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Category: housing

  • MIL-OSI USA: UConn Students Are Ready for 26th Annual HuskyTHON

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Thousands of UConn students will dance for 18 hours straight to raise money for the Connecticut Children’s Foundation on Saturday, March 8 at the Hugh S. Greer Field House. Over 100 organizations on campus participate.

    “HuskyTHON is an unimaginable organization because of the show of community and pride for something way bigger than ourselves as college students,” says Izzy Casais ’25 (CLAS), vice president of communications for HuskyTHON. “It’s not always about fundraising; it’s about the connections you can make with these children and their families.”

    The fundraising campaign carries the mantra “Change the Tide” this year, Casais says. “It’s really just about changing the trajectory of children’s health and creating that lasting change. The momentum, the teamwork, the small wins is what we refer to.”

    Raising money and awareness is a year-long process that leads up to one dance-filled day on campus. Casais says the HuskyTHON Management Team begins its campaigning in June, ten months before the big day.

    Last year, UConn students raised a record $1.73 million for Connecticut Children’s. The funds raised support the Connecticut Children’s Greatest Needs Children’s Fund, which provides resources for immediate necessities at Connecticut Children’s.

    At last year’s HuskyTHON, participants included members of the 2024 NCAA men’s national championship basketball team (courtesy of HuskyTHON)

    Casais says that Greek life is usually responsible for a significant portion of the money raised. Last year, Delta Zeta Sorority was the top-earning group, with roughly $59,000 raised. “Our goal is really just to fundraise as much as we can,” says Nicole Fedor ’26 (CAHNR), dancer representative for Delta Zeta.

    It’s not just Greek organizations involved. “Club sports are involved, and the D1 sports teams are involved. You can even just make your own team with your friends,” Fedor says.

    Groups on campus use different strategies to raise money. “We usually do an event called Hot Ones,” says Jason Giambertone ’26 (BUS), the dancer representative for Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. The fraternity orders the hot sauces from the YouTube series Hot Ones. Members ask friends and family to donate, and the more money each person raises, the spicier the sauce they must eat.

    Giambertone says the group also arranged a raffle this year, with prizes including cookies from Dueling Grandmas Shortbread, a hat signed by the national championship-winning men’s basketball team, and gift cards from local businesses.

    “It’s a little bit tricky getting a bunch of college guys to raise money for an event like this,” says Giambertone. “There’s no way around it, but there are ways to motivate.” Last year one of the members raised $600 by eating raw eggs. Giambertone says it helped members realize they could contribute to the cause using less serious methods. Giambertone himself shaved his head in a fundraising effort. “I only did it for $75, but it was kind of an avalanche. I think by the end of the day I had raised about $450.”

    Delta Zeta uses prizes like gift cards to incentivize its members to fundraise, says Fedor. The sorority sold candygrams for Valentines Day, which included a few pieces of candy and a message. All proceeds went directly to the cause.

    The management team sends out cause connection videos, which Fedor says helps raise awareness for the sorority. The videos show stories from families involved with Connecticut Children’s and how HuskyTHON has benefited them. “I feel like the more of those videos we show our team, the more everybody is motivated because they realize exactly where the money is going,” Fedor says.

    The Day of Strength this year was Wednesday, Feb. 26: the day when the management team, made up of 32 members, got together to see the total raised so far. This year’s total was $451,516.94, an increase over last year’s total of $373,000. “We don’t set a monetary goal,” says Casais. “It’s always as much as possible; any amount of money is going to make a difference; we just do what we can.”

    The event is more important than just raising money, organizers say. It gives kids from Connecticut Children’s an escape for the day. “When I was little, I always looked up to the older kids. It meant so much more when they gave me special attention,” says Fedor. “Getting to hang out with older kids for a whole day and just feel normal and feel special, means the world.”

    Fedor and Giambertone both say the best moment of HuskyTHON is the Circle of Hope. Every participant is given an entry bracelet at the start of the day, which looks like a hospital bracelet. At the end of HuskyTHON, all the participating students gather in a circle, and everyone gets their bracelet snipped in a ceremony to celebrate the movement and show support for the families involved.

    After 18 hours of dancing – and for some, nearly a year of planning and preparation – students feel the positivity and sense of accomplishment from raising money for children in need (courtesy of HuskyTHON).

    “I looked around and literally every person around me was crying,” says Fedor. “I realized how many people are really touched.”

    “You put in 18 hours. You’re exhausted, you want to eat, and you want to go home, but all of that turns into this raw moment of emotion realizing that you really accomplished this great thing,” says Giambertone. “You made someone’s life better for four hours today, and now you get to do it all again next year.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI China: Xi urges Jiangsu to play major role in national development

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged east China’s Jiangsu Province, an economic powerhouse, to play a major role in the country’s overall development.
    Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when he took part in a deliberation with fellow lawmakers from Jiangsu during the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature.
    Jiangsu should take the lead in promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation, advancing in-depth reform and high-standard opening up, and implementing major national development strategies, and set an example in bringing prosperity to all, Xi said. 

    MIL OSI China News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: Policing Minister Celebrates the Role of Police Staff

    Source: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

    “Regardless of the role, there is no force in the country that can do what it needs to do to keep the public safe without police staff.” 

    Those are the words of the Home Office Minister of State (Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire) the Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson, with respect to the Police Staff Week of Celebration and Recognition.

    We’re extremely grateful that the Minister took the time to record this video, and thankful for her kind words about the important role that police staff play. 

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Applications for White Form Secondary Market Scheme 2024 to commence from tomorrow

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Applications for White Form Secondary Market Scheme 2024 to commence from tomorrow
    **********************************************************************************

    The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:      The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) announced today (March 5) that the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2024 (WSM 2024) will open for applications for three weeks, starting from 8am tomorrow (March 6) until 7pm on March 26. Youth Scheme (WSM) and quota      “In response to the Chief Executive’s announcement of a series of measures in the 2024 Policy Address to enhance the housing ladder, which include, among others, assisting young people to purchase subsidised sale flats, the HA’s Subsidised Housing Committee endorsed on January 14, 2025, that starting from WSM 2024, the quota will increase significantly by 1 500 to 6 000. All of the 1 500 additional quotas will be allocated to young applicants aged below 40 under the Youth Scheme (WSM), while the remaining 4 500 will be ordinary quotas. Applicants of WSM 2024 who opt to join the Youth Scheme (WSM) must have reached the age of 18 on the closing date of application and must be below the age of 40 on the commencement date of application,” a spokesman for the HA said.      The allocation ratio of quota for family and one-person applicants is kept at 9:1 under WSM 2024. This means that the 4 500 ordinary quotas include 4 050 quotas allocated to family applicants and 450 quotas allocated to one-person applicants; the 1 500 additional quotas of the Youth Scheme (WSM) include 1 350 quotas allocated to young family applicants and 150 quotas allocated to young one-person applicants. Application arrangements      WSM 2024 will adopt the relevant eligibility criteria for the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme Flats 2024, including the income and asset limits as well as restrictions on domestic property ownership in Hong Kong. The income and asset limits for family applicants are $60,000 per month and $1,230,000 respectively; the income and asset limits for one-person applicants are $30,000 per month and $615,000 respectively.      “Eligible applicants may submit online applications or paper applications for WSM 2024 either in person or by post. The application fee is $250. Balloting is expected to be held in the second quarter of this year, and Approval Letters for successful applicants are expected to be issued in the third/fourth quarter of this year. Within the specified period, holders of the Approval Letters may submit applications to the HA and/ or the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) for the Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase (valid for one year) to purchase a flat with premium not yet paid in the Home Ownership Scheme Secondary Market or the Flat-for-Sale Scheme Secondary Market,” the spokesman said.      Starting from today until March 26, application forms and application guides are available on the HA/Housing Department’s designated website for WSM 2024 (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/wsm/2024), while printed copies can be obtained during opening hours from the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, the office of the HA’s Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme Sales Unit in Kwun Tong, estate offices and District Tenancy Management Offices of the HA, rental estate offices of the HKHS and the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department. Members of the public are reminded to read carefully the application guide of WSM 2024 before submission of applications. They may call the 24-hour HA Sales and WSM Hotline at 2712 8000 on matters concerning the applications.

    Ends/Wednesday, March 5, 2025Issued at HKT 9:00

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected methamphetamine worth about $360 million (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected methamphetamine worth about $360 million (with photo)
    ****************************************************************************************

    ​Hong Kong Customs seized about 680 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine with an estimated market value of about $360 million in Kwai Chung on February 10.     Through risk assessment, Customs on that day inspected a seaborne consignment, arriving in Hong Kong from Mexico and declared as carrying heating panels, at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. Upon inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected methamphetamine concealed inside 80 heating panels. Upon a follow-up investigation, Customs arrested a 67-year-old male consignee, claiming to be a driver, in Kwai Chung on the same day.     On March 3, Customs conducted a controlled delivery operation, leading to the further arrest of two men, aged 35 and 45, who were suspected to be connected with the case in Tsuen Wan.     The investigation is ongoing.     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    Ends/Wednesday, March 5, 2025Issued at HKT 14:45

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI USA: DLNR News Release – KAMAʻĀINA ARTISTS SELECTED FOR RESIDENCY PROGRAM, March 4, 2025

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    DLNR News Release – KAMAʻĀINA ARTISTS SELECTED FOR RESIDENCY PROGRAM, March 4, 2025

    Posted on Mar 4, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

     

    STATE OF HAWAIʻI

    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

     

    DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

    KA ʻOIHANA KUMUWAIWAI ‘ĀINA

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR

    KE KIAʻĀINA

     

    DAWN CHANG

    CHAIR

     

    KAMAʻĀINA ARTISTS SELECTED FOR RESIDENCY PROGRAM

     

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    March 4, 2025

     

    HONOLULU – Four artists have been selected as the state of Hawaiʻiʻs Climate Artists in Residence. The innovative programseeks to engage local artists in the co-development of Hawaiʻi’s Climate Action Pathways (CAP) through creating works across a range of artistic media. The awardees stood out from a competitive applicant pool of 65 artists representing a range of media from throughout Hawaiʻi.

     

    The selected artists will each receive a stipend of $5,000, plus $2,000 for materials.

    They are:

     

    • Keisha Tanaka, an ʻōiwi photographer whose works capture the intimate moments that weave together the rich tapestry of her community’s stories.
    • Benjamin Fairfield, an educator whose work turns trash into music and musical instruments, reminding us that everything we attempt to cast away has potential, worth, and purpose.
    • Gillian Dueñas, a Chamoru painter who uses art to connect with her ancestors and homeland while in the diaspora.
    •  Erin Voss, a designer whose work visualizes the complex relationships between communities and ecosystems.

     

     

    “The response to this call was truly stunning,” said Leah Laramee, State Climate Coordinator. “Our goal is to co-develop the CAP in a manner that speaks to people, and it is clear that art is one of those pathways.” Through art, this unique program aims to inspire and connect Hawaiʻi residents to critical climate change challenges.

     

    The artists will engage in the development of key topics from the CAP, including cultural knowledge, land stewardship, energy efficiency, transportation decarbonization, and community resilience.

     

    “The secure future of Indigenous communities is my priority. Discussions about climate change can be very traumatizing and anxiety inducing for our peoples, so I use art as a medicine and tool for instilling hope. I am thrilled to be working with native, Pasifika, local, county, and state organizations to continue doing this work,” said Gillian Dueñas, one of the selected artists. “Our Pasifika ancestors have always been innovators and visionaries, and art is the legacy that they have left for us to inherit and use as a tool to sustain our peoples.”

     

    Artists will participate in subject matter meetings throughout the year and will have the chance to visit related projects on the ground. The finished artworks will be exhibited at the Capitol Modern, the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum in Honolulu, from October 1-31, 2025. This project, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, aligns with the CCMAC’s mission to promote ambitious, climate-neutral, and culturally responsive strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Hawaiʻi.

     

    # # #

    RESOURCES

    (All images/video courtesy: DLNR)

     

    Photographs – Artists and artwork: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/4g21yhcltn1wk7n3ya3yz/AMWSCZ0Xp7sFaJr0Gxt5biI?rlkey=fw9r26vboticm3ov1udb5gml5&st=xtrukabs&dl=0

    For full application details and more information on the artists and the work of CCMAC, go to CCMAC’s website at: https://climate.hawaii.gov/art/

    For more information about the CAP, please contact: Udi Mandel Butler, Climate Action Program Manager at CCMAC, [email protected]

     

     

    Media contact:

    Patti Jette

    Communications Specialist

    Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

    Phone: 808-587-0396

    Email: [email protected]

     

    MIL OSI USA News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: YieldMax™ ETFs Announces Distributions on FIAT (101.61%), ULTY (82.09%), CONY (79.47%), YMAX (85.55%), YMAG (48.55%) and Others

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax™ today announced distributions for the YieldMax™ Weekly Payers and Group C ETFs listed in the table below.

    ETF Ticker1 ETF Name Distribution Frequency Distribution per Share Distribution Rate2,4 30-Day
    SEC Yield3
    ROC5 Ex-Date & Record Date Payment Date
    QDTY YieldMax™ Nasdaq 100 0DTE Covered Call ETF Weekly $0.1580 – – 33.90% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    SDTY YieldMax™ S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call ETF Weekly $0.1709 – – 100.00% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    GPTY YieldMax™ AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.3094 37.80% 0.00% 0.00% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    LFGY YieldMax™ Crypto Industry
    & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF
    Weekly $0.4637 61.48% 0.00% 0.00% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    YMAX YieldMax™ Universe
    Fund of Option Income ETFs
    Weekly $0.2405 85.55% 85.03% 48.89% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    YMAG YieldMax™ Magnificent 7
    Fund of Option Income ETFs
    Weekly $0.1514 48.55% 61.87% 55.46% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    CONY YieldMax™ COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.5989 79.47% 4.56% 94.78% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    FIAT YieldMax™ Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.6834 101.61% 3.52% 96.91% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    MSFO YieldMax™ MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.2845 22.70% 3.53% 83.81% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    AMDY YieldMax™ AMD Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.2533 40.54% 4.02% 92.00% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    NFLY YieldMax™ NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.4008 29.38% 3.23% 0.00% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    ABNY YieldMax™ ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.4805 42.34% 2.98% 92.39% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    PYPY YieldMax™ PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.3773 35.98% 4.20% 90.73% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    ULTY* YieldMax™ Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $0.4653 82.09% 0.00% 78.20% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    CVNY YieldMax™ CVNA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4 Weeks $3.9149 – – 96.80% 3/6/25 3/7/25
    Weekly Payers & Group D ETFs scheduled for next week: ULTY QDTY SDTY GPTY LFGY YMAX YMAG MSTY YQQQ AMZY APLY AIYY DISO SQY SMCY
     

    Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance current to the most recent month-end can be obtained by calling (833) 378-0717.

    Note: DIPS, FIAT, CRSH and YQQQ are hereinafter referred to as the “Short ETFs.”

    Distributions are not guaranteed.   The Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield are not indicative of future distributions, if any, on the ETFs. In particular, future distributions on any ETF may differ significantly from its Distribution Rate or 30-Day SEC Yield. You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from period to period and may be zero. Accordingly, the Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield will change over time, and such change may be significant.

    Investors in the Funds will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions with respect to the underlying reference asset(s).

    *Starting March 12, 2025, ULTY intends to distribute weekly income to shareholders. The dates for ULTY ’s future distributions will be those set forth in the YieldMax Distribution Schedule.

    1All YieldMax™ ETFs shown in the table above (except YMAX, YMAG, FEAT, FIVY and ULTY) have a gross expense ratio of 0.99%. YMAX, YMAG and FEAT have a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.99% for a gross expense ratio of 1.28%. FIVY has a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.59% for a gross expense ratio of 0.88%. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are indirect fees and expenses that the Fund incurs from investing in the shares of other investment companies, namely other YieldMax™ ETFs. ULTY has a gross expense ratio after the fee waiver of 1.30%. The Advisor has agreed to a fee waiver of 0.10% through at least February 28, 2026.   
    2The Distribution Rate shown is as of close on March 4, 2025. The Distribution Rate is the annual distribution rate an investor would receive if the most recent distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by annualizing an ETF’s Distribution per Share and dividing such annualized amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions may also include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease an ETF’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These Distribution Rates may be caused by unusually favorable market conditions and may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future.
    3 The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income, which excludes option income, earned by such ETF over the 30-Day period ended February 28, 2025, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on such ETF’s share price at the end of the 30-Day period.
    4 Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.
    5 ROC refers to Return of Capital. The ROC percentage is the portion of the distribution that represents an investor’s original investment.

    Each Fund has a limited operating history and while each Fund’s objective is to provide current income, there is no guarantee the Fund will make a distribution. Distributions are likely to vary greatly in amount.

    Standardized Performance

    For YMAX, click here. For YMAG, click here. For TSLY, click here. For OARK, click here. For APLY, click here. For NVDY, click here. For AMZY, click here. For FBY, click here. For GOOY, click here. For NFLY, click here. For CONY, click here. For MSFO, click here. For DISO, click here. For XOMO, click here. For JPMO, click here. For AMDY, click here. For PYPY, click here. For SQY, click here. For MRNY, click here. For AIYY, click here. For MSTY, click here. For ULTY, click here. For YBIT, click here. For CRSH, click here. For GDXY, click here. For SNOY, click here. For ABNY, click here. For FIAT, click here. For DIPS, click here. For BABO, click here. For YQQQ, click here. For TSMY, click here. For SMCY, click here. For PLTY, click here. For BIGY, click here. For SOXY, click here. For MARO, click here. For FEAT, click here. For FIVY, click here. For LFGY, click here. For GPTY, click here. For CVNY, click here. For SDTY, click here. For QDTY, click here.

    Important Information

    This material must be preceded or accompanied by the prospectus. For all prospectuses, click here.

    Tidal Financial Group is the adviser for all YieldMax™ ETFs.

    THE FUND, TRUST, AND ADVISER ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY UNDERLYING REFERENCE ASSET.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable to all YieldMax ETFs referenced above, except the Short ETFs)

    YMAX, YMAG, FEAT and FIVY generally invest in other YieldMax™ ETFs. As such, these two Funds are subject to the risks listed in this section, which apply to all the YieldMax™ ETFs they may hold from time to time.

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Referenced Index Risk. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Index (or the Index ETFs). This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of companies that comprised the Index or an ETF that tracks the Index, even though it does not.

    Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

    Russell 2000 Index Risks. The Index, which consists of small-cap U.S. companies, is particularly susceptible to economic changes, as these firms often have less financial resilience than larger companies. Market volatility can disproportionately affect these smaller businesses, leading to significant price swings. Additionally, these companies are often more exposed to specific industry risks and have less diverse revenue streams. They can also be more vulnerable to changes in domestic regulatory or policy environments.

    Call Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s call writing strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in the positive price returns of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold call options and over longer periods.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of call option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Call Period.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security (ARKK, TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, AMZN, META, GOOGL, NFLX, COIN, MSFT, DIS, XOM, JPM, AMD, PYPL, SQ, MRNA, AI, MSTR, Bitcoin ETP, GDX®, SNOW, ABNB, BABA, TSM, SMCI, PLTR, MARA, CVNA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)

    Artificial Intelligence Risk. Issuers engaged in artificial intelligence typically have high research and capital expenditures and, as a result, their profitability can vary widely, if they are profitable at all. The space in which they are engaged is highly competitive and issuers’ products and services may become obsolete very quickly. These companies are heavily dependent on intellectual property rights and may be adversely affected by loss or impairment of those rights. The issuers are also subject to legal, regulatory and political changes that may have a large impact on their profitability. A failure in an issuer’s product or even questions about the safety of the product could be devastating to the issuer, especially if it is the marquee product of the issuer. It can be difficult to accurately capture what qualifies as an artificial intelligence company.

    Technology Sector Risk. The Fund will invest substantially in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

    Risk Disclosure (applicable only to MARO)

    Digital Assets Risk: The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. The Fund does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than the Fund. Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)

    Currency Risk: Indirect exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

    Depositary Receipts Risk: The securities underlying BABO and TSMY are American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). Investment in ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.

    Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight.

    Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)

    Risk of Investing in Foreign Securities. The Fund is exposed indirectly to the securities of foreign issuers selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies. Investments in the securities of foreign issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities.

    Risk of Investing in Gold and Silver Mining Companies. The Fund is exposed indirectly to gold and silver mining companies selected by GDX®’s investment adviser, which subjects the Fund to the risks associated with such companies.

    The Fund invests in options contracts based on the value of the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX®), which subjects the Fund to some of the same risks as if it owned GDX®, as well as the risks associated with Canadian, Australian and Emerging Market Issuers, and Small-and Medium-Capitalization companies.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)

    YBIT does not invest directly in Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest directly in derivatives that track the performance of Bitcoin or any other digital assets. YBIT does not invest in or seek direct exposure to the current “spot” or cash price of Bitcoin. Investors seeking direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin should consider an investment other than YBIT.

    Bitcoin Investment Risk: The Fund’s indirect investment in Bitcoin, through holdings in one or more Underlying ETPs, exposes it to the unique risks of this emerging innovation. Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, and its market is influenced by the changing Bitcoin network, fluctuating acceptance levels, and unpredictable usage trends.

    Digital Assets Risk: Digital assets like Bitcoin, designed as mediums of exchange, are still an emerging asset class. They operate independently of any central authority or government backing and are subject to regulatory changes and extreme price volatility. Potentially No 1940 Act Protections. As of the date of this Prospectus, there is only a single eligible Underlying ETP, and it is an investment company subject to the 1940 Act.

    Bitcoin ETP Risk: The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of the Bitcoin ETP. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of the Bitcoin ETP, even though it does not. Bitcoin ETPs are subject, but not limited, to significant risk and heightened volatility. An investor in a Bitcoin ETP may lose their entire investment. Bitcoin ETPs are not suitable for all investors. In addition, not all Bitcoin ETPs are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Those Bitcoin ETPs that are not registered under such statute are therefore not subject to the same regulations as exchange traded products that are so registered.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

    Price Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the value of the underlying reference asset. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the underlying reference asset, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, the Fund is subject to the risk that the value of the underlying reference asset increases. If the value of the underlying reference asset increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses.

    Put Writing Strategy Risk. The path dependency (i.e., the continued use) of the Fund’s put writing (selling) strategy will impact the extent that the Fund participates in decreases in the value of the underlying reference asset and, in turn, the Fund’s returns, both during the term of the sold put options and over longer periods.

    Purchased OTM Call Options Risk. The Fund’s strategy is subject to potential losses if the underlying reference asset increases in value, which may not be offset by the purchase of out-of-the-money (OTM) call options. The Fund purchases OTM calls to seek to manage (cap) the Fund’s potential losses from the Fund’s short exposure to the underlying reference asset if it appreciates significantly in value. However, the OTM call options will cap the Fund’s losses only to the extent that the value of the underlying reference asset increases to a level that is at or above the strike level of the purchased OTM call options. Any increase in the value of the underlying reference asset to a level that is below the strike level of the purchased OTM call options will result in a corresponding loss for the Fund. For example, if the OTM call options have a strike level that is approximately 100% above the then-current value of the underlying reference asset at the time of the call option purchase, and the value of the underlying reference asset increases by at least 100% during the term of the purchased OTM call options, the Fund will lose all its value. Since the Fund bears the costs of purchasing the OTM calls, such costs will decrease the Fund’s value and/or any income otherwise generated by the Fund’s investment strategy.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”). In a transaction involving cleared derivatives, the Fund’s counterparty is a clearing house rather than a bank or broker. Since the Fund is not a member of clearing houses and only members of a clearing house (“clearing members”) can participate directly in the clearing house, the Fund will hold cleared derivatives through accounts at clearing members.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying reference asset, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given period. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.

    Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in decreases in value experienced by the underlying reference asset over the Put Period.

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole.

    Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)

    Index Overview. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization.

    Index Level Appreciation Risk. As part of the Fund’s synthetic covered put strategy, the Fund purchases and sells call and put option contracts that are based on the Index level. This strategy subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it shorted the Index, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s indirect inverse exposure to changes in the Index level, the Fund is subject to the risk that the Index level increases. If the Index level increases, the Fund will likely lose value and, as a result, the Fund may suffer significant losses. The Fund may also be subject to the following risks: innovation and technological advancement; strong market presence of Index constituent companies; adaptability to global market trends; and resilience and recovery potential.

    Index Level Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will benefit from decreases in the Index level experienced over the Put Period. This means that if the Index level experiences a decrease in value below the strike level of the sold put options during a Put Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and any Fund gains may significantly differ from the level of the Index losses over the Put Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in decreases in value experienced by the Index level over each Put Period, but has significant negative exposure to any increases in value experienced by the Index level over the Put Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given period. The Fund’s NAV is dependent on the value of each options portfolio, which is based principally upon the inverse of the performance of the Index level. The Fund’s ability to benefit from the Index level decreases will depend on prevailing market conditions, especially market volatility, at the time the Fund enters into the sold put option contracts and will vary from Put Period to Put Period. The value of the options contracts is affected by changes in the value and dividend rates of component companies that comprise the Index, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived volatility of the Index and the remaining time to the options’ expiration, as well as trading conditions in the options market. As the Index level changes and time moves towards the expiration of each Put Period, the value of the options contracts, and therefore the Fund’s NAV, will change. However, it is not expected for the Fund’s NAV to directly inversely correlate on a day-to-day basis with the returns of the Index level. The amount of time remaining until the options contract’s expiration date affects the impact that the value of the options contracts has on the Fund’s NAV, which may not be in full effect until the expiration date of the Fund’s options contracts. Therefore, while changes in the Index level will result in changes to the Fund’s NAV, the Fund generally anticipates that the rate of change in the Fund’s NAV will be different than the inverse of the changes experienced by the Index level.

    YieldMax™ ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside is not affiliated with Tidal Financial Group, or YieldMax™ ETFs.

    © 2025 YieldMax™ ETFs

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Victor Ciardelli Appoints Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage while Continuing as CEO and President of All Rate Companies

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Victor Ciardelli proudly announces the appointment of Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage. With Rate Mortgage being the last Rate company without a dedicated president—Banosian will partner with Ciardelli to help take Rate Mortgage to the next level of innovation and excellence in the industry. Ciardelli will continue to work closely with the Presidents of all 15 Rate Companies, reinforcing Rate’s status as one of the nation’s top mortgage lenders and a pioneer in fintech and holistic financial wellness.

    Welcomed Partnership & Help

    As CEO and President of Rate Companies, Ciardelli is known for industry innovation and transformation, starting with the release of the first Digital Mortgage, most recently the Same Day Mortgage, and many other industry transformations. Ciardelli is a student of using technology and streamlining business operations to provide better products, service, and pricing to the consumer.

    The 15 Presidents, who oversee 10 mortgage companies, two AI technology companies, a title company, an insurance company, and the personal lending group, will continue to report to and work directly with Ciardelli as he partners with Banosian to elevate Rate Mortgage into the premier mortgage company in the industry.

    Ciardelli described Banosian’s appointment as a pivotal moment for the company, “There is no one in the industry that I would rather partner with than Shant. He is a transformative leader whose relentless drive, strategic mindset, and commitment to excellence have set a new standard in the mortgage industry. He embodies the best of Rate’s culture and values, and we are partnering to take Rate Mortgage to the next level. His expertise and vision will inspire the Rate team and the entire industry.”

    Ciardelli added, “At Rate, we never stand still and are never satisfied. Our mission is to push boundaries, relentlessly innovate, and empower our customers, loan officers, and referral partners with the best technology and platform in the industry. With Shant joining me in top leadership, we’re doubling down on our vision to make homeownership more cost-effective, faster, smarter, and more accessible than ever.”

    A Proven Leader in the Mortgage Industry

    Over the past two decades, Banosian has funded over $10 billion in total loan volume and secured his place as the top loan officer in the U.S. over the past six consecutive years. In 2024, Banosian funded over $1B in volume as the #1 loan officer in the country. Ciardelli describes Banosian as “the Best of the Best in the industry.” He continues, “There is not a better loan professional on the planet to lead Rate Mortgage to its next level of dominance. He is a leader and a teacher all in one and will build the best team of Loan Officers in the industry. Elevating Shant Banosian as President of Rate Mortgage is a natural progression of our shared ambition and complementary strengths, positioning Rate for accelerated growth and reinforcing its industry leadership.”

    Banosian, who has closed over 40,000 loans, firmly believes in education-based lending, customer-first service, and intelligent business scaling. As President of Rate Mortgage, his focus will be on driving innovation, enhancing operational efficiency, and fostering an environment he describes as a “Loan Officer’s Paradise”—a place where professionals have everything they need to thrive and best serve their customers in a rapidly evolving market; a place where a loan officer can easily double and triple their business while better serving their customers; a place that optimally serves our aspiring and existing homeowners, Realtors, and business partners.

    Banosian has built a record-breaking career focusing on strategic growth, operational efficiency, and exceptional customer service. His ability to adapt to market shifts, leverage technology, and lead high-performing teams has made him one of the most respected figures in the mortgage industry. “The mortgage industry is evolving fast, and I am excited to build on Victor Ciardelli’s amazing vision and lead Rate Mortgage into the future,” said Banosian. “We are committed to empowering customers, real estate professionals, and loan officers with the ultimate tools, education, and service available, ensuring that every interaction exceeds expectations.”

    A Passion for Giving Back
    Beyond his professional success, Banosian is deeply committed to philanthropy and community impact. He actively supports a range of charitable organizations, including:

     • The Rate Foundation: Providing financial assistance to individuals and families facing unexpected hardships—a cause Banosian has personally supported since the foundation’s inception.
    • St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: Supporting the fight against childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases, with over $500,000 raised through team efforts.
    • The Greater Boston Food Bank: Working to end hunger and provide healthy meals for families in need.
    • Soles4Souls: Turning unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunities for people in need worldwide.

    “Giving back is not just a responsibility, but an important core value of Victor and the company culture,” Banosian said. “It is a privilege to give back, and it is a core part of who we are at Rate.”

    About Rate

    Rate Companies is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, Rate has over 850 branches across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Rate has helped more than 2 million homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances. The company has cemented itself as an industry leader by introducing innovative technology, offering low rates, and delivering unparalleled customer service. Honors and awards include Best Mortgage Lender for First-Time Homebuyers by NerdWallet for 2023; HousingWire’s Tech100 award for the company’s industry-leading FlashClose℠ digital mortgage platform in 2020, MyAccount in 2022, and Language Access Program in 2023; the most Scotsman Guide Top Originators for 11 consecutive years; Chicago Agent Magazine’s Lender of the Year for seven consecutive years; and Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplaces list for seven straight years. Visit rate.com for more information.

    Media Contact

    press@rate.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Economics: Euro area bank interest rate statistics: January 2025

    Source: European Central Bank

    5 March 2025

    Bank interest rates for corporations

    Chart 1

    Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area corporations

    (percentages per annum)

    Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rates for corporations (Chart 1)

    The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to corporations, decreased in January 2025. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months decreased by 13 basis points to 4.18%. The rate on new loans of the same size with an initial rate fixation period of over three months and up to one year fell by 18 basis points to 3.88%, driven by both the interest rate and the weight effects. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years increased by 9 basis points to 3.51%. In the case of new loans of up to €250,000 with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months, the average rate charged fell by 30 basis points to 4.33%.
    As regards new deposit agreements, the interest rate on deposits from corporations with an agreed maturity of up to one year fell by 13 basis points to 2.67% in January 2025. The interest rate on overnight deposits from corporations stayed almost constant at 0.76%.
    The interest rate on new loans to sole proprietors and unincorporated partnerships with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 7 basis points to 4.56%.

    Table 1

    Bank interest rates for corporations

    i.r.f. = initial rate fixation
    * For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.

    Data for bank interest rates for corporations (Table 1)

    Bank interest rates for households

    Chart 2

    Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area households

    Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rate for households (Chart 2)

    The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to households for house purchase, decreased in January 2025. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year decreased by 10 basis points to 4.06%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over one and up to five years fell by 8 basis points to 3.49%. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with an initial rate fixation period of over five and up to ten years decreased by 48 basis points to 2.88%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years fell by 12 basis points to 2.97%, driven by both the interest rate and the weight effects. In the same period the interest rate on new loans to households for consumption increased by 23 basis points to 7.64%.
    As regards new deposits from households, the interest rate on deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year decreased by 12 basis points to 2.33%. The rate on deposits redeemable at three months’ notice stayed almost constant at 1.72%. The interest rate on overnight deposits from households remained broadly unchanged at 0.34%.

    Table 2

    Bank interest rates for households

    i.r.f. = initial rate fixation
    * For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories; deposits placed by households and corporations are allocated to the household sector. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.
    ** For this instrument category, the concept of new business is extended to the whole outstanding amounts and therefore the business volumes are not comparable with those of the other categories. Outstanding amounts data are derived from the ECB’s monetary financial institutions balance sheet statistics.

    Data for bank interest rates for households (Table 2)

    Further information

    The data in Tables 1 and 2 can be visualised for individual euro area countries on the bank interest rate statistics dashboard. Additionally, tables containing further breakdowns of bank interest rate statistics, including the composite cost-of-borrowing indicators for all euro area countries, are available from the ECB Data Portal. The full set of bank interest rate statistics for both the euro area and individual countries can be downloaded from ECB Data Portal. More information, including the release calendar, is available under “Bank interest rates” in the statistics section of the ECB’s website.

    For media queries, please contact Nicos Keranis, tel.: +49 69 1344 7806

    Notes:

    • In this press release “corporations” refers to non-financial corporations (sector S.11 in the European System of Accounts 2010, or ESA 2010), “households” refers to households and non-profit institutions serving households (ESA 2010 sectors S.14 and S.15) and “banks” refers to monetary financial institutions except central banks and money market funds (ESA 2010 sector S.122).
    • The composite cost-of-borrowing indicators are described in the article entitled “Assessing the retail bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area at times of financial fragmentation” in the August 2013 issue of the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin (see Box 1). For these indicators, a weighting scheme based on the 24-month moving averages of new business volumes has been applied, in order to filter out excessive monthly volatility. For this reason the developments in the composite cost of borrowing indicators in both tables cannot be explained by the month-on-month changes in the displayed subcomponents. Furthermore, the table on bank interest rates for corporations presents a subset of the series used in the calculation of the cost of borrowing indicator.
    • Interest rates on new business are weighted by the size of the individual agreements. This is done both by the reporting agents and when the national and euro area averages are computed. Thus changes in average euro area interest rates for new business reflect, in addition to changes in interest rates, changes in the weights of individual countries’ new business for the instrument categories concerned. The “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” presented in this press release are derived from the Bennet index, which allows month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates resulting from changes in individual country rates (the “interest rate effect”) to be disentangled from those caused by changes in the weights of individual countries’ contributions (the “weight effect”). Owing to rounding, the combined “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” may not add up to the month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates.
    • In addition to monthly euro area bank interest rate statistics for January 2025, this press release incorporates revisions to data for previous periods. Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Unless otherwise indicated, these euro area statistics cover the EU Member States that had adopted the euro at the time to which the data relate.
    • As of reference period December 2014, the sector classification applied to bank interest rates statistics is based on the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). In accordance with the ESA 2010 classification and as opposed to ESA 95, the non-financial corporations sector (S.11) now excludes holding companies not engaged in management and similar captive financial institutions.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Lebanon: Israeli attacks on health facilities, ambulances and paramedics must be investigated as war crimes

    Source: Amnesty International –

    The Israeli military’s repeated unlawful attacks during the war in Lebanon on health facilities, ambulances and health workers, which are protected under international law, must be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said today.

    The Lebanese government should provide the International Criminal Court (ICC) the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes within the Rome Statute committed on Lebanese territory, and ensure victims’ right to remedy, including by calling on Israel to provide reparation for serious violations of international humanitarian law.

    In findings released today, Amnesty International presents the results of its investigations into four Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and vehicles in Beirut and in south Lebanon between 3 and 9 October 2024, which killed 19 healthcare workers, wounded 11 more, and damaged or destroyed multiple ambulances and two medical facilities in a one-week period in October 2024.

    During the war in Lebanon in 2024, the Israeli military repeatedly attacked health facilities and medical vehicles. The Israeli military has not provided sufficient justifications, or specific evidence of military targets being present at the strike locations, to account for these repeated attacks, which weakened a fragile healthcare system and put lives at risk.

    “Israel’s unlawful attacks on medical facilities and personnel are not only serious violations of international humanitarian law and likely war crimes but also have devastating consequences for civilians more broadly. We call for the government of Lebanon, with the support of the international community, to step up and act to ensure that suspected perpetrators of war crimes can be held accountable. The new Lebanese government must grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over all Rome Statue crimes committed on or perpetrated from its territory,” said Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas.

    “Israel’s unlawful attacks on medical facilities and personnel are not only serious violations of international humanitarian law and likely war crimes but also have devastating consequences for civilians more broadly” – Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns

    Lebanon must urgently accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC and make a declaration granting the Court jurisdiction from 2002. In the interim, Lebanon should make an ad hoc declaration accepting the exercise of the ICC’s jurisdiction with respect to all Rome Statute crimes committed on or perpetrated from Lebanese territory.

    The Israeli military repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons, and of using medical centres affiliated with the Islamic Health Association (IHA) as a “cover for terrorist activities”. In the four attacks investigated, however, Amnesty International did not find evidence that the facilities or vehicles were being used for military purposes at the time of the attacks.

    “When a health system is attacked, civilians suffer. Even when hospitals are thought to be used for military purposes and lose their protected status under international law, they can only be attacked after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded. An attacking party remains at all times bound by the principle of proportionality, weighing the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from an attack against the expected harm to civilians and civilian objects, including the reverberating humanitarian consequences resulting from the attack,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

    Amnesty International interviewed 17 people, including medical workers, witnesses to the attacks, local officials, and family members of the victims. Researchers also visited the site of the attack on the IHA’s centre in Bachoura, Beirut. In addition, Amnesty International verified 46 photographs and videos from the attacks shared directly with the organization or published in the media and on social media. Amnesty International wrote to the Israeli military with its findings on 11 November 2024 but had not received a response by the time of publication.

    Medical personnel, hospitals, and other medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law.  According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), people who have exclusively non-combat functions in armed groups or are merely members of or affiliated with political entities with an armed component, such as Hezbollah, may not be targeted unless and for such time that they are directly participating in hostilities. Medical personnel affiliated with Hezbollah, including those assigned to civil defence organizations, exclusively assigned to medical or humanitarian duties are protected from attack.

    A ceasefire was announced in Lebanon in late November 2024. In early 2025, healthcare workers impacted by the four Israeli attacks said they were doing their best to provide care while still grappling with damaged or destroyed facilities and vehicles and the loss of their colleagues. One civil defence team member, whose centre was destroyed in an Israeli attack, said the team was now working from a local villager’s home, which he said they had “offered to us, on temporary basis… until we find and move to a new locale.”

    “It is crucial that all attacks against medical staff and facilities are investigated to ensure that perpetrators are punished, victims receive reparations, and these crimes are never repeated” – Erika Guevara Rosas

    “It is crucial that all attacks against medical staff and facilities are investigated to ensure that perpetrators are punished, victims receive reparations, and these crimes are never repeated. A ceasefire is only the first step to ending and preventing harm. To move forward, victims of serious violations by all parties must see justice and receive redress,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

    Before Israel launched its operation Northern Arrows on 23 September 2024, Amnesty International had verified over 80 photos and videos from 11 attacks that hit medical crews and facilities in Lebanon between 8 October 2023 and 24 June 2024.

    According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, between October 2023 and November 2024 the Israeli military attacked 67 hospitals, 56 primary health care centres, and 238 emergency medical teams, killing at least 222 medical and emergency relief workers.

    According to the World Health Organization, as of 21 November 2024, “47% of the attacks on health care – 65 out of 137 – have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient in Lebanon”.

    The Lebanese healthcare sector was already straining due to multiple, ongoing and compounding crises, including a massive economic crisis that spiralled in late 2019, followed by the Beirut Port explosion in 2020, while the country tried to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

    On 27 November, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 60-day ceasefire deal. Within days, numerous violations of the ceasefire deal were reported. On 27 January, the ceasefire got extended for another few weeks. Israel later announced it intended to remain in a number of positions in Lebanon’s territory.

    Amnesty International has also documented evidence of unlawful airstrikes that killed and injured civilians. In a briefing published in December 2024, Amnesty International documented four air strikes by Israeli forces across Lebanon which killed at least 49 civilians and killed entire families and that must be investigated as war crimes. 

    During the war, Hezbollah repeatedly fired unguided rocket salvos into northern Israel, including carrying out attacks that killed and injured civilians. In some cases, they insisted they were aiming at military targets, but in others said they were attacking the civilian city or town generally.

    MIL OSI NGO –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Lebanon: Israeli attacks on health facilities, ambulances and paramedics must be investigated as war crimes – new investigation

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Four attacks on healthcare facilities and vehicles which killed 19 healthcare workers investigated

    Israeli military has not provided sufficient justifications or specific evidence of military targets being present at the strike locations

    Lebanon must urgently provide the ICC the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes within the Rome Statute

    ‘It is crucial that all attacks against medical staff and facilities are investigated to ensure that perpetrators are punished, victims receive reparations, and these crimes are never repeated’ – Erika Guevara Rosas

    The Israeli military’s repeated unlawful attacks during the war in Lebanon on health facilities, ambulances and health workers, which are protected under international law, must be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said today.

    In findings released today, Amnesty presents the results of its investigations into four Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and vehicles in Beirut and in south Lebanon between 3 and 9 October 2024, which killed 19 healthcare workers, wounded 11 more, and damaged or destroyed multiple ambulances and two medical facilities in a one-week period.

    During the war in Lebanon in 2024, the Israeli military repeatedly attacked health facilities and medical vehicles. The Israeli military has not provided sufficient justifications, or specific evidence of military targets being present at the strike locations, to account for these repeated attacks, which weakened a fragile healthcare system and put lives at risk.

    Lebanon must urgently accede to the Rome Statute of the ICC and make a declaration granting the Court jurisdiction from 2002. In the interim, Lebanon should make an ad hoc declaration accepting the exercise of the ICC’s jurisdiction with respect to all Rome Statute crimes committed on or perpetrated from Lebanese territory.

    Four attacks investigated

    The Israeli military repeatedly accused Hezbollah of using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons, and of using medical centres affiliated with the Islamic Health Association (IHA) as a “cover for terrorist activities”. In the four attacks investigated, however, Amnesty did not find evidence that the facilities or vehicles were being used for military purposes at the time of the attacks.

    Amnesty interviewed 17 people, including medical workers, witnesses to the attacks, local officials, and family members of the victims. Researchers also visited the site of the attack on the IHA’s centre in Bachoura, Beirut. In addition, Amnesty verified 46 photographs and videos from the attacks shared directly with the organisation or published in the media and on social media. Amnesty wrote to the Israeli military with its findings on 11 November 2024 but had not received a response by the time of publication.

    Medical personnel, hospitals, and other medical facilities are protected under international humanitarian law.  According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, people who have exclusively non-combat functions in armed groups or are merely members of or affiliated with political entities with an armed component, such as Hezbollah, may not be targeted unless and for such time that they are directly participating in hostilities. Medical personnel affiliated with Hezbollah, including those assigned to civil defence organisations, exclusively assigned to medical or humanitarian duties are protected from attack.

    A ceasefire was announced in Lebanon in late November 2024. In early 2025, healthcare workers impacted by the four Israeli attacks said they were doing their best to provide care while still grappling with damaged or destroyed facilities and vehicles and the loss of their colleagues. One civil defence team member, whose centre was destroyed in an Israeli attack, said the team was now working from a local villager’s home, which he said they had “offered to us, on temporary basis… until we find and move to a new locale.”

    Before Israel launched its operation Northern Arrows on 23 September 2024, Amnesty had verified over 80 photos and videos from 11 attacks that hit medical crews and facilities in Lebanon between 8 October 2023 and 24 June 2024.

    According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, between October 2023 and November 2024 the Israeli military attacked 67 hospitals, 56 primary health care centres, and 238 emergency medical teams, killing at least 222 medical and emergency relief workers. According to the World Health Organization, as of 21 November 2024, “47% of the attacks on health care – 65 out of 137 – have proven fatal to at least one health worker or patient in Lebanon”.

    The Lebanese healthcare sector was already straining due to multiple, ongoing and compounding crises, including a massive economic crisis that spiralled in late 2019, followed by the Beirut Port explosion in 2020, while the country tried to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

    Violations of the ceasefire deal

    On 27 November, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 60-day ceasefire deal. Within days, numerous violations of the ceasefire deal were reported. On 27 January, the ceasefire got extended for another few weeks. Israel later announced it intended to remain in a number of positions in Lebanon’s territory.

    Amnesty has also documented evidence of unlawful airstrikes that killed and injured civilians. In a briefing published in December 2024, Amnesty documented four air strikes by Israeli forces across Lebanon which killed at least 49 civilians and killed entire families and that must be investigated as war crimes. 

    During the war, Hezbollah repeatedly fired unguided rocket salvos into northern Israel, including carrying out attacks that killed and injured civilians. In some cases, they insisted they were aiming at military targets, but in others said they were attacking the civilian city or town generally.

    Call to investigate war crimes

    The Lebanese government should provide the ICC the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes within the Rome Statute committed on Lebanese territory, and ensure victims’ right to remedy, including by calling on Israel to provide reparation for serious violations of international humanitarian law.

    Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, said:

    “Israel’s unlawful attacks on medical facilities and personnel are not only serious violations of international humanitarian law and likely war crimes but also have devastating consequences for civilians more broadly.

    “When a health system is attacked, civilians suffer. Even when hospitals are thought to be used for military purposes and lose their protected status under international law, they can only be attacked after a warning that gives sufficient time for the evacuation of patients and staff goes unheeded. An attacking party remains at all times bound by the principle of proportionality, weighing the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from an attack against the expected harm to civilians and civilian objects, including the reverberating humanitarian consequences resulting from the attack.

    “It is crucial that all attacks against medical staff and facilities are investigated to ensure that perpetrators are punished, victims receive reparations, and these crimes are never repeated. A ceasefire is only the first step to ending and preventing harm. To move forward, victims of serious violations by all parties must see justice and receive redress.

    “We call for the government of Lebanon, with the support of the international community to step up and act to ensure that suspected perpetrators of war crimes can be held accountable. The new Lebanese government must grant the ICC jurisdiction over all Rome Statue crimes committed on or perpetrated from its territory.”

    MIL OSI NGO –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: More than 300 empty homes brought back into use

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    The figures have been highlighted during what is national Empty Homes Week (3 to 9 March).

    City of Wolverhampton Council’s Empty Property Strategy has seen 312 houses which had been left unoccupied – often in poor condition – brought back into use over the last five years.

    The council aims to ensure that rather than the properties becoming a blight on their neighbourhood, they are either sold to new homeowners or rented out to tenants. 

    Specialist housing improvement officers from the council’s private sector housing team have worked with the owners of properties left empty for a long period of time to encourage and support them to carry out any required works and get them occupied once again.

    If necessary and as a last resort, the authority can use enforcement action to ensure this work takes place.

    The council also offers up to £500 towards legal and/or marketing fees to encourage more owners of empty properties to sell their property on the open market.

    Councillor Steve Evans, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing, said: “Our action on privately-owned empty homes is providing more affordable housing to people in the City of Wolverhampton. 

    “The properties we have become involved with have often stood empty for many years, sometimes because there are no relatives to inherit or they cannot be traced, and, as a result, the condition of the property has deteriorated dramatically.

    “We are putting these houses back on the market – either to sell or rent – and this in turn is having a positive effect in the areas they are in. 

    “Bringing them back into use also helps supports local shops and services are benefiting from new residents occupying the houses – providing a significant boost to the local economy. 

    “This ongoing work is the equivalent of us building hundreds of new houses across the city – and we will continue to focus our efforts on empty houses in the City of Wolverhampton.”

    The public can report empty properties via the website Report an empty property and owners can contact the council to discuss options by calling 01902 551155 or emailing empty.properties@wolverhampton.gov.uk 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CHP receives case of severe paediatric influenza B infection complicated with myocarditis

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    CHP receives case of severe paediatric influenza B infection complicated with myocarditis
    *****************************************************************************************

    The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (March 5) received a report of a case of severe paediatric influenza B infection complicated with myocarditis and urged the public who have not yet received the seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) to act immediately to minimise the risk of serious complications and death after infection.                The case involved an 8-year-old boy with good past health. He developed cough, runny nose and sore throat since March 1 and developed fever the next day. He sought medical attention from a private doctor on March 3. He attended the Accident and Emergency Department of United Christian Hospital yesterday (March 4) and was admitted to the paediatric ward. He was subsequently transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit of Hong Kong Children Hospital. His nasopharyngeal swab specimen tested positive for the influenza B virus upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnosis was influenza B infection complicated with myocarditis. He is still hospitalised and in critical condition.     The boy had no travel history during the incubation period. His two household contacts had upper respiratory symptoms recently. He received SIV for the current season.                Including the above-mentioned boy, the CHP has recorded 10 cases of severe influenza virus infection in children since the start of this influenza season in early January, seven of whom were unvaccinated. Influenza vaccination has been scientifically proven to be one of the most effective ways to prevent seasonal influenza and its complications, while significantly reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death from seasonal influenza. All persons aged 6 months and above (except those with known contraindications) who have not yet received SIV should act immediately, particularly the elderly and children who have a higher risk of becoming infected with influenza and developing complications.                Furthermore, the SIV coverage rate for children aged 6 months to under 2 years remained relatively low at about 25 per cent as of March 2. Although slightly higher than that of the same period last year, it was still lower than that of other age groups of children. To enhance relevant vaccination services and boost the vaccination rate, the Government has opened the DH’s Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) to all children aged 6 months to under 2 years. Parents may book an appointment for their children to receive vaccinations at designated MCHCs via the online booking system.               The surveillance data of the CHP shows that the seasonal influenza activity in Hong Kong remains above the baseline thresholds. To protect their health and that of their family members, in addition to receiving SIV, the public should also maintain good personal and environmental hygiene, and take the following measures to prevent contracting influenza and other respiratory illnesses:

    Patients can wear surgical masks to prevent transmission of respiratory viruses. Therefore, it is essential for persons who are symptomatic (even if having mild symptoms) to wear a surgical mask;
    High-risk persons (e.g. persons with underlying medical conditions or persons who are immunocompromised) should wear surgical masks when visiting public places. The general public should also wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including performing hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
    Avoid touching one’s eyes, mouth and nose;
    Practise hand hygiene frequently, wash hands with liquid soap and water properly whenever possibly contaminated;
    When hands are not visibly soiled, clean them with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub;
    Cover the mouth and nose with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissue paper properly into a lidded rubbish bin, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards;
    Maintain good indoor ventilation;
    Avoid sharing personal items;
    When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, consider to refrain from going to work or school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly; and
    Maintain a balanced diet, perform physical activity regularly, take adequate rest, do not smoke and avoid overstress.

    For the latest information, members of the public can visit the CHP’s seasonal influenza and COVID-19 & Flu Express webpages.

    Ends/Wednesday, March 5, 2025Issued at HKT 17:00

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Commission approves acquisition of equity shares of PSP Projects Limited by Adani Infra (India) Limited

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 12:21PM by PIB Delhi

    The Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of equity shares of PSP Projects Limited by Adani Infra (India) Limited.

    The proposed transaction involves the acquisition by Adani Infra (India) Limited (Acquirer) of equity shares of PSP Projects Limited (Target) from: (i) Mr. Prahaladbhai S. Patel (Seller) (Initial Acquisition); and (ii) public shareholders by way of an open offer (Open Offer), such that, post-closing of the Initial Acquisition and Open Offer, the Acquirer (on the one hand) and the Seller and other existing promoters (on the other hand) would hold equal shareholding.

    The Acquirer is an infrastructure development company with specialization in comprehensive engineering, project management, and construction services for power generation and transmission sector. The Acquirer provides Project Management Consultancy (PMC) and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for road, water, and power projects.

    The Target is in the business of providing EPC services across sectors such as industrial, institutional, residential, government, government residential and all and other work relating thereto. It offers construction and allied services across industrial, institutional, government, government residential and residential projects in India. It provides its services across the construction value chain, ranging from planning and design to construction and post-construction activities, including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) work and other interior fit outs to private and public sector enterprises.

    Detailed order of the Commission will follow.

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    NB/AD

    (Release ID: 2108315) Visitor Counter : 16

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CCI approves the proposed combination involving acquisition of pharma solution segment and product lines of Nourish segment of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.(IFF) by Roquette Frères S.A.(Roquette)

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 12:19PM by PIB Delhi

    The Competition Commission of India has approved the proposed combination involving acquisition of pharma solution segment and product lines of Nourish segment of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc.(IFF) by Roquette Frères S.A.(Roquette).

    The Proposed Combination involves acquisition by Roquette of the Pharma Solutions business and certain product lines of the Nourish business (i.e., collectively the Target Business) of IFF by way of Roquette’s purchase of equity interest in certain IFF entities that collectively  house / are proposed to house the Target Business.

    Roquette is a family-owned French company active in the production and sale of plant-based ingredients, excipients, and plant proteins for various applications. Roquette is active in India through several Indian-based subsidiaries, namely Crest Cellulose Pvt. Ltd., Sethness-Roquette India Ltd., and Roquette India Pvt. Ltd.

    The Target Business is currently part of IFF, a U.S. public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Target Business primarily comprises the business, operations and activities of IFF’s Pharma Solutions segment, with certain adjustments to include relevant businesses and product lines of the Nourish segment. The “Pharma Solutions” segment produces a variety of cellulosics and other types of plant-based pharmaceutical excipients. The “Nourish” segment comprises flavours, and ingredients such as texturising solutions and food designs. The Target Business is present in India through one entity, namely Danisco Nutrition and Biosciences India Private Limited.

    Detailed order of the Commission will follow.

    *****

    NB/AD

    (Release ID: 2108312) Visitor Counter : 10

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PM to Visit Uttarakhand on 6th March

    Source: Government of India (2)

    PM to Visit Uttarakhand on 6th March

    PM to offer Prayers at the Winter Seat of Maa Ganga in Mukhwa

    Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 11:18AM by PIB Delhi

    Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand on 6th March. At around 9:30 AM, he will perform pooja and darshan at the winter seat of Maa Ganga in Mukhwa. At around 10:40 AM, he will flag off a trek and bike rally and also address the gathering at a public function in Harsil.

    The Uttarakhand government has initiated a Winter Tourism programme this year. Thousands of devotees have already visited the winter seats of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The programme is aimed to promote religious tourism and boost the local economy, homestays, tourism businesses, among others.

     

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    MJPS/SR

    (Release ID: 2108283) Visitor Counter : 23

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DRI busts major gold smuggling racket with seizure of 14.2 kg foreign-origin gold worth Rs. 12.56 crore and other assets worth Rs. 4.73 crore

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 10:30AM by PIB Delhi

    In a significant operation against gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), successfully intercepted a passenger carrying foreign-origin gold bars valued at Rs. 12.56 crore at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru.

    Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted an Indian lady passenger aged around 33 years, who had arrived from Dubai to Bengaluru via Emirates flight on March 3, 2025. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs. 12.56 Crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.

    Following the interception, DRI officers conducted a search at her residential premises located at Lavelle Road, Bengaluru, where she resides with her husband. The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewelry worth Rs. 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs. 2.67 crore. The lady passenger has been placed under arrest under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and remanded to judicial custody.

    The total seizure in the case stands at Rs. 17.29 crore, marking a significant blow to organised gold smuggling networks. The haul of 14.2 kg is one of the biggest seizures of gold at Bengaluru International airport in recent times.

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    NB/KMN

    (Release ID: 2108270) Visitor Counter : 66

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-Evening Report: Australians generate mountains of waste, and we need more help to recycle and resuse it

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melita Jazbec, Research Director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

    Boy Anthony/Shutterstock

    Australians largely support transforming the economy to increase recycling, repurpose products and reduce waste, according to a new report from the Productivity Commission, but they are being impeded by inconsistent regulations.

    The interim report of the commission’s inquiry into Australia’s circular economy, released Wednesday night, also finds consumers need more information about the durability and repairability of products.

    The report says that despite increased awareness of the benefits of a circular economy, the transformation has been complex and progress has been slow.

    What is a circular economy?

    A circular economy is based on three principles.

    The first is designing and making goods without waste and pollution. This includes using renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions.

    The second is keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible. This can be achieved by maintaining or repairing products to extend their life.

    The third principle is regeneration. This means promoting activities with positive outcomes. This could include activities to deal with biodiversity loss, or social benefits through food relief and donations.

    Some businesses are already using circular economy practices but compared to other developed countries, Australia is well behind. The recent CSIRO study found only 3.7% of the Australian economy is circular, half of the world’s average of 7.2%.

    In December last year the Federal government released the National Circular Economy Framework providing guidance how to increase circularity.

    Coinciding with this, the Productivity Commission evaluated circular economy opportunities in six priority sectors – built environment, food and agriculture, textiles and clothing, vehicles, mining and electronics.



    Priority areas

    The priority areas were selected based on the impact their materials has on the environment and the economy.

    For example, the construction sector uses large quantities of materials which are expensive to recycle. While the increased use of electric vehicles is a bonus for the environment, the lithium-ion batteries they use pose a fire risk if incorrectly managed.

    How much impact a particular area has on Australia, was also taken into account.

    For example, Australians are the largest consumers of textiles in the world per capita. But most of these are imported, limiting our influence on how they are made.

    Also, the impact and effectiveness of policies and regulations was also considered. Stakeholders across government and community sectors provided detailed submissions that informed the commission’s assessment.

    Getting consumers, government and business onboard

    The Productivity Commission noted material consumption and waste generation has not changed since 2010. This is because consumers are not repairing and reusing appliances or recycling which is important to a circular economy.

    Australia generates some of the highest amounts of waste per capita in the world, including food waste, plastic waste, e-waste and textile waste.

    While the report recommends how food waste should be managed, consumers need to change their behaviour to reduce the waste they generate.

    To do this, however, consumers need information about making informed purchasing decisions. For e-waste, they need easy access to repair services to extend the life of their products rather than buying new.

    The report repeats earlier recommendations about repairs and reuse from the Productivity Commission’s 2021 Right to Repair inquiry.

    That inquiry recommended the government develop a product labelling scheme giving consumers information about how durable household appliances are and whether they can be repaired.

    We believe implementing these recommendations would bring Australia in line with global best practice reflected in the European Eco-design Sustainable Product regulations.

    Impeded by regulations

    This report highlights the importance of consistent policies and regulations. These currently vary across sectors and jurisdictions.

    Standards enabling the use of recycled materials in construction, consistent rules on the disposal of lithium-ion batteries and consistent kerbside recycling guidelines were all needed.

    The Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group recommended in their final report in December new legislation, a governance model and investment in innovation to help Australia move to a circular economy.

    Help for business

    When designed well, circular business models have the potential to reduce waste materials and carbon emissions.

    Comparing the circular and linear economies.
    Productivity Commission, CC BY-SA

    However, changing industry and consumer practices represents a big change. As well as inconsistent regulations slowing the transformation, making processes more innovative and experimenting with new technologies can be costly.

    The Productivity Commission report says government can help reduce barriers to implementation of circular business models given business has a pivotal role in
    driving this transition.

    It also supports product stewardship, an approach where producers, importers and brands are responsible and liable for the impact their products have on the environment and on human health across the product life cycle.

    Regulations for product stewardship was identified in the report as important, particularly in textiles and clothing, vehicles, EV batteries, solar panels and consumer electronics.

    Towards net zero

    Several international studies have reported that a circular economy will be needed to achieve net zero targets.

    In Australia, the industry sector including mining, manufacturing and construction is responsible for around 34% of total emissions. Using materials more efficiently will help reduce them.

    Agriculture, despite its small contribution to the GDP (2.4%), alone contributes 18% to greenhouse gas emissions.

    As the report notes, most of these emissions (80%) come from livestock and use of synthetic fertilisers (15%). But only food waste is identified as one of the priority areas.

    It should be noted though that food waste only accounts for 3% of emissions. So reducing emissions from agriculture, switching to renewable fertilisers and changing livestock diets should also be a priority.

    The Productivity Commission will send its final report to government by August this year.

    Melita Jazbec receives research funding from various government and non-government sources. Melita Jazbec is currently conducting research projects on circular economy funded by Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and by AgriFutures.

    Melita Jazbec made a submission to the Productivity Commission inquiry which also interviewed her.

    Monique Retamal receives research funding from federal DCCEEW, Circular Australia and state government environment departments. Monique was interviewed by the Productivity Commission inquiry.

    Nick Florin receives funding from government and non-government organisations, including the Federal department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water, and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation. Nick is also a Director of the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence.

    Stuart White receives research funding from various government and non-government sources.

    – ref. Australians generate mountains of waste, and we need more help to recycle and resuse it – https://theconversation.com/australians-generate-mountains-of-waste-and-we-need-more-help-to-recycle-and-resuse-it-251354

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: How sand mining is eroding rivers, livelihoods and cultures

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Julian Leyland, Professor of Physical Geography, University of Southampton

    Andy Ball/University of Southampton, CC BY-NC-ND

    Sand underpins everything from skyscrapers to smartphones. Sharp sand (as opposed to rounded desert sand) is the key ingredient in concrete, while high-purity silica sand is essential for making the silicon chips that power our digital devices.

    Yet the relentless extraction of this seemingly abundant resource is pushing river systems to the brink of collapse, displacing communities and fuelling a billion-dollar black market.

    Despite its critical role in modern society and urban development, the environmental and social effects of sand mining remain largely hidden from public scrutiny. The UN’s environment programme (Unep) warns that global sand consumption now exceeds 50 billion tonnes annually.

    That’s way beyond estimated natural replenishment rates of 15 billion to 20 billion tonnes annually. Despite this, sand mining remains largely unregulated, with devastating ecological and social consequences.

    Rivers are the lifeblood of ecosystems and communities. They transport sediment, shape landscapes and sustain wildlife.

    But our team’s research on the Lower Mekong river reveals that sand mining is depleting sediment stocks at an alarming pace, causing riverbeds to lower and banks to erode. However, new hi-tech surveillance could improve the enforcement of sand mining regulations and improve resilience for these riverbed communities.

    A site of bank erosion on the Mekong River at Rokar Koang, Kandal Province due to intensive mining for sand. Despite some remediation efforts, some homes close to the failure site have been completely destroyed since this photo was taken in February 2022.
    Andy Ball/University of Southampton, CC BY-NC-ND

    As sea levels rise and riverbeds are lowered due to sand mining in the Mekong delta, saltwater spreads further upstream into freshwater areas. This threatens agricultural productivity in the “rice bowl” of south-east Asia. Sand mining also undermines the delicate balance of ecosystems like the Tonle Sap lake – a critical fish nursery and food source for millions.

    The Mekong river in Asia flows through six countries, supporting more than 60 million people. In Cambodia, sand mining has become a multi-million-dollar industry, driven by a construction boom fuelled by Chinese investment.

    Along the Mekong river, my team has documented sites of severe bank erosion using hi-tech equipment. Voi Thy, a 43-year-old resident of Roka Koang commune, has had to move her house multiple times since 2016 due to collapsing riverbanks – a direct consequence of sand mining.

    Although existing research focuses exclusively on the physical damage, sand mining also erodes cultural and communal ties. Rivers are not just sources of water and food. They can be spiritual and cultural anchors.

    Julian Leyland explains how sand mining threatens river ecosystems.

    In Cambodia, traditional fishing practices and sacred sites are disappearing as rivers are stripped of their sediment. For communities that have lived alongside these waterways for generations, the loss is profound, severing connections to their heritage and identity.

    The loss of livelihoods is equally devastating. Fishers and farmers, once reliant on the river’s bounty, are seeing their incomes vanish.

    Many, like Vanna, a local fisherman who features in our Lost Lands documentary, are forced to leave their rural homes for cities, where they often find precarious work in poorly regulated industries. This migration fractures communities and places additional strain on urban infrastructure, creating a ripple effect of social and economic challenges.

    Tayang Sam, a bricklayer from Cambodia’s remote Ratanakiri orovince, casts his net on sand pumped from the Mekong into the wetlands. Four years ago, he could catch 50-60kg of fish each day, but now he says there’s
    Andy Ball/University of Southampton, CC BY-NC-ND

    The Cambodian government denies that dredging is responsible for the erosion, claiming it stabilises riverbanks – a claim disputed by our team. Strengthening cross-border governance and enforcing extraction limits are critical to addressing this crisis. But time is running out.

    The global sand trade is valued at over US$2.3 billion (£1.8 billion) annually, with demand predicted to double by 2060. Much of this economic gain is concentrated in wealthy cities, while the costs are disproportionately borne by local communities in extraction regions. In many sand-rich areas, people face displacement as their riverbanks erode and homes collapse into the water.

    The high value and ease of sand extraction have led to the rise of illicit mining networks. In some areas, so-called “sand mafias” control extraction sites, using intimidation and violence to secure their dominance. The lack of legal oversight fosters corruption, with mining permits often being issued through opaque processes. That can further marginalise local communities.

    Given the clandestine nature of illegal sand mining, monitoring extraction rates has historically been difficult. However, recent advances in remote sensing and deep learning technology offer new opportunities for surveillance.

    As part of our new Hidden Sands project, we are using high-resolution satellite imagery and ground-based cameras to map riverbed sand mining across the Mekong delta. With more accurate real-time insights into the volumes of sand being extracted, policies can be more effectively enforced.

    Houses rumoured to belong to Cambodia’s elite are built on a filled-in section of the Boeung Tumpun, Phnom Penh’s largest wetlands. This diverse ecosystem stores 70% of the rain and wastewater from Phnom Penh, helping to prevent flooding.
    CC BY-NC-ND

    Sustainable sand use

    A growing body of organisations, such as the conservation charity World Wide Fund for Nature and Unep, are calling for urgent regulatory intervention and alternative sourcing strategies. Building on the conclusions of previous work, sustainable sand management in the Mekong needs to drastically change.

    Stricter regulations, and enforcement of those laws, would ensure more sustainable sourcing of sand and help curb illegal mining activities. The development of alternative recycled construction materials, such as manufactured sand from industrial byproducts, could reduce the pressure on river sources of sand.

    Once extracted or manufactured, fairer distribution of those resources can be better achieved through community-led conservation and employment initiatives, for example, that can build resilience and protect cultural heritage of traditional practices.

    Without intervention, the unchecked exploitation of river sand will continue to degrade ecosystems, threaten wildlife and exacerbate social and economic inequalities. Governments, industry leaders and researchers must collaborate to ensure sand extraction is sustainable and equitably managed. Until then, global demand for sand shows no signs of abating.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.


    Julian Leyland receives funding from UKRI.

    – ref. How sand mining is eroding rivers, livelihoods and cultures – https://theconversation.com/how-sand-mining-is-eroding-rivers-livelihoods-and-cultures-251290

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: How schools can improve gender equality in Latin America

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Natalia López-Hornickel, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Education, University of Bath

    Marcos Castillo/Shutterstock

    In Latin America, deeply ingrained cultural beliefs about gender roles – what women and men should and shouldn’t do – persist. This is despite increased involvement by women in traditionally male spheres, such as business and politics.

    And these ideas are held among young people, too. A study in 2020 found that only 32% of adolescents in Latin America fully support gender equality. My past research has found that in Mexico, 63.6% of teenagers believe women should not be involved in politics.

    In Chile and Colombia, however, teens’ support for gender equality is much higher. This disparity suggests that gender attitudes are shaped by broader social and political contexts.

    My recent research with colleagues suggests that schools have the power to shape students’ beliefs about gender equality.

    We found that there is a link between classes in which open discussion takes place and students with a strong grasp of civic topics and support for gender equality. We also found that schools with supportive and inclusive environments are linked with more positive attitudes among students towards gender equality.

    The influence of inequality

    The economic and political landscape of Latin America plays a role in restricting gender equality. Latin America is one of the most economically divided regions in the world, with extreme concentrations of wealth at the top and poverty at the bottom. This extends to education. Children from wealthier backgrounds have access to better education, further reinforcing inequality. Studies show that lower levels of education are linked to prejudices such as sexism.

    And economic inequality is not the only challenge. Despite the fact that most Latin American countries transitioned to democracy over 40 years ago, political instability remains widespread. Alarmingly, many people still see authoritarianism as a solution to social issues.

    This belief is particularly strong among young people. A 2016 study found that 69% of secondary students in five Latin American countries thought a dictatorship would be justified if it solved security problems. Authoritarian mindsets are strong predictors of sexism.

    Open discussion is crucial.
    Daniel M Ernst/Shutterstock

    This means it is challenging to achieve gender equality in a society where authoritarianism and inequality remain deeply rooted.

    Our research analysed data from a large-scale study of 25,319 eighth graders (aged 13-14) in 888 schools in Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru.

    We explored the relationships between the socioeconomic background of students, the promotion of open classroom discussions by teachers, the level of civic knowledge, the ideological climate that schools have and the attitudes toward gender equality held by students. We wanted to explore how far education can be associated with these views.

    We found that educational practices account for 19% of the variation in students’ support for gender equality. In other words, what happens inside the classroom matters.

    Open discussions

    Schools that foster open classroom discussions about political and social issues help students develop critical thinking skills and tolerance. This kind of open dialogue counteracts authoritarian beliefs. It creates a space where students can challenge traditional gender roles.

    Inclusive educational practices are not confined to wealthier schools. They can be embraced by any school committed to enhancing educational equity and embracing diverse student needs. But research suggests that students from wealthier backgrounds are more likely to endorse gender equality. This reflects their access to better education and civic knowledge.

    Students with higher civic knowledge are more likely to support gender equity. Understanding rights, democracy, and social structures gives students the tools to question inequality and advocate for change.

    However, the challenge is that many students are still exposed to authoritarian ideologies – both at home and in school.

    Our research revealed a concerning trend. Schools with authoritarian climates tend to reinforce gender biases rather than challenge them. This suggests that if we move students with lower personal support for authoritarianism to an environment where authoritarianism is dominant, those students are susceptible to adopting sexist attitudes. Students are not just shaped by their own beliefs but by the ideological views of their peers.

    This means that while schools have the potential to promote gender equity, they can also reinforce inequality if authoritarian ideas dominate the school culture.

    Latin America’s structural inequalities and political instability create significant barriers to gender equality. Schools, particularly in underprivileged areas, can counterbalance this by encouraging open discussion and civic education, even in societies resistant to change. Education systems have the potential to play a key role in setting the trajectory of gender equality in Latin America.

    Natalia López-Hornickel receives funding from the South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP).

    – ref. How schools can improve gender equality in Latin America – https://theconversation.com/how-schools-can-improve-gender-equality-in-latin-america-249772

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Printing and copying at Liverpool’s libraries

    Source: City of Liverpool

    Last updated:4 March 2025

    It will soon be easier than ever to print or copy at Liverpool’s libraries. 

    Liverpool City Council is introducing a new system called Princh, which will allow users to: 

    • Print from your own laptop, phone or tablet, as well as a library computer 
    • Print from home, then collect at the library 
    • Copy documents easily and securely 
    • Pay online 

    The system will be rolled out across Liverpool’s libraries next month.

    Keep an eye out for instructions both online and in libraries which will give simple, step-by-step instructions of how to print and copy.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: BLOG | How we’re tackling fly-tipping, littering, and dog fouling

    Source: City of Liverpool

    Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetscene, discusses the importance of a well-staffed Environmental Enforcement team when it comes to tackling fly-tipping and littering. 

    No-one likes to see rubbish lying around on our streets. Whether it’s fly-tipped furniture, littering at the side of the road, or dog fouling in the middle of a pavement, it doesn’t belong in our city. Liverpool is an incredible place to live and visit, and we should all be proud to call it home, but illegally dropping or dumping rubbish is disrespectful and selfish. 

    Recently, we announced that we were going to crack down on fly-tipping by appointing an external team to support with enforcement across the city. The truth is, we’ve already invested a lot into preventative measures and we’re starting to see a real difference.  

    In the 2024/25 financial year, the Council invested £475,000 to employ an internal Environmental Enforcement team, which is currently made up of six people. In 2025/26, we’re investing another £475,000 to be able to double the size of that team and have more officers working within the community to help prevent fly-tipping, littering, and dog fouling.  

    These officers have been out on the streets seven days a week since they joined the Council last summer. They patrol all areas of the city throughout the day, not just the city centre. It can be easy to assume that their main role is handing out fines to people who drop waste, but there’s so much more to what they do. They inspect businesses to make sure they manage their waste correctly and work alongside Merseyside Police to conduct waste carrier licence checks and trade waste inspections.  

    What’s more, they play a crucial role in educating our communities. By engaging with residents and businesses, they raise awareness about responsible waste disposal and prevent waste from being dumped in the first place. Did you know that if you hire a private company to take away your waste without checking they have the correct licence and it gets fly-tipped, you could be held responsible? These are the sorts of messages our team is passing on to residents.  

    By working closely together, our Environmental Enforcement team and LSSL ensure that all reported fly-tipping incidents are investigated and cleared in an average of 3.8 days. 

    The numbers speak for themselves. Since June last year, our officers have engaged with 617 residential properties and businesses about waste management, issuing almost 150 warnings where needed. They’ve also handed out 106 Fixed Penalty Notices and assisted with four prosecutions. Each of these investigations take a lot of time, but by doubling the size of the team, we know that we’ll have more time and more manpower to crack down on offenders.

    From 2023 to 2024, reports of fly-tipping dropped by 5.7 per cent, and requests to clean streets decreased by 25 per cent. Their efforts, and the work of LSSL, make a tangible difference in keeping Liverpool cleaner and safer. 

    Liverpool City Council’s commitment to cracking down on illegal fly-tipping, littering, and dog fouling is unwavering. The new Environmental Enforcement Team, appointed last year, has already made significant strides in investigating and addressing these issues. With the addition of six new internal enforcement officers, we’re poised to enhance our efforts even further. 

    And there’s more good news on the horizon. An external team is set to start early this summer, providing extra support to tackle fly-tipping blighting our streets. They’ll work closely with the existing taskforce, raising awareness about correct waste management and investigating environmental crimes. 

    While we do work closely with the police to utilise our expansive CCTV network across the city, we can’t be everywhere at once.  We ask anyone who spots illegal waste on our streets to report it to us so that we can investigate. And, if you have any information to help us with our investigation, please speak out. We know that the majority of people would like to keep their streets free of rubbish.

    With the Great British Spring Clean coming back at the end of next month, now is the perfect time to join in with community litter-picking events, or even create one of your own. For more information, or to tell us about a clean-up event you’re planning, reach out to our Keep Liverpool Tidy team. Together, we can achieve a litter-free, waste-free city that we can truly be proud of. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Cenotaph draped in Union Flags, Westminster Abbey service, concert and Flypast among plans unveiled to mark VE Day 80

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Press release

    Cenotaph draped in Union Flags, Westminster Abbey service, concert and Flypast among plans unveiled to mark VE Day 80

    Four day celebrations will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe in May

    • Commemorations will kick off on Bank Holiday Monday, which will see the Cenotaph dressed in Union flags, a Military procession and a flypast in London
    • Street parties will also be held across the country and ceremony on HMS Belfast will kick off community celebrations
    • 8 May will see a service of remembrance and thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey followed by a concert
    • Service planned to mark VJ Day and the end of the war in the Far East in August

    The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day will be marked this year with a series of events and celebrations that will share stories of the Second World War generation. 

    Victory in Europe (VE Day), which takes place on 8 May, marks the Allied victory in Europe. The news resulted in millions celebrating the end of the war, with street parties, dancing and singing across the country. The war in the Far East did not end until 15 August 1945 with VJ Day (Victory Over Japan).

    The commemorations will pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front.

    The early May Bank Holiday will see the beginning of the events to mark VE and VJ Day 80 with events planned including a Military procession and flypast of current and historic military aircraft, the return of the poppies to the Tower of London and a nationwide call for families to delve into their lofts and discover their own Second World War stories:

    Monday 5 May:

    • To ensure the commemorations act as a point of remembrance of the millions who lost their lives in the conflict as well as a celebration of peace, the commemorations will begin in Whitehall. The Cenotaph, the nation’s focal point of remembrance, will be dressed in Union Flags for the duration of the four day commemorations, echoing the 1920 unveiling of the monument to the fallen. From Monday 5 May, it will provide a focal point for the commemorations and a place to pay silent tribute to all those who died, both at home and abroad, during the Second World War.
    • To honour and remember those who fell during the Second World War, there will be a Military procession from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace followed by a flypast of current and historic military aircraft including the famous Red Arrows.
    • The VE Day 80 commemorations will continue with a street party on HMS Belfast. HMS Belfast fired some of the opening shots on D Day in 1944 and protected Arctic convoys during the Second World War and is the most significant surviving Second World War warship.
    • Street parties, barbecues and community get togethers, supported by ideas and inspiration from The Together Coalition and The Big Lunch, will be held by communities across the country, echoing the celebrations 80 years ago as the population welcomed the end of the war.

    Tuesday 6 May:

    • An installation of ceramic poppies will return to the Tower of London to mark the anniversary. Nearly 30,000 of the original poppies from the 2014 display at the Tower, which commemorated the centenary of the First World War, will be displayed in a new installation within the walls of the fortress. This poppies installation will resemble a ‘wound’ at the heart of the Tower, which was itself bombed during the Blitz and still bears some of those scars today.  It will mark and reflect on the sacrifices made by so many during the Second World War.
    • Historic landmarks across the UK will be lit up this evening.

    Wednesday 7 May:

    • On the evening of the 7th May 1945, a newsflash announced that the following day would be Victory in Europe Day. To commemorate this important moment in the nation’s history, the Parliament Choir will host a Victory in Europe Day Anniversary Concert in the famous Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster, eighty years to the day that victory was declared.

    Thursday 8 May:

    • A service will take place at Westminster Abbey that will be both an act of shared remembrance and a celebration of the end of the war. It will be a moment to give thanks and to honour a generation that showed extraordinary courage and resilience.
    • The events will conclude with a concert at the historic Horseguards Parade to finish the VE Day 80 commemorations in a celebratory tone, echoing how the nation reacted to the news 80 years before. With more than 10,000 members of the public in attendance, the concert will feature stars of stage and screen and military musicians and tell the story of victory and the legacy of the Second World War in Europe.

    Friday 15 August:

    • To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in the Far East, a service will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum. In partnership with the government, the Royal British Legion will lead the nation in honouring and remembering those who fought and died during the War in the Far East.

    Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:

    The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are important opportunities for communities to come together to pay tribute to all those who served in the Second World War and to reflect on the values that they were fighting for.

    By taking part in these significant commemorations, people across society will be able to hear our veterans’ stories first hand, to reflect and remember, and ensure that their stories of sacrifice and service are remembered for generations to come.

    Ruth Bourne, 98, a Second World War Wren working as a link in the chain of codebreakers who intercepted Nazi messages at Bletchley Park said:

    There was an electric buzz among everyone and eventually the Royals came out and waved, and we cheered like crazy waving whatever we had on us. People climbed on every available lamppost, lit bonfires in Hyde Park and we sat around singing songs. Not many went to bed that night!

    In partnership with Imperial War Museums, Letters to Loved Ones will encourage the public to delve into their family history to find letters sent by their relatives to loved ones during the Second World War. It is hoped that this will bring together first-hand testimonies from soldiers on the front line, and the women and children on the home front. Letters to Loved Ones will culminate in an event in May, bringing together school children and their families from across the UK.

    From April through 2025, Arts Council England will work with arts organisations to join with their communities and creatively commemorate, celebrate and reflect on the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day. Funding will also be made available through the National Lottery Community Fund Awards For All programme for organisations to bid for grants to host events, activities and projects this year for communities to come together to commemorate the war and its impact on individuals and communities across the country.

    Resources and educational material will be made available for schools and youth groups to help young people learn about the Second World War and the importance of the role played by their forebearers in securing the peace we enjoy today.

    The Royal British Legion, the nation’s largest military charity, will be making resources available for schools and local communities across the country and working through its network of membership branches to mark the anniversary.

    The commemorations will be UK wide with activities across the nations and regions. Further details on the fly past, national events and plans to mark the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day across the UK, and how the public can get involved, will be announced in due course.

    Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

    80 years ago, the freedoms we enjoy today were defended by our remarkable Second World War generation.

    Our duty today is to safeguard the British values they sacrificed so much to uphold.

    As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, our grateful nation looks forward to joining our brave Armed Forces and veterans to reflect, rejoice and remember.

    Dr Tara Knights, the Royal British Legion’s Head of Remembrance, said:

    The Royal British Legion is proud to be marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day and will put Second World War veterans at the heart of these commemorations. These are significant anniversaries, and we owe it to all those from the Second World War generation to thank them for their bravery and sacrifice in the defence of freedoms we still enjoy to this day. We will be running educational and community engagement programmes to encourage everyone to get involved in this momentous occasion. The RBL is inviting veterans, or their family or carers on their behalf, to come forward and register to join in the commemorations.

    Caro Howell MBE, IWM Director-General said:

    As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, we are reminded that this devastating conflict will soon pass from living memory. Through ‘Letters to Loved Ones’, we want a new generation of children across the UK to learn about the Second World War and its aftermath, through the stories and memories of their own families and the voices of those who were part of the fight against tyranny.

    2025 marks the 80th anniversaries of some of the most significant moments in our history. The anniversaries that we are marking this year serve as a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made across the world, and the events that have shaped our lives ever since.

    Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition which is helping to organise the community celebrations said:

    We spend a lot of our time focusing on the things where we might disagree. VE day 80 is a great opportunity to celebrate what we have in common, and to use the celebrations to reach out to neighbours, friends and our wider communities.

    A dedicated interactive website has been launched with latest information and ways to get involved at ve-vjday80.gov.uk

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    Updates to this page

    Published 4 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Readiness for Recovery and Reconstruction of Resilient Housing and Critical Infrastructure Masterclasses

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    Time: 13:00 – 14:30 Geneva Time (CET)
    Date: 20 March, 19 April, 15 May 2025 (three 90-minute sessions)
    Workshop Language: English

    The training is co-organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UN Development Programme (UNDP), SEEDS, World Bank, UN-HABITAT and UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Leading up to the World Resilient Reconstruction Conference (WRRC), this masterclass will bring together experts and practitioners to share lessons learned, good practices, and innovative strategies from past housing recovery and reconstruction experiences. This masterclass aims to not only discuss the principles of resilient housing recovery and role of governments and communities, but also introduce effective models and case studies, to facilitate knowledge exchange and inform discussions at the WRRC.

    Objective and topics to be covered:

    Expected Outcomes:

    • Increased awareness and understanding of owner- and community-driven approaches for resilient housing recovery. 
    • Strengthened knowledge on the critical role of infrastructure resilience in post-disaster recovery efforts. 
    • Practical insights and recommendations that can inform policies and future housing recovery programs. 
    • Enhanced collaboration and networking among organizations and practitioners in housing recovery and reconstruction. 
    • Contributions to the WRRC discussions on scaling up resilient housing and infrastructure investments. 
       

    Certificate:

    Certificate of Participation will be provided to masterclass participants who attend all three (3) masterclass sessions.

    Programme:

    • 20 March 2025 – Foundations of Resilient Housing Recovery and Owner Driven Housing Reconstruction (ODHR) approaches
    • 9 April 2025 – Building Housing Capacity for Recovery and Reconstruction: The Role of Financing and Partnerships
    • 15 May 2025 – Innovation and Technology for Recovery and Reconstruction of Housing and Critical Infrastructure
       

    Organizers:

    • UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
    • UN Development Programme (UNDP)
    • SEEDS
    • World Bank
    • UN-HABITAT
    • UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
       

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Property Market – NZ property values return to growth in February – CoreLogic

    Source: CoreLogic

    Property values in Aotearoa New Zealand rose by +0.3% in February, the clearest sign yet that 2024’s ‘mini downturn’ has come to an end and that 2025 will likely see modest growth.

    After a cumulative -4.1% decline over March to September last year, the CoreLogic Home Value Index (HVI) recorded modest movements from October to January. This month’s result marks the strongest rise since a +0.5% gain back in January last year.
    The median national value now stands at $807,164, which is down -16.9% from the record highs in late 2021 and early 2022, but +17.1% above the pre-COVID figure of $689,353 in March 2020.

    Around the main centres, February marked a stronger month despite a -0.2% drop in Tauranga, with Ōtautahi Christchurch and Ōtepoti Dunedin both seeing increases of +0.6%, and Kirikiriroa Hamilton at +0.5%. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland had +0.3%. Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington saw a +0.1% rise – a modest increase, but still quite a marked change from the average falls of -0.7% in the prior 11 months.
    CoreLogic NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said the modest growth was expected given earlier signs about a return to growth. “The rise of 0.3% in the national median property value is fairly modest by past standards but nevertheless represents the first meaningful increase for more than a year,” he said.
    “It was always likely that the property value falls in 2024 would come to an end at some stage in early 2025, given the extent of interest rate cuts since July or August last year.”
    He said the overall growth figure was masking local variability. “While some markets have clearly turned a corner, there’s still variability, with Tauranga edging lower in February.”
    “While the early signs of renewed growth for property values will be welcomed by many, the good vibes won’t be universal.”

    “After all, there’s always two sides to the coin when it comes to house prices, and aspiring buyers would no doubt be happier if they were flat or falling.”

    “That said, with listings still abundant and debt to income ratio limits set to be a restraint if and when banks’ serviceability test rates fall further, a rampant boom in property values in 2025 seems unlikely.”

    Index results for February 2025 – national and main centres

    From post-COVID peak
    From 2024 mini peak
    From pre-COVID levels
    Median  value
    Aotearoa New Zealand
    Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
    $1,062,680
    Kirikiriroa Hamilton
    Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington*
    Ōtautahi Christchurch
    Ōtepoti Dunedin

    Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

    The general re-emergence of rising property values in February was replicated across almost all of Tamaki Makaurau, with Franklin and Auckland City both recording gains of 0.5%, and North Shore 0.3%. Rodney, Waitakere, and Papakura all had a modest rise of 0.1%, although Manukau edged down by the same figure.

    Over a slightly longer three-month horizon, some areas have still seen modest falls (e.g. 0.3% in Waitakere and 0.2% in Manukau), but those figures also seem likely to turn positive again in the near term.

    Mr. Davidson commented: “The sentiment on the ground across Auckland has been more positive of late, and February shows this has been translating into the hard data. Elevated stock levels may mean any further near-term growth for property values remains muted, but the soft patch does now seem to be behind us.”

    From post-COVID peak
    From 2024 mini peak
    From pre-COVID levels
    Median value
    $1,191,524
    Te Raki Paewhenua North Shore
    $1,296,321
    Auckland City
    $1,143,162

    Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

    The wider Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington area also bucked its recent weak trend in February, with Porirua and Wellington City holding steady, and Kapiti Coast, Lower Hutt, and Upper Hutt all increasing.

    Wellington City remains 1.1% lower than it was three months ago, but the other areas have broadly stabilised, at +/-0.1% change compared to November.

    “Wellington still faces some economic challenges in the near term, given the restraint on public sector expenditure. But housing affordability across the capital is far less stretched than it was 2-3 years ago, which is likely to have played a role in helping bring some buyers back to the table in February.”

    From post-COVID peak
    From 2024 mini peak
    From pre-COVID levels
    Median value
    Kāpiti Coast
    Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta Upper Hutt
    Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt
    Wellington City

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to Inaugurate Office Complex of Zonal Office Telangana and Regional Office, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Tomorrow

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to Inaugurate Office Complex of Zonal Office Telangana and Regional Office, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Tomorrow

    Union Minister to Virtually Inaugurate Regional Office, Naroda, Gujarat and Lay Foundation Stone of Staff Quarters, Gurugram, Haryana

    Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 2:14PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will inaugurate the Office Complex of the Zonal Office Telangana and Regional Office, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad tomorrow. In addition, he will virtually inaugurate the Regional Office in Naroda, Gujarat, and lay the foundation stone for staff quarters in Gurugram, Haryana. Union Minister of Coal and Mines, Shri G Kishan Reddy, senior officials from the Ministry, State Government representatives, and distinguished guests will also be present on the occasion.

    These initiatives mark a significant step towards enhancing infrastructure and operational capacity to better serve workers and stakeholders across the country, underscoring the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening labour welfare and administrative efficiency.

    The details of the projects are mentioned below:

    1. Inauguration of Office Complex of Zonal Office Telangana and Regional Office, Banjara Hills (Physical Mode) 

    The state-of-the-art office complex in Banjara Hills will house the Zonal Office Telangana and Regional Office, marking a significant step in bolstering the Ministry’s presence in the region. This facility will enhance coordination and service delivery for labour-related initiatives, ensuring better accessibility for employees, employers, and other stakeholders in Telangana.

    2. Inauguration of Regional Office, Naroda, Gujarat (Virtual Mode) 

    The Regional Office in Naroda will be inaugurated virtually, expanding the Ministry’s outreach in Gujarat. This facility aims to streamline labour administration, support compliance with labour laws, and provide localized assistance to workers and industries in the region.

    3. Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of Staff Quarters, Gurugram (Virtual Mode) 

    The foundation stone for the Staff Quarters in Gurugram, Haryana will be laid virtually, marking the beginning of a project designed to provide modern residential facilities for the staff. This initiative reflects the Ministry’s focus on improving the welfare and working conditions of its staff, ensuring they are well-supported to carry out their duties effectively.

    ****

    Himanshu Pathak

    (Release ID: 2108372) Visitor Counter : 52

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Security: Illegal Alien Indicted for Conspiracy to Transport Other Aliens and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, a grand jury returned an indictment against Edgar Guadalupe Jimenez-Aguilar, an illegal alien living in Phoenix, for Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin.

    After an investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations and United States Border Patrol identified Jimenez-Aguilar as a load driver who picked up aliens in desert areas in Pinal and Pima Counties and transported them to Phoenix. Jimenez-Aguilar also operated a stash house in Phoenix used to harbor the aliens and assumed a coordinator role by recruiting others to act as load drivers.

    From late 2024 through January 2025, agents interviewed other load drivers arrested for transporting aliens, who admitted Jimenez-Aguilar had recruited them. The agents also conducted surveillance on Jimenez-Aguilar and his stash house. On October 3, 2024, officers with the Tohono O’odham Police Department stopped a vehicle and determined four passengers, including two in the trunk of the vehicle, were aliens unlawfully present in the United States. 
     

    Officers learned that the driver had been recruited on social media, had participated in multiple prior smuggling ventures, and had been to Jimenez-Aguilar’s stash house to unload the aliens. On January 28, 2025, agents stopped a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Mesa and identified the driver as Jimenez-Aguilar via his Sonoran driver’s license. Inside the vehicle, agents located approximately 297 grams of black tar heroin.

    Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin carries a minimum penalty of five years and up to 40 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $5,000,000. Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

    An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

    The United States Border Patrol, Alien Smuggling Unit – Tucson Sector and Homeland Security Investigations – Casa Grande, Pinal and Pima County Sheriff Departments, Tohono O’odham Police Department, and Arizona Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Kubota, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
     

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-25-00284-PHX-DJH
    RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-027_Jimenez-Aguilar

     

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

     

    MIL Security OSI –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI: Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. Announces Reporting Date for Q4 and Full-Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Midland, Texas, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS), a leading provider of natural gas compression equipment, technology and services to the energy industry, will host a conference call to review its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2024 financial results on March 18, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. (EST), 7:30 a.m. (CST). The Company’s Q4 2024 financial and operating results for the full year ending in December 31, 2024 will be disseminated via press release and made available on the Company’s website (www.ngsgi.com) after market close on March 17, 2025.

    To join the conference call, kindly access the Investor Relations section of our website at www.ngsgi.com or dial in at (800) 550-9745 and enter conference ID: 167298 at least five minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Please note that using the provided dial-in number is necessary for participation in the Q&A section of the call. A recording of the conference will be made available on our Company’s website following its conclusion. Thank you for your interest in our company’s updates.

    About Natural Gas Services Group, Inc.

    Natural Gas Services Group is a leading provider of natural gas compression equipment, technology and services to the energy industry. The Company designs, rents, sells and maintains natural gas compressors for oil and natural gas production and plant facilities, primarily using equipment from third-party fabricators and OEM suppliers along with limited in-house assembly. The Company is headquartered in Midland, Texas, with a fabrication facility located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a rebuild shop located in Midland, Texas, and service facilities located in major oil and natural gas producing basins in the U.S. Additional information can be found at www.ngsgi.com.

    For Additional Information:

    Anna Delgado-Investor Relations
    (432) 262-2700
    ir@ngsgi.com
    www.ngsgi.com

    The MIL Network –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Global: Convicting the innocent: how a rotten system ensures miscarriages of justice will continue

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brian Thornton, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, University of Winchester

    The following story is the winner of The Conversation Prize for writers, a competition run in partnership with Faber and Curtis Brown. Read more about the competition here.


    A young man called David Lace sits in a windowless interrogation room in a Portsmouth police station. He has just been arrested over a spate of burglaries across the city. Out of the blue, in the middle of the interview he tells the detectives something extraordinary. He’s killed someone, he says. A young woman.

    He can’t live with himself anymore. The guilt is driving him mad. In the bleak little room he confesses everything. But Lace is never charged with murder. Never put on trial. Never jailed. Instead, all that happens to another man. An innocent man called Sean Hodgson. The Lace confession, along with all the forensic evidence with Lace’s DNA goes missing. Hodgson serves 27 years in prison.

    When five police officers turn up at his mother’s flat on October 20 2004, Sam Hallam knows they have made a mistake. A few days earlier a 21-year-old was stabbed to death in a street brawl. Hallam had heard about it but wasn’t there. He explains all of this to the police officers who arrest and later charge him. He explains it to the jury during his trial. No one listens. Hallam is jailed for life. He is 17 years old.

    On the night of the murder he had been in the pub with his father. There is a photo on his phone to prove it. But the phone containing the photo sits in a police evidence room for years. It sits there gathering dust as Hallam is beaten up in prison, and while both his grandmothers die. It sits undisturbed as his father Terry, struggling to deal with the imprisonment of his son, takes his own life.

    A young woman is murdered in Cardiff and eyewitnesses see a white man covered in blood leaving her flat. Three innocent men, none of them white, are later jailed for life for her murder.

    And on and on it goes.

    The Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, Judith Ward, Stefan Kiszko, John Kamara, the Darvell brothers, the Cardiff Newsagent Three, Ivan Fergus, Sally Clark, Andrew Malkinson, the hundreds from the Post Office scandal. On and on.

    Sean Hodgson’s murder conviction is quashed after 27 years in jail.

    Hundreds and hundreds of people wrongly convicted. Lives destroyed. Families and communities blighted. Killers left free.

    But wasn’t all of this sorted out years ago? Aren’t miscarriages of justice a bit … 1980s?

    While millions might have once tuned into Rough Justice and Trial and Error to watch investigations into miscarriage of justice cases, those shows are now long gone, cancelled due to lack of interest. Even legendary investigative journalists like David Jessel packed up and moved on, admitting that the game had changed.

    They may have gone under the radar for a while but these types of cases never went away, and it now seems we’ve entered a period where there are more than ever. Perhaps the reason no one noticed is because of a relentless campaign to turn the clock back, to a time when the innocent were fair game.

    When the Birmingham Six were trying to overturn their convictions they were thwarted again and again over 16 years by a stubborn and dismissive establishment. The attitude was epitomised in the iconic judgment by Lord Denning. He refused to countenance the idea of them being innocent because that would damage the integrity of the system – and in his opinion the system needed to be protected at all costs. In his judgment Denning said:

    If the six men win, it will mean that the police were guilty of perjury, that they were guilty of violence and threats, that the confessions were involuntary and were improperly admitted in evidence and that the convictions were erroneous. That would mean the Home Secretary would either have to recommend they be pardoned or he would have to remit the case to the Court of Appeal. This is such an appalling vista that every sensible person in the land would say: It cannot be right these actions should go any further.

    For decades the “appalling vista” approach held while the injustices grew and grew. But on a bright spring morning in 1991 the whole thing exploded in a visceral, cathartic dam-burst.

    Amid chaotic scenes outside the Old Bailey the Birmingham Six were released and one of them, Paddy Hill, grabbed a microphone and unleashed a savage attack on the institutions that had taken his freedom:

    For 16 and a half years we have been used as political scapegoats. The police told us from the start they knew we hadn’t done it. They told us they didn’t care who had done it. They told us that we were selected and they were going to frame us. Justice, I don’t think the people in there have got the intelligence nor the honestly to spell the word, never mind dispense it. They’re rotten.

    A crisis was erupting that threatened the legitimacy of the entire criminal justice system. Swift action was needed and so on the very day that the Birmingham Six convictions were quashed, the government established the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice.

    Nothing it appeared, would ever be the same again.

    Out of the Royal Commission sprung a new body – the Criminal Cases Review Commission – given the sole task of investigating miscarriages of justice. The message was sent out loud and clear: the innocence crisis had now been solved and the media, the criminal justice system and the politicians needed to move on to more pressing issues.

    But while no one was looking, a silent counter-revolution was happening.

    The great rebranding

    Stealthily and relentlessly a hostile environment for victims of miscarriages was being created. The first target was to undermine the actual term “miscarriage of justice” itself. In a seminal speech in 2002 Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that “the biggest miscarriage of justice in today’s system is when the guilty walk away unpunished”.

    Blair was calling for a reappraisal of what we considered an injustice. Essentially what was being assumed was that the “innocence crisis” had been dealt with and energies should now be focused on other areas where the criminal justice system was misfiring; namely, in the effective punishment of the guilty. Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime.

    The right wing press gleefully embraced this reframing. Newspapers like The Sun and Express, who had not concerned themselves with miscarriages of justice before Blair’s intervention, were now falling over themselves to expose these new injustices. Two headlines in the Express read: “Rapist who was free to strike again: This is a travesty, a real miscarriage of justice,” and “Don’t let them get away with murder: Proposals that would see murderers spend less time in jail are the biggest miscarriage of justice we have seen”.

    The rebranding of “miscarriage of justice” was so successful that in 2006 when The Sun asked its readers: “Do you know about a miscarriage of justice? Call us on 020 7782 4104”, it did not need to explain to anyone what it was talking about – its readers knew exactly what the paper meant. They knew it was looking for tales of “evil perverts” and “crooks” who got “soft sentences” so that it could use its “Justice Campaign to have lenient judges turfed out”.

    But the creation of a hostile environment for the innocent still had a long way to go. It was one thing to convict people – and sentence them to longer terms – the next thing was to ensure they stayed there.

    And so a concerted campaign began to strengthen the finality of convictions – essentially making it near impossible to challenge guilty verdicts. Technology helped. Since 2011, most court transcripts have been recorded digitally. But without fanfare the decision was taken to routinely delete them.

    It means that while it is possible to access full records of Victorian court cases, modern court transcripts vanish after seven years and they are eye-wateringly expensive. An MP was recently quoted £100,000 for a Lucy Letby court transcript. In the US, defendants automatically get a copy of their court records – in the UK the records are destroyed, and no one has ever really explained why.

    So if you are trying to challenge your conviction you may not have access to – or cannot afford – your court records. But what about the evidence that convicted you? We are all familiar with the US movies and documentaries that show lawyers saving prisoners from death row or prison sentences thanks to new DNA evidence. Why doesn’t that happen in the UK? Because in 2014 the Supreme Court decided that a defendant no longer has the right to access any of this evidence. It ruled:

    What is essentially sought by the claimant is access to material to enable the case to be re-investigated and re-examined. The time for that investigation and examination was the trial.

    All police forces now have a template letter in which they explain that due to this judgment they will not grant access to any evidence after conviction, and every appeal lawyer in the country has enough of these letters to wallpaper their offices.

    But what of the great promise of the CCRC – the body that was supposed to investigate miscarriages of justice? After some early successes it has been slowly hollowed out. Its budget has been slashed, its powers eroded and it has haemorrhaged talent.

    The commission that was once lauded as an example for the rest of the world is now such a shambles that when the scandal broke about the handling of the Andrew Malkinson case, who had been wrongfully imprisoned for rape, the chair of the CCRC was in Montenegro, promoting her property business. Helen Pitcher told her social media followers that she was “having an amazing time at Milos Mussels bar”. The CCRC said Pitcher was on a lunch break while working remotely from Montenegro that day and that she did not manage her own social media. Pitcher said: “The CCRC is a remote-working organisation, and I sometimes work from a property I own abroad.”

    In January, Pitcher resigned saying she had been made a scapegoat for the Malkinson affair. Those involved in criminal appeals used to laugh at how hapless the CCRC was – they are now in open despair.

    More than 1,500 people apply to the CCRC every year claiming they have been wrongfully convicted and about 97% of these applications are rejected. But there are serious concerns over the quality of the CCRC’s investigations into these cases. An inquiry in 2021 found that budget cuts and an obsession with targets had “compromised the CCRC’s ability to carry out its role effectively in all cases”.

    The handful of cases that make it through the CCRC and to the Court of Appeal face another fight against the odds – the court normally rejects at least a third of these cases.

    Victims of injustice such as members of the Birmingham Six say they would never have been freed if the CCRC had investigated their case. And if you do somehow manage to beat all the odds and overturn your conviction – like Victor Nealon – you will leave the Court of Appeal with a grand total of £89 in your pocket. It does not matter if you have unfairly spent decades in prison, if imprisonment has destroyed your physical and mental health and laid waste to your relationships and reputation. It’s still £89. There is no compensation for the stolen years, for the outrageous injustices you have suffered.

    In 2014, when the coalition government was in thrall to austerity, it was decided to restrict the payment of compensation to miscarriage of justice victims. The High Court rejected a challenge to this new law by telling a miscarriage of justice victim he was “not innocent enough to be compensated”. The public outrage over the Malkinson case shamed the Ministry of Justice into offering him compensation but he is very much the exception – 93% of applicants whose convictions have been overturned receive no money.

    Nealon and Sam Hallam took their claims for compensation all the way to the European Court of Human Rights and lost. But the judges said the current UK system for compensation was “a hurdle which is virtually insurmountable”. The hostile environment against the innocent was now complete.

    A Supreme Court’s decision in the Kevin Nunn case in 2014, which prevented him from getting access to key evidence in his case to submit to more modern forensic testing, has effectively removed any semblance of transparency over what evidence police hand over during a criminal trial. It has resulted in disclosure problems blighting criminal court cases because there is no oversight – police can act with complete impunity.

    They also know that there will be no comeback if things go wrong – no officer in any of the major miscarriages of justice cases has ever been convicted of anything. The attempt to prosecute officers in the Cardiff Three case collapsed – due to disclosure problems.

    No oversight, also means that all the old tricks are back: the overheard conversations, the jailhouse confessions, criminals blackmailed to act as witnesses, crucial evidence mislaid or withheld.

    Once someone is convicted their court records will be deleted or made unaffordable, their legal aid will be slashed and they will be denied access to any of the evidence that convicted them. Their only option will be to apply to a crumbling and aimless institution which even the legal system views as a joke.

    This is how they system wins and how the victims of injustice are betrayed. This is how you convict the innocent.


    For you: more from our Insights series:

    • Inside Porton Down: what I learned during three years at the UK’s most secretive chemical weapons laboratory

    • The overshoot myth: you can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C

    • We found over 300 million young people had experienced online sexual abuse and exploitation over the course of our meta-study

    • ‘There has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs’: the rising global threat of nitazenes and synthetic opioids

    To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. Subscribe to our newsletter.

    Brian Thornton 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. Convicting the innocent: how a rotten system ensures miscarriages of justice will continue – https://theconversation.com/convicting-the-innocent-how-a-rotten-system-ensures-miscarriages-of-justice-will-continue-249536

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    March 6, 2025
  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Meet the youngest member of the House of Lords | Roles in the Lords

    Source: United Kingdom UK House of Lords (video statements)

    Baroness Smith of Llanfaes joined the House as a Plaid Cymru member in March 2024. Since then, she’s spoken in the chamber on issues from the Crown Estate and coal tip safety to period poverty and affordable housing.

    Find out how she uses her position in the Lords to ‘stand up for the people of Wales’ and hear her views on House of Lords reform.

    #HouseOfLords #UKParliament #RolesInTheLords #Senedd #Wales #Government

    Catch-up on House of Lords business:

    Watch live events: https://parliamentlive.tv/Lords
    Read the latest news: https://www.parliament.uk/lords/

    Stay up to date with the House of Lords on social media:

    • X: https://twitter.com/UKHouseofLords
    • Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/houseoflords.parliament.uk
    • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/UKHouseofLords/
    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UKHouseofLords
    • Flickr: https://flickr.com/photos/ukhouseoflords/albums
    • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-house-of-lords
    • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@UKHouseOfLords

    #HouseOfLords #UKParliament

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUytL3VmO0

    MIL OSI Video –

    March 6, 2025
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