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Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Consolidation of personal exploitation and equality between agricultural holdings

    MIL OSI Translation. Government of the Republic of France statements from French to English –

    Source: Switzerland – Department of Foreign Affairs in French

    Federal Council

    Bern, 27.09.2024 – The Federal Council intends to consolidate the principle of personal farming, the position of spouses and the entrepreneurial spirit of agricultural holdings. On 27 September 2024, it put out for consultation a draft partial revision of the Federal Act on Rural Land Law (LDFR) along these lines.

    Motion 22.4253 of the Economic Affairs and Fees Committee of the Council of States (CER-E) of 10 October 2022, which called for the decoupling of rural land law from the implementation of the Agricultural Policy from 2022 (PA22), instructed the Federal Council to prepare a draft partial revision of the LDFR by the end of 2025 at the latest. The Federal Council’s draft revision pursues three objectives. The first is to consolidate the principle of personal exploitation, for example by the possibility of withdrawing the acquisition permit when the charges are not met. The second objective concerns the improvement of the position of spouses, in particular by granting them a second-rank pre-emption right. Finally, the draft also aims to strengthen the entrepreneurial spirit, for example by increasing the maximum charge.

    The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) set up an external support group to implement motion 22.4253. The cantonal agricultural offices (COSAC), the Swiss Farmers’ Union, the Swiss Farmers’ and Rural Women’s Union, the Young Farmers’ Commission, the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Farmers, the Swiss Association for Mountain Regions, the Swiss Society for Agrarian Law, the Association for the Defence of Rural Property and agricultural trustees were represented. The applicability of the proposed amendments was also checked with the assistance of the competent licensing authorities during the preparation of the consultation documents.

    The consultation procedure on amendments to the law runs until 10 January 2025.

    Address for sending questions

    Communication SG-DEFRinfo@gs-wbf.admin.ch 41 58 462 20 07

    Author

    Federal Councilhttps://www.admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil.html

    Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Researchhttp://www.wbf.admin.ch

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Piero Cipollone: Monetary sovereignty in the digital age: the case for a digital euro

    Source: European Central Bank

    Keynote speech by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Economics of Payments XIII Conference organised by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank

    Vienna, 27 September 2024

    Money plays a fundamental role in society, driving economic activity and enabling daily transactions.[1] Money in physical form, cash, remains the most frequently used means of payment in stores, especially for lower value transactions. But more and more people are using money in digital form. An average of 379 million retail transactions are made digitally in the euro area every day.[2]

    Given money’s importance for our material and social well-being, the regulation of money has long been considered a cornerstone of state sovereignty. As the influential French jurist and political philosopher Jean Bodin observed in the 16th century, “only he who has the power to make law can regulate the coinage.”[3]

    Today, legislators continue to regulate the use of money and they have entrusted central banks with issuing public money and maintaining confidence in the monetary system.

    At the European Central Bank (ECB), we issue money that can be used to settle wholesale and retail transactions throughout the euro area, thereby guaranteeing the singleness of money across the monetary union. And we ensure that the euro remains a safe, stable and effective medium of exchange and store of value. This provides an essential anchor for the economy and the financial system.

    The Eurosystem has made significant progress in integrating wholesale transactions, largely thanks to the robust payment infrastructure it provides. The Eurosystem’s real-time gross settlement system T2, for instance, processes a value close to the entire euro area GDP on a weekly basis, and it has established itself as a leading global payment system.

    In parallel, euro banknotes are accepted for retail payments across the euro area. They have become a symbol of European integration and freedom[4], uniting us and strengthening our collective identity as Europeans.

    But while central banks have long offered digital settlement in central bank money for wholesale transactions, we do not yet have a digital form of cash.

    This is becoming increasingly problematic because the use and acceptance of cash are declining. In the euro area, cash transactions have fallen below card transactions in value.[5] And the share of companies reporting that they do not accept cash has tripled in the last three years to 12%.[6] The European Commission has therefore put forward a legislative proposal to ensure the acceptance of cash[7] and the ECB is committed to keeping euro cash widely available and accessible.[8] Still, the trend towards less use of banknotes for daily transactions is likely to continue, reflecting the digitalisation of economic activity and mirroring patterns observed in many advanced economies.

    Moreover, digital payments in the euro area remain fragmented, both along national lines and in terms of use cases. Current European digital payment solutions mainly cater to national markets and specific use cases. To pay across European countries, consumers have to rely on a few non-European providers, which now dominate most of these transactions. And even those providers’ payment solutions are not accepted everywhere and do not cover all key use cases (payments in shops, from person to person and online).

    So a key objective of central bank money – to offer the public a means of payment backed by the sovereign authority that can be used for retail transactions across the jurisdiction – is not being fulfilled in the euro area’s digital space. This is all the more awkward given that some euro area countries have made it mandatory to accept digital means of payment, for instance in a bid to combat tax evasion.

    In addition, European payments have become a prime example of the situation that Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi have described in their recent reports.[9] The fragmentation of the market, the lack of European payment solutions available on a European scale and the difficulty faced by European payment service providers in keeping pace with technological advances[10] means that Europe is not competitive within its own market, let alone on a global scale.

    Moreover, in an unstable geopolitical environment, we are being left to rely on companies based in other countries. Today’s dependency on US companies could in future develop into reliance on companies from countries other than the United States. Platforms like Ant Group’s Alipay have demonstrated their ability to bridge geographical gaps: during major events like UEFA EURO 2024 they were able to boost their payment app usage among customers in Europe.[11]

    We must move swiftly to address the risks stemming from Europe’s current inability to secure the integration and autonomy of its retail payment system. This is a key motivation behind the digital euro project: bringing central bank money into the digital age would provide a digital equivalent to banknotes and strengthen our monetary sovereignty.

    Today, I will outline the policy challenges we face as digitalisation reinforces the two-sided nature of the payments market. I will then discuss how the introduction of a digital euro could make a significant difference. By designing the digital euro to meet the diverse needs of consumers, merchants and payment service providers, we can ensure its widespread adoption. This, in turn, will empower us to pursue strategic goals such as innovation, integration and independence, ultimately enhancing our economic efficiency, resilience and sovereignty.

    The retail payments market: a two-sided marketplace

    To fully appreciate why we have been failing to overcome fragmentation and why the digital euro would be a game changer, we must first understand the structure of the retail payments market as a two-sided marketplace.

    Retail payment systems act as vital intermediaries connecting two key participants – merchants and consumers – whose transactions are facilitated by payment service providers.[12] The defining feature of this marketplace is that interactions between participants generate network effects, where the value for each group increases as more participants join the other side. Consider the telephone system: its utility grows with each new user. However, on the downside, this also creates a challenging chicken-and-egg dilemma. Platforms need a critical mass of users to attract additional participants, but they struggle to achieve scale without that initial user base.

    That is why platforms with existing large user bases have an advantage in entering such markets. Indeed, the strength of network effects is amplified when platforms expand their range of activities, thereby broadening their user base.

    Technological innovation and the rise of digital platforms managed by major tech companies are expected to further exacerbate these dynamics. Big techs conduct business in finance in a unique way, drawing on three mutually reinforcing components: data analytics, network effects and interconnected activities.[13] Network effects help big techs gather more data, which enhances their analytics. Better analytics improve services and attract more users, allowing them to offer more services and gather even more data.

    As a result, payment apps provided by big techs have become especially popular in emerging markets and developing economies.[14] Take China, for example. Its financial system has largely disintermediated banks from payment transactions. Instead, big techs have leveraged the widespread use of mobile apps, integrating social interactions and shopping experiences to offer users seamless digital payment methods.[15] What is even more problematic is that these companies operate closed-loop payment systems, in contrast to international card schemes’ open-loop systems. In a closed-loop system, consumers load money onto their Alipay account, for example, and pay by scanning the merchant’s Alipay QR code. As a result, funds are transferred directly from the consumer to the merchant, bypassing the traditional system of banks and network processors. Only the owner of the closed-loop system has access to the payment data. This challenges the traditional banking model, which relies on customer data and relationships to function effectively, and also has an impact on how credit is extended to the economy.[16] There is a risk that the closed-loop systems developed by successful online platforms and big tech companies could, in future, create a parallel economy with their own currencies and distinct units of account.

    At global level, big techs such as PayPal and Apple have developed highly successful ecosystems based on the closed-loop financial services model. By encouraging people to use their payment apps, these ecosystems effectively oblige them to use their payment rails. In parallel, payment platforms have tried to become more integrated in social media giants like WhatsApp and Meta[17]. Platforms like X (formerly Twitter) are considering offering payment functions.[18] And Amazon is now venturing into the credit card and payment app business too. These examples illustrate how these firms can exploit customer networks to create cross-subsidised links between various services.[19]

    However, while network effects can foster a virtuous cycle of economic growth, they also pose significant risks.

    In particular, walled gardens or lack of interoperability between various solutions can result in market fragmentation. Technology can be used to exclude competitors – for example, by preferencing a platform’s own products or restricting competing services – and so can skew the competitive landscape in favour of a dominant player. And these dynamics could further raise the barriers to enter and grow in the two-sided payments market, stifling competition and making it even more difficult for European payment solutions to emerge on a pan-European scale.

    There is thus a risk that the current dynamics, where big tech companies seek to exploit the power of their platforms to expand in payments, could exacerbate the challenges facing the European retail payments market in terms of integration and the ability of European solutions to compete and innovate at scale.

    Addressing market failures through European policy actions

    Since the creation of the monetary union, European policymakers have taken significant steps to foster the development of private European payment initiatives that span the euro area. The hope was that these initiatives could enhance competition within the European payments landscape, providing consumers and businesses with more choice and better services.

    From the launch of the Single Euro Payments Area to the recent adoption of the Instant Payments Regulation, the European Commission[20] and ECB[21] have worked with the private sector to support integration, innovation and the creation of a pan-European retail payment solution.

    Yet, despite these efforts, more than 30 years since the inception of the Single Market and 25 years since the launch of the single currency, most European retail payment solutions remain national in scope, addressing only limited use cases. Moreover, 13 out of 20 euro area countries rely entirely on non-European solutions in the absence of their own domestic payment scheme.

    As a result, people who live, work, travel or shop online in other euro area countries find themselves effectively dependent on two international card schemes, which enjoy strong market power. This situation discourages small businesses from expanding across borders or even into their national online markets, ultimately hindering the deepening of the Single Market.[22] And paradoxically, the benefits from the efforts we make to lower the barriers to trade in European product markets may not fully reach consumers, as they are absorbed in the form of higher profits by the few international players that currently enable payments in stores and online across Europe.

    Rather than joining forces and sharing resources to develop successful pan-European solutions, national communities have often preferred to preserve the legacy of investments made in the past.[23] This reluctance has allowed a few major global players not only to dominate cross-border European payment transactions, but also to steadily capture an even larger share of domestic transactions. The result is that international payment schemes operated by non-European operators today facilitate 64% of all electronically initiated transactions with cards issued in the euro area.[24]

    Merchants – and consumers, to whom costs are eventually passed on – are left to deal with the consequences of the international card schemes’ market dominance.

    For instance, the average net merchant service charges in the EU nearly doubled from 0.27% in 2018 to 0.44% in 2022.[25] This increase occurred despite regulatory efforts to contain it[26], as international card schemes exploited their strong negotiating position to raise the non-regulated components of the merchant service charge, such as scheme fees.[27] As a result, every year, European merchants collectively transfer large amounts to international card networks.[28] The cost falls disproportionately on smaller retailers, who face charges that are three to four times higher than those paid by their larger counterparts.[29]

    This situation has raised concerns among European businesses of all sizes.[30] While the EU competition authorities can take effective action, they usually do so after dominance has been established. Moreover, they have to deal with the complexities of regulating payment networks.[31]

    This trend highlights broader competitiveness issues that have emerged across various markets. In Canada, class action lawsuits alleging collusion to set higher interchange fees have been filed against certain banks as well as Visa and Mastercard.[32] In the United Kingdom, the Payment Systems Regulator has provisionally concluded that there is insufficient competition in the card payments market. This lack of competition allows the two largest schemes to raise fees.[33] Similarly, the United States Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit earlier this week against Visa, claiming that Visa’s exclusionary and anticompetitive conduct undermines choice and innovation in payments and imposes enormous costs on consumers, merchants and the American economy.[34] It emphasised that Visa extracts fees that far exceed what it could charge in a competitive market and amount to a hidden toll adding up to billions of dollars imposed annually on American consumers and businesses. And because merchants and banks pass on those costs to consumers, Visa’s conduct affects not just the price of one thing, but the price of nearly everything.[35]

    The fact that these issues are not unique to Europe offers little comfort, particularly when considering that, unlike in the United States, this situation poses a risk to our monetary sovereignty.

    The excessive dependence on foreign entities in the European payments sector threatens the autonomy and resilience of European payment services. Without decisive public action, this dependence is likely to worsen. New foreign players – including from China[36], Brazil[37] and India[38] – are seeking to enter, or increase their footprint in, the European market.

    While foreign competition is welcome, we cannot be satisfied that Europeans do not have their own digital payments solution allowing them to pay throughout the euro area. And we need to be careful that foreign central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) do not end up eroding the international role of the euro, especially as some jurisdictions are thinking about allowing their CBDCs to be used abroad.[39]

    European policymakers – and particularly the ECB – have recognised this challenge. In response, we have initiated the digital euro project, which is currently in the preparation phase.[40]

    Digital euro: addressing fragmentation and delivering tangible benefits

    The digital euro project is a crucial step towards enhancing Europe’s payments landscape and safeguarding our monetary sovereignty.

    By ensuring everyone across the euro area would have access to central bank money in digital form, the project aims to provide tangible benefits to consumers, merchants and payment service providers alike.

    Benefits for consumers and merchants

    Complementing banknotes, the digital euro would offer all European citizens and firms the freedom to make and receive digital payments seamlessly.

    During my recent hearing before the European Parliament[41], I extensively discussed the benefits of the digital euro for consumers, particularly in terms of the convenience it would offer. The digital euro would provide a single, easy, secure and universally accepted public solution for digital payments in stores, online and from person to person. It would be available both online and offline. And it would be free for basic use.

    At the hearing, I also highlighted how the digital euro would provide merchants with seamless access to Europe’s consumer base. Moreover, it would offer an alternative that would increase competition, thereby lowering transaction costs in a more direct way than regulations and competition authorities can.[42]

    Fostering competition and innovation in a unified payments ecosystem

    The digital euro would also generate broader benefits for the euro area economy by fostering competition and innovation.

    European payment service providers are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with international card schemes and e-payment solutions. For example, Apple Pay has significantly expanded its reach in Europe, capturing a portion of interchange fees, which represents a “significant expense”[43] for issuing banks. As a result, banks risk missing out on not only interchange fees but also client relationships and user data.

    By contrast, the digital euro would ensure that distribution would remain with payment service providers, allowing them to maintain customer relationships and be compensated for their services, as is currently the case.[44] It would also offer an alternative to co-branding with international card schemes for cross-border payments in – and potentially beyond – the euro area, thus promoting competition.

    The digital euro would also expand opportunities for payment service providers while reducing the cost of rolling out solutions on a European scale. In addition, it would cultivate an environment conducive to the widespread adoption of payment innovations throughout Europe.

    Currently, several innovations aimed at simplifying payments are emerging within specific national markets or across a few countries, driven by European payment service providers. Although these innovations are highly commendable and would enhance people’s lives, existing structural barriers mean they would encounter considerable obstacles in trying to achieve pan-European scale. This fragmentation along national lines further impedes private participants’ ability to achieve the scale required in a two-sided market like the payments market.

    What is the end result? By failing to implement large-scale innovations accessible to everyone in the euro area, these companies are unable to achieve the optimal scale needed for continuous investment in new technology. This limits their ability to compete effectively with the large international players who can fully leverage economies of scale, even on a global level.

    According to the European Commission’s legislative proposal[45], the digital euro’s legal tender status – which would require merchants to accept the digital euro for electronic payments – and mandatory distribution would help overcome the challenges of achieving sufficient scale in a two-sided marketplace by ensuring widespread accessibility and acceptance across the euro area. This legal tender status, combined with the digital euro rulebook, would establish common standards, which are not in place today.

    Let me use an example to explain this in simpler terms. At the moment, in-store payment terminals often use technology known as the “kernel”[46], provided by Mastercard and Visa, to enable contactless (near field communication) transactions. Although domestic card schemes can currently access this technology for free, multi-country European card schemes cannot. Moreover, this free-of-charge policy could change at any time.

    In the future, all stores would be required to accept the digital euro, meaning payment terminals would need to support its standard. According to the draft regulation, the standard would have to be made available for reuse by private parties, who could use it to develop their services. This would mean that all payment terminals in Europe that support digital euro transactions would be equipped with a scheme-agnostic kernel. This open system would be accessible to both regional and domestic European payment schemes, thereby allowing customers to make contactless payments throughout the euro area.

    This would advance a more integrated European payments market. As private providers expand their geographical footprint and diversify their product portfolios, they will benefit from cost efficiencies and be better positioned to compete internationally.

    In essence, the network effects generated by a digital euro would function as a public good, benefiting both public and private initiatives. This approach is akin to creating a unified European railway network or European energy grid, where various companies could competitively operate their own services and deliver added value to customers.

    Instead of requiring significant investment to expand existing services across the euro area, the open digital euro standards would facilitate cost-effective standardisation, making it possible for private retail payment solution providers to launch new products and functionalities on a broader scale.

    Ultimately, whether through the digital euro or private solutions, this standardised framework would unlock innovation, create new business opportunities and improve consumer access to a diverse range of goods and services.

    Making this vision a shared reality

    The design of the digital euro, as well as the key provision in the Regulation proposed by the European Commission, contains all the key elements required to make this vision a reality.

    Over the past years, we have extensively engaged with a multitude of market stakeholders, including through the Rulebook Development Group[47] and the Euro Retail Payments Board, to shape the digital euro value proposition and prepare its implementation. We have collected and discussed the input of the payments ecosystem at large, including from representatives of consumers, merchants, banks and other payment service providers.

    In the coming months we will expand our cooperation with the private sector, focusing on three main themes: how to create a more competitive environment to encourage innovation and offer consumers more choice, how to best identify and leverage synergies to enhance efficiency and create mutually beneficial opportunities across the payments ecosystem, and how to strengthen the business models of all stakeholders, ensuring they can adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

    Each of these value drivers will be discussed in depth, taking into account the different roles in the payment chain, including those of issuing banks and third-party providers. By adopting this inclusive approach, we can ensure that everyone’s needs and perspectives are addressed, paving the way for a more robust and dynamic payments system.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude. Money is key to sovereignty, a reality that resonates more than ever in the digital age.

    Some 63 countries are now operating, piloting, developing or exploring retail CBDCs.[48] Meanwhile, major private payment solutions are expanding globally and some nations may even seek to leverage crypto-assets, with figures such as US presidential candidate Donald Trump promising to make the United States a “Bitcoin superpower”.[49]

    In this fast-moving environment, Europe cannot stand still. And the role of the ECB in issuing money that is accepted throughout the euro area is particularly crucial in a monetary union where payments markets remain fragmented along national lines.

    We are committed to ensuring that people in Europe can continue to use cash.[50] However, we cannot stand by and watch as individuals are unable to use central bank money for their daily digital transactions.

    Bringing central bank money into a digitalised world through the digital euro would safeguard our monetary sovereignty in the digital age. It would overcome fragmentation by offering money that can be used for any digital payments in the euro area, foster competition and innovation by facilitating the development of pan-European payments services and strengthen our autonomy and resilience by helping us avoid becoming over-reliant on foreign payment solutions.

    Thank you for your attention.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Avos Finance: BaFin warns consumers about the websites avos-finance.com and avos-finance.ltd

    Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English

    The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the company Avos Finance and the services it is offering. BaFin suspects the operator of the websites avos-finance.com and avos-finance.ltd of offering consumers financial and investment services in Germany without the required authorisation.

    Anyone conducting banking business or providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.

    The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).

    Please be aware:

    BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 27/09/2024 Minister Sikorski participated in the high-level week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    On 23-27 September this year, the head of Polish diplomacy Radosław Sikorski was in New York in connection with the general debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (AGNU). On the sidelines of the debate, the Minister held numerous bilateral meetings, including with his counterparts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Morocco, Mauritania, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates. The talks were an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations and the most important international challenges. Minister Sikorski also participated in a number of multilateral meetings, including the meeting of the heads of EU diplomacy (FAC), the meeting of the foreign ministers of the G20 countries with other UN members and the meeting of the foreign ministers of the transatlantic countries. The latter was held at the invitation of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. During the meetings, the head of Polish diplomacy emphasized the need for further support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. He emphasized that the Ukrainian Peace Plan is the only realistic proposal for concluding peace, and that freezing the war is not a solution. He appealed to enable Ukraine to defend itself effectively, including granting it consent to attacks on military targets on Russian territory. El minister Sikorski emphasized the colonial nature of the Russian invasion, assessing that in a world in which we accept the primacy of force in international relations, no one will be able to feel safe. He also presented the goals and challenges facing Poland in connection with our country’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, which falls in the first half of next year. In the face of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the head of the Polish MFA emphasized the need to comply with humanitarian law and Poland’s commitment to a two-state solution. One of the most important events with the participation of Minister Sikorski was the meeting of the UN Security Council on September 24 this year, devoted to the situation in Ukraine. The head of Polish diplomacy focused on pointing out the Kremlin’s false propaganda regarding Ucraniano. He pointed to the Russian procedure of kidnapping children from Ucrania, comparing it to German actions during World War II against Polish children and children from the USSR. He also recalled the fact of Soviet cooperation with Nazi Germany in 1939. In addition, the program of Minister Sikorski’s stay in New York included a meeting with representatives of the American Jewish Committee, a discussion with members of the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as a meeting with the UN Deputy Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva – in connection with the planned opening of this UN agency’s representative office in Warsaw and its involvement in supporting the process of rebuilding Ukraine.

    Photo: Barbara Milkowska/Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    MILES AXIS

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Defence supply chain bolstered to support armed forces

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

     A semiconductor factory has been acquired by Ministry of Defence in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, boosting UK defence capabilities.  

    The UK’s Armed Forces will be further bolstered as a crucial supply chain to UK defence has been secured today, after the government acquisition of a key semiconductor factory in the north-east.

    Defence Secretary John Healey visited the site today, which is the only secure facility in the UK with the skills and capability to manufacture gallium arsenide semiconductors. These types of specialist semiconductors are used in a number of military platforms, including to boost fighter jet capabilities.

    This acquisition will not only safeguard the future of the facility, which is critical to the defence supply chain and major military programmes and exports, but also secures up to 100 skilled jobs in the North East.

    Semiconductors are vitally important for the modern world we live in, being an essential component for the functioning of almost every electronic device we use, from phones and computers to ventilators and power stations. The importance of semiconductors to military applications means the technology can allow the military to fill the gaps to support their future needs.

    The announcement comes ahead of the Investment Summit next month which will make clear that the UK is “open for business” as the UK government resets relations with trading partners around the globe and creates a pro-business environment that supports innovation and high-quality jobs at home and supports our mission to deliver growth.

    The acquisition will also boost UK defence industrial capacity and exports, as the government intends to invest in the company over the coming years.

    On the visit, the Defence Secretary welcomed the acquisition and spoke to staff directly. 

    Defence Secretary John Healey said:

    Semiconductors are at the forefront of the technology we rely upon today, and will be crucial in securing our military’s capabilities for tomorrow.

    This acquisition is a clear signal that our government will back British defence production. We’ll protect and grow our UK Defence supply chain, supporting North East jobs, safeguarding crucial tech for our Armed Forces and boosting our national security.

    The semiconductor factory in Newton Aycliffe has been acquired by the government from its previous parent company Coherent Inc and will be named Octric Semiconductors UK. 

    This strategic investment will ensure the facility is capable of producing gallium arsenide semiconductors as well as more powerful semiconductors in the future, which will include the latest technology. 

    Over a trillion semiconductors are manufactured each year, with the global semiconductor market forecast to reach a total market size of $1 trillion by 2030. Semiconductors also underpin future technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum and 6G.

    This government recognises the strategic importance of semiconductors as a critical technology for the future of the UK and a significant enabler of the government’s growth and clean energy missions.

    Work has already started to implement best practice governance that will ensure appropriate financial oversight to secure the company’s future success.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: One week to go until Houghton Feast!

    Source: City of Sunderland

    Houghton Feast will return to the streets of Houghton from Friday 4 – Sunday 13 October, with a packed programme of activities, events and entertainment to enjoy.

    This year’s theme is ‘celebrating local cultures’ and visitors can look forward to the return of some old favourites like the funfair, illuminations, carnival parade, family fun and the roasting of the ox.

    The Feast will officially open on Friday 6 October with a spectacular community show in The Broadway. Houghton Brass Band, Zazz dancers and Houghton Feast Children’s Choir will all be entertaining crowds, and the Mayor of Sunderland Councillor Allison Chisnall will switch on the Houghton Feast Illuminations.

    Councillor Kevin Johnston, Chair of Houghton Feast Steering Committee, said: “Houghton Feast is one of the most popular events in the city and I know so many residents and visitors look forward to it every autumn.

    “This year’s festival theme is ‘celebrating local cultures’ and that’s exactly what Houghton Feast is about – bringing the whole community together to celebrate local traditions and history. The spectacular opening night, community parade and famous roasting of the ox are all back for 2024 alongside a packed programme of music, performances, arts and crafts, workshops and sports activities. There’s something for everyone so I would encourage anyone to take a look at the programme and join us for this brilliant event.”

    The famous Ox Roast will be back on Saturday 5 October. A roasted whole ox, which will be prepared overnight, will be served up in sandwiches in the grounds of the Old Rectory, where the first oxen were roasted by Rector Bernard Gilpin to feed Houghton’s poor in the 16th century. 

    Also on Saturday 5 October, a colourful Carnival Parade will make its way from Station Road to Rectory Park via Newbottle Street and The Broadway from 2pm. The parade will feature music from Houghton Pipe Band, Houghton Brass Band, The Bangshees, Pittington Brass Band and the Get Set Samba Youth Band, as well as dancers, vintage steam vehicles, costumed characters and Billy Purvis the Clown.

    For the first time, the funfair will open on the Sunday of the opening weekend, for an extra afternoon of family fun between 1pm and 6pm. A firework spectacular will take place on Monday 7 October from 7.30pm and can be viewed from Dairy Lane and the area surrounding Durham Road Playing Fields.

    The Zazz dancers are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and will be celebrating with a special variety performance taking place on Tuesday 8 October.

    Anne Thompson, Principal of Zazz Dancers, said: “Zazz always looks forward to Houghton Feast each year. This year we have a group of younger children performing ‘Be Our Guest’ at the opening ceremony, with Bernard Gilpin’s kindness and generosity in mind, and our cheerleading classes have been hard at work practicing their parade dance. Our main highlight this year is our Variety Show, now 40 years old, our professional cabaret dancers will perform along with selected routines from our successful 40th birthday Firestation show in July.”

    Find out more about the Houghton Feast at www.mysunderland.co.uk/houghtonfeast 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: 4,000 brown bins to reach rural areas in coming weeks

    Source: Northern Ireland – City of Derry

    4,000 brown bins to reach rural areas in coming weeks

    27 September 2024

    Householders in rural areas waiting for brown food waste bins can expect notification of the roll out of the next phase of the scheme, with 4,000 of the new bins now ready for delivery in the coming weeks.

    The bins are used for the recycling of food and garden waste and will go towards filling gaps in the service which has been received positively by local households since it was first introduced by Derry City and Strabane District Council.

    8,000 homes are currently waiting for a bin, and half can expect their bin to arrive over the next 8-10 weeks, while plans are being developed for the final 4,000 properties to be covered in the coming months.

    Among the areas included in this phase are Plumbridge, Drumquin, Castlederg (West), Aghyaran, Cloghcor, Cranagh, Tamnaherin/Eglinton and Clady.

    Members of the Environment and Regeneration Committee approved the plans at their September meeting after funding was agreed through the 2024/25 rates estimates process to address the deficit in resourcing the initiative.

    Council’s Head of Environment, Conor Canning, said the scheme will have a positive impact on Council’s recycling targets and climate change mitigations.

    “The brown bin scheme has been extremely successful to date in encouraging people to manage the disposal of waste more efficiently and allow us to divert the right materials into recycling and composting.  An information campaign has already begun to ensure all households are aware of the changes, and we ask people to be patient while these services are introduced. Our team will be working to deliver the bins to all areas as quickly as we can while managing regular collection services.

    “A full kit will be issued to all the homes about to be added to the service, with a letter detailing when to leave the brown bin out for collection as well as an information leaflet with advice and tips on how to use the service. Council officers have made every effort to match the brown bin collection day with the household’s existing black or blue collection day, however there may be some instances where this is not logistically possible. Details for collection will be clearly outlined within the letter forming part of the delivery set.”

    Collection schedules have also been updated on Council’s Recycling App to reflect this rollout and users can also access extensive information on recycling. For any queries, teams can be contacted by telephone on 028 71 374 107 or via email at refuse&[email protected]

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Værdipapirfonden Sparinvest ophæver suspension

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Under henvisning til Nasdaq Copenhagens regler for udstedere af investeringsbeviser skal ID-Sparinvest, Filial af Sparinvest S.A., Luxembourg hermed på vegne af de berørte afdelinger i Værdipapirfonden Sparinvest offentliggøre, at der igen kan foretages be­regning af indre værdier for de pågældende afdelinger. De indre værdier vil blive indberettet til Nasdaq Copenhagen. Suspension af handel med de berørte afdelinger ophæves hermed.

    De berøte afdelinger fremgår af tabellen nendenfor:

    Fund Name ISIN Order Book Code
    INDEX Globale Aktier KL DK0060747822 SPVIGAKL
    INDEX Globale Aktier Min. Risiko Akk. KL DK0060748127 SPVIGAMRAKL
    INDEX Bæredygtige Global KL DK0060747905 SPVIBGKL
    INDEX Lav Risiko KL DK0060748556 SPVILRKL
    INDEX Mellem Risiko KL DK0060748630 SPVIMRKL
    INDEX Høj Risiko KL DK0060748713 SPVIHRKL

    Henvendelser vedrørende nærværende fondsbørsmeddelelse kan rettes til npa.pm@nykredit.dk cc jna@nykredit.dk.

    Med venlig hilsen

    Morten Skipper

    Direktør, ID-Sparinvest, Filial af Sparinvest S.A., Luxembourg

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Investeringsforeningen Sparinvest – Ophævelse af suspension

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Under henvisning til Nasdaq Copenhagens regler for udstedere af investeringsbeviser skal ID-Sparinvest, Filial af Sparinvest S.A., Luxembourg hermed på vegne af de berørte afdelinger i Investeringsforeningen Sparinvest offentliggøre, at der igen kan foretages be­regning af indre værdier for de berørte afdelinger. De indre værdier vil blive indberettet til Nasdaq Copenhagen. Suspension af handel med de berørte afdelingerne ophæves hermed.

    De berørte afdelinger fremgår af tabellen nedenfor.

    Fund Name ISIN Order Book Code
    Mix Aktier KL A DK0010014778 SPIMAKLA
    Value Aktier KL A DK0010079631 SPIVAKLA
    Value Emerging Markets KL A DK0010304856 SPIVEMKLA
    INDEX Dow Jones Sustainability World KL DK0010297464 SPIDJWKL
    INDEX Emerging Markets KL DK0060300762 SPIEMIKL
    INDEX Globale Aktier Min. Risiko KL DK0060031847 SPIGLAMRIKL
    INDEX Bæredygtige Japan KL DK0010297977 SPIBJAKL
    Mix Maksimum Risiko KL A DK0061551892 SPIMMRIA
    Bæredygtige Value Aktier KL A DK0061551546 SPIBDVAA
    Mix Lav Risiko KL A DK0060623189 SPIMLRKLA
    Mix Mellem Risiko KL A DK0060623262 SPIMMRKLA
    Mix Høj Risiko KL A DK0060623346 SPIMHRKLA
    Mix Minimum Risiko KL A DK0060914901 SPIMIXMINRISKKLA

    Henvendelser vedrørende nærværende fondsbørsmeddelelse kan rettes til npa.pm@nykredit.dk, cc jna@nykredit.dk.

    Med venlig hilsen

    Dirk Schulze

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Mashatile undertakes working visits to Ireland and the UK

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Deputy President Paul Mashatile is today undertaking a working visit to Ireland to reinforce South Africa’s historic and warm bilateral relations with the nation. 

    The Deputy President is expected to meet his Irish counterpart, Prime Minister Simon Harris, to reaffirm the strong political and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

    According to the Presidency, South Africa and Ireland established diplomatic relations over 30 years ago and relations between both nations encompass a broad spectrum of cooperation, such as trade and investment, education, science and innovation and gender equality. 

    “Ireland’s developmental programmes have greatly assisted many initiatives in South Africa since 1994, and the partnership continues to this day,” the statement read. 

    During the visit, the Deputy President will participate in the South Africa-Ireland Trade and Investment Round Table with Irish companies that are already invested in or intend to invest in South Africa. 

    He is also expected to deliver remarks at the Irish Tech Challenge South Africa, established to support innovation and entrepreneurship by fostering connections between the South African and Irish tech ecosystems.

    The Deputy President will be accompanied to Ireland by the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Andrew Whitfield. 

    Once he wraps up his Ireland visit, the country’s second-in-command will then proceed to the United Kingdom from Saturday, 29 September to Friday, 4 October 2024. 

    “The visit will focus on showcasing South Africa as an investment destination of choice and strive to identify and create new trade opportunities for South African businesses, especially small and medium enterprises.” 

    The island nation is also one of South Africa’s most significant bilateral partners in the northern hemisphere, particularly in trade, investment, skills development, science, innovation, the Just Energy Transition and tourism, among others. 

    The Deputy President is expected to engage selected investors and trade partners invited in cooperation with economic partners in the United Kingdom and deliver a lecture at School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University in London, focusing on South Africa’s forthcoming Presidency of the G20. 

    “The Deputy President will also pay a courtesy call on the Duke of Edinburgh, and meet the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Rayner.” 

    He will be accompanied by the International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson, Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni Abrahams and some of the Deputy Ministers from various departments. – SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Public engagement on emerging proposals for homes at Redbridge Paddock

    Source: City of Oxford

    Friday, 27 September 2024

    OX Place is set to hold a first round of public engagement in October on its emerging proposals for the former landfill site at Redbridge Paddock. 

    The 8.9-acre site opposite Redbridge Park and Ride was used for landfill in the 1960s and 1970s.  It is now earmarked for development in the Local Plan 2036 and Oxford City Council hopes to build at least 200 homes on the site.   

    OX Place has been working in partnership with The Hill Group to draw up plans for Redbridge Paddock. The emerging proposals will be on display at St Luke’s Church in Canning Crescent on Saturday 12 October from 10 am to 2 pm and on Monday 14 October from 4 pm to 8 pm. The project team will be available on both dates to talk about the proposals and answer any questions. 

    Local residents will be notified about the exhibition by post in the coming days.  OX Place also intends to meet with key stakeholders during October to understand their views. 

    The emerging proposals will also be available to view on the Redbridge Paddock website from 10 am on Saturday 12 October.  An online feedback form will be available on the website for residents and stakeholders to submit their views by Thursday 31 October.  OX Place intends to hold a second public exhibition later in the year to provide an update on the proposals. 

    Comment

    “I’m pleased OX Place and The Hill Group are ready to consult residents and stakeholders on their emerging proposals for Redbridge Paddock. 

    “I hope that residents and all interested parties will either attend the public exhibition or take a look at the emerging proposals online and fill in a feedback form to let us know their views.  This former landfill site presents a number of challenges from a development perspective but it is a great opportunity to deliver sensitively-designed, sustainable new homes that Oxford badly needs.”  

    Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Have your say on Wolverhampton’s Our Net Zero City strategy

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Our Net Zero City is a City of Wolverhampton Council strategy outlining an evidence based, collaborative approach to cut the city’s carbon footprint.

    By focusing on the benefits of taking positive climate action, it will enhance the quality of life for everyone living, working or visiting the city and for future generations.

    A public consultation on the strategy has launched today running until 14 December  and anyone can take part at 2041 Net Zero Strategy.

    Our Net Zero City will see the council build on its work with the private sector encouraging growth of green business, skills and jobs.

    It will continue to develop active travel routes, making it easier for people to walk, wheel, cycle or use public transport – while accelerating the rollout of electric vehicle charging points.

    Working with other organisations, the council will also help ensure homes are more energy efficient reducing bills and tackling fuel poverty; encourage renewable energy solutions and nurture green corridors and open spaces through increased planting and landscaping.

    Councillor Qaiser Azeem, City of Wolverhampton Council cabinet member for transport and green city, said: “Our Net Zero City is a commitment to our city and the planet.

    “The benefits climate action can bring to people’s lives in the short term can help us achieve our long term environmental goals to create a sustainable future for all.

    “Climate action is one of the core principles underpinning the council’s city wide objectives. 

    “Through promoting engagement in this strategy, we are showing how we intend to spearhead a whole city effort through collaboration, building resilience and raising awareness.”

    Free public drop in sessions will be held at different city locations for people to attend and engage with the consultation too. You can find out the details and book a place for free at Public Consultations – Our Net Zero City | Eventbrite.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Progress update on compensation for postmasters subject to bankruptcy orders

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    An update on progress for compensation for postmasters subject to bankruptcy orders who are due compensation for losses suffered as a consequence of the Post Office’s Horizon IT system

    UPDATE 24 April 2023

    We have today written to the Chair of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Sir Wyn Williams, setting out in further detail the Official Receiver’s position as trustee and how the Insolvency Service has, within the confines of the law, assisted individuals who have been subject to bankruptcy orders.

    Insolvency Service letter to the Chair of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry

    ODT, 105 KB

    This file is in an OpenDocument format

    Bankruptcy and its impact on the Horizon IT compensation schemes is complex, therefore, the Official Receiver is contacting the affected former postmasters to help work through their options.

    Details of the compensation schemes and the impact of bankruptcy are set out below.

    Historical Shortfall Scheme

    We have been working closely with the Post Office and the Department for Business and Trade in relation to the claims for compensation from the Post Office, submitted by former bankrupts to the Historical Shortfall Scheme.

    Under this scheme, compensation awarded for personal losses, for example, damage to reputation or distress, do not form part of the bankruptcy estate and will be paid by the Post Office to former postmasters.

    However, elements of the compensation that relate to financial losses, for example those due to loss of earnings, under insolvency law are an asset of the bankruptcy and legally must be realised for the benefit of creditors.

    Therefore, when offers of compensation are made by the Post Office, the Official Receiver’s office has been contacting the former postmasters to discuss the implications of bankruptcy and explain the available options. This includes exploring how to apply for the annulment (cancellation) of the bankruptcy order and access to independent legal advice.

    The Official Receiver, as trustee of the bankruptcy estates, must act in accordance with their statutory duties and distribute realised assets for the benefit of creditors. The Official Receiver is actively engaging with creditors to establish if they wish to pursue their claims in the postmaster bankruptcies and seek a distribution from the compensation awards.

    In the event there is a surplus following the payment of any statutory costs of the bankruptcy and any claims from creditors that wish to receive a distribution from the compensation awards, the funds will be paid to the former bankrupts.

    For those former postmasters who believe they experienced shortfalls related to the Horizon system but have not yet submitted a claim, the Post Office is now accepting eligible late applications into the Scheme. You can find information about eligible late applications on the Scheme website.

    Group Litigation Order Scheme

    In cases where former postmasters were previously subject to a bankruptcy order and are now discharged, neither the interim payment nor any future payments under the scheme are due to the bankruptcy estate. Any compensation will therefore be paid in full to the former postmasters. This position is supported by the court’s decision in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mustafa Hassanali Abdulali & Anor).

    We continue to work with the scheme administers, the Department for Business and Trade, to ensure these payments are made in a timely manner to the former postmasters.

    Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme and Overturned Historical Conviction Scheme

    In cases where former postmasters were previously subject to a bankruptcy order and are now discharged, neither the interim payment, nor any future payment for malicious prosecution are due to the bankruptcy estate, and will be paid in full to the former postmasters.

    We continue to work with the schemes’ administers, the Department for Business and Trade, to ensure these payments are made in a timely manner to the former postmasters.

    Updates to this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: The Federal Audit Office must review the provisions on the quality of data and forecasts for legislative processes

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: Switzerland – Federal Chancellery

    Federal CouncilBern, 27.09.2024 – The Federal Audit Office (FAO) is to review the provisions on quality assurance for data and forecasts used in legislative processes. The Federal Council decided this at its meeting today. The review should help ensure that the Federal Council, Parliament and citizens have the best possible basis for making decisions. Data and forecasts are of great importance to the legislative process as they shape it from the consultation phase, to the parliamentary debate, up to a possible popular vote. The Federal Council has therefore asked the FAO to review the adequacy and effectiveness of the existing provisions and aids for quality assurance of data and forecasts. The FAO must also review the quality of the databases, models and processes used in the Federal Council’s dispatches and voting explanations. The FAO acts autonomously and independently within the framework of the legal provisions. It has accepted the Federal Council’s proposal and will implement it as part of the 2025 annual programme. Incorrect data and inaccurate forecasts can cast doubt on the decisions of the Federal Council, Parliament and, if a bill is put to a vote, the citizens. The Federal Council therefore decided on 15 January 2020 to take measures to ensure that the legislative process has objective and up-to-date decision-making bases. For example, quantitative data must now be presented clearly and with an indication of the source from the consultation stage onwards, and in the case of estimates, information on their reliability must be provided. The SFAO will also review the implementation of the measures decided by the Federal Council on 15 January 2020 in the practice of all departments. It will also assess whether general measures can be derived from the ongoing administrative investigation into the incorrect estimation of AHV forecasts. Finally, it will examine whether the conclusions drawn in the Federal Tax Administration from the issue of the tax penalty for marriage are consistently observed throughout the Federal Administration. The SFAO independently determines the final verification questions. Reliable data and forecasts not only strengthen legislation, but also the public’s trust in the political process and the instruments of direct democracy.Address for questionsUrs BrudererHead of the Communications Section058 483 99 69urs.bruderer@bk.admin.chPublished byThe Federal Councilhttps://www.admin.ch/gov/it/pagina-iniziale.htmlFederal Chancelleryhttps://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/it/home.html

    Social shares

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Director bans for husband-and-wife who hired illegal workers at Chinese takeaway

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Five-year bans for couple who employed illegal workers

    • Yu Jian Chen and Yunqin He employed three illegal workers at a Chinese takeaway in the Scottish Highlands 

    • The illegal workers were found during a visit from Immigration Enforcement officials last year 

    • Both Chen and He have been banned as company directors for the next five years 

    A couple who employed three illegal workers at a Chinese takeaway in the Scottish Highlands have been banned as company directors. 

    Yu Jian Chen, 39, and his wife Yunqin He, 38, recruited the workers, who were from China and Malaysia, at The Jade Garden in the village of Bonar Bridge. 

    Immigration Enforcement officials discovered the illegal workers during a raid of the takeaway last year. 

    Dave Magrath, Director of Investigation and Enforcement Services at the Insolvency Service, said: 

    Yu Jian Chen and Yunqin He failed to comply with their statutory obligations by employing three people who did not have the right to work at their takeaway. 

    Employers hiring illegal workers not only defraud the public purse but potentially put some of the most vulnerable people in society at risk of exploitation. 

    We are pleased to be supporting the Home Office with their activities by taking firm action against rogue company directors. 

    Chen and He were directors of The Jade Garden, trading under the company name JG Sutherland Limited, when Immigration Enforcement officials visited the premises in January 2023, finding two Chinese men and a Malaysian woman with no right to work there. 

    Immigration Enforcement fined The Jade Garden £45,000 for the immigration breach, which remains unpaid. 

    Brian Gillespie, the Home Office’s Immigration Compliance Enforcement lead for Scotland, said: 

    Illegal working undercuts honest employers, places vulnerable individuals at risk of exploitation and disadvantages legitimate job seekers.  

    It also impacts public finances as taxes are not paid by these businesses and workers, which is why tracking down unscrupulous employers is so important.  

    We’re pleased to secure these bans following an effective and close working relationship between the Home Office and the Insolvency Service. 

    The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted disqualification undertakings from Chen and He, and their five-year bans began on Thursday 19 September. 

    The disqualifications prevent the pair from becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. 

    He resigned as a director of the company five days after the Immigration Enforcement raid. 

    Further information 

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: NATO’s scientific cooperation with Azerbaijan

    Source: NATO

    On 25 and 26 September, a team from the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme was in Baku, Azerbaijan to review practical scientific cooperation and kick off a new research project focused on protecting critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks.

    Through the new project, contributors will develop a cyber platform that will allow organizations to train staff, test new technologies, and assess processes under pressure from simulated cyber-attacks. Over the next two years, the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest (Romania) and the Special Communication and Information Security State Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan will work together to bring this initiative to life. The aim is to help cyber defence teams better understand the vulnerabilities of Operational Technology systems so they can be better protected. These systems are the backbone of critical infrastructure such as power grids, water treatment plants, and transportation systems. 

    While in Baku, the NATO team also organized an Information Day at ADA University. It focused on NATO’s scientific cooperation activities involving Azerbaijan, and on encouraging new ideas involving the local research community. Over 40 participants from academia, as well as from Azerbaijan’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Defence participated in the event.

    NATO’s SPS Programme has a history of cooperation with Azerbaijan. Over the years, this has included activities focused on neutralising toxic rocket fuel left behind from Soviet times, securing energy infrastructure against seismic hazards, protecting cyber networks, and developing sensors for the detection of landmines and explosives. 

    Through its activities, the SPS Programme provides opportunities for academics, experts and officials in Azerbaijan, as well as other partner countries, to develop proposals for innovative scientific projects to be implemented with peers in NATO countries. Through these activities, participants exchange knowledge on security-related topics and build relationships that expand international scientific networks. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Traders invited to Derby Market Hall information event

    Source: City of Derby

    Potential traders are invited to find out more about the opportunity to set up in the transformed Derby Market Hall.

    A special event will be held at the Museum of Making on the evening of Tuesday 1 October. The friendly Derby Market Hall team will be on hand to answer any questions traders have about operating from the venue. 

    They’ll have information on costs, what’s included, fit outs, opening hours, events, types of leases, types of units, pop-ups, grants, business support and much more.

    The historic Derby Market Hall is being given a new lease of life to transform this heritage asset into an attractive retail and leisure destination fit for the future. 

    It will bring together the best of the region’s independent shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment when it reopens in Spring 2025.

    The transformed market will offer:

    • A carefully curated mix of traditional and themed stalls, including quality fresh produce
    • Make and trade stalls and creative spaces
    • A cosmopolitan food court and bars
    • Events and pop-up activity

    Traders, entrepreneurs and businesses from across the region are invited to join the vibrant community it will create. It’s fantastic opportunity for both established and up-and-coming businesses to be part of a modern central hub while benefiting from Derby’s rich history and heritage.

    The Derby Market Hall – Small Business Trader Event takes place on Tuesday 1 October from 5:30pm until 7:30pm at the Museum of Making, Silk Mill Lane, Derby DE1 3AF.

    If you would like to attend, please email markets@derby.gov.uk to confirm, including your full name and business name. You can also complete a form to register your interest in becoming a trader.

    For more information on Derby Market Hall, follow on Instagram and subscribe for further updates on the Derby Market Hall website.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: ASIA/PAKISTAN – “Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan” militants in action: analysts and social organizations ask government for clarification

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: The Holy See in Italian

    Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – What role do the “civil militias” or “vigilante squads” of the “Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan” (TLP) organization have or how is the work justified, who go around the streets of Pakistani cities to search for and punish people accused of some religious crimes, such as blasphemy or contempt of Islam? It is a question that analysts and political and civil society representatives are asking themselves in the face of a phenomenon that is disturbing Pakistani society. Members of NGOs, social organizations, religious communities of various faiths, are asking the government for clarification in the face of the “extrajudicial” action of groups that are instilling fear among the people, threatening the safety of citizens and their right to live freely. Three cases, among the latest registered, have raised concern and debate in the Pakistani mass media. They are cases related to the accusations of “blasphemy on social media”, an area in which members of the TLP seem to pay maximum attention. One concerns a doctor, Shah Nawaz Kumbhar, originally from the province of Sindh, accused of sharing blasphemous content on the social network “Facebook”. The second refers to 50-year-old Abdul Ali, owner of a hotel in Quetta, Baluchistan, also arrested for posting denigrating comments on social media towards the Prophet Muhammad, and killed while in police custody. The third case concerns Christian nurse Shagufta Kiran, 40, mother of four children, punished with the death sentence for blasphemy on WhatsApp (see Fides 20/9/2024). In these and other cases, the active involvement of TLP members was noted, with public or intimidating acts. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is an Islamic organization that in 2021 was declared “outlawed” by the government. Subsequently, in the fall of the same year, the TLP reached an agreement with the federal government in which it committed to uphold the Constitution and not to promote violent protests. In November 2023, the government of Pakistan officially recognized it as a “political party registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan.” The government entered into a pact with the TLP “in view of the larger national interest and long-term perspective to ensure no recurrence of violence in the future.” The agreement stipulated that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (prosecution for acts of terrorism) is applicable to persons charged with blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (insulting the Prophet Muhammad). In addition, the parties agreed to establish a special section called the “Counter Blasphemy Wing” within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the investigative agency of the federal police. The section was established with the aim of strengthening the capacity to monitor “desecration of religions” but, as the blasphemy law is configured in Pakistan – it actually applies specifically to Islam, in particular to content shared on the web. The pact also guarantees a fair and speedy trial for defendants facing blasphemy charges, which “should protect against extrajudicial actions and lynchings that still occur by militants,” notes Farzana Imran, of the Christian organization “LEAD Pakistan” (Legal Evangelical Association Development), calling on the authorities to guarantee the rule of law and not to allow a para-state militia of “moral or religious police” to interfere with the work of the police or ordinary justice. Muhammad Amir Rana, a Muslim scholar, co-founder of the “Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies” and columnist for the Pakistani daily “Dawn”, recalls that last July the TLP incited violence against the Supreme Court of Pakistan, after the acquittal of a member of the Ahmadiyya community (considered “heretical” by Islam). And he asks: “Why does the State compromise and tolerate a group responsible for mass violence, vandalism, killing of innocent citizens, damage to property, which stains the international image of the country, promoting extremism?” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2024) Share:

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: AFRICA/NIGERIA – National day of protest called against government’s economic policy

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: The Holy See in Italian

    Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – “A national day for survival” was announced on October 1 by several groups of Nigerian civil society. The date has a high symbolic value because it coincides with the 64th anniversary of Nigeria’s independence. The initiative was presented to the press on September 26 at the International Press Centre, Ogba, in Lagos by Hassan Taiwo Soweto, national coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), one of the organizations of Nigerian society that oppose the economic policy launched by President Bola Tinubu, already the subject of ten days of protests in August, organized on social media with the hashtag

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Economics: stockstrends.co: BaFin warns consumers about website

    Source: Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – In English

    The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the website stockstrends.co. According to information available to BaFin, financial and investment services are being provided on this website without the required authorisation.

    The operator of the website is StocksTrends Ltd. It provides business addresses in London, United Kingdom, and the British Virgin Islands.
    BaFin has warned consumers about several almost identical websites that have come to its attention recently. The homepage of each website begins with the following sentence: “Step Into the Trading Arena With Confidence & [name of website]”.

    Anyone providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.

    The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).

    Please be aware:

    BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: Guarantee of the quality of the women and the provisions used during the legislative process. Examen by the Federal Finance Control

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: Switzerland – Federal Chancellery

    Federal Council

    Berne, 27.09.2024 – The Federal Financial Control Office will proceed with an examination of prescriptions designed to guarantee the quality of women and forecasts which are used in accordance with the legislative process, in accordance with the decision made by the Federal Council for their approval 27 September 2024. This exam will contribute to the fact that the Federal Council, the Parliament and the people have the best possible basis for making decisions.

    The women and the forecasts are of great importance for the legislation. Elles influentialnt l’ensemble du processus, de la consultation à l’éventuelle vote popularaire en passant par les débats au Parlement. As a result, the Federal Council has asked the Federal Finance Inspectorate (CDF) to proceed with an examination of the suitability and effectiveness of the prescriptions and instruments existing here to guarantee the quality of women and forecasts. He is also asked to examine the quality of the women’s bases, methods and processes which are used to evaluate the forecasts contained in the messages and the explanations brochure of the Federal Council. The CDF operates autonomously and independently, within the limits of legal prescriptions. I accept the request of the Federal Council. Your work is signed up for the annual program 2025.

    Erroneous women and imprecise predictions make it possible to question the decisions of the Federal Council and the Parliament, once again the people’s cells if the women’s project is to be voted on. Also the Federal Council at the beginning of the measures on January 15, 2020 to guarantee the objectivity and actuality of the basic decisions. For example, the quantitative data should be presented in a synthetic manner, with its sources, from the stages of consultation and the reports should contain an appreciation of the reliability of the estimations.

    The Federal Council requested by the CDF to verify that the measures decided on 15 January 2020 are well taken into account in practice in all departments. The first to determine is that it is necessary to take the general order measures on the basis of the administrative enquête in cours portant on the erroneous estimations in the financial perspectives of the AVS. Ultimately, the examiner’s request is that the Federal Administration team is competent in the systematic manner of the training undertaken by the Federal Administration of contributions to the arrest suite concerning the initiative on the criminalization of the mariage. The CDF fixes independently the definitive questions that concern the object of the exam.

    The women and the fairytale predictions reinforce not only the legislation, but also the confidence of the population in the political process and the instruments of direct democracy.

    Address for envoi de questions

    Urs Bruderer Chef ai de la Section communication058 483 99 69urs.bruderer@bk.admin.ch

    Author

    Federal Councilhttps://www.admin.ch/gov/fr/accueil.html

    Federal Chancelleryhttps://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/fr/home.html

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: ASIA/SOUTH KOREA – “Resurrection”: The spiritual legacy of missionary John Lee Tae-seok in a film

    MIL OSI Translation. Region: Italy –

    Source: The Holy See in Italian

    Friday, September 27, 2024

    Rome (Agenzia Fides) – “Certain realities can only be seen with eyes cleansed by tears.” These words spoken by Pope Francis during the meeting with young Filipinos in Manila well represent the key to understanding the documentary film “Resurrection” which on Saturday 28 September 2024, at 11 am, will be screened in the Aula Pio XI of the Pontifical Lateran University to close the Korean Culture Week, an event organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See to celebrate the day of the “Foundation of Korea” which is celebrated every year on 3 October. The feature film collects what is the spiritual legacy of Fr. John Lee Tae-seok, a Korean Salesian missionary who carried out his pastoral and professional activity (he was already qualified as a doctor when he became a Salesian, ed.) for almost a decade, from 2001 to 2009, in the community of Tonj, in today’s South Sudan. In Africa he devoted himself to such intense pastoral activity that he profoundly influenced the lives of the people he helped. Those people at the time were children or young people. Today they are adults and some, following his example, have wanted to follow in his footsteps, retracing his steps not only in their profession, but also in their training, some even studying medicine at his own university. And they are precisely them, students of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Busan, in South Korea, the protagonists of this film by director Goo Soo Hwan, the same director of the famous film also dedicated to Don Lee and entitled “Don’t cry for me, Sudan”, which was an extraordinary success in his homeland (it was also screened in the Vatican in December 2011). “Resurrection” can be defined as the sequel to “Don’t cry for me, Sudan”: the new cinematic work by Goo Soo Hwan, in fact, starts from the death of Don Lee, which occurred in 2010. Those who tell the story of those moments are his students, young people who fell into despair at the news of his passing. A desperation that did not last long: they soon realized that their task was to continue, albeit in different ways, his mission. Here lies the key to understanding the entire film: in South Sudanese culture, crying in public is a cause for embarrassment, but the students cannot hold back their tears when they think of their teacher. And by sharing the love he had given them, the tears soon give way to joy and today the gratitude towards Don Lee shines through in the gestures of his students. “Certain realities can only be seen with eyes cleansed of tears”. The director is keen to point out that the film is not just a story of the path that the missionary’s students have undertaken to become doctors: “They have become people who give: what matters here is how they are living their lives. And they are living exactly the life of their ‘father’. They have shown me what happiness is and what authority really is”. “I wanted to know if the students’ tears had changed them. Well, their lives have changed a lot!”, adds the director, known for his critical and harsh interventions, who has over 30 years of experience as an investigative journalist. (FB) (Agenzia Fides 27/9/2024)

    The poster of the movie “Resurrection”

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

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Security: Creator of tool to protect DV victims wins national award

    Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

    Stacey Rothwell, Network Director for the Eastern Region Innovation has been working on Rapid Video Response (RVR.)

    The creator of an innovative tool to tackle domestic abuse and protect victims has won a national award for her work.

    Stacey Rothwell, Network Director for the Eastern Region Innovation was instrumental in the development and roll out of Rapid Video Response (RVR) – a secure technology which gives domestic violence victims video-based officer response in as little as three minutes.

    In the pilot area of Kent, the tool has significantly increased victim satisfaction and reduced anxiety, while from a policing perspective it has led to an increase in arrests and cut down on investigation time. 

    RVR has been given the seal of approval from the national VAWG Taskforce, who will oversee its national roll out, under the leadership of Assistant Chief Constable Sam Millar and Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe.

    The technology aims to put victims at the forefront and offer them a consistent service and a more efficient response. It also wants policing to measure performance based on victim satisfaction levels, and encourage further reporting of Domestic Abuse.

    Praising Stacey’s work, Professor Paul Taylor, Chief Scientific Adviser said:

    “Few examples in the public sector so crisply capture the value of science-led innovation than Rapid Video Response (RVR).

    “It uses secure technology to give domestic violence victims an immediate video-based officer response rather than a delayed physical response. By doing so, RVR reduces policing’s response time from around 33 hours to just three minutes.

    “This massively increases trust and confidence in policing, and for victims, it reduces anxiety. RVR improves evidence collection, reduces the length of primary investigations by around 40 per cent and has increased arrests by around 50 per cent. It also has the potential to save forces money in transportation and other costs.”

    He added: “The idea of RVR may seem obvious, yet Stacey deserves credit for her breakthrough because she recognised the problem and stepped up to lead a solution.

    “She undertook two randomised-control trials in Kent Police, with support of the Chief Officers, to show the value of RVR and the absence of negative consequences and then developed a blueprint to across the Eastern region initially. 

    “RVR has helped tens of thousands of women and girls suffering from domestic violence. With overseas forces expressing interest, this innovation is on course to be an international success.”

    Comments from the judges echoed Professor Taylor, stating Stacey’s work was a worthy winner due to ‘the efficient and rigorous process’ which was undertaken as well as the ‘significant impact’ made not only to the area of research, but to people’s lives.

    Stacey’s hard work and determination was recognised at the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) Awards, held at the Science Museum in South Kensington on September 18, where she took home the Innovation Award.

    The category recognises those who utilise and embed innovation within their ways of working in the public sector.

    If you would like to learn more about RVR you can read a detailed case study here and also watch a short video about the innovative tool.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK supports humanitarian emergency response in Lebanon

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The UK is providing £5 million to UNICEF in Lebanon to support humanitarian response efforts and enable UNICEF to distribute supplies to those in need.

    The essential humanitarian support comes after further civilian casualties following this week’s air strikes. Thousands more have been displaced or forced to flee their homes. 

    The package includes essential medical supplies, hygiene kits and fuel for water stations, to help thousands of displaced civilians across Lebanon meet their basic needs. 

    It will also help emergency teams respond to urgent health and nutrition needs and provide a series of training sessions for key delivery partners and frontline workers to ensure an effective emergency response. 

    Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hamish Falconer said:  

    Today we are providing £5 million to UNICEF in Lebanon to support the urgent humanitarian response in Lebanon.  The number of civilian casualties is unacceptable, and the UK is deeply concerned by the surge in numbers of displaced people.  

    An immediate ceasefire is essential.

    Development Director and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Beirut Victoria Dunne said:  

    We are profoundly saddened by the civilian deaths in Lebanon. The number of casualties and the scale of displacement is deeply distressing. 

    Alongside our tireless diplomatic efforts, the UK is providing £5m to UNICEF Lebanon, to deliver vital supplies to support thousands of displaced civilians facing a humanitarian emergency in Lebanon. The UK has been and will remain a strong supporter of Lebanon.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Deputy President Mashatile arrives in Dublin for a working visit in Ireland

    Source: Republic of South Africa (video statements)

    Deputy President Mashatile arrives in Dublin for a working visit in Ireland

    Checkout more: http://www.thepresidency.gov.za

    Get Social
    Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/PresidencyZA
    Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/presidencyza/?hl=en
    Twitter ► @PresidencyZA

    #ThePresidencyofSouthAfrica #PresidencyZA

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5WzfFcACDI

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Applications open for flagship initiative for top civil servants

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Director-level managers have until 14 October to apply for the Director Leaders Programme.

    Chandru Dissanayeke Director, Regulatory Stewardship and Reform, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Director Leadership Programme Alumni

    Applications are now  open for places on the prestigious Director Leaders Programme — an initiative designed to empower senior civil service leaders with the skills, knowledge, and networks to navigate the complex landscape of public service.

    Over the course of nine months, participants will take part in face-to-face and online sessions that include immersive, front-line visits and action learning sets. 

    They will delve into the programme’s key themes, including leading-at-scale, systems thinking and leadership, effective communication, and effective partnerships with ministers.  

    Alumni Chandru Dissanayeke, director of regulatory stewardship and reform at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (pictured), said:

    “It’s a unique opportunity to share challenges and explore how we, as leaders, can piece together the broader societal puzzle through our individual roles. It invites us to deeply reflect on our work in the context of a rapidly changing world — both as individuals and collectively.”

    New generation of senior leaders

    This programme aims to  build a new generation of senior leaders equipped to guide the civil service toward delivering meaningful service to communities. 

    “The Director Leaders Programme is a vital space for senior leaders to develop the skills and networks they need to lead in today’s challenging environment,” said Jo Hollis, deputy director for the Leadership College for Government, the part of Government Skills that delivers the programme.

    “It’s not just technical skills, but fostering the ability to think strategically, collaborate effectively, and reflect deeply on their leadership.”

    Applications are now open until 14 October 2024. Contact your Permanent Secretary’s office and your Head of Talent for an application and to secure your nomination.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ill prepared

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    In a recent public inquiry, Traffic Commissioner Miles Dorrington heard the case of Peter Edward Douglas.

    Mr. Douglas held a restricted PSV licence and had applied for a standard licence, but following an extensive investigation, it was determined that Mr. Douglas is no longer trusted to operate in a compliant manner in the future.

    Mr Douglas, a sole trader, was granted as restricted public service vehicle operator’s licence authorising 2 vehicles in 2007. The inquiry heard that the DVSA had stopped his vehicles four times and on each of the four occasions, the vehicle had been used commercially for hire and reward.

    There were no tachographs fitted in the vehicles, no commercial MOTs and in two cases, the driver did not have the required driving entitlement for the vehicle, nor did he have a driver CPC qualification or a digital tachograph card which were also required in order to drive the vehicle for hire and reward. The operator seemed to have no real idea of how to run a compliant business.

    In the absence of the correct driving entitlement the insurance for the vehicle was invalid since all policies of commercial vehicle insurance require the driver to have the correct driving entitlement required to drive the insured vehicle at the time it was being driven. The second time that this driver was stopped, the vehicle was seized by the Police because they were satisfied that it was not insured and as at the date of the public inquiry it remained in their custody.

    Commissioner Dorrington said “It is clear to me that Mr Douglas lacked, any, or any effective management control of the transport operation to ensure that the general undertakings on the operator’s licence were fulfilled. His lack of knowledge is inexcusable as an experienced operator (he has been an operator for 17 years) and no lack of basic knowledge to operate a compliant transport operation can ever be accepted.”

    The commissioner found that he had lost his good repute and revoked the licence, giving the operator until the 30th September to wind down the operation.

    The full written decision can be found here.

    For any further details or enquiries, please contact:

    Office of the Traffic Commissioner Press Office

    Moblie: 07971963998      I     Email: pressoffice@otc.gov.uk

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 September 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Update on Moor Park

    Source: City of Preston

    The BBC have now left Moor Park in Preston following the Radio 2 in the Park event that took place over three days from 6-8 September

    Due to the wet ground conditions from heavy rain on the Sunday during the event, the BBC site team only left the park on 20 September, a week after their scheduled departure.

    The Council’s parks team, in conjunction with the BBC and their event team, have attended the park every day since the event but were unable to carry out a full assessment of the site until after all the crew and vehicles had left.

    The Council continues to work with the BBC and events team who are helping with the reinstatement of the park, with some areas already starting to ‘green up’ again.

    Two specialist contractors have also attended the park to give their advice on how to best help the affected areas. Both have advised that it is best to leave the ground to recover and dry out and to reseed where needed in the spring.

    A priority for the parks team has been to clear all the paths of mud and we are in the process of arranging to have these cleaned further to allow better access through the site.

    The Council is advising people to be careful when using the park as some of the ground is still uneven, to stick to the paths wherever possible and to watch where they are walking.

    Councillor Freddie Bailey, Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety said:

    Anyone who attended the event or saw the footage of the Sunday knows just how much rain we had in a short space of time. Unfortunately, due the large numbers of visitors and heavy footfall in some areas of the park, damage to parts of the park were inevitably unavoidable.

    “The public have been really supportive and we’d like to say thank you for understanding that the damage caused really was out of our control. As proud Prestonians, we have been very pragmatic and appreciate that the grass will grow back again in time, with a little help and care from our team of fantastic gardeners!

    “We have prioritised getting the football back up and running on the site and have already marked up two new pitches with a plan for the third one in the coming weeks. We are liaising with the local football league as to when we can start to use them.”

    The Councils team of gardeners continue to work on the site daily to ensure that the areas that are unaffected by the event are kept clean and tidy, as the park is expected to look.

    The two children’s play areas, basketball courts, tennis courts and skate park remain unaffected by the event.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to news that the FDA has approved the drug Cobenfy (KarXT) for schizophrenia

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Scientists comment on the FDA approving Cobenfy (KarXT) for schizophrenia. 

    Dr Sameer Jauhar, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Affective Disorders and Psychosis, Consultant Psychiatrist, King’s College, London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said:

    “Schizophrenia can be a devastating illness for people and their families, and the effects on society are significant.

    “We do have effective treatments, and the pharmacological treatments are a foundation for holistic care (which includes psychosocial interventions).

    “Unfortunately currently available antipsychotics have significant side-effects, which include weight gain and movement effects, and this can affect peoples’ concordance with treatment.

    “All currently licensed antipsychotics exert effects on the dopamine system, and this has been the case for at least 50 years.

    “We have had false dawns before, despite significant efforts in the field (with significant financial investment) phase three trials of newer compounds have so far been disappointing.

    “This novel treatment is the first of its kind, which does not act directly on the dopamine system, with good phase three trial data.

    “The side effect profile from Phase three trials suggests it has less of the side effects noted with current treatments.

    “It is acknowledged that these trials are short in duration, and we will need longer-term trials, to inform clinical care.

    “In my opinion, as a clinician and researcher, this is possibly one of the most exciting developments in our field, and I am very excited about this.”

     

    Dr Robert McCutcheon, Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, said:

    Just how significant is this approval in the mental health/ schizophrenia treatment field?

    “This is a major advance – it is the first treatment for schizophrenia with a novel target for 70 years.

    Why do we need other drug treatments in schizophrenia?

    “Current treatments are ineffective for many of the symptoms of schizophrenia, we need compounds with novel mechanisms of action.

    What is different about this drug to previous drugs for schizophrenia?

    “All other treatments work by targeting dopamine receptors. This is the first treatment that has a different target. We hope this may mean it can help people who don’t respond to standard treatments and maybe help the symptoms that aren’t helped by existing treatments.

    What does this mean for patients in the UK who may be excited about this news?

    “We will be running the first UK trial of this compound in Oxford, starting in 2025.”

    Dr Paul Keedwell, Consultant Psychiatrist and Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:

    “New candidates for the treatment of this frequently debilitating condition are always welcome. However, the clinical effectiveness needs to be tested in real clinical settings. We also need to know how well it is tolerated given its tendency to cause gastro-intestinal problems in some patients.”

    https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-drug-new-mechanism-action-treatment-schizophrenia

     

    Declared interests

    Dr Sameer Jauhar: SJ has given educational talks on psychosis for Behringer=Ingelheim, Sunovian, Janssen, and Lundbeck. He has consulted for LB Pharmaceuticals on antipsychotics. He has sat on a Wellcome Funding Panel, and NICE Technology appraisal panel for treatment of antipsychotic induced movement disorder. He is a Council Member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (unpaid) and Academic Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (unpaid).

    Dr Robert McCutcheon: RAM has received speaker/consultancy fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Karuna, Lundbeck, Newron, Otsuka, and Viatris, and co-directs a company that designs digital resources to support treatment of mental ill health. I am leading a Wellcome trust funded RCT of the compound in early psychosis.

    Dr Paul Keedwell: No conflict of interest.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Super-complaint on the police response to stalking

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Super-complaint submitted by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium about the police response to stalking.

    Applies to England and Wales

    Documents

    The police response to stalking

    https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publication-html/police-response-to-stalking

    The police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets-hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/uploads/police-response-to-stalking.pdf

    Annex A: IOPC – Qualitative research into victims’ experiences of reporting stalking to the police and subsequent police actions

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints/super-complaints/police-response-stalking/qualitative-research-into-victims-experiences-of-reporting-stalking-to-the-police-and-subsequent-police-actions

    Annex A: IOPC – Qualitative research into victims’ experiences of reporting stalking to the police and subsequent police actions (PDF)

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/qualitative-research-victims-experiences-reporting-stalking-police-and-subsequent

    Annex B: College of Policing rapid evidence review: Stalking and serious harm or homicide (PDF)

    https://assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/2024-09/Stalking-and-serious-harm-or-homicide-REA.pdf

    Annex C: College of Policing rapid evidence review: Victim experience of the police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/2024-09/Victim-experience-of-the-policing-response-to-stalking-REA.pdf

    Annex D: An annex report about HMICFRS fieldwork to support the investigation of the super-complaint on the police response to stalking

    https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publication-html/annex-super-complaint-police-response-to-stalking

    Annex D: An annex report about HMICFRS fieldwork to support the investigation of the super-complaint on the police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets-hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/uploads/annex-super-complaint-police-response-to-stalking.pdf

    Annex E: IOPC – Force self-assessment survey on the police response to stalking

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints/super-complaints/police-response-stalking/force-self-assessment-survey-on-the-police-response-to-stalking

    Annex E: IOPC – Force self-assessment survey on the police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/force-self-assessment-survey-police-response-stalking

    Annex F: IOPC – Review of IOPC cases involving stalking

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints/super-complaints/police-response-stalking/review-of-IOPC-cases-involving-stalking

    Annex F: IOPC – Review of IOPC cases involving stalking (PDF)

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/review-iopc-cases-involving-stalking

    Annex G: College of Policing report on officer and staff perspectives on the police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/2024-09/Officer-and-staff-perspectives-on-the-policing-response-to-stalking_0.pdf

    Annex H: IOPC – Qualitative research into the perspectives of stalking victim support service providers on the police response to stalking

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/complaints/super-complaints/police-response-stalking/qualitative-research-into-the-perspectives-of-stalking-victim-support-service-providers-on-the-police-response-to-stalking

    Annex H: IOPC – Qualitative research into the perspectives of stalking victim support service providers on the police response to stalking (PDF)

    https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/qualitative-research-perspectives-stalking-victim-support-service-providers-police

    Super-complaint on the police response to stalking

    https://www.suzylamplugh.org/super-complaint-submitted-on-police-response-to-stalking

    Details

    The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the College of Policing have published a report in response to the super-complaint submitted by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, on behalf of the National Stalking Consortium. The super-complaint raised concerns about how police forces in England and Wales respond to reports of stalking.  

     A joint investigation by the IOPC, HMICFRS and the College of Policing found that significant changes are needed to improve the police response to reports of stalking in England and Wales. 

     The joint investigation report includes a series of recommendations aimed at supporting policing to make the necessary improvements to ensure reports of stalking are consistently taken seriously and victims are better safeguarded. There are recommendations for chief constables, as well as for the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, police and crime commissioners and the Crown Prosecution Service. These include recommendations for changes to the law around stalking and stalking protection orders. There are also actions for the College of Policing and the IOPC to further develop the available guidance and advice for police on responding to reports of stalking.

    Updates to this page

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