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  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? How celebrity endorsements can shape public health

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ivo Vlaev, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

    Sir Keir Starmer has become the first sitting UK prime minister to publicly take an HIV test to reduce stigma around Aids and encourage more people to get tested.

    There are historical parallels. In 1956, when Elvis Presley, at the height of his fame, was filmed receiving his polio vaccine on US television.

    Do these high-profile gestures really change attitudes and behaviour, or are they just headline-grabbing stunts?

    A closer look at the behavioural science behind celebrity endorsements suggests that, under the right conditions, public demonstrations by famous figures can indeed shift social norms, reduce stigma and influence health outcomes. However, the effects depend a lot on the credibility of the endorser, the authenticity of the act and the presence of sustained, follow-up campaigns.

    Elvis Presley’s polio jab is one of the most iconic examples of celebrity-led health campaigns. But many other well-known figures have encouraged the public to adopt protective health measures, from actors promoting annual flu jabs to footballers advocating organ donation drives.

    The premise is that a celebrity’s endorsement can normalise certain behaviour by tapping into the principles of “social learning theory”, particularly observational learning. That is, when we see someone we admire or trust do something, we are more likely to follow suit.

    In the 1950s, polio was a serious threat, capable of causing paralysis or death. After witnessing Elvis roll up his sleeve on national television, many teenagers – previously sceptical or apathetic – became far more willing to accept the polio vaccine. That event is now hailed as a masterclass in leveraging popular culture to address a public health crisis.

    A masterclass in leveraging popular culture.

    A cornerstone of behavioural science is the recognition that who delivers a message can be as important as – or sometimes more important than – what the message contains. The so-called “messenger effect” highlights how we are often more persuaded by people we perceive to be credible, relatable or high status.

    In the case of Elvis, he was already idolised by millions. He was the perfect conduit to promote vaccination among teenagers who might otherwise dismiss appeals from older authority figures.

    Starmer occupies a different kind of influence. Supporters of the Labour party may see him as a trustworthy figure, while others could be sceptical of a politician’s motives. This underscores a key aspect of the messenger effect: if a large segment of the target audience views the figure as partisan or self-serving, the endorsement can backfire or simply fail to register.

    Another powerful effect identified in behavioural science is social norms – our shared understandings of what is typical or appropriate – which strongly influence whether we take certain actions.

    Stigma around HIV remains a major barrier to testing and treatment. Even though medical advances have changed the landscape of HIV/Aids care, many people still fear the societal consequences of a positive diagnosis. According to the UK Health Security Agency, around 5,000 people in the UK are unaware they are living with HIV, partly because they hesitate to test in the first place.

    By publicly taking an HIV test, Starmer aimed to shift perceptions and normalise testing. In terms of social identity theory, seeing a prominent figure within the national community – especially one involved in shaping policies – undergo testing can communicate that “people like us” view HIV testing as a routine, responsible health measure. This may be particularly powerful for people who identify politically with Starmer or who respect his leadership position.

    Despite the potential of celebrity or high-profile endorsements, behavioural science also points to authenticity as a vital ingredient. Audiences are more likely to change their behaviour if they believe the celebrity genuinely cares about the issue rather than simply seeking publicity. If endorsements are perceived as insincere or politically opportunistic, their effect can be muted or even counterproductive.

    In Elvis’s case, he was known for engaging with young fans and had a track record of public good works, which helped bolster the sense that his polio vaccination was done for more than just a publicity boost.

    For Starmer, sustaining the momentum beyond a single test – through continued advocacy, support of free testing programmes, and visibility in HIV-awareness campaigns – could reinforce the perception of a real commitment rather than a fleeting photo opportunity.

    Nudges

    Behavioural scientists also often talk about “nudges” – small interventions that change people’s choices without forbidding options or significantly changing incentives. A celebrity endorsement can serve as a nudge by making a desirable health behaviour (like getting tested) more top-of-mind or socially acceptable.

    However, historically, Elvis’s vaccination was not a standalone act. It was part of a broader public health strategy involving schools, local campaigns and continued outreach. Those elements ensured that once people were motivated to get the polio jab, they could do so easily.

    For HIV testing, the same principle applies: visible leadership from Starmer may spark initial interest, but practical measures – such as pop-up testing centres, free home-test kits and confidential testing support – are vital to maintain engagement.

    Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? In reality, the two scenarios differ in time and context. A 21st-century political leader raising awareness about HIV testing in the UK operates within a more complex media landscape than a 1950s rock ’n’ roll icon on American primetime television. Yet, there is a parallel: both used their public status to tackle a widespread health concern, hoping to overcome stigma and promote an important preventative measure.

    Ultimately, celebrity moments can open the door, but only a sustained, evidence-based strategy will keep it open – and encourage people to walk through.

    Anyone in England can order a free and confidential HIV test from www.freetesting.hiv to do the test at home.

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

    – ref. Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? How celebrity endorsements can shape public health – https://theconversation.com/is-keir-starmer-the-new-elvis-how-celebrity-endorsements-can-shape-public-health-249643

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why ‘low carbon’ roses are flown around the world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Grown in Ecuador (Équateur en français), sold in Paris. Robert Crum / shutterstock

    As you read this, planes full of roses are heading from east Africa and South America to almost every corner of the world. If you buy someone a rose this Valentine’s Day, it may be in the air right now or perhaps in a refrigerated warehouse in the Netherlands.

    A huge logistical operation ensures those flowers are timed to be perfectly in bloom on the 14th. From flower farm to bouquet can take just a few days. In all, hundreds of millions of roses will be shipped internationally this week, and many will die before they can be sold.

    Can all this flying be justified?

    You’re reading the Imagine newsletter – a weekly synthesis of academic insight on solutions to climate change, brought to you by The Conversation. I’m Will de Freitas, energy and environment editor, covering for my colleague Jack Marley who is lovesick. This week, we’re looking at flowers.

    Many people don’t realise just how far a Valentine’s rose has probably travelled. Though roses can be grown in the UK (and some species are native), most of them won’t flower for at least another few months.

    Jill Timms and David Bek, academics at the University of Coventry who have researched the global flower trade point out: “This sort of localised growing does not satisfy the demand for volume, variety and year-round supply, or indeed guarantee sustainability in terms of energy, pesticide use and so on.”

    This means most roses are imported from countries with more land, more sunshine, and a cheaper workforce. Major growers include Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya and Ethiopia. The Netherlands is actually the biggest exporter of roses, partly due to its own production in greenhouses but mostly thanks to its position as a crucial hub for the global trade. Flowers sent to the UK from the Netherlands were probably grown elsewhere.

    To ensure they stay fresh, those flowers are kept cool as they’re transported in a series of refrigerated lorries, planes or boats, while some are sprayed with chemicals to freeze them.

    “Geography matters,” say Timms and Bek. “Some flowers travel by sea, some cargo plane and others in the hold of passenger jets, all with very different carbon footprints.”



    Read more:
    Valentine’s Day: five ways to ensure your flowers are ethical

    Low-carbon flowers, a long way away

    Figuring out a flower’s carbon footprint is not straightforward. Jennifer Lavers and Fiona Kerslake from the University of Tasmania compared cut flowers grown in heated or refrigerated greenhouses in the Netherlands with those grown in Kenya.

    “Maintaining the controlled environmental conditions inside these [Dutch] buildings requires artificial light, heat and cooling, so each rose grown in The Netherlands contributes an average of around 2.91kg of CO₂ to the atmosphere.”

    “In contrast”, they write, “a single rose grown on a farm in Kenya contributes only 0.5kg. This is largely because Kenyan hot houses do not use artificial heating or lighting, and most farm workers walk or cycle to work. As a result, flowers grown in tropical regions are sometimes considered low-carbon (of course, this doesn’t always factor in international transport).”



    Read more:
    Sustainable shopping: your guilt-free guide to flowers this Valentine’s Day

    Paul D. Larson of the University of Manitoba points out that, while local production would ground some of the international flower flights, “growing flowers in greenhouses can use as much energy as shipping them [to North America] from Colombia by air freight”.

    Larson, a professor of supply chain management, does highlight one major issue with “low carbon” flowers in the global south, however:

    “Since flowers are not classified as edible, they are often exempt from pesticide regulations. Thus, many flower production workers in Ecuador and Colombia have suffered from respiratory problems, rashes and eye infections caused by exposure to toxic chemicals in fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides.”



    Read more:
    Valentine’s Day: COVID-19 wilted the flower industry, but sustainability still a thorny issue

    The flower trade in Ecuador and Colombia was actually engineered a few decades ago to try and stem the flow of cocaine into the US, says Jay L. Zagorsky, an associate professor at Boston University’s business school.

    “One part of the strategy was to convince farmers in Colombia to stop growing coca leaves – a traditional Andean plant that provides the raw ingredient for making cocaine – by giving them preferential access to US markets if they grew something else.”

    Whether this policy helped stop drug production is unclear, says Zagorsky, but American domestic rose growing has collapsed and “many businesses in Colombia and Ecuador started growing and shipping flowers north”.



    Read more:
    Americans spend millions of dollars on Valentine’s Day roses. I calculated exactly how much

    No one expects you to know exactly how a flower was grown, what conditions were like for workers, or to conduct a full “life cycle assessment” of their carbon footprint. But what can you do to help this Valentine’s Day?

    Timms and Bek, the flower trade experts at Coventry University, wrote about five ways to ensure your flowers are ethical. They contrast flowers grown in the Netherlands and Kenya and say that “your priorities need to guide your purchase: environmental issues include carbon footprint, chemical use, ecological degradation and water use; social issues include health and safety standards, gender discrimination, precarious employment and land rights.”

    – ref. Why ‘low carbon’ roses are flown around the world – https://theconversation.com/why-low-carbon-roses-are-flown-around-the-world-249769

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Commission on AWERBs and Named Information Officer

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A commission for advice from the Home Office to the Animals in Science Committee (ASC) on strengthening the functioning of AWERBs and Named Information Officer.

    Documents

    Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies and the Named Information Officer (accessible)

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    Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies and the Named Information Officer

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    This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

    Request an accessible format.
    If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

    Details

    Recommendations sought for strengthening the functioning of Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs) and the Named Information Officer (NIO) role. Advice is sought in the following specific areas:

    • best practice guidance for AWERBs, particularly relating to their duties regarding the 3Rs (replacement, refinement, and reduction) and training
    • the questions that AWERBs should ask project applicants to check that replacement methodologies have been fully considered
    • a review of the ASC AWERB network model to assure dissemination of leading practice
    • leading practice to ensure that the NIO role functions effectively at establishments, where required

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bienville Parish Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Committing Wire Fraud Involving the Cares Act and Paycheck Protection Program

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SHREVEPORT, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Shaquaila Lewis a/k/a Shaquaila Lewis-Chatman, 36, of Gibsland, Louisiana, has been sentenced on one count of wire fraud. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Lewis to 27 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date. 

    In March 2020 Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provided Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), which were low-interest financing to small businesses, renters and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act also provided authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

    Lewis devised a scheme to defraud the SBA and various financial institutions by falsifying PPP and EIDL Program loan applications, forms, and other documents, and submitting fraudulent loan applications. At the sentencing hearing, the court found that Lewis was responsible for over $1.1 million in loss as a result of multiple fraudulent loans involving herself and others.

    As an example, in February 2021, Lewis electronically submitted a false and fraudulent PPP application to Square Capital in the name of Perfect Memories Travel seeking approximately $20,833 in PPP funds. Lewis signed the application and falsely certified that the application and all information provided was true and accurate. Lewis falsely certified that the funds would be used “to retain workers and maintain payroll.” She also falsely certified that she had used the full loan amount from a prior PPP application submitted on behalf of Perfect Memories Travel only for eligible expenses. A few days later, Square Capital disbursed approximately $20,583 in loan benefits to a bank account held by Lewis, and she used those funds for personal expenses.

    The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg and Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard of the Department of Justice Criminal Division – Fraud Section.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Brainerd Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Distributing Fentanyl in the Brainerd Lakes Area

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MINNEAPOLIS – A Brainerd man has been sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute tens of thousands of fentanyl pills, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

    According to court documents, on August 1, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a storage unit in Brainerd that belonged to Dazaughn Ellis West, 28. Inside the unit, officers found between 13,000 and 15,000 pressed fentanyl pills, weighing approximately 2.8 pounds. Law enforcement also executed a search warrant at West’s home in Brainerd, where they found an additional 150 grams of fentanyl pills, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, a .22 caliber rifle, and distributable quantities of cocaine.

    On February 6, 2025, West was sentenced in U.S. District Court before Judge John R. Tunheim to 120 months’ imprisonment.

    This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, Brainerd Police Department, and the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division (LADID).

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren O. Roso prosecuted the case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Education for peace: the effort to teach children how to rebuild societies after WWII

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Camille Mahé, Maîtresse de conférences en histoire, Université de Strasbourg

    While the first world war and the Spanish civil war had already drawn children in Europe and beyond into the orbit of conflict, the second world war marked a pivotal period in how young people have experienced the horrors of war.

    During the 1940s, children faced unprecedented mobilisation and violence. From bombings and massacres to forced displacement and genocide, the impact was staggering. Millions of children were directly affected by these atrocities, while countless others endured the indirect consequences: shortages, family separations and grief.

    In the aftermath of the war, childhood experts such as pediatricians, psychologists and nutritionists, as well as political leaders and humanitarian workers, feared for this potentially “lost generation”. With recognition of the vulnerability of children as a social group, there was a transnational push to implement protective measures. This shared awareness led to milestones such as the establishment of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in December 1946 and, later, the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

    The period from 1939 to 1949 not only highlighted the need to protect children worldwide, but also underscored their importance in building a peaceful future. As detailed in La Seconde Guerre mondiale des enfants (The second world war of children), published in September 2024 by Presses Universitaires de France, children embodied hope for postwar nations. They were seen not only as victims of war but also as active participants in shaping a peaceful world.

    Schools as foundations of reconstruction

    After 1945, schools became central to Europe’s social reconstruction. Seen as spaces of socialisation that included nearly all children, schools were viewed as critical for rebuilding society. Some measures mirrored those introduced after the first world war. Children, particularly those aged 6 to 14 (the typical age for compulsory education in Europe), were tasked with preserving the memory of fallen soldiers, resistance fighters and civilian victims. They cleaned and adorned graves, attended public ceremonies and paid homage to the dead.

    However, postwar education went further. In some countries, particularly those that formerly had authoritarian or totalitarian regimes such as Italy and Germany, school curricula underwent significant transformation. Lessons on democratic governance and peaceful figures were either reinforced or reintroduced, and history classes began emphasising cultural, political and economic exchanges between nations. These reforms aimed to counteract the nationalist ideologies that had fuelled war and division.

    Unlike the post-WWI era, the years after 1945 saw efforts to strengthen ties between nations by fostering connections among their youngest citizens. Programs promoting international school exchanges flourished. French students corresponded with Canadian peers, British children sent books to Germans and Swedish students traveled to Belgium.

    Germany hosted one of the most ambitious programs: the US-led “World Friendship Among Children Program”. This initiative included pen-pal projects, student travel and even the symbolic adoption of war orphans by classrooms. The program also established the “World Friendship Council of the Future”, where young people proposed initiatives for international dialogue, mimicking the operations of newly formed organisations such as the United Nations, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the World Health Organization.

    It was also in Germany that Houses of America, or Youth Centres, were established. While the goal was to offer children sports and cultural activities, they were primarily seen by Americans as tools of soft power and political instruments to (re)educate youth about the principles of democracy.

    Active pedagogy for European education

    Indeed, after 1945, educating children for peace also meant educating them about democracy. Across Western Europe, teaching methods inspired by progressive education movements – championed by figures such as Maria Montessori, Ovide Decroly and John Dewey – became widespread.

    For educational leaders, merely teaching democratic principles wasn’t enough: children needed to practice them. Classrooms became miniature societies where students elected class representatives, voted on school matters and debated everyday and political issues. This active engagement aimed to cultivate civic responsibility and critical thinking.

    Some postwar experiments went further. Communities of children or “children’s republics” emerged across Europe to provide homes for children who had lost their homes and parents. While their primary mission was humanitarian, these communities were also intended to form the foundations of new, peaceful societies. Self-governance was central to their goal of preparation for active citizenship. In the Repubblica dei Ragazzi (boys’ republic) in Santa Marinella, near Rome, children ran their own court, deliberative assembly and union.

    Ideological differences

    While schools are indeed the cornerstone of global peacebuilding, debates about fostering peace go beyond the classroom to encompass all aspects of children’s lives. This includes the private sphere, as evidenced by numerous transnational legislative efforts to ban violent comic books and war-themed toys, which are accused of inciting aggression in children and thus threatening a peaceful future.

    This surge of post-WWII initiatives underscores the fact that educating for peace and democracy was a European – if not global – project. However, its interpretation varied depending on country and region. In France, West Germany and Italy, the project was rooted in liberal ideals; in Eastern Europe, it reflected a different understanding of democracy.


    In the West, the focus was on the individual, with boys and girls assigned traditional, gendered roles: girls were encouraged to become future mothers, while boys were groomed to be workers contributing to economic growth. In contrast, the Eastern model emphasised collective values within a socialist framework, promoting more egalitarian relationships between boys and girls, albeit in service of political objectives.

    Regardless of ideological differences, these post-1945 initiatives left a lasting legacy. Their influence can still be seen today in school activities such as student elections and class trips, which continue to echo the democratic ideals of that era.

    Camille Mahé ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Education for peace: the effort to teach children how to rebuild societies after WWII – https://theconversation.com/education-for-peace-the-effort-to-teach-children-how-to-rebuild-societies-after-wwii-246087

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: President Donald J. Trump Brings Marc Fogel Home

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-left”>After years of being wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, U.S. citizen Marc Fogel is finally home thanks to the relentless efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to secure his release — making good on a promise President Donald Trump made to Fogel’s 95-year-old mother, Malphine.
     
    Fogel said it best: “President Trump is a hero … I will forever be indebted to President Trump, to Steve [Witkoff] over there — what a dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just exudes from his body.”
     
    His release was met with immediate praise from Fogel’s family and a bipartisan group of officials and lawmakers:
     
    The Fogel Family: “We are beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home … Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs. This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”
     
    Malphine Fogel: “I would like to thank [President Trump] profusely. He promised me he would get him out — and he kept his promise, and I can’t thank him enough.”
     
    Anne Fogel: “[President Trump] was true to his word. It’s amazing. It’s just such a different relationship and I’m just so incredibly grateful to the president.”
     
    Fogel lawyers Martin De Luca and Andrew Smith: “Marc Fogel’s release is historic, long overdue, and a testament to the power of strong leadership. After years of bureaucratic inaction including consistent refusals to designate Marc as wrongfully detained, President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home.”
     
    Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA): “After more than 3 years in Russian captivity, I join his family, our federal partners, and all of his fellow Pennsylvanians in welcoming Marc Fogel home — exactly where he belongs. Thank you to those at the @WhiteHouse who made his release possible, and to his wife Jane, mom, siblings, and kids here in Pennsylvania who never, ever gave up.”
     
    Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA): “Marc Fogel’s return home is long overdue—and I know all of Pennsylvania, especially his family, will be welcoming him back with open arms. I want to thank @POTUS and @SteveWitkoff for their efforts in finally bringing Marc home.”
     
    Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA): “Thank you @POTUS for bringing Marc home! All of Pennsylvania is happy he is back safely, especially his amazing 95 year old mom, Mafa, who never stopped fighting for his release. Dina and I were honored to witness this emotional and historic moment tonight at the White House.”
     
    Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA): “When President Trump met with Marc Fogel’s mother, Malphine, in Butler on July 13, 2024, he pledged to do everything he could to bring Marc home safely. Today, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the Trump administration have fulfilled this promise. I want to thank President Trump for successfully securing Marc’s release and for reuniting the Fogel family.”
     
    Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA): “After more than three and a half long years of detention, Marc Fogel is finally on his way home from Russia. Thank you to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff for their urgency and dedication to bringing Marc home.”
     
    Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul: “Hallelujah! Fantastic news! Praise be to President Donald Trump … This is just fantastic news for anybody who cares about patriotic Americans.”
     
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “None of this is possible without President Trump. This is the tenth America that’s come home after being detained somewhere overseas — in just three weeks in the White House.”

    Special Envoy Steve Witkoff: “The president’s policy on Americans that are held abroad is that we leave nobody behind. It’s very similar to the military credo … I think that you’ll see a President who is extraordinarily proactive in seeking all hostages to be released.”  

       

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $150M Investment to Connect MacArthur Airport to LIRR

    Source: US State of New York

    February 12, 2025

    Albany, NY

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a transformational $150 million investment to connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Ronkonkoma Station with the proposed North Terminal at MacArthur Airport, significantly improving accessibility and enhancing the region’s transportation infrastructure. This initiative builds on the Governor’s commitment to the development of a new terminal at MacArthur Airport, further positioning Long Island as a hub for economic growth and innovation.

    “Long Islanders deserve modern, efficient transit systems that make their daily lives easier and fuel local economic growth,” Governor Hochul said. “By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development. This $150 million investment will also create good-paying union jobs while transforming how Long Islanders connect to one another, to New York and to the rest of the world.”

    [embedded content]

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    The new funding further leverages Governor Hochul’s 2022 commitment of $40 million for a new North Terminal at MacArthur Airport. The project will include a pedestrian walkway linking the airport and LIRR station, redesigned road networks and upgrades to various infrastructure. These enhancements will improve passenger experience, reduce travel times and position MacArthur Airport as a key transportation hub for Long Island.

    MacArthur Airport has long played a vital role in Suffolk County’s transportation system, evolving from a military airfield in 1942 to being recognized as one of the best small airports in America. This latest investment reaffirms the State’s commitment to improving infrastructure and expanding economic opportunities in the region.

    By improving connectivity and unlocking the potential of 48 acres of land surrounding the station, the project will drive further development and tourism growth. The investment aligns with the Governor’s broader vision for Long Island, which includes strengthening transit networks, expanding housing access and fostering job creation.

    By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development.

    Governor Hochul

    Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “This transformative investment demonstrates New York State’s commitment to building world-class infrastructure that drives economic growth. The direct connection between MacArthur Airport and the LIRR network will create new opportunities for business development, tourism, and job creation that will benefit Long Island for generations to come. The additional funding advances Long Island’s momentum as a hub for economic growth, expanding opportunities for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.”

    Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said, “As a Long Islander, I know firsthand how critical robust transportation infrastructure is to our region’s future. This $150 million investment to connect MacArthur Airport with the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Station will catalyze economic development, enhance quality of life, and create new possibilities for sustainable growth. The improved accessibility and modernized transit network will help cement Long Island’s continued success as a premier destination to live, work, and do business.”

    Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, “The LIRR is the fastest, safest and most economical way to travel across Long Island and this project is a unique opportunity to help take more cars off the roads,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “Moving MacArthur’s terminal closer to Ronkonkoma station will encourage people to take the train to the airport. The LIRR is already the best travel experience to JFK and we are ready to help MacArthur Airport grow by bringing that same great travel experience there too.”

    Embedded Flickr Album

    Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said, “I thank Governor Hochul for recognizing the critically important need for infrastructure investment to help grow Suffolk County’s economy and protect its environment. Without these investments Suffolk County cannot grow to accommodate new businesses or create new opportunities for residents or improve transportation. This is a great win for the people of Suffolk County.”

    Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin J. McCaffrey said, “We thank the Governor for her investment in the Infrastructure surrounding the Ronkonkoma train station. We believe this investment goes hand in hand with the County’s continued investment to provide for the economic development of this important area of the county.”

    Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg said, “MacArthur Airport has always had the potential to serve as a much-needed transit hub for Long Islanders, and today’s announcement takes us one step closer to making that a reality, ” said Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg. “The new, expanded North Terminal will make traveling and commuting easier for our millions of residents, create jobs, and bring more tourism and business to Suffolk County. I want to thank Governor Hochul for this critical investment that will go a long way in strengthening our region.”

    Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said, “We would like to acknowledge and thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to investing in our region. Commercial Development at Ronkonkoma South represents an incredible opportunity for the region and certainly maximizes the potential of our regional airport. With this investment, we are laying the foundation for long-term economic growth, bringing in high-quality jobs, and creating new opportunities for our young professionals to live and work right here in our community. We are also leveraging the investments made in our transportation infrastructure, including the enhancements to the LIRR and the future potential of Amtrak service. With mixed-use residential development north of the Ronkonkoma railroad, we have a unique opportunity to create a thriving, connected transportation hub that supports our workforce and strengthens our economy.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pictou — Search Warrant leads to seizure of drugs, weapon

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Pictou County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (PCISCEU) seized drugs and a weapon from a Pictou residence during a search warrant execution.

    In December 2024, PICSCEU began investigating potential drug trafficking from a residence on Poplar St., Pictou.

    On February 6, members of the PCISCEU, assisted by the Pictou County District RCMP, RCMP Police Dog Services, Pictou County District GIS, and Stellarton Police Service, executed a search warrant at the residence and seized cocaine, methamphetamine, and a bladed weapon.

    Five people were arrested at the home, including:

    • Emily Jessica Barker, 31, of Masstown
    • Amanda Michelle Binder, 23, of Stellarton
    • Amanda Leeanne Deyoung, 45, of New Glasgow
    • Colin Martin Graham, 34, of Stellarton
    • Jarom Elliott Merriam, 40, of Truro

    All five have been charged with two counts each of Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking and Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose. They were released from custody pending a court appearance on April 14i n Pictou Provincial Court.

    Nova Scotians are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report crime, including the illegal sale of drugs, in their communities. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or using the P3 Tips app.

    Note: The PCISCEU is made up of police officers from Pictou County District RCMP, Westville Police Service, and Stellarton Police Service.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Only political will can end world hunger: Food isn’t scarce, but many people can’t access it

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Clapp, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, and Member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, University of Waterloo

    History has shown us again and again that, so long as inequality goes unchecked, no amount of technology can ensure people are well fed.

    Today, the world produces more food per person than ever before. Yet hunger and malnutrition persist in every corner of the globe — even, and increasingly, in some of its wealthiest countries.

    The major drivers of food insecurity are well known: conflict, poverty, inequality, economic shocks and escalating climate change. In other words, the causes of hunger are fundamentally political and economic.

    The urgency of the hunger crisis has prompted 150 Nobel and World Food Prize laureates to call for “moonshot” technological and agricultural innovations to boost food production, meaning monumental and lofty efforts. However, they largely ignored hunger’s root causes — and the need to confront powerful entities and make courageous political choices.

    Food is misallocated

    To focus almost exclusively on promoting agricultural technologies to ramp up food production would be to repeat the mistakes of the past.

    The Green Revolution of the 1960s-70s brought impressive advances in crop yields, though at considerable environmental cost. It failed to eliminate hunger, because it didn’t address inequality. Take Iowa, for example — home to some of the most industrialized food production on the planet. Amid its high-tech corn and soy farms, 11 per cent of the state’s population, and one in six of its children, struggle to access food.

    Even though the world already produces more than enough food to feed everyone, it’s woefully misallocated. Selling food to poor people at affordable prices simply isn’t as profitable for giant food corporations.

    They make far more by exporting it for animal feed, blending it into biofuels for cars or turning it into industrial products and ultra-processed foods. To make matters worse, a third of all food is simply wasted.



    Read more:
    Earth Day 2024: 4 effective strategies to reduce household food waste

    Meanwhile, as the laureates remind us, more than 700 million people — nine per cent of the world’s population — remain chronically undernourished. A staggering 2.3 billion people — more than one in four — cannot access an adequate diet.

    Women queue up to receive food distributed by local volunteers at a camp in Somalia in May 2019. Conflicts hinder the effective delivery of humanitarian aid during food security crisis.
    (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

    Confronting inequity

    Measures to address world hunger must start with its known causes and proven policies. Brazil’s Without Hunger program, for example, has seen dramatic 85 per cent reduction in severe hunger in just 18 months through financial assistance, school food programs and minimum wage policies.

    Our politicians must confront and reverse gross inequities in wealth, power and access to land. Hunger disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalized people, not because food is scarce, but because people can’t afford it or lack the resources to produce it for themselves. Redistribution policies aren’t optional, they’re essential.

    Governments must put a stop to the use of hunger as a weapon of war. The worst hunger hotspots are conflict zones, as seen in Gaza and Sudan, where violence drives famine. Too many governments have looked the other way on starvation tactics — promoting emergency aid to pick up the pieces instead of taking action to end the conflicts driving hunger.



    Read more:
    Colonialism, starvation and resistance: How food is weaponized, from Gaza to Canada

    Stronger antitrust and competition policies are vital to curb extreme corporate concentration in global food chains — from seeds and agrochemicals to grain trading, meat packing and retail — that allow firms to fix prices and wield outsized political influence.

    Dependency trap

    Governments must also break the stranglehold of inequitable trade rules and export patterns that trap the poorest regions in dependency on food imports, leaving them vulnerable to shocks.

    Instead, supporting local and territorial markets is critical in helping build resilience to economic and supply chain disruptions. These markets provide livelihoods and help ensure diverse, nutritious foods reach those who need them.

    Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires massive investments in transformative approaches that promote resilience and sustainability in food systems.

    Agroecology — a farming system that applies ecological principles to ensure sustainability and promotes social equity in food systems — is a key solution, proven to sequester carbon, build resilience to climate shocks and reduce dependence on expensive and environmentally damaging synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

    More research should explore agroecology’s full potential. And we must adopt plant-rich, local and seasonal diets, ramp up measures to tackle food waste and reconsider using food crops for biofuels.

    This means pushing back against Big Meat and biofuel lobbies, while investing in climate-resilient food systems.

    Bold political action needed

    This is not to say that technology has no role — all hands need to be on deck. But the innovations most worth pursuing are those that genuinely support more equitable and sustainable food systems, and not corporate profits. Unless scientific efforts are matched by policies that confront power and prioritize equity over profit, then hunger is likely to here to stay.

    The solutions to hunger are neither new nor beyond reach. What’s missing is the political will to address its root causes.

    This message is shared by my colleagues with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, IPES-Food, whose work covers a range of expertise and experience. Hunger persists because we allow injustice to endure. If we are serious about ending it, we need bold political action, not just scientific breakthroughs.

    Jennifer Clapp receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).

    – ref. Only political will can end world hunger: Food isn’t scarce, but many people can’t access it – https://theconversation.com/only-political-will-can-end-world-hunger-food-isnt-scarce-but-many-people-cant-access-it-248736

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Appoints New Field Representative for Eastern Oregon

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    February 12, 2025
    Washington D.C.— U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Andrew Cutler has begun work as his new field representative for Eastern Oregon, covering Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler counties. 
    “I’m gratified to have someone on my team as knowledgeable and passionate as Andrew is about issues in Eastern Oregon,” Wyden said. “A field representative’s role is about being a region’s eyes and ears, hearing directly from locals about logical and meaningful solutions to the area’s specific challenges. I know Andrew will work hard to support and represent his fellow Eastern Oregonians in any way he can to shorten the distance between our state and Washington, DC.”  
    Cutler, a Treasure Valley Community College and Boise State University alum, comes into this role with a wealth of knowledge about the region. Prior to joining Wyden’s staff, Cutler was the regional editorial director for the EO Media Group from July 2020 to June 2024, where he also served as editor and publisher for the East Oregonian and the Hermiston Herald from May 2019 to June 2024. Cutler also served as editor of The Observer in La Grande from November 2012 to December 2017, and later returned as interim editor from May 2021 to June 2024. He also was the publisher of The Observer from 2015 to 2017.
    “As a resident of Eastern Oregon since 2012, I know how important it is to help the region with issues  where Senator Wyden can assist, such as securing federal funds, wildfire mitigation, economic development, rural healthcare, broadband accessibility and more,” Cutler said. “I look forward to collaborating with everyone in the region to work on solutions Senator Wyden can bring back to DC to make lasting and positive impacts here at home.”        
    Cutler replaces Kathleen Cathey, who retired in December 2024, after serving the people of Eastern Oregon on behalf of Senator Wyden for nearly 20 years.
    “Kathleen leaves huge shoes to fill after close to two decades of service, and I immensely  appreciate her deep community connections that enabled her to work successfully with farmers, ranchers, veterans, educators, local officials and all residents wanting to make  Eastern Oregon an even better place to live and work,’’ Wyden said. “I’m confident Andrew will keep building on those accomplishments and helping me to generate new successes.” 
    Cutler can be reached at andrew_cutler@wyden.senate.gov while the previous Eastern Oregon office in La Grande is moved to Pendleton.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Westbourne Green chosen for the central London’s largest Japanese style mini forest | Westminster City Council

    Source: City of Westminster

    London’s largest inner city forest has been planted just metres from the A40 Westway in Westbourne Green. The 426 new trees- known as a micro forest- will help to mitigate the effect of climate change by boosting biodiversity and reducing air and noise pollution in the local area.

    The project, a partnership between Westminster City Council, Ruth Wilmott Associates, and Creating Tomorrows Forests, sees nine different species of native trees including blackthorn, field maple, and crab apple introduced to the Westbourne Green Open Space in the central London’s biggest micro forest. The sapling trees were specifically chosen for their qualities in absorbing air pollution particulates, reducing noise, and adding to the area’s biodiversity by providing shelter, pollen, nectar, and fruit for local wildlife. Funding for the project has been provided through partnership with businesses working to provide community and environmental initiatives.

    Micro forests follow the Miyawaki Method, developed by Japanese biologist Akira Miyawaki, where saplings are densely planted to encourage ten times more rapid growth. Research suggests this method results in 18 times higher biodiversity than more widely spaced plantations as the faster growth rates accelerate the establishment of the micro forests.

    The council is aiming to plant a further 5000 more saplings in six micro forests new trees in the area, bringing Westminster’s total tree population to over 24,000. The new woodland area is part of the local authority’s broader environmental strategy to improve air quality and increase green space.

    Local primary schools are getting involved in the project, with children helping to name the new micro forest and sowing a wildflower meadow. Additional funding through the Rewild London Fund will provide materials to build animal boxes giving local children and their families the opportunity to learn about wildlife and get involved in conservation first hand.

    More information about Westminster City Council’s fairer environment strategy can be found on the council’s website. Creating Tomorrow’s Forests are also looking for businesses to get in touch to learn more about the project and funding.

    Councillor Ryan Jude, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Ecology and Culture said:

    Not many people would think that a micro forest could be so central, but I’m thrilled that we are adding central London’s biggest plantation of trees to Westbourne Green. This is a huge step forward in mitigating climate change and helping our city become net zero by 2040.”

    “Westminster is home to some of London’s best green spaces so increasing biodiversity and plant life across the city underlines how serious we are improving biodiversity, protecting communities from harmful emissions and teaching younger residents about the value of nature.”

    Jack Gordon, a local resident to Westbourne Green added:

    Community based projects are the lifeblood of any close community and this is such an important way to help green the local area.”

    “More needs to be done understand how important trees and how they help mitigate the excesses of climate change and this can benefit us in so many different ways.”

    Elisabeth Boivin, Managing Director at Creating Tomorrow’s Forests said:

    We are delighted to be involved in this innovative project that will bring such direct benefits to residents around Westbourne Green Open Space, funded by our partnerships with businesses such as Wilmott Dixon and Ecologi. It will be fantastic to show how planting trees has such a positive impact on the local environment, and it is great to have this opportunity to educate people on the advantages of increasing biodiversity in our urban green spaces. We cannot wait to see how the micro forests grow and develop over time.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Preston City Council supports Rough Sleepers with first steps towards Independence

    Source: City of Preston

    With the acquisition of a central Preston property, Preston City Council is launching a night service.

    The aim of the service is to work with rough sleepers in taking steps to get them off the streets and into accommodation, whilst offering them safety, support and advice to help them gain independence.

    Supported by MEAM (Making Every Adult Matter) a consultation was carried out over a six-month period, by Preston City Council’s Housing Advice Services and Rough Sleeper Initiative team (RSI).

    Led by Preston City Council’s Service User Involvement Worker, a small peer group made up of frontline workers and service users, gave feedback on what a nighttime provision could offer.

    The most common answer from service users when asked what was needed was ‘more beds’.

    Preston City Council is committed to delivering this, especially for vulnerable, homeless women, whose numbers are growing, and who need gender specific accommodation alongside trauma-informed help and recovery.

    Based on the feedback, the night service, which plans to open its doors in March 2025, will comprise of cubicles for up to 14 people, and allocate places based on referrals from the Outreach Team working with our partners.

    The plans around increasing accommodation options for rough sleepers will see a focus on trauma informed recovery and breaking the cycle. Preston City Council will build on the successes of the Rough Sleeper Initiative Outreach

    The team who have worked relentlessly for positive change on challenging cases. From the Target Priority Group identified in 2021, 90% are now in accommodation.

    Alongside recovery models, Preston City Council will be addressing ways to aid prevention due to an increase in single homeless applications, and to avoid them becoming entrenched rough sleepers.

    Working with partner agencies to offer support around mental health, drugs and alcohol addiction in a supportive and inclusive environment, service users will also be able to partake in activities and support groups, helping them take positive steps towards gaining independence.

    Councillor Nweeda Khan, Cabinet Member for Communities and Social Justice at Preston City Council said:

    Preston City Council firmly believes that any individual sleeping on the streets in our city is unacceptable, and we stand committed to getting people off the streets and into secure and safe accommodation. National challenges around homelessness and housing have risen dramatically in recent years and we work hard with our community partners to stem the tide of increasing numbers of homelessness in Preston.

    We thank all our partners who time to take part in the research that was carried out.

    Currently there is limited emergency accommodation in the city and the Council have made opening a new Night Shelter Service a priority project, supported as part of a wider package, by the limited funding it has available, to tackle the problem.

    The Night Service will also provide longer term help and solutions through gender specific pathways, to more permanent housing and work with clients to break the cycle of an ‘on the street lifestyle.

    Preston City Council has invested significant resource in this priority area to date and has a strong long-term relationship with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

    The Council continues to explore all avenues for additional funding to support homelessness and rough sleeping.

    An agreement has now been reached with the Foxton Centre, a charity that supports vulnerable communities in Preston. The Council will continue to support the Foxton Day Centre which is, according to data from the Foxton Centre, is used mainly for food during the breakfast session, some showers and some laundry.

    John Parkinson, Chair of the Trustees at the Foxton Centre said:

    We welcome PCC investment in a night shelter in the city. This adds to the range of facilities provided in Preston to support rough sleepers and address the growing problem of homelessness.

    The agreement between PCC and The Foxton to continue to invest in the Foxton Day Centre and create a steering group to coordinate and build on the range of partnerships is a positive step forward. This will enable the further development of joined up services including medical, mental health, addiction and legal support which are currently in place at the Day Centre.

    Multi-agency coordination between statutory and voluntary sector providers is the most effective way to use the resources needed to support rough sleepers.

    As well as nighttime support, Preston’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), was activated in early January and has seen 44 people assisted during its operation, 10 have moved on for a variety of reasons and 34 of those currently in accommodation will be allocated support workers.

    SWEP is a good practice requirement offered by Preston City Council Housing and Homelessnes Services to ensure that people sleeping rough are not at risk of harm during extreme cold or severe weather.

    Drop-in Sessions

    Preston City Council is holding a series of drop-in sessions at the Town Hall between 4 – 8pm, in collaboration with MEAM for local businesses, answering questions and offering more information about the night service.

    Follow-up workshops are being offered for those interested in being involved or discussing ways in working together with the Council and MEAM.

    Awareness session

    • Thursday 27 February

    Workshops

    • Tuesday 4 March
    • Wednesday 5 March
    • Thursday 13 March

     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation for visitor levy scheme for Aberdeen approved

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    A public consultation for a potential visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen which would raise revenue to be used for improvements for the visitor economy in the city has been agreed.

    Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee today approved the move which would see the scheme charge a percentage fee on overnight stays in accommodation.

    Convener of Finance and Resources Councillor Alex McLellan said: “Aberdeen City Council has developed the visitor levy scheme with key stakeholders which will now go out to consultation.

    “There is the potential for the scheme to raise significant funds to help support our ambition to be a leading visitor destination.

    “Our decision around whether or not to introduce a visitor levy will be informed by the consultation as it is important to consider the views of the trade, and a key part of that discussion will be around how the council could use the funds to boost the city’s economy, increase visitor numbers, and, in turn, fill hotel rooms.”

    Chair of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association Frank Whitaker said “It is fair to say that the hotel sector lobbied hard against legislation for a visitor levy. However, the law now enables local authorities across Scotland to implement a visitor levy, so it is incumbent on industry to work with local authorities to develop effective schemes that support local economic growth.

    “The introduction of a visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen City has the potential to be a positive economic growth lever if correctly invested, benefitting not just all types of visitors to Aberdeen but also local residents.”

    The report to committee said The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee or tax on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. The levy would be calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation, after deducting any commission costs.

    The main purpose of the bill is to invest more in the local economy in ways that will benefit business and leisure visitors as well as residents.

    The local authority has the discretion to set what the rate is and the legislation allows for local authorities to set different rates for different purposes or areas meaning that different rates can be set for particular events, such as arts festivals or special conferences and that local authorities can vary the area in which the levy applies within their boundary.

    Local authorities cannot vary the type of accommodation that the levy would apply to and that includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, camping sites, caravan parks, accommodation in a vehicle, or on board a vessel which is permanently or predominantly situated in one place.

    Cruise ships and motor homes are not subject to the levy. The levy is not payable where the visitor or any other person utilising the right to reside in the overnight accommodation is in receipt of benefits, payments, or allowances for a disability.

    The report said if it goes ahead, the absolute earliest a visitor levy scheme can come into effect in Aberdeen is 1 April 2027. For public consultation, a rate of 7% is proposed which would produce a levy of £5 per night on an average hotel room of £70 a night.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation launched to define Liverpool’s 15-year economic vision

    Source: City of Liverpool

    A public consultation has been launched asking businesses and residents to comment on a vision to grow Liverpool’s multi-billion-pound economy over the next 15 years.

    The Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy will set the framework for growth up to 2040 and the eight-week consultation, hosted by Liverpool City Council, aims to inform the development of the resulting action plan.

    The vision for Liverpool 2040 is to create a strong and inclusive economy that leaves no one behind.

    The strategy focuses on strengthening foundations to build a fairer, more prosperous, and sustainable city that creates opportunities for a good life for all its residents.

    The draft strategy focuses on several key themes, including:

    • Strengthening key sectors to drive growth, innovation, investment and productivity
      Key sectors include: Health & Life Sciences, Creative and Digital industries, Advanced Manufacturing and Maritime.
    • Build a vibrant, productive and resilient business base
    • Ensure access to skills development, employment opportunities and career building
    • Place people at the heart of growth activity and supporting aspirations and networks

    Several public engagement events will be staged over the coming months to gather views from the public. People can also go online at www.liverpool.gov.uk/growthstrategyconsultation to find out more and give their feedback.

    Liverpool currently powers a £16.7 billion economy, with over 14,000 businesses and around 230,000 people in employment.

    However, significant challenges remain, including low productivity and investment, financial pressures on public services, inequality of opportunity in some communities, and health challenges.

    In light of these challenges, the Council, which recently submitted a New Town bid to Government to regenerate a huge part of North Liverpool, is committed to supporting businesses and residents. Delivering an inclusive economy a core pillar for Liverpool’s Strategic Partnership plan for 2040.

    This draft inclusive growth strategy will also complement other key aims such as the city’s Net Zero commitment, the actions outlined in the 2040 Health of the City report as well as the Council’s Local Plan, Housing Plan and Transport Plan.

    To further underline the Council’s commitment, since June 2023, its Business Support Service has provided advice and guidance to over 1,000 Liverpool businesses and supported 300+ residents with direct advice on starting up a new business.

    The Adult Learning and Skills team has also supported over 4,500 residents to develop essential workplace skills, and the Ways to Work team has supported 1,708 economically inactive and unemployed residents with employment and skills services.

    Councillor Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Growth, said: “This draft Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy is a vital piece of work and one which will come to define the conditions that support our businesses to grow.

    “Feedback to this draft strategy is crucial, it needs to reflects the views and needs of our businesses, non-profit organizations, charities, and voluntary organization – be it education, transport, housing or digital connectivity.

    “We also want to hear residents’ views to ensure we create a strong, relevant and deliverable strategy, one that will inform the initiatives, interventions and investment into the infrastructure the city needs to underpin our future economy.

    “All of this feedback will help us strengthen the strategy, ensure we deliver the right action for economic growth, and best placing us to build inclusivity so residents and communities thrive.”

    Councillor Lila Bennett, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Employment, Educational Attainment and Skills, said “The success of this strategy will be deeply rooted in the strength and diversity of our partnerships and our collective commitment and action. All our partners have a key role in driving economic growth and ensuring benefits are felt across all communities.

    “We also want our partners, including the business community, to embrace and deliver for our residents by realising opportunities and addressing challenges, from climate change to AI, to train and upskill their workforce to be ready for the economy of the future.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered)

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Good afternoon, friends.

    Thank you, Secretary Healy for your leadership, both in hosting and now leading the UDCG. 

    This is my first Ukraine Defense Contact Group. And I’m honored to join all of you today.  

    And I appreciate the opportunity to share President Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine.

    We are at, as you said Mr. Secretary, a critical moment. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear: The bloodshed must stop.  And this war must end.

    President Trump has been clear with the American people – and with many of your leaders – that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority.

    He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal. 

    We will only end this devastating war – and establish a durable peace – by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.

    We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.  

    Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.  

    A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again.  

    This must not be Minsk 3.0. 

    That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. 

    Instead any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. 

    If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under Article 5.  There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact.

    To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine. 

    To further enable effective diplomacy and drive down energy prices that fund the Russian war machine, President Trump is unleashing American energy production and encouraging other nations to do the same. Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table. 

    Safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO. As part of this Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.

    Members of this Contact Group must meet the moment.  

    This means:  Donating more ammunition and equipment. Leveraging comparative advantages.  Expanding your defense industrial base. And importantly, leveling with your citizens about the threat facing Europe.

    Part of this is speaking frankly with your people about how this threat can only be met by spending more on defense.  

    2% is not enough; President Trump has called for 5%, and I agree.

    Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future. A down payment as you said Mr. Secretary of peace through strength.

    We’re also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.

    The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland.  We must – and we are – focusing on security of our own borders.

    We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing tradeoffs to ensure deterrence does not fail. 

    Deterrence cannot fail, for all of our sakes.

    As the United States prioritizes its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front. 

    Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific respectively.

    In my first weeks as Secretary of Defense, under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve seen promising signs that Europe sees this threat, understands what needs to be done, and is stepping up to the task.

    For example, Sweden recently announced its largest ever assistance package. We applaud them for committing $1.2 billion in ammunition and other needed materiel.

    Poland is spending 5% of GDP on defense already, which is a model for the continent.

    And 14 countries are co-leading Capability Coalitions. These groups are doing great work to coordinate Europe’s contributions of lethal assistance across eight key capability areas.

    These are first steps. More must still be done.  

    We ask each of your countries to step up on fulfilling the commitments that you have made.  

    And we challenge your countries, and your citizens, to double down and re-commit yourselves not only to Ukraine’s immediate security needs, but to Europe’s long-term defense and deterrence goals. 

    Our transatlantic alliance has endured for decades. And we fully expect that it will be sustained for generations to come. But this won’t just happen.  

    It will require our European allies to step into the arena and take ownership of conventional security on the continent.  

    The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe. Full stop.   

    But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.  Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security. 

    Honesty will be our policy going forward – but only in the spirit of solidarity.   

    President Trump looks forward to working together, to continuing this frank discussion amongst friends, and to achieve peace through strength – together.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Prolific shoplifter jailed in east London

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A prolific shoplifter who repeatedly targeted stores in east London has been convicted following a Met Police investigation.

    Officers were called to Tesco Express on High Road in Leytonstone at 16:00hrs on Tuesday, 7 January, following a report a man had been apprehended by staff after attempting to steal a large amount of alcohol.

    The offender was detained by officers outside the store, with the incident captured on CCTV and the footage recovered as part of the investigation.

    Lee Moise, 46 (12.04.86), of no fixed address, was further charged with nine other thefts and common assault on a member of staff at the same location, as well as a theft at Co-op on Homerton High Street.

    He appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 9 January where he was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months.

    Inspector Mohammed Uddin, from the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Homerton, said:

    “We know shoplifting has a significant impact on businesses which also extends to staff, and successful cases like this highlight our commitment to bringing offenders to justice as we focus on the crimes that matter most to Londoners.

    “Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams continue to work alongside local stores big and small on effective crime prevention initiatives, as well as carrying out more arrest enquiries and liaising with the council to identify shoplifters with the help of their CCTV operations.

    “We are also working with drug and homeless outreach teams who provide support to people known for shoplifting which is often used to fund their drug habits. It’s these targeted approaches that is making a difference in communities across London.”

    A Tesco spokesperson said:

    “Our colleagues work hard to serve our customers every day, and each member of our team deserves to feel safe at work.

    “We would like to thank all the officers and our internal security team who have worked collaboratively on this case.

    “We continue to liaise closely with our partners, such as the Metropolitan Police, to share information and invest in new ways to keep our stores, like the High Road Leytonstone Express, safe places to work and shop.”

    The conviction of Moise is another example of the intelligence-led approach Safer Neighbourhood teams in east London are taking to remove prolific shoplifters from their respective wards.

    In Homerton alone, neighbourhood officers have made 15 arrests relating to more than 50 crimes since September 2024, of which six people are currently serving prison terms.

    More widely, the Met is collaborating with the business community to target those who continuously shoplift, using data and technology such as phone tracking and surveillance techniques.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Tom Brady Joins Cloudera as Keynote Speaker as Company Kicks Off FY26 with Game-Changing Data and AI Capabilities

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cloudera, the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI, welcomed Tom Brady as a guest speaker during the company’s annual Sales Kick Off, ELEVATE26, on February 11. Brady—interviewed onstage by Cloudera CEO Charles Sansbury and CRO Frank O’Dowd—offered attendees his advice on leadership, perseverance, teamwork, and what it takes to win.

    Taking place February 10-13 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Cloudera’s ELEVATE26 marks the beginning of a new fiscal year for the data and AI leader. Brady’s perspective on his personal and professional journey set the tone as the company plans for another successful year. In particular, his advice on how to stay motivated, maintain a solution-first mindset, and excel beyond expectations aligned with the business strategies and goals that Cloudera delivered to its more than 700 staff in attendance.

    “As one of the undisputed greatest athletes of all time, Tom was the perfect keynote speaker for our team this week,” said O’Dowd. “Cloudera has an unwavering commitment to being the best at what we do. We’ve had an incredibly successful year and are prepared to continue to lead the AI and data space and model the way into the future.”

    2024 was a milestone year for Cloudera with the company reaching over $1 billion in revenue by year end. With demand for trusted, governed AI and data management solutions skyrocketing, Cloudera prioritized investments in its platform and partnership ecosystem to deliver robust capabilities to its global customer base. This includes acquiring Verta’s operational AI platform and Octopai’s data lineage and catalog platform, and unleashing several key features—most recently new AI assistants and a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) studio.

    “The success we achieved last year is just the beginning,” said Sansbury. “Tom said it best: never settle. That’s exactly the mantra we’re going to bring into 2025 as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible for our customers by delivering on the promise of supporting true hybrid, enabling modern data architectures, and accelerating enterprise AI.”

    To learn more about Cloudera, visit www.cloudera.com.

    About Cloudera

    Cloudera is the only true hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI. With 100x more data under management than other cloud-only vendors, Cloudera empowers global enterprises to transform data of all types, on any public or private cloud, into valuable, trusted insights. Our open data lakehouse delivers scalable and secure data management with portable cloud-native analytics, enabling customers to bring GenAI models to their data while maintaining privacy and ensuring responsible, reliable AI deployments. The world’s largest brands in financial services, insurance, media, manufacturing, and government rely on Cloudera to use their data to solve what seemed impossible—today and in the future.

    To learn more, visit Cloudera.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X. Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    Contact
    Jess Hohn-Cabana
    cloudera@v2comms.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Launches Galaxy F06 5G, Its Most Affordable 5G Smartphone in India

    Source: Samsung

     
    Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, today announced the launch of Galaxy F06 5G, its most affordable 5G smartphone in India. Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize the 5G segment with the perfect blend of high-performance and style. Galaxy F06 5G will provide a complete 5G experience at an affordable price, making 5G technology accessible for more consumers and accelerating its widespread adoption across the country. Galaxy F06 5G supports 12 5G bands across all telecom operators. 
     
    “We are proud to announce our most affordable 5G smartphone, designed to make next-generation connectivity accessible to everyone. The launch of Galaxy F06 5G reflects our commitment to bridging the digital divide and empowering millions of consumers with a complete 5G experience, superior performance, and an all-new stylish design at an introductory price starting INR 9499. With Galaxy F06 5G, we are not just launching a smartphone, but new possibilities for every Indian,” said Akshay S Rao, General Manager, MX Business, Samsung India. 
     
    Full 5G Experience 
    Galaxy F06 5G is built to deliver unmatched connectivity, supporting 12 5G bands across all telecom operators. It comes with Carrier Aggregation to deliver faster download and upload speeds. Galaxy F06 5G is also enabled to provide a smoother live streaming and video calling experience.  
     
    All-New Design and Display 
    Galaxy F06 5G features a ‘Ripple Glow’ finish that shimmers with every movement exuding elegance and sophistication. Featuring a 6.7” large HD+ display with 800 Nits brightness, Galaxy F06 5G offers consumers stunning visuals and an elevated viewing experience. The smartphone is 8mm sleek and weighs only 191 grams, making it incredibly ergonomic to use. Galaxy F06 5G will be available in two strikingly bold and mesmerizing colours – Bahama Blue and Lit Violet.  
     
    Camera 
    Galaxy F06 5G houses a striking new camera deco. The high-resolution 50MP wide-angle lens with F1.8 aperture captures vibrant, detailed photos, while the 2MP depth-sensing camera delivers pictures with enhanced clarity. The 8MP front camera ensures your selfies are crisp and clear. 
     
    Multitasking & Gaming 
    Galaxy F06 5G is powered by MediaTek D6300, one of the segment’s best processor having an AnTuTu score of upto 416K making it fast and power-efficient, allowing you to multi-task smoothly. Galaxy F06 5G delivers a swift mobile gaming experience with high-speed connectivity along with high-quality audio and visuals. 
     
    Battery & Fast Charging 
    Galaxy F06 5G packs in 5000mAh battery that enables long sessions of browsing, gaming and binge watching. Galaxy F06 5G allows users to stay connected, entertained and productive without interruption. Galaxy F06 5G supports segment-leading 25W fast charging, giving more power in less time. 
     
    Galaxy Foundation 
    Samsung is reaffirming its commitment to customer satisfaction by providing best-in-segment 4 generations of OS upgrades and 4 years of security updates with Galaxy F06 5G, ensuring users can enjoy the latest features and enhanced security for years to come. 
     
    Galaxy F06 5G will feature one of Samsung’s most innovative security features: Samsung Knox Vault. The hardware-based security system offers comprehensive protection against both hardware and software attacks. Additionally, Galaxy F06 5G is set to revolutionize consumer experience with innovations such as Voice Focus that cuts the ambient noise for a clear calling experience and the Quick Share feature which enables users to instantly share files, photos and documents with any other device, even if they are faraway, including your laptop and tab, privately.  
    Product 
    Variant 
    Introductory Price 
    Offers 
     
    Galaxy F06 5G 
    4GB+128GB 
    INR 9499 
    *Including INR 500 Bank Cashback offer 
     
     6GB+128GB 
    INR 10999 
     

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines Announces 2024 Fourth Quarter and Annual Financial Results, Declares Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights

    • Net income of $206 million
    • Affordable Housing Program (AHP) assessments of $23 million
    • Voluntary community and housing contributions of $19 million
    • Advances totaled $100.0 billion
    • Mortgage loans held for portfolio, net totaled $11.9 billion
    • Letters of credit totaled $20.1 billion
    • Retained earnings totaled $3.5 billion

    Dividend

    The Board of Directors approved a fourth quarter 2024 dividend to be paid at an annualized rate of 9.75% on average activity-based stock, an increase of 0.25% from prior quarter, and 6.00% on average membership stock, unchanged from the prior quarter. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (the Bank) expects to make dividend payments totaling $138 million on February 19, 2025.

    Liquidity Mission

    The Bank provides liquidity to its members to support the housing, business, and economic development needs of the communities they serve. Members pledge collateral to access our core liquidity products of advances, letters of credit, and purchased mortgage loans under the Mortgage Partnership Finance® Program. During 2024, advance balances averaged $107.4 billion, and purchased mortgage loan balances averaged $10.9 billion. The liquidity provided through these products allows our members to:

    • meet mortgage and other loan demand in their communities when deposits alone are insufficient;
    • originate mortgage loans without holding them on their balance sheet; and
    • reduce interest rate risk by structuring advances to match their assets.

    In addition, the Bank provides a reliable source of contingent liquidity for its members. During 2024, the Bank held an average of $28.1 billion of short-term assets as a source of liquidity for this purpose.

    Affordable Housing and Community Impact

    The Bank’s housing and community development programs are central to its mission by providing reliable liquidity and funding to help its members build strong communities and support their affordable housing needs. The Bank contributes 10% of its net income each year to its AHP, an annual grant program that supports the creation, preservation, or purchase of affordable housing. This program includes a competitive AHP and two down payment products called Home$tart and the Native American Homeownership Initiative. During 2024, the Bank accrued statutory AHP assessments of $102 million to be awarded in 2025 through this program. In addition to the statutory assessment, the Bank voluntarily accrued $13 million for use in the AHP during 2024.

    In addition to its AHP, the Bank offers its members voluntary programs to further its housing mission and provide support for affordable housing initiatives. During 2024, the Habitat for Humanity® Advance Rate Discount program provided $100 million in 0% rate advances to members that originated or purchased mortgage loans from a Habitat for Humanity® affiliate and recorded $22 million in subsidy expense. This source of low cost funding enables members to partner with Habitat for Humanity® affiliates to offer lower-rate mortgages to homeowners and support the construction of affordable housing. In 2024, the Bank funded $310 million of loans under the Mortgage Rate Relief program, which provided $29 million in grants to those seeking affordable homeownership. Mortgage Rate Relief is designed to make homeownership attainable for borrowers at or below 80% of the area median income by providing them an interest rate that is lower than the current market rate. The Bank also recorded a $4 million contribution to its Member Impact Fund during 2024. The Member Impact Fund is a discretionary program in which the Bank matches member donations to local housing and community development organizations. Through these programs and our voluntary AHP contributions, the Bank recorded a total of $68 million in voluntary community and housing contributions during 2024.

    2024 Financial Results Discussion

    Net Income – The Bank recorded net income of $914 million in 2024 compared to $962 million in the prior year.

    Net Interest Income – The Bank recorded net interest income of $1.2 billion in 2024, a decrease of $70 million when compared to the prior year, primarily due to lower average advance balances, decreases in market value adjustments on the Bank’s fair value hedge relationships, and lower prepayment fee income on advances. The decline was offset in part by improved asset-liability spreads on investments, driven by higher-yielding mortgage-backed security purchases.  

    Other Income (Loss) – The Bank recorded other income of $37 million in 2024, an improvement of $52 million when compared to the prior year, primarily due to the net changes in fair value on the Bank’s trading securities, fair value option instruments, and economic derivatives. During 2024, the improvement in other income was also driven by increased fees on standby letters of credit and net gains recorded on litigation settlements.

    Other Expense – The Bank recorded other expense of $258 million in 2024, an increase of $37 million when compared to the prior year. The increase during 2024 was primarily driven by an increase in voluntary community and housing contributions of $21 million when compared to the prior year. Additionally, the increase during 2024 was driven by higher contract labor and consultant costs.

    Assets – The Bank’s total assets decreased to $165.3 billion at December 31, 2024, from $184.4 billion at December 31, 2023, driven primarily by a decline in advances. Advances decreased $22.6 billion due mainly to a decline in borrowings by large depository institution members, offset in part by an increase in borrowings by insurance companies.

    Capital – Total capital decreased to $9.5 billion at December 31, 2024, from $9.8 billion at December 31, 2023, primarily due to a decrease in activity-based capital stock resulting from a decline in advance balances.

    Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines
    Financial Highlights
    (preliminary and unaudited)
    Dollars in millions
    Selected Balance Sheet Items December 31,
    2024    		   December 31,
    2023
    Advances $ 99,951     $ 122,530  
    Investments   52,032       49,828  
    Mortgage loans held for portfolio, net   11,896       9,967  
    Total assets   165,253       184,406  
    Consolidated obligations   153,251       171,498  
    Capital stock – Class B putable   5,989       6,873  
    Retained earnings   3,491       3,138  
    Total capital   9,451       9,831  
    Total regulatory capital1   9,489       10,023  
    Regulatory capital ratio   5.74 %     5.44 %
    1      Total regulatory capital includes capital stock, mandatorily redeemable capital stock, and retained earnings. The regulatory capital ratio is calculated as
             regulatory capital as a percentage of period end assets.
      For the Three Months Ended   For the Year Ended
      December 31,   December 31,
    Operating Results   2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Net interest income $ 241     $ 347     $ 1,236     $ 1,306  
    Provision (reversal) for credit losses on mortgage loans   1       —       (1 )     1  
    Other income (loss)   56       14       37       (15 )
    Other expense   67       77       258       221  
    Affordable Housing Program assessments   23       28       102       107  
    Net income $ 206     $ 256     $ 914     $ 962  
    Performance Ratios              
    Net interest spread   0.26 %     0.45 %     0.41 %     0.43 %
    Net interest margin   0.56       0.74       0.70       0.72  
    Return on average equity (annualized)   8.76       10.36       9.52       10.30  
    Return on average assets (annualized)   0.47       0.53       0.51       0.52  
                                   
    The financial results reported in this earnings release for 2024 are preliminary until the Bank announces audited financial results in its 2024 Form 10-K filed
    with the Securities and Exchange Commission, expected to be available next month at www.fhlbdm.com and www.sec.gov.

    The Bank is a member-owned cooperative whose mission is to be a reliable provider of funding, liquidity, and services for its members so that they can meet the housing, business, and economic development needs of the communities they serve. The Bank is wholly owned by nearly 1,250 members, including commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions. The Bank serves Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the U.S. Pacific territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Bank is one of 11 regional banks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

    Statements contained in this announcement, including statements describing the objectives, projections, estimates, or future predictions in the Bank’s operations, may be forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as believes, projects, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, strategy, plan, could, should, may, and will or their negatives or other variations on these terms. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk or uncertainty, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied or could affect the extent to which a particular objective, projection, estimate, or prediction is realized. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. A detailed discussion of the more important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ from such forward-looking statements can be found in the “Risk Factors” section of the Bank’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date they are made, and the Bank undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

    Contact: Julie DeVader
    515.412.2172
    jdevader@fhlbdm.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Jerome H Powell: Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Warren, and other members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to present the Federal Reserve’s semiannual Monetary Policy Report.

    The Federal Reserve remains squarely focused on achieving its dual-mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people. The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years. Labor market conditions have cooled from their formerly overheated state and remain solid. Inflation has moved much closer to our 2 percent longer-run goal, though it remains somewhat elevated. We are attentive to the risks on both sides of our mandate.

    I will review the current economic situation before turning to monetary policy.

    Current Economic Situation and Outlook

    Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Gross domestic product rose 2.5 percent in 2024, bolstered by resilient consumer spending. Investment in equipment and intangibles appears to have declined in the fourth quarter but was solid for the year overall. Following weakness in the middle of last year, activity in the housing sector seems to have stabilized.

    In the labor market, conditions remain solid and appear to have stabilized. Payroll job gains averaged 189,000 per month over the past four months. Following earlier increases, the unemployment rate has been steady since the middle of last year and, at 4 percent in January, remains low. Nominal wage growth has eased over the past year, and the jobs-to-workers gap has narrowed. Overall, a wide set of indicators suggests that conditions in the labor market are broadly in balance. The labor market is not a source of significant inflationary pressures. The strong labor market conditions in recent years have helped narrow long-standing disparities in employment and earnings across demographic groups.1

    Inflation has eased significantly over the past two years but remains somewhat elevated relative to our 2 percent longer-run goal. Total personal consumption expenditures (PCE) prices rose 2.6 percent over the 12 months ending in December, and, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core PCE prices rose 2.8 percent. Longer-term inflation expectations appear to remain well anchored, as reflected in a broad range of surveys of households, businesses, and forecasters, as well as measures from financial markets.

    Monetary Policy

    Our monetary policy actions are guided by our dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people. Since last September, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the policy rate by a full percentage point from its peak after having maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 percent for 14 months. That recalibration of our policy stance was appropriate in light of the progress on inflation and the cooling in the labor market. Meanwhile, we have continued to reduce our securities holdings.

    With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance. We know that reducing policy restraint too fast or too much could hinder progress on inflation. At the same time, reducing policy restraint too slowly or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment. In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the FOMC will assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

    As the economy evolves, we will adjust our policy stance in a manner that best promotes our maximum-employment and price-stability goals. If the economy remains strong and inflation does not continue to move sustainably toward 2 percent, we can maintain policy restraint for longer. If the labor market were to weaken unexpectedly or inflation were to fall more quickly than anticipated, we can ease policy accordingly. We are attentive to the risks to both sides of our dual mandate, and policy is well positioned to deal with the risks and uncertainties that we face.

    This year, we are conducting the second periodic review of our monetary policy strategy, tools, and communications-the framework used to pursue our congressionally assigned goals of maximum employment and stable prices. The focus of this review is on the FOMC’s Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, which articulates the Committee’s approach to monetary policy, and on the Committee’s policy communications tools. The Committee’s 2 percent longer-run inflation goal will be retained and will not be a focus of the review.

    Our review will include outreach and public events involving a wide range of parties, including Fed Listens events around the country and a research conference in May. We will take on board lessons of the past five years and adapt our approach where appropriate to best serve the American people, to whom we are accountable. We intend to wrap up the review by late summer.

    Let me conclude by emphasizing that at the Fed, we will do everything we can to achieve the two goals Congress set for monetary policy-maximum employment and stable prices. We remain committed to supporting maximum employment, bringing inflation sustainably to our 2 percent goal, and keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored. Our success in delivering on these goals matters to all Americans. We understand that our actions affect communities, families, and businesses across the country. Everything we do is in service to our public mission.

    Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Lord Chancellor sets out her vision for the probation service

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, made a speech outlining her vision for the future of the probation service.

    Please note the political content has been removed from this speech.

    Today, we are in Southwark, the home of London’s probation service, one of the busiest in the country.

    Here in London, the Service supervises more than 36,000 offenders.

    And, every day, in this building, there are a thousand untold stories of how our probation service protects the public and makes our streets safer.

    I want to talk about the future of our probation service today.

    But to look to that future, I think we must first look to the past.

    Because it was here, in Southwark, that the probation service first took root.

    Over 150 years ago, the Church of England’s temperance movement posted a man called George Nelson to Southwark’s police court.

    Nelson was the first of a band of missionaries, driven by their faith and strict teetotalism, who gave up their time to help offenders give up the drink.

    Addiction then, as addiction now, drove much criminal behaviour…

    And the approach worked.

    In fact, it worked so well that the courts came to rely on missionaries like Nelson.

    A system soon developed where offenders would be released on the condition that they kept in touch with these volunteers.

    Because what began as a moral cause proved to have a practical purpose:

    These missionaries led to less crime and fewer victims.

    As this Government might say: they made our streets safer.

    By the early twentieth century, this voluntary service was so greatly valued that it was placed on a statutory footing.

    The 1907 Probation of Offenders Act established the first formal structure for probation…

    And the volunteers became professionals.  

    In the years that followed, the service grew:

    The 1925 Criminal Justice Act paid probation officers a regular wage.

    By the 1950s, probation’s work expanded to offenders on parole.

    And by the 1980s, the service was focused increasingly on prison releases.

    Over time, the role developed.

    Where the early missionaries were focused on crimes driven by addiction…

    In time, they took responsibility for the management of ever more, and ever more complex, offenders.

    Too often overlooked, with our focus invariably falling on the police or on prisons…

    Probation became an indispensable part of a criminal justice system that keeps us safe.

    It remains so today, now a service that is more than 20,000 strong…

    And probation officers supervise almost a quarter of a million offenders – around three times the number currently serving time in our prisons.

    Each year, they oversee more than 4 million hours of community payback.

    They monitor around 9,000 offenders on a tag at any given moment.

    They provide sentencing advice to hundreds of courts every single day.

    And they also provide a vital link to tens of thousands of victims, through the Victim Contact and the Victim Notification schemes.

    But while there have been bright moments in the service’s past, we must acknowledge the dark days too.

    In 2014 the service was split:

    Part remained in the public sector, managing the highest-risk offenders.

    The rest was hived off, to be run by the private sector, who would supervise those of low and medium risk.

    Community Rehabilitation Companies would bring the ingenuity of the private sector to solve the problem of reoffending.

    The rhetoric was of a revolution in how we manage offenders.

    The reality was far different.

    Workloads increased, as new offenders were brought under supervision for the first time…

    The number of people on probation increased between December 2014 and December 2016, with almost 50,000 offenders newly under its remit.

    Scarce resources were stretched further than ever…   

    Morale plummeted.

    And worrying numbers voted with their feet, leaving the service altogether…

    With the Inspector of Probation declaring a “national shortage” of probation professionals in 2019. 

    The new companies woefully underperformed.

    Between 2017 and 2018, just 5 of 37 audits carried out by HMPPS demonstrated that expected standards were being met.

    In 2019, 8 out of 10 companies inspected received the lowest possible rating – “inadequate” – for supervising offenders.

    The Chief Inspector called them “irredeemably flawed”.

    And the service was labelled ‘inadequate’.

    In 2021, it was finally, rightly, re-unified and re-nationalised.

    Now, make no mistake…

    Every day, across the country, probation staff make this country safer.

    This was clearly evident in the service’s response to the prison capacity crisis.

    With prisons just days from collapse, this Government was forced to introduce an emergency release programme, which saw some offenders leave prison a few weeks or months early.

    The alternative, as I said at the time, did not bear thinking about:

    We would have been forced to shut the front door of our prisons…

    An act that would have sent dominoes tumbling through our justice system:

    Courts unable to hold trials…

    Police forced to halt arrests…

    And the eventual path to a total breakdown of law and order.

    In making that decision, I knew the probation service would have to carry an even heavier load.

    They would have to put in place plans for the safe release of prisoners in just a few weeks.

    I tried to give them as much time as I possibly could to prepare:

    An eight-week implementation period.

    It wasn’t long to prepare, but the probation service used it with great skill.

    But now is also a moment to be honest about the challenges the service faces.

    And the simple fact is this:

    The service was burdened with a workload that was, quite simply, impossible.

    When we took office, we discovered that orders handed out by courts were not taking place.

    In the 3 years to March 2024 around 13,000 Accredited Programmes, a type of rehabilitative course, did not happen.

    This wasn’t because an offender had failed to do what was expected of them…

    But instead because the Probation Service had been unable to deliver these courses.

    As I have shown already in this job, I believe in confronting problems, not pretending they are not there.

    And so, we will ensure only those offenders who pose a higher risk, and who need to receive these courses, will do so.

    This isn’t a decision I take lightly.

    But it is a decision to confront the reality of the challenges facing the probation service.

    I should be clear:

    For those who will not complete an accredited programme, they remain under the supervision of a probation officer…

    And all the other requirements placed upon them will remain in place.

    Any breach of a community sentence could see them hauled back into court.

    Any breach of a licence condition could see them back behind bars.

    Addressing individual issues like these, however, is no long-term solution to the challenges the probation service faces.

    Today, across the country, probation officers are spread too thin – responsible for caseloads and workloads that exceed what they should be expected to handle.

    Probation officers are drawn to the profession not because it is just another job.

    This job is a vocation, even a calling…

    They are, after all, the inheritors of those missionaries of 150 years ago.

    They are experts in their discipline…

    Who want to know that their work is protecting the public…

    And keeping offenders on the straight and narrow.

    Over-stretched, they can’t work with offenders in the way they need to.

    And the burden placed on probation officers’ shoulders grow heavier and heavier.

    It has driven people away from the job…

    It has made the public less safe…

    And it has to change.

    It is clear we need to bring more people into the probation service.

    In July, I committed to bringing on 1,000 trainee probation officers by March of this year.

    But we must go further.

    Today, I can announce that, next year, we will bring on at least 1,300 new, trainee probation officers.

    New probation officers are the lifeblood of the service, and they will guarantee its future.

    But they are not enough alone.

    It is also clear we must remove the administrative burden that weighs probation officers down…

    And makes them less effective in their roles.

    Today, too many hours of probation officer time are wasted each day.

    They are drowning in paperwork.

    And I don’t mean metaphorical paperwork.

    I mean literal pen and paperwork.

    This takes up valuable time, that would be better spent working with offenders…

    And it also introduces the risk of error – the failure to identify the critical piece of information that might shape a professional’s judgement of the risk that an offender poses.

    Where digital processes do exist in the probation service, they can be difficult to navigate.

    Information is stored in multiple different systems that do not speak to each other.

    And probation officers are forced, laboriously, to type the same information time and again.

    We will soon pilot a digital tool that will put all the information a probation officer needs to know into one place.

    Over time, this will include information from other agencies, like the police as we need to make sure data is more readily shared, so that probation can make better decisions.

    We’re also trialling a new system for risk assessing offenders, to make it more straightforward for probation officers to make robust decisions.

    A group of officers in Brighton started using this in December last year…

    And we estimate it will cut up to 20 percent of the time it takes to do this crucial activity.

    It might sound simple, but the impact could be considerable.

    Every minute saved is more time probation officers can spend working with offenders.

    Less simple, but even more transformational, there’s the potential of artificial intelligence.

    We are currently looking into voice transcription.

    This would automatically record and transcribe supervision conversations by taking notes in real time…

    Allowing probation officers to focus on building relationships, while also removing the need for them to enter handwritten notes into a computer afterwards.

    In time, we believe that AI could play a more active role in supporting staff to supervise offenders – for example, drawing on the data we have on an offender to suggest a supervision plan tailored to them.

    This new technology will ensure probation officers provide what only they can:

    The human factor.

    The ability to work with an offender, one-to-one, to understand the risk they pose…

    To develop a plan for how to manage it…

    Ultimately, to turn them away from a life of crime – and so protect the public.

    That is what remains true about the probation officer’s job now, just as it was 150 years ago.

    The courts didn’t turn to the temperance movement’s missionaries because they were great at paperwork.

    They did so because of how they worked with offenders.

    They knew – in the words of the Government Minister who brought in the 1907 Probation Act – how “to guide and admonish” an offender to make the public safer.

    But while new staff and better technology are necessary to the future of our probation service…

    They are not sufficient.

    With a caseload of nearly a quarter of a million offenders…

    We must also look at the work that probation officers are doing…

    And we must ask:

    Where should their time be spent…

    And, more specifically, who should their time be spent with to have the greatest impact?

    In this, it is clear there are two types of offender.

    On the one hand, we have those who pose a higher risk to society.

    In this group, we have those who are dangerous – posing a real risk of harm to the public.

    We also have those whose offending is prolific – the one in every ten offenders who is guilty of nearly half of all sentenced crime.

    On the other hand, we have offenders who pose a lower risk.

    They are not serial offenders, with a high risk of reoffending.

    Their crimes are instead often fuelled by addiction, homelessness, and joblessness.

    These crimes are not excusable.

    All crimes must be punished.

    But these two groups – the higher and lower risk – are different.

    If we want to reduce reoffending, cut crime and have safer streets, we have to treat them differently.

    And too often today, we don’t.

    We have a one size fits all approach.

    That must change.

    For higher-risk offenders, a probation officer’s time and focus is essential.

    It is no exaggeration to say that effective supervision of this cohort can be the difference between life and death.

    We all know the tragedies:  

    I think of Terri Harris, her children John Paul and Lacey Bennett and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, savagely murdered by Damien Bendall in 2021, when Bendall was serving a community sentence.

    And I think of Zara Aleena, murdered by Jordan McSweeney in 2022, just nine days after he had left prison on licence.

    We will never be able to stop every tragedy.  

    But we have to stop more.

    There are improvements that we can and must make to the processes probation officers follow, and the technology they use.

    We have introduced new training, to better identify risk…

    New digital tools, as I have mentioned already, will draw together the critical pieces of information from partner organisations, like the police.

    But the vital ingredient is time:

    The time of a professional probation officer…

    Devoted to identifying the risk an offender poses…

    Creating a plan to manage it…

    And supervising, closely, that offender to ensure they do not deviate from it.

    That is the human factor that only a probation officer can provide.

    If probation officers are to have this valuable time with these offenders, we must be more efficient with the time they devote to lower-risk offenders.

    At the very end of their time in office, my predecessor introduced a policy called Probation Reset.

    This saw supervision of lower-risk offenders end after two-thirds of their licence period.

    This was a step in the right direction.

    The interventions that work best with lower risk offenders are not necessarily those provided by probation officers.

    So that is where we must now direct the attention of their supervision.

    We need to get these offenders off drugs and booze – reoffending rates are 19 points lower when an offender completes a drug treatment programme.

    We need to ensure they have a roof over their heads – reoffending rates double for those released homeless.  

    And finally, we need to get them working – reoffending rates are up to 9 points lower when an offender is employed.

    The probation service has a role to play here…

    But their unique value is in referring offenders to the intervention that is required to address the cause of their offending.                

    And so today, I can announce that we will build on the work of Reset.

    This Government will focus the probation service on the interventions that have the greater impact.

    For lower risk offenders, we will task probation officers with providing a swifter intervention.

    They will spend more time with an offender immediately after their release:

    First, assessing the root causes of an offender’s crime…

    Then referring them to the services that will address that behaviour:

    Which could be education, training, drug treatment or accommodation…

    Delivered by the probation service, our partners across Government, and through the brilliant work done by the voluntary sector.

    Once offenders are following that direction, as long as the offender stays on the straight and narrow, we must then focus probation officer’s time more effectively:

    That means more time spent with the offenders who pose the greater risk…

    More time with offenders who pose a risk of a serious and violent further offence…

    And more time with offenders whose prolific offending causes so much social and economic damage to local communities.

    That is how we will reduce reoffending…

    That is how we will cut crime…

    And that is how we will make our streets safer.

    These measures are necessary today, but they will be even more important in the months and years to come.

    David Gauke’s independent review of sentencing will report soon.

    He has been asked to ensure we never run out of prison places again.

    There is no doubt that this will increase pressure on probation.

    As I made clear when I announced the review, I have asked David to consider how we make more use of punishment outside of prison.

    In my view, technology is likely to play a key role – taking advantage of advances in the tech that is being used here and in other jurisdictions:

    Like sobriety tags, which can measure the alcohol levels in offenders’ sweat every 30 minutes, and have a 97 percent compliance rate…

    And GPS tags, which can put in place exclusion zones to alert authorities if offenders enter areas we have banned them from.

    There are also likely to be more sentences served in the community…

    And more drug, alcohol and mental health treatment requirements placed on offenders.

    These are the tools that must be at the judiciary’s disposal to deal with criminals…

    And judges must have trust and confidence that the probation service can deliver them.

    The changes I have announced today are about support for the probation service:

    1,300 new trainee probation officers…

    New technology to lighten the administrative burden…

    And a new focus of their time on where it has the greatest impact.

    Today, I have set out what I think the future direction of the probation service must be.

    And I think we must, finally, consider the alternative. 

    What would happen if we allowed probation to carry on as it is?

    What would happen if we allowed the service to be stretched so thin, trying to do too much with too many offenders…

    Too much time spent doing the wrong things, and not enough time doing what is right and what works.  

    We know what the consequences would be.

    We’ve seen it in the stories of far too many victims…

    And the pain their friends and families have experienced – and continue to experience – every single day. 

    When the probation service isn’t able to properly assess the risk of offenders or supervise them…

    Innocent people pay a terrible price.

    The first job of the state is to keep its people safe.

    We are willing to take the difficult decisions, where they must be taken.

    I will support probation officers, both the new recruits we will bring in and the professionals of whom we have asked so much in recent years.

    While they are professionals these days, and experts in their field…

    They are drawn to the profession by the same desire that called to those missionaries a hundred and fifty years ago:

    To encourage offenders to turn their backs on crime…

    And to make our streets and the public safer.

    To fulfil that purpose now, we must do things differently.

    And that begins today.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Nicky Falkof, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    American president Donald Trump has issued an executive order to withdraw aid from South Africa. He was reacting to what he has called the South African government’s plan to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”. Afrikaners are an ethnic and linguistic community of white South Africans whose home language is Afrikaans.

    Trump’s outrage is based on a misinterpretation of a new law – the Expropriation Act which came into effect in January 2025.

    Trump’s action, amplified by provocative comments from billionaire Elon Musk, has reignited debate about the concept of “white victimhood”. We asked Nicky Falkof, who has researched the idea of white victimhood, for her insights.

    What does ‘white victimhood’ mean?

    White victimhood refers to a powerful set of beliefs that treats white people as special and different, but also as uniquely at risk. Within this narrative white people see themselves, and are sometimes seen by others, as extraordinary victims, whose exposure to violence or vulnerability is more concerning and important than anyone else’s.

    White victimhood is usually speculative. It relates not to actual events that have happened, but to white people’s feelings of being threatened or unsafe. Entire political agendas develop around the idea that white people must be protected because they face exceptional threats, which are not being taken seriously by a contemporary world order that fails to value whiteness.

    This is by no means particular to South Africa; we see it wherever whiteness is predominant. Indeed, ideas about white victimhood play a significant role in the popularity of Trump, whose call to “make America great again” harks back to an idealised past where white people (particularly men) could easily dominate the nation, the workplace and the home.



    Read more:
    Donald Trump, white victimhood and the South African far-right

    The South African case is important because it plays a central role in global white supremacist claims. These mythologies claim that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, are the canary in the coalmine: that the alleged oppression they are facing is a blueprint for what will happen to all white people if they don’t “fight back”.

    What is its history?

    We can trace this idea back to the start of the colonial project. In 1660 Dutch East India Company administrator Jan van Riebeeck planted a hedge of bitter almond shrubs to separate his trading station from the rest of South Africa’s Cape. This hedge was part of a defensive barrier intended to keep indigenous people out of the Dutch trading post, which had been built on top of ancient Khoikhoi grazing routes.

    On a practical level, van Riebeeck’s hedge was meant to shield Dutch settlers and livestock from Khoikhoi raiders. On a philosophical level, the hedge situated the invaders as the “real” victims, who desperately needed protection from the violence and wildness of Africa. The bitter almond hedge is still seen as an enduring symbol of white supremacy in the country.



    Read more:
    Racism in South Africa: why the ANC has failed to dismantle patterns of white privilege

    This early paranoia and securitisation has had a significant effect on white South African culture and anxiety. White people who can afford to do so barricade themselves in gated communities and boomed-off suburban streets, behind high walls topped with razor wire, on the assumption that they are the primary victims of South Africa’s crime rate.

    In what ways has victimhood been used over the centuries or decades?

    Ideas about white victimhood have played a role in many of South Africa’s most influential social formations.

    The 1930s saw a major panic around “poor whites”, which led to commissions of inquiry, upliftment programmes and other attempts at social engineering. The people and institutions behind these initiatives weren’t concerned about poverty in South Africa in general, even though it was becoming more of a problem as the population urbanised. Their only interest was in poverty among white people, drawing on the assumption that it’s wrong or abnormal for white people to be poor, and that this needed to be urgently remedied.



    Read more:
    Afrikaner identity in post-apartheid South Africa remains stuck in whiteness

    These moves were not simply about philanthropy and offering better life chances to poor people; they were about protecting the boundaries of whiteness. Poor whites were seen as a threat to the establishment because they proved that whiteness wasn’t inherently superior.

    More recently, the victimhood narrative has been a central part of the panic around farm murders and claims of “white genocide”, an old idea that has been popularised and spread online.

    Rural violence is a huge problem in South Africa that deserves a strong response. But white people are far from its only casualties. Indeed, violent crime affects pretty much everyone in South Africa. When the deaths of white people are explained as part of a targeted genocide undertaken on the basis of race, the message is that they matter more than the deaths of everyone else.



    Read more:
    Damon Galgut’s Booker-winning novel probes white South Africa and the land issue

    Again, this suggests a kind of naturalisation of violence and harm. When terrible things happen to other people they simply happen and are not remarked on. It’s only when white people are affected that they become a pressing issue.

    Has it helped white South Africans? Has it been effective as a mobilising tool?

    White victimhood, like the racial anxiety it is part of, is not good for white people. It doesn’t keep them safer or help them to live better lives.

    That said, it’s been quite effective as a mobilising tool. The apartheid-era National Party was skilled at using white fear for political gain. Its communications constantly played on white fears of the swart gevaar, the “black danger”, which encapsulated the powerful belief that whites were more at risk from black people than vice versa, despite all evidence to the contrary.



    Read more:
    Violent crime in South Africa happens mostly in a few hotspots: police resources should focus there – criminologist

    Similarly, contemporary organisations like the Afrikaner “minority rights” pressure group AfriForum and the Afrikaans trade union Solidarity activate and manipulate white people’s senses of extraordinary victimhood. This drives them further into a defensive position, where everything from farm murders and road name changes to the National Health Insurance bill is designed to attack them personally.

    White support for these kinds of organisations and the political positions they espouse, whether overtly or covertly, is at least in part driven by the effective manipulation of white victimhood.

    How effective is it still?

    It remains disturbingly powerful. The architecture of white supremacy depends on the idea that white people are extraordinary victims. This is the driving notion beneath the great replacement theory, a far-right conspiracy theory claiming that Jews and non-white foreigners are plotting to “replace” whites. It also underpins violent reactions to the global migration crisis and the rise of populism in the north.



    Read more:
    What’s behind violence in South Africa: a sociologist’s perspective

    I don’t think it’s going too far to say that whiteness as a social construction is intrinsically tied to victimhood. The idea that whiteness actually makes people more rather than less vulnerable is likely to remain a central part of white people’s collective psychic imaginary for some time.

    Nicky Falkof receives funding from the South African National Research Foundation.

    – ref. Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy? – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-south-africa-what-is-white-victimhood-and-how-is-it-linked-to-white-supremacy-249648

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump White House’s disengagement from HIV/AIDS response could have lethal consequences

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Yolaine Frossard de Saugy, PhD Candidate, International Relations, McGill University

    With the endless stream of announcements, reversals, measures and countermeasures coming from the new administration of United States President Donald Trump, it has become difficult to make sense of what is just noise or opening negotiation offers and what constitutes actual policy change.

    Unfortunately, in the case of the global response against HIV/AIDS, it seems the attacks go beyond bluster.

    The methods used in the fight against HIV/AIDS have long been disputed, but overall commitment to the response was one of the few deeply bipartisan endeavours left, until now. Undercutting this decades-long consensus would mean endangering millions of lives.

    U.S. role in global HIV/AIDS response

    As a PhD candidate in international relations working on the politics of the response to HIV/AIDS, I am very aware of the central role that the U.S. has played in building and sustaining a global response to the epidemic in the past 25 years.

    The U.S. is the largest provider of funds for HIV/AIDS programs worldwide. It does so mainly through the bilateral President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as well as through its contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Overall U.S. funding for global AIDS reached $7 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022. PEPFAR alone is estimated to provide treatment to 20 million people.

    The U.S. is also a fundamental participant in HIV/AIDS research, including through the work of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as USAID.

    All of this involvement has already been dangerously jeopardized by the actions taken by the White House since Trump took office for his second term.

    Many activities of the CDC and NIH have been halted. Funding for PEPFAR was caught in the freeze on foreign aid announced in January. Though an exemption was later made and the order has since been blocked by a federal judge, it has already forced recipients of aid to lay off personnel and close clinics and programs in places like Kenya and South Africa.

    USAID, the primary implementer of bilateral HIV/AIDS funds, is at risk of being dismantled.

    Current changes

    The chaos wrought by these measures has impacted the response to HIV/AIDS in deep ways, even if they may be contested or reversed by the courts and Congress.

    The uncertainty in itself is damaging for programs that need reliable funding and long-term planning, not to mention the clinical trials that have been brutally interrupted. What’s more, there are indications the Trump administration and other Republicans have abandoned the longstanding commitment to the response itself, which may lead to irreparable damage.

    American involvement in the global response to HIV/AIDS has long been shaped by domestic politics. Most notably, PEPFAR’s first rounds of funding were deeply constrained by the views of George W. Bush’s evangelical constituency, including in its focus on abstinence as prevention and denial of funding for sex workers.

    But the overall commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS had enjoyed bipartisan support for over two decades. Even during the first Trump administration, the U.S. maintained its involvement, though this was also due to Congress’s resistance to the White House’s attempts at reducing funding.

    There are indications that things might be different this time. Entire pages on HIV/AIDS have disappeared from government websites.

    The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think-tank behind the potential blueprint for Trump’s government known as Project 2025, has referred to HIV/AIDS as a lifestyle disease, like tobacco consumption. This language is reminiscent of the 1980s playbook of opponents on AIDS action and negates both the nature of the epidemic and the realities of those who live with the virus, casting doubts on the need to engage meaningfully with the response.

    Most ominously, the last reauthorization of PEPFAR in 2024 was limited to one year instead of the customary five, as some Republican representatives sought to end it altogether. This means the entire program is to be re-examined this March with no guarantee of how the debates will unfold, especially in the current climate.



    Read more:
    As the United States disavows the World Health Organization, Canada must double down on its support

    Ultimately most will depend on Congress, including the amount pledged by the U.S. to the Global Fund at its replenishment conference sometime this year.

    Its decisions will be the real test of the depth of change on this matter, though everything that has unfolded so far hints at a far-reaching shattering of the consensus. If conservative Republicans maintain their pressure on PEPFAR, the program could be significantly diminished, and it is unlikely that a White House that withdrew from the World Health Organization on day one will act decisively to save it or insist on a sustained contribution to the Global Fund.

    Consequences of U.S. disengagement

    The consequences of a U.S. retreat from the global response to HIV/AIDS would be immense.

    In the short-term, millions of people would lose access to the treatment they depend on for their survival. In the long term, shrinking American funding would undermine health systems around the world and risk the resurgence of the pandemic and the rise of resistant virus strains.

    This would jeopardize 40 years of progress, returning us to a time when AIDS was considered a key security risk and threat to development.

    Even if funding is maintained, all of this shows that for the next few years the U.S. is unlikely to be reliable. This means others will have to take up the leadership to ensure the worst-case scenario is avoided.

    Among these, Canada could have a crucial role to play. It has long been a key entity in its own right — the seventh largest contributor to the Global Fund — though Ottawa has remained discreet in this area so far. Washington’s withdrawal from the field may force it to step into a more visible role and contribute to reframe Canada’s international involvement.

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

    – ref. Trump White House’s disengagement from HIV/AIDS response could have lethal consequences – https://theconversation.com/trump-white-houses-disengagement-from-hiv-aids-response-could-have-lethal-consequences-249261

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy?

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Nicky Falkof, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    American president Donald Trump has issued an executive order to withdraw aid from South Africa. He was reacting to what he has called the South African government’s plan to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”. Afrikaners are an ethnic and linguistic community of white South Africans whose home language is Afrikaans.

    Trump’s outrage is based on a misinterpretation of a new law – the Expropriation Act which came into effect in January 2025.

    Trump’s action, amplified by provocative comments from billionaire Elon Musk, has reignited debate about the concept of “white victimhood”. We asked Nicky Falkof, who has researched the idea of white victimhood, for her insights.

    What does ‘white victimhood’ mean?

    White victimhood refers to a powerful set of beliefs that treats white people as special and different, but also as uniquely at risk. Within this narrative white people see themselves, and are sometimes seen by others, as extraordinary victims, whose exposure to violence or vulnerability is more concerning and important than anyone else’s.

    White victimhood is usually speculative. It relates not to actual events that have happened, but to white people’s feelings of being threatened or unsafe. Entire political agendas develop around the idea that white people must be protected because they face exceptional threats, which are not being taken seriously by a contemporary world order that fails to value whiteness.

    This is by no means particular to South Africa; we see it wherever whiteness is predominant. Indeed, ideas about white victimhood play a significant role in the popularity of Trump, whose call to “make America great again” harks back to an idealised past where white people (particularly men) could easily dominate the nation, the workplace and the home.

    Read more: Donald Trump, white victimhood and the South African far-right

    The South African case is important because it plays a central role in global white supremacist claims. These mythologies claim that white South Africans, specifically Afrikaners, are the canary in the coalmine: that the alleged oppression they are facing is a blueprint for what will happen to all white people if they don’t “fight back”.

    What is its history?

    We can trace this idea back to the start of the colonial project. In 1660 Dutch East India Company administrator Jan van Riebeeck planted a hedge of bitter almond shrubs to separate his trading station from the rest of South Africa’s Cape. This hedge was part of a defensive barrier intended to keep indigenous people out of the Dutch trading post, which had been built on top of ancient Khoikhoi grazing routes.

    On a practical level, van Riebeeck’s hedge was meant to shield Dutch settlers and livestock from Khoikhoi raiders. On a philosophical level, the hedge situated the invaders as the “real” victims, who desperately needed protection from the violence and wildness of Africa. The bitter almond hedge is still seen as an enduring symbol of white supremacy in the country.

    Read more: Racism in South Africa: why the ANC has failed to dismantle patterns of white privilege

    This early paranoia and securitisation has had a significant effect on white South African culture and anxiety. White people who can afford to do so barricade themselves in gated communities and boomed-off suburban streets, behind high walls topped with razor wire, on the assumption that they are the primary victims of South Africa’s crime rate.

    In what ways has victimhood been used over the centuries or decades?

    Ideas about white victimhood have played a role in many of South Africa’s most influential social formations.

    The 1930s saw a major panic around “poor whites”, which led to commissions of inquiry, upliftment programmes and other attempts at social engineering. The people and institutions behind these initiatives weren’t concerned about poverty in South Africa in general, even though it was becoming more of a problem as the population urbanised. Their only interest was in poverty among white people, drawing on the assumption that it’s wrong or abnormal for white people to be poor, and that this needed to be urgently remedied.

    Read more: Afrikaner identity in post-apartheid South Africa remains stuck in whiteness

    These moves were not simply about philanthropy and offering better life chances to poor people; they were about protecting the boundaries of whiteness. Poor whites were seen as a threat to the establishment because they proved that whiteness wasn’t inherently superior.

    More recently, the victimhood narrative has been a central part of the panic around farm murders and claims of “white genocide”, an old idea that has been popularised and spread online.

    Farmers and supporters protest against farm murders outside the South African parliament in 2020. Jacques Stander/Gallo Images via Getty Images

    Rural violence is a huge problem in South Africa that deserves a strong response. But white people are far from its only casualties. Indeed, violent crime affects pretty much everyone in South Africa. When the deaths of white people are explained as part of a targeted genocide undertaken on the basis of race, the message is that they matter more than the deaths of everyone else.

    Read more: Damon Galgut’s Booker-winning novel probes white South Africa and the land issue

    Again, this suggests a kind of naturalisation of violence and harm. When terrible things happen to other people they simply happen and are not remarked on. It’s only when white people are affected that they become a pressing issue.

    Has it helped white South Africans? Has it been effective as a mobilising tool?

    White victimhood, like the racial anxiety it is part of, is not good for white people. It doesn’t keep them safer or help them to live better lives.

    That said, it’s been quite effective as a mobilising tool. The apartheid-era National Party was skilled at using white fear for political gain. Its communications constantly played on white fears of the swart gevaar, the “black danger”, which encapsulated the powerful belief that whites were more at risk from black people than vice versa, despite all evidence to the contrary.

    Read more: Violent crime in South Africa happens mostly in a few hotspots: police resources should focus there – criminologist

    Similarly, contemporary organisations like the Afrikaner “minority rights” pressure group AfriForum and the Afrikaans trade union Solidarity activate and manipulate white people’s senses of extraordinary victimhood. This drives them further into a defensive position, where everything from farm murders and road name changes to the National Health Insurance bill is designed to attack them personally.

    White support for these kinds of organisations and the political positions they espouse, whether overtly or covertly, is at least in part driven by the effective manipulation of white victimhood.

    How effective is it still?

    It remains disturbingly powerful. The architecture of white supremacy depends on the idea that white people are extraordinary victims. This is the driving notion beneath the great replacement theory, a far-right conspiracy theory claiming that Jews and non-white foreigners are plotting to “replace” whites. It also underpins violent reactions to the global migration crisis and the rise of populism in the north.

    Read more: What’s behind violence in South Africa: a sociologist’s perspective

    I don’t think it’s going too far to say that whiteness as a social construction is intrinsically tied to victimhood. The idea that whiteness actually makes people more rather than less vulnerable is likely to remain a central part of white people’s collective psychic imaginary for some time.

    – Trump and South Africa: what is white victimhood, and how is it linked to white supremacy?
    – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-south-africa-what-is-white-victimhood-and-how-is-it-linked-to-white-supremacy-249648

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into The United States

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    class=”has-text-align-center”>BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
         1.  On January 19, 2018, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) transmitted to me a report on his investigation into the effect of imports of aluminum on the national security of the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862) (section 232).  The Secretary found and advised me of the Secretary’s opinion that aluminum is being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.
         2.  In Proclamation 9704 of March 8, 2018 (Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States), I concurred in the Secretary’s finding that aluminum was being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States, and decided to adjust the imports of aluminum articles by imposing a 10 percent ad valorem tariff on such articles imported from most countries.  Proclamation 9704 further stated that any country with which the United States has a security relationship is welcome to discuss alternative ways to address the threatened impairment of the national security caused by imports from that country, and noted that, should the United States and any such country arrive at a satisfactory alternative means to address the threat to the national security such that I determine that imports from that country no longer threaten to impair the national security, I may remove or modify the restriction on aluminum articles imports from that country and, if necessary, adjust the tariff as it applies to other countries, as the national security interests of the United States require.
         3.  In Proclamation 9704, I also directed the Secretary to monitor imports of aluminum articles and inform me of any circumstances that in the Secretary’s opinion might indicate the need for further action under section 232 with respect to such imports.  Pursuant to Proclamation 9704, the Secretary was authorized to provide relief from the additional duties, based on a request from a directly affected party located in the United States, for any aluminum article determined not to be produced in the United States in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or of a satisfactory quality, or based upon specific national security considerations.  Proclamation 9776 of August 29, 2018, and Proclamation 9980 of January 24, 2020, similarly authorized the Secretary to provide relief from certain tariffs on other aluminum products and derivatives set forth in those proclamations.
         4.  In subsequent proclamations, the President adjusted the tariffs applicable to aluminum articles imports from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK), after engaging in discussions with each of those parties on alternative ways to address the threat to the national security from such imports.
         5.  The Secretary has informed me that, notwithstanding the 10 percent ad valorem tariff imposed by Proclamation 9704 that mitigated the threatened impairment of our national security, aluminum imports into the United States have continued at unacceptable levels as the global aluminum excess capacity crisis continues.  In addition, the exclusion of certain countries and products from the tariff and efforts by foreign producers to circumvent the tariff have undermined the purpose of Proclamation 9704, which was to adjust the level of imports of aluminum to remove the threatened impairment of the national security.  This has again resulted in aluminum smelter capacity utilization rates in the domestic aluminum industry that are well below the target level recommended in the Secretary’s January 19, 2018, report.  This indicates that the initial tariff of 10 percent ad valorem is not high enough to address the threatened impairment to our national security posed by aluminum imports. 
         6.  In particular, the Secretary has informed me that global primary aluminum capacity has continued to increase, fueled by expansions in the People’s Republic of China (China) and South America, which is seen in rising aluminum imports that continue to weigh on the price domestic aluminum producers may charge.  There has also been a significant increase in Chinese investment in Mexico, driven by massive Chinese government subsidies and the continued ability to exploit loopholes in U.S. trade policy.  
         7.   Domestic aluminum producers have been forced to idle additional production and shut down facilities.  Two primary aluminum smelters within the United States have closed since Proclamation 9704 was promulgated.  In addition, U.S. primary aluminum production decreased by 30 percent from 2020 to 2024, and U.S. smelter capacity utilization was only 52 percent in 2024.  Overcapacity for primary aluminum has harmed downstream aluminum producers, including producers of aluminum extrusions and aluminum sheet.  To allow U.S. aluminum producers to restart production and to incentivize new capacity, additional adjustments to section 232 tariffs on aluminum need to be made, including limiting exemptions and increasing the tariff rate.
         8.  The Secretary has informed me that imports of aluminum articles from countries that are excluded from the tariff regime or have alternative arrangements have remained significantly elevated at levels that once again threaten to impair the national security of the United States.  The volume of U.S. imports of aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the UK in 2024 was approximately 14 percent higher than the average volume of such imports in 2015 through 2017.  In particular, the volume of U.S. imports of primary aluminum from Canada in 2024 was approximately 18 percent higher than the average volume for 2015 through 2017.
    Notwithstanding Proclamation 10782 of July 10, 2024, which imposed higher tariffs on certain aluminum imports from Mexico, imports of aluminum from Mexico have continued to surge beyond historical volumes. The volume of U.S. imports of aluminum articles from Mexico in 2024 was approximately 35 percent higher than the average volume for 2015 through 2017. Proclamation 10782 did not resolve the surge of imports of aluminum from Mexico.  Mexican producers are using unfair trade to gain market share in the United States and are leveraging their access to unfairly traded global primary aluminum to do so.  I understand that Mexican producers are commingling primary aluminum from China and the Russian Federation (Russia) with primary aluminum from other countries to produce downstream aluminum articles.  These practices are distortive and provide continued outlets to absorb the massive amount of global excess capacity and must be remedied.  The volume of U.S. imports of primary aluminum from Australia has also surged and in 2024 was approximately 103 percent higher than the average volume for 2015 through 2017.  Australia has disregarded its verbal commitment to voluntarily restrain its aluminum exports to a reasonable level.
         9.  These volume increases occurred even though demand for aluminum in the United States and Canada (the market measured by industry) has generally remained flat, averaging about 20 percent since 2018.
         10.  These increasing import volumes support the conclusion that aluminum producers in countries subject to the additional ad valorem tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 are engaging in transshipment or further processing of upstream aluminum products in countries that have since been exempted from that tariff.  Foreign producers have shifted assembly or manufacturing operations to third countries, such as Mexico.  For example, Chinese producers are using Mexico’s general exclusion from the tariff to funnel Chinese aluminum to the United States through Mexico while avoiding the tariff. 
         11.  The Secretary has informed me that producers in countries that remain subject to the ad valorem tariff have continued to evade the tariff by processing covered aluminum articles into additional downstream derivative products that were not included in the additional ad valorem tariffs proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 and Proclamation 9980.  Foreign producers are continuing to expand downstream production to absorb the global excess capacity.  Imports of additional derivative aluminum products have increased significantly since the issuance of Proclamation 9704 and Proclamation 9980, eroding the domestic industry’s customer base and resulting in depressed demand for aluminum articles produced in the United States.
         12.  The Secretary has also informed me of the impact of the product exclusion process authorized by Proclamation 9704, Proclamation 9776, and Proclamation 9980 and implemented by subsequent regulations.  This process has resulted in exclusions for a significant volume of imports, in a manner that undermines the purpose of the section 232 measures and threatens to impair the national security of the United States.  Certain general approved exclusions remain in effect for entire tariff lines of aluminum imports, notwithstanding the domestic industry’s potential to produce many excluded products. 
         13.  I determine that these developments and modifications to the original tariff regime as proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 have undermined the regime’s national security objectives by preventing the domestic aluminum industry (including derivatives) from achieving sustained production capacity utilization of at least 80 percent, as determined in the Secretary’s January 19, 2018, report.  I also determine that the modifications failed to achieve their articulated objectives.  As a result, I determine that these modifications have resulted in significantly increasing imports of aluminum articles that once again threaten to impair the national security of the United States.
         14.  In light of the Secretary’s findings, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to adjust the tariff proclaimed by Proclamation 9704, as amended, and the tariff proclaimed by Proclamation 9980, as amended, to increase the tariff rate from 10 percent ad valorem to 25 percent ad valorem.  These actions are necessary and appropriate to remove the threatened impairment of the national security of the United States. 
         15. In light of the Secretary’s findings regarding the alternative agreements with Argentina proclaimed in Proclamation 9758 of May 31, 2018; Australia proclaimed in Proclamation 9758; Canada proclaimed in Proclamation 9893 of May 19, 2019, and Proclamation 10106 of October 27, 2020; Mexico proclaimed in Proclamation 9893 and Proclamation 10782 of July 10, 2024; the European Union proclaimed in Proclamation 10327 of December 27, 2021, and Proclamation 10690 of December 28, 2023; and the United Kingdom proclaimed in Proclamation 10405 of May 31, 2022, I have decided that it is necessary to terminate these agreements as of March 12, 2025.  As of March 12, 2025, all imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the UK shall be subject to the additional ad valorem tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704, as amended, with respect to aluminum articles and Proclamation 9980, as amended, with respect to derivative aluminum articles.  Imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the UK shall be subject to the revised tariff rate of 25 percent ad valorem established in clause 2 of this proclamation, commensurate with the tariff rate imposed on such articles imported from most other countries.  In my judgment, these modifications are necessary to address the significantly increasing imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from these sources, which threaten to impair the national security of the United States.  Replacing the alternative agreements with the additional ad valorem tariffs will be a more robust and effective means of ensuring that the objectives articulated in the Secretary’s January 19, 2018, report and subsequent proclamations are achieved.
         16.  In light of the information provided by the Secretary that the significant increase of imports of certain derivative aluminum articles has depressed demand for aluminum articles produced by domestic aluminum producers, I have determined that it is necessary to adjust the tariff proclaimed in Proclamation 9704 and Proclamation 9980 to apply to additional derivative aluminum articles.
         17.  I have also determined that it is necessary to terminate the product exclusion process as authorized in clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, clause 1 of Proclamation 9776, and clause 2 of Proclamation 9980. 
         18.  Section 232, as amended, authorizes the President to take action to adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives that are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States.
         19.  Section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, authorizes the President to embody in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) the substance of statutes affecting import treatment, and actions thereunder, including the removal, modification, continuance, or imposition of any rate of duty or other import restriction.
         NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, section 604 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, and section 232, do hereby proclaim as follows:
         (1) The provisions of Proclamation 9758 with respect to imports of aluminum articles from the Argentina; Proclamation 9758 with respect to imports of aluminum articles from the Australia; Proclamation 9893 and Proclamation 10106 with respect to imports of aluminum articles from Canada; Proclamation 9893 and Proclamation 10782 with respect to imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from Mexico; Proclamation 10327 and Proclamation 10690 with respect to imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from the European Union; and Proclamation 10405 with respect to imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from the United Kingdom shall be ineffective as of 12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 12, 2025.  The provisions of clause 1 of Proclamation 9980 as applicable to imports of derivative aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Mexico shall be ineffective as of 12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 12, 2025; all imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from these countries shall be subject to the additional ad valorem tariffs proclaimed in Proclamation 9704, as amended, and Proclamation 9980, as amended.  Imports of aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Mexico, EU countries, and the United Kingdom will be subject to the revised tariff rate of 25 percent ad valorem established in clauses (2) and (3) of this proclamation, commensurate with the tariff rate imposed on such articles imported from most countries, as amended by this proclamation.
         (2) As of 12:01 a.m. on March 12, 2025, the tariff proclaimed by Proclamation 9704, as amended, and the tariff proclaimed by Proclamation 9980, as amended, are adjusted to increase the respective tariff rates from an additional 10 percent ad valorem to an additional 25 percent ad valorem. 
         (3) Clause 2 of Proclamation 9704, as amended, is further amended in the second sentence by deleting “and” before “(k)”; replacing “11:59 p.m. eastern standard time on December 31, 2025” after (k) with “12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 12, 2025”; and inserting before the period at the end: “, and (l) on or after 12:01 a.m. on March 12, 2025, at a revised rate of an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate, from all countries except from Russia.”
         (4) The first two sentences of clause 1 of Proclamation 9980 are revised to read as follows:
         (5) Except as otherwise provided in this proclamation, all imports of derivative aluminum articles specified in Annex I to this proclamation or any subsequent annex published in the Federal Register pursuant to this Proclamation shall be subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty, with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the Commerce certification date in accordance with clause 9.  For any derivative aluminum article identified in Annex I that is not in Chapter 76 of the HTSUS, the additional ad valorem duty shall apply only to the aluminum content of the derivative article.  These rates of duty, which are in addition to any other duties, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to such imported derivative aluminum articles, shall apply to imports of derivative aluminum articles described in Annex I to this proclamation from all countries, except Russia, but shall not apply to derivative aluminum articles processed in another country from aluminum articles that were smelted and cast in the United States.  Further, all imports of derivative aluminum articles specified in Annex I to this proclamation that are the product of Russia and all imports of derivative aluminum articles specified in Annex I to this proclamation where any amount of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of the derivative aluminum articles is smelted in Russia, or the derivative aluminum articles are cast in Russia, shall be subject to the 200 percent ad valorem rate of duty established in Proclamation 10522, with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the Commerce certification date in accordance with clause 9.  Primary aluminum is defined as new aluminum metal that is produced from alumina (or aluminum oxide) by the electrolytic Hall-Heroult process.  The Secretary shall continue to monitor imports of the derivative articles described in Annex I to this proclamation, and shall, from time to time, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Defense, or other officials as appropriate, review the status of such imports with respect to the national security of the United States.
         (6)  The Secretary shall not consider any new product exclusion requests under clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, clause 1 of Proclamation 9776, or clause 2 of Proclamation 9980, or renew any such product exclusions in effect as of the date of this proclamation.  Granted product exclusions shall remain effective until their expiration date or until excluded product volume is imported, whichever occurs first.  The Secretary shall take all actions, including publication in the Federal Register, necessary to terminate the product exclusion process.  In addition, all general approved exclusions shall be ineffective as of March 12, 2025, and the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register to this effect.  I have determined that this is necessary to ensure that these general exclusions do not allow high volumes of imports, including of products that the domestic industry can produce and supply, to undermine the objectives articulated in the Secretary’s January 2018 report and relevant subsequent proclamations.  Following the elimination of quantitative restrictions on certain sources pursuant to this proclamation, and subject to any restrictions set forth in or pursuant to other provisions of applicable law, imports of any aluminum article or derivative article from any source and in any quantity will be available to domestic importers, provided that the additional ad valorem tariffs are paid upon entry or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption. For purposes of implementing the requirements in this proclamation, importers of aluminum derivative articles shall provide to CBP any information necessary to identify the aluminum content used in the manufacture of aluminum derivative articles imports covered by this Proclamation.  CBP is hereby authorized and directed to publish regulations or guidance implementing this requirement as soon as practicable.
         (7)  Within 90 days after the date of this proclamation, the Secretary shall establish a process for including additional derivative aluminum articles within the scope of the ad valorem duties proclaimed in Proclamation 9704, as amended, Proclamation 9980, as amended, and clause 5 of this proclamation.  In addition to inclusions made by the Secretary, this process shall provide for including additional derivative aluminum articles at the request of a producer of an aluminum article or derivative aluminum article within the United States, or an industry association representing one or more such producers, establishing that imports of a derivative aluminum article have increased in a manner that threatens to impair the national security or otherwise undermine the objectives set forth in the Secretary’s January 19, 2018 report or any Proclamation issued pursuant thereto.  When the Secretary receives such a request from a domestic producer or industry association, it shall issue a determination regarding whether or not to include the derivative aluminum article or articles within 60 days of receiving the request. 
         (8)  The provisions of clause 3 of Proclamation 9704, clause 1 of Proclamation 9776, and clause 2 of Proclamation 9980, or any other provisions authorizing the Secretary to grant relief for certain products from the additional ad valorem duties or quantitative restrictions set forth in the prior proclamations described herein are hereby revoked, except to the extent required to implement clause 5 of this proclamation. 
         (9) The modifications made by this proclamation with respect to derivative aluminum articles identified in the annex that are not in chapter 76 of the HTSUS shall be effective upon public notification by the Secretary of Commerce, that adequate systems are in place to fully, efficiently, and expediently process and collect tariff revenue for covered articles. 
         (10) Any aluminum article or derivative article, except those eligible for admission under “domestic status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.43, that is subject to the duty imposed by this proclamation and that is admitted into a U.S. foreign trade zone on or after the Commerce certification date, in accordance with clause 9, may be admitted only under “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading.
         (11)  The United States International Trade Commission, in consultation with the Secretary, the Commissioner of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the Department of Homeland Security, and the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies, shall revise the HTSUS so that it conforms to the amendments and effective dates directed in this proclamation within ten days of the date of this proclamation.  The Secretary is authorized and directed to publish any such modifications to the HTSUS in the Federal Register.
         (12) CBP shall prioritize reviews of the classification of imported aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles and, in the event that it discovers misclassification resulting in loss of revenue of the ad valorem duties proclaimed herein, it shall assess monetary penalties in the maximum amount permitted by law.In addition, CBP shall promptly notify the Secretary regarding evidence of any efforts to evade payment of the ad valorem duties proclaimed herein through processing or alteration of aluminum articles or derivative aluminum articles as a disguise or artifice prior to importation.In such circumstances, the Secretary shall consider the processed or altered aluminum articles or derivative aluminum articles for inclusion as derivative aluminum articles pursuant to clause 5 of this proclamation.
         (13) No drawback shall be available with respect to the duties imposed pursuant to this proclamation.
         (14) The Secretary may issue regulations and guidance consistent with this proclamation, including to address operational necessity.
         (15)  Any provision of a previous proclamation or Executive Order that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.
         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand thistenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Lord Chancellor’s sets out her vision for the probation service

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP, made a speech outlining her vision for the future of the probation service.

    Please note the political content has been removed from this speech.

    Today, we are in Southwark, the home of London’s probation service, one of the busiest in the country.

    Here in London, the Service supervises more than 36,000 offenders.

    And, every day, in this building, there are a thousand untold stories of how our probation service protects the public and makes our streets safer.

    I want to talk about the future of our probation service today.

    But to look to that future, I think we must first look to the past.

    Because it was here, in Southwark, that the probation service first took root.

    Over 150 years ago, the Church of England’s temperance movement posted a man called George Nelson to Southwark’s police court.

    Nelson was the first of a band of missionaries, driven by their faith and strict teetotalism, who gave up their time to help offenders give up the drink.

    Addiction then, as addiction now, drove much criminal behaviour…

    And the approach worked.

    In fact, it worked so well that the courts came to rely on missionaries like Nelson.

    A system soon developed where offenders would be released on the condition that they kept in touch with these volunteers.

    Because what began as a moral cause proved to have a practical purpose:

    These missionaries led to less crime and fewer victims.

    As this Government might say: they made our streets safer.

    By the early twentieth century, this voluntary service was so greatly valued that it was placed on a statutory footing.

    The 1907 Probation of Offenders Act established the first formal structure for probation…

    And the volunteers became professionals.  

    In the years that followed, the service grew:

    The 1925 Criminal Justice Act paid probation officers a regular wage.

    By the 1950s, probation’s work expanded to offenders on parole.

    And by the 1980s, the service was focused increasingly on prison releases.

    Over time, the role developed.

    Where the early missionaries were focused on crimes driven by addiction…

    In time, they took responsibility for the management of ever more, and ever more complex, offenders.

    Too often overlooked, with our focus invariably falling on the police or on prisons…

    Probation became an indispensable part of a criminal justice system that keeps us safe.

    It remains so today, now a service that is more than 20,000 strong…

    And probation officers supervise almost a quarter of a million offenders – around three times the number currently serving time in our prisons.

    Each year, they oversee more than 4 million hours of community payback.

    They monitor around 9,000 offenders on a tag at any given moment.

    They provide sentencing advice to hundreds of courts every single day.

    And they also provide a vital link to tens of thousands of victims, through the Victim Contact and the Victim Notification schemes.

    But while there have been bright moments in the service’s past, we must acknowledge the dark days too.

    In 2014 the service was split:

    Part remained in the public sector, managing the highest-risk offenders.

    The rest was hived off, to be run by the private sector, who would supervise those of low and medium risk.

    Community Rehabilitation Companies would bring the ingenuity of the private sector to solve the problem of reoffending.

    The rhetoric was of a revolution in how we manage offenders.

    The reality was far different.

    Workloads increased, as new offenders were brought under supervision for the first time…

    The number of people on probation increased between December 2014 and December 2016, with almost 50,000 offenders newly under its remit.

    Scarce resources were stretched further than ever…   

    Morale plummeted.

    And worrying numbers voted with their feet, leaving the service altogether…

    With the Inspector of Probation declaring a “national shortage” of probation professionals in 2019. 

    The new companies woefully underperformed.

    Between 2017 and 2018, just 5 of 37 audits carried out by HMPPS demonstrated that expected standards were being met.

    In 2019, 8 out of 10 companies inspected received the lowest possible rating – “inadequate” – for supervising offenders.

    The Chief Inspector called them “irredeemably flawed”.

    And the service was labelled ‘inadequate’.

    In 2021, it was finally, rightly, re-unified and re-nationalised.

    Now, make no mistake…

    Every day, across the country, probation staff make this country safer.

    This was clearly evident in the service’s response to the prison capacity crisis.

    With prisons just days from collapse, this Government was forced to introduce an emergency release programme, which saw some offenders leave prison a few weeks or months early.

    The alternative, as I said at the time, did not bear thinking about:

    We would have been forced to shut the front door of our prisons…

    An act that would have sent dominoes tumbling through our justice system:

    Courts unable to hold trials…

    Police forced to halt arrests…

    And the eventual path to a total breakdown of law and order.

    In making that decision, I knew the probation service would have to carry an even heavier load.

    They would have to put in place plans for the safe release of prisoners in just a few weeks.

    I tried to give them as much time as I possibly could to prepare:

    An eight-week implementation period.

    It wasn’t long to prepare, but the probation service used it with great skill.

    But now is also a moment to be honest about the challenges the service faces.

    And the simple fact is this:

    The service was burdened with a workload that was, quite simply, impossible.

    When we took office, we discovered that orders handed out by courts were not taking place.

    In the 3 years to March 2024 around 13,000 Accredited Programmes, a type of rehabilitative course, did not happen.

    This wasn’t because an offender had failed to do what was expected of them…

    But instead because the Probation Service had been unable to deliver these courses.

    As I have shown already in this job, I believe in confronting problems, not pretending they are not there.

    And so, we will ensure only those offenders who pose a higher risk, and who need to receive these courses, will do so.

    This isn’t a decision I take lightly.

    But it is a decision to confront the reality of the challenges facing the probation service.

    I should be clear:

    For those who will not complete an accredited programme, they remain under the supervision of a probation officer…

    And all the other requirements placed upon them will remain in place.

    Any breach of a community sentence could see them hauled back into court.

    Any breach of a licence condition could see them back behind bars.

    Addressing individual issues like these, however, is no long-term solution to the challenges the probation service faces.

    Today, across the country, probation officers are spread too thin – responsible for caseloads and workloads that exceed what they should be expected to handle.

    Probation officers are drawn to the profession not because it is just another job.

    This job is a vocation, even a calling…

    They are, after all, the inheritors of those missionaries of 150 years ago.

    They are experts in their discipline…

    Who want to know that their work is protecting the public…

    And keeping offenders on the straight and narrow.

    Over-stretched, they can’t work with offenders in the way they need to.

    And the burden placed on probation officers’ shoulders grow heavier and heavier.

    It has driven people away from the job…

    It has made the public less safe…

    And it has to change.

    It is clear we need to bring more people into the probation service.

    In July, I committed to bringing on 1,000 trainee probation officers by March of this year.

    But we must go further.

    Today, I can announce that, next year, we will bring on at least 1,300 new, trainee probation officers.

    New probation officers are the lifeblood of the service, and they will guarantee its future.

    But they are not enough alone.

    It is also clear we must remove the administrative burden that weighs probation officers down…

    And makes them less effective in their roles.

    Today, too many hours of probation officer time are wasted each day.

    They are drowning in paperwork.

    And I don’t mean metaphorical paperwork.

    I mean literal pen and paperwork.

    This takes up valuable time, that would be better spent working with offenders…

    And it also introduces the risk of error – the failure to identify the critical piece of information that might shape a professional’s judgement of the risk that an offender poses.

    Where digital processes do exist in the probation service, they can be difficult to navigate.

    Information is stored in multiple different systems that do not speak to each other.

    And probation officers are forced, laboriously, to type the same information time and again.

    We will soon pilot a digital tool that will put all the information a probation officer needs to know into one place.

    Over time, this will include information from other agencies, like the police as we need to make sure data is more readily shared, so that probation can make better decisions.

    We’re also trialling a new system for risk assessing offenders, to make it more straightforward for probation officers to make robust decisions.

    A group of officers in Brighton started using this in December last year…

    And we estimate it will cut up to 20 percent of the time it takes to do this crucial activity.

    It might sound simple, but the impact could be considerable.

    Every minute saved is more time probation officers can spend working with offenders.

    Less simple, but even more transformational, there’s the potential of artificial intelligence.

    We are currently looking into voice transcription.

    This would automatically record and transcribe supervision conversations by taking notes in real time…

    Allowing probation officers to focus on building relationships, while also removing the need for them to enter handwritten notes into a computer afterwards.

    In time, we believe that AI could play a more active role in supporting staff to supervise offenders – for example, drawing on the data we have on an offender to suggest a supervision plan tailored to them.

    This new technology will ensure probation officers provide what only they can:

    The human factor.

    The ability to work with an offender, one-to-one, to understand the risk they pose…

    To develop a plan for how to manage it…

    Ultimately, to turn them away from a life of crime – and so protect the public.

    That is what remains true about the probation officer’s job now, just as it was 150 years ago.

    The courts didn’t turn to the temperance movement’s missionaries because they were great at paperwork.

    They did so because of how they worked with offenders.

    They knew – in the words of the Government Minister who brought in the 1907 Probation Act – how “to guide and admonish” an offender to make the public safer.

    But while new staff and better technology are necessary to the future of our probation service…

    They are not sufficient.

    With a caseload of nearly a quarter of a million offenders…

    We must also look at the work that probation officers are doing…

    And we must ask:

    Where should their time be spent…

    And, more specifically, who should their time be spent with to have the greatest impact?

    In this, it is clear there are two types of offender.

    On the one hand, we have those who pose a higher risk to society.

    In this group, we have those who are dangerous – posing a real risk of harm to the public.

    We also have those whose offending is prolific – the one in every ten offenders who is guilty of nearly half of all sentenced crime.

    On the other hand, we have offenders who pose a lower risk.

    They are not serial offenders, with a high risk of reoffending.

    Their crimes are instead often fuelled by addiction, homelessness, and joblessness.

    These crimes are not excusable.

    All crimes must be punished.

    But these two groups – the higher and lower risk – are different.

    If we want to reduce reoffending, cut crime and have safer streets, we have to treat them differently.

    And too often today, we don’t.

    We have a one size fits all approach.

    That must change.

    For higher-risk offenders, a probation officer’s time and focus is essential.

    It is no exaggeration to say that effective supervision of this cohort can be the difference between life and death.

    We all know the tragedies:  

    I think of Terri Harris, her children John Paul and Lacey Bennett and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, savagely murdered by Damien Bendall in 2021, when Bendall was serving a community sentence.

    And I think of Zara Aleena, murdered by Jordan McSweeney in 2022, just nine days after he had left prison on licence.

    We will never be able to stop every tragedy.  

    But we have to stop more.

    There are improvements that we can and must make to the processes probation officers follow, and the technology they use.

    We have introduced new training, to better identify risk…

    New digital tools, as I have mentioned already, will draw together the critical pieces of information from partner organisations, like the police.

    But the vital ingredient is time:

    The time of a professional probation officer…

    Devoted to identifying the risk an offender poses…

    Creating a plan to manage it…

    And supervising, closely, that offender to ensure they do not deviate from it.

    That is the human factor that only a probation officer can provide.

    If probation officers are to have this valuable time with these offenders, we must be more efficient with the time they devote to lower-risk offenders.

    At the very end of their time in office, my predecessor introduced a policy called Probation Reset.

    This saw supervision of lower-risk offenders end after two-thirds of their licence period.

    This was a step in the right direction.

    The interventions that work best with lower risk offenders are not necessarily those provided by probation officers.

    So that is where we must now direct the attention of their supervision.

    We need to get these offenders off drugs and booze – reoffending rates are 19 points lower when an offender completes a drug treatment programme.

    We need to ensure they have a roof over their heads – reoffending rates double for those released homeless.  

    And finally, we need to get them working – reoffending rates are up to 9 points lower when an offender is employed.

    The probation service has a role to play here…

    But their unique value is in referring offenders to the intervention that is required to address the cause of their offending.                

    And so today, I can announce that we will build on the work of Reset.

    This Government will focus the probation service on the interventions that have the greater impact.

    For lower risk offenders, we will task probation officers with providing a swifter intervention.

    They will spend more time with an offender immediately after their release:

    First, assessing the root causes of an offender’s crime…

    Then referring them to the services that will address that behaviour:

    Which could be education, training, drug treatment or accommodation…

    Delivered by the probation service, our partners across Government, and through the brilliant work done by the voluntary sector.

    Once offenders are following that direction, as long as the offender stays on the straight and narrow, we must then focus probation officer’s time more effectively:

    That means more time spent with the offenders who pose the greater risk…

    More time with offenders who pose a risk of a serious and violent further offence…

    And more time with offenders whose prolific offending causes so much social and economic damage to local communities.

    That is how we will reduce reoffending…

    That is how we will cut crime…

    And that is how we will make our streets safer.

    These measures are necessary today, but they will be even more important in the months and years to come.

    David Gauke’s independent review of sentencing will report soon.

    He has been asked to ensure we never run out of prison places again.

    There is no doubt that this will increase pressure on probation.

    As I made clear when I announced the review, I have asked David to consider how we make more use of punishment outside of prison.

    In my view, technology is likely to play a key role – taking advantage of advances in the tech that is being used here and in other jurisdictions:

    Like sobriety tags, which can measure the alcohol levels in offenders’ sweat every 30 minutes, and have a 97 percent compliance rate…

    And GPS tags, which can put in place exclusion zones to alert authorities if offenders enter areas we have banned them from.

    There are also likely to be more sentences served in the community…

    And more drug, alcohol and mental health treatment requirements placed on offenders.

    These are the tools that must be at the judiciary’s disposal to deal with criminals…

    And judges must have trust and confidence that the probation service can deliver them.

    The changes I have announced today are about support for the probation service:

    1,300 new trainee probation officers…

    New technology to lighten the administrative burden…

    And a new focus of their time on where it has the greatest impact.

    Today, I have set out what I think the future direction of the probation service must be.

    And I think we must, finally, consider the alternative. 

    What would happen if we allowed probation to carry on as it is?

    What would happen if we allowed the service to be stretched so thin, trying to do too much with too many offenders…

    Too much time spent doing the wrong things, and not enough time doing what is right and what works.  

    We know what the consequences would be.

    We’ve seen it in the stories of far too many victims…

    And the pain their friends and families have experienced – and continue to experience – every single day. 

    When the probation service isn’t able to properly assess the risk of offenders or supervise them…

    Innocent people pay a terrible price.

    The first job of the state is to keep its people safe.

    We are willing to take the difficult decisions, where they must be taken.

    I will support probation officers, both the new recruits we will bring in and the professionals of whom we have asked so much in recent years.

    While they are professionals these days, and experts in their field…

    They are drawn to the profession by the same desire that called to those missionaries a hundred and fifty years ago:

    To encourage offenders to turn their backs on crime…

    And to make our streets and the public safer.

    To fulfil that purpose now, we must do things differently.

    And that begins today.

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK leads major Ukraine Summit and announces £150 million firepower package

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Defence leaders from across the world have gathered in Brussels today as the UK convenes a major Ukraine summit at NATO HQ.

    • UK convenes the 26th Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Brussels today – the first time the meeting has been chaired by a European nation – supporting UK and European security, a foundation of the Government’s Plan for Change. 

    • Defence Secretary confirms landmark half a million rounds of artillery ammunition – worth more than £1 billion – has now been provided to Ukraine by the UK 

    • New £150 million firepower package of military aid including drones, tanks and air defence systems will give Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russia the equipment they need.  

    Defence leaders from across the world have gathered in Brussels today as the UK convenes a major Ukraine summit at NATO HQ, demonstrating the UK’s leadership and unwavering military support for Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s illegal invasion.  

    Over 50 allies and partners, including Ukraine, the US, Japan and Australia, met for the 26th Ukraine Defence Contact Group, chaired by Defence Secretary John Healey, the first time for any European nation. 

    Opening the meeting, the Defence Secretary announced a new £150m military support package to support Ukrainian troops fighting Russia on the frontline, part of the UK’s unprecedented £3 billion annual pledge to Ukraine. 

    This year, the UK’s total commitment has reached its highest ever level, standing at £4.5 billion, ensuring Ukraine can achieve peace through strength and underscoring the new 100 Year Partnership between the UK and Ukraine. 

    Chairing the meeting, Defence Secretary John Healey said:   

    2025 is the critical year for the war in Ukraine. Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage – military and civilians alike, and their bravery – fused with our support – has proved a lethal combination. 

    Speaking as a European Defence Minister, we know our responsibilities. We are doing more of the heavy lifting and sharing more of the burden. 

    While Russia is weakened, it remains undeniably dangerous.  We must step up further – and secure peace through strength – together.

    Speaking at today’s meeting, where he was joined by Ukrainian Defence Minster Rustem Umerov, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius,  French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Defence Secretary Healey confirmed that the UK has sent a landmark 500,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, worth over £1 billion.  

    The Defence Secretary also confirmed that the UK is on track to provide more than 10,000 drones to Ukraine in a single year, with final deliveries due next month.  

    Today’s £150 million package includes thousands of drones, dozens of battle tanks and armoured vehicles and air defence systems.   

    More than 50 armoured and protective vehicles, including modernised T-72 tanks will be deployed to Ukraine by the end of spring, building on the thousands of pieces of equipment the UK has already given to Ukraine.   

    The air defence equipment will support more than 100 Ukrainian air defence teams, and has a 90% success rate of shooting down kamikaze drones, protecting Ukrainian critical national infrastructure including electricity sites frequently targeted by Russia. Announced by the Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kyiv last month, the UK and Denmark are also providing fifteen Gravehawks to Ukraine.  

    Today’s package also includes major new maintenance contracts to support in-country repairs to critical kit – helping keep Ukraine’s tanks and artillery in the fight and bringing broken equipment back into use.  

    The Government is clear that the security of the UK starts in Ukraine and is therefore committed to Ukraine’s long-term security as a foundation for the government’s Plan for Change.  

    As part of today’s announcement, thousands of pieces of military equipment the UK has already donated to Ukraine will be repaired and better maintained through contracts worth around £60 million.  

    In a boost the UK’s economy, this includes a multi-million-pound contract with UK defence firm Babcock, who will train Ukrainian personnel to maintain and repair crucial equipment such as Challenger 2 tanks, self-propelled artillery, and combat reconnaissance vehicles inside Ukraine. Through this agreement, equipment can be serviced and returned to the front line quicker.  

    UK defence giant BAE Systems has also been awarded a £14 million contract, funded by Sweden and procured through the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine, to repair Archer artillery systems. Working with Lancashire-based firm AMS, repairs of the Swedish-gifted Archer systems will be carried out in Ukraine with Ukrainian soldiers given technical training so they can maintain equipment for years to come.  

    Today’s announcement comes ahead of tomorrow’s NATO Defence Ministerial meeting, where Defence Secretary Healey will set out that in this critical year, nations must step up and back Ukraine with the resources they need to achieve long-term peace in the face of Russian aggression.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    Invasion of Ukraine

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Snagit and Camtasia 2025 Introduce AI and Screentelligence-Powered Workflows for Faster, More Impactful Content Creation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    EAST LANSING, Mich., Feb. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TechSmith Corporation, an industry leader in visual communication, today released the newest editions of its award-winning Snagit and Camtasia products with advanced features focusing on simplifying workflows and improving capture and recording experiences. Snagit is an essential tool for professionals who capture, enhance, and share screenshots and videos, creating polished visual content that advances workplace communication and collaboration. Camtasia is an industry-leading screen recording, video, and audio editing solution to simplify the creation of high-quality tutorials, demos, training, and visual content. The 2025 versions are the final annual releases before TechSmith transitions to continuous delivery through its new subscription offerings.

    “We’ve enhanced Snagit and Camtasia with new AI and Screentelligence features to make it faster and easier for users to achieve their creative goals,” said Tony Lambert, CTO of TechSmith. “User feedback heavily inspired these improvements, helping us simplify and streamline our most popular workflows and features so users can create content with less effort and improve visual communication within teams and organizations. We’re excited to build on this foundation with continuous updates throughout the year.”

    Screentelligence leverages machine learning models and TechSmith’s proprietary algorithms to provide users with context-aware layout, design, and editing suggestions. By analyzing metadata locally, data never leaves the user environment for optimal speed and security.

    Snagit 2025 Features
    Snagit 2025 leverages AI and Screentelligence-powered features to perform nearly all of the creation work, allowing users to focus on refining content. The new features enhance creation speed and professional polish across everyday training, documentation, and workplace communications. With Snagit 2025, users can boost clarity, protect privacy, and engage their audience more effectively.

    • Step Capture: Quickly create visual how-to guides and step-by-step instructions by simply going through the process. Snagit captures the individual steps and clicks and automatically organizes them into a structured guide. This feature is ideal for HR and IT professionals, as well as team leads and managers who often document and share processes like how to use software or access files.
    • Smart Redact: Automatically detects and blurs, pixelates, or redacts nine types of sensitive information from an image including mailing addresses, credit card or phone numbers, and more from screenshots with a single toggle.
    • Background Noise Removal: Eliminates background noise on user audio in any environment. This feature is excellent for creating ad hoc videos in the office, at home, or in a coffee shop with none of the quality concerns.
    • Customizable Share Link (enterprise exclusive): Enables single-click share link functionality with existing corporate platforms and environments such as OneDrive or Google Drive.
    • Virtual Background Capabilities (Mac exclusive): Enables the blurring or changing of the webcam background during video recordings. Great for masking the cluttered home office or showcasing corporate branding while recording.
    • Corner Rounding: Easily round the corners of screen captures to give a softer, more modern aesthetic.
    • Instant Asset Access: Immediate retrieval of Snagit’s comprehensive Asset Library with one click of a button.

    Camtasia 2025 Features
    Camtasia 2025 delivers advanced AI and editing capabilities helping users effortlessly develop more polished and professional videos in a fraction of the time. The new features deliver a number of quality-of-life improvements that make it easier than ever to create and view tutorials, demos, and training content.

    • Background Noise Removal: Instantly removes all background noise to provide clear audio. The effect is automatically applied while using Rev and can be applied manually to any recording or video in the editor.
    • Dynamic Caption Editing: Manually adjust, add, or remove words and spaces in the dynamic captions feature instead of relying solely on the transcription.
    • Smarter, More Engaging Cursor Movements: Advanced cursor enhancements that improve clarity, engagement, and instructional value in videos.
      • Cursor Motion Blur: Smooths onscreen cursor movements for a more natural, polished look—minimizing visible hesitations or unnatural pauses made during screen recording.
      • Kinetic Cursor: Enhances cursor movement by dynamically pointing in the direction of the next click, guiding viewers’ attention more effectively. Focus indicators like this new feature were ranked in the top five most important characteristics of training videos in TechSmith’s 2024 Video Viewer Trends Report.
      • Cursor Elevation: Brings the cursor to the front of the screen so it is never hidden behind other annotations, layers, or effects.
    • AI Avatars (Camtasia Pro exclusive): Utilize a diverse selection of human avatars to deliver your message in video, ideal for training professionals seeking to localize and scale corporate training programs efficiently.

    To learn about subscription and single license pricing and details for Snagit 2025, visit https://www.techsmith.com/store/snagit. To view subscription and single license pricing for Camtasia 2025 Essentials, Create, and Pro product plans, visit https://www.techsmith.com/store/camtasia.

    About Snagit
    Snagit is an award-winning tool for professionals to create polished visual content for workplace communication and collaboration. With a radically simple approach, Snagit allows users to capture images or videos of their screen, annotate content for clear instruction, and share within any preferred platform for viewing and/or team collaboration. Snagit is used by all Fortune 500 companies and more than 39 million people across more than 190 countries. Connect with Snagit on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For more information, visit https://www.techsmith.com/snagit/.

    About Camtasia
    Camtasia is an industry-leading screen recording, video, and audio editing solution to simplify the creation of high-quality tutorials, demos, training, and visual content. With a rich, expansive, and flexible feature set, Camtasia has the lowest barrier of entry of any recording and editing software, helping users educate, inspire, and excite their audience with professional-quality videos. Its intuitive Camtasia Rev workflow guides users through various size, layout, background, effect, and filter choices, empowering users of all skill levels to quickly create professional quality videos. Camtasia is used by more than 34 million people globally, including all Fortune 500 companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. In 2024, Camtasia was rated a top 5 screen and video capture solution by G2’s community of reviewers. For more information, visit www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html. Connect with Camtasia on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram. For more information, visit https://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/.

    About TechSmith
    TechSmith is the market leader in screen capture software and productivity solutions for daily in-person, remote or hybrid workplace communication and customer-facing image and video content. The company’s award-winning flagship products, Snagit, Camtasia, and Audiate empower anyone to create remarkable videos and images that share knowledge for better training, tutorials, and everyday communication. TechSmith creates easy-to-use software and provides expert training resources and unmatched support — making TechSmith the global leader for easily creating effective images and videos. To date, billions of images and videos have been created with TechSmith’s products by more than 73 million people across more than 190 countries. TechSmith is ranked as a top 10 company in G2’s Spring 2024 report and winner of a 2024 Training Magazine Network Choice Award. Connect with TechSmith on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook. For more information, visit www.techsmith.com.

    Media Contact:
    Ross Blume
    Fusion Public Relations
    techsmith@fusionpr.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Municipality Finance Plc Financial Statements Bulletin 1 January–31 December 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Municipality Finance Plc
    Financial Statements Bulletin
    12 February 2025 at 5:00 pm (EET)

    Municipality Finance Plc Financial Statements Bulletin 1 January–31 December 2024

    In brief: MuniFin Group in 2024

    • The Group’s net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes* increased by 2.9% (3.2%) in January–December and amounted to EUR 181 million (EUR 176 million). Net interest income* was at the same level as in year before and totalled EUR 260 million (EUR 259 million). Net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes was boosted by lower expenses and increased other income compared to the previous period.
    • Net operating profit* amounted to EUR 166 million (EUR 139 million). Unrealised fair value changes amounted to EUR -16 million (EUR -37 million) in the financial year. Unrealised fair value changes were influenced in particular by changes in interest rates and credit risk spreads in the Group’s main funding markets.
    • Costs* in the financial year amounted to EUR 81 million (EUR 82 million).
    • The Group’s leverage ratio remained at a strong level, standing at 12.3% (12.0%) at the end of December.
    • At the end of December, the Group’s CET1 capital ratio was very strong at 107.7% (103.4%). CET1 capital ratio was over seven times the required minimum of 15.0% (13.9%), taking capital buffers into account.
    • Long-term customer financing (long-term loans and leased assets) excluding unrealised fair value changes* totalled EUR 35,787 million (EUR 32,948 million) at the end of December and saw an increase of 8.6% (7.5%). New long-term customer financing* increased by 17.1% (0.0%) in January–December 2024 and amounted to EUR 5,056 million (EUR 4,319 million). Short-term customer financing* totalled EUR 1,825 million (EUR 1,575 million).
    • Of all long-term customer financing, the amount of green finance* aimed at environmentally sustainable investments totalled EUR 6,817 million (EUR 4,795 million), and the amount of social finance* aimed at investments promoting equality and communality totalled EUR 2,536 million (EUR 2,234 million) at the end of December. The total amount of this financing increased by 33.1% (41.0%) from the previous year. The ratio of green and social finance to long-term customer financing excluding unrealised fair value changes* grew by 4.8% percentage points to 26.1% (21.3%).
    • In 2024, new long-term funding* reached EUR 8,922 million (EUR 10,087 million). At the end of December, the total funding* was EUR 46,737 million (EUR 43,320 million), of which long-term funding* made up EUR 43,328 million (EUR 39,332 million).
    • The Group’s total liquidity* is very strong, standing at EUR 11,912 million (EUR 11,633 million) at the end of the financial year. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) stood at 341% (409%) and the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) at 124% (124%) at the end of the year.
    • In early 2024, MuniFin reviewed the future and development potential of the consulting services offered by its subsidiary company Financial Advisory Services Inspira Plc (Inspira) and decided to discontinue Inspira’s consulting services in summer 2024.
    • The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting to be held in spring 2025 a dividend of EUR 1.86 per share, totalling EUR 72.7 million. The total dividend payment in 2024 was EUR 1.69 per share, totalling EUR 66.0 million.
    • Outlook for 2025: The Group expects its net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes to be at the same level or lower in 2025 as in 2024. The Group expects its capital adequacy ratio and leverage ratio to remain strong. The valuation principles set in the IFRS framework may cause significant but temporary unrealised fair value changes, some of which increase the volatility of net operating profit and make it more difficult to estimate.

    Comparison figures deriving from the income statement and figures describing the change during the financial year are based on figures reported for the corresponding period in 2023. Comparison figures deriving from the balance sheet and other cross-sectional items are based on the figures of 31 December 2023 unless otherwise stated.

    * Alternative performance measure.

    Key figures (Group)

      Jan–Dec 2024 Jan–Dec 2023 Change, %
    Net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes (EUR million)* 181 176 2.9
    Net operating profit (EUR million)* 166 139 19.5
    Net interest income (EUR million)* 260 259 0.3
    New long-term customer financing (EUR million)* 5,056 4,319 17.1
    New long-term funding (EUR million)* 8,922 10,087 -11.6
    Cost-to-income ratio, %* 27.7 32.2 -14.0**
    Return on equity (ROE), %* 7.2 6.6 9.3**
      31 Dec 2024 31 Dec 2023 Change, %
    Long-term customer financing (EUR million)* 35,173 32,022 9.8
    Green and social finance (EUR million)* 9,353 7,029 33.1
    Balance sheet total (EUR million) 53,092 49,736 6.7
    CET1 capital (EUR million) 1,646 1,550 6.2
    Tier 1 capital (EUR million) 1,646 1,550 6.2
    Total own funds (EUR million) 1,646 1,550 6.2
    CET1 capital ratio, % 107.7 103.4 4.2**
    Tier 1 capital ratio, % 107.7 103.4 4.2**
    Total capital ratio, % 107.7 103.4 4.2**
    Leverage ratio, % 12.3 12.0 2.5**
    Personnel 178 185 -3.8

    * Alternative performance measure.
    ** Change in ratio.

    Comment on the 2024 financial year by President and CEO Esa Kallio

    The operating environment in global economy and international politics went through a whirlwind of changes in 2024. Even in the turmoil, Finland stood steady and secure: our society is built on long-standing practices and institutions that have been developed together and tried and tested over time. This stability also helps safeguard MuniFin’s strong performance through shifts in the operating environment. Finnish society must continue to operate in broad collaboration and develop the structures of society in the long term. Sometimes this requires difficult decisions in society in the short term.

    In 2024, the demand for MuniFin’s financing was especially high in the affordable social housing sector. In the future, however, the sector will be facing reductions on interest subsidy loan authorisations.

    The Finnish system for affordable social housing is a success story that has served as a model across Europe – and will hopefully continue to do so, especially now that the rising cost of living has led to a surge in homelessness in many countries. Our state-subsidised housing production system has proven effective in reducing homelessness and regional segregation, increasing the supply of affordable social housing in growth centres, advancing municipalities’ housing policy goals of ensuring a diverse housing structure, and providing high-quality housing also to students, senior citizens and people with disabilities.

    Especially in the past couple of years, affordable housing production has also significantly supported the vitality of the Finnish construction sector, helping offset the slump in housing construction. Finland’s well-functioning system should not be changed; rather, the current model and level of housing production subsidies should be kept as they are. Timely investments into affordable social housing production can also help level out construction cycles and support employment.

    In 2024, MuniFin reached new milestones in sustainable investments. In October, we issued our tenth green bond, the high demand of which was once again testament to our strong position as an international forerunner in the financial sector. Moreover, sustainable finance made up the majority of the new long-term customer financing we granted in 2024.

    Information on the Group results

    Consolidated income statement Jan–Dec 2024 Jan–Dec 2023 Change, % Jul–Dec 2024 Jul–Dec 2023 Change, %
    (EUR million)            
    Net interest income 260 259 0.3 132 135 -2.4
    Other income 2 0 >100 1 -1 >100
    Income excluding unrealised fair value changes 262 259 1.1 132 134 -1.4
    Commission expenses -17 -16 8.2 -9 -8 11.2
    HR expenses -21 -20 2.0 -10 -10 -4.3
    Other items in administrative expenses -23 -20 12.4 -12 -11 12.0
    Depreciation and impairment on tangible and intangible assets -6 -7 -7.8 -3 -3 -14.3
    Other operating expenses -14 -19 -27.0 -7 -7 -0.6
    Costs -81 -82 -1.9 -40 -39 3.0
    Credit loss and impairments on financial assets 0 -1 -72.9 -1 -1 -38.7
    Net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes 181 176 2.9 92 95 -2.8
    Unrealised fair value changes -16 -37 -58.4 -31 -33 -3.6
    Net operating profit 166 139 19.5 61 62 -2.4
    Income tax expense -33 -28 17.3 -12 -12 -2.3
    Profit for the period 133 111 20.1 48 50 -2.4

    The Group’s net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes

    MuniFin Group’s core business operations remained strong in 2024. The Group’s net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes increased by 2.9% (3.2%) and amounted to EUR 181 million (EUR 176 million). The growth was influenced both by an increase in other income and a decrease in costs as net interest income remained at the level of previous year.

    The Group’s income excluding unrealised fair value changes was EUR 262 million (EUR 259 million) and grew by 1.1% (6.5%). Net interest income grew by 0.3% (7.5%), totalling EUR 260 million (EUR 259 million). Net interest income was positively affected by growing business volumes. The increase in funding costs due to the market conditions and the shape of the yield curve slowed the growth of net interest income.

    Other income totalled EUR 2.0 million (EUR 0.1 million). It consisted mainly of the billing of MuniFin’s digital services and the turnover of the subsidiary company Inspira from the early part of the year. In the previous year, negative realised FX rate changes reduced other income. At 0.8% (0.1%), other income relative to income excluding unrealised fair value changes forms only a minor part of the Group’s income.

    The Group’s costs were EUR 81 million (EUR 82 million), down by 1.9% from the year before (+12.4%). The reduction in expenses was due to the fact that no contribution fee was collected for the Single Resolution Fund in 2024.

    Commission expenses totalled EUR 17 million (EUR 16 million), of which EUR 14 million (EUR 13 million) consisted of the guarantee commission collected by the Municipal Guarantee Board for guaranteeing MuniFin’s funding.

    HR and administrative expenses grew by 7.2% (9.0%) and reached EUR 44 million (EUR 41 million). HR expenses comprised EUR 21 million (EUR 20 million) and other administrative expenses EUR 23 million (EUR 20 million). The average number of employees in the Group was 187 (183) during the financial year. Other items in administrative expenses grew by 12.4% (8.8%), mainly due to the increased costs of maintaining and developing information systems.

    During the financial year, depreciation and impairment of tangible and intangible assets totalled EUR 6 million (EUR 7 million).

    Other operating expenses were EUR 14 million (EUR 19 million). The main reason for this decrease is that there was no contribution fee to the Single Resolution Fund in 2024. Other operating expenses excluding fees collected by authorities grew by 22.1% (9.9%) to EUR 11 million (EUR 9 million).

    Credit loss and impairments on financial assets were EUR 0.3 million (EUR 1.2 million). This item consists of expected credit losses (ECL). The Group updated the model used to estimate the probability of default and the forward-looking macro scenarios during the financial year. The Group’s management has assessed the impact of general cost inflation and increased interest rates on customer financing receivables and credit risk and decided to release the additional discretionary provision in full at the end of 2024 (the amount of the additional discretionary provision was EUR 0.6 million at the end of 2023, and in June 2024, EUR 0.4 million of the additional provision was released). The update of the probability of default model increased expected credit losses by EUR 0.9 million euros, as the amount of exposures that moved from stage 1 to stage 2 increased. Most of the transferred exposures were subject to the previous additional discretionary provision. Therefore, the Group’s management considered that there is no longer a basis for recording a group-specific additional provision.

    The Group’s overall credit risk position has remained low. The amount of forborne loans was EUR 561 million (EUR 497 million), while non-performing exposures amounted to EUR 292 million (EUR 142 million) at the end of the year. These non-performing exposures represented 0.8% (0.4%) of total customer exposures. At the end of December, the Group had EUR 13 million in receivables due to the insolvency of customers, for which the collateral realisation process is ongoing, or the credit receivable is due for payment by the guarantor (there were no such receivables at the end of 2023). All the Group’s customer financing receivables are from Finnish municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties or joint county authorities, or accompanied by a securing municipal, joint municipal authority, wellbeing services county or joint county authority guarantee or a state deficiency guarantee supplementing real estate collateral, and therefore no final credit losses will arise. According to the management’s assessment, all receivables from customers will be fully recovered. During the Group’s history of 35 years, it has never recognised any final credit losses in its customer financing.

    The credit risk of the Group’s liquidity portfolio has likewise remained at a low level, and the average credit rating of the debt securities in the portfolio is AA+ (AA+).

    The Group’s profit and unrealised fair value changes

    The Group’s net operating profit was EUR 166 million (EUR 139 million). Unrealised fair value changes decreased the Group’s net operating profit by EUR 16 million (in 2023: decreased by EUR 37 million). In January–December, unrealised fair value changes in hedge accounting amounted to EUR -12 million (EUR -27 million) and unrealised net result on financial assets and liabilities through profit or loss to EUR -4 million (EUR -10 million).

    The Group’s effective tax rate in the financial year was 19.9% (20.2%). Taxes in the Consolidated income statement amounted to EUR 33 million (EUR 28 million). After taxes, the Group’s profit for the financial year was EUR 133 million (EUR 111 million).

    The Group’s full-year return on equity (ROE) was 7.2% (6.6%). Excluding unrealised fair value changes, the ROE was 7.9% (8.4%).

    The Group’s other comprehensive income includes unrealised fair value changes of EUR 169 million (EUR 109 million). During the financial year, the most significant item affecting the other comprehensive income was net change in fair value due to changes in own credit risk of financial liabilities designated at fair value through profit or loss totalling EUR 137 million (EUR 75 million). The cost-of-hedging amounted to EUR 30 million (EUR 25 million). Net change in fair value of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income was EUR 2 million (EUR 8 million).

    On the whole, unrealised fair value changes net of deferred tax affected the Group’s equity by EUR 122 million (EUR 57 million) and CET1 capital net of deferred tax in capital adequacy by EUR 13 million (EUR -3 million). The cumulative effect of unrealised fair value changes on the Group’s own funds in capital adequacy calculations was EUR 58 million (EUR 45 million).

    Unrealised fair value changes reflect the temporary impact of market conditions on the valuation levels of financial instruments at the time of reporting. The value changes may vary significantly from one reporting period to another, causing volatility in profit, equity and own funds in capital adequacy calculations. The effect on individual contracts will be removed by the end of the contract period. In the financial year, unrealised fair value changes were influenced in particular by changes in interest rates and credit risk spreads in the Group’s main funding markets.

    In accordance with its risk management principles, the Group uses derivatives to financially hedge against interest rate, exchange rate and other market and price risks. Cash flows under agreements are hedged, but due to the generally used valuation methods, changes in fair value differ between the financial instrument and the respective hedging derivative. Changes in the shape of the interest rate curve and credit risk spreads in different currencies affect the valuations, which cause the fair values of hedged assets and liabilities and hedging instruments to behave in different ways. In practice, the changes in valuations are not realised on a cash basis because the Group holds financial instruments and their hedging derivatives almost always until the maturity date. The counterparty credit risk related to derivatives is comprehensively covered by collateral management. Changes in credit risk spreads are not expected to be materialised as credit losses for the Group, because the Group’s liquidity reserve has been invested in instruments with low credit risk.

    The Parent Company and subsidiary company Inspira’s results

    In 2024, MuniFin’s net interest income amounted to EUR 260 million (EUR 259 million) and net operating profit to EUR 166 million (EUR 139 million).

    The turnover of MuniFin’s subsidiary company, Financial Advisory Services Inspira Ltd, was EUR 0.4 million (EUR 1.4 million), and its net operating result amounted to EUR -0.5 million (EUR 0.0 million). The Group discontinued Inspira’s advisory services in the spring. In the future, the subsidiary company will provide some of the digital added value services MuniFin offers to its customers.

    The Group’s financial performance in July–December

    In the second half of 2024, the Group’s net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes amounted to EUR 92 million (Jul–Dec 2023: EUR 95 million), remaining almost at the same level as in the year before. Net interest income totalled EUR 132 million (Jul–Dec 2023: EUR 135 million) and costs EUR 40 million (Jul–Dec 2023: EUR 39 million) in July–December. Unrealised fair value changes weakened the net operating profit by EUR 31 million (in the comparison period Jul–Dec 2023: weakened by EUR 33 million). The Group’s net operating profit amounted to EUR 61 million (Jul–Dec 2023: EUR 62 million) in July–December.

    In the second half of the year, the Group’s net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes increased by 3.1% from the first half. Net interest income went up by 2.4% from the first half of the year. Costs amounted to EUR 40 million in July–December and to EUR 41 million in January–June. The Group’s net operating profit totalled EUR 61 million in July– December, decreasing by 42.4% from January–June. In the second half of the year, unrealised fair value changes affected the net operating profit by EUR -31 million, while in the first half of the year, their effect was EUR 16 million.

    Outlook for 2025

    Europe’s economy is starting 2025 off from a weaker position than anticipated. Business cycle expectations are subdued, and the global operating environment is fraught with uncertainty. Donald Trump’s presidential administration is expected to pursue protectionist trade policies, which could, at worst, severely slow down the euro area’s economic recovery.

    However, if Europe is exempted from the planned universal tariff on all US imports and the euro continues to weaken, businesses in the euro area could even find new opportunities to expand their market share in the US. Europe could also suffer negative economic effects if capital needed to improve productivity is increasingly allocated to strengthening military defence and supply security. The political turmoil in France and Germany adds another layer of uncertainty into the euro area economy.

    To counterbalance the growing economic uncertainty, the European Central Bank is expected to continue brisk interest rate cuts in 2025. Short-term market rates are projected to come down to about two per cent or even slightly below that by mid-year.

    The sharp interest rate cuts will be the most crucial booster for the Finnish economy in 2025. Although the overall tone of the economic turnround is still relatively subdued, the simultaneous recovery of demand drivers could boost annual GDP growth to surprisingly strong figures. Even so, macroeconomic forecasts continue to be very uncertain. Finland’s two most important export markets, the US and Germany, both entail considerable risks, and a sharperthan-expected decline in employment casts a shadow over the recovery of the domestic market. From the Group’s perspective, the 2024 rise in credit risk spreads is expected to push up the cost of funding, weakening the Group’s net interest income in 2025.

    Municipalities are undergoing sizeable adjustment programmes, but their financing deficit is nevertheless expected to grow again in 2025. Municipal finances are strained by several factors: central government transfer cuts resulting from the balancing of health and social services reform transfers, increased net investments, health and social services facilities that are left unused by wellbeing services counties but continue to incur maintenance, conversion and demolition costs, as well as uncertainty surrounding the actual costs of the employment services reform. In addition, the weakened employment outlook poses a serious risk to tax revenues.

    Privately funded housing production is expected to take an upward turn in 2025, but its volume will nevertheless remain well below normal levels. The housing market is starting to gradually pick up, and housing prices are expected to start rising moderately from 2025 onwards. In contrast, state-subsidised housing production will see fewer building starts due to reductions on interest subsidy loan authorisations. In March 2025, the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (Ara) will cease to operate as an independent government agency and its operations will instead be integrated under the Ministry of the Environment. This change does not mean the end of state-subsidised housing production; rather, it aims to improve the administration of affordable social housing production. According to MuniFin’s analysis, the integration will not have a direct effect on MuniFin’s business. Interest subsidy loans will continue to be granted to state-subsidised housing production, but the related processes will be administered at the Ministry of the Environment. MuniFin will monitor the practical implications closely. With the managing authority changing, the Company may need to make changes to some of its processes in response.

    Considering the above-mentioned circumstances, the Group expects its net operating profit excluding unrealised fair value changes to be at the same level or lower in 2025 as in 2024. The Group expects its capital adequacy ratio and leverage ratio to remain strong. The valuation principles set in the IFRS framework may cause significant but temporary unrealised fair value changes, some of which increase the volatility of net operating profit and make it more difficult to estimate.

    These estimates are based on a current assessment of the development of MuniFin Group’s operations and the operating environment.

    Municipality Finance Plc

    Further information:

    Esa Kallio, President and CEO, tel. +358 50 337 7953

    Harri Luhtala, Executive Vice President, Finance, CFO, tel. +358 50 592 9454

    MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The owners of the company include Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the State of Finland. The Group’s balance sheet is over EUR 53 billion.

    MuniFin’s customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, joint county authorities, corporate entities under the control of the above-mentioned organisations, and affordable social housing. Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.

    MuniFin’s customers are domestic, but the Company operates in a completely global business environment. The Company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

    Read more: www.munifin.fi

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