Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
NT Police Force general duties members arrested a 22-year-old male in relation to a domestic violence incident that occurred in Johnston last night.
About 8pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that an incident was unfolding at a residential address, with a male assaulting a female known to him.
Neighbours, upon hearing the disturbance contacted Triple Zero and rendered assistance and provided first aid prior to St John Ambulance and police attending.
Upon police arrival, the offender was arrested and conveyed to Palmerston Watch House, where he remains in custody as investigations continue.
The victim, a 22-year-old female, was conveyed by St John Ambulance to Royal Darwin Hospital in a critical condition.
The Domestic Violence Investigation Unit has carriage of the investigation.
NT Police appreciate the intervention and aid provided by neighbours and urge anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact police on 131 444. Please reference to job number P25138375.
If you or someone you know are experiencing difficulties due to domestic violence, support services are available, including, but not limited to, 1800RESPECT (1800737732) or Lifeline 131 114.
Consumer Affairs Victoria is warning anyone wanting to buy jewellery from Shannakian Jewellery to be careful, after receiving 67 complaints from consumers about the company.
Trading as Shannakian Fine Jewellery, the company sells jewellery on its website, Instagram and in its Melbourne showroom. Most of the complaints received by Consumer Affairs Victoria are from sales on their Instagram page, which has over 25,000 followers.
Since 15 February 2021, complaints have been received from consumers across Australia and overseas who allege the business:
accepted payment for jewellery but failed to provide it in a reasonable time, or at all
failed to provide refunds when requested and required, and
failed to provide a refund for faulty products.
In one case, a consumer claimed to have paid the business $27,000 for a necklace. The jewellery was not provided. After following up many times, the consumer asked for a refund, which was not provided.
Consumer Affairs Victoria Acting Director, David Joyner, is urging consumers to be wary before purchasing Shannakian Fine Jewellery products.
If you have had a bad experience with Shannakian Fine Jewellery, contact us through our complaint form, email or by calling 1300 55 81 81.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, May 21 — China’s visa-exemption policies have boosted inbound travel. Since the start of this year, “China Travel” has kept trending. On Wednesday, the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China released a list of frequently asked questions about these policies.
Q: Who does the visa waiver apply to?
A: Nationals of 43 countries including Brunei, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, the Republic of Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay take effect from June 1, 2025) holding valid ordinary passports can be exempted from visa requirement if entering China for the purpose of business, tourism, family or friend visits, exchange and transit. They can stay in China for no more than 30 days without a visa.
Q: Do foreign nationals eligible for a visa waiver need to make declarations to Chinese embassies and consulates in advance?
A: Foreign nationals eligible for a visa waiver do not need to declare in advance to Chinese embassies and consulates before entering China without a visa.
Q: Will the purpose of the intended stay in China be examined by Chinese border inspection authorities when entering China? How will it be done? Are other documents needed for entering China in addition to a passport?
A: Foreign nationals traveling for purposes of business, tourism, family or friend visits, exchange and transit that meet the visa waiver requirements, can be allowed to enter China without a visa upon examination and approval in accordance with the law by border inspection authorities. Entry into China shall be denied by border inspection authorities in accordance with the law to foreign nationals who travel for purposes that do not meet the visa waiver requirements or who are not allowed to enter China in accordance with laws and regulations. It is recommended to take documents such as invitation letters, air tickets and reservations of accommodation as proof corresponding to the purposes of entry into China. Visa waiver does not apply to those who come to China for work, study, journalistic or similar purposes.
Q: Is there any additional requirement for minors eligible for a visa waiver?
A: Visa waiver requirements for minors are the same as for adults.
Q: Are there any requirements regarding the type and validity of entry documents?
A: For foreign nationals, an ordinary passport valid for at least the duration of the intended stay in China is needed. Holders of travel documents or temporary or emergency documents other than ordinary passports are not allowed to enter China without a visa.
Q: How to calculate the duration of stay of 30 days?
A: The duration of stay without a visa is calculated from the day after entry and lasts continuously for 30 calendar days.
Q: Does the visa waiver apply to foreign nationals who travel from a third country?
A: Eligible foreign nationals can depart for China from any country or region.
Q: Does the visa waiver apply to foreign nationals who travel via modes of transport other than aviation?
A: The visa waiver applies to all travelers coming to China through any sea, road and airport open to foreign nationals — except where laws, regulations or bilateral arrangements specify otherwise. For arrivals in China by way of private transport, certain procedures for entry and exit of means of transport shall be processed in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of China.
Q: Does the visa waiver apply to tour groups?
A: The visa waiver applies to eligible foreign nationals either in tour groups or as individuals.
Q: If the length of intended stay exceeds 30 days, can the visa waiver be extended?
A: Foreign nationals planning to stay in China for over 30 days shall apply for visas corresponding to their purposes of stay in advance at Chinese embassies or consulates. If they have to stay longer than 30 days for appropriate and sufficient reasons after entering China without a visa, they shall apply for stay permits to the exit and entry administrations of public security authorities of China.
Q: Does the visa waiver allow multiple entries? Is there any requirement on the length of intervals between each entry, or any restriction on the number of entries without a visa or total days of stay?
A: Foreign nationals eligible for the visa waiver can enter China without a visa multiple times. Currently, there is no restriction on the number of entries or total days of stay, but those who enjoy visa-free travel to China shall not engage in activities inconsistent with their purpose of entry.
Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development
The ACCC will not oppose Insurance Australia Group Limited’s (ASX: IAG) proposed acquisition of RACQ Insurance Limited (RACQI).
IAG and RACQI supply general insurance products, including home and contents insurance and motor insurance. They predominantly overlap in the supply of insurance products in Queensland.
The ACCC’s review considered the impact of the proposed acquisition on the supply of home and contents insurance and the supply of motor insurance, focussing on the level of competition provided by other existing insurance providers, how competitive RACQI is now, and the likely impact of the acquisition on insurance prices, service offering, and coverage.
The ACCC found that alternative suppliers of home and contents insurance and motor insurance would continue to compete with and provide a competitive constraint on IAG after the acquisition.
“Several alternative suppliers of home and contents insurance and motor insurance, including the market leader Suncorp, more established insurers Allianz and QBE, and newer entrants such as Youi, Auto & General, and Hollard will continue to compete in Queensland,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
The ACCC’s investigation also found RACQI has not been a particularly vigorous competitor in recent times and that it has been losing market share since 2019.
“While RACQI has strong brand recognition in Queensland, our review found that it does not differentiate in terms of price or coverage. Its prices are generally higher than many alternative suppliers, and that it does not meaningfully differentiate on coverage or service offering in the supply of home and contents insurance and motor insurance,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
The ACCC also closely considered the level of competition RACQI would provide in the alternative scenario where it is not acquired by IAG.
In particular, the ACCC considered the significant challenges faced by the insurance industry, including the growth in the number of extreme weather events over time and rising reinsurance and regulatory costs. The ACCC also considered how these challenges affected RACQI in particular.
“RACQI faces material challenges in continuing to provide competitive insurance due to it serving some areas of higher natural hazard risk, and limited access to capital as a mutual organisation. These challenges have placed limitations on its capacity to compete,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
The ACCC also considered the impact of the proposed acquisition on markets for the acquisition of smash repair services, windscreen repair and replacement services, and building repair services.
The ACCC found that the proposed acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in these markets as IAG is unlikely to have the ability to diminish prices or supply terms after the acquisition due to its position in the market relative to other insurers and acquirers of these services.
The ACCC is currently reviewing Allianz Australia Insurance Limited’s proposed acquisition of RAA Insurance Holdings Limited and is aware of IAG’s proposed acquisition of RAC Insurance from RAC WA. This decision in relation to IAG and RACQ should not be treated as being indicative of the ACCC’s decision or further consideration of these transactions. The competitive dynamics and issues in each transaction are unique and the ACCC is considering (or will consider) each transaction individually.
As part of the proposed acquisition, IAG will acquire 90 per cent of the shares in RACQI from The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ), with an option to acquire the additional 10 per cent after two years. The proposed acquisition does not include RACQ’s membership-based business, which includes its roadside assistance business.
IAG is a general insurance company operating in Australia and New Zealand. IAG provides a range of personal and commercial insurance products under various brands, including NRMA Insurance, Swann Insurance, ROLLiN’, Cylo, and Lumley Special Vehicles.
IAG also underwrites insurance products and distributes them through agreements with third party brands, including Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, People’s Choice Bank, ANZ, and Coles (transitioning to Auto & General by October 2025).
RACQ is a Queensland based member-owned organisation that provides roadside assistance, insurance, banking, and member/community services. RACQ issues general insurance products to customers through its wholly-owned subsidiary RACQI.
RACQI also underwrites insurance products and distributes them through agreements with third party brands, including Honey Insurance (which provides insurance products to Aldi Insurance, Bank Australia, and Bank of Queensland) and Royal Automobile Club WA.
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Yesterday, detectives from the Southern Drug Investigation Unit executed multiple search warrants at commercial premises resulting in three arrests and significant seizures of methamphetamine, ketamine and cannabis.
In the morning, police executed a search warrant at a hotel where they located and seized a less than commercial quantity of methamphetamine, a commercial quantity of ketamine and a less than traffickable amount of cannabis. A 47-year-old female was arrested and charged with:
Possess Schedule 1 (Methamphetamine) – Less than commercial quantity
Possess Schedule 2 (Cannabis) – Less than traffickable
She was remanded to appear in the Alice Springs Local Court today.
In a separate incident that afternoon, detectives conducted searches at the airport where they located and seized several packages containing a significant amount of methamphetamine. A 44-year-old male and a 51-year-old male were arrested and charged with:
Both males were remanded to appear in the Alice Springs Local Court today.
Detective Acting Superintendent Deanne Ward said, “If these drugs had entered our regional township and communities, it could have had devastating impacts on people’s lives and social cohesion.”
Anyone with information on the supply of alcohol or drugs into remote communities can call police on 131 444 or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Defendant Admits to Concealing 50% Ownership of $7B Defense Contracting Business to Evade Taxes
WASHINGTON – Douglas Edelman, 73, a former defense contractor, pleaded guilty today to tax crimes related to a scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on income he earned from his contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The sentence was announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter with IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office.
Edelman pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, seven counts of tax evasion, and two counts of making a false statement. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled a hearing on issues related to sentencing on Nov. 17, 2026. Trial on the remaining counts of the indictment will be in 2026.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Edelman founded and owned 50% of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide jet fuel in the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Working with others, Edelman engaged in a lengthy scheme to hide his Mina/Red Star profits to evade U.S. taxes, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents and making false statements that one of his co-conspirators — a French citizen residing abroad and without U.S. tax obligations — founded and owned Mina/Red Star.
For example, when the company became profitable in 2005, Edelman began taking distributions which he deposited into Swiss bank accounts, primarily at Credit Suisse, in the name of other companies he owned. In 2008, Credit Suisse informed Edelman that he had to either close his accounts or disclose them to U.S. authorities. Rather than come into compliance with his tax and reporting obligations, Edelman closed his accounts and opened new ones at Bank Julius Baer in Singapore in the name of a nominee entity, the beneficiaries of which were purportedly Edelman’s daughters. He then directed the subject income he earned from Mina/Red Star to those bank accounts.
In 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs began investigating allegations of corruption in connection with Mina/Red Star’s contracts with the Department of Defense. As part of this inquiry, the subcommittee became interested in the identity of Mina/Red Star’s owners. At this time, Edelman had not filed U.S. tax returns to report the millions of dollars he had earned from Mina/Red Star and had not paid U.S. taxes on his income.
Rather than disclose his ownership, Edelman caused his attorneys to tell Congress a false story that a French co-conspirator who had no U.S. tax or reporting obligations founded and co-owed Mina/Red Star with another individual. To corroborate the false story, Edelman and a co-conspirator caused false and backdated paperwork to be created.
To continue the scheme, Edelman conveyed the false story about Mina/Red Star’s ownership to other arms of the U.S. government, including to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations in 2010 and 2011, to the IRS in a 2016 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Justice Department in a 2018 presentation.
In conjunction with his 2016 application to the IRS’s Voluntary Disclosure Program, Edelman filed false tax returns for several prior years that only reported income from gifts or purported consulting payments, continuing to conceal the millions he had earned from his company. On the returns, he also concealed profits he had earned from a separate business to provide internet service to members of the armed forces at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan.
Instead of paying the taxes that he knew he owed, Edelman used the money to fund his lifestyle and additional investments. He invested in a music television franchise in Eastern Europe, a land venture in Tulum, Mexico, and a farm in Kenya, and purchased property around Europe, including a home in Ibiza, Spain, and a townhouse in London.
Edelman faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the 10 counts to which he has pleaded. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being investigated by special agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, along with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted in the investigation. His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom also provided assistance, as did the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Guardia Civil of Spain assisted with the arrest.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia and Assistant Chief Sarah Ranney and Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division.
Defendant Misappropriated Millions of Dollars of Investors’ Funds for His Own Use Including to Purchase Real Estate and Luxury Vehicles
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Braden John Karony on all counts of a three-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The charges arose from the defendant’s and his co-conspirators’ roles in defrauding investors in a decentralized finance digital asset called “SafeMoon,” issued by their company SafeMoon LLC. As alleged, the defendant agreed with his co-conspirators to lie to SafeMoon investors about whether SafeMoon executives could access the liquidity pool and whether they were using the assets from the liquidity pool for their personal benefit. As SafeMoon’s market capitalization grew to more than $8 billion, the defendant fraudulently diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth of liquidity from the SafeMoon liquidity pool for their personal benefit. The verdict followed a 12-day trial before United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee. When sentenced, Karony faces up to 45 years in prison. The jury also issued a verdict to forfeit one residential property and the proceeds from the sale of another residential property, amounting to approximately $2 million.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI); and Darren B. McCormack, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced the verdict.
“As proven at trial, the SafeMoon digital asset was anything but safe and turned out to be pie in the sky for investors who were deliberately misled by Karony, a man who sought to get rich quick by stealing and diverting millions of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Karony used his scheme to purchase multiple homes, sports cars, custom trucks, and other luxury goods. Today’s guilty verdict should serve as a warning to all would-be fraudsters that my Office will vigorously prosecute individuals like the defendant who victimize digital asset investors and undermine investor confidence in digital assets markets, thereby threatening the stability and growth of these emerging technologies.”
Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its work on the case.
“Braden Karony, the CEO of SafeMoon, exploited his company’s digital portfolio with fictional success stories and stole millions of dollars in crypto-assets to finance luxury purchases,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “Along with his co-conspirators, Karony violated his clients’ trust and wallets while attempting to conceal his misconduct through discreet transactions. May today’s conviction emphasize the FBI’s commitment to securing all markets and protecting the American people from individuals who abuse their position to satisfy personal greed.”
“Braden Karony misled investors; intentionally diverted and misappropriated millions in cryptocurrency for his personal benefit; and lined the driveways of his million dollar homes with luxury cars. While the name of his company is SafeMoon, there was nothing safe about this investment that was just a front for theft. By following the money with complex cryptocurrency tracing, IRS-CI New York’s Cyber and J5 groups worked with our investigative partners to see that this conman is held accountable for his greedy acts,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis. “The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) is a global partnership that works together to gather information, share intelligence, and conduct coordinated operations against transnational financial crimes. The J5 includes the Australian Taxation Office, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs from the U.K. and IRS-CI from the U.S.”
“Steered by his selfish desires and insatiable greed, Braden John Karony treated millions of dollars in investors’ funds as his own personal bank account,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge McCormack. “The defendant will soon be trading his sprawling real estate and luxury vehicles for a jail cell within the four walls of a federal penitentiary. As reflected by today’s conviction, whether it involves fiat or crypto, HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force will relentlessly pursue individuals intent on exploiting investors and the American financial system for their own gain.”
Background on SafeMoon
As proven at trial, SafeMoon tokens were digital assets first issued in March 2021 by SafeMoon LLC on a public blockchain. Through the operation of SafeMoon’s smart contract, every transaction in SafeMoon was automatically subject to a 10% tax, meaning, for example, that if a holder of SafeMoon transferred 10 SafeMoon to another user, 1 SafeMoon would automatically be retained from the transfer as a tax and the remaining 9 SafeMoon would be received by the other party. As marketed to SafeMoon investors, the proceeds of SafeMoon’s 10% tax were split into two 5% tranches, the proceeds of which were supposed to benefit holders of SafeMoon in specific ways. The first 5% tranche of the tax proceeds would be “reflected” back to, and distributed among, all SafeMoon holders in proportion to their current SafeMoon holdings and thereby increase the total quantity of SafeMoon held by every SafeMoon investor automatically. The remaining 5% tranche of SafeMoon tax proceeds would be deposited into designated SafeMoon liquidity pools. The larger the SafeMoon liquidity pool, the greater the liquidity in the market for SafeMoon. In the months after its launch in March 2021, SafeMoon grew to have millions of holders and a market capitalization of more than $8 billion.
The Defendants’ Fraudulent Scheme
Karony and his co-conspirators misrepresented various material aspects of the SafeMoon offering to investors. Such misrepresentations included that SafeMoon relied on “locked” liquidity pools that would automatically increase in size due to a 10% tax imposed on every SafeMoon transaction; that the “locked” SafeMoon liquidity pool prevented the defendants and other insiders at SafeMoon from being able to “rug pull”—a type of crypto fraud— SafeMoon investors by removing liquidity from the SafeMoon liquidity pool; that tokens in the liquidity pool would only be used for limited pre-defined business purposes, not personal enrichment; that the defendants would manually add token pairs to the SafeMoon liquidity pool when transactions of SafeMoon occurred on specific centralized exchanges; and that the developers were not and had not been holding and trading SafeMoon for their benefit.
In reality, Karony and his co-conspirators retained access to the SafeMoon liquidity pools and used that access to intentionally divert and misappropriate millions of dollars’ worth of tokens for their personal benefit. In addition, although they publicly denied that they personally held or traded SafeMoon, they repeatedly bought and sold SafeMoon, sometimes at the height of SafeMoon market price, which generated millions of dollars in profits. Karony and his co-conspirators masked their movement of the fraudulent proceeds via numerous private un-hosted crypto wallet addresses, complex transaction routing, and pseudonymous centralized exchange accounts. Karony acquired over $9 million in crypto assets from the scheme and used some of the proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles and real estate, including a $2.2 million home in Utah, additional homes in Utah and Kansas, a $277,000 Audi R8 sports car, another Audi R8, a Tesla, and custom Ford F-550 and Jeep Gladiator pickup trucks.
Co-conspirator Thomas Smith previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-conspirator Kyle Nagy remains at large.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Dana Rehnquist, Sara K. Winik, and Jessica K. Weigel are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Asher Martin-Rosenthal and Madison Bates. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Mantell is handling forfeiture matters.
TORONTO, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (“BlackRock Canada”), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced the final May 2025 cash distributions for iShares Premium Money Market ETF. Unitholders of record on May 22, 2025 will receive cash distributions payable on May 30, 2025.
Details regarding the final “per unit” distribution amounts are as follows:
About BlackRock BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate | Twitter: @BlackRockCA
About iShares ETFs iShares unlocks opportunity across markets to meet the evolving needs of investors. With more than twenty years of experience, a global line-up of 1500+ exchange traded funds (ETFs) and US$4.3 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025, iShares continues to drive progress for the financial industry. iShares funds are powered by the expert portfolio and risk management of BlackRock.
iShares® ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.
CALGARY, Alberta, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd. (the “Company” or “ReconAfrica”) (TSXV: RECO) (OTCQX: RECAF) (Frankfurt: 0XD) (NSX: REC) announces an update to its investor relations contact, an update on the transaction with Namcor Exploration and Production (Pty) (“NAMCOR”) announced in the Company’s news release dated September 22, 2022 and that it intends to extend the expiry date of certain common share purchase warrants of the Company.
UPDATE TO INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT
Mr. Grayson Andersen has left ReconAfrica to pursue new career opportunities. The Company, its Board of Directors and Management thank Grayson for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavours.
Effective immediately, Mark Friesen has joined ReconAfrica as Managing Director, Investor Relations and Capital Markets and is based in Calgary. Mark has extensive energy finance and investor relations experience in the Canadian and U.S. markets. Mark’s prior corporate experience includes being the Director of Investor Relations with Kiwetinohk Energy Corp. and doing business development and corporate planning with Kiwetinohk, Murphy Oil Corporation and through his own consulting company. Mark began his career in equity research covering the energy sector at Bank of Montreal (BMO), FirstEnergy Capital Corp., TD Bank and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Mark holds a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation and received a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree in Finance from the University of Manitoba.
Investors can continue to contact the Company by email at investors@reconafrica.com or by phone at +1-877-631-1160.
UPDATE ON NAMCOR TRANSACTION
The Company and NAMCOR have not yet completed the transaction pursuant to the definitive purchase and sale agreement announced September 22, 2022, but report that discussions are ongoing.
PROPOSED WARRANT EXTENSION
The Company intends to extend the expiry date of an aggregate 6,795,454 outstanding common share purchase warrants of the Company (the “July Warrants”) by 18 months to January 18, 2027 and an aggregate 1,071,500 outstanding common share purchase warrants of the Company (the “September Warrants” and collectively with the July Warrants, the “Warrants”) by 18 months to February 1, 2027 (collectively with the extension of July Warrants, the “Extension”).
The July Warrants were issued pursuant to a public offering which closed on July 18, 2023 and are set to expire on July 18, 2025. The July Warrants were issued pursuant to a warrant indenture dated July 18, 2023 between the Company and Odyssey Trust Company. Each July Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of CAD $1.35 and all other terms of the July Warrants, including exercise price, will remain the same.
A total of 295,227 outstanding compensation warrants issued as compensation to the underwriters for part of the financing in July 2023 cannot be extended and will expire on July 18, 2025.
The September Warrants were issued pursuant to a non-brokered private placement which closed on September 1, 2023 and are set to expire on September 1, 2025. Each September Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of CAD $1.40 and all other terms of the September Warrants, including exercise price, will remain the same.
220,000 of the July Warrants are held by parties who are considered to be “related parties” of the Company. The September Warrants are all held by parties who are considered to be “related parties” of the Company. Therefore, the amendment of Warrants constitutes a “related party transaction” as contemplated by Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Shareholders in Special Transactions, and TSXV Policy 5.9 Protection of Minority Shareholders in Special Transactions. However, the exemptions from formal valuation and minority approval requirements provided for by these guidelines have been relied upon as the fair market value of the Warrants held by insiders does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company.
The Extension remains subject to receipt of approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About ReconAfrica
ReconAfrica is a Canadian oil and gas company engaged in the exploration of the Damara Fold Belt and Kavango Rift Basin in the Kalahari Desert of northeastern Namibia, southeastern Angola, and northwestern Botswana, where the Company holds rights to petroleum licences comprising over 13 million acres. The Company will be drilling its next well, Prospect I which is located onshore Namibia in Petroleum Exploration Licence 073 (“PEL 73”). This will be the Company’s largest exploration prospect drilled to date. In all aspects of its operations, ReconAfrica is committed to minimal disturbance of habitat in line with international standards and implementing environmental and social best practices in all of its project areas.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information contact:
Brian Reinsborough, President and Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +1-877-631-1160
Mark Friesen, Investor Relations | Tel: +1-877-631-1160
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian, United States and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations, including, without limitation, the Company’s commitment to minimal disturbance of habitat, in line withbest international standards and its implementation of environmentalandsocialbestpracticesinallofitsprojectareas.Thesestatementsrelatetofutureeventsorfutureperformance. The use of any of the words “could”, “intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “will”, “projected”, “estimated” and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on ReconAfrica’scurrentbelieforassumptionsastotheoutcomeandtimingofsuchfutureevents.Therecanbenoassurancethat such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company’s actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipatedintheseforward-lookingstatementsasaresultofthefactorsdiscussedinthe“RiskFactors”sectionintheCompany’s annual information form for the period ended December 31, 2024, available under the Company’s profile atwww.sedarplus.ca. Actual future results may differ materially. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to ReconAfrica. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and ReconAfrica undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.
LONDON, May 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trading 212 has officially reached a major milestone with over A$50 billion in client assets under administration and a thriving community of 4.5 million clients globally, making it the fastest-growing savings and investment platform in the UK.
By pioneering zero-commission and fractional share investing across the UK and Europe, Trading 212 has transformed access to the financial markets. Millions of people have been empowered to invest without facing the high fees that have historically been a barrier to entry.
“Our mission has always been to unlock wealth building for everyone,” said Ivan Ashminov, co-founder and chairman of the board of Trading 212. “Reaching this scale is a testament to the trust our clients place in us and to the value we bring through innovation, accessibility, and transparency.”
With continued momentum, Trading 212 remains committed to reshaping the future of personal finance by breaking down barriers and delivering market-leading tools for everyday investors or savers.
About Trading 212
Trading 212 is a fintech company on a mission to unlock wealth building for everyone. Known for disrupting the industry with zero-commission investing, intuitive technology, and innovative financial products, the platform offers stocks and ETFs to millions of clients across the UK, Europe and Australia.
NEW YORK, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. We are headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and are investigating:
Radius Recycling, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDUS), relating to the proposed merger with Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Toyota Tsusho will acquire all shares of Radius, with Radius shareholders receiving $30.00 per share in cash.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for June 5, 2025.
Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSBK), relating to the proposed merger with FB Financial Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Southern States’ shareholders will receive 0.800 shares of FB Financial common stock for each share of Southern States stock.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for June 26, 2025.
LENSAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNSR), relating to the proposed merger with Alcon. Under the terms of the agreement, LENSAR shareholders will receive $14.00 per share, with an additional non-tradeable contingent value right offering up to $2.75 per share in cash conditioned on the achievement of certain milestones.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for July 2, 2025.
iCAD, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICAD), relating to the proposed merger with RadNet, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, iCAD stockholders will receive 0.0677 shares of RadNet common stock for each share of iCAD common stock held at the closing of the merger.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for July 14, 2025.
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On May 20, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new stance on who should receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The agency said it would approve new versions of the vaccine only for adults 65 years of age and older as well as for people with one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. These risk factors include medical conditions such as asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes.
However, healthy younger adults and children who fall outside of these groups may not be eligible to receive the COVID-19 shot this fall. Vaccine manufacturers will have to conduct clinical trials to demonstrate that the vaccine benefits low-risk groups.
The Conversation U.S. asked Libby Richards, a nursing professor involved in public health promotion, to explain why the changes were made and what they mean for the general public.
According to Makary and Prasad, the Food and Drug Administration is moving away from these universal recommendations and instead taking a risk-based approach based on its interpretation of public health trends – specifically, the declining COVID-19 booster uptake, a lack of strong evidence that repeated boosters improve health outcomes for healthy people and the fact that natural immunity from past COVID-19 infections is widespread.
The FDA states it wants to ensure the vaccine is backed by solid clinical trial data, especially for low-risk groups.
Was this a controversial decision or a clear consensus?
The FDA’s decision to adopt a risk-based framework for the COVID-19 vaccine aligns with the expected recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an advisory group of vaccine experts offering expert guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, which is scheduled to meet in June 2025. But while this advisory committee was also expected to recommend allowing low-risk people to get annual COVID-19 vaccines if they want to, the FDA’s policy will likely make that difficult.
Although the FDA states that its new policy aims to promote greater transparency and evidenced-based decision-making, the change is controversial – in part because it circumvents the usual process for evaluating vaccine recommendations. The FDA is enacting this policy change by limiting its approval of the vaccine to high-risk groups, and it is doing so without any new data supporting its decision. Usually, however, the FDA broadly approves a vaccine based on whether it is safe and effective, and decisions on who should be eligible to receive it are left to the CDC, which receives research-based guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Another question is how health officials’ positions on COVID-19 vaccines affect public perception. Makary and Prasad noted that COVID-19 vaccination campaigns may have actually eroded public trust in vaccination. But some vaccine experts have expressed concerns that limiting COVID-19 vaccine access might further fuel vaccine hesitancy because any barrier to vaccine access can reduce uptake and hinder efforts to achieve widespread immunity.
What conditions count as risk factors?
The New England Journal of Medicine article includes a lengthy list of conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 and notes that about 100 million to 200 million people will fall into this category and will thus be eligible to get the vaccine.
Pregnancy is included. Some items on the list, however, are unclear. For example, the list includes asthma, but the data that asthma is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 is scant.
Also on the list is physical inactivity, which likely applies to a vast swath of Americans and is difficult to define. Studies have found links between regular physical activity and reduced risk of severe COVID-19 infection, but it’s unclear how health care providers will define and measure physical inactivity when assessing a patient’s eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines.
The FDA is moving to risk-based access for COVID-19 vaccines.
The FDA is requiring vaccine manufactures to conduct additional large randomized clinical trials to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 boosters for healthy adults and children. These trials will primarily test whether the vaccines prevent symptomatic infections, and secondarily whether they prevent hospitalization and death. Such trials are more complex, costly and time-consuming than the more common approach of testing for immunological response.
This requirement will likely delay both the timeliness and the availability of COVID-19 vaccine boosters and slow public health decision-making.
Will low-risk people be able to get a COVID-19 shot?
Not automatically. Under the new FDA framework, healthy adults who wish to receive the fall COVID-19 vaccine will face obstacles. Health care providers can administer vaccines “off-label”, but insurance coverage is widely based on FDA recommendations. The new, narrower FDA approval will likely reduce both access to COVID-19 vaccines for the general public and insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines.
The FDA’s focus on individual risks and benefits may overlook broader public health benefits. Communities with higher vaccination rates have fewer opportunities to spread the virus.
What about vaccines for children?
High-risk children age 6 months and older who have conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 are still eligible for the vaccine under the new framework. As of now, healthy children age 6 months and older without underlying medical conditions will not have routine access to COVID-19 vaccines until further clinical trial data is available.
Existing vaccines already on the market will remain available, but it is unclear how long they will stay authorized and how the change will affect childhood vaccination overall.
Libby Richards has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Nurses Foundation, and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)
WASHINGTON, DC — In anticipation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) led 55 lawmakers in a bipartisan letter to Secretary Rubio inquiring about the State Department’s plans to ensure quick and secure visa processing for the expected influx of visitors coming to the U.S. for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2028 Olympic Games, and other major international sporting competitions. Reps. Young Kim (R-CA), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Nikema Williams (D-GA) joined as co-leads.
Currently, six countries–Canada, Colombia, Honduras, India, Turkey, and UAE—have at least one U.S. diplomatic post with visa appointment wait times that extend beyond the start of the first FIFA26 game in the United States.
“The Olympics have the potential to bring up to 15 million visitors to the U.S. and produce an estimated $18 billion in economic impact. Over 5 billion viewers are projected to watch the FIFA World Cup, which could bring millions of visitors to the United States across 11 cities and generate an estimated $3.75 billion in economic revenue,” the lawmakers wrote.
They continued, “However, the success of these games hinges on the State Department’s ability to efficiently process the visa applications of spectators, athletes, and media, including providing adequate visa appointment availability and strategically offering visa interview waiver services where appropriate.
“To meet the moment, the State Department must not take a business-as-usual approach. Accommodating the anticipated surge in international visitation will require innovative solutions in the visa adjudication process that will allow us to maintain security safeguards while reducing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. It is critical to begin preparations now to demonstrate our nation’s ability to welcome the world,” the lawmakers concluded.
The letter also encouraged the Administration to update its current visa process to address visa processing challenges, including strategies to:
Develop a visa issuance process that maintains necessary security protocols while expediting processing for accredited individuals and entities participating in the games;
Ensure Consular Affairs is sufficiently resourced to support visa processing offices at overseas posts, disseminate information to Consular Affairs officers regarding games-related visa appointments, and handle the increased demand for visas well ahead of the games;
Establish protocols for visa issuance and entry from countries that are sanctioned or do not have U.S. consular offices, ensuring that all eligible athletes and support staff can participate in the games; and
Consider regulatory adjustments or other measures to reduce visa appointment wait times.
The full letter is HERE.
Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Young Kim, Darin LaHood, and Nikema Williams were joined by Reps. David Valadao, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jonathan L. Jackson, Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr., Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Aumua Amata Coleman, María Elvira Salazar, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr., Pramila Jayapal, Jasmine Crockett, Kweisi Mfume, Ken Calvert, Josh Gottheimer, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Ted W. Lieu, Raja Krishnamoorthi, LaMonica McIver, Eric Swalwell, Frederica S. Wilson, Stephen F. Lynch, Nydia M. Velázquez, Emanuel Cleaver, Don Bacon, William R. Keating, Luz M. Rivas, Kevin Mullin, Dina Titus, Greg Stanton, Rick Larsen, Brendan F. Boyle, Tom Cole, Julia Brownley, Suzan K. DelBene, Michael T. McCaul, Michael V. Lawler, Robert Garcia, Mikie Sherrill, Emily Randall, Gabe Amo, Zoe Lofgren, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, Pete Aguilar, Dan Goldman, Sylvia R. Garcia, Julie Johnson, Nellie Pou, Derrick Van Orden, Kevin Kiley, Laura Friedman, and Jay Obernolte.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne
Now, SUVs and light commercial vehicles comprise almost 80% of the market. Four in five new vehicles sold in Australia today are an SUV, ute, van or light truck.
As larger vehicles become the new norm, they bring more road wear, urban congestion and demands on infrastructure such as parking.
It’s time to ask: should drivers of larger vehicles pay for the damage and disruption they cause, through higher registration charges? Generally, yes. Bigger cars mean bigger costs for everyone else. It’s only fair those costs are reflected in how we price their use of public roads.
Reasons for going big
There are several reasons for the shift to larger passenger vehicles in Australia. They include perceptions that bigger cars are safer and more prestigious, as well as lifestyle preferences.
A loophole in the luxury car tax also encourages car buyers to go big. The tax was introduced on imports in 2000 and this financial year applies to vehicles worth more than A$80,576.
Many utes and SUVs are exempt because they’re classified as light commercial vehicles. The exemption applies regardless of whether the car is used privately or for business.
Counting the costs on our roads
Larger vehicles – no matter how they are powered – generally impose bigger costs on society than smaller cars.
Large SUVs and utes (if powered by fossil fuels) have a far greater climate impact. On average, a small car emits 2,040 kilograms less carbon dioxide (CO₂) a year than a pickup truck.
But even big electric vehicles can cause climate harm. The substantial resources required to manufacture a large EV creates emissions, which may undermine the climate benefits electrification promises.
Large passenger vehicles also create health system costs. In road crashes, for example, they may better protect their occupants, but pose greater risks to others – especially pedestrians and those in smaller vehicles.
