NewzIntel.com

Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI: Pacvue Expands to Discovery Commerce with TikTok Shop & Advertising Integration

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LOS ANGELES, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacvue, the leading commerce acceleration platform that integrates retail media, commerce management and measurement, today announced the integration of TikTok Shop and Shop Ads into its commerce SaaS solution. Enterprise brands and agencies can now manage their TikTok Shop account operations and advertising through Pacvue’s comprehensive platform, offering a unified view of performance across commerce channels. This integration effort goes beyond just enterprise capabilities, also empowering SMB sellers to expand their ecommerce strategy to TikTok Shop through Helium 10, a Pacvue company. The new integration enables brands and sellers of all sizes to manage their shoppable social campaign strategies, tap into new audiences and optimize performance with Pacvue’s advanced features and tools.

    “Pacvue is a leading platform that seamlessly integrates layers of TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Ads alongside advanced retail media and commerce activations for 100+ global marketplaces,” said Sunava Dutta, Chief Product Officer at Pacvue. “Brands and agencies are now empowered to unlock the massive potential of discovery commerce, receive 360° insights across their digital presence and gain a significant advantage in the rapidly evolving commerce landscape.”

    This integration of TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Ads, combined with Pacvue’s existing retail media and commerce activation capabilities, provides a central hub for launching, optimizing and tracking advertising efforts.

    For emerging brands and SMBs, Helium 10, a Pacvue company, delivers the most accessible and powerful way to expand existing ecommerce operations to TikTok Shop. For the first time, sellers will have access to listing tools, financial reporting solutions and inventory management with creator discovery within one subscription through Helium 10.

    “At Helium 10, we’re empowering entrepreneurs worldwide to start, grow and scale their ecommerce businesses, and we’re thrilled to announce that sellers can now expand their ecommerce operations to TikTok Shop directly through Helium 10,” said Zoe Lu, EVP at Helium 10. “Pacvue and Helium 10 can deliver increased sales and revenue, a competitive advantage and data-driven insights to track how campaigns are performing. And we’re excited to bring the power of TikTok Shop to more users.”

    Key features of the integration include:

    • TikTok Shop Setup & Management: Pacvue and Helium 10 offer a seamless TikTok Shop setup directly within the platform, featuring centralized inventory management and leveraging existing marketplace inventory data.
    • TikTok Shop Ads Creation & Management: End-to-end campaign creation, management and optimization for TikTok Shop Ads with access to Pacvue’s advanced tools and capabilities enabling cross-channel consistency.
    • Unified Platform Integration: Holistic management of TikTok Shops and Ads within the same platform used to manage advertising and operations for other marketplaces, including Amazon, Walmart, Target and 100+ other global retailers.

    Together, Pacvue and Helium 10 offer solutions for brands looking to join TikTok Shop for businesses of every size, all powered by one fully integrated commerce operating system trusted by over 70,000+ brands and agencies and a community of 2M+ Chrome extension users.

    To learn more about Pacvue’s TikTok integration and to book a demo, visit: https://pacvue.com/book-a-demo/.

    About Pacvue:
    Pacvue is the leading commerce acceleration platform that integrates retail media, commerce management and measurement. The company’s first-to-market platform drives incrementality, profitability and market share for brands, while turning insights into actionable recommendations. Backed by a global team of experts, Pacvue works with over 70,000 brands and agencies across 95+ retailers worldwide including Amazon, Walmart, Target and Instacart. With the incorporation of Pacvue’s enterprise solution with Helium 10 for SMBs, Pacvue is now the most comprehensive commerce and retail media platform available in the market. Founded in 2018, their global presence includes locations in Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, London, Shanghai and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.pacvue.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. Announces Continued Enhancement of Intellectual Property Portfolio with Two Granted U.S. Patents and European Patent Application Allowance Regarding Company’s Lead Compound CER-1236

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Results in 18 Issued Patents and Allowed Patent Applications Internationally with Nine Total Patent Families

    SOUTH SAN FRANSCISCO, Calif., June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., (Nasdaq: CERO) (“CERo” or the “Company”) an innovative immunotherapy company seeking to advance the next generation of  engineered T cell therapeutics that deploy phagocytic (i.e., target-cell eating) mechanisms alongside the array of built-in target cell destroying  mechanisms used by T cells, announces two previously announced U.S. patent applications have been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and one European patent application has been allowed by  the European Patent Office, all of which significantly expand the Company’s intellectual property portfolio.

    The USPTO granted U.S. Patent No. 12,291,557, titled, “CHIMERIC TIM4 RECEPTORS AND USES THEREOF” on May 6, 2025.  The granted claims cover certain design aspects of CER-1236, the Company’s lead compound.  This patent provides composition of matter protection for a chimeric TIM4 receptor comprising a TIM4 binding domain and canonical T cell signaling domains.

    Additionally, the European Patent Office has allowed European Patent Application No. 1882166.7 titled, “CHIMERIC ENGULFMENT RECEPTOR MOLECULES AND METHODS OF USE”  on May 16, 2025.  The allowed claims encompass a chimeric engulfment receptor comprising a TIM4 binding domain and TLR2 signaling domain. The allowance of this European patent application expands protection of additional design aspects of CER-1236, which have already been granted in the U.S., Japan, and China.   

    Finally, the USPTO granted U.S. Patent No. 12,303,551, titled, “CELLULAR IMMUNOTHERAPY COMPOSITIONS AND USES THEREOF,” on May 20, 2025. This patent provides coverage for combination cellular immunotherapy compositions  and methods of use for CER-1236. The patent covers combination of a chimeric engulfment receptor CD4+ T cell (CD4+ CER-T cell) with a chimeric antigen receptor CD8+  T cell (CD8+ CAR-T cell) or T cell receptor CD8+ T cell (CD8+ TCR-T cell), and their use to treat cancer. This type of combination therapy could be an exciting avenue to complement the CER-T cell technology with other powerful anti-cancer therapies. CERo’s intellectual property portfolio now includes 9 total patent families with protection out to 2042 in the United States.

    With these additional granted patents and allowed application, CER-1236 and its platform technology is supported by 18 total issued patents and allowed patent application internationally.

    Chris Ehrlich, CERo Therapeutics CEO, commented, “We continue to aggressively expand our intellectual property portfolio, as it ensures CERo’s success in the market. These patents protect the core innovations of the CER-T technology that differentiate it from other cell therapies and demonstrate the true novelty of our design .  We continue to seek a robust range of patents across multiple geographies that cover this technology in general, and CER-1236 in particular. The appreciation of the novelty of the CER-T technology by the patent offices validates the innovation and therapeutic potential of this approach, and we believe that we will continue to grow the portfolio. In the near term, we anticipate updates on our clinical trial progress in AML, and the announcement of initiating human trials to treat ovarian and non-small cell lung cancers.”

    About CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc.

    CERo is an innovative immunotherapy company advancing the development of next generation engineered T cell therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Its proprietary approach to T cell engineering, which enables it to integrate certain desirable characteristics of both innate and adaptive immunity into a single therapeutic construct, is designed to engage the body’s full immune repertoire to achieve optimized cancer therapy. This novel cellular immunotherapy platform is expected to redirect patient-derived T cells to eliminate tumors by building in engulfment pathways that employ phagocytic mechanisms to destroy cancer cells, creating what CERo refers to as Chimeric Engulfment Receptor T cells (“CER-T”). CERo believes the differentiated activity of CER-T cells will afford them greater therapeutic application than currently approved chimeric antigen receptor (“CAR-T”) cell therapy, as the use of CER-T may potentially span both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. CERo has commenced clinical trials for its lead product candidate CER-1236 for hematological malignancies.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This communication contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements regarding the financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations of CERo. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements, and are not guarantees of performance. Such statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. When used in this communication, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strive,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. When CERo discusses its strategies or plans, it is making projections, forecasts or forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to, CERo’s management.

    Actual results could differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements in this communication. Certain risks that could cause actual results to differ are set forth in CERo’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and the documents incorporated by reference therein. The risks described in CERo’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are not exhaustive. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can CERo assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements made by CERo or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. CERo undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Contact:
    Chris Ehrlich
    Chief Executive Officer
    chris@cero.bio

    Investors:
    CORE IR
    investors@cero.bio

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ACP Announces Former House Republican Conference General Counsel Tara Hupman as Vice President of External Affairs

    Source: American Clean Power Association (ACP)

    Headline: ACP Announces Former House Republican Conference General Counsel Tara Hupman as Vice President of External Affairs

    WASHINGTON D.C., June 2, 2025 —  The American Clean Power Association (ACP) today announced that Tara Hupman will join ACP as Vice President of External Affairs, effective June 3. A talented congressional and public policy strategist, Hupman has strong expertise and experience across key congressional committees. She brings more than a decade of senior-level experience on Capitol Hill, and will strengthen ACP’s advocacy and political engagement at a critical time for the clean energy industry.
    “Tara is a highly respected leader with deep relationships across Congressional leadership and the committees that shape America’s energy future,” said Frank Macchiarola, ACP Chief Advocacy Officer. “Her skill and experience will be instrumental in advancing our advocacy priorities. Our industry is the fastest growing part of the energy sector and to meet growing electricity demand, we need policies in place to accelerate the deployment of additional clean power. Tara will play a critical role in helping to make this happen. I’m pleased to welcome Tara to the ACP team.”
    In her new role, Hupman will help lead ACP’s government affairs strategy, including federal outreach, PAC operations, and mobilization efforts. She will also work closely with ACP’s state affairs team to ensure alignment between state and federal advocacy priorities.
    Hupman most recently served as General Counsel to the House Republican Conference under Chairwoman Lisa McClain. She also previously served as Chief Counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. Additionally, she held counsel roles on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Small Business Committee, and served as a professional staff member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Canada should apply labour protections to the rental housing sector

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Elliot Goodell Ugalde, Phd Student, Queen’s University, Ontario

    Gregor Robertson, Canada’s new housing minister, was likely tapped for the job on the basis of his decade as Vancouver’s mayor, where he introduced zoning changes, incentives for rental construction and the country’s first empty-homes tax.

    Those moves nudged supply but fell short: housing designed specifically for renting trickled in slowly and the city’s homeless count hit a 13-year high of 2,181 in 2018.

    Robertson once blamed the housing shortfall on tight-fisted provincial and federal budgets. Now that he controls part of that money, he can test his claim. He can plug a hole his municipal toolkit never could by being, as he vowed in 2018, “more abrasive and more vocal”, and by coupling fresh federal dollars with legal protections that empower tenants to bargain collectively.

    The urgency is clear: one-third of Canadians rent, yet tenant unions, though legal to form, have no right to negotiate.

    This absence of statutory protection for tenants is often treated as a policy oversight. By withholding legal recognition, lawmakers preserve a model that allows landlords to negotiate from a position of structural dominance as tenants confront systemic harms — rent hikes, unsafe conditions and evictions — all on their own.

    Canada’s rental ‘crisis’

    Soaring rents and evictions have been described as a temporary “housing crisis.”

    But researchers at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives counter that the market is not broken; it works exactly as designed. Calling it a crisis justifies “extraordinary” fixes — most often lower interest rates that lure first time home-buyers to take on debt larger than they should, according to Canadian policy scholar Ricardo Tranjan in his book The Tenant Class.

    The results are structural, not temporary: median national rent for a one-bedroom dwelling now tops $2,000, vacancy rates sit below two per cent and 33.1 per cent of renters spend more than 30 per cent of income on shelter. That’s the rent-burden line — the threshold used to determine if a household is struggling to afford housing — of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC).

    Since the 1990s, the CMHC has replaced public construction with mortgage-insurance programs that flood markets with credit, kicking the can down the road. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s choice of Robertson as housing minister has advanced a familiar credit-led package: GST rebates for first-time buyers.

    When asked whether housing prices should fall, Robertson said “no,” arguing that wages will eventually catch up — an adjustment economists project would take roughly 20 years even if prices stopped rising today.

    Expanding credit under these conditions is more likely to swell asset values than improve affordability, trading a housing emergency for an indebtedness emergency.

