NewzIntel.com

Category: Europe

  • MIL-OSI Russia: In the first quarter of 2025, about 7.6 thousand Muscovites signed contracts for apartments in new buildings under the renovation program

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    From January to March of this year, almost 7.6 thousand city residents became owners of comfortable housing under the renovation program. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of City Property Maxim Gaman.

    “Muscovites in the east of the city were the most active in signing contracts for housing in new buildings in the first quarter of this year. Over 2.7 thousand people became owners there in three months. Almost 1.5 thousand people received keys to comfortable apartments in the north, and over 1.1 thousand in the southeast. At all stages – from inspecting the housing to moving – participants in the renovation program are consulted by employees of information centers. This allows future new residents to resolve all issues related to resettlement as easily and as quickly as possible,” said Maxim Gaman.

    In January, the number of people who signed contracts was about 1.9 thousand people, in February – almost a third more, already 2.7 thousand. In March, contracts were signed by about three thousand city residents. All of them received apartments with improved finishing, plumbing and lighting fixtures.

    Modern residential complexes are built taking into account the criteria of a barrier-free environment. On the ground floors of new buildings there are rooms for concierges, pram rooms, as well as premises in which shops, service enterprises and social facilities will be opened.

    The areas around the new houses are landscaped, and the courtyards are equipped with children’s and sports playgrounds.

    Earlier Sergei Sobyanin told on resettlement under renovation in Timiryazevsky district.

    Renovation program approved in August 2017. It concerns about a million Muscovites and provides for the resettlement of 5,176 houses. Sergei Sobyanin instructed to double the pace of implementation of the renovation program.

    Moscow is one of the leaders among regions in terms of construction volumes. High rates of housing construction correspond to the goals and initiatives of the national project “Infrastructure for life”.

    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/nevs/ite/152640073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: New participant of weekend fairs supports SVO fighters

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    The application campaign for participation in the weekend fairs ended at the end of March. In total, more than a thousand trading places were distributed.

    Rotation occurs four times a year: participants from more than 40 regions of the country get the opportunity to take a place at the market for free, and regular sellers – to change the trading site. This season, as usual, Moscow weekend fairs have been replenished with new producers ready to offer residents of the capital high-quality and fresh products.

    Farming with a social mission

    Among the new participants is farmer Georgy from the Kirov region. He brings vegetables and fruits to Moscow. The man has been involved in agriculture for many years, and participation in weekend fairs gives him the opportunity to present his goods at the capital market.

    For Georgy, farming is not just a business, but an opportunity to contribute to the development of society. In addition to growing organic vegetables on their own plot, he and his brother are actively involved in the life of their region. Together with fellow villagers, they regularly organize the collection of humanitarian aid for the servicemen of the special military operation (SVO) – from long-term storage products (stewed meat, lard, honey, pickles) to warm clothes and essential goods.

    “Our parents raised us like this: if you can help with something, you should help. I try to show this to my children by my own example. They themselves already remind us when the next shipment is planned, help to collect food and things,” says Georgy.

    In addition to sending humanitarian aid to the front lines, farmers also support the families of SVO fighters: they send food packages and do minor household repairs. The initiative has already united dozens of local residents: some are engaged in procurement, and others – in delivery.

    The capital’s fairs feature products from more than 40 regions of Russia. Each supplier guarantees the quality and freshness of the goods, and specialists Veterinary Committee of the City of Moscow check them before sending them to the counter.

    More information about the activities of the capital Department of Trade and Services– in the official telegram channel.

    Participant of capital fairs helps fighters of SVO and residents of Belgorod region

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    https: //vv.mos.ru/nevs/ite/152641073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Tram parade: traffic will be restricted on a section of Shabolovka Street on April 19

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    On Saturday, April 19, traffic on Shabolovka Street will be temporarily restricted in connection with the tram parade.

    From 11:00 to 13:00 it will be impossible to drive along the section from Apakov Drive to house 6, building 10 on Shabolovka Street.

    In addition, on April 19, from 11:00 to 13:00, traffic will be closed for a short time (no more than 10 minutes) on a section of Shabolovka Street (from Building 6, Bldg. 10 to Serpukhovsky Val Street), Serpukhovsky Val (from Shabolovka Street to Bolshaya Tulskaya Street), Danilovsky Val (from Bolshaya Tulskaya Street to Kholodilny Lane), as well as in Kholodilny Lane (from Danilovsky Val Street to the Third Transport Ring) and in the local passage from Building 3, Bldg. 3 to Building 3 on Varshavskoye Shosse.

    Drivers are advised to choose alternative routes in advance. Up-to-date information can be found on the official website Traffic Management Center.

    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/nevs/ite/152642073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dedicated to the heroes. Moscow museum projects for the 80th anniversary of Victory

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    City museums are preparing special projects dedicated to the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. About what exhibitions can be seen in the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the State Museum of the Defense of Moscow and other cultural institutions – in the material mos.ru.

    “Dedicated to Heroes” at the Ilya Glazunov Gallery

    Dates: April 3 – December 30

    Address: Izmailovsky Boulevard, Building 30

    Age limit: 6

    The exhibition “Dedicated to Heroes” introduces the indomitable strength and courage of the Russian army, captured in the paintings of naive artists and in the works of masters of heroic popular prints. The exhibition presents works dedicated not only to the Great Patriotic War, but also to the stories of other military exploits over many centuries.

    Popular prints on military subjects are unique documents, they preserve the people’s memory of the exploits and glory of heroes. Many popular prints still serve as a source of knowledge about the military history of tsarist Russia.

    Buy tickets you can on mos.ru.

    “Immortal Regiment of Russian Geneticists” at the State Darwin Museum

    Dates: April 15 – June 29

    Address: Vavilov street, house 57, building 1

    Age limit: 12

    The scientists discussed at the thematic exhibition in the State Darwin Museum are the cream of Russian genetics. They made a great contribution to the overall victory. Among the front-line soldiers were famous practicing doctors of science who managed to distinguish themselves during the war years, many were awarded military orders and medals, and achieved high military ranks. Visitors will be able to see portraits of outstanding geneticists, learn about their scientific work, participation in military operations, and awards.

    You can visit the exhibition with an entrance ticket to the museum.

    “Hero Cities” at the State Museum of the Defense of Moscow

    Dates: April 18 – June 30

    Address: Michurinsky Prospect, Olympic Village, Building 3

    Age limit: 6

    The new exhibition will be dedicated to 12 cities of the Soviet Union and the Brest Fortress, which became famous for their heroic defense during the Great Patriotic War and received the titles of “Hero City” and “Hero Fortress”.

    The exhibition will feature unique items from the collection of the State Museum of the Defense of Moscow. The hero cities will be represented by graphics by Ivan Tsarevich, Vasily Medvedev, Pavel Baranov, Vasily Konovalov, Yaroslav Titov and other artists who fought at the front. The works reflect the mood of the war years: the will to win, the suffering of civilians and the hard work of soldiers. Each painting is a true portrait of the city.

    Buy tickets you can on mos.ru.

    “The Darwin Museum during the Great Patriotic War” at the State Darwin Museum

    Dates: April 22 – July 27

    Address: Vavilov street, house 57, building 1

    Age limit: 6

    Visitors will learn how the State Darwin Museum survived many difficult trials from 1941 to 1945, but did not stop its educational activities. The exhibition is based exclusively on items from the institution’s collections: photographs, archival materials, original and printed graphics.

    Already in the third week of the war, several employees went to the front with the people’s militia units, and 11 people continued to work in the museum, for whom it became a matter of honor to preserve the collections and throw the ideas reflected in them into the fight against the enemy.

    The specialists took patronage over several Moscow hospitals, where they carried out cultural and educational work. In a short period of time, they prepared lectures, supplemented with visual material. For example, the theme “Animals on the Fronts of the Great Patriotic War” was illustrated by paintings by Konstantin Flerov and Alexey Komarov, painted within the walls of the Darwin Museum during this difficult time.

    Entrance to the exhibition – with a museum ticket.

    Exhibition for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War at the Nikolai Ostrovsky Museum

    Dates: April 22 – June 29

    Address: Tverskaya street, house 14

    Age limit: 0

    Nikolai Ostrovsky was a figure inspiring Soviet people to feats – during the Great Patriotic War, not only military equipment but also military units of various purposes (for example, partisans) bore his name. The new exhibition will tell about the lives and feats of people united by a common goal.

    Visitors will see exhibits evacuated from the museum in August 1941, letters from frontline soldiers, and materials about the Ostrovsky family’s participation in the Great Patriotic War. The exhibition will feature documents and photographs from the institution’s employees’ archives, telling about their work at the front and support for servicemen in the rear.

    Among the interesting exhibits is the book “How the Steel Was Tempered”, donated by members of the Nikolai Ostrovsky partisan detachment, which was part of the Alexander Suvorov brigade. In rare moments of rest, the fighters were inspired by the story of Pavka Korchagin, whose main motto was the words: “Only forward, only to the line of fire, only through difficulties to victory.”

    Entrance to the exhibition – with a museum ticket.

    “Maestro, take off!” at the Cosmonautics Museum

    Dates: April 24 – October 6

    Address: Mira Avenue, Building 111

    Age limit: 6

    The 5th Guards Fighter Aviation Berlin Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky Regiment (5th GIAP) became the most effective air combat unit of the Great Patriotic War. The pilots carried out over 15 thousand combat sorties, destroyed over 700 enemy aircraft, inflicted great damage on ground troops, and collected important intelligence data.

    The profession of a pilot was extremely popular and in demand in the USSR in the first half of the 20th century. The exploits of its representatives had a huge impact on the younger generation: the flight of Valery Chkalov, the rescue of the Chelyuskinites, in which the future head of the first cosmonaut detachment Nikolai Kamanin took part, the dropping of the Victory Banner on the roof of the Reichstag (for this the 5th GIAP received the title of “Berlin”). Yuri Gagarin in his autobiography described a meeting with pilots during the occupation and his admiration for these amazing people: “In the morning the pilots flew away, leaving behind bright memories. Each of us wanted to fly, to be as brave and beautiful as they were. We experienced some strange, unknown feeling.” The first cosmonauts, whose childhood fell on the war years, became military pilots – thus the baton of heroes was passed on.

    The exhibition is based on the story of two people united by the goal of preserving the memory of the heroic past of their ancestors: the son of ace pilot Ivan Laveykin, Hero of the Soviet Union, USSR pilot-cosmonaut No. 61 Alexander Laveykin, and the great-grandson of sniper Vasily Zaytsev, Vladimir Donshin.

    Visitors will see the squadron’s authentic battle flag — a sacred symbol of the regiment, personifying the glory and valor of the military unit. Descendants of the heroes will help them learn their stories: the exhibition will feature documentary and photo materials, personal belongings, including priceless relics — uniforms and awards. One of the sections of the exhibition will be a large-scale video installation, which combines newsreel footage and fragments of the film “Only Old Men Are Going to Battle”. Among the artifacts on display is the heart of the legendary combat vehicle, the fiery engine. At the end of the exhibition, you can learn the story of the feat of Pyotr Kalsin, who was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but did not have time to receive the award, as he went missing.

    Entrance to the exhibition – with museum tickets.

    “And courage, like a banner, was carried” in the Alexander Shilov Gallery

    Dates: April 24 – May 30

    Address: Znamenka street, building 5

    Age limit: 6

    “Such concepts as love for the Motherland, readiness to defend it, the image of a person standing guard over the Fatherland have always been very close to me,” says Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, People’s Artist of the USSR Alexander Shilov. The theme of the Great Patriotic War is one of the main ones in his work, portraits of veterans are a genuine chronicle of the war years created by the artist. With these images, Alexander Shilov tells about courage, patriotism, high human dignity of people who went through severe trials. His heroes were generals and doctors, pilots and sailors, partisans, intelligence officers and ordinary soldiers.

    Over the years of his work, the master has created the history of Russia in faces. The exhibition will feature the following portraits: “On Victory Day. Machine Gunner P.P. Shorin”, “Sister of Mercy (Elena Mikhailovna Ogneva)”, “Special Purpose Partisan M. Stroganov”, “War Veteran I.F. Rubtsov”, “Hero of the Soviet Union Attack Pilot V.B. Yemelyanenko”, “Participant in the Victory Parade Colonel N.A. Gorbachev”, “Hero of the Soviet Union Intelligence Officer G.A. Vartanyan” and a number of other paintings. More than 50 portraits, each with its own story, its own destiny. You can get acquainted with them at the exhibition “And Courage, Like a Banner, They Carried”.

    Tickets – on mos.ru.

    “Victory Salute” at the State Museum of the Defense of Moscow

    Dates: April 25 – August 31

    Address: Michurinsky Prospect, Olympic Village, Building 3

    Age limit: 6

    On May 9, 1945, to commemorate the victory over Germany, a special salute was given in Moscow: 30 artillery salvos from one thousand guns, accompanied by the cross-beams of 160 searchlights and the launch of multi-colored rockets.

    The Victory Salute is an exceptional event with unique aesthetics and impeccable organization based on engineering and management solutions that were unique for its time. The exhibition at the State Museum of Defense of Moscow will tell the story of this most regulated festive event. The exposition will feature paintings, photographs, and rare materials from personal archives.

    Tickets are available for purchase on mos.ru.

    “With faith in the victory of life…” in the panorama museum “Battle of Borodino”

    Dates: April 29 – July 20

    Address: Kutuzovsky Prospect, Building 38, Building 1

    Age limit: 12

    The exhibition will feature drawings by Nikolai Zhukov, Leonid Golovanov, Vladimir Gorbachenko, Anatoly Gorpenko, Pavel Kirpichev, Yuri Tsishevsky, Dmitry Pyatkin and other front-line artists. They showed how peaceful life was gradually reviving in the territories liberated from occupation. At the same time, the drawings are filled with tragic signs of war, reminding us that battles had recently taken place here. But these works are characterized by faith in victory, historical optimism and humanism.

    You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

    “Victory Park. Images of Memory in Contemporary Russian Art” at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art

    Dates: April 30 – August 24

    Address: Petrovka street, house 25, building 1

    Age limit: 6

    The exhibition at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War focuses on modern sculptural monuments. Each room will feature photographs, texts and other exhibits to present a monument, and works from the museum’s collection will be gathered around it.

