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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: ‘Gujarat Governance Model’ offers several best practices to be replicated elsewhere too, says Dr Jitendra Singh

    Source: Government of India (2)

    ‘Gujarat Governance Model’ offers several best practices to be replicated elsewhere too, says Dr Jitendra Singh

    Highlights Modi’s ‘ Maximum governance, minimum government ‘ mantra;

    Advocates for Central-State Collaboration to Propel India as a Global Governance Model

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:56PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, speaking at the National Conference on Good Governance at the capital township of Gandhinagar here, observed that the “Gujarat Governance Model” offers several best practices which can be successfully replicated elsewhere too.

    The Minister recalled that many of the governance innovations successfully implemented at the Central level were first introduced in Gujarat under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as Chief Minister.

    Addressing a pan-India audience of policymakers, senior bureaucrats, and governance experts, Dr. Jitendra Singh praised the transformation in governance over the last decade. “This transformation did not happen overnight. Many of the reforms introduced at the national level were first tested and perfected in Gujarat, and today they are being replicated across the country,” he remarked.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh underscored the fundamental shift in governance culture under Prime Minister Modi, which has taken policymaking beyond the traditional administrative strongholds of Delhi and into various regions of the country. He cited the Prime Minister’s directive to decentralize governance by ensuring that major policy discussions, conferences and outreach programs are held in different parts of the country and not necessarily in New Delhi. “By moving governance dialogues beyond Delhi, we are ensuring that reforms are more inclusive and reflective of the aspirations of people from all corners of the country,” he said.

    Union Minister of State,  Dr.Jitendra Singh speaking after inaugurating two-day “National Conference on Good Governance” at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

    The Minister also referred to the evolution of India’s administrative framework, recalling how Sardar Patel envisioned a robust bureaucracy as the ‘steel frame’ of India, a vision that has been further refined through the Modi government’s approach of ‘Maximum Governance, Minimum Government.’ He pointed to landmark reforms, such as the scrapping of nearly 2,000 obsolete laws, the elimination of the requirement for attested documents and the removal of interviews for junior-level government jobs as measures that have streamlined bureaucracy and enhanced transparency.

    One of the standout examples of governance innovation, Dr. Jitendra Singh noted, was Gujarat’s early implementation of the 24-hour rural electrification scheme in the early 2000s. “At a time when electricity supply was erratic across the country, Gujarat pioneered uninterrupted rural electrification, a model that was later scaled up at the national level,” he said. Recounting the scale of transformation, Dr. Jitendra Singh spoke about how electricity shortages used to be commonplace in many parts of India. “There was a time when people clapped when the lights came back on after an outage. Today, power cuts are rare, and uninterrupted electricity is an expectation, not a luxury. This is the scale of governance transformation achieved,” he remarked.

    The Minister also outlined India’s progress in digital governance, emphasizing major technological interventions in public administration. Initiatives such as online RTI applications, digital life certificates for pensioners using facial recognition technology, and AI-driven administrative decision-making have positioned India as a leader in governance innovation. He stated that the use of emerging technologies will be central to governance in the coming years, making administration more efficient, transparent, and citizen-friendly.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also spoke about the impressive strides made in grievance redressal mechanisms, particularly the CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System), which has now become a model for citizen-centric governance worldwide. He highlighted CPGRAMS 7.0 as a transformative leap in public grievance redressal, showcasing the power of technology and citizen-centric policies in governance. He emphasized that AI-driven reforms, including semantic search and predictive analytics, have made governance more responsive, bridging the gap between the administration and citizens. With over 19 lakh feedbacks collected and a 50% rise in satisfaction levels, CPGRAMS reflects growing public trust. He urged stakeholders to further strengthen the system, positioning it as a global model of innovation, transparency, and efficient grievance redressal.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted that between 2019 and 2024, India has witnessed a transformative shift in governance, with e-governance streamlining citizen-government interactions and enhancing transparency. He noted that the widespread adoption of e-Office version 7.0 has enabled paperless administration across Ministries, ensuring efficiency and accountability in governance. The Minister emphasized that India’s commitment to e-governance has been reinforced through platforms like the National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG), which has fostered collaboration between the Centre and States since 1997.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the success of the fourth Sushasan Saptah—Good Governance Week—held from December 19 to 25, 2024, as a significant step toward transformative governance. He emphasized the Prashasan Gaon ki Ore campaign, which aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of next-generation reforms by bringing governance closer to citizens through streamlined procedures and technology-driven service delivery. With over 36,000 camps organized across 700+ districts, resolving nearly 2.89 crore service applications, the campaign demonstrated the government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and citizen empowerment at every level.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh further highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring that governance is responsive and attuned to the needs of the people. He reiterated that under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the emphasis remains on making government services more accessible, accountable, and technology-driven. He praised Gujarat for setting a benchmark in administrative efficiency and urged other states to adopt similar governance models to enhance service delivery and public administration.

    The National Conference on Good Governance, attended by senior officials and experts, provided a platform to discuss best practices and develop strategies for further strengthening governance mechanisms across India.

    While addressing the conference, Secretary, DAR&PG, Shri V. Srinivas described the Gandhinagar Conference as a milestone moment. He emphasized that the conference aligns with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of leveraging Artificial Intelligence to enhance service delivery and explore emerging technologies in governance. Highlighting the transformative role of technology in bridging the gap between the government and citizens, he informed the gathering that the Gandhinagar event marks the 28th conference since 2014, held under the guidance of MoS Dr. Jitendra Singh.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh expressed confidence that continued collaboration between the central and state governments would lead to more impactful reforms, ultimately driving India towards becoming a global model of effective governance.

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    NKR /PSM

    (Release ID: 2097631) Visitor Counter : 60

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Text of Vice-President’s address to students from North-East India participating in the Rashtriya Ekatmata Yatra 2025 and Winners of Mann Ki Baat Quiz Competition (Season 4) (Excerpts)

    Source: Government of India

    The ground impact of Mann Ki Baat is amazing, it’s a great learning for young boys and girls, for politicians, for bureaucrats, for entrepreneurs and it dotes every part of this country. Mann Ki Baat concept is motivational, inspirational and highly informative.

    I would urge every young person to seriously go into the earlier episodes of Mann Ki Baat, you’ll find your knowledge level will go up. You will be stead to believe in nationalism. You will be fired by the zeal to always keep nation first.

    Mann Ki Baat, when it was a concept, there was no realization of its impact. Now, people wait for Mann Ki Baat and Mann Ki Baat has gone beyond politics. It has become a platform to connect with the executive head of the country, who for the first time in 60 years has created history to be third term Prime Minister in continuation after Pandit Nehru.

    Therefore I appeal to all of you, examine the information you have in Mann Ki Baat. Examine the inspirational quotes in Mann Ki Baat. Examine the people, historical figures whom we had forgotten. He rekindled in us an urge of nationalism to really worship our real heroes.

    Shri Ashish Chauhan, National Organising Secretary ABVP, I have had the occasion to interact with Sunil Ambekar Ji before I became Governor, State of West Bengal, and I know their commitment, passion, mission and execution is all driven by only one facet, and facet is national welfare, inclusivity, togetherness promulgating brotherhood and sisterhood. 

    As a matter of fact, this reminds me of what Vivekananda Ji said at Chicago address.

    A greatest message to the world at large at that point of time at a conference of Congress of Religions and India’s rich heritage, inclusivity was declared there. I congratulate him but I would say, आपके लंबे चौड़े परिवार में आशीष जी उपराष्ट्रपति का परिवार भी जुड़ गया है और कुछ लोगों को, आप बच्चों को, हमें भी सौभाग्य दो कि हमारे साथ भी चार दिन बिताएं, and this can be a continous program every month.

    As Chairman Rajya Sabha, I have developed a mechanism to train young people to handhold members of Parliament. I have a concept of teenage interns who for seven days have the occasion to keep their eyes open, ears open, mouth shut and see what I do and they look around and gain their way. It is heartening together from Muraleedharan ji, Republic Day and Independence Day. I would make a suggestion to both of you at two more days. We now have for last about a decade celebration of Constitution Day, 26th November, when India go to the Constitution, a very important milestone, make that day also the third day.

    Then our constitution was challenged. Young boys and girls, you do not know, Indira Gandhi as a Prime Minister imposed emergency. The constitution was shut down, people had no fundamental rights. Lakhs of people were sent to jail, many of them have become Prime Ministers, they spent 18 months in jail.

    The doors of judiciary were shut down, for you it is history, but imagine and look around what happened during that period and therefore, I urge both of them, V. Muraleedharan and Ashish Chauhan to add Samvidhan Hatya Divas of 25th June, 1975. Because unless you read history, unless you know the perils we have suffered, unless you know the dangers that are there. Therefore, we have to ensure how democratic roots go deep and democratic roots go deep only when people interact, people communicate, people have occasion to have expression with others and meaningful dialogue

    This is a unique gathering of young boys and girls of 9 states, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam-Ashtalakshmi !

    I have been to each of the states. I have seen your rich culture, cuisine, tribal traditions and the talent which is there. I have had the occasion to spend time both as governor the state of West Bengal because I was heading Eastern Zone Cultural Centre.

    All these are absolutely amazing states, they are gold mine for tourism, they are treasure of culture, ethnicity, variety and imaginable on the planet. We must decide to travel East, receive people from the East.

    That interaction has to take a very high level of interaction. I have had the occasion to invite artists and students from North-East to Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas.

    In early 1990s, the government thought wisely, Look East but Prime Minister Modi has taken it to the next level ‘Act East’ and that ‘Act East’ is being conversed, furthered by Ashish Chauhan and his worthy team.

    Rashtriya Ekatmata Yatra is not an expression, it is our tribute to those who made supreme sacrifice to gain freedom to us. It is our tribute to founding fathers of the Constitution who brought about this nation into existence. It is our tribute to Sardar Patel that he could integrate the princely states and this teaches us one thing, no matter what the challenges are, we will always keep nation first.

    Our nationalism can never be compromised, no gain whatsoever can be a justifiable ground to overlook national interest. The spirit of nationalism should be 24×7 in us.

    The nation for the first time is having an atmosphere of hope and possibility. No nation in the world has grown as fast as exponentially in economic terms, in infrastructure terms, in digitalisation terms, in technological penetration as Bharat. India today, the youth are bubbling with aspiration because they have tested everything is achievable.

    When there will be celebration of Independence centenary at 2047, you will be in your prime, you will be driving the engine, you will be feeling the progress. It is your time, you are the greatest system, stakeholders.

    I’m reminded what Vajpayee Ji said, mark what he says he was a great poet a great prime minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. He was the first non-congress prime minister of this country, “निज हाथों में हँसते-हँसते, आग लगाकर जलना होगा, कदम मिलाकर चलना होगा|” Understand the meaning of it that you will face all trials and tribulations, but we’ll be marching ahead in togetherness for our nation and we must march together.

    Act East policy has done wonders.

    ●     Airports have gone to 17 from , five states of North East are connected by air. There are three international airports.

    ●     Digital connectivity, I gather 95% is by 4G so far.

    ●     Road connectivity and efforts are for rail connectivity.

    The number of visits the Prime Minister has made there is remarkable. All I am suggesting is, and through you to every Indian, there is no more attractive tourist destination in the world than the Northeast. We Indians, all of us in togetherness must make it a habit to travel east, tour east and contribute for development of the east.

    The number of tourists going to the North-East every year is now over 1.25 crores, it’s a great development.

    India is changing and the world is changing because the world is recognizing India as a power. In 1990, when I was a minister, as Lok Sabha member and went to Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar not 20 people were on street, and mind you, for the last 2-3 years, more than two crore tourists are going to Jammu and Kashmir, look at the big change.

    India in the world because of the seminal cultural contribution of the North East is a place unrivaled in the world. Let us share our thoughts, I commend to Mr. Chauhan, you must expand now not arithmetically but geometrically.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Ministry of Rural Development announces major infrastructure boost for Maharashtra under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Ministry of Rural Development announces major infrastructure boost for Maharashtra under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN)

    Ministry of Rural Development sanctions 27 roads measuring 50.13 km of roads with an estimated investment of Rs. 50.35 crore

    PM-JANMAN projects set to boost growth and prosperity in Maharashtra

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:16PM by PIB Delhi

    In a significant move to strengthen rural connectivity and accelerate economic growth in the Maharashtra, the Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned 27 roads measuring 50.13 km under Connectivity component of PM-JANMAN, with an estimated investment of Rs. 50.35 crore, to the State of Maharashtra.

    This landmark initiative will:

    – Provide all weather road connectivity to 27 PVTG habitations in the State.

    – Improve socio-economic condition of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) living in the State.

    – Enhance connectivity in rural areas, bridging the gap between remote villages and urban centers.

    – Foster economic development, trade and commerce in the region

    – Improve access to essential services like healthcare, education and markets

    – Create employment opportunities and stimulate local economies

    The projects under PM-JANMAN will have a transformative impact on the region, contributing to the growth and prosperity of the Tribal Groups in Maharashtra and cementing the government’s commitment to inclusive development.

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    MG/KSR

    (Release ID: 2097617) Visitor Counter : 30

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chairs a review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chairs a review meeting on the implementation of new criminal laws in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel in New Delhi

    Gujarat government should ensure the implementation of the new criminal laws in all commissionerates by April 30, 2025, and across the entire state at the earliest

    Gujarat has done a commendable job by timely filing charge sheets in over 92 per cent of cases involving sentences of more than 10 years

    There should be a video conferencing cubicle for every court in the prisons

    Other states should also adopt Gujarat’s initiative of the Forensic Crime Manager

    Gujarat government has done a commendable job in converting Zero FIRs into 100 per cent regular FIRs

    Gujarat High Court has made a great initiative by issuing directives to all subordinate courts to implement e-processes

    Posted On: 30 JAN 2025 4:16PM by PIB Delhi

    The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired a review meeting on the implementation of the three new criminal laws in Gujarat in the presence of the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, in New Delhi today. The meeting reviewed the implementation and present status of various new provisions relating to police, jail, courts, prosecution and forensics in Gujarat. The meeting was attended by Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home, the Union Home Secretary, Gujarat’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, the Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and several senior officials from the Union Home Ministry and the State Government.

    During the discussion, the Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister said that the essence of the three new criminal laws introduced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lies in the provision of delivering justice within three years, from the filing of an FIR till the Supreme Court’s verdict in any case. Appreciating the work done so far by the Gujarat government in implementing the new criminal laws, Shri Shah said that the Gujarat government should ensure the implementation of the new criminal laws in all commissionerates by April 30, 2025, and across the entire state at the earliest. He said it should be reviewed monthly by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, fortnightly by the State Home Minister and weekly at the level of Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and Director General of Police.

    Shri Amit Shah stated that Gujarat has commendably achieved timely filing of charge sheets in over 92 per cent of cases involving sentences of more than 10 years. He emphasized that for the remaining cases, a review should be conducted to ensure the utilization of the provision in the Act that allows seeking permission from the court. The Home Minister said that Gujarat has done a commendable job in converting Zero FIRs into 100 per cent regular FIRs. He emphasized the need to establish a system where FIRs can be transferred between two states through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS). He also suggested that Gujarat should adopt CCTNS 2.0.

    Regarding the provision of electronic evidence in the new laws, the Home Minister mentioned that the state’s Home and Health Departments should hold meetings to ensure that post-mortem and other medical reports from hospitals are received electronically. Shri Shah also emphasized the need to establish a system for recording evidence via video conferencing in prisons, government hospitals, banks, forensic science laboratories (FSL), and other premises. He said that there should be a video conferencing cubicle for every court in the prisons.

    The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the police should provide the details of people detained for questioning on the electronic dashboard, along with the seizure list and the cases to be forwarded to the courts. He also directed the state Director General of Police for continuous monitoring of these cases. Shri Shah asked to increase the network connectivity speed in police stations to 30 mbps over the prescribed standards.

    Shri Amit Shah said that the state government should issue circulars to ensure that provisions of organised crime, terrorism, mob lynching, are not misused. For this, strict provisions should be made for permission from the highest level. He highlighted that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) includes a provision for Trial in Absentia, which allows legal action against absconding criminals. He emphasized that Trial in Absentia should be initiated against fugitives who have been evading the country for a long time in cases related to national security.

    The Home Minister emphasized ensuring the availability of at least two forensic science mobile vans in every district. He also stated that efforts should be made to ensure that all 12 kits used in mobile forensic vans are manufactured in India. Shri Shah said that other states should also adopt Gujarat’s initiative of Forensic Crime Manager. He emphasized the need to clear pending forensic cases through a special campaign. Highlighting the importance of forensic experts, he urged for the prompt recruitment of vacant positions in the forensic department.

    The Union Home Minister stated that the Gujarat High Court has issued directives on January 22, 2025, for all subordinate courts to implement e-processes, which is a commendable initiative. He emphasized that other states should also make efforts in this direction. Shri Shah urged for the prompt recruitment of vacant positions in the Directorate of Prosecution. He also stressed that judicial officers should be included in training programs, and training sessions should be conducted in coordination with Judicial Academies.

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    Raj Kumar/Vivek/Ashutosh/Priyabhanshu/Pankaj

    (Release ID: 2097618) Visitor Counter : 18

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – German version of Russia Today back on X despite EU sanctions – P-000391/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-000391/2025
    to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
    Rule 144
    Bart Groothuis (Renew)

    On 23 January 2025, EUvsDisinfo, a project of the European External Action Service’s East StratCom Task Force, published a news item about Russian interference in the German elections, claiming that the German version of Russia Today (RT DE) is back on the social media platform X[1]. Russia Today is subject to EU and international sanctions, which means that the EU has suspended all broadcasting of it (including the German and other European language versions) in the EU or directed at the EU[2].

    • 1.Is RT (DE) accessible on X to users in the EU, or to users outside the EU but still directed at the EU, thus constituting a violation of EU sanctions?
    • 2.What measures can and will the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy take to respond to this violation and to bring it to a halt, and to what extent can she urge our international partners to take similar action?
    • 3.What consequences will X face for violating EU and international sanctions by allowing RT DE back on its platform?

    Submitted: 29.1.2025

    • [1] https://euvsdisinfo.eu/another-election-another-kremlin-interference-attempt/.
    • [2] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/03/02/eu-imposes-sanctions-on-state-owned-outlets-rtrussia-today-and-sputnik-s-broadcasting-in-the-eu/.
    Last updated: 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Repatriation of Syrians – E-000218/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000218/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Emmanouil Fragkos (ECR), Galato Alexandraki (ECR)

    It was believed that the Assad Government was the reason why many Syrians fled to the EU. Between 2015 and 2023, around 1.3 million Syrians are estimated to have been accepted into the EU after seeking a safe home/asylum as ‘Syrian refugees’. Following recent attacks by the jihadist organisations Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian National Army, a large part of Syria was captured, resulting in the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government. The end of al-Assad’s rule was celebrated by Syrians all across Europe.

    Given that their reason for seeking asylum has ceased to exist, there is no reason why procedures for returning Syrians to Syria should not be initiated right away, so that they can benefit from the implementation of a jihadist regime.

    In view of the above, can the Commission say:

    • 1.Does it have a registry of Syrians in Europe or does it intend to request this data from the Member States and NGOs that have been the driving force behind their movement and that have provided them with asylum?
    • 2.How does it intend to coordinate mass returns from the EU and transport to Syria safely, quickly and efficiently, guaranteeing that former ‘refugees’ from Syria will not be forgotten in the EU?
    • 3.Will it propose sanctions for NGOs that do not cooperate with identifying Syrians to enable their effective repatriation?

    Submitted: 20.1.2025

    Last updated: 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EIB Group increases investment in Austria for growth, innovation and climate action by nearly a third

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • In 2024, the EIB Group reached a funding volume of €1.7 billion in Austria
    • Focus on countercyclical investment promotion in energy-intensive industries such as steel production
    • The expansion of renewable energies remains a priority goal

    The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) can look back on a successful year 2024 in Austria.  With a total lending volume of nearly €1.7 billion, it granted around 30% more loans than in the previous year. Funding applications were submitted to the EIB by public and private sector firms, primarily for energy projects that reduce CO2 emissions and promote the transition to renewable energy.

    2024 brought a rise in the construction of solar plants and wind farms in Austria – supported by the national government, which has set the objective of generating all of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030. As in the two previous years, in 2024 the EIB exceeded its goal of allocating at least 50% of funding to climate action. In Austria, 64% of total investment went to climate.

    The EIB co-finances wind and solar projects together with partner banks. In Burgenland, it is providing €80 million to fund six solar parks by Püspök. They will supply 71 000 households with electricity, and the farmland they will be built on can continue to be used to grow crops.

    Burgenland Energie AG will also receive EIB financing of up to €620 million to build solar and wind parks. With a generation capacity of 1.3 GW once complete, they will be able to meet one-sixth of Austria’s electricity needs. The EU bank is also co-financing the Spannberg wind park in Lower Austria, with four wind turbines and a further seven in the planning phase.

    The EIB Group, consisting of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), seeks to be a reliable partner in making European industry more competitive – especially in difficult economic times, by promoting countercyclical investment. In the steel and construction industries, the EIB Group finances projects in Austria that support their green transition: for example, with a €300 million grant issued to Voestalpine for research and development.

    “The EIB is a strong partner for Austria’s future,” EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros stated. “Our investments make it easier for firms to expand and become more innovative, to use renewable energy and to cut energy consumption. We invest countercyclically and promote the long-term competitiveness of Austrian industry. We will continue to support the development of wind, solar and hydro power plants.”

    To increase the housing supply, the EIB is continuing to back affordable housing projects. In Salzburg and Tyrol, it is working with regional savings banks to finance the construction of 1 750 rental units in non-profit housing with low-cost framework loans.

    As in previous years, the EIF – whose shareholders include the EIB, the European Commission and several national and regional promotional banks – continued to support specialised funds targeting startups and innovative technologies, investing €66 million in Austria.

    In 2024, in view of the EIB Group’s policy priorities, projects in Austria in the field of sustainable energy and natural resources received the most support, with €765 million, followed by innovation, digital and human capital, with €462 million. Sustainable cities and regions received €329 million, and SMEs and mid-caps received €112 million.

    EIB Group investment in Austria in 2024 supported investment of in total €4.3 billion. Thus, each euro of EIB Group financing raised investment of around €2.60.

    Background information

    EIB 

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the EU, and the Capital Markets Union.  

    The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2024. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €350 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.8 million jobs.  

    All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Accord and the EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support  €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030 as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment. 

    Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average. This underscores the Bank’s commitment to fostering inclusive growth and the convergence of living standards. 

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Estonia financing from EIB Group totals €498 million in 2024, fuelling business innovation and green growth

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • EIB Group financing in Estonia totalled €498 million last year.
    • Funding supported 800 Estonian companies and sustained 4,300 jobs.
    • The level of EIB Group funding in Estonia was among the highest in the EU as a share of GDP.
    • Most support directed towards green innovation and urban sustainability.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group’s financing in Estonia last year amounted to €498 million, representing 1.3% of Estonia’s GDP. This was the second highest in the European Union as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). This support helped hundreds of businesses grow and contributed to making the country greener, generating nearly €2.2 billion in additional investments.

    The EIB Group commitments last year in Estonia supported 800 SMEs as well as Mid-Caps and sustained 4,300 jobs across the country. The main operation was a €400 million EIB loan to the Estonian government for EU grants co-financing, including for green and digital initiatives.

    “Estonia’s dedication to innovation and sustainability is an example for all,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “Our financing in the country last year highlights our commitment to propelling Estonian economic, green and digital advances.”

    The level of EIB Group funding in Estonia last year exceeded an annual average of €433 million in the country over the past five years. For example, EIB Group financing in Estonia amounted to €540 million in 2023 and €111 million in 2022.   

    To deepen its relationship with Estonia, the EIB Group plans to open an office in Tallinn in 2025.

    “This shows our long-term commitment to Estonia’s economic development and our desire to be closer to the communities we serve,” said Östros.

    Key operations

    The €400 million EIB loan to the Estonian government aims to boost green and digital initiatives and deliver multiple benefits, including energy efficiency improvements and the digitalisation of public and private organisations. This credit marks the second and final tranche of a €700 million EIB loan to bolster the Estonian economy.

    In a venture capital deal last year, the EIB provided UP Catalyst with an €18 million loan to scale up the converting of industrial emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon-neutral graphite and nanotubes – high-performance materials used in batteries, electronics, paints, coatings, polymers and concrete.

    Additionally, as part of multi-country operations in 2024, the EIB offered Finland-based iPhone refurbisher Swappie €1.4 million of financing in Estonia to refurbish and resell handsets and provided €2.4 million in funding to Italian automotive company SAPA to develop sustainable vehicle parts in Estonia.

    Notable European Investment Fund (EIF) operations in Estonia last year included support for businesses through deals with various banks and financial institutions, such as LHV Pank, Swedbank, and Hüpoteeklaen. These operations are expected to leverage almost €600 million in financing to support business growth, create jobs, and accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy.

    For more information on EIB Group results in 2024, please click here.

    Background information     

    EIB

    The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the EU, and the Capital Markets Union.   

    The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2024. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €350 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.8 million jobs.   

    All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Accord and the EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support  €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030 as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.   

    Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average. This underscores the Bank’s commitment to fostering inclusive growth and the convergence of living standards.  

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EIB Group achieves record results in 2024, targets €95 billion in investments for 2025

    Source: European Investment Bank

    • The EIB Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024.
    • A record of nearly 60% of all EIB Group financing supported the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability.
    • There was a sharp increase in higher-risk activities, with a record €8 billion committed for equity and quasi-equity investment.
    • Financing for security and defence projects doubled to €1 billion in 2024, with a further doubling planned in 2025.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group signed €89 billion in new financing last year. The Group made more investments than ever before to strengthen EU energy security, mobilising over €100 billion for projects in new and upgraded infrastructure such as grids and interconnectors, renewables, net-zero industries, efficiency and storage. Nearly 60% of the total financing supported the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability.

    Our preliminary results once again signal robust profitability. At the same time, higher-risk EIB operations to back Europe’s most innovative companies have sharply increased. A record €8 billion in equity and quasi-equity investment from the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF) is expected to mobilise €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers.

    Eligible security and defence investment doubled in 2024, and the goal is to double this figure again this year. Furthermore, the EIB Group significantly extended its eligible investments in dual-use projects, which now include border protection, military mobility, de-mining and de-contamination, space, cybersecurity, anti-jamming equipment, seabed and critical infrastructure protection, research and development, and drones.  

    Looking ahead, the EIB Group plans to increase its overall investments to €95 billion in 2025, with flagship initiatives to support European tech champions and a dedicated TechEU programme, critical raw materials, water management, the energy efficiency of small and medium-sized companies, and a dedicated platform to promote sustainable and affordable housing.

    In parallel with increasing its investment capacity and impact, the EIB Group is making significant progress in cutting red tape for clients and has shortened the time to market required to approve and deploy new investments. During 2024, it introduced simplified appraisal procedures covering more than 40% of its operations.

    “We have broken records with our financing in 2024. We have made ourselves ready to support EU priorities in this new political mandate. And we will play an even more relevant role in 2025 – building on the excellent performance of the EIB Group to increase our impact, bolstering Europe’s security and competitiveness with strategic and ambitious investments,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño as she presented the annual operational results of the EIB Group in Brussels.

    Making records

    The EIB Group financing committed in 2024 is expected to power almost 15 million households with clean energy, create up to 1.5 million new jobs in Europe over the next few years, advance therapies against cancer, and help secure affordable housing from Croatia to Latvia.

    In more detail, highlights from last year include:

    • Stepped up higher-risk activities, expected to mobilise about €110 billion in new investments. This includes a record €7.2 billion of investments by the EIF in the equity funds ecosystem, and €1 billion in venture debt by the EIB.
    • More than €14 billion in total investment deployed by the EIF to support Europe’s small businesses and innovators, including in 102 venture capital funds, such as a dedicated fund to back women-owned and gender-balanced startups in space and deep tech.
    • A record €51 billion – around 60% of last year’s investments – to support the green transition, climate action and environmental sustainability, from the world’s first zero-emissions tyre factory in Romania to support for sustainable mobility in Valencia, keeping the EIB Group well on track to meet its target of supporting €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the critical decade to 2030.
    • A record €31 billion to back EU energy security, including for efficiency, renewables, storage and electricity grids, which is expected to support over €100 billion in investment. Flagship initiatives include counter-guarantees to bolster European wind manufacturers, electric vehicle battery manufacturing in France and the Princess Elisabeth Island in Belgium. For grids and storage, financing rose to a record €8.5 billion, mobilising 40% of Europe’s total investment in that sector in 2024, including transmission network upgrades and interconnectors in Spain, Czechia and Germany.
    • Support for eligible security and defence projects doubled to €1 billion, including the deployment of dual-use satellites in Poland, port upgrades to meet the needs of NATO vessels in Denmark and investment by the EIF in dedicated private investment funds. A further doubling of annual investments to €2 billion is expected this year.
    • A record €38 billion to accelerate social and territorial cohesion, including credit lines for farmers in Romania, innovative startups in Greece and just transition projects in Estonia.
    • The EIB Group has also provided financial support to boost climate resilience and adaptation from post-landslide reconstruction in Italy to recovery investments in European regions affected by devastating floods.
    • With more than €2.2 billion disbursed since 2022, EIB Group investments in Ukraine are helping to repair schools, kindergartens and hospitals, upgrade transport and protect energy infrastructure, as well as support the private sector.

