NewzIntel.com

Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Armagh job fair highlights local employment opportunities

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    (L-R) Rosario Nugent and Sara Turley (Jobs and Benefits); Councillor Sarah Duffy (Lord Mayor); Paul Greenfield (Economic Development and Regeneration Committee Chair, ABC Council); Laura Skelton (Economic Development, ABC Council).

    Over 120 job seekers turned out at last week’s job fair at the Market Place Theatre in Armagh to meet local employers and potentially apply for job positions on offer.

    The event was organised by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council’s Labour Market Partnership, in collaboration with the local Jobs and Benefits Office.

    Funded by the Department for Communities, Labour Market Partnerships create targeted employment action plans for council areas, allowing for collaboration at local and regional level to support people towards and into work.

    Job seekers had the opportunity to engage directly with potential employers including Mackle Pet Foods, McElmeel Mobility Services, Autism Initiatives, McKeevers Chemists, Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Translink and the PSNI. A range of training and support programme providers were also on hand to advise on schemes to help people get into employment, upskill or reskill for a new career path.

    Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Sarah Duffy commented:

    “These local job fairs are a platform for employers, training and support services and job seekers to connect and explore employment and training opportunities. It was a pleasure to meet the exhibitors and job seekers to hear more about the opportunities and challenges they face. Council events such as this are incredibly important in bridging gaps in skills or learning within our local economy.”

    The next job fair will take place in Lurgan Town Hall on Tuesday 25 February 2025 from 10am – 1pm.

    To find out more about the Labour Market Partnership visit https://www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/business/labour-market-partnership/

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £5,000 of illegal vapes and tobacco sniffed out and seized

    Source: City of York

    Published Thursday, 6 February 2025

    Council and police officers visited a business in Clifton, York last week, where nearly £5,000 of noncompliant vapes and illicit tobacco was found and seized.

    The illegal items found and taken have an estimated retail value of £4,941.25:

    • 177 noncompliant vapes with a retail value of £2,124
    • 2,250 counterfeit and illicit cigarettes valued at £731
    • 1,450g of counterfeit and illicit hand rolling tobacco valued at £2,086.

    These products will be investigated and appropriate legal action taken. The officers had the help of a sniffer dog, a spaniel called Mostyn.

    Cllr Jenny Kent, Executive Member with portfolio for Trading Standards at City of York Council, said:

    Tobacco kills hundreds of people in York every year, and the illicit market in tobacco and vapes makes harmful products cheaper and more easily available, especially to those below the legal age limit.  

    “Illicit vapes are becoming much more prevalent and are partly responsible for the rise in young people vaping – our public health advice is that while we support e-cigarettes as effective quit aids for adults to stop smoking, people who don’t smoke shouldn’t vape.

    “This is why it is so important that you report concerns. Information from members of the public, investigation, and action by Council and police officers is essential to protect public health and enforce proper regulations.”

    Sergeant Stuart Henderson of North Yorkshire Police, said:

    This is the result of joint working with our Trading Standards colleagues at City of York Council. It is the second successful operation that we have conducted with Trading Standards in Clifton as part of our Clear, Hold Build initiative.

    “The work shows we will work with all our law enforcement partners to disrupt and deter criminality and to make Clifton and the City of York no place for criminals.”

    How to spot an illegal vape:

    Check the packaging for the following tell-tale signs that a disposable vape may be illegal:

    • The health warning should have these exact words: ‘This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance’ and should cover 1/3rd of the front and rear of the packaging
    • A ‘puff count’ of over 600 – illegal vapes may have higher puff counts
    • A pod or refill should be no larger than 10ml
    • A tank should have no more than 2ml, or multiple 2ml ‘pods’.
    • A nicotine content above 2 per cent (or 20mg/ml)
    • No UK address for an importer/manufacturer.

    Anyone concerned about unregulated vapes or tobacco being sold can contact:

    • City of York Council’s Trading Standards team on 08082 231133 or email: public.protection@york.gov.uk
    • Or, call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information to the Force Control Room.
    • If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

    For support to stop smoking, please visit www.york.gov.uk/CYCHealthTrainers or email cychealthtrainers@york.gov.uk for an appointment.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Workshop on Green Hydrogen aims at strengthening India-UK cooperation

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Workshop on Green Hydrogen aims at strengthening India-UK cooperation

    Bureau of Indian Standards (India) and British Standards Institution (United Kingdom) discusses hydrogen standardization

    Posted On: 06 FEB 2025 2:00PM by PIB Delhi

    With an objective to strengthen India-UK cooperation on hydrogen standardization through Green Hydrogen Production & Regulations, Bureau of Indian (BIS), in collaboration with BSI (British Standards Institution) and the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), hosted a two-day India-UK Standards Partnership Workshop on Green Hydrogen in New Delhi.

    The India-UK Standards Partnership Workshop on Green Hydrogen marks a milestone in fostering international cooperation for achieving clean energy transitions. It serves as a testament to the importance of knowledge exchange, standardization, and innovation in building a sustainable hydrogen market, said Ms. Abbey Dorian, Energy Sector Lead at BSI during the workshop.

    She said, “India and the UK have a shared ambition to become leaders in green hydrogen, supporting the goal of a net zero future.”

    The event is a part of a schedule of wider activity, through the UK Government’s Standards Partnership programme which aims to increase the use of international standards in India to accelerate growth, attract investment and enhance trade. The event emphasises on safe, scalable & globally harmonized Regulations, Codes and Standards (RCS). The event was also focused at adoption of fast-track PAS (Publicly Available Specification) standards & global hydrogen certification.

    The programme also strengthens BIS’s efforts under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. It helped identify gaps in standards, explore new areas, and connect with experts. Insights from global best practices will enhance India’s certification, testing, and standardization, supporting a sustainable and competitive green hydrogen economy.

    The event witnessed insightful deliberations by policymakers, technical experts, and industry leaders from India and the United Kingdom. The workshop was inaugurated by Mr. Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Director General (Standardization-I), BIS, Ms. Laura Aylett, Head of Climate and Energy (British High Commission) and Ms. Abbey Dorian, Energy Sector Lead, BSI, underscoring the shared vision of India and UK to foster innovation and sustainability in the green hydrogen sector.

    ****

    Abhishek Dayal/Nihi Sharma

    (Release ID: 2100208) Visitor Counter : 52

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Import of poultry meat and products from Metropolitan City of Torino of Piemonte Region in Italy suspended

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Import of poultry meat and products from Metropolitan City of Torino of Piemonte Region in Italy suspended
    Import of poultry meat and products from Metropolitan City of Torino of Piemonte Region in Italy suspended
    ******************************************************************************************

         The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 6) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the Metropolitan City of Torino of the Piemonte Region in Italy, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 150 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 40 000 poultry eggs from Italy last year.     “The CFS has contacted the Italian authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.

     
    Ends/Thursday, February 6, 2025Issued at HKT 16:20

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Piero Cipollone: Interview with Reuters

    Source: European Central Bank

    Interview with Piero Cipollone, conducted by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa

    6 February 2025

    The ECB has said that the direction of travel for monetary policy is clear, but the timing and extent of moves is not. What does this guidance mean to you?

    We are moving towards the target. The direction of inflation is clear, despite some small bumps. All incoming information points to a convergence with the target in 2025 and this is what our models are also telling us.

    Our models include market expectations for the interest rate path, so this convergence with the inflation target is coherent with a declining interest rate path.

    Everything is of course contingent on the information at the time of the forecasts, and we will have a new forecast round in March. Before then, we’ll get another inflation print, we’ll have more details on the composition of inflation, and all these feed into the model, as do market expectations for interest rates.

    Does that mean implicitly that you are comfortable with market expectations for further rate cuts as they are embedded in the projections?

    That was conditional on the information we had in December. I am comfortable as long as that path takes us to the target in the medium term in a sustainable way.

    What does the data since that December meeting tell you?

    Overall, I think the direction is the same. I don’t see huge changes in our view, except trade tensions. The overall understanding of where we are going is there, the fundamentals haven’t changed, so I do not expect a big change in direction.

    One thing that might happen is a trade war with the United States. How would that affect your thinking?

    It depends on details such as whether we retaliate, precisely what these tariffs are going to be levied on, and how China is affected.

    If tariffs are imposed on us, the most immediate impact will be on growth.

    The price of goods will be higher in the United States. Who is going to absorb the cost? It could be that European companies, in order to defend their market share, might be willing to sacrifice a bit of their margin in order to stay in the market. We have seen this many times and European firms have a great ability to adjust. Part of this sacrifice might be recovered through the exchange rate. So, in the end, the overall impact may not be that big.

    What concerns me more is if President Trump engages in a full trade war with China. This is a more serious threat because China has 35% of the world’s manufacturing capacity. Trade barriers will force China to sell its goods elsewhere and the competition from China could be a serious threat to us. These goods showing up in Europe could have both a deflationary and a contractionary impact because they would crowd out local products.

    The uncertainty is exceptionally high, everything is in motion. And we can’t assess where it’s all going until things fall in place.

    It’s true we have a goods surplus with the United States. But if you add in services and look at the overall current account, then the balance is close to zero.

    Looking at the very short term, can you support a rate cut in March, as some of your colleagues are already saying?

    I don’t want to seem elusive, but the uncertainty is so high that anything can happen. We all agree there is still room for adjusting rates downwards. But we need to be extremely careful. It’s important to stress this idea of a meeting-by-meeting, data-dependent approach. I want to enter the meeting with an open mind, see the staff assessment and process incoming data.

    But we also all agree that we are still in a restrictive territory.

    Suppose tariffs on China stay, that’s a huge demand shock. On the other hand, we have energy prices moving upwards. It could be a transitory phenomenon, but what if this is more entrenched?

    How far are we from the neutral rate and why has the neutral gone up?

    When you have an estimate range that is 50 or 75 basis points, then it’s a conceptual tool and doesn’t have much bearing on policy, given the high uncertainty. Take estimates that it is between 1.75% and 2.25%. Those are two completely different monetary policies, if you are close to target. It’s such a wide range that one number could imply that you are undershooting and another that you are overshooting. So “neutral” is a very powerful analytical concept but not terribly useful for setting monetary policy, given this embedded uncertainty.

    It’s possible this rate went up but it’s also possible it stayed unchanged given how wide the band is.

    You say you are clearly restrictive now. Would that still apply after the next cut? When does the debate start on when restrictive ends?

    We are almost on target. The closer you get to target, the less you’ll need to stay restrictive.

    It’s also true we have been overly optimistic on growth and had to cut our growth forecasts three times since June. So, it is possible that the recovery is not as strong as expected and thus the inflationary pressure coming from demand is weaker. This could prompt us to reassess our concept of restrictiveness.

    Could this mean that you need to become accommodative to avoid an undershoot?

    I assess the risk around inflation to be balanced and I don’t have evidence of a possible undershoot. Long-term inflation expectations are also very well anchored.

    The latest information, especially the rise in the cost of energy, makes me think that we should be prudent. It might be a transitory phenomenon, but prices have risen substantially. Consumer expectations have also gone up a little as they are very reactive to short-term developments.

    I’m not saying that risks are moving towards being on the upside, but we have no evidence of undershooting either.

    Do the growth revisions suggest fundamental changes in how the economy functions?

    Growth has been disappointing, especially because of investments. Consumption may have been less buoyant than we thought, but it remains broadly on the path that we are expecting. The fundamentals for rising consumption are there. Real incomes are increasing, employment is high, inflation is declining and consumer confidence is holding steady.

    The real problem is investments, and that is only partially linked to monetary policy. The culprit is uncertainty. Investments have been weak since the summer given the overall uncertainty and the direction of trade policy after the US election.

    My sense is that people are holding out before making important investment decisions. There is of course a cost component related to interest rates. But you see that people are investing just to replace old capital stock.

    What can the ECB do about it?

    We have to take care of the cost component and avoid being unduly restrictive. Our goal should be to have the economy growing close to potential and to contribute to reducing uncertainty as much as possible.

    Could another targeted longer-term refinancing operation help investments?

    It doesn’t seem to me that the lack of available funding is the issue. We have seen some tightening of credit conditions but that’s not the key factor here.

    Last week we were talking about a 25% tariff, today not anymore, and tomorrow we don’t know. All companies are trying to understand where it’s all going so that they can make investment decisions.

    How does this uncertainty affect the labour market?

    There could be some softening of the labour market but overall we have been positively surprised. We went through a huge disinflation process with a very strong labour market.

    Labour hoarding has two dimensions. One is the cost. Overall, the cost is still relatively low because, by some measures, real wages are still below the pre-pandemic level. The second reason is that firms are afraid of losing skilled labour and this is still the case.

    The labour market is softening, however. The problem is manufacturing essentially. But even there we see some light at the end of the tunnel. There seem to be some initial signs of recovery in the Purchasing Managers’ Index and the Economic Sentiment Indicator. I was surprised to see that confidence in the construction sector and manufacturing activity have bottomed out, and we see some possible signs of recovery. Services are holding up overall. If there is some softening in terms of demand for labour, possibly there will be a pick-up in productivity which will reduce the unit labour cost overall. We obviously need to monitor it because, with all this uncertainty, we could see a deterioration. But I am not overly concerned about the labour market.

    Adding up what you said about these modest signs of recovery in manufacturing, does that mean you still believe in the soft-landing narrative and you don’t see a recession?

    We might not be booming but I am not expecting a recession at all. I think consumption will slowly go up because the fundamentals are there, labour income is growing, the cost of borrowing is declining, inflation is declining, and consumer confidence is basically holding up, so it’s possible that the savings rate will decline from a historic high. So, overall, I think consumption will keep going – and that is a big chunk of the economy. Investment should recover too, as soon as all this uncertainty dissipates. First, one cannot hold back forever: imagine you have a bunch of cumulated investment decisions to make. Even if a small percentage of them go through, it will be a positive and you will see that in investment. Second, less restrictive financial conditions are slowly being transmitted to the cost of financing. And third, in 2025-26 we should see an acceleration in the spending of Next Generation EU funds in Europe.

    Moving to the digital euro. Could you give us an update?

    We have started the procurement process and we will be selecting suppliers in June, but the contracts are such that they will only be triggered if the Governing Council decides to issue the digital euro. We have been working on the rulebook and we will be able to finalise it shortly after we have firm EU legislation in place. For example, whether people can have access to one or more wallets will have an influence on the rulebook, so if we don’t have a final legislation, we cannot finalise the rulebook. But it will not take long once the legislation is approved because we have done as much work as possible in the absence of a firm legislation. So the procurement is done and the rulebook is almost done. We are also working with the market to leverage the innovation potential of the digital euro. We think there is huge potential in conditional payments to increase the quality and the menu of the offering on payments.

    So that is a payment that only happens if a certain condition is fulfilled, right?

    Today there is only one type of conditional payment and it is based on time: pay this amount to this person on this date. We think we can do better than that. To make sure that this intuition is right, at the end of October, we issued a call for innovation partnerships. We were surprised to receive 100 offers. People want to experiment with new ideas. We will be doing that for the next six months and we will then prepare a report.

    Would conditional payments require a blockchain? How else would the condition be verified?

    No, it’s not a matter of blockchain. If you have a way to register the transaction on the ledger through a sort of token, that is a possibility. But technicians tell me you can make a transaction conditional even on a traditional ledger. We are working on that, but the information that I can give you is that we can do better than what we are doing today on conditional payment, regardless of the underlying technology. The technology has a bearing on many dimensions, for example latency and privacy.

    Could you give me an example of a conditional payment that could be settled in digital euro?

    For example, if the train is late, today you have to ask to be reimbursed. You could have a solution in which you only pay if the condition is automatically verified. 

    To conclude with where we are in the preparation phase, let me add that since the digital euro is a product, we have to market it. So, we are engaging with focus groups and using surveys to understand how to best finalise the product in order to meet people’s expectations. We are on schedule, so we should be ready to take a decision on moving to the next project phase by November 2025. I don’t know whether at that time the Governing Council will already be able to take a decision to eventually issue a digital euro because that depends on whether we have a legislation at that point. We have been clear that we would not take any decision about the issuance of a digital euro before the legislative act has been adopted.

    We had expected legislation on the digital euro some time ago. What’s holding up the process? Are you sensing a lack of political will?

    I wouldn’t say there’s a lack of political will. I think people want to understand the whole process. The European Commission issued legislation in June 2023, then the European Parliament started to work on that, but mentally they were not there because there was an EU election coming up. Everything stopped. They are starting to work on this now so, to be fair to them, they didn’t have much time. By contrast, in the Council of the European Union’s working party, work is progressing. As far as I know, they have gone through all of the legislative proposal and they are now focusing on the issues that still need to be worked out.  When both the Council and the Parliament have agreed internally, they will sit down with the Commission and try to finalise the legislation. So, we hope they will be able to reach an agreement internally before the summer. But again, political processes are complex and there are many things on the table. Obviously the sooner the better, but we fully understand their needs. My sense is that there is an increased sense of urgency because of the position that has been taken by the new US Administration. The fact that the US President went in so strong on this idea of promoting worldwide US dollar-denominated stablecoins obviously is a signal. The political world is becoming more alert to this. And it’s possible that we will see an acceleration in the process.

    Stablecoins are similar to money market funds that people use if they don’t want to go via the banking system, whereas the digital euro, with its holding limit, will purely be a means of payment. Why do you think a digital euro would be a good response to stablecoins?  

    You’re right, for as long as stablecoins are not used as a means of payment. My sense is that they will be. This is worrisome because if people in Europe start to use stablecoins to pay, given that most of them are American and dollar-based, they will be transferring their deposits from Europe to the United States. It may start with peer-to-peer, cross-border transactions. Then an American tourist may be able to use stablecoins instead of using a credit card, for example. So stablecoins can enter the payment space, for example, if they can compete with card schemes by reducing the price for the merchant. We have seen that important payment providers have already issued stablecoins, like PayPal, for example.

    Turning now to bitcoin, we know that the ECB has got repo lines and swap lines with other central banks. Would the ECB maintain those with a central bank that has bitcoins among its reserves?

    It’s an interesting question. Fortunately we don’t have to think about that right now because no major central bank is thinking about that.

    One is hypothesising.

    We would need to do a risk management assessment of that. Let’s see if any central bank enters this space because I don’t fully see the rationale for it. We will assess it at that point in time, if it happens. I am trying to be rational and think about why I should invest in bitcoin or another crypto-asset. The only rationale is if one thinks that the price will always go up. It doesn’t have any underlying value, there is no asset backing it, there is no earning model.

    On that, it’s a bit like gold.

    The structures of the two markets are completely different: the transparency of the market, the concentration. So, I would be careful about making the analogy. I don’t know how deep the market for gold is, but there are central banks in that market, and not just because of a legacy system. We should not stop at a superficial analogy between gold and bitcoin.

    Why do central banks invest in gold, other than legacy?

    It’s in part due to legacy, but gold has intrinsic, commercial and industrial value. Bitcoin does not have any of that.

    We’ve seen gold and bitcoin make all-time highs at the same time. Or should we say that fiat currencies are making all-time lows?

    Fiat currencies allow you, among other things, to pay. Good luck trying to pay in bitcoin or gold. Central bank money is the safest asset you can imagine and it’s relatively stable in terms of what you can buy with it.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Cron sched pub test

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    Access Campaign

    We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to, and the development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond.

    GO TO SITE

    CRASH

    Based in Paris, CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions. They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field.

    GO TO SITE

    UREPH

    Based in Geneva, UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action.

    GO TO SITE

    ARHP

    Based in Barcelona, ARHP documents and reflects on the operational challenges and dilemmas faced by the MSF field teams.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Analysis

    Based in Brussels, MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration, refugees, aid access, health policy and the environment in which aid operates.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Supply

    This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Logistique

    This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux, France, provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment, logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions.

    GO TO SITE

    Amsterdam Procurement Unit

    This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases, tests, and stores equipment including vehicles, communications material, power supplies, water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements.

    GO TO SITE

    Brazilian Medical Unit

    BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases, such as dengue and Chagas, and other infectious diseases. This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Medical Guidelines

    Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences, the World Health Organization (WHO), other renowned international medical institutions, and medical and scientific journals.

    GO TO SITE

    Epicentre

    Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations, conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or excluded from health care.

    GO TO SITE

    Evaluation Units

    Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris, assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work.

    GO TO SITE

    LGBTQI+ Inclusion in Health Settings

    MSF works with LGBTQI+ populations in many settings over the last 25-30 years. LGBTQI+ people face healthcare disparities with limited access to care and higher disease rates than the general population.

    GO TO SITE

    LUXOR

    The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training, and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection.

    GO TO SITE

    Intersectional Benchmarking Unit

    The Intersectional Benchmarking Unit collects and analyses data about local labour markets in all locations where MSF employs people.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Academy for Healthcare

    To upskill and provide training to locally-hired MSF staff in several countries, MSF has created the MSF Academy for Healthcare.

    GO TO SITE

    Humanitarian Law

    This Guide explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Paediatric Days

    The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff, policy makers and academia to exchange ideas, align efforts, inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Foundation

    The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole.

    GO TO SITE

    DNDi

    A collaborative, patients’ needs-driven, non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases, founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world.

    GO TO SITE

    MSF Science Portal

    Our digital portal dedicated to sharing the latest medical evidence from our humanitarian activities around the globe.

    GO TO SITE

    Noma

    Noma is a preventable and treatable neglected disease, but 90 per cent of people will die within the first two weeks of infection if they do not receive treatment.

    GO TO SITE

    TIC

    The TIC is aiming to change how MSF works to better meet the evolving needs of our patients.

    GO TO SITE

    Telemedicine

    MSF’s telemedicine hub aims to overcome geographic barriers for equitable, accessible, and quality patient care.

    GO TO SITE

    Sweden Innovation Unit

    Launched in 2012, the MSF Sweden Innovation Unit deploys a human-centered approach for promoting a culture of innovation within MSF.

    GO TO SITE

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Greens warn of burning world and call for faster government-backed transition

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    Responding to new data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (1) showing that the global temperature was the highest on record for a January, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer MP said: 

    “In light of this latest scientific evidence, it would be dangerously foolish to do anything to put our burning world in even greater danger. 

    “Yet that is exactly what the government is doing – determined to expand Heathrow and Gatwick airports and refusing to rule out giant new oil and gas fields at Rosebank and Jackdaw coming on stream. 

    “Indeed, Equinor, one of the oil giants wanting to exploit the Rosebank field, has decided to cut promised investments in renewables in favour of increased oil and gas production. (2) 

    “The government is sending totally the wrong signals to the markets. We need a government committed to speeding up the transition away from fossil fuels. The government must make it clear now that it will not allow new North Sea oil and gas drilling go ahead. 

    “We must also get serious about how we make our communities more resilient to the now-unavoidable impacts of climate change. We need our homes and our communities to be fit for the future.” 

    NOTES TO EDITORS 

    1. Climate puzzle persists with unexpectedly warm January – BBC News 
    1. Norwegian oil giant Equinor cuts green investment in half – BBC News 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at whether reducing atmospheric sulphur stimulates more methane emissions from wetlands

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in Science Advances looks at reducing atmospheric sulphur and methane emissions from wetlands. 

    Dr Eiko Nemitz, environmental physicist, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), said:

    “The study highlights a likely important interaction between air pollution, greenhouse gases generated by human activity, and natural emissions.  It shows that as sulphur emissions continue to decrease in response to a drive to improve air quality, as well as a side-effect of the decarbonisation of transport and industry to achieve net zero, this will likely increase natural methane emissions from wetlands.

    “Sulphur emissions also contribute to the formation of aerosols (microscopic particles) that scatter light and lead to the formation of reflective clouds, thus exerting a cooling effect on the climate.  The processes highlighted in this new paper provide a second mechanism by which control of sulphur emissions reduces climate cooling.

    “Nevertheless, sulphur emissions continue to play a major role in poor air quality, causing damaging health impacts in many parts of the world, and there are fewer options to clean up the air than to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    “In this context it is important to recognise that the reduction in sulphur emission and deposition will bring the wetlands closer to their original state, and the magnitude of their methane emissions closer to what they would have been without the human impact of elevated sulphur deposition.

    “The impact of sulphur deposition on methane emission from wetlands has been suggested by a small number of studies on this subject for a couple of decades, but responses are variable.  This paper upscales the impact and overcomes some of that variability by synthesising a larger number of studies and by exploring a range of response functions.  Whilst the study seems robust, without access to the supplementary of the study, it is not possible to make a definite comment on the quality of the underlying data.”

    Prof William Collins, Professor of Climate Processes, University of Reading, said:

    “While we have long known that cleaning up air pollutants such as sulphur have a direct warming effect on climate, this study shows that cleaner air can indirectly warm climate by increasing natural emissions of methane.  Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas and a large source of it is from natural wetlands.

    “This study is the first to systematically analyse field measurements of wetland emissions under varying conditions of sulphur deposition.  It shows that high levels of sulphur pollution up until the late 20th Century may have artificially supressed this source.  As we clean up our industries and power production this natural emission of methane will rebound and further warm climate.  The good news is that reducing climate change also reduces natural methane emissions, so further supporting the climate benefit of strong carbon reductions.”

    Dr Adam Povey, Assistant Professor of Earth Observation, National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Leicester, said:

    “This study provides an additional line of evidence that wetlands are highly important in understanding the climate.  Wetlands rapidly respond to changes in weather and climate, and those changes feedback to the climate – in this case, amplifying warming.  These interfaces between water, soil, and life are extremely difficult to understand due to the diversity of interlinked processes occurring.  This paper provides decent evidence for the direction of this effect – that cleaner air increases natural methane emissions and this makes it more difficult to achieve net zero – and this is consistent with other lines of evidence.  I would treat the precise numbers quoted with caution since (as described at the beginning of the ‘Discussion’ section) there are many confounding processes and substantial uncertainties around the conditions in wetlands that are not captured by this statistical analysis of existing experiments.  The UK is in an excellent position to understand these processes due to our world-leading capacity to monitor atmospheric pollutants (such as sulphur) and to model the influence of life on the climate through the UK Earth System Model.”

    ‘The large role of declining atmospheric sulfate deposition and rising CO2 concentrations in stimulating future wetland CH4 emissions’ by Lu Shen et al. was published in Science Advances at 19:00 UK time on Wednesday 5 February 2025. 

    Declared interests

    Dr Eiko Nemitz: “I have no conflicts of interest to declare.”

    Prof William Collins: “Last year I was a member of a panel advising the NZ govt on its methane targets.”

    Dr Adam Povey: “My funding is entirely from UKRI and ESA so I can’t think of any conflicts of interest.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Officers look to speak to two women sexually assaulted in Highbury

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Detectives are looking to speak to two women following a sexual assault in Highbury.

    The incident took place between 17:55hrs and 18:15hrs on Sunday, 2 February at the CW bus stop, which is opposite the City of London Academy, Highbury Grove.

    Officers were called after a man was witnessed approaching two women at the bus stop where he sexually assaulted them. The two women left the area before police arrived.

    The witnesses described the women as white, in their early to mid-20s. One woman had blonde hair; the other was brunette.

    Detective Sergeant Thomas Barnes, leading the investigation in Islington, said: “While we understand the impact of incidents like this – and how difficult it can be to talk about – our officers are on hand to provide specialist support so we urge these two women to come forward with any information.”

    The man was described as in his 50s. He was wearing a beige long sleeved jacket with a dark scarf. He was arrested at the scene and released with no further action, pending further enquiries. Officers hope tracing the victims will assist with their investigation.

    If you have any information contact police on 101 and quote 0543/02FEB.

    + If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed. Advice and support can be found on our website.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Steven Maijoor: Cyber resilience in an age of geopolitical tensions

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    On December 12th 2023, Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecom provider, suffered a cyberattack that disrupted services for millions of users. The attack, attributed to the Russian state-sponsored group Sandworm, was one of the biggest cyber incidents in Ukraine since the onset of the Russian invasion. The hackers had infiltrated Kyivstar’s infrastructure months earlier. They deployed malware that erased thousands of virtual servers and personal computers, crippling the company’s network for managing communication services.

    The attack had several immediate effects. First of all, approximately half of Kyivstar’s network was disabled, leaving millions without mobile and internet connection. But the damage wasn’t limited to the telecom sector. The attack also disrupted banking operations, payment processing, and online banking services. Some ATMs and point-of-sale terminals didn’t work. Financial transactions were in disarray across the country.

    Amazingly, the Ukrainians were quickly able to restore services. Over the past three years they have become quite proficient in dealing with large-scale disruption. Many critical processes in Ukraine are equipped with redundancy measures. Many people even have two sim cards in their phones. That enabled the other Ukrainian telecom providers to circumvent the outage. Services at Kyivstar were gradually reinstated, with almost full restoration achieved eight days after the attack.

    This episode raises some inconvenient questions. What if this would happen to us? What if a large scale Russian or Chinese cyberattack is launched on the telecoms sector of an EU member state? Would it be possible? How much damage could such an attack cause? Would it affect financial services? And would we be able to recover as quickly as the Ukrainians did?

    A few years ago, most people would have found these questions to be rather hypothetical, but today, unfortunately, they have become quite urgent. Geopolitical tensions have been rising for more than a decade, but over the past few years they have accelerated. Countries are re-arming, they are protecting their strategic economic infrastructures, they are imposing trade restrictions and sanctions on each other, and they are weaponising access to international financial infrastructures and services. Needless to say this is bad news for the world economy and the financial sector. But perhaps in no area is the geopolitical threat so real and acute as in the digital domain.

    Apart from the Kyivstar case, there are many other examples to back this up. In late 2023, a Russian hacker breached Microsoft’s corporate network by exploiting a legacy account. As a result, the security and confidentiality of the email accounts of many organisations around the world were potentially compromised. Last year, the FBI discovered a dormant network of Chinese hackers in the United States that had compromised hundreds of routers and that was on standby to launch an attack if called on. And recently, Russian and Chinese vessels were suspected of damaging subsea data cables. Since state-sponsored cyberattacks are often very well concealed, we do not have reliable numbers on how often they occur. But anecdotal information from intelligence agencies, like the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, suggest their number is increasing.

    Traditionally, the financial sector has been an attractive target for cyber criminals with financial motives. But with the changing geopolitical climate, nation-state cyberattacks have become a very real possibility. Their main aim is to cause disruption and to steal sensitive information. Nation-state actors possess more resources, sophistication, and endurance than other hackers. And many sectors of the economy have become more vulnerable to large-scale disruption due to increased complexity and digitalisation. This is certainly true of financial services, with their long outsourcing chains and interconnectedness. And many financial firms depend on the same third-party service providers, so if one of these suppliers is attacked, large chunks of the financial sector may experience the knock-on effects. As we showed in our latest Financial Stability overview, a quarter of all reported global cyberattacks can potentially affect the financial sector through a vital process run by a third party on which the financial system depends.

    So, to answer the questions I posed at the start: yes, I think a major state-sponsored cyberattack on the financial sector or one of its supporting sectors could happen. And frankly, I hope we would be able to recover as quickly as the Ukrainians did.

    That is not because financial institutions haven’t prepared. Many financial institutions have taken big steps in recent years to boost their cyber resilience. I think it is fair to say the financial industry is one of the better digitally defended sectors in the economy. As it should be. But given the size and urgency of the threat, we need to do even more to keep financial services safe. This is why cyber resilience will absolutely be a key focus area in our supervision of the financial industry in the coming years. This goes both for De Nederlandsche Bank, and for the European Central Bank.

    Our aim is to make financial services safer against cyber threats. Not only by increasing the resilience of the financial sector itself, but also by stepping up the robustness of the entire chain of ICT service providers. DORA, the European Digital Operational Resilience Act, that came into effect at the beginning of this year, gives us additional tools to accomplish this aim.

    To start with, under DORA, threat-led penetration tests are mandatory for the largest financial institutions in Europe. In the Netherlands we have been conducting these kinds of tests voluntarily for over eight years with good results, and we are very pleased that it is now becoming the norm at the European level.

    But DORA also imposes stricter requirements for managing cyber risks in outsourcing chains. For example, financial firms face stricter rules for conducting due diligence on potential ICT providers. As a result, Fintechs may also experience more stringent due diligence from financial sector customers. And very importantly, under DORA, European supervisors can conduct inspections of critical third-party ICT service providers in tandem with national supervisory authorities. We expect bigtechs like Google and Microsoft to be placed under EU-wide supervision. And, just as with the banks, we are going to test their readiness to detect and withstand cyberattacks.

    Despite all efforts, there is no such thing as perfect cyber security. It is therefore vital that financial institutions take measures to recover quickly after cyber incidents. This is crucial to ensure that services can continue and people don’t lose trust in financial firms or the financial sector as a whole.

    The results of the ECB’s 2024 cyber stress test show that there is room for improvement on the recovery front. So it’s a very good thing that DORA also imposes new requirements on institutions’ continuity plans and backup policies. They need to develop a culture where cyber incidents are quickly detected and reported, they need to have their playbooks in place and they need to have clearly defined management roles and responsibilities. These are key ingredients for an effective response after a cyberattack.

    An important principle of our supervision has always been that financial institutions are responsible for putting their own house in order. And that is also the case with cybersecurity. But if we only focus on individual institutions, we miss something. As I mentioned, on a digital level the financial sector is so interconnected, and connected to other vital sectors of the economy as well, that some degree of overall coordination and cooperation is necessary to arrive at an optimal level of resilience. Notably, recent assessments, derived from nationwide contingency exercises in the Netherlands, reveal various weaknesses. These weaknesses relate to the exchange of information between critical infrastructure providers, the distribution of roles and responsibilities, and the mobilisation of scarce cyber security knowledge and expertise in the event of major cyber incidents.

    So the message here is: we need to work together. Governments should take the lead to improve cross-sectoral cooperation and coordination. They must continue to conduct large-scale cyber-drills and practice activating crisis plans. The insights gained should be used to enhance resilience.

    But there is also a role for financial supervisors like DNB. Under the new legislation, we do not only need to check whether financial firms are compliant, but we also have an obligation ourselves to look over the fence and cooperate closely with other sectors. DNB is putting this into practice by working with vital sectors that are most critical to the financial sector, such as energy and telecommunications. Within our mandate, we support these sectors with information, cooperation and ethical hacking experience.

    To sum up, the threat of major disruptions to our financial system from nation-state cyberattacks has become more urgent. Financial firms, and the entire outsourcing chain on which they depend, therefore need to do whatever they can to further boost their cyber resilience. Both in terms of detection and recovery. Cyber resilience is a top priority for European financial supervisors and there are new European laws in place. And we are going to use these laws to make sure that financial institutions under our supervision are as secure and well defended as possible. Enhancing resilience also means we need to work together. Governments, financial firms, supervisors, telecom, energy and other vital players in the outsourcing chain. Because in cyberspace, we are all linked together. And after all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Derville Rowland: Innovation and technology in financial crime 

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be with you today and to address a topic so crucial to the future of financial services: the utilisation of innovation and technology to conduct – and most importantly, combat – financial crime. 

    In the mid to late ’90s, when email truly took off as a global tool for commerce, I was a barrister working for the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service amongst others, dealing with various criminal cases including serious frauds. 

    Justified enthusiasm about the ability to connect the world more effectively and efficiently was subsequently dampened somewhat by use of the technology for all manner of deceptions, frauds and financial crimes. 

    Several decades later, we see the same pattern playing out in real-time with artificial intelligence, with criminals using AI tools to bypass customer due diligence controls and carry out fraud via social engineering. 

    These sophisticated methods, including the use of AI tools via text, images, and voice, present significant challenges for regulators and supervisors. 

    There’s a popular saying that the pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, but the realist adjusts the sails. 

    As a regulator with hard-won experience of developing frameworks, building the teams to implement them, and deploying technology to combat financial crime and address misconduct, I’m very much a realist – albeit one who remains stubbornly optimistic. I don’t believe it’s an either/or scenario.  

    Put simply, I believe in the potential benefits of innovation and technology for consumers, investors, businesses and society – and want to see them realised. But this also means the risks must be effectively managed – we must, as it were, adjust the sails. 

    The importance of collective responses

    The risks, of course, need no explanation to this audience. The anonymity of virtual assets can be used to transfer illicit funds quickly and across borders, with criminals increasingly leveraging new technologies to commit fraud, launder the proceeds of crime, and carry out financing of terrorism. The speed at which funds can be moved across borders makes it easier for criminals to exploit the financial system. And so on. 

    Last month, the Central Bank of Ireland published statistics showing the value of fraud in payments in Ireland increased by a quarter in 2023 compared to 2022 – from €100m to circa €126m.1 Fraud was highest in credit transfers and card payments, with the biggest growth seen in money remittance. 

    This echoes trends across Europe, with a joint EBA/ECB report in August 2024 revealing that fraud losses are highest in credit transfer and card payments across the European Economic Area (EEA).2

    Financial crime, of course, recognises no borders. And so, given the scale of the challenge which regulators and law enforcement agencies face, collective action – a harmonised response – is imperative. 

    Which is why the EU’s AML package is so important – it provides the framework and the agency (AMLA) through which we will collectively meet the challenge head on. 

    The AML package is by design technology neutral.  It applies to traditional banking/financial models equally as it applies to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), crowd-funding platforms and intermediaries. It obliges all types of firms that come within its ambit to comply with a set of AML/CFT rules that have now been harmonised across Europe.  

    How these firms comply with the rules is up to them, via traditional AML/CFT compliance programmes or by using regtech tools. What’s essential is that the means used are effective, and that such effectiveness can be demonstrated to supervisors. 

    This will be the case both for the 40 obliged entities that will be directly supervised by AMLA and the firms supervised by national AML authorities.3  

    Not waiting for the wind to change, the EU has addressed a number of emerging risks in the package. 

    To give some examples, the use of AI is acknowledged under the package, with an obligation on firms to ensure that human oversight is applied to decisions proposed by AI tools that may impact customers in certain areas.

    Additionally, details of Virtual IBANs which are linked to other payment accounts will have to be recorded in member states’ Bank Account Registers. This will allow law enforcement to trace any funds being moved by such Virtual IBANs.  

    Finally, the package introduces the concept of Information Sharing Partnerships. Through these, credit and financial institutions will be enabled to share information relating to high risk customers, subject to important guardrails including data protection assessments.  

    The lack of an ability to share such information has long been pointed to as a real weak link in the system, which could allow someone who had an account closed by one bank on ML/TF grounds to seek to open an account in another.  

    It is hoped that these partnerships will be a real game-changer in the fight to keep bad actors from accessing the financial system in order to launder ill-gotten gains. Tech solutions, including tools which can allow information to be shared between financial institutions in a manner that complies with GDPR, will be essential here.

    The package is also forward-looking in respect of sanctions. 

    Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine exposed some fault lines in the EU’s Financial Sanctions Framework. The package seeks to remedy this by imposing obligations on obliged entities to put in place frameworks to prevent and detect attempted breaches of EU financial sanctions. 

    It also requires obliged entities to ensure that prospective customers, and any person who owns or controls such prospective customers, are screened against the financial sanctions list prior to onboarding. Here again, we see the importance of effective technological solutions – the use of screening tools will be imperative for firms seeking to protect themselves from the possibility of breaching sanctions.

    Developing a wider approach to preventing financial crime

    Money laundering pre-supposes a predicate crime which has generated assets for a criminal. Looking more widely across the landscape, more work is required to put in place a comprehensive financial crime preventative framework that includes fraud.   

    The EU and member states have started thinking about fraud and money laundering more holistically, rather than two silos to be tackled independently. This is very welcome. 

    For our part, the Central Bank of Ireland is approaching AML, fraud, and sanctions through the lens of financial integrity of the system. We are building out a more integrated supervisory framework to look at risk in a more holistic way. We want to take a whole-of-sector, rather than piecemeal, approach, and so very much support emerging EU thinking in this area. 

    As a single market and economic and political union, the EU can point to work already under way and leverage further opportunities to confront the challenges involved. 

    Already, there are a number of other important EU developments aimed at protecting the financial integrity of the system and the citizens who depend on it. 

    PSD3 and the Payment Services Regulation will strengthen customer authentication rules and extending refund rights of consumers who have fallen victim to fraud, among other measures. 

    The EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) includes rules relating to the information to be made available to prospective investors in crypto assets, partly in response to the proliferation of scams involving crypto asset issuance. 

    The amended Fund Transfer Regulation ensures that transfers of crypto assets by CASPs must now be accompanied by information on the sender and recipient, in the same way that credit transfers between banks must be.  

    The Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) obliges providers of standard and instant credit transfers to verify the payee at no additional charge to the payer. It also obliges PSPs offering instant credit transfers to screen their customer base against targeted financial sanctions lists at least daily. 

    The various regulatory and policy developments to tackle financial crime cannot succeed in isolation. For this reason, supervisors have been on a steady march away from reliance on traditional supervisory tools and are increasingly exploring ways to transform technology from an enabler of financial crime to a tool in the detection, disruption and successful prosecution of financial crime. 

    In that context, I’d like to mention a significant milestone in the Central Bank of Ireland’s innovation journey – the launch of our Innovation Sandbox Programme last December on the specific theme of Combatting Financial Crime. 

    About the sandbox

    This initiative offers a structured environment for firms to develop innovative solutions in a collaborative environment, ensuring that new technologies are introduced safely and effectively into the financial sector.

    The seven participants in the programme are employing new technologies and innovative methods to develop solutions that tackle financial crime, for the benefit of both the financial system and consumers.

    Participants are representative of a diverse spectrum of innovators from Ireland, across Europe and the UK and feature start-ups, scaling firms, partnerships and established financial services firms.

    Although it is still at an early stage in the programme, several key areas of focus have been identified such as:

    • The use of AI, machine learning, and pattern recognition to detect and prevent fraud; and
    • The use of technology to enable data sharing without compromising sensitive information, allowing real-time verification of identities and other credentials while ensuring full compliance with data protection regulations and the development of digital identity verification tools.

    The Central Bank is organising workshops for participating firms on specific topics relevant to theme of combating financial crime, facilitating bespoke engagement with dedicated relationship managers, and providing access to a data platform offering data sets and tools relevant to the theme. This will allow participants to test and develop their innovation. 

    We are hugely excited about the programme and look forward to sharing the results of it in due course. 

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, I was greatly struck by something Elizabeth McCaul of the ECB Supervisory Board previously said: “Technology is fundamentally a human activity- technology is neither good nor bad, but humans make it so.” 4 

    The reality is that no piece of legislation can contemplate every financial crime risk or typology or close every loophole. We can’t wipe out financial crime – any more than we can wipe out car theft, shoplifting or burglary. But what we can do is to become as effective as possible at reducing its impact.

    Hence, as technology evolves, it behoves regulators and supervisors to evolve too – continually adapting to keep pace with these changes and ensure that, collectively and individually, we are the forefront of protecting the integrity of the financial system and those who use it. 

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Czech Republic to step up railway improvements with EIB loan of €466 million

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • EIB lends Czech Republic €466 million (11.75 billion Czech korunas) to upgrade key railway lines in country.
    • Financing support to deployment of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and creation of safer level crossings.
    • Project highlights Europe-wide push for rail-service improvements.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending the Czech Republic €466 million (11.75 billion Czech korunas) to upgrade key railway lines across the country, highlighting a push for safer, faster and cleaner transport. The EIB loan will cover technological and design improvements on Czech rail routes that are part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) for trains and that connect to countries including Austria and Poland. 

    The Czech Ministry of Finance will direct the EIB credit to the national railway infrastructure administrator, Správa železnic, which will manage the planned works.  These include deploying the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) on rail lines, retrofitting maintenance vehicles with ERTMS equipment and re-designing level crossings to make them safer.

    The new financing is part of a circa €1 billion funding package approved by the EIB in 2023 for improving Czech railways. The overall goals are to make rail travel in the country safer and faster as well as to encourage a shift away from road transport as part of efforts to slash emissions that cause climate change.

    “The new loan exemplifies our commitment to supporting sustainable transport infrastructure in the Czech Republic,” said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris. “By modernising the railway network, we are not only improving the quality of rail services but also contributing to a greener and more sustainable future.”

    The upgrades to be financed by the new EIB credit are due to be completed by the end of 2028 and include roughly 40 individual projects throughout the country. Their geographical spread reflects EIB and European Union goals to deepen regional cohesion as well as tackle globalwarming.

    “Today’s signing of the loan agreement is yet another confirmation of our long-term cooperation with the EIB in modernizing the Czech transport infrastructure. The EIB provides an opportunity to finance major projects under favourable terms for the Czech Republic. By utilizing this loan, Správa železnic can secure subsidies for individual projects from the European Just Transition Mechanism, further enhancing the effectiveness of this financing method,” said Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura.

    Rail upgrades in the Czech Republic and other European countries will help the EU meet a goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050.  

    „I am very pleased that the EIB’s continued support confirms our readiness to contribute to the development of modern railways to ensure quality and environmentally friendly transport on both the national and trans-European transport network. At the same time, it proves the high quality of our projects also in comparison with other countries, ” commented Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka.

    This underlying EIB loan also supports the reconstruction of eight railway stations across all three coal regions of the Czech Republic, which is a set of projects that were also selected for a grant from the European Commission under the Public Sector Loan Facility, the third pillar of the Just Transition Mechanism.                                                           

    “The eight railway stations spanning from the westernmost city of Cheb to Ostrava, the capital of the Moravia-Silesia region, have been selected for PSLF grants of more than EUR 20 million,” said Paloma Aba Garrote, Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, or CINEA. “The reconstruction of these important public buildings will improve passenger comfort and safety, as well as accessibility for people with disabilities and improve energy efficiency. Moreover, some of these buildings will be refurbished and repurposed to accommodate new office and retail space, which will contribute to the economic revitalisation of the municipalities.”

    Background information

    About the EIB and the Czech Republic

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union. It finances sound investments contributing to EU policy goals. The EIB Group invested €2.47 billion (or CZK 63 billion) in the Czech Republic in 2024, supporting regional development and boosting economic resilience while also enhancing environmental sustainability and improving quality of life.

    About PSLF and Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)

    The Public Sector Loan Facility aims at alleviating the social and economic effects of the transition towards climate neutrality in the EU regions. It is a blending facility that combines loans from the EIB with grants from the European Commission to help mainly public sector entities in the most affected EU regions identified in the territorial just transition plans, to mobilise additional public investments and meet their development needs in the transition towards climate neutrality. The first PSLF call for proposals was launched on 19 July 2022 with 10 intermediate cut-offs until the end of 2025. There are 3 cut-off dates per year planned until the end of 2025. The next call for proposals will be launched in the second half of 2025.

    To find out more about PSLF and PSLF-funded projects, visit CINEA website.

    About DG REGIO

    The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) is a department of the European Commission responsible for EU policies on regions and cities. It develops and carries out the Commission’s policies on regional and urban policy. It assists the economic and social development of the developed and less developed regions across the European Union.

    CINEA

    The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is an Executive Agency established by the European Commission to implement parts of EU funding programmes for transport, energy, climate action, environment and maritime fisheries and aquaculture.

    CINEA aims is to support its beneficiaries, establish strong partnerships, deliver high-quality programme and project management, foster effective knowledge sharing and create synergies between programmes – to support a sustainable, connected, and decarbonised Europe.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Czech city Ústí nad Labem to get green upgrades with EIB loan of almost €43 million

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • EIB lends €42.8 million to Ústí nad Labem in north-west Czechia to upgrade municipal infrastructure.
    • Loan to cover building, transport and energy renovations.
    • Improvements also planned for education and social care.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €43 million (CZK 1.08 billion) to the Czech city of Ústí nad Labem for a range of green and social improvements, highlighting a Europe-wide push for urban renewal and sustainability.

    Ústí nad Labem, with a population of around 90 000 located near the Czech border with Germany, will use the EIB loan to refurbish buildings, enhance energy efficiency, develop clean power and upgrade services, including public transport, education and social care.

    The city is an industrial centre where a number of Czech manufacturing companies are located. It has a port on the river Elbe and serves as a major road and railway hub. The European Union seeks to make all cities climate-neutral by 2050 to combat global warming.

    “This loan to Ústí nad Labem underscores our commitment to empowering cities in their transition towards climate-neutral and sustainable growth. By modernising infrastructure, improving energy efficiency and advancing renewable energy investments, we are enhancing quality of life while building a greener, more inclusive and resilient future for people,” said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris.

    Part of the EIB loan will go to works at the municipal zoo, including upgrading animal pavilions, visitor areas and energy and water management. These efforts support climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    The EIB loan stems from an EU initiative, the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM), which aims to address the social and economic impacts of transitioning to a climate-neutral economy. By blending loans from the EIB with grants from the European Commission, JTM supports investments in the regions most affected by this transition, ensuring no community is left behind. Accordingly, the EIB will finance up to 72% of the overall project costs, complemented by funding from EU grants and the city’s budget. The project promoter benefits from the support of the InvestEU Advisory Hub and will apply for a Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF) grant, which would amount to 25% of the EIB loan amount.  

    The EIB loan aligns with the city’s development strategy supporting sustainable urban renewal. The EIB will also advise the City of Ústí in terms of conducting investments in municipal infrastructure, zoo pavilions, water management and energy savings.

    “Public housing, mobility and energy are key topics in our transformation process and in the long-term and sustainable direction of the city, and I am very pleased that we have managed to secure financing for these types of projects through cooperation with the EIB. I believe that we are only beginning our cooperation with the EIB, that will significantly advance the city and our zoo, which can become a truly modern and energy-self-sufficient area. We are also striving to access EIB support within the ELENA programme,“ said Ústí nad Labem Mayor Petr Nedvědický.          

    This EIB loan overcomes obstacles to market financing, ensuring that Ústí nad Labem can invest in essential public goods, services and a sustainable future.

    Background information

    About the EIB and Czechia

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union. It finances investments contributing to EU policy goals. The EIB Group invested €2.47 billion in Czechia in 2024, supporting regional development and boosting economic resilience while also enhancing environmental sustainability and improving quality of life.

    About PSLF and the Just Transition Mechanism

    The Public Sector Loan Facility aims to alleviate the social and economic effects of the transition towards climate neutrality in the EU regions. This blending facility combines loans from the EIB with grants from the European Commission to help mainly public sector entities in the most hard-hit EU regions, which are identified in the territorial just transition plans, to mobilise additional public investments and meet their development needs in the transition towards climate neutrality. The first PSLF call for proposals was launched on 19 July 2022 with ten intermediate cut-offs until the end of 2025. There are three cut-off dates per year planned until the end of 2025. A second call for proposals will be launched in 2026.

    To find out more about PSLF and PSLF-funded projects, please visit the CINEA website.

    CINEA

    The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) is an executive agency established by the European Commission to implement parts of EU funding programmes for transport, energy, climate action, environment, maritime fisheries and aquaculture.

    CINEA aims to support its beneficiaries, establish strong partnerships, deliver high-quality programme and project management, foster effective knowledge-sharing and create synergies between programmes, to support a sustainable, connected and decarbonised Europe.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – European collaboration to protect cultural heritage – Commission measures to recover priceless Dacian artefacts following the heist at the Drents Museum – P-000330/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-000330/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Victor Negrescu (S&D)

    The heist at the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, during which valuable artefacts belonging to Romania’s Dacian treasure were stolen, is an incident with a European dimension given the historical and cultural significance of the artefacts stolen and its cross-border nature.

    The European Union must swiftly implement existing mechanisms in cases of cultural heritage incidents like this and take resolute action via the specific institutions that exist at European level.

    Since protecting Europe’s cultural heritage is not just a national matter but also a European responsibility:

    • 1.What specific measures is the Commission considering to improve collaboration among the Member States, Europol and Eurojust over this heist in the Netherlands and to prevent such situations arising in future?
    • 2.What measures will the Commission take in response to this incident to ensure effective implementation of the EU Action Plan against Trafficking in Cultural Goods, adopted in 2022, so as to prevent robberies such as these and to help swiftly recover the stolen artefacts?

    Submitted: 26.1.2025

    Last updated: 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: How to bring startups to global markets

    Source: European Investment Bank

    Since its establishment, the park has been building a startup ecosystem and encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs. It has developed services and programmes for new teams and companies, as well as for more advanced tech firms looking to enter new markets and attract investment.

    “The park’s experts have been providing support in strategy development, venture capital funding, financial negotiations and legal aspects,” Grković says.

    It has also established partnerships across the world in locations such as Israel, France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Switzerand. 

    “In 2024 alone, we organized five missions to discover new markets for Serbian startups, enabling them to participate in leading global tech conferences such as VivaTech, Web Summit, StartupDays, and London Tech Week,” Grković says.

    Startups operating in the Science Technology Park Belgrade are working in the fields of information technology, biomedicine, robotics, nanoscience, energy efficiency, smart cities, and innovative agriculture. They are developing various innovative products in fields as diverse as house plants in apartments, non-invasive remote monitoring of bee colonies, personalized approaches to women’s health, therapeutic toys for speech therapists or robot-based learning platforms for children.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – European marine fishing areas: The Black Sea – 06-02-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    The Black Sea’s natural characteristics, its isolated position and the high percentage of waters where no life is possible, make it a unique and vulnerable place. Fisheries in the region face a number of challenges, including environmental issues such as pollution, over-exploitation, eutrophication, invasive species and climate change, that are linked directly to the sector’s sustainability. The EU fleet comprises Bulgarian and Romanian vessels and is small compared with the other fleets in the region, consisting of Georgian, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian vessels. The EU’s role in the management of Black Sea fisheries is limited, given that only two EU Member States are involved and are bound by EU legislation. Moreover, the EU’s membership in the regional sea convention is blocked. Cooperation between the countries around the Black Sea on transboundary issues is essential, but this has been rendered more difficult than ever by Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. The European Parliament has repeatedly drawn attention to the fishery sector’s challenges in the Black Sea.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Proportionality and economic impact of restrictions on motorcycle traffic in the European Union – P-000439/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-000439/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Giovanni Crosetto (ECR), Carlo Fidanza (ECR), Chiara Gemma (ECR), Nicola Procaccini (ECR), Marco Squarta (ECR), Sergio Berlato (ECR), Alberico Gambino (ECR), Alessandro Ciriani (ECR), Carlo Ciccioli (ECR), Francesco Ventola (ECR), Elena Donazzan (ECR), Mariateresa Vivaldini (ECR), Stefano Cavedagna (ECR), Michele Picaro (ECR), Denis Nesci (ECR)

    The EU Emissions Directives regulate emission reductions for newly registered vehicles, leaving it to the discretion of Member States to apply measures affecting vehicles on the road.

    The motorcycle industry generates EUR 21.4 billion of annual GDP and supports 389 000 jobs.

    A motorcycle travels on average 2 700 km per year – while a car travels 11 300 km – and motorcycles contribute less to total emissions. In addition, motorcycles play a positive role in reducing urban traffic, making it easier to get around in densely populated cities.

    Remember also that a significant proportion of urban pollution is caused by wear and tear of brakes, tyres and asphalt, which are not directly linked to the vehicle emission category.

    In the light of the above:

    • 1.Does the Commission believe that specific traffic bans for certain categories of motorcycle are compliant with the principles of proportionality, non-discrimination and harmonisation enshrined in EU law?
    • 2.Has the Commission collected, or does it intend to collect, data on the economic and social impacts of similar restrictive measures on a strategic industry like the motorcycle industry?
    • 3.Does the Commission consider it compatible with the principles of legal certainty and proportionality to impose retroactive restrictions on vehicles already complying with the rules in force at the time of their registration?

    Submitted: 31.1.2025

    Last updated: 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Piero Cipollone: Interview with Reuters

    Source: European Central Bank

    Interview with Piero Cipollone, conducted by Balazs Koranyi and Francesco Canepa

    6 February 2025

    The ECB has said that the direction of travel for monetary policy is clear, but the timing and extent of moves is not. What does this guidance mean to you?

    We are moving towards the target. The direction of inflation is clear, despite some small bumps. All incoming information points to a convergence with the target in 2025 and this is what our models are also telling us.

    Our models include market expectations for the interest rate path, so this convergence with the inflation target is coherent with a declining interest rate path.

    Everything is of course contingent on the information at the time of the forecasts, and we will have a new forecast round in March. Before then, we’ll get another inflation print, we’ll have more details on the composition of inflation, and all these feed into the model, as do market expectations for interest rates.

    Does that mean implicitly that you are comfortable with market expectations for further rate cuts as they are embedded in the projections?

    That was conditional on the information we had in December. I am comfortable as long as that path takes us to the target in the medium term in a sustainable way.

    What does the data since that December meeting tell you?

    Overall, I think the direction is the same. I don’t see huge changes in our view, except trade tensions. The overall understanding of where we are going is there, the fundamentals haven’t changed, so I do not expect a big change in direction.

    One thing that might happen is a trade war with the United States. How would that affect your thinking?

    It depends on details such as whether we retaliate, precisely what these tariffs are going to be levied on, and how China is affected.

    If tariffs are imposed on us, the most immediate impact will be on growth.

    The price of goods will be higher in the United States. Who is going to absorb the cost? It could be that European companies, in order to defend their market share, might be willing to sacrifice a bit of their margin in order to stay in the market. We have seen this many times and European firms have a great ability to adjust. Part of this sacrifice might be recovered through the exchange rate. So, in the end, the overall impact may not be that big.

    What concerns me more is if President Trump engages in a full trade war with China. This is a more serious threat because China has 35% of the world’s manufacturing capacity. Trade barriers will force China to sell its goods elsewhere and the competition from China could be a serious threat to us. These goods showing up in Europe could have both a deflationary and a contractionary impact because they would crowd out local products.

    The uncertainty is exceptionally high, everything is in motion. And we can’t assess where it’s all going until things fall in place.

    It’s true we have a goods surplus with the United States. But if you add in services and look at the overall current account, then the balance is close to zero.

    Looking at the very short term, can you support a rate cut in March, as some of your colleagues are already saying?

    I don’t want to seem elusive, but the uncertainty is so high that anything can happen. We all agree there is still room for adjusting rates downwards. But we need to be extremely careful. It’s important to stress this idea of a meeting-by-meeting, data-dependent approach. I want to enter the meeting with an open mind, see the staff assessment and process incoming data.

    But we also all agree that we are still in a restrictive territory.

    Suppose tariffs on China stay, that’s a huge demand shock. On the other hand, we have energy prices moving upwards. It could be a transitory phenomenon, but what if this is more entrenched?

    How far are we from the neutral rate and why has the neutral gone up?

    When you have an estimate range that is 50 or 75 basis points, then it’s a conceptual tool and doesn’t have much bearing on policy, given the high uncertainty. Take estimates that it is between 1.75% and 2.25%. Those are two completely different monetary policies, if you are close to target. It’s such a wide range that one number could imply that you are undershooting and another that you are overshooting. So “neutral” is a very powerful analytical concept but not terribly useful for setting monetary policy, given this embedded uncertainty.

    It’s possible this rate went up but it’s also possible it stayed unchanged given how wide the band is.

    You say you are clearly restrictive now. Would that still apply after the next cut? When does the debate start on when restrictive ends?

    We are almost on target. The closer you get to target, the less you’ll need to stay restrictive.

    It’s also true we have been overly optimistic on growth and had to cut our growth forecasts three times since June. So, it is possible that the recovery is not as strong as expected and thus the inflationary pressure coming from demand is weaker. This could prompt us to reassess our concept of restrictiveness.

    Could this mean that you need to become accommodative to avoid an undershoot?

    I assess the risk around inflation to be balanced and I don’t have evidence of a possible undershoot. Long-term inflation expectations are also very well anchored.

    The latest information, especially the rise in the cost of energy, makes me think that we should be prudent. It might be a transitory phenomenon, but prices have risen substantially. Consumer expectations have also gone up a little as they are very reactive to short-term developments.

    I’m not saying that risks are moving towards being on the upside, but we have no evidence of undershooting either.

    Do the growth revisions suggest fundamental changes in how the economy functions?

    Growth has been disappointing, especially because of investments. Consumption may have been less buoyant than we thought, but it remains broadly on the path that we are expecting. The fundamentals for rising consumption are there. Real incomes are increasing, employment is high, inflation is declining and consumer confidence is holding steady.

    The real problem is investments, and that is only partially linked to monetary policy. The culprit is uncertainty. Investments have been weak since the summer given the overall uncertainty and the direction of trade policy after the US election.

    My sense is that people are holding out before making important investment decisions. There is of course a cost component related to interest rates. But you see that people are investing just to replace old capital stock.

    What can the ECB do about it?

    We have to take care of the cost component and avoid being unduly restrictive. Our goal should be to have the economy growing close to potential and to contribute to reducing uncertainty as much as possible.

    Could another targeted longer-term refinancing operation help investments?

    It doesn’t seem to me that the lack of available funding is the issue. We have seen some tightening of credit conditions but that’s not the key factor here.

    Last week we were talking about a 25% tariff, today not anymore, and tomorrow we don’t know. All companies are trying to understand where it’s all going so that they can make investment decisions.

    How does this uncertainty affect the labour market?

    There could be some softening of the labour market but overall we have been positively surprised. We went through a huge disinflation process with a very strong labour market.

    Labour hoarding has two dimensions. One is the cost. Overall, the cost is still relatively low because, by some measures, real wages are still below the pre-pandemic level. The second reason is that firms are afraid of losing skilled labour and this is still the case.

    The labour market is softening, however. The problem is manufacturing essentially. But even there we see some light at the end of the tunnel. There seem to be some initial signs of recovery in the Purchasing Managers’ Index and the Economic Sentiment Indicator. I was surprised to see that confidence in the construction sector and manufacturing activity have bottomed out, and we see some possible signs of recovery. Services are holding up overall. If there is some softening in terms of demand for labour, possibly there will be a pick-up in productivity which will reduce the unit labour cost overall. We obviously need to monitor it because, with all this uncertainty, we could see a deterioration. But I am not overly concerned about the labour market.

    Adding up what you said about these modest signs of recovery in manufacturing, does that mean you still believe in the soft-landing narrative and you don’t see a recession?

    We might not be booming but I am not expecting a recession at all. I think consumption will slowly go up because the fundamentals are there, labour income is growing, the cost of borrowing is declining, inflation is declining, and consumer confidence is basically holding up, so it’s possible that the savings rate will decline from a historic high. So, overall, I think consumption will keep going – and that is a big chunk of the economy. Investment should recover too, as soon as all this uncertainty dissipates. First, one cannot hold back forever: imagine you have a bunch of cumulated investment decisions to make. Even if a small percentage of them go through, it will be a positive and you will see that in investment. Second, less restrictive financial conditions are slowly being transmitted to the cost of financing. And third, in 2025-26 we should see an acceleration in the spending of Next Generation EU funds in Europe.

    Moving to the digital euro. Could you give us an update?

    We have started the procurement process and we will be selecting suppliers in June, but the contracts are such that they will only be triggered if the Governing Council decides to issue the digital euro. We have been working on the rulebook and we will be able to finalise it shortly after we have firm EU legislation in place. For example, whether people can have access to one or more wallets will have an influence on the rulebook, so if we don’t have a final legislation, we cannot finalise the rulebook. But it will not take long once the legislation is approved because we have done as much work as possible in the absence of a firm legislation. So the procurement is done and the rulebook is almost done. We are also working with the market to leverage the innovation potential of the digital euro. We think there is huge potential in conditional payments to increase the quality and the menu of the offering on payments.

    So that is a payment that only happens if a certain condition is fulfilled, right?

    Today there is only one type of conditional payment and it is based on time: pay this amount to this person on this date. We think we can do better than that. To make sure that this intuition is right, at the end of October, we issued a call for innovation partnerships. We were surprised to receive 100 offers. People want to experiment with new ideas. We will be doing that for the next six months and we will then prepare a report.

    Would conditional payments require a blockchain? How else would the condition be verified?

    No, it’s not a matter of blockchain. If you have a way to register the transaction on the ledger through a sort of token, that is a possibility. But technicians tell me you can make a transaction conditional even on a traditional ledger. We are working on that, but the information that I can give you is that we can do better than what we are doing today on conditional payment, regardless of the underlying technology. The technology has a bearing on many dimensions, for example latency and privacy.

    Could you give me an example of a conditional payment that could be settled in digital euro?

    For example, if the train is late, today you have to ask to be reimbursed. You could have a solution in which you only pay if the condition is automatically verified. 

    To conclude with where we are in the preparation phase, let me add that since the digital euro is a product, we have to market it. So, we are engaging with focus groups and using surveys to understand how to best finalise the product in order to meet people’s expectations. We are on schedule, so we should be ready to take a decision on moving to the next project phase by November 2025. I don’t know whether at that time the Governing Council will already be able to take a decision to eventually issue a digital euro because that depends on whether we have a legislation at that point. We have been clear that we would not take any decision about the issuance of a digital euro before the legislative act has been adopted.

    We had expected legislation on the digital euro some time ago. What’s holding up the process? Are you sensing a lack of political will?

    I wouldn’t say there’s a lack of political will. I think people want to understand the whole process. The European Commission issued legislation in June 2023, then the European Parliament started to work on that, but mentally they were not there because there was an EU election coming up. Everything stopped. They are starting to work on this now so, to be fair to them, they didn’t have much time. By contrast, in the Council of the European Union’s working party, work is progressing. As far as I know, they have gone through all of the legislative proposal and they are now focusing on the issues that still need to be worked out.  When both the Council and the Parliament have agreed internally, they will sit down with the Commission and try to finalise the legislation. So, we hope they will be able to reach an agreement internally before the summer. But again, political processes are complex and there are many things on the table. Obviously the sooner the better, but we fully understand their needs. My sense is that there is an increased sense of urgency because of the position that has been taken by the new US Administration. The fact that the US President went in so strong on this idea of promoting worldwide US dollar-denominated stablecoins obviously is a signal. The political world is becoming more alert to this. And it’s possible that we will see an acceleration in the process.

    Stablecoins are similar to money market funds that people use if they don’t want to go via the banking system, whereas the digital euro, with its holding limit, will purely be a means of payment. Why do you think a digital euro would be a good response to stablecoins?  

    You’re right, for as long as stablecoins are not used as a means of payment. My sense is that they will be. This is worrisome because if people in Europe start to use stablecoins to pay, given that most of them are American and dollar-based, they will be transferring their deposits from Europe to the United States. It may start with peer-to-peer, cross-border transactions. Then an American tourist may be able to use stablecoins instead of using a credit card, for example. So stablecoins can enter the payment space, for example, if they can compete with card schemes by reducing the price for the merchant. We have seen that important payment providers have already issued stablecoins, like PayPal, for example.

    Turning now to bitcoin, we know that the ECB has got repo lines and swap lines with other central banks. Would the ECB maintain those with a central bank that has bitcoins among its reserves?

    It’s an interesting question. Fortunately we don’t have to think about that right now because no major central bank is thinking about that.

    One is hypothesising.

    We would need to do a risk management assessment of that. Let’s see if any central bank enters this space because I don’t fully see the rationale for it. We will assess it at that point in time, if it happens. I am trying to be rational and think about why I should invest in bitcoin or another crypto-asset. The only rationale is if one thinks that the price will always go up. It doesn’t have any underlying value, there is no asset backing it, there is no earning model.

    On that, it’s a bit like gold.

    The structures of the two markets are completely different: the transparency of the market, the concentration. So, I would be careful about making the analogy. I don’t know how deep the market for gold is, but there are central banks in that market, and not just because of a legacy system. We should not stop at a superficial analogy between gold and bitcoin.

    Why do central banks invest in gold, other than legacy?

    It’s in part due to legacy, but gold has intrinsic, commercial and industrial value. Bitcoin does not have any of that.

    We’ve seen gold and bitcoin make all-time highs at the same time. Or should we say that fiat currencies are making all-time lows?

    Fiat currencies allow you, among other things, to pay. Good luck trying to pay in bitcoin or gold. Central bank money is the safest asset you can imagine and it’s relatively stable in terms of what you can buy with it.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: In Memoriam: UNESCO Pays Tribute to Professor Christophe Mbida Mindzié

    Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre

    It is with deep sadness that UNESCO has learned of the passing of Professor Christophe Mbida Mindzié. He passed away on January 15, 2025.

     Professor Christophe Mbida Mindzié was an eminent researcher and an ardent defender of Africa’s tangible and intangible heritage.

    Professor Christophe Mbida Mindzié was a key figure in heritage preservation and a leader in cultural management in Africa. His unwavering commitment over several decades left an indelible mark on World Heritage and the UNESCO community. His immense contribution led to the recognition of numerous African sites as World Heritage Sites. Thanks to his work as an archaeologist and his passion for World Heritage, many Cameroonian sites have been documented with great scientific rigor. He trained many young professionals in Africa.

    Professor Christophe Mbida Mindzié dedicated himself early on to the preservation of Cameroon’s cultural heritage, driven by a passion for history and a deep respect for the past. His journey led him to become a leading authority on African heritage, renowned for his scientific rigor and steadfast commitment.

    Christophe Mbida Mindzié obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon (1980) and his doctorate from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (1996) in Belgium. Upon his return to Cameroon, he was appointed Director of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture in 2002. Fourteen years later, he resumed the same position until 2022 at the Ministry of Arts and Culture, before becoming Head of the Department of Arts and Archaeology at the University of Yaoundé 1.

    In 2020, he was a founding member of the National Committee of ICOMOS Cameroon, serving as First Vice-President and interim President for nearly a year, during which he presided over the General Assembly of the Committee just weeks before his passing. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Africa 2009 program, where he contributed to the structuring of the Directorate of Cultural Heritage within the Ministry of Arts and Culture and played a key role in training many Cameroonian and African professionals. He also prepared and coordinated all nomination dossiers for Cameroon’s World Heritage inscriptions. Additionally, he contributed to the preparation of the nomination dossier for Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo in Angola, which was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2017. He is the author of numerous publications on tangible and intangible cultural heritage and has directed several doctoral theses.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Professor Jan Rovny at the European University Institute to Discuss Ethnic Minorities

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Jan Rovny, a professor of political science at Sciences Po Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE), spent 6 days at the European University Institute (Florence, Italy), thanks to our European alliance, CIVICA, and its faculty short visits programme. This stay was the perfect opportunity to discuss his research projects and to present his newest book, Ethnic Minorities, Political Competition, and Democracy (Oxford University Press).

    Find below a video interview produced by Sciences Po on how “Ethnic minorities can be a positive asset for democracy“, followed by a shorter version of an interview published by the EUI.

    you gave a lecture at the EUI examining the relationship between ethnic minorities and democracy. Can you delve deeper into how different aspects of democracy, such as liberal democracy or social rights, resonate uniquely with various minority groups?

    The core argument of the talk, which stems out of my book, is that ethnic minorities have a general interest in liberal democratic arrangements while they’re in a democracy.

    In a democracy, ethnic politics, contrary to expectations, are actually going to potentially be a force for maintaining democracy, which I’ve studied in Eastern Europe. I’ve demonstrated how this has been quite important in a number of countries during democratic transition in the 1990s, but also during recent episodes of democratic backsliding when some of the minority elites and parties have attempted in various ways to slow it down.

    This is based on the idea that, conditionally, ethnic minorities seek to protect themselves through counter-majoritarian aspects of democracy, particularly through the protection of civil rights and liberties, which is a non-majoritarian component of democracy. Simultaneously, they’re not necessarily so sure about the utility of majoritarian components of democracy, such as electoral democracy or direct popular democracy.

    My current research is trying to engage with this and see whether ethnic minorities are interested in some components of democracy, being counter-majoritarianism more so than others, such as electoral democracy. That’s what the preliminary results show.

    Could you provide examples of how these minorities try to protect themselves from majoritarian rule?

    My book delves into the cases of Hungarians in Slovakia or ethnic Russians in Estonia.

    One example is when quite a liberal ethnic minority party in Slovakia joined in a very difficult coalition with a populist illiberal party in 2016, which was to some degree seen as a bit of a betrayal by their voters because they went into this coalition with a prime minister who was not particularly minority-friendly or liberal democracy-friendly. But in that government, they very much sought to control some of the key portfolios that would protect them as a minority. They were always interested in questions of usage of language, language education, and signage in national languages.

    They were also interested in the ministry of regional development, but most importantly, they actually did manage to obtain the position of the minister of justice. The minister of justice was able to put into place a set of new laws that contained aspects like transparency of government contracts that importantly constrained some of the corrupt and anti-democratic practices that the government was involved in.

    In Estonia there was a similar situation, where a party that was not explicitly an ethnic minority party ―but that has historically been supported and has itself supported ethnic minorities― also went into a difficult coalition with a radical right party. That party was not happy with it and the Russian representatives didn’t like it.

    Some of them deliberately didn’t take up their seats in parliament in order not to vote for that coalition. I’ve interviewed specific individuals who preferred to stay in the city hall and work in local politics, even though they had a seat in the parliament. It was a symbolic rejection: “I will not vote for this coalition, but I will not prevent my party from doing it.”

    There was a very instrumental aim that the party had in mind, and that was to protect Russian education. They said, “we will go dance with the devil, but one red line is Russian schools will remain.” They saw that if they weren’t going in the coalition, the majority influenced by the radical right party will undermine this fundamental need for them and their community. Throughout that government, they have managed to protect Russian schooling.

    How does the CIVICA alliance contribute to your research?

    It made this possible. This was a unique opportunity to stay here for a week, which gave me much more flexibility to meet more people, get more feedback, and also give some comments to students. Without CIVICA this would have either not happened or would have been a lot shorter.

    Cover image caption: Jan Rovny during a CIVICA faculty short visit at the EUI in Florence, Italy. January 2025. (credits: EUI / CIVICA)

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Spades in the ground on £295 million West Midlands Metro extension

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Trams will run from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, providing faster and more reliable transport connections to centre of Birmingham and wider West Midlands.

    • Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander in the West Midlands to begin work on the £295 million project
    • the extension will better connect the Black Country with the centre of Birmingham, improving access to jobs and opportunities
    • government investment to transform infrastructure and grow the economy as it delivers the Plan for Change

    The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander is in the West Midlands today (6 February 2025) to put spades in the ground on the extension of the West Midlands Metro tram network in the Black Country.

    Funded through the government’s £1.05 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) for the West Midlands, the project will see drastically improved connections for currently underserved communities.

    For the first time, this investment will mean trams will run from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, providing faster and more reliable transport connections between Dudley and Brierley Hill to the city centre and wider West Midlands and so to jobs and opportunities. 

    Providing first time light rail connection for many local residents, passengers will benefit from journey time savings of up to 30% compared to taking the bus and with greater reliability at peak times.

    The first phase of the extension, running from Wednesbury to Dudley town centre, is already well underway and due to open to passengers in autumn of this year.

    Poor local transport stifles local productivity, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas where so many rely on local buses, trains and trams. That’s why boosting local transport infrastructure is central to the government’s Growth Mission, as is empowering local leaders to deliver better transport for their communities through the Devolution White Paper. This is helping support jobs, boost local business and deliver growth in all 4 corners of the UK as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

    Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said:

    Residents in and around the Black Country have been chronically underserved by public transport, limiting access to jobs and opportunities and stunting economic growth.

    We’re turning the tide on poor transport connections in the West Midlands and delivering a transport system that people can rely on, raising living standards across the region.  

    The extension of the West Midlands Metro will be transformational and I am delighted to officially mark the start of work today as this government gets on with supporting local jobs and business while empowering local leaders to deliver our Plan for Change.

    Once complete, the extension will provide a major boost to local businesses as the extension is set to pass through Cinder Bank, Pedmore Road and the Waterfront business park.

    The Transport Secretary is meeting with West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and being given a tour of Parkhead Viaduct in Dudley – an iconic 19 century Brunel structure which will come back into use as part of the Metro route.

    Richard Parker, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

    Good transport links are essential – helping people get to school, work, local shops and to enjoy a day out. Extending the metro further into the Black Country opens up routes for job opportunities, skills and growth, ensuring fast, reliable journeys for everyone across the West Midlands.

    Now that I have secured the funding from government and we’ve got the approvals needed, the work can start to make this long-awaited project a reality. The restoration of this viaduct shows how we can protect our region’s industrial heritage while developing modern infrastructure.

    With the first phase nearly complete, the Metro is already creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and attracting investment to the area, and soon it will take those same opportunities into Dudley and Merry Hill.

    Rail media enquiries

    Media enquiries 0300 7777878

    Switchboard 0300 330 3000

    Updates to this page

    Published 6 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Free activities and food for Portsmouth children this February half term

    Source: City of Portsmouth

    This February half term Portsmouth children can play football, skate, scoot, enjoy musical theatre and more completely free of charge, thanks to Portsmouth City Council’s Holiday Sessions.

    The free sessions are running from Monday 17 February to Friday 21 February, but hurry as places are limited.

    They’re open to all children aged from 6-18 living in PO1-PO6, with some sessions for ages 6-18. They are especially aimed at low-income families who are struggling with increased cost of living who may otherwise not be able to afford such activities.

    Nutritious meals/snacks are provided on all days, with free transport included in many of the events.

    The council is putting on the activities through its Household Support Fund, funded by the UK Government.

    Council Leader Cllr Steve Pitt said:

    “Our holiday activity schemes have been a big success, they’re a great way for kids to meet and have fun getting active.

    “They’re open to all Portsmouth children, though we especially want to appeal to families who would otherwise struggle to pay for their children to enjoy half term club activities.”

    Booking is required and spaces are limited. Book your half-term activities here.

    Anyone with questions can phone 07901 100537 or email eptengagement@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Residents move into new Darwin House development at Churchill Gardens | Westminster City Council

    Source: City of Westminster

    Local residents have begun moving into the new Darwin House development this month.

    The new 100% affordable housing scheme, which sits within the Churchill Gardens Conservation Area, is being delivered in two phases. The completion of the first of two new buildings delivers 33 new community-supported accommodation properties for social rent for people who are over 60, along with one scheme manager unit.

    Currently, there are 20 older residents in the neighbouring ‘old’ Darwin House who will be rehoused into the new purpose-built homes. The self-contained one-bedroom apartments – which are twice the size of their current accommodation – have communal facilities, offer social activities, and have guest rooms for visitors. There will be landscaped leafy green spaces for the new residents and the wider Churchill Gardens community to enjoy.

    The remaining 13 homes will be offered to people living locally, aged over 60 through the Council’s Local Lettings Plan, which allows people living locally to bid for the new properties first. This frees up existing, often larger homes for families on the waiting list.

    Residents moving into the new Darwin House development will also receive bespoke, tailored support from the council, which includes packing services for those who require it, assistance with reconnection of services and support with ordering new furniture. This is in recognition that some residents may need support to arrange these tasks online.

    Once all residents move into the new Darwin House (as it was named by its first new residents) and the original site becomes vacant, the construction of second new block will begin. A further 10 council homes for social rent will then be built on the current Darwin House location.  These social rent home will include eight 4-bedroom homes, one 3-bedroom homes and one 1-bedroom homes, providing much needed family sized accommodation.

    Working with housebuilding contractor Wates Residential to complete the works, there will be a total of 44 homes delivered on site, increasing the number of homes for residents to 21 units, providing affordable, fit-for-purpose housing in the city.

    Cllr Matt Noble, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Renters at Westminster City Council said:

    “The completion of the new homes marks a significant milestone for our residents from the ‘old’ Darwin House who have been eagerly anticipating moving in to their new fit-for-purpose homes. With the support from our specialist officers, they have all selected flats with suitable aids and adaptations to meet their needs.

    “The delivery of these new council homes for social rent – and the rest to come with construction starting on the second new building – demonstrates our continued commitment to deliver high quality, truly affordable homes and a Fairer Westminster for all local people.”

    • Darwin House | Westminster City Council
    • These new homes are designed in accordance with the Housing our Aging Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) standards, ensuring a modern and supportive living environment for our community.
    • Working with housebuilding contractor Wates Residential to complete the works, the new homes will be offered to local people first through the Council’s Local Lettings Plan, which allows people living locally in overcrowded or unsuitable homes to bid for the new properties before they go towards tackling the 4000 strong waiting list for homes in Westminster.
    • Under the ‘Fairer Westminster’ strategy, the Council has committed to providing at least 50% affordable housing across its 4,000-home development pipeline. 

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New trial tests high-fibre route to reducing cancer treatment side effects in NHS patients NHS cancer patients are being given extra fibre in a new study aimed at reducing the unpleasant side effects of radiotherapy and potentially increasing its effectiveness.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Chicory rootNHS cancer patients are being given extra fibre in a new study aimed at reducing the unpleasant side effects of radiotherapy and potentially increasing its effectiveness.
    More than 200 men awaiting treatment for prostate cancer are being recruited from eight UK cancer centres for the trial, led by researchers from the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute and the University of Manchester thanks to a £660,000 grant from Prostate Cancer UK.
    Half the volunteers in the DIETRICH study will have their diet enriched with inulin (a fibre supplement derived from plants) before, during and after their treatment.
    Inulin is a widely-available prebiotic that supports the growth of beneficial bacteria that reduce gut wall inflammation, which is a major cause of these side effects.
    Researchers hope symptoms such as diarrhoea, bowel bleeding and bladder problems that occur when radiotherapy affects neighbouring non-cancerous cells can be made less severe or even eliminated.
    The other half of the group will receive a dummy supplement with no active ingredient for the same period – starting two weeks before treatment and ending three weeks afterwards – and complete the same surveys and medical tests.
    If the trial is successful – and the results then confirmed on a larger-scale – inulin supplements could become a routine part of treatment, meaning a more comfortable experience for patients and a reduction in the cost to the NHS of treating side effects.
    Early studies in animals suggest fibre supplements may also boost radiotherapy’s ability to kill cancer cells, and the trial will further explore this potential.
    Aberdeen’s Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials (CHaRT) will handle the electronic collection of patient information using a specialised web-based data collection tool it has developed. As well as Aberdeen and Manchester, patients in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Preston, Leeds and Mount Vernon will take part.
    Scotland and North West England are two of the regions with the highest proportion of men whose prostate cancer is diagnosed late, at stage four – one in three in Scotland and one in five in the north west.
    Professor Anne Kiltie of the Rowett Institute, who is leading the study with University of Manchester’s Professor Ananya Choudhury, said: “We are delighted to receive funding from Prostate Cancer UK to undertake our study, DIETRICH. This study will test the value of inulin, a dietary fibre supplement with known health benefits, in men undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer. We anticipate that this will reduce intestinal and urinary side effects that men can experience from prostate radiotherapy and will allow us to confirm our laboratory findings. If our trial is successful, this will lead to us undertaking a much larger study on the benefits of inulin in men undergoing prostate radiotherapy.”
    Dr Matthew Hobbs, Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “For thousands of men with early-stage prostate cancer, radiotherapy is a highly effective and potentially curative treatment. Sadly, however, some men can experience debilitating side effects as a result of their radiotherapy, like bowel and urinary problems, which can significantly impact their quality of life.
    “We’re really excited to be supporting this trial which is testing a relatively simple solution to tackle this significant problem. If shown to be effective, a fibre-rich diet could drastically reduce the severity of side effects that men experience as a result of their radiotherapy, resulting in faster recovery and a better quality of life. This study is being funded as part of a £2.7m investment from Prostate Cancer UK across 5 different projects to support innovative and ground-breaking research into the way we diagnose and treat prostate cancer.  
    “Prostate Cancer UK’s is the UK’s largest funder of prostate cancer research. Our schemes are deliberately designed to support different types of research and our Research Innovation Awards exist to support novel, game-changing projects just like this. It’s particularly great to be funding ground-breaking research across Scotland and the North West, two regions where far too many men are being diagnosed with later-stage prostate cancer.”
    CHaRT director Professor Graeme MacLennan said: “We are excited to work with Profs Kiltie and Choudhury on this important clinical trial. Their lab work showed potential for inulin to reduce the nasty effects of prostate radiotherapy on the bladder and bowel. “The next step is to confirm these findings in men getting radiotherapy. We’ve helped design the trial, and now our job is to help deliver it!”
    One person who is following the study closely is Dr Tim Ward, who own diagnosis with prostate cancer and the severe side effects he then experienced during radiotherapy forced him to take early retirement from his own job as a scientist researching cancer.
    Dr Ward, who now acts as a patient advocate, said: “If the DIETRICH study had been available when I first started my radiotherapy, I would most certainly have signed up for it and hopefully my side effects would have been much less of an issue. I think it is now clear that modifying the gut bacteria is going to be important in future radiotherapy treatments.”
     

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council staff combine with Armagh Fisheries to improve water quality

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    ABC Council’s Conservation officer Andy Griggs is pictured with Tom Woods, ABC Natural Heritage Officer and Aidan Donnelly from Armagh Fisheries.

    Conservation staff from ABC Council’s Climate Sustainability and Parks (CSP) department have been working in partnership with Armagh Fisheries Ltd recently to deliver an exciting water quality improvement project on the Butterwater river, a major tributary of the Callan River.

    The project funded through a grant from Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s (NIEA) Water Quality Improvement Scheme (WQIS) involved a number of elements including a 6km long river survey to determine the current status of the river with recommendations for future improvements works.

    Members of Armagh Fisheries carrying out improvement works on a local stream.

    As well as the survey, 150 metres of nature-based revetment works were installed helping to prevent cattle poaching of exposed riverbanks which leads to siltation of instream habitats.

    The project also involved a community engagement and citizen science programme for aquatic conservation delivered through a series of environmental education / activity days with local community members.

    The last of these events was held at the Armagh City Hotel and was attended by over 50 individuals representing some 18 local groups and organisations all working to improve river systems and the water that flows into Lough Neagh.

    Carolyn Beattie who gave a presentation at the event in Armagh City Hotel.

    Presentations at the event included information on previous project works and successes, online training modules on catchment management, education programmes on water quality and rivers for young people and current funding streams available for groups to apply for further project work.

    The event was a great success and it is envisaged that the partnership between ABC Council’s conservation staff and local community groups looking to protect and enhance our important rivers and loughs will continue to go from strength to strength in the coming years as funding is made available.

    Local anglers who attended the presentation in Armagh City Hotel.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Thousands expected for opening night of Spectra 2025

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    Spectra, Scotland’s Festival of Light, will get underway this evening as thousands of eventgoers from across Scotland, Aberdeen and further afield, are expected to descend on the Granite City to enjoy the magic and wonder that the popular four-day event offers.

    Featuring 15 artworks including giant projections and huge interactive light installations, as well as entertainment from street performers, to dancers, and musicians, the free-to-attend festival, owned and commissioned by Aberdeen City Council, and produced by Live Event Management, is now in its 11th year and saw over 100,000 people attend last year.

    Councillor Martin Greig, cultural spokesperson for Aberdeen City Council, said: “Spectra is finally here and we cannot wait for visitors from the city and beyond to revel in the magic that this year’s festival offers. The planning for this year’s festival has been underway for months. A great deal of people have been working with the Council to make this event a success. There has been excellent collaboration with artists and local groups. All the preparation and hard work is going to create wonderful experiences for everyone to enjoy. The opening night is a very happy celebration of all the collective artistic activity.”

    Running from 6th – 9th February and helping to light up the city are a range of leading artists and installations from across the UK and Australia, including a giant inflatable castle called Sky Castle by Australian artists ENESS, a huge neon colouring wall by Scottish illustrator, Johanna Basford OBE, and two installations by Newcastle-based Studio Vertigo which include a huge illuminated slinky and a giant moon apparently removed from its orbit and lassoed to a boat.

    A 50m long multi-sensory walkway by Kent-based Lucid Creates, is designed to distort reality, creating shifts in time and space, exploring the contrast between light and dark using strobes of light.

    The heartbeats of over 65 Aberdonians, a sprawling illuminated fungal network and a virtual exhibition by artist Craig Barrowman and local artists that transforms public space into an immersive experience using a smartphone and the Northern Lights AR app can also be enjoyed.

    A specially commissioned art piece by Aberdeen Art Gallery and Scottish artist, Council Baby, will take pride of place in the Gallery’s magnificent Sculpture Court area which will see a large-scale video installation projection comprising of four striking stained-glass designs which have been inspired by works in the city’s collection and visits to the area, with each animated panel capturing different aspects of Aberdeen’s rich history.

    The iconic ABERDEEN letters by Aberdeen Inspired will feature a special design for the occasion at their new temporary residence outside of Marischal College for the duration of the festival.

    More information on the festival can be found at www.spectrafestival.com

    Photo (Left to Right): Artists from IDONTLOVEYOUANYMORE; Councillor Martin Greig; and artists from RGU Northern Lights; in front of Council Baby’s Fit D’You Know About The Bon Accord video installation, which was commissioned by Aberdeen Art Gallery for Spectra 2025. 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Nigerian agencies unite to combat organized crime with support from INTERPOL and AFRIPOL

    Source: Interpol (news and events)

    6 February 2025

    LYON, France – In a major blow to organized crime, 12 different Nigerian law enforcement agencies, supported by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, have launched a sweeping operation that has resulted in the arrests of 36 individuals and seizures worth USD 3 million.

    The operation (23-27 September 2024) brought together Nigerian authorities for a Nigerian law enforcement agencies and criminal justice stakeholders working on a broad range of crime areas were involved in the operation, including financial crime and cybercrime as well as drug and human trafficking.

    Following two months of preparation, national authorities carried out increased border checks, targeted raids at identified hotspots and followed up on actionable leads over five operational days.  Most arrests were made for cyber-enabled fraud and the vast majority of the detained suspects were under the age of 35, reflecting a trend of greater youth involvement in organized crime.

    Among the crimes uncovered, common tactics included ‘romance baiting’, in which criminals cultivate online relationships to manipulate victims into investing or transferring their money; investment and cryptocurrency scams, where perpetrators lure victims in fictitious financial schemes; and celebrity scams, which involve the impersonation of well-known figures to solicit money from fans. Three of the arrests were for sextortion, where the suspects were extorting money from victims to prevent the release of compromising or explicit material.

    Notable seizures from the operation included 19kg of cocaine, valued at 2.8 million USD; 51kg of cannabis; five cars; two weapons; and 215 rounds of ammunition. The action days also exposed cases of human trafficking, with the identification of 12 victims who had been lured abroad with promises of work but were instead forced into sexual exploitation or forced labour. The investigation led to the arrest of a female recruiter, who had posed as a victim to evade detection, and the seizure of USD 16,000 from her account.

    Cyril Gout, INTERPOL’s Acting Executive Director of Police Services, said:

    “West African Organized Crime Groups are considered to be among the most aggressive and expansionist criminal groups for their involvement in a broad range of illegal activities, from people smuggling, human trafficking, extortion and kidnapping to oil theft, cybercrime and money laundering. The success of this operation underscores the critical importance of sustained, multi-agency collaboration in disrupting these networks. By working together, at a national and international level we can effectively combat this global threat and bring justice to those affected by these crimes.”

    Ambassador Jalel Chelba, Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL, said:

    “The success of this operation demonstrates the profound impact of coordinated efforts between national and international law enforcement bodies. AFRIPOL is dedicated to fostering partnerships that bridge the gaps in intelligence sharing and operational coordination, ensuring a united front against the complexities of transnational organized crime. This landmark initiative in Nigeria not only strengthens national capacities but also exemplifies the collective resolve of African member states to combat evolving criminal threats. Our close cooperation with INTERPOL was pivotal to the achievements of this operation and we will continue to work closely with our partners to promote security and stability across the continent.”

    The operation was supported by officers from INTERPOL and AFRIPOL

    Reinforcing national capacity to strengthen global security

    During the operation, coordinated by INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau and AFRIPOL’s National Liaison Office in Abuja, officers from both INTERPOL and AFRIPOL were deployed to support criminal intelligence analysis, assist operation coordination and to facilitate crosschecks against databases.

    The success of this operation was driven by the collaborative efforts among Nigerian law enforcement agencies, justice stakeholders and the partnership between AFRIPOL and INTERPOL. This joint effort demonstrates the results that can be achieved by effective intelligence sharing and coordinated action from all relevant agencies, paving the way for a new era of cooperation.

    The operation was delivered under the framework of the ISPA programme, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, to support AFRIPOL in strengthening its position as the lead institution in Africa for preventing and combating transnational organized crime, terrorism and cybercrime.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ryde children’s library to get a page-turning makeover 6 February 2025 Ryde children’s library to get a page-turning makeover

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    Ryde Library is set to get a fresh new look following a successful application to the Arts Council England’s Libraries Improvement Fund.

    The grant will facilitate the refurbishment of the children’s library and the addition of an accessible toilet, with work starting on Monday, 24 February. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March.

    During the revamp, the main library will remain open except for a brief closure on Thursday, 20 February, Friday 21 and Saturday, 22 February, to allow staff to relocate books from the affected areas.

    From Monday 24 February, the library will operate with slightly reduced hours, closing between 12.30pm and 1.30pm. The revised opening times are as follows:

    • Monday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
    • Tuesday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30 pm to 5pm
    • Wednesday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
    • Thursday: Closed
    • Friday: 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5pm
    • Saturday: 9am to 12 noon

    The library’s Help Centre, Citizens Advice Bureau, and Information Support Service will continue to operate within these hours. On completion of the works in late March, the library will close briefly to return books to their original locations.

    During the refurbishment, children’s books will be relocated within the main library. However, due to space constraints, activities such as Rhyme Time and adult group sessions will be temporarily suspended. Public computers, printing, and photocopying facilities will remain available.

    Cowes Library will also benefit from the Libraries Improvement Fund, with work scheduled to begin in mid-March. Further information will be released in due course.

    Councillor Julie Jones Evans, Cabinet member responsible for libraries, said: “Although there may be some temporary inconvenience due to construction work, the end result will be worth it.

    “Residents will still be able to use all the usual online library services while building works take place. We’d also like to remind and encourage residents to visit the other libraries across the Island, which are open as normal.

    “I am deeply grateful for the support from Arts Council England. Their continued investment in the island not only empowers us to bring innovative and inspiring projects to life but also strengthens the cultural fabric of our community.”

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New on-street electric vehicle charge point network launched in partnership with Ubitricity

    Source: City of Birmingham

    Expansion of public charging infrastructure will help increase access to overnight charging for residents without off-street parking.

    Birmingham City Council today announced the launch of a major new project to expand the city’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network. In partnership with Ubitricity, the UK’s largest charge point operator, the Council is carrying out a pilot deployment of 560 lamppost EV charge points across residential areas of the city where access to private off-street parking is limited or unavailable.

    This rollout represents the first project of its kind in the UK’s second-largest city and is expected to set a new standard for on-street EV charging. The project is being delivered in response to data showing that most electric cars are kept at homes without access to a private driveway. Not having access to overnight charging ‘on your doorstep’ can act as a deterrent to EV ownership. This initiative, part of Birmingham’s wider Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, is aimed at improving access to EV charging infrastructure.

    Ubitricity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell and the UK’s largest EV charge point operator, will supply, install, own, operate and maintain the new charge points on behalf of Birmingham City Council. This partnership is expected to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles by providing an accessible, convenient charging solution for those who rely on on-street parking.

    The 560 charge points will be installed in lampposts on 82 streets across the city, with each point taking less than an hour to install. The installation process is designed to minimise disruption and meets the Council’s key requirement to avoid street clutter, while strategically placing charge points based on resident demand and grid connection availability.

    Deployed using Office of Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) funding, the first 300 of these charge points have already been installed, and the remaining 260 will be installed before the end of Spring 2025.

    Transport accounts for around a third of CO2 emissions in Birmingham. In June 2019, Birmingham City Council declared a climate emergency and set an ambition for the city to become net-zero by 2030 or as soon as possible after that date as a ‘just transition’ allows. To reduce, and eventually eliminate emissions from transport, it is necessary to shift remaining vehicles to ultra-low and zero-emission vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs). To enable the uptake of electric vehicles, a comprehensive public EV charging network across Birmingham is needed. As part of this effort, the city is focused on ensuring that EV charging infrastructure is accessible to all residents, including those who use taxis, car clubs, and commercial fleets, as well as private individuals without off-street parking.

    The pilot rollout respects the city’s broader commitment to the Birmingham Transport Plan 2031 and supports the objectives of the Brum Breathes Clean Air Strategy and the Route to Net Zero initiative. These initiatives aim to make walking, cycling, and public transport the preferred choice for getting around, whilst ensuring that remaining private vehicle use is enabled through access to clean, zero-emissions charging infrastructure.

    Councillor Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport at Birmingham City Council, emphasised the importance of this initiative in supporting the city’s long-term environmental goals.

    He said: “While our focus as a council is on delivering the Birmingham Transport Plan and encouraging people to swap private vehicles for public transport, we also want to ensure that, for those who require use of a car, we have the infrastructure in place to facilitate use of low or zero-emission vehicles.”

    Stuart Wilson, UK Managing Director of Ubitricity, said: “Ubitricity is delighted to be supporting Birmingham City Council as they begin this journey to create one of the largest public EV charging networks outside London, encouraging the transition to electric vehicles, and helping to create a cleaner and healthier, environment for the people of Birmingham.”

    Ubitricity installed 301 charge points between 15th October and 24th December. As one of the quickest mass rollouts ubitricity has headed, they put the accelerated installation down to close collaboration with the council, with the city’s wide-ranging commitment to EV infrastructure paving the way for other cities to follow suit.

    For more information about the City-wide Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, visit Birmingham City Council’s website.

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  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Safety bulletin 1/2025 published

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    This bulletin urges prospective customers intending to stay on liveaboard vessels to book through reputable vendors only.

    Image courtesy of Ali Aref – Dive Pro Liveaboard

    Today, we have issued a safety bulletin to prospective customers following the loss of life on Egyptian liveaboard dive boats operating in the Red Sea.

    Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll OBE, said:

    The MAIB is aware of 16 accidents that have occurred over the last 5 years involving liveaboard dive vessels operating in the Red Sea. It is deeply regrettable that a number of these accidents have resulted in the loss of life and our thoughts are with all those affected.

    While MAIB does not have the jurisdiction to investigate accidents involving non-UK flagged vessels operating within the territorial waters of another coastal state, we have made the appropriate authorities aware of our national interest and offered every assistance with any safety investigation they conduct.

    Our safety bulletin provides important guidance to those intending to stay on liveaboard vessels. It is important to remember that such vessels are unlikely to be built, maintained, equipped, and operated to the standard of similar vessels in the UK and we urge the exercise of extreme caution when choosing a boat.

    The bulletin, available via this link, contains details of what happened, initial findings, safety lessons and a recommendation.

    In line with the principles of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Casualty Investigation Code, the UK has been registered as a substantially interested state in the Egyptian safety investigations into these accidents.

    Media enquiries (telephone only)

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    Updates to this page

    Published 6 February 2025

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