    Collective action without collective rights

    Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) typifies Canada’s token approach to renter power. It affirms tenants’ right to form associations but, in the very next clause, excuses landlords from any obligation to meet or negotiate with them. The result is performative legality: tenants can speak but landlords are free to ignore them.

    The chilling effect resembles pre-industrial labour markets, where organizing invited dismissal. Recent history confirms the weakness.

    In 2023, the tenants of 33 King Street in northwest Toronto mounted a five-month rent strike and won partial rollbacks, but the tribunal still refused to recognize their union; every renter had to sign a separate settlement. By settling disputes that way, the system drains collective power and drags cases through attritional timelines that encourage capitulation.

    Canada confronted a parallel power imbalance during industrialization. Early 20th-century governments criminalized picketing and blacklisted organizers. The upheavals of the Great Depression forced Ottawa to adopt the Wartime Labour Relations Regulations (1944) and the Industrial Relations and Disputes Investigation Act (1948).

    Those statutes codified three enduring principles:

    1. Workers may unionize free from employer interference;
    2. Employers must bargain in good faith with a certified union;
    3. Violations trigger meaningful remedies, including reinstatement and damages.

    Legislators acted not from moral awakening, but to temper exploitation and preserve social stability.

    Housing now mirrors that earlier asymmetry: corporate landlords command capital, legal expertise and mobility, while tenants have none of that power. Extending labour-style protections to tenant unions would simply apply a proven regulatory formula to rental housing.

    Counter-arguments

    Landlord associations often voice four main objections to statutory tenant-union rights: the anticipated administrative burden, the spectre of disinvestment, purported constitutional limits and a moral claim that responsible owners don’t need to be legally compelled to act in good faith.

    Labour history suggests these concerns are overstated.

    As Tranjan recalls, reputable employers already paid decent wages and offered sick leave before such standards were legislated. Regulation merely imposed a baseline on those profiting from exploitation.

    In housing, conscientious landlords who maintain units, honour rent control and eschew predatory fees wouldn’t require mandatory bargaining or anti-retaliation clauses. But those enriching themselves through vacancy decontrol, renovictions or steep rent hikes would. Their resistance to tenant protections underscores their necessity.

    Empirical evidence further weakens objections.

    First, administrative overload is improbable: collective bargaining consolidates individual grievances into a single agreement, dramatically reducing repeat hearings, and the system would work the same in landlord-tenant tribunals.

    Second, claims that stronger tenant rights deter investment clash with comparative experience. In Vienna, where nearly half of all dwellings fall under tenant councils wielding union-like powers and stringent rent regulation, construction activity remains robust and affordability stable;

    Third, constitutional concerns are overstated. Although landlord–tenant law is chiefly provincial, the federal government already shapes rental markets through CMHC insurance, targeted tax expenditures and the National Housing Strategy Act, which recognizes adequate housing as a human right.

    Ottawa could condition financing on tenant-union recognition or incentivize provinces to harmonize standards, echoing its mid-20th century push for uniform labour legislation.

    Historical precedent and evidence across the country make clear that formalizing tenant-union protections is constitutional, would streamline dispute resolution and sustain construction — substantially benefiting the one-third of Canadians who rent without destabilizing the housing market.



    Read more:
    How corporate landlords are eroding affordable housing — and prioritizing profits over human rights

    Collective rights for collective problems

    To make housing genuinely affordable, Robertson must see Canada’s rental sector not as a malfunctioning “crisis” but as a lucrative system of organized inequality.

    Legislators once recognized that individual workers could not bargain fairly with industrial adversaries and created the collective-bargaining framework that undergirds labour relations today. Housing demands the same logic.

    Tenant unions already operate in neighbourhoods such as Toronto’s Thorncliffe Park, Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant and Montréal’s Rosemont. But without legal status, landlords can simply ignore them.

    Federal legislation could correct this imbalance. Automatic certification would follow when a simple majority of tenants in a building sign membership cards, triggering a duty for landlords to bargain in good faith over rent increases, maintenance schedules, security of tenure and essential services.



    Read more:
    Financial firms are driving up rent in Toronto — and targeting the most vulnerable tenants

    Anti-retaliation clauses would bar eviction or harassment of organizing tenants, with remedies mirroring labour law: reinstatement, damages and arbitration to deter stalling.

    Negotiated standards could be applied across neighbourhoods while still allowing investors reasonable but socially responsible returns.

    Granting labour-style protections to tenant unions is hardly radical; it simply extends a principle Canada embraced nearly a century ago: collective problems require collective rights.

    Renters cannot wait for market forces to self-correct. Recognizing and regulating tenant unions is the most direct route to balancing power, safeguarding homes and treating housing as a human right rather than an asset class.

    Elliot Goodell Ugalde is affiliated with The Kingston and District Labour Council.

    Natalie Braun 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. Why Canada should apply labour protections to the rental housing sector – https://theconversation.com/why-canada-should-apply-labour-protections-to-the-rental-housing-sector-257208

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: California plan to ban most plants within 5 feet of homes for wildfire safety overlooks some important truths about flammability

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Max Moritz, Wildfire Specialist, University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor at the Bren School, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of California, Santa Barbara

    Photos after the Los Angeles fires in January 2025 show many yards where vegetation didn’t burn while neighboring houses did. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

    One of the most striking patterns in the aftermath of many urban fires is how much unburned green vegetation remains amid the wreckage of burned neighborhoods.

    In some cases, a row of shrubs may be all that separates a surviving house from one that burned just a few feet away.

    As scientists who study how vegetation ignites and burns, we recognize that well-maintained plants and trees can actually help protect homes from wind-blown embers and slow the spread of fire in some cases. So, we are concerned about new wildfire protection regulations being developed by the state of California that would prohibit almost all plants and other combustible material within 5 feet of homes, an area known as “Zone 0.”

    Photos before and after the 2025 Palisades Fire show thick green vegetation between two closely spaced homes. The arrow shows the direction of the fire’s spread.
    Max Moritz; CAL FIRE Damage Inspection photos, CC BY

    Wildfire safety guidelines have long encouraged homeowners to avoid having flammable materials next to their homes. But the state’s plan for an “ember-resistant zone,” being expedited under an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom, goes further by also prohibiting grass, shrubs and many trees in that area.

    If that prohibition remains in the final regulation, it’s likely to be met with public resistance. Getting these rules right also matters beyond California, because regulations that originate in California often ripple outward to other fire-prone regions.

    Lessons from the devastation

    Research into how vegetation can reduce fire risk is a relatively new area of study. However, the findings from plant flammability studies and examination of patterns of where vegetation and homes survive large urban fires highlight its importance.

    When surviving plants do appear scorched after these fires, it is often on the side of the plant facing a nearby structure that burned. That suggests that wind-blown embers ignited houses first: The houses were then the fuel as the fire spread through the neighborhood.

    We saw this repeatedly in the Los Angeles area after wildfires destroyed thousands of homes in January 2025. The pattern suggests a need to focus on the many factors that can influence home losses.

    Shrubs in Zone 0 of a home did not ignite during the Eaton Fire, despite the home burning.
    Max Moritz

    Several guides are available that explain steps homeowners can take to help protect houses, particularly from wind-blown embers, known as home hardening.

    For example, installing rain gutter covers to keep dead leaves from accumulating, avoiding flammable siding and ensuring that vents have screens to prevent embers from getting into the attic or crawl space can lower the risk of the home catching fire.

    However, guidance related to landscaping plants varies greatly and can even be incorrect.

    For example, some “fire-safe” plant lists contain species that are drought tolerant but not necessarily fire resistant. What matters more for keeping plants from becoming fuel for fires is how well they’re maintained and whether they’re properly watered.

    How a plant bursts into flames

    When living plant material is heated by a nearby energy source, such as a fire, the moisture inside it must be driven off before it can ignite. That evaporation cools the surrounding area and lowers the plant’s flammability.

    In many cases, high moisture can actually keep a plant from igniting. We’ve seen this in some of our experimental work and in other studies that test the flammability of ornamental landscaping.

    With enough heat, dried leaves and stems can break down and volatilize into gases. And, at that point, a nearby spark or flame can ignite these gases and set the plant on fire.

    Plant flammability testing shows how quickly twigs, grasses, plants and leaves will burn at different moisture levels. The images on the right are from an experiment at the University of California’s South Coast Research and Extension Center to test flammability of a living but overly dry plant.
    Max Moritz (left); Luca Carmignani (right)

    Even when the plant does burn, however, its moisture content can limit other aspects of flammability, such as how hot it burns.

    Up to the point that they actually burn, green, well-maintained plants can slow the spread of a fire by serving as “heat sinks,” absorbing energy and even blocking embers. This apparent protective role has been observed in both Australia and California studies of home losses.

    How often vegetation buffers homes from igniting during urban conflagrations is still unclear, but this capability has implications for regulations.

    California’s ‘Zone 0’ regulations

    The Zone 0 regulations California’s State Board of Forestry is developing are part of broader efforts to reduce fire risk around homes and communities. They would apply in regions considered at high risk of wildfires or defended by CAL FIRE, the state’s firefighting agency.

    Many of the latest Zone 0 recommendations, such as prohibiting mulch and attached fences made of materials that can burn, stem from large-scale tests conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. These features can be systematically analyzed.

    But vegetation is far harder to model. The state’s proposed Zone 0 regulations oversimplify complex conditions in real neighborhoods and go beyond what is currently known from scientific research regarding plant flammability.

    Green lawns, trees and shrubs were still visible after the Eaton Fire burned homes in Altadena, Calif., in January 2025.
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    A mature, well-pruned shrub or tree with a high crown may pose little risk of burning and can even reduce exposure to fires by blocking wind and heat and intercepting embers. Aspen trees, for example, have been recommended to reduce fire risk near structures or other high-value assets.

    In contrast, dry, unmanaged plants under windows or near fences may ignite rapidly and make it more likely that the house itself will catch fire.

    As California and other states develop new wildfire regulations, they need to recognize the protective role that well-managed plants can play, along with many other benefits of urban vegetation.

    We believe the California proposal’s current emphasis on highly prescriptive vegetation removal, instead of on maintenance, is overly simplistic. Without complementary requirements for hardening the homes themselves, widespread clearing of landscaping immediately around homes could do little to reduce risk and have unintended consequences.

    Max Moritz has nothing to disclose.

    Luca Carmignani has nothing to disclose.

    – ref. California plan to ban most plants within 5 feet of homes for wildfire safety overlooks some important truths about flammability – https://theconversation.com/california-plan-to-ban-most-plants-within-5-feet-of-homes-for-wildfire-safety-overlooks-some-important-truths-about-flammability-257109

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 3 ways the government can silence opinions it disagrees with, without using censorship

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Gregory P. Magarian, Thomas and Karole Green Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis

    The government can make you silence yourself — out of fear. Deepak Sethi, iStock/Getty Images Plus

    When most people think of how governments stifle free speech, they think of censorship. That’s when a government directly blocks or suppresses speech. In the past, the federal government has censored speech in various ways. It has tried to block news outlets from publishing certain stories. It has punished political dissenters. It has banned sales of “obscene” books.

    Today, however, the federal government rarely tries to censor speech so crudely. It has less blatant but very effective ways to suppress dissent. The current actions of the Trump administration show how government can silence speakers without censoring them.

    My quarter century of research and writing about First Amendment rights has explored the varied tools that governments use to smother free expression. Among the present administration’s chosen tools are making institutions stop or change their advocacy to get government benefits; inducing self-censorship through intimidation; and molding the government’s own speech to promote official ideology.

    A page from the CDC’s website, where the Trump administration states that it rejects the ‘gender ideology’ presented on the page.
    CDC.gov

    Using benefits to coerce speech

    The Supreme Court has made clear that the First Amendment bars the government from conditioning benefits on the sacrifice of free speech.

    Government employers may not refuse to hire employees of the opposing political party, nor may they stop employees from speaking publicly about political issues. The government may not stop funding nonprofits because they refuse to endorse official policies, or because they make arguments the government opposes.

    The First Amendment, however, works only if someone asks a court to enforce it, or at least threatens to do so.

    The Trump administration has issued orders that withdraw security clearances, cancel government contracts and bar access to government buildings for law firms that have opposed the administration’s policies or have advocated diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Some law firms have sued to block the orders. More firms, however, have made deals with the administration, agreeing to end DEI programs and to do free legal work for conservative causes.

    The administration similarly has withheld funding from universities that embrace DEI or that, by the administration’s account, have fomented or tolerated antisemitism. Harvard University has resisted that pressure. But Columbia University has capitulated to President Donald Trump’s demands that include cracking down on protests, giving university officials more control over controversial academic programs and hiring more conservative professors.

    The Supreme Court may ultimately declare the administration’s gambits unconstitutional, but it has already succeeded in leveraging government benefits to make major institutions change their speech.

    Intimidating speakers into silence

    First Amendment law also restricts government actions that deter or “chill” expression rather than squarely banning it.

    That means the government may not regulate speech through vague laws that leave lawful speakers uncertain whether the regulation reaches them. For example, the Supreme Court in 1971 struck down a Cincinnati, Ohio, ordinance that criminalized any public assembly the city deemed “annoying.”

    Likewise, the government may not make people disclose their identities as a requirement for acquiring controversial literature or for supporting unpopular causes. In the classic case, the Supreme Court during the civil rights era blocked Alabama from making the NAACP disclose its membership list.

    Chilling of speech is hard to detect, but the current public climate strongly suggests that the Trump administration has plunged the thermostat.

    College and university campuses, which rumbled in spring 2024 with protests against the Gaza war, have gone largely quiet. Large corporations that challenged the first Trump presidency have fallen into line behind the second. Big liberal donors have folded up their wallets.

    Some of that dampening likely reflects fatigue and resignation. Much of it, though, appears to reveal successful intimidation.

    The administration has proclaimed that it is deporting noncitizen students, using their lawful speech as justification. While those expulsions themselves are classic censorship, their hidden reach may stifle more speech than their immediate grasp. Noncitizens are legally attractive targets for government censorship because courts largely defer to the president on matters of national security and immigration.

    The Trump administration could not lawfully treat U.S. citizens as it is treating, lawfully or not, foreign nationals. But most citizens don’t know that. The vivid spectacle of punished dissenters seems likely to chill other dissenters.

    Whitewashing government speech

    The First Amendment only bars the government from controlling private speech. When the government speaks, it can say what it wants. That means people who speak for the government lack any First Amendment right to replace the government’s messages with their own.

    In theory, then, every new federal administration could sweepingly turn government institutions’ speech into narrow propaganda. That hasn’t happened before, perhaps because most governments realize they are just temporary custodians of an abiding republic.

    The Trump administration has broken this norm. The administration has ordered the purging of ideologically disfavored content from the Smithsonian museums, implemented book bans in military libraries and installed political supporters to run cultural institutions.

    None of those actions likely violates the First Amendment. All of them, however, have significant implications for free speech. In what may be the most quoted line in the First Amendment legal canon, Justice Robert Jackson declared in 1943 that government should never “prescribe what shall be orthodox … in matters of opinion.”

    A 21st-century federal government can dramatically skew public discourse by honing government speech with the flint of official ideology. Trump has assigned Vice President JD Vance, who sits on the Smithsonian’s board, the role of “seeking to remove improper ideology.” If Vance decides what the Smithsonian can and cannot say about slavery and Jim Crow, then the Smithsonian will teach people only what Vance wants them to learn about those subjects. That influential source of knowledge will push public discussion toward the government’s ideology.

    When government beneficiaries agree to say what the president wants, when the government intimidates speakers to silence themselves, and when the government sharpens its own speech into propaganda, no censorship happens.

    But in all those scenarios, the government is doing exactly what justifies fear of censorship and what First Amendment law exists to prevent: using official power to make speech less free.

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

    – ref. 3 ways the government can silence opinions it disagrees with, without using censorship – https://theconversation.com/3-ways-the-government-can-silence-opinions-it-disagrees-with-without-using-censorship-254249

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Debunking 5 myths about when your devices get wet

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Rachel Plotnick, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, Indiana University

    Consumer technologies get wet as a regular part of everyday life. Shuvro Mojumder/Unsplash , CC BY-SA

    Nearly everyone has encountered the unthinkable: Your smartphone landed in the toilet. Or you forgot to take off your smartwatch before jumping into the pool. Or maybe you meant to take those earbuds out of your pocket before running the laundry. What now?

    Internet forums are chock-full of advice to dry out that drenched device, but problematic myths about liquid protection and repair make it hard for consumers to separate fact from fiction.

    I’m a researcher who studies how technologies play a part in people’s everyday practices and experiences. My new book, “License to Spill: Where Dry Devices Meet Liquid Lives,” explores the wet-dry boundary in how people perceive and treat their electronic devices.

    Here are five common myths about getting devices wet:

    Myth 1: My device turned back on! It’s fine

    While it’s a relief to see your technology rise from the dead, what you can’t see are subtle processes occurring inside, like corrosion. The breakdown of your device’s metal parts due to moisture often happens over time, in a period that can take place days, weeks or months after the offending incident.

    That’s why even humidity from moist climates or your steamy shower can make a long-term impact, despite the fact that everything booted up right away after a splash or dunk.

    Myth 2: My ‘waterproof’ device can tolerate any kind of wetness

    The term “waterproof” is a controversial one – so controversial, in fact, that the Federal Trade Commission has strict rules about using the term in advertising, once even banning it from ad copy selling wristwatches.

    Given the vagueness of the term, it’s better to examine different water resistance standards, such as ingress protection, or IP, ratings and MIL-SPEC, or ISO in the case of watches, and to read the fine print about what those standards actually cover.

    Myth 3: My device has a great IP rating, so it’s been tested under real-world conditions

    Companies often advertise IP ratings as a way to entice consumers to purchase their products, but it’s important to know that these ratings are based on contact with fresh water. If you’re worried about Jacuzzi suds or that tipped-over can of beer, there’s no guarantee that a manufacturer has tested your device in these – often sticky – situations, and an IP rating won’t account for them.

    Myth 4: I’ve got some rice in the kitchen. I can fix this myself!

    It’s natural to panic and seek out the quickest household solution when a spill or dunk happens, and a cup of rice is still a commonly sought-out option.

    However, the rice hack doesn’t work very well, and rice particles can enter the device to cause even further damage. Aside from bringing your device to a professional repairer, you’re better off immediately powering down your product, removing its battery and plug if you can, and letting all the components dry over a day or two.

    Myth 5: Well, this device is broken, but I’ve got a warranty to replace it

    While you’re pulling your product from its watery grave, you might find relief in the fact that it came with a warranty. Not so fast.

    Most traditional consumer technology limited warranties don’t cover liquid damage. These days, you usually need to purchase an add-on warranty, often called Accidental Damage from Handling. Beware, though: Even those policies may limit how many wetness “incidents” or “events” you’re allowed per year.

    Air flow is the best way to dry a device that’s taken a dunk. Don’t expose your device directly to rice, cat litter or other particles.

    Keeping it realistic

    Water resistance features on devices like laptops, tablets, smartphones and smartwatches have recently improved, but the deck is still often stacked against consumers who must wade through the hype of advertising claims, mystifying classification systems and penalizing policies.

    That’s why it’s critical for manufacturers to think carefully and ethically about how their products are designed, marketed and serviced. In terms of design, water resistance is no longer a niche feature meant solely for industrial workers or outdoor adventurers. While it’s unrealistic to expect a device that’s designed to resist every hazard, it’s also unreasonable to ask consumers to tiptoe around the products that provide them with access to critical resources and social support.

    It’s important for manufacturers to avoid promising consumers the Moon. Samsung Australia, for instance, paid AU$14 million in penalties for exaggerating its phones’ protection for swimming. It’s certainly fun to watch commercials with Lil Wayne spray a smartphone with champagne or see him dunk it in a fish tank, but if manufacturers are advising against these practices, then they shouldn’t be romanticizing them.

    Sure, it’s probably common sense that your phone shouldn’t take a bath in champagne. Yet life is constantly happening around – and with – our devices, from the shower and the kitchen to the gym and the beach. This means that fairer policies around repair, like those promoted by the right-to-repair movement, and warranties should stop treating consumers like they’re “bad” users.

    After all, we’re each just one splash away from crying over spilled milk.

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

    – ref. Debunking 5 myths about when your devices get wet – https://theconversation.com/debunking-5-myths-about-when-your-devices-get-wet-257205

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 5 tips for hurricane disaster planning with aging parents starting now, before the storms

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, Clinical Assistant Professor of Education, Health and Behavior Studies, University of North Dakota

    When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor named Ms. Carmen. She was in her late 70s, fiercely independent and lived alone with her two dogs and one cat, which were her closest companions.

    Each hurricane season, she would anxiously ask if I would check on her when the winds began to pick up. She once told me: I’m more afraid of being forgotten than of the storm itself. Her fear wasn’t just about the weather; it was about facing it alone.

    When hurricanes hit, we often measure the damage in downed power lines, flooded roads and wind-torn homes. But some of the most serious consequences are harder to see, especially for older adults who may struggle with mobility, chronic health problems and cognitive decline.

    Emergency preparedness plans too often overlook the specific needs of elders in America’s aging population, many of whom live alone. For people like Ms. Carmen, resilience needs to start long before the storm.

    The number of older adults in the U.S. and the percentage of the population age 65 and older have been rising.
    US Census Bureau

    I study disaster preparations and response. To prepare for hurricane season, and any other disaster, I encourage families to work with their older adults now to create an emergency plan. Preparing can help ensure that older adults will be safe, able to contact relatives or others for help, and will have the medications, documents and supplies they need, as well as the peace of mind of knowing what steps to take.

    Recent hurricanes show the gaps

    In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton put a spotlight on the risks to older adults.

    The storms forced thousands of people to evacuate, often to shelters with little more than food supplies and mattresses on the floor and ill-equipped for medical needs.

    Flooding isolated many rural homes, stranding older adults. Power was out for weeks in some areas. Emergency systems were overwhelmed.

    A tornado tore into a senior community in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during Milton, killing six people. Some long-term care facilities lost power and water during Helene.

    At the same time, some older adults chose to stay in homes in harm’s way for fear that they would be separated from their pets or that their homes would be vandalized.

    At least 700 people stayed in chairs or on air mattresses at River Ridge Middle/High School in New Port Richey, Fla., during Hurricane Milton.
    AP Photo/Mike Carlson

    These events are not just tragic, they are predictable. Many older adults cannot evacuate without assistance, and many evacuation centers aren’t prepared to handle their needs.

    How to prepare: 5 key steps

    Helping older adults prepare for emergencies should involve the entire family so everyone knows what to expect. The best plans are personal, practical and proactive, but they will contain some common elements.

    Here are five important steps:

    1. Prepare an emergency folder with important documents.

    Disasters can leave older adults without essential information and supplies that they need, such as prescription lists, financial records, medical devices and – importantly – contact information to reach family, friends and neighbors who could help them.

    Many older adults rely on preprogrammed phone numbers. If their phone is lost or the battery dies, they may not know how to reach friends or loved ones, so it’s useful to have a hard copy of phone numbers.

    Consider encouraging the use of medical ID bracelets or cards for those with memory loss.

    Critical documents like wills, home deeds, powers of attorney and insurance records are frequently kept in physical form and may be forgotten or lost in a sudden evacuation. Use waterproof storage that’s easy to carry, and share copies with trusted caregivers and family members in case those documents are lost.

    2. Have backup medications and equipment.

    Think about that person’s assistive devices and health needs. Having extra batteries on hand is important, as is remembering to bring chargers and personal mobility aids, such as walkers, canes, mobility scooters or wheelchairs. Do not forget that service animals support mobility, so having supplies of their food will be important during a hurricane or evacuation.

    Ask doctors to provide an emergency set of medications in case supplies run low in a disaster.

    If the person is staying in their home, prepare for at least 72 hours of self-sufficiency in case the power goes out. That means having enough bottled water, extra pet food and human food that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooking.

    3. Map evacuation routes and shelter options.

    Identify nearby shelters that will likely be able to support older adults’ mobility and cognitive challenges. If the person has pets, make a plan for them, too – many areas will have at least one pet-friendly shelter, but not all shelters will take pets.