    Beyond Ukraine, the EIB Group’s operations outside the European Union are supporting stability in the EU neighbourhood and partner countries on their path to EU membership, including with rail upgrades in countries such as Albania and Montenegro.

    Supporting EU global priorities and helping strengthen Europe’s voice in the world, EIB Group financing also helps drought-stricken countries like Jordan to manage water supplies. Thanks to reinforced partnerships inside and outside the European Union, EIB investments are helping eliminate diseases like polio and support sustainable infrastructure around the world from Vietnam to India.

    Ready for the challenges ahead

    Under President Calviño, who took office in January 2024, the EIB Group has updated its internal policies and investment strategy to maximise impact and scale up support for shared European priorities.

    Changes include:

    • A Strategic Roadmap, aligned with EU policies and agreed by the EU 27 Member States (the EIB’s shareholders) to focus resources on impactful investment on eight core priorities.
    • A revamped framework expanding the EIB Group’s activity in the areas of security and defence, with streamlined internal procedures and new partnerships with external stakeholders, such as the NATO Innovation Fund and the European Defence Agency.
    • EIB governors approved the increase of the gearing ratio, an outdated limit on EIB Group’s investments.[1] This will enable the EIB Group to make the necessary strategic investments to deliver on EU policy goals while preserving its leverage and capital ratios.
    • An action plan with building blocks for a deeper capital markets union.
    • Actions and proposals to cut red tape, improve the usability of EU sustainability reporting rules and optimise the use of EU budget instruments.
    • A stepped up time to market initiative to simplify internal processes and boost efficiency, enabling much faster approvals for new financing.
    • An action plan to improve transparency, accountability and well-being in the workplace, including the appointment of an ombudsperson to swiftly address common workplace issues and improve the working environment.

    More relevant than ever in 2025

    Looking ahead, the EIB Group Operational Plan covers up to €95 billion in new investment in 2025, supported by the Group’s stellar credit rating and strong capital position.

    New initiatives aligned with the priorities of the new European Commission expected to be rolled out in 2025 include:

    • Maintaining a 60% green finance target.
    • Scaling up support for leading technologies, including clean-tech, artificial intelligence, chips, high-performance and quantum computing, health sciences and medical technologies, and Europe’s cutting-edge industrial capacity.
    • An exit platform to facilitate the listing of European scale-ups in EU markets or the acquisition of these promising innovators by European companies.
    • An extension of the highly successful European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI) as part of the broader goal to boost equity and venture debt investments to scale up Europe’s innovative startups.
    • Further doubling of support for Europe’s security and defence industry
    • A pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing, together with the European Commission and increased financing for the housing sector.
    • Increasing investment for critical raw materials projects, such as the Keliber lithium production facility in Finland agreed last year.
    • A dedicated water programme of about €4.5 billion to focus investment on flood resilience, and to address water scarcity amid intensifying droughts.
    • New support for Europe’s farmers through agricultural insurance and other de-risking schemes, building on a €3 billion facility to improve access to financing for young farmers and women.
    • A €2.5 billion programme to scale up energy efficiency investments by small and medium-sized companies so they can lower their CO2 emissions and electricity bills.

    EIB Group press conference on annual results

    Background information

    The EIB Group is the financing institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It supports investment contributing toward EU policy goals, including sustainable growth, social and territorial cohesion, innovation and security. It finances its operations in global capital markets and has been consistently profitable in its operations since its inception. The EIB Group is the pioneer and one of the largest issuers of green bonds, while all of its operations are aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement.

    [1] Subject to final approval by the Council of the European Union.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Trade Minister visited South Africa and Botswana to strengthen trade ties

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    This was the first visit to Africa by UK Minister for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander, which forms part of the UK Government’s wider resetting of partnerships with Africa, which the Foreign Secretary set out in November during his visits to Nigeria and South Africa.

    UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander, travelled to South Africa and Botswana to strengthen trade links and create opportunities for both African and UK businesses.

    He is the first Minister from the UK’s Department for Business and Trade to travel to the continent since the UK election, which took place last summer.

    The UK is seeking to deepen trade and investment across the continent and drive mutually beneficial growth in both the UK and Africa, including by making progress on removing barriers to trade to help businesses export more easily and providing UK support to trade for development programmes across the continent.

    During his trip, the Trade Policy Minister co-chaired the first Southern African Custom Union and Mozambique (SACUM) – UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Joint Council. The Economic Partnership Agreement underpins all goods trade with the UK and SACUM members. The Joint Council discussed where there is potential to strengthen our trade and investment partnerships and support economic growth across all member countries.

    He met with South Africa’s Minister for Trade Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, South Africa’s Agriculture Minister, John Steenhuisen, as well as Botswana’s Vice-President and Trade Minister, Ndaba Gaolathe, to discuss areas for future growth in key sectors including infrastructure, energy, transport and logistics, agriculture, minerals, and the digital economy. He also met with UK and South African companies and took part in a CEO roundtable, where he was seeking views from the private sector to help inform the Government’s cross-continent reset and wider trade strategy.

    Trade Policy Minister, Douglas Alexander said:

    The Government is taking a fresh approach to Africa, one which prioritises genuine partnerships, mutual benefit, and sustainable development. My visit is an important step in building new, long-lasting relationships in South Africa and Botswana.

    South Africa is our largest trading partner in Africa, with an exciting period ahead as the country assumes the G20 Presidency. Both of our Governments are laser focused on economic growth – this shared ambition is a powerful motivator for greater bilateral trade.

    Mutual economic growth is also at the forefront of the UK’s relationship with Botswana. There is a huge opportunity for us to collaborate on sectors important to our economies including renewable energy and I look forward to continuing to strengthen our ties.

    Minister Alexander emphasised the UK’s support for South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 this year and reaffirmed the UK Government’s commitment to building mutually beneficial partnerships with African countries. This follows on from the UK Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to the continent in November 2024, during which he agreed to develop a UK-South Africa Growth Plan.

    Further information

    • this visit forms part of the UK Government’s wider resetting of partnerships with Africa, which the Foreign Secretary set out in November during his visits to Nigeria and South Africa based on three priorities: economic growth and transformation, climate and nature, and governance and security
    • background for the UK’s Minister for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander MP can be found here
    • information on the SACUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement can be found here
    • information on the UK Foreign Secretary’s visit to Nigeria and South Africa, including agreement on developing a new UK-South Africa Growth Plan, can be found here

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: SIA giving confiscated cash to charities to aid public safety

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Charities and community groups can now apply for grants to support projects aimed at improving public safety and supporting the private security.

    The money has been confiscated by the SIA from criminals through proceeds of crime confiscation orders and is now available to charities to bid for. 

    The ‘grants for good causes’ could help fund a range of projects run by charities. Last year, the SIA gave over £72,000 to support 7 initiatives across several charities and community groups including Employment 4 All, Diverse FM, and Glasgow Street Aid among others. 

    The SIA helped fund projects including human trafficking awareness workshops, employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged groups and training for volunteers in emergency first response care.  

    Paul Cartlidge, Chair of the grants for good causes panel, said: 

    I’m delighted to be opening this year’s grants for applications. Public safety is a team effort, and our commitment to protecting people goes beyond our day-to-day duties. Grassroots projects run by charities and community groups can have a profound impact on public safety, the private security industry and the people using their services.  

    As the regulator of the private security industry, we take robust enforcement action to prosecute those who put the public at risk through their offending. Through the grants for good causes, we are putting the ill-gotten gains of criminals to good use in a way that will benefit society and make the world a little bit safer.

    Applications are open now, and more information about how to apply is on the SIA grant for good causes page on GOV.UK. Registered charities and community interest companies in the UK have until Friday 21 February at 11:59 pm to apply for funding. Eligible organisations must show how a grant will benefit the UK private security industry and/or support public safety. 

    Notes to editors 

    The full amount of funding available will be confirmed in due course. 

    About the Proceeds of Crime Act 

    The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) enables the SIA to investigate the financial activity of people who have committed a criminal offence and confiscate the proceeds of crime through a court-issued confiscation order. The SIA has been a designated body under POCA since 2015. 

    The SIA receives a portion of the money it recovers through confiscation orders under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). This money can only be used to fund its financial investigation capability or distributed to good causes. 

    About the SIA grant for good causes fund 

    Organisations can apply for a grant if they are a registered charity or community interest company (CIC) and can clearly show how they will benefit the UK private security industry and/or support public safety. 

    All the information needed to make an application is available on the SIA grants for good causes page on GOV.UK. Applications close at 11:59 pm on Friday 21 February. 

    There is no guarantee that the organisations which apply will get funding. The SIA will inform successful applicants about its decision by Friday 7 March. 

    Further information 

    The Security Industry Authority is the regulator of the UK’s private security industry. Our purpose is to protect the public through effective regulation of the private security industry and working with partners to raise standards across the sector. We are responsible for licensing people who do certain jobs in the private security industry and for approving private security companies who wish to be part of the voluntary ‘Approved Contractor Scheme’.  

    The SIA is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/sia. 

    For media enquiries only, please contact media.enquiries@sia.gov.uk.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Publication of Annual Report and Accounts 2023/2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The report demonstrates an overview of the organisation’s activities, performance, financial accounts and future priorities.

    The Annual Report and Accounts for 2023/2024 has been published, covering key achievements and financial performance of the organisation during the reporting period when the organisation was known as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) (now the Immigration Advice Authority, or IAA).

    The report demonstrates several milestones, including a new Code of Standards for advisers and the establishment of an Advisory Board to support the Commissioner. Intelligence capabilities were enhanced through stronger partnerships, improving enforcement outcomes. A national stakeholder engagement strategy led to a successful online conference in March 2024, attracting 550 advisers, with many more accessing the recording. Internal improvements included modernising processes and upskilling staff, with 75% of employees reporting positive mental and physical health in the annual wellbeing survey. Additionally, the organisation received a clean audit opinion, reflecting auditors’ confidence in the accuracy and fairness of financial reports.

    John Tuckett, Immigration Services Commissioner, said:

    The evolving immigration landscape has led to unprecedented demand for advice services, and while we’re encouraged by the increasing number of prospective advisers, significant challenges remain.

    Our focus is on building a sustainable network of regulated advisers who can meet this growing demand and ensure vulnerable individuals can access the support they need, when they need it. “This is not just about increasing adviser numbers – it’s about creating a resilient advice sector that can adapt to evolving immigration requirements.

    Key performance achievements during the reporting year:

    • 1117 new adviser applications received and 588 of these were approved
    • 1277 continued registration applications approved
    • 140 new organisation applications approved
    • 16 competence assessment events held
    • 737 applicants sat competence assessments
    • 400 applicants passed competence assessments
    • 79 audits completed
    • 27 investigations into complaints of illegal activity completed

    Please note, the OISC’s rebrand to become the IAA, which formally took place on Thursday 16 January, does not impact the content of the report or the activities it covers, which are presented under the OISC branding to accurately reflect the organisation’s identity during the reporting period.

    Read and download the full report.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Radware Delivers AI-Driven DDoS Protection for TelemaxX Telekommunikation’s Scrubbing Center

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MAHWAH, N.J., Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Radware® (NASDAQ: RDWR), a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments, today announced it expanded its relationship with TelemaxX Telekommunikation GmbH. TelemaxX is leveraging Radware’s AI-powered DefensePro® X DDoS Protection to advance the network and application security services offered to customers through its scrubbing center.

    Headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, TelemaxX is a leading regional provider of integrated IT solutions, specializing in telecommunications and data centers, as well as cloud and managed services. Today, TelemaxX operates five high-security data centers in Germany’s Karlsruhe Technology Region, one of Europe’s top centers for innovation. To support its business, TelemaxX also uses Radware’s Cyber Controller platform, a security management, orchestration, and automation solution.

    “Working with Radware, we’ve found a partner that can grow step-by-step with our business requirements and customers’ needs,” said Heiko Kreisz, head of internet from TelemaxX. “Through this technology expansion, we can scale our services and help our customers stay ahead of emerging threats while maintaining the integrity and availability of their networks.”

    This includes protection against Web DDoS Tsunami attacks, a new aggressive form of HTTPS Flood that targets web applications and APIs. According to Radware’s H1 2024 Global Threat Analysis Report, Web DDoS attacks surged globally 265% during the first six months of 2024 compared to the second half of 2023.

    “As the number and sophistication of DDoS attacks increase exponentially, the demand for state-of-the-art AI-driven protection has never been greater,” said Michael Giesselbach, Radware’s regional director in Germany. “Working with TelemaxX, we can meet the needs of growing organizations and improve their security posture while they focus on their core business activities.”

    Using AI-powered advanced behavioral algorithms, DefensePro X provides automated, adaptive DDoS protection from fast-moving, high-volume, encrypted or zero-day threats. It defends against IoT-based, Burst, DNS and TLS/SSL attacks, ransom DDoS campaigns, IoT botnets, phantom floods, and other types of cyber threats.

    Radware has received numerous awards for its DDoS mitigation, application and API protection, web application firewall, and bot detection and management solutions. Industry analysts such as Aite-Novarica Group, Gartner, GigaOm, IDC, KuppingerCole and QKS Group continue to recognize Radware as a market leader in cyber security.

    About Radware
    Radware® (NASDAQ: RDWR) is a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments. The company’s cloud application, infrastructure, and API security solutions use AI-driven algorithms for precise, hands-free, real-time protection from the most sophisticated web, application, and DDoS attacks, API abuse, and bad bots. Enterprises and carriers worldwide rely on Radware’s solutions to address evolving cybersecurity challenges and protect their brands and business operations while reducing costs. For more information, please visit the Radware website.

    Radware encourages you to join our community and follow us on: Facebook, LinkedIn, Radware Blog, X, YouTube, and Radware Mobile for iOS.

    ©2025 Radware Ltd. All rights reserved. Any Radware products and solutions mentioned in this press release are protected by trademarks, patents, and pending patent applications of Radware in the U.S. and other countries. For more details, please see: https://www.radware.com/LegalNotice/. All other trademarks and names are property of their respective owners.

    Radware believes the information in this document is accurate in all material respects as of its publication date. However, the information is provided without any express, statutory, or implied warranties and is subject to change without notice.

    The contents of any website or hyperlinks mentioned in this press release are for informational purposes and the contents thereof are not part of this press release.

    Safe Harbor Statement
    This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements made herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Radware’s plans, outlook, beliefs, or opinions, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may,” and “could.” For example, when we say in this press release that through this partnership, we can meet the needs of growing organizations and improve their security posture, we are using forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, could differ materially from Radware’s current forecasts and estimates. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the impact of global economic conditions, including as a result of the state of war declared in Israel in October 2023 and instability in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the tensions between China and Taiwan; our dependence on independent distributors to sell our products; our ability to manage our anticipated growth effectively; a shortage of components or manufacturing capacity could cause a delay in our ability to fulfill orders or increase our manufacturing costs; our business may be affected by sanctions, export controls, and similar measures, targeting Russia and other countries and territories, as well as other responses to Russia’s military conflict in Ukraine, including indefinite suspension of operations in Russia and dealings with Russian entities by many multi-national businesses across a variety of industries; the ability of vendors to provide our hardware platforms and components for the manufacture of our products; our ability to attract, train, and retain highly qualified personnel; intense competition in the market for cyber security and application delivery solutions and in our industry in general, and changes in the competitive landscape; our ability to develop new solutions and enhance existing solutions; the impact to our reputation and business in the event of real or perceived shortcomings, defects, or vulnerabilities in our solutions, if our end-users experience security breaches, if our information technology systems and data, or those of our service providers and other contractors, are compromised by cyber-attackers or other malicious actors or by a critical system failure; outages, interruptions, or delays in hosting services; the risks associated with our global operations, such as difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations, compliance costs arising from host country laws or regulations, partial or total expropriation, export duties and quotas, local tax exposure, economic or political instability, including as a result of insurrection, war, natural disasters, and major environmental, climate, or public health concerns, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; our net losses in the past two years and possibility we may incur losses in the future; a slowdown in the growth of the cyber security and application delivery solutions market or in the development of the market for our cloud-based solutions; long sales cycles for our solutions; risks and uncertainties relating to acquisitions or other investments; risks associated with doing business in countries with a history of corruption or with foreign governments; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; risks associated with undetected defects or errors in our products; our ability to protect our proprietary technology; intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties; laws, regulations, and industry standards affecting our business; compliance with open source and third-party licenses; and other factors and risks over which we may have little or no control. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Radware, refer to Radware’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the other risk factors discussed from time to time by Radware in reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except as required by applicable law, Radware undertakes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statement in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made. Radware’s public filings are available from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or may be obtained on Radware’s website at www.radware.com.

    Media Contact:
    Gerri Dyrek
    Radware
    Gerri.Dyrek@radware.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alan Hirsch, Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

    Donald Trump, America’s new president, has cut back massively on US commitments to asylum seekers, blocked all asylum processes and started to remove irregular immigrants.

    Trump’s new measures are far reaching. They include the suspension of the US refugee admissions programme. Flights booked for refugees to the US have been cancelled. Arrests and deportations have begun.

    Strongly anti-immigrant policies were also pursued under the Biden administration, though Trump’s dramatic steps take them much further. Other countries in the global north have also introduced tougher policies. The 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum sets out tougher border controls, quicker assessment of asylum seekers and swifter removal of those who did not qualify. In the UK, Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to bring down the net migration rate and treat people-smugglers like terrorists.

    Based on my research into migration over the past 30 years I believe that these measures are unlikely to last. There are two linked trends that make closing the borders of the global north impractical and destined for revision.

    The first is that populations in most of the global north are ageing fast (on average) and the fertility rate, or natural population growth rate, has plummeted. There are many more older people as a percentage of the population.

    Secondly, with a workforce shrinking and the dependency ratio (the proportion of non-working to working people) rising rapidly, closing borders to potential labourers from other countries, without any other change, would lead to declining living standards in the global north. Economic growth and government revenues would slow or stagnate, undermining infrastructure maintenance and social service provision.

    There are several possible strategies that could be alternatives to anti-immigration measures. Some older people could migrate south, robots and AI could do more work, workers in the global south could perform remote work for the north, and arrangements could be made to allow migrants into the north either permanently or as circulating migrants.

    All these strategies are already in use, if modestly. Their application would have to expand considerably.

    Misplaced panic

    The responses of governments in the global north are exaggerated. Governments putting in place tough anti-immigrant measures have done so on the back of a narrative that there’s been a significant rise in the number of migrants worldwide.

    This isn’t true. Some countries, such as the US, Germany and Colombia, have seen a spike in refugees and other migrants. But for the rest of the world the picture remains much the same as it has done for decades.

    Foreign-born residents (the most widely used definition of migrants) rose as a proportion of residents worldwide from 2.3% in 1970 to 3.6% in 2020. But in 1960 the number was over 3%, and in the late 1800s migrants made up somewhere between 3% and 5% of the global population.

    So, 3.6% is nothing new.

    As for refugees, in 2023 there were about 38 million, of whom 69% sought refuge in neighbouring countries and 75% in middle- and low-income countries.

    In general, therefore, rich countries have not been carrying the greatest burden.

    The real reason behind these tougher measures is that living standards have stagnated in many countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The cost and availability of housing have worsened; inequality has grown since the 1980s; the quality and availability of public services have deteriorated since the global financial crisis of 2008 and COVID-19; and the quality of employment has shifted to precarious work and poorly paid service sector occupations.

    This has contributed to the rise of populism, including anti-foreigner sentiment and even xenophobia.

    Trump’s actions are the most extreme yet. They include an order to block “aliens involved in the invasion” using “appropriate measures” that give the security forces further powers. The prohibition of southern border asylum hearings in the US and the instruction to “remain in Mexico” means that prospective asylum seekers from third countries may not cross the border to make their applications at the port of entry. They must apply remotely.

    Trump has also ordered that birthright citizenship must be limited to the children of certain categories of residents, essentially citizens or those with residence rights in the form of a “green card”. This move has been temporarily blocked in some states by judges as unconstitutional.

    In addition, the acting head of the Homeland Security Department gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to deport migrants admitted temporarily into the US under several programmes of the Biden administration, targeting refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, and possibly Afghan and Ukrainian refugees too.

    The very first bill to receive final approval from the US Congress under Trump’s second term, the Laken-Riley Act, would require the detention and deportation of migrants who enter the country without authorisation and are charged with certain crimes. This bill was passed with 263 votes and 156 votes against, meaning that 46 House Democrats supported the Republican bill.

    In contrast, in the global south, as I have discussed elsewhere, the trend has been in the opposite direction. South American regional communities liberalised migration most extensively in recent decades, but African regional communities have made progress too, as has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

    The way forward

    Some alternative strategies are leading the way.

    In Canada, the Temporary Foreign Worker programme has expanded steadily since 1973, increasingly including long-term circulating migrating lower-skilled workers for key occupations like catering, care, construction and agriculture. Though it is currently under political scrutiny because of the panic in the north over migration, and because of housing shortages in Canada, it is likely to survive and evolve. Similar systems are emerging across the global north.

    In the EU, Talent Partnerships are now encouraged. Germany, for example, has talent partnerships with Kenya and Morocco, where they train health workers and IT technicians in those countries to work and live in Germany. Spain has various partnerships in Latin America and Africa. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has chosen to be upfront on the choices. In October last year he told the Spanish people:

    Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed off poor country.

    The current fashion for population protectionism in the global north is increasingly nasty, but it is unlikely to stand the test of time. Several constructive responses to the rising dependency ratio are feasible, but being open to more migration, possibly in new forms and through new channels. is an inevitable part of the solution.

    New formal pathways for working migrants and reasonable systems for asylum seekers, along with full enforcement of rules against irregular migrants, could be the combination that works politically and economically.

    – Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last
    – https://theconversation.com/anti-immigration-policies-why-harsh-new-rules-put-in-place-by-trump-and-other-rich-countries-wont-last-248359

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Alan Hirsch, Research Fellow New South Institute, Emeritus Professor at The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town

    Donald Trump, America’s new president, has cut back massively on US commitments to asylum seekers, blocked all asylum processes and started to remove irregular immigrants.

    Trump’s new measures are far reaching. They include the suspension of the US refugee admissions programme. Flights booked for refugees to the US have been cancelled. Arrests and deportations have begun.

    Strongly anti-immigrant policies were also pursued under the Biden administration, though Trump’s dramatic steps take them much further. Other countries in the global north have also introduced tougher policies. The 2024 EU Pact on Migration and Asylum sets out tougher border controls, quicker assessment of asylum seekers and swifter removal of those who did not qualify. In the UK, Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to bring down the net migration rate and treat people-smugglers like terrorists.

    Based on my research into migration over the past 30 years I believe that these measures are unlikely to last. There are two linked trends that make closing the borders of the global north impractical and destined for revision.

    The first is that populations in most of the global north are ageing fast (on average) and the fertility rate, or natural population growth rate, has plummeted. There are many more older people as a percentage of the population.

    Secondly, with a workforce shrinking and the dependency ratio (the proportion of non-working to working people) rising rapidly, closing borders to potential labourers from other countries, without any other change, would lead to declining living standards in the global north. Economic growth and government revenues would slow or stagnate, undermining infrastructure maintenance and social service provision.

    There are several possible strategies that could be alternatives to anti-immigration measures. Some older people could migrate south, robots and AI could do more work, workers in the global south could perform remote work for the north, and arrangements could be made to allow migrants into the north either permanently or as circulating migrants.

    All these strategies are already in use, if modestly. Their application would have to expand considerably.

    Misplaced panic

    The responses of governments in the global north are exaggerated. Governments putting in place tough anti-immigrant measures have done so on the back of a narrative that there’s been a significant rise in the number of migrants worldwide.

    This isn’t true. Some countries, such as the US, Germany and Colombia, have seen a spike in refugees and other migrants. But for the rest of the world the picture remains much the same as it has done for decades.

    Foreign-born residents (the most widely used definition of migrants) rose as a proportion of residents worldwide from 2.3% in 1970 to 3.6% in 2020. But in 1960 the number was over 3%, and in the late 1800s migrants made up somewhere between 3% and 5% of the global population.

    So, 3.6% is nothing new.

    As for refugees, in 2023 there were about 38 million, of whom 69% sought refuge in neighbouring countries and 75% in middle- and low-income countries.

    In general, therefore, rich countries have not been carrying the greatest burden.

    The real reason behind these tougher measures is that living standards have stagnated in many countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The cost and availability of housing have worsened; inequality has grown since the 1980s; the quality and availability of public services have deteriorated since the global financial crisis of 2008 and COVID-19; and the quality of employment has shifted to precarious work and poorly paid service sector occupations.

    This has contributed to the rise of populism, including anti-foreigner sentiment and even xenophobia.

    Trump’s actions are the most extreme yet. They include an order to block “aliens involved in the invasion” using “appropriate measures” that give the security forces further powers. The prohibition of southern border asylum hearings in the US and the instruction to “remain in Mexico” means that prospective asylum seekers from third countries may not cross the border to make their applications at the port of entry. They must apply remotely.

    Trump has also ordered that birthright citizenship must be limited to the children of certain categories of residents, essentially citizens or those with residence rights in the form of a “green card”. This move has been temporarily blocked in some states by judges as unconstitutional.

    In addition, the acting head of the Homeland Security Department gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the power to deport migrants admitted temporarily into the US under several programmes of the Biden administration, targeting refugees from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, and possibly Afghan and Ukrainian refugees too.

    The very first bill to receive final approval from the US Congress under Trump’s second term, the Laken-Riley Act, would require the detention and deportation of migrants who enter the country without authorisation and are charged with certain crimes. This bill was passed with 263 votes and 156 votes against, meaning that 46 House Democrats supported the Republican bill.

    In contrast, in the global south, as I have discussed elsewhere, the trend has been in the opposite direction. South American regional communities liberalised migration most extensively in recent decades, but African regional communities have made progress too, as has the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

    The way forward

    Some alternative strategies are leading the way.

    In Canada, the Temporary Foreign Worker programme has expanded steadily since 1973, increasingly including long-term circulating migrating lower-skilled workers for key occupations like catering, care, construction and agriculture. Though it is currently under political scrutiny because of the panic in the north over migration, and because of housing shortages in Canada, it is likely to survive and evolve. Similar systems are emerging across the global north.

    In the EU, Talent Partnerships are now encouraged. Germany, for example, has talent partnerships with Kenya and Morocco, where they train health workers and IT technicians in those countries to work and live in Germany. Spain has various partnerships in Latin America and Africa. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez has chosen to be upfront on the choices. In October last year he told the Spanish people:

    Spain needs to choose between being an open and prosperous country or a closed off poor country.

    The current fashion for population protectionism in the global north is increasingly nasty, but it is unlikely to stand the test of time. Several constructive responses to the rising dependency ratio are feasible, but being open to more migration, possibly in new forms and through new channels. is an inevitable part of the solution.

    New formal pathways for working migrants and reasonable systems for asylum seekers, along with full enforcement of rules against irregular migrants, could be the combination that works politically and economically.

    Alan Hirsch receives funding from the New South Institute for research and the University of Cape Town for advice and supervision.

    – ref. Anti-immigration policies: why harsh new rules put in place by Trump and other rich countries won’t last – https://theconversation.com/anti-immigration-policies-why-harsh-new-rules-put-in-place-by-trump-and-other-rich-countries-wont-last-248359

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Sustainable’ aviation fuel and other myths about green airport expansion debunked

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Taking off: emissions from the aviation sector. WildSnap/Shutterstock

    Environmentalists and locals have resisted a third runway at London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, for more than two decades. Today, their efforts took a major setback.

    The UK government has announced it will give the green light to airport expansion. This is not guaranteed to increase growth in the national economy as Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes. More flights and more emissions are certain, however, at a time when experts are practically screaming at governments to rein them in.

    This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed.

    “No airport expansions should proceed” without a UK-wide plan to annually assess and control the sector’s climate impact said the government’s watchdog, the Climate Change Committee, in 2023. Aeroplanes are 8% of UK emissions and 2% of the world’s, but they also release gases that seed heat-trapping clouds in the upper atmosphere, which triples air travel’s greenhouse effect.

    While the government’s own advisers have effectively ruled out new runways for the sake of net zero, airport and airline bosses play a different tune. So what does the sector propose to manage its own pollution?

    Not enough cooking oil to save us

    Aviation is a notoriously difficult sector to decarbonise says Richard Sulley, a senior research fellow in sustainability policy at the University of Sheffield: “If electric or hydrogen-powered planes are possible, it won’t be for many years yet.”

    To justify air travel emissions ballooning in the meantime, the aviation sector has promised a mix of “supply-side” measures, like replacing kerosene with so-called “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF), which Reeves described as “a game changer”, and making planes lighter and more fuel-efficient.

    Efficiency, in this context, is a slippery path to decarbonisation. When a high-emitting activity is reformed so that it consumes less energy, the efficiency savings are generally eclipsed by the increasing demand it drives.



    Read more:
    Expanding Heathrow is incompatible with net zero – here’s the evidence

    “Indeed, the sector’s own plans for growth will outstrip efforts to decarbonise through synthetic fuel, delivering a neutral effect at best,” Sulley says.

    Fuel consumption is the biggest emissions source in aviation.
    Sergey Ginak/Shutterstock

    “Demand-side” measures like fewer flights, taxes on frequent flying and domestic flight bans (see France) could cut emissions, he notes, but are seldom mentioned.

    The UK has set a target for airline fuel to be 10% SAF by 2030. So far we’re at 1.2% – and Sulley reports that the industry has not said how it will scale up in time.

    Even if airlines start taking their commitment to SAF seriously very soon, it’s a dubious solution to aviation’s climate impact according to political economists Gareth Dale (Brunel University) and Josh Moos (Leeds Beckett University).



    Read more:
    Why the world’s first flight powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel is a green mirage

    Earlier SAF test flights burned coconut oil – 3 million coconuts to power a journey from London to Amsterdam, as Dale and Moos calculate it. At that rate, they argue Heathrow would exhaust the world’s entire crop in a few weeks (there are 18,000 commercial airports worldwide).

    Modern SAF is blended with waste products from farms and kitchens. But the pair argue that the market for used cooking oil is “notoriously unregulated”. SAF may in fact be relabelled palm oil from plantations that are erasing orangutan habitat in the tropics. Again, Dale and Moos argue there is not enough used cooking oil to meet existing, let alone future, demand.

    Transport for the rich, by the rich

    At least the hype around SAF addresses the main problem, albeit misleadingly. Policy experts David Howarth (University of Essex) and Steven Griggs (De Montfort University) marvel at how often “carbon-neutral airports” in aviation sustainability strategies simply mean terminals powered by renewable energy.

    “A terminal’s heating or lighting is, of course, largely irrelevant when its core business is as emissions-intensive as flying,” says Sulley.



    Read more:
    Heathrow 2.0: a ‘sustainable airport’ that pretends no one has to choose between planes and pollution

    Unfortunately for Rachel Reeves, a 2023 report by the New Economics Foundation found that any economic benefits of airport expansion will be largely confined to the airports themselves. Meanwhile, a wealthy subset of UK society can be expected to capture the biggest share of any new flight capacity. Each year, around half of British residents do not fly at all, Sulley points out.

    At the stratospheric heights of that subset are the private jet passengers who are served by “more or less dedicated airports” that are more obscure to the general public, says Raymond Woessner, a geographer at Sorbonne Université. A study published in November found that emissions from these flights rose by 46% between 2019 and 2023. The lead author described wealthy passengers using jets “like taxis”.



    Read more:
    L’insolent succès des jets privés, entre empreinte carbone et controverses

    “Discretion and anonymity” is what one airport nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside promises for “routine celebrity, head of state and royal visits”. Without state direction or regulation, it is these people who are setting the agenda for air travel.

    Woessner notes that the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, successfully lobbied to derail a high-speed rail project in California in 2013. Instead of an option that has shown its ability to cut flight demand, the US will be offered intercontinental rocket travel.



    Read more:
    With planning, high speed rail could reduce flight demand

    Musk’s company SpaceX says that rockets could ferry passengers between New York and Shanghai in under an hour. Rockets would burn “vastly more fuel per trip than conventional aircraft”, says aerospace engineer Angadh Nanjangud of Queen Mary University of London, but this might “drive critical research into carbon-neutral” methane-based rocket fuel.

    It would not be the first time an industry seeking to grow has used an as yet fantastical fuel to justify more carbon in Earth’s atmosphere.



    Read more:
    New York to Paris in 30 mins? How to achieve Elon Musk’s vision of rockets replacing long haul

    “There is the potential to create a good life for all within planetary boundaries,” say Dale and Moos.

    “But getting there requires clipping the wings of the aviation industry.”

    – ref. ‘Sustainable’ aviation fuel and other myths about green airport expansion debunked – https://theconversation.com/sustainable-aviation-fuel-and-other-myths-about-green-airport-expansion-debunked-248483

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Video: UK Baroness Hazarika: Lord Speaker’s Corner | House of Lords | Episode 25

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

    From politics to comedy to campaigning against anti-social behaviour, broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika is the latest guest on Lord Speaker’s Corner.

    Baroness Hazarika grew up in Coatbridge, Scotland and is the first person of Indian Assamese heritage to join the House of Lords. She rose to become a senior adviser to Labour figures including Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband, playing a crucial role preparing them for PMQs:

    ‘I think Prime Minister’s Questions gets a very bad rap, because it does often become quite Punch and Judy, but I think it’s a really important function of our democracy. There are not many democracies around the world where the principal politician in the land is called to the same spot week in, week out, and faces questions on any topic from any Member of Parliament across the country.’

    In this episode, Baroness Hazarika talks about her unlikely career path from politics to stand-up comedy and broadcasting, and back to politics. She also explains to Lord McFall how she will use her new political platform to campaign against anti-social behaviour and crime:

    ‘I don’t like calling this low-level crime, because I don’t think it’s low-level crime. But I think this stuff is not easy, but the more we talk about it and the more we press government ministers, that puts the pressure on them to keep on keeping this a priority.’

    Finally, Baroness Hazarika tells Lord McFall about receiving the phone call to offer her a place in the Lords, explaining ‘I really couldn’t believe it, because if you’re somebody like me from my background and you’ve loved politics your whole life, it’s a real honour to be asked to join the House of Lords for the party that you have served and the party you love.’

    She shares that this wasn’t the first thought that went through her head though, saying ‘The person said, “I’m calling on behalf of Keir Starmer. This is really serious. Are you by yourself? I think you better sit down.” And the first thing I thought was, “Oh my goodness, what have I been saying on my social media? Am I about to get cancelled, or am I about to get suspended from the Labour Party? Have I said something terrible?’

    See more from the series https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-of-lords-podcast/

    #HouseOfLords #UKParliament #LordSpeakersCorner #LordsMembers

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

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Greens welcome Rosebank and jackdaw court ruling

    Source: Green Party of England and Wales

    Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer MP has welcomed a Scottish court ruling that government approval of the giant new Rosebank and Jackdaw developments was unlawful because it did not account for the significant emissions that would be caused by burning the fields’ oil and gas.

    Carla Denyer said: “This is a victory not just for the campaigners who have been fighting against new oil drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw, but for common sense. The science is clear and the stakes are high: there can be no new oil and gas developments if we are to have a chance of staying within safe climate limits.

    “We’ve already seen the effects of at least 1.2°C degrees of global heating: from record-breaking heatwaves on almost every continent and deadly floods taking people’s lives and livelihoods across the world. In this context, it would be morally scandalous to allow fossil fuel companies like Equinor to start extracting from new fields – for the sake of their own profits and regardless of the consequences for the rest of us.

    “Aside from being a climate crime, opening new oil and gas fields like Rosebank goes entirely against what’s needed to strengthen the UK’s energy security, lower bills, and protect workers – which is to invest in a rapid and fair transition to renewable industries which have a long-term future.

    “If this government is serious about protecting us from the climate crisis and securing a liveable future for our children, it will revoke Rosebank’s license so that there is absolutely no question of this development going ahead. It must also refuse consent for the 13 other oil and gas drilling projects licensed by the previous government, and send a clear signal to the fossil fuel industry that they have no future in the UK.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tuberculosis cases in England continued to increase in 2024

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    UK TB cases rise 12.9% in 2024, continuing upward trend.

    The latest provisional annual data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that reported notifications of tuberculosis (TB) in England increased by 12.9% compared to 2023, continuing the upward trend over the last few years.

    England remains a low-incidence country for TB, but the TB notification rate in England rose from 8.5 per 100,000 population in 2023 to 9.5 per 100,000 in 2024.

    81.5% of all TB notifications in 2024 were in people born outside the UK but there was an increase in both UK-born and non UK-born populations.

    Tuberculosis continues to be associated with deprivation and is more common in large urban areas. The largest increases in TB notifications in 2024 were recorded in London and West Midlands. Among UK-born individuals, TB is more common in those experiencing homelessness, drug or alcohol dependency, and contact with the criminal justice system.

    Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said:

    TB remains a serious public health issue in England.

    The infection is preventable and curable. If you have moved to England from a country where TB is more common, please be aware of the symptoms of TB so you can get promptly tested and treated through your GP surgery.

    Not every persistent cough, along with a fever, is caused by flu or COVID-19. A cough that usually has mucus and lasts longer than 3 weeks can be caused by a range of other issues, including TB. Please speak to your GP if you think you could be at risk.

    TB is the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, having surpassed coronavirus (COVID-19). It is a bacterial infection that most frequently affects the lungs, which is when it is infectious.

    Symptoms of TB include:

    • a cough that lasts more than 3 weeks
    • high temperature
    • night sweats
    • loss of appetite
    • weight loss

    TB can also be found in other parts of the body besides the lungs, with symptoms including swollen glands and joints. More information on the symptoms of TB and what to do is available.

    TB can spread through close contact with people who have the infection and have symptoms (active TB). When someone with active TB coughs, they release small droplets containing the bacteria. You can catch TB if you regularly breathe in these droplets over a long period of time. It can be treated with a long course of antibiotics but can be serious, particularly if not treated.

    A TB test for infectious TB in the lungs is part of the visa requirements for anyone coming to stay in the UK for 6 months or more if they are coming from certain countries where TB is common. However, the bacterium that causes TB can also lie dormant for many years – something known as latent TB. To detect people with latent TB infection, a testing and treatment programme is in place in higher incidence areas of England for new arrivals from higher incidence countries.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Sweden and Colombia sign law enforcement agreement

    Source: Government of Sweden

    Sweden and Colombia sign law enforcement agreement – Government.se

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    Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice

    Published

    On 28 January, Sweden signed a bilateral law enforcement agreement with Colombia during Maria Malmer Stenergard’s visit to Colombia.

    On behalf of the Government, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard signed a bilateral law enforcement agreement at a ceremony in Bogotá on 28 January together with Colombia’s Minister of Justice Ángela María Buitrago and Minister of National Defence Iván Velásquez. 

    The agreement aims to increase cooperation between Sweden and Colombia in the fight against cross-border organised crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and cybercrime. It also paves the way for increased information exchange, cooperation on capacity building and the exchange of experiences. 

    “Organised crime is a cross-border problem that requires international cooperation with our partners around the world. The Government looks forward to working together with Colombia in this area of vital importance to both our countries,” says Ms Malmer Stenergard. 

    This cooperation agreement that we have now concluded with Colombia is essential to further strengthening our agencies’ efforts to combat serious crime. It’s widely acknowledged that drug smuggling, especially of cocaine, helps finance serious organised crime that severely undermines individuals’ sense of security and integrity, and which is also a systemic threat to our free and open society as a whole. Cross-border problems demand cross-border solutions, and this cooperation is a key part of that,” says Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer.

    The law enforcement agreement is part of the bilateral partnership agreement between Sweden and Colombia signed in June 2024 by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and President of Colombia Gustavo Petro, during his visit to Sweden.

    Press contact

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Resistance and decisive action – Sweden’s national strategy against organised crime

    Source: Government of Sweden

    Resistance and decisive action – Sweden’s national strategy against organised crime – Government.se

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    Press release from Ministry of Justice

    Published

    The Swedish Government has adopted Sweden’s first comprehensive national strategy against organised crime. The strategy serves as a direction for the work against organised crime, with the purpose to reduce vulnerabilities exploited by criminals. The national strategy presents priorities and identifies central actors.

    Organised crime poses a serious threat to the Swedish society. The deadly violence and the criminal financial structures used by organised crime actors, and parallel social structures at local level, affect the safety and security of Swedish citizens. Also, the impact of organised crime damages citizens’ trust in public institutions. The national strategy against organised crime that the Swedish Government adopted on 1 February 2024 calls for resistance and action, and it highlights what is necessary in the fight against organised crime. 

    Sweden’s national strategy against organised crime targets five key areas: 

    • Criminal careers must be stopped. 
    • Criminals’ access to illegal firearms and explosives must decrease.
    • The criminal economy must be reduced. 
    • Society must be robust enough to resist the threat of criminal influence. 
    • The system related to identities and identification must be reliable, and government agencies’ possibilities to exchange information must be improved. 

    “With this strategy, we are bringing together a broad range of actors at national, regional and local levels, as well as the private sector and civil society, to combat crime. We need to be proactive, and it is essential that all parts of society contribute – this is not a task for law enforcement only. The national strategy will further amplify the impact of the Government’s decisions and legislative reforms,” says Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer.  

    Press contact

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New report published highlighting the value of seabed mapping

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A new report reveals the significant economic and environmental benefit of seabed mapping within the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

    The report, developed by Eunomia Research & Consulting (Eunomia) defines the cost benefit relationship of seabed mapping to the UK economy. It highlights the potential benefits of seabed mapping in environmental conservation, compliance with legislation, and in varying maritime sectors like shipping, offshore energy, and coastal leisure.

    The report estimates that the average total benefits of seabed mapping in the UK EEZ is around £8.9 billion, compared to an estimated annual investment of £103 million each year. This represents a remarkable average estimate of cost benefit ratio of £86 benefit for every £1 spent.

    The majority of the value derived from seabed mapping efforts are from market sectors such as offshore energy and shipping, trades, and ports, with the remainder stemming from non-market sectors, such as environmental protection and legislative compliance.

    The importance of seabed mapping

    Seabed mapping has the potential to drive growth and innovation across a range of maritime sectors by improving navigational safety, supporting job creation and facilitating economic development.

    This data is critical to a range of maritime sectors and their associated value. For example, accurate seabed mapping is essential for the development of navigational charts to enable the safe passage of vessels and support maritime trade. Elsewhere, such data is critical for sectors like offshore energy, fishing and aquaculture, defence, and telecommunications, by identifying and surveying suitable sites for development.

    Beyond market applications, seabed mapping also contributes to environmental protection and marine resource management. This data helps establish conservation areas to protect marine habitats, while also monitoring levels of erosion and seabed landslides. In tandem, it plays a vital role in helping the UK government to comply with various regulations and legislations.

    Thanks to collective initiatives such as the UK Centre for Seabed Mapping (UK CSM), the UK has a coordinated approach to the collection and management of bathymetric and marine data. However, advancements in seabed mapping technologies in recent decades have allowed for a more comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the seafloor.

    Foundation data for maritime decisions

    With the maritime industry making up a vital part of the UK’s national infrastructure, the UKHO commissioned this project with the goal of improving the quality, access and coverage of seabed mapping data across the UK EEZ. This aligns with the UKHO’s goal to support maritime decision making and the safe passage of vessels at sea.

    David Parker, Head of Hydrographic Programmes, commented:

    Mapping the seabed isn’t just about uncovering what lies beneath our ocean’s surface – it is a foundation data set for supporting economic growth, protecting our vital ecosystems, and steering the maritime industry towards a safer, more sustainable future.

    We hope the findings of this report demonstrate the tangible value in having comprehensive, accurate mapping of the seabed for the many organisations in the UK that collect this data and rely upon it for responsible decision making.

    You can download and view the report using the link below:

    Cost Benefit Analysis of Seabed Mapping (PDF, 992 KB, 51 pages)

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Applications now open for OIT’s 2025 Policy Fellowship

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Open Innovation Team (OIT) is inviting applications for its 2025 Policy Fellowship programme, an academic mentoring scheme for civil servants grades SEO-G6.

    The OIT is a cross-government unit that works with experts to generate analysis and ideas for policy, helping colleagues review evidence, engage experts, develop policy and evaluate impact.

    Our Policy Fellowship is a bespoke, flexible, part-time mentoring programme that supports officials by providing help and expert insight to answer a specific policy question. Over the course of six months, civil servants will work under the supervision of an academic mentor in a relevant field to research and produce an output based on their policy area. Mentors are drawn from OIT partner institutions: Brunel University London, the University of Essex, Lancaster University, the University of Surrey and the University of York.

    What you’ll gain:

    • In-depth support and insight from leading academics
    • New contacts across academia and the civil service
    • Practical skills in data analysis and interpretation
    • Enhanced subject knowledge in your chosen field

    This is the third round of the Fellowship – in 2023/24, nine civil servants from five different departments were paired with academics from four universities. An example of one of their research outputs can be found here.

    This year’s programme offers an expanded range of research topics, including (but not limited to) education, health & social care, AI and digital, environment and sustainability, government, and business, work and employment.

    The Policy Fellowship was a really insightful experience – it gave us the chance to test our ideas with academics and structure our research effectively. Regular check-ins kept us on track, and we delivered an internal report that supported our department’s policy work.

    It was great to collaborate beyond government and gain fresh perspectives from academics, who were really understanding and supportive. I’d recommend the fellowship to policy officials looking to fill evidence gaps—or even map them out!

    Georgina Kaye, Policy Advisor Digital Strategy Division, Digital Data and Technology, Department for Education

    How to apply:

    • The application window opens on 30 January and closes 24 February.
    • Full details about the Fellowship and the application process can be found in our Q&A pack, and you can email fellowship@openinnovation.gov.uk if you have any questions.

    Key documents:

    • Q&A pack – in this document you can learn more about the OIT and the Fellowship, along with eligibility criteria and all the information you’ll need to apply: [link needed]
    • Open Innovation Fellowship Application Form

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Youth Justice Statistics: record lows in custody and first time entrants

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Youth Justice Annual Statistics for 2023 to 2024 were published today. There are fewer first time entrants and children in custody, but court delays remain a concern.

    The Youth Justice Statistics for 2023 to 24.

    The Youth Justice Statistics for England and Wales reveal a mix of promising trends and areas requiring urgent attention.

    Key findings include:

    • the number of children entering the system for the first time (first-time entrants (FTE)) fell to its lowest level on record (8,300)
    • stop and searches of children by the police decreased by 4% (103,100)
    • court sentences outnumbered Youth Cautions for the first time – 55% of FTEs received a sentence at court compared with 48% in the previous year – this marks an increasing shift toward diversion and alternative approaches to youth justice
    • the numbers of children in custody has fallen by 3% against the previous year and is the lowest number on record (430)
    • the average time from offence to court completion rose to 225 days, the highest on record, highlighting an ongoing challenge for the justice system and victims
    • while there were encouraging decreases in the numbers and proportions of Black children at various stages in the system, the proportion of Mixed ethnicity children in custody has doubled over the last 10 years
    • almost two-thirds (62%) of children remanded to youth detention accommodation did not go on to receive a custodial sentence, this raises significant concerns
    • The proven reoffending rate for children increased to 32.5%, a 0.3 percentage point increase on the previous year, while the number of children and the number of children who reoffended both increased for the first time in the last 10 years.
    • There were reductions in knife and weapon offences, a fall of 6% compared with the previous year and the sixth consecutive year-on-year decrease.

    In addition to the above findings, arrests of children remained stable, even as adult arrests increased by 8%. Despite widespread media coverage and the consequential public perception that children are responsible for a disproportionate amount of criminal activity, arrests of children accounted for just 8% of total arrests.

    There were reductions in knife and weapon offences, a fall of 6% compared with the previous year and the sixth consecutive year-on-year decrease. Although 20% higher than 10 years ago, this shows that local efforts to bring down offences involving weapons are having an impact.

    Court timeliness

    The average time it takes from offence to court completion has not bounced back and is on average 4 days longer than what we saw during the pandemic when there were court closures.

    This is very troubling because delays place a significant strain on children and victims who are looking to move forward in their lives and potentially delaying justice and delaying them from accessing the right support at the right time.

     We believe that the court system needs major changes. We’re working with the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Courts and Tribunals Service to advocate for the Child First framework, which focuses on creating fair and efficient processes for children, cutting down delays, and achieving better results for everyone involved.

    Tackling over-representation

    There were encouraging improvements in reducing the over-representation of children from Black and Mixed ethnicities. However, we must be clear, any over-representation is unacceptable.

    It is of particular concern that the proportion of children with a Mixed ethnicity in custody has doubled over the last decade. This is a stark reminder of the need for systemic reform.  

    We will continue to build partnerships, promote good practice and provide targeted support in community-based solutions such as through the London Accommodation Pathfinder (the LAP). The LAP prioritises boys of Black or Mixed  heritage facing remand to custody and supports them in a more appropriate and effective community setting.

    We continue to have significant concerns about the high use of remand, which means that hundreds of children experience the negative effects of custody and then go on to receive a community sentence, or no sentence at all. This creates additional trauma and exposure to criminality for the children, and also leads to unnecessary risk and costs for the general public.

    Keith Fraser, Chair of the Youth Justice Board, said:

    There are many positives within this report. The numbers of stop and searches and children entering the system for the first time fell once again after increasing in the previous year. The numbers of children in custody continued to fall, knife and weapon offences have reduced for the sixth consecutive year, and arrests and youth cautions/sentences have remained stable at a time when adult arrests rose by 8%.

    We must continue to build on these trends. The evidence tells us that the best way to prevent prolonged offending is to prevent bringing children into the justice system in the first place. This is the route to positive child outcomes, less crime, fewer victims and safer communities.

    I want to express my gratitude to everyone in the youth justice sector for their dedication and hard work. These reductions show that change is possible. Together, we can build on this momentum to ensure better outcomes for all children.

    Youth Justice Board media enquiries

    Youth Justice Board for England and Wales
    Clive House
    70 Petty France
    London
    SW1H 9EX

    Email comms@yjb.gov.uk

    For out-of-hours press queries 020 3334 3536

    Ends

    Notes to editors

    1. These statistics look at data for the youth justice system in England and Wales for the year ending March 2024 (where available). The publication considers the number of children (those aged 10 to 17) in the system, the offences they committed, the outcomes they received, their demographics and the trends over time.
    2. Youth Custody Statistics also incorporate young adults who have remained in the youth estate,
    3. In addition to the report, there is a summary infographic which highlights the main findings.
    4. This release includes dashboards showing local level data. The YJB does not comment on regional data or localised themes as often there are contexts specific to areas and communities which provide more valuable insight into local youth justice. The relevant local authority would be best placed to respond to requests for comment.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Poverty relief charity under investigation for ‘high risk’ handling of funds

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into Iraqi Welfare Association.

    The charity regulator for England and Wales is investigating the Iraqi Welfare Association (IWA) about its use of ‘high-risk’ methods to transfer and spend funds. Wider serious concerns held by the regulator include possible unmanaged conflicts of interest, failing to file accounts on time, failure to adhere to the charity’s Governing Document and acting outside of the purposes the charity was registered with.

    The IWA was set up to relieve poverty amongst the Iraqi community, particularly through the provision of advice and interpreting services to Iraqi refugees. Its wider purposes include providing classes and training to the Iraqi community, to relieve sickness, and protect and preserve public health and provide facilities for recreation.

    The Commission started proactively engaging with the IWA to assess how the charity was managing risks associated with working in Iraq. Iraq is deemed a ‘high-risk’ country by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Its engagement continued due to the charity’s failure to submit accounts for four consecutive years (FYE 2019, 2022, 2021 and 2022).

    The engagement has been escalated to a statutory inquiry after it found the charity was transferring funds overseas using a ‘Hawala’ system. The regulator also found the charity’s director was using his personal bank account to make payments on behalf of the charity. Using a personal bank account and transfer methods outside the formal banking system poses a risk to possible loss or misuse of funds.

    The inquiry will also investigate potential conflicts of interest regarding decisions around salary payments and a contract with a connected private company.

    The inquiry will:

    • Consider the conduct of the trustees and their compliance with their legal duties and responsibilities
    • Determine whether the charity’s funds have been expended solely for charitable purposes in line with the charity’s stated objects.
    • Assess the administration, governance and management of the charity by its trustees.

    The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

    It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.   

    ENDS 

    Notes to editors:

    • The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive. This ambition will help to create and sustain an environment where charities further build public trust and ultimately fulfil their essential role in enhancing lives and strengthening society.
    • On 17 January 2025, the Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Iraqi Welfare Association under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011.
    • A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the Commission to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or reputation. An inquiry will investigate and establish the facts of the case so that the Commission can determine the extent of any misconduct and/or mismanagement; the extent of the risk to the charity, its work, property, beneficiaries, employees or volunteers; and decide what action is needed to resolve the concerns.
    • Hawala is a system for moving funds, or their equivalent value, to a third party (‘the Hawala agent’) in another geographic location, where there may be no formal banking facilities, or limited access to them, without necessarily involving the formal banking system.

    Press office

    Email pressenquiries@charitycommission.gov.uk

    Out of hours press office contact number: 07785 748787

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Check Point Software Reports Fourth Quarter and 2024 Full Year Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights

    • Calculated Billings* reached $959 million, an 11 percent increase year over year
    • Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO)**: $2.5 billion, a 12 percent increase year over year
    • Total Revenues: $704 million, a 6 percent increase year over year
    • Product, License & Subscription Revenues: $463 million, a 9 percent increase year over year
    • GAAP Operating Income: $254 million, representing 36 percent of revenues
    • Non-GAAP Operating Income: $306 million, representing 44 percent of revenues
    • GAAP EPS: $2.30, a 7 percent increase year over year
    • Non-GAAP EPS: $2.70, a 5 percent increase year over year

    Full Year 2024 Highlights

    • Calculated Billings* reached $2,658 million, a 9 percent increase year over year
    • Total Revenues: $2,565 million, a 6 percent increase year over year
    • Security Subscriptions Revenues: $1,104 million, a 13 percent increase year over year
    • GAAP EPS: $7.46, a 5 percent increase year over year
    • Non-GAAP EPS: $9.16, a 9 percent increase year over year

    “We delivered exceptional fourth quarter results, a wonderful way to transition into my new Executive Chairman role. The success in the quarter was underscored by strong 8 percent revenue growth in our core Quantum Force appliance business, our industry leading Harmony E-mail solution, and expanded adoption of the Infinity platform,” said, Gil Shwed, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Check Point Software. “I would like to thank Check Point’s customers, partners, and the Global Check Point Team for their contributions to our continued success. I look forward to Check Point achieving new heights under the leadership of our new Chief Executive Officer, Nadav Zafrir,” concluded, Mr. Shwed.

    “I would like to thank Gil and the Board for the opportunity to lead such an exemplary organization. 2024 was a successful year and provides a great springboard for 2025 and beyond,” stated Nadav Zafrir, Chief Executive Officer of Check Point Software. “My first one hundred days are focused on meeting with customers and partners to understand the key challenges they face in today’s unprecedented threat environment. From my conversations so far, I have become increasingly confident that Check Point is uniquely positioned to address the cybersecurity demands of enterprises worldwide. Check Point’s future is bright, and we are focused on driving market share expansion and taking growth to the next levels,” stated Mr. Zafrir.

    “After a successful fourth quarter and 2024, we are starting 2025 with an expanded executive team to balance our corporate and Go-To-Market leadership roles, and bring even more attention to customer facing functions,” said Nadav Zafrir, CEO of Check Point Software. Among the new roles joining the executive team is that of Chief Revenue Officer. Itai Greenberg will serve in this role, driving our global top-line revenue across our platform worldwide. He brings more than two decades of experience in product management and sales roles, having most recently served as Check Point’s Chief Strategy Officer and head of the Cloud and SASE businesses. Replacing Itai in the role of Chief Strategy Officer, we welcome Roi Karo to Check Point. Roi brings more than two decades of expertise in security, AI, and big data with a focus on strategy and planning.

    In conclusion, after three successful years as Check Point’s President, Rupal Hollenbeck has chosen to conclude her tenure at the end of the first quarter and will remain available to support the smooth transition of the new executive team members. “I want to thank Rupal for her incredible work and dedication over the last three years during which the Go-To-Market organizations composition, reach, and focus was transformed all around the world. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” said Nadav Zafrir, CEO of Check Point Software. “We welcome Itai and Roi into their new executive team roles. I am excited about the opportunities before us, and I am more confident than ever that the best of Check Point is yet to come,” concluded, Mr. Zafrir.

    Financial Highlights Commentary

    • Cash Balances, Marketable Securities & Short-Term Deposits: $2,784 million as of December 31, 2024, compared to $2,960 million as of December 31, 2023. The decrease in cash is primarily a result of $186 million net of cash consideration utilized for Cyberint Ltd. acquisition in 2024.
    • Share Repurchase Program: During the fourth quarter of 2024, the company repurchased approximately 1.7 million shares at a total cost of approximately $325 million. During full year 2024, we repurchased approximately 7.7 million shares at a total cost of approximately $1,300 million.
    • Cash Flow: Cash flow from operations was $1,059, which included $18 million of costs related to our currency hedging transactions, and acquisition-related costs were insignificant. This compares to $1,035 million in 2023, which included $39 million of costs related to our currency hedging transactions and $25 million in costs related to acquisitions.

    For information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this release, as well as a reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, please see “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information” and “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Information.”

    Conference Call and Webcast Information
    Check Point will host a conference call with the investment community on January 30, 2025, at 8:30 AM ET/5:30 AM PT. To listen to the live webcast or replay, please visit the website www.checkpoint.com/ir.
    First Quarter 2025 Investor Conference Participation Schedule

    • Wolfe Research March Madness 1×1 Conference
      February 27, 2025, NY, NY – 1×1 meetings
    • Susquehanna Technology Conference
      February 27, 2025, NY, NY – 1×1 meetings
    • Raymond James 2025 Institutional Investor Conference
      March 3, 2025, Orlando, FL – Fireside & 1×1 meetings
    • Morgan Stanley 2025 Media, Telecommunications & Technology Conference
      March 4, 2025, SF, CA – Fireside & 1×1 meetings
    • Roth Capital Partners 37thAnnual Conference
      March 17-18, 2025, Dana Point, CA – 1×1 meetings

    Members of Check Point’s management team are expected to present at these conferences and discuss the latest company strategies and initiatives. Check Point’s conference presentations are expected to be available via webcast on the company’s web site. To hear these presentations and access the most updated information please visit the company’s web site at www.checkpoint.com/ir. The schedule is subject to change.

    Follow Check Point via:
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/checkpointsw
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftware
    Blog: http://blog.checkpoint.com
    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobal
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies

    About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
    Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (http://www.checkpoint.com) is a leading AI-powered, cloud-delivered cyber security platform provider protecting over 100,000 organizations worldwide. Check Point leverages the power of AI everywhere to enhance cyber security efficiency and accuracy through its Infinity Platform, with industry-leading catch rates enabling proactive threat anticipation and smarter, faster response times. The comprehensive platform includes cloud-delivered technologies consisting of Check Point Harmony to secure the workspace, Check Point CloudGuard to secure the cloud, Check Point Quantum to secure the network, and Check Point Infinity Core Services for collaborative security operations and services.

    Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to our management transitions, expectations regarding our products and solutions, and our participation in investor conferences and Check Point Experience (CPX) events and other events during the first quarter of 2025. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results or events in the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. These risks include our ability to continue to develop platform capabilities and solutions; customer acceptance and purchase of our existing solutions and new solutions; the market for IT security continuing to develop; competition from other products and services; appointments and departures of our executive officers; and general market, political, economic, and business conditions, including acts of terrorism or war. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Check Point as of the date hereof, and Check Point disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

    Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
    In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, Check Point uses non-GAAP measures of operating income, net income and earnings per diluted share, which are adjustments from results based on GAAP to exclude, as applicable, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets and acquisition related expenses and the related tax affects. Check Point’s management believes the non-GAAP financial information provided in this release is useful to investors’ understanding and assessment of Check Point’s ongoing core operations and prospects for the future. Historically, Check Point has also publicly presented these supplemental non-GAAP financial measures to assist the investment community to see the company “through the eyes of management,” and thereby enhance understanding of its operating performance. The presentation of this non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included with the financial statements contained in this press release. Management uses both GAAP and non-GAAP information in evaluating and operating business internally and as such has determined that it is important to provide this information to investors.

    * Calculated Billings is a measure that we defined as total revenues recognized in accordance with GAAP plus the change in Total Deferred Revenues during the period

    ** Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO) is a measure that represents the total value of non-cancellable contracted products and/or services that are yet to be recognized as Revenue as of the period

     
    CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
     
    (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)
           
      Three Months Ended   Year Ended
      December 31,   December 31,
      2024   2023   2024   2023
    Revenues:              
    Products and licenses $ 170.6   $ 158.3   $ 507.9   $ 497.4
    Security subscriptions   292.2     265.8     1,104.2     981.2
    Total revenues from products and security subscriptions   462.8     424.1     1,612.1     1,478.6
    Software updates and maintenance   240.9     239.4     952.9     936.1
    Total revenues   703.7     663.5     2,565.0     2,414.7
                   
    Operating expenses:              
    Cost of products and licenses   29.6     28.0     97.8     99.3
    Cost of security subscriptions   19.7     17.2     72.6     57.0
    Total cost of products and security subscriptions   49.3     45.2     170.4     156.3
    Cost of Software updates and maintenance   33.4     30.5     123.9     112.3
    Amortization of technology   7.6     5.8     25.0     14.0
    Total cost of revenues   90.3     81.5     319.3     282.6
                   
    Research and development   101.1     100.0     394.9     368.9
    Selling and marketing   232.1     200.5     862.9     747.1
    General and administrative   25.9     29.7     111.9     117.0
    Total operating expenses   449.4     411.7     1,689.0     1,515.6
                   
    Operating income   254.3     251.8     876.0     899.1
    Financial income, net   24.5     18.4     96.1     76.5
    Income before taxes on income   278.8     270.2     972.1     975.6
    Taxes on income (tax benefit)   21.3     21.0     126.4     135.3
    Net income $ 257.5   $ 249.2   $ 845.7   $ 840.3
                           
    Basic earnings per share $ 2.36   $ 2.19   $ 7.65   $ 7.19
    Number of shares used in computing basic earnings per share   109.2     114.0     110.6     116.9
                           
    Diluted earnings per share $ 2.30   $ 2.15   $ 7.46   $ 7.10
    Number of shares used in computing diluted earnings per share   112.1     115.9     113.4     118.3
     
     
    CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    SELECTED FINANCIAL METRICS
     (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)
             
        Three Months Ended   Year Ended
        December 31,   December 31,
        2024   2023   2024   2023
                     
    Revenues   $ 703.7   $ 663.5   $ 2,565.0   $ 2,414.7
    Non-GAAP operating income     306.4     308.6     1,097.5     1,079.1
    Non-GAAP net income     303.2     298.5     1,039.1     997.1
    Diluted Non-GAAP Earnings per share   $ 2.70   $ 2.57   $ 9.16   $ 8.42
    Number of shares used in computing diluted Non-GAAP Earnings per share     112.1     115.9     113.4     118.3
                             
     
    CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION
    (Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)
             
        Three Months Ended   Year Ended
        December 31,   December 31,
          2024       2023       2024       2023  
                     
    GAAP operating income   $ 254.3     $ 251.8     $ 876.0     $ 899.1  
    Stock-based compensation (1)     29.8       39.9       149.7       145.3  
    Amortization of intangible assets and acquisition related expenses (2)     22.3       16.9       71.8       34.7  
    Non-GAAP operating income   $ 306.4     $ 308.6     $ 1,097.5     $ 1,079.1  
                     
    GAAP net income   $ 257.5     $ 249.2     $ 845.7     $ 840.3  
    Stock-based compensation (1)     29.8       39.9       149.7       145.3  
    Amortization of intangible assets and acquisition related expenses (2)     22.3       16.9       71.8       34.7  
    Taxes on the above items (3)     (6.4 )     (7.5 )     (28.1 )     (23.2 )
                                     
    Non-GAAP net income   $ 303.2     $ 298.5     $ 1,039.1     $ 997.1  
                     
    Diluted GAAP Earnings per share   $ 2.30     $ 2.15     $ 7.46     $ 7.10  
    Stock-based compensation (1)     0.26       0.34       1.32       1.23  
    Amortization of intangible assets and acquisition related expenses (2)     0.20       0.15       0.63       0.29  
    Taxes on the above items (3)     (0.06 )     (0.07 )     (0.25 )     (0.20 )
    Diluted Non-GAAP Earnings per share   $ 2.70     $ 2.57     $ 9.16     $ 8.42  
                     
    Number of shares used in computing diluted Non-GAAP Earnings per share     112.1       115.9       113.4       118.3  
                     
    (1) Stock-based compensation:                
    Cost of products and licenses   $ 0.1     $ 0.1     $ 0.4     $ 0.4  
    Cost of software updates and maintenance     2.0       2.4       8.2       7.3  
    Research and development     10.8       14.2       53.1       48.7  
    Selling and marketing     12.0       15.2       58.2       56.3  
    General and administrative     4.9       8.0       29.8       32.6  
          29.8       39.9       149.7       145.3  
                     
    (2) Amortization of intangible assets and acquisition related expenses:                
    Amortization of technology-cost of revenues     7.6       5.8       25.0       14.0  
    Research and development     1.7       2.0       6.5       7.0  
    Selling and marketing     13.0       9.1       40.3       13.7  
          22.3       16.9       71.8       34.7  
    (3) Taxes on the above items     (6.4 )     (7.5 )     (28.1 )     (23.2 )
    Total, net   $ 45.7     $ 49.3     $ 193.4     $ 156.8  
     
     
    CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA
     
    (In millions)
     
    ASSETS
               
          December 31,   December 31,
          2024
    (Unaudited)    		   2023
    (Audited)
    Current assets:          
    Cash and cash equivalents     $ 506.2   $ 537.7
    Marketable securities and short-term deposits       865.7     992.3
    Trade receivables, net       728.8     657.7
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets       92.7     70.0
    Total current assets       2,193.4     2,257.7
               
    Long-term assets:          
    Marketable securities       1,411.9     1,429.7
    Property and equipment, net       80.8     80.4
    Deferred tax asset, net       63.6     81.8
    Goodwill and other intangible assets, net       1,897.1     1,748.5
    Other assets       96.6     97.4
    Total long-term assets       3,550.0     3,437.8
               
    Total assets     $ 5,743.4   $ 5,695.5
     
               
    LIABILITIES AND
    SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
               
    Current liabilities:          
    Deferred revenues     $ 1,471.3     $ 1,413.8  
    Trade payables and other accrued liabilities       472.9       502.3  
    Total current liabilities       1,944.2       1,916.1  
               
    Long-term liabilities:          
    Long-term deferred revenues       529.0       493.9  
    Income tax accrual       448.5       436.1  
    Other long-term liabilities       32.3       28.4  
            1,009.8       958.4  
               
    Total liabilities       2,954.0       2,874.5  
               
    Shareholders’ equity:          
    Share capital       0.8       0.8  
    Additional paid-in capital       3,052.8       2,732.5  
    Treasury shares at cost       (14,267.7 )     (13,041.2 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive gain (loss)       (10.3 )     (39.2 )
    Retained earnings       14,013.8       13,168.1  
    Total shareholders’ equity       2,789.4       2,821.0  
                       
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity     $ 5,743.4     $ 5,695.5  
    Total cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and short-term deposits     $ 2,783.8     $ 2,959.7  
     
     
    CHECK POINT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
    SELECTED CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW DATA
     
    (Unaudited, in millions)
     
      Three Months Ended   Year Ended
      December 31,   December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Cash flow from operating activities:              
    Net income $ 257.5     $ 249.2     $ 845.7     $ 840.3  
    Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:              
    Depreciation of property and equipment   6.3       5.7       24.0       23.1  
    Amortization of intangible assets   19.2       13.5       59.6       24.3  
    Stock-based compensation   29.8       39.9       149.7       145.3  
    Realized loss on marketable securities   –       –       –       6.7  
    Increase in trade and other receivables, net   (337.1 )     (324.3 )     (78.9 )     (61.0 )
    Increase in deferred revenues, trade payables and other accrued liabilities   273.0       270.6       59.7       65.5  
    Deferred income taxes, net   0.3       (18.8 )     (1.0 )     (9.5 )
    Net cash provided by operating activities   249.0       235.8       1,058.8       1,034.7  
                   
    Cash flow from investing activities:              
    Payment in conjunction with acquisitions, net of acquired cash   –       (3.8 )     (185.8 )     (458.8 )
    Investment in property and equipment   (6.5 )     (4.7 )     (24.2 )     (18.6 )
    Net cash used in investing activities   (6.5 )     (8.5 )     (210.0 )     (477.4 )
                   
    Cash flow from financing activities:              
    Proceeds from issuance of shares upon exercise of options   9.0       16.0       258.6       133.7  
    Purchase of treasury shares   (325.0 )     (313.2 )     (1,299.9 )     (1,287.6 )
    Payments related to shares withheld for taxes   (1.5 )     (1.2 )     (18.6 )     (11.0 )
    Net cash used in financing activities   (317.5 )     (298.4 )     (1,059.9 )     (1,164.9 )
                   
    Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities, net   (14.0 )     42.1       35.2       64.1  
                   
    Decrease in cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and short-term deposits   (89.0 )     (29.0 )     (175.9 )     (543.5 )
                   
    Cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and short-term deposits at the beginning of the period   2,872.8       2,988.7       2,959.7       3,503.2  
                   
    Cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, and short-term deposits at the end of the period $ 2,783.8     $ 2,959.7     $ 2,783.8     $ 2,959.7  
     
       
    Investors: Kip E. Meintzer
    Check Point Software Technologies, Ltd.
    +1.650.628.2040
    ir@checkpoint.com    		 Media: Gil Messing
    Check Point Software Technologies, Ltd.
    +1.650.628.2260
    press@checkpoint.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Grattan on Friday: Dutton walks more softly on China, with election in mind

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    When Peter Dutton was asked this week  whether a Coalition government would continue  to foster trade relations with China, he declared unequivocally that “the relationship with China will be much stronger  than it is under the Albanese government”.

    Two points stood out: Dutton’s own positive rhetoric, and his apparent confidence about the future of Australia-China relations.

    It’s not unusual for opposition leaders to undertake a makeover, to their person or policy, as an election approaches. Anthony Albanese lost weight and acquired new glasses. Earlier, he’d made Labor a small policy target.

    Dutton is simultaneously attempting a softening on some fronts – while retaining the “hard man” image on others.

    Mid-last year Dutton said: “I’m pro-China and the relationship that we have with them. I want that trading relationship to increase. […] We need to make sure we strengthen the trading relationship because there are many businesses here who rely on it. But we have to be realistic about working to keep peace […] we live in a very uncertain time. The Prime Minister also says that we live in the most precarious period since the Second World War, and he’s right, and we need to work hard at peace as well.”

    Contrast Dutton as defence minister in 2021. “Does the Chinese government wish to occupy other countries? Not in my judgement. But they do see us as tributary states. And that surrender of sovereignty and abandonment of any adherence to the international rule of law is what our country has fought against since Federation.”

    It’s not that Dutton has changed his views on China. Rather, he’s camouflaged them with a softer tone, and in what he chooses to emphasise. Of course circumstances have changed – Australia now has a much better relationship with China. But significantly, Dutton needs to appeal to the local Chinese-Australian voters.

    At the 2022 election, the Liberals took a big hit among voters of Chinese heritage.

    The party’s review of its election performance, undertaken by former party director Brian Loughnane and frontbencher Jane Hume, said: “In the top 15 seats by Chinese ancestry the swing against the Party (on a 2PP basis) was 6.6%, compared to 3.7% in other seats. There are more than 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage living in Australia today. Rebuilding the Party’s relationship with the Chinese community must be a priority during this term of Parliament.”

    Marginal Labor seats that are targets for the Liberals, where the Chinese vote is significant, include Reid and Bennelong in NSW and Chisholm and Aston in Victoria.

    Dutton (and the PM) will attend a Lunar New Year celebration in Box Hill in Melbourne this weekend.

    It’s notable that David Coleman, named by Dutton last weekend as the opposition’s new spokesman on foreign affairs, has worked extensively with the Chinese community. One of the contenders for the post was the high-performing James Paterson. There may have been stronger arguments for keeping Paterson in home affairs, but his very hawkish stand on China might have been in the mix.

    Talking up the positive side of the Coalition’s record on China, Dutton harked back to the signing of the free trade agreement under the Abbott government, and said “we want there to be mutual respect in the relationship”.

    Over its years in government the Coalition’s relationship with China has varied between pragmatic friendship and suspicious negativity. After relatively smooth sailing in the Abbott period, things soured when the Turnbull government called China out over foreign interference, introducing legislation, and banned Huawei from the 5G network. Then relations plunged dramatically when the Morrison government demanded an inquiry into the origins and handling of the outbreak of COVID in Wuhan.

    Despite Dutton’s confidence, it’s more than possible that managing the China relationship after the election could be trickier than it has been during this one, no matter who is in power.

    The Albanese government can claim the greatly-improved bilateral relationship as one of its major foreign policy achievements. China has brought Australia out of the deep freeze, lifting the $20 billion worth of trade barriers it had imposed. Dialogue and ministerial exchanges have resumed. Anthony Albanese has been welcomed in China.

    But this week’s speculation relating to the new Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek is just the latest reminder of perennial security suspicions about the penetration of Chinese technology.(Incidentally, Dutton has an account on the Chinese-owned TikTok – despite it being banned from official government devices – in part to engage with the local Chinese community, as well as with younger people generally.)

    Australia’s minerals industry is potentially vulnerable to Chinese displeasure. The Senate in the next fortnight will consider the government’s Future Made in Australia legislation, that provides a tax incentive for processing critical minerals. The Chinese have a global stranglehold on this processing – and have shown a willingness to weaponise it, for example against Japan. China’s multi-billion dollar funding of nickel processing in Indonesia has had a dire impact on producers here in Australia.

    The change of government in Australia certainly facilitated the improvement in the bilateral relationship, but that improvement was also strongly driven by China’s own interests. Similarly, the future of the relationship is more in China’s hands than in Australia’s.

    China expert Richard McGregor, from the Lowy Institute, says:“ Relations with China are inherently volatile.

    “The day-by-day relationships have returned to  a degree of normality. But all of the structural stresses which created antagonism are still there.”

    These include China’s “military assertiveness in the region, competition between  the US and China, Australia’s concern about foreign interference and hacking, China’s efforts to build their power in the Pacific at the expense of Australia. None of that has gone away,” McGregor says. The single biggest change of recent years “is that “China has become much more powerful and is far more willing to throw its weight around”.

    Separate to any hiccups in the bilateral relationship, Australia could find itself caught in the crossfire if there is a serious deterioration in the US-China relationship under Donald Trump – notably if his tariff policy leads to a trade war. Simon Jackman, from the University of Sydney, warns that if US policy hit the (already struggling) Chinese economy, that would affect Australian exporters.

    “US tariffs or import bans that slowed China’s economy would cause some short to medium headaches for Australian exporters,” Jackman says. “As in Trump Mark 1 and COVID, Australian export industries would find themselves looking for opportunities elsewhere, if global supply chains had to re-equilibrate in response to an upheaval in the US-China trade relationship.”

    Ironically, the earlier search for diversified markets when the Chinese imposed their restrictions on Australian producers would have helped prepare exporters for such a contingency.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Grattan on Friday: Dutton walks more softly on China, with election in mind – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-dutton-walks-more-softly-on-china-with-election-in-mind-248561

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK patients enabled access to transformative new medicines in shortest time possible via new, integrated Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway 

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    It is the only example globally of an end-to-end access pathway, where a medicine developer can work collaboratively with the national health system, the regulator, and health technology assessment bodies from the early stages of clinical development.

    Full details have been published today of the refreshed UK-wide Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP), that will offer a clearer, more streamlined and integrated process for developers to help get transformative new medicines to patients in the National Health Service (NHS) in the shortest time possible. 

    The new ILAP has been launched by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Health Technology Appraisal Bodies (the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC)) and the NHS.  

    It is the only example globally of an end-to-end access pathway, where a medicine developer can work collaboratively with the national health system, the regulator, and health technology assessment bodies from the early stages of clinical development.   The ILAP was first launched in January 2021 to offer developers of promising new medicines a single platform to collaborate with the MHRA and the UK Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies to accelerate the time taken for innovative medicines to get to patients.  

    The UK life sciences ecosystem within which the ILAP sits has since evolved. In response to feedback from stakeholders and the recommendations of the Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review, ILAP partners have worked together to refresh the pathway.  

    The ambition of this new pathway is to support the rapid development of transformative medicines that can be introduced into the NHS to address unmet clinical needs for patients and healthcare professionals at the earliest opportunity, without compromising on standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness. 

    The new ILAP will bring a number of key improvements compared to the original pathway, including: 

    • Involving the NHS as a core partner, focused on operational planning and system preparedness for the introduction of innovative new medicines into the NHS for the benefit of patients. 

    • Better quality bespoke services through more selective entry and dialogue between the ILAP partner organisations and the developers. 

    • Predictable delivery timelines enabling developers to plan more effectively and engage with ILAP more productively.  

    • Early interaction with patients and the NHS to facilitate smoother routes for routine access and system-wide adoption. 

    • A single point of contact provided for each product. 

    • Future proofing to help accelerate access to transformational products by including support for drug-device combinations. 

     The ILAP partners will be taking an iterative approach, allowing the pathway to be refined, adapted and improved over time in response to an evolving life sciences landscape, and patient and stakeholder feedback.  

    Dr June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive said:  

    “It is exciting now to share the full details of the refreshed ILAP, which will help to get transformative medicines to the NHS more quickly.   

    “This new ILAP is clearer, more streamlined and joined up than its predecessor, making the UK a more attractive place to develop and launch innovative products and, most importantly, helping to get transformative medicines to the patients who need them in the shortest possible time. 

    “This is a great example of how collaboration with our healthcare partners, industry and patients can help us refine and refresh our services and deliver world-leading services for the benefit of public health.” 

    Fiona Bride, NHS England’s Interim Chief Commercial Officer and Director of Medicines Value and Access, said:   

    “NHS England is delighted to be a core partner in the new Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, which will accelerate cutting-edge medicines into the hands of frontline NHS clinicians for the benefit of their patients. 

    “We are committed to collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry and other healthcare system partners to take the opportunity this world-first end-to-end medicines pathway creates, strengthening the UK’s position as a leader in medical innovation.” 

    Professor James Coulson, AWTTC Clinical Director said: 

    “AWTTC are delighted to continue its collaboration with our ILAP partners and look forward to working together on the refreshed pathway. 

    “ILAP has the potential to deliver timely, effective, and innovative medicines to our patients. We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to ensure these goals are achieved.” 

    Dr Sam Roberts, Chief Executive of NICE said:  

    “The launch of this revised offer marks a significant milestone for the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP).

    “As an organisation committed to getting the best care to people fast, we welcome any initiative that helps developers get transformative medicines into the NHS. The collaboration between partner organisations, industry and patients has really helped shape this new offer, and so we look forward to continuing this close working and delivering the ambitions of the ILAP.” 

    Dr Scott Muir, SMC Chair said: 

    “SMC is pleased to be an active participant in the ILAP, representing the NHS in Scotland. 

    “We will continue to work together with our ILAP partners to enable clinically and cost effective, new and innovative medicines to reach patients more quickly.” 

    Dr Richard Torbett the CEO from ABPI said: 

    “The ABPI is pleased to see the launch of the new ILAP offer which we hope will result in the delivery of rapid integration of the most innovative new medicines, through a synergised path from regulation, HTA and subsequent NHS adoption.

    “The principles that underpin ILAP have broader application for a strong UK life sciences ecosystem. The ABPI stands ready to support the development of measurable markers of success and to actively contribute to the plans to evolve the pathway in the future.” 

    To be eligible for the ILAP, applicants must submit medicines that have not yet entered their confirmatory trial, which will give more opportunity to benefit from the support offered within the pathway.  

    Entry to the ILAP is open to both commercial or non-commercial developers (UK based or global) and will open to new applications in March 2025. 

    Further information about the ILAP and how to apply can be found on the MHRA website.

    Notes to editors 

    The ILAP is a UK-wide initiative, comprising the following partners: 

    Supporting partners include: 

    • Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) 

    • Department of Health Northern Ireland 

    • National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 

    • Office for Life Sciences (OLS) 

    • Scottish Government 

    • Welsh Government

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Russia continues to cause immense civilian suffering in Ukraine: UK statement to the OSCE

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Ambassador Holland condemns the civilian suffering caused by Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and indiscriminate attacks on cities.

    Thank you, Mr. Chair.  It has been six weeks since the Council last discussed this agenda item.  During these six weeks, regrettably, Russia has continued the same pattern of behaviour we have seen for almost three years.  A pattern of behaviour that is indefensible and inconsistent with Russia’s international commitments, including under the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the Helsinki Final Act.

    On 25 December, a day of significance for many Christians in Ukraine, Russia launched a massive missile attack against energy infrastructure, killing an energy worker, and leaving hundreds of thousands in the Dnipro and Kharkiv regions without heating for days.

    Ukrainians had to endure 13 widescale missile attacks against their energy infrastructure in 2024. Not only has this threatened civilian access to power, water and heating over winter, but by targeting transmission equipment critical to the safe and secure operation of nuclear power plants, Russia has posed serious threats to nuclear safety as well.

    We have already seen the first such attack of 2025, with Russia hitting sites primarily in the west of Ukraine, including gas storage facilities on 15 January.

    The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that these attacks on energy infrastructure constituted the war crime of excessive incidental civilian harm and potentially a crime against humanity.

    It is not just these attacks that raise serious concerns about Russia’s respect for its obligations under international humanitarian law.  The UN has also raised concerns about Russia’s indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population.

    During our recess, on 8 January, a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia city caused the highest number of civilian casualties from a single incident for almost two years.  Two Russian glide bombs struck a crowd outside an industrial facility, killing 13 civilians and injuring 110.  The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said: “It was entirely foreseeable that using such weapons in a city during the day would result in significant civilian casualties … It is hard to see how this attack could be in compliance with the obligation to minimise civilian harm.”

    The UN estimates that there have been more than 30,000 civilian casualties since the Russian state launched its unprovoked war.  Approximately 10,500 killed and more than 20,000 injured.  These are a conservative estimate.  The true figure is likely far higher.

    2024 was a difficult year for Ukraine with attacks against the civilian population and its energy infrastructure.  And Russia has started 2025 in the same vein.  And just as we did in 2024, the UK will stand with Ukraine in 2025 and beyond. This unbreakable bond was formalised earlier this month through the signing of a landmark UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership.  We will continue to give political, economic, military and moral support to ensure Ukraine prevails, to secure the lasting peace that the Ukrainian people deserve and the security that our continent demands.  Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 30 January 2025

    Invasion of Ukraine

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Weight-loss without the sickness? Scientists seek to bypass popular obesity drug’s side effects How to harness the potential of weight-loss drugs without some of the unwelcome side-effects is the subject of a £1.2 million research project getting underway at the Rowett Institute and University College London.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    Professor Lora HeislerHow to harness the potential of weight-loss drugs without some of the unwelcome side-effects is the subject of a £1.2 million research project getting underway at the Rowett Institute and University College London.
    Semaglutide, which acts in the brain to reduce food intake, has fast become one of the most effective pharmaceutical weapons in the global battle against obesity.
    GLP1-based obesity medicines are the subject of intense public debate as governments seek to harness their public health potential.
    But semaglutide’s positive impact on weight loss is sometimes offset by nausea and vomiting, which can reduce its benefits by putting patients off sticking to a course of treatment.
    Now a team led by Professor Lora Heisler of the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute and Professor Stefan Trapp at UCL  – funded by the Medical Research Council – will spend three years identifying where semaglutide acts in the brain to influence specific aspects of food intake such as meal size, healthier food choices, delaying digestion and dampening the “feel-good” food effect, and also where it acts to produce the unpleasant nausea side effects.
    The project will involve careful statistical analysis of the resulting data by research colleagues from Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS).
    Answering these questions will fill large gaps in our current understanding of precisely how the drug works.

    We can only now do these types of studies because of the latest technological advances, and we expect our results will provide the blueprint to develop even better obesity medications in the future.” Professor Lora Heisler

    Professor Heisler’s laboratory at the Rowett Institute recently identified a cluster of brain cells that can be harnessed to reduce food intake and body weight – without the nausea, the common side effect of this class of obesity medicines.
    Speaking about the new project, Professor Heisler said: “There is huge interest in how the brain targets of semaglutide (Wegovy) and similar drugs such as tirzepatide (Mounjaro) could be switched on in a slightly different or more targeted way. Drugs that can do this could work better, have effects that last longer and produce specific therapeutic obesity treatment benefits without the nausea side effect.
    “This research could also lead to new drugs that are produced as pills instead of injectables, thereby reducing costs and increasing availability.
    “We can only now do these types of studies because of the latest technological advances, and we expect our results will provide the blueprint to develop even better obesity medications in the future. “
    Professor Trapp added: “While semaglutide and similar drugs have been very effective in helping people with diabetes and show much promise in helping people to lose weight, we still do not know that much about how exactly they work in the brain.
    “My lab has done extensive research for years into the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) in the brain, which semaglutide targets, so we hope by mapping out the drug’s mechanism more precisely, we will be able to develop more effective drugs with fewer side effects.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –