Category: Europe

MIL-OSI: NXP Semiconductors Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) today reported financial results for the third quarter, which ended September 29, 2024. “NXP delivered quarterly revenue of $3.25 billion, in-line with our overall guidance. While we experienced some strength against our expectations in the Communication Infrastructure, Mobile and Automotive end markets, we were confronted with increasing macro related weakness in the Industrial & IoT market. Our guidance for the fourth quarter reflects broader macro weakness especially in Europe and the Americas. We focus on managing what is in our control enabling NXP to drive resilient profitability and earnings in an uncertain demand environment,” said Kurt Sievers, NXP President and Chief Executive Officer.

Key Highlights for the Third Quarter 2024:

Revenue was $3.25 billion, down 5 percent year-on-year;
GAAP gross margin was 57.4 percent, GAAP operating margin was 30.5 percent and GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $2.79;
Non-GAAP gross margin was 58.2 percent, non-GAAP operating margin was 35.5 percent, and non-GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $3.45;
Cash flow from operations was $779 million, with net capex investments of $186 million, resulting in non-GAAP free cash flow of $593 million;
During the third quarter of 2024, NXP continued to execute its capital return policy with the payment of $259 million in cash dividends, and the repurchase of $305 million of its common shares. The total capital return of $564 million in the quarter represented 95 percent of third quarter non-GAAP free cash flow. On a trailing twelve month basis, capital return to shareholders represented $2.4 billion or 87 percent of non-GAAP free cash flow. The interim dividend for the third quarter 2024 was paid in cash on October 9, 2024 to shareholders of record as of September 12, 2024. On August 29th, the NXP board of directors authorized an additional $2.0 billion for share repurchases, resulting in a $2.64 billion share repurchase balance at the end of the third quarter. Subsequent to the end of the third quarter, between September 30, 2024 and November 1, 2024, NXP executed via a 10b5-1 program additional share repurchases totaling $117 million;
On August 20, 2024, ESMC, the previously announced manufacturing joint venture between TSMC, Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG and NXP Semiconductors N.V. held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the initial phase of construction of its first semiconductor fab in Dresden, Germany;
On September 4, 2024, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation and NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the receipt of all necessary governmental approvals from relevant authorities and injected capital to officially establish the previously announced VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Pte Ltd (VSMC) manufacturing joint venture. The company will now proceed with the planned construction of VSMC’s first 300mm wafer manufacturing facility;
On September 10, 2024, NXP announced the Trimension® SR250, the industry’s first single-chip, UWB solution to enable Industrial and IoT applications that integrates on-chip processing capabilities with both short-range UWB-based radar and secure ranging;
On September 17, 2024, NXP announced the MC33777, the world’s first electric vehicle battery junction box IC that consolidates essential BMS functions into a single device; and
On September 24, 2024, NXP announced the new i.MX RT700 crossover MCU family, designed to power smart AI-enabled edge devices, such as wearables, consumer medical devices, smart home devices and HMI platforms.

Summary of Reported Third Quarter 2024 ($ millions, unaudited) ⁽¹⁾

	Q3 2024			Q2 2024			Q3 2023			Q – Q	Y – Y
Total Revenue	$	3,250		$	3,127		$	3,434		4%	-5%
GAAP Gross Profit	$	1,866		$	1,792		$	1,965		4%	-5%
Gross Profit Adjustments⁽ⁱ⁾	$	(26	)	$	(41	)	$	(45	)
Non-GAAP Gross Profit	$	1,892		$	1,833		$	2,010		3%	-6%
GAAP Gross Margin		57.4	%		57.3	%		57.2	%
Non-GAAP Gross Margin		58.2	%		58.6	%		58.5	%
GAAP Operating Income (Loss)	$	990		$	896		$	992		10%	—%
Operating Income Adjustments⁽ⁱ⁾	$	(163	)	$	(175	)	$	(211	)
Non-GAAP Operating Income	$	1,153		$	1,071		$	1,203		8%	-4%
GAAP Operating Margin		30.5	%		28.7	%		28.9	%
Non-GAAP Operating Margin		35.5	%		34.3	%		35.0	%
GAAP Net Income (Loss) attributable to Stockholders	$	718		$	658		$	787
Net Income Adjustments⁽ⁱ⁾	$	(172	)	$	(171	)	$	(178	)
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Stockholders	$	890		$	829		$	965
GAAP diluted Net Income (Loss) per Share⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	$	2.79		$	2.54		$	3.01
Non-GAAP diluted Net Income (Loss) per Share⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	$	3.45		$	3.20		$	3.70

Additional information
	Q3 2024		Q2 2024		Q3 2023		Q – Q	Y – Y
Automotive	$	1,829	$	1,728	$	1,891	6%	-3%
Industrial & IoT	$	563	$	616	$	607	-9%	-7%
Mobile	$	407	$	345	$	377	18%	8%
Comm. Infra. & Other	$	451	$	438	$	559	3%	-19%
DIO		149		148		134
DPO		60		64		60
DSO		30		27		25
Cash Conversion Cycle		119		111		99
Channel Inventory (weeks / months)		8 / 1.9		7 / 1.7		7 / 1.5
Gross Financial Leverage⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾		1.9x		1.9x		2.1x
Net Financial Leverage^(iv)		1.3x		1.3x		1.3x

Additional Information for the Third Quarter 2024:
1. For an explanation of GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments, please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
2. Refer to Table 1 below for the weighted average number of diluted shares for the presented periods.
3. Gross financial leverage is defined as gross debt divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.
4. Net financial leverage is defined as net debt divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.

Guidance for the Fourth Quarter 2024: ($ millions, except Per Share data) ⁽¹⁾

				Guidance Range
	GAAP			Reconciliation	non-GAAP
	Low	Mid	High		Low	Mid	High
Total Revenue	$3,000	$3,100	$3,200		$3,000	$3,100	$3,200
Q-Q	-8%	-5%	-2%		-8%	-5	-2%
Y-Y	-12%	-9%	-6%		-12%	-9	-6%
Gross Profit	$1,674	$1,746	$1,820	$(35)	$1,709	$1,781	$1,855
Gross Margin	55.8%	56.3%	56.9%		57.0%	57.5%	58.0%
Operating Income (loss)	$810	$872	$936	$(184)	$994	$1,056	$1,120
Operating Margin	27.0%	28.1%	29.3%		33.1%	34.1%	35.0%
Financial Income (expense)	$(87)	$(87)	$(87)	$(10)	$(77)	$(77)	$(77)
Tax rate	17.2%-18.2%				16.3%-17.3%
NCI & Other	$(14)	$(14)	$(14)	$(3)	$(11)	$(11)	$(11)
Shares – diluted	257.0	257.0	257.0		257.0	257.0	257.0
Earnings Per Share – diluted	$2.26	$2.46	$2.66		$2.93	$3.13	$3.33

Note (1) Additional Information:

GAAP Gross Profit is expected to include Purchase Price Accounting (“PPA”) effects, $(10) million; Share-based Compensation, $(15) million; Other Incidentals, $(10) million;
GAAP Operating Income (loss) is expected to include PPA effects, $(39) million; Share-based Compensation, $(118) million; Restructuring and Other Incidentals, $(27) million;
GAAP Financial Income (expense) is expected to include Other financial expense $(10) million;
GAAP Non-Controlling Interest (NCI) and Other is expected to include results relating to non-foundry equity-accounted investees $(3) million;
GAAP diluted EPS is expected to include the adjustments noted above for PPA effects, Share-based Compensation, Restructuring and Other Incidentals in GAAP Operating Income (loss), the adjustment for Other financial expense, the adjustment for Non-controlling interest & Other and the adjustment on Tax due to the earlier mentioned adjustments.

NXP has based the guidance included in this release on judgments and estimates that management believes are reasonable given its assessment of historical trends and other information reasonably available as of the date of this release. Please note, the guidance included in this release consists of predictions only, and is subject to a wide range of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond NXP’s control. The guidance included in this release should not be regarded as representations by NXP that the estimated results will be achieved. Actual results may vary materially from the guidance we provide today. In relation to the use of non-GAAP financial information see the note regarding “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below. For the factors, risks, and uncertainties to which judgments, estimates and forward-looking statements generally are subject see the note regarding “Forward-looking Statements.” We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, including the guidance set forth herein, to reflect future events or circumstances.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In managing NXP’s business on a consolidated basis, management develops an annual operating plan, which is approved by our Board of Directors, using non-GAAP financial measures, that are not in accordance with, nor an alternative to, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In measuring performance against this plan, management considers the actual or potential impacts on these non-GAAP financial measures from actions taken to reduce costs with the goal of increasing our gross margin and operating margin and when assessing appropriate levels of research and development efforts. In addition, management relies upon these non-GAAP financial measures when making decisions about product spending, administrative budgets, and other operating expenses. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when coupled with the GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of the Company’s results of operations and the factors and trends affecting NXP’s business. We believe that they enable investors to perform additional comparisons of our operating results, to assess our liquidity and capital position and to analyze financial performance excluding the effect of expenses unrelated to core operating performance, certain non-cash expenses and share-based compensation expense, which may obscure trends in NXP’s underlying performance. This information also enables investors to compare financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management.

These non-GAAP financial measures are provided in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. The presentation of these and other similar items in NXP’s non-GAAP financial results should not be interpreted as implying that these items are non-recurring, infrequent, or unusual. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP are provided in the financial statements portion of this release in a schedule entitled “Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results (unaudited).” Please refer to the NXP Historic Financial Model file found on the Financial Information page of the Investor Relations section of our website at https://investors.nxp.com for additional information related to our rationale for using these non-GAAP financial measures, as well as the impact of these measures on the presentation of NXP’s operations.

In addition to providing financial information on a basis consistent with GAAP, NXP also provides the following selected financial measures on a non-GAAP basis: (i) Gross profit, (ii) Gross margin, (iii) Research and development, (iv) Selling, general and administrative, (v) Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, (vi) Other income, (vii) Operating income (loss), (viii) Operating margin, (ix) Financial Income (expense), (x) Income tax benefit (provision), (xi) Results relating to non-foundry equity-accounted investees, (xii) Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders, (xiii) Earnings per Share – Diluted, (xiv) EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and trailing 12 month adjusted EBITDA, and (xv) free cash flow, trailing 12 month free cash flow and trailing 12 month free cash flow as a percent of Revenue. The non-GAAP information excludes, where applicable, the amortization of acquisition related intangible assets, the purchase accounting effect on inventory and property, plant and equipment, merger related costs (including integration costs), certain items related to divestitures, share-based compensation expense, restructuring and asset impairment charges, extinguishment of debt, foreign exchange gains and losses, income tax effect on adjustments described above and results from non-foundry equity-accounted investments.

The difference in the benefit (provision) for income taxes between our GAAP and non-GAAP results relates to the income tax effects of the GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments that we make and the income tax effect of any discrete items that occur in the interim period. Discrete items primarily relate to unexpected tax events that may occur as these amounts cannot be forecasted (e.g., the impact of changes in tax law and/or rates, changes in estimates or resolved tax audits relating to prior year tax provisions, the excess or deficit tax effects on share-based compensation, etc.).

Conference Call and Webcast Information

The company will host a conference call with the financial community on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time (EST) to review the third quarter 2024 results in detail.

Interested parties may preregister to obtain a user-specific access code for the call here.

The call will be webcast and can be accessed from the NXP Investor Relations website at www.nxp.com. A replay of the call will be available on the NXP Investor Relations website within 24 hours of the actual call.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) is the trusted partner for innovative solutions in the automotive, industrial & IoT, mobile, and communications infrastructure markets. NXP’s “Brighter Together” approach combines leading-edge technology with pioneering people to develop system solutions that make the connected world better, safer, and more secure. The company has operations in more than 30 countries and posted revenue of $13.28 billion in 2023. Find out more at www.nxp.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This document includes forward-looking statements which include statements regarding NXP’s business strategy, financial condition, results of operations, market data, as well as any other statements which are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. These factors, risks and uncertainties include the following: market demand and semiconductor industry conditions; our ability to successfully introduce new technologies and products; the demand for the goods into which NXP’s products are incorporated; trade disputes between the U.S. and China, potential increase of barriers to international trade and resulting disruptions to NXP’s established supply chains; the impact of government actions and regulations, including restrictions on the export of US-regulated products and technology; increasing and evolving cybersecurity threats and privacy risks, including theft of sensitive or confidential data; the ability to generate sufficient cash, raise sufficient capital or refinance corporate debt at or before maturity to meet both NXP’s debt service and research and development and capital investment requirements; our ability to accurately estimate demand and match our production capacity accordingly or obtain supplies from third-party producers to meet demand; our access to production capacity from third-party outsourcing partners, and any events that might affect their business or NXP’s relationship with them; our ability to secure adequate and timely supply of equipment and materials from suppliers; our ability to avoid operational problems and product defects and, if such issues were to arise, to correct them quickly; our ability to form strategic partnerships and joint ventures and to successfully cooperate with our alliance partners; our ability to win competitive bid selection processes; our ability to develop products for use in customers’ equipment and products; the ability to successfully hire and retain key management and senior product engineers; global hostilities, including the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and resulting regional instability, sanctions and any other retaliatory measures taken against Russia and the continued hostilities and the armed conflict in the Middle East, which could adversely impact the global supply chain, disrupt our operations or negatively impact the demand for our products in our primary end markets; the ability to maintain good relationships with NXP’s suppliers; and a change in tax laws could have an effect on our estimated effective tax rate. In addition, this document contains information concerning the semiconductor industry, our end markets and business generally, which is forward-looking in nature and is based on a variety of assumptions regarding the ways in which the semiconductor industry, our end markets and business will develop. NXP has based these assumptions on information currently available, if any one or more of these assumptions turn out to be incorrect, actual results may differ from those predicted. While NXP does not know what impact any such differences may have on its business, if there are such differences, its future results of operations and its financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak to results only as of the date the statements were made. Except for any ongoing obligation to disclose material information as required by the United States federal securities laws, NXP does not have any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after we distribute this document, whether to reflect any future events or circumstances or otherwise. For a discussion of potential risks and uncertainties, please refer to the risk factors listed in our SEC filings. Copies of our SEC filings are available on our Investor Relations website, www.nxp.com/investor or from the SEC website, www.sec.gov.

For further information, please contact:

Investors:	Media:
Jeff Palmer	Paige Iven
jeff.palmer@nxp.com	paige.iven@nxp.com
+1 408 205 0687	+1 817 975 0602

NXP-CORP

NXP Semiconductors
Table 1: Condensed consolidated statement of operations (unaudited)

($ in millions except share data)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023

Revenue	$	3,250		$	3,127		$	3,434
Cost of revenue		(1,384	)		(1,335	)		(1,469	)
Gross profit		1,866			1,792			1,965
Research and development		(577	)		(594	)		(601	)
Selling, general and administrative		(265	)		(270	)		(294	)
Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets		(29	)		(28	)		(71	)
Total operating expenses		(871	)		(892	)		(966	)
Other income (expense)		(5	)		(4	)		(7	)
Operating income (loss)		990			896			992
Financial income (expense):
Extinguishment of debt		—			—			—
Other financial income (expense)		(82	)		(75	)		(75	)
Income (loss) before income taxes		908			821			917
Benefit (provision) for income taxes		(173	)		(154	)		(123	)
Results relating to equity-accounted investees		(6	)		(3	)		(2	)
Net income (loss)		729			664			792
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests		11			6			5
Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders		718			658			787

Earnings per share data:
Net income (loss) per common share attributable to stockholders in $
Basic	$	2.82		$	2.58		$	3.06
Diluted	$	2.79		$	2.54		$	3.01

Weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period (in thousands):
Basic		254,458			255,478			257,488
Diluted		257,717			258,732			261,095

NXP Semiconductors
Table 2: Condensed consolidated balance sheet (unaudited)

($ in millions)	As of
	September 29, 2024		June 30, 2024		October 1, 2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,748	$	2,859	$	4,042
Short-term deposits		400		400		—
Accounts receivable, net		1,070		927		939
Inventories, net		2,234		2,148		2,140
Other current assets		574		546		495
Total current assets		7,026		6,880		7,616

Non-current assets:
Other non-current assets		2,641		2,290		2,236
Property, plant and equipment, net		3,309		3,289		3,197
Identified intangible assets, net		735		796		1,010
Goodwill		9,958		9,941		9,937
Total non-current assets		16,643		16,316		16,380

Total assets		23,669		23,196		23,996

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable		899		929		959
Restructuring liabilities-current		52		62		16
Other current liabilities		1,542		1,622		1,990
Short-term debt		499		499		999
Total current liabilities		2,992		3,112		3,964

Non-current liabilities:
Long-term debt		9,683		9,681		10,173
Restructuring liabilities		4		7		3
Deferred tax liabilities		57		48		44
Other non-current liabilities		1,189		1,003		1,014
Total non-current liabilities		10,933		10,739		11,234

Non-controlling interests		338		327		310
Stockholders’ equity		9,406		9,018		8,488
Total equity		9,744		9,345		8,798

Total liabilities and equity		23,669		23,196		23,996

NXP Semiconductors
Table 3: Condensed consolidated statement of cash flows (unaudited)

($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)	$	729		$	664		$	792
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		218			213			273
Share-based compensation		115			114			103
Amortization of discount (premium) on debt, net		—			1			1
Amortization of debt issuance costs		2			1			2
Results relating to equity-accounted investees		6			3			2
(Gain) loss on equity securities, net		7			3			4
Deferred tax expense (benefit)		(40	)		(23	)		(33	)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
(Increase) decrease in receivables and other current assets		(167	)		10			40
(Increase) decrease in inventories		(86	)		(46	)		(34	)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and other liabilities		118			(220	)		(128	)
(Increase) decrease in other non-current assets		(134	)		40			(49	)
Exchange differences		7			5			5
Other items		4			(4	)		10
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities		779			761			988
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of identified intangible assets		(26	)		(55	)		(42	)
Capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment		(186	)		(185	)		(200	)
Proceeds from the disposals of property, plant and equipment		—			1			—
Purchase of investments		(159	)		—			(31	)
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities		(371	)		(239	)		(273	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividends paid to common stockholders		(259	)		(260	)		(262	)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock through stock plans		39			3			36
Purchase of treasury shares and restricted stock unit withholdings		(305	)		(310	)		(306	)
Other, net		(1	)		—			(1	)
Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities		(526	)		(567	)		(533	)
Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash positions		7			(4	)		(3	)
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents		(111	)		(49	)		179
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		2,859			2,908			3,863
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period		2,748			2,859			4,042

Net cash paid during the period for:
Interest		27			86			38
Income taxes, net of refunds		196			193			165
Net gain (loss) on sale of assets:
Cash proceeds from the sale of assets		—			1			—
Book value of these assets		—			(1	)		—
Non-cash investing activities:
Non-cash capital expenditures		125			166			167

NXP Semiconductors
Table 4: Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results (unaudited)

($ in millions except share data)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
GAAP Gross Profit	$	1,866		$	1,792		$	1,965
PPA Effects		(12	)		(12	)		(13	)
Restructuring		—			(4	)		—
Share-based compensation		(14	)		(15	)		(14	)
Other incidentals		—			(10	)		(18	)
Non-GAAP Gross Profit	$	1,892		$	1,833		$	2,010
GAAP Gross margin		57.4	%		57.3	%		57.2	%
Non-GAAP Gross margin		58.2	%		58.6	%		58.5	%
GAAP Research and development	$	(577	)	$	(594	)	$	(601	)
Restructuring		—			(4	)		4
Share-based compensation		(58	)		(58	)		(53	)
Other incidentals		—			—			(2	)
Non-GAAP Research and development	$	(519	)	$	(532	)	$	(550	)
GAAP Selling, general and administrative	$	(265	)	$	(270	)	$	(294	)
PPA effects		(1	)		(1	)		(1	)
Restructuring		—			2			—
Share-based compensation		(43	)		(41	)		(36	)
Other incidentals		(2	)		(2	)		(4	)
Non-GAAP Selling, general and administrative	$	(219	)	$	(228	)	$	(253	)
GAAP Operating income (loss)	$	990		$	896		$	992
PPA effects		(42	)		(41	)		(85	)
Restructuring		—			(6	)		4
Share-based compensation		(115	)		(114	)		(103	)
Other incidentals		(6	)		(14	)		(27	)
Non-GAAP Operating income (loss)	$	1,153		$	1,071		$	1,203
GAAP Operating margin		30.5	%		28.7	%		28.9	%
Non-GAAP Operating margin		35.5	%		34.3	%		35.0	%
GAAP Income tax benefit (provision)	$	(173	)	$	(154	)	$	(123	)
Income tax effect		9			15			45
Non-GAAP Income tax benefit (provision)	$	(182	)	$	(169	)	$	(168	)
GAAP Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders	$	718		$	658		$	787
PPA Effects		(42	)		(41	)		(85	)
Restructuring		—			(6	)		4
Share-based compensation		(115	)		(114	)		(103	)
Other incidentals		(6	)		(14	)		(27	)
Other adjustments:
Adjustments to financial income (expense)		(12	)		(8	)		(10	)
Income tax effect		9			15			45
Results relating to equity-accounted investees, excluding Foundry investees¹		(6	)		(3	)		(2	)
Non-GAAP Net income (loss) attributable to stockholders	$	890		$	829		$	965


Additional Information:
Refer to Table 7 below for further information regarding the results relating to equity-accounted investees.

GAAP net income (loss) per common share attributable to stockholders – diluted	$	2.79		$	2.54		$	3.01
PPA Effects		(0.16	)		(0.16	)		(0.33	)
Restructuring		—			(0.02	)		0.01
Share-based compensation		(0.45	)		(0.44	)		(0.40	)
Other incidentals		(0.02	)		(0.06	)		(0.10	)
Other adjustments:
Adjustments to financial income (expense)		(0.05	)		(0.03	)		(0.03	)
Income tax effect		0.04			0.06			0.17
Results relating to equity-accounted investees, excluding Foundry investees¹		(0.02	)		(0.01	)		(0.01	)
Non-GAAP net income (loss) per common share attributable to stockholders – diluted	$	3.45		$	3.20		$	3.70


Additional Information:
Refer to Table 7 below for further information regarding the results relating to equity-accounted investees.

NXP Semiconductors
Table 5: Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Financial income (expense) (unaudited)

($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
GAAP Financial income (expense)	$	(82	)	$	(75	)	$	(75	)
Foreign exchange loss		(3	)		(2	)		(3	)
Other financial expense		(9	)		(6	)		(7	)
Non-GAAP Financial income (expense)	$	(70	)	$	(67	)	$	(65	)

NXP Semiconductors
Table 6: Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Other income (expense) (unaudited)

($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
GAAP Other income (expense)	$	(5	)	$	(4	)	$	(7	)
Other incidentals		(4	)		(2	)		(3	)
Non-GAAP Other income (expense)	$	(1	)	$	(2	)	$	(4	)

NXP Semiconductors
Table 7: Financial Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP Results relating to equity-accounted investees (unaudited)

($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
GAAP Results relating to equity-accounted investees	$	(6	)	$	(3	)	$	(2	)
Results of equity-accounted investees, excluding Foundry investees¹		(6	)		(3	)		(2	)
Non-GAAP Results relating to equity-accounted investees	$	—		$	—		$	—

Additional Information:
We adjust our results relating to equity-accounted investees for those results from investments over which NXP has significant influence, but not control, and whose business activities are not related to the core operating performance of NXP. Our equity-investments in foundry partners are part of our long-term core operating performance and accordingly those results comprise the Non-GAAP Results relating to equity-accounted investees.

NXP Semiconductors
Table 8: Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow (unaudited)

($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
GAAP Net income (loss)	$	729		$	664		$	792
Reconciling items to EBITDA (Non-GAAP)
Financial (income) expense		82			75			75
(Benefit) provision for income taxes		173			154			123
Depreciation		149			146			163
Amortization		69			67			110
EBITDA (Non-GAAP)	$	1,202		$	1,106		$	1,263
Reconciling items to adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)
Results of equity-accounted investees, excluding Foundry investees¹		6			3			2
Restructuring		—			6			(4	)
Share-based compensation		115			114			103
Other incidental items		6			14			27
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)	$	1,329		$	1,243		$	1,391
Trailing twelve month adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)		5,235			5,297			5,384


Additional Information:
Refer to Table 7 above for further information regarding the results relating to equity-accounted investees.


($ in millions)	Three months ended
	September 29, 2024			June 30, 2024			October 1, 2023
Net cash provided by (used for) operating activities	$	779		$	761		$	988
Net capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment		(186	)		(184	)		(200	)
Non-GAAP free cash flow	$	593		$	577		$	788
Trailing twelve month non-GAAP free cash flow	$	2,759		$	2,954		$	2,568
Trailing twelve month non-GAAP free cash flow as percent of Revenue		21	%		23	%		20	%

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025

MIL-OSI: Greenlight Re Announces Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLRE) (“Greenlight Re” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Third Quarter 2024 Highlights (all comparisons are to third quarter 2023 unless noted otherwise):

Gross premiums written of $168.3 million compared to $183.1 million;
Net premiums earned of $151.9 million, compared to $163.1 million;
Net underwriting income of $6.1 million, compared to $14.4 million;
Total investment income of $28.1 million, compared to $5.1 million;
Net income of $35.2 million, or $1.01 per diluted ordinary share, compared to $13.5 million, or $0.39 per diluted ordinary share;
Combined ratio of 95.9%, compared to 91.2%; and
Fully diluted book value per share increased $1.07, or 6.1%, to $18.72, from $17.65 at June 30, 2024.

Greg Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of Greenlight Re, stated, “Our third quarter results demonstrated Greenlight Re’s disciplined and resilient underwriting approach, achieving profitable performance for the eighth consecutive quarter. Alongside strong investment returns, Greenlight Re recorded a notably strong quarter.”

David Einhorn, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, “Solasglas generated a net return of 5.2% in the third quarter, while maintaining a conservative exposure to equity markets. Despite significant natural catastrophe events during the quarter, Greenlight Re performed well, with positive performance on both our underwriting and investment activities.”

Third Quarter 2024 Results

Gross premiums written in the third quarter of 2024 were $168.3 million, compared to $183.1 million in the third quarter of 2023. The $14.7 million decrease, or 8.0%, was primarily due to a personal property contract and a Lloyd’s casualty contract that the Company non-renewed during 2024, and was partially offset by growth in the specialty business. Similarly, earned premiums decreased by $11.2 million, or 6.9%, to $151.9 million.

The Company recognized net underwriting income of $6.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to net underwriting income of $14.4 million during the equivalent period in 2023. The combined ratio for the third quarter of 2024 was 95.9%, compared to 91.2% for the equivalent period in 2023. Catastrophe losses, including Hurricane Helene, Central European floods and US severe convective storms, added 9.3% to the combined ratio during the third quarter of 2024.

The Company’s total investment income during the third quarter of 2024 was $28.1 million. The Company’s investment in the Solasglas fund, managed by DME Advisors, returned 5.2%, representing net income of $19.8 million. The Company reported $8.2 million of other investment income, primarily from interest earned on its restricted cash and cash equivalents.

The net income of $35.2 million contributed to the 6.1% increase in fully diluted book value per share for the quarter, which increased to $18.72 per share at September 30, 2024 from $17.65 at June 30, 2024.

During the third quarter of 2024, the Company repurchased 547,402 ordinary shares for $7.5 million under its share repurchase plan.

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s combined ratio.

	Third Quarter
Underwriting ratios	2024		2023
Loss ratio – current year	65.0	%	61.4	%
Loss ratio – prior year	(3.7)%		(2.0)%
Loss ratio	61.3	%	59.4	%
Acquisition cost ratio	30.4	%	28.8	%
Composite ratio	91.7	%	88.2	%
Underwriting expense ratio	4.2	%	3.0	%
Combined ratio	95.9	%	91.2	%

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call

Greenlight Re will host a live conference call to discuss its financial results on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Dial-in details:

U.S. toll free 1-877-407-9753
International 1-201-493-6739

The conference call can also be accessed via webcast at:

https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1692074&tp_key=a944f284f8

A telephone replay will be available following the call through November 11, 2024. The replay of the call may be accessed by dialing 1-877-660-6853 (U.S. toll free) or 1-201-612-7415 (international), access code 13749374. An audio file of the call will also be available on the Company’s website, www.greenlightre.com.

2024 Investor Day

As previously announced, the Company will host its 2024 Investor Day in New York City on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time. The event will include a luncheon, detailed presentation from members of the executive management team, and opportunities for live interaction during the Q&A segment.

Attendees must register in advance. To register, please contact Karin Daly, Greenlight Capital Re’s investor relations representative at IR@greenlightre.ky.

The 2024 Investor Day will be held exclusively in-person. An archived webcast will become available on the Company’s website following the event.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In presenting the Company’s results, management has included financial measures that are not calculated under standards or rules that comprise accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). Such measures, including fully diluted book value per share and net underwriting income (loss), are referred to as non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures may be defined or calculated differently by other companies. Management believes these measures allow for a more thorough understanding of the underlying business. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies and should be used to monitor our results and should be considered in addition to, and not viewed as a substitute for those measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures are included in the attached financial information in accordance with Regulation G.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements concerning Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (the “Company”) within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in the U.S. federal securities laws. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made on the Company’s behalf. These risks and uncertainties include a downgrade or withdrawal of our A.M. Best ratings; any suspension or revocation of any of our licenses; losses from catastrophes; the loss of significant brokers; the performance of Solasglas Investments, LP; the carry values of our investments made under our Greenlight Re Innovations pillar may differ significantly from those that would be used if we carried these investments at fair value; and other factors described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 5, 2024, as those factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic and other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as provided by law.

About Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd.
Greenlight Re (www.greenlightre.com) provides multiline property and casualty insurance and reinsurance through its licensed and regulated reinsurance entities in the Cayman Islands and Ireland, and its Lloyd’s platform, Greenlight Innovation Syndicate 3456. The Company complements its underwriting activities with a non-traditional investment approach designed to achieve higher rates of return over the long term than reinsurance companies that exclusively employ more traditional investment strategies. The Company’s innovations unit, Greenlight Re Innovations, supports technology innovators in the (re)insurance space by providing investment capital, risk capacity, and access to a broad insurance network.

Investor Relations Contact
Karin Daly
Vice President, The Equity Group Inc.
(212) 836-9623
IR@greenlightre.ky

GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share and share amounts)
	September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
	(UNAUDITED)
Assets
Investments
Investment in related party investment fund, at fair value	$	397,888	$	258,890
Other investments		73,559		73,293
Total investments		471,447		332,183
Cash and cash equivalents		54,642		51,082
Restricted cash and cash equivalents		567,091		604,648
Reinsurance balances receivable (net of allowance for expected credit losses)		718,719		619,401
Loss and loss adjustment expenses recoverable (net of allowance for expected credit losses)		65,947		25,687
Deferred acquisition costs		82,206		79,956
Unearned premiums ceded		35,270		17,261
Other assets		6,364		5,089
Total assets	$	2,001,686	$	1,735,307
Liabilities and equity
Liabilities
Loss and loss adjustment expense reserves	$	811,152	$	661,554
Unearned premium reserves		347,103		306,310
Reinsurance balances payable		88,152		68,983
Funds withheld		20,788		17,289
Other liabilities		8,491		11,795
Debt		62,582		73,281
Total liabilities		1,338,268		1,139,212
Shareholders’ equity
Ordinary share capital (par value $0.10; issued and outstanding, 34,832,493) (2023: par value $0.10; issued and outstanding, 35,336,732)	$	3,483	$	3,534
Additional paid-in capital		481,672		484,532
Retained earnings		178,263		108,029
Total shareholders’ equity		663,418		596,095
Total liabilities and equity	$	2,001,686	$	1,735,307

GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except percentages and per share amounts)
	Three months ended September 30						Nine months ended September 30
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Underwriting revenue
Gross premiums written	$	168,346		$	183,074		$	554,579		$	524,472
Gross premiums ceded		(26,598	)		(14,789	)		(64,611	)		(35,740	)
Net premiums written		141,748			168,285			489,968			488,732
Change in net unearned premium reserves		10,136			(5,175	)		(18,150	)		(43,030	)
Net premiums earned	$	151,884		$	163,110		$	471,818		$	445,702
Underwriting related expenses
Net loss and loss adjustment expenses incurred:
Current year	$	98,820		$	100,143		$	305,467		$	273,570
Prior year		(5,654	)		(3,300	)		(943	)		10,502
Net loss and loss adjustment expenses incurred		93,165			96,843			304,524			284,072
Acquisition costs		46,162			46,933			138,226			126,702
Underwriting expenses		6,073			4,639			18,223			14,046
Deposit interest expense (income), net		377			278			1,020			645
Net underwriting income ⁽¹⁾	$	6,107		$	14,417		$	9,825		$	20,237

Income (loss) from investment in Solasglas	$	19,844		$	(1,853	)	$	42,422		$	27,791
Net investment income		8,244			6,958			24,611			24,705
Total investment income	$	28,088		$	5,105		$	67,033		$	52,496

Corporate expenses	$	4,253		$	3,266		$	13,334		$	13,820
Foreign exchange losses (gains)		(5,826	)		1,999			(3,245	)		(7,661	)
Other income, net		(2,210	)		(706	)		(9,969	)		(5,738	)
Interest expense		2,018			1,457			4,827			2,977
Income tax expense		723			29			1,677			111
Net income	$	35,237		$	13,477		$	70,234		$	69,224

Earnings per share
Basic	$	1.03		$	0.40		$	2.05		$	2.03
Diluted	$	1.01		$	0.39		$	2.02		$	1.99

Underwriting ratios:
Loss ratio – current year		65.0	%		61.4	%		64.7	%		61.4	%
Loss ratio – prior year	(3.7)%			(2.0)%			(0.2)%				2.4	%
Loss ratio		61.3	%		59.4	%		64.5	%		63.8	%
Acquisition cost ratio		30.4	%		28.8	%		29.3	%		28.4	%
Composite ratio		91.7	%		88.2	%		93.8	%		92.2	%
Underwriting expense ratio		4.2	%		3.0	%		4.1	%		3.3	%
Combined ratio		95.9	%		91.2	%		97.9	%		95.5	%

¹ Net underwriting income is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “ Key Financial Measures and Non-GAAP Measures” below for discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.

The following tables present the Company’s net premiums earned and underwriting ratios by line of business:

	Three months ended September 30								Three months ended September 30
	2024								2023
	Property		Casualty		Other		Total		Property		Casualty		Other		Total
	($ in thousands except percentage)
Net premiums earned	$19,134		$83,079		$49,671		$151,884		$24,362		$93,514		$45,234		$163,110
Underwriting ratios:
Loss ratio	112.4	%	52.7	%	56.1	%	61.3	%	54.1	%	67.4	%	45.6	%	59.4	%
Acquisition cost ratio	19.9		34.0		28.4		30.4		17.7		31.9		28.2		28.8
Composite ratio	132.3	%	86.7	%	84.5	%	91.7	%	71.8	%	99.3	%	73.8	%	88.2	%
Underwriting expense ratio							4.2								3.0
Combined ratio							95.9	%							91.2	%

	Nine months ended September 30									Nine months ended September 30
	2024									2023
	Property		Casualty		Other			Total		Property		Casualty		Other		Total
	($ in thousands except percentage)
Net premiums earned	$60,610		$263,872		$147,336			$471,818		$63,854		$259,075		$122,773		$445,702
Underwriting ratios:
Loss ratio	90.1	%	61.5	%		59.4	%	64.5	%	81.6	%	67.0	%	47.5	%	63.8	%
Acquisition cost ratio	17.1		32.6			28.3		29.3		18.5		31.0		28.2		28.4
Composite ratio	107.2	%	94.1	%		87.7	%	93.8	%	100.1	%	98.0	%	75.7	%	92.2	%
Underwriting expense ratio								4.1								3.3
Combined ratio								97.9	%							95.5	%

GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD.
KEY FINANCIAL MEASURES AND NON-GAAP MEASURES

Management uses certain key financial measures, some of which are not prescribed under U.S. GAAP rules and standards (“non-GAAP financial measures”), to evaluate our financial performance, financial position, and the change in shareholder value. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure, as defined in SEC Regulation G, is a numerical measure of a company’s historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented under U.S. GAAP. We believe that these measures, which may be calculated or defined differently by other companies, provide consistent and comparable metrics of our business performance to help shareholders understand performance trends and facilitate a more thorough understanding of the Company’s business. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be viewed as substitutes for those determined under U.S. GAAP.

The key non-GAAP financial measures used in this news release are:

Fully diluted book value per share; and
Net underwriting income (loss).

These non-GAAP financial measures are described below.

Fully Diluted Book Value Per Share

Our primary financial goal is to increase fully diluted book value per share over the long term. We use fully diluted book value as a financial measure in our incentive compensation plan.

We believe that long-term growth in fully diluted book value per share is the most relevant measure of our financial performance because it provides management and investors a yardstick to monitor the shareholder value generated. Fully diluted book value per share may also help our investors, shareholders, and other interested parties form a basis of comparison with other companies within the property and casualty reinsurance industry. Fully diluted book value per share should not be viewed as a substitute for the most comparable U.S. GAAP measure, which in our view is the basic book value per share.

We calculate basic book value per share as (a) ending shareholders’ equity, divided by (b) the total ordinary shares issued and outstanding, as reported in the consolidated financial statements. Fully diluted book value per share represents basic book value per share combined with any dilutive impact of in-the-money stock options (assuming net exercise) and all outstanding restricted stock units “RSUs”. We believe these adjustments better reflect the ultimate dilution to our shareholders.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the fully diluted book value per share to basic book value per share (the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure):

	September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023		September 30, 2023
Numerator for basic and fully diluted book value per share:
Total equity as reported under U.S. GAAP	$	663,418	$	634,020	$	624,458	$	596,095	$	575,865
Denominator for basic and fully diluted book value per share:
Ordinary shares issued and outstanding as reported and denominator for basic book value per share		34,832,493		35,321,144		35,321,144		35,336,732		35,337,407
Add: In-the-money stock options ⁽¹⁾ and all outstanding RSUs		602,013		594,612		585,334		264,870		312,409
Denominator for fully diluted book value per share		35,434,506		35,915,756		35,906,478		35,601,602		35,649,816

Basic book value per share	$	19.05	$	17.95	$	17.68	$	16.87	$	16.30
Fully diluted book value per share	$	18.72	$	17.65	$	17.39	$	16.74	$	16.15

⁽¹⁾ Assuming net exercise by the grantee.

Net Underwriting Income (Loss)

One way that we evaluate the Company’s underwriting performance is by measuring net underwriting income (loss). We do not use premiums written as a measure of performance. Net underwriting income (loss) is a performance measure used by management to evaluate the fundamentals underlying the Company’s underwriting operations. We believe that the use of net underwriting income (loss) enables investors and other users of the Company’s financial information to analyze our performance in a manner similar to how management analyzes performance. Management also believes this measure follows industry practice and allows the users of financial information to compare the Company’s performance with that of our industry peer group.

Net underwriting income (loss) is considered a non-GAAP financial measure because it excludes items used to calculate net income before taxes under U.S. GAAP. We calculate net underwriting income (loss) as net premiums earned less net loss and loss adjustment expenses, acquisition costs, underwriting expenses (including related G&A expenses), and deposit interest expense, plus deposit interest income. The measure excludes, on a recurring basis: (1) investment income (loss); (2) other income (expense) not related to underwriting, including foreign exchange gains or losses, and Lloyd’s interest income and expense; (3) corporate G&A expenses; and (4) interest expense. We exclude total investment income or loss, foreign exchange gains or losses, and Lloyd’s interest income or expense as we believe these items are influenced by market conditions and other factors unrelated to underwriting decisions. Additionally, we exclude corporate G&A and interest expenses because these costs are generally fixed and not incremental to or directly related to our underwriting operations. We believe all of these amounts are largely independent of our underwriting process, and including them could hinder the analysis of trends in our underwriting operations. Net underwriting income (loss) should not be viewed as a substitute for U.S. GAAP net income before income taxes.

The reconciliations of net underwriting income to income before income taxes (the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure) on a consolidated basis are shown below:

	Three months ended September 30						Nine months ended September 30
		2024			2023			2024			2023
	($ in thousands)
Income before income tax	$	35,960		$	13,506		$	71,911		$	69,335
Add (subtract):
Total investment income		(28,088	)		(5,105	)		(67,033	)		(52,496	)
Foreign exchange losses (gains)		(5,826	)		1,999			(3,245	)		(7,661	)
Other non-underwriting income		(2,210	)		(706	)		(9,969	)		(5,738	)
Corporate expenses		4,253			3,266			13,334			13,820
Interest expense		2,018			1,457			4,827			2,977
Net underwriting income	$	6,107		$	14,417		$	9,825		$	20,237

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025

MIL-OSI: Par Pacific Holdings Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

HOUSTON, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR) (“Par Pacific” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Net Income of $7.5 million, or $0.13 per diluted share
Adjusted Net Loss of $(5.5) million, or $(0.10) per diluted share
Adjusted EBITDA of $51.4 million
Record logistics financial results driven by record refining throughput
Liquidity increased by $112.1 million while repurchasing $21.9 million of common stock

Par Pacific reported net income of $7.5 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared to $171.4 million, or $2.79 per diluted share, for the same quarter in 2023. Third quarter 2024 Adjusted Net Loss was $(5.5) million, compared to Adjusted Net Income of $193.4 million in the third quarter of 2023. Third quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA was $51.4 million, compared to $255.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. A reconciliation of reported non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables accompanying this news release.

“Our third quarter financial results reflect a challenging summer refining margin environment,” said Will Monteleone, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite the cyclical downturn, refining system throughput set a quarterly record, our retail and logistics segments delivered consistently strong financial results, and our Hawaii SAF project has entered the construction phase. We are focused on improving operating and capital efficiency while prioritizing safe and reliable operations.”

Refining

The Refining segment reported operating income of $19.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $194.8 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Refining segment was $142.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $350.6 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Refining segment Adjusted EBITDA was $20.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $233.6 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Hawaii
The 3-1-2 Singapore Crack Spread was $11.00 per barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $23.39 per barrel in the third quarter of 2023. Throughput in the third quarter of 2024 was 81 thousand barrels per day (Mbpd), compared to 82 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $4.58 per throughput barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $4.50 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Hawaii refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $6.10 per barrel during the third quarter of 2024, including a net price lag impact of approximately $5.1 million, or $0.68 per barrel, compared to $13.47 per barrel during the third quarter of 2023.

Montana
The RVO Adjusted USGC 3-2-1 Index averaged $14.14 per barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $29.65 in the third quarter of 2023. The Montana refinery’s throughput in the third quarter of 2024 was 57 Mbpd, compared to 55 Mbpd for the same quarter in 2023. Production costs were $11.61 per throughput barrel, compared to $10.83 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Montana refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $12.42 per barrel during the third quarter of 2024, compared to $26.49 per barrel during the third quarter of 2023.

Washington
The RVO Adjusted Pacific Northwest 3-1-1-1 Index averaged $15.48 per barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $35.00 per barrel in the third quarter of 2023. The Washington refinery’s throughput was 41 Mbpd in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 41 Mbpd in the third quarter of 2023. Production costs were $3.50 per throughput barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $3.77 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Washington refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $1.76 per barrel during the third quarter of 2024, compared to $12.30 per barrel during the third quarter of 2023.

Wyoming
The RVO Adjusted USGC 3-2-1 Index averaged $14.14 per barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $29.65 per barrel in the third quarter of 2023. The Wyoming refinery’s throughput was 19 Mbpd in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 20 Mbpd in the third quarter of 2023. Production costs were $7.00 per throughput barrel in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $6.46 per throughput barrel in the same period of 2023.

The Wyoming refinery’s Adjusted Gross Margin was $13.65 per barrel during the third quarter of 2024, including a FIFO impact of approximately $(4.7) million, or $(2.63) per barrel, compared to $37.01 per barrel during the third quarter of 2023.

Retail

The Retail segment reported operating income of $18.3 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $13.3 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Retail segment was $42.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $38.2 million in the same quarter of 2023.

Retail segment Adjusted EBITDA was $21.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $16.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. The Retail segment reported sales volumes of 31.2 million gallons in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 31.1 million gallons in the same quarter of 2023. Third quarter 2024 same store sales fuel volumes decreased by (1.4)% while merchandise revenue increased by 3.8%, compared to third quarter of 2023.

Logistics

The Logistics segment reported operating income of $26.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $20.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted Gross Margin for the Logistics segment was $36.3 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $35.3 million in the same quarter of 2023.

Logistics segment Adjusted EBITDA was $33.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $29.1 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Liquidity

Net cash provided by operations totaled $78.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, including working capital inflows of $67.2 million and deferred turnaround expenditures of $(15.6) million. Excluding these items, net cash provided by operations was $26.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024. Net cash provided by operations was $269.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. Net cash used in investing activities totaled $(28.3) million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, consisting primarily of capital expenditures, compared to $(5.7) million for the three months ended September 30, 2023. Net cash used in financing activities totaled $(46.8) million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to $(92.9) million for the three months ended September 30, 2023.

At September 30, 2024, Par Pacific’s cash balance totaled $183.0 million, gross term debt was $546.0 million, and total liquidity was $632.5 million. Net term debt was $363.0 million at September 30, 2024. In the third quarter of 2024, the Company repurchased $21.9 million of common stock.

Laramie Energy

In conjunction with Laramie Energy LLC’s (“Laramie’s”) refinancing and subsequent cash distribution to Par Pacific during the first quarter of 2023, we resumed the application of equity method accounting for our investment in Laramie effective February 21, 2023. During the third quarter of 2024, we recorded $(0.3) million of equity losses. Laramie’s total net loss was $(4.2) million in the third quarter of 2024, including unrealized losses on derivatives of $(0.4) million, compared to $(4.7) million in the third quarter of 2023. Laramie’s total Adjusted EBITDAX was $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $15.4 million in the third quarter of 2023.

Conference Call Information

A conference call is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time (10:00 a.m. Eastern Time). To access the call, please dial 1-833-974-2377 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-5782 outside of the U.S. and ask for the Par Pacific call. Please dial in at least 10 minutes early to register. The webcast may be accessed online through the Company’s website at http://www.parpacific.com on the Investors page. A telephone replay will be available until November 19, 2024 and may be accessed by calling 1-877-344-7529 inside the U.S. or 1-412-317-0088 outside the U.S. and using the conference ID 4223997.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PARR), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a growing energy company providing both renewable and conventional fuels to the western United States. Par Pacific owns and operates 219,000 bpd of combined refining capacity across four locations in Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest and the Rockies, and an extensive energy infrastructure network, including 13 million barrels of storage, and marine, rail, rack, and pipeline assets. In addition, Par Pacific operates the Hele retail brand in Hawaii and the “nomnom” convenience store chain in the Pacific Northwest. Par Pacific also owns 46% of Laramie Energy, LLC, a natural gas production company with operations and assets concentrated in Western Colorado. More information is available at www.parpacific.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release (and oral statements regarding the subject matter of this news release, including those made on the conference call and webcast announced herein) includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to qualify for the “safe harbor” from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements about: expected market conditions; anticipated free cash flows; anticipated refinery throughput; anticipated cost savings; anticipated capital expenditures, including major maintenance costs, and their effect on our financial and operating results, including earnings per share and free cash flow; anticipated retail sales volumes and on-island sales; the anticipated financial and operational results of Laramie Energy, LLC; the amount of our discounted net cash flows and the impact of our NOL carryforwards thereon; our ability to identify, acquire, and develop energy, related retailing, and infrastructure businesses; the timing and expected results of certain development projects, as well as the impact of such investments on our product mix and sales; the anticipated synergies and other benefits of the Billings refinery and associated marketing and logistics assets (“Billings Acquisition”), including renewable growth opportunities, the anticipated financial and operating results of the Billings Acquisition and the effect on Par Pacific’s cash flows and profitability (including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income and Free Cash Flow per share); and other risks and uncertainties detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and any other documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends, and uncertainties, such as changes to our financial condition and liquidity; the volatility of crude oil and refined product prices; the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel-Palestine conflict, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iranian activities in the Strait of Hormuz and their potential impacts on global crude oil markets and our business; operating disruptions at our refineries resulting from unplanned maintenance events or natural disasters; environmental risks; changes in the labor market; and risks of political or regulatory changes. We cannot provide assurances that the assumptions upon which these forward-looking statements are based will prove to have been correct. Should one of these risks materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are current only as of this date. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. We further expressly disclaim any written or oral statements made by a third party regarding the subject matter of this news release.

Contact:
Ashimi Patel
VP, Investor Relations & Sustainability
(832) 916-3355
apatel@parpacific.com


Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) (in thousands, except per share data)

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenues	$	2,143,933		$	2,579,308		$	6,142,236		$	6,048,444
Operating expenses
Cost of revenues (excluding depreciation)		1,905,200			2,174,385			5,422,875			5,038,211
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		147,049			145,183			444,389			330,146
Depreciation and amortization		31,879			35,311			96,679			87,887
General and administrative expense (excluding depreciation)		22,399			23,694			87,322			66,148
Equity earnings from refining and logistics investments		(3,008	)		(3,934	)		(12,846	)		(4,359	)
Acquisition and integration costs		(23	)		4,669			68			17,213
Par West redevelopment and other costs		4,006			3,127			9,048			8,490
Loss on sale of assets, net		—			—			114			—
Total operating expenses		2,107,502			2,382,435			6,047,649			5,543,736
Operating income		36,431			196,873			94,587			504,708
Other income (expense)
Interest expense and financing costs, net		(23,402	)		(20,815	)		(61,720	)		(51,974	)
Debt extinguishment and commitment costs		—			—			(1,418	)		(17,682	)
Other income (loss), net		1,253			(43	)		(1,447	)		301
Equity earnings (losses) from Laramie Energy, LLC		(336	)		—			2,867			10,706
Total other expense, net		(22,485	)		(20,858	)		(61,718	)		(58,649	)
Income before income taxes		13,946			176,015			32,869			446,059
Income tax expense		(6,460	)		(4,600	)		(10,496	)		(6,741	)
Net income	$	7,486		$	171,415		$	22,373		$	439,318

Weighted-average shares outstanding
Basic		55,729		60,223		57,283		60,241
Diluted		56,224		61,404		58,070		61,144

Income per share
Basic	$	0.13	$	2.85	$	0.39	$	7.29
Diluted	$	0.13	$	2.79	$	0.39	$	7.18


Balance Sheet Data (Unaudited) (in thousands)

	September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Balance Sheet Data
Cash and cash equivalents	$	182,977	$	279,107
Working capital (1)		542,690		190,042
ABL Credit Facility		511,000		115,000
Term debt (2)		546,021		550,621
Total debt, including current portion		1,043,706		650,858
Total stockholders’ equity		1,254,026		1,335,424

______________________________
(1) Working capital is calculated as (i) total current assets excluding cash and cash equivalents less (ii) total current liabilities excluding current portion of long-term debt. Total current assets include inventories stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value.
(2) Term debt includes the Term Loan Credit Agreement and other long-term debt.

Operating Statistics

The following table summarizes key operational data:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Total Refining Segment
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd) (1)		198.4			198.2			186.3			164.6
Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)		216.2			217.3			200.2			178.7

Hawaii Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		80.7			82.3			80.4			80.9

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		25.6	%		26.5	%		26.0	%		26.7	%
Distillates		38.3	%		42.1	%		38.1	%		40.8	%
Fuel oils		32.0	%		26.5	%		32.0	%		28.0	%
Other products		0.7	%		2.1	%		0.3	%		1.5	%
Total yield		96.6	%		97.2	%		96.4	%		97.0	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		93.5			90.0			87.8			89.2

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	6.10		$	13.47		$	10.06		$	14.74
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		4.58			4.50			4.66			4.46
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		0.25			0.65			0.47			0.68

Montana Refinery
Feedstocks Throughput (Mbpd) (1)		57.2			55.4			49.2			57.1

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		46.5	%		50.5	%		49.5	%		49.6	%
Distillates		34.7	%		27.7	%		31.7	%		28.2	%
Asphalt		11.0	%		14.7	%		9.3	%		14.4	%
Other products		4.0	%		3.4	%		4.4	%		3.5	%
Total yield		96.2	%		96.3	%		94.9	%		95.7	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd) (1)		60.3			63.5			53.4			62.5

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	12.42		$	26.49		$	14.15		$	27.74
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		11.61			10.83			13.16			10.10
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		1.82			1.63			1.69			1.69

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Washington Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		41.1			41.0			37.9			40.5

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		23.6	%		22.8	%		24.0	%		23.4	%
Distillate		35.3	%		34.6	%		34.5	%		34.6	%
Asphalt		17.4	%		20.1	%		18.6	%		19.4	%
Other products		19.7	%		18.8	%		19.3	%		18.8	%
Total yield		96.0	%		96.3	%		96.4	%		96.2	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		42.4			44.2			39.6			43.3

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	1.76		$	12.30		$	4.03		$	9.91
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		3.50			3.77			4.28			4.00
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		1.81			1.79			2.00			1.81

Wyoming Refinery
Feedstocks throughput (Mbpd)		19.4			19.5			18.8			17.7

Yield (% of total throughput)
Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks		43.7	%		46.7	%		45.7	%		46.0	%
Distillate		49.0	%		47.1	%		48.1	%		47.3	%
Fuel oils		3.4	%		2.5	%		2.5	%		2.5	%
Other products		2.3	%		1.7	%		2.2	%		1.7	%
Total yield		98.4	%		98.0	%		98.5	%		97.5	%

Refined product sales volume (Mbpd)		20.0			19.6			19.4			18.3

Adjusted Gross Margin per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (2)	$	13.65		$	37.01		$	14.42		$	28.88
Production costs per bbl ($/throughput bbl) (3)		7.00			6.46			7.30			7.34
D&A per bbl ($/throughput bbl)		2.43			2.41			2.51			2.69

Market Indices ($ per barrel)
3-1-2 Singapore Crack Spread (4)	$	11.00		$	23.39		$	14.04		$	19.45
RVO Adj. Pacific Northwest 3-1-1-1 Index (5)		15.48			35.00			19.49			28.51
RVO Adj. USGC 3-2-1 Index (6)		14.14			29.65			17.79			25.96

Crude Oil Prices ($ per barrel)
Brent	$	78.71		$	85.92		$	81.82		$	81.93
WTI		75.27			82.22			77.61			77.28
ANS (7)		80.26			89.25			83.49			82.57
Bakken Clearbrook		74.41			83.58			76.22			79.38
WCS Hardisty		59.98			65.42			62.20			60.75
Brent M1-M3		1.31			1.27			1.22			0.74

Retail Segment
Retail sales volumes (thousands of gallons)		31,232			31,137			91,186			87,710

______________________________
(1)   Feedstocks throughput and sales volumes per day for the Montana refinery for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 are calculated based on the 92 and 122-day periods for which we owned the Montana refinery during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively. As such, the amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, plus the Montana refinery’s throughput or sales volumes averaged over the periods from July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023 and June 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023, respectively. The 2024 amounts for the total refining segment represent the sum of the Hawaii, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming refineries’ throughput or sales volumes averaged over the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.
(2)   We calculate Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel by dividing Adjusted Gross Margin by total refining throughput. Adjusted Gross Margin for our Washington refinery is determined under the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) inventory costing method. Adjusted Gross Margin for our other refineries is determined under the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) inventory costing method.
(3)   Management uses production costs per barrel to evaluate performance and compare efficiency to other companies in the industry. There are a variety of ways to calculate production costs per barrel; different companies within the industry calculate it in different ways. We calculate production costs per barrel by dividing all direct production costs, which include the costs to run the refineries including personnel costs, repair and maintenance costs, insurance, utilities, and other miscellaneous costs, by total refining throughput. Our production costs are included in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations, which also includes costs related to our bulk marketing operations and severance costs.
(4)   We believe the 3-1-2 Singapore Crack Spread (or three barrels of Brent crude oil converted into one barrel of gasoline and two barrels of distillates (diesel and jet fuel)) is the most representative market indicator for our operations in Hawaii.
(5)   We believe the RVO Adjusted Pacific Northwest 3-1-1-1 Index (or three barrels of WTI crude oil converted into one barrel of Pacific Northwest gasoline, one barrel of Pacific Northwest ULSD and one barrel of USGC VGO, less 100% of the RVO cost for gasoline and ULSD) is the most representative market indicator for our operations in Washington.
(6)   We believe the RVO Adjusted USGC 3-2-1 Index (or three barrels of WTI crude oil converted into two barrels of USGC gasoline and one barrel of USGC ULSD, less 100% of the RVO cost) is the most representative market indicator for our operations in Montana and Wyoming.
(7)   ANS crude price influences the Hawaii Refinery’s financial performance. Beginning in September 2024, the ANS index has been updated from a Platts marker to an Argus marker to better reflect the prompt ANS market.

Non-GAAP Performance Measures

Management uses certain financial measures to evaluate our operating performance that are considered non-GAAP financial measures. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes or alternatives to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures or any other measure of financial performance or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies since each company may define these terms differently.

We believe Adjusted Gross Margin (as defined below) provides useful information to investors because it eliminates the gross impact of volatile commodity prices and adjusts for certain non-cash items and timing differences created by our inventory financing agreements and lower of cost and net realizable value adjustments to demonstrate the earnings potential of the business before other fixed and variable costs, which are reported separately in Operating expense (excluding depreciation) and Depreciation and amortization. Management uses Adjusted Gross Margin per barrel to evaluate operating performance and compare profitability to other companies in the industry and to industry benchmarks. We believe Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) are useful supplemental financial measures that allow investors to assess the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis, the ability of our assets to generate cash to pay interest on our indebtedness, and our operating performance and return on invested capital as compared to other companies without regard to financing methods and capital structure. We believe Adjusted EBITDA by segment (as defined below) is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic performance of our segments without regard to financing methods, capital structure, or historical cost basis.

Beginning with financial results reported for the second quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA also exclude our portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from our refining and logistics investments acquired on June 1, 2023, as part of the Billings Acquisition.

Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Gross Margin, Adjusted Net Income (Loss), and Adjusted EBITDA excludes all hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and LIFO layer increment impacts associated with our Washington inventory. In addition, we have modified our environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustment to include only the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington Climate Commitment Act (“Washington CCA”) and Clean Fuel Standard. This modification was made as part of our change in how we estimate our environmental obligation liabilities.

Beginning with financial results reported for the fourth quarter of 2023, Adjusted Net Income (loss) excludes unrealized interest rate derivative losses (gains) and all Laramie Energy related impacts with the exception of cash distributions. We have recast Adjusted Net Income (Loss) for prior periods when reported to conform to the modified presentation.

Beginning with financial results reported for the first quarter of 2024, Adjusted Net Income (loss) also excludes other non-operating income and expenses. This modification improves comparability between periods by excluding income and expenses resulting from non-operating activities.

Adjusted Gross Margin

Adjusted Gross Margin is defined as operating income (loss) excluding:

•		operating expense (excluding depreciation);
•		depreciation and amortization (“D&A”);
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments;
•		impairment expense;
•		loss (gain) on sale of assets, net;
•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard); and
•		unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives.

The following tables present a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss), on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Three months ended September 30, 2024	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	19,005		$	26,164	$	18,274
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		122,054			3,334		21,661
Depreciation and amortization		22,623			5,925		2,680
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		658			861		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		14,057			—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(4,432	)		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(31,772	)		—		—
Gain on sale of assets, net		—			—		—
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	142,193		$	36,284	$	42,615

Three months ended September 30, 2023	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	194,847		$	20,736	$	13,315
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		116,949			6,135		22,099
Depreciation and amortization		24,278			7,708		2,766
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		821			698		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		72,823			—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(50,153	)		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(8,995	)		—		—
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	350,570		$	35,277	$	38,180

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	82,811		$	64,579	$	45,323
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		365,031			11,847		67,511
Depreciation and amortization		66,584			19,893		8,471
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		2,037			2,550		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		(6,419	)		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(18,199	)		—		—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		34,061			—		—
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		—			124		(10	)
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	525,906		$	98,993	$	121,295

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023	Refining			Logistics		Retail
Operating income	$	502,123		$	54,035	$	42,009
Operating expense (excluding depreciation)		252,802			13,178		64,166
Depreciation and amortization		59,827			17,801		8,577
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		821			905		—
Inventory valuation adjustment		126,799			—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(174,111	)		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(487	)		—		—
Adjusted Gross Margin (1)	$	767,774		$	85,919	$	114,752

______________________________
(1) For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, there was no impairment expense in Operating income. For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, there was no (gain) loss on sale of assets recorded in Operating income.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) is defined as Net income (loss) excluding:

•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
•		unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
•		acquisition and integration costs;
•		redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
•		debt extinguishment and commitment costs;
•		increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance and other deferred tax items;
•		changes in the value of contingent consideration and common stock warrants;
•		severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
•		(gain) loss on sale of assets;
•		impairment expense;
•		impairment expense associated with our investment in Laramie Energy; and
•		Par’s share of equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted Net Income (Loss) excluding:

•		D&A;
•		interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain);
•		cash distributions from Laramie Energy, LLC to Par;
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments; and
•		income tax expense (benefit) excluding the increase in (release of) tax valuation allowance.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss), on a historical basis for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Net income	$	7,486		$	171,415		$	22,373		$	439,318
Inventory valuation adjustment		14,057			72,823			(6,419	)		126,799
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(4,432	)		(50,153	)		(18,199	)		(174,111	)
Unrealized loss (gain) on derivatives		(31,196	)		(9,116	)		33,756			(1,151	)
Acquisition and integration costs		(23	)		4,669			68			17,213
Par West redevelopment and other costs		4,006			3,127			9,048			8,490
Debt extinguishment and commitment costs		—			—			1,418			17,682
Changes in valuation allowance and other deferred tax items (1)		5,707			—			9,238			—
Severance costs and other non-operating expense (2)		(1,490	)		615			14,648			1,685
Loss on sale of assets, net		—			—			114			—
Equity (earnings) losses from Laramie Energy, LLC, excluding cash distributions		336			—			(1,382	)		—
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (3)		(5,549	)		193,380			64,663			435,925
Depreciation and amortization		31,879			35,311			96,679			87,887
Interest expense and financing costs, net, excluding unrealized interest rate derivative loss (gain)		22,826			20,936			62,025			52,638
Laramie Energy, LLC cash distributions to Par		—			—			(1,485	)		(10,706	)
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		1,519			1,519			4,587			1,726
Income tax expense (benefit)		753			4,600			1,258			6,741
Adjusted EBITDA (3)	$	51,428		$	255,746		$	227,727		$	574,211

______________________________
(1)   For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, we recognized a non-cash deferred tax expense of $5.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively, related to deferred state and federal tax liabilities. This tax benefit is included in Income tax expense (benefit) on our consolidated statements of operations. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, we did not have any adjustments to our valuation allowance and other deferred tax items.
(2)   For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, we incurred $13.1 million of stock-based compensation expenses associated with accelerated vesting of equity awards and modification of vested equity awards related to our CEO transition and $2.3 million for an estimated legal settlement unrelated to current operating activities.
(3)   For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy, or our share of Laramie Energy’s asset impairment losses in excess of our basis difference. Please read the Non-GAAP Performance Measures discussion above for information regarding changes to the components of Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA made during the reporting periods.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023		2024		2023
Adjusted Net Income (Loss)	$	(5,549	)	$	193,380	$	64,663	$	435,925
Plus: effect of convertible securities		—			—		—		—
Numerator for diluted income (loss) per common share	$	(5,549	)	$	193,380	$	64,663	$	435,925

Basic weighted-average common stock shares outstanding		55,729			60,223		57,283		60,241
Add dilutive effects of common stock equivalents (1)		—			1,181		787		903
Diluted weighted-average common stock shares outstanding		55,729			61,404		58,070		61,144

Basic Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share	$	(0.10	)	$	3.21	$	1.13	$	7.24
Diluted Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per common share	$	(0.10	)	$	3.15	$	1.11	$	7.13

______________________________
(1) Entities with a net loss from continuing operations are prohibited from including potential common shares in the computation of diluted per share amounts. We have utilized the basic shares outstanding to calculate both basic and diluted Adjusted Net Loss per common share for the three months ended September 30, 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

Adjusted EBITDA by segment is defined as Operating income (loss) excluding:

•		D&A;
•		inventory valuation adjustment (which adjusts for timing differences to reflect the economics of our inventory financing agreements, including lower of cost or net realizable value adjustments, the impact of the embedded derivative repurchase or terminal obligations, hedge losses (gains) associated with our Washington ending inventory and intermediation obligation, purchase price allocation adjustments, and LIFO layer increment and decrement impacts associated with our Washington inventory);
•		Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments (which represents the mark-to-market losses (gains) associated with our net RINs liability and net obligation associated with the Washington CCA and Clean Fuel Standard);
•		unrealized (gain) loss on derivatives;
•		acquisition and integration costs;
•		redevelopment and other costs related to Par West;
•		severance costs and other non-operating expense (income);
•		(gain) loss on sale of assets;
•		impairment expense; and
•		Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments.

Adjusted EBITDA by segment also includes Gain on curtailment of pension obligation and Other income (loss), net, which are presented below operating income (loss) on our condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA by segment to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, operating income (loss) by segment, on a historical basis, for selected segments, for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2024
	Refining			Logistics		Retail		Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	19,005		$	26,164	$	18,274	$	(27,012	)
Depreciation and amortization		22,623			5,925		2,680		651
Inventory valuation adjustment		14,057			—		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(4,432	)		—		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(31,772	)		—		—		—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—		(23	)
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—		4,006
Severance costs and other non-operating expense		—			—		—		(1,490	)
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		658			861		—		—
Other income, net		—			—		—		1,253
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	20,139		$	32,950	$	20,954	$	(22,615	)

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2023
	Refining			Logistics		Retail		Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	194,847		$	20,736	$	13,315	$	(32,025	)
Depreciation and amortization		24,278			7,708		2,766		559
Inventory valuation adjustment		72,823			—		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(50,153	)		—		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(8,995	)		—		—		—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—		4,669
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—		3,127
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		—			—		580		35
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		821			698		—		—
Other loss, net		—			—		—		(43	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	233,621		$	29,142	$	16,661	$	(23,678	)

	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024
	Refining			Logistics		Retail			Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	82,811		$	64,579	$	45,323		$	(98,126	)
Depreciation and amortization		66,584			19,893		8,471			1,731
Inventory valuation adjustment		(6,419	)		—		—			—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(18,199	)		—		—			—
Unrealized loss on commodity derivatives		34,061			—		—			—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—			68
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		642			—		—			14,006
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—			9,048
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		—			124		(10	)		—
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		2,037			2,550		—			—
Other loss, net		—			—		—			(1,447	)
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	161,517		$	87,146	$	53,784		$	(74,720	)

	Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023
	Refining			Logistics		Retail		Corporate and Other
Operating income (loss) by segment	$	502,123		$	54,035	$	42,009	$	(93,459	)
Depreciation and amortization		59,827			17,801		8,577		1,682
Inventory valuation adjustment		126,799			—		—		—
Environmental obligation mark-to-market adjustments		(174,111	)		—		—		—
Unrealized gain on commodity derivatives		(487	)		—		—		—
Acquisition and integration costs		—			—		—		17,213
Severance costs and other non-operating expenses		—			—		580		1,105
Par West redevelopment and other costs		—			—		—		8,490
Par’s portion of interest, taxes, and depreciation expense from refining and logistics investments		821			905		—		—
Other income, net		—			—		—		301
Adjusted EBITDA (1)	$	514,972		$	72,741	$	51,166	$	(64,668	)

________________________________________
(1) For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, there was no change in value of contingent consideration, change in value of common stock warrants, impairment expense, or impairments associated with our investment in Laramie Energy. For three months ended September 30, 2024 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, there was no loss (gain) on sale of assets.

Laramie Energy Adjusted EBITDAX

Adjusted EBITDAX is defined as net income (loss) excluding commodity derivative loss (gain), loss (gain) on settled derivative instruments, interest expense, gain on extinguishment of debt, non-cash preferred dividend, depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion, exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, equity-based compensation expense, loss (gain) on disposal of assets, phantom units, and expired acreage (non-cash). We believe Adjusted EBITDAX is a useful supplemental financial measure to evaluate the economic and operational performance of exploration and production companies such as Laramie Energy.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Laramie Energy’s Adjusted EBITDAX to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income (loss) for the periods indicated (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2024			2023			2024			2023
Net income (loss)	$	(4,239	)	$	(3,479	)	$	(4,296	)	$	54,048
Commodity derivative (income) loss		(5,234	)		1,889			(15,821	)		(32,951	)
Gain (loss) on settled derivative instruments		5,584			2,775			14,220			(1,433	)
Interest expense and loan fees		5,745			5,783			15,783			14,742
Gain on extinguishment of debt		—			(3,454	)		—			6,644
Non-cash preferred dividend		—			—			—			2,910
Depreciation, depletion, amortization, and accretion		8,128			9,248			24,683			22,465
Phantom units		(217	)		2,425			(503	)		3,171
Loss (gain) on sale of assets, net		(8	)		239			(8	)		307
Expired acreage (non-cash)		157			—			722			112
Total Adjusted EBITDAX (1)	$	9,916		$	15,426		$	34,780		$	70,015

______________________________
(1) For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, there was no exploration and geological and geographical expense, bonus accrual, or equity-based compensation expense.

The MIL Network –

January 26, 2025

MIL-OSI Canada: G7 foreign ministers’ statement on the Launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Source: Government of Canada News

“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) October 31 (local time) launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), following other launches using ballistic missile technology.

November 4, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) October 31 (local time) launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), following other launches using ballistic missile technology. We deplore that the DPRK once again chose to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the people in the DPRK.

” The DPRK continues to advance its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and to escalate its destabilizing activities. We reiterate our call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and demand that the DPRK abandon all its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner in accordance with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). We urge UNSC Members to follow through on their commitments and call on all UN Member States to fully and effectively implement relevant UNSCRs.

” The G7 remains committed to working with all relevant partners toward the goal of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to upholding the free and open rules-based international order.”

MIL OSI Canada News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: ONLINE EVENT | Latin America – Spain Railway Dialogues ‘Rails towards a sustainable future”

Source: CAF Development Bank of Latin America

Under the title ‘Rails Towards a Sustainable Future’, this event aims to highlight the tremendous potential of rail as a mode of land transport capable of ensuring the mobility of large volumes of people and goods, boosting the economic, environmental, and social sustainability essential for the future. The Railway Dialogues will take place on November 13 and 14 at the La Moneda Cultural Center, gathering experts, government representatives, private companies, and financial institutions involved in the railway sector.

The first day is designed to foster knowledge sharing and inter-institutional collaboration, creating an ideal setting for learning from expert insights, discovering best practices, and building valuable connections within the railway industry. Authorities from countries such as Chile, Brazil, Panama, Uruguay, and Spain will participate.

The second day, organized by EFE as part of its 140th anniversary celebration, will address the challenges and opportunities in Chile’s railway sector, including a panel that brings in international railway perspectives with contributions from experts, authorities, and key institutions in the field.

To mark this anniversary, the La Moneda Cultural Center will also host the exhibition ‘The Train Runs Along the Line‘, which explores the present and future of railways in Chile.

This event wraps up a week of railway-related activities in Santiago, Chile. In the days leading up to it, the 60th Annual Assembly of the Latin American Railway Association (ALAF) and the Regional Assembly of the International Union of Railways (UIC) will take place.

Date: November 13 and 14
Time: 9:30 a.m. (Chile)*
*The event will be streamed on this microsite

MIL OSI Economics –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: MEDIA ADVISORY: Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence to Hold Seventh Meeting
Source: US State of Georgia

ATLANTA (November 4, 2024) — On Friday, November 8^th,2024, at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Study Committee on Artificial Intelligence, chaired by Sen. John Albers (R–Roswell), will hold its seventh hearing, in conjunction with the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Subcommittee on AI.

EVENT DETAILS:
- Date: Friday, November 8^th, 2024
- Time: 10:00 a.m.
- Location: Emory University, 1365 Clifton Road, Atlanta GA 30322
- This event is open to the public and will be live-streamed on the Georgia General Assembly website here.
ABOUT THE MEETING:

The committee is tasked with promoting responsible innovation, competition, and collaboration in public and private sectors will allow Georgia to be a leader in ensuring that such technology will advance in a way that enforces the existing consumer protection laws and principles for its citizens while enacting any additional appropriate safeguards against, fraud, unintended bias, discrimination, infringements on privacy, and other potential harms from AI.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:

We kindly request that members of the media confirm their attendance in advance by contacting Jantz Womack at SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

# # # #

Sen. John Albers serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Safety. He represents the 56th Senate District, which includes portions of Cherokee, Cobb, and North Fulton counties. He may be reached at his office at 404.463.8055 or by email at john.albers@senate.ga.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Leadership for Peace Means ‘Living Up to UN Charter’, Says Secretary-General at Security Council Debate

Source: United Nations – Peacekeeping

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council’s high-level debate on “Leadership for peace: united in respect of the UN Charter, in search of a secure future”, in New York today:

I thank the Government of Slovenia for convening this high-level debate on Leadership for Peace.

The topic is rooted in a fundamental truth: Peace is never automatic. Peace demands action. And peace demands leadership.

Instead, we’re seeing deepening geo-political divisions and mistrust. Impunity is spreading, with repeated violations of international law and the UN Charter. Conflicts are multiplying, becoming more complex and deadlier. All regions are affected.

And civilians are paying the steepest price. From Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan and beyond — wars grind on, suffering grows, hunger deepens, lives are upended, and the legitimacy and effectiveness of the United Nations, and this Council, are undermined.

Leadership for peace requires action in at least two key areas.

First — leadership for peace means all Member States living up to their commitments in the UN Charter, in international law and in recent agreements such as the Pact for the Future.

Among other things, the Pact calls for strengthening tools and frameworks to prevent conflict, sustain peace and advance sustainable development, with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.

It calls for updating our tools for peace operations to allow for more agile, tailored responses to existing, emerging and future challenges.

It reinforces the commitment to all human rights — civil, political, economic, social and cultural.

It includes initiatives around disarmament, peacebuilding, and managing threats posed by lethal autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence and in new domains, including outer space and cyberspace.

It calls for measures to quickly address complex global shocks. And it contains a new push to reform key institutions of global governance, including the global financial architecture and this very Council.

The Pact is a down-payment on these reforms. But we will need strong political will to implement them and rebuild the legitimacy and effectiveness of this Council. Which brings me to my second point about leadership for peace.

Leadership for peace means ensuring that the UN Security Council acts in a meaningful way to ease global tensions and help address the conflicts that are inflicting so much suffering around the world.

Geopolitical divisions continue to block effective solutions. A united Council can make a tremendous difference for peace. A divided Council cannot. It is imperative that Council Members spare no effort to work together to find common ground. And it has proven capable of doing so in some key areas.

From currently overseeing 11 peacekeeping operations on three continents, involving nearly 70,000 uniformed peacekeeping personnel…

To resolutions that help keep vital humanitarian aid flowing to the world’s hotspots…

To the landmark resolution 2719 (2023), which provides for African-Union led peace support operations authorized by the Council to have access to UN assessed contributions…

To the groundbreaking resolutions that recognized the clear implications of peace and security challenges on the lives of women and youth…

To this Council’s growing ties to regional and subregional organizations to foster consensus and peace. These examples — and more — prove that forging peace is possible.

When we consider the most difficult and intractable conflicts on this Council’s agenda, peace can seem an impossible dream.

But I strongly believe that peace is possible if we stick to principles. Peace in Ukraine is possible. By following the UN Charter and abiding by international law.

Peace in Gaza is possible. By sparing no effort for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process towards a two-State solution.

Peace in Sudan is possible. By sending a clear message to the warring parties that all Members of this Council — including the five permanent Members — will not tolerate the horrific violence and desperate humanitarian crisis being unleashed on innocent civilians.

The situations on this Council’s agenda are complex and do not have quick fixes. But the scale of the challenge should not deter us. Our only hope for progress on peace is active collaboration and unity among Council Members.

Today, I call on all Members to live up to this great responsibility, and to the promise of the UN Charter. Contribute to this Council’s success — not its diminishment. Let’s ensure that this Council serves as an effective and representative forum for peace — today and in the years to come.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Hearing of Commissioner-designate Apostolos Tzitzikostas

Source: European Parliament 3

On Monday evening, the Transport and Tourism Committee questioned Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Greek candidate for the sustainable transport and tourism portfolio.

The committee chair and political group coordinators will meet without delay to assess the performance and qualification of the Commissioner-designate.

Competitive transport, which respects environment

In his introductory speech, Mr Tzitzikostas stressed that if confirmed as Commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism he will focus on enhancing the competitiveness of the EU’s transport sector, sticking to the agreed timetable for its green and digital transitions, completing the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network by the established deadlines, enhancing transport safety, and ensuring the enforcement of current EU rules. To push for transport decarbonisation solutions, such as the production of sustainable fuels and the development of charging infrastructure, he committed to presenting a sustainable transport investment plan in 2025, while on competitiveness he pledged to develop an EU industrial action plan for automotive sector.

On the modal shift, the Commissioner-designate said he would present a plan to connect EU capitals and large cities by high-speed rail, including night trains. In addition, Mr Tzitzikostas committed to presenting a single digital booking and ticketing option for rail in the first year of his mandate.

On tourism, he said the EU must maintain its number one destination raking in the world. He committed to a strategy for sustainable tourism, to support the industry and preserve the well-being of local communities.

European solutions, working conditions, modal shift

Several MEPs asked the Commissioner-designate to support the EU’s transport and tourism sectors and look for solutions at the EU level. Cutting red tape, less reporting requirements and a pause on new proposals without undertaking an impact assessment were some of the demands presented by MEPs to Mr Tzitzikostas.

MEPs also asked questions on working conditions in the transport sector, especially in aviation and maritime, and secured a commitment from Mr Tzitzikostas for a comprehensive evaluation of the situation in this area within his first 100 days.

Members questioned Mr Tzitzikostas on the review of aviation service and air passenger right rules, the modal shift from road to rail, concrete proposals to encourage high-speed and night trains, the development of clean corporate fleet as well as additional measures to ensure transport safety.

Mr Tzitzikostas was also quizzed on specific measures to rescue the EU’s automotive industry, on financial support needed to complete the TEN-T network as well as plans to ensure maritime security and the disruption of Russia’s shadow vessels fleet.

You can watch the video recording of the full hearing here.

Press point

At the end of the hearing, the Chair of the Transport and Tourism Committee, Ms Elissavet Vozemberg, held a press point outside the meeting room: watch it here.

Next steps

Based on the committee recommendations, the Conference of Presidents (EP President Metsola and political group chairs) is set to conduct the final evaluation and declare the hearings closed on 21 November. Once the Conference of Presidents declares all hearings closed, the evaluation letters will be published.

The election by MEPs of the full college of Commissioners (by a majority of the votes cast, by roll-call) is currently scheduled to take place during the 25-28 November plenary session in Strasbourg.

MIL OSI Europe News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Lebanon & other topics – Daily Press Briefing (4 Nov 2024)

Source: United Nations (Video News)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
-Occupied Palestinian Territory
-Lebanon/Israel
-Lebanon/Humanitarian
-Ukraine
-Ukraine/Humanitarian
-Security Council
-Rosemary DiCarlo/Japan
-West and Central Africa
-Democratic Republic of the Congo
-Deputy Secretary-General
-World Urban Forum
-Counter-Terrorism
-Resident Coordinator – Honduras
-NY marathon
-Briefings today

Occupied Palestinian Territory
In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is deeply concerned about persistent reports of mounting casualties, with the number of Palestinians being killed and injured especially high in North Gaza Governorate, where the Israeli military operations are continuing.
In a statement on Saturday, Catherine Russell, the UNICEF, Children’s Fund head, said that more than 50 children had reportedly been killed in Jabalya over the previous two days alone, after strikes leveled two residential buildings sheltering hundreds of people.
Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that, for the past month, Israeli authorities have only allowed humanitarian access to Jabalya, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun on an exceptional basis, leaving us unable to confirm the conditions of people inside and we worry for their safety.
OCHA warns that the already limited humanitarian supplies entering Gaza have dwindled even further since October. Private imports are virtually banned, and Israeli authorities are only allowing the use of three entry points – Kerem Shalom, Gate 96, which is near Deir Al-Balah and Erez West. Furthermore, humanitarian colleagues can only access these border areas by highly dangerous routes. The use of most roads leading to these entry points has either been banned by the Israeli authorities or rendered unsafe due to the ongoing hostilities.
The routes available are often in poor condition and prone to armed looting fueled by the breakdown in public order and safety.
Our humanitarian colleagues note that supplies reaching the northern crossing at Erez West can only be sent to Gaza city, as requests to deliver them to besieged areas in North Gaza governorate are being consistently denied and rejected.
For its part, the World Food Programme warns that as winter approaches, the lack of food and other vital humanitarian supplies entering the Gaza Strip could soon escalate into famine unless immediate action is taken. In October, the World Food Programme has only been able to reach 42 per cent of the 1.1 million people targeted for food assistance in Gaza, with reduced rations due to dropping aid levels.

Lebanon/Israel
An update from UNIFIL, who is noting with continued concern the airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces across Lebanon over the weekend, including in the South, in Sidon, Baalbek and Beirut, resulting in several casualties. In southern Lebanon, the peacekeepers report that IDF operations have continued, involving clashes with Hizbullah. Meanwhile, they also report that Hizbullah has continued to launch drones and dozens of rockets South, into Israel.
The increasing impact on civilians is of grave concern and we condemn the loss of civilian lives. All actors must adhere to international law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. UNIFIL premises also continue to be impacted. On 2 November, a UN position near Markaba, in Sector East, sustained damage to its prefabricated containers and perimeters caused by demolition operations being undertaken by the IDF.
A nearby explosion also damaged a UN vehicle at the [UNIFIL] Naqoura Headquarters, with no injuries reported. We once again remind all actors of the inviolability of the UN premises and their responsibility to protect UN peacekeepers.
We urge the parties to halt the violence immediately. The United Nations continues to support efforts towards a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=04%20November%202024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHC60gr1Lo8

MIL OSI Video –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Address by Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Shri Pralhad Joshi on Seventh General Assembly of ISA
Source: Government of India

Posted On: 04 NOV 2024 6:32PM by PIB Delhi

Hon’ble Ministers, Vice Presidents of the ISA Assembly

Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Honorary Consuls, Director General, Other Excellencies and Esteemed Delegates

It is a pleasure to stand before you today at the 7th General Assembly of the International Solar Alliance. Today, we are at a crucial point in our mission to reshape the global energy future.

Today we also celebrate the Power of the Sun. It is amazing to reflect on how harnessing solar energy has been a vital part of cultures globally for centuries.

In ancient Egypt, the sun god Ra was worshipped, symbolising life and energy. In the early 13th century in South America, the sun god, Inti was considered the ancestor of the Inca people.

Whether it be the Aztec civilisation, or the African traditions, Sun is personified and worshipped through dances and offerings.

Just like the Olympics, the Pythian Games were also part of ancient Greece. In Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of sun and light. He was worshipped through various festivals, including the Pythian Games.

Similarly, in India, the sun has held a sacred place in our culture, with the worship of Surya, deeply embedded in our traditions. To this day, we continue to pay our respect to the Sun God, through festivals like Makar Sankrant, or by reciting Gayatri Mantra or by practising Surya Namaskar every morning.

Our ancestors utilised solar energy in various forms, from solar heating techniques to architecture designed to capture sunlight effectively. Throughout India, you will find temples dedicated to Surya God anywhere and everywhere you go.

As we move forward, let us draw inspiration from these rich traditions and continue to promote solar energy, embracing its potential to transform lives and protect our planet. Together, we can harness the sun’s energy, furthering the wisdom of our ancestors while paving the way for a sustainable future.

Solar energy, once just a vision, is now a powerful reality, leading the world toward a cleaner and more sustainable path. The progress we have made together is undeniable, and the true potential of solar energy is unfolding, showing us just how transformative it can be.

In 2024, the global solar sector is set to reach approximately 2 terawatt of installed solar photovoltaic capacity. This marks an extraordinary leap from just a decade ago when solar was still considered a small segment within global energy markets. In 2023, solar energy contributed 5.5% of the global power, with its role in the energy mix expanding rapidly.

This rapid growth is fuelled by record-breaking investments. Global solar investments have grown from $144 billion in 2018 to $393 billion in 2023 and are expected to reach $500 billion by the end of 2024.

These investments are not only adding new capacity but are also driving down the cost of energy from solar worldwide. Today solar power has become the most affordable source of electricity in many regions, even surpassing coal and gas.

This cost-effectiveness is fuelling a global surge in solar ambitions, with several countries emerging as frontrunners in the field. Countries like the United States with more than 130 GW of installed solar capacity, and regions like the European Union (Germany and Spain collectively contribute over 250 GW of solar capacity) are also making good progress.

It gives me immense pride that India is also swiftly advancing its renewable energy capabilities. India’s journey is one of bold vision and relentless progress.

Under India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership, India has set ambitious renewable energy targets, and achieved remarkable milestones along the way. Last month, India reached an impressive 90 GW of installed solar capacity, moving steadily forward towards its broader goal of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

India is also setting its sights on new horizons, with a target to produce 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, supported by 125 GW of renewable energy capacity. We have approved 50 solar parks with a total capacity of nearly 37.5 GW and identified potential offshore wind energy sites to reach our 30 GW goal by 2030.

India’s Union Budget for 2024-25 reflects this commitment, with a 110% increase in funding for solar power projects and targeted support for initiatives like the PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. This, along with exemptions on critical mineral imports, underscores our resolve to lead in solar innovation.

India has one of the best schemes globally for Solar rooftop installation. We are empowering communities to generate their own renewable energy.

In fact, the PM-KUSUM scheme is already transforming rural landscapes, enabling farmers to irrigate with solar power and sell surplus energy, advancing both livelihoods and sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, our Production Linked Incentive scheme is strengthening India’s solar manufacturing sector, fostering a self-reliant supply chain.

With these initiatives, India is not just contributing to a global energy transition but is setting a benchmark for sustainable growth. I am proud to say that we are making a tangible impact on the ground. This commitment to progress aligns seamlessly with the goals of the International Solar Alliance.

As a coalition of 120 Member and Signatory countries, ISA has been at the forefront of mobilising resources and facilitating the deployment of solar projects worldwide, particularly in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.

I am also pleased to share that ISA has successfully completed 21 out of 27 demonstration projects. This showcases our collective ability to make significant strides in solar energy deployment and support sustainable development across the globe.

I congratulate ISA and dedicate to the world 11 demonstration projects and the 7 STAR C centres launched today. It will help us expand the strong network of institutional capacities within ISA member states.

One of our innovative flagship initiatives in 2024 has been the launch of the Solar Data Portal. This platform delivers real-time data on solar resources, project performance, and investment opportunities across countries. It is providing transparent and actionable insights, thereby transforming how governments, investors, and developers engage with solar projects.

Another flagship initiative of ISA is the establishment of the Global Solar Facility. This facility aims to unlock commercial capital for solar projects in underserved regions, especially in Africa. With a pilot project already underway in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and commitments of $39 million from India, ISA, Bloomberg, and CIFF, we are on track to operationalise this initiative by COP29.

In addition to this, the SolarX Startup Challenge has successfully identified and supported innovative, scalable solutions for the solar sector. In September, we announced 30 winners from the Asia and Pacific edition, and preparations are underway to host the 3rd Edition of the challenge for the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Besides these initiatives, ISA continues to expand knowledge-sharing. Our monthly ISA Knowledge Series and the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre, launched at the G20 Ministerial, are advancing solar energy research and development.

Our efforts have been brought to life through global events organised by ISA, like the International Solar Festival and CEO Caucus. At the upcoming COP29, we will host a pavilion called the Solar Hub where we shall be organising numerous high-level sessions to encourage global participation.

The ISA is guided by the Towards 1000 strategy which aims to mobilise $1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030. This is our strategy to:
- Deliver energy access to 1,000 million people
- Installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity
- Mitigate emissions to the tune of 1,000 MT of carbon dioxide every year.
Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen, the path ahead is clear, and the time for action is now. As we look to the future, I urge all of us – governments, international organisations, private sectors, and civil society – to continue working hand in hand to accelerate the solar revolution.

Our nations come in all shapes and sizes, much like the diverse fingers of a hand. Yet, when we join together, we form a fist that represents strength and unity. ISA is your partner, and together, we have the power to shape a brighter, more sustainable future for generations to come.

As President of the International Solar Alliance, I take immense pride in the progress we have made together. The achievements of 2024 have set the stage for even greater advancements in the years to come. With your continued support, I am confident that ISA will continue to lead the world in making solar energy the foundation of our clean energy future.

With these words, I thank you, and look forward to the fruitful discussions ahead as we embark on this next chapter of our shared solar journey.

Thank you.

******

Navin Sreejith

(Release ID: 2070668) Visitor Counter : 58

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The International Solar Alliance (ISA) Announces New Office Bearers for 2024 – 2026

Source: Government of India (2)

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) Announces New Office Bearers for 2024 – 2026

Republic of India and Republic of France retain the Presidency and Co-Presidency of the ISA Assembly

Posted On: 04 NOV 2024 6:04PM by PIB Delhi

The seventh session of the ISA Assembly in progress at the iconic Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today elected its President and Co-president for a period of two years from 2024 to 2026. While the Republic of India was the sole contender for the post of President, the Co-Presidency was contested between the Republic of France and Grenada, with the Republic of France emerging victorious.

The Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the International Solar Alliance provide for the election of the President, Co-President, and Vice Presidents.

The Assembly elects the President and Co-President, with due regard to equitable geographical representation. The four regional groups of the ISA Members include Africa; Asia and the Pacific; Europe and Others; and Latin America and the Caribbean. Eight Vice Presidents of the Standing Committee, two from each of the four ISA geographical regions, are selected based on seniority in terms of submitting the instrument of ratification to the depositary on a rotation basis from the ISA Member Countries in the specific region.

The Republic of Ghana and the Republic of Seychelles will hold office as Vice Presidents for the Africa region; the Commonwealth of Australia and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for Asia and the Pacific region; the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Italy for Europe and the Others region; Grenada and Republic of Suriname from the Latin America and the Caribbean region.

As the apex decision-making body of ISA, the Assembly holds significant authority and responsibility. It represents each Member Country and makes crucial decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.

The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat, underscoring the regularity and importance of these gatherings. It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost, and scale of finance.

The Seventh Session of the ISA Assembly is currently deliberating on the ISA’s key initiatives, focusing on three critical issues: energy access, energy security, and energy transition. These discussions aim to address and find solutions to these pressing global concerns.

The ISA’s governance bodies, the Assembly, the Standing Committee, and the Regional Committees, offer an integrated approach to governance and decision-making within the Alliance. These Meetings extend the ISA Secretariat the opportunity to enhance cooperation with ISA Member Countries, as well as provide Member Countries with the ability to improve collaboration among themselves and mutually identify avenues of cooperation and partnership.

About the International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 120 Member and Signatory countries. It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable transition to a carbon-neutral future. ISA’s mission is to unlock US$1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing. It promotes the use of solar energy in the agriculture, health, transport, and power generation sectors.

ISA Member Countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments. Through this work, ISA has identified, designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar-friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers. With advocacy for solar-powered solutions, ISA aims to transform lives, bring clean, reliable, and affordable energy to communities worldwide, fuel sustainable growth, and improve quality of life.

With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organisation to be headquartered in India. ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

***

Navin Sreejith

(Release ID: 2070661) Visitor Counter : 23

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: The International Solar Alliance Hosts the Seventh Session of its Annual Assembly with representatives from 103 Member & 17 Signatory Countries
Source: Government of India (2)

Posted On: 04 NOV 2024 5:54PM by PIB Delhi

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is hosting the seventh session of its Assembly here in the Indian capital with ministers from 29 countries.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, the Hon’ble Minister for New and Renewable Energy, India, in his capacity as the President of the ISA Assembly, Shri Pralhad Joshi said: “It is my great honour to stand before you today at the Seventh Session of the Assembly of the ISA. Today, we find ourselves at a key turning point in our mission to reshape the global energy future. Solar energy, once just a vision, is now a powerful reality, leading the world toward a cleaner and more sustainable path. The progress we’ve made together is undeniable, and the true potential of solar energy is unfolding, showing us just how transformative it can be.” He further added, “As a coalition of 120 Member and Signatory countries, ISA has been at the forefront of mobilising resources and facilitating the deployment of solar projects worldwide, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). I’m proud to state that ISA has successfully completed 21 out of 27 demonstration projects, showcasing our collective ability to make significant strides in solar energy deployment and support sustainable development across the globe. These successful projects are a testament to our shared commitment and dedication. I congratulate and dedicate the eleven demonstration projects and the seven STAR- Centres launched today to the people of these countries.”

The Hon’ble President also highlighted key interventions of ISA, which are globally pushing the solar agenda. The Solar Data Portal, a platform that delivers real-time data on solar resources, project performance, and investment opportunities across countries, transforms how governments, investors, and developers engage with solar projects by providing transparent and actionable insights. The Global Solar Facility aims to unlock commercial capital for solar projects in underserved regions, especially Africa. A pilot project is underway in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and commitments of USD 39 million from India, ISA, Bloomberg, and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation are on track to be operationalised by COP29.

In addition, the SolarX Startup Challenge has successfully identified and supported innovative, scalable solutions for the solar sector. The 2024 edition announced 30 winners from the Asia and Pacific region, including India, and preparations are underway to host the Third Edition of the challenge for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

The monthly ISA Knowledge Series and the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre, launched at the G20 Ministerial, are advancing solar energy research and development to expand knowledge-sharing and advocacy. Global events like the International Solar Festival, CEO Caucus, and the ISA pavilion ‘Solar Hub’ at the Conference of Parties since COP27 have encouraged global participation and advocacy for solar as a preferred energy source.

The Co-President of the ISA Assembly, H.E. Mr H.E. Thani Mohamed Soilihi, France’s Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, via a video message, said:

“I would like to thank the Secretariat of the International Solar Alliance for its significant work in developing the organisation and setting out ambitious programmes year after year. France has honoured its pledge at the outset of the International Solar Alliance to contribute €1.5 billion to finance solar projects in the organisation’s Member Countries. That is why we renewed our financial support for the Alliance in 2024, which is based on three priorities: First, support for the STAR-C programme which plays a key role in local capacity building. Second, France wishes to facilitate access to financing for developing economies which are transitioning towards sustainable development. Third, France wants to step up the ISA Secretariat’s internationalisation process to increase its outreach. France will continue to support the International Solar Alliance, to enhance collaboration and speed up the development of solar energy. It will thus encourage new partner countries to join the Alliance and will synergise with the initiatives and organisations in developing renewable energies.”

In his welcome address, Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, said, “We are pleased to have honourable ministers from our member, signatory, and prospective countries present here today. Our collective presence symbolises our intention—to explore groundbreaking solutions, exchange expertise, and strengthen partnerships that will drive a new era of solar transformation. In this spirit of global cooperation, we find the collective strength to confront the critical challenges of our time. Over the past years, the Assembly has helped shape the ISA into a global leader in the international arena as the definitive voice on driving energy transition through the deployment of solar energy solutions. This year, too, the Assembly shall be taking up some major initiatives and programmes into consideration that will be laying the foundation for the future.”

The Assembly will also consider the budgets and work plans for the coming year and include updates on ISA’s priority areas of work, programmes, and projects. An important topic of discussion will be the guidelines for the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme, which provides for 10% to 35 % of the total solar project cost to be given as a grant for developing solar projects in LDCs and SIDS identified by the countries themselves, provided 90% of the project cost is locked in. Proposals from countries will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis until the annual budget provisions of ISA USD 1.5 million per year are available. The VGF can be availed for solar projects set up by government/government institutions or independent developers/beneficiaries selected through a process per the respective country policies.

This year’s proceedings will also consist of the election of the president and co-president, who will take over office immediately after the Assembly for the period: 2024 – 2026. The selection of the new Director General, who will assume office in March of 2025, will also be announced.

The Assembly will be followed by a day-long High-Level Technology Conference on Clean Technologies, which will witness the launch of the third edition of ISA’s flagship report series on technology, investment, and market—the World Solar Reports. The Assembly proceedings will culminate on 6 November 2024 with delegates marking a visit to a farm site in NCT of Delhi to witness first-hand the practical implementation of agrivoltaic system, which entails using the same land for solar energy production and agriculture.

About the ISA Assembly:

The Assembly is ISA’s yearly apex decision-making body, representing each Member Country. This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective. The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat. It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost, and scale of finance. The Sixth Assembly of the ISA is deliberating on the key initiatives of ISA on three critical issues: energy access, energy security, and energy transition.

About the Demonstration Projects:

In May 2020, ISA initiated Demonstration Projects to meet the needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Development States (SIDS). The aim was to exhibit solar technology applications that can be scaled up and build the capacity of Member Countries to replicate these solar-powered solutions.
1. Bhutan: Solar cold storage at the National Post Harvest Centre in Paro
2. Burkina Faso: Solarisation of two primary healthcare centres in the rural communes of Louda and Korsimoro in the north centre region
3. Cambodia: Solarisation of primary and secondary schools in Koh Rong city
4. Cuba: Solar water pumping system at the Hatuey Indian Experimental Station (EEIH) in Perico, Matanzas
5. Djibouti: Installation of two off-grid solar-powered cold storage units in Omar Jaga’a in the Arta region and Dougoum village in the Tadjourah region
6. Ethiopia: Solar-powered water pumps in Gedeo Zone, Irgachefe Woreda community
7. Mauritius: Solarisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Rose Belle
8. Samoa: Solar streetlights implemented across 46 locations
9. Senegal: Solar cold storage in the Borough of Ndande, within the Municipality of Theippe in the Kebemer Department
10. The Gambia: Solar water pumping systems in Wassadou and Julangel
11. Tonga: Solar water pumping project in four villages on Tongatapu
About the STAR-Centre Initiative:

Solar Technology Application Resource-Centre (STAR-C)are equipped with specialised training facilities, tools, and structured learning modules designed to cultivate a highly skilled solar workforce. To date, ISA has successfully established and operationalised STAR Centers in seven countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Kiribati, Ghana, and Bangladesh. Since their launch, these centres have trained professionals in various aspects of solar energy, preparing them to contribute effectively to the sector’s rapid expansion.

About the International Solar Alliance

The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 120 Member and Signatory countries. It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable transition to a carbon-neutral future. ISA’s mission is to unlock US$1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing. It promotes the use of solar energy in the agriculture, health, transport, and power generation sectors.

ISA Member Countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments. Through this work, ISA has identified, designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar-friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers. With advocacy for solar-powered solutions, ISA aims to transform lives, bring clean, reliable, and affordable energy to communities worldwide, fuel sustainable growth, and improve quality of life.

With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries on 6 December 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organisation to be headquartered in India. ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The ISA is guided by the Towards 1000 strategy which aims to mobilise $1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030. This is our strategy to:
* Deliver energy access to 1,000 million people
* ⁠Installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity
* ⁠Mitigate… pic.twitter.com/6VqFDAAWpG

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) November 4, 2024

In India’s Union Budget for 2024-25, there is a 110% increase in funding for solar power projects and targeted support for initiatives like the @PMSuryaGhar Yojana. This, along with exemptions on critical mineral imports, underscores our resolve to lead in solar innovation. pic.twitter.com/koHSoHAeso

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) November 4, 2024

Under India’s Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ’s leadership, India has set ambitious renewable energy targets, and achieved remarkable milestones along the way. Last month, India reached an impressive 90 GW of installed solar capacity, moving steadily
forward towards its… pic.twitter.com/5DUhf9Od5C

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) November 4, 2024

Navin Sreejith

(Release ID: 2070655) Visitor Counter : 57

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: FEMA Assistance Won’t Affect Social Security, Other Federal Benefits Georgians May Receive

Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency

Headline: FEMA Assistance Won’t Affect Social Security, Other Federal Benefits Georgians May Receive

FEMA Assistance Won’t Affect Social Security, Other Federal Benefits Georgians May Receive

ATLANTA – Applying for federal disaster assistance from FEMA will not affect other federal benefits that Georgia survivors of Hurricane Helene or Tropical Storm Debby, damage Aug. 4–20, 2024, may receive.Residents in Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fulton, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wheeler counties who register for disaster assistance with FEMA may have questions about whether funds from FEMA might cause them to lose other federal payments to which they are entitled.Accepting a FEMA grant will not affect your eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and other federal welfare and entitlement programs. In addition, any assistance you receive from FEMA is not considered taxable income. Disaster grants help you pay for temporary housing, essential home repairs, essential personal property replacement and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by your insurance or other sources.“Housing Assistance” covers repairs to the structural parts of your primary residence. This includes windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings, cabinets, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (HVACs), utilities (electrical, plumbing and gas systems), and entrance/exit ways. FEMA may also reimburse you for repairing or replacing your furnace, well and septic system.“Other Needs Assistance” may reimburse both homeowners and renters for uninsured or underinsured out-of-pocket expenses related to Tropical Storm Debby or Hurricane Helene, such as:Medical and dental expenses; funeral and burial costs; cleaning, or replacement of clothing, household furniture and appliances; specialized tools used for your occupation; childcare, educational materials, moving, storage and other necessary expenses related to the storms.Your personally-owned and registered disaster-damaged cars and trucks may also be eligible for repair or replacement by FEMA.The first step to see if you are eligible for any of FEMA’s Individual Assistance programs is to apply: How To Apply for FEMA Individual AssistanceApply at DisasterAssistance.gov.Visit a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center. To find your nearest Disaster Recovery Center, visit fema.gov/drc.Call FEMA at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.Download and use the FEMA app.FEMA programs are accessible to people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.To view an accessible video on how to apply, visit Three Ways to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.Homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can apply for long-term, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance and other sources. Apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at sba.gov/disaster.For the latest information about Georgia’s recovery, visit fema.gov/helene/georgia and fema.gov/disaster/4821. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fema.gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on X, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and via FEMA YouTube channel. Also, follow Administrator Deanne Criswell on Twitter @FEMA_Deanne.
larissa.hale
Mon, 11/04/2024 – 20:55

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: INTERPOL, human rights and international police cooperation
Source: Interpol (news and events)

Updated Repository of Practice provides greater insight into how INTERPOL upholds its constitutional commitments to neutrality and human rights
LYON, France – INTERPOL has today published an updated Repository of Practice (RoP) on how the Organization assesses member countries’ requests for international police cooperation, including Notices and Diffusions.

The RoP outlines how the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters determines compliance with Articles 2(1) and 3 of the Organization’s Constitution which mandate that all activities align with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and are not political, military, religious, or racial in nature.

While the previous RoP published in 2013 only covered Article 3, this comprehensive document shares for the first time how INTERPOL determines compliance on human rights grounds.

Using specific scenarios based on real-life cases, the updated RoP provides insights into the decision-making process for offences:
- committed by current or former politicians and high-level civil servants or in the context of a coup d’état or situations of social/civil/political unrest
- concerning freedom of assembly or of association
- relating to terrorism or membership of a terrorist organization
- involving sanctions violations
- including religious or racial elements
INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said:

“As a neutral platform for international police cooperation, it is of utmost importance that our activities transcend domestic and global politics.

“The Repository of Practice is a valuable resource which demonstrates INTERPOL’s commitment to upholding human rights principles and the rule of law in our activities.”

The revised RoP, which will be regularly updated, reflects the evolving nature of transnational crime and INTERPOL’s continued work to ensure that its activities comply with its Constitution and rules.

It builds on the creation in 2016 of the Notices and Diffusions Task Force (NDTF), a dedicated multidisciplinary team that conducts a robust quality and legal compliance review of incoming Notice and Diffusions requests from member countries.

Comprised of lawyers, police officers and operations specialists with a wide range of experience and language skills, the NDTF will either authorize or deny each request.

Notices approved by the NDTF are published by the General Secretariat and all INTERPOL member countries are notified.

If a Notice or Diffusion is denied because of non-compliance with Article 2(1) or 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution, no further cooperation is allowed to take place via INTERPOL.
MIL Security OSI –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: NATO Secretary General in Berlin: “your support saves lives on the battlefield every day”

Source: NATO

During his first official visit to Berlin on Monday (4 November), NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany’s significant contributions to the Alliance and its ongoing support for Ukraine.

The Secretary General praised Chancellor Scholz’s “personal leadership and commitment” to investing more in defence. “Germany now invests 2 percent of its GDP in defence for the first time in three decades. This is important for Germany and for NATO,” he said.

The Secretary General highlighted Germany’s contributions to NATO, including its presence in the eastern part of the Alliance where it is stationing a full brigade in Lithuania. Mr Rutte welcomed the opening of Germany’s new naval headquarters in Rostock, which will help to protect key trade and supply routes, and critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

Mr Rutte also thanked Germany for being “the biggest European contributor of military aid” to Ukraine, underlining that Germany’s support “saves lives on the battlefield every day.” He also warned of more frequent Russian hybrid attacks against NATO Allies, saying “the shifting frontline in this war is no longer solely within Ukraine.” Russia is interfering directly in Allies’ democracies, sabotaging industry and committing violence. “All of this to weaken us and to sow divisions, but NATO stands ready to deter and defend against these threats,” he said.

On Monday, the Secretary General also met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, and Chairman of the Defence Committee of the German Bundestag Marcus Faber.

MIL Security OSI –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: St. Louis County Woman Accused of Three Different Frauds

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

ST. LOUIS – A woman from St. Louis County, Missouri was indicted Wednesday and accused of aiding a romance fraud conspiracy and committing a nearly $40,000 pandemic relief loan fraud as well as a separate mortgage fraud.

Shirley Waller, 42, was indicted on three counts of wire fraud, two counts of mortgage fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and use of an assumed name to commit mail fraud.

The indictment accuses Waller of applying for and receiving a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $19,235 for a Michigan business in 2021, as well as a second loan for a St. Louis resale shop. Waller used the proceeds of the first loan on personal flights to Ghana, Germany and Jamaica instead of approved business purposes, the indictment says.

On May 14, 2022, Waller applied for a home loan of more than $196,000 by lying about her marital status, salary and job and by submitting counterfeit W-2 forms and paystubs, the indictment says.

Finally, the indictment accuses Waller of aiding scammers who tricked a 71-year-old St. Louis County woman into believing that she was in an online relationship with a U.S. military surgeon deployed overseas. Scammers told the victim to send $30,000 in cash to Waller’s address, the indictment says. The shipment was tracked on its journey by several IP addresses in Nigeria. In a two-week period, at least 35 Express Mail shipments sent to Waller’s address by other victims were also tracked by Nigerian IP addresses, the indictment says. Waller would open the packages and forward the cash to others via cryptocurrency transactions and other means, it says.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use. With the collaborative efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves. Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including the multiple individual consumer and business victims in this investigation,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

Each mail theft charge carries a potential penalty of up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Town and Country Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

MIL Security OSI –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Appeal following rape in Harrow

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and information after a woman was attacked in Harrow.

Police were called at 23:45hrs on Saturday, 2 November, to reports that a woman had been raped on Church Hill in Harrow-on-the-Hill.

Officers attended and are continuing to provide the woman with specialist support.

A male was arrested on 4 November in connection with the investigation. He remains in custody and enquiries are ongoing.

Detectives would like to speak with anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident. Did you see or hear anything suspicious? Did you see a man running away?

Detective Sergeant Phil Inman said: “We know this will cause of lot of concern and anxiety in the area, especially as the attack took place in close proximity to the High Street.

“I am also asking that you review any CCTV, doorbell or dash cam footage that may assist our investigation – in particular between around 22:00hrs and midnight in the roads surrounding St Mary’s Church, Churchfields Open Space and Grove Open Space.

“If you have any concerns please speak with a local officer.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting CAD 8605/02Nov. To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

MIL Security OSI –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Human Rights Committee Adopts Report on Views Concerning Individual Communications on Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, New Zealand, Sweden, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Ukraine

Source: United Nations – Geneva

The Human Rights Committee today adopted a follow-up progress report on individual communications, presented by the Special Rapporteur for follow-up on Views, which concerned communications on Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, New Zealand, Sweden, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

José Manuel Santos Pais, Special Rapporteur for follow-up on Views, said one individual communication on Colombia concerned a case of enforced disappearance by parliamentary groups. The State party was urged to conduct an independent, thorough and effective investigation of the disappearances of Mr. Anzola and Mr. Molina and prosecute and punish those responsible; release these people if they were still alive; if they were dead, hand-over their remains to their family; and ensure effective reparation, including adequate compensation, and medical and psychological rehabilitation for the authors for the violations suffered. The State party was also under an obligation to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future and to ensure that any forced disappearances gave rise to prompt, impartial and effective investigations. The State party had established a search and investigative unit, but one Committee member noted that many measures had not been implemented and there seemed to be no urgency. The Committee recommended ongoing follow-up dialogue.

A second communication on Colombia involved the killing of a trade unionist. The Committee recommended that the State party promptly conduct a thorough, effective, impartial, independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the murder, to establish the truth; provide the family members who were the authors with detailed information about the results of the investigation; and provide adequate compensation to the family members, including sufficient compensation to cover the reasonable legal expenses they have incurred. The State party had reported that it would proceed with the compensation procedure and had published the Committee’s Views publicly. However, it was reported that the State party had not conducted the criminal investigation in a way conducive to the identification of the perpetrators or to shed light on the reasons behind the murder. The Committee therefore recommended follow-up dialogue.

Regarding Ecuador, the communication concerned criminal conviction and the seizure of assets. The Committee recommended making full reparation to the persons whose rights had been violated and ensuring that due process was followed in the relevant suits at law. The State party had outlined that the Committee had not recommended restitution but called for ensuring effective remedy. It was acknowledged that partial reparation had been granted by the courts, with an appeal still pending. There were several conflicting interests in regards to this case. The Committee decided to close the case with partial satisfaction of the Committee’s Views, because the Views issued did not address directly the return of assets to the author, but gave them the possibility to contest the decisions, which had occurred.

On Finland, the communication related to the right to vote for elections at the Sami Parliament. The Committee had requested effective remedy, including to make full reparation to individuals whose rights had been violated. The State party was obligated to review the Act on the Sami Parliament with a view to ensuring that the criteria for eligibility to vote in Sami Parliament elections was defined and applied in a manner that respected the right of the Sami people to exercise their internal self-determination. A detailed proposal sent to the State party had requested several measures, but the authors had not received any written responses to their proposals. The Committee recommended ongoing follow-up dialogue.

The communication for Greece concerned conscientious objection to compulsory military service. Remedies proposed by the Committee included expunging the author’s criminal record, reimbursing all sums paid as fines, providing him with adequate compensation, taking all steps necessary to prevent similar violations in the future, and reviewing the legislation with a view to ensuring the effective guarantee of the right to conscientious objection. The Committee noted there were some positive steps taken, however, some human rights violations remained unaddressed. Contentious objectors still faced discrimination, and in some cases punishment, including fines and imprisonment. The State was requested to continue follow-up dialogue and was encouraged to look further into the matter.

On New Zealand, the communication concerned compensation for wrongful arrest and detention. The Committee recommended providing the author with adequate compensation and taking all steps to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, including by reviewing its domestic legislation, to ensure that individuals who had been unlawfully arrested or detained as a result of judicial acts could apply to receive adequate compensations. The State party had requested a consultation process with civil society, but there was no timeline provided and no deadline for the subsequent report to be submitted to the Committee. The absence of legislative action demonstrated a lack of willingness on behalf of the State party to fulfil its obligations. In this regard, the Committee recommended follow-up dialogue and would request a meeting with a representative of the State party during a future session.

Regarding Sweden, the communication concerned deportation to Albania. The Committee had recommended that Sweden review the authors’ claims, taking into account the State party’s obligations under the Covenant and the Committee’s present Views, and refrain from expelling the authors to Albania while their requests for asylum were under reconsideration. The State party heeded to the Committee’s recommendations and therefore the Committee decided to close the follow-up dialogue with a note of satisfactory implementation of the Committee’s Views.

In the individual communication on Türkiye, which concerned conscientious objection to military service by Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Committee recommended expunging their criminal records, providing them with adequate compensation, and avoiding similar violations of the Covenant in the future. The State party submitted that it had made amendments regarding crimes related to compulsory military services, and had also abolished the military courts, which the Committee described as a welcome development. However, the author reported that their criminal records had not been expunged, they had not been provided with compensation, and they were still subject to military conscription. Given this, the Committee recommended follow-up dialogue.

On Turkmenistan, the communication included conscientious objection to compulsory military service. The Committee’s recommendations included expunging the author’s criminal record, providing them with adequate compensation, including by reimbursing any legal costs, and taking steps to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, including by reviewing the legislation of the State party, for instance by providing for the possibility of alternative service of a civilian nature. The author’s counsel had stated that neither he nor the author were aware of any steps taken by the State party to implement the Committee’s Views. One Expert noted there was no convincing evidence that the State party had contemplated compensation of any kind to the author. The Committee decided to close the follow-up dialogue with a note of unsatisfactory implementation of the Committee’s recommendation.

On Ukraine, the communication concerned the impossibility of having life sentence reviewed. The Committee recommended providing the author with a meaningful review of his sentence of life imprisonment on the basis of a clear and predictable procedure, providing him with adequate compensation, and taking all steps necessary to prevent similar violations in the future. Due to the escalating conflict in Ukraine, the author requested that his life imprisonment be replaced with a fixed term imprisonment, which did not exceed 15 years of imprisonment, however, this was rejected by the Supreme Court. In this regard, the Committee recommended follow-up dialogue, but noted positively, that the State party had prepared legislation allowing for any convicted person to have their life sentence considered by the court.

In closing remarks, Mr. Santos Pais said it was his last report as Rapporteur on follow-up to Views. The report on follow-up to Views was essential in monitoring the Committee’s Views and ensuring victims had access to effective remedies. It also ensured accountability for States under the Optional Protocol. He thanked all those who had contributed to the report which was very much a team effort.

The Human Rights Committee’s one hundred and forty-second session is being held from 14 October to 7 November 2024. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

The Committee will next meet in public at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 7 November to close its one hundred and forty-second session.

Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

CCPR24.024E

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Itinerary for Veterans’ Week – Tuesday, 5 November 2024

Source: Government of Canada News

Media advisory

Minister Petitpas Taylor will join Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence and MP for Orleans, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and MP for Ottawa—Centre, and Mona Fortier, MP for Ottawa—Vanier to make an announcement regarding support Veterans and their families.

Tuesday, 5 November 2024

Ottawa, Ontario

15:30 EST – Minister Petitpas Taylor will join Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence and MP for Orleans, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and MP for Ottawa—Centre, and Mona Fortier, MP for Ottawa—Vanier to make an announcement regarding support Veterans and their families.

Note for media: Please arrive no later than 15:15 EST. Media interested in participating must register and can obtain additional information at media@veterans.gc.ca.

Associated Links:

Remembrance Day & Veterans’ Week

Contacts

Media Relations
Veterans Affairs Canada
613-992-7468
media@veterans.gc.ca

Isabelle Arseneau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
isabelle.arseneau@veterans.gc.ca

MIL OSI Canada News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Press Release: Congressional Delegation, RIDOT and Amtrak Kick Off Providence Station State of Good Repair Project

Source: US State of Rhode Island

U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman Seth Magaziner, Congressman Gabe Amo, and Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti, Jr. today gathered with Amtrak leadership and other federal, state and local leaders to kick off a long-awaited project to renovate Providence Station.

Built in 1986, Providence Station has grown to serve more than two million passengers a year, making it the 11th most utilized train station in the country. While improvements have been made over the years, many station elements are original. Various infrastructure elements and systems are not in a state of good repair, and station capacity is strained. This project will modernize and expand the station in addition to upgrading access to it and making that access safer and easier.

The project was made possible by a $12.5 million Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) State of Good Repair Grant delivered by Senator Reed in 2019. Amtrak provided $9.75 million and RIDOT put in $7.75 million. This builds on previous funding the congressional delegation secured, including $5.2 million for station enhancements and $3 million for planning, design, and environmental reviews.

The project includes many improvements for passenger amenities and public spaces. This includes expanding the station floorplan by enclosing the plaza on the western side of the station, adjacent to Caf� La France, and providing additional seating; modernizing and expanding the restrooms; consolidating ticketing and baggage operations; upgrading the public address system with visual displays; making accessibility improvements; and upgrading the station’s mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and plumbing systems.

“For millions of passengers each year, the Providence Station is a gateway to Rhode Island and our capital city. This project will help Providence Station meet growing ridership with a welcoming space that is more modern, accessible, and efficient,” said Senator Reed, a leading member of the Appropriations Committee. “I was proud to help deliver a $12.5 million competitive grant to advance this critical renovation project. When it’s completed, it will be a major improvement for passengers, tourism, and the community as a whole.”

“Providence Station currently serves many more passengers than it was originally designed for, and the wear and tear is evident,” said Senator Whitehouse, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “This is an exciting project that will greatly improve the travel experience for the millions of passengers who spend time in the Station every year. Once again, our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is at work delivering convenient and reliable transportation upgrades for Rhode Islanders.”

“Providence Station is an essential transit hub for Rhode Islanders and is overdue for an upgrade,” said Representative Magaziner. “This federal funding will modernize amenities and improve accessibility to better serve the millions of passengers that pass through this station each year.” “Providence Station currently serves more than two million loyal riders every year. I’m proud to be one of them,” said Congressman Amo. “Thanks to Senator Jack Reed � who played a key role in securing federal funds for this over $30 million renovation � we’re working to modernize this vital transportation hub. Once open, it will signal to residents and visitors alike that Providence is a leader in providing a 21st-century travel experience.”

“Providence Station is not only the busiest transit center in Rhode Island, it’s one of the busiest in the entire country,” Director Alviti said. “The improvements are well-deserved and will serve passengers for generations to come while encouraging greater use of transit services for trips within Rhode Island as well as out of state.”

“Providence Station serves as a vital hub for our community. This renovation will enhance and modernize this space for the millions of passengers who rely on this station every year,” said Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley. “The state-of-the-art amenities and improved safety and access features that will be implemented at this critical transit center will further cement Providence as a top destination for people to live, work and visit. I want to thank Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, the Federal Railroad Administration and RIDOT for their commitment to this important project.”

“Transforming Providence Station into a more modern facility and expanding the customer amenities and space, while still keeping the original charms of the current station, will simultaneously enhance the customer experience and encourage more residents and visitors to take the train,” said Tom Moritz, Amtrak’s assistant vice president of infrastructure access and investment. “Thanks to Senators Reed and Whitehouse, Congressmen Magaziner and Amo, Mayor Smiley, our partners at RIDOT and the FRA, as well as many more federal, state, and local officials, we are proud to take the next step and begin work to update and upgrade Providence Station.”

During construction, pedestrian areas may be temporarily blocked with detours established. Amtrak intends to maintain restroom facilities, the Oakwells convenience store, and the caf� operations during the project although some services may be temporarily limited.

There also will be an increased safety presence with a more prominent Amtrak Police entrance and counter. In an already completed phase of work, RIDOT made improvements to the pedestrian walkways in Station Park in 2023, which connects the station to Francis Street, opposite Providence Place Mall. The total value of all improvements is $30 million.

All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings and weather.

The Providence Station of Good Repair Project is made possible by RhodeWorks and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island’s infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI—Hagerty Joins Mornings with Maria to Discuss Failed Economic and Foreign Policies of Biden-Harris Administration

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty
NASHVILLE, TN—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees, today joined Mornings with Maria on Fox Business to discuss the failed economic and foreign policies of the Biden-Harris Administration and their sharp contrast with the successful policies of the Trump Administration.

*Click the photo above or here to watch*
Partial TranscriptHagerty on the failed economic policies of the Biden-Harris Administration: “Well, the economic policies of this Administration under Kamala Harris have been an absolute disaster for America. If you look at it, 72 percent of American people think that this country is on the wrong track, and the number one issue, Maria, is the fact that real wages have gone down. Inflation has destroyed and devastated families here in America, and I think the only thing keeping the market up right now is the anticipation, and frankly, the sheer hope that President Trump gets reelected on Tuesday.”
Hagerty on the failed foreign policies of the Biden-Harris Administration: “Well, if you look at the foreign policy of this Administration, it’s absolutely pathetic. Under President Trump, we had no wars. Under [Joe] Biden and [Kamala] Harris, this has been a complete disaster. It goes back to the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan where Kamala Harris was the quote, ‘last voice in the room.’ That was an absolute disgrace and a disaster that embarrassed our nation like nothing in our lifetimes, Maria. And that invited and precipitated, I think, and emboldened our adversaries around the world. You look at what happened with Iran: the day that this Administration came into office, they stopped enforcing sanctions against Iran. I worked very closely with President Trump and in his Administration to impose maximum sanctions on Iran, to put maximum pressures on them, to get our allies to stop buying oil from Iran. It worked. What we did was we made Iran basically broke. We stopped the funding of Hamas, stopped the funding of Hezbollah, the Houthis had no funds. We saw peace break out in the Middle East. President Trump was able to move our embassy to Jerusalem. He was able to take out Soleimani and Al-Baghdadi. He even did the Abraham Accords, which was the foundation, I think, of peace and prosperity in the Middle East. Iran could do nothing about it. As soon as [Joe] Biden comes into office, as soon as [Kamala] Harris comes into office, they start allowing the funds to flow, and we have terrible wars outbreaking in the Middle East.”
Hagerty on Kamala Harris running conflicting advertisements on Israel stance: “Well, she wants to [have it both ways]. It’s a complete lack of integrity. And if you talk about having it both ways, we have seen her flip-flop on every major policy. It’s like an avatar, Maria. The media have helped support this. Again, the partisan media, not yourself, have helped support creation of a candidate that’s nowhere close to where Kamala Harris from San Francisco, the most liberal Senator in the United States Senate, has been for her entire political career. Now they’re trying to create something entirely different, entirely false. They send one message into Michigan. They’ll send a completely different message into Pennsylvania to try to appeal to Jewish voters. I think the American public can see right through this.”
Hagerty on Iran changing its nuclear policy to produce nuclear weapons: “Well, I remind you, we wouldn’t be in a position for Iran to respond at all were President Trump in office because we brought Iran to its knees. That’s got to happen again. If Kamala Harris gets into office, I think Iran’s going to have free range to do whatever they want to do, because they’re going to continue to allow Iran to bring billions of dollars in. They’re going to continue to allow them to pump [oil]. They’re going to continue to allow Iran to sell weapons to Russia. Iran has had free reign under Kamala Harris, and at the same time, you see her bringing in people like Liz Cheney, others that all want to see war breakout in the Middle East. I think what we’ve got to do is look directly at what the past has shown us. We’ve got a track record with President Trump That has delivered peace and prosperity. We’ve got a track record with Kamala Harris that has delivered nothing but agony and war in the Middle East and around the world.”
Hagerty on the top priority of a second Trump Administration: “Well, for me, Maria, our foreign policy is derived directly from the strength of our economy. We have the most amazing, the most prosperous economy in the world. Access to that economy is absolutely critical. President Trump understands that. Let’s get our economy moving again. That’s what the people of America need to see. We need to see security at our southern border. We have a national security risk like we’ve never seen before. No one’s better than you in reporting on this. But then we’ve got to turn around and deal with strength and credibility with our adversaries. No one in the world believes that Kamala Harris can deal with Vladimir Putin, can deal with Xi Jinping, can deal with the Ayatollah. She has no credibility whatsoever. President Trump has and will.”

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Watson Lake — Watson Lake Secondary School Youth Hunt

Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

This October, students from Watson Lake Secondary School (WLSS)’s grade 12 class participated in an on the land hunting adventure on Kaska Traditional Territory alongside Watson Lake RCMP and Yukon conservation officers.

Following the success of the youth hunt collaboration in 2023, the First Nations School Board met with key stake holders and purchased canvas wall tents, stoves, and a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV), ensuring the program could continue.

This year, the hunt was held the week of October 7 to 11. David Dickson, Land and Language Connector for WLSS, organized Elders to attend the camp for the week to share the knowledge of the area, traditions, and culture of the Kaska Nation. Elder Agnes Chief, who was born at Frances Lake, told of stories about living off the land and making the long journey down the Frances River to Watson Lake for supplies. Students also learned about the community of Frances Lake and the forts that existed during the fur trade.

Elder Charlie Dickson, taught the students about traditional methods of preparing a moose head. Elder Agnes Chief taught about local, traditional medicines, where to find them and how to prepare them for consumption.

The youth were shown how to field dress and care for meat. They learned about giving thanks to the animals and the traditional ways of giving respect to the harvested moose. The harvested meat was shared throughout the community, benefiting Elders, students, community members, Liard Aboriginal Women Society, and the First Nations Health Program. The First Nations Heath Program will use the meat for traditional meals and will be shared among all three Yukon Hospitals for patients.

“Traditions being passed down to the younger generation is what life is all about, I was very honoured to be apart of such a meaningful hunt. Seeing Elders and youth interact together brought back so many memories from when I was young. Being raised to hunt was always apart of my upbringing, and now that I’m older and able to provide for my family it has taken on a whole different meaning. Being that role model to my kids but also being a strong woman role model for young lady hunters is also very empowering. Seeing the young ladies dive in with no fear of getting dirty was very heart filling and made me proud” – Nicole Donovan from First Nations Health Program

“The Yukon Territory provides unparalleled access to incredible outdoor recreation opportunities. The WLSS Grade 12 Youth Hunt, with the support of the Watson Lake RCMP Detachment, Yukon Conservation Officer Services, Liard First Nation, First Nations School Board, and local community members, is an impressive joint-effort to ensure that the next generation is exposed to these amazing opportunities. The experiences, skills, ethics, and knowledge shared with the youth will stay with them for the rest of their lives, and hopefully provide some youths with the first step to taking on the age-old tradition of being a provider to one’s family and community. As a Conservation Officer, I believe that there is no experience more fulfilling to a young man or woman than putting hard work into a hunt, and as a result, providing wholesome food for their family and community. There is a deep sense of pride instilled in a young person when they experience the incredible sense of accomplishment that comes from a hunt. That is the greatest benefit of the youth hunt, and I am optimistic that all of the participating youth will carry that sense of accomplishment and pride with them for the rest of their lives.” – Yukon Conservation Officer, Parker Antal

“The continued success of this program could not have been achieved without the community support of Liard First Nations, First Nations School Board, Liard Aboriginal Women Society, WLSS, Yukon Conservation Officer Services, and the community volunteers. We look forward to 2025. ” – Sergeant Jordan Cropper, Detachment Commander Watson Lake RCMP

“It’s important for me to be part of this initiative, on my traditional territory. I am happy to participate. Sógá sénlá’.” – David Dickson, Land and Language Connector with the First Nation School Board

MIL Security OSI –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Urge Federal Agencies Expand Outreach on Discharging Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Urge Federal Agencies Expand Outreach on Discharging Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy

New data shows vast majority of borrowers using the new guidance received recommendations for either full or partial debt discharge
ICYMI from Business Insider: More student-loan borrowers are taking advantage of an updated route to get rid of their debt in bankruptcy court, top Democratic senators say
Senator Reverend Warnock, lawmakers: “We encourage your agencies to continue to expand awareness of the guidance so that the 43 million borrowers in the United States… may be able to access relief if they need to file for bankruptcy”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (ED) to continue expanding awareness to student loan borrowers who are struggling financially about available resources to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy.
In November 2022, the DOJ and ED issued guidance to DOJ attorneys that sought to streamline the process of discharging student loans in bankruptcy. Prior to this change, borrowers had to undergo a confusing, invasive, and time-consuming process in bankruptcy court to prove repayment would constitute an “undue hardship.”
“The ‘undue hardship’ standard historically set an unnecessarily high bar that essentially required borrowers to demonstrate a certainty of hopelessness to obtain relief,” wrote the senators.
99.9% of borrowers who filed bankruptcy from 2011 to 2019 did not have their student loans discharged — borrowers came to believe that there was no way out of the crushing weight of student loans, even through bankruptcy. Since DOJ and ED’s new process was announced, more and more borrowers have received relief. New data obtained by Senator Warren’s office show that, under the Biden administration’s new guidance, 85% of borrowers who sought relief received recommendations for either full or partial debt discharge.
The high rates of total or partial discharge for those who have applied through the new guidance suggest that many other borrowers could also qualify if they applied. The senators are pushing to expand awareness on the more transparent, fair, and accessible process.
“We thank you for your agencies’ ongoing commitment to helping borrowers struggling with student debt and urge continued outreach to expand awareness of the streamlined process for qualified borrowers,” concluded the senators.
Senator Reverend Warnock has long advocated for comprehensive action to address the student loan crisis and has continued pushing the Administration to deliver meaningful student debt relief. Most recently, Senator Warnock led the first Senate Banking committee hearing in over a decade to focus on private student loans and explored the lack of data and transparency in that market and loan servicing concerns while highlighting the potential legislative and regulatory recommendations and measures to stop these abusive practices and to better protect students and taxpayers. Additionally, in August of 2023, the Senator pushed President Biden to swiftly fulfill his promise to deliver targeted student debt cancellation to working and middle-class families following the misguided SCOTUS decision overturning the President’s student debt cancellation.
The letter can be found HERE and text of the letter is below:
Dear Attorney General Garland and Secretary Cardona:
We are writing today to highlight and support your agencies’ progress in making it easier for borrowers struggling financially to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy. In November 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (ED) released guidance to DOJ attorneys that sought to streamline the process of discharging student loans in bankruptcy. In the time since, more and more borrowers have taken advantage of this guidance and received relief.
The 1978 Bankruptcy Code allowed borrowers to discharge their federal student loans by demonstrating that repayment would impose an “undue hardship” on the borrower or by showing that the loan became due at least five years before the borrower’s bankruptcy filing. Subsequent amendments benefitting lenders, however, removed the second option. Further, the “undue hardship” standard historically set an unnecessarily high bar that essentially required borrowers to demonstrate a certainty of hopelessness to obtain relief. The federal government’s aggressive challenges in bankruptcy court against students who pursued undue hardship claims only exacerbated the issue. The lack of clarity resulted in a situation where 99.9% of borrowers who filed bankruptcy from 2011 to 2019 did not have their student loans discharged and remained burdened by student loans even after exiting the bankruptcy process.
In November 2022, after we advocated for a more simplified and transparent process, DOJ and ED published new guidance to make it easier for borrowers to discharge student loans through bankruptcy. The guidance outlined a more transparent, fair, and accessible process designed to empower borrowers burdened with crippling student loan debt who previously had no clear pathway for relief.
Previously unpublished data obtained by our offices show the impressive growth of the program thus far. For example, while only roughly 200 borrowers attempted to discharge student debt in each of Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 and 2022, that number rose to 648 in FY 2023. In less than eight months in FY 2024, nearly 900 borrowers sought to discharge their student loans in bankruptcy, adding up to 1,520 borrowers since the guidance was implemented.
Equally important, both unpublished and publicly available data show that the overwhelming majority of those who sought discharge using the new guidance were provided debt relief through full or partial discharge. The Biden Administration recommended approximately seven in 10 borrowers who filed using the updated guidance for full student loan debt discharge. The Administration recommended another 15% of borrowers receive partial debt discharge, meaning 85% of borrowers using the new guidance received recommendations for either full or partial debt discharge. Critically, courts accepted those recommendations in 98% of cases, meaning borrowers received real relief at the end of this process.
ED and DOJ deserve praise for the complete turnaround of student loan bankruptcy outcomes and you should continue to build on the successes of the streamlined guidance so that more borrowers with crushing student loan debt can find relief. We encourage your agencies to continue to expand awareness of the guidance so that the 43 million borrowers in the United States, who carry a total of $1.6 trillion dollars in student loan debt, may be able to access relief if they need to file for bankruptcy. The high rates of total or partial discharge for those who have applied through the new guidance suggest that many other borrowers would also qualify if they have applied. For years, borrowers came to correctly believe that there was essentially no way out of the crushing weight of student loans, even through bankruptcy. ED and DOJ have changed this narrative and you should continue to educate potentially qualifying borrowers, their attorneys, and other individuals and organizations who work to help borrowers.
We thank you for your agencies’ ongoing commitment to helping borrowers struggling with student debt and urge continued outreach to expand awareness of the streamlined process for qualified borrowers. Further, for Congress and the public to better assess your agencies’ plans to increase borrowers’ access to relief through bankruptcy, please provide responses to the following questions by November 12, 2024:
What types of education and outreach have your agencies already used to reach borrowers regarding the new guidance?
What are your agencies’ plans for continued and improved education and outreach about the streamlined process to borrowers who may benefit from it?
What specific goals do your agencies have for measuring the success of increased education and outreach to borrowers who may benefit from the streamlined process? How will these goals change over time if at all?
Do your agencies have systems in place so that borrowers who have filed for bankruptcy can track their filing? If a system does not yet exist, what resources do your agencies need to create one?
How much time elapses, on average, between a borrower’s bankruptcy filing and a discharge determination entered by a court under the new process? Please provide a timeline of the different phases of the process (e.g., filing of an adversary proceeding, review by the assigned DOJ attorney, review by ED, recommendation filed by DOJ and ED) and how long each phase typically takes.
Do your agencies track or record the reasons for denial of discharge based on the factors considered under the guidance? If so, please describe the 3-5 most common reasons you have identified.
Do your agencies track or record student loan discharge outcomes by region? If so, please describe any regional trends you have observed.
How can Congress support your agencies as you increase your education and outreach efforts to borrowers?

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Joins Bipartisan Coalition in Condemning Possible Violence in Response to Election Results

Source: US State of California Department of Justice

OAKLAND — Ahead of tomorrow’s General Election, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general in issuing the following joint statement condemning possible violence in response to the election results:

“Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s election, we expect that Americans will respond peacefully and we condemn any acts of violence related to the results. A peaceful transfer of power is the highest testament to the rule of law, a tradition that stands at the heart of our nation’s stability. As Attorneys General, we affirm our commitment to protect our communities and uphold the democratic principles we serve.

We call upon every American to vote, participate in civil discourse and, above all, respect the integrity of the democratic process. Let us come together after this election not divided by outcomes but united in our shared commitment to the rule of law and safety of all Americans. Violence has no place in the democratic process; we will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal acts that threaten it.”

The joint statement, a copy of which can be found here, was issued by the attorneys general of: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Virginia Company and Two Senior Executives Charged with Illegally Exporting Millions of Dollars of U.S. Technology to Russia

Source: US State Government of Utah

Eleview International Inc., Oleg Nayandin, 54, of Fairfax, Virginia, and Vitaliy Borisenko, 39, of Vienna, Virginia, made their initial appearance today in the Eastern District of Virginia pursuant to a now unsealed complaint charging them with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act.

“As alleged, the defendants — a Virginia company and two of its senior executives — conspired through three evasion schemes to circumvent the export restrictions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “U.S. companies are responsible for complying with laws that protect our national security. The National Security Division is committed to holding accountable individuals and companies who violate these laws and place financial profit over our collective security.”

“This company allegedly used not one, not two, but three different schemes to illegally transship sensitive American technology to Russia,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). “Today’s charges, against both the company and two top executives, are a prime example of our work to bring to justice both the companies and the corporate executives alleged to have circumvented our rules in search of a fatter bottom line.”

“We must not allow critical systems and technologies to be transferred to anyone who may use them against America and our global partners,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Guarding against these transfers is imperative, and violations of the laws that protect our national security will be met with ardent prosecution.”

“Export control evasion schemes put the American public at risk by concealing the true recipient,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. “In this instance, HSI, working in partnership with our colleagues at Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, uncovered this scheme was supporting a sanctioned country, thus threatening our national security and the safety of other countries. HSI is dedicated to preventing technology with military applications from falling into the wrong hands.”

According to the complaint, between approximately March 2022 and June 2023, Eleview International Inc. (Eleview), allegedly a Virginia-based company that operated a freight consolidation and forwarding business; Nayandin, the owner, president, and CEO of Eleview; and Borisenko, who oversaw the day-to-day operations of Eleview’s freight forwarding business, conspired to illegally export goods and technology from the United States to Russia by transshipping them through three countries bordering or near Russia.

As alleged, the defendants operated an e-commerce website that allowed Russian customers to order U.S. goods and technology directly from U.S. retailers, who shipped the items to Eleview’s warehouse in Chantilly, Virginia. The defendants then consolidated the packages before shipping them to the Russian customers, often using other freight forwarders as intermediaries, in exchange for a fee. After the Department of Commerce imposed stricter export controls in response to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the defendants began shipping items to purported end users in Turkey, Finland, and Kazakhstan, knowing that the items were ultimately destined for end users in Russia. To facilitate these illegal exports, the defendants made numerous false statements to the Department of Commerce and other freight forwarders about the end users and ultimate consignees of the items in these shipments.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendants engaged in three export-control evasion schemes, each specific to a different intermediary country. In the Turkey scheme, the defendants exported about $1.48 million worth of telecommunications equipment to a false end user in Turkey, knowing that the equipment was intended for a Russian telecommunications company that supplied the Russian government, including the Federal Security Service, or FSB. The telecommunications equipment that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Turkey scheme had military applications, including use by the Russian military to create and expand communication networks in its war effort against Ukraine.

In the Finland scheme, the defendants exported about $3.45 million worth of goods purchased to Russia through Eleview’s e-commerce website to a false end user in Finland that neither purchased nor sold goods. Before consolidating the packages into larger pallets for shipment to Finland, the defendants affixed to each package a label with a Russian postal service tracking number so that the Russian postal service could easily ship the package to the customer in Russia. The goods that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Finland scheme included “high priority” items that the Department of Commerce has identified as particularly significant to Russian weaponry, including the same type of electronic component found on Russian “suicide” drones used to destroy Ukrainian tanks and jets.

In the Kazakhstan scheme, the defendants exported about $1.47 million worth of goods to Russia through an entity in Kazakhstan that advertises its ability to deliver goods to Russia. The goods that the defendants illegally exported as part of the Kazakhstan scheme included controlled dual-use items.

If convicted, Nayandin and Borisenko each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The BIS and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gavin R. Tisdale and Amanda St. Cyr for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case with past assistance provided by then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh.

The case is being coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force and the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Justice and Commerce Departments designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Man Arrested and Charged with Attempting to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction and to Destroy an Energy Facility in Nashville

Source: US State Government of Utah

View the complaint here.

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, Tennessee, was arrested by federal agents and charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility.

“As charged, Skyler Philippi believed he was moments away from launching an attack on a Nashville energy facility to further his violent white supremacist ideology – but the FBI had already compromised his plot,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This case serves as yet another warning to those seeking to sow violence and chaos in the name of hatred by attacking our country’s critical infrastructure: the Justice Department will find you, we will disrupt your plot, and we will hold you accountable. I am grateful to the public servants of the FBI for their extraordinary work on this case and for the work they do every day to keep our country safe.”

“Those fueled by hate and inspired to violence by racial or ethnic bias pose a grave threat to our national security,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “As alleged in today’s charges, Skyler Philippi, a man dedicated to white supremacist ideology and the destruction of our critical infrastructure, planned to attack Nashville’s power grid using a drone carrying an explosive device. Thanks to brave work by the FBI, his scheme was thwarted. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable those who seek to wage such hate-fueled violence, which has no place in America or anywhere else.”

“Driven by a racially motivated violent extremist ideology, the Defendant planned to attack the power grid with a drone and explosives, leaving thousands of Americans and critical infrastructure like hospitals without power,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI’s swift work led to the detection and disruption of the defendant’s plot before he could cause any damage. We are committed to holding accountable anyone who threatens the security of our critical infrastructure or seeks to harm American communities through domestic violent extremism.”

“Dangerous threats to our critical infrastructure threaten every member of this community and will not be tolerated,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee. “We will always work with our law enforcement partners to identify and stop any and all efforts to wreak this kind of havoc and will not hesitate in prosecuting those involved to the fullest extent of the law.”

“As alleged, the defendant in this case conducted extensive research into explosive devices and potential targets to launch an attack against critical infrastructure,” said Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI is committed to doing everything in our ability to detect, disrupt, and deter attacks by domestic violent extremists, and will continue to pursue those who look to commit acts of violence in furtherance of their ideological beliefs.”

Beginning in June 2024, Philippi told a confidential human source (CHS) about his desire to commit a mass shooting at a YMCA facility located in or around Columbia, Tennessee. In July 2024, Philippi told another CHS about the impact of attacking large interstate substations and said that attacking several substations would “shock the system,” causing other substations to malfunction. Philippi researched previous attacks on electric substations and concluded that attacking with firearms would not be sufficient. Philippi, therefore, planned to use a drone with explosives attached to it and to fly the drone into the substation.

In September 2024, Philippi drove with undercover employees (UCEs) of the FBI to an electric substation previously researched and targeted by Philippi, and Philippi conducted reconnaissance of the substation. While driving, Philippi ordered a plastic explosive composition known as C-4 and other explosives from the UCEs. Philippi later purchased black powder to be used in pipe bombs, which Philippi intended to use during the attack on the substation. Philippi texted the CHS: “if you want to do the most damage as an accelerationist, attack high economic, high tax, political zones in every major metropolis.” Referring to the substation, Philippi stated, “Holy sh**. This will go up like a fu**in fourth of July firework.” Philippi talked about operational security, including the need for disguises, the use of leather gloves (because latex and nitrile gloves can transfer fingerprints), wearing shoes that are too big, the need to burn their clothes after the attack, and not bringing smartphones on the night of the attack.

On Nov. 2, 2024, Philippi participated in a Nordic ritual, which included reciting a Nordic prayer and discussing the Norse god Odin. Philippi told the UCEs that “this is where the New Age begins” and that it was “time to do something big” that would be remembered “in the annals of history.” Philippi and the UCEs drove to the operation site. The UCEs moved to their assigned positions as lookouts for Philippi. Law-enforcement agents arrested Philippi. When he was taken into custody, Philippi was at the rear of the vehicle, with the drone powered up, and the explosive device was armed and located next to the drone.

Philippi is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted destruction of an energy facility. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Nashville Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman of the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Georgia Poll Worker Arrested for Making Bomb Threat to Election Workers

Source: US State Government of Utah

A Georgia poll worker was arrested today for mailing a letter to the Jones County Elections Superintendent threatening poll workers.

According to the criminal complaint, Nicholas Wimbish, 25, of Milledgeville, Georgia, was serving as a poll worker at the Jones County Elections Office on Oct. 16 when he allegedly had a verbal altercation with a voter. Later that evening, Wimbish conducted online research to determine what information about himself would be publicly available. The following day, Wimbish mailed a letter addressed to the Jones County Elections Superintendent, purportedly from a “Jones County Voter.”

The letter was allegedly drafted to make it appear as if it came from the voter, such as by stating that Wimbish had “give[n] me hell” and that Wimbish was “conspiring votes” and “distracting voters from concentrating.” The letter threatened that Wimbish and others “should look over their shoulder,” that “I know where they go,” that “I know where they all live because I found home voting addresses for all them,” and that the “young men will get beatdown if they fight me” and “will get the treason punishment by firing squad if they fight back.” Further, the letter threatened to “rage rape” the “ladies” and warned them to “watch every move they make and look over their shoulder.” The letter concluded with a handwritten note, “PS boom toy in early vote place, cigar burning, be safe.”

Wimbish is charged with mailing a bomb threat, conveying false information about a bomb threat, mailing a threatening letter, and making false statements to the FBI. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary for the Middle District of Georgia made the announcement.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Jacob R. Steiner of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Will R. Keyes for the Middle District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force. Announced by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and launched by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in June 2021, the task force has led the department’s efforts to address threats of violence against election workers, and to ensure that all election workers — whether elected, appointed, or volunteer — are able to do their jobs free from threats and intimidation. The task force engages with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, and has investigated and prosecuted these matters where appropriate, in partnership with FBI Field Offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country. Three years after its formation, the task force is continuing this work and supporting the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and FBI Field Offices nationwide as they carry on the critical work that the task force has begun.

Under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Monaco, the task force is led by PIN and includes several other entities within the Justice Department, including the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Civil Rights Division, National Security Division, and FBI, as well as key interagency partners, such as the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. For more information regarding the Justice Department’s efforts to combat threats against election workers, read the Deputy Attorney General’s memo.

To report suspected threats or violent acts, contact your local FBI office and request to speak with the Election Crimes Coordinator. Contact information for every FBI field office may be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/. You may also contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or file an online complaint at www.tips.fbi.gov. Complaints submitted will be reviewed by the task force and referred for investigation or response accordingly. If someone is in imminent danger or risk of harm, contact 911 or your local police immediately.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Smoking ban introduced to protect children and most vulnerable
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

The government will introduce plans for tougher action to protect people from the harms of smoking in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill today.
World-leading reforms introduced to phase out smoking, protecting the public, NHS and economy and put us on track to a smokefree UK

Government will be given powers to extend indoor smoking ban to certain outdoor settings, focused on protecting children and the most vulnerable, in addition to creating the first smokefree generation

Bill will also ban vape advertising and sponsorship, as well as create new powers to restrict the flavours, display and packaging of all types of vapes

Combined with on the spot fines, tougher action on enforcement and tighter regulation on vaping, the Bill will protect children and young people from harm and addiction

Tougher action to better protect the public, NHS and the economy from the harms of smoking will be set out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced in Parliament today (Tuesday 5 November).

The world-leading Bill will include measures to create a smokefree generation, phasing-out the sale of tobacco products across the UK to anyone aged 15 or younger this year, breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.

In addition, the government will be given powers to extend the indoor smoking ban to specific outdoor spaces: with children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals all being considered, subject to consultation.

This sits alongside a ban in the Bill on vape advertising and sponsorship, as well as powers to restrict the flavours, display and packaging of all types of vapes, as well as other nicotine products.  

Disposable vapes are also due to be banned from 1 June 2025 under separate environmental legislation.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is part of the government’s reform agenda to shift the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention and will address one of the biggest risk factors driving poor health.

Smoking claims around 80,000 lives a year in the UK, putting huge pressure on our NHS, taking up appointments, scans and operations, and costing taxpayers £3.1 billion a year.

The cost of smoking to the economy is even greater, with £18 billion lost in productivity every year, as smokers are a third more likely to be off work sick. 

Tobacco is a uniquely harmful product, responsible for 1-in-4 of all cancer deaths and killing up to two-thirds of its long-term users. Smoking also substantially increases the risk of many major health conditions throughout people’s lives, such as strokes, diabetes, heart disease, stillbirth, dementia and asthma.

Almost every minute, someone is admitted to hospital because of smoking and up to 75,000 GP appointments can be attributed to smoking each month – over 100 every hour.

There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke and this is particularly true for children – whose lungs and immune system aren’t as well developed as adults – as well as pregnant women and those with pre-existing health conditions.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:    

Unless we act to help people stay healthy, the rising tide of ill-health in our society threatens to overwhelm and bankrupt our NHS. Prevention is better than cure.

This government is taking bold action to create the first smokefree generation, clamp down on kids getting hooked on nicotine through vapes, and protect children and vulnerable people from the harms of second-hand smoke.

This historic legislation will save thousands of lives and protect the NHS. By building a healthy society, we will also help to build a healthy economy, with fewer people off work sick.

The government will also take tougher action to crack down on youth vaping, with 25% of 11 to 15-year-olds having tried vaping in 2023.

Subject to consultation, the government is considering extending restrictions in places that are currently smoke free to also become vape free, especially in areas where there are children and young adults.

Together, these measures will help protect children from becoming hooked on nicotine while continuing to enable adult smokers to use vapes as a quit aid.

Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, said:

A smokefree country would prevent disease, disability and premature deaths for children born today and for people long into the future. Smoking causes harm across the life course from stillbirths, asthma in children, cancers, strokes and heart attacks to premature dementia.

Most smokers wish they had never started, but are trapped by addiction. Second-hand smoke causes harm including to children, pregnant women and medically vulnerable people so reducing this is important. If vulnerable people can smell smoke they are inhaling it.

The rising numbers of children vaping is a major concern and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will help prevent marketing vapes to children, which is utterly unacceptable.

This is a major piece of legislation which if passed will have a positive and lasting impact on the health of the nation.

Professor Sanjay Agrawal, NHS England national speciality advisor for tobacco dependency, said:

Smoking may seem like a problem for past generations, but it is still the leading cause of preventable illness and deaths and has an enormous impact on the NHS, costing billions each year through appointments, scans and operations. It’s also clear that vaping is a growing issue, particularly among young people.

NHS treatments, including nicotine replacement therapy, are helping thousands of adults each year to live healthier lives and we have seen adult smoking rates drop by more than half in the last 3 decades.

But there is more to do, so we welcome this public health intervention and look forward to working with government to help the next generation grow up smoke and vape-free.

The Bill will also include powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and will introduce on the spot fines of £200 to retailers found to be selling these products to people underage.

These measures will protect law abiding businesses and tackle illicit products from being sold.   

The number of cancer cases caused by smoking has increased by 17% since 2003, with 20 additional people a day being diagnosed with cancer caused by smoking compared to 20 years ago.      

Smoking is also a significant driver of inequality and poverty with mortality rates attributed to smoking in the most deprived areas of England more than double that in the least deprived areas.    

The majority of smokers start before the age of 20 and are then addicted for life. Less than 17% of smokers state they want to continue smoking. 

The government will support current smokers to quit by exploring standardising packaging for all tobacco products, for example cigars or pipe tobacco.  We will also ensure all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. This will complement existing programmes to help support smokers quit.

Just last month in England, the Health and Social Care Secretary launched the public engagement that will inform the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to deliver three big shifts in healthcare – hospital to community, analogue to digital and from sickness to prevention – to make the NHS fit for the future.

In England, hospitality settings, including outside areas of pubs and bars, will not be included in the proposed extension to the indoor smoking ban.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said:

We are delighted to see landmark legislation to create a smokefree generation brought to Parliament. Smoking continues to have a devastating impact on our national health, taking thousands of lives across the UK each year, and tough measures must be taken to ensure future generations don’t die early because of tobacco.

We welcome the government’s commitment to raising the age of sale for tobacco every year, as well as further action to protect children and clinically vulnerable people such as those living with heart disease from second hand smoke in schools, playgrounds and hospital grounds.

We also welcome measures to make vaping less appealing to young people. We know the vast majority of the public back the aims of this Bill, and we urge MPs of all parties to support this life-saving legislation and vision of a smokefree UK.

Dr Ian Walker, executive director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said:

Today is a significant step forward in the journey to creating a smokefree UK. By increasing the age of sale of tobacco products and properly funding cessation services, the government can build a healthier future, prevent cancer, and protect people from a lifetime of deadly and costly addiction.

We urge all MPs to prioritise the nation’s health by voting in favour of the Bill and ensuring that this historic legislation is implemented across the UK.

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive at Action on Smoking, said:

This is a world-leading piece of legislation, the first stop on a roadmap to a smokefree country. It opens up an important debate about smoking and how long we are prepared to tolerate the incredible harms it does to our society. Over the last 50 years, smoking has taken more than 8 million lives in the UK. The health community and the public support the government in this historic effort to phase out the sale of tobacco. Smoking will not steal the health and wealth of future generations.

Henry Gregg, director of external affairs at Asthma + Lung UK, said:

The government is taking a huge step forward in the fight against the harms of smoking, the biggest cause of lung disease death in the UK, by tabling the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Creating a smokefree generation is one of the most impactful things the UK can do to protect future generations from developing lung conditions caused by smoking. The highest rates of respiratory-related deaths are overwhelmingly in the most deprived areas, where people are also more likely to smoke. This landmark legislation will play a vital role in closing this gap, as well as easing some of the £2.2bn burden that smoking places on the NHS each year.

But we should not forget those who are already addicted to smoking – we need increased investment in stop smoking services to deal with smoking’s deadly legacy. Smoking is one of the worst things anyone can do for their lungs and smoking can also cause significant health problems for those around people who smoke.

If you’re a smoker and you want to quit tobacco, vaping can be a helpful way to give up smoking. But children and those who don’t smoke should not start to vape, especially if you have a lung condition. Recent figures show a worrying rise in the numbers of children vaping, who mostly use disposable vapes. It’s high time to put a stop to the vaping industry marketing their products towards children with cheap prices and appealing flavour options. It’s good to see increased powers to regulate vape branding, promotion and flavours in this bill and further powers of enforcement.

Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

We fully support the government’s smokefree generation ambitions, which will improve the lives and health of people across the country.

Local government has led the way tackling the harms caused by smoking, whether that is calling for a ban on smoking in public places or funding smoking cessation services.

Raising the legal age of sale for tobacco products is a progressive policy that will help reduce smoking prevalence and the damaging effects on health, while we strongly endorse the measures on vapes, to help reduce their appeal to children.

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Updates to this page

Published 5 November 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Protecting children, families and vulnerable from tobacco harms

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

Professor Sir Chris Whitty writes for The Times on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

Written on:

5 November 2024

No smoker wants to harm other people, but with second-hand smoke they unintentionally do. Despite efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine the evidence on this, it is overwhelming. The risk of getting or accelerating diseases such as cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are significantly increased by second-hand (passive) smoke, including in non-smokers who now make up over 88% of the UK adult population.

Some people are especially vulnerable to tobacco chemicals: children, pregnant women, people with common pre-existing but usually invisible health conditions like asthma, diabetes or coronary heart disease. There are now more people with serious medical conditions that can be made worse by second-hand smoke than there are smokers and they do not choose to be exposed to risk from smoke in a public place.

By addicting people at a young age, tobacco companies ensure that millions of people who smoke will suffer substantial health harms throughout their life. These range from stillbirth through to significantly higher rates of dementia, including stroke, heart attacks lung disease and many cancers. Smokers are more likely to need NHS services, be admitted to hospital, drop out of work and need social care years before they otherwise would.

Most smokers wish they had never started, want to quit and should be supported to do so but are find they are trapped, their choice taken away by the addiction deliberately induced in them by the industry at an early age. To prevent this the last government introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smokefree generation in current children, with wide cross-party and public support, and the Bill being introduced builds on that.

Many non-smokers are harmed simply by being near smoking. The health harms are lower than for an active smoker but still substantial. Recognising that, the UK stopped smoking in indoor public spaces 17 years ago. This led to rapid improvements in health including around 1200 fewer heart attack admissions and many fewer asthma admissions in children in the first year alone.

There is no safe level of smoking, but in bringing forward new legislation ministers have considered outdoor public places children, families and medically vulnerable people are most exposed to the risk of second-hand smoke.

Three things particularly predict harm: the concentration of smoke; the amount of time being exposed; the vulnerability of the individuals. Although outdoor spaces generally have lower concentrations of the toxic chemicals from tobacco than indoors studies show they can still be significant near or downwind of smoking or in areas like a walled or covered outdoor space. If you can smell smoke, you are inhaling it in appreciable amounts.

Smoke near schools and playgrounds exposes children. Hospitals grounds have very high numbers of medically vulnerable people. This Bill will help protect them from the effects of second-hand smoke.

The Bill will also address the tricks used to make vapes attractive to children. The message on vapes is clear; if you smoke swap to vapes; if you don’t smoke don’t vape; it is utterly unacceptable to market vapes to children. Because smoking is so dangerous, smokers moving to vapes is safer, but best of all is not to smoke or vape.

Anywhere someone can smoke, they should therefore be able to vape as a quit aid but the long-term effects of vaping, including passive vaping, are unknown. If passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of vapes and also allow the government, after consultation, to protect children from marketing techniques vaping companies use to addict them including through bright colours, flavours and cartoons. The government has already moved to ban disposable vapes used by many children.

The tobacco industry drives health inequality, harms the economy through ill health including during the working age and causes a burden on the NHS – far outweighing the tax receipts. Ensuring a smokefree generation, protecting families and vulnerable people from involuntary second-hand smoke and preventing some of the tricks used to market cigarettes and vapes to children will have substantial long-term benefits to the health of the public.

Updates to this page

Published 5 November 2024

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 26, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds Press Briefing

Source: United States Department of Defense

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Looks like there’s something wrong with this side of the room here since everybody’s on this side of the room, but OK. All right. Well, just a few things at the top and I’ll be glad to take your questions. So as many of you saw in the statement that we released on Friday, Secretary Austin ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadrons, and tanker aircraft and several US Air Force B-52 long range strike bombers to the US Central Command area of responsibility.

These forces will begin to arrive in the coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to depart, some of which have already begun to flow into theater as highlighted by the arrival of the B-52 bombers over the weekend. These deployments are in keeping with our commitments to the protection of US citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy.

These movements build on the recent decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Missile Defense system to Israel, as well as DOD’s sustained Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit posture in the Eastern Mediterranean and demonstrate the flexible nature of US global defense posture and US capability to deploy worldwide on short notice to meet evolving national security threats.

Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners or its proxies, use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people.

Shifting gears, tomorrow is Election Day and DOD stands prepared to support state and local authorities as required. Of note, Secretary Austin approved a request last week from the District of Columbia for D.C. National Guard troops to support the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services from November 5 through 13. For those of you who have covered the defense beat for a while, you know that it is routine practice for the DOD to authorize the D.C. National Guard to support or augment security for large scale events in the district and activated Guardsmen will remain under the command and control of the D.C. National Guard.

Similarly, around the nation, approximately 60 National Guardsmen from six states have been activated by their state governors and state active-duty status for election support with roughly another 600 Guardsmen from 17 states on standby if needed. Again, as you know, the National Guard has ongoing and long-standing relationships with local, state and federal agency partners and has assisted with national special security events like Election Day and Inauguration Day for many years. For more information about individual state responses and activations, I would direct you to the individual states.

And finally, the Department is proud to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month. This November, we honor the contributions and sacrifices of native peoples who have served our country. The contributions of these fellow Americans have been pivotal in some of the most critical moments in our nation’s defense.

As just one of many examples, the US Marine Corps Navajo code talkers using their native language to develop an unbreakable communication code during World War II, played a decisive role in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Their example of duty and honor continues to inspire current and future generations of Americans to serve with the same resolve and pride.

And with that, I’ll be glad to take your questions. Start with AP, Lita.

Q: Thank you, Pat. Two things, one on Ukraine, North Korea. Can you say whether any North Korean troops have been observed in combat or over the line in Ukraine? And I believe State has said that the number is about 10,000. Is that what you believe are in the Kursk region right now? And then I have a—

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Sure, a couple updates. So we believe that there are now at least 10,000 DPRK forces in the Kursk Oblast. Recognizing that as we continue to assess DPRK presence on the ground, those numbers could go up slightly, in terms of the total number of DPRK troops in Russia. We’ve seen the press reports about alleged combat ops. We’re looking into those, but at this point cannot corroborate those reports. But as you heard Secretary Austin say last week, should these troops engage in combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets.

Q: So have you seen any additional North Korean forces heading for eastern Russia? Do you see another wave of influx?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t know that I would call it a wave, but as we look at those numbers, we think that the total number of DPRK forces in Russia total could be closer to around 11,000 to 12,000, with about 10,000, at least 10,000 right now in the Kursk Oblast. OK. And you said you had a follow-up?

Q: Just on Iran, have you seen any movement indications or any suggestions that Iran has been taking steps to do any type of retaliatory action against Israel?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. So in terms of whether or not Iran does anything, I’m not going to speculate, nor will I discuss intelligence assessments from here. I think we as the US government have been very clear that we believe Iran should not respond to Israel’s retaliation if they choose to do so. We of course will support Israel and their defense.

Natasha?

Q: Thanks, Pat. So senior Ukrainian officials have said that they are observing some very small, limited numbers of North Korean troops, things like engineers, for example, in the occupied territories in eastern Ukraine. Are you not prepared to corroborate that at this point?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. Again, we’re looking into all of that, but at this point, just can’t corroborate those reports.

Q: OK. And also, we’re about a week away from the deadline that was set by Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken with regard to Gaza. The State Department just said that they have not yet seen enough being done in northern Gaza in terms of humanitarian aid. Does the Secretary agree with that?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well, I think as you highlight, at the State Department on Thursday, when Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin addressed this, both of them highlighted that we believe more needs to be done in terms of getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza and to the Palestinian people. I’d point you to Secretary Blinken’s remarks in terms of sort of the rundown of where things stand on that front.

But even in his call last week on Thursday with Minister Gallant, Secretary Austin continues to reinforce how important it is to ensure that humanitarian assistance can flow and flow faster into Gaza. And so that will continue to be something that we will remain focused on. Constantin?

Q: Thanks, Pat. Just one follow up on the National Guard deployments. You said Guardsmen have been put on active orders from six states. Can you say what those six states are?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t have that list here in front of me. Let me just double check, Constantin, make sure. I don’t have that list here in front of me, but we can certainly get that for you.

Q: OK. And then sort of on the same vein, is the Department of Defense providing any cyber resources or capabilities for election monitoring or sort of anti-misinformation efforts?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well, as you know, US Cyber Command does play a role in terms of supporting our elections. I’d refer you to them to go into details and there are National Guard elements that do support US Cyber Command, but they can provide you more details on that.

Q: Thank you.

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Thank you. Noah?

Q: A couple clean up questions on North Korea, the 11,000 to 12,000 number that you said, that leaves a bandwidth between those in Kursk and those still in eastern Russia. Do you expect those remaining troops to head toward Kursk in the coming days?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. I mean, again we fully expect, just based on what we’re seeing, that these forces will go to the Kursk region, that they will provide some kind of capability. All indications are that they will provide some type of combat or combat support capability. Again, remains to be seen exactly how they will be employed. I’d point you to the comments that were made on Thursday in terms of things like UAV ops, artillery, infantry. So again, should they be employed in combat, they will become legitimate military targets and we would fully expect that the Ukrainians would do what they need to do to defend themselves and their personnel.

Q: And do all of those in Kursk that are North Korean troops have Russian uniforms and equipment at this point as you understand?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: My understanding is that all of these forces are being issued Russian uniforms and Russian equipment.

Q: One more follow up on the Middle East. The deployments that were announced on Friday, are these based on new assessments of the threat that Iran may pose within a retaliation toward Israel or possibly American troops? Or is this simply about trying to reinforce the US force posture there given that the carrier will depart in the coming weeks?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well, I think as we highlighted in our statement and as I highlighted at the top here, we are deploying these forces to the region to preserve our ability to protect our forces, support the defense of Israel and also act as a deterrent capability. And so out of due diligence in ensuring that we continue to be prepared to meet our commitments, deploying and rotating these forces in as we look ahead down the road and prepare for the departure of the Abe (sic).

OK. Mike.

Q: Yeah, these North Korean units, do you know if the soldiers are filling blanks spots in the Russian line or will they be deploying and operating as their own particular units?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: So a couple of things. It’s TBD (sic). We’ll see exactly how these forces are integrated into Russian operations and how they’re committed to the battlefield, assuming that they are. In terms of replacement for Russian forces, I’d point you back again to what Secretary Austin highlighted in terms of the significant casualty rates that we’re seeing among Russian forces.

So insomuch as that these are potentially forces that are coming in to replace the massive numbers of losses that Russia is experiencing, I think that’s probably a fair assessment and I certainly would not want to be a North Korean soldier.

Q: Right. But my point is, I mean, are they going to be inserted into already existing Russian units as just spare body, spare body, spare body, or will there be North Korean battalion fighting here and North Korean battalion here, or do you not know at this point?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, we don’t know at this point, and we’ll see. We anticipate in the relatively near future we will know more as we see how Russia and North Korea opt to employ these forces. OK. Charlie?

Q: Thank you, General. Adding to that, do you anticipate or are you even tracking whether or not this may just be the first of many North Koreans that will be headed to Russia? That’s my first question. My second question is regarding Iran’s threats of retaliation, they said that it will come from Iran or Iranian-backed militias, which we’ve already seen in Iraq.

First of all, have you seen an uptick in the tempo of drone attacks from Iranian-backed militias there against Israel and or against US forces? Does it look orchestrated and how much of it is a concern that bigger stuff might be headed there like ballistic missiles?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, on your first question, that is definitely something that we’re keeping a close eye on. I don’t have anything right now to pass along in terms of whether or not DPRK will or won’t send additional forces. And I’m not going to speculate on whether they do, but definitely something we’re keeping a close eye on. As far as the threats that have been communicated in the press and in social media about the potential for Iran to launch attacks from Iraqi territory, what I would say is that over the last year, we’ve seen Iran backed militia groups sporadically launch missiles and one-way attack UAVs from Syria and Iraq towards Israel.

The vast majority of those have been intercepted or fail in flight. And while we’ve recently observed an increase in one way attack UAVs assessed to be against Israel, at this stage, we would not characterize these as large numbers. And so we continue to remain vigilant, and we remain ready to defend US forces and Israel from these threats.

Q: And are you tracking any movement of ballistic missiles in and out of that region?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t have anything to pass along in terms of intelligence assessments from this podium, but again, we stand ready to support the defense of Israel and would encourage Iran not to launch any type of retaliatory attack.

Luis?

Q: We’ve been talking about the 10,000 troops in Kursk, but can you give us some context please? This 10,000, how much will they augment the Russian presence there? Will they be a significant portion of the presence there in that particular oblast? Are they a very small component? Just something so that we can understand what adding 10,000 North Koreans to that battle space means.

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Sure. I think to do that, you have to go back in time a little bit. And if you recall, when Ukraine conducted their offensive into Russian territory into the Kursk Oblast and they continue to hold Russian territory in Kursk and they have made the decision to hold that territory at risk and continue to defend it. And so what we saw in the early days of that Ukrainian offensive was a very muddled Russian response in terms of trying to push the Ukrainians back. And for the most part, they have not been able to push the Ukrainians very far. They’ve taken some incremental amounts of territory back but nothing that we would categorize as significant. So placing these additional 10,000 to 11,000 to 12,000 forces in Kursk is definitely something from a combat capability standpoint that could be significant, but a lot of that will depend on how those forces are employed, how they’re integrated into the Russian command and control.

And of course, if the Ukrainians—if the past is any indicator of the future, the Ukrainians are battle hardened veterans who know how to fight. And so every indication that they will continue to defend Ukrainian sovereignty and continued to defend Kursk, the territory that they’ve taken. And so we’ll see how that plays out.

Q: Numerically and size-wise, numerically, is it, the infusion of these 10,000 additional troops at a minimum, is that really significant to the force that you said have been making incremental gains?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well, I think, again, if you want to talk numbers and again, numbers can be misleading because look what Ukraine did when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and how a small number of forces to date have been able to largely defeat the strategic objectives of what was and is the largest army in Europe.

So again, a lot of that just depends on how Russia opts to employ those forces, how well they’re integrated, what kind of combat experience they have. And so we’ll see. In the meantime, we continue to consult very closely with our allies and partners. And we also continue to ensure that we’re working with Ukraine and some 50 nations to rush security assistance to Ukraine, to defend Ukrainian sovereignty both here and elsewhere in the battlefield.

Let me go to the phone real quick here. Let’s go to Dan Lamothe, Washington Post.

Q: Hey, General. Thanks for your time today. There’s often a perception in the Pentagon and across Washington that aircraft carriers deter Iran and the lack of one in the region, emboldens them. Two questions, I guess, related. Does Secretary Austin see these newly announced deployments on Friday to the region as sufficient to deter Iran with a carrier group potentially coming?

And can you put this decision in context of how you’re looking at broader threats in the Pacific and other regions? Thanks.

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Dan. So when it comes to us force deployments around the world, while there’s understandable focus on particular types of equipment and vessels to include aircraft carriers, at the end of the day, it really comes down to our people and the capabilities that we provide. And so the capabilities that we’re deploying into the region will provide a significant amount of capability on par with what we’ve been doing in the Middle East region since the October 7th attacks over a year ago.

And so certainly as we look at global force management and our national security commitments around the world, that’s always taking into account in terms of how we can meet those commitments and ensure we have what we need to protect our people. And in this case, also support the defense of Israel.

Let me go to Jeff Schogol, Task and Purpose.

Q: Yeah. Thank you. Two separate questions. Now that the election is upon us, is the Defense Department satisfied that all overseas troops and their spouses have the access they need to federal absentee ballots? Also, how should one describe the coalition between North Korea and Russia? Is it an alliance or is it more friends with benefits?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Thanks, Jeff. Let me take your question on voting first. So first of all, we continue to recommend all voters register and request an absentee ballot. Those deadlines vary depending on states. And as you know, we do have a robust education program in terms of getting the word out on how service members and their families can obtain their absentee ballots no matter where you are, whether it’s overseas or whether it’s stationed outside of your state.

Just speaking from personal experience as a Florida resident, I can tell you, I received multiple emails over many weeks, reminding me to register and to request my ballot. It arrived early. I had plenty of time to submit that. If a service member has requested a ballot and it hasn’t arrived, they can use the federal write-in absentee ballot immediately at FVAP.gov/FWAB, and this acts as a back-up ballot.

And again, that information is provided on multiple occasions through multiple mechanisms. So again, encourage folks to get out and vote and make sure that their voice is heard. As far as the relationship between Russia and North Korea goes, we definitely continue to monitor this.

The level of cooperation between the two remains concerning, but in many ways transactional. And so again, this is something we’ll keep a close eye on, and I’ll just leave it there. OK. Yes, sir.

Q: Thank you, General. Last week as you said that Secretary Austin all times (sic) he urged for a ceasefire in Lebanon as quickly as possible. So do you think we need more time, that Israel needs more time to stop this war to achieve their goals? How long do you believe that will take, this war? Is it, as you said before, it was a limited operations, but now almost a month starting this war, so do they need more weeks and months or maybe we’re going to see like what’s happened in Gaza like over a year for this war? Thank you.

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I won’t speak for Israel. But Secretary Austin and others have been very clear that we believe that a ceasefire and the resolution of tensions in the region through diplomatic means are required as soon as possible. And so as you’ve seen with the State Department and the US envoy, Mr. Hochstein, going to the region, this continues to be something that is a top priority for the US, working with partners in the region to include Israel. And we’ll continue to communicate that to our Israeli counterparts.

As you saw from our readout, this was also something that came up in the phone call between Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant last week. Thank you.

OK. Let me go to Heather from USNI.

Q: Thank you so much. I was hoping you could give a couple more details about the plans with Abe (sic) and then whether or not it’s planning to leave within the next couple of weeks, the next week. And then Harry S. Truman is on its way over to the Middle East, Mediterranean area, but it’s making stops along its way.

Is this an indication that we don’t feel that there needs to be an aircraft carrier in the region very quickly? What does this indicate in terms of how much the Houthi threat remains in the Middle East?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Heather. As far as deployment timelines go, as a matter of policy and operational security, we’re not going to talk specifics on when the Abraham Lincoln strike group will depart the US Central Command area of responsibility. As for the Truman, as you highlight, continues to operate in the North Atlantic.

Again, I’m not going to get into its particular movements or forecast those. And in terms of the message it sends, it just demonstrates the flexibility and versatility of the US military and our ability to meet our national security commitments and provide robust capability around the world and flex as needed.

And again highlighted by the fact that you have B-52 bombers that are now in the AOR, the CENTCOM AOR, that are multi-versatile and can provide an incredible amount of capability in support of those efforts. So again, it’s about capability and it’s about our people and we’re confident that we have the right force posture to support our national security requirements.

Ashley?

Q: Just a quick follow up on the announcement on troops at the Middle East, are there any plans to send additional troops into Israel or to man assets there?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t have anything to announce at this point. Yeah. Thanks.

Sir?

Q: Thank you. General. Do you anticipate any direct Israeli attack on Iranian paramilitary groups in Iraq as they continuously launch UAVs into Israel? I mean, did you send any message to these groups in Iraq?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: As I’m sure you can appreciate, I won’t speak for Israeli operations on what they may or may not do. I can tell you that what we’ve seen in the past is them—as I highlighted earlier, intercept threats that are heading towards Israel, but in terms of potential future military action by Israel, that’s a question for them to address. OK.

Q: Might that not be something that CENTCOM would engage in, the potential attack or if you want to call it a preemptive strike?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well, again, without getting into hypotheticals or speaking to Israeli operations, US Central Command and the Department of Defense regularly have conversations with Israel as it relates to the defense of Israel and how we can work together to support that effort. And as I highlighted earlier, if we do see threats emanating from other regions, we’re prepared to support the defense of Israel and have, as we’ve demonstrated in the past.

Howard Altman, War Zone.

Q: Hey. Thanks, Pat. A couple things I wanted to drill down a little bit on the North Koreans in Kursk. Images appeared online that shows a North Korean troop killed in that, in Kursk. And then my other question is, has there been any change in the US warship presence in the Red Sea to protect shipping commercial shipping?

And if so, how has that changed? Any change in operation—I forget what the name is, the operation protecting ships in the Red Sea?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Thanks, Howard. On your first question, again, I’ve seen those press and social media reports. Again, we’re looking into them, but I cannot corroborate those reports at this time. As it relates to force posture in the Red Sea and elsewhere, I’m not going to get into specifics in terms of which ships are there and what their movement plans are, other than to say, yes, we do maintain robust capability to support Operation Prosperity Guardian and support our efforts to support freedom of navigation and the safety of mariners in the region. OK.

Do one more. Yes, ma’am?

Q: Just a quick follow-up, Pat, on Luis’ questions. What’s the US estimate on the number of Russian forces in the Kursk region?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t have a number to provide to you.

Q: Ballpark?

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don’t even have a ballpark number other than to say, broadly speaking, what we saw in the past was essentially a conglomeration of various units on the Russian side to include territorial defense forces attempting to push the Ukrainians back.

Q: I think I was just trying to get a sense of kind of perspective, right? Is it now almost largely North Korean troops their equal number of both? I mean, I think that’s kind of what we’re trying to figure out.

PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: Sure. And I just don’t have a number to pass along here. I mean, keeping in mind again that what we’re talking about here is Russian territory writ large, right? So I mean this is inside Russian interior lines and theoretically, Russia could have made the decision a long time ago to move large number of Russian forces to address this threat.

But it demonstrates a couple of things. One, the fact that Russia has not made recovery of its sovereign territory a priority, and number two, the fact that Russia finds itself in a situation where they now have to hire out to get additional forces to deal with this issue, which as Secretary Austin has highlighted, is an indication of the dire straits they’re in when it comes to personnel.

So thank you very much, everybody. Appreciate it.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 26, 2025

Category: Europe

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) Announces New Office Bearers for 2024 – 2026Republic of India and Republic of France retain the Presidency and Co-Presidency of the ISA Assembly

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The International Solar Alliance (ISA) Announces New Office Bearers for 2024 – 2026

Republic of India and Republic of France retain the Presidency and Co-Presidency of the ISA Assembly