Category: Commerce

MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Lawler Announces Over $32 Million in Federal Funding in FY25, Set to Deliver More Than $70 Million For District in First Term

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17)

Yesterday, Congressman Mike Lawler was joined by Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco and other local elected officials outside the Rockland County Sheriff’s office to highlight major infrastructure and public safety investments for the Hudson Valley secured in federal community project funding for Fiscal Year 2025. Although the appropriations work for Fiscal Year 2025 is still ongoing, Congressman Lawler has already secured more than $32.9 million for fifteen different projects across New York’s 17th Congressional District. This is in addition to $38 million in federal funding for 17 projects in Fiscal Year 2024. With the latest numbers, Congressman Lawler is set to deliver more than $70 million for New York’s 17th Congressional District in his first term in office.

“When I was elected to represent this district, I promised I would work with my partners at every level of government and in both parties to prioritize the needs of our residents,” said Congressman Lawler. “That’s exactly what I’ve done in working with each of the officials with me here today to ensure funding for each of these important projects.”

“Projects like these are great examples of what we can accomplish when we put aside politics and focus on meeting the needs of our communities and constituents,” Congressman Lawler concluded. “That’s been my focus as a Congressman, it’s been my focus throughout the appropriations process for both Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025, and it will always be my focus.”

Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of the 118th Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties.

Complete footage of yesterday’s press conference can be viewed here.

Below is a list and description of each project announced by Congressman Lawler:

Rockland County Public Safety and Crime Prevention Initiative

Recipient: Rockland County Sheriff’s Office

Amount: $4,500,000

Summary: The funding will be used for necessary law enforcement priorities such as police vehicles, equipment to be utilized at a new reality-based public safety training facility, and the structural analysis and design of the facility. This project will provide necessary support to the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office to ensure effective enforcement of laws, address crimes, and improve the criminal justice system across the County. These priorities closely align with the purposes of the Byrne Justice Grants program.

Law Enforcement Reality-Based Training Facility

Recipient: Rockland County Sheriff’s Office

Amount: $2,600,000

Summary: The funding will be used to construct a new reality-based training facility for the Rockland County Sheriff Department to grow law enforcement capacity, ensure effective law enforcement operations, and overall enhance public safety throughout the county. This project will increase law enforcement capacity and enhance development of public safety in Rockland County, NY. This new facility will allow the Sheriff’s office to better combat crime, improve community safety, and foster an environment more conducive to economic development.

Westchester Pleasantville Water District Storage Tank Replacement/Rehabilitation

Amount: $2,250,000

Summary: The funding will be used to mitigate risks attached to their leaking North and South Water Storage Tanks. Both 1-million-gallon water storage tanks are housed within the Millwood Water Treatment Plant approximately 3 miles north of the Village and services the entire Pleasantville Water District and approximately 2,000 residents in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Over the course of their 90-year history, both storage tanks have been exposed to natural deterioration, which has led to their useful life cycles coming to an end. Funding for the proposed Water Tank Improvement project will replace both of the Village’s North and South water tanks, which will significantly reduce the tax burden placed on residents. The completion of this project will positively impact the Pleasantville water distribution system, which services all 7,513 residents (U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Decennial Census) and an additional 2,000+ residents living in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Without funding, Pleasantville’s North and South Water Tanks would continue to suffer from leakage which will compromise the Village’s water supply, further increasing distribution risks that will negatively affect residential quality of life.

Nanuet TOD Project

Recipient: Town of Clarkstown

Amount: $5,000,000

Summary: The funding will be used for construction of the first phase of its transformative vision for the Nanuet Transit Oriented Development Plan (TOD), including water and sewer infrastructure improvements, road, sidewalk, and pedestrian safety and streetscape enhancements. Bringing this extensive new infrastructure will spark the redevelopment of the area by mitigating the drainage issues plaguing development in the area, enhancing the appeal of the area, and creating the necessary connectivity for a walkable and easily accessible TOD neighborhood. This transformational project will lead to an expansion of workforce housing, parking, and economic opportunity for the community.

Safer Ramapo Project

Recipient: Town of Ramapo

Amount: $5,000,000

Summary: The funding will be used for installation of pedestrian safety measures, including traffic signals, turning lanes, walking paths, and sidewalks in the Town of Ramapo. Directing funding towards pedestrian safety measures will not only mitigate the risk of accidents but also cultivate a more pedestrian-friendly environment. This will improve accessibility and safety, improve connectedness, and improve ADA compliance. The Town of Ramapo is also home to one of the largest Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish populations in the country, with many of these individuals walking to shul on Saturdays. To ensure the safety of these individuals, the Town of Ramapo requires additional funding for the construction of sidewalks. From 2011-2022, there have been 983 pedestrian injuries, and twenty-seven (27) deaths in the Town of Ramapo. Safer walking conditions continue to be an urgent need for Ramapo residents.

Carmel Water District II Water Plant Upgrade and Rehabilitation Project

Recipient: Town of Carmel

Amount: $1,250,000

Summary: The funding will be used to repair/replace a 60-year-old facility and associated equipment to meet federal and state requirements of PFOAs. This project will directly benefit approximately 10,000 individuals on a daily basis. Beyond safeguarding public health, it will also have far reaching positive effects on various institutions and businesses in downtown Carmel, including the Putnam Hospital, and Carmel High School.

Hallocks Mill Sewer District Extension Project

Recipient: Town of Yorktown

Amount: $1,250,000

Summary: The funding will provide public sewer service to neighborhoods presently serviced by residential septic systems. The properties served by septic systems have generally been installed on small lots with steep slopes and environmental constraints, which are not ideal for septic system performance. The extended district will dramatically improve and enhance the water quality of Sparkle Lake, a major recreational resource for town residents, as well as the Croton Reservoir, which provides drinking water for millions of residents in the metropolitan area. The proposed wastewater infrastructure project, however, protects one of the largest public water systems in the United States.

Croton Falls Sewer Project

Recipient: Town of North Salem

Amount: $1,250,000

Summary: The project will install sewers in the Village of Croton Falls’ General Business district to replace existing septic and cesspools. The Village is struggling because some of its businesses, especially all of the restaurants which have mixed use with residential apartments over them, are on older septic tanks that cannot be upgraded due to a lack of space. Due to its proximity to the Muscoot Reservoir, many of the existing tanks and fields are on New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) property and under roads, some are not fixable if they were to fail. To allow the Village to take advantage of its assets and begin to realize the potential of the community, Croton Falls needs sewers, which this funding will provide.

Town of Orangetown Sidewalk Improvement Project

Recipient: Town of Orangetown

Amount: $1,500,000

Summary: The funding would be used for streetscaping improvements in the Hamlet of Pearl River in the Town of Orangetown specifically to install sidewalks, curbs, and drainage improvements. This project provides streetscape improvements that meet a compelling local need consistent with the statutory purposes of the Economic Development Initiative. The corridor receiving these improvements has seen three fatalities in the last 15 years and is part of Orangetown’s continued efforts to improve pedestrian safety on Middletown Road. Sidewalks are a critical element of community well-being and serve as a connector between residents, neighborhoods, local economies, and more. Walkable sidewalks will ensure Orangetown is a place that attracts both businesses and new residents, which will surely promote economic development in the community.

Village of New Square Road Infrastructure Improvements Project

Recipient: Village of New Square

Requested Amount: $4,000,000

Summary: The funding will complete much needed improvements for NYS Route 45, widen Village roads, and complete paving improvements. The project will enhance traffic flow and increase the safety of motorists and pedestrians by addressing long-standing concerns about road conditions and motorist/pedestrian safety in the Village of New Square. Portions of the project area lack adequate sidewalks as a buffer from narrow, congested roads and are inherently dangerous in a fast-growing Village where many pedestrians utilize Village streets to travel to school, shopping, and visits to friends and family. By rectifying roadway deficiencies, the Village will relieve congestion, reduce travel time, and increase vehicle operating benefits.

Memorial Drive Reconstruction Project

Recipient: Village of Suffern

Amount: $1,000,000

Summary: The funding will be used for the reconstruction of Memorial Drive. The project will reopen a critical thoroughfare for emergency vehicles and for their timely response which can save lives, prevent injuries and protect property. Memorial Drive, which is currently closed due to the continual road deterioration and for the safety of residents, is also a major connection between the local community and US Route 202. Its reconstruction will stabilize the road for the safe use by all traffic including emergency vehicles.

Downtown Water Main Lining Project

Recipient: Village of Sleepy Hollow

Amount: $983,200

Summary: The funding will support a multi-phase project to address hydraulic inefficiencies in the downtown area, the Village of Sleepy Hollow will reline and replace approximately 1,980 linear feet of existing 8” water main line along a portion of Cortlandt Street and College Avenue. The current downtown water system is over 100 years old. The inner village neighborhoods bordering the downtown area represent the Village’s largest number of public housing units, low-income housing, low-income senior housing, and middle-income housing. This corridor is a critical aspect of public health and safety, connectivity and multi-modal transportation, affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and overall economic investment. As a result, this project will provide immediate remediation and resiliency to infrastructure that otherwise poses a water quality and economic risk to the community, particularly its most vulnerable residents.

Samsondale Avenue Curbs & Sidewalk Replacement Project

Recipient: Village of West Haverstraw

Amount: $800,000

Summary: The funding will be used to construct necessary upgrades of sidewalks and curbing along Samsondale Avenue, which have rapidly deteriorated and become a hazard. The project will unlock critical improvements to a main thoroughfare for a Village operating on a limited budget. Many pedestrians utilize Samsondale Avenue to get to the business district along Railroad Avenue and Route 9W as well as access to and from the Village of Haverstraw. The lack of sidewalks is potentially hazardous to people walking on them. This project will improve accessibility and safety, improve connectedness, and improve ADA compliance.

Westchester County Public Safety Enhancements

Recipient: City of Peekskill

Amount: $520,000

Summary: The funding will be used for expanding and modernizing the Peekskill police station, which is currently at capacity. The City of Peekskill’s police station is currently at capacity and urgently requires more space. With this necessary facility expansion and modernization, the City will be able to hire 10 more law enforcement officers, which will significantly improve operations.

North State Road Water Main Replacement Initiative

Recipient: Town of Ossining

Amount: $1,000,000

Summary: The funding will upgrade the community’s water distribution system on North State Road, an area that has a history of water main breaks, including 14 incidents over the last 5 years, that has exposed the general public to health risks and requires expensive repairs. It will improve the Town’s water distribution system as a part of a larger initiative to replace all aged cast iron water mains, significantly reducing the likelihood of water main breaks in a historically problematic area and positively impacting all 37,764 users in the service area.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Less Than Five Days Remain to Apply for FEMA Assistance
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Less Than Five Days Remain to Apply for FEMA Assistance

Less Than Five Days Remain to Apply for FEMA Assistance
Attention, New Mexicans affected by the South Fork and Salt Fires and/or flooding. Do not wait any longer to apply for FEMA federal disaster assistance. The deadline to apply for assistance is less than five days away.

Homeowners and renters impacted by the fires and flooding, from June 17 to Aug. 20, 2024, who live in Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan Counties, or on the Mescalero Apache Reservation have only until Saturday, Oct. 19 to apply. The deadline to apply for a long-term, low-interest disaster loan for physical damage from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is also Oct. 19.

FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP or other federal and state benefits.

How to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance

The first step for individuals and households to receive assistance is to apply to FEMA for federal assistance. There are no costs involved to apply for, or receive, FEMA assistance. There are four ways to apply:
1. Go online to disasterassistance.gov/
2. Download the FEMA App for mobile devices at fema.gov/about/news-multimedia/mobile-products
3. Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. Help is available in most languages.
4. Visit the state of New Mexico/FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Horton Complex, 237 Service Road in Ruidoso. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
For an American Sign Language (ASL) video on how to apply for assistance, visit youtube.com/watch= WZGpWI2RCNw.

For more information about FEMA’s Individual Assistance program, visit  www.fema.gov/assistance/individual.
angela.ambroise
Wed, 10/16/2024 – 14:47

MIL OSI USA News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: As the CFPB tightens restrictions on medical debt collections, Navicore Solutions provides invaluable resources to consumers affected by medical debt

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MANALAPAN, N.J., Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Approximately 14 million people (6% of adults) in the U.S. owe over $1,000 in medical debt according to health policy research group KFF. The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) stated that about 100 million Americans owe over $220 billion in medical debt, a problem that’s compounded by medical billing complexity and the third-party vendors many healthcare organizations employ to complete that billing.

Medical debt can be overwhelming, especially when compounded with other debt loads such as credit card debt. Navicore Solutions provides a vital resource for households, providing guidance and solutions to alleviate the stress of a spiraling financial situation.

“Medical billing is often riddled with errors, including inflated or duplicative charges, fees for services the patient never received, or charges already paid,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement earlier this month. “The CFPB is taking action to ensure that Americans are not unfairly chased by debt collectors over unsubstantiated or invalid medical bills.”

The CFPB is focusing on the regulation of third-party medical debt collection companies, the enforcement of the ‘No Surprises Act’ which ensures that healthcare consumers do not face unjustifiably high medical debts, and that consumers are not pursued for falsified or ‘up-coded’ medical procedures.

Across the United States, 14.3% of households are carrying medical debt with the aging Boomer generation holding the most medical debt with an average of $22,000 owed. The problem of medical debt is exacerbated across all generations when there is low or no medical insurance coverage, or a household includes an individual with a disability.

“Medical debt can strike anyone at any time, throwing a household into financial uncertainty,” said Diane Gray, Navicore’s Chief Operating Officer. “Navicore offers a lifeline to those seeking actionable steps to overcome growing medical debt.”

As the medical debt issue in America mounts, CFPB asserted that all entities involved in patient collections, including debt collectors and patients themselves, must be aware of the federal laws protecting consumers. Navicore Solutions provides a help to consumers in search of a path forward.

About Navicore Solutions

Founded in 1991, Navicore Solutions is a national leader in the field of nonprofit financial counseling with a mission to strengthen the well-being of individuals and families through education, guidance, advocacy, and support.

Navicore counselors provide a wide range of services including credit counseling to consumers in need; education programs through workshops, courses and written material; debt management plan to provide relief for applicable consumers; student loan counseling for those struggling with student loan debt; and housing counseling services in the areas of rental, pre-purchase, default and reverse mortgage. The agency is an advocate of financial education helping communities achieve and maintain financial stability.

Contact:
Lori Stratford
Digital Marketing Manager
Navicore Solutions
lstratford@navicoresolutions.org
navicoresolutions.org

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: AutoScheduler.AI and Softeon Host LinkedIn Live Event: The Future of Warehouse Productivity: Strategies for Supply Chain Success
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AutoScheduler.AI, an innovative Warehouse Orchestration Platform and WMS accelerator announces that Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI, and Mark Fralick, CTO from Softeon, will discuss on a LinkedIn Live session the future of warehouse productivity and the strategies that will define success in today’s supply chain. The free event occurs on October 31, 2024, at 1:00 PM EDT.

As the warehouse management landscape evolves, businesses face increasing pressure to optimize operations, integrate advanced technologies, and respond to labor and demand volatility. In this session, Keith and Mark will explore the power of warehouse orchestration—a game-changing approach that combines automation, real-time data, and predictive analytics to maximize efficiency.

Sign up for the Live Event at: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7252297224133451776/comments/

“Whether your business is dealing with ongoing labor challenges or looking to future-proof your warehouse operations, this LinkedIn Live session will provide actionable insights to help you stay ahead in the rapidly changing world of supply chain management,” says Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI. “Don’t miss this opportunity to hear about the innovations shaping the future of warehouse productivity.”

Attendees will learn:
- How warehouse orchestration can optimize workflows, minimize downtime, and enhance labor productivity.
- How to leverage technology to gain real-time operational visibility and improve decision-making.
- What are the practical strategies for addressing the growing complexity of supply chain operations.
As CEO of AutoScheduler.AI, Keith Moore is a warehousing visionary, working with top Consumer Goods, Food, Beverage, Retail, and Distribution companies to drive efficiencies and improve on-time, in-full fulfillment. He is focused on bringing advanced technologies like AI and ML to the supply chain in network optimization and warehouse orchestration. Keith holds multiple patents in neural architecture search and supply chain planning. He has been published in trade journals and industry groups like SupplyChainBrain, Inbound Logistics, ISSA, and OTC for his work in logistics, cyber security, and predictive maintenance applications.

Mark Fralick serves as Softeon’s Chief Technology Officer, driving its architectural platform, deployment infrastructure, and operating platform. For his work as a WMS architect, he has been called the “Godfather of the Modern WMS.” Mark has been a leader in the Warehouse Management System sector for three decades and a pioneer in the development of WMS technologies. His expertise and strategic vision contribute to Softeon’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions, emphasizing optimizing value for its clientele.

About AutoScheduler.AI
AutoScheduler.AI orchestrates warehouse activities directly on top of your WMS, optimizing operations for peak performance. Developed alongside industry leaders like P&G and successfully deployed at prominent companies such as Pepsi, General Mills, and Unilever, our AI and Machine Learning platform seamlessly integrates with your existing systems. Focused on labor planning, inventory workflow, human-robotics interaction, and space utilization, we streamline operations, reducing travel and inventory handling while maximizing OTIF rates and labor efficiency. With prescriptive analytics driving insights, our clients harness the power to enhance efficiencies and generate value across their supply chains. Reach out to us at info@autoscheduler.ai for more information.

About Softeon
Softeon is a WMS provider focused exclusively on optimizing warehouse and fulfillment operations. For over two decades now, we have been helping our customers succeed. Investing in R&D enables us to develop software to solve the most complex warehouse challenges. Softeon is laser-focused on customer results, with a 100% track record of deployment success. We believe warehouse leaders shouldn’t have to settle for a one-size-fits-all all approach to technology. For more information, please visit http://www.Softeon.com.

Contact:
Becky Boyd
MediaFirst PR
Becky@MediaFirst.Net
Cell: (404) 421-8497

The MIL Network –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: VR developments, game design, online communities: the gaming industry festival took place at the HSE

MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

The festival “I want to go to gamedev!” has ended at the business school. It was organized by a team of teachers and graduates of the “Game Project Management” program. More than 220 representatives of the gaming industry gathered at the HSE campus on Shabolovka: from beginners to developers, scriptwriters and other gamedev professionals. The initiators of the project offered a vibrant program so that participants could immediately immerse themselves in showcase projects, master classes and discussions, lectures from industry gurus – neither theoretical nor practical aspects of game development were forgotten. The festival partner is the company “Virtual Glasses”.

The showcase zone became a special highlight of the event – students of the Game Project Management program launched their projects here. One of them was the game Twilight Wars, created by graduates and teacher Sergey Golubkin, which was recently released in early access on the VK Play platform. Participants were lucky to see the premiere from the Terrabyte Games team and blogger Daria Ostrovskaya – the game Run Away from Me: Alexandra – and many other promising projects. The children’s development project KnigaKit, developed by a graduate of the program and winner of the All-Russian competition Start the Game, the stand of the Vengeance Games studio with their projects Azrael: Herald of the Death and Shadows of Vengeance, the cooperative shooter Ironwaste from the team of a 21games graduate.

A separate area of the festival was dedicated to virtual and augmented reality technologies. The latest VR developments were tested here, such as the role-playing VR shooter “Dixotomia” and the new VR game “Smasher VR” from the BHS team.

A special guest of the festival was Anastasia Shalunkova with the team of one of the largest communities of independent developers – “Gamedev Schrödinger”. They held a master class on creating mascots and organizing online communities and discussed with the participants the future of “Gamedev Schrödinger” and cooperation with regional developers. Together with them, partners from the All-Russian competition “Start the game” took part in the event, which became a social lift for many developers. They held many activities and presented branded gifts.

The lecture part of the festival started with a greeting from Vyacheslav Utochkin, head of the Game Project Management program. The first speaker, Konstantin Sakhnov, producer and founder of Vengeance Games, talked about how to become a game designer, what skills are needed for this and how to prepare for work in the industry. Oleg Dobroshtan picked up the topic of project management and talked about the importance of assembling the right team and keeping it motivated. Sergey Chekmaev, writer, screenwriter, literary producer, member of the Board of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation, and Nikolay Kalinichenko, Chairman of the Union of Writers of the Russian Federation, announced the release of books on game franchises. Vyacheslav Utochkin and Sergey Zykov, teachers of the Game Project Management program, together with representatives and members of the Union of Writers, presented a book in the RealRPG genre about a game designer who finds himself in the world of a game. The series of announcements was completed by the news about the opening of the Dzen Games Studio, created by future students of the “Game Project Management” program with the support of teachers.

Ilya Boytsov, another speaker at the festival, founder of the Midhard studio, also a graduate and teacher of the HSB program, shared his experience of working in the gaming industry, spoke about the risks and successes of his path. The speech by Andrey Malakhov, game director of Mensa Studio, was devoted to pitching projects and evaluating ideas at the early stages of development.

The final chord of the event was a round table, where invited experts and guests discussed current trends in game design. The discussion was attended by famous figures in the gaming industry: Konstantin Sakhnov, game producer and founder of the Vengeance Games studio, Vladimir Agarev, creative director of the Jay-Joy studio, Olga Maksimenkova, associate professor of the Faculty of Computer Science at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and Denis Pozdnyakov, co-owner of the Vintorog and Contrast Games studios. The speakers discussed artificial intelligence in game development, the growth of indie projects, and new opportunities for developers through government funds and grants.

The “I Want to Be in Gamedev!” festival at the Higher School of Business of the National Research University Higher School of Economics has become a landmark event for everyone interested in the gaming industry.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://gsb.hse.ru/nevs/975637470.html

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: AG Platkin, Division of Consumer Affairs Announce New Rules Aimed at Promoting Greater Transparency in Prescription Drug Pricing, Including How and Why Prices Are Increased
Source: US State of New Jersey

TRENTON – Advancing the Murphy Administration’s efforts to rein in the high cost of prescription drugs in New Jersey, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“Division”) today announced specially adopted new rules promoting greater transparency in prescription drug pricing.

The new rules, which became effective upon acceptance for filing by the Office of Administrative Law yesterday, implement P.L. 2023, c. 106, signed into law by Governor Murphy in July 2023 as part of a legislative package to combat the rising costs of prescription drugs in the state.

“The high cost of prescription drugs is a financial burden that disproportionately impacts the health and well-being of the most vulnerable among us: low-income families, the elderly, the uninsured, and people with disabilities,” said Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “Until now, we’ve been kept in the dark about the main drivers of high prescription drug costs. The new rules allow us to gain greater insight into prescription drug pricing and a better understanding of how we can help advance the goal of prescription drug affordability and accessibility.”

The new rules establish registration, reporting, and compliance requirements for five entities across the prescription drug supply chain—manufacturers, insurance carriers, pharmacy benefits managers, wholesalers and pharmacy services administrative organizations. The entities will be required to provide the Division with information and data pertaining to drugs with significant price increases or high launch prices and other drugs of interest. The Division will then use this information to produce an annual report on emerging trends in prescription drug prices. The report, which will be posted on the Division’s newly created prescription drug pricing webpage, will also be used to help the newly created Drug Affordability Council formulate legislative and regulatory policy recommendations focused on prescription drug affordability.

“Establishing rules for the collection, analysis, and reporting of information that sheds light on drug pricing is integral to the Division’s core mission of ensuring fairness and transparency in the market for goods and services,” said Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “The information we collect will help us identify factors that contribute to the high cost of prescription drugs and improve oversight of the drug industry to the benefit of New Jersey consumers.”

Under the new rules:
- Manufacturers must notify the Division of price increases and new drugs that meet statutory price thresholds, and then report more detailed information on those drugs to the Division;
- Carriers must report to the Division information on spending for the top 25 prescription drugs and drug groups in certain categories;
- Pharmacy Services Administrative Organizations (PSAOs) must report negotiated reimbursement rates to the Division; and
- Wholesalers and Pharmacy Benefits Managers must provide pricing, volume, and discount information for drugs and drug groups identified by the Division as a result of the information provided by the manufacturers, carriers, and PSAOs.
The specially adopted new rules shall be effective for a period not to exceed 545 days from the date of filing. Concurrently, the provisions of the new rules will be proposed for readoption and published in the NJ Register on November 18, 2024, in accordance with the normal rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, N.J.S.A. 52:14B-1 et seq.

MIL OSI USA News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Three ways the upcoming UN biodiversity summit could make a difference

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Harriet Bulkeley, Professor of Geography, Durham University

Projects on the Indus River in Pakistan are helping to tackle biodiversity loss. Salik Javed/Shutterstock

When negotiations at Cop15 – the UN’s biodiversity conference – ended in December 2022, many delegates breathed a sigh of relief.

Threatening snowstorms outside the convention centre in Montreal, Canada seemed to lift just as the political weather changed and the long-awaited Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework was agreed. It’s mission: to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 in order to achieve the ultimate goal of a society living in harmony with nature by 2050.

Fast forward two years and governments, businesses, representatives of Indigenous people and local communities, experts from environmental groups such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and scientists will gather for the follow-up Cop16 meeting in Cali, Colombia, from October 21. Many due to attend, including myself, wonder whether the promise made to “halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030” is achievable.

Initial signs are not promising. For starters, no international targets for biodiversity have ever been met.

Only a handful of countries, including China, Canada and France, have submitted new national biodiversity plans demonstrating how they will implement the promises made two years ago. Most countries, including the UK, (that’s more than 80% in total) haven’t submitted their full plans.

Countries can also submit updates for the 23 targets listed in the framework. The UK and others have submitted targets such as promising to reduce the impact of pollution on nature and ensuring that 30% of land is effectively protected in line with the framework.

But crucial questions remain about how those goals will be reached. To make Cop16 effective, three things need to happen.

1. Decide on a plan

When delegates gather in Cali, questions of implementation will be front and centre of the negotiations. The first challenge is that the approach for monitoring progress on all 23 targets – including issues such as improving access to nature in cities, reducing harmful subsidies and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems – is yet to be agreed.

For some, the approach that has been developed so far lacks ambition in crucial areas. Indicators suggested for monitoring progress on reducing the impacts of consumption on nature remain very weak for example. For others, it may prove too challenging.

For example, countries with limited access to data might not be able to track alien species or assess how critical services provided by nature to make societies more resilient might be affected by climate change. Getting agreement at the Cop16 negotiations will be vital in order to hold countries to account as the 2030 deadline set to achieve all of the targets approaches.

2. Find the funds

Another crucial issue is funding: who will pay for the action required? The global biodiversity framework fund (GBFF) was established in 2023 to provide financial support.

Yet so far, it has only attracted contributions of around US$230 billion (£176 billion) from a small group of countries including Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and Spain. Leaders gathering in Cali, and especially those from developing countries, are calling for more funding and for greater control over how it is allocated.

The next UN biodiversity conference will be held in Cali, Columbia from October 21 to November 1.
Tudoran Andrei/Shutterstock

3. Make biodiversity matter

A third debate will decide how best to ensure that biodiversity action is mainstreamed across governments, businesses and communities.

In Montreal, countries agreed to make sure that the impacts on nature were considered across different policy areas (such as building new roads or developing new energy sources) and in economic sectors, from fishing to agriculture and mining to tech.

They agreed that groups most likely to be affected by the loss of nature, including Indigenous people and local communities, women and youth, should help make key decisions. While targets such as protecting 30% of the land and sea for nature are crucial, progress will only happen if nature is put on everyone’s bottom line.

Delivering real change

The urgent need for action is not lost on delegates gathering in Cali. There is a real risk that the promise countries made in Montreal to deliver “transformative action by governments, and regional and local authorities, with the involvement of all of society” won’t be met.

But there are some hopeful signs of transformative change to conserve and restore nature and ensure its sustainable use.

Take, for example, the Tree Equity Partnership in Detroit, US. This partnership between the city, US-based charity American Forests and the local non-profit charity Greening of Detroit aims to plant 75,000 trees. This will create places of beauty, biodiversity and climate resilience in underserved neighbourhoods and generate 300 new jobs in the city.

In Pakistan, the Living Indus initiative is an umbrella organisation that has identified 25 projects involving local and regional governments, businesses and communities working together to restore the ecological health of the Indus river.

Businesses are also calling for real change. More than 170 investors have signed a pledge developed by a coalition of financial institutions called the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation to take action for nature across their portfolios.

New science-based standards are being developed to drive the mainstreaming of biodiversity action through their companies and associated supply chains. Cop16 is expected to see increased interest from the private sector and a focus on tackling climate change and biodiversity together.

These projects are successfully tackling the root causes of global biodiversity loss. They integrate solutions and deal with social and environmental issues – poverty and exploitation, climate risks and land use change. Tackling these problems is just as vital as the need for sustainable production and consumption plus investment that works for, not against, nature.

Projects such as these are the ones that give scientists and conservationists like me – and organisations like WWF that I work with – hope. We want to see more projects that take action on nature, climate and social justice together. If Cop16 can make even a small step in this direction, the world will be travelling towards making real progress by the end of this decade.

Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

Harriet Bulkeley receives funding from the European Commission and currently serves as an advisor to the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

– ref. Three ways the upcoming UN biodiversity summit could make a difference – https://theconversation.com/three-ways-the-upcoming-un-biodiversity-summit-could-make-a-difference-240225

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: $220.98 Million in Federal Funding Now Set for Washington Bridge Replacement

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02)

Building on previous Mega award, new $95.5 million INFRA grant is second significant pledge of federal aid totaling $220.98 million

Providence, RI – The effort to replace the westbound Washington Bridge got a major boost today as U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo today joined with Governor Dan McKee in announcing a $95,589,533 INFRA (Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program) grant for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT).

Together, with a previous $125.39 million Mega grant(also known as the National Infrastructure Project Assistance program) that the state was awarded in September, Rhode Island has now received $220.98 million in federal funding to replace the Washington Bridge, fully funding the state’s request for the project.

The new federal funds are being made available thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), which Reed and Whitehouse supported and was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021, delivering a 50 percent increase in the amount of available funding for INFRA grants, as well as resources for improving Rhode Island’s roads, bridges, public transportation, and water infrastructure.

The Washington Bridge, which spans the Seekonk River connecting East Providence to Providence and has a daily traffic volume of 90,000 vehicles, was shut down on December 11, 2023 after RIDOT discovered broken anchor rods that put the bridge at risk of failure.

“Securing this federal investment has been a top priority. Now the state must utilize this $220.98 million in federal funding to accelerate progress toward a new bridge that meets capacity and safety needs now and in the future,” said Reed, a leading member of the Appropriations Committee. “Passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law paved the way for this funding. I commend the Biden-Harris administration for its leadership, support, and commitment to a modern and resilient infrastructure system. The state must put this money to work and keep the public updated with a clear timetable for progress.”

“This INFRA Program infusion for the Washington Bridge fills in a major missing piece of the funding puzzle to ensure the state can get the job done right,” said Whitehouse, who helped author the INFRA program as a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “I am very proud that the INFRA Program is yet again delivering for Rhode Island’s infrastructure. We will continue to work as a delegation to secure whatever the state needs from the federal government to fix this situation for drivers.”

“My colleagues in the congressional delegation and I have done everything in our power to secure federal funding to rebuild the Washington Bridge, and with this latest tranche of funding, we have now brought over $220 million dollars for Rhode Island,” said Magaziner. “We are grateful for the Biden-Harris administration for their leadership and support in addressing this urgent matter. We will continue working together to ensure the Washington Bridge is rebuilt safely and properly.”

“I am excited to build off last month’s announcement that we are bringing home more federal funding to help Rhode Island replace the Washington Bridge,” said Amo. “Led by our state’s appropriator-in-chief, Senator Jack Reed, our delegation has fought tooth and nail to secure the resources our state requested. I thank President Joe Biden and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for listening to our repeated overtures about the need for resources to alleviate the burden on residents, small businesses, and first responders. I look forward to reviewing the plan from state officials so we can move towards the next chapter of getting our bridge built.”

“Securing a second major federal grant marks another important milestone in our work to build a brand new Washington Bridge,” said McKee. “We know that ensuring this complex project is done right will take time, but it’s encouraging to see demolition resuming this week, the rebuild bidding process moving forward, and additional federal dollars coming in. We thank the Biden-Harris Administration for their commitment to Rhode Island and our top-notch congressional delegation for helping us secure this crucial funding.”

Overall, the state requested $220.9 million in federal funds to help replace the Washington Bridge and was initially awarded $125.39 million out of the total pool of about $1 billion of federal funds available for Mega grants of this size and scope nationwide.

Demolition of the bridge has already begun. In May of 2024, RIDOT estimated the price tag for replacing the bridge would include $58.2 million for demolition as well as $368.3 million for the design-build process.

Separate from the demolition and rebuild costs for the Washington Bridge, the state also estimated costs of approximately $46 million for emergency expenses, including work to stabilize the old bridge and estimated funding to account for both state and municipal safety and transportation-related expenses.

Rhode Island previously received a $60.3 million INFRA grant in 2019 to rebuild the Northbound Providence Viaduct; a $65 million INFRA grant in 2020 to overhaul Route 146; an $82.5 million INFRA grant in 2022 to upgrade the Pell Bridge; and an $81 million INFRA grant earlier this year to create a ‘missing move’ between I-95 and Quonset Business Park.

Rhode Island has now received two Mega awards to fund the Washington Bridge, totaling $125.39 million, as well as this new INFRA award.

These grants come on top of a $251 million federal Bridge Investment Grant the delegation secured earlier this year to repair 15 bridges along the I-95 corridor in Providence and Cranston.

Additionally, Rhode Island will also receive a total of $255 million in bridge formula funds over the life of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

With about 50,000 U.S. bridges with very significant issues awaiting attention, an estimated 40 percent of them can be rehabilitated, but at least 35 percent will require a complete replacement due to their condition, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

This level of federal funding for Rhode Island infrastructure improvements stands in stark contrast to the previous administration. While Donald Trump routinely declared “Infrastructure Week,” his administration had little to show for it, whereas President Joe Biden oversaw passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has delivered hundreds of millions of dollars for bridge improvements across the Ocean State and continues to invest billions annually in America’s transportation network, communities, and workers.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Pressley Joins Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Economic Mobility Hub at Rindge Commons
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Pressley Secured $250K in Federal Funds to Support Project

Video (YouTube) | Photo (Dropbox)

BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined Just A Start, elected officials and community advocates and members for the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the Economic Mobility Hub at Rindge Commons, a 70,000-square-foot facility designed to address the evolving needs of the community. Rep. Pressley secured $250,000 in federal community project funding to support the center.

The center brings together affordable housing, state-of-the-art job training for youth and adults, Universal Pre-K classrooms, and community resources—all under one roof. By consolidating services, the Hub will serve over 2,800 individuals annually, building long-term pathways to economic stability and opportunity in the region.

“Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony at Rindge Commons is a testament to the commitment Just A Start and our communities have to uplifting one another and expanding economic opportunities for our neighbors,” said Rep. Pressley. “I was proud to secure $250,000 in federal community project funding to make this effort a reality, and I look forward to seeing the long-term impact the Economic Mobility Hub will have on families across the Massachusetts 7^th.”

“The Rindge Commons is an incredible example of collaboration and partnership,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Not only did its development involve federal and state agencies and the private sector, but this building also addresses our state’s need for affordable housing and promotes economic development in Cambridge. Our administration was proud to support this expansion, and we congratulate the team at Just A Start for their hard work.”

“We are thrilled to see Just A Start growing with its new addition of the Economic Mobility Hub at Rindge Commons,” said Secretary of Economic Development Yvonne Hao. “This project will support affordable housing, a safe space for children, and career training for adults. We congratulate Just a Start on its expansion, and we’re so grateful for its work supporting Massachusetts residents.”

“MassHousing is thrilled to be a partner in Just A Start’s Rindge Commons that has delivered 24 brand-new affordable rental homes as well the dynamic Economic Mobility Hub that will be providing educational and job-training opportunities for youth and adults,” said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. “This development will also allow Just A Start to coordinate its many mission-driven community programs and efforts to promote equitable communities in greater Cambridge from one new, integrated space.”

“The Rindge Commons development is aligned with LIIF’s commitment to support projects that build equity, opportunity, and wellbeing in communities that need it most,” said Kirsten Shaw, Vice President of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regions of Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF). “The development’s wide-ranging impact will improve vibrancy and quality of life in the community, and we’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to support this project with New Markets Tax Credits and additional financing. The Rindge project demonstrates how important public-private partnerships are to driving community revitalization and resiliency efforts.”

Footage of the event can be found here and photos are here.

Rep. Pressley secured federal funding for the center in the Fiscal Year 2024 government spending package that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Biden. Rep. Pressley has secured approximately $35 million in federal community project funding for the Massachusetts 7^th since Fiscal Year 2022.
- On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Boston Medical Center (BMC) to celebrate $370,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support BMC’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program.
- On June 18, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea HealthCare Center to celebrate $1,150,000 in federal community project funding she secured to support Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) efforts to address the statewide shortage of bilingual, culturally diverse mental health providers for immigrant and limited English proficiency communities.
- On April 22, 2204, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) visited Nubian Square in Roxbury for a roundtable discussion to celebrate the $1,000,000 million in federal funding they secured for the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).
- On March 28, 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal funding she secured to provide emergency childcare support for families experiencing homelessness in the City of Boston.
- In February 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea City Hall for a roundtable and press conference to celebrate the $750,000 in federal funding she secured for the City of Chelsea’s and City of Everett’s Island End River Coastal Flood Resilience Project.
- In January 2024, Rep. Pressley visited Somerville to celebrate the $2.4 million in federal funding she secured to support the community-led transformation of the Clarendon Hill housing community, an ethnically, linguistically and economically diverse neighborhood.
- In December 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Brighton to celebrate $400,000 she delivered for Amplify Latinx’s ALX Small Business Program.
- In November 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Roxbury Community College (RCC) to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured for Northeastern University’s Roxbury Associate’s to Master’s Workforce Accelerator (RA2MWA).
- In June 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Chelsea to celebrate $2,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to improve the Broadway Corridor—home to an array of BIPOC-owned small businesses, vibrant public spaces, high frequency public transit routes, and dense residential housing.
- In April 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to celebrate $524,000 she secured for Randolph Public Schools to support a mobile library and STEM programming.
- In March 2023, Rep. Pressley visited Dorchester to celebrate $250,000 in new Community Project Funding she secured for Big Sister Association of Greater Boston’s one-to-one mentoring and enrichment programs for girls.
- In February 2023, Rep. Pressley visited the African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE) to celebrate the $643,003 in community project funding she secured for ACEDONE to support small businesses in predominately Black, brown and African immigrant communities.
- In October 2022, Rep. Pressley visited The Dimock Center in Roxbury to celebrate $1 million in federal community project funding she secured to support substance use treatment and programming at the health center.
- In August 2022, Rep. Pressley visited Randolph to deliver $275,000 in federal community project funding for culturally responsive resources and digital literacy tools for Randolph Public Schools.
- In June 2022, Rep. Pressley visited the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology to deliver $300,000 in direct federal funding for the development of a Clean Energy Building Automation Systems certificate and associate degree program.
- In May 2022, she visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1,000,000 in federal community project funding she secured to expand the City of Boston’s Tuition-Free Community College program.
- In April 2022, she visited Randolph to deliver $1,000,000 in federal community project funding for a new school-based community health center at Randolph High School.
- In March 2022, she visited La Colaborativa in Chelsea to celebrate the $300,000 in federal community project funding that she delivered for La Colaborativa’s COVID Employment Recovery Program.
###

MIL OSI USA News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Expedite Veterans Appeals Claims through Stronger Workforce

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan McGarvey (Kentucky-03)

October 16, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC (October 16, 2024) – Recently, Congressman Morgan McGarvey alongside Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL- 12) introduced H.R.9046, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act, which would allow the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) to increase the salary of its top attorneys to better recruit and retain experts in veterans law.

“Veterans in Louisville and across the US deserve a speedy and efficient VA – especially when appealing a denied claim,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey. “These decisions don’t come out of thin air, they require staffing by expert attorneys in veterans law which takes years to master. Whether in the public or private sector, the same principle applies: you can’t retain top talent by denying your employees competitive compensation. I’m proud to champion this bipartisan legislation to empower BVA with the tools needed to address the claims backlog, retain talented attorneys, and ensure our veterans get the benefits they’ve earned.”

“Too often, the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) continues to be a roadblock for timely processing of VA claims,” said Rep. Bilirakis. “The Veteran Appeals backlog unnecessarily delays our nation’s heroes from accessing the benefits they’ve earned and is a concern that has been raised by many of my constituents. Our bill addresses BVA performance and staffing concerns by creating a level playing field with BVA and other federal agencies. When coupled with the quality assurance metrics and accountability measures we have recently pushed, this important piece of the legislation is a key part of the overall solution.”

“AFGE and the National Veterans Affairs Council commend Representative Morgan McGarvey and Representative Gus Bilirakis for leading H.R. 9046, the ‘Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act,’” said Douglas Massey, President of AFGE Local 17 which represents Board of Veterans’ Appeals attorneys. “This critical legislation will both raise the career ladder of the dedicated board attorneys who diligently process veterans’ appeals and will improve the recruitment and retention of experienced attorneys at the Board, which will greatly reduce the backlog of Veterans’ appeals.”

The Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) adjudicates appeals on veteran benefits, such as disability compensation and pension benefits. Though progress has been made, BVA is currently mired in a 200,000-case backlog with many citing staff turnover – due to lower relative compensation and lack of support by management – as the cause. In the May 2024 Partnership for Public Service “Best Places to Work in Federal Government” rankings, BVA ranked 444th out of 459.

The Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney Retention and Backlog Reduction Act would allow BVA attorneys in non-supervisory roles to reach a GS-15 level on the federal pay scale, which represents about a $10,000 difference in salary from the current BVA cap of GS-14. Other entities within VA, such as the Office of General Counsel (OGC), allow non-supervisory attorneys to reach GS-15, often leading to attorneys “jumping” to OGC for higher pay. The legislation does not mandate new hiring or promotion of attorneys; it grants BVA the flexibility and tools to increase pay within its existing appropriations, just as in other entities at VA.

Rep. McGarvey previously spoke about the need for the bill at a Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs legislative hearing, asking VA Deputy Under Secretary Glenn Powers about the bill here and asking Mr. Nicholas Keogh, 2nd Vice President, Local 17, American Federation Government Employees, about the bill here.

The bill text is linked here.

###

Congressman Morgan McGarvey represents Kentucky’s Third Congressional District, including Louisville and Jefferson County. He serves on the House Veterans Affairs and House Small Business Committees.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Banking: Azure Cobalt 100-based Virtual Machines are now generally available
Source: Microsoft

Headline: Azure Cobalt 100-based Virtual Machines are now generally available

We are excited to announce the general availability of the new Azure Cobalt 100 Virtual Machines (VMs). These VMs run on Microsoft’s first fully custom Arm-based Cobalt 100 CPU and represent a significant milestone in our end-to-end approach to building cloud infrastructure.

Today we are announcing the general availability of the new Azure Cobalt 100-based Virtual Machines (VMs). These VMs run on Microsoft’s first 64-bit Arm-based Azure Cobalt 100 CPU, which has been fully designed in-house. They represent a significant milestone in our journey in designing and building out our cloud infrastructure, with optimization and customization across every layer of the infrastructure stack—from silicon, to servers, to services. Through vertical integration across hardware and software, Azure Cobalt 100-based VMs are one of Microsoft’s latest examples of innovating to enhance and optimize our cloud infrastructure with an end-to-end systems approach, to deliver the right mix of performance, power efficiency, and scale for our customers.

The Cobalt 100-based VMs consist of our new general purpose Dpsv6-series and Dplsv6-series and our memory-optimized Epsv6-series VM series. They offer up to 50% better price performance than our previous generation Arm-based VMs, making them an attractive option for a wide range of scale-out and cloud-native Linux-based workloads, including data analytics, web and application servers, open source databases, caches, and more.

The new Azure Cobalt 100-based VMs deliver leading performance across various workloads compared to previous generations of Azure Arm-based VMs: up to 1.4x CPU performance, up to 1.5x performance on Java-based workloads, and up to 2x performance on web servers, .NET applications, and in-memory cache applications compared to the previous generation Azure Arm-based VMs. These VMs also support 4x local storage IOPS (with NVMe) and up to 1.5x network bandwidth compared to the previous generation Azure Arm-based VMs.

The new VMs are broadly available in Canada Central, Central US, East US 2, East US, Germany West Central, Japan East, Mexico Central, North Europe, Southeast Asia, Sweden Central, Switzerland North, UAE North, West Europe, and West US 2. The number of regions will continue to expand in 2024 and beyond with Australia East, Brazil South, France Central, India Central, South Central US, UK South, West US 3, and West US coming soon.

Customer adoption and scenarios

We have been working with several internal and external customers during the preview period. For example, IC3, the platform that powers billions of customer conversations in Microsoft Teams, is serving its growing customer base more efficiently, achieving up to 45% better performance on Cobalt 100-based VMs.

We’re also delivering Cobalt 100-based VMs to many of our independent software vendor (ISV) partners offering platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) solutions on Microsoft Azure.

“The Cobalt 100, Microsoft Azure’s new Arm-based processor, represents a huge step forward for optimizing performance and productivity. Cadence and Microsoft’s collaboration helps our mutual customers tackle the demands of giga-scale compute that advanced-node silicon design demands. The Cobalt 100 helps our thousands of electronic design automation (EDA) and systems customers meet their ever-increasing demands for throughput to speed time-to-market.” —Mahesh Turaga, Vice President (VP) of Cloud Business Development, Cadence

“We are really excited about the new Cobalt 100 VMs. We are making them the primary platform for our Databricks SQL Serverless offering on Azure, as they offer outstanding efficiency and allow us to deliver significant price-performance improvements to our customers. Customers using our Azure Databricks classic Jobs offering will also greatly benefit from Cobalt VMs by selecting them for their Jobs cluster nodes, achieving noticeable performance improvements while keeping operating costs down.” —Michael Kiermaier, VP of Business Strategy and Operations, Databricks

“At Elastic, we are driving innovation and cost-efficiency by enabling customers to leverage our Search AI-powered observability, security, and search solutions on Arm-based architecture. Azure Virtual Machines with Cobalt 100 Arm CPUs enables Elastic to deliver better throughput and up to 37% improved performance compared to Azure’ previous generation Arm based VMs.” —Uri Cohen, Vice President, Product Management, Elastic

“At Rescale, our mission is to elevate innovation by providing the best tools in high performance computing, data, and AI to organizations of every size to deliver engineering and scientific breakthroughs that enrich humanity. We have tested the Azure Cobalt 100 VMs to power our high-performance computing platform and found it to deliver about a 40% improvement in performance compared to Azure’s previous generation Arm-based VMs. We look forward to upgrading our Azure infrastructure to these new VMs and offer comparable performance improvements to our customers so they can tackle complex challenges with greater speed and efficiency.” —Adam McKenzie, Chief Technology Officer, Rescale

“Siemens EDA continues to expand its partnership with Microsoft to develop innovative solutions for our mutual silicon and electronic systems customers. Our collaboration around Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based VMs running analog, standard-cell, memory, and digital verification workloads has demonstrated compelling performance and economic benefits. The general availability of these new VMs marks an important milestone for the industry, highlighting its fast-growing reliance on continuously advancing hardware and software platforms optimized for high throughput and efficiency.” —Craig Johnson, Vice President, Siemens EDA Strategy

“We have extensively tested Azure’s new Cobalt 100 VMs and compared them to the previous generation Arm VMs on Azure using Snowflake workloads. We’re thrilled with the significant improvements in performance. And now, we’re excited to adopt these latest Cobalt 100 VMs and share that performance improvement with our customers!” —Gabe Bryant, Senior Manager, Snowflake

“In the face of unprecedented compute and memory demands driven by increasingly sophisticated systems, designers are leveraging the cloud to scale their computing resources. Our close collaboration with Microsoft Azure facilitates the adoption of Arm architecture-based compute resources by providing customers with industry-leading, AI-driven EDA tools enabled on the Azure cloud to help them address the escalating workload demands.” —Sanjay Bali, senior vice president of EDA strategy and product management at Synopsys

“Templafy relies on the stability and scalability of Microsoft Azure to run our document generation platform for enterprises worldwide, and we’re excited about the new Azure Cobalt 100 VMs. After evaluation we’ve observed significant performance improvements, including approximately 25% higher throughput and 35% lower CPU usage compared to Azure’s previous generation Arm-based VMs. We look forward to harnessing these advancements to enhance our platform’s performance and deliver even better experiences for our customers when it comes to their critical business documents.” —Marco van Kimmenade, Director of Engineering, Templafy

Synergy with our technology partners

We value the collaboration with our technology partners.

“The Cobalt 100 processor is a fantastic example of how Arm-based silicon, supported by a robust software ecosystem, is addressing the growing compute complexity of modern infrastructure,” said Mohamed Awad, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Infrastructure Business, Arm. “Following years of collaboration with Microsoft to bring Arm-based VMs to market, the general availability of Cobalt 100 marks an important milestone in our partnership, and demonstrates the power, efficiency and flexibility of Arm Compute Subsystems in driving the workloads of the future.”

The journey to Arm: Embracing innovation and customer benefits

Microsoft has a longstanding history of contributing to Arm architecture and integrating Arm technology. This experience has enabled us to develop important industry standards that prepared the Arm architecture for datacenter-scale computing. We have also been working closely with Arm on industry initiatives such as ServerReady and SystemReady and received industry recognition for both initiatives. Our journey into Arm-based VMs is based on a vision to deliver superior price-performance and power efficiency. The Cobalt 100-based VMs embody this vision by offering these benefits. By embracing Arm-based VMs, we have been able to offer our customers a unique combination of performance and cost effectiveness.

Developer ecosystem

The developer ecosystem for Arm continues to thrive and has seen tremendous progress in the last couple of years. Major developer platforms and languages such as C++, .NET, and Java provide Arm-native versions. We have invested in Arm-specific optimizations for each of these platforms and languages so we’re fully leveraging the capabilities of the Arm architecture.

The larger ecosystem has embraced Arm with many popular infrastructure and deployment solutions now available with native Arm support. GitHub Actions, GitHub’s continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflow engine, is an integral part of many developers’ workflows and used to continuously build, test, and deploy apps. This is now available for Arm in two flavors—self-hosted runners that can be hosted on an Arm VM or on local Arm hardware, and GitHub-hosted runners.

Containers are a popular deployment target for many reasons: a streamlined development workflow, isolation and security, efficient resource utilization, portability, and reproducibility. Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) now supports the creation of Arm agent nodes as well as mixing x86 and Arm architecture nodes within a cluster.

Specifications

You can select from a range of Azure Virtual Machines of three memory ratios for a given vCPU size, giving you the flexibility to choose the configuration that works best for your workloads in terms of CPU performance and memory needs. All these VM series are available with and without local disks so that you can deploy the option that best fits your workload.
- The new Dpsv6-series and Dpdsv6-series general-purpose VMs offer up to 96 vCPUs and 384 GiB of RAM (4:1 memory-to-vCPU ratio). They are ideal for scale-out workloads, cloud-native solutions like AKS, small to medium open-source databases, application servers, and web servers. Arm developers can use these VMs in CI/CD pipelines, development, and test scenarios.
- The new Dplsv6-series and Dpldsv6-series VMs provide up to 96 vCPUs and 192 GiB of RAM (2:1 memory-to-vCPU ratio). They are perfect for media encoding, small databases, gaming servers, microservices, and workloads that don’t need high RAM per vCPU.
- The new Epsv6-series and Epdsv6-series memory-optimized VMs offer up to 96 vCPUs and 672 GiB of RAM (up to 8:1 memory-to-vCPU ratio). These VMs are designed for memory-intensive workloads such as large databases, in-memory caching applications, and data analytics.
The new virtual machines support all remote disk types such as Standard SSD, Standard HDD, Premium SSD and Ultra Disk storage. To learn more about various disk types and their regional availability, please refer to Azure managed disk type. Disk storage is billed separately from virtual machines. You can deploy these new VMs using existing methods including the Azure portal, SDKs, APIs, PowerShell, and the command-line interface (CLI).

You can learn more about the new Azure Cobalt 100-based VMs by visiting the specification pages: Dpsv6-series, Dpdsv6-series, Dplsv6-series, Dpldsv6-series, Epsv6-series, Epdsv6-series.

Pricing

To learn more about the pricing of Azure Cobalt 100-based VMs, please visit the Azure Virtual Machines pricing and Pricing calculator pages.

You can also take advantage of Reserved Instances, Azure savings plan for compute, and Spot Virtual Machines to lower your costs. Reserved VM Instances can reduce costs and improve your budget forecasting through upfront one-year or three-year commitments. For a limited time, you can save up to 15% more when you purchase one-year Azure Reserved Virtual Machine (VM) Instances for select Linux VMs. This offer is available between from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. See here for more details. The Azure savings plan for compute gives you the flexibility to save across multiple Azure services, including Azure VMs. Spot Virtual Machines can significantly reduce the cost of running in Azure and further optimize your cloud spend for workloads that can tolerate interruptions and have flexible execution time.

A new era of price performance and power efficiency

The general availability of Azure Cobalt 100-based VMs marks the beginning of a new era in Azure’s infrastructure. With our custom silicon program, we are delivering exceptional price performance and power efficiency to our customers. We are excited to see the impact of these innovations on our customers’ businesses and we look forward to bringing even better solutions to our customers in the future.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey.

For questions, please go to Azure Support and our experts will be there to help you.

Additional resources
MIL OSI Global Banks –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Baldwin Pushes USDA to Provide Immediate Assistance for Wisconsin Farmers Impacted by Pure Prairie Poultry Closure

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Tammy Baldwin
WISCONSIN – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide immediate assistance for Wisconsin farmers impacted by the sudden closure of Pure Prairie Poultry, which has left poultry farmers in Wisconsin staring down crippling financial losses without feed and a processor for their birds.
“Hard-working Wisconsin farmers across our state have been left high and dry by the abrupt closure of Pure Prairie Poultry,” said Senator Baldwin. “Our agriculture industry is the beating heart of many of our communities and, in the face of this dire situation, I’m calling on USDA to do everything they can for these Wisconsin farmers who now stare down financial ruin through no fault of their own.”
In September, Pure Prairie Poultry, an Iowa-based Poultry processor, abruptly closed its plant, leaving farmers across Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota without access to feed for their chickens or capacity to process the birds. In her letter today, Senator Baldwin continues her to call on USDA to intervene and assist farmers who now face extreme financial hardship, especially given USDA’s substantial investment of over $47 million in Pure Prairie Poultry prior to their closure.
Senator Baldwin also raised concerns for the animal’s well-being and the potential for this closure to exasperate the avian flu outbreak as farmers are resorting to giving away chickens by the tens of thousands.
Today, Senator Baldwin called on USDA to immediately address this emergency for Wisconsin farmers by:
Engaging with the Wisconsin State Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to locate all impacted producers;
Providing feed and/or financial assistance to all impacted farmers to make them whole again;
Providing recommendations for legislative or regulatory solutions to ensure a preventable emergency like this never happens again.
A full version of this letter is available here and below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
I write to you to request immediate assistance for Wisconsin farmers and producers impacted by the bankruptcy of Pure Prairie Poultry.
In September, Pure Prairie Poultry filed for bankruptcy and has since abruptly closed, leaving farmers without access to feed for their chickens or capacity to process the birds. As the lead federal agency with a significant financial interest in the company, including over $47 million in investments by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I urge to use your resources and authority to mitigate this hardship for impacted farms in Wisconsin.
This situation remains urgent due to the hundreds of thousands of animals’ lives at risk and the financial hit for the farmers that contracted with this processor. I believe there is a strong case for the agency to intervene based on the animal welfare concerns. There is also an ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza that poses a serious risk of spreading as farmers have no better option than to give away chickens by the tens of thousands. The hardship for producers and potential threat of this disease underscores the need for timely support for Wisconsin farmers.
Therefore, I request that the agency take the following steps to mitigate the ongoing animal welfare and farmgate emergency in Wisconsin:
Engage with the Wisconsin State Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection to locate all impacted producers;
Provide feed and/or financial assistance to all impacted farmers to make them whole again;
Provide recommendations for legislative or regulatory solutions to ensure a preventable emergency like this never happens again.
Thank you for your time an attention to this matter. I hope we can work together to provide a solution to Wisconsin farmers who need it.
Sincerely,

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Polis Administration Announces Three New IHIP Grant Recipients Supporting Creation of Over 480 Housing Units

Source: US State of Colorado

DENVER – Today, Governor Polis and the Business Funding & Incentives division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced three new recipients of the Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP) grant. This transformational grant continues the Polis Administration’s work to increase the supply of housing across Colorado. The funding announced today will directly incentivize the creation of over 480 attainable housing units across Colorado.

“We need more housing now, and this new round of IHIP grant funding will help create 480 new housing units for Coloradans,” said Governor Jared Polis. “With more housing, more people will be able to live in terrific communities close to work and recreation.”

With this latest round of grants, the Polis Administration has awarded 12 IHIP grants directly incentivizing the creation of 2,000 attainable housing units across Colorado and contributing to the recipients’ work to create more than 7,500 units over the next three years.

“The Innovative Housing Incentive Program Is making a measurable difference in Colorado’s housing supply, and we know that impact will grow over time ,” says Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of OEDIT. “We’re proud of the work these companies are doing to address Colorado’s housing shortage and help us ensure that our state has housing for every budget.”

All three grant recipients are based in Colorado, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $722,000 in performance-based funding. Recipients include:

3D West – Colorado Springs- 3D West offers modern building technologies and pre-manufactured building methods for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), affordable housing and multifamily units. The company plans to build their first four units in partnership with Alquist 3D and StructureBot, both companies that have been supported by OEDIT programming to expand in the state. 3D West is approved for up to $100,000.

BYLD – Commerce City- This software and hardware company is transforming the construction industry with its unique paint-by-numbers approach, which significantly reduces labor costs and accelerates construction timelines. This innovative method streamlines the building process, enhancing efficiency and productivity. BYLD is approved for up to $722,000 in per-unit cash rewards for constructing over 350 units across Colorado over the next three years.

Studio Shed – Louisville- Established in 2008, Studio Shed is a leading manufacturer of panelized kit buildings, specializing in backyard sheds, ADUs and multifamily housing. Studio Shed has been at the forefront of innovative, scalable building solutions and has been approved to receive up to $180,000 in performance-based grant funding, at $1,500 per unit. The company plans to in turn share a $1,500 discount with its customers.

About the Innovative Housing Incentive Program

The Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP) helps address Colorado’s housing shortage by supporting the development and expansion of the state’s innovative housing manufacturing businesses. IHIP is part of an emerging suite of OEDIT-affiliated programs that offer housing financing tools to help increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing across Colorado. These programs include the Proposition 123 Affordable Housing Financing Fund, staffing of the Middle Income Housing Authority and work by the Colorado Creative Industries Division via the Community Revitalization and Space to Create programs.

About Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works with partners to create a positive business climate that encourages dynamic economic development and sustainable job growth. Under the leadership of Governor Jared Polis, we strive to advance the State’s economy through financial and technical assistance that fosters local and regional economic development activities throughout Colorado. OEDIT offers a host of programs and services tailored to support business development at every level including business retention services, business relocation services, and business funding and incentives. Our office includes the Global Business Development division; Colorado Tourism Office; Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office; Colorado Creative Industries; Business Financing & Incentives division; the Colorado Small Business Development Network; Cannabis Business Office; Colorado Office of Film, TV & Media; the Minority Business Office; Employee Ownership Office; and Rural Opportunity Office. Learn more at oedit.colorado.gov.

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MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Press Release: FDIC Appoints Hansel Cordeiro as Director of New Office of Professional Conduct

Source: US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Hansel J. Cordeiro as Director of the agency’s new Office of Professional Conduct (OPC).

In June, the Board announced the creation of the OPC to serve as a single point of entry for employee complaints of harassment and other interpersonal misconduct. In this role, Mr. Cordeiro will lead the OPC’s work to receive, investigate and report on complaints of interpersonal misconduct within the FDIC workplace. OPC will also determine and discipline anyone violating the FDIC’s anti-harassment or anti-retaliation policies. Mr. Cordeiro will report on the work of the OPC directly to the FDIC Board.

Mr. Cordeiro was selected from among several highly qualified candidates after a competitive nationwide public solicitation. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Accountability and Strategic Business Management at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In that role, Mr. Cordeiro led the FAA’s anti-harassment program, the largest program within the U.S. Department of Transportation; established the agency’s anti-harassment policies; and oversaw the receipt and investigation of allegations of harassment, sexual misconduct, and retaliation involving FAA employees and contractors, as well as management actions on substantiated allegations. In addition, he oversaw anti-harassment training for more than 45,000 FAA employees and contractors.

Prior to his role at FAA, Mr. Cordeiro served at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in various executive and leadership positions, including leading efforts to remediate deficiencies in the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, which is responsible for improving personnel and organizational accountability within VA. Mr. Cordeiro also served in the Office of General Counsel as a principal legal advisor to several Secretaries of Veterans Affairs on employment and labor law issues. Mr. Cordeiro began his government career at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where he developed and implemented several landmark reforms to the federal government’s personnel systems.

Mr. Cordeiro has a Juris Doctor from the Washburn University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
MediaRequests@fdic.gov

FDIC: PR-89-2024

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Lycoming County Disaster Recovery Center To Close
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: Lycoming County Disaster Recovery Center To Close

Lycoming County Disaster Recovery Center To Close
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The joint Disaster Recovery Center located in Lycoming County will permanently close Friday, October 18 at 6 p.m.

Residents who continue to need the services available at a DRC can visit the other center:
- Valley Christian Church, 146 Maple Street, Westfield, Tioga County.
The center is open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Individuals and households impacted by Tropical Storm Debby from August 9-10 in Lycoming, Potter, Tioga and Union counties can visit any DRC to receive help and information.

Disaster survivors who have not yet applied for FEMA assistance can apply at a Disaster Recovery Center, apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, use the FEMA App on your phone, or call 800-621-3362. If you use a relay service such as video relay service, captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service when you apply.

The deadline for applying to FEMA for disaster assistance is November 12.

You can visit a DRC for help with other parts of the disaster recovery process. If you received a letter from FEMA about your application status, visit a DRC to learn more about next steps. DRC staff can help you submit additional information or supporting documentation for FEMA to continue to process your application. At a DRC you can also meet with representatives from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agencies and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

For more information on Pennsylvania’s disaster recovery, visit the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Facebook page, fema.gov/disaster/4815 and facebook.com/FEMA.

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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 833-285-7448. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages).
erika.osullivan
Wed, 10/16/2024 – 16:38

MIL OSI USA News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: 10.16.2024 Sen. Cruz Celebrates Announcement of Direct Flight from San Antonio to Washington, D.C.

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Texas Ted Cruz

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced their intent to award an additional, beyond perimeter slot for a nonstop flight between San Antonio International Airport (SAT) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
In May, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which Sen. Cruz co-authored as the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, was signed into law allocating five new, round-trip flights between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and previously excluded beyond-perimeter locations. In July, Sen. Cruz and Reps. Roy and Castro led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in urging the DOT to award a direct flight for the proposed SAT-DCA route.
Upon the announcement, Sen. Cruz said, “I’m proud to have led Republicans and Democrats in delivering a landmark victory not just for the City of San Antonio but the entire Lone Star State. The new American Airlines SAT-DCA flight is the culmination of a years-long effort to connect our nation’s capital with the fastest-growing city in the country. My bipartisan provision adding five long-haul slots in this year’s FAA reauthorization bill overcame fierce, well-funded opposition. I am thankful to the many city leaders, partners, and stakeholders across the greater San Antonio region who entrusted me with this responsibility and united behind our effort to deliver for Military City USA. I am looking forward to soon celebrating with my friends in San Antonio as we step foot onto the very first direct flight from SAT to DCA.”
Jesus Saenz, Director of Airports, San Antonio Airport System said, “The City of San Antonio has been fighting for a direct flight to Washington, D.C. for decades. Today’s announcement from the Department of Transportation is tremendous news for San Antonians and Texans and would not have been possible without the strong leadership of Senator Ted Cruz and Representatives Chip Roy and Joaquin Castro. San Antonio is excited for American Airlines to begin flying from Military City USA to Washington, D.C. very soon.”
Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and CEO, greater:SATX said, “Today is monumental for San Antonio with the approval of a new nonstop route from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) to Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C. We are grateful to Senator Ted Cruz who championed this effort and to the Texas congressional delegation. San Antonio—previously the largest U.S. city without nonstop DCA service—now gains critical access to D.C. and Northern Virginia. This route will boost corporate retention, expansion, and recruitment, supporting San Antonio’s rapid growth and future development.”
Lamar Smith, Former U.S. Representative, 21st Congressional District of Texas said, “Today’s announcement that the Department of Transportation will award a direct flight from Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport to San Antonio is a tremendous win for Texans, and especially for the people of San Antonio. This victory is the result of years of hard work and a united effort from countless stakeholders, including the City of San Antonio and organizations across South Texas. I was proud to play a part in that effort during the years I represented Texas’s 21st congressional district, and I am delighted to see it finally come to a positive resolution. The strong, bipartisan leadership from Senator Ted Cruz, who authored the provision and fought to include it in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, deserves special recognition as well. His relentless advocacy for San Antonio ensured this got over the finish line, even in the face of stiff opposition. This new, direct flight will help provide lower prices for consumers, bolster Military City USA’s connection to D.C., and grow the region’s leadership in healthcare, science, and defense sectors, and that is something we can all be proud of.”
Wayne Peacock, CEO, USAA said, “Nonstop air service connecting Military City, USA to DCA in our nation’s capital has been a top priority for our region for decades. Securing direct-service flights will have a significant impact on the military community and their families serving here, as well as our fast-growing business community. This is a phenomenal milestone and the culmination of decades of persistent effort by local and statewide leaders working on behalf of our San Antonio region. Business leaders stand ready to support this new nonstop route and continue to build San Antonio’s presence as one of America’s leading cities for economic growth and development.”
Joe Straus, Former Speaker, Texas House of Representatives said, “San Antonians have long sought nonstop air service to the heart of our nation’s capital and today is a victory in that effort. Nonstop air service to Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) is critical to San Antonio’s economic strength — especially in the sectors of cybersecurity, defense contracting, aerospace and financial services. Thanks to the dedicated advocacy of our elected leaders in Washington and key voices here in our community, our region is now positioned for continued opportunity and economic activity.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reps. Barragán, García, and Horsford Introduce Resolution to Recognize September 22, 2024, as National Hispanic Nurses Day

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

15 October 2024

Contact: Kevin G. McGuire, 202-538-2386 (mobile)

Kevin.McGuire@mail.house.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Nanette Barragán (CA-44), alongside Reps. Jesus “Chuy” García (IL-04) and Steven Horsford (NV-04), introduced a resolution to designate September 22, 2024, as “National Hispanic Nurses Day” and to recognize the work of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) as the leading organization in representing and advocating for Hispanic Nurses.

The designation of National Hispanic Nurses Day would raise awareness of the significant contributions of Hispanic nurses in their communities and the country, recognizing the importance of culturally and ethnically competent care within the nursing profession, particularly within underserved communities.

The resolution also shows support for the goals and ideas of NAHN, including the promotion of health care equity and the elimination of health care disparities within the United States. Since 1975, NAHN has been the nation’s leading professional society for Latino nurses. With a growing membership and more than 40 local chapters, the non-profit organization represents the voices of Latino nurses throughout the United States.

“As the sister of a nurse, I see firsthand the hard work of Hispanic nurses within all of our communities,” said Rep. Barragan. “Hispanic nurses play a critical role in advancing healthcare for under resourced communities and add much needed diversity to the nursing profession. As we close out National Hispanic Heritage Month, which recognizes the history and contributions of all Hispanic Americans, I am proud to reintroduce this resolution to recognize the unique care provided by Hispanic nurses as well as NAHN’s work to support our current workforce and future nursing generations. Today, and every day, we must advocate for increased honor and support for our healthcare professionals.”

“Hispanic nurses are key advocates for our community’s health care needs,” said Rep. García. “They provide care through culturally sensitive practices including speaking the language our community prefers. Their efforts uplifting appropriate treatments and approaches to address Latino community needs is critical to policy-making and resource allocation across federal, state and local agencies. On National Hispanic Nurses Day I’m proud to co-lead this resolution recognizing their work.”

“Hispanic nurses often serve as the backbone of our healthcare system, leading the charge in providing lifesaving care and reducing health disparities in underserved communities,” said Rep. Horsford. “By recognizing National Hispanic Nurses Day, we can honor their commitment and contributions to the well-being of millions. I’m proud to join my colleagues in celebrating the essential role Hispanic nurses play in creating a healthier, more equitable future.”

“The collective strength of Hispanic nurses is rooted not only in our professional expertise but also in our unwavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of those we serve,” said Veronica Vital, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, President. “The National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) has played a pivotal role in advancing health equity, promoting higher education, and empowering our members to become influential leaders shaping health policy. As a rich, diverse mosaic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and safe environment where every voice is heard and valued.”

In addition to García and Horsford, the National Hispanic Nurses Day resolution is cosponsored by 13 original cosponsors: Representatives Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Luis Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rául Grijalva (AZ-7), Delia Ramirez (IL-3), Andrea Salinas (OR-6), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Darren Soto (FL-9), Mark Takano (CA-39), Juan Vargas (CA-52), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07).

The resolution is endorsed by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

# # #

Congressmember Nanette Barragán represents California’s 44^th District.  She sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and works on environmental justice and healthcare issues.  She is also Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Pokies? Lotto? Sports betting? Which forms of problem gambling affect Australians the most?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Russell, Principal Research Fellow, CQUniversity Australia

ArliftAtoz2205/Shutterstock

Gambling, especially sports and race betting, is a hot political issue at the moment.

This is largely due to the recommendations from a 2023 report from a nonpartisan federal government committee, chaired by the late Peta Murphy, called You Win Some, You Lose More.

This report recommended “the Australian government, with the cooperation of the states and territories, implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling”.

This has led to lots of debate and controversy.

Recently, Peter V’landys, head of the NRL and Racing NSW, claimed lotteries were more harmful than race and sports betting combined, citing independent statistics.

Let’s explore the relative harm of different types of gambling and see if this claim holds up.

Australians love a punt

Gambling is widespread in Australia, with more than half of adults engaging in at least one form each year.

According to the latest national data, lotteries are the most common type (40% of Australians buy a ticket annually), followed by race betting (17%), pokies (16%), scratchies (15.7%) and sports betting (9.6%).

However, the popularity of a gambling form doesn’t necessarily reflect its harm. Different gambling activities have distinct characteristics.

Two key factors mean that some gambling forms are more harmful than others: the speed of gambling and bet size.

Pokies allow for frequent, small bets, with spins every three seconds. Race and sports betting can involve much larger sums and betting that is relatively fast, but still slower than pokie spins.

Sports betting, in particular, is getting faster with in-play betting and microbetting.

Poker machines, or ‘pokies’ are the biggest single source of gambling losses in Australia.

Lotteries, on the other hand, are much slower-paced.

People typically spend a small amount on tickets and wait for a draw to find out if they’ve won.

Although it’s possible to spend a lot on tickets, people tend not to, unlike with faster gambling forms.

The average spend on pokies among the 16% who play them is around $4,782 per year, compared to an average spend on lotteries of $377 per year. These are averages. Most won’t spend these amounts but some will spend far more, which raises the average amount.

V’landys’ claim about lotteries being more harmful than race and sports betting was based on “independent statistics”.

He said that of 100 people seeking help from a gambling hotline, 70 had issues with pokies, 15 with lotteries, eight with race betting, four with sports betting, and three with casinos.

We were unable to verify these figures – if anyone has the data, we’d love to see the research to assess them.

However, we do have publicly available data.

What the data say

The NSW GambleAware website’s 2020-21 report shows that of 2,886 people seeking help, 73.3% identified pokies as their primary form of gambling, while only 13 people (less than 1%) listed lotteries. Race betting accounted for 13.1%, and sports betting for 7.9%.

These patterns were consistent with previous years.

People who experience problems also usually take part in more than one form of gambling, as the NSW report showed.

When these secondary gambling activities were considered, sports betting was cited by 35.5%, race betting by 33.5%, pokies by 19.5%, and lotteries by 13.7%.

What we discovered

The best evidence on gambling problems and harm comes from large-scale prevalence studies, typically commissioned by governments and conducted by independent researchers.

These studies offer high-quality insights into how each gambling form contributes to problems.

While one prevalence study is great, our team recently combined data from seven national and state-based prevalence studies. This resulted in a very high-quality dataset that we can use to study this question.

In our analysis, we used statistical techniques to show how strongly each gambling form is associated with problems.

These techniques give us regression coefficients, which are just numbers that tell us how strong the association is. A higher number means a stronger association between that form and gambling problems.

The most problematic form was pokies (coefficient = 0.147), followed by casino games (0.136), sports betting (0.068) and race betting (0.038).

Lotteries, with a coefficient of 0.001, were the least problematic and were not statistically significant even in our large sample.

As you might guess from such a low number, there’s very little relationship between lotteries and gambling problems.

What about prevalence?

Prevalence matters too – while pokies were most strongly associated with problems, the number of people participating in each gambling form is also important.

Let’s consider an analogy – a car that gives out a lot of exhaust fumes. That car is harmful, but if virtually no one owns one, then it’s not going to account for much pollution.

The same idea applies for gambling forms. If a gambling form is very harmful but very few people do it, it doesn’t account for many problems in the population.

It works the other way, too – if there is a very clean type of car that many people drive, they also won’t add up to much pollution.

Similarly, if we have gambling forms that have very little association with problems, it won’t add up to many problems in the population, even if lots of people take part.

The regression coefficients tell us how problematic each gambling form is. Prevalance tells us how many people do it.

When we combine these two bits of information, we can work out the degree of problems in the community that come from each form.

When we did this, pokies were responsible for 52-57% of gambling problems in the community.

Sports and race betting each contributed 9-11%, with a combined total of around 20%.

Lotteries accounted for just 0.1-1% of problems.

Even if we include scratchies as part of lotteries, this only adds another 2-5% of problems, still far below sports and race betting.

The real issue

What’s the takeaway?

Lotteries are widely played but are not typically associated with much harm.

Sports and race betting, despite having fewer participants, are more harmful due to their faster pace and the potential for large, frequent bets.

Lotteries involve slower betting and lower spending, making them much less risky.

If we aim to reduce gambling harm in our community, the focus should be on pokies, which are widespread in pubs and clubs outside WA, casino games and race and sports betting.

These forms have features that make them far more harmful than slower-paced gambling like lotteries.

Alex Russell receives funding from Gambling Research Australia, the Department of Social Services, the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, the South Australian Government, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute and Arts Queensland. He previously provided statistical advice on projects to inform a casino group about gambling and gambling problems amongst their employees, and what could be done to reduce this.

He is a board member for the Australian Loneliness Research Foundation.

Matthew Browne has received funding from the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission, the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Gambling Research Australia, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General, the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, the Office of Responsible Gambling, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority for various research studies on gambling behaviour, youth gambling, and the social costs of gambling, and gambling-related harm.

Matthew Rockloff receives funding from Matthew Rockloff has received funding from the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission, the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Gambling Research Australia, the Alberta Gambling Research Institute, the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General, the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, the Office of Responsible Gambling, and the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority for various research studies on gambling behaviour, youth gambling, and the social costs of gambling, and gambling-related harm.

– ref. Pokies? Lotto? Sports betting? Which forms of problem gambling affect Australians the most? – https://theconversation.com/pokies-lotto-sports-betting-which-forms-of-problem-gambling-affect-australians-the-most-240665

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Daily progress for Thursday, 17 October 2024

Source: New Zealand Parliament

Order Paper for Thursday, 17 October 2024

2.00pm

Business statement

Hon Chris Bishop, Leader of the House, made a statement about the business of the House for the sitting week commencing on Tuesday, 22 October 2024.

Introduction of bills

The introduction of the Auckland Harbour Board and Takapuna Borough Council Empowering Act Amendment Bill was announced.

Oral questions

Question Time is in progress.

MIL OSI

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Victorian students will get ‘anti-Tate’ lessons – but much more is needed to tackle gendered violence in schools

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Wescott, Lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences, Monash University

Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

The Victorian government has announced new teaching resources to tackle the influence of “manosphere” figures, such as Andrew Tate, in the state’s schools.

This follows ongoing reports of disturbing events involving sexist abuse by students in both independent and government schools in Victoria and around the country.

But while this week’s announcement is a welcome and necessary step, we need a more comprehensive plan to eliminate gender-based violence in our schools.

What is the ‘manosphere’?

The “manosphere” is an overlapping collection of extreme men’s communities on social media that are anti-women and against women’s empowerment. This includes Tate, the “misogynist influencer” who is facing trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape (which he denies).

Our recent research found women teachers are increasingly exposed to sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment as the result of boys’ exposure to “manfluencer” ideas and behaviours. These problems are further compounded by the infiltration of far-right sentiments into schools, which has been linked to far-right online forums.

At the same time, women teachers report they are not being supported by school leadership.

Read more:
We research online ‘misogynist radicalisation’. Here’s what parents of boys should know

What’s in the Victorian resources?

The new teaching resources were developed by education academics Helen Cahill and Debbie Ollis, in consultation with teachers, students and parents.

They aim to give students skills to counter the influence of “Tate-types”, and to navigate issues such as consent, sextortion, pornography and gender-based bullying.

They will be part of respectful relationships education, which is mandatory in Victorian government schools (following a recommendation of the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence).

Problems with respecful relationship education

There have been implementation issues with respectful relationships education.

A 2022 review (of which one of us, Naomi Pfitzner, was an author) found problems with the funding, quality of resources and training supplied to schools, and with schools’ levels of commitment

Previous research also suggests teachers may be hesitant to engage with controversial or tricky topics. There is a risk some issues are being left out of classroom discussions.

Crucially, respectful relationships is not mandatory in all Victorian schools — independent and faith-based schools in Victoria need to opt in.

In other Australian states and territories, respectful relationships education is not compulsory in any school system.

We need more information

Education departments around the country collect various forms of data about school life, such as learning and attendance. But we don’t have accurate national data on the prevalence of gender-based violence in schools.

Without the full picture of how widespread gender-based violence is in Australian schools, it is difficult to resource and design an appropriate response.

Gender-based violence in schools is inextricably connected to the endemic levels of violence against women in Australia.

We cannot separate a broader culture that enables gendered slurs, misogyny and gender inequity — known enablers of gender-based violence — from attitudes towards women and girls in schools.

We need more information about the experiences of female students and staff in Australian schools.
Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

What now?

Women have been raising the alarm about sexual harassment of female teachers for decades. But on top of already slow or inadequate responses, the problem has become more complex.

The proliferation of online misogynist content requires a new, tailored approach.

Our current project with Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety is examining how online misogyny in the manosphere influences young boys and men in Australia. We will then create resources to support teachers and help make schools safer for all young people.

It is shameful many girls’ first experience of gendered violence happens as students at school. And teachers deserve a safe workplace free from misogyny and sexism.

Stephanie Wescott receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).

Alexandra Phelan receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).

Naomi Pfitzner has received funding from the Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, the Victorian and Queensland governments and the Australian government. She was an author of the review into Respectful Relationships Education in Australia mentioned in this article.

Sarah McCook receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).

Steven Roberts receives funding from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), the Australian government and the Australian Research Council. He is a Board Director at Respect Victoria, but this article is written wholly independently from that role.

– ref. Victorian students will get ‘anti-Tate’ lessons – but much more is needed to tackle gendered violence in schools – https://theconversation.com/victorian-students-will-get-anti-tate-lessons-but-much-more-is-needed-to-tackle-gendered-violence-in-schools-241473

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Emerging market buyers embrace Canton Fair

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

Buyers from emerging markets are steadily taking the lead at the 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, replacing those from Europe and North America as the primary participants, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The global trade event, held twice a year in Spring and Autumn, is being held from Tuesday through Nov 4, in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong province.

A total of 125,000 overseas buyers had registered for the 136th session of the fair by Oct 9. Among them, about 76 percent are from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, while 12.5 percent are from North America and Europe, said the Ministry of Commerce.

The driving forces behind this trend include the diversification of China’s export markets, rising business and consumer demand in emerging markets and shifting global trade dynamics, as economies in Southeast Asia, North Africa and South America become increasingly integral to global supply chains.

“These economies often show strong demand for the industrial products and consumer goods available at the Canton Fair,” said Chu Shijia, director of the Guangzhou-based China Foreign Trade Center under the Ministry of Commerce, one of the Canton Fair organizers.

As China is in the midst of a green transformation, its traditional exports — like household appliances and industrial equipment — are also making room for a fresh wave of technologically advanced and eco-friendly products, further meeting the needs of buyers from both developed and developing markets, said Han Yonghui, a professor specializing in foreign trade at Guangzhoubased Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Emerging markets represented by Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, with their vast market potential and promising development prospects, are attracting a growing number of Chinese enterprises seeking business opportunities, according to a report jointly released by Deloitte and WorldFirst, an international payment services provider.

As the internationalization of Chinese manufacturers and traders reaches a more mature stage, an increasing number of enterprises are embarking on a deeper level of internationalization — transitioning from product exports to establishing operations overseas — according to the report released on Monday in Guangzhou.

This involves contract fulfillment supported by the integration of “local entities, local operations and local supply chains”. For instance, according to data from WorldFirst, the number of Chinese merchants using the payment platform to expand their overseas operations in the first quarter surged 56 percent year-on-year.

Between 2018 and 2023, China maintained high growth rates of exports to its major trading partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Middle East and Latin America, with compound annual growth rates generally exceeding 10 percent, according to the report.

“Over years of development, we have seen an increased number of trade partners from emerging markets,” said Li Zhaoying, CEO of ChillSun Technology Co.

The company, based in Huizhou, Guangdong, is attending the Canton Fair. “In addition to maintaining sustainable growth in developed markets, we are making efforts to reach more trade deals with buyers from emerging markets, especially those from member countries of ASEAN,” said Li.

Xiao Lu, deputy director of the department of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce, said China’s new trade growth drivers are gaining momentum. Armed with accumulated capital and technology, Chinese companies are eager to demonstrate their innovation and technological strengths, leveraging digital and green concepts to shape the future direction of the market.

“For instance, China-made new energy vehicles are now reaching over 170 countries and regions worldwide,” Xiao said.

Over a million new products and items with proprietary intellectual property rights will be showcased at the Canton Fair this time, including a range of humanoid robots, smart devices and autonomous driving products making their debut, said the Ministry of Commerce.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Consumer sustainability demands drive Thailand’s food and beverage companies to shift to circular packaging, says GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Consumer sustainability demands drive Thailand’s food and beverage companies to shift to circular packaging, says GlobalData

Posted in Consumer

Thailand’s food and beverage (F&B) industry is undergoing a significant shift towards sustainability as regulatory pressures and consumer demands for eco-friendly packaging continue to rise. With sustainability increasingly at the forefront of business strategies, industry leaders like Tetra Pak Thailand are taking significant steps to drive the adoption of circular packaging solutions. Underlining the trend, 90% of respondents in a recent survey stated that they choose sustainable feature as essential/nice to have when deciding to make a purchase*, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

In response to growing environmental concerns, the Thai government has implemented stronger regulations targeting waste reduction and promoting circularity. The Second National Action Plan on Plastic Waste (2022-2027) and the Sustainable Packaging Act are part of the government’s broader effort to tackle plastic waste and improve recycling rates. These regulations compel F&B manufacturers to adopt Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, ensuring that packaging is responsibly managed from production through disposal.

Kakarlapudi Karthik Varma, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “With sustainability becoming a priority for consumers, brands are adapting to meet these expectations. F&B manufacturers are increasingly turning to renewable and recyclable materials as they seek to meet both regulatory requirements and consumer expectations.

“Tetra Pak Thailand has been at the forefront of circular packaging innovations, offering solutions that not only meet regulatory requirements but also align with consumer preferences for eco-friendly packaging. Other manufacturers have also taken initiatives, such as Kao Industrial Thailand’s partnership with SCG Chemicals Co., Ltd (SCGC) and Dow Thailand Group to create recyclable, low-carbon packaging.”

Francis Gabriel Godad, Consumer Business Development Manager, GlobalData India, adds: “Tetra Pak’s four-step approach—focused on resource conservation, energy recovery, operational efficiency, and environmentally neutral production processes—highlights the company’s commitment to advancing sustainability in the F&B industry. Their packaging materials, including FSC-certified paperboard, contribute to the shift towards a circular economy by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing environmental impact.”

Varma concludes: “With the introduction of the Sustainable Packaging Act and the continuous pressure from consumers, Thailand’s packaging industry is at a turning point. Collaboration among businesses, government entities, and industry leaders like Tetra Pak is crucial in creating a future where packaging is no longer considered waste but a valuable resource within the circular economy.

“The shift towards 100% recyclable and renewable packaging is on the horizon, and stakeholders in the F&B sector must proactively stay ahead of regulatory trends and consumer demands.”

*GlobalData 2024 Q2 Consumer Survey – Thailand was conducted with 502 participants

MIL OSI Economics –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Boards Appointment

Source: New Zealand Government

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka has confirmed the appointment of Fletcher Tabuteau as Chair of the Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) Board.

Mr Tabuteau (Ngāti Ngāraranui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue) was a teacher at Rotorua Boys’ High School, a lecturer in Economics, and head of the Business School at Waiariki Institute of Technology. He now runs Hoporona Consulting and serves as Director of Capital Government Relations and Communications.

“I want to congratulate Fletcher on his appointment to the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute Board,” says Mr Potaka.

“His experience in governance, management, and business will be an asset to the Board and the important work they do to encourage and promote ahurea and toi Māori.”

Located in Rotorua, NZMACI is home to Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau (National Wood Carving School), Te Takapū o Rotowhio (National Stone and Bone Carving School), and Te Rito o Rotowhio (National Weaving School).

With a 60-year legacy, NZMACI has a strong history of producing highly skilled crafts people.

“At its core, NZMACI fosters the protection and transfer of mātauranga Māori. It is an integral part of the Rotorua economy and the wider Māori economy, contributing to the sustainable development of scenic and tourist attractions in the Rotorua district and across the motu.”

He Whakatūnga ki Te Puia

Kua whakatūturungia e te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, e Tama Potaka, te whakatūngia o Fletcher Tabuteau hei Upoko o te Poari o Te Puia (NZMACI).

He pouako o mua a Mr Tabuteau (Ngāti Ngāraranui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue) i Te Kura Tuarua mō ngā Taitama o Rotorua, he pūkenga i te Mātai Ōhanga, ko ia hoki te upoko o te Kura Pakihi i Te Whare Takiura o Waiariki. Ko tāna i āianei he whakahaere i te Hoporona Consulting, he noho hoki hei Kaiarataki i ngā Hononga Rawa ā-Kāwanatanga me ngā Pāpāhotanga.

“E tōmina ana au ki te whakamānawatanga o Fletcher i tāna whakatū atu ki te Poari o Te Puia,” te kupu a Potaka.

“Ka whai hua mārika te Poari i ōna wheako i ngā ao o te kāwanatanga, te whakahaerenga, me te pakihi, ā, ka whai hua hoki ki ā rātou mahi i te akiākina me te whakatairangahia o te ahurea me te toi Māori.”

Kei Rotorua te NZMACI, ā, koia tērā ko te kāinga o Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau, Te Takapū o Rotowhio, me Te Rito o Rotowhi.

E 60 tau te whakapapa o NZMACI, ā, kua roa nei tāna whakaputanga i ngā pūkenga me ngā ringa rehe.

“I tōna iho, ko tā NZMACI he poipoi i te tiakina me te whāngaia o te mātauranga Māori. He wāhanga hirahira hoki nō te ōhanga o Rotorua me te ōhanga Māori whānui, nā, e whāngai ana i te whanaketanga toitūtanga o ngā whakapoapoatanga ā-taiao, ā-tūruhi hoki i Rototua, puta hoki nei i te motu.

“Mā te whakatū ngā mātanga pūmanawa ki ngā taraipiunara me ngā poari e kino ai te painga o te whakapakarihia o te ōhanga, me te tukuna o ngā ratonga tūmatanui pai ake.”

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Nokia Corporation
Interim Report
17 October 2024 at 08:00 EEST

Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024

Strong gross margin improvement amidst ongoing market weakness

Q3 net sales declined 7% y-o-y in constant currency (-8% reported) as growth in Network Infrastructure and Nokia Technologies was offset by decline in Mobile Networks primarily in India and a divestment in Cloud and Network Services.
Order intake remained strong in Network Infrastructure, while the sales recovery continues to be slower than expected.
Comparable gross margin in Q3 increased by 490bps y-o-y to 45.7% (reported increased 500bps to 45.2%), with improvements across business groups, particularly in Mobile Networks.
Q3 comparable operating margin increased 160bps y-o-y to 10.5% (reported up 70bps to 5.7%), mainly due to higher gross margin, continued cost control and a benefit from the reversal of loss allowances for certain trade receivables.
Q3 comparable diluted EPS for the period of EUR 0.06; reported diluted EPS for the period of EUR 0.03.
Q3 free cash flow of EUR 0.6 billion, net cash balance EUR 5.5 billion.
Continued to make significant progress with cost savings program, EUR 500 million run-rate of gross savings actioned.
Nokia’s full year 2024 outlook is unchanged. Nokia currently expects comparable operating profit of between EUR 2.3 billion and 2.9 billion and free cash flow conversion from comparable operating profit of between 30% and 60%.

This is a summary of the Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024 published today. Nokia only publishes a summary of its financial reports in stock exchange releases. The summary focuses on Nokia Group’s financial information as well as on Nokia’s outlook. The detailed, segment-level discussion will be available in the complete financial report hosted at http://www.nokia.com/financials. A video interview summarizing the key points of our Q3 results will also be published on the website. Investors should not solely rely on summaries of Nokia’s financial reports and should also review the complete reports with tables.

PEKKA LUNDMARK, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ON Q3 2024 RESULTS

As I reflect on our performance in the third quarter, I am optimistic we are now turning the corner in many parts of our business, even if some continue to experience market weakness. Among the key highlights was a return to net sales growth in Network Infrastructure with Fixed Networks growing 9% in constant currency and IP Networks growing 6%. Order intake in Network Infrastructure continued to be robust with strong year-on-year growth and a growing order backlog. Additionally, we delivered a significant improvement in our gross margin at the group level and cash generation remained strong with EUR 621 million free cash flow in the quarter.

There are reasons for optimism across our portfolio. We expect a significant acceleration in growth in Q4 in Network Infrastructure and see a number of structural demand trends supporting our future growth. In Mobile Networks, although market dynamics are more challenging, we have secured several important deals in the quarter, remain confident in our competitive position and are improving our gross margin. In Cloud and Network Services we are seeing excellent momentum in 5G Core along with strong progress in network automation, cloudification and enabling network APIs. Nokia Technologies continues to benefit from greater stability following the conclusion of its smart-phone renewal cycle and is making good progress expanding into the new growth areas.

Across Nokia we are investing to create new growth opportunities outside of our traditional communications service provider market. We see a significant opportunity to expand our presence in the data center market and are investing to broaden our product portfolio in IP Networks to better address this. Our pending acquisition of Infinera will also bolster our Optical Networks exposure to this market and accelerate our growth opportunities. Additionally, we see a compelling new long-term opportunity in bringing 5G technology to the defense market and we continue to invest in private wireless networks where we are the clear market leader.

Regarding our financial performance in Q3, our net sales declined by 7% in the quarter in constant currency. Three quarters of the decline was driven by India due to a strong year-ago quarter. Importantly we delivered a significant improvement in comparable gross margin which expanded 490 basis points from the year-ago period to reach 45.7%. This was driven by a combination of improved product mix, regional mix and actions to reduce product cost. Despite continued intense competition, we remain disciplined on price while still winning deals as we remain focused on improving the profitability of our business. We also progressed our cost reduction efforts contributing to a solid improvement of 160 basis points in our comparable operating margin on a year-on-year basis.

Regarding full year 2024, our comparable operating profit outlook remains EUR 2.3 to 2.9 billion and we are currently tracking within the bottom-half of the range. The net sales recovery is happening slower than we expected previously, however, this is being partially offset by an improving gross margin and quick action on cost. We expect to be at the high end of our free cash flow target of 30% to 60% conversion from comparable operating profit.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

EUR million (except for EPS in EUR)	Q3’24	Q3’23	YoY change	Constant currency YoY change	Q1-Q3’24	Q1-Q3’23	YoY change	Constant currency YoY change
Reported results
Net sales	4 326	4 709	(8)%	(7)%	13 236	15 722	(16)%	(15)%
Gross margin %	45.2%	40.2%	500bps		46.1%	39.4%	670bps
Research and development expenses	(1 116)	(1 067)	5%		(3 376)	(3 197)	6%
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(692)	(697)	(1)%		(2 101)	(2 104)	0%
Operating profit	246	237	4%		1 082	1 127	(4)%
Operating margin %	5.7%	5.0%	70bps		8.2%	7.2%	100bps
Profit from continuing operations	145	130	12%		965	700	38%
Profit/(loss) from discontinued operations	31	3	933%		(494)	11
Profit for the period	175	133	32%		471	711	(34)%
EPS for the period, diluted	0.03	0.02	50%		0.08	0.13	(38)%
Net cash and interest-bearing financial investments	5 460	2 960	84%		5 460	2 960	84%
Comparable results
Net sales	4 326	4 709	(8)%	(7)%	13 236	15 722	(16)%	(15)%
Gross margin %	45.7%	40.8%	490bps		47.0%	39.9%	710bps
Research and development expenses	(1 029)	(1 024)	0%		(3 169)	(3 119)	2%
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(591)	(594)	(1)%		(1 785)	(1 833)	(3)%
Operating profit	454	418	9%		1 477	1 507	(2)%
Operating margin %	10.5%	8.9%	160bps		11.2%	9.6%	160bps
Profit for the period	358	293	22%		1 198	1 035	16%
EPS for the period, diluted	0.06	0.05	20%		0.21	0.18	17%
ROIC⁽¹⁾	10.4%	11.9%	(150)bps		10.4%	11.9%	(150)bps

¹ Comparable ROIC = Comparable operating profit after tax, last four quarters / invested capital, average of last five quarters’ ending balances. Refer to the Alternative performance measures section in Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024 for details.

Business group results	Network Infrastructure		Mobile Networks		Cloud and Network Services		Nokia Technologies		Group Common and Other
EUR million	Q3’24	Q3’23	Q3’24	Q3’23	Q3’24	Q3’23	Q3’24	Q3’23	Q3’24	Q3’23
Net sales	1 525	1 534	1 747	2 157	702	742	352	258	3	22
YoY change	(1)%		(19)%		(5)%		36%		(86)%
Constant currency YoY change	1%		(17)%		(4)%		35%		(86)%
Gross margin %	42.1%	40.5%	39.8%	34.8%	40.9%	39.1%	100.0%	100.0%
Operating profit/(loss)	180	165	92	99	65	36	242	181	(126)	(62)
Operating margin %	11.8%	10.8%	5.3%	4.6%	9.3%	4.9%	68.8%	70.2%

SHAREHOLDER DISTRIBUTION

Dividend

Under the authorization by the Annual General Meeting held on 3 April 2024, the Board of Directors may resolve on the distribution of an aggregate maximum of EUR 0.13 per share to be paid in respect of financial year 2023. The authorization will be used to distribute dividend and/or assets from the reserve for invested unrestricted equity in four installments during the authorization period, in connection with the quarterly results, unless the Board decides otherwise for a justified reason.

On 17 October 2024, the Board resolved to distribute a dividend of EUR 0.03 per share. The dividend record date is 22 October 2024 and the dividend will be paid on 31 October 2024. The actual dividend payment date outside Finland will be determined by the practices of the intermediary banks transferring the dividend payments.

Following this announced distribution, the Board’s remaining distribution authorization is a maximum of EUR 0.03 per share.

Share buyback program

In January 2024, Nokia’s Board of Directors initiated a share buyback program to repurchase shares to return up to EUR 600 million of cash to shareholders in tranches over a period of two years. The share buyback execution started on 20 March 2024. On 19 July 2024, Nokia’s Board of Directors decided to accelerate the timeframe for the share buyback program with the aim of completing the full EUR 600 million program by the end of this year instead of the initial two year timeframe.

On 27 June 2024, Nokia announced its intention to acquire Infinera in a transaction that valued Infinera at US$1.7 billion equity value with up to 30% of the consideration to be paid in Nokia American depositary shares (“ADSs”), depending on the elections of Infinera shareholders. Nokia’s Board of Directors is committed to repurchase additional shares on top of the on-going EUR 600 million program to offset the dilution from the transaction to Nokia shareholders.

Under the share buyback program, by 30 September 2024, Nokia had repurchased 84 295 899 of its own shares at an average price per share of approximately EUR 3.48.

OUTLOOK

	Full Year 2024
Comparable operating profit⁽¹⁾	EUR 2.3 billion to EUR 2.9 billion
Free cash flow⁽¹⁾	30% to 60% conversion from comparable operating profit

¹Please refer to Alternative performance measures section in Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024 for a full explanation of how these terms are defined.

The outlook, long-term targets and all of the underlying outlook assumptions described below are forward-looking statements subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as described or referred to in the Risk Factors section later in this release. Along with Nokia’s official outlook targets provided above, below are outlook assumptions by business group that support the group level outlook.

	Nokia business group assumptions (full year 2024)
	Net sales growth (constant currency)	Operating margin
Network Infrastructure	-6% to -3% (update)	10.0% to 12.0% (update)
Mobile Networks	-22% to -19% (update)	5.0% to 7.0% (update)
Cloud and Network Services	-7% to -4% (update)	6.0% to 8.0% (update)

Nokia provides the following approximate outlook assumptions for additional items concerning 2024:

	Full year 2024	Comment
Nokia Technologies operating profit	at least EUR 1.4 billion	Nokia expects cash generation in Nokia Technologies to be EUR 700 million below operating profit in 2024 due to prepayments received in 2023. From 2025 onwards Nokia expects greater alignment between cash generation and operating profit in Nokia Technologies.
Group Common and Other operating expenses	EUR 350 million	This includes central function costs which are expected to be largely stable at approximately EUR 200 million and an increase in investment in long-term research to approximately EUR 150 million.
Comparable financial income and expenses	Positive EUR 75 to EUR 125 million
Comparable income tax rate	~25%
Cash outflows related to income taxes	EUR 450 million
Capital Expenditures	EUR 450 million (update)

2026 TARGETS

Nokia’s current targets for its existing perimeter of the business for 2026 are outlined below. This does not consider pending acquisitions. The Network Infrastructure operating margin assumption below considers Submarine Networks being treated as a discontinued operation. Nokia sees further opportunities to increase margins beyond 2026 and believes an operating margin of 14% remains achievable over the longer term. Net sales	Grow faster than the market
Comparable operating margin⁽¹⁾	≥ 13%
Free cash flow⁽¹⁾	55% to 85% conversion from comparable operating profit

¹ Please refer to Alternative performance measures section in Nokia Corporation Interim Report for Q3 2024 for a full explanation of how these terms are defined.

The comparable operating margin target for Nokia group is built on the following assumptions by business group for 2026:

Network Infrastructure	13 – 16% operating margin
Mobile Networks	6 – 9% operating margin
Cloud and Network Services	7 – 10% operating margin
Nokia Technologies	Operating profit more than EUR 1.1 billion
Group common and other	Approximately EUR 300 million of operating expenses

RISK FACTORS

Nokia and its businesses are exposed to a number of risks and uncertainties which include but are not limited to:

Competitive intensity, which is expected to continue at a high level as some competitors seek to take share;
Changes in customer network investments related to their ability to monetize the network;
Our ability to ensure competitiveness of our product roadmaps and costs through additional R&D investments;
Our ability to procure certain standard components and the costs thereof, such as semiconductors;
Disturbance in the global supply chain;
Impact of inflation, increased global macro-uncertainty, major currency fluctuations and higher interest rates;
Potential economic impact and disruption of global pandemics;
War or other geopolitical conflicts, disruptions and potential costs thereof;
Other macroeconomic, industry and competitive developments;
Timing and value of new, renewed and existing patent licensing agreements with licensees;
Results in brand and technology licensing; costs to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; on-going litigation with respect to licensing and regulatory landscape for patent licensing;
The outcomes of on-going and potential disputes and litigation;
Our ability to execute, complete and realize the expected benefits from our ongoing transactions;
Timing of completions and acceptances of certain projects;
Our product and regional mix;
Uncertainty in forecasting income tax expenses and cash outflows, over the long-term, as they are also subject to possible changes due to business mix, the timing of patent licensing cash flow and changes in tax legislation, including potential tax reforms in various countries and OECD initiatives;
Our ability to utilize our Finnish deferred tax assets and their recognition on our balance sheet;
Our ability to meet our sustainability and other ESG targets, including our targets relating to greenhouse gas emissions;as well the risk factors specified under Forward-looking statements of this release, and our 2023 annual report on Form 20-F published on 29 February 2024 under Operating and financial review and prospects-Risk factors.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect Nokia’s current expectations and views of future developments and include statements regarding: A) expectations, plans, benefits or outlook related to our strategies, projects, programs, product launches, growth management, licenses, sustainability and other ESG targets, operational key performance indicators and decisions on market exits; B) expectations, plans or benefits related to future performance of our businesses (including the expected impact, timing and duration of potential global pandemics, geopolitical conflicts and the general or regional macroeconomic conditions on our businesses, our supply chain, the timing of market changes or turning points in demand and our customers’ businesses) and any future dividends and other distributions of profit; C) expectations and targets regarding financial performance and results of operations, including market share, prices, net sales, income, margins, cash flows, cost savings, the timing of receivables, operating expenses, provisions, impairments, taxes, currency exchange rates, hedging, investment funds, inflation, product cost reductions, competitiveness, revenue generation in any specific region, and licensing income and payments; D) ability to execute, expectations, plans or benefits related to our ongoing transactions and changes in organizational structure and operating model; E) impact on revenue with respect to litigation/renewal discussions; and F) any statements preceded by or including “continue”, “believe”, “envisage”, “expect”, “aim”, “will”, “target”, “may”, “would”, “see”, “plan” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause our actual results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are based on management’s best assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to them. These forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon our current expectations and views of future events and developments and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause these differences, include those risks and uncertainties identified in the Risk Factors above.

ANALYST WEBCAST

Nokia’s webcast will begin on 17 October 2024 at 11.30 a.m. Finnish time (EEST). The webcast will last approximately 60 minutes.
The webcast will be a presentation followed by a Q&A session. Presentation slides will be available for download at http://www.nokia.com/financials.
A link to the webcast will be available at http://www.nokia.com/financials.
Media representatives can listen in via the link, or alternatively call +1-412-317-5619.

FINANCIAL CALENDAR

• Nokia plans to publish its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results on 30 January 2025.

About Nokia

At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

Inquiries:

Nokia
Communications
Phone: +358 10 448 4900
Email:press.services@nokia.com
Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

Nokia
Investor Relations
Phone: +358 4080 3 4080
Email:investor.relations@nokia.com

Attachment

2024_ Q3 Nokia_ Earnings_release_English

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: To the participants of the annual meeting of the BRICS Business Council

MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

The annual meeting of the BRICS Business Council and the BRICS Business Forum will be held in Moscow on October 17-18.

Dear friends!

I am pleased to welcome the participants of the annual meeting of the BRICS Business Council.

Since its establishment, the Business Council has become a popular and effective mechanism for strengthening economic cooperation among BRICS countries. It plays an important role in building a dialogue among the business community.

In the context of ongoing geopolitical transformations, our association faces large-scale tasks. Given the growing sanctions pressure, the disregard of international law and WTO rules by a number of countries, as well as the restructuring of trade and logistics chains, it is necessary to strengthen the global economic system, ensure access to new markets, and create additional opportunities for business. All this is reflected in the priorities of the Russian presidency of BRICS.

We consider it important to increase the volume of e-commerce and unlock the potential of artificial intelligence. It is important to develop digital entrepreneurship, improve the conditions for the active implementation of modern technologies by large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises. To solve this problem, it is necessary to ensure joint research and development, the adoption of common ethical standards, the exchange of experience and best regulatory practices. All this will help simplify business contacts and give impetus to the economic growth of our countries.

We expect that the business community will make a significant contribution to the overall work in all areas of financial and economic cooperation and, in general, will contribute to increasing the role of BRICS in global governance mechanisms, promoting a more equitable system of international relations, and strengthening the association in its status as an organizing principle for the countries of the global South.

I wish the meeting participants fruitful discussions and all the best!

M. Mishustin

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://government.ru/gov/persons/151/telegrams/53018/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: Lantronix Unveils SmartLV, the First AI-Enabled IoT Edge Compute Cellular Gateway, Powered by Qualcomm
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lantronix Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRX), a global leader of compute and connectivity IoT solutions, has launched SmartLV, powered by the Qualcomm^® IQ-615 processor, the first AI-enabled IoT Edge Compute Cellular Gateway. This groundbreaking innovation, designed specifically for low-voltage substations and distribution automation applications in next-generation smart grids, utilities and industrial sectors, will debut at Enlit Europe, Oct. 22–24, 2024, in Milan, Italy.

SmartLV is engineered to revolutionize real-time visibility, control and automation in the energy sector, providing Distribution System Operators (DSOs) with the ability to manage and steer energy precisely when and where it’s needed. Built with advanced cybersecurity protocols and AI capabilities, the SmartLV ensures robust, reliable and secure operations for mission-critical applications, offering unmatched control over low-voltage substations and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs).

“The SmartLV Gateway is a leap forward in empowering utility operators with critical, real-time insights and control over their low-voltage substations,” said Mathi Gurusamy, Chief Strategy Officer at Lantronix. “By utilizing Qualcomm Technologies’ AI technology, this solution helps to address today’s most pressing challenges at the edge of the smart grid.”

AI at the Edge: Transforming Energy Management

With growing demand for smarter and greener energy grids, the SmartLV Gateway empowers DSOs to anticipate and respond to real-time grid conditions, optimizing energy flow and ensuring stability even during peak loads. This AI-driven platform doesn’t just monitor; it enables intelligent energy steering and dynamic decision-making at the edge.

“SmartLV exemplifies the fusion of AI and connectivity in tackling critical challenges within smart grids. Qualcomm^® and Lantronix are enabling DSOs to have enhanced control and insights into the distribution network, transforming how energy is delivered and consumed and accelerating the grid transformation in Europe,” added Sebastiano Di Filippo, Senior Director of Business Development at Qualcomm Europe Inc.

SmartLV Gateway key features include:
- Multi-protocol communication: Seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure via Ethernet, Serial, I/O and Industrial Protocol conversion suites, offering flexibility across legacy and modern systems.
- High-speed connectivity: Future-resilient with LTE and 5G-ready high-speed cellular communication for reliable, low-latency operations.
- Edge computing for real-time decisions: AI-enabled edge computing that powers low-latency analysis, enabling split-second decision-making directly at the substation.
- Advanced cybersecurity: Fortified with Lantronix’s InfiniShield™ security framework to defend against cyber threats, ensuring uninterrupted operations.
- Simplified management with Lantronix’s Percepxion™ IoT Edge Platform: Offers seamless management with global cellular plans, VPN security and an easy-to-use cloud platform to monitor and control deployments.
- Energy Steering Automation: Provides automated, real-time control of DERs based on actual grid conditions to ensure efficient energy flow.
Innovation Fueled by a Long-Standing Collaboration

The SmartLV Gateway is the latest innovation in a 15-year relationship, combining Qualcomm Technologies’ industry-leading AI and connectivity with Lantronix’s expertise in IoT solutions for industrial and smart grid applications.

Availability

The SmartLV Gateway is scheduled to launch in CY 2025, with some trials beginning at the end of CY 2024 for selected DSOs. For more information or to schedule a demo, visit Hall 5, MR10.

About Lantronix

Lantronix Inc. is a global leader of compute and connectivity IoT solutions that target high-growth industries including Smart Cities, Automotive and Enterprise. Lantronix’s products and services empower companies to succeed in the growing IoT markets by delivering customizable solutions that address each layer of the IoT Stack. Lantronix’s leading-edge solutions include Intelligent Substations infrastructure, Infotainment systems and Video Surveillance, supplemented with advanced Out-of-Band Management (OOB) for Cloud and Edge Computing.

For more information, visit the Lantronix website.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements related to the SmartLV AI-Enabled IoT Edge Compute Cellular Gateway for Qualcomm developers. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, future business, financial condition, or performance to differ materially from our historical results or those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement contained in this news release. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as the effects of negative or worsening regional and worldwide economic conditions or market instability on our business, including effects on purchasing decisions by our customers; our ability to mitigate any disruption in our and our suppliers’ and vendors’ supply chains due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other outbreaks, wars and recent tensions in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, or other factors; future responses to and effects of public health crises; cybersecurity risks; changes in applicable U.S. and foreign government laws, regulations, and tariffs; our ability to successfully implement our acquisitions strategy or integrate acquired companies; difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights; the level of our indebtedness, our ability to service our indebtedness and the restrictions in our debt agreements; and any additional factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on Sept. 9, 2024; as well as in our other public filings with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in our future filings. The forward-looking statements included in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

© 2024 Lantronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Lantronix is a registered trademark. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries
Qualcomm is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated

Lantronix Media Contact:
Gail Kathryn Miller
Corporate Marketing &
Communications Manager
media@lantronix.com
949-212-0960

Lantronix Analyst and Investor Contact:
investors@lantronix.com

The MIL Network –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Banking: ICC DSI launches digital trade reliability assessment tool

Source: International Chamber of Commerce

Headline: ICC DSI launches digital trade reliability assessment tool

Developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) and the Digital Governance Council (DGC) of Canada, the new assessment framework enables an entity to deploy ETRs in place of paper trade documentation assessing a platform’s ability to effect the transfer in conformity with the definition of the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) definition of reliability. As more economies align to the MLETR, the assessment allows for service providers to assert their reliability through a commonly accepted market standard.

Pamela Mar, Managing Director, ICC DSI said :

“The reliability assessment framework is a collective effort drawing on the knowledge and work of technical and commercial experts from various entities involved in digital trust, standards, certifications and assessment. This launch is an important first step in the development of a framework for ensuring digital trust at scale, an important pillar of the digital trade ecosystem.”

ICC DSI and the DGC led a working group of standards bodies, technical experts, assessment firms, and commercial and industry entities to develop the tool that holds potential to become a major credential for this part of digital trade services. The working group operated with advice from the Industry Advisory Board of ICC DSI.

Keith Jansa, CEO, DGC of Canada said :

“The collaborative effort between ICC and DGC has resulted in a groundbreaking technical self-assessment for the reliability of systems that enable the transfer of Electronic Transferable Records (ETRs). This is a major step towards international standardisation and formal recognition of digital service providers enabling the global digital trade and we look forward to continuing the work with ICC and the ETR community.”

The assessment framework was recently piloted by several ETR service providers to test its robustness, utility and market relevance. It has been released as a beta version for self-assessment, while plans for a certification with third party assessment are in development.

To access the assessment framework, visit: https://github.com/dgc-cgn/CAS-Digital-Trade-Documentation

A 30-min webinar with a live Q&A will take place on 30 October, Wednesday, 9pm SGT / 9am Ottawa / 3pm CET. Register, free of charge here.

For more details about the ICC Digital Standards Initiative, please visit: http://www.dsi.iccwbo.org. 

MIL OSI Global Banks –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: SLC pays over £5billion in student finance since the start of the academic year
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

By Jackie Currie, SLC Executive Director, Business Operations
At the Student Loans Company, we remain at the forefront of supporting the education sector by providing trusted, transparent, and accessible student finance services. SLC enables more than 1.5 million students each year to invest in their futures by providing financial support to access further and higher education. And we have marked another significant milestone in the 24/25 delivery of student finance to the education sector, paying more than £2 billion pounds in tuition fees to higher education colleges and universities this week.

On Wednesday, 16 October, we paid £2.3 billion in tuition fees to education providers on behalf of almost students. This follows the almost £3 billion that was paid in maintenance loans to students since the start of academic term in September.

In total, SLC has paid over £5 billion* in student finance in the 24/25 year so far.

Currently, our primary focus is on providing additional financial support to students who applied after the deadlines and have received the minimum level of student finance. We’re also processing application from students who are still applying and for those on courses starting in January.

Where a student applied late for funding, we awarded the minimum maintenance loan and their tuition fee loan to ensure they had funding to start their term, their remaining funding is paid to them as a top-up payment once all necessary application details are confirmed.

For students who are still applying for their finance, or yet to apply such as those starting courses in January there’s a range of advice on applying at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/students-from-england-can-find-answers-to-their-questions–2

*Please note these are provisional figures. Full year figures are published in our Student Support for Higher Education statistical release which will be published on 28 November 2024.

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Published 17 October 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China mulls increasing tariffs on imported fuel cars with large-displacement engines

Source: China State Council Information Office

China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday that China is studying measures to increase tariffs on imported fuel-powered vehicles with large-displacement engines.

A decision will be made prudently after comprehensive consideration of various factors, MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference.

MIL OSI China News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI: Infinera Signs Non-Binding Preliminary Memorandum of Terms to Receive Up to $93 Million in CHIPS Act Funding

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms for Infinera to receive up to $93 million in direct funding as part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. This proposed direct funding, when combined with investment tax credits available under the CHIPS and Science Act, could result in more than $200 million in total federal incentives as well as potential state and local incentives.

This proposed funding would support the expansion and modernization of both Infinera’s semiconductor capabilities in Silicon Valley, California and its advanced test and packaging capabilities in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, increasing the company’s existing domestic manufacturing capacity by an estimated factor of ten. Combined proposed funding for these two projects could create up to 1,700 manufacturing and construction jobs while strengthening America’s supply chain, economic and national security.

“We are grateful for the bipartisan efforts under the CHIPS and Science Act to increase semiconductor fabrication and packaging in the U.S. and protect our national and economic security,” said David Heard, Infinera CEO. “The proposed CHIPS funding will enable us to better secure our supply chain and compete more effectively with foreign adversary nations. Our unique photonic semiconductors address the increased demand for bandwidth from consumers while opening new markets inside the data center driven by the explosive growth in AI workloads.”

Infinera’s award of the proposed CHIPS funding would not have been possible without bipartisan support and partnerships with local, state and federal officials. This support is instrumental to the long-term success of these projects and the growth of advanced manufacturing in the U.S.

Additional Resource:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Preliminary Terms with Infinera to Support Development of Semiconductor Technology Important for Communications and National Security

Contacts:

Infinera Media:
Anna Vue
Tel. +1 (916) 595-8157
avue@infinera.com

Infinera Investors:
Amitabh Passi, Head of Investor Relations
Tel. +1 (669) 295-1489
apassi@infinera.com

About Infinera
Infinera is a global supplier of innovative open optical networking solutions and advanced optical semiconductors that enable carriers, cloud operators, governments, and enterprises to scale network bandwidth, accelerate service innovation, and automate network operations. Infinera solutions deliver industry-leading economics and performance in long-haul, submarine, data center interconnect, and metro transport applications. To learn more about Infinera, visit http://www.infinera.com, follow us on X and LinkedIn, and subscribe for updates.

Infinera and the Infinera logo are registered trademarks of Infinera Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding Infinera’s ability to secure CHIPS funding and investment tax credits, and the anticipated benefits of any such funding and tax credits. These statements are not guarantees of results and should not be considered as an indication of future activity or future performance. Actual results may vary materially from these expectations as a result of various risks and uncertainties. Information about risks and uncertainties that affect Infinera’s business is contained in the risk factors section and other sections of Infinera’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter ended June 29, 2024 as filed with the SEC on August 2, 2024, as well as any subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the SEC. These reports are available on Infinera’s website at http://www.infinera.com and the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies and can be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will,” and “would” or similar words. Infinera assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements.

The MIL Network –

January 23, 2025

Category: Commerce

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