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Category: Australia

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CABINET RE-APPOINTS TO’OALA ELITA AS M.P.E. CHIEF EXECUTIVE

    Source:

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    (GOVT. PRESS SECRETARY]- To’oala Elita To’oala, will continue as the Ministry of Public Enterprise Chief Executive Officer per Cabinet approval this week.

    A Samoa College alumni To’oala completed her Undergraduate Degree in Business Studies at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji complemented by a Bachelor of Commerce from the National University of Samoa (NUS) and Masters in Business Studies with the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

    This will be her 4th consecutive three year term in office.

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    April 25, 2025

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Onni Bidco Oy has gained title to the minority shares in Innofactor Plc, and the Innofactor Plc shares will be delisted from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Innofactor Plc | Stock Exchange Release | April 25, 2025 at 12:55 EEST

    Onni Bidco Oy has gained title to the minority shares in Innofactor Plc, and the Innofactor Plc shares will be delisted from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki

    Onni Bidco Oy (“Onni Bidco”) has posted a security approved by the arbitral tribunal appointed by the Redemption Board of the Finland Chamber of Commerce in connection with the redemption proceedings concerning the minority shares in Innofactor Plc (“Innofactor”). Onni Bidco has thus gained title to all the shares in Innofactor in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 6 of the Finnish Companies Act. As a result of the posting of the security and the transfer of title, the minority shareholders of Innofactor being parties to the redemption proceedings are entitled to receive only the redemption price when it falls due and the interest payable thereon.

    Upon Innofactor’s application, Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (“Nasdaq Helsinki”) has on April 16, 2025 resolved that the shares in Innofactor will be delisted from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki after Onni Bidco has gained title to all the shares in Innofactor in the pending redemption proceedings in accordance with the Finnish Companies Act. The listing of the Innofactor shares on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki ceases today in accordance with a separate release published by Nasdaq Helsinki.

    Investor and media enquiries:

    Veera Vitie (Innofactor), ir@innofactor.com, +358 44 331 0207
    Lasse Lautsuo (Innofactor), ir@innofactor.com, +358 50 480 1597

    Distribution:
    NASDAQ Helsinki
    Main media

    ABOUT INNOFACTOR

    Innofactor is the leading promoter of the modern digital organization in the Nordic countries for its approximately 1,000 customers in the commercial and public sectors. Innofactor has the widest solution offering and leading know-how in the Microsoft ecosystem in the Nordics. Innofactor’s offering includes planning services for business-critical IT solutions, project deliveries, implementation support and maintenance services, as well as own software and services. Innofactor employs nearly 600 experts in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Innofactor’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki with the ticker symbol IFA1V.

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Beneficient Enters into New GP Primary Capital Transaction

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DALLAS, April 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Beneficient (NASDAQ: BENF) (“Ben” or the “Company”), a technology-enabled platform providing exit opportunities and primary capital solutions and related trust and custody services to holders of alternative assets through its proprietary online platform AltAccess, today announced it has closed on the financing of a $233,333 primary capital commitment for Cork & Vines Fund I, LP (“Fund”), a fund managed by Cork & Vines GP, LP, an asset manager investing in opportunities within the premium experiential, luxury dining segment with a differentiated culinary and strategic wine program focus.

    The transaction represents Ben’s second GP Primary transaction of the fiscal year and third since formally launching the program in late 2024. In exchange for an interest in the Fund, the Fund received approximately $233,333 in stated value of shares of the Company’s Resettable Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”), which is convertible at the election of the holder into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, subject to the terms and conditions of the transaction documents. As a result of the transaction, the collateral for Company’s ExAlt loan portfolio is expected to increase by approximately $233,333 of interests in alternative assets. Concurrently, the Company also entered into a Preferred Liquidity Provider Program Agreement with the Fund, whereby the Company may facilitate ongoing liquidity solutions for the Fund and its limited partners.

    “We are excited to continue the momentum at the outset of this fiscal year by completing another GP primary capital transaction as we work to execute on our core liquidity and primary capital strategy,” said Beneficient management. “We believe this financing reflects our ability to close transactions that drive shareholder value and enhance the value of the collateral backing our ExAlt loan portfolio. We will continue to pursue additional opportunities that align with our strategic vision and growth objectives.”

    Upon closing of the previously announced Public Stockholder Enhancement Transactions (the “Transactions”), the Company believes this transaction will result in the addition of approximately $77,777 (and an aggregate of approximately $10.54 million) of tangible book value attributable to the Company’s stockholders.

    Beneficient’s GP Primary Commitment Program is focused on providing primary capital solutions and financing anchor commitments to general partners during their fundraising efforts while immediately deploying capital into our equity. Through the program, Beneficient seeks to help satisfy the up to $330 billion of potential demand for primary commitments to meet fundraising needs.

    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures      
    The following tables reconciles these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures as of December 31, 2024, on an actual basis and pro forma assuming the Transactions occurred on December 31, 2024.    
    (dollars in thousands)   Actual   Pro forma –
    Transactions
    (1)
      Pro forma –
    Transactions
    and GP
    Primary
    (3)
    Tangible Book Value            
    Total equity (deficit)     14,260     14,260     24,093  
    Less: Goodwill and intangible assets     (13,014 )   (13,014 )   (13,014 )
    Plus: Total temporary equity     90,526     90,526     90,526  
    Tangible book value     91, 772     91,772     101,605  
                 
        Actual   Pro forma –
    Transactions
    (1)
      Pro forma –
    Transactions
    and GP
    Primary
    (3)
    Tangible book value attributable to Ben public company stockholders            
    Tangible book value                       91,772                   91,772     101,605  
    Less: Tangible book value attributable to Beneficient Holdings noncontrolling interest holders                     (91,772 )   (82,595 )   (91,070 )
    Tangible book value attributable to Ben’s public company stockholders     –     9,177 (2)   10,535 (4)
                 
    Market Capitalization of Ben’s Class A and Class B common stock as of April 24, 2025 (5)   $ 2,211          
                     

    (1)  Assumes the Transactions closed on December 31, 2024 including that the Beneficient Holdings limited partnership agreement was amended to provide that Ben, as the indirect holder of the Class A Units and certain Designated Class S Ordinary Units of Beneficient Holdings, would receive in the event of a liquidation of Beneficient Holdings 10% of the first $100 million of distributions of Beneficient Holdings following the satisfaction of the debts and liabilities of Beneficient Holdings on a consolidated basis.
    (2)  Pro forma for the Transactions, represents 10% of the first $100 million of distributions of Beneficient Holdings in the event of the liquidation of Beneficient Holdings following the satisfaction of the debts and liabilities Beneficient Holdings on a consolidated basis.
    (3)  Assumes the Transactions closed on December 31, 2024 including that the Beneficient Holdings limited partnership agreement was amended to provide that Ben, as the indirect holder of the Class A Units and certain Designated Class S Ordinary Units of Beneficient Holdings, would receive in the event of a liquidation of Beneficient Holdings (i) 10% of the first $100 million of distributions of Beneficient Holdings following the satisfaction of the debts and liabilities of Beneficient Holdings on a consolidated basis and (ii) 33.3333% of the net asset value of the added alternative assets of up to $5 billion in connection with ExAlt Plan liquidity and primary capital transactions entered after December 22, 2024. Pro forma for GP Primary includes the primary capital transaction described herein plus the previously disclosed $9.6 million primary capital commitment for Pulse Pioneer Fund, LP.
    (4)  Pro forma for the Transactions, represents (i) 10% of the first $100 million of distributions of Beneficient Holdings in the event of the liquidation of Beneficient Holdings following the satisfaction of the debts and liabilities Beneficient Holdings on a consolidated basis and (ii) 33.3333% of the net asset value of the added alternative assets of up to $5 billion in connection with ExAlt Plan liquidity and primary capital transactions entered after December 22, 2024.
    (5)  Based upon the closing price of the Class A common stock as reported by Nasdaq as of market close on April 24, 2025.

    About Beneficient 
    Beneficient (Nasdaq: BENF) – Ben, for short – is on a mission to democratize the global alternative asset investment market by providing traditionally underserved investors − mid-to-high net worth individuals, small-to-midsized institutions and General Partners seeking exit options, anchor commitments and valued-added services for their funds− with solutions that could help them unlock the value in their alternative assets. Ben’s AltQuote® tool provides customers with a range of potential exit options within minutes, while customers can log on to the AltAccess® portal to explore opportunities and receive proposals in a secure online environment.         

    Its subsidiary, Beneficient Fiduciary Financial, L.L.C., received its charter under the State of Kansas’ Technology-Enabled Fiduciary Financial Institution (TEFFI) Act and is subject to regulatory oversight by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner. 

    For more information, visit www.trustben.com or follow us on LinkedIn. 

    Contacts
    Matt Kreps: 214-597-8200, mkreps@darrowir.com
    Michael Wetherington: 214-284-1199, mwetherington@darrowir.com
    Investor Relations: investors@beneficient.com

    Important Information and Where You Can Find It
    This press release may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of a vote of stockholders to approve the Transactions. In connection with the requisite stockholder approval, Ben will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a preliminary proxy statement and a definitive proxy statement, which will be sent to the stockholders of Ben, seeking such approvals related to the Transactions.

    INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF BEN AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES ARE URGED TO READ, WHEN AVAILABLE, THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTIONS, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BEN AND THE TRANSACTIONS. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain a free copy of the proxy statement, as well as other relevant documents filed with the SEC containing information about Ben, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Ben can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Investor Relations, Beneficient, 325 North St. Paul Street, Suite 4850, Dallas, Texas 75201, or email investors@beneficient.com.

    Participants in the Solicitation of Proxies in Connection with Transactions
    Ben and certain of its directors, executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the requisite stockholder approvals under the rules of the SEC. Information regarding Ben’s directors and executive officers is available in its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, which was filed with the SEC on July 9, 2024 and certain current reports on Form 8-K filed by Ben. Other information regarding the participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the Transactions and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC. Free copies of these documents, when available, may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.

    Not an Offer of Securities
    The information in this communication is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The securities that are the subject of the Transactions have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

    Forward Looking Statements
    Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Transactions, including receipt of required approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions and excepted timing of closing of the Transactions, and expectations of future plans, strategies, and benefits of the Transactions. The words ”anticipate,” “believe,” ”continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” ”plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on our management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, them. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected.

    Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, among others: the ultimate outcome of the Transactions, including obtaining the requisite vote of securityholders; the Company’s ability to meet expectations regarding the timing and completion of the Transactions; and the risks, uncertainties, and factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events, or circumstances or other changes affecting such statements except to the extent required by applicable law.

    Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.  

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Ryoko Reviews: Must Read Before Buying Ryoko Pro Wi-Fi!

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FRANKLIN, Tenn., April 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The internet has grown to become one of the greatest inventions of man. Many businesses, healthcare services, government operations and even the simplest day to day activities require some degree of Internet connection.

    Ryoko Reviews

    For something that is a necessity, many people are still struggling with fast, affordable and secure internet. You might have solved the problem of a stable internet in your home but what about when you are traveling?

    The Ryoko claims to offer quick, safe, and hassle-free internet access worldwide. The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi is marketed as a gadget that will simplify your life by bringing fast internet access to you anywhere, without the inconvenience of costly roaming fees or insecure public Wi-Fi.

    Imagine being able to check your emails, surf the web, or even watch your favourite shows while camping in the woods or perhaps on a beautiful road trip. Doesn’t it sound like a dream? However, it is very much a reality with Ryoko.

    No matter where you are, you can get fast and secure internet with this compact, stylish, and remarkably portable Wi-Fi hotspot. Ryoko claims to ensure a flawless experience by automatically connecting to the best local network, whether you’re in a foreign metropolis or a secluded lodge in the country.

    Does it, however, truly live up to the hype? What is the difference between it and other portable Wi-Fi choices available on the market? Above all, is the investment worthwhile? Many USA intending buyers rated the product 4.9/5, with many searching for an honest review on Reddit, BBB and Trustpilot. We will be giving all the necessary details to help you make an informed purchase. Are you eager to learn more? Let’s get started!.

    What Is Ryoko Pro Portable Wi-Fi?
    (Ryoko Reviews)

    Ryoko Pro is a pocket-sized wireless router that creates a personal Wi-Fi network using global 4G LTE signals. It’s designed to deliver a fast, secure internet connection on the go. The device comes with a SIM card already preloaded with 500 MB of mobile data and has additional ad-blocking/anti-phishing capabilities.

    Ryoko Pro connects you to the best local networks, guaranteeing dependable service for all of your devices, whether you’re traveling to a remote location, heading out on a road trip, or just need a steady connection away from home. Ryoko ensures you stay connected to the world. With fast and reliable Wi-Fi available in more than 75+ countries, this gadget serves as a mobile hotspot and is a necessary travel companion both domestically and abroad.

    The Ryoko is lightweight, portable, and fits neatly in your pocket or purse. It’s ideal for people who need to access the internet while on the road without having to deal with the weight of conventional routers or finding a public Wi-Fi connection. You may use Ryoko to access the internet from any location, whether you’re working remotely from your vacation home, fishing by a lake, or camping in the woods.

    According to many verified USA, Canadian, UK, and Australian user reviews, Ryoko can run for up to eight hours between charges, which is more than enough power for an entire day of internet access while you’re out and about. Ryoko is designed to keep you online whether you are working while on the go, streaming a game, or keeping in touch with loved ones.

    First Impression: Unboxing the Ryoko Wi-Fi
    (Ryoko WiFi Reviews)

    Unboxing the Ryoko Pro is a simple yet satisfying experience that instantly reflects the product’s core promise: convenience without complexity. The packaging is compact, clean, and minimal — designed for travel, just like the device itself.

    Here’s what you will find inside the box:

    • Ryoko Pro Wi-Fi Device: The first thing you will notice is its size — smaller than a smartphone, lightweight, and sleek. Its matte finish and curved edges make it easy to grip and slip into your pocket, travel pouch, or even the palm of your hand.
    • Pre-installed SIM Card: One of Ryoko’s best features is that it arrives ready to use. You do not need to buy or insert a SIM — it is already installed and activated. This is a major relief for travelers who are used to fumbling with SIM trays or tracking down country-specific plans.
    • USB-C Charging Cable: The device includes a standard USB-C cable for quick charging. Some bundles may also include an optional magnetic charging dock, which lets you charge the device just by placing it on the base — no cords needed.
    • User Guide: A short, easy-to-follow instruction booklet walks you through setup. Spoiler: setup takes under 2 minutes. Most users don’t even need to open the manual.

    No tech skills? No problem. There is no app to install, no complicated configuration screens, and no extra software. Just press the power button, wait a few seconds, and the device automatically connects to the nearest available 4G LTE tower. Then you connect your phone, tablet, or laptop to the Ryoko Wi-Fi network, just like you would at home.

    From the moment you open the box, Ryoko feels like a device designed for modern life: lightweight, intuitive, and ready for action — whether that is working from the road, staying in touch on a hike, or streaming content in a cabin mile from the city.

    DON’T MISS OUT: Ryoko Wi-Fi Is Available At A Special Price – Click Here To Order From The Official Website

    How Does Ryoko Work?

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi is definitely different from your regular portable WiFi; it works by creating a private, secure Wi-Fi network which automatically connects to the best local network in more than 75+ countries using virtual SIM technology. By choosing the best network for your location, Ryoko guarantees a strong connection irrespective of your location.

    The gadget is easy to set up; all you need to do is turn it on, connect your laptop, tablet, or phone to the Wi-Fi network, and you can begin working, browsing, or streaming. Up to ten devices can be online at once without compromising performance because of the device’s ability to connect to numerous devices at once. Even in places where regular cell coverage may not be strong, Ryoko’s 4G access guarantees high internet speeds.

    Key Features Of Ryoko Portable Router
    (Ryoko Pro Reviews)

    Let’s go through the features and specifications that make the Ryoko special:

    • Worldwide Coverage Without Roaming Fees: Ryoko provides worldwide coverage in over 75+ countries, guaranteeing that you can stay connected wherever you are. Without having to buy pricey overseas SIM cards or worry about erratic roaming fees, Ryoko Pro effortlessly switches to the best local network. It’s a great device for tourists from other countries who wish to avoid paying expensive mobile data prices. As Sophia N. writes: “The connection was consistently fast and reliable, even in a remote area of the woods. It worked everywhere, from my campsite to the lakeside.”
    • Integrated Ad Blocker: Ryoko has a smart ad-blocking tool that protects against malware and phishing websites. For anyone who values privacy and performance, this means faster surfing, improved speed, and an extra layer of online security.
    • Lightweight and No Tangled Cables: Ryoko was created with portability in mind and is small enough to fit in your pocket or in the palm of your hand. Its elegant, wire-free design guarantees that you can access fast internet anywhere; no cumbersome setup or tangled cables, just unrestricted mobility.
    • USB-C Fast Charging: Ryoko uses a USB-C connector, which reduces downtime and the hassle of finding a special charger. Better yet, the kit comes with a USB-C cable, so you don’t need any more purchases to power up and stay connected.
    • Fast, Data-Efficient Connectivity: Take advantage of speeds of up to 150 MB/s while Ryoko’s data-saving technology makes every megabyte matter. Whether you use Ryoko for business, streaming, or surfing, it provides quick, efficient internet without using up too much data.
    • Longer Battery Life: You may not always have access to a power outlet when you’re traveling or working in the field. That’s where Ryoko’s remarkable battery life comes into play. With up to 8 hours of continuous use on a single charge, you won’t have to worry about running out of battery power when working, streaming, or browsing. Another verified USA buyer, David T., reported, “The battery life really exceeded my expectations. I can’t imagine traveling without it!” Ryoko is ideal for travels, treks, and even working remotely from a café without always needing to recharge.
    • Easy to Use and Set Up: If you are not too tech-savvy, setting up a mobile hotspot can sometimes be a pain. Ryoko’s straightforward plug-and-play design solves that issue. It will take little time to get you up and running, even if you are not a tech specialist. “She set it up on her own, and she’s not a big techie. It’s that easy!” David T. claims that his wife set it up easily. The Ryoko hassle-free experience is a great bonus for individuals who wish to be online without needless complex installations.
    • Supports Multiple Devices at Once: Ryoko enables you to connect up to ten devices at once, meaning that you can simultaneously use your tablet, phone, laptop, and other devices online. Families, groups, or everyone else who needs to keep several devices connected while traveling will find it ideal. Sophia N. “I was using my tablet while my dad was using his phone by the lake. Ryoko handled both connections smoothly!” She remembers using it during a camping trip with her family.
    • Safe Connection: Wi-Fi networks, such as those in cafes and airports, are notoriously unreliable. If you are handling sensitive data, such as online banking or business correspondence, Ryoko’s private and secure connection is definitely what you need. You can now travel with peace of mind knowing that your data is secure thanks to its secure connectivity. According to Carlanaise, “I need a stable, secure connection, and I get that 95% of the time with Ryoko.
    • Affordable: Ryoko is designed to save you a whole lot of money. Frequent traveler NomadNetizen expressed his dissatisfaction with traditional mobile providers, saying, “International data charges are a nightmare. Ryoko saved me from those expensive fees, and now I never travel without it.” Ryoko makes staying connected simple and affordable for families, digital nomads, and anyone else who needs dependable internet on the go.

    Who Needs The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi Device?
    (Muama Ryoko Reviews)

    Everywhere, at any time, Ryoko provides the ease of a reliable connection. The following people will find the Ryoko Pro most beneficial:

    • International Travelers
      If you’ve ever landed in a new country and immediately stressed over mobile data, Ryoko is for you. Instead of buying a new SIM card in every country — or worse, paying for expensive roaming — you can just turn on your Ryoko device and connect. It works in over 70 countries (more on that later), so you stay online the moment your flight touches down.
    • Digital Nomads and Remote Workers
      From freelancers to full-time remote employees, stable Wi-Fi is non-negotiable. Ryoko eliminates the need to rely on cafes, coworking spaces, or hotel networks. It gives you a private, secure, and fast connection wherever you go — ideal for Zoom calls, email, file uploads, and cloud-based work.
    • Campers, Hikers & Outdoor Adventurers
      Ryoko has become a favorite among adventurers, especially those who travel to remote areas. Whether you’re camping by a lake, hiking through trails, or road-tripping across states, Ryoko can keep you online where traditional mobile signal might fail. Tim Bennet, an extreme athlete, even described it as a replacement for bulky satellite gear.
    • Families and Group Travelers
      With support for up to 10 devices at once, Ryoko is perfect for groups. Instead of buying separate data plans for each phone, tablet, or laptop, the whole family or team can connect to one secure network — saving money and making coordination easier during trips.
    • Anyone Tired of Public Wi-Fi
      Even at home or in the city, Ryoko is useful. Public Wi-Fi in cafes, airports, or malls is often slow, unreliable, or risky. Ryoko gives you your own private connection, reducing the chances of data theft or signal drops when you need to stay productive.

    In short, Ryoko is made for people who value mobility, security, and simplicity. If you’ve ever wished you could bring your home internet connection with you, this device is exactly that — only smarter, smaller, and safer.

    MUST SEE: CLICK HERE NOW TO GET THE RYOKO PRO DIRECTLY FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE

    Is Ryoko Legit or Scam?

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi device is a genuine product that has gained a strong reputation among consumers for offering a secure and fast way to stay connected while on the go. Ryoko provides a safe substitute for costly roaming fees or slow public Wi-Fi networks.

    The Muama Ryoko’s capacity to offer internet access in more than 75+ countries makes it a great choice for tourists visiting other nations. Users will enjoy quick, safe connections even in more isolated or underdeveloped locations, such as lakes and forests, thanks to this worldwide coverage. Ryoko can sustain a strong connection even in locations that regular networks are unable to reach, as numerous consumers have noted in their reviews.

    Many people have mentioned how handy it is to have weather when going on road vacations, camping excursions, or visits to their summer residences. Also, many USA customers have confirmed that the device lasts for over 8 hours on a single charge, which is more than enough for the majority of trip days.

    Not to be overlooked is how easy it is to set up and use. Customers have reported that it is very user-friendly, with simple instructions that even people who are not tech-savvy can follow. The Ryoko Pro Portable Wi-Fi is authentic as all of its claims have been verified by real customers with an average rating of a whopping 4.9/5 . You have no reason to be scared; Ryoko is not a fraud!

    Ryoko Pro Wi-Fi vs. Regular Portable Wi-Fi
    (Ryoko Reviews)

    Several important factors distinguish the Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi from standard portable Wi-Fi. To help you make a better choice, we will compare the variations in performance, portability, battery life, and general user experience of the Ryoko and other portable Wi-Fi devices:

    Performance

    Ryoko Pro has received recognition for sustaining a steady internet connection even in remote locales. According to many USA user feedback, Ryoko performs exceptionally in remote locations, wooded areas, and lakes where other portable hotspots sometimes falter. This is a huge benefit for anyone who needs dependable internet, even while traveling.

    On the other hand, standard portable Wi-Fi devices are not always reliable. They often depend on carrier-specific data plans or local networks, which might not always provide the best coverage or speed, particularly in rural or isolated places, so the Ryoko got the win on this one

    Mobility

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi has a huge edge in terms of portability. Among the lightest gadgets in its class, it’s compact enough to fit in your pocket, purse, or even your hand. Its portability has been praised by many users, making it ideal for lengthy road trips and trekking adventures.

    Regular portable Wi-Fi devices, on the other hand, are usually bigger. Additionally, they can have a less elegant design, which would make them more difficult to transport without a special place to store them in your backpack or travel box.

    Battery Life

    Another notable edge of the Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi is its battery life. Ryoko guarantees that you can stay online all day long without having to continuously recharge because of its remarkable 8-hour battery life on a single charge. Ryoko’s long-lasting battery is designed to meet your needs, whether you’re working remotely from a remote location or watching a game while camping.

    However, most standard portable Wi-Fi devices will not last as long. Many types require frequent charging, particularly when used for extended periods of time. The longer battery life of Ryoko is a significant advantage for tourists who require reliable internet connectivity for lengthy periods of time.

    Usability

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi device is renowned for being easy to set up. It’s really simple to connect to, according to many verified users, and doesn’t require any additional programs or complex setups. It’s a fantastic option for anyone looking for rapid and easy internet access because of its user-friendly interface.

    Regular portable Wi-Fi devices, on the other hand, may call for more complicated configuration or particular carrier support, which might be difficult for non-techies. Additionally, some devices require manual setups or other programs, which complicates the experience for novices.

    It’s obvious that Ryoko Portable router delivers better performance, portability, battery life, and user-friendliness than a standard portable Wi-Fi device. Ryoko is the obvious choice if you need a secure connection that functions in remote locations and a portable gadget with a long battery life. Ryoko makes sure you stay connected with the least amount of trouble, whether you’re traveling for business, pleasure, or adventure.

    How To Use Ryoko WiFi (Setting Up and Instructions)

    One of the most impressive things about Ryoko Pro is how quickly and easily it gets you connected — no apps, no installations, and definitely no tech stress.

    Here’s how setup works from the moment you open the box:

    1.   Power It On:
    Press the power button. Ryoko boots up and automatically connects to the best available mobile network in your location.

    2.   Connect Your Device:
    You have two options:
            •        Scan the QR code on Ryoko’s screen using your device’s camera, or
            •        Open your Wi-Fi settings, find the Ryoko network, and enter the provided password.

    3.   Enjoy Private, Secure Internet:
    Once connected, you can browse, stream, email, or work online just as you would on home Wi-Fi — only now, your connection is mobile and encrypted.

    4.   Recharge When Needed:
    Ryoko lasts between up to 8 hours depending on how many devices are connected and how actively you use it. It charges with a USB-C cable or an optional magnetic dock — both are easy to travel with.

    No SIM switching, no waiting for activation, and no surprise fees — that’s the experience Ryoko was built to deliver.

    DON’T MISS OUT: Ryoko Pro Portable Wi-Fi Is Available At A Special Price – Click Here To Order Directly From The Official Website

    Is Ryoko Wi-Fi Free?

    One of the most common questions people ask before buying Ryoko Pro is:
    “Is the Wi-Fi free once I buy the device?”

    The short answer is — Ryoko Wi-Fi isn’t completely free, but it’s far more flexible and affordable than traditional options like roaming plans or country-specific SIM cards.

    Every Ryoko device comes with a pre-installed SIM card and an initial 500MB of free data. After that, users can top up their data anytime online — without contracts or surprise fees.

    You are not tied to a fixed monthly subscription. You only pay for what you use, when you need it — which makes it ideal for travelers, seasonal users, and people who want full control over their internet costs.

    While Ryoko Pro is not completely free to operate, it gives you full control over your data spending — no contracts, no surprises, and no overpriced roaming charges. You pay for data only when you need it, and at a rate that is easy to manage.

    Ryoko Reviews Consumer Reports and Complaints USA

    Ryoko Pro has gotten wonderful feedback from clients worldwide. Users praise its mobility, reliability, and ease of use. The encouraging comments demonstrate how well it works in both urban and rural settings. We have included some verified reviews from actual customers:

    • Jenny P. | Verified Buyer – I love it. Im using it when going to my summer house or short road trips. Everywhere connection is fast and great! I love its portable design. It is very light, small and stylish, and easy to hold in my hand or pocket. Battery worked for more than 8 hours, that’s what I need when I am on the road. It brings Internet to the most remote places, woods, lakes. With Ryoko I can enjoy watching the game on my phone while im away.
    • Sophia N.| Verified Buyer – Absolutely looove my ryoko! My cousin lent me hers and I tried it while camping. the connection was consistently fast and reliable; even though it was quite a remote area of the woods. I really liked how portable ryoko is, super light, didn’t take up any space in our backpacks. battery life also exceeded my expectations, lasted more than 8h. I was even able to enjoy the game on my tablet while fishing with my dad at the lake. Got home and immediately bought one for me and my husband.
    • David T.| Verified Buyer – The connection is fast and hardly ever patchy, even in the woods, it blew my mind. It’s super light, and the battery life really exceeded my expectations. I can’t imagine traveling without it! It’s a MUST if you’re outdoors a lot. my wife got one as well. She says that it was super easy to set up, which she did not expect because she’s not a big techie.
    • Dilip G. | Verified USA Customer – The product is fantastic. It works as advertised, and my family is happy with it. The connection is consistent and fast. It is a good recommendation, as I tried it and everything worked just as it should.

    MUST SEE: CLICK HERE NOW TO GET THE RYOKO WIFI DIRECTLY FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE

    Ryoko Reviews: Pros

    • Truly Portable: Ryoko is easy to carry in your pocket, backpack, or even your hand because of its stylish and small design. Perfect for tourists who appreciate ease of use.
    • Reliable Connection in Remote Areas: Numerous users have attested to the device’s ability to function even in isolated locations, such as forests, lakeshores, and rural cabins, perfect for outdoor excursions.
    • Long Battery Life: Ryoko can sustain prolonged surfing, streaming, or working sessions without need frequent recharging thanks to a battery that lasts more than eight hours.
    • Fast and Stable Internet: Even in areas where standard mobile networks fail, customer reviews highlight quick and reliable connections.
    • No Installation Difficulties: Simply turn it on and connect to get started. Without expert assistance, even non-technical individuals have found it simple to get started.
    • Supports Multiple Devices: Ryoko is ideal for small families or groups of friends traveling together because it can connect multiple devices at once.
    • Perfect for Gaming and Streaming: Users have used it to stream videos and games on tablets and smartphones, even when they’re outside without any lagging
    • Excellent for foreign Travel: Ryoko has consistently performed well for travelers throughout Europe, help them save money on expensive foreign data roaming fees.
    • Elegant and Understated Design: In addition to being highly efficient, the gadget has a nice appearance. It is fashionable, lightweight, and will not draw undue attention.

    Ryoko Pro Reviews: Cons

    • Initial Cost Could Be a Barrier: While it will definitely help you save money over time, some purchasers could find the initial cost to be a problem.
    • Not Available on Retail Stores: The best place to get the Ryoko is the official website online.
    • Limited in stock: The Ryoko is trending on many platforms online, so it will not be surprising if it runs out of stock.

    Ryoko Pro Price – What is the Cost?

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi is marketed as a cost-effective, secure internet solution for anyone in need of safe, mobile connectivity, including tourists and home users. You can get yours at the following prices:

    Ryoko is currently available for a temporary discount of up to 70% off. Also, the manufacturers have made available a 30-Day money back guarantee rerun policy: Hurry while supplies last.

    Where To Buy Ryoko Pro Portable Wi-Fi

    To ensure you are getting a genuine Ryoko Pro Portable Wi-Fi with full features and warranty, it’s strongly recommended to purchase only from the official website.

    Buying directly from the source comes with several important benefits:

    • Authenticity guaranteed — no risk of counterfeits or outdated models
    • Exclusive deals — up to 70% off, free shipping, and other limited-time offers you won’t find elsewhere
    • Risk-free purchase — backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee and often a 1-year warranty

    The official website is the only place where you are guaranteed the latest version of Ryoko Pro, complete with updates, customer support, and trusted delivery.

    CLICK HERE TO BUY THE RYOKO PRO WIFI DIRECTLY FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE

    Frequently Asked Questions (Ryoko Pro Reviews)

    The Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi device has quickly gained popularity among digital nomads, tourists, and everyone else who needs secure on-the-go internet connectivity. Based on customer reviews and product specifications, below are the answers to some commonly asked questions concerning Ryoko.

    How many devices is Ryoko able to connect to?

    You can connect up to ten devices at once with Ryoko. Families, parties, or business travelers who need to keep several devices online would find this excellent. Ryoko makes sure that everyone stays connected without sacrificing speed.

    Is Ryoko’s battery life really good?

    Ryoko’s battery life is one of its noteworthy qualities. Depending on usage, it can run for up to eight hours on a single charge. It’s ideal for long flights, day trips, and remote work sessions when you might not always have access to a power source.

    Is it possible to use Ryoko abroad?

    Of course! With coverage in more than 75+ countries, Ryoko is made to be used anywhere in the world. Ryoko guarantees dependable internet access without incurring costly roaming fees, whether you’re visiting distant regions of North America, Europe, or Asia. You won’t have to worry about signal loss in far-off places because it automatically switches to the best network available in each location.

    How fast is Ryoko’s internet connection?

    Ryoko’s 4G network allows for high internet rates. Even in remote locations, users have reported seamless video calls, browsing, and streaming. Ryoko guarantees a quick and dependable connection whether you’re working, watching a game, or just surfing the internet.

    Is it safe to use Ryoko?

    It is safe to use the Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi. Compared to public Wi-Fi, it offers a private connection that is far safer than most other devices. It also aids in defence against dangerous websites and pop-ups thanks to an integrated ad blocker. Its dependability and security, particularly in remote areas, have been commended by numerous Canada consumer reports. Ryoko gives you peace of mind at all times, protecting your data as you browse, work, or stream.

    Which devices are compatible with my Ryoko router?

    Your Ryoko router can be connected to a smartphone, laptop, tablet, PC, or even a smartwatch. Additionally, you can share the Internet with the devices of your friends and family. Ten devices can be used simultaneously!

    Does the Ryoko come with a SIM card? What are my options for topping up, and how much data do I get with it?

    It already has 500MB of mobile data, and the SIM card is included! Ryoko has no roaming charges, and you can top it up at any time.

    Can my parents or children use it? They are not tech-savvy

    Of course! Ryoko was created with an emphasis on simplicity. It only needs two button controllers!

    What is the purpose of the Ad Blocker feature?

    • Block trackers and ads: To shield you from undesired ads and trackers, Ryoko employs one of the most extensive ad and tracker blocking lists available, which is compiled from more than two dozen carefully selected block lists.
    • Stops malware: The Ryoko stops malware from websites that have a reputation for spreading malware, initiating phishing scams, or acting as servers to connect to devices that are already infected.
    • Blocks phishing domains: Blocks phishing domains, which are designed to steal personal information by tricking you into believing you are on a website you are familiar with. For example, playpal.com can look a lot like paypal.com, which you may not notice unless you’re paying attention. Ryoko will help make sure that you are protected from such websites.

    Final Thoughts On Ryoko Reviews

    Customers all over the world have made the Ryoko Portable Wi-Fi their go-to mobile internet solution because of its features, which include but are not limited to global coverage, long battery life, and ease of use. Staying connected is one less worry with Ryoko, whether you’re traveling to a rural cabin, fishing by the lake, camping in the woods, or just doing your everyday tasks

    The entire purchase process is easy and stress-free. All users, from casual road trippers to tech-savvy digital nomads, have expressed the same sentiment: it works, and it works well. Simple setup. No heavy equipment. Just a quick, stable internet connection in your pocket. Additionally, you can rely on it all day long due to its long-lasting battery and lightweight design. Try the Ryoko out; you will find yourself wondering how you managed to survive without it. Hurry to the official website while supplies last!

    DON’T MISS OUT: Ryoko Pro Is Available At A Special Price – Click Here To Order Directly From The Official Website
    Media Contact:
    support@getryoko.com

    Disclaimer: All the information in this release is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. The content provider does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this press release, is strictly at your own risk. We will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eb45d18d-b609-40bf-9259-44b06e25443f

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7f9261dd-37a6-4ccd-b6e8-95f240796419

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c4ff26b7-e0b0-4322-9361-39d827dc0f9b

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a62beedd-817a-4dd9-805e-f3f240d21938

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: When rock music met ancient archeology: the enduring power of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Craig Barker, Head, Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney

    Sony Music

    The 1972 concert film Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, back in cinemas this week, remains one of the most unique concert documentaries ever recorded by a rock band.

    The movie captured the band on the brink of international stardom, released seven months before their breakout album Dark Side of the Moon, which would go on to sell 50 million copies and spend 778 weeks on the Billboard charts.

    The film was the first time a rock concert took place in the ruins of an archaeological site. This intermingling of art and archaeology would change the way many thought of Pompeii.

    The amphitheatre of Pompeii

    The amphitheatre of Pompeii has quite a history as a venue for spectacles.

    Constructed around 70 BCE, it was one of the first permanent constructed amphitheatres in Italy, designed to hold up to 20,000 spectators.

    From graffiti and advertisements, we know it was used in antiquity for gladiatorial fights and displays and hunts of wild beasts and athletic contests.

    The Amphitheatre of Pompeii was constructed around 70 BCE.
    Marco Ober/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Famously we are told by Roman historian Tactius in 59 CE a deadly brawl occurred between Pompeiians and residents of the nearby town of Nuceria during games, resulting in a ten-year ban on gladiatorial contests at the venue. The amphitheatre was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE.

    There is a long tradition of authors, artists, filmmakers and designers taking inspiration from the site and its destruction. A 13-year-old Mozart’s visit to the Temple of Isis at the site inspired The Magic Flute in 1791.

    This fresco depicts the amphitheatre riots of 59 CE, which would lead to gladiatorial contests being banned at the venue for a decade.
    National Archaeological Museum of Naples/Wikimedia Commons

    In the rock music era, Pompeii has inspired numerous artists, especially around themes of death and longing. Cities in Dust (1985) by Siouxsie and the Banshees was perhaps the most famous until Bastille’s 2013 hit Pompeii. In The Decemberists’ Cocoon (2002), the destruction of Pompeii acts as a metaphor for the guilt and loss in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

    Since 2016, the amphitheatre has hosted concerts – with audiences this time. Appropriately, one of the first was a performance by Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour. His show over two nights in July 2016 took place 45 years after first playing at the site.

    But how did Pink Floyd come to play at Pompeii in 1972?

    Rethinking rock concert movies

    It was the peak era of rock concert documentaries. Woodstock (1970) and The Rolling Stone’s Gimme Shelter (1970), and other documentaries of the era, placed the cameras in the audience, giving the cinema-goer the same perspective as the concert audience.

    As a concept, it was getting stale.

    Filmmaker Adrian Maben had been interested in combining art with Pink Floyd’s music. He initially pitched a film of the band’s music over montages of paintings by artists such as Rene Magritte. The band rejected the idea.

    Maben returned to them after a holiday in Naples, realising the ambience of Pompeii suited the band’s music. A performance without an audience provided the antithesis of the era’s concert films.

    Roger Waters during the film Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.
    Sony Music

    The performance would become iconic, particularly the scenes of Roger Waters banging a large gong on the upper wall of the amphitheatre, and the cameras panning past the band’s black road case to reveal the band in the ancient arena.

    It was as far away from Woodstock as possible.

    The performance was filmed over six days in October 1971 in the ancient amphitheatre, with the band playing three songs in the ancient venue: Echoes, A Saucerful of Secrets, and One of These Days.

    Ancient history professor Ugo Carputi of the University of Naples, a Pink Floyd fan, had persuaded authorities to allow the band to film and to close the site for the duration of filming. Besides the film crew, the band’s road crew – and a few children who snuck in to watch – the venue was closed to the public.

    In addition to the performance, the four band members were filmed walking over the volcanic mud around Boscoreale, and their performances in the film both were interspersed with images of antiquities from Pompeii.

    The movie itself was fleshed out with studio performances in a Paris TV studio and rehearsals at Abbey Road Studios.

    Marrying art and music

    Famously the Pink Floyd film blends images of antiquities from the Naples Archaeological Museum with the band’s performances.

    Roman frescoes and mosaics are highlighted during particular songs. Profiles of bronze statues meld with the faces of band members, linking past and present.

    Later scenes have the band backdropped by images of frescoes from the famed Villa of the Mysteries and of the plaster casts of eruption victims.

    The band’s musical themes of death and mystery link with ancient imagery, and it would have been the first time many audience members had seen these masterpieces of Roman art.

    The Memento mori mosaic features significantly during the performance of the song Careful with that Axe, Eugene.
    Naples National Archaeological Museum/Wikimedia Commons

    Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii marked a brave experiment in rock concert movies.

    Watching it more than 50 years later, it is a timepiece of early 70s rock and a remarkable document of a band on the brink of fame.

    Because of their progressive rock sound, sonic experimentation and philosophical lyrics, it was often said by Pink Floyd’s fans that they were “the first band in space”. They even eventually had a cassette of their music played in space.

    But many are not aware of their earlier roots in the dust of ancient Pompeii. The re-release of the film gives an opportunity to enjoy the site’s unlikely role in music history.

    Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII is in cinemas from Thursday.

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

    – ref. When rock music met ancient archeology: the enduring power of Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii – https://theconversation.com/when-rock-music-met-ancient-archeology-the-enduring-power-of-pink-floyd-live-at-pompeii-252744

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: Inside the elaborate farewell to Pope Francis

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Sydney

    ➡️ View the full interactive version of this article here.

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

    – ref. Inside the elaborate farewell to Pope Francis – https://theconversation.com/inside-the-elaborate-farewell-to-pope-francis-255020

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New sculpture provides place to reflect on COVID-19 pandemic

    Source: City of Derby

    A new sculpture has been installed at Nottingham Road Cemetery, offering a place to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Artist Richard Janes was commissioned to design the sculpture that will serve as a place for people to come and reflect on the impacts of the pandemic in their family and community.

    Describing the sculpture, Richard said:

    The sculpture is a reflective exploration of the shared experience of the Coronavirus Pandemic and lockdown, as well as a quiet space to remember loved ones. The wing design is a modern inspiration reflecting the more traditional Victorian angels found in the Cemetery and the gothic arched gravestones. The birds, bubbles, hands and butterflies were all strong repeating themes in the design sessions, as was the use of colour – as represented in the stained-glass sections.

    It was important that the sculpture be a space for reflection and so part of the sculpture forms a seat. The designs of the seat are based on countries, as the pandemic was truly global, and people represented this in their ideas. The central section has a bronze disc which has many smaller relief sculptures which were created during the design sessions.

    Young people from the Voices In Action Youth Council, Chaddesden Park Primary School, and St Andrew’s Academy, as well as Friends of Nottingham Road Cemetery, were involved in the design process.

    At a workshop, members of the ViA Youth Council made clay models to represent the positives that they saw during the pandemic. These models have now been cast in bronze and included in the sculpture.

    The new sculpture will sit alongside other improvements in the cemetery, including tree management and bulb planting. These improvements are funded by the Our City, Our River programme (OCOR), Derby’s flood resilience project, as part of its positive legacy for the city.

    Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, said:

    People might think OCOR is just about flood defences, but it’s much more than that. We’re building a wider legacy for the scheme that delivers real community benefits around the city, not just along the river.

    I want to thank everyone who has been involved in shaping the designs. During the pandemic we all pulled together, and the community effort behind this sculpture reflects that attitude.

    Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha, Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Safety, and Leisure, said: 

    Our cemeteries are special places for the people of Derby. I’m incredibly proud of all the work that has gone into this new sculpture from council officers, the artist, and community groups. With the new sculpture in place, people will now have somewhere they can go to reflect on what was a very challenging time.

    OCOR is Derby’s flood alleviation project led by Derby City Council in partnership with the Environment Agency. The project is delivering enhanced flood protection and unlocking the potential for regeneration around the city centre through new flood walls, flood gates and a state-of-the-art pumping station on the Mill Fleam. The next phase is due to begin this year at Derby Riverside.

    Beyond infrastructure improvements, OCOR has also carried out an extensive programme of biodiversity enhancements including tree planting and installing bird and bat boxes.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Russia: A representative of Setl Group held a master class on the Renga program for the finalists of the TIM Championship

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – During the master class

    In the era of import substitution and well-known geopolitical events, the focus of attention of enterprises, developers, and educational institutions is focused on the transition to domestic digital solutions. The finalists of the All-Russian TIM Championship at SPbGASU. SPO League 2025 developed competition projects in the Renga program – a Russian comprehensive BIM system for automated three-dimensional design using the technology of information modeling of buildings and structures. Therefore, the master class of the chief engineer of the architectural bureau “Setl Group” Dmitry Sergeev aroused keen interest among the contestants.

    “When assessing the situation with foreign vendors, we tested many domestic products. We took into account the labor costs associated with them, time, capabilities, compliance with the standards that we need to organize the work process. Renga was the best choice. But we understood that for objective reasons, third-party libraries would not work for us, because some contain slightly different information, while others do not have what we need at all. Therefore, we created our own library of standard elements that we and our clients use in modeling. A year later, we made it widely available: anyone can download it for use both for educational purposes and for work. As a pilot project, we designed a standard residential complex of varying heights in Renga, the highest section is 23 floors. And then we realized that the existing computers could not handle the full model, so we divided it into sections. Subsequently, we purchased more powerful computers,” said Dmitry Sergeev.

    Using this project as an example, the expert explained the entire design process step by step, including water supply, electricity and other utilities, architectural drawings, and finishing materials. In addition, he clarified how and why the team made this or that decision during the design process.

    “All this work is carried out by teams, which include many young specialists. Our architectural bureau is happy to employ them. There is a mentoring system for adaptation, so we will be glad to see you in our architectural bureau. For internships, employment, you can contact the career start on our company’s website by sending an application,” concluded Dmitry Sergeev.

    Victoria Zinchenko, a student at the Novgorod Construction College, noted that she was pleased to listen to a lecture directly from an industry representative working at Renga.

    “It was interesting to learn how the bureau created all the families for further work in the program. We work on this software at college, and I believe that even with the existing nuances, the program can become a worthy competitor in the market. I am very grateful to the organizers for the opportunity to gain such practical knowledge about it,” Victoria shared.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-Evening Report: Election Diary: Dutton tops list of most distrusted, amid deepening voter cynicism about political leaders

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

    In this election, voters are more distrustful than ever of politicians, and the political heroes of 2022 have fallen from grace, swept from favour by independent players.

    A Roy Morgan survey has found, for the first time, that Australians are driven more by who they distrust than who they trust.

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is the most distrusted figure, outranking even US President Donald Trump. He’s three times more distrusted than Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

    Nor are any federal ministers or opposition frontbenchers in the top five trusted figures.

    In March 2022, before the election of May that year, federal Labor figures, then in opposition, were riding a wave. Federal Labor frontbenchers occupied the top three “net trust” spots. Now, they have dropped out entirely from the top five.

    The five political leaders with the highest net trust in 2022 were, in order: Penny Wong, Albanese, Tanya Plibersek, then Western Australian Labor premier Mark McGowan, and Jacqui Lambie, an outspoken crossbench senator from Tasmania.

    in 2025, all but Lambie have disappeared from the top five. (McGowan has retired from politics.)

    The new list is headed by ACT independent Senator David Pocock, who has been a key figure in negotiations with the government on a number of issues. Lambie has risen to second place. She’s followed by three premiers: Queensland’s David Crisafulli (LNP), Chris Minns (Labor, NSW) and Roger Cook (Labor, WA).

    Both Pocock and Lambie recorded almost no distrust.

    Pocock was seen by respondents as genuine and principled, and someone who listened to constituents. He was praised for championing the vulnerable and the environment and approaching politics with humility, according to the survey.

    Lambie won points for being a straight talker. One respondent described her as “crude but honest”.

    The Morgan survey asks people open-ended questions: to nominate the political leaders they trust and distrust and say why.

    Dutton heads the 2025 list of those with the highest net distrust scores. Clive Palmer is second and Trump next. Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen follow.

    The list is rounded out by Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allan, Greens Leader Adam Bandt, One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, Nationals Barnaby Joyce and Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash.

    In 2022 there were no Labor politicians in the most distrusted list; now there are three, two from the federal government and one premier.

    In 2022 the distrust list, in order, was: Palmer, Scott Morrison, Dutton, Joyce, Hanson, Vladimir Putin, Craig Kelly, Dominic Perrottet, Taylor, Cash and Josh Frydenberg.

    Condemnation of neo-Nazi disruption unites leaders on campaign truce day

    Anzac Day brought a truce in campaigning, as political players prepare for a final frantic week before the poll.

    But ugliness broke out at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, when a small group of neo-Nazis heckled during the Welcome to Country by Bunurong and Gunditjmara elder Uncle Mark Brown.

    The Age reported that convicted neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant led the men. Hersant last year was found guilty of performing an illegal Nazi salute.

    Police escorted Hersant from the service.

    Later Victoria Police said a 26-year-old man had been intervidewed over offensive behaviour and police would proceed via summons.

    At the service, Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner was also booed when acknowledging the traditional owners of the land.

    In Perth at the dawn service, a heckler shouted obscenities during the Welcome to Country.

    Albanese responded, saying: “The disruption of Anzac Day is a disgraceful act and the people responsible must face the full force of the law. This was an act of low cowardice on a day when we honour courage.”

    Dutton said neo-Nazis were “a stain on our national fabric”. He said the Welcome to Country was “an important part of official ceremonies and it should be respected”.

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

    – ref. Election Diary: Dutton tops list of most distrusted, amid deepening voter cynicism about political leaders – https://theconversation.com/election-diary-dutton-tops-list-of-most-distrusted-amid-deepening-voter-cynicism-about-political-leaders-254995

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-Evening Report: Pacific editor welcomes US court ruling in favour of Radio Free Asia

    By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor

    The former head of BenarNews’ Pacific bureau says a United States court ruling this week ordering the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to release congressionally approved funding to Radio Free Asia and its subsidiaries “makes us very happy”.

    However, Stefan Armbruster, who has played a key role in expanding the news agency’s presence in the region, acknowledged, “there’s also more to do”.

    On March 14, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to defund USAGM outlets Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, including placing more than 1300 Voice of America employees on leave.

    “This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary,” the executive order states.

    Armbruster told RNZ Pacific Waves that the ruling found the Trump administration failed to provide evidence to support their actions.

    Signage for US broadcaster Voice of America in Washington, DC . . . Trump administration failed to provide evidence to support its actions. Image: RNZ Pacific

    “[Judge Royce Lamberth] is basically saying that the actions of the Trump administration [are] likely to have been illegal and unconstitutional in taking away the money from these organisations,” he said.

    Order to restore funding
    “The judgments are saying that the US administration should return funding to its overseas broadcasters, which include Voice of America [and] Radio Free Asia.”

    He said that in America, they can lay people off without a loss, and they can still remain employees. But these conditions did not apply for overseas employees.

    “Basically, all the overseas staff have been staff let go, except a very small number in the US who are on visas, dependent on their employment, and they have spoken out about this publicly.

    “They have got 60 days to find a job, a new sponsor for them, or they could face deportation to places like China, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

    “So for the former employees, at the moment, we are just waiting to see how this all plays out.”

    Armbruster said there were hints that a Trump administration could take such action during the election campaign, when the Trump team had flagged issues about the media.

    Speed ‘totally unexpected’
    However, he added the speed at which this has happened “was totally unexpected”.

    “And the judge ruled on that. He said that it is hard to fathom a more straightforward display of arbitrary, capricious action, basically, random and unexplained.

    “In short, the defendants had no method or approach towards shutting down USAGM that this Court could discern.”

    Armbruster said the US Congress funds the USAGM, and the agency has a responsibility to disburse that funding to Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, and Radio Free Asia.

    The judge ruled that the President does not have the authority to withhold that funding, he said.

    “We were funded through till September to the end of the financial year in the US.

    “In terms of how quickly [the executive order] came, it was a big surprise to all of us. Not totally unexpected that this would be happening, but not this way, not this hard.”

    BenarNews ‘gave a voice’
    The BenarNews Pacific bureau was initially set up two-and-a-half years ago but evolved into a fully-fledged bureau only 12 months ago. It had three fulltime staff based in Australia and about 15 stringers and commentators across the region.

    “We built up this fantastic network of people, and the response has been fantastic, just like Radio New Zealand [Pacific],” Armbruster said.

    “We were doing a really good thing and having some really amazing stories on our pages, and big successes. It gave a voice to a whole lot of Pacific journalists and commentators to tell stories from perspectives that were not being presented in other forums.

    “It is hard to say if we will come back because there has been a lot of court orders issued recently under this current US administration, and they sometimes are not complied with, or are very slowly complied with, which is why we are still in the process.”

    However, Armbruster remains hopeful there will be “some interesting news” next week.

    “The judgment also has a little bit of a kicker in the tail, because it is not just an order to do [restore funding].

    “It is an order to turn up on the first day of each month, and to appraise the court of what action is [the USAGM] taking to disburse the funds.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Dawn Service Commemorative Address 2025

    Source: New Zealand Government

    One hundred and 10 years ago, on the dawn of this day that we commemorate every year in New Zealand, Anzac troops came ashore here, shoulder-to-shoulder with their brothers from half a world away.

    Some anticipated an adventure far from home.

    But as the sun rose and the shadows drained from the gullies, it was not adventure that greeted them, but horror.

    Instead of the peace we feel now, they faced wave after wave of firing.

    Each bullet seeming to come closer than the last, as one soldier put it.

    Days became weeks, and weeks became months – but only for those who survived that long.

    The metronome of gunfire and shelling kept the dreadful rhythm of life in the trenches.

    Gallipoli is a name etched into New Zealand’s national identity.

    It represents not only this shore and these hills, but the valour that was shown here on both sides, the terrible sacrifice, and the utter tragedy of war.

    Some 16,000 Kiwis served here. At the time, we were a nation of just one million people.

    Our contribution as a small nation at the bottom of the world, was disproportionate.

    What happened here scarred generations of New Zealanders.

    While we remain proud of those who served, we do not glorify what happened here. We know too much to do that. Instead, we acknowledge the courage and tenacity of the Anzacs, and we respect the valour of the Ottoman Turks who resisted them.

    Our most decorated Gallipoli veteran, Lieutenant Colonel Cyril Bassett VC said, “real courage isn’t just an act of daring; it’s carrying on.”

    And carry on they did. On both sides.

    Everyone fought in the same horrific conditions and, through that, unbreakable bonds were formed.

    Men of means fought in lockstep with those who came from little.

    For the Anzacs, a bond was built between New Zealanders and Australians which we sustain to this day.

    The passage of 110 years has lifted the fog of war and given us a clearer view of the futility of the Gallipoli campaign and New Zealand’s role in it.  But that greater understanding does not dim our respect for those who fought.

    On Anzac Day in particular, we remember the stories of selfless acts of courage that ordinary men committed to save their mates, never knowing that, in doing so, they were writing themselves into the history of our nation.

    But it would be a disservice to those whose valour we remember if we forget the real lesson of this campaign: That we should do all we can to prevent anything like it happening again.

    Many young Turks lost their lives here defending their country. They fought fearlessly in defence of their position, at great cost. Today, we honour them too.

    On behalf of all New Zealanders, I thank Türkiye for protecting the cemeteries and memorials on this site, and caring for our fallen sons as you do for your own.

    Visiting this place has become a rite of passage for New Zealanders young and old who seek a connection with those who gave so much for us, so long ago.

    Some come looking for their family’s surnames on the headstones.

    But some headstones bear the names of men who were struck down too young to bear families of their own.

    Whatever motivation visitors have for coming, nobody leaves here unmoved.

    Only last year, fire struck the peninsula, reminding us of the fragility of this special environment.

    We thank Turkish firefighters for their success in containing the fire and commend the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for restoring the memorials. And as always, we express our gratitude to the Turkish authorities for ensuring this sacred ground is protected into the future.

    Soon, the light will reveal the landscape as it did at this hour, on this day, 110 years ago.

    It will show us the names etched onto headstones marking where men fell.

    It will show us the names of our great grandfathers.

    And it will show us the names of men who never became fathers.

    We think of them all.

    We will remember them.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Australia: Find parenting support at ACT Child and Family Centres

    Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

    You’ll find caring, welcoming staff members at ACT Child and Family Centres.

    In brief:

    • The ACT’s Child and Family Centres provide parenting support and advice.
    • Services are available for anyone pregnant and for families with children up to 8 years old.
    • Centres are located at Tuggeranong, West Belconnen and Gungahlin.

    Parenting isn’t always easy. Sometimes we all need a bit of help.

    The ACT Government’s Child and Family Centres can be that helping hand when you need it.

    The centres offer assistance and advice to support your child’s:

    • health
    • wellbeing
    • learning
    • development.

    “Primarily, our major focus is around parenting. But this exists around all the other things that are going on in a person’s life,” Gungahlin Child and Family Centre Team Leader Shiobhan Tunks said.

    “How someone parents children might be impacted by so many factors. The most important thing to know is the range of things we can help with is really varied, is matched to the family’s needs and it is 100% free.”

    Three centres across Canberra

    Centres are located at Tuggeranong, West Belconnen and Gungahlin.

    Each offers families and carers free help with:

    • parenting support and advice
    • child development assessments through the Child Development Service
    • referrals to other health, wellbeing and support services
    • advice from a qualified social worker
    • playgroups and parenting groups.

    A caring and welcoming staff member will chat to you about available support.

    You can help yourself to tea and coffee and there is a parents’ room and children’s play space in each centre.

    Your questions answered

    Whatever you need to ask about your child’s health, wellbeing and development, staff are here to listen and help.

    “Parenting doesn’t always come naturally. There are always things to learn about how we can parent our children. What we find, is that all parents want what’s best for their children. We can give parents new tools that they weren’t aware of, that can actually make things feel a lot easier for them and their children,” Shiobhan said.

    Most services are for families with children up to 8 years and some services are available for children up to 12 years.

    Services are also available when you’re pregnant and continue after the birth of your little one.

    Skilled, compassionate staff

    Shiobhan says working in a Child and Family Centre is very rewarding.

    “It feels like a very important job. It’s diverse; each family is different. And there’s a level of creativity and flexibility in the work because we want to be able to work with where parents and families are at, in the moment.

    “Staff continue to receive ongoing training and supervision, and what we are offering is current best practice. The programs we use are evidence based, they are effective. And we work with our colleagues in the Child Development Service and Maternal and Child Health so there is a lot of cross pollination of ideas and skills,” she said.

    To find out more about Canberra’s Child and Family Centres visit act.gov.au/community/families/child-and-family-centres

    Read more like this:


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    MIL OSI News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 171

    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.
    SEL1

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 171
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1055 PM CDT Thu Apr 24 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Western and Central Oklahoma
    Texas Panhandle

    * Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 1055 PM
    until 400 AM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Clusters of strong/severe storms including a few
    supercells should continue to develop southeastward regionally late
    tonight, although overall storm intensity should gradually diminish
    overnight.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
    statute miles north and south of a line from 25 miles south of
    Borger TX to 40 miles southeast of Enid OK. For a complete depiction
    of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
    WOU1).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 167…WW 169…WW 170…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    29025.

    …Guyer

    SEL1

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 171
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1055 PM CDT Thu Apr 24 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Western and Central Oklahoma
    Texas Panhandle

    * Effective this Thursday night and Friday morning from 1055 PM
    until 400 AM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2
    inches in diameter possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Clusters of strong/severe storms including a few
    supercells should continue to develop southeastward regionally late
    tonight, although overall storm intensity should gradually diminish
    overnight.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 45
    statute miles north and south of a line from 25 miles south of
    Borger TX to 40 miles southeast of Enid OK. For a complete depiction
    of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS
    WOU1).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for 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. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 167…WW 169…WW 170…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    2 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    29025.

    …Guyer

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW1
    WW 171 SEVERE TSTM OK TX 250355Z – 250900Z
    AXIS..45 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE..
    25S BGD/BORGER TX/ – 40SE END/ENID OK/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 40NM N/S /12ENE AMA – 35SE END/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 29025.

    LAT…LON 35990140 36599741 35299741 34680140

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU1.

    Watch 171 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Low (5%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (10%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Mod (30%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (70%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Murphy, Blumenthal, Larson, Hayes, 100+ Lawmakers Demand Social Security Head Keep Field Offices Open

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
    WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (D-Conn.-01) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.-05) joined a coalition of over 100 Congressional Democrats in writing to the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Leland Dudek, to demand that he keep Social Security field offices open. Americans will also deliver the letter in-person to Social Security field offices across the country today, in a show of support for Social Security workers and the services they provide.
    Multiple reports have revealed that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directed SSA to close field offices across the country — only to reverse course after public backlash and deny the plans altogether. Given the lack of transparency surrounding the status of field offices nationwide, the lawmakers pressed Dudek to ensure that DOGE does not close the offices that so many Social Security beneficiaries rely on for services and assistance.
    Approximately 170,000 Americans visit a Social Security field office for assistance with Social Security benefits each day. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has threatened to close dozens of these offices as part of its attack on the SSA. In Connecticut, this could affect field offices in Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, Willimantic, New London, New Haven, New Britain, Stamford, Meriden, Torrington, Danbury, Ansonia, East Hartford, Middletown, and Norwich.
    “[B]eneficiaries need the opportunity to seek assistance from SSA in person…Closing any of these field offices will make it harder for individuals to access their benefits,” the lawmakers wrote. 
    The lawmakers include a list of every SSA field office across the country and press Dudek to commit to keeping every single one of them open. 
    On Thursday, Social Security Works, Indivisible, P Street, and AFGE organized volunteers to deliver copies of the lawmakers’ letter to field offices across the country — in blue, red, and purple counties — in support of the field offices and their staff. Volunteers plan to visit at least 50 offices in Arizona, Nebraska, California, New Jersey, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Oregon, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maryland, Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.
    The initiative is part of Senate Democrats’ Social Security War Room, a coordinated effort to fight back against the Trump administration’s attack on Americans’ Social Security. The War Room coordinates messaging across the Senate Democratic Caucus and external stakeholders; encourages grassroots engagement by providing opportunities for Americans to share what Social Security means to them; and educates Senate staff, the American public, and stakeholders about Republicans’ agenda and their continued cuts to Americans’ Social Security services and benefits.
    U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Me.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also signed the letter.
    U.S. Representatives Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Gilbert Cisneros (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Josh Riley (D-N.Y.), Deborah Ross (D-Pa.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Norma Torres (D-Calif.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) also signed the letter.
    Full text of the letter is available HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 25, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 25, 2025.

    Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continues
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With just eight days until the May 3 federal election, and with in-person early voting well under way, Labor has taken a seven-point lead in a national

    Beating malaria: what can be done with shrinking funds and rising threats
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Taneshka Kruger, UP ISMC: Project Manager and Coordinator, University of Pretoria Healthcare in Africa faces a perfect storm: high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, a rise in non-communicable diseases, and dwindling foreign aid. In 2021, nearly half of the sub-Saharan African countries relied on

    Open letter to Fijians – ‘why is our country supporting Israel’s heinous crimes in Gaza?’
    Pacific Media Watch The Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network today condemned the Fiji government’s failure to stand up for international law and justice over the Israeli war on Gaza in their weekly Black Thursday protest. “For the past 18 months, we have made repeated requests to our government to do the bare minimum and enforce

    Scares and stunts in the home stretch: election special podcast
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Michelle Grattan and Amanda Dunn discuss the fourth week of the 2025 election campaign. While the death of Pope Francis interrupted campaigning for a while, the leaders had another debate on Tuesday night and the opposition (belatedly) put out its

    Grattan on Friday: Coalition’s campaign lacks good planning and enough elbow grease
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Whatever the result on May 3, even people within the Liberals think they have run a very poor national campaign. Not just poor, but odd. Nothing makes the point more strongly than this week’s release of the opposition’s defence policy.

    Inside the elaborate farewell to Pope Francis
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carole Cusack, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Sydney ➡️ View the full interactive version of this article here. Carole Cusack 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

    5 ways to tackle Australia’s backlog of asylum cases
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Professor and Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney People who apply for asylum in Australia face significant delays in having their claims processed. These delays undermine the integrity of the asylum system, erode public confidence and cause significant

    Preference deals can decide the outcome of a seat in an election – but not always
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Every election cycle the media becomes infatuated, even if temporarily, with preference deals between parties. The 2025 election is no exception, with many media reports about preference

    What is preferential voting and how does it work? Your guide to making your vote count
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hortle, Deputy Director, Tasmanian Policy Exchange, University of Tasmania For each Australian federal election, there are two different ways you get to vote. Whether you vote early, by post or on polling day on May 3, each eligible voter will be given two ballot papers: one

    Back to the fuel guzzlers? Coalition plans to end EV tax breaks would hobble the clean transport transition
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Mortimore, Lecturer, Griffith Business School, Griffith University wedmoment.stock/Shutterstock If elected, the Coalition has pledged to end Labor’s substantial tax break for new zero- or low-emissions vehicles. This, combined with an earlier promise to roll back new fuel efficiency standards, would successfully slow the transition to hybrid

    Many experienced tradies don’t have formal qualifications. Could fast-tracked recognition ease the housing crisis?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pi-Shen Seet, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Edith Cowan University Once again, housing affordability is at the forefront of an Australian federal election. Both major parties have put housing policies at the centre of their respective campaigns. But there are still concerns too little is being done

    This may be as good as it gets: NZ and Australia face a complicated puzzle when it comes to supermarket prices
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Meade, Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research, Griffith University Daria Nipot/Shutterstock With ongoing cost of living pressures, the Australian and New Zealand supermarket sectors are attracting renewed political attention on both sides of the Tasman. Allegations of price gouging have become

    The phrase ‘fuzzy wuzzy angels’ is far from affectionate – it reflects 500 years of racism
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erika K. Smith, Associate Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University This article contains mention of racist terms in historical context. Every Anzac Day, Australians are presented with narratives that re-inscribe particular versions of our national story. One such narrative persistently claims “fuzzy wuzzy angel” was

    Why AUKUS remains the right strategy for the future defence of Australia
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Parker, Adjunct Fellow, Naval Studies at UNSW Canberra, and Expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University Australian strategic thinking has long struggled to move beyond a narrow view of defence that focuses solely on protecting our shores. However, in today’s world, our economy could be

    Election meme hits and duds – we’ve graded some of the best (and worst) of the campaign so far
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University As Australia begins voting in the federal election, we’re awash with political messages. While this of course includes the typical paid ads in newspapers and on TV (those ones with the infamously fast-paced “authorised by”

    Markets are choppy. What should you do with your super if you are near retirement?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland Shutterstock For Australians approaching retirement, recent market volatility may feel like more than just a bump in the road. Unlike younger investors, who have time on their side, retirees don’t have the luxury of waiting out downturns. A

    Provocative, progressive and fearless: why Beatrice Faust’s views still resonate in Australia
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judith Brett, Emeritus Professor of Politics, La Trobe University Beatrice Faust is best remembered as the founder, early in 1972, of the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL). Women’s Liberation was already well under way. Betty Friedan had published The Feminine Mystique in 1962, arguing that many women found

    ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 24, 2025
    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 24, 2025.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: FBI Surges Resources to Nigeria to Combat Financially Motivated Sextortion

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

    The FBI conducted a first-of-its-kind global operation to address the dangerous rise in American suicides attributed to this crime.

    Today, the FBI is announcing a global operation to combat financially motivated sextortion schemes operating out of Nigeria. In coordination with multiple law enforcement partners, the FBI conducted Operation Artemis—a surge of resources and personnel to Nigeria to address the high rate of sextortion related suicides attributed to Nigerian perpetrators. As a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrests of 22 Nigerian subjects connected to financially motivated sextortion schemes. Of those 22 subjects, approximately half were directly linked to victims who took their own lives. This operation marks a significant step in the fight against child exploitation and brings justice and accountability to international perpetrators hiding anonymously behind screens.

    “Operation Artemis exemplifies the FBI’s never-ending mission to protect our most vulnerable, and to pursue the heinous criminals harming our children — no matter where they hide,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “This operation highlights the critical need for international cooperation to address this growing threat, and it’s a fight we can’t take on without our valued partners across the globe. We hope this message encourages parents and guardians to continue to educate their children about online safety and serves as a reminder of the FBI’s relentless pursuit of keeping our children safe.”

    This announcement comes as the FBI has observed a 30% increase in sextortion-related tips received to our National Threat Operations Center from October 2024 to March 2025 as compared to the previous year. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3, there were over 54,000 victims in 2024, up from 34,000 in 2023. Over the last two years there have been nearly $65 million dollars in financial losses due to this crime. This comes as the FBI began observing a significant increase over the last three years in financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting young males ages 14-17, resulting in more than 20 minor victims dying by suicide.

    Given the alarming rise and similarities of these cases, the FBI opened investigations across the country with the goal of bringing answers and closure to grieving American families. Information gathered by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit (CEOU) allowed the FBI to work collaboratively with all 55 of our field offices to identify nearly 3,000 victims of financially motivated sextortion. It was during these investigative steps that the commonality of perpetrators residing in Nigeria began to grow and paint a larger, more international scope of this crime.

    As a result of Operation Artemis, a Nigerian man was extradited to the U.S. in January and charged with causing the death of a South Carolina teenager who took his own life after being extorted by the suspect posing as a woman. Additionally, two men were extradited from Nigeria to the United States last year to face charges related to the sextortion and death of a young man in Pennsylvania. These subjects will now be held accountable in the American justice system, with more subjects still awaiting extraditions in Nigeria.

    The subjects arrested in this operation engaged in sophisticated, financially motivated sextortion schemes by contacting victims via social media platforms and posing as peers or potential romantic interests. Once trust or rapport was established, often through conversation in chatrooms or direct messages, the suspects coerced their victims into taking and sharing compromising images of themselves. Offenders then threatened to release the compromising photos unless they received immediate payment — typically requested via gift cards, mobile payment services, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Regardless of a payment being received or not, the perpetrators would often continue to manipulate their victims, leaving them feeling ashamed, isolated, and responsible.

    Operation Artemis was spearheaded by multiple units at the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, including CEOU and the Crimes and Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Intelligence Unit, and across the globe at the FBI Legal Attaché offices in Abuja and Lagos. The FBI’s Victim Outreach Support and Strategy Program of the Victim Services Division also played a key role assisting victims’ families throughout these various investigations. The following FBI field offices also provided resources directly on the ground in Nigeria as well as invaluable investigative support and assistance: FBI Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Houston, Jackson, Milwaukee, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Richmond, San Diego, and St. Louis. Additionally, our partners at the Department of Justice Child Exploitation Obscenities Section served a critical role in ensuring the perpetrators in these cases face charges. Working together, we were able to obtain arrests, gather comprehensive forensic analyses, and conduct subject interviews on the ground in Nigeria.

    This operation would not have been possible without our partnerships with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and their assistance in developing an ongoing, collaborative strategy to combat financially motivated sextortion. Multiple agencies also provided the FBI with assistance both with personnel and intelligence for this operation, leading to an even larger global perspective on the threat. FBI’s CEOU secured personnel assistance from our Five Eyes partners, including Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The FBI also recognizes the valued partnership and assistance of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The FBI encourages parents to have ongoing conversations with their children and teenagers about online safety and to remind them they are not alone, and it is not their fault should they become a victim to these sophisticated and egregious schemes. If your child believes they are a victim of sextortion or financially motivated sextortion, please immediately report the activity to law enforcement and the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov. For immediate help or if you or a child is in danger, call 911. For 24/7 free, confidential mental health assistance, the 988 suicide and crisis hotline connects individuals in need of support with counselors across the United States.

    Take It Down is NCMEC’s free service that can help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old. You can remain anonymous while using the service and you won’t have to send your images or videos to anyone. Take It Down will work on public or unencrypted online platforms that have agreed to participate. Please visit takeitdown.ncmec.org.

    For more information on sextortion and financial sextortion, please visit the FBI’s resources on the threats at fbi.gov/sextortion and fbi.gov/financialsextortion.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continues

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    With just eight days until the May 3 federal election, and with in-person early voting well under way, Labor has taken a seven-point lead in a national YouGov poll and an 11-point lead in a Morgan poll. An exit poll of early voters is also encouraging for Labor.

    A national YouGov poll, conducted April 17–22 from a sample of 1,500, gave Labor a 53.5–46.5 lead, a 0.5-point gain for Labor since the April 11–15 YouGov poll. This is Labor’s biggest lead in YouGov this term.

    Primary votes were 33.5% Labor (up 0.5), 31% Coalition (down two), 14% Greens (up one), 10.5% One Nation (up 3.5), 2% Trumpet of Patriots (steady), 5% independents (down four) and 4% others (up one). In this poll, the Coalition has lost votes on its right to One Nation.

    Using 2022 election preference flows would give Labor about a 55–45 lead from these primary votes. YouGov is applying preference flows from its previous MRP poll that was conducted from late February to late March.

    However, recent polls that use respondent preferences suggest the gap in the Coalition’s favour between respondent and 2022 preference flows has dropped to nearly zero. This means YouGov’s current preference assumptions may be too pro-Coalition. The Poll Bludger expects another YouGov MRP poll this weekend.

    While the gap between Morgan and YouGov’s headline voting intentions is two points, Morgan is using respondent preferences for all their polls, while YouGov uses respondent preferences from its last MRP poll. By 2022 election flows, the gap is only 0.5 points.

    Here is the poll graph of Labor’s two-party vote in national polls. If YouGov and Morgan are right, Labor is likely headed for a landslide re-election. The only recent poll that has had the Coalition in a decent position was the April 14–16 Freshwater poll.

    Both the YouGov and Morgan polls were taken after candidate nominations were declared on April 11. Both are now using seat-specific candidate lists in their polls. Support for independents fell as many seats don’t have viable independent candidates.

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval in YouGov slid one point to -7, with 49% dissatisfied and 42% satisfied. Peter Dutton’s net approval slumped eight points to a record low in this poll of -18. Albanese led Dutton as better PM by 50–35 (48–38 previously).

    Labor takes double-digit lead in Morgan poll

    A national Morgan poll, conducted April 14–20 from a sample of 1,605, gave Labor a 55.5–44.5 lead by headline respondent preferences, a one-point gain for Labor since the April 7–13 Morgan poll.

    Primary votes were 34.5% Labor (up 2.5), 34% Coalition (up 0.5), 14.5% Greens (steady), 6% One Nation (steady), 0.5% Trumpet of Patriots (down 0.5), 7.5% independents (down 2.5) and 3% others (steady). By 2022 election flows, Labor led by 55.5–44.5, a one-point gain for Labor.

    By 48–34, voters thought Australia was headed in the wrong direction (48.5–34.5 previously). Morgan’s consumer confidence index increased 1.3 points to 85.5.

    Exit polls of early voting in 19 seats encouraging for Labor

    The News Corp tabloids on Thursday released results of exit polls of pre-poll voters from the first two days of in-person early voting (Tuesday and Wednesday). A total of 4,000 voters were surveyed across 19 seats (just over 200 per seat). The swings in these polls were compared against all votes in these seats in 2022, not just the early votes.

    In Australia, Labor does better on election day booths than in pre-poll voting booths. ABC election analyst Antony Green said Labor’s two-party vote was 2.8 points higher at election day booths compared with pre-poll votes in 2022.

    I also believe relatively few young people will vote very early based on US experience, so the demographic mix of these early votes will skew older and less Greens-friendly than the final early vote.

    Comparing these very early exit polls with the final vote from pre-poll centres in 2022, The Poll Bludger had Labor gaining primary vote swings in all seats that are likely to be Labor vs Coalition contests, while the Coalition was down except in Victoria. The Greens also dropped, but not in the Brisbane Greens-held seats.

    If these very early pre-poll votes skew older than the final pre-poll votes and these exit polls are representative of people who have already voted, the Coalition is in big trouble.

    Newspoll aggregate data from late March to mid-April

    The Australian on Tuesday released aggregate data for the four Newspolls conducted during the election campaign. These polls were conducted from late March to mid-April from an overall sample of 5,033.

    The Poll Bludger said Labor led by 52–48 in New South Wales, a two-point gain for Labor since the January to March Newspoll aggregate. Labor led by 53–47 in Victoria, a two-point gain for Labor. The Coalition led by 54–46 in Queensland, a three-point gain for Labor. Labor led by an unchanged 54–46 in Western Australia. Labor led by 55–45 in South Australia, a five-point gain for Labor.

    The Poll Bludger’s poll data has Labor leading with the university-educated by 55–45, a three-point gain for Labor. Among those with a TAFE/technical education, there was a 50–50 tie, a two-point gain for Labor. Among those without tertiary education, there was a 50–50 tie, a two-point gain for Labor.

    The Poll Bludger’s BludgerTrack now gives Labor a national 53.0–47.0 lead, a 0.9% swing to Labor since the 2022 election. In NSW, Labor leads by 53.4–46.6, a 2.0% swing to Labor. In Victoria, Labor leads by 52.8–47.2, a 2.0% swing to the Coalition. In Queensland, the Coalition leads by 52.5–47.5, a 1.5% swing to Labor. In WA, Labor leads by 57.6–42.4, a 2.6% swing to Labor. In SA, Labor leads by 56.8–43.2, a 2.8% swing to Labor.

    DemosAU poll of Greens-held Brisbane seats

    The Poll Bludger reported Tuesday that DemosAU collectively polled the three Greens-held Brisbane seats (Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith) in mid-April from a sample of 1,087. Labor led the Liberal National Party by 56–44 while the Greens led by 55–45. The LNP had 36% of the primary vote across these three seats, with the Greens and Labor tied at 29%.

    In 2022, primary votes across these seats were 35.7% LNP, 30.7% Greens and 26.2% Labor. The small swing to Labor and against the Greens implies Labor would gain Brisbane from the Greens, with the Greens retaining Ryan and Griffith.

    This poll is far more plausible than the JWS polls that had huge swings to the LNP in all these seats and the Greens a distant third in Brisbane and Ryan.

    NSW Resolve poll: Labor gains from low

    A New South Wales state Resolve poll for The Sydney Morning Herald, conducted with the late March and mid-April federal Resolve polls from a sample of 1,123, gave the Coalition 36% of the primary vote (down two since February), Labor 33% (up four), the Greens 11% (down three), independents 14% (up three) and others 6% (down two).

    No two-party estimate was provided, but The Poll Bludger said Labor had about a 52–48 lead. Labor incumbent Chris Minns led the Liberals’ Mark Speakman as preferred premier by 40–15 (35–14 previously).

    Asked about NSW government services, by 42–27 voters thought public schools good, by 43–32 they thought public transport good and by 37–36 they thought road infrastructure good. But public hospitals were thought poor by 42–38.

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

    – ref. Labor takes large leads in YouGov and Morgan polls as surge continues – https://theconversation.com/labor-takes-large-leads-in-yougov-and-morgan-polls-as-surge-continues-255026

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: BlackRock® Canada Announces Final April Cash Distributions for the iShares® Premium Money Market ETF

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TORONTO, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (“BlackRock Canada”), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK), today announced the final April 2025 cash distributions for the iShares Premium Money Market ETF. Unitholders of record on April 25, 2025 will receive cash distributions payable on April 30, 2025.

    Details regarding the final “per unit” distribution amounts are as follows:

    Fund Name Fund Ticker Cash Distribution Per Unit
    iShares Premium Money Market ETF CMR $0.121

    Further information on the iShares ETFs can be found at http://www.blackrock.com/ca.

    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.

    Contact for Media:
    Sydney Punchard
    Email: Sydney.Punchard@blackrock.com

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Statement from Congressman Jim McGovern and Family Upon the Passing of Molly McGovern

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA)

    WASHINGTON—Congressman Jim McGovern, his wife Lisa McGovern, and their son Patrick McGovern released the following statement upon the passing of Congressman McGovern’s daughter, Molly McGovern:

    “Molly radiated pure joy. She lit up every room with her beaming smile—full of laughter, endless warmth, and a sharp wit that could disarm you in an instant. She was unbelievably funny, fiercely loyal, and wise beyond her years. Molly had a rare gift: She made everyone feel special, because she genuinely believed everyone was special. She treated people with compassion and kindness—always standing up for the underdog, and making fast friends wherever she went. Her love for the Boston Bruins was fierce, but it was no match for the love she gave so freely to her family and friends. If you ever met Molly, you carried a piece of her light with you. She had that kind of effect on people.

    “Even as she faced a rare cancer diagnosis, she did so with relentless courage, optimism, and tenacity—refusing to let her illness slow her down. She had just finished a semester abroad in Australia. She passed away unexpectedly in Italy while visiting a good friend and his family.

    “Molly will always be the soul of our family. We are so proud of her, and so glad that so many people were touched by her incredible life. We love you, Molly. We miss you already.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Australia: PD Enzo sniffs out suspect

    Source: New South Wales – News

    A man has been arrested after a pursuit through the northern suburbs earlier this morning.

    About 12.30am on Friday 25 April, Northern District patrols spotted a red MG bearing false plates on Montague Road at Pooraka and attempted to stop the car however it took off a speed.

    PolAir were overhead and tracked the car travelling at 130km/h in a 60km/h zone.  The car turned onto Berryman Drive and made it’s way onto North East Road and eventually back onto Montague Road.

    The sedan drove through the back streets of Valley View where it was successfully spiked on Brougham Drive.

    The car eventually came to a stop on Wright Road and the occupant ran from the vehicle and headed north over fences of residential properties.

    Patrols quickly set up cordons and PD Enzo was called in to assist with the search of the man, where he tracked him to a property on Malbanda Avenue at Para Vista and he was arrested without incident.

    Police searched the car and located a taser, a knife and ice pipes.

    Checks revealed the car had been stolen from a Glengowrie address in December last year.

    A 41-year-old man from Semaphore Park was charged with engaging in a police pursuit, driving unlicenced, possessing a prohibited weapon, carrying an offensive weapon, illegal use and altering plates.  He was granted police bail to appear in Elizabeth Magistrates Court on 4 June.

    MIL OSI News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Energy – African Energy Chamber (AEC) Champions Smart Policy, Strategic Partnerships to Advance Namibia’s Oil & Gas Discoveries

    SOURCE: African Energy Chamber

    The African Energy Chamber is a strategic partner of the Namibia International Energy Conference, which kicked off today in Windhoek

    WINDHOEK, Namibia, April 24, 2025/ — As a strategic partner of the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC), the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (www.EnergyChamber.org) is calling for a deliberate and accelerated approach to moving Namibia’s recent oil and gas discoveries into production – emphasizing the importance of speed, investor confidence and strategic collaboration.

    Speaking during a high-level panel at NIEC 2025, AEC Executive Chairman NJ Ayuk urged Namibia to seize the momentum of its frontier discoveries, while avoiding the pitfalls that have stalled progress in other hydrocarbon-rich African nations. He emphasized that Namibia’s path to becoming a regional energy hub hinges on its ability to learn from international case studies and execute deals that ensure long-term national benefit.

    “Namibia needs to move fast, produce quickly and negotiate the best deals with its partners to ensure the rapid development of its oil discoveries,” Ayuk stated. He pointed to Guyana as a prime example, noting how the South American country developed a robust strategy focused on national benefit and successfully attracted billions in investments to fast-track its energy projects.

    In contrast, Ayuk cautioned against the delays experienced by countries like Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa, where production was significantly postponed, leading to rising project costs and lost opportunities. “There is a growing movement trying to discourage Africa – and Namibia – from producing its oil and gas. We must resist that,” he added.

    Reinforcing the need for investor-friendly terms, Justin Cochrane, Africa Upstream Regional Research Director at S&P Global Commodity Insights, highlighted the necessity of contract stability, transparent data-sharing and a balanced approach to fiscal negotiations. “It’s natural that Namibia wants to maximize its benefits, but pushing too hard on IOCs can result in getting 100% of nothing… The first milestone must be achieving first oil,” said Cochrane.

    Representing Namibia’s national oil company, Victoria Sibeya, Interim Managing Director of NAMCOR, stressed that the company is actively engaged in every phase of the industry, from data acquisition and exploration to shaping the downstream and midstream vision. “We are not just bystanders,” said Sibeya. “NAMCOR is deeply involved in data acquisition, exploration and the exchange of knowledge and technology with our partners. We are also preparing to invest in downstream and midstream sectors to ensure that we can add value once production begins.”

    Echoing the call for local development, Adriano Bastos, Head of Upstream at Galp, underscored the need for early and continuous skills development – proposing that Namibians be trained abroad in specialized areas like FPSO operations to ensure they are prepared to lead once production begins at home. “Namibia has capabilities that are rare in the region, but more collaboration with international partners is essential to build the local skills base,” he said.

    Bastos noted that Namibians make up 25% of Galp’s workforce in the country, including its first female offshore base manager. “We are proud of the strides we have made. Our nationalization plans are aggressive, and we work closely with [the Namibian Ports Authority] and other local entities to implement meaningful capacity-building projects.”

    As Namibia stands on the cusp of transforming exploration success into production, the message from industry leaders is clear: time, trust and talent will determine the country’s trajectory. Through cross-border collaboration, pragmatic deal-making and a strong national vision, Namibia can emerge not just as an oil producer – but as a continental model for inclusive, forward-thinking energy development.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Public invited to line Mall for VE Day 80 procession and fly past

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Public invited to line Mall for VE Day 80 procession and fly past

    Members of the public are able to watch the VE Day 80 military procession taking place on Monday 5 May

    • More than 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, uniformed services and young people will march from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace
    • Procession on Bank Holiday Monday begins with a performance of a Churchill speech and finishes with a flypast including the world-famous Red Arrows
    • Public encouraged to host a street party as part of the Great British Food Festival

    Commemorations to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe, known as Victory in Europe (VE) Day, will kick off on Monday 5 May with a military procession featuring 1,300 members of the Armed Forces and thousands of members of the public watching along the Mall.

    The events will pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front.

    The procession will begin in Parliament Square when Big Ben strikes midday, and an actor will recite extracts from the iconic Winston Churchill VE Day speech. A young person will then pass the Commonwealth War Graves Torch for Peace to Alan Kennett, 100, a Second World War veteran who served in the Normandy campaign. The Torch for Peace is an enduring symbol, honouring the contributions made by individuals, which will act as a baton to pass and share stories to future generations.

    The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will then lead the procession from Parliament Square, down Whitehall and past the Cenotaph which will be dressed in Union Flags, through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall through to Buckingham Palace where the procession will finish.

    They will be followed by a tri-service procession group featuring marching members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. Cadets from all three services and other uniformed youth groups will also take part in the procession to ensure the message of VE Day is handed down to a new generation.

    The Prime Minister and Second World War veterans supported by the Royal British Legion will watch the procession from a specially built dais on the Queen Victoria Memorial.

    The procession will conclude with the Mall being filled with members of the public and a fly past featuring the Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft.

    VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival, led by the Together Coalition and the Big Lunch in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:

    VE Day 80 is a chance for us to come together and celebrate our veterans and ensure their legacy of peace is passed on to future generations. Whether by watching on TV or having a street party with neighbours, everyone can take part. This is one of the last chances we have to say thank you to this generation of heroes and it is right that we do just that.

    Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

    As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe, I look forward to joining our veterans, serving Armed Forces personnel and young people to remember the remarkable generation who defended the freedoms we enjoy today.

    Our whole nation is invited to join together to reflect on the sacrifices of all those who fought for peace and ensure their legacy is never forgotten.

    Alan Kennett, who travelled to Normandy with the Royal British Legion for D-Day 80, said:

    It is a huge honour to be part of the military procession to start the VE80 commemorations. I remember Battle of Britain pilot Johnnie Johnson bursting in and shouting ‘the war is over’. A big party soon followed, filled with lots of drinking and celebrating the news. The 80th anniversary of VE Day brings back so many memories, and it will be such a privilege to be there with everyone.

    Mark Atkinson, Director General of the Royal British Legion, said:

    The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a special moment for the country and the Royal British Legion is incredibly proud to put Second World War veterans at the heart of the commemorations. It’s important we remember those who went to war, who fought for the freedom of not just Europe but everywhere, and those who risked their lives and never made it back.

    Brendan Cox, co-Founder of the Together Coalition, said:

    VE Day 80 is a moment to celebrate our shared victory and remember the sacrifices it took. Whether it’s hosting a street party, sharing a meal, or writing a message of thanks to a veteran, this is a unique opportunity to thank those who served and to celebrate the values that hold us together. We’re proud to be supporting communities across the UK to mark this occasion in ways that are meaningful, joyful and inclusive. Most importantly, this is a moment for everyone to take part – regardless of background, age or postcode.

    The procession and flypast will be broadcast live on Monday 5 May. On Thursday 8 May, 80 years to the day since the end of the Second World War in Europe, a service will take place at Westminster Abbey followed by a concert in the evening on Horse Guards Parade in which stars of stage and screen will tell the story of the end of the war.

    Armed Forces of Commonwealth nations have been invited to join the procession to celebrate the contribution of people from throughout the Commonwealth to the allied effort during the Second World War. They will be led by The Band of the Irish Guards on parade.

    Military musicians on parade include The Band of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, The Band of HM Royal Marines and a military band from the Royal Corps of Army Music.

    The flypast will include a Voyager transport aircraft, a P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets  and will culminate with the iconic red, white, and blue smoke of the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows.

    Historic Second World War-era aircraft from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will also take part in the flypast.

    ENDS

    Notes to editors:

    Flypast details:

    • P8 Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft has recently flown over the North Sea and North Atlantic to monitor Russian vessels near UK waters.
    • The UK’s fleet of Voyager aircraft has been extensively involved in our support to Ukraine, delivering tonnes of equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and flying thousands of Ukrainian recruits to the UK for military training.
    • Typhoon fast jets are on standby 365 24/7 to protect UK airspace and frequently deploy overseas to help protect our allies from airborne threats as part of NATO Air Policing. Typhoons are currently deployed to Poland.
    • The F-35 Lightning is a fifth-generation fighter jet which deploy on board the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers – HMS Prince of Wales set sail earlier this week on its eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific.

    Members of the public can find street parties and events near them on the governments VE Day 80 website at www.ve-vjday80.gov.uk

    The Royal British Legion has been given funding by DCMS to support veteran attendance at government led events in the UK to mark VE Day 80. This includes travel costs and welfare support.

    Read guidance for the public wishing to attend the procession in London

    As announced last week by the Prime Minister, pubs will be able to stay open an additional two hours on Thursday May 8 to celebrate. More information

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    Updates to this page

    Published 25 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Australia: MALLALA ROAD, KORUNYE (Building Fire)

    Source: South Australia County Fire Service

    Issued on
    25 Apr 2025 08:27

    Issued for
    KORUNYE near Two Wells in the Mid North.

    Warning level
    Advice – Avoid Smoke

    Action
    Smoke from KORUNYE is in the Two Wells, Middle Beach and Lower Light area.

    Smoke can affect your health. You should stay informed and be aware of the health impacts of smoke on yourself and others.

    Symptoms of exposure includes shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing, burning eyes, running nose, chest tightness, chest pain and dizziness or light-headedness.

    If you or anyone in your care are having difficulty breathing, seek medical attention from your local GP. If your symptoms become severe, call 000.

    More information will be provided by the CFS when it is available.

    MIL OSI News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: ANZAC Day – Governor-General’s Anzac Day Dawn Service Address

    Source: Government House

    MEDIA RELEASE – EMBARGOED until 6.15am FRIDAY 25 April
    The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, GNZM, QSO
    Governor-General of New Zealand
    Anzac Day Dawn Service Address 2025
    Auckland War Memorial Museum
    Takiri ko te ata, haehaetia te pō
    E koro mā i te pō!
    Nga Toa a Tūmatauenga!
    Ngā Toa a Ranginui
    Ngā toa a Tangaroa
    Hoki wairua mai, ki runga i ō koutou marae
    Ki o koutou maunga karangaranga.
    E okioki mai nā i nga taumata, nga kahurangi
    Tirohia mai ra ki ō koutou uri
    E hāpai nei i ngā kupu ōhākī
    Tangihia, mihia nga aitua
    Huihuia mai ki tēnei marae
    Te hunga ora
    Tēnā koutou
    Tēnā koutou
    Tēnā tātou katoa
    I specifically acknowledge:
    The Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister
    Brad Williams, Consul General for the Commonwealth of Australia
    Air Vice Marshal Darryn Webb, Chief of Air Force
    His Worship Wayne Brown, Mayor of Auckland
    Frédéric Leturque, Mayor of Arras, France
    Sir Wayne Shelford, National President of the RNZRSA
    Sir Graham Lowe, Patron of the Auckland RSA
    Graham Gibson, President of the Auckland RSA
    Brad Hodgson, Auckland RSA
    Dr David Reeves, Chief Executive of the Auckland War Memorial Museum
    Mr Keutekarakia Mataroa, Dean of the Auckland Consular Corps
    A special welcome to people who have served – or are currently serving in our Defence Force.
    This Anzac Day marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings by soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – the ANZACS. It signalled the beginning of a campaign that was to take the lives of so many of our young men – and would devastate the communities they left behind at home. One year later, in 1916, grieving New Zealanders gathered to express their sorrow at the first Anzac Day commemoration.
    Today, in our towns, cities and hamlets across the length and breadth of Aotearoa – your comrades have gathered in the chill light of dawn, alongside their families and communities, to commemorate Anzac Day.
    This morning, your thoughts may be turning to your experience of military service – and to those who are missing from among your ranks.
    It’s an honour to join you and the people of Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, at our nation’s preeminent site of remembrance – to show our aroha and respect for the many hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders in our history who have answered the call to arms – and to express our deep sorrow for those who never returned from the field of battle, or who subsequently died of their wounds.
    This year we mark another significant anniversary in our nation’s military history. Eighty years ago, after nearly six long years, the Second World War finally came to an end. An astonishing 140,000 New Zealanders had served in the European, North African and the Pacific theatres of war, and almost 12,000 lost their lives as a result of their war service. Around one third of those casualties were from Auckland.
    Once again, our families and communities experienced the terrible pain of sacrifice and loss, and the impacts of that trauma lingered for generations.
    Eighty years ago, New Zealanders also played a role in establishing the United Nations, which many people fervently hoped would ensure that the horrors of the First and Second World Wars could never be repeated.
    In the years since, conflict on that scale has indeed been avoided, but securing peaceful resolution to geopolitical tensions has remained elusive.
    New Zealand has regularly been called upon to support our allies – from the Korean War in the 1950s – through to the conflict in Afghanistan in the 2000s. Our service personnel have also served in many peace-keeping operations around the globe, and frequently assist people in need in the aftermath of natural disasters – both here in Aotearoa, and in the Pacific.
    To those of you who are currently serving in our Defence Force, I sincerely thank you, on behalf of your fellow citizens. We recognise that your lives, and the lives of your families are affected by the demands of military service – and we salute your courage and readiness to serve in support of collective security efforts with our allies.
    This Anzac Day – when we reflect on the sobering realities of war, and the current state of the world, we see the ideals embodied in the United Nations being routinely ignored, and coercive power being used to threaten human rights and the territorial sovereignty of others.
    In these volatile and uncertain times – New Zealand continues to subscribe to the ideal of peaceful resolution of geopolitical tensions – while also acknowledging the role our nation’s defence personnel have played – and will continue to play in defending freedom, justice and the rule of law.
    In this way, they contribute to efforts to maintain and extend the blessings of peace, security and stability in the world.
    On this Anzac Day, and the Anzac Days to come, we remain committed to honour their service.
    Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities – Keeping tabs on native woodland vegetation in times of flood and drought – Flinders

    Source: Flinders University

    Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs.  

    A new study led by Flinders University aims to provide a good estimate of water used by trees and plants and bushes under the treetops (or the forest understorey) to help improve management of native woodlands.

    Researchers tested an advanced way to measure evapo-transpiration (ET) patterns in understorey (compared to canopy) vegetation at two different rainfall locations in South Australia to help develop better water and woodland management decision-making in future.

    ET returns water from the soil and plants into the atmosphere and is the major component of terrestrial water balance, explains Professor of Environmental Science and Hydrology Huade Guan, from the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training at Flinders University.

    “Woodland understorey ET is difficult to monitor using conventional methods. Our latest study tested a new method of measuring understorey evapotranspiration in floodplains and catchment areas,” he says.

    This is important to understand because understorey ET can contribute between 10% (in cooler seasons) and up to 50% (during hot weather) of ecosystem water use, researchers say.

    The latest study, published in the Journal of Hydrology with collaborators around Australia, China and the US, retrieved understorey temperature from airborne thermal imagery and used it in a ‘maximum entropy production’ model (called the ‘MEP model’) to map understorey ET.

    Researchers hope to improve ecosystem water evaluations to create more effective management strategies for increasingly scarce river and freshwater resources.

    The research was based on investigations in a River Red Gum woodland of a Murray floodplain near Bookpurnong in the Riverland and a hilly woodland catchment near Mount Wilson in the Willunga Basin. The locations reflected different topographical, hydrological and climate conditions.  

    Both locations showed understorey ET was a key component of ecosystem water balance, so working out the best way to support River Red Gum and other woodland environmental water requirements could incorporate broadscale monitoring and mapping with high-resolution thermal data from satellites in future.

    The study found that flooding modified water availability and vegetation response, influencing understorey ET dynamics over time, says Flinders University Professor Guan, who leads the Eco-hydrology and Hydro-meteorology Research Group (EcoH2OMe) at the College of Science and Engineering.

    For example, after major flooding in 2022-23, the fraction of understorey ET to the total ecosystem ET declined, likely due to increased overstorey transpiration.

    In the hilly environment, slope orientation plays a key role in regulating ET by controlling solar radiation exposure and soil moisture retention.

    North-facing slopes generally have higher understorey ET than south-facing slopes, particularly in a wet winter, where understorey ET on the north-facing slopes accounts for up to 50% of total surface ET.

    This high understorey ET on north-facing slopes consumes soil moisture a lot quicker, resulting in less water for vegetation use in dry summer than south-facing slopes.

    The study highlights the advantages of integrating new methods and technologies in addressing environmental problems.

    Meanwhile, South Australia is currently experiencing particularly dry weather, which is most likely the result of climate change, according to the SA Water for Good plan. This means less rain and a reduction of flows into traditional water sources such as our reservoirs, rivers and groundwater. The CSIRO has forecast an overall decline in rainfall of between 15% to 30% by 2050.

    The SA Government plan emphasises the need for proactive management of non-prescribed water resources to ensure water security to 2050, including a deeper understanding of overall water resource capacity to prevent over-exploitation and enhance sustainability.

    The article, ‘Integrating the Maximum Entropy Production model and airborne imagery for understorey evapotranspiration mapping’ (2025) by Wenjie Liu, Okke Batelaan, David Bruce, Jingfeng Wang, Hugo Gutierrez, Hailong Wang, Robin Keegan-Treloar, Jianfeng Gou, Robert Keane, Jessica Thompson and Huade Guan has been published in the Journal of Hydrology (Elsevier) DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133076

    Acknowledgements: Field data were obtained in the projects funded by Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MD005764) and National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (SR08000001). Researchers acknowledge fieldwork by Karina Gutierrez, Lawrence Burk, Zhongli Liu, Zhechen Zhang, Xiang Xu and Rose Deng and landowners Langdon Badger and Steve Clark for access. Wenjie Liu received support from the China Scholarship Council (201906370006) and Jingfeng Wang’s research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation Hydrological Sciences and Physical and Dynamic Meteorology Program Grant EAR‐2006281.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Australia: Former medical practitioner extradited to Tasmania for sexual offences

    Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

    Former medical practitioner extradited to Tasmania for sexual offences

    Friday, 25 April 2025 – 8:00 am.

    Detectives from Tasmania Police’s Taskforce Artemis have extradited a 64-year-old man from New South Wales to Tasmania for sexual offences, including child sexual abuse.
    The man, a former medical practitioner, will appear in the Hobart Magistrates Court today after being charged with three counts of rape, and three counts of indecent assault.
    The abuse is alleged to have occurred in the 1990s when the man was a registered medical general practitioner in the state of Tasmania. As the matter is now before the courts, no further comment can be made.
    It is acknowledged that offences of this nature are deeply disturbing, and Tasmania Police strongly encourages anyone with information about any form of sexual abuse, regardless of the passage of time, to come forward and report it.
    Reports can be made directly to police on 131 444, or by visiting a police station or Arch https://arch.tas.gov.au/.
    You can also report anonymously to Crime Stoppers Tasmania on 1800 333 000 or crimestopperstas.com.au
    Any concerns or incidents involving government employees can be reported directly to the Integrity Commission or the Office of the Independent Regulator.
    The Tasmanian Government’s Keeping Children Safe website is available at https://keepingchildresafe.tas.gov.au/
    Support for victim survivors, if required, is available through Arch or via https://keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au/get-support/

    MIL OSI News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: How Pope Francis became a climate change influencer

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” These aren’t the words of a radical sociologist or rogue climate scientist. They aren’t the words of a Conversation editor either. Nor are these:

    “A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged.”

    These are in fact quotes from Pope Francis, who died last weekend.


    This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed.


    I never thought this job would have me writing newsletters in praise of a papal climate influencer, but here we are. You can read various obits and interesting takes on Pope Francis and what’s next for the Catholic church elsewhere on The Conversation. But here I want to focus on his thoughts on climate change and the impact he had.

    Our common home

    In 2015, two years after becoming pope, Francis published Laudato Si (Praise Be to You), a 183-page papal letter sent to all Catholic bishops on “care for our common home”. It was a significant intervention made just a few months before the climate summit that led to the Paris agreement.

    Writing at the time, sustainability professor Steffen Böhm said that what made it so radical “isn’t just [Pope Francis’s] call to urgently tackle climate change. It’s the fact he openly and unashamedly goes against the grain of dominant social, economic and environment policies.”

    For Böhm, who was then at the University of Essex but now works at Exeter, this radical message “puts him on a confrontation course with global powerbrokers and leaders of national governments, international institutions and multinational corporations”.

    He quotes a section where the Pope says “those who possess more resources [and] power seem seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms, simply making efforts to reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change”. The Pope warns that “such effects will continue to worsen if we continue with current models of production and consumption”.

    Böhm points out the Pope “might be the only person with both the clout and the desire to meaningfully deliver a message like this”.




    Read more:
    Pope’s climate letter is a radical attack on the logic of the market


    Bernard Laurent of EM Business School in Lyon, says that in France the Pope’s message “managed to bring together both conservative currents – such as the Courant pour une Écologie Humaine (Movement for a Human Ecology), created in 2013 – and more open-minded Catholic intellectuals such as Gaël Giraud, a Jesuit and author of Produire Plus, Polluer Moins : l’Impossible Découplage? (Produce more, Pollute Less: the Impossible Decoupling?)”




    Read more:
    Pope Francis and Laudato Si’: an ecological turning point for the Catholic Church


    Clearly, this was a unique figure able to reach people who might not listen to a Greta Thunberg or an Al Gore.

    But, while it’s great the Paris agreement was signed, it was still filled with the exact sort of market logic and buck-passing – carbon credits, “emit now, clean up later”, and so on – the Pope had criticised a few months previously. And climate change itself only got worse. In the years following, Pope Francis spoke at the UN and published a series of other “exhortations” related to climate change.

    Did any of this make any difference?

    Celia Deane-Drummond is a theology professor at the University of Oxford and director of a research institute named after the 2015 papal letter. In a piece published the same day Pope Francis’s death was announced, she looked at his influence on the global climate movement.

    Deane-Drummond notes Pope Francis’s emphasis on listening to Indigenous people for instance in his lesser-known exhortation Querida Amazonia, which means “beloved Amazonia”, from February 2020.

    “This exhortation resulted from his conversations with Amazonian communities and helped put Indigenous perspectives on the map. Those perspectives helped shape Catholic social teaching in the [papal letter] Fratelli Tutti, which means ‘all brothers and sisters’, published on October 3 2020.”

    A key influencer

    Perhaps the Pope’s biggest influence was on activists rather than policymakers. Deane-Drummond says he was often mentioned by participants in a research project on religion, theology and climate change she was part of.

    “When we asked more than 300 [religious] activists representing six different activist groups who most influenced them to get involved in climate action, 61% named Pope Francis as a key influencer.”

    The 2015 papal letter also gave rise to the Laudato Si movement which Deane-Drummond points out “coordinates climate activism across the globe. It has 900 Catholic organisations as well as 10,000 of what are known as Laudato Si ‘animators’, who are all ambassadors and leaders in their respective communities.”




    Read more:
    Three ways Pope Francis influenced the global climate movement


    There are specific religious arguments he was able to make to appeal to these groups, note Joel Hodge and Antonia Pizzy of Australian Catholic University.

    They write that: “Francis argued combating climate change relied on the ‘ecological conversion’ of the human heart, so that people may recognise the God-given nature of our planet and the fundamental call to care for it. Without this conversion, pragmatic and political measures wouldn’t be able to counter the forces of consumerism, exploitation and selfishness.”




    Read more:
    Pope Francis has died, aged 88. These were his greatest reforms – and controversies


    It’s not an argument that will particularly work on me. But then addressing the climate crisis will require all sorts of people to be persuaded of the need for serious action, including policy wonks, tech bros, radical activists, worried parents and, yes, people motivated by their religion.

    The last pope didn’t have to say anything about the climate crisis. It’s not necessarily in the job description. But it’s a good thing that Pope Francis did speak about it and, as Deane-Drummond says: “We can only hope [the next pope] will build on his legacy and influence political change for the good, from the grassroots frontline right up to the highest global ambitions.”

    – ref. How Pope Francis became a climate change influencer – https://theconversation.com/how-pope-francis-became-a-climate-change-influencer-255086

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Don Davis Remarks at Press Conference on First 100 Days of the 119th Congress

    Source: US Congressman Don Davis (NC-01)

    ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Congressman Don Davis delivered the following remarks at his press conference on the first 100 days of the 119th Congress:

    Hi, everybody! It is always great to be back home, in eastern North Carolina. I have worked to share the stories, concerns, and issues impacting eastern North Carolina families. Our district now spans 22 incredible counties, from the coastlines of Currituck and Camden counties through the farmland of Lenoir and Wayne counties to the heart of Oxford and everywhere between. My vision for NC-01 is: “We must meet our constituents where they are, ensuring they are seen and heard in Washington, D.C., to make life better for all families and provide hope and assurance they are not forgotten.” We work to achieve this daily.

    We’ve opened three new offices: 1. Rocky Mount, 2. Goldsboro, and 3. Elizabeth City. We held listening sessions in Camden, Currituck, Granville, Wayne, and Lenoir counties. Due to an increased interest in town halls, we hosted a telephone town hall with nearly 13,000 participants. So far this year, we helped close more than 240 constituent cases and returned over $821,000 to eastern North Carolina families, cutting through bureaucracy to return money directly to our neighbors. Our District Outreach Team has made over 156 visits to meet with constituents across the district, showing up, listening, attending events and meetings, and responding to issues. 

    During the 119th Congress, 11,750 constituents have reached out to the office. In comparison, during the 118th Congress, 8,745 constituents reached out to the office through April 14. The top three campaigns during the 119th Congress have been: 1) Protect Social Security, 2) Oppose the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk, and 3) Support the Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act.

    I have introduced 14 bills in the 119th Congress, including:

    1. H.R. 1060, Modern Authentication of Pharmaceuticals (MAP) Act of 2025: The first bill we introduced was the Modern Authentication of Pharmaceuticals Act, legislation that seeks to secure the United States drug supply chain and close vulnerabilities that allow counterfeit controlled substances, including lethal fentanyl, into our communities;
    2. H.R. 1244, Reducing Drug Prices for Seniors Act, legislation that reduces out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare patients by calculating the coinsurance cost at the pharmacy counter based on the drug’s net, or actual price, rather than its list price;
    3. H.R. 1298, Veterans Jobs Opportunity Act, legislation that sets a new business-related tax credit for the start-up expenses of a veteran-owned small business in an underserved community;
    4. H.R. 1363, Honor and Remember Flag Recognition Act of 2025, legislation that designates the Honor and Remember Flag, created by Honor and Remember, Inc., as a national symbol to honor service members who died in the line of duty;
    5. H.R. 1377, Sarah Keys Evans Congressional Gold Medal Act in recognition of her achievements relating to the desegregation of passengers on interstate buses in the 1950s. Before there was Rosa Parks, there was Sara Keys Evans;
    6. H.R. 1672, Maintaining New Investments in New Innovation (MINI) Act ensures lifesaving genetic treatments remain accessible;
    7. H.R. 1858, Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act would strengthen flood prevention measures and provide support for rural communities facing flood risks;
    8. H.R. 1985, Promoting Precision Agriculture Act, ensuring our growers have access to the cutting-edge precision agriculture technologies and broadband services necessary to do what they do best — feed, fuel, and clothe the American people;
    9.  H.R. 2043, Agricultural Commodities Price Enhancement Act, legislation that increases the reference price for seed cotton, peanuts, corn, soybeans, and wheat;
    10.  H.R. 2109, Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Act, ensures our water systems that rural communities and farmers rely on have the necessary protections to successfully guard against cyber-attacks;
    11.  H.R. 2541, Nuclear Medicine Clarification Act of 2025, legislation that would close a loophole that currently allows patients to be unintentionally exposed to high levels of radiation without reporting or disclosure. The legislation would improve care and ensure transparency for patients and simplify federal rules coming from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC);
    12.  H.R. 2542, Old Drugs, New Cures Act, legislation to improve access to innovative, affordable medication and tackle health disparities in rural and low-income communities across America;
    13. H.R. 2625, Veterans Employment Readiness Yield (VERY) Act, which updates outdated language. The VERY Act makes changes to let our disabled vets know that they are receiving the respect and dignity they have rightfully earned; and 
    14.  H.R. 2707, Protecting American Families and Servicemembers from Anthrax Act, ensuring the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services develop a long-term stockpiling strategy that leverages the Strategic National Stockpile to enhance national preparedness.

    I am committed to: 

    1. Fighting for our farmers by advocating for a temporary pause on the Adverse Effective Wage Rate and pushing for a comprehensive Farm Bill that enhances commodity pricing. We also need continued support for agricultural assistance for farmers hurt by difficult times;
    2. Protecting Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. We are working to protect Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, including two visits and annual defense priorities focusing on F-15EX procurement, Child Development Center upgrades, maintenance dollars for F-15E aircraft, and $41 million in Combat Arms Training & Maintenance funds; 
    3. Building our local economy, by creating good-paying jobs in shipbuilding with Newport News Shipyard and the Global TransPark, a critical hub for jobs, logistics, and innovation, while addressing local government infrastructure needs.We are also working to address our Interstate, broadband, and housing needs;
    4. Enhancing our healthcare outcomes is vital. I support Martin County’s efforts to enhance its healthcare system and advocate for a new Health Sciences facility at Barton College by advocating for $10 million through Barton’s application to the Golden LEAF Foundation;
    5. On border security, I will continue supporting a secure border and meaningful immigration reform that respects our values. I have visited the ICE facility that services eastern North Carolina in Alamance County Detention Center and traveled as part of an Armed Services Committee CODEL to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to gain firsthand insight into the role these facilities play in our border security strategy. Next week, I will travel to Lumpkin, Georgia to tour a regional ICE facility; 
    6. I will be filing key legislation that addresses federal recognition for the Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe, support for the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and tax fairness for combat-injured Coast Guard veterans.

    Together, these efforts will contribute to a brighter future for our region. We’re not sitting on the sidelines. We are working hard every day on healthcare, agriculture, defense, and working families. 

    An early victory during the Trump Administration includes the decision by the Food and Drug Administration to formally withdraw and end the effort by the agency to consider a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. As the Ranking Member of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee, I am working on regulatory framework legislation for the crypto and digital assets industry that is a priority of the Administration.

    I also know that people are currently nervous about the state of the country and the world. 

    Specific concerns include: 1. Helene and agriculture assistance, 2. education funding reductions, and 3. tariffs.

    I voted in support of disaster assistance for Helene in the West and drought in the East. I am glad that economic assistance was included. But we are way short. We are a billion short for agricultural assistance alone.

    I visited North Lenoir High School in Lenoir County just this morning, one of the four public school districts in North Carolina that no longer has access to COVID-19-related funding that they had been promised because the U.S. Department of Education terminated their ability to liquidate those federal dollars.

    On Friday, I visited Halifax County Schools to discuss the same issue. 

    We are: 

    1. Sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon; 
    2. Seeking to schedule a meeting with the Secretary; 
    3. Reaching out to other North Carolina delegation members to consider a joint letter; and 
    4. Communicating our findings to the White House.

    For tariffs, eastern North Carolina cannot afford to be collateral damage in a trade war. We need tough and targeted trade policies, but our policies must also protect jobs, lower input costs, and keep our communities strong.

    Previously, I voted in support of the SAVE ACT. After speaking with North Carolina State Board of Election officials, I voted against it based on the concern that the bill cannot be implemented as drafted. While I support the intent of the SAVE Act that makes crystal clear only U.S. citizens should vote in elections, N.C. election officials have shared serious concerns about its implementation. The limited time for modernizing our information systems, uncertain taxpayer costs, and the need for clear standards to verify U.S. citizenship pose risks to administering federal elections. I remain committed to improving this bill and ensuring free and fair elections.

    We are meeting residents where they are. We read “Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses” at St. Stephens Daycare. Federal funds for early childhood education remain important. I visited International Paper at Manson, spoke with quilters in Warrenton, and held a meeting with the Global TransPark. This morning, I traveled to N. Lenoir High School to look at their roof. 

    I plan to visit Pine Gates Renewables, Freedom Industries, and the Boys and Girls Club of the Tar River Region later today. Over the course of the next week, I will attend the 60th Annual Haliwa Saponi Blooming of the Dogwood Powwow, visit Airbus and Collins Aerospace, Barton College, Davita Kidney Care in Wilson, and Wilson Community College.

    I plan to meet with the Albemarle Area United Way, break ground at Elizabeth City State University for an aviation building, visit U.S. Coast Guard Elizabeth City, visit the Food Bank of Albemarle, and meet with the Perquimans County EMS director to discuss recovery efforts.

    As this is Holy Week, I wish everyone a wonderful Easter. Meanwhile, we will keep looking for opportunities to work with the Administration. Tax filing deadline was extended to May 1 for federal and state for all NC residents due to Helene. I encourage residents to file their taxes or an extension. We will keep advocating for our families, our farmers, our veterans, our students, and the future we believe in. May God bless eastern North Carolina, and our nation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: TransAlta Corporation Announces Results of the 2025 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders and Election of all Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TransAlta Corporation (TSX: TA) (NYSE: TAC) (“TransAlta” or the “Company”) held its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (“the Meeting”) on April 24, 2025. The total number of common shares represented by shareholders at the Meeting and by proxy was 188,962,557, representing 63.43 per cent of the Company’s outstanding common shares.

    The following resolutions were considered by shareholders:

    Election of Directors

    The eleven director nominees proposed by management were elected.  The votes by ballot were received as follows:

    Nominee Votes For Per cent Against Per cent
    Brian Baker 185,156,967 99.63% 680,871 0.37%
    John P. Dielwart 184,711,189 99.39% 1,126,649 0.61%
    Alan J. Fohrer 183,827,004 98.92% 2,010,834 1.08%
    Laura W. Folse 183,557,637 98.77% 2,280,201 1.23%
    John H. Kousinioris 184,917,419 99.50% 920,419 0.50%
    Candace J. MacGibbon 185,275,486 99.70% 562,352 0.30%
    Thomas M. O’Flynn 169,353,529 91.13% 16,484,309 8.87%
    Bryan D. Pinney 184,445,303 99.25% 1,392,535 0.75%
    James Reid 185,232,712 99.67% 605,126 0.33%
    Manjit K. Sharma 185,215,308 99.67% 622,530 0.33%
    Sandra R. Sharman 183,128,129 98.54% 2,709,709 1.46%
             

    Appointment of Auditors 

    The appointment of Ernst & Young LLP to serve as the auditors for 2025 was approved.  The votes by ballot were received as follows:

    Votes For Per cent Abstained Per cent
    182,794,376 96.74% 6,167,467 3.26%
           

    Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (also known as “say-on-pay”)

    The non-binding advisory vote on the Company’s approach to executive compensation or say-on-pay was approved.  The votes by ballot were received as follows:

    Votes For Per cent Against Per cent
    183,790,462 98.90% 2,047,376 1.10%
           

    Approval of the Company’s Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan

    The resolution approving the continuation of the Company’s Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan was approved. The votes by ballot were received as follows:

    Votes For Per cent Against Per cent
    181,082,371 97.44% 4,754,201 2.56%
           

    About TransAlta Corporation:

    TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live. TransAlta aligns its corporate goals with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Future-Fit Business Benchmark, which also defines sustainable goals for businesses. Our reporting on climate change management has been guided by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S2 Climate-related Disclosures Standard and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. TransAlta has achieved a 70 per cent reduction in GHG emissions or 22.7 million tonnes CO2e since 2015 and received an upgraded MSCI ESG rating of AA.

    For more information about TransAlta, visit our web site at transalta.com.

    For more information:

    Investor Inquiries: Media Inquiries:
    Phone: 1-800-387-3598 in Canada and US Phone: 1-855-255-9184
    Email: investor_relations@transalta.com Email: ta_media_relations@transalta.com

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Provident Financial Services, Inc. Announces First Quarter Earnings and Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ISELIN, N.J., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) (the “Company”) reported net income of $64.0 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $48.5 million, or $0.37 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and $32.1 million, or $0.43 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 was negatively impacted by a $2.7 million write-down on a foreclosed property, partially offset by a $624,000 profit on fixed asset sales related to the consolidation of three branches. While there were no transaction costs related to our merger with Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (“Lakeland”) for the 2025 period, these costs totaled $20.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, respectively.

    Anthony J. Labozzetta, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “With the integration of Lakeland behind us, we are starting to see the benefits of the transaction come to fruition. We are very pleased with our first quarter financial results and encouraged by the promising start to the year. Despite ongoing uncertainty in the markets, our core businesses, credit quality and risk management remain strong. Our team is focused on building the business, delivering exceptional customer service and creating value for all stakeholders while remaining agile in this rapidly changing economic and regulatory environment.”

    Performance Highlights for the First Quarter of 2025

    • Adjusted for a one-time write-down on a foreclosed property in the current quarter, as well as transaction costs related to the merger with Lakeland in prior quarters, the Company’s annualized adjusted returns on average assets, average equity and average tangible equity(1) were 1.11%, 10.13% and 16.15% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 1.05%, 9.53% and 15.39% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. A reconciliation between GAAP and the above non-GAAP ratios is shown on page 11 of the earnings release.
    • The Company’s annualized adjusted pre-tax, pre-provision returns on average assets, average equity and average tangible equity(2) were 1.61%, 14.63% and 21.18% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 1.53%, 13.91% and 20.31% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. A reconciliation between GAAP and the above non-GAAP ratios is shown on page 11 of the earnings release.
    • The Company’s total commercial and industrial (“C&I”) loan portfolio increased $74.3 million, or 6.5% annualized, to $4.68 billion as of March 31, 2025, from $4.61 billion as of December 31, 2024. Additionally, the Company’s total commercial portfolio increased $150.0 million, or 3.8% annualized to $16.19 billion as of March 31, 2025, from $16.04 billion as of December 31, 2024.
    • The net interest margin increased six basis points to 3.34% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, from 3.28% for the trailing quarter, while the core net interest margin, which excludes the impact of purchase accounting accretion and amortization, increased nine basis points from the trailing quarter to 2.94%. The average yield on total loans decreased four basis points to 5.95% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, while the average cost of deposits, including non-interest-bearing deposits, decreased 14 basis points to 2.11% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
    • The Company recorded a $325,000 provision for credit losses on loans for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to a $7.8 million provision for the trailing quarter. The decrease in the provision for credit losses for the quarter was primarily attributable to the change in a qualitative factor indexed to the forecasted unemployment rate that resulted in a decrease in reserves required on pooled loans within our Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) model. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of loans decreased to 1.02% as of March 31, 2025, from 1.04% as of December 31, 2024.
    • Insurance Agency income increased $858,000 or 17.9%, versus the same period in 2024, while pre-tax Insurance Agency net income increased $544,000 or 23.3% versus the same period in 2024.
    • As of March 31, 2025, the Company’s loan pipeline, consisting of work-in-process and loans approved pending closing, totaled $2.77 billion, with a weighted average interest rate of 6.31%.

    Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

    The Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per common share payable on May 30, 2025 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 16, 2025.

    Results of Operations

    Three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2024

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, net income was $64.0 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $48.5 million, or $0.37 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2024.

    Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

    Net interest income was $181.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and the trailing quarter, despite there being two fewer calendar days in the first quarter of 2025, primarily due to favorable repricing of deposits.

    The Company’s net interest margin increased six basis points to 3.34% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, from 3.28% for the trailing quarter. The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 decreased three basis points to 5.63%, compared to the trailing quarter. The weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 decreased 13 basis points from the trailing quarter to 2.90%. The average cost of interest-bearing deposits for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 decreased 17 basis points to 2.64%, compared to 2.81% for the trailing quarter. The average cost of total deposits, including non-interest-bearing deposits, was 2.11% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 2.25% for the trailing quarter. The average cost of borrowed funds for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was 3.76%, compared to 3.64% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

    Provision for Credit Losses on Loans

    For the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the Company recorded a $325,000 provision for credit losses on loans, compared with a provision for credit losses of $7.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.  The decrease in the provision for credit losses for the quarter was primarily attributable to the change in a qualitative factor indexed to the forecasted unemployment rate that resulted in a decrease in reserves required on pooled loans within our CECL model.  For the three months ended March 31, 2025, net charge-offs totaled $2.0 million, or an annualized four basis points of average loans, compared with net charge-offs of $5.5 million, or an annualized nine basis points of average loans, for the trailing quarter.

    Non-Interest Income and Expense

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, non-interest income totaled $27.0 million, an increase of $2.9 million, compared to the trailing quarter. Insurance agency income increased $2.4 million to $5.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, mainly due to the receipt of contingent commissions and additional business in the current quarter. Additionally, other income increased $920,000 to $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, primarily due to an increase in profit on fixed asset sales, combined with an increase in net fees on loan-level interest rate swap transactions. Partially offsetting these increases to non-interest income, wealth management income decreased $327,000 to $7.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, mainly due to a decrease in the average market value of assets under management during the period, while BOLI income decreased $169,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, primarily due to decreased equity valuations.

    Non-interest expense totaled $116.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, a decrease of $18.1 million, compared to $134.3 million for the trailing quarter. Merger-related expenses, which were completed at the end of 2024, decreased $20.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter. Other operating expenses decreased $929,000 to $16.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $17.4 million for the trailing quarter, largely due to a prior quarter $1.4 million charge for contingent litigation reserves, combined with decreases in professional service and insurance expenses, partially offset by a $2.7 million write-down on a foreclosed property. Partially offsetting these decreases in non-interest expense, compensation and benefits expense increased $2.4 million to $62.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $59.9 million for the trailing quarter. The increase in compensation and benefit expense was primarily due to increases in salary expense related to company-wide annual merit increases and severance expense, partially offset by a decrease in stock-based compensation. Additionally, net occupancy expense increased $1.4 million to $13.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, largely due to seasonal increases in snow removal, utilities and other maintenance costs.

    The Company’s annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets(1) totaled 1.92% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 1.90% for the trailing quarter. The efficiency ratio (adjusted non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income)(1) was 54.43% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to 55.43% for the trailing quarter.

    Income Tax Expense

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company’s income tax expense was $27.8 million with an effective tax rate of 30.3%, compared with income tax expense of $14.2 million with an effective tax rate of 22.6% for the trailing quarter. The increase in tax expense and the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared with the trailing quarter was largely due to an increase in taxable income and a discrete item related to stock-based compensation, combined with a prior quarter $4.2 million tax benefit related to the revaluation of certain deferred tax assets to reflect the imposition by the State of New Jersey of a 2.5% Corporate Transit Fee, effective January 1, 2024.

    Three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, net income was $64.0 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $32.1 million, or $0.43 per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

    Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

    Net interest income increased $88.1 million to $181.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, from $93.7 million for same period in 2024.  The increase in net interest income was favorably impacted by the net assets added in the May 16, 2024 acquisition of Lakeland and related accretion of purchase accounting adjustments.

    The Company’s net interest margin increased 47 basis points to 3.34% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, from 2.87% for the same period last year. The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 increased 57 basis points to 5.63%, compared to 5.06% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased 10 basis points for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 to 2.90%, compared to 2.80% for the first quarter of 2024. The average cost of interest-bearing deposits for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was 2.64%, compared to 2.60% for the same period last year. Average non-interest-bearing demand deposits increased $1.65 billion to $3.72 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to $2.07 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The average cost of total deposits, including non-interest-bearing deposits, was 2.11% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared with 2.04% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The average cost of borrowed funds for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was 3.76%, compared to 3.60% for the same period last year.

    Provision for Credit Losses on Loans

    For the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the Company recorded a $325,000 provision for credit losses on loans, compared with a $200,000 provision for credit losses on loans for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.  The increase in the provision for credit losses was due to an increase in specific reserves on impaired credits. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, net charge-offs totaled $2.0 million, or an annualized four basis points of average loans, compared with net charge-offs of $971,000, or an annualized four basis points of average loans, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.

    Non-Interest Income and Expense

    Non-interest income totaled $27.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase of $6.2 million, compared to the same period in 2024. Fee income increased $3.7 million to $9.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to increases in deposit fee income, debit card related fee income and commercial loan prepayment fees, resulting from the Lakeland merger. Other income increased $1.4 million to $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2024, primarily due to an increase in profit on fixed asset sales, combined with an increase in net fees on loan-level interest rate swap transactions and an increase in gains on sales of mortgage loans. Insurance agency income increased $858,000 to $5.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2024, largely due to an increase in contingency income and business activity, while BOLI income increased $275,000 to $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the prior year quarter, related to the addition of Lakeland’s BOLI, partially offset by a decrease in equity valuations.

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, non-interest expense totaled $116.3 million, an increase of $44.4 million, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2024. Compensation and benefits expense increased $22.3 million to $62.4 million for three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $40.0 million for the same period in 2024. The increase was primarily due to the addition of Lakeland, combined with an increase in salary expense associated with Company-wide annual merit increases. Amortization of intangibles increased $8.8 million to $9.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $705,000 for 2024, largely due to core deposit intangible amortization related to the addition of Lakeland. Other operating expense increased $6.1 million to $16.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $10.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, largely due to the addition of Lakeland and a $2.7 million write-down on a foreclosed property in the current quarter. Net occupancy expense increased $5.4 million to $13.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to the same period in 2024, primarily due to increased depreciation and maintenance expenses because of the addition of Lakeland. Data processing expense increased $2.8 million to $9.6 million for three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $6.8 million for the same period in 2024. The increase in data processing expense was primarily due to increases in software service, telecommunication and core service expenses, due to the addition of Lakeland. Additionally, FDIC insurance expense increased $1.1 million to $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, primarily due to increases in the assessment rate and average assets, as a result of the addition of Lakeland. Partially offsetting these increases in non-interest expense, merger-related expenses, which completed at the end of 2024 decreased $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

    The Company’s annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets(1) was 1.92% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 1.99% for the same period in 2024. The efficiency ratio (adjusted non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income)(1) was 54.43% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 compared to 60.82% for the same respective period in 2024.

    Income Tax Expense

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company’s income tax expense was $27.8 million with an effective tax rate of 30.3%, compared with $10.9 million with an effective tax rate of 25.3% for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The increase in tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared with the same period last year, was largely the result of an increase in taxable income and an increase in state tax rates as a result of the May 2024 Lakeland merger, as well as a discrete item related to stock-based compensation. The increase in state tax rates is a result of the Company no longer receiving benefit of a reduced New Jersey state rate available for the Company’s REIT and New Jersey investment company subsidiaries. The state of New Jersey allows certain bank subsidiaries with assets under $15 billion to benefit from the lower rate, however due to the Lakeland merger in May of 2024, the $15 billion asset threshold was crossed and the increased New Jersey rate was applicable.

    Asset Quality

    The Company’s total non-performing loans as of March 31, 2025 were $103.2 million, or 0.54% of total loans, compared $72.1 million, or 0.39% of total loans as of December 31, 2024 and $35.5 million, or 0.35% of total loans as of March 31, 2024. The $31.2 million increase in non-performing loans as of March 31, 2025, compared to the trailing quarter, was primarily attributable to two loans: a $20.3 million commercial real estate loan secured by a mixed use property with a current loan-to value of 53% and an $11.5 million construction loan secured by a nearly complete warehouse facility with a current loan-to-value of 62%. These loans have no prior charge-off history and carry no specific reserve allocations. As of March 31, 2025, impaired loans totaled $86.1 million with related specific reserves of $7.9 million, compared with impaired loans totaling $55.4 million with related specific reserves of $7.5 million as of December 31, 2024. As of March 31, 2024, impaired loans totaled $40.1 million with related specific reserves of $8.2 million.

    As of March 31, 2025, the Company’s allowance for credit losses related to the loan held for investment portfolio was 1.02% of total loans, compared to 1.04% and 0.98% as of December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively. The allowance for credit losses decreased $1.7 million to $191.8 million as of March 31, 2025, from $193.4 million as of December 31, 2024. The decrease in the allowance for credit losses on loans at March 31, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024 was due to net charge-offs of $2.0 million, partially offset by a $325,000 provision for credit losses.

    The following table shows accruing past due loans and non-accrual loans on the dates indicated, as well as certain asset quality ratios.

        March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024  
        Number
    of
    Loans
      Principal
    Balance
    of Loans
      Number
    of
    Loans
      Principal
    Balance
    of Loans
      Number
    of
    Loans
      Principal
    Balance
    of Loans
     
        (Dollars in thousands)
    Accruing past due loans:                          
    30 to 59 days past due:                          
    Commercial mortgage loans   8   $ 13,696     7   $ 8,538     3   $ 5,052    
    Multi-family mortgage loans   1     7,433     —     —     4     12,069    
    Construction loans   —     —     —     —     —     —    
    Residential mortgage loans   27     6,905     22     6,388     11     3,568    
    Total mortgage loans   36     28,034     29     14,926     18     20,689    
    Commercial loans   37     13,472     23     4,248     11     4,493    
    Consumer loans   22     1,604     47     3,152     22     803    
    Total 30 to 59 days past due   95   $ 43,110     99   $ 22,326     51   $ 25,985    
                               
    60 to 89 days past due:                          
    Commercial mortgage loans   2   $ 196     4   $ 3,954     3   $ 1,148    
    Multi-family mortgage loans   —     —     —     —     —     —    
    Construction loans   —     —     —     —     —     —    
    Residential mortgage loans   18     5,009     17     5,049     6     804    
    Total mortgage loans   20     5,205     21     9,003     9     1,952    
    Commercial loans   15     3,743     9     2,377     3     332    
    Consumer loans   12     854     15     856     8     755    
    Total 60 to 89 days past due   47     9,802     45     12,236     20     3,039    
    Total accruing past due loans   142   $ 52,912     144   $ 34,562     71   $ 29,024    
                               
    Non-accrual:                          
    Commercial mortgage loans   18   $ 42,931     17   $ 20,883     8   $ 5,938    
    Multi-family mortgage loans   5     7,294     6     7,498     2     2,355    
    Construction loans   3     18,929     2     13,246     —     —    
    Residential mortgage loans   22     5,246     23     4,535     10     1,647    
    Total mortgage loans   48     74,400     48     46,162     20     9,940    
    Commercial loans   83     27,471     65     24,243     21     36,892    
    Consumer loans   19     1,352     23     1,656     11     760    
    Total non-accrual loans   150   $ 103,223     136   $ 72,061     52   $ 47,592    
                               
    Non-performing loans to total loans         0.54%           0.39%           0.44%    
    Allowance for loan losses to total non-performing loans         185.78%           268.43%           223.63%    
    Allowance for loan losses to total loans         1.02%           1.04%           0.98%    
     

    The increase in accruing past due loans versus the trailing quarter was primarily attributable to two loans: a $10.5 million commercial real estate loan which is expected to be fully resolved in the second quarter through the completion of a pending note sale and a $7.4 million commercial real estate loan that is in the process of refinancing with the Company.

    As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company held foreclosed assets of $6.8 million and $9.5 million, respectively. Foreclosed assets as of March 31, 2025 were comprised of commercial real estate. Total non-performing assets as of March 31, 2025 increased $28.4 million to $110.0 million, or 0.45% of total assets, from $81.5 million, or 0.34% of total assets as of December 31, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, there was a write-down of a foreclosed commercial property of $2.7 million based on a contracted sales price. The sale of this property is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, reducing foreclosed assets by $5.8 million.

    Balance Sheet Summary

    Total assets as of March 31, 2025 were $24.22 billion, a $172.9 million increase from December 31, 2024. The increase in total assets was primarily due to a $132.0 million increase in total loans and a $110.5 million increase in total investments, partially offset by a decrease in intangible and other assets.

    The Company’s loans held for investment portfolio totaled $18.79 billion as of March 31, 2025 and $18.66 billion as of December 31, 2024. The portfolio consisted of the following:

      March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024    
      (Dollars in thousands)
    Mortgage loans:          
    Commercial $ 7,295,651     $ 7,228,078      
    Multi-family   3,458,190       3,382,933      
    Construction   756,356       823,503      
    Residential   1,994,404       2,010,637      
    Total mortgage loans   13,504,601       13,445,151      
    Commercial loans   4,682,902       4,608,600      
    Consumer loans   613,453       613,819      
    Total gross loans   18,800,956       18,667,570      
    Premiums on purchased loans   1,337       1,338      
    Net deferred fees and unearned discounts   (10,922)       (9,538)      
    Total loans $ 18,791,371     $ 18,659,370      
     

    During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the loans held for investment portfolio had net increases of $75.3 million of multi-family loans, $74.3 million of commercial loans and $67.6 million of commercial mortgage loans, partially offset by net decreases of $67.1 million of construction loans and $16.2 million of residential mortgage loans. Total commercial loans, consisting of commercial real estate, multi-family, commercial and construction loans, represented 86.1% of the loan portfolio as of March 31, 2025, compared to 85.9% as of December 31, 2024.

    For the three months ended March 31, 2025, loan funding, including advances on lines of credit, totaled $1.93 billion, compared with $622.7 million for the same period in 2024.

    As of March 31, 2025, the Company’s unfunded loan commitments totaled $2.88 billion, including commitments of $1.75 billion in commercial loans, $517.7 million in construction loans and $141.4 million in commercial mortgage loans. Unfunded loan commitments as of December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024 were $2.73 billion and $1.97 billion, respectively.

    The loan pipeline, consisting of work-in-process and loans approved pending closing, totaled $2.77 billion as of March 31, 2025, compared to $1.79 billion and $1.08 billion as of December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

    Total investment securities were $3.34 billion as of March 31, 2025, a $110.5 million increase from December 31, 2024. This increase was primarily due to purchases of mortgage-backed and municipal securities and a decrease in unrealized losses on available for sale debt securities.

    Total deposits decreased $175.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, to $18.45 billion. Total savings and demand deposit accounts decreased $172.5 million to $15.28 billion as of March 31, 2025, while total time deposits decreased $2.4 million to $3.17 billion as of March 31, 2025. The decrease in savings and demand deposits consisted of a $142.8 million decrease in interest bearing demand deposits, a $22.0 million decrease in money market deposits and a $8.7 million decrease in savings deposits, partially offset by a $1.1 million increase in non-interest-bearing demand deposits. Within total savings and demand deposits, total municipal deposits decreased $130.8 million to $3.38 billion as of March 31, 2025, mainly due to seasonal outflows. The decrease in time deposits consisted of a $78.6 million decrease in retail time deposits, partially offset by a $76.2 million increase in brokered time deposits.

    Borrowed funds increased $315.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, to $2.34 billion. The increase in borrowings was largely due to asset funding requirements. Borrowed funds represented 9.6% of total assets as of March 31, 2025, an increase from 8.4% as of December 31, 2024.

    Stockholders’ equity increased $57.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2025, to $2.66 billion, primarily due to net income earned for the period and a decrease in unrealized losses on available for sale debt securities, partially offset by cash dividends paid to stockholders. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, common stock repurchases totaled 99,541 shares at an average cost of $18.19 per share, all of which were made in connection with withholding to cover income taxes on the vesting of stock-based compensation. As of March 31, 2025, approximately 873,000 shares remained eligible for repurchase under the current authorization. Book value per share and tangible book value per share(1) as of March 31, 2025 were $20.35 and $14.15, respectively, compared with $19.93 and $13.66, respectively, as of December 31, 2024.

    About the Company

    Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for Provident Bank, a community-oriented bank offering “Commitment you can count on” since 1839. Provident Bank provides a comprehensive array of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout New Jersey, Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, as well as Orange, Queens and Nassau Counties in New York. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company and insurance services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Provident Protection Plus, Inc.

    Post Earnings Conference Call

    Representatives of the Company will hold a conference call for investors on Friday, April 25, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The call may be accessed by dialing 1-888-412-4131 (United States Toll Free) and 1-646-960-0134 (United States Local). Speakers will need to enter conference ID code (3610756) before being met by a live operator. Internet access to the call is also available (listen only) at provident.bank by going to Investor Relations and clicking on “Webcast.”

    Forward Looking Statements

    Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those set forth in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, inflation and unemployment, competitive products and pricing, real estate values, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, the effects of the recent turmoil in the banking industry, changes in accounting policies and practices that may be adopted by the regulatory agencies and the accounting standards setters, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, potential goodwill impairment, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset-liability management, the financial and securities markets, the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity, and the impact of a potential shutdown of the federal government.

    The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company advises readers that the factors listed above could affect the Company’s financial performance and could cause the Company’s actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. The Company does not assume any duty, and does not undertake, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement.

    Footnotes

    (1) Annualized adjusted pre-tax, pre-provision return on average assets, annualized return on average tangible equity, tangible book value per share, annualized adjusted non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets and the efficiency ratio are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the Notes following the Consolidated Financial Highlights which contain the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures and the associated calculations.

                 
    PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Financial Highlights
    (Dollars in Thousands, except share data) (Unaudited)
         
      As of or for the
    Three months ended
     
      March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
        2025       2024       2024    
    Statement of Income            
    Net interest income $ 181,728     $ 181,737     $ 93,670    
    Provision for credit losses   638       8,880       186    
    Non-interest income   27,030       24,175       20,807    
    Non-interest expense   116,267       134,323       71,321    
    Income before income tax expense   91,853       62,709       42,970    
    Net income   64,028       48,524       32,082    
    Diluted earnings per share $ 0.49     $ 0.37     $ 0.43    
    Interest rate spread   2.73%       2.63%       2.26%    
    Net interest margin   3.34%       3.28%       2.87%    
                 
    Profitability            
    Annualized return on average assets   1.08%       0.81%       0.92%    
    Annualized adjusted return on average assets (1)   1.11%       1.05%       0.97%    
    Annualized return on average equity   9.84%       7.36%       7.60%    
    Annualized adjusted return on average equity (1)   10.13%       9.53%       8.04%    
    Annualized return on average tangible equity (1)   15.73%       12.21%       10.40%    
    Annualized adjusted return on average tangible equity (1)   16.15%       15.39%       11.16%    
    Annualized adjusted non-interest expense to average assets (3)   1.92%       1.90%       1.99%    
    Efficiency ratio (4)   54.43%       55.43%       60.82%    
                 
    Asset Quality            
    Non-accrual loans $ 103,223     $ 72,061     $ 47,592    
    90+ and still accruing   —       —       —    
    Non-performing loans   103,223       72,061       47,592    
    Foreclosed assets   6,755       9,473       11,324    
    Non-performing assets   109,978       81,534       58,916    
    Non-performing loans to total loans   0.54%       0.39%       0.44%    
    Non-performing assets to total assets   0.45%       0.34%       0.42%    
    Allowance for loan losses $ 191,770     $ 193,432     $ 106,429    
    Allowance for loan losses to total non-performing loans   185.78%       268.43%       223.63%    
    Allowance for loan losses to total loans   1.02%       1.04%       0.98%    
    Net loan charge-offs $ 1,987     $ 5,493     $ 971    
    Annualized net loan charge-offs to average total loans   0.04%       0.12%       0.04%    
                 
    Average Balance Sheet Data            
    Assets $ 24,049,318     $ 23,908,514     $ 14,093,767    
    Loans, net   18,590,877       18,487,443       10,668,992    
    Earning assets   21,946,053       21,760,458       12,862,910    
    Core deposits   15,497,343       15,581,608       9,129,244    
    Borrowings   1,918,069       1,711,806       1,940,981    
    Interest-bearing liabilities   17,297,892       17,093,382       10,074,106    
    Stockholders’ equity   2,638,361       2,624,019       1,698,170    
    Average yield on interest-earning assets   5.63%       5.66%       5.06%    
    Average cost of interest-bearing liabilities   2.90%       3.03%       2.80%    
                 

    Notes and Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    (Dollars in Thousands, except share data)

    The Company has presented the following non-GAAP (U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures because it believes that these measures provide useful and comparative information to assess trends in the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. Presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is consistent with how the Company evaluates its performance internally and these non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in the Company’s industry. Investors should recognize that the Company’s presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures might not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP basis measures and the Company strongly encourages a review of its condensed consolidated financial statements in their entirety.

                   
    (1) Annualized Adjusted Return on Average Assets, Equity and Tangible Equity              
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Net Income   $ 64,028     $ 48,524     $ 32,082    
    Write-down on ORE property     2,690       —       —    
    Merger-related transaction costs     —       20,184       2,202    
    Less: income tax expense     (809)       (5,819)       (342)    
    Annualized adjusted net income   $ 65,909     $ 62,889     $ 33,942    
    Less: Amortization of Intangibles (net of tax)   $ 6,642     $ 6,649     $ 493    
    Annualized adjusted net income for annualized adjusted return on average tangible equity   $ 72,551     $ 69,538     $ 34,434    
                   
    Annualized Adjusted Return on Average Assets     1.11%       1.05%       0.97%    
    Annualized Adjusted Return on Average Equity     10.13%       9.53%       8.04%    
    Annualized Adjusted Return on Average Tangible Equity     16.15%       15.39%       11.16%    
                   
    (2) Annualized adjusted pre-tax, pre-provision (“PTPP”) returns on average assets, average equity and average tangible equity              
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Net income   $ 64,028     $ 48,524     $ 32,082    
    Adjustments to net income:              
    Provision charge (benefit) for credit losses     638       8,880       (320)    
    Write-down on ORE property     2,690       —       —    
    Merger-related transaction costs     —       20,184       2,202    
    Income tax expense     27,825       14,185       10,888    
    PTPP income   $ 95,181     $ 91,773     $ 44,852    
                   
    Annualized adjusted PTPP income   $ 386,012     $ 365,097     $ 180,394    
    Average assets   $ 24,049,318     $ 23,908,514     $ 14,093,767    
    Average equity   $ 2,638,361     $ 2,624,019     $ 1,698,170    
    Average tangible equity   $ 1,822,407     $ 1,797,994     $ 1,240,475    
                   
    Annualized adjusted PTPP return on average assets     1.61%       1.53%       1.28%    
    Annualized adjusted PTPP return on average equity     14.63%       13.91%       10.62%    
    Annualized adjusted PTPP return on average tangible equity     21.18%       20.31%       14.54%    
                   
    (3) Annualized Return on Average Tangible Equity              
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Total average stockholders’ equity   $ 2,638,361     $ 2,624,019     $ 1,698,170    
    Less: total average intangible assets     815,954       826,025       457,695    
    Total average tangible stockholders’ equity   $ 1,822,407     $ 1,797,994     $ 1,240,475    
                   
    Net income     64,028       48,524       32,082    
    Less: Amortization of Intangibles, net of tax     6,642       6,649       493    
    Total net income   $ 70,670     $ 55,173     $ 32,575    
                   
    Annualized return on average tangible equity (net income/total average tangible stockholders’ equity)     15.73%       12.21%       10.56%    
                   
    (4) Annualized Adjusted Non-Interest Expense to Average Assets              
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Reported non-interest expense   $ 116,267     $ 134,323     $ 71,321    
    Adjustments to non-interest expense:              
    Credit loss (benefit) expense for off-balance sheet credit exposures     —       —       (506)    
    Write-down on ORE property     2,690       —       —    
    Merger-related transaction costs     —       20,184       2,202    
    Adjusted non-interest expense   $ 113,577     $ 114,139     $ 69,625    
                   
    Annualized adjusted non-interest expense   $ 460,618     $ 454,075     $ 280,030    
                   
    Average assets   $ 24,049,318     $ 23,908,514     $ 14,093,767    
                   
    Annualized adjusted non-interest expense/average assets     1.92%       1.90%       1.99%    
                   
    (5) Efficiency Ratio Calculation              
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Net interest income   $ 181,728     $ 181,737     $ 93,670    
    Non-interest income     27,030       24,175       20,807    
    Adjustments to non-interest income:              
    Net (gain) loss on securities transactions     (87)       14       1    
    Adjusted non-interest income   $ 26,943     $ 24,189     $ 20,808    
    Total income   $ 208,671     $ 205,926     $ 114,478    
                   
    Adjusted non-interest expense   $ 113,577     $ 114,139     $ 69,625    
                   
    Efficiency ratio (adjusted non-interest expense/income)     54.43%       55.43%       60.82%    
                   
    (6) Book and Tangible Book Value per Share   Three Months Ended  
        March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
          2025       2024       2024    
    Total stockholders’ equity   $ 2,658,794     $ 2,601,207     $ 1,695,162    
    Less: total intangible assets     809,725       819,230       457,239    
    Total tangible stockholders’ equity   $ 1,849,069     $ 1,781,977     $ 1,237,923    
                   
    Shares outstanding     130,661,195       130,489,493       75,928,193    
                   
    Book value per share (total stockholders’ equity/shares outstanding)   $ 20.35     $ 19.93     $ 22.33    
    Tangible book value per share (total tangible stockholders’ equity/shares outstanding)   $ 14.15     $ 13.66     $ 16.30    
                   
                   
    PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
    March 31, 2025 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2024
    (Dollars in Thousands)
           
    Assets March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 234,076     $ 205,939  
    Available for sale debt securities, at fair value   2,878,785       2,768,915  
    Held to maturity debt securities, (net of $17,000 allowance as of March 31, 2025 (unaudited) and $14,000 allowance as of December 31, 2024)   314,005       327,623  
    Equity securities, at fair value   19,871       19,110  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   126,271       112,767  
    Loans held for sale   149,961       162,453  
    Loans held for investment   18,791,371       18,659,370  
    Less allowance for credit losses   191,770       193,432  
    Net loans   18,749,562       18,628,391  
    Foreclosed assets, net   6,755       9,473  
    Banking premises and equipment, net   115,424       119,622  
    Accrued interest receivable   91,776       91,160  
    Intangible assets   809,725       819,230  
    Bank-owned life insurance   407,986       405,893  
    Other assets   470,523       543,702  
    Total assets $ 24,224,759     $ 24,051,825  
           
    Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity      
    Deposits:      
    Demand deposits $ 13,612,189     $ 13,775,991  
    Savings deposits   1,670,920       1,679,667  
    Certificates of deposit of $250,000 or more   767,626       789,342  
    Other time deposits   2,398,128       2,378,813  
    Total deposits   18,448,863       18,623,813  
    Mortgage escrow deposits   51,261       42,247  
    Borrowed funds   2,336,191       2,020,435  
    Subordinated debentures   402,853       401,608  
    Other liabilities   326,797       362,515  
    Total liabilities   21,565,965       21,450,618  
           
    Stockholders’ equity:      
    Preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued   —       —  
    Common stock, $0.01 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized, 137,565,966 shares issued and 130,663,184 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2025 and 130,489,493 outstanding as of December 31, 2024.   1,376       1,376  
    Additional paid-in capital   1,836,665       1,834,495  
    Retained earnings   1,021,266       989,111  
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (110,246)       (135,355)  
    Treasury stock   (90,267)       (88,420)  
    Total stockholders’ equity   2,658,794       2,601,207  
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 24,224,759     $ 24,051,825  
    PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
    Consolidated Statements of Income
    Three months ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024
    (Dollars in Thousands, except per share data) (Unaudited)
                 
      Three Months Ended  
      March 31,   December 31,   March 31,  
        2025     2024       2024    
    Interest and dividend income:            
    Real estate secured loans $ 187,054   $ 194,236     $ 107,456    
    Commercial loans   75,819     75,978       36,100    
    Consumer loans   10,158     10,815       4,523    
    Available for sale debt securities, equity securities and Federal Home Loan Bank stock   29,644     27,197       12,330    
    Held to maturity debt securities   1,996     2,125       2,268    
    Deposits, federal funds sold and other short-term investments   675     1,596       1,182    
    Total interest income   305,346     311,947       163,859    
                 
    Interest expense:            
    Deposits   97,420     105,922       52,534    
    Borrowed funds   17,778     15,652       17,383    
    Subordinated debt   8,420     8,636       272    
    Total interest expense   123,618     130,210       70,189    
    Net interest income   181,728     181,737       93,670    
    Provision charge for credit losses   638     8,880       (320)    
    Net interest income after provision for credit losses   181,090     172,857       93,990    
                 
    Non-interest income:            
    Fees   9,655     9,687       5,912    
    Wealth management income   7,328     7,655       7,488    
    Insurance agency income   5,651     3,289       4,793    
    Bank-owned life insurance   2,092     2,261       1,817    
    Net gain (loss) on securities transactions   87     (14)       (1)    
    Other income   2,217     1,297       798    
    Total non-interest income   27,030     24,175       20,807    
                 
    Non-interest expense:            
    Compensation and employee benefits   62,366     59,937       40,048    
    Net occupancy expense   13,927     12,562       8,520    
    Data processing expense   9,605     9,881       6,783    
    FDIC Insurance   3,385     3,411       2,272    
    Amortization of intangibles   9,501     9,511       705    
    Advertising and promotion expense   1,060     1,485       966    
    Merger-related expenses   —     20,184       2,202    
    Other operating expenses   16,423     17,352       10,331    
    Total non-interest expense   116,267     134,323       71,827    
    Income before income tax expense   91,853     62,709       42,970    
    Income tax expense   27,825     14,185       10,888    
    Net income $ 64,028   $ 48,524     $ 32,082    
                 
    Basic earnings per share $ 0.49   $ 0.37     $ 0.43    
    Average basic shares outstanding   130,325,393     130,067,244       75,260,029    
                 
    Diluted earnings per share $ 0.49   $ 0.37     $ 0.43    
    Average diluted shares outstanding   130,380,475     130,163,872       75,275,660    
    PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
    Net Interest Margin Analysis
    Quarterly Average Balances
    (Dollars in Thousands) (Unaudited)
      March 31, 2025   December 31, 2024   March 31, 2024
      Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost
      Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost
      Average Balance   Interest   Average
    Yield/Cost
    Interest-Earning Assets:                                  
    Deposits $ 80,074   $ 675   4.21%     $ 117,998   $ 1,596   5.38%     $ 87,869   $ 1,182   5.41%  
    Available for sale debt securities   2,827,699     27,621   3.89%       2,720,066     25,064   3.69%       1,673,950     10,022   2.39%  
    Held to maturity debt securities, net (1)   320,036     1,996   2.50%       328,147     2,125   2.59%       357,246     2,268   2.54%  
    Equity securities, at fair value   19,840     —   — %     19,920     —   — %     1,099     —   — %
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   107,527     2,023   7.53%       86,885     2,134   9.82%       73,754     2,308   12.52%  
    Net loans: (2)                                  
    Total mortgage loans   13,297,168     187,054   5.70%       13,287,942     194,236   5.75%       7,990,218     107,456   5.33%  
    Total commercial loans   4,684,572     75,819   6.56%       4,587,048     75,978   6.54%       2,381,965     36,100   6.03%  
    Total consumer loans   609,137     10,158   6.76%       612,453     10,815   7.02%       296,809     4,523   6.13%  
    Total net loans   18,590,877     273,031   5.95%       18,487,443     281,029   5.99%       10,668,992     148,079   5.51%  
    Total interest-earning assets $ 21,946,053   $ 305,346   5.63%     $ 21,760,458   $ 311,947   5.66%     $ 12,862,910   $ 163,859   5.06%  
                                       
    Non-Interest Earning Assets:                                  
    Cash and due from banks   134,205             159,151             116,563        
    Other assets   1,969,060             1,988,905             1,114,294        
    Total assets $ 24,049,318           $ 23,908,514           $ 14,093,767        
                                       
    Interest-Bearing Liabilities:                                  
    Demand deposits $ 10,095,570   $ 65,433   2.63%     $ 10,115,827   $ 71,265   2.80%     $ 5,894,062   $ 41,566   2.84%  
    Savings deposits   1,682,596     924   0.22%       1,677,725     968   0.23%       1,163,181     637   0.22%  
    Time deposits   3,199,620     31,063   3.94%       3,187,172     33,689   4.21%       1,065,170     10,331   3.90%  
    Total Deposits   14,977,786     97,420   2.64%       14,980,724     105,922   2.81%       8,122,413     52,534   2.60%  
                                       
    Borrowed funds   1,918,069     17,778   3.76%       1,711,806     15,652   3.64%       1,940,981     17,383   3.60%  
    Subordinated debentures   402,037     8,420   8.49%       400,852     8,636   8.57%       10,712     272   10.23%  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities   17,297,892     123,618   2.90%       17,093,382     130,210   3.03%       10,074,106     70,189   2.80%  
                                       
    Non-Interest Bearing Liabilities:                                  
    Non-interest bearing deposits   3,719,177             3,788,056             2,072,001        
    Other non-interest bearing liabilities   393,888             403,057             249,490        
    Total non-interest bearing liabilities   4,113,065             4,191,113             2,321,491        
    Total liabilities   21,410,957             21,284,495             12,395,597        
    Stockholders’ equity   2,638,361             2,624,019             1,698,170        
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 24,049,318           $ 23,908,514           $ 14,093,767        
                                       
    Net interest income     $ 181,728           $ 181,737           $ 93,670    
                                       
    Net interest rate spread         2.73%             2.63%             2.26%  
    Net interest-earning assets $ 4,648,161           $ 4,667,076           $ 2,788,804        
                                       
    Net interest margin (3)         3.34%             3.28%             2.87%  
                                       
    Ratio of interest-earning assets to total interest-bearing liabilities 1.27x           1.27x           1.28x        
       
    (1 ) Average outstanding balance amounts shown are amortized cost, net of allowance for credit losses.
    (2 ) Average outstanding balances are net of the allowance for loan losses, deferred loan fees and expenses, loan premiums and discounts and include loans held for sale and non-accrual loans.
    (3 ) Annualized net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.
    The following table summarizes the quarterly net interest margin for the previous five quarters.      
      3/31/25   12/31/24   9/30/24   6/30/24   3/31/24
      1st Qtr.   4th Qtr.   3rd Qtr.   2nd Qtr.   1st Qtr.
    Interest-Earning Assets:                  
    Securities 3.86%     3.78%     3.69%     3.40%     2.87%  
    Net loans 5.95%     5.99%     6.21%     6.05%     5.51%  
    Total interest-earning assets 5.63%     5.66%     5.84%     5.67%     5.06%  
                       
    Interest-Bearing Liabilities:                  
    Total deposits 2.64%     2.81%     2.96%     2.84%     2.60%  
    Total borrowings 3.76%     3.64%     3.73%     3.83%     3.60%  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities 2.90%     3.03%     3.19%     3.09%     2.80%  
                       
    Interest rate spread 2.73%     2.63%     2.65%     2.58%     2.26%  
    Net interest margin 3.34%     3.28%     3.31%     3.21%     2.87%  
                       
    Ratio of interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities 1.27x     1.27x     1.26x     1.25x     1.28x  
    PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
    Net Interest Margin Analysis
    Average Year to Date Balances
    (Dollars in Thousands) (Unaudited)
                           
      March 31, 2025   March 31, 2024
      Average       Average   Average       Average
      Balance   Interest   Yield/Cost   Balance   Interest   Yield/Cost
    Interest-Earning Assets:                      
    Deposits $ 80,074   $ 675   4.21%     $ 87,869   $ 1,182   5.41%  
    Available for sale debt securities   2,827,699     27,621   3.89%       1,673,950     10,022   2.39%  
    Held to maturity debt securities, net (1)   320,036     1,996   2.50%       357,246     2,268   2.54%  
    Equity securities, at fair value   19,840     —   —%       1,099     —   —%  
    Federal Home Loan Bank stock   107,527     2,023   7.53%       73,754     2,308   12.52%  
    Net loans: (2)                      
    Total mortgage loans   13,297,168     187,054   5.70%       7,990,218     107,456   5.33%  
    Total commercial loans   4,684,572     75,819   6.56%       2,381,965     36,100   6.03%  
    Total consumer loans   609,137     10,158   6.76%       296,809     4,523   6.13%  
    Total net loans   18,590,877     273,031   5.95%       10,668,992     148,079   5.51%  
    Total interest-earning assets $ 21,946,053   $ 305,346   5.63%     $ 12,862,910   $ 163,859   5.06%  
                           
    Non-Interest Earning Assets:                      
    Cash and due from banks   134,205             116,563        
    Other assets   1,969,060             1,114,294        
    Total assets $ 24,049,318           $ 14,093,767        
                           
    Interest-Bearing Liabilities:                      
    Demand deposits $ 10,095,570   $ 65,433   2.63%     $ 5,894,062   $ 41,566   2.84%  
    Savings deposits   1,682,596     924   0.22%       1,163,181     637   0.22%  
    Time deposits   3,199,620     31,063   3.94%       1,065,170     10,331   3.90%  
    Total deposits   14,977,786     97,420   2.64%       8,122,413     52,534   2.60%  
    Borrowed funds   1,918,069     17,778   3.76%       1,940,981     17,383   3.60%  
    Subordinated debentures   402,037     8,420   8.49%       10,712     272   10.23%  
    Total interest-bearing liabilities $ 17,297,892   $ 123,618   2.90%     $ 10,074,106   $ 70,189   2.80%  
                           
    Non-Interest Bearing Liabilities:                      
    Non-interest bearing deposits   3,719,177             2,072,001        
    Other non-interest bearing liabilities   393,888             249,490        
    Total non-interest bearing liabilities   4,113,065             2,321,491        
    Total liabilities   21,410,957             12,395,597        
    Stockholders’ equity   2,638,361             1,698,170        
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 24,049,318           $ 14,093,767        
                           
    Net interest income     $ 181,728           $ 93,670    
                           
    Net interest rate spread         2.73%             2.26%  
    Net interest-earning assets $ 4,648,161           $ 2,788,804        
                           
    Net interest margin (3)         3.34%             2.87%  
                           
    Ratio of interest-earning assets to total interest-bearing liabilities 1.27x           1.28x        
                           
                           
    (1) Average outstanding balance amounts shown are amortized cost, net of allowance for credit losses.
    (2) Average outstanding balance are net of the allowance for loan losses, deferred loan fees and expenses, loan premium and discounts and include loans held for sale and non-accrual loans.
    (3) Annualized net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.
    The following table summarizes the year-to-date net interest margin for the previous three years.
                 
      Three Months Ended  
      March 31, 2025   March 31, 2024   March 31, 2023  
    Interest-Earning Assets:            
    Securities 3.86%     2.87%     2.52%    
    Net loans 5.95%     5.51%     5.12%    
    Total interest-earning assets 5.63%     5.06%     4.63%    
                 
    Interest-Bearing Liabilities:            
    Total deposits 2.64%     2.60%     1.39%    
    Total borrowings 3.76%     3.60%     2.48%    
    Total interest-bearing liabilities 2.90%     2.80%     1.54%    
                 
    Interest rate spread 2.73%     2.26%     3.09%    
    Net interest margin 3.34%     2.87%     3.48%    
                 
    Ratio of interest-earning assets to interest-bearing liabilities 1.27x     1.28x     1.34x    

    CONTACT: Investor Relations, 1-732-590-9300

    The MIL Network –

    April 25, 2025
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