NewzIntel.com

Category: Europe

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic students reach the final of the All-Russian competition “INTEGRAPH”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The finalists of the All-Russian Youth Competition of Strategic Communications “INTEGRAPH”, founded on the basis of the School of Communications of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, have been determined. The Polytechnic team was shortlisted. In the final, it will present its solution to leading experts in the field of communications. The jury includes representatives of leading companies: VK, Avito, Unilever Rus and Health

    A total of 714 students from 64 universities and 24 cities of Russia took part in the competition. Five teams in each direction from St. Petersburg, Kirov, Saratov, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Krasnoyarsk and Moscow made it to the finals.

    The Polytechnic team consists of fourth-year students of the Higher School of Industrial Management of IPMEiT: Yulia Mikhailova, Nikita Nikolaev, Ksenia Sergeeva and Fyodor Cherukhin.

    “INTEGRAPH” is held in two stages – at the first, correspondence stage, student teams developed a communication campaign strategy for a partner brand and sent it to experts for evaluation. The teams were presented with four business tasks from the largest Russian brands to solve. Ahead of the students is the second stage of the competition – open defenses, which will be held on April 22 in Moscow.

    Participation in the competition was a great opportunity for us to test our strengths and immerse ourselves in real cases. The final is not only a joyful event, but also confirmation that our efforts were not in vain. We are looking forward to an interesting exchange of experience, new acquaintances and, of course, vivid impressions from the final, – shared Yulia Mikhailova.

    The finalist teams will present their solutions to industry experts and also complete additional tasks prepared by the competition organizers.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: With the support of Rosneft, the accreditation center was modernized at the Yugra Medical Academy

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Rosneft – Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Samotlorneftegaz, one of Rosneft’s largest production assets, provided financial support for the modernization of one of the key divisions of the Khanty-Mansiysk State Medical Academy – the Simulation and Accreditation Center. The project was implemented within the framework of an agreement between Rosneft and the Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra.

    The modernization of the Center allowed to increase the number of specialties for training and accreditation from 19 to 24. For conducting an objective clinical examination, the center is equipped with six transforming stations. Every year, up to 500 doctors can undergo accreditation and confirm their qualifications.

    The project included a comprehensive equipping of the Medical Academy with modern training equipment. For example, a simulator with a real-time feedback system allows practicing resuscitation skills.

    The Academy also has a virtual operating unit that is as close to real conditions as possible. In this space, students and residents can practice the sequence of actions during endoscopic surgical interventions and automatically receive an objective assessment of their operational activities.

    Future doctors have access to a modern laparoscopic simulator, which includes 17 training modules and more than 70 practical tasks. The simulator program includes didactic materials with anatomical 3-D models, video recordings of real operations and interactive instructions with the ability to assess the correctness of the manipulations performed.

    The center’s offices are equipped with additional medical equipment, specialized furniture, computers, and an audio and video surveillance system, which allows for effective use in the learning process. More than 400 students and residents are trained annually in the center of the medical academy within the framework of the main educational program.

    Rosneft, following the principles of social responsibility, traditionally pays special attention to the creation of a favorable social environment in the regions of presence. Thanks to the Company’s support, projects to strengthen the material and technical base of healthcare institutions are regularly implemented.

    Reference:

    JSC Samotlorneftegaz is one of the key production enterprises of Rosneft. It conducts production activities in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. It develops the largest Samotlor field in Russia, discovered in 1965.

    As part of the cooperation between Rosneft and the Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, the company provides support in equipping educational institutions in the region with modern equipment. For example, the Multidisciplinary College of the Yugra State University has equipped educational laboratories for “Assessment of the Chemical and Physical Quality of Oil and Gas” and “Oil and Gas Processing”; the Nizhnevartovsk branch of the Tyumen Industrial University has opened a computer room with an interactive simulator of well development and operation and equipped laboratories for the physical and chemical study of oil and gas, as well as electrical engineering and electronics. A simulation trainer for a primary oil refining unit has also been purchased for the Yugra State University Oil Institute, and a project to introduce a geospatial technology laboratory has been implemented at the Nizhnevartovsk Construction College.

    Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft March 31, 2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: ASIA/BAHRAIN – “The dream comes true”: Inauguration of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood in the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Monday, 31 March 2025

    Avona

    Awali (Agenzia Fides) – “Sowing the seeds of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (AVONA) is a herculean task due to its jurisdiction in four countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, a ‘visionary’ sees a solution for every problem” writes Father Marcus Fernandes OFM.Cap., delegate of the Missio-Avona, to Fides. The reference is to the Apostolic Vicar of Avona, Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T., defined precisely as “the ‘visionary’ Bishop who promoted the mission in the Vicariate” thanks to which the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood was inaugurated.During the celebration of the mass held on Friday, March 28 in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia (OLA), in Awali, Bishop Berardi welcomed the first 46 child volunteers of the Holy Childhood Society. “Praying, helping and sharing the Gospel is the mission of children” the bishop recalled in his homily recalling the three mottos of the Holy Childhood and inviting all those present to pray and share the Gospel every day.”On January 5 – continues Fr. Marcus – we had celebrated the Holy Childhood day and, to make this day a memorable one, the Missio-Avona Office organized an essay and drawing competition based on the theme “Children are the Missionaries of Hope”, with the aim of creating an interest and to know about the Holy Childhood or Pontifical Mission Societies.”“We received beautiful essays and drawings, the children expressed their emotions to the fullest. The winners of the competitions were declared during the Inaugural mass of the Awali Holy childhood society on 28th March 2025 in Bahrain and the winner’s name will be published in our digital magazinelaunched on December 10, 2024 (see Fides, 12/12/2024) on the occasion of the third anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia.”Bishop Berardi, along with Rector of the Cathedral Fr. Saji Thomas, ofm Cap., and other coordinators of the Holy Childhood concelebrated the mass. “During the Eucharist – adds the Apostolic Vicar – we prayed for the people in Myanmar devastated by the serious earthquake on Friday 28 March. We offer masses for them. The destruction of places of worship has touched us deeply.”‘What do you ask from the Church?’ was the question that the Apostolic Vicar asked the children before the final blessing. “The children recited the pledge and expressed their desire to make them child missionaries to become friends of Jesus and to serve the children.”“The day ended with a big feast together with the families. Now the entire operational group in the Cathedral and our four coordinators are ready to continue the missionary zeal of the children – concludes the delegate of the Pontifical Mission Societies.With the establishment of the Holy Childhood Society in the Cathedral of Bahrain, under the Leadership of our Apostolic vicar, the Pontifical Mission Societies are seeing their good days in the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia”. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 31/3/2025)
    Avona

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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Appeal: officers look to return jewellery to rightful owners

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Officers are seeking to reunite owners with their property, after stolen jewellery was recovered as part of a proactive police operation in London and the home counties.

    The jewellery includes identifiable items such as a World War 1 officers’ Rolex watch, a gold locket containing old pictures, an engraved gold ring and an engraved gold pocket watch from Harlow Bros Ltd.

    A gold wedding ring, gold necklaces and a gold hair pin were also found.

    Detective Sergeant Lee Davison who is leading the investigation said:

    “The stolen jewellery was largely taken from London’s south Asian community across 2023 and 2024 in Houslow and was recovered as part of a year-long operation.

    “While it is believed to be worth over a million pounds in total, it is the sentimental value that remains priceless.

    “This is why myself and the team are working tirelessly to identify the owners and are urging anyone who recognises the jewellery to contact us on 101, quoting 01/1113701/24.

    Four men have been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and await trial.

    ENDS

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Subsea7 awarded contract offshore Norway

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Luxembourg – 31 March 2025 – Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Børs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of a sizeable1 contract by Equinor as technical service provider (TSP) for the Northern Lights Phase 2 project, offshore Norway.

    Subsea7’s scope includes engineering, procurement, construction and installation of a five kilometre CO2 pipeline, as well as installation of integrated satellite structures, umbilicals, tie-in and pre-commissioning activities.

    Project management and engineering will commence immediately at Subsea7’s office in Stavanger, Norway. Fabrication of the pipeline will take place at Subsea7’s spoolbase at Vigra, Norway and offshore operations will be executed in 2026 and 2027.

    Erik Femsteinevik, Vice President for Subsea7 Norway said: “We are excited to continue our collaboration with Equinor TSP and the Northern Lights’ owners Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies on phase 2 of this ambitious and pioneering project. We look forward to working together to increase the development’s carbon storage capacity to a minimum of five million tonnes per year, and to support the continued development of a new value chain for Norway and Europe.”

    Northern Lights phase 2 is enabled by a grant from the Connecting Europe Facility for Energy (CEF Energy) funding scheme. 

    1. Subsea7 defines a sizeable contract as being between $50 million and $150 million.

    *******************************************************************************
    Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industry’s partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs.

    Subsea7 is listed on the Oslo Børs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62.

    *******************************************************************************

    Contact for investment community enquiries:
    Katherine Tonks
    Investor Relations Director
    Tel +44 20 8210 5568
    ir@subsea7.com

    Contact for media enquiries:
    Jan Roger Moksnes
    Communications Manager
    Tel +47 41515777
    janroger.moksnes@subsea7.com
    www.subsea7.com

    Forward-Looking Statements: This document may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘future’, ‘goal’, ‘intend’, ‘likely’ ‘may’, ‘plan’, ‘project’, ‘seek’, ‘should’, ‘strategy’ ‘will’, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the ‘Risk Management’ section of the Group’s Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; (xvii) global availability at scale and commercially viability of suitable alternative vessel fuels; and (xviii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this document. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
    This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
    This stock exchange release was published by Katherine Tonks, Investor Relations, Subsea7, on 31 March 2025 at 12:15 CET.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New government fund to go after people smuggling gang bosses

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    New government fund to go after people smuggling gang bosses

    Nearly £1 million in government funding will support Iraq in its fight to take down the kingpins of organised immigration crime.

    Photo: Getty Images

    The evil linchpins at the top of people smuggling gangs who consider themselves untouchable will be hunted down and brought to justice thanks to nearly £1 million in government funding to support Iraq to combat organised immigration crime.

    The Home Secretary’s groundbreaking partnership with Iraq is making significant headway to tackle organised immigration crime and fortify border security in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). New funding, specialist technology and bolder investigation processes have been pursued since the landmark agreement was signed just 4 months ago. 

    The nearly £1 million in new government funding will support the passing of new anti-smuggling legislation in the KRI, which is a critical milestone in the region’s ability to prosecute organised crime groups involved in people smuggling. It will also be used to provide targeted training, specialist technological support, and community engagement to address key security challenges in the region.  

    Successful implementation of the new law will also bolster wider National Crime Agency (NCA) operations, supporting them to disrupt high-profile criminal networks operating in the region. The NCA already has more than 70 investigations into top tier immigration crime networks, including those from or within the KRI. 

    Earlier this year, the NCA worked with KRI law enforcement partners on a joint operation for the first time ever, which resulted in the arrest of 3 high profile members of a people smuggling network impacting the UK.

    The UK-Iraq partnership has also led to a major crackdown on the use of fraudulent documents by people smuggling gangs to move migrants through the Iraqi border. Over 100 Iraqi border and airline officials are being trained to detect false papers, and the UK has distributed specialist forgery detection devices across forensic labs in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk. 

    The UK is a world leader in false document detection and has shared expertise, specialist equipment and intelligence with the KRG to help them take down a key route used by people smugglers, who are risking the lives of those they transport and compromising border security.

    Joint action between the Home Office, NCA and international partners is also targeting the abhorrent business model of these criminal networks, including their use of social media platforms, financial flows, and maritime equipment such as boats and engines. This multi-faceted approach is having a significant impact, with over 8,000 social media accounts taken down in 2024, and more than 600 boats and engines seized by European partners working with the NCA, before they could be used in life-threatening crossings. 

    The news comes ahead of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister hosting the first Organised Immigration Crime Summit on 31 March and 1 April, where the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government will co-chair a collaborative session tightening supply chain controls. 

    Iraq is a key partner in tackling organised crime groups, to ensure the prosperity and security of UK and Iraqi citizens, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change. 

    The Home Office remains committed to supporting the Government of Iraq and the KRG in tackling the root causes of organised crime, strengthening the rule of law, and safeguarding vulnerable individuals from the dangers posed by criminal networks.

    Minister for Security, Dan Jarvis, said: 

    The ‘Mr Bigs’ of people-smuggling gangs are cowards who hide in other countries and use their stooges to do their dirty work, while they count the grubby blood money they receive. They do not care about the people they are endangering who are being recklessly crammed into increasingly crowded, flimsy boats.

    We are using every power in our disposal to hunt them down, bring them to justice and dismantle their evil people smuggling networks. The UK’s partnership with Iraq is a cornerstone in this fight, with both of our countries making significant progress in just a matter of months. Criminal ‘lords’ in Iraq who had previously thought themselves untouchable are now being sent a clear message that their abhorrent business model will fail.

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Honorary King’s Counsel ceremony

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Honorary King’s Counsel ceremony

    Treasury Solicitor Susanna McGibbon receives Honorary King’s Counsel in Westminster Hall ceremony

    Permanent Secretary of GLD and Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon KC (Hon), and Director General of Attorney General’s Office, Douglas Wilson KC (Hon) OBE

    Permanent Secretary of GLD and Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon KC (Hon), received her Honorary King’s Counsel last week at a ceremony in Westminster Hall.

    The appointment is in recognition of her extensive legal advice as the most senior lawyer in the Civil Service, regularly advising on high profile and complex matters at the heart of government.

    Susanna was nominated for her legal advice on complex and sensitive issues within government especially in public and administrative law and national security. Also, for her leadership in a range of high-profile cases and inquiries and for her advocacy for diversity and inclusion across the legal profession.  

    On her appointment, Susanna McGibbon KC (Hon) said:

    “I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Honorary King’s Counsel, and to have received the award in this prestigious ceremony. It is a privilege to lead the government legal profession doing such important work for the government and the country. I would like to pay tribute to those colleagues whose work is reflected in this award.”

    Douglas Wilson KC (Hon) OBE, Director General of the Attorney General’s Office, joined Susanna at the ceremony for receipt of his Honorary King’s Counsel.

