Category: Business

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tackling AI security risks to unleash growth and deliver Plan for Change
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

UK’s AI Safety Institute becomes ‘UK AI Security Institute’.
UK’s AI Safety Institute becomes ‘UK AI Security Institute’ – strengthening protections against the risks AI poses to national security and crime

Institute bolstered by new criminal misuse team, partnering with the Home Office, to research a range of crime and security issues which could harm UK citizens

New agreement reached with AI giant Anthropic on AI opportunities to help grow the economy as part of our Plan for Change

Safeguarding Britain’s national security – a key pillar of the government’s Plan for Change – and protecting citizens from crime – will become founding principles of the UK’s approach to the responsible development of artificial intelligence from today (Friday 14 February), as the Technology Secretary sets out his vision for a revitalised AI Security Institute in Munich.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference and just days after the conclusion of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Peter Kyle has today recast the AI Safety Institute the ‘AI Security Institute’. This new name will reflect its focus on serious AI risks with security implications, such as how the technology can be used to develop chemical and biological weapons, how it can be used to carry out cyber-attacks, and enable crimes such as fraud and child sexual abuse.

The Institute will also partner across government, including with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Ministry of Defence’s science and technology organisation, to assess the risks posed by frontier AI.

As part of this update, the Institute will also launch a new criminal misuse team which will work jointly with the Home Office to conduct research on a range of crime and security issues which threaten to harm British citizens. 

One such area of focus will be the use of AI to make child sexual abuse images, with this new team exploring methods to help to prevent abusers from harnessing the technology to carry out their appalling crimes. This will support work announced earlier this month to make it illegal to own AI tools which have been optimised to make images of child sexual abuse.  

This means the focus of the Institute will be clearer than ever. It will not focus on bias or freedom of speech, but on advancing our understanding of the most serious risks posed by the technology to build up a scientific basis of evidence which will help policymakers to keep the country safe as AI develops. To achieve this, the Institute will work alongside wider government, the Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR), and the national security community; including building on the expertise of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s national technical authority for cyber security, including AI.

The announcement comes just weeks after the government set out its new blueprint for AI to deliver a decade of national renewal, harnessing the technology to deliver on the Plan for Change. A revitalised AI Security Institute will ensure we boost public confidence in AI and drive its uptake across the economy so we can unleash the economic growth that will put more money in people’s pockets.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said:

The changes I’m announcing today represent the logical next step in how we approach responsible AI development – helping us to unleash AI and grow the economy as part of our Plan for Change.

The work of the AI Security Institute won’t change, but this renewed focus will ensure our citizens – and those of our allies – are protected from those who would look to use AI against our institutions, democratic values, and way of life.

The main job of any government is ensuring its citizens are safe and protected, and I’m confident the expertise our Institute will be able to bring to bear will ensure the UK is in a stronger position than ever to tackle the threat of those who would look to use this technology against us.

As the AI Security Institute bolsters its security focus, the Technology Secretary is also taking the wraps off a new agreement which has been struck between the UK and AI company Anthropic.

This partnership is the work of the UK’s new Sovereign AI unit, and will see both sides working closely together to realise the technology’s opportunities, with a continued focus on the responsible development and deployment of AI systems.

This will include sharing insights on how AI can transform public services and improve the lives of citizens, as well as using this transformative technology to drive new scientific breakthroughs. The UK will also look to secure further agreements with leading AI companies as a key step towards turbocharging productivity and speaking fresh economic growth – a key pillar of the government’s Plan for Change.

Chair of the AI Security Institute Ian Hogarth said:

The Institute’s focus from the start has been on security and we’ve built a team of scientists focused on evaluating serious risks to the public.

Our new criminal misuse team and deepening partnership with the national security community mark the next stage of tackling those risks.

Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic said:

AI has the potential to transform how governments serve their citizens. We look forward to exploring how Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude could help UK government agencies enhance public services, with the goal of discovering new ways to make vital information and services more efficient and accessible to UK residents.

We will continue to work closely with the UK AI Security Institute to research and evaluate AI capabilities in order to ensure secure deployment.

Today’s reset for the AI Security Institute comes just weeks after the UK government kickstarted the year by setting out a new blueprint for AI to spark a decade of national renewal.

Thanks to the work of the Institute, the UK now stands ready to fully realise the benefits of the technology while bolstering our national security as we continue to harness the age of AI.

Further Information:

The agreement between the UK and Anthropic on AI opportunities.

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Published 14 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Mexico: Boom in organised crime making femicide invisible, local activist says

Source: United Nations 2-b

By Nathalie Minard and Ana Carmo

5 December 2024 Women

With more than 2,526 women murdered in the past three decades – from 1993 through 2023 – and hundreds disappeared, Ciudad Juárez remains Mexico’s deadliest city for women.

Local activist Norma Andrade, who was recently at the UN Office in Geneva to raise awareness about femicide, knows the issue first-hand. Her own daughter, Lilia Alejandra, was murdered in that same city in 2001.

“As my granddaughter would sum it up: we are worth a peanut – which in other words means that a woman is just disposable,” she told UN News.

“On one day, she was working in a factory, the next day she disappeared, the next she is found dead, while another person has already replaced her at work, so [her death] is only important to her family – not for society, not for the government, much less for the authorities or the company,” she explained.

UN/Nathalie Minard

Norma Andrade in front of the art work of Clara Garesio “In Women’s Hands” at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

Impunity is rampant

According to Ms. Andrade, the fact that Juárez is a key border crossing with the United States contributes to the lack of community rootedness, which dehumanizes the population and makes it harder to fight the crime of femicide.

But the problem is not confined there. Across Mexico, around 10 women and girls are killed every day by intimate partners or other family members, according to Government data.

Since 2001 – the year when Lilia Alejandra was killed – 50,000 women have been murdered, while the impunity rate exceeds 95 per cent.

Furthermore, only two per cent of cases end in a criminal sentence and only one in 10 victims dares to report their aggressor.

There is no justice

Ms. Andrade has survived two murder attempts in the 23 years since her daughter’s body was discovered, as she continues her quest for justice.

“In Mexico, the growing number of disappearances is real, but this boom in organized crime and drug trafficking has erased what is happening to women, not that it stopped happening, but it is becoming invisible…”, she said.

Even though the violence against women is increasing, its visibility is going down – local activist Norma Andrade

Speaking about the lack of justice, she said that even when the skeletal remains of a missing young woman are found, it is an “achievement” as it gives closure to their families. “It gives them a place to go and mourn their daughter,” she added.

Since the disappearance of her daughter, Ms. Andrade has been fighting for justice.

“Recently, an expert made me see a reality that I hadn’t seen for the past 23 years, one that I didn’t want to accept: maybe I won’t find justice for Alejandra. Or at least not the legal justice that I want that would put Alejandra’s attackers in jail”, she stressed.

Her case was transferred to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, located in Costa Rica, in December 2023.

Symbolic justice

“Perhaps we can find moral or symbolic justice,” Ms. Andrade said, “because the moment the Mexican State is given a criminal sentence […] it publicly acknowledges that it didn’t protect Alejandra, neither all the Alejandras in the country, nor all those children who were orphaned when their mothers were murdered; and that would alleviate to some extent the lack of legal justice”.

Blaming the lack of political will, Ms. Andrade who is also a co-founder of non-profit association of mothers whose daughters were victims of feminicide in Ciudad Juárez, added that the mothers are the ones “swimming against the tide”.

Supported by other women, academics, feminists, and civil society, they are the ones “who must go, protest and raise their voices to be taken into account”, she said.

In recent years, the crimes have sparked several waves of protests and put gender violence at the top of Mexico’s political agenda.

Keeping the issue of femicide in the spotlight and making information available and accessible for women, is key for holding the authorities accountable and preventing violence against women and girls.

Since 2011, UN Women, in partnership with key state institutions, has published periodic studies analysing the scope, trends, characteristics of femicide in the country.

UNIC Mexico/Eloísa Farrera

The Ecatepec mural “Voices in Resistance: murals for justice and memory” seeks to dignify all mothers who fight for their daughters killed by femicidal violence.

‘Look at us’

Ms. Andrade stars in the documentary Norma, in search of justice directed by French journalist Brigitte Leoni, which was screened in Geneva ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November.

She hopes the documentary will bring more visibility to the cases of disappearance, noting that “this boom in organized crime has caused people to flee, crossing into the United States, and drug trafficking has made what is happening to women invisible”.

Speaking in Geneva, home to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN News asked Ms. Andrade what message she would like to share with rights experts.

“Look at us, look at the mothers. Come here and see the families and don’t just stick with the image that the government gives to the outside world”, she said.

Femicide transcends borders

Violence against women is a global crisis, according to a report by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), released on the International Day.

Unsplash/María Fuentes

Women march on International Women’s Day in Mexico City.

The commemoration marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual campaign that runs through 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Regional data shows that femicide transcends borders, socio-economic status and cultures, but its severity varies.

Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicides, with 21,700 women killed in 2023, followed by the Americas and Oceania.

In Europe, 64 per cent of victims were killed by their intimate partners; in the Americas, it was 58 per cent. 

In contrast, women in Africa and Asia were more likely to be killed by family members than by their partners.

The report revealed that globally, 140 women and girls died every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative in 2023 – one woman killed every 10 minutes. 

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: What was the Sykes-Picot agreement, and why does it still affect the Middle East today?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University

Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Some national borders are determined by natural phenomena like seas, mountains and rivers. Most, however, are created by people.

This means the creation of borders is often a political exercise – usually informed by the interests of those who create them, not the local populations to whom they apply.

The Sykes-Picot agreement, known officially as the Asia Minor Agreement of 1916, was arguably the first in a series of attempts by colonial powers to mould the borders of the Middle East.

Signed in secret at the height of the first world war, Sykes-Picot was an agreement between France and Great Britain, approved by Russia. It would have lasting consequences for the region.

It is frequently cited as the epitome of European colonial betrayal, and the genesis of most conflict in the Middle East.

But while Sykes-Picot did significantly affect regional politics, the history is more complicated than popular narratives suggest.

‘The Eastern question’

The agreement was seen by the signatories as a potential answer to what was then known by European powers as “the Eastern question”: what would happen when the Ottoman Empire inevitably collapsed?

The Ottoman state in the early 20th century was vast compared to its European peers, encompassing Anatolia (the Asian part of modern-day Turkey) and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

But it was weak, and had been on a steady decline since the 18th century due to multiple military defeats, revolts and rampant corruption. By the beginning of the first world war, the Triple Entente (France, Britain and Russia) believed the Ottoman state would not survive long.

The Entente aimed to create new “zones of influence” in the Middle East, dividing Ottoman territory into colonial partitions.

By the beginning of the first world war, France, Britain and Russia believed the Ottoman state would not survive long.
Everett Collection/Shutterstock

Secret negotiations

Between late 1915 and early 1916, Britain and France sent their respective envoys to negotiate the potential terms of this outcome in secret.

Mark Sykes, a political adviser and military veteran, represented the British. François Georges-Picot, a career diplomat, represented the French.

Italy and Russia also had delegations in attendance, though the discussions were dominated by Britain and France as the most powerful nations. The Ottomans were oblivious to these negotiations.

Under the agreement:
- France was allocated what is now Syria, Lebanon and southern Turkey
- Britain claimed most of modern-day Iraq, southern Palestine and Kuwait
- Russia took control of Armenia.
An area known as the Jerusalem Sanjak (an administrative division created by the Ottomon Empire) in Palestine was to come under an international protectorate, though it was not settled in the agreement as to how this protectorate would operate.

Sykes-Picot was kept secret, mostly because Britain had made contradictory commitments to other parties. It had promised (through a series of letters known as the McMahon-Hussein correspondence) to give independence to the Arabs who had helped the British fight the Ottomans in the first world war.

Later, in early November 1917, it also made a promise to Zionist Jews migrating to Palestine in the Balfour Declaration. In this public declaration, Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur Balfour effectively expressed Britain’s support for the Zionist project to create a Jewish state in Ottoman Palestine. Then-Prime Minister David Lloyd George also publicly supported both Zionism and Balfour’s statement.

The Sykes-Picot agreement did not stay secret for long.

In November 1917, the Bolsheviks, who were now in power in Russia following the fall of the Russian monarchy, published Sykes-Picot to the world.

Arab nationalists were enraged. So, too, were Zionists who had witnessed the Balfour Declaration just weeks prior. The Anglo-French declaration of November 1918 attempted to allay the fears of the Arabs by pledging to “assist in the establishment of national governments and administrations.” However, Arab distrust of the European powers only grew.

Borders moulded by colonial powers

In the years following, European powers started to reevaluate their position on Ottoman territory.

The French, who still wished to take control of Syria, had argued the newly formed League of Nations (a predecessor of the United Nations) could give France the territory under a mandate. A mandate is a formal authorisation to govern by the League of Nations.

The British said this would violate their earlier promises to the Arabs. Britain reiterated that the Anglo-French declaration of 1918 superseded Sykes-Picot.

Then came the San Remo Conference in 1920, an international meeting in Italy. This is where some of the popular readings into Sykes-Picot get muddled, as several aspects of the agreement were discarded. What remained the same was the French and British desire to add Ottoman territory to their dominions.

Here, the European victors of the first world war sought to finalise the division of Ottoman territories by slicing them into League of Nations mandates.

This included the French mandates of Syria and Lebanon, as well as the British mandates of Palestine and Mesopotamia. Britain also confirmed at the time its support for a Jewish national homeland, while protecting the local Palestinian population.

This is where we start to see borders of the modern Middle East form. The boundaries themselves differed from Sykes-Picot. But Britain and France, however, were still able to expand their colonial dominion in the region.

In 1921, a group of British representatives met in Cairo to finalise the borders of their mandates. This led to the creation of two states: Iraq under King Faisal and Transjordan (now Jordan) under King Abdullah – both of whom were members of the Arab Heshemite dynasty. Palestine was to remain under British mandatory control.

While these states had independence on paper, then-Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill believed that Transjordan would ultimately be controlled by the British Empire, giving the Heshemites only nominal independence.

Little consideration was given to the ethnic and religious diversity of these territories. Some argue this helped lead to modern-day sectarian conflict in Iraq.

Ripples that continue today

The collapse of the Ottoman Empire was always going to cause regional upheaval, but the colonial jockeying for territory clearly had lasting consequences.

Several regional conflicts were exacerbated during this period, but it would also directly lead to the creation of the state of Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This leads to the displacement of Palestinians and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that still rages today.

Zionists and Arab nationalists viewed Palestine to have been originally promised to them by the British through the Balfour Declaration and McMahon-Hussein correspondence, respectfully.

But in Sykes-Picot, the British had no intention of promising Palestine to anyone but themselves.

As a result, the British mandate was characterised by anti-colonial violence from both Jews and Arabs.

When the British eventually abandoned control of Palestine in 1947, the UN partition plan for two states (one Jewish, one Arab) was supposed to take over. Instead, Arab-Israeli conflict began within hours of the partition taking effect.

So a lot happened after Sykes-Picot, with the map proposed in 1916 looking very different to what actually eventuated.

Many scholars argue it was the agreements that followed Sykes-Picot that were more consequential, and Sykes-Picot holds only “minor importance” by comparison.

While this may be true, Sykes-Picot is still emblematic of how consequential European colonial ambition was in the Middle East.

And while the borders outlined in the agreement did not eventuate, Britain and France still managed to get most of the territory they wanted, with little consideration of local populations.

The Sykes-Picot agreement is therefore one of many colonial projects that we are still feeling the ripples of today.

Andrew Thomas 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. What was the Sykes-Picot agreement, and why does it still affect the Middle East today? – https://theconversation.com/what-was-the-sykes-picot-agreement-and-why-does-it-still-affect-the-middle-east-today-246332
MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –
February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Murray: Trump Blocking Funding Will Kill Good-Paying Energy Jobs and Raise Families’ Energy Bills

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

Murray: “In choking off tens of billions of dollars in energy investments, Trump is threatening to kill thousands of good-paying American jobs and raise energy costs for households across the country.”

Senator Murray hosts press call to detail how Trump blocking energy investments is hurting communities in every part of the country

***WATCH: PRESS CALL HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, hosted a press call to underscore how President Trump continuing to block key energy investments threatens to raise families’ energy bills, derail key energy projects, and kill good-paying jobs in communities across the country. Senator Murray was joined by David Turk, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Joe Nguyen, Director of the Washington state Department of Commerce.

“The guy who swore up and down on the campaign trail that he would lower people’s energy costs is now working to raise them. And an administration that says it wants to ‘restore energy dominance’ is now working to kill domestic energy projects and the thousands of American jobs they are creating,” said Senator Murray. “This funding freeze—which may very well not be a freeze but a permanent rollback—is bad for families and it’s bad for workers. And it is also bad for American businesses who have inked contracts to create new battery plants, produce sustainable aviation fuel, lay down new transmission lines, construct new energy plants, and so much more—and who are now left wondering whether the federal government is going to honor its commitments.”

“Another estimate said that the average American consumer is going to pay almost $500 more per year if these kinds of programs—the tax incentives to the loan programs—don’t go forward. And I think that’s a conservative estimate,” said David Turk, who recently served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. “I really want to underscore that chaos and confusion and uncertainty is not our friend. If you talk to any investor, if you talk to any CEO, the last thing they need—the last thing they want—is chaos, confusion, uncertainty about what should be no brainers. If the government makes a commitment, if we get to conditional commitment with a loan program recipient, that’s the government’s credibility. That’s the American people’s credibility on the line to follow through and make sure that we are providing that certainty for investment.”

“It was 27 degrees in West Seattle this morning, and even colder in other parts of the state. The hundreds of millions of dollars threatened today by Trump’s political games hurts already overburdened communities the most, especially low-income families, rural towns, and our small businesses. Washingtonians deserve better than the games the Trump administration is playing,” said Joe Nguyen, Director of the Washington state Department of Commerce.

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order to illegally halt funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) from going out the door to communities and recipients counting on the funding. Hundreds of billions of dollars are still being held up under Trump’s directives—and it’s jeopardizing all manner of energy projects and programs communities are counting on.

In the years since the IIJA and IRA were signed into law, over $211 billion in private sector investment in clean energy and tech manufacturing has been announced nationwide—with 232k+ jobs announced and nearly 80% of those investments made in Republican-held districts. The president’s freeze puts all these gains at serious risk.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“Thanks everyone for joining this call today. I’m really glad to be here with David Turk, who recently served as Deputy Energy Secretary, and Joe Nguyen, Director of Washington state’s Department of Commerce, to talk about how President Trump and Elon Musk are holding up tens of billions of dollars in energy investments nationwide—putting jobs at risk and raising energy costs for families.

“We are now well into the fourth week of President Trump’s illegal—and deeply harmful—funding freeze.

“Trump is still blocking funding that we secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, among much else, from going out the doors. It is, of course, illegal for a president to unilaterally decide to block funding.

“As I’ve said many times: presidents don’t just get to pick and choose what laws they feel like following.

“But Trump blocking funding is not merely illegal. It also devastating for communities like the ones I represent—who are counting on these resources, who’ve hired folks, are relying on this funding to, for example, lower their monthly energy bill, and who, in many cases, have already inked contracts.

“Today, we are talking about the energy investments Trump is blocking—and I want to say from the outset this is just one slice of the vast pot of funding he is holding up.

“Trump’s freeze is holding up funding for: rebuilding roads and bridges, new clean school buses, wildfire prevention efforts, assistance for farmers, replacing old water pipes, investments in our national security, and so much more.

“But today I wanted to zero in on what’s going on at the Department of Energy.

“Because make no mistake: in choking off tens of billions of dollars in energy investments, Trump is threatening to kill thousands of good-paying American jobs and raise energy costs for households across the country.

“When Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, we made historic investments to—among a whole lot else—create good-paying clean energy jobs, spur innovation, strengthen American manufacturing, and lower energy costs for families.

“We provided funding for families to upgrade their homes and save big on their energy bills. We delivered resources to build new battery manufacturing plants, construct cutting-edge hydrogen hubs, boost our nuclear power capabilities, and increase domestic production of critical minerals we absolutely need.

“As you can imagine, a lot of good new jobs have been created in the process—and we’re really just beginning to feel the full benefits.

“A quarter of a million clean energy jobs have been created since we passed the IRA and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In Washington state, the new Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub alone is set to create 10,000 jobs. The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office awards alone will support at least 50,000 good jobs across the country.

“But Trump is putting these domestic jobs at risk—which plays right into the hands of our competitors, like China.

“And he is simultaneously threatening to rip up programs we’ve created that are lowering people’s energy costs.

“Right now, Trump is putting funding for the Home Energy Rebates Program in serious jeopardy. We are talking about funding for families to make upgrades that save them on their monthly energy bill. Funding for you to buy energy efficient appliances and to retrofit your home so that cold air stays out in the winter and hot air stays out in the summer. These programs aren’t just important in tackling the climate crisis—they are saving families money.

“They provide households up to $14,000 in rebates to make upgrades and lower their energy bills—and they are saving American households up to $1 billion every single year.

“The Weatherization Assistance Program, for example, saves households $372 on average each year! But again—Trump has put it on the chopping block.

“There’s no need to dance around it: the guy who swore up and down on the campaign trail that he would lower people’s energy costs is now working to raise them.

“And an administration that says it wants to ‘restore energy dominance’ is now working to kill domestic energy projects and the thousands of American jobs they are creating!

“This funding freeze—which may very well not be a freeze but a permanent rollback—is bad for families and it’s bad for workers. And it is also bad for American businesses who have inked contracts to create new battery plants, produce sustainable aviation fuel, lay down new transmission lines, construct new energy plants, and so much more—and who are now left wondering whether the federal government is going to honor its commitments.

“That uncertainty alone risks jobs and investments—and will hurt local economies everywhere.

“It was recently reported, for example, that Trump and Musk are looking at cancelling even finalized loans provided by the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office. That, of course, puts jobs at risk and puts workers’ livelihoods and businesses’ bottom lines in jeopardy.

“But what we are seeing is also a situation rife with potential conflicts of interest and corruption—which is another huge part of the story when it comes to Trump and Musk blocking funding.

“Just one example: back in 2010, when Tesla wasn’t doing too hot, Elon Musk secured a half billion-dollar loan from the Department of Energy. That loan boosted the company—and Elon Musk—and helped them become what they are today.

“Fast forward to now—Elon Musk is raiding agencies, cutting off funding, cancelling contracts, and the Energy Department is apparently looking to cancel loans it has made to his electric vehicle competitors.

“The obvious question then is Elon Musk going to cut off loans that are helping Tesla’s competitors create jobs and build their business right here in America?

“There is so much at stake—and what is painfully clear is that Trump’s illegal funding freeze is causing chaos and confusion. It’s putting these projects and jobs at risk—and will take money out of families’ pockets—and it has got to end.

“The court decisions we’ve gotten so far have affirmed what we have known all along: Trump does not have the power to steal approved funding from the American people.

“But the relief the orders should provide is, for now, only temporary—and in many cases, the funding is still frozen.

“Now, DOE may say they’ve just developed a new process for thoroughly reviewing all programs and payments but make no mistake: this process is meant to have the same effect—it is a freeze by a different name and the funds remain frozen.

“What needs to happen is Donald Trump and Elon Musk must end the freeze and revoke their orders to choke off these investments.

“As I’ve said before: if Donald Trump wants to roll back programs that are lowering people’s energy bills, he can come to Congress and win the votes he needs to do it.

“If Donald Trump wants to gut funding that is creating good-paying energy jobs all across the country, he can come to Congress and win the votes he needs to do it.

“That’s why I am here today to sound the alarm and protect critical programs American families rely on and support. You don’t just get to rip up contracts and block funding owed to the American people.

“Now, I want to turn it over to David Turk, who I’m so glad could join us, to talk a bit more about what this freeze is doing.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Job losses from Kinleith Mill closure devastating

Source: Green Party

The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community – something that could have easily been avoided.

“If our regions are to not only survive but thrive, they are going to need much more support than they are currently getting,” says the Green Party spokesperson for Regional Development Scott Willis.

“This is absolutely devastating for this community and especially for Tokoroa, the heart of the South Waikato. This doesn’t just affect 230 families, this will devastate the local economy and lead to local businesses closing down and subsequent job losses within the community.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Winston Peters, Minister of Regional Development, Shane Jones, and local MP, Louise Upston, have all made commitments to this community to solve this issue. Closing the paper machine is not even remotely solving this issue.

“The Government can still act and help build a local economy that works for people and planet, instead of one which exhausts and exploits both. Instead of relying on risky overseas companies for investment, we need to start investing in ourselves, a sustainable energy market and future industries.

“We have a plan for a Future Workforce Agency to strategically upskill New Zealanders and coordinate industrial planning. Our Jobs for Nature plan will also be a central plank for providing people with meaningful and stable work.

“But until the rules of our energy system are changed, our communities will continue to suffer from job losses, issues of supply, and higher energy prices.

“Let’s support our regional communities and help unlock the potential for future industries by reforming our electricity market into one that prioritises people and planet over profits,” says Scott Willis.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Fischer Reintroduces Legislation to Support America’s Energy Independence

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, led her colleagues in reintroducing the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025. Senator Fischer’s legislation is the only permanent, nationwide solution to unleash the power of year-round E15—fulfilling President Trump’s mandate for energy independence.
By allowing the year-round, nationwide sale of E15, this legislation will finally end years of patchwork regulations and give both producers and consumers the certainty they deserve.Securing this permanent fix, coupled with Senator Fischer’s work with the administration to ensure strong renewable volume obligations (RVOs), will enable biofuels to contribute to our nation’s energy dominance.
Additional cosponsors of this bipartisan, bicameral bill include U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Dick Durbin (D. Ill.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). U.S. Representatives Adrian Smith (NE-03) and Angie Craig (MN-02) introduced identical companion legislation in the House.
“It’s time to once and for all solidify President Trump’s pledge to allow the sale of year-round E15—giving America’s producers and consumers the certainty they deserve. My bill will put an end to years of patchwork regulations and finally make nationwide, year-round E15 a reality. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and the Senate, as well as with President Trump, to get this bill signed into law,” said Senator Fischer.
“For our country to remain a global energy leader, we must continue to invest in renewable and clean energy so we can decrease our emissions and dependence on foreign oil,” said Senator Duckworth. “Producing less expensive fuel choices like E15 that can be sold year-round would help lower gas prices, protect the environment, support our farmers and drive economic opportunity throughout the Midwest. I’m proud to join Senator Fischer in reintroducing our bipartisan legislation that would do just that.”
“I have been fighting to eliminate unnecessary, unscientific, and misguided barriers to E15 access since 2010. It is time to enact year-round E15 nationwide to provide relief at the pump and certainty for producers. I thank my House colleagues and Senator Fischer for their partnership on our tenacious bipartisan efforts to honor congressional intent in the RFS. From ethanol to biomass-based diesel to sustainable aviation fuel, the world depends on liquid fuels to meet consumer demand and move us forward. We have just scratched the surface of our production capacity, which is why it is so important to codify year-round E15 and ensure robust RFS volumes,” said Congressman Smith.
“Homegrown biofuels are tools we have right now to address climate change, strengthen our nation’s energy infrastructure and lower costs for Americans at the gas pump,” said Congresswoman Craig. “This bill is the kind of commonsense legislation we need more of in Washington, and I’m proud to be a part of the bipartisan coalition fighting for year-round E15 in the House.”
Nebraska Stakeholder Support:“We applaud Senator Fischer’s leadership and continued passion in reintroducing the year-round E15 legislation, a critical step forward for America’s corn farmers,” said Nebraska Corn Growers Association farmer and President Michael Dibbern. “Although we’re disappointed that this common-sense legislation didn’t pass during the lame duck session, we’re grateful for Senator Fischer’s perseverance. By securing year-round E15 approval, we can increase corn grind, drive economic growth and provide a vital market opportunity for farmers. This legislation would also bring much-needed consistency and stability to the marketplace, allowing American families to choose lower-cost, lower-emission E15 at the pump every day. We’re appreciative of Senator Fischer’s tireless advocacy and look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts to advance the interests of Nebraska’s corn farmers.”
“The Nebraska Farm Bureau again thanks Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer for her continued leadership on trying to approve the sale of E-15 year-round. It is past time for the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act to become law, and we look forward to working to get this important legislation to President Trump’s desk this year. For too long, outdated rules and regulations have prevented the year-round sale of E-15, and 2025 must be the year we finally rectify this issue,” said Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation President Mark McHargue.
“Thank you to Senator Fischer for leading the fight for year-round E-15, which is a huge opportunity for Nebraska’s ethanol industry, farmers, and drivers. This bill means stronger rural economies, lower prices at the pump, and a cleaner fuel option for drivers. On behalf of our members across the state, Renewable Fuels Nebraska applauds her leadership and calls on Congress to act now and pass this bipartisan policy,” said Renewable Fuels Nebraska Executive Director Dawn Caldwell.
Full List of Nebraska Endorsements:
Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Nebraska Farm Bureau, and Renewable Fuels Nebraska.
National Stakeholder Support:
“Year-round, nationwide E15 sales will prevent a confusing patchwork of state regulations and give consumers reliable access to the fuels they use every day. We thank Representatives Smith and Craig, as well as Senators Fischer and Duckworth, for championing this important bipartisan effort. Now, Congress must act to bring certainty and consistency to the fuel marketplace,” said American Petroleum Institute SVP Government Relations Kristin Whitman.
“This bipartisan legislation would finally bring nationwide consistency and stability to the marketplace and eliminate the need for last-minute emergency waivers. With the summer driving season just around the corner, we urge lawmakers to swiftly adopt this bill and deliver a win for American families seeking cleaner, lower-cost fuel options. Time is of the essence,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “Ethanol producers, oil refiners, fuel retailers, equipment manufacturers, farmers, and consumers have all rallied behind this commonsense approach. We thank Sens. Deb Fischer and Tammy Duckworth for their continued leadership on this important issue. RFA commends them and their fellow renewable fuel supporters in the Senate for continuing to fight for fair market access for our nation’s farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers.”“We applaud Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Representatives Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) for leading the charge once again to unlock permanent, nationwide access to E15. Rural families and American consumers are lucky to have them in our corner, and we hope this is the bill that finally makes it over the finish line. The American people have waited for too long to get reliable access to a fuel that can lower costs while creating jobs in rural communities. We look forward to continuing our work with our champions in Congress and the White House to finally make year-round E15 the law of the land,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor.
“Nationwide consumer access to E15 will save drivers money at the pump while boosting the farm economy,” said Illinois farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman Jr. “We want to applaud the sponsors and co-sponsors of this bill for introducing legislation that promises to significantly benefit consumers and farmers alike.”
“E-15 is a win for both farmers and consumers, offering a vital opportunity to lower fuel prices and provide more choices at the pump,” said National Farmer Union President Rob Larew.“This legislation supports family farmers by creating stronger, more reliable markets while helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With this bill, we’re taking critical steps toward a more sustainable future, and we urge lawmakers to act quickly to ensure farmers and consumers benefit from these opportunities.”
“To effectively serve their customers, convenience retailers need a stable and predictable year-round market for fuels like E15,” said National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) General Counsel Doug Kantor. “We are grateful to Senator Fischer and Senator Duckworth for their continued leadership on this issue, with legislation that will improve the environmental attributes of summer gasoline while lowering costs for families and small businesses across the country.”
Full List of National Endorsements:
American Petroleum Institute, Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmer Union, and National Association of Convenience Stores.
Background:Senator Fischer has been a steadfast champion for year-round E15 since 2015, when she first co-led a bill to allow year-round E15 during the 114th Congress.
In 2017, during the 115th Congress, she introduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act to amend the Clear Air Act and help make year-round E15 a reality. Later that year, she testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in support of her bipartisan legislation.
In 2019, Senator Fischer traveled with President Trump to Nebraska and Iowa when he announced regulatory efforts to allow the sale of E15. When President Trump’s efforts were struckdown by courts, Senator Fischer continued to lead by reintroducing this legislation in 2021, during the 117th Congress. Senator Fischer released an updated bill in 2022 that included unprecedented support.
In 2023, Senator Fischer introduced the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2023 to break down remaining barriers and unlock the full potential of nationwide, year-round E15, advancing America’s energy independence. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Adrian Smith (NE-03) introduced companion legislation.
Last month, on the first day of his term, President Trump took steps to make E15 available year-round through his Executive Order Declaring a National Energy Emergency.
Click here to read the text of the bill.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China to adjust intensity, timing of monetary policies as appropriate

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

BEIJING, Feb. 13 — China’s central bank will utilize a variety of monetary policy tools and adjust the intensity and timing of policies as appropriate, based on domestic and international economic and financial conditions, as well as financial market operations, according to a report released by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Thursday.

The aim is to maintain ample liquidity and ensure that social financing and money supply growth align with the country’s goals for economic growth and overall price levels, according to the PBOC’s fourth-quarter 2024 monetary policy report.

China’s monetary policy toolkit is enriched continuously, and the scope of its monetary policy functions is expanding, the report said.

Since 2013, the central bank has reduced the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) 29 times, decreasing the average RRR from 20.1 percent to 6.6 percent.

Outstanding relending loans, including medium-term lending facility loans, stood at 11.4 trillion yuan (1.59 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2024, representing 28.8 percent of the PBOC’s total assets.

In 2024, the PBOC conducted net purchases of government bonds worth a total of 1 trillion yuan, which, in combination with other monetary tools, maintained a reasonably ample level of liquidity.

Next, the PBOC will adopt a moderately loose monetary policy and increase financial support further to drive technological innovation and promote consumption, according to the report.

MIL OSI China News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Chairman Mast Delivers Opening Remarks at HFAC Hearing on the USAID Betrayal

Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Media Contact 202-321-9747

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing on the United States Agency for International Development’s betrayal of America.

WATCH HERE

-Remarks as delivered-

We are here today, very simply, because many of the people and many of the programs in USAID have literally betrayed America. My colleagues to my left will say that I am lying about these programs, and I know they damn well wish that I was lying. The programs USAID and the State Department have spent money on are indefensible, they hurt America’s standing around the globe, and I think the fact is clear that America would have been better off if your money had been simply thrown into a fireplace.

Instead, the Biden administration spent it imposing their far-left-wing ideology onto other nations. Under them, USAID spent:

– $2 million for sex change surgeries in Guatemala.

– $22 million to increase tourism in Tunisia and Egypt, that’s not lifesaving.

– $520 million to pay consultants to teach people in Africa about climate change, that’s not medicine.

– $4.5 million to teach people in Kazakhstan how to fight back against internet trolls, that’s not lifesaving.

– $20,000 to help LGTB individuals vote in the Honduran elections, that’s not medicine.

– $5.5 million to improve the lives of LGBT individuals in Uganda.

– $14 million to identify LGBT leaders in Cambodia.

– $425,000 to train Indonesian coffee companies on how to be more gender friendly.

– $15 million for condoms to the Taliban.

And I have pages and pages more. That is not diplomacy. It’s a slap in the face to every American who got up this morning and went to work. To this moment, you haven’t seen or heard any of my colleagues on the left apologizing for this being wrong or wasteful.

Instead, their biggest concern is that the person assembling a team to make sure these programs are not funded is a billionaire named Elon Musk. They’re so out of touch; they think these programs are bringing other countries closer to us and our adversaries are going to get a foothold if these programs don’t continue.

That is not what competing looks like for the United States of America. On the contrary, last month when I participated in a Q&A with my colleague here to the left in the U.S. Institute of Peace, which will have to explain their funding, the Ugandan Ambassador stood up and said these programs were not doing anything to improve relations between our nations.

Take a look at the video.

These programs will not continue. They’re going to come to an end. Yet my colleagues to the left are arguing for these programs to continue, arguing for the people who put these programs in place to go back to work, and arguing for the agency that did this to continue wasting your money.

They’re going to argue that President Trump doesn’t have the authority to do this, but the fact is of those who were in Congress, all but three of them, voted to give him the authority in 2024. It says very specifically in SFOPS Appropriations Act that the administration may potentially “expand, eliminate, consolidate, or downsize covered departments, agencies, or organizations.” That’s the language of the authority.

It’s not just the content of USAID that is the betrayal. It’s the larceny that USAID has conducted. Crooked NGOs around Washington, D.C. swindling American taxpayers out of their money. A recent audit found that USAID’s implementing partners were using as much as 50% of their grant for overhead costs not lifesaving measures.

The administration has said that the aid pause is temporary, and they have proven it. The recipients of USAID programs, they can apply for a waiver. I have a list with me. Many have applied. Many have been denied and some have received wavers that proved that their work was lifesaving.

Let me give a warning to my colleagues, it will be short-sighted of you to turn a blind eye to USAID’s betrayal and more broadly to the betrayal within the State Department. Because we are going to bring in the people who put these programs in place. We are going to show to the American people exactly what they were doing. The videos, the documents, the everything. They are going to see it.

Like $25,000 for a drag show seminar for Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador and we are going to show you that video.

We will be writing these programs out of law as we conduct our first full State Department review since 2002.

I would say that when done right, foreign aid can be one of the best tools. It can help strengthen our relationships with our allies that need a hand up and it can help countries realize that America is the best partner.

But it is only true if we understand a couple of things:

– What does America actually need from each country or region?

– What does that country or region actually want from the United States of America? Because it’s not these things.

– And it’s only fair to Americans if we can prove that a dollar better spent going abroad than staying in the pocket of an American who is right now hustling and grinding it out of work.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Lee Introduces Healthy SNAP Act, Stopping Tax Dollars from Subsidizing Junk Food

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee
WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced the Healthy SNAP Act. The bill would exclude soft drinks, candy, ice cream, and prepared desserts from being purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure that eligible food promotes the health of SNAP recipients and reflects nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns. Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) has introduced the bill in the House of Representatives.
“American tax dollars should not be used to pay for junk food and endanger the health of the most vulnerable Americans,” said Sen. Lee. “The fastest way to Make America Healthy Again is to encourage balanced diets and stop subsidizing unhealthy food choices. The Healthy SNAP Act is a solid step forward in building a society where all families can be enjoy strength, health, and good nutrition.”
“President Trump has been given a mandate by the majority of Americans to Make America Healthy Again, and those in his administration, like RFK Jr. and Senator Marco Rubio, have directly advocated for eliminating junk food purchases with SNAP,” said Rep. Brecheen. “This legislation advances President Trump’s agenda by ensuring that SNAP is used for nutritious foods, rather than junk foods and soda that contribute to long-term health issues.”
“The SNAP program should not prey on low-income populations by perpetuating the consumption of sugary drinks designed to be addictive filled with artificial additives. It’s time to use our SNAP dollars wisely, to incentivize and provide healthier options in low-income areas so all Americans can live healthier and longer. We need more government dollars going towards food that actually provides health rather than take it away – this starts with removing the junk.” –Vani Hari, Founder of Food Babe & Truvani
“With 38% of U.S. teens now afflicted with pre-diabetes, it is the height of public policy insanity to subsidize soda and candy for the neediest children. SNAP money should be going to American farmers and ranchers, not soda companies. This bill will ensure that.” -Calley Means, Founder of Truemed
BACKGROUND

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) exists to provide nutritious food to low-income Americans who are struggling to make ends meet. Over 42 million people, roughly 1 in 8 Americans, are currently receiving SNAP benefits. However, over 20 percent of all SNAP dollars are used to purchase soda, candy, desserts, and other junk food items, which is projected to total $240 billion over the next decade. One of the key aspects of President Trump’s agenda is to “Make America Healthy Again”, and one of the ways to work toward that goal is to prevent SNAP dollars from being used to purchase unhealthy and ultra-processed junk food items that fuel the rise of chronic disease in the United States. Obesity, and the chronic diseases it causes, costs the United States healthcare system nearly $173 billion every year.[1] Taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits should not continue to fund the growth of chronic disease in the United States.
The Healthy SNAP Act would exclude soda, candy, ice cream, and prepared desserts from SNAP eligibility. The bill would also direct the Secretary of Agriculture to review foods qualified under SNAP every five years to ensure that new and relevant nutrition data is reflected in SNAP food guidelines. The legislation is endorsed by Heritage Action for America.

You can read the bill text HERE.
You can read the one-pager HERE.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Key investment priorities for the Energy Security Corporation
Source: New South Wales Government 2

Headline: Key investment priorities for the Energy Security Corporation

Published: 14 February 2025

Released by: Minister for Energy and Climate Change

The Minns Labor Government has announced the Energy Security Corporation’s first Investment Mandate, which outlines how the corporation will co-invest with the private sector in renewable energy projects for our state.
The Energy Security Corporation is seeded with $1 billion to help build a more reliable energy system. It will work with the private sector to plug investment gaps in the market, ensuring NSW homes and businesses can enjoy the benefits of renewable energy.

The key priorities for investment include short to long-duration storage projects that capture excess renewable energy, to maximise use of electricity generated from solar and wind.

It will also cover projects that will upgrade infrastructure to ensure smooth operation of the grid coordinate and consumer energy resources in households, businesses and the community (such as virtual power plants).

The Investment Mandate is a key milestone in establishing the Energy Security Corporation, allowing it to begin investigating investment opportunities throughout NSW.

Mr Paul Peters has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer to kick-off the Energy Security Corporation’s activities. Mr Peters brings significant experience in investment and financing, as well as developing energy and infrastructure assets and industrial decarbonisation projects.

The NSW Government will shortly appoint the inaugural Board.

Quote attributable to Minister for Energy, Penny Sharpe:

“NSW will invest $1 billion in critical projects to deliver more affordable, clean and reliable energy to homes and businesses across the state.

“After a decade of privatisation, the Energy Security Corporation gives the people of NSW the chance to invest in their energy system.

“I congratulate Mr Peters on his appointment, and I am looking forward to the Energy Security Corporation supporting projects throughout NSW.”

Further information:

The Energy Security Corporation will co-invest with the private sector on energy storage projects such as:
- Large-scale batteries
Large-scale batteries store surplus energy generated by renewable sources like wind and solar, and release it when renewable generation is low or when demand for energy peaks.
- Community batteries
A community battery is a shared battery installed in a central location within a neighbourhood that can store excess solar energy generated from homes in a community.

The stored energy can then be shared with other homes in the community when demand is high, like in the evening or when its cloudy.
- Pumped hydro
Hydro energy uses the force of moving water to create electricity. Hydro energy is capable of rapidly providing power on-demand, to supply electricity to consumers when it is needed.
- Virtual Power Plant (VPP)
A Virtual Power Plant is a network that can connect your rooftop solar and battery to other participating homes and coordinate them, allowing them to work together.

This means that if there’s a shortage of energy supply in the grid, the virtual power plant can draw on the collective energy to fill the gap. This can earn participating homes a profit from their excess energy.

Many small projects, when connected and coordinated, can be as impactful as a whole power station.
MIL OSI News –
February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: From homes to hospitals, Canada’s food environments need reform

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sara F.L. Kirk, Professor of Health Promotion; Scientific Director of the Healthy Populations Institute, Dalhousie University

Healthy eating sounds deceptively simple — just eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid junk food, right? However, healthy eating really isn’t easy.

A new report illustrates how ubiquitous unhealthy foods are, how aggressively they are promoted and how hard it is to access healthy foods in places we spend our time.

We are part of a team of 18 nutrition and food policy experts from across Canada who looked at research from the past five years to expose the environmental factors that influence what people in Canada buy and eat. We explored many different factors, like the quality of food, food marketing practices and what foods are available in places like hospitals, schools and grocery stores.

The report is part of an international network called INFORMAS (International Network for Food and Obesity/Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support). Our findings reinforce that, from homes to hospitals, Canada’s food supply needs reform.

What we see is what we get

Unhealthy food is everywhere, and that makes it hard to avoid: what we see is what we get. Our report found that most packaged foods in grocery stores are unhealthy. In fact, two-thirds of them were high in salt, sugar or saturated fat. Only 12 per cent were low in these nutrients.

Unhealthy foods are readily available for purchase. One study showed that children in Ottawa had, on average, 19 places to purchase foods within one kilometre of their school. In Vancouver, that number was as high as 45.

In-store environments also thwart healthy purchases: 50 per cent of stores had “power walls” of candy, snacks and sugary drinks, tempting consumers at the checkout, while only around one in five stores operated a junk-free checkout. And nearly all hospital cafeterias and recreation centre vending machines sold sugary drinks.

Unhealthy foods are also heavily marketed, particularly to children. One study estimated that children aged six to 11 see more than 4,000 food ads on their digital devices each year, while older children see twice that number. Around 90 per cent of the ads that children saw on their digital devices were deemed less healthy based on their sugar, sodium and saturated fat content.

A closer look at marketing on five food product categories in the INFORMAS Canada report found that one-third of products carried marketing targeting to children.

For example, almost 46 per cent of breakfast cereals used marketing techniques that made products look fun or cool, or used cartoon characters and celebrities, to entice young consumers. More than 90 per cent of products using these techniques were unhealthy. Of 75 per cent of foods that had some sort of health or nutrition claim on their packaging highlighting healthy attributes of products, 45 per cent of these products were also high in salt, sugar or saturated fat.

Unhealthy foods are big, cheap and easy

Our report illustrates how, in many ways, the cards are stacked against us in terms of healthy eating. The food industry, where power is often concentrated within the hands of a few large, multinational companies, continues to create and market unhealthy foods, despite stated commitments to do better.

With unhealthy foods so available and tempting, it’s no surprise that many Canadians struggle to eat according to Canada’s Food Guide.

Our unhealthy food environments are making us sick and we all pay the price. Unhealthy eating has been estimated to cost more than $15.8 billion, including direct healthcare costs of $5.9 billion. With unhealthy eating a leading risk for death and the second leading risk for disability in Canada, there is a strong moral and economic imperative for action to improve food environments.

Creating healthier food environments

It doesn’t have to be this way. In addition to providing benchmarking data, our report offers a road map for policymakers, industry leaders and advocates to collaborate in creating healthier, more equitable food environments for all Canadians.

Canada can also draw inspiration from global leaders in food policy like Chile and Mexico. Both countries have introduced bold front-of-package warning labels for foods high in sugar, sodium or saturated fats, combined with restrictions on marketing unhealthy products to children and taxes on unhealthy foods.

Canada will follow suit with front-of-package labels in January 2026, but policy change in these others areas is lacking.

Read more:
Front-of-package food labels: A path to healthier choices

Mexico has implemented front-of-package food label regulations flagging unhealthy foods. Canada will follow suit in 2026.
(Shutterstock)

Taxes on sugary drinks already exist in more than 45 countries, with the United Kingdom recently seeing reductions in sugar consumption after a sugary drink tax was implemented. Canada, unfortunately, is lagging behind, with Newfoundland & Labrador the only province with a tax on sugary drinks.

As Canada’s national school food policy rolls out, there are opportunities to protect school food from vested interests. These actions need to be extended to other food environments — our homes, hospitals and grocery stores.

With the threat of tariffs being imposed by the United States and potentially creating major challenges for food affordability, more Canadians are looking for a food supply that is made in Canada. Creating healthier food environments and food systems takes a strong commitment from leaders at all levels (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal).

Our benchmarking report can help create a nutrition transition that nourishes our population and supports our healthy food producers, farmers and fisheries. This report makes the case for improving our food environments and shows the way to a healthier future for all Canadians.

Sara F.L. Kirk has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Research Nova Scotia and Dalhousie University Office of Advancement. She is a co-author on the report being discussed in this article.

Lana Vanderlee receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the US National Institutes of Health, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé and has received funds from Health Canada. She is currently supported by a Canada Research Chair in Healthy Food Policy (Tier 2).

– ref. From homes to hospitals, Canada’s food environments need reform – https://theconversation.com/from-homes-to-hospitals-canadas-food-environments-need-reform-249540

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy, Risch introduce bill to make bureaucrats write contracts in plain language

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) in introducing the Simplifying Subcontracting Act to require the federal government to write subcontracting applications in plain, understandable language.

“Government agencies speak an entirely different language from the American people. The Simplifying Subcontracting Act would help Louisiana’s small business owners better compete for contracts by ending Washington’s bureaucratic terminology in the application process,” said Kennedy.

“Small businesses are vital to our economy but are often left out in federal government contracting due to overly complicated, bureaucratic language. The Simplifying Subcontracting Act requires certain federal government contracts to use plain language, enabling more small businesses to compete for these contracts,” said Risch.

Currently, overly technical and specialized language discourages many small businesses from applying for and entering into government contracts.

Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) also cosponsored the bill.

Kennedy first backed the bill in the 118th Congress, during which the Senate Small Business Committee approved it.

The full bill text is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kennedy introduces bipartisan bill to help rural small businesses secure capital, create jobs

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today introduced the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act to help remove the hurdles that rural small businesses face when they try to access capital.

“Small businesses keep Louisiana’s economy running, and Congress should make sure our rural entrepreneurs aren’t facing unnecessary hurdles to securing capital. Our bill would help rural job creators get their businesses off the ground and better serve American communities,” said Kennedy.

The bill would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to submit an annual report on the unique challenges rural businesses face when trying to secure capital. These reports would allow Congress to better weigh legislative action to expand small businesses’ access to capital.

Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) cosponsored the bill.

Kennedy previously introduced the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act in the 117th and 118th Congresses. The Senate passed the bill in the 118th Congress.

The full bill text is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Sen. Scott Applauds Committee Passage of Disaster Relief Loan Account Accountability Legislation

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) released the following statement applauding the passage of his SBA Disaster Transparency Act out of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee:

“Just weeks after South Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene, the SBA’s Disaster Loan Account was completely out of money. I heard from hundreds of South Carolina businesses about the hardship of the SBA loan shortage and immediately began working on several measures to ensure this problem isn’t repeated. This is a needed step forward to reform the Disaster Loan Account, provide increased transparency, and ensure Congress can act before it’s too late. I will continue working with my colleagues and President Trump to ensure this and other measures are put in place to ease the pain of future tragedies.”

The SBA Disaster Transparency Act would bring the SBA disaster account into parity with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund, requiring public reports on the status of the SBA’s fund.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Risch Advocates for Small Business in Federal Contracting

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Idaho James E Risch

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today introduced the Simplifying Subcontracting Act to reduce complexity in federal government contracting and help more small businesses and entrepreneurs pursue contracts.

“Small businesses are vital to our economy but are often left out in federal government contracting due to overly complicated, bureaucratic language,” said Risch. “The Simplifying Subcontracting Act requires certain federal government contracts to use plain language, enabling more small businesses to compete for these contracts.”

The Simplifying Subcontracting Act, true to its name, is a simple, one-page bill that would require federal government contracts use straightforward language when subcontracting work is given to small businesses. This legislation mirrors the Plain Writing Act of 2010.

U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Kennedy (R-La.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) joined Risch in introducing the bill.

“Qualified small businesses and entrepreneurs deserve the same access to federal government contracts as larger entities that currently dominate the contracting market,” said Crapo. “Simplified, clearer language will improve their access to the federal contracting application process.”

“Our bill will make government subcontracting agreements easier to understand, opening up more opportunities for Hoosier small businesses to compete for these contracts,” said Young.

“Dense and technical language discourages small businesses from competing for government contracts,” said Hickenlooper. “Our bipartisan bill helps even the playing field.”

The Idaho Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Idaho Veteran Entrepreneurship Alliance, and American Subcontractors Association support Risch’s bill.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: China confirms ‘in-depth exchange’ with Cook Islands as New Zealand faces criticism for bullying

By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga

China has confirmed details of its meeting with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown for the first time, saying Beijing “stands ready to have an in-depth exchange” with the island nation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters during his regular press conference that Brown’s itinerary, from February 10-16, would include attending the closing ceremony of the Asian Winter Games in Harbin as well as meeting with Premier of the State Council Li Qiang.

Guo also confirmed that Brown and his delegation had visited Shanghai and Shandong as part of the state visit.

“The Cook Islands is China’s cooperation partner in the South Pacific,” he said.

“Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries have respected each other, treated each other as equals, and sought common development.”

Guo told reporters that the relationship between the two countries was elevated to comprehensive strategic partnership in 2018.

“Our friendly cooperation is rooted in profound public support and delivers tangibly to the two peoples.

‘New progress in bilateral relations’
“Through Prime Minister Brown’s visit, China stands ready to have an in-depth exchange of views with the Cook Islands on our relations and work for new progress in bilateral relations.”

Brown said on Wednesday that he was aware of the strong interest in the outcomes of his visit, which has created significant debate on the relationship with Cook Islands and New Zealand.

He has said that the “comprehensive strategic partnership” deal with China is expected to be signed today, and does not include a security component.

Cook Islanders are divided over Brown’s decision to keep Aotearoa in the dark about the contents of the agreement it intends to sign with Beijing.

While on one hand, the New Zealand government has been urged not to overreact, on the other the Cook Islands opposition want Brown and his government out.

Locals in Rarotonga have accused New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters of being a “bully”, while others are planning to protest against Brown’s leadership.

A local resident, Tim Buchanan, said Peters has “been a bit bullying”.

He said Peters had overacted and the whole issue had been “majorly” blown out of proportion.

‘It doesn’t involve security’
“It does not involve our national security, it does not involve borrowing a shit load of money, so what is your concern about?

“Why do we need to consult him? We have been a sovereign nation for 60 years, and all of a sudden he’s up in arms and wanted to know everything that we’re doing”

Brown previously told RNZ Pacific that he had assured Wellington “over and over” that there “will be no impact on our relationship and there certainly will be no surprises”.

However, New Zealand said it should have seen the text prior to Brown leaving for China.

Cook Islands opposition MP and leader of the Cook Islands United Party Teariki Heather . . . he has filed a vote filed a vote of no confidence motion against Prime Minister Mark Brown. Image: Caleb Fotheringham/RNZ Pacific

Vote of no confidence
Cook Islands opposition MP Teariki Heather said he did not want anything to change with New Zealand.

“The response from the government and Winston Peters and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, that’s really what concerns us, because they are furious,” said Heather, who is the leader of Cook Islands United Party.

Heather has filed a no confidence motion against the Prime Minister and has been the main organiser for a protest against Brown’s leadership that will take place on Monday morning local time.

He is expecting about 1000 people to turn up, about one in every 15 people who reside in the country.

Opposition leader Tina Browne is backing the motion and will be at the protest which is also about the Prime Minister’s push for a local passport, which he has since dropped.

With only eight opposition members in the 24-seat parliament, Browne said the motion of no confidence is not about the numbers.

“It is about what are we the politicians, the members of Parliament, going to do about the two issues and for us, the best way to demonstrate our disapproval is to vote against it in Parliament, whether the members of Parliament join us or not that’s entirely up to them.”

The 2001 document argument
Browne said that after reading the constitution and the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration, she agreed with Peters that the Cook Islands should have first consulted New Zealand on the China deal.

“Our prime minister has stated that the agreement does not affect anything that he is obligated to consult with New Zealand. I’m very suspicious of that because if there is nothing offensive, why the secrecy then?

“I would have thought, irrespective, putting aside everything, that our 60 year relationship with New Zealand, who’s been our main partner warrants us to keep that line open for consultation and that’s even if it wasn’t in [the Joint Centenary Declaration].”

Other locals have been concerned by the lack of transparency from their government to the Cook Islands people.

But Cook Islands’ Foreign Minister Tingika Elikana said that is not how these deals were done.

“I think the people have to understand that in regards to agreements of this nature, there’s a lot of negotiations until the final day when it is signed and the Prime Minister is very open that the agreements will be made available publicly and then people can look at it.”

Cook Islands Foreign Minister Tingika Elikana . . . Image: Caleb Fotheringham/RNZ Pacific

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government would wait to see what was in the agreement before deciding if any punishment should be imposed.

With the waiting, Elikana said he was concerned.

“We are worried but we want to see what will be their response and we’ve always reiterated that our relationship is important to us and our citizenship is really important to us, and we will try our best to remain and retain that,” Elikana said.

He did not speculate about the vote of no confidence motion.

“I think we just leave it to the day but I’m very confident in our team and very confident in our Prime Minister.”

‘Cook Islands does a lot for New Zealand’
Cultural leader and carver Mike Tavioni said he did not know why everyone was so afraid of the Asian superpower.

“I do not know why there is an issue with the Cook Islands and New Zealand, as long as Mark [Brown] does not commit this country to a deal with China with strings attached to it,” he said.

Tavioni said the Cook Islands does a lot for New Zealand also, with about 80,000 Cook Islanders living in New Zealand and contributing to it’s economy.

“The thing about consulting, asking for permission, it does not go down well because our relationship with Aotearoa should be taken into consideration.”

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

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Kinleith Mill to close paper production – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Union members are devastated to learn that Oji Fibre Solutions is set to close the paper manufacturing operations at Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa.

The closure will result in the loss of at least 230 jobs, with significant downstream impacts on the wider local community.

E tū senior delegate Ian Farall believes the company had made this decision long ago.

“The writing has been on the wall for some time, and the company never seemed serious about saving paper production,” Ian says.

“They have neglected essential maintenance that could have put us in a much stronger position. Of course, high power prices play a role, but the company should have been far better prepared for this.”

Ian also criticised the Government for failing to intervene meaningfully.

“We’re shocked and angry that the Government isn’t stepping in to save the paper mill. It’s a key part of our domestic manufacturing and vital to the wider Tokoroa community.”

Mario van der Putten, senior FIRST Union delegate at the mill, said workers were “bitterly disappointed” by the news.

“We were the last ones standing – the last paper-making machine in the country,” Mr van der Putten says.

“This puts our economy at risk and will have a ripple effect on primary industries that rely on our products for the safe, long-term storage of goods.

“We don’t believe the company has put forward a genuine business plan. Instead, they have reduced us to a business case. The writing was on the wall after two decades of underinvestment in the mill.

“This could end up being a disastrous decision that sinks the entire business. Specialist skills that take decades to master will be lost in the process.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist Joe Gallagher says the closure is yet another example of the Government failing to protect local industry.

“We hear Luxon talking about a focus on growth while doing next to nothing about the crisis facing manufacturing,” Joe says.

“The Prime Minister needs to get real about what economic prosperity actually looks like. It’s about protecting New Zealand’s industries and keeping local communities thriving, not standing by and letting them collapse.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI: b1BANK Announces Senna Bayasgalan as Chief Marketing Officer

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — b1BANK, announces the appointment of Senna Bayasgalan as chief marketing officer. Bayasgalan will lead brand and marketing technology initiatives to support the banks’ growth and deepen client relationships. Bayasgalan has over 16 years of experience in marketing leadership, international brand building, communications and customer acquisition across private capital, technology and media industries.

“We are diligent about the culture we are building, and as a result, fortunate to be able to attract top talent from across the nation,” said Jude Melville, chairman and CEO, b1BANK. “We have a good and genuine story, and with more effective use of technology-enabled branding and distribution tools, I am confident that story has the potential to resonate deeply with a larger audience. Senna’s diverse experience leading marketing campaigns across multiple lines of business will accelerate our continued evolution.”

Throughout her career she has skillfully combined data and storytelling to launch international campaigns, build online communities and develop customer retention strategies to grow the brands she has served.

“I was instantly drawn to b1BANK’s unique story and its unwavering commitment to serving businesses and local communities,” said Bayasgalan. “I am excited to partner with the talented team at b1 to elevate the brand, foster innovation and help our clients achieve their goals.”

Bayasgalan is a founding board member of Asians in Advertising, a mentor for APIA Scholars, Women We Create and 3AF, and a frequent guest lecturer at Georgetown University and other institutions. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

About Business First Bancshares, Inc.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, Business First Bancshares, Inc., (Nasdaq: BFST) through its banking subsidiary b1BANK, had $7.9 billion in assets, $6.9 billion in assets under management through b1BANK’s affiliate Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC (SSW) (excludes $0.9 billion of b1BANK assets managed by SSW) and operates Banking Centers and Loan Production Offices in markets across Louisiana and Texas providing commercial and personal banking products and services. Commercial banking services include commercial loans and letters of credit, working capital lines and equipment financing, and treasury management services. b1BANK was awarded #1 Best-In-State Bank, Louisiana, by Forbes and Statista, and is a multiyear winner of American Banker’s “Best Banks to Work For.” Visit b1BANK.com for more information.

Misty Albrecht
b1BANK
225.286.7879
Misty.Albrecht@b1BANK.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/82d7ef43-d21e-464d-9b89-7653e36ab81c

The MIL Network –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI: $TOCKHOLDER ALERT: The M&A Class Action Firm Encourages Shareholders of EMKR, CCRN, WMPN, ALVR to Act Now
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm by ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. We are headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and are investigating:
- EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ: EMKR), relating to its proposed merger with Velocity One Holdings, LP. Under the terms of the agreement, EMCORE stockholders will receive $3.10 per share of EMCORE common stock they own.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for February 27, 2025.

Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/emcore-corporation-emkr/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.
- Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRN), relating to the proposed merger with Aya Healthcare. Under the terms of the agreement, shares of Cross Country will be converted into the right to receive $18.61 in cash.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for February 28, 2025.

Click here for more https://monteverdelaw.com/case/cross-country-healthcare-inc-ccrn/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.
- William Penn Bancorporation (Nasdaq: WMPN), relating to its proposed merger with Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of William Penn will receive 0.4260 shares of Mid Penn common stock for each share of William Penn common stock. Additionally, all options of William Penn will be rolled into Mid Penn equivalent options. The implied transaction value is approximately $13.58 per William Penn share.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/william-penn-bancorporation-wmpn/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.
- AlloVir, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALVR), relating to its proposed merger with Kalaris Therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, AlloVir will acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interest of Kalaris. Upon completion, pre-Merger AlloVir stockholders are expected to own approximately 25.05% of the combined company.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for March 12, 2025.

Click here for more information https://monteverdelaw.com/case/allovir-inc-alvr/. It is free and there is no cost or obligation to you.

NOT ALL LAW FIRMS ARE THE SAME. Before you hire a law firm, you should talk to a lawyer and ask:
1. Do you file class actions and go to Court?
2. When was the last time you recovered money for shareholders?
3. What cases did you recover money in and how much?
About Monteverde & Associates PC

Our firm litigates and has recovered money for shareholders…and we do it from our offices in the Empire State Building. We are a national class action securities firm with a successful track record in trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

No company, director or officer is above the law. If you own common stock in any of the above listed companies and have concerns or wish to obtain additional information free of charge, please visit our website or contact Juan Monteverde, Esq. either via e-mail at jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com or by telephone at (212) 971-1341.

Contact:
Juan Monteverde, Esq.
MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC
The Empire State Building
350 Fifth Ave. Suite 4740
New York, NY 10118
United States of America
jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com
Tel: (212) 971-1341

Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.

The MIL Network –
February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI: Parker Scheduled to Present at Citi’s 2025 Global Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference on February 20 at 11:20 a.m. Eastern Time

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

CLEVELAND, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that it is scheduled to present at Citi’s 2025 Global Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference in Miami, Florida on February 20, 2025 at 11:20 a.m. Eastern time. A live webcast of the presentation will be accessible on Parker’s investor information website at investors.parker.com and will be archived on the site.

Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 global leader in motion and control technologies. For more than a century the company has been enabling engineering breakthroughs that lead to a better tomorrow. Parker has increased its annual dividend per share paid to shareholders for 68 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. Learn more at www.parker.com or @parkerhannifin.

###

The MIL Network –

February 14, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: NZ depends on the rules-based world Trump is dismantling – why the silence?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 2023 strategic foreign policy assessment, “Navigating a shifting world”, accurately foresaw a more uncertain and complex time ahead for New Zealand. But already it feels out of date.

The Trump administration’s extreme disruption of the international order (which New Zealand helped construct) is going further and faster than foreseen in the assessment. Were another nation responsible, the government would have been quick to condemn it.

But New Zealand has so far been largely mute while Trump has quit the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord, attacked foreign assistance programs and withdrawn funding from key United Nations organisations.

Had Russia or China threatened the annexation or acquisition of Canada, Panama and Greenland, New Zealand would have reacted strongly. But it has said nothing substantive.

The United States still belongs to the World Trade Organization and various regional trade agreements. But Trump’s use of tariffs threatens havoc throughout the multilateral trade system.

Similarly, Trump has not quit the International Court of Justice. But his proposal to remove two million Palestinians from Gaza amounts to an unequivocal rejection of the court’s recent ruling on Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Territories – as well as international law.

On all these fronts, New Zealand has preferred not to make a stand.

The coming Russia-Ukraine test

While other countries have been quick to criticise Trump’s Gaza plan, New Zealand has opted not to comment until greater clarity is available, other than to reiterate its support for a two-state solution for Palestine.

When Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, New Zealand (along with Australia and Japan) failed to join a statement from 79 other countries expressing unwavering support for the court.

The next likely test will be Trump’s attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. While the goal is undoubtedly worthy, the question will be at what cost.

If the price is ignoring the UN Charter, and if European supporters of Ukraine find the illegal annexations of its sovereign territory unpalatable, New Zealand will face a stark choice.

For Australia, with its special trade relationship with the US and membership of the AUKUS security pact, this may be simple politics. For New Zealand, without a special free trade agreement with the US, frozen out of ANZUS and not part of AUKUS, the equation is more complex.

Discord in the Pacific

Last year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand must “stand up for this international rules-based system that has actually served New Zealand incredibly well”. Quietly sitting down will not be an option forever.

Furthermore, all this is happening against the backdrop of New Zealand’s apparently waning influence in its own back yard, the South Pacific.

While China seeks to expand its own influence, cuts and possible retrenchment in New Zealand’s aid budget suggest little appetite for tangible counteraction.

The loss of influence was first apparent with Kiribati, which has steered towards a much closer relationship with China since 2022. More recently, China has made inroads into other Pacific countries, including the Solomons and East Timor, working in an increasingly grey zone with support for civilian and military security.

But the recent fracture with the Cook Islands takes things to a new level.

Struggling to find a voice

While no longer a dependency, the Cooks’ free association agreement with New Zealand gives its people immense benefits, including citizenship and the right to work and live in New Zealand.

In return, the Cooks undertakes to consult over foreign affairs matters, including any policy or initiative that might affect the interests of the other signatory.

But the development of a somewhat opaque “comprehensive strategic partnership” with China blindsided New Zealand, and has strained what is meant to be a good-faith relationship. Again, however, New Zealand has struggled to find its voice.

If it speaks too loudly, it risks further undermining that special Pacific relationship, as well as irritating its largest trade partner, China. If it speaks too softly, the respect and influence the country deserves will fade.

New Zealand’s vaunted independent foreign policy is a fine ideal and has been a workable mechanism to navigate the challenges facing a small trading nation reliant on a rules-based global order.

This has worked well for the past few decades. But as the old world order erodes, losing its voice for fear of offending bigger powers cannot become the country’s default position.

Alexander Gillespie 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. NZ depends on the rules-based world Trump is dismantling – why the silence? – https://theconversation.com/nz-depends-on-the-rules-based-world-trump-is-dismantling-why-the-silence-249857

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Second World Summit in Doha Must Advance Humanity’s Fight against Structural Inequalities, Speakers Tell Commission for Social Development

Source: United Nations 4

At one of two panel discussions held today by the Commission for Social Development, speakers stressed that the Second World Summit for Social Development must advance humanity’s fight against structural inequalities by promoting quality employment for young people, closing digital divides, addressing the challenges of ageing populations and tackling the climate crisis.

The Commission — established in 1946 by the Economic and Social Council as one of its functional commissions — advises the United Nations on social development issues, and its sixty-third session will run through 14 February.

The first panel discussion, titled “Preparations for the World Social Summit under the title of the Second World Summit for Social Development”, focused on the specific needs of various regions ahead of the meeting to take place in November in Doha. Panellists provided updates collected via various regional consultations and underscored the global summit’s unique opportunity to reset global priorities and build a more sustainable future for all.

Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, moderated the panel. “The state of play looks good, but then I ask myself if I were to describe it in two words I would say, not good,” he emphasized. Around 300 million people will still be living in poverty by 2030 if the world continues the same trajectory.

“Unless we act with foresight, the gaps we seek to close will only deepen,” said Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). For the Arab region, social development cannot succeed unless conflict and displacement are addressed. “Social policies must be designed for resilience,” she went on to stress. The Arab region also faces a growing divide between the skills needed for emerging industries and those currently being developed through the education system. The Summit in Doha must ensure employment policies are fit for the future. The political declaration to come out of that meeting must promote policies that enable all generations to contribute meaningfully to economic and social progress. The digital divide in the Arab region remains significant, she also underscored, noting the gap between men and women, and urban and rural communities.

Laura Thompson, Assistant Director-General for External and Corporate Relations, International Labour Organization (ILO), said that the opportunity to renew the global social contract should be an invitation to all Member States to uphold social justice principles. “Technological innovations create both challenges and opportunities, and monitoring their impact and optimizing their potential for decent work creation is critical,” she added. One in five young persons in the world is neither in employment, education or training. The rate is almost 26 per cent for young women. “This is a personal drama for the young person concerned, but also a waste of assets for national development plans,” she added.

Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), said that environmental degradation, including climate change and biodiversity loss, is widely recognized as a cross-cutting issue affecting livelihoods, health and equity. More specifically in Africa, formality, lack of social protection and labour rights, youth unemployment, gender inequality and climate change are all considered to be major challenges. Meanwhile, Asia faces significant structural challenges, including a digital device, ageing population and climate related risk. For Latin America and the Caribbean region, structural inequalities, backlash against progressive policies, weakened democratic governance and climate change risk are challenges most identified. The political declaration must mobilize resources towards achieving universal rights to ensure access to adequate income and social assistance.

Srinivas Tata, Director of the Social Development Division of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said that the region is undergoing an unprecedented demographic transition. The number of older persons — 65 years or above — is expected to nearly double from 500 million in 2024 to almost 1 billion in 2050. “Yet, there are many countries in the region which are still having a youth bulge, and so we also need to pay specific attention to the needs of the youth,” he added. It is estimated that 42 million people in the region were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 compared with pre-pandemic levels. “We really suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added, expressing alarm that in many countries in the Asia region fewer than 50 per cent of the population are covered by any form of social protection.

Rodrigo Martinez, Senior Social Affairs Officer, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said that all people must achieve a life free of poverty and have access to economic growth and freedom and dignity. Every person must be able to fully exercise their economic, social and cultural rights. “Poverty and hunger are two persistent but surmountable scourges,” he added. “Inequality, in its multiple dimensions, represents a trap for development,” he also emphasised. People must be able to access the labour market, decent working conditions, education and healthcare. On urbanization, he urged Governments to also expand access to energy, water and sanitation.

In the afternoon, the Commission held a multi-stakeholder forum on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the “social and solidarity economy”, which encompasses a wide range of organizations, including cooperatives, mutual societies, associations, foundations and social enterprises, that prioritize people and communities over profit.

Moderating the discussion was Konstantinos Papadakis, Principal Social Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, who recalled the General Assembly resolutions on cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy in 2022 and 2023, respectively. He also noted that 2025 marks the International Year of Cooperatives, observed under the theme “Cooperatives Build a Better World”. He then introduced three panellists, who shared their experiences and actions taking place in their countries.

Carlos Jorge Paris Ferraro, Vice-Minister for Social Policies at the Ministry of Social Development of Paraguay, said that while the social economy was not a public policy in his country until 2024, such an idea has historically existed in indigenous communities whose economies are marked by reciprocity. They were able to create a self-sufficient solidarity economy during the colonial period. Currently, peasant organizations and family agriculture include this culture of solidarity and reciprocity. In Paraguay, the social and solidarity economy accounts for 12 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), with cooperatives producing 72 per cent of dairy products and 24 per cent of meat for export. About 500,000 small- and medium-size enterprises are members of cooperatives. In a country with only 6 million people, “the cooperative sector is gigantic and is growing”, he said. He then detailed several national initiatives, such as cash transfers to preserve forests or to plant trees that benefited 268 families. To promote this growth model, the Government created the Department for the Social and Solidarity Economy within the Ministry of Social Development.

Ankhbayar Nyamdorj, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, said that his country in April 2024 launched the “New Cooperative” programme under its “New Recovery Policy” to enhance agriculture, particularly risk-resistant livestock husbandry through cooperatives. The programme aims to stabilize herders’ income, improve social security and boost the livestock sector’s climate resilience. By the end of 2024, it had reached 16,009, or 6.4 per cent, of Mongolia’s 247,900 herder families. Government efforts include establishing a National Committee led by the Deputy Prime Minister, granting $200 million in investment loans, and subsidizing $9.27 million in interest. Loans support breeding animal purchases, facility expansion and dairy/meat production. Training programmes engaged 1,500 cooperative members, while forums promoted development strategies. Public outreach reached 1 million citizens. Future plans include model cooperatives, national insurance integration and food safety standards. Challenges include strengthening the “social and solidarity economy” capacities, enhancing research and fostering public-private partnerships. Mongolia also shared experiences internationally, such as at the Global Cooperative Conference in India, he added.

Maxime Baduel, Ministerial Delegate for the Social and Solidarity Economy at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France, said that the social and solidarity economy is imbued with equality, justice and cooperation. In his country, it represents 10 per cent of GDP. “The strength of this French ecosystem also lies in its legislative framework,” he said, noting how laws are designed to encourage organizations like cooperatives. Developing the social and solidarity economy is “a strong lever” to meet the SDGs, and it should be encouraged by the Commission. In conclusion, he stressed the importance of establishing a legislative regulatory framework to “give a structure to this ecosystem”, as well as the need to ensure that they are resourced financially and capacity-building instruments are in place. It is also vital to promote these structures with financial institutions and create public policies in line with the social and solidarity economy, he emphasized.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Manufacturing increase welcomed

Source: New Zealand Government

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed a lift in manufacturing activity, saying it is further evidence that the economy has started to turn around.
The BNZ and Business NZ today reported their performance manufacturing index (PMI) had risen to its highest level since September 2022.
“The increase from 46.2 in December to 51.4 in January follows 22 months of contraction.
“It is early days, but together with high levels of business confidence, the increase indicates the economic growth forecast for this year is beginning to take place.
“I know many families and businesses are still doing it tough after three years of high inflation, high interest rates and cost of living pressures squeezing the family budget and business bottom lines.
“However, this suggests families and business can look forward to better times ahead. It is particularly welcome news for the manufacturing sector after two very tough years. And that is good news for everybody.
“When the sector does well it creates jobs and opportunities for people.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI: MINILUXE ANNOUNCES CFO TRANSITION

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Boston, MA, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MiniLuxe Holding Corp. (TSXV: MNLX) (“MiniLuxe” or the “Company”) today announced the planned departure of Chief Financial Officer Brian Moran and the appointment of Elizabeth Lorber as Acting Chief Financial Officer, effective February 14, 2025. Ms. Lorber, who joined the Company in 2020, currently serves as Treasurer and Chief Commercial Officer and has previously held the position of CFO at MiniLuxe.

In consultation with its accounting and tax counsel, the Company and its Board of Directors have been conducting a search for a permanent successor to support MiniLuxe’s future growth and strategic objectives.

“Brian has been a valuable member of our leadership team over the past two years, helping to implement some key systems and practices that will benefit the Company moving forward. On behalf of the Board and the MiniLuxe team, I want to express our sincere gratitude for his contributions and support during our transition planning. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” said Tony Tjan, CEO of MiniLuxe.

To ensure a seamless transition, Mr. Moran has been working closely with the executive and finance teams, while Ms. Lorber has been actively supporting the search process and leveraging her deep institutional knowledge, strong team relationships, and prior experience as the Company’s CFO.

About MiniLuxe

MiniLuxe, a Delaware corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. MiniLuxe is a lifestyle brand and talent empowerment platform servicing the beauty and self-care industry. Through its company-owned and partner-operated studios, Company delivers high-quality nail care and esthetic services that incorporate the brand’s proprietary products. For over a decade, MiniLuxe has been elevating industry standards through healthier, ultra-hygienic services, modern design, ethical labor practices, and better-for-you, cleaner products. MiniLuxe’s vision is to radically transform the highly fragmented and under-regulated self-care and nail care industry through its brand, standards, and technology platform that together enable better talent and client experiences.

Towards building long-term durable value for its stakeholders, MiniLuxe is expanding its reach through franchising and operating JV partners seeking ownership and impact with a brand recognized as the best nail salon franchise. Through self-care and self-expression, MiniLuxe is empowering one of the largest hourly work forces through professional development, economic mobility, and equity ownership. Since its founding, MiniLuxe has performed over 4.5 million services.

For further information

Christine Mastrangelo
Investor Relations, MiniLuxe Holding Corp.
cmastrangelo@MiniLuxe.com
MiniLuxe.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The MIL Network –

February 14, 2025

MIL-OSI: Fairfax India Holdings Corporation: Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

(Note: All dollar amounts in this press release are expressed in U.S. dollars except as otherwise noted. The financial results are derived from unaudited financial statements prepared using the recognition and measurement requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS^®Accounting Standards”), except as otherwise noted. This press release contains certain non-GAAP and other financial measures, including book value per share and cash and marketable securities, that do not have a prescribed meaning under IFRS Accounting Standards and may not be comparable to similar financial measures presented by other issuers. See “Glossary of non-GAAP and other financial measures” at the end of this press release for further details.)

TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fairfax India Holdings Corporation (TSX: FIH.U) announces fiscal year 2024 net losses of $41.2 million ($0.30 net loss per diluted share), compared to net earnings of $371.8 million in fiscal year 2023 ($2.72 net earnings per diluted share). At December 31, 2024 the company’s book value per share decreased 4.1% to $20.96 from $21.85 at December 31, 2023 primarily due to unrealized foreign currency translation losses as the U.S. dollar strengthened against the Indian rupee.

Highlights for 2024 included the following:

Net realized gains on investments of $218.9 million primarily related to realized gains on sales of NSE ($167.3 million) and partial sales of CSB Bank ($43.0 million).
Excluding reversals of prior period unrealized gains primarily related to the sales of NSE ($167.2 million) and CSB Bank ($56.3 million), the company recorded a net change in unrealized gains on investments of $55.1 million, principally from increases in the fair values of the company’s listed investment in IIFL Capital (formerly IIFL Securities) ($183.9 million) and private company investments in BIAL ($78.6 million), Maxop ($43.1 million) and Jaynix ($34.5 million), partially offset by decreases in the fair value of the company’s listed investments in IIFL Finance ($124.2 million) and CSB Bank ($62.2 million), and private company investment in Sanmar ($95.1 million).
Interest and dividend income of $61.5 million primarily related to dividends received from Seven Islands ($29.9 million) and Saurashtra ($4.4 million), and interest earned on bonds ($16.3 million), primarily Government of India bonds.
On October 11, 2024 the company completed its previously announced investment in Global Aluminium Private Limited for a purchase price of $82.7 million (7.0 billion Indian rupees).
On December 3, 2024 the company entered into an agreement to acquire an additional 10.0% equity interest in BIAL through its wholly-owned subsidiary for purchase consideration of $255.0 million (to be paid in three installments over 18 months, with the initial installment of $84.2 million to be paid on closing). On January 28, 2025 the company obtained shareholder approval for a one-time deviation from its investment concentration restriction in order to complete the additional BIAL purchase. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2025.
The company continued to buy back shares under its normal course issuer bid and during 2024 purchased for cancellation 559,047 subordinate voting shares at a net cost of $8.4 million ($15.07 per subordinate voting share).

Fairfax India is in strong financial health, with cash and marketable securities at December 31, 2024 of $214.4 million and an undrawn $175.0 million revolving credit facility.

FAIRFAX INDIA HOLDINGS CORPORATION
95 Wellington Street West, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2N7 Telephone: 416-367-4755

There were 135.0 million and 135.5 million weighted average common shares outstanding during the fourth quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively. At December 31, 2024 there were 104,839,462 subordinate voting shares and 30,000,000 multiple voting shares outstanding.

Unaudited balance sheets, earnings (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) information follow and form part of this press release.

Fairfax India Holdings Corporation is an investment holding company whose objective is to achieve long term capital appreciation, while preserving capital, by investing in public and private equity securities and debt instruments in India and Indian businesses or other businesses with customers, suppliers or business primarily conducted in, or dependent on, India.


For further information, contact:		John Varnell, Vice President, Corporate Affairs
		(416) 367-4755

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may relate to the company’s or an Indian Investment’s future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the financial position, business strategy, growth strategy, budgets, operations, financial results, taxes, dividends, plans and objectives of the company. Particularly, statements regarding future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities of the company, an Indian Investment, or the Indian market are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate” or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “will” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”.

Forward-looking statements are based on our opinions and estimates as of the date of this press release, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the following factors: oil price risk; geographic concentration of investments; foreign currency fluctuation; volatility of the Indian securities markets; investments may be made in foreign private businesses where information is unreliable or unavailable; valuation methodologies involve subjective judgments; financial market fluctuations; pace of completing investments; minority investments; reliance on key personnel and risks associated with the Investment Advisory Agreement; disruption of the company’s information technology systems; lawsuits; use of leverage; significant ownership by Fairfax may adversely affect the market price of the subordinate voting shares; weather risk; taxation risks; emerging markets; MLI; economic risk; trading price of subordinate voting shares relative to book value per share risk; and economic disruptions from the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the company’s annual information form dated March 8, 2024 which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the company’s website at www.fairfaxindia.ca. These factors and assumptions are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors and assumptions that could affect the company. These factors and assumptions, however, should be considered carefully.

Although the company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.


Information on
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
as at December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023
(unaudited – US$ thousands)
	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents		59,322		174,615
Bonds		180,507		63,263
Common stocks		3,381,206		3,581,043
Total cash and investments		3,621,035		3,818,921

Interest and dividends receivable		8,849		1,367
Income taxes refundable		174		220
Other assets		722		1,027
Total assets		3,630,780		3,821,535

Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		1,300		912
Accrued interest expense		8,611		8,611
Income taxes payable		5,379		—
Payable to related parties		10,099		120,858
Deferred income taxes		149,780		108,553
Borrowings		498,349		497,827
Total liabilities		673,518		736,761

Equity
Common shareholders’ equity		2,826,495		2,958,718
Non-controlling interests		130,767		126,056
Total equity		2,957,262		3,084,774
		3,630,780		3,821,535

Book value per share	$	20.96	$	21.85


Information on
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (LOSS)
for the fourth quarters and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (unaudited – US$ thousands except per share amounts)

	Fourth quarter						Year ended December 31,
		2024			2023		2024			2023
Income
Interest		4,049			3,511		19,504			16,833
Dividends		32,769			12,208		41,946			28,831
Net realized gains on investments		217			145,758		218,871			193,203
Net change in unrealized gains (losses) on investments		(23,929	)		44,581		(167,654	)		361,702
Net foreign exchange gains (losses)		(10,282	)		322		(12,616	)		(1,713	)
		2,824			206,380		100,051			598,856
Expenses
Investment and advisory fees		10,415			10,720		40,405			39,382
Performance fee		—			27,849		—			69,385
General and administration expenses		1,572			1,884		7,914			12,672
Interest expense		6,380			6,380		25,521			25,521
		18,367			46,833		73,840			146,960
Earnings (loss) before income taxes		(15,543	)		159,547		26,211			451,896
Provision for income taxes		15,444			22,794		58,948			68,050
Net earnings (loss)		(30,987	)		136,753		(32,737	)		383,846
Attributable to:
Shareholders of Fairfax India		(35,782	)		134,968		(41,173	)		371,770
Non-controlling interests		4,795			1,785		8,436			12,076
		(30,987	)		136,753		(32,737	)		383,846
Net earnings (loss) per basic and diluted share	$	(0.27	)	$	1.00	$	(0.30	)	$	2.72
Shares outstanding (weighted average)		134,994,563			135,464,165		135,165,840			136,818,139

Information on
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
for the fourth quarters and years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (unaudited – US$ thousands)

	Fourth quarter				Year ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2024		2023

Net earnings (loss)	(30,987	)	136,753		(32,737	)	383,846
Other comprehensive loss, net of income taxes
Item that may be subsequently reclassified to net earnings (loss)
Unrealized foreign currency translation losses, net of income taxes of nil (2023 – nil)	(63,961	)	(6,485	)	(85,545	)	(18,614	)
Comprehensive income (loss)	(94,948	)	130,268		(118,282	)	365,232
Attributable to:
Shareholders of Fairfax India	(96,918	)	128,727		(122,993	)	353,913
Non-controlling interests	1,970		1,541		4,711		11,319
	(94,948	)	130,268		(118,282	)	365,232

GLOSSARY OF NON-GAAP AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES
Management analyzes and assesses the financial position of the consolidated company in various ways. Certain of the measures included in this press release, which have been used consistently and disclosed regularly in the company’s Annual Reports and interim financial reporting, do not have a prescribed meaning under IFRS Accounting Standards and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Those measures are described below.

Book value per share – The company considers book value per share a key performance measure in evaluating its objective of long term capital appreciation, while preserving capital. This measure is also closely monitored as it is used to calculate the performance fee, if any, to Fairfax Financial Holdings. This measure is calculated by the company as common shareholders’ equity divided by the number of common shares outstanding.

Cash and marketable securities – This measure is calculated by the company as the sum of cash, cash equivalents, short term investments, Government of India bonds and Other Public Indian Investments, in addition to short term receivables from investment custodians relating to dividends received on behalf of the company. The company uses this measure to monitor short term liquidity risk.

The MIL Network –

February 14, 2025

MIL-OSI: PDF Solutions® Announces Record 2024 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Total Revenues

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PDF Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDFS), a leading provider of comprehensive data solutions for the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024.

Financial Highlights of Fourth Quarter 2024

Record quarterly total revenues of $50.1 million, up 22% over last year’s comparable quarter
Record quarterly analytics revenue of $47.9 million, up 22% over last year’s comparable quarter
GAAP gross margin of 68% and non-GAAP gross margin of 72%
GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.25

Financial Highlights of Full Year 2024

Record full year total revenues of $179.5 million, up 8% over last year
Record full year analytics revenue of $169.3 million, up 11% over last year
GAAP gross margin of 70% and non-GAAP gross margin of 74%
GAAP diluted EPS of $0.10 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.84
Backlog of $221.4 million as of December 31, 2024

Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $50.1 million, compared to $46.4 million for the third quarter of 2024 and $41.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. Analytics revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $47.9 million, compared to $44.8 million for the third quarter of 2024 and $39.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. Integrated Yield Ramp revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $2.2 million, compared to $1.7 million for the third quarter of 2024 and $2.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. Total revenues for the full year 2024 and 2023 were $179.5 million and $165.8 million, respectively.

GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 68%, compared to 73% for the third quarter of 2024 and 68% for the fourth quarter of 2023. GAAP gross margin for the full year 2024 and 2023 was 70% and 69%, respectively.

Non-GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 72%, compared to 77% for the third quarter of 2024 and 72% for the fourth quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP gross margin for the full year 2024 and 2023 was 74% and 73%, respectively.

On a GAAP basis, net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $0.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to net income of $2.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2024, and net income of $0.9 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023. On a GAAP basis, net income for the full year 2024 was $4.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to net income of $3.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the full year 2023.

Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $9.9 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $9.9 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2024, and non-GAAP net income of $5.7 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023. Non-GAAP net income for the full year 2024 was $32.6 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $28.5 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, for the full year 2023.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2024, were $114.9 million.

Financial Outlook

“We are pleased with the progress we are making with our customers. During the fourth quarter of 2024, we completed an ongoing manufacturing evaluation of an eProbe machine earlier than the customer’s schedule, resulting in the sale to this new leading edge customer, booked multiple Exensio deals, and saw growth in our Cimetrix connectivity business from runtime licenses. In 2025, we expect our full year revenues to grow at a rate approaching 15% year over year,” said John Kibarian, CEO and President.

Conference Call

As previously announced, PDF Solutions will discuss these results on a live conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time today. To participate on the live call, analysts and investors should pre-register at: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI1b05df01d9534a648d4fd2cd753be31c. Registrants will receive dial-in information and a unique passcode to access the call. We encourage participants to dial into the call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled time. The teleconference will also be webcast simultaneously on the Company’s website at https://ir.pdf.com/webcasts. A replay of the conference call webcast will be available after the call on the Company’s investor relations website. A copy of this press release, including the disclosure and reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures, which non-GAAP measures may be used periodically by PDF Solutions’ management when discussing financial results with investors and analysts, will also be available on PDF Solutions’ website at http://www.pdf.com/press-releases following the date of this release.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Commentary Available Online

A Management Report reviewing the Company’s fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results will be furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K and published on the Company’s website at http://ir.pdf.com/financial-reports. Analysts and investors are encouraged to review this commentary prior to participating in the conference call.

Information Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to providing results that are determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), PDF Solutions also provides certain non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP gross profit and margin exclude stock-based compensation expense and the amortization of acquired technology under costs of revenues. Non-GAAP net income excludes stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired technology under costs of revenues, amortization of other acquired intangible assets, and the effects of certain non-recurring items, such as expenses for certain legal proceedings, non-recurring legal, tax and accounting service-related costs, loss on damaged equipment in-transit, net of recovery from previously written-off property and equipment, and their related income tax effects, as applicable, as well as adjustments for the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets and reconciling items. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management internally to measure the Company’s profitability and performance. PDF Solutions’ management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful supplemental information to investors regarding the Company’s ongoing operations in light of the fact that none of these categories of expense and income has a current effect on the future uses of cash (with the exception of expenses related to certain legal proceedings and non-recurring legal, tax and accounting services) nor do they impact the generation of current or future revenues. These non-GAAP results should not be considered an alternative to, or a substitute for, GAAP financial information, and may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In particular, these non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for GAAP measures of income or loss as a measure of performance, or to cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as a measure of liquidity. Since management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to measure profitability and performance, PDF Solutions has included these non-GAAP measures to give investors an opportunity to see the Company’s financial results as viewed by management. A reconciliation of the comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures is provided at the end of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements presented below.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and the planned conference call include forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s future expected business performance and financial results, including expectations about total revenue growth for 2025 and other statements identified by words such as “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms, that are subject to future events and circumstances. Other than statements of historical fact, all statements contained in this press release and the planned conference call are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially include risks associated with: the effectiveness of the Company’s business and technology strategies; current semiconductor industry trends and competition; rates of adoption of the Company’s solutions by new and existing customers; project milestones or delays and performance criteria achieved; cost and schedule of new product development and investments in research and development; the continuing impact of macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, changing interest rates and tariffs, the evolving trade regulatory environment and geopolitical tensions, and other trends on the semiconductor industry, the Company’s customers, operations, and supply and demand for its products; supply chain disruptions; the success of the Company’s strategic growth opportunities and partnerships; recent and future acquisitions, strategic alliances and relationships and the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and technologies; whether the Company can successfully convert backlog into revenue; customers’ production volumes under contracts that provide Gainshare; the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources and anticipated funds from operations; the Company’s ability to obtain additional financing if needed and its ability to use support and updates for certain open-source software; and other risks set forth in PDF Solutions’ periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to such reports. The forward-looking statements made in this press release and the conference call are made as of the date hereof, and PDF Solutions does not assume any obligation to update such statements nor the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those projected in such statements. The Company has not filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. As a result, all financial results described in this earnings release should be considered preliminary, and are subject to change to reflect any necessary adjustments or changes in accounting estimates, that are identified prior to the time the Company files its Annual Report on Form 10-K.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions (Nasdaq: PDFS) provides comprehensive data solutions designed to empower organizations across the semiconductor and electronics industry ecosystem to improve manufacturing yield, product quality and operational efficiency leading to increased profitability. The Company’s products and services are used by Fortune 500 companies across the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem to achieve smart manufacturing goals by connecting and controlling manufacturing equipment, collecting data generated during manufacturing and test operations, and using advanced analytics and machine learning models to enable profitable, high-volume manufacturing.

Founded in 1991, PDF Solutions is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company (directly or through one or more subsidiaries) is an active member of SEMI, INEMI, TPCA, IPC, the OPC Foundation, and DMDII. For the latest news and information about PDF Solutions or to find office locations, visit https://www.pdf.com.

PDF Solutions and the PDF Solutions logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PDF Solutions, Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Company Contacts:
Adnan Raza		Sonia Segovia
Chief Financial Officer		Investor Relations
Tel: (408) 516-0237		Tel: (408) 938-6491
Email: adnan.raza@pdf.com		Email: sonia.segovia@pdf.com

PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
(In thousands)


	December 31,
	2024			2023

ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	90,594		$	98,978
Short-term investments		24,291			36,544
Accounts receivable, net		73,649			44,904
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		17,445			17,422
Total current assets		205,979			197,848
Property and equipment, net		48,465			37,338
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net		4,029			4,926
Goodwill		14,953			15,029
Intangible assets, net		12,307			15,620
Deferred tax assets, net		43			157
Other non-current assets		29,513			19,218
Total assets	$	315,289		$	290,136

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	8,255		$	2,561
Accrued compensation and related benefits		16,855			14,800
Accrued and other current liabilities		8,752			4,633
Operating lease liabilities ‒ current portion		1,675			1,529
Deferred revenues ‒ current portion		24,930			25,750
Billings in excess of recognized revenues		75			1,570
Total current liabilities		60,542			50,843
Long-term income taxes		2,915			2,972
Non-current operating lease liabilities		3,504			4,657
Other non-current liabilities		2,291			2,718
Total liabilities		69,252			61,190

Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock and additional paid-in capital		502,908			473,301
Treasury stock, at cost		(159,352	)		(143,923	)
Accumulated deficit		(93,988	)		(98,045	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(3,531	)		(2,387	)
Total stockholders’ equity		246,037			228,946
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	315,289		$	290,136

PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)


	Three months ended										Year ended
		December 31,			September 30,			December 31,			December 31,			December 31,
		2024			2024			2023			2024			2023

Revenues:
Analytics		$	47,926		$	44,750		$	39,128		$	169,253		$	152,085
Integrated yield ramp			2,159			1,659			1,997			10,212			13,750
Total revenues			50,085			46,409			41,125			179,465			165,835

Costs and Expenses:
Costs of revenues			15,901			12,484			13,194			54,144			51,749
Research and development			14,417			13,516			12,308			53,566			50,736
Selling, general, and administrative			19,073			18,094			16,194			69,924			62,216
Amortization of acquired intangible assets			182			196			306			896			1,285
Interest and other expense (income), net			(962	)		(1,511	)		(1,020	)		(5,644	)		(5,020	)
Income before income tax benefit (expense)			1,474			3,630			143			6,579			4,869
Income tax benefit (expense)			(935	)		(1,424	)		744			(2,522	)		(1,764	)
Net income		$	539		$	2,206		$	887		$	4,057		$	3,105

Net income per share:
Basic		$	0.01		$	0.06		$	0.02		$	0.11		$	0.08
Diluted		$	0.01		$	0.06		$	0.02		$	0.10		$	0.08

Weighted average common shares used to calculate net income per share:
Basic			38,783			38,710			38,269			38,602			38,015
Diluted			39,104			39,105			38,814			39,047			38,937

PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP GROSS MARGIN TO NON-GAAP GROSS MARGIN (UNAUDITED)
(In thousands)


	Three months ended										Year ended
		December 31,			September 30,			December 31,			December 31,			December 31,
		2024			2024			2023			2024			2023

GAAP
Total revenues		$	50,085		$	46,409		$	41,125		$	179,465		$	165,835
Costs of revenues			15,901			12,484			13,194			54,144			51,749
GAAP gross profit		$	34,184		$	33,925		$	27,931		$	125,321		$	114,086
GAAP gross margin			68	%		73	%		68	%		70	%		69	%

Non-GAAP
GAAP gross profit		$	34,184		$	33,925		$	27,931		$	125,321		$	114,086
Adjustments to reconcile GAAP to non-GAAP gross margin:
Stock-based compensation expense			1,336			1,366			1,147			5,087			4,169
Amortization of acquired technology			583			584			586			2,335			2,266
Non-GAAP gross profit		$	36,103		$	35,875		$	29,664		$	132,743		$	120,521
Non-GAAP gross margin			72	%		77	%		72	%		74	%		73	%

PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME (UNAUDITED)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)


	Three months ended									Year ended
		December 31,		September 30,			December 31,			December 31,			December 31,
		2024		2024			2023			2024			2023

GAAP net income		$	539	$	2,206		$	887		$	4,057		$	3,105
Adjustments to reconcile GAAP net income to non-GAAP net income:
Stock-based compensation expense			6,507		6,730			5,923			25,047			21,484
Amortization of acquired technology under costs of revenues			583		584			586			2,335			2,266
Amortization of other acquired intangible assets			182		196			306			896			1,285
Expenses for certain legal proceedings (1)			69		—			75			69			2,600
Non-recurring legal, tax and accounting service-related costs			940		—			—			940			209
Loss on damaged equipment in-transit, net of (recovery) from previously written-off property and equipment			663		(55	)		—			608			(105	)
Tax impact of valuation allowance for deferred tax assets and reconciling items (2)			375		262			(2,060	)		(1,335	)		(2,374	)
Non-GAAP net income		$	9,858	$	9,923		$	5,717		$	32,617		$	28,470

GAAP net income per diluted share		$	0.01	$	0.06		$	0.02		$	0.10		$	0.08
Non-GAAP net income per diluted share		$	0.25	$	0.25		$	0.15		$	0.84		$	0.73

Weighted average common shares used in GAAP net income per diluted share calculation			39,104		39,105			38,814			39,047			38,937
Weighted average common shares used in non-GAAP net income per diluted share calculation			39,104		39,105			38,814			39,047			38,937

(1) Represents legal costs and expenses related to certain litigation and an arbitration proceeding which are expected to continue until these matters are resolved.
(2) The difference between the GAAP and non-GAAP income tax provisions is primarily due to the valuation allowance on a GAAP basis and non-GAAP adjustments. For example, on a GAAP basis, the Company does not receive a deferred tax benefit for foreign tax credits or research and development credits after the valuation allowance. The Company’s non-GAAP tax rate and resulting non-GAAP tax expense is not calculated with a full U.S. federal or state valuation allowance due to the Company’s cumulative non-GAAP income and management’s conclusion that it is more likely than not to utilize its net deferred tax assets (DTAs). Each reporting period, management evaluates the need for a valuation allowance and may place a valuation allowance against its U.S. net DTAs on a non-GAAP basis if it concludes it is more likely than not that it will not be able to utilize some or all of its U.S. DTAs on a non-GAAP basis.

The MIL Network –

February 14, 2025

MIL-OSI United Nations: Scaling up or losing steam? Parliamentarians debate the future of the SDGs

Source: United Nations 2

13 February 2025 SDGs

As the clock ticks toward 2030, parliamentarians gathered at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday to assess the state of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the verdict was anything but unanimous.

Amid deepening global debt, taxation disputes and a widening gap between ambition and action, tensions flared over how (and whether) the SDGs can still be salvaged.

The meeting, themed Scaling up Action for the Sustainable Development Goals: Finance, Institutions and Politics, underscored the urgency of rebooting the 2030 Agenda.

“We are far behind from where we need to be on almost every single one of the SDGs,” said President of the General Assembly Philémon Yang.

With only 17 percent of SDG targets reportedly on track, the discussions revealed sharp divides over priorities and outlook.

Some called for renewed commitment; others questioned whether the goals should be replaced entirely.

Debt and development

Debt emerged as a key sticking point, with countries like Malta and Morocco pointing to the “great difficulty” of accessing financial mechanisms designed to support SDG implementation.

The Benin delegate went further, arguing that global wealth remains unevenly distributed, requiring structural concessions for heavily indebted nations.

But there was little consensus on solutions.

Cyprus defended its tailored tax system, arguing that small service-based economies cannot afford high taxes without stunting growth essential to development.

Meanwhile, Chile warned of the increasing use of tariffs as leverage in global decision-making, raising concerns about economic coercion in an already unequal system.

US economist Jeffrey Sachs, a leading voice on global development, called for action based on “fundamental fairness”, emphasising that many developing nations bear no historical responsibility for climate change yet struggle to access funding for basic needs.

“The money is there, believe me, it’s there” he said, “but it’s not flowing to the low income and lower middle-income countries right now.”

Political will: Commitment or fatigue?

Despite the financial hurdles, UN officials insisted that a lack of political will remains a fundamental barrier.

Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy challenged the perception of weak national ownership of the SDGs, noting that while commitment exists, it has not translated into sufficient results.

“17 percent doesn’t look like a pass rate,” he admitted. Nevertheless, “What would the figures have been like if there never had been the SDGs? What would the world look like?”, he put to the room.

Still, frustrations ran high. Some delegates questioned the effectiveness of existing frameworks.

A delegate from Sweden called for replacing the SDGs with new, more relevant goals, arguing that the 17 goals agreed amid fanfare in 2015 had run their course.

Morocco pushed back, warning that abandoning existing commitments before they are achieved would be futile. “We must achieve what we adopted in 2015,” the delegate stated.

Nigeria offered a middle ground, suggesting a redesigned approach to align national interests with global multilateralism.

Meanwhile, a parliamentarian from Qatar reflected on lessons from the SDGs’ predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), noting that while many targets were unmet, they laid the groundwork for future progress.

Where next for the SDGs?

As the meeting wrapped up, it was clear that while the SDGs remain the most ambitious global development framework, the road ahead is fraught with challenges.

National priorities continue to clash with multilateral ambitions and financial constraints risk derailing progress even further.

But if there was one point of agreement, it was that inaction is not an option.

As President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tulia Ackson reminded delegates, “We must be willing to think less in terms of our own political interest and more in terms of the common good.”

Citing Nelson Mandela, she added: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

MIL OSI United Nations News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Press Conference Following NATO Ministers of Defense Meeting in Brussels, Belgium

Source: United States Department of Defense

UNKNOWN: Good afternoon, everyone. We’re going to start with the US press. We’re going to take two from the US, we’ll take two from international, and then we’ll go from there depending on the secretary. So, let us start with —

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Now, hold on, John.

UNKNOWN: Sir?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: I’m going to talk first.

UNKNOWN: Roger that.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: It is great to be here at NATO with 31 allies, also with my wife Jenny, who’s been meeting with families of US troops both here, in Germany, and we’re heading to Poland right after this as well. That’s what this is all about for me, for President Trump and the Defense Department.

I also want to express a special thanks to the secretary general, Secretary General Rutte, for your boldness, for your friendship, for your leadership and most especially for your urgency — your urgency of the matter at hand, which is great to see from the leader of NATO. Look forward to working very closely with him and his team.

And before we’re talking about what we’ve done at the ministerial, I want to reaffirm a few things from this podium. First, as we see it, NATO’s strategic objectives are to prevent great power conflict in Europe, deter nuclear and non-nuclear aggression, and defeat threats to treaty allies should deterrence fail.

Second, the US is committed to building a stronger more lethal NATO. However, we must ensure that European and Canadian commitment to article three of this treaty is just as strong. Article three says that allies, and I quote, “By means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.”

Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent, which means security ownership by all allies guided by a clear understanding of strategic realities and it’s an imperative given the strategic realities that we face. And that begins with increasing defense spending. 2 percent is a start, as President Trump has Trump has said, but it’s not enough, nor is 3 percent, nor is 4 percent. More like 5 percent. Real investment. Real urgency.

We can talk all we want about values. Values are important. But you can’t shoot values. You can’t shoot flags and you can’t shoot strong speeches. There is no replacement for hard power. As much as we may not want to like the world we live in, in some cases, there’s nothing like hard power. It should be obvious that increasing allied European defense spending is critical as the President of the United States has said.

Also critical is expanding our defense industrial base capacity on both sides of the Atlantic. Our dollars, our euros, our pounds must become real capabilities. The US is fully committed under President Trump’s leadership to pursue these objectives in face — in the face of today’s threats.

Yesterday, I had a chance to attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Today, participated in both the NATO ministerial and the Ukraine Council. In both, we discussed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. I had the chance to brief allies on President Trump’s top priority; a diplomatic peaceful end to this war as quickly as possible in a manner that creates enduring and durable peace.

The American Defense Department fully supports the efforts of the Trump administration and we look to allies to support this important work with leading on Ukraine security assistance now through increased contributions and greater ownership of future security assistance to Ukraine. To that end, I want to thank my UK counterpart, Defense Secretary John Healey, for hosting this Ukraine Defense Contact Group and for his leadership on support of Ukraine.

President Trump gave me a clear mission, achieve peace through strength as well as put America first, our people, our taxpayers, our borders, and our security. We are doing this by reviving the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence. NATO should pursue these goals as well. NATO is a great alliance, the most successful defense alliance in history.

But to endure for the future, our partners must do far more for Europe’s defense. We must make NATO great again. It begins with defense spending, but must also include reviving the transatlantic defense industrial base, rapidly fielding emerging technologies, prioritizing readiness and lethality, and establishing real deterrence.

Finally, I want to close with this. After World War II first General and then President Eisenhower was one of NATO’s strongest supporters. He believed in a strong relationship with Europe. However, by the end of Eisenhower’s presidency, even he was concerned that Europe was not shouldering enough of its own defense, nearly making, in Eisenhower’s words, “A sucker out of Uncle Sam.” Well, like President Eisenhower, this administration believes in alliances. Deeply believes in alliances. But make no mistake, President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker. Thank you, and we’re glad to take some questions.

UNKNOWN: Thanks very much. Let’s start with the US traveling TV pool with Liz Frieden.

Q: Thank you, Secretary Hegseth. You have focused on what Ukraine is giving up. What concessions will Putin be asked to make?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Well, that’s — I would start by saying the arguments that have been made that somehow coming to the table right now is making concessions to Vladimir Putin outright, that we otherwise — or that the President of the United States shouldn’t otherwise make, I just reject that at its face.

There’s a reason why negotiations are happening right now, just a few weeks after President Trump was sworn in as President United States. Vladimir Putin responds to strength. In 2014 he invaded Crimea, not during the presidency of Donald Trump. Over four years, there was no Russian aggression from 2016 to 2020. In 2022, Vladimir Putin took aggression on Ukraine. Once again, not while President Trump was President of the United States.

So any suggestion that President Trump is doing anything other than negotiating from a position of strength is on its face a historical and false. So when you look at what he may have to give or take, what’s in or what’s out in those negotiations, we have the perfect dealmaker at the table from a position of strength to deal with both Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy.

No one’s going to get everything that they want, understanding who committed the aggression in the first place. But I challenge anyone else to think of a world leader at this moment who, with credibility and strength, could bring those two leaders to the table and forge a durable peace that ultimately serves the interests of Ukraine, stops the killing and the death, which president has been — Trump has been clear he wants to do and hopefully ultimately is guaranteed — or guaranteed by strength of Europeans who are there prepared to back it up.

Q: To follow up on that — follow up. Thank you, sir. Why not invoke article five then for the NATO peacekeeping forces that could potentially be deployed? Like, how does that deter President Putin?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Well, I would say I want to be clear about something as it pertains to NATO membership not being realistic outcome for negotiations. That’s something that was stated as part of my remarks here as part of a coordination with how we’re executing these ongoing negotiations, which are led by President Trump.

All of that said, these negotiations are led by President Trump. Everything is on the table in his conversations with Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. What he decides to allow or not allow is at the purview of the leader of the free world of President Trump. So I’m not going to stand at this podium and declare what President Trump will do or won’t do, what will be in or what will be out, what concessions will be made or what concessions are not made.

I can look as our team has of what’s realistic, likely on an outcome. I think realism is an important part of the conversation that hasn’t existed enough inside conversations amongst friends. But simply pointing out realism, like the borders won’t be rolled back to what everybody would like them to be in 2014, is not a concession to Vladimir Putin. It’s a recognition of hard power realities on the ground after a lot of investment and sacrifice first by the Ukrainians and then by allies and then a realization that a negotiated peace is going to be some sort of demarcation that neither side wants. But it’s not my job as the Secretary of Defense to define the parameters of the President of the United States as he leads some of the most complex and consequential negotiations in the world.

UNKNOWN: Sticking with the US press, let us go with Axios’ Zach Basu right in the far right.

Q: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Given the position you’ve now staked out, what leverage exactly is Ukraine being left with, especially if the US also plans to wind down its military aid? And then quickly, if a NATO ally is attacked by Russia or any country, will the US unequivocally uphold its obligations under article five regardless of that country’s —

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: — We’ve said we’re committed to the alliance and that’s part of the alliance, right? You pointed out article five. You point out article three — it’s just a cheap — I’m not saying it’s cheap coming from you — but it’s just a cheap political point to say, oh, we’ve left all the negotiating cards off the table by recognizing some realities that exist on the ground. President Zelenskyy understands the realities on the ground. President Putin understands the realities on the ground. And President Trump, as a dealmaker, as a negotiator, understands those dynamics as well.

By no means is anything that I state here, even though we lead the most powerful military in the world, hemming in the commander in chief, in his negotiations, to ultimately decide where it goes or does not go. Well, he’s got all the cards he would like.

And the interesting part is oftentimes while the conventional status quo mindset or the legacy media wants to play checkers, the same checkers game we’ve been playing for decades, President Trump time and time again finds a way to play chess — as a dealmaker, as a businessman who understands how to create realities and opportunities where they otherwise may not exist.

Take for example, the conversations that our treasury secretary had in Kyiv recently with President Zelenskyy, which will continue in Munich with our vice president and secretary of state, around investments and resources inside Ukraine. I don’t want to get ahead of any decision or announcement that could be made there, it could be any number of parameters.

But President Trump as a dealmaker and a businessman recognizes that an investment relationship with Ukraine, ultimately in the long term for the United States, is a lot more tangible than any promises or shared values we might have, even though we have them. There is something to relationships and deals in real ways, whether militarily or economically or diplomatically, that he sees that are possibilities that could forge together a lot of opportunities to show that solidarity that Vladimir Putin will clearly recognize.

That’s one of any number of other opportunities that this president will leverage in these high-stake negotiations. So, I just reject on its face the premise that somehow President Trump isn’t dealing with a full set of cards when he’s the one that can determine ultimately what cards he holds.

UNKNOWN: Great. Now shifting to the international press, we’ll take the French wire service Agence France Presse with Max Delaney.

Q: Thank you very much, Secretary of Defense. Can you — you’ve spoken about trying to force both Putin and Zelenskyy to the table. Can you give a guarantee that no deal will be forced on Ukraine that they do not want to accept? And also, that you will include Europe in the negotiations about their own — about an issue that concerns European security? And can you tell us whether the US will continue to supply arms to Ukraine during any negotiations?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Well, to the first part of your question, that’s not ultimately my decision. The president will lead these negotiations alongside our secretary of state, our national security advisor, and numerous other officials that will be involved. And ultimately, we’ve played our role in talking to our NATO allies about what that would look like.

President Trump, I want to point out, I’ve got the truth’s right here that he posted, called both, in case we missed it, Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy, called them both. Any negotiation that’s had will be had with both.

I also am very encouraged by what the secretary general has said here. Clearly attuned to the realities of the moment, the need for peace, and that the NATO alliance and European members will play a role in that.

Ultimately, President Trump speaking to those two countries is central to the deal being made. But it affects a lot of people, of course. So, I’m not going to be involved in those intimate diplomatic negotiations. That’s for the pros atop the Trump administration who do diplomacy and negotiations. Ultimately as security assistance, we have continued to provide what has been allocated.

I think it would be fair to say that things like future funding, either less or more, could be on the table in negotiations as well. Whatever the president determines is the most robust carrot or stick on either side to induce a durable peace, understanding, obviously, the motivations that Vladimir Putin has had on Ukraine for quite some time. Thank you.

UNKNOWN: We’ll have a second international press outlet. We’ll go with the German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung with Dr. Thomas Gutschker.

Q: Thanks a lot. Thomas Gutschker of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Good afternoon. Mr. Secretary, two questions, please. The first one regarding the new Defense Investment Pledge.

When you and President Trump speak about raising it to 5 percent, do you mean European allies only, or do you mean the US as well, which is currently at 3.4 percent according to NATO statistics? And if the latter is true, when do you think the US could possibly reach the goal of spending 5 percent on defense? That’s number one.

Number two, you said yesterday that Europeans need to take ownership of their own conventional security. So, should Europeans expect that ultimately the US would withdraw the bulk of their forces from Europe and just leave in place what is necessary for nuclear deterrence? I know there’s a revision going on. I don’t expect you to name any numbers but maybe give us an outlook of what we should expect. Thank you.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Thank you. I think nobody can or should contest the extent of America’s willingness to invest in national security. We have a budget of $850 billion spent on defense. I’m in the business of ensuring that every dollar of that is used wisely, which is why we’re pushing a Pentagon audit and making sure that we’re cutting fat so that we’ve got more at the tip of the spear.

3.4 percent is a very robust investment, larger than most of our allies within NATO. Any defense minister or secretary of defense that tells you they wouldn’t want more would be lying to you, I understand that. Ultimately, we have our own budgetary considerations to be had, but I don’t think an unwillingness of NATO allies to invest in their own defense spending can be dismissed away by trying to point at the $900 billion that America has invested around the globe to include the NATO alliance and saying that’s not enough.

So, ultimately, we are very much committed to the NATO alliance and to our allies. But without burden sharing, without creating the right set of incentives for European countries to invest, then we would be forced to attempt to be everywhere for everybody all the time, which in a world of fiscal restraints is, again, to get back to that word reality, just not reality.

So, yes, we will continue to spend robustly. Our expectation of our friends, and we say this in solidarity, is you have to spend more on your defense, for your country, on that continent, understanding that the American military and the American people stand beside you as we have in NATO, but can’t have the expectation of expectation of being the permanent guarantor, as I alluded to, from what even Eisenhower observed post-World War II.

That shift has to happen. The peace dividend has to end. There are autocrats with ambitions around the globe from Russia to the communist Chinese. Either the West awakens to that reality and creates combat multipliers with their allies and partners to include NATO, or we will abdicate that responsibility to somebody else with all the wrong values.

You mentioned Europe, we have not said in any way that we’re abandoning our allies in Europe. There have been no decisions based on troop levels. Again, that’s a discussion to be had by the commander in chief in these high-stake negotiations. And that would most likely come later on. But there is a recognition that the ambitions of the communist Chinese are a threat to free people everywhere, to include America’s interests in the Pacific.

And it makes a lot of sense, just in a commonsense way, to use our comparative advantages. European countries spending here in defense of this continent, in defense of allies here against an aggressor on this continent with ambitions. That strikes me as the right place to — and I don’t say that in a condescending way. I say that in a common sense, practical way.

Investing in defense on the continent makes sense. We support that as well. It also makes sense comparatively and geographically for the United States, along with allies in the Pacific like Japan and South Korea and the Philippines and Australia and others, to also invest in allies and partners and capabilities in the Pacific to project power there in service of deterrence. That deterrent effect in the Pacific is one that really can only be led by the United States.

We wish we could lead everywhere at all times. We will stand in solidarity with allies and partners and encourage everyone to invest in order to have forced multiplication of what we represent, but it requires realistic conversations. Those with disingenuous motives in the media, I don’t mean to look at you, just saying anyone, that suggests it’s abandonment are trying to drive a wedge between allies that does not exist.

We are committed to that NATO alliance. We understand the importance of that partnership, but it can’t endure on the status quo forever in light of the threats we face and fiscal realities. Europe has to spend more. NATO has to spend more. Has to invest more. And we’re very encouraged by what the secretary general has said and frankly, by — behind closed doors, what a lot of our allies have said as well acknowledging that reality.

And that’s why when I say make NATO great again, it’s what President Trump set out to do in 2017. The press said President Trump is abandoning NATO. He’s turning his back on our NATO allies. That’s what is — that’s what the headlines read in 2017 and 2018. What actually happened? That tough conversation created even more investment to the point where now almost every NATO country is meeting the 2 percent goal that was said to be egregious when he first said it. Now European countries are stepping up and President Trump continues to ring the alarm bell that even more investment is required considering where we are.

So suggestions of abandonment otherwise continue to be disingenuous and we are — we are proud to be part of this alliance and stand by it.

UNKNOWN: Sir —

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: — I’ll take a couple more.

UNKNOWN: Sure. Why don’t we take one from a US outlet and one from an international outlet. With the US outlet — pardon me, sir, what we’re going to take from the US is Logan Rateck from Newsmax, please.

Q: Mr. Secretary, you talked about what — you talked about expanding the defense industrial base and also expediting foreign military sales. Can you expand on that a little bit and how important that is to NATO?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Well, one of the self-evident conclusions of the — of the war in Ukraine was the underinvestment that both the European continent and America has had, unfortunately, in the defense industrial base, the ability to produce munitions, emerging technologies rapidly and field them was a blind spot exposed through the aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine has responded to that, as we’ve had a chance to listen to a great deal. Europe is responding to that, and so is America. We have to do more to ensure — whether you call it the arsenal for democracy or defending the free world, if America can’t build and export and build and provide rapid capabilities because we’re too stale or static or bureaucratic or the Pentagon is bloated, then we’re not able to field the systems we need in the future.

So deep and dramatic reforms are coming at the Defense Department with the leadership of President Trump to ensure that we’re investing robustly in our defense industrial base. A great example is shipbuilding. We need to vastly increase our ability to build ships and submarines, not just for ourselves, but to honor our obligations to our allies as well.

And we will do that. Foreign military sales is another thing I mentioned this morning with the secretary general. We have for a long time been the country by with and through that our allies are able to supply major platforms and weapon systems like the F-35 and the Patriots and others. Whatever the system is, we need to reform that process so it’s quicker, so a request today isn’t delivered seven years from now, but three years from now with less red tape and with the most efficient and effective technology possible.

We hear that from our allies, and that’s part of being a good faith partner is we’re going to invest in our defense industrial base. We’re going to make sure foreign military sales are as rapid as possible, which again is a force multiplier for American power, which is something we want to do in a contested world.

UNKNOWN: For our final question, we’ll go to an international outlet. The Japanese service NHK with Tsuchiya Tsujita, please.

Q: Tsuchiya from NHK, the Japanese TV station, thank you very much. I would like to ask about China. As you mentioned that the US will be prioritizing and deterring China, what role will you be expecting Japan and IPv4 countries to play in this context?

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Sure. I mean, first of all, I would point out that President Trump has expressed a strong relationship with Xi Jinping. We don’t have an inevitable desire to clash with China. There’s a recognition that there are divergent interests which lead to a need for strength on the American side to ensure our interests are advanced and that ultimately any aggression is deterred. That’s a real thing, but we don’t feel like conflict is inevitable and certainly don’t seek conflict with China. And that’s why President Trump has that good relationship with Xi Jinping.

But it was prudent for us to work with allies and partners in the Pacific to ensure that that deterrence, hard power deterrence, not just reputational, but reality exists. And that’s why a lot of my first phone calls as Secretary of Defense were to Pacific allies, to Australia, to Japan, to South Korea, to the Philippines and others and will continue because that, just as this alliance in Europe is critical, working by with and through allies and partners in that region who understand the reality of the ascendant Chinese threat will be critical.

It can’t be America alone. It won’t be America alone if we are to deter that. So it’s — it is a focus. I’ve articulated that from day one. America achieves strength, whether it’s in this — in the — in the — in peace through the Ukrainian conflict or deterring it in the Pacific through strength. There’s a reason why Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength at every moment.

My job, my job alone as the Secretary of Defense is to ensure he has the strongest, most capable, most lethal military possible. Heaven forbid we have to use it. It’s meant and built for deterrence. But if we have to, we can close with and destroy our enemies and bring our men and women home with success as quickly as possible. Thank you very much for being here.

UNKNOWN: Thank you, everyone.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 14, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Provides Guidance for Businesses on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Initiatives in the Workplace
Source: US State of California

Policies and practices that combat unalwful discrimination and harrassment remain an important – and legal – tool for improving hiring, retention, and employee engagement

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a coalition of 16 attorneys general, issued guidance to help businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations understand the viability and importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies and practices in creating and maintaining legally compliant and thriving workplaces. The guidance comes in response to concerns from employers stemming from President Trump’s executive order purportedly targeting “illegal DEI and DEIA policies.” The guidance emphasizes that efforts to seek and support diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplaces are not illegal and that the federal government cannot prohibit these efforts in the private sector through an executive order.

“The Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Americans with Disabilities Act. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act. All of these ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ laws have made our country fairer and stronger and a place where everyone can thrive. Despite what the President may say, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives are not illegal – nor can he unilaterally make it so,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I urge California businesses not to fall for this scare tactic. Diverse and inclusive workplaces are good for businesses, consumers, and employees alike. In fact, it’s our culture of inclusivity and valuing of diverse perspective that has led California to become a global hub of innovation and the fifth largest economy in the world. To all the businesses hoping to grow and thrive in California, rest assured: We will continue to support your efforts to build and sustain successful and inclusive workplaces.”

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives are Consistent with Federal and State Law

The Trump Administration has recently targeted private sector diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies and practices through an executive order directing agencies to “combat illegal private-sector DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.” This order conflates valid and legal programs and practices supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility with unlawful preferences in hiring and promotion.

These initiatives are not the same as illegal hiring or promotional preferences to individuals based on protected characteristics. Instead, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility practices focus on ensuring that businesses can recruit, hire, and retain qualified employees, and that workplaces provides support needed for all employees to have respect, belonging, and exercise their individual potential to develop their skills and contribute to the success of the business.

For decades, state and federal courts have consistently recognized that diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies do not amount to impermissible discrimination. In fact, employment discrimination laws generally require employers to pay attention to the impact their policies and practices have on different groups in order to avoid and limit liability for unlawful conduct.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives Help Businesses Prevent Workplace Discrimination

In their guidance, the coalition reminds businesses that state and federal law prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and other protected characteristics. In order to effectively avoid liability for discrimination, employers must take steps to proactively prevent and address discrimination, including by identifying and remediating policies and practices that have an unlawful impact on current and prospective employees. Decades of research and data demonstrate that properly developed and implemented diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives help prevent unlawful discrimination and ensure that discriminatory conduct is promptly identified, reported and addressed when it does occur.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Initiatives Foster Inclusive Recruiting, Hiring and Retention Practices

A study found that companies in the top quartile for diversity were 35% more likely to have financial gains above their respective industry counterparts. When diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility principles are embedded within an organization’s culture, they reduce bias, boost workplace morale, foster collaboration, and create opportunities for all employees. Diverse organizations that prioritize inclusivity tend to outperform their peers, with higher returns, lower turnover, and a more attractive workplace for top talent.

The coalition’s guidance highlights best practices for recruitment and hiring, including:
- Prioritizing widescale recruitment efforts to attract a larger pool of applicants from a variety of backgrounds.
- Using panel interviews, which ensure that multiple people are involved in a hiring or promotion recommendation, helping to eliminate bias.
- Setting standardized criteria for evaluating candidates and employees, focused on skills and experience.
- Ensuring accessible recruitment and hiring practices and protocols, including reasonable accommodations as appropriate.
Additionally, organizations that offer benefits such as employee resource groups, mentorship programs, professionalism trainings, and work groups focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility are proven to have heightened employee retention and engagement. Best practices for professional development and retention include:
- Ensuring equal access to all aspects of professional development, training and mentor programs that provide clear pathways for career growth.
- Setting up Employee Resource Groups to create inclusive and supportive spaces where employees of particular backgrounds or common experiences feel valued and heard.
- Conducting training on topics such as unconscious bias, inclusive leadership, and disability awareness to improve employee confidence and create a shared understanding around cultural norms.
- Ensuring equal access to all aspects of employment, including through reasonable workplace accommodations.
Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Vermont in issuing the guidance.

A copy of the guidance is available here.

MIL OSI USA News –
February 14, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: Environmental Crimes Bulletin – January 2025

Source: United States Attorneys General

View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins

In This Issue:

Cases by District/Circuit

District/Circuit	Case Name	Statute(s)
District of Alaska	United States v. Jun Liang, et al.	Big Game Hunting/Lacey Act
Eastern District of California	United States v. Pir Danish Ali, et al.	Wildlife Smuggling/ Conspiracy
Southern District of California	United States v. Ruben Montes, et al.	Pesticide and Veterinary Drug Smuggling/Conspiracy
	United States v. Todd Campbell	Refrigerant Smuggling/Failure to Declare Merchandise for Inspection
	United States v. Edwin Flores	Refrigerant Smuggling/ Conspiracy
Middle District of Georgia	United States v. Donnametric Miller, et al.	Dog Fighting/Animal Welfare Act, Conspiracy, Felon in Possession
District of Idaho	United States v. Jeremy Pierce, et al.	Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act
District of Maryland	United States v. Mario Flythe, et al.	Dog Fighting/ Conspiracy, Racketeering
District of New Jersey	United States v. Darren McClave, et al.	Clam Harvesting/ Conspiracy, Obstruction
Eastern District of New York	United States v. Bryan Gosman, et al.	Fish Overharvesting/ Conspiracy, Fraud, Obstruction
Southern District of Ohio	United States v. Joel Brown	Dog Fighting/Animal Welfare, Drug, Felon in Possession
Southern District of Ohio	United States v. Giancarlo Morelli, et al.	Animal Videos/Animal Crush
District of Oregon	United States v. J.H. Baxter & Co., Inc. et al.	Hazardous Waste Treatment and Emissions/Clean Air Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, False Statement
District of South Dakota	United States v. Joe Hofer	Eagle Nest Destruction/Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
Southern District of Texas	United States v. Andres Alejandro Sanchez	Wildlife Smuggling/Lacey Act
Southern District of Texas	United States v. Eurobulk Ltd., et al.	Vessel/Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships/ Obstruction
Eastern District of Washington	United States v. Ryan Hugh Milliken, et al.	Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act, Conspiracy
Western District of Washington	United States v. Tracy Coiteux, et al.	Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act, Conspiracy

Indictments

United States v. Joel Brown

No. 2:24-CR-00180 (Southern District of Ohio)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
AUSA Nicole Pakiz
AUSA Kevin Kelley

On January 22, 2025, a court unsealed an indictment following the arrest of Joel Brown. Brown is charged in a 13-count indictment with illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 USC §§ 922, 924; 7 USC § 2156(b); 21 USC § 841. Trial is scheduled for March 24, 2025.

Brown kept 11 pit bull-type dogs for fighting purposes in Franklin County. Columbus Humane rescued the dogs and authorities also recovered tools and supplies commonly used in the training and keeping of dogs for fighting. Brown also possessed a shotgun and various types of ammunition, as well as approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Columbus Humane conducted the investigation.

Guilty Pleas

United States v. Darren McClave, et al.

Nos. 3:24-CR-00824, 3:25-CR-00001 (District of New Jersey)
ECS Trial Attorney Christopher Hale
AUSA Kelly Lyons
Former AUSA Kathleen O’Leary

On January 2, 2025, Darren McClave pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2025.

McClave, captain of a clam vessel based out of New Jersey, was involved in a scheme to illegally harvest and sell excess scallops, violating federal fishing regulations. While clam vessels are authorized to take a limited quantity of scallops as bycatch, McClave routinely exceeded these limits and sold the surplus to Antonio Pereira, a seafood dealer. To cover up the overfishing, McClave and Pereira worked together to falsify the required Fishing Vessel Trip Reports and Dealer Reports mandated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Between October 2017 to April 2021, McClave sold over 64,000 pounds of illegal scallops to Pereira, making substantial profits from the illicit operation. Pereira, who participated in the conspiracy, pled guilty on December 19, 2024, to the same charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2025.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted the investigation.

United States v. Pir Danish Ali, et al.

No. 2:23-CR-00080 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Katherine Lydon
AUSA Whitnee Goins

On January 7, 2025, Jason K. Bruce pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle an endangered Ladakh urial trophy into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for May 20, 2025.

In March 2023, federal prosecutors charged Bruce and Pir Danish Ali, a Pakistani national, with conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act for making false statements and smuggling goods into the United States. Bruce also faced charges of smuggling and violating the Endangered Species Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545; 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(A), (g)).

Ali, the CEO of a hunting outfitting and guiding company in Pakistan, and Bruce, a recreational big game hunter, began their illegal scheme in February 2016. They conspired to hunt a Ladakh urial, an endangered wild sheep in Pakistan, and smuggle the trophy into the United States. Bruce was aware that exporting this species from Pakistan was illegal. In the lead-up to the hunt, the two agreed that, if successful, Bruce would present forged documents to U.S. officials, falsely identifying the Ladakh urial as a different species when bringing it into the United States.

In December 2016, Bruce paid Ali $50,000 for the hunt. In April 2017, Bruce successfully shot the Ladakh urial. Between 2017 and 2018, Bruce made several trips between the U.S. and Pakistan to facilitate the illegal smuggling of the trophy.

On March 29, 2018, Bruce arrived at San Francisco International Airport from Pakistan with eight hunting trophies in his baggage, including the Ladakh urial. He was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection who alerted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials. Bruce presented forged export documents purporting to be issued by Pakistani authorities.

Further investigation revealed that, between 2013 and 2018, at least 25 people who had hunted with Ali’s company presented forged documents to import at least 97 hunting trophies into the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jeremy Pierce, et al.

No. 4:24-CR-00240 (District of Idaho)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Cassie Barnum
RCEC Karla G. Perrin

On January 7, 2025, Jeremy Pierce pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act for tampering with a monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). Pierce admitted to being involved in deleting and tuning vehicles at Gorilla Performance, a repair shop in Rexburg, Idaho, owned by his brother, Barry Pierce. Sentencing is set for March 26, 2025.

In addition, Jeremy Pierce’s company, Pierce Diesel Performance, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act for providing technical support to customers nationwide who purchased tuning devices and tunes from Barry Pierce’s company, Gorilla Diesel Performance (18 U.S.C. § 371).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Andres Alejandro Sanchez

No. 24-CR-01264 (Southern District of Texas)
AUSA Tory Sailer
Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn

On January 10, 2025, Andres Alejandro Sanchez pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally importing a spider monkey into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).

On October 7, 2024, Sanchez travelled from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, and failed to declare a spider monkey he had in his vehicle to Customs and Border Protection officers as he attempted to cross the border.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Ruben Montes, et al.

No. 23-CR-02377 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Steve DaPonte
AUSA Elizabet Brown

On January 16, 2025, Ruben Montes pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle and distribute more than $3 million worth of Mexican pesticides and veterinary drugs that are not approved for use in the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

Beginning in November 2020, Montes coordinated the smuggling of pesticides and veterinary drugs from Mexico into the United States. Montes smuggled these chemicals and drugs into the country and distributed them within the United States. The primary pesticides involved were Taktic and Bovitraz, which are not registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in the United States. The smuggled veterinary drugs included Tylocet, Terramicina, Tetragent Ares, and Catarrol, which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.

Montes and others stored the pesticides and veterinary drugs in storage units in Calexico to distribute them throughout the United States.

Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations Division, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control conducted the investigation.

United States v. Donnametric Miller, et al.

No. 1:24-CR-00005 (Middle District of Georgia)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
ECS Trial Attorney Leigh Rende
ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer

On January 21, 2025, Donnametric Miller pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and transporting and possessing a dog for the purpose of having the dog participate in an animal fighting venture. Miller also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm (7 U.S.C. §§ 2156(b), (a)(1); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922, 924). Miller is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in a dog fighting case involving participants from several states. Co-defendants Terelle Ganzy and Terrance Davis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and participating in an animal fighting venture.

On November 22, 2024, co-defendants Fredricus White, Brandon Baker, Rodrecus Kimble, Tamichael Elijah, Timothy Freeman, Gary Hopkins, and Marvin Pulley entered guilty pleas for their involvement in a large-scale dog fighting event that was disrupted while in progress on April 24, 2022, in Donalsonville, Georgia. White and Baker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possessing and transporting a dog for animal fighting purposes. Freeman pleaded guilty to being a spectator at the event, and Kimble, Elijah, Hopkins, and Pulley pleaded guilty to conspiracy. On December 16, 2024, Herman Buggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Prosecutors charged a total of 14 defendants who traveled from southwest Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to participate in this event. Agents recovered 27 dogs, including 22 who were found in cars on the scene and had either already been fought, or whose handlers were awaiting their turn in the pit. Agents found one dog still in the fighting pit, who later succumbed to his injuries, as well as others living on the property who were owned by the event host.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

United States v. J.H. Baxter & Co., Inc. et al.

No. 6:24-CR-00441 (District of Oregon)
ECS Trial Attorney Rachel M. Roberts
ECS Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster
AUSA William M. McLaren
RCEC Karla G. Perrin
ECS Paralegal Maria Wallace
Former ECS Paralegal Samantha Goins

On January 22, 2025, J.H. Baxter & Co., Inc., and J.H. Baxter & Co., a California Limited Partnership (collectively “J.H. Baxter”) both pleaded guilty to charges of illegally treating hazardous waste and knowingly violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(2)(A); 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)). The companies’ president, Georgia Baxter-Krause, pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (42 U.S.C. § 6928 (d)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2025.

J.H. Baxter used hazardous chemicals to treat and preserve wood at its Eugene facility. The wastewater from the wood preserving processes was hazardous waste. The company operated a wastewater treatment unit to treat and evaporate the waste. Over the years, however, when the facility accumulated too much water on site, employees transferred this water to a wood treatment retort to “boil it off,” greatly reducing the volume. J.H. Baxter would then remove the waste that remained, label it as hazardous waste, and ship it offsite for disposal.

J.H. Baxter did not have a RCRA permit to treat its waste in this manner. Additionally, the facility was subject to CAA emissions standards. Company employees were directed to open all vents on the retorts, allowing discharge to the surrounding air.

State inspectors requested information about J.H. Baxter’s practice of boiling off hazardous wastewater. On two separate occasions (September 28 and 30, 2020), Baxter-Krause made false statements in response to these requests regarding the dates the practice took place, and which retorts were used. The investigation determined that Baxter-Krause knew J.H. Baxter maintained detailed daily production logs for each retort.

From approximately January to October 2019, J.H. Baxter boiled off hazardous process wastewater in its wood treatment retorts on 136 known days. Baxter-Krause was also aware that during this time J.H. Baxter used four of its five retorts to boil off wastewater.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon State Police.

United States v. Giancarlo Morelli, et al.

No. 1:24-CR-00066 (Southern District of Ohio)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
AUSA Tim Oakley
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On January 27, 2025, Giancarlo Morelli pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to create and distribute videos depicting the torture of monkeys (known as animal “crush” videos) (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Prosecutors charged Morelli, along with Nicholas Dryden and Philip Colt Moss, with various crimes related to these videos. The indictment states that Dryden commissioned videos from a 17-year-old in Indonesia who was willing to commit specified acts of torture on video in exchange for payment. Dryden utilized Telegram, a cross-platform messaging app that includes encrypted group messaging and private chats, to advertise the animal crush videos and solicit funding for additional videos. Within these private groups, Dryden shared snippets of videos that he commissioned and advertised that the full content was for sale.

Moss and Morelli each sent money to Dryden more than a dozen times in exchange for monkey torture videos. Thereafter, they frequently gave feedback on the videos and Morelli sometimes suggested torturous acts he’d like to see in future videos.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

Sentencings

United States v. Todd Campbell

No. 3:24-CR-01972 (Southern District of California)
AUSA Edward Chang

On January 2, 2025, a court sentenced Todd Campbell to complete a 12-month term of probation and pay $8,808 in restitution to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Campbell pleaded guilty to failure to declare merchandise for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 (b)(2), 1436).

On September 3, 2024, Campbell drove his vehicle into the United States from Mexico at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Inside his vehicle, he was carrying seven 30-pound cylinders of R-22 refrigerant, which he intentionally failed to declare for inspection. As a result of Campbell’s actions, the EPA was forced to properly dispose of the refrigerant, incurring a cost of $8,808.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Bryan Gosman, et al.

No. 2:21-CR-00217 (Eastern District of New York)
ECS Trial Attorney Christopher Hale
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ken Nelson
Former ECS Paralegal Samantha Goins
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman

On January 6, 2025, a court ordered Christopher Winkler to pay $725,000 in restitution to the New York State Marine Resources Account of the Conservation Fund. The court also ordered Bryan and Asa Gosman to pay a combined restitution amount of $247,297 to the same fund. All three defendants—Winkler, Asa Gosman, and Bryan Gosman—are jointly and severally liable for $247,297 in restitution. Winkler alone is responsible for paying $477,703 to the fund, bringing his total restitution amount to $725,000.

In November 2024, a court sentenced Bryan and Asa Gosman to two years of probation, noting their “extraordinary cooperation” as the basis for the probation sentence.

In October 2023, after a three-week trial, a jury found Christopher Winkler guilty on all charges, including conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1341, 1519). Winkler, a commercial fisherman and captain of the F/V New Age, participated in a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass, violating federal fishing regulations. He conspired to commit mail fraud, falsified fishing logs to obstruct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and worked to undermine NOAA’s efforts to regulate fisheries. Winkler was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $725,000.

Between 2014 and 2017, Winkler was involved in a scheme to illegally overharvest summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass, exceeding both federal quotas and state trip limits. To conceal the overharvesting, he falsified Fishing Vessel Trip Reports (FVTRs) on at least 200 fishing trips. In total, Winkler and his co-conspirators illegally harvested approximately 200,000 pounds of fluke and black sea bass, with an estimated wholesale value of $750,000.

Bryan and Asa Gosman, and the company they partially own, Bob Gosman Co., Inc., had previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the fraud. The company was sentenced in December 2021 for its role in the illegal overharvesting operation. Under federal law, fishing captains are required to accurately report their catch on FVTRs submitted to NOAA, which relies on these reports to regulate fisheries and enforce sustainable fishing practices. Similarly, the first company to purchase fish from a fishing vessel must file a dealer report with NOAA.

NOAA Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Edwin Flores

No. 3:24-CR-00993 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
Former AUSA Melanie Pierson

On January 7, 2025, a court sentenced Edwin Flores to complete a one-year term of probation and to pay $2,900 in restitution to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Flores pleaded guilty to conspiracy and failing to present merchandise for inspection by a customs officer (18 U.S.C. § 371).

On April 18, 2024, Flores drove a vehicle across the U.S.-Mexico border with three 30-pound cylinders of HCFC-22 that he failed to present for inspection.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jun Liang, et al.

No. 4:23-CR-00013 (District of Alaska)
AUSA Steve Skrocki
AUSA Carly Sue Vosacek

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jun “Harry” Liang to time served (110 days), followed by two years’ supervised release. Liang also will pay a $10,060 fine and $9,100 in restitution to the Bureau of Land Management.

Prosecutors charged Liang and Brian Phelan for participating in an illegal big-game guide-outfitter operation. Between August 2021 and August 2022, Liang and Phelan conspired to provide guide-outfitter services for caribou and brown bear hunts in Fairbanks, Alaska, without the required state licenses to do so.

Liang posted advertisements on the ‘Little Red Book’ social media site offering guiding and outfitting services for big-game hunts out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Interested hunters sent deposits to Liang, who promised to locate and scout trophy animals that could be transported out of state. However, neither Liang nor Phelan possessed a State of Alaska big game guide-outfitter license. Liang fraudulently collected about $11,000 in 2021 and $60,000 in 2022, on behalf of himself and Phelan, for these guided hunts.

Liang pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act false labeling violation (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(b)), for failing to obtain a special recreation permit and operating in Denali National Park without the necessary permit. Phelan was sentenced in December 2024 to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a 30-month term of probation after pleading guilty to violating the Lacey Act and Bureau of Land Management regulations.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Alaska State Troopers Wildlife Investigations Unit.

United States v. Joe Hofer

No. 4:24-CR-40091 (District of South Dakota)
AUSA Meghan Dilges

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Joe Hofer to pay a $1,200 fine and complete a one-year term of probation for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 668(a), 668(c)).

Hofer is the farm boss for the Cambridge Hutterian Brethren (CHB) in Lake County, South Dakota. In November 2023, Hofer used CHB farm equipment to take down trees on property owned by CHB. One of the trees Hofer took down contained an active eagle nest, which was destroyed. Hofer did not have a permit to take down the eagle’s nest.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conducted the investigation.

United States v. Tracy Coiteux, et al.

No. 3:21-CR-05184 (Western District of Washington)
AUSA Seth Wilkinson
AUSA Cindy Chang
RCEC Karla G. Perrin

On January 13, 2025, a court sentenced Racing Performance Maintenance Northwest (RPM) and a related sales company called RPM Motors and Sales NW (RPM Motors) to each pay $10,000 fines and to complete three-year terms of probation. In March 2024, RPM pleaded guilty to tampering with a monitoring device in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA)(42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)) and RPM Motors pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371).

In November 2024, the court had sentenced the companies’ owners, Tracy Coiteux and Sean Coiteux, to each pay $10,000 fines, complete four-year terms of probation (to include four months’ home confinement) and perform 60 hours of community service. Sean Coiteux had pleaded guilty in March 2024 to tampering with a monitoring device in violation of the CAA (42 U.S.C. 7413(c)(2)(C)). In May 2024, Tracy Coiteux was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial on conspiracy to violate the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).

Between January 2018 and January 2021, the defendants directed employees to delete pollution control hardware on diesel trucks they sold or serviced. They also tampered with the trucks’ monitoring devices to avoid detection of the missing control equipment. The Coiteux’s companies charged between $1,000 and $2,000 for each modification. Over a three-year period, the defendants serviced close to 375 diesel trucks, collecting more than $500,000 for these illegal modifications.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Ryan Hugh Milliken, et al.

No. 2:24-CR-00057 (Eastern District of Washington)
AUSA Dan Fruchter
AUSA Jacob Brooks

On January 22, 2025, a court sentenced Ryan Hugh Milliken and his company, Hardaway Solutions, LLC (Hardaway), after both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). They both will complete five-year terms of probation, during which the company will be responsible for implementing an environmental compliance plan. Both defendants are jointly and severally responsible for paying a $75,000 fine.

Between August 2017 and November 2023, Milliken and Hardway created and sold illegal “delete tune” packages designed to disable and defeat required emissions controls and monitoring systems. Milliken and Hardway created and sold these delete tune files for various customers and vehicles, including Spokane-based trucking companies —PT Express, LLC, Spokane Truck Service, LLC, and Pauls Trans, LLC—operated by co-defendant Pavel Ivanovich Turlak. Milliken created and sold custom software delete tunes to Turlak for vehicles based on specifications Turlak outlined. Turlak then charged as much as $3,500 to diesel truck owners to “delete” and “tune” their vehicles by tampering with their pollution monitoring devices. Turlak also fraudulently received more than $300,000 in federal funding designated for eligible small businesses during the pandemic.

Turlak and his companies pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiring to illegally violate CAA emissions controls and to fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief funding (42 U.S.C. § 7413 (c)(2)(C); 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343, 287). Both defendants are scheduled for sentencing on April 2, 2025.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the EPA National Enforcement Investigations Center, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Spokane Police Department.

United States v. Mario Flythe, et al.

No. 23-CR-00354 (District of Maryland)
AUSA Alexander Levin
AUSA Darryl Tarver

On January 23, 2025, a court sentenced Mario Flythe to six months incarceration followed by three years of supervised release, to include six months’ home detention. Flythe also will pay a $10,000 fine.

Flythe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in animal fighting, specifically the fighting of dogs, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1952). Between November 2018 and September 2023, Flythe and co-defendant Frederick Douglass Moorfield, Jr., operated a kennel called “Razor Sharp Kennels,” using Flythe’s residence to keep, train, and breed fighting dogs.

Flythe’s cellphone revealed numerous message exchanges regarding dogfighting—primarily over the instant messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram—with members of a group known as the “DMV Board.” In addition to arranging dog fights and wagers, Flythe and the DMV Board discussed the breeding and training of fighting dogs, procuring supplies for the maintenance and feeding of fighting dogs, and criminal prosecutions of dogfighters. In some exchanges, Flythe and others discussed indictments of other members of the DMV Board and speculated about the identity of a potential “snitch.”

Flythe’s instant messages also contained several exchanges in which he arranged dogfights. In those conversations, Flythe identified the weight and sex of the dog he wanted to sponsor in a fight. Other dogfighters then proposed a fight against their own dog or matched Flythe with another of their contacts who had a dog in the same weight class. The dogfighters would then agree on wagers and set a date for the fight, usually six to eight weeks after the match was made.

On several occasions between 2019 and 2023, Flythe received monetary payments through CashApp related to his participation in dogfighting conduct. Flythe also sent money to dogfighting contacts in connection with the dogfighting enterprise.

After executing a search of Flythe’s residence in September 2023, investigators recovered seven pit bull-type dogs from the premises. Four dogs were found chained to posts or poles in fenced-in cages in the property’s back yard, and three dogs were found in large metal cages in the basement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

United States v. Eurobulk Ltd., et al.

Nos. 2:24-CR-00655, 2:24-CR-00368 (Southern District of Texas)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson
AUSA Liesel Roscher
AUSA John Marck
ECS Paralegal Maria Wallace

On January 29, 2025, Eurobulk Ltd. pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging the company with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a); 18 U.S.C. § 1519). The court sentenced the company to pay a total criminal penalty of $1,500,000 and complete a four-year term of probation.

Eurobulk operated the M/V Good Heart, which transported bulk cargo worldwide. On April 29, 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a Port State Control examination of the vessel and received information from a whistleblower about illegal discharges of oil from the vessel. On at least two occasions in April 2023, the vessel’s crew discharged oily waste directly overboard from a space known as the “duct keel.” These discharges were not recorded in the oil record book (ORB). The crew also flushed the oil content meter with fresh water to ensure the oil water separator would allow the illegal overboard discharges. The crew failed to record these actions in the ORB, which obstructed the investigation. Christos Charitos, the vessel’s chief engineer, was sentenced in September 2024 to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation after pleading guilty to violating APPS.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins

MIL Security OSI –

February 14, 2025

Category: Business

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Updates to this page

Impunity is rampant

There is no justice

Symbolic justice

‘Look at us’

Femicide transcends borders

‘The Eastern question’

Secret negotiations

Borders moulded by colonial powers

Ripples that continue today

What we see is what we get

Unhealthy foods are big, cheap and easy

Creating healthier food environments

The coming Russia-Ukraine test

Discord in the Pacific

Struggling to find a voice

Debt and development

Political will: Commitment or fatigue?

Where next for the SDGs?

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