Category: Finance

MIL-OSI China: Youth leaders gather for World Youth Energy Partner Dialogue

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

International youth leaders and experts gathered for the World Youth Energy Partner Dialogue on June 8 as part of the World Youth Energy Tour (WYET) 2025, exchanging views on critical topics like energy transition and international cooperation in renewable energy.

The event, co-hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) and CHN Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy), brought together 14 youth leaders from eight countries to discuss cross-cultural perspectives and innovative solutions for building a multilateral, collaborative and tech-driven paradigm for sustainable energy development.

Participants in the World Youth Energy Tour (WYET) 2025 pose for a group picture, June 8, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

“Youth are the architects, not just beneficiaries, of the energy transition,” said Kevin Tu, managing director of Agora Energy China and leading spokesperson of the event. “China’s experience proves young innovators drive breakthroughs, from AI-powered grids to offshore wind megaprojects.”

The attending youth leaders also shared their insights on the event and energy issues through engaging picture stories, highlighting their unique experiences and innovative ideas.

Participants in the World Youth Energy Tour (WYET) 2025 watch a presentation, June 8, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

“Crisis cannot be overcome alone. Crisis needs teamwork,” noted Jose Renato Peneluppi, a Brazilian lawyer specializing in development policies and energy transition. He spoke highly of China’s energy progress in recent years and expressed hope for future energy collaboration between China and Brazil.

Kaldybayev Dastan, a PhD student from Kazakhstan at Tsinghua University, praised China’s efforts in green infrastructure and its wind and solar power capacity. “The future of energy is green, smart and global. Together through collaboration and innovation, we can build the future,” he added.

“I’m so grateful that China has supported us like our older brother. I’m so amazed and happy to see China is working very hard, leading globally in green initiatives,” said Umer Farooq Sansi, CEO of the Hunan Sansi Group and a contributor to China-Pakistan relations.

MIL OSI China News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Rural News – Restrictions on carbon forestry long overdue – Federated Farmers

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers’ ‘Save our Sheep’ campaign has taken a major step forward this morning with the Government introducing legislation to stop carbon forestry on productive farmland.

“This legislation is a really positive step forward – but from a farmer’s perspective, it’s long overdue,” says Federated Farmers meat & wool chair Toby Williams.

“The Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture stood up on a stage in Gore at a Federated Farmers event on December 4 last year and announced these changes would be coming.

“Since that announcement was made, farmers have been incredibly frustrated as we’ve watched tens of thousands of hectares of productive land continue to be planted in pines.

“The Government have been very clear on their intention but a lack of action has caused huge uncertainty and heartache for farmers and rural communities.”

The ‘Save our Sheep’ platform has been getting plenty of traction in recent weeks with a viral social media campaign and a strategically placed billboard directly opposite the Beehive.

“The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been screwing the scrum in favour of forestry over farming by subsidising pine trees to offset fossil fuel emissions,” Williams says.

“These new restrictions will put the squeeze on wholesale pine planting driven by carbon returns but won’t hinder genuine production forestry or smaller farm woodlots.

“Federated Farmers aren’t anti-forestry. Exotic trees have a place and a role to play when it comes to sensible land use and income diversification – but carbon forestry is out of control.”

Williams says farmers will be raising serious questions about 15,000 hectares of LUC 6 farmland being allocated by a ballot process each year.

“That is a huge amount of land still going into pine trees and that’s what farmers will currently be using as breeding country – we can’t afford to lose 150,000 hectares in the next decade.

“You can’t plant that land in pine trees while maintaining a sustainable sheep industry. We would lose more than 750,000 breeding ewes if that were to happen.”

Federated Farmers were more positive about the clause ensuring 25 per cent of LUC 1-6 land will be registered against the property’s title to restrict further planting as a result of subdivision.”

Williams says Federated Farmers still has serious concerns about exploitation of loopholes and the impact of badly broken ETS rules on rural communities.

“The statement from the Government today says the time-limited transitional exemptions under ‘intention to plant’ rules are for ‘rare cases’ only.

“I’m not convinced these criteria are anywhere near tight enough, particularly when it comes to things like the purchase of seedlings when the forester didn’t already own the land to plant.

“If you didn’t own the land with a clear intention to plant it for carbon forestry before the announcement on December 4 last year, you should told ‘sorry, but you’re out of luck’.”

As the legislation is currently written, simply having purchased seedlings is enough to show intent even if they didn’t own land to plant them on.

Federated Farmers says that is simply nonsense and needs to be changed.

Alongside restriction on whole farm conversions to pine trees for carbon farming, Federated Farmers are also calling for sweeping reforms of the forestry sector.

“Pine forests are breeding grounds for pests like pigs and deer that are causing huge issues for farmers and costing us a fortune,” Williams says.

“To put it bluntly, foresters simply aren’t doing enough pest management to get the issue under control – and it’s time for the Government to step in.”

Federated Farmers says urgent changes need to be made to the Overseas Investment Act.

“Applications to purchase farmland to convert to forestry should be assessed under the farmland test rather than the general benefit to New Zealand test,” Williams says.

“This would mean that applications from oversees investors to purchase land for forestry would be on an even playing field with other land purchases.

“Some of the applications we’re seeing approved at the moment are absolutely appalling and will have little or no benefit for New Zealand or our rural communities.”

Williams also wants to see changes to the ETS to end the ability of carbon dioxide emitters to offset 100 percent of their emissions with emissions units from carbon farming.

New Zealand is the only country in the world that allows 100% carbon offsetting through forestry, with other countries recognising the risk and putting restrictions in place.

Federated Farmers is now calling on the Government to urgently review the ETS and fix the rules to either limit or stop the offsetting of fossil fuel emissions with forestry.

You can sign the petition pushing for change at www.saveoursheep.nz

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

June 10, 2025
Global stocks rise, dollar tentative ahead of US-China talks outcome

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Stocks were buoyant and the dollar remained on guard on Tuesday as trade talks between the United States and China were set to extend to a second day, with tentative signs tensions between the world’s two largest economies could be easing.

U.S. President Donald Trump put a positive spin on the talks at Lancaster House in London, which wrapped up for the night on Monday and were set to resume at 0900 GMT on Tuesday.

“The fact that we’re still up here near record highs, does suggest that we are seeing the market accept what has been said by Trump and when you look at some of the other comments from Lutnick and Bessent, to me it seems to suggest that they are relatively happy with the progress,” said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

“But the market always likes to see some concrete announcements.”

As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet for the second day with their Chinese counterparts, much of investors’ focus has been on the progress of the talks.

Any progress in the negotiations is likely to provide relief to markets given Trump’s chaotic tariffs and swings in Sino-U.S. trade ties have undermined the world’s two biggest economies and hobbled global growth.

Stocks advanced in Asia, extending their rise from the start of the week.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures gained 0.62%. S&P 500 futures edged 0.43% higher.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures both added roughly 0.1% each.

In Tokyo, attention was also on the Japanese government bond (JGB) market, following news that Japan is considering buying back some super-long government bonds issued in the past at low interest rates.

The yield on the 10-year JGB fell one basis point to 1.46% in early trade, while the 30-year yield slid 5 bps to 2.86%.

Yields on super-long JGBs rose to record levels last month due to dwindling demand from traditional buyers such as life insurers, and jitters over steadily rising debt levels globally.

“The volatility at the super-long segment of the curve stems from a supply-demand imbalance that has been brewing since the BOJ embarked on balance sheet normalisation,” said Justin Heng, APAC rates strategist at HSBC Global Investment Research.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Tuesday the government will conduct appropriate debt management policies while communicating closely with market participants.

In currencies, the dollar attempted to regain its footing after falling on Monday.

Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.45% to 145.25. The euro fell 0.28% to $1.1387 while sterling slipped 0.2% to $1.3523.

Trump’s erratic trade policies and worries over Washington’s growing debt pile have dented investor confidence in U.S. assets, in turn undermining the dollar, which has already fallen more than 8% for the year.

The next test for the greenback will be on Wednesday, when U.S. inflation data comes due. Expectations are for core consumer prices to have picked up slightly in May, which could push back against bets of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The producer price index (PPI) report will be released a day later.

“May’s U.S. CPI and PPI data will be scrutinised for signs of lingering inflationary pressures,” said Convera’s FX and macro strategist Kevin Ford.

“If core CPI remains elevated, expectations for rate cuts could be pushed beyond the June 18 FOMC meeting.”

Traders see the Fed keeping rates on hold at its policy meeting next week, but have priced in roughly 44 bps worth of easing by December.

In the oil market, prices edged up, with Brent crude futures gaining 0.24% to $67.20 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 0.25% at $65.45 per barrel after hitting a more than two-month high earlier in the session.

Spot gold fell 0.5% to $3,310.40 an ounce.

(Reuters)

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s remarks at the Summit “Africa for the Ocean” [All-French, as delivered; scroll down for All-English]

Source: United Nations – English

otre Altesse Royale, Princesse Lalla Hasnaa du Royaume du Maroc,
Monsieur le Président de la République française, Cher Emmanuel Macron,
Excellences, Chers amis,

Je vous remercie d’organiser ce sommet afin de réaffirmer un message clair :

Les destins de l’Afrique et de l’océan sont profondément liés.

Pour des millions de personnes à travers le continent, l’océan est source de vie, d’identité, de promesses.

Avec plus de 30 000 kilomètres de littoral et 38 États côtiers, l’Afrique est une puissance maritime.

Son avenir s’écrit aussi dans ses eaux.

Mais cette richesse bleue est trop souvent sous-évaluée et surexploitée.

L’insécurité maritime menace la paix.

La pollution empoisonne les côtes et les écosystèmes.

Et la crise climatique – dont l’Afrique n’est pourtant pas responsable – ravage ses rivages.

Face à ces défis, l’Afrique propose, innove, agit.

Elle forge des solutions qui inspirent bien au-delà du continent.

Nous le voyons dans des projets ambitieux de coopération régionale – ou encore la Stratégie intégrée de l’Union africaine pour les mers et les océans à l’horizon 2050.

Et nous le voyons dans les négociations internationales, où l’Afrique fait entendre sa voix avec force.

L’Accord sur la diversité biologique marine des zones ne relevant pas de la juridiction nationale – l’Accord BBNJ – en est un exemple.

Le Groupe africain a été un acteur central des négociations, obtenant des engagements sur le partage équitable des avantages, le renforcement des capacités et le transfert de technologies marines.

À ce jour, 28 États africains ont signé l’Accord. Trois l’ont déjà ratifié. Peut-être que ces chiffres sont déjà surpassés par les chiffres que le Président de la République a annoncé ce matin.

Et plusieurs autres prévoient de le faire aujourd’hui, lors de la cérémonie spéciale sur les traités pour l’Accord BBNJ.

C’est un signal fort : l’Afrique est au cœur de l’action pour les océans.

Mais pour libérer pleinement ce potentiel, il faut un sursaut politique et financier.

Cela commence par renforcer la sécurité maritime face aux menaces transnationales – piraterie, trafic d’armes et d’êtres humains et crime organisé.

Les Nations Unies continueront de soutenir les efforts africains, notamment à travers l’Architecture de Yaoundé, qui a contribué à une baisse significative des actes de piraterie dans le golfe de Guinée.

Cela passe également par une gouvernance océanique fondée sur la science et la coopération.

Il faut lutter contre la pollution et la pêche illicite, non déclarée et non réglementée, renforcer les capacités de collecte et de partage des données océanographiques, et protéger la biodiversité.

Nous devons valoriser les énergies marines renouvelables, l’aquaculture et le tourisme durable, autant de sources d’emplois décents – notamment pour les jeunes et les femmes.

Mais ces efforts ne porteront pleinement leurs fruits que si l’Afrique est connectée – dans ses territoires et avec le reste du monde.

Les océans africains doivent devenir de véritables corridors d’intégration – reliant pays côtiers et enclavés, au service d’une croissance partagée.

Cela suppose des investissements concrets dans les infrastructures maritimes et portuaires : des ports interconnectés, résilients face au changement climatique, capables de répondre aux besoins d’un commerce en croissance.

Les États sans littoral doivent être reliés aux chaînes de valeur mondiales.

Aucun pays ne doit rester à quai.

Mais pour que cette transformation soit durable et équitable, nous devons mettre fin aux injustices historiques.

Ces injustices se traduisent aussi dans l’océan : les investissements ont trop souvent contourné l’Afrique, alors même que ses ressources marines étaient exploitées par d’autres.

Le Pacte pour l’Avenir, adopté en septembre dernier, appelle à une réforme profond des institutions financières mondiales – afin qu’elles soient au service de tous.

Il est temps que les pays en développement soient équitablement représentés dans ces institutions. D’ailleurs, comme au Conseil de Sécurité des Nations-Unies.

Nous avons besoin d’un système qui reflète les réalités du XXIème siècle – un système plus juste, plus solidaire et plus efficace.

C’est pourquoi j’appelle les institutions financières, les bailleurs bilatéraux et multilatéraux, les banques de développement et le secteur privé à répondre présent – y compris lors de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement à Séville.

Chers amis,

De Dakar à Djibouti, du Cap à Casablanca, l’Afrique prouve qu’on peut conjuguer prospérité et préservation.

Le monde a besoin de l’Afrique pour répondre aux défis de l’océan.

Et l’océan a besoin d’une Afrique qui trace sa voie et navigue résolument vers l’avenir.

Je vous remercie.

***
[All-English]

Your Royal Highness, Princess Lalla Hasnaa of the Kingdom of Morocco,
Mr. President of the French Republic, Dear Emmanuel Macron,
Excellencies, Dear friends,

Thank you for organizing this summit to reaffirm a clear message:

The destinies of Africa and the ocean are deeply linked.

For millions of people across the continent, the ocean is a source of life, identity and promise.

With over 30,000 kilometers of coastline and 38 coastal states, Africa is a maritime powerhouse.

Its future is also written in its waters.

But this blue wealth is too often undervalued and overexploited.

Maritime insecurity threatens peace.

Pollution poisons coasts and ecosystems.

And the climate crisis – that Africa did little to cause – is ravaging its shores.

In the face of these challenges, Africa is proposing, innovating, taking action.

It is forging solutions that inspire far beyond the continent.

We see this in ambitious regional cooperation projects – and in the African Union’s 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy for the Seas and Oceans to 2050.

And we see it in international negotiations, where Africa is making its voice heard loud and clear.

The Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction – the BBNJ Agreement – is one example.

The African Group was a key player in the negotiations, securing commitments on equitable benefit sharing, capacity building and marine technology transfer.

To date, 28 African states have signed the Agreement. Three have already ratified it. These numbers have increased with the news that President Macron shared with us earlier today.

And several more are planning to do so today, at the special treaty ceremony for the BBNJ Agreement.

This is a strong signal: Africa is at the heart of ocean action.

But to fully unleash this potential, we need a political and financial surge.

This begins by strengthening maritime security in the face of transnational threats – piracy, arms and human trafficking and organized crime.

The United Nations will continue to support African efforts, notably through the Yaoundé Architecture, which has contributed to a significant decline in acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

This also requires ocean governance based on science and cooperation.

We must combat pollution and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, strengthen capacities for collecting and sharing oceanographic data, and protect biodiversity.

We must promote renewable marine energies, sustainable aquaculture and tourism – all of which create decent jobs, in particular for young people and women.

But these efforts will only bear fruit if Africa is connected — within its territories and with the rest of the world.

Africa’s oceans must become integration corridors – linking coastal and landlocked countries, for a shared growth.

This calls for concrete investments in maritime infrastructures – interconnected ports, resilient to climate change, capable of meeting the needs of growing trade.

Landlocked states must be connected to global value chains.

No country should be left behind.

But for this transformation to be sustainable and equitable, we must put an end to historical injustices.

These injustices are also reflected in the ocean: investments have too often bypassed Africa, even as its marine resources were exploited by others.

The Pact for the Future, adopted last September, calls for deep reforms of global financial institutions – so that they serve everyone.

It is time for developing countries to be fairly represented in these institutions.

We need a system that reflects the realities of the 21st century – a system that is more just, more supportive, and more effective. As is the the case with the United Nations Security Council.

That is why I call on financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, development banks and the private sector to step up – including at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville.

Dear friends,

From Dakar to Djibouti, from Cape Town to Casablanca, Africa is proving that prosperity and preservation can go hand in hand.

The world needs Africa to meet the ocean’s challenges.

And the ocean needs an Africa that charts its own course and navigates decisively toward the future.

Thank you.

MIL OSI Africa –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: EBC Financial Group and Brokeree Solutions Forge Strategic Knowledge Partnership to Empower Global Trading Community

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

LONDON, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EBC Financial Group (EBC), a global leader in financial brokerage and asset management, is proud to announce a strategic knowledge partnership with Brokeree Solutions, a cutting-edge technology provider serving multi-asset brokers worldwide. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in EBC’s mission to build a transparent, education-driven investment community, bringing together two industry leaders to share expertise, innovative technologies, and actionable insights for the benefit of traders and investors around the globe.

At the heart of this partnership is a joint commitment to knowledge sharing, with a strong focus on copy trading, a fast-evolving space that empowers both novice and seasoned traders. EBC and Brokeree will co-develop educational content and practical insights tailored to traders, brokers, and signal providers, helping them apply effective risk management tools, adopt best practices, and enhance their overall trading performance.

“At EBC Financial Group, our mission is to build a transparent, inclusive investment community where traders are empowered through access to the right tools, insights, and education,” said David Barrett, CEO of EBC Financial Group (UK) Ltd. “This knowledge partnership with Brokeree Solutions goes beyond technology — it’s about leveraging shared expertise to create a more confident, results-driven trading environment. Together, we’re building a platform where both new and experienced traders can learn, grow, and thrive.”

A Technology-Backed Knowledge Partnership

Brokeree Solutions contributes its turnkey Social Trading investment system, enabling users to register as either professional traders or followers directly through a broker’s platform. The system features advanced stop-loss/take-profit controls, proportional trade copying, and symbol-specific signal filtering, all designed to support safe, flexible trading.

EBC complements this with its global market expertise, investor-centric approach, and commitment to transparency, helping traders understand and apply copy trading as an educational tool, especially valuable in today’s complex financial landscape. By making professional-level tools accessible to a wider audience, the partnership transforms copy trading into a gateway for skill development and market participation.

Content and Webinar Series to Strengthen Trading Knowledge

As part of this knowledge-driven collaboration, EBC and Brokeree are introducing a monthly article series starting this May, covering a wide range of trading and investment topics. These insights will be designed to address real-world challenges faced by traders and provide actionable strategies to improve performance, risk control, and decision-making. Each article will tap into the shared expertise of both companies and will be published across digital channels to benefit the wider trading community.

Additionally, the partnership will feature a quarterly webinar series, bringing traders, brokers, and signal providers together for deep-dive discussions on high-impact topics. The first webinar, launching soon, will explore Risk Management, a critical area for both individual and institutional traders. The session will examine practical techniques, platform-level risk tools, and best practices to help participants strengthen their trading discipline and capital protection.

These initiatives aim not only to educate but also to foster engagement and dialogue within the trading community, ensuring that knowledge flows both ways, from experts to users, and from the front lines of trading back to those shaping the technology and strategy.

“We value our clients’ trust in our technology and expertise. The partnership will provide traders and signal providers worldwide to examine advanced copy trading features that will help adjust copy trading strategy and increase the efficiency of risk management tools applied,” said Tatiana Pilipenko, Regional Head of Business Development (APAC, UK, Americas) at Brokeree Solutions. “This platform empowers brokers to cultivate a more inclusive and risk-informed trading environment, ultimately driving growth and strengthening relationships with trading communities.”
This knowledge partnership underscores the shared vision of EBC and Brokeree: a future where technology, education, and transparency converge to empower traders worldwide. As financial markets grow increasingly complex, the collaboration aims to equip every trader – from beginners to experts – with the tools, confidence, and understanding they need to make smarter, more informed decisions.

Through these collaborations, EBC and Brokeree are not just advancing the future of copy trading, they are laying the foundation for a more informed, connected, and resilient investment community.

For more information on EBC and Brokeree, please visit https://www.ebc.com. and brokeree.com.

Disclaimer:

Trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs) entails a substantial risk of swift financial loss due to leverage, rendering it inappropriate for all investors; thus, a thorough evaluation of your investment objectives, expertise, and risk appetite is imperative prior to engagement.

About EBC Financial Group
Founded in London’s esteemed financial district, EBC Financial Group (EBC) is renowned for its expertise in financial brokerage and asset management. With offices in key financial hubs—including London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Cayman Islands, Bangkok, Limassol, and emerging markets in Latin America, Asia, and Africa—EBC enables retail, professional, and institutional investors to access a wide range of global markets and trading opportunities, including currencies, commodities, shares, and indices.

Recognised with multiple awards, EBC is committed to upholding ethical standards and these subsidiaries are licensed and regulated within their respective jurisdictions. EBC Financial Group (UK) Limited is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); EBC Financial Group (Cayman) Limited is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA); EBC Financial Group (Australia) Pty Ltd, and EBC Asset Management Pty Ltd are regulated by Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); EBC Financial (MU) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Commission Mauritius (FSC).

At the core of EBC are a team of industry veterans with over 40 years of experience in major financial institutions. Having navigated key economic cycles from the Plaza Accord and 2015 Swiss franc crisis to the market upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic. We foster a culture where integrity, respect, and client asset security are paramount, ensuring that every investor relationship is handled with the utmost seriousness it deserves.

As the Official Foreign Exchange Partner of FC Barcelona, EBC provides specialised services across Asia, LATAM, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. Through its partnership with the UN Foundation and United to Beat Malaria, the company contributes to global health initiatives. EBC also supports the ‘What Economists Really Do’ public engagement series by Oxford University’s Department of Economics, helping to demystify economics and its application to major societal challenges, fostering greater public understanding and dialogue.

https://www.ebc.com/

About Brokeree Solutions

Founded in 2013, Brokeree Solutions has consistently enhanced the technologies for multi-asset brokers worldwide. Leveraging extensive experience, the company contributed to the fintech area of the online trading industry by developing innovative solutions, streamlining operational procedures, and setting up advanced risk management systems.

Brokeree’s flagship offerings include cross-platform Social Trading, Prop Pulse, Liquidity Bridge, and cross-server PAMM. Additionally, Brokeree provides over 50 solutions and tools designed to help brokers enhance their operations in areas such as account management, risk management, and liquidity management, accessible to brokers using MT4, MT5, cTrader, and DXtrade CFD trading platforms.

brokeree.com

Media Contact:
Savitha Ravindran
Global Public Relations Manager
s avitha.ravindran@ebc.com

Michelle Siow
Brand & Communications Director
michelle.siow@ebc.com

The MIL Network –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: BEN Reports First Quarter 2025 Results and Business Highlights
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

WILMINGTON, Del., June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brand Engagement Network Inc. (BEN) (NASDAQ: BNAI), an innovator in AI-driven customer engagement solutions, today announced its results and key business highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

“Q1 marked a strong start to 2025, as we launched our iSKYE platform and deepened strategic partnerships that demonstrate the growing demand for secure, scalable AI solutions,” said Paul Chang, CEO of Brand Engagement Network. “We’ve enhanced our platform with features that deliver greater accuracy and relevance for users, while providing the control and engagement enterprise clients want. Looking ahead, iSKYE’s modular architecture positions us to easily support new industries and applications. This flexibility opens doors to larger opportunities and broader AI-powered engagement across diverse sectors.”

Q1 2025 Key Business Highlights:
- iSKYE AI Platform Launch: BEN has officially launched the iSKYE platform, offering businesses a customizable, scalable solution to integrate AI with existing business processes, inject a rules engine to manage the interactions, and provide full control of the user experience. Key capabilities include customizable 3D avatars, low-cost deployment, enterprise-grade security, and the ability to mitigate AI hallucinations while integrating seamlessly into existing systems.
- Global AI Insurance Partnership with Swiss Life: BEN partnered with Swiss Life Global Solutions to deliver secure, scalable generative AI solutions that enhance digital health, mental health, and financial wellbeing services. The collaboration aims to streamline insurance sales, reduce call center volume, and improve member services with AI-powered tools.
- Expanded Partnership with Vybroo and Grupo Siete: BEN expanded its partnership with Vybroo and Grupo Siete to deploy AI-powered brand ambassadors and voice agents across Latin America and Southern Europe, enhancing its digital media presence and unlocking new revenue opportunities in high-growth markets.
- Advocating for Responsible AI Privacy Standards: BEN supported and advised on California Assembly Member Carl DeMaio’s proposed AI data privacy legislation bill, which aims to prevent the offshore storage of sensitive user data and underscores the Company’s commitment to secure, closed-loop AI systems focused on trust and compliance.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
The Company will host a conference call and webcast tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. ET. CEO Paul Chang and CFO and COO Walid Khiari will lead the call and provide an overview of the company’s financial performance, key business highlights, and strategic outlook.

Participants can register here to access the live webcast of the conference call. Those who prefer to join the call via phone can register using this link to receive a dial-in number and unique PIN.

The webcast will be archived for one year following the conference call and can be accessed on BEN’s investor relations website at https://investors.beninc.ai/.

About Brand Engagement Network (BEN)
Brand Engagement Network Inc. (NASDAQ: BNAI) innovates in AI-powered customer engagement, delivering safe, intelligent, and scalable solutions. Its proprietary Engagement Language Model (ELM™) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture enable highly personalized interactions supported by customers’ curated data in closed-loop environments. BEN develops AI-driven engagement solutions for the life sciences, automotive, and retail industries, featuring AI-powered avatars for outbound campaigns, inbound customer service, and real-time recommendations. With a global AI research and development team, BEN provides secure cloud-based or on-premises deployments, granting complete control of the technology stack and ensuring compliance with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and SOC 2 Type 1 standards. The company holds 21 patents, with 28 pending, demonstrating its commitment to advancing AI-driven consumer engagement. For more information, visit www.beninc.ai.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results of BEN to differ materially from those expected and projected. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “continue,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” or “would,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside BEN’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: uncertainties as to the timing of the acquisition with Cataneo Gmbh (the “Acquisition”); the risk that the Acquisition may not be completed on the anticipated terms in a timely manner or at all; (the failure to satisfy any of the conditions to the consummation of the Acquisition, including the ability to obtain financing to fund the Acquisition on terms that are acceptable or at all; the possibility that any or all of the various conditions to the consummation of the Acquisition may not be satisfied or waived; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the purchase agreement; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transactions contemplated by the purchase agreement on the Company’s ability to retain and hire key personnel, its ability to maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business, or its operating results and business generally; risks related to diverting management’s attention from the Company’s ongoing business operations; uncertainty as to the timing of completion of the Acquisition; risks that the benefits of the Acquisition are not realized when and as expected; risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to BEN; uncertainty regarding and the failure to realize the anticipated benefits from future production-ready deployments; the attraction and retention of qualified directors, officers, employees and key personnel; our ability to grow our customer base; BEN’s history of operating losses; BEN’s need for additional capital to support its present business plan and anticipated growth; technological changes in BEN’s market; the value and enforceability of BEN’s intellectual property protections; BEN’s ability to protect its intellectual property; BEN’s material weaknesses in financial reporting; BEN’s ability to navigate complex regulatory requirements; the ability to maintain the listing of BEN’s securities on a national securities exchange; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations; the effects of competition on BEN’s business; and the risks of operating and effectively managing growth in evolving and uncertain macroeconomic conditions, such as high inflation and recessionary environments. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.
BEN cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. BEN cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. BEN does not undertake nor does it accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, and it does not intend to do so unless required by applicable law. Further information about factors that could materially affect BEN, including its results of operations and financial condition, is set forth under “Risk Factors” in BEN’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q subsequently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media Contact
Amy Rouyer
P: 503-367-7596
E: amy@beninc.ai

Investor Relations
Susan Xu
P: 778-323-0959
E: sxu@allianceadvisors.com

The MIL Network –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Kenya pledges to accelerate efforts to boost intra-African trade

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

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 9, 2025/APO Group/ —

Kenya is working towards fast-tracking implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to unlock opportunities for businesses in the country across the continent.

Speaking during the Kenya IATF2025 Business Roadshow event, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, Hon. Lee Kinyanjui said the government is positioning and consolidating Kenya as a Trade, industrial and innovation hub to strategically tap into trade and investment opportunities presented by AfCFTA.

“The solutions to Africa’s problems lie with Africans. It is essential for countries within the continent to strengthen intra-African trade.

The IATF 2025 offers a vital platform to advance the AfCFTA agenda. With a well-educated population, abundant resources, and banks ready to finance investment, Africa has what it takes to elevate itself to the next level.,” the Cabinet Secretary said.

The Kenya IATF2025 Business Roadshow attracted over 200 members of Kenya’s business community, including buyers, creatives, automotive sector players, policymakers and investors together with executives and officials of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and African Union Commission (AUC). It focused on exploring ways of promoting intra-African trade. The theme was Harnessing Regional and Continental Value Chains: Accelerating Africa’s Industrialisation and Global Competitiveness under the AfCFTA.

Harnessing regional and continental value chains under the AfCFTA is crucial for Africa’s industrial growth and global competitiveness. By creating a large, integrated market, the AfCFTA encourages countries to tap into the continental market by scaling up productive capacity and add value to products, create an enabling environment, attracting investment and creating jobs. This boosts economic diversification, expand productive base, and supports Africa’s vision for sustainable and inclusive development.

The roadshow is one of the five in the series of planned for Nairobi, Accra, Johannesburg, Lagos and Algiers ahead of the fourth edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025) that will be held in Algiers, Algeria from 4 – 10 September 2025 under the theme Gateway to New Opportunities. IATF is Africa’s premier trade and investment event that serves as a crucial platform for fostering economic growth, collaboration, and innovation across the continent. Over the years, the IATF has established a track record as the premier African trade and investment platform and has achieved significant milestones since it was established in 2018 as an instrument to implement the AfCFTA Agreement. Hosted by the Government of Algeria and promoted by Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the IATF2025 event will provide businesses from Africa and beyond with a platform to showcase their goods and services and exchange trade and investment information.

Addressing the forum, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank, Mr. Haytham Elmaayergi said: “One of the key objectives of the IATF is to address access to trade and market information for intra-African trade to take place. For instance, as a result of a lack of information on African production and supply, countries like Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa import in excess of around US$400 million worth of leather products, mainly from Europe and South America, while countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan—which have the supply capacity to meet a substantial part of this demand—continue to export their leather products to markets in Europe and Asia.”

“Kenya has rapidly emerged as a major force in digitalisation and innovation, both within the region and across Africa. The IATF presents a great opportunity for Kenyan Fintech companies, mobile money innovators and other technology companies to come together and showcase their ingenuity to diverse sectors on the continent. It could potentially help them scale beyond the Kenyan borders as well as attract investment to their respective businesses.” added Mr. Elmaayergi.

Mr Elmaayergi made a clarion call for businesses, public and private sector in Kenya to participate and showcase their goods and services in IATF2025, where more than 2,000 exhibitors, including businesses from the African continent and globally, will exchange trade, market and investment information and showcase their goods and services to over 35,000 visitors and buyers from more than 140 countries. This is projected to translate into over US$44 billion in trade and investment deals.

IATF is a platform for boosting trade and investment in Africa. In the last three editions of IATF, over $100 billion in trade and investment deals have been closed cumulatively with over 70,000 visitors and more than 4,500 exhibitors participating.

Some of the activities lined up for the week-long IATF2025 include a trade exhibition by countries and businesses; the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme with a dedicated exhibition and summit on fashion, music, film, arts and craft, sports, literature, gastronomy and culinary arts; a four-day Trade and Investment Forum featuring leading African and international speakers; and the Africa Automotive Show for auto manufacturers, assemblers, original equipment manufacturers and component suppliers.

Special Days will also be held, dedicated for countries as well as public and private entities to showcase trade and investment opportunities, and tourism and cultural attractions, as well as Global Africa Day to highlight commercial and cultural ties between Africa and its diaspora, featuring a Diaspora Summit, market and exhibition, cultural and gastronomic showcase.

Also planned is a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) platform for matchmaking and business exchanges; the AU Youth Start-Up programme showcasing innovative ideas and prototypes; the Africa Research and Innovation Hub @ IATF targeting university students, academia and national researchers to exhibit their innovations and research projects; and the African Sub-Sovereign Governments Network (AfSNET) to promote trade, investment, educational and cultural exchanges at the local level. The IATF Virtual platform is already live, connecting exhibitors and visitors throughout the year.

To participate in IATF2025 please visit www.IntraAfricanTradeFair.com.

MIL OSI Africa –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: A quarter of the world’s population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alex Ezeh, Dornsife Endowed Professor of Global Health, Drexel University

The Lancet has released its second global commission report on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Adolescents are defined as 10- to 24-year-olds. The report builds on the first one, done in 2016. The latest report presents substantial original research that supports actions it recommends to be taken across sectors as well as at global, regional, country and local level. The co-chairs of the commission, Sarah Baird, Alex Ezeh and Russell Viner, together with the youth commissioners lead, Shakira Choonara, give a guide to the report’s findings.

What were the key findings?

The report noted significant improvements in some aspects of adolescent health and wellbeing since the 2016 report. These include reductions in:
- communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, particularly among female adolescents
- the burden of disease from injuries
- substance use, specifically tobacco and alcohol
- teenage pregnancy.
It also found that there had been an increase in age at first marriage and in education, especially for young women.

Despite this progress, adolescent health and wellbeing is said to be at a tipping point. Continued progress is being undermined by rapidly escalating rates of non-communicable diseases and mental disorders, accompanied by threats from compounding and intersecting megatrends. These include climate change and environmental degradation, the growing power of commercial influences on health, rising conflict and displacement, rapid urbanisation, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These megatrends are outpacing responses from national governments and the international community.

What’s unique about today’s cohort of adolescents?

Born between 2000 and 2014, this is the first cohort of humans who will live their entire life in a time when the average annual global temperature has consistently been 0.5°C or higher above pre-industrial levels.

At roughly 2 billion adolescents, they are the largest cohort of adolescents in the history of humanity. And this number will not be surpassed as populations age and fertility rates fall in even the poorest countries.

They are the first generation of global digital natives. They live in a world of immense resources and opportunities, with unprecedented connectedness made possible by the rapid expansion of digital technologies. This is true even in the hardest-to-reach places.

Growing participation in secondary and tertiary education is equipping adolescents of all genders with new economic opportunities and providing pathways out of poverty.

These opportunities, however, are not being realised for most adolescents. Increasing numbers continue to grow up in settings with limited opportunities. In addition, investments in adolescent health and wellbeing continue to lag relative to their population share or their share of the global burden of disease.

Investments in adolescents accounted for only 2.4% of the total development assistance for health in 2016-2021. This was despite the fact that adolescents accounted for 25.2% of the global population in that period and 9.1% of the total burden of disease. We use development assistance as a measure because, while governments also invest in adolescents, it’s difficult to account for how much this is. For example, when a government supports a health facility, it serves the entire population.

Yet, the report provides evidence to show that the return on investments in adolescent health and wellbeing is highly cost-effective and at par with investments in children.

What’s the news for adolescents in Africa?

The report recognises the special place of Africa in the global future of adolescents. It notes that, by the end of this century, nearly half of all adolescents will live in Africa.

Currently, adolescents in Africa experience higher burdens of communicable, maternal and nutritional diseases, at more than double the global average for both male and female adolescents. They also have a higher prevalence of anaemia, adolescent childbearing, early marriage and HIV infection. They are much less likely to complete 12 years of schooling and more likely to not be in education, employment, or training.

Female adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest adolescent fertility rate at 99.4 births per 1,000 female adolescents aged 15-19 (the global average is 41.8). They have also experienced the slowest decline between 2016 and 2022.

Globally, there was progress in reducing child marriage between 2016 and 2022. But in eight countries in 2022, at least one in three female adolescents aged 15–19 years was married. All but one of these eight countries were in sub-Saharan Africa. Niger (50.2%) and Mali (40.6%) had the highest proportion of married female adolescents.

The practice of child marriage is declining in south Asia and becoming more concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. As the report notes:

it continues because of cultural norms, fuelled by economic hardships, insurgency, conflict, ambiguous legal provisions, and lack of political will to enforce legal provisions.

What should be Africa’s focus areas?

Beyond adolescent sexual and reproductive health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, obesity is increasing fastest in the region. This illustrates the vulnerability of adolescents to the power of commercial interests.

Since 1990, obesity and overweight has increased by 89% in prevalence among adolescents aged 15–19 years in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the largest regional increase.

The absence of data on adolescents is a problem. Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa are absent in many data systems. For example, data on adolescent mental health in sub-Saharan Africa is virtually absent.

Stronger data systems are needed to understand and track progress on the complex set of determinants of adolescent health and wellbeing.

Another area of concern is the massive inequities within countries, often gendered or by geography. While female adolescents in Kenya are experiencing substantial declines in the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted infections, adolescent males are experiencing increasing burdens. In South Africa, years of healthy life lost to maternal disorders show more than 10-fold differences between the Western Cape and North West provinces.

Where there’s been strong political leadership, remarkable changes have been seen. Take the case of Benin Republic. The adolescent fertility rate in the country declined from 26% in 1996 to 20% in 2018 and child marriage from 39% to 31% over the same period. Strong political leadership has also led to substantial reductions in female genital mutilation or cutting. This fell from 12% of girls in Benin in 2001 to 2% in 2011–12 among 15–19-year-old girls in Benin Republic. Political leadership also facilitated the expansion, by the national parliament in 2021, of the grounds under which women, girls, and their families could access safe and legal abortion.

But for every country that takes positive steps to protect the health and wellbeing of adolescents, several others regress.

The last decade has witnessed regression in several countries. In 2024, The Gambia attempted to repeal a 2015 law criminalising all acts of female genital mutilation or cutting. In 2022, Nigeria’s federal government ordered the removal of sex education from the basic education curriculum.

What are the recommended courses of action?

The report calls for a multisectoral approach across multiple national ministries and agencies, including the office of the head of state, and within the UN system.

Coordination and accountability mechanisms for adolescent health and wellbeing also need to be strengthened.

Laws and policies are needed to protect the health and rights of adolescents, reduce the impact of the commercial determinants of health, and promote healthy use of digital and social media spaces and platforms.

Strong political leadership at local, national, and global levels is essential.

The report also calls for prioritised investments, the creation of enabling environments to transform adolescent health and wellbeing, and the development of innovative approaches to address complex and emerging health threats.

It calls for meaningful engagement of adolescents in policy, research, interventions and accountability mechanisms that affect them.

Without these concerted actions, we risk failing our young people and losing out on the investments being made in childhood at this second critical period in their development.

The current adverse international aid climate is particularly affecting adolescents as much development assistance relates to gender and sexual and reproductive health. Concerted action in addressing adolescent health and wellbeing is an urgent imperative for sub-Saharan Africa.

– A quarter of the world’s population are adolescents: major report sets out health and wellbeing trends
– https://theconversation.com/a-quarter-of-the-worlds-population-are-adolescents-major-report-sets-out-health-and-wellbeing-trends-257282

MIL OSI Africa –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI China: Washington, D.C. in preparation for military parade

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

The capital city of the United States is gearing up for Saturday’s military parade to honor the 250th birthday of the Army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.

“We’re preparing for an enormous turnout,” Matt McCool of the Secret Service’s Washington Field office, was quoted on Monday by The Associated Press as saying. More than 18 miles of “anti-scale fencing” would be erected and “multiple drones” would be in the air, according to the officer. The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones.

Army officials have estimated around 200,000 attendees for the evening military parade, and McCool said he was prepared for “hundreds of thousands” of people.

A total of 175 magnetometers would be used at security checkpoints controlling access to the daytime birthday festival and the nighttime parade. Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith predicted major impacts to traffic and advised attendees to arrive early and consider forgoing cars for the Metro.

The military parade has been designated a National Special Security Event, similar to a presidential inauguration or state funeral. That status is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level coordination among D.C. officials, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Capitol Police and Washington’s National Guard contingent, with the Secret Service taking the lead.

The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months. But earlier this spring, Trump announced his intention to transform the event, which coincides with his 79th birthday, into a massive military parade complete with 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets.

MIL OSI China News –

June 10, 2025

MIL-OSI Economics: Basel III Capital Regulations – External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI)

Source: Reserve Bank of India

RBI/2025-26/50
DOR.STR.REC.29/21.06.008/2025-26

June 09, 2025

All Scheduled Commercial Banks
(including Small Finance Banks)
(excluding Local Area Banks, Payments Banks and Regional Rural Banks)

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Basel III Capital Regulations – External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI)

Please refer to paragraph 6.1.2 of the Master Circular No. DOR.CAP.REC.2/21.06.201/2025-26 dated April 1, 2025 on Basel III Capital Regulations, wherein the list of domestic credit rating agencies accredited for the purpose of risk weighting banks’ claims for capital adequacy purposes has been prescribed.

2. A reference is also invited to the circular DOR.STR.REC.26/21.06.008/2024-25 dated July 10, 2024 in terms of which, banks were permitted to use the ratings of Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited (BRIPL) for risk weighting their claims for capital adequacy purposes subject to the restrictions/limits specified therein.

3. On a review, it has been decided to remove the restrictions/ limits placed on the use of ratings of BRIPL by the banks.

4. All other provisions regarding external credit ratings stipulated in the Master Circular ibid remain unchanged.

Yours faithfully,

(Vaibhav Chaturvedi)
Chief General Manager

MIL OSI Economics –

June 10, 2025

MIL-OSI Economics: Orenburgneft’s Environment-Oriented Investments Exceed 3 Billion Roubles in 2024

Source: Rosneft

Headline: Orenburgneft’s Environment-Oriented Investments Exceed 3 Billion Roubles in 2024

Orenburgneft (part of Rosneft’s oil production complex) allocated more than 3 billion roubles to environmental protection activities in 2024, almost 13% more than in the previous year. Funds have been invested in implementing the gas programme, improving pipeline reliability, land remediation, improving the efficiency of industrial waste management, resource conservation, reforestation and water biodiversity conservation.

As part of the targeted gas programme, in 2024 the main technological equipment was installed at the gas compressor station of the Donetsk-Syrtsky field and the construction of gas pipelines for the Eastern group of fields is being completed. These measures will enable additional volumes of associated gas to be routed to the Buzuluk gas processing plant, where the gas is processed to commercial quality and a large fraction of the hydrocarbons — a valuable raw material for the petrochemical industry — is removed.

Investments in the implementation of the pipeline reliability improvement programme ensured the planned replacement of pipeline sections, repairs and pipe blocking. The stable operation of the industrial infrastructure is ensured, among other things, by diagnostics using modern equipment.

The enterprise uses technologies that conserve resources. Last year, Orenburgneft reduced its energy consumption by 6.8 million tonnes of fuel equivalent, helping to improve the environmental performance of its production. Key initiatives included optimising the operation of pumping equipment in reservoir pressure maintenance systems, upgrading downhole oil production equipment and redesigning onshore infrastructure.

The enterprise provides environmental monitoring of natural components. Air, water and soil are regularly sampled in areas where production activities take place. Methane emissions are monitored using advanced technology.

Orenburgneft uses modern technologies to dispose of production waste. The by-products obtained are reused in industrial applications. The enterprise’s volunteers help protect the environment. For several years, employees have organised the collection of used plastic and paper. Local students take part in environmental campaigns organised by oil companies. In 2024, more than 12 tonnes of secondary raw materials were sent for recycling through joint efforts.

Employees carry out voluntary clean-ups in the towns and cities where they work, along the banks of waterways, and organise community clean-up days. Over the past three years, oil workers have planted around 3,000 young pine, fir, lime and birch trees. Together with activists from the Movement of the Firsts, oil workers cleaned up the dendrological garden in the Buzuluk Forest National Park. Previously, with the help of the enterprise’s employees, a tourist trail was created in the reserve, which is integrated into the National Park’s network of ecological trails.

The enterprise’s environmental efforts have been repeatedly recognised at various levels. In the regional competition Economy Leader, Orenburgneft has been recognised as the winner in the category Environmental Responsibility Leader for over 10 years.

For reference:

Orenburgneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, is engaged in production operations in Orenburg, Samara and Saratov regions. Cumulative oil production of the enterprise exceeds 470 million tonnes of oil.

Department of Information and Advertising
Rosneft
April 9, 2025

MIL OSI Economics –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Speech: APAC energy capital assembly, Singapore
Source: New Zealand Government

I am delighted to be here in Singapore once again, to speak to you in my capacity as New Zealand’s Minister for Resources and Associate Minister for Energy.

If you haven’t heard of me before today, I’m proud to declare myself the champion of New Zealand’s petroleum and minerals sector.

I want to thank the Energy Council for asking me to speak with you today on the significant changes that have happened in my country and what is still changing now.

I’d also like to take a moment to acknowledge some of our growing oil and gas producers here today, such as Wai-Lid Wong from Matahio, who can attest to the positive changes I’m going to talk to you about this morning. And we also have Richard Beament from Horizon Oil here with long-term joint venture investments in our gas fields.

Thank you gentlemen for the part you are playing in continuing to grow this sector in New Zealand.

The coalition Government I am a part of is injecting life back into New Zealand’s economy through increased foreign investment, trade, regional development, and energy security.

The strategic and responsible development of New Zealand’s oil and gas resources presents us with a significant opportunity.

A productive oil and gas sector is critical to ensuring enough gas to keep our lights on, the economy growing, and keep de-industrialisation at bay. As a food bowl for Asia, I believe we need to keep investing in gas for all its uses.

New Zealand has a well-established, innovative and highly skilled oil and gas sector on the West of our North Island in the Taranaki region and we wish to keep it that way.

Our Government sees reliable ongoing gas production contributing to our national self-sufficiency and domestic resilience and a critical part of our export-led recovery.

Our gas reserves data tells us a concerning story, but introduces opportunity for the sector. I intend to leave no stone unturned to ensure all our current and future energy sector participants have the confidence and see the right market incentives to keep our businesses operating and growing.

I’ll be the first to reflect and acknowledge that confidence in our gas sector took a significant hit when the petroleum exploration ban was introduced in 2018. The ban impacted investment in our producing fields and barred new exploration.

As a country we have seen the impact of this. We have listened, we have heard, and we are changing it now.

This is why I am advancing two critical policies in legislation right now – to help secure our short and mid-term energy future as we transition towards more renewable energy forms.

I am reversing the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, and changing settings to make sure we are balancing Crown risk in decommissioning, while not disincentivising ongoing investment in our existing fields.

As part of this we are giving the oil and gas exploration market a new Open Market Application process meaning all acreage is open for application, and you’re not restricted to block offers.

I am pleased to tell you today that the Government has set aside $NZ200 million to become a cornerstone investor in new gas projects. These will be business case-based with a likely government stake of up to 15 per cent for each successful project.

This will make our Government a contracted partner in the project.

Having skin in the game as a cornerstone investor demonstrates our own commitment to meeting our future gas needs. If we really want to address the current reality that we rely on imported coal, not domestic gas, to get through winter, we must be prepared to stand alongside our petroleum sector as a co-investor.

We see this as a strong signal to make it clear to foreign investors, explorers, and producers, that New Zealand is leaving the past behind and wants investment in new petroleum opportunities.

But, although there is still much to do on the West Coast, we don’t want you to constrain your thinking to just that part of our beautiful country. New Zealand has frontier offshore basins off the east coast of both Islands. We have the East Coast basin, Canterbury basin, and the Great South Basin. For these there are existing open geodata sets with our regulators and companies such as SLB, here with us, who have still confidential commercial exploration data available to you.

As well as the $NZ200m, the Government has announced a raft of other changes that will get New Zealand back on track and open for business.

What we have seen peak interest around the world is our innovative Fast-track Approvals Act passed last year. This provides an approvals pathway for cutting red tape, but not cutting corners, and projects of regional or national significance to be approved in months, not years.

In our recent Budget, we announced Investment Boost – a 20 percent first-year capital depreciation policy, this is in addition to normal accounting depreciation standards and is in effect now.

This supports our already attractive tax expense claim, depreciation, and royalty rebate regime settings supporting you run your business, and contributing to the cost of decommissioning at project end of life.

We are overhauling our Overseas Investment Act. The reforms shift the Act’s focus to emphasise economic benefits, replacing the presumption that foreign investment is a privilege. Most applications—excluding residential land, farmland, and fishing quota—will now be processed within 15 days.

We are in the process of entirely rewriting our Resource Management legislation. Introduced in 1991 it was world-leading for the time in managing our natural and physical resources and replaced over 50 previous pieces of legislation. However, after 34 years this legislation is no longer fit for purpose and we appreciate how it’s holding back investment and development in every sector, including residential building. We will see this reform completed in this term of government, and until then the Fast Track Approvals Act supports projects get started today.

I am also interested in maximising the potential of our geothermal and natural hydrogen resources.

New Zealand has long been a user of geothermal energy. It currently makes up nearly 20 percent of our electricity generation. But we see so much more potential with new technology in super-critical and other next-generation geothermal.

We have ringfenced $NZ60 million for pre-feasibility of next generation geothermal and we expect to see exploratory drilling next year.

Unlike many renewable energy sources, geothermal energy provides critical continuous baseload energy and electricity generation. This is particularly important in the context of our energy security challenges.

We will have a geothermal strategy completed by the end of this year.

We are blessed with a geology permissive to the production of induced Orange Hydrogen, as well as natural ‘White’ Hydrogen prospects. Right now, regulators are undertaking public consultation on our country’s hydrogen policy settings, and we expect to see considerations for Cabinet later this year.

So, as you’ve heard the changes our Government has introduced or that are passing through Parliament right now will:
- reverse the oil and gas exploration ban entirely
- start a new open market application process for any acreage you see as prospective
- address petroleum decommissioning requirements to align us with best practice
- share risk through government co-investment through our $NZ200m fund
- make for fast project consent approvals through our Fast-track Approvals process
- give overseas investors certainty, whenever there is an investment that invokes the Overseas Investment Act, a decision being made in weeks.
Travelling with me I have officials from New Zealand and our chief exploration and production geologist, and for those of you I’m not already scheduled to see I’d encourage you to introduce yourselves or talk with my team.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s remarks at the Summit “Africa for the Ocean” [All-French, as delivered; scroll down for All-English]

Source: United Nations

Votre Altesse Royale, Princesse Lalla Hasnaa du Royaume du Maroc,
Monsieur le Président de la République française, Cher Emmanuel Macron,
Excellences, Chers amis,

Je vous remercie d’organiser ce sommet afin de réaffirmer un message clair :

Les destins de l’Afrique et de l’océan sont profondément liés.

Pour des millions de personnes à travers le continent, l’océan est source de vie, d’identité, de promesses.

Avec plus de 30 000 kilomètres de littoral et 38 États côtiers, l’Afrique est une puissance maritime.

Son avenir s’écrit aussi dans ses eaux.

Mais cette richesse bleue est trop souvent sous-évaluée et surexploitée.

L’insécurité maritime menace la paix.

La pollution empoisonne les côtes et les écosystèmes.

Et la crise climatique – dont l’Afrique n’est pourtant pas responsable – ravage ses rivages.

Face à ces défis, l’Afrique propose, innove, agit.

Elle forge des solutions qui inspirent bien au-delà du continent.

Nous le voyons dans des projets ambitieux de coopération régionale – ou encore la Stratégie intégrée de l’Union africaine pour les mers et les océans à l’horizon 2050.

Et nous le voyons dans les négociations internationales, où l’Afrique fait entendre sa voix avec force.

L’Accord sur la diversité biologique marine des zones ne relevant pas de la juridiction nationale – l’Accord BBNJ – en est un exemple.

Le Groupe africain a été un acteur central des négociations, obtenant des engagements sur le partage équitable des avantages, le renforcement des capacités et le transfert de technologies marines.

À ce jour, 28 États africains ont signé l’Accord. Trois l’ont déjà ratifié. Peut-être que ces chiffres sont déjà surpassés par les chiffres que le Président de la République a annoncé ce matin.

Et plusieurs autres prévoient de le faire aujourd’hui, lors de la cérémonie spéciale sur les traités pour l’Accord BBNJ.

C’est un signal fort : l’Afrique est au cœur de l’action pour les océans.

Mais pour libérer pleinement ce potentiel, il faut un sursaut politique et financier.

Cela commence par renforcer la sécurité maritime face aux menaces transnationales – piraterie, trafic d’armes et d’êtres humains et crime organisé.

Les Nations Unies continueront de soutenir les efforts africains, notamment à travers l’Architecture de Yaoundé, qui a contribué à une baisse significative des actes de piraterie dans le golfe de Guinée.

Cela passe également par une gouvernance océanique fondée sur la science et la coopération.

Il faut lutter contre la pollution et la pêche illicite, non déclarée et non réglementée, renforcer les capacités de collecte et de partage des données océanographiques, et protéger la biodiversité.

Nous devons valoriser les énergies marines renouvelables, l’aquaculture et le tourisme durable, autant de sources d’emplois décents – notamment pour les jeunes et les femmes.

Mais ces efforts ne porteront pleinement leurs fruits que si l’Afrique est connectée – dans ses territoires et avec le reste du monde.

Les océans africains doivent devenir de véritables corridors d’intégration – reliant pays côtiers et enclavés, au service d’une croissance partagée.

Cela suppose des investissements concrets dans les infrastructures maritimes et portuaires : des ports interconnectés, résilients face au changement climatique, capables de répondre aux besoins d’un commerce en croissance.

Les États sans littoral doivent être reliés aux chaînes de valeur mondiales.

Aucun pays ne doit rester à quai.

Mais pour que cette transformation soit durable et équitable, nous devons mettre fin aux injustices historiques.

Ces injustices se traduisent aussi dans l’océan : les investissements ont trop souvent contourné l’Afrique, alors même que ses ressources marines étaient exploitées par d’autres.

Le Pacte pour l’Avenir, adopté en septembre dernier, appelle à une réforme profond des institutions financières mondiales – afin qu’elles soient au service de tous.

Il est temps que les pays en développement soient équitablement représentés dans ces institutions. D’ailleurs, comme au Conseil de Sécurité des Nations-Unies.

Nous avons besoin d’un système qui reflète les réalités du XXIème siècle – un système plus juste, plus solidaire et plus efficace.

C’est pourquoi j’appelle les institutions financières, les bailleurs bilatéraux et multilatéraux, les banques de développement et le secteur privé à répondre présent – y compris lors de la quatrième Conférence internationale sur le financement du développement à Séville.

Chers amis,

De Dakar à Djibouti, du Cap à Casablanca, l’Afrique prouve qu’on peut conjuguer prospérité et préservation.

Le monde a besoin de l’Afrique pour répondre aux défis de l’océan.

Et l’océan a besoin d’une Afrique qui trace sa voie et navigue résolument vers l’avenir.

Je vous remercie.

***
[All-English]

Your Royal Highness, Princess Lalla Hasnaa of the Kingdom of Morocco,
Mr. President of the French Republic, Dear Emmanuel Macron,
Excellencies, Dear friends,

Thank you for organizing this summit to reaffirm a clear message:

The destinies of Africa and the ocean are deeply linked.

For millions of people across the continent, the ocean is a source of life, identity and promise.

With over 30,000 kilometers of coastline and 38 coastal states, Africa is a maritime powerhouse.

Its future is also written in its waters.

But this blue wealth is too often undervalued and overexploited.

Maritime insecurity threatens peace.

Pollution poisons coasts and ecosystems.

And the climate crisis – that Africa did little to cause – is ravaging its shores.

In the face of these challenges, Africa is proposing, innovating, taking action.

It is forging solutions that inspire far beyond the continent.

We see this in ambitious regional cooperation projects – and in the African Union’s 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy for the Seas and Oceans to 2050.

And we see it in international negotiations, where Africa is making its voice heard loud and clear.

The Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction – the BBNJ Agreement – is one example.

The African Group was a key player in the negotiations, securing commitments on equitable benefit sharing, capacity building and marine technology transfer.

To date, 28 African states have signed the Agreement. Three have already ratified it. These numbers have increased with the news that President Macron shared with us earlier today.

And several more are planning to do so today, at the special treaty ceremony for the BBNJ Agreement.

This is a strong signal: Africa is at the heart of ocean action.

But to fully unleash this potential, we need a political and financial surge.

This begins by strengthening maritime security in the face of transnational threats – piracy, arms and human trafficking and organized crime.

The United Nations will continue to support African efforts, notably through the Yaoundé Architecture, which has contributed to a significant decline in acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

This also requires ocean governance based on science and cooperation.

We must combat pollution and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, strengthen capacities for collecting and sharing oceanographic data, and protect biodiversity.

We must promote renewable marine energies, sustainable aquaculture and tourism – all of which create decent jobs, in particular for young people and women.

But these efforts will only bear fruit if Africa is connected — within its territories and with the rest of the world.

Africa’s oceans must become integration corridors – linking coastal and landlocked countries, for a shared growth.

This calls for concrete investments in maritime infrastructures – interconnected ports, resilient to climate change, capable of meeting the needs of growing trade.

Landlocked states must be connected to global value chains.

No country should be left behind.

But for this transformation to be sustainable and equitable, we must put an end to historical injustices.

These injustices are also reflected in the ocean: investments have too often bypassed Africa, even as its marine resources were exploited by others.

The Pact for the Future, adopted last September, calls for deep reforms of global financial institutions – so that they serve everyone.

It is time for developing countries to be fairly represented in these institutions.

We need a system that reflects the realities of the 21st century – a system that is more just, more supportive, and more effective. As is the the case with the United Nations Security Council.

That is why I call on financial institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, development banks and the private sector to step up – including at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville.

Dear friends,

From Dakar to Djibouti, from Cape Town to Casablanca, Africa is proving that prosperity and preservation can go hand in hand.

The world needs Africa to meet the ocean’s challenges.

And the ocean needs an Africa that charts its own course and navigates decisively toward the future.

Thank you.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: UNFPA and Partners Drive Strategic Shift in Women’s Health with Launch of Global WomenX Hub in Nairobi

Source: United Nations Population Fund

Nairobi, 9 June 2025 – UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, is proud to launch its WomenX Collective (WomenX) Nairobi Hub on 9 June 2025 at the Aga Khan University Auditorium.

WomenX supports locally led initiatives that develop and scale practical solutions – such as new technologies, service delivery models, and financing tools – to close gaps in care for women and girls. They are creating a network across Africa and beyond to improve women’s health by bringing together governments, health experts, innovators, and funders. Building on the October 2024 launch of its Berlin Hub, the new Nairobi Hub marks a major step in extending WomenX’s impact across the continent and globally.

The Nairobi Hub is being launched in partnership with the Government of Kenya, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and Aga Khan University. Together, these partners aim to build a global innovation hub based in Africa – advancing women’s health innovation and accelerating progress toward gender equity in health systems worldwide.

A Strategic Investment in Women’s Health

“Every minute, at least two women die globally from breast or cervical cancer, or from pregnancy-related complications due to inequitable access to healthcare,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNFPA. “Through the WomenX Collective Nairobi Hub, UNFPA and our partners aim to invest in and scale transformative solutions to close critical health gaps and ensure that women and girls everywhere can access the care they deserve — and that is their right.”

With initial funding commitments from international donors – including the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Organon & Co., among others – the WomenX Collective aims to mobilize $100 million in catalytic investment by 2030 and leverage financing to scale innovative solutions. This programme has the potential to avert at least 10.4 million unintended pregnancies, 3.2 million unsafe abortions, and 21,000 maternal deaths. Through its hubs and partnerships, the programme is uniquely positioned to bring together experience and technical expertise from across countries and regions, as well as modern technologies and sustainable financing.

Africa as an Innovation Powerhouse
The Nairobi Hub will serve as a platform to unite research, scalable technologies, and innovative financing strategies across Africa. With its proximity to a thriving ecosystem of health and tech innovators, Nairobi plays a central role in delivering sustainable impact for women and girls across the continent and beyond

A Call to Action
The inauguration of the WomenX Nairobi Hub will gather funders, regional stakeholders, health leaders, and innovators to ignite bold commitments, amplify evidence-based investment strategies, and catalyze new collaborations. It will issue a clarion call for governments, philanthropies, and the private sector to prioritize women’s health – not just as a moral imperative, but as a cornerstone of social and economic progress.

“The Nairobi Hub is more than a location,” said Dr. Nigina Muntean, Chief of Innovation and Transformation Branch at UNFPA. “In close collaboration with the WomenX Berlin Hub, it’s a commitment to drive lasting change through the power of women-centered innovation. Every dollar invested today unlocks exponential returns for future generations.”

Find out more about the WomenX Collective here:
https://www.unfpa.org/womenx-collective

Contact UNFPA: media@unfpa.org

——-

Quotes of our partners:

“The National Council for Population and Development, a Kenyan government agency, is proud to support the launch of the WomenX Hub in Nairobi with our partners. This programme supports our mission to improve lives and underscores the importance of empowering women and girls as a foundation for sustainable development,” said Dr. Mohamed Sheikh , Director General NCPD & Inaugural Member of the WomenX Collective Steering Group.

“At Africa CDC, we recognise that the health of women and girls is the backbone of strong public health systems and resilient communities. The WomenX Nairobi Hub is a timely and transformative platform that places African leadership and innovation at the centre of advancing women’s health. This initiative is a call to action for all of us to invest boldly, collaborate deeply, and ensure that women and girls are not only beneficiaries but drivers of Africa’s health security and progress.” said Dr. Mazyanga Lucy Mazaba, Regional Director, Africa CDC Eastern Africa RCC.

“At Aga Khan University (AKU), we believe that the true value of knowledge lies not only in its creation but in its ability to transform lives. Our partnership with UNFPA, the Ministry of Health Kenya, and Africa CDC, in launching the WomenX Collective Africa Hub reflects our unwavering commitment to women’s and girls’ health. By contributing our research expertise and local insights, we aim to co-create and scale evidence-based, sustainable solutions that deliver real impact to the communities we serve. It is a privilege for AKU to host this launch and to stand alongside global and regional leaders in driving meaningful change in maternal and reproductive health across East Africa and beyond.”

About UNFPA:

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realization of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning, quality maternal health care and comprehensive sexuality Education.

About the Government of Kenya:
The Government of Kenya is committed to improving the health and well-being of its population through inclusive, equitable, and sustainable policies. With a strong emphasis on universal health coverage and gender equality, Kenya continues to invest in healthcare infrastructure, innovation, and strategic partnerships to ensure accessible and quality care for women and girls across the country.

About Africa CDC:
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a continental autonomous public health agency of the African Union that supports member states in efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, and prevention and control of diseases.

About Aga Khan University (AKU):
Aga Khan University (AKU) is an international institution of higher learning and research with campuses and programs in South and Central Asia, East Africa, and the United Kingdom. Committed to the highest standards in medical education, research, and patient care, AKU aims to improve quality of life in the developing world by investing in human capital, generating knowledge, and fostering innovation that addresses the most pressing health challenges.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 9 June 2025 Statement Fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox 2024 – Temporary recommendations
Source: World Health Organisation

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), following the fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox 2024, held on 5 June 2025, from 12:00 to 17:00 CEST, concurs with its advice that the event continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern and, considering the advice of the Committee, he is hereby issuing a revised set of temporary recommendations.

The WHO Director-General expresses his most sincere gratitude to the Chair, Members, and Advisors of the Committee. The proceeding of the fourth meeting of the Committee will be shared with States Parties to the IHR and published in the coming days.

———

Temporary recommendations

These temporary recommendations are issued to States Parties experiencing the transmission of monkeypox virus (MPXV), including, but not limited to, those where there is sustained community transmission, and where there are clusters of cases or sporadic travel-related cases of MPXV clade Ib.

They are intended to be implemented by those States Parties in addition to the current standing recommendations for mpox, valid until 20 August 2025.

In the context of the global efforts to prevent and control the spread of mpox disease outlined in the WHO Strategic framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox: 2024–2027, the aforementioned standing recommendations apply to all States Parties.

All current WHO interim technical guidance can be accessed on this page of the WHO website. WHO evidence-based guidance has been and will continue to be updated in line with the evolving situation, updated scientific evidence, and WHO risk assessment to support States Parties in the implementation of the WHO Strategic Framework for enhancing mpox prevention and control.

Pursuant to Article 3 Principle of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the implementation of these temporary recommendations, as well as of the standing recommendations for mpox, by States Parties shall be with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons, in line with the principles set out in Article 3 of the IHR.

———

Note: The text in backets next to each temporary recommendation indicates the status with respect to the set of temporary recommendations issued on 27 November 2024.

Emergency coordination
- Secure political commitment and engagement to intensify mpox prevention and response efforts, including resource allocation, for the lowest administrative and operational level reporting mpox cases (hotspots) in the prior 4 weeks. (EXTENDED)
- Establish or enhance coordination among all partners and stakeholders engaged in or supporting mpox prevention and response activities through cooperation, including by introducing accountability mechanisms. (EXTENDED)
- Establish a mechanism to monitor the effectiveness of mpox prevention and response measures implemented at lower administrative levels, so that such measures can be adjusted as needed. (EXTENDED)
- Engage with and strengthen partner organizations for collaboration and support for mpox response, including humanitarian actors in contexts with insecurity, humanitarian corridors, or areas with internal or refugee population displacements and in hosting communities in insecure areas. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
Collaborative surveillance
- Enhance mpox surveillance, by increasing the sensitivity of the approaches adopted and ensuring comprehensive geographic coverage. (EXTENDED)
- Expand access to accurate, affordable and available diagnostics to test for mpox, including through strengthening arrangements for the transport of samples, the decentralization of testing and arrangements to differentiate MPXV clades and conduct genomic sequencing. (EXTENDED)
- Identify, monitor and support the contacts of persons with suspected, clinically-diagnosed or laboratory-confirmed mpox to prevent onward transmission. (EXTENDED)
- Scale up efforts to thoroughly investigate cases and outbreaks of mpox to better understand the modes of transmission and transmission risk, and prevent its onward transmission to contacts and communities. (EXTENDED)
- Report to WHO suspected, probable and confirmed cases of mpox in a timely manner and on a weekly basis. (EXTENDED)
Safe and scalable clinical care
- Provide clinical, nutritional and psychosocial support for patients with mpox, including, where appropriate and possible, isolation in care centres and/or access to materials and guidance for home-based care. (EXTENDED)
- Develop and implement a plan to expand access to optimized supportive clinical care for all patients with mpox, including children, pregnant women, and persons living with HIV, recognising the association of mpox-related morbidity and mortality in persons living with HIV with untreated or advanced HIV. This includes prompt identification and effective management of endemic co-infections, such as malaria, chickenpox or measles. This also includes offering HIV tests to adult patients who do not know their HIV status and to children as appropriate, testing and treatment for other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among cases linked to sexual contact and referral to HIV/STIs treatment and care services when indicated. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
- Strengthen health and care workers’ capacity, knowledge and skills in clinical and infection and prevention and control pathways – screening, diagnosis, isolation, environmental cleaning, discharge of patients, including post discharge follow up for suspected and confirmed mpox –, and provide health and care workers with personal protective equipment (PPE). (EXTENDED)
- Strengthen adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and availability of water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and waste management services and infrastructure in healthcare facilities and treatment and care centers to ensure quality healthcare service delivery and protection of health and care workers, caregivers and patients. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
International traffic
- Establish or strengthen cross-border collaboration arrangements for surveillance, management and support of suspected cases and contacts of mpox, and for the provision of information to travellers and conveyance operators, without resorting to travel and trade restrictions that unnecessarily impact local, regional or national economies. (EXTENDED)
Vaccination
- Continue to prepare for and implement targeted use of vaccine for “Phase 1-Stop the outbreak” (as defined in the WHO Mpox global strategic preparedness and response plan (2025)) through the identification of the lowest administrative level reporting cases (hotspots) and targeting those groups at high risk of mpox exposure to interrupt sustained community transmission. (EXTENDED, with rephrasing and updated reference)
- Develop and implement plans for vaccination in the context of an integrated response at the lowest administrative level reporting cases for people at high risk of exposure (e.g., contacts of cases of all ages, health and frontline workers, and other groups at risk such as those with multiple sexual partners and sex workers in endemic and non-endemic areas). This entails a targeted integrated response, including active surveillance and contact tracing; agile adaptation of immunization strategies and plans to the local context including dose-sparing options (single dose/fractional dosing) in the context of limited availability of vaccines; proactive community engagement to generate and sustain demand for and trust in vaccination; close monitoring of mpox vaccination activities, coverage and adverse events following immunization (AEFI); assessment of vaccine effectiveness; and documenting lessons learned and their implementation. (MODIFIED)
Community protection
- Strengthen risk communication and community engagement in affected communities and local workforces for outbreak prevention, response and vaccination strategies, particularly at the lowest administrative levels reporting cases. Key actions include training, mapping high risk and vulnerable populations for tailored interventions, data driven approaches for social listening, community feedback and dialogue, and managing misinformation. This entails, inter alia, communicating effectively the uncertainties and new information regarding the natural history of mpox and modes of transmission, the effectiveness of mpox vaccines and duration of protection following vaccination, and about any clinical trials to which the local population may have access, as appropriate. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
- Address stigma and discrimination of any kind via meaningful community engagement, particularly in health services and during risk communication activities, and through engagement with civil society groups, such as HIV networks. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
- Promote and implement IPC measures and basic WASH and waste management services in household settings, congregate settings (e.g. prisons, internally displaced persons and refugee camps, etc.), schools, points of entry and cross border transit areas. (EXTENDED)
Governance and financing
- Galvanize and scale up national funding and explore external opportunities for targeted funding of mpox prevention, readiness and response activities, advocate for release of available funds and take steps to identify potential new funding partners for emergency response. (EXTENDED)
- Optimize the use of resources, in the context of global and local external funding shortfalls, by allocating available resources to the implementation of core mpox response interventions needed in the medium term; maximizing their cost-efficiency through cross-programmatic synergetic approaches; and by engaging partners in resource-sharing arrangements to maintain the delivery of essential health services. (NEW)
- Integrate mpox prevention and response measures, including enhanced surveillance, in existing programmes for prevention, control and treatment of other endemic diseases – especially HIV, as well as STIs, malaria, tuberculosis and other vaccine-preventable diseases, and/or non-communicable diseases – striving to identify activities which will benefit the programmes involved and lead to better health outcomes overall. (EXTENDED)
Addressing research gaps
- Invest in field studies to better understand animal hosts and zoonotic spillover in the areas where MPXV is circulating, in coordination with the animal health sector and One Health partners. (EXTENDED)
- Strengthen and expand use of genomic sequencing to characterize the epidemiology and chains of transmission of MPXV to better inform control measures, particularly regarding the emergence and circulation of new virus strains. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
Reporting on the implementation of temporary recommendations
- Report quarterly to WHO on the status of, and challenges related to, the implementation of these temporary recommendations, using a revised standardized tool and channels that will be made available by WHO, also allowing for the monitoring of progress and the identification of gaps of the national response. (EXTENDED, with re-phrasing)
MIL OSI United Nations News –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: MediPharm Labs’ Founder-CEO Pat McCutcheon Throws his Support behind Apollo Capital as Dissident

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

McCutcheon Agrees with Apollo that Urgent Change is Needed, including Complete Turnover at the Board Level after Years of Value-Destruction

Apollo Capital Announces Filing of Circular Addendum to
Reflect McCutcheon’s Endorsement

SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO VOTE THE GOLD CARD “FOR” APOLLO CAPITAL’S SIX DIRECTOR NOMINEES AND NOT VOTE MEDIPHARM’s GREEN CARD

TORONTO, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo Technology Capital Corporation (“Apollo Capital”), one of MediPharm Lab Corp’s (TSX: LABS) (OTCQB: MEDIF) (FSE: MLZ) (“MediPharm”, or the “Company”) largest investors, is very pleased to announce that Pat McCutcheon, a founder, former CEO, director and Chairman of MediPharm, has joined Apollo Capital as a co-dissident in its battle to bring integrity, transparency and prosperity back to MediPharm’s long-suffering shareholders.

Pat McCutcheon stated: “I have been observing Apollo’s activist campaign from the sidelines, and I can no longer just sit by and watch. I still feel a deep responsibility to the Company, its employees and the shareholders who have invested millions into the vision of MediPharm being the global leader in medical cannabis and cannabis derived pharmaceutical products. Over the past three years, the share price has collapsed while the senior management team has been paid over $10,000,000, a compensation program that should never have been approved by the independent Directors. Management has failed to capitalize on the medical cannabis opportunity and taken the Company away from its founding vision by entering the recreational market, taking on dilutive M&A transactions and recently announcing a return to cultivating cannabis. This is not the MediPharm investors have supported.

I have gotten to know Regan McGee & his team of proposed directors. The directors have a broad range of relevant experience including medical cannabis experience, turn-around experience, and extensive capital markets experience. Regan has demonstrated himself to be a skilled investor who has been successful in both start-ups and turn-around projects. He’s also overcome great personal adversity, showing that he never backs down from a fight. In terms of the negative statements from MediPharm about Regan, the ones that I have been able to independently verify have turned out to be simply fabrications that appear to be part of MediPharm’s campaign to discredit and defame Regan. I believe the attacks on Regan & his business record are not factual and more importantly hide the real issues that shareholders should be considering such as compensation, dilution & the share price. On each of these fronts, I believe the Apollo directors are a better choice than the directors put forward by the current Board.

We need to focus on the real issues – who is going to drive the stock price higher. Apollo only makes money when the stock price goes up, as all the shareholders do together. This is why I support the Apollo team. I’m asking shareholders to vote GOLD at this year’s AGM. We do not have time to wait.”

Apollo notes that its business model with MediPharm is highly aligned with shareholders. As an activist investor, it looks to make investments in poorly managed companies where new governance and management can work to improve the share price for Apollo and all other investors. Apollo’s business model is to buy stock in target companies and work with frustrated shareholders to secure the majority of votes needed to replace board members and executives with ones focused on share value growth. Apollo does not “take over” or otherwise control its target companies, rather it appoints directors who recognize their legal fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of all common shareholders.

Regan McGee of Apollo Capital commented: “We are immensely proud to welcome Pat McCutcheon as a co-dissident. Pat is responsible for helping to build MediPharm into an absolute powerhouse in the cannabis industry, and I can only imagine how difficult it has been for him to watch the Company he loves so much be mismanaged virtually to the point of insolvency.

Pat and I want exactly the same thing – to restore value to MediPharm shareholders and to usher in a new era of profitability, good governance and most importantly, accountability. We both believe that if we all come together and take urgent action, the future for the MediPharm will be bright.”

In connection with the addition of Mr. McCutcheon as a “dissident” within the meaning of applicable corporate laws, an addendum dated June 4, 2025 (the “Addendum”) to the dissident information circular dated May 15, 2025 (the “Circular”) has been filed on www.SEDARPLUS.ca under MediPharm’s profile. Shareholders are encouraged to read the Circular, as supplemented and amended by the Addendum.

Apollo Capital’s strategic five-pillar plan for MediPharm has been made available in detail at www.curemedipharm.com. With shareholder support, we can turn MediPharm around and transform it into the world’s leading medical cannabis company.

Apollo Capital urges shareholders to vote for change by voting the GOLD CARD by June 12, 2025. Shareholders are urged NOT to sign or return the green proxy cards sent by the Company.

Contacts

For Shareholders:
Carson Proxy
North American Toll-Free Phone: 1-800-530-5189
Local or Text Message: 416-751-2066 (collect calls accepted)
E: info@carsonproxy.com

For Media:
media@curemedipharm.com

This solicitation is being made by and on behalf of the Concerned Shareholder, who, as of the date of this Circular, beneficially owns or controls, directly and indirectly through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nobul Technologies Inc., 12,491,500 common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”), representing approximately 3% of the total Common Shares issued and outstanding, and not by the management of the Company (“Management”).

Legal Disclosures

Information in Support of Public Broadcast Exemption under Canadian Law

In connection with the annual general and special meeting (the “Annual Meeting”) of shareholders of MediPharm, Apollo Capital has filed an amended and restated dissident information circular dated May 15, 2025 (the “Circular”), as amended and supplemented by an addendum to the Circular subsequently filed by Apollo Capital and Patrick McCutcheon (together, the “Concerned Stakeholder”) dated June 4, 2025 (the “Addendum” and together with the Circular, the “Amended Circular”), each in compliance with applicable corporate and securities laws. The Concerned Stakeholder has provided in, or incorporated by reference into, this press release the disclosure required under section 9.2(4) of NI 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations (“NI 51-102”) and the corresponding exemption under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario), and has filed the Amended Circular, available under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Amended Circular contains disclosure prescribed by applicable corporate law and disclosure required under section 9.2(6) of NI 51-102 in respect of the Concerned Stakeholder’s director nominees, in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations. The Amended Circular is hereby incorporated by reference into this press release and is available under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The registered office of the Company is 151 John Street, Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4N 2L1.

SHAREHOLDERS OF MEDIPHARM ARE URGED TO READ THE AMENDED CIRCULAR CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and shareholders are able to obtain free copies of the Amended Circular and any amendments or supplements thereto and further proxy circulars at no charge under MediPharm’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. In addition, shareholders are also able to obtain free copies of the Amended Circular and other relevant documents by contacting the Concerned Stakeholder’s proxy solicitor, Carson Proxy Advisors Ltd. (“Carson Proxy”) at 1-800-530-5189, local (collect outside North America): 416-751-2066 or by email at info@carsonproxy.com.

Proxies may be revoked in accordance with subsection 110(4) of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) by a registered shareholder of Company shares: (a) by completing and signing a valid proxy bearing a later date and returning it in accordance with the instructions contained in the accompanying form of proxy; (b) by depositing an instrument in writing executed by the shareholder or by the shareholder’s attorney authorized in writing; (c) by transmitting by telephonic or electronic means a revocation that is signed by electronic signature in accordance with applicable law, as the case may be: (i) at the registered office of the Company at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting is to be held, or (ii) with the chair of the Annual Meeting on the day of the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting; or (d) in any other manner permitted by law. In addition, proxies may be revoked by a non-registered holder of Company shares at any time by written notice to the intermediary in accordance with the instructions given to the non-registered holder by its intermediary. It should be noted that revocation of proxies or voting instructions by a non-registered holder can take several days or even longer to complete and, accordingly, any such revocation should be completed well in advance of the deadline prescribed in the form of proxy or voting instruction form to ensure it is given effect in respect of the Annual Meeting.

The costs incurred in the preparation and mailing of any circular or proxy solicitation by the Concerned Stakeholder and any other participants named herein will be borne directly and indirectly by Apollo Capital. However, to the extent permitted under applicable law, Apollo Capital intends to seek reimbursement from the Company of all expenses incurred in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the election of its director nominees at the Annual Meeting.

This press release and any solicitation made by the Concerned Stakeholder is, or will be, as applicable, made by such parties, and not by or on behalf of the management of the Company. Proxies may be solicited by proxy circular, mail, telephone, email or other electronic means, as well as by newspaper or other media advertising and in person by managers, directors, officers and employees of the Concerned Stakeholder who will not be specifically remunerated therefor. In addition, the Concerned Stakeholder may solicit proxies by way of public broadcast, including press release, speech or publication and any other manner permitted under applicable Canadian laws, and may engage the services of one or more agents and authorize other persons to assist it in soliciting proxies on their behalf.

Apollo Capital has entered into an agreement with Carson Proxy for solicitation and advisory services in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Concerned Stakeholder for the Annual Meeting, for which Carson Proxy will receive a fee from Apollo Capital not to exceed $250,000, together with reimbursement for reasonable and out-of-pocket expenses. Apollo Capital has also engaged Gasthalter & Co. LP (“G&Co”) to act as communications consultant to provide the Concerned Stakeholder with certain communications, public relations and related services, for which G&Co will receive, from Apollo Capital, a minimum fee of US$75,000 in addition to a performance fee of US$250,000 in the event that the Concerned Stakeholder’s nominees make up a majority of the board of directors of MediPharm (the “Board”) following the Annual Meeting, plus excess fees, related costs and expenses.

No member of the Concerned Stakeholder nor any of their respective associates or affiliates has or has had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction since the beginning of the Company’s last completed financial year or in any proposed transaction that has materially affected or will or would materially affect the Company or any of the Company’s affiliates. No member of the Concerned Stakeholder nor any of their respective associates or affiliates has any material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at the Annual Meeting, other than setting the number of directors and the election of directors to the Board.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward‐looking statements. All statements contained in this filing that are not clearly historical in nature or that necessarily depend on future events are forward‐looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward‐looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of the Concerned Stakeholder and currently available information. They are not guarantees of future performance, involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. All forward-looking statements contained herein are made only as of the date hereof and the Concerned Stakeholder disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which the Concerned Stakeholder hereafter becomes aware, except as required by applicable law.

Hashtags: #ShareholderActivism #CorporateGovernance #InvestorProtection #Investor Alert #Investor Fraud #FinancialRegulation #CorporateCrime #FinancialCrime #HomelandSecurity #DHS #OpioidCrisis #OpioidEpidemic #OpioidLitigation #OpioidVictims #BMO #DEA #ONDCP

The MIL Network –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: TWFG’s Gordy Bunch to speak at Morgan Stanley US Financials Conference

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TWFG, Inc. (“TWFG”, the “Company”), a high-growth insurance distribution company, announced today that its Founder and CEO, Gordy Bunch, will be giving a fireside chat at the Morgan Stanly US Financials Conference on Wednesday, June 11^th at 4 p.m., EDT.

A live webcast will be available the day of the conference, and a replay video will be made available on TWFG.com in the Investors section under “News and Events.”

The webcast may be accessed using this Link.

About TWFG

TWFG (NASDAQ: TWFG) is a leading independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance in the United States, representing hundreds of insurance carriers. The Company provides innovative insurance solutions through its network of agents, carriers, and technology-driven distribution models. For more information, visit www.twfg.com.

For more information, please contact:

Investor Contact:
Gene Padgett
TWFG, Inc. – Chief Accounting Officer
Email: gene.padgett@twfg.com

PR Contact:
Alex Bunch
TWFG, Inc. – Chief Marketing Officer
E-mail: alex@twfg.com

The MIL Network –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: Five Star Bank expands Bay Area presence with new office in Walnut Creek

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Five Star Bancorp (Nasdaq: FSBC) (“Five Star” or the “Company”), a holding company that operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Five Star Bank, today announced the planned opening of its newest office in Walnut Creek, marking a significant expansion of its Bay Area footprint.

“Fueled by post-pandemic migration and a vibrant small business sector, Walnut Creek has experienced steady commercial growth and rising demand for high-tech and high-touch financial services,” said Executive Vice President / San Francisco Bay Area President, DJ Kurtze. “With existing client relationships in Walnut Creek — including local favorites like in-coming Original Joe’s and Calicraft Brewing Co., — Five Star Bank is seizing the opportunity to provide responsive banking solutions to more East Bay clients.”

Five Star Bank’s Walnut Creek expansion builds on its broader growth strategy, following the opening of its San Francisco office in September 2024, and demonstrates its commitment to strategic investment in Northern California. The approximately 4,128 square foot, full-service branch will be located at The Plaza at Walnut Creek at 1333 North California Boulevard, Suite 510, in Walnut Creek. The new Walnut Creek office, which is expected to open in the third quarter of 2025, allows Five Star Bank to better serve its growing portfolio of clients in the region, ranging from family-owned businesses to professional service firms shaping the local economy. The space will also accommodate the bank’s growing team, with approximately one-third of its Bay Area employees already based in the East Bay.

“We are very pleased to open a new office in Walnut Creek which serves as a natural extension of Five Star Bank’s commitment to the dynamic communities of the East Bay,” said Five Star Bank President and Chief Executive Officer, James Beckwith. “Walnut Creek’s thriving business landscape, highly skilled workforce and strong community values make it an ideal location for us to expand our presence. This office enhances our ability to deliver personalized, relationship-based banking while supporting continued growth for our clients and our team. We’re proud to invest in a city that reflects the future of the Bay Area.”

About Five Star Bancorp
Five Star Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California. Five Star operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Five Star Bank. The bank has eight branches in Northern California. For more information, visit https://www.fivestarbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent plans, estimates, objectives, goals, guidelines, expectations, intentions, projections, and statements of the Company’s beliefs concerning future events, business plans, objectives, expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based. Forward-looking statements include without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance, or achievements, and are typically identified with words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “aim,” “intend,” “plan,” or words or phrases of similar meaning. The Company cautions that the forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company’s expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond the Company’s control. Such forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions (some of which may be beyond the Company’s control) and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which change over time, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict their occurrence or how they will affect the Company. If one or more of the factors affecting the Company’s forward-looking information and statements proves incorrect, then the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking information and statements contained in this press release. Therefore, the Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking information and statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 under the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

The Company disclaims any duty to revise or update the forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting the forward-looking statements, except as specifically required by law.

Investor contact
Heather C. Luck, Chief Financial Officer
Five Star Bancorp
(916) 626-5008
hluck@fivestarbank.com

Media contact
Shelley R. Wetton, Chief Marketing Officer
Five Star Bancorp
(916) 284-7827
swetton@fivestarbank.com

The MIL Network –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Five Men Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Global Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy Resulting in Theft of More than $36.9 Million from Victims

Source: US State of California

Five men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia.

According to court documents, Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra, California; Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China; Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles; Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente, California; and Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey, were part of an international criminal network that induced U.S. victims, believing they were investing in digital assets, to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators and that laundered victim money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets.

As part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators residing overseas would contact U.S. victims directly through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages, and online dating services and gain the victims’ trust. The co-conspirators then promoted fraudulent digital asset investments to the victims. Scammers would tell victims that their investments were appreciating in value when, in fact, those funds were stolen and not invested at all. Instead, more than $36.9 million in victim funds were transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened in the name of Axis Digital Limited. Somarriba, He, and Su directed Deltec Bank to convert victim funds to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to transfer the converted funds to a digital asset wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia. From there, co-conspirators in Cambodia transferred the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region including in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Somarriba and He founded Axis Digital and opened the Deltec Bank account. Su joined Axis Digital as a director and participated in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.

Wong managed a network of money launderers in Los Angeles who registered shell companies, opened U.S. bank accounts, and wired victim funds to international bank accounts. Zhang opened and operated two U.S. bank accounts used to launder victim proceeds.

Zhang and Wong pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024. He, Somarriba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business. He, Somarriba, and Su each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Su has been in custody since November 2024. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis and former resident of Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates who has been in U.S. custody since April 2024, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national illegally in the United States who managed a network of U.S.-based money launderers, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on Nov. 12, 2024 and May 13, 2024, respectively.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

USSS’s Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case. The Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals Service provided valuable assistance.

Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Tamara Livshiz of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maxwell Coll, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Gorin for the Central District of California are prosecuting these cases.

If you or someone you know is a victim of a digital asset investment fraud, report it to IC3.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Five Men Plead Guilty for Their Roles in Global Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy Resulting in Theft of More than $36.9 Million from Victims

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

Five men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia.

According to court documents, Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra, California; Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China; Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles; Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente, California; and Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey, were part of an international criminal network that induced U.S. victims, believing they were investing in digital assets, to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators and that laundered victim money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets.

As part of the conspiracy, co-conspirators residing overseas would contact U.S. victims directly through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages, and online dating services and gain the victims’ trust. The co-conspirators then promoted fraudulent digital asset investments to the victims. Scammers would tell victims that their investments were appreciating in value when, in fact, those funds were stolen and not invested at all. Instead, more than $36.9 million in victim funds were transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened in the name of Axis Digital Limited. Somarriba, He, and Su directed Deltec Bank to convert victim funds to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to transfer the converted funds to a digital asset wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia. From there, co-conspirators in Cambodia transferred the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region including in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Somarriba and He founded Axis Digital and opened the Deltec Bank account. Su joined Axis Digital as a director and participated in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.

Wong managed a network of money launderers in Los Angeles who registered shell companies, opened U.S. bank accounts, and wired victim funds to international bank accounts. Zhang opened and operated two U.S. bank accounts used to launder victim proceeds.

Zhang and Wong pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy. They each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024. He, Somarriba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business. He, Somarriba, and Su each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Su has been in custody since November 2024. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis and former resident of Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates who has been in U.S. custody since April 2024, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national illegally in the United States who managed a network of U.S.-based money launderers, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on Nov. 12, 2024 and May 13, 2024, respectively.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California, and Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

USSS’s Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case. The Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals Service provided valuable assistance.

Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Tamara Livshiz of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maxwell Coll, Nisha Chandran, and Alexander Gorin for the Central District of California are prosecuting these cases.

If you or someone you know is a victim of a digital asset investment fraud, report it to IC3.gov.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Huntington Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Crime

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Mark Radford, 33, of Huntington, was sentenced today to time served and 15 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography. Radford must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about November 3, 2020, law enforcement officers seized Radford’s cell phone. A forensic examination of the cell phone revealed approximately 22 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Radford admitted to downloading the images from the internet. Radford further admitted that some of the images depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexual conduct.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Lesley C. Shamblin and Julie M. White prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-61.

###

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Memphis Man Sentenced to Seventeen Years for Trafficking 17-Year-Old Female to Perform Commercial Sex Acts

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that DOMINIQUE PEEPLES (“PEEPLES”), age 28, from Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced on May 28, 2025, after previously pleading guilty to Sex Trafficking of a Minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1591(a)(1), 1591(b)(2), 1594(a), and 2.

According to court documents, PEEPLES brought a seventeen-year-old female (“Minor Victim”) from Memphis, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; and Houston, Texas, and required her to engage in commercial sex acts. During this time, PEEPLES was aware of Minor Victim’s age. PEEPLES advertised Minor Victim on websites commonly used to advertise sexual services in exchange for money and kept all or most of the proceeds from her work. PEEPLES waited in a vehicle and watched Minor Victim while she solicited commercial sex “dates.” Minor Victim worked under PEEPLES’ supervision between August of 2020 and her escape in mid-January 2021. After Minor Victim ran away, PEEPLES posted a video on social media in which he boasted about exploiting Minor Victim and pointed firearms at the screen.

U.S. District Court Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced PEEPLES to seventeen (17) years in prison. PEEPLES was also sentenced to ten (10) years of supervised release after release from prison. Judge Vance further ordered PEEPLES to pay $120,000 in restitution to Minor Victim, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. PEEPLES will also have to register as a sex offender.

This case was part of a broader investigation involving defendants JEREMY TALBERT and MACEO ROBERTS, both of whom have pleaded guilty for related sex trafficking crimes. In February 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan sentenced ROBERTS to 22.5 years of imprisonment for conspiring to traffic three minors and two adults. In March 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk sentenced TALBERT to 18 years for trafficking a fourteen-year-old minor to New Orleans.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Memphis Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit and Jordan Ginsberg, Supervisor of the Public Corruption Unit, are in charge of the prosecution.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Box Elder Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Committing an Assault within the Pine Ridge Reservation

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Box Elder, South Dakota, woman convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on June 2, 2025.

Samatha Wright, 27, was sentenced to one year and six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Wright was indicted for Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon by a federal grand jury in June 2024. She pleaded guilty on March 21, 2025.

The charges stemmed from a domestic dispute between Wright and the victim, her then-husband, while they lived within the Pine Ridge Reservation. Wright shot the victim with a handgun, hitting him three times and causing serious bodily injury.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.

Wright was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Mexican commercial fishermen plead guilty to illegal red snapper harvesting

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

All now face federal prison time for unlawfully fishing in U.S. waters

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Four members of a Mexican fishing crew have admitted they unlawfully transported fish taken from the Gulf of America, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza, 22, has now pleaded guilty, while Miguel Angel Ramirez-Vidal, 32, Jesus David Luna-Marquez, 20, and Jesus Roberto Morales-Amador, 27, all citizens of Mexico, previously entered their pleas. All have admitted to knowingly transporting approximately 315 kilograms of illegally taken red snapper.

On April 16, the four-man crew left Playa Bagdad, Mexico, at night in a 25-foot open fishing vessel without running lights. They then traveled into the Exclusive Economic Zone in U.S. waters, ultimately deploying about four miles of longline containing approximately 1,200 hooks. The gear was set approximately 18 miles north of the Maritime Boundary Line with Mexico and about 25 miles east of South Padre Island (SPI).

When authorities apprehended the crew, they were in possession of approximately 693 pounds of red snapper and four sharks. The men knew the catch would be seized if they were caught in U.S. waters but chose to take the risk due to the limited supply of red snapper in Mexican waters.

They intended to sell the catch once they returned to Mexico. The snapper they unlawfully took from U.S. waters have an estimated retail value of over $9 thousand.

Ramirez-Vidal, the captain of the boat, had been arrested on 28 prior occasions for illegal fishing. The others also have similar previous arrests.

U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera will impose sentencing for Ramirez-Vidal Aug. 13. Santiago-Mendoza, Luna-Marquez and Morales-Amador pleaded guilty and are also pending sentencing. At their respective hearings, each faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

They have been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, Coast Guard Investigative Services, Coast Guard Station SPI, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Texas Parks and Wildlife and South Padre Island Police Department conducted the joint investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hagen is prosecuting the case.

The arrest and prosecution of Mexican commercial fisherman marks a change in policy concerning the protection of U.S. marine resources. In past instances, authorities would seize the catch and destroy the vessel but release violators back to Mexico. Any commercial fisherman now apprehended in U.S. waters caught violating the Lacey Act face potential fines and imprisonment.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Founder of Sexual Wellness Company “OneTaste” and Former Head of Sales Convicted of Forced Labor Conspiracy

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Defendants Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz Used Deception and Abuse to Obtain Their Victims’ Labor and Services

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Nicole Daedone, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of OneTaste, Inc. (OneTaste), a sexual wellness education company, and Rachel Cherwitz, the company’s former head of sales, of forced labor conspiracy in connection with their coercive scheme to obtain the labor and services of certain OneTaste employees. To achieve their goal, the defendants and their co-conspirators subjected the victims to economic, sexual, emotional, financial, and psychological abuse, as well as surveillance, indoctrination, and intimidation. The verdict was returned after a five-week trial before United States District Judge Diane Gujarati. When sentenced, Daedone and Cherwitz each face up to 20 years in prison.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdict.

“The jury’s verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants’ benefit,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “I commend the witnesses who testified at trial notwithstanding the trauma that they experienced at the defendants’ direction. It is my hope that the just conclusion of this process will bring them closure, and that future charlatans think twice about exploiting human beings in this manner.”

“Today’s verdict sends a clear message— controlling your labor force by relying on lies, manipulation, and abuse is a crime. The victims in this case were offered sexual empowerment and wellness as a pathway to healing past trauma, but instead received various forms of abuse and manipulation on behalf of Daedone and Cherwitz for the financial benefit of OneTaste. The FBI will continue to ensure those responsible for forced labor schemes are made to answer for their crimes,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.

OneTaste was a privately held company founded by Daedone in 2004. Its principal place of business was San Francisco, California, and it operated at various locations within New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, and London. OneTaste promoted itself as a sexually focused wellness education company that offered hands-on classes on “orgasmic mediation” (OM), which involved stroking a woman’s genitals for 15 minutes. OneTaste generated revenue by providing courses, coaching, OM events, and less-publicized courses in other sexual practices in exchange for a fee.

As proven at trial, between 2006 and May 2018, Daedone and Cherwitz obtained the labor and services of multiple young women who had turned to OneTaste for healing and spirituality by coercing them to perform labor, including sexual labor, for the defendants’ benefit. OneTaste advertised that its courses and teachings could heal past sexual trauma and dysfunction. Daedone and Cherwitz used abusive and manipulative tactics designed to control OneTaste members by making them emotionally and psychologically dependent on OneTaste, including encouraging them to incur debt by opening lines of credit to finance the expensive courses, subjecting them to constant surveillance in communal homes, collecting sensitive information about their prior trauma and sexual histories, depriving them of sleep, and subjecting them to sexual abuse.

Once they had secured the loyalty and indebtedness of certain OneTaste members, Daedone and Cherwitz engaged in abusive employment practices. They directed OneTaste members to work long hours seven days per week with little or no compensation; that work included manual labor and the provision of sexual services. For example, Daedone and Cherwitz coerced their victims to sexually service OneTaste’s current and prospective investors, clients and employees for the financial benefit of the company. Three witnesses testified about how they were coerced into becoming a “handler” for OneTaste’s initial investor, who was also Daedone’s boyfriend, which required them to live with him, perform demeaning sex acts at his direction, and cook for him. Multiple other witnesses testified that they were coerced under threat of termination, demotion, ostracism, and financial and spiritual ruin by Daedone and Cherwitz into performing various sex acts with OneTaste’s potential clients and investors. In 2017, Ms. Daedone sold OneTaste—a company built on the backs of coerced and unpaid or substantially underpaid labor—for $12 million.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Kayla C. Bensing, Kaitlin T. Farrell, Nina C. Gupta, and Sean Michael Fern are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Liam McNett and Marlane Bosler.

The Defendants:

NICOLE DAEDONE
Age: 57
New York, New York

RACHEL CHERWITZ
Age: 44
Philo, California

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Former state worker pleads guilty in scheme to steal nearly $900,000 in state tax dollars

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

Defendant abused role as credit card custodian to embezzle money he then failed to report on his income taxes

Tacoma – A 48-year-old Olympia resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to wire fraud in connection with his scheme to steal nearly $900,000 from his former employer – the State of Washington – announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Matthew Randall Ping pleaded guilty to wire fraud and making and subscribing a false tax return. Ping is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright on September 9, 2025.

According to the charging information and the plea agreement, Ping began working for the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in 2009. By 2017 he had been promoted to the role of Management Analyst and served as the department’s credit card custodian. Between 2019 and 2023, Ping used a sophisticated scheme to abuse his credit card access so he could embezzle at least $878,115 from the state agency.

The plea agreement and charging information detail how Ping hid the fraud from his employer. Ping opened accounts with payment processors and gave the accounts display names that indicated the accounts were associated with legitimate OAH business vendors. Between 2019 and 2021, Ping secretly charged more than $330,000 to OAH credit cards as purported payments to these vendors. In fact, the money went to accounts Ping controlled. In 2021, Ping set up an account via a different payment processor and continued the fraud, stealing approximately $530,000 in additional funds from OAH. Ping also used OAH credit cards to buy $17,359 in personal items from Verizon and Walmart.

Ping also circumvented state procedures designed to detect credit card fraud. For example, OAH required that Ping’s co-workers review and approve Ping’s credit card transactions, but Ping would provide false or incomplete lists of transactions during that review process. After the review, Ping would add in his fraudulent charges and upload and approve payment himself without the required oversight on his fraudulent transactions. He also took steps to manipulate the accounting data to make it more difficult to determine that he had violated protocol by uploading, reviewing, and approving his own transactions

In all Ping secretly executed 210 transactions with the phony vendors he created for a total loss to the state of $860,756. The improper charges on his state issued credit card total $17,359, bringing the total loss to the State of Washington to $878,115.

The embezzlement was first discovered by the Washington State Auditor’s Office. Ping resigned his position in 2023 when the theft was discovered.

Even as he was embezzling, Ping failed to report the stolen funds on his income tax returns. For tax years 2020-2023, the resulting tax loss totals $240,247. Ping has agreed to pay full restitution to the state and to the IRS for his tax obligation.

The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) worked with the Auditors Office on the criminal investigation.

The case is being Prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dane A. Westermeyer.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Trump Accounts Will Chart the Path to Prosperity for a Generation of American Kids

US Senate News:

Source: US Whitehouse
Today, President Donald J. Trump joined top business leaders and lawmakers to hail the creation of “Trump Accounts” — a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill that will create tax-deferred investment accounts for all newborn American children.
Trump Accounts, which will be seeded with a one-time government contribution of $1,000 and be private property of the child’s guardian, will track a stock index and allow for additional private contributions of up to $5,000 per year. This will afford a generation of children the chance to experience the miracle of compounded growth and set them on a course for prosperity from the very beginning.
Here’s what they’re saying:
Dell CEO Michael Dell: “We see … the establishment of these Trump Accounts as a simple yet powerful way to transform lives. Decades of research has shown that giving children a financial head start profoundly impacts their long-term success. With these accounts, children will be much more likely to graduate from college, to start a business, to buy a home, and achieve lifelong financial stability.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: “This initiative gets at the core of binding those future generations to the benefits and the potential of America’s great companies and markets. Early childhood investments have far-reaching benefits, and Goldman Sachs is proud to support his initiative … Our economy’s future vitality is dependent on young people understanding the power of investing for the long term.”
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi: “What if we could give that same powerful, real, tangible hope that comes from having a stake in your own future and a stake in the best companies in the world to every single child that’s born in this country? That’s the promise of the Invest in America Act. It’s not just an account; it’s a launchpad. It puts the unstoppable engine of compounding to work for our kids, building a future for them from day one.”
Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner: “This is aligning every child in America with the upside of free markets and the benefits, and that is your Main Street agenda … It makes America an ownership society again because all of those kids will see the benefit of compounding interest … You are giving the shot for every American to feel like they’re in the game again.”
Speaker Mike Johnson: “If you have a 401(k), you understand the power of investing early for the future. Trump Accounts take that same principle and they apply it from the very beginning of Americans’ lives … It’s a bold, transformative policy that gives every eligible American child a financial head start from day one … Trump Accounts are all about setting up the next generation for success.”
House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith: “The Trump investment accounts will be a game-changer for new parents even before their newborn baby can walk or talk. Their child will have money saved to one day learn a trade, start a business, or to buy a home. Every child born under this policy will have a better shot at a future. It does not matter if they live on a city block or on a county road — this will make a significant difference to their lives.”
Together with historic tax cuts, an increased child tax credit, higher wages, and monumental economic growth, the One Big Beautiful Bill will change the lives of middle-class families across America.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK to become world leader in drug discovery as Technology Secretary heads for London Tech Week
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

UK to become world leader in drug discovery as Technology Secretary heads for London Tech Week

New project to make the UK a leader in AI-drug discovery, as Imperial College also partners with the World Economic Forum on AI-Driven Innovation Centre.
New OpenBind consortium to make the UK a leader in AI-driven drug discovery – slashing the cost of drug discovery and development by as much as £100 billion.

Imperial College London to partner with World Economic Forum to deliver new AI-Driven Innovation Centre – boosting AI adoption and innovation to grow the economy

Peter Kyle to set out plans at London Tech Week for technology to go further and faster in unlocking the growth driving the government’s Plan for Change

People around the world are set to benefit from new breakthroughs in AI-driven drug discovery to tackle previously untreatable diseases and transforming patient outcomes using British AI and research expertise.

Announced today, the UK’s ‘OpenBind’ consortium will use breakthrough experimental technology to generate the world’s largest collection of data on how drugs interact with proteins, the building blocks of the body. This will be twenty times greater than anything collected over the last fifty years – cementing the UK’s position as a global hub for AI-driven drug discovery.

This will support the training of new AI models that can identify promising new drugs, giving researchers an unparalleled ability to open up new fronts in the fight against disease- slashing development costs by up to £100 billion and sparking the innovation and economic growth which underpins the government’s Plan for Change.

Based at Diamond Light Source – the UK’s national synchrotron facility at the Harwell Science Campus in Oxfordshire – the consortium will close critical data gaps, driving breakthroughs in healthcare which will unlock new avenues for drugs that can treat and beat diseases, as well as helping scientists harness the transformative potential of engineering biology to face down a range of other issues, such as designing new enzymes to tackle plastic waste.

The consortium, backed with up to £8 million of investment from DSIT’s newly established Sovereign AI Unit, will be led by some of the world’s leading scientific minds including Professor Charlotte Deane at the University of Oxford, Professor Frank von Delft at Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford, and David Baker, Chemistry Nobel Prize winner and head of the Institute for Protein Design at Washington University.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said:

London Tech Week is where we lay down a marker – not just as a government with technology at the heart of our agenda, but as a country that will harness its opportunities for the global good.

OpenBind is a prime example of how we’re doing exactly that. Through home-grown AI expertise, we will be the driving force that doesn’t just treat, but beats disease – benefitting every person in the world.

This week, we’ll have plenty more to say on how we’re using technology to drive growth, improve public services, and transform communities all over the country – delivering a Plan for Change grounded in action, not words.

This investment will also help to unlock unique strategic capabilities for UK AI and biosciences, securing the nation’s critical influence over a sector fundamental to growth, health, and wellbeing.

Investors from industry and philanthropy will be convened shortly to have the opportunity to co-invest and take the project to a point of maximum ambition. These discussion will include a roundtable at 10 Downing Street including Isomorphic Labs, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Apheris, Chai Discovery, Genentech, Genesis Therapeutics, Odyssey Therapeutix, Pfizer Inc, and Renaissance Philanthropy.

Professor Gianluigi Botton, CEO, Diamond Light Source, said:

At Diamond Light Source, a Joint Venture between the UK government through STFC and the Wellcome Trust, we are proud to be at the forefront of the UK’s ambition to lead the world in AI-driven drug discovery.

OpenBind represents an exciting step forward in harnessing our unique capabilities to generate the high-quality data that AI needs to revolutionise healthcare, helping to cement the UK’s position as a global hub for bioscience innovation.

Sir Demis Hassabis, CEO, Isomorphic Labs, said:

High-quality biochemical data supports superior AI models, which in turn helps us design new drug candidates faster.

We’re delighted to partner with the OpenBind Consortium and the UK government to cultivate this vital resource. This is a brilliant initiative for UK science, and we’re proud to support it from its inception.

Artificial Intelligence has become one of the key drivers of the government’s Plan for Change, with its adoption across the economy sparking economic growth and creating jobs. Earlier this year the Prime Minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan – taking forward 50 recommendations which will mainline the technology into all sectors of the economy.  

To accelerate AI’s rollout even further, Imperial College London has today announced it will partner with the World Economic Forum to deliver a Centre for AI Driven Innovation based in the UK. This dedicated centre will cement the UK’s global position as a leader in the technology, driving innovation by unlocking AI’s potential to transform economies across various sectors. The Centre will join the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network – a global network of 21 independent centres which bring together public and private sectors to maximise technological benefits while minimising risks.

The UK government will work with both organisations to co-design the Centre’s activities in alignment with the government’s ambitions to harness AI to deliver a new era of growth and opportunity.

Hugh Brady, President, Imperial College London said:

This is a pivotal moment for UK innovation where the power and creativity of our science and technology can drive economic growth. This new Centre for AI Driven Innovation will unlock AI’s potential to transform existing industries.

Anchored in the World Economic Forum global network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the new Centre hosted by Imperial creates a powerful multi-stakeholder platform from research through to scalable real-world innovation and adoption.

Børge Brende, President and CEO of World Economic Forum said:

We are excited to collaborate with Imperial College London and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to launch the Centre for AI Driven Innovation, the first UK-based centre in the World Economic Forum’s global Network of Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This milestone comes at a pivotal moment, as AI emerges as a powerful catalyst for prosperity and accelerated transformation across all sectors of the economy. The Centre will play a key role in helping the UK shape the global AI innovation agenda, providing a unique platform for collaboration with one of the world’s largest multistakeholder communities of AI experts.

The announcements come as the Technology Secretary prepares to deliver his keynote address to London Tech Week later today, where his speech will set out the range of actions the government is taking to harness technology to boost growth, improve public services, and unlock new opportunities for communities across the UK.

Further commentary welcoming today’s announcements:

Professor Charlotte Deane of the University of Oxford said:

OpenBind realises a major gear-shift for AI in drug discovery by investing in the data that powers it.

This funding will mean we can begin generating a catalogue that not only dwarfs in quantity everything messily accumulated over half a century, but transcends it in quality and is geared towards powering the AI algorithms.

Professor Frank von Delft of Diamond Light Source and the University of Oxford said:

OpenBind is unique double opportunity: whereas to date we experimental scientists have generated data as a byproduct of answering our scientific questions, now we combine forces with AI scientists and produce the data their AIs actually need. And to do so, we will align several very different types of experiments, harnessing recent dramatic advances, including those we’ve achieved at Diamond.

As this accelerates drug design, we will gain currently unthinkable ways to dissect how diseases work and what to do about them.

Robin Roehm, CEO and co-founder of Apheris said:

The utility of AI models in predicting protein-small molecule structure and affinity pairs hinges on the quality and scale of training data.

The life sciences sector urgently needs more comprehensive data, and collaborative networks like the AI Structural Biology Consortium where multiple Pharmas jointly collaborate are an example of this. OpenBind has the potential to transform small molecule drug discovery by developing datasets that are orders of magnitude larger than what is currently available.

Karmen Čondić-Jurkić, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Open Molecular Software Foundation (OMSF) said:

OMSF is excited to participate in OpenBind and contribute to building open datasets and infrastructure that will power the next generation of ML/AI models for drug discovery. Expanding high-quality public datasets is essential for advancing molecular science, both for training and validating new computational approaches.

We believe this collaboration is an opportunity to bring experimental and computational researchers closer together, accelerating innovation across the field.

Mohammed AlQuraishi, Founder, OpenFold; Professor, Departments of Systems Biology and Computer Science, Columbia University, said:

The task of predicting structures of molecules bound to proteins is challenged by a severe paucity of data, crucial for training data-hungry machine learning models such as OpenFold3.

The OpenBind project is poised to transform this dynamic, first by providing significant amounts of new and diverse structural data to fuel machine learning, and second by working synergistically with OpenFold to focus data acquisition on molecules and proteins with the greatest potential for improving the accuracy of predictive models.

David Rees PhD FMedSci, FRSC, Chief Scientific Officer, Astex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, UK.

As a pioneer in fragment-based drug discovery, Astex is excited to be involved in this new initiative to build a unique database that will help the UK to remain at the forefront of developments in this field.

Training AI models with experimentally determined protein-ligand crystal structure data can significantly accelerate the drug discovery process and deliver new medicines more efficiently.

Dr Ed Griffen, Technical Director at MedChemica said:

At MedChemica we apply chemistry machine learning at scale and speed to design and analyse large data sets to give exploitable knowledge.

One of the critical areas of weakness in drug discovery is relating how protein-drug structures are related to how strongly a possible drug binds to that protein structure. The goal of OpenBind is to gather and analyse enough of the right data so that machine learning can make useful predictions. With better predictions we can run drug hunting projects faster and cheaper, bringing new therapies to the clinic more quickly.

OpenBind is a keystone in the bridge from basic science to new ways of treating the diseases and conditions that afflict patients world wide. OpenBind’s scale is globally strategic and leading beyond what is being done anywhere else. MedChemica is delighted and proud to be able to contribute to this endeavour.

Joshua Meier, Co-founder and CEO, Chai Discovery, said:

The UK’s OpenBind initiative provides the rich, open data frontier our AI models need to design better medicines faster, and we’re excited to contribute our open state-of-the-art structure prediction technology to this national effort.

Notes to editors

OpenBind will create the largest open dataset of experimentally validated drug–protein interactions in history. By addressing a long-standing gap in pharmaceutical R&D: the lack of high-quality, large-scale datasets linking small molecules to the proteins they bind. These datasets are essential for training high quality AI models for early-stage drug design.

OpenBind will deploy automated chemistry and high-throughput X-ray crystallography to eventually generate more than 500,000 protein – ligand complex structures and affinity measurements over 5 years. This would represent a 20-fold increase over all public data produced in the last half-century – filling a critical gap in the data ecosystem that has slowed the development and evaluation of modern generative models.

OpenBind provides a foundational dataset that will underpin progress across multiple areas of technology – including structure prediction, generative molecular design, docking, and active learning workflows. It is designed to work in synergy with other emerging approaches to help reduce trial-and-error experimentation, inform candidate selection, and support more systematic exploration of chemical space.

OpenBind’s senior consortium principal investigators are:

Professor Frank von Delft (Diamond Light Source and University of Oxford)

Professor Charlotte Deane (University of Oxford)

Dr John Chodera (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre)

Dr Mark Murcko (MIT and Disruptive Biomedical LLC)

Professor Mohammed AlQuraishi (Columbia University)

Professor David Baker (University of Washington)

Dr Ed Griffen (MedChemica Limited)

Professor Paul Brennan (University of Oxford)

Professor Sir David Stuart (Diamond Light Source)

Dr Martin Walsh (Diamond Light Source)

About Diamond Light Source

Diamond Light Source provides industrial and academic user communities with access to state-of-the-art analytical tools to enable world-changing science. Shaped like a huge ring, it accelerates electrons to near light speeds, producing a light 10 billion times brighter than the sun, which is then directed off into 35 laboratories known as beamlines. In addition to these, Diamond offers access to several integrated laboratories including the world-class Electron Bio-imaging Centre (eBIC) and the Electron Physical Science Imaging Centre (ePSIC).    

Diamond serves as an agent of change, addressing 21st century challenges such as disease, clean energy, food security and more. Since operations started, more than 16,000 researchers from both academia and industry have used Diamond to conduct experiments, with the support of approximately 800 world-class staff. More than 14,000 scientific articles have been published by our users and scientists.    

Funded by the UK government through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and by the Wellcome Trust, Diamond is one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, and its pioneering capabilities are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research.    

Diamond was set-up as an independent not for profit company through a joint venture, between the UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council and one of the world’s largest biomedical charities, the Wellcome Trust – each respectively owning 86% and 14% of the shareholding.    

DSIT media enquiries

Email press@dsit.gov.uk

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm 020 7215 3000

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Published 9 June 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Metairie Resident Sentenced for Receipt of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that CARSON RIESS (“RIESS”), age 41, of Metairie, Louisiana, was sentenced on May 27, 2025, to 60 months imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey after previously pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1). Additionally, RIESS was ordered to pay $172,500 in restitution to numerous victims as well as a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, the case against RIESS stemmed from an online Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). On May 20, 2024, HSI special agents, along with members of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, executed two federal search warrants at RIESS’ Metairie home. HSI agents seized a computer from RIESS’ residence during the search, confirmed this laptop contained Child Sexual Abuse Material, and subsequently arrested RIESS and charged him with the receipt of CSAM. HSI’s investigation revealed RIESS received images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.

MIL Security OSI –

June 10, 2025
MIL-OSI: CEA Industries Enters Canadian Vape Market with Completion of Fat Panda Acquisition
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Closes Acquisition of Leading Vape Operator with 33 Locations and Over 50% Market Share in Central Canada

Adds High-Margin, CAD $38.5 Million Revenue Platform to Accelerate Growth and Drive Shareholder Value

Conference Call Scheduled for June 11, 2025 at 4:30pm ET to Review the Supporting Investor Presentation on the CEA Industries Website

Louisville, Colorado, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CEA Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: CEAD, CEADW) (“CEA Industries” or the “Company”), today announced the completion of its acquisition of Fat Panda Ltd. (“Fat Panda”), Central Canada’s largest independent vape retailer and vertically integrated manufacturer. The acquisition accelerates CEA’s strategic diversification while establishing a scalable platform in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the regulated nicotine market.

Founded in 2013, Fat Panda operates 33 high-traffic retail locations across Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, supported by a national e-commerce platform. The company’s vertically integrated model includes ISO-certified manufacturing facilities for its e-liquid production and direct supplier relationships, enabling product consistency, streamlined sourcing, and improved cost structure. With over 50% regional market share and a loyal customer base, Fat Panda generated approximately CAD $38.5 million (USD $28.5 million) in revenue with 39% gross margins and CAD $8.0 million (USD $5.9 million) (before ownership distributions) in adjusted EBITDA in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2024, based on preliminary unaudited results.

“This acquisition marks a significant milestone for CEA as we expand into a dynamic, high-growth regulated vertical benefiting from strong consumer demand,” said Tony McDonald, Chairman and CEO of CEA Industries. “Fat Panda brings an established brand, experienced leadership, and a highly profitable operating model that can be rapidly scaled with our capital and strategic support. Importantly, this acquisition exemplifies our commitment to identifying accretive opportunities that can unlock meaningful long-term value for our shareholders.”

“Joining CEA Industries provides the financial strength and operational support to accelerate our vision,” said Jordan Vedoya, Co-Founder and President of Fat Panda. “We are excited to deepen our footprint, elevate our e-commerce presence, and continue delivering value through Fat Panda’s customer-centric approach across Canada’s regulated vape industry.”

Fat Panda will operate under its existing brand led by the current management team to ensure a seamless transition with uninterrupted operations. Mr. Vedoya will also lead integration efforts and spearhead expansion across both retail and digital channels.

Strategic Benefits of the Transaction
- Leads Central Canada’s Regulated Vape Market – Fat Panda operates 33 corporate-owned stores across three provinces with over 50% regional market share, establishing immediate category leadership.
- Expands Scalable Omnichannel Platform – Combines a national e-commerce footprint with high-traffic retail locations, driving over CAD $2 million in annual online sales.
- Drives Margin Accretion Through Vertical Integration – In-house manufacturing and direct supplier relationships support 39% gross margins and CAD $8.0 million in adjusted EBITDA in fiscal year 2024.
- Establishes Durable Competitive Moat – Proprietary product formulations, a robust trademark portfolio, and regulatory alignment under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) differentiate Fat Panda in the dynamic regulatory landscape.
- Enables Platform Growth Through Expansion and M&A – With CEA Industries capital and strategic support, Fat Panda is positioned to open new locations, acquire complementary retailers, and scale profitably across Canada.
Transaction Terms

The CAD $18.0 million (USD $12.6 million) purchase price comprises approximately CAD $12.1 million in cash, 39,000 shares of CEAD common stock with an agreed value of CAD $700,000, and seller notes totaling CAD $2.56 million. A portion of the purchase price was funded by a short-term loan from a United States based lender in the amount of USD $4.0 million, which is due in six months. In addition, CAD $2.6 million has been placed in escrow to support post-closing adjustments, indemnity obligations, and employee-related matters.

Conference Call and Investor Presentation

CEA Industries will host a conference call to discuss the acquisition and strategic implications for the Company on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 4:30pm ET. A live webcast and accompanying investor presentation will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.ceaindustries.com.

To access the call, please use the following information:

A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the event and archived online.

About CEA Industries Inc.

CEA Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: CEAD) is a growth-oriented company focused on building category-leading businesses in regulated consumer markets. With a focus on the high-growth, Canadian nicotine vape industry, one of the fastest-expanding segments of the global nicotine market, CEA Industries targets scalable operators with strong regulatory alignment, defensible market share, and high-margin business models. The Company provides capital, operational expertise, and strategic resources to accelerate retail expansion, strengthen e-commerce infrastructure, and drive long-term value creation in performance-driven sectors. For more information, visit www.ceaindustries.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. These statements reflect our current beliefs, and a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” set forth in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and subsequent filings with the SEC. Please refer to our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with our business, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties associated with our business prospects and the prospects of our existing and prospective customers; the inherent uncertainty of product development; regulatory, legislative and judicial developments, especially those related to changes in, and the enforcement of, cannabis laws; increasing competitive pressures in our industry; and relationships with our customers and suppliers. Except as required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The reference to CEA’s website has been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such website is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial results on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, we use non-GAAP measures including net bookings and backlog, as well as other significant non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation and depreciation expenses. We believe these non-GAAP measures are helpful in understanding our past performance and are intended to aid in evaluating our potential future results. The presentation of these non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to our GAAP results and are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information prepared or presented in accordance with GAAP. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way to view aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business.

Investor Contact:

Sean Mansouri, CFA or Aaron D’Souza
Elevate IR
info@ceaindustries.com
(720) 330-2829

The MIL Network –
June 10, 2025

Category: Finance

Source: Federated Farmers

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What should be Africa’s focus areas?

What are the recommended courses of action?

Temporary recommendations

UK to become world leader in drug discovery as Technology Secretary heads for London Tech Week

Notes to editors

About Diamond Light Source

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