Bigger vehicles also need more space. Standards Australia has proposed making car-parking spaces larger to accommodate the trend to larger cars. Cities such as Paris have introduced higher parking fees for SUVs on these grounds.
In real-world terms, these differences add up. In the United States in 2011, the annual cost of light-duty trucks on congestion and lost productivity was estimated at more than US$2 billion.
Then there’s the cost of road wear. You might think heavier vehicles just wear roads a bit faster than smaller ones. But in reality, the relationship is far more dramatic.
Let’s compare a vehicle with an axle weight of 500 kg and a vehicle with an axle weight of 1,000 kg. The second vehicle doesn’t produce double the road damage – it produces 16 times the damage. This phenomenon is known as the “fourth power rule”.
Vehicle registration offers a way to recoup the societal costs caused by large vehicles.
Part of car registration fees go toward administration, but they also help governments pay for the broader cost of vehicles on public infrastructure and shared spaces.
In Australia, car registration systems vary widely between states. Not all reflect the impact of the vehicles on the road.
In Victoria, fees are based mostly on location – whether the car is registered in a metropolitan, outer-metro or rural area. In the Australian Capital Territory, fees are calculated on a vehicle’s emissions.
Queensland and Tasmania use the number of engine cylinders to set fees – a rough proxy for vehicle size, but not a precise one.
South Australia and the Northern Territory apply different models again, using a combination of settings not directly based on weight.
A fairer system
Larger vehicles take up more road space, contribute more to congestion, and cause exponentially more damage to road surfaces. These are exactly the kinds of impacts a vehicle registration system should help account for.
So, what would a truly equitable registration fee model look like? Based on the evidence, it would not only account for vehicle size and weight, but also how often the vehicle is driven. After all, a heavy car parked in a garage all year causes less impact than one on the road every day.
Several countries, including New Zealand, have adopted distance-based or road-use charging schemes for certain types of vehicles, which uses a combination of vehicle weight and distance travelled.
Milad Haghani 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.
As Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on election night:
We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not need to seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values – and in our people.
Those values should guide a principled and evidence-based response to the global refugee crisis. This response should be grounded in fairness, humanity and respect for Australia’s international human rights obligations.
A principled reset
Australia is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines a refugee as a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution based on:
race
religion
nationality
membership of a particular social group
political opinion.
However, aspects of Australia’s current approach to refugees have drawn criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
The new Labor government could use its strength in parliament to initiate a principled and evidence-based reset. This could include:
creating a new emergency visa for humanitarian crises to assist people fleeing conflict
making immigration detention an option that could be used at the discretion of the Department of Home Affairs, instead of being mandatory
giving people access to independent review of their detention
improving systems for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers (many of whom face heightened risks, are not always believed about their sexuality, and lack culturally sensitive support).
There are four key areas in particular need of reform.
1. Ending the legal limbo
A crucial priority is resolving the status of some 7,000 people who are part of what’s known as the “legacy caseload”.
These people were refused refugee status under a problematic and now-defunct process known as the “fast track assessment”. They are now on bridging visas and in legal limbo.
A solution is also needed for the roughly 1,000 people who were detained in offshore processing centres in Manus Island and Nauru but are now living in Australia. They are also on bridging visas, also in a state of legal uncertainty.
One option is to allow people in both groups who were previously refused protection to apply for a permanent visa without requiring yet another drawn-out assessment of their protection claims.
Community organisations, legal experts and mental health professionals could help the government develop clear, trauma-informed and evidence-based processes for reviewing their cases.
2. Expanding the numbers
Australia’s main way of accepting refugees is via what’s known as the humanitarian program. But the number of refugees accepted under this program doesn’t currently reflect the scale of global displacement.
Labor has proposed expanding the number of refugees Australia takes.
It has suggested Australia take 27,000 through the core Refugee and Humanitarian Program and an additional 10,000 through two pathways:
It’s also worth noting current policy prohibits asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Indonesia after June 2014 from being resettled to Australia.
The new government could also consider lifting this arbitrary restriction to give these vulnerable refugees access to durable solutions.
3. Strengthening the rights of children and young people
Immigration systems are largely designed around adults. Children and young people are too often overlooked.
Children (including those born in Australia) can’t sponsor their parents via family sponsorship processes. They’re denied a say in decisions that deeply affect their lives.
The Migration Act should be amended to require that all decisions affecting children give primary consideration to the best interests and views of the child. This would be in line with Australia’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Similar principles are already embedded in Australian family law and child protection policy, providing a clear model for reform.
4. Reviewing Australia’s boat turnback policy
Since 2013, Australia has intercepted boats under Operation Sovereign Borders, using turnbacks and takebacks with little independent oversight.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has raised concerns about this policy.
Sometimes during these interactions Australian officials detain and interview people on boats about their reason for trying to enter Australia, but details about what happens during such encounters are kept largely secret. Most of these encounters end with the boat and people on it being returned to the country from which they came.
A recent document published by the Commonwealth Ombudsman reported on conditions aboard vessels used for maritime detention.
It found serious problems, including no private spaces for sensitive interviews and no interpreters on board.
The Department of Home Affairs responded by saying formal interviews use accredited interpreters. However, the report highlights many crucial interactions do not.
There is also no time limit on detention at sea, and no independent monitoring of how protection claims are assessed.
Mary Anne Kenny is a member of the Migration Institute of Australia and the Law Council of Australia and an affiliate of the UNSW Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. She was on the Ministerial Council on Asylum Seekers and Detention (an independent advisory body) between 2012 and 2018.
Crime and public safety are usually the domain of state politics. But the Coalition tried to elevate them as key issues for voters in the recent federal election.
Claiming crime had been “allowed to fester” under Labor, the opposition promised a A$750 million Operation Safer Communities plan, which included police strike teams targeting drugs, a national child sex offender register, and more money for Neighbourhood Watch.
A Coalition government would also have given grants to community groups to install public lighting, bollards and CCTV cameras.
But in the end, crime did not appear to be a deciding factor in the election, which was easily won by Labor.
What does that tell us about leveraging public fear – either existing crime fears and general anxieties, or latent concerns that can be triggered – for political gain in Australia? Can it be a successful strategy?
Stoking anxiety
In culturally diverse countries, such as Australia and the United States, law and order rhetoric sometimes calls for supporting aggressive crime policies at the expense of racial and ethnic minorities, many of whom are immigrants.
These policies can be effective in stoking public fear to win votes. US President Donald Trump’s exhortations on immigration and crime were a significant part of his election campaigns in 2016 and 2024.
However, what experts call “protective factors”, such as strong communities and social cohesion, are important. They can reduce the influence of political narratives that try to define crime in narrowly punitive or racialised terms.
Australia is not America
Our peer-reviewed research, which will be published in the Journal of Criminology, investigated how public concerns about crime and safety in Australia and the US were associated with demographic factors that evolved over time. The study drew on data from the World Values Survey and indicated key differences in what makes Australians and Americans feel unsafe.
We have found that in Australia in 2018, supporters of left-leaning parties (Labor/Green) reported feeling significantly safer than other voters. However, this gap disappeared when researchers took into account attitudes that blame crime problems on immigrants. This suggests immigrant-blaming in Australia can drive feelings of community fear and insecurity.
The World Values Survey uncovered a different pattern in the US.
Between 2011 and 2017, Republican voters reported feeling safer than other Americans – the opposite of Australia’s trend. The political divide in the US couldn’t be explained by immigrant-blaming attitudes. Rather, it was attributed to the “self-isolation” of American conservatives in more culturally homogeneous communities.
Our study indicated that while immigration continued to influence safety perceptions in the US, it appeared to operate through different mechanisms than in Australia. Racial and ethnic minorities reported greater fear as the 2010s unfolded.
Social connectedness also plays differently in each country. In Australia, trust in others and confidence in public institutions consistently influences safety perceptions. In the US, these factors have little impact.
Social scientists have observed that in modern societies, responsibility for personal safety has increasingly shifted from the government to individuals. This trend is strong in the US, where market-focused, neoliberal economic and social policies dominate policies.
By contrast, European research suggests stronger social welfare systems can reduce safety concerns by addressing underlying economic anxieties. Australia’s more robust social support appears to foster greater feelings of safety.
Our research indicates social cohesion further helps reduce fear.
Crime fears are not a vote winner
Electoral strategies that seek to leverage public insecurities need to be understood in the context of these fear-mitigating factors. Media diversity can also counter fear-based messaging.
In the 2018 Victorian election, crime became a prominent political issue through racialised commentary targeting “African gangs”. However, it failed to gain decisive political traction.
Research found fear of crime was relatively rare in Victoria. Media reports of crime and comments by political leaders were distant from their own experiences
With more diverse news sources and online platforms, political actors can no longer promote narratives unopposed. Fear-based messaging can backfire, especially when it overreaches.
Outdated strategy
Perceptions of crime are often shaped by a combination of actual crime rates and broader anxieties about social change, cultural difference, and uncertainty. This is frequently expressed as unease about the increasing presence of culturally diverse groups.
While the coalition’s pivot to law-and-order rhetoric represented a familiar strategy, Labor positioned itself as the party of unity. This was underscored by Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s declaration after Labor won the election, in which she acknowledged
[…] the power in our 26 million people from more than 300 ancestries […] from the oldest continuing civilisation on the planet and I acknowledge the traditional owners. Friends, we love this country.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong on election night.
While harnessing fears of crime and cultural diversity was not effective in this election cycle, this is not the end of law and order politics. But the unique characteristics of this election appear to have rendered the formula less potent.
Trump’s threat to democracy and the constitutional rule of law in the US may have fostered a sense of solidarity and social cohesion among Australian voters. Our research suggests this helped to mitigate fears about crime.
The temptation to capitalise on law and order may continue to appeal to politicians. But in Australia, at least, there is no guarantee it will work.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
What if we could design a machine that could read your emotions and intentions, write thoughtful, empathetic, perfectly timed responses — and seemingly know exactly what you need to hear? A machine so seductive, you wouldn’t even realise it’s artificial. What if we already have?
In a comprehensive meta-analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we show that the latest generation of large language model-powered chatbots match and exceed most humans in their ability to communicate. A growing body of research shows these systems now reliably pass the Turing test, fooling humans into thinking they are interacting with another human.
None of us was expecting the arrival of super communicators. Science fiction taught us that artificial intelligence (AI) would be highly rational and all-knowing, but lack humanity.
We call these systems “anthropomorphic agents”. Traditionally, anthropomorphism refers to ascribing human traits to non-human entities. However, LLMs genuinely display highly human-like qualities, so calls to avoid anthropomorphising LLMs will fall flat.
This is a landmark moment: when you cannot tell the difference between talking to a human or an AI chatbot online.
On the internet, nobody knows you’re an AI
What does this mean? On the one hand, LLMs promise to make complex information more widely accessible via chat interfaces, tailoring messages to individual comprehension levels. This has applications across many domains, such as legal services or public health. In education, the roleplay abilities can be used to create Socratic tutors that ask personalised questions and help students learn.
At the same time, these systems are seductive. Millions of users already interact with AI companion apps daily. Much has been said about the negative effects of companion apps, but anthropomorphic seduction comes with far wider implications.
Users are ready to trust AI chatbots so much that they disclose highly personal information. Pair this with the bots’ highly persuasive qualities, and genuine concerns emerge.
Recent research by AI company Anthropic further shows that its Claude 3 chatbot was at its most persuasive when allowed to fabricate information and engage in deception. Given AI chatbots have no moral inhibitions, they are poised to be much better at deception than humans.
This opens the door to manipulation at scale, to spread disinformation, or create highly effective sales tactics. What could be more effective than a trusted companion casually recommending a product in conversation? ChatGPT has already begun to provide product recommendations in response to user questions. It’s only a short step to subtly weaving product recommendations into conversations – without you ever asking.
What can be done?
It is easy to call for regulation, but harder to work out the details.
The first step is to raise awareness of these abilities. Regulation should prescribe disclosure – users need to always know that they interact with an AI, like the EU AI Act mandates. But this will not be enough, given the AI systems’ seductive qualities.
The second step must be to better understand anthropomorphic qualities. So far, LLM tests measure “intelligence” and knowledge recall, but none so far measures the degree of “human likeness”. With a test like this, AI companies could be required to disclose anthropomorphic abilities with a rating system, and legislators could determine acceptable risk levels for certain contexts and age groups.
The cautionary tale of social media, which was largely unregulated until much harm had been done, suggests there is some urgency. If governments take a hands-off approach, AI is likely to amplify existing problems with spreading of mis- and disinformation, or the loneliness epidemic. In fact, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has already signalled that he would like to fill the void of real human contact with “AI friends”.
Relying on AI companies to refrain from further humanising their systems seems ill-advised. All developments point in the opposite direction. OpenAI is working on making their systems more engaging and personable, with the ability to give your version of ChatGPT a specific “personality”. ChatGPT has generally become more chatty, often asking followup questions to keep the conversation going, and its voice mode adds even more seductive appeal.
Much good can be done with anthropomorphic agents. Their persuasive abilities can be used for ill causes and for good ones, from fighting conspiracy theories to enticing users into donating and other prosocial behaviours.
Yet we need a comprehensive agenda across the spectrum of design and development, deployment and use, and policy and regulation of conversational agents. When AI can inherently push our buttons, we shouldn’t let it change our systems.
Jevin West receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and others. The full list of funders and affiliated organizations can be found here: https://jevinwest.org/cv.html
Kai Riemer and Sandra Peter do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
• Full year revenues increased 53% year over year to $222.8 million • Full year net income increased $17.1 million year over year to $6.0 million • Generated $6.3 million of operating cash flow in the fourth quarter, helping to further strengthen the balance sheet
Company to host conference call tomorrow, May 22 at 10:00 am ET
AYER, Mass., May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC), a leading system provider of megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions that orchestrate the rhythm and harmony of power on the grid™ and that protect and expand the capability and resiliency of our Navy’s fleet, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 (“fiscal 2024”).
Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were $66.7 million compared with $42.0 million for the same period of fiscal 2023. The year-over-year increase was driven by organic growth in New Energy Power Systems revenues along with the contributions from the acquisition of NWL, Inc.
AMSC’s net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was $1.2 million, or $0.03 per share, compared to net loss of $1.6 million, or $0.05 per share, for the same period of fiscal 2023. The Company’s non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was $4.8 million, or $0.13 per share, compared with a non-GAAP net income of $1.9 million, or $0.06 per share, in the same period of fiscal 2023. Please refer to the financial table below for a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results.
Revenues for fiscal 2024 were $222.8 million as compared to $145.6 million in fiscal 2023. The year-over-year increase was driven by higher D-VAR and NEPSI revenues than in the prior year period along with the contribution from the acquisition of NWL, Inc.
AMSC reported net income for fiscal 2024 of $6.0 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $11.1 million, or $0.37 per share in fiscal 2023. The Company’s non-GAAP net income for fiscal 2024 was $24.0 million, or $0.65 per share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $0.6 million, or $0.02 per share, for fiscal 2023. Please refer to the financial table below for a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results.
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash on March 31, 2025 totaled $85.4 million.
“AMSC reported its strongest quarterly and annual performance in years,” said Daniel P. McGahn, Chairman, President and CEO of AMSC. “Fiscal fourth quarter revenue grew sequentially to over $66 million, up nearly 60% year-over-year. Net income surpassed $1.2 million, making our third consecutive quarter of profitability, and seventh consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow. We secured $75 million in new orders, bringing total year-end orders to a recent record of nearly $320 million. Our fiscal 2024 results reflect improved financial performance, a resilient and diversified order pipeline, and solid operational execution—positioning AMSC for long-term success. With expanding end markets, we’re focused on broadening our offerings, entering new sectors, and strengthening customer relationships. We enter fiscal 2025 with strong momentum and confidence in our ability to continue building a more resilient and profitable company.”
Business Outlook
For the first quarter ending June 30, 2025, AMSC expects that its revenues will be in the range of $64.0 million to $68.0 million. The Company’s net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 is expected to exceed $1.0 million, or $0.03 per share. The Company’s non-GAAP net income (as defined below) is expected to exceed $4.0 million, or $0.10 per share.
Conference Call Reminder In conjunction with this announcement, AMSC management will participate in a conference call with investors beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 22, 2025, to discuss the Company’s financial results and business outlook. Those who wish to listen to the live or archived conference call webcast should visit the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at https://ir.amsc.com. The live call can be accessed by dialing 1-844-481-2802 or 1-412-317-0675 and asking to join the AMSC call. A replay of the call may be accessed 2 hours following the call by dialing 1-877-344-7529 and using conference passcode 4917468.
About AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC) AMSC generates the ideas, technologies and solutions that meet the world’s demand for smarter, cleaner … better energy™. Through its Gridtec™ Solutions, AMSC provides the engineering planning services and advanced grid systems that optimize network reliability, efficiency and performance. Through its Marinetec™ Solutions, AMSC provides ship protection and is developing propulsion and power management solutions designed to help fleets increase system efficiencies, enhance power quality and boost operational safety. Through its Windtec™ Solutions, AMSC provides wind turbine electronic controls and systems, designs and engineering services that reduce the cost of wind energy. The Company’s solutions are enhancing the performance and reliability of power networks, increasing the operational safety of navy fleets, and powering gigawatts of renewable energy globally. Founded in 1987, AMSC is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts with operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For more information, please visit www.amsc.com.
AMSC, American Superconductor, D-VAR, D-VAR VVO, Gridtec, Marintec, Windtec, Neeltran, NEPSI, NWL, Smarter, Cleaner … Better Energy and Orchestrate the Rhythm and Harmony of Power on the Grid are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation. All other brand names, product names, trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements in this release regarding our goals and strategies; business diversification; order pipeline; long-term success, including through expanding end markets, broadening offerings, entering new sectors; strengthening customer relationships; strong momentum; building a more resilient and profitable company; our expected GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2025;and other statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements represent management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. There are a number of important factors that could materially impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These important factors include, but are not limited to: We have not been historically profitable, which may recur in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below expectations in any particular fiscal quarter; While we generated positive operating cash flow in fiscal 2024 and the prior year, we have a history of negative operating cash flows, and we may require additional financing in the future, which may not be available to us; Our technology and products could infringe intellectual property rights of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and disrupt our business; Changes in exchange rates could adversely affect our results of operations; If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial data; We may be required to issue performance bonds, which restricts our ability to access any cash used as collateral for the bonds; We may not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts; If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our financial performance could be harmed; We rely upon third-party suppliers for the components and subassemblies of many of our Grid and Wind products, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations, which could harm our business; Our contracts with the U.S. government are subject to audit, modification or termination by the U.S. government and include certain other provisions in favor of the government. The continued funding of such contracts remains subject to annual congressional appropriation, which, if not approved, could reduce our revenue and lower or eliminate our profit; Changes in U.S. government defense spending could negatively impact our financial position, results of operations, liquidity and overall business; Our business and operations may be materially adversely impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our or any critical third parties’ IT Systems or Confidential Information; Failure to comply with evolving data privacy and data protection laws and regulations or to otherwise protect personal data, may adversely impact our business and financial results; Our success is dependent upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so could significantly damage our business and prospects; A significant portion of our Wind segment revenues are derived from a single customer. If this customer’s business is negatively affected, it could adversely impact our business; Our success in addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers that license our designs; We may acquire additional complementary businesses or technologies, which may require us to incur substantial costs for which we may never realize the anticipated benefits; Many of our revenue opportunities are dependent upon subcontractors and other business collaborators; Problems with product quality or product performance may cause us to incur warranty expenses and may damage our market reputation and prevent us from achieving increased sales and market share; Many of our customers outside of the United States may be either directly or indirectly related to governmental entities, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws outside the United States; We or third parties on whom we depend may be adversely affected by natural disasters, including events resulting from climate change, and our business continuity and disaster recovery plans may not adequately protect us or our value chain from such events; Pandemics, epidemics, or other public health crises may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations; Adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our operating results; Our international operations are subject to risks that we do not face in the United States, which could have an adverse effect on our operating results; Our products face competition, which could limit our ability to acquire or retain customers; We have operations in, and depend on sales in, emerging markets, including India, and global conditions could negatively affect our operating results or limit our ability to expand our operations outside of these markets. Changes in India’s political, social, regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial performance; Industry consolidation could result in more powerful competitors and fewer customers; Our success could depend upon the commercial adoption of the REG system, which is currently limited, and a widespread commercial market for our REG products may not develop; Increasing focus and scrutiny on environmental sustainability and social initiatives could adversely impact our business and financial results; Growth of the wind energy market depends largely on the availability and size of government subsidies, economic incentives and legislative programs designed to support the growth of wind energy; Lower prices for other energy sources may reduce the demand for wind energy development, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to grow our Wind business; We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information; Our patents may not provide meaningful or long-term protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some or all of our market position; Third parties have or may acquire patents that cover the materials, processes and technologies we use or may use in the future to manufacture our Amperium products, and our success depends on our ability to license such patents or other proprietary rights; Our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, market price and volume fluctuations, which may prevent our stockholders from selling our common stock at a profit and could lead to costly litigation against us that could divert our management’s attention; Unfavorable results of legal proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition;and the other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in Part 1. Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, and our other reports filed with the SEC. These important factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein and presented elsewhere by management from time to time. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
Twelve Months Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
2025
2024
Revenues
Grid
$
55,592
$
34,211
$
187,170
$
122,065
Wind
11,063
7,817
35,648
23,574
Total revenues
66,655
42,028
222,818
145,639
Cost of revenues
48,964
31,598
160,964
110,356
Gross margin
17,691
10,430
61,854
35,283
Operating expenses:
Research and development
3,493
2,298
11,425
7,991
Selling, general and administrative
12,101
7,953
43,091
31,600
Amortization of acquisition related intangibles
444
538
1,733
2,152
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
—
1,870
6,682
4,922
Restructuring
—
—
—
(14
)
Total operating expenses
16,038
12,659
62,931
46,651
Operating income (loss)
1,653
(2,229
)
(1,077
)
(11,368
)
Interest income, net
807
784
3,708
1,302
Other expense, net
(49
)
(117
)
(265
)
(736
)
Income (loss) before income tax (benefit) expense
2,411
(1,562
)
2,366
(10,802
)
Income tax (benefit) expense
1,204
17
(3,667
)
309
Net income (loss)
$
1,207
$
(1,579
)
$
6,033
$
(11,111
)
Net income (loss) per common share
Basic
$
0.03
$
(0.05
)
$
0.16
$
(0.37
)
Diluted
$
0.03
$
(0.05
)
$
0.16
$
(0.37
)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
Basic
37,672
33,139
36,990
29,825
Diluted
38,516
33,139
37,718
29,825
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(In thousands, except per share data)
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
79,494
$
90,522
Accounts receivable, net
46,186
26,325
Inventory, net
71,169
41,857
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
8,055
7,295
Restricted cash
1,613
468
Total current assets
206,517
166,467
Property, plant and equipment, net
38,572
10,861
Intangibles, net
5,916
6,369
Right-of-use assets
3,829
2,557
Goodwill
48,164
43,471
Restricted cash
4,274
1,290
Deferred tax assets
1,178
1,119
Equity-method Investments
1,113
—
Other assets
958
637
Total assets
$
310,521
$
232,771
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$
32,282
$
24,235
Lease liability, current portion
685
716
Debt, current portion
—
25
Contingent consideration
—
3,100
Deferred revenue, current portion
66,797
50,732
Total current liabilities
99,764
78,808
Deferred revenue, long term portion
9,336
7,097
Lease liability, long term portion
2,684
1,968
Deferred tax liabilities
1,595
300
Other liabilities
28
27
Total liabilities
113,407
88,200
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $0.01 par value, 75,000,000 shares authorized; 39,887,536 and 37,343,812 shares issued and 39,484,185 and 36,946,181 shares outstanding at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively
399
373
Additional paid-in capital
1,259,540
1,212,913
Treasury stock, at cost, 403,351 and 397,631 at March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively
(3,765
)
(3,639
)
Accumulated other comprehensive income
1,565
1,582
Accumulated deficit
(1,060,625
)
(1,066,658
)
Total stockholders’ equity
197,114
144,571
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$
310,521
$
232,771
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
Year Ended March 31,
2025
2024
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)
$
6,033
$
(11,111
)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operations:
Depreciation and amortization
5,560
4,494
Stock-based compensation expense
7,794
4,652
Provision for excess and obsolete inventory
1,532
1,970
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets
976
321
Deferred income taxes
(4,304
)
65
Earnings from equity method investments
132
—
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
6,682
4,922
Other non-cash items
(587
)
44
Unrealized foreign exchange gain on cash and cash equivalents
(41
)
(2
)
Changes in operating asset and liability accounts:
Accounts receivable
(3,213
)
4,340
Inventory
(7,707
)
(6,841
)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
543
5,992
Operating leases
(1,563
)
(327
)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
3,209
(13,498
)
Deferred revenue
13,239
7,117
Net cash provided by operating activities
28,285
2,138
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment
(2,415
)
(934
)
Cash paid to settle NWL contingent consideration liability
(3,278
)
—
Cash paid for NWL Acquisition, net of cash acquired
(29,577
)
—
Change in other assets
64
(27
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(35,206
)
(961
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repurchase of treasury stock
(126
)
—
Repayment of debt
(25
)
(65
)
Cash paid related to registration of common stock shares
(148
)
—
Proceeds from public equity offering, net
—
65,227
Proceeds from exercise of employee stock options and ESPP
307
279
Net cash provided by financing activities
8
65,441
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
14
(13
)
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
(6,899
)
66,605
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year
92,280
25,675
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of year
$
85,381
$
92,280
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME
(In thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended March 31,
Year Ended March 31,
2025
2024
2025
2024
Net income (loss)
$
1,206
$
(1,579
)
$
6,033
$
(11,111
)
Stock-based compensation
2,855
1,044
7,794
4,652
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles
706
538
2,433
2,158
Change in fair value of contingent consideration
—
1,870
6,682
4,922
Acquisition costs
—
—
1,095
—
Non-GAAP net income
4,767
1,873
24,037
621
Non-GAAP net income per share – basic
$
0.13
$
0.06
$
0.65
$
0.02
Non-GAAP net income per share – diluted
$
0.12
$
0.05
$
0.64
$
0.02
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic
37,672
33,139
36,990
29,825
Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted
38,516
34,447
37,718
30,909
Reconciliation of Forecast GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Net Income
(In millions, except per share data)
Three months ending
June 30, 2025
Net income
$
1.0
Stock-based compensation
2.6
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles
0.4
Non-GAAP net income
$
4.0
Non-GAAP net income per share
$
0.10
Shares outstanding
38.7
Note: Non-GAAP net income (loss) is defined by the Company as net income (loss) before; stock-based compensation; amortization of acquisition-related intangibles; changes in fair value of contingent consideration; acquisition costs; other non-cash or unusual charges, and the tax effect of adjustments calculated at the relevant rate for our non-GAAP metric. The Company believes non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share assist management and investors in comparing the Company’s performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding these non-cash, non-recurring or other charges that it does not believe are indicative of its core operating performance. Actual GAAP and non-GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2025, including the above adjustments, may differ materially from those forecasted in the table above, including as a result of changes in the fair value of contingent consideration.
Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flow that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP measures included in this release, however, should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, operating income or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP net income (loss) is set forth in the table above. Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share is defined as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by shares outstanding.
News In Brief – Source: US Computer Emergency Readiness Team
Executive Summary
This joint cybersecurity advisory (CSA) highlights a Russian state-sponsored cyber campaign targeting Western logistics entities and technology companies. This includes those involved in the coordination, transport, and delivery of foreign assistance to Ukraine. Since 2022, Western logistics entities and IT companies have faced an elevated risk of targeting by the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) 85th Main Special Service Center (85th GTsSS), military unit 26165—tracked in the cybersecurity community under several names (see “Cybersecurity Industry Tracking”). The actors’ cyber espionage-oriented campaign, targeting technology companies and logistics entities, uses a mix of previously disclosed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). The authoring agencies expect similar targeting and TTP use to continue.
Executives and network defenders at logistics entities and technology companies should recognize the elevated threat of unit 26165 targeting, increase monitoring and threat hunting for known TTPs and indicators of compromise (IOCs), and posture network defenses with a presumption of targeting.
This cyber espionage-oriented campaign targeting logistics entities and technology companies uses a mix of previously disclosed TTPs and is likely connected to these actors’ wide scale targeting of IP cameras in Ukraine and bordering NATO nations.
The following authors and co-sealers are releasing this CSA:
United States National Security Agency (NSA)
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK)
Germany Federal Intelligence Service (BND) Bundesnachrichtendienst
Germany Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik
Germany Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz
Czech Republic Military Intelligence (VZ) Vojenské zpravodajství
Czech Republic National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) Národní úřad pro kybernetickou a informační bezpečnost
Czech Republic Security Information Service (BIS) Bezpečnostní informační služba
Poland Internal Security Agency (ABW) Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego
Poland Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW) Służba Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego
United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
United States Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3)
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM)
Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC)
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS)
Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste
Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (EFIS) Välisluureamet
Estonian National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-EE) Küberturvalisuse keskus
French Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information
Netherlands Defence Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) Militaire Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst
Download the PDF version of this report:
Russian GRU Targeting Western Logistics Entities and Technology Companies (PDF, 1,081KB)
For a downloadable list of IOCs, visit:
Introduction
For over two years, the Russian GRU 85th GTsSS, military unit 26165—commonly known in the cybersecurity community as APT28, Fancy Bear, Forest Blizzard, BlueDelta, and a variety of other identifiers—has conducted this campaign using a mix of known tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), including reconstituted password spraying capabilities, spearphishing, and modification of Microsoft Exchange mailbox permissions. In late February 2022, multiple Russian state-sponsored cyber actors increased the variety of cyber operations for purposes of espionage, destruction, and influence—with unit 26165 predominately involved in espionage. [1] As Russian military forces failed to meet their military objectives and Western countries provided aid to support Ukraine’s territorial defense, unit 26165 expanded its targeting of logistics entities and technology companies involved in the delivery of aid. These actors have also targeted Internet-connected cameras at Ukrainian border crossings to monitor and track aid shipments. Note: This advisory uses the MITRE ATT&CK® for Enterprise framework, version 17. See Appendix A: MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques for a table of the threat actors’ activity mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques. This advisory uses the MITRE D3FEND® framework, version 1.0.
Description of Targets
The GRU unit 26165 cyber campaign against Western logistics providers and technology companies has targeted dozens of entities, including government organizations and private/commercial entities across virtually all transportation modes: air, sea, and rail. These actors have targeted entities associated with the following verticals within NATO member states, Ukraine, and at international organizations:
Defense Industry
Transportation and Transportation Hubs (ports, airports, etc.)
Maritime
Air Traffic Management
IT Services
In the course of the targeting lifecycle, unit 26165 actors identified and conducted follow-on targeting of additional entities in the transportation sector that had business ties to the primary target, exploiting trust relationships to attempt to gain additional access [T1199].
The actors also conducted reconnaissance on at least one entity involved in the production of industrial control system (ICS) components for railway management, though a successful compromise was not confirmed [TA0043].
The countries with targeted entities include the following, as illustrated in Figure 1:
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Moldova
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Ukraine
United States
Figure 1: Countries with Targeted Entities
Initial Access TTPs
To gain initial access to targeted entities, unit 26165 actors used several techniques to gain initial access to targeted entities, including (but not limited to):
The actors abused vulnerabilities associated with a range of brands and models of small office/home office (SOHO) devices to facilitate covert cyber operations, as well as proxy malicious activity via devices with geolocation in proximity to the target [T1665]. [2]
Credential Guessing/Brute Force
Unit 26165 actors’ credential guessing [T1110.001] operations in this campaign exhibit some similar characteristics to those disclosed in the previous CSA “Russian GRU Conducting Global Brute Force Campaign to Compromise Enterprise and Cloud Environments.” [3] Based on victim network investigations, the current iteration of this TTP employs a similar blend of anonymization infrastructure, including the use of Tor and commercial VPNs [T1090.003]. The actors frequently rotated the IP addresses used to further hamper detection. All observed connections were made via encrypted TLS [T1573].
Spearphishing
GRU unit 26165 actors’ spearphishing emails included links [T1566.002] leading to fake login pages impersonating a variety of government entities and Western cloud email providers’ webpages. These webpages were typically hosted on free third-party services or compromised SOHO devices and often used legitimate documents associated with thematically similar entities as lures. The subjects of spearphishing emails were diverse and ranged from professional topics to adult themes. Phishing emails were frequently sent via compromised accounts or free webmail accounts [T1586.002, T1586.003]. The emails were typically written in the target’s native language and sent to a single targeted recipient.
Some campaigns employed multi-stage redirectors [T1104] verifying IP-geolocation [T1627.001] and browser fingerprints [T1627] to protect credential harvesting infrastructure or provide multifactor authentication (MFA) [T1111] and CAPTCHA relaying capabilities [T1056]. Connecting endpoints failing the location checks were redirected to a benign URL [T1627], such as msn.com. Redirector services used include:
Webhook[.]site
FrgeIO
InfinityFree
Dynu
Mocky
Pipedream
Mockbin[.]org
The actors also used spearphishing to deliver malware (including HEADLACE and MASEPIE) executables [T1204.002] delivered via third-party services and redirectors [T1566.002], scripts in a mix of languages [T1059] (including BAT [T1059.003] and VBScript [T1059.005]) and links to hosted shortcuts [T1204.001].
CVE Usage
Throughout this campaign, GRU unit 26165 weaponized an Outlook NTLM vulnerability (CVE-2023-23397) to collect NTLM hashes and credentials via specially crafted Outlook calendar appointment invitations [T1187]. [4],[5] These actors also used a series of Roundcube CVEs (CVE-2020-12641, CVE-2020-35730, and CVE-2021-44026) to execute arbitrary shell commands [T1059], gain access to victim email accounts, and retrieve sensitive data from email servers [T1114].
Since at least fall 2023, the actors leveraged a WinRAR vulnerability (CVE-2023-38831) allowing for the execution of arbitrary code embedded in an archive as a means of initial access [T1659]. The actors sent emails with malicious attachments [T1566.001] or embedded hyperlinks [T1566.002] that downloaded a malicious archive prepared using this CVE.
Post-Compromise TTPs
After an initial compromise using one of the above techniques, unit 26165 actors conducted contact information reconnaissance to identify additional targets in key positions [T1589.002]. The actors also conducted reconnaissance of the cybersecurity department [T1591], individuals responsible for coordinating transport [T1591.004], and other companies cooperating with the victim entity [T1591.002].
The actors used native commands and open source tools, such as Impacket and PsExec, to move laterally within the environment [TA0008]. Multiple Impacket scripts were used as .exe files, in addition to the python versions, depending on the victim environment. The actors also moved laterally within the network using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) [T1021.001] to access additional hosts and attempt to dump Active Directory NTDS.dit domain databases [T1003.003] using native Active Directory Domain Services commands, such as in Figure 2: Example Active Directory Domain Services command:
C:Windowssystem32ntdsutil.exe "activate instance ntds" ifm "create full C:temp[a-z]{3}" quit quit
Figure 2: Example Active Directory Domain Services command
Additionally, GRU unit 26165 actors used the tools Certipy and ADExplorer.exe to exfiltrate information from the Active Directory. The actors installed python [T1059.006] on infected machines to enable the execution of Certipy. Accessed files were archived in .zip files prior to exfiltration [T1560]. The actors attempted to exfiltrate archived data via a previously dropped OpenSSH binary [T1048].
Incident response investigations revealed that the actors would take steps to locate and exfiltrate lists of Office 365 users and set up sustained email collection. The actors used manipulation of mailbox permissions [T1098.002] to establish sustained email collection at compromised logistics entities, as detailed in a Polish Cybercommand blog. [6]
After initial authentication, unit 26165 actors would change accounts’ folder permissions and enroll compromised accounts in MFA mechanisms to increase the trust-level of compromised accounts and enable sustained access [T1556.006]. The actors leveraged python scripts to retrieve plaintext passwords via Group Policy Preferences [T1552.006] using Get-GPPPassword.py and a modified ldap-dump.py to enumerate the Windows environment [T1087.002] and conduct a brute force password spray [T1110.003] via Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). The actors would additionally delete event logs through the wevtutil utility [T1070.001].
After gaining initial access to the network, the actors pursued further access to accounts with access to sensitive information on shipments, such as train schedules and shipping manifests. These accounts contained information on aid shipments to Ukraine, including:
sender,
recipient,
train/plane/ship numbers,
point of departure,
destination,
container registration numbers,
travel route, and
cargo contents.
In at least one instance, the actors attempted to use voice phishing [T1566.004] to gain access to privileged accounts by impersonating IT staff.
Malware
Unit 26165’s use of malware in this campaign ranged from gaining initial access to establishing persistence and exfiltrating data. In some cases, the attack chain resulted in multiple pieces of malware being deployed in succession. The actors used dynamic link library (DLL) search order hijacking [T1574.001] to facilitate malware execution. There were a number of known malware variants tied to this campaign against logistics sector victims, including:
HEADLACE [7]
MASEPIE [8]
While other malware variants, such as OCEANMAP and STEELHOOK, [8] were not directly observed targeting logistics or IT entities, their deployment against victims in other sectors in Ukraine and other Western countries suggest that they could be deployed against logistics and IT entities should the need arise.
Persistence
In addition to the abovementioned mailbox permissions abuse, unit 26165 actors also used scheduled tasks [T1053.005], run keys [T1547.001], and placed malicious shortcuts [T1547.009] in the startup folder to establish persistence.
Exfiltration
GRU unit 26165 actors used a variety of methods for data exfiltration that varied based on the victim environment, including both malware and living off the land binaries. PowerShell commands [T1059.001] were often used to prepare data for exfiltration; for example, the actors prepared zip archives [T1560.001] for upload to their own infrastructure.
The actors also used server data exchange protocols and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) such as Exchange Web Services (EWS) and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) [T1114.002] to exfiltrate data from email servers. In multiple instances, the actors used periodic EWS queries [T1119] to collect new emails sent and received since the last data exfiltration [T1029]. The actors typically used infrastructure in close geographic proximity to the victim. Long gaps between exfiltration, the use of trusted and legitimate protocols, and the use of local infrastructure allowed for long-term collection of sensitive data to go undetected.
Connections to Targeting of IP Cameras
In addition to targeting logistics entities, unit 26165 actors likely used access to private cameras at key locations, such as near border crossings, military installations, and rail stations, to track the movement of materials into Ukraine. The actors also used legitimate municipal services, such as traffic cams.
The actors targeted Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) servers hosting IP cameras primarily located in Ukraine as early as March 2022 in a large-scale campaign, which included attempts to enumerate devices [T1592] and gain access to the cameras’ feeds [T1125]. Actor-controlled servers sent RTSP DESCRIBE requests destined for RTSP servers, primarily hosting IP cameras [T1090.002]. The DESCRIBE requests were crafted to obtain access to IP cameras located on logically distinct networks from that of the routers that received the request. The requests included Base64-encoded credentials for the RTSP server, which included publicly documented default credentials and likely generic attempts to brute force access to the devices [T1110]. An example of an RTSP request is shown in Figure 3.
Successful RTSP 200 OK responses contained a snapshot of the IP camera’s image and IP camera metadata such as video codec, resolution, and other properties depending on the IP camera’s configuration.
From a sample available to the authoring agencies of over 10,000 cameras targeted via this effort, the geographic distribution of victims showed a strong focus on cameras in Ukraine and border countries, as shown in Table 1:
Table 1: Geographic distribution of targeted IP cameras
Country
Percentage of Total Attempts
Ukraine
81.0%
Romania
9.9%
Poland
4.0%
Hungary
2.8%
Slovakia
1.7%
Others
0.6%
Mitigation Actions
General Security Mitigations
Architecture and Configuration
Employ appropriate network segmentation [D3-NI] and restrictions to limit access and utilize additional attributes (such as device information, environment, and access path) when making access decisions [D3-AMED].
Consider Zero Trust principles when designing systems. Base product choices on how those products can solve specific risks identified as part of the end-to-end design. [9]
Ensure that host firewalls and network security appliances (e.g., firewalls) are configured to only allow legitimately needed data flows between devices and servers to prevent lateral movement [D3-ITF]. Alert on attempts to connect laterally between host devices or other unusual data flows.
Use automated tools to audit access logs for security concerns and identify anomalous access requests [D3-RAPA].
For organizations using on-premises authentication and email services, block and alert on NTLM/SMB requests to external infrastructure [D3-OTF].
Utilize endpoint, detection, and response (EDR) and other cybersecurity solutions on all systems, prioritizing high value systems with large amounts of sensitive data such as mail servers and domain controllers [D3-PM] first.
Perform threat and attack modeling to understand how sensitive systems may be compromised within an organization’s specific architecture and security controls. Use this to develop a monitoring strategy to detect compromise attempts and select appropriate products to enact this strategy.
Collect and monitor Windows logs for certain events, especially for events that indicate that a log was cleared unexpectedly [D3-SFA].
Enable optional security features in Windows to harden endpoints and mitigate initial access techniques [D3-AH]:
Enable attack surface reduction rules to prevent executable content from email [D3-ABPI].
Enable attack surface reduction rules to prevent execution of files from globally writeable directories, such as Downloads or %APPDATA% [D3-EAL].
Unless users are involved in the development of scripts, limit the local execution of scripts (such as batch scripts, VBScript, JScript/JavaScript, and PowerShell [10]) to known scripts [D3-EI], and audit execution attempts.
Disable Windows Host Scripting functionality and configure PowerShell to run in Constrained mode [D3-ACH].
Where feasible, implement allowlisting for applications and scripts to limit execution to only those needed for authorized activities, blocking all others by default [D3-EAL].
Consider using open source SIGMA rules as a baseline for detecting and alerting on suspicious file execution or command parameters [D3-PSA].
Use services that provide enhanced browsing services and safe link checking [D3-URA]. Significant reductions in successful spearphishing attempts were noted when email providers began offering link checking and automatic file detonation to block malicious content.
Where possible, block logins from public VPNs, including exit nodes in the same country as target systems, or, if they need to be allowed, alert on them for further investigation. Most organizations should not need to allow incoming traffic, especially logins to systems, from VPN services [D3-NAM].
Educate users to only use approved corporate systems for relevant government and military business and avoid the use of personal accounts on cloud email providers to conduct official business. Network administrators should also audit both email and web request logs to detect such activity.
Many organizations may not need to allow outgoing traffic to hosting and API mocking services, which are frequently used by GRU unit 26165. Organizations should consider alerting on or blocking the following services, with exceptions allowlisted for legitimate activity [D3-DNSDL].
*.000[.]pe
*.1cooldns[.]com
*.42web[.]io
*.4cloud[.]click
*.accesscan[.]org
*.bumbleshrimp[.]com
*.camdvr[.]org
*.casacam[.]net
*.ddnsfree[.]com
*.ddnsgeek[.]com
*.ddnsguru[.]com
*.dynuddns[.]com
*.dynuddns[.]net
*.free[.]nf
*.freeddns[.]org
*.frge[.]io
*.glize[.]com
*.great-site[.]net
*.infinityfreeapp[.]com
*.kesug[.]com
*.loseyourip[.]com
*.lovestoblog[.]com
*.mockbin[.]io
*.mockbin[.]org
*.mocky[.]io
*.mybiolink[.]io
*.mysynology[.]net
*.mywire[.]org
*.ngrok[.]io
*.ooguy[.]com
*.pipedream[.]net
*.rf[.]gd
*.urlbae[.]com
*.webhook[.]site
*.webhookapp[.]com
*.webredirect[.]org
*.wuaze[.]com
Heuristic detections for web requests to new subdomains, including of the above providers, may uncover malicious phishing activity [D3-DNRA]. Logging the requests for each sub-domain requested by users on a network, such as in DNS or firewall logs, may enable system administrators to identify new targeting and victims.
Identity and Access Management
Organizations should take measures to ensure strong access controls and mitigate against common credential theft techniques:
Use MFA with strong factors, such as passkeys or PKI smartcards, and require regular re-authentication [D3-MFA]. [11], [12] Strong authentication factors are not guessable using dictionary techniques, so they resist brute force attempts.
Implement other mitigations for privileged accounts: including limiting the number of admin accounts, considering using hardware MFA tokens, and regularly reviewing all privileged user accounts [D3-JFAPA].
Separate privileged accounts by role and alert on misuse of privileged accounts [D3-UAP]. For example, email administrator accounts should be different from domain administrator accounts.
Reduce reliance on passwords; instead, consider using services like single sign-on [D3-TBA].
For organizations using on-premises authentication and email services, plan to disable NTLM entirely and migrate to more robust authentication processes such as PKI certificate authentication.
Do not store passwords in Group Policy Preferences (GPP). Remove all passwords previously included in GPP and change all passwords on the corresponding accounts [D3-CH]. [13]
Use account throttling or account lockout [D3-ANET]:
Throttling is preferred to lockout. Throttling progressively increases time delay between successive login attempts.
Account lockout can leave legitimate users unable to access their accounts and requires access to an account recovery process.
Account lockout can provide a malicious actor with an easy way to launch a Denial of Service (DoS).
If using lockout, then allowing 5 to 10 attempts before lockout is recommended.
Use a service to check for compromised passwords before using them [D3-SPP]. For example, “Have I Been Pwned” can be used to check whether a password has been previously compromised without disclosing the potential password.
Change all default credentials [D3-CRO] and disable protocols that use weak authentication (e.g., clear-text passwords or outdated and vulnerable authentication or encryption protocols) or do not support multi-factor authentication [D3-ACH] [D3-ET]. Always configure access controls carefully to ensure that only well-maintained and well-authenticated accounts have access. [13]
IP Camera Mitigations
The following mitigation techniques for IP cameras can be used to defend against this type of malicious activity:
Ensure IP cameras are currently supported. Replace devices that are out of support.
Apply security patches and firmware updates to all IP cameras [D3-SU].
Disable remote access to the IP camera, if unnecessary [D3-ITF].
Ensure cameras are protected by a security appliance, if possible, such as by using a firewall to prevent communication with the camera from IP addresses not on an allowlist [D3-NAM].
If remote access to IP camera feeds is required, ensure authentication is enabled [D3-AA] and use a VPN to connect remotely [D3-ET]. Use MFA for management accounts if supported [D3-MFA].
Disable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Peer-to-Peer (P2P), and Anonymous Visit features on IP cameras and routers [D3-NI].
Turn off other ports/services not in use (e.g., FTP, web interface, etc.) [D3-ACH].
If supported, enable authenticated RTSP access only [D3-AA].
Review all authentication activity for remote access to make sure it is valid and expected [D3-UBA]. Investigate any unexpected or unusual activity.
Audit IP camera user accounts to ensure they are an accurate reflection of your organization and that they are being used as expected [D3-UAP].
Configure, tune, and monitor logging—if available—on the IP camera.
Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)
Note: Specific IoCs may no longer be actor controlled, may themselves be compromised infrastructure or email accounts, or may be shared infrastructure such as public VPN or Tor exit nodes. Care should be taken when basing triaging logs or developing detection rules on these indicators. GRU unit 26165 almost certainly uses extensive further infrastructure and TTPs not specifically listed in this report.
Utilities and scripts
Legitimate utilities
Unauthorized or unusual use of the following legitimate utilities can be an indication of a potential compromise:
ntdsutil – A legitimate Windows executable used by threat actors to export contents of Active Directory
wevtutil – A legitimate Windows executable used by threat actors to delete event logs
vssadmin – A legitimate Windows executable possibly used by threat actors to make a copy of the server’s C: drive
ADexplorer – A legitimate window executable to view, edit, and backup Active Directory Certificate Services
OpenSSH – The Windows version of a legitimate open source SSH client
schtasks – A legitimate Windows executable used to create persistence using scheduled tasks
whoami – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve the name of the current user
tasklist – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve the list of running processes
hostname – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve the device name
arp – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve the ARP table for mapping the network environment
systeminfo – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve a comprehensive summary of device and operating system information
net – A legitimate Windows executable used to retrieve detailed user information
wmic – A legitimate Windows executable used to interact with Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), such as to retrieve letters assigned to logical partitions on storage drives
cacls – A legitimate Windows executable used to modify permissions on files
icacls – A legitimate Windows executable used to modify permissions to files and handle integrity levels and ownership
ssh – A legitimate Windows executable used to establish network shell connections
reg – A legitimate Windows executable used to add to or modify the system registry
Note: Additional heuristics are needed for effective hunting for these and other living off the land (LOTL) binaries to avoid being overwhelmed by false positives if these legitimate management tools are used regularly. See the joint guide, Identifying and Mitigating Living Off the Land Techniques, for guidance on developing a multifaceted cybersecurity strategy that enables behavior analytics, anomaly detection, and proactive hunting, which are part of a comprehensive approach to mitigating cyber threats that employ LOTL techniques.
Malicious scripts
Certipy – An open source python tool for enumerating and abusing Active Directory Certificate Services
Get-GPPPassword.py – An open source python script for finding insecure passwords stored in Group Policy Preferences
ldap-dump.py – A script for enumerating user accounts and other information in Active Directory
Hikvision backdoor string: “YWRtaW46MTEK”
Suspicious command lines
While the following utilities are legitimate, and using them with the command lines shown may also be legitimate, these command lines are often used during malicious activities and could be an indication of a compromise:
edge.exe “-headless-new -disable-gpu”
ntdsutil.exe “activate instance ntds” ifm “create full C:temp[a-z]{3}” quit quit
Disclaimer: These IP addresses date June 2024 through August 2024. The authoring agencies recommend organizations investigate or vet these IP addresses prior to taking action, such as blocking.
June 2024
July 2024
August 2024
192[.]162[.]174[.]94
207[.]244[.]71[.]84
31[.]135[.]199[.]145
79[.]184[.]25[.]198
91[.]149[.]253[.]204
103[.]97[.]203[.]29
162[.]210[.]194[.]2
31[.]42[.]4[.]138
79[.]185[.]5[.]142
91[.]149[.]254[.]75
209[.]14[.]71[.]127
46[.]112[.]70[.]252
83[.]10[.]46[.]174
91[.]149[.]255[.]122
109[.]95[.]151[.]207
46[.]248[.]185[.]236
83[.]168[.]66[.]145
91[.]149[.]255[.]19
64[.]176[.]67[.]117
83[.]168[.]78[.]27
91[.]149[.]255[.]195
64[.]176[.]69[.]196
83[.]168[.]78[.]31
91[.]221[.]88[.]76
64[.]176[.]70[.]18
83[.]168[.]78[.]55
93[.]105[.]185[.]139
64[.]176[.]70[.]238
83[.]23[.]130[.]49
95[.]215[.]76[.]209
64[.]176[.]71[.]201
83[.]29[.]138[.]115
138[.]199[.]59[.]43
70[.]34[.]242[.]220
89[.]64[.]70[.]69
147[.]135[.]209[.]245
70[.]34[.]243[.]226
90[.]156[.]4[.]204
178[.]235[.]191[.]182
70[.]34[.]244[.]100
91[.]149[.]202[.]215
178[.]37[.]97[.]243
70[.]34[.]245[.]215
91[.]149[.]203[.]73
185[.]234[.]235[.]69
70[.]34[.]252[.]168
91[.]149[.]219[.]158
192[.]162[.]174[.]67
70[.]34[.]252[.]186
91[.]149[.]219[.]23
194[.]187[.]180[.]20
70[.]34[.]252[.]222
91[.]149[.]223[.]130
212[.]127[.]78[.]170
70[.]34[.]253[.]13
91[.]149[.]253[.]118
213[.]134[.]184[.]167
70[.]34[.]253[.]247
91[.]149[.]253[.]198
70[.]34[.]254[.]245
91[.]149[.]253[.]20
Detections
Customized NTLM listener
rule APT28_NTLM_LISTENER {
meta:
description = "Detects NTLM listeners including APT28's custom one"
( any of ($sysinternals_*) and any of ($psexec_*) )
or
( 2 of ($network_*) and 2 of ($psexec_*))
)
}
The cybersecurity industry provides overlapping cyber threat intelligence, IOCs, and mitigation recommendations related to GRU unit 26165 cyber actors. While not all encompassing, the following are the most notable threat group names related under MITRE ATT&CK G0007 and commonly used within the cybersecurity community:
APT28 [14]
Fancy Bear [14]
Forest Blizzard [14]
Blue Delta [15]
Note: Cybersecurity companies have different methods of tracking and attributing cyber actors, and this may not be a 1:1 correlation to the U.S. government’s understanding for all activity related to these groupings.
Further Reference
To search for the presence of malicious email messages targeting CVE-2023-23397, network defenders may consider using the script published by Microsoft: https://aka.ms/CVE-2023-23397ScriptDoc.
For the Impacket TTP, network defenders may consider using the following publicly available Impacket YARA detection rule: https://github.com/Neo23x0/signature-base/blob/master/yara/gen_impacket_tools.yar
Works Cited
[1] Microsoft. Defending Ukraine: Early Lessons from the Cyber War. 2022. https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/06/22/defending-ukraine-early-lessons-from-the-cyber-war/ [2] FBI et al. Russian Cyber Actors Use Compromised Routers to Facilitate Cyber Operations. 2024. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Feb/27/2003400753/-1/-1/0/CSA-Russian-Actors-Use-Routers-Facilitate-Cyber_Operations.PDF [3] NSA et al. Russian GRU Conducting Global Brute Force Campaign to Compromise Enterprise and Cloud Environments. 2021. https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/01/2002753896/-1/-1/0/CSA_GRU_GLOBAL_BRUTE_FORCE_CAMPAIGN_UOO158036-21.PDF [4] ANSSI. Campagnes d'attaques du mode opératoire APT28 depuis 2021. 2023. https://cert.ssi.gouv.fr/cti/CERTFR-2023-CTI-009/ [5] ANSSI. Targeting and compromise of french entities using the APT28 intrusion set. 2025. https://cert.ssi.gouv.fr/cti/CERTFR-2025-CTI-007/ [6] Polish Cyber Command. Detecting Malicious Activity Against Microsoft Exchange Servers. 2023. https://www.wojsko-polskie.pl/woc/articles/aktualnosci-w/detecting-malicious-activity-against-microsoft-exchange-servers/ [7] IBM. Israel-Hamas Conflict Lures to Deliver Headlace Malware. 2023. https://securityintelligence.com/x-force/itg05-ops-leverage-israel-hamas-conflict-lures-to-deliver-headlace-malware/ [8] CERT-UA. APT28: From Initial Attack to Creating Domain Controller Threats in an Hour. 2023. https://cert.gov.ua/article/6276894 [9] NSA. Embracing a Zero Trust Security Model. 2021. https://media.defense.gov/2021/Feb/25/2002588479/-1/-1/0/CSI_EMBRACING_ZT_SECURITY_MODEL_UOO115131-21.PDF [10] NSA et al. Keeping PowerShell: Security Measures to Use and Embrace. 2022. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Jun/22/2003021689/-1/-1/0/CSI_KEEPING_POWERSHELL_SECURITY_MEASURES_TO_USE_AND_EMBRACE_20220622.PDF [11] National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Special Publication 800-63B: Digital Identity Guidelines – Authentication and Lifecycle Management. 2020. https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/sp800-63b.html [12] NSA. Selecting Secure Multi-factor Authentication Solutions. October 16, 2020. https://media.defense.gov/2024/Jul/31/2003515137/-1/-1/0/MULTIFACTOR_AUTHENTICATION_SOLUTIONS_UOO17091520.PDF [13] NSA and CSA. NSA and CISA Red and Blue Teams Share Top Ten Cybersecurity Misconfigurations. 2023. https://media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/05/2003314578/-1/-1/0/JOINT_CSA_TOP_TEN_MISCONFIGURATIONS_TLP-CLEAR.PDF
[14] Department of Justice. Justice Department Conducts Court-Authorized Disruption of Botnet Controlled by the Russian Federation’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU). 2024. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-conducts-court-authorized-disruption-botnet-controlled-russian [15] Recorded Future. GRU’s BlueDelta Targets Key Networks in Europe with Multi-Phase Espionage Campaigns. 2024. https://go.recordedfuture.com/hubfs/reports/CTA-RU-2024-0530.pdf
Disclaimer of endorsement
The information and opinions contained in this document are provided "as is" and without any warranties or guarantees. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and this guidance shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Purpose
This document was developed in furtherance of the authoring agencies’ cybersecurity missions, including their responsibilities to identify and disseminate threats and to develop and issue cybersecurity specifications and mitigations. This information may be shared broadly to reach all appropriate stakeholders.
Contact
United States organizations
National Security Agency (NSA)
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
U.S. organizations are encouraged to reporting suspicious or criminal activity related to information in this advisory to CISA via the agency’s Incident Reporting System, its 24/7 Operations Center (report@cisa.gov or 888-282-0870), or your local FBI field office. When available, please include the following information regarding the incident: date, time, and location of the incident; type of activity; number of people affected; type of equipment user for the activity; the name of the submitting company or organization; and a designated point of contact.
Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3)
United Kingdom organizations
Germany organizations
Czech Republic organizations
Poland organizations
Australian organizations
Visit cyber.gov.au or call 1300 292 371 (1300 CYBER 1) to report cybersecurity incidents and access alerts and advisories.
Canadian organizations
Estonia organizations
French organizations
French organizations are encouraged to report suspicious activity or incident related to information found in this advisory by contacting ANSSI/CERT-FR by email at cert-fr@ssi.gouv.fr or by phone at: 3218 or +33 9 70 83 32 18.
See Table 2 through Table 14 for all the threat actor tactics and techniques referenced in this advisory.
Table 2: Reconnaissance
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Reconnaissance
TA0043
Conducted reconnaissance on at least one entity involved in the production of ICS components for railway management.
Conducted contact information reconnaissance to identify additional targets in key positions.
Gather Victim Org Information
T1591
Conducted reconnaissance of the cybersecurity department.
Gather Victim Org Information: Identify Roles
T1591.004
Conducted reconnaissance of individuals responsible for coordinating transport.
Gather Victim Org Information: Business Relationships
T1591.002
Conducted reconnaissance of other companies cooperating with the victim entity.
Gather Victim Host Information
T1592
Attempted to enumerate Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) servers hosting IP cameras.
Table 3: Resource development
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Compromise Accounts: Email Accounts
T1586.002
Sent phishing emails using compromised accounts.
Compromise Accounts: Cloud Accounts
T1586.003
Sent phishing emails using compromised accounts.
Table 4: Initial Access
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Trusted Relationship
T1199
Conducted follow-on targeting of additional entities in the transportation sector that had business ties to the primary target, exploiting trust relationships to attempt to gain additional access.
Phishing
T1566
Used spearphishing for credentials and delivering malware to gain initial access to targeted entities.
Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment
T1566.001
Sent emails with malicious attachments.
Phishing: Spearphishing Link
T1566.002
Used spearphishing with included links to fake login pages. Sent emails with embedded hyperlinks that downloaded a malicious archive.
Phishing: Spearphishing Voice
T1566.004
Attempted to use voice phishing to gain access to privileged accounts by impersonating IT staff.
External Remote Services
T1133
Exploited Internet-facing infrastructure, including corporate VPNs, to gain initial access to targeted entities.
Exploit Public-Facing Application
T1190
Exploited public vulnerabilities and SQL injection to gain initial access to targeted entities.
Content Injection
T1659
Leveraged a WinRAR vulnerability allowing for the execution of arbitrary code embedded in an archive.
Table 5: Execution
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
User Execution: Malicious Link
T1204.001
Used malicious links to hosted shortcuts in spearphishing.
User Execution: Malicious File
T1204.002
Delivered malware executables via spearphishing.
Scheduled Task/Job: Scheduled Task
T1053.005
Used scheduled tasks to establish persistence.
Command and Scripting Interpreter
T1059
Delivered scripts in spearphishing. Executed arbitrary shell commands.
Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell
T1059.001
PowerShell commands were often used to prepare data for exfiltration.
Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell
T1059.003
Used BAT script in spearphishing.
Command and Scripting Interpreter: Visual Basic
T1059.005
Used VBScript in spearphishing.
Command and Scripting Interpreter: Python
T1059.006
Installed python on infected machines to enable the execution of Certipy.
Enrolled compromised accounts in MFA mechanisms to increase the trust-level of compromised accounts and enable sustained access.
Hijack Execution Flow: DLL Search Order Hijacking
T1574.001
Used DLL search order hijacking to facilitate malware execution.
Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
T1547.001
Used run keys to establish persistence.
Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Shortcut Modification
T1547.009
Placed malicious shortcuts in the startup folder to establish persistence.
Table 7: Defense Evasion
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Indicator Removal: Clear Windows Event Logs
T1070.001
Deleted event logs through the wevtutil utility.
Table 8: Credential access
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Brute Force
Sent requests with Base64-encoded credentials for the RTSP server, which included publicly documented default credentials, and likely were generic attempts to brute force access to the devices.
Brute Force: Password Guessing
T1110.001
Used credential guessing to gain initial access to targeted entities.
Brute Force: Password Spraying
T1110.003
Used brute force to gain initial access to targeted entities. Conducted a brute force password spray via LDAP.
Multi-Factor Authentication Interception
Used multi-stage redirectors to provide MFA relaying capabilities in some campaigns.
Input Capture
Used multi-stage redirectors to provide CAPTCHA relaying capabilities in some campaigns.
Forced Authentication
Used an Outlook NTLM vulnerability to collect NTLM hashes and credentials via specially crafted Outlook calendar appointment invitations.
OS Credential Dumping: NTDS
T1003.003
Attempted to dump Active Directory NTDS.dit domain databases.
Unsecured Credentials: Group Policy Preferences
T1552.006
Retrieved plaintext passwords via Group Policy Preferences using Get-GPPPassword.py.
Table 9: Discovery
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Account Discovery: Domain Account
T1087.002
Used a modified ldap-dump.py to enumerate the Windows environment.
Table 10: Command and Control
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Hide Infrastructure
T1665
Abused SOHO devices to facilitate covert cyber operations, as well as proxy malicious activity, via devices with geolocation in proximity to the target.
Proxy: External Proxy
T1090.002
Actor-controlled servers sent RTSP DESCRIBE requests destined for RTSP servers.
Proxy: Multi-hop Proxy
T1090.003
Used Tor and commercial VPNs as part of their anonymization infrastructure
Encrypted Channel
T1573
Connected to victim infrastructure using encrypted TLS.
Multi-Stage Channels
T1104
Used multi-stage redirectors for campaigns.
Table 11: Defense evasion (mobile framework)
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Execution Guardrails
Used multi-stage redirectors to verify browser fingerprints in some campaigns.
Execution Guardrails: Geofencing
T1627.001
Used multi-stage redirectors to verify IP-geolocation in some campaigns.
Table 12: Lateral movement
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Lateral Movement
Used native commands and open source tools, such as Impacket and PsExec, to move laterally within the environment.
Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol
T1021.001
Moved laterally within the network using RDP.
Table 13: Collection
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Email Collection
Retrieved sensitive data from email servers.
Email Collection: Remote Email Collection
T1114.002
Used server data exchange protocols and APIs such as Exchange Web Services (EWS) and IMAP to exfiltrate data from email servers.
Automated Collection
Used periodic EWS queries to collect new emails.
Video Capture
Attempted to gain access to the cameras’ feeds.
Archive Collected Data
Accessed files were archived in .zip files prior to exfiltration.
Archive Collected Data: Archive via Utility
T1560.001
Prepared zip archives for upload to the actors’ infrastructure.
Table 14: Exfiltration
Tactic/Technique Title
ID
Use
Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol
Attempted to exfiltrate archived data via a previously dropped OpenSSH binary.
Scheduled Transfer
Used periodic EWS queries to collect new emails sent and received since the last data exfiltration.
Appendix B: CVEs exploited
Table 15: Exploited CVE information
CVE
Vendor/Product
Details
CVE-2023-38831
RARLAB WinRAR
Allows execution of arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive.
CVE-2023-23397
Microsoft Outlook
External actors could send specially crafted emails that cause a connection from the victim to an untrusted location of the actor’s control, leaking the Net-NTLMv2 hash of the victim that the actor could then relay to another service to authenticate as the victim.
CVE-2021-44026
Roundcube Webmail
Roundcube before 1.3.17 and 1.4.x before 1.4.12 is prone to a potential SQL injection via search or search params.
CVE-2020-35730
Roundcube Webmail
An XSS issue was discovered in Roundcube Webmail before 1.2.13, 1.3.x before 1.3.16 and 1.4.x before 1.4.10, where a plaintext email message with JavaScript in a link reference element is mishandled by linkref_addindex in rcube_string_replacer.php.
CVE-2020-12641
Roundcube Webmail
Roundcube Webmail before 1.4.4 allows arbitrary code execution via shell metacharacters in a configuration setting for im_convert_path or im_identify_path in rcube_image.php.
Appendix C: MITRE D3FEND Countermeasures
Table 16: MITRE D3FEND countermeasures
Countermeasure Title
ID
Details
Network Isolation
Employ appropriate network segmentation. Disable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), Peer-to-Peer (P2P), and Anonymous Visit features on IP cameras and routers.
Access Mediation
Limit access and utilize additional attributes (such as device information, environment, and access path) when making access decisions. Configure access controls carefully to ensure that only well-maintained and well-authenticated accounts have access.
Inbound Traffic Filtering
Implement host firewall rules to block connections from other devices on the network, other than from authorized management devices and servers, to prevent lateral movement.
Resource Access Pattern Analysis
Use automated tools to audit access logs for security concerns and identify anomalous access requests.
Outbound Traffic Filtering
Block NTLM/SMB requests to external infrastructure.
Platform Monitoring
Install EDR/logging/cybersecurity solutions onto high value systems with large amounts of sensitive data such as mail servers and domain controllers.
System File Analysis
Collect and monitor Windows logs for certain events, especially for events that indicate that a log was cleared unexpectedly.
Application Hardening
Enable optional security features in Windows to harden endpoints and mitigate initial access techniques.
Application-based Process Isolation
Enable attack surface reduction rules to prevent executable content from email.
Executable Allowlisting
Enable attack surface reduction rules to prevent execution of files from globally writeable directories, such as Downloads or %APPDATA%.
Execution Isolation
Unless users are involved in the development of scripts, limit the execution of scripts (such as batch, JavaScript, and PowerShell) to known scripts.
Application Configuration Hardening
Disable Windows Host Scripting functionality and configure PowerShell to run in Constrained mode. Disable protocols that use weak authentication (e.g., clear-text passwords, or outdated and vulnerable authentication or encryption protocols) or do not support multi-factor authentication. Turn off other ports/services not in use (e.g., FTP, web interface, etc.).
Process Spawn Analysis
Use open source SIGMA rules as a baseline for detecting and alerting on suspicious file execution or command parameters.
URL Reputation Analysis
Use services that provide enhanced browsing services and safe link checking.
Network Access Mediation
Do not allow incoming traffic, especially logins to systems, from public VPN services. Where possible, logins from public VPNs, including exit nodes in the same country as target systems, should be blocked or, if allowed, alerted on for further investigation. Ensure cameras and other Internet of Things devices are protected by a security appliance, if possible.
DNS Denylisting
D3-DNSDL
Do not allow outgoing traffic to hosting and API mocking services frequently used by malicious actors.
Domain Name Reputation Analysis
Heuristic detections for web requests to new subdomains may uncover malicious phishing activity. Logging the requests for each sub-domain requested by users on a network, such as in DNS or firewall logs, may enable system administrators to identify new targeting and victims.
Multi-factor Authentication
Use MFA with strong factors and require regular re-authentication, especially for management accounts.
Job Function Access Pattern Analysis
D3-JFAPA
Implement other mitigations for privileged accounts: including limiting the number of admin accounts, considering using hardware MFA tokens, and regularly reviewing all privileged user accounts.
User Account Permissions
Separate privileged accounts by role and alert on misuse of privileged accounts. Audit user accounts on all devices to ensure they are an accurate reflection of your organization and that they are being used as expected.
Token-based Authentication
Reduce reliance on passwords; instead, consider using services like single sign-on.
Credential Hardening
Do not store passwords in Group Policy Preferences (GPP). Remove all passwords previously included in GPP and change all passwords on the corresponding accounts.
Authentication Event Threshholding
Use account throttling or account lockout. Throttling progressively increases time delay between successive login attempts. If using account lockout, allow between 5 to 10 attempts before lockout.
Strong Password Policy
Use a service to check for compromised passwords before using them.
Credential Rotation
Change all default credentials.
Encrypted Tunnels
Disable protocols that use weak authentication (e.g., clear-text passwords, or outdated and vulnerable authentication or encryption protocols). Use a VPN for remote connections to devices.
Software Update
Apply security patches and firmware updates to all devices. Ensure devices are currently supported. Replace devices that are end-of-life.
Agent Authentication
Ensure authentication is enabled for remote access to devices. If supported on IP cameras, enable authenticated RTSP access only.
User Behavior Analysis
Review all authentication activity for remote access to make sure it is valid and expected. Investigate any unexpected or unusual activity.
Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)
We arrested Honduran criminal alien Darwin Ronaldo Rodriguez Lopez. He received a DUI conviction Feb. 25, 2024, and just six months later was arrested again for impaired driving.
Don’t come to this country, break our laws multiple times, and expect to stay.
In fact, thanks to the Trump administration, if you’re here illegally at all — expect an ICE arrest.
Last night the Government took a major step toward restoring common sense to financial regulation, with the first readings of three important reform bills, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson.
“Our Government is delivering on its promise to make it easier for New Zealanders to access the financial services they need, whether it’s buying a home, growing a business, or simply managing everyday life,” says Mr Simpson.
“For too long, New Zealanders have been trapped by rules that are overly bureaucratic, unnecessarily repetitive, and sometimes just downright silly. Today, we’ve begun to fix that.”
The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill, the Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Bill, and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Amendment Bill are the first legislative steps in a broader package aimed at rewiring New Zealand’s financial services regulation. Together, they form part of a comprehensive overhaul that will rebalance the system to ensure consumer protection without stifling access to credit or innovation.
“For many Kiwis, the absurdity of past rules became clear when banks were forced to quiz them about what they’d been spending on takeaways or Netflix subscriptions before approving a mortgage. That wasn’t responsible lending, it was regulatory overreach.”
These three bills focus on addressing some of the most counterproductive aspects of the current law:
Regulators empowered to take proactive action: The Financial Markets Authority will be given the tools needed to effectively oversee lending, banking and insurance markets to the benefit of consumers.
Removing unnecessary personal liability: Senior managers and directors will no longer face personal liability for compliance failures. Responsibility will sit with the businesses, where it belongs.
Streamlining licensing requirements: Financial service providers will no longer need to hold multiple overlapping conduct licences, reducing duplication and compliance costs across the sector.
Improving dispute resolution services: The Bill strengthens oversight and independent governance of financial dispute resolution schemes, ensuring Kiwis can have confidence in fair, effective support when things go wrong.
A fairer and more proportionate approach to non-disclosures: Another change, which will apply retrospectively for the period between 2015 and 2019, will enable the courts to apply greater discretion when a lender has failed to disclose certain information to consumers.
“These changes are pro-consumer, pro-competition, and pro-growth. They ensure that financial institutions are held to account without being tied up in needless red tape that drives up costs for everyone.”
The reform package delivers on a core part of the National-ACT coalition agreement to rewrite the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003.
“These changes are about enabling our economy to flourish. Financial regulation should protect people, not block their ambitions. This progress means we’re one step closer to a more dynamic, fair, and accessible financial system for all.”
HACKENSACK, N.J., May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Heather Lowrie, a highly-experienced CISO, keynote speaker, and cybersecurity advocate, joins Paperclip as an advisor for its SAFE encryption solution. Lowrie will help guide Paperclip SAFE into the international cybersecurity market and bring data-centric security and encryption to the forefront of enterprise security.
With more than 25 years’ experience across cybersecurity, technology, risk, and resilience, Lowrie has led major digital and security transformations for high-impact public and private sector organizations. She is known for delivering business-aligned security that drives growth, builds trust, and creates societal value—underpinned by deep, hands-on experience in managing major cyber incidents.
“We’re thrilled to have Heather join us in an advisory capacity and to benefit from her deep expertise as we continue to advance Paperclip SAFE®,” said Chad Walter, CRO at Paperclip. “We’re excited to collaborate on cybersecurity thought leadership, participate in key industry events, and refine our go-to-market strategy to elevate encryption-in-use and the SAFE technology across the data security landscape.”
Lowrie was recognized by her peers as CISO of the Year at the 2024 SC Awards Europe and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security. She is an accomplished strategist with extensive experience leading through crises—including major cyber incidents—and driving strategic change across digital transformation, data and AI, cybersecurity, and organizational culture initiatives.
Lowrie is also the Co-Founder of Resilionix, a deep-tech startup dedicated to helping organizations build resilience in an increasingly complex and uncertain world.
“I’m delighted to join Paperclip in an advisory capacity and help bring data-centric security and encryption to the forefront of enterprise security,” Lowrie said. “I look forward to working with the excellent team at Paperclip to advance the adoption of encryption-in-use and to support organizations in building resilience”.
Lowrie is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, where she earned a Master of Science by Research in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies with distinction. She also holds a postgraduate diploma in Information Technology, awarded with distinction, from the University of the West of Scotland, alongside other academic qualifications. Lowrie holds numerous cybersecurity certifications from both U.S. and European organizations, including CISSP, CCSP, CISM, CDPSE, CIPP/E, and more.
About Paperclip, Inc.
Paperclip is a proven technology partner that continues to revolutionize data security, content and document management for Fortune 1,000 companies worldwide. Every second of every day, our innovative solutions are securely processing, transcribing, storing, and communicating highly sensitive content across the internet. Maximizing efficiency to save millions annually, while maintaining absolute security and compliance. For more information, visit paperclip.com.
About SAFE
Paperclip SAFE builds on the foundation of trust and collaboration that Paperclip has established with its security and content management solutions over three decades. Paperclip SAFE utilizes in-depth knowledge of the database and data pipeline to secure all points within the data lifecycle. Nine of the 10 top life insurance carriers in the U.S. are currently protected by Paperclip SAFE. With Paperclip SAFE, outpace threats with data that is always encrypted and always ahead of evolving risk. For more information, visit paperclip.com/safe.
MEDIA CONTACT: Megan Brandow Paperclip, Inc. MBrandow@paperclip.com 585.727.0983
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10)
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10), with Senator Rick Scott (FL), and co-sponsored by Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07), introduced the Taiwan PLUS Act to strengthen U.S.–Taiwan defense cooperation and ensure peak efficiency in delivering vital weapons systems to deter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Taiwan is on the front lines of CCP’s growing aggression, and it’s time our policies reflect the urgency of the threat,” said Congressman Perry. “This legislation streamlines our arms sales process to Taiwan, strengthens deterrence, and solidifies our commitment to defending American interests in the Indo-Pacific.”
Under current law, Taiwan must wait for congressional notification and a 30-day review period when requesting critical weapons systems exceeding low financial thresholds – $14 million for major defense equipment, $50 million for defense services, and $200 million for construction support. The Taiwan PLUS Act boosts these thresholds ($25 million, $100 million, and $300 million, respectively) to the same levels afforded to “NATO Plus” partners and shortens the review window to 15 days. By elevating Taiwan to the same status as trusted U.S. defense partners like Australia, Israel, and Japan, the bill removes red tape and improves speed and efficiency in military aid.
“Communist China has tried to intimidate and overpower our ally, Taiwan for years. Communist China has made clear they are more than willing to invade Taiwan as it continues its attacks on democracy around the world, and the United States must make clear we will continue to stand by Taiwan,”said Senator Rick Scott.The Taiwan PLUS Act will cut red tape and make it faster and easier for Taiwan to purchase the weapons it needs from the U.S. to defend itself should Communist China invade. Taiwan is a critical partner in the Indo-Pacific, and the U.S. must act with urgency to strengthen our defense ties to help our nation and our ally counter these threats from Communist China.“
Taiwan already is one of the United States’ closest defense collaborators – the top Foreign Military Sales customer in FY20, and historically tied with Japan as the third largest buyer since 1950. This bill ensures that future sales meet the moment by providing Taiwan with the tools needed to defend itself when needed.
“Streamlining the arms sale process will help ensure that Taiwan can defend itself in the face of Communist China’s reckless and relentless campaign of intimidation, said Congressman Tom Tiffany. “Promoting greater US-Taiwan security cooperation benefits both of our countries, and that’s exactly what this bill will do.“
As the CCP continues to escalate its hostile posture, the Taiwan PLUS Act sends a clear and unambiguous message: America stands with Taiwan, and will ensure our partners have the means to protect peace, freedom, and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Note: The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports. SEL0
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 310 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 240 PM EDT Wed May 21 2025
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of Eastern Ohio Western Pennsylvania Far Northern West Virginia
* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 240 PM until 800 PM EDT.
* Primary threats include… A couple tornadoes possible Scattered damaging wind gusts to 65 mph possible Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY…Low-topped supercell and related hail/wind and tornado potential should focus in a narrow zone regionally near a warm front this afternoon until around sunset.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 50 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles north northwest of Pittsburgh PA to 30 miles west southwest of Morgantown WV. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU0).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.
&&
AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 55 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 23025.
…Guyer
Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas. SAW0 WW 310 TORNADO OH PA WV 211840Z – 220000Z AXIS..50 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE.. 35NNW PIT/PITTSBURGH PA/ – 30WSW MGW/MORGANTOWN WV/ ..AVIATION COORDS.. 45NM E/W /15WNW EWC – 37SSE AIR/ HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..55 KNOTS. MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 23025.
LAT…LON 40967953 39487950 39488137 40968144
THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS FOR WOU0.
Watch 310 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.
Note: Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes
Probability of 2 or more tornadoes
Mod (30%)
Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes
Lilo & Stitch (2025) is another release in a long line of “reimaginings” of Disney animated features. Described as “live-action” they rework animations with humans and real-life settings (and the occasional animated character). These, for the most part, have been lucrative and successful for the studio. However, Disney’s mining of their own back catalogue has also yielded controversy and backlash.
Following the troubled release of Snow White earlier this year – a film that failed to recoup its $270m (£201m) budget – it was announced that the production of a live action version of Tangled had been put on hold. Could Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in the commercial viability of Disney’s recent live-action trend?
The animated Lilo & Stitch (2002) was a hit when it was released, earning US$273m (£204m) at the box office on its $80m budget. Stitch has become a symbol of the Disney corporation in the decades since the film was released, rivalling Mickey Mouse himself as the Disney mascot most merchandised around the world.
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The film seems like an obvious candidate for a live-action rendition. The trailers show Stitch unchanged. He is roguish, naughty, lovable, hilarious and full of personality. This begs the question: what is the point, then? The cynical response to this is lucrative merchandise. But cynicism has no place in Disney films, so let’s dive in.
The live-action Lilo & Stitch recreates a lot of the charm of the original animated film from 2002. Stitch (the original creator and voice, Chris Sanders) is a chaotic monster, who, when exiled from his home planet, escapes to Earth where he joins Lilo’s family in Hawaii.
Recently orphaned, six-year old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Adugong) struggle to maintain family life, and face the prospect of being separated by a social worker (Tia Carrere). Stitch’s arrival creates new upheaval as Nani attempts to keep the family together.
The film’s strengths lie in the ways in which it echoes the original film. Hawaii’s beaches and surf are stunning onscreen, and an animated Stitch blends flawlessly with his real-life surroundings as he creates a whirlwind of mayhem everywhere he goes.
Newcomer Maia Kealoha shines as Lilo, and there is magic onscreen when she shares scenes with Stitch. Their adventures together possess an undeniable charm, representing the film’s most compelling and memorable moments. Children will be delighted by Stitch’s hilarious naughtiness, and his journey to understanding and acceptance is heartwarming and well-paced.
The threat of familial separation is portrayed as nuanced, complicated and less apocalyptic than in the original animated film. The social worker played by Tia Carrere (who voiced Nani in the animation) is a warm and empathetic presence, and her interactions with Nani have gravity and credibility.
Although this is a welcome change, these scenes lack the energy of the Lilo and Stitch hijinks. They do add a degree of depth, but ultimately slow the story down, making the emotional moments feel unearned and somewhat lacking.
The other central adults in the film, two alien hunters posing as humans played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson, feel out of place. The filmmakers’ decision to transform them from animated form into human form just doesn’t work in the world of the film. Their oafish and exaggerated physical performances are too jarring in a real-world setting, and would have been better remaining as vocal performances accompanying animation onscreen.
Their home planet, Planet Turo is spectacularly animated. Hannah Waddingham gives a wonderful vocal performance as the grand councilwoman and new a comedic character resembling a pink axolotl (an amphibious salamander), makes this film feel very of the moment, given the recent media interest in this strange little creature.
The film ultimately falls down in the final act as the strands of story come together in an overly complicated way. Changes to the ending create a sluggish finale which lacks the emotional payoff of the original.
Overall, though, the new Lilo and Stitch is a joyful summer adventure that offers plenty of fun for children. Every scene where Stitch is onscreen is delightful. A modern cinematic icon, he is largely unchanged from the original 2002 film. The film updates the original through masterful depiction of Stitch’s interactions with humans onscreen.
Stitch’s successes as a character in the original film are replicated here – his narrative arc, his design, his voice and his behaviour. The essence of what made Stitch an icon remains.
Where the film is lacking is in over-complication of plot. There’s nothing wrong with refreshing the plot, as long as the heart, pacing and charm of the original remain intact. Perhaps Disney should turn their focus to what audiences loved about the original films, and what made the stories and characters so memorable.
So, could the live-action Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in this burgeoning genre? If Disney recognises that returning to source material with a modern touch means upholding the central elements key to these films’ enduring legacy, then maybe it can. Just don’t mention Snow White. And the merchandising opportunities can’t hurt them either.
Laura O’Flanagan 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.
Lilo & Stitch (2025) is another release in a long line of “reimaginings” of Disney animated features. Described as “live-action” they rework animations with humans and real-life settings (and the occasional animated character). These, for the most part, have been lucrative and successful for the studio. However, Disney’s mining of their own back catalogue has also yielded controversy and backlash.
Following the troubled release of Snow White earlier this year – a film that failed to recoup its $270m (£201m) budget – it was announced that the production of a live action version of Tangled had been put on hold. Could Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in the commercial viability of Disney’s recent live-action trend?
The animated Lilo & Stitch (2002) was a hit when it was released, earning US$273m (£204m) at the box office on its $80m budget. Stitch has become a symbol of the Disney corporation in the decades since the film was released, rivalling Mickey Mouse himself as the Disney mascot most merchandised around the world.
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.
The film seems like an obvious candidate for a live-action rendition. The trailers show Stitch unchanged. He is roguish, naughty, lovable, hilarious and full of personality. This begs the question: what is the point, then? The cynical response to this is lucrative merchandise. But cynicism has no place in Disney films, so let’s dive in.
The live-action Lilo & Stitch recreates a lot of the charm of the original animated film from 2002. Stitch (the original creator and voice, Chris Sanders) is a chaotic monster, who, when exiled from his home planet, escapes to Earth where he joins Lilo’s family in Hawaii.
Recently orphaned, six-year old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Adugong) struggle to maintain family life, and face the prospect of being separated by a social worker (Tia Carrere). Stitch’s arrival creates new upheaval as Nani attempts to keep the family together.
The film’s strengths lie in the ways in which it echoes the original film. Hawaii’s beaches and surf are stunning onscreen, and an animated Stitch blends flawlessly with his real-life surroundings as he creates a whirlwind of mayhem everywhere he goes.
Newcomer Maia Kealoha shines as Lilo, and there is magic onscreen when she shares scenes with Stitch. Their adventures together possess an undeniable charm, representing the film’s most compelling and memorable moments. Children will be delighted by Stitch’s hilarious naughtiness, and his journey to understanding and acceptance is heartwarming and well-paced.
The threat of familial separation is portrayed as nuanced, complicated and less apocalyptic than in the original animated film. The social worker played by Tia Carrere (who voiced Nani in the animation) is a warm and empathetic presence, and her interactions with Nani have gravity and credibility.
Although this is a welcome change, these scenes lack the energy of the Lilo and Stitch hijinks. They do add a degree of depth, but ultimately slow the story down, making the emotional moments feel unearned and somewhat lacking.
The other central adults in the film, two alien hunters posing as humans played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson, feel out of place. The filmmakers’ decision to transform them from animated form into human form just doesn’t work in the world of the film. Their oafish and exaggerated physical performances are too jarring in a real-world setting, and would have been better remaining as vocal performances accompanying animation onscreen.
Their home planet, Planet Turo is spectacularly animated. Hannah Waddingham gives a wonderful vocal performance as the grand councilwoman and new a comedic character resembling a pink axolotl (an amphibious salamander), makes this film feel very of the moment, given the recent media interest in this strange little creature.
The film ultimately falls down in the final act as the strands of story come together in an overly complicated way. Changes to the ending create a sluggish finale which lacks the emotional payoff of the original.
Overall, though, the new Lilo and Stitch is a joyful summer adventure that offers plenty of fun for children. Every scene where Stitch is onscreen is delightful. A modern cinematic icon, he is largely unchanged from the original 2002 film. The film updates the original through masterful depiction of Stitch’s interactions with humans onscreen.
Stitch’s successes as a character in the original film are replicated here – his narrative arc, his design, his voice and his behaviour. The essence of what made Stitch an icon remains.
Where the film is lacking is in over-complication of plot. There’s nothing wrong with refreshing the plot, as long as the heart, pacing and charm of the original remain intact. Perhaps Disney should turn their focus to what audiences loved about the original films, and what made the stories and characters so memorable.
So, could the live-action Lilo and Stitch reignite confidence in this burgeoning genre? If Disney recognises that returning to source material with a modern touch means upholding the central elements key to these films’ enduring legacy, then maybe it can. Just don’t mention Snow White. And the merchandising opportunities can’t hurt them either.
Laura O’Flanagan 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.
The UK government has announced its plans for controlling immigration, and these include new rules for international students.
The recent white paper on immigration proposes that most graduates will be allowed to stay in the UK for 18 months after their course finishes. This is six months less than currently permitted.
There will be a higher bar for universities to sponsor visas, excluding those universities at which higher numbers of students fail to complete their courses. The white paper also proposes a 6% levy on universities’ income from international students.
Universities think these changes will worsen their financial problems. However, this appears less important to the government than controlling immigration.
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Universities are one of the UK’s strongest global assets, generating influence alongside export income. After the general election last year, science minister Peter Kyle vowed Labour would end what he termed the “war on universities” conducted by the previous Conservative government. That included a more welcoming approach to international students.
One reason for the change in tone and policy signalled by the white paper is common to other popular destinations for international students: the rise of nationalist parties opposed to immigration. But there is another reason specific to the UK, which is the government’s aim to reform higher education.
Politics and immigration
Two weeks before the release of the immigration white paper, the Reform party secured control of ten local authorities across England, winning 677 seats. The party’s rising popularity will be of increasing concern to the Labour government.
In the US and Netherlands, similar movements have taken steps to reduce university funding and international students once in power. But these policies are not confined to nationalist parties.
Canada and Australia’s Liberal and Labour governments also signalled caps on international student recruitment before their re-election earlier this year.
This appears to be the strategy adopted by the UK’s Labour party – that it wants to assure voters who are more concerned about immigration than university finances.
Higher education policy
Alongside this, the government thinks employers are too reliant on migrant labour, and universities on international students. It wants them to focus more on developing the UK workforce. That requires employers to invest in skills development, and universities to provide courses that build crucial capabilities for the future.
The white paper states that “at a time when skills matter more than ever to the economy and people’s employment prospects, there has been a long-term lack of coordination or investment to deliver the skills and capabilities our economy needs”.
In England, coordinated higher education investment is difficult because most government funding is routed through loans to students. This encourages universities to meet demand from young people, which does not necessarily align with economic and public service priorities.
Higher education policy is increasingly focused on key skills. goodluz/Shutterstock
In response, the last government encouraged young people to take apprenticeships rather than university degrees. It also allowed student maintenance loans and fees to decline in value in real terms.
Universities filled the gap in their income with international students – particularly one-year taught postgraduates from Nigeria and India who often bring family members then stay for work. This made universities reliant on short-term income, while increasing immigration statistics.
Changes to family visa rules, combined with a global economic downturn and geopolitical tensions, have led universities to forecast a 21% reduction in new international student entrants this year. And 44% of universities are expecting to be in financial deficit.
Unlike its predecessor, the government accepts that UK student fees should increase with inflation, so has allowed this for the first time since 2017. But it wants a change from universities in return. Rather than relying on international students, they should make efficiencies and focus on courses that align with government priorities.
In a system mostly financed by student fees, there are few levers for influencing this. The Office for Students, which regulates higher education, has been asked to focus on managing quality and financial risks rather than policy.
Its funding for strategic priorities has been reduced. There are, though, three measures highlighted within the white paper that could become influential.
First, the government is reforming the apprenticeships levy, so it can be used more flexibly for workforce development priorities. Second, the tightening of sponsorship rules aims to drive international recruitment towards courses supplying the highest levels of skills and knowledge. Third, the proposed levy on international student income equips the government to invest in priority courses, rather than relying on student choice.
This may include funds from the proposed levy on international student income, though the precedent of Australia suggests that may be difficult. Regardless, there is a mood in government for higher education reform.
Chris Millward is a member of staff at the University of Birmingham. He is also a board member of MEDR, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research in Wales, and a Trustee of the Academy of Social Sciences. All of these organisations are affected by the issues addressed in this article.
Horse racing is more than just a pastime in Australia—it’s practically a national obsession. From the Melbourne Cup to the raw excitement of local meets, Australians love the thrill of the track.
Betting on horse racing has become an integral part of this beloved sport, with numerous horse racing betting sites Australia bettors can join vying for attention from punters. But with so many options, how do you choose the best?
Why Donbet Is the Best Horse Racing Betting Site in Australia
When you’re placing bets online, reliability and ease of use are paramount. Donbet not only meets these criteria but exceeds them. Donbet’s platform is crafted specifically with Aussie punters in mind, combining user-friendly design, excellent odds, comprehensive race coverage, and robust security features.
One of Donbet’s standout features is its exceptional user interface. Easy navigation ensures bettors can quickly find odds and place wagers without unnecessary complications. Additionally, Donbet consistently provides competitive odds on all major and minor races, ensuring maximum value for every wager.
The platform also offers extensive coverage of Australian and international races. Whether you’re betting on prestigious races like the Melbourne Cup or smaller local meets, Donbet ensures you never miss a beat.
What to Consider When Choosing Horse Racing Sportbooks in Australia
User Experience and Interface
A seamless betting experience is crucial. Choose platforms like Donbet, known for their intuitive navigation, quick loading times, and responsive customer support.
Betting Markets and Odds
The best horse racing betting sites Australia has ever seen should offer a wide variety of betting markets, from straightforward win/place/show bets to more exotic wagers. Competitive odds significantly enhance potential returns.
Security and Licensing
Always prioritize betting sites that are licensed and regulated by Australian gaming authorities. Secure platforms utilize advanced encryption to protect your personal and financial details.
Promotions and Bonuses
Look for sites offering generous sign-up bonuses, free bets, cashback offers, and loyalty programs. Donbet excels by regularly updating promotions tailored to horse racing enthusiasts.
Payment Methods and Speed of Withdrawals
Efficient payment processing is vital. Ensure your chosen betting site supports popular Aussie-friendly payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets.
Mobile Compatibility
With betting increasingly moving online, top sites must offer mobile-optimized platforms or dedicated betting apps to allow seamless betting on-the-go.
How to Join Horse Racing Sportsbooks in Australia
Joining horse racing betting sites like Donbet in Australia is straightforward and quick. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the steps to help you easily get started:
Step 1: Visit the Website
Navigate to Donbet’s official site using your desktop or mobile browser. You’ll easily spot the “Join” or “Register” button, usually prominently displayed at the top right corner of the homepage.
Step 2: Complete the Registration Form
Click the button and enter your personal details accurately. These typically include your full name, date of birth, residential address, email, and contact phone number. It’s crucial to provide accurate information to ensure smooth verification and secure account management.
Step 3: Verify Your Identity
Australian betting regulations mandate identity verification for security purposes. You’ll be prompted to upload documents like your passport, driver’s license, or national ID card. Occasionally, additional proof of address might be required, such as a recent utility bill or bank statement.
Step 4: Make Your First Deposit
Once your account is verified, deposit funds using your preferred method. Donbet supports various popular payment options, including credit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets. Deposits are typically processed swiftly, allowing immediate betting access.
Step 5: Place Your Bets
With your account funded, explore Donbet’s extensive race listings. You can choose from numerous betting markets, including win/place/show, quinellas, trifectas, and more exotic options. Select your races, choose your bets, confirm your wagers, and you’re all set!
Most Popular Racetracks You Can Bet On In Australia
Australia boasts some of the most prestigious and exhilarating racetracks worldwide, each with its distinctive charm and betting opportunities:
Flemington Racecourse, Victoria: Located in Melbourne, Flemington is internationally renowned, especially for hosting the Melbourne Cup—Australia’s most famous horse race. The Melbourne Cup Carnival attracts thousands of spectators and bettors every November, making it a highlight of the global racing calendar.
Randwick Racecourse, New South Wales: Situated in Sydney, Randwick is the home of The Championships, a celebrated event featuring races such as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Doncaster Mile. Its modern facilities and historic charm make it a favourite amongst punters.
Caulfield Racecourse, Victoria: Known for the prestigious Caulfield Cup, this Melbourne-based venue provides a critical testing ground for horses aiming for Melbourne Cup glory. Its engaging track layout ensures dynamic racing, offering bettors thrilling and strategic betting opportunities.
Moonee Valley Racecourse, Victoria: Located in Melbourne, Moonee Valley is famed for hosting the Cox Plate, known as Australia’s weight-for-age championship. Its compact and tight-turn course creates intense, exciting races ideal for experienced punters looking for challenging odds.
Eagle Farm Racecourse, Queensland: Brisbane’s leading racetrack, Eagle Farm, regularly hosts high-profile events like the Stradbroke Handicap and Queensland Derby. With a long straight track, it rewards strategic betting and offers great opportunities for punters looking to capitalize on form and distance specialists.
Ascot Racecourse, Western Australia: Ascot, located in Perth, combines lively atmosphere and competitive racing. It hosts major events like the Perth Cup and the Railway Stakes, attracting crowds and bettors keen on the vibrant social scene and competitive odds.
What Makes Donbet Ideal for Aussie Bettors
Donbet’s superiority comes down to several unique features tailored explicitly for Australian punters:
Local Expertise: Donbet is staffed with industry experts who understand the nuances of Australian horse racing.
Comprehensive Coverage: Whether it’s major metropolitan races or regional meets, Donbet offers extensive markets to suit every preference.
Enhanced Odds and Promotions: Regularly updated special offers and boosted odds provide more value to bettors, making Donbet particularly attractive for seasoned and new punters alike.
Reliable Customer Support: Accessible 24/7 customer service via live chat, email, and phone ensures you always have assistance when needed.
Robust Security Protocols: Licensed by reputable gaming authorities and employing cutting-edge encryption technologies, Donbet ensures your betting experience is secure.
5 Essential Tips for Betting on Horse Racing
1. Research Thoroughly
Extensive research is crucial to successful betting. Study each horse’s recent form, historical performance on specific tracks, jockey and trainer stats, and the horse’s preferred distance. Look at past race videos and consider expert opinions to build a detailed understanding of potential outcomes.
2. Understand and Identify Betting Value
Understanding betting odds is essential. Recognize how bookmakers set odds and spot value bets—horses that have higher odds than their realistic winning probability. Developing a knack for identifying these bets can significantly enhance your long-term profitability.
3. Practice Bankroll Management
Responsible bankroll management protects your finances and improves your betting strategy. Set clear betting limits and stick to them. Allocate specific amounts per bet and avoid impulsive decisions like chasing losses. Disciplined betting will lead to more consistent and enjoyable betting experiences.
4. Diversify Your Betting Strategy
Don’t rely only on straightforward win bets. Explore various betting markets such as place bets, each-way bets, quinellas, trifectas, and exactas. Diversification helps balance risk and reward, potentially increasing overall returns and keeping betting engaging.
5. Monitor Track and Weather Conditions
Conditions greatly influence race outcomes. Horses can perform differently depending on weather (dry, wet, muddy tracks). Check accurate weather forecasts and track reports on race day. Understanding how these factors affect each horse can provide crucial betting insights and improve your decision-making.
Final Thoughts on Horse Racing Betting Sites in Australia
Horse racing is woven into Australia’s cultural fabric, and betting enhances the excitement of each event. Choosing the right betting site makes all the difference in your horse racing betting sites Australia experience. Donbet rises above the competition, perfectly aligning with what Australian bettors value most—reliability, extensive market coverage, superior odds, security, and outstanding customer support.
Whether you’re a seasoned punter or just starting, Donbet and horse racing betting sites in Australia offer an exhilarating, user-friendly, and safe betting experience. Enjoy the thrills and excitement of Australian horse racing with confidence and ease at Donbet—Australia’s premier destination for horse racing betting.
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Source: Republic of Taiwan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
May 19, 2025
No. 163
The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) is opening in Geneva on May 19. Following proactive efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and related overseas missions, Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHA has received staunch and concrete support from the Group of Seven (G7), the executive and legislative branches of government of more than 50 countries, the European Union, the European Parliament, and representative offices of like-minded nations in Taiwan. MOFA expresses sincere appreciation for this support.
Eleven of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, as members of the World Health Organization (WHO), submitted a proposal to the WHO Secretariat to invite Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer, requesting that the proposal be included as a supplementary item on this year’s WHA agenda. Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre personally wrote a letter urging WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA. The parliaments of Guatemala, Palau, and Saint Christopher and Nevis adopted resolutions backing Taiwan.
The magnitude of support for Taiwan from like-minded countries has continued to grow. The current US administration has publicly endorsed Taiwan’s international participation more than 10 times. This includes a joint statement issued at the US-Japan leaders’ summit by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in February, which for the first time contained text advocating Taiwan’s meaningful involvement in international organizations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed firm US support for Taiwan’s international participation during his congressional confirmation hearing as well as in interviews and joint statements issued at two meetings with the foreign ministers of Japan and the Republic of Korea. The United States twice spoke up for Taiwan at the WHO Executive Board session held in February. In April, it publicly refuted China’s misuse of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 at the UN Security Council for the first time, reiterating that the resolution did not preclude Taiwan’s participation in the UN system or other multilateral fora. In terms of US congressional support, the House of Representatives passed the Taiwan International Solidarity Act without opposition on May 5. The act urged the US government to resist China’s efforts to suppress Taiwan through mischaracterization of UNGA Resolution 2758. In addition, nine US state legislatures approved resolutions backing Taiwan’s involvement in international organizations.
Furthermore, in a joint statement issued following a meeting in March, the G7 foreign ministers reaffirmed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. On May 15, the European Union expressed a similar stance and recognized the extraordinary contributions Taiwan can make through its digital healthcare capabilities. In February, the European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on the implementation of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, which backed Taiwan’s meaningful participation in relevant world bodies.
High-ranking European officials who publicly spoke up for Taiwan included Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard, and Swedish Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed. A total of 534 members of the European Parliament and 29 national parliaments across Europe cosigned a letter of the Formosa Club reaffirming support for Taiwan. The World Medical Association and other professional groups endorsed Taiwan’s participation in WHO and the WHA as they had done in the past.
MOFA thanks the representative offices in Taiwan of the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, and Lithuania for issuing a joint statement for the fifth year prior to the WHA affirming the immense benefits that Taiwan could bring to WHA discussions. The statement also emphasized that there was no legitimate reason for Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHA and that Taiwan’s absence would undermine the spirit of inclusive global public health cooperation and safety that WHO’s founding documents called for.
MOFA points out that these positive developments fully demonstrate that China’s unreasonable obstruction of Taiwan’s participation in WHO has gained little traction or support among nations worldwide. MOFA reiterates that UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1 make no mention of Taiwan, have nothing to do with Taiwan, and therefore cannot be cited as a legal basis for precluding Taiwan from participating in WHO or other international organizations or multilateral mechanisms or fora. MOFA asks that the WHO Secretariat listen closely to member countries, stop further condoning political manipulation by China, and instead work to realize WHO’s goals of “Leaving No One Behind” and “One World for Health” so as to fulfill its responsibility to maintain and improve the health and well-being of all people. MOFA also asks that Taiwan be allowed full and unobstructed participation in all WHO meetings, mechanisms, and activities, including the WHA. (E)
SINGAPORE, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — KIP Protocol has launched a public experiment testing autonomous, self-learning AI agents in live crypto trading environments, each powered by a different large language model (LLM). Despite identical setups, the agents exhibited dramatically different behaviors, hinting at something deeper than prompt engineering: LLMs have real, measurable behavioral divergence in autonomous economic environments.
The agents — all live on-chain — use a Darwinian feedback loop to evolve over time. No prompts or fine-tuning post-deployment. Each decision is judged solely by results: PnL, risk, efficiency. The best strategies survive, the rest are dropped.
Standout findings:
Aristid (Gemini) returned +42.5% in 36 days — a 3,536% annualized return — with just 29 trades.
Verity (Deepseek) delivered +32.5% over 62 days with a low-variance, high-consistency approach.
Lux (Qwen) traded infrequently but outperformed per trade, showing highly selective strategy logic.
Sefer (OpenAI) posted cautious but positive returns.
Romulus (Gemini) lagged, highlighting that LLM quality matters, but feedback architecture is key.
“We didn’t tell these agents how to trade. We just defined the environment and let them learn,” said Jennifer Dodgson, co-founder of KIP Protocol. “What emerged is both technically impressive and strangely human – you start to see each model’s tendencies come through.”
Agents cycle through decisions thousands of times: scan market conditions, select a pair, decide to act, score outcomes, and update strategy – all autonomously.
Over time, patterns emerged:
Gemini agents showed volatility at both extremes.
Deepseek led in stable, compounding growth.
Qwen proved surprisingly precise with minimal trades.
OpenAI was slower to adapt but remained profitable.
These findings reveal how AI models behave in self-directed, real-world environments. It’s a glimpse into the future of AI that goes beyond chatbots: agents that generate, retain, and optimize economic value on their own.
KIP Protocol builds Web3 infrastructure for AI app developers, model makers and data owners, empowering easy deployment and monetisation of AI assets while maintaining full ownership rights. With a focus on building infrastructure that caters to every aspect of AI, from governments exploring AI sovereignty to consumer-facing applications, KIP Protocol is setting its sights on achieving over 100,000 daily active users (DAUs) and unlocking the largest total addressable market in decentralized AI. Addressing challenges of connectivity, monetization, and ownership, the platform enables creators to transform their innovations into tangible and sustainable value. At the heart of this ecosystem is the $KIP token, serving as its economic engine. The token powers transparent revenue sharing, allowing creators to retain digital property rights of their AI assets while accessing sustainable income streams. Through its ERC-3525 tokenization, KIP democratizes access to AI innovations and empowers creators to thrive in a decentralized economy.
Disclaimer: This press release is provided by KIP Protocol. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector–including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining–complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release.
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