    Visitors will be able to see how the themes of war and Victory have been represented over the last three decades. These events, which in one way or another touched every corner of the country, became a powerful impulse for artists who created countless works throughout Russia and beyond. The exhibition will feature photographs, texts and graphics created at the front, as well as works by veteran and nonconformist artists such as Ernst Neizvestny, Nikolai Vechtomov, Vadim Sidur and other masters.

    Tickets are available for purchase on mos.ru.

    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/nevs/ite/152643073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The director of the project “Smersh. 1944” spoke about filming in the cinema park “Moskino”

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    Ahead of the premiere of the action-packed detective film with elements of a thriller, SMERSH. 1944, the project’s director, Mikhail Kabanov, shared his impressions of the filming at the Moskino cinema park. They took place on the Vitebsk Station, Moscow in the 1940s, and County Town locations.

    “The Moskino Cinema Park became a virtual salvation for the SMERSH. 1944 series during the filming of a historical war movie. It is very convenient for production. We need historical Moscow – it is there, and different, we need a village from the times of the Great Patriotic War – it is there too. A concentration camp, a train station, and now there are even more of them, because during the filming the construction of new facilities did not stop. With such a number of different sites, it is even easier to write scripts, knowing in advance where it is possible to film. The Moskino Cinema Park is a vital facility for the future of Russian films, and I am glad that our group has already joined the ranks of teams filming series and full-length films in this wonderful place,” said Mikhail Kabanov.

    Filming of the action series about the clash between the secret intelligence services of the USSR and Nazi Germany during the Great Patriotic War also took place in the Moscow region, Kostroma and Yaroslavl.

    Line producer of the project “Smersh. 1944” Marina Platova noted that the cinema park “Moskino” is developing rapidly and allows to easily implement many ideas that are very difficult to implement in the city: filming driveways, shots using pyrotechnics. The cinema park is a concentration of objects for historical projects that are now difficult to find.

    Marina Platova organizes filming and coordinates the filming process. For her, nuances are always important, each of which affects the speed and quality of work: the distance of the parking lot from the site, the possibility of delivering and installing equipment and scenery, infrastructure and safety. All these and many other issues in the cinema park can be quickly resolved.

    According to the plot, the events of the series unfold in 1944. Victory is close, but the Germans are desperately looking for a way to turn the tide of the war and defeat the Soviet army. To do this, they actively use their intelligence. Two SMERSH counterintelligence captains Konstantin Lavrov and Pavel Semenov enter into a deadly battle with the enemy. On the front lines and in the rear, risking their lives, they carry out the most difficult tasks of the command, disrupting the plans of the Germans.

    The main characters were played by Igor Petrenko and Vladislav Kotlyarsky. The series also starred Lyanka Gryu, Anastasia Mikulchina, Pavel Kharlanchuk, Sergey Ivanyuk, Sergey Komarov, Leonid Gromov and other actors. The premieres of the first parts of the franchise – “SMERSH” and “SMERSH. Continuation” – took place in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

    The Moskino cinema park is part of Sergei Sobyanin’s “Moscow – City of Cinema” project and an object of the Moscow cinema cluster, which is being developed by the capital Department of CultureThe first stage of creation has already been completed here: 24 natural sites, four pavilions and six infrastructure facilities have been built, including the sets of “Center of Moscow”, “Moscow in the 1940s”, “Vitebsk Station”, “Yurovo Airport”, “Cathedral Square of Moscow”, “Deaf Village”, “County Town”, “Cowboy Town”, “St. Petersburg Bar” and other sites.

    The Moscow Film Cluster is an infrastructure facility, services and facilities for filmmakers, which are being developed by the Moscow Government within the framework of the Moscow — City of Cinema project. Its structure includes the Moskino film park, the Gorky Film Studio (sites on Sergei Eisenstein Street and Valdaisky Proyezd), the Moskino film factory, the Moskino cinema chain, the film commission and the Moskino film platform.

    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/nevs/ite/152622073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: “I’ll Become a Mom”: Muscovites are offered a new way to tell their loved ones about pregnancy

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    A unique campaign has begun at 20 women’s consultation centers and women’s health centers as part of the “I’ll Become a Mom” project. Muscovites who are expecting a baby are offered a new way to share the good news with their loved ones. This was reported in the capital’s Department of Health.

    Colourful mailboxes have been installed in the waiting areas. Expectant mothers, having learned about their pregnancy or the sex of the baby, will be able to choose a postcard, sign it and send it to their relatives by mail free of charge directly from the medical institution.

    “Becoming a mother is a great happiness, and pregnancy can be compared to a journey, where every moment is unique and filled with meaning – it is a time of hope and expectation of a miracle. And so that future mothers can share their emotions and originally announce pregnancy or who will be born – a boy or a girl, we launched a joint campaign with “Russian Post”, within the framework of which you can send a thematic postcard with a warm message to loved ones without leaving the antenatal clinic or women’s health center,” said Nadezhda Sokolova, head of the women’s health center of the City Clinical Hospital No. 15 named after O.M. Filatov.

    The project “I’ll Become a Mom” is a sincere expression of concern for the health of women living in a large city. It was developed by leading reproductive specialists and obstetricians-gynecologists and allows every woman to learn about the state of her body, plan a pregnancy and, if necessary, use advanced medical technologies that will help preserve the opportunity to become a mother in the future.

    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/nevs/ite/152654073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Half of Australian landlords sell their investments after 2 years, adding to renters’ insecurity

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ranjodh B. Singh, Senior Economics and Finance Lecturer, Curtin University

    Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock

    Australia’s renters have to battle rising rents and a lack of available properties. They also face ongoing instability. Our new research suggests half of all landlords sell their investment properties after only two years, adding to renters’ insecurity.

    Our study released by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, models the behaviour of landlords using longitudinal data from 2001 to 2021. It looks at what motivates small-scale investors to buy, sell or keep their rental properties.

    This work can inform future planning for the private rental sector, which has been projected to continue expanding. Both Labor and the Coalition were strongly criticised for making little mention of renters or supply in their housing policies released on Sunday.

    The short-term owners

    Those landlords who got rid of their investment after two years, sometimes sooner, often did so because they hadn’t counted on the additional costs of property ownership or their circumstances changed because they divorced or lost their job.

    While younger people aged 25–34 years were more likely to buy a rental
    property compared to other age groups, this group was also more likely to sell their property sooner.

    Landlords who sold after two years or less, were more likely to be women, unemployed, unmarried and with low-to-moderate incomes.

    How this makes renting less secure

    Landlords who sell after a relatively short investment period disrupt the supply of private rental housing, which can potentially have a negative impact on both tenant security and affordability.

    This includes unplanned moves for renters after a notice period, as well as possible increases in the amount of rent they have to pay. This type of exposure to precarious housing conditions adversely affects the wellbeing of tenants.

    This is especially important given that the share of private renters in Australia has risen over the last 20 years and there is ongoing concern about affordability among private renters. Private renters now represent about 30% of the market.

    What motivates landlords?

    Understanding the factors that increase the likelihood of landlords holding onto a property will contribute to tenure security in the rental sector.

    These landlords tend to have higher educational qualifications, higher incomes and smaller mortgages on their own homes. As such, these landlords are financially stable and are able to withstand the higher economic costs of holding a rental property.

    Our findings show there is value in establishing programs that offer education on property investment. This could support landlords’ efforts to hold their rental properties. It could also increase the supply of long-term rental housing for tenants.

    As well, there should be more rigorous financial risk assessments by lenders and appropriate regulations so those who buy rental investment properties can afford to hold them.

    Potential impact of policy changes

    Policy changes that affect the costs of supplying rental housing for landlords could also have affordability consequences for renters.

    Landlords will only continue to invest in the rental market if market conditions offer them income relative to their property values.

    For instance, policy changes that apply long-term freezes to rent increases will reduce rental yields for landlords. This might in turn hurt the supply of rental properties available to renters.

    Changes to policies affecting landlords’ tax positions could also have major impacts on whether they keep their rental investment over time.

    For instance, if changes are made to capital gains tax and interest rates that directly increase the landlord’s cost of holding an investment property, they will likely pass these costs on to tenants.

    As a consequence, rents would become less affordable. Any changes to tax settings that affect landlords need to be rolled out incrementally. This will avoid destabilising rental markets and reducing the supply of housing available for tenants.

    Why we need a secure rental market

    Increasing the supply of private rental dwellings would help make renting more affordable.

    Individuals who can afford investment properties add to the supply of private rental stock. And if they can hold their rentals for long periods, the rental market becomes even more secure.

    Those who can’t hold their rental investments for long can disrupt the supply of private rental housing, with potentially negative impacts on affordability and security.

    Our study has focused on individual landlords, which make up the majority of suppliers of rental housing in Australia. However, improving tenure security for renters will require more than just encouraging a stable flow of rental housing from individual landlords.

    For instance, increasing institutional investment in rental stock might result in more diverse and affordable housing options for renters.

    Social housing is also a crucial source of secure housing for those who cannot compete in the private rental market. There is now an urgent need to redress decades of under-investment in social housing in Australia.

    Ranjodh B. Singh has received funding from AHURI.

    Chris Leishman receives funding from AHURI, SMCA, ARC, ESRC, the Office of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Scottish Government, UK Government, Welsh Government, Northern Ireland Government, South Australia Government. He is a non-executive director of Housing Choices Australia, a Trustee for the UK’s Housing Studies Charitable Trust, Chair of the Australasian Housing Studies Association, editor of the Urban Studies journal, guest editor of the Regional Studies, Regional Studies journal. He is not a member of any political party in any country.

    Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project FT200100422). She also receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

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

    – ref. Half of Australian landlords sell their investments after 2 years, adding to renters’ insecurity – https://theconversation.com/half-of-australian-landlords-sell-their-investments-after-2-years-adding-to-renters-insecurity-254578

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Zelensky meets Rutte on Ukrainian, European security

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on Tuesday with visiting North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Ukrainian and European security, the presidential press service reported.

    At the meeting in Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa, Zelensky and Rutte discussed various formats of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO member states, including in Ramstein format.

    The talks also focused on Ukraine’s relations with the U.S. and Washington’s efforts in negotiations with Russia.

    The report said Zelensky accused Russia of “ignoring the U.S. proposal for a full ceasefire” and continuing its strikes on Ukraine.

    Emphasizing the need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, Zelensky voiced hope for the implementation of air defense-related agreements with partners in Europe and the U.S.

    He also noted that the UK, France, and other NATO countries are actively laying the foundation for a security contingent in Ukraine.

    For his part, Rutte reaffirmed that the alliance will continue to stand with Ukraine.

    According to him, in the first three months of this year, NATO member states pledged over 20 billion euros (about 22.5 billion U.S. dollars) in security assistance to Ukraine for 2025.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi’s Vietnam visit highlights ‘camaraderie plus brotherhood’

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

    HANOI, April 16 — On a balmy April morning in Hanoi, the second floor of the Hanoi International Convention Center hummed with anticipation, as representatives attending the Chinese and Vietnamese People’s Friendship Meeting waited eagerly to welcome a special guest from China.

    Around 10 a.m. (0300 GMT), Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, walked into the venue alongside General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and Vietnamese President Luong Cuong. They strolled along the red carpet, smiling and waving to the hundreds of Chinese and Vietnamese delegates gathering there.

    Smiles, joy and applause filled the room. It felt, in many ways, like a family reunion.

    The Tuesday event was part of Xi’s fourth visit to Vietnam in a decade and his first overseas tour of the year. During each trip, he would quote on multiple occasions late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh’s famous description of China-Vietnam relations — a bond of “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”

    That sentiment echoed in his speech on Tuesday, as he traced the deep historical ties between the two nations.

    The China-Vietnam friendship took root in the mutual support between the two peoples, Xi said, adding that they fought shoulder to shoulder for the just cause of national independence and liberation, and created a shared revolutionary legacy that shaped their deep friendship featuring “camaraderie plus brotherhood.”

    For Nguyen Vinh Quang, vice president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, the expression of “camaraderie plus brotherhood” remains the “best testament to that shared history of standing together through storm and stress, with unwavering loyalty.”

    “During Vietnam’s resistance wars against France and the United States, we received selfless assistance from China. It is a fact no one can or should ever forget,” he said.

    During his previous visits to Vietnam, Xi consistently emphasized the importance of passing on the traditional friendship between China and Vietnam to the younger generation. For him, the foundation of China-Vietnam friendship lies between the two peoples, and the future of this friendship will be created by the young people.

    When meeting with Chinese and Vietnamese youth representatives during his visit to Vietnam in 2015, Xi expressed a firm belief that the traditional China-Vietnam friendship will certainly span the long river of history, growing even deeper and newer in spite of time.

    When meeting representatives of young Chinese and Vietnamese and people who have contributed to the China-Vietnam friendship during his visit in 2023, Xi expressed the hope that the young people will take the lead in promoting bilateral friendship.

    On Tuesday, Xi said that in the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for “Red Study Tours,” where they will explore the revolutionary heritage that underpins the bilateral friendship, and experience the dynamism of Chinese modernization.

    The launch of the “Red Study Tours” reflects both sides’ commitment to cherishing their shared revolutionary heritage, said Dao Ngoc Bau, director of the Institute of International Relations under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

    This initiative will help strengthen the friendship between the two peoples, particularly between the younger generations, he said.

    One of the attendees, Nguyen Quang Minh, a lecturer at Vietnam’s University of Transport and Communications, said he sensed from the speech “a steadfast resolve of China and Vietnam to pursue development hand in hand.”

    “Looking ahead,” he said, “the younger generations of both countries will draw strength from their shared history to drive mutual prosperity and progress.”

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 16, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 16, 2025.

