Category: Europe

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Coventry City Council joins BCIMO’s Family Day as a leading event partner

Source: City of Coventry

Coventry City Council joins BCIMO as its Main Event Partner for its upcoming Family Day, offering local families and rail enthusiasts the chance to ride the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR).

The partnership between BCIMO and Coventry City Council has been fundamental to forming the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley. This centre was established to support the development of the emerging Very Light Rail industry and innovation across the wider rail sectors. As part of this collaboration, Coventry City Council secured Government funding to help prepare the centre for its role in enabling the research and development of the CVLR vehicle.

Since 2022, the CVLR demonstrator, a battery-operated, zero-emission transport system capable of carrying up to 60 passengers (20 seated), has been tested at BCIMO’s Rail Development & Test Site. The system offers an alternative way to travel, complementing existing public transport. It is sustainable, cost-effective, and will help improve air quality while reducing congestion. It will be a hop-on-hop-off urban transport system with no overhead cables and potentially driverless in the future.

As the leading event partner, Coventry City Council will give visitors to Family Day a unique experience: ride the CVLR demonstrator along BCIMO’s whole test track, through the iconic Dudley Railway Tunnel, and around the loop. The vehicle can accommodate up to 20 passengers on this day. This will be the only time people can ride the vehicle at the Dudley site before it relocates to Coventry to run on a 220-metre section of VLR track in May and June.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration, and Climate Change at Coventry City Council, said: Very Light Rail is the beginning of our plans to revolutionise transport in Coventry. The Family Day in Dudley provides the first opportunity for the public to experience a ride ahead of it moving to Coventry for on-road testing. CVLR can potentially change how people move around smaller cities and towns. It’s green, has the potential to provide a hop-on, hop-off service, and it’s a fraction of the price of conventional tram systems, thanks to our very clever track. It’s great that people can ride on it and experience it in Dudley, where it has been shuttling up and down as part of testing and soon in our city centre.

Neil Fulton, CEO of BCIMO, added: We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with Coventry City Council. Their early support was crucial in helping us develop the facilities that have enabled the programme team to test and advance their Very Light Rail system. As the Main Event Partner for Family Day, we’re excited to offer the public this exclusive opportunity to experience the CVLR demonstrator firsthand, showcasing the exciting potential of sustainable transport for the future.

To learn more about the event, buy tickets, or get involved in other ways, please visit the BCIMO Family Day website page.

Published: Thursday, 24th April 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic and BRU strengthen the technological sovereignty of the Union State

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

The visit of the Polytechnic University delegation to the Republic of Belarus continues. At the site of the strategic partner of SPbPU, the Belarusian-Russian University (Mogilev), several events related to the joint activities of our universities are currently taking place. The leaders of the Polytechnic University, which coordinates the activities of Slavic universities within the framework of the national project, were met at BRU with traditional hospitality – a loaf of bread and salt.

BRU Rector Mikhail Lustenkov welcomed his Russian colleagues: “Our cooperation with the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University has long been truly warm and productive. I can say with confidence that we do not have such a multifaceted and strategically important partnership with any other university. Today we have a wonderful opportunity to personally show you what results we have achieved thanks to our joint work. The Comprehensive Program for the Development of Slavic Universities plays a special role in our development, within the framework of which your support is invaluable to us. Polytechnic is not just a partner, but a reliable ally in the pursuit of development and improvement.”

The official meeting of SPbPU Rector Andrey Rudskoy, Vice-Rector for International Affairs Dmitry Arsenyev and Director of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials and Transport Anatoly Popovich with BRU Rector Mikhail Lustenkov and key vice-rectors was devoted to the prospects for expanding cooperation in the main areas of partnership, including the creation of innovative joint educational programs, the development of research infrastructure and the training of professional personnel for high-tech sectors of the Union State economy.

“We have found the right interaction and the basis for Slavic unity in the field of education. Unique laboratories have been created in Belarus, students study together, and are distributed to enterprises in both countries. This is a very correct and important symbiosis, reflecting the most important role of Slavic universities. Our partnership in welding technologies is of particular importance. You have strong developments, and we have exclusive methods, for example, electron beam and vacuum welding. For Russia, as a powerful shipbuilding center, training welders is an urgent task. We are ready to share high-tech solutions and adopt your practical experience. In addition, we are united by intelligent control systems, digital technologies, supercomputer centers and modeling. Without this, modern science and industry are impossible. I am sure that together we can strengthen both sides,” Andrey Rudskoy emphasized.

A landmark event was the signing of an agreement to launch a unique joint network bachelor’s degree program “Artificial Intelligence in Technical Systems”. This four-year program was developed by joint efforts of specialists from the Higher School of Cyber-Physical Systems Management of SPbPU and the Department of Software of BRU. It should become a flagship project in training new generation specialists. Already at the development stage, the program aroused significant interest not only among Russian and Belarusian applicants, but also among students from China, which indicates its international demand.

“This visit is the next stage of our strategic partnership. Within the walls of the Belarusian-Russian University, we see not only modern laboratories, but also a special atmosphere of joint creativity. We were particularly impressed by the achievements of our Belarusian colleagues in training engineering personnel and organizing the educational process. We see significant potential for expanding joint educational programs and scientific research,” said Dmitry Arsenyev.

This is not the first network program launched by the two universities. Since 2022, SPbPU and BRU have been implementing a network bachelor’s degree program in the field of “Foreign Regional Studies”. From April 21 to 25, five students of the Higher School of International Relations of the Humanitarian Institute of SPbPU are undergoing an internship at BRU. The students were selected based on the results of the essay competition “25 years of the Union State: history, achievements and future goals of Russia and Belarus”. The educational program at BRU includes lectures (“Culture of Belarus: traditions and modernity”, “The main stages of the development of philosophical thought in Belarus”, “Society in Belarus: features and development”, etc.) and a cultural program. In parallel with the student internship, Associate Professor of the Polytechnic University Alexey Vovenda held master classes for BRU students on organizing research activities within the framework of the field of “Foreign Regional Studies”. Since 2022, a total of 19 SPbPU students and 29 BRU students have been trained within the network program.

Getting acquainted with the university infrastructure allowed the SPbPU delegation to evaluate the achievements of the joint laboratory of intelligent robotics and cyber-physical systems. In it, students and teachers of the two universities successfully implement projects in the field of digital twins of industrial facilities and predictive analytics systems. The delegation was especially interested in practical solutions for remote monitoring of critical facilities using artificial intelligence technologies. In the robotics laboratory, guests were shown how to remotely connect to production lines and control robots located at different points.

No less productive was the visit to the Department of Technosphere Safety, where the industrial internship program for master’s students of the “Environmental Safety in Industry” program of SPbPU has been successfully implemented for the third year. A unique methodology for studying the impact of radionuclides on the environment, developed by Belarusian colleagues, complements the educational programs of the St. Petersburg university with an important practical component. The internship has been held since 2022. During this time, 15 Polytechnic students have completed it. And just this week, another internship program for three more students of the Civil Engineering Institute is ending at the experimental sites and in the laboratories of the Department of Technosphere Safety.

At the Department of Welding Equipment and Technologies, guests were presented with advanced developments in the field of additive and welding technologies. In this area, BRU is rightfully considered a unique platform in the Republic of Belarus. The only Certification and Testing Center in the Republic operates on the basis of the university, which carries out certification of welding equipment and materials, testing of welded samples and structures, training, certification and certification of welders, and develops and qualifies welding processes.

Director of IMMiT Anatoly Popovich supported the rector of SPbPU, noting that the key area of cooperation between the universities should be interaction in the field of advanced production technologies, in particular powder metallurgy and welding processes. He emphasized that BRU has unique practical experience in the field of high-tech welding, including automatic, thick-plate and argon-arc welding, and is ready to actively share these developments with colleagues from the Polytechnic University.

The Higher School of Materials Physics and Technology of SPbPU (Professor Sergey Parshin) has been collaborating with this BRU department since 2021. The partners jointly conduct scientific research, supervise postgraduate students and give lectures. The center discussed the possibilities of developing cooperation. In particular, organizing network interaction between the Polytechnic University, BRU, institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and creating a Competence Center for Welding Technologies on the basis of BRU.

As part of the activities to coordinate the activities of Slavic universities, this week SPbPU experts are holding a project-analytical session to prepare a development program for the Belarusian-Russian University for 2026-2030. The session focused on developing a common understanding among the BRU team of the university’s target model, strategic development goals, and ways to achieve them.

SPbPU experts — Vice-Rector for Personnel Policy Maria Vrublevskaya, Head of the Project Office “Slavic Universities” Nikita Golovin and expert of the Department of Strategic Planning and Development Tatyana Morina. They shared their experience in implementing the Priority-2030 program, proposing innovative approaches to transforming the university into an educational hub. The main vector of BRU development is maintaining the model of an engineering university with an emphasis on close cooperation with industry. This is necessary for sustainable regional development, as well as in the interests of Belarus, Russia and the Union State as a whole.

Maria Vrublevskaya shared the results of the project-analytical session: “Despite serious restrictions related to state frameworks, as well as difficulties in developing human capital, the university demonstrated impressive results. Investments were implemented effectively: growth points are fully equipped, strong teams were formed, and best practices reached the level of sustainable development. Now the team is at the peak of intellectual potential, and although the strategy for further development until 2030 is yet to be determined, it is already obvious that the invested resources have produced a significant effect.”

The results of the visit confirmed that the cooperation between SPbPU and BRU has reached a qualitatively new level, combining fundamental academic traditions with advanced educational technologies. Joint projects in the field of artificial intelligence, cyber-physical systems and technosphere safety not only strengthen the scientific and technical potential of the two countries, but also create the basis for the formation of a single educational space and increasing the technological sovereignty of the Union State.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI: Radware Announces Extraordinary General Meeting

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Radware^® (NASDAQ: RDWR), a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments, today announced that an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (the ”Extraordinary General Meeting” or the “Meeting”) will be held on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. (EST), at the offices of Radware Inc., 575 Corporate Drive, Mahwah, N.J. 07430, U.S.A. The record date for the Meeting is April 25, 2025.

The agenda of the Meeting is: (1) to approve grants of equity-based awards to, and modifications in the structure of the annual bonus of, the president and chief executive officer of the Company; and (2) transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any postponement or adjournment thereof.

Proposal 1, the proposal voted upon, requires the approval of a simple majority of the shares voted on the matter at the Meeting, either in person or by proxy; provided that either (i) the shares voted in favor of the proposal include at least a majority of the shares voted at the Meeting, either in person or by proxy, by shareholders who are not “controlling shareholders” and do not have a “personal interest” (as such terms are defined in the Israeli Companies Law, 5759-1999 (the “Companies Law”)) in such proposal or (ii) the total number of shares voted against such proposal by the disinterested shareholders described in clause (i) does not exceed 2% of the aggregate voting rights in the Company. As of the date hereof, the Company has no controlling shareholder within the meaning of the Companies Law.

In the absence of the requisite quorum of shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting, the Extraordinary General Meeting shall be adjourned to the same day in the next week, at the same time and place, unless otherwise determined at the Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the Extraordinary General Meeting, Radware will make available to its shareholders of record a proxy statement describing the proposal to be voted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting, along with a proxy card enabling them to indicate their vote on the matter. The Company will also furnish copies of the proxy statement and proxy card to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 6-K, which may be obtained for free from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, the Company’s website at https://www.radware.com/ir/financial-info/ or by directing such request to the Company’s Investor Relations department at ir@radware.com.

About Radware

Radware^® (NASDAQ: RDWR) is a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments. The company’s cloud application, infrastructure, and API security solutions use AI-driven algorithms for precise, hands-free, real-time protection from the most sophisticated web, application, and DDoS attacks, API abuse, and bad bots. Enterprises and carriers worldwide rely on Radware’s solutions to address evolving cybersecurity challenges and protect their brands and business operations while reducing costs. For more information, please visit the Radware website.

Radware encourages you to join our community and follow us on: Facebook, LinkedIn, Radware Blog, X, and YouTube.

©2025 Radware Ltd. All rights reserved. Any Radware products and solutions mentioned in this press release are protected by trademarks, patents, and pending patent applications of Radware in the U.S. and other countries. For more details, please see: https://www.radware.com/LegalNotice/. All other trademarks and names are property of their respective owners.

Radware believes the information in this document is accurate in all material respects as of its publication date. However, the information is provided without any express, statutory, or implied warranties and is subject to change without notice.

The contents of any website or hyperlinks mentioned in this press release are for informational purposes and the contents thereof are not part of this press release.

Contacts
Investor Relations:
Yisca Erez, +972-72-3917211, ir@radware.com

Media Contacts:
Gerri Dyrek, gerri.dyrek@radware.com

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements made herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Radware’s plans, outlook, beliefs, or opinions, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may,” and “could.” Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, could differ materially from Radware’s current forecasts and estimates. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the impact of global economic conditions, including as a result of the state of war declared in Israel in October 2023 and instability in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, financial and credit market fluctuations (including elevated interest rates), impacts from tariffs or other trade restrictions, inflation, and the potential for regional or global recessions; our dependence on independent distributors to sell our products; our ability to manage our anticipated growth effectively; our business may be affected by sanctions, export controls, and similar measures, targeting Russia and other countries and territories, as well as other responses to Russia’s military conflict in Ukraine, including indefinite suspension of operations in Russia and dealings with Russian entities by many multi-national businesses across a variety of industries; the ability of vendors to provide our hardware platforms and components for the manufacture of our products; our ability to attract, train, and retain highly qualified personnel; intense competition in the market for cybersecurity and application delivery solutions and in our industry in general, and changes in the competitive landscape; our ability to develop new solutions and enhance existing solutions; the impact to our reputation and business in the event of real or perceived shortcomings, defects, or vulnerabilities in our solutions, if our end-users experience security breaches, or if our information technology systems and data, or those of our service providers and other contractors, are compromised by cyber-attackers or other malicious actors or by a critical system failure; our use of AI technologies that present regulatory, litigation, and reputational risks; risks related to the fact that our products must interoperate with operating systems, software applications and hardware that are developed by others; outages, interruptions, or delays in hosting services; the risks associated with our global operations, such as difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations, compliance costs arising from host country laws or regulations, partial or total expropriation, export duties and quotas, local tax exposure, economic or political instability, including as a result of insurrection, war, natural disasters, and major environmental, climate, or public health concerns; our net losses in the past and the possibility that we may incur losses in the future; a slowdown in the growth of the cybersecurity and application delivery solutions market or in the development of the market for our cloud-based solutions; long sales cycles for our solutions; risks and uncertainties relating to acquisitions or other investments; risks associated with doing business in countries with a history of corruption or with foreign governments; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; risks associated with undetected defects or errors in our products; our ability to protect our proprietary technology; intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties; laws, regulations, and industry standards affecting our business; compliance with open source and third-party licenses; complications with the design or implementation of our new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system; our reliance on information technology systems; our ESG disclosures and initiatives; and other factors and risks over which we may have little or no control. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Radware, refer to Radware’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the other risk factors discussed from time to time by Radware in reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except as required by applicable law, Radware undertakes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statement in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made. Radware’s public filings are available from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or may be obtained on Radware’s website at www.radware.com.

The MIL Network –

April 24, 2025

MIL-OSI: WTW Reports First Quarter 2025 Earnings

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Revenue¹decreased 5% over prior year to $2.2 billion for the quarter due to the sale of TRANZACT
Organic Revenue growth of 5% for the quarter
Diluted Earnings per Share was $2.33 for the quarter, up 27% over prior year
Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share was $3.13 for the quarter, comparable to prior year²
Operating Margin was 19.4% for the quarter, up 740 basis points over prior year
Adjusted Operating Margin was 21.6% for the quarter, up 100 basis points from prior year²

LONDON, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) (the “Company”), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

“We had a solid start to the year, delivering results in line with our expectations and making strong progress on our strategy to accelerate our performance, enhance our efficiency and optimize our portfolio,” said Carl Hess, WTW’s chief executive officer. “We are well-positioned to help our clients navigate economic uncertainty and highly focused on driving continued growth and margin expansion, and we are confident in our outlook. I’m proud of our team’s dedication and look forward to achieving our strategic and financial goals together.”

Consolidated Results

As reported, USD millions, except %

Key Metrics	Q1-25	Q1-24²	Y/Y Change
Revenue¹	$2,223	$2,341	Reported (5)% \| CC (4)% \| Organic 5%
Income from Operations	$432	$280	54%
Operating Margin %	19.4%	12.0%	740 bps
Adjusted Operating Income	$480	$483	(1)%
Adjusted Operating Margin %	21.6%	20.6%	100 bps
Net Income	$239	$194	23%
Adjusted Net Income	$316	$325	(3)%
Diluted EPS	$2.33	$1.83	27%
Adjusted Diluted EPS	$3.13	$3.13	0%

¹	The revenue amounts included in this release are presented on a U.S. GAAP basis except where stated otherwise. The segment discussion is on an organic basis.
²	Refer to “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below and the Q1-25 Supplemental Slides for recast of historical Non-GAAP measures.

Revenue was $2.22 billion for the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 5% as compared to $2.34 billion for the same period in the prior year. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, revenue decreased 4%. On an organic basis, revenue increased 5%. See Supplemental Segment Information for additional detail on book-of-business settlements and interest income included in revenue.

Net Income for the first quarter of 2025 was $239 million compared to Net Income of $194 million in the prior-year first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $532 million, or 23.9% of revenue, a decrease of 3%, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $546 million, or 23.3% of revenue, in the prior-year first quarter. The U.S. GAAP tax rate for the first quarter was 21.5%, and the adjusted income tax rate for the first quarter used in calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share was 22.7%.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Cash flows used in operating activities were $35 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to cash flows from operating activities of $24 million for the prior year. Free cash flow for the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was $(86) million and $(36) million, respectively, a decrease of $50 million, primarily driven by the absence of cash collections related to TRANZACT, which the Company sold on December 31, 2024, and increased compensation payments in the current-year quarter as compared to the prior-year quarter. During the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the Company repurchased 607,221 of its outstanding shares for $200 million.

First Quarter 2025 Segment Highlights

Health, Wealth & Career (“HWC”)

As reported, USD millions, except %

Health, Wealth & Career	Q1-25	Q1-24	Y/Y Change
Total Revenue	$1,165	$1,336	Reported (13)% \| CC (12)% \| Organic 3%
Operating Income	$311	$336	(7)%
Operating Margin %	26.7%	25.1%	160 bps

The HWC segment had revenue of $1.17 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 13% (12% decrease constant currency and organic growth of 3%) from $1.34 billion in the prior year. Health delivered organic revenue growth in all regions driven by solid client retention, new business and geographic expansion. Wealth generated organic revenue growth from higher levels of Retirement work in Europe and International, alongside growth in our Investments business due to the success of our LifeSight solution and capital market improvements. Career had modest revenue growth as increased advisory work was tempered by some postponements amid economic uncertainty. Benefits Delivery & Outsourcing revenue grew primarily from increased project and core administration work.

Operating margins in the HWC segment increased 160 basis points from the prior-year first quarter to 26.7%, primarily due to the sale of TRANZACT and savings from the Transformation program. Please refer to the Supplemental Slides for TRANZACT’s standalone historical financial results.

Risk & Broking (“R&B”)

As reported, USD millions, except %

Risk & Broking	Q1-25	Q1-24	Y/Y Change
Total Revenue	$1,027	$978	Reported 5% \| CC 7% \| Organic 7%
Operating Income	$226	$203	11%
Operating Margin %	22.0%	20.8%	120 bps

The R&B segment had revenue of $1.03 billion in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 5% (7% increase constant currency and organic) from $978 million in the prior year. Corporate Risk & Broking (CRB) had organic revenue growth driven by higher levels of new business activity and strong client retention globally. Insurance Consulting and Technology (ICT) had organic revenue growth for the quarter driven by the Consulting and Technology practices.

Operating margins in the R&B segment increased 120 basis points from the prior-year first quarter to 22.0%, due primarily to operating leverage driven by strong organic revenue growth and savings from the Transformation program which were partially offset by headwinds from decreased interest income and foreign currency fluctuations.

Select 2025 Financial Considerations

Changes to Non-GAAP financial measures:

All reported non-GAAP metrics will exclude non-cash net periodic pension and postretirement benefits
Free cash flow and free cash flow margin will capture cash outflows for capitalized software costs
Refer to Supplemental Slides for recast of historical Non-GAAP measures

Business mix:

TRANZACT business, which contributed $1.14 to adjusted diluted earnings per share in 2024, is no longer part of the business portfolio following the completion of the TRANZACT sale in the fourth quarter of 2024
Reinsurance joint venture with Bain Capital expected to be a headwind on adjusted diluted earnings per share of approximately $0.25 to $0.35

Free cash flow:

Expect cash outflows in 2025 from the payment of accrued costs related to the Transformation program which concluded in 2024
Cash taxes related to receipt of earnout from reinsurance divestiture will be classified as Cash Flows from Operating Activities on Statement of Cash Flows

Capital allocation:

Expect share repurchases of ~$1.5 billion, subject to market conditions and potential capital allocation to organic and inorganic investment opportunities

Foreign exchange:

Expect a foreign currency impact on adjusted diluted earnings per share to be neutral in 2025 at today’s rates

Adjusted operating margin outlook:

~100 basis points of average annual margin expansion over next 3 years in R&B
Incremental annual margin expansion at HWC and enterprise levels

The 2025 Financial Considerations above include Non-GAAP financial measures. We do not reconcile forward-looking Non-GAAP measures for reasons explained under “WTW Non-GAAP Measures” below.

Conference Call

The Company will host a live webcast and conference call to discuss the financial results for the first quarter 2025. It will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2025, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available on WTW’s website here. The conference call will include a question-and-answer session. To participate in the question-and-answer session, please register here. An online replay will be available at www.wtwco.com shortly after the call concludes.

About WTW

At WTW (NASDAQ: WTW), we provide data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of our colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, we help organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance. Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we uncover opportunities for sustainable success—and provide perspective that moves you. Learn more at www.wtwco.com.

WTW Non-GAAP Measures

In order to assist readers of our consolidated financial statements in understanding the core operating results that WTW’s management uses to evaluate the business and for financial planning, we present the following non-GAAP measures: (1) Constant Currency Change, (2) Organic Change, (3) Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, (4) Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, (5) Adjusted Net Income, (6) Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, (7) Adjusted Income Before Taxes, (8) Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate, (9) Free Cash Flow and (10) Free Cash Flow Margin.

We believe that those measures are relevant and provide pertinent information widely used by analysts, investors and other interested parties in our industry to provide a baseline for evaluating and comparing our operating performance, and in the case of free cash flow, our liquidity results.

Within the measures referred to as ‘adjusted’, we adjust for significant items which will not be settled in cash, or which we believe to be items that are not core to our current or future operations. Some of these items may not be applicable for the current quarter, however they may be part of our full-year results. Additionally, we have historically adjusted for certain items which are not described below, but for which we may adjust in a future period when applicable. Items applicable to the quarter or full year results, or the comparable periods, include the following:

Restructuring costs and transaction and transformation – Management believes it is appropriate to adjust for restructuring costs and transaction and transformation when they relate to a specific significant program with a defined set of activities and costs that are not expected to continue beyond a defined period of time, or significant acquisition-related transaction expenses. We believe the adjustment is necessary to present how the Company is performing, both now and in the future when the incurrence of these costs will have concluded.
Gains and losses on disposals of operations – Adjustment to remove the gains or losses resulting from disposed operations that have not been classified as discontinued operations.
Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits – Adjustment to remove the recognition of net periodic pension and postretirement benefits (including pension settlements), other than service costs. We have included this adjustment as applicable in our prior-period disclosures in order to conform to the current-period presentation.

We evaluate our revenue on an as reported (U.S. GAAP), constant currency and organic basis. We believe presenting constant currency and organic information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our comparable results, consistent with how we evaluate our performance internally.

We consider Constant Currency Change, Organic Change, Adjusted Operating Income/Margin, Adjusted EBITDA/Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Adjusted Income Before Taxes, Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate and Free Cash Flow to be important financial measures, which are used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating and liquidity results against our competitors. These non-GAAP measures are important in illustrating what our comparable operating and liquidity results would have been had we not incurred transaction-related and non-recurring items. Reconciliations of these measures are included in the accompanying tables with the following exception: The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding U.S. GAAP measures, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or accessible; and because not all of the information, such as foreign currency impacts necessary for a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure, is available to the Company without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. The Company provides non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the adjusted calculations and the U.S. GAAP measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP measures.

Our non-GAAP measures and their accompanying definitions are presented as follows:

Constant Currency Change – Represents the year-over-year change in revenue excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. To calculate this impact, the prior year local currency results are first translated using the current year monthly average exchange rates. The change is calculated by comparing the prior year revenue, translated at the current year monthly average exchange rates, to the current year as reported revenue, for the same period. We believe constant currency measures provide useful information to investors because they provide transparency to performance by excluding the effects that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations have on period-over-period comparability given volatility in foreign currency exchange markets.

Organic Change – Excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, as described above and the period-over-period impact of acquisitions and divestitures on current-year revenue. We believe that excluding transaction-related items from our U.S. GAAP financial measures provides useful supplemental information to our investors, and it is important in illustrating what our core operating results would have been had we not included these transaction-related items, since the nature, size and number of these transaction-related items can vary from period to period.

Adjusted Operating Income/Margin – Income from operations adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted operating income margin is calculated by dividing adjusted operating income by revenue. We consider adjusted operating income/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.

Adjusted EBITDA/Margin – Net Income adjusted for provision for income taxes, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by revenue. We consider adjusted EBITDA/margin to be important financial measures, which are used internally to evaluate and assess our core operations, to benchmark our operating results against our competitors and to evaluate and measure our performance-based compensation plans.

Adjusted Net Income – Net Income Attributable to WTW adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results and the related tax effect of those adjustments and the tax effects of internal reorganizations. This measure is used solely for the purpose of calculating adjusted diluted earnings per share.

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share – Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares, diluted. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is used to internally evaluate and assess our core operations and to benchmark our operating results against our competitors.

Adjusted Income Before Taxes – Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates adjusted for amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results. Adjusted income before taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate.

Adjusted Income Taxes/Tax Rate – Provision for income taxes adjusted for taxes on certain items of amortization, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation, gains and losses on disposals of operations, net periodic pension and postretirement benefits, the tax effects of significant adjustments and non-recurring items that, in management’s judgment, significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results, divided by adjusted income before taxes. Adjusted income taxes is used solely for the purpose of calculating the adjusted income tax rate. Management believes that the adjusted income tax rate presents a rate that is more closely aligned to the rate that we would incur if not for the reduction of pre-tax income for the adjusted items and the tax effects of internal reorganizations, which are not core to our current and future operations.

Free Cash Flow – Cash flows from operating activities less cash used to purchase fixed assets and software. Free Cash Flow is a liquidity measure and is not meant to represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. Management believes that free cash flow presents the core operating performance and cash-generating capabilities of our business operations. As a result of our change in presentation, free cash flow for the prior period has been adjusted to conform to the current period, which includes the deduction of our capitalized software costs.

Free Cash Flow Margin – Free Cash Flow as a percentage of revenue, which represents how much of revenue would be realized on a cash basis. We consider this measure to be a meaningful metric for tracking cash conversion on a year-over-year basis due to the non-cash nature of our pension income, which is included in our GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings metrics presented herein.

These non-GAAP measures are not defined in the same manner by all companies and may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the information contained within our condensed consolidated financial statements.

WTW Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate may occur in the future, including such things as: our outlook; the potential impact of natural or man-made disasters like health pandemics and other world health crises; future capital expenditures; ongoing working capital efforts; future share repurchases; financial results (including our revenue, costs or margins) and the impact of changes to tax laws on our financial results; existing and evolving business strategies including those related to acquisition and disposition; demand for our services and competitive strengths; strategic goals; the benefits of new initiatives; growth of our business and operations; the sustained health of our product, service, transaction, client, and talent assessment and management pipelines; our ability to successfully manage ongoing leadership, organizational and technology changes, including investments in improving systems and processes; our ability to implement and realize anticipated benefits of any cost-savings initiatives generated from our now-completed multi-year operational transformation program or other expense savings initiatives; our recognition of future impairment charges; and plans and references to future successes, including our future financial and operating results, short-term and long-term financial goals, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, including with respect to free cash flow generation, adjusted net revenue, adjusted operating margin and adjusted earnings per share, are forward-looking statements. Also, when we use words such as ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘intend’, ‘plan’, ‘continues’, ‘seek’, ‘target’, ‘goal’, ‘focus’, ‘probably’, or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking disclosure is speculative by its nature.

There are important risks, uncertainties, events and factors that could cause our actual results or performance to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in this document, including the following: our ability to successfully establish, execute and achieve our global business strategy as it evolves; our ability to fully realize the anticipated benefits of our growth strategy, including inorganic growth through acquisitions; our ability to achieve our short-term and long-term financial goals, such as with respect to our cash flow generation, and the timing with respect to such achievement; the risks related to changes in general economic conditions, business and political conditions, changes in the financial markets, inflation, credit availability, increased interest rates, changes in trade policies, increased tariffs and retaliatory actions; the risks to our short-term and long-term financial goals from any of the risks or uncertainties set forth herein; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of macroeconomic trends, including those relating to changes in trade policies and tariffs, as well as political events, war, such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, and other international disputes, terrorism, natural disasters, public health issues and other business interruptions on the global economy and capital markets, such as uncertainty in the global markets, inflation, changes in interest rates and recessionary trends, changes in spending by government agencies and contractors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and long-term goals; our ability to successfully hedge against fluctuations in foreign currency rates; the risks relating to the adverse impacts of natural or man-made disasters such as health pandemics and other world health crises on the demand for our products and services, our cash flows and our business operations; material interruptions to or loss of our information processing capabilities, or failure to effectively maintain and upgrade our information technology resources and systems and related risks of cybersecurity breaches or incidents; our ability to comply with complex and evolving regulations related to data privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; the risks relating to the transitional arrangements in effect subsequent to our now-completed sale of TRANZACT; significant competition that we face and the potential for loss of market share and/or profitability; the impact of seasonality and differences in timing of renewals and non-recurring revenue increases from disposals and book-of-business sales; the insufficiency of client data protection, potential breaches of information systems or insufficient safeguards against cybersecurity breaches or incidents; the risk of increased liability or new legal claims arising from our new and existing products and services, and expectations, intentions and outcomes relating to outstanding litigation; the risk of substantial negative outcomes on existing or potential future litigation or investigation matters; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including, among other risks, the impacts of pending competition law and regulatory investigations; various claims, government inquiries or investigations or the potential for regulatory action; our ability to make divestitures or acquisitions, including our ability to integrate or manage acquired businesses or carve-out businesses to be disposed, as well as our ability to identify and successfully execute on opportunities for strategic collaboration; our ability to integrate direct-to-consumer sales and marketing solutions with our existing offerings and solutions; our ability to successfully manage ongoing organizational changes, including as a result of our recently-completed multi-year operational transformation program, investments in improving systems and processes, and in connection with our acquisition and divestiture activities; disasters or business continuity problems; our ability to successfully enhance our billing, collection and other working capital efforts, and thereby increase our free cash flow; our ability to properly identify and manage conflicts of interest; reputational damage, including from association with third parties; reliance on third-party service providers and suppliers; risks relating to changes in our management structures and in senior leadership; the loss of key employees or a large number of employees and rehiring rates; our ability to maintain our corporate culture; doing business internationally, including the impact of global trade policies and retaliatory considerations as well as foreign currency exchange rates; compliance with extensive government regulation; the risk of sanctions imposed by governments, or changes to associated sanction regulations (such as sanctions imposed on Russia) and related counter-sanctions; our ability to effectively apply technology, data and analytics changes for internal operations, maintaining industry standards and meeting client preferences; changes and developments in the insurance industry or the U.S. healthcare system, including those related to Medicare, and any other changes and developments in legal, regulatory, economic, business or operational conditions that could impact our businesses; the inability to protect our intellectual property rights, or the potential infringement upon the intellectual property rights of others; fluctuations in our pension assets and liabilities and related changes in pension income, including as a result of, related to, or derived from movements in the interest rate environment, investment returns, inflation, or changes in other assumptions that are used to estimate our benefit obligations and their effect on adjusted earnings per share; our capital structure, including indebtedness amounts, the limitations imposed by the covenants in the documents governing such indebtedness and the maintenance of the financial and disclosure controls and procedures of each; our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or at all; adverse changes in our credit ratings; the impact of recent or potential changes to U.S. or foreign laws, and the enactment of additional, or the revision of existing, state, federal, and/or foreign laws and regulations, recent judicial decisions and development of case law, other regulations and any policy changes and legislative actions, including those that may impose additional excise taxes or impact our effective tax rate; U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. persons owning at least 10% of our shares; changes in accounting principles, estimates or assumptions; our recognition of future impairment charges; risks relating to or arising from environmental, social and governance (‘ESG’) practices; fluctuation in revenue against our relatively fixed or higher-than-expected expenses; the risk that investment levels increase; the laws of Ireland being different from the laws of the U.S. and potentially affording less protections to the holders of our securities; and our holding company structure potentially preventing us from being able to receive dividends or other distributions in needed amounts from our subsidiaries.

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and new factors may emerge from time to time that could also affect actual performance and results. For more information, please see Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Copies are available online at http://www.sec.gov or www.wtwco.com.

Although we believe that the assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions, and therefore also the forward-looking statements based on these assumptions, could themselves prove to be inaccurate. Given the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this document, our inclusion of this information is not a representation or guarantee by us that our objectives and plans will be achieved.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and we will not update these forward-looking statements unless the securities laws require us to do so. With regard to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this document may not occur, and we caution you against unduly relying on these forward-looking statements.

Contact

INVESTORS
Claudia De La Hoz | Claudia.Delahoz@wtwco.com


	WTW Supplemental Segment Information (In millions of U.S. dollars) (Unaudited)

REVENUE
							Components of Revenue Change⁽ⁱ⁾
							Less:				Less:
	Three Months Ended March 31,				As Reported		Currency		Constant Currency		Acquisitions/		Organic
	2025		2024		% Change		Impact		Change		Divestitures		Change

Health, Wealth & Career
Revenue excluding interest income	$	1,158	$	1,327		(13)%		(1)%		(12)%		(14)%		3%
Interest income		7		9
Total		1,165		1,336		(13)%		(1)%		(12)%		(14)%		3%

Risk & Broking
Revenue excluding interest income	$	1,005	$	950		6%		(2)%		8%		0%		8%
Interest income		22		28
Total		1,027		978		5%		(2)%		7%		0%		7%

Segment Revenue	$	2,192	$	2,314		(5)%		(2)%		(4)%		(8)%		5%
Corporate, reimbursable expenses and other		21		21
Interest income		10		6
Revenue	$	2,223	$	2,341		(5)%		(1)%		(4)%		(8)%	5%⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

⁽ⁱ⁾	Components of revenue change may not add due to rounding.
⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	Interest income did not contribute to organic change for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

BOOK-OF-BUSINESS SETTLEMENTS AND INTEREST INCOME

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	HWC				R&B				Corporate				Total
	2025		2024		2025		2024		2025		2024		2025		2024
Book-of-business settlements	$	2	$	—	$	—	$	2	$	—	$	—	$	2	$	2
Interest income		7		9		22		28		10		6		39		43
Total	$	9	$	9	$	22	$	30	$	10	$	6	$	41	$	45

SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME ⁽ⁱ⁾

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024

Health, Wealth & Career	$	311	$	336
Risk & Broking		226		203
Segment Operating Income	$	537	$	539

⁽ⁱ⁾

Segment operating income excludes certain costs, including amortization of intangibles, restructuring costs, transaction and transformation expenses, certain litigation provisions, and to the extent that the actual expense based upon which allocations are made differs from the forecast/budget amount, a reconciling item will be created between internally-allocated expenses and the actual expenses reported for U.S. GAAP purposes.

SEGMENT OPERATING MARGINS

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025		2024
Health, Wealth & Career		26.7%		25.1%
Risk & Broking		22.0%		20.8%

RECONCILIATION OF SEGMENT OPERATING INCOME TO INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024

Segment Operating Income	$	537		$	539
Amortization		(48	)		(60	)
Restructuring costs		—			(18	)
Transaction and transformation⁽ⁱ⁾		—			(125	)
Unallocated, net⁽ⁱⁱ⁾		(57	)		(56	)
Income from Operations		432			280
Interest expense		(65	)		(64	)
Other (loss)/income, net		(64	)		26
Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates	$	303		$	242

⁽ⁱ⁾	In addition to legal fees and other transaction costs, includes primarily consulting fees and compensation costs related to the Transformation program.
⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	Includes certain costs, primarily related to corporate functions which are not directly related to the segments, and certain differences between budgeted expenses determined at the beginning of the year and actual expenses that we report for U.S. GAAP purposes.

WTW Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited)

RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW TO ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024

Net income attributable to WTW	$	235		$	190
Adjusted for certain items:
Amortization		48			60
Restructuring costs		—			18
Transaction and transformation		—			125
Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits		75			(22	)
Gain on disposal of operations		(14	)		—
Tax effect on certain items listed above⁽ⁱ⁾		(28	)		(46	)
Adjusted Net Income	$	316		$	325

Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted		101			104

Diluted Earnings Per Share	$	2.33		$	1.83
Adjusted for certain items:⁽ⁱⁱ⁾
Amortization		0.48			0.58
Restructuring costs		—			0.17
Transaction and transformation		—			1.21
Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits		0.74			(0.21	)
Gain on disposal of operations		(0.14	)		—
Tax effect on certain items listed above⁽ⁱ⁾		(0.28	)		(0.44	)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	$	3.13		$	3.13

⁽ⁱ⁾	The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item.
⁽ⁱⁱ⁾	Per share values and totals may differ due to rounding.

RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO ADJUSTED EBITDA

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025				2024

Net Income	$	239		10.8%	$	194		8.3%
Provision for income taxes		65				48
Interest expense		65				64
Depreciation		54				59
Amortization		48				60
Restructuring costs		—				18
Transaction and transformation		—				125
Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits		75				(22	)
Gain on disposal of operations		(14	)			—
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin	$	532		23.9%	$	546		23.3%

RECONCILIATION OF INCOME FROM OPERATIONS TO ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024

Income from operations and Operating margin	$	432	19.4%	$	280	12.0%
Adjusted for certain items:
Amortization		48			60
Restructuring costs		—			18
Transaction and transformation		—			125
Adjusted operating income and Adjusted operating income margin	$	480	21.6%	$	483	20.6%

RECONCILIATION OF GAAP INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE TO ADJUSTED INCOME TAXES/TAX RATE

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024

Income from operations before income taxes and interest in earnings of associates	$	303		$	242

Adjusted for certain items:
Amortization		48			60
Restructuring costs		—			18
Transaction and transformation		—			125
Net periodic pension and postretirement benefits		75			(22	)
Gain on disposal of operations		(14	)		—
Adjusted income before taxes	$	412		$	423

Provision for income taxes	$	65		$	48
Tax effect on certain items listed above⁽ⁱ⁾		28			46
Adjusted income taxes	$	93		$	94

U.S. GAAP tax rate		21.5	%		19.9	%
Adjusted income tax rate		22.7	%		22.3	%

⁽ⁱ⁾	The tax effect was calculated using an effective tax rate for each item.

RECONCILIATION OF CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES TO FREE CASH FLOW

	Years Ended December 31,
	2025			2024

Cash flows (used in)/from operating activities	$	(35	)	$	24
Less: Additions to fixed assets and software		(51	)		(60	)
Free Cash Flow	$	(86	)	$	(36	)

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (In millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
Revenue	$	2,223		$	2,341

Costs of providing services
Salaries and benefits		1,324			1,342
Other operating expenses		365			457
Depreciation		54			59
Amortization		48			60
Restructuring costs		—			18
Transaction and transformation		—			125
Total costs of providing services		1,791			2,061

Income from operations		432			280

Interest expense		(65	)		(64	)
Other (loss)/income, net		(64	)		26

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES		303			242

Provision for income taxes		(65	)		(48	)

INCOME FROM OPERATIONS BEFORE INTEREST IN EARNINGS OF ASSOCIATES		238			194

Interest in earnings of associates, net of tax		1			—

NET INCOME		239			194

Income attributable to non-controlling interests		(4	)		(4	)

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO WTW	$	235		$	190

EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic earnings per share	$	2.34		$	1.84
Diluted earnings per share	$	2.33		$	1.83

Weighted-average ordinary shares, basic		100			103
Weighted-average ordinary shares, diluted		101			104

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In millions of U.S. dollars, except share data) (Unaudited)

	March 31,			December 31,
	2025			2024
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,507		$	1,890
Fiduciary assets		10,293			9,504
Accounts receivable, net		2,366			2,494
Prepaid and other current assets		1,295			1,217
Total current assets		15,461			15,105
Fixed assets, net		667			661
Goodwill		8,841			8,799
Other intangible assets, net		1,255			1,295
Right-of-use assets		487			485
Pension benefits assets		550			530
Other non-current assets		803			806
Total non-current assets		12,603			12,576
TOTAL ASSETS	$	28,064		$	27,681
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Fiduciary liabilities	$	10,293		$	9,504
Deferred revenue and accrued expenses		1,499			2,211
Current debt		549			—
Current lease liabilities		120			118
Other current liabilities		923			765
Total current liabilities		13,384			12,598
Long-term debt		4,761			5,309
Liability for pension benefits		552			615
Provision for liabilities		359			341
Long-term lease liabilities		498			502
Other non-current liabilities		296			299
Total non-current liabilities		6,466			7,066
TOTAL LIABILITIES		19,850			19,664
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
EQUITY⁽ⁱ⁾
Additional paid-in capital		11,017			10,989
Retained earnings		51			109
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax		(2,935	)		(3,158	)
Total WTW shareholders’ equity		8,133			7,940
Non-controlling interests		81			77
Total Equity		8,214			8,017
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY	$	28,064		$	27,681


⁽ⁱ⁾	Equity includes (a) Ordinary shares $0.000304635 nominal value; Authorized 1,510,003,775; Issued 99,210,847 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024); Outstanding 99,210,847 (2025) and 99,805,780 (2024) and (b) Preference shares, $0.000115 nominal value; Authorized 1,000,000,000 and Issued none in 2025 and 2024.

WILLIS TOWERS WATSON PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In millions of U.S. dollars) (Unaudited)

	Years Ended March 31,
	2025			2024
CASH FLOWS (USED IN)/FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
NET INCOME	$	239		$	194
Adjustments to reconcile net income to total net cash from operating activities:
Depreciation		54			59
Amortization		48			60
Non-cash restructuring charges		—			11
Non-cash lease expense		25			27
Net periodic cost/(benefit) of defined benefit pension plans		88			(4	)
Provision for doubtful receivables from clients		5			8
Benefit from deferred income taxes		(23	)		(9	)
Share-based compensation		37			24
Net gain on disposal of operations		(14	)		—
Non-cash foreign exchange loss/(gain)		9			(1	)
Other, net		9			8
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from purchase of subsidiaries:
Accounts receivable		162			113
Other assets		1			(53	)
Other liabilities		(691	)		(426	)
Provisions		16			13
Net cash (used in)/from operating activities		(35	)		24

CASH FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Additions to fixed assets and software		(51	)		(60	)
Acquisitions of operations, net of cash acquired		(1	)		(15	)
(Purchase)/sale of investments		(32	)		1
Net cash used in investing activities		(84	)		(74	)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Senior notes issued		—			746
Debt issuance costs		—			(7	)
Repayments of debt		(1	)		(1	)
Repurchase of shares		(200	)		(101	)
Net proceeds from fiduciary funds held for clients		315			1,011
Cash paid for employee taxes on withholding shares		(2	)		(5	)
Dividends paid		(88	)		(86	)
Acquisitions of and dividends paid to non-controlling interests		—			(1	)
Net cash from financing activities		24			1,556

(DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH		(95	)		1,506
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		80			(47	)
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD ⁽ⁱ⁾		4,998			3,792
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, END OF PERIOD ⁽ⁱ⁾	$	4,983		$	5,251

⁽ⁱ⁾	The amounts of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, their respective classification on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, as well as their respective portions of the increase or decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for each of the periods presented have been included in the Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information section.

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION

	Years Ended March 31,
	2025			2024

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,507		$	1,893
Fiduciary funds (included in fiduciary assets)		3,476			3,358
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	4,983		$	5,251

(Decrease)/increase in cash, cash equivalents and other restricted cash	$	(411	)	$	487
Increase in fiduciary funds		316			1,019
Total ⁽ⁱ⁾	$	(95	)	$	1,506

⁽ⁱ⁾	Does not include the effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.

The MIL Network –

April 24, 2025

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry Chair announced

Source: Scottish Government

Lord Scott to lead review of 2005 murder investigation.

Lord Scott KC will lead the independent Public Inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance announced the appointment of Lord Scott, a Senator of the College of Justice, in an update to the Scottish Parliament.

Emma, 27, was murdered in April 2005. In February last year her killer was convicted and given a life sentence for Emma’s murder and violent offences against other women.

The Justice Secretary said:

“In March last year, I announced that there would be a Public Inquiry into the investigation of Emma’s murder in 2005 to provide answers to the victims and survivors involved and ensure that lessons are learned for the future. The other victims, as well as Emma’s mother Margaret and the rest of the family, deserve nothing less after the unbearable loss, pain and grief they have suffered.

“Lord Scott has a strong track record on human rights and I am pleased that someone of his experience, expertise and legal standing will lead this inquiry. Importantly, Emma’s family support his appointment.

“I will now consult Lord Scott on the terms of reference and seek the views of Emma’s family and others on the inquiry’s remit. I will update Parliament on the terms of reference and the timescale for the inquiry’s formal setting-up date in due course.”

Lord Scott said:

“I am aware of the significant public interest in this inquiry and the importance it holds for Emma Caldwell’s family. I will discharge my duties as chair independently, thoroughly and to the best of my ability.

“I come to this role with three years of experience as a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary. This followed over 20 years in the voluntary sector, primarily in the area of human rights, as well as over 30 years in private practice as a criminal defence lawyer and work in several reviews which scrutinised the use of various powers by the Police Service of Scotland.

“I look forward to discussing the terms of reference with the Cabinet Secretary and to establishing and working with an inquiry team to start our work as soon as possible.”

Background

Lord Scott, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, qualified as a solicitor in 1987. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2011 and a judge in 2022.

He chaired the Scottish Human Rights Centre from 1997 to 2005; convened the Howard League for Penal Reform in Scotland from 2006 until 2018; and chaired Justice Scotland in 2014.

In 2015, Lord Scott chaired an Independent Advisory Group on police ‘Stop and Search’ powers and he chaired independent reviews into biometrics in policing in Scotland and the impact on communities of policing of the miners’ strike in 1984-85.

Lord Scott chaired the Scottish Mental Health Law Review from May 2019 and submitted the Review’s final report to Scottish Ministers in September 2022.

In 2020, he chaired a group providing independent scrutiny on Police Scotland’s use of emergency powers under Coronavirus legislation.

Read the Justice Secretary’s statement to Parliament on 7 March 2024 announcing plans for a statutory Public Inquiry

Government Initiated Question confirming that Lord Scott has agreed to chair the independent Public Inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: On-call firefighter recruits officially welcomed into the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service in a pass-out parade24 April 2025 Eleven new on-call firefighter recruits were officially welcomed into the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service over the Easter Weekend, with a pass-out parade. Their families and friends joined… Read more

Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

24 April 2025

Eleven new on-call firefighter recruits were officially welcomed into the States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service over the Easter Weekend, with a pass-out parade.

Their families and friends joined them for the ceremony where Area Commander Lee Drawbridge presented the firefighters with certificates.

Their loved ones were also able to witness some of the life-saving emergency work they’ll be undertaking in their new role, with an RTC casualty extrication demonstration.

Following a successful recruitment campaign and subsequent training programme, the new firefighters are joining crews based at either the Western or Town stations.

These successful candidates will play a part in strengthening and protecting our community – and in the Island’s response to emergencies.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Bryn Coleman said: “We are delighted to welcome these 11 enthusiastic individuals into the Fire and Rescue Service family.

“Our on-call firefighters are a vital element to the island’s resilience and these new recruits go a long way towards bolstering our resilience within the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service.

“Both our stations rely on on-call firefighters to ensure we can respond effectively to emergencies, and we are grateful for their dedication in helping make our Island home that little bit safer.

“We are also grateful to their families and loved ones who were able to join us for their pass-out parade.

“As emergency responders, having that support at home makes all the difference.”

The States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service on-call firefighters are often permanently employed by other organisations but provide an on-call service to the fire service when their pager alerts them. Just like full-time firefighters, on-call firefighters are trained to deal with a wide range of situations and incidents.

They are required to respond to emergencies every four days if working from St Helier, or alternate evenings if working from Western Station in St Brelade.

The challenging role of a firefighter means it suits people who work well in a team; people with a positive, professional approach; and people who recognise the value of rules and procedures but who are also innovative and can challenge appropriately.

Firefighters also need to deal sensitively with members of the public in difficult and emotional situations and the ability to deliver under pressure, often with great courage and in distressing circumstances.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad set to ignite the City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival with explos

Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad set to ignite the City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival with explos

17 April 2025

Get ready for a vibrant injection of New Orleans spirit as ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ prepares to make their highly anticipated debut at the City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival.
Born from the embers of the much-loved Jaydee Brass Band, ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ brings together familiar energy with exciting new sounds. After 15 years of electrifying street performances, the original Jaydee Brass Band took a break. However, the musical connection remained strong, and a core group of the original crew couldn’t resist reuniting, keen to experiment and explore fresh musical avenues.

This new ensemble welcomes dynamic vocalist Angela, whose captivating voice and charming stage presence perfectly complements their vision. The band’s formation was driven by a desire to create a versatile act equally at home busking on the streets and commanding festival stages.

While carrying the energetic DNA of Jaydee Brass Band, ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ carves its own path. This isn’t just a typical jazz fest brass band; it’s a powerful vocalist fronting a dynamic ensemble, reminiscent of a rock festival stage presence, yet retaining the raw, engaging spirit of a busking brass band. The ‘NOLA’ in their name is a clear nod to New Orleans, Louisiana, the birthplace of jazz and a city where the joy of everyday music-making thrives.

Band member Eelco van Velzen said the new ensemble is looking forward to returning to this year’s Jazz Festival and hope the Derry public love everything ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ have to offer. Eelco said: “Coming back to Derry after 15 previous visits with the Jaydee Brass band feels like flying home to introduce our new girlfriend to our parents. We are sure you will like her and approve of how we are moving forward.”

Extending a warm welcome to the new group, Jazz Festival Coordinator with Derry City and Strabane District Council, Aisling McCallion, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ to this year’s festival lineup. Their unique blend of New Orleans jazz with contemporary flair perfectly embodies the spirit of musical innovation we strive to showcase. Having hosted the Jaydee Brass Band multiple times in previous years, we’re excited to see this evolution and know our festival attendees will be in for something truly special.”

Don’t miss the chance to witness the exciting debut of ‘Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad’ at the City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival. Expect feisty, unfiltered fun and a musical experience that will get you moving!

There are multiple opportunities to catch this new group at this year’s festival – they’ll be on the steps of the Millennium Forum at 7.15pm on Friday 2^nd May or pop into the Blackbird at 11pm that night. On Saturday they are taking part in the DLD Second Line Parade at 11am, before returning to the Millennium Forum steps at 3.45pm, and closing Saturday with a performance at the Guildhall Taphouse at 10.30pm. On Sunday they will be playing at the Craft Village at 1pm, and then on the steps of the Richmond Centre at 4.30pm.

The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival is organised and funded by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from Diageo and EY.

For more information go to cityofderryjazzfestival.com and for regular updates follow the City of Derry Jazz festival on Facebook Instagram and X @derryjazzfest.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Playhouse to bring acclaimed Jazz production for festival debut

Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

Playhouse to bring acclaimed Jazz production for festival debut

24 April 2025

The City of Derry Jazz Festival swings into town once again over the May Bank holiday with a stellar line up of talent all set to celebrate jazz in all its forms.

The Playhouse is just one of a number of dedicated Jazz Hubs with its own festival line up, and this year the theatre is bringing a new jazz experience to audiences in the form of the intriguingly titled ‘No Citation’.

The play is written by musician and song-writer Kyron Bourke who is a familiar face on the local Jazz circuit. Originally from Dublin, Kyron moved to Belfast in 1992, initially for three months to play in Larry’s Piano Bar, and decades later he can still be found holding court at weekends as Music Curator of the popular Bert’s Jazz Bar in the Merchant Hotel.

The play premiered at the Lyric Theatre Belfast before a successful run in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre, but Kyron is looking forward to bringing the production for the first time to Derry, and a new audience at Ireland’s biggest jazz celebration.

This unique theatrical and musical event combines powerful storytelling with original jazz compositions, following the story of Jeremy d’Wolfe McCarthy, a legendary piano man facing his final judgment. Finding himself in the derelict Dimitri’s Piano Bar, McCarthy attempts to entertain with his latest songs but is haunted by ghosts from his past. As he realizes this may be his final performance, he desperately tries to set the record straight.

Born into a theatrical and literary family in Dublin, transitioning from music to drama was a natural process for Kyron, as he revealed ahead of the festival. “My father, from a prominent theatrical family in Dublin, was an actor and my mother was an opera singer. My father‘s cousin was Brendan Behan. Basically everybody in the family either danced or acted, directed and produced plays or wrote them, so from an early age I was immersed in the process,” he reflects.

“I had written before, mainly reviews for theatre companies that I worked for and once as a result of a bursary from the Royal Court, London. A few years ago, I wrote a play about a famous alcoholic Shakespearean actor who had died and was looking back over his life.

“I workshopped the play and the general consensus was that I should write about subject matter closer to my own experience. So, I took this advice on board and decided to write about a piano man who has passed over. My piano man was similar to the protagonist in the first play, except for the fact that the piano man had not really achieved a lot as far as fame was concerned. But in terms of abusing alcohol and substances he was the same and was possessed of an equally enormous ego.”

While the show features original songs penned by Kyron, and delivered by a fabulous line up of accomplished jazz musicians, it won’t just appeal to hard core jazz fans.

“The play has 10 or so songs and incidental music throughout but there’s also a good deal of dialogue and a compelling story line. The style of the music is jazz but in no way is it hard-core jazz. It’s a good introduction for non jazzers. For those who feel that jazz is not for them the music and songs in ‘No Citation’ would be a good starting point.”

Over his time at Bert’s Kyron has been immersed in the local jazz scene and is seeing a new wave of talent shaking up the industry. “The scene has changed quite a lot over the past 30 years,” he explains. “The calibre of musicianship of the young musicians coming up is astonishing. I guess there’s better training in place. It’s a very a vibrant scene – very exciting. “Events like the City of Derry Jazz Festival provide an opportunity for those artists to connect with new audiences and the more jazz festivals the better as far as I am concerned. “The Derry Jazz Festival is unique because there are already superb international standard jazz musicians living in and around Derry and I imagine this ever-present core of homegrown jazz musicians drives the desire to seek out genuine jazz international acts and not just random music acts. I always feel there’s a good cross section of jazz styles at the Derry Festival, so there is something for everybody.”

Musician, broadcaster and academic, Dr Linley Hamilton, who recently picked up an MBE for services to music, plays one of an impressive cast of characters that appear in silhouette throughout the production to take Jeremy on a musical odyssey in his final moments. Linley has worked closely with Kyron over the years and is looking forward to collaborating once again, as he explained. “Kyron is the real deal when it comes to music. He’s an amazing vocalist and a brilliant song-writer and it’s an absolute joy to work with him again on this project. He has a passion that proves that music isn’t about how you write it – it’s how you can make people feel.

“Kyron is one of those musicians where you just press the button and he’s in a different world and he takes you along with him. As an artist he’s completely selfless in that he gives performers room to play which is unusual. He provides musicians with the opportunity to play to the maximum – it’s not about him, and that’s very rare I this industry. Here in N. Ireland there’s a very small domestic market when it comes to jazz, there are only a few dedicated venues and opportunities to perform are rare. But the way he works pays dividends because performers respond to him what you get is something completely unique and authentic.”

The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival is organised and funded by Derry City and Strabane District Council with support from Diageo and EY.

You can catch ‘No Citation’ at the Playhouse on Thursday May 1^st at 8pm. Tickets costing £25/Concession £22, are available at www.derryplayhouse.com

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Liverpool Welcomes 50 New Citizens on St George’s Day

Source: City of Liverpool

Today, Wednesday 23rd April, Liverpool celebrates a powerful moment of inclusion and civic pride, as 50 people from across the world becomes British citizens in a special ceremony at St George’s Hall — held fittingly on St George’s Day.

Led by Liverpool City Council’s Registration Service, the ceremony marks the final step in a deeply personal journey for each participant, and the beginning of a new chapter as full members of British society.

The event took place in the historic grandeur of St George’s Hall, offering a powerful atmosphere for new citizens to mark the start of a new chapter. The event shines a light on the diverse communities that make up Liverpool, and the values of unity that define it.

With the ceremony falling on St George’s Day, a date traditionally associated with English identity, it becomes an even more symbolic moment, highlighting the evolving story of modern Britain and Liverpool’s proud tradition as a welcoming city.

As Liverpool continues to welcome people from all over the world, this event stands as a powerful symbol of what it means to belong — and what it means to be a Liverpudlian.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “This is what Liverpool is all about, a city that welcomes, embraces and celebrates the people who choose to call it home.

“These ceremonies are powerful reminders of the strength we gain from our diversity and I’m incredibly proud that so many people are becoming citizens right here, in the heart of Liverpool, on such a symbolic day.“

Dr Mqhreen Aleem, one of the new citizens, shared what the moment means to them: “This day means everything to me.

“I’ve worked hard to build a life here, and becoming a British citizen in Liverpool — in such a beautiful place, on St George’s Day — feels like a true beginning. I’m proud to call this city my home’’.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council response to Accounts Commission Best Value Assurance Report

Source: Scotland – Highland Council

Highland Council welcomes the positive Accounts Commission Best Value Report and acknowledges the need for transformation at pace.

Convener of the Council Cllr Bill Lobban said: “The Council notes the recent report by the Accounts Commission which we consider broadly positive. In particular, we note the comments that the Council has significantly improved since 2020.

“We also note the positive comments in the report about the ways in which Highland Council is taking steps to transform its delivery of services.”

In particular, Highland Council has set a budget for 2025 – 2026 which uses zero reserves to fill its revenue gap. In fact, the £12.9m of additional savings that were approved will enable strategic investment of £14m in energy and transport. This is a major step forward and it is positive that this has been recognised on a number of occasions, including in this report, by the Accounts Commission. The elected members of Highland Council have been prepared to make tough decisions, and it is positive that the Commission has recognised the strong relationships between councillors and officers as being a feature of the organisation.

When the Highland Investment Plan was approved by Council in May last year, the report included details of the processes for its funding whilst ensuring that the Plan remains affordable, prudent and sustainable. This approach is considered necessary in order to transform the Council’s assets and enable the improvement of services delivered across the Highlands.

The Council has selected 31 of the 107 Local Government Benchmarking Framework indicators to judge its performance improvement by and can document a process of continual improvement. This is in accordance with advice from Audit Scotland which is that councils should be selective in what they aim to improve, otherwise they can lose strategic focus. These improvements are across all services areas and show a positive trajectory. It should be noted that with such a large geographical expanse to operate in, and with a dispersed population in rural areas, there is probably nowhere in the UK which faces the same level of challenge in delivering services as experienced in Highland.

There are findings for Highland Council to take on board, which will be reported to a future meeting of the Council. One of these relates to historic levels of borrowing, which will continue to be monitored as a means of sustaining future investment.

24 Apr 2025

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April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Government action to improve safety in young offender institutions
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

Press release

Government action to improve safety in young offender institutions

Frontline officers and young people in custody will be better protected under plans to equip specially selected and trained staff with synthetic pepper spray, the Government has announced today (24 April).
Specially selected, trained staff to be equipped with synthetic pepper spray

Response to rising violence in young offender institutions

Rate of assaults on staff 14 times higher than in adult prisons

Amid rising levels of violence, the decision will help keep both staff and young people safe and reduce the severity of incidents in young offender institutions.

Over the last few years, more and more frontline officers have been forced to put themselves in danger to protect young people in custody from attack and fend off homemade weapons.

PAVA, a synthetic pepper spray which temporarily incapacitates those it is sprayed upon, will now be available to specialist staff in young offender institutions to help de-escalate and diffuse violent situations.

Today’s announcement comes as new figures show the rate of assaults in public youth offender institutions is around 14 times higher than in adult prisons.

By giving staff the tools they need to keep young people in custody safe, they will be able to focus on rehabilitation and help them turn their lives around. Reducing reoffending is fundamental to the government’s pledge to keep our streets safe, part of its Plan for Change.

Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin said:

This government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. The unacceptable levels of violence faced by our brave frontline officers in young offender institutions is yet another symptom of that.

This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overarching duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe. This spray is a vital tool to prevent serious violence, helping staff to focus on rehabilitation as part of our Plan for Change.

The number of young people in custody has fallen significantly in recent years. Those now held in young offender institutions are mostly older teenage boys, aged 16 to 18 years of age, and over two-thirds of all young people are there for violent offences such as murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.

Recent incidents have seen young people in custody sustain serious injuries while staff have experienced fractures, dislocations, puncture wounds and lacerations.

The PAVA rollout will allow staff to respond to these incidents more effectively and restore order more quickly.

It will only be deployed in limited circumstances by specially trained individuals where there is serious violence or an imminent risk of it taking place. It has previously been used in young offender institutions when National Tactical Response Groups have been called to deal with serious incidents, but this change will mean it can be used more quickly to diffuse situations. It is already used by police in the community and by prison officers in the adult estate to reduce the risk of serious harm to staff and prisoners alike.

To keep both staff and young people safe, use in the youth estate will have strict controls, with each use of PAVA being reviewed by an independent panel and reported to ministers for further scrutiny. Ministers will also review its operation and impact after 12 months including to address any disproportionate use.

Today’s announcement follows extensive research and evidence gathering with specialists including subject matter experts and NHS England.

The Government has also recently taken action to end the practice of placing girls in young offender institutions following recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into the placement and care of girls in youth custody.

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Published 24 April 2025
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April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Rosneft organized a motor rally through the cities of Western Siberia in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

Employees of Rosneft subsidiaries operating in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Tyumen Oblast organized a motor rally in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory. Cars decorated with the Victory Banner covered 1,418 km – this distance corresponds to the number of days that the Great Patriotic War lasted.

The patriotic action started in Novy Urengoy (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area), the gas capital of Russia, where one of the key gas assets of the ROSPAN INTERNATIONAL Company is based. At the Memory Square, participants laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and unfurled a huge St. George ribbon. Participants of the Energy of Talents festival and students of Rosneft classes performed the legendary song Katyusha. Then a column of domestic cars headed to the city of Gubkinsky, starting the rally.

In Gubkinsky (YaNAO), RN-Purneftegaz, which built the settlement, and SevKomNeftegaz, carry out their production activities. Together with the participants of the motor rally, employees of these Societies, students of Rosneft-classes, as well as representatives of the Movement of the First and the public organization Veteran walked along the central street to the Eternal Flame, where they honored the memory of the heroes with a minute of silence.

The third city on the rally route was Nefteyugansk (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), where Rosneft’s largest production asset, RN-Yuganskneftegaz, operates. The rally participants brought the Victory Banner to the Liberator Warrior Monument, one of the oldest memorials in the city, where flowers were laid.

Having overcome the final stage of the route, the motor rally ended in the capital of the Tyumen region. Accompanied by songs of the war years, a motorcade drove through the streets of Tyumen, led by retro cars and motorcycles decorated with symbols of the 80th anniversary of the Victory. The participants of the event were met at the Memory Square by veterans, as well as employees of Tyumenneftegaz, Kharampurneftegaz, RN-Uvatneftegaz and the corporate scientific institute. Those gathered honored the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War with a minute of silence and laid flowers at the Eternal Flame.

Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft April 24, 2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Membership of the Building Control Independent Panel
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

News story

Membership of the Building Control Independent Panel

The government has announced the appointment of five members to the Building Control Independent Panel.
Today (24 April), the government has announced the appointment of five members to the Building Control Independent Panel.

This delivers on a Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendation, accepted by the government, to set up a panel to carry out a review of whether to change the way in which building control is delivered in England. 

The panel will be chaired by Dame Judith Hackitt, whose leadership of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety has already helped to shape vital reforms across the sector. An engineer by profession, Dame Judith currently serves as an adviser on building standards to both the UK and Australian Governments and is a member of the International Building Quality Council (IBQC).  She will be joined by four experts with extensive experience in the regulation and use of the building control sector: Elaine Bailey, Ken Rivers, Rt Hon Nick Raynsford and Dr David Snowball. 

The panel members’ collective expertise will support a thorough and independent review of the current building control model, including on the Inquiry’s recommendations to consider the issue of commercial incentives from the system and exploring alternative options and approaches. The panel is expected to provide a report to the government this autumn.

Minister for Building Safety, Alex Norris MP, said: 

“The appointment of this independent panel is a significant step in our response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. We need a building control system that puts safety first and supports our plans to accelerate remediation. It must also help to deliver 1.5 million safe, high-quality homes over this Parliament, and be equipped to meet the demands of a modern construction sector.  

“Their work will play a vital role in shaping a safer, more accountable building industry, and I look forward to receiving the panel’s recommendations as they take this important work forward.”

The Chair for the Building Control Independent Panel, Dame Judith Hackitt said: 

“The panel stands ready to get to work on this important review.  We will work at speed but we come at this issue with an open mind and a determination to further raise standards”. 

Background on the Building Control system  

The building control system is there primarily to oversee key safety standards set in legislation and ensure that buildings are checked and safe in areas such as fire and structural safety. Following concerns raised by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, especially around conflicts of interest in the system, a new panel has been appointed to look at whether changes are required.   

Notes to Editors 

The establishment of the panel was announced in the Government’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry on February 26, 2025. 

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommended that the Government establish an independent panel to consider whether to remove commercial interest from building control and whether to move to a national authority decision model. 

The panel’s role is advisory and independent.  The aim is a report to Government in the autumn with a response before the end of the year. 

Further updates, including the panel’s Terms of Reference, will be published on GOV.UK shortly. 

Panel members:

Elaine Bailey 

Elaine Bailey is a member of the Industry Safety Steering Group and was formerly the CEO of Hyde Housing (2014-2019). Elaine holds several non-executive directorships, including at MJ Gleeson plc, a house builder operating in the North and Midlands; McCarthy&Stone Shared Ownership (MCSSO), a For Profit Registered Provider of older persons’ housing with a strategic partnership with Homes England; and Andium Housing, Jersey’s largest provider of sub-market value homes for rent and purchase. 

Ken Rivers 

Ken is a non-executive director at the HSE, alongside his role as a member of the Industrial Safety Steering Group. Prior to that he chaired the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations Strategic Forum and led the tripartite group since its inception, bringing industry and regulators together to identify and address important matters of managing major hazard in the UK. He spent 38 years of his career working at Shell, through various different positions and was President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. 

Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP 

Nick Raynsford was a Labour MP for 24 years. During this time he held positions as Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Minister for Construction, Minister for London and Minister of State for Local and Regional Government. The latter included responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service. Since then he has had a number of advisory and non-executive roles in the private, voluntary and public sectors. This included chairing CICAIR (CIC Approved Inspectors Register), the organisation responsible until April 2024 for registering private sector Building Control bodies. Nick is a member of the New Towns Taskforce, working with MHCLG.  

Dr. David Snowball 

David spent his working career in the Health and Safety Executive, joining as a Factory Inspector in 1984 and retiring 35 years later. He held senior posts in operational divisions overseeing HSE intervention and enforcement and was also responsible, as Director Regulation, for the quality of operational work. He spent 15 months as Acting Chief Executive before his retirement. He now sits on the Industry Safety Steering Group alongside Dame Judith and is a non-executive director at the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority (Feb 2022- present).

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April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Development of the digital economy and trends in the investment and construction process: the conference “Current problems of economics and management in construction” has ended

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – At the section of young scientists

On April 17–18, the III National (All-Russian) Scientific and Practical Conference “Current Problems of Economics and Management in Construction” was held at SPbGASU, organized by the Faculty of Economics and Management.

In total, 120 reports were heard during the two days of the event. Both representatives of SPbGASU and scientists from other universities, including from the Republic of Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, took an active part in the work of the section.

The first day of the conference was marked by the holding of a section of young scientists “First steps in economic science”, in which students of the St. Petersburg Technical College of Management and Commerce (SPb TKuIC), the Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Herzen (RSPU named after A. I. Herzen), Moscow Automobile and Road State Technical University (MADI), as well as representatives of student science from SPbGASU took part.

At the opening of the young scientists’ section, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Galina Tokunova noted the importance of participation in scientific events of students of secondary education institutions and called for further cooperation of colleges with SPbGASU in scientific and educational processes. Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management for Research Yuri Tsvetkov gave a report “Involvement of Young Scientists in Scientific Activity”, highlighting the incentives and rewards that await young researchers in the course of active scientific work.

The key topics of the section were the development of the digital economy, as well as modern trends in the functioning of the investment and construction process. Victoria Filippova, a student of St. Petersburg TCUiK, prepared a report “Optimization of supply chain management using digital financial assets: opportunities and prospects”, having examined in detail legislative initiatives in this area, the advantages of using this tool in supply chain management and the stages of implementation in logistics processes.

Daniil Velichko, a student at St. Petersburg TCUiK, presented a report entitled “The Digital Economic Miracle of Russia,” highlighting the advantages of the digital transformation of the economy and assessing the level of digital skills among Russian citizens. In addition, Daniil showed a video about the digital economy prepared by college students.

The section focused on the research conducted by students of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia – representatives of the People’s Republic of China. Bi Yanwen conducted a comparative analysis of investments in infrastructure development in China and Russia, Xu Yijie compared the current state of the real estate market in the two countries, Chang Jiangshuai spoke about the principles of sustainable development in the construction sector, Lu Haoran studied the issues of antitrust regulation in China, Hao Boyuan presented the main challenges and prospects for the rational use of limited resources in the context of China’s rapid economic growth.

The conference traditionally had four main sections: “Language training for future professionals”, “Economics of construction and housing and communal services: trends and prospects”, “Economic security: experience, problems, prospects” and “Current issues of management in construction”.

The conference organizing committee selected the following reports.

Researchers Evgeny Rossokha and Anastasia Frantsuzova from the Republic of Belarus focused on the ESG orientation of the Belarusian housing policy, which includes housing affordability, improvement of the local area and renovation.

Vladislav Buchi, a representative of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, made a presentation on the prospects for the development of multi-story industrial warehouse facilities in an urban format, which is very relevant in the context of the development of urban areas in St. Petersburg due to the acute shortage of warehouse complexes in the region.

The research of the Master’s student of the Department of Construction Economics and Housing and Public Utilities Daria Batyreva was devoted to the current issues of managing the cost of construction projects in the field of construction production and design; the work highlighted particularly important and complex areas that attract the attention of all specialists in the field of project management.

The curator of the section “Economic Security: Experience, Problems, Prospects”, Associate Professor of the Department of Economic Security Vladislav Uskov noted that this section has become a unique platform for exchanging opinions in the field of protecting the economic interests of the state and business, economic security and risk assessment. In particular, fourth-year student Meri Kopaleishvili presented a report on the topic “Digital Transformation of Development: Innovative Technologies and Marketing Strategies as a Factor of Sustainability in Conditions of Economic Instability”, Ksenia Danshina prepared a study “External Debt as a Threat to the Financial Security of the State”. A researcher from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University touched upon the problems and prospects of economic security and artificial intelligence.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Honoring History, Looking to the Future: GUU Strengthens Russian-Chinese Cooperation

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

On April 22, 2025, the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Center for the Study and Research of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in a New Era, with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Russia, held a round table on the topic “Joint Implementation of the Three Global Initiatives to Build a Community of Shared Future for Humanity.” The event was attended by Fanis Sharipov, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic and Political Studies of China at the State University of Management.

The event took place at the Chinese Cultural Center with the participation of Russian and Chinese business circles, orientalists and other distinguished guests.

The first to speak was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Russian Federation Zhang Hanhui. Then, reports were presented by the First Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council Andrei Denisov, Director of the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences Kirill Babaev, Chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia, Deputy Chairman of the Chinese-Russian Friendship Society Zhou Liqun and other representatives of Russian and Chinese business circles, orientalists and honored guests.

The State University of Management was represented by the Director of the Center for Socio-Economic and Political Research of China Fanis Sharipov, who noted in his speech that on December 18, 2024, a seminar on the topic “The Leader of China in My Eyes – Initiative of Global Civilization in the Form of a Presentation of the 4th Volume of Xi Jinping’s Book “On Public Administration” was held within the walls of our university, and on February 28 of this year, the State University of Management and Renmin Huabao held a round table on the topic “High-Quality Development of the Chinese Economy” on the eve of the next congress of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China in the Moscow office of the respected publishing house.

Following the round table, a collection of studies on the implementation of the global development initiative, the global security initiative, and the global civilization initiative will be published.

On April 23, 2025, at the invitation of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society, students and teachers of the Russian-Chinese program “International Manufacturing Business” took part in the opening ceremony of the Chinese-Russian photo exhibition “Nobody is Forgotten, Nothing is Forgotten” dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. The event was organized by the Europe and Asia Broadcasting Center of the People’s Republic of China Foreign Language Literature Publication and Distribution Administration (Renmin Huabao Publishing House) and the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society.

The following speakers spoke at the opening of the exhibition: Feng Litao, Minister-Counselor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Russian Federation, Director of the Chinese Cultural Center in Moscow; Galina Kulikova, First Deputy Chairperson of the Russian-Chinese Friendship Society; Yu Jia, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Center for Broadcasting to Europe and Asia of the PRC Office of Publication and Distribution of Literature in Foreign Languages; Zhou Shenko, Editor-in-Chief of the Shandong Broadcasting Corporation.

Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 04/24/2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Fake cures and vaccine passports for sale: the conspiracy communities in Brazil monetising the anti-vax movement – podcast

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

A protest in Brazil against mandatory COVID vaccinations and vaccine passports. Isaac Fontana / Shutterstock.com

Few places on earth are immune to the explosion of anti-vaccination conspiracy theories and health disinformation fuelled by the COVID pandemic. But in countries like Brazil, where the disinformation flowed from the very top of government, the problem is even more acute and some people are exploiting the fear of others to make money.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we hear about new research out of Brazil into how peddlers of disinformation on social media also sell fake cures and vaccine detoxes. And we ask why some people are looking for solutions to their health problems in these dangerous chemicals and unproven protocols.

Brazil used to be a country with a strong culture of vaccination. “It was like a ritual”, remembers Igor Sacramento, a researcher in public health at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil. As a child, he would go to public squares where people would be dressed in costumes, parading, alongside the vaccination drives.

Now, anti-vax disinformation has surged in the country. Sacramento believes the big change was the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, a president who publicly questioned vaccinations. “It was terrible for public health”, he says. Research showed that during the pandemic there was a persistent “Bolsonaro effect” with higher death rates from COVID in pro-Bolsonaro municipalities.

Vaccination rates for a number of different diseases have fallen in Brazil in recent years, although they are beginning to climb again since the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a third term as president in 2023.

Promoting fake cures

New research led by Ergon Cugler, a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Information on Science and Technology who is mapping the spread of disinformation on social media in Latin America and the Caribbean, is showing that the same people sowing fear with health disinformation are also selling fake cures.

Cugler scraped data from more than 1,000 Telegram groups linked to disinformation and conspiracy theories topics over the last decade. Of the 5 million users in these groups, half are in Brazil. His dataset of 61 million pieces of content showed a 290% increase in anti-vaccination conspiracy narratives during the pandemic in Brazil, as well as a 15,000% increase in autism-related disinformation in Latin America and the Caribbean since the pandemic.

Admins on these conspiracy theory communities on Telegram often post adverts, testimonials and videos promoting fake cures, vaccine detoxes and falsified vaccination passports. Cugler says:

They spread the feeling of fear suggesting that parasites, for example, could cause diseases like diabetes. And then they offer so-called miracle cures, like deworming protocols or chlorine dioxide, and other substances, and they monetise all of those products.

Cugler is also tracking how conspiracy theory groups discussing seemingly quite unconnected topics can be used as a way to funnel people into anti-vax groups and sell them fake cures.

Listen to the full episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast to hear interviews with Ergon Cugler and Igor Sacramento, plus a conversation with Daniel Stycer, editor of The Conversation Brazil.

This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Gemma Ware with assistance from Mend Mariwany. Mixing and sound design by Eloise Stevens and theme music by Neeta Sarl.

Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here.

Ergon Cugler has previously received a research grant from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT) and is currently part of a research project funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development through the Observatory of Informational Disorder and Public Policy (DesinfoPop) at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Igor Sacramento is a researcher in residence between December 2024 and July 2025 at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in France.

– ref. Fake cures and vaccine passports for sale: the conspiracy communities in Brazil monetising the anti-vax movement – podcast – https://theconversation.com/fake-cures-and-vaccine-passports-for-sale-the-conspiracy-communities-in-brazil-monetising-the-anti-vax-movement-podcast-255142

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: HS2 Construction Commissioner’s report 32

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Correspondence

HS2 Construction Commissioner’s report 32

The thirty-second in a series of regular progress reports from the High Speed Two (HS2) Independent Construction Commissioner.

Documents

HS2 Construction Commissioner’s report 32

PDF, 169 KB, 6 pages

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Details

This is the thirty-second report of the HS2 Independent Construction Commissioner (ICC) and covers the fourth quarter of 2024 (1st October – 31st December).

The Independent Construction Commissioner’s role is to mediate and monitor the way in which HS2 Ltd manages and responds to construction complaints. The Construction Commissioner will mediate any unresolved construction related disputes between HS2 Ltd and individuals or bodies, and provides advice to members of the public about how to make a complaint about construction.

Updates to this page

Published 24 April 2025

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MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Russia’s missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians over Easter demonstrate its attitude towards peace: UK statement to the OSCE
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

Speech

Russia’s missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians over Easter demonstrate its attitude towards peace: UK statement to the OSCE

Ambassador Holland condemns Russia’s missile attacks against civilians in Sumy and Kharkiv over Easter and President Putin’s transparently cynical attempts to portray Russia as the party of peace.
Thank you, Mister Chair. The United Kingdom is grateful to Finland for convening this Special Permanent Council. It was only 16 days ago that you were last compelled to call an extraordinary meeting of the Council after a Russian missile killed 20 people, including nine children, in Kryvyi Rih. It was the largest number of children killed in a single strike since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the UN.

Last week was one of major religious festivals where communities around the globe came together in the spirit of peace and goodwill. But while Christians around the world were marking the beginning of Holy Week, a Russian ballistic missile struck the centre of Sumy. 34 people were killed, including two children. A further 117 were injured. Some of the victims were heading to church for a Palm Sunday service.

On Good Friday another Russian ballistic missile struck Kharkiv using a cluster munition. One person was killed and at least 60 were injured. On the same day, a drone attack on Sumy killed another civilian and destroyed a bakery preparing traditional Easter ‘paska’ bread.

Mister Chair, our thoughts are with all the victims and their loved ones at this tragic time.

Russia’s response to the widespread condemnation in this Council – and at the UN – following their attack on Sumy was to resort to their familiar playbook of disinformation and distortion in an attempt to justify the unjustifiable. We can expect to see a similar tactic on this occasion.

Through these barbaric attacks, Russia has shown that its cruelty knows no bounds and that it is not serious about peace. President Putin’s so-called “Easter truce” was a stunt, violated repeatedly by his own forces. A day later – Easter Monday – a further five civilians reportedly lost their lives following Russian attacks, laying bare the Kremlin’s transparently cynical attempt to portray themselves as the party of peace. Similar attacks have continued since, including yesterday against Kyiv, in which nine civilians were reportedly killed, and 70 more injured.

If Russia was serious about peace, it would agree to an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire, just as Ukraine did, more than 40 days ago. If it was serious about peace, it would stop these senseless attacks on civilians. If it was serious about peace, it would honour the commitments it has made.

Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine are another stark reminder that President Putin has not abandoned his goal of subjugating Ukraine. For this reason, the UK, alongside our partners and allies, will continue to provide Ukraine with the military support it needs to defend its citizens. And we stand ready to apply further pressure on Russia to hinder its ability to wage this war of aggression.

Thank you, Mister Chair.

Updates to this page

Published 24 April 2025

Invasion of Ukraine

UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals

Move to the UK if you’re coming from Ukraine

Homes for Ukraine: record your interest

Find out about the UK’s response
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin: Almost 500 cultural heritage sites are being restored in Moscow

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Work continues in the capital to restore the historical appearance of buildings. This was reported by Sergei Sobyanin in his telegram channel.

“Currently, specialists are working on almost 500 cultural heritage sites. Among them

Donskoy Monastery— one of the largest projects that we are implementing together with the Ministry of Culture and the Russian Orthodox Church. Three towers and sections of the Eastern and Southern walls of the monastery are currently being restored here,” the Mayor of Moscow noted.

Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin

Work continues inChurch of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky and the extension to the northern gate. Specialists put the white stone details and plaster finish in order. The tiled stoves in the extension were restored.

They put things in order andthe main house of the Okhotnikovs’ city estate on Prechistenka is a striking example of a Moscow mansion in the Empire style. In 1868, it housed the famous Lev Polivanov Gymnasium, where many famous people of that time studied. Specialists are currently working on the interiors, including restoring the walls, vaults, drawn cornices, and cleaning the stucco decor.

House with mezzanines on Staraya Basmannaya Street has been known since the 18th century. Here, the historic lamps on the facades and the stucco will be restored, the base will be cleaned and the cracks will be eliminated.

City estate of Ya.A. Polyakov XIX – early XX century in Bolshoy Nikolopeskovsky Lane was built in the neo-Greek style. It was erected according to the design of the famous architect Illarion Ivanov-Shits. Currently, facade and roofing works are being carried out in the mansion, and the windows are also being repaired.

Another object is the main house of the city estate of the 18th-19th centuries on Novinsky Boulevard. Fyodor Chaliapin Memorial MuseumHere, the restoration of the stucco decoration of the facades and the veranda on the courtyard side is being completed.

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

Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

https: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12652050/

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Applications are now being accepted for the II Competition for Young Scientists

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

The Sistema Charitable Foundation and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) launched the 2nd Competition for Young Scientists, implemented within the framework of the Decade of Science and Technology with the support of the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and a number of leading Russian technology companies.

The competition is aimed at supporting applied innovative scientific developments and the latest research in priority sectors of the economy. Its goal is to promote the popularization of Russian science and education, and to create conditions for the development of students and young scientists in science-intensive areas.

Citizens of the Russian Federation can take part in the Competition – one young scientist or a team of students and young scientists up to three people, presenting their scientific developments and research results in one of ten nominations:

“Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Technologies”; “Hydrogen as the Basis of Green Energy”; “Digital Energy and Intelligent Systems”; “Genomic Technologies and Medicine of the Future”; “Bioinnovations: Technologies for Life”; “Space Exploration and Unmanned Systems: A Look into the Future”; “Microelectronics: From Chips to Smart Devices”; “The East is a Delicate Matter: Technological Breakthroughs in Asia”; “New Horizons in the Construction Industry”; “Chemical Technologies, Innovative Materials and Processes”.

Applications for the Competition will be accepted on the Lift to the Future platform and will last until July 20, 2025. The names of the winners, selected based on the results of a two-stage examination, will be announced by November 1, 2025. The authors of the best innovative solutions and research results, in addition to funds, will receive information and expert support. The winners of the Competition in the “space” nomination will receive a special prize – their name will be sent into space on one of the satellites launched by the partner of the direction – Sputnix Group of Companies.

Subscribe to the tg channel “Our State University” Announcement date: 04/24/2025

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI: EngageLab Showcases AI-Powered Omnichannel Customer Engagement Solutions at Inaugural GITEX Asia 2025

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SINGAPORE, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EngageLab, a global leader in AI-powered omnichannel customer engagement solutions, proudly participated in the inaugural GITEX Asia 2025, held in Singapore from April 23-25. As Asia’s largest and leading technology and innovation event, and the Asian debut of the world’s largest tech show GITEX GLOBAL, the summit, themed “AI Everything Singapore,” convenes senior executives and decision-makers seeking transformative technologies. EngageLab stands out as a trusted partner, demonstrating how its AI-driven omnichannel platform empowers businesses to deliver personalized, impactful experiences across multiple touchpoints, fostering stronger relationships and driving global growth.

The inaugural GITEX Asia brings together over 700 global enterprises and startups from 70+ countries, more than 25,000 tech buyers, and over 250 active investors. At the event, EngageLab engaged with leaders from diverse industries, addressing unique challenges in customer communication, data integration, and operational efficiency, particularly for businesses operating across borders.

EngageLab’s Distinctive Edge Secures Strategic Interest

During a pivotal discussion with a leading Indian application and website development company, EngageLab’s unparalleled strengths in global messaging infrastructure and dedicated local support took center stage. The firm, seeking robust push notification solutions for their diverse client base, was impressed by EngageLab’s superior deliverability, multi-channel reliability, and responsive customer service tailored to regional needs.

The conversation quickly evolved into a strategic alignment, as the company recognized EngageLab’s potential to elevate their clients’ communication strategies through its integrated engagement platform. By seamlessly combining AppPush, WebPush, Email, OTP, SMS, and WhatsApp Business, EngageLab demonstrated its ability to deliver personalized, compliant messaging across the entire customer journey to achieve unmatched engagement and conversion rates.

The mutual enthusiasm and alignment of goals have set the stage for what promises to be a highly impactful collaboration.

Why EngageLab Stands Out

GITEX Asia 2025 underscores EngageLab’s role as a trusted innovator in AI-powered customer engagement, recognized for:
● Omnichannel Customer Engagement: Seamlessly integrating multiple communication channels for cohesive, personalized customer journeys.
● AI-Powered Insights: Leveraging real-time analytics and user behavior tracking to optimize engagement strategies and maximize ROI.
● Reliable Global Infrastructure: Strategically distributed global data nodes (including Singapore, USA, Germany) ensure high delivery rates (40% higher than other vendors for push notification and 99.97% for email), low latency, and compliance with local regulations like GDPR & DPPA – crucial for cross-border operations.
● Superior Channels & Service: Offering demonstrably better message deliverability and dedicated technical support compared to competitors.

Driving the Future of Customer Engagement

As GITEX Asia 2025 unfolds, the future of customer engagement clearly lies in personalization, automation, and seamless omnichannel communication. EngageLab is proud to lead this transformation, empowering businesses worldwide to unlock the full potential of their customer engagement strategies.

About EngageLab

EngageLab is a world-leading provider of AI-powered omnichannel customer engagement solutions, empowering businesses to optimize customer communication, enhance engagement efficiency, and drive growth. With a focus on AI-driven personalization, omnichannel integration, and global scalability, EngageLab serves as a trusted partner for enterprises worldwide.

For more information, visit www.engagelab.com.

Media Contact:
Email: marketing@engagelab.com
Website: www.engagelab.com

The MIL Network –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Loss of empathy is a key problem in people with frontotemporal dementia — our research shows what’s happening in the brain

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Alexander F Santillo, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Consultant Psychiatrist, Lund University

Bruce Willis’s family announced in February 2023 that the actor had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Denis Makarenko/Shutterstock

Frontotemporal dementia has gained significant attention in recent years after the family of actor Bruce Willis announced in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with the condition. A year later, it was revealed that US chat show host Wendy Williams had also been diagnosed with the condition.

Yet despite all this recent attention, there’s still much we don’t know about frontotemporal dementia – including what mechanisms cause certain symptoms, and how we can better spot signs of the disease earlier on. But our research has uncovered the brain processes that underlie one of the disease’s earliest symptoms. This finding brings us one step closer to better diagnosing and treating the condition.

Frontotemporal dementia accounts for approximately 5% of dementia cases. Symptoms typically begin in a person’s late sixties or seventies. The disease primarily affects behaviour, personality and language abilities.

A hallmark symptom of frontotemporal dementia, which sets it apart from other forms of dementia (such as Alzheimer’s disease), is early loss of empathy. This often manifests as diminished warmth and concern for loved ones. This symptom can be profoundly unsettling for family members and loved ones close with the patient. They may feel as though the patient’s personality has transformed – and that their efforts to help and support are met with indifference.

While loss of empathy has been the focus of much research from the scientific community, the precise brain mechanisms underlying the loss of empathy in frontotemporal dementia remain unclear.

Alongside colleagues from Karolinska Institute, Lund University and Umeå University in Sweden, we conducted a study which sought to understand how empathy diminishes in frontotemporal dementia. We looked at 28 patients with frontotemporal dementia and compared them against 28 healthy people.

To conduct our study, we used a type of brain scan called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). While in the fMRI scanner, participants viewed images of hands being pricked by needles. These images were contrasted with those of hand being touched by a q-tip. This is a well-established neuroscience test that is designed to evoke feelings of concern and distress as witnessing another person in pain. We analysed the brain activity of the patients with frontotemporal dementia as they viewed the images.

In healthy volunteers, the anterior insula, anteria cingulate and thalamus are the brain regions responsible for monitoring internal bodily signals (such as pain). These brain systems became active when they observed the images of a person in pain.

But in the patients with frontotemporal dementia, activity in these crucial brain regions was significantly reduced. These reductions were strikingly related to the degree of empathy patients exhibited in their daily lives, as judged by questionnaires filled out by family members.

Empathy and brain function

Empathy is typically thought to be comprised of two dimensions. Emotional empathy is the ability to react to others’ feelings (such as their distress and concern). Cognitive empathy is the capacity to understand the intention of others.

Although the two are closely related, they’re not quite the same thing. It’s also possible for a person to possess one facet of empathy but not the other. The difference between the two facets of empathy can actually be exemplified by two psychiatric conditions, antisocial personality disorder and autism.

People diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder are typically good at understanding the intentions and motivations of other people (cognitive empathy), but cannot empathise emotionally. This can lead to a disregard for other people. On the other hand, a person with autism typically has emotional empathy skills but might not have the ability to infer other peoples’ intentions (cognitive empathy).

Our study revealed reduced activity in parts of the brain associated with the brain’s monitoring of bodily states, which are typically used when emotionally empathising with another person. These findings underscore the critical link between this brain system and our capacity to take others into consideration.

In light of these findings, the next step with our research is to explore if and how the in-flow of the bodily signals necessary for the brain to create an inner self is altered in frontotemporal dementia – and how this relates to empathy.

Apart from about 30% of cases being genetic, the causes of frontotemporal dementia remains unclear. Despite intense efforts from the community, there’s currently no cure. But thanks to courageous sufferers and their families coming forward, awareness is increasing. This is a crucial thrust forward.

We hope that understanding how the brain processes empathy in frontotemporal dementia may not only help improve diagnosis but may, in the future, pave the way for potential treatments which mitigate some of the devastating effects of this disease.

Alexander F Santillo is primarily funded by the Swedish federal government, The Åke Wiberg Foundation, The Schörling Foundation and The Bundy Academy.

Olof Lindberg receives funding from the Schörling foundation and the Olle Engkvists Foundation.

– ref. Loss of empathy is a key problem in people with frontotemporal dementia — our research shows what’s happening in the brain – https://theconversation.com/loss-of-empathy-is-a-key-problem-in-people-with-frontotemporal-dementia-our-research-shows-whats-happening-in-the-brain-247402

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Career Insight: Joe, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Case study

Career Insight: Joe, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Joe provides an insight into his training within HMRC Legal Group

I am a fourth seat trainee in HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Legal Group’s European and International Law advisory team. The team advises on, drafts and helps negotiate a range of international agreements, including Free-Trade Agreements and Double Taxation Treaties.

I studied Philosophy and Politics as my undergraduate degree, focussing my studies on human rights and the regulation of transnational enterprises. I suspected that a career in law was the best opportunity apply these interests in practice; however, as a non-law graduate I was reluctant to immediately volunteer for the expense and stress of two more years of study in the form of the GDL and LPC. So, after graduating, I moved abroad to pursue a career playing and coaching rugby; the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that ambition but provided me the opportunity to start an online law conversion.

I applied for the role at HMRC as I thought that first-hand experience of the legislative process and regular precedent setting litigation would provide a great opportunity to develop my career as a solicitor; but also because the tax arena seemed to offer a lot of variety, encompassing my interests in both public law and commercial questions.

All trainees start in litigation for their first year, though pupils spend 6 months of this seconded to Chambers. My first seat was in VAT litigation so after three years of intensive study, I arrived at HMRC braced for mountains of paperwork and long days of dense tax calculations. Instead, waiting on my desk were various packets of lentil-based snacks and the deceptively knotty legal question; are these crisps, or at least similar to crisps? I spent the seat thinking about other such questions, like what distinguishes cosmetic surgery from medical care. During this seat I visited the Supreme Court assisting a senior lawyer and saw my own case feature in national newspapers.

For my second seat I applied for HMRC’s Enforcement and Illicit Finance litigation Team. The question for this team was less frequently whether someone owes tax, but how HMRC can actually collect it from them. My tasks ranged from advocating on HMRC’s behalf in the magistrates Court to instructing counsel at fast pace on High Court Proceedings, attending the Court of Appeal and working with international law enforcement to seize overseas assets.

As a trainee you will get give your own cases to run as part of a cross-HMRC case team with tax and policy experts, so you can stretch yourself in an environment surrounded by expert lawyers and tax professionals, who are all very generous with their time. Your role is to co-ordinate this team and ask the right questions to tease the legal arguments out of your clients. In this respect the skills I developed playing teams sports were as important as my legal knowledge.

In your second year you move into an advisory team. In my first six months I worked on a mix of human rights and technical tax advice as part of the Personal Tax and Welfare team. I drafted my statutory instrument, which was a particular highlight, and fed into a major budget measure. It can feel like a drastic transition from the more adversarial world of litigation, but the training is extensive with HMRC running internal induction courses alongside the wider GLP offering.

The advisory lawyers cover a wide variety of tasks, with my final seat feeling like an entirely new role. I didn’t study EU or International Law as part of my law conversion, but having the lawyers who drafted the treaties sat next to you in the office is always a good starting point!

Whilst the HMRC training contract will be of particular interest for anyone who wants a career in public law, I think it is really important to understand the breadth of the department’s work. There is regular precedent setting litigation with engages questions of employment and commercial law, and advisory teams that span the breadth of civil and criminal practice.

Updates to this page

Published 24 April 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Local Development Plan 3 Update: Call for Sites underway

Source: Scotland – City of Perth

At the end of March 2025 the LDP3 Evidence Report was submitted to the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) for the required ‘Gate Check’ process after its approval by Councillors on 5 March   The document will now be assessed to determine if it contains sufficient information to allow Perth and Kinross Council to prepare LDP3.   The Gate Check process is expected to take approximately 3 months, depending on the complexity of the issues within the Evidence Report. Progress on the Report’s Gate Check and all associated documents can be viewed on the DPEA’s website, https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/, under Case Reference GATE-340-1.

Another key stage in the progress of LDP3 has also begun with the Call for Sites. This provides an opportunity for communities, developers, landowners and other interested parties to suggest development sites to be considered for inclusion in the new plan. It can also help outline locations with good potential to be delivered – by asking stakeholders to propose sites that have already had preliminary investigations, the LDP can access proposals that are viable from a technical and commercial perspective.

Councillor Eric Drysdale, Convener of Economy and Infrastructure said: “Although it is not a legal requirement to include a Call for Sites in the development of a Local Development Plan, we have used this approach during the preparation of previous versions of our LDP, and it has proven to be an effective method of identifying more development opportunities with good potential to be delivered, whilst also empowering stakeholders in their role in the plan preparation process.”

An online questionnaire is now open to help gather the necessary information to help assess the suitability of sites and proposals. This covers a series of questions regarding the location of a site, existing and proposed uses, current site conditions, and any potential impacts and constraints related to its development.

Further information regarding the LDP3 Call for Sites stage, including the online questionnaire, is available on the Council’s Consultation Hub. The closing date for submissions is Friday 20 June 2025.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: First event on refurbished Silksworth Athletic Track

Source: City of Sunderland

Silksworth Athletics Track has hosted its first event since its £230,000 refurbishment.

Paula Radcliffe’s Families on Track relay event saw families from across Sunderland taking part in an 8k run around the refurbished track.

The Silksworth Athletics Track was refurbished at the end of 2024 with £230,000 worth of funding from Sunderland City Council and Everyone Active. This includes £40,000 from the SUEZ community’s fund.

The redevelopment has seen not only the laying of a brand-new track, but also improvements made to the fencing to improve security for users of the track and field.

Councillor Beth Jones, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Tourism at Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s absolutely brilliant to see this track restored to such a high standard and being brought to life again through such a positive and inclusive event. The Families on Track relay was a fantastic celebration of community, fitness, and fun, and it was heartwarming to see so many families come together to take part. A huge well done to everyone who took part in making this a special day.

“Running is such a powerful activity as not only does it boost your physical fitness, but it also plays a vital role in supporting mental wellbeing. Whether you’re out for a gentle jog or pushing yourself in a race, the benefits are immense. I’d encourage anyone who’s thinking about getting more active to give running a go. It’s accessible, low-cost, and a great way to enjoy the outdoors, connect with others, and improve your overall health.”

Ian Bradgate, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “It’s a fantastic privilege to run this state-of-the-art track, which is available for the whole community to enjoy. It will be a brilliant facility for many years to come, allowing local people of all abilities to improve their physical health and mental well-being.”

You can find out more about booking and using the running track by visiting Silksworth Sports Complex & Ski Slope | Football Pitch | Everyone Active

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Groundbreaking performance set to turn the tables on graphic novel classic

Source: City of Leeds

The incredible worlds of graphic novels, orchestral music and electronic soundscapes will come together in a captivating, immersive performance in Leeds next week.

Award-winning turntablist, DJ and producer NikNak will join forces with Chineke! Orchestra for the world premier of “Parable”, a brand new piece created as part of the Sound Out Leeds series.

Performed at Hunslet’s Testbed, the groundbreaking piece is inspired by the acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, and will see turntables used as an instrument as they interact with a live orchestra.

Created in collaboration with acclaimed cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, “Parable” explores its source material’s themes of resilience, community and change, creating a dystopian world of sound.

Based in Leeds, DJ and radio broadcaster NikNak is also an Oram Award-winning turntablist, a form of music which sees artists manipulate sounds through techniques like scratching, beat juggling, and mixing, using turntables and a DJ mixer.

Speaking about her inspiration for the performance, NikNak said: “The themes of Parable of the Sower feel very relevant to our current times, and I wanted to channel those ideas into a musical and performance context. It’s a way to engage people with the book’s themes in a new medium.”

She added: “This commission blends turntablism and electronic music production elements with orchestral music in a way that feels fresh.

“What I’m doing with Chineke! Orchestra is creating a new piece from scratch, no pun intended, using turntables as an instrument alongside an orchestra. It’s something that doesn’t happen very often, and I’m very excited to bring this new, original work to life.”

Parable takes place at Testbed on May 1 at 8pm. Tickets and more information are available at: Parable – Concert Season

Aimed at supporting unconventional live experiences and a more accessible classical scene, Sound Out Leeds is produced by Leeds International Concert Season.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The breadth and diversity of the musical talent in Leeds is truly extraordinary and it’s wonderful that some of these amazing artists are being given such a unique chance to showcase what they can do.

“Seeing an eclectic programme of performers taking to the stage in their home city is genuinely inspiring for both audiences and aspiring Leeds artists.”

The Sound Out Leeds series is supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

ENDS

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Career Insight: Nadia, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

Case study

Career Insight: Nadia, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Nadia provides an insight into her training within HMRC Legal Group

I am a trainee solicitor, currently in my second seat, working in HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Legal Group’s VAT Litigation team. My current work includes conducting litigation and looking at the VAT treatment of certain supplies, like food, beauty procedures, books, and marketing deals from some big household names. A big part of the team’s work is also focusing on serious non-compliance fraud cases and various VAT avoidance schemes. Is Jaffa Cake a biscuit or a cake? That is the type of work you would be able to be involved in working for HMRC’s Legal Group.

When applying for a training contract at HMRC, I never truly understood what being a government lawyer would be like. As HMRC’s lawyers, we are protecting billions of pounds that are then given back to the community in the way of public services, like healthcare, police and many other areas funded by the taxpayers. It’s a ‘pinch-me’ moment knowing that your work is meaningful.

In my first seat in Business and Property Taxes Litigation team, and continuing into my second seat, I was given a lot of responsibility from the get-go. I am leading my own cases, managing clients that are experts in a tax field and working with the country’s best counsel. As a trainee, you get to experience various aspects of litigation, whether it is drafting statements of case, creating bundles, attending hearings, or even doing a bit of advocacy, you will not be bored. Some litigation teams are more fast paced than others, but that’s the beauty of it, you will be able to steer your training in the direction you want it to go.

I have truly enjoyed my time as a trainee so far and have been given the opportunity to get involved in work that I never thought I would be able to as a trainee. As strange as it may seem, the highlight of my first seat was when my counsel had suddenly fallen ill on the morning of an important hearing that I had been preparing for months. After dozens of calls with different Chambers, the tribunal, clients, and understandably very unhappy opposing counsel, we managed to adjourn the hearing. The feeling of accomplishment could not be described.

I would recommend a career at HMRC to anyone interested in public service and challenging, interesting, and meaningful work.

Updates to this page

Published 24 April 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: March 2025 Transaction Data

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

News story

March 2025 Transaction Data

This data provides information about the number and types of applications that HM Land Registry completed in March 2025.

NicoElNino/Shutterstock.com

Please note this data shows what HM Land Registry has been able to process during the time period covered and is not necessarily a reflection of market activity.

In March:

HM Land Registry completed over 1,974,150 applications to change or query the Land Register
the South East topped the table of regional applications with 444,651

HM Land Registry completed 1,974,155 applications in March compared with 1,806,500 in February 2025 and 1,865,589 last March 2024, of which:

295,653 were applications for register updates compared with 285,268 in February
1,097,576 were applications for an official copy of a register compared with 1,039,212 in February
263,960 were search and hold queries (official searches) compared with 181,553 in February
83,730 were transactions for value compared with 81,215 in February
15,564 were postal applications from non-account holders compared with 13,742 in February

Applications by region and country

Region/country	January applications	February applications	March applications
South East	422,822	401,605	444,651
Greater London	358,032	340,916	370,483
North West	216,304	207,672	227,167
South West	182,912	175,173	191,416
West Midlands	161,218	156,886	169,372
Yorkshire and the Humber	148,308	143,216	157,393
East Midlands	137,568	133,701	145,134
North	94,663	88,757	96,664
East Anglia	79,465	76,081	84,604
Isles of Scilly	78	64	77
Wales	85,239	82,335	87,088
England and Wales (not assigned)	105	94	106
Total	1,886,714	1,806,500	1,974,155

Top 5 local authority areas

March 2025 applications

Top 5 local authority areas	March applications
Birmingham	31,179
City of Westminster	26,760
North Yorkshire	22,416
Leeds	21,919
Cornwall	21,623

February 2025 applications

Top 5 local authority areas	February applications
Birmingham	28,871
City of Westminster	24,202
North Yorkshire	20,536
Leeds	20,118
Buckinghamshire	18,299

Top 5 customers

March 2025 applications

Top 5 customers	March applications
Infotrack Limited	212,489
Enact	35,812
O’Neill Patient	30,751
Landmark Information Group Ltd	29,962
Orbital Witness Limited	28,718

February 2025 applications

Top 5 customers	February applications
Infotrack Limited	184,284
Enact	32,041
O’Neill Patient	26,716
Landmark Information Group Ltd	26,444
Orbital Witness Limited	24,417

Access the full dataset on our Use land and property data service.

Next publication

Transaction Data is published on the 15th working day of each month. The April 2025 data will be published at 11am on Thursday 22 May 2025.

Published 24 April 2025

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

April 24, 2025

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK and Ukraine deepen community ties as part of 100 Year Partnership
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

UK and Ukraine deepen community ties as part of 100 Year Partnership

Thousands of school children across the UK and Ukraine have applied to take part in a landmark 100 Year Partnership programme between the two countries.
UK and Ukrainian schools flood applications for 100 Year Partnership programme as Prime Minister invites children to No10 to celebrate close links

Prime Minister says “partnership will deliver brighter futures for children in both countries”

Schools from Wales and Warwickshire to visit Downing Street tomorrow (Friday 25 April) to write to partnered schools in Ukraine

Comes as Ukraine launches a new stamp to mark special friendship between the two countries

Thousands of school children across the UK and Ukraine have applied to take part in a landmark 100 Year Partnership programme between the two countries, further cementing the unbreakable ties between the two countries.

Following the launch of the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership in January, more than 750 schools from across the UK and Ukraine applied to take part in the programme, fostering classroom friendships, cultural understanding and inspiring future generations of world leaders, diplomats and business leaders.

Thirty schools, including Number 219 School in Kyiv and All Saints Catholic Primary School in Anfield, who the Prime Minister joined a lesson between during his visit to Ukraine in January, have piloted the hugely successful programme.

A further 70 are being paired in the coming days, while the remainder will be supported through the British Council’s UK-Ukraine School Partnerships programme until further spots become available.

Children from several schools participating in the 100 Year Partnership school twinning programme will visit Downing Street tomorrow (Friday 25 April). The children, from YGG Pontybrenin, St Marie’s Catholic Primary School & Nursery and English Martyrs Catholic Primary School, will write letters to exchange with partnered schools in Ukraine, many of whom have spent hours attending school in bunkers during Russian drone and missile attacks.

The children will also mark the launch of a new commemorative stamp, designed by both the UK and Ukrainian governments, which will be entered into circulation by the Ukrainian postal service Ukrposhta from the end of this month.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

The unbreakable bond between the UK and Ukraine is often best reflected in the friendships formed among our children. These young minds are the architects of our future and security, fostering connections that transcend borders and cultures, and this partnership will deliver brighter futures for children in both countries.

Our support is not only about providing military assistance, which remains crucial in ensuring Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, but also about standing by Ukraine for generations to come, as it seeks a just and lasting peace.

That’s why our support matters not only now, but for our future, as all ages stand up for the values we hold dear, which are fundamental to our national security and Plan for Change.

This unique initiative supports schools to build lasting international partnerships, and explore reading as a tool to expand horizons, build confidence, and boost mental wellbeing.

In Kyiv, the British Embassy’s Chargée d’affaires, Charlotte Surun, attended the official launch ceremony of the new limited-edition stamp at the headquarters of the Ukrainian Post Office.

The launch was attended by children from Kyiv School Number 219 which the Prime Minister visited in January. The children wrote messages on postcards to the students at their twinned school, Liverpool All Saints, as well as messages to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.

Head of UK Schools at the British Council Shannon West said:

Creating opportunities for young people has been at the heart of the work of the British Council for the last 90 years.

We are delighted to be working with so many schools on this programme, which will give young people the international outlook and skills to thrive in our global society and strengthen ties between the UK and Ukraine.

The unbreakable bonds between the UK and Ukraine have been formalised through the landmark new 100 Year Partnership between the two countries, broadening and deepening the relationship across defence and non-military areas and enabling closer community links, such as this initiative.

Supporting Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s barbaric invasion and rebuild a prosperous, sovereign future, is vital to this government’s foundation of security and our Plan for Change.

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Published 24 April 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 24, 2025

MIL-OSI Security: NATO Summit media advisory

Source: NATO

The Netherlands will host a NATO Summit in The Hague on 24-25 June 2025. The meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General and will take place at the World Forum, Churchillplein 10, 2517 JW The Hague, Netherlands.
Media accreditation for the event is now open. See details below.
An international Media Centre, designated for the accredited media, will operate at the Summit venue from the 23 to 26 June 2025. Media representatives will access the premises through the Accreditation Office.

MEDIA ACCREDITATION IS OPEN

Media representatives wishing to cover the Summit in person (including those with an annual accreditation with NATO) will need to register here.
The deadline to register and apply for media accreditation is 6 June 2025, 23h59 CEST.
Media representatives need to apply as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for processing their requests. Due to high demand, late applications will not be considered.
NATO will confirm the accreditation by email, via the email address used to register, together with details about how media representatives can pick up their badges.
Due to high demand and space limitations, NATO recommends media organisations to limit their physical presence on site.
Media representatives will pick up their badge in-person in the Accreditation Office. It is mandatory to bring:
- the same ID document that you used to apply for accreditation online
- the same proof of media status (press card and/or Letter from your Editor) used for the registration
- and confirmation email (with QR code) in order to receive your pass.
In accordance with NATO media accreditation procedures, NATO reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of media representatives from media organisations who abuse their privileges, put the accreditation to improper use, or act in a way not consistent with the principles of the Organization.

ACCESS

The Accreditation Office will be the only point of entry and exit for the NATO Summit Media Centre.
The Accreditation Office will be located at Stadhouderslaan 15, The Hague. It will be accessible by city public transport (tram/bus), taxi, car or bike. There are no parking facilities nearby the venue. A passenger drop-off point and bicycle racks will be available.

OPENING HOURS

Times and dates are subject to change

	Accreditation Office	International Media Centre
Saturday 21 June	Open	Closed
Sunday 22 June	Open (PM)	Open (PM) for broadcasters only
Monday 23 June	Open	Open
Tuesday 24 June	Open	Open
Wednesday 25 June	Open	Open 24h
Thursday 26 June	Closed	Open until 2h00 a.m.

MEDIA PROGRAMME

The media programme will be available online at a later stage. To help with media travel plans, the Summit’s formal opening is on 24 June 2025, and its end in the afternoon on 25 June 2025.
Details about the programme and media logistics will be available in mid-June. Please check the NATO website and X accounts (@NATOPress and @NATO) for updates.
All summit media events will be transmitted live by the Summit Host TV to the media centre, online and via satellite. Bilateral events between delegations are not a part of the official Summit programme. Details of these bilateral events should be sought from the delegations concerned.

POOLS

Visual media will be able to cover the main summit events based on a pool system. More details about pool opportunities will be provided together with the media programme.
Journalists accepting a NATO pool position must share immediately all information and material collected while in the pool with any accredited media that request it, at no charge and with no restriction on the use of the material for news purposes. Media organisations that want pooled images should first contact the wire service / photo agency of which they are a client. Media representatives and news organisations must identify that it is pooled material every time it is used. Pooled material can only be used for legitimate news purposes and it cannot be sold.

MEDIA CENTRE – FACILITIES

The Media Centre will offer:
- A press working area, including CCTV, Wi-Fi as well as wired internet connection.
- A limited number of TV and radio editing booths.
- A press conference area with informal media huddle positions and briefing rooms of different sizes.
- An information desk and access to the NATO and Dutch media teams.
- Catering area.
- A limited number of outdoor and indoor stand-up positions.
- Limited area for satellite and TV van parking.
- Live video feed distribution (HDSDI 1080/50i BNC terminal)
- A fully equipped TV studio wired for live transmission (only for the leaders’ engagements).
- Limited space available for broadcasters wishing to set up their own area for live TV.
Working space in the Media Centre’s general working area does not need to be pre-booked and can be used on a first come-first-served basis.
The TV and radio editing booths, the indoor and outdoor stand-up positions as well as space for dedicated TV studios need to be booked in advance. Look for more details in the Broadcasting chapter bellow.

BROADCAST

NEP Groep/Wirtz Film will act as Host TV for the NATO Summit. All Summit events open to the media will be covered by the Host TV and will be available via satellite (on world feed), in the International Media Centre and on the NATO website.
Broadcast-quality B-roll will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal. Journalists need to register to the portal to be able to download videos: natomultimedia.tv/portal/Register.html. For more information, contact content@natomultimedia.tv.
Transcripts of the Secretary General’s public remarks, as well as pictures taken by NATO photographers will be available on the NATO website.
The Media Centre will include a limited number of bookable editing booths for television and radio. Requests for booking should be addressed to broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl before 6 June 2025.
The following complimentary amenities will be available in the editing booths:
- Desks and working space for 2 people;
- Light, electricity (230v on 2-pin distribution boards), lockable door;
- Wi-Fi and cabled internet;
- Access to the (main) video feed based on HDSDI1080i50 with 8ch embedded audio
Outdoor stand-up positions will be situated near the International Media Centre, with a view on the Summit venue. The indoor stand-up positions will have a view on the press filing area. All positions will be equipped with electrical power, internet connection, and have Summit branding elements. Outdoor positions will have a canopy in case of inclement weather.
Broadcasters who plan for continuous live coverage can book a dedicated stand-up position at broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl before 6 June 2025.
A fully equipped TV studio wired for live transmission will also be available only for the engagements with leaders and will be open for booking by national delegations.
Limited space is available for broadcasters who wish to set up their area for continuous live coverage. Basic amenities will be available (backdrop, basic furniture, access to electricity and internet). For bookings and further details please contact broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl before 6 June 2025.
There is very limited parking place available for broadcasters to park their satellite or TV vans near the Media Centre in the secure area. For reservations, send an e-mail to broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl. Broadcasters will be contacted separately with access information. Due to security restrictions, satellite trucks will be required to remain parked for the duration of the Summit. Access is possible on 22 or 23 of June 2025.
Distances from the SNG / TV vans compound to:
- Outdoor Stand-up positions: 600 m
- Indoor Stand-up positions: 450 m
- Workspaces/Editbooths: 550 m
- Indoor live TV areas (mentioned in para 29): 550 m
  For OB-trucks add another 170 m
Satellite and TV vans will have access to electrical power (380V/50Hz/5 pins CEE) and wired internet (50 Mb up/down). Broadcasters should bring their own cables to connect to the electric network. Pool feeds will be available at the SNG Compound (HD-SDI 1080i50)
Limited fibre connection from the editing booths area and interior stand-up positions will be available to the satellite and tv vans parking (for video HDSDI1080i50 or analogue line level audio). Specific requirements and technical questions can be sent to broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl.
Media representatives can bring their bulky equipment and satellite and tv vans to the Media Centre on 22 June 2025, upon appointment. Please send a request to broadcastoperations@mfasummits.nl before 13 June 2025. Media representatives will receive more detailed information of the procedure after sending an e-mail.
All wireless device usage at the NATO Summit must be pre-approved and registered with RDI. Due to the high demand for radio spectrum, special licensing, testing and tagging protocols will be enforced. To apply for a license, submit a request form to RDI with details of your equipment and intended use. Licenses are issued based on availability and priority.
For more information: Public events | Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI)

CATERING

Tea, coffee, water and snacks will be available free of charge during the opening hours of Media Centre. Hot meals will be available at set times, also free of charge.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND DEFENCE INDUSTRY EVENTS

There will be a flagship public diplomacy event, the NATO Public Forum, taking place on the Summit site on 24 and 25 June. The Forum is organised by the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, together with the host nation and three Dutch-based international think tanks – the Atlantic Commission, The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and the Netherlands Institute for International Relations Clingendael. The event will be livestreamed on NATO YouTube. A number of Heads of State and Government, Ministers and high-level international security policy experts are expected to speak. The agenda will be available closer to the Summit on natopublicforum.org.
NATO, the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Defence, and VNO-NCW, the largest employers’ organisation in the Netherlands, will organise the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum at the Summit venue, to facilitate high-level engagements of NATO, Allied Ministers and governments officials with executives from defence and non-defence industry, including from small and medium-size enterprises and start-ups. Details will be provided in due course.
Media representatives accredited to the Summit will have opportunities for direct coverage; details will be specified in the media program.

ACCOMMODATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Media representatives are invited to book accommodation in or close (Delft/Leiden) to The Hague by contacting the hotels directly. If useful, The Hague & Partners is well placed to provide guidance for accommodation.

TRAVELLING TO THE HAGUE FOR THE NATO SUMMIT – VISAS

Journalists who need a visa to enter The Netherlands will be responsible for making their own arrangements. More information on visa requirements is available on the webpage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands here: Check if you need a visa for the Netherlands | Travelling to the Netherlands | Government.nl

CONTACTS

Please send your enquiry to the appropriate email address:

NATO Summit Media Coordination
Ms Alina COCA – Summitmediaoperations@hq.nato.int

The Netherlands Media Coordination – mediaoperations@minbuza.nl

Media queries on substance (Summit content) and interview requests for NATO officials:

Contact the NATO Press Office

MIL Security OSI –

April 24, 2025

Category: Europe

24 April 2025

Angela and Her NOLA Brass Squad set to ignite the City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival with explos

Playhouse to bring acclaimed Jazz production for festival debut

Highland Council welcomes the positive Accounts Commission Best Value Report and acknowledges the need for transformation at pace.

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Government action to improve safety in young offender institutions

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Membership of the Building Control Independent Panel

Minister for Building Safety, Alex Norris MP, said:

The Chair for the Building Control Independent Panel, Dame Judith Hackitt said:

Background on the Building Control system

Notes to Editors

Panel members:

Elaine Bailey

Ken Rivers

Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP

Dr. David Snowball

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Promoting fake cures

HS2 Construction Commissioner’s report 32

Documents

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Russia’s missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians over Easter demonstrate its attitude towards peace: UK statement to the OSCE

Updates to this page

Invasion of Ukraine

Empathy and brain function

Career Insight: Joe, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Updates to this page

Career Insight: Nadia, Trainee Solicitor, HM Revenue & Customs

Updates to this page

March 2025 Transaction Data

Applications by region and country

Top 5 local authority areas

March 2025 applications

February 2025 applications

Top 5 customers

March 2025 applications

February 2025 applications

Next publication

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UK and Ukraine deepen community ties as part of 100 Year Partnership

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Head of UK Schools at the British Council Shannon West said:

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Updates to this page

Minister for Building Safety, Alex Norris MP, said: 

The Chair for the Building Control Independent Panel, Dame Judith Hackitt said: 

Background on the Building Control system  

Notes to Editors 

Elaine Bailey 

Ken Rivers 

Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP 

Dr. David Snowball 