Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Extra funding to help take pride in the Capital

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    Over the coming year, dedicated teams of cleansing staff from the Council are making their way around the Capital with the aim of sprucing up each neighbourhood and ward.

    The funding being used is almost a million pounds of additional resource allocated in the February 2024 budget to be used this year as well as the same amount each year going forward.   

    The ‘Pride in our City’ project began in March when teams concentrated their efforts around the Leith Walk area (Ward 12) clearing 36 tonnes of dog fouling, litter, dumped items, graffiti, weeds and chewing gum.  

    The Council is using a dedicated website and email address www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cleanstreets and cleanstreets@edinburgh.gov.uk to keep residents up-to-date on when they will be in their area and asking residents to help them prioritise where they think the work most needs to be carried out. Community events are listed on the webpage and how to get involved.  

    Work is now moving to the Leith area (Ward 13) for the next few weeks where the team has its first community event tonight (Wednesday 14 May). This will help the cleansing teams prioritise which streets should be cleaned. They will also carry out inspections of each neighbourhood they work in and use complaint data to help prioritise the streets that most need to be spruced up. 

    Social media is also being used to keep residents up-to-date with progress and signage is being placed in areas where the cleansing teams are working to make local residents and businesses aware. 

    As the teams work in each area around the city, they will also report any other issues they spot, such as pot holes looked after by other Council teams, but which need addressed.  

    Cllr Stephen Jenkinson Environment Convener said:

    I’m really pleased to see this project progressing with the additional funding we allocated last year as it is so important that we all take pride in our city. We’re playing our part as a Council and we’re asking residents in every neighbourhood and ward across Edinburgh to do the same. We are a stunning Capital city popular not only with our residents but also with visitors from across the globe so it’s very important that we all make an effort to do all we can to keep the city looking its best.  

    I’d encourage you to check out our dedicated webpage for updates on when we are coming to your neighbourhood/ward and let us know if there are particular issues in streets in your area such as dog fouling, fly tipping, weeds, graffiti or general littering. If you live, work or study in the Leith area and are aware of streets causing issues which need to be cleaned, I’d also encourage you to go along tonight and tell the team or email them using the dedicated email address. 

    Also for residents and visitors to Edinburgh please make sure you play your part helping us to keep our beautiful Capital city clean by binning your litter responsibly when out and about. For our residents please recycle where possible and book a special uplift appointment for bulker items if you are unable to book a slot at one of our Household and Waste Recycling Centres for appropriate disposal.

    Further information 

    Videos being shared on social media of street cleansing and graffiti removal

    Community event – Wednesday 14 May 2025, 3pm to 6pm

    Ward 13 Leith community workshop
    Thomas Morton Hall, Leith Theatre
    28-30 Ferry Road
    Edinburgh, EH6 4AE

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leader response: Government announces major civil servant move away from Whitehall

    Source: City of Manchester

    Council Leader Bev Craig reacts to the announcement that thousands more civil servants will be moved to UK regions – including a major Digital and AI innovation campus in Manchester. 

    Bev said:

    “The new Manchester Digital Campus will be transformational to our city. We have been working closely with this Government to bring forward this flagship digital campus to Ancoats that will bring 7,000 quality jobs to Manchester, building on the success of the growing Government digital and AI cluster already in the city and turbocharge our plans for economic growth in digital, AI and cyber sectors.

    “This is great news from the Cabinet Office delivering on their ambition to connect Whitehall with local communities outside of London. Locating Government jobs in Manchester is a boost for our residents, and also helps national government deliver better services, tapping into our growing and talented workforce and helping get stuck in with real life issues that can improve services, lead to better Government and improve lives.

    “Over the last decade Manchester has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and one of fastest growing tech and digital ecosystems in the UK. The new digital and AI campus will accelerate that and attract more businesses to the UK to help grow the economy.  We are excited to work in partnership with National Government to deliver this transformational change.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to media reports that a ‘reset’ with the EU could require the precision breeding act to be dropped from UK legislation

    Source: United Kingdom – Science Media Centre

    Scientists comment on reports of an EU ‘reset’ which could mean the precision breeding act is dropped from UK legislation. 

    Dr Penny Hundleby, Senior Scientist at the John Innes Centre, said:

    “As a scientist with over thirty years in genetic technologies, I’ve seen how innovation can transform agriculture. The UK now has a rare opportunity to lead globally in precision breeding — with the legislation passed and the science ready.

    “To delay this progress in order to align with slower EU processes would undermine our ability to deliver resilient, sustainable crops at a time when food security and climate resilience are more urgent than ever. We risk forfeiting a clear post-Brexit advantage grounded in science, safety, and evidence.”

    Prof Huw Jones, Chair in Translational Genomics for Plant Breeding, Aberystwyth University, said:

    “Closer ties with the EU are a good thing but let’s not lose the logical regulatory progress we have made this side of the Channel. Simple gene editing is a speedier and more reliable breeding method to develop the crops we need in a changing world. It’s illogical to regulate these crops as GMOs and it is the EU that has been slow to follow the broad consensus on this. If there are no foreign genes, and the changes could have been generated by conventional breeding, they need regulation – but not as GMOs.”

     

    Prof Neil Hall, Director of the Earlham Institute, said:

    “Given the pressures on global food security, driven by climate change, the growing population and new diseases, it’s important that we harness all of the technical innovations at our disposal to ensure the sustainability of our agricultural systems. 

    “Over the past three years, including these last few months, Parliament has demonstrated important and legitimate leadership by passing the primary and secondary legislation to enable precision breeding in plants. It’s time to enable science research to help farmers adapt to our changing world.”

     

    Prof Jonathan Jones FRS, Group Leader at The Sainsbury Laboratory, said:

    “The Precision Breeding Act (PBA) provides an opportunity to protect our crops from pests and disease with biology rather than chemistry, and also enables new routes to more nutritious food, and I applaud this government and its predecessor for taking the legislation through to final approval and implementation.  It is to my mind the sole Brexit dividend. 

    “However, it takes a long time between producing an improved plant in a lab and creating and obtaining approval for a variety that farmers can plant.  I think it’s highly likely that by the time any precision bred varieties in the UK are ready to plant (likely at least 5 years from now) the EU will have approved its own version of the PBA.

    “So, the government should stick to its guns on the PBA but quietly point out to the EU that, although there are no scientifically credible safety concerns with using these methods, the timelines in this industry are such that it will be a long time before any products are authorized in the UK and thus before any potential problems might arise.”

     

    Prof Sarah Gurr, Chair in Food Security at Exeter University, said:

    “It is sad to realise that whilst we  embraced the need for GM vaccines during the recent COVID epidemic and we seem reticent to embrace gene edited crops. The need for climate proofed and disease resilient gene edited crops is paramount in our quest for sustainable agriculture.”

     

     

     

    https://www.thetimes.com/article/08fe3606-e6ab-4a66-bb31-017165028f08

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14710677/Concessions-Starmer-Brexit-reset-EU-demands-UK-abandons-GM-crops.html

     

     

     

    Declared interests

    Jonathan Jones “is a senior investigator at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, and uses molecular and genetic approaches to study disease resistance in plants. Jones co-founded Norfolk Plant Sciences in 2007 with Prof Cathie Martin of JIC, with the goal of bringing flavonoid-enriched tomatoes to market (www.norfolkplantsciences.com). Jones is on the board of www.isaaa.org, the science advisory board of the 2Blades foundation (www.2blades.org) and the board of NIAB Cambridge University Farm. Jones has isolated and is deploying new resistance genes against potato late blight from wild relatives of potato, and conducting field trials to evaluate how well they work to protect the crop in the field and to generate improved varieties of potato (see http://www.tsl.ac.uk/news/blight-resistant-maris-piper/). See also http://www.tsl.ac.uk/groups/jones-group/.”

    Penny Hundleby “is part of the Crop Transformation Group at the John Innes Centre and using genetic technologies to better understand the role of plant genes. The group provides gene editing resources to the UK and international research community and have been working with gene editing technologies in crops since 2014.”

    Huw Jones: “I am speaking as a researcher at Aberystwyth University and not representing other organisations that I am affiliated with.  I am a member of the FSA ACNFP and Defra ACRE. My declarations of interest are listed on the websites of those Depts.”

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s press encounter following the Ministerial Meeting on the Future of Peacekeeping

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    Minister Wadepuhl, Minister Pistorius,

    Ladies and gentlemen,

    I thank the Government of Germany for hosting impeccably this important meeting in Berlin.

    Germany is a pillar of the multilateral system…

    A strong and generous supporter of the United Nations…

    And an essential partner in our peacekeeping, peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance efforts — with almost 200 German peacekeepers now serving in our ranks.

    I am especially pleased to be here so soon after the new Government took office, and I look forward to building on our partnership in the time ahead.

    The commitment of the German government — and the German people themselves — is strongly reflected in this Ministerial meeting on the future of peacekeeping.

    As I said in my remarks, this year marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

    And nothing symbolizes our organization’s commitment to peace more clearly than our Blue Helmets.

    UN Peacekeeping operations are a cornerstone of the United Nations.

    Each and every day, peacekeepers are hard at work in trouble spots around the world.

    Protecting civilians caught in the line of fire.

    Maintaining ceasefires.

    Keeping lifesaving humanitarian aid flowing.

    And building the foundations of peace in countries shattered by conflict.

    Many have paid the ultimate price over the years — 4,400 in all.

    Their memories, and their service in the cause of peace, will never be forgotten.

    Which is why the commitments being made here today and tomorrow are so important.

    I am heartened by the exceptional turn-out of Ministers from across the globe, representing the full range of peacekeeping partners.  

    Now more than ever we need the political support of UN Member States.

    The goal is not just to keep a lid on conflicts — but to build political support for lasting solutions that can build peace.

    Over these two days, we welcome Member States’ statements of support for peacekeeping — as well as their pledges of military and police capabilities, new partnerships and technological support.

    This meeting is also about something more fundamental:

    The future of peacekeeping itself.

    Let me be clear.

    Peacekeeping operations today are facing massive challenges, increasing the dangers that our brave peacekeepers already face.

    A record number of conflicts.

    Deepening division and mistrust.

    Terrorism and transnational crime.

    And the direct targeting of peacekeepers through drones, improvised explosive devices and even social media.

    We need to ask some tough questions about the mandates guiding these operations, and what the outcomes and solutions should look like.

    Every context is different.

    From our operations in Lebanon, the Central African Republic and South Sudan…

    To our partnerships with the African Union, made stronger with the Security Council’s resolution to support peace enforcement missions under the AU’s responsibility, supported by the UN, including through assessed contributions…
     
    We are working to adapt, to tailor and to support our missions to the needs and requirements of each context.

    Unfortunately, peacekeeping operations have been facing serious liquidity problems.
     
    It is absolutely essential that all Member States respect their financial obligations, paying their contributions in full and on time. 
     
    At the same time, we’re moving forward on an ambitious Review of Peace Operations — including peacekeeping — but also the peace enforcing missions that are becoming more and more neccessary has called for by Member States in September’s Pact for the Future.

    We’re examining how to make peace operations more efficient, cost-effective, flexible and resilient — including in contexts where there is no peace to keep.

    Today’s Ministerial is an important part of this work as we share ideas, and explore ways to strengthen this important function for the future.

    Peacekeepers — and the populations they protect — deserve nothing less.

    In their names, I want to express my thanks and appreciation to Germany and all the countries in attendance, for helping us ensure that peacekeeping is fully equipped for today’s realities and tomorrow’s challenges.

    MIL OSI United Nations News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury appointed

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    New Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury appointed

    Jim O’Neil has been appointed as a new Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.

    Jim brings a wealth of experience from investment banking and corporate finance to the Treasury, after a long career at Bank of America. He also has experience in the public sector, spending three years at UK Financial Investments. As Chief Executive of UKFI, he managed the government’s holdings in Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, and UK Asset Resolution. 

    His appointment is part of the government’s plan to deliver its number one mission to kickstart economic growth as part of the Plan for Change, and follows the Chancellor’s commitment to lead the most pro-growth Treasury in the country’s history.

    Jim’s experience will help the government to secure private investment, boost the economy, and ultimately put more pounds in people’s pockets. His deep knowledge of the private sector will help the government to rip out the barriers to growth, provide support for the key industries at home, and work to secure open and fair trade abroad.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:

    I’m very pleased to welcome Jim as our new Second Permanent Secretary, his extensive knowledge of the private sector will be vital in helping us deliver our number one mission to grow the economy. It’s fantastic to have him join the Treasury’s top team.

    Jim O’Neil said:

    I am delighted to have been appointed Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury at this important time for our country and our economy. We are living through a time of great change globally, making the need for an economy of stability, resilience, and growth all the more important. I look forward to working with the Chancellor, her ministers, and officials across the department to deliver on these missions so the Treasury can bring positive change to the lives of people right across the country.

    Jim is expected to start in his new position in July and will work alongside the two other Second Permanent Secretaries in HM Treasury, Beth Russell who is based at the Darlington Economic Campus and Sam Beckett who is also Chief Economic Adviser. As well as overseeing tax and spending, Beth will continue to be responsible for devolution and regional growth including engagement with regional and local government and others in the north. 

    Jim was appointed through a fair and open competition and has completed all of the necessary declarations of interest.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: FDCTech Reports Over 58% Year-over-Year Revenue Growth in Q1 2025 Driven by Strong Performance Across All Business Segments

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Q1 2025 Highlights Show Continued Growth and Operating Profitability. 

    Irvine, CA, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FDCTech, Inc. (“FDC” or the “Company,” PINK: FDCT), a fintech-driven firm specializing in acquiring and scaling small to mid-size legacy financial services companies, today announced its unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025.

    Q1 2025 Financial Highlights

    • Total Revenue: $10.11 million for Q1 2025, up from $6.38 million in Q1 2024 — an increase of 58.59%, driven primarily by the full-period contribution from the Company’s Investment and Brokerage segment (Alchemy Markets Ltd. and Alchemy Prime Ltd.) and strong performance in the Technology segment.
    • Gross Profit: $5.18 million in Q1 2025, compared to $2.34 million in Q1 2024 — a growth of 121.32%.
    • Net Income: $301,002 in Q1 2025, compared to $833,445 in Q1 2024. The prior-year quarter included significant non-operating income.
    • Cash Position: $26.99 million as of March 31, 2025, up from $24.78 million at year-end 2024.
    • Working Capital: $10.08 million as of March 31, 2025, up from $9.10 million at year-end 2024.
    • Net Assets: $15.64 million as of March 31, 2025, up from $14.43 million at year-end 2024.

    Performance by Segment

    Investment and Brokerage

    • Revenue rose to $7.76 million in Q1 2025 from $4.61 million in Q1 2024 — an increase of 69%, following full consolidation of AML and APL operations and increased trading volume across European clients.

    Wealth Management

    • Revenue was $1.53 million in Q1 2025, consistent with $1.51 million in Q1 2024, reflecting stable advisor-led revenues at AD Advisory Services.

    Technology & Software Development

    • Revenue grew 218% to $0.81 million in Q1 2025 from $0.26 million in Q1 2024, driven by new licensing agreements and custom development projects for its proprietary Condor Trading platform.

    Strategic and Operational Highlights

    • Condor Investing & Trading App: The Company continues development and expects commercialization.
    • International Expansion: Opened and staffed new offices in Cyprus, Malta, and the UK. AML continues to onboard EU retail clients and expand product offerings under its MFSA license.
    • Client Growth: AML now services clients from Germany, France, and other EU countries, including the onboarding of over 2,631 clients from Next Markets and 35 clients from a Cypriot-based broker.
    • Product Offering Expansion: AML obtained MFSA authorization under Article 6 of the Investment Services Act to offer equities and money market securities, expanding its income-generating capabilities.

    FDCTech’s management remains committed to building a diversified and scalable financial services company. With a strong balance sheet, improved operational margins, and growth in core segments, the Company is well-positioned for continued expansion in FY 2025.

    Please visit our SEC filings or the Company’s website for more information on the full results and management’s plan.

    FDCTech, Inc.

    FDCTech, Inc. (“FDC”) is a regulatory-grade financial technology infrastructure developer designed to serve the future financial markets. Our clients include regulated and OTC brokerages and prop and algo trading firms of all sizes in forex, stocks, commodities, indices, ETFs, precious metals, and other asset classes. Our growth strategy involves acquiring and integrating small to mid-size legacy financial services companies, leveraging our proprietary trading technology and liquidity solutions to deliver exceptional value to our clients.

    Press Release Disclaimer

    This press release’s statements may be forward-looking statements or future expectations based on currently available information. Such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions, future market conditions, unusual catastrophic loss events, changes in the capital markets, and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The Company does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, or updated status of such forward-looking statements or information provided by the third party. Therefore, in no case will the Company and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or any related damages.

    Contact Media Relations
    FDCTech, Inc.
    info@fdctech.com
    www.fdctech.com
    +1 877-445-6047
    200 Spectrum Center Drive, Suite 300,
    Irvine, CA, 92618

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Himax and Vuzix to Showcase Integrated Industry-Ready AR Display Module at Display Week 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TAINAN, Taiwan and ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vuzix® Corporation (Nasdaq: VUZI), (“Vuzix”), a leading supplier of AI-powered smart glasses, waveguides and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies and Himax Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIMX) (“Himax”), a leading supplier and fabless manufacturer of display drivers and other semiconductor products, today announced the joint debut of a next-generation AR optical module at Display Week 2025, one of the premier symposiums and exhibitions in the display industry and taking place May 11–16, 2025 in San Jose, California. The demonstration features Himax’s latest ultra-luminous, miniature Dual-Edge Front-lit LCoS microdisplay seamlessly integrated with Vuzix’ production-ready waveguides. Together, the technologies form a fully integrated module that delivers breakthrough brightness and power efficiency in an unparalleled compact design, enabling sleek, lightweight AR glasses for both enterprise and consumer applications. This co-design initiative, scheduled for commercial release at the end of 2025, focuses on optimizing optical performance to deliver industry-leading visual quality.

    Himax’s innovative and proprietary Dual-Edge Front-lit LCoS microdisplay sets a new industry benchmark with a volume of just 0.09 c.c., weighing less than 0.2 grams, yet capable of delivering 1 lumen of output and up to 350,000 nits of luminance, all while consuming no more than 250mW total power consumption. This ensures exceptional eye-level visibility across diverse lighting environments.

    Vuzix’ mass production waveguides elevate the optical experience with a slim 0.7 mm thickness, industry-leading lightweight, less than 5 grams, minimal discreet eye glow below 5%, and a 30-degree diagonal field of view (FOV). Fully customizable and integration-ready for next-generation AR devices, these waveguides support prescription lenses, offer both plastic-substrate and higher-refractive-index options, and are engineered for cost-effective large-scale deployment.

    “This demonstration showcases a commercially viable integration of Himax’s high-performance color LCoS microdisplay with Vuzix’ advanced waveguides, an industry-leading solution engineered for scale,” said Paul Travers, CEO of Vuzix. “Our waveguides are optically superior, customizable, and production-ready. Together, we’re helping accelerate the adoption of next-generation AR wearables.”

    “We are proud to work alongside Vuzix to bring this industry-ready solution to market,” said Simon Fan-Chiang, Senior Director at Himax. “Our latest LCoS innovation redefines what’s possible in size, brightness, and power efficiency paving the way for next generation AR devices. By pairing with Vuzix’ world-class waveguides, we are enabling AR devices that are immersive, comfortable and truly wearable.”

    Himax and Vuzix invite all interested parties to stop by at Booth #1711 at Display Week 2025 to experience the demo and learn more about this exciting joint solution.

    About Vuzix Corporation

    Vuzix is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of AI-powered Smart Glasses, Waveguides and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, components and products for the enterprise, medical, defense and consumer markets. The Company’s products include head-mounted smart personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high-quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays and augmented reality, as well OEM waveguide optical components and display engines. Vuzix holds more than 425 patents and patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the fields of optics, head-mounted displays, and the augmented reality wearables field. The Company has won Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the years 2005 to 2024 and several wireless technology innovation awards among others. Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company (NASDAQ: VUZI) with offices in: Rochester, NY; and Kyoto and Okayama, Japan. For more information, visit the Vuzix website, X and Facebook pages.

    www.vuzix.com

    About Himax Technologies, Inc.

    Himax Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMX) is a leading global fabless semiconductor solution provider dedicated to display imaging processing technologies. The Company’s display driver ICs and timing controllers have been adopted at scale across multiple industries worldwide including TVs, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, among others. As the global market share leader in automotive display technology, the Company offers innovative and comprehensive automotive IC solutions, including traditional driver ICs, advanced in-cell Touch and Display Driver Integration (TDDI), local dimming timing controllers (Local Dimming Tcon), Large Touch and Display Driver Integration (LTDI) and OLED display technologies. Himax is also a pioneer in tinyML visual-AI and optical technology related fields. The Company’s industry-leading WiseEyeTM Ultralow Power AI Sensing technology which incorporates Himax proprietary ultralow power AI processor, always-on CMOS image sensor, and CNN-based AI algorithm has been widely deployed in consumer electronics and AIoT related applications. Himax optics technologies, such as diffractive wafer level optics, LCoS microdisplays and 3D sensing solutions, are critical for facilitating emerging AR/VR/metaverse technologies. Additionally, Himax designs and provides touch controllers, OLED ICs, LED ICs, EPD ICs, power management ICs, and CMOS image sensors for diverse display application coverage. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Tainan, Taiwan, Himax currently employs around 2,200 people from three Taiwan-based offices in Tainan, Hsinchu and Taipei and country offices in China, Korea, Japan, Germany, and the US. Himax has 2,603 patents granted and 389 patents pending approval worldwide as of March 31, 2025.

    http://www.himax.com.tw

    Forward Looking Statements

    Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this conference call include, but are not limited to, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Company’s business; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; market acceptance and competitiveness of the driver and non-driver products developed by the Company; demand for end-use applications products; reliance on a small group of principal customers; the uncertainty of continued success in technological innovations; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; pricing pressures including declines in average selling prices; changes in customer order patterns; changes in estimated full-year effective tax rate; shortage in supply of key components; changes in environmental laws and regulations; changes in export license regulated by Export Administration Regulations (EAR); exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; our ability to collect accounts receivable and manage inventory and other risks described from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings, including those risks identified in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC, as may be amended.

    Vuzix Contact:
    Ed McGregor, Director of Investor Relations
    Vuzix Corporation
    Tel: (585) 359-5985
    Email: IR@vuzix.com
    www.vuzix.com

    Himax Contacts:
    Karen Tiao, Head of IR/PR
    Himax Technologies, Inc.
    Tel: +886-2-2370-3999
    Fax: +886-2-2314-0877
    Email: hx_ir@himax.com.tw
    www.himax.com.tw

    Mark Schwalenberg, Director
    Investor Relations – US Representative
    MZ North America
    Tel: +1-312-261-6430
    Email: HIMX@mzgroup.us
    www.mzgroup.us

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Chelsea Stieber, Associate Professor of French Studies, Tulane University

    Pope Leo XIV appears before thousands of journalists on May 12, 2025, in Vatican City. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

    Early coverage of Pope Leo XIV has explored the first American pontiff’s Chicago upbringing, as well as the many years he spent in Peru, first as a missionary and then as a bishop.

    Genealogist Jari Honora broke the story of the pope’s ancestors’ connection to the Creole of color community in New Orleans. A family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, Honora has given research presentations to my graduate students and consulted with me on my own work. In his research on Leo’s lineage, he was also able to find several official documents that list Haiti as the birthplace of his maternal grandfather, Joseph Norval Martinez.

    The pope’s Creole lineage in Louisiana is interesting enough. But many commentators have strained to make sense of the link to Haiti, if they mention it at all.

    As an expert in 19th-century Haiti, I study the period during which Leo’s ancestors likely traveled between Haiti and New Orleans before migrating to Chicago. Their story is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration.

    A grandfather born in Haiti

    It’s worth noting that Leo’s genealogy is not entirely straightforward.

    At least one record indicates Joseph Norval as having been born in Louisiana. And a 1910 census seems to reinvent the family lineage: Martinez is now “Martina,” Joseph’s birthplace is “S. Domingo,” and he is supposedly Maltese.

    Nevertheless, far more documents – numerous census records as well as his marriage certificate – identify Martinez’s place of birth as Haiti. An 1866 passenger list for a ship bound for New Orleans from Haiti, despite some inconsistencies, does indeed appear to list members of the Martinez family, including his father and three siblings.

    Just because Leo’s grandfather was born in Haiti, it didn’t mean he was Haitian. Instead, he belonged to a class of people in New Orleans known as Creoles of color.

    A three-pronged racial order

    It’s important to understand the historical complexity of the Creole identity in New Orleans and in Louisiana, and its continued significance today.

    The descriptor “Creole of color” is somewhat anachronistic; it emerges at the end of the 19th century in Louisiana to categorize the descendants of a historically subordinate class known as free people of color, or “gens de couleur libres” in French.

    Portrait of a Free Woman of Color by François Jacques Fleischbein.
    Courtesy of the Historic New Orleans Collection

    It has its origins in the tripartite racial order of the French and Spanish colonial periods in the Americas, when authorities created a hierarchy of legal classes: enslaved people, free people of African descent, and white people.

    In theory, free people of color encompassed a range of people. It could describe formerly enslaved people; people who had never been enslaved; people born in Africa; or people with extended, mixed-race American families.

    In 19th-century Louisiana, the term generally referred to people of mixed racial ancestry who were born with free status, though at varying degrees of removal from slavery. They generally spoke French and were Catholic.

    Though they were subject to repressive laws and could never become citizens and gain the right to vote, free people of color could own, inherit and sell property, including enslaved people. Most worked as artisans and shopkeepers, and a handful became quite wealthy through trade and real estate.

    The Martinez family fits squarely within this community.

    Census records from 1850 list Jacques Martinez – Joseph Norval Martinez’s father and Leo’s maternal great-grandfather – as a tailor and modest property owner in New Orleans. They were never enslaved but do not appear to have been enslavers, either.

    Life gets worse for people of color

    So why was Joseph Norval Martinez born in Haiti?

    At some point, his parents probably felt they had to leave New Orleans.

    Despite their relative prosperity, free people of color in Louisiana and throughout the United States were being subjected to increasing legal restrictions, repression and violence in the years leading up to the Civil War.

    This situation worsened in the 1840s and ‘50s, as white Southerners worked to further restrict citizenship and rights along hard racial lines. The 1857 Dred Scott Supreme Court decision affirmed that any people descended from Africa, including free people of color, had no right to citizenship.

    For those who remained in the South, the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 would have made life even more difficult.

    In the first half of the 19th century, many free people of color in Louisiana emigrated to France. But the two main options in the 1860s were Haiti and Mexico.

    However, at the time of the Martinez family’s departure, Mexico was embroiled in conflict with France. Haiti, meanwhile, was crafting an ambitious plan to attract immigrants.

    After the 1804 Haitian Revolution – the uprising against French colonizers that led to the creation of Haiti – the nation became the first in the world to permanently ban slavery. For this reason, many people of color viewed Haiti as a beacon of freedom and equality.

    Indeed, Haiti long promoted itself as a free soil republic: Any person with African descent would enjoy freedom and, eventually, Haitian citizenship. Several Haitian presidents staged immigration campaigns to attract enslaved and formerly enslaved laborers from the United States.

    Fabre Geffrard served as president of Haiti from 1859 to 1867.
    Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

    In response to worsening conditions for people of color in the U.S., Haitian President Fabre Geffrard launched a particularly ambitious campaign, setting up Haitian Emigration bureaus and staffing them with agents in New York, Boston, New Orleans and other major cities. Louisiana newspapers advertised Geffrard’s immigration plan, which included land concessions for families and individuals. Geffrard’s focus was on attracting agricultural laborers – not the kind of work the Martinez family would likely be enticed to take on. Still, skilled artisans were welcomed as immigrants.

    It was within this context that the Martinez family probably departed New Orleans for Haiti. At present there is scant information about their voyage, but the journey would have echoed many family histories of migration from Louisiana to Haiti in the 1860s.

    Based on my study of census and notarial archives, it appears the Martinez family left sometime after the birth of daughter Adele in New Orleans in December 1861 and before the birth of Joseph Norval in Haiti in 1864.

    The promise of Reconstruction crumbles

    The Martinez family didn’t stay in Haiti long.

    According to the passenger list, they returned to New Orleans in February 1866.

    As was the experience for many émigrés to Haiti, they may have found the conditions difficult. It’s also possible that the successes of wartime Reconstruction in Louisiana encouraged them to reestablish their lives in New Orleans.

    They returned to a state transformed by the abolition of slavery. Free people of color were at the forefront of the fight for civil rights and key architects behind a progressive, egalitarian state constitution that called for equal access to education for all citizens.

    The Martinez children likely benefited – albeit briefly – from that provision. The 1870 census records show them all enrolled in school: Michel (14), Girard (12), Adele (9) and young Joseph Norval (6).

    They would also witness the violent backlash to Reconstruction, which was especially intense in Louisiana. In 1866, a white mob laid siege to those attempting to amend the state’s constitution to enfranchise Black voters, in what became known as the Mechanics Institute Massacre. In the ensuing years, the state was gripped by ever more violence.

    A sketch of the Mechanics Institute Massacre in an issue of Harper’s Weekly.
    The Historic New Orleans Collection

    Joseph Norval Martinez married Louise Baquié in 1887, and they went on to have six children, all girls, in New Orleans. He worked as a cigar maker – a common enterprise for free men of color during the period – and later as a clerk.

    The family was subjected to increasing segregation with the Separate Car Act, an 1890 Louisiana statute that separated train cars by race. The Supreme Court went on to uphold the Louisiana statute in 1896, enshrining the “separate but equal” doctrine throughout the South.

    An American tale

    Martinez and Baquié remained in New Orleans until 1910, at which point they joined the millions of other Black Americans who migrated from the South to the North and the West in the early decades of the 20th century, in what became known as the Great Migration. A significant portion, including Martinez and Baquié, ended up in Chicago.

    Their youngest daughter, Mildred Anges Martinez – Leo’s mother – was born there.

    Joseph Norval Martinez’s census records tell a complex story about the history of race in the U.S. Prior to 1900, he is listed as “m” for “mulatto.” In the 1900 census, he is listed as Black. And then in the 1910 census, he is listed as white.

    The Martinez family could not dictate the racial descriptors assigned to them in the census, but they had some claim over birthplace and lineage. Against the backdrop of segregation, disenfranchisement and violence, Martinez appears to have claimed a lineage – Maltese – that the 1910 census categorized as white.

    It is this – and so much more – that makes theirs a truly American story.

    One thing we do know: Martinez reverted back to his original lineage after he and his family settled in Chicago. The 1920 census lists Martinez’s birthplace of record as Haiti.

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

    ref. Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration – https://theconversation.com/pope-leo-xivs-link-to-haiti-is-part-of-a-broader-american-story-of-race-citizenship-and-migration-256425

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Global: Challenges to high-performance computing threaten US innovation

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jack Dongarra, Emeritus Professor of Computer Science, University of Tennessee

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Frontier supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest. Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, CC BY

    High-performance computing, or HPC for short, might sound like something only scientists use in secret labs, but it’s actually one of the most important technologies in the world today. From predicting the weather to finding new medicines and even training artificial intelligence, high-performance computing systems help solve problems that are too hard or too big for regular computers.

    This technology has helped make huge discoveries in science and engineering over the past 40 years. But now, high-performance computing is at a turning point, and the choices the government, researchers and the technology industry make today could affect the future of innovation, national security and global leadership.

    High-performance computing systems are basically superpowerful computers made up of thousands or even millions of processors working together at the same time. They also use advanced memory and storage systems to move and save huge amounts of data quickly.

    With all this power, high-performance computing systems can run extremely detailed simulations and calculations. For example, they can simulate how a new drug interacts with the human body, or how a hurricane might move across the ocean. They’re also used in fields such as automotive design, energy production and space exploration.

    Lately, high-performance computing has become even more important because of artificial intelligence. AI models, especially the ones used for things such as voice recognition and self-driving cars, require enormous amounts of computing power to train. High-performance computing systems are well suited for this job. As a result, AI and high-performance computing are now working closely together, pushing each other forward.

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s supercomputer El Capitan is currently the world’s fastest.

    I’m a computer scientist with a long career working in high-performance computing. I’ve observed that high-performance computing systems are under more pressure than ever, with higher demands on the systems for speed, data and energy. At the same time, I see that high-performance computing faces some serious technical problems.

    Technical challenges

    One big challenge for high-performance computing is the gap between how fast processors are and how well memory systems can keep up with the processors’ output. Imagine having a superfast car but being stuck in traffic – it doesn’t help to have speed if the road can’t handle it. In the same way, high-performance computing processors often have to wait around because memory systems can’t send data quickly enough. This makes the whole system less efficient.

    Another problem is energy use. Today’s supercomputers use a huge amount of electricity, sometimes as much as a small town. That’s expensive and not very good for the environment. In the past, as computer parts got smaller, they also used less power. But that trend, called Dennard scaling, stopped in the mid-2000s. Now, making computers more powerful usually means they use more energy too. To fix this, researchers are looking for new ways to design both the hardware and the software of high-performance computing systems.

    There’s also a problem with the kinds of chips being made. The chip industry is mainly focused on AI, which works fine with lower-precision math like 16-bit or 8-bit numbers. But many scientific applications still need 64-bit precision to be accurate. The greater the bit count, the more digits to the right of the decimal point a chip can process, hence the greater precision. If chip companies stop making the parts that scientists need, then it could become harder to do important research.

    This report discusses how trends in semiconductor manufacturing and commercial priorities may diverge from the needs of the scientific computing community, and how a lack of tailored hardware could hinder progress in research.

    One solution might be to build custom chips for high-performance computing, but that’s expensive and complicated. Still, researchers are exploring new designs, including chiplets – small chips that can be combined like Lego bricks – to make high-precision processors more affordable.

    A global race

    Globally, many countries are investing heavily in high-performance computing. Europe has the EuroHPC program, which is building supercomputers in places such as Finland and Italy. Their goal is to reduce dependence on foreign technology and take the lead in areas such as climate modeling and personalized medicine. Japan built the Fugaku supercomputer, which supports both academic research and industrial work. China has also made major advances, using homegrown technology to build some of the world’s fastest computers. All of these countries’ governments understand that high-performance computing is key to their national security, economic strength and scientific leadership.

    The U.S.-China supercomputer rivalry explained.

    The United States, which has been a leader in high-performance computing for decades, recently completed the Department of Energy’s Exascale Computing Project. This project created computers that can perform a billion billion operations per second. That’s an incredible achievement. But even with that success, the U.S. still doesn’t have a clear, long-term plan for what comes next. Other countries are moving quickly, and without a national strategy, the U.S. risks falling behind.

