Category: Machine Learning

MIL-OSI Banking: Joachim Nagel: Why do we need Europe?

Source: Bank for International Settlements

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1 Global challenges need global answers

We are living in a period of significant change. Many distinct forces are contributing to this change. Examples here include global warming and the switch towards carbon-free energy, progress in digitalisation and AI, as well as geo-economic factors and demographic developments.

What do all the changes I’ve mentioned have in common? They affect humanity at the global level. It therefore does not seem useful to limit one’s attention to national solutions. That said, the European elections have shown us that many voters backed parties calling for greater national sovereignty or even nationalism – as well as less Europe. The Brexit referendum, eight years ago, can be seen as an example of this trend. As, too, can the recent German regional elections.

Why is this? Global changes often lead to global challenges, and sometimes to global crises. This means a lot of complexity. Those who are in charge are responsible for properly explaining this complexity. If we don’t assume this responsibility, simple political messages may trump complex ones. And there is no doubt that politics at the European level are complex. Just think of the legislative process behind the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – a directive that sets rules for firms to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment. Or the slow progress that has been made regarding the capital markets union – a topic I will return to later.

However, as the current major challenges are global in nature, national responses alone will not resolve them. Action is needed on a global scale. Take the pandemic, for example. Overcoming this required unprecedented vaccine research, large-scale production and global distribution. Or consider the climate crisis. While Germany can lead by example in terms of decarbonising its economy, it cannot solve the climate crisis alone. As for European countries, this means that we have to work on European responses to the current challenges. This holds true for Germany, too – despite it being one of the largest economies in the world. Germany should see itself as part of a wider European team – a team that can provide greater stability given the current geopolitical risks. Take the increasing global trade restrictions, for example. Between the two main global players, the United States and China, only a unified European approach stands a chance of defending European interests. This view is shared by almost three-quarters of Europeans surveyed at the beginning of this year.¹

2 Europe is not a weak spot – it is a source of strength

It is true that open democratic societies tend to have complex and cumbersome decision-making processes. The more fragmented the political landscape, the more difficult it becomes. This already holds for the national level – as can currently be seen in the case of France and Germany. At the European level, complexity is even greater. There, agreeing on a compromise is like an art in itself. However, democratic decision-making processes have one great benefit. They integrate the diverse interests and preferences of the people.

In fact, a significant majority of EU citizens are satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU.² And the share of people who have a positive image of Europe is nearly twice as big as the share of people who have a negative one.³ This might well reflect an observation made by the Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset at the beginning of the last century. He noted that four-fifths of our intellectual property stem from our common European heritage.⁴ People seem to have a good understanding of what “European” means: the common ground of our liberal, democratic societies and the intellectual achievements we have made.

Once we realise these strengths of Europe, we can use them to move forward, to manage the changes I mentioned at the outset of my speech. Europe does not have an analytical deficit, but a deficit in taking action. For example: A deeper single market could help seize the opportunities of digitalisation more fully. And a unified European approach to decarbonisation could serve as an example and help the formation of larger climate clubs. These clubs derive mutual benefits from sharing the costs of producing less CO2-emissions. The members of such a voluntary club have incentives to adhere to its rules as long as the gains from the club are sufficiently large.⁵

3 What it will take to move forward

And what will it take to move forward? As President of the Bundesbank and as a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, I am doing all I can within my remit. First and foremost, I am striving to restore price stability. This is because price stability is a crucial requirement for economic development and for the welfare of our societies. And I am also supporting measures that help Europe to act. It is in this context that I return to the topic of the capital markets union. The capital markets union can be an important means of providing companies with the necessary funding to manage change. This includes funding for new scientific knowledge and for innovations to help us thrive in our future environment. Europe is relatively good at research.⁶ And research is a crucial basis for innovation. However, a lack of available capital often prevents young innovative companies from growing. A key reason is that capital markets in Europe are still highly fragmented and rather underdeveloped compared to those in the United States, for example. Although market structures are not fully comparable, venture capital investment may serve as an example here. Relative to GDP, its size in European countries is less than one-tenth the size in the US.⁷ A European capital markets union would give firms better access to risk capital in Europe – notably young firms in their start-up and scale-up phase, and it would provide better exit options. By mobilising more private capital, the capital markets union could improve opportunities for economic growth. And it could foster much needed investments in Europe’s digital and sustainability transformation.

It is a real challenge to make progress at the European level and in the 27 Member States on the legal initiatives necessary to realise the capital markets union. But if we agree that the changes we see are global in nature, then we should not try to deal with them at the national level. We should strive for multilateral solutions. Here in Europe, the European Union provides a wonderful opportunity to find common approaches that many around the world can subsequently gather behind.

I am optimistic that the new European Commission will build momentum to move forward – not least with respect to the capital markets union, which was recently given fresh impetus by Member States’ political leaders. We have the potential to rejuvenate the European idea. A thriving research and innovation ecosystem will support that goal – with stable prices, sufficient financing opportunities and steady growth. Let us all do what we can to strengthen Europe at the current juncture.

MIL OSI Global Banks –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Asia Pacific – Governments, tech experts gather to boost regional commitments towards digital inclusion and transformation – ESCAP

Source: ESCAP, United Nations

Policymakers and industry experts today underscored the critical need to bridge the vast digital divide in the region, further calling for breakthrough solutions, more harmonized policy frameworks and increased investments toward scalable innovations with sustainable development impacts.

Organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in partnership with the Government of Kazakhstan, the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation aims to promote more inclusive digital economies and societies in the region, as well as foster digital cooperation to bridge the digital divide, strengthen digital connectivity, ensure robust digital skills training, and enhance digital trust and security.

“Digital by default has become our norm. It is restructuring our economies, bringing new opportunities for value creation, and reweaving the fabric of society to help tackle some of our most persistent sustainable development challenges. At the same time, digital transformation intersects with economic, environmental and social risks of unseen complexity and uncertainty,” said United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana in her opening remarks.

Underscoring the importance of digital transformation, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov shared, “These technologies open new horizons for business, education, and healthcare, ensure economic growth, and expand opportunities for millions of people. We are actively developing these areas. Digital inclusion is also a crucial element, without which it is impossible to achieve the set goals. Only through cooperation, the exchange of knowledge, and best practices can we ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all. We are ready to share our experience and knowledge.”

While 96 per cent of the population live in areas covered by mobile broadband networks, only one-third productively use Internet services. Up to 40 per cent of people lack access to the Internet, most of whom are from vulnerable and marginalized groups. This significant divide also runs along income, age, education, geographic and gender fault lines.

Zhaslan Madiyev, Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan was elected as the Chair of the Conference. “Kazakhstan is firmly committed to advancing a sustainable digital future. Today, digital technologies are key tools for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We have made significant progress: in 2023, we provided 274 million online services, 93 per cent of which are accessible to our citizens directly from their homes. We are also implementing proactive services automatically provided by the government, with 44 such services already available and used more than three million times. Kazakhstan is proud to rank eighth in the UN’s online services index and is ready to continue introducing innovative solutions for the benefit of society.”

On the opening day, ESCAP also launched its Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Report 2024 which considers how digital transformations will structurally and irreversibly affect the trajectory of climate change. It presents 27 illustrative case studies demonstrating the power of digital applications for smarter climate actions – across infrastructure, governance, mobility, industry and trade, disaster risk reduction, agriculture and biodiversity ecosystems.

The report reveals that as the use of more advanced digital technologies is scaled up, there is a turning point beyond which carbon emissions tend to decline. Furthermore, the increased use of AI-driven geospatial data analytics is improving the accuracy and timeliness of early warning systems, so that the right information reaches the right people at the right time, thus contributing towards climate adaptation and mitigation measures in many countries.

Policymakers from over 30 countries as well as representatives from the tech industry, start-ups, academia, international organizations, youth, business and civil society are participating in the two-day Conference and its associated events. The Conference is expected to culminate tomorrow with the adoption of the Astana Ministerial Declaration on Digital Inclusion and Transformation.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the Government of Kazakhstan is also hosting the Kazakhstan Tech Solution Day on 5 September, which will highlight the country’s tech companies, start-ups and digital innovations, such as SmartBridge (service showcase), Smart Data Ukimet (smart data government), and eOtinish.

For further information: https://www.unescap.org/events/2024/asia-pacific-ministerial-conference-digital-inclusion-and-transformation

Read report: http://www.unescap.org/kp/2024/asia-pacific-digital-transformation-report-2024-digital-innovation-smarter-climate-action

Watch the proceedings:

www.youtube.com/unescap

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The Commission promotes cooperation among its 53 member States and 9 associate members in pursuit of solutions to sustainable development challenges. ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Africa – SGI Dubai 2024 Set to Revolutionize Africa’s Printing Industry with Unparalleled Growth Opportunities

SOURCE: International Expo-Consults (IEC)

This year’s show is poised to be a game-changer, offering African businesses a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge innovations, forge strategic partnerships, and unlock unprecedented growth

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, September 3, 2024/

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Business – Blackstone Announces Agreement to Acquire AirTrunk in a A$24B Transaction

Source: Blackstone

SYDNEY – Funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, and Blackstone’s private equity strategy for individual investors, along with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPP Investments”), have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AirTrunk, the leading Asia Pacific data center platform, from Macquarie Asset Management and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, for an implied enterprise value of over A$24 billion1. This represents Blackstone’s largest investment in the Asia Pacific region. The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

AirTrunk is the largest data center platform in the Asia Pacific region, with a sizeable presence in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It has more than 800MW of capacity committed to customers and owns land that can support over 1GW of future growth across the region.

Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, said: “This is Blackstone at its best – leveraging our global platform to capitalize on our highest conviction theme. AirTrunk is another vital step as Blackstone seeks to be the leading digital infrastructure investor in the world across the ecosystem, including data centers, power and related services.”

Sean Klimczak, Global Head of Blackstone Infrastructure and Nadeem Meghji, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, said: “Digital infrastructure is experiencing unprecedented demand driven by the AI revolution as well as the broader digitization of the economy. Prior to AirTrunk, Blackstone’s portfolio consisted of US$55 billion of data centers including facilities under construction, along with over US$70 billion in prospective pipeline development. We look forward to partnering with the outstanding AirTrunk management team to further accelerate its growth.”

Robin Khuda, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AirTrunk, said: “This transaction evidences the strength of the AirTrunk platform in a strong performing sector as we capture the next wave of growth from cloud services and AI and support the energy transition in Asia Pacific. We look forward to working with Blackstone and CPP Investments and benefitting from their scale capital, sector expertise and valuable network across the various local markets, which will help support the continued expansion of AirTrunk.”

It is expected that there will be approximately US$1 trillion of capital expenditures in the United States over the next five years to build and facilitate new data centers, with another US$1 trillion of capital expenditures outside the United States. Blackstone is capitalizing on this movement as a leading investor globally in data centers. Blackstone has invested in both the debt and equity of other data center companies, including as owner of QTS, the fastest growing data center company in the world, Coreweave and Digital Realty. Blackstone is also focused on addressing the sector’s power needs in many differentiated ways, including as an investor in power and utility companies, such as Invenergy, the largest independent renewables developer in the United States.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which we invest. Our more than US$1 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, credit, real assets, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

1 Including capital expenditure for committed projects

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Tech Security – Study: Global online privacy and cybersecurity awareness continues to decline

Source: NordVPN

The most cybersecurity-aware country this year is Singapore.
People ages 30-54 have the best cybersecurity skills.
Only 6% of people globally know what privacy issues to consider when using AI for work.

The world’s online privacy and cybersecurity awareness continues to decline, according to new research by the cybersecurity company NordVPN. Based on 31 analyzed markets with the highest numbers of responses, people globally knew best how to create strong passwords (96%), and they were worst with questions related to privacy issues that go hand in hand with AI usage for work (52%).

The annual National Privacy Test (NPT) is a global survey aimed to evaluate people’s cybersecurity, online privacy awareness, and educate the general public about cyber threats and the importance of data and information security in the digital age. It gathered 25,567 responses from 181 countries this year.

“As the digital threat landscape evolves faster than ever, it is important that internet users understand the significance of safeguarding their personal information. The National Privacy Test takes the responsibility to educate people globally about cyber threats and equip them with essential tips to protect against fraud, data harvesting, surveillance, and other online dangers,” says Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer (CTO) at NordVPN.

These countries rank in the top three for internet privacy and cybersecurity awareness:

Singapore (62/100)
Finland and Lithuania (61/100)
Germany and the United States (60/100)

Compared to 2023, less people understand the security benefits of updating apps

The results of the test showed that people globally are also good at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers (95%), and they know which permissions to grant to different apps (91%).

On the other hand, people globally also did not know what data ISPs collect as part of the metadata (13%), or how to secure their home Wi-Fi network (16%), most likely considering it safe by default.

Among all respondents, 1% are Cyber Wanderers (barely know anything about internet privacy and cybersecurity), while the biggest proportion (66%) scored 50-74 points and were identified as Cyber Adventurers.

Compared to 2023, less people understand the security benefits of updating apps as soon as the update is available. While in 2023, 69% said they update an app as soon as an update is available, this year, it’s 56%.

Steps to increase online security and privacy

Marijus Briedis from NordVPN shares a series of steps people can take to enhance their online privacy and security:

Create unique and strong passwords. Use unique and robust passwords for each of your online accounts.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA). Strengthen your account security by enabling multi-factor authentication.
Keep your software up to date. Regularly update your software, operating systems, and applications.
Use a virtual private network (VPN). Always use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection, safeguarding your personal information from potential eavesdroppers.
Review privacy settings. Regularly review and adjust privacy settings on social media platforms, mobile apps, and other online services.

Methodology can be found here: https://nordvpn.com/blog/national-privacy-test-us-2024/

ABOUT NORDVPN

NordVPN is the world’s most advanced VPN service provider, chosen by millions of internet users worldwide. The service offers features such as dedicated IP, Double VPN, and Onion Over VPN servers, which help to boost your online privacy with zero tracking. One of NordVPN’s key features is Threat Protection Pro, a tool that blocks malicious websites, trackers, and ads and scans downloads for malware. The latest creation of Nord Security, NordVPN’s parent company, is Saily — a global eSIM service. NordVPN is known for being user friendly and can offer some of the best prices on the market. This VPN provider has over 6,400 servers covering 111 countries worldwide. For more information, visit https://nordvpn.com.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: World Health – Parliamentarians call for strengthening health workforce in the Asia Pacific – WHO

Source: World Health Organisation

Port Vila, 6 September 2024: The eighth Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health concluded today, with parliamentarians from 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region emphasizing the need for a strengthened health workforce, which is essential for achieving health for all.

The Forum was held from 4 to 6 September 2024 in Port Vila and hosted by the Parliament of Vanuatu, with support from the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO). The participants were speakers, members of national parliaments and ministers from Cambodia, Cook Islands, Niue, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Viet Nam.

Health workforce for a resilient health system

The theme of the Forum was the health workforce. As the host, Honourable Simeon Davidson Seoule, Speaker of the National Parliament of Vanuatu, emphasized the crucial role of a strong health workforce in building a resilient health system: “A resilient health system depends on a well-functioning workforce that includes nurses, doctors, community health workers and specialists. To effectively support our communities and provide the care they need throughout their lives, we must ensure that our health workers are well-supported and equipped,” he said.

He reminded his fellow leaders that, “As parliamentarians, we have a critical role in shaping health policies and ensuring that our health systems are both well funded and well managed. This includes creating and enacting stronger laws and creating support systems that address the needs of our health workers, enabling them to deliver the best possible care to our communities.”

The meeting presented the latest evidence on health workforce in the region and enabled discussion on strengthening health workforce policy, in line with WHO’s Regional framework to shape a health workforce for the future of the Western Pacific. Participants exchanged country experiences on supporting health workforce policy through various system entry points, shared innovations addressing workforce issues, and forged connections with one another at global, regional, national and local levels.

Common challenges across the region

The parliamentarians also had the opportunity to conduct site visits to local health facilities, where they interacted with health workers and discussed the various challenges of providing care across different settings. These highlight the dedication and commitment of health workers and underscore the urgent need for better support and resources for them, especially for those working in rural and underserved areas – issues shared across the Asia Pacific region. A common challenge across all health systems is the need for a robust workforce, without which there can be no functioning health system.

Addressing the challenges faced by Pacific island countries, Minister of Health of Vanuatu, Honourable John Still Tariqetu, said: “Ensuring that everyone in the Pacific has access to quality health services requires bold, new approaches to building and maintaining a well-trained health workforce. In Vanuatu, we are committed to implementing forward-thinking strategies to ensure we have the skilled workforce we need, so that our communities can receive the care they deserve.”

Highlighting the importance of having a well-supported health workforce, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, reiterated: “The success of our health systems relies on having a workforce that is well prepared and supported. It is vital for parliaments to use their functions to advance health workforce development to ensure that our health systems can meet the needs of all people in the region.”

Notes

The Asia Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health is a platform for parliamentarians to exchange ideas, build political will, strengthen capacity and foster collaboration towards sustainable health action. This was the seventh meeting of the Forum, which was themed “Health Workforce”.

Target 3c of the Sustainable Development Goals urges countries to substantially increase health financing and enhance efforts in recruiting, developing, training and retaining the health workforce, particularly in developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing states. Currently, eight countries from the Western Pacific Region (Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) are listed in the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023. These countries face a low service coverage index (below 55) and have fewer health workforce than the global median of 49 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10 000 people. As such, these countries require prioritized support for health workforce development and health system strengthening, including measures to manage international recruitment effectively.

Parliamentarians participating in the eighth Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health in Vanuatu this week: Hon. Mrs LORK Kheng, Cambodia; H.E. Ms MOM Sandap, Cambodia; Hon. Ms Te-Hani Rose Alexandra BROWN, Cook Islands; Hon. Dr Jiho CHA, Republic of Korea; Hon. Mr Bounelome KEOBOUAHOME, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Hon. Mr Vongphet OUDOMLITH, Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Hon. Mr Suhaizan bin KAIAT, Malaysia; Hon. Mr Logopati SEUMANU, Niue; Hon. Mrs Florence Maureen VILITAMA, Niue; Hon. Mr Ciriaco B. GATO, Jr., the Philippines; Hon. Mr Foisala Lilo Tuu IOANE, Samoa; Hon. Mr Aiono Tile GAFA, Samoa; Hon. Dr Paul Popora BOSAWAI, Solomon Islands; Hon. Mr Morris TOIRAENA, Solomon Islands; Hon. Mr Tosaporn SERERAK, Thailand; Hon. Mr Iakoba Taeia ITALELI, Tuvalu; Hon. Mr Tuafafa LATASI, Tuvalu; Hon. Mr Seoule Davidson SIMEON, Vanuatu; Hon. Mr Alick TERRY, Vanuatu; Hon. Mr Blaise SUMPTOH, Vanuatu; Hon. Ms Julia Gloria KING, Vanuatu; Hon. Mr Marc MWELSUL, Vanuatu; Hon. Mr Silas BULE, Vanuatu; Hon. Mr Ulrich SUMPTOH, Vanuatu; Hon. Ms NGUYEN Thi Thu Dung, Viet Nam; Hon. Mr LE Van Kham, Viet Nam.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities – Charging ahead towards future low-cost polymer zinc-ion batteries – Flinders

Source: Flinders University

With global demand for lithium-ion batteries fast depleting reserves of raw materials, experts are seeking safe, affordable and reliable alternatives for rechargeable batteries.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) could be the answer to producing low-cost alternatives from abundant feedstocks, and Flinders University scientists are paving the way for the production of simple and practical polymer AZIBs using organic cathodes for more sustainable energy storage technology.

“Aqueous zinc-ion batteries could have real-world applications,” says Associate Professor in Chemistry Zhongfan Jia, a nanotech researcher at the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University.

From electric vehicles to portable electronic devices, the demand and consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have led to resource shortages and supply-chain issues of strategic metals including lithium and cobalt.

Meanwhile, millions of spent batteries, most of which are not properly recycled, have caused enormous waste and environmental risks – which future alternatives such as AIZBs promise to reduce.

“Among these alternatives, AZIBs stand out because of the much higher abundance of zinc in the earth’s crust (ten times more than lithium), and their low toxicity and high safety.”

AZIBs usually use zinc metal as an anode and inorganic or organic compounds as a cathode. While substantial work has been devoted to improving the stability of zinc anodes, high-performing cathodes are needed and remain a major challenge.

“Our research is building conductivity using nitroxide radical polymer cathodes made from cheap commercial polymer and optimised the battery performance using low-cost additives,” says Associate Professor Jia, who leads a research group working on Sustainable Polymers for Energy and Environment.

“Our work reevaluated the use of high redox potential nitroxide radical polymers cathodes in AZIBs, and produced the highest mass loading so far,” he says, about a new online journal article in the Journal of Power Resources.

The study, led by Flinders master student Nanduni Gamage and postdoc fellow Dr Yanlin Shi, developed a lab-made pouch battery using scaled-up polymer (at approx. cost $20 / kg), a non-fluoro Zn(ClO4)2 electrolyte, and BP 2000 carbon black ($1 / kg) without binder to provide a capacity of nearly 70 mAh g-1 and a middle discharge voltage of 1.4 V.

With a mass loading of 50 mg cm-2, the pouch battery had a capacity of 60 mAh, which can easily power a small electric fan and a model car (see videos in the article).

Collaborators in the study, including Dr Jesús Santos-Peña, from the Université Paris Est Creteil CNRS in France, and other experts from the Flinders University Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.

The article Converting a low-cost industrial polymer into organic cathodes for high mass-loading aqueous zinc-ion batteries (2024) by Nanduni SW Gamage, Yanlin Shi, Chanaka J Mudugamuwa, Jesús Santos-Peña, David A Lewis, Justin M Chalker and Zhongfan Jia has been published in Energy Storage Materials.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ensm.2024.103731.

In collaboration with Griffith University, the team has also recently developed the organic radical/K dual-ion batteries, a technique that can also relieve dependence on lithium-ion batteries.

This article Morphological engineering of PTAm@CNTs cathode for high-rate potassium dual-ion battery (2024) by Zhenzhen Wu, Yanlin Shi, Chanaka J. Mudugamuwa, Pan Yang, Hao Chen, Yuhui Tian, Milton Kiefel, Shanqing Zhang, Zhongfan Jia has been published in Journal of Power Resources. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.235134.

Acknowledgements: This project is supported by funding from the Australian Research Council (DP230100587, DP230100642, LE230100168) and the French-Australian International Research Network on Conversion and Energy Storage (IRN-FACES). The authors also acknowledge the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) SA node for supporting the electroanalytical and electrochemical synthesis labs at Flinders University.

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Submissions: Business and Tech – 25 Disruptive Technology Startups Join Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab’s 10th Cohort
Source: Morgan Stanley

Tenth Lab cohort includes 25 disruptive technology and technology-enabled startups from the Americas and EMEA

Five-month accelerator program to provide founders with $250,000 (£250,000) investment, as well as mentorship and business-growth resources

117 companies have participated in the Lab to date.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the 2024 global cohort of the Inclusive Ventures Lab, with 25 companies selected from the Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Over the next five months, the companies will participate in an in-house accelerator program designed to further develop and scale technology and technology-enabled startups in the seed to Series A funding round stage.

Chosen from thousands of applications, the 25 startups represent a range of disruptive technologies across industries such as Climate Tech, Retail, Healthcare, FinTech, SaaS, Enterprise Software, Consumer and Travel – with many incorporating AI and sustainability into their products and services. Cohort companies will receive a $250,000 investment (£250,000 in EMEA) from Morgan Stanley, as well as a variety of mentorship opportunities, a tailored entrepreneurship curriculum and business-growth resources from the firm’s ecosystem of internal and external partners.

“In today’s challenging venture capital environment, we are proud to welcome our largest cohort of groundbreaking startups to the Inclusive Ventures Lab and are eager to support them as they scale their innovations and work to build a better world,” said Selma Bueno, Global Head of the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Group. “Each year since the Inclusive Ventures Lab’s launch in 2017, we have expanded our efforts to ensure that more entrepreneurs around the world can succeed – and this year is no different.”

The companies selected to participate in the 2024 cohort include the following:

Agri-Trak digitizes small farm operations with a smart platform for real-time labor, crop yield and cost tracking to optimize productivity, sustainability and profitability (US)

Beta Financial provides a transparent and comprehensive small business credit scoring solution, fostering financial inclusion and access to capital through innovative AI-driven technology (US)

Blip Energy is building a drop-in distributed energy resource to mitigate surging peak demand, optimize energy costs for users and reduce operating costs for utilities (US)

Compare Ethics is an AI-powered sustainability compliance platform that reduces costs by helping retail brands simplify, streamline and scale the way they make accurate green claims (UK)

Darent is a vacation rental marketplace platform in Saudi Arabia for travelers to search for properties with a focus on local experiences, a secure payment system and property insurance for hosts (Saudi Arabia)

For The Creators is an omni-channel circular fashion marketplace where women can rent and buy high-quality clothing for each stage of motherhood (UK)

GroceryList is a marketplace connecting immigrants worldwide with local merchants across Latin America and the Caribbean, enabling them to purchase groceries and essentials for their loved ones back home (US)

HANX is a consumer platform bringing together medically designed women’s reproductive health products, prescription treatments and community-focused content (UK)

Hire Ground is a B2B software platform that enables enterprise buyers to source and manage third party vendors while optimizing their procurement process (US)

Infinite Giving is a fintech platform that enables nonprofits to raise money, manage their cash reserves, and conservatively invest and grow (US)

Juniver is a health company leveraging AI technology to provide personalized digital interventions for lasting eating disorder recovery (UK)

KSI Vision uses existing AI on store and shopping center security cameras to generate real-time customer data and increase sales conversion (Uruguay)

Mavity is an AI-powered operating system for design and marketing teams that connects companies with on-demand creatives to streamline asset creation (US)

MyARC is a platform that enables fitness content creators to train their fans at scale (UK)

NÜWIEL provides electric mobility solutions for the cities of today and tomorrow (Germany)

OVUM is a one-stop shop for fertility wellness, providing educational resources, products and services for improving fertility outcomes (UK)

Research Grid is an automation engine for admin-free clinical trials (UK)

Revere is reinventing how allocators manage their alternative asset portfolios through AI, workflow automation tools and custom reporting (US)

Route is a platform of business management tools for commercial cleaning companies to automate sales, streamline operations, build contractor relationships and connect the entire cleaning industry (US)

Sanarai connects the Latino community to mental health professionals in Latin America and the US to offer culturally sensitive, Spanish-language emotional support at accessible prices (US)

Soralink leverages AI and smart sensors to assist manufacturers in preventing critical machine failures (Canada)

Sortile provides the textile industry with a system that enables the identification, traceability and recycling of textiles (US)

SWYE360 Learning is a data analytics company that uses machine learning and AI in education to measure software efficacy and detect students at risk of dropping out (US)

Tendo Technologies addresses the challenges faced by aspiring online retail entrepreneurs in Africa by connecting independent resellers to suppliers (Ghana)

Zest Equity is digitizing private market transactions, building tools to streamline and ensure greater transparency in how entrepreneurs, funds and investors transact (UAE).

Programming will culminate in February 2025 with a global Demo Day, when participating companies will present to potential investors, business partners and customers. The investment firms in attendance at the last showcase represented over $40 billion of dry powder and indicated a high level of interest following the event.

About the Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab
The Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab (MSIVL) is an intensive five-month in-house accelerator program designed to help further develop and scale startups, culminating in a showcase presentation and Demo Day to the investor community. Morgan Stanley launched MSIVL, formerly called the Multicultural Innovation Lab, in 2017 in order to address inequities in funding of startup founders, which our research shows equals over four trillion dollars in unrealized returns.

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MIL OSI – Submitted News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠ Harris Administration Releases U.S. Strategy on Global Development
Source: The White House

Today, the White House launched the U.S. Strategy on Global Development to codify the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment and work over the past four years to accelerate development progress in pursuit of a world that is more free, open, prosperous, and secure. Our approach to global development – rooted in partnership, transparency, and a commitment to sustainable outcomes – positions the United States to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow in coordination with global partners.

The world is at a critical moment. People around the globe are struggling to cope with the effects of compounding crises and challenges that cross borders – whether it is climate change, food insecurity, pandemics, or fragility and conflict. At the same time, in this age of interdependence in which we must find new and better ways to work together to confront shared challenges, geopolitical competition is also reshaping the global development system. Our affirmative development agenda reinforces the United States’ commitment to promoting a world in which everyone can live in dignity, all people are afforded equal opportunity, and no one is left behind.

THE NEW GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

The U.S. Strategy on Global Development articulates an integrated, whole-of-government approach, building on more than 75 years of U.S. leadership and investment in global development as a strategic, economic, and moral imperative. The United States remains committed to accelerating development progress around the world and to fully implementing the ambitious, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by 194 nations in 2015. More than halfway to 2030, we are collectively only on track to achieve 15 percent of the SDGs targets.

The United States has redoubled its efforts to protect hard-won development gains and to help developing country partners meet urgent needs, by leveraging the full suite of tools, resources, and expertise across 21 U.S. Government Departments and Agencies. In the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, we invested [more than $150 billion and mobilized billions more in private sector investment] to drive progress on the SDGs.

Today, U.S. global development investments are better targeted to achieve sustainable development outcomes and to maximize critical partnerships with other donors, the private sector, international financial institutions, multilateral organizations, and nongovernmental partners. The Strategy sets out five strategic objectives:
- Reduce Poverty through Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth and Quality Infrastructure Development. For the first time in decades, we saw an increase in extreme poverty and inequality during the pandemic. We recognize that many countries and communities around the world continue to struggle economically following the COVID-19 crisis. The United States is committed to promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth – growth that improves the lives of all members of society, including those in vulnerable situations. In the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, we have invested over $58.5 billion to reduce poverty and advance shared prosperity. We have also accelerated investment in high-quality infrastructure as key driver of sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development. Over the last three years through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, we have mobilized nearly $60 billion in public and private sector funding for infrastructure investments to advance climate resilience, energy security, secure digital connectivity, health and health security, agriculture and food security, and water and sanitation.
We have also led a global effort to reform the multilateral development banks to equip these institutions to better address today’s complex development challenges like climate change, pandemics, and fragility and conflict. Addressing these challenges is integral to achieving their core mandates to end extreme poverty and promote sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development. Recognizing that too many countries around the world are forced to make tough choices between making debt payments or investing in their own development progress and addressing global challenges, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the Nairobi-Washington Vision, calling on the international community to step up support for developing countries committed to ambitious reforms and investments that are held back by high debt burdens.
- Invest in Health, Food Security, and Human Capital. The United States is committed to sustaining critical investments in the fundamentals of all thriving societies: health, food security, and human capital. The United States continues to build resilient, responsive, and sustainably financed health systems, accelerate efforts towards universal health coverage, and promote primary health care and health equity. As infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics are increasing in both severity and frequency, U.S. leadership on global health security saves lives and strengthens health systems abroad, while keeping Americans safer at home. The United States has led an international effort to vaccinate the world against COVID‑19 – donating more than 692 million doses to 117 countries – while simultaneously investing in strengthening countries’ capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to future global health threats. The Biden-Harris Administration has sustained the United States’ longstanding leadership and investments in the fight to end HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as public health threats by 2030, including through robust commitments to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved more than 25 million lives to date, and a commitment to five-year authorization. The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to securing a clean, five-year reauthorization for PEPFAR that is fully funded. President Biden also led the historic replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in 2022, which raised $15.7 billion. In June, we announced a new five-year commitment to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, totaling at least $1.58 billion, to help reach the goal of vaccinating more than 500 million more children and save more than 8 million lives by 2030.
Meanwhile, hunger and malnutrition are affecting the world’s most marginalized communities. After decades of progress, a series of unprecedented shocks and stresses –exacerbated by the climate crisis – have reversed many development gains. An estimated 152 million more people are hungry today than in 2019. The United States continues to lead global efforts to address food insecurity, having invested over $20 billion, including through Feed the Future, to boost food production, provide critical aid to reduce malnutrition, build more resilient food systems, and strengthen countries’ capacity to better withstand shocks. The Biden-Harris Administration also remains committed to supporting human capital development, including and especially children and youth, by expanding access to quality, inclusive, safe, and equitable education. In the first three years of the Administration, we have invested over $4.2 billion to support efforts to expand education access.
- Decarbonize the Economy and Increase Climate Resilience. The climate crisis has reached existential proportions, shattering records for catastrophic droughts and extreme weather events, decimating livelihoods, and undermining health, food, and water security. This is the decisive decade for tackling the climate crisis, and the Biden-Harris Administration is advancing bold efforts at the nexus of decarbonization, energy security, and energy access. In the first three years of the Administration, the United States has invested over $1.9 billion to expand energy access and over $4.5 billion to combat climate change. We have taken steps to doing our part to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by putting in place ambitious policies to achieve at least a 50 percent decrease in emissions domestically by 2030.
Through the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience, we are helping strengthen the climate resilience of countries and communities, supporting more than half a billion people reduce risks and adapt to climate change-related impacts by 2030. We have bolstered efforts to increase inclusive, transparent, and accountable access to climate finance for developing partner countries, in pursuit of the President’s commitment to work with Congress to increase U.S.-provided international climate finance to $11 billion annually. Building on the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act, the United States is helping developing country partners reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase clean energy access, through data-driven clean and just energy transitions, green transportation, climate-smart agriculture, and efforts to halt deforestation to preserve carbon critical landscapes.
- Promote Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, and Address Fragility and Conflict. Democracy and human rights are under threat worldwide. Over the last decade, there has been a resurgence of authoritarianism and democratic backsliding. Conflict is on the rise across the globe and threatens to undermine future progress on all SDGs. In response, the United States has invested $27.2 billion in the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and building effective and accountable institutions. Through the Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal and the U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption, the United States has made historic commitments to promote accountability, advance digital democracy, support free and independent media, fight corruption, bolster human rights and democratic reformers, and defend free and fair elections. Given that this decade will likely experience levels of conflict not seen since the 1980s, we are also taking steps to promote stability, prevent and respond to conflict and violence, and address the drivers of fragility, including through the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, the U.S. Women, Peace and Security Strategy, and the U.S. Strategy to Prevent, Anticipate and Respond to Atrocities.
- Respond to Humanitarian Needs. At a moment of unprecedented global need, the United States continues to be the world’s leading single-country humanitarian donor. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we have provided over $49 billion to programs delivering principled, live-saving humanitarian assistance to people in need around the world. This critical funding has saved lives, alleviated human suffering, and reduced the impact of disasters by supporting people and communities in the most vulnerable situations to become more resilient to shocks and stressors. On average, the United States responds to 75 crises in 70 countries each year, reaching tens of millions of people around the world with life-saving humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, health care, and other critical aid. In an era of ever-increasing needs, we are also taking steps to unlock new and innovative financing to support more sustainable solutions, reducing the need for humanitarian assistance over time, while promoting cost-effective systemic reforms.
In the face of global challenges, we are committed to reclaiming lost development gains and accelerating collective progress toward the SDGs. A more secure and prosperous world is only possible when we stand together to tackle complex global challenges and advance dignity and freedom for all.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA News: Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the Visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates to the White House

Source: The White House

On September 23, President Biden will welcome His Highness President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House. During the visit, the leaders will strengthen the enduring strategic partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates and advance common priorities. Vice President Harris will also separately meet with President Mohamed.

President Biden and Vice President Harris will discuss with President Mohamed a number of bilateral and regional matters, including efforts to strengthen regional stability and reduce tensions. They will focus on areas of deepening cooperation between the two countries such as advanced technology, artificial intelligence, investments, and space exploration. The leaders will also coordinate on areas of robust partnership on security, defense, and counter-terrorism coordination, collaboration to address the climate crisis and energy transition, and efforts to promote peace and prosperity.

###

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: MEDIA ADVISORY: Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare to Hold Second Meeting
Source: US State of Georgia

ATLANTA (September 23, 2024) — On Thursday, September 26,2024, at 11:00 a.m., the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare, chaired by Sen. Brian Strickland (R–McDonough), will hold its second hearing.

EVENT DETAILS:
- Date: Thursday, September 26, 2024
- Time: 11:00 a.m.
- Location: The Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County, 166 Holly Smith Dr, McDonough, GA 30253
- This event is open to the public and will be live-streamed on the Georgia General Assembly website here.
ABOUT THE MEETING:

Members are tasked with recommending measures to increase access to affordable child care in Georgia. This committee was created pursuant to Senate Resolution 471 during the 2024 Legislative Session.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:

We kindly request that members of the media confirm their attendance in advance by contacting Jantz Womack at Jantz.Womack@senate.ga.gov.

# # # #

Sen. Brian Strickland serves as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary. He represents the 17th Senate District, which includes all of Morgan and portions of Henry, Newton and Walton County. Sen. Strickland may be reached by phone at 404.463.6598 or by email at Brian.Strickland@senate.ga.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Canada: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Quebec

Source: Government of Canada News

September 23, 2024 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Mathieu Piché-Messier, Partner and National Business Leader in Commercial Litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Piché-Messier replaces Justice P.H. Bélanger (Montréal), who resigned effective May 24, 2024.

Lysane Cree, Administrative Judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Cree replaces Justice M. Lachance (Montréal), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal effective June 17, 2024.

Horia Bundaru, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montréal, is appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montréal. Justice Bundaru replaces Justice K. Kear-Jodoin (Montréal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective July 16, 2024.

Quote

“I wish Justices Piché-Messier, Cree, and Bundaru every success as they take on their new roles. I am confident they will serve Quebecers well as members of the Superior Court of Quebec.”

—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Justice Mathieu Piché-Messier was born and raised in Montreal. He obtained his Bachelor of Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the Université de Sherbrooke in 1997. He was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1998.

Since 2000, Justice Piché-Messier has practised commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais, where, after being named partner in 2006, he headed the Montreal Commercial Litigation Group for seven years, before being appointed National Business Leader—Commercial Litigation. His practice focused on extraordinary remedies and commercial litigation in the fields of anti-fraud, high technology, industrial espionage, privacy and identity theft, international arbitration, aeronautics, defamation, as well as intellectual property. As a litigator, author, and lecturer, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2018 and a Fellow of Litigation Counsels of America in 2021; he also received the Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) distinction from the Barreau du Québec in 2022. He has been recognized by his peers for appearing in editions of Chambers, The Best Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation as one of Canada’s top 50 litigators.

Justice Piché-Messier was a member of the board of directors of the Barreau du Québec, the Montreal Bar, and the Canadian Bar Association—specifically the Quebec Branch. He was also President of the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique du Québec (CAIJ) and of the Young Bar Association of Montreal. Active in the Montreal community, he has been a member on the board of directors of Cirque Éloize, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Enfants-retour, and Make-a-Wish.

Justice Piché-Messier and his wife, Natacha Lavoie, are the proud parents of Vincent and Victoria.

Justice Lysane Cree is from the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) Nation and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Northern Studies from McGill University in 1996, before obtaining a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University in 2000. She was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 2003 and subsequently, to the New York State Bar in 2012 and the Law Society of Ontario in 2020.

Justice Cree began her practice at Hutchins Legal Inc. and focused solely on indigenous law matters and working with First Nations governments in several provinces and occasionally in the State of New York for sixteen years. While still in private practice, she began working on a part-time basis in police ethics with the Comité de déontologie policière (now Tribunal), hearing cases involving indigenous police services in the province of Quebec. She then worked as a decision-maker at the Comité de discipline de la Chambre de la sécurité financière from 2019 to 2021 before becoming a full-time administrative judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. During this time, she was involved with the Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals, as a member of both the Tribunal Excellence Committee and the Truth & Reconciliation Committee.

Justice Cree is an avid equestrian and enjoys spending time with her horses.

Justice Horia Bundaru immigrated to Canada at the age of eleven with his parents and younger sister. He obtained a B.C.L./LL.B. from the Faculty of Law of McGill University in 2005, and he was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 2006.

Justice Bundaru has spent his entire career at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, where he became a partner in 2016 and where, at the time of his appointment, he headed the Litigation Group in Montreal. A renowned litigator, his practice focused on commercial litigation, construction law and energy law. Since 2016, he has taught civil procedure and drafting at the École du Barreau.

Justice Bundaru has chaired the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Liaison Committee of the Montreal Bar with the Superior Court of Quebec in the Civil Division, along with the Salon VISEZ DROIT. At the time of his appointment, he was President of the Liaison Committee with the Court of Appeal and a member of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec. He is listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Litigation Canada as a “Litigation Star,” Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, The Legal 500 Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada. In 2022, he was named a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.

Justice Bundaru is passionate about literature, and he is an avid cross-country skier and tennis player. He and his wife Maya—also a lawyer—have two daughters: Ariane and Éloïse.

MIL OSI Canada News –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI United Nations: Thirty-fourth Session of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies (WP.6)

Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Document Title	ENG	FRE	RUS
Item 1: Adoption of the agenda
Provisional agenda for the thirty-fourth session ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/1	PDF	PDF	PDF
Item 2: Matters arising
Report from the Bureau of Working Party 6 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/INF.1	PDF
The Basics of Quality Infrastructure for Trade ECE/TRADE/478	PDF
Report of third annual forum: Quality infrastructure for trade and the digital and green transformation ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/3	PDF	PDF	PDF
Item 3: Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems
Report of activities under the Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems 2023–2024 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/4	PDF	PDF	PDF
Survey on integrated risk management in single window systems: Best practices and challenges ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/5	PDF	PDF	PDF
Initial findings on the survey on integrated risk management in single window systems ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/INF.2	PDF
Item 4: Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards
Report of activities of the Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards 2023–2024 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/6	PDF	PDF	PDF
Guide for standards-related gender action plans ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/7	PDF
Item 5: Advisory Group on Market Surveillance
Report of activities under the Advisory Group on Market Surveillance 2023–2024 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/8	PDF	PDF	PDF
Revision of Recommendation M: Use of Market Surveillance Infrastructure as a Complementary Means to Protect Users against Counterfeit Goods ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/9	PDF	PDF	PDF
Recommendation K on Metrological Assurance of Conformity Assessment and Testing, Third Edition ECE/TRADE/482	PDF	PDF	PDF
Item 6: Ad Hoc Team of Specialists on Standardization and Regulatory Techniques
Report on activities under the Ad Hoc Team of Specialists on Standardization and Regulatory Techniques 2023–2024 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/10	PDF	PDF	PDF
Overarching common regulatory arrangement for the regulatory compliance of products and/or services with embedded artificial intelligence or other digital technologies ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/11	PDF	PDF	PDF
Declaration for technical regulation of products with embedded artificial intelligence ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/12	PDF	PDF	PDF
Revision of Recommendation L on an International Model for Product/Service Conformity Based on Transnational Regulatory Cooperation ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/13	PDF	PDF	PDF
Report of the 5 April 2024 conference on harmonizing regulatory requirements on pipeline security for hydrogen ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/INF.3	PDF
Item 7: Programme of work
(a) Report on capacity building
(b) Programme of work for 2025
Programme of work of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies for 2025 ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/14	PDF	PDF	PDF
(c) Activities of other United Nations Economic Commission for Europe bodies and other international organizations of interest to WP.6
Item 8: Panel discussion: Quality infrastructure helping to prevent a green and digital divide – identifying challenges for capacity development for sustainable trade in developing economies
Item 9: Other business
Item 10: Adoption of the report
Report on the thirty-fourth session of the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies ECE/CTCS/WP.6/2024/2	PDF

MIL OSI United Nations News –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI USA: NASA Expands Small Business, Industry Engagement Resources

Source: NASA

Two new resources are available for businesses that provide products and services to support NASA’s missions, from supersonic flight to lunar exploration, as well as companies that aim to engage the agency as a customer.
While NASA practices transparency in its procurement processes to ensure access and participation by all businesses, we recognize that barriers to participation remain for smaller, less experienced companies. In addition, new federal-wide policy and guidance has increased focus on NASA’s small and minority business goals.
“NASA’s dedication to fostering collaboration with small and disadvantaged businesses remains at the forefront of our mission,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “By implementing innovative practices and refining our procurement processes, we aim to not only drive forward our key mission objectives but also to stimulate industry-wide innovation and inclusivity. These efforts are vital as we seek to leverage the full spectrum of talent and creativity available, ensuring that all voices have a chance to contribute to our groundbreaking work in space exploration.”
To assess the agency’s best practices and biggest barriers, Deputy Administrator Melroy established a multi-disciplinary team that included the Offices of Procurement and Small Business Programs. One of the outcomes was the creation of a communication plan for the small and minority business enterprise alongside NASA’s annual vendor communication plan.
“Inherent in NASA’s commitment to innovation and ingenuity, is the recognition that a diverse and broad supply chain is essential for mission success,” said Karla Smith Jackson, assistant administrator for NASA’s Office of Procurement. “The updated Vendor Communication and the new Small and Minority Business Enterprise Communication plans are the next logical step in NASA’s continuous effort to foster an inclusive acquisition environment. By broadening our communication and outreach, we are strengthening our industrial base and empowering businesses of all sizes to contribute to the future of space exploration.”
In the NASA Small and Minority Business Enterprise Communication Plan, the agency outlines its goals for enhancing its outreach efforts and increasing spending with these businesses to reduce obstacles to participation in NASA’s missions and more intentionally engage companies throughout the procurement process.
Engagement activities outlined in these plans support more robust communication with potential vendors. As an example, the NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad (NAIL) encourages one-on-one conversations with small and minority-owned businesses to improve participation, drive innovation, identify and remove barriers as well as collaboration to share best practices and methods across the agency. Further, by publishing annual forecasts we give industry insight as early as possible to promote maximum competition.
“Our commitment to small and minority businesses is unwavering,” said Dwight Deneal, assistant administrator for NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs. “This communication plan is not just about outreach; it’s about building lasting partnerships that drive innovation and inclusion across NASA’s missions.”
The Vendor Communication Plan goes into more depth on how NASA engages with all businesses before, during, and after contract awards are given, providing various examples of events and methods of communication the agency uses to remain in contact with award recipients. This includes holding webinars with award applicants and recipients, providing email support throughout the award process, and reviewing final performance and financial reports. NASA also provides information about how the agency promotes diversity throughout the contracting process, including a dedicated equity action plan and increased subcontracting opportunities.
In the spirit of exploration, NASA is expanding its reach to new entrants and businesses that have not traditionally done business with the agency. NASA is committed to increasing its small business prime and subcontract awards, with an emphasis on innovative barrier reducing procurement practices and transparent contracting methods.
Learn more about how NASA is improving its acquisition process at:
https://www.nasa.gov/procurement

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: MHRA opens applications from AI developers to join the AI Airlock regulatory sandbox
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

The MHRA, is calling for applications for manufacturers and developers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) medical devices, to join the AI Airlock regulatory sandbox.
Today, Monday 23 September, the MHRA, the UK’s independent regulator of medical devices, is calling for applications for manufacturers and developers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) medical devices, to join the AI Airlock regulatory sandbox.

The AI Airlock is a world leading regulatory sandbox for AI as a Medical Device (AIaMD). This pilot project will help the MHRA identify and address the challenges for regulating AI medical devices so that in the future, innovative and safe AI medical devices can be brought safely into use in the shortest time possible, for the benefit of patients and the NHS.

During the AI Airlock programme, candidates will benefit from a bespoke testing plan and a unique collaboration with industry and regulatory experts, which will help them gain an improved understanding of the current regulatory framework and the data standards expected.

The call for applications is open for two weeks until Monday 7 October and will provisionally recruit candidates into the pilot covering a wide range of regulatory challenges, from different healthcare or clinical disciplines and at various stages of product and regulatory development.

Eligible candidates must be able to demonstrate that their AI-powered medical device has the potential to deliver benefits to patients and therefore the NHS, is a novel or innovative application, and can present a regulatory challenge that is ready to be tested in the Airlock pilot programme.

The findings will inform future AI Airlock projects and influence future UK and international AI Medical Device guidance.

The project is part of the MHRA’s continuing work to develop a robust MedTech regulatory framework that prioritises patient safety, gives patients access to the medical devices they need, supports the NHS transformation and ensures the UK becomes an even more attractive market for medical technology innovators.

AI Airlock programme manager Hannah Bowden said:

“Participation in the regulatory sandbox presents an opportunity for a proactive approach to product regulation, allowing developers and regulators to de-risk innovative products before entering the market.

“Full details and an application form is online, and my team is available to answer questions from potential applicants by email at: aiairlock@mhra.gov.uk.”

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Published 23 September 2024
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI: QUADIENT: H1 2024 results: Solid 3.2% reported revenue growth and sharp improvement in profitability from Digital

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

H1 2024 results: Solid 3.2% reported revenue growth
and sharp improvement in profitability from Digital

Key highlights

H1 2024 consolidated sales of €534 million, up +3.2% on a reported basis including the contribution of the latest acquisitions (Daylight and Frama) and up +0.8% organically⁽¹⁾
H1 2024 subscription-related revenue up +0.7% on an organic basis, representing 72% of total revenue
Strong performance from North America at +2.8% organic growth in H1 2024, representing 58% of Group Sales
H1 2024 EBITDA of €111 million, up 2.6% organically, primarily driven by a strong increase in profitability in Digital
H1 2024 Group current EBIT of €61 million, up 0.3% organically
Net attributable income of €24 million
Leverage ratio excluding leasing reduced to 1.6x²
FY 2024 outlook confirmed
Launch of share buyback program for up to €30 million

Paris, 23 September 2024

Quadient S.A. (Euronext Paris: QDT), a global automation platform powering secure and sustainable business connections, , today announces its 2024 second-quarter consolidated sales and first half results (period ended on 31 July 2024). The first-half 2024 results were approved by the Board of Directors during a meeting held on 20 September 2024.

Geoffrey Godet, Chief Executive Officer of Quadient S.A., stated:

“Quadient achieved a solid performance in the first half of 2024, setting a good start to the execution of our new strategic plan, ‘Elevate to 2030’, which aims at delivery €1 billion of subscription-related revenue by 2030. The various modules of our SaaS communication and financial automation platform are further recognized for their technical specificities as well as for their ease of use, reflecting our strong customer centric approach. Our highly recurring business model continues to be fueled by good results in both cross-selling and up-selling our solutions, by the strong outperformance of our Mail business as well as by a solid volume increase within our European parcel lockers open networks.

In parallel, the profitability of our Digital business has sharply increased. Indeed, our Digital EBITDA margin gained 6 points compared to the first half of 2023, demonstrating our commitment to strengthen our investment proposition. Confident in our value-creation potential and in our capacity to achieve our short- and long-term guidance, including our 2026 leverage target, we are announcing today a share buy-back program aimed at improving the return to our shareholders. More than ever, our objective is to accelerate our existing growth trajectory and propel Quadient as the leader in intelligent automation.”

Comments on H1 2024 performance

Group sales came in at €534 million in H1 2024, a 3.2% increase on a reported basis, and 0.8% organic growth compared to H1 2023 in line with Quadient’s expectations. The reported growth includes a positive currency impact of €1 million and a positive scope effect of €12 million, which is related to the acquisition of Daylight in September 2023 and to the acquisition of Frama in February 2024. In Q2 2024, organic revenue growth reached 0.6% compared to Q2 2023.

Consolidated sales and EBITDA by solution

H1 2024 consolidated sales

In € million	H1 2024	H1 2023 restated^(a)	Change	Organic change
Digital	130	120	+8.3%	+5.9%
Mail	362	353	+2.5%	(0.5)%
Lockers	43	45	(4.7)%	(2.5)%
Group total	534	517	+3.2%	+0.8%
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 revenue from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

EBITDA and EBITDA margin

	H1 2024		H1 2023 restated ^(a)
In € million	EBITDA	EBITDA margin	EBITDA	EBITDA margin
Digital	20	15.7%	11	9.3%
Mail	94	25.8%	102	29.0%
Lockers	(3)	(6.7)%	(1)	(3.0)%
Group total	111	20.8%	112	21.7%
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 EBITDA from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated EBITDA of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

Digital

In H1 2024, revenue from Digital reached €130 million, up 5.9% organically (+5.8% in Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023) and up 8.3% on a reported basis (including the contribution from Daylight) compared to H1 2023. Importantly, growth for the Solution was still impacted by the delay in the implementation of two large contracts, announced in Q3 2023.

At the end of H1 2024, annual recurring revenue (ARR), which is a forward-looking indicator of future subscription-related revenue, reached €221 million, up from €206 million at the end of FY 2023, representing a 15.3% organic⁽³⁾growth on an annualized basis.

In H1 2024, subscription-related revenue recorded a strong 8.7% organic growth, now representing 82% of Digital total sales, a further increase compared to 80% in H1 2023. The share of SaaS customers stands at 83% at the end of H1 2024.

EBITDA for Digital was €20 million for the period, representing a 15.7% EBITDA margin, up 6.4 points compared to H1 2023. Strong improvement in profitability continues, supported by the combination of subscription-related revenue growth, and platform size benefits, despite further commercial and innovation investments. The profitability is expected to continue improving in FY 2024.

As part of the customer acquisition focus, Digital continues to experience strong commercial dynamics, supported by solid cross-selling with Mail including some large deals (notably one deal above USD1 million) in North America. Digital is benefiting from a positive start to Q3 2024 thanks to a new large deal with a US insurance company worth more than USD7 million over 5 years. Regarding the upcoming e-invoicing regulation in Europe, Quadient is now officially registered as a Partner Dematerialization Platform in France.

As part of the customer expansion process, the onboarding of all eligible customers on the Quadient Hub is now completed. Focus continues on further increasing up-selling. New partnerships, notably with Microsoft business central, Sage200 (ERP solutions) and Stripe (payment solution), have also been signed. Lastly, the churn rate in Digital continues to decline, now standing well below 5%.

Mail

Mail revenue reached €362 million in H1 2024, down only 0.5% on an organic basis (-0.8% in Q2 2024 vs. Q2 2023). The reported growth stood at +2.5%, including the contribution of Frama.

Hardware sales recorded a 4.8% organic growth in H1 2024, with strong contributions from North America, including a positive impact from decertification. The focus on investing into renewing the products offering continues to support product placements, as seen in the further increase in the share of the upgraded installed base, reaching 36.6% at the end of H1 2024 vs. 31.5% at the end of FY 2023.

Subscription-related revenue (68% of Mail sales) recorded a limited 2.8% organic decline in H1 2024.

EBITDA for Mail was €94 million for H1 2024. EBITDA margin reached 25.8%, down 3.2 points compared to H1 2023. The level of EBITDA margin of Mail was impacted by the higher proportion of revenue from equipment sales as well as by the dilution due to Frama acquisition, which performance is expected to improve significantly from 2025.

Thanks to its strong customer acquisition focus, Quadient’s Mail business continues to outperform the market. The commercial performance is expected to be resilient in Q3 2024. On the acquisition side, the aim is to upgrade the installed base.

As part of the customer expansion focus, the cross-selling remains solid, especially in the US, with several large contracts signed. Lastly, Mail benefited from the positive impact of the ongoing US mailing systems decertification.

Lockers

Lockers revenue reached €43 million in H1 2024, a 2.5% decrease on an organic basis (-1.8% in Q2 2024 vs Q2 2023) and a 4.7% decrease on a reported basis compared to H1 2023.

Subscription-related revenue was up 5.3% organically in H1 2024, benefiting from the solid volumes ramp up within the UK and the French open networks, as well as the contribution of the existing installed base, supported by the higher number of carriers committed to use Quadient’s open networks. However, change in commercial agreements with Yamato in Japan in Q3 2023 leading to a greater focus on usage as opposed to a rental-based model, continues for now to weigh on the subscription-related revenue. Overall, subscription-related revenue stood at 65% of total revenue in H1 2024, up from 61% in H1 2023.

Non-recurring revenue (license & hardware sales and professional services) were down 15.1% organically in H1 2024. Hardware sales were still impacted by slower new installations in North America.

Quadient’s global locker installed base reached c.21,400 units at the end of H1 2024 vs. c.20,200 units at the end of FY 2023. This is reflecting an acceleration in the pace of installation of new lockers, notably in the UK, fueled by the partnerships signed by Quadient to host parcel lockers in new suitable locations.

EBITDA for Lockers was negative at €(3) million in H1 2024. EBITDA margin stood at (6.7)%, down by 3.7 points. The decrease in EBITDA margin was mainly due to the negative impact from the change in commercial agreement with Yamato for the Japanese installed base at the start of H2 2023.

As part of the customer acquisition focus, Quadient is accelerating the installation pace for lockers in the open networks in Europe, mostly in France and in the UK. This is supported by the additional deals signed for premium locations and conversion of existing lockers. Conversely, the trend remains slow in North America.

As part of the customer expansion focus, volume increased strongly from both pick-up and drop-off in the open networks. The lockers business is also fueled by innovation in usage offerings, notably with new partnership with KeyNest in the United Kingdom, bringing additional volumes into the open network.

REVIEW OF 2024 FIRST HALF-YEAR RESULTS

Simplified P&L

In € million	H1 2024	H1 2023 restated ^(a)	Change
Sales	534	517	+3.2%
Gross profit	399	387	+3.2%
Gross margin	74.4%	74.8%
EBITDA	111	112	(1.1)%
EBITDA margin	20.8%	21.7%
Current EBIT	61	65	(6.0)%
Current EBIT margin	11.5%	12.6%
Optimization expenses and other operating income & expenses	(16)	(6)	n/a
EBIT	45	59	(24.4)%
Financial income/(expense)	(21)	(16)	+32.3%
Income before tax	24	43	(45.4)%
Income taxes	2	(6)	n/a
Net income of continued operations	26	37	(31.0)%
Net income from discontinued operations	(1)	(0)	n/a
Net attributable income	24	36	(32.8)%
Earnings per share	0.71	1.05	n/a
Diluted earnings per share	0.71	1.05	n/a
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 contribution from the aforementioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated P&L of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024.

Gross margin stood at 74.4% in H1 2024 from 74.8% in H1 2023, due to slightly higher cost of sales and the impact of Frama integration.

EBITDA⁽⁴⁾ for the Group reached €111 million in H1 2024, almost flat compared to H1 2023. Organically, the EBITDA grew by 2.6%, thanks to a solid increase at Digital offsetting a weaker EBITDA performance in Mail. EBITDA margin stood at 20.8% in H1 2024, vs 21.7% in H1 2023.

Depreciation and amortization stood at €50 million in H1 2024, compared to €47 million in H1 2023. This is mainly due to slightly higher amortization of Lockers’ capex for rent.

Current operating income (current EBIT) reached €61 million in H1 2024 compared to €65 million in H1 2023, down 6.0% on a reported basis and up 0.3% on an organic basis. Current operating margin stood at 11.5% of sales in H1 2024 compared to 12.6% in H1 2023.

Optimization costs and other operating expenses stood at €16 million in H1 2024, versus €6 million in H1 2023 which was impacted by the write-off of an IT project and additional office optimization in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Consequently, EBIT reached €45 million in H1 2024, versus €59 million recorded in H1 2023.

Net attributable income

Net cost of debt was up year-on-year at €20 million, against €15 million in H1 2023, impacted by higher interest rates on the variable portion of the debt (one third of Quadient’s debt). The currency gains & losses and other financial items was a loss of €(1) million in H1 2024, stable vs. H1 2023. Overall, net financial result was a loss of €21 million in H1 2024 compared to a loss of €16 million in H1 2023.

Income tax reached a €2 million profit in H1 2024, benefitting from the positive impact of internal IP transfers. It compares to an expense of €6 million in H1 2023.

Net income from discontinued operations of the Mail Italian subsidiary amounts to €(1) million, including additional fees related to the ongoing sale process for this subsidiary.

Net attributable income after minority interest amounted to €24 million in H1 2024 compared to €36 million in H1 2023.

Earnings per share from continued operations came in at €0.74 in H1 2024 compared to €1.06 in H1 2023. The fully diluted earnings per share⁽⁵⁾ was €1.05 in H1 2023.

Earnings per share stood at €0.71 in H1 2024 compared to €1.05 in H1 2023. The fully diluted earnings per share⁽⁵⁾ was €0.71 in H1 2024 compared to €1.05 in H1 2023. The impact of dilutive instruments is accretive, dilutive earnings per share is therefore brought into line with net earnings per share.

Cash flow generation

The change in working capital was a net cash outflow by €19 million in H1 2024 compared to a net cash outflow of €55 million in H1 2023, mostly reflecting a better level of cash collection and the one-off positive impact from timing differences in VAT payments.

The leasing portfolio and other financing services stood at €591 million as of 31 July 2024, compared to €598 million as of 31 January 2024 (only down by (1.0)% on an organic basis), thanks to the solid performance of the Mail activity. While generating future subscription-related revenue, the expected increase in lease receivables resulting from the good performance in the placement of new equipment will translate into a cash outflow in H2 2024. At the end of H1 2024, the default rate of the leasing portfolio stood at around 1.2% compared to c.1.3% at the end of FY 2023.

Interest and taxes paid increased slightly to €38 million in H1 2024 versus the amount of €35 million paid in H1 2023. The difference was mostly explained by higher interest rates in H1 2024.

Capital expenditure reached €46 million in H1 2024, stable compared to H1 2023 reflecting an increase in capex for rent offset by the non-renewal of office leases (lower IFRS 16 capex). Capex for Digital reached €12 million in H12024, slightly up compared to €11 million in H1 2023 and was mainly focused on R&D. Capex for Mail decreased from €25 million to €22 million, due to lower IFRS 16 capex linked to less office leases renewal. Capex for Lockers increased from €10 million to €13 million to support the open network deployment in the UK and France.

All in all, cash flow after capital expenditure was up from a negative amount of €15 million in H1 2023 to a positive amount of €3 million in H1 2024.

Leverage and liquidity position

Net debt stood at €726 million as of 31 July 2024, a slight increase against the €709 million of net financial debt recorded as of 31 January 2024. In June 2024, the Group extended by an additional year the maturity of its Revolving Credit Facility to 2029. In July 2024, Quadient proceeded to a partial bond buy-back for a total amount of €7 million, leaving the outstanding amount of the 2.25% bond at €260 million.

The Group is well positioned to refinance its 2.25% bond, maturing early 2025.

The leverage ratio (net debt/EBITDA) remained broadly stable from 3.0x⁽²⁾ as of 31 July 2024 compared to 2.9x⁽²⁾ as of 31 January 2024. Excluding leasing, Quadient leverage ratio improved from 1.65x⁽²⁾ as of 31 January 2024 to 1.6x⁽²⁾ as of 31 July 2024.

As of 31 July 2024, the Group had a robust liquidity position of €494 million, split between €194 million in cash and a €300 million undrawn credit line, maturing in 2029.

Shareholders’ equity stood at €1,064 million as of 31 January 2024 compared to €1,069 million as of 31 January 2024. The gearing ratio⁽⁶⁾ stood at 68,2% as of 31 July 2024.

MAIL ITALIAN SUBSIDIARY

Following the reclassification of the Mail Italian Subsidiary as discontinued operations under IFRS 5 in full-year 2023, an agreement for its sale has been signed with a local mail distribution company in July 2024.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION

In line with Quadient’s capital allocation policy, the Company announces the launch of a share buyback program for a total consideration of up to €30 million to be executed on the market over an18-month⁽⁷⁾ period.

This operation aims at improving shareholders’ return. It also demonstrates Quadient’s confidence in the value creation potential of its new Elevate to 2030 strategic plan, its ability to reach its FY 2026 leverage ratio target⁽⁸⁾ and is in line with the capital allocation policy of the Company. A press release detailing this share buyback program has been published alongside today’s H1 2024 results.

OUTLOOK

With H1 2024 organic growth in line with expectations, Quadient confirms its FY 2024 financial guidance of organic growth both at the revenue and current EBIT levels. H2 2024 will benefit from an easier comparison basis for both Digital and Lockers as there will no longer be any negative impact neither from the delay in implementation of the two large SaaS contracts, nor from the change in commercial agreement with Yamato, which took place at the beginning of H2 2023.

Q2 2024 BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Approval of all resolutions by the combined Shareholders’ meeting of 14 June 2024
On 17 June 2024, Quadient announced that its combined Annual General Meeting was held on 14 June 2024, under the chairmanship of Mr. Didier Lamouche. All submitted resolutions were ratified, with an attendance rate of 74.19% (quorum for ordinary and extraordinary resolutions).

The Annual General Meeting approved the renewal of the three-year terms of directorship of Hélène Boulet-Supau, Geoffrey Godet, Richard Troksa. Vincent Mercier’s directorship was renewed for an 18-month term, until 31 December 2025. The Annual General Meeting also approved the co-option and approved the renewal for a three-year term of Bpifrance Investissement, represented by Emmanuel Blot.

Quadient expands its Open Locker Network in new high traffic locations in Japan, leveraging existing JR East Smart Logistics Lockers
On 21 June 2024, Quadient announced a significant expansion of its open locker network in Japan through a strategic partnership with JR East Smart Logistics Co., Ltd., the logistics arm of the major Japanese rail company. This collaboration integrates Quadient’s advanced parcel delivery and pickup functionalities into JR East’s existing multifunctional locker system, Multi E-Cube, across Japan’s extensive railway network. This marks the first time Quadient is expanding its intelligent locker capacities to third-party networks, highlighting its agility in deploying an open and interoperable logistics ecosystem with new approaches.

Quadient reports cross-selling success in North America, reinforcing strategic vision
On 2 July 2024, Quadient announced that nearly 50% of the large deals signed in North America with mail automation customers in May included digital automation platform applications, confirming the critical role its software solutions play in influencing customer decisions. Additionally, two-thirds of these cross-sell deals, secured by Quadient’s mail teams, featured both mail and digital automation solutions, reaching an over 60% integration rate.

Quadient launches new cloud-based application to empower small businesses in their Mail management processes
On 4 July 2024, Quadient announced the launch of Secure Barcode, a cloud-based application designed to enhance the security of customer physical communications through seamless barcode generation and insertion into documents. This innovative solution is tailored for small businesses that are beginning their journey into digital mail solutions, providing immediate benefits in document management and operational efficiency.

Quadient and Punch Pubs Partner to enhance parcel locker access for UK communities
On 11 July 2024, Quadient announced a new contract with Punch Pubs, a leading pub company in the UK. This partnership will see the deployment of Quadient’s Parcel Pending open locker network across 1,261 pub locations managed by Punch Pubs, enhancing the accessibility and convenience of parcel deliveries and returns for communities nationwide. This collaboration supports sustainable growth strategies, leveraging Punch Pubs’ nationwide commercial properties to deliver value to local populations.

More than 1.5 million higher education Students in the U.S. now rely on Quadient smart lockers for package delivery
On 25 July 2024, Quadient announced it has reached a new milestone of installed smart lockers totaling more than 250 colleges and universities across the United States. Across the campuses, more than 1.5 million students per year are served by the automated lockers.

POST-CLOSING EVENTS

Quadient recognized as a major player for first time in IDC MarketScape for worldwide accounts payable automation software for midmarket and small businesses
On 14 August 2024, Quadient announced it has been named a Major Player for the first time in two IDC MarketScape reports – IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Midmarket 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc # US52378624, July 2024) and IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Accounts Payable Automation Software for Small Businesses 2024 Vendor Assessment (doc # US52378824, July 2024).

Quadient secures major contract in North America, demonstrating strength in integrating Digital communications and Mail automation solutions
On 28 August 2024, Quadient announced a new contract with a North American global leader in financial services, worth approximately €1.4 million per year over an initial period of three years. This successful deal underscores Quadient’s capability to meet the complex communication needs of large organizations through its extensive portfolio of digital and mail automation platforms, combined with high-level consulting and professional services.

Quadient unveils new mobile app, enabling any local business to offer parcel locker delivery services to customers
On 4 September 2024, Quadient announced the launch of a mobile app that enables local businesses to deliver customer orders directly to Quadient open network lockers without the need for specific software integrations. The app is already available in the Japanese market under the name PUDO ACCESS and will soon be made available in other countries, continuing to create value for merchants and their local communities.

E-invoicing mandate for businesses in France: Quadient officially registered as a Dematerialization Platform Partner
On 12 September 2024, Quadient announced its official registration as a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) under number 0060. This registration, issued on 12 September 2024 by the PDP Registration Service of the Public Finance Department, acknowledges that Quadient meets all the requirements of the new Finance Law and is authorized to participate in the next phase of interoperability tests with the tax authorities’ platform when it becomes available.

Quadient Named a Leader in 2024 SPARK Matrix for Accounts Payable Automation
On 19 September 2024, Quadient announced it has been recognized as a Technology Leader in the “SPARK Matrix: Accounts Payable Automation” report, a detailed analysis of the accounts payable (AP) automation market by independent analyst firm QKS Group. The recognition comes on the heels of Quadient also being named a Technology Leader in the “2024 SPARK Matrix: Accounts Receivable (AR) Applications” report, which was published in May. This marks the second year in a row that Quadient has been named a leader in both AP and AR in the SPARK Matrix reports.

To know more about Quadient’s news flow, previous press releases are available on our website at the following address: https://invest.quadient.com/en/newsroom.

CONFERENCE CALL & WEBCAST

Quadient will host a conference call and webcast today at 6:00 pm Paris time (5:00 pm London time).

To join the webcast, click on the following link: Webcast.

To join the conference call, please use one of the following phone numbers:

▪ France: +33 (0) 1 70 37 71 66.

▪ United States: +1 786 697 3501.

▪ United Kingdom (standard international): +44 (0) 33 0551 0200.

Password: Quadient

A replay of the webcast will also be available on Quadient’s Investor Relations website for 12 months.

Calendar

27 November 2024: Third quarter 2024 sales release (after close of trading on the Euronext Paris regulated market).

About Quadient®

Quadient is a global automation platform provider powering secure and sustainable business connections through digital and physical channels. Quadient supports businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation and growth journey, unlocking operational efficiency and creating meaningful customer experiences. Listed in compartment B of Euronext Paris (QDT) and part of the CAC® Mid & Small and EnterNext® Tech 40 indices, Quadient shares are eligible for PEA-PME investing.

For more information about Quadient, visit https://invest.quadient.com/en/.

Contacts

APPENDIX

Digital: New name for Intelligent Communication Automation

Mail: New name for Mail-Related Solutions

Lockers: New name for Parcel Locker Solutions

H1 2024 and Q2 2024 consolidated sales

H1 2024 consolidated sales by geography

In € million	H1 2024	H1 2023 restated ^(a)	Change	Organic change
North America	308	295	+4.1%	+2.8%
Main European countries⁽^b⁾	182	173	+4.9%	(1.6)%
International⁽^c⁾	45	49	(8.0)%	(2.5)%
Group total	534	517	+3.2%	+0.8%
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, H1 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in H1 2024. (b) Including Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy (excluding Mail), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (c) International includes the activities of Digital, Mail and Lockers outside of North America and the Main European countries

Q2 2024 consolidated sales by Solution

In € million	Q2 2024	Q2 2023 restated ^(a)	Change	Organic change
Digital	66	61	+8.1%	+5.8%
Mail	183	179	+2.4%	(0.8)%
Lockers	23	24	(3.2)%	(1.8)%
Group total	273	264	+3.3%	+0.6%
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, Q2 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in Q2 2024.

Q2 2024 consolidated sales by geography

In € million	Q2 2024	Q2 2023 restated ^(a)	Change	Organic change
North America	157	150	+4.9%	+3.2%
Main European countries⁽^b⁾	93	89	+4.2%	(1.8)%
International⁽^c⁾	22	25	(10.1)%	(5.8)%
Group total	273	264	+3.3%	+0.6%
(a) The full-year 2023 financial statements published in March 2024 reflected Quadient’s decision to review the future of its Mail activity in Italy with a view to divest this subsidiary within the next 12 months. As this was the case in the full-year 2023 statements, Q2 2023 revenue from the afore-mentioned subsidiary is not represented in the consolidated revenue of the Group as it is recorded as discontinued operations. This is still the case in Q2 2024. (b) Including Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy (excluding Mail), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (c) International includes the activities of Digital, Mail and Lockers outside of North America and the Main European countries

First half-year 2024

Consolidated income statement

In € million	H1 2024 (period ended on 31 July 2024)	H1 2023 restated (period ended on 31 July 2023)
Sales	534	517
Cost of sales	(135)	(131)
Gross margin	399	387
R&D expenses	(31)	(31)
Sales and marketing expenses	(143)	(139)
Administrative and general expenses	(97)	(90)
Service and support expenses	(58)	(55)
Employee profit-sharing, share-based payments and other expenses	(5)	(3)
Acquisition-related expenses	(4)	(3)
Current operating income	61	65
Optimization expenses and other operating income & expenses	(16)	(6)
Operating income	45	59
Financial income/(expense)	(21)	(16)
Income before taxes	24	43
Income taxes	2	(6)
Share of results of associated companies	0	(0)
Net income from continued operations	26	37
Net income of discontinued operations	(1)	(0)
Net income	25	37
Of which: Minority interests	1	1
Net attributable income	24	36

Simplified consolidated balance sheet

Assets In € million	H1 2024 (period ended on 31 July 2024)	FY 2023 (period ended on 31 January 2024)
Goodwill	1,089	1,082
Intangible fixed assets	118	121
Tangible fixed assets	158	156
Other non-current financial assets	66	65
Other non-current receivables	2	2
Leasing receivables	591	598
Deferred tax assets	47	17
Inventories	71	67
Receivables	193	228
Other current assets	74	84
Cash and cash equivalents	194	118
Current financial instruments	2	2
Assets held for sale	11	9
TOTAL ASSETS	2,617	2,550

Liabilities In € million	H1 2024 (period ended on 31 July 2024)	FY 2023 (period ended on 31 January 2024)
Shareholders’ equity	1,064	1,069
Non-current provisions	15	12
Non-current financial debt	552	715
Current financial debt	329	66
Lease obligations	39	46
Other non-current liabilities	4	2
Deferred tax liabilities	119	104
Financial instruments	4	5
Trade payables	69	79
Deferred income	190	212
Other current liabilities	219	225
Liabilities held for sale	13	15
TOTAL LIABILITIES	2,617	2,550

Simplified cash flow statement

In €millions	H1 2024 (period ended on 31 July 2024)	H1 2023 restated (period ended on 31 July 2023)
EBITDA	111	112
Other elements	(11)	(7)
Cash flow before net cost of debt and income tax	100	105
Change in the working capital requirement	(19)	(55)
Net change in leasing receivables	6	16
Cash flow from operating activities	87	66
Interest and tax paid	(38)	(35)
Net cash flow from operating activities	49	31
Capital expenditure	(46)	(46)
Net cash flow after investing activities	3	(15)
Impact of changes in scope	(8)	0
Others	0	(0)
Net cash flow after acquisitions and divestments	(5)	(15)
Dividends paid	0	(0)
Change in debt and others	64	25
Net cash flow from financing activities	64	25
Cumulative translation adjustments on cash	(0)	(1)
Net cash from discontinued operations	2	(1)
Change in net cash position	60	10

Figures exclude Mail Italian subsidiary which has been reclassified as discontinued operations in 2023.
(1) H1 2024 sales are compared to H1 2023 sales, to which is added pro rata temporis the revenue of Daylight and Frama for a consolidated amount of €12 million. The currency impact is positive for €1 million.
(2) Including IFRS 16
(3) H1 2024 ARR impacted by a €0.2 million negative currency effect vs 31 January 2024
(4) EBITDA = current operating income + provisions for depreciation of tangible and intangible fixed assets.
(5) For the H1 2024, the average compounded number of shares is 33,950,930. Diluted number of shares is 34,487,900.
(6) Net debt / shareholders’ equity
(7) Subject to the renewal of the share buyback authorizations at the 2025 AGM
(8) FY 2026 leverage ratio excluding leasing target of 1.5x

Attachment

The MIL Network –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI: Amundi: Launch of the capital increase reserved for employees
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Amundi: Launch of the capital increase reserved for employees

Amundi launches a capital increase reserved for employees (under the name We Share Amundi). This capital increase was initially decided on 6 February 2024 under the terms specified below.

This offer reflects Amundi’s desire to involve employees not only in the Company’s development but also in the creation of economic value. This will strengthen the employees’ sense of belonging.

The discount offered to employees will be 30%, as for the five previous capital increase reserved for employees.

Eligible employees can subscribe to the offering between 23 September and 4 October 2024 included. The capital increase is scheduled for 31 October 2024 and the newly issued Amundi shares will be listed on Euronext Paris on 4 November 2024.

As a reminder, employees currently own 1.41 % of Amundi’s share capital.

The impact of this offering on the net earnings per share should be negligible. The maximum number of Amundi shares to be issued will be capped at 1,000,000 shares (i.e. less than 0.5% of the Company’s share capital and voting rights).

Terms of the capital increase

Issuer

Amundi, a French limited company (société anonyme) with share capital of €511.619.085 and with its offices located at 91-93, Boulevard Pasteur, 75015 Paris, France, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Registry under number 314 222 902 (the “Company”).

Securities offered

The offering is a capital increase in cash reserved for employees, employees who have taken early retirement and retired employees of Amundi Group companies that are members of the UES Amundi Company Savings Plan (“PEE”) or Amundi’s International Group Savings Plan (“PEGI”). The capital increase will be carried out pursuant to Resolution 24 of the Annual General Meeting of 12 May 2023, without preferential shareholder subscription rights.

The capital increase will be capped at 1,000,000 shares with a par value of €2.50 per share. The newly issued shares will be fully assimilated to existing ordinary shares.

Amundi will request that the newly issued shares under the offering be admitted for trading on Euronext Paris as soon as possible after the capital increase is completed, currently scheduled for 31 October 2024. These shares will be listed on the same line as the existing shares, under ISIN code FR0004125920.

Terms of the 2024 offering

We Share Amundi is being made available to employees in France and Amundi Group entities in the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States.

Employees of companies that are members of the PEE or PEGI, with at least three months of employment, whether consecutive or not, between 1 January 2023 and the last day of the subscription period, as well as retired employees in France that have kept assets in the PEE, are eligible to the 2023 offering.

The subscription price is set at 47.00 euros. This subscription price is the average of the share opening price over the 20 trading days between 23 August and 19 September 2024 (included), minus a 30% discount.

Eligible employees can subscribe to the offering between 23 September 2024 and 4 October 2024 included. Shares can be subscribed to via the FCPE (Employment Shareholding Fund) AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT      RELAIS 2024 or FCPE AMUNDI SHARES RELAIS 2024, with the exception of certain countries where shares will be subscribed to directly. Once the capital increase is completed, and following decisions by the funds’ Supervisory Boards and the approval of the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the FCPE AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT RELAIS 2024 will be merged into the FCPE AMUNDI ACTIONNARIAT, and the FCPE AMUNDI SHARES RELAIS 2024 will be merged into the FCPE AMUNDI SHARES.

The voting rights attached to the shares held via the Funds will be exercised by the Fund’s Supervisory Board. The voting rights attached to the directly-held shares will be exercised by the subscribers.

The shares subscribed to under We Share Amundi will be subject to a five-year lock-up period, unless an early-exit event occurs as described in the PEE or PEGI plan rules. Early-exit events will be adjusted where applicable for certain countries.

An employee can invest up to a maximum of €40,000. This cap is assessed on all the employee shareholding operations of the Crédit Agricole group in which Amundi employees could participate in 2024. Employees may finance their subscription by making voluntary contributions to the plans, up to the annual cap on investments in employee savings plans which is set at 25% of their gross annual compensation. Members of the UES Amundi PEE are also entitled to use their     assets held in another specific fund of the PEE.

Should subscription requests exceed the maximum number of shares available under the offering, the smallest subscriptions will be fully honoured while the highest subscriptions will be subject to successive caps until all available shares are subscribed. In France, any cap on subscriptions will first be applied to portions of subscriptions financed by voluntary contributions, then on the subscriptions financed by the transfer of available assets held in another specific fund of the PEE, and finally on the subscriptions financed by the transfer of unavailable assets held in another specific fund of the PEE.

Disclaimer

This press release is for information only and is not a solicitation to subscribe to Amundi shares.

We Share Amundi is strictly reserved to the eligible employees mentioned in this release and shall only be available in countries where such an offer has been registered with the competent local authorities, or the latter has been notified thereof, and/or following the approval of a prospectus by the competent local authorities, or if an exemption has been granted from the obligation to publish a prospectus or to register the offering with the authorities, or to notify the latter thereof.

More generally, We Share Amundi will only be available in countries where all required registration and/or notification procedures have been completed and the necessary authorizations obtained.

Contact

For any questions about We Share Amundi, eligible employees may contact their Head of Human Resources or visit the following website: www.weshare.amundi.com

***

About Amundi

Amundi, the leading European asset manager, ranking among the top 10 global players¹, offers its 100 million clients – retail, institutional and corporate – a complete range of savings and investment solutions in active and passive management, in traditional or real assets. This offering is enhanced with IT tools and services to cover the entire savings value chain. A subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and listed on the stock exchange, Amundi currently manages more than €2.15 trillion of assets².

With its six international investment hubs³, financial and extra-financial research capabilities and long-standing commitment to responsible investment, Amundi is a key player in the asset management landscape.

Amundi clients benefit from the expertise and advice of 5,500 employees in 35 countries.

Amundi, a trusted partner, working every day in the interest of its clients and society

www.amundi.com

Press contacts:
Natacha Andermahr
Tel. +33 1 76 37 86 05
natacha.andermahr@amundi.com

Corentin Henry
Tel. +33 1 76 36 26 96
corentin.henry@amundi.com

Investor contacts:
Cyril Meilland, CFA
Tel. +33 1 76 32 62 67
cyril.meilland@amundi.com

Thomas Lapeyre
Tel. +33 1 76 33 70 54
thomas.lapeyre@amundi.com

Annabelle Wiriath

Tel. + 33 1 76 32 43 92

annabelle.wiriath@amundi.com

¹Source: IPE “Top 500 Asset Managers” published in June 2023, based on assets under management as at 31/12/2022
²Amundi data as at 31/12/2023
³Boston, Dublin, London, Milan, Paris and Tokyo

Attachment
- Amundi 2024 – PR EN – Launch of the capital increase reserved for employees_
The MIL Network –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

Ukraine recently launched a long-range drone strike on a Russian ammunition depot in the Tver region of Russia. Ukraine followed up the strike with additional drone strikes near Tver and Krasnador.

These strikes were notable for two reasons. First, the destruction may represent Ukraine’s most successful drone strikes in the current phase of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Second, Toropets, where the first strike took place, is approximately 480 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border.

The success of the attack has caused considerable elation among Ukraine’s supporters.

The drone strikes, however, will not fundamentally alter the current battlefield. But they are part of broader efforts by Ukraine to undermine Russia’s ability to wage war. These efforts are unlikely to bear fruit in 2024, but do improve Ukraine’s position for 2025 and potentially beyond.

The failed search for fast victory

Both Ukraine and Russia have sought rapid victories in the war.

Russia, based on captured documents, believed that its invasion in 2022 would only take 10 days to result in total Ukrainian capitulation. Ukrainian resolve and the weaknesses of Russian armed forces, however, doomed this effort.

Ukraine and its supporters, likewise, placed too much hope in a decisive victory in the 2023 summer offensive. But their hopes were quashed by a Russian army that was not only superior to its 2022 iteration and fighting on the defensive, but also by structural weaknesses in the newly constituted Ukrainian units as well.

The reality of the Russia-Ukraine war is that rapid and decisive victories for either side are impractical. Instead, both Ukraine and Russia are undertaking efforts to win in 2025 and beyond.

Russian tactical actions

Ukraine realized it was in an existential fight from the outset of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s focus on a rapid victory in Ukraine, however, meant Russia was unprepared for a protracted conflict.

Russia, however, adapted to the prolonged war, using the mercenary Wagner Group to stabilize its position in Ukraine. Russia’s efforts to find soldiers for the war effort included giving the Wagner Group the green light to recruit from Russian prisons.

Read more:
Russians flee the draft as the reality of the war in Ukraine hits home

These efforts, however, were more akin to patching holes in the Russian war effort than addressing its underlying issues. In September 2022, Putin announced a partial mobilization of Russian reservists, totalling 300,000 additional soldiers.

A Russian recruit and his wife kiss and hug each other outside a military recruitment centre in Volgograd, Russia, in September 2022.
(AP Photo)

This mobilization and subsequent recruitment efforts gave Russia the personnel advantages it had at the beginning of the conflict. The reinforcements have allowed Russia to resume grinding offensive operations in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Notably, Russian forces are now nearing the strategic city of Pokrovsk.

Economic sanctions have affected Russia’s ability to produce high-end weapons. Nevertheless, it’s still able to acquire arms at scale from its domestic arms industry as well as from countries like Iran and North Korea.

Combined with Russia’s diplomatic offensive in Africa, Putin is not as isolated as western countries commonly believe.

Ukrainian morale

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a war of attrition, and most analyses have assumed that type of war plays to Russia’s advantage given its material superiority. A factor neglected by many analysts in wars of attrition, however, is the importance of morale.

The Ukrainian government and armed forces have not neglected this crucial point. The recent and ongoing drone strikes help to boost declining Ukrainian morale as the war takes it toll and as hopes of a rapid conclusion have faded, both among Ukrainians themselves and their allies.

Ukrainian efforts over the summer should be viewed through this morale lens. When doing so, it also becomes evident that Ukraine is fighting the long war versus seeking decisive victories.

None of Ukraine’s major efforts over the summer, when viewed in isolation, have a serious chance of changing the war in a significant manner. The Ukrainian army’s occupation of parts of the Kursk region this summer brought the conflict to Russian territory. The amount of territory taken by Ukraine, however, is negligible.

Each operation improves Ukraine’s ability to fight a protracted war, however, while simultaneously undermining Russia’s material and moral resources. They also boost the country’s morale while humiliating Putin at the same time.

Long-term vision

Russia staked considerable political capital and material benefits in acquiring support in Africa through the Wagner Group.

Ukrainian special operation forces efforts in Africa against the Wagner Group undermine Russia’s ability to acquire diplomatic support and other resources.

Read more:
Ukrainian special operations abroad are part of its broader war effort against Russia

Ukraine’s drone strikes will not alter Russian military supplies in a permanent way. But the strikes, using domestically produced drones, creates pressure on Ukraine’s allies to allow western weapons to be used with potentially greater effect.

The daily news cycle focuses on the importance of individual acts. In assessing how the conflict is developing, however, it’s important to understand how these acts, ranging from drone strikes to ground offensives, are connected to an overall strategy. Each is designed to improve Ukraine’s position while undermining Russia’s during a protracted war.

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

– ref. Ukraine drone strikes demonstrate its continuing intent to fight the long war against Russia – https://theconversation.com/ukraine-drone-strikes-demonstrate-its-continuing-intent-to-fight-the-long-war-against-russia-239438

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI Russia: IMF Executive Board Concludes 2024 Article IV Consultation with Brunei Darussalam

Source: IMF – News in Russian

September 23, 2024

Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded on September 16, 2024 the Article IV consultation^{^[1]} with Brunei Darussalam on a lapse-of-time basis^{^[2]}.

Brunei’s real GDP rose by 1.4 percent in 2023 after two years of recession, mainly driven by the non-oil and gas (O&G) sector and the earlier-than-anticipated production from the new Salman oil field in Q4 2023. Inflation fell, reaching 0.4 percent in 2023 compared to 3.7 percent in 2022, supported by the easing of post-pandemic supply chain disruptions, the softening commodity prices, as well as large subsidies and price controls. The fiscal and external position deteriorated in 2023 reflecting weaker O&G production and prices. The current account was also impacted by higher service imports and net income outflows. The banking sector remains stable, liquid, and well capitalized with declining non-performing loans.

The recovery is anticipated to continue and risks to the outlook are broadly balanced. Growth is forecasted at about 2.4 percent in 2024 on the back of expected increase in O&G production, including from the new offshore oil fields and rebound in downstream sector, while domestic non-O&G non-tradeable sector growth is expected to plateau. Inflation is expected to remain unchanged at 0.5 percent in 2024, and fiscal and external balances would stabilize alongside O&G prices. Near-term risks tilted downward due to external factors and O&G production challenges. New O&G field discoveries would provide significant upside, while accounting for decarbonization pressures. Structural reform implementation, with product diversification and technological advancement, could boost productivity, but economic and social challenges would remain with adoption of artificial intelligence.

Executive Board Assessment

In concluding the 2024 Article IV consultation with Brunei Darussalam, Executive Directors endorsed staff’s appraisal, as follows:

Growth rebounded moderately in 2023. The stronger-than-expected growth turnaround was supported by a new O&G field coming to stream in late 2023, a high interest rate environment and post-pandemic momentum boosting finance, transport, and hospitality. However, persistent O&G production challenges and maintenance related disruptions in downstream activities along with lower O&G prices weakened the fiscal and external positions in 2023. Consequently, the external position for 2023 remained substantially weaker than suggested by fundamentals and desirable policies and the output gap is assessed to be negative. Disinflation continued mainly due to easing supply chain disruptions and the softening of commodity prices, aided by continuing large scale subsidies and price controls.

The narrowing output gap, O&G revenue uncertainty and long-term decarbonization trends warrant a prudent fiscal stance, while protecting the vulnerable and public investment. While the use of fiscal buffers in FY 2023/24 was appropriate in view of the cyclical position and to support economic recovery, restoring fiscal buffers through growth-friendly fiscal consolidation should be prioritized going forward. This will require enhanced revenue generation, and could be supported by a low-rate carbon tax, and expenditure rationalization—including via more targeted subsidies. These efforts should be guided by a fiscal consolidation plan with clear fiscal targets. Plans to establish a MTFF and fiscal anchors, strengthening fiscal risk management and transparency are welcome.

The currency board arrangement with Singapore is sound and has played a key role in supporting Brunei’s macroeconomic and financial sector stability. Efforts to improve monetary operations, by including Singapore’s interbank transactions in its analysis to understand the influence of Singapore’s policy rates since January 2024, and continuing to narrow the corridor by raising the SFDR, integrating I-bills into the Asset Maintenance Ratio and launching a website for better communication on monetary policies, are welcome. Enhancing inter-agency cooperation regarding the issuance and management of sukuks will be helpful. Over the medium-term, the BDCB is encouraged to build internal capacity in liquidity forecasting to calibrate the issuance of the I-bills and consider establishing a single treasury account.

The financial sector remained stable with strong capital and liquidity buffers. Systemic risk is assessed to be contained. Careful tracking of credit growth in both offshore and domestic personal loans is warranted, as declining oil prices could pose risks, despite low NPLs. Ensuring that that the foreign loans continue to be invested in highly credit-rated assets will help to mitigate credit risk. For domestic lending, continuing to deploy prudential measures like capping the Total Debt Service Ratio, assessing unsecured personal loan exposure, and maintaining NPL standards are welcome measures. Authorities are encouraged to stay on track with plans to implement Basel III standards for better liquidity management by the end-2024. Implementation of stress tests is recommended, while considering stress testing for climate transition and physical risks. Efforts to further strengthen prudential frameworks, develop a long-term sukuk markets, green taxonomy and unify disclosure standards, and to improve AML/CFT effectiveness will help to deepen markets, and support long-term green projects. The authorities’ commitment to continue implementing the recommended actions in the APG’s Mutual Evaluation Report is welcome.

The authorities’ commitment to ambitious and sustained structural reforms will be critical to ensure growth and diversification, including by transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Reaching the authorities’ net zero emissions goal by 2050, will require continued development of the non-O&G sector, including through adoption of green technologies. Continued skill development, while addressing AI-related challenges and closing structural gaps in the first-generation reform areas (external sector trade facilitation, improving business regulation, and governance) vis-à-vis top peers, will be key to facilitate FDI and PPPs. Completing the 2025 National Adaptation Plan and a Climate Vulnerability Assessment should support the prioritization of adaptation strategies.

Data provided to the Fund has some shortcomings that somewhat hamper surveillance and data quality should be strengthened. Steps are needed to close the identified data gaps in national income, prices, external and fiscal sectors. Efforts for improving external sector data through a survey to better gauge trends in errors and omissions, and payables/receivables and strengthening public financial management (PFM) to build more transparent and accountable fiscal systems and aligning these further with GFSM (2014) are welcome, as are plans to enhance dissemination via the Fund’s e-GDDS portal.

Table 1. Brunei Darussalam: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2019–29
Area: 5,765 sq. kilometers
Population (2023): 450,500
Nominal GDP per capita (2023): US$33,581.1
Main export destinations (2023): Australia (21.5 percent), China (16.9), and Singapore (16.7)
Unemployment rate (2023): 5.1%
Labor force participation rate (2023): total 67.2; male 75.8%; female 57.3%
			2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029
							Est.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.	Proj.
Output and Prices
	Nominal GDP (millions of Brunei dollars)		18,375	16,564	18,822	23,003	20,319	20,893	22,197	23,073	24,081	25,153	26,447
	Nominal non-oil and gas GDP (millions of Brunei dollars)		8,268	8,868	9,790	11,043	10,883	11,386	12,411	13,620	15,045	16,281	17,717
	Real GDP (percentage change) 1/		3.9	1.1	-1.6	-1.6	1.4	2.4	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.9	3.1
		Oil and gas sector GDP	3.9	-4.9	-4.8	-7.3	-2.0	2.6	3.1	3.1	1.7	1.1	1.0
		Non-oil and gas sector GDP	3.9	8.9	2.0	4.3	4.5	2.1	2.0	2.1	3.5	4.4	4.7
	Oil production (‘000 barrels/day)		121	110	107	92	74	84	94	94	99	90	90
	Natural gas output (millions BTUs/day)		1,402	1,358	1,253	1,151	1,214	1,226	1,201	1,220	1,277	1,313	1,313
	Average Brunei oil price (U.S. dollars per barrel)		68.6	43.3	72.1	107.7	87.1	89.5	83.3	79.9	77.0	75.1	73.8
	Average Brunei gas price (U.S. dollars per million BTU)		9.1	6.7	9.1	14.4	10.9	8.6	9.9	8.7	7.8	7.4	7.0
	Consumer prices (period average, percentage change)		-0.4	1.9	1.7	3.7	0.4	0.5	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
			(Fiscal Year, In percent of GDP)
Public Finances: Budgetary Central Government
	Total revenue		26.4	12.6	24.0	28.3	17.3	19.3	18.9	17.5	16.3	15.5	15.1
		Oil and gas	19.8	7.7	20.2	24.5	13.0	13.6	13.4	12.2	11.1	10.1	9.5
		Other	6.5	5.0	3.8	3.9	4.3	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.2	5.4	5.6
	Total Expenditure		31.9	32.6	29.1	26.7	29.2	29.4	28.6	27.8	26.9	25.9	25.1
		Current	29.5	31.3	28.0	25.7	27.4	27.0	26.2	25.4	24.5	23.6	22.8
		Capital	2.4	1.3	1.1	1.0	1.8	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.3
	Overall balance 2/		-5.6	-20.0	-5.1	1.6	-11.8	-10.1	-9.6	-10.2	-10.5	-10.4	-9.9
	Overall primary balance excluding royalties		-22.7	-25.8	-22.5	-19.8	-22.6	-21.5	-20.7	-20.2	-19.6	-18.7	-17.7
	Non-oil and Gas Balance (In percent of non-oil and gas GDP)		-49.5	-46.1	-44.3	-40.2	-41.8	-39.2	-36.5	-33.7	-31.1	-28.6	-26.1
			(12-month percent change)
Money and Banking
	Private Sector Credit		2.0	0.2	2.7	6.0	3.9	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
	Narrow money		6.6	20.8	6.5	1.2	0.7	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8	3.8
	Broad money		4.3	-0.4	2.7	1.3	2.7	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
			(In millions of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated)
Balance of Payments
	Goods		2,211	1,359	2,679	5,153	3,808	3,966	4,264	4,121	3,925	4,013	4,131
		Exports	7,210	6,535	11,001	14,130	11,264	11,416	11,987	12,098	12,024	12,390	12,780
		Of which: oil and gas	3,244	2,943	4,730	5,660	4,185	3,867	4,387	4,243	3,798	3,668	3,617
		Imports	4,999	5,176	8,322	8,977	7,456	7,450	7,723	7,977	8,099	8,377	8,649
	Services (net)		-1,189	-855	-696	-848	-1,305	-1,324	-1,271	-1,173	-1,086	-1,029	-989
	Primary Income (net)		362	360	90	-370	194	327	226	193	146	119	83
	Secondary Income (net)		-490	-350	-502	-671	-749	-641	-687	-692	-673	-684	-683
	Current Account Balance		894	514	1,570	3,264	1,949	2,328	2,532	2,448	2,311	2,419	2,541
	Current Account Balance (in percent of GDP)		6.6	4.3	11.2	19.6	12.9	15.0	15.5	14.4	13.0	13.0	13.0
	Gross Official Reserves 3/		4,273	3,997	4,980	5,035	4,485	4,583	4,682	4,780	4,879	4,977	5,075
		In months of next year’s imports of goods and services	8.0	5.2	5.9	6.6	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9	5.9
	Brunei dollars per U.S. dollar (period average)		1.36	1.38	1.34	1.38	1.34	…	…	…	…	…	…
	Brunei dollar per U.S. dollar (end of period)		1.35	1.34	1.36	1.35	1.33	…	…	…	…	…	…
Sources: Data provided by the Brunei authorities; and Fund staff estimates and projections.
1/ Non-oil and gas GDP includes the downstream sector.
2/ In absence of government debt and interest payments, this is also primary balance.
3/ Comprises foreign exchange assets of Brunei Darussalam Central Bank, SDR holdings, and reserve position in the Fund.

[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

[2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/09/23/pr-24340-brunei-imf-concludes-2024-article-iv-consultation

MIL OSI

MIL OSI Russia News –

September 29, 2024

MIL-OSI Economics: 6 Pixel 9 Pro photo features I’ve used on hiking trips
Source: Google

My summer is coming to an end, which means I’m wrapping up my hiking and backpacking trips. But I’m happy to report that I got out on the trail multiple times, enough to tide me over for a couple months at least! Better yet, I took my new Pixel 9 Pro with me and captured plenty of photos of my outdoor adventures. Here are six features I used to take some of my favorite photos from this summer’s trail trips.

1. Add Me

Add Me was — without a doubt — the most useful Pixel Camera feature for all of these trips. During group adventures of the past, if no one was around to take our photo we’d struggle to position a phone against a tree or a rock, hit the timer and hope to make it into the group shot before it went off. This summer, I would simply snap a pic of my friends and then hand the phone off to a friend, join the scene myself to get an excellent photo of us all.

2. Magic Editor’s Auto Frame

Plenty of times, I find that my trail photos don’t do the actual vastness of the landscape justice, or that I just missed the perfect framing because I was distracted or moving too fast. Magic Editor’s Auto Frame tool is perfect for a few of these images: It uses AI to analyze the layout of a photo you took and reframe the subject as well as expand its borders. It even shows you composition options so you can pick one you like best.

3. Zoom Enhance

Super Res Zoom on Pixel Camera is one of my favorite features for landscape photos; it allows me to zoom in on the details of something far away and still get a sharp image. But sometimes only when I’m looking through my photos later do I wish I’d zoomed in more — thankfully, the new Zoom Enhance feature allows me to do this after I’ve taken a photo. This tool allows me to zoom in and crop an image, and it will intelligently fill in details, making the subject appear sharper and clearer — no graininess in sight. This is different from simply cropping a photo, which often results in a loss of quality.
A landscape photo looking up the side of a cliff, showing rocks, greenery and a blue sky. There is also a goat in the photo. The animation zooms in to focus on the goat.

Animation showing a landscape photo of a smooth, large cliff with a lake in the foreground. The image then zooms in to focus on the cliff, showing less of the lake.

Animation showing a wide shot of a mountain top with lots of blue sky above it. Then the image zooms in to focus more on the top of the mountain, with less of the sky in the image.
4. Pro Controls and 50MP

I like some of the photos I take on these trips so much that I want to turn them into canvases or blown-up printed pieces that I can display — which is why I use Pixel Pro Controls to shoot in 50MP at least part of the time. Shooting in 50MP captures higher resolution images, resulting in more fine details that are important for large prints to look good. I also enable RAW, which makes the photo easier to edit later if I want. When you shoot in RAW on Pixel, it will take one regular, JPEG version and one RAW version. If you decide you don’t need that RAW version for editing but still like the photo, you can keep the JPEG, which is a smaller file size. (Plus it’s also fun to see the difference between the fully processed JPG and the RAW image.)

I thought this might make a nice print, so I shot this photo of a sunrise in 50MP.

5. Reimagine

Photos from my excursions don’t always turn out how I remembered the moment. Sometimes what I’d thought was an incredible sunset is more muted than it’d seemed, or I forgot entirely to take a photo of a really beautiful meadow. Here, I thought I’d taken a photo farther down the river where the pine trees were tall and lush — instead, I took one in a more sparse area. Using Magic Editor’s Reimagine feature, I asked the tool to replace the bare trunks with “lush, tall pine trees.”

6. Night Sight plus Panorama Mode

Evening might be my favorite part of a backpacking trip — for one thing, I get some truly excellent sleep after a day of hiking. But I’ll happily put off bedtime to watch the glowing sunsets followed by starry skies. I’ve used Pixel’s Night Sight feature to capture beautiful shots of these dark settings in the past, but now it’s available for panorama shots as well, so I can get an epic, wide field of view that captures the incredible landscape — even in low light.

Speaking of panoramas: Also worth mentioning is the new Panorama Mode, which delivers even higher-quality horizon-spanning images. Its updated UI made it easier than ever to follow along and grab each area of my surroundings, regardless of whether I accidentally tilted the camera — which is pretty easy to do when you’ve got a weekend’s worth of gear on your back.

Now that I’ve got these pictures, all I have to do is get my favorites printed — and start thinking about where I’ll take my Pixel next summer.

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9 things to know about Pixel 9 cameras

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MIL OSI Economics –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI: Sophos Named a Leader in 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

OXFORD, United Kingdom, Sept. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has once again been named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP). This is the 15th consecutive time that Sophos has been positioned as a Leader in the report.

Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions, including Sophos Intercept X Endpoint, protect more than 300,000 organizations against advanced cyberthreats with anti-exploit, anti-ransomware, deep learning artificial intelligence (AI), and other sophisticated technologies. This includes the ability to detect remote ransomware, an attack that attempts to encrypt data over the network from a compromised remote device, by stopping it in real-time and automatically rolling devices to their original state. It also includes Adaptive Attack Protection, an industry-first feature which automatically disrupts attackers and dynamically adjusts protections based on threat context to stop in-progress attacks. The feature provides defenders with valuable additional time to respond when under active attack. Through a partnership with Tenable, Sophos Managed Risk provides attack surface visibility, continuous risk monitoring, vulnerability prioritization, investigation, and proactive notification to prevent early-stage cyberattacks, reducing the workload for security teams tasked with tackling vulnerability and exposure management. Account Health Check capabilities further monitor and correct security configuration changes, enabling organizations to promptly re-establish security best practices.

“Organizations are facing an unprecedented level of cyberattacks, with our Sophos X-Op research showing that adversaries are doing far more than accelerating their attacks and covering their tracks. Attackers are shifting their tactics, techniques, and procedures to evade and disable EDR tools – signaling that choosing a tested and hardened solution with a track record for consistent innovation is a ‘must have,’ not optional,” said Rob Harrison, senior vice president, product management at Sophos. “Sophos has been recognized as a 15-time Leader in Endpoint Protection Platforms, we feel this would have not been possible without moving as quickly and aggressively as the adversaries we are fighting every day. Sophos’ technology is rooted in its unique prevention-first approach that reduces breaches, adapts defenses in response to an attack, and improves detection and response outcomes.”

Already this year, Sophos was named a Customers’ Choice in the Gartner^® Peer Insights™ Voice of the Customer for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) report. This recognition follows Sophos being named Gartner Customers’ Choice for EPP for the third consecutive year.

Sophos is also named a G2 Leader in Endpoint Protection, EDR, MDR, Firewall, and XDR in its Fall 2024 G2 Grid^® Reports. Sophos Intercept X is also recognized as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Modern Endpoint Midsize Business and the IDC MarketScape for Modern Endpoint Small Business.

Like Intercept X Endpoint, Sophos Managed Detection and Response is the top-rated MDR solution on Gartner Peer Insights and a leader. As the most widely used MDR offering with more than 24,000 customers, Sophos MDR is the only MDR service that can be delivered across end users’ existing third-party security deployments as well as Sophos offerings. Organizations can integrate telemetry sources from dozens of vendors, including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Check Point, Okta, Darktrace, and many others, through the Sophos Marketplace.

Sophos endpoint solutions are a key part of the company’s portfolio of end-to-end integrated security products and services that protect customers at every layer, even across distributed organizations. In addition to endpoint, the portfolio includes network, email, and cloud solutions, as well as managed security and incident response services. All of the solutions feed into the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem and are powered by threat intelligence from Sophos X-Ops for faster and more contextual and synchronized protection, detection and response.

To learn more about Sophos’ recognition in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for EPP, visit our website and read the blog.

To learn more about Sophos Intercept X Endpoint, visit https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/endpoint-antivirus.

Gartner disclaimers:
Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™: Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), Evgeny Mirolyubov, Franz Stefan Hinner, Chris Silva, Deepak Mishra, Satarupa Patnaik, September 23, 2024.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark, Peer Insights and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About Sophos
Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation. Sophos sells through reseller partners and managed service providers (MSPs) worldwide. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

The MIL Network –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Security: PV/BV 24-4 concludes at Minot AFB

Source: United States Strategic Command

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. –

Airmen assigned to the 2nd and 5th Bomb Wings participated in Prairie Vigilance/Bayou Vigilance 24-4, a training operation designed to test the wings’ readiness to conduct deterrence and combat operations here, Sept. 4-8.

“The purpose of ‘Prairie Vigilance’ is inherent in the name itself: vigilance,” said Col. Jesse Lamarand, 5th Bomb Wing commander. “It’s how the 5th Bomb Wing ensures the safety, security and reliability of not just the weapons on base, but the human weapons systems that are involved in maintaining, sustaining and executing our president’s nuclear options.”

These training operations enable crews to maintain a high state of readiness and proficiency, and validate the always-ready, global strike capability. The VIGILANCE series also enhances the safety, security, and reliability of the bomber leg of the U.S. nuclear triad.

“Col. Lamarand says all the time that even though this is for practice, people are watching,” said Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Sharp, 5th Bomb Wing command chief. “These training operations let our adversaries and allies know that we operate in safe and reliable conditions, and we’re ready to go at any given time.”

PV/BV 24-4 once again demonstrated Air Force Global Strike Command’s airpower and capabilities, ensuring Team Minot and Team Barksdale Airmen are prepared and ready to execute such a vital mission. Hundreds of Airmen including aircraft maintainers, security forces, and aircrews from two wings were tested and have shown their superior response efforts in support of deterring and, if necessary, responding to strategic attacks against the United States and its allies and partners.

PV/BV operations are regularly planned and are not scheduled or conducted in response to any specific geopolitical conditions or situations. These training missions are routine and occur multiple times per year.

This training operation not only demonstrates the wings’ ability to stand alert if needed to deter or respond to an attack, but it demonstrates their ability to project lethal combat power across the globe.

This was the third iteration of PV/BV for 2024.

MIL Security OSI –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: NSF and philanthropic partners invest more than $18M to prioritize ethical and societal considerations in the creation of emerging technologies
Source: US Government research organizations

Awardees will contribute to the responsible advancement of emerging technologies to promote the public’s well-being and mitigate potential harms
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced an inaugural investment of more than $18 million to 44 multidisciplinary, multi-sector teams across the U.S. through the NSF Responsible Design, Development and Deployment of Technologies (NSF ReDDDoT) program. NSF ReDDDoT invests in the creation of technologies that promote the public’s well-being and mitigate potential harms by seeking to ensure that ethical, legal, community and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation and use. NSF launched this program in collaboration with leading philanthropic partners including the Ford Foundation, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Siegel Family Endowment.

“NSF is committed to creating mutually beneficial research collaborations among diverse partners who contribute their expertise and resources to accelerating technology innovation that positively addresses pressing national, societal and geostrategic challenges,” said Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “Through a robust public-private partnership with philanthropies, NSF’s investment in ReDDDoT aims to ensure that TIP advances the design, development and deployment of new technologies responsibly. This investment is consistent with the ‘CHIPS and Science Act of 2022,’ in which Congress called upon TIP to invest in exactly this approach when pursuing the key technology areas listed in that law.”

NSF awarded 30 teams Phase 1 funding: 21 teams will receive planning grants of up to $300,000 each for up to two years to facilitate collaborative transdisciplinary and multi-sector activities to plan for submission of larger proposals, while an additional nine teams will receive Phase 1 funding of up to $75,000 each to plan and host workshops designed to raise awareness and identify relevant approaches and needs in the key technology areas identified in the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.”

Additionally, NSF awarded Phase 2 funding to 14 teams that demonstrated maturity in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or natural and anthropogenic disaster prevention or mitigation, key technology areas in the statute that TIP emphasized for ReDDDoT funding. Each Phase 2 team will receive up to $1.5 million over three years to expand upon their identified experience in use-inspired and translational activities in responsible design, development and deployment of innovative technology.

The ReDDDoT program invited proposals from teams that examined and demonstrated the principles, methodologies and impacts associated with ethical, legal, community and societal considerations of technology’s creation and use, especially those specified in the “CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.”NSF anticipates issuing a second ReDDDoT funding opportunity in the future that will build on this round of funding to ensure ethical, legal, community, and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation.

NSF ReDDDot Awardees

Awardees are grouped by award type and then listed in alphabetical order by organization. The full award list can be found on NSF Award Search webpage.

Planning grants:
- Carnegie Mellon University: Responsible AI Across the Transportation Sector (NSF award 2427699).
- Case Western Reserve University: Designing a Responsible AI-enabled Digital Service Ecosystem in Finance and Healthcare (NSF award 2427505).
- Data & Society: Assessing Environmental Impacts of AI Through Participatory Methods (NSF award 2427700).
- DePaul University: AI-Enabled Support Services for Transplanted Populations: A Community-Centered Design and Development Approach (NSF award 2427713).
- Georgetown University: Piloting a Framework to Measure the Impacts of Artificial Intelligence Tools for Government Agencies (NSF award 2427748).
- Harvard Medical School: Piloting an Impact Accelerator Model for Cultivating Equity and Ethics in Genetics Innovation (NSF award 2427533).
- Michigan State University: Supporting Culturally Centered Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Community-Engaged Partnerships (NSF award 2427697).
- New York University: Collaborative award: AI Summer Institute on Communities (NSF award 2427677).
- North Central College: Collaborative award: AI Summer Institute on Communities (NSF award 2427678).
- Northeastern University: An AI toolkit for Designing Inclusive Digital Activities for Older Adults (NSF award 2427714).
- Pennsylvania State University: Prioritization of Housing & Behavioral Health Services to Individuals and Families (NSF award 2427737).
- Rutgers University: Writing Education through Design-Oriented AI (NSF award 2427646).
- TERC Inc.: Alternative Systems for Human Waste Management (NSF award 2427679).
- Texas Tech University: Building Community-Driven Resilience and Empowerment through Adaptive Manufacturing Technologies (NSF award 2427747).
- University of Akron: Materials Advancement through a Precede-Proceed framework for Safety (NSF award 2427693).
- University of California Santa Cruz: Destigmatizing Disfluencies in Speech AI with Grassroots Stuttering Communities (NSF award 2427710).
- University of Florida: Treatment Technologies for Phosphorus Mitigation (NSF award 2427542).
- University of Michigan: Bridging Past and Future: Fostering Community-Researcher Synergy through Planning NSF award 2427332).
- University of Wisconsin: Novel Cellular Technologies in Ecosystem Preservation: Ethics, Data Sovereignty and Implementation (NSF award 2427636).
- Vanderbilt University: Towards Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of a GenAI-Enabled System for Dispatcher Training in Emergency Response (NSF award 2427711).
- Virginia Tech: Facilitating Responsible, Ethical, and Explainable Ergonomic Exposure Assessments When Using Artificial Intelligence Methods (NSF award 2427599).
Workshops:
- Arizona State University: Indigenous Approaches to Computational Futures (NSF award 2427641).
- Association of Science-Technology Centers: Exploring Roles of Science and Technology Centers and Museums in Facilitating Public Collaboration in Artificial Intelligence (NSF award 2427449).
- Case Western Reserve University: Employing Public Interest Technologies to Promote Access in Education and Employment for People who have Physical Disabilities (NSF award 2427587).
- Michigan State University: Generative AI Ethics Module Design Sprint for STEM Educators (NSF award 2427666).
- Texas A&M University: Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity: Technologies and Policy Options to Leverage Opportunities and Mitigate Risks (NSF award 2427760).
- UC Berkeley: Workshop Towards the Promise of Open-Source AI Models – A Workshop to Co-Create a Vision for Responsibility and Corresponding Research Roadmap (NSF award 2427618).
- UCLA: Responsible Quantum Innovation (NSF award 2427775).
- University of California, Davis: Responsible Artificial Intelligence to Promote Sustainability, Climate Resilience, and Equitable Access to Healthy Food in US Food Systems (NSF award 2427769).
- Virginia Tech: Situating Network Infrastructure with People, Practices, and Beyond (NSF award 2427606).
Phase 2:
- Columbia University: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429841).
- Columbia University: Leveraging Urban AI as a Communal Tool for Connection and Exchange in Harlem (NSF award 2429672).
- Development Gateway: The Digital Governance Design Project (NSF award 2429815).
- Fred Hutchison Cancer Center: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429840).
- Georgetown University: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data NSF award 2429838).
- Indiana University: Collaborative award: Inclusive American Language Technologies (NSF award 2429338).
- Iowa State University: Empowering Resilience: Innovations in Rural Electric Network Disaster Preparedness and Response (NSF award 2429602).
- Louisiana State University: Climate-Informed Flood Risk Mitigation Sandbox (NSF award 2429888).
- Michigan State University: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429836).
- Mozilla Foundation: Collaborative award: Inclusive American Language Technologies (NSF award 2429337).
- Rice University: Responsible Multi-Modal AI Systems for Multi-Hazard Resilience and Situational Awareness (NSF award 2429680).
- Rochester Institute of Technology: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429835).
- The University of Mississippi: Collaborative award: A User-Centered Platform for Digital Content Integrity (NSF award 2429837).
- University of Maryland: Collaborative award: Enabling Participatory Privacy Protections for AI Training Data (NSF award 2429839).
About NSF ReDDDoT

The NSF ReDDDoT program is a collaboration with philanthropic partners and crosses all disciplines of science and engineering. The program seeks to ensure ethical, legal, community and societal considerations are embedded in the lifecycle of technology’s creation and use. The program supports research, implementation and education projects involving multi-sector teams that focus on the responsible design, development or deployment of technologies.
MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Economics: A no-cost training and certification program for veterans

Source: Google

My father dedicated over 40 years to active duty in the Navy, and with my mother, instilled a strong sense of purpose in me and my two sisters. So joining the Navy felt like a natural choice, taking my oath alongside other young recruits who also valued the importance of having a purpose.

As a woman, the leadership skills I gained in the Navy proved invaluable in navigating industries with underrepresented groups. Fast forward to today, and I’m proud to be part of Google Public Sector, which provides solutions for government agencies and educational institutions. Veterans have so much to offer, yet the transition back to civilian life can be challenging. Research confirms that veterans, despite their qualifications and strong leadership abilities, are often undervalued in the civilian workforce.

Our commitment to veterans

At Google Cloud, we’re determined to change this narrative. We believe veterans deserve a clear path to high-paying careers in cloud and AI. The demand for skilled professionals to lead digital transformations is high, and veterans have the dedication and leadership qualities to excel in these roles.

My Navy experience, coupled with my technical background, showed me the impact of helping others and serving my country. I keep this in mind both at Google Public Sector and in my interactions with customers. That’s why I’m proud to announce the launch of an important new program: Google Cloud Launchpad for Veterans.

Introducing Google Cloud Launchpad for Veterans

This new, no-cost training and certification process is designed to equip veterans in all roles and at all levels with the cloud knowledge and skills they need, and contribute to their current or future employer’s digital transformation strategy.

The three-week course kicks off with a two-day virtual Cloud Digital Leader training event on November 7 and 8, delivered by ROI Training instructor and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Patrick Haggerty. Participants will take part in interactive training sessions and a panel discussion with veterans from Google. After the virtual training event, they’ll receive a complimentary voucher for the Cloud Digital Leader exam. Attendees are encouraged to take the exam between November 15 through December 31, 2024. (The first 500 to pass the exam will receive a voucher for their very own Google socks!) If you need extra practice, we’re also offering optional exam prep sessions on November 15 and 22.

This program goes beyond just certification. You’ll gain the confidence to explain cloud fundamentals, identify the right Google Cloud solutions, and use cloud technology. You’ll understand how to modernize infrastructure and applications, and you’ll learn the essentials of cloud operations and security.

Register today

You served us. Now let us serve you with a path to rewarding cloud and AI careers. Register today and translate your military experience to a powerful career in cloud.

MIL OSI Economics –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI: Force for Good: UN’s Sustainable Development Goals at risk of being missed – 9 urgent actions needed to unlock progress as cost of SDG gap rises by 10% to US$112-136 trillion
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
- A new report from Force for Good – “Capital as a Force for Good: Shifting the Global Order Through the Mass Mobilization of Solutions” – finds urgent action is needed now to unlock progress and achieve the SDGs
- It identifies ‘Nine Big Ideas’ that, if scaled globally, have the potential to unlock SDG progress from less than 66% today, to nearly 90% by the end of the decade, helping correct the annual SDG funding gap of US$14-17 trillion
- Ideas include climate transition frameworks, AI-enabled connectivity, and universal digital financial services, through coordinated action across governments, the private sector and multi-lateral institutions, proposing a high-impact roll-out across the world
LONDON, Sept. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Force For Good: The world is failing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urgent action is needed to unlock progress and overcome the growing annual SDG funding gap, which now stands at US$14-17 trillion, a new report from Force for Good finds, US$112-136 trillion in total, up 10%, due to the costs of global climate transition and development needs in the Global South.

Today, only 16% of the goal’s 169 underlying targets are on track to be met by 2030, with 50% falling behind, and 30% regressing below their 2015 levels when the SDGs were kicked off, the report finds.

Nine ‘Big Ideas’, including climate transition frameworks, AI-enabled connectivity, and universal digital financial services, if scaled globally, have the cumulative potential to progress SDG achievement to nearly 90%, from less than 66% today, reigniting exponential progress.

“This report shows how the global order and the systems itself can be transformed by delivering solutions en masse across the planet, engaging everyone in this endeavour … By leveraging the strengths of governments, private companies, NGOS and mobilising the individual as an agent of change, we can create a sustainable, secure, and prosperous future,” said Ketan Patel, Chair of the Advisory Council.

The world’s failure to meet the goals is being driven by a series of interrelated economic, political, geopolitical and environmental shocks – including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the energy, cost-of-living and climate crises – interacting with one another to create a ‘polycrisis’ that is diverting attention and resources away from sustainable development.

A mass and fast roll out of the ‘Nine Big Ideas’, sponsored by appropriate champions across government, private sector or multi-lateral institutions, working with the United Nations, can make a transformative impact on developing countries, while benefitting the global economy.

While the mass mobilisation of solutions will take a global effort, the largest developing countries, particularly India, China, and Brazil, account for two-thirds of the world’s sustainable development potential. These countries represent the first wave of opportunity in a multi-wave project to realize the future faster.

Meeting the SDGs is a crucial step for the world in the transition to the next era of human civilization, building a platform on which further breakthroughs and technologies can create a sustainable, secure and superior future.

About Force for Good

Force for Good’s mission is to mobilize capital, resources, and ideas as a force for good in the world at a time of profound change. The organization’s Capital as a Force for Good Initiative engages the world’s leading financial institutions and other stakeholders, to promote sustainable development through the deployment of capital and solutions to address global issues and enable the transition to a better future.

The annual Capital as a Force for Good report, now in its fourth edition, is the result of collaboration with the United Nations and major global financial institutions, assessing the role of capital in addressing the world’s most pressing issues.

Institutions actively engaged include Bank of America, BlackRock, Bridgewater Associates, Citi, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investments, First Abu Dhabi Bank, GIC Singapore, Goldman Sachs, Great-West Lifeco, HDFC Bank, HSBC, Investec Group, Japan Post Holdings, JPMorgan Chase, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Nordea, Northern Trust, OMERS, Putnam Investments, Schroders, State Street, UBS, Wellington, and others.

For further details, please visit www.forcegood.org

CONTACTS

Force For Good Contact:
Lesley Whittle
Lesley.whittle@forcegood.org

*ESG News is a proud supporter of Force for Good

The MIL Network –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Senate Advancing Forest Innovation in Georgia Study Committee to Hold Second Meeting
Source: US State of Georgia

ATLANTA (September 23, 2024) — On Monday, September 30,2024, at 10:00 a.m., the Senate Advancing Forest Innovation in Georgia Study Committee, chaired by President Pro Tempore John F. Kennedy (R–Macon), will hold its second hearing.

EVENT DETAILS:
- Date: Monday, September 30, 2024
- Time: 10:00 a.m.
- Location: 450 State Capitol, 206 Washington St SW, Atlanta, GA, 30334
- This event is open to the public and will be live-streamed on the Georgia General Assembly website here.
ABOUT THE MEETING:

The Senate Advancing Forest Innovation in Georgia Study Committee examines how public policy can encourage investment in facilities that create sustainable manufacturing components, practices, and energy derived from Georgia-grown products.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES:

We kindly request that members of the media confirm their attendance in advance by contacting Jantz Womack at senatepressinquiries@senate.ga.gov.

# # # #

Sen. John F. Kennedy serves as the President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate. He represents the 18^th Senate District which includes Upson, Monroe, Peach, Crawford, as well as portions of Bibb and Houston County. He may be reached at 404.656.6578 or by email at john.kennedy@senate.ga.gov.

MIL OSI USA News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI USA: Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge Social Media and Encrypted Messages Companies to Increase Resources Toward Combating 2024 U.S. Election Disinformation

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
September 23, 2024
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues in calling on 11 of the largest and most popular social media and encrypted chat companies in the United States to increase resources needed to combat 2024 U.S. election administration and certification disinformation.
“We are deeply concerned that the dissemination of election disinformation via your products and/or platforms – if left unmitigated – will suppress voter participation, sow doubt in U.S. democracy and incite political violence,” the senators wrote. “Considering the increase in election disinformation on digital platforms during recent elections, there is ample cause for concern.”
“During the 2020 and 2022 U.S. federal elections, foreign adversaries supported the creation and targeting of election disinformation to undermine our democracy. During the 2020 elections, research showed that election disinformation in Spanish stayed up for longer on social media, as compared to English,” the senators continued.
The senators urged Meta, Google (YouTube), TikTok, X (Twitter), Reddit, Snapchat, Amazon (Twitch), Discord, Signal, Telegram and Apple (Messages) to:
Share information about the size and capacity of their 2024 U.S. elections safety resourcing – including personnel and technologies – broken down by language;
Commit to increasing their 2024 U.S. election safety team and technology resourcing for the 10 most commonly spoken languages on their platform(s);
Share information about how they plan to de-amplify and/or remove election disinformation (whether created using AI or not) and/or user accounts who spread this disinformation, when in violation of their policies;
Share their plans for amplifying official election information before, during and after the 2024 U.S. elections; the letter also encourages companies to offer translation of official election information as a public service;
For encrypted chat providers, explain whether they have a reporting system for their users to flag unwanted election disinformation and what enforcement measures are in place.
The letter was led by U.S Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The full text of the letter is here.

MIL OSI USA News –

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Europe: Leading African fund managers receive awards for supporting promising entrepreneurs and start-ups across the continent
Source: European Investment Bank
- First Circle Capital, SpeedInvest and Knife Capital achievements awarded for their work in African venture capital.
- The Africa Venture Finance Programme at Oxford’s Saïd Business School hosted 41 prominent African and Africa-focused venture capital fund managers, with more than half of them being women.
- The programme is funded by the EU, through Boost Africa, and by the AfricaGrow Technical Assistance Facility financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through KfW
African venture capital (VC) fund managers First Circle Capital, SpeedInvest and Knife Capital have all received awards recognising their success in supporting promising entrepreneurs and start-ups across African countries. The awards were presented during the Africa Venture Finance Programme, a week-long, in-person course, organised for the third time at Oxford university’s Saïd Business School from 9 to 13 September 2024. The programme aims to support VC fund managers investing in early and growth-stage technology companies in Africa, with Boost Africa and AfricaGrow hosting 41 leading fund managers from 31 African VC funds.

The ‘Most Promising Fund Manager’ award was given to the all-female team from First Circle Capital, who invest in and support early-stage fintech founders.

The ‘Best Deal’ award went to SpeedInvest for their investment in Moove, a rapidly growing company providing vehicle financing and supply solutions.

Lastly, the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was presented to Keet van Zyl, founding partner of South Africa-based Knife Capital, in recognition of his contributions to the venture ecosystem and leadership.

“We are proud of Boost Africa’s role in supporting a vibrant and resilient VC ecosystem in Africa and helping African entrepreneurs transform their ideas into successful businesses,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “The EIB is committed to financing new technology and ideas that will address the global challenges we all face.”

The shortlisted candidates were peer-selected by fellow fund managers, and a panel of judges composed of limited partners determined the winners from the shortlisted candidates. Investors from funds including Partech, AfricInvest, TLcom, Norssken, Speedinvest came together to discuss innovative solutions for Africa’s unique challenges. The five-day event allowed participants to share expertise and facilitate discussions to drive rapid growth in Africa’s technology venture capital sector. Attendees from all over the continent took part, with more than half of them being women, reflecting increased gender inclusiveness within venture capital leadership.

Several Oxford academics joined the group discussions covering a wide range of topics such as the growing need for innovative funding instruments and the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the continent’s future. Additionally, several prominent African investors attended the forum to share best practices and discuss the way forward. Participants engaged with representatives from different development finance institutions and international organisations. This included Andrea Clerici, Director for Corporate Finance & Global Activities at the European Investment Bank, and delegates from the European Commission and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

“The opportunity to exchange confidential insights, discuss inherent challenges, and ultimately build deeper human bonds is essential for strengthening our collective ability to build our VC ecosystem together. No other conference or event has provided anywhere near as much value as this one.” – Nivesh Pather, Principal at Norrsken22.

“It is important for me to always be learning. The trends in our part of the world are equal parts cyclical and rapidly evolving. We heard so many fresh perspectives and voices coupled with experience. I left Oxford with a renewed commitment to focus on the how.” – Ory Okolloh, Partner at Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures.

“This year’s Africa Venture Finance Programme proved once again the enormous potential of venture capital in Africa. A whole new generation of investors are taking the long view on building an entire new ecosystem. At Oxford Saïd Business School we are proud to be part of supporting this journey which will transform African economies, one startup at a time!” – Thomas Hellmann, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Saïd School of Business, Oxford University

The Africa Venture Finance Programme is supported by the EU via the Boost Africa programme and by the AfricaGrow Technical Assistance Facility.

Background information

About Boost Africa

Boost Africa is a joint initiative between the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to enable and enhance entrepreneurship and innovation across Africa in a commercially viable way. It addresses a current gap in the African market by providing early-stage venture capital paired with skills development.

Boost Africa focuses on financial intermediaries investing in innovative business models and start-ups developing digital solutions across various sectors including, inter alia, information and communication technologies (ICT), healthcare, climate mitigation and adaptation, education, financial services, and manufacturing sectors. There is a particular emphasis on financial intermediaries focusing on youth and women and on sectors where innovation can improve the quality of people’s lives, in particular for lower-income households.

Boost Africa Technical Assistance Facility, part of the broader Boost Africa programme, provides bespoke support to strengthen the core professional and operational skills of partner fund managers and their investees to realise growth potential among innovative tech start-ups and high growth SMEs in Africa. The Facility is funded by the European Commission and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, through the 11th European Development Fund. The funding is managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and implemented by Adam Smith Europe, part of the Adam Smith International Group.

About AfricaGrow

The AfricaGrow Fund of Funds is a blended finance vehicle managed by Allianz Global Investors and serves as a catalyst for private capital into Africa by providing a de-risked capital structure for institutional investors, fostering indirect investments into African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups via local Private Equity and Venture Capital fund investments. Its LPs are DEG, KfW – on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Allianz insurance companies.

As a legally independent entity, AfricaGrow is a central instrument of the Compact with Africa (CwA) initiative, which was launched in 2017 under the 50 German G20 presidency. The Technical Assistance Facility is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KfW, while the fund is managed by Allianz Global Investors and advised by DEG Impact GmbH.

About the EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
MIL OSI Europe News –
September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI Translation: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announces appointments to the Quebec judiciary

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English –

Source: Government of Canada – in French

September 23, 2024– Ottawa (Ontario) – Department of Justice Canada

The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointments under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

Mathieu Piché-Messier, partner and national leader in commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Piché-Messier replaces Justice PH Bélanger (Montreal), who resigned effective May 24, 2024.

Lysane Cree, an administrative judge at the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Cree replaces Justice M. Lachance (Montreal), who was appointed to the Court of Appeal effective June 17, 2024.

Horia Bundaru, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in Montreal, is appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec for the district of Montreal. Justice Bundaru replaces Justice K. Kear-Jodoin (Montreal), who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective July 16, 2024.

Quote

“I wish Judges Piché-Messier, Cree and Bundaru every success in their new roles. I am confident that they will serve the people of Quebec well as members of the Superior Court of Quebec.”

– The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Biographies

Judge Mathieu Piché-Messier was born and raised in Montreal. He received his Bachelor of Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke in 1997. He was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1998.

Since 2000, Justice Piché-Messier has practiced commercial litigation at Borden Ladner Gervais where, after being named partner in 2006, he held the position of Head of the Commercial Litigation Group in Montreal for seven years and was then appointed National Business Leader – Commercial Litigation. His practice focused on the areas of extraordinary remedies and commercial litigation in the areas of anti-fraud, high technology, industrial espionage, privacy and identity theft, international arbitration, aeronautics, defamation and intellectual property. A litigator, author and speaker, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2018, a Fellow of Litigation Counsels of America in 2021, and was named Advocatus Emeritus (Ad. E.) of the Barreau du Québec in 2022. He has also been recognized by his peers to appear in the editions of Chambers, The Best Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation as one of the 50 best litigators in Canada.

Justice Piché-Messier has been a member of the boards of the Barreau du Québec, the Barreau de Montréal and the Canadian Bar, Québec Division. He has also been president of the Centre d’accès à l’Information juridique du Québec (CAIJ) and the Young Bar Association of Montreal. Involved in the Montreal community, he has sat on the boards of Cirque Éloize, Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Enfants-retour and Make-a-Wish.

Judge Piché-Messier and his partner, Me Natacha Lavoie, are the happy parents of Vincent and Victoria.

Justice Lysane Cree is originally from the Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) Nation and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Northern Studies from McGill University in 1996, before earning a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University in 2000. She was called to the Quebec Bar in 2003, the New York State Bar in 2012 and the Ontario Bar in 2020.

Justice Cree began her practice with Hutchins Legal Inc. and focused on Indigenous law issues and working with First Nations governments in several provinces and occasionally in New York State for sixteen years. While still in private practice, she began working part-time in the area of police ethics with the Police Ethics Committee (now the Tribunal), hearing cases involving Indigenous police services in the province of Quebec. She then worked as a decision-maker with the Discipline Committee of the Chambre de la sécurité financière from 2019 to 2021 before becoming a full-time administrative judge with the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. During this time, she was involved with the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals, serving as a member of the Tribunal’s Excellence Committee and the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.

Judge Cree is an avid equestrian and enjoys spending time with her horses.

Justice Horia Bundaru immigrated to Canada at the age of eleven with his parents and younger sister. He received a BCL/LL.B. from McGill University’s Faculty of Law in 2005 and was called to the Quebec Bar in 2006.

Justice Bundaru spent his entire career at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, where he became a partner in 2016 and where, at the time of his appointment, he was a director of the Litigation Group in Montreal. A well-known litigator, his practice focused on commercial litigation, construction law and energy law. Since 2016, he has taught civil procedure and drafting at the École du Barreau.

Justice Bundaru has chaired the Quebec Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, the Liaison Committee of the Montreal Bar with the Superior Court (Civil Division) and the Salon VISEZ DROIT. At the time of his appointment, he was chair of the Liaison Committee with the Court of Appeal and a member of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec. He is listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Litigation Canada as a “litigation star”, Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers, The Legal 500 Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada. In 2022, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.

Judge Bundaru is passionate about literature and is an avid cross-country skier and tennis player. With his partner Maya, also a lawyer, he has two daughters, Ariane and Éloïse.

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

MIL Translation OSI

September 29, 2024
MIL-OSI United Nations: Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic

Source: United Nations secretary general

The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Peter Pellegrini, President of the Slovak Republic. The Secretary-General and the President discussed the Pact for the Future, digital technologies and artificial intelligence. They also exchanged views on climate action, the impacts of the war in Ukraine and other international developments.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

September 29, 2024