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Category: KB

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: GAZA – Israeli UNRWA ban will deepen Palestinian humanitarian catastrophe – MSF

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

    30 October, 2024. The Israeli Knesset’s ban on UNRWA’s operations voted on 28 October represents a devastating blow to Palestinian life. It will further undermine people’s survival prospects in Gaza and heavily impact communities in the West Bank.

    Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounces this legislation, which represents an inhumane ban on vital humanitarian aid. The Knesset’s vote is propelling Palestinians towards an even deeper humanitarian crisis. It is imperative that the world acts to safeguard Palestinians’ fundamental rights. Immediate international intervention is needed to pressure Israel to allow unhindered access to humanitarian aid, implement a ceasefire and bring to an end the current campaign of destruction in Gaza.

    “UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestinians,” says Christopher Lockyear, MSF Secretary General. “If implemented, the ban on UNRWA’s activities would have catastrophic implications on the dire humanitarian situation of Palestinians living in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank, now and for generations to come. We strongly condemn this decision, which is the culmination of a long-running campaign against the organisation.”

    The newly voted legislation will make it almost impossible for UNRWA to work in Gaza or the West Bank; coordination with Israeli authorities will be impeded and entrance permits to either of the occupied territories will be denied, and essentially blocking delivery of UNRWA aid into and within Gaza. UNRWA handles almost all the distribution of UN aid coming into the strip.

    UNRWA is the largest health provider in Gaza, with over half of Gazans relying on UNWRA for essential healthcare services, including for the treatment of chronic diseases, maternal and child heath, and vaccinations; each day UNWRA’s health teams provide over 15,000 consultations in the Gaza Strip. The ban of its activities threatens to create a vast gap in services within an already largely destroyed health system in Gaza – directly and indirectly endangering the lives of Palestinians. Without urgent action, more Gazans could die from preventable diseases and displacement-related conditions.

    The impact of UNRWA’s ban will extend beyond Gaza. Critical services, including refugee camp management, health services, education, and social programmes across the West Bank are also at risk of destabilisation under this legislation. This legislation sets a grave precedent for other conflict situations where governments may wish to eliminate an inconvenient United Nations presence.

    For months, international leaders and organisations, including MSF, have raised warnings about the disastrous potential of these newly adopted bills. Yet Israel has chosen to press forward with measures that will undermine vital assistance, endangering Palestinian lives and intensifying the collective punishment they face.

    This vote adds to the endless physical and bureaucratic impediments imposed by Israel to limit the amount of aid reaching Gaza, and blatantly contradicts Israel’s claims that it is facilitating humanitarian assistance into the Strip.

    MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. In 2022, more than 120 project staff from Australia and New Zealand worked with MSF on assignment overseas. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au  

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Economy – KOF Economic Barometer: Sluggish economic recovery

    Source: KOF Economic Institute

    In October, the KOF Economic Barometer drops noticeably. Although it is still within the medium-term average range, for the first time since January of this year it is no longer above the 100 mark. The recovery of the Swiss economy is very hesitant.

    The KOF Economic Barometer loses 5.0 points in October, falling to a level of 99.5 (after a revised 104.5 in September). The indicator bundles of all production-side categories included in the barometer decline in October: the indicators for manufacturing, financial and insurance services, other services, hospitality and construction. However, the demand-side indicators, the indicators for foreign demand and consumer demand, are not following this downward tendency. The development of the demand-side indicators, though, does not currently give hope for stronger impetus.

    In the producing industries (manufacturing and construction), the indicators for almost all aspects of business activity are under pressure. This applies in particular to export prospects, production activity, the competitive situation and order income. Only the indicators for the purchase of primary products and the inventory situation cushioned the negative development somewhat.

    Within the manufacturing, the outlook is becoming bleaker, particularly for chemical and pharmaceutical companies, the metal industry, the wood, glass, stone and earth segment and for food and beverage producers. The outlook is slightly more favourable for textile and clothing companies.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: XRL popular among passengers

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    In the first nine months of 2024, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) Hong Kong Section recorded an average daily patronage of about 70,000 passenger trips, Secretary for Transport & Logistics Lam Sai-hung said today.

    Responding to questions from lawmaker Yiu Pak-leung in the Legislative Council, Mr Lam said the services of the XRL Hong Kong Section have been popular among passengers, adding that the total number of passenger trips in the first nine months this year is approaching the annual total of approximately 20 million passenger trips in 2023.

    According to the ticket sales provided by the MTR Corporation (MTRC), for short-haul destinations, more than 60% of short-haul passengers are destined for stations in Shenzhen, i.e. Futian and Shenzhenbei.

    Nearly 30% are destined for Guangzhoudong and Guangzhounan, while less than 10% travel to the remaining short-haul destinations, i.e. Guangmingcheng, Humen, Qingsheng, Dongguannan, Changping and Dongguan. 

    Regarding the proposal of introducing Xintang Station – located at the core of the new development area in the eastern part of Guangzhou – as a directly connected destination to the XRL Hong Kong Section, Mr Lam said the MTRC and the Mainland railway authorities are actively looking into the matter, with a view to offering passengers a more convenient and comfortable travel experience, while facilitating the flow of people between the two places.

    The transport chief also pointed out that a sleeper train service between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Beijingxi Station/Shanghai Hongqiao Station was introduced on the XRL Hong Kong Section on June 15, with trains departing in the evening and arriving the following morning.

    This arrangement was an upgrade of the original ordinary-speed train service between the Hong Kong Hung Hom Station and Beijing/Shanghai, and reduced the journey time by almost half, he said.

    Mr Lam noted that the sleeper train service to Beijing and Shanghai was further upgraded in October, by deploying Fuxing high-speed sleeper trains to serve passengers, along with adjustments to routes and departure times.

    In addition, he said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the MTRC have been actively observing the development of the Mainland’s high-speed rail network and striving to further introduce destinations directly connected to the XRL Hong Kong Section, so as to provide passengers with more diversified options and services.

    Regarding the western region of the Mainland, direct train services are currently available at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, serving stations such as Chengdudong, Chongqing and Kunming.

    As for the introduction of direct sleeper trains to those destinations, he said various considerations and the arrangement of different railway authorities are involved.

    The Hong Kong SAR Government and the MTRC will maintain liaison and co-ordination with the Mainland railway authorities and relevant departments to explore feasible options for further enhancing the service of the XRL Hong Kong Section, Mr Lam added.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ17: Protecting the rights and interests of consumers

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Following is a question by Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (October 30):
     
    Question:
     
         It has been reported that a chain fitness and beauty group suddenly announced its “temporary business suspension” last month. As at the middle of last month, the Consumer Council received a total of 3 861 relevant complaints, involving a total amount of nearly $130 million, with an average amount of about $33,000 per case, and the largest amount involved in a single complaint was about $1.81 million. Regarding protecting the rights and interests of consumers, will the Government inform this Council:
     
    (1) whether it will re-activate the legislative exercise to stipulate a statutory cooling-off period for beauty and fitness services consumer contracts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
     
    (2) whether it will consider establishing new industry rules for the beauty and fitness industries, so as to protect the rights and interests of consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
     
    (3) whether it will consider setting up an interdepartmental task force to roll out publicity and education programmes (especially targeting underprivileged groups such as poor elders), so as to help members of the public become smart consumers and avoid suffering losses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
     
    Reply:
     
    President,
     
         The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is highly concerned about the recent incident involving the temporary business suspension suddenly announced by a chain fitness and beauty group, and has formed an inter-departmental dedicated investigation team to follow up. The dedicated investigation team, which comprises the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Security Bureau, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), the Hong Kong Police Force (Police) and the Consumer Council (Council), continues to closely monitor the developments of the incident. In particular, the C&ED and the Police are conducting intensive investigation from the perspectives of offences regarding the unfair trade practices under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) (the Ordinance) and whether other criminal offences are involved respectively.
     
         The reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
     
    (1) and (2) In view of the unfair trade practices involving prepaid mode of consumption (in particular the situation of fitness centres and beauty parlours using aggressive tactics to sell services that involve large amount of prepayments), the Government conducted a three-month public consultation in 2019 to solicit views on the proposal to stipulate a statutory cooling-off period for beauty and fitness services consumer contracts through legislation. However, shortly after the public consultation, there have been drastic changes in the social environment, economic situation and consumption sentiment since the second half of 2019.
     
         We are aware that different sectors of the community have put forward various suggestions in respect of offering better protection to consumers who make prepayments (including stipulating a statutory cooling-off period, imposing a cap on the length of prepayment contracts and prepayment amounts, and setting up trust accounts), after this incident of the chain fitness and beauty group announcing temporary business suspension. We will conduct an in-depth study into different suggestions and consider their pros and cons and feasibility, with reference to the experience of this incident, other relevant factors (including the economic environment, the operating situation of relevant industries and relevant complaint and enforcement statistics) and the experience in other jurisdictions, with a view to formulating appropriate strategies to strengthen the protection of consumers’ rights and interests.
     
    (3) Currently, various laws in Hong Kong protect consumers’ rights and interests. Among others, the Ordinance covers goods and services, and prohibits traders from subjecting consumers to unfair trade practices, including false trade descriptions, misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch and wrongly accepting payment. The Ordinance is applicable to the trade practices of both physical and online traders.
     
         The C&ED is the principal enforcement agency of the Ordinance, and adopts a three-pronged approach, covering enforcement actions, compliance promotion and publicity and public education, to combat unfair trade practices proactively. Meanwhile, the Council endeavours to study and promote the protection of consumers’ rights and interests, and carries out its statutory functions in accordance with the Consumer Council Ordinance (Cap. 216), including handling complaints from consumers and resolving disputes between consumers and traders.
     
         The C&ED and the Council have been maintaining close communication with each other, and have been collaborating with other government departments and social service organisations, etc, to jointly promote the protection of the rights and interests of consumers (including the elderly and other vulnerable groups). They also adjust and strengthen the strategies and work in respect of publicity and public education, having regard to the complaints and the enforcement situation. Among others, the relevant publicity and public education work includes:
     
    (i) Conducting talks and workshops for the elderly and other vulnerable groups (and their family members and carers), with a view to enhancing their understanding of common unfair trade practices and sharing with them tips about “smart consumption”, so as to prevent them from falling into sales pitfalls.
     
         In particular, targeting common unfair trade practices, the C&ED conducts talks for the elderly and joins hands with the Police, District Councils and District Fight Crime Committees to carry out promotion by distributing promotional leaflets to the elderly, with a view to enhancing the elderly’s understanding of the Ordinance and awareness of “smart consumption”.
     
    (ii) Conducting dedicated educational programmes to enhance the capability of the elderly and other vulnerable groups to guard against unfair trade practices.
     
         In particular, the Council conducts the Educator Scheme for Senior Citizens, which provides consumer education training to soon-to-be retirees and retirees so as to equip them to host consumer educational talks for other elderly in the community. The Council’s Support Programme for Persons with Special Needs, through virtual reality role-play simulations that cover different scenarios (for example those about the sales pitfalls of fitness and beauty centres), allows persons with special needs to better grasp the skills for guarding against common sales pitfalls.
     
    (iii) Disseminating consumer information to facilitate consumers to make informed consumption decisions.
     
         In particular, the Council publishes product tests, service surveys, consumption tips and complaint case sharing, etc, in its CHOICE magazine, providing practical consumer information to different groups of consumers (including the elderly and other vulnerable groups).

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs detects electronic waste export case worth about $40 million involving ocean-going vessel (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    Hong Kong Customs detects electronic waste export case worth about $40 million involving ocean-going vessel (with photo)
    Hong Kong Customs detects electronic waste export case worth about $40 million involving ocean-going vessel (with photo)
    ******************************************************************************************

         Hong Kong Customs on September 23 seized a large batch of electronic waste, with an estimated market value of about $40 million, at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals. The electronic waste was suspected to be illegally exported to Malaysia by an ocean-going vessel.      Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs earlier identified an ocean-going vessel preparing to depart from Hong Kong for Malaysia for inspection. Subsequently, Customs officers took enforcement action on September 23 and seized a large batch of electronic waste aboard the vessel, including different types of batteries, without an export permit. The batch had an estimated market value of about $40 million.     The case was handed over to the Environmental Protection Department for investigation.     According to the Waste Disposal Ordinance, it is an offence for anyone to import or export hazardous waste without obtaining a valid permit beforehand. First-time offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and six month’s imprisonment. For subsequent offences, offenders are liable to a fine of $500,000 and two year’s imprisonment.     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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, October 30, 2024Issued at HKT 17:30

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Appeal to identify family of man fatally stabbed in Wandsworth

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Detectives are urgently appealing to the public for assistance in identifying family members of 18-year-old Issa Ali Musa Abdulrahman Barakat, who tragically lost his life following a fatal stabbing early on Monday morning.

    Issa was found injured at around 06:00hrs on 28 October on Laitwood Road, SW12, and though emergency responders did all they could to save him, he sadly died in hospital later the same day.

    On Monday, Salah Al-Mahmoodi [known as Salah Ahmed], 21 (02.01.03), of Wandsworth was arrested. He was charged on Tuesday, 29 October with Issa’s murder and is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court today (Wednesday, 30 October)

    Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, who is leading the investigation, said:

    “Our hearts go out to Issa and his family, a young man whose life was cruelly taken far too soon. It is devastating to think that his family may not yet know of his tragic passing, and we want to find them so we can offer them both support and answers.

    “Issa was a member of the Chadian community, and we hope that friends or extended family might help us in reaching his loved ones.”

    Anyone with information should call police via 101 or post on X @MetCC quoting CAD 1017/28Oct.

    MIL Security OSI –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Prairie Provident Announces Management and Board of Director Changes and Drilling Update

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Prairie Provident Resources Inc. (“Prairie Provident” or the “Company”) (TSX:PPR) announces that Ryan Rawlyk has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer of Prairie Provident to pursue other interests. In conjunction with Mr. Rawlyk’s resignation, the Company announces the appointment of Dale Miller as Executive Chairman, succeeding Patrick McDonald who has retired as Chairman. Mr. Miller has served as a director of the Company since August 2023 and is a professional engineer with over 40 years of industry experience. As Executive Chairman, Mr. Miller will oversee all activities of Prairie Provident and lead its management team.

    Prairie Provident is also pleased to announce that Amber Wright has been appointed as Vice President, Operations & Engineering. Ms. Wright will be responsible for all development, production operations and engineering activities of Prairie Provident and report to Mr. Miller. Ms. Wright has served the Company as Manager, Development & Operations since November 2021 and is a professional engineer with over 25 years of industry experience.

    The Company is also pleased to announce the commencement of the two well drilling program in the Michichi area, targeting the Basal Quartz formation. The 102/03-19-030-18W4M new drill has been rig released and drilling operations are underway on the second location, 15-32-029-18W4M.

    ABOUT PRAIRIE PROVIDENT

    Prairie Provident is a Calgary-based company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in Alberta, including a position in the emerging Basal Quartz trend in the Michichi area of Central Alberta.

    For further information, please contact:

    Dale Miller, Executive Chairman
    Phone: (403) 292-8150
    Email: investor@ppr.ca

    The MIL Network –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. : Form 8.3 – BRITVIC PLC – Ordinary Shares

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FORM 8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1. KEY INFORMATION  
       
    (a) Full name of discloser: Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. in its capacity as investment advisor and on behalf its affiliates who are also investment advisors (”Dimensional”). Dimensional expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares described in this form 8.3.  
    (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
    The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.    		    
    (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
    Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree    		 Britvic PLC  
    (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:    
    (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:
    For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure    		 29 October 2024  
    (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
    If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”    		 NO  
       
    2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE  
       
    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.  
    (a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)  
       
    Class of relevant security: 20p ordinary (GB00B0N8QD54)  
      Interests Short Positions  
      Number % Number %  
    (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 5,597,788 2.25 %      
    (2) Cash-settled derivatives:          
    (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:          
      Total 5,597,788 * 2.25 %      
    * Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and/or its affiliates do not have discretion regarding voting decisions in respect of 21,866 shares that are included in the total above.  
       
    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    		  
       
       
    (b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)  
       
    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:    
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:    
       
    3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE  
       
    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    		  
    (a) Purchases and sales  
       
    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit  
    20p ordinary (GB00B0N8QD54) Sale 2,894 12.8084 GBP  
    There was a Transfer In of 23,704 shares of 20p ordinary  
       
    (b) Cash-settled derivative transactions  
       
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. CFD Nature of dealing e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit  
               
       
    (c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)
     
    (i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying
     
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
                   
       
    (ii) Exercise  
       
    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit  
               
       
    (d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)  
                 
    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)  
             
       
    4. OTHER INFORMATION  
       
    (a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements  
       
    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”    		  
    None  
       
    (b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives  
       
    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”    		  
    None  
       
    (c) Attachments  
       
    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO  
       
    Date of disclosure 30 October 2024  
    Contact name Thomas Hone  
    Telephone number +44 20 3033 3419  
       

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.

    The MIL Network –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Two social landlords fail to meet RSH’s consumer standards

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Regulator of Social Housing has today published regulatory judgements for seven social housing landlords.

    Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Willow Tree Housing Partnership were both given a C3 grading by RSH, meaning they failed to meet the new consumer standards, introduced on 1 April 2024, and will need to make significant improvements.

    Meanwhile Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council became the first local authority to receive a C1 grading.

    Following responsive engagement with Sandwell MBC about the Safety and Quality Standard due to its Tenant Satisfaction Measure (TSM) return, RSH found:

    • The council was only able to evidence that required asbestos management surveys or re-inspections had been carried out on around 2% of relevant buildings.
    • Although electrical safety inspections had been completed for 96% of its 27,900 homes, the council was unable to monitor or report on the completion of remedial actions.
    • A backlog of more than 14,000 overdue repairs, with over 90% of these yet to be assigned for completion.
    • Accurate, up-to-date information was available for only 5% of the council’s homes.

    Following an inspection completed in October 2024 and earlier responsive engagement carried out following a self-referral from Willow Tree relating to the Rent Standard, RSH found:

    • Around 185 tenancies had been overcharged as a result of errors made in setting rents over a prolonged period.
    • Limited information on the quality of its homes to assure us that they were meeting the Decent Homes Standard.
    • Improvement is needed to more proactively identify and manage of damp and mould.
    • Evidence of weaknesses in the provision of an effective, efficient and timely repairs service.

    Willow Tree has now corrected its formula rents and has issued refunds worth £133k over the last six years.

    Kate Dodsworth, Chief of Regulatory Engagement at RSH, said:

    Improving data management can help address the root cause of many of the issues we see. Without accurate, up-to-date information on homes, it is nearly impossible to deliver the outcomes of our standards and provide safe, decent places to live for tenants.

    Today’s judgements reflect the range of grades we are seeing across the spectrum in the early days of our new consumer remit. We are working intensively with each of the landlords where there are failings, as they put things right for their tenants.

    Even when a landlord has been awarded a C1 grading, there is always room for improvement.

    Our governance and financial viability standards remain as important as ever. Landlords need to keep a tight grip on identifying and mitigating risks to avoid problems now and later down the line.

    The other five judgements were part of RSH’s planned inspections of all large social landlords (those with over 1,000 homes) over a four-year cycle. 

    Provider Reason for publication Grades
    Broadacres Housing Association Limited Inspection C2 G2 V2
    Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust Inspection C2 G1 V2 – Issues relating to rent setting have not yet been addressed
    Lincolnshire Housing Partnership Limited Inspection C2 G1 V2
    Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Responsive engagement C3
    The Industrial Dwellings Society (1885) Limited Inspection C2 G2 V2
    Willow Tree Housing Partnership Limited Inspection and responsive engagement C3 G2 V2
    Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Inspection C1

    Notes to editors

    1. On 1 April 2024 RSH introduced new consumer standards for social housing landlords, designed to drive long-term improvements in the sector. It also began a programme of landlord inspections. The changes are a result of the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and include stronger powers to hold landlords to account. More information about RSH’s approach is available in its document Reshaping Consumer Regulation.
    2. More information about RSH’s responsive engagement, programmed inspections and consumer gradings is also available on its website.
    3. RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.

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    Updates to this page

    Published 30 October 2024

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: About two thousand engineering structures were washed in Moscow ahead of winter

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    In anticipation of winter, specialists from the city services complex washed the engineering structures. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

    “Before the onset of stable negative air temperatures, large-scale work was carried out to flush engineering structures. In total, about two thousand objects were put in order – bridges, tunnels, underground and overground pedestrian crossings, embankments, piers, fountains and monuments,” said Pyotr Biryukov.

    The work included cleaning and washing of structural elements, concrete, metal and glass surfaces, railings and stairways.

    Each structure is washed using a special technology with neutral solutions that do not damage the surface. Special attention is paid to small parts of monuments and fountains, which are cleaned manually. Alkaline solutions are chosen for washing tunnels and bridges.

    About two thousand workers and over 250 units of equipment, including aerial platforms, watering machines and tunnel washing machines, were involved in washing the engineering structures.

    The city’s outdoor lighting system has been switched to winter modeHeating systems in Moscow have been switched to winter mode

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145959073/

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ13: Promoting students’ physical and mental health

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    LCQ13: Promoting students’ physical and mental health
    LCQ13: Promoting students’ physical and mental health
    *****************************************************

         Following is a question by Dr the Hon Hoey Simon Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (October 30): Question:      Last year, the Ministry of Education issued the Special Action Plan for Comprehensively Strengthening and Improving the Mental Health Education for Students in the New Era (2023-2025), pointing out that promoting the physical and mental health and all-round development of students is an important issue. However, there are views pointing out that a number of student suicide cases were reported in Hong Kong at the beginning of the school year in September this year, highlighting the critical situation of students’ mental health and the need for the Government to strengthen the co-operation among schools, families and the community in order to establish a more comprehensive support system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) whether it will review afresh the Three-Tier School-based Emergency Mechanism implemented in December last year in order to strengthen the assistance to schools in early identifying students with higher suicidal risk and providing them with appropriate support expeditiously; (2) whether it will formulate quantifiable guidelines (e.g. setting maximum daily homework load) based on the four elements (i.e. Rest, Relaxation, Relationship and Resilience) and the objectives for promoting mental health covered in the Education Bureau’s 4Rs Mental Health Charter to enable schools to take practical actions to reduce student stress; (3) whether it will further implement small class teaching and improve the teacher-student ratios so as to increase the level of student participation and the opportunities for teacher-student interaction, so that teachers can better understand the individual needs and challenges of each student, thereby enhancing the care and counselling for individual students; (4) whether it will improve the resources for life-wide learning so that schools can be more flexible in applying them to help students achieve the aims of whole-person development; (5) whether it will strengthen the comprehensive implementation of positive education and the establishment of a caring school culture, so as to enhance the sense of well-being in schools; and (6) as some studies have pointed out that the emotional stress of teachers and parents positively correlates with the depression level of students, whether the authorities will introduce various activities and measures (e.g. streamlining the administrative work of schools) at the level of teachers and parents to relieve their emotional stress, so as to prevent their negative emotions from affecting students? Reply: President,      The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to physical and psychological well-being and whole-person development of students, and has been assisting schools in adopting the Whole School Approach at three levels, namely Universal, Selective and Indicated, to promote students’ mental health.      Our reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Hoey Simon Lee is as follows: (1) The Government has implemented the Three-tier School-based Emergency Mechanism in all secondary schools in Hong Kong since December 2023 through cross-departmental collaboration among the EDB, the Social Welfare Department and the Health Bureau, working with the schools’ multidisciplinary teams, the off-campus support network and medical services for early identification and support of students with high risk. The 2024 Policy Address has announced to extend the Mechanism to the end of 2025 and that enhancement would be made to strengthen collaboration. The Government will continue to review the operation of the Mechanism. (2) The EDB implements the 4Rs Mental Health Charter in 2024 to foster the mental health of students, staff and parents in a more holistic manner. It is pleased to see that over 500 schools have joined the Charter. In the relevant circular memorandum, the EDB has set out the action pledges that participating schools have to achieve in relation to the four elements for promoting mental health (i.e. rest, relaxation, relationship and resilience). Schools are also required to implement various measures and organise activities for the promotion of students’ mental health starting from this school year to help students develop healthy living habits and positive interpersonal relationships, provide them with more opportunities to relax and reduce stress, and enhance their sense of well-being and resilience. In particular, schools should formulate an appropriate school-based assignment policy and co-ordinate the workload across different subjects to strike a balance between the quality and quantity of assignments. (3) It is an established government policy to implement small class teaching (SCT) in public sector primary schools. SCT is a teaching strategy that provides teachers with an environment conducive to greater flexibility in adopting different teaching strategies for diversified educational activities and promoting teacher-student and student-student interactions. Currently, over 90 per cent of public sector primary schools in Hong Kong have implemented SCT, achieving the target set in the 2022 Policy Address one year ahead of schedule. The EDB has also arranged nine schools to start implementing SCT in the 2025/26 school year. By then, the percentage of public sector primary schools implementing SCT will increase to nearly 95 per cent. The EDB will continue to prudently assess the circumstances of individual districts/school nets and maintain communication with schools to pragmatically and flexibly advance SCT in public sector primary schools as soon as possible.      The current standard class size of 25 for primary schools implementing SCT is smaller when compared to the average class size in some advanced places. For secondary schools, the current allocation class size of public sector secondary schools ranges from 31 to 34, while the actual average class size is just 27.1, which is comparable to those in other developed countries. With the implementation of various measures, the overall teacher-to-student ratios in public sector primary and secondary schools have been improving from 1:14.4 and 1:14.5 respectively in the 2012/13 school year to 1:11.9 and 1:11.1 respectively in the 2023/24 school year, which are better than those in most other regions, providing teachers with greater flexibility to nurture students’ whole-person development. (4) The EDB has been proactively encouraging schools to promote students’ life-wide learning in and outside the classroom.  Starting from the 2019/20 school year, the EDB has been providing a recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant (the Grant) to all public sector schools and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme each year, with the aim of supporting schools in organising more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities and procuring the necessary equipment, so as to enrich the learning experiences of students. In view of the latest education development and students’ needs, the EDB issued a circular in September this year to update the ambit and guidelines on the use of the Grant, related examples, etc, which includes encouraging schools to make good use of the Grant to organise activities relating to the promotion of students’ mental health, or procure related services, materials and learning and teaching resources. (5) The EDB has all along been encouraging schools to promote positive education and help students face challenges positively. In terms of curriculum, the EDB strives to nurture students with a positive and optimistic attitude towards life through values education. The Values Education Curriculum Framework (Pilot Version) released in 2021 has included “strengthening life education” as one of its emphases, with continuous support given to schools to foster students’ positivity and a positive and optimistic attitude towards life through learning as well as life-wide learning activities within and beyond the classroom. In addition, diversified student activities have been organised to help create a caring and harmonious campus atmosphere. Examples of such include the launch of the “Active Students, Active People” Campaign” to support schools in promoting physical activities; the organisation of Understanding Adolescent Project in primary schools, the Enhanced Smart Teen Project in secondary schools in collaboration with disciplinary forces and uniform groups, and the Pupil Ambassador Scheme on Positive Living to enhance students’ resilience through adventure-based, team-building and problem-solving training; and the “WE” Positive Dynamic Scheme and the “Gratitude, Forgiveness & Happiness Project” to help students build a positive self-image. Besides, the EDB has been organising the “Caring School Award Scheme” annually to recognise schools that are dedicated to implementing caring school measures, and encourage them to establish a caring school culture.  (6) In parallel, the EDB also concern about the mental health of teachers and parents. In this regard, the EDB has set up the Teachers’ Helpline to provide telephone counselling and follow-up services to help teachers cope with stress at work or emotional problems. There are also courses on stress management and promotion of physical and psychological well-being for teachers organised under the Teachers’ Helpline initiative. Over the past few years, the Quality Education Fund has subsidised various projects relating to teachers’ physical and psychological well-being, such as the Mindshift Educational Networking Programme launched by the University of Hong Kong to help teachers learn how to relieve stress. In the 2023/24 school year, the EDB organised a total of 48 workshops and courses for teachers, covering topics such as mental health, expressive arts, mindfulness and physical health. The EDB will continue to organise such workshops and courses for teachers.       The EDB has implemented various new initiatives in recent years to allocate additional manpower and resources to support teachers’ work continuously. Examples of the related measures include increasing the teacher-to-class ratio for public sector schools by 0.1 across-the-board starting from the 2017/18 school year to enhance their teaching manpower; providing additional regular teaching posts for schools; providing cash grants for schools to hire additional teaching and non-teaching staff; and implementing the “One Executive Officer for Each School” policy starting from the 2019/20 school year so as to reduce the administrative work of teachers, thereby creating more room for them.      For parents, the EDB has been implementing the territory-wide Positive Parent Campaign since 2020 to foster parents’ positive thinking and attitudes. The focus of the Positive Parent Campaign this year is to encourage parents and children to develop a healthy lifestyle together, and help parents take good care of the physical and psychological well-being of themselves and their children. In addition, the EDB has introduced the Curriculum Frameworks on Parent Education for kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools respectively, providing reference for schools and other organisations in designing parent education programmes or activities, and one of the four core strands of the Curriculum Frameworks is “Promotion of Parents’ Physical and Psychological Well-being”. Starting from the 2022/23 school year, the EDB has been organising parent education courses and talks for parents of kindergarten and primary school students based on the Curriculum Frameworks. The themes include how to help children cope with stress, and exercising empathy to help children understand, express and regulate their emotions. Meanwhile, the EDB has all along been making use of the one-stop parent education website “Smart Parent Net” to provide information on positive parenting, emotional management of parents, etc. In the 2024/25 school year, the EDB will organise more thematic parent education programmes, and promote positive parent education and enhance parents’ awareness of children’s mental health through diversified modes such as district-based film gala presentations.

     
    Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2024Issued at HKT 17:35

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: Detectives investigating the deaths of two men in Herne Hill are appealing for witnesses

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    Detectives investigating the deaths of two men in Herne Hill are appealing for witnesses to come forward. 

    Two years ago, on Sunday, 30 October 2022, 23-year-old Guilherme Messias Da Silva and 27-year-old Lemar Urqhart died on Railton Road, Brixton. 

    Detective Chief Inspector Samantha Townsend, who leads the investigation, said: “It has been two years since this shocking incident and our thoughts continue to remain with the family and friends of Guilherme and Lemar.

    “My team is working tirelessly to identify those responsible for their deaths and to get justice for the families. I am extremely grateful to those individuals who have already come forward to share information, but would urge anyone else who has information and has not yet spoken to us to come forward. No piece of information is too small.”

    Police were called at about 19:50hrs on Sunday, 30 October 2022 to reports of gunshots heard in the Railton Road area. 

    Officers, including firearms officers, immediately attended the scene along London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance. 

    Despite the efforts of emergency services, both Guilherme and Lemar were found injured at the location and pronounced dead at the scene. 

    Detectives believe two cars were driving in the Railton Road area when one of the cars was in collision with Guilherme’s moped before further colliding with parked vehicles. 

    Lemar then got out of one of the cars involved in the collision and was pursued by a man, armed with a firearm. The man shot Lemar and returned to his car before leaving the scene. 

    Lemar Urqhart’s family statement said: “Two years since our son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin and friend was tragically taken from us. Whoever said time is a healer, lied. The pain is unbearable & life will never be the same. Lemar was an integral part of the family and his death has rocked our family to the core. Every day we hope that new information is given to aid the arrest of the person/s who did this. We plead with anyone who has information to please come forward. Any information could be vital. Our family would be forever grateful to anyone who could help.”

    Any witnesses or anyone with information should call police via 101 quoting CAD 6166/30Oct. Alternatively, speak to independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org. They will not trace your call or your IP address. 

    Information can also be submitted via the Public Portal.

    MIL Security OSI –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia selected to lead European lighthouse project on 6G sustainability

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press Release

    Nokia selected to lead European lighthouse project on 6G sustainability

    • SUSTAIN-6G will evaluate and explore sustainable 6G technologies, methods and use cases touching on environmental, economic and societal needs
    • The consortium will work out solutions for three specific areas of sustainable development: energy smart grids, e-health and telemedicine, and agriculture

    30 October 2024
    Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that the Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU) has selected Nokia to be the coordinator of the SUSTAIN-6G lighthouse project. The SNS-JU is a public-private partnership funded by the European Commission. Nokia will lead a consortium of innovators that will identify how 6G can play a key role in building a sustainable future, addressing not only environmentally sustainable, but also economically and societally sustainable technologies.

    One of the main goals of SUSTAIN-6G is to develop new solutions for meeting sustainability challenges using the toolkit that 6G will offer. The consortium will devote considerable time to working out use cases for three targeted areas, drawn from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:

    • Energy smart grid: The consortium will explore how 6G could be used to create microgrids that manage electricity demand. SUSTAIN-6G will also investigate the use of AI technologies for real-time control of distribution networks. This could lead to more efficient and resilient grids that minimize disruptions while providing the flexibility to draw energy from diverse sources as the world transitions to renewables like solar and wind.
    • E-Health and telemedicine: The consortium will generate new ideas on how 6G can make digital health more inclusive. 6G infrastructure could not only provide a far-reaching infrastructure for securely transmitting and analyzing medical data, but it also could be the foundation for new home-based online assessment services. These networks could improve the diagnosis and treatment process in underserved communities. Meanwhile AI could help detect disease outbreaks at early stages.
    • Agriculture: The consortium will investigate how 6G connectivity could be allocated on a temporary basis to enable smart agricultural applications that require high bandwidth, sensing, telemetry, data analytics and automation. For instance, 6G’s edge cloud capabilities could be harnessed to handle high-priority farming-equipment automation tasks during harvests or provide advanced processing capabilities that integrate data from field sensors, climate stations, soil analysis and satellite imagery to provide contextualized information during the growing season.

    As a lighthouse project, SUSTAIN-6G will be one of the SNS JU’s most highly visible initiatives, and it is the third major European 6G research consortium that Nokia has been selected to lead. The others are Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II, which laid the groundwork for 6G pre-standardization and use cases respectively.

    SUSTAIN-6G has broad representation from industry and academia. The consortium includes network equipment and services vendors, communications services providers, industrial equipment manufacturers, European research institutions and universities, and many small-and medium-sized enterprises. SUSTAIN-6G will kick off in January of 2025 and is scheduled to complete its work in 2027.

    Peter Merz, Vice President of Nokia Standards, said: “The UN Paris Agreement committed the world to combatting climate change. Every industry must do its part. SUSTAIN-6G will show how the communications industry will apply the next generation of networking to creating that sustainable future, overcoming not just environmental challenges but societal and economic challenges as well.”

    Resources and additional information
    Webpage: Nokia Sustainability
    Webpage: What is 6G?

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    Media inquiries
    Nokia Press Office
    Email: Press.Services@nokia.com

    Follow us on social media
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    The MIL Network –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Global: Five reasons weight-loss jabs alone won’t help get people back to work

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lucie Nield, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Sheffield

    Weight-loss injectables don’t address the many core reasons for why weight gain and unemployment occur in the first place. oleschwander/ Shutterstock

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer and health secretary Wes Streeting have recently discussed plans to trial weight-loss injections for around 250,000 people with obesity who are unemployed in a bid to get them back into work, ease pressure on the NHS and boost the economy.

    Obesity is estimated to cost UK society around £35 billion annually. This is due to lower productivity and higher NHS treatment costs.

    Around 26% of the English adult population (approximately 15 million) are considered obese. However, it’s not known what proportion of unemployed people are obese.

    While weight-loss injections have proven to be very effective in helping people who are obese to lose weight and lower their risk of certain chronic diseases, there are many reasons why these drugs alone won’t help tackle obesity and unemployment rates in the UK.

    1. Lack of capacity

    The majority of UK people who are obese are likely to meet the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s eligibility criteria for weight-loss injections.

    But prescribing these drugs is just one part of the equation. Eligible patients will require support from specialist services who provide guidance in making the appropriate lifestyle changes (such as to their diet) to successfully lose weight while on these drugs. This is crucial, as all of the weight-loss injection trials to date have involved a behaviour change component. This may potentially be key to the successful weight losses observed in these studies.

    However, current demand for weight-loss services is already outstripping capacity. Nearly half of eligible patients in England are unable to get an appointment with a specialist team. Weight-loss injections can only be prescribed through such services currently. If the government is to roll out the proposed programme, they will need to rethink the way weight-loss services are delivered so all eligible patients can access support.

    2. Won’t work for everyone

    Weight-loss jabs don’t necessarily work for everyone. One study found that 9-15% of participants who took the drug tirzepatide (Mounjaro) did not lose clinically significant amounts of weight.

    Weight-loss jabs may also cause intolerable side-effects for some. Trials have shown between 4-8% of participants couldn’t tolerate the side-effects, causing them to drop out of the study. Constipation, diarrhoea and nausea are some of the most commonly reported.

    People with certain health conditions may be unable to use weight-loss injections – such as those with inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis. In such cases, weight-loss jabs may worsen symptoms or interact with the prescription drugs used to manage these conditions, increasing risk of harm.

    There are many reasons why weight loss jabs may not work for a person.
    Mohammed_Al_Ali/ Shutterstock

    Additionally, some people may not want to take an injection – whether that’s simply due to personal preference or even fear of needles.

    3. Obesity is a complex issue

    There are many complex factors that contribute to weight gain – such as opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy foods and levels of deprivation in a community. Prescribing weight-loss jabs to help people lose weight may not be effective long-term if the rest of these factors are not also addressed.

    A more effective way of seeing significant, sustainable reductions in obesity levels across a population is by using a “whole systems approach”. This would address to the multiple environmental, social and economic factors that contribute to obesity.

    Where whole systems approaches have been embedded in healthcare design and delivery, they have led to improvements in services and patient outcomes – including obesity-related metrics (such as patients making healthier food choices and being more active).

    However, one limitation to whole systems approaches is challenges in measuring impact. This can reduce political will to implement these approaches.

    4. Obesity stigma

    Obesity stigma in the workplace is a huge barrier to satisfactory employment and leads to poor wellbeing and burnout.

    Obesity stigma in the workplace perpetuates harmful weight-based stereotypes that overweight and obese people are lazy, unsuccessful, unintelligent and lack willpower. As a result, people with obesity are more likely to be in insecure and lower-paid jobs than those who may be considered of a healthy weight.

    It’s also well-evidenced that regular exposure to stigmatising, isolating and degrading prejudices has long-term consequences on physical and mental health – and may lead to problems such as binge eating and depression.This can lead to a loss of productivity, absenteeism and loneliness.

    Prescribing weight-loss jabs to help a person lose weight doesn’t address the core reasons for why they may have been absent from work or unemployed in the first place. Nor does it help to address the mental health struggles they may still harbour as a result of discrimination they might have experienced.

    5. Barriers to employment

    Weight loss alone does not begin to address the complex physical and mental health reasons for why a person might be unemployed. A person may also be unemployed due to factors such as caring responsibilities or disability.

    Current prescribing restrictions also limit some injections to a maximum of 24 months (although further trials are ongoing). This means that even if a person has successfully lost weight, they may regain that weight again when they stop using the drug. This could mean any health problems they experienced prior to losing weight (and which may have prevented them from being in employment) could reemerge.

    There are better ways of getting people back into work than prescribing weight-loss jabs. Flexible working approaches, for instance, may make it easier for someone who is unemployed due to caring responsibilities or health problems to transition back into employment. Supportive policies and workplace wellbeing programmes may be a more cost-effective way of helping people to overcome barriers, improve their health and transition back into work.

    Lucie Nield has received funding from The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for evaluation of children’s weight management services.

    Lucie Nield sits on the Board of Trustees for Darnall Wellbeing (a local community service organisation).

    – ref. Five reasons weight-loss jabs alone won’t help get people back to work – https://theconversation.com/five-reasons-weight-loss-jabs-alone-wont-help-get-people-back-to-work-241835

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI China: Foreign exhibitors eye greater opportunities at agricultural fair in NW China

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

    Foreign exhibitors eye greater opportunities at agricultural fair in NW China

    Updated: October 30, 2024 17:08 Xinhua

    Foreign exhibitors attending the 31st China Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Fair are looking to further expand their businesses in the Chinese market.

    MIL OSI China News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023

    Source: Scottish Government

    An Official Statistics Publication for Scotland

    The Scottish Government today published the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023. The publication details statistics on the employment and production from Scottish fish farms. It is structured to follow industry trends within the farmed Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout and other species sectors.

    Some key figures from this publication are:

    • In 2023, production of Atlantic salmon decreased by 18,245 tonnes (11%) to 150,949 tonnes.
    • The total number of smolts produced in 2023 decreased by 3.6 million (7%) to 51.5 million.
    • Production tonnage of rainbow trout increased by 6% in 2023 to 9,258 tonnes. This is the highest level of rainbow trout production recorded in Scotland.
    • Brown and sea trout production decreased to 16 tonnes in 2023.
    • In 2023, the total number of staff directly employed in salmon production was 1,480 staff, a decrease of 28 staff compared with 2022. The staffing figures refer to production of Atlantic salmon in seawater and do not include staff involved with processing or marketing activities.

    Background

    Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2023 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

    1. The survey is compiled from data collected directly from authorised fish farming businesses.
    1. Official statistics are produced by professionally independent staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: Producing Official Statistics – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Monthly GDP Estimates for August

    Source: Scottish Government

    An Official Statistics in Development publication for Scotland.

     

    Scotland’s onshore GDP contracted by 0.3% in August 2024, according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. This follows revised growth of 0.5% in July 2024.

    In the three months to August, GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.1% compared to the previous three month period. This indicates an decrease in growth relative to the growth of 0.4%  (revised from 0.6%) in 2024 Quarter 2 (April to June).

    In August, the largest contribution to headline GDP was made by the Information & Communications sector which contracted by 3.2%, contributing -0.2 percentage points to the overall contraction. The largest positive contribution was made by the Education sector which grew by 1.4%, contributing 0.1 percentage points towards GDP.

    Background

    The quarterly statistical publication and data and the monthly statistical publication and data are available online.

    All results are seasonally adjusted and presented in real terms (adjusted to remove inflation). GDP growth relates to Scotland’s onshore economy, which means it does not include the output of offshore oil and gas extraction.

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the output of the economy in Scotland and are designated as official statistics in development. This means that they are still in development but have been released to enable their use at an early stage. All results are provisional and subject to relatively high levels of uncertainty.

    Further information on GDP statistics is available online. 

    These estimates are compiled in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Species Survival Fund: New four-legged friends arrive at Shire Brook Valley Rainbow Meadow in Shire Brook Valley is now home to a host of new four-legged friends as we see the arrival of Highland cows and Dexter cows. The introduction of the cows forms part of Sheffield City Council’s Species Survival Fund which aims to protect, enhance and widen areas of heathland, and it will help to manage and create areas of meadow. 30 October 2024

    Source: City of Sheffield

    Rainbow Meadow in Shire Brook Valley is now home to a host of new four-legged friends as we see the arrival of Highland cows and Dexter cows.

    The cows have been brought to the meadow to graze which will help manage the field naturally , creating open spaces for wildflowers to grow and preventing brambles from taking over the meadow.

    As well as grazing, through moving and walking around the field this will create and maintain the open spaces.  Sheffield City Council has welcomed the cows to maintain the land in a great condition, in between woodland and open grassland. 

    Locals are welcome and encouraged to come down and view the cows from the gate but should not climb the gate as there is a risk of injury from livestock. Dogs are not permitted to be in the field.

    The introduction of the cows forms part of Sheffield City Council’s Species Survival Fund which aims to protect, enhance and widen areas of heathland, and it will help to manage and create areas of meadow, benefitting species of flora such as orchids and invertebrates such as dragonflies.

    The Council’s Species Survival Fund was awarded more than £1million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as being supported by funding from partners and other organisations, totalling almost £400,000.

    These include National Grid, The Environment Agency, South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Yorkshire Water, Friends of Richmond Park and the South Yorkshire Badger Group.

    The mix of habitats are particularly important conserve in the area for invertebrate, fungi,  birds and wildflowers – the diversity of which will fall if the site is allowed to become dominated by trees.

    Areas the project will cover:

    • Shire Brook Valley Nature Reserve
    • Beighton Marsh
    • Woodhouse Washlands
    • Wickfield Heath & Plantation
    • Richmond Park
    • Silkstone Ravine (part of Birley Spa)

    The project will improve sites covering a total area of 449.5 acres. The project will involve conservation management, woodland works to open sightlines, creation of leaky dams and new areas of wet woodland, removing 1/3 of the silt and Typha from a former mill pond, creating ditches and hedgerows, and removal of invasive species.

    Species the fund will support include mice, bats, reptiles, amphibians (including toads and newts), birds such as swifts, house martins, skylarks, barn owls and kingfishers. 

    Patrick Gray, Grazing Co-ordinator at Wild Sheffield, said:

    “We now have 18 cows on Rainbow Meadow including 17 Dexter Cows and one Highland Cow.

    “The lack of grazing over the past few years has led to the meadow being overrun with brambles and scrub. The objective of the grazing is to maintain the site as a woodland pasture, which consists of a mix of veteran trees, young trees, and open grassland.

    “This is a pilot scheme, and in the future plan to have grazing at Sally Clark Meadow across the lane, and at Linley Bank.”

    The current plan of winter grazing is to remove the build-up of vegetation on the pasture so that ideal conditions are created for spring when all the interesting and colourful wildflowers begin to germinate.

    Wild Sheffield, in partnership with Sheffield City Council, would like to set up a volunteer scheme for members of the public to assist in keeping an eye on the cows, reporting any sick or injured or escaped animals.

    If you want to find out more about how you can get involved, please email Patrick Gray from Wild Sheffield for more details p.gray@wildsheffield.com.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: BLOG: Sound Connections – How Liverpool and New York are Striking the Right Chord for Music Tourism

    Source: City of Liverpool

    Following a trade and investment mission to the United States, Liverpool’s Head of UNESCO City of Music, Kevin McManus spent some time in New York looking at ways in which to boost music tourism to Liverpool. He writes about how the trip explored how more meaningful links can be developed between the two great music cities.

    You can make a good argument that the two greatest music cities in the world are Liverpool and New York.  ( Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans may try and force themselves into the reckoning as well but let’s ignore them for now…!)

    I was fortunate enough to recently spend a couple of days in New York as part of a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority mission to the US and was keen to look at what opportunities there are to link the two cities’ music sectors to our mutual advantage.

    There are no two ways about it, New York is an amazing city with an incredible music heritage which is why almost every musician wants to play there. New York is still a hugely important centre for the music industry and I was there to see what meaningful links we could begin to develop between the two cities. Historically of course The Beatles led the British music invasion of the US in the ‘60s and the Strawberry Fields corner of Central Park is a memorial to the life of John Lennon.

    There are more recent success stories such as that of Sentric Music, the Liverpool founded music publisher which still has its HQ in our city, but has its North American base in New York. I caught up with the Sentric team who are steadily building the company’s US profile which is great advertisement for the fact that you can grow a global music business from Liverpool.

    We had a really useful, practical session with Visit Britain and we were able to talk to them about the strength of the Liverpool music brand and how we could work together to grow music tourism to the city.

    We tried to make the most of our visit by meeting with key people from the sector and a big thanks to a former colleague Vanessa Reed, now President of New Music USA, for introducing me to Shira Gans (from the New York Mayor’s Office) and Erika Elliott from Summer Stage.  

    It was a joy to meet Shira and Erika as well as catching up with Vanessa and they gave us so much food for thought as well as being receptive to developing a meaningful relationship with us. Hopefully these links will lead to opportunities for our artists and music businesses in the US.

    Of course it wasn’t all one way.

    We wanted to find out more about what was happening in New York, but at the same time we wanted the chance to share our exciting plans. We have an awful lot to be proud of at the moment in terms of our music sector and the ambition we are demonstrating through initiatives such as Accelerator City and our plans for a Music Hub and an immersive music attraction.
    Supported by the City Region Music Board Liverpool, music is going places and part of the mission is to say to music businesses in the US that if they are looking for a UK or a European base then they should look to Liverpool first.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Alert issued on fraudulent website

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Housing Department today alerted the public to a fraudulent website purporting to be the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme’s website and that seeks to obtain people’s personal and credit card information.

    The fraudulent website is “https://cashalwaysget_hk2024.site”.

    The department made it clear that the fraudulent website has no connection with the scheme and the case has been referred to Police for follow-up.

    Anyone who has provided personal information to the website should contact Police. Call 3105 3333 for enquiries.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CS to visit Guangzhou

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    CS to visit Guangzhou
    CS to visit Guangzhou
    *********************

         The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will depart for Guangzhou tomorrow evening (October 31) to attend the flag presentation and farewell ceremony of China’s 41st Antarctic expedition team, to be held the next day.     Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong on November 1. 

     
    Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2024Issued at HKT 18:00

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: The Director General of NATO IMS visits Pakistan for Staff-To-Staff Talks

    Source: NATO

    From 27 to 29 October 2024, the delegation of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS) visited Pakistan for the 11th iteration of NATO-Pakistan Military Staff Talks. During the visit Director General of IMS (DGIMS), Lieutenant General Janusz Adamczak also met with the senior military leaders of this NATO partner country.

    The NATO delegation was hosted by the Director General of the Joint Staff Lieutenant General Ahsan Gulrez. “NATO values its relationship with Pakistan and sees potential for further and deeper engagement. We have established solid military-to-military dialogue and laid foundations for practical cooperation” – underscored LTG Adamczak in his opening remarks. Both directors stressed the need for deeper discussion on capacity building and interoperability.

    Military staff talks focused on areas of shared interest, including individual and collective training opportunities, participation in exercises and courses as well as exchange of knowledge in countering terrorism. Both sides agreed on the necessity of the continuous dialogue and increased cooperative security measures. At the conclusion of the staff talks LTG Adamczak and LTG Gulrez agreed on a military-to-military cooperation workplan for the coming year.

    In the lead up to the staff talks DGIMS also met with Lieutenant General Avais Dastgir, Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Vice Admiral Ovais Ahmed Bilgrami the Vice Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Aurangzeb the Director General of Warfare and Strategy of Air Staff. They discussed possible avenues for further military cooperation in the land, maritime and air domain.

    While in Islamabad NATO delegation also visited the National Aerospace Science & Technology Park (NASTP), a centre for research, development and innovation in the aviation, space, IT, and cyber domains.

    MIL Security OSI –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Solidion Develops a Lithium Battery that can be Charged in 5 minutes With Key Newly Granted US Patent

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DAYTON, Ohio, Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Solidion Technology, Inc. (ticker “STI”), an advanced battery technology solutions provider, today announced that its battery scientists have successfully developed a cost-effective strategy for enabling completion of charging in 5 minutes for a wide range of lithium batteries.

    Range anxiety, the fear that an electric vehicle (EV) may run out of battery power during a trip, has long been regarded as a key reason for consumers’ reluctance to adopt EVs. This issue is exacerbated by the notion that recharging batteries usually takes much longer time than refueling internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs).

    To be competitive with ICEVs, fast charging of EVs should be weather-independent and comparable in time as refueling a gasoline car. Variations in temperatures in different geographic regions and seasons poses a challenge in fast charging EV batteries, since batteries can behave very differently. In winter, half of the United States and most of Northern Europe has an average temperature below 0°C. None of today’s EV batteries allow for fast charging at low temperatures.

    Responsive to EV market’s urgent need for a battery that can be fast charged at all climate conditions, Solidion’s technical team has developed and patented an effective method and system for fast charging a battery cell or pack without negatively impacting the battery. The strategy also allows a battery system to operate in a safe mode and avoid a thermal runaway problem.

    The technology uses a graphene-based heat spreader to quickly move heat from a battery to warm it up before or during fast charging. It also has a cooling system that kicks in when the battery is in use, like when powering a device or electric vehicle. The heat spreader moves the heat to the cooling system for efficient cooling. The system switches between heating when charging and cooling when discharging. Graphene, with its super high thermal conductivity (5,300 W/m-K), is much more effective than copper, which has a lower conductivity (410 W/m-K) and is four times heavier.

    Solidion is aimed at fully commercializing this technology in 2-3 years.

    About Solidion Technology, Inc.

    Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with production facilities in Dayton, Ohio, Solidion’s core business includes manufacturing of battery materials and components, as well as development and production of next-generation batteries for energy storage systems and electric vehicles for ground, air, and sea transportation. Recognized as a global IP leader in both the high-capacity anode, utilizing a non-silane based solution, and the high-energy solid-state battery. Solidion is uniquely positioned to offer two lines of battery products: (i) advanced anode materials (ready for production expansion); and (ii) three classes of solid-state batteries, including Silicon-rich all-solid-state lithium-ion cells (Gen 1), anodeless lithium metal cells (Gen 2), and lithium-sulfur cells (Gen 3), all featuring an advanced polymer- or polymer/inorganic composite-based solid electrolyte that is process-friendly. Solidion’s solid-state batteries can be manufactured at scale using current lithium-ion cell production facilities; this feature enables fastest time-to-market of safe solid-state batteries. Solidion batteries are designed to deliver significantly extended EV range, improved battery safety, lower cost per KWh, fastest time-to-market, and next-gen cathodes (potential to replace expensive nickel and cobalt with sulfur (S) and other more abundant elements).

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Solidion Technology Inc., (Nasdaq: STI) (the “Company,” “Solidion,” “we,” “our” or “us”) desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “forecasts” “believe,” “may,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “should,” “plan,” “could,” “target,” “potential,” “is likely,” “expect” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs.

    Contacts

    For Investors: ir@solidiontech.com

    For Media: press@solidiontech.com

    The MIL Network –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: Jitterbit Expands Global Availability of 24-7 Customer Support with Live Agents, Professional Services

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ALAMEDA, Calif., Oct. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Jitterbit, a global leader in accelerating business transformation for enterprise systems, today announced the global expansion of its Premier Support program to provide businesses with enhanced “follow-the-sun” service and expert issue resolution.

    Jitterbit’s Premier Support program offers flexible, tiered options that provide 24-7 access to experts for troubleshooting mission-critical operations, reducing downtime and ensuring business continuity.

    “Immediate access to expert support is crucial for seamless business operations,” said Keith Trottier, SVP of Global Customer Support and Professional Services at Jitterbit. “Our Premier Support program delivers tailored, high-quality service — when it’s needed most — to quickly resolve issues and minimize disruption.”

    First announced in May 2024, Premier Support is available via three tiers, which now support all time zones globally to meet the diverse needs of organizations. Customers can choose from:

    • Premier: foundational tier that offers reliable support with new phone access to Jitterbit experts, ensuring timely assistance for core operational issues.
    • Premier Plus: enhanced tier that includes all the benefits of Premier, with added 24-7 live agent support for faster response times.
    • Premier Enterprise: top-tier service designed for enterprise-level customers, providing live support for all severity levels, with phone access to expert agents 24-7.

    For more information about Jitterbit Premier Support, visit jitterbit.com/premier-support.

    Industry Recognition for Outstanding Customer Support

    Jitterbit has consistently earned accolades for its exceptional customer service, underscoring the company’s dedication to delivering top-tier support. In 2024, Jitterbit received ‘Best Customer Support’ honors from Gartner Digital Markets for its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solution.

    The company was also recognized with G2 Fall 2024 badges for ‘Easiest to Do Business With’ and ‘Best Support’ for Workplace Innovation Platforms for App Builder. Additionally, Jitterbit won a Silver Stevie Award in 2023 for ‘Customer Service Department of the Year.’

    Enhanced Services Expands to Full Harmony Platform

    In addition to the Premier Support follow-the-sun offering, Jitterbit is announcing that its Enhanced Services — previously only for iPaaS — is now available across the entire unified, AI-infused low-code Harmony platform.

    Jitterbit Enhanced Services provides experts to help lighten the load on IT departments by providing tailored service and guidance to ensure that Harmony runs smoothly and efficiently. This service bridges skills gaps, controls costs, and offers immediate expertise. Jitterbit Enhanced Services include:

    • Direct access to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
    • Recommendations to optimize platform performance, scalability, and uptime
    • Health checks to assess critical business functions and streamline workflows
    • Architecture consulting and private agent software installation and upgrades

    To learn more about Enhanced Services, visit jitterbit.com/service/enhanced-services/.

    About Jitterbit Inc.
    For organizations ready to modernize and innovate, Jitterbit provides a unified AI-infused low-code platform for integration, orchestration, automation, and app development that accelerates business transformation, boosts productivity, and unlocks value. The Jitterbit Harmony platform, including iPaaS, API Manager, App Builder and EDI, future-proofs operations, simplifies complexity and drives innovation for organizations globally. Learn more at www.jitterbit.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

    Media Contact:
    Laura Hunter
    Head of Communications
    Jitterbit
    310-344-6426
    laura.hunter@jitterbit.com

    The MIL Network –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of the Kingdom of Cambodia

    Source: ASEAN

    Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this afternoon met with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of Cambodia, H.E. Heng Sour, on the sidelines of the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (ALMM), on 30 October 2024, in Singapore. They exchanged views on the follow-up actions to the ASEAN Guidelines on Portability of Social Security Benefits for Migrant Workers in ASEAN, which was championed by Cambodia and adopted by the ALMM this year. Dr. Kao expressed the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to fully support Cambodia-led regional initiatives as well as that of other ASEAN Member States in order to advance social protection for all workers and to strengthen resilience and competencies of workforce in the region.

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of the Kingdom of Cambodia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of the Kingdom of Cambodia

    Source: ASEAN

    Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, this afternoon met with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of Cambodia, H.E. Heng Sour, on the sidelines of the 28th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (ALMM), on 30 October 2024, in Singapore. They exchanged views on the follow-up actions to the ASEAN Guidelines on Portability of Social Security Benefits for Migrant Workers in ASEAN, which was championed by Cambodia and adopted by the ALMM this year. Dr. Kao expressed the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to fully support Cambodia-led regional initiatives as well as that of other ASEAN Member States in order to advance social protection for all workers and to strengthen resilience and competencies of workforce in the region.

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Minister of Labour and Vocational Training of the Kingdom of Cambodia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Future of IVD hinges on three big industry themes, says GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    Future of IVD hinges on three big industry themes, says GlobalData

    Posted in Medical Devices

    In vitro diagnostics (IVD) is driving a new age shift in healthcare, fueled by advances in medical technology (medtech). These innovations are revolutionizing how diseases are detected, monitored, and managed. At the recent AdvaMed’s MedTech Conference in Toronto, digital and artificial intelligence (AI) integration, point-of-care (POC) testing, and novel biomarkers were emphasized as important tools in improving the precision and accessibility of medical care. The focus on these innovations will support disease detection, enable earlier diagnosis, personalized treatments, improve patient outcomes, and expand healthcare access, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    Expert speakers at the conference this year emphasized the need to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare. Manufacturers like Hologic focused on the lack of cytologists, which leads to delays in cervical cancer screening. To address this, they created an AI-led platform that streamlines and identifies abnormal cell samples to save cytologists’ time.

    Other companies like Solventum and GE Healthcare highlighted that AI can be utilized as an administration tool by helping medical professionals with patient notes and documentation, manufacturer inventory management, managing waste in manufacturing factories, and improving customer product delivery. The main factors considered for improving medical care are, how can we serve patients better, maximize healthcare professional (HCP) time and expertise, and doing all this with existing regulations.

    Selena Yu, Senior Medical Analyst, at GlobalData, comments: “Decentralized testing is the key to improving patient access to care, detecting diseases earlier, and monitoring patients. These POC tests include over the counter (OTC) tests, direct-to-consumer (DTC) tests, and tests done at patient side, which are typically performed by non-HCPs. The seminar speakers stressed the ongoing issue of healthcare “deserts” and how expanding alternate care outside of doctor offices is crucial to reach these at-risk populations.”

    The lack of reimbursement for POC tests remains a significant barrier, even though access to care is improved when individuals can buy STI tests at local pharmacies. Without reimbursement, however, this convenience adds another layer of inaccessibility. The overall goal for increased decentralized testing is to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare systems so that more individuals are aware of their health status.

    Moreover, experts in the IVD sector—including manufacturers, laboratories, and investors—highlighted key markets for future growth at AdvaMed’s MedTech Conference. The major focus areas included women’s health, neurology, autoimmunity, minimal residual disease, sepsis, and cancer screening especially liquid biopsy. Both speakers and attendees stressed the importance of clinical utility in developing IVDs, emphasizing the need for test results to be actionable, for appropriate actions to be taken based on those results, and for these actions to ultimately improve patient outcomes.

    Yu concludes: “Innovation in IVD is growing particularity in digital and AI integration into healthcare, POC testing, and novel biomarkers. This will aid in disease detection, monitoring, and management, enabling earlier diagnosis, personalized treatments, improving patient prognosis, and increasing patient access to healthcare.”

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK Cricket Sixes gets ‘M’ Mark status

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The Major Sports Events Committee today announced that it has awarded “M” Mark status to the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2024, which will be held at the Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground from Friday to Sunday.

    Major Sports Events Committee Chairman Wilfred Ng said Hong Kong is hosting this tournament again after seven years, adding that the committee looks forward to bringing in more visitors from abroad, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a centre for major international sports events.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Secretary for Health attends 2024 GBA Medical Products Administration Conference in Zhuhai (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to attend the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Medical Products Administration Conference in Zhuhai today (October 30), and introduced the latest initiatives of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub as put forth in “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address”.
     
         Co-organised by the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration, the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Pharmaceutical Administration Bureau of the Macao SAR Government, the Conference serves as a platform for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to share their work experience in drug regulation, enhance the work mechanism for collaboration on drug and medical device regulation in the GBA, and foster the innovation development of drug and medical device regulation in the region. Deputy Commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration Mr Zhao Junning also attended the Conference.

         During the Conference, representatives from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao exchanged views on the current situation of regulation over drugs and medical devices in the three places, the mechanism for regulatory collaborations on drugs and medical devices in the GBA, the GBA standards for Chinese medicines (CM), as well as the feasibility of streamlining the registration and approval procedures for Hong Kong- and Macao-registered traditional proprietary CM for oral use for sale in the Mainland, and had an in-depth discussion on the way forward.
     
         Professor Lo updated the attendees with the latest developments of Hong Kong’s healthcare policies put forward in “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address”, including complementing technological innovation with institutional innovation through expediting the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, strengthening biomedical technology research and development (R&D) and translation, and promoting the internationalisation of CM. 

         Professor Lo said, “The HKSAR Government is determined to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub and expedite the provision of advanced diagnostic and treatment services to patients by leveraging the advantages of ‘one country, two systems’ and Hong Kong’s healthcare professional system, while actively integrating into the national development by dovetailing with the national initiative of fostering new quality productive forces in biomedical technology as set out in the Resolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization and the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. The HKSAR Government will enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability and facilitate the translation of innovative biomedical research results into clinical applications by rendering firm support to innovation and application of advanced biomedical technology, with a view to attracting the world’s top-notch biomedical enterprises and R&D institutions to set up operations in Hong Kong.”

         Members of the Hong Kong delegation include the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; Principal Assistant Secretary for Health Mr Gordon Chong; the Assistant Director of Health (Health Sciences and Technology), Dr Liza To; the Assistant Director of Health (Drug), Mr Frank Chan; and the Acting Assistant Director of Health (Chinese Medicine), Mr Robert Law. The delegation will return to Hong Kong this evening.         

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

    January 25, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Security: NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General to visit Croatia

    Source: NATO

    On Wednesday, 30 October 2024, the NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Boris Ruge, will travel to Zagreb, Croatia.

    Ambassador Ruge will meet with the Prime Minister, Mr Andrej Plenković, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Mr Ivan Anušić.

    He will also attend a joint session of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Delegation of the Croatian Parliament to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA), at the Croatian Parliament.

    The event will be streamed live on the Croatian Parliament’s YouTube channel.

    For more information:

    For general queries: contact the NATO Press Office
    Follow us on X: @NATO, @RugeBoris and @NATOPress

    MIL Security OSI –

    January 25, 2025
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