    Trump’s racist, corrupt agenda – like a bank robbery in broad daylight
    EDITORIAL: By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal US President Donald Trump and his team is pursuing a white man’s racist agenda that is corrupt at its core. Trump’s advisor Elon Musk, who often seems to be the actual president, is handing his companies multiple contracts as his team takes over or takes

    Why the Coalition’s tone-deaf diss track was bound to hit all the wrong notes
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Ward, Senior Lecturer in Music, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the Sunshine Coast Hip-hop is a cultural powerhouse that has infiltrated every facet of popular culture, across a global market. That said, one place you usually don’t see it is on the election

    Homelessness – the other housing crisis politicians aren’t talking about
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Parsell, Professor, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland Igor Corovic/Shutterstock Measures to tackle homelessness in Australia have been conspicuously absent from the election campaign. The major parties have rightly identified deep voter anxiety over high house prices. They have responded with a raft of

    Superb fairy-wrens’ songs hold clues to their personalities, new study finds
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Diane Colombelli-Négrel, Senior Lecturer, Animal Behaviour, Flinders University Two superb fairy-wrens (_Malurus cyaneus_). ARKphoto/Shutterstock When we think of bird songs, we often imagine a cheerful soundtrack during our morning walks. However, for birds, songs are much more than background music – they are crucial to attract a

    ‘De-extinction’ of dire wolves promotes false hope: technology can’t undo extinction
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martín Boer-Cueva, Ecologist and Environmental Consultant, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Colossal Biosciences Over the past week, the media have been inundated with news of the “de-extinction” of the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) – a species that went extinct about 13,000 years ago. The breakthrough has been achieved

    Students are neither left nor right brained: how some early childhood educators get this ‘neuromyth’ and others wrong
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate E. Williams, Professor of Education, University of the Sunshine Coast MalikNalik/ Shutterstock Many teachers and parents know neuroscience, the study of how the brain functions and develops, is important for children’s education. Brain development is recommended as part of teacher education in universities. Neuroscience is even

    Trump’s trade war puts America’s AI ambitions at risk
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Zomaya, Professor, School of Computer Science, University of Sydney remotevfx.com/Shutterstock The global trade war triggered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month shows no signs of ending anytime soon. In recent days, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals that are vital

    More bulk billing is fine. But what the health system really needs this election is genuine reform
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Worrying signs are emerging about aspects of Australia’s health system, which will require the attention of whoever wins the May election. Despite big money

    Half way through the campaign, how are the major party leaders faring?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Honorary Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney More than two weeks in, we know one thing for sure. This time, the election campaign does matter. In decades past, when voters were more loyally rusted on to the major parties, news

    Safe seat syndrome? Why some hospitals get upgrades and others miss out
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anam Bilgrami, Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University On his campaign trail, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged A$200 million to upgrade St John of God Midland Public Hospital in Perth. He promised more beds and operating theatres, and a redesigned obstetrics

    Allowing forests to regrow and regenerate is a great way to restore habitat
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Thomas, PhD candidate in Environmental Policy, The University of Queensland Cynthia A Jackson, Shutterstock Queensland is widely known as the land clearing capital of Australia. But what’s not so well known is many of the cleared trees can grow back naturally. The latest state government figures

    A century after its discovery, scientists capture first confirmed footage of a colossal squid in the deep
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kat Bolstad, Associate professor, Auckland University of Technology The colossal squid was first described in 1925 based on specimens from the stomach of a commercially hunted sperm whale. A century later, an international voyage captured the first confirmed video of this species in its natural habitat –

    Students are neither left or right brained: how some early childhood educators get this ‘neuromyth’ and others wrong
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate E. Williams, Professor of Education, University of the Sunshine Coast MalikNalik/ Shutterstock Many teachers and parents know neuroscience, the study of how the brain functions and develops, is important for children’s education. Brain development is recommended as part of teacher education in universities. Neuroscience is even

    Pagan loaves, Christian bread, a secular treat: a brief history of hot cross buns
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University Jasmine Waheed/Unsplash Hot cross buns aren’t just a sweet snack that appears around Easter. They carry centuries of storytelling in their dough. From ancient gods to modern supermarkets, these sticky spiced buns have crossed many borders and beliefs. Today,

    US-China trade war leaves NZ worse off, but still well placed to weather the storm – new modelling
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niven Winchester, Professor of Economics, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Forecasting the potential impact of Donald Trump’s turbulent tariff policies is a fraught business – and fraught for business. The United States president has changed, paused and exempted various categories of goods so often, the only

    Caitlin Johnstone: Every day the Gaza holocaust continues, the empire tells the truth about itself
    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone Every day the Gaza holocaust continues, the Western empire tells the truth about itself. The US government is telling you the truth about itself. Israel is telling you the truth about itself. Their Western allies are telling you the truth about themselves.

    PNG’s ‘chief servant’ James Marape defeats no-confidence vote
    By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has survived a motion of no confidence against him in Parliament. During the proceedings, livestreamed on EMTV, Speaker Job Pomat announced the results of the vote as 16 votes in favour and 89 against. In moving the motion, the member for Abau,

    Does Russia have military interest in Indonesia? Here’s what we know – and why Australia would be concerned
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A news report that Russia has sought to base long-range aircraft in Indonesia caught Australia’s political leaders by surprise during an already hectic election campaign. The military publication Janes

    Obama praises Harvard for ‘setting example’ to universities resisting Trump
    Asia Pacific Report Former US President Barack Obama has taken to social media to praise Harvard’s decision to stand up for academic freedom by rebuffing the Trump administration’s demands. “Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make

    Election Diary: for a few hours, it seemed possible the Russians might be coming
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra For a few hours on Tuesday afternoon, it seemed just possible the Russians might be sending their planes to a base very near us. A claim on the military and intelligence site Janes that said the Russians were seeking to

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ernst, McClain Halt Tax Dollars to China

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
    WASHINGTON – As Americans fork over their hard-earned money to the government on Tax Day, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) are introducing the Accountability in Foreign Animal Research Act (AFAR) Act to end the insane practice of funding sketchy animal experiments in China with American tax dollars.
    The bill would ban the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding experiments similar to the gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that many experts believe led to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    “We should have learned our lesson after COVID-19,” said Ernst. “Whether creating zombie cats in Russia, supporting risky research in Wuhan, or funding sketchy experiments on animals in foreign labs, I am cutting off the money for this madness and ensuring that taxpayers no longer foot the bill for crazy pseudoscience overseas.”
    “American taxpayer dollars should never fund dangerous, cruel experiments in animal research labs – much less in China or other adversarial countries,” said McClain. “This common-sense legislation ensures taxpayer dollars are not wasted on reckless research.”
    “White Coat Waste applauds Sen. Joni Ernst for reintroducing the AFAR Act just in time for Tax Day because Americans’ hard-earned money shouldn’t be wasted on funding foreign adversaries’ animal labs,” said Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at government watchdog White Coat Waste. “As White Coat Waste first exposed in Wuhan five years ago, shipping taxpayer dollars to unaccountable animal testing labs in China and other adversarial nations is a recipe for disaster. Despite our progress since 2020 and in the first few months of the new Trump Administration, we’ve uncovered how twenty Chinese animal labs are still eligible to receive taxpayers’ money, including one that’s currently abusing 300 beagles a week in wasteful and cruel NIH-funded drug tests. Cutting cash for foreign enemies’ animal labs is common sense, consistent with Trump priorities, and backed by over 70 percent of taxpayers. Stop the money. Stop the madness!”
    Background:
    Ernst has long fought to stop tax dollars from being sent overseas for risky research.
    An Ernst-requested investigation exposed how EcoHealth sent over $1 million U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for risky experiments on bat coronaviruses. She also secured an audit by the Department of Defense’s Inspector General of risky research in China paid for by the Pentagon and hidden from the public. 
    She led the charge to permanently debar the Wuhan Institute of Virology and defund EcoHealth Alliance from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars.
    Ernst efforts also led to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defunding EcoHealth and promising to cut off any taxpayer dollars used for research of pandemic potential.
    In her $2 trillion blueprint to slash waste in Washington, Ernst pointed to the millions being sent to China for secretive risky research.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese shipbuilder delivers 24,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    A subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) on Tuesday delivered an ultra-large 24,000-TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container ship to France’s CMA CGM Group.

    Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. delivered the vessel, CMA CGM SEINE, in Shanghai, marking the completion of the CSSC’s breakthrough construction of the world’s first ultra-large dual-fuel container ship. The dual-fuel power system allows the shipping company to use LNG or oil to power the ship.

    The vessel, which is 399 meters long and 61.3 meters wide, can carry 220,000 tonnes of goods. It can accommodate a total of 23,876 TEU containers, including up to 2,200 standard refrigerated containers. It is the first of four such vessels ordered by the French container shipping giant.

    With an 18,600-cubic-meter fuel bunker fully loaded with LNG, the ship can sail nearly 20,000 nautical miles.

    Compared to oil-powered container vessels of the same size, the ship emits approximately 20 percent less carbon dioxide and up to 85 percent less nitrogen oxides.

    The vessel is scheduled to be launched on a Far East-Europe route on April 18.

    To date, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding has delivered 17 container ships to CMA CGM Group, including 12 dual-fuel vessels. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: 16 April 2025 News release WHO Member States conclude negotiations and make significant progress on draft pandemic agreement

    Source: World Health Organisation

    After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May. The proposal aims to strengthen global collaboration on prevention, preparedness and response to future pandemic threats.

    In December 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO Member States established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument, under the WHO Constitution, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

    Following 13 formal rounds of meetings, nine of which were extended, and many informal and intersessional negotiations on various aspects of the draft agreement, the INB today finalized a proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The outcome of the INB’s work will now be presented to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly for its consideration.

    “The nations of the world made history in Geneva today,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats. I thank WHO’s Member States, and their negotiating teams, for their foresight, commitment and tireless work. We look forward to the World Health Assembly’s consideration of the agreement and – we hope – its adoption.”

    Proposals within the text developed by the INB include establishing a pathogen access and benefit sharing system; taking concrete measures on pandemic prevention, including through a One Health approach; building geographically diverse research and development capacities; facilitating the transfer of technology and related knowledge, skills and expertise for the production of pandemic-related health products; mobilizing  a skilled, trained and multidisciplinary national and global health emergency workforce; setting up a coordinating financial mechanism; taking concrete measures to strengthen preparedness, readiness and health system functions and resilience; and establishing a global supply chain and logistics network.

    The proposal affirms the sovereignty of countries to address public health matters within their borders, and provides that nothing in the draft agreement shall be interpreted as providing WHO any authority to direct, order, alter or prescribe national laws or policies, or mandate States to take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.

    Dr Tedros paid tribute to the members of the Bureau who guided the INB process: Co-Chairs Ms Precious Matsoso (South Africa) and Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou (France), and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Egypt), Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Thailand); and Ms Fleur Davies (Australia). Past members included former Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece (the Netherlands), and former Vice-Chairs Ambassador Honsei (Japan) and Mr Ahmed Soliman (Egypt). The Director-General also acknowledged the constant support provided by WHO Secretariat colleagues.

    INB Co-Chair Ms Matsoso said: “I am overjoyed by the coming together of countries, from all regions of the world, around a proposal to increase equity and, thereby, protect future generations from the suffering and losses we suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The negotiations, at times, have been difficult and protracted. But this monumental effort has been sustained by the shared understanding that viruses do not respect borders, that no one is safe from pandemics until everyone is safe, and that collective health security is an aspiration we deeply believe in and want to strengthen.”

    Fellow INB Co-Chair, Ambassador Amprou, said the draft agreement is a major step in strengthening the global health security architecture so people of the world would be better protected from the next pandemic.

    “In drafting this historic agreement, the countries of the world have demonstrated their shared commitment to preventing and protecting everyone, everywhere, from future pandemic threats,” Ambassador Amprou said. “While the commitment to prevention through the One Health approach is a major step forward in protecting populations, the response will be faster, more effective and more equitable. This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity.”

    The INB was established in December 2021, at a special session of the World Health Assembly , bringing together Member States and relevant stakeholders, including international organizations, private sector, and civil society. At the World Health Assembly in  June 2024, governments made concrete commitments to complete negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year. The upcoming Assembly starting 19 May 2025 will consider the proposal developed by the INB and take the final decision on whether to adopt the instrument under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Doggett and Other House Democrats Introduce Major Russian Sanctions, Ukraine Assistance Bill

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)

    Contact: Alexis.Torres@mail.house.gov

    Washington, D.C.—As President Trump defends Russia’s deadliest attack against Ukrainian civilians this year and continues to parrot Kremlin propaganda blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war, U.S. Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-TX); Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Steny Hoyer (D-MD), former Majority Leader; William Keating (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Europe Subcommittee; and Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, introduced a comprehensive bill to support Ukraine and thwart Russia’s ability to wage its brutal, illegal war. 

    Specifically, the legislative package imposes numerous sanctions and other economic measures against Russia, sustains defensive security assistance to Ukraine, generates resources for post-war reconstruction, and overrides presidential actions to terminate existing sanctions without cause. The bill would also enact new sanctions and export control authorities to place additional pressure on Russia, including to curb tankers carrying Russian oil above the international price cap and to ensure dual-use controls on semiconductors and other technologies that could be used to support Russia’s weapons capabilities.

    The morning after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, which is now the deadliest war in Europe since World War II, Rep. Doggett filed the first sanctions legislation against Russia and remains a steadfast, ironclad supporter of Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. This legislative package builds on his bill banning Russian energy that was signed into law and includes two provisions he authored to strengthen the current ban on Russian petroleum products laundered into the United States and leverage frozen Russian sovereign assets to establish a reconstruction trust fund for Ukraine.

     A section-by-section of the legislation can be found here. A PDF of the bill can be found here.

    “I’m pleased to join this comprehensive bill, including provisions I authored to stop laundered Russian oil imports and to use frozen Russian assets for compensation to Ukrainians. We support Ukraine and reaffirm our recognition of Putin as a war criminal with sole responsibility for the war. And we strongly reject appeasement by Trump and his Republican enablers of Putin, who should bear the ever-mounting costs of his ongoing destruction. The world is watching whether America will remain a beacon of hope, standing with our democratic allies, or drift itself into Russian-style authoritarianism,” said Rep. Doggett. 

     “The US-led international response to Russia’s illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has isolated Moscow as a global pariah, devastated the Kremlin’s capacity to fund this war, and provided essential support to the Ukrainians fighting for freedom. Now is not the time to ease up on this successful approach nor put pressure solely on the victim, Ukraine. The U.S. must remain committed to shoring up Ukraine’s ability to negotiate a just, acceptable end to this war and to holding Russia – and those supporting its illegal invasion – accountable for as long as Putin’s war of choice continues. This weekend’s missile attack in Sumy that claimed dozens of civilian lives, including children, further demonstrates the barbarity Russia has used to sow terror throughout this war, and the need to impose serious consequences for its atrocities. Make no mistake – Vladimir Putin started this war. He is a bully with no respect for peace, Ukrainian sovereignty, or international norms, and he will only end this illegal war when the world compels him to,” said Ranking Member Meeks.

     “Our allies in Ukraine are on the front lines of freedom – fighting not only for their nations’ sovereignty but also against authoritarianism worldwide. I am glad to join my colleagues in introducing urgently needed legislation that will support our allies in Ukraine and invest in their recovery through tougher sanctions on Russian oil exports, security and military assistance, and dual use export provisions. Importantly, this legislation also includes provisions that will allow the Congress, a coequal branch of government, to advance resolutions of disapproval if the President waves his authority – and assert with our own voice that Ukraine has bipartisan support in the United States,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer. “I thank Ranking Member Greg Meeks for his work to put together comprehensive legislation that reflects our values, strengthens our democracy, and ensures the United States remains on the right side of history. We must not give aid and comfort to our enemy, Russia, and we must remain steadfast in the battle for democracy.”

     “I am co-sponsoring this legislation because it reaffirms the American people’s unwavering commitment to a sovereign, democratic Ukraine,” said Ranking Member Keating. “As Ukraine continues to defend itself against Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion, it is critical that the United States stands firmly by its side—not just militarily, but economically and diplomatically. This legislation includes key provisions from my own bills that aim to support Ukraine across multiple fronts. It provides war risk insurance to ensure the continued flow of international commerce with Ukraine, blocks illegal U.S. technology exports to Iran where they are used to manufacture drones deployed by Russia, and promotes the diversification of Ukraine’s energy supply. Ukraine’s victory requires more than military support – it demands a comprehensive strategy to help rebuild its economy, secure its infrastructure, and restore its independence.”

    “Our friends in Ukraine are fighting for the democratic ideals we share against a war criminal, Vladimir Putin, and the rising threat of authoritarianism globally,”said Ranking Member Connolly. “The American commitment to Ukraine, its sovereignty, and its recovery must be lasting and ironclad. We must stand firmly behind the Ukrainian people by countering Russian disinformation, advocating for multilateral support for Ukraine’s reconstruction, providing additional U.S. security assistance, and implementing crippling sanctions on Russia and its enablers to force Putin to the negotiating table. That’s why this bill includes provisions from my bipartisan legislation to expand sanctions on North Korea for its material support for Russia’s illegal invasion. The war in Ukraine is a battle between dictatorship and democracy. Between freedom and oppression. The United States must remain on the right side of history. Slava Ukraini.” 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Atlanta-Based Money Launderer Indicted

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Pez, Pescado, and Mojarra — and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Fresa, El Feyo, and La Fruta — both of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl knowing those controlled substances would be imported into the United States, conspiracy to import those controlled substances into the United States, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute those controlled substances.

    The indictments were returned in September 2024 and recently unsealed. Prior to his indictment, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated as a Consolidated Priority Target (CPOT) by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico. In addition, today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions against Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and their siblings, LNFM members Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State also announced the designation of LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Additionally, the Department of State announced a Narcotics Rewards Program offer of up to $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga.

    Franco Tabares Martinez, 51, of Guerrero, Mexico, a high-ranking member of LNFM was charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and related substantive counts of drug trafficking. The indictment was unsealed against Franco Tabares Martinez on July 7, 2023, after which he was sanctioned by OFAC. On June 20, 2024, his brother Uriel Tabares-Martinez was also sanctioned by OFAC. Another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Their sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez — also known as Yosel Medrano Hernandez and Lupe — of Mableton, Georgia, has now been charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and related substantive counts. The indictment was returned on April 8 and recently unsealed.                 

    “Today’s indictments and OFAC sanctions against high-ranking LNFM cartel members sends a clear message: if you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison into our communities, we will work relentlessly to find you and bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

    “These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States, and then wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from distributing those drugs back to Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia. “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”

    “Today’s action underscores our commitment to intensify the pressure on violent drug cartels like LNFM, who continue to traffic deadly fentanyl and other drugs, smuggle illegal aliens over our Southwest border, and attack law enforcement,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to target the cartels and other violent organizations that attempt to exploit our communities and harm Americans.”

    “President Trump has promised to crack down on the flow of deadly drugs into our country,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “And today, working with the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of State is delivering on that promise by offering rewards totaling up to $8 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the Hurtado brothers.”

    “Cases like this exemplify the value of partnerships,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Division. “The volume of dangerous drugs and violence impacts our communities beyond comprehension. This investigation and subsequent indictments demonstrate DEA’s commitment to protecting our community by destroying these drug trafficking organizations.”

    “The indictment of senior leaders of this brutal Mexican cartel and subsequent OFAC sanctions makes one thing clear, we are coming after these criminal networks and utilizing every weapon in our arsenal,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama. “Through aggressive interagency coordination, HSI and our law enforcement partners are not only seizing their drugs and arresting their members, but we are also cutting off their money, dismantling their infrastructure, and bringing their leaders to justice. This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from violence and addiction.”

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictments, and other information presented in court: In 2021, agents of the DEA and HSI began an investigation of LNFM cartel members importing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl into the United States, including into the Northern District of Georgia. As part of the investigation, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez as a then-high-ranking member of the LNFM cartel who allegedly distributed multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the metro Atlanta area.

    In addition, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez’s sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, as an Atlanta-based money launderer allegedly helping her brother and other drug traffickers by picking up bulk currency and then using her money service business, Noyola Multiservice, to transmit those drug proceeds to drug trafficking associates in Mexico. Through the investigation, agents also identified Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga as the cartel’s co-founders and kingpins, who conspired with cartel members in Mexico and throughout the United States to import heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border for distribution in various cities and states, including Atlanta.

    This case is being investigated by the DEA and HSI.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel Milam and Bethany Rupert for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case against the Hurtado Olascoaga brothers, Franco Tabares Martinez and Guadalupe Tabares Martinez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrison for the Middle District of Georgia provided valuable contributions to the investigation of Guadalupe Tabares Martinez.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This prosecution is part of an OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi¬ jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

    The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (the Strike Force) is to degrade and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations (DTMLOs) in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), Regional Priority Organization Targets (RPOTs), and their associates.  The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS; as well as numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

    An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Members of a Massive International Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring Indicted in Atlanta

    Source: US Justice – Antitrust Division

    Headline: Members of a Massive International Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring Indicted in Atlanta

    On April 1, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker. Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia — Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, 49; Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, 22; David Miranda Vinalay, 39; Jerome Lewis, 47; and Irving Joel Hernandez, 34 — were arrested earlier today in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and local law enforcement. The defendants were arraigned before a U.S. Magistrate Judge following their arrests.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Members of a Massive International Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Ring Indicted in Atlanta

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    On April 1, seven individuals in Georgia and Mexico were indicted by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia related to a drug trafficking and money laundering ring tied to a Mexico-based trafficker. Five of these defendants, all of Norcross, Georgia — Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel, 49; Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez, 22; David Miranda Vinalay, 39; Jerome Lewis, 47; and Irving Joel Hernandez, 34 — were arrested earlier today in a coordinated effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and local law enforcement. The defendants were arraigned before a U.S. Magistrate Judge following their arrests.

    “Thanks to the great investigative work of our federal partners and local law enforcement, five individuals working on behalf of the violent Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) have been taken off our streets,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow these criminal enterprises to continue profiting off of the death and destruction of American lives.”

    “The defendants allegedly trafficked high volumes of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our community and then laundered the illicit proceeds of their activities as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker, including more than $1 million during a mere two-month period,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia. “Although these individuals took great measures to conceal their alleged criminal conduct, a determined and coordinated effort by our federal and local law enforcement partners helped to secure the federal charges in this case.”

    “The deadly impact of fentanyl on our communities is devastating,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the DEA’s Atlanta Division. “These arrests should be a clear message to the traffickers that keeping our communities safe is our highest priority.”

    “Using our expertise in financial investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation is following the money, despite attempts by criminals to cover their tracks,” said Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman of IRS-CI’s Atlanta Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation special agents in partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies, will continue our work investigating and holding accountable those responsible for bringing dangerous drugs into our communities.”

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictment, and other information presented in court: In September 2024, the DEA uncovered a scheme involving drug traffickers delivering bulk currency from drug sales to a middleman in Norcross. The middleman then allegedly delivered the drug proceeds to defendants Sandra Beatriz Hernandez Chilel (Chilel) and her daughter Karina Beatriz Perez Hernandez (Perez), who then laundered the proceeds as directed by a Mexico-based drug trafficker. Chilel and Perez allegedly operated a money service business (MSB) in Norcross called “La Pulga Esperenza.”

    Between September and November 2024, DEA saw several traffickers deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars of suspected drug proceeds to the middleman in Norcross, who then transferred the cash to Chilel and Perez. Agents with IRS-CI analyzed the MSB’s transactions and determined that the cash was wired to Mexico but was transferred in small increments so as not to raise suspicion by federal regulators. During a period of approximately two months, this ring of individuals allegedly laundered over $1 million in drug proceeds smuggled to Mexico.

    During the investigation, the DEA identified several alleged traffickers who transported the drug proceeds to Norcross, including defendants David Miranda Vinalay, Jerome Lewis, and Irving Joel Hernandez. DEA identified one of the primary traffickers as being a member or associate of the CJNG. Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, some of the traffickers also possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl that they intended to distribute on behalf of the drug trafficking ring.

    Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

    This case is being investigated by the DEA and IRS-CI. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Georgia State Patrol, Dekalb County, Georgia, Police Department, Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department, and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Dwayne A. Brown Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Cook, 2025 Distinguished Alumna Award Acceptance Remarks

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Dr. Rogers, and go Bears!
    Thank you to the Cal Alumni Club of Washington, D.C. for this honor.1 It is humbling to be in the company of so many other accomplished Cal alumni. And it is especially meaningful to receive this award from a university that has already given me so much. I am eternally grateful for my time at Berkeley and in my economics Ph.D. program, because it was a transformative experience that shaped me not only as an economist, but more importantly as a person. Again, I am deeply grateful for this honor.
    I know there is a lot going on in the news at the moment, so let me just start by saying that I do not plan to discuss policy or the current economic situation this evening. Instead, I want to keep the attention on the energetic and dedicated Cal alums here tonight and the wonderful university we all call home. I will talk about the way in which Berkeley profoundly influenced my thinking, which has served me well throughout my career, and will share a few memories from my time on campus.
    I would love to see who we have here tonight. First, where are the econ majors? Who lived in the International House? Now, where are the recent alums, say those who graduated in the past 5 years? (Congratulations, welcome to Washington.) Who here has graduated since 2010? Who here is in my generation and graduated in the 90s or early 2000s? And do we have some true Cal legends among us that are celebrating 40 or more years as a Golden Bear this spring? (Let’s give them a round of applause.)
    No matter when you attended Cal or how long you have been away, I think we can all agree that Berkeley is a special place that stays in your heart. I grew up in the South, and by the time I arrived at Berkeley, I had the good fortune to have spent time living in Africa and Europe. Even with this experience, what immediately stood out to me was the campus’s openness to many different cultures and ideas. And a clear way this was expressed, as I am sure you will recall, was through the abundance of delicious food. Berkeley was truly like heaven for this former founder of a cooking school. Better coffee and cuisine than anywhere else in the country. Dim sum everywhere, vegan and vegetarian options galore, and that sourdough at Great Harvest Bread. (You cannot blame a hungry grad student for stopping in for samples.) When I was there, Berkeley was at the forefront of the farm-to-table and healthy eating movements. I remember being in awe of the produce at Berkeley Bowl. They had five or six types of yams and sweet potatoes. I am from Georgia, and I had never seen so many yams!
    The wonderful food served as a perfect canvas upon which to share ideas. Sometimes that was having dinner at each other’s apartments, and sometimes it was slipping over to the cafeteria between Bechtel and Evans to have lunch with my friends in engineering and computer science. Shockingly, the Cal engineers had nicer facilities than the econ students in Evans Hall. By the way, Evans Hall is described on Cal’s own websites as a “dark, closed-in design. . . spoiling the main east-west axis of the campus.” Ouch, but I told you, open to ideas!2
    From these lunches and many other conversations at Berkeley, I learned the value of exchanging ideas and the free disposal of ideas. The next idea will come; be unafraid to try new things. Do not be wedded to bad ideas. I learned the value of working in teams and acknowledging and leveraging everyone’s varied scholarly and lived expertise. I learned the value of sharing and collaboration. This fosters the spirit of innovation that drives the Bay area. You can see why many of the greatest advancements in the past century have come from that region of the country, many directly from Cal alumni.
    It was awe-inspiring to be surrounded by so many outstanding students and stellar faculty members from many disciplines. The work of Cal researchers has changed the world. I often wondered what inspired these great minds. Then one day, while traversing the always congested campus, I saw it—the real incentive for great minds: Nobel laureates received reserved parking spaces. All of you who have fought Bay Area traffic and Berkeley campus parking restrictions know that tops any prize you can receive in Sweden!
    But seriously, I was extremely lucky to have an amazing group of professors and supporters at Cal. Barry Eichengreen was my dissertation adviser, and George Akerlof was an informal adviser who was just curious about economies undergoing market transitions. Janet Yellen and Laura Tyson were inspirations. They epitomized the commitment to public service that flows through the Berkley campus. When I arrived, Dr. Tyson had recently left to become chair of President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Of course, Dr. Yellen would soon serve as chair of CEA as well as those of Fed chair and Treasury Secretary, the only person in history to hold all three positions. I had the mentorship and support of a whole bunch of Romers: Christina, David, and Paul. Christina would also serve as CEA Chair as we climbed out of the Global Financial Crisis
    I arrived on campus in 1991 the very week the Soviet Union started breaking up and the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic became just Russia. This series of events gave the world an unfiltered view of a Russian economy blinking into the sunlight after decades of central planning and stagnation. I asked, what would happen next, and what could we learn from this historic event? I was desperate to explore those questions and to explore them with Greg Grossman. No one in the world knew more about the Soviet and Russian economies than he did.
    However, he had other thoughts—namely, retirement. When I asked him to advise me, he was hesitant. So, he presented me with a challenge. He said the only way to study the Russian banking system and economy was to become fluent in Russian. If I could learn the language, he would delay his retirement to advise me, along with Eichengreen. I could tell he thought his retirement plans were safe with that lofty goal. A year and a half later, I walked into his office and struck up a conversation in Russian. I could see his heart sink. I had won the challenge. (What he did not know then was that I had already learned four other languages and was blessed with the ability to pick up new ones quickly.) Once he agreed to stay on, I was off and running.
    I plowed through Tsarist-era statistical tables stashed in the depths of Bancroft Library. Later, I would travel to Moscow and collect data from the Russian Statistical Agency and eventually survey and conduct interviews with Russian bankers and entrepreneurs. I credit my Berkeley professors, particularly Barry, Greg, George, and Paul, for supporting the curiosity that took me to Moscow and many other distant places to do research and push forward the field of economics with new questions, data, and analysis. I especially thank them for asking tough, thoughtful questions that prepared me to approach any situation of heightened uncertainty and in which standard models and the conventional wisdom in economics may not apply.
    One aspect that stood out about the Berkeley experience was that we defended our dissertations at the proposal stage rather than upon completion. This arrangement was not common at the time but is now becoming a more frequent practice at other schools. It sets up the dynamic of these experienced, knowledgeable professors looking for constructive ways to allow experimentation to ultimately bring ideas to fruition. It is this sense of collaboration and openness that I have taken from Berkeley and brought with me everywhere I have gone—through universities, banks, the government, and now at the Federal Reserve.
    There is a special way you learn to think at Berkeley. I hope you continue to carry that spirit in all you do here in Washington and beyond.
    Thank you again for this tremendous honor. I will always be a proud Cal alumna.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. Evans Hall, University of California, Berkeley. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Atlanta-Based Money Launderer Indicted

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Pez, Pescado, and Mojarra — and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Fresa, El Feyo, and La Fruta — both of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl knowing those controlled substances would be imported into the United States, conspiracy to import those controlled substances into the United States, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute those controlled substances.

    The indictments were returned in September 2024 and recently unsealed. Prior to his indictment, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated as a Consolidated Priority Target (CPOT) by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico. In addition, today the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions against Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and their siblings, LNFM members Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga. On Feb. 20, the U.S. Department of State also announced the designation of LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Additionally, the Department of State announced a Narcotics Rewards Program offer of up to $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga.

    Franco Tabares Martinez, 51, of Guerrero, Mexico, a high-ranking member of LNFM was charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and related substantive counts of drug trafficking. The indictment was unsealed against Franco Tabares Martinez on July 7, 2023, after which he was sanctioned by OFAC. On June 20, 2024, his brother Uriel Tabares-Martinez was also sanctioned by OFAC. Another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Their sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez — also known as Yosel Medrano Hernandez and Lupe — of Mableton, Georgia, has now been charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and related substantive counts. The indictment was returned on April 8 and recently unsealed.                 

    “Today’s indictments and OFAC sanctions against high-ranking LNFM cartel members sends a clear message: if you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison into our communities, we will work relentlessly to find you and bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

    “These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States, and then wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from distributing those drugs back to Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia. “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”

    “Today’s action underscores our commitment to intensify the pressure on violent drug cartels like LNFM, who continue to traffic deadly fentanyl and other drugs, smuggle illegal aliens over our Southwest border, and attack law enforcement,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to target the cartels and other violent organizations that attempt to exploit our communities and harm Americans.”

    “President Trump has promised to crack down on the flow of deadly drugs into our country,” said Senior Bureau Official F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “And today, working with the DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of State is delivering on that promise by offering rewards totaling up to $8 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the Hurtado brothers.”

    “Cases like this exemplify the value of partnerships,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jae W. Chung of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Atlanta Division. “The volume of dangerous drugs and violence impacts our communities beyond comprehension. This investigation and subsequent indictments demonstrate DEA’s commitment to protecting our community by destroying these drug trafficking organizations.”

    “The indictment of senior leaders of this brutal Mexican cartel and subsequent OFAC sanctions makes one thing clear, we are coming after these criminal networks and utilizing every weapon in our arsenal,” said Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and Alabama. “Through aggressive interagency coordination, HSI and our law enforcement partners are not only seizing their drugs and arresting their members, but we are also cutting off their money, dismantling their infrastructure, and bringing their leaders to justice. This operation underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting our communities and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from violence and addiction.”

    According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictments, and other information presented in court: In 2021, agents of the DEA and HSI began an investigation of LNFM cartel members importing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl into the United States, including into the Northern District of Georgia. As part of the investigation, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez as a then-high-ranking member of the LNFM cartel who allegedly distributed multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the metro Atlanta area.

    In addition, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez’s sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, as an Atlanta-based money launderer allegedly helping her brother and other drug traffickers by picking up bulk currency and then using her money service business, Noyola Multiservice, to transmit those drug proceeds to drug trafficking associates in Mexico. Through the investigation, agents also identified Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga as the cartel’s co-founders and kingpins, who conspired with cartel members in Mexico and throughout the United States to import heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border for distribution in various cities and states, including Atlanta.

    This case is being investigated by the DEA and HSI.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel Milam and Bethany Rupert for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case against the Hurtado Olascoaga brothers, Franco Tabares Martinez and Guadalupe Tabares Martinez. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrison for the Middle District of Georgia provided valuable contributions to the investigation of Guadalupe Tabares Martinez.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Justice Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    This prosecution is part of an OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi¬ jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

    The specific mission of the David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force (the Strike Force) is to degrade and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations (DTMLOs) in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the Northern District of Georgia. To accomplish this mission, the Strike Force will target these organizations’ leaders, focusing on targets designated as Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs), Regional Priority Organization Targets (RPOTs), and their associates.  The Atlanta Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from ATF, DEA, FBI, HSI, USMS, USPIS, and IRS; as well as numerous state and local agencies, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

    An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at vaping rates in Britain

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in Addiction looks at changes in vaping trends in Britain. 

    Prof Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences, Norwich Medical School, UEA, said:

    “This study presents an exploratory analysis of data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, an ongoing monthly cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of adults (≥16 years) in Great Britain.  It reports that levels of vaping overall have stabilised, and that there has been a decline in use of disposable vapes by both adults and young adults in the last year, since the announcement of the forthcoming ban on disposable vapes. The study is well conducted and draws on a large dataset, so can be considered to accurately reflect what is happening currently in the UK population.  The study is cross-sectional, so cannot determine causality, but it seems likely that the observed reduction in use of disposable vapes may in part be due to people being aware of the forthcoming ban, but also probably a reflection of market changes.  The vape market has rapidly adapted, and already disposables are being displaced by simple reusable devices, which have many of the same attractive features (size, colour, flavours) of disposable devices, but allow recharging.

    “It is good news that vaping prevalence overall has stablished while we continue to see a decline in population level tobacco smoking.  As many people vaping will be ex-smokers, this suggests that we may be seeing a levelling off of vaping by people who have never smoked.  This is clearly an important trend to monitor, as the public health goal is to encourage people away from harmful tobacco smoking, by vaping if it is helpful, but to also to discourage people who have never smoked from taking up vaping.

    “The study suggests that the forthcoming disposable vape ban may have already had an impact and any additional impact once it comes in may be limited, as people appear to have pre-emptively changed the products they are using knowing the ban was coming.  There is a need for ongoing research to evaluate how the policy change, once fully enforced, influences behaviour.”

    ‘Changes in vaping trends since the announcement of an impending ban on disposable vapes: A population study in Great Britain’ by Sarah E. Jackson et al. was published in Addiction at 00:01 UK time on Wednesday 16 April 2025.

    DOI: 10.1111/add.70057

    Declared interests

    Prof Caitlin Notley: “I have no COIs to declare.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: True number of people living with Huntington’s disease gene in Northern Scotland revealed The number of people who have the gene that causes Huntington’s disease in Northern Scotland has been accurately counted for the first time in 35 years in new research from the University of Aberdeen in partnership with NHS Grampian.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    The number of people who have the gene that causes Huntington’s disease in Northern Scotland has been accurately counted for the first time in 35 years in new research from the University of Aberdeen in partnership with NHS Grampian.

    It is crucial that we know this number, and that it is accurate, so that health boards can properly plan now for care, and for treatments when they become available in the future.” Professor Zofia Miedzybrodzka

    The research used NHS family-based records to find that there are more than 160 adults living in the area who have the Huntington’s gene but have not been tested.  

    However, the scientists behind the study believe the figure will be even higher as not everyone with Huntington’s disease symptoms seek diagnosis.  

    The study, published in Neuroepidemiology, confirmed that Northern Scotland has one of the highest rates of Huntington’s disease in the world at 14.5 per 100,000 people, it is more than five times the estimated worldwide rate of 2.71 per 100,000 people.  

    Huntington’s disease runs in families, and every child of someone affected has a 50:50 chance of inheriting the gene. The gene slowly damages the brain, eventually taking away the person’s ability to walk, talk, eat and drink, make their own decisions and care for themselves.   

    The new analysis showed that, on average, every person who has been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease will have at least another 2.2 relatives who have the gene. This means there are hundreds of people in Northern Scotland who could be considered for effective treatments for Huntington’s disease when these become available in the future.   

    The research was led by University of Aberdeen’s Professor Zosia Miedzybrodzka who is also NHS Clinical Lead for Huntington’s disease in North of Scotland (covering Grampian, Highland, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles), based in NHS Grampian, alongside Heather Cruickshank, Genetic Counsellor in NHS Grampian.  

    Previous studies have mainly looked at the number of people who tested positive for the Huntington’s disease gene then estimated the number of relatives at risk using statistical modelling. However, in this study, scientists used family tree clinical records to count how many people have a 50:50 chance of having inherited the neurodegenerative condition but, crucially, have not been tested.   

    This meticulous approach has not been used in the UK since the Huntington’s disease gene was discovered in 1993.   

    The authors stress how important it is to generate a clear picture of the number of people with Huntington’s disease in the region to ensure that care planning objectives are met and reinforces the need to invest in specialist care and support to help people impacted by what is a notoriously complex and difficult to manage condition.   

    Professor Miedzybrodzka said: “Previous work looked at how many people in the area have been tested for Huntington’s disease, that is people diagnosed with Huntington’s disease signs and those with a gene alteration that will develop the condition in later life. However, no one has properly counted just how many people who haven’t been tested yet must have the gene.   

    “It is crucial that we know this number, and that it is accurate, so that health boards can properly plan now for care, and for treatments when they become available in the future.   

    “A 2022 Scottish government report underestimated Huntington’s disease rates and did not account for numbers of people at risk in a way that our clinic and lab data has.”  

    Heather Cruickshank added: “In 1989, when scientists previously studied this, testing was not possible, fewer people had a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease, and families were larger.   

    “But even now, despite high rates of testing, most people at risk of developing Huntington’s disease in Scotland have not had a test.   

    “There is a massive worldwide effort seeking treatments for Huntington’s disease.   

    “Going forward, services need to plan to treat these as yet uncounted people, as well as those currently diagnosed. Regional variations in rates will become more important, including genetic counselling and testing, management, and treatment delivery. Furthermore, better knowledge of the numbers of people who could benefit will encourage investment into drug discovery.  

    “Having a test remains a free choice for people from Huntington’s disease families and our research means that care can be planned for all those at risk, without people who don’t want a test having one.”  

    Commenting on the findings of the study Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Huntington’s Association, Alistair Haw, said: “Earlier this term a Scottish Parliament motion calling for an expansion of specialist Huntington’s disease services in light of rising cases became the most supported motion in the history of devolution. This latest study further strengthens the case for immediate action to expand specialist services for families impacted by Huntington’s.   

    “Huntington’s disease is a hugely complex, widely misunderstood and extremely difficult to manage condition. Specialist services are not some ‘nice to have’ optional extra but an absolute necessity to prevent patients reaching crisis point and presenting to acute emergency statutory services. Specialist Huntington’s services need to be expanded urgently – a message further reinforced by this new and clear evidence which has major implications for health and social care providers throughout Scotland and beyond.”  

    Case Studies

    Brian Watt, 69, Hopeman  

    Brian Watt, 69, of Hopeman in Moray, is living with a Huntington’s disease diagnosis.   

    Former manager of the Chivas whisky distillery in Keith, Brian received the diagnosis in 2016.   

    Brian recalls: “I knew there was Huntington’s disease in my family – my father and my sister were both diagnosed.   

    “I wasn’t sure whether to go ahead with the test, but I am glad I did.”  

    Brian received counselling – offered by NHS Grampian’s Huntington’s disease clinic in Aberdeen – before taking the test and he felt this was ‘hugely important’ and ‘absolutely necessary’ to be able to process the news regardless of the result.   

    Almost immediately after receiving the news that he has the gene, Brian set about organising a support group in his local area for people with Huntington’s disease and their families. The group is still going strong as a Branch of the Scottish Huntington’s Association and has helped support more than 30 families in the Moray area.   

    Brian keeps busy and believes a positive outlook to be vital when living with Huntington’s disease: “It could be tempting to just lie in bed all day and feel depressed about having this disease. But you have to keep going – keep busy doing things you enjoy.”   

    Brian walks his two terriers along Hopeman beach every day, works part-time at Moray Motor Museum in Elgin and organises quarterly meetings of his support group.   

    Brian says: “Zosia said to me the best way to manage Huntington’s disease is with a balance of lifestyle, attitude and medication and I think that is spot-on. I try to keep a healthy lifestyle and positive attitude and I’m doing just fine.”  

    Alexander (Sandy) Patience, 62, Inverness  

    Sandy Patience, 62, originally from Avoch on the Black Isle lives in Inverness with his wife Laura whom he describes as a ‘blessing from God.’     

    Sandy was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease in 2017 and recounts in his own words how the disease has blighted his family throughout his life:  

    “My childhood as a young boy was shaped by going to see my grandmother – my mam’s mother, who was also HD positive, in hospital every single Saturday from when I was 8 to when I was13 years old.     

    “My dear mother then struggled with HD until she passed away when I was 21 and she was only 59 years old. I remember it began when I was just a young boy, and I watched her get progressively more unwell.    

    “After that, my dear sister Helen passed away with HD in August 2020 after more than two decades of struggle. Helen was a very special sister to me. When our dear mam passed away in1984, Helen – being eleven years older than me, tried really hard to be a ‘surrogate mother’ to me after our hearts were broken about mam. But tragically, HD in our family is never far away.   

    “Helen, very sadly never married, for obvious reasons to me. She was very intelligent in school where she won the Dux Medal, and then in her working life until HD put the brakes on that which devastated Helen at the time. I loved Helen, and my beautiful wife Laura was just the most special sister-in-law to her, not to mention, a perfect daughter in law to my amazing dad who passed away in 2013 aged 89 years.  

    “My dad’s heart would have been shattered if he was still alive when I got my diagnosis four years after he passed away. His long life of struggles included fighting a World War for five years, and being full-time carer for mam for two decades with no help from social care. I remember it like yesterday. The pain I feel for mam and dad in those forgotten decades will never leave me.     

    “But even with all of that, our family was full of love. My dear late mam was shaping my life in so many ways, and I am incredibly proud to have the same loving genes in myself – as well as the bad stuff that I refuse to name unless to raise awareness.   

    “I remember how I felt on the way home from Aberdeen after I had been diagnosed in Dec 2017. I said to Laura ‘this is a game changer in our twenty years together – please can you leave me and live the rest of your life with someone else.’  

    “But, by the Grace of God she didn’t, because her love for me is as immense as mine for her. We are very very blessed, and I can’t imagine life without my soulmate by my side, she picks me up if I am feeling down and tells me when I am behaving like a donkey – sometimes several times a day”, he laughs.  

    Even with the difficulties Sandy has faced, he remains fiercely positive, he explains: “See, life is what we make it for me and Laura.  

    “For sixteen wonderful years, from April 2006 until August 30th 2023 I had two soulmates in my life. My dear wife Laura and my wonderful Labradoodle, Rollo. He never left my side – on the couch or at my feet on the bed. He read my mind a million times over. He loved me a million times more every single day. He loved Laura and all our family, he loved my late Dad, Helen, and brother, David unconditionally for many years with his huge loving heart. I have been emotional about all my family many times when Rollo was beside me on the couch and he would be nudging me and saying: ‘it’s ok Dad, I am here to make you feel better’. He always always did. I miss him more every day.  

    Sandy was overjoyed to find out that his daughter, Kim tested negative for the HD gene: “By the grace of God, my own daughter Kim tested negative about a year after my own diagnosis. Now we know that my three beautiful grandchildren are safe from this horrific disease. Our tears at Kim’s negative test was something I waited all Kim’s life to witness, it was something truly amazing. It was something I prayed for a thousand times over since I knew the risks for Kim after my own positive test.   

    “I can fight for my own life now because I know that I am the last person in my family gene pool with this HD positive test result.”  

    And fight Sandy does: “I am fighting so much to crush it every single day, every moment of every day. The more I fight, the more I look to God for my future health and happiness. I truly don’t want to change anything about my life. I intend to be in the same place – body and mind.   

    “I am privileged to be asked by Professor Zosia to help her again with raising awareness for HD issues. She is incredibly knowledgeable about everything HD, caring for all her patients and their families.   

    “This is a fantastic opportunity for other people, just like me, to take a big leap forward and consider testing for HD. Obviously, I was devastated about my own diagnosis, but I am certain, no doubt in my mind I have done the correct thing for myself and Laura and our family.    

    “I want everyone to know that testing positive is not the end of the world, it may even be the beginning of better family relationships and countless other positive things.” 

    Related Content

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Florida Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by Hurricane Debby

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Florida of the May 12, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by Hurricane Debby occurring Aug. 1-27, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the Florida counties of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union and Wakulla, as well as the Georgia counties of Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Lowndes, Thomas and Ware. 

    Under this declaration SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and PNPs with financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises. 

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster. 

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.” 

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is May 12, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Thousands of miles of roadworks lifted ahead of Easter as drivers set to be £500 better off

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 2

    Press release

    Thousands of miles of roadworks lifted ahead of Easter as drivers set to be £500 better off

    We are tackling the real problems that drivers face by lifting miles of roadworks and cracking down on disruptive streetworks. 

    • 97.5% of major roads across the country will be roadwork free over the Easter holidays, speeding up journey times and improving living standards
    • government intervention is set to save drivers up to £500 a year on pothole related car repairs and fuel duty, easing the cost of living and delivering the Plan for Change
    • comes alongside hefty fines to minimise disruptive street works as government doubles fines and applies charges up to £10,000 a day for those overrunning to clear more roads

    Drivers are set to benefit from up to £500 of savings per year and see smoother Easter getaways as 1,127 miles of roadworks are lifted, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced today (16 April 2025).

    It comes as RAC data shows hitting a pothole can cost drivers up to £460 in repairs. That’s why the government is putting £1.6 billion into the hands of local councils from this month to get fixing our roads – enough to fill 7 million extra potholes, going far above and beyond the government’s manifesto commitment.

    To further protect motorists given continued cost-of-living pressures and potential fuel price volatility amid global uncertainty, the government has frozen fuel duty at current levels for another year to support hardworking families and businesses, saving the average car driver £59.

    Together, this means that drivers could save up to £500 a year from the government’s measures, saving motorists money, improving living standards and getting Britain moving as part of the Plan for Change.   

    The government is also speeding up journeys for the 19.1 million drivers the AA estimate will make car trips on Good Friday, as National Highways lifts 1,127 miles of roadworks over the bank holiday.

    Around 97.5% of major roads across England will be completely free from roadworks, speeding up millions of journeys and boosting connectivity across the country to drive growth – the key priority in the government’s plan for change.

    Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said:  

    Cutting journey times and saving drivers money every year is all part of our Plan for Change to raise living standards and put more money in people’s pockets.

    We are tackling the real problems that drivers face by lifting 1,127 miles of roadworks over Easter and cracking down on disruptive streetworks to make journeys to see loved ones as smooth as possible. 

    This government is also saving drivers up to £500 a year, with councils soon to receive their record £1.6 billion pothole funding and the continued freeze on fuel duty.

    Improving our national infrastructure and rebuilding Britain is critical to achieving growth – the top mission of the government. That’s why since entering office the government has unlocked 7 major road schemes backed by £580 million. This includes the recently approved Lower Thames Crossing which will be a key strategic route for drivers, freight and logistics – improving connectivity between the south and the midlands, linking up our ports and unlocking regional growth.

    This includes £200 million for the A47 Thickthorn Junction and £290 million for M3 Junction 9, plus £90m for local road schemes like the:

    • A130 Fairglen Interchange
    • South-East Aylesbury Link Road
    • A350 Chippenham Bypass
    • A647 scheme in Leeds

    This is a total of over £580 million for schemes to get Britain moving.

    On top of this, the government recently announced a further £4.8 billion for National Highways to protect the country’s strategic road network, which provides critical routes and connections across the country. The funding will ensure this vital network is kept in good repair and remains fit for the future whilst delivering essential improvement schemes to unlock growth and housing development.

    Many drivers are already seeing faster journeys on motorways, as over 270 miles of roadworks have recently been lifted following National Highways completing its National Emergency Area Retrofit programme last month, which saw roadworks on the M1, M3, M4, M5, M20, M25 and M27 lifted.

    National Highways is reminding drivers to properly prepare for Easter travel by relaunching its ‘TRIP’ campaign, encouraging drivers to ‘Top-up, Rest, Inspect, Prepare’. The guidance aims to prevent breakdowns which can lead to delays and unexpected costs. 

    Significant routes to benefit from roadworks being lifted or completed in time for the Easter getaway include:

    • over 130 miles of roadworks on the M25
    • more than 100 miles on the M1 between London and Chesterfield
    • more than 70 miles on the A27 between Polegate, East Sussex and Havant, Hampshire
    • 49 miles on the A34 between Oxford and Winchester
    • almost 50 miles on the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth
    • over 45 miles on the M4 between Hayes and Hungerford
    • 44 miles on the M2 between Rochester and Faversham
    • 37 miles on the A303 near Andover
    • 31 miles on the A47 between Great Yarmouth and Peterborough

    Disruptive streetworks by utility companies are also being tackled under this government’s clampdown, with doubled fines and charges of up to £10,000 per day for utility works that overrun at weekends and bank holidays. This will help make sure works finish on time, and roads can be fully reopened to traffic.  

    The most congested roads also see the highest charges, under lane rental schemes – meaning utility companies are charged more on the busiest roads and at the busiest times. At least 50% of the revenue raised from these will go into mending more potholes, so that even more roads can be improved. There are currently 5 lane rental schemes running across England, with applications for 8 new schemes.  This month saw East Sussex starting its own lane rental scheme, to deter disruptive utility companies and save drivers many hours off weekend car journeys.

    The government is also introducing measures to implement a new digital service that will speed up roadworks, slash traffic delays and reduce accidental strikes on pipes which currently amount to 60,000 per year, costing the UK economy £2.4 billion.

    With holes being dug in UK roads every 7 seconds, the National Underground Asset Register, part of the Data (Use and Access) Bill, will create a map of the country’s underground pipes and cables, allowing construction workers to instantly see their exact location – a process which currently takes 6 days.

    Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:

    Technology must be first and foremost used to make people’s lives better, and that includes tackling the misery of traffic caused by road works. 

    That’s why we are creating a comprehensive digital map of underground cables and pipes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The map will mean construction workers and utility companies will know exactly what lies beneath before they dig, helping to prevent accidental damage like bursting water mains.

    Our laws will not only back our mission to make British roads safer and journey times quicker, but also grow our economy by £400 million each year as part of our Plan for Change by reducing disruption to motorists and businesses.

    Andrew Butterfield, National Highways Director of Operational Services, said: 

    We expect the roads to be busy with people looking to make the most of a long Easter weekend. That’s why we are making journeys easier by removing a huge number of roadworks.

    Drivers should also take time to plan ahead. Two of the top 3 causes of breakdowns are tyre issues and empty fuel tanks. You can help prevent any breakdowns by following our advice: top up your fuel, oil and screenwash, plan your journey, check your tyres and prepare for all weather conditions.

    Dan Joyce, Operations Director at Kwik Fit, said:

    The removal of roadworks for Easter is welcome news for drivers, so it will be even more frustrating if something else gets in the way of a smooth holiday journey.

    There are many easy checks drivers can make themselves to avoid problems. Tyre pressure and tread, along with topping up fluids, are the key ones to carry out.  If anyone has any concerns about their car’s condition, they can book a free check with Kwik Fit and have one of our expert teams check it over to make sure they’re safe on the roads.

    AA President, Edmund King OBE, said:

    Bank holiday weekends tend to remind us of the importance of having a good road network without roadwork delays or plagues of potholes. Hence, we very much welcome the lifting of roadworks as record numbers hit the roads this weekend and the government’s efforts to address the pothole pandemic and reduce disruptive streetworks. Drivers can help by making sure their tyres are properly inflated, oil and coolant levels are correct, and that they plenty of fuel or charge if driving an EV.

    Andy Turbefield, Head of Autocentres Quality, Standards and Policy at Halfords, said:

    Potholes are more than just a nuisance; they’re a threat to road safety. Every day in our garages we see the damage they do to tyres and wheels, steering and suspension and exhaust systems. Addressing Britain’s pothole crisis will not only save motorists money, it could also save their lives.

    RAC breakdown spokesperson, Alice Simpson, said:

    With a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ expected on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the lifting of roadworks should help ease journeys to popular destinations like the West Country, the south coast and East Anglia. A quick check of your vehicle before leaving could avoid an expensive and unwanted breakdown.

    Roads media enquiries

    Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

    Switchboard 0300 330 3000

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of the devastating war in Sudan

    Source: Government of Canada News

    April 15, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.

    We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.

    As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

    We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.

    We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.

    We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.

    For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.

    We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.

    The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount. 

    G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.  

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of Sudan war

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement marking two years since the beginning of Sudan war

    The G7 Foreign Ministers’ have issued a joint statement marking two years since the beginning of the war in Sudan.

    We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, unequivocally denounce the ongoing conflict, atrocities and grave human rights violations and abuses in Sudan, as the world marks two years since the beginning of the devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    As a direct result of the actions of the SAF and the RSF, the people of Sudan, especially women and children, are enduring the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises, and continued atrocities, including widespread conflict-related sexual violence, ethnically motivated attacks and reprisal killings. These must end immediately.

    We strongly condemn the RSF attacks carried out in and around El Fasher on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk IDP camps, which have caused numerous casualties, including humanitarian workers. Civilians must be protected and allowed safe passage.

    As famine continues to spread across Sudan, G7 members are disturbed by reports of the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and reiterate that such actions are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

    We call on the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which include the crucial responsibility to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military targets.

    We call on all parties to the conflict to lift impediments to effective crossline humanitarian assistance, provide assurances of safety and security for local and international humanitarian actors, and allow humanitarian access through all border crossings into Sudan, including through South Sudan and Chad. We recognize the important role of Emergency Response Rooms in providing for and protecting civilians and call for their protection. We further call on all parties to refrain from attacks on critical infrastructure that civilians rely upon, including dams and telecommunications systems.

    We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and urge both the SAF and the RSF to engage meaningfully in serious, constructive negotiations. All external actors must cease any support that further fuels the conflict, in accordance with the Declaration of Principles adopted at the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and Neighbouring Countries in Paris in 2024 and the United Nations arms embargo on Darfur. We condemn all violations and unlawful attacks by the SAF, the RSF, and their allied militias.

    For sustainable peace in Sudan, any resolution to the conflict must be rooted in the voices of Sudanese civilians. Women, youth, and civil society must be meaningfully included in all peace processes.

    We reaffirm our support for a democratic transition and express our solidarity with the people of Sudan in their efforts to shape the future of their country that reflects their aspirations for freedom, peace and justice.

    The sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan are paramount.  

    G7 members remain committed to deepening collective diplomatic efforts to bring about an end to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and secure an end to the conflict, including through the London Sudan Conference.

    Updates to this page

    Published 15 April 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Rep. Rick Allen Joins VA Secretary Doug Collins in Visit to the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA-12)

    On Monday, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) joined Department of Veteran Affairs Secretary Doug Collins and Representative Austin Scott (GA-08) in touring the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin. During the visit, the group met with Veterans, facility leaders, and VA employees. The Secretary’s visit marks the first time a VA secretary has visited the Carl Vinson VAMC in 15 years. 

    “Secretary Collins is committed to reforming the VA to better serve our nation’s Veterans and I am grateful that he took the time to visit the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin. We had productive and thoughtful conversations with the current leadership team, Veterans, and staff about needed improvements at the facility to ensure that those who have selflessly served our country receive the high-quality care they have earned. Our Veterans in the 12th District and across the state should feel confident that they have a partner and tireless advocate in Secretary Collins, and I will continue to work in lockstep with the administration to achieve our shared mission of excellence at the VA,” said Congressman Allen (GA-12).

    “Under President Trump, VA is putting Veterans first. That starts by having honest conversations like the ones we had in Dublin this week. I appreciated the opportunity to hear from local Veterans and staff, whose feedback will help us make VA work better for Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.

    “I appreciate my long time friend, Secretary Collins, visiting the Dublin VA Hospital this week. Secretary Collins is a good man, and I’m confident that veterans’ health care will improve under his leadership in Georgia and nationally,” said Congressman Scott. 

    Successful VA accomplishments and milestones reached during the second Trump Administration so far include:

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI: XWELL Reports Fiscal Year 2024 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — XWELL, Inc. (Nasdaq: XWEL) (“XWELL” or the “Company”), a pioneer in democratizing wellness, today reported results for the year ended December 31, 2024.

    Recent Highlights:

    • XWELL delivered 2024 revenue growth of approximately 13% versus 2023.
    • Gross margin more than doubled, increasing from 12.2% in 2023 to 26.3% in 2024.
    • The Company reduced operating and overhead expenses in 2023 and 2024, while it continues to focus on returning to overall profitability. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company:
      • Reduced salaries and benefits by approximately 5% versus 2023.
      • Reduced general and administrative expenses by approximately 4% versus 2023.
      • Reduced total operating expenses by approximately 19% versus 2023, even with substantial non-recurring expenses incurred in 2024.
    • XWELL announced a three-year extension of its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reinforcing its critical role in national biosecurity.
    • Accelerating its expansion outside of airport locations, XWELL launched a new Naples Wax Center in Estero, Florida in December 2024.
    • Strengthening its capital structure, XWELL successfully closed a $4 million private placement in January 2025, comprising of convertible preferred stock and warrants.
    • Leveraging its recent capital raise, XWELL announced plans to acquire select medical spas to expand into the high-growth wellness and beauty sector.
    • As part of its brand evolution, XWELL announced that it plans to unite all of its wellness offerings under a single, cohesive XWELL brand identity.

    “We believe that XWELL’s improved 2024 financial and operational performance reflects the successful execution of our growth and productivity initiatives,” said Ezra Ernst, CEO of XWELL. “We continue to capitalize on compelling growth opportunities across our brands and remain focused on achieving sustainable expansion alongside our relentless focus on wellness and our customers.”

    “We’re also grateful and proud to continue the work we developed with our partners at the CDC and Ginkgo Bioworks for another three years. An early warning system for dangerous pathogens, the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program plays a crucial role in protecting national security and public health.” Mr. Ernst added, “Looking ahead, I’m excited about the opportunities ahead for XWELL. By accelerating growth both in and out of the airport, unifying our offerings under the XWELL brand, and reinforcing our role in U.S. biosecurity and exploring biosecurity opportunities outside of the United States, I believe that we’re positioning XWELL for continued growth and long-term value creation.”

    Bringing A Unified Wellness Brand to the Market
    Committed to capitalizing on compelling growth opportunities in the wellness market, XWELL has developed and communicated a clear vision, mission, and purpose-driven forward-looking plan.

    • Our vision is to liberate wellness, making it a mainstream category synonymous with health, balance, and self-care.
    • Our mission is to create environments that inspire confidence, self-improvement, and wellness for everyone, everywhere.
    • Our purpose is to reshape the way people think about wellness by showing how accessible and effortless it can be.

    The Company’s forward-looking plan focuses on expanding and integrating offerings across its brands, with a key emphasis on unifying airport and off-airport locations under the XWELL brand. This strategic alignment will enable the development of membership and loyalty programs like Priority Pass that provide seamless access to XWELL locations, fostering deeper customer relationships and enhancing brand loyalty. Additionally, a strong customer community will support targeted marketing initiatives and cross-promotional opportunities, strengthened by advanced technology and customer relationship management capabilities from the HyperPointe unit.

    At the same time, XWELL is actively broadening its retail product portfolio to feature a range of cutting-edge wellness offerings. These offerings include state-of-the-art wellness devices, nutritional supplements, and innovative wellness patches — each designed to support holistic health and cater to the evolving needs of today’s wellness-conscious consumers.

    Planned Strategic Investment in Medical Spas
    In March 2025, XWELL unveiled plans to acquire select medical spas during 2025, leveraging its recent $4 million private placement to expand into the high-growth wellness and beauty sector.

    This strategy aligns with XWELL’s mission to liberate wellness by creating a seamless continuum of care, extending beyond airports and into metropolitan areas where demand for advanced beauty and wellness treatments is rising.

    XWELL will initially focus on select metropolitan areas with strong demand for medspa services, including Orlando, Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City.

    Operating At the Intersection of Travel, Health and Wellness
    Operating at the intersection of travel, health and wellness, the Company’s brands currently include XWELL™, XpresSpa®, Treat™, Naples Wax Center®, XpresCheck® and HyperPointe™. 

    Travel Wellness Portfolio – XpresSpa®
    XpresSpa is the leading airport retailer of wellness services and related retail offerings. As of December 31, 2024, there were 18 domestic XpresSpa locations in total, comprised of 17 Company-owned locations and one franchise. The Company also had 10 international locations operating as of December 31, 2024, including two XpresSpa locations in the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, one XpresSpa location in the Zayad International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, three XpresSpa locations in the Schiphol Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands and four XpresSpa locations in the Istanbul Airport in Turkey.

    Out-of-Airport Wellness Portfolio – Naples Wax Center®
    XWELL’s first off-airport brand, Naples Wax Center, is a group of upscale hair removal and aesthetic services boutiques. Acquired in mid-September 2023, Naples Wax Center provides core products and service including face and body waxing as well as a range of skincare and cosmetic products from its current three locations.

    In December 2024, the Company announced the ongoing expansion of its out-of-airport spas with the opening of a new Naples Wax location in Estero, FL. This opening is the first in a series of strategic growth initiatives to expand the XWELL brand beyond airports. Looking ahead, in addition to its Estero location, XWELL has plans to open 6 additional locations across Florida during 2025.

    New York City’s Penn Station XpresSpa®
    Consistent with XWELL’s strategy to extend its footprint into transportation hubs, the Company is executing plans to open an XpresSpa location in New York City’s Penn Station in 2025. The tech-forward spa will serve commuters, neighborhood locals, and tourists with wellness-focused retail, autonomous massage, and nail care services, enabling seamless and efficient experiences for time-crunched New York City travelers.

    Life Sciences & Biosurveillance — XpresCheck® and HyperPointe™
    XpresCheck in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and Ginkgo Bioworks, currently operates biosurveillance stations in 8 of the nation’s busiest airports.

    In March of 2025, XWELL announced that the CDC extended its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program for three years. The contract has a total base value of $53.7 million over three years, with a maximum ceiling value of $85.7 million within the same timeframe. This program has been supported in whole or in part by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention under contract number 75D30125C20439.  

    The TGS program functions as an early detection platform for emerging pathogens. By providing multimodal data, it enhances global biosecurity and illuminates migratory disease origin, to inform medical countermeasure research and development. The program utilizes wastewater samples from inbound international aircraft and airport triturators, along with nasal swab samples from volunteers arriving in the U.S. on select international flights.

    Additionally, the Company began reporting operating results for HyperPointe within its XpresCheck business. Beginning in June 2020, and following its acquisition by XWELL in January 2022, HyperPointe’s management team and suite of services and technology have been utilized to develop and deploy the technological infrastructure necessary to scale the growth of the XpresCheck business. HyperPointe’s experience in this space continues to play a critical role in the expansion of ongoing biosurveillance efforts created in partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks and the CDC.

    Liquidity and Financial Condition
    As of December 31, 2024, the Company had approximately $4.6 million of cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash), approximately $7.3 million in marketable securities, total current assets of approximately $15.3 million, and no long-term debt.

    The Company significantly reduced operating and overhead expenses in the 2023 and 2024, while it continues to focus on returning to overall profitability.

    In January 2025, the Company announced the closing of its private placement offering of $4.0 million of the Company’s newly designated Series G Convertible Preferred Stock. The Company also issued to the investors in the private placement Series A warrants and Series B warrants exercisable for the Company’s common stock. The gross proceeds of the private placement were approximately $4.0 million, before deducting other offering expenses payable by the Company.

    Summary 2024 Financial Results

    Total Revenue
    Total revenue for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 was $33.9 million compared to $30.1 million in the prior year.

    Revenue for 2024 primarily consisted of approximately $18.3 million from XpresSpa locations, $430,000 from Treat locations and approximately $13.1 million from XpresTest, which includes XWELL’s bio-surveillance partnership and its HyperPointe business. Naples Wax Center accounted for approximately $2.1 million.

    Total Cost of Sales
    Total cost of sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $25.0 million compared to approximately $26.4 million in the prior year.

    General and Administrative Expenses; Salaries and Benefits
    General and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $12.5 million compared to approximately $13.0 million in the prior year.

    Salaries and benefits for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $7.5 million compared to approximately $8.0 million in the prior year.

    Total Operating Expenses
    Total operating expenses for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $25.6 million compared to approximately $31.9 million in the prior year.

    Operating Loss
    The operating loss for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 totaled approximately ($16.7) million compared to approximately ($28.2) million in the prior year.

    Net Loss Attributable to XWELL
    Net loss attributable to XWELL for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 totaled approximately ($16.9) million compared to approximately ($27.7) million in the prior year.

    About XWELL, Inc.  
    XWELL, Inc. (Nasdaq: XWEL) is a leading global wellness holding company operating multiple brands: XWELL™, XpresSpa®, Treat™, Naples Wax Center®, XpresCheck® and HyperPointe™.  

    • XpresSpa is a leading retailer of wellness services and related products.  
    • Naples Wax Center is a group of upscale skin care boutiques.  
    • XpresCheck, in partnership with the CDC and Ginkgo Biosecurity, conducts biosurveillance monitoring in its airport locations.
    • HyperPointe is a leading digital healthcare and data analytics relationship company serving the global healthcare industry.  

    For more information on XWELL’s offerings, visit www.XWELL.com. 

    Forward-Looking Statements  
    This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These include statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “should,” “seeks,” “future,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relating to expectations about future results or events are based upon information available to XWELL as of the date of this press release, and are not guarantees of the future performance of the Company, and actual results may vary materially from the results and expectations discussed. Additional information concerning these and other risks is contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning XWELL, or other matters and attributable to XWELL or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. XWELL does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof.

    Media
    Heather Tidwell
    MWW
    htidwell@mww.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mosside accident

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Statement by North Antrim MP, Jim Allister

    “Following a tragic accident in Mosside, North Antrim, there is much anxiety and worry for the young mother involved and her wider family.

    “Many are thinking and praying for this family at this dire time. As the community unites in prayer may the God of all mercy meet their needs.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Omagh Bomb MOU

    Source: Traditional Unionist Voice – Northern Ireland

    Commenting on the Omagh Inquiry MOU with the Dublin Government, TUV leader Jim Allister KC MP said:-

    “The terms of the MOU between the Omagh Inquiry Chairman and the Dublin Government is a reminder in itself of the structural imbalance in the pursuit of the truth of the Omagh bombing.

    “Whereas the Omagh Inquiry in its terms of reference is confined to any failings north of the border – never forgetting it is the terrorists who are to blame – the ROI continues to fail to face up to its responsibilities in circumstances where the bomb was made in its territory and transported to NI by its terrorist citizens.

    “By continuing to refuse to conduct its own public inquiry, as recommended by Horner LJ, the Republic, the Republic once more lives up to its historic record of covering up its harbouring of terrorists.

    “Now, this MOU casts cooperation with the Turnbull Inquiry very much on ROI’s terms, making it clear (para 5) that no legally binding obligations on Dublin are created. Moreover, through the proscribed powers of redaction, which is widened to include non-disclosure of even the existence of a document, any assurance of transparent cooperation from Dublin is significantly undermined (para 36d).

    “Instead of the parallel Dublin Inquiry that is needed, the Republic is fobbing the victims off with promises, but lacking enforceable obligations to ‘open its books’ on what is known.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: LanzaTech Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) (“LanzaTech” or the “Company”), a carbon management solutions company, today filed its annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”).

    Key Takeaways:

    • Reported total revenue of $12.0 million for fourth-quarter 2024 as compared to $20.5 million for fourth-quarter 2023. The decrease was driven primarily by fourth-quarter 2023 benefiting from engineering services performed across several projects which were subsequently completed. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenue was within the forecasted range of potential outcomes previously provided, albeit at the low end of the range due to continued timing delays with several large biorefining projects that remain underway.
    • Reported revenue of $49.6 million for full-year 2024 as compared to $62.6 million for full-year 2023. The year-over-year decrease was primarily driven by 2023 results benefiting from projects that have since reached the completion of their current development phase, coupled with timing delays related to several large biorefining projects experienced throughout 2024.
    • Shifting the Company’s core operational focus from research and development to global deployment LanzaTech’s commercially proven technology is underway, with actions being taken to sharpen the business focus and improve the Company’s cost structure.
    • Evaluating liquidity enhancing initiatives, including capital raising, partnership or asset-related opportunities, and other strategic options. Management has concluded that these initiatives and cost reduction plans do not alleviate substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, per applicable GAAP requirements.

    Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results

    The table below outlines key reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results ($ millions, unless noted):

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Years Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Revenue $ 12.0     $ 20.5     $ 49.6     $ 62.6  
    Cost of revenue   5.6       12.0       26.0       45.0  
    Gross Profit   6.5       8.5       23.6       17.7  
    Operating expenses   33.5       27.1       132.6       124.0  
    Net loss   (27.0 )     (18.7 )     (137.7 )     (134.1 )
    Adjusted EBITDA loss (1) $ (21.2 )   $ (19.6 )   $ (88.2 )   $ (80.1 )

    (1)   See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Reconciliations of GAAP Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA” sections herein for an explanation and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures used throughout this release.

    Revenue

    • Reported total revenue of $12.0 million and $49.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024, respectively, as compared to total revenue of $20.5 million and $62.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The decrease during both periods was driven primarily by 2023 results benefiting from engineering and other services contracts with existing customers and government entities whose projects have since reached completion of their current development phase. Additionally, several large projects experienced timing delays during 2024, which impacted their transferring to the phase where revenue is recognized. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenues were within the forecasted range of potential outcomes previously provided, albeit at the low end of the range due to the aforementioned project delays. Two key projects that did not transfer to a third party, the phase in which revenues are recognized for these projects, were Project Drake in the European Union, and LanzaTech’s site under development in Norway. In addition, LanzaTech continues to expect additional LanzaJet shares to be issued with sublicensing events of LanzaJet’s alcohol-to-jet technology. These projects remain underway during 2025. Fourth-quarter 2024 results include revenue attributable to Project SECURE, which, in December of 2024, was awarded Department of Energy funding for the initiation of phase one of the project. Project SECURE is led by Technip Energies, in partnership with LanzaTech.
    • Joint Development Agreement (“JDA”) & Contract Research revenue for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 was $1.7 million and $10.6 million, respectively, as compared to $4.2 million and $14.6 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The year-over-year decline in both cases was attributable to certain government projects being completed, compounded by a period of downtime prior to new projects commencing, primarily during the second half of 2024.
    • CarbonSmart™ revenue for fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 was $3.9 million and $7.9 million, respectively, as compared to $2.1 million and $5.3 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. Fourth-quarter 2024 revenues increased by 88 percent as compared to fourth-quarter 2023 due to incremental direct fuel sales as a result of establishing licensing arrangements, partners, and supply chain infrastructure during third-quarter 2024.

    Cost of Revenue

    • Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 cost of revenue was $5.6 million and $26.0 million, respectively, as compared to $12.0 million and $45.0 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. Cost of revenue for fourth-quarter 2024 was largely comprised of the cost of the CarbonSmart product sold and headcount allocations related to the delivery of biorefining services and JDA work. Gross margin for fourth-quarter 2024 was 54 percent largely as a function of revenue mix, including additional lower-margin CarbonSmart sales.

    Operating Expenses

    • Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 operating expenses were $33.5 million and $132.6 million, respectively, as compared to $27.1 million and $124.0 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023. The increase year-over-year was driven primarily by project-related expenses, like those incurred for Project Drake and LanzaTech’s project in Norway, that are expected to be recovered once the projects advance to Final Investment Decision (“FID”).

    Net Loss

    • Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 net losses were $27.0 million and $137.7 million, respectively, as compared to fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 net losses of $18.7 million and $134.1 million, respectively. The increase was attributable to a non-cash expense on financial instruments, as well as the same factors that drove the reduction in revenue as compared to prior periods.

    Adjusted EBITDA Loss

    • Fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 adjusted EBITDA losses were $21.2 million and $88.2 million, respectively, as compared to adjusted EBITDA losses of $19.6 million and $80.1 million for fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, respectively. The increases in losses year-over-year are mainly attributable to the same factors that drove the reduction in revenue for the comparative periods.

    Balance Sheet and Liquidity

    As of December 31, 2024, LanzaTech had $58.1 million in total cash, restricted cash, and investments, compared to total cash of $89.1 million at the end of third-quarter 2024.

    About LanzaTech

    LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNZA) is the carbon recycling company transforming waste carbon into sustainable fuels, chemicals, materials, and protein. Using its biorecycling technology, LanzaTech captures carbon generated by energy-intensive industries at the source, preventing it from being emitted into the air. LanzaTech then gives that captured carbon a new life as a clean replacement for virgin fossil carbon in everything from household cleaners and clothing fibers to packaging and fuels. For more information about LanzaTech, please visit https://lanzatech.com.

    Forward Looking Statements

    This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial, of LanzaTech. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of LanzaTech’s management. Although LanzaTech believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, LanzaTech cannot assure you that it will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Generally, statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning possible or assumed future actions, business strategies, events or results of operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “anticipates,” “intends” or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are based on projections prepared by, and are the responsibility of, LanzaTech’s management. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside LanzaTech’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, including the Company’s ability to continue to operate as a going concern. LanzaTech may be adversely affected by other economic, business, or competitive factors, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described under the header “Risk Factors” in its Form 10-K and in future SEC filings. New risk factors that may affect actual results or outcomes emerge from time to time and it is not possible to predict all such risk factors, nor can LanzaTech assess the impact of all such risk factors on its business, or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. You should not put undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements attributable to LanzaTech or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. LanzaTech undertakes no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    To supplement our financial statements presented in accordance with US GAAP and to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have presented adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by US GAAP and is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

    We define adjusted EBITDA as our net loss, excluding the impact of depreciation, interest income, net, stock-based compensation, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, change in fair value of SAFE liabilities, change in fair value of the FPA Put Option liability and Fixed Maturity Consideration, change in fair value of our outstanding convertible note, transaction costs on issuance of Forward Purchase Agreement, (loss) gain from equity method investees and other one-time costs related to the Business Combination and securities registration on Form S-4 and our registration statement on Form S-1. We monitor adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and Board of Directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, to establish budgets, and to develop operational goals for managing our business. We believe adjusted EBITDA helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of certain expenses that we include in net loss. Accordingly, we believe adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors, analysts, and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results and enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects.

    Adjusted EBITDA is not prepared in accordance with US GAAP and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with US GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of adjusted EBITDA rather than net loss, which is the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with US GAAP. For example, adjusted EBITDA: (i) excludes stock-based compensation expense because it is a significant non-cash expense that is not directly related to our operating performance; (ii) excludes depreciation expense and, although this is a non-cash expense, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future; (iii) excludes gain or losses on equity method investee; and (iv) excludes certain income or expense items that do not provide a comparable measure of our business performance. In addition, the expenses and other items that we exclude in our calculations of adjusted EBITDA may differ from the expenses and other items, if any, that other companies may exclude from adjusted EBITDA when they report their operating results. In addition, other companies may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP financial measures as tools for comparison.

    LANZATECH GLOBAL INC.
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (In thousands, except share and per share data)
      December 31,
        2024       2023  
    Assets      
    Current assets:      
    Cash and cash equivalents         $         43,499     $         75,585  
    Held-to-maturity investment securities                   12,374               45,159  
    Trade and other receivables, net of allowance                   9,456               11,157  
    Contract assets                   18,975               28,238  
    Other current assets                   15,030               12,561  
    Total current assets                   99,334               172,700  
    Property, plant and equipment, net                   22,333               22,823  
    Right-of-use assets                   26,790               18,309  
    Equity method investment                   4,363               7,066  
    Equity security investment                   14,990               14,990  
    Other non-current assets                   6,873               5,736  
    Total assets         $         174,683     $         241,624  
    Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity      
    Current liabilities:      
    Accounts payable         $         5,289     $         4,060  
    Other accrued liabilities                   8,876               7,316  
    Warrants                   3,531               7,614  
    Fixed Maturity Consideration and current FPA Put Option liability                   4,123               —  
    Contract liabilities                   6,168               3,198  
    Accrued salaries and wages                   2,302               5,468  
    Current lease liabilities                   158               126  
    Total current liabilities                   30,447               27,782  
    Non-current lease liabilities                   30,619               19,816  
    Non-current contract liabilities                   5,233               8,233  
    Fixed Maturity Consideration                   —               7,228  
    FPA Put Option liability                   30,015               37,523  
    Brookfield SAFE liability                   13,223               25,150  
    Convertible Note                   51,112               —  
    Other long-term liabilities                   587               1,421  
    Total liabilities                   161,236               127,153  
           
    Shareholders’ Equity      
    Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 600,000,000 and 400,000,000 shares authorized; 194,915,711 and 196,642,451 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively                   19               19  
    Additional paid-in capital                   981,638               943,960  
    Accumulated other comprehensive income                   1,393               2,364  
    Accumulated deficit                   (969,603 )             (831,872 )
    Total shareholders’ equity         $         13,447     $         114,471  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity         $         174,683     $         241,624  
    LANZATECH GLOBAL INC.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (In thousands, except share and per share data)
      Three Months Ended December 31,   Years Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Revenues:              
    Contracts with customers and grants $ 5,311     $ 13,834     $ 22,995     $ 45,953  
    CarbonSmart product sales   3,933       2,072       7,943       5,337  
    Collaborative arrangements   1,104       2,413       5,573       5,529  
    Related party transactions   1,682       2,144       13,081       5,812  
    Total revenues   12,030       20,463       49,592       62,631  
    Costs and operating expenses:              
    Contracts with customers and grants(1)   985       8,818       15,341       37,653  
    CarbonSmart product sales(1)   3,894       2,390       7,543       4,889  
    Collaborative arrangements(1)   532       761       2,566       2,265  
    Related party transactions(1)   157       22       520       172  
    Research and development expense   16,459       16,303       77,007       68,142  
    Depreciation expense   1,278       1,471       5,567       5,452  
    Selling, general and administrative expense   15,745       9,343       49,981       50,438  
    Total cost and operating expenses   39,050       39,108       158,525       169,011  
    Loss from operations   (27,020 )     (18,645 )     (108,933 )     (106,380 )
    Other income (expense):              
    Interest income, net   710       1,408       3,162       4,572  
    Other expense, net   5,616       524       (17,726 )     (29,388 )
    Total other expense, net   6,326       1,932       (14,564 )     (24,816 )
    Loss before income taxes   (20,694 )     (16,713 )     (123,497 )     (131,196 )
    Income tax expense   —       —       —       —  
    Loss from equity method investees, net   (6,299 )     (1,961 )     (14,234 )     (2,902 )
    Net loss $ (26,993 )   $ (18,674 )   $ (137,731 )   $ (134,098 )
                   
    Other comprehensive loss:              
    Changes in credit risk of fair value instruments   (1,096 )     —       (1,096 )     —  
    Foreign currency translation adjustments   322       578       124       (376 )
    Comprehensive loss $ (27,767 )   $ (18,096 )   $ (138,703 )   $ (134,474 )
                   
    Unpaid cumulative dividends on preferred stock   —       —       —       (4,117 )
    Net loss allocated to common shareholders $ (26,993 )   $ (18,674 )   $ (137,731 )   $ (138,215 )
                   
    Net loss per common share – basic and diluted $ (0.14 )   $ (0.10 )   $ (0.70 )   $ (0.79 )
    Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted   197,789,128       196,227,601       197,579,945       176,023,219  

    (1) exclusive of depreciation

    LANZATECH GLOBAL INC.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (In thousands)
      Years Ended December 31,
        2024       2023  
    Cash Flows From Operating Activities:      
    Net loss $ (137,731 )   $ (134,098 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:      
    Share-based compensation expense   13,208       15,199  
    Gain on change in fair value of SAFE and warrant liabilities   (17,887 )     (14,471 )
    Loss on change in fair value of the FPA Put Option and the Fixed Maturity Consideration liabilities   23,510       44,300  
    Loss on change in fair value of Convertible Note   11,894       —  
    Provisions for losses on trade and other receivables, net of recoveries   961       700  
    Depreciation of property, plant and equipment   5,592       5,452  
    Amortization of discount on debt security investment   (854 )     (1,301 )
    Non-cash lease expense   1,713       1,526  
    Non-cash recognition of licensing revenue   (11,532 )     (1,805 )
    Loss from equity method investees, net   14,234       2,902  
    Gain from disposal of PPE   (25 )     —  
    Unrealized (Gain)/loss on net foreign exchange   (284 )     182  
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:      
    Accounts receivable, net   557       104  
    Contract assets   9,162       (10,049 )
    Accrued interest on debt investment   183       (266 )
    Other assets   (2,066 )     (2,658 )
    Accounts payable and accrued salaries and wages   (1,790 )     (4,991 )
    Contract liabilities   311       95  
    Operating lease liabilities   641       (337 )
    Other liabilities   1,143       2,220  
    Net cash used in operating activities   (89,060 )     (97,296 )
    Cash Flows From Investing Activities:      
    Purchase of property, plant and equipment   (5,312 )     (8,553 )
    Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment   25       —  
    Purchase of debt securities   (27,083 )     (93,858 )
    Proceeds from maturity of debt securities   60,722       50,000  
    Purchase of additional interest in equity method investment   —       (288 )
    Origination of related party loan   —       (5,212 )
    Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities   28,352       (57,911 )
    Cash Flows From Financing Activities:      
    Proceeds from the Business Combination and PIPE, net of transaction expenses (Note 3)   —       213,381  
    FPA prepayment   —       (60,096 )
    Proceeds from exercise of options   300       2,550  
    Repurchase of equity instruments of the Company   (48 )     (7,650 )
    Settlement of FPA   (10,039 )     —  
    Proceeds from issuance of Convertible Note, net   40,000       —  
    Net cash provided by financing activities   30,213       148,185  
    Effects of currency translation on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   (52 )     (404 )
    Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   (30,547 )     (7,426 )
    Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period   76,284       83,710  
    Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 45,737     $ 76,284  
           
    Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:      
    Acquisition of property, plant and equipment under accounts payable $ 132     $ 279  
    Right-of-use asset additions   10,194       12,866  
    Non-cash partial reversal of FPA upon settlement   24,084       —  
    Third-party issuance costs for the Convertible Note   3,169       —  
    Reclassification of capitalized costs related to the business combination to equity   —       1,514  
    Cashless conversion of warrants on preferred shares   —       5,890  
    Recognition of public and private warrant liabilities in the Business Combination   —       4,624  
    Reclassification of AM SAFE warrant to equity   —       1,800  
    Conversion of AM SAFE liability into common stock   —       29,730  
    Conversion of Legacy LanzaTech NZ, Inc. preferred stock and in-kind dividend into common stock   —       722,160  
    Reclassification of FPA Warrants to equity $ —     $ 3,063  
                                       
    Reconciliation of GAAP Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA
    (In thousands)
    Unaudited
        Three Months Ended December 31,   Years Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net Loss $ (26,993 )   $ (18,674 )   $ (137,731 )   $ (134,098 )
    Depreciation   1,278       (1,471 )     5,567       5,452  
    Interest income, net   (710 )     (1,408 )     (3,162 )     (4,572 )
    Stock-based compensation expense and change in fair value of SAFE and warrant liabilities (1)   6,191       —       (4,679 )     728  
    Change in fair value of the FPA Put Option and Fixed Maturity Consideration liabilities (net of interest accretion reversal)   —       —       23,283       44,300  
    Change in fair value of Convertible Note and related transaction costs   (7,296 )     —       14,276       —  
    Transaction costs on issuance of FPA   —       —       —       451  
    Loss from equity method investees, net   6,299       1,961       14,234       2,902  
    One-time costs related to the Business Combination, initial securities registration and non-recurring regulatory matters(2)   —       —       —       4,693  
    Adjusted EBITDA $ (21,231 )   $ (19,592 )   $ (88,212 )   $ (80,144 )
                     
    (1 ) Stock-based compensation expense represents expense related to equity compensation plans.
                     
    (2 ) Represents costs incurred related to the Business Combination that do not meet the direct and incremental criteria per SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5.A to be charged against the gross proceeds of the transaction, but are not expected to recur in the future, as well as costs incurred subsequent to deal close related to our securities registration on Form S-4 and our registration statement on Form S-1. Regulatory matters includes fees related to non-recurring items during the year ended December 31, 2023.


    Investor Relations Contact

    Kate Walsh

    VP, Investor Relations & Tax

    Investor.Relations@lanzatech.com

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