    He was nominated for advising on issues such as Brexit, military operations, and intelligence cooperation, which shaped the law on the use of military force, cyberspace, and investigatory powers. Furthermore, he has promoted effective and inclusive legal practice within government.

    Douglas Wilson KC (Hon) OBE, said:

    “It is an honour to be appointed Honorary King’s Counsel by the Lord Chancellor, and I’m grateful to those who nominated me. 

    I would like to express my thanks and admiration to my fantastic colleagues in the Attorney General’s Office and across the Government Legal Profession for their work and support.”

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: 16/2025・Trifork Group: Weekly report on share buyback

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Company announcement no. 16 / 2025
    Schindellegi, Switzerland – 31 March 2025

    Trifork Group: Weekly report on share buyback

    On 28 Februay 2025, Trifork initiated a share buyback program in accordance with Regulation No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (MAR) and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052, (Safe Harbour regulation). The share buyback program runs from 4 March 2025 up to and including no later than 30 June 2025. The buyback program will not be active from 9 to 15 April 2025. For details, please see company announcement no. 7 of 28 February 2025.

    Under the share buyback program, Trifork will purchase shares for up to a total of DKK 14.92 million (approximately EUR 2 million).

    Prior to the launch of the share buyback, Trifork held 256,329 treasury shares, corresponding to 1.3% of the share capital.

    Under the program, the following transactions have been made:

    Date    Number of shares       Average purchase price (DKK)       Transaction value (DKK)
    Total beginning 29,388 84.04 2,469,874
    24 March 2025 1,900 93.98 178,562
    25 March 2025 1,900 92.99 176,681
    26 March 2025 2,000 92.20 184,400
    27 March 2025 2,200 90.24 198,528
    28 March 2025 2,480 88.11 218,513
    Accumulated 39,868 85.95 3,426,558

    Since the share buyback program was started on 4 March 2025, the total number of repurchased shares is 39,868 at a total amount of DKK 3,426,558. As of 25 March 2025, 1,352 shares acquired through the share buyback program were utilized for the Executive Management’s monthly fixed salary, representing a change from cash payment to payment partly in shares (refer to company announcement no. 1 of 21 January 2025).

    With the transactions stated above, Trifork holds a total of 294,845 treasury shares, corresponding to 1.5%. The total number of registered shares in Trifork is 19,744,899. Adjusted for treasury shares, the number of outstanding shares is 19,450,054.


    Investor and media contact
    Frederik Svanholm, Group Investment Director & Head of Investor Relations
    frsv@trifork.com, +41 79 357 73 17

    About Trifork
    Trifork is a pioneering global technology partner, empowering enterprise and public sector customers with innovative solutions. With 1,229 professionals across 73 business units in 16 countries, Trifork delivers expertise in inspiring, building, and running advanced software solutions across diverse sectors, including public administration, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, energy, financial services, retail, and real estate. Trifork Labs, the Group’s R&D hub, drives innovation by investing in and developing synergistic and high-potential technology companies. Trifork Group AG is a publicly listed company on Nasdaq Copenhagen. Learn more at trifork.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Innofactor Plc applies for the delisting of its shares from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Innofactor Plc | Stock Exchange Release | March 31, 2025 at 8:50 EEST

    Innofactor Plc applies for the delisting of its shares from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki

    The Board of Directors of Innofactor Plc (“Innofactor”) has today resolved to apply for the termination of public trading in the shares of Innofactor and for the delisting of its shares from the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (“Nasdaq Helsinki”) as soon as possible upon Onni Bidco Oy (“Onni Bidco”) having gained title to all the shares in Innofactor in the pending redemption proceedings under Chapter 18 of the Finnish Companies Act.

    Onni Bidco holds more than 90 per cent of all the issued and outstanding shares in Innofactor. As previously announced, Onni Bidco has, by submitting an application to the Redemption Board of the Finland Chamber of Commerce dated December 2, 2024, commenced redemption proceedings in respect of Innofactor’s minority shares by initiating arbitration proceedings in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 3 of the Finnish Companies Act in order to obtain ownership of all the issued and outstanding shares in Innofactor. Onni Bidco served its application to appoint an arbitral tribunal and to initiate arbitration proceedings in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 5 of the Finnish Companies Act on January 7, 2025.

    The Board of Directors of Innofactor has resolved to submit an application to Nasdaq Helsinki for the termination of public trading and for the delisting of the Innofactor shares. In the application, it is requested that the delisting in respect of the Innofactor shares admitted to trading on the official list of Nasdaq Helsinki would become effective as soon as possible upon Onni Bidco having gained title to all the shares in Innofactor in the pending redemption proceedings under Chapter 18 of the Finnish Companies Act.

    Investor and media enquiries:

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

    Distribution:
    NASDAQ Helsinki
    Main media

    ABOUT INNOFACTOR

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

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Innofactor Plc Annual Report for 2024 has been published

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Innofactor Plc Annual Financial Report, on March 31, 2025, at 9:00 Finnish time

    Innofactor Annual Report for 2024 has been published as a PDF file on the company website: www.innofactor.com/invest-in-us/releases-publications-and-reports/#annual-reports. The Annual Report includes the Financial Statement, the Report of the Board of Directors and the Sustainability Report.

    Innofactor’s Corporate Governance Statement for the Financial Period 2024 has been published separately from the Annual Report on the company website: https://www.innofactor.com/invest-in-us/corporate-governance/.

    The Remuneration Report for the Financial Period 2024 has been published on the company website: www.innofactor.com/invest-in-us/corporate-governance/#compensations.

    The Annual Report, the Corporate Governance Statement, and the Remuneration Report are also attached to this release.

    Espoo, March 31, 2025

    INNOFACTOR PLC

    Sami Ensio, CEO

    Additional information:
    Sami Ensio, CEO
    Innofactor Plc
    Tel. +358 50 584 2029
    sami.ensio@innofactor.com

    Distribution:
    NASDAQ Helsinki
    Main media
    www.innofactor.com

    Innofactor
    Innofactor is the leading driver of the modern digital organization in the Nordic Countries for its about 1,000 customers in commercial and public sector. Innofactor has the widest solution offering and leading know-how in the Microsoft ecosystem in the Nordics. Innofactor has about 600 enthusiastic and motivated top specialists in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. www.innofactor.com #AIDriven #PeopleFirst #BeTheRealYou

    Attachments

    • Innofactor Plc Annual Report 2024
    • Corporate Governance Statement 2024
    • Remuneration Report 2024

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Westport Announces Agreement to Divest the Light-Duty Segment for $73.1 Million

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (“Westport” or the “Company”) (TSX:WPRT / Nasdaq:WPRT), has entered into a binding agreement (the “Agreement”) to sell its interest in Westport Fuel Systems Italia S.r.l., which includes the Light-Duty segment, including the light-duty OEM, delayed OEM, and independent aftermarket businesses, to a wholly-owned investment vehicle of Heliaca Investments Coöperatief U.A. (“Heliaca Investments”), a Netherlands based investment firm supported by Ramphastos Investments Management B.V. a prominent Dutch venture capital and private equity firm (the “Transaction”). The Transaction provides for a base purchase price of $73.1 million (€67.7 million), subject to certain adjustments, and potential earnouts of up to an estimated $6.5 million (€6.0 million) if certain conditions are achieved, in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.

    Moving forward, Westport intends to concentrate fully on providing affordable solutions for hard-to-decarbonize mobility and industrial applications, centered around the unique opportunities created by the HPDI technology and our Cespira joint venture. The Transaction also strengthens Westport’s balance sheet and enables Westport to consider strategic acquisition opportunities consistent with the above strategic focus and extend its runway to fund near-term growth.

    “This Transaction marks a significant milestone in our evolution as an alternative fuel systems enterprise. By returning to our roots and focusing on our core strengths, providing solutions in hard-to-decarbonize mobility and industrial applications, we are positioning Westport for sustainable growth and enhanced operational efficiency. The Light-Duty segment has been an important part of our history, and we are confident that Heliaca Investments is the right partner to continue its development. This Transaction allows us to streamline our operations, sharpen our focus on innovation, and create long-term value for our stakeholders. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to building on our momentum,” said Dan Sceli, Chief Executive Officer of Westport Fuel Systems.

    Under the terms of the Agreement, Heliaca Investments through its subsidiary will acquire Westport’s Light-Duty segment, including its related assets and customer contracts. The Transaction is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in late Q2 of 2025.

    The proceeds from the proposed Transaction are expected to enable Westport to significantly improve its financial stability, while also supporting key growth initiatives focused on providing solutions for hard-to-decarbonize mobility and industrial applications. Following closing, Westport intends to align its cost structure to be more reflective of a smaller, more efficient organization, while also seeking further opportunities for efficiency gains.

    Strategic Transformation

    The proposed divestiture is a pivotal step in refocusing Westport on its competitive strengths. Westport remains committed to providing affordable, alternative fuel solutions for the heavy-duty truck, off-road, and industrial markets. Westport believes that hydrogen will play a role in decarbonizing mobility applications long-term. However, Westport’s products are timeline-agnostic, allowing the Company to leverage its High-Pressure Controls and Systems segment and its stake in Cespira, which both have solutions available now, to address decarbonization with net zero and low carbon fuels while also providing affordable solutions utilizing zero carbon hydrogen in the future. Westport’s remaining assets, when combined, create the potential for fuel agnostic high-pressure storage solutions, complementing HPDI and Cespira’s growth aspirations.

    As the hydrogen ecosystem evolves, Westport views the natural gas market, including LNG, CNG and RNG as our foundation, with strong economics in many geographies and diverse growth opportunities. The Company’s GFI products are already industry leading on a global scale and backed by intellectual property rights that are expected to strengthen our already significant competitive advantage in high-pressure fuel solutions.

    Moreover, the Company will consider strategic merger and acquisition opportunities that align with the reimagined strategic focus.

    Creating Focus

    The resurgence of natural gas and renewable natural gas globally provides a market opportunity for Westport. In particular, while HPDI technology is well positioned and established in Europe, the North American market presents many growth opportunities. North America is again embracing natural gas and renewable natural gas as an important part of the solution to reduce the cost and the carbon footprint of heavy-duty long-haul trucking. Natural gas infrastructure is abundant and RNG production is growing.

    As we wait for hydrogen adoption, both Cespira and our High-Pressure Controls & Systems segment have products and technologies enabling the use of lower-carbon fuels today. These same products are equally viable in the future as hydrogen adoption ramps up. In the near-term, our High-Pressure Controls and Systems business has expertise in high-pressure components, providing the capability to rapidly develop CNG high pressure solutions for heavy-duty, off-road and industrial applications, providing effective solutions for decarbonization by utilizing alternative fuels today while advancing zero-emissions hydrogen solutions for the future. Additionally, the Company holds extensive intellectual property assets related to high-pressure fuels for HPDI engines. These initiatives are being designed to strengthen Westport’s competitive position and reinforce its role in advancing low-carbon fuel solutions for hard-to-decarbonize mobility applications.

    Advisors

    J.P. Morgan is acting as financial advisor to Westport and is providing a fairness opinion to the board of directors in connection with the Transaction. Bennett Jones LLP and Delfino Willkie are acting as legal advisors to Westport, and E&Y is acting as tax advisor to the Company.

    Gianni & Origoni, NautaDutilh, Wardyński & Partners and PwC are advising Heliaca Investments in connection with the Transaction.

    About Westport Fuel Systems

    At Westport Fuel Systems, we are driving innovation to power a cleaner tomorrow. We are a leading supplier of advanced fuel delivery components and systems for clean, low-carbon fuels such as natural gas, renewable natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to the global transportation industry. Our technology delivers the performance and fuel efficiency required by transportation applications and the environmental benefits that address climate change and urban air quality challenges. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with operations in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, we serve our customers in approximately 70 countries with leading global transportation brands. At Westport Fuel Systems, we think ahead. For more information, visit www.wfsinc.com.

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the closing of, and timing for closing of, the Transaction, shareholder approval of the Transaction, the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, including potential earn-out payments, the Transaction alleviating liquidity concerns, the ability to strengthen our balance sheet and align our cost structure, the ability to capitalize on growth initiatives, including fund strategic acquisitions, the ability to transition to a smaller, more efficient organization and our expectations regarding the future success of our business, the adoption of hydrogen and the future growth and development of HPDI. Other forward-looking statements included in the release include those relating to Westport’s future strategic plans, business opportunities and use of the Transaction proceeds. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on both the views of management and assumptions that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or achievements expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and assumptions include those related to completion and satisfaction of all conditions to closing of the Transaction set out in the Agreement, governmental policies, regulation and approval, the achievement of the performance criteria required for the earn out described above, purchase price adjustments contained in the Agreement, the demand for high-pressure storage solutions and other products, as well as other risk factors and assumptions that may affect our actual results, performance, or achievements, as discussed in our most recent Annual Information Form and other filings with securities regulators. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in these forward-looking statements except as required by National Instrument 51-102. The contents of any website referenced in this press release are not incorporated by reference herein.

    Investor Inquiries:

    Investor Relations
    T: +1 604-718-2046
    E: invest@wfsinc.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Westport Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (“Westport”) (TSX: WPRT / Nasdaq: WPRT) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024, and provided an update on operations. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

    “The past year has been transformative for Westport as we sharpened our strategic focus, advanced our clean transportation technologies, and enhanced operational efficiencies. We have made significant strides in aligning our operations with our competitive strengths, improving margins, and reinforcing our commitment to delivering cost-effective solutions that drive decarbonization in the transportation sector. We have also transformed our culture to be one built on discipline and excellence, driving a high-performance mindset in everything we do.

    The launch of Cespira, our joint venture with Volvo Group, was a key milestone for us in 2024. Cespira is committed to accelerating the commercialization of HPDI™ technology with carbon-neutral fuels like hydrogen and renewable natural gas. This partnership underscores the industry’s recognition of HPDI as a leading solution to enable affordable, sustainable heavy transport.

    Additionally, we are taking bold steps to streamline our operations and strengthen our financial footing, allowing us to focus on areas with the highest growth potential. A prime example of this strategic realignment is our recently announced proposed divestiture of the Light-Duty business. This decision is expected to enable us to concentrate fully on providing affordable solutions for hard to decarbonize mobility applications like long haul and heavy-duty trucking that can take advantage of the unique, practical and affordable HPDI technology and our world class high-pressure components and systems technologies and scalable alternative fuel solutions, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of emissions-reducing innovations that are cost effective.

    Looking ahead, we are focused on scaling our alternative fuel-based solutions, including advancements in CNG, RNG, and hydrogen systems, while navigating a rapidly evolving transportation landscape. Hydrogen remains a critical component of the future but, in the meantime, we are delivering practical, commercially viable low-carbon solutions today such as natural gas and renewable natural gas solutions which, in some cases, can represent a lower total cost of ownership than incumbent technologies. Driven by these environmental and economic considerations we are seeing a global resurgence of interest in the heavy-duty transport sector towards utilizing natural gas as an alternative to diesel. While we will continue to invest in technology, we are positioned to take advantage of markets that are embracing products enabled by our years of investment in innovation as the world pivots to more practical and cost-effective solutions to decarbonize.  

    We are committed to providing sustainable, high-performance solutions that help our customers achieve their commercial and environmental goals, now and for years to come.”

    Dan Sceli, Chief Executive Officer

    2024 Highlights

    • Revenue was $302.3 million for 2024 and $75.1 million for the fourth quarter. Full year results were primarily driven by the transition of the Heavy-Duty OEM business into Cespira, partially offset by an increase in revenue in our Light-Duty segment. Cespira earned $22.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and $43.1 million for the period from June 3, 2024 through to December 31, 2024.
    • Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $21.8 million, or $1.27 loss per share, compared to net loss of $49.7 million for the prior year. Net loss for the fourth quarter in 2024 was $10.1 million, or $0.59 loss per share, compared to net loss of $13.9 million, or $0.81 loss per share, for the same period in 2023. For the year, the net positive change was primarily a result of improvements in gross margin, a $15.2 million gain on deconsolidation of the HPDI business in the formation of the joint venture with Volvo Group on June 3, 2024, reductions in operating expenditures and depreciation and amortization expense due to continuation of the HPDI business in Cespira, partially offset by higher income tax expense and foreign exchange losses in the year.
    • Adjusted EBITDA1 loss of $11.2 million, compared to a loss of $21.5 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was a loss of $1.8 million.
    • Cash and cash equivalents were $37.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Cash provided by operating activities during the year was $7.2 million.
    • Announced the closing the HPDI joint venture, Cespira, with Volvo Group, working together to accelerate the commercialization and global adoption of the HPDI™ fuel system technology for long-haul and off-road applications.

    1 Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation is a non-GAAP measure. Please refer to GAAP and NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES in Westport’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the reconciliation.

    Consolidated Results            
    ($ in millions, except per share amounts)     Over / (Under)
    %    		     Over / (Under)
    %
      4Q24 4Q23 FY24 FY23
    Revenue $75.1 $87.2 (14)% $302.3 $331.8   (9)%  
    Gross Profit(2) 14.3 8.0 79% 57.6 48.9   18%  
    Gross Margin(2) 19% 9% — 19% 15%   —  
    Income (loss) from Investments Accounted for by the Equity Method(1) (2.0) 0.1 (2,100)% (5.4) 0.8   (775)%  
    Net Loss (10.1) (13.9) 27% (21.8) (49.7)   56%  
    Net Loss per Share – Basic (0.59) (0.81) 27% (1.27) (2.90)   56%  
    Net Loss per Share – Diluted (0.59) (0.81) 27% (1.27) (2.90)   56%  
    EBITDA (2) (6.1) (10.9) 44% (6.6) (35.9)   82%  
    Adjusted EBITDA (2) (1.8) (10.0) 82% (11.2) (21.5)   48%  

    (1)This includes income or loss primarily from our investments in Cespira and Minda Westport Technologies Limited
    (2)Gross margins, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. Please refer to GAAP and NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES for the reconciliation to equivalent GAAP measures and limitations on the use of such measures.

    Segment Information

    Light-Duty Segment

    Revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 was $68.0 million and $262.2 million, respectively, compared with $63.4 million and $263.6 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023.

    Light-Duty revenue increased by $4.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the prior year. This was primarily driven by a significant increase in sales of LPG fuel system solutions to a global Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) for their Euro 6 vehicle applications in our light-duty OEM business and an increase in delayed OEM business, partially offset by lower revenues in other business lines.

    Light-Duty revenue decreased by $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year. This was primarily driven by a decrease in sales in our delayed OEM business in the first half of 2024, decrease in sales to customers in developing markets, and our fuel storage business. This was partially offset by the aforementioned increase in sales of LPG fuel system solutions in our light-duty OEM business.

    Gross profit increased by $2.0 million to $14.0 million, or 21% of revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2024, as compared to $12.0 million, or 19% of revenue, for the same prior year period. This was primarily driven by a change in sales mix with an increase in sales to European customers and a reduction in sales to developing regions along with an increase in sales volumes.

    Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $6.3 million to $55.4 million, or 21% of revenue, compared to $49.1 million, or 19% of revenue, for the prior year. This was primarily driven by a change in sales mix with an increase in sales to European customers and a reduction in sales to developing regions. The segment’s manufacturing operations continues to implement operational improvement initiatives lowering its manufacturing overhead costs in the year. For the year ended December 31, 2024, Light-Duty recorded inventory write-downs of $2.1 million related to our restructuring activities in India for $0.9 million and $0.5 million related to components for markets that we have exited, and the remainder due to our periodic analysis of excess and obsolete inventory.

    Westport began supplying its Euro 6 LPG fuel system to its global OEM customer in early 2024. This production supply agreement has been instrumental in improving revenue and delivering higher margins, which more than offset the decline in revenue as a result of a key delayed OEM customer continuing to work through their inventory. Production for the Euro 7 LPG fuel system for the same global OEM customer is anticipated to begin mid-to-late 2025.

    High-Pressure Controls & Systems Segment

    Revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 was $1.4 million and $8.8 million, respectively, compared with $2.5 million and $12.0 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023. Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $1.1 million compared to the prior year period. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased $3.2 million compared to the prior year.

    The decrease in revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year periods continues to be primarily driven by the general slowdown in hydrogen infrastructure development, leading to a slower adoption of automotive and industrial applications powered by hydrogen.

    Gross profit for the three months ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $0.4 million to nominal, or 0% of revenue, compared to $0.4 million, or 16% of revenue, for the same prior year period. This was primarily driven by lower sales volumes, increasing the per unit manufacturing costs in the quarter.

    Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased by $1.3 million to $1.5 million, or 17% of revenue, compared to $2.8 million, or 23% of revenue, for the prior year. This was primarily driven by decrease in sales volume for the year. The segment recorded $0.8 million in inventory write-downs in the year due to slow-moving inventory.

    Heavy-Duty OEM Segment

    Revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 includes revenue until the closing of the transaction to form Cespira, which occurred on June 3, 2024. Revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 was $5.7 million and $31.3 million, respectively, compared with $21.3 million and $56.2 million for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023.

    The decrease in revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024 is a result of the continuation of the business in Cespira. Refer to the “Selected Cespira Financial Information” for more information on the performance of the business. Revenue earned in the three months ended December 31, 2024 reflects revenue earned from a transitional services agreement in place with Cespira that we expect to expire by the end of Q2 2026.

    Gross profit for the three months ended December 31, 2024 increased by $4.7 million to $0.3 million, or 5% of revenue, compared to negative $4.4 million or negative 21% of revenue, for the three months ended December 31, 2023. The Heavy-Duty OEM segment was impacted by a $4.5 million inventory write-down in the prior year period.

    Gross profit increased by $3.7 million to $0.7 million, or 2% of revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to negative $3.0 million, or negative 5% of revenue, for the prior year. Heavy-Duty OEM recorded $0.4 million in inventory write-downs in the year. The segment was impacted by the aforementioned inventory write-down of $4.5 million in the prior year.

    Selected Cespira Financial Information

    We account for Cespira using the equity method of accounting. However, due to its significance to our long-term strategy and operating results, we disclose certain financial information from Cespira in notes 8 and 22 in our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the period from June 3, 2024 to December 31, 2024.

    The following table sets forth a summary of the financial results of Cespira for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and the period between June 3, 2024 to December 31, 2024:

      (in millions of U.S. dollars)   Three months ended December 31,   Change   Year ended December 31,   Change
        2024   2023   $   %   2024   2023   $   %
    Revenue   $ 22.8     $ —     $ 22.8     — %   $ 43.1     $ —     $ 43.1     — %
    Gross profit     1.4       —       1.4     — %     0.5       —       0.5     — %
    Gross margin1     6 %     — %             1 %     — %        
    Operating loss     (4.8 )     —       (4.8 )   — %     (12.1 )     —       (12.1 )   — %
    Net loss attributable to the Company     (2.6 )     —       (2.6 )   — %     (6.7 )     —       (6.7 )   — %

    1Gross margin is non-GAAP financial measure. See the section ‘Non-GAAP Financial Measures’ for explanations and discussions of these non-GAAP financial measures or ratios.

    Cespira revenue was $22.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. For the prior year period, the Heavy-Duty OEM segment, which included our HPDI business, earned $21.3 million. This was primarily driven by an increase in HPDI fuel systems sold in the period.

    Cespira gross profit was $1.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. For the prior year period, the Heavy-Duty OEM segment had negative $4.4 million in gross profit primarily driven by the aforementioned $4.5 million inventory write-down in the prior year period.

    Cespira incurred operating losses of $4.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024. For the prior year quarter, the Heavy-Duty OEM had operating losses of $9.3 million. Aside from the aforementioned inventory write-down in the prior year period, the Heavy-Duty OEM had comparable operating losses compared to Cespira.

    As previously announced, Westport and Weichai are parties to a technology development and supply agreement which contains an obligation for Weichai to order, and Westport to supply, certain volumes of HPDI fuel system components prior to December 31, 2024. Significant orders for HPDI fuel system components against this agreement were not received prior to year-end. Westport and Cespira continue to collaborate with Weichai Power Co. Ltd (“Weichai Power”) on an HPDI fuel system equipped version of the Weichai Power engine platforms. The parties are currently discussing the next stages of this work and the obligations of each party going forward.

    Liquidity and Going Concern

    In addition, as disclosed in Westport Management Discussion & Analysis, for the year ended December 31, 2024, we continue to sustain operating losses and use cash to support our business activities. Cash provided by operating activities was $7.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 was primarily driven by reductions in working capital.

    As at December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents of $37.6 million and long-term debt of $33.7 million, of which $14.7 million was current. Based on our projected capital expenditures, debt servicing obligations and operating requirements under our current business plan, we are projecting that our cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient to fund our operations through the next twelve months from the date of the issuance of this MD&A. These conditions raise substantial doubt about Westport’s ability continue as a going concern within one year after the date our December 31, 2024 Consolidated Financial Statements are issued.

    We plan to improve our liquidity position by selling certain subsidiaries in Europe and Argentina which comprise substantially all the assets and liabilities reported within the Light-Duty segment and continue our cost reduction initiatives. On March 30, 2025, we entered into a share purchase agreement (“SPA”) with a wholly-owned investment vehicle of Heliaca Investments Coöperatief U.A. (“Heliaca Investments”), a Netherlands based investment firm supported by Ramphastos Investment Management B.V. a prominent Dutch venture capital and private equity firm, to sell all of the issued and outstanding shares of Westport Fuel Systems Italia S.r.l for a base purchase price of $73.1 million (€67.7 million), subject to certain adjustments and potential earnouts of up to an estimated $6.5 million (€6.0 million) if certain conditions are achieved, in accordance with the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement. If we are successful in closing the sale, we will receive sufficient cash to fund our operations for the next twelve months and alleviate the risk of substantial doubt identified. As of the date of issuance of our December 31, 2024 financial statements, we are seeking shareholder approval of the plan to complete the sale of these businesses to the buyer. As such, there can be no assurances that Westport will be successful in obtaining sufficient funding. Accordingly, we concluded under the accounting standards that these plans do not alleviate the substantial doubt about Westport’s ability to continue as a going concern.

    Divestment of the Light-Duty Business and 2025 Outlook

    Westport recently announced the proposed divestment of its Light-Duty business, which includes the light-duty OEM, delayed OEM, and independent aftermarket businesses (the “Transaction”). The Transaction is designed to focus the Company’s strategy and streamline its operations allowing Westport to direct its energy on solution to address hard to decarbonize sectors like long-haul, heavy-duty trucking and off-road applications that can take advantage of Cespira and our High-Pressure Controls & Systems technology – where Westport sees the largest opportunities to grow and where the Company has a unique and differentiated offering generating interest with customers as the world transitions to a more practical and easier to adopt approach to decarbonization.

    Highlights of the Transaction include:

    • Provides immediate up front proceeds to alleviate liquidity concerns, strengthening the balance sheet and funds near-term growth in Cespira and the High-Pressure Controls & Systems business;
    • Brings forward more cash today than the Light-Duty business was projected to earn over 5-years on an undiscounted cash basis; and
    • Enables management to focus exclusively on the higher growth HPDI and high-pressure segments.

    In light of the evolving market and regulatory environment, over the long term, the Light-Duty business’ ability to grow LPG / CNG sales in developed markets is expected to continue facing increased competition from pure electrification or petrol – electrification hybrids.

    The base purchase price of the Transaction is $73.1 million (€67.7 million), subject to certain adjustments and potential earnouts of up to an additional $6.5 million (€6.0 million) if certain conditions are achieved, in accordance with the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement. The purchaser is a wholly-owned investment vehicle of Heliaca Investments Coöperatief U.A. (“Heliaca Investments”), a Netherlands based investment firm supported by Ramphastos Investment Management B.V. a prominent Dutch venture capital and private equity firm.

    Net proceeds from the transaction are to be used to bolster the balance sheet, fund organic growth opportunities through Cespira and High-Pressure Controls & Systems over the near term as well as opportunistic bolt on acquisitions. The Transaction ultimately eliminates future restructuring costs required by the Italian operations in the light-duty business.

    Westport is shifting to a smaller, more focused organization, that is positioned to provide solutions to decarbonize challenging segments of the mobility and industrial markets.​ Westport has 30 years of experience delivering component solutions and developing HPDI fuel technology​. We are focused on scaling our alternative fuel-based solutions, including advancements in CNG, RNG, and hydrogen systems, while navigating a rapidly evolving transportation landscape.

    The Company anticipates that the closing of the transaction will occur late in Q2 2025, subject to receiving shareholder approval.

    Conference call

    Westport has scheduled a conference call for Monday, March 31, 2025, at 10:30 am Pacific Time (1:30 pm Eastern Time) to discuss these results. To access the conference call please register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI1ba7402b85a5491292e48354a2e80b90. 

    The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed through the Westport website at https://investors.wfsinc.com/. 

    Participants may register up to 60 minutes before the event by clicking on the call link and completing the online registration form. Upon registration, the user will receive dial-in info and a unique PIN, along with an email confirming the details.

    The webcast will be archived on Westport’s website at https://investors.wfsinc.com. 

    Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis

    To view Westport full financials for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024, please visit https://investors.wfsinc.com/financials/. 

    About Westport Fuel Systems

    At Westport Fuel Systems, we are driving innovation to power a cleaner tomorrow. We are a leading supplier of advanced fuel delivery components and systems for clean, low-carbon fuels such as natural gas, renewable natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to the global transportation industry. Our technology delivers the performance and fuel efficiency required by transportation applications and the environmental benefits that address climate change and urban air quality challenges. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with operations in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, we serve our customers in approximately 70 countries with leading global transportation brands. At Westport Fuel Systems, we think ahead. For more information, visit www.wfsinc.com.

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
    This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future strategic initiatives and future growth, future of our development programs (including those relating to HPDI and Hydrogen) including testing to the HPDI fuel system, scaling our alternative fuel-based solutions, our expectations for 2025 and beyond, including the demand for our products, the future success of our business and technology strategies, shareholder approval of the Transaction, our ability to successfully close the Transaction and realize the benefits therefrom, including, potential earn-out payments, the Transaction alleviating liquidity concerns, our focus on providing affordable solutions to decarbonize long haul and heavy-duty trucking, our ability to bolster our balance sheet, fund organic growth as well as opportunistic bolt on acquisitions, a shift to operating as a smaller, more efficient organization. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on both the views of management and assumptions that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activities, performance or achievements expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include those related to our revenue growth, operating results, industry and products, changes in business strategy, shifts in market demand, the general economy including impacts due to inflation, the effects of competition and pricing pressures, conditions of and access to the capital and debt markets, solvency, governmental policies, trade restrictions or other changes to international trade agreements, sanctions and regulation including the imposition of tariffs, technology innovations, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, operating expenses, continued reduction in expenses, ability to successfully commercialize new products, the performance of our joint ventures, the availability and price of natural gas, new environmental regulations, the acceptance of and shift to natural gas and hydrogen vehicles, the relaxation or waiver of fuel emission standards, the inability of fleets to access capital or government funding to purchase natural gas vehicles, the development of competing technologies, our ability to adequately develop and deploy our technology, the actions and determinations of our joint venture and development partners, the effects and duration of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, supply chain disruptions as well as other risk factors and assumptions that may affect our actual results, performance or achievements or financial position discussed in our most recent Annual Information Form and other filings with securities regulators. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in these forward-looking statements except as required by National Instrument 51-102. The contents of any website, RSS feed or twitter account referenced in this press release are not incorporated by reference herein.

    Inquiries:
    Investor Relations
    T: +1 604-718-2046
    invest@wfsinc.com

    GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP“). These U.S. GAAP financial statements include non-cash charges and other charges and benefits that may be unusual or infrequent in nature or that we believe may make comparisons to our prior or future performance difficult. In addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Westport and certain investors use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as an indicator of our ability to generate liquidity by producing operating cash flow to fund working capital needs, service debt obligations and fund capital expenditures. Management also uses these non-GAAP measures in its review and evaluation of the financial performance of Westport. EBITDA is also frequently used by investors and analysts for valuation purposes whereby EBITDA is multiplied by a factor or “EBITDA multiple” that is based on an observed or inferred relationship between EBITDA and market values to determine the approximate total enterprise value of a company. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures also provide additional insight to investors and securities analysts as supplemental information to our U.S. GAAP results and as a basis to compare our financial performance period-over-period and to compare our financial performance with that of other companies. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures facilitate comparisons of our core operating results from period to period and to other companies by, in the case of EBITDA, removing the effects of our capital structure (net interest income on cash deposits, interest expense on outstanding debt and debt facilities), asset base (depreciation and amortization) and tax consequences. Adjusted EBITDA provides this same indicator of Westports’ EBITDA from continuing operations and removing such effects of our capital structure, asset base and tax consequences, but additionally excludes any unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses, stock-based compensation charges and other one-time impairments and costs which are not expected to be repeated in order to provide greater insight into the cash flow being produced from our operating business, without the influence of extraneous events.

    Segment Information

    EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are intended to provide additional information to investors and analysts and do not have any standardized definition under U.S. GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude the impact of cash costs of financing activities and taxes, and the effects of changes in operating working capital balances, and therefore are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under U.S. GAAP. Other companies may calculate EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently.

    Segment earnings or losses before income taxes, interest, depreciation, and amortization (“Segment EBITDA”) is the measure of segment profitability used by the Company. The accounting policies of our reportable segments are the same as those applied in our consolidated financial statements. Management prepared the financial results of the Company’s reportable segments on basis that is consistent with the manner in which Management internally disaggregates financial information to assist in making internal operating decisions. Certain common costs and expenses, primarily corporate functions, among segments differently than we would for stand-alone financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. These include certain costs and expenses of shared services, such as IT, human resources, legal, finance and supply chain management. Segment EBITDA is not defined under US GAAP and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and should not be considered a substitute for net earnings or other results reported in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of reportable segment information to consolidated statement of operations can be found in section “NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES & RECONCILIATIONS” within this press release.

      Year ended December 31, 2024
      Light-Duty   High-Pressure Controls & Systems   Heavy-Duty OEM   Cespira   Total Segment
    Revenue $ 262.2   $ 8.8     $ 31.3     $ 43.1     $ 345.4  
    Cost of revenue   206.8     7.3       30.6       42.6       287.3  
    Gross profit   55.4     1.5       0.7       0.5       58.1  
    Operating expenses:
    Research & development   13.0     4.4       4.2       4.7       26.3  
    General & administrative   19.2     1.0       3.1       5.6       28.9  
    Sales & marketing   9.9     0.7       0.9       1.0       12.5  
    Depreciation & amortization   2.6     0.3       0.1       1.7       4.7  
    Equity income   1.3     —       —       —       1.3  
    Add back: Depreciation & amortization1   6.4     0.5       1.4       3.8       12.1  
    Segment EBITDA $ 18.4   $ (4.4 )   $ (6.2 )   $ (8.7 )   $ (0.9 )
      Year ended December 31, 2023
      Light-Duty   High-Pressure Controls & Systems   Heavy-Duty OEM   Total Segment
    Revenue $ 263.6   $ 12.0     $ 56.2     $ 331.8  
    Cost of revenue   214.5     9.2       59.2       282.9  
    Gross profit   49.1     2.8       (3.0 )     48.9  
    Operating expenses:
    Research & development   13.1     3.6       9.3       26.0  
    General & administrative   21.6     1.3       6.4       29.4  
    Sales & marketing   10.6     0.7       2.9       14.1  
    Depreciation & amortization   3.2     0.2       0.4       3.8  
    Equity income   0.8     —       —       0.8  
    Add back: Depreciation & amortization1   6.7     0.4       4.9       11.9  
    Segment EBITDA $ 8.1   $ (2.6 )   $ (17.1 )   $ (11.6 )


    NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES RECONCILIATION

    Gross Profit   Years ended December 31,
    (expressed in millions of U.S. dollars)   2024   2023
    Revenue   $ 302.3   $ 331.8
    Less: Cost of revenue   $ 244.7   $ 282.9
    Gross Profit   $ 57.6   $ 48.9
    Gross Margin as a percentage of Revenue   Years ended December 31,
    (expressed in millions of U.S. dollars)     2024       2023  
    Revenue   $ 302.3     $ 331.8  
    Gross Margin   $ 57.6     $ 48.9  
    Gross Margin as a percentage of Revenue     19 %     15 %
      Year ended December 31, 2024
      Total Segment   Less: Cespira   Add: Corporate & unallocated   Total Consolidated
    Revenue $ 345.4   $ 43.1   $ —     $ 302.3  
    Cost of revenue   287.3     42.6     —       244.7  
    Gross profit   58.1     0.5     —       57.6  
    Operating expenses:
    Research & development   26.3     4.7     —       21.6  
    General & administrative   28.9     5.6     14.4       37.7  
    Sales & marketing   12.5     1.0     1.2       12.7  
    Depreciation & amortization   4.7     1.7     0.4       3.4  
    Equity income (loss)   1.3     —     (6.7 )     (5.4 )
      Year ended December 31, 2023
      Total Segment   Add: Corporate & unallocated   Total Consolidated
    Revenue $ 331.8   $ —   $ 331.8
    Cost of revenue   282.9     —     282.9
    Gross profit   48.9     —     48.9
    Operating expenses:
    Research & development   26.0     —     26.0
    General & administrative   29.4     14.8     44.2
    Sales & marketing   14.1     2.2     16.3
    Depreciation & amortization   3.8     0.5     4.3
    Equity income   0.8     —     0.8
    Reconciliation of Segment EBITDA to Loss before income taxes   Years ended December 31,
        2024       2023  
    Total Segment EBITDA   $ (0.9 )   $ (11.6 )
    Adjustments:
    Depreciation and amortization     8.7       12.5  
    Cespira’s Segment EBITDA     (8.7 )     —  
    Cespira’s equity loss     6.7       —  
    Corporate and unallocated operating expenses     15.6       17.0  
    Foreign exchange loss     6.2       4.0  
    Loss on sale of assets     0.7       —  
    Gain on deconsolidation     (15.2 )     —  
    Loss on sale of investment     0.4       —  
    Impairment of long-term investment     —       0.4  
    Loss on extinguishment of royalty payable     —       2.9  
    Interest on long-term debt and accretion of royalty payable     2.8       3.0  
    Interest and other income, net of bank charges     (1.2 )     (2.7 )
    Loss before income taxes   $ (16.9 )   $ (48.7 )
    EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA                
    Three months ended   31-Mar-23   30-Jun-23   30-Sep-23   31-Dec-23   31-Mar-24   30-Jun-24   30-Sep-24   31-Dec-24
    Income (loss) before income taxes   $         (9.7 )   $         (13.0 )   $         (12.0 )   $         (14.0 )   $         (12.9 )   $         6.8             $         (2.5 )   $         (8.3 )
    Interest expense, net             0.4                       (0.1 )             0.2                       (0.2 )             0.5                       0.5                       0.4                       0.2          
    Depreciation and amortization             3.0                       3.0                       3.2                       3.3                       3.2                       1.7                       1.8                       2.0          
    EBITDA   $         (6.3 )   $         (10.1 )   $         (8.6 )   $         (10.9 )   $         (9.2 )   $         9.0             $         (0.3 )   $         (6.1 )
    Stock based compensation (recovery)   $         0.7             $         0.8             $         (0.3 )   $         1.4             $         0.3             $         1.2             $         (0.1 )   $         —          
    Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss   $         1.1             $         2.4             $         1.4             $         (0.9 )   $         1.8             $         0.1             $         (1.1 )   $         5.4          
    Loss on extinguishment of royalty payable   $         —             $         2.9             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —          
    Severance costs   $         —             $         —             $         4.5             $         —             $         0.5             $         0.2             $         0.1             $         0.1          
    Gain on deconsolidation   $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         (13.3 )   $         —             $         (1.9 )
    Loss on sale of investment   $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         0.4             $         —          
    Restructuring costs   $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         0.8             $         0.2             $         —          
    Loss on sale of assets   $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         0.7          
    Impairment of long-term investment   $         —             $         —             $         —             $         0.4             $         —             $         —             $         —             $         —          
    Adjusted EBITDA   $         (4.5 )   $         (4.0 )   $         (3.0 )   $         (10.0 )   $         (6.6 )   $         (2.0 )   $         (0.8 )   $         (1.8 )
    WESTPORT FUEL SYSTEMS INC.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (Expressed in thousands of United States dollars, except share amounts)
    December 31, 2024 and 2023
        December 31,
          2024       2023  
    Assets        
    Current assets:        
    Cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash)   $ 37,646     $ 54,853  
    Accounts receivable     73,054       88,077  
    Inventories     53,526       67,530  
    Prepaid expenses     5,660       6,323  
    Total current assets     169,886       216,783  
    Long-term investments     39,732       4,792  
    Property, plant and equipment     41,956       69,489  
    Operating lease right-of-use assets     19,019       22,877  
    Intangible assets     5,277       6,822  
    Deferred income tax assets     9,695       11,554  
    Goodwill     2,876       3,066  
    Other long-term assets     3,180       20,365  
    Total assets   $ 291,621     $ 355,748  
    Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity        
    Current liabilities:        
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities   $ 88,123     $ 95,374  
    Current portion of operating lease liabilities     2,624       3,307  
    Short-term debt     —       15,156  
    Current portion of long-term debt     14,660       14,108  
    Current portion of warranty liability     3,861       6,892  
    Total current liabilities     109,268       134,837  
    Long-term operating lease liabilities     16,433       19,300  
    Long-term debt     19,067       30,957  
    Warranty liability     1,456       1,614  
    Deferred income tax liabilities     4,029       3,477  
    Other long-term liabilities     4,343       5,115  
    Total liabilities     154,596       195,300  
    Shareholders’ equity:        
    Share capital:        
    Unlimited common and preferred shares, no par value        
    17,282,934 (2023 – 17,174,502) common shares issued and outstanding     1,245,805       1,244,539  
    Other equity instruments     9,472       9,672  
    Additional paid-in-capital     11,516       11,516  
    Accumulated deficit     (1,096,275 )     (1,074,434 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss     (33,493 )     (30,845 )
    Total shareholders’ equity     137,025       160,448  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 291,621     $ 355,748  
    WESTPORT FUEL SYSTEMS INC.  
    Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss)  
    (Expressed in thousands of United States dollars, except share and per share amounts)  
    Years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023  
        Years ended December 31,
          2024       2023  
    Revenue   $ 302,299     $ 331,799  
    Cost of revenue     244,708       282,862  
    Gross profit     57,591       48,937  
    Operating expenses:        
    Research and development     21,587       26,003  
    General and administrative     37,679       44,234  
    Sales and marketing     12,676       16,278  
    Foreign exchange loss     6,248       3,974  
    Depreciation and amortization     3,367       4,299  
    Loss on sale of assets     703       32  
          82,260       94,820  
    Loss from operations     (24,669 )     (45,883 )
             
    Income from investments accounted for by the equity method     (5,402 )     780  
    Gain on deconsolidation     15,198       —  
    Loss on sale of investment     (352 )     —  
    Loss on extinguishment of royalty payable     —       (2,909 )
    Interest on long-term debt and accretion of royalty payable     (2,797 )     (2,981 )
    Impairment of long-term investment     —       (413 )
    Interest and other income, net of bank charges     1,161       2,690  
    Loss before income taxes     (16,861 )     (48,716 )
    Income tax expense (recovery):        
    Current     3,183       1,786  
    Deferred     1,797       (784 )
          4,980       1,002  
    Net loss for the year     (21,841 )     (49,718 )
    Other comprehensive income (loss):        
    Cumulative translation adjustment     (2,535 )     4,473  
    Ownership share of equity method investments’ other comprehensive loss   $ (113 )   $ —  
        $ (2,648 )   $ 4,473  
    Comprehensive loss   $ (24,489 )   $ (45,245 )
    Loss per share:        
    Net loss per share – basic and diluted   $ (1.27 )   $ (2.90 )
    Weighted average common shares outstanding:        
    Basic and diluted     17,248,090       17,173,016  
    WESTPORT FUEL SYSTEMS INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (Expressed in thousands of United States dollars)
    Years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
        Years ended December 31,
          2024       2023  
             
    Operating activities:        
    Net loss for the year   $ (21,841 )   $ (49,718 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:        
    Depreciation and amortization     8,661       12,490  
    Stock-based compensation expense     1,066       1,727  
    Unrealized foreign exchange loss     6,248       3,974  
    Deferred income tax expense (recovery)     1,797       (784 )
    Loss (income) from investments accounted for by the equity method     5,402       (780 )
    Interest on long-term debt and accretion of royalty payable     74       9  
    Impairment of long-term investment     —       413  
    Change in inventory write-downs to net realizable value     3,283       7,066  
    Gain on deconsolidation     (15,198 )     —  
    Loss on sale of investment     352       —  
    Net loss on sale of assets     627       32  
    Loss on extinguishment of royalty payable     —       2,909  
    Change in bad debt expense     282       56  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
    Accounts receivable     25,567       5,340  
    Inventories     (6,836 )     9,481  
    Prepaid expenses     (153 )     2,869  
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities     2,233       (2,448 )
    Warranty liability     (4,380 )     (5,829 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities     7,184       (13,193 )
    Investing activities:        
    Purchase of property, plant and equipment     (16,923 )     (15,574 )
    Proceeds on sale of investments     29,994       —  
    Proceeds on sale of assets     998       161  
    Dividends received from investments accounted for by the equity method     297       —  
    Capital contributions to investments accounted for by the equity method     (9,900 )     —  
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities     4,466       (15,413 )
    Financing activities:        
    Drawings on operating lines of credit and long-term facilities     19,336       46,367  
    Repayment of operating lines of credit and long-term facilities     (44,546 )     (39,904 )
    Payment of royalty payable     —       (8,687 )
    Net cash used in financing activities     (25,210 )     (2,224 )
    Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents     (3,647 )     (501 )
    Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents     (17,207 )     (31,331 )
    Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year (including restricted cash)     54,853       86,184  
    Cash and cash equivalents, end of year (including restricted cash)     37,646       54,853  

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Convenient connections: ITA Airways has moved into the Lufthansa Group terminal areas in Frankfurt and Munich

    Source: Lufthansa Group

    The next milestone in the integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group: With the start of the 2025 summer flight schedule today, all ITA Airways flights in Frankfurt and Munich will be handled in the Lufthansa Group terminals. This means that ITA Airways and the other Lufthansa Group airlines are “under one roof” at all the Group’s hubs, significantly reducing transfer times for passengers. 

    The move at the German hubs last night included the entire ITA Airways handling operation, from check-in, gates, service desks and baggage reclaim. 

    In Frankfurt, the Italian airline moved from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1, which is used by the Lufthansa Group. Since ITA Airways will also be flying from gate areas A and B in the future, passengers will benefit from significantly shorter distances and thus shorter transfer times. ITA Airways passengers can also reach the Deutsche Bahn long-distance train station with ICE high-speed train connections quickly and easily from Terminal 1. 

    In Munich, ITA Airways moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and its satellite. This terminal is operated by a joint venture between Lufthansa and Munich Airport. As of today, ITA Airways passengers will therefore be using the terminal that has been awarded five stars by Skytrax multiple times. 

    At the other Lufthansa Group hubs in Brussels, Rome, Vienna and Zurich, all Lufthansa Group airlines are already under one roof. For example, there was already a seamless transfer process for customers between SWISS and ITA Airways at Zurich Airport. In addition, the airlines’ check-in desks have already been placed next to each other at the majority of jointly served airports in recent weeks.

    Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa Group, says: “This move is an important milestone in the integration of ITA Airways into the Lufthansa Group. Our customers will be able to transfer faster and more comfortably thanks to shorter distances and will have more comfort throughout their entire journey. This also includes the shared use of lounges. This integration gives ITA Airways passengers access to the enormous advantages of the Lufthansa Group, with all its premium airlines and a worldwide route network. It also gives passengers more direct access to numerous destinations to the Italian market. In just two months, we have succeeded in offering our passengers a seamless premium travel experience.” 

    With the summer flight schedule valid from today, ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group Airlines are also launching their joint codeshare flights, which have been offered to customers for several weeks. The route networks of ITA Airways and the other network airlines of the Lufthansa Group are now aligned and connected and can therefore be combined in a single booking. Passengers can choose from over 100 new codeshare connections within Europe, operated by both ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti). Lufthansa Group passengers can reach though code-sharing with ITA Airways the Italian airports of Alghero (AHO), Lampedusa (LMP), Pantelleria (PNL) and Reggio Calabria (REG). With a Lufthansa codeshare ticket, passengers can also travel to Tripoli in Libya again. More than 50,000 of these combination tickets have already been sold in the first three weeks.

    Reciprocal Lounge access possible with immediate effect 
    From today, ITA Airways passengers can also use the approximately 130 lounges of the Lufthansa Group and its partners on their travels. From today, the lounges of ITA Airways are also open to Lufthansa Group passengers from today. Frequent flyers have been benefiting from expanded options since 03 February 2025. Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles and points for their frequent flyer status on all flights operated by ITA Airways. Conversely, Volare customers can also earn and redeem points with Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. 
     

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney

    ESA / Gaia / DPAC, CC BY-SA

    On Thursday 27 March, the European Space Agency (ESA) sent its last messages to the Gaia Spacecraft. They told Gaia to shut down its communication systems and central computer and said goodbye to this amazing space telescope.

    Gaia has been the most successful ESA space mission ever, so why did they turn Gaia off? What did Gaia achieve? And perhaps most importantly, why was it my favourite space telescope?

    Running on empty

    Gaia was retired for a simple reason: after more than 11 years in space, it ran out of the cold gas propellant it needed to keep scanning the sky.

    The telescope did its last observation on 15 January 2025. The ESA team then performed testing for a few weeks, before telling Gaia to leave its home at a point in space called L2 and start orbiting the Sun away from Earth.

    L2 is one of five “Lagrangian points” around Earth and the Sun where gravitational conditions make for a nice, stable orbit. L2 is located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth on the “dark side”, opposite the Sun.

    L2 is a highly prized location because it’s a stable spot to orbit, it’s close enough to Earth for easy communication, and spacecraft can use the Sun behind them for solar power while looking away from the Sun out into space.

    It’s also too far away from Earth to send anyone on a repair mission, so once your spacecraft gets there it’s on its own.

    Keeping L2 clear

    L2 currently hosts the James Webb Space Telescope (operated by the USA, Europe and Canada), the European Euclid mission, the Chinese Chang’e 6 orbiter and the joint Russian-German Spektr-RG observatory. Since L2 is such a key location for space missions, it’s essential to keep it clear of debris and retired spacecraft.

    A final status update from Gaia.
    ESA, CC BY-SA

    Gaia used its thrusters for the last time to push itself away from L2, and is now drifting around the Sun in a “retirement orbit” where it won’t get in anybody’s way.

    As part of the retirement process, the Gaia team wrote farewell messages into the craft’s software and sent it the names of around 1,500 people who worked on Gaia over the years.

    What is Gaia?

    Gaia looks a bit like a spinning top hat in space. Its main mission was to produce a detailed, three-dimensional map of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

    To do this, it measured the precise positions and motions of 1.46 billion objects in space. Gaia also measured brightnesses and variability and those data were used to provide temperatures, gravitational parameters, stellar types and more for millions of stars. One of the key pieces of information Gaia provided was the distance to millions of stars.

    A cosmic measuring tape

    I’m a radio astronomer, which means I use radio telescopes here on Earth to explore the Universe. Radio light is the longest wavelength of light, invisible to human eyes, and I use it to investigate magnetic stars.

    But even though I’m a radio astronomer and Gaia was an optical telescope, looking at the same wavelengths of light our eyes can see, I use Gaia data almost every single day.

    I used it today to find out how far away, how bright, and how fast a star was. Before Gaia, I would probably never have known how far away that star was.

    This is essential for figuring out how bright the stars I study really are, which helps me understand the physics of what’s happening in and around them.

    A huge success

    Gaia has contributed to thousands of articles in astronomy journals. Papers released by the Gaia collaboration have been cited well over 20,000 times in total.

    Gaia has produced too many science results to share here. To take just one example, Gaia improved our understanding of the structure of our own galaxy by showing that it has multiple spiral arms that are less sharply defined than we previously thought.

    Not really the end for Gaia

    It’s difficult to express how revolutionary Gaia has been for astronomy, but we can let the numbers speak for themselves. Around five astronomy journal articles are published every day that use Gaia data, making Gaia the most successful ESA mission ever. And that won’t come to a complete stop when Gaia retires.

    The Gaia collaboration has published three data releases so far. This is where the collaboration performs the processing and checks on the data, adds some important analysis and releases all of that in one big hit.

    And luckily, there are two more big data releases with even more information to come. The fourth data release is expected in mid to late 2026. The fifth and final data release, containing all of the Gaia data from the whole mission, will come out sometime in the 2030s.

    This article is my own small tribute to a telescope that changed astronomy as we know it. So I will end by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has ever worked on this amazing space mission, whether it was engineering and operations, turning the data into the amazing resource it is, or any of the other many jobs that make a mission successful. And thank you to those who continue to work on the data as we speak.

    Finally, thank you to my favourite space telescope. Goodbye, Gaia, I’ll miss you.

    Laura Nicole Driessen is an ambassador for the Orbit Centre of Imagination at the Rise and Shine Kindergarten, in Sydney’s Inner West.

    – ref. The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down – https://theconversation.com/the-best-space-telescope-you-never-heard-of-just-shut-down-253343

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nigerians having babies abroad: women explain their reasons

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas, Associate professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

    Nigerian women make up a significant proportion of foreign women giving birth in several countries.

    A study done in Calgary in Canada found 24.5% of foreign women identified as having travelled abroad to give birth were from Nigeria.

    Research in Chicago in the US found the majority (88%) of those seeking obstetric care in a hospital were Nigerian citizens.

    In the UK, the phenomenon is labelled by some as the “Lagos Shuttle”, highlighting the high number of Nigerian women said to be so-called “birth tourists”.

    It is estimated that over 23% of pregnant Nigerian women would like to travel abroad to give birth.

    Why is this? As medical and legal scholars we asked women who had travelled overseas for the birth of their babies to share their experiences.

    Existing research has not done enough to capture their voices, which matter in framing service delivery and immigration policies.

    We reported findings from this first-of-its-kind study in PLOS Global Public Health.

    As there is no registry of foreign pregnant women who gave birth abroad, it is a challenge to find them. For our study, we used social media platforms to recruit 27 Nigerian women who had given birth to at least one child abroad and conducted in-depth interviews with them to understand their motivations and experiences.

    Why women do it

    Of all recruited, 23 gave birth to at least one child in the US, and four gave birth to at least one child in the UK. One woman each gave birth in Canada, Ireland and Zambia.

    All the women in the study had at least a university degree.

    We found that reasons for seeking childbirth abroad varied.

    Some women were motivated by both perceived and experienced gains of foreign citizenship, which they believed might give their children a good education, a better living environment, and easier access to jobs and loans.

    However, it was not all about citizenship. Another motivation was to benefit from “better healthcare”, especially for those who had either had bad experiences during previous births in Nigeria or were concerned because they were carrying what they called a “precious baby”, for example after years of infertility.

    Many women in the study also sought childbirth abroad because it is where they had loved ones to support them through pregnancy, childbirth and having a newborn – a motivation not previously reported.

    Indeed, the number of Nigerians living in the US has increased over time and as of 2023, over 760,000 Americans identify as being of Nigerian origin. Essentially, more than one in 10 African immigrants in the US are Nigerians.

    Some Nigerian women planned to give birth abroad long before they even got pregnant. Others were encouraged to do so by family, friends or colleagues.

    Some decided to seek childbirth abroad after their income increased.

    Mostly positive

    Childbirth abroad is mostly a positive experience, but some women reported feeling treated badly because they were “self-paying” patients, “black”, or not native to the country.

    While travel for many was mostly uneventful, some experienced life-threatening situations en route to their destination or upon arrival.

    They found the cost of care to be exorbitant, but many reported that they were able to pay it off in instalments, or negotiated rebates or discounts from hospitals. A separate study showed that four in five foreign pregnant women who gave birth in a Canadian hospital, including some from Nigeria, had no outstanding bill after discharge.

    In our study, those who struggled to pay said they incurred unexpected costs due to complications that resulted in caesarean sections or other surgical procedures.

    Support during childbirth abroad was considered crucial and included loved ones from Nigeria who would travel with the pregnant woman to their destination.

    Push and pull syndrome

    With an ongoing exodus of Nigerians out of the country due to push and pull factors, known locally as jàpa, it is more likely that there will be more Nigerian pregnant women who have their support system abroad.

    Countries like Nigeria should do more to improve the quality of care obtainable in their health systems.

    Clearly motivations vary, and it is not always about birthright citizenship. While most women have mostly positive experiences, some have negative experiences that require attention and safeguards. For example, care guidelines in host countries specifically assuring good quality care for all pregnant women, including women who have crossed the border to seek childbirth.

    The return of US president Donald Trump makes the need to install these safeguards particularly urgent. In his first term he ordered the United States Department of State to discontinue the approval of visas for pregnant women.

    In his second term he has focused on abolishing birthright citizenship altogether.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Nigerians having babies abroad: women explain their reasons – https://theconversation.com/nigerians-having-babies-abroad-women-explain-their-reasons-251067

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK E-petition debate relating to rules for political donations – Monday 31 March 2025.

    Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)

    The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate relating to rules for political donations.

    Irene Campbell MP has been asked by the Committee to open the debate. The Government will send a Minister to respond.

    Read the petition:
    https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/707189

    Find petitions you agree with, and sign them: https://petition.parliament.uk/

    What are petition debates?

    Petition debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.

    Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on the issues raised in the petition at the end of the debate.

    The Petitions Committee can only schedule debates on petitions to parliament started on petition.parliament.uk

    Find out more about how petition debates work: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/content/194347/how-petitions-debates-work/

    Stay up-to-date
    Follow the Committee on Twitter for real-time updates on its work: https://www.twitter.com/hocpetitions

    Thumbnail image ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au9ERa9wE1c

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: FOCUS ON: Efficiency and pooled funding

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    UNDRR’s operations are guided by the goal of achieving the highest impact by strategically allocating resources, streamlining processes and fostering a collaborative environment with implementing partners to access specialist skills as needed. 

    UNDRR ensures that every initiative delivers measurable results, which are reported in Annex 1 to the Annual Report. UNDRR has a dedicated team consisting of staff, Junior Professional Officers, secondees from national governments (Non Reimbursable Loans) and United Nations Volunteers and interns who work together seaLearn more about UNDRR’s work from 2024 in the Annual Report.mlessly, leveraging diverse expertise to swiftly and effectively deliver on a broad work programme. Through its unwavering focus on accountability, establishing long-term contracts to ensure that recurrent services provide the best value for money, and continuous improvement, UNDRR maximizes the reach and benefits of its programmes, ultimately driving sustainable change through its work.

    UNDRR has worked with several pooled funding mechanisms and partnerships to increase effectiveness and efficiency. CREWS was an important partner to UNDRR in 2024, bringing together UNDRR, WMO and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery to enhance EWS. The Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund brought together UNDRR, the World Health Organization and the International Organization for Migration for work in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency made a contribution to UNDRR for EW4ALL, and UNDRR shared a portion with the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to ensure that all four pillars could accelerate work in a coordinated manner. The Netherlands used the same formula for the Water at the Heart of Climate Action initiative, and Denmark made a contribution to WMO that was shared with the other pillar leads, including UNDRR. In short, 2024 saw significant efforts to enhancing efficiency and impact on the ground through working with key partners in a joined-up way.

    Back to the UNDRR 2024 Annual Report

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: FOCUS ON: Regional platforms raising the bar on DRR financing

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Asia and the Pacific

    The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on DRR was held in Manila, the Philippines, with 7,000 ministers and participants in attendance. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who opened the event, emphasized funding as a priority issue of the conference and called for greater access for developing and least developed countries to financial resources. “We must significantly increase our investments and develop financing mechanisms in disaster risk reduction,” he said.

    Throughout the week, participants engaged in discussions on key themes, including financing, inclusion and local-level engagement for disaster and climate resilience. The official deliberations were accompanied by major events and exhibitions, “Are You Ready? and Tsunami: Sea Change for Resilience”, engaging thousands of children and youth in prevention, as well as awards on women’s leadership in DRR.

    Africa

    After three days of discussions, the Ninth Session of the Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Namibia concluded with the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration on advancing the Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 in Africa. This ambitious document sets the direction for the next three years, reinforcing Africa’s commitment to reducing disaster risks and building resilience across the continent.

    Financing efforts were at the heart of the discussions. The Windhoek Declaration calls on Member States to increase budgetary allocation and establish innovative financing solutions, with support from regional and international partners to access funding, including for loss and damages and the EW4ALL initiative.

    The Windhoek Declaration also reiterates the call for inclusivity, especially in legislation and policies, but also through better national systems for gathering disaggregated data. The event called for mainstreaming of DRR in development programmes, and aligned DRR strategies with sustainable development and climate resilience policies, ensuring coherent and comprehensive approaches across all levels of governance as climate-related disasters continue to grow.

    Europe

    The 2024 Europe and Central Asia Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Budva, Montenegro, bringing together over 700 participants, including ministers, civil protection leaders and diverse stakeholders from 55 United Nations Member States.

    In a show of unity, Member States endorsed a political declaration that committed to strengthening DRR and addressing the growing impacts of climate change in the region, ahead of COP29.

    They acknowledged the escalating risks across the region, exacerbated by climate change, economic vulnerabilities and geopolitical tensions, and committed to four targeted actions in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction Roadmap 2021–2040: integrated action on DRR and climate resilience; inclusive risk governance; increased financing for resilience; and enhanced EWS.

    Additionally, the Platform launched the Montenegro Call for Action on Earthquake Risk, aimed at strengthening regional cooperation, improving technical capacity, and driving investments towards earthquake resilience.

    Outcomes from these events, and the Regional Platform in the Arab States, will all feed into the Global Platform in Geneva in June 2025.

    Back to the UNDRR 2024 Annual Report

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNDRR 2024 Annual Report

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    02

    Strategies, governance and capacity-building

    Target E of the Sendai Framework calls for a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local DRR strategies by 2020.

    Though a strategy is not the end goal, UNDRR has found that countries with national DRR strategies tend to have more robust DRR governance and a higher prevalence of EWS, demonstrating the value of investment in this fundamental DRR pillar.

    The Government of Jordan has developed its National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2023–2030) in a participatory manner involving different governmental entities, ministries and municipalities, and the Public Security Directorate (Civil Defense), with support from UNDRR and the United Nations Development Programme country office. The strategy also integrates biological hazard risk reduction with the aim of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Within the framework of Jordan’s efforts to deal with increasing threats and risks, the National Centre for Security and Crises Management has played a major role in developing two integrated risk registers; the national risk register and the local register for governorates. Both registers aim to improve the kingdom’s capacity to respond to disasters through accurate identification of risks, and enhanced coordination between the local and national levels for improved risk governance.

    Through this effective coordination between the national and local risk registers, Jordan has made great strides in reducing risks and enhancing community resilience, making the kingdom a role model for disaster management and risk reduction at the regional level.

    Morocco, too, has taken concrete steps to strengthen its risk governance. It established the Directorate of Natural Risk Management under the Ministry of Interior as its national DRR coordination mechanism. Morocco also established the National Risk Observatory to collect, analyse and share data on natural hazard risk. Furthermore, Morocco established a National Risk Forecasting Centre for monitoring and alerting, and an Operational Risk Anticipation Centre for forecasting, alerting and risk management assistance systems. Another successful project comprised the generalization of coverage of the entire national territory using multiscale and multi-hazard risk maps (for natural hazards).

    Albania’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy demonstrates widespread integration of concerns related to climate change and triggers the engagement of new sectors, particularly tourism.

    The vision statement explicitly brings together DRR, climate change and sustainable development using the language of resilience, while the document includes a detailed plan of action for DRR implementation that integrates institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

    In particular, it articulates the implementation of the ALBAdapt project Climate Services for a Resilient Albania. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment is identified as the lead institution for implementation of a set of activities that offer compounding co-benefits for both DRR and climate change adaptation, including the development of a people-centred MHEWS, the creation of a fully functional and well-resourced National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

    This integration is supported by articulations elsewhere in the country’s strategic profile, with the National Adaptation Plan 2019 including a priority area entitled “upgrading civil defence preparedness and DRR”. Elsewhere, the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Albania (2023–2028) addresses risks ranging from national security threats to climate change impacts, emphasizing resilience to disasters, while the National Strategy for Development and European Integration (NSDEI) 2022–2030 includes the integration of DRR and climate change adaptation planning among its priorities.

    National DRR strategies are the bedrock for multi-hazard risk governance and the achievement of Sendai Framework targets. These strategies help transform risk knowledge into actions and programmes that save lives and livelihoods. In addition, they serve as guides for mobilizing resources, delegating roles and responsibilities within government, and identifying entry points for non-governmental stakeholder engagement, all leading to more inclusive, sustainable development.

    With 131 countries now reporting having national DRR strategies, and 30 receiving technical support from UNDRR to develop them, this is just a snapshot of the progress being made globally in this important area.

    Under Brazil’s presidency, the Group of 20 (G20) recognized DRR as a critical component of economic resilience. Collaborating closely with UNDRR, Brazil facilitated the adoption of the first-ever G20 Ministerial Declaration on DRR. This landmark declaration emphasized the necessity of accelerating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s implementation, aiming to reduce disaster losses by 2030, and called for the development of high-level principles for DRR financing. The work of the G20 DRR Working Group, with UNDRR as the lead knowledge partner, further reflected a comprehensive approach to integrating DRR into economic and social policies.

    UNDRR’s capacity-building continues to go from strength to strength, with nearly 10,000 DRR practitioners being trained in 2024, 77 per cent of whom reported having a better understanding of DRR as a result. At one such workshop in the Global Education and Training Institute in Incheon, Republic of Korea, a remarkable collaboration unfolded – a pioneering workshop uniting experts from UNDRR and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to empower government stakeholders from Mongolia and Bhutan to mobilize relevant partners and stakeholders and obtain funding for their DRR measures. This joint training begins a process of transforming the daunting challenges of climate change into opportunities for proactive DRR.

    Delegates were empowered by not only technical insights, but also the forging of lasting partnerships. The workshop’s training modules, co-designed by UNDRR and GCF specialists, delved deep into practical tools such as the EW4All Checklist for Gap Analysis, equipping participants to critically assess their national capacities and pinpoint vulnerabilities. “Early warning systems are important components for our national climate change adaptation strategy,” noted Ms. Tserendulam Shagdarsuren, Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Mongolia, emphasizing how the training illuminated the next steps for their evolving EWS.

    This pilot UNDRR–GCF initiative is part of a broader strategy to replicate capacity-building endeavours in developing countries. Future workshops are planned for countries that are in very different geographic contexts yet face similar challenges (particularly those resulting from climate change), such as Somalia, Togo and the SIDS. These workshops aim to accelerate access to climate finance and enhance DRR measures worldwide.

    In a continuation of the Media Saving Lives programme, UNDRR and partners trained 520 journalists and media practitioners in DRR and risk communications, bringing the total to over 2,500 from 80 countries. Media are an integral part of the EWS delivery chain, and engaging them to build trust between government and communities can be the difference between life and death when disaster hits.

    The rise in global temperatures and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly becoming central challenges for nations worldwide. Yet many Member States, cities and societies remain ill-prepared to address this escalating threat. The imperative for enhanced extreme heat risk reduction, governance and management is clear. Without urgent and coordinated action, extreme heat will continue to endanger billions of lives, amplify health risks and threaten the ecosystems upon which we depend.

    In response, the UNDRR/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience – together with the Global Heat Health Information Network, Duke University and WMO Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience partners – has developed an extreme heat decision-support package for countries tackling this global threat. The package includes: international organization resource and ecosystem mapping, readiness reviews and profiles; national best practice analytics; evaluations of heat action plans; and materials for development of an extreme heat maturity index for self-assessment. These materials can enhance collaboration, integrated heat risk governance and policy responses to extreme heat.

    UNDRR’s work and that of United Nations system partners, coupled with increasing demands for assistance from Member States, prompted and informed the United Nations Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, issued in July 2024, in which he emphasized the need for urgent action if a future characterized by even more devastating heat impacts on lives, economies and ecosystems is to be avoided.

    This work is in turn informing the development of a Common Framework for Heat Risk Governance, led by UNDRR with the Global Heat Health Information Network, and Member States, international organizations and stakeholders. The Framework will receive inputs from (and is designed to bring together) multiple sectors, domains and scales – from agriculture and food systems, to energy systems, transportation, construction materials and design, and urban cooling. It is expected to assist national and subnational decision makers in designing and resourcing integrated actions to reduce extreme heat risk to people, urban and rural ecosystems, and the environment, preventing the loss of lives and livelihoods.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: UNDRR Annual Report 2024

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    02

    Strategies, governance and capacity-building

    Target E of the Sendai Framework calls for a substantial increase in the number of countries with national and local DRR strategies by 2020.

    Though a strategy is not the end goal, UNDRR has found that countries with national DRR strategies tend to have more robust DRR governance and a higher prevalence of EWS, demonstrating the value of investment in this fundamental DRR pillar.

    The Government of Jordan has developed its National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2023–2030) in a participatory manner involving different governmental entities, ministries and municipalities, and the Public Security Directorate (Civil Defense), with support from UNDRR and the United Nations Development Programme country office. The strategy also integrates biological hazard risk reduction with the aim of building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Within the framework of Jordan’s efforts to deal with increasing threats and risks, the National Centre for Security and Crises Management has played a major role in developing two integrated risk registers; the national risk register and the local register for governorates. Both registers aim to improve the kingdom’s capacity to respond to disasters through accurate identification of risks, and enhanced coordination between the local and national levels for improved risk governance.

    Through this effective coordination between the national and local risk registers, Jordan has made great strides in reducing risks and enhancing community resilience, making the kingdom a role model for disaster management and risk reduction at the regional level.

    Morocco, too, has taken concrete steps to strengthen its risk governance. It established the Directorate of Natural Risk Management under the Ministry of Interior as its national DRR coordination mechanism. Morocco also established the National Risk Observatory to collect, analyse and share data on natural hazard risk. Furthermore, Morocco established a National Risk Forecasting Centre for monitoring and alerting, and an Operational Risk Anticipation Centre for forecasting, alerting and risk management assistance systems. Another successful project comprised the generalization of coverage of the entire national territory using multiscale and multi-hazard risk maps (for natural hazards).

    Albania’s National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy demonstrates widespread integration of concerns related to climate change and triggers the engagement of new sectors, particularly tourism.

    The vision statement explicitly brings together DRR, climate change and sustainable development using the language of resilience, while the document includes a detailed plan of action for DRR implementation that integrates institutions such as the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

    In particular, it articulates the implementation of the ALBAdapt project Climate Services for a Resilient Albania. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment is identified as the lead institution for implementation of a set of activities that offer compounding co-benefits for both DRR and climate change adaptation, including the development of a people-centred MHEWS, the creation of a fully functional and well-resourced National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

    This integration is supported by articulations elsewhere in the country’s strategic profile, with the National Adaptation Plan 2019 including a priority area entitled “upgrading civil defence preparedness and DRR”. Elsewhere, the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Albania (2023–2028) addresses risks ranging from national security threats to climate change impacts, emphasizing resilience to disasters, while the National Strategy for Development and European Integration (NSDEI) 2022–2030 includes the integration of DRR and climate change adaptation planning among its priorities.

    National DRR strategies are the bedrock for multi-hazard risk governance and the achievement of Sendai Framework targets. These strategies help transform risk knowledge into actions and programmes that save lives and livelihoods. In addition, they serve as guides for mobilizing resources, delegating roles and responsibilities within government, and identifying entry points for non-governmental stakeholder engagement, all leading to more inclusive, sustainable development.

    With 131 countries now reporting having national DRR strategies, and 30 receiving technical support from UNDRR to develop them, this is just a snapshot of the progress being made globally in this important area.

    Under Brazil’s presidency, the Group of 20 (G20) recognized DRR as a critical component of economic resilience. Collaborating closely with UNDRR, Brazil facilitated the adoption of the first-ever G20 Ministerial Declaration on DRR. This landmark declaration emphasized the necessity of accelerating the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s implementation, aiming to reduce disaster losses by 2030, and called for the development of high-level principles for DRR financing. The work of the G20 DRR Working Group, with UNDRR as the lead knowledge partner, further reflected a comprehensive approach to integrating DRR into economic and social policies.

    UNDRR’s capacity-building continues to go from strength to strength, with nearly 10,000 DRR practitioners being trained in 2024, 77 per cent of whom reported having a better understanding of DRR as a result. At one such workshop in the Global Education and Training Institute in Incheon, Republic of Korea, a remarkable collaboration unfolded – a pioneering workshop uniting experts from UNDRR and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to empower government stakeholders from Mongolia and Bhutan to mobilize relevant partners and stakeholders and obtain funding for their DRR measures. This joint training begins a process of transforming the daunting challenges of climate change into opportunities for proactive DRR.

    Delegates were empowered by not only technical insights, but also the forging of lasting partnerships. The workshop’s training modules, co-designed by UNDRR and GCF specialists, delved deep into practical tools such as the EW4All Checklist for Gap Analysis, equipping participants to critically assess their national capacities and pinpoint vulnerabilities. “Early warning systems are important components for our national climate change adaptation strategy,” noted Ms. Tserendulam Shagdarsuren, Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Mongolia, emphasizing how the training illuminated the next steps for their evolving EWS.

    This pilot UNDRR–GCF initiative is part of a broader strategy to replicate capacity-building endeavours in developing countries. Future workshops are planned for countries that are in very different geographic contexts yet face similar challenges (particularly those resulting from climate change), such as Somalia, Togo and the SIDS. These workshops aim to accelerate access to climate finance and enhance DRR measures worldwide.

    In a continuation of the Media Saving Lives programme, UNDRR and partners trained 520 journalists and media practitioners in DRR and risk communications, bringing the total to over 2,500 from 80 countries. Media are an integral part of the EWS delivery chain, and engaging them to build trust between government and communities can be the difference between life and death when disaster hits.

    The rise in global temperatures and the increasing frequency and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly becoming central challenges for nations worldwide. Yet many Member States, cities and societies remain ill-prepared to address this escalating threat. The imperative for enhanced extreme heat risk reduction, governance and management is clear. Without urgent and coordinated action, extreme heat will continue to endanger billions of lives, amplify health risks and threaten the ecosystems upon which we depend.

    In response, the UNDRR/World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience – together with the Global Heat Health Information Network, Duke University and WMO Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience partners – has developed an extreme heat decision-support package for countries tackling this global threat. The package includes: international organization resource and ecosystem mapping, readiness reviews and profiles; national best practice analytics; evaluations of heat action plans; and materials for development of an extreme heat maturity index for self-assessment. These materials can enhance collaboration, integrated heat risk governance and policy responses to extreme heat.

    UNDRR’s work and that of United Nations system partners, coupled with increasing demands for assistance from Member States, prompted and informed the United Nations Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Extreme Heat, issued in July 2024, in which he emphasized the need for urgent action if a future characterized by even more devastating heat impacts on lives, economies and ecosystems is to be avoided.

    This work is in turn informing the development of a Common Framework for Heat Risk Governance, led by UNDRR with the Global Heat Health Information Network, and Member States, international organizations and stakeholders. The Framework will receive inputs from (and is designed to bring together) multiple sectors, domains and scales – from agriculture and food systems, to energy systems, transportation, construction materials and design, and urban cooling. It is expected to assist national and subnational decision makers in designing and resourcing integrated actions to reduce extreme heat risk to people, urban and rural ecosystems, and the environment, preventing the loss of lives and livelihoods.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: FOCUS ON: How Somalia is advancing disaster preparedness through EW4All and beyond

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    For decades, Somalia has faced devastating droughts, floods and conflict. Today, thanks to coordinated efforts spearheaded by UNDRR, Somalia is making significant strides towards more effective, integrated DRR and EWS.

    In 2023/24, Somalia worked with UNDRR and key international partners to establish an MHEWS. A road map developed in 2023 identified weaknesses in data collection, risk assessment and communication networks. This laid the groundwork for Somalia’s participation in EW4All, significantly strengthening national capacities in risk knowledge, anticipatory action and community-based preparedness.

    In July 2024, a capacity-building workshop in Nairobi brought together national and international stakeholders. Somali officials later travelled to Italy, exchanging best practices with the Italian Civil Protection and the CIMA Research Foundation. These experiences helped refine Somalia’s early warning framework.

    “The EW4All initiative was launched in 2023, and throughout this time, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) project has supported capacity-building and risk management in Somalia”, said Khadar Sh. Mohamed Nur, Director of the Somalia Disaster Management Agency. “It has changed the way we think about DRR.”

    The impact was evident during the heavy Gu rains of April–June 2024. While floods affected 160,000 people and displaced 37,000, the damage was significantly less severe compared to 2023. The key difference was timely, accurate and widely disseminated early warnings and early action.

    Through text messages, radio broadcasts and community meetings, vulnerable populations received crucial information. Additionally, data from the DesInventar system improved impact-based forecasting, enabling proactive interventions such as fortification of riverbanks and pre-positioning of emergency supplies.

    A critical component of Somalia’s DRR strategy has been inclusivity. “[Persons] with disabilities in Somalia did not previously have access to information”, said Mawlid Abdul Qadir Badal, Director of the National Disability Agency Somalia. “After the workshops and consultations led by UNDRR, we are sure that disability aspects are included in the EW4All road map.” In a three-day training on gender- and disability-inclusive EWS in Nairobi in November 2024, UNDRR brought together officials from Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.

    UNDRR has also played a pivotal role in integrating disaster risk analysis into broader humanitarian and development planning. In 2024, UNDRR facilitated a joint analysis effort among stakeholders from across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. This informed the development of Somalia’s 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan and Common Country Analysis for the 2026–2030 Cooperation Framework.

    In addition, the Early Warning Systems and Early Action in Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent Contexts handbook provides strategies for implementing EWS where governance is weak or absent. Employed by practitioners across the globe, it emphasizes cross-sectoral coordination, regional collaboration and adaptation to local challenges.

    Somalia’s disaster preparedness journey is far from over. But through strategic partnerships, technological advancements and inclusivity, Somalia is steadily building a more resilient future. While challenges remain, the EW4ALL initiative and UNDRR’s broader support highlight what is possible when governments, international agencies and communities work together.

    Back to the UNDRR 2024 Annual Report

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Severe Thunderstorm Watch 85

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL5

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 85
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    445 AM CDT Mon Mar 31 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Northern and Central Alabama
    Far Northwest Georgia
    Northeast Mississippi

    * Effective this Monday morning from 445 AM until NOON CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Multiple lines and clusters of thunderstorms are expected
    to spread eastward this morning across much of northern/central
    Alabama and into far northwest Georgia. Scattered severe/damaging
    winds should be the main threat with this activity, although
    isolated hail and perhaps a tornado or two may also occur.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 75
    statute miles east and west of a line from 25 miles northeast of
    Huntsville AL to 20 miles south southwest of Selma AL. For a
    complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
    update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 81…WW 82…WW 83…WW
    84…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27035.

    …Gleason

    SEL5

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Severe Thunderstorm Watch Number 85
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    445 AM CDT Mon Mar 31 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of
    Northern and Central Alabama
    Far Northwest Georgia
    Northeast Mississippi

    * Effective this Monday morning from 445 AM until NOON CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph likely
    Isolated large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible
    A tornado or two possible

    SUMMARY…Multiple lines and clusters of thunderstorms are expected
    to spread eastward this morning across much of northern/central
    Alabama and into far northwest Georgia. Scattered severe/damaging
    winds should be the main threat with this activity, although
    isolated hail and perhaps a tornado or two may also occur.

    The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately along and 75
    statute miles east and west of a line from 25 miles northeast of
    Huntsville AL to 20 miles south southwest of Selma AL. For a
    complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline
    update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are
    favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area.
    Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening
    weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
    warnings. Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce
    tornadoes.

    &&

    OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 81…WW 82…WW 83…WW
    84…

    AVIATION…A few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to
    1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 60 knots. A
    few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector
    27035.

    …Gleason

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW5
    WW 85 SEVERE TSTM AL GA MS 310945Z – 311700Z
    AXIS..75 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    25NE HSV/HUNTSVILLE AL/ – 20SSW SEM/SELMA AL/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 65NM E/W /51ENE MSL – 41WSW MGM/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 27035.

    LAT…LON 34908514 32088583 32088839 34908779

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU5.

    Watch 85 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Low (20%)

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

    Low (10%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (60%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Low (20%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Low (10%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (80%)

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

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: SNP urged to publish impact assessment of ending renter protections

    Source: Scottish Greens

    31 Mar 2025 Housing

    Renters will see costs soaring.

    More in Housing

    The Scottish Government has been urged to publish an impact assessment of its decision to end renter protections that were introduced by the Scottish Greens.

    The protections, which are set to expire on April 1st, were introduced by the then Green Minister Patrick Harvie following the year long rent freeze. This mechanism potentially allows rent increases to be limited to no higher than 12% if a tenant applies to a rent officer for a decision.

    The Scottish Government had said the system would support the transition away from the rent cap and to the forthcoming system of Rent Control Areas, avoiding a ‘cliff edge’ for renters and protecting them from excessively large increases.

    Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman said:

    “A lot of renters are very worried about what will happen once these protections expire.

    “At a time when costs and bills are already increasing, many are concerned that they will face excessive hikes at a time when they can least afford it. Meanwhile the landlord lobby will be rubbing their hands together with glee at the thought of hiking prices even further.

    “These changes are unjust, unfair and will only result in people paying even more to keep a roof over their heads.

    “The Scottish Government must have done research and modelling about the impact that its decision will have. It is time for them to publish it so that it can be scrutinised and so that renters know where they stand before they are thrown to the mercy of a broken housing market.”

    Ms Chapman added:

    “These measures have helped tenants, but they have also underlined the urgent need for permanent and robust rent controls and protections for renters on the frontline of the housing emergency.

    “Homes are for living in, not for profiteering, and we need a fundamental change to ensure that everyone has a warm, comfortable and affordable place to call home.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Studland Bay Marine Partnership

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Case study

    Studland Bay Marine Partnership

    Delivering innovative conservation projects to protect Studland Bay’s vital seagrass habitat while working closely with the local community and water users.

    Vessel using ecomooring at Studland in Dorset courtesy of Boatfolk.

    Key facts 

    • Applicant name: Studland Bay Marine Partnership and Dorset Council. 

    • Location:  Studland Bay, Dorset. 

    • Type of project: Marine conservation, community engagement and sustainable mooring solutions. 

    • Project value: £262,000 

    • Grant value: £196,000 

    • Date awarded:  November 2023  

    Project details 

    Studland Bay is home to Dorset’s most extensive seagrass beds which serve as an important habitat for rare or endangered species of seahorse, pipefish and rays, as well as nursery grounds for commercially important fish species. It was formally designated a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) in the 2019 and in 2021 MMO introduced a voluntary no anchor zone (VNAZ) to help protect the seagrass habitats.  

    During 2021 The Studland Bay Marine Partnership (SBMP) was established, bringing together the local community, to protect the area’s seagrass habitat while balancing the needs of recreational boaters, visitors and businesses. This included awareness raising campaigns and the installation of eco-moorings, an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional moorings. 

    To further these efforts, £186,000 was awarded through the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme to support the installation of an additional 57 new eco-moorings, bringing the total number available in the bay to 87 during the main boating season. Funding also supported ongoing research and monitoring, and an expanded community engagement programme. 

    David Brown, Chair of the Studland Bay Marine Partnership (SBMP), said:  

    “The funding from FaSS has enabled us to implement practical solutions that have made a positive impact towards the conservation of Studland Bays’s special marine ecosystem. It is also enabling us to continue the important work of conserving and preserving the seagrass habitats for future generations to enjoy. ‘’ 

    Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said: 

    “We are delighted that we successfully secured funding to aid conservation initiatives in Studland Bay, as safeguarding our remarkable coastline and the habitats it nurtures is of huge importance. Studland Bay holds immense value — not only for the diverse wildlife of our county but also for the local community, businesses, and water enthusiasts who treasure it. This funding will play a pivotal role in supporting the Studland Bay Marine Partnership’s collaborative and sustainable approach to managing the area effectively.” 

    Project outcomes 

    • Installation of 57 new eco-moorings, expanding the environmentally friendly anchoring options for recreational boaters in Studland Bay.  

    • Ongoing research and monitoring to track seagrass recovery. 

    • Delivery of community engagement activities to raise awareness of Studland’s seagrass habitat and the importance of the voluntary no anchor zone.  

    • Provision of new information, signage and resources for boat users at local marinas and harbours to promote responsible anchoring and conservation-friendly practices.  

    • Formalisation of the Studland Bay Marine Partnership, ensuring its long-term role as a collaborative, community-led group balancing environmental protection with recreational use.  

    Supported outcomes 

    • Enhanced visibility for eco-moorings and their benefits through public engagement events, resulting in the eco-moorings featured on BBC Springwatch and Crown Estate project showcase. 

    • Annual MMO led VNAZ reviews indicating number of recreational boaters anchoring in areas of seagrass is continuing to decrease over time. 

    • A 2024 University of Southampton research and monitoring dive which has observed seagrass regrowth in the bay. 

    Learn more 

    Find out more about the Studland Bay Marine Partnership.) 

    View more case studies here: Fisheries and Seafood Scheme: Selected case studies

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Prime Minister announces massive surge in immigration enforcement as returns reach 24,000 since the election

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Prime Minister announces massive surge in immigration enforcement as returns reach 24,000 since the election

    The Prime Minister today (Monday 31 March) announced the government has returned more than 24,000 individuals with no right to be in the UK since the General Election – the highest returns rate for eight years.

    • More than 24,000 people with no right to be here returned since July
    • Highest rate of returns in eight years
    • 21% increase enforced returns as government begins to restore order to immigration system under the Plan for Change 

    The Prime Minister today (Monday 31 March) announced the government has returned more than 24,000 individuals with no right to be in the UK since the General Election – the highest returns rate for eight years. 

    Speaking at the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, where over 40 countries and organisations have come together to agree new action to smash people-smuggling gangs, the Prime Minister outlined how the government is finally restoring order to the immigration system after years of failure.

    The continued rise in removals includes a 21% increase in enforced returns and a 16% increase in foreign national offenders being removed from the UK since July 5th, including the 4 biggest returns charter flights in the UK’s history, with a total of more than 850 people on board.

    The massive surge in removals followed the government’s immediate action to redeploy staff across the Home Office to work on policies that deliver results. 

    At the Summit the Prime Minister set out the approach this government is taking to finally take on organised immigration crime – one that moves beyond gimmicks and instead delivers hard graft, international leadership, and delivers on working people’s priorities for secure borders.

    He set out how this is based on giving law enforcement tougher powers than ever to smash the smuggling gangs, ramping up removals to record levels, surging illegal working raids to end the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats and leading a renewed international law enforcement effort.

    Since taking office the government has reset its approach to global cooperation, striking new bilateral agreements with key international partners including France, Germany, Italy, and Balkan states to disrupt smuggling networks and accelerate removals.

    This is backed by the work of Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt who has been negotiating new agreements to bring together international policing, intelligence, and border enforcement to dismantle organised immigration crime networks at home and abroad.

    This work has already seen arrests of major people smuggling kingpins through joint investigations with the National Crime Agency.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

    Immigration crime funds the vile people-smuggling gangs that trade in human misery, breach our borders and threaten Britain’s economic security. This government is taking back control, doing the hard graft needed to deliver results, working with our international allies to smash these gangs and secure our borders. 

    We’ve already removed more than 24,000 people with no right to be here and we’re finally shutting down exploitative illegal working, dismantling criminal networks, while forcing people-smuggling gangs out of business.

    For too long, the UK was a soft touch. That ends now. No more gimmicks, no empty promises, just serious action for British security.

    With over 40 international partners joining the UK’s call to treat people-smuggling like terrorism, today’s summit marks the beginning of a new global coalition to take the fight to the criminal gangs at every stage of the smuggling chain.

    This is backed by landmark legislation through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, giving new powers to seize migrants’ phones to identify smugglers, criminalise those who endanger lives at sea, and ensure every business carries out right-to-work checks – ending the exploitation of illegal labour for good.

    Additional information:

    Between 5 July and 22 March 2025 there were 24,103 returns, the highest 9 month period compared to any 9-month period since 2017. Prior to this from Jan – Sept 2017, returns were 25,225.

    Of total returns since 5 July 2024:

    • there were 6,339 enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK
    • 3,594 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs)
    • 6,781 were asylum related returns

    From 5 July 2024 to 22 March 2025 there have been 46 charter flights for returns to countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America

    The full stats can be seen here.

    Updates to this page

    Published 31 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Scottish benefit to replace DLA

    Source: Scottish Government

    Work underway to move the benefits of over 66,000 people by end of year

    Disability Living Allowance for adults is being replaced by a new Scottish benefit.

    Work has begun to move the benefit awards of over 66,000 people to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance.

    The new benefit will now be paid by Social Security Scotland instead of the Department for Work and Pensions.

    There will be no gaps in payments or reductions in the support people get because of the transfer.

    People getting DLA do not need to do anything as the transfer will happen automatically.

    Social Security Scotland will send letters to let people know when their benefit is being moved and another when the move is complete. The transfer process will take four to eight weeks.

    Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:

    “I am pleased work has begun to transfer the benefit awards of every adult in Scotland currently getting DLA to our new benefit.

    “I want to reassure people affected that their payments will transfer safely and securely, with no gaps or reductions to the support they receive.

    “The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone gets the financial support they’re entitled to and this has not changed following the UK Government’s announcement on welfare.”

    Background

    Scottish Adult DLA was introduced to provide support for adults who were still getting DLA on 21 March 2025. Like DLA for adults, it is not open to new applications.

    People born after 8 April 1948 can choose to apply for Adult Disability Payment after their transfer to Scottish Adult DLA is complete.

    Social Security Scotland recommends anyone thinking of doing this to get independent advice on which benefit is best for them as some people might be better off on one benefit than the other.

    Once a decision has been made on their application for Adult Disability Payment they cannot return to Scottish Adult DLA.

    Adults of working age who are newly in need of disability support can apply for Adult Disability Payment.

    Pensioners can apply for Pension Age Disability Payment, the replacement for Attendance Allowance, in most of Scotland.

    Where Pension Age Disability Payment is not yet available, pensioners can apply for Attendance Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Strengthening Scotland’s NHS

    Source: Scottish Government

    New plan to focus on delivery.

    Health Secretary Neil Gray has set out how the Scottish Government plans to improve access to treatment, reduce waiting times and shift the balance of care from hospitals to primary care through the publication of the Operational Improvement Plan.

    Through the additional £200 million investment contained in the Budget to reduce waiting times and improve flow through hospital, we will create 150,000 extra appointments and procedures using greater use of regional and national working.

    By introducing a seven-day service in radiology, using mobile scanning units and additional recruitment, 95% of referrals will be seen within six weeks by March 2026, reducing backlogs in MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures.

    To improve flow in acute hospitals and support increases in community care, we will expand Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds by the end of 2026, meaning the service, which provides hospital level care in the comfort of the patients home, will become the biggest hospital in Scotland. By this summer there will be specialist staff in frailty teams in every A&E department in Scotland. Flow Navigation Centres, which direct patients to the most appropriate service for their condition, will be able to refer patients to more services, reducing the number of people who have to wait in A&E.

    Investment in primary care will make it easier for people to see a doctor, dentist, optometrist or community pharmacist, and £10.5 million will be invested in general practice to take targeted action to prevent heart disease and frailty. 

    Digital services will be expanded to modernise services and improve efficiency, with the Digital Front Door app launching in Lanarkshire in December. This launch will be followed by a national roll-out in 2026, allowing people to securely access their hospital appointments, receive communications and find local services. Over time it will be expanded to include social care and community health services.

    On a visit to Kirklands Hospital’s Flow Navigation Centre, Health Secretary Neil Gray said:

    “This plan details how the Scottish Government will deliver a more accessible NHS, with reductions to long-waits and the pressures we currently see. It shows how we will use the £21.7 billion health and social care investment in the 2025-26 Budget to deliver significant improvements for patients.

    “We want to increase the number of appointments, speed up treatment and make it easier to see a doctor. By better using digital technology, we will embrace innovation and increase efficiencies.

    “This plan is ambitious but realistic, and builds on the incredible work of our amazing health and social care staff across our health boards, to deliver real change.”

    Background

    NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan

    Focusing on the short term, the Operational Improvement Plan details specific commitments for NHS Scotland that build on the wider delivery plans of Scotland’s health boards. Supported by increased investment in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, the plan focuses on four main areas:

    • Improving access to treatment
    • Shifting the balance of care from hospitals to primary care
    • Improving access to health and social care services through digital and technological innovation
    • Working with people to prevent illness and more proactively meet their needs.

    Improving public services and NHS renewal: First Minister’s speech – 27 January 2025 – gov.scot

    Protecting, strengthening and renewing the NHS – gov.scot

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council takes action against problem tenant

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    Published: Monday, 31st March 2025

    A Stoke-on-Trent City Council tenant has been given a Civil Injunction Order after repeated anti-social behaviour (ASB).

    A Stoke-on-Trent City Council tenant has been given a Civil Injunction Order after repeated anti-social behaviour (ASB).

    Shamaine Proctor, who lives on Philip Street in Fenton, appeared in court after complaints about her abusive and threatening behaviour. The court was satisfied that she had acted aggressively towards residents, council workers, and contractors.
     

    The injunction bans Miss Proctor from behaving in an anti-social manner towards her neighbours and from being abusive or threatening towards council staff or contractors. She has been also ordered to make sure any dog in her control is properly managed.
     

    The action follows a robust investigation by the city council’s ASB Team who worked to gather evidence and bring the case to court.

    Councillor Majid Khan, cabinet member for community resilience at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This is a strong, clear message to all residents – anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and their community. If someone is threatening towards their neighbours or our council staff action will be taken. Our communities deserve better, and this clear message starts on our doorsteps.”
     

    Miss Proctor has also been ordered to pay costs of £1017.00 to the city council.
     

    If you have an ASB problem in your neighbourhood, please report it to the ASB Team on 01782 234234 or online at www.stoke.gov.uk/ASB

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council streamlines Local Offer pages and seeks parent feedback 31 March 2025 Isle of Wight Council streamlines Local Offer pages and seeks parent feedback

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    The Isle of Wight Council is working to streamline its online resources to make it easier for families to find information about support services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

    The Local Offer is a crucial resource that provides detailed information on education, health, and social care services available to SEND children and their families.

    The council is legally required to ensure this information is clear, comprehensive, and accessible, as mandated by the Children and Families Act 2014.

    In an effort to improve navigation, the council has removed an outdated page and is now focusing on enhancing the IW Family Information Hub Local Offer page.

    The council is actively seeking feedback from parents and carers to refine this resource and has launched an online survey to gather valuable insights.

    Once a Parent Carer Forum is established, the council will collaborate closely with this forum and other parent/carer groups to develop a robust and effective Local Offer for the Isle of Wight.

    Naomi Carter, service director for education, inclusion and access, said: “By focusing on a single, improved platform, we are making it much easier for families to access the information and support they need.

    “This collaborative approach ensures that the Local Offer will be shaped by the very people it is designed to help.

    “Their first-hand experiences and insights are invaluable in creating a resource that truly meets the needs of our community. We are excited to see the positive impact this will have on the lives of SEND children and their families.”

    Parents and carers are encouraged to share their views and suggestions through the survey. The feedback collected will be instrumental in shaping the future architecture of the Local Offer web platform.

    People can also email the team at: ImprovingSEND@iow.gov.uk  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Provocative new play explores social media and secret societies

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    Provocative new play explores social media and secret societies

    31 March 2025

    The highly anticipated hit play Widow’s Son, written by Belfast playwright John McAteer, is coming to the Alley Theatre, Strabane on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd April for an unforgettable theatrical experience. This clever, witty, and timely piece explores the clash between modern obsession with social media and the long-standing traditions of secret societies.

    The play tells the story of Andrew McKay, an aspiring journalist who fancies himself as a hard-hitting investigator. He’s made a name for himself infiltrating various eccentric groups – whether it’s the Flat Earth Society, the UFO Believers Association, or even The Dog’s Trust – all in the name of content for his popular YouTube podcast. But his latest mission is his boldest yet: to infiltrate the world’s oldest secret society, the Freemasons.

    His mission is driven by the potential of uncovering the hidden truths of this ancient group. But soon, Andrew learns the harsh reality: according to ancient Masonic laws, falsely claiming membership triggers a swift and brutal punishment. As the walls close in on Andrew, he begins to question whether such ancient penalties still hold weight in the modern world – or if his misadventure will have dire consequences.

    Written by Belfast playwright John McAteer, Widow’s Son is a sharp, witty, and refreshing take on the intersection of modern media and ancient traditions. The play is full of dark humour, unexpected twists, and a thought-provoking exploration of secrets, power, and consequences. Audience members should note this performance contains strong language and is not recommended for children.

    Tickets are available now at www.alley-theatre.com or call the Alley Theatre Box Office on 028 71 384444.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –