NewzIntel.com

Category: Europe

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/04/2024, 11:04 (Moscow time) the values of the lower limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed.

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    04.10.2024 11:04

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and the deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on 10/04/2024, 11-04 (Moscow time), the values of the lower limit of the price corridor (up to 97.83) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 948.91 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 7.5%) of the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed

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

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

    https://www.moex.com/n73752

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/04/2024, 11:45 (Moscow time) the values of the lower boundary of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed.

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    04.10.2024 11:45

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and the deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on 10/04/2024, 11:45 (Moscow time), the values of the lower limit of the price corridor (up to 94.76) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 918.13 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 10.5%) of the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed

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

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

    https://www.moex.com/n73757

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/04/2024, 11:38 (Moscow time) the values of the lower limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed.

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    04.10.2024 11:38

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and the deposit market of Moscow Exchange PJSC by NCO NCC (JSC) on 10/04/2024, 11:38 (Moscow time), the values of the lower limit of the price corridor (up to 96.3) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 933.52 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 9.0%) of the security RU000A0JT6B2 (VEB.RF 19) were changed

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

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

    https://www.moex.com/n73755

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Holy See Press Office Communiqué: Audience with the President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan

    Source: The Holy See

    Holy See Press Office Communiqué: Audience with the President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, 04.10.2024

    Today, 4 October 2024, the Holy Father Francis received in audience, in the study of the Paul VI Hall, the President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, His Excellency Mr. Sadyr Zhaparov, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
    During the cordial discussions, which took place at the Secretariat of State, the good relations between the Holy See and Kyrgyzstan were evoked, and the parties focused on mutual collaboration in the fields of healthcare, educational and culture, and some aspects of the life of the local Church.
    The conversation continued with an exchange of opinions on current international affairs, with special attention to the ongoing conflicts and humanitarian issues, revealing the importance of urgent commitment to the promotion of peace.
    From the Vatican, 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: 10/04/2024, 11:50 (Moscow time) the values of the upper limit of the price corridor and the range of market risk assessment for the RU000A0ZYBM4 (AlphaBO-21) security were changed.

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    04.10.2024 11:50

    In accordance with the Methodology for determining the risk parameters of the stock market and the deposit market of PJSC Moscow Exchange by NCO NCC (JSC), on 10/04/2024, 11:50 (Moscow time), the values of the upper limit of the price corridor (up to 105.1) and the range of market risk assessment (up to 1185.24 rubles, equivalent to a rate of 16.25%) of the security RU000A0ZYBM4 (AlphaBO-21) were changed

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

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

    https://www.moex.com/n73759

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Shell plc Announces Final Results of Exchange Offers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press Release

    October 4, 2024

    Shell plc Announces Final Results of Exchange Offers

    Shell plc (“Shell”) (LSE: SHEL) (NYSE: SHEL) (EAX: SHELL) today announced the final results of its previously announced offers to exchange (the “Exchange Offers” and each, an “Exchange Offer”) up to a maximum aggregate principal amount of $12 billion (the “Maximum Amount”) of any and all validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted notes of twelve series issued by Shell International Finance B.V. (“Shell International Finance” and such notes, the “Old Notes”) for a combination of cash and a corresponding series of new notes to be issued by Shell Finance US Inc. (“Shell Finance US”) and fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Shell plc (the “New Notes”). A Registration Statement on Form F-4 (File Nos. 333-281941 and 333-281941-01) (the “Registration Statement”), including a prospectus, dated September 19, 2024 (the “Prospectus”), relating to the issuance of the New Notes was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and was declared effective by the SEC on September 30, 2024.

    As announced on September 5, 2024, Shell is conducting the Exchange Offers to migrate the existing Old Notes from Shell International Finance B.V. to Shell Finance US Inc. in order to optimize the Shell Group’s capital structure and align indebtedness with its U.S. business.

    The total aggregate principal amount of Old Notes that were validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for exchange in the Exchange Offers was $11,462,980,000.   The aggregate principal amount of each series of Old Notes that was accepted for exchange was based on the order of acceptance priority for such series as set forth in the table below (the “Acceptance Priority Levels”), with Acceptance Priority Level 1 being the highest and Acceptance Priority Level 12 being the lowest, subject to the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition (each as described in the Prospectus). Because the total aggregate principal amount of Old Notes that were validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 3, 2024 (the “Expiration Time”) exceeded the Maximum Amount, we did not accept for exchange all such Old Notes and only accepted for exchange those Old Notes as set forth in the table below under the heading “Aggregate Principal Amount Accepted.” All Old Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) as of the Expiration Time in Acceptance Priority Levels 1 through 8 satisfied the applicable Minimum Size Condition and the Maximum Amount Condition and were accepted for exchange. No Old Notes tendered in Acceptance Priority Levels 9 through 12 were accepted for exchange.

    The following table, based on information provided by D.F. King & Co. Inc., the exchange agent and information agent for the Exchange Offers, indicates, among other things, the total aggregate principal amount of Old Notes and the aggregate principal amount of each series of Old Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for exchange in the Exchange Offers.

    Series of Old Notes Offered for Exchange Old CUSIP/ISIN
    No.    		 Acceptance Priority Level  

    Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding ($MM)

    		 Aggregate Principal Amount Tendered Aggregate Principal Amount Accepted  

    New CUSIP/ISIN No.
    4.375% Guaranteed Notes due 2045 822582BF8/

    US822582BF88

    		 1 $3,000 $2,446,755,000   $2,446,755,000 822905AA3 / US822905AA35  
    2.750% Guaranteed Notes due 2030 822582CG5/

    US822582CG52

    		 2 $1,750 $1,355,391,000   $1,355,391,000 822905AB1 / US822905AB18  
    4.125% Guaranteed Notes due 2035 822582BE1/

    US822582BE14

    		 3 $1,500 $1,192,346,000   $1,192,346,000 822905AC9 / US822905AC90  
    4.550% Guaranteed Notes due 2043 822582AY8/

    US822582AY86

    		 4 $1,250 $960,281,000   $960,281,000 822905AD7 / US822905AD73  
    4.000% Guaranteed Notes due 2046 822582BQ4/

    US822582BQ44

    		 5 $2,250 $1,764,084,000   $1,764,084,000 822905AE5 / US822905AE56  
    2.375% Guaranteed Notes due 2029 822582CD2/

    US822582CD22

    		 6 $1,500 $1,075,279,000   $1,075,279,000 822905AF2 / US822905AF22  
    3.250% Guaranteed Notes due 2050 822582CH3/

    US822582CH36

    		 7 $2,000 $1,664,464,000   $1,664,464,000 822905AG0 / US822905AG05  
    3.750% Guaranteed Notes due 2046 822582BY7/

    US822582BY77

    		 8 $1,250 $1,004,380,000   $1,004,380,000 822905AH8 / US822905AH87  
    3.125% Guaranteed Notes due 2049 822582CE0/

    US822582CE05

    		 9 $1,250 $1,037,100,000   $0 —  
    3.000% Guaranteed Notes due 2051 822582CL4/

    US822582CL48

    		 10 $1,000 $888,919,000   $0 —  
    2.875% Guaranteed Notes due 2026 822582BT8/

    US822582BT82

    		 11 $1,750 $987,472,000   $0 —  
    2.500% Guaranteed Notes due 2026 822582BX9/

    US822582BX94

    		 12 $1,000 $622,831,000   $0 —  
                     
    Total amount tendered and accepted in the Exchange Offers       $11,462,980,000    

    Settlement and issuance of the New Notes to be issued in exchange for Old Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for exchange is expected to occur on October 8, 2024.

    The dealer managers for the Exchange Offers were:

    Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

    1 Columbus Circle

    New York, New York 10019

    Attention: Liability Management Group

    Telephone: (U.S. Toll-Free): +1 (866) 627-0391

    Telephone (U.S. Collect): +1 (212) 250-2955

    Telephone (London): +44 207 545 8011

    		 Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

    200 West Street

    New York, New York 10282

    Attention: Liability Management Group

    Telephone (U.S. Toll-Free): +1 (800) 828-3182

    Telephone (U.S. Collect): +1 (212) 902-6351

    Telephone (London): +44 207 774 4836

    Email: gs-lm-nyc@ny.email.gs.com

    		 Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

    550 South Tryon Street, 5th Floor

    Charlotte, North Carolina 28202

    Attention: Liability Management Group

    Telephone (U.S. Toll-Free): +1 (866) 309-6316

    Telephone (U.S. Collect): +1 (704) 410-4235

    Telephone (Europe): +33 1 85 14 06 62

    Email: liabilitymanagement@wellsfargo.com

    The exchange agent and information agent for the Exchange Offers was:

    D.F. King & Co., Inc.

    48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
    New York, NY 10005
    Banks and Brokers call: +1 (212) 269-5550
    Toll-free (U.S. only): +1 (877) 783-5524
    Email: Shell@dfking.com
    By Facsimile (for eligible institutions only): +1 (212) 709-3328
    Confirmation: +1 (212) 269-5552
    Attention: Michael Horthman
    Website: http://www.dfking.com/shell

    This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. The Exchange Offers were made solely pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Prospectus, which forms a part of the Registration Statement.

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

    Non-U.S. Distribution Restrictions

    European Economic Area

    The New Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (as amended, the “Insurance Mediation Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, the “Prospectus Directive”). Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the New Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. The Prospectus has been prepared on the basis that any offer of New Notes in any Member State of the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of New Notes. The Prospectus is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Directive.

    MiFID II product governance / Professional investors and ECPs only target market—In the EEA and solely for the purposes of the product approval process conducted by any Dealer Manager who is a manufacturer with respect to the New Notes for the purposes of the MiFID II product governance rule under EU Delegated Directive 2017/593 (each, a “manufacturer”), the manufacturers’ target market assessment in respect of the New Notes has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the New Notes is eligible counterparties and professional clients only, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) all channels for distribution of the New Notes to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the New Notes (a “distributor”) should take into consideration the manufacturers’ target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the New Notes (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers’ target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.

    Belgium

    Neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers have been submitted to or will be submitted for approval or recognition to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (“Autorité des services et marchés financiers”/”Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten”). The Exchange Offers are not being, and may not be, made in Belgium by way of a public offering, as defined in Articles 3, §1, 1° and 6, §1 of the Belgian Law of April 1, 2007 on public takeover bids (“loi relative aux offres publiques d’acquisition”/”wet op de openbare overnamebiedingen”) (the “Belgian Takeover Law”) or as defined in Article 3, §1 of the Belgian Law of June 16, 2006 on the public offer of investment instruments and the admission to trading of investment instruments on a regulated market (“loi relative aux offres publiques d’instruments de placement et aux admissions d’instruments de placement à la négociation sur des marchés réglementés”/”wet op de openbare aanbieding van beleggingsinstrumenten en de toelating van beleggingsinstrumenten tot de verhandeling op een gereglementeerde markt”) (the “Belgian Prospectus Law”), both as amended or replaced from time to time. Accordingly, the Exchange Offers may not be, and are not being, advertised and the Exchange Offers will not be extended, and neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers (including any memorandum, information circular, brochure or any similar documents) has been or shall be distributed or made available, directly or indirectly, to any person in Belgium other than (i) to persons which are “qualified investors” (“investisseurs qualifiés”/”gekwalificeerde beleggers”) as defined in Article 10, §1 of the Belgian Prospectus Law, acting on their own account, as referred to in Article 6, §3 of the Belgian Takeover Law or (ii) in any other circumstances set out in Article 6, §4 of the Belgian Takeover Law and Article 3, §4 of the Belgian Prospectus Law. The Prospectus has been issued only for the personal use of the above qualified investors and exclusively for the purpose of the Exchange Offers. Accordingly, the information contained in the Prospectus or in any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers may not be used for any other purpose or disclosed or distributed to any other person in Belgium.

    France

    The Exchange Offers are not being made, directly or indirectly, to the public in the Republic of France. Neither the Prospectus nor any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers have been or shall be distributed to the public in France and only (i) providers of investment services relating to portfolio management for the account of third parties (“personnes fournissant le service d’investissement de gestion de portefeuille pour compte de tiers”) and/or (ii) qualified investors (“investisseurs qualifiés”) other than individuals, in each case acting on their own account and all as defined in, and in accordance with, Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, D.321-1 and D.411-1 of the French Code Monétaire et Financier, are eligible to participate in the Exchange Offers. The Prospectus and any other document or material relating to the Exchange Offers have not been and will not be submitted for clearance to nor approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers.

    Italy

    None of the Exchange Offers, the Prospectus or any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers or the New Notes have been or will be submitted to the clearance procedure of the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (“CONSOB”). The Exchange Offers are being carried out in the Republic of Italy as exempted offers pursuant to article 101-bis, paragraph 3-bis of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, as amended (the “Financial Services Act”) and article 35-bis, paragraph 3, of CONSOB Regulation No. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as amended (the “Issuers’ Regulation”) and, therefore, are intended for, and directed only at, qualified investors (investitori qualificati) (the “Italian Qualified Investors”), as defined pursuant to Article 100, paragraph 1, letter (a) of the Financial Services Act and Article 34-ter, paragraph 1, letter (b) of the Issuers’ Regulation. Accordingly, the Exchange Offers cannot be promoted, nor may copies of any document related thereto or to the New Notes be distributed, mailed or otherwise forwarded, or sent, to the public in Italy, whether by mail or by any means or other instrument (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) or any facility of a national securities exchange available in Italy, other than to Italian Qualified Investors. Persons receiving the Prospectus must not forward, distribute or send it in or into or from Italy. Noteholders or beneficial owners of the Old Notes that are resident or located in Italy can offer to exchange the notes pursuant to the Exchange Offers through authorized persons (such as investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with the Financial Services Act, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007, as amended from time to time, and Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993, as amended) and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations or with requirements imposed by CONSOB or any other Italian authority. Each intermediary must comply with the applicable laws and regulations concerning information duties vis-à-vis its clients in connection with the Old Notes, the New Notes, the Exchange Offers or the Prospectus.

    United Kingdom

    Each dealer manager has further represented and agreed that:

    • it has complied and will comply with all the applicable provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “FSMA”) with respect to anything done by it in relation to the New Notes in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”); and it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any New Notes in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to Shell Finance US or Shell.

    The Prospectus is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the U.K. or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The New Notes are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the New Notes will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

    Hong Kong

    The New Notes may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the New Notes may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to New Notes which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

    Japan

    The New Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Law”) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any New Notes, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

    Singapore

    The Prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, and if the Issuer has not notified the dealer(s) on the classification of the New Notes under and pursuant to Section 309(B)(1) of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 Singapore (the “SFA”), the Prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the New Notes may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the New Notes be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of Chapter 289 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

    Where the New Notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the New Notes under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

    Singapore Securities and Futures Act Product Classification—Solely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, the Issuer has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the New Notes are “prescribed capital markets products” (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).

    Contacts:

    Media: International +44 (0) 207 934 5550; USA +1 832 337 4355

    Cautionary Statement

    The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this press release, “Shell” refers to Shell plc; “Shell Group” refers to Shell and its subsidiaries; “Shell Finance US” or “Issuer” refers to Shell Finance US Inc.; “Shell International Finance” refers to Shell International Finance B.V.; the terms “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Shell or the Shell Group, as the context may require.

    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of the Shell Group to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”; “ambition”; ‘‘anticipate’’; ‘‘believe’’; “commit”; “commitment”; ‘‘could’’; ‘‘estimate’’; ‘‘expect’’; ‘‘goals’’; ‘‘intend’’; ‘‘may’’; “milestones”; ‘‘objectives’’; ‘‘outlook’’; ‘‘plan’’; ‘‘probably’’; ‘‘project’’; ‘‘risks’’; “schedule”; ‘‘seek’’; ‘‘should’’; ‘‘target’’; ‘‘will’’; “would” and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of the Shell Group and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release (without limitation):

    • price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas;
    • changes in demand for the Shell Group’s products;
    • currency fluctuations;
    • drilling and production results;
    • reserves estimates;
    • loss of market share and industry competition;
    • environmental and physical risks;
    • risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions;
    • the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions;
    • legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change;
    • economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions;
    • political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs;
    • risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, regional conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and a significant cybersecurity breach; and
    • changes in trading conditions.

    All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023 (available at http://www.shell.com/investors/news-and-filings/sec-filings.html and 

    http://www.sec.gov).

    These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this press release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, October 4, 2024. Neither Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

    The contents of websites referred to in this press release do not form part of this content.

    Readers are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Govt is committed to make defence industry export-oriented with India as a global manufacturing hub, says Raksha Mantri at 7th annual session of SIDM

    Source: Government of India

    Govt is committed to make defence industry export-oriented with India as a global manufacturing hub, says Raksha Mantri at 7th annual session of SIDM

    Exhorts the industry to reduce import to export ratio with a target-oriented approach

    Shri Rajnath Singh urges SIDM to prepare a roadmap to encourage big companies & foreign OEMs to invest in India or open joint ventures on a firm-to-firm basis

    Calls for increased investment in cutting-edge tech, such as AI, cyber defence & autonomous systems to be future ready

    Posted On: 04 OCT 2024 2:34PM by PIB Delhi

    Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to empower India’s defence industry by working hand-in-hand with them, and realise Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of making the country a global manufacturing hub. Addressing the seventh annual session of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) in New Delhi on October 04, 2024, Raksha Mantri described the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict as a reminder to build a strong defence industrial base, which can be bolstered and expanded with time.

    Shri Rajnath Singh asserted that the Government, in its third consecutive term, will provide a renewed thrust to its ongoing efforts towards developing a robust, innovative and self-reliant defence ecosystem. He enumerated the steps taken to attain ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, including creation of defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu, issuance of positive indigenisation lists (PILs), corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board, handholding of private industries by DRDO, and unveiling of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020.

    On the 10 PILs notified with over 5,500 items, Raksha Mantri stated that the idea is to equip the Armed Forces with platforms/equipment manufactured on Indian soil. Terming the lists as dynamic & not static, he exhorted the industry to achieve complete self-reliance for these items within the stipulated time, and keep shortening the list. He also urged them to assess and identify products that can be added to the PILs in view of the rapid changes being witnessed in the field of defence across the globe.

    Shri Rajnath Singh emphasised that due to the Government’s efforts, an environment conducive to ease of doing business in the country has been created, and a target set for making India’s defence industry export-oriented. While he lauded the major contribution of the private sector in taking the defence exports to a record high of over Rs 21,000 crore in Financial Year (FY) 2023-24, he called upon the industry to keep in mind the export and import figures, and strive to reduce the ratio between the two with a target-oriented approach. 

    Raksha Mantri expressed happiness over the fact that the annual defence production touched a record high of Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24. While the share of DPSUs was Rs one lakh crore, private companies contributed with about Rs 27,000 crore. He stated that there is a huge scope for increasing the share of private industries, and the next target should be to bring their participation to at least half of the total defence production. He promised full support of the Government in achieving this target.

    Highlighting the Government’s focus to encourage foreign companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to invest in India or open joint ventures with the private industry, Shri Rajnath Singh called upon SIDM to prepare a roadmap for collaboration on a firm-to-firm basis. He was of the view that the Indian industry has the potential of bringing niche technologies or processes to India.

    Recognising the potential of small & medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in the defence sector, Raksha Mantri acknowledged the challenges they face in achieving ease of doing business. He urged SIDM to work closely with the government to address ground-level issues & help these enterprises to play a larger role in defence manufacturing. “It is important to ensure that our policies translate into ease of doing business at the ground level. SIDM can help in identifying the practical challenges faced by start-ups and SMEs so that we can address them,” he said.

    Shri Rajnath Singh urged the industry to invest more in cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cyber defence, & autonomous systems. “India’s defence industry must keep pace with global trends and focus on high-end technology. There is a need to increase investments in areas like AI & autonomous systems, which will define the future of warfare. The government is ready to provide all necessary support,” he said.

    During the session, Raksha Mantri also presented the SIDM Champion Awards, which recognise outstanding achievements in defence manufacturing. He termed the awards as a reflection to the dedication & excellence of Indian manufacturers, which will serve as a benchmark for best practices in the sector.

    Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar, SIDM President Shri Rajinder Singh Bhatia and captains of the industry were among those present on the occasion. The theme of the session was ‘Empowering Indian Defence Industry: Catalysing Exports and Indigenous Innovation’. It served as a forum for stakeholders to discuss India’s growing role as a global defence exporter and innovation hub.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Assessment of the SATA Group restructuring process – E-001824/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001824/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    André Rodrigues (S&D)

    The SATA Group is important for upholding the principle of territorial continuity, providing access to the Azores and guaranteeing free movement and access to the EU single market for Azores residents, businesses and organisations.

    On 7 June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese restructuring aid for the SATA Group and the implementation of a restructuring plan to improve the group’s companies’ operations and financial balance.

    • 1.What does the Commission make of the execution of the restructuring plan, the conditions established in 2022 and the impact of the measures and their implementation on the SATA Group’s operating and financial results so far?
    • 2.Following the Government of the Azores’ decision to cancel divestment of Azores Airlines share capital, does the Commission believe the divestment of 51-85 % it approved is still appropriate, and is the Commission willing to review the timetable and extend the deadline for completion of the privatisation process?
    • 3.What does the Commission make of the EUR 60 million bond loan taken out by the SATA Group from JP Morgan in 2022?

    Submitted: 25.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Poland: small and medium-sized companies to gain financing from €150 million EIB loan to Pekao Leasing

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • EIB lends Pekao Leasing €150 million to expand financing for Polish small and medium-sized enterprises.
    • At least 20% of funding to go to climate-friendly investments.
    • Most funds will support cohesion regions in Poland.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending Poland’s Pekao Leasing €150 million to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The EIB credit to the unit of Bank Pekao SA will expand financing for Polish SMEs, with most of the funds going to less-developed regions in the country and at least a fifth allocated to green projects.

    “Small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the economy and have a pivotal role to play in fostering innovation, as well as advancing energy transition. That is why supporting the development of SMEs is one of the EIB’s most important tasks,” said EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska. “This new agreement with Pekao Leasing is another example of our strong commitment to the growth and competitiveness of Polish SMEs.”

    Around €420 million of investments are expected to be supported in total with the EIB loan to Pekao Leasing. The minimum 20% of funding being earmarked for climate-friendly projects will help firms replace machinery and equipment with more energy-efficient options.

    Bank Pekao organised the transaction and guarantees provided by Poland’s leading financial institution PZU Group enabled financing to be offered on favourable terms.

    “Cooperation between Bank Pekao Group and the EIB dates back to 2004. This is a key partnership for us in supporting Polish companies looking to develop in accordance with modern climate-protection requirements,” said Bank Pekao Management Board Vice-Chair Robert Sochacki. “Over the years, as part of implementing our strategy of developing cooperation with SMEs, as well as our environmental, social and governance strategy, we have repeatedly obtained EIB financing to support investments in climate protection, environmental sustainability and women’s entrepreneurship, which have contributed significantly to the development of these areas.”

    PZU Group said its involvement in the agreement also reflects a commitment to a greener future.   

    “That is why we actively support initiatives that not only help Polish companies to develop but also have a positive impact on the natural environment and help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change,” said PZU Management Board member Bartosz Grześkowiak. “Guarantees granted by PZU are one of our instruments to support clients and business partners in the process of green transformation – an important part of implementing our sustainable development policy. I am convinced that the new EIB loan agreement with Pekao Leasing will serve this purpose well.”

    Much of the funding will go towards improving energy efficiency, developing renewable energy sources, and extending attractive leasing offers to firms implementing low-emission transport.

    “This loan from the EIB is one more step that strengthens our partnership – one that has fostered the development of SMEs in Poland for years” said Pekao Leasing Management Board member Maciej Kijo. “We are especially pleased that a major part of these funds will be allocated to green projects, which is in line with our strategy to support sustainable development and protect the environment. It is also a great opportunity for Polish companies to invest in modern, energy-efficient solutions that will drive their growth and competitiveness.”

    Background information

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its 27 Member States. It finances sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality.

    The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023, including over €31 billion worth of financing for the SME sector in Europe. These commitments are expected to support around €320 billion in investment, 400,000 companies and 5.4 million jobs.

    Out of a total of €5.1 billion granted to projects in Poland last year, more than €630 million has gone to support SMEs. Financing for climate-friendly projects has now reached more than half of the total EIB Group investment in the country.

    Pekao Leasing is the leasing arm of the Bank Pekao Group and has been present on the Polish market for almost 30 years.

    Bank Pekao SA, founded in 1929, is one of the largest financial institutions in Central-Eastern Europe and the second-largest universal bank in Poland, with assets of PLN 316 billion. Boasting the second largest branch network, Bank Pekao serves 6.9 million customers. As Poland’s leading corporate bank, it serves one in two corporations in the country. Its status as a universal bank is based on its leading position in private banking, asset management and brokerage activities. Bank Pekao’s diversified business profile is supported by a market-leading balance sheet and risk profile, characterised by the lowest risk costs, strong capital ratios and resilience to macroeconomic conditions. Since 1998, Bank Pekao has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and in several indices, both local (including WIG 20 and WIG) and international (including MSCI EM, Stoxx Europe 600 and FTSE Developed). Over the last decade, Bank Pekao has paid out total dividends of PLN 20 billion, placing it among the highest dividend-paying listed companies in Poland.

    The PZU Group is the largest financial conglomerate in Central and Eastern Europe. It operates in five countries: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine. The PZU Group’s consolidated assets exceed PLN 400 billion. The Group is led by PZU SA, with its traditions dating back to 1803, when the first insurance company was established on Polish soil. In Poland alone PZU Group enjoys the trust of 22 million insurance and banking clients. The Group is the leader on the insurance market and is at the forefront of the banking, investment and healthcare services markets. PZU is also one of the most recognizable brands, known to every Polish citizen. PZU’s stock has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) since 2010. Since its stock exchange debut PZU has been part of WIG20, an index of the Warsaw Stock Exchange’s largest companies. Since 2019, PZU’s shares have been also part of the WIG-ESG (sustainability) index.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Bluetongue: aid to livestock farmers and EU coordination measures – E-001819/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001819/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Marion Maréchal (ECR)

    Since autumn 2023, European livestock farms, most notably in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg and Italy, have been battling a new and aggressive wave of bluetongue. This disease, which mostly affects ruminants (cattle, sheep and goats, etc.), has caused around 23 000 sheep and 36 000 cattle to die in Belgium[1]. Meanwhile, in France, 1 929 outbreaks are currently recorded by state services.

    Although the Belgian Minister for Agriculture, Anne-Catherine Dalcq, said on 23 September 2024 that she had activated all EU levers, the lack of coordination between the Member States (late initiation of vaccination campaigns) has contributed to the epizootic disease spreading.

    In view of the above:

    • 1.What EU levers have actually been activated by the agriculture ministers of the countries concerned?
    • 2.Has the Commission examined the shortcomings in coordination between Member States that caused the delay in taking prevention and protection measures?
    • 3.Will it mobilise the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) crisis reserve to support farmers that are struggling, and will it maintain all CAP support, despite the decrease in livestock populations?

    Submitted: 25.9.2024

    • [1] Figures from the Belgian Federal Ministry of Agriculture communicated on 19 September 2024 during the plenary session of the Chamber.
    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Targeted revision of the Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) – E-001833/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001833/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Alice Teodorescu Måwe (PPE)

    The EU Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC) is causing ever greater problems in Sweden. In 2021, the Commission announced that the provisions of several Swedish collective agreements, in particular with regard to 24-hour shifts (known in Swedish as dygnspass), were in breach of the directive’s rules on daily rest periods. Since then, the social partners have been forced to renegotiate a number of collective agreements. As a result, 24-hour shifts are no longer allowed. This has already had serious consequences, not least for people who use personal assistance services, but also when it comes to the recruitment of staff in the emergency services and personal assistants, among others.

    In the light of the foregoing:

    • 1.Does the Commission intend to initiate a targeted review of the Working Time Directive so that, in future, the social partners in Sweden can conclude agreements to restore 24-hour shifts and derogations from the rules on daily rest periods?
    • 2.Does the Commission see any other reasons to revise the Working Time Directive, for example the need for urgent action to bolster the European defence industry?

    Submitted: 26.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Hungary’s participation at the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States – E-001800/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001800/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Michalis Hadjipantela (PPE)

    On 6 July 2024, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó participated in the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States, held in Shusha, Azerbaijan and hosted by H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Organization of Turkic States, currently chaired by H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, invited the leader of the illegal Turkish Cypriot secessionist entity known as the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ as a ‘head of state’. This coincided with Hungary holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.

    This action flagrantly violates international law and disregards the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, as affirmed by relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The Republic of Cyprus is internationally recognised as the sole legitimate government of the entire island. Given these provocative violations and disrespect towards the territorial integrity of an EU Member State:

    • 1.What measures does the Commission intend to take in response to Hungary’s participation in this summit?
    • 2.How does the Commission plan to deal with this incident and ensure that all Member States adhere to the principles of international law and EU solidarity?

    Submitted: 24.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Shortages of critical medicines in Europe – P-001924/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-001924/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Bartosz Arłukowicz (PPE)

    The shortage of critical medicines in the European market is a serious problem with implications for patient health and safety. Medicines used to treat chronic conditions, rare diseases and emergencies, such as oncological medicines and painkillers, are particularly hard to get hold of. This crisis was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed supply gaps and a dependency on global production chains. The repercussions of a shortfall in key medicines could be catastrophic, ranging from treatment delays to a rise in patient deaths. In December 2023, the Commission published a list of 200 medicines that are critical in the EU. In view of the above:

    • 1.After publishing the critical medicines list, what specific measures did the Commission take to combat the shortage of these medicines?
    • 2.Since December 2023, in the case of which medicines and which Member States has the Commission noted shortfalls, and what measures have been taken to overcome them?
    • 3.What action is it planning on taking in future to prevent any shortfalls in these medicines?

    Submitted: 2.10.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Latest news – Meeting of the DEVE Committee 10 October – Committee on Development

    Source: European Parliament

    The Committee on Development will meet on Thursday 10 October in Strasbourg to vote on two different drafts:

    Votes:

    • Draft text of DEVE’s contribution to the ENVI motion for a resolution on the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29);
    • Draft DEVE opinion on the general budget for 2025, in letter form.

    The next DEVE meeting will take place on Monday 14 October from 15.00 to 19.00 in Spinelli 1E2

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Oral question – Revision of the ban on selling CO2-emitting cars beyond 2035 – O-000011/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for oral answer  O-000011/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 142
    Christine Anderson, Anja Arndt, Marc Jongen, Sarah Knafo, Milan Uhrík, Ivan David, Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik, Marcin Sypniewski, Stanisław Tyszka, René Aust
    on behalf of the ESN Group

    During the last term, Parliament helped to pass legislation to phase out sales of new CO2-emitting cars by 2035. During the campaign for the 2024 elections, many of the parties now represented in Parliament called to revise the law and revive the internal combustion engine. The President of the Commission herself has raised expectations regarding a possible review of the current discrimination against CO2-emitting cars. In her candidate speech to Parliament on 18 July 2024, she called for the European Green Deal to be implemented in a pragmatic, technology-neutral manner.

    Furthermore, the President of the Commission wants to enhance the EU’s competitiveness. The EU’s carmakers are especially competitive in building internal combustion engines. The Commission’s political guidelines for 2024-2029 stress: ‘For instance, the 2035 climate neutrality target for cars creates predictability for investors and manufacturers. Getting there will require a technology-neutral approach, in which e-fuels have a role to play through a targeted amendment of the regulation as part of the foreseen review’.

    All of this has created expectations among the public that internal combustion engines will continue to be used beyond 2035. At the same time, there is some confusion regarding what the Commission really wants. It would be particularly useful to ascertain whether any calls for the relaxation of the ‘ban on internal combustion engines’ were mere campaign promises.

    To shed more light on this issue, could the Commission answer the following questions:

    • 1.When will the Commission initiate a review of the regulation, and when will it be able to present it to Parliament?
    • 2.What does technology neutrality mean with regard to internal combustion engines vis-à-vis electric vehicles?
    • 3.Will the Commission limit itself to implementing e-fuels, or will there be a wider window that allows for the production, sale and use of internal combustion engines beyond 2035?

    Submitted: 1.10.2024

    Lapses: 2.1.2025

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Alarming increase in dependency on fentanyl among the young – E-001815/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001815/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Ioan-Rareş Bogdan (PPE)

    Thousands of young people in the European Union have fallen victim to the illicit trade in fentanyl, a synthetic opioid considered to be 50 times stronger than heroin.

    The warnings issued by the Commission and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the danger of not controlling fentanyl consumption are far from unfounded as tens of thousands of people have died after taking this synthetic opioid with analgesic properties.

    Swift and effective measures therefore need to be taken to combat this extremely worrying state of affairs.

    In Europe, fentanyl can be purchased on the black market in the form of nasal sprays, drops, lozenges, sweets, powders or solutions for injection, but the substance is often combined with heroin, cocaine or MDMA.

    What steps will the Commission take to combat the illicit use of fentanyl and reduce the number of young people falling victim to this synthetic opioid?

    Bearing in mind that China is one of the world’s largest producers of fentanyl and of the chemical precursors used to manufacture this opioid, can the Commission clearly state:

    are the European Union and China formally cooperating to combat the illicit trafficking of fentanyl, given the serious impact of this drug on public health and safety in Europe?

    Submitted: 25.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Review of agreements with third countries to introduce mirror clauses – E-001852/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001852/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Carmen Crespo Díaz (PPE)

    European producers are in dire straits as a direct consequence of the increase in production costs, ongoing geopolitical conflicts and a price crisis which is due in part to overlaps with the timing of imports from third countries.

    Imports from third countries create unfair competition because they do not have to meet the environmental, social and economic requirements that apply for European producers. This is causing profitability problems for European farmers. It is also undermining the generational renewal required to guarantee the future of farming in Europe, and therefore also the food security of the people of Europe, who cannot rely on third countries.

    In view of the above:

    Is the Commission intending to review trade agreements with third countries so as to introduce mirror clauses?

    Submitted: 27.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Banning chick culling in the EU – E-001843/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001843/2024
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Pascal Arimont (PPE)

    Each year, 330 million day-old male chicks are killed in the EU directly after hatching because they can neither lay eggs nor provide enough meat. This widespread practice not only causes considerable suffering, but also contravenes Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which recognises animals as sentient beings. Some Member States, such as France and Germany, have prohibited this practice. In-ovo sexing technologies are available on the market to determine the sex of the embryo at limited cost. They work before day 13 of incubation, in line with the latest scientific evidence on pain perception, which shows that embryonic pain sensitivity starts from day 13 of incubation.

    • 1.Will the new Commission’s proposals for new regulations on the welfare of farmed animals include a ban on chick culling, with the implementation of in-ovo sexing before day 13 of incubation, in the egg sector, thus harmonising EU legislation and avoiding a distortion of competition?
    • 2.If so, when does the Commission plan to publish the draft of this new legislation?

    Submitted: 26.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: From September 30 to October 4, 2024, a series of popular science events for mathematics teachers of basic schools of the Russian Academy of Sciences took place in Novosibirsk

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    Over the course of a week, unique popular science events for mathematics teachers of the RAS basic schools (hereinafter referred to as the School) were held in Novosibirsk at the S.L. Sobolev Institute of Mathematics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Novosibirsk State University. The project was launched in 2022 and is aimed at popularizing science, discussing significant discoveries, exchanging experiences among specialists, developing a scientific worldview among young people and adolescents, increasing the prestige of science, and expanding the scientific horizons of schoolchildren.

    This year, 29 teachers from 14 regions of Russia took part in the School: Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Rostov, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk regions, as well as from Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorsky Krai and the Udmurt Republic.

    Summing up the results of the school, Deputy Governor of the Novosibirsk Region Irina Manuilova noted:

    — Such schools that unite professionals from different regions are extremely useful, so I would like to see as many of them as possible in different parts of Russia. Their goals are in line with the strategy of the Decade of Science and Technology in the Russian Federation, announced by the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the new national projects “Youth and Children” and “Personnel”. I would like to note that recently our region hosted a satellite event of the Technoprom forum, the Big Mathematical Workshop, where student and school teams are involved in solving specific mathematical problems. It is very important that the policy of forming specialized classes and taking a serious attitude towards mathematical education is gaining momentum today. People who come to such training programs are people, thinking people, who are passionate about the cause. Therefore, your thoughts and your experience are extremely important in order to make the right decisions at the level of the Government of the country. I am sure that you have received a good professional background and will continue to work with each other and cooperate. I think that mathematics will take the place it rightfully deserves in school education.

    Dean Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, NSU Igor Marchuk spoke in more detail about the training of mathematicians at the university and noted that NSU offers the main profiles of mathematical education.

    — The faculty has created a whole space for applicants, they can choose any of the profiles — someone wants to be a researcher, someone wants to do engineering, and someone — programming. At the same time, there is a principle of openness, when, having passed certain exams, a student can transfer to another profile during their studies.

    On the basis of the S.L. Sobolev Institute of Mathematics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and NSU, a Mathematical center in Akademgorodok, which supports many events, including events with schoolchildren. For example, this is the winter school of the young mathematician “Lobachevsky”, the Workshop of Creative Mathematics. Also, active cooperation with the educational center “Sirius” is now beginning.

    The School program included practical classes and master classes, where issues of organizing research activities for schoolchildren, solving Olympiad problems in mathematics, and conducting in-class and extracurricular activities for students were discussed. This year, in addition to the traditional participant, Gymnasium No. 6 “Gornostay”, one of the Basic Schools of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the School was also joined by SUNC NSUTherefore, the sessions were held in both educational centers.

    The participants of the School visited the leading institutes of the country and educational institutions located in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok: Sobolev Institute of Mathematics SB RAS, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics SB RAS, Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, SUNC NSU, Educational Center – Gymnasium No. 6 “Gornostay”.

    Popular science lectures were given by leading scientists, including Pavel Vladimirovich Logachev, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the G.I. Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Andrey Mikhailovich Raigorodsky, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of Mathematics, Director of the Phystech School of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science of MIPT; Alexey Vladimirovich Savvateev, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor of MIPT, Leading Researcher of the Laboratory of Mathematical Economics of the Department of Theoretical Economics and Mathematical Research of the Central Economics and Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Also, teachers and associate professors of the NSU Specialized Scientific Center and the Gornostay Educational Center took part in the event as experts.

    For reference: a series of events for mathematics teachers of the RAS basic schools is being held in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok as part of the implementation of the RAS Basic Schools project, in which 108 general education organizations from 32 regions of the Russian Federation are participating.

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

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

    http://vvv.nsu.ru/n/media/nevs/education/from-September-30-to-October-4-2024-a series-of-popular-scientific-events took place in-Novosibirsk-

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Türkiye’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and its failure to recognise the Republic of Cyprus – E-001810/2024

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-001810/2024/rev.1
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Loucas Fourlas (PPE)

    Despite the European Union’s efforts to promote peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Türkiye continues to take unilateral and provocative actions, such as drilling in the territorial waters the Republic of Cyprus, an EU Member State. Furthermore, Türkiye still refuses to recognise the Republic of Cyprus. This poses a major obstacle to stability and peaceful coexistence in the region.

    In view of the above:

    What concrete steps will the European Commission take to prevent Türkiye’s violations in the Cypriot EEZ and in the Eastern Mediterranean more generally?

    Submitted: 25.9.2024

    Last updated: 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coming up next week at the London Assembly W/C 7 October

    Source: Mayor of London

    PUBLIC MEETINGS

    Wednesday 9 October

    Policing protests in London

    Police and Crime Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

    Policing protests and large-scale events in the capital is putting increased strain on the Metropolitan Police Service, with the Met describing protests since October 2023 as the “greatest period of sustained pressure since the Olympics in 2012.”

    The Police and Crime Committee will hold the first meeting of its investigation into public order policing in London.

    Panel 1: 10:00am – 11:30am

    • Matt Parr, former Inspector, HMICFRS
    • Lord Walney, former Government Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption
    • Kirsty Brimelow KC, Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers

    Panel 2: 11:35am – 1:00pm

    • Jodie Beck, Policy and Campaigns Officer, Liberty
    • Professor Geoff Pearson, Professor of Law at the University of Manchester and Academic Director of the N8 Policing Research Partnership
    • Tom Southerden, Programme Director, Law & Human Rights, Amnesty International
    • David Spencer, Head of Crime and Justice, Policy Exchange

    MEDIA CONTACT: Tony Smyth on 07763 251727/ [email protected]

    Wednesday 9 October

    ‘Social value’ in planning and regeneration

    Planning and Regeneration Committee – The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 2pm

    The London Plan does not define ‘social value’, but it is referred to in various policies and supporting texts.

    In the first meeting of its investigation into how social value is considered in planning decisions for markets and arches, the Planning and Regeneration Committee will question experts, local authorities and industry representatives about what it means, how it’s measured, and how it can make a difference to Londoners.

    The guests are:

    Panel 1: 2.00pm – 3.15pm

    • Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, Commissioner for the London Sustainable Development Commission
    • Tony Burton, Founder of Civic Voice and Chair of Community Review Panels in Old Oak & Park Royal and Dacorum
    • Dr Myfanwy Taylor, Lecturer in Urban Economics and Planning, University College London
    • Guy Battle, Chief Executive Officer at Social Value Portal
    • Stephanie Edwards, Co-Founding Director Urban Symbiotics

    Panel 2: 3.30pm – 4.45pm

    • Krissie Nicolson, CEO London Trades Guild
    • Nicholas Kasic, manager of Portobello Road Market and convener of the London Street Trading Benchmarking Group 
    • Sarah Goldzweig, Research and Project Officer at Latin Elephant
    • Stephen Biggs, Corporate Director, Community Wealth Building, London Borough of Islington 
    • Bryce Tudball, Head of Spatial Planning, London Borough of Haringey

    MEDIA CONTACT: Josh Hunt on 07763 252310 / [email protected]

    Thursday 10 October

    Mayor’s Question Time

    The Chamber, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, 10am

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, will face questions from London Assembly Members.

    Topics include:

    • Aligning the Budget with Manifesto Commitments
    • Night-Time Economy
    • Net zero targets and advertising on the TfL network
    • Cleaning Up London’s Waterways

    MEDIA CONTACT: Alison Bell on 07887 832 918 / [email protected]

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mayor launches two year pilot scheme to improve high streets and public spaces across the capital    

    Source: Mayor of London

    • New scheme will promote good growth and design in neighbourhoods across the capital  
    • New Town Architects appointed to support the future development of ten locations in London  

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has appointed ten built environment experts to support the capital’s boroughs to improve the quality of high streets and public spaces, in a brand-new pilot scheme. 

    The Town Architects programme, which is being piloted for two years, forms part of the Mayor’s £1.25m Local Growth Capacity Support Programme which aims to support local growth and the design of public spaces in London. The programme builds on the Mayor’s work to support the creation of safe, inclusive and sustainable neighbourhoods and economic growth by ensuring that boroughs are better equipped and can utilise the skills of planners and architects to help shape better places in their local areas.

    We know that high streets are struggling and the need to make them more attractive, sustainable and enjoyable places to live in and visit is as vital as ever. Recent data from City Hall shows huge demand for greater knowledge sharing and the upskilling of existing teams as local boroughs increasingly struggle to promote built development and growth in areas across the capital. [1]

    The experts, known as ‘Town Architects’, will help to build much-needed capacity within local boroughs and will directly support Chief Placeshaping Officers and Design Champions to review project proposals and help develop a strategic vision for the local area.  

    They have been selected from the Mayor’s diverse panel of Design Advocates to support his vision for good growth and ensure that new buildings and public spaces will benefit all Londoners by promoting quality and inclusion in the built environment. Their expertise spans a broad range of areas, including architecture, master planning, high streets, public realm, and design quality management.  

    London’s placeshaping capacity is central to delivering the Mayor’s Good Growth by Design principles, which seek to ensure that London’s growth is both economically and socially inclusive and sustainable. The Town Architects pilot will address this gap in capacity by working with local authorities to bolster and enhance in-house skills, knowledge, and expertise to help shape better places and promote quality and inclusion in the built environment. 

    Jules Pipe, the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service, said: “We are pleased to be launching this pilot scheme to promote the future development of key areas in the capital. 

    “By drawing on the expertise of the Mayor’s Design Advocates, local boroughs will have the expertise and support they need to boost design quality to improve their high streets and public spaces and promote positive neighbourhood placemaking, helping to build a better and more sustainable London for everyone.”  

    Holly Lewis, Mayor’s Design Advocate and Director of We Made That, said: “I’m thrilled to have the chance to continue to support the London Borough of Hackney in my new role as Town Architect. Hackney Central is just one of many places in London experiencing rapid change, with many exciting projects underway. With the support of this programme, I look forward to the opportunity to work alongside the borough in achieving the best possible outcomes for Hackney’s diverse communities.”

    Suzanne Johnston, Interim Director, Economy, Regeneration and New Homes, Hackney Council, said: “We are delighted to be working with Holly Lewis in her role as Hackney’s new Town Architect. We’re passionate about the need for good design in our built environment.   

    “Whether it’s promoting high quality buildings and public spaces or ensuring that Hackney Central is inclusive and easy to get around, Holly’s considerable expertise will complement the Council’s own in-house design expertise, to make sure Hackney’s buildings and public spaces work for everyone.” 

     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Financial health notice to improve: Warwickshire College Group

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A financial health notice to improve issued to Warwickshire College Group.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Financial health notice to improve: Warwickshire College Group

    PDF, 157 KB, 4 pages

    Details

    This letter and its annex serve as a written financial health notice to improve at Warwickshire College Group.

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 October 2024

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Housing Land Audit

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    MORE AFFORDABLE houses were built in Dundee last year than private homes, according to the latest figures.
    The annual Dundee Housing Land Audit for 2024, revealed that 483 homes were completed, 58% of which were for social rent.
    Steven Rome, convener of Dundee City Council’s fair work, economic growth and infrastructure committee said: “It has been another positive year for house building completions.
    “The Housing Land Audit is a fascinating insight into the city’s economic progress, and I would urge anyone who has an interest to get involved with the consultation.”
    Lynne Short, depute convener of Dundee City Council’s neighbourhood regeneration, housing and estate management committee added: “New housing is the foundation of what we need to do to help make Dundee a more attractive place to live and work and only by working across private, public and social housing will we deliver for the city.”
    The annual audit provides a source of information which is important to the council in its work monitoring the Dundee Local Development Plan, representing a factual statement of land supply within Dundee City Council’s boundary up until March 31, 2024.
    This year’s audit has found:
    During the 2023/2024 period of the audit there were 483 housing units completed;
    the 483 completions comprise of 282 units (58%) of affordable housing and 201 (42%) private housing. This is the highest level of affordable housing completions in Dundee since 2006; and
    83% of the completions in 2023/24 were on brownfield land and 17% were greenfield completions.  
    Following the consultation period, comments from stakeholders will be reviewed and any amendments made as necessary before the Dundee Housing Land Audit 2024 is finalised and published.
    This year’s draft Dundee Housing Land Audit has now been published for a period of consultation until 23 October 2024 you can find it at https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/city-development/planning-and-economic-development/dundee-housing-land-audit

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Christian education charity receives official warning over failing to act on regulator’s advice

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government Non-Ministerial Departments

    The Charity Commission has issued an Official Warning to the National Council for Christian Standards in Society (NCCSS) for failing to follow its advice.

    The National Council for Christian Standards in Society was established in 1986 to promote religion and religious education. 

    The regulator previously issued the charity with advice, making clear it must separate its charitable work from the political lobbying activities of Christian Voice, a connected, non-charitable body.  

    Advice given included ensuring a separate entity carries out any non-charitable work, evidencing a clear division of how each organisation is run and removing ‘Christian Voice’ as the charity’s working name on the Register of Charities. The trustees did not take sufficient steps to act on this advice, which has led the regulator to now issue an Official Warning. 

    The Official Warning sets out actions the charity’s trustees need to take to rectify the misconduct and/or mismanagement, including acting on previous advice. The regulator has also identified that the charity needs to amend its ambiguous purposes to ensure they are exclusively charitable. Failing to take remedial steps to address issues identified by the regulator can result in the charity facing further regulatory action. 

    Tracy Howarth, Assistant Director for Casework at the Charity Commission, said:  

    It’s clear this charity has not taken our previous advice on board and so we have issued an Official Warning with the expectation that changes are made at pace. When carrying out any activity, trustees must consider how it helps meet their charitable purposes and if they are acting within charity law. We, and the public, expect this of charities as a minimum.  

    This intervention should serve as a reminder for all trustees to take any advice and guidance they receive from us seriously. As regulator, we issue guidance to help trustees ensure their charity is run well to deliver for beneficiaries. If we step in, we’re giving advice to help avoid further regulatory action.

    Ends 

    Notes to editors: 

    1. The Official Warning was issued on Monday 30th September 2024 under section 75A of the Charities Act 2011. 

    2. Information about Official Warnings can be found in an online Q&A: Guidance – Official warnings to charities and trustees: Q and A (publishing.service.gov.uk) 

    3. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Our ambition is to be the expert Charity Commission that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive.   

    4. Our guidance on campaigning and political activity can be found via this link: Campaigning and political activity guidance for charities – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). We have produced a shorter ‘5 minute guide’ designed to refresh trustees’ knowledge on this topic. This can be found via this link: Political activity and campaigning by charities – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

    5. Our guidance on writing charitable purposes can be found via this link: How to write charitable purposes – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

    Press office

    Email pressenquiries@charitycommission.gov.uk

    Out of hours press office contact number: 07785 748787

    Updates to this page

    Published 4 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on a New 38-Month Extended Credit Facility Arrangement with Sierra Leone and Completes 2024 Article IV Mission

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    September 20, 2024

    End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    • IMF staff and the Sierra Leonean authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies and reforms that could be supported by a new 38-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, with requested access of SDR 187 million (about US$253 million).
    • The ECF would support restoring stability through continued macroeconomic adjustment to address debt vulnerabilities, reduce inflation, and rebuild international reserves; bolster inclusive growth and poverty reduction through structural reforms and targeted social spending; and revitalize the reform agenda to strengthen governance and institutions – all advancing the poverty reduction and growth aspirations outlined in the country’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024-30.
    • The Article IV consultation focused on fiscal and debt sustainability, monetary policy operations, drivers of inflation, external sector stability, trade facilitation, macroeconomic implications of gender inequality, climate-related risks, and the adequacy of social policies.

    Washington, DC –  An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Mr. Christian Saborowski, visited Sierra Leone from September 4 to 13, 2024, to conduct the 2024 Article IV consultation and discuss with the Sierra Leonean authorities economic and financial policies that could be supported by a new 38-month ECF arrangement, with requested access of SDR 187 million (about US$253 million). The staff-level agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Management and Executive Board.

    Today, Mr. Saborowski made the following statement:

    “A new economic team took over last year and has since taken bold measures to tackle Sierra Leone’s macroeconomic imbalances including a severe cost-of-living crisis. The authorities reduced the domestic primary deficit by 2.8 percent of GDP in 2023 and are on track toward reducing it by another 2.1 percent this year. They also tightened monetary policy sharply by reducing year-on-year base money growth from a peak of 63.4 percent in June 2023 to 8.8 percent in June 2024, and raising the policy rate by 7.25 percentage points since end-2022.

    “The reform momentum has borne fruit. Inflation declined to 25 percent in August 2024, down from a peak of 55 percent in October 2023, and the sharp exchange rate depreciation experienced in 2022 and early 2023 was arrested. However, T-bill rates remain stubbornly high at over 40 percent, international reserves have fallen to less than two months of imports, and the electricity distribution company (EDSA) continues to make losses, resulting in significant fiscal pressures.

    “Economic growth reached more than 5 percent in 2022 and 2023, buoyed by strong mining activity. Sierra Leone’s public debt continues to be assessed as sustainable but at high risk of distress, while its external position in 2023 is assessed as broadly in line with the level implied by fundamentals and desirable policies.

    “The new ECF arrangement would aim to (i) restore stability by bolstering debt sustainability, addressing fiscal dominance, bringing down inflation, and rebuilding reserves; (ii) support inclusive growth through reforms—including to narrow gender gaps—and targeted social spending; and (iii) confront corruption, as well as strengthen governance, institutions, and the rule of law. These objectives would advance the poverty reduction and growth aspirations outlined in Sierra Leone’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024-30.

    “Restoring stability in the Sierra Leonean economy will require a continued ambitious macroeconomic adjustment over the program period. Enhancing revenue mobilization, boosting spending efficiency, and managing fiscal risks will be critical to make room for priority spending on social policies and investment. Strengthening the monetary policy framework and maintaining appropriately tight monetary conditions will be important to safeguard internal and external stability.

    “Making durable progress in fighting poverty and raising standards of living will require a commitment to reform, sustained political and social consensus, and well-targeted social policies. Promoting gender equality and increasing women’s economic participation are crucial to boosting Sierra Leone’s growth potential. So too are reforms to enhance the business environment by improving EDSA’s operational and technical efficiency, strengthening customs administration and transparency, and addressing climate change risks. Guided by the MTNDP 2024-30, steadfast progress in addressing these challenges will be critical.

    “The staff team is grateful to the authorities for the open and productive discussions. The team met with President Bio, Finance Minister Bangura, Deputy Finance Ministers Alie and Kalokoh, Financial Secretary Dingie, Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) Governor Stevens, Deputy Governors Tucker and Sesay, Commissioner General Bangura of the National Revenue Authority, and senior government and BSL officials. The mission also had fruitful discussions with representatives from the private sector and development partners.”

    More information about ECF: Extended Credit Facility

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Pavis Devahasadin

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/09/20/imf-reaches-sla-on-38-month-ecf-with-sierra-leone

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Two new School Streets launched in Leeds to support children travelling safely and sustainably on the school run

    Source: City of Leeds

    More than 200 pupils in Leeds have become the latest local youngsters to benefit from a scheme that makes journeys to and from school safer, healthier and more enjoyable. 

    School Streets create a safer and more pleasant environment for children and families by restricting motorised traffic and turning the space outside school gates into a pedestrian and cyclist-only zone during pick-up and drop-off times. 

    A total of 15 schools in Leeds have previously signed up to the scheme, which aims to ease traffic congestion and tackle poor air quality while also improving safety.  

    Now two more – Ireland Wood Primary and St Bartholomew’s Primary – have followed suit. 

    And last week, a celebration event was held at Ireland Wood Primary School to mark the introduction of its new School Street on Raynel Gardens. 

    Leeds City Council’s new safe and sustainable travel mascot, Arlo the Owl, named by pupils from the school, guided pupils from the Park and Stride location at High Farm car park, across the new School Street, showcasing the benefits of a vehicle-free environment.  

    Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said: 

    “I’m thrilled to see two more schools joining the School Streets programme in Leeds this year, as it continues to make a significant difference in promoting road safety and sustainability in local communities. With just over 30%  of primary school children in Leeds still driven to school, the school run contributes to congestion, pollution, and increased road safety risks around schools. 

    “School Streets are a key part of our commitment to Vision Zero, the council’s ambition to eliminate serious and fatal road injuries by 2040. By creating safer, vehicle-free spaces, we’re making the journey to school healthier for children and their families. This initiative aligns with our vision of making Leeds a city where you don’t need a car.” 

    Ian Blackburn, Headteacher at Ireland Wood Primary School, said: 

    “We are really pleased to have a School Street so our pupils can travel safely and actively to and from school. 

    “Reducing traffic around school during peak times will help to improve road safety and encourage more families to choose active modes of travel like walking, cycling, wheeling and scooting. This initiative supports us to promote healthy lifestyles and foster independence for our pupils.”  

    Last year, 28,955 school children across Leeds participated in 596 sessions that the council’s road safety trainers delivered to promote safe and sustainable travel.  

    Safe behaviours and people are at the heart of the Vision Zero Strategy and is one of five key themes. The other themes are safe roads, safe speeds, post collision care and safe vehicles. To achieve Vision Zero everyone needs to play their part and travel safely. A pledge to play a part in eliminating road deaths can be signed here.  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Outlook for the European Council meeting on 17-18 October 2024 – 04-10-2024

    Source: European Parliament 2

    The provisional agenda for the 17-18 October European Council meeting has three main topics. First, EU Heads of State or Government will address Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the EU’s support to Ukraine and its people. Second, they will consider the situation in the Middle East, amid concerns over regional escalation following Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran’s missile strikes on Israel. Third, EU leaders will discuss competitiveness, with a first exchange on the report by Mario Draghi on ‘The future of European competitiveness’; they will also be called on to endorse the integrated country-specific recommendations, and thus conclude the 2024 European Semester cycle. In addition, EU leaders could hold a strategic debate on migration, and review progress on security and defence initiatives. Discussions could also touch upon developments in Georgia and Moldova, preparations for the COP29 on climate change and the COP16 on biological diversity, as well as the impact of the recent heavy flooding in central Europe.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Join author talks and more for Green Libraries Week

    Source: City of Leicester

    A FASCINATING talk on travel, an insight into the mind of a local crime writer and the tale of an amusing encounter with a Time Lord are among the events on offer next week for Green Libraries Week.

    From 7-13 October, Green Libraries Week will put Leicester’s libraries in the spotlight, featuring everything from poetry and author talks to energy advice and craft activities – and it’s all free.

    On Wednesday at St Barnabas Library, crime author Champak Chauhan will talk about his work, his background in Leicester and how he came up with the character of DI Rohan Sharma, a relatively new and inexperienced homicide detective charged with finding a psychopathic killer.

    Join award-winning travel writer Ash Bhardwaj (pictured) for a talk at the Central Library on Thursday (10 Oct), when he’ll be giving a fascinating insight into his motivations for travel, how to do it better, and how it can help us to live a more fulfilling life. Ash’s journeys have included a recent 8,500km overland expedition from the top of Norway to Romania; retracing the footsteps of a Second World War special mission by British forces in the Albanian Alps, and accompanying renowned explorer Levison Wood for 700 miles of his Walking The Nile expedition in Uganda and Sudan.

    Also on Thursday, Lizzie Lamb and Adrienne Vaughan from the Romantic Novelists’ Association will be detailing their writing adventures at Knighton Library. “A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Typewriter” will include tales of amusing encounters with a starry cast of writers, actors, singers, royals, and even a Time Lord!

    As well as author talks and readings, there are lots of events taking place to highlight the diverse range of activities that take place at libraries, with a focus on climate and sustainability.

    Find out about conservation and volunteering with Leicester Environmental Volunteers at Hamilton Library on Tuesday 8 October; or join one of the energy advice drop-in sessions taking place at Leicester’s Central Library on Monday 7, Thursday 10 and Friday 11 October, from 11am-1pm.

    Leicester Adult Education will be offering free taster sessions and learning activities at city libraries throughout the week, and craft and wellbeing activities will also be on offer.

    Everything is free, but spaces may be limited, so booking is advised. To book, call or drop in to your local library.

    Assistant city mayor for neighbourhood services Cllr Vi Dempster said: “Libraries Week is an opportunity for people to discover all that their local library has to offer. Activities are taking on a ‘green’ theme, which gives us a great chance to show people how easy it can be to live more sustainably. I hope people will really enjoy getting involved with Green Libraries Week.”

    More information and a full list of everything that’s on offer throughout the week is available at leicester.gov.uk/librariesweek

    ENDS

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “I dream that all universities in Russia would have the same conditions for scientists as HSE”

    MILES AXLE Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

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

    Anastasia Sherubneva studies spatial economics and is writing a dissertation on the crises of 2020 and 2022. In an interview with the Young Scientists of HSE project, she spoke about the influence of agglomeration effects on enterprises, the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, and a meeting with Nobel laureate Paul Krugman in Portugal.

    How I got started in science

    Since childhood, I liked creativity. I always came up with something new, tried to find non-standard solutions to problems. In the 10th grade, I took a six-month course in economics, and I liked that real processes are described by clear mathematical models.

    After school, I entered NSU to major in business informatics, where they study, on the one hand, economics, and on the other, programming. My favorite course in the first year of study was microeconomics. Our seminars on it were taught by Elizaveta Andreyevna Gaivoronskaya. She was then about the same age as I am now, and was passionate about science. She explained things in an interesting way, and I inherited her desire to do economic research.

    From my first year, I started thinking about how I could apply what we were taught in lectures and seminars, what I would do after graduating. I started planning a scientific career.

    NSU is located in Akademgorodok, where several dozen research institutes are located. In my third year, I was invited to work in the Department of Territorial Systems of the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I began to study regional economics under the supervision of Evgeniya Anatolyevna Kolomak. At the same time, my programming skills helped me work with real data. The institute had a great team, the seniors always supported the juniors. There was a Council of Young Scientists, we came up with activities, organized conferences, and could just go for a walk together.

    After working there for two years, I entered the Higher School of Economics and got into a single track “master’s degree – postgraduate study”. My academic supervisor was Olga Anatolyevna DemidovaShe works in spatial econometrics, and our research interests coincided.

    When I was in my second year of master’s degree, Olga Anatolyevna created the Scientific and Educational Laboratory of Spatial-Econometric Modeling of Socioeconomic Processes in Russia. I ended up in this laboratory. Now I am a postgraduate student, working under the supervision of Olga Anatolyevna on my PhD dissertation. Here, too, a wonderful scientific team has formed, and I am very glad that I went into science.

    What I am researching

    My area of research is spatial economics. Globally, this section of economics studies how the economic position of an entity depends on its geographical location.

    In my dissertation, I study the impact of macroeconomic shocks on the performance of Russian enterprises using the 2020 and 2022 crises as examples. I examine whether the impact of these shocks differed across enterprises located in different locations, both in different regions and within one, for example, in the capital and on the periphery.

    And while many researchers conduct interregional comparisons, few study spatial differences at the intraregional level. This is the main novelty of my research.

    I am currently finishing my research on the 2020 crisis and will be working on the 2022 crisis in graduate school.

    What business data do I use?

    I work with micro data, and I have the ability to build models at the enterprise level. I am currently using data from the SPARK database: financial statements of enterprises, their geographic location, individual characteristics.

    What I wanted to know

    I asked the question this way: how did the influence of various factors, in particular geographic location, on the efficiency of enterprises change during the crises of 2020 and 2022?

    Existing studies have shown that the differentiation of the COVID-19 crisis was mainly not regional, but sectoral. The sectors that suffered were those related to offline interaction: tourism, transport, hotels, and catering. This primarily concerned the regions where they are more represented. Another important factor was the state of medicine. In poor regions, quarantine measures were stricter because the medical system could not cope, and the economy began to decline. And regions where digitalization is developed, everyone has smartphones, experience using deliveries, good healthcare, survived the crisis easier.

    However, within a region, the effects of crises can also vary, and this is precisely the aspect I am exploring.

    My conclusions

    I studied how the financial performance of enterprises depends on similar performance of neighboring enterprises. Let’s say there is an enterprise, its neighbor has gone bad, the company closes or goes into the red. What happens to it? It is assumed that nearby enterprises interact with each other. I came to the conclusion that before the 2020 crisis, the financial condition of the enterprise had a positive impact on neighboring ones and during the crisis too, but this impact became weaker. The explanation here is obvious: offline interaction decreased during the pandemic, and this was confirmed by microdata using mathematical methods.

    Another interesting result describes the influence of agglomeration effects on the performance of enterprises depending on their location – in the city center, where there are many other enterprises and a high population density, or on the outskirts, where there is nothing.

    In general, agglomeration effects are beneficial for enterprises in Russia. But if we approach large agglomerations such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, the influence of agglomeration effects becomes negative. This is true both during and outside of a crisis. Big city effects (traffic jams, inflated prices, etc.) hinder the work of enterprises. These results indicate that large Russian agglomerations are heavily overloaded.

    What I am proud of

    In July, I published my independent article in the American journal Regional Science Policy

    I recently attended a conference of the European Regional Science Association in Portugal and gave a talk there. I mentioned that I used the HSE supercomputer in my research. And the discussant in my section said that it was great that I was able to use the supercomputer for such purposes and get new results.

    What is the HSE supercomputer?

    A supercomputer is a system of clusters between which computational processes can be distributed. It has a huge operational memory, which is measured in terabytes, and if calculations are parallelized between cores, it is possible to make cumbersome calculations.

    Using the HSE supercomputer allowed me to work with data from enterprises all over Russia, my sample included 300 thousand enterprises. I used a geographically weighted regression model, and for this you need to calculate pairwise distances between all enterprises, which requires enormous computing power.

    What I dream about

    I want to conduct a study on how enterprises in different industries influence each other geographically. For example, if a cinema and a cafe are located nearby, then most likely they will influence each other positively. But if it is a chemical plant and an eco-farm, it is clear that the mutual influence will be negative. This study requires certain data that is not yet available.

    For me, science is a way to learn something globally new and share it with others, to understand how this result relates to the results of other studies.

    I dream that all universities and research institutes in Russia would have the same comfortable conditions for scientists as HSE. If we talk about young scientists, there is a single track “Master’s degree – postgraduate study” with a large stipend. Postgraduate students are not forced, as happens in other organizations, to look for part-time jobs and can focus on writing a dissertation. HSE offers bonuses for publications, and there is an additional incentive to publish in high-level journals. Here, scientists receive a decent salary and are motivated to work for the benefit of science.

    If I hadn’t become a scientist

    I would become a human rights activist because justice has always been the highest value for me. Even at school I was interested in law, in any unclear situation I read the laws and in the 11th grade I became a prize winner of the regional stage of the All-Russian School Olympiad.

    Which scientist would I like to meet?

    If we talk about living scientists, it is Paul Krugman, the 2008 Nobel laureate in economics. He also studies regional economics, we are in the same field. I like his concept of new economic geography – it is a pool of theoretical models that explains the emergence of agglomerations from an economic point of view. This year at the congress in Portugal I met him, I even have a photo with Paul.

    If we talk about those who are no longer alive, it would be Marie Sklodowska-Curie. A great scientist, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, the first person to have two Nobel Prizes, and the only one to have these prizes in different sciences.

    I admire her for being so enthusiastic about her work, for overcoming obstacles all her life for the sake of science. The University of Warsaw in her native Poland did not accept women at the time, so she went to study in Paris. She was not accepted as a teacher or in a laboratory simply because she was a woman. Her colleagues did not recognize her achievements, even when she received her first Nobel Prize. At the same time, she worked with radioactive substances that were dangerous to health, and was one of the inventors of the X-ray machine, which saved many lives. I would like to ask her where she found the strength for this daily struggle.

    I often think about her now, when they are trying to return women to the kitchen again and deputies are talking about how women do not need an education, but rather need to give birth to five children.

    What my typical day looks like

    Basically, different combinations of work tasks. A significant part of my work consists of doing calculations, programming, writing articles, texts. In addition, I recently became a teacher, conducting seminars in English on the course “Mathematics for Economists” in my own master’s program, which I completed this year.

    Do I get burnout?

    I have not encountered burnout yet. My total scientific and pedagogical experience is about four years. And it is probably too early to talk about burnout, especially since I love my job. It is clear that there are more productive days, less productive days, but I try not to allow burnout. I arrange rest days when I do not think about work, walk in the fresh air, listen to music, read books, watch movies. I also like to ride a bike and swim.

    What am I interested in besides science?

    I like making memes. It helps me cope with life stress, because turning something into a joke is a kind of psychotherapy. The Institute of Economics has a group of the Council of Young Scientists on VKontakte. When I was a 4th-year undergraduate, I became one of the admins of this group, ran a section and published memes about our work and the institute.

    Now I have a Telegram channel “Nastya Sherubneva in …”, but I have become less likely to make memes. It is more dedicated to trips to conferences. I started it when I went to the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) conference in Spain a year ago. It was my first trip abroad, not counting Belarus, I was happy and wanted to document every second. At first, the channel was planned only for friends, but I thought that someone else might be interested, so I made it open access. Every time I go to a new place, I rename it.

    What was the last thing I read and watched?

    From books – “1984” by George Orwell. And from films – “Don’t Worry, Darling” by Olivia Wilde. A married couple lives in a small closed town, they have an ideal life, they are rich, they love each other. But at some point the wife notices that something is wrong, people are disappearing, and as a result she finds out that their whole life is a simulation. She got there thanks to her husband, who himself wanted to get rid of unbearable experiences and save her. The film raises the question of whether such a simulation is a way out, whether it is possible to pretend that everything is wonderful, to invent an imaginary world. And even more so to be a victim of someone else’s decision. I believe that a person should decide for himself, I am against lies and restrictions for the good.

    Advice to young scientists

    Start writing your own articles as early as possible. You don’t need to become a teaching assistant or do technical work, because later it will be hard to start writing articles, working with texts, and creating literature reviews. You also need to try to decide on a scientific direction as early as possible, to understand what undeveloped problems exist in this area. A good scientific supervisor who is interested in the student and sees the trajectory of his development can help you do this.

    Favorite place in Moscow

    Museum-Reserve “Tsaritsyno”. This place has a great history, but I also like it because it is a park-estate. Akademgorodok, where I used to live, is in the forest, and in Moscow I miss forest walks. But in Tsaritsyno it is green and you can walk.

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

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

    http://vvv.hse.ru/jung-scientists/sherubneva

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.

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