    I believe that a U.S. national strategy should include funding new machines and training for people to use them. It would also include partnerships with universities, national labs and private companies. Most importantly, the plan would focus not just on hardware but also on the software and algorithms that make high-performance computing useful.

    Hopeful signs

    One exciting area for the future is quantum computing. This is a completely new way of doing computation based on the laws of physics at the atomic level. Quantum computers could someday solve problems that are impossible for regular computers. But they are still in the early stages and are likely to complement rather than replace traditional high-performance computing systems. That’s why it’s important to keep investing in both kinds of computing.

    The good news is that some steps have already been taken. The CHIPS and Science Act, passed in 2022, provides funding to expand chip manufacturing in the U.S. It also created an office to help turn scientific research into real-world products. The task force Vision for American Science and Technology, launched on Feb. 25, 2025, and led by American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Sudip Parikh, aims to marshal nonprofits, academia and industry to help guide the government’s decisions. Private companies are also spending billions of dollars on data centers and AI infrastructure.

    All of these are positive signs, but they don’t fully solve the problem of how to support high-performance computing in the long run. In addition to short-term funding and infrastructure investments, this means:

    • Long-term federal investment in high-performance computing R&D, including advanced hardware, software and energy-efficient architectures.
    • Procurement and deployment of leadership-class computing systems at national labs and universities.
    • Workforce development, including training in parallel programming, numerical methods and AI-HPC integration.
    • Hardware road map alignment, ensuring commercial chip development remains compatible with the needs of scientific and engineering applications.
    • Sustainable funding models that prevent boom-and-bust cycles tied to one-off milestones or geopolitical urgency.
    • Public-private collaboration to bridge gaps between academic research, industry innovation and national security needs.

    High-performance computing is more than just fast computers. It’s the foundation of scientific discovery, economic growth and national security. With other countries pushing forward, the U.S. is under pressure to come up with a clear, coordinated plan. That means investing in new hardware, developing smarter software, training a skilled workforce and building partnerships between government, industry and academia. If the U.S. does that, the country can make sure high-performance computing continues to power innovation for decades to come.

    Jack Dongarra receives funding from the NSF and the DOE.

    ref. Challenges to high-performance computing threaten US innovation – https://theconversation.com/challenges-to-high-performance-computing-threaten-us-innovation-255188

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2025: Innovative Financing to Unlock Africa’s Energy Potential

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    PARIS, France, May 14, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Africa holds immense energy potential, with more than 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, 620 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 60% of the world’s best solar resources. Yet, the continent continues to struggle with attracting the capital needed to leverage these resources for transformative development. Addressing this paradox, panelists at the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris underscored how innovative financing mechanisms can help unlock Africa’s vast energy opportunities.

    “There’s a huge amount of financing required to close the financing gap on the continent. It’s quite clear that there’s not enough capital and we need to think about innovative ways to source capital. With the right fiscal regimes, regulatory frameworks and policies, investors will come to invest in the energy sector in Africa,” stated Taiwo Okwor, Vice President: Invest Division and Natural Resources Division at development institution the Africa Finance Corporation.

    By utilizing innovative financing tools and regional cooperation mechanisms, Africa will be able to scale investments and reduce risk. Additionally, by leveraging blended finance, de-risking strategies and multilateral partnerships, countries can not only secure capital but bolster energy access at a continental scale. However, challenges will need to be addressed, including lack of investor certainty, regulatory barriers and red tape.  

    “Investors thrive on predictability,” stated Ibra Ndiaye, Partner: Energy, Industry & Services at professional services network Forvis Mazars. “According to the African Energy Chamber, 45% of investors cite uncertainty in legal frameworks in Africa as a major concern before entering new markets. This ambiguity in regulatory frameworks creates a delay in project implementation.”

    To address regulatory challenges and increase energy capacity, there is an urgent need for systemic reform in the continent’s utility companies. Stronger institutions and reforms have emerged as critical drivers for attracting private sector involvement. Panelists noted that many state-owned utilities across Africa are unable to deliver consistent and reliable energy services due to financial instability and poor infrastructure.

    “What have we done to improve the quality of utilities going forward? I think 85% of utilities across Africa are technically insolvent and cannot meet the energy needs of Africans,” stated Reginald Max, Senior Advisor for Infrastructure and Independent Power Producers for financial institution the Trade and Development Bank. Max added that until the underlying inefficiencies in energy distribution and cost recovery are addressed, investor confidence will remain weak.

    Another core issue raised was the necessity of implementing cost-reflective tariffs. Tariff policies in many countries have kept electricity prices artificially low, discouraging private investment and further burdening state utilities.

    “The key is cost-reflective tariffs,” stated Liz Williamson, Head of Energy Corporate Finance at investment banking firm Rand Merchant Bank, adding, “We need the political will to go through the pain to get to cost-reflective tariffs. This could make a big difference in terms of liability.”

    As the session concluded, the panelists emphasized that while the continent faces considerable hurdles, the combination of its resource wealth and growing investor interest presents a promising path forward – if governments and stakeholders can align on reform, innovation and regional integration.

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Celebrating one year of fostering for East Midlands Councils

    Source: City of Derby

    As the UK marks Foster Care Fortnight this May, Foster for East Midlands Councils is celebrating the milestone of a successful first 12 months of foster carer recruitment across the region.

    Formed in April 2024, Foster for East Midlands is a collaborative initiative between Derby City, Derbyshire, Nottingham City, and Nottinghamshire Councils, funded by the Department for Education. United under one name, the councils are working together to find loving, local foster homes for children in their communities.

    This regional approach brings together years of experience, good practice, and shared values. Instead of competing to recruit the same foster carers, the councils now work together making it quicker and easier for prospective foster carers to begin their journey.

    Among the new carers are Sharnie and Zak, who live with their young daughter. Inspired to foster through Foster for East Midlands Councils, they are now encouraging others to explore this life-changing path.

    Foster carer Sharnie said:

    We chose to foster through Foster for East Midlands Councils because we knew it would connect us to a supportive network within our local community. Foster carers play a vital role in helping councils provide the best care for children, and it’s comforting to know we’re part of a system that genuinely prioritises their wellbeing. The ongoing support and resources we’ve received from our local council have been invaluable—whether it’s training, guidance, or just someone to talk to when we need it.

    The moment we were approved to foster was incredible. We were excited but also nervous at first, and everyone we’ve met has been so kind and helpful. We’ve never felt alone in this journey. It’s truly rewarding to know we’re making a positive impact on children’s lives right here in our own area.

    Over the past year, Foster for East Midlands Councils has also implemented the Mockingbird programme—a global award-winning model that creates extended families of foster carers for mutual support. Led by The Fostering Network, Mockingbird nurtures relationships between children, carers, and support networks, promoting resilience and long-term stability. Following its success, two new constellations will launch this year in Nottinghamshire and Derby City, extending support to even more carers.

    Highlights from the first year of Foster for East Midlands Councils (April 2024 – March 2025) are:

    • 1,204 enquiries received
    • 420 converted into initial applications
    • 215 initial home visits completed
    • 110 households submitted a full application
    • 19 households approved following panel taking the total across the two counties to 58 over the year
    • 4 successful Mockingbird constellations

    Councillor Paul Hezelgrave, Lead Council’s Cabinet Member for Foster East Midlands said:

    The launch of Foster for East Midlands Councils is a big step forward in how we find and support foster carers in our region. By working together, we’ve created a more joined-up, user-friendly service for anyone thinking about fostering. This teamwork helps us break down barriers and make the process simpler, more consistent, and better suited to the needs of carers and the children we look after.

    At the heart of this partnership is a shared goal: to build a strong, supportive system that helps more children stay close to home—near their schools, friends, and the communities they know. We understand how important a stable, loving home is for a child’s future, and with this new approach, we’re determined to offer that chance to even more young people across the East Midlands.

    Janet Daby, Minister for Children and Families said:

    As a former fostering social work registered manager, I’ve had the privilege of seeing so many children flourish thanks to foster care. It’s fantastic to see the success of Foster for East Midlands Councils, enabling more children in the region to grow up in safe, loving homes. 

    As part of our Plan for Change, we want to encourage more people to transform a child’s life chances through fostering, which is why we’re investing £40 million across the country to increase the number of foster homes and strengthen support for families.

    Foster for East Midlands Councils welcomes people from all backgrounds, what matters most is your dedication and your desire to support children who need a safe and loving home.

    If you’re considering fostering find out more visit Foster for East Midlands web page, call 03033 132 950 or email hello@fosterforeastmidlands.org.uk

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected dangerous drugs worth about $10.25 million (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Hong Kong Customs on May 12 and yesterday (May 13) seized about 21 kilograms of suspected ketamine and about 1.1kg of suspected cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $10.25 million at Hong Kong International Airport and in Sau Mau Ping.

    Through risk assessment, Customs on May 12 inspected an air cargo consignment, declared as audio cable and arriving in Hong Kong from Belgium, at the airport. The consignee address was a residential address in Sau Mau Ping. Upon inspection, Customs officers found about 21kg of suspected ketamine, with an estimated market value of about $10 million, concealed in the consignment.

    After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers conducted a controlled delivery operation yesterday (May 13) and arrested a male consignee, aged 24, in the aforesaid residential unit in Sau Mau Ping. Customs officers later searched the premises and further seized about 1.1kg of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $250,000.

    The arrested person has been charged with two counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (May 15).

    Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, nor to release their personal data or home address to others for receiving parcels or goods.

    Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

    Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

    Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Gaza: Minister for the Middle East statement, 14 May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Oral statement to Parliament

    Gaza: Minister for the Middle East statement, 14 May 2025

    Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer made a statement to the House of Commons on Gaza.

    Mr Speaker,

    Yesterday, alongside partners, the UK convened a meeting of the UN Security Council in response to the intolerable civilian suffering and humanitarian need in Gaza.

    As I told this House yesterday, Israel’s denial of aid is appalling. 

    Tonnes of food are currently sitting rotting at the Gaza/Israel border, blocked from reaching people who are starving.

    Israeli Ministers have said Israel’s decision to block this aid is a “pressure lever”.

    This is cruel and it is indefensible.

    Overnight yet more Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes.

    This must end.

    The message yesterday was clear.

    The world wants Israel to stop and change course immediately.

    With our allies we are telling the Government of Israel:  lift the block on aid entering Gaza now. Enable the UN and all humanitarians to save lives, now. We need an immediate ceasefire, now.

    Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool or military tactic. And the UK will not support any aid mechanism that seeks to deliver political or military objectives or puts vulnerable civilians at risk.

    The International Court of Justice case on genocide is ongoing.

     Mr Speaker,

    We support the ICJ. We support its independence.

    The ICJ issued a set of provisional measures in this case and we support those measures.

    Israel has an obligation to implement them.

    It is the UK government’s long-standing position that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent court, and not for governments or non-judicial bodies.

    The UK is fully committed to upholding our responsibilities under domestic and international law.

    And we have at all times acted in a manner consistent with our legal obligations, including under the Genocide Convention.

    The devastation from this conflict must end.

    Our complete focus is on lifting Israeli restrictions on aid,

    On freeing the hostages held by Hamas,

    On protecting civilians,

    And on restoring the ceasefire.

    We will work urgently with our allies and partners on further pressure to make Israel change course.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: OxyCon Returns: The Flagship Web Scraping Conference Opens 2025 Registration

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VILNIUS, Lithuania, May 14, 2025 – Leading web intelligence collection platform Oxylabs announces registration start for the year’s main event. OxyCon 2025, the annual free conference uniting industry experts from all over the world, is set for October 1.

    After last year’s success, topped by the introduction of OxyCopilot, the first ever AI copilot for scraping, organizers Oxylabs are hoping for an even bigger event. “We are encouraged by the many positive messages we’ve received from last year’s attendees about the event’s engaging presentations and organization. They only make our ambition for the next OxyCon grow and fuel the preparations,” said Julius Černiauskas, CEO at Oxylabs.

    OxyCon invites industry leaders, journalists, legal experts, and scraping enthusiasts to discuss the present and future of large-scale public web data collection and its role in today’s business.

    Each year, the conference addresses various topics from technical specifics to big-picture market outlooks. Its speakers give practical advice and insightful analyses into the potential directions of web scraping and related industries. Last year’s hit presentations were as diverse as mimicking natural mouse movements with algorithms, legal compliance in the age of AI, and a human-centric approach to web scraping.

    While the speakers and topics of the upcoming conference will be confirmed at a later date, fans of OxyCon can be sure of one thing. Keeping in the spirit of community building, OxyCon remains free for everyone to join online.

    Černiauskas noted, “A lot is going on, from developments in Artificial Intelligence to changing regulations around web data gathering. In this vibrant industry, the role of OxyCon is to provide everyone with the opportunity to stay in the loop, learn from each other, and build the future of ethical web scraping together.”

    Follow THIS LINK to secure your free spot to attend OxyCon 2025 online. Stay tuned for updates and mark October 1 as the date for informative sessions and engaging discussions between the top minds in public web data gathering.

    About Oxylabs

    Established in 2015, Oxylabs is a web intelligence platform and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilise the power of big data. Constant innovation, an extensive patent portfolio, and a focus on ethics have allowed Oxylabs to become a global leader in the web intelligence collection industry and forge close ties with dozens of Fortune Global 500 companies. Oxylabs was named Europe’s fastest-growing web intelligence acquisition company in the Financial Times FT 1000 list for several consecutive years. For more information, please visit: https://oxylabs.io/

    Media Contacts

    Vytautas Kirjazovas
    Oxylabs.io
    Tel: +370 655 34419
    Email: press@oxylabs.io

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI USA: Embrace the process: Master Sgt. Preston Lewis Reflects on service, leadership, legacy at African Lion 2025

    Source: United States Army

    U.S. Army Master Sgt. Preston Lewis, assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), poses for a picture during African Lion 2025 (AL25) at Agadir, Morocco on May 8, 2025. African Lion 25 (AL25), the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) VIEW ORIGINAL

    Back to

    U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF)

    AGADIR, Morocco – On the surface, U.S. Army Master Sgt. Preston Lewis’s role in African Lion 2025 (AL25) might seem procedural—coordinating accountability, awards and human resource (HR) operations across four countries, including 50 multinational partner nations. But behind the spreadsheets, manifests and morning reports is a leader nearing the end of a 20-year journey through some of the most defining environments in the modern U.S. Army.

    For Lewis, currently serving as the Plans, Operations and Personnel Accountability (G1) noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) for U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), AL25 has been both a capstone assignment and a full-circle reflection of what service means.

    “I was assigned to assist in human resource operations, particularly personnel accountability for the entire area of responsibility,” Lewis said. “This is my first time supporting African Lion, and it’s been a great experience—setting the HR conditions and procedures across all spokes of the exercise.”

    A global career, rooted in purpose

    Lewis enlisted from Akron, Ohio, in 2005, beginning a career that would span the globe and multiple operational domains. From fueling helicopters in Korea, to serving as a gunner in Iraq, an inspector general at Fort Knox, and now a senior HR planner in Italy—his breadth of assignments reflects a generation of service shaped by war, reform and transformation.

    U.S. Army Master Sgt. Preston Lewis, assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), poses for a photo during African Lion 2025 (AL25) at Agadir, Morocco, May 8, 2025. African Lion 25 (AL25), the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Mallett) VIEW ORIGINAL

    “I’ve been fortunate to serve all over the world,” Lewis said. “I’ve deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, and Atlantic Resolve-Poland. I’ve served as a fueler, a drill sergeant and now as an HR professional. It’s been a journey.”

    He joined SETAF-AF in April 2023 after serving as an inspector general with U.S. Army Cadet Command, then quickly integrated into one of the most operationally agile staff directorates in the theater. At AL25, his work enabled the personnel functions that make a 10,000-troop, 50-nation exercise succeed: accountability, essential personnel services and award recognition planning.

    “Success for the G1 team during AL25 is 100% accountability, timely and accurate HR support and appropriate awards recognition,” he said. “And that’s a team effort—from my leadership to our junior NCOs [noncommissioned officers].”

    Interoperability through friction

    In a joint and multinational environment, personnel accountability is not just a checklist; it is a dynamic, evolving challenge. Working alongside units like the 646th Regional Support Group, U.S. Army Reserve unit under the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and coordinating across language and procedural barriers, Lewis and his team had to balance doctrinal processes with real-world adaptability.

    “Interoperability is a daily goal, but the friction it creates is also where the most meaningful growth happens,” he said. “It forces you to communicate better, plan tighter and adjust faster.”

    He credited U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bridgette Bell, G1 division chief, SETAF-AF, and Staff Sgt. Alessandra Johnson, an HR operations NCO with the same unit, for creating an environment where clarity and initiative are standard.

    Leadership, legacy and the long view

    For Lewis, who will soon transition to serve as the brigade human resources NCOIC for the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade, the pace has not slowed. But he is increasingly aware of his next chapter, especially as he watches his son, a newly minted geospatial engineer, begin his own Army career.

    U.S. Army Master Sgt. Preston Lewis, right, stands proudly beside his son, Pfc.Tristin D. Griffin, following Griffin’s Advanced Individual Training graduation at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, April 16, 2025. The moment marked a generational milestone as one Soldier nears the end of a 20-year career, and another begins his own journey in uniform. The image accompanies Lewis’ African Lion 2025 (AL25) feature story on leadership, legacy and service. African Lion 25 (AL25), the largest annual military exercise in Africa, brings together over 50 nations, including seven NATO allies and 10,000 troops to conduct realistic, dynamic and collaborative training in an austere environment that intersects multiple geographic and functional combatant commands. Led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) on behalf of the U.S. Africa Command, AL25 takes place from April 14 to May 23, 2025, across Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. This large-scale exercise will enhance our ability to work together in complex, multi-domain operations—preparing forces to deploy, fight and win. (Courtesy photo) (Photo Credit: SETAF Africa) VIEW ORIGINAL

    “My son just graduated AIT [advanced individual training] and wants to become a warrant officer,” he shared proudly. “At the same time, my daughter was inducted into the National Honor Society at Vicenza High School. Seeing them grow reminds me that I’m at the point where legacy matters.”

    That legacy is shared closely with his wife, Teresha, who also serves in the SETAF-AF community as a human resources specialist, Civilian Personnel Division. Together, they have raised a family and built a life anchored in purpose, service and resilience.

    “Preston is the kind of leader who shows up for his people, even when no one’s watching.” said Teresha. “He’s devoted to his team, to our family, and to building something that lasts beyond the uniform.”

    To those who wear a military uniform, including his children, he gives the following advice.

    “Embrace the process. We live in a world of instant gratification, but the journey is the gift,” he said. “The most valuable lessons I’ve learned have come through struggle, reflection and the grind.”

    About SETAF-AF

    U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.

    Follow SETAF-AF on:

    Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn & DVIDS

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: DfE Update: 14 May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    DfE Update: 14 May 2025

    Latest information and actions from the Department for Education about funding, assurance and resource management, for academies, local authorities and further education providers.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Details

    Latest for further education

    No edition.

    Latest information for academies

    Article Title
    Webinar Academy finance professionals May power hour – HMRC
    Webinar Q&A drop-in sessions: Academies chart of accounts and automation
    Webinar DfE Energy for schools: simplified buying of gas and electricity
    Webinar Buying ICT for your school
    Webinar The Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) webinar

    Latest information for local authorities

    Article Title
    Reminder Submit your section 151 (S151) officer assurance return and schools financial value standard (SFVS) assurance statement for 2024 to 2025
    Webinar DfE Energy for schools: simplified buying of gas and electricity
    Webinar Buying ICT for your school
    Webinar The Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) webinar

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Have your say to Keep Manadon Moving

    Source: City of Plymouth

    Residents, businesses, schools and community groups are being asked for their views on the future of Manadon Roundabout.

    The scheme, which is being funded in the most part by the Department of Transport, was given the green light earlier this year.

    Plans revealed today show a new initial design, with extra capacity on the entrances to the roundabout, as well as new bus priority and improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

    In person information events will take place:
    Wednesday 21 May, 5.30pm to 7pm, Manadon Sports Hub
    Wednesday 4 June, 5.30pm to 7pm, Manadon Sports Hub
    Friday 20 June, 4.30pm to 6pm, Manadon Sports Hub
    Saturday 21 June, 10.30am to 12.30pm, Central Library

    The transformation of under-used green space off Treveneague Gardens into a new park with footpaths, biodiversity enhancements and recreational space for local residents is also in the plans.

    A six-week engagement exercise called ‘Keep Manadon Moving’ will allow residents to have their say on the plans through a number of channels and help shape the final design of the scheme.

    Manadon Roundabout is at the heart of Plymouth’s transport network. It connects people to their jobs, families, schools and the hospital. It’s also a key gateway to the A38, Tavistock Road and the city centre, linking our community with Devon, Cornwall and the wider UK.

    We’ve all been there; experienced long queues at peak times, unpredictable delays, safety risks and unreliable travel. It has to change, not just for us now, but for the future as Plymouth grows.

    If we do nothing, congestion will worsen as the city continues to grow, queues will extend dangerously onto the A38, and access to key places like Derriford Hospital, Plymouth Argyle matches and the dockyard will be harder than ever.

    Here’s what’s being proposed to fix it:

    • A38 eastbound off-slip widening – expanding to four lanes, increasing capacity and easing traffic entering Manadon Roundabout
    • A38 westbound off-slip widening – creating an extra lane to increase capacity and improve safety
    • A386 Tavistock Road northbound improvements – a new traffic lane heading north, removing the existing merge to improve flow
    • A386 Tavistock Road southbound improvements – a new lane to reduce bottlenecks onto the roundabout and a
    • New signalised junction at Southwell Road to improve access
    • A386 Outland Road improvements – an additional lane on the approach to the roundabout to increase capacity
    • Mannamead Road – New bus priority lane northbound
    • New cycle bridge across the A38 at Manadon – connecting north and south
    • Replacement of the existing pedestrian bridge over the A386 Tavistock Road – Making it fully accessible for all users
    • Improved footbridge over the A38 to the west of Manadon
    • New pedestrian crossing at Southwell Road – safer access for residents
    • New woodland pathways – linking green spaces with the road network.

    Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We must improve Manadon, not just for reliability and efficiency today, but also for the future and we’re determined to get it right.

    “At the basis of this will be robust and meaningful engagement across a number of channels, not just with residents, but across a broad demographic of business and organisations.

    “So please, look at the plans, fill in the forms, have your say. We have been very clear that resident feedback can shape the final design of this scheme and that’s why your impact is crucial.”

    With improvements to bus reliability among the aims for the scheme, Richard Stevens, Managing Director of Plymouth City Bus, said: “We welcome improvements to the Manadon Interchange and are fully onboard with the ethos and vision behind the scheme.

    “I’d encourage all bus users to get involved with the engagement process and ensure that their views on the initial design of the scheme are heard.”

    Have your say on the bid to Keep Manadon Moving at: https://keepmanadonmoving.commonplace.is

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cycle Saturday event at Les Quennevais14 May 2025 Islanders are invited to come along to a free cycling event this Saturday at Les Quennevais Cycle Track, 11am to 4pm. A range of activities will be on offer for all ages and abilities, whether a regular… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    14 May 2025

    Islanders are invited to come along to a free cycling event this Saturday at Les Quennevais Cycle Track, 11am to 4pm. 

    A range of activities will be on offer for all ages and abilities, whether a regular cycle commuter or learning to ride for the first time: 

    • Try-a-bike: test ride cycles including adapted cycles, cargo cycles, e-bikes and pedal bikes with Powerhouse, Bicycle Workshop and Cycle Without Limits 
    • Learn to ride: join a session with Jersey Sport, open to all ages 
    • Guided cycle rides: to Corbière or St Peter’s Village and return 
    • Cycle clinic: get your cycle safety checked for free by a qualified mechanic 
    • Talk to representatives: from Better Journeys Week and States of Jersey Police 
    • Get a free heart health check: with the cardiology nursing team.

    The event is being hosted by I&E’s Climate Change Engagement team with Jersey Sport and local cycle shops also taking part. 

    More information about the event, including timings of activities can be found on gov.je: Cycle Saturday.​

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New alert system flags up if patient needs urgent care14 May 2025 ​Islanders are now able to access potentially life-saving heart treatment more quickly thanks to a new initiative that flags up if they need rapid care. ​And the pioneering work, which is being conducted… Read more

    Source: Channel Islands – Jersey

    14 May 2025

    ​Islanders are now able to access potentially life-saving heart treatment more quickly thanks to a new initiative that flags up if they need rapid care. 

    ​And the pioneering work, which is being conducted by the Jersey Heart Team, is feeding into a national project which will shape how heart failure is treated worldwide in the future.

    The new initiative – one of a number of projects in the Jersey Fighting Failure (JeFF) programme –​ ​​involves a simple blood test and a new, automatic alert system. 

    ​​If a clinician believes a patient may be at risk of heart failure, they can order a blood test to see if the person has a high level of a particular protein – B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). An extremely high level of BNP is associated with heart failure. 

    ​Under the new initiative, the Jersey Heart Team is automatically alerted if a patient in the community or in the Hospital has an extremely high level of BNP. Previously, the lab would send the results back to the GP or medic who ordered the test, and they would then need to refer the patient to the heart team. 

    If a patient’s BNP level is found to be extremely high, they are invited for an Echocardiogram – a cardiac ultrasound – and a review of their case. Under the new scheme they are seen within 48 hours if they are in the community, or 24 hours, if they are an inpatient. 

    ​​Due to this intervention, patients are able to access vital treatment much sooner – with most patients being prescribed medication immediately after their scan. 

    ​​Gualberto Jardim is one of the patients who has already benefitted from the new alert system. Thanks to his rapid treatment he has been able to return to work as a plasterer.

    “I’m very lucky,” he said. “I had very dangerous heart failure but because I was prescribed some specific heart medication my dangerous condition improved rapidly to almost normal health.” 

    Patients are tracked by the heart team to see if an early intervention helps with their longer-term medical outcomes. The information collected by the team will be analysed and then shared as part of the quality improvement projects under the British Society of Heart Failure’s “25 in 25” initiative – which seeks to reduce heart failure deaths by 25% in 25 years. 

    ​Meanwhile, the blood sample process will be streamlined even further as a new piece of kit – which can test someone’s blood for BNP in minutes from a finger prick – will arrive in the Island shortly. The machine means that some blood tests will be undertaken in the community rather than requiring a blood sample to be sent to the Hospital’s pathology lab for analysis. 

    The news of the alert system comes a year after it was announced that Jersey had been selected to take part in the “25 in 25” scheme. 

    Dr Brian Wang, Clinical Fellow in Cardiology, said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be involved in the “25 in 25” initiative and amazing to see firsthand how patients are already benefitting by being treated more quickly if elevated levels of BNP are detected in their blood. The projects that we’re doing on the Island not only benefits Jersey patients but also help to shape how heart failure will be treated globally in the future.” 

    The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Tom Binet, added: “This is another piece of great news from the Jersey Heart Team. The team is not only helping to save lives, but they are undertaking important research into heart failure. Investing in preventative health care through initiatives such as early screening or changes in lifestyle will help reduce the need for hospitalisations or emergency care. This results in better outcomes for patients and will also help to bring down the costs of running the Island’s health system.”​

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £10 million regeneration scheme set to breathe new life into St James Street

    Source: City of Derby

    A bold £10 million regeneration project has been unveiled, breathing new life into the heart of Derby city centre.

    Developer St James Street (Derby) Ltd, working in partnership with Derby City Council, has launched ambitious plans to restore, regenerate and revitalise more than a dozen properties on St James Street, one of the city’s most historically significant but underused areas.

    The developer acquired the properties from Clowes Developments in summer 2024, supported by Derby City Council and the Government’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF).

    The properties comprise a mix of long-term vacant ground floor shops and extensive redundant upper floor spaces.

    Marc and Rebecca Brough, owners of the development company, recently acquired Allestree Hall from Derby City Council and are also founders of Cubo, the UK’s fastest growing high-end flex office company.

    St James Street has long been considered an ‘at risk’ street, with vacancy rates consistently exceeding 50%. However, with the opening of the city’s brand-new live entertainment venue, Vaillant Live, and the restored Derby Market Hall, the street is set to gain enhanced visibility and footfall.

    Beginning with the transformation of The Tramshed, a disused historic warehouse space, into Grade A office space, the scheme aims to completely overhaul ground-floor retail units and repurpose extensive, unused upper floors.

    A planning application is now ready to be submitted to create 29 apartments on the upper floors of the properties, stretching from The Strand to the end of St James Street, as well as new shopfronts on the vacant ground floor units.

    Future phases include plans to rejuvenate St James’s Yard and reinstate the pedestrian link from Sadler Gate through to St James Street.

    Rigby & Co acted on behalf of St James Street (Derby) Ltd to acquire the site from Clowes Developments.

    Commenting on the launch of the scheme, Marc Brough said:

    We opened the first Cubo flexible office space at the corner of St James Street in 2020 and it has saddened me to see how this once-thriving street has become so run down and neglected since then.

    As a company we are committed to breathing new life into these buildings – bringing long term vacant buildings back into economic use, driving higher footfall and vibrancy and creating a vibrant environment that will benefit businesses, residents and visitors.

    We could not have embarked on this journey without the unwavering support from Derby City Council and their extended team and partners who have played a key role in helping bring our vision to life through the Future High Streets Fund.

    Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy, welcomed the news:

    We were thrilled to partner with St James Street (Derby) Ltd on this project to revitalise this key area of our city centre. The team have made rapid progress and we’re looking forward to seeing the first phase of the scheme come to life.

     Working closely with our partners, we’ve been able to make great progress in revitalising areas of our city centre. St James Street is a prime example of how, by collaborating with private sector partners, we can bring our vision for a vibrant city centre to life.

    Commercial property and regeneration specialists Rigby & Co acted for St James Street (Derby) Ltd in acquiring the properties from Clowes Developments.

    Russell Rigby, managing director of Rigby & Co added:

    This is a massive shot in the arm for Derby city centre – the scheme needs vision, pace, experience and a ‘can-do’ attitude to overcome a number of barriers which have previously held this street back from releasing its full potential.

    This ambitious scheme not only signals a new chapter for St James Street, but it also reinforces Derby’s commitment to transforming Derby city centre through innovation and partnership working.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: Boralex reports net earnings of $41 million for the first quarter of 2025 and the start of production at the Limekiln wind farm, its first operational project in the United Kingdom

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MONTREAL, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Boralex Inc. (“Boralex” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: BLX) is pleased to report its results for the first quarter of 2025.

    Highlights

    Financial results

    • Lower EBITDA(A)1, operating income and net earnings in Q1-2025
      • Production down 4% (1% on a Combined1 basis)2 from Q1-2024 and 10% (11%) below anticipated production1. Good weather conditions in Canada partially offset less favourable conditions in France.
      • EBITDA(A) of $176 million ($199 million) in Q1-2025, down $19 million ($19 million) from Q1-2024, mainly attributable to lower production and short-term power purchase agreements prices that were more favourable in Q1-2024, in France.
      • Operating income of $65 million ($99 million) in Q1-2025, down $41 million ($35 million) from Q1-2024.
      • Net earnings of $41 million in Q1-2025, down $32 million from Q1-2024.
    • Lower cash flow related to operating activities for the quarter but consistently strong balance sheet
      • Net cash flows related to operating activities of $172 million for Q1-2025 compared to $230 million for Q1-2024.
      • Discretionary cash flows1 of $74 million for Q1-2025, down $4 million from Q1-2024.
      • $388 million in cash and cash equivalents and $504 million in available cash resources and authorized financing1 as at March 31, 2025.
      • Extension of the term of the revolving credit facility to 2030 in April 2025, along with an increase in the letter-of-credit facility guaranteed by Export Development Canada from $350 million to $470 million in April.

    Update on development and construction activities

    • Start of production at the 106 MW Limekiln wind farm in Scotland
    • Progress in under-construction and ready-to-build projects in spite of supply chain and construction costs challenges
      • Ongoing construction at the Apuiat wind project in Québec (total 200 MW, Boralex’s share 100 MW), with commissioning scheduled for summer 2025.
      • Construction of the Hagersville (300 MW) and Tilbury (80 MW) storage projects in Ontario progressing on schedule, with commissioning planned for the fourth quarter of 2025.
      • Ongoing work on the Des Neiges Sud wind project in Québec (total 400 MW, Boralex’s share 133 MW), with phased commissioning scheduled for in late 2026/early 2027.
    • 129 MW added to early-stage project pipeline

    “Boralex has had a good start to 2025 with the commissioning of Limekiln, our first wind farm in Scotland, which is a major step toward achieving our growth objectives in the United Kingdom, a market with strong development potential. I am very grateful to our teams, whose dedication continue to ensure the company’s growth in our strategic markets. In a context of increasingly volatile resources, the geographic and technological diversification of our operations makes us more resilient,” said Patrick Decostre, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boralex.

    “During the quarter, our wind assets in Canada delivered a strong performance, partially offsetting lower contributions from wind farms in France, which were adversely affected by less favourable wind conditions and the impact of lower contribution from short term contracts. Our teams remain fully focused on improving the operating performance of our assets, pursuing with our cost optimization initiatives and strengthening our selling price optimization strategy. In the coming quarters, Boralex is planning to bid on multiple projects under the calls for tender to be issued this year in each of our target markets. We look forward to sharing news on our 2025-2030 strategic plan at our Investor Day, which will be held on June 17 in Toronto,” Mr. Decostre added.

    ______________________________________________
    1 EBITDA(A) is a total of segment measures. Anticipated production is an additional financial measure. “Combined,” “discretionary cash flows” and “available cash resources and authorized financing” are non-GAAP financial measures and do not have a standardized definition under IFRS. Consequently, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. For more details, see the Non-IFRS financial measures and other financial measures section of this press release.
    2 Figures in brackets indicate results on a Combined basis as opposed to a Consolidated basis.

    1st quarter highlights

    Three-month periods ended March 31

        Consolidated   Combined  
    (in millions of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise specified) (unaudited)   2025   2024   Change   2025   2024   Change  
                $   %           $   %  
    Power production (GWh)(1)   1,691   1,767   (76 ) (4 ) 2,334   2,355   (21 ) (1 )
    Revenues from energy sales and                                  
    feed-in premium   226   259   (33 ) (13 ) 267   291   (24 ) (8 )
    Operating income   65   106   (41 ) (39 ) 99   134   (35 ) (26 )
    EBITDA(A)   176   195   (19 ) (10 ) 199   218   (19 ) (9 )
    Net earnings   41   73   (32 ) (44 ) 41   73   (32 ) (44 )
    Net earnings attributable to                                  
    shareholders of Boralex   30   55   (25 ) (46 ) 30   55   (25 ) (46 )
    Per share – basic and diluted   $0.29   $0.53   ($0.24 ) (46 ) $0.29   $0.53   ($0.24 ) (46 )
    Net cash flows related to operating                                  
    activities   172   230   (58 ) (25 )        
    Cash flows from operations(2)   135   157   (22 ) (14 )        
    Discretionary cash flows   74   78   (4 ) (5 )        
    (1) Power production includes the production for which Boralex received financial compensation following power generation limitations as management uses this measure to evaluate the Corporation’s performance. This adjustment facilitates the correlation between power production and revenues from energy sales and feed- in premium.
    (2) The cash flows from operations is a non-GAAP financial measure and does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS. Accordingly, it may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. For more details, see the Non-IFRS and other financial measures section of this press release.

    In the first quarter of 2025, Boralex produced 1,691 GWh (2,334 GWh) of electricity, 4% (1%) less than the 1,767 GWh (2,355 GWh) produced in the same quarter of 2024. The decrease was attributable mainly to unfavourable wind conditions in France and to a lesser degree to hydropower in the United States. Boralex ended the quarter with production that was 10% (11%) below anticipated production.

    Revenues from energy sales and feed-in premiums for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, amounted to $226 million ($267 million), 13% (8%) lower than in the first quarter of 2024. The decrease was mainly attributable to the lower production and price impact in France, where Boralex had benefited from higher prices in the previous year. EBITDA(A) amounted to
    $176 million ($199 million), down 10% (9%) from the first quarter of 2024. The lower prices in France were partly offset by a decrease in the inframarginal rent contribution, which no longer applies in 2025. Operating income totalled $65 million ($99 million), compared to $106 million ($134 million) for the same quarter of 2024. Boralex posted net earnings of $41 million, down $32 million from $73 million in the same quarter of 2024.

    Outlook

    Boralex’s 2025 Strategic Plan is built around the same four strategic directions as the plan launched in 2019 – growth, diversification, customers and optimization – and six corporate targets. The details of the plan, which also sets out Boralex’s corporate social responsibility strategy, are found in the Corporation’s annual report. Highlights of the main achievements of fiscal 2024 in relation to the 2025 Strategic Plan can be found in the 2024 Annual Report, which is available in the Investors section of the Boralex website.

    In the coming quarters, Boralex will continue to work on its various initiatives under the strategic plan, including project development, analysis of acquisition targets and optimization of power sales and operating costs.

    Finally, to fuel its organic growth, the Corporation has a pipeline of projects at various stages of development defined on the basis of clearly identified criteria, totalling 8 GW of wind, solar and energy storage projects.

    Dividend declaration

    The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1650 per common share. This dividend will be paid on June 16, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 30, 2025. Boralex designates this dividend as an “eligible dividend” pursuant to paragraph 89 (14) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and all provincial legislation applicable to eligible dividends.

    About Boralex

    At Boralex, we have been providing affordable renewable energy accessible to everyone for over 30 years. As a leader in the Canadian market and France’s largest independent producer of onshore wind power, we also have facilities in the United States and development projects in the United Kingdom. Over the past five years, our installed capacity has increased by more than 50% to over 3.2 GW. We are developing a portfolio of projects in development and construction of more than 8 GW in wind, solar and storage projects, guided by our values and our corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach. Through profitable and sustainable growth, Boralex is actively participating in the fight against global warming. Thanks to our fearlessness, our discipline, our expertise and our diversity, we continue to be an industry leader. Boralex’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLX.

    For more information, visit www.boralex.com or www.sedarplus.ca. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

    Non-IFRS measures

    Performance measures

    In order to assess the performance of its assets and reporting segments, Boralex uses various performance measures. Management believes that these measures are widely accepted financial indicators used by investors to assess the operational performance of a company and its ability to generate cash through operations. The non-IFRS and other financial measures also provide investors with insight into the Corporation’s decision making as the Corporation uses these non-IFRS financial measures to make financial, strategic and operating decisions. It is important to note that the non-IFRS financial measures should not be considered as substitutes for IFRS measures. They are primarily derived from the audited consolidated financial statements, but do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS; accordingly, they may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-IFRS financial measures are not audited and have important limitations as analytical tools. Investors are therefore cautioned not to consider them in isolation or place undue reliance on ratios or percentages calculated using these non-IFRS financial measures.

    Non-IFRS financial measures
    Specific financial measure Use Composition Most directly comparable IFRS measure
    Financial data – Combined (all disclosed financial data) To assess the performance and the ability of a company to generate cash from its operations and investments in joint ventures and associates. Results from the combination of the financial information of Boralex Inc. under IFRS and the share of the financial information of the Interests.

    Interests in the Joint Ventures and associates, Share in earnings (losses) of the Joint Ventures and associates and Distributions received from the Joint Ventures and associates are then replaced with Boralex’s respective share in the financial statements of the Interests (revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities, etc.)

    Respective financial data – Consolidated
    Discretionary cash flows To assess the cash generated from operations and the amount available for future development or to be paid as dividends to common shareholders while preserving the long-term value of the business.

    Corporate objectives for 2025 from the strategic plan.

    Net cash flows related to operating activities before “change in non-cash items related to operating activities,” less:

    (i) distributions paid to non-controlling shareholders;
    (ii) additions to property, plant and equipment (maintenance of operations);
    (iii) repayments on non-current debt (projects) and repayments to tax equity investors;(iv) principal payments related to lease liabilities;
    (v) adjustments for non-operational items; plus
    (vi) development costs (from the statement of earnings).

    Net cash flows related to operating activities
    Cash flows from operations To assess the cash generated by the Corporation’s operations and its ability to finance its expansion from these funds. Net cash flows related to operating activities before changes in non-cash items related to operating activities. Net cash flows related to operating activities
    Available cash and cash equivalents(1) To assess the cash and cash equivalents available, as at the balance sheet date, to fund the Corporation’s growth. Represents cash and cash equivalents, as stated on the balance sheet, from which known short-term cash requirements are excluded. Cash and cash equivalents
    Available cash resources and authorized financing(1) To assess the total cash resources available, as at the balance sheet date, to fund the Corporation’s growth. Results from the combination of credit facilities available to fund growth and the available cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents


    (1)
    For more details on the reconciliation between the non-GAAP financial measure and the most directly comparable financial measure, see the Capital and liquidity – Available cash resources and authorized financing section in this report.

    Other financial measures – Total of segments measure
    Specific financial measure Most directly comparable IFRS measure
    EBITDA(A) Operating income
    Other financial measures – Supplementary Financial Measures
    Specific financial measure Composition
    Credit facilities available for growth The credit facilities available for growth include the unused tranche of the parent company’s credit facility, apart from the accordion clause, as well as the unused tranche credit facilities of subsidiaries which includes the unused tranche of the credit facility – France and the unused tranche of the construction facility.
    Anticipated production For older sites, anticipated production by the Corporation is based on adjusted historical averages, planned commissioning and shutdowns and, for all other sites, on the production studies carried out.


    Combined

    The following tables reconcile Consolidated financial data with data presented on a Combined basis:

          2025     2024
    (in millions of Canadian dollars) (unaudited) Consolidated Reconciliation(1) Combined Consolidated  Reconciliation(1) Combined
    Three-month periods ended March 31:            
    Power production (GWh)(2) 1,691 643 2,334 1,767 588 2,355
    Revenues from energy sales and feed-in            
    premium 226 41 267 259 32 291
    Operating income 65 34 99 106 28 134
    EBITDA(A) 176 23 199 195 23 218
    Net earnings 41 41 73 73
      As at March 31, 2025 As at December 31, 2024
    Total assets 7,582 924 8,506 7,604 872 8,476
    Debt – Principal balance 4,095 554 4,649 4,032 556 4,588
    (1) Includes the respective contribution of joint ventures and associates as a percentage of Boralex’s interest less adjustments to reverse recognition of these interests under IFRS. This contribution is attributable to the North America segment’s wind farms and includes corporate expenses of $1 million under EBITDA(A) for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 ($1 million as at March 31, 2024).
    (2) Includes compensation following electricity production limitations.


    EBITDA(A)

    EBITDA(A) is a total of segment financial measures and represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude other items such as acquisition and restructuring costs, other losses (gains), net loss (gain) on financial instruments and foreign exchange loss (gain), with the last two items included under Other.

    EBITDA(A) is used to assess the performance of the Corporation’s reporting segments.

    EBITDA(A) is reconciled to the most comparable IFRS measure, namely, operating income, in the following table:

              2025           2024   Change
    2025 vs 2024
    (in millions of Canadian dollars) (unaudited) Consolidated   Reconciliation(1)   Combined   Consolidated   Reconciliation(1)   Combined   Consolidated   Combined
    Three-month periods ended March 31:                              
    EBITDA(A) 176   23   199   195   23   218   (19 ) (19)
    Amortization (74 ) (16 ) (90 ) (73 ) (15 ) (88 ) (1 ) (2)
    Impairment (6 )   (6 )       (6 ) (6)
    Other gains (losses) (4 )   (4 ) 4     4   (8 ) (8)
    Share in earnings of joint ventures                              
    and associates (28 ) 28     (19 ) 19     (9 )
    Change in fair value of a derivative                              
    included in the share in earnings of                              
    a joint venture 1   (1 )   (1 ) 1     2  
    Operating income 65   34   99   106   28   134   (41 ) (35)
    (1) Includes the respective contribution of joint ventures and associates as a percentage of Boralex’s interest less adjustments to reverse recognition of these interests under IFRS.


    Cash flow from operations and discretionary cash flows

    The Corporation computes the cash flow from operations and discretionary cash flows as follows:

      Consolidated
      Three-month periods ended   Twelve-month periods ended  
      March 31   March 31   December 31  
    (in millions of Canadian dollars) (unaudited) 2025   2024   2025   2024  
    Net cash flows related to operating activities 172   230   157   215  
    Change in non-cash items relating to operating activities (37 ) (73 ) 236   200  
    Cash flows from operations 135   157   393   415  
    Repayments on non-current debt (projects)(1) (64 ) (65 ) (238 ) (240 )
    Adjustment for non-operating items(2) 5     11   7  
      76   92   166   182  
    Principal payments related to lease liabilities(3) (7 ) (6 ) (20 ) (19 )
    Distributions paid to non-controlling shareholders(4) (4 ) (18 ) (38 ) (52 )
    Additions to property, plant and equipment        
    (maintenance of operations) (2 ) (2 ) (10 ) (10 )
    Development costs (from statement of earnings) 11   12   56   57  
    Discretionary cash flows 74   78   154   158  
    (1) Includes repayments on non-current debt (projects) and repayments to tax equity investors, and excludes VAT bridge financing, early debt repayments and repayments under the construction facility – Boralex Energy Investments portfolio.
    (2) For the twelve-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, favourable adjustment consisting mainly of acquisition and restructuring costs.
    (3) Excludes the principal payments related to lease liabilities for projects under development and construction.
    (4) Includes distributions paid to non-controlling shareholders as well as the portion of discretionary cash flows attributable to the non-controlling shareholder of Boralex Europe Sàrl.


    Available cash resources and authorized financing

    The Corporation computes the cash flow from operations and discretionary cash flows, as well as available cash resources and authorized financing, as follows:

    (in millions of Canadian dollars) (unaudited) As at March 31,
    2025
      As at December 31,
    2024
     
    Available cash and cash equivalents(1)        
    Cash and cash equivalents 388   592  
    Cash and cash equivalents held by entities subject to project debt agreements and restrictions (318 ) (526 )
    Bank overdraft (13 ) (5 )
    Available cash and cash equivalents 57   61  
    Credit facilities of the parent company    
    Authorized credit facility(2) 550   550  
    Amounts drawn under the authorized credit facility(3) (178 ) (157 )
    Unused tranche of the parent company’s credit facility 372   393  
    Unused tranche of the subsidiary’s credit facilities 75   69  
    Credit facilities available for growth(4) 447   462  
    Available cash resources and authorized financing 504   523  
    (1) Available cash and cash equivalents is a non-GAAP measure and doesn’t have a standardized meaning under IFRS. Accordingly, it may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies. For more details, see the Non-IFRS and other financial measures section in this report.
    (2) Excluding the accordion clause of $200 million ($150 million as at December 31, 2024).
    (3) As at March 31, 2025, this amount included $13 million in letters of credit ($33 million as at December 31, 2024).
    (4) Credit facilities available for growth is a supplementary financial measure. For more details, see the Non-IFRS and other financial measures section in this report.


    Disclaimer regarding forward-looking statements

    Certain statements contained in this release, including those related to results and performance for future periods, installed capacity targets, EBITDA(A) and discretionary cash flows, the Corporation’s strategic plan, business model and growth strategy, organic growth and growth through mergers and acquisitions, obtaining an investment grade credit rating, payment of a quarterly dividend, the Corporation’s financial targets, the projects commissioning dates, the portfolio of renewable energy projects, the Corporation’s Growth Path, the bids for new storage and solar projects and its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives are forward-looking statements based on current forecasts, as defined by securities legislation. Positive or negative verbs such as “will,” “would,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “intend,” “assess,” “estimate” or “believe,” or expressions such as “toward,” “about,” “approximately,” “to be of the opinion,” “potential” or similar words or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology, are used to identify such statements.

    Forward-looking statements are based on major assumptions, including those about the Corporation’s return on its projects, as projected by management with respect to wind and other factors, opportunities that may be available in the various sectors targeted for growth or diversification, assumptions made about EBITDA(A) margins, assumptions made about the sector realities and general economic conditions, competition, exchange rates as well as the availability of funding and partners. While the Corporation considers these factors and assumptions to be reasonable, based on the information currently available to the Corporation, they may prove to be inaccurate.

    Boralex wishes to clarify that, by their very nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and that its results, or the measures it adopts, could be significantly different from those indicated or underlying those statements, or could affect the degree to which a given forward-looking statement is achieved. The main factors that may result in any significant discrepancy between the Corporation’s actual results and the forward-looking financial information or expectations expressed in forward-looking statements include the general impact of economic conditions, fluctuations in various currencies, fluctuations in energy prices, the risk of not renewing PPAs or being unable to sign new corporate PPA, the risk of not being able to capture the US or Canadian investment tax credit, counterparty risk, the Corporation’s financing capacity, cybersecurity risks, competition, changes in general market conditions, industry regulations and amendments thereto, particularly the legislation, regulations and emergency measures that could be implemented for time to time to address high energy prices in Europe, litigation and other regulatory issues related to projects in operation or under development, as well as certain other factors considered in the sections dealing with risk factors and uncertainties appearing in Boralex’s MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.

    Unless otherwise specified by the Corporation, forward-looking statements do not take into account the effect that transactions, non-recurring items or other exceptional items announced or occurring after such statements have been made may have on the Corporation’s activities. There is no guarantee that the results, performance or accomplishments, as expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, will materialize. Readers are therefore urged not to rely unduly on these forward-looking statements.

    Unless required by applicable securities legislation, Boralex’s management assumes no obligation to update or revise forward- looking statements in light of new information, future events or other changes.

    For more information:

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Global-e Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    PETAH-TIKVA, Israel, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global-e Online Ltd. (Nasdaq: GLBE) the platform powering global direct-to-consumer e-commerce, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2025.

    “We had another quarter of strong results, demonstrating our ability to grow fast even within macroeconomic turbulent times with Q1 results coming in at or above the midpoints across our guidance. While the market remains volatile with a higher level of uncertainty given the on-going global duty tariff dynamics, our pipeline is very active and we see increased interest in our services.”

    We are also excited about the long term extension of our strategic partnership agreement with Shopify, which will allow us to take this partnership to the next level,” said Amir Schlachet, Founder and CEO of Global-e.”

    Q1 2025 Financial Results

    • GMV1 in the first quarter of 2025 was $1,243 million, an increase of 34% year over year
    • Revenue in the first quarter of 2025 was $189.9 million, an increase of 30% year over year, of which service fees revenue was $84.0 million and fulfillment services revenue was $105.9 million
    • Non-GAAP gross profit2 in the first quarter of 2025 was $86.3 million, an increase of 31% year over year. GAAP gross profit in the first quarter of 2025 was $84.1 million
    • Non-GAAP gross margin2 in the first quarter of 2025 was 45.4%, compared to 45.3% in the first quarter of 2024. GAAP gross margin in the first quarter of 2025 was 44.3%
    • Adjusted EBITDA3 in the first quarter of 2025 was $31.6 million compared to $21.3 million in the first quarter of 2024
    • Net loss in the first quarter of 2025 was $17.9 million compared to $32.1 million in the first quarter of 2024

    Recent Business Highlights

    • Announced a new 3-year strategic partnership agreement with Shopify, renewing the companies’ long-standing relationship for both 1P (i.e. Shopify Managed Markets) and 3P solutions
    • Launched our 3B2C offering allowing merchants to partially mitigate unnecessary price hikes in key destination markets, while avoiding the costs and effort involved in creating a full multi-local setup for specific markets
    • Revamped our Merchant Portal, adding two important Self-Service BI tools for merchants – a real time sales dashboard and a funnel analysis dashboard, and providing easier access to frequently used areas
    • Continued growing with brands across geographies and verticals, including:
      • Europe: Launched Subdued out of Italy and VIBAe footwear, Global-e’s first large merchant based in Finland
      • Sports clubs: Launched with Atletico Madrid in Spain
      • APAC: Multiple merchant launches including Threetimes and Samo Ondoh in Korea, T2Tea and Scarlet & Sam in Australia, Bandai-Namco, United Arrows Tabaya and Sacai in Japan, and many more
      • Expanded with a number of merchants including the launch of Adidas Hong Kong

    Q2 2025 and Full Year Outlook

    Global-e is introducing second quarter guidance and is maintaining the full year guidance as follows:

    Q2 2025 and Full Year Outlook

    Global-e is introducing second quarter guidance and is maintaining the full year guidance as follows:

      Q2 2025   FY 2025   Previous FY 2025
    (in millions)
    GMV (1) $1,387 – $1,427   $6,190 – $6,490   $6,190 – $6,490
    Revenue $204 – $211   $917 – $967   $917 – $967
    Adjusted EBITDA (3) $35 – $39   $179 – $199   $179 – $199

    1 Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is a key operating metric. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics” for additional information regarding this metric.

    2 Non-GAAP Gross profit and Non-GAAP gross margin are non-GAAP financial measures. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics” for additional information regarding this metric.

    3 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information regarding this metric, including the reconciliations to Operating Profit (Loss), its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The Company is unable to provide a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Operating Profit (Loss), its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort because items that impact this GAAP financial measure are not within the Company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. These items may include, but are not limited to, share-based compensation expenses. Such information may have a significant, and potentially unpredictable impact on the Company’s future financial results.

    Conference Call Information:

    Global-e will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
    The call will be available, live, to interested parties by dialing:

    United States/Canada Toll Free: 1-800-717-1738
    International Toll: 1-646-307-1865
       

    A live webcast will also be available in the Investor Relations section of Global-E’s website at: https://investors.global-e.com/news-events/events-presentations

    Approximately two hours after completion of the live call, an archived version of the webcast will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s web site and will remain available for approximately 30 calendar days.

    The press release with the financial results will be accessible on the Company’s Investor Relations website prior to the conference call.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Operating Metrics

    To supplement Global-e’s financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America, or GAAP, Global-e considers certain financial measures and key performance metrics that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP including:

    • Non-GAAP gross profit, which Global-e defines as gross profit adjusted for amortization of acquired intangibles. Non-GAAP gross margin is calculated as Non-GAAP gross profit divided by revenues
    • Adjusted EBITDA, which Global-e defines as net profit (loss) adjusted for income tax (benefit) expenses, financial expenses (income) net, stock based compensation expenses, depreciation and amortization, commercial agreements amortization, amortization of acquired intangibles, merger related contingent consideration, and acquisition related expenses.
    • Free Cash Flow, which Global-e defines as net cash provided by operating activities less the purchase of property and equipment.

    Global-e also uses Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) as a key operating metric. Gross Merchandise Value or GMV is defined as the combined amount we collect from the shopper and the merchant for all components of a given transaction, including products, duties and taxes and shipping.

    The aforementioned key performance indicators and non-GAAP financial measures are used, in conjunction with GAAP measures, by management and our board of directors to assess our performance, including the preparation of Global-e’s annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, for financial and operational decision-making, to evaluate the effectiveness of Global-e’s business strategies, and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. These measures are frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in our industry. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are appropriate measures of operating performance because they remove the impact of certain items that we believe do not directly reflect our core operations, and permit investors to view performance using the same tools that we use to budget, forecast, make operating and strategic decisions, and evaluate historical performance.

    Global-e’s definition of Non-GAAP measures may differ from the definition used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish these metrics or similar metrics. Furthermore, these metrics have certain limitations in that they do not include the impact of certain expenses that are reflected in our consolidated statement of operations that are necessary to run our business. Thus, Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, not as substitutes for, or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

    For more information on the non-GAAP financial measures, please see the reconciliation tables provided below. The accompanying reconciliation tables have more details on the GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations between these financial measures.

    Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

    This press release contains estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements as contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our future strategy and projected revenue, GMV, Adjusted EBITDA and other future financial and operational results, growth strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, including, among others, expansion in new and existing markets, the launch of large enterprise merchants, and our ongoing partnership with Shopify, are forward-looking statements. As the words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “target,” “seek,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “contemplate,” “possible” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Global-e believes there is a reasonable basis for its expectations and beliefs, but they are inherently uncertain. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this announcement, including but not limited to, our rapid growth and growth rates in recent periods may not be indicative of future growth; our ability to retain existing merchants and to attract new merchants; our ability to anticipate merchant needs or develop or integrate new functionality or enhance our existing platforms to meet those needs; the impact of imposed tariffs or other trade regulations on our business and financial results; our ability to implement and use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies successfully; our ability to compete in our industry; our reliance on third-parties, including our ability to realize the benefits of any strategic alliances, joint ventures, or partnership arrangements and to integrate our platforms with third-party platforms; our ability to adapt our platform and services for the Shopify platforms; our ability to develop or maintain the functionality of our platforms, including real or perceived errors, failures, vulnerabilities, or bugs in our platforms; our history of net losses; our ability to manage our growth and manage expansion into additional markets and the introduction of new platforms and offerings; our ability to accommodate increased volumes during peak seasons and events; our ability to effectively expand our marketing and sales capabilities; our expectations regarding our revenue, expenses and operations; our ability to operate internationally; our reliance on third-party services, including third-party providers of cross-docking services and third-party data centers, in our platforms and services and harm to our reputation by our merchants’ or third-party service providers’ unethical business practices; our operation as a merchant of record for sales conducted using our platform; regulatory requirements and additional fees related to payment transactions through our e-commerce platforms could be costly and difficult to comply with; compliance and third-party risks related to anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, regulations, economic sanctions and export control laws and import regulations and restrictions; our business’s reliance on the personal importation model; our ability to securely store personal information of merchants and shoppers; increases in shipping rates; fluctuations in the exchange rate of foreign currencies has impacted and could continue to impact our results of operations; our ability to offer high quality support; our ability to expand the number of merchants using our platforms and increase our GMV and to enhance our reputation and awareness of our platforms; our ability to adapt to emerging or evolving regulatory developments, changing laws, regulations, standards and technological changes related to privacy, data protection, data security and machine learning technology and generative artificial intelligence evolves; our role in the fulfilment chain of the merchants, which may cause third parties to confuse us with the merchants; our ability to establish and protect intellectual property rights; and our use of open-source software which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software technologies; our dependency on our executive officers and other key employees and our ability to hire and retain skilled key personnel, including our ability to enforce non-compete agreements we enter into with our employees; litigation for a variety of claims which we may be subject to; the adoption by merchants of a D2C model; our anticipated cash needs and our estimates regarding our capital requirements and our needs for additional financing; our ability to maintain our corporate culture; our ability to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting; our ability to accurately estimate judgments relating to our critical accounting policies; changes in tax laws or regulations to which we are subject, including the enactment of legislation implementing changes in taxation of international business activities and the adoption of other corporate tax reform policies; requirements to collect sales or other taxes relating to the use of our platforms and services in jurisdictions where we have not historically done so; global events or conditions in individual markets such as financial and credit market fluctuations, war, climate change, and macroeconomic events; risks relating to our ordinary shares, including our share price, the concentration of our share ownership with insiders, our status as a foreign private issuer, provisions of Israeli law and our amended and restated articles of association and actions of activist shareholders; risks related to our incorporation and location in Israel, including risks related to the ongoing war and related hostilities; and the other risks and uncertainties described in Global-e’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2025 and other documents filed with or furnished by Global-e from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management’s current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

    About Global-E Online Ltd.

    Global-e (Nasdaq: GLBE) is the world’s leading platform enabling and accelerating global, Direct-To-Consumer e-commerce. The chosen partner of over 1,400 brands and retailers across the North America, EMEA and APAC, Global-e makes selling internationally as simple as selling domestically. The company enables merchants to increase the conversion of international traffic into sales by offering online shoppers in over 200 destinations worldwide a seamless, localized shopping experience. Global-e’s end-to-end e-commerce solutions combine best-in-class localization capabilities, big-data best-practice business intelligence models, streamlined international logistics and vast global e-commerce experience, enabling international shoppers to buy seamlessly online and retailers to sell to, and from, anywhere in the world. For more information, please visit: www.global-e.com.

    Investor Contact:
    Alan Katz
    Vice President, Investor Relations
    IR@global-e.com

    Press Contact:
    Sarah Schloss
    Headline Media
    Globale@headline.media 
    +1 786-233-7684

    Global-E Online Ltd.
    CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
    (In thousands)
     
        Period Ended
         December 31,     March 31, 
         2024     2025 
          (Audited)        (Unaudited)  
    Assets                
    Current assets:                
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 254,620     $ 207,716  
    Short-term deposits     183,475       183,229  
    Accounts receivable, net     41,171       34,700  
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets     84,613       116,967  
    Marketable securities     36,345       53,888  
    Funds receivable, including cash in banks     122,984       87,484  
    Total current assets     723,208       683,984  
    Property and equipment, net     10,440       10,453  
    Operating lease right-of-use assets     24,429       23,365  
    Deferred contract acquisition and fulfillment costs, noncurrent     3,787       3,836  
    Long-term investments and other long-term assets     8,313       8,213  
    Commercial agreement asset     66,527        29,510  
    Goodwill     367,566        367,566  
    Intangible assets, net     59,212        54,810  
    Total long-term assets     540,274       497,753  
    Total assets   $ 1,263,482     $ 1,181,737  
    Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity                
    Current liabilities:                
    Accounts payable   $ 79,559     $ 67,184  
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities     141,551       117,852  
    Funds payable to Customers     122,984       87,484  
    Short term operating lease liabilities     4,347       4,366  
    Total current liabilities     348,441       276,886  
    Long-term liabilities:                
    Long term operating lease liabilities     20,510       19,508  
    Other long-term liabilities     1,098       1,088  
    Total liabilities   $ 370,049     $ 297,482  
                     
    Shareholders’ equity:                
    Share capital and additional paid-in capital     1,425,317       1,434,341  
    Accumulated comprehensive income (loss)     515       169  
    Accumulated deficit     (532,399 )     (550,255 )
    Total shareholders’ equity     893,433       884,255  
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 1,263,482     $ 1,181,737  
                     
    Global-E Online Ltd.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
    (In thousands, except share and per share data)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
        2024     2025  
        (Unaudited)  
    Revenue   $ 145,873     $ 189,882  
    Cost of revenue     82,587       105,798  
    Gross profit     63,286       84,084  
                     
    Operating expenses:                
    Research and development     23,538       28,138  
    Sales and marketing     56,955       63,938  
    General and administrative     12,054       11,193  
    Total operating expenses     92,547       103,269  
    Operating profit (loss)     (29,261 )     (19,185 )
    Financial expenses (income), net     3,510       (1,870 )
    Loss before income taxes     (32,771 )     (17,315 )
    Income taxes     (720 )     541  
    Net earnings (loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders   $ (32,051 )   $ (17,856 )
    Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to ordinary shareholders   $ (0.19 )     (0.11 )
    Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares     166,187,424       169,346,771  
    Global-E Online Ltd.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
    (In thousands)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
        2024   2025
        (Unaudited)  
    Operating activities                
    Net loss   $ (32,051 )   $ (17,856 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:                
    Depreciation and amortization     512       536  
    Share-based compensation expense     8,711       8,793  
    Commercial agreement asset amortization     36,296       37,017  
    Intangible assets amortization     5,002       4,402  
    Changes in accrued interest and exchange rate on short-term deposits     369       (842 )
    Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign currency     2,726       (1,477 )
    Accounts receivable     8,418       6,471  
    Prepaid expenses and other assets     2,685       (28,405 )
    Funds receivable     (7,688 )     (9,182 )
    Long-term receivables     708       101  
    Funds payable to customers     (30,857 )     (35,500 )
    Operating lease ROU assets     817       1,064  
    Deferred contract acquisition and fulfillment costs     (268 )     (101 )
    Accounts payable     (17,049 )     (12,375 )
    Accrued expenses and other liabilities     (30,228 )     (23,710 )
    Deferred tax liabilities     (1,424 )      
    Operating lease liabilities     (944 )     (983 )
    Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities     (54,265 )     (72,047 )
    Investing activities                
    Investment in marketable securities     (1,042 )     (17,768 )
    Proceeds from marketable securities     1,012       999  
    Investment in short-term investments and deposits     (56,949 )     (70,972 )
    Proceeds from short-term investments     58,000       67,059  
    Investment in long-term deposits     (31 )      
    Purchases of property and equipment     (882 )     (548 )
    Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities     108       (21,230 )
    Financing activities                
    Proceeds from exercise of share options     120       210  
    Net cash provided by financing activities     120       210  
    Exchange rate differences on balances of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash     (2,726 )     1,477  
    Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash     (56,763 )     (91,590 )
    Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period     268,597       331,682  
    Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period   $ 211,834     $ 240,092  
    Global-E Online Ltd.
    SELECTED OTHER DATA
    (In thousands)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
        2024
      2025  
        (Unaudited)  
    Key performance metrics      
    Gross Merchandise Value     929,510               1,242,514            
    Adjusted EBITDA (a)     21,260               31,563            
                                       
    Revenue by Category                                  
    Service fees     68,258       47 %     83,983       44 %  
    Fulfillment services     77,615       53 %     105,899       56 %  
    Total revenue   $ 145,873       100 %   $ 189,882       100 %  
                                       
    Revenue by merchant outbound region                                  
    United States     72,112       49 %     100,554       53 %  
    United Kingdom     41,276       28 %     41,747       22 %  
    European Union     26,343       18 %     33,530       18 %  
    Israel     316       0 %     401       0 %  
    Other     5,826       4 %     13,650       7 %  
    Total revenue   $ 145,873       100 %   $ 189,882       100 %  

    (a) See reconciliation to adjusted EBITDA table

    Global-E Online Ltd.
    RECONCILIATION TO Non-GAAP GROSS PROFIT
    (In thousands)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
          2024       2025  
        (Unaudited)  
    Gross profit     63,286       84,084  
                     
    Amortization of acquired intangibles included in cost of revenue     2,796       2,198  
    Non-GAAP gross profit     66,082       86,282  
    Global-E Online Ltd.
    RECONCILIATION TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
    (In thousands)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
        2024
      2025
        (Unaudited)  
    Net profit (loss)     (32,051 )     (17,856 )
    Income tax (benefit) expenses     (720 )     541  
    Financial expenses (income), net     3,510       (1,870 )
    Stock-based compensation:                
    Cost of revenue     180       267  
    Research and development     3,468       3,625  
    Selling and marketing     1,282       1,438  
    General and administrative     3,781       3,463  
    Total stock-based compensation     8,711       8,793  
                     
    Depreciation and amortization     512       536  
                     
    Commercial agreement asset amortization     36,296       37,017  
                     
    Amortization of acquired intangibles     5,002       4,402  
    Adjusted EBITDA     21,260       31,563  
    Global-E Online Ltd.
    RECONCILIATION TO Free Cash Flow
    (In thousands)
     
        Three Months Ended  
        March 31,  
          2024       2025  
        (Unaudited)  
    Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities     (54,265 )     (72,047 )
    Purchase of property and equipment     (882 )     (548 )
    Free Cash Flow     (55,147 )     (72,595 )

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Tower Semiconductor Reports 2025 First Quarter Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    9% year-over-year revenue growth

    Affirms sequential quarterly revenue growth target throughout 2025

    MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, May 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM) reports today its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    First Quarter of 2025 Results Overview
    Revenues for the first quarter of 2025 were $358 million as compared to $327 million for the first quarter of 2024, representing 9% year-over-year revenue growth.

    Gross profit and operating profit for the first quarter of 2025 were $73 million and $33 million, respectively, as compared to gross profit and operating profit of $73 million and $34 million in the first quarter of 2024, respectively. Gross and operating profits remain similar since the positive impact of the $31 million revenue increase was offset by the fixed costs of the new 300mm Agrate facility, as previously disclosed.

    Net profit for the first quarter of 2025 was $40 million, reflecting $0.36 basic and $0.35 diluted earnings per share. First quarter of 2024 net profit was $45 million, reflecting $0.40 basic and diluted earnings per share, having been positively impacted by a non-recurring income tax benefit.

    Cash flow generated from operating activities in the first quarter of 2025 was $94 million. Investments in property and equipment, net, were $111 million and debt payments totaled $27 million.

    Corporate Credit Rating 
    On May 7, 2025, Standard & Poor’s Maalot (an S&P Global Ratings fully owned company) completed its annual rating review for the Company and reaffirmed its corporate credit rating as “ilAA, with a stable outlook”.

    Business Outlook
    Tower Semiconductor guides revenues for the second quarter of 2025 to be $372 million, with an upward or downward range of 5%, reflecting 6% year-over-year revenue increase; and reiterates its previously communicated company target for continued quarter-over-quarter revenue growth within 2025.

    Russell Ellwanger, Chief Executive Officer of Tower Semiconductor, stated:
    “Tower delivered continued record revenue in RF infrastructure, which includes SiPho and SiGe. We target further revenue growth of these technologies throughout the year, increases in our high voltage 200mm power management business and higher revenue levels in our sensors business. Additionally, we have entered a new served market for Tower, namely envelope trackers, using our 300mm technology platform. In the face of geo-political uncertainties, we are leveraging Tower’s global scale and technology breadth into new opportunities.”

    Teleconference and Webcast
    Tower Semiconductor will host an investor conference call today, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time (9:00 a.m. Central time, 8:00 a.m. Mountain time, 7:00 a.m. Pacific time and 5:00 p.m. Israel time) to discuss the Company’s financial results for the first quarter of 2025 and its business outlook.

    The call will be webcast and available through the Investor Relations section of Tower Semiconductor’s website at ir.towersemi.com. The pre-registration form required for dial-in participation is accessible here. Upon completing the registration, participants will receive the dial-in details, a unique PIN, and a confirmation email with all necessary information. To access the webcast, click here. The teleconference will be available for replay for 90 days.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures
    The Company presents its financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The financial information included in the tables below includes unaudited condensed financial data. Some of the financial information, which may be used and/or presented in this release and/or prior earnings related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, which we may describe as adjusted financial measures and/or reconciled financial measures, are non-GAAP financial measures as defined in Regulation G and related reporting requirements promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as they apply to our Company. These adjusted financial measures are calculated excluding the following: (i) amortization of acquired intangible assets as included in our costs and expenses, (ii) compensation expenses in respect of equity grants to directors, officers, and employees as included in our costs and expenses, (iii) merger contract termination fees received from Intel, net of associated cost and taxes following the previously announced Intel contract termination as included in net profit in 2023 and (iv) restructuring income, net, which includes income, net of cost and taxes associated with the reorganization and restructure of our operations in Japan including the cessation of operations of the Arai facility, which occurred during 2022, as included in net profit. These adjusted financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, GAAP financial measures. The tables also present the GAAP financial measures, which are most comparable to the adjusted financial measures used and/or presented in this release, as well as a reconciliation between the adjusted financial measures and the comparable GAAP financial measures. As used and/or presented in this release and/or prior earnings related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, as well as may be included and calculated in the tables herein, the term Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization which we define as EBITDA consists of operating profit in accordance with GAAP, excluding (i) depreciation expenses, which include depreciation recorded in cost of revenues and in operating cost and expenses lines (e.g., research and development related equipment and/or fixed other assets depreciation), (ii) stock-based compensation expense, (iii) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (iv) merger contract termination fees received from Intel, net of associated cost following the previously announced Intel contract termination, as included in operating profit and (v) restructuring income, net in relation to the reorganization and restructure of our operations in Japan including the cessation of operations of the Arai facility, as included in operating profit. EBITDA is reconciled in the tables below and/or prior earnings-related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company from GAAP operating profit. EBITDA and the adjusted financial information presented herein and/or prior earnings-related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, are not a required GAAP financial measure and may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies. EBITDA and the adjusted financial information presented herein and/or prior earnings-related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The term Net Cash, as may be used and/or presented in this release and/or prior earnings-related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, is comprised of cash, cash equivalents, short-term deposits, and marketable securities less debt amounts as presented in the balance sheets included herein. The term Net Cash is not a required GAAP financial measure, may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash, debt, operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The term Free Cash Flow, as used and/or presented in this release and/or prior earnings related filings and/or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/or results of the Company, is calculated to be net cash provided by operating activities (in the amounts of $94 million, $101 million and $110 million for the three months periods ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively (less cash used for investments in property and equipment, net (in the amounts of $111 million, $93 million and $98 million for the three months periods ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively). The term Free Cash Flow is not a required GAAP financial measure, may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing, and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP.

    About Tower Semiconductor 
    Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, provides technology, development, and process platforms for its customers in growing markets such as consumer, industrial, automotive, mobile, infrastructure, medical and aerospace and defense. Tower Semiconductor focuses on creating a positive and sustainable impact on the world through long-term partnerships and its advanced and innovative analog technology offering, comprised of a broad range of customizable process platforms such as SiPho, SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed-signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, non-imaging sensors, displays, integrated power management (BCD and 700V), and MEMS. Tower Semiconductor also provides world-class design enablement for a quick and accurate design cycle as well as process transfer services including development, transfer, and optimization, to IDMs and fabless companies. To provide multi-fab sourcing and extended capacity for its customers, Tower Semiconductor owns one operating facility in Israel (200mm), two in the U.S. (200mm), two in Japan (200mm and 300mm) which it owns through its 51% holdings in TPSCo, shares a 300mm facility in Agrate, Italy with STMicroelectronics as well as has access to a 300mm capacity corridor in Intel’s New Mexico factory. For more information, please visit: www.towersemi.com.

    CONTACT:
    Liat Avraham | Investor Relations | +972-4-6506154 | liatavra@towersemi.com

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This release, as well as other statements and reports filed, stated and published in relation to this quarter’s results, include certain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements include, among others, projections and statements with respect to our future business, financial performance and activities. The use of words such as “projects”, “expects”, “may”, “targets”, “plans”, “intends”, “committed to”, “tracking”, or words of similar import, identifies a statement as “forward-looking.” Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements and you should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which describe information known to us only as of the date of this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with: (i) demand in our customers’ end markets, (ii) reliance on acquisitions and/or gaining additional capacity for growth, (iii) difficulties in achieving acceptable operational metrics and indices in the future as a result of operational, technological or process-related problems, (iv) identifying and negotiating with third-party buyers for the sale of any excess and/or unused equipment, inventory and/or other assets, (v) maintaining current key customers and attracting new key customers, (vi) over demand for our foundry services resulting in high utilization and its effect on cycle time, yield and on schedule delivery, as well as customers potentially being placed on allocation, which may cause customers to transfer their business to other vendors, (vii) financial results that may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, making it difficult to forecast future performance, (viii) our debt and other liabilities that may impact our financial position and operations, (ix) our ability to successfully execute acquisitions, integrate them into our business, utilize our expanded capacity and find new business, (x) fluctuations in cash flow, (xi) our ability to satisfy the covenants stipulated in our agreements with our debt holders, (xii) pending litigation, (xiii) meeting the conditions set in approval certificates and other regulations under which we received grants and/or royalties and/or any type of funding from the Israeli, US and/or Japan governmental agencies, (xiv) receipt of orders that are lower than the customer purchase commitments and/or failure to receive customer orders currently expected, (xv) possible incurrence of additional indebtedness, (xvi) the effects of global recession, credit crisis and/or unfavorable macro-economic conditions, such as the imposition of regulatory requirements, tariffs, import and export restrictions and other trade barriers and restrictions, including the timing and availability of export licenses and permits, (xvii) our ability to accurately forecast financial performance, which is affected by limited order backlog and lengthy sales cycles, (xviii) possible situations of obsolete inventory if forecasted demand exceeds actual demand when we create inventory before receipt of customer orders, (xix) the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the resulting periodic overcapacity, fluctuations in operating results and future average selling price erosion, (xx) financing capacity acquisition related transactions, strategic and/or other growth or M&A opportunities, including funding Agrate fab’s significant 300mm capacity investments and acquisition or funding of equipment and other fixed assets associated with the capacity corridor transaction with Intel as announced in September 2023, in addition to other capacity and capability expansion plans, such as announced for SiPho and SiGe, and the possible unavailability of such financing and/or the availability of such financing on unfavorable terms, (xxi) operating our facilities at sufficient utilization rates necessary to generate and maintain positive and sustainable gross, operating and net profit, (xxii) the purchase of equipment and/or raw material (including purchases beyond our needs), the timely completion of the equipment installation, technology transfer and raising the funds therefor, (xxiii) product returns and defective products, (xxiv) our ability to maintain and develop our technology processes and services to keep pace with new technology, including artificial intelligence, evolving standards, changing customer and end-user requirements, new product introductions and short product life cycles, (xxv) competing effectively, (xxvi) the use of outsourced foundry services by both fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers, (xxvii) our dependence on intellectual property rights of others, our ability to operate our business without infringing others’ intellectual property rights and our ability to enforce our intellectual property against infringement, (xxviii) the Fab 3 landlord’s alleged claims that the noise abatement efforts made thus far are not adequate under the terms of the amended lease due to which he requested a judicial declaration that there was a material non-curable breach of the lease and that he would be entitled to terminate the lease, as well as uncertainties associated with the ability to extend such lease or acquire the real estate and obtain the required local, state and/or other approvals required to be able to continue operations beyond the current lease term, (xxix) retention of key employees and recruitment and retention of skilled qualified personnel, (xxx) exposure to inflation, currency rates (mainly the Israeli Shekel, the Japanese Yen and the Euro) and interest rate fluctuations and risks associated with doing business locally and internationally, as well as fluctuations in the market price of our traded securities, (xxxi) meeting regulatory requirements worldwide, including export, environmental and governmental regulations, as well as risks related to international operations, (xxxii) potential engagement for fab establishment, joint venture and/or capital lease transactions for capacity enhancement in advanced technologies, including risks and uncertainties associated with the Agrate fab and the capacity corridor transaction with Intel as announced in September 2023, such as their qualification schedule, technology, equipment and process qualification, facility operational ramp-up, customer engagements, cost structure, required investments and other terms, which may require additional funding to cover their significant capacity investment needs and other payments, the availability of which funding cannot be assured on favorable terms, if at all, (xxxiii) potential liabilities, cost and other impact due to reorganization and consolidation of fabrication facilities, or cessation of operations, including with regard to our 6 inch facility, (xxxiv) potential security, cyber and privacy breaches, (xxxv) workforce that is not unionized which may become unionized, and/or workforce that is unionized and may take action such as strikes that may create increased cost and operational risks, (xxxvi) the issuance of ordinary shares as a result of exercise and/or vesting of any of our employee equity, as well as any sale of shares by any of our shareholders, or any market expectation thereof, as well as the issuance of additional employee stock options and/or restricted stock units, or any market expectation thereof, which may depress the market value of the Company and the price of the Company’s ordinary shares, and in addition may impair our ability to raise future capital, and (xxxvii) climate change, business interruptions due to floods, fires, pandemics, earthquakes and other natural disasters, the security situation in Israel, global trade “war” and the current war in Israel, including the potential inability to continue uninterrupted operations of the Israeli fab, impact on global supply chain to and from the Israeli fab, power interruptions, chemicals or other leaks or damages as a result of the war, absence of workforce due to military service as well as risk that certain countries will restrict doing business with Israeli companies, including imposing restrictions if hostilities in Israel or political instability in the region continue or exacerbate, and other events beyond our control. With respect to the current war in Israel, if instability in neighboring states occurs, Israel could be subject to additional political, economic, and military confines, and our Israeli facility’s operations could be materially adversely affected. Any current or future hostilities involving Israel or the interruption or curtailment of trade between Israel and its present trading partners, or a significant downturn in the economic or financial condition of Israel, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

    A more complete discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements included in this release or which may otherwise affect our business is included under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent filings on Forms 20-F and 6-K, as were filed with the SEC and the Israel Securities Authority. Future results may differ materially from those previously reported. The Company does not intend to update, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update, the information contained in this release.

    (Financial tables follow)

       
    TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES  
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)  
    (dollars in thousands)  
      March 31,   December 31,  
      2025   2024  
    ASSETS        
    CURRENT ASSETS        
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 274,818   $ 271,894  
    Short-term deposits 906,446   946,351  
    Trade accounts receivable 219,496   211,932  
    Inventories 276,072   268,295  
    Other current assets 51,429   61,817  
    Total current assets 1,728,261   1,760,289  
    PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET 1,346,213   1,286,622  
    OTHER LONG-TERM ASSETS, NET 34,131   33,574  
    TOTAL ASSETS $ 3,108,605   $ 3,080,485  
    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
    CURRENT LIABILITIES        
    Short-term debt $ 27,490   $ 48,376  
    Trade accounts payable 118,318   130,624  
    Deferred revenues and customers’ advances 17,233   21,655  
    Other current liabilities 86,421   84,409  
    Total current liabilities 249,462   285,064  
    LONG-TERM DEBT 134,835   132,437  
    OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES 22,293   22,804  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES 406,590   440,305  
    TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY 2,702,015   2,640,180  
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 3,108,605   $ 3,080,485  
             
    TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
    (dollars and share count in thousands, except per share data)
      Three months ended
      March 31,
      December 31,
      March 31,
      2025
      2024
      2024
    REVENUES $ 358,170     $ 387,191     $ 327,238  
    COST OF REVENUES 284,999     300,338     254,632  
    GROSS PROFIT 73,171     86,853     72,606  
    OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES:                
    Research and development 20,172     20,622     19,951  
    Marketing, general and administrative 20,101     19,812     18,670  
      40,273     40,434     38,621  
                     
    OPERATING PROFIT 32,898     46,419     33,985  
    FINANCING AND OTHER INCOME, NET 10,598     8,315     3,984  
    PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 43,496     54,734     37,969  
    INCOME TAX BENEFIT (EXPENSE), NET   (3,779 )     (2,149 )   5,078  
    NET PROFIT 39,717     52,585     43,047  
    Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest 425     2,553     1,587  
    NET PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY $ 40,142     $ 55,138     $ 44,634  
    BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE $ 0.36     $ 0.49     $ 0.40  
    Weighted average number of shares 111,575     111,493     110,840  
    DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $ 0.35     $ 0.49     $ 0.40  
    Weighted average number of shares 113,152     112,967     111,627  
     
    RECONCILIATION FROM GAAP NET PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY TO ADJUSTED NET PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY:
    GAAP NET PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY $ 40,142     $ 55,138     $ 44,634  
    Stock based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets 10,335     11,258     7,209  
    ADJUSTED NET PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY $ 50,477     $ 66,396     $ 51,843  
    ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:                
    Basic $ 0.45     $ 0.60     $ 0.47  
    Diluted $ 0.45     $ 0.59     $ 0.46  
                     
    TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONSOLIDATED SOURCES AND USES REPORT (UNAUDITED)
    (dollars in thousands)
      Three months ended
      March 31,
      December 31,
      March 31,
      2025
      2024
      2024
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS – BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 271,894     $ 270,979     $ 260,664  
    Net cash provided by operating activities 93,922     100,816     110,038  
    Investments in property and equipment, net   (111,411 )     (93,396 )     (98,018 )
    Debt received (repaid), net   (26,874 )   2,795       (8,409 )
    Effect of Japanese Yen exchange rate change over cash balance 2,817       (4,972 )     (2,665 )
    Proceeds from (investments in) deposits, marketable securities and other assets, net 44,470       (4,328 )     (1,113 )
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS – END OF PERIOD $ 274,818     $ 271,894     $ 260,497  
                     
     TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
    (dollars in thousands)
      Three months ended
        March 31,     December 31,     March 31,
        2025     2024     2024
    CASH FLOWS – OPERATING ACTIVITIES                      
    Net profit for the period $ 39,717     $ 52,585     $ 43,047  
    Adjustments to reconcile net profit for the period                      
    to net cash provided by operating activities:                      
    Income and expense items not involving cash flows:                      
    Depreciation and amortization *   74,228       75,820       59,544  
    Other expense, net   558       12,439       5,993  
    Changes in assets and liabilities:                      
    Trade accounts receivable   (6,354 )     (19,034 )     (6,489 )
    Other current assets   5,622       (36,464 )     (13,454 )
    Inventories   (4,128 )     (3,356 )     (23,703 )
    Trade accounts payable   (11,114 )     18,320       32,559  
    Deferred revenues and customers’ advances   (4,432 )     (8,712 )     (1,931 )
    Other current liabilities   3,718       7,057       16,868  
    Other long-term liabilities   (3,893 )     2,161       (2,396 )
    Net cash provided by operating activities   93,922       100,816       110,038  
    CASH FLOWS – INVESTING ACTIVITIES                      
    Investments in property and equipment, net   (111,411 )     (93,396 )     (98,018 )
    Proceeds from (investments in) deposits, marketable securities and other assets, net   44,470       (4,328 )     (1,113 )
    Net cash used in investing activities   (66,941 )     (97,724 )     (99,131 )
    CASH FLOWS – FINANCING ACTIVITIES                      
    Debt received (repaid), net   (26,874 )     2,795       (8,409 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities   (26,874 )     2,795       (8,409 )
    EFFECT OF FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE CHANGE   2,817       (4,972 )     (2,665 )
                           
    INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS   2,924       915       (167 )
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS – BEGINNING OF PERIOD   271,894       270,979       260,664  
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS – END OF PERIOD $ 274,818     $ 271,894     $ 260,497  
     
    * Includes stock based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets in the amounts of $10,335, $11,258 and $7,209
    for the 3 months periods ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Mauritania Shifts to Private Power with 550 Megawatt (MW) Gas Plant, Bids to Start Within Weeks

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    PARIS, France, May 14, 2025/APO Group/ —

    Mauritania is accelerating its shift toward a fully privatized power generation model, with bids due in the next two to three weeks for a new independent power plant tied to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project. The country’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mohamed Ould Khaled, made the announcement at the Invest in African Energy 2025 Forum in Paris on Tuesday.

    “All new power generation projects in Mauritania will be private. State-owned companies will no longer be involved in power generation,” said the Minister. He added that two projects currently being developed as IPPs will be fueled by domestic gas and will contribute a combined 550 MW to the national grid over the next couple of years.

    The power sector reform is part of a wider transformation aimed at enabling Mauritania to harness its significant gas and renewable energy resources to power industrialization, expand electricity access and drive inclusive growth.

    “We want to develop large-scale natural gas and renewable energy resources. We want to expand affordable, clean power access to our people and industries and power inclusive economic growth, especially to unleash our mining potential.” 

    Mauritania currently has 57% energy access and aims to achieve full national coverage by 2030, according to the Minister. Gas from the GTA project – shared with Senegal – will play a central role in this transition, supplying enough fuel for a 250 MW combined-cycle power plant in each country during the project’s first phase, he said.

    The Minister described Mauritania as uniquely positioned for energy leadership on the continent and beyond, citing its combination of gas, solar, wind and strategic proximity to Europe. He also highlighted Mauritania’s position as the African leader in green hydrogen project development, backed by newly modernized regulatory frameworks.

    “Mauritania holds the largest pipeline of green hydrogen projects in Africa, which are designed not only to export molecules, but to catalyze industrialization in Mauritania and decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. We have the potential to produce 12 million tons of green hydrogen production per year, with wind speeds of 10 meters per second and amazing solar.”

    “To support this transformation, we have completely modernized our framework,” the Minister continued. “We have opened up the electricity sector to private investments, introduced a new local content policy, and implemented new PPP and investment codes. Additionally, we have launched Africa’s first green hydrogen code, which provides clarity and long-term stability for investors.”

    Looking ahead, Mauritania’s integrated energy vision includes the expanded development of the BirAllah gas field – another major deepwater discovery – along with subsequent phases of the GTA project to reach 10 million tons of LNG per year, cross-border electricity trade with neighboring countries and further development of its mining sector.

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Thousands of Civil Service roles moved out of London in latest reform to the state

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Thousands of Civil Service roles moved out of London in latest reform to the state

    Civil servant roles, including senior leadership, will be relocated to 13 locations across the UK to develop and deliver policy closer to communities

    • Thousands of Civil Servants – including senior leaders – will be based in towns and cities across the UK to work with frontline workers and local leaders.

    • New digital and AI campus in Manchester and energy campus in Aberdeen to turbocharge local talent and expertise in these communities.

    • As part of our Plan for Change to re-wire the state, 11 central London offices will be closed including one of the largest Whitehall buildings – saving £94m per year – as the number of roles in the capital is reduced by 12,000.

    Thousands of civil service jobs will be relocated to 13 towns and cities across the country as part of our Plan for Change.

    The shake up will require more senior and policy roles to be based outside London. This will deliver and develop government policy closer to the communities it affects as part of a more productive and agile state.

    The plans will see officials working closely with frontline workers, facilitating greater understanding of the real issues facing local services and people, and how central government policy can support them.

    Changes will be introduced so talented young people from across the UK are able to progress straight from school or university into the Civil Service and rise all the way up to the most senior roles, without ever having worked in Whitehall.

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, said:

    To deliver our Plan for Change, we are taking more decision-making out of Whitehall and moving it closer to communities all across the UK.

    By relocating thousands of Civil Service roles we will not only save taxpayers money, we will make this Government one that better reflects the country it serves. We will also be making sure that Government jobs support economic growth throughout the country.

    As we radically reform the state, we are going to make it much easier for talented people everywhere to join the Civil Service and help us rebuild Britain.

    As part of the spending review, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden has written to all departments requiring them to relocate key roles and strengthen the Government’s presence around the UK. 

    Government departments now will submit plans for how many roles they plan to move to each of the locations as part of the spending review.

    Departments will be assessed on their commitments to the programme as part of the spending review. As well as increasing the number of officials working in Greater Manchester and Aberdeen, where two new government campuses will be created, roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York.

    The changes are projected to bring £729m in local economic benefits to these areas between 2024 and 2030.

    New Regional Government Campuses

    Under the plans and to accelerate the delivery of the Missions, three major new Government campuses will be created. 

    Government campuses involve departments moving skilled roles to the same town or city to boost collaboration – bringing civil servants with different skills and expertise but the same policy or delivery focus, to solve issues and improve services for working people across the country.

    The first two of these, the new Government Digital and AI Innovation Campus and Energy Campus, will be in Manchester and Aberdeen.

    Manchester is already home to the second HQs of DSIT and DCMS, as well as a key base for GCHQ. The new campus will harness the city’s reputation as a global digital hub. 

    Aberdeen is the site of DESNZ’s second HQ, and the new HQ for Great British Energy.

    The new campuses will partner with local government and universities to deliver the government’s missions, improve the talent pipeline into Government and boost growth and opportunity. 

    Supporting Senior Civil Service Careers Outside London

    To ensure those based outside of London have equal professional growth and development opportunities, with full end-to-end careers, the Government will locate 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Servants in regional offices by 2030. 

    This will be supported by a new ambition for the Fast Stream programme to have 50% of placements offered outside of London by 2030, making it increasingly possible for future leaders and managers to progress in their careers without ever needing to work in the capital. 

    A new ‘Career Launch Apprenticeship’ programme will also open for applications this Summer, starting in 2026. The Level 3 Business Administrator apprenticeship programme will train up future civil servants based in Birmingham and Manchester, as well as London. 

    A new secondment scheme will also be developed and launched, in partnership with the Local Government Association, with Civil Servants placed directly with local authorities, building links within regions, and ensuring those delivering policy, experience first hand the work of local government and the services they provide.

    Making Savings in London

    Alongside the relocation of jobs, 11 London office buildings will be closed over the next five years and the number of London based civil servants will reduce by 12,000 by 2030 – down from 95,000 FTE staff to 83,000 – as the government focuses on saving taxpayer money and delivering better public services across all parts of the UK. 

    The move is set to deliver £94 million in savings annually by 2032, by getting rid of large, expensive London real estate. The plans include the closure of two major Westminster government buildings – 102 Petty France, one of the largest government buildings in London and home to 7,000 FTE staff, and 39 Victoria Street – which together cost tens of millions of pounds a year. 

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Alexandra Jones, Sally McInnes, Sally Sheard, James Strachan, Aruna Verma and Simon Wessely appointed to the ACNRA Board.

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Alexandra Jones, Sally McInnes, Sally Sheard, James Strachan, Aruna Verma and Simon Wessely appointed to the ACNRA Board.

    The Secretary of State has appointed 6 Board Members to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives for four years from 10 March 2025 to 09 March 2029.

    Alexandra Jones

    Alexandra Jones, the Director of Anti-Money Laundering at the Solicitors Regulation Authority, brings a wealth of experience in governance, compliance, and leadership to her role. At the SRA, Alexandra leads the development and implementation of AML policies, ensuring regulatory compliance across the legal sector. Her career spans diverse sectors, including finance and regulation, providing her with a unique perspective on risk management and ethical considerations.

    Before joining the SRA, Alexandra served as CEO of the Registry Trust, where she gained deep insight into legal and ethical issues related to data access, copyright, and privacy. She also held senior roles at the Financial Ombudsman Service and HSBC Bank, where she managed teams while upholding confidentiality and compliance standards. Her leadership experience is complemented by her commitment to professional development, including studying data ethics at the London School of Economics.

    Alexandra’s career reflects a dedication to promoting transparency and integrity. She is motivated by the vision of safeguarding collective heritage and leveraging it as a resource for education and public engagement.

    Sally McInnes

    Sally McInnes was formerly Head of Unique and Contemporary Content at the National Library of Wales. A professionally trained archivist, she has extensive experience in promoting, preserving and providing access to unique content of national significance, as well as policy development within the Welsh cultural sector.

    Sally has a particular interest in managing digital content, as well as improving professional competence in digital preservation, for which she has earned international recognition. As a former Director of the Digital Preservation Coalition, she worked to raise public and institutional awareness of digital preservation issues in Wales and beyond.

    She has played a leading role in a number of national and international professional networks. In recognition of her contribution to recordkeeping, she was awarded an MBE in 2024 for Services to Documentary History. She is a Fellow of the Archives and Records Association.

    Sally Sheard

    Professor Sally Sheard is Executive Dean of the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool, where she also holds the Andrew Geddes and John Rankin Chair of Modern History. She is a health policy analyst and historian, with a research focus on the interface between expert advisers and policymakers. 

    Sally has extensive experience of using history in public and policy engagement, including working with national and local government organisations and health authorities. She has written for and appeared in numerous television and radio programmes. In 2018 she wrote and presented the twenty-part BBC Radio 4 series National Health Stories, to mark the seventieth anniversary of the NHS. Her books include The Passionate Economist: how Brian Abel-Smith shaped global health and social welfare (Policy Press, 2013); Making Genetics and Genomics Policy in Britain: from Personal to Population Health (co-authored with Philip Begley; Routledge, 2022) and NICE: A Contemporary History of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (co-authored with Paul Atkinson; Routledge, 2025).

    James Strachan

    James is Chief Executive of Eastleigh Borough Council in south Hampshire, and has been a senior leader in Hampshire local government for 16 years.  In addition to overseeing local services such as waste collection, planning, homelessness support and elections, James is ultimately responsible for information governance at the Council.  Prior to moving to Hampshire, James was Director of Public Services and Marketing at The National Archives, and served as Secretary to the official review of the 30-year rule, which was commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. 

    James has also worked at the Cabinet Office, and had a career in publishing prior to joining the civil service.  He oversaw the online launch of Encyclopaedia Britannica in Europe and was among the first employees of the mobile network ‘3’, negotiating the first ever mobile highlights deal with the Premier League.  James lives in Salisbury and serves as a magistrate on the West Hampshire Bench, based in Southampton.

    Aruna Verma

    Aruna Verma is a distinguished lawyer, associate professor, and Campus Dean at The University of Law, Moorgate. With a strong background in legal education and practice, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of legal professionals. As an academic leader, she combines her expertise in law with a passion for teaching, ensuring that students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills essential for success in the legal profession.

    Her career spans legal practice, academia, and educational leadership, making her a respected figure in the field. At The University of Law, she oversees academic programs, fosters student engagement, and works closely with industry professionals to bridge the gap between law school and legal practice.

    Beyond academia, Aruna is known for her contributions to legal scholarship, mentorship, and commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession. Her leadership ensures that the Moorgate campus remains a hub for aspiring solicitors and barristers, preparing them for the challenges of the ever-evolving legal Landscape.

    With her wealth of experience and dedication to legal education, Aruna Verma continues to make a lasting impact on both students and the legal community. Aruna also sits as a Chair at The Valuation Tribunal and the Chair of Governors at a local school. Aruna is a trained mediator and online dispute resolution specialist.

    Simon Wessely

    Sir Simon Wessely FRS is the Regius Chair of Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IOPPN), part of King’s College London (KCL), the first such chair in the United Kingdom. He is also a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at the Maudsley and King’s College Hospitals.

    After studying medicine and History of Art at Cambridge, he finished his medical training at Oxford. He is an active clinical academic psychiatrist with >1000 publications, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). He is a Past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal Society of Medicine. He was Dean of the IOPPN (2022-23) and is now a Non Executive Director of NHS-England.

    In 2003 he founded the King’s Centre for Military Health Research, which is now ranked 1st globally for publications on military health. He remains the Honorary Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry to the British Army, and works with several charities for Veterans. He was knighted in 2013 for services to military health and psychological medicine. He continues to have a broad interest in how people and populations react to adversity, past present and future.

    He chaired the government’s Independent Review of the Mental Health Act (2017-19), which should receive Royal Assent at Easter. He also was a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission (2017-23). His amateur interests revolve around history, and he is proud of having written some papers in “proper” history journals. Finally, if you are a follower of “Desert Island Discs” you will know his favourite occupation is arguing in Viennese cafes , perhaps reflecting the fact that his father was born in Central Europe, coming over to the UK in 1939.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Board Members will be remunerated at a rate of £386 per day. James Strachan requested not to be remunerated for this role. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.

    The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. None of the candidates have declared any significant political activity.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: CMA response to the Independent Water Commission’s call for evidence

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    CMA response to the Independent Water Commission’s call for evidence

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its response to the Independent Water Commission’s call for evidence, in relation to the water sector in England and Wales.

    Documents

    Details

    The CMA responded to the Independent Water Commission’s call for evidence.

    Our response focuses on the CMA’s overall role in the water regulatory system, in particular our role in conducting regulatory appeals and redeterminations.

    Updates to this page

    Published 14 May 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council crackdown on underage vape sales in Tunstall

    Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent

    Published: Wednesday, 14th May 2025

    Stoke-on-Trent City Council is stepping up its crackdown on underage and illegal vape sales after seizing more than £21,000 of illegal cigarettes, tobacco, and vapes from a Tunstall shop.

    It follows the sale of an illegal vape to a 17-year-old girl. The legal limit for vapes is 600 puffs, the one sold was three times over the legal limit.

    Trading Standards officers, supported by Staffordshire Police, visited TKT Express on High Street Tunstall on Friday, 9 May. During the operation, they discovered illegal products hidden in a nearby car linked to the shop. Officers seized 22,360 cigarettes, 6.2kg of tobacco and 290 vapes- all illegal – and with a total retail value of £21,600. The shop is now under formal investigation.

    Councillor Amjid Wazir OBE, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability for Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “Our teams are taking firm action against shops that put young people at risk. I want to thank our Trading Standards for more hard work that protects all residents and upholds the law.

    “We want our city to be a safe place for children and young people, so the fact that this shop sold an illegal vape to somebody underage shows complete disregard for their safety. We will take action against those who put people at risk and undermine the hard work of legitimate businesses.”

    “I encourage any residents to report any suspicious activity related to illegal tobacco, vapes, or underage sales.”

    Anyone who wants to report a similar issue to Trading Standards can call the Trading Standards Hotline 01782 238444 or visit stoke.gov.uk

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Interactive hub opens to provide support during major city centre transformation works

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    The ‘Urban Room’ will provide drop in sessions at set times, pre-booked meeting opportunities and direct assistance from staff at City of Wolverhampton Council and contractor, Taylor Woodrow.

    It will give businesses, residents and visitors easy access to information about the scheme and dedicated support for any concerns or issues they have as the 2 and a half year programme, which started in January, progresses.

    The first Urban Room sessions will initially take place between 12pm and 1.30pm on Tuesdays, with the plan to increase the number of sessions over time.

    Works on the major £19 million transformation of Wolverhampton city centre are underway on Darlington Street and will move onto Lichfield Street and Queen Square. It follows extensive consultation with businesses, the public and key stakeholders.

    The completed scheme will deliver high quality improvements such as wider, brighter, safer streets; vibrant public events spaces; more trees, greenery and seating; and easy access for buses, cycles and taxis.

    The aim is to stimulate more visitors and spend with businesses and act as a catalyst for further investment, while contributing to creating a pleasant environment to support and encourage healthy city living lifestyles.

    It is the third and final phase of City of Wolverhampton Council’s city centre improvements programme following completed schemes in the Victoria Street and University of Wolverhampton at The Halls areas that have seen regular events staged in the new spaces, increasing city centre footfall and economic spend and attracting new investment such as Superbowl UK, set to open their new venue in the Mander Centre units off Victoria Street on 21 May.

    Councillor Chris Burden, the council’s Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: “We want people to enjoy our city centre from the moment they arrive, and these works are the next step in our transformation plans that are delivering positive outcomes.

    “This is a scheme for everyone, and the Urban Room is another way we are connecting with businesses, residents and visitors to ensure they are supported during the works and fully understand it so they can maximise the opportunities it presents to them.

    “Funded totally by external funding, it will create an enhanced walking, cycling and dwell space, as well as infrastructure for events and attractions, and a better environment for city centre living, which will all help boost the local economy.

    “The works will also complement other transformational development schemes already underway or in the pipeline in the city centre, including the £150 million Interchange and commercial district, and thousands of new homes coming at Smithgate and Canalside – all helping to create hundreds of new jobs and further investment opportunities.”

    Stuart Townsend, Taylor Woodrow Operations Manager, said: “We are excited to announce our drop in sessions for businesses and members of the public to address any queries, concerns, or compliments.

    “During these sessions, we will showcase drawings of the scheme, have updates on our social value projects locally, and we will be displaying information, including a video about the scheme.

    “Additionally, we will provide information about our chosen charities, The Way Youth Project Board, and have brochures available for career opportunities. “This is a positive step in keeping stakeholders and the passing public updated on how we Taylor Woodrow and the council are working together to deliver a better city centre.”

    Funding for the scheme consists of £13.5 million from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) fund, £3 million from the Towns Fund and £2.6 million from the Active Travel Fund.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Aberdeen Youth Movement member attends United Nations forum in New York

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Aberdeen Youth Movement member, Mariah Ichakpa was honoured to be selected to attend the 2025 United Nations Economic and Social Council Youth Forum in New York last month.

    Mariah was 1 out of 20,000 people who applied to be selected to attend the forum that offered young people a visible platform to meaningfully engage with Member States, have their voices heard and be included in the global dialogue on key issues affecting the world’s population.

    Held at the United Nations headquarters, the forum’s theme of ‘youth at the forefront: leveraging science and social inclusion for sustainable development’, allowed Mariah to make a speech to the forum attendees from across the world and her inspired message was ‘If you want to see a nation’s future, look into the eyes of its youth – we are the mirror and the map’.

    Mariah said: “Representing Aberdeen and Scotland was an unforgettable experience. Sharing Scotland’s story and how we became the first part of the UK to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law was a huge achievement in helping spread awareness.

    “One of the biggest takeaways for me was that impact doesn’t always have to come from the top down. Youth-led initiatives when supported and given a platform can drive real and measurable change.

    “Leaving New York, I felt inspired. But more than that I felt responsible. We have a lot of work to do. And I’m ready to keep showing up and working alongside other passionate youths in Aberdeen Youth Movement (AYM), Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) and across the world to make a difference.”

    Councillor Martin Greig, Convenor of Aberdeen City Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “I was delighted to hear about Mariah’s incredible experience in New York. She spoke eloquently at the UN Youth Forum to represent young people in our city and on behalf of the rest of Scotland.

    “It is a major achievement to promote youth justice from the local perspective on a global stage. I am grateful to Mariah and to all the team who have given support for this important human rights action.”

    Aberdeen Youth Movement is the official voice of young people in Aberdeen, working closely with multiple organisations to improve the representation of young people in the city. The group consists of young people aged between 16 and 25 from different areas and interest groups.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom