NewzIntel.com

Category: Economy

  • MIL-OSI China: Spring Festival boosts travel, consumption as 8-day holiday nears end

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

    BEIJING, Feb. 4 — As China wraps up its 8-day Spring Festival holiday celebrating the start of the Year of the Snake, the world’s second-largest economy has witnessed shopping and travel booms ignited by hundreds of millions of Chinese people’s family reunions.

    This year’s holiday, from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, marks the second consecutive year that people in China have experienced an extended public holiday. People flocked to tourist destinations, enjoyed cultural experiences and indulged in holiday shopping.

    With a string of holiday-targeted domestic blockbusters bringing numerous moviegoers to cinemas across China, the country’s film industry proved to be one of the biggest winners during this Spring Festival consumption spree.

    From Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, the daily box office exceeded 1 billion yuan (nearly 140 million U.S. dollars) for six consecutive days, bringing China’s box office revenue for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday to 8.02 billion yuan, a new record for the same period in the country’s film industry history.

    Meanwhile, according to data from the China Film Administration, China’s total box office in 2025, including real-time presales, has surpassed 10 billion yuan, ranking it first globally.

    Notably, the films on the top of the box office chart were all domestic productions, with “Ne Zha 2,” the animated sequel to the 2019 hit, earning over 3.8 billion yuan.

    “The historic high box office of the Spring Festival holiday reflects the high-quality development in domestic films and highlights the strong recognition of Chinese traditional culture among audiences,” said Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association.

    While cinema boomed during the holiday, so did travel and leisure activities across China. Many chose to explore the country’s natural beauty and cultural heritage in person.

    In China’s top ski destination, Altay Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the period from Jan. 28 to 31 saw 191,900 visitors, generating 225 million yuan in tourism revenue.

    Skiing has definitely become the most popular activity in Altay during the holiday, with a record number of skiers — over 10,000 — visiting the Jiangjunshan ski resort on Feb. 2, marking a 23 percent increase from the previous year.

    Situated at 45 to 47 degrees north latitude, Altay enjoys 170 to 180 days of snowfall annually. In mountainous areas, snow depths average 1 to 2 meters. The terrain is ideal for skiing due to vertical drops of over 1,000 meters.

    “The resort offers many terrain parks and creative features suitable for all levels, making it a great place for everyone to enjoy and challenge themselves,” said Zhang Zhujun, a snowboarding enthusiast at the resort.

    Far to the south, the picturesque Yangshuo County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, draws large numbers of domestic and international visitors with its unique natural scenery and rich cultural activities. From Jan. 28 to 30, the county welcomed an estimated 410,600 tourists, generating tourism revenue of 589 million yuan.

    Travel booking platforms echoed the overall trend, with data from Fliggy, a leading online travel agency, showing a surge in bookings, especially from cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. International travel orders increased significantly, with international cruise bookings up more than sixfold compared to the previous year.

    Shanghai Airport Group reported that passenger traffic on Sunday hit a new all-time high of 404,000 people, with Pudong Airport seeing 259,000 passengers and Hongqiao Airport 145,000.

    As the holiday drew to a close, airports and transportation hubs in Shanghai braced for the return of travelers, with heightened coordination of metro, bus and taxi services to ensure smooth transportation, said the group.

    On Monday, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. reported a historic milestone as the country’s railways transported 16.45 million passengers, marking the highest single-day passenger traffic in the history of the Spring Festival travel rush.

    On Tuesday, the last day of the holiday, the national railway system is expected to carry 16.9 million passengers, further highlighting the peak in travel activity as hundreds of millions of people return to their destinations after family reunions.

    Consumption was another standout trend, with an increasing number of people seeking to experience China’s rich heritage, motivated by the inscription of the Spring Festival on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024.

    According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, sales at major retail and catering enterprises across China during the first four days of the holiday increased by 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year.

    Meituan, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms for services, reported a staggering 300 percent year-on-year increase in online reservations for Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve dinners. Additionally, group-buying orders for “intangible cultural heritage”-themed packages have surged by over 12 times since January year on year, reflecting growing consumer interest in cultural experiences.

    Experts noted that this holiday season saw a shift in consumer behavior, particularly among younger generations and families. “Young families are increasingly becoming the driving force of consumption, with a trend toward diversified, high-quality and culturally rich experiences,” said Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher from the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration.

    Data from Meituan Travel echoed Sun’s observation that young people increasingly chose to celebrate the Spring Festival in smaller cities, immersing themselves in intangible cultural heritage and historical landmarks.

    The increase in cultural tourism and consumption, from heritage experiences to blockbuster films, indicates a growing demand for traditional and contemporary cultural activities.

    “This trend has also raised higher demands for the supply of cultural and tourism products and services, prompting the introduction of new business models and formats that better align with contemporary cultural consumption patterns,” said Sun, highlighting the potential of China’s consumer market and the economy’s internal driving forces.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tom Kibasi appointed by government to shape 10 Year Health Plan

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Tom Kibasi has over 20 years of experience working in the healthcare sector and will provide expert advice to government on how to fix the broken NHS

    • Tom has accepted a direct ministerial appointment to the Department of Health and Social Care
    • Tom will work closely with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to draft the government’s 10 Year Health Plan

    Tom Kibasi brings over two decades of healthcare sector experience into his new role, where he will provide expert advice and support to the Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting’s reform agenda, including drafting the government’s 10 Year Health plan.

    He has accepted a direct ministerial appointment to the Department of Health and Social Care where he will support the department to turn the ideas for a better health service, coming from tens of thousands of patients and frontline staff, into successful delivery in the landmark 10 Year Health Plan. The plan will set out how the government’s three big shifts are to be delivered: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

    Tom is joint chair of three mental health and community NHS trusts, leading the charge to improve their quality of care and to help keep patients well in the community, having joined the board of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust in 2016. This includes ensuring that trusts share best practice through a new Board-in-Common and a common framework for quality of care, access to services, finance and productivity. This expertise will help the government deliver the shift in healthcare from hospital to the community.

    Tom led the drafting and directed the analysis for Lord Ara Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS, which reported in September 2024. The investigation found that the service is in a ‘critical condition’ amidst surging waiting lists and a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health. Early in his career, Tom worked at the Department of Health as a Senior Policy Advisor to Lord Darzi for his landmark 2008 review of the NHS High Quality Care for All.

    Tom Kibasi said:

    “The independent investigation was a devastating diagnosis of the problems that patients, the public, and hard-working NHS staff experience every day.

    “Since then, there has been a remarkable process of public, staff and expert engagement on the 10 Year Health Plan. There is now huge energy and expectation about the vision that it will set for both the service and for the health of the nation.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Directors banned after investors lost more than £4 million in Derby student accommodation development

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Three directors involved in the development have each now been banned for seven years

    • Forty-two investors were misled by Fraser MacDonald, Gavin Barry and Edward Fowkes, directors of companies which promoted an investment offer in a student accommodation development in Derby 
    • Investors paid in more than £4 million for the development but some of the money was transferred by the directors to a connected company 
    • When the companies entered administration in 2020, those investors lost out as they were given a lower priority for repayment when the development was subsequently sold than they were led to believe 

    Three people have been banned as company directors after they misled investors who paid more than £4 million into a Derby city centre student accommodation development.  

    Fraser MacDonald was a director of Prosperity Cathedral View Development Ltd which was behind The Croft development on Cathedral Road before the company went into administration in 2020. 

    The 53-year-old was also a director of Prosperity Cathedral View NMPI Ltd, a company used as a fundraising vehicle to attract investors for the development. 

    In his role as Investor Relations Director, MacDonald allowed 42 investors to be misled when they entered into loan agreements with Prosperity Cathedral View NMPI worth a combined £4.13 million. 

    They thought their money would go into the Derby development, but instead more than £2 million was transferred to a connected company. 

    MacDonald, of Walkdale Brow, Glossop, Derbyshire, has been disqualified as a company director for seven years, until February 2032.

    The companies’ Chief Executive Gavin Barry, 49, and Chief Operating Officer Edward Fowkes, 52, were both also disqualified as directors in 2021 for their roles in causing or allowing the investors to be misled in 2019. 

    Ann Oliver, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 

    Fraser MacDonald, Gavin Barry and Edward Fowkes allowed the continued promotion of an investment offer which was misleading to investors. 

    Significant sums of money were invested by people who thought they had more security over their investments than they actually did. 

    We also uncovered evidence that the three directors did not use all the funds borrowed for financing the development at The Croft development as they had promised. 

    MacDonald has now been removed from the corporate arena until January 2032 and joins Barry and Fowkes in being barred from running, managing or promoting a company without permission of the court.

    A total of 44 investments were made by 42 high net worth investors in the Derby scheme between January and July 2019. The highest individual investment during that period was £504,000. 

    Investors were promised that their funds would only be used for The Croft development and that they would be second in line for repayment behind other high value investors. 

    However, Prosperity Cathedral View Development had also entered into loan agreements worth £13.7 million and £2.5 million with commercial lenders in January 2019 which had the highest priority for repayment. 

    This meant that the investments made through Prosperity Cathedral View NMPI were only third in line for repayment, not second as the investors were led to believe. 

    In total, more money was raised for The Croft development than was needed, with just over £2 million of investors’ money transferred to a connected company. 

    Prosperity Cathedral View Development entered administration in May 2020 with liabilities of more than £29 million. Prosperity Cathedral View NMPI went into administration in August of that year with liabilities of more than £11 million and no assets. 

    Administrators sold The Croft for more than £18 million in March 2021 with the priority lender being repaid in full and the second commercial lender being partially repaid. However, no money was returned to the 42 investors. 

    The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from MacDonald, and his ban started on Tuesday 4 February 2025. 

    Barry, of Boyd Avenue, Dublin, and Fowkes, of Bramalea Close, London, both signed seven-year disqualification undertakings which began in December 2021. 

    The undertakings prevent them from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. 

    A financial settlement has also been reached between MacDonald and the liquidators of Prosperity Cathedral View NMPI. 

    Further information 

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New council-owned company takes on delivery of vital services

    Source: City of Canterbury

    Home  »  Latest News   »   New council-owned company takes on delivery of vital services

    A brand-new local authority trading company (Latco) began its work delivering the administration of revenues and benefits and customer services for three east Kent district councils on Monday (3 February).

    PartnershipOne is owned by Canterbury City Council, Dover District Council and Thanet District Council and has taken over from Civica which took a strategic decision to no longer operate in the world of business processing outsourcing (BPO).

    Civica itself took on the administration and collection of Council Tax, Business Rates and corporate debts, the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax support and over-the-phone, online and face-to-face customer services from East Kent Services, a shared service, in 2018.

    Mark Emery, Chief Executive Officer of the new company, said: “Partnership One is a brand-new organisation created to harness the very best of what the public and private sectors have to offer by expertly combining the public service ethos with a huge dose of commercial nous and best practice.

    “The team joining the company has a 15-year track record of delivering award-winning specialist public services to a set of stakeholders with varying, sometimes conflicting, needs and will deliver an outstanding service to our customers by taking full advantage of the skills, experience and dedication of our staff.

    “It’s a cliche to say our people are at the heart of everything we deliver but, in this case, it is indisputably true.

    “Our teams put their customers first and their customer satisfaction scores prove it.

    “Finally, we’re ambitious, aspirational and determined to be the best in class, the example others will want to follow. We’ll prove that too.”

    The complex project to move to a Latco began in early 2024 and has been supported by Interim East Kent Services Transition Manager Jasvir Chohan who has coordinated a range of workstreams undertaken by officers at the three councils working with the Civica team including HR and payroll, finance, legal, information governance, communications and IT.

    PartnershipOne’s directors will be Canterbury City Council’s Head of Corporate Governance Matthew Archer, Dover District Council’s Head of Finance Helen Lamb, Thanet District Council’s Head of Property Andreea Plant and Mr Emery.

    Published: 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: ATIF Holdings Limited Announces Approximately $2.5 Million Registered Direct and Private Placement

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LAKE FOREST, Calif., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ATIF Holdings Limited (Nasdaq: ZBAI) (the “Company”), a Lake Forest-based business consulting company that specializes in providing professional IPO, M&A advisory and post-IPO compliance services to small and medium-sized companies seeking to go public on a stock exchange in the United States, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with an institutional investor for the purchase and sale of its ordinary shares, par value $0.001 per share (“Ordinary Shares”) and pre-funded warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares (each, a “Pre-Funded Warrant”) in a registered direct offering. In a concurrent private placement, the Company also agreed to sell to the same investor warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares (the “Warrants”). Aggregate gross proceeds to the Company from both transactions are expected to be approximately $2.5 million.

    The transactions consisted of the sale of 1,580,000 Ordinary Shares (each, a “Share”) and 887,553 Pre-Funded Warrants, each of which will be sold together with one Warrant to purchase one Ordinary Share per Warrant at an exercise price of $1.20. The offering price per Share is $1.00 (or $0.99 for each Pre-Funded Warrant, which is equal to the offering price per Share minus an exercise price of $0.01 per Pre-Funded Warrant). The Pre-Funded Warrants will be immediately exercisable and may be exercised at any time until exercised in full.

    Aggregate gross proceeds to the Company are expected to be approximately $2.5 million. The transactions are expected to close on or about February 5, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the offerings, together with its existing cash, for general corporate purposes and working capital.

    R. F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. is acting as exclusive placement agent for the offerings. Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC is acting as counsel to the Company. Lucosky Brookman LLP is acting as counsel to R. F. Lafferty & Co., Inc.

    The registered direct offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-268927) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and declared effective by the SEC on March 21, 2023. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the proposed offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, by contacting R. F. Lafferty & Co., Inc by email at offerings@rflafferty.com or via standard mail to R. F. Lafferty & Co., Inc, 40 Wall Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY10005.

    The offer and sale of the securities in the private placement are being made in a transaction not involving a public offering and have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities may not be reoffered or resold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws. The securities were offered only to accredited investors. Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement with the investors, the Company has agreed to file one or more registration statements with the SEC covering the resale of the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants.

    Before investing in this offering, interested parties should read in their entirety the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the other documents that the Company has filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference in such prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, which provide more information about the Company and such offering.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

    About ZBAI

    ATIF Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: ZBAI) is a Lake Forest-based business consulting company that specializes in providing professional IPO, M&A advisory and post-IPO compliance services to small and medium-sized companies seeking to go public on a stock exchange in the United States. The company has a proven track record in successfully delivering comprehensive U.S. IPO consulting services to clients primarily in the United States but also internationally. The mission of ZBAI is to provide one-stop, comprehensive consulting services that guide clients through the complex and often challenging process of going public. ZBAI recognizes the complexity and challenges associated with the process of going public, and endeavors to simplify it while ensuring optimal outcomes for its clients through its comprehensive consulting services. ZBAI has been awarded the “Golden Bauhinia Award”, the highest award in the financial and securities industry in Hong Kong, for “Top 10 Best Listed Companies”. 

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe Harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, “estimated,” “projected,” Words such as “expect”, “anticipate”, “predict”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “seek”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “future”, “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the opposite of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance, conditions or results and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control and may cause actual results or achievements to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors include future financial and operating results, including revenues, income, expenses, cash balances and other financial items; Ability to manage growth and expansion; Current and future economic and political conditions; The ability to compete in industries with low barriers to entry; The ability to obtain additional financing to fund capital expenditure in the future. Ability to attract new customers and further enhance brand awareness; Ability to hire and retain qualified management and key staff; Trends and competition in the financial advisory services industry; Pandemic or epidemic disease; Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions you that actual results may differ materially from the expected results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make. You should not interpret forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements represent only the beliefs and assumptions of our management as of the date such statements are made. The above forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release.

    Contact Information
    kenny@atifchina.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New £13m police centre to tackle violence against women and girls

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Government announces new intelligence-led national policing centre to put the experiences of victims at the heart of police investigations.

    A new intelligence-led national policing centre will put the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse, rape and sexual offences, domestic abuse and stalking at the heart of police investigations – backed by more than £13 million of government funding.

    The National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, run by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing, will be based in Ryton and bring together around 100 officers and staff to prioritise tackling violence against women and children across England and Wales.

    For too long, crimes disproportionately impacting women and girls, such as domestic abuse and grooming gangs, have not been met with the specialist response they require.

    Police efforts to tackle these crimes will now benefit from a national coordinating function – a specialist capability usually reserved for counterterrorism and serious and organised crime – making sure victims get a consistent level of support regardless of where they are in the country.

    The government has been clear it will prioritise protecting women and children from these harms as part of our commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade through our Plan for Change. This new policing centre will ensure that standards in tackling them are driven up across the country.

    This funding builds on measures set out before Christmas to introduce Raneem’s Law and embed domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, action to tackle spiking and stalking, as well as new measures to tackle the scourge of child sexual abuse, including mandatory reporting and increased funding for the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce.

    Launching in April, the centre will build on existing areas of work to:

    • roll out new quality training for police officers across the country in tackling violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse, implementing a manifesto commitment
    • professionalise public protection work within policing so that future police leaders will all be expected to have built up experience and training in public protection roles
    • deploy intelligence-led tactics used to target other serious offenders to pursue domestic abusers, rapists and stalkers
    • work with the National Crime Agency to ensure that all forces are supported to respond to online child sexual abuse
    • drive up investigative and operational standards across all 43 police forces in England and Wales in tackling these crimes
    • train more police officers in the skills necessary to tackle violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse
    • ensure the latest academic research informs investigative practices

    This announcement aims to build confidence in victims to come forward to report crimes to the police, knowing they will receive the service they deserve.

    Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

    Women and girls experience violence and abuse each year, yet for far too long it just hasn’t been taken seriously enough by policing, the criminal justice system or the government.

    Warm words are not enough. We need to drive up standards and start treating the epidemic of violence against women and children with the seriousness it deserves.

    We have national specialist standards and leadership on serious and organised crime, terrorism and public order, but not on public protection – even though it needs proper specialist skills and training to go after dangerous perpetrators and keep victims and survivors safe. That is why we are setting up the first policing national centre for public protection to drive up standards and tackle these terrible crimes.

    To ensure there is a cohesive and effective response across all 43 forces in England and Wales, the centre will work closely with the Home Office to deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to set out consistent and standard practices for responding to these crimes, including through improved training for officers. This will mean officers have the right skills and training to respond appropriately to victims of VAWG and child sexual abuse.

    This will include developing and rolling out high-quality training for frontline, specialist and leadership roles and for critical functions such as rape and sexual offences teams where educated, and specialist support is vital to build victim confidence.

    T/CC Maggie Blyth, National Police Chief’s Council lead for Violence Against Women and Girls said:

    We welcome the official announcement and the financial support from government to implement a national centre to further protect victims and enhance our specialist capability to target perpetrators.

    The centre will build on existing police work and progress made in tackling violence against women and girls, allowing us to mandate nationwide improvements to support forces and frontline officers to carry out their jobs effectively.

    Our officers work tirelessly every day to bring offenders to justice and keep people safe, but we need to do more and that starts with equipping our officers with the right training and support to be able to investigate effectively, in the same way as we would provide specialist training to firearms or public order officers. We also need to better support victims through the criminal justice process and alongside partners, we will drive improvements for swifter justice and a quicker more robust response when people seek our help.

    The centre will unify three existing victim-orientated policing programs – Operation Soteria, the national VAWG Taskforce and the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, which focus on protecting vulnerable people including victims of child sexual abuse. Building on programs like Operation Soteria, the centre will work with academics to ensure an evidence-based approach, transforming the way policing looks at and responds to these crimes.

    Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, the College of Policing’s Director of Operational Standards, said:

    Policing is dedicated to protecting women and girls by targeting those who seek to harm them; and ensuring victims have the confidence to come forward, that they are listened to, treated compassionately and receive the best possible service.

    We’ll place victims at the heart of the new centre and work across law enforcement, government and both the public and voluntary sectors to boost the training we give to officers. The College of Policing will support forces to achieve the highest possible standards and improve the response to violence against women and girls.

    This investment is a core part of the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade and treat it as a national emergency as part of the wider Safer Streets Mission.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Abbey House Museum to remain open following public consultation

    Source: City of Leeds

    Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall is to remain open following a passionate response to a public consultation, it was announced today.

    Leeds City Council has been consulting on the attraction’s future as the authority explores a range of proposals to address unprecedented financial pressures.

    And after considering almost 10,000 responses, the council has taken the decision to withdraw the proposals as part of its budget plans for the coming year, which will be presented to the council’s executive board next week.

    Consequently, the museum will now remain open to visitors as normal and planning for upcoming events and exhibitions will continue. However, savings still need to be made, and alternative options to secure to the savings required are currently being reviewed.

    Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The public response to the Abbey House Museum consultation has been incredibly passionate and we’d like to thank everybody who has participated.  The overriding sentiment has been that people across Leeds clearly recognise the unique social value of our museums and galleries to their communities and local heritage.

    “We have always been clear that these types of proposals are not ones that we ever want to bring forward. But the severe and sustained pressures on our budget have given us no choice but to consider some options which we would never normally look at.

    “However, we are always committed to listening and responding to the views of the public and working to find solutions which fit their needs where we can.

    “It was clear from ward members the strength of feeling locally, and this has been replicated from across Leeds in the consultation. As a result, we’re pleased to say the museum will stay open.

    “What we need now is for people channel the passion and enthusiasm they have demonstrated during the consultation into visiting and engaging with the site as much as possible over the coming months so we can all work to support its future.”

    Opened in 1927, Abbey House Museum is home to three replica Victorian streets, which feature shops, a pub, and houses. The museum building itself is Kirkstall Abbey’s original gatehouse.

    Currently, the museum is hosting an exhibition entitled Story Time, which includes a huge variety of historic books and games, each exploring the magical world of children’s stories.

    The exhibition aims to look at how reading, learning and enjoying stories has changed through the ages, and the huge influence children’s books have had on young people’s education, play and imaginations.

    Story Time is open now at Abbey House Museum. For more information, including opening times and admission, please visit: Story Time | Leeds Museums and Galleries | Days out and exhibitions

    ENDS

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leeds City Council Leader welcomes extra funding but warns of challenge remaining as over £100m annual budget saving needed

    Source: City of Leeds

    The Leader of the council Councillor James Lewis has welcomed new funding for the city after final budget plans for 2025/26 were released today which confirmed £67million in extra funding next year. However, the impact of rising costs, pressures and demand for services especially for looked-after children and in adult social care leaves the council needing to save £103.8m overall to deliver its legally-required balanced budget in the next financial year.

    The budget includes an increase in council tax of 4.99 per cent, of which 1.99 per cent is dedicated to adult social care costs. For a band D property this means an increase of £86.29 for the year (£1.66 per week). Council tax in Leeds in 2024/25 was the lowest of all comparable core cities in England.

    The final budget plans provide an update on the initial proposals presented in December, with figures then able to be further revised following government funding announcements made in recent weeks. As explained in December, the council had already identified and approved £23.8million of savings in its medium-term financial strategy, leaving a revised £80m more to be delivered. The implementation of further proposals put forward in October and December will achieve that remaining level of saving, resulting in the balanced budget for 2025/26 as is legally required.

    The council has responded to feedback received from the public and stakeholders who took part in consultation around the initial budget proposals by confirming Abbey House Museum will remain open, while possible changes to bowling green provision in the city are to be further consulted on with the aim of looking at ways to raise income and reduce the number of previously proposed closures of sites.

    The extra £67m of funding Leeds is receiving in the next financial year has also meant that the proposed 10 per cent funding cut for neighbourhood networks in Leeds will not be required while there will also be no reduction made to wellbeing and youth activity funding.

    Leeds, like councils across the country, faces significantly increased costs to provide services and rising demand, especially in social care for vulnerable children and adults.

    This is being seen in supporting looked-after children, especially the most vulnerable with high levels of need requiring costly external placements, as well as for adult social care with increases in demand for older people, adults with learning difficulties and those needing support with mental health.

    The council’s commitment to supporting vulnerable young and older people can be seen as 60 per cent of the council’s 2025/26 budget is being spent on services for children and families, and adults and health.

    In Leeds in the last four years the costs associated with looking after children in external residential care has risen by 75 per cent, from £68million to £119million. The average cost of an external residential placement has gone up by 45 per cent since 2021/22 to currently £6,300 per week or £340,000 per year for each child being cared for. Costs for those children with especially complex needs, however, can be up to £1million per year per child.

    In adult social care, the number of working age adults and older people being supported has increased by 20 per cent in the last three years, and the overall demand budget for these groups has risen by £100m in the same period.

    In both of these areas, Leeds City Council is working with a clear focus on new ideas and creative approaches to meet the needs of residents in an effective and cost-effective way.

    In children’s services, the council continues to strive for ambitious positive outcomes for the young people it is responsible for, investing in innovation such as small group living homes which allows children to return from costly external placements to Leeds where they can be close to their family, friends and local communities. Investment has also been made into a reunification service helping to return children from costly external residential placements to Leeds and into the care of their immediate or wider family, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, where evidence shows they are likely to achieve improved outcomes.

    The council is also committed to improving its fostering offer and maintaining strong positive relationships with foster carers as well as seeking to deliver on new models of accommodation, including supported and specialist accommodation for children with the most complex of needs.

    In adult social care, the HomeFirst programme delivered by Leeds City Council working with NHS and care partners is making an impact in supporting people across the city. Focused on providing a range of short-term support services to help people return home after they have been discharged from hospital, or to help them avoid being admitted to hospital, the programme aims to improve recovery and increase independence. Such has been the success of the programme in its first 18 months, 1,200 fewer adults needed to be admitted to hospital as they received care at home or in a community setting instead. For those admitted to hospital on the programme, their length of stay has been cut by 17 per cent on average, with more than 400 people able to go straight home after a hospital stay rather than into an intermediate community care setting.

    To tackle the overall budget deficit, all council assets and services are being continuously assessed and reviewed to see how they can help mitigate the financial position.

    The final budget plans include changes or reviews of the following areas to help deliver the required overall savings:

    • – Review of transport services in adults and health
    • – Creation of new early intervention team to help older people remain living at home
    • – Review of children’s centres
    • – Review of transport services for children and families
    • – Leasing Middleton Leisure Centre to a third party to run
    • – Introduction of ‘pay as you feel’ admission charges at Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Galley and Leeds Discovery Centre
    • – Adoption of ‘pay as you feel’ admission model at Kirkstall Abbey for Leeds residents
    • – Review of Leeds Cultural Investment Programme
    • – Review into possible reduction in number of community committees in Leeds
    • – Review of council’s print and sign functions

    In terms of council staffing, the budget plans announced today include a further reduction of 234.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts in the next year, with the council currently having 3,545 fewer staff than it did in 2010/11. The council remains fully committed to consulting with trade unions to avoid, reduce and mitigate the needs for compulsory redundancies.  However, given the size of the budget challenge for 2025/26 the council may find itself in a position where compulsory redundancies cannot be avoided.

    As part of its commitment to supporting lower-paid staff, from April 1 the lowest rate of pay in the council will be £12.69 per hour, nine pence above the Real Living Wage rate of £12.60 per hour.

    Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said:

    “For the first time in 15 years the council has received additional government funding that has allowed us to protect services for our most vulnerable residents, which will always be our top priority. This has also given us more flexibility to act on feedback received from the consultation on our initial budget proposals and I’m pleased to confirm this has enabled us to make changes, including reversing the reduction of funding for the neighbourhood networks.   

    “I am also pleased to confirm our support to low-paid workers by continuing our commitment to paying all council employees at least the Real Living Wage rate. 

    “While significant ongoing challenges are still there to deliver over £100million of savings in a single year, we know that innovative new ways of delivering council services in a cost-effective way will give us the best chance of balancing our budget moving forward. For instance in adult social care our HomeFirst service helps more people safely continue living at home rather than going into care; and in children’s services we are increasing capacity in fostering and small group living homes which is beneficial to children and helps reduce spend on expensive private sector external residential placements.

    “We also thank and appreciate the responses of everyone who gave us their views on the budget plans and specific elements within it. We have listened, discussed the issues involved and responded with a clear emphasis on working together as ‘Team Leeds’ to find effective solutions and new ways of working, which will underpin everything we do in the year ahead as we try to deliver this budget.”

    Beyond next year, the council is provisionally expecting to need to find further savings of £38.2million in 2026/27 and £30.1million in 2027/28, with these figures continuing to be reviewed.

    The final budget plans for 2025/26 will be considered by the council’s executive board at Civic Hall on Wednesday 12 February before going on to the annual budget debate and vote by the full council held on Wednesday 26 February.

    The final budget reports can be seen at Council and democracy (agenda item 12).

    ENDS

    For media enquiries please contact:

    Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

    Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

    Tel: 0113 378 6007

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Funding secured for city’s popular neighbourhood networks

    Source: City of Leeds

    A network of lifeline organisations which support older residents across the city has seen funding secured for the year ahead as the council reaffirms its commitment to making Leeds the best place to grow old.

    Despite the significant financial challenges faced by the authority, council bosses have confirmed they are sustaining the current level of funding to the city’s popular and highly-acclaimed neighbourhood networks, as part of budget proposals set to be considered at next week’s executive board meeting (February 12).

    Neighbourhood networks are a valued resource to many of the city’s older residents, ensuring they can remain connected to their communities while living independently in their own homes.

    They were first developed in Leeds in the 1980s and now have nearly 27,000 members across 34 separate networks, benefiting from around 800 activities to help reduce social isolation, enhance well-being and promote healthier lifestyle choices.

    Rooted in communities across the city, activities include lunch clubs, exercise sessions and befriending as well as trips and excursions with each scheme’s offer based on local needs and demand.  

    Today’s announcement comes after the council administration proposed not to progress with a suggested 10 per cent reduction for 2025/26 to neighbourhood networks, which had initially been put forward to December 2024’s executive board meeting as part of council-wide spending reviews.

    The funding demonstrates the council’s ongoing commitment towards its ‘Age Friendly Leeds’ ambitions of being the best city to grow old in and a place where people age well.

    Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “Our neighbourhood networks are a real success story for our city and have been recognised nationally and internationally as examples of good practice, so I’m delighted we’ve been able to guarantee sustained funding for this valued lifeline.

    “Although we face significant budget pressures, we absolutely recognise the great work being undertaken by our networks in helping older people live independent lives and play an active part in their communities.

    “With one in three people living in Leeds aged over 50 and the size of the 70-80+ population expected to grow significantly over the coming years, we know there is a rising need for these vital support services.

    “This continued investment gives a clear commitment from the council to our neighbourhood networks to ensure they are able to grow and enhance their services, in turn helping to improve the lives of thousands of people across the city.”

    For full details on the budget proposals to be discussed at next week’s executive board meeting, please read: Leeds City Council Leader welcomes extra funding but warns of challenge remaining as over £100m annual budget saving needed

    ENDS

    For media enquiries please contact:

    Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

    Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

    Tel: 0113 378 6007

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Secretary of State: “One year on from restoration – the challenge ahead”

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Transcript of the Secretary of State’s keynote address at Ulster University on 4 February 2025

    I am delighted to be speaking here today, in these wonderful surroundings. My thanks to Ulster University; indeed The Times’ UK University of the Year 2024, no less.

    This institution does so much fantastic work and is truly “a force for good in fostering peace, prosperity and cohesion”, as the judges of that illustrious award so eloquently described you. And it has been a privilege for me to meet some of your remarkable students this morning.

    This week, of course, we are marking the one year anniversary of the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland.

    But before I come to that, I just want to say this about Storm Eowyn.

    At its peak, over 280,000 properties were without electricity including acute hospitals and other essential services. But since the winds abated, there has been an extraordinary effort to deal with the damage, to clear fallen trees and to get electricity supplies up and running again.

    And I know that lots of people have worked really hard over long hours to restore services and I’m glad to say that NIE Networks is now very nearly there with the last electricity reconnections, and it has been a long time for some people to wait.

    It’s been a team effort which shows the strength of the United Kingdom in offering practical support. When trouble strikes, we come to the aid of each other.

    The restoration of power-sharing a year ago was a significant moment. It followed yet another unacceptably long time without a functioning government.

    When I was first appointed as shadow Secretary of State in September 2023, I said to Chris Heaton-Harris that my priority was to see the Executive restored.

    I want to pay tribute to Chris for the pivotal role he played in bringing back the institutions, to the leadership of the DUP for deciding to go back into powersharing, and to them and the leadership of Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the UUP for the great start tht the Executive has made. We all hope that its restoration is for good – the good of the people of Northern Ireland.

    By its very nature, power-sharing is difficult – very difficult – but just over a quarter of a century ago we saw extraordinary political leadership make it possible.

    Courage and compromise triumphed over bitter stalemate, as political leaders agreed the principles of power-sharing that endure to this day.

    I have great faith in Northern Ireland’s system of government. Indeed, there were long periods of relative Executive stability prior to 2017 in which we saw the devolution of policing and justice, and the establishment of the PSNI – which today enjoys significant cross-community support. Who could have imagined that 26 years ago? It’s a tribute to the work that Naomi Long and her predecessors have done in the role of Justice Minister.

    There was also significant economic growth, helped by Northern Ireland’s success in attracting inward investment. All examples of what can be achieved by sharing power.

    The people of Northern Ireland need and deserve an Executive that works for them all the time, along of course with an Opposition that holds the Executive to account, an important role being undertaken by Matthew O’Toole and the SDLP. And it is vital that all of us do all we can to ensure that the stability of devolved government endures.

    We have to put the days of collapse behind us and move forward.

    Now I say that not because I am worried about a return to instability. On the contrary, I have been so impressed by the leadership shown by Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly as First and deputy First Minister.

    The Executive has worked constructively together to negotiate an Interim Fiscal Framework, publish a Fiscal Sustainability Plan, bring forward a strategy to end violence against women and girls and a childcare and early learning plan, and agree a draft Programme for Government.

    It’s been a successful start, and I believe the conditions are now in place for the Executive to grasp the opportunities that beckon for Northern Ireland.

    The largest budget settlement since devolution with a funding formula that now reflects Northern Ireland’s level of need.

    Certainty, after the uncertainty that immediately followed the EU referendum in 2016, about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.

    Advantageous trading arrangements through the Windsor Framework, which can help draw in foreign direct investment.

    And finally – after too many years in which Northern Ireland was too often treated by the previous government as an afterthought – this Executive has a partner in this UK Government that is committed to working together to generate investment and economic growth and to help improve the delivery of public services.

    We all understand the scale of the challenge and the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland, where poverty, paramilitarism and the past are entwined. And where the pain and trauma wrought by the terrible violence that shook this place continue – for many – to be deeply felt.

    And all our thoughts this week, and in the weeks to come, are with those family members taking part in the commemorative hearings in the Inquiry into the Omagh Bombing – a monstrous and despicable act of terrorist violence.

    We now must all play our part in building a more inclusive society which is at peace with itself as it looks to the future.

    And this is the moment for Northern Ireland’s devolved government to address the concerns that citizens have about their lives and their wish to see public services improve.

    My first six months or so in office as Secretary of State has reminded me about what Mo Mowlam once said:

    “People working together can overcome many obstacles, often within themselves, and by doing so can make the world a better place.”

    We are all aware of the acute challenges which we are grappling with right across the United Kingdom.

    Today I want to talk about three of these.

    First, reform and delivery of public services.

    Second, how to ensure the smooth flow of goods across the UK, while seeking to deepen our trade ties with Europe.

    And third, the need for sustained and sustainable economic growth, which is essential if we are to see raised living standards, and more money in people’s pockets on which subject, today the UK Government has announced a 6.7% increase in the National Living Wage from 1 April, which will benefit millions of people across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.

    The challenge for public services is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, and nowhere is this more urgent or obvious than in health.

    The facts are frankly shocking.

    Waiting time performance against cancer care targets continues to deteriorate, corridor care is becoming more frequent and it is striking how many people in Northern Ireland are now going private.

    More than a quarter of people in Northern Ireland are on a waiting list. That is more than double the figure in England.

    53% of people waiting for a first appointment with a consultant are waiting for more than a year in Northern Ireland.

    In England, that figure is 4%. That’s right, 53% compared to just 4%.

    That’s why the First Minister recently described the state of the health service as “dire and diabolical”.

    I agree. And this is despite UK Treasury data showing that spending per head on health is nearly £300 a year higher in Northern Ireland than it is in England.

    It is absolutely not that health and social care staff are somehow not doing all they can. On the contrary, they are working really, really hard to treat patients, but they are doing so in a system that clearly isn’t working.

    And why isn’t it working? Because – over many years – the decisions necessary for systemic and not piecemeal reform to the health and social care system in Northern Ireland simply haven’t been taken.

    Now the Health Minister Mike Nesbitt is developing a long term plan to stabilise, reconfigure and reform the health service. This is really encouraging and I sincerely wish him well.

    And the challenge now for the Executive is to take the difficult collective decisions that are required to enable this change to succeed.

    Doing so is now unavoidable.

    The task of transforming public services won’t be without cost. I get that. And I know that talk of transformation of public services inevitably leads to the issue of funding.

    So, allow me to say this.

    The Autumn Budget provided £18.2 billion for the Executive in 2025/2026 – the largest settlement in real terms in the history of devolution.

    This includes a £1.5 billion increase through the Barnett formula, with £1.2 billion for day-to-day spending and £270 million for capital investment.

    The independent Northern Ireland Fiscal Council has calculated that the relative need in Northern Ireland is 24% more per head than in England for equivalent spending. This rightly reflects the greater needs that there are in Northern Ireland.

    That is why, as part of the restoration agreement last year, a structural change was made to funding by adding a 24% needs-based factor to the Barnett formula, so as to ensure the Executive gets the level of funding it needs, now and in the future.

    This financial year and next financial year, funding for Northern Ireland will actually exceed this level.

    I frequently hear it said, however, that more funding is required from the UK Government and that that is the reason why public services are in such a state. But given the needs-based formula that is now in place, and given the increase in funding that the government has given, a lack of funding is not the impediment to public service transformation.

    The real impediment has been the failure to reform the system. The many missed opportunities to take decisions, or to apply lessons, from other parts of the UK where reform has happened.

    Of course, this has at times been down to there being no Executive in place to take those decisions, which is why it’s essential that the institutions do their job every day of the year.

    At other times, there has simply been a lack of agreement among Executive Ministers on the steps that need to be taken, or on the allocation of resources, or on the revenue that needs to be raised.

    I believe strongly in devolution in Northern Ireland – where decisions are made as close to the people they affect as possible, by the representatives the people have chosen.

    It is only right that the Executive makes decisions about its own spending and revenue raising priorities.

    However, it must take responsibility for balancing its budget and living within its means. Just as all other governments must.

    Now, the Executive has nine priorities set out in its draft Programme for Government, and the work of this UK Government is guided by our five Missions and our Plan for Change. These objectives are in many ways complementary, and I firmly believe the two need to work together.

    Since Fleur Anderson and I took office, we’ve been clear that we want to help ensure that the Executive has the support it needs.

    We want the UK Government to be an active partner and to encourage greater collaboration and sharing of expertise, so helping Northern Ireland to make progress for itself.

    And it is in this spirit that the Public Sector Transformation Board was conceived of, as part of the restoration deal, to bring together experts from across different sectors, and to enable the sharing of best practice from across the UK to support change.

    We have also made available £235m of funding for projects proposed by the Executive departments to transform the delivery of public services.

    I look forward to seeing the first tranche of this funding being allocated soon, followed, I hope, by the Executive -and I want to say that Caoimhe Archibald has done a great job as Finance Minister – bringing forward plans in the Budget for how the Executive will deploy its resources to deliver the wider transformation that is so urgently required in the health service.

    Let me now turn to the second matter I want to address.

    This UK Government will always uphold – in good faith – the Good Friday Agreement and the principle of consent on which it rests. And for as long as the people of Northern Ireland wish it to be so, Northern Ireland’s place in the Union is secure.

    The task now for us as politicians is to ensure that the Union continues to improve the lives of all communities, regardless of their constitutional ambition.

    Now, of course, I couldn’t come here today and speak about the restoration of the Northern Ireland institutions without recognising the issues that led to them not functioning in the first place, and the arrangements that enabled them to get back up and running.

    The concerns that people in Northern Ireland – particularly but not exclusively those from a Unionist background – had about the old Northern Ireland protocol were genuine. I shared many of them. It proved to be unworkable and damaging, and I supported the Windsor Framework that replaced it.

    The Framework brought significant improvements in the arrangements in Northern Ireland, thanks to the pragmatic approach the EU took in the negotiations.

    It recognised that goods staying within the UK’s internal market should not be subject to the full panoply of EU rules and checks.

    It ensured that medicines continue to be available on a UK-wide basis, and it enshrined an important new democratic safeguard in the form of the Stormont Brake.

    The Brake has received quite a bit of attention of late. There are some who have said that because the outcome recently was not as they wished, it doesn’t have any value.

    That isn’t true.

    The main criterion for use of the Brake – namely, that the proposed new EU rule would have a significant and lasting impact on communities in Northern Ireland – and that is quite a high bar – is clearly set out in law. The fact that this bar was not met on this occasion, does not have any bearing on whether it might be met on any future occasion. Why? Because each case must be considered on its merits. That’s the responsibility on me in law.

    But the Brake notification by MLAs – which reflected genuine concerns – did lead to a clear commitment by the UK Government to take the steps necessary to avoid new regulatory barriers in respect of chemicals. Which was the issue that had given rise to the application.

    I think this was a positive outcome, and precisely what the Brake was designed to do.

    More generally, I am not going to rehash old debates about Brexit. My views during the referendum and subsequently are fairly well known.

    But I hope that the experience of what has happened since the referendum taught us all something important. And that is that we should beware those offering simplistic soundbites rather than grappling with difficult and complex questions, like the one which lies at the heart of this debate. How do you deal with trade between two countries with different rules but an open border between them?

    Serious leadership and the questions it has to deal with – such as that provided by those sitting around the Executive table, or operating in constructive opposition in the Assembly, or by the UK Government – requires serious answers.

    And when it became clear that the Windsor Framework was not the final word, through painstaking months, the Democratic Unionist Party worked through the remaining issues to secure some important new commitments in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper.

    They engaged in the detail and achieved changes for their constituents when it might have been politically safer or easier to demand the impossible from the sidelines.

    Some others did take that latter path – I would say with absolutely no benefit to anyone that they represented.

    So, I commend the role that the leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson, and the now deputy First Minister, played in that process – and for the courage and commitment to Northern Ireland that they demonstrated in leading their party back into the Executive.

    And for my part, let me say that I am committed to continuing to work in good faith to implement the basis on which devolution was restored.

    We have clearly made good progress:

    • an Independent Monitoring Panel is in place to report on how it’s going on meeting the new Internal Market Guarantee

    • every public authority implementing the Windsor Framework must now look to statutory guidance on the importance of Northern Ireland’s place in the Union in discharging their duties

    • every Government department must set out the impact of major regulatory changes on the functioning of the UK’s internal market, including Northern Ireland.

    • an Independent Review has been established recognising that the democratic vote to continue the Framework’s application was not supported by Unionist MLAs

    • we have new working groups on Veterinary Medicines and horticulture up and running – acknowledging that there is still important work to be done

    • we will shortly establish Intertrade UK.

    But most important of all, goods are flowing back and forth between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

    This is a process, it is not a destination.

    And my commitment, as we continue to take forward Safeguarding the Union, is to continue working with all parts of the community and with all the political parties, to address concerns and problems.

    It certainly won’t always be smooth, but I am really grateful to all those who are willing to engage in the hard slog each day to improve things further for the people of Northern Ireland.

    And as we honour the commitments we have made in the Windsor Framework, as we must, this Government is also working to secure a stronger and better relationship with the European Union.

    An SPS and veterinary agreement just to take that example would produce tangible benefits for businesses and traders in Northern Ireland and indeed across the UK by helping animal and plant products to flow freely across the Irish Sea. So there is light at the end of this tunnel.

    Beyond strengthening Northern Ireland’s place in the Internal Market, investments being made by this UK Government will help to strengthen Northern Ireland’s economy.

    We all know the particular challenges facing the economy in Northern Ireland, not least on productivity, but Northern Ireland’s economic output is now 9.7% above its pre-pandemic level, which is significantly higher than the rest of the UK.

    In the last decade the total number of employee jobs is up 15%. And as we know Northern Ireland now has the lowest level of unemployment in the UK.

    I am determined to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from UK Government initiatives designed to generate economic growth and power the green transition.

    Central to this will be our new modern industrial strategy – Invest 2035 – and our commitment to make the whole of the UK a clean energy superpower with GB Energy, a publicly owned company, at its heart.

    We will work closely with the Executive and the other devolved governments on our 10-year Infrastructure Strategy and the National Wealth Fund to ensure the benefits are felt UK-wide.

    Alongside the Industrial Strategy, we will mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s world-leading industries, including Northern Ireland’s strengths in areas like fin-tech and the creative industries.

    I was delighted that last month, Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, announced that Belfast is one of this Government’s priority regions for the Creative Industries, and this Spring will see the full opening of Studio Ulster – a truly unique facility that will not just support the growing creative industry in Northern Ireland, but will also take it into the next era of screen innovation, making it a global player in performance technology. Fleur and I had a sneak preview before we came into this hall today, and I’m looking forward to visiting the new Studio Ulster itself.

    And of course, the Belfast City Deal has helped to fund Studio Ulster.

    And as we move full steam ahead with the City and Growth Deals right across Northern Ireland, these will demonstrate the significant impact of a partnership that has been developed between the Executive, the UK Government, local councils and businesses to make things happen.

    It is also fantastic that shipbuilding is returning to Belfast. As announced in December, a commercial deal has been reached that will see Navantia UK – a specialist in shipbuilding – purchase Harland and Wolff, thus ensuring the delivery of the Ministry of Defence’s three Fleet Solid Support Ships.

    This deal, which will protect around 500 jobs in Belfast, demonstrates the Government’s unwavering commitment to UK shipbuilding, and to Harland and Wolff.

    Throughout the process, the Government worked with devolved governments, local MPs and the relevant trade unions, on the commitments on jobs that are part of the deal.

    And let’s not forget all of the other strengths of Northern Ireland. Farming, its fantastic universities, including this wonderful institution we’re meeting in today, the voluntary and community sector, advanced manufacturing, thriving life sciences, and a world-leading cybersecurity industry which, with UK Government investment here in Northern Ireland, is so important for UK-wide national resilience.

    Investment is vital for Northern Ireland, but to maximise potential it needs to get its infrastructure right. To take just one example, last year NI Water confirmed that there are 19,000 applications for development that cannot go ahead due to the outdated and at capacity sewage network.

    And, of course, political stability is crucial to encourage investors to put their money into Northern Ireland.

    As I look at all of this, what strikes me most forcefully about Northern Ireland is the energy, the enterprise, the imagination and the innovation of the people and businesses and the local authorities and the politicians that I have met.

    To take just one example of a firm I visited in October – I could tell you of many others – Edge Innovate designs, manufactures and exports its material handling and recycling equipment – and you have to see the size of it, some of those bits of kit are enormous- from their factory in Dungannon all over the world.

    It was so impressive, so let us all tell their and other stories of Northern Ireland’s success.

    Because measured by what went before, the last 26 years really have been a success. Your success. Northern Ireland has been transformed.

    So, as we look towards the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2028, I am so encouraged that a majority of people here continue to view power-sharing as the best form of government.

    Of course, there is a debate about reform of the institutions – it would be surprising if there were not – but my view is this.

    Just as it took agreement between the parties to establish power-sharing in the first place, so it will require agreement between the parties to reform the current arrangements. And the task for now for today is to make them work for the people of Northern Ireland.

    So in doing so, let us take inspiration from the words of the great George Mitchell, I had the privilege of meeting him a couple of months ago, who – on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Agreement – said:

    “The answer is not perfection, or permanence. It is now, as it was then, for the current and future leaders of Northern Ireland to act with courage and vision, as their predecessors did 25 years ago. To find workable answers to the daily problems of the present.”

    That is the responsibility that each of us takes on when we stand for elected office, whoever we are, and when the people say they want us to get on with the task.

    Let me assure you. The Executive will be in the lead but it will not be alone.

    And at this moment in history and at this time, I believe that Northern Ireland has all it needs to be a success and to be a beacon of hope to the world by showing that peace is truly the foundation on which progress is built.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Cequence Security Triples ARR in MEA, Achieves Record Customer Wins & Strengthens Leadership Ahead of LEAP 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cequence Security, a pioneer in API security and bot management, today announced significant momentum in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, driven by rapid customer adoption, strategic partnerships and a strengthened leadership team. This expansion further solidifies Cequence’s position as the go-to API security and bot management provider in the region, addressing the growing demand for advanced threat protection and digital risk mitigation.

    “APIs are the backbone of modern digital transformation, but they are also the most exploited attack surface,” said Ameya Talwalkar, CEO of Cequence Security. “We are not just expanding—we are transforming how businesses defend their digital assets. As the only solution that provides data sovereignty in the region, we empower enterprises with AI-driven security tailored to their unique regulatory and threat landscapes. By combining innovative threat intelligence with proactive defense, we enable organizations to anticipate and mitigate attacks before they impact operations.”

    Cequence’s expansion in MEA has been marked by:

    • New customer acquisitions across financial services, telecommunications, oil and gas, and technology, securing organizations such as:
      • A top Islamic bank in the UAE
      • One of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa
      • A major telecom provider in Turkey
      • A digital transformation leader in the energy sector
    • A 193% increase in ARR in the MEA region year-over-year.
    • A 68% increase in partner deal registrations, demonstrating strong market demand for Cequence’s Unified API Protection (UAP) platform.
    • An 83% increase in reseller partnerships, spanning KSA, UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt.
    • The planned signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at LEAP 2025 with a strategic GTM partner, underscoring Cequence’s commitment to regional cybersecurity initiatives.
    • Hiring for multiple positions across various departments in the region, reinforcing Cequence’s investment in local talent and its commitment to long-term growth in MEA.

    Strategic Leadership Appointment
    To drive Cequence’s expansion in MEA, the company has appointed Mohammad Ismail as its new Head of Go-to-Market (GTM) & Sales for EMEA, strategically based in Dubai to accelerate regional growth and customer success. With over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity and enterprise IT across the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, Ismail brings a proven track record of driving business growth and forging strategic alliances.

    “My focus at Cequence is to strengthen our presence in the EMEA region by deepening relationships with customers and partners,” said Mohammad Ismail, Head of GTM & Sales for EMEA. “With the increasing adoption of the growing reliance on APIs to power digital services, organizations need robust API security and bot management solutions. I look forward to leveraging my experience to expand our footprint, provide strategic guidance, and help customers stay ahead of evolving cyber threats.”

    Customer Success and Industry Validation
    Cequence’s platform has helped organizations across MEA overcome critical API security and bot management challenges. Customers have leveraged Cequence to:

    • Secure APIs during open banking transitions, ensuring compliance and real-time protection for sensitive financial data.
    • Enhance API governance and security testing, integrating seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines to enforce OWASP Top 10 protections.
    • Detect and stop sophisticated API attacks with AI-driven threat detection and real-time behavioral analysis, mitigating risks from shadow APIs and automated threats.
    • Improve visibility and response times with comprehensive API activity monitoring, automated security enforcement, and automated enforcement with no human intervention.
    • Meet stringent data sovereignty requirements, ensuring security policies remain within customer-controlled environments.

    These capabilities combined with Cequence’s unified approach, continue to drive strong adoption among MEA enterprises seeking to protect their digital environments.

    Investor Confidence and Market Leadership
    Cequence’s expansion in MEA has garnered continued support from investors, including Prosperity7 Ventures and Sanabil Investments.

    “The Middle East presents a unique and fast-growing opportunity for cybersecurity innovation, and Cequence is leading the charge with its best-in-class API security solutions,” said Abhishek Shukla, managing director and head of North America at Prosperity7 Ventures. “With an experienced leadership team, strong regional partnerships, and a relentless focus on innovation, Cequence is well-positioned to drive continued success in the MEA market.”

    Commitment to Innovation
    As part of its ongoing commitment to innovation, Cequence has introduced new capabilities tailored to the MEA market, including:

    • Expanded cloud and on-premises deployment options, ensuring compliance with regional data sovereignty requirements.
    • Enhanced partner enablement programs, equipping resellers and service providers with advanced API security expertise.

    “With API threats growing more sophisticated, we remain focused on delivering cutting-edge security solutions that empower organizations to stay ahead of attackers,” added Talwalkar. “Our investment in MEA reflects our dedication to supporting businesses with the tools they need to protect their digital assets and maintain trust with their customers.”

    Meet Us at LEAP 2025
    Cequence will be at Stand H1.D30 during LEAP 2025. Stop by to meet our team and learn more about how our industry-leading API security and bot management solutions can help protect your digital ecosystem.

    Join Ameya Talwalkar, CEO of Cequence, as he discusses the evolving API security and bot management landscape. His session will cover emerging threats, regional trends and strategies for mitigating cyber risks.

    When: 7:30 PM – 7:50 PM
    Where: Stand H1.D30

    About Cequence Security
    Cequence is a pioneer in API security and bot management, protecting the applications and APIs that organizations depend on from attacks, business logic abuse, and fraud. Our unique Unified API Protection platform unites discovery, compliance, and protection capabilities, providing unmatched real-time security in the face of sophisticated threats. Demonstrating value in minutes rather than days or weeks, Cequence offers a flexible deployment model that requires no app instrumentation or modification. Cequence solutions scale to meet the needs of the largest and most demanding private and public sector organizations, protecting more than 8 billion daily API interactions and 3 billion user accounts. To learn more, visit www.cequence.ai.

    Media Contact
    Katrina Porter
    press@cequence.ai

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Rate Unveils Comprehensive Financing Solutions for Small Business Owners and Independent Property Investors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rate, a leading financial services provider in the mortgage industry, proudly announces the launch of a comprehensive suite of investment property financing solutions for independent and small business owners. These offerings are designed to support buyers as both aspiring and established real estate investors with industry-leading pricing and rapid access to capital.

    Trends in property investment reveal significant growth and involvement among taxpayers and small investors over the last few years. According to CoreLogic, after a dip in the first half of 2024 as mortgage rates and home prices remained elevated, the quarterly U.S. home investor share grew by 2% and is expected is expected to remain steady in 2025, at around 25% of all home sales.

    The long term growth is echoed in the IRS data, showing that the number of taxpayers claiming rental income has been increasing at an annual rate of 7.6% since 2006, reaching 16.8 million individuals. Among these investors, 47% are small-scale, owning 3-9 properties, while 36% are medium-scale, with portfolios of 10-99 properties. Furthermore, rental income is derived from 17.7 million properties, highlighting the substantial scale of the rental property market. Rate is committed to serving everyday Americans and small business owners, who are emerging as a rising percentage of those making these purchases and being at the forefront of this trend.

    Rate’s full suite of products is designed for everyday Americans seeking to own investment properties and achieve financial independence. Whether it’s their first or their twentieth investment, borrowers will benefit from a one-stop shop and state-of-the-industry tools for all their financing needs. Options for 1-4 unit properties include the industry-leading MaxInvest and DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) programs. Beyond Residential financing the company is best known for, Rate can arrange financing for Residential/Commercial which includes apartment buildings, mixed use, storage facilities, and even strip malls and warehouses.

    Today’s announcement follows the company’s earlier launch of its first Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) deal of 2024 as the first non-bank lender to re-enter the securitization space for jumbo loans since the pandemic. Both products reflect the company’s commitment to delivering products and solutions that support a broad array of homebuying ambitions and profiles.

    “Our commitment to helping everyday Americans achieve their goals is unwavering. We continue to find new and better ways to serve small business owners and real people trying to support their families,” said Victor Ciardelli, CEO of Rate. “We offer the best tools in the industry, a streamlined tech-enabled process with fast access to cash and minimal paperwork, making real estate investment accessible to everyone.”

    “The investment property mortgage industry is traditionally serviced by Fannie, Freddie, small and hard money lenders, leading to limited liquidity and tech advancement, and a disjointed high-cost process,” said Kate Amor, EVP and Head of Enterprise Products for Rate.

    Focus on Small Business Owners
    Rate recognizes that small business owners often face unique challenges when seeking financing for investment properties. Traditional lenders overlook this group, focusing instead on first-time homebuyers or large commercial clients. Rate aims to fill this gap by providing custom solutions that address the specific needs of small business owners and individual investors.

    “Our goal is to support Main Street America—normal Americans who want to achieve financial security through real estate investment,” added Amor. “These are not the institutional investors taking housing supply, but everyday people and small business owners looking to build a better future for their families. We are committed to providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

    Market Context:
    The real estate investment market has been underserved, often relying on small lenders and hard money lending. Rate’s new suite of solutions aims to bridge this gap by providing sophisticated, tech-forward, and accessible financing options. With expansive guidelines and a focus on speed and convenience, Rate is set to redefine the market for real estate investors.

    “Recent agency loan-level pricing adjustments have made it extremely difficult to find rate and pricing scenarios that make sense for these small investors, particularly when Fed rate cuts haven’t lowered mortgage rates as many hoped,” said Jeremy Collett, Chief Capital Markets Officer for Rate. “We’re using our strong product development acumen to find new ways to offer competitive rates for our everyday real estate investor customers and their unique business needs.”

    About Rate:
    Rate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate is the #2 retail mortgage lender in the U.S., with over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include Best Mortgage Lender for First-Time Homebuyers by NerdWallet for 2023; HousingWire’s Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashClose℠ digital mortgage platform in 2020, MyAccount in 2022, and Language Access Program in 2023; No. 2 ranking in Scotsman Guide’s 2022 list of Top Retail Mortgage Lenders; the most Scotsman Guide Top Originators for 11 consecutive years; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years; and Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven straight years. Visit [rate. com](https://www.rate.com) for more information.

    Media Contacts:
    Kendall Allen Rockwell
    Broadsheet Communications
    For Rate
    kendall@broadsheetcomms.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Blueface Featuring The Game’s “Stop Cappin” Acquired by Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) (OTC: SONGD)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Naples, FL, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) (OTC:SONGD) is thrilled to announce its acquisition of royalty-generating intellectual property stakes in “Stop Cappin” by Blueface featuring The Game. While the work will continue to be administered by third-party organizations, Music Licensing, Inc. will receive ongoing passive royalty payments from its performance.

    Blueface, a platinum-selling rapper known for his unique offbeat style, has become a defining voice in contemporary hip-hop. His collaboration with The Game, a legend in the genre with multiple chart-topping albums, resulted in “Stop Cappin”, a powerful anthem that blends gritty lyricism with unparalleled charisma. The track has amassed millions of streams globally, affirming its cultural impact and commercial success.

    This acquisition enhances Music Licensing, Inc.’s growing portfolio of iconic works, cementing its reputation as a leader in acquiring and managing high-value music royalties.

    Watch “Stop Cappin” by Blueface featuring The Game here.

    About Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) (ProMusicRights.com)

    Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG), also known as Pro Music Rights, is a diversified holding company and the fifth public performance rights organization (PRO) formed in the United States. Its licensees include notable companies such as TikTok, iHeart Media, Triller, Napster, 7Digital, Vevo, and many others. Pro Music Rights holds an estimated market share of 7.4% in the United States, representing over 2,500,000 works by notable artists such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil Yachty, MoneyBagg Yo, Larry June, Trae Pound, Sauce Walka, Trae Tha Truth, Sosamann, Soulja Boy, Lex Luger, Trauma Tone, Lud Foe, SlowBucks, Gunplay, OG Maco, Rich The Kid, Fat Trel, Young Scooter, Nipsey Hussle, Famous Dex, Boosie Badazz, Shy Glizzy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Gucci Mane, Young Dolph, Trinidad James, Chingy, Lil Gnar, 3OhBlack, Curren$y, Fall Out Boy, Money Man, Dej Loaf, Lil Uzi Vert, and countless others, as well as artificial intelligence (A.I.) created music.

    Additionally, Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC: SONG) owns royalty stakes in Listerine “Mouthwash” Antiseptic and musical works by artists such as The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Elton John, Mike Posner, blackbear, Lil Nas X, Lil Yachty, DaBaby, Stunna 4 Vegas, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, XXXTentacion, BlueFace, The Game, Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, Eric Bellinger, Ne-Yo, MoneyBagg Yo, Halsey, Desiigner, DaniLeigh, Rihanna, and numerous others.

    Forward-Looking Statements:

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Pro Music Rights, Inc., Music Licensing, Inc., or any other person.

    Non-Legal Advice Disclosure:

    This press release does not constitute legal advice, and readers are advised to seek legal counsel for any legal matters or questions related to the content herein.

    Non-Investment Advice Disclosure:

    This communication is intended solely for informational purposes and does not in any way imply or constitute a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, commodities, bonds, options, derivatives, or any other investment products. Any decisions related to investments should be made after thorough research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor or professional. We assume no liability for any actions taken or not taken based on the information provided in this communication

    Contact: investors@ProMusicRights.com

    SOURCE: Music Licensing, Inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Orion180 FLEX Home Insurance Gives Texas Policyholders More Control Over Homeowners’ Coverage

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MELBOURNE, Fla., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Orion180, a leading provider of innovative insurance solutions, today announced an industry first with the launch of its innovative FLEX Home Insurance product, which is now available in Texas. FLEX offers customers a fully customizable approach to homeowners’ insurance, empowering policyholders to tailor coverage to suit their unique needs and financial goals.

    “We believe insurance should be adaptable to the lives of our customers—not the other way around,” said Ken Gregg, CEO of Orion180. “FLEX Home Insurance empowers homeowners with choice to design their policies around their individual preferences and priorities, offering unparalleled transparency, flexibility, and peace of mind. FLEX gives homeowners the ability to balance affordability and protection that our competition simply doesn’t deliver today.”

    FLEX is a surplus lines product that introduces an innovative and flexible approach to insurance coverage. Homeowners begin with essential protections—such as fire and lightning coverage—and build out their policies to fit their needs and budget.

    Highlights of FLEX Home Insurance include:

    • Customizable Coverage Options: Policyholders can select perils based on their risk tolerance and needs, ensuring they can balance cost and risk for what matters most.
    • Adjustable Deductibles and Copay Options: Homeowners can balance upfront costs and long-term savings by choosing deductible and copay levels that align with their financial comfort.
    • Loyalty Rewards: Homeowners who experience no losses can earn deductible reductions, no-loss dividends, or even a full refund of their first-year premium after ten years of claim-free coverage.
    • Rate Lock Features: A two-term price lock ensures premium stability, shielding policyholders from unexpected rate increases.

    FLEX is designed to address the diverse needs of Texas homeowners, including those in high-risk areas prone to natural disasters like tornadoes and hailstorms.

    Currently available through select insurance agents in Texas, FLEX Home Insurance will expand to Florida and other states in the spring of 2025, signaling Orion180’s commitment to delivering innovative, adaptable insurance solutions across the United States.

    To learn more about Orion180 FLEX Home Insurance, visit https://orion180.com/flex/.

    About Orion180
    Orion180 is a customer-focused, technology-driven insurance brand that combines proprietary technology, real-time data, and straightforward underwriting practices to provide a seamless and premier insurance experience. Orion180 operates through Orion180 Insurance Co., a surplus lines insurance company serving Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Colorado (Flood only), Tennessee (Flood only), Illinois (Flood only) and Arizona, and Orion180 Select Insurance Co., an admitted insurance company offering coverage in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Ohio. With its proprietary MY180 platform and third-party integrations, Orion180 offers unmatched efficiency and innovation, fulfilling its vision of becoming the global leader in insurance solutions while maintaining its mission to deliver superior customer experiences and a comprehensive suite of products. Connect with Orion180 on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. For more information, visit www.Orion180.com.

    Media Contact
    Ross Blume
    Fusion Public Relations
    orion180@fusionpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Paytronix Elevates Online Ordering Platform, Launches Catering Capabilities

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEWTON, Mass., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Paytronix, the leader in guest engagement for restaurants and convenience stores, today announced Paytronix Catering, a new offering within its Online Ordering service that enables both large and small restaurants brands to grow and manage this important ordering channel with a catering offering that is fully integrated with Paytronix loyalty. Balancing first- and third-party ordering, Paytronix Catering gives brands the opportunity to turn third-party customers into first-party customers and, in so doing, optimize the significant revenue stream coming from catering orders.

    Paytronix Catering will enable restaurant brands to dramatically cut back on operational burdens by providing the tools necessary to accurately plan for catering orders, including order acceptance processes, partial payments, and calendar views of all orders. Restaurants can seamlessly manage the increased order volume and keep their kitchens functioning smoothly with additive lead timings, which help keep the pace and inflow of orders manageable for teams so they can meet guest expectations.

    Find out how to improve your catering with the Paytronix Catering Guidebook.

    “Most customers these days don’t consider you for catering until they see it themselves. For us, we put a lot of energy into making sure our customers knew that we had the capabilities, to see if it translated into new opportunities. And wow – it has been so profitable for us financially and operationally,” said Reed Daniels, CEO of Red’s Savoy Pizza.

    “Big catering orders obviously bring in sizable checks and bring on a lot of pressure because you really have to get them right. Since we’re taking them digitally, way ahead of time, we can make sure we’re on point operationally to give them everything they asked for in a timely, efficient manner that isn’t stressful for us or the customer. No pen, no paper – it’s all within the Paytronix platform like any other order. It’s proven to be incredibly valuable.”

    Paytronix Catering offers nearly 20 unique features designed to curate a clear and effective user experience, whether you’re a guest placing an order or the operator reviewing it. Such features include but are not limited to:

    • The Feed-o-meter, which is a unique visual designed to show ordering parties how close their order is to feeding the amount of people they are ordering for;
    • Catering Item Feed count, which eliminates the guesswork needed for guests to determine how many people each item is estimated to feed;
    • White Glove Service, available through our partnerships with EZCater and Doordash Large Order Fulfillment;
    • Order Approvals, which flag new catering orders in the system until they are reviewed by the appropriate manager. This is to confirm the restaurant has seen and reviewed the order and will appropriately plan ahead for the orders – limiting the potential for errors or staffing shortages.

    “Catering orders are placed ahead of time and are larger than typical online orders. Due to this, they add a layer of complexity into the preparation process for restaurants,” said Ray Gibson, online ordering product manager, Paytronix. “Paytronix Catering provides for the unique administrative and operational processes and complexities, including the need to hold an order above the POS until it is time to prep the order, and the need to take deposits for orders and for keeping on-prem orders and online ordering process seamless and accurate.”

    You can find out more information about Paytronix Catering here.

    About Paytronix
    Paytronix, an Access Group company, is a cloud-based digital guest engagement platform for the hospitality industry. Our innovative, unified platform provides loyalty programs, online ordering, gift cards, branded mobile applications, and strategic insights to more than 1,800 leading restaurant and convenience store brands. Our valued clients leverage the power of Paytronix across 50,000 sites globally to create seamless, personalized, and brand-authentic experiences that foster lasting relationships with their customers. For more than 20 years, Paytronix has been a trusted partner helping brands maximize the lifetime value of their guests and grow more profitable businesses. For more information, visit www.paytronix.com.

    Media Contact:
    Calen McGee
    Paytronix Systems, Inc.
    Calen.McGee@theaccessgroup.com
    646-957-7758

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: insightsoftware Powers Jet Reports with AI, Cloud Functionality, and Excel Online Integration

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — insightsoftware, the most comprehensive provider of solutions for the Office of the CFO, today announced the launch of Jet Reports Online, a reporting solution designed to deliver unmatched ease, flexibility, and accuracy for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central users. This release builds on more than two decades of Jet Reports’ strong user growth, with the Online deployment introducing modern features such as AI capabilities, cloud functionality and Microsoft Excel Online integration for a next generation reporting experience with smarter insights and greater adaptability.

    Organizations are navigating an ever increasingly cloud-first world. With 62% of businesses operating in a hybrid environment and 27% already fully cloud-based, modern financial reporting tools must bring mobility, adaptability, and scale. Unlike legacy offerings that rely on replicated and outdated data sets, Jet Reports Online connects directly to real-time cloud data, eliminating the need for additional IT infrastructure. With native Excel formulas and built-in Dynamics 365 Business Central security protocols, Jet Reports Online ensures seamless, secure reporting.

    “Finance leaders seek to maximize productivity and efficiency and achieve more with fewer resources – this requires flexible, cloud-based tools that provide instant access to real-time data, enabling faster, smarter decision-making,” said Chief Product Officer and General Manager, ERP Reporting & BI at insightsoftware, Lee An Schommer. “Solutions that rely on manual data refreshing place an undue burden on financial teams, driving up costs for the finance function. In today’s fast-paced business environment, real-time data isn’t just a luxury—it’s an absolute necessity,” said Schommer.

    The foundation of Jet Reports Online is Reports Center, a secure, cloud-based portal designed for seamless management and cross-functional collaboration within Microsoft Dynamics Business Central Cloud. Finance teams can now run, schedule, and distribute their reports in one centralized location, reducing manual effort and the costs associated with self-hosted, self-managed solutions. The portal enhances collaboration by securely centralizing access and automating crucial tasks like scheduling and distribution in the cloud, as well as opening reports in Excel Online or Excel Desktop for deeper analysis.
    Key functionality includes:

    • AI Capabilities Powered by the insightsoftware Platform – Jet Reports Online is powered by the insightsoftware Platform, giving users access to powerful AI tools like Doc Assist, Data Assist, and Report Assist to generate faster, more accurate, and reliable reports with ease.
    • Automated Cloud Report Execution, Distribution, and Scheduling – Reports Center enables organizations to automate the running, scheduling, and distribution of reports from anywhere with an internet connection, aligning with the increasing demand for cloud-based solutions in the finance sector.
    • Enhanced Reporting Flexibility for Modern Finance Teams – The integration of Jet Reports Online with Excel Online streamlines key financial reporting tasks, providing users with an intuitive, cloud-based solution for designing, managing, viewing, and running reports in a browser, meeting the demands of modern businesses for flexible, adaptable financial reporting solutions.

    Read more about how Jet Reports empowers teams with enhanced financial reporting capabilities while ensuring Dynamics NAV users enjoy a smooth transition to Business Central Cloud.

    About insightsoftware
    insightsoftware is a global provider of comprehensive solutions for the Office of the CFO. We believe an actionable business strategy begins and ends with accessible financial data. With solutions across financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, and operations, we transform how teams operate, empowering leaders to make timely and informed decisions. With data at the heart of everything we do, insightsoftware enables automated processes, delivers trusted insights, boosts predictability, and increases productivity. Learn more at insightsoftware.com.

    Media Contacts
    Inkhouse for insightsoftware
    insightsoftware@inkhouse.com

    Daniel Tummeley
    Corporate Communications Manager
    PR@insightsoftware.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s trade war is forcing Canada to revive a decades-old plan to reduce U.S. dependence

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Blayne Haggart, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brock University

    After threatening Canada and Mexico with illegal tariffs, and Canada with annexation, United States President Donald Trump has agreed to hold off on imposing tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. This decision came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump and committed to strengthening border security.

    While this temporary reprieve provides some breathing room, the long-run question of how Canada should handle Trump and the American descent into authoritarianism remains.

    Early responses seem to have coalesced around two policies: for Canada to trade less with the U.S. and more with other countries and to strengthen the internal Canadian economy.

    Reducing Canada’s dependence on the U.S. economy is necessary in our current moment, as I’ve previously argued. But it will impose significant costs on Canadians and require a fundamental readjustment in how we think about our economy and society.

    The Third Option, revived

    This current crisis isn’t taking place in a historical vacuum. More than 50 years ago, similar concerns about Canada’s dependence on the U.S. led to a policy discussion centred on what became known as the “Third Option.”

    In 1972, then-Secretary of State for External Affairs Mitchell Sharp wrote a paper called “Canada-US Relations: Options for the Future.” At the time, international politics were in a moment of transition, and the U.S. was recalibrating its understanding of its national interest.

    Sharp proposed reconsidering the Canada-U.S. relationship. He observed that while Canadians recognized the benefits of ties with the U.S., they were increasingly wary of the direction of the relationship and in support of measures to “assure greater Canadian independence.”

    Echoing today’s concerns, Sharp argued that the central question for Canada was whether its interdependence with the U.S. would “impose an unmanageable strain on the concept of a separate Canadian identity, if not on the elements of Canadian independence.”

    The options that Sharp proposed are the same ones on offer today:

    1. The First Option: Maintain Canada’s current relationship with the U.S. with minimal policy adjustments
    2. The Second Option: Move toward closer integration with the U.S.
    3. The Third Option: Pursue a long-term strategy to strengthen the Canadian economy and reduce vulnerability

    From three options to one

    Sharp’s analysis is clear on the costs and benefits of free trade. In terms of benefits, economic prosperity would be easier to attain. In fact, this proved decisive in 1988, when Canada embraced the Second Option — closer integration through the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

    But, as Sharp warned presciently, a free-trade agreement would be a “well-nigh irreversible option for Canada” because it would tie the country so closely to the U.S., raising the cost of disentanglement.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. would always be free to redefine the relationship for any reason. This is what happened in 2001 when the U.S. prioritized security over prosperity in response to the 9/11 attacks. It’s what’s happening now.

    As in 2001, deeper integration remains a tempting response to the U.S. But the risks from integration are even greater now, given that Trump is dismantling U.S. democracy at home and trying to bully its neighbours in unprecedented ways.



    Read more:
    How constitutional guardrails have always contained presidential ambitions

    Already, Canada is struggling to recruit American allies to fight against the tariffs because U.S. businesses and politicians are afraid to stand up to Trump. Choosing to more deeply integrate would only worsen Canada’s position, making it a part of the U.S. economy while losing even more political influence.

    And that’s without addressing the morality of collaborating with a country that is currently setting up a concentration camp for migrants in Guantanamo Bay.

    Autocratic governments, as Trump’s administration is demonstrating with his ultimatums against Canada and Mexico, are bullies who will always push the advantage. Taking their demands at face value is a surefire way to surrender Canadian autonomy one piece at a time. So, the First Option — maintaining the status quo — is also off the table.

    Which leaves the Third Option.

    The mortal peril facing Canada

    The Third Option has become more appealing across the political spectrum mainly because the U.S. is forcing Canada’s hand. The uncertainty Trump has injected into the relationship, even in the presence of a trade agreement, has made it more costly for businesses to engage in cross-border trade.

    If Trump’s tariff threat remains, and his attack on the rule of law continues, the U.S. market will become even more unattractive, not least because of the toxic uncertainty Trump has injected into the relationship.

    But his actions also underscore the new, extreme danger Canada now faces.

    As Sharp recognized in 1972, shared social values were the bedrock of successful Canada-U.S. relations. He understood that, for the Third Option to work, the relationship needed to be “harmonious.” Even as he considered ways to reduce Canada’s dependence, he never doubted Canada and the U.S. were “broadly compatible societies.”

    That shared foundation — “based on a broad array of shared interests, perceptions and goals” — made it possible for Canada to chart its own path while maintaining a productive relationship with the U.S.

    Today, that assumption no longer holds. The U.S., under Trump, is acting as an expansionist imperial power with little regard for international law.

    This is the needle Canadian politicians have to thread. By geography alone, Canada must continue to have a relationship with the U.S. But the absence of shared values makes it incredibly difficult to have any kind of healthy, productive relationship.

    The cost of democracy

    As Sharp recognized, there is a cost to following the Third Option. It will require a “deliberate, comprehensive and long-term strategy” on a scale not seen since the 1960s — meaning higher taxes, more government intervention and a level of global engagement Canada hasn’t undertaken in quite a while.

    This must all be done in a landscape where Canada and the U.S. no longer share values — a shift even ardent Canadian nationalists recognized was necessary for Canadian independence — while pursuing policies that do not antagonize the U.S.

    For the Third Option to be viable today, Canadians must embrace an independent Canadian identity based on respect for democracy, pluralism, the rule of law and human rights. It likely requires consensus that U.S. authoritarianism is wholly unacceptable to Canada.

    Canada is being pushed toward the Third Option as the least worst approach. But, as was true in Sharp’s time, the Third Option come at a cost. Independence and democracy don’t come for free.

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

    – ref. Trump’s trade war is forcing Canada to revive a decades-old plan to reduce U.S. dependence – https://theconversation.com/trumps-trade-war-is-forcing-canada-to-revive-a-decades-old-plan-to-reduce-u-s-dependence-248433

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The impact of Donald Trump’s anti-climate measures on our heating planet

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Bruce Campbell, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada

    Before assessing the impact of United States President Donald Trump’s climate and energy policies, some context about the current state of the planet is in order. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently called the world’s fossil fuel addiction “a Frankenstein’s monster sparing nothing and no one.”

    The year 2024 was the first in which the average temperature exceeded the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5°C. Under a status quo scenario, Earth is on track to reach an approximate 2.7°C increase in planetary warming by 2100.

    The 2024 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report found that climate-related global health threats are reaching new records, including heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases.

    Despite six reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 29 COP conferences and thousands of scientific papers, the world has made only minor headway on climate action.

    Main carbon polluters and their victims

    The 10 largest oil-producing and consuming countries account for 73 per cent of total oil production and consumption globally.

    The U.S. is the largest oil producer and oil consumer, accounting for almost one-quarter of global production and more than 20 per cent of consumption in 2022. Canada is the fourth-largest oil producer and the ninth-largest consumer, and also has the highest per-capita CO2 emission levels of any country.

    The world’s 60 largest banks, meanwhile, earmarked US$6.9 trillion over the last eight years to enable the fossil fuel industry.

    According to an Oxfam International report, the richest one per cent of the world’s population, most of whom live in developed countries, are responsible for more than twice as much carbon pollution each year as the poorest 50 per cent of humanity. Low-income countries that make up nearly 60 per cent of the world’s population, on the other hand, account for less than 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

    At COP 29 in Azerbaijan last year, developed countries, including Canada, pledged to triple their financial support for poor climate-vulnerable countries to $300 billion a year by 2035 to help them mitigate emissions, adapt to climate threats and help pay for loss and damage.

    But this is far from the $1.3 trillion demanded by Global South countries. Their pledges bear little resemblance to global fossil fuel subsidies that totalled an estimated $7 trillion in 2022.

    Trump’s climate-related actions

    Ahead of Trump’s recent inauguration, and under sustained pressure by Republicans, major American and Canadian banks withdrew from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) originally led by Canada’s Mark Carney as the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Climate Action.



    Read more:
    Mark Carney might have the edge as potential Liberal leader, but still faces major obstacles

    The oil and gas industry donated more than $75 million to Trump’s campaign, though donations provided by those with links to fossil fuels were estimated to be five times greater than that.

    Trump’s more than 200 executive orders included a so-called National Energy Emergency Declaration, in which he:

    · Withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, which he called one-sided, joining only three other petro-states — Iran, Libya and Yemen — that are not signatories to the Agreement.

    · Signed an order aimed at “unleashing American energy.”

    · Signed a declaration that would allow his administration to fast-track permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure.

    · Blocked all new offshore wind power development.

    · Revoked former president Joe Biden’s order that half of vehicles sold by 2030 be electric

    · Enabled new oil and gas development on federal lands, including reversing restrictions on petroleum extraction in Alaska and the Arctic Wildlife Reserve.

    Elon Musk, among Trump’s closest billionaire allies, has been silent on the president’s 2025 exit from the Paris Climate Accord.

    This is noteworthy because after Trump’s first withdrawal from the accord in 2017, Musk announced he was leaving presidential advisory councils, stating: “Climate change is real, leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”

    What’s ahead

    Notwithstanding the Trump fossil fuels embrace, there are some silver linings.

    Although the Trump snub of the COP climate conferences is generally seen as a setback, stronger climate action may now be possible without the U.S. at the table. Furthermore, many American states and municipalities will continue to push forward with aggressive emissions reduction measures. And thousands of climate lawsuits against U.S. governments and corporations are underway.



    Read more:
    Trump voters are not the obstacle to climate action many think they are

    Trump’s actions may also spur the migration of the U.S. renewables industry to Canada. Regardless, renewables will continue to replace fossil fuels worldwide.

    A global movement of governments, elected officials, organizations and individuals has endorsed the Canadian-founded Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation treaty initiative. Modelled on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it sets clear deadlines for the global phaseout of fossil fuels.

    At the 2025 World Economic Forum, Fortescue, a global metal mining giant, endorsed the treaty, the first major industrial company to do so.

    In his famous 2015 Lloyd’s of London speech, Carney, now the Liberal leadership frontrunner, called climate change “the tragedy of the horizon.”

    He warned that climate change will lead to financial crises and falling living standards unless the world’s biggest economies do more to ensure their companies come clean about their current and future carbon emissions.

    Payam Akhavan, an Iranian-born Canadian human rights lawyer, served as legal counsel to the Commission of Small Island States at the recent International Court of Justice climate hearings where these nations presented evidence about the devastating impact of climate change on their citizens.

    In an interview with CBC Ideas, Akhavan said: “What’s happening to the small island states today is going to happen to all of us tomorrow.”

    Ultimately, the writing is on the wall for fossil fuels. It’s not a matter of if the world moves away from them dramatically, but when.


    Bruce Campbell was awarded a Community Leadership in Justice fellowship from the Ontario Law Foundation in 2016. He is a voluntary member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Rideau Institute for International Affairs, and the Group of 78.

    – ref. The impact of Donald Trump’s anti-climate measures on our heating planet – https://theconversation.com/the-impact-of-donald-trumps-anti-climate-measures-on-our-heating-planet-247887

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin presented awards to young researchers ahead of Russian Science Day

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    On the eve of Russian Science Day Sergei Sobyanin presented to young scientists Moscow Government Prizes for 2024.

    “We never had so many competitive applications – more than 1300 works have been announced. And choosing you for us was also not an easy business. So these are really deserved awards that you deserve with your talent, skill, commitment to science. And of course, I hope that these awards in your life are not the last, but only the beginning of your large scientific career. In recent years, our country has been in difficult conditions of international sanctions, a special military operation. And more than ever, issues related to the technological sovereignty of our country in almost all key areas, starting from space to medicine. In recent years, we had to solve very difficult issues related to domestic industry, and high technology supply. And of course, the demand for own scientific research, for domestic science, for technologies related to both the military-industrial complex and with civilian technologies, more than ever. And what you do in your areas, inventing important, necessary technologies, opening new technologies for medicine, astronautics, aircraft building, new materials, creating a huge layer of inventions in the field of medical technologies, of course, is also very cool. Without this, we do not have to talk about any sovereignty. So you do a very important work, of course, for yourself as scientists, for the city, one of the most advanced technological centers not only of our country, but also the world, well, for Russia – for sovereignty, for security, for the future of our great power “, – said Sergey Sobyanin.

    The Moscow mayor thanked the scientists for their work on his own behalf and on behalf of Muscovites and congratulated them on their well-deserved awards. According to him, a decision was made to double the size of the bonus, which has not been indexed since 2019. The bonuses received by young specialists today are also planned to be recalculated taking into account the increase.

    The Moscow Government Prize Competition for Young Scientists has been held since 2013. Awards are given annually for achieving outstanding results in fundamental and applied scientific research in the field of natural, technical and humanitarian sciences, as well as for the development and implementation of new technologies, equipment, devices, equipment, materials and substances that contribute to improving the efficiency of activities in the real sector of the economy and the social sphere of the capital.

    Young Moscow scientists under the age of 35 (doctors of sciences under the age of 40) may apply for the award. We are talking about scientific and scientific-pedagogical workers, postgraduate students, doctoral students, and other specialists engaged in scientific and scientific-technical activities in scientific and higher education organizations located in the city, as well as employees of enterprises and organizations conducting experimental developments.

    In 2019, at the suggestion of the Mayor of Moscow, the size of one award was increased from 1.5 million to two million rubles. If the award is given to a research team, it is divided equally between its members, and diplomas are awarded to each of them.

    The number of awards has also increased from 33 to 50. At the same time, the number of nominations remains unchanged (22), including 11 nominations in the field of research and the same number in the field of development.

    During the competition for the awards in 2013–2024, more than eight thousand applications were submitted. The awards were given to 758 young scientists.

    In 2024, 1,332 applications were received from employees of 310 organizations.

    “

    The prize is awarded since 2013 for outstanding results in fundamental and applied research. Moscow scientists under 35 years of age, and doctors of science under 40 years of age can apply for it. Compared to the previous year, the size of the prize has been doubled – from two to four million rubles,” the Mayor of Moscow wrote in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    The awards were won by 78 researchers whose developments and research have already proven themselves in practice.

    Photodetectors, biostimulators and vacuum tubes

    Thus, the award was presented to Sofia Morozova from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University). She developed methods for obtaining nanostructured polymeric materials, which are important for the creation of environmentally friendly transport based on hydrogen-air fuel cells and for preserving public health.

    “We were all lucky to become laureates of the Moscow Government Prize in a special period, the Decade of Science and Technology. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you, Sergey Semenovich, for the development of the city, which is happening through the development of Moscow universities, Moscow schools, colleges, and city infrastructure. Special thanks for the Fiztekh metro station and the Novodachnaya station of the first Moscow Central Diameter, which help us get to work, and also for the inspiration for us, young scientists. I congratulate everyone on receiving this significant award and wish to see how the developments will be put into practice,” said Sofia Morozova.

    Natalia Semenchenko, Vladislav Burlakov and Renat Davletshin from the Orion Scientific and Production Association have created photoreceiving devices for space-based optical-electronic systems that allow surveying the Earth’s surface and obtaining images of the thermal field of the entire Earth’s disk. The devices are used in the Electro-L and Arktika-M series of space weather satellites.

    Kristina Skuratovskaya, Anton Budaev and Maxim Makarov from the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care have come up with new types of medical preparations and materials that allow for the effective treatment of patients with intra-articular pathology of the musculoskeletal system. The developments are used in the surgery department of City Clinical Hospital No. 13 and the emergency traumatology department of the musculoskeletal system of the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Care to replace traumatic defects in intra-articular fractures, which allows for the axial load on the operated limb to be reduced immediately after surgery.

    Seda Kurbanova from the Morozov Children’s City Clinical Hospital has developed a diagnostic program for verifying cardiovascular damage in Kawasaki disease. The program has already been implemented in the practice of the capital’s healthcare system.

    Andrey Briko and Vladislava Kapravchuk, representing the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, conducted a series of studies aimed at creating technologies for mapping neuromuscular activity. The results of the research and the technologies developed can be used to create exoskeletons for medical and industrial purposes, bionic prostheses, and rehabilitation robotic complexes for patients with impaired motor functions.

    Tatyana Bezbabicheva and Ramin Malik oglu Afandiev from the National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery named after Academician N.N. Burdenko have developed a comprehensive method for monitoring the state of the visual pathways during neurosurgical operations on the occipital, parietal and temporal lobes of the brain. The solution is already being used in neurosurgical operations at the center to ensure the greatest safety for patients.

    The work of Alexander Pushkarev from the Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education resulted in unique technologies of local exposure to low temperatures, which are used in cryosurgery, cryopreservation and cryotherapy. They are used in the treatment of oncological diseases, as well as for physiotherapy and rehabilitation of patients for the purpose of pain relief, reducing inflammation and swelling in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, sports, mine-explosive and other injuries. The method is used at the Russian University of Medicine, the Russian National Research Medical University named after N.I. Pirogov and CryoEngineering LLC.

    Another laureate of the award, Evgeny Bychkov from the Central Research Institute “Kurs”, is the author of an industrial technology for designing low-temperature refrigeration machines on multicomponent mixtures of refrigerants. The development allows for thermostatting of objects at temperatures from minus 90 to minus 160 degrees, which makes it possible to reduce the time and material costs of design, as well as increase the energy efficiency of machines of this class. The technology has already been implemented in the institution.

    Sergey Surkov and Sergey Sharkov, representing the scientific and production enterprise “Toriy”, received the award for electrovacuum devices for amplification and generation of electromagnetic oscillations of ultra-high frequency. The devices are used at the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” to maintain the operability of the “Olivin” station, which is part of the “Siberia” accelerator-storage complex.

    The work of Milana Sharikova and Pavel Nikitin from the Scientific and Technological Center for Unique Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences is aimed at creating devices and methods for optical information processing in long-wave spectral ranges – infrared and terahertz. Interest in the terahertz range is due to the fact that by 2035 it is planned to create 6G generation information systems. The developments are in demand at domestic industrial enterprises, in institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and universities.

    The use of a biostimulant composition created by Inessa Lugova (All-Russian State Center for Quality and Standardization of Animal Medicines and Feed) has made it possible to improve the qualitative and quantitative indicators of poultry farming, including hatching of chickens and preservation of livestock, as well as to save electricity during egg incubation due to the acceleration effect. The drug is in demand at the country’s leading poultry farms.

    Dmitry Korolev and Vladimir Alferov from the Research Institute of Molecular Electronics have developed the software and hardware of the NE501CD microcontroller, implementing a cryptographically protected protocol for contactless electronic travel documents. The microcontroller is currently being actively implemented in the Troika and Strelka transport cards.

    View the full list of winners of the Moscow Government Prizes for Young Scientists for 2013–2024 you can on the website Andfollow the link.

    Moscow Government Prize for Young ScientistsHow young scientists can receive the Moscow Government Prize

    In 2020, a council of laureates of the Moscow Government Prize for Young Scientists was created.

    “In addition, we have created a Council, which includes 70 award winners. They act as consultants

    under the Department of Education and Science of Moscow and are engaged in educational work. We involve them in such projects as “Scientists in Schools” and the All-Russian Festival SCIENCE 0,” said the Mayor of Moscow in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    This is a permanent advisory body whose main tasks are the popularization of science, the involvement of students in scientific activities, and the improvement of the quality of education.

    Moscow is the center of Russian science

    By decision of Vladimir Putin, the years 2022–2031 have been declared in Russia Decade of Science and Technology.

    Moscow has one of the most powerful intellectual and technological potentials among the world’s megacities. The capital is home to 840 scientific organizations — 20.3 percent of all organizations conducting research and development in Russia. Among them are academic and research institutes, national research universities and leading universities of the country.

    Moscow employs 33.3 percent of the country’s scientific personnel, including 44.9 percent of doctors of science and 38.5 percent of candidates of science. 22.3 percent of undergraduates and 42.2 percent of postgraduates in Russia study in the capital’s universities.

    The Moscow government attaches great importance to the development of science and the stimulation of scientific work. The largest project of the coming years in the field of scientific development is the creation of the innovative scientific and technological center of the Moscow State University (MSU) named after M.V. Lomonosov “Vorobyovy Gory”. In 2023, the Lomonosov cluster, the flagship of the MSU innovation center, opened. Its residents are 76 companies, employing more than two thousand employees.

    High-tech companies create developments in the fields of medicine, information and biotechnology, unmanned systems, robotic systems and other areas. Every year, the cluster residents invest more than two billion rubles in scientific research.

    In 2024, the creation of a new campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University was completed. As part of the project, 14 buildings with a total area of about 170 thousand square meters were built and restored. The campus includes a central cluster, a multifunctional scientific and educational building, a multifunctional complex “Quantum Park”, a center for biomedical systems and technologies, research and engineering centers, the Palace of Technologies and other buildings, which have all the necessary conditions for modern educational and research activities.

    Large-scale scientific and innovative projects include the construction of a national space center, the creation of production clusters for photonics, electric vehicle manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as support for the development of artificial intelligence technologies.

    47 Moscow technology parks have become a huge space for the development of applied science and innovation, where more than 2,200 high-tech companies have located their production, and over 74.5 thousand jobs have been created there. About a third of the residents of technology parks work in the field of scientific research and certification.

    Four technology parks were created on the basis of research institutes. The Kurchatov Institute technology park conducts research in the field of nuclear physics and genetics, and develops new methods of storing and transmitting data. The Research Institute of Computer Complexes (NIIVK) technology park creates new communication and navigation systems, as well as technologies for the space industry. The Innopark VNIRO technology park conducts research in the field of fisheries and biotechnology and is engaged in new methods of processing and storing food products. The Moscow State University Science Park technology park works in the field of biology, chemistry, physics and other sciences.

    Putin: Moscow has fully fulfilled its obligations to create the MSU clusterDigital platforms and useful services: which projects reached the final of the fourth stream of the capital’s “Academy of Innovators”

    The Moscow Innovation Cluster and its affiliates have become the link between science, business and the state. digital platform i.moscow. The platform unites everyone who wants to create a new product or service. More than 200 thousand users have already registered on it. 40 thousand companies from Moscow and other regions of the country have become participants and partners of the cluster. Thanks to i.moscow, every 10th company engaged in scientific research and development in the field of natural and technical sciences received support from the city. Their revenue is three times higher than that of other companies in the industry.

    In addition, much attention is paid to creating conditions for self-realization of young scientists, engineers, software developers and other specialists involved in the technology business.

    In 2024, a youth entrepreneurship hub opened in Moscow — the first center in Russia for engaging young talents in technology business. The project is aimed at creating a single point of attraction for Moscow youth involved in entrepreneurship, increasing entrepreneurial literacy and the level of public trust in young entrepreneurs.

    Over the past year, over 32,000 participants have joined the project, opening over a thousand new technology businesses in Moscow. Young entrepreneurs can take advantage of the hub’s programs, including:

    — The Academy of Innovators is an international continuous program for the intensive development of technology projects and startups. Students have access to training sessions with leading industry experts in the market, and they can also interact with personal business mentors. In addition, as part of the program, participants find their first customers among city structures and large businesses, and attract their first investments. Currently, the Academy’s digital ecosystem has over 28 thousand participants from more than 300 cities in Russia and about 40 countries around the world. They have founded over 800 new technology businesses in Moscow and attracted over 380 million rubles in funding in the form of investments and grants;

    — “Digital Transformation Leaders” is a Moscow Mayor’s competition for young IT specialists. This is the world’s largest competition for the development of digital solutions for city structures and large businesses. Over six years, more than 40 thousand people have taken part in the competition (hackathon), creating over two thousand digital solutions for customers. Vladimir Putin instructed to scale up the successful practice of holding a hackathon in the regions of Russia. In 2023, regional stages of the competition were held in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Krasnodar Krai, and Volgograd Oblast and Kamchatka Krai became task setters at the hackathon last year;

    — “Moscow Innovator” is a Moscow Mayor’s competition that promotes the recognition of talented young inventors and scientists. Participants compete for Moscow Mayor’s awards in six priority areas of urban economy and three nominations for different stages of project development. This allows identifying scientific and technological solutions (from promising ideas to finished products). The competition was first held in 2020. Over 11 thousand inventors took part in it during its existence. 174 innovative projects became winners.

    Along with the annual Moscow Government Prize, young scientists and winners of the Moscow Innovator competition can apply for annual grants in the amount of one billion rubles. The funds are intended for scientific teams of the capital’s medical organizations. This is provided for by the city’s ecosystem for supporting scientific research. The operator is the Moscow Center for Innovative Technologies in Healthcare. Over 170 breakthrough studies have been supported in three years. The projects are being implemented, among other things, jointly with leading Russian universities and research organizations.

    Moscow doctors and scientists are developing high-tech methods of diagnostics, treatment, rehabilitation and implementing them in the city’s healthcare system. Some of the solutions have been created and applied in clinical practice for the first time in Russia and the world.

    The Moscow government provides financial support to the winners of the regional competition of the Russian Science Foundation in the amount of 50 million rubles annually. We are talking about scientific projects in priority areas for the city, implemented on the basis of scientific organizations and universities in the capital. Since 2022, more than 530 applications have been submitted for participation in the regional competition. 84 scientific teams have become winners.

    In addition, the city allocates grants to universities and scientific organizations. In 2024, 1.176 billion rubles were allocated for events with students within the framework of pre-professional, specialized and additional education programs, career guidance and education, as well as for the development and popularization of science. In particular, the following was provided:

    — 400 grants for the development of a system of specialized and pre-professional training;

    — 35 grants for the popularization of science, as well as for the support and implementation of additional education programs for students, including at centers for technological support of education.

    In 2024, the XIX All-Russian Science Festival Nauka 0 took place, which took place at 100 city venues. The festival events in a mixed format (online and offline) were attended by more than 18.5 million participants.

    The largest joint project of the Moscow Government and the scientific community is pre-professional classes of city schools (engineering, psychological and pedagogical, medical, IT, media and entrepreneurship), in which about 44 thousand schoolchildren study. Leading universities and scientific organizations of the city act as partners of pre-professional classes. Scientists and practitioners are actively involved in teaching in pre-professional classes. Schoolchildren are also introduced to scientific activities in academic classes. The curricula describe the practical application of scientific knowledge and the results of scientific research.

    Since 2013, within the framework of the Moscow Pre-University project, specialized classes for teaching high school students have been opened at Moscow universities. Fifteen universities are participating in the project: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Kosygin Russian State University, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow State Linguistic University, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow Finance and Law University, State University of Management, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

    Touch the world of science. How future scientists are trained in academic classes of Moscow schoolsFruit leather, electronic nurse and printer-builder, or What the capital’s innovators have invented

    Under the guidance of university teachers, more than 7.3 thousand schoolchildren engage in practical work in laboratories, conduct educational research projects, and also participate in scientific student associations.

    In 2024, Moscow schools hosted more than 450 lectures by representatives of the scientific community — young scientists and professors of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They were attended by over 12 thousand students. Scientists told schoolchildren about new developments and advanced technologies, and also helped them make an informed choice of an educational trajectory in the field of science.

    Since 2024, the project “In the Center of Science” has been implemented, aimed at creating a community of young scientists in the capital and popularizing science among schoolchildren and teachers. Within its framework, festivals, clubs, trips and laboratory workshops are held, where students can get acquainted with the modern work of scientists and implement their own projects under the guidance of young researchers and teachers of leading universities in Moscow. The project helps teachers open scientific clubs in schools, and allows scientists to exchange experiences and learn about opportunities for professional growth. In 2024, over 10 thousand scientists, students and teachers of Moscow educational organizations took part in its events.

    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 access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    https: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12346050/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Nykredit Realkredit A/S has received the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s approval of Nykredit’s increase of the qualifying shareholding in Spar Nord Bank A/S – Nykredit Realkredit A/S

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE DOING SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

    Nykredit Realkredit A/S has received the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s approval of Nykredit’s increase of the qualifying shareholding in Spar Nord Bank A/S.

    4 February 2025

    Nykredit Realkredit A/S has received the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s approval of Nykredit’s increase of the qualifying shareholding in Spar Nord Bank A/S.

    In accordance with section 4(1) of the Danish Takeover Order1, Nykredit Realkredit A/S (“Nykredit”) announced on 10 December 2024 that Nykredit intended to submit a voluntary public tender offer (the “Offer”) to acquire all shares in Spar Nord Bank A/S (“Spar Nord Bank”), with the exception of Spar Nord Bank’s treasury shares, for a cash price of DKK 210 per share, valuing the aggregated issued share capital of Spar Nord Bank at DKK 24.7 billion.

    On 8 January 2025, Nykredit published the offer document regarding the Offer (the “Offer Document”), as approved by the Danish FSA in accordance with section 11 of the Danish Takeover Order. The Offer Period ends on 19 February 2025 at 23:59 (CET).

    Nykredit has received the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s approval in accordance with section 61 of the Danish Financial Business Act to increase Nykredit’s qualifying shareholding in Spar Nord Bank up to 100 per cent of the share capital.

    In addition to the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s approval, the Offer is subject to fulfilment of the conditions set out in section 6.6 of the Offer Document, including approval by the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority and achievement of the 67 per cent acceptance limit.

    It is Nykredit’s view that the shareholders of Spar Nord Bank find the Offer attractive. At the time of this announcement, Nykredit holds 31.1 per cent of the shares in Spar Nord Bank, and Nykredit’s information about acceptances received so far indicates that the 67 per cent acceptance limit stated in the Offer has been reached.

    Nykredit aims to delist Spar Nord Bank from Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S and to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares as soon as possible after completion of the Offer.

    Nykredit expects the Offer to be completed during H1/2025.

    The full terms and conditions of the Offer are contained in the Offer Document. The Offer Document is published in the Danish FSA’s OAM database: https://oam.finanstilsynet.dk/ and can also, with certain restrictions, be accessed at https://www.nykredit.com/en-gb/offer-spar-nord/ and https://www.sparnord.com/investor-relations/takeover-offer.   

    About Spar Nord Bank

    Spar Nord Bank was founded in 1824 and is now a nationwide bank with 58 branches. Spar Nord Bank offers all types of financial services, consultancy and products, focusing its business on retail customers and primarily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the local areas in which the bank is represented. The bank is also focused on leasing operations and large corporate customers, which are both business areas handled by the head offices.

    Spar Nord Bank has historically been rooted in northern Jutland and continues to be a market leader in this region. However, in the period from 2002 to 2024, Spar Nord Bank has established and acquired branches outside northern Jutland. Over the course of the years, the bank has adjusted its branch network in an ongoing process and now has a nationwide distribution network comprising 58 branches. These 58 branches are distributed on 32 banking areas, each of which is headed by a manager reporting directly to the bank’s executive board.

    The Spar Nord Bank Group consists of two earnings entities: Spar Nord Bank’s branches and the Trading Division. As an entity, the Trading Division serves customers from Spar Nord Bank’s branches as well as large retail customers and institutional clients in the field of equities, bonds, fixed income and forex products, asset management and international transactions. Finally, under the concept Sparxpres, the bank offers consumer loans to personal customers through Sparxpres’ platform as well as debt consolidation loans and consumer financing via retail stores and gift voucher solutions via shopping centres and city associations.

    About Nykredit

    Nykredit Realkredit A/S (“Nykredit”) is a public limited company incorporated under the laws of Denmark, company reg. (CVR) no. 12 71 92 80, having its registered office at Sundkrogsgade 25, 2150 Nordhavn, Denmark. Nykredit is a mortgage credit institution and, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Totalkredit A/S, is a market leader of the Danish mortgage credit market with a market share of some 45.2 per cent. Nykredit offers mortgage financing for private individuals and businesses.

    Nykredit is part of the Nykredit Group, which historically dates back to 1851. In addition to carrying on mortgage credit business, the Group carries on banking business through Nykredit Bank – including banking and wealth management operations – and has a total of around 4,000 employees in Denmark.

    Nykredit is owned by an association of the Nykredit Group’s customers, Forenet Kredit. Forenet Kredit owns close to 80 per cent of Nykredit’s shares. Other major shareholders are five Danish pension funds: Akademikernes Pension AP Pension, PensionDanmark, PFA and PKA.

    Nykredit is known for the advantages offered through the association. Forenet Kredit makes capital contributions to the Nykredit Group when times are good, and Nykredit has decided to pass these on to its customers.

    Since, 2017, Forenet Kredit has paid over DKK 8 billion in capital contributions to the Nykredit Group, and in the period to 2027, Forenet Kredit has provided a further DKK 7 billion.

    Questions and further information

    Any questions concerning the Offer may be directed to:

    Nykredit Bank A/S

    Company reg. (CVR) no.: 10 51 96 08

    Sundkrogsgade 25

    2150 Nordhavn

    Denmark

    Telephone: +45 7010 9000

    and

    Carnegie Investment Bank

    Filial af Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ), Sverige

    Company reg. (CVR) no. 35 52 12 67

    Overgaden Neden Vandet 9B

    1414 Copenhagen K

    Denmark

    E-mail: annette.hansen@carnegie.dk

    For further information about the Offer, please see: https://www.nykredit.com/en-gb/offer-spar-nord/.

    This announcement and the Offer Document are not directed at shareholders of Spar Nord Bank A/S whose participation in the Offer would require the issuance of an offer document, registration or activities other than what is required under Danish law (and, in the case of shareholders in the United States of America, Section 14(e) of, and applicable provisions of Regulation 14E promulgated under, the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The Offer is not made and will not be made, directly or indirectly, to shareholders resident in any jurisdiction in which the submission of the Offer or acceptance thereof would be in contravention of the laws of such jurisdiction. Any person coming into possession of this announcement, the Offer Document or any other document containing a reference to the Offer is expected and assumed to independently obtain all necessary information about any applicable restrictions and to observe these.

    This announcement does not constitute an offer or an invitation to purchase securities or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in accordance with the Offer or otherwise. The Offer will be submitted only in the form of the Offer Document approved by the FSA, which sets out the full terms and conditions of the Offer, including information on how to accept the Offer. The shareholders of Spar Nord Bank are advised to read the Offer Document and any related documents as they contain important information.

    Restricted jurisdictions

    The Offer is not made, and acceptance of the Offer to tender Spar Nord Bank Shares is not accepted, neither directly nor indirectly, in or from any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance of the Offer would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or any other measures with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the Offer Document (the “Restricted Jurisdictions”). Neither the United States nor the United Kingdom is a Restricted Jurisdiction.

    Restricted Jurisdictions include, but are not limited to: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

    Persons obtaining documents or information relating to the Offer (including custodians, account holding institutions, nominees, trustees, representatives, fiduciaries or other intermediaries) should not distribute, communicate, transfer or send these in or into a Restricted Jurisdiction or use mail or any other means of communication in or into a Restricted Jurisdiction in connection with the Offer. Persons (including, but not limited to, custodians, custodian banks, nominees, trustees, representatives, fiduciaries or other intermediaries) intending to communicate this Offer Document or any related document to any jurisdiction outside Denmark or the United States should inform themselves about these restrictions before taking any action. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the Laws of such jurisdiction, including securities Laws. It is the responsibility of all Persons obtaining this Offer Document, an acceptance form and/or other documents relating to the Offer Document or to the Offer, or into whose possession such documents otherwise come, to inform themselves about and observe all such restrictions.

    Nykredit is not responsible for ensuring that the distribution, dissemination or communication of this Offer Document outside Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom is consistent with applicable Law in any jurisdiction other than Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom.

    Important Information for Shareholders in the United States

    The Offer concerns the shares in Spar Nord Bank, a public limited liability company incorporated and admitted to trading on a regulated market in Denmark, and is subject to the disclosure and procedural requirements of Danish law, including the Danish capital markets act and the Danish takeover order.

    The Offer is being made to shareholders in Spar Nord Bank in the United States in compliance with the applicable US tender offer rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “U.S. Exchange Act”), including Regulation 14E promulgated thereunder, subject to the relief available for a “Tier II” tender offer, and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Danish law and practice

    Accordingly, US Spar Nord Bank shareholders should be aware that this announcement and any other documents regarding the Offer have been prepared in accordance with, and will be subject to, the disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, the Offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments of Danish law and practice, which may differ materially from those applicable under US domestic tender offer law and practice. In addition, the financial information contained in this announcement or the Offer Document has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or derived therefrom, and may therefore differ from, or not be comparable with, financial information of US companies.

    In accordance with the laws of, and practice in, Denmark and to the extent permitted by applicable law, including Rule 14e-5 under the U.S. Exchange Act, Nykredit, Nykredit’s affiliates or any nominees or brokers of the foregoing (acting as agents, or in a similar capacity, for Nykredit or any of its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to time, and other than pursuant to the Offer, directly or indirectly, purchase, or arrange to purchase, outside of the United States, shares in Spar Nord Bank or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such shares in Spar Nord Bank before or during the period in which the Offer remains open for acceptance. These purchases may occur either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Any information about such purchases will be announced via Nasdaq Copenhagen and relevant electronic media if, and to the extent, such announcement is required under applicable law. To the extent information about such purchases or arrangements to purchase is made public in Denmark, such information will be disclosed by means of a press release or other means reasonably calculated to inform US shareholders of Spar Nord Bank of such information.

    In addition, subject to the applicable laws of Denmark and US securities laws, including Rule 14e-5 under the U.S. Exchange Act, the financial advisers to Nykredit or their respective affiliates may also engage in ordinary course trading activities in securities of Spar Nord Bank, which may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such securities.

    It may not be possible for US shareholders to effect service of process within the United States upon Spar Nord Bank, Nykredit or any of their respective affiliates, or their respective officers or directors, some or all of which may reside outside the United States, or to enforce against any of them judgments of the United States courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or other US law. It may not be possible to bring an action against Nykredit, Spar Nord Bank and/or their respective officers or directors (as applicable) in a non-US court for violations of US laws. Further, it may not be possible to compel Nykredit and Spar Nord Bank or their respective affiliates, as applicable, to subject themselves to the judgment of a US court. In addition, it may be difficult to enforce in Denmark original actions, or actions for the enforcement of judgments of US courts, based on the civil liability provisions of the US federal securities laws.

    The Offer, if completed, may have consequences under US federal income tax and under applicable US state and local, as well as non-US, tax laws. Each shareholder of Spar Nord Bank is urged to consult its independent professional adviser immediately regarding the tax consequences of the Offer.

    NEITHER THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY SECURITIES COMMISSION OR OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY IN ANY STATE OF THE U.S. HAS APPROVED OR DECLINED TO APPROVE THE OFFER OR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, PASSED UPON THE FAIRNESS OR MERITS OF THE OFFER OR PROVIDED AN OPINION AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT OR ANY OFFER DOCUMENT. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.

    1 Executive Order no. 636 of 15 May 2020

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Czech Republic: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

    Source: International Monetary Fund

    Summary

    The Czech Republic is evolving from a heavily manufacturing-based, export-oriented hub to a more mature and diversified economy. Non-auto manufacturing, energy, and construction, once important Czech engines of growth, have run out of steam, hampered by decelerating productivity growth, higher energy costs, and sluggish demand. The auto industry has shown resilience so far, but the required transition to electric vehicles and exposure to foreign competition are set to exert significant pressures in the coming years. Higher value-added sectors, including ICT services, are constrained by lack of skilled labor and limited access to capital, undermining their ability to compete in global markets.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WFP and Italy partner with the Government of Iraq to boost climate resilience and agricultural livelihoods

    Source: World Food Programme

    BAGHDAD – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a generous contribution from the Italian Government, through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), to help Iraqi communities strengthen their resilience to climate change while creating economic opportunities, especially for women.

    This initiative, in collaboration with Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment, will introduce climate-smart farming techniques, irrigation improvements, and financial support to help farmers and entrepreneurs adapt to climate change.  Rising temperatures, worsening water scarcity, and land degradation have put Iraq’s agricultural sector under increasing strain. Asmuch as 40 percent of arable land in the south is feared to have been lost to desertification, with negative consequences for livelihoods and food security. 

    “Iraq’s farmers and rural communities are on the frontlines of the fight against climate change, and WFP is committed to working with the Government of Iraq to support local governments and communities in developing scalable and sustainable climate solutions,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Iraq Mageed Yahia. “Through this initiative, we are ensuring that smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups have access to better water management, resilient crops, and climate financing. These efforts, alongside early warning systems and disaster risk reduction measures, will help communities withstand environmental shocks and secure long-term food security.” 

    The project will be implemented in Ninewa, Salah al-Din, Thi-Qar, and Basra; facing the harshest effects of climate change and will benefit vulnerable women-led households, crisis-affected people, and smallholder farmers. WFP will introduce efficient irrigation systems, helping farmers cut water use by 40% while boosting productivity as well as training sessions to help farmers transition to drought-resistant crops and better land management practices, ensuring long-term food security and soil preservation. 

    The initiative will also empower women, youth, and persons with disabilities by integrating them into climate adaptation programs, providing technical training, and facilitating access to financial resources to support entrepreneurial ventures. 

    WFP will partner with the Government of Iraq, academia and a number of Italian experts to provide technical solutions, equipment and expertise, to enable more efficient management of ecosystem resources. This can be done through community water ponds, nurseries and afforestation and revegetation initiatives. These approaches contribute to improved agricultural productivity and, subsequently, strengthened food systems. 

    “Climate change poses significant risks to Iraq’s agricultural sector, threatening livelihoods and food security all over the Country, and especially for women-led households” highlighted H.E. Niccolò Fontana, Ambassador of Italy to Iraq. “Various regions across Iraq face the harsh realities of water scarcity, land degradation, and rising temperatures. This project directly addresses these challenges by promoting green skills and expanding the private sector workforce, enhancing agricultural value chains, supporting women’s entrepreneurship in climate-resilient sectors. Italy is proud to commit to fostering a green transition that will benefit not only the environment, but also the population, empowering their communities and nurturing sustainability.” 

    WFP will continue working with the Government of Iraq to support communities affected by climate change by aligning its project implementation with the Government’s priorities, particularly focusing on the addressing unemployment, improving water management in irrigation to drive up production and empower women to seek and maintain sustainable livelihoods.  

     

    #                 #                   # 

     

    The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. 

     

     

    Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, via @wfp_media 

     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: NANO Nuclear Energy Establishes Specialized Facility in New York State to Demonstrate Key Components of its Nuclear Microreactor Designs

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    New York, N.Y., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) (“NANO Nuclear” or “the Company”), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced that it is establishing a purpose-built demonstration facility in Westchester County, New York to be used to demonstrate the operation and viability of several non-nuclear parts and components of NANO Nuclear’s four nuclear microreactors in development: ZEUSTM, ODINTM, LOKI MMRTM and KRONOS MMRTM.

    Figure 1 – Image of Exterior of NANO Nuclear’s New Advanced Demonstration Facility for Key Components of its Nuclear Microreactor Designs in Westchester County, NY

    The facility will also support ongoing work on NANO Nuclear’s SBIR Phase III project for its Annular Linear Induction Pump (ALIP) technology. ALIP addresses challenges in high-efficiency thermal fluid management for clean energy and high-temperature industrial processes and is based on electromagnetic (rather than mecha1nical) pumps. A key enabling technology for NANO Nuclear’s suite of nuclear microreactors, ALIP is being further developed under the SBIR Phase III project to accelerate the transition from research to practical products and services.

    “This advanced facility, will play a major role in our development efforts, providing our technical teams with access to key physical data. We plan to announce timely updates throughout the year on certain key research and developmental milestones,” said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear Energy. “The facility will also be used to advance commercialization efforts surrounding our ALIP technology, which could have a significant impact on the wider nuclear energy sector in addition to being a key enabling technology for our own, proprietary suite of microreactor technologies.”

    Figure 2 – Image of NANO Nuclear’s Management and Technical teams at the Company’s New Advanced Demonstration Facility for Key Components of its Nuclear Microreactor Designs in Westchester County, New York

    The expansion of NANO Nuclear’s operations in New York State follows its December 17, 2024 response to a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Request for Information (RFI) concerning the development of advanced nuclear energy technologies in New York State. The demonstration facility will enhance NANO Nuclear’s ability to support the New York’s pursuit of cost-effective alternatives to heavily polluting carbon-based energy sources and intermittent options such as wind or solar. The facility is in the final stages of retrofitting and is expected to be operational this spring.

    “We are excited to announce this additional significant milestone to our journey as a company and the advancement of our technology,” said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Reactor Development of NANO Nuclear Energy. “Once operational, the facility will provide our technical teams with invaluable opportunities to gather physical data and optimize designs to integrate non-nuclear components effectively. This is a critical step in accelerating our reactor development and ensuring the seamless integration of all components in the final product.”

    Onsite attendance at NANO Nuclear Energy’s specialized facility in New York State:

    • Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman
    • James Walker, CEO & Head of Reactor Development
    • Professor Ian Farnan, Lead of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Radiation and Materials
    • Professor Massimiliano Fratoni, Senior Director and Head of Reactor Design
    • Professor Peter Hosemann, Head of Nuclear Reactor Design and Materials
    • Carlos O. Maidana, Ph.D., MBA, Head of Thermal Hydraulics and Space Program
    • John G. Vonglis, Executive Director of Global Government Affairs
    • Michael Norato, Ph.D., Director of Nuclear Facilities and Infrastructure
    • David Tiktinsky, Head of Nuclear Regulatory Licensing
    • Eric R. Oesterle, Head of Microreactor Regulatory Licensing
    • Oscar Leandro, MBA, VP of International Business
    • Ross Mitchell, Nuclear Engineer and Project Manager
    • Michael Lim, Manufacturing and Operations Manager
    • Josey Anna Widhalm, Office Director & Marketing Manager

    About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc.

    NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S.

    Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear’s reactor products in development include “ZEUS”, a solid core battery reactor, and “ODIN”, a low-pressure coolant reactor, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. NANO Nuclear is also developing patented stationary KRONOS MMR™ Energy System and space focused, portable LOKI MMR™.

    Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America.

    HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear’s own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry.

    NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear’s developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS’ initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon’s surface.

    For more corporate information please visit: https://NanoNuclearEnergy.com/

    For further NANO Nuclear information, please contact:
    Email: IR@NANONuclearEnergy.com
    Business Tel: (212) 634-9206

    PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES HERE:

    NANO Nuclear Energy LINKEDIN
    NANO Nuclear Energy YOUTUBE
    NANO Nuclear Energy X PLATFORM

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

    This news release and statements of NANO Nuclear’s management in connection with this news release contain or may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “potential”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would” or “may” and other words of similar meaning. In this press release, forward-looking statements include those relating to the anticipated benefits and the timing for commencement of operations at the Company’s new demonstration facility as described herein. These and other forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management’s current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations, (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop and commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor or other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to the impact of U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including those associated with the recently enacted ADVANCE Act, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov and at https://ir.nanonuclearenergy.com/financial-information/sec-filings. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Data443 Acquires Breezemail.ai, Accelerating AI-Powered Email Privacy Capabilities for Microsoft Office and Google GMail

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (OTCPK: ATDS) (“Data443” or the “Company”), a data security and privacy software company for “All Things Data Security,” today announced the acquisition of intellectual property and operational assets of Breezemail.ai, an innovative provider of AI-powered email management technology. This acquisition marks a significant expansion of Data443’s capabilities in intelligent threat detection and leverages its leadership at the forefront of the rapidly evolving AI security landscape.

    Breezemail.ai leverages proprietary implementations of machine-learning algorithms that manage end-user mailboxes for both Microsoft Office365 and Google GSuite GMail. This capability is the industry’s first implementation, giving end users direct management of their inboxes from outside the service provider – creating private implementations of email organization, detection, and visibility for important information. Managing this privately ensures that the mail provider does not have access to the rulesets that the end user designs, ensuring ongoing privacy of private rulesets for the customer. Email providers do not see the rules that the end user creates.

    “AI privacy continues to be a major issue the industry continues to tackle. End users should be able to keep their mailbox organization rules private, change them at will, and have a simple interface for managing this. Breezemail.ai enables this capability in a few mouse clicks and gives the user ultimate control. Even more importantly, the users’ private rules and decisions are not shared with any service provider,” stated Jason Remillard, CEO and Founder of Data443.

    Integrating this technology into Data443’s award-winning product suites increases the adoption of these capabilities in other segments, such as healthcare, national defense, and government organizations.

    The acquisition coincides with significant market validation of AI-powered email security solutions, evidenced by Abnormal Security’s anticipated IPO and growing enterprise demand for intelligent security platforms. This strategic move positions Data443 to capture an expanding share of the email security market, which is experiencing rapid growth driven by the increasing sophistication of cyber threats.

    The integration of Breezemail.ai’s technology will deliver immediate benefits to Data443’s customers:

    • Seamless integration with existing Cyren by Data443 deployments
    • Enhanced protection against sophisticated social engineering attacks
    • Real-time threat intelligence sharing across the customer base
    • A rich implementation for selective decision-making driven by the end-user without IT assistance
    • Complete privacy on how the users’ internal mindset works with data

    “Combining Breezemail.ai’s innovative AI implementations with our existing security capabilities, we’re building on our compounding advantages with our Cyren by Data443 email and threat intelligence product stack,” added Remillard. “This integration will provide our customers with unprecedented AI privacy enablement protection while significantly simplifying management tools for end users.”

    “This acquisition transcends mere technological expansion, marking a pivotal shift in email privacy protection. As artificial intelligence continues to automate more aspects of our digital lives, safeguarding user privacy has emerged as one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. This enables millions of users to self-manage their data with complete privacy,” concluded Mr.Remillard.

    About Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.

    Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (OTCPK: ATDS) provides software and services to enable secure data across devices and databases, at rest and in flight/in transit, locally, on a network or in the cloud. We are All Things Data Security™. With over 10,000 customers in over 100 countries, Data443 provides a modern approach to data governance and security by identifying and protecting all sensitive data regardless of location, platform or format. Data443’s framework helps customers prioritize risk, identify security gaps and implement effective data protection and privacy management strategies.

    Forward-Looking Statements 

    This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by use of terms such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursuant,” “target,” “continue” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. Statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding Data443’s plans, objectives, future opportunities for Data443’s services, future financial performance and operating results, and any other statements regarding Data443’s future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial conditions, assumptions or future events or performance, or regarding the anticipated consummation of any transaction, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are difficult to predict or are beyond Data443’s control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. They may relate to the outcome of litigation, settlements and investigations; actions by third parties, including governmental agencies; volatility in customer spending; global economic conditions; inability to hire and retain personnel; loss of, or reduction in business with, key customers; difficulty with growth and integration of acquisitions; product liability; cybersecurity risk; anti-takeover measures in the Company’s charter documents; and the uncertainties created by global health issues, such as the ongoing outbreak of COVID, and political unrest and conflict, such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in the Company’s reports and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“the SEC”), including in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 17, 2024, and subsequent filings with the SEC. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, Data443 undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.

    “DATA443” is a registered trademark of Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc.

    All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this press release are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

    For further information:

    Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/data443-risk-mitigation-inc/
    Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZXDhJcx-XgMBhvE9aFHRdA
    Sign up for our Investor Newsletter: https://data443.com/investor-email-alerts/
    To learn more about Data443, please watch the Company’s video introduction on its YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1Fp93jOxFSg

    Investor Relations Contact:
    Matthew Abenante
    ir@data443.com
    919.858.6542

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: FE International Reports: 2025 Primed to be a Busy Year For M&A

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FE International, the leading firm in lower and middle market tech M&A, is proud to announce their semi-annual industry reports. This full suite of industry research reports includes sweeping analysis of global markets as well as detailed snapshots of industry-specific M&A activity.

    Global economic outlook overall is more hopeful for 2025. Cabinet changes across several of the G20 and accommodative monetary policies signal greater potential for growth across markets and industries.

    The incoming US Presidential Administration heavily influences the global macroeconomic outlook for 2025. The election of Donald Trump is set to bring profound changes to the economic and regulatory landscape of the United States and beyond. In the international arena, President-elect Trump’s trade policies will likely focus on ensuring U.S. dominance in areas such as digital technology and artificial intelligence.

    Overall, tax cuts and promises of deregulation, particularly for corporations and high-income earners, should stimulate increased investment and economic activity. Financial markets especially are poised for a potentially transformative period, despite the unusual possibility of across-the-board tariffs announced by the US President-Elect. While the impacts of the proposed tariffs would be considerable for the global economy, the potential imposition of tariffs is more likely the starting point of political negotiations.

    Learn how changes in government administrations will impact the global economy with industry insights from:

    With decades of experience, FE International can provide the expertise and guidance founders and investors need to achieve their financial goals. The firm helps businesses prepare for a successful exit by conducting a thorough valuation, suggesting optimizations for operations and profitability, identifying areas for potential growth, and crafting a compelling story for investors.

    About FE International

    Founded in 2010, FE International is an award-winning strategic advisor for technology businesses. FE’s team has completed over 1,500 transactions with a combined value of over $50 billion. FE International was named one of The Americas’ Fastest Growing Companies from 2020 to 2024 by the Financial Times and is also a four-time Inc. 5000 company.

    Media Contact:
    Gaj Tanwar
    Marketing Coordinate, FE International
    Email: gaj.tanwar@feinternational.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Exodus Movement, Inc. Announces Offer to Acquire Banxa Holdings Inc.

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Exodus Movement, Inc. (NYSE American: EXOD) (“Exodus”), a leading self-custodial cryptocurrency platform, today announced that it has submitted a proposal (the “Exodus Offer”) for the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Banxa Holdings Inc. (TSXV: BNXA) (“Banxa”), a globally recognized financial technology platform specializing in digital asset on-and-off ramp solutions. Banxa today announced that its Board of Directors, after consultation with its financial and legal advisors, and after consideration of a recommendation from its Special Committee of the Board of Directors, has unanimously determined that the Exodus Offer constitutes a “Superior Proposal” under the terms of the arrangement agreement between Banxa and 1493819 B.C. Ltd. (“1493819”). Banxa also announced that it provided notice of such determination to 1493819 and that, under its arrangement agreement with 1493819, 1493819 now has the right, until 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on February 10, 2025, to propose to amend the terms of the arrangement agreement in order to make the Exodus Offer no longer a Superior Proposal.

    Pursuant to the terms of the Exodus Offer, Exodus has offered to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Banxa (“Banxa Shares”) for consideration per Banxa Share comprised of (i) CDN$1.10 in cash; and (ii) 0.0079 of class A common stock of Exodus (“Exodus Shares”). Based on the closing price of the Exodus Shares on NYSE American on February 3, 2025 of US$59.59 and the U.S./Canada daily exchange rate on February 3, 2025 of US$1.00/CDN$1.4603, the value of the share consideration to be paid to Banxa shareholders is US$0.47 or approximately CDN$0.69 per Banxa Share, bringing the total consideration to be received by Banxa shareholders to approximately CDN$1.79 per Banxa Share.

    At this time, there can be no assurance that the Exodus Offer will lead to a termination of the arrangement agreement between Banxa and 1493819 and the execution of a definitive arrangement agreement between Banxa and Exodus in respect of the Exodus Offer, or that the proposed transaction contemplated by the Exodus Offer will be consummated.

    About Exodus

    Exodus is a financial technology leader empowering individuals and businesses with secure, user-friendly crypto software solutions. Since 2015, Exodus has made digital assets accessible to everyone through its multi-asset crypto wallets prioritizing design and ease of use.

    With self-custodial wallets, Exodus puts customers in full control of their funds, enabling them to swap, buy, and sell crypto. Its business solutions include Passkeys Wallet and XO Swap, industry-leading tools for embedded crypto wallets and swap aggregation.

    Exodus is committed to driving the future of accessible and secure finance. Learn more at exodus.com or follow us on X at x.com/exodus_io.

    Investor Contact
    investors@exodus.com

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined by the federal securities laws. All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions and apply only as of the date made. Our expectations, beliefs, and projections are expressed in good faith, and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that our expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “forecast,” as well as variations of such words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Exodus Offer, including the consideration to be issued pursuant to the Exodus Offer, the possibility that 1493819 submits a revised offer during the matching period, the possibility that Banxa and 1493819 amend the terms of their arrangement agreement that results in the Exodus Offer no longer being a Superior Proposal and the ability of Exodus and Banxa to consummate the transaction on the terms and in the manner contemplated by the Exodus Offer. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Such factors include the possible actions by or on behalf of 1493819; the possibility that Exodus withdraws the Exodus Offer; or the possibility of a third party submitting a proposal or a revised proposal which leads to a new Superior Proposal, as well as those set forth in “Item 1. Business” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of Amendment No. 6 to our Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on November 27, 2024, as well as in our other reports filed with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by such cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements that have been made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

    No Offer or Solicitation

    The Exodus Offer contemplates that the Exodus Shares will be issued in a transaction exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act. Consequently, the Exodus Shares will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or under any U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy Exodus Shares or any other securities, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

    Source: Exodus Movement, Inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the ‘year of the wood snake’ could play out for China’s economy

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Karen Jackson, Reader in Economics, University of Westminster

    Rimma Bondarenko/Shutterstock

    Chinese people around the world have just celebrated lunar new year, which this year has run from January 28 to February 4. It is the biggest festival of the year in China, signalling the start of spring, and this is the year of the wood snake. According to Chinese astrology, the characteristics of the snake – renewal, potential, opportunity and wisdom – will affect the year ahead.

    As we start the new lunar year, it feels like a good time to look ahead to look at the prospects for the Chinese economy through the prism of these characteristics.

    Renewal of traditional economic drivers

    China dominates global manufacturing – its manufacturing production is as large as the next seven largest competitors combined. This has earned China the title of the world’s manufacturing superpower – but it has come at a cost. The latest data shows that China is among the top 20 most polluted countries across the world.

    Therefore, it’s likely that over the next 12 months, there will be a continued drive towards the renewal, or upgrading, of traditional industrial sectors that have historically driven growth in China but are also heavy polluters.

    This is part of a broader push by China to improve its climate footprint and reduce emissions. These are goals outlined in the national climate action plan, referred to by the Paris climate agreement as the nationally determined contributions.

    Potential for a surge into AI

    China has identified the potential for adopting AI, robotics and 3D printing in transforming its manufacturing base. Meanwhile, the country’s next generation AI development plan sets out clear objectives to make AI the main driver of Chinese economic change and industrial development. Expect to see more progress towards this goal in 2025.

    China’s machine-learning sector has experienced considerable growth, and is predicted to grow by an average of 34.8% a year over the next five years. While the US is the major competitor and commands the largest market size, the recent release of the R1 chatbot by DeepSeek has created a stir.

    DeepSeek claims to have developed its latest R1 model at a cost of around US$6 million (£4.8 million), which is considerably less than its US competitors such as Open AI’s ChatGPT-4, which is reported to have cost more than US$100 million. It’s an indication of the strength of innovation which underlines the potential growth of China’s AI sector, and is likely to help narrow the gap with the US.

    Opportunities for foreign investment

    In addition to upgrading traditional industries, we can expect to see opportunities around new areas of growth in advanced technology sectors such as fintech and green tech. China will continue shifting its focus to industries in which its firms can add lots of value, such as in technology-related manufacturing.

    Major investment is needed to fund these industries and two major changes have occurred in recent months, recognising that this cannot come only from domestic sources.

    First, the changes to China’s A-share market, which went into effect in December 2024, will make it easier for a wider range of overseas investors to enter. For example, smaller amounts of capital are required, and foreign capital can now come from unlisted companies.

    Second, in November 2024, China opened up its manufacturing sector to foreign capital by removing all access restrictions.

    Over the next year, we can expect to see these changes increase the amount of foreign capital in China, and help realise these new areas of growth.

    The wisdom of opening up

    China continues to see the wisdom of opening its economy in terms of investment – and therefore that it is critically important to remain well-connected to the rest of the world.

    The geopolitical tensions with the US are a challenge: the US president, Donald Trump, has said he will impose tariffs of 10% on imports from China. But on a more positive note, breaking protocol last month, Chinese vice-president Han Zheng was invited to, and attended, Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

    It’s an indication of the current US administration’s view of the importance of America’s relationship with China.

    The year ahead is also likely to bring opportunities for the UK to continue its efforts to reset its relationship with China. During the recent visit to Beijing by the chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, there was a discussion of a “stable and balanced UK-China relationship”.

    Few expect, or desire, a return to the “golden era” rhetoric of the likes of former UK chancellor George Osborne, who in a speech at the Shanghai Stock Exchange in September 2015 called for Britain and China to work together to ensure mutual prosperity: “Let’s stick together to make Britain China’s best partner in the west. Let’s stick together and create a golden decade for both of our countries.”

    However, greater dialogue with China may be possible, while at the same time carefully managing the UK’s relationship with the new US administration.

    China watchers will be keeping their eyes peeled for other economic developments over the year ahead – for example, the progress of Chinese fiscal reforms and their impact on local and regional finances and income distribution. Also, there is the matter of the real estate market. After significant falls in housing sales and investment during 2024, house prices are showing signs of stabilising.

    China’s economy will face challenges in the year ahead. But there are also some clear opportunities for this manufacturing giant, particularly in the tech sector as it starts to narrow the gap with the US.

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

    – ref. How the ‘year of the wood snake’ could play out for China’s economy – https://theconversation.com/how-the-year-of-the-wood-snake-could-play-out-for-chinas-economy-248779

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: DRC rebels take eastern city of Goma – why it matters and what could happen next

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dale Pankhurst, PhD Candidate, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast

    In a major escalation in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), rebels from the March 23 Movement – or M23 – have seized Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province. At least 773 people have been killed there since the M23 claimed to have won control on January 27, while rebels have also seized several other towns in North Kivu including Sake and Minova.

    The rebels are now reportedly advancing towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. And Corneille Nangaa, who leads a rebel alliance of which M23 is the largest member, has vowed to march on the DRC’s capital in Kinshasa. Located 1,000 miles west of Goma, the capture of Kinshasa is unlikely. But the conflict still looks set to spread deeper into the DRC.

    The speed of the M23 advance has taken many by surprise. The rebels captured Goma, a city of 2 million people, within just three days. But the conflict between the DRC and the M23, which takes its name from the 2009 date on which a deal was reached to end a revolt by members of the ethnic Tutsi group, has been grinding on intermittently for years.

    Beginning in April 2012, when the M23 was formally created, the conflict has its roots in the same deep ethnic divisions that led to the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Following the genocide, where radical ethnic Hutus killed roughly 800,000 minority Tutsis, many Hutu extremists fled over the border into the DRC and settled in areas including North Kivu.

    The M23 seeks to act as a self-defence force for Congolese Tutsis against discrimination both by the DRC and non-state actors. This includes targeting by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a Hutu-dominated rebel group that seeks to overthrow the Rwandan government. The group has in the past committed egregious acts of violence against civilians in North Kivu, including mass killings and sexual violence.

    The M23 rebel group seized the city of Goma on January 27.
    The Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute

    The seizure of Goma is crucial for several reasons. First, it means that a sizeable and strategically important border province of the DRC is now in rebel hands. North Kivu is an active volcanic region that is rich in various minerals such as coltan, which is used in electronic equipment and the aerospace industry.

    In May 2024 the M23 seized Rubaya, a key mining town that produces 15% of the world’s coltan. Since then, the group has generated considerable income from controlling mineral production and trade. Indeed, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime labels the agendas of armed groups in the eastern DRC as “profit-driven”.

    Second, the capture of Goma has exacerbated inter-state tension between the DRC and Rwanda, raising the prospect of another inter-state war. News of the prized seizure came hours after the DRC’s foreign minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, accused Rwandan troops of invading Congolese territory.

    A UN report from 2013 found that Rwanda not only supports the M23 group, but actively commands its troops. UN experts now estimate that there are up to 4,000 Rwandan troops fighting alongside the M23 in the DRC. Rwanda has denied backing the M23 despite ample evidence to the contrary.

    The Congolese government says Rwanda’s involvement is part of a ploy to exploit North Kivu’s vast mineral resources. In a report from December 2024, a panel of UN experts wrote that “fraudulent [mineral] extraction, trade and export to Rwanda” benefited both the M23 “and the Rwandan economy”. According to the Rwandan government’s own figures, the country exports far more gold than it mines.

    And third, the escalating conflict will deepen an already grave humanitarian crisis in the region. In March 2024, the UN reported that the number of internally displaced people in the DRC had reached 7.2 million – one of the largest such crises in the world. It is estimated that over 6 million civilians in the east of the DRC are now facing high levels of food insecurity.

    What next

    The DRC and Rwandan governments have already gone to war on two previous occasions, once in 1996 and then again in 1998 in what turned into a more protracted five-year conflict. The first war was triggered by Rwanda’s invasion of the DRC to target anti-Rwandan rebel groups seeking refuge there. The war soon drew in other states and became known as Africa’s first world war. Since 1996, conflict in the eastern DRC has killed approximately 6 million people.

    Yet despite this increased tension, there are hopes that a diplomatic solution can be reached. In the past, warring factions in the eastern DRC have agreed to temporary ceasefires following intensive mediation by international institutions such as the East African Community and the African Union, as well as neighbouring countries like Angola.

    However, previous ceasefires have also been violated by both sides. And the stakes are arguably higher this time, with the DRC losing further territory and control over strategic cities to the rebels.

    The Congolese government may be reluctant to accept peace conditions until it regains control over lost portions of territory. Indeed, the Congolese president, Félix Tshisekedi, has already snubbed prospective peace talks to establish a ceasefire.

    Western powers hold key leverage, and may be able to subdue the M23 insurgency. France has given its backing to the DRC government and has warned of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences should the situation deteriorate further.

    The US and other major powers like the UK have also withdrawn state funding for Rwanda in the past over its support for the M23 insurgency. In 2013, for example, cuts to foreign aid forced Rwanda to scale back its support for the rebels, both through reduced military training and supply runs. The UK government has threatened to withdraw funding to Rwanda again following the M23’s capture of Goma.

    Belgium, on the other hand, is leading calls for the EU to suspend a controversial minerals deal with Rwanda that boosts the bloc’s access to several elements in exchange for funding to help Kigali develop its mineral extraction infrastructure. When the deal was signed in 2024, Tshisekedi described it as “a provocation in very bad taste”.

    In any case, a ceasefire between the DRC and the M23 is not enough. What is needed is a long-term, durable solution that addresses the root causes and fears that are driving the armed conflict.

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

    – ref. DRC rebels take eastern city of Goma – why it matters and what could happen next – https://theconversation.com/drc-rebels-take-eastern-city-of-goma-why-it-matters-and-what-could-happen-next-248393

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders, Hawley Introduce Bill Capping Credit Card Interest Rates at 10%

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 – As millions of working class families struggle to afford the high prices of groceries, gas, rent and other basic necessities, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced bipartisan legislation to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent.
    “During the campaign, President Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent,” Sanders said. “Today, I am proud to be introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Hawley to do just that. When large financial institutions charge over 25 percent interest on credit cards, they are not engaged in the business of making credit available. They are engaged in extortion and loan sharking. We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people. This legislation will provide working families struggling to pay their bills with desperately needed financial relief.”
    “Working Americans are drowning in record credit card debt while the biggest credit card issuers get richer and richer by hiking their interest rates to the moon. It’s not just wrong, it’s exploitative. And it needs to end,” said Hawley. “Capping credit card interest rates at 10%, just like President Trump campaigned on, is a simple way to provide meaningful relief to working people. Let’s do it.”
    In September, the Trump campaign said, “President Trump has promised to cap interest rates at 10% to provide temporary and immediate relief for hardworking Americans who are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford hefty interest payments on top of the skyrocketing costs of mortgages, rent, groceries and gas.”
    The Sanders-Hawley bill would immediately cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent. The legislation would be in effect for five years.
    This bipartisan bill comes after a recent Forbes report found that the average credit card interest rate is 28.6%, even though banks are able to borrow money from the Federal Reserve at less than 4.5%.
    In 2022, credit card companies generated an incredible $130 billion in interest and fees. Today, the American people hold a record-breaking $1.17 trillion in credit card debt. As of 2023, the average household with credit card debt has over $21,000 in credit card debt. The delinquency rate of credit cards issued by commercial banks is around 3.23%, the highest rate since 2011 in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
    If a consumer has a $5,000 credit card balance with a 28% interest rate and can only afford to make the minimum payment of $166 a month it would take that person over 24 years to pay off and would cost nearly $11,000 in interest. If credit card interest rates were capped to 10%, that same consumer would save over $7,000 in interest.
    Usurious credit card interest rates and sky-high fees have allowed credit card companies to make enormous profits and pay their executives exorbitant compensation packages. Over the past five years:
    Visa made $67.5 billion in profits and paid its Executive Chair and former CEO, Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., nearly $140 million in total compensation.
    Mastercard made $44.3 billion in profits and paid its CEO Michael Miebach $77.7 million in total compensation.
    American Express made $33.8 billion in profits, and paid its CEO Stephen Squeri $157.2 million in total compensation.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major groyne refurbishment project announced for Lake and Colwell 4 February 2025 Major groyne refurbishment project announced for Lake Cliffs and Colwell Bay

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    Timber groynes at Lake and Colwell Bay are set to be restored as part of a major Isle of Wight Council scheme to strengthen coastal defences.

    Ten groynes at Lake Cliffs, between Small Hope Beach and Littlestairs Steps, and six at Colwell Bay will undergo refurbishment over the coming months.

    Councillor Paul Fuller, Cabinet member for coastal protection, explained: “The refurbished groynes will help build beach material levels, offering better protection and improving safety for nearby properties and businesses.

    “This project will also save money on future repairs and enhance the appeal of our beaches, which is essential for tourism and local businesses.”

    An Island-based contractor will carry out the work, with minor disruptions expected due to plant and vehicle movements and material storage.

    Natasha Dix, service director for waste, environment and planning, said: “This refurbishment project demonstrates the council’s dedication to maintaining and improving the Island’s coastal infrastructure, ensuring lasting benefits for the community and local economy.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –