any future plan, it could mitigate a key weak point of the Rwanda plan.

    The Italian scheme also explicitly guarantees that the UN refugee commissioner oversees the process taking place in Albania, in theory ensuring that international human rights standards are met. However, it is certainly possible that these safeguards might be overlooked in the practical enforcement of the agreement, for example because Italian law will need to be applied by officers of a foreign country.

    It is worth nothing that Italy and the UK currently have very different geopolitical positions. Italy is an EU member state, and bound by European asylum laws and standards. This too could cause future legal issues should any of Italy’s actions in Albania violate EU law.

    Any externalisation policy will always involve balancing several interests. First and foremost, the need to comply with human rights standards, but also the fair handling of migration, and the necessity to avoid some countries taking more people than they can support.

    These pressures will be different for the UK than for Italy, and must be carefully considered. Just as the migration of people is a thorny issue, so too is the migration of policy.

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

    – ref. Starmer expresses interest in Italy’s migration approach – how different is it from the Rwanda plan? – https://theconversation.com/starmer-expresses-interest-in-italys-migration-approach-how-different-is-it-from-the-rwanda-plan-223405

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: La Maison captures the drama, intrigue and intense rivalry of the luxury fashion world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Elizabeth Kealy-Morris, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Dress and Belonging, Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University

    With the release of dramas Cristóbal Balenciaga, The New Look and Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion drama miniseries has become a staple for streaming television in 2024.

    The latest offering, French-language drama La Maison on Apple TV, captures the essence of the drama and intrigue surrounding Maison Ledu, a fictional luxury haute couture house controlled by the Ledu family.

    The dynamics between key characters are well outlined, and explore universal themes such as love, power, ambition and betrayal, as well as a longing for connection, acceptance and identity. In this way La Maison has little to do with apparel and clothing in their materiality: the camera does not linger over sketches or runway collections. The series, instead, engages with fashion on a more abstract level, highlighting how it intersects with broader human concerns.

    Vincent Ledu (Lambert Wilson) is the celebrated designer whose scandal threatens to the future of Maison Ledu. His racist tirade against a wealthy Korean client was captured by catering staff at a pubic function and posted on social media by Ledu’s scheming nephew in a bid to ruin his uncle’s reputation.

    Perle Foster (Amira Casar) is Vincent’s former principal model and inspiration who, despite her lasting attachment to Vincent, is crucial in the house’s post-scandal revival. Paloma Castel (Zita Hanrot) is the orphaned mixed-heritage daughter of Vincent’s long-time gay lover. Neither were accepted into the family and this tension of class, race, and sexual orientation difference is central to the plot throughout the series.

    The character of Paloma, in her early 30s, represents millenial indifference to tradition, hierarchy and heritage. We meet her in the first episode as the co-designer of a Berlin-based luxury eco-focused ready-to-wear brand. It’s marking a milestone with its first runway show at Paris Fashion Week with other brands’ deadstock (unsold inventory) forming the runway collection.

    The trailer for La Maison.

    In a bid to ensure the Ledu brand makes radical shifts in creative leadership after the racism scandal, Perle seeks to sideline Vincent and draw Paloma into Maison Ledu as the next-generation designer who will bring innovation and hope to Maison’s restoration. Diane Rovel (Carole Bouquet), the iron-fisted CEO and matriarch of the Rovel Luxury Group, represents the archetype of the fashion conglomerate within fashion markets, controlled by the monetary interests of anonymous shareholders. Viewers learn early that her acquisition plans for Maison Ledu are driven by strategic interest and personal vendetta.

    The luxury fashion market

    The series effectively sets up the central conflict, the stakes involved and the potential for dramatic and strategic manoeuvres. It paints a vivid picture of the internal and external pressures faced by Maison Ledu as it struggles to navigate its crisis, a problem that has notably rocked actual luxury fashion houses in recent years. An interesting aspect of the series is the contemporary understanding of the role social media plays in creating spectacle that brings people together as well as divides.

    The luxury fashion market seeks to protect and extend agreed assumptions of how such brands function via rarity, exclusivity and uniqueness to add value to their brand DNA, products and businesses. Luxury brands must ensure coherence between values, narratives, highly skilled craft and artistic techniques, with space for both tradition and innovation. By integrating these elements harmoniously, a brand can sustain its luxury status and build a lasting impression of excellence and exclusivity.

    Luxury fashion, clothing and apparel markets depend on the objects they design becoming status symbols. But they also rely on the allure, appeal, imagination and magic promised through fashion stories that are told through photography and videography. This latest AppleTV+ fashion drama is released against the backdrop of shifting consumer expectations in the luxury sector, particularly in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

    There has been a transformative shift from traditional “show-and-tell” marketing to more immersive and interactive brand experiences. Consumers now seek to “join and experience” luxury brands rather than merely observe – and this is driving brands to create engaging content that extends beyond the product itself. This evolution has given rise to innovative strategies, including online videos, interactive events and sophisticated uses of technology to enhance post-purchase engagement.

    The rise of the fashion series is a direct response to these changing consumer preferences. By integrating high-quality media narratives with brand storytelling, these series offer a novel avenue for brands to convey their history and ethos, creating a platform for the fashion industry to captivate audiences and deepen their connection with the brand narrative.

    As streaming platforms continue to gain prominence, the collaboration between fashion houses and media producers is likely to expand. This means that in the future, the intersection of fashion and storytelling will become increasingly integral to brand identity and consumer connection.

    So while both Maison Ledu and Rovel Luxury Group are fictitious brands, shows like La Maison as a general marketing tool for real-world fashion houses and brands. Meanwhile the location of Paris for this series is testament to that city as the global centre of haute couture – and the stakes involved in it remaining so.


    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

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

    – ref. La Maison captures the drama, intrigue and intense rivalry of the luxury fashion world – https://theconversation.com/la-maison-captures-the-drama-intrigue-and-intense-rivalry-of-the-luxury-fashion-world-239233

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kaos hinges on prophecies – historian explains the real oracles that inspired the Netflix show

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ellie Mackin Roberts, Research fellow, University of Bristol

    This article contains spoilers for series one of Kaos.

    Central to the plot of Netflix’s new series, Kaos, are four prophecies. In the lore of the series, all humans are given a prophecy, and no two can be the same. There’s just one problem – all four important prophecies in the show are identical:

    A line appears

    The order wanes

    The family falls

    and Kaos reigns.

    Each of the prophecy’s four recipients – Zeus (Jeff Goldblum), Riddy (Aurora Perrineau), Caeneus (Misia Butler) and Ari (Leila Farzad) – interprets, and therefore acts upon, the prophecy in a way that makes sense to their own lives. Their connected fates highlight the series’s theme of interconnected destinies and the inescapable nature of prophecy.

    By the end of the first series, three of the four lines of the prophecy have come true. A vertical wrinkle appears on Zeus’s forehead, driving his obsession with instilling fear of the gods into mortals once more. A hierarchy shift ends the season with Prometheus sitting on Zeus’s throne, which exemplifies the order waning. The families of each of the three mortal recipients fall apart.

    Watching the show, you may have understood the prophecies differently. After all, prophecy is open to interpretation. Or, is it?

    Priestess of Delphi by John Collier (1891), depicting Pythia.
    Art Gallery of South Australia

    In Kaos, the Fates (who the ancient Greeks called the Moirai) are responsible for making prophecies about the gods and their followers. There’s Clotho (Ché), who spins the thread of life, Lachesis (Suzy Eddie Izzard), who measures out the thread and Atropos (Sam Buttery), who cuts it off, marking the end of life.

    In ancient Greek mythology, the Moirai controlled the destiny of men and – in some instances – gods, but they were not responsible for making prophecies. This task fell to the gods, usually Apollo and Zeus, who made prophecies in response to questions people asked.

    As real people couldn’t speak to the gods directly, they went to religious officials known as oracles. The Delphic Oracle, associated with Apollo, god of music and healing as well as prophecy, was the most famous and prestigious of these oracles.

    Also known as the Pythia, she was Apollo’s high priestess and was the one who delivered the prophecies (numerous women fulfilled the role over the years). Ancient people believed the Pythia to be directly inspired by Apollo, and her words were taken to be coming from him.

    We do not fully understand how this process worked, though there have been suggestions that the Pythia went into a trance through chewing laurel leaves, which were sacred to Apollo. Another theory suggests trances were induced through toxic gasses entering the room within the temple she worked in, through a natural fissure in the rock.



    Read more:
    Hidden women of history: the priestess Pythia at the Delphic Oracle, who spoke truth to power

    Prophecies in Kaos

    It is from literary reports of oracles from Delphi that the format of Kaos’s prophecies derives.

    Although historical oracles are usually not poetic, those from literary accounts of history, such as Herodotus’s The Histories, are often presented in hexameter (a kind of poetic metrical meter consisting of six parts per line).

    One famous oracle was reportedly given to the Athenians when they were preparing to fight off the Persians:

    But a wall made of wood does farsighted Zeus to Tritogenes grant

    Alone and unravaged, to help you and your children.

    The Athenians debated the meaning of these words, just as the characters in Kaos consider the interpretations of their own prophecies. They decided that it meant one of two things: that Athens would be fine because the Acropolis used to be surrounded by hedgerows, or that they should build a fleet of ships to be a “wooden wall” against the enemy.

    Themistokles, the main proponent of the second reading, won out and the fleet was built. Athens faced the Persian fleet at the battle of Salamis (an island off the coast of Athens) in 480BC and won, therefore, in their eyes, proving that this reading of the prophecy was correct.

    Interpreting prophecy

    In Kaos, show creator Charlie Covell has presented something very true to the spirit of prophecy in ancient Greek history and mythology – even while subverting the form that prophecy takes.

    In ancient Greece, Zeus couldn’t have received an oracular prophecy, as all prophecy was thought to originate from him. But he was subject to the destinies cast by the Moirai. For example, in the Iliad, Zeus is unable to save his mortal son, Sarpedon, from his fate (dying by the hand of Patroclus) – it is ultimately out of his control.

    In Kaos, through misunderstanding, interpretation and reinterpretation, the four recipients of the Fates’ prophecy each play a crucial role in its fulfilment – but only when they (and we) read that prophecy in our own ways.

    The prophecies of ancient Greece could later be revealed to be incorrectly interpreted. When Croesus, king of Lydia, was told that if he went to war he would destroy a great kingdom, he interpreted that as the Persian kingdom, but it turned out to be his own.

    So too might our understanding of the prophecy in Kaos turn out to be a misinterpretation. By expertly weaving the Moirai and oracles into the narrative, Kaos emphasises the crucial role of fate in reshaping the destinies of people and events, emphasising their interconnectedness. In doing so, the show reflects the ancient Greek belief in the power and inescapable nature of prophecy.


    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

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

    – ref. Kaos hinges on prophecies – historian explains the real oracles that inspired the Netflix show – https://theconversation.com/kaos-hinges-on-prophecies-historian-explains-the-real-oracles-that-inspired-the-netflix-show-238833

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks by President  Biden, Prime Minister Modi of the Republic of India, Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, and Prime Minister Albanese of Australia Before Quad Leaders’ Summit Meeting | Claymont, DE (September 21,  2024)

    Source: The White House

    Archmere Academy
    Claymont, Delaware

    4:05 P.M. EDT

    PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, I’ll say to my fellow leaders: Welcome to Delaware.  Welcome to Claymont, Delaware.  It used to be a steel town here years ago.  And welcome to the border of Wilmington, Delaware.  (Laughs.) 

    And I’m really pleased that you were able to be in my home and — and see where — where I grew up.  I got a chance to do that in Hiroshima.  I got a chance to do that in other places, and I’m glad you got to see it.

    You know, welcome.  We’re democracies.  We’re democracies who know how to get things done.  That’s why, within the first days of my presidency, I reached out to each of you — each of your nations to propose we elevate the Quad, make it even more consequential.

    Four years later, our four countries have more strategically — are more strategically aligned than ever before.  And today, we’re announcing a series of initiatives to deliver real, positive impact for the Indo-Pacific that includes providing new maritime technologies to our regional partners so they know what’s happening in their waters; launching cooperation between coast guar- — coast guards for the first time; and expanding the Quad fellowship to include students from Southeast Asia.

    So, I want to thank you all again for being here.  You’ve come a long way to get here, and I appreciate it. 

    And while challenges will come, the world will change, because the Quad is here to stay, I believe — here to stay.

    And I’m going to turn it over now to all of you.  And I’d like to start by recognizing Prime Minister Modi. 

    PRIME MINISTER MODI:  (As interpreted.)  Your Excellencies, President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida, and Prime Minister Albanese, it gives me immense pleasure to participate at this Quad Summit today with friends very early on in my third term. 

    There cannot be a better place than President Biden’s own hometown of Wilmington to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Quad.  The way you are associated with this city and with Delaware as “Amtrak Joe,” your relationship with Quad also is somewhat similar. 

    Under your leadership, in 2021 the first summit was held.  And in such a short span of time, we have enhanced our cooperation in every sphere in ways unprecedented.  Your personal role in this has been extremely important.

    I express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your firm commitment, your leadership, and your contribution towards the Quad.

    Friends, we are meeting at a time when the world is surrounded by conflicts and tension.  At such a time, it is important for all of humanity that the members of the Quad move forward based on shared democratic values. 

    We are not against anybody.  All of us support a rules-based international order, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful resolution of all disputes.  A free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific is our shared priority and shared commitment. 

    We have together taken several positive and inclusive initiatives in areas such as health security, critical and emerging technologies, climate change, and capacity-building. 

    Our message is clear: Quad is here to stay — to assist, to partner, and to complement.

    Once again, my warmest greetings to President Biden and all friends present here.  In 2025, we will be happy to host the Quad Leaders’ Summit in India. 

    Thank you.  Thank you very much.

    PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you very much, Prime Minister. 

    Now I’d like to hear from my good friend, Prime Minister Kishida.  Over to you.

    PRIME MINISTER KISHIDA:  (As interpreted.)  It is a pleasure to get together with the leaders of the Quad at the alma mater of Joe to discuss the future of the Indo-Pacific.  May I express my gratitude to Joe’s friendship for ourselves and for your leadership and hospitality, which demonstrates your emphasis on the Quad.

    During my tenure, I have consistently emphasized, underscored the efforts by the Quad.  Following the last meeting held in my hometown of Hiroshima, this meeting, I believe, could not have been better suited for my last foreign visit as the prime minister. 

    The security environment surrounding ourselves are becoming increasingly severe, and a free and open international order based on the rule of law is under threat. 

    Under this backdrop, it is ever more important for us, the Quad, who share values such as freedom and democracy, to continue to demonstrate our firm commitment to our common vision of FOIP, the free and open Indo-Pacific, to the international community.

    In order to realize a FOIP, it is crucial to coordinate with the regional countries and to materialize our vision by concrete actions.

    I look forward to a fruitful discussion today so that we may listen to the voices of the regional countries, including ASEAN, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands, and to further promote practical cooperation that will be a genuine benefit for the region.

    Thank you.

    PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you.  (Inaudible) Prime Minister.  (Laughs.)  (Inaudible.)

    PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE:  “Anthony” is fine.  (Laughs.)

    Thank you, Mr. President.  And can I thank you for giving us the honor of hosting us in this wonderful venue where you went to school and for your very warm welcome here to your home state.

    PRESIDENT BIDEN:  (Inaudible.)

    PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE:  (Laughs.)  I’m — I’m sure — I’m absolutely certain that my headmaster would be shocked that I find myself here as well.  (Laughter.)

    So, it is — it is absolutely delightful to be here amongst friends.  And I thank — I thank you, Mr. President, for hosting us in your — your home state, your home school, and for giving us an insight into what’s made you such an extraordinary world leader.

    And it’s fantastic as well to be here, of course, with Prime Minister Kishida.  We met earlier, and we — we certainly wish you well.  And Prime Minister Modi will be hosting us next year, and I look forward to that as well.

    Unlike some international forums, the — the Quad is not — it doesn’t have a long history.  That means it’s not defined by tradition, but it also means it’s not confined by it.  It means that, as it develops, it can evolve.  And that is, I believe, what is happening.

    We represent, in this region, the — the fastest-growing region of the world in human history.  With that comes enormous opportunity but also comes some challenges.  Through the Quad, our four countries collaborate and we coordinate on the issues facing our communities but the region as a whole. 

    Through the Quad, we leverage our significant resources and expertise to contribute in meaningful ways to dealing with challenges facing countries in the region, and we ensure that we assert the view that national sovereignty is important, that security and stability is something that we strive for, as well as shared prosperity in our region. 

    The Quad is about practical, meaningful outcomes in strategic areas, ranging from clean energy and dealing with the challenge but also the opportunity that climate change represents, health security, to critical and emerging technologies, cyber resilience, infrastructure, and maritime security, and, of course, counterterrorism as well. 

    We’ll always be better off when like-minded countries and our four great democracies work together.  All of this, the promise in the region, does depend on continued peace and stability and the wise management of strategic competition and disputes. 

    Partnerships like the Quad are crucial, providing us with an avenue to discuss shared responsibilities and goals and strengthening the enduring relationships necessary for lasting stability, which is why we commit today to continue to work with our Indo-Pacific neighbors, our friends, and our partners.

    So, I think, today, we have some practical initiatives that we’ve been working on together.  The sum of the four individual parts, when comes — when it comes together, mean that it’s more effective, the work that we can do.  And — and I look forward to some practical outcomes in the tradition that the Quad has — has created.

    And it’s wonderful to be here, Mr. President.

    PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, thank you very much.  (Inaudible.)

    4:17 P.M. EDT

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: Remarks by National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard on Sustaining American Auto  Leadership

    Source: The White House

    Detroit Economic Club, Detroit, Michigan

    As Prepared for Delivery

    Thank you to the Detroit Economic Club for hosting me today. It is a pleasure to be back in the Motor City where I had a great time working on autos in one of my first jobs. 

    I want to thank Governor Whitmer for her important partnership, along with Mayor Duggan, County Executive Evans, Senators Stabenow and Peters, and Representatives Dingell, Stevens, Tlaib, Thanedar, and many others.

    The President and Vice President are determined that America’s iconic automakers and autoworkers are positioned to win the future. Our auto strategy is designed to invest in America’s world class autos supply chain from end to end; take tough, targeted enforcement actions against China’s unfair practices; and invest in America’s best-in-class autos workforce. 

    Today, I am pleased to announce two important new steps to advance our autos strategy. We are proposing a first-of-its-kind rule to safeguard America from the risks posed by connected vehicles from China. And we are building out the Michigan Workforce Hub to give workers the skills they need to contribute to this dynamic sector and expanding access to capital for small- and medium-sized auto manufacturers.

    The American Auto Sector

    The auto sector is an iconic American industry and our largest manufacturing sector. Over 3.2 million Americans work in the auto industry, and one third of those are in manufacturing jobs. The auto sector creates good-paying, union jobs that provide a ladder to the middle class, a sense of community, and the opportunity to work and retire with dignity.

    Nowhere is that more evident than right here in the proud city of Detroit and the great state of Michigan.

    While it wasn’t born here, America quickly made the auto industry our own. Here in Detroit, Henry Ford revolutionized transportation by mass producing a car for the common man. By 1930, the Big 3 had come to dominate global auto sales. The legendary Flint sit-down strike in 1936 gave rise to the United Autoworkers, and by 1941, hundreds of thousands of UAW members had good-paying, middle class jobs and pensions at the Big 3. During World War II, the auto industry became the center of the Arsenal of Democracy, churning out bombers, tanks, and engines by the thousands.

    When the Global Financial Crisis hit our auto sector hard, President Obama and then-Vice President Biden came to the rescue of the Big 3 and Detroit. UAW members made difficult sacrifices to get the industry back on its feet.

    Just a decade later, the pandemic brought new challenges. Decades of offshoring had left our supply chains fragile, and shutdowns of semiconductor factories in Asia and shipping disruptions led to layoffs on shop floors here and unfinished vehicles piling up in parking lots.
    Our automakers and autoworkers are no stranger to a tough fight. And this Administration has always stood with them.

    We worked tirelessly with business and labor to move semiconductors to auto plants and repair snarled transportation and logistics networks. These actions and our recovery plan enabled U.S. auto production to rebound three times faster than Europe. During this Administration, the U.S. auto industry has created more than 275,000 new jobs – in contrast to the loss of 86,000 auto jobs under the previous administration.

    Now our automakers and autoworkers face another seismic shift – the growing presence of clean vehicles, the rise of connected cars, and a wave of underpriced Chinese auto exports hitting global markets due to Chinese overcapacity.

    Investing in America’s Auto Supply Chain

    The President and Vice President have a comprehensive strategy to position the American auto sector to win the future.

    First — we are investing in America’s auto supply chain from end to end to make sure American autos remain best in class. That means investing in every stage, from small suppliers to final assembly, and using every tool at our disposal, from grants and loans to tax credits. This investment approach deploys demand- and supply-side incentives, from removing barriers to providing upfront consumer rebates to bolstering our domestic supply chains.

    Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are building a nationwide network of EV charging stations and building a domestic supply chain for batteries and critical minerals. Just last week, we announced $3 billion in selections for projects through the Battery Supply Chain Awards, including several projects in Michigan, to boost domestic production of advanced batteries, funding the expansion and construction of new facilities for critical minerals, battery components, battery manufacturing, and recycling.

    Through the CHIPS and Science Act, we are supporting dedicated investments for the legacy chips that power cars and the advanced chips and materials that enable electric vehicles to drive further and charge faster.

    Through the clean energy incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, we are providing families with an up-front rebate of up to $7,500 when they choose to buy a U.S.-made electric vehicle with U.S. batteries and materials. The Department of Energy’s Domestic Automotive Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program is providing $1.7 billion of federal investment that is leveraging $5 billion in total investment to help retool 11 auto plants across eight states to produce electric vehicles and electric vehicle (EV) components while protecting good jobs and union jobs. Michigan is receiving $650 million of federal investment from this one program alone.

    These incentives have already driven historic investment totaling more than $177 billion in the EV supply chain, including in the battery supply chain that China dominates. They are supporting investments that are projected to transform the United States into a major lithium producer by the end of the decade and that are now projected to produce batteries to meet all forecasted U.S. demand for EVs by 2030.

    Protecting American Autos from Unfair Competition

    Second — we are taking tough, targeted action to protect our auto sector from security risks and to ensure China does not unfairly undercut our auto sector. Americans should drive whatever car they choose – gas powered, hybrid, or electric. But, if they choose to drive an EV, we want it to be made in America, not in China.

    In order for companies to invest in innovative new designs and models here in America, they need to be assured that their investments won’t be undercut by unfairly underpriced cars from China. And in order for consumers to be safe and secure in increasingly connected cars on American roads, we need to guard against national security risks from China.

    China is flooding global markets with a wave of auto exports at a time when they are experiencing overcapacity. We have seen this playbook before in the China shock of the early 2000s that harmed our manufacturing communities. We saw it in Michigan – according to one analysis, the Detroit metro area lost more than 55,000 manufacturing jobs due to import competition from China. We are seeing that same playbook in EVs and batteries after a period when China compelled American automakers to form joint ventures and license their technology in China.

    The Administration is determined to avoid a second China shock, which means putting safeguards in place before a flood of underpriced Chinese autos undercuts the ability of the U.S. auto sector to compete on the global stage. That’s why this Administration imposed a new 100% tariff on EVs imported from China. It’s why we increased tariffs on China to diversify the autos supply chain, including on EV batteries, legacy semiconductors, and critical minerals.

    Many of our allies, including Canada and the European Union, have followed our lead. Moving forward, we will partner with Mexico and Canada to ensure that our North American supply chains remain free from state-owned enterprises and foreign entities of concern. China’s overcapacity in EVs will be a major area of focus as we look to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement mid-term review in 2026.

    And today, we are taking action to guard against safety and security risks in connected cars and ensure that our auto supply chains are resilient from foreign threats. Connected cars have the ability to exchange data with other cars, your personal devices, America’s infrastructure, our power grid, and auto manufacturers. The computer systems that power these cars can control vehicle movement and collect sensitive driver and passenger data, and the cameras and sensors embedded within them can record detailed information about our country and citizens.

    There are many benefits associated with connected vehicle systems, such as promoting safety, assisting drivers with navigation, and reducing emissions. But where we source these technologies has important implications for our national security, safety on our roads, and the resilience of our auto supply chains.

    China has taken steps to dominate the future of connected vehicles by dominating the software and hardware systems associated with those cars. But connected vehicles with Chinese software and hardware systems could expose the American people to new risks. Without the appropriate safeguards in place, sensitive data on Americans could be passed to Chinese authorities, or connected vehicles might provide a backdoor for malicious foreign actors to engage in espionage or sabotage.

    That is why, today, the Department of Commerce is using its ICTS (Information and Communications Technology Services) authorities for the first time to propose a new rule that would ban vehicles that rely on Chinese software and hardware from driving on American roads.

    Recall that for years China has required vehicle and battery makers to rely on Chinese data centers and software providers as a condition of operating in China.

    In effect, this rule will protect against potential vulnerabilities while allowing Americans to benefit from all that connected vehicles and technological innovation have to offer. 

    Investing in America’s Auto Workforce and Small Suppliers

    Third — we are investing in the autoworkers and small suppliers that are the backbone of our auto sector. We want to ensure that the next generation of leading American autos is produced by union autoworkers and that no auto community is left behind, especially here in Michigan.

    Today, we are unveiling new resources for workers through the new Michigan Workforce Hub. This spring, the President designated Michigan as a Workforce Hub to help Michigan workers prepare for the good jobs created by historic investments in the EV supply chain. The Workforce Hub, which we’ve developed in partnership with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, will expand pathways to EV and battery manufacturing jobs and union jobs, particularly for underserved communities in the state.

    Today, the Department of Labor and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity are announcing a new pilot program to train workers in Wayne County for over 140 high-quality jobs in the auto supply chain, partnering with local automotive employers to enable workers to earn a paycheck while they train, addressing a major barrier to enrollment.

    In addition, the Department of Energy’s Battery Workforce Challenge Program is announcing over $1 million to fund curriculum, equipment, internships, and job placements in community colleges, high-schools, and training institutions across the state. Henry Ford Community College, for example, will receive $200,000 in seed funding to establish a state-of-the-art Battery and Electric Vehicle Technical Center. Key partners in these programs will include the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, high schools, vocational institutions, community colleges and universities, and battery and automotive manufacturers.

    Through our Good Jobs Executive Order, we’re ensuring the benefits of federal grants and investments accrue to workers and communities. For instance, the projects receiving Domestic Conversion Grants will create nearly 3,000 new good-paying auto jobs and retain 15,000 high skilled, union jobs. As a condition for these grants, manufacturers committed to supporting their local communities and workforce. By supporting strong investments, we also support pathways to the middle class, including through union jobs.

    For instance, Blue Bird pledged to expand training programs in local high schools and invest in childcare for working parents at its facilities. And ZF North America is using their Conversion grant to retain and retrain 536 workers – mostly UAW workers – at its facility in Marysville, Michigan, for the production of components to electrify vehicles.

    Last year, the UAW secured record contracts with the Big 3 that will help ensure an equitable transition to electric vehicles. Since then, we have seen a large number of additional automakers announce record wages, and a rise in new labor organizing. From Tennessee to Georgia, and in new battery plants in Ohio and Michigan, workers in the EV supply chain are seeing the benefits of joining a union.

    Our auto workforce also includes hundreds of small and medium-size suppliers manufacturing products ranging from screws and bolts to e-axles. The U.S. economy has added more than 55,000 jobs in manufacturing automobile parts and bodies during this Administration. Many are based here in Michigan: in fact, 96 of the top 100 auto suppliers in North America do business in Michigan and 60 are headquartered here.

    This summer, Vice President Harris came here to Detroit to announce more than $100 million from across the federal government to support small- and mid-sized suppliers and parts manufacturers. That includes. millions of dollars we set aside from the manufacturing conversion grants program for states to make awards to small- and medium-sized suppliers because we heard from officials and suppliers right here in Michigan that smaller manufacturers struggle to tap into large federal grant programs directly.

    Today, we are building on the Vice President’s announcement with additional actions to support capital access for small- and medium-sized suppliers. This includes a commitment from Monroe Capital to launch a new fund of up to $1 billion to provide lower-cost debt capital to auto manufacturers, as well as a $9.1 million grant from the Department of Treasury to launch the Michigan Auto Supplier Transition Program, which will help small and underserved automotive manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers secure financing to scale and shift to supply the EV supply chain.
    Conclusion

    Our economic resilience and national security have been tied to the strength of our auto sector for the past century. Now it is critical the U.S. auto sector is positioned to lead the 21st century.

    We believe that an investment in our auto supply chain – especially here in Michigan – is one of the best investments we can make. That’s why we are investing across the supply chain and strengthening our suppliers, small businesses, workers, and communities that are the lifeblood of the industry.

    Today’s announcements underscore our commitment to auto communities, union jobs, and to the competitiveness and safety of the U.S. auto sector. It is part of a comprehensive approach that is forward looking and leverages the strengths of American manufacturing and the talents of American automakers – here in Detroit, throughout Michigan, and across the country.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

    Ukraine recently launched a long-range drone strike on a Russian ammunition depot in the Tver region of Russia. Ukraine followed up the strike with additional drone strikes near Tver and Krasnador.

    These strikes were notable for two reasons. First, the destruction may represent Ukraine’s most successful drone strikes in the current phase of the Russia-Ukraine war.

    Second, Toropets, where the first strike took place, is approximately 480 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border.

    The success of the attack has caused considerable elation among Ukraine’s supporters.

    The drone strikes, however, will not fundamentally alter the current battlefield. But they are part of broader efforts by Ukraine to undermine Russia’s ability to wage war. These efforts are unlikely to bear fruit in 2024, but do improve Ukraine’s position for 2025 and potentially beyond.

    The failed search for fast victory

    Both Ukraine and Russia have sought rapid victories in the war.

    Russia, based on captured documents, believed that its invasion in 2022 would only take 10 days to result in total Ukrainian capitulation. Ukrainian resolve and the weaknesses of Russian armed forces, however, doomed this effort.

    Ukraine and its supporters, likewise, placed too much hope in a decisive victory in the 2023 summer offensive. But their hopes were quashed by a Russian army that was not only superior to its 2022 iteration and fighting on the defensive, but also by structural weaknesses in the newly constituted Ukrainian units as well.

    The reality of the Russia-Ukraine war is that rapid and decisive victories for either side are impractical. Instead, both Ukraine and Russia are undertaking efforts to win in 2025 and beyond.

    Russian tactical actions

    Ukraine realized it was in an existential fight from the outset of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s focus on a rapid victory in Ukraine, however, meant Russia was unprepared for a protracted conflict.

    Russia, however, adapted to the prolonged war, using the mercenary Wagner Group to stabilize its position in Ukraine. Russia’s efforts to find soldiers for the war effort included giving the Wagner Group the green light to recruit from Russian prisons.



    Read more:
    Russians flee the draft as the reality of the war in Ukraine hits home

    These efforts, however, were more akin to patching holes in the Russian war effort than addressing its underlying issues. In September 2022, Putin announced a partial mobilization of Russian reservists, totalling 300,000 additional soldiers.

    A Russian recruit and his wife kiss and hug each other outside a military recruitment centre in Volgograd, Russia, in September 2022.
    (AP Photo)

    This mobilization and subsequent recruitment efforts gave Russia the personnel advantages it had at the beginning of the conflict. The reinforcements have allowed Russia to resume grinding offensive operations in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Notably, Russian forces are now nearing the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

    Economic sanctions have affected Russia’s ability to produce high-end weapons. Nevertheless, it’s still able to acquire arms at scale from its domestic arms industry as well as from countries like Iran and North Korea.

    Combined with Russia’s diplomatic offensive in Africa, Putin is not as isolated as western countries commonly believe.

    Ukrainian morale

    The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a war of attrition, and most analyses have assumed that type of war plays to Russia’s advantage given its material superiority. A factor neglected by many analysts in wars of attrition, however, is the importance of morale.

    The Ukrainian government and armed forces have not neglected this crucial point. The recent and ongoing drone strikes help to boost declining Ukrainian morale as the war takes it toll and as hopes of a rapid conclusion have faded, both among Ukrainians themselves and their allies.

    Ukrainian efforts over the summer should be viewed through this morale lens. When doing so, it also becomes evident that Ukraine is fighting the long war versus seeking decisive victories.

    None of Ukraine’s major efforts over the summer, when viewed in isolation, have a serious chance of changing the war in a significant manner. The Ukrainian army’s occupation of parts of the Kursk region this summer brought the conflict to Russian territory. The amount of territory taken by Ukraine, however, is negligible.

    Each operation improves Ukraine’s ability to fight a protracted war, however, while simultaneously undermining Russia’s material and moral resources. They also boost the country’s morale while humiliating Putin at the same time.

    Long-term vision

    Russia staked considerable political capital and material benefits in acquiring support in Africa through the Wagner Group.

    Ukrainian special operation forces efforts in Africa against the Wagner Group undermine Russia’s ability to acquire diplomatic support and other resources.



    Read more:
    Ukrainian special operations abroad are part of its broader war effort against Russia

    Ukraine’s drone strikes will not alter Russian military supplies in a permanent way. But the strikes, using domestically produced drones, creates pressure on Ukraine’s allies to allow western weapons to be used with potentially greater effect.

    The daily news cycle focuses on the importance of individual acts. In assessing how the conflict is developing, however, it’s important to understand how these acts, ranging from drone strikes to ground offensives, are connected to an overall strategy. Each is designed to improve Ukraine’s position while undermining Russia’s during a protracted war.

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

    – ref. Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-drone-strikes-demonstrate-its-continuing-intent-to-fight-the-long-war-against-russia-239438

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN HOSTS BREAKFAST TO HONOR HUDSON VALLEY VETERANS

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Pat Ryan (New York 18th)

    Congressman Pat Ryan Hosts Breakfast to Honor Hudson Valley Veterans

    Ryan hosted Hudson Valley veterans for a breakfast to thank them for their service and honored veterans Ralph Osterhoudt, Vincent Serrano, and David Harris for outstanding contributions to the Hudson Valley community 

    NEW WINDSOR, NY – On Saturday, Congressman Pat Ryan hosted a breakfast for Hudson Valley veterans to thank and honor them for their service. At the breakfast, Ryan recognized veterans Ralph Osterhoudt, Vincent Serrano, and David Harris for their heroism in military service and outstanding contributions to the Hudson Valley community. Ryan, a West Point graduate and Army veteran, has prioritized recognizing Hudson Valley veterans for their heroism and ensuring they receive the benefits, support, and recognition they earned. 

    “Our veterans have led lives grounded in service – motivated not out of self-interest, but out of a deep belief in our country’s principles of equality and freedom for all,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “That heroism and selflessness deserves to be honored and uplifted. I want our veterans to know that their sacrifices do not go unrecognized. Today and every day, I’m fighting to make sure our men and women in uniform receive the benefits that they earned and that our government upholds the promises it made to them.”

    “A true Patriot is someone who puts his life on the line in the service of his country,” said Juan Figueroa, Retired Marine Chief Warrant Officer and Sheriff of Ulster County.  “Sergeant David Harris continues to serve his community as a Deputy Sheriff in Ulster County. He took an oath and is selfless in his commitment to protect our rights and freedoms.” 

    “Ralph Osterhoudt is not only a Dutchess County hero; he’s an American hero whose service in the 575th Field Artillery Battalion saved the lives of countless Auschwitz prisoners in Nazi Germany,” said Adam Roche, Director of Dutchess County Veterans Affairs. “Mr. Osterhoudt’s service did not end when he returned home, as he’s advocated for decades for his fellow Dutchess County veterans, like myself. He is a tribute to the American ideals his fellow veterans have fought to uphold; and an inspiration for all of us to live a life of service.”

    “Veteran Vincent Serrano and his wife Ely, are both very patriotic and involved in veteran as well as community activities. It is an honor to have Vinny as a member of the Veteran Center Board,” said Colonel Bob Anderson of the Orange County Veterans Center.

    “It’s great seeing Congressman Ryan doing so much work with Veterans. I’ve grown up hearing how much they have been through, so seeing him in their corner is really fulfilling,” said Mia Serrano, daughter of Vincent Serrano. “I’m also really happy I was able to help honor my father. I love seeing how excited he is to help and how it gives him a huge sense of purpose.”

    “Congressman Ryan is an honest man with integrity. He is invested in the community and specifically for veterans,” said Middletown veteran Nicholas White. “His office helped me empathetically and efficiently with my VA claims. Today’s breakfast reflects the commitment that he and his staff have for our veterans’ community.”

    Ralph Osterhoudt, a Staatsburg WWII veteran, was injured in a blast only weeks after deploying to the European front, but went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge and helped liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp. Osterhoudt’s personal narrative of his time in service is included in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. He is the recipient of three Bronze Stars and the French Medal of Honor. After his service, Osterhoudt continued serving the Hudson Valley community, including working at the Staatsburg Post Office. He pushed to keep the Castle Point VA Medical Center open alongside then-Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and a coalition of Hudson Valley veterans and advocates. Osterhoudt continues to be an invaluable force of nature within the Hudson Valley veterans community.

    Newburgh’s Vincent Serrano is a Marine veteran of the Vietnam War and recipient of a Purple Heart, Vietnam Service Medal, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He is the senior vice commandant of the Marine Corps League Greater Newburgh Detachment #249 and was instrumental in organizing National Welcome Home Vietnam War Veterans Day observances in the Hudson Valley. He is a fierce advocate for his fellow veterans and is a robust presence in the Hudson Valley veterans community, frequently partnering with Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties to provide events and services that honor and support his fellow veterans. He is a Board Member of the Orange County Veterans Center and active member of VFW Post 973, American Legion Post 353, the D.A.V., AM/VET, and Vietnam Veterans of America. During the COVID pandemic, Serrano worked tirelessly to package and deliver food to Hudson Valley families struggling during the crisis. He is also the coordinator for the Hudson Valley’s Toys-4-Tots.

    Kingston native David Harris served three tours in Afghanistan over eight years in the Marine Corps. During that time, he earned the Bronze Star with Valor for his heroism and bravery in combat. Harris grappled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after returning from combat. He found purpose and direction through service again, this time leaning on the criminal justice college degree he had earned prior to his military service and attending the police academy. He now serves as an Ulster County Sheriff’s Deputy, continuing to bravely and selflessly protect the Hudson Valley community.

    Congressman Pat Ryan is the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in Congress and is an Army veteran of two combat tours in Iraq. He has prioritized delivering for Hudson Valley veterans and recognizing them for their service. Earlier this year, Ryan delivered $1 million in federal funds for the Rumshock Veterans Foundation to build ten homes for unhoused veterans in Orange County as part of its Veterans Village Project. After pushing for months for a partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), Ryan announced this summer that Hudson Valley veterans will now be able to access expanded healthcare services at Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point.  

    Congressman Ryan has fought to ensure that veterans, service members, and military families can easily access the benefits that they’ve earned. Ryan has utilized his mobile office, the C.A.R.E.S. Van, to bring assistance with federal agencies like the VA directly to Hudson Valley veterans with events at Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) across the Hudson Valley. This spring, Ryan brought together over 35 organizations, government offices, and community partners from across the Hudson Valley for an all-in-one Veterans and Military Families Resource Fair. 

    Congressman Ryan is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Ryan has spearheaded legislation that expands benefits and improves quality of life for veterans, servicemembers, and military families, including introducing the Health Care Fairness for Military Families Act of 2023, the Expanding Home Loans for Guard and Reservists Act, and the Never Forgotten Korean War POW Act. Ryan has also championed legislation that protects reproductive freedom for women veterans and service members, including by cosponsoring the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act and the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with Brunei Darussalam

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    September 23, 2024

    Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded on September 16, 2024 the Article IV consultation[1] with Brunei Darussalam on a lapse-of-time basis[2].

    Brunei’s real GDP rose by 1.4 percent in 2023 after two years of recession, mainly driven by the non-oil and gas (O&G) sector and the earlier-than-anticipated production from the new Salman oil field in Q4 2023. Inflation fell, reaching 0.4 percent in 2023 compared to 3.7 percent in 2022, supported by the easing of post-pandemic supply chain disruptions, the softening commodity prices, as well as large subsidies and price controls. The fiscal and external position deteriorated in 2023 reflecting weaker O&G production and prices. The current account was also impacted by higher service imports and net income outflows. The banking sector remains stable, liquid, and well capitalized with declining non-performing loans. 

    The recovery is anticipated to continue and risks to the outlook are broadly balanced. Growth is forecasted at about 2.4 percent in 2024 on the back of expected increase in O&G production, including from the new offshore oil fields and rebound in downstream sector, while domestic non-O&G non-tradeable sector growth is expected to plateau. Inflation is expected to remain unchanged at 0.5 percent in 2024, and fiscal and external balances would stabilize alongside O&G prices. Near-term risks tilted downward due to external factors and O&G production challenges. New O&G field discoveries would provide significant upside, while accounting for decarbonization pressures. Structural reform implementation, with product diversification and technological advancement, could boost productivity, but economic and social challenges would remain with adoption of artificial intelligence.

    Executive Board Assessment

    In concluding the 2024 Article IV consultation with Brunei Darussalam, Executive Directors endorsed staff’s appraisal, as follows:

    Growth rebounded moderately in 2023. The stronger-than-expected growth turnaround was supported by a new O&G field coming to stream in late 2023, a high interest rate environment and post-pandemic momentum boosting finance, transport, and hospitality. However, persistent O&G production challenges and maintenance related disruptions in downstream activities along with lower O&G prices weakened the fiscal and external positions in 2023. Consequently, the external position for 2023 remained substantially weaker than suggested by fundamentals and desirable policies and the output gap is assessed to be negative. Disinflation continued mainly due to easing supply chain disruptions and the softening of commodity prices, aided by continuing large scale subsidies and price controls.

    The narrowing output gap, O&G revenue uncertainty and long-term decarbonization trends warrant a prudent fiscal stance, while protecting the vulnerable and public investment. While the use of fiscal buffers in FY 2023/24 was appropriate in view of the cyclical position and to support economic recovery, restoring fiscal buffers through growth-friendly fiscal consolidation should be prioritized going forward. This will require enhanced revenue generation, and could be supported by a low-rate carbon tax, and expenditure rationalization—including via more targeted subsidies.  These efforts should be guided by a fiscal consolidation plan with clear fiscal targets. Plans to establish a MTFF and fiscal anchors, strengthening fiscal risk management and transparency are welcome.

    The currency board arrangement with Singapore is sound and has played a key role in supporting Brunei’s macroeconomic and financial sector stability. Efforts to improve monetary operations, by including Singapore’s interbank transactions in its analysis to understand the influence of Singapore’s policy rates since January 2024, and continuing to narrow the corridor by raising the SFDR, integrating I-bills into the Asset Maintenance Ratio and launching a website for better communication on monetary policies, are welcome. Enhancing inter-agency cooperation regarding the issuance and management of sukuks will be helpful. Over the medium-term, the BDCB is encouraged to build internal capacity in liquidity forecasting to calibrate the issuance of the I-bills and consider establishing a single treasury account. 

    The financial sector remained stable with strong capital and liquidity buffers. Systemic risk is assessed to be contained. Careful tracking of credit growth in both offshore and domestic personal loans is warranted, as declining oil prices could pose risks, despite low NPLs. Ensuring that that the foreign loans continue to be invested in highly credit-rated assets will help to mitigate credit risk. For domestic lending, continuing to deploy prudential measures like capping the Total Debt Service Ratio, assessing unsecured personal loan exposure, and maintaining NPL standards are welcome measures. Authorities are encouraged to stay on track with plans to implement Basel III standards for better liquidity management by the end-2024. Implementation of stress tests is recommended, while considering stress testing for climate transition and physical risks. Efforts to further strengthen prudential frameworks, develop a long-term sukuk markets, green taxonomy and unify disclosure standards, and to improve AML/CFT effectiveness will help to deepen markets, and support long-term green projects. The authorities’ commitment to continue implementing the recommended actions in the APG’s Mutual Evaluation Report is welcome.

    The authorities’ commitment  to ambitious and sustained structural reforms will be critical to ensure growth and diversification, including by transitioning to a low-carbon economy.  Reaching the authorities’ net zero emissions goal by 2050, will require continued development of  the non-O&G sector, including through adoption of green technologies. Continued skill development, while addressing AI-related challenges and closing structural gaps in the first-generation reform areas (external sector trade facilitation, improving business regulation, and governance) vis-à-vis top peers, will be key to facilitate FDI and PPPs. Completing the 2025 National Adaptation Plan and a Climate Vulnerability Assessment should support the prioritization of adaptation strategies.

    Data provided to the Fund has some shortcomings that somewhat hamper surveillance and data quality should be strengthened. Steps are needed to close the identified data gaps in national income, prices, external and fiscal sectors. Efforts for improving external sector data through a survey to better gauge trends in errors and omissions, and payables/receivables and strengthening public financial management (PFM) to build more transparent and accountable fiscal systems and aligning these further with GFSM (2014) are welcome, as are plans to enhance dissemination via the Fund’s e-GDDS portal.

    Table 1. Brunei Darussalam: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2019–29

    Area: 5,765 sq. kilometers

    		                      

    Population (2023): 450,500

    		                      

    Nominal GDP per capita (2023): US$33,581.1

    		                      

    Main export destinations (2023): Australia (21.5 percent), China (16.9), and Singapore (16.7)

    		            

    Unemployment rate (2023): 5.1%

    		                      

    Labor force participation rate (2023): total 67.2; male 75.8%; female 57.3%
         

    2019

    2020

    2021

    2022

    2023

    2024

    2025

    2026

    2027

    2028

    2029
                 

    Est.

    Proj.

    Proj.

    Proj.

    Proj.

    Proj.

    Proj.

    Output and Prices

    		                      
     

    Nominal GDP (millions of Brunei dollars)

    18,375

    16,564

    18,822

    23,003

    20,319

    20,893

    22,197

    23,073

    24,081

    25,153

    26,447
     

    Nominal non-oil and gas GDP (millions of Brunei dollars)

    8,268

    8,868

    9,790

    11,043

    10,883

    11,386

    12,411

    13,620

    15,045

    16,281

    17,717
     

    Real GDP (percentage change) 1/

    3.9

    1.1

    -1.6

    -1.6

    1.4

    2.4

    2.6

    2.6

    2.7

    2.9

    3.1
       

    Oil and gas sector GDP

    3.9

    -4.9

    -4.8

    -7.3

    -2.0

    2.6

    3.1

    3.1

    1.7

    1.1

    1.0
       

    Non-oil and gas sector GDP

    3.9

    8.9

    2.0

    4.3

    4.5

    2.1

    2.0

    2.1

    3.5

    4.4

    4.7
     

    Oil production (‘000 barrels/day)

    121

    110

    107

    92

    74

    84

    94

    94

    99

    90

    90
     

    Natural gas output (millions BTUs/day)

    1,402

    1,358

    1,253

    1,151

    1,214

    1,226

    1,201

    1,220

    1,277

    1,313

    1,313
     

    Average Brunei oil price (U.S. dollars per barrel)

    68.6

    43.3

    72.1

    107.7

    87.1

    89.5

    83.3

    79.9

    77.0

    75.1

    73.8
     

    Average Brunei gas price (U.S. dollars per million BTU)

    9.1

    6.7

    9.1

    14.4

    10.9

    8.6

    9.9

    8.7

    7.8

    7.4

    7.0
     

    Consumer prices (period average, percentage change)

    -0.4

    1.9

    1.7

    3.7

    0.4

    0.5

    1.0

    1.0

    1.0

    1.0

    1.0
         

    (Fiscal Year, In percent of GDP)

    Public Finances: Budgetary Central Government

    		                      
     

    Total revenue

    26.4

    12.6

    24.0

    28.3

    17.3

    19.3

    18.9

    17.5

    16.3

    15.5

    15.1
       

    Oil and gas

    19.8

    7.7

    20.2

    24.5

    13.0

    13.6

    13.4

    12.2

    11.1

    10.1

    9.5
       

    Other

    6.5

    5.0

    3.8

    3.9

    4.3

    5.6

    5.5

    5.3

    5.2

    5.4

    5.6
     

    Total Expenditure

    31.9

    32.6

    29.1

    26.7

    29.2

    29.4

    28.6

    27.8

    26.9

    25.9

    25.1
       

    Current

    29.5

    31.3

    28.0

    25.7

    27.4

    27.0

    26.2

    25.4

    24.5

    23.6

    22.8
       

    Capital

    2.4

    1.3

    1.1

    1.0

    1.8

    2.4

    2.3

    2.3

    2.3

    2.3

    2.3
     

    Overall balance 2/

    -5.6

    -20.0

    -5.1

    1.6

    -11.8

    -10.1

    -9.6

    -10.2

    -10.5

    -10.4

    -9.9
     

    Overall primary balance excluding royalties

    -22.7

    -25.8

    -22.5

    -19.8

    -22.6

    -21.5

    -20.7

    -20.2

    -19.6

    -18.7

    -17.7
     

    Non-oil and Gas Balance (In percent of non-oil and gas GDP)

    -49.5

    -46.1

    -44.3

    -40.2

    -41.8

    -39.2

    -36.5

    -33.7

    -31.1

    -28.6

    -26.1
         

    (12-month percent change)

    Money and Banking

    		                      
     

    Private Sector Credit

    2.0

    0.2

    2.7

    6.0

    3.9

    2.0

    2.0

    2.0

    2.0

    2.0

    2.0
     

    Narrow money

    6.6

    20.8

    6.5

    1.2

    0.7

    3.8

    3.8

    3.8

    3.8

    3.8

    3.8
     

    Broad money

    4.3

    -0.4

    2.7

    1.3

    2.7

    2.6

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7

    2.7
         

    (In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated)

    Balance of Payments

    		                      
     

    Goods

    2,211

    1,359

    2,679

    5,153

    3,808

    3,966

    4,264

    4,121

    3,925

    4,013

    4,131
       

    Exports

    7,210

    6,535

    11,001

    14,130

    11,264

    11,416

    11,987

    12,098

    12,024

    12,390

    12,780
       

       Of which: oil and gas

    3,244

    2,943

    4,730

    5,660

    4,185

    3,867

    4,387

    4,243

    3,798

    3,668

    3,617
       

    Imports

    4,999

    5,176

    8,322

    8,977

    7,456

    7,450

    7,723

    7,977

    8,099

    8,377

    8,649
     

    Services (net)

    -1,189

    -855

    -696

    -848

    -1,305

    -1,324

    -1,271

    -1,173

    -1,086

    -1,029

    -989
     

    Primary Income (net)

    362

    360

    90

    -370

    194

    327

    226

    193

    146

    119

    83
     

    Secondary Income (net)

    -490

    -350

    -502

    -671

    -749

    -641

    -687

    -692

    -673

    -684

    -683
     

    Current Account Balance

    894

    514

    1,570

    3,264

    1,949

    2,328

    2,532

    2,448

    2,311

    2,419

    2,541
     

    Current Account Balance (in percent of GDP)

    6.6

    4.3

    11.2

    19.6

    12.9

    15.0

    15.5

    14.4

    13.0

    13.0

    13.0
     

    Gross Official Reserves 3/

    4,273

    3,997

    4,980

    5,035

    4,485

    4,583

    4,682

    4,780

    4,879

    4,977

    5,075
       

    In months of next year’s imports of goods and services

    8.0

    5.2

    5.9

    6.6

    5.9

    5.9

    5.9

    5.9

    5.9

    5.9

    5.9
     

    Brunei dollars per U.S. dollar (period average)

    1.36

    1.38

    1.34

    1.38

    1.34

    …

    …

    …

    …

    …

    …
     

    Brunei dollar per U.S. dollar (end of period)

    1.35

    1.34

    1.36

    1.35

    1.33

    …

    …

    …

    …

    …

    …

    Sources: Data provided by the Brunei authorities; and Fund staff estimates and projections.

    1/ Non-oil and gas GDP includes the downstream sector.

    2/ In absence of government debt and interest payments, this is also primary balance.

    3/ Comprises foreign exchange assets of Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, SDR holdings, and reserve position in the Fund.

    [1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

    [2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/09/23/pr-24340-brunei-imf-concludes-2024-article-iv-consultation

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: The Government of Canada recognizes Won Alexander Cumyow as a person of national historic significance

    MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

    Source: Government of Canada – in French 1

    Won Alexander Cumyow played a leading role in the fight for voting rights for Chinese Canadians

    Won Alexander Cumyow played a leading role in the fight for voting rights for Chinese Canadians.

    September 23, 2024 Gatineau, Quebec Parks Canada

    National historic designations recall moments of greatness and triumph or invite us to revisit complex and painful moments that helped define the Canada of today. By bringing these stories back to Canadians, we hope to foster greater understanding and spark discussion about the histories, cultures and realities of Canada’s history.

    Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the designation of Won Alexander Cumyow as a person of national historic significance under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration.

    Born in 1861 in Port (Fort) Douglas, British Columbia, Won Alexander Cumyow was the first known person of Chinese descent to be born in what would become Canada. While he hoped to become a lawyer and articled at two law firms, discriminatory laws prevented him from voting and practicing law. As a community broker and court interpreter, he advocated for the rights of people of Chinese origin and descent in Canada in the early 20th century. He fought to end racist voting laws and voted for the first time in 1949, at the age of 88, two years after Chinese Canadians regained the right to vote.

    Throughout his life, Mr. Cumyow was an active community activist and was often called upon to serve as a leader, speaker or translator at activities organized by Chinese and Asian Canadians to combat racism.

    The designation process under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration relies largely on nominations from the public. To date, more than 2,240 designations have been made nationally. To nominate a historic person, place or event in your community, please visit the Parks Canada website for more information: https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/proposer-nominate.

    -30-

    “I can think of no more fitting person to receive this honour than Won Alexander Cumyow. An iconic figure in Canadian history, he exemplifies the perseverance and resilience of Chinese-Canadian pioneers. For over thirty years, he dedicated himself to his community from his office in Vancouver’s Chinatown, using his legal and linguistic skills to help it settle. At the national level, he was a strong advocate for equal rights, playing a crucial role in shaping the inclusive country we are privileged to call home.”

    Carol Lee, President of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

    Oliver AndersonDirector of CommunicationsOffice of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change819-962-0686oliver.anderson@ec.gc.ca

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Africa: UN security council: African countries face hurdles and dangers in getting permanent seats

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, Professor of International and Diplomacy Studies, Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, University of South Africa

    There is growing global consensus among the members of the United Nations that the UN security council, responsible for maintaining international peace and security, requires reform or restructuring to reflect the current balance of forces, and to improve its working methods and ability to do its work.

    There is also growing consensus among members of the African Union that Africa deserves a permanent presence at the council.

    The debate took a new turn on 13 September, when the US announced it would support the creation of two new permanent seats for African countries, and a non-permanent seat for small island developing nations. This came after a pledge in 2022 by the Biden administration to support the expansion of the security council.

    The new permanent seats would come without the power of a veto vote.

    Read more: Africa on the UN security council: why the continent should have two permanent seats

    There are several reasons why, in my view, this quest to expand the council is likely to fail. I have followed and published on the South African experience of the UN security council and believe there is need for a sober assessment of what is achievable.

    First, those with permanent seats and veto power (Russia and China, the US, the UK and France) are reluctant to share it, for fear of diluting their own interests and influence.

    Second, if there was agreement on expansion, who would be worthy to fill the extra seats, and how would they be chosen? There are many deserving candidates, from Latin America to Europe and Asia.

    Third, how would Africa go about selecting two of its own to represent the continent on the council?

    Fourth, what would prevent such newcomers from being co-opted by the powerful (in this case, the US) to support or help implement western peace and security agendas at the expense of African and global south agendas?

    To offset the attractiveness and prestige of joining the premier international security club, Africa should be mindful of the entry requirements (namely, diplomatic nous, experience with peacekeeping and the ability to finance such), lest it find itself relegated to serving the security council’s longstanding members.

    Africa would be wise to select and support candidates that have experience, resources and a credible peacebuilding track record on the continent.

    Hurdles and dangers

    It is far from obvious that the continent’s two economic giants, Nigeria and South Africa, should represent Africa. Size counts but doesn’t always translate into attractiveness or credibility at home – a key requirement for a successful role in regional and international affairs.

    The unfortunate reality is that Africa remains divided on the basis of region, language and culture. The continent struggles to speak with one voice on critical matters such as peace and security – the priority of the UN security agenda.

    Under these conditions, a drawn-out and perhaps even unsuccessful process of selecting two out of the 54 members of the African Union is likely.

    In addition, the offer by the west for Africa to take up seats should not be viewed as an act of benevolence. Bringing Africa into the western sphere of influence is a strategic calculation to counter the growing impact of Russia and China on global affairs.

    The emergence of a new world order produces stresses and strains. The west, led by the US, continues to exercise hard power but declining influence, while an assertive alliance of global south states, led by China, is bent on eventually determining international affairs.

    Read more: Pan-Africanism remains a dream: four key issues the African Union must tackle

    Prominent members of the global south are enticed or pressured to partner with one or the other power bloc.

    Africa in particular is being courted precisely because of its large voting number (54 countries can swing decisions at multilateral meetings) but more strategically, because it constitutes the reservoir of the world’s future economy. Apart from being blessed with a youthful demographic, Africa can come into central focus due to its unique endowment of green transition minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel.

    Where to from here?

    If all obstacles are overcome, the chosen countries would have their work cut out for them. Serving – never mind shaping – the UN security council agenda is a demanding, full-time task. The chosen African countries would have to commit significant human and financial resources, peacebuilding capacity and diplomatic leadership skills.

    South Africa is arguably the best placed to meet these criteria and can play a constructive role pushing the African agenda. But it needs to be wary.

    Read more: Rating agencies and Africa: the absence of people on the ground contributes to bias against the continent – analyst

    The country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was quick to respond to the US statement. On the eve of departing for the annual UN general assembly talk show he told the media

    We have been campaigning and the concept has been accepted and of course Africa continues to play through various countries on the continent, important roles, peacekeeping missions not only on our continent but around the world. So, we [have] got the capability, we know how and Africa needs to be given its rightful place in the UN system and its various structures.

    Some critical questions need to be answered by all African leaders first:

    • What are the benefits for an African country taking up a permanent seat on the UN security council?

    • How would it contribute, and what would it receive in return?

    • Would it be able to set agendas and norms, or would it be forced to carry out the tasks of those who allowed it a seat at the table?

    Africa is not unfamiliar with the workings of the United Nations system. It has benefited immensely from UN involvement as it strove for decolonialisation and overcoming the apartheid system. It works closely with the UN as it faces the challenges of underdevelopment, unequal trade, extreme weather and the ongoing exploitation of its human and natural resources.

    It is fitting and ethical for Africa to take up permanent seats at the apex institution and put the security council to work to address Africa’s peace and security challenges.

    To do so, its chosen members must chart an African course of action, supported by the other members of the council.

    – UN security council: African countries face hurdles and dangers in getting permanent seats
    – https://theconversation.com/un-security-council-african-countries-face-hurdles-and-dangers-in-getting-permanent-seats-239642

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan’s Health Human Resources Action Plan Shows Strong Results at Two-Year Anniversary

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on September 23, 2024

    Innovative Saskatchewan-Based Solutions to Recruit, Train, Incentivize, and Retain Enhance Competitiveness

    This month marks the two-year milestone of Saskatchewan’s historic Health Human Resources (HHR) Action Plan, which has delivered extraordinary health system progress within a short period of time.

    Since the launch of the HHR Action Plan in September 2022, over $300 million has now been invested in initiatives guided by the plan’s four pillars. These initiatives have expanded the current professional workforce to keep pace with provincial growth and supported stronger, more resilient future health care teams by opening doors to more educational seats and programs.

    The HHR Action Plan has advanced critical areas of the provincial health system in the past 24 months through targeted initiatives that have attracted top specialists, family physicians, registered nurses, and other in-demand health professionals to the province.

    “When our government unveiled the HHR Action Plan, we recognized it was ambitious but necessary to stabilize and reinforce our valued healthcare professionals,” Health Minister Everett Hindley said. “Each pillar has had major positive impacts by recruiting hundreds of high priority health care workers, adding hundreds of post-secondary training seats and new programs for students, delivering incentives to benefit health service delivery in rural and northern Saskatchewan communities, attracting specialists, and investing in supportive programs to retain our valued health care workforce.”

    The HHR Action Plan is the result of ongoing support, collaboration and partnerships between multiple ministries, health employers, health partner agencies and post-secondary institutions, as well as professional regulators. A key step was establishing the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency (SHRA) to accelerate and broaden efforts to recruit physicians, nurses, and other high priority professionals.

    “The establishment of SHRA brings the recruitment of health professionals to Saskatchewan under one umbrella,” SHRA CEO Terri Strunk said. “Our sole mandate is to implement strategies and best in practice activities to facilitate the regional, national and international recruitment, retention, transition and placement of health professionals in Saskatchewan. In collaboration with provincial and local stakeholders such as our health employers, provincial regulators, local health committees, and municipalities, we have made significant progress. There is still more work to do, but with the focused strategy of the Health Human Resources Action Plan, we are attracting top talent and addressing healthcare needs across the province.”

    Recruit

    Saskatchewan has seen impressive recruitment results since September 2022, with 218 physicians being recruited to Saskatchewan from outside of the province and 35 physicians from outside the country. These efforts resulted in 87 family physicians and 131 specialists establishing their practice in the province.

    Highly sought specialized health care providers recently hired include a pediatric gastroenterologist, four new psychiatrists, two perfusionists and a new physician assistant.

    The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) has hired more than 1,400 recent nursing graduates from in-and out-of-province, and nearly 400 internationally educated nurses (IENs) have arrived from the Philippines. Approximately 280 IENs have successfully completed a transition to nursing in Canada programming and been placed in over 70 communities around the province. The remaining IENs are in the clinical portion of their training to obtain licensure.

    Twenty-seven new permanent Nurse Practitioner positions are posted in rural communities, and eight have already been filled.

    Train

    Advanced Education is centered on the “Train” pillar of the HHR Plan and targeted investments into health-related training programs have been achieved over the last two years, with over $100 million already invested to create approximately 870 new training seats in 33 health care programs at post-secondary institutions across the province.

    “The Ministry of Advanced Education has been playing a significant role in supporting the Health Human Resources Action Plan since its inception, and I am very proud of the work done in partnership with our institutions to operationalize this ambitious initiative,” Advanced Education Minister Colleen Young said. “Saskatchewan students now have more opportunities than ever before to train for a career in health care, which is pivotal for the sector and the people it serves.”

    The expanded seats will produce more graduates in critical health care fields such as nursing, mental health and addictions, medical diagnostic imaging, physicians, and many other professions. Saskatchewan is also introducing four new programs not previously offered in the province: occupational therapy, speech language pathology, respiratory therapy and physician assistants.

    Expanded seats and new programs are being made available at university and polytech campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert, as well as some programs offered at various regional colleges across province including psychiatric nursing at North West College in North Battleford, sonography at Suncrest College in Yorkton, Mental Health and Wellness at Northlands College in La Ronge and Continuing Care Assistants at Southeast College in Weyburn.

    Incentivize

    A range of attractive incentive programs, such as the Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive (RRRI) that includes a return-of-service agreement with recipients, has directly benefited over 50 communities across the province with more than 350 hard-to-recruit positions successfully filled.

    The Rural Physician Incentive Program was enhanced in 2024, and new incentives were introduced to support recruitment and retention of specialists in high demand, such as anesthesia, psychiatry, breast and interventional radiology in approved sites and certain pediatric subspecialities.

    The province has also disbursed over $1.3 million in bursaries, such as nearly 150 Final Clinical Bursaries, nearly 150 paramedic bursaries and other scholarships and available grants to encourage students to pursue a health care career. In addition, many graduates are eligible for the Graduate Retention Tax Credits and student loan forgiveness programs.

    “Our competitive HHR Action Plan has attracted a diverse group of new health care professionals to our vibrant and welcoming communities across rural and northern Saskatchewan,” Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister Tim McLeod said. “These smaller centres provide unique opportunities to use a full range of skillsets and expertise within the workplace. It is exciting to see our young people receive rewarding employment opportunities upon graduation right here in Saskatchewan.”

    Retain

    Retention of health care staff has been a key area of focus by promoting the rewarding benefits of a career in health care, such as hiring 245 new and enhanced full-time permanent positions in high-priority occupations, including registered nurses, to stabilize staffing in rural and northern areas. Another 65 registered nurse positions have been increased from part time to full time in rural and remote locations with 36 positions filled.

    Scope of practice for pharmacists, nurse practitioners and advanced care paramedics has expanded to benefit patients and increase access to services for people living in rural communities, shorten wait times for primary care and give more options for obtaining certain health services.

    The SHA has implemented a variety of programs to enhance work environments and staff engagement opportunities including a mentorship program with over 200 participants, and actively engaging with First Nations and Métis communities and educational institutions to develop a First Nations and Métis recruitment and retention strategy.

    The SHA has also introduced multiple volunteer and career learning opportunities that are available to Saskatchewan high school students.

    “Our health care teams are the backbone of our health system,” SHA CEO Andrew Will said. “They are essential for delivering on our commitment to provide high-quality, culturally responsive and patient-centred care as close to home as possible. Our Health Human Resource strategies not only involve Saskatchewan Health Authority staff and physicians, but also leverage the strength of our volunteers, patient and family advisors, traditional knowledge keepers, and our network of community and health system partners.”

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Government of Canada recognizes Won Alexander Cumyow as a person of national historic significance 

    Source: Government of Canada News

    Won Alexander Cumyow played a leadership role in fighting for voting rights for Chinese Canadians

    Won Alexander Cumyow played a leadership role in fighting for voting rights for Chinese Canadians

    September 23, 2024                      Gatineau, Quebec                             Parks Canada

    National historic designations recall moments of greatness and triumph or cause us to contemplate the complex and challenging moments that helped define the Canada of today. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster better understanding and open discussions on the histories, cultures, and realities of Canada’s history.

    Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the designation of Won Alexander Cumyow as a person of national historic significance under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration.

    Born in 1861 at Port (Fort) Douglas in the colony of British Columbia, Won Alexander Cumyow was the first known person of Chinese descent to be born in what would become known as Canada. While he had hoped to become a lawyer, and articled at two law firms, he was barred from voting and the legal profession due to discriminatory laws. As a community broker and court interpreter in the justice system, he championed the rights of persons of Chinese origin and descent in Canada in the early 20th century. He fought to end racist voting laws and cast his first vote in 1949 at the age of 88, two years after Chinese Canadians regained the right to vote.

    Throughout his life, Cumyow served as a community activist and was often called upon to take leadership, speaking or translator roles in Chinese Canadian and Asian Canadian activities to fight racism.

    The Government of Canada, through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, and Parks Canada, recognizes significant persons, places, and events that have shaped our country as one way of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster understanding and reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada’s past and present. 

    –                                                                                                  30-

    Oliver Anderson
    Director of communications 
    Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
    819-962-0686
    oliver.anderson@ec.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UN security council: African countries face hurdles and dangers in getting permanent seats

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, Professor of International and Diplomacy Studies, Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, University of South Africa

    There is growing global consensus among the members of the United Nations that the UN security council, responsible for maintaining international peace and security, requires reform or restructuring to reflect the current balance of forces, and to improve its working methods and ability to do its work.

    There is also growing consensus among members of the African Union that Africa deserves a permanent presence at the council.

    The debate took a new turn on 13 September, when the US announced it would support the creation of two new permanent seats for African countries, and a non-permanent seat for small island developing nations. This came after a pledge in 2022 by the Biden administration to support the expansion of the security council.

    The new permanent seats would come without the power of a veto vote.



    Read more:
    Africa on the UN security council: why the continent should have two permanent seats

    There are several reasons why, in my view, this quest to expand the council is likely to fail. I have followed and published on the South African experience of the UN security council and believe there is need for a sober assessment of what is achievable.

    First, those with permanent seats and veto power (Russia and China, the US, the UK and France) are reluctant to share it, for fear of diluting their own interests and influence.

    Second, if there was agreement on expansion, who would be worthy to fill the extra seats, and how would they be chosen? There are many deserving candidates, from Latin America to Europe and Asia.

    Third, how would Africa go about selecting two of its own to represent the continent on the council?

    Fourth, what would prevent such newcomers from being co-opted by the powerful (in this case, the US) to support or help implement western peace and security agendas at the expense of African and global south agendas?

    To offset the attractiveness and prestige of joining the premier international security club, Africa should be mindful of the entry requirements (namely, diplomatic nous, experience with peacekeeping and the ability to finance such), lest it find itself relegated to serving the security council’s longstanding members.

    Africa would be wise to select and support candidates that have experience, resources and a credible peacebuilding track record on the continent.

    Hurdles and dangers

    It is far from obvious that the continent’s two economic giants, Nigeria and South Africa, should represent Africa. Size counts but doesn’t always translate into attractiveness or credibility at home – a key requirement for a successful role in regional and international affairs.

    The unfortunate reality is that Africa remains divided on the basis of region, language and culture. The continent struggles to speak with one voice on critical matters such as peace and security – the priority of the UN security agenda.

    Under these conditions, a drawn-out and perhaps even unsuccessful process of selecting two out of the 54 members of the African Union is likely.

    In addition, the offer by the west for Africa to take up seats should not be viewed as an act of benevolence. Bringing Africa into the western sphere of influence is a strategic calculation to counter the growing impact of Russia and China on global affairs.

    The emergence of a new world order produces stresses and strains. The west, led by the US, continues to exercise hard power but declining influence, while an assertive alliance of global south states, led by China, is bent on eventually determining international affairs.



    Read more:
    Pan-Africanism remains a dream: four key issues the African Union must tackle

    Prominent members of the global south are enticed or pressured to partner with one or the other power bloc.

    Africa in particular is being courted precisely because of its large voting number (54 countries can swing decisions at multilateral meetings) but more strategically, because it constitutes the reservoir of the world’s future economy. Apart from being blessed with a youthful demographic, Africa can come into central focus due to its unique endowment of green transition minerals like cobalt, lithium and nickel.

    Where to from here?

    If all obstacles are overcome, the chosen countries would have their work cut out for them. Serving – never mind shaping – the UN security council agenda is a demanding, full-time task. The chosen African countries would have to commit significant human and financial resources, peacebuilding capacity and diplomatic leadership skills.

    South Africa is arguably the best placed to meet these criteria and can play a constructive role pushing the African agenda. But it needs to be wary.



    Read more:
    Rating agencies and Africa: the absence of people on the ground contributes to bias against the continent – analyst

    The country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was quick to respond to the US statement. On the eve of departing for the annual UN general assembly talk show he told the media

    We have been campaigning and the concept has been accepted and of course Africa continues to play through various countries on the continent, important roles, peacekeeping missions not only on our continent but around the world. So, we [have] got the capability, we know how and Africa needs to be given its rightful place in the UN system and its various structures.

    Some critical questions need to be answered by all African leaders first:

    • What are the benefits for an African country taking up a permanent seat on the UN security council?

    • How would it contribute, and what would it receive in return?

    • Would it be able to set agendas and norms, or would it be forced to carry out the tasks of those who allowed it a seat at the table?

    Africa is not unfamiliar with the workings of the United Nations system. It has benefited immensely from UN involvement as it strove for decolonialisation and overcoming the apartheid system. It works closely with the UN as it faces the challenges of underdevelopment, unequal trade, extreme weather and the ongoing exploitation of its human and natural resources.

    It is fitting and ethical for Africa to take up permanent seats at the apex institution and put the security council to work to address Africa’s peace and security challenges.

    To do so, its chosen members must chart an African course of action, supported by the other members of the council.

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

    – ref. UN security council: African countries face hurdles and dangers in getting permanent seats – https://theconversation.com/un-security-council-african-countries-face-hurdles-and-dangers-in-getting-permanent-seats-239642

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Davis Celebrates House Passage of His Bipartisan Bill to Reform Child Welfare to Protect America’s Children

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Danny K Davis (7th District of Illinois)

    Bill Would Increase Guaranteed Funding for Key Child Welfare Services for the First Time Since 2006

     

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Danny K. Davis (D-IL) celebrated the passage by the House of Representatives of his bipartisan legislation with Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) to reauthorize and reform child welfare programs under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The bipartisan Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act passed the House by a vote of 405 to 10 as part of H.R. 9076, Supporting America’s Children and Families Act, as amended”.  The bill  reauthorizes Title IV-B and delivers the first increase in guaranteed funding since 2006. With approximately 369,000 children currently in foster care, this legislation offers vital assistance to help strengthen and keep families together and support the safety and well-being of children in foster care.  

    The Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act encompasses policies from 16 different pieces of legislation from both Republican and Democrat members of the Ways and Means Committee. The bill follows the Committee’s extensive, year-long review of the nation’s child welfare programs to identify areas where these programs could better serve children and families.

    Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) said, “I am proud to join with Chair LaHood in leading this important bill that will increase guaranteed funding for the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families program for the first time since 2006. In addition to providing essential new funding for both state and tribal agencies to strengthen families, this bill includes significant investments and policy updates to improve child safety and well-being. For example, it invests in aiding kinship caregivers in finding needed resources, in evidence-based programs that successfully help parents overcome substance use disorders to safely care for their children, and in independent legal representation to address racial inequities in child welfare. This bill also provides for new demonstration projects to promote meaningful relationships between foster youth and their incarcerated parents, powerful relationships that support both parents and youth.”

    Key policies included in the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act:

    • Reauthorizes Title IV-B for five years and makes reforms to modernize the program.
    • Reduces paperwork and data reporting for state agencies and caseworkers by at least 15 percent.
    • Strengthens support systems for the 2.5 million grandparents and relatives providing kinship care for children who would otherwise enter foster care.
    • Improves access for Indian tribes by streamlining funding, as well as monitoring state engagement with the Indian Child Welfare Act.
    • Addresses the caseworker crises by ensuring caseworkers have access to technology and training that support a strong workforce.
    • Improves outcomes for youth transitioning from foster care, including by allowing foster youth up to age 26 to be eligible for services and incorporating lived experience in the state planning of child welfare plans.
    • Supports the expansion of evidence-based services to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensures children are not separated from parents solely due to poverty-related neglect.
    • Supports adoption services by evaluating the effectiveness of pre- and post-adoption services available under Title IV-B to adopt the more than 65,000 children waiting to be adopted.

    The bill is supported by 228 national, state, and local organizations, including:  American Academy of Pediatrics; American Psychological Association Services, Inc.; American Public Human Services Association; Bolder Horizon; Child Welfare League of America; Children and Family Futures; Children’s Defense Fund; Children’s Trust Fund Alliance; Family Focused Treatment Association; FosterClub; Generations United; National Association of Counsel for Children; National Association of Counties; National Association of County Human Services Administrators; National Child Abuse Coalition; National Family Resource Coalition; National Indian Child Welfare Association; Prevent Child Abuse America; Think of Us; Voice for Adoption; and Zero to Three.

    A summary of the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act is available here; a section-by-section of the bill is here.

    Representative Davis serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means as the most senior Democrat on the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over child welfare.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks to High-Level Side Event: Ways to Include Women in the Future of Afghanistan [as delivered]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    The women and girls of Afghanistan face a deep crisis of gender-based discrimination and oppression.

    The new law enacted last month formalized the systematic erasure of women and girls from public life.

    Afghan women and girls are largely confined to their homes, with no freedom of movement and almost no access to education or work.

    They are even banned from singing or raising their voices in public.

    The law is the latest in a series of edicts and decrees that strip Afghan women and girls of their rights and freedoms across the board.

    At the same time, Afghan women suffer high rates of gender-based violence, so-called honour killings, and rising maternal mortality.

    They have told the United Nations that they feel unsafe, isolated and powerless as they lose the ability to provide for their families or contribute to their communities.  

    Many Afghan women speak of losing hope and living like shadows, moving around silently in the darkness, and always fearing punishment.

    Dear friends,

    Extreme gender-based discrimination is not only a systematic abuse of women and girls and a violation of human rights conventions and laws.

    It is self-harm on a national scale.

    It completely undermines the de facto authorities’ stated objective of economic self-reliance.

    Educating girls is one of the fastest ways to kick-start economic development and improve the health, wellbeing and prosperity of communities and entire societies.

    Women’s participation and leadership has proven benefits for peace and security, social protection, environmental stability and more. 

    Afghanistan faces serious challenges in all these areas.

    Without educated women, without women in employment, including in leadership roles, and without recognizing the rights and freedoms of one-half of its population, Afghanistan will never take its rightful place on the global stage.
     
    Countries and organizations around the world, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, have called strongly for respect for the fundamental rights of Afghan girls and women.

    I join them in demanding that the de facto authorities remove all discriminatory restrictions against women and girls immediately, and reopen schools and universities to girls beyond grade six.

    Dear friends,

    The United Nations continues to engage with Afghan women and women’s groups, to preserve the space for them to operate, and to serve as a conduit for dialogue with the de facto authorities.

    Afghan women show remarkable courage in demanding and pursuing their rights, running businesses in difficult conditions, delivering humanitarian aid, and in online campaigns.

    The international community stands in solidarity with them.

    We will continue to amplify the voices of Afghan women and call for them to play a full role in the country’s life, both inside its borders and on the global stage.

    We will never allow gender-based discrimination to become normalized anywhere in the world.

    What is happening in Afghanistan can be compared with some of the most egregious systems of oppression in recent history.

    I thank the Permanent Missions of Ireland, Qatar, Indonesia and Switzerland and the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan for convening these important discussions on how women and girls can play a full role in Afghanistan’s future.

    Thank you.
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s remarks to High-Level Side Event: Ways to Include Women in the Future of Afghanistan [as delivered]

    Source: United Nations – English

    he women and girls of Afghanistan face a deep crisis of gender-based discrimination and oppression.

    The new law enacted last month formalized the systematic erasure of women and girls from public life.

    Afghan women and girls are largely confined to their homes, with no freedom of movement and almost no access to education or work.

    They are even banned from singing or raising their voices in public.

    The law is the latest in a series of edicts and decrees that strip Afghan women and girls of their rights and freedoms across the board.

    At the same time, Afghan women suffer high rates of gender-based violence, so-called honour killings, and rising maternal mortality.

    They have told the United Nations that they feel unsafe, isolated and powerless as they lose the ability to provide for their families or contribute to their communities.  

    Many Afghan women speak of losing hope and living like shadows, moving around silently in the darkness, and always fearing punishment.

    Dear friends,

    Extreme gender-based discrimination is not only a systematic abuse of women and girls and a violation of human rights conventions and laws.

    It is self-harm on a national scale.

    It completely undermines the de facto authorities’ stated objective of economic self-reliance.

    Educating girls is one of the fastest ways to kick-start economic development and improve the health, wellbeing and prosperity of communities and entire societies.

    Women’s participation and leadership has proven benefits for peace and security, social protection, environmental stability and more. 

    Afghanistan faces serious challenges in all these areas.

    Without educated women, without women in employment, including in leadership roles, and without recognizing the rights and freedoms of one-half of its population, Afghanistan will never take its rightful place on the global stage.
     
    Countries and organizations around the world, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, have called strongly for respect for the fundamental rights of Afghan girls and women.

    I join them in demanding that the de facto authorities remove all discriminatory restrictions against women and girls immediately, and reopen schools and universities to girls beyond grade six.

    Dear friends,

    The United Nations continues to engage with Afghan women and women’s groups, to preserve the space for them to operate, and to serve as a conduit for dialogue with the de facto authorities.

    Afghan women show remarkable courage in demanding and pursuing their rights, running businesses in difficult conditions, delivering humanitarian aid, and in online campaigns.

    The international community stands in solidarity with them.

    We will continue to amplify the voices of Afghan women and call for them to play a full role in the country’s life, both inside its borders and on the global stage.

    We will never allow gender-based discrimination to become normalized anywhere in the world.

    What is happening in Afghanistan can be compared with some of the most egregious systems of oppression in recent history.

    I thank the Permanent Missions of Ireland, Qatar, Indonesia and Switzerland and the Women’s Forum on Afghanistan for convening these important discussions on how women and girls can play a full role in Afghanistan’s future.

    Thank you.
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NSF and philanthropic partners invest more than $18M to prioritize ethical and societal considerations in the creation of emerging technologies

    Source: US Government research organizations

    Awardees will contribute to the responsible advancement of emerging technologies to promote the public’s well-being and mitigate potential harms

    The U.S. National Science Foundation announced an inaugural investment of more than $18 million to 44 multidisciplinary, multi-sector teams across the U.S. through the NSF Responsible Design, Development and Deployment of Technologies (NSF ReDDDoT) program. NSF ReDDDoT invests in the creation of technologies that promote the public’s well-being and mitigate potential harms by seeking to ensure that ethical, legal, community and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation and use. NSF launched this program in collaboration with leading philanthropic partners including the Ford Foundation, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Siegel Family Endowment.

    “NSF is committed to creating mutually beneficial research collaborations among diverse partners who contribute their expertise and resources to accelerating technology innovation that positively addresses pressing national, societal and geostrategic challenges,” said Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “Through a robust public-private partnership with philanthropies, NSF’s investment in ReDDDoT aims to ensure that TIP advances the design, development and deployment of new technologies responsibly. This investment is consistent with the ‘CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,’ in which Congress called upon TIP to invest in exactly this approach when pursuing the key technology areas listed in that law.”

    NSF awarded 30 teams Phase 1 funding: 21 teams will receive planning grants of up to $300,000 each for up to two years to facilitate collaborative transdisciplinary and multi-sector activities to plan for submission of larger proposals, while an additional nine teams will receive Phase 1 funding of up to $75,000 each to plan and host workshops designed to raise awareness and identify relevant approaches and needs in the key technology areas identified in the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.”

    Additionally, NSF awarded Phase 2 funding to 14 teams that demonstrated maturity in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or natural and anthropogenic disaster prevention or mitigation, key technology areas in the statute that TIP emphasized for ReDDDoT funding. Each Phase 2 team will receive up to $1.5 million over three years to expand upon their identified experience in use-inspired and translational activities in responsible design, development and deployment of innovative technology.

    The ReDDDoT program invited proposals from teams that examined and demonstrated the principles, methodologies and impacts associated with ethical, legal, community and societal considerations of technology’s creation and use, especially those specified in the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.”NSF anticipates issuing a second ReDDDoT funding opportunity in the future that will build on this round of funding to ensure ethical, legal, community, and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation.

    NSF ReDDDot Awardees

    Awardees are grouped by award type and then listed in alphabetical order by organization. The full award list can be found on NSF Award Search webpage.

    Planning grants:

    • Carnegie Mellon University: Responsible AI Across the Transportation Sector (NSF award 2427699).
    • Case Western Reserve University: Designing a Responsible AI-enabled Digital Service Ecosystem in Finance and Healthcare (NSF award 2427505).
    • Data & Society: Assessing Environmental Impacts of AI Through Participatory Methods (NSF award 2427700).
    • DePaul University: AI-Enabled Support Services for Transplanted Populations: A Community-Centered Design and Development Approach (NSF award 2427713).
    • Georgetown University: Piloting a Framework to Measure the Impacts of Artificial Intelligence Tools for Government Agencies (NSF award 2427748).
    • Harvard Medical School: Piloting an Impact Accelerator Model for Cultivating Equity and Ethics in Genetics Innovation (NSF award 2427533).
    • Michigan State University: Supporting Culturally Centered Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Community-Engaged Partnerships (NSF award 2427697).
    • New York University: Collaborative award: AI Summer Institute on Communities (NSF award 2427677).
    • North Central College: Collaborative award: AI Summer Institute on Communities (NSF award 2427678).
    • Northeastern University: An AI toolkit for Designing Inclusive Digital Activities for Older Adults (NSF award 2427714).
    • Pennsylvania State University: Prioritization of Housing & Behavioral Health Services to Individuals and Families (NSF award 2427737).
    • Rutgers University: Writing Education through Design-Oriented AI (NSF award 2427646).
    • TERC Inc.: Alternative Systems for Human Waste Management (NSF award 2427679).
    • Texas Tech University: Building Community-Driven Resilience and Empowerment through Adaptive Manufacturing Technologies (NSF award 2427747).
    • University of Akron: Materials Advancement through a Precede-Proceed framework for Safety (NSF award 2427693).
    • University of California Santa Cruz: Destigmatizing Disfluencies in Speech AI with Grassroots Stuttering Communities (NSF award 2427710).
    • University of Florida: Treatment Technologies for Phosphorus Mitigation (NSF award 2427542).
    • University of Michigan: Bridging Past and Future: Fostering Community-Researcher Synergy through Planning NSF award 2427332).
    • University of Wisconsin: Novel Cellular Technologies in Ecosystem Preservation: Ethics, Data Sovereignty and Implementation (NSF award 2427636).
    • Vanderbilt University: Towards Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of a GenAI-Enabled System for Dispatcher Training in Emergency Response (NSF award 2427711).
    • Virginia Tech: Facilitating Responsible, Ethical, and Explainable Ergonomic Exposure Assessments When Using Artificial Intelligence Methods (NSF award 2427599).

    Workshops: 

    • Arizona State University: Indigenous Approaches to Computational Futures (NSF award 2427641).
    • Association of Science-Technology Centers: Exploring Roles of Science and Technology Centers and Museums in Facilitating Public Collaboration in Artificial Intelligence (NSF award 2427449).
    • Case Western Reserve University: Employing Public Interest Technologies to Promote Access in Education and Employment for People who have Physical Disabilities (NSF award 2427587).
    • Michigan State University: Generative AI Ethics Module Design Sprint for STEM Educators (NSF award 2427666).
    • Texas A&M University: Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity: Technologies and Policy Options to Leverage Opportunities and Mitigate Risks (NSF award 2427760).
    • UC Berkeley: Workshop Towards the Promise of Open-Source AI Models – A Workshop to Co-Create a Vision for Responsibility and Corresponding Research Roadmap (NSF award 2427618).
    • UCLA: Responsible Quantum Innovation (NSF award 2427775).
    • University of California, Davis: Responsible Artificial Intelligence to Promote Sustainability, Climate Resilience, and Equitable Access to Healthy Food in US Food Systems (NSF award 2427769).
    • Virginia Tech: Situating Network Infrastructure with People, Practices, and Beyond (NSF award 2427606).

    Phase 2:

    • Columbia University: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429841).
    • Columbia University: Leveraging Urban AI as a Communal Tool for Connection and Exchange in Harlem (NSF award 2429672).
    • Development Gateway: The Digital Governance Design Project (NSF award 2429815).
    • Fred Hutchison Cancer Center: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429840).
    • Georgetown University: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data NSF award 2429838).
    • Indiana University: Collaborative award: Inclusive American Language Technologies (NSF award 2429338).
    • Iowa State University: Empowering Resilience: Innovations in Rural Electric Network Disaster Preparedness and Response (NSF award 2429602).
    • Louisiana State University: Climate-Informed Flood Risk Mitigation Sandbox (NSF award 2429888).
    • Michigan State University: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429836).
    • Mozilla Foundation: Collaborative award: Inclusive American Language Technologies (NSF award 2429337).
    • Rice University: Responsible Multi-Modal AI Systems for Multi-Hazard Resilience and Situational Awareness (NSF award 2429680).
    • Rochester Institute of Technology: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429835).
    • The University of Mississippi: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429837).
    • University of Maryland: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429839).

    About NSF ReDDDoT

    The NSF ReDDDoT program is a collaboration with philanthropic partners and crosses all disciplines of science and engineering. The program seeks to ensure ethical, legal, community and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation and use. The program supports research, implementation and education projects involving multi-sector teams that focus on the responsible design, development or deployment of technologies.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: FACT SHEET: President  Biden Commemorates Historic Climate Legacy during Climate Week  NYC

    Source: The White House

    President Biden will deliver remarks tomorrow highlighting his climate, conservation, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda, which is lowering costs, creating good-paying and union jobs, and reducing harmful emissions

    Meanwhile, House Republicans continue reckless attempts to roll back climate, conservation, and clean energy investments

    When President Biden took office, he pledged to restore America’s climate leadership at home and abroad. Every day since, the Biden-Harris Administration has led and delivered on the most ambitious climate, conservation, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda in history, including securing the largest ever climate investment and unleashing a clean energy manufacturing boom that has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in private sector investment; created hundreds of thousands of new clean energy jobs; and lowered energy costs for families while delivering cleaner air and water for communities across the country.

    As business leaders, government officials, young people, and other advocates from around the world gather in New York City to participate in Climate Week, tomorrow President Biden will deliver remarks in New York City highlighting his Administration’s unprecedented progress in tackling the climate crisis, cutting energy costs for everyday Americans, and creating good-paying union jobs.

    Meanwhile, as President Biden and Vice President Harris continue to implement their Investing in America agenda, many Congressional Republicans continue to deny the impacts of climate change and are actively working to roll back this Administration’s historic and urgent climate investments – in fact, House Republicans have voted more than 50 times to repeal parts of President Biden’s climate investments. The contrast couldn’t be clearer.

    From replacing toxic lead pipes and modernizing our electric grid to reducing air pollution and conserving our nation’s lands and waters, President Biden and Vice President Harris have positioned America to lead the global effort against climate change and protect the health, safety, and economic vitality of our communities and our environment for generations to come. 

    Biden-Harris Administration’s Top Climate Accomplishments

    Deploying Clean, Affordable Electricity and Strengthening America’s Power Grid
    Through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden has secured unprecedented investments in a clean power sector, unleashing a boom in American solar, wind, battery storage, nuclear, and other clean energy technologies that are creating good-paying jobs and saving families money on utility bills. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is supporting the U.S. offshore wind industry, transmission buildout and other power grid upgrades, residential solar for low-income households, investments in clean electricity across rural America, efficient permitting to get new projects built, and American manufacturing of clean energy technologies. Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, the US has added more than 100 gigawatts of new clean energy – enough to power more than 25 million homes. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy project developers get access to expanded tax incentives if they pay workers prevailing wages and employ registered apprentices,  build their projects with domestic content, or locate projects in historic energy communities—provisions that are helping make more clean energy jobs good-paying and union jobs, supporting American manufacturing, and driving clean energy investment to the places that can benefit the most.

     
    Bolstering Climate Resilience and Adaptation

    The Biden-Harris Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to addressing climate impacts, including through Federal climate adaptation planning and integrating consideration of climate impacts into Federal policies, programs, and funding. The Administration released a National Climate Resilience Framework and President Biden secured more than $50 billion for climate resilience and adaptation investments that are upgrading aging roads and bridges, including critical evacuation routes; restoring critical waterways, forests, and urban greenspaces; building forest health and reducing wildfire risk; bolstering water infrastructure and drought resilience across the American West; reducing the risk to federal assets from future floods; and modernizing our electric grid. Through portals like Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) and Heat.gov, the Administration is equipping communities with the information and resources they need to assess climate risks and implement adaptation actions in their communities. With historic investments from the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Administration stabilized the short-term security of the Colorado River and is making investments to ensure the long-term stability of the Colorado River Basin.
     
    Accelerating a Clean Transportation Future

    Last year, the Biden-Harris Administration released the National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, a landmark strategy for eliminating nearly all greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector by 2050. The Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act invest tens of billions to decarbonize maritime,  trucking, transit, rail, and aviation, all while making communities more walkable, bikeable, and connected. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is also investing $7.5 billion to build a nationwide network of convenient, reliable electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure along corridors and within communities, and $5 billion to put clean school buses on our roads. In addition, the President rallied automakers and autoworkers around a historic goal of having electric vehicles account for at least 50% of new passenger vehicles sold by 2030. To support this goal while driving down consumer costs, the Administration secured tax credits that reduce the cost of new or used clean vehicles by thousands of dollars directly at the dealership as well as tax credits to deploy EV charging and alternative fueling infrastructure to support clean vehicle deployment needs for individuals and businesses within rural and low income communities. The Administration is also leading by example to electrify the federal vehicle fleet, including 66,000 U.S. Postal Service delivery vehicles over five years.

     
    Cutting Energy Costs and Pollution at Homes, Schools, and in Communities

    Last year, 3.4 million American families saved $8.4 billion from IRA home energy tax credits for heat pumps, insulation, solar, and other clean energy technologies, and today states across the US are rolling out IRA rebates of up to $14,000 per household to help low- and middle-income families afford cost-saving electric appliances and energy efficiency improvements. The President established a $20 billion national clean energy financing network that will support tens of thousands of clean energy projects and cost-saving retrofits, reducing or avoiding up to 40 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually over the next seven years. The Biden-Harris Administration has also strengthened energy efficiency standards to save households and businesses money, with standards updated by DOE for dozens of appliances expected to provide nearly $1 trillion in consumer savings over 30 years, saving the average household more than $100 a year while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2 billion metric tons. Schools across the country are using IRA clean energy tax credits and elective pay to install solar, energy storage, and ground source heat pumps.

    Revitalizing American Manufacturing for the Clean Economy

    President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has helped catalyze historic manufacturing growth, with factories opening across the nation. The private sector has committed over $910 billion in investments in American manufacturing and clean energy, including sectors central to our industrial strength. The President’s agenda is helping to make U.S. manufacturing the cleanest and most competitive in the world. The Inflation Reduction Act is investing more than $6 billion to slash climate pollution and support workers and community health at U.S. factories producing the steel, aluminum, cement, and other materials that form the backbone of our economy, nearly $2 billion to support shuttered or at-risk auto facilities retain or re-hire workers to support manufacturing in the electric vehicle supply chain, over $3 billion to bolster battery manufacturing, and over $4 billion through the Federal Buy Clean Initiative to bolster markets to buy cleaner materials. The Biden-Harris Administration’s historic steps to reduce super-polluting methane and hydrofluorocarbons are also harnessing American innovation and creating good-paying union jobs. 
     
    Advancing Environmental Justice

    Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice. The President signed a historic Executive Order that mobilizes the federal government to bring clean energy and healthy environments to all and mitigate harm to those who have suffered from pollution and environmental burdens like climate change. Through the Justice40 Initiative, over 500 programs across 19 federal agencies are being reimagined and transformed to maximize the benefits of President Biden’s unprecedented investments – from clean energy projects to floodwater protections to wastewater infrastructure – to communities that need them most. At the same time, the Administration is taking unprecedented action to protect communities from PFAS pollution, accelerate Superfund and brownfield cleanups, tighten standards for hazardous air pollutants, and enhance air quality enforcement. To ensure the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of communities with environmental justice concerns are heard in the White House and reflected in federal priorities, policies, investments, and decision-making, President Biden also created the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
     
    Delivering Clean Water and Replacing Lead Pipes

    President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to ensure a future where every American has access to clean, safe water. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests over $50 billion in upgrading the nation’s water infrastructure – the largest investment in clean water in American history. The Administration has already launched over 1,700 projects to expand access to clean drinking water, replace lead pipes, improve wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, and remove PFAS pollution in water. The Biden-Harris Administration invested over $1 billion from the President’s Investing in America agenda to specifically accelerate the delivery of drinking water and community sanitation infrastructure projects in Indian Country, where almost 50% of communities are lacking this basic human right. President Biden has also made a commitment to replace every toxic lead pipe in the country within a decade, protecting families from lead poisoning that can irreversibly harm brain development in children.


    Empowering Every Community to Advance Climate Solutions

    The historic set of federal actions that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken are supporting communities across the country in seizing opportunities in the clean energy economy. The Administration has mobilized billions of dollars in investment in the energy communities and workers that have powered our nation for generations. To help young people access skills-based training for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy, the Administration launched the American Climate Corps, which will mobilize a new, diverse generation of more than 20,000 Americans. And with direct support from the Administration’s Investing in America Agenda, more than 45 states and more than 200 Tribes, territories, and metro areas have now developed their own Climate Action Plans. All of these foundational efforts will support climate solutions in the near-term and for years to come, helping the nation achieve the goal of reducing climate pollution by 50-52% below 2005 levels in 2030 and reaching a net-zero economy by no later than 2050.

    Conserving our Lands and Waters

    President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative is supporting and accelerating voluntary, locally led conservation and restoration efforts across the country, and with 42 million acres already protected under President Biden, the U.S. is on track to meet the first-ever national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030. The Biden-Harris Administration has established or expanded eight national monuments and restored protections for three more; created five new national wildlife refuges and significantly expanded five more; established two new national marine sanctuaries and begun the process to designate or expand protections for five more; created one new national estuarine research reserve; protected the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, the nation’s most visited wilderness area; safeguarded Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska from the impacts of mining; protected the Arctic Ocean from oil and gas development; and withdrawn Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Thompson Divide in Colorado from further oil and gas leasing which will protect pristine lands and thousands of sacred sites. The Administration also directed the conservation of old-growth and mature forests, put conservation on equal footing with development in managing our public lands, launched the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of our nation’s river and streams, protected vast areas of caribou habitat in the Western Arctic for future generations, and is advancing the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of California.
     
    Rallying Leaders of the World’s Largest Economies to Raise Global Climate Ambition

    President Biden has restored America’s climate leadership at home and abroad. Under his leadership, the Administration is securing commitments from more than 155 countries to reduce methane emissions by at least 30 percent by 2030; successfully galvanizing other countries at COP28 to commit, for the first time, to transition away from unabated fossil fuels, stop building new unabated coal capacity globally, and triple renewable energy globally by 2030 and nuclear energy by 2050; launching a new Clean Energy Supply Chain Collaborative to work with international partners to diversify supply chains that are critical to a clean and secure energy transition; mobilizing other governments to follow the U.S. lead and commit to achieve net-zero government emissions by 2050 through a new Net-Zero Government Initiative; and becoming a world leader in innovative debt-for-nature swaps that have helped countries restructure over $2 billion in debt and unlock hundreds of millions of new financing for nature and climate.

    Accelerating Federal Permitting to Deliver Clean Energy and Infrastructure More Quickly

    The Biden-Harris Administration has taken action to accelerate clean energy infrastructure and deliver other critical projects by securing and directing long overdue resources to improve and accelerate permitting and environmental reviews. The Administration also finalized the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to address climate change, protect public health, encourage better environmental outcomes, and promote meaningful public input on Federal decisions and projects.

    House Republicans Continue Attempting to Roll Back Climate Protections

    As President Biden and Vice President Harris implement the most ambitious and impactful climate and conservation agenda in history, House Republicans are taking action right now that would roll back investments in climate, clean energy, and public health. House Republicans’ efforts to gut climate protections through a variety of avenues – including appropriations bills, Congressional Review Act resolutions, and other legislative actions – would raise consumer energy costs, undermine public health protections, worsen the impacts of extreme weather events, and destroy environmental safeguards for our lands and waters.

    Ongoing attempts by Congressional Republicans to roll back climate and environmental protections would:

    Raise Consumer Energy Costs, including by:

    Gut Public Health Protections, including by:

    • Trying to overturn Biden-Harris Administration rules that protect communities from coal plants’ water pollution, air pollution, and waste disposal.
    • Trying to overturn a Biden-Harris Administration rule that will reduce by 96% the number of people with elevated cancer risk near certain chemical plants, by reducing emissions of toxic chloroprene and ethylene oxide from those facilities.
    • Rolling back the Clean School Bus program that will reduce climate pollution and provide cleaner air for our nation’s children.
    • Undermining clean air progress by trying to overturn rules that reduce pollution from power plants, cars and trucks , and industrial sources.
    • Taking steps to block new Biden-Harris Administration rules to protect coal and other miners from toxic silica dust.

    Destroy Protections for Our Lands and Waters, including by:

    • Trying to eliminate Presidential authority to establish national monuments altogether.
    • Working to dismantle President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative.
    • Threatening to expose cherished landscapes to new drilling, including 13 million acres of special areas in the Western Arctic.
    • Planning to reduce accountability for oil and gas companies.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: CHILDREN AT RISK AND TERRIFIED AS CONFLICT ESCALATES IN LEBANON

    Source: Save The Children

    BEIRUT, 23 September 2024 – At least 21 children are among an estimated 270 people killed, and more than 1,000 injured in Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday, with all schools now closing and children terrified, said Save the Children. 

    The regional escalation is threatening the lives of more than 345,000 children near the border with families now desperately trying to flee to find safety for their children.  

    Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children Lebanon Country Director said: 

    “Our worst nightmare is now becoming a reality. Children in Lebanon have felt the crushing anxiety of a looming war since last October, and in the last few days their lives have been turned upside down, with densely populated neighbourhoods bombed. Today is the deadliest day since last October.  

    We’re seeing strikes in dozens of towns, families desperately trying to flee with whatever they can carry, children crying, terrified by the sound of drones and fighter jets above their heads.  Children are telling us that every loud sound makes them jump now. Whenever they hear a door slam or something drop, they get scared and think it’s another sonic boom. It feels like danger is everywhere, and they can never be safe. 

    We have staff and partners who have family members stuck in the south, with roads damaged by airstrikes. All schools across the country will be closed from tomorrow, impacting around 1.5 million children, with many schools in major cities and villages now being opened as temporary refugee shelters.  

    Many of those fleeing are already vulnerable, including women, children and refugee populations who have been living in displacement for months. This is a major, terrifying escalation but we have to remember that children in the south have been impacted by cross-border violence, living in fear for years. 

    Any further escalation of hostilities will mean an unacceptable loss of human life. As always, children will bear the brunt of conflict.  We strongly urge all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to de–escalate this crisis immediately. All parties must protect civilians and focus on diplomatic efforts to bring a lasting peace to all communities in the region.” 

     

     

    Note to editors: 

    • Save the Children has been working in Lebanon since 1953. Save the Children is responding to ongoing needs, particularly for those who have been displaced by the escalation of violence in southern Lebanon. Save the Children has supported 60,000 people, including 24,000 children in collective shelters and host families with cash, clean water, food parcels, learning materials, mental health and psychosocial support, hygiene and cleaning products, mattresses, pillows, blankets to families who fled their homes.
    • To calculate the percentage of children who are projected to be affected by cross-border violence, Save the Children used the number of people projected to be affected overall according to the UN, and cross checked it with the UN’s population data. The share of children out of the total population in Lebanon, according to data from the World Population Prospects 2022, Is 32.9%.  32.9% of 1050000 is equal to an approximate number of children totalling 345,450. 

     

    For further enquiries please contact: 

    Randa Ghazy, Regional Media Manager for North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe: Randa.Ghazy@savethechildren.org; 

    Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409 

    Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlog

     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Force for Good: UN’s Sustainable Development Goals at risk of being missed – 9 urgent actions needed to unlock progress as cost of SDG gap rises by 10% to US$112-136 trillion

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • A new report from Force for Good – “Capital as a Force for Good: Shifting the Global Order Through the Mass Mobilization of Solutions” – finds urgent action is needed now to unlock progress and achieve the SDGs
    • It identifies ‘Nine Big Ideas’ that, if scaled globally, have the potential to unlock SDG progress from less than 66% today, to nearly 90% by the end of the decade, helping correct the annual SDG funding gap of US$14-17 trillion
    • Ideas include climate transition frameworks, AI-enabled connectivity, and universal digital financial services, through coordinated action across governments, the private sector and multi-lateral institutions, proposing a high-impact roll-out across the world

    LONDON, Sept. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Force For Good: The world is failing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urgent action is needed to unlock progress and overcome the growing annual SDG funding gap, which now stands at US$14-17 trillion, a new report from Force for Good finds, US$112-136 trillion in total, up 10%, due to the costs of global climate transition and development needs in the Global South.

    Today, only 16% of the goal’s 169 underlying targets are on track to be met by 2030, with 50% falling behind, and 30% regressing below their 2015 levels when the SDGs were kicked off, the report finds.

    Nine ‘Big Ideas’, including climate transition frameworks, AI-enabled connectivity, and universal digital financial services, if scaled globally, have the cumulative potential to progress SDG achievement to nearly 90%, from less than 66% today, reigniting exponential progress.

    “This report shows how the global order and the systems itself can be transformed by delivering solutions en masse across the planet, engaging everyone in this endeavour … By leveraging the strengths of governments, private companies, NGOS and mobilising the individual as an agent of change, we can create a sustainable, secure, and prosperous future,” said Ketan Patel, Chair of the Advisory Council.

    The world’s failure to meet the goals is being driven by a series of interrelated economic, political, geopolitical and environmental shocks – including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the energy, cost-of-living and climate crises – interacting with one another to create a ‘polycrisis’ that is diverting attention and resources away from sustainable development.

    A mass and fast roll out of the ‘Nine Big Ideas’, sponsored by appropriate champions across government, private sector or multi-lateral institutions, working with the United Nations, can make a transformative impact on developing countries, while benefitting the global economy.

    While the mass mobilisation of solutions will take a global effort, the largest developing countries, particularly India, China, and Brazil, account for two-thirds of the world’s sustainable development potential. These countries represent the first wave of opportunity in a multi-wave project to realize the future faster.

    Meeting the SDGs is a crucial step for the world in the transition to the next era of human civilization, building a platform on which further breakthroughs and technologies can create a sustainable, secure and superior future.

    About Force for Good

    Force for Good’s mission is to mobilize capital, resources, and ideas as a force for good in the world at a time of profound change. The organization’s Capital as a Force for Good Initiative engages the world’s leading financial institutions and other stakeholders, to promote sustainable development through the deployment of capital and solutions to address global issues and enable the transition to a better future.

    The annual Capital as a Force for Good report, now in its fourth edition, is the result of collaboration with the United Nations and major global financial institutions, assessing the role of capital in addressing the world’s most pressing issues.

    Institutions actively engaged include Bank of America, BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, Citi, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investments, First Abu Dhabi Bank, GIC Singapore, Goldman Sachs, Great-West Lifeco, HDFC Bank, HSBC, Investec Group, Japan Post Holdings, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Nordea, Northern Trust, OMERS, Putnam Investments, Schroders, State Street, UBS, Wellington, and others.

    For further details, please visit www.forcegood.org

    CONTACTS

    Force For Good Contact:
    Lesley Whittle
    Lesley.whittle@forcegood.org

    *ESG News is a proud supporter of Force for Good

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Building on 50 years of friendship with Gangwon

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    The reaffirmation of Alberta’s and Gangwon’s sister province relationship took place in a ceremonial signing between Premier Smith and Governor Kim Jin Tae of Gangwon State, Republic of Korea as part of the Governor’s official visit to the province from Sept. 21 to 25.

    With this renewal, Alberta and Gangwon will strive to build on decades of co-operation by exploring opportunities to expand collaboration in health innovation and life sciences, technology and innovation, sustainable energy development, export growth, investment attraction and sport.

    “This monumental occasion is not just an opportunity to look back at our shared achievements, but also to forge new, mutually beneficial ties together. Gangwon is a valuable friend and partner to our province, and through the reaffirmation of this historic agreement, we are setting the stage to ensure our deep-rooted ties continue to grow even deeper for years to come. I am excited for our continued collaboration, which will enhance trade and investment that grows our economies, secures opportunities for businesses and industries, and ensures a prosperous future for people in Alberta and Gangwon.”

    Danielle Smith, Premier

    “I vividly recall the news about the Gangwon-Alberta Sisterhood Agreement forged 50 years ago, and it is a great honor for me to serve as the Governor during this historical year. On the foundation of longstanding friendship and amity, Gangwon and Alberta now seek to expand their relationship into a robust economic partnership. In addition to the energy, bio-healthcare and sports that will be the part of this visit, we will continue to work closely with Alberta to facilitate substantive collaboration in other future-oriented industries as well.”

    Kim Jin Tae, governor of Gangwon State, Republic of Korea

    A memorandum of understanding establishing the sister province relationship between Alberta and Gangwon, Republic of Korea was originally inked on Sept. 3, 1974, and was the first ever international sister relationship for both Alberta and Gangwon.

    Collaboration under this agreement has traditionally focused on education, culture and sport exchanges, but has expanded over the years to include research and business-to-business relations.

    Quick facts

    • Alberta and Gangwon’s sister province relationship has been a catalyst for several successes over the past five decades. For example: 
      • From 1974 to 2020, Alberta participated in numerous sports exchanges with Gangwon, including alpine and Nordic skiing, whitewater canoeing, wrestling, golf, boxing, soccer, tennis, team handball, fencing and cycling.
      • Since 1984, the University of Alberta’s Kangwon Teachers of Education Program has helped more than 600 Gangwon Province teachers hone their English language teaching skills.
      • In 2015, Alberta’s government provided support for an international research collaboration between the University of Calgary and Gangwon, with additional funding provided by Opti pharm-M & D, Inc., a Gangwon-based biomedical company. The project focused on improving early diagnosis for breast cancer by examining cancer cells and tissue samples to measure biomarker expression in real-time.
    • The Republic of Korea, known informally as South Korea, is an important economic partner for Alberta.
      • Bilateral trade between Alberta and South Korea totalled about $1.3 billion in 2023.
      • Alberta’s total exports to the region in 2023 totalled $940.6 million, and consisted primarily of energy, nickel, meat, wood pulp, canola oil and cereals.
      • Several major South Korean energy companies have Canadian headquarters in Calgary, including KOGAS, Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) and SK Eco-Engineering.
    • Alberta has a strong and vibrant Korean community, with about 24,000 Albertans with ethnic or cultural origin to Korea.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash: Summit Road, Christchurch

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    One person has died following a crash in Christchurch early this morning.

    Police were notified of the single vehicle crash on Summit Road at 1.25am today.

    One person died and one person was critically injured.

    Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are under way.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre. 
     

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Delays expected following Redoubt Road crash

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Motorists are being advised to expect delays following a crash on Redoubt Road earlier this morning.

    At about 2.15am, emergency services responded to a report of a vehicle crashing into a power pole on Redoubt Road, Totara Park.

    The driver was uninjured, however power lines were brought down which caused a small fire.

    The road has been closed while the scene is cleared.

    Diversions are in place and motorists are advised to seek an alternative route or expect delays.

    ENDS.

    Holly McKay/NZ Police

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Dispute panel established to review certain tax credits under US Inflation Reduction Act

    Source: World Trade Organization

    DS623: United States — Certain Tax Credits Under the Inflation Reduction Act

    China submitted its second request to establish a panel to determine whether certain tax credits under the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are in line with WTO rules. The United States said it was not in a position to agree to China’s first request in July, justifying its actions as necessary to combat climate change. China stated that the IRA’s subsidies favour US goods over imports, violating WTO rules prohibiting such discrimination.

    The United States expressed disappointment over China’s decision to pursue a panel request and reiterated that the IRA is its most significant step toward clean energy, aimed at ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains for a global clean energy future.

    The DSB agreed to the establishment of the panel. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the European Union, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and Venezuela reserved their third party rights to participate in the panel proceedings.

    DS597: United States – Origin Marking Requirement (Hong Kong, China)

    For the 12th time, the United States raised the matter of the panel ruling in DS597 at a DSB meeting. The US said it was raising the matter again as a result of recent developments in Hong Kong, China regarding free speech and human rights. The US referred back to its previous statements regarding its position on essential security and its reasons for placing this item on the DSB agenda.

    Hong Kong, China criticized the US for once again raising this matter at the DSB. It referred to previous WTO panels that dismissed US claims that invoking national security in defense of a trade-restrictive measure is entirely self-judging.  Any objections should be heard by the WTO’s Appellate Body, which remains blocked due to the US refusal to allow appointment of new Appellate Body members, said Hong Kong, China.

    China reiterated its firm belief that a restored appeal mechanism is the proper place to address claims of panel error made by the US and rejected in the strongest terms what it said was US interference in the internal affairs of another WTO member.

    Appellate Body appointments

    Speaking on behalf of 130 members, Colombia introduced for the 79th time the group’s proposal to start the selection processes for filling vacancies on the Appellate Body. The extensive number of members submitting the proposal reflects a common interest in the functioning of the Appellate Body and, more generally, in the functioning of the WTO’s dispute settlement system, Colombia said.

    The United States repeated that it does not support the proposed decision to commence the appointment of Appellate Body members as its longstanding concerns with WTO dispute settlement remain unaddressed.

    Twenty members then took the floor to comment. Many of these members referred to their previous statements made on this matter at earlier DSB meetings and underlined the urgent need to meet the mandates set out at the 12th and 13th Ministerial Conferences in 2022 and early 2024 respectively to conduct discussions with the view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024.

    Several members welcomed the progress being made in the formal dispute settlement reform process now underway and the need to accelerate discussions to achieve the 2024 goal.

    Colombia, speaking on behalf of the 130 members, said it regretted that for the 79th occasion members have not been able to launch the selection processes. Ongoing conversations about reform of the dispute settlement system should not prevent the Appellate Body from continuing to operate fully, and members shall comply with their obligation under the DSU to fill the vacancies as they arise, Colombia said for the group.

    The DSB chair, Ambassador Saqer Abdullah Almoqbel (Saudi Arabia), concluded by expressing his full support for the facilitator in the dispute settlement reform discussions, Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius, in her efforts towards achieving a positive outcome within the mandated time frame.

    Other business

    Surveillance of implementation

    The United States presented status reports with regard to DS184, “US — Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan”,  DS160, “United States — Section 110(5) of US Copyright Act”, DS464, “United States — Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea”, and DS471, “United States — Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China.”

    The European Union presented a status report with regard to DS291, “EC — Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products.”

    Indonesia presented its status reports in DS477 and DS478, “Indonesia — Importation of Horticultural Products, Animals and Animal Products.” 

    Next meeting

    The next regular DSB meeting will take place on 28 October.

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    MIL OSI Economics –