    An older woman crosses a street flooded by torrential rain from Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023, in Thousand Palms, Calif.
    AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

    Figure out how the person will get to a shelter, and have a backup plan in case their usual transportation isn’t an option. And decide where they will go and how they will get there if they can’t return home after a storm.

    If your loved one lives in a care facility, ask to see that facility’s hurricane plan.

    4. Create a multiperson check-in system.

    Don’t rely on just one caregiver or family member to check on older adults. Involve neighbors, faith communities or local services such as home-delivered meals, transportation assistance, support groups and senior centers. Redundancy is crucial when systems break down.

    5. Practice the plan.

    Go through evacuation steps in advance so everyone knows what to do. Executing the plan should be second nature, not a scramble during a disaster or crisis.

    Planning with, not just for, older adults

    Emergency planning isn’t something done for older adults – it’s something done with them.

    Elders bring not only vulnerability but also wisdom. Their preferences and autonomy will have to guide decisions for the plan to be successful in a crisis.

    That means listening to their needs, honoring their independence and making sure caregivers have realistic plans in place. It’s an important shift from just reacting to a storm to preparing with purpose.

    Lee Ann Rawlins Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. 5 tips for hurricane disaster planning with aging parents starting now, before the storms – https://theconversation.com/5-tips-for-hurricane-disaster-planning-with-aging-parents-starting-now-before-the-storms-254917

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Baker Hughes, Cactus Create Joint Venture for Surface Pressure Control Services

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Cactus to become majority owner and operator of Baker Hughes’ surface pressure control product line, with Baker Hughes retaining 35% stake
    • Joint venture combines complementary portfolios to lead technological innovation
    • Aligns with Baker Hughes’ ongoing strategy to optimize its portfolio

    HOUSTON and LONDON, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR), an energy technology company, announced Monday an agreement to form a new joint venture with a subsidiary of Cactus, Inc. (NYSE: WHD, “Cactus”), in which Baker Hughes will contribute its surface pressure control (SPC) product line. Cactus, a global manufacturer and service provider of pressure control equipment for oil and gas drilling, completion and production, will assume operational control, owning 65% of the joint venture, while Baker Hughes will retain a 35% stake.

    The joint venture will operate independently from Cactus’ existing Pressure Control business and will focus on maintaining its leadership position in the international market for surface wellhead and production tree systems.

    This targeted portfolio refinement is aligned with Baker Hughes’ focus on enhancing the durability of earnings and cash flow and will enable the company to reallocate capital toward higher-return opportunities, all while maintaining a strategic and disciplined approach to capital deployment.

    “This transaction marks an important step in our ongoing portfolio optimization strategy, enabling us to sharpen our focus on core growth areas while continuing to drive higher returns, reinforcing our commitment to long-term value for our shareholders,” said Baker Hughes Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Simonelli. “We remain committed to our valued SPC partners and customers whose operations we have proudly supported, and we believe this joint venture only enhances delivery of innovation and reliability in well control as the combined business will leverage Cactus’ unconventional expertise and agility into international markets.”

    The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

    About Baker Hughes

    Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and conducting business in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

    For more information, please contact:

    Media Relations

    Adrienne M. Lynch
    +1 713-906-8407
    adrienne.lynch@bakerhughes.com

    Investor Relations:

    Chase Mulvehill
    +1 346-297-2561
    investor.relations@bakerhughes.com  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: CLIK Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Notification Regarding Minimum Bid Price Deficiency

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Hong Kong, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Click Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: CLIK) (“Click”, or the “Company”) announced that, on May 30, 2025, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that based on the closing bid price of the Company for the period from April 16, 2025 to May 29, 2025, the Company no longer meets the continued listing requirement of Nasdaq under Nasdaq Listing Rules 5550(a)(2), to maintain a minimum bid price of $1 per share.

    The notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company’s ordinary shares. Nasdaq has provided the Company with a 180 calendar days compliance period, or until November 26, 2025, in which to regain compliance with Nasdaq continued listing requirement. If, at any time during this compliance period, the closing bid price of the Company’s stock is at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, Nasdaq will confirm compliance, and the matter will be resolved.

    If the Company is unable to regain compliance by November 26, 2025, it may be eligible for additional time. To qualify, the Company will be required to meet continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement and will need to provide written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period, which may include implementing a reverse stock split, if necessary. However, if it appears that the Company will not be able to cure the deficiency, or if the Company is otherwise not eligible, Nasdaq will provide notice that the Company’s securities will be subject to delisting.

    The Company is currently evaluating options to regain compliance and intends to timely regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirement. The Company will use all reasonable efforts to achieve compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2).

    About Click Holdings Limited

    We are a fast-growing human resources solutions provider based in Hong Kong, aiming to match our client’s human resources shortfall through our proprietary AI-empowered talent pool by one “click”. Our key businesses primarily include nursing solution (mainly seniors) services, logistics solution services and professional solution services.

    For more information, please visit https://clicksc.com.hk. 

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.

    For enquiry, please contact:

    Click Holdings Limited
    Unit 709, 7/F., Ocean Centre
    5 Canton Road
    Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
    Hong Kong
    Email: jack.wong@jfy.hk 
    Phone: +852 2691 8200 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Ambiq Names Jeff Winzeler as Chief Financial Officer

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    AUSTIN, Texas, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ambiq®, a technology leader in ultra-low-power semiconductor solutions for edge AI, is pleased to announce Jeff Winzeler as Ambiq’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

    Jeff Winzeler brings extensive CFO and COO experience in the semiconductor and renewable energy industries. He has successfully led global finance teams at both private and public startups, including Kandou AI, Everspin Technologies, Avnera, Rackwise, Solar Power Incorporated, and International DisplayWorks.

    Throughout his career living and working in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Winzeler has raised over $1 billion in equity and debt financing to fuel business growth while managing Finance, Information Technology, Human Relations, Operations, Procurement, and Investor Relations.

    “We are excited to welcome Jeff to Ambiq’s executive team,” says Fumihide Esaka, CEO of Ambiq. “We are confident that his proven track record in successfully leading finance organizations and operations will help Ambiq’s momentum as we enter into the next stage of our company’s growth.”

    “I’m thrilled to join Ambiq at such a pivotal time in the edge AI and ultra-low-power computing space,”  says Jeff Winzeler, CFO of Ambiq. “The company’s innovative technology and strong market position create an exceptional foundation for sustainable growth. I look forward to working with the talented team to maximize financial performance and deliver value to our stakeholders as we scale the business globally.” 

    Ambiq

    Our mission is to enable intelligence (artificial intelligence (AI) and beyond) everywhere by delivering the lowest power semiconductor solutions. We enable our customers to deliver artificial intelligence compute at the edge where power consumption challenges are the most profound. Our technology innovations, built on the patented and proprietary subthreshold power optimized technology (SPOT), fundamentally deliver a multi-fold improvement in power consumption over traditional semiconductor designs. We’ve powered over 270 million devices today. For more information, visit www.ambiq.com.

    Contact

    Charlene Wan 
    VP of Corporate Marketing and Investor Relations 
    cwan@ambiq.com 
    +1.512.879.2850

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec4d5b10-4442-4b7b-a3a6-cf82b235d66c

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Alma íbúðafélag hf.: Útboð á víxlum 5. júní 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Alma íbúðafélag hf. heldur lokað útboð fimmtudaginn 5. júní nk. á þriggja mánaða óverðtryggðum víxlum (AL 25 0915) og sex mánaða óverðtryggðum víxlum (AL 25 1215). Víxlarnir eru óveðtryggðir.

    Arctica Finance hf. hefur umsjón með útboðinu og kynningu þess fyrir hugsanlegum fjárfestum.

    Útboðið fer fram með hollenskri aðferð, þ.e. öll samþykkt tilboð bjóðast fjárfestum á hæstu samþykktu flötu vöxtum. Víxlarnir eru gefnir út í 20 m.kr. nafnverðseiningum og verða teknir til viðskipta á Aðalmarkaði Nasdaq Iceland.

    Alma íbúðafélag hf. áskilur sér rétt til þess að taka hvaða tilboði sem er eða hafna þeim öllum. Niðurstöður útboðsins verða birtar opinberlega eigi síðar en næsta virka dag eftir útboð.

    Skila skal inn tilboðum á netfangið m@arctica.is fyrir klukkan 17:00 fimmtudaginn 5. júní 2025. Uppgjör viðskipta fer fram 16. júní 2025.

    Útboðið er undanþegið gerð lýsingar á grundvelli c- og d-liðar 4. mgr. 1. gr. reglugerðar Evrópusambandsins og ráðsins (ESB) nr. 2017/1129 um lýsingu sem birta skal þegar verðbréf eru boðin í almennu útboði eða tekin til viðskipta á skipulegum markaði og 1. mgr. 3. gr. laga nr. 14/2020 um sama efni.

    Tilkynning þessi er eingöngu sett fram í upplýsingaskyni og felur ekki í sér né er hún hluti af útboðinu eða boð um kaup eða áskrift á verðbréfum félagsins. Grunnlýsing, endanlegir skilmálar og önnur skjöl er varða útgáfu framangreinds flokks skuldaskjals eru birt á vefsíðu félagsins: http://www.al.is/company/investors/bond-issuance/.

    Nánari upplýsingar veitir:

    Ingólfur Árni Gunnarsson framkvæmdastjóri, ingolfur@al.is.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is AI sparking a cognitive revolution that will lead to mediocrity and conformity?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Wolfgang Messner, Clinical Professor of International Business, University of South Carolina

    The Industrial Revolution mechanized production. Today, there’s a similar risk with the automation of thought. kutaytanir/E+ via Getty Images

    Artificial Intelligence began as a quest to simulate the human brain.

    Is it now in the process of transforming the human brain’s role in daily life?

    The Industrial Revolution diminished the need for manual labor. As someone who researches the application of AI in international business, I can’t help but wonder whether it is spurring a cognitive revolution, obviating the need for certain cognitive processes as it reshapes how students, workers and artists write, design and decide.

    Graphic designers use AI to quickly create a slate of potential logos for their clients. Marketers test how AI-generated customer profiles will respond to ad campaigns. Software engineers deploy AI coding assistants. Students wield AI to draft essays in record time – and teachers use similar tools to provide feedback.

    The economic and cultural implications are profound.

    What happens to the writer who no longer struggles with the perfect phrase, or the designer who no longer sketches dozens of variations before finding the right one? Will they become increasingly dependent on these cognitive prosthetics, similar to how using GPS diminishes navigation skills? And how can human creativity and critical thinking be preserved in an age of algorithmic abundance?

    Echoes of the Industrial Revolution

    We’ve been here before.

    The Industrial Revolution replaced artisanal craftsmanship with mechanized production, enabling goods to be replicated and manufactured on a mass scale.

    Shoes, cars and crops could be produced efficiently and uniformly. But products also became more bland, predictable and stripped of individuality. Craftsmanship retreated to the margins, as a luxury or a form of resistance.

    Mass production strips goods of their individuality.
    Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Today, there’s a similar risk with the automation of thought. Generative AI tempts users to conflate speed with quality, productivity with originality.

    The danger is not that AI will fail us, but that people will accept the mediocrity of its outputs as the norm. When everything is fast, frictionless and “good enough,” there’s the risk of losing the depth, nuance and intellectual richness that define exceptional human work.

    The rise of algorithmic mediocrity

    Despite the name, AI doesn’t actually think.

    Tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini process massive volumes of human-created content, often scraped from the internet without context or permission. Their outputs are statistical predictions of what word or pixel is likely to follow based on patterns in data they’ve processed.

    They are, in essence, mirrors that reflect collective human creative output back to users – rearranged and recombined, but fundamentally derivative.

    And this, in many ways, is precisely why they work so well.

    Consider the countless emails people write, the slide decks strategy consultants prepare and the advertisements that suffuse social media feeds. Much of this content follows predictable patterns and established formulas. It has been there before, in one form or the other.

    Generative AI excels at producing competent-sounding content – lists, summaries, press releases, advertisements – that bears the signs of human creation without that spark of ingenuity. It thrives in contexts where the demand for originality is low and when “good enough” is, well, good enough.

    When AI sparks – and stifles – creativity

    Yet, even in a world of formulaic content, AI can be surprisingly helpful.

    In one set of experiments, researchers tasked people with completing various creative challenges. They found that those who used generative AI produced ideas that were, on average, more creative, outperforming participants who used web searches or no aids at all. In other words, AI can, in fact, elevate baseline creative performance.

    However, further analysis revealed a critical trade-off: Reliance on AI systems for brainstorming significantly reduced the diversity of ideas produced, which is a crucial element for creative breakthroughs. The systems tend to converge toward a predictable middle rather than exploring unconventional possibilities at the edges.

    I wasn’t surprised by these findings. My students and I have found that the outputs of generative AI systems are most closely aligned with the values and worldviews of wealthy, English-speaking nations. This inherent bias quite naturally constrains the diversity of ideas these systems can generate.

    More troubling still, brief interactions with AI systems can subtly reshape how people approach problems and imagine solutions.

    One set of experiments tasked participants with making medical diagnoses with the help of AI. However, the researchers designed the experiment so that AI would give some participants flawed suggestions. Even after those participants stopped using the AI tool, they tended to unconsciously adopt those biases and make errors in their own decisions.

    What begins as a convenient shortcut risks becoming a self-reinforcing loop of diminishing originality – not because these tools produce objectively poor content, but because they quietly narrow the bandwidth of human creativity itself.

    Navigating the cognitive revolution

    True creativity, innovation and research are not just probabilistic recombinations of past data. They require conceptual leaps, cross-disciplinary thinking and real-world experience. These are qualities AI cannot replicate. It cannot invent the future. It can only remix the past.

    What AI generates may satisfy a short-term need: a quick summary, a plausible design, a passable script. But it rarely transforms, and genuine originality risks being drowned in a sea of algorithmic sameness.

    The challenge, then, isn’t just technological. It’s cultural.

    How can the irreplaceable value of human creativity be preserved amid this flood of synthetic content?

    The historical parallel with industrialization offers both caution and hope. Mechanization displaced many workers but also gave rise to new forms of labor, education and prosperity. Similarly, while AI systems may automate some cognitive tasks, they may also open up new intellectual frontiers by simulating intellectual abilities. In doing so, they may take on creative responsibilities, such as inventing novel processes or developing criteria to evaluate their own outputs.

    This transformation is only at its early stages. Each new generation of AI models will produce outputs that once seemed like the purview of science fiction. The responsibility lies with professionals, educators and policymakers to shape this cognitive revolution with intention.

    Will it lead to intellectual flourishing or dependency? To a renaissance of human creativity or its gradual obsolescence?

    The answer, for now, is up in the air.

    Wolfgang Messner receives funding from Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at the University of South Carolina.

    – ref. Is AI sparking a cognitive revolution that will lead to mediocrity and conformity? – https://theconversation.com/is-ai-sparking-a-cognitive-revolution-that-will-lead-to-mediocrity-and-conformity-256940

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Prime Minister hails trade deal successes for Scotland

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Prime Minister hails trade deal successes for Scotland

    From the Highlands to the Borders, Scottish people are set to benefit from the UK’s landmark trade deals with India, US and EU announced in recent weeks.

    • Prime Minister visits historic distillery in Glasgow to discuss trade deal benefits for the Scotch Whisky industry 
    • Follows UK hat trick of trade deals with India, US and EU – improving people’s lives across the country 
    • Deals will help drive growth in Scotland and put more money in the pockets of the hardworking Scottish people

    From the Highlands to the Borders, Scottish people are set to benefit from the UK’s landmark trade deals with India, US and EU announced in recent weeks. 

    The Prime Minister discussed the huge growth opportunities and benefits for Scotland during a visit Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow today. 

    Visit comes after Prime Minister visited BAE Govan this morning to announce the Strategic Defence Review, which will see significant investment in Scotland . More than £2 billion a year is already spent by the Ministry of Defence with industry organisations of all sizes in Scotland, supporting over 25,000 skilled jobs in Scotland. 

    The world-renowned Scotch Whisky industry is set to boom globally – with the Scotch Whisky Association announcing they forecast £1 billion of extra exports in five years, plus 1,200 new jobs thanks to the tariff reductions as part of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. 

    India is an important market for Scotland, with 457 Scottish businesses exporting a total of £610 million in goods there last year. 

    Under the India trade deal, tariffs have been cut on a range of iconic Scottish goods, from whisky tariffs halved from 150% to 75% and dropping to 40% after 10 years to salmon reduced from 33% to 0%. Iconic Scottish brands like Irn Bru and Scottish shortbread will also see reduced tariffs. 

    Scotland’s thriving life sciences and health tech hubs will be strengthened by IP commitments on areas such as trade secrets and copyright, helping companies export to India with confidence.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    Our trade deals with India, US and the EU will slash tariffs on key industries and open markets set to help drive growth in Scotland and put money in the pockets of the hardworking Scottish people, delivering on our Plan for Change. 

    Scotland is home to some of the most world-renowned products, which can now be enjoyed across the globe – all whilst saving Scottish businesses money.  

    That is why we have secured these deals, and why we will continue to go further and faster to improve the lives of everyone in the UK.

    Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray said:

    Our trio of trade deals shows we are championing Scottish products and businesses on the global stage. From our world-renowned whisky distilleries to our cutting-edge green energy sector, Scotland has so much to offer international markets. But more importantly as part of our Plan for Change this means more money in people’s pockets.

    By securing better access to the European Union, United States and India, we’re creating real opportunities for Scottish businesses to grow, supporting jobs in communities from the Highlands to the Borders.

    Mark Kent, Chief Executive Officer of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: 

    As the UK’s largest food and drink export to 180 markets worldwide, Scotch Whisky producers welcome the work being done to reduce trade barriers around the world. The landmark UK-India free trade agreement will be transformational for the Scotch Whisky industry over the longer term and has the potential to increase exports to India by £1bn over the next 5 years and creating 1,200 jobs across the UK.

    It’s also constructive to see a potential reduction in the burden on exporters through the UK agreement with the EU. We continue to support the UK government’s efforts to address the issue of tariffs with the US and establish a pathway to return to the zero-for-zero tariff arrangement we have had with the US on spirits for more than 30 years.

    The new agreement with the European Union, the UK’s largest trading market, will directly address challenges faced by Scottish exporters since 2019. The Scottish salmon industry has estimated that between 2019 and 2023, Scottish Salmon export values experienced a net loss of around £75 million. The deal with the EU makes it significantly easier to sell Scottish goods to European markets.

    Updates to this page

    Published 2 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Disposable Vapes banned from 1 June 2025

    Source: City of Coventry

    Since 1 June 2025 it is illegal for businesses to sell, offer to sell or have in their possession for sale, all single-use or ‘disposable’ vapes.

    This applies to sales online and in shops and include all vapes, whether they contain nicotine or not.

    The Government has produced guidance for affected retailers which can be found by following this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/single-use-vapes-ban

    In preparation for the ban, retailers were contacted by Trading Standards and told to stop buying any new stock of single-use vapes, to sell through all existing affected stock and to only buy vapes that follow the new regulations. It is crucial that from now on, retailers source only vapes which are compliant with the new law.

    If any retailers do have any leftover single-use vaping products following 1 June cut-off, they will need to separate them from other goods, label them as unsellable and remove them from sale. Any affected vapes should be stored in vape bins only and be regularly collected for recycling. Unsafe storage can result in a significant fire risk.

    If retailers are found to be selling or supplying single-use vapes following the ban, Trading Standards will be able to take enforcement action. Affected stock can be seized by officers and sanctions can include a fixed penalty fine and / or applying to review or amend a premises licence. If a business continues to sell single-use vapes after being warned, the local authority may take further action which can result in higher fines and possible premises closure orders and / or prosecution being sought.

    The new regulations will require vapes to be rechargeable and refillable, or incorporate a pod system. Retailers are being warned that not all new devices on the market will automatically be compliant. New compliant products have already appeared on the market which clearly indicate they comply with the new law and retailers are again urged to check first before buying.

    If you suspect that someone is supplying single-use vapes, please feel free to report the matter via our anonymous online reporting page

    Monday, 2nd June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • Wave of anger could sweep liberals to victory in South Korea election

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    When then-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law decree plunged South Korea into chaos, it plummeted sales at Park Myung-Ja’s diner in Jechon and became a turning point for many voters in the town.

    The 66-year-old chef and restaurant owner is one face of South Korea’s North Chungcheong Province, a swing region that has become even more pivotal at a time of deep political polarisation in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

    “We need to get furthest away from all that martial law drama to get things back to where they were,” Park said at her Korean restaurant two hours south of Seoul, adding liberal candidate “Lee Jae-myung looks alright for that”.

    Voters are now looking for the winner of the June 3 snap election to calm the economic and political shocks that have roiled the country since Yoon’s December 3 martial law decree led to months of economic downturn and sparked nationwide protests.

    Park’s Chungcheong Province is a key battleground for Kim Moon-soo, candidate for the conservative People Power Party campaigning on deregulations for companies, and liberal Democratic Party frontrunner Lee, who’s vowing to bring back stability after months of turmoil.

    In swing regions such as North Chungcheong Province, where Jechon is located, the ruling conservative party risks losing a big chunk of its vote base with many voters blaming the martial law debacle for weaker private consumption and easing export momentum.

    Park’s business crashed after Yoon’s declaration with some of her biggest customers who are local council officials cancelling dinner reservations in groups of five to 10.

    “The first call I got on Dec. 4 was from a regular customer who does his year-end dinner here every year. I asked him why he is cancelling it, and he said — ‘don’t you watch news?’”

    Lee, who defied Yoon’s martial law decree, had a 10-percentage point lead over Kim in one of the final opinion polls issued on Tuesday with 45% of voters trusting him to revive the economy compared to 32% for Kim.

    Conservatives have criticised Lee for a series of criminal cases he faces over accusations of election law violations, corruption, and other issues, but they have struggled to unify behind a single candidate and to distance themselves from Yoon.

    On Friday, right-winger Kim said voting for Lee would end up “collapsing our economy”, hoping to sway voters in small cities such as Jecheon, an inland town of about 130,000 surrounded by mountainous tourist spots, who are looking for a turning point to revive South Korea’s fortunes.

    But the martial law call continues to weigh heavily on conservative chances.

    “We definitely had fewer customers, especially from office dinners, after the martial law declaration. It did bite us hard,” said Choi, a Chinese restaurant owner in Pangyo, a town south of Seoul.

    “Lee is someone who will uplift more of us who are not doing so well.”

    HEAVY ON SPECTACLE

    Consumer sentiment, which dropped by the most since the outbreak of COVID-19 in December, recovered to pre-martial-law levels of 101.8 in May, on expectations of a fresh stimulus package under a new leader.

    The shock move rattled markets and put the won among the region’s worst-performing currencies of the last year, hurt business sentiment even before exporters absorbed the full force of U.S. President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff policies.
    Now, the strains are setting in, as economic tailwinds from the semiconductor boom and reforms in the capital markets in the past few years are fading.

    Whoever wins the June 3 election will face an economy that contracted in the first quarter, manage negotiations with Washington to avoid high tariffs, and assuage voters such as Park who are seeing their living standards go backwards from elevated grocery bills and weak spending.

    South Korea’s election campaign has been light on policy and heavy on spectacle after twists and turns involving the main candidates.

    “I wish they had taken housing supply and boosting the domestic market more seriously in their pledges,” said 59-year-old Jung Soo-hyeon. “But perhaps because it’s a snap election, that kind of in-depth consideration seems to be missing — which is a bit disappointing.”

    Analysts say voters watched economic pledges closely as consumption has been badly hit.

    A win for Lee could spur “faster economic growth in the short term,” Kim Jin-wook of Citi Research said.

    The Democratic Party “would likely be relatively more keen on providing policy and support for the mid-to-low-income bracket,” he added.

    While both top candidates have pledged to draft a second supplementary budget for the year as soon as the election is over, Lee has also promised vouchers to help local businesses and subsidies for childcare, youth, and the elderly.

    While Lee has backed away from advocating for universal basic income, some voters including Park, who backed Yoon last time, said they see Lee as most likely to look out for their interests.

    “Lee’s party seems to be willing to give out more to those who are struggling,” Park said, emphasizing that “change” is important.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Africa: African Development Bank Launches Inaugural Integrate Africa Magazine (I.A.M) to tell a New African Story on Regional Integration

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

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 2, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The African Development Bank Group ( www.AfDB.org) has unveiled its first edition of Integrate Africa Magazine (I.A.M.) during a colourful ceremony at the Sofitel Hotel, Abidjan.

    The event, held on Monday 26 May as part of the Bank’s 2025 Annual Meetings, marks the beginning of a new African story – celebrating 10 years of investing in integration, while looking ahead to do more and better in the future. The magazine’s pulse beats to the rhythm of opportunity and optimism – showing how African governments are investing in building connectivity with the African Development Bank at their side.

    With interconnected economies, a rapidly growing youth population, and growing human mobility – getting integration right is no longer a good option. It is an imperative.

    The event featured a cultural showcase, fireside chats, keynotes and the unveiling of I.A.M.  With the Bank’s new Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033) firmly rooting Integrate Africa as a major pillar, the conversations centred on what is to come following 10 years of investing in Africa’s integration, 

    A Chronicle of Progress, a Canvas of Possibilities

    The I.A.M. chronicles momentum – showcasing how the Bank has planted seeds of transformation – in roads, rail, air transport, power pools, ports, one-stop border posts – all coming together to bridge Africa.  It captures the spirit of a borderless Africa in motion, with opening articles from some of the Bank’s leaders framing the vision; and influential voices driving integration through trade, transport, sport, health, and business – highlighting where progress is and what we must do next. 

    The editors took to the streets of Africa – asking young people how integration can be accelerated – with the results captured in I.A.M.’s “Views from the Ground” segment. Border officials, traders, entrepreneurs, students and innovators all speak with the same voice: Africa’s integration is the most cogent development strategy the continent has.  It must happen – and happen fast.

    In addition to profiling 12 Bank–funded transformative projects – in transport corridors, one-stop border posts, power pools, rail, ports, agriculture, pharmaceutical production, pandemic response – and much more; I.A.M. also highlights the Bank’s work at the frontlines of tackling fragility by investing in building resilience.

    Africa’s new magazine I.A.M. offers a story of development impact – and a rare glimpse into how Africa is driving its integration and forging effective partnerships to go to scale. 

    From Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade’s keynote address showcasing Bank-financed infrastructure, to Vice President Nnenna Nwabufo’s reminder that integration must be a lived experience, the launch event left us in no doubt: we are on track – but can do much more, together. 

    Looking Forward

    As Africa stands at this point of immense opportunity, I.A.M. invites us to celebrate what is working, to understand the scale of what’s left to be done and urges us all to be the protagonist in creating an Integrated Africa. 

    You can access the magazine here: Integrate Africa Magazine – AfDB

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Annual Meetings 2025: African private-sector players and African Development Bank officials discuss business opportunities

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

    ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, June 2, 2025/APO Group/ —

    On the fourth day of the African Development Bank Group’s (www.AfDB.org) Annual Meetings in Abidjan (http://apo-opa.co/3ZcPGZZ), a seminar on business opportunities with the Group brought together private-sector players from 40 African countries and led to constructive exchanges with Bank officials.

    “Africa will not develop without a robust private sector. This seminar should give you a better understanding of how the Bank operates and how to work with us,” Gauthier Boulard, Senior Director of Resource Mobilization and Partners at the African Development Bank, told participants.

    During the seminar, the Bank provided updated information on its procurement plan and contractual policies, as well as on procedures for accessing business opportunities for companies or projects. Information was also shared on procurement rules, integrity and corruption.

    “With regard to our Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033 (http://apo-opa.co/4jANgMb), we expect to have to finance more transformative projects, i.e. projects that bring about change in the market in which they take place…. We are ready to support the private sector,” said Ronald Rateiwa, Senior Strategy, Policy and Infrastructure Officer at the African Development Bank.

    Cheikh Ibra Faye, Director of Faye Groupe Services, a company active in Senegal, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire, commented: “I have just learned important information that I’ve been looking for for a year. I have a plan to replace West Africa’s urban vehicle fleet with vehicles powered by renewable energy, and I’d like to know what support is available from the African Development Bank,” he said.

    Aude Apetey-Kacou, Manager of Private Sector Operations for West Africa at the Bank, responded: “The Bank finances urban transport. So the fleet project meets one of our criteria. We would then need to discuss the project in a different setting, to find out more about its structure, the current state of financing and the progress of the studies already carried out, so that we can make a decision.”

    The creation of characteristically African social media, setting up biometric laboratories to combat cervical cancer, satellite imagery and the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises were just some of the projects brought to the attention of the Bank’s management by private-sector players.

    “Health is a key sector that the Bank intends to support and is already involved in. There are other sectors that are just as important, and we’ll have the opportunity to talk about them again,” confirmed Boris Honkpehedji, Senior Manager of Private Sector Operations at the African Development Bank.

    As of 31 December 2024, the African Development Bank Group’s investment portfolio had devoted 46% of its financing to the financial sector, 16% to energy, 15% to industry, 9% to transport, 9% to agriculture and social affairs, and 5% to multi-sector projects.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: Konsolidator grants 810,000 warrants

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company announcement no. 9-2025
    Søborg, June 2, 2025

    Konsolidator grants 810,000 warrants

    Today, the Board of Directors of Konsolidator A/S has exercised part of its current authorization by issuing 810,000 warrants to the employees.

    The warrants are issued in accordance with the company’s guidelines for incentive-based remuneration and the authorizations in sections 4.9 and 4.10 of the Articles of Association.

    Warrants to the employees
    Konsolidator has issued 810,000 warrants to its employees. As a small company, Konsolidator is dependent on its employees and also depends on attracting talented employees. Konsolidator is not able to offer the salaries given by larger companies, but is able to incentivize employees by issuing warrants. Management believes that by issuing warrants to the employees, Konsolidator is able to retain employees in the long run.

    CEO Claus Finderup Grove comments, “This is the fifth time we have issued warrants to our employees. We want to show our appreciation to our loyal employees. Having the ability to issue warrants to our employees is a good method for us to retain our talented employees.”

    Warrant terms
    The total 810,000 warrants correspond to a nominal value of DKK 32,400, as each warrant entitles the warrant holder to subscribe for one share of nominal DKK 0.04 in the Company. The exercise price is fixed at DKK 3.75 per share for the management and employees corresponding to the average of the closing share price as made public by Nasdaq Copenhagen for the Konsolidator share on the 5 trading days prior to the date on which the Board of Directors decided to grant the warrants.

    The warrants vest in a series of three (3) successive equal annual installments, with the first installment vesting in 2026 on the last day of the calendar month of the date of grant. Consequently, the last installment will vest in June 2028.

    Subject to vesting, the warrants can be exercised in periods of 4 weeks starting the day after publication of the Company’s annual report, half-year reports and/or quarterly financial announcements, respectively. Warrants that have not been exercised before five (5) years following the grant will lapse automatically.

    The warrant terms include a condition on accelerated vesting in case of a change of control, e.g., a takeover bid, resolution, and business transfer. The detailed warrant terms regarding warrants issued by the Company can be found in the Articles of Association on www.konsolidator.com/investor.

    After this grant of warrants, the total number of outstanding warrants is 2,405,030.

    Contacts

    Certified Adviser

    About Konsolidator
    Konsolidator A/S is a financial consolidation software company whose primary objective is to make Group CFOs around the world better through automated financial consolidation and reporting in the cloud. Created by CFOs and auditors and powered by innovative technology, Konsolidator removes the complexity of financial consolidation and enables the CFO to save time and gain actionable insights based on key performance data to become a vital part of strategic decision-making. Konsolidator was listed at Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark in 2019. Ticker Code: KONSOL

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. : Form 8.3 – PRIMARY HEALTH PROPERTIES – Ordinary Shares

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FORM 8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1. KEY INFORMATION  
       
    (a) Full name of discloser: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. in its capacity as investment advisor and on behalf its affiliates who are also investment advisors (”Dimensional”). Dimensional expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares described in this form 8.3.  
    (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
    The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.    		    
    (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
    Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree    		 Primary Health Properties PLC  
    (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:    
    (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:
    For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure    		 30 May 2025  
    (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
    If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”    		 YES
    Assura PLC    		  
       
    2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE  
       
    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.  
    (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)  
       
    Class of relevant security: 12.5p ordinary (GB00BYRJ5J14)  
      Interests Short Positions  
      Number % Number %  
    (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 15,354,236 1.15 %      
    (2) Cash-settled derivatives:          
    (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:          
      Total 15,354,236 * 1.15 %      
    * Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and/or its affiliates do not have discretion regarding voting decisions in respect of 75,334 shares that are included in the total above.  
       
    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    		  
       
       
    (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)  
       
    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:    
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:    
       
    3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE  
       
    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    		  
    (a) Purchases and sales  
       
    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit  
    12.5p ordinary (GB00BYRJ5J14) Sale 179,628 1.0049 GBP  
    There was a Transfer In of 4,186 shares of 12.5p ordinary  
    (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions  
       
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit  
               
       
    (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)
     
    (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying
     
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
                   
       
    (ii) Exercise  
       
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit  
               
       
    (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)  
                 
    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)  
             
       
    4. OTHER INFORMATION  
       
    (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements  
       
    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”    		  
    None  
       
    (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives  
       
    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”    		  
    None  
       
    (c) Attachments  
       
    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO  
       
    Date of disclosure 02 June 2025  
    Contact name Thomas Hone  
    Telephone number +44 20 3033 3419  
       

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Arax Investment Partners Acquires Schechter Investment Advisors, Broadening Midwestern Presence

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arax Investment Partners (“Arax”), a premier wealth and asset management platform company backed by RedBird Capital Partners (“RedBird”), today announced that it has acquired Schechter Investment Advisors (“SIA”), the RIA business of Schechter, a boutique wealth advisory and financial services firm based in Birmingham, Michigan, with $4 billion in assets under management (“AUM”) as of May 28, 2025. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

    This deal marks the latest expansion of Arax’s platform, which continues to deepen its presence in high growth markets across the United States through strategic partnerships with leading wealth management advisory teams. Expanding the firm’s footprint and ability to meet client needs in the Midwest, SIA will join Arax Advisory Partners, Arax’s coalition of independent firms focused on specialized services, investment advice and planning solutions for high-net-worth families, individuals and institutions. Schechter’s Advanced Design Life Insurance business will remain a separate, independent entity.

    Servicing affluent clients across the United States, Schechter’s veteran advisory team has been providing financial advice to ultra-high-net-worth families for over 80 years. Upon close, the SIA team will merge with Arax Advisory Partners, further strengthening the firm’s capabilities and supporting future growth across the platform. Existing clients will benefit from the expanded range of planning and investment solutions offered by the Arax platform, and advisors will receive the strategic business development opportunities and expertise necessary to grow their business and provide an enhanced overall client experience.

    “For almost a century, we have found success by reaching across the financial landscape to identify the strategies and opportunities that best serve our clients and their goals,” said Marc Schechter, CEO of Schechter. “By joining the Arax platform, we benefit from the additional expertise, infrastructure and resources, allowing us to focus even more on what matters most: our clients. We’re excited to take this next step while preserving the relationships and values that have defined us for generations.”

    “The Schechter team is known for thoughtful, multi-generational financial planning and sophisticated investment solutions – exactly the type of partner we are looking for as the Arax platform scales,” said Haig Ariyan, CEO of Arax. “Schechter Investment Advisors was a natural fit given our complementary values and aligned strategic visions, as well as Arax’s focus on building capabilities in the Midwest. We feel privileged to partner with a team that brings such a strong legacy and wealth of expertise to our platform.”

    About Schechter
    Schechter is a boutique, third-generation wealth advisory and financial services firm. For 80 years, the firm’s multi-disciplined team consisting of JDs, CPAs, LLMs, CLUs, PFSs, CAPs, MBAs, CFA® charterholders, CFP® practitioners and CIMA® consultants have been quietly advising wealthy families on financial matters including: Institutional quality investment advisory services, private capital and alternative investments, advanced life insurance planning, income and estate taxes, business succession and charitable planning.

    About Arax Advisory Partners
    Arax Advisory Partners is a privately owned, independent Registered Investment Advisor specializing in customized investment platforms and highly sophisticated wealth planning solutions for high-net-worth families and individuals, businesses, and foundations. Arax Advisory Partners’ unique integrated and comprehensive approach provides the highest possible level of client service to establish lasting partnerships with all their clients while combining comprehensive asset management with leading edge financial planning services. The firm is headquartered in Denver, CO with offices across the country.

    About Arax Investment Partners
    Arax Investment Partners is a rapidly growing boutique wealth management platform making strategic control investments in leading RIAs and elite advisor teams. Founded and led by CEO Haig Ariyan — a seasoned industry executive with a distinguished track record of building and scaling wealth management businesses — Arax empowers its partners to be entrepreneurial and focus on delivering exceptional client service. Firms benefit from a management team with deep M&A expertise, capital sourcing capabilities, and the backing of RedBird Capital Partners. For more information, visit www.araxpartners.com.

    About RedBird Capital Partners
    RedBird Capital Partners is a private investment firm that builds high-growth companies with strategic capital solutions to founders and entrepreneurs. The firm currently manages $12 billion in assets on behalf of a global group of blue chip institutional and family office investors. Founded in 2014 by Gerry Cardinale, RedBird integrates sophisticated private equity investing with a hands-on business building mandate that focuses on three core industry verticals – Financial Services, Sports and Media & Entertainment. Over his 30-year investment career, Cardinale has partnered with founders and entrepreneurs to build some of the most iconic growth companies in their respective industries. For more information, please go to www.redbirdcap.com.

    Media Contact:

    Dan Gagnier
    Gagnier Communications
    RedBird@gagnierfc.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: TruGolf Announces Listing Extension from Nasdaq

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Salt Lake City, Utah, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TruGolf Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUG), a leading golf technology company, today announced that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel has granted the company an extension of time to comply with Nasdaq listing rules subject to panel conditions. The Company’s listing will be transferred to the Capital Market, effective at the open of business on June 3, 2025. 

    Chris Jones, TruGolf’s CEO, said: “We are very pleased with the Panel’s decision and appreciate the fair hearing we received. The Company is committed to executing our plan to meet the various Nasdaq listing requirements required by the Panel. We will utilize every available tool to achieve organic NASDAQ compliance of $1.00 to avoid a reverse stock split if possible.”

    About TruGolf Holdings

    TruGolf is a golf technology company, committed to making golf easy. From innovative uses for AI to build content and enhance its image and spatial analysis, to gamified golf improvement plans, TruGolf is an industry leader in the growing technological revolution in the sport of golf. Since its founding, TruGolf has redefined what is possible in golf through technology. TruGolf’s suite of Hardware, Software, and Web Products make it easier to Play, Improve, and Enjoy the game of golf.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Some of the statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the timing and the amount of shares that may be repurchased under the plan. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, expectations may prove to have been materially different from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company has attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including ”believes,” ”estimates,” ”anticipates,” ”expects,” ”plans,” ”projects,” ”intends,” ”potential,” ”may,” ”could,” ”might,” ”will,” ”should,” ”approximately” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of its date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances occurring after its date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov.

    For more information about our products and upcoming innovations, please visit TruGolf.com. 

    Media Contacts:

    TruGolf: Michael Bacal: Phone: 917-886-9071; mbacal@darrowir.com Web: TruGolf.com LinkedIn: @TruGolf

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: The Pula depreciated by 2 percent against the South African rand

    Source: Bank of Botswana

    Over the one-month period to May 2025, the Pula depreciated by 2 percent against the South African rand, while it appreciated by 1.8 percent against the SDR. It appreciated by 2.8 percent against the Japanese yen, 2.2 percent against the euro, 1.8 percent against the US dollar, 1.2 percent against the British pound and 0.8 percent against the Chinese renminbi.

    Meanwhile, over the twelve months period to May 2025, the nominal Pula exchange rate depreciated by 2.8 percent against the South African rand and 0.3 percent against the IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR). With respect to the SDR constituent currencies, the Pula depreciated by 6.2 percent against the Japanese yen, 3.4 percent against the British pound and 2.4 percent against the euro, while it appreciated by 2.3 percent against the US dollar and 1.4 percent against the Chinese renminbi.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Upgrade or Own Your First Galaxy – Now More Affordable Than Ever

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung is making it easier than ever to fall in love with Galaxy. Starting 1 June 2025, the popular Galaxy A Series entry-level smartphones – including the Galaxy A05, A05s, A06, and A16 – will be available at new, more affordable prices, putting your first or next Galaxy within even closer reach.
     
    With standout features like a crystal-clear 50MP main camera, long-lasting 5000mAh battery, and immersive large displays, these smartphones deliver incredible value without compromising on quality or breaking the bank, making them perfect for those stepping into the Galaxy ecosystem for the first time, or those simply looking to upgrade to the latest device packed with new technology and features.
     
    New Recommended Retail Pricing:
    • Galaxy A05: was R1,999 – now R1,899*
    • Galaxy A06: was R2,499 – now R2,299*
    • Galaxy A05s: was R2,999 – now R2,899*
    • Galaxy A16: was R3,999 – now R3,499*
     

     
    Whether you’re capturing life’s everyday moments, streaming your favourite content, or staying connected with your crew, the Galaxy A Series makes it easy to enjoy the best of Samsung innovation – now at prices that are easy to love.
     
    There’s no denying that your love for the Galaxy A Series will surely hit different when it’s this affordable.
     
    Step into the world of Galaxy. Visit your nearest Samsung store, retailer or shop online (www.samsung.com/za l or on the Samsung Shop App) to discover more.
     
    [*] Terms and Conditions Apply. Recommended retail price only. Prices may vary per retailer.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Nearly £1 billion for NHS frontline after agency spend crackdown

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Nearly £1 billion for NHS frontline after agency spend crackdown

    Government crack-down on rip-off temporary staffing agencies delivers unprecedented savings, as NHS trusts are urged to eradicate agency spending altogether

    • Reforms delivered through Plan for Change deliver mammoth NHS savings – with funding going to better patient care and staff pay

    • Major milestone in government pledge to completely eliminate all spending on temporary NHS agency staff  

    • Health Secretary and NHS England Chief Executive will consider legislative action if further progress not made

    NHS patients and staff are benefiting from an almost £1 billion boost for the frontline, as a government crack-down on rip-off temporary staffing agencies delivers unprecedented savings.

    The Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting announced strict agency spending limits last November and ordered trusts to reduce their spend on agency staff by 30% in the short-term so more money could be reinvested in the frontline and the wider NHS workforce.  

    Latest figures show spending on agency staff has already fallen by almost £1 billion in 2024/25 – a huge reduction which has helped funding go towards improving the quality-of-care patients receive, helping to reduce waiting lists, and enhancing safety – as reducing reliance on agency staff has been shown to decrease clinical incidents.   

    The savings are part of a package of reforms delivered by this government which have collectively allowed above inflation pay rises to all NHS staff, including resident doctors and nurses, this year to be fully funded.

    The Secretary of State and NHS England Chief Executive Jim Mackey have today written to all trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs), urging them to build on this progress and ultimately eradicate agency spending altogether. If the government does not feel further progress has been made by the autumn, it will consider taking further legislative action. 

    Health Minister Ashley Dalton said:

    The taxpayer has been footing the bill for rip-off agencies for too long – while patients have languished on waiting lists and demoralised staff faced years of pay erosion.  

    That’s why we are pledging to eliminate this squander, and through our Plan for Change we are making major progress and seeing a radical reduction in costs.   

    We’re already backing our health workers with above-inflation pay rises and now, nearly £1 billion is being reinvested back to the frontline, getting patients off waiting lists and putting money back into our workforce’s pocket.

    The NHS was forced to spend a staggering £3 billion on agency staff in 2023/24, money that could have been used to tackle record waiting lists and improve patient care. Recruitment agencies have charged NHS trusts up to £2,000 for a single nursing shift, thanks to the 113,000 staffing vacancies across the service. 

    The government’s laser focus on reducing waste means all NHS workers, including doctors and nurses, will receive real terms pay rises for the second year in a row, fully funded from central budgets. 

    It is funding a pay rise of 4% for consultants, specialty doctors, specialists and GPs, with dentists also receiving a contract uplift to increase their pay.  

    Resident doctors will see their pay rise by an average of 5.4% (a 4% rise plus a consolidated payment of £750) and we expect the average full-time basic pay of a resident doctor will reach about £54,300 in 2025-26.  Agenda for Change (AfC) staff, which includes nurses, health visitors, midwives, ambulance staff, porters and cleaners will see their pay rise by 3.6%. The starting salary for a nurse will now be around £31,050, up from around £27,050 in 2023.

    A new delivery group is being established across the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to monitor progress on tackling agency spending, and ensure trusts are taking robust action.  

    Trusts were previously ordered to reduce bank use – NHS staff who work temporary shifts at hospitals – by at least 10%, on top of strict agency spending limits across the health service. They have now been told to evaluate them against the local market to ensure they are not more than the average equivalent agency rate.  

    Elizabeth O’Mahony, chief financial officer at NHS England, said:

    The NHS is fully committed to making sure that every penny of taxpayers’ money is used wisely to the benefit of patients and the quality of care they receive.

    Our reforms towards driving down agency spend by nearly £1 billion over the past year will boost frontline services and help to cut down waiting lists, while ensuring fairness for our permanent staff.

    Nicola McQueen, Chief Executive at NHS Professionals, said:

    We strongly welcome today’s bold and progressive workforce policy announcement from the Secretary of State to significantly reduce external agency spending and put more investment back into patient care.

    NHS Professionals was created with the core purpose of reducing the NHS’s reliance on expensive external agencies. NHS Bank services are transforming workforce deployment, boosting productivity, and driving substantial cost reduction across the NHS.

    Last year we displaced over £680 million of external agency fees across NHS Trusts and healthcare organisations, providing more than 40 million hours of patient care. We look forward to working closely with our NHS client Trusts and partners to deliver even more savings across the NHS.

    Updates to this page

    Published 2 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Communities urged apply for funding to bring their festival or event to life

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Community organisations are being urged not to miss out on help to bring their festival or event to life.

    Community organisations are being urged not to miss out on help to bring their festival or event to life. 

    Sunderland City Council is giving community groups, partnerships, community interest companies, and social enterprises the chance to apply for grant funding of between £100 and £10,000 to help make their event happen.

    Councillor Beth Jones, Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism, said: “We have some brilliant community events in our city such as the annual Summer Streets Festival and the Boxing Day Dip. 

    “Our Festival and Events Fund is all about encouraging exciting new and emerging events which bring people together and spark the creativity that we know is out there in spades in our communities.

    “Whether it’s help towards venue hire, artist fees, road closures, picnic boxes or posters, the aim of this funding is to help support communities with the costs of bringing their vision to life or growing their newly established festival or event.”

    The City Council is especially looking to support projects which engage local communities, create new, dynamic and creative experiences, promote sustainability and greener events and encourage equality, diversity and social cohesion.

    To be in with a chance of securing grant funding, organisations will need to complete an application form and be able to demonstrate how their project meets a range of criteria.

    These include:

    • A completely new event/festival with a comprehensive business plan; or  
    • An event/festival less than five years old in its current format but that is looking to include additional activity to improve event sustainability  
    • An event/festival aimed at developing the cultural offer within its locality or to appeal more widely across the North-East  
    • Supporting the local economy  
    • Engaging people from the local community  
    • To fill a gap in the tourist/cultural season  
    • To develop the skills of volunteers  
    • To maximise non-public sources of income, with a view to the event/festival being sustainable and not dependent on funding  
    • To promote equality and diversity  

    Only festivals and events that are being planned to take place before 31 March 2026 will be eligible for funding. 

    To find out more about the fund and apply: www.mysunderland.co.uk/Bring-your-event-to-Sunderland

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Solar Alliance Energy, Inc. Announces Q1 Earnings, Continued Progress

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    (figures in Canadian dollars)

    TORONTO and KNOXVILLE, Tenn., June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solar Alliance Energy Inc. (‘Solar Alliance’ or the ‘Company’) (TSX-V: SOLR, OTC: SAENF), a leading solar energy solutions provider focused on the commercial and utility solar sectors, announces it has filed its unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The Company’s Financial Statements and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis are available under the Company’s profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

    “Solar Alliance’s main activity in Q1 2025, was the build-out of a large solar energy project for major repeat customer located in Kentucky. Due to unusually severe weather in Kentucky, which included widespread flooding, power outages, and tornadoes throughout the state, the project experienced delays in the quarter. This led to a reduced level of activity and a decline in revenues to $835,609, in Q1 2025 compared to $1,604,326, in Q1 2024. “As the severe weather setbacks subside, the company is coordinating closely with our client and our partners to expedite delivery of the project,” said CEO Brian Timmons. “This contract is expected to be concluded in the second quarter of 2025.”

    “Solar Alliance continues to see strong demand for commercial solar projects, and we remain focused on these larger projects, and community solar projects to generate meaningful growth. In addition to executing on larger projects, to the Company continues to service a steady flow of renewable energy projects for small and medium-sized businesses in rural communities. Looking ahead, we continue to target full-year profitability for 2025 as we focus on opportunities in the Southeast U.S commercial solar sector,” concluded Timmons.

    Key financial highlights for Q1, 2024

    • Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025, was $835,609 compared to $1,604,326 in the comparative period in 2024.
    • Cost of sales of $882,092 (Q1, 2024: $1,01,4394) resulting in a gross deficit of $46,483 (Q1, 2024: profit $585,932).
    • Net deficit of $474,277 (Q1, 2024: Net Income $141,303).
    • Cash balance of $13,111.
    • Total expenses of $424,065 (Q1, 2024: $451,188).

    Key business highlights and outlook

    The Company continues to target larger customers for solar system sales and installations, specifically for utility and commercial customers. The Company’s business development activity is now engaged in assessing specific projects of a scale up to 5MWs. The board believes the Company has a competitive advantage and can offer a compelling proposition in this segment of the market. In this regard, the Company’s track record and engagement with local power companies and progressive, high-quality corporate customers evidences its capacity to successfully undertake solar projects in the multi-megawatt range.

    While pursuing a determined, new focus on larger, commercial and local community solar projects, with a view to accelerating growth rapidly, the Company will continue, as a base level activity, to service the demand from small and medium-sized businesses in rural communities. The strength of demand for projects at this size level could be impacted by curtailment of certain incentives, referred to below, arising from budgetary developments arising from the current political background, referred to below.

    Corporate growth opportunities. The Company is also pursuing corporate opportunities to expand through partnerships, joint ventures or other initiatives that meet the Company’s criteria of profitability, market opportunity and strong management teams.

    Brian Timmons, CEO


    About Solar Alliance Energy Inc. (    www.solaralliance.com)

    Solar Alliance is an energy solutions provider focused on the commercial, utility and community solar sectors. Our experienced team of solar professionals reduces or eliminates customers’ vulnerability to rising energy costs, offers an environmentally friendly source of electricity generation, and provides affordable, turnkey clean energy solutions. Solar Alliance’s strategy is to ultimately build, own and operate our own solar assets while also generating stable revenue through the sale and installation of solar projects to commercial and utility community customers.

    Statements in this news release, other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company’s future plans and objectives or expected results, constitute Forward-looking statements.

    The words “would”, “will”, “expected” and “estimated” or other similar words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the resumption of trading of the Company’s common shares. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different than those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: the ability to complete the Company’s projects on schedule or at all, uncertainties related to the ability to raise sufficient capital; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; litigation, legislative or other judicial, regulatory, legislative and political competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties; the ability to maintain revenue growth; the ability to execute on the Company’s strategies; the ability to complete the Company’s current and backlog of solar projects; the ability to grow the Company’s market share; the high growth rate of the US solar industry; the ability to convert the backlog of projects into revenue; the expected timing of the construction and completion of the 1500 kW Kentucky solar projects; the targeting of larger customers; the ability to predict and counteract the effects, should they re-emerge, of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19, on the construction sector, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains; potential corporate growth opportunities and the ability to execute on the key objectives in 2025. Consequently, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

    “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 –

  • MIL-OSI: Trump Executive Order Fuels Regulatory Shift—Bitcoin Solaris Positioned to Lead Utility-Driven Crypto Era

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TALLINN, Estonia, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In a sweeping policy move, President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at accelerating the development of a U.S.-led digital asset infrastructure that prioritizes utility, transparency, and regulatory alignment. As Washington redefines its approach to crypto regulation, Bitcoin Solaris (BTC-S) emerges as a key beneficiary—poised to thrive in a landscape where technical innovation and compliance are no longer mutually exclusive.

    The executive order marks a pivotal moment in crypto’s evolution, signaling a shift away from speculative cycles and toward practical, scalable ecosystems. Projects designed with regulatory foresight—especially those that enable real-world use cases—are expected to take the lead.

    Bitcoin Solaris: Aligned with the New Regulatory Standard
    Bitcoin Solaris was built for this moment. With a hybrid Proof-of-Work/Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus model, BTC-S combines robust security with lightning-fast performance and energy efficiency—meeting emerging compliance and sustainability expectations.

    Key highlights of the Bitcoin Solaris network include:

    • Energy Efficiency: 99.95% lower consumption than traditional mining networks
    • Mobile-First Mining: The Solaris Nova App allows mining directly from mobile devices
    • Smart Contract Capabilities: Built with Rust, enabling DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and enterprise apps
    • Cross-Chain Integration: Native bridges to Solana for seamless interoperability
    • Regulatory-Ready Governance: Slashing and dynamic validator elections ensure network integrity

    The Fastest-Growing Crypto of 2025? Explore BTC-S Now

    Explosive Momentum: Presale That’s Rewriting Records

    With only 8 weeks left, the Bitcoin Solaris presale is proving to be one of the shortest and most explosive in crypto history. The numbers speak for themselves: over 11,000 unique users already onboard, and $1.8M+ raised. The current price is $6, moving to $7 in the next phase—on the way to a $20 launch.

    Investors are jumping in not just for speculative gains, but for utility-driven upside. As regulatory clarity fuels institutional confidence, BTC-S is quickly becoming the smart money’s next favorite asset.

    Referral Program That Rewards Everyone

    Bitcoin Solaris’s Double Rewards Referral Program turns community members into growth catalysts. Here’s how it works:

    • Referrers receive a 5% commission in BTC-S for every purchase made through their link.
    • Referred users also get a 5% bonus on their purchase.

    This dual-incentive approach isn’t just generous—it’s smart. It builds grassroots momentum, turns everyday crypto users into evangelists, and fosters long-term engagement.

    To join, users simply log in at bitcoinsolaris.com, grab their referral link, and share it through social platforms or directly with their network.

    Why Influencers Are Talking

    As the presale gains steam, the broader crypto community is paying attention. A detailed review by Token Empire covers how Bitcoin Solaris is building real momentum while other projects chase trends. With mentions spreading across Telegram and X, it’s clear this is not a quiet launch—it’s a coordinated wave.

    Final Thoughts: Regulatory Winds Favor the Prepared

    President Trump’s executive order is merely the spark. The real fire is being built by projects that align with the future of compliant, scalable, and accessible blockchain ecosystems. Bitcoin Solaris doesn’t just meet those standards—it anticipates them.

    With sustainable mining, mobile accessibility, and an infrastructure built for long-term value, BTC-S offers something rare in crypto: clarity, utility, and regulatory foresight. For early investors, the timing couldn’t be better.

    For more information:
    Website: https://www.bitcoinsolaris.com
     Telegram: https://t.me/Bitcoinsolaris
     X: https://x.com/BitcoinSolaris

    Media Contact
    Xander Levine
    press@bitcoinsolaris.com
    Press Kit: Available upon request

    Disclaimer: This is a paid post and is provided by Bitcoin Solaris. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/75b23ca3-cdd6-4484-94ab-7a9495b3da46

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fbab1640-63df-4306-9e6a-19b476b23224

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec8b8860-3878-4e92-b454-347ed497d033

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7513f830-a25f-44c6-bb52-f11d358b9a75

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund Announces Distribution of $0.08 Per Share for June 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    HOUSTON, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (the “Company”) announced today a monthly distribution of $0.08 per share for June 2025. This distribution is payable to common stockholders on June 30, 2025 (as outlined in the table below).

    The Company declares distributions on a monthly basis, with its next distribution expected to be declared in early July. Payment of future distributions is subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors, as well as meeting the covenants on the Company’s debt agreements and the terms of its preferred stock.

    Record Date /
    Ex-Date    		 Payment Date Distribution Amount Return of Capital
    Estimate
    6/13/25 6/30/25 $0.08 50%(1)

    (1) This estimate is based on the Company’s anticipated earnings and profits. The final determination of the tax character of distributions will not be determinable until after the end of fiscal 2025 and may differ substantially from this preliminary information.
    Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KYN) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, whose common stock is traded on the NYSE. The Company’s investment objective is to provide a high after-tax total return with an emphasis on making cash distributions to stockholders. KYN intends to achieve this objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of Energy Infrastructure Companies. See Glossary of Key Terms in the Company’s most recent quarterly report for a description of these investment categories and the meaning of capitalized terms.

    The Company pays cash distributions to common stockholders at a rate that may be adjusted from time to time. Distribution amounts are not guaranteed and may vary depending on a number of factors, including changes in portfolio holdings and market conditions. 

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer or sale is not permitted. Nothing contained in this press release is intended to recommend any investment policy or investment strategy or consider any investor’s specific objectives or circumstances. Before investing, please consult with your investment, tax, or legal adviser regarding your individual circumstances.

    CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This communication contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions, or beliefs about future events. These and other statements not relating strictly to historical or current facts constitute forward-looking statements as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties. These risks include but are not limited to changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; energy industry risk; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; and other risks discussed in detail in the Company’s filings with the SEC, available at www.kaynefunds.com or www.sec.gov. Actual events could differ materially from these statements or our present expectations or projections. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Kayne Anderson undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Company’s investment objectives will be attained.

    Contact investor relations at 877-657-3863 or cef@kayneanderson.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Xunlei Closes Acquisition of Hupu

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SHENZHEN, China, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Xunlei Limited (“Xunlei” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: XNET), a leading technology company providing distributed cloud services in China, today announced that it has closed the acquisition of Shanghai Kuanghui Network Technology Co., Ltd. (“Kuanghui”, also known as Shanghai Kuanghui Internet Technology Co., Ltd.), which operates Hupu, a leading sports media and data platform in China.

    Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement between Xunlei and Kuanghui, Xunlei has paid a cash consideration of RMB400 million prior to the closing. As announced previously, the total cash consideration for the transaction is RMB500 million. Xunlei will pay the remaining RMB100 million cash consideration in two equal installments after twelve and twenty-four months following the closing of the transaction, respectively, according to the terms of the definitive agreement.

    About Xunlei

    Founded in 2003, Xunlei Limited (Nasdaq: XNET) is a leading technology company providing distributed cloud services in China. Xunlei provides a wide range of products and services across cloud acceleration, shared cloud computing and digital entertainment to deliver an efficient, smart and safe internet experience.

    Safe Harbor Statement

    This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the management’s quotes in this press release, as well as the Company’s strategic, operational and acquisition plans, contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the Company’s ability to continue to innovate and provide attractive products and services to retain and grow its user base; the Company’s ability to keep up with technological developments and users’ changing demands in the internet industry; the Company’s ability to convert its users into subscribers of its premium services; the Company’s ability to deal with existing and potential copyright infringement claims and other related claims; the Company’s ability to react to the governmental actions for its scrutiny of internet content in China and the Company’s ability to compete effectively. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties faced by the Company is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of the press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law.

    Investor Relations
    Xunlei Limited
    Email: ir@xunlei.com 
    Tel: +86 755 6111 1571
    Website: http://ir.xunlei.com

    The MIL Network –