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Category: Politics

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Caution in the C-suite: How business leaders are navigating Trump 2.0

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Erran Carmel, Professor of Business, American University Kogod School of Business

    In the first months of Donald Trump’s second term as president, his policies – from sweeping tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement to attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion – have thrown U.S. businesses into turmoil, leading to a 26-point decline in CEO confidence.

    Yet despite this volatility, many American corporations have remained notably restrained in their public responses.

    This might come as a surprise. After all, in recent decades, CEOs have become increasingly willing to speak out about social and political issues. But while some universities and law firms have publicly pushed back against the Trump administration, business leaders are seemingly opting for caution.

    What would it take for these titans of corporate America to speak out against Trump’s policies? We are a professor and a graduate student who study business, and back in 2018, one of us – Dr. Carmel – conducted an analysis asking this very question. More recently, we gathered new data looking at how business leaders are responding to Trump’s second term.

    The 2018 analysis, involving data from about 200 leading U.S. CEOs, found that most business leaders remained publicly neutral on Trump, and only a handful expressed strong opposition. Silence was often a strategic choice, with many leaders staying mum due to fear of retaliation. The evidence also suggested that Trump could one day cross a line that would prompt a broader CEO backlash.

    Seven years later, that line hasn’t yet appeared, even as Trump’s footprint on corporate America is now far more direct and substantial.

    Most notable are Trump’s tariffs, first announced in April 2025, which have roiled global markets and unnerved CEOs. And there are many other ripples: Some companies, such as CBS’ parent company, Paramount – which is seeking the Trump administration’s approval for a merger – have decided to self-censor. Others, including Disney and Meta, gave in to Trump’s lawsuits and paid multimillion-dollar settlements, against the counsel of many outside experts. CEOs also have to deal with the threat of backlash from both the right and left.

    Against this backdrop, we collected new public data to see how corporate leaders are responding to the second Trump administration. Just as in 2018, we examined the 232 companies that make up the Business Roundtable – a club of the most powerful American businesses.

    We assessed the actions that these companies took regarding DEI and whether they experienced any backlash. We focused on these criteria as a way to assess whether CEOs are seeking either to support or placate Trump, or to stand on other principles. We also collected other data, including public statements from CEOs and campaign donations.

    DEI as a bellwether

    Corporate DEI actions were an early, useful way to gauge a business’s stances, since, from the outset, the Trump administration identified DEI as a “scourge” to be eliminated. Although the White House’s anti-DEI directives have applied to the executive branch and federal contractors, some private businesses rushed to make changes as well.

    By May, just a bit over 100 days into Trump’s second term, a significant number of companies had decided to go along with Trump’s preferences. Sixty-nine of the 232 companies in the Business Roundtable rolled back their DEI initiatives in some way, while just 20 companies announced that they kept their DEI programs in place. There’s no information either way on the remaining 61% – likely because they decided it’s better to stay out of the news.

    DEI-related actions have tapered off since May, but there’s still an impact. For example, the Federal Communications Commission pressured T-Mobile to eliminate DEI. Only then was its merger approved.

    Companies that scaled back their DEI initiatives sometimes pointed to the political environment as a factor. Meta, for example, said in an internal memo that it was ending its DEI efforts due to a “shifting legal and policy landscape.” Other companies, including Verizon and Comcast, reportedly rolled back DEI programs because they feared legal action by the federal government.

    Some corporations announced changes through internal announcements, legal filings or quiet updates to their websites, suggesting they want to stay out of the media spotlight.

    A small number of Business Roundtable companies stood firm on their DEI policies – to mixed results. When Marriott’s CEO voiced support for DEI at a corporate leadership event, he reportedly received 40,000 appreciative emails from employees. On the other hand, after Coca-Cola reiterated its “commitment to sponsoring an inclusive workplace,” the right-wing activist Robby Starbuck — who The New York Times has described as “the anti-DEI agitator that companies fear most” – said Coca-Cola “should be very nervous about continuing with its woke policies.”

    Bracing for backlash

    Overall, 22% of Business Roundtable companies saw some sort of backlash to their actions. Most came from the political right: 36 companies were called out by conservatives, another eight by progressives, and eight more faced bipartisan backlash.

    With more than three years left in Trump’s second term, it’s worth asking what lies ahead. We think the most likely scenario is that companies will continue to try to stay off the president’s radar and placate him when they must. After all, following the split with Elon Musk, Trump quite explicitly threatened to use presidential powers to hurt Musk’s businesses. Any CEO gets the implications.

    While our analysis primarily focused on social issues, policies at the business core may push U.S. companies to confront Trump. Tariff policy is a prime example. Back in April, major retailers like Walmart quietly warned Trump that tariffs could lead to empty shelves and higher prices. More recently, the CEO of Goldman Sachs publicly warned that tariffs “have raised the level of uncertainty to a degree I do not think is healthy for investment and growth.”

    These are voices of criticism – but worded quite softly.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Caution in the C-suite: How business leaders are navigating Trump 2.0 – https://theconversation.com/caution-in-the-c-suite-how-business-leaders-are-navigating-trump-2-0-260557

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: 2 ways cities can beat the heat: Which is best, urban trees or cool roofs?

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Ian Smith, Research Scientist in Earth & Environment, Boston University

    Trees like these in Boston can help keep neighborhoods cooler on hot days. Yassine Khalfalli/Unsplash, CC BY

    When summer turns up the heat, cities can start to feel like an oven, as buildings and pavement trap the sun’s warmth and vehicles and air conditioners release more heat into the air.

    The temperature in an urban neighborhood with few trees can be more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) higher than in nearby suburbs. That means air conditioning works harder, straining the electrical grid and leaving communities vulnerable to power outages.

    There are some proven steps that cities can take to help cool the air – planting trees that provide shade and moisture, for example, or creating cool roofs that reflect solar energy away from the neighborhood rather than absorbing it.

    But do these steps pay off everywhere?

    We study heat risk in cities as urban ecologists and have been exploring the impact of tree-planting and reflective roofs in different cities and different neighborhoods across cities. What we’re learning can help cities and homeowners be more targeted in their efforts to beat the heat.

    The wonder of trees

    Urban trees offer a natural defense against rising temperatures. They cast shade and release water vapor through their leaves, a process akin to human sweating. That cools the surrounding air and reduces afternoon heat.

    Adding trees to city streets, parks and residential yards can make a meaningful difference in how hot a neighborhood feels, with blocks that have tree canopies nearly 3 F (1.7 C) cooler than blocks without trees.

    Comparing maps of New York’s vegetation and temperature shows the cooling effect of parks and neighborhoods with more trees. In the map on the left, lighter colors are areas with fewer trees. Light areas in the map on the right are hotter.
    NASA/USGS Landsat

    But planting trees isn’t always simple.

    In hot, dry cities, trees often require irrigation to survive, which can strain already limited water resources. Trees must survive for decades to grow large enough to provide shade and release enough water vapor to reduce air temperatures.

    Annual maintenance costs – about US$900 per tree per year in Boston – can surpass the initial planting investment.

    Most challenging of all, dense urban neighborhoods where heat is most intense are often too packed with buildings and roads to grow more trees.

    How cool roofs can help on hot days

    Another option is “cool roofs.” Coating rooftops with reflective paint or using light-colored materials allows buildings to reflect more sunlight back into the atmosphere rather than absorbing it as heat.

    These roofs can lower the temperature inside an apartment building without air conditioning by about 2 to 6 F (1 to 3.3 C), and can cut peak cooling demand by as much as 27% in air-conditioned buildings, one study found. They can also provide immediate relief by reducing outdoor temperatures in densely populated areas. The maintenance costs are also lower than expanding urban forests.

    Two workers apply a white coating to the roof of a row home in Philadelphia.
    AP Photo/Matt Rourke

    However, like trees, cool roofs come with limits. Cool roofs work better on flat roofs than sloped roofs with shingles, as flat roofs are often covered by heat-trapping rubber and are exposed to more direct sunlight over the course of an afternoon.

    Cities also have a finite number of rooftops that can be retrofitted. And in cities that already have many light-colored roofs, a few more might help lower cooling costs in those buildings, but they won’t do much more for the neighborhood.

    By weighing the trade-offs of both strategies, cities can design location-specific plans to beat the heat.

    Choosing the right mix of cooling solutions

    Many cities around the world have taken steps to adapt to extreme heat, with tree planting and cool roof programs that implement reflectivity requirements or incentivize cool roof adoption.

    In Detroit, nonprofit organizations have planted more than 166,000 trees since 1989. In Los Angeles, building codes now require new residential roofs to meet specific reflectivity standards.

    In a recent study, we analyzed Boston’s potential to lower heat in vulnerable neighborhoods across the city. The results demonstrate how a balanced, budget-conscious strategy could deliver significant cooling benefits.

    For example, we found that planting trees can cool the air 35% more than installing cool roofs in places where trees can actually be planted.

    However, many of the best places for new trees in Boston aren’t in the neighborhoods that need help. In these neighborhoods, we found that reflective roofs were the better choice.

    By investing less than 1% of the city’s annual operating budget, about US$34 million, in 2,500 new trees and 3,000 cool roofs targeting the most at-risk areas, we found that Boston could reduce heat exposure for nearly 80,000 residents. The results would reduce summertime afternoon air temperatures by over 1 F (0.6 C) in those neighborhoods.

    While that reduction might seem modest, reductions of this magnitude have been found to dramatically reduce heat-related illness and death, increase labor productivity and reduce energy costs associated with building cooling.

    Not every city will benefit from the same mix. Boston’s urban landscape includes many flat, black rooftops that reflect only about 12% of sunlight, making cool roofs that reflect over 65% of sunlight an especially effective intervention. Boston also has a relatively moist growing season that supports a thriving urban tree canopy, making both solutions viable.

    Phoenix, left, already has a lot of light-colored roots, compared with Boston, right, where roofs are mostly dark.
    Imagery © Google 2025.

    In places with fewer flat, dark rooftops suitable for cool roof conversion, tree planting may offer more value. Conversely, in cities with little room left for new trees or where extreme heat and drought limit tree survival, cool roofs may be the better bet.

    Phoenix, for example, already has many light-colored roofs. Trees might be an option there, but they will require irrigation.

    Getting the solutions where people need them

    Adding shade along sidewalks can do double-duty by giving pedestrians a place to get out of the sun and cooling buildings. In New York City, for example, street trees account for an estimated 25% of the entire urban forest.

    Cool roofs can be more difficult for a government to implement because they require working with building owners. That often means cities need to provide incentives. Louisville, Kentucky, for example, offers rebates of up to $2,000 for homeowners who install reflective roofing materials, and up to $5,000 for commercial businesses with flat roofs that use reflective coatings.

    In Boston, planting trees, left, and increasing roof reflectivity, right, were both found to be effective ways to cool urban areas.
    Ian Smith et al. 2025

    Efforts like these can help spread cool roof benefits across densely populated neighborhoods that need cooling help most.

    As climate change drives more frequent and intense urban heat, cities have powerful tools for lowering the temperature. With some attention to what already exists and what’s feasible, they can find the right budget-conscious strategy that will deliver cooling benefits for everyone.

    Lucy Hutyra has received funding from the U.S. federal government and foundations including the World Resources Institute and Burroughs Wellcome Fund for her scholarship on urban climate and mitigation strategies. She was a recipient of a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship for her work in this area.

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

    – ref. 2 ways cities can beat the heat: Which is best, urban trees or cool roofs? – https://theconversation.com/2-ways-cities-can-beat-the-heat-which-is-best-urban-trees-or-cool-roofs-260188

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate

    Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Dana Zartner, Professor of International Studies, University of San Francisco

    A 2017 New Zealand law recognizes inherent rights of the Whanganui River. Jason Pratt, CC BY-SA

    While the dangerous effects of climate change continue to worsen, legal efforts to address a range of environmental issues are also on the rise.

    Headlines across the globe tout many of these legal actions: South Korea’s Climate Law Violates Rights of Future Generations; Ukraine is Ground Zero in Battle for Ecocide Law; Paris Wants to Grant the River Seine Legal Personhood; and Montana Court Rules Children Have the Right to a Healthy Environment, to name a few recent examples.

    As an environmental lawyer, I see that most of these suits use one of five legal strategies that have been developed over the past couple of decades. These approaches vary in terms of who is filing the lawsuit, against whom, and whether the underlying legal perspective is based on protecting human rights or the rights of the environment itself. But they all share an innovative approach to protect all life on this planet.

    1. Right to a healthy environment

    In 2022, the United Nations declared that humans have “the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment … essential to protecting human life, well-being and dignity.” More than 150 countries have similar declarations in their constitutions or laws, often alongside protections for other human rights, such as those to education and medical care.

    These rights are held by humans, so people can sue for alleged violations. Typically they sue one or more government agencies, whose responsibility it is to protect human rights.

    One recent case using this approach was Held v. Montana, in which a group of young people in 2024 won a lawsuit against the state of Montana for violating the state constitution’s right to a “clean and healthful environment.” The state Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiffs and struck down a law barring the consideration of climate effects when evaluating proposals for fossil fuel extraction. Similar cases have been heard in the U.S. and other countries around the world.

    Rikki Held, the lead plaintiff in the Montana case, center seated, confers with the Our Children’s Trust legal team before the start of the trial on June 12, 2023.
    William Campbell/Getty Images

    2. The rights of future generations

    A legal concept called “intergenerational equity” is the idea that present generations must “responsibly use and conserve natural resources for the benefit of future generations.” First codified in international law in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration, the principle has been gaining popularity in recent decades. International organizations and national governments have enshrined this principle in law.

    Focused on humans’ rights, these laws allow people and groups to bring claims, usually against governments, for allowing activities that are altering the environment in ways that will harm future generations. One well-known case that relied on this legal principle is Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment and Others, in which a Colombian court in 2018 agreed with young people who had sued, finding that the Colombian government’s allowance of “rampant deforestation in the Amazon” violated the pact of intergenerational equity.

    3. Government responsibility

    Another human-centered approach is the public trust doctrine, which establishes “that certain natural and cultural resources are preserved for public use” and that governments have a responsibility to protect them for everyone’s benefit.

    While the concept of “public trust” has long existed in the law, recently it has been used to bring suit against governments for their failure to address climate change and other environmental degradation. In Urgenda Foundation v. the State of the Netherlands, a Dutch court held in 2019 that the government has a responsibility to mitigate the effects of climate change due to the “severity of the consequences of climate change and the great risk of climate change occurring.” Since the decision, the Dutch government has sought to reduce emissions by phasing out the use of coal, increasing reliance on renewable energy and aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

    Government responsibility for the public trust was also a basis of the Juliana v. U.S. case, where a group of young people sued the U.S. government for breaching the public trust by not doing enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately declined to hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling, but the lack of a specific ruling by the nation’s highest court has given continued hope to new cases, which continue to be filed based on the same principle.

    A documentary examining the movement to protect the rights of nature.

    4. Rights of nature

    The rights of nature is one of the fastest-growing environmental legal strategies of the past decade. Since Ecuador recognized the rights of Pachamama, the Quechua name for Mother Earth, in its Constitution in 2008, more than 500 laws on the rights of nature have been enacted around the world.

    The principle recognizes the legal rights of natural entities, such as rivers, mountains, ecosystems or even something as specific as wild rice. The laws that grant these rights don’t focus on humans but rather nature itself, often including language that the natural entity has the right to “exist and persist.”

    The laws then provide a mechanism for the natural entity – whether through a specific group assigned legal guardianship or other community efforts – to protect itself by filing lawsuits in court. In the 2018 Colombian case, the court found that the Amazon ecosystem has rights, which must be respected and protected.

    Similarly, in Bangladesh in 2019 the courts recognized the rights of all the country’s rivers, requiring, among other things, a halt on damaging development along the rivers that block their natural flow. The court also created a commission to serve as legal guardians of the country’s rivers.

    The destruction of a dam in Ukraine, which emptied this former reservoir, is being investigated as a possible crime of ecocide.
    Tarasov/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    5. Defining a new crime: Ecocide

    In 2024, the governments of Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa formally proposed that the international community recognize a new crime under international law. Called “ecocide,” the principle takes a nature-focused approach and includes any unlawful act committed with “the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment.”

    Put another way, what genocide is to humans, ecocide is to nature. It is being proposed as an addition to the 2002 Rome Statute, which created the International Criminal Court to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

    While the idea is relatively new, in addition to the international efforts, several countries have incorporated ecocide into their laws – including Vietnam, France, Chile and Ukraine. A Ukrainian prosecutor is currently investigating the June 2023 destruction of a dam in a Russian-occupied area of the country as a potential crime of ecocide, because of the widespread flooding and habitat destruction that resulted.

    The European Union has also incorporated ecocide into its Environmental Crime Directive, which applies to all EU member countries, providing them with a mechanism to hear ecocide claims in their national courts.

    Using these ideas

    Each of these legal concepts has the potential to increase protection for the environment – and the people who live in it. But determining which strategy has the greatest chance of success depends on the details of the existing law and legal system in each community.

    All of these legal strategies have a role in the fight to protect and preserve the environment as an integral, interdependent living thing that is vitally important to us as humans but also in its own right.

    Dana Zartner is a volunteer with the Earth Law Center assisting with the editing of toolkits and guides, but has not worked on any of its lawsuits.

    – ref. How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate – https://theconversation.com/how-the-nature-of-environmental-law-is-changing-in-defense-of-the-planet-and-the-climate-258982

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Trump has fired the head of the Library of Congress, but the 225-year-old institution remains a ‘library for all’ – so far

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex H. Poole, Associate Professor of Information Science, Drexel University

    The main reading room is seen at the Library of Congress on June 13, 2025, in Washington. Kevin Carter/Getty Images

    Carla Hayden, the 14th librarian of Congress, who has held the position since 2016, received an unexpected email on May 8, 2025.

    “Carla, on behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” wrote Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel at the White House.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later explained that Hayden, who was the first woman, Black person and professionally trained librarian to oversee the Library of Congress, had done “quite concerning things,” on the job, including “putting inappropriate books in the library for children.”

    Democratic politicians sharply criticized Hayden’s termination, saying the firing was unjust. It was actually about Trump punishing civil servants “who don’t bend to his every will,” New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

    An information science scholar, I have written extensively about the history of libraries and archives, including the Library of Congress. To fully understand the role Hayden played for the past nine years, I think it is important to understand what the Library of Congress does, and the overlooked and underappreciated role it has played in American life.

    Carla Hayden, the recently fired librarian of Congress, attends an event in March 2025 in Washington.
    Shannon Finney/Getty Images

    The Library of Congress’ work

    The Library of Congress is an agency that was first established, by an act of Congress, in 1800. The act provided for “the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.” Its chief librarian is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

    The library has six buildings in Washington that hold a print and online collection of nearly 26 million books, as well as more than 136 million other items, including manuscripts, maps, sheet music and prints and photographs.

    It also houses historic documents, like Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and James Madison’s notes on the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

    The library is the property of the American people. Anyone over the age of 16 with a government-issued photo identification can enter its buildings and read or view its materials on-site. The Library of Congress was partially designed as a research institution to suit the needs of members of Congress, and only Congress members can borrow items from the library and take them home.

    The Library of Congress has an annual budget of about US$900 million, with a staff of 3,263. In 2024, the library’s staff helped acquire 1,437,832 million new items, issue nearly 69,000 library cards and answer more than 764,000 reference requests, among other tasks.

    The library’s deep roots

    The library has evolved alongside the U.S. itself. Five years before the Constitutional Convention of 1787, future president James Madison called for a library to provide materials to help inform Congress and its members. In 1800, President John Adams signed a bill that established the institution, which began with a $5,000 government appropriation, equivalent to more than $127,000 today.

    The library’s first collection included 152 works in 740 volumes imported from England. It occupied a space in a Washington Senate office that measured just 22 feet by 34 feet.

    The British army torched the infant library and its collection that had grown to 3,000 books in 1814, during the War of 1812. In response, former president Thomas Jefferson sold his personal collection of 6,479 books to the library, which he called “unquestionably the choicest collection of books in the U.S.”

    Tragedy struck again in 1851, with a fire that incinerated two-thirds of the library’s 55,000 volumes, including most of Jefferson’s personal collection.

    The organization rebounded in the next few years, as it purchased the 40,000-volume Smithsonian library in 1866, among other new acquisitions.

    Ainsworth Spofford, the sixth librarian of Congress, boosted the library’s national image in the late 1800s when he tried to centralize the country’s patchwork copyright system.

    Spofford also successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Copyright Act of 1870, which stipulated that any party registering a work for copyright needed to deposit two copies of that work with the library.

    A growing place in American life

    As its collections burgeoned in both scale and scope in the latter part of the 19th century, the library assumed an increasingly visible role and became known by some as “the nation’s library.” By 1900, it had nearly 1 million printed books and other materials.

    The opening of a new library building in 1897, offering services to blind people with a designated reading room containing 500 raised character – or braille – books and music items, epitomized the library’s new status.

    President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1901 that the library was “the one national library of the United States” and that was “a unique opportunity to render to the libraries of this country – to American scholarship – service of the highest importance.”

    The library’s work, and global approach, continued to grow during the 20th century.

    By the late 1900s, the library held materials in more than 450 languages.

    It continued to add remarkable items to its collection, including a Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed in Europe from movable metal type, a kind of printing technology, in 1455.

    Documenting the evolution of democracy, the library also assumed stewardship of 23 presidents’ official papers, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, during this time frame.

    A public service

    While primarily designated a research institution for Congress, the library has also catered to a diverse range of patrons, including by mail and telephone.

    As one Science Digest writer noted in 1960, reference staff members fielded questions ranging from “What was the color of a mastodon’s eye?” to “How many words are there in the English language?” and “Could you suggest a name for twins?”

    The library’s register of copyrights received similarly diverse and even humorous inquiries. One older woman seeking to publish her poetry wrote in 1954 to request “a poetic license” to ensure her work conformed to the law.

    In the late 20th century, the library focused on a new democratic national and international mission, as it embraced a new role. Daniel Boorstin, the librarian from 1975 to 1987, termed that role a “multimedia encyclopedia.”

    A congressional resolution marking the Library of Congress’s bicentennial in 2000 noted that it was “the largest and most inclusive library in human history,” as it digitized its collections to extend its reach still further with the growth of the internet.

    As the library marks its 225th year, it continues to represent, as David Mearns, chief of the library’s manuscript division, said in 1947, “the American story.”

    The Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress is seen on June 11, 2025, in Washington.
    Kevin Carter/Getty Images

    A library for all

    Following Hayden’s dismissal, Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, as acting librarian of Congress.

    Hayden has contended that her dismissal, which occurred alongside other firings of top civil servants, including the national archivist, represents a broad threat to people’s right to easily access free information.

    “Democracies are not to be taken for granted,” Hayden said in June. She explained in an interview with CBS that she never had a problem with a presidential administration and is not sure why she was dismissed.

    “And the institutions that support democracy should not be taken for granted,” Hayden added.

    In her final annual report as librarian, Hayden characterized the institution as “truly, a library for all.” So far, even without her leadership, it remains just that.

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

    – ref. Trump has fired the head of the Library of Congress, but the 225-year-old institution remains a ‘library for all’ – so far – https://theconversation.com/trump-has-fired-the-head-of-the-library-of-congress-but-the-225-year-old-institution-remains-a-library-for-all-so-far-257508

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Ozzy Osbourne’s spirit of defiance changed music forever

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Douglas Schulz, Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology, University of Bradford

    Ozzy Osbourne’s death is not just the passing of another rock star. It marks the end of an era – the fading of a figure who helped shape an entire music genre and subculture.

    Both as a member of Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, Osbourne’s legacy lies not only in music history but how we understand performance, rebellion, and the expressive power of sound itself.

    Despite a long battle with Parkinson’s disease and several health setbacks over the years, the news of his death was a shock to the whole metal community. Just weeks before his death on July 22, Osbourne delivered his final performance with Black Sabbath in the place it all began – Villa Park in Birmingham.

    In the hours following the announcement of his death, countless bands and musicians flooded their social media channels to pay their respects.

    Osbourne’s life was a testament to reinvention, grit, and the power of artistic authenticity – going from a working-class kid in Aston to the biggest name in heavy metal, writing the soundtrack to so many people’s lives. His distinctive voice, theatrical presence, and sheer will and determination shaped heavy metal music – inspiring generations of musicians and fans.

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    When Black Sabbath emerged in the early 1970s, they played a role in making rock music more menacing, grittier and heavier. The Birmingham band didn’t just turn up the amplifiers and played louder guitars – they introduced a new aesthetic. They were known for their doomy riffs and lyrics about war, madness and the occult. Osbourne, with his uncanny voice and stage presence, was at the front and centre.

    This sound was destined to become the blueprint for heavy metal. But Osbourne’s contribution went beyond his voice. He gave the genre its face, theatricality – and above all, its spirit of defiance.

    Whether he was biting off the head of a bat on stage, stumbling through reality television with absurd but relatable quotes, or delivering genre-defining performances, Osbourne embodied contradictions. He was a mix of menace and mischief, tragedy and comedy, myth and man.

    Heavy metal music has existed in tension with mainstream culture ever since its emergence in the UK in the late 1960s. It has been regarded as too aggressive, too loud, too weird. But Osbourne’s presence forced metal into the public discourse – whether through moral panics in the 1970s and ’80s, or through his television appearances in the 2000s. The Osbournes, a reality show following the family which aired on MTV, was a huge hit in the US and around the world, making Ozzy famous to a whole new audience.

    Throughout his long career, Osbourne helped shift heavy metal from the margins into the mainstream, without ever diluting its transgressive edge.

    A symbol of inspiration

    Osbourne’s stage persona carved out space for other artists to follow. His willingness to be ridiculous, to speak openly about his addictions, health struggles and family dysfunction made him oddly relatable. It is that relatability that allowed Osbourne to be metal’s court jester and elder statesman in one.

    Over time, bands like Slipknot, Ghost, Sleep Token, as well as more introspective bands like Deftones or Gojira, owe much to the groundwork Osbourne and Black Sabbath laid: a template for authenticity, theatricality, and emotional openness wrapped in spectacle and distortion. They helped define the core rhythms, riffs, themes and aesthetics that generations of metal bands followed.

    But Osbourne’s cultural influence cannot be measured only in record sales (although those were plenty), Grammy wins, or his induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His influence lies in how his image, sound and attitude reshaped music scenes across continents.

    In countries where metal is censored or underground, Osbourne was a symbol of resistance. In places where metal was accepted, he was the genre’s most unpredictable ambassador.

    The Prince of Darkness, as he was known, may have left the stage but his legacy will live on. His music is still looped on Tiktok videos, and memes still make rounds on social media.

    Young metal-heads will continue to emulate his style and irreverence. As long as people pick up guitars and look for a way to scream back at the world, Ozzy will be there – in spirit, in sound, and in spectacle.

    Douglas Schulz 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. Ozzy Osbourne’s spirit of defiance changed music forever – https://theconversation.com/ozzy-osbournes-spirit-of-defiance-changed-music-forever-261775

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Video: Cooperation built on security and trade: EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    During the EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo on 23 July 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with important Japanese stakeholders to further foster the relationship between Japan and the EU.

    The Japan-EU Strategic Partnership Agreement which includes topics such as digital partnerships, green alliances or security cooperation, and a strengthening of the relationship between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region were in focus during this 30th EU-Japan Summit.

    Find the joint declaration from all three political leaders here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_25_1892

    Follow live events and access media content here:
    https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/

    Stay updated — follow us on X: https://x.com/EC_AVService

    Follow us on:
    -X: https://twitter.com/EU_Commission
    -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/europeancommission/
    -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanCommission
    -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-commission/
    -Medium: https://medium.com/@EuropeanCommission

    Check our website: http://ec.europa.eu/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSx4gDVZlok

    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Analysis Function resources

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Analysis Function resources

    Resources to learn more about and promote the Strategy for analysis in government 2025 to 2028

    On this page you will find:

    • A campaign in a box to containing resources to help you promote the Strategy for analysis in government 2025 to 2028
    • Slide templates for use in presentations about the Strategy for analysis in government 2025 to 2028

    Campaign in a Box – Strategy for analysis in government 2025 to 2028

    MS PowerPoint Presentation, 33.5 MB

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

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

    Presentation – Strategy for analysis in government 2025 to 2028

    MS PowerPoint Presentation, 12 MB

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

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

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Welsh Crown Estate Devolution Bill a step closer to becoming law

    Source: Party of Wales

    Plaid Cymru urge UK Government to reconsider its stance ahead of the Bill’s third reading in the Lords

    A Bill that would transfer responsibility for the Crown Estate in Wales to the Welsh Government has passed the report stage in the House of Lords without opposition and is now set for its third reading.

    The Crown Estate (Devolution to Wales) Bill, introduced by Plaid Cymru peer Dafydd Wigley, seeks to ensure that Welsh natural resources – including seabed rights and offshore wind developments – are managed from Wales and for the benefit of the people of Wales.

    The Bill draws on precedent set by the UK Government in devolving the Crown Estate to Scotland via the Scotland Act 2016. In 2023–24, Scotland benefited by £113 million in revenue from its devolved Crown Estate. In contrast, the Crown Estate in Wales remains reserved to Westminster, and Senedd Cymru receives no such direct benefit.

    During the debate on the Bill’s Committee stage, Lord Wigley highlighted the overwhelming political and civic support for the move, noting that all of Wales’s 22 local authorities – across a range of political parties – have passed resolutions calling for the devolution of the Crown Estate.

    Plaid Cymru urged the UK Government now to support Dafydd Wigley’s Bill when it returns to the House of Lords for its third reading after the summer recess, which would then allow it to be transferred to the House of Commons.

    The party’s energy spokesperson, Llinos Medi MP, said it gave “new momentum” to Plaid Cymru’s campaign to devolve the Crown Estate.

    The UK Labour government rejected Plaid Cymru’s calls for control over the Crown Estate to be given to ministers in Wales in February, with Labour MPs – including those from Wales, voting against an amendment by Llinos Medi MP to the government’s Crown Estate Bill. 

    Plaid Cymru Peer, Dafydd Wigley said:

    “Wales has a history of exploitation of our natural resources, whether it is coal or other minerals, or our water resources, on which Birmingham and London now increasingly depend. We likewise see the exploitation of our energy potential – wave, sea currents, estuarial waters and wind on shore and in the seas around our coast.

    “My Plaid Cymru colleagues and I want to see the maximum possible benefit from such projects coming into the Welsh economy; we want to see that happen in a planned manner that recognises the financial benefit that should rightly come to those who invest in such projects, but also to the communities in which they are based.

    “Given this Bill has passed its Report Stage unopposed in the Lords, given the unanimous support of all Welsh councils towards the principle of the Bill, as well as the support of the Welsh Government, the UK Government should reflect on this issue and support my Bill when it returns for its Third Reading after the summer recess, and subsequently when it comes to the Commons, to make time available for MPs to discuss it further.”

    Plaid Cymru Energy spokesperson, Llinos Medi MP, added:

    “The passing of this Bill’s Report Stage in the House of Lords gives new momentum to the campaign to devolve the Crown Estate. Combined with the unanimous support across all Welsh councils, it’s clear that the UK Government must now reconsider its stance.

    “The UK Government can no longer justify keeping these powers in Westminster. If Scotland can control its own natural resources, then Wales deserves nothing less. This is about fairness, accountability, and empowering Welsh communities to shape their own future.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Scottish Greens propose holiday homes tax to protect Gaelic language

    Source: Scottish Greens

    22 Jul 2025 Housing

    Holiday homes are increasing house prices out and hollowing out communities

    More in Housing

    The Scottish Greens have unveiled new plans to protect Gaelic-speaking communities by increasing taxes on holiday homes and Airbnb-style short term lets. The move is designed to tackle the acute housing crisis in Gaelic communities and to support young people who want to stay in the areas they have grown up in.

    The party’s finance spokesperson, Ross Greer MSP, intends to force a vote on the proposals when Holyrood considers amendments to the Housing Bill in the autumn. His amendments would allow ministers to levy a special surcharge on those buying holiday homes or other additional properties in areas with high numbers of Gaelic speakers, such as Skye and the Outer Hebrides.

    Average house prices in Skye are £60,000 higher than the national average and one local councillor recently estimated that almost 60% of local properties were either holiday homes or short term lets. This is forcing many young people off the island and putting Gaelic’s survival as a community language at risk. Lack of available housing is commonly cited as a key reason why Gaelic is now on the edge of extinction in its historic communities.

    Greer’s proposals follow the Scottish Parliament recently passing the Scottish Languages Act, which allows for communities where Gaelic is widely spoken to be designated as “Areas of Linguistic Significance”. The additional charge on holiday homes purchases the Scottish Green MSP has put forward would apply in the areas with this designation.

    Ross Greer said:

    “Gaelic is an essential part of Scottish culture and national identity, but it is on the verge of extinction as a living language. We need to take bold action immediately, or the decline will be impossible to reverse. The Languages Act is a good starting point, but we know that one of the biggest threats to the language is the housing crisis in areas like Skye.

    “Young Gaelic speakers are being forced out of the last communities where it is still the spoken language because holiday homes and Airbnb-style short term lets have driven up house prices to levels they cannot hope to compete with. As a result, they are forced to move to areas where they cannot use Gaelic in their everyday interactions. This is one of the biggest threats to Gaelic’s continued existence. 

    “My proposals would make it harder for wealthier people to buy up second homes and short-term lets in Gaelic-speaking communities and in turn make it easier for locals, especially first-time buyers, to secure their own home.

    “Changes to Council Tax already delivered by Scottish Green MSPs reduced the number of second and holiday homes across Scotland by 2,500 last year, freeing up more properties for people who need a home to live in. We can build on this success with further targeted actions and ensure that our Gaelic-speaking communities can thrive rather than be treated purely as holiday parks for tourists and the super-rich.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Apply Now: The Hosted Buyer Programme that’s Energising Zambia’s Industrial Future

    Source: APO

    Zambia’s commercial and industrial sectors are at a critical turning point. As businesses across the country grapple with unreliable grid power and increasing energy costs, a transformative opportunity is emerging. The C&I Energy & Storage Summit Zambia 2025 (http://apo-opa.co/3GDVh5F), taking place on 27–28 August in at The Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, invites Zambia’s leading private-sector energy users to apply for its exclusive Hosted Buyer Programme — a tailored initiative designed to connect large energy consumers with the technology, financing, and partnerships needed to secure reliable, clean power. The summit offers a powerful platform for strategic engagement between business, government, and solution providers.

    Why Apply for the Hosted Buyer Programme?

    The Hosted Buyer Programme is a premium, no-cost opportunity designed specifically for commercial and industrial (C&I) organisations in Zambia looking to future-proof their operations through energy independence.

    Successful applicants receive:

    • Full Access Pass to both days of the summit, including keynotes, panels, and masterclasses.
    • Curated 1:1 Matchmaking with developers and technology providers in solar, hydro, and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
    • Facilitated Introductions to leading financiers and project developers ready to partner on viable energy solutions.
    • 10% Discount for additional team members to maximise company-wide learning and engagement.

    Whether you’re exploring embedded generation, considering power purchase agreements (PPAs), or ready to implement energy storage, the Hosted Buyer Programme gives you direct access to practical guidance and strategic connections to move your energy project forward.

    Who Should Apply?

    This opportunity is ideal for large energy-using businesses in manufacturing, mining, agriculture, retail, and logistics; project owners exploring clean energy options; and companies ready to implement private power solutions.

    Apply now for the Hosted Buyer Programme: https://apo-opa.co/4o2P6Zr

    Backed by Industry Leaders

    The summit brings together an influential advisory board and speaker line-up featuring leading voices from Zambia’s energy ecosystem — including the Energy Regulation Board, Zambia Development Agency, Africa GreenCo, Standard Bank, and the Proudly Zambian Campaign. They’re joined by dynamic speakers from across the continent, such as representatives from Kenya Power, ENGIE Energy Access, and the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. All will be offering insights, case studies, and solutions tailored to Zambia’s energy reality. With even more powerful voices to be announced, this is a must-attend event for anyone committed to driving energy transformation in the region.

    This year’s event is proudly supported by a network of sponsors and partners dedicated to advancing energy resilience across the continent. EnerJ, a leader in clean energy development, joins as Gold Sponsor, while global engineering and infrastructure players WEG and Vertiv participate as Bronze Sponsors.

    The summit is also supported by influential Media Partners, including ESI Africa, Engineering News, EngineerIT, Global Africa Network, Green Economy Journal, Media Xpose, RDJ Publishing, and Happening News, who will bring post-event coverage and insights to a broader African audience.

    Further strengthening the platform are Association Partners such as the Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) and the Zambian Association of Manufacturers, alongside Industry Partners like the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI), the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA), and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) — all reinforcing the summit’s commitment to inclusive growth and industrial sustainability.

    Zambia’s energy future is being written now — and your organisation can be part of the solution.

    Download the programme: https://apo-opa.co/3GZ3UaU

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

    Contact:
    For sponsorship or hosted buyer enquiries, contact Marcel du Toit: marcel.dutoit@wearevka.com

    For speaking opportunities, contact Babalwa Bungane: babalwa.bungane@wearevuka.com

    About VUKA Group:
    As part of the Power and Energy Portfolio of VUKA Group (https://WeAreVUKA.com), this Summit aligns with VUKA’s mission to connect industries, spark innovation, and fuel economic growth. VUKA Group is a premier organiser of conferences, exhibitions, and events across Africa, delivering tailored platforms for networking, knowledge sharing, and business development in energy and related sectors.

    Media files

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    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Committee to Assess Feasibility of Introducing a Bill to Amend National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Act

    Source: APO


    .

    The Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities asked Parliament’s Legal Services about the existence of a possibility to make amendments through a committee Bill to the National Council on Gender Based Violence Act.

    The committee received a briefing yesterday from Parliament’s Legal Services on the establishment of the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NCGBVF). During the engagement, the Chairperson of the committee, Ms Liezl van der Merwe, said the committee didn’t want to just tick a box and proceed with the processes while there are no resources available for the establishment of the NCGBVF.

    The Chairperson also pointed out that the committee wanted to get more clarity regarding, among other things, the mandate of the body, which was why it requested Parliament’s legal services to appear before it for engagement on the NCGBVF.

    The Chairperson highlighted a concern of the committee over the civil society that will be part of the Council and be remunerated. She also expressed the feeling of the committee about the proposed 24-member secretariat to serve in the Council, that it might be bloated.

    The scope of the request that the committee gave legal services, was to assess the feasibility of introducing a committee Bill that would amend the NCGBVF Act, to determine what provisions within the act require amendments to ensure greater clarity regarding the council’s scope, mandate, and functions.

    Parliament’s Legal Services was of the view that the amendments that the committee is seeking to do, are technical in nature, and where there are substantive amendments, those would be non-contentious.

    Adv Charmaine van der Merwe of Parliament’s Legal Services said, she understands that the department has a different view and that was not in the agenda of the committee. She said contentious matters are Bills such as the National Health Insurance.

    The Bill that the committee envisages might be a difference of opinion on what it should say, but it’s not contentious in the sense that it is likely to be faced with the public outcries. So said, Adv van der Merwe: “I think that the proposed amendments are probably a solution that can be executed by way of a committee Bill,” said Adv van der Merwe.

    The Parliamentary Legal Services will undertake an evaluation of the NCGBVF Act which aims to focus on the following objectives:
    • To assess the feasibility of introducing a committee Bill that would amend the act
    • Determine what provisions within the act require amendments to ensure greater clarity regarding the council’s scope, mandate and functions.
    • To provide competitive examples of existing structures within government established to perform an advisory function, for instance, the South African National AIDS Council.
    • To explore the feasibility of remuneration of council members from civil society, notwithstanding government’s fiscal constraints, ensuring minimal impact on the public purse.
    • Proposal for limiting the size of the secretariat, its composition and structure.
    • Provide a time-frame in the event a committee bill is to be introduced.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Global Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Ministerial opens: Small businesses key constituency in global trade, say South African SME minister, International Trade Centre (ITC) head

    Source: APO


    .

    The inaugural Global SME Ministerial Meeting opened today, marking a milestone in recognizing small and medium-sized enterprises as a key constituency in global trade. 

    The high-level event is co-hosted by the South African Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), with main events taking place on 23-24 July. The Ministerial was preceded by the Trade Promotion Organizations Leadership Dialogue on 22 July, in which heads of national trade promotion organizations developed strategies to better engage with SME ministers to bring the voice of small business into policymaking.

    Watch the livestream of the Ministerial high-level opening.

    More than 700 delegates from more than 60 countries are participating in the Ministerial, including ministers, heads of delegation, heads of national trade promotion organizations, business leaders and entrepreneurs. Ministerial-level delegates convened from across the world, from Bangladesh to Brazil, from Cameroon to Costa Rica, from Senegal to Switzerland, from the United Arab Emirates to the United Kingdom.  

    In her welcome remarks, South African Minister of Small Business Development Stella Tembisa Ndabeni said: ‘Let this Ministerial Meeting mark the beginning of a bold new global compact for MSME development; one that expands access to markets, unlocks affordable finance, accelerates digital inclusion, and ensures that women, youth and underserved communities are not spectators, but architects of economic transformation.’

    She added: ‘Let us commit to practical, measurable actions that position MSMEs as central pillars of resilience, innovation and sustainability. Let us work towards a global enabling ecosystem, where no entrepreneur is left behind because of where they live, how much they earn, or who they are.’

    In her welcome remarks, ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said: ‘Now, this Ministerial is no talk shop. This is no place for posturing or politics. This is a space for us to marshal our collective knowledge and our energy and find solutions across the three areas that will bring the benefits of trade within reach of more SMEs: access to finance, digital transformation and green competitiveness.’

    Addressing ministerial-level delegates, she said: ‘When you go back to your capitals, your ministries, your cabinet meetings and your meetings with heads of state and government, you’ll be taking back with you concrete solutions, with the evidence to back them up.’

    Expected outcomes include the endorsement of a call-to-action in which countries align on the three main areas that will harness the development of SMEs—access to finance, digital transformation and green competitiveness —and develop a roadmap for future Ministerial Meetings to take place every two years, to ensure discussions produce outcomes for countries. 

    See the latest information on the Ministerial on the Global SME Ministerial Meeting landing page.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Inspection report published: An inspection of the Home Office’s use of age assessments (July 2024 – February 2025)

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Inspection report published: An inspection of the Home Office’s use of age assessments (July 2024 – February 2025)

    The Independent Chief Inspector, David Bolt CBE, comments on the inspection report on the Home Office’s use of age assessments, and the Home Office’s response, following its publication yesterday.

    My report on the Home Office use of age assessments was published yesterday (22 July 2025). The report was sent to the Home Secretary on 20 May 2025, so publication fell just outside the agreed 8-week target timescale. I made eight recommendations designed to improve training, guidance, assurance, resources and communication and I am pleased that all were accepted.  

    When a young person claims asylum in the UK, the Home Office must determine whether they will be treated as an adult or as a child while their claim is being processed. The focus is on chronological age, reflecting the fact that immigration and other relevant legislation is framed around 18 years as the bright line between childhood and adulthood. However, the binary nature of the determination and the absence of a foolproof ‘test’ of chronological age mean that the Home Office will sometimes get it wrong. This is clearly a cause for concern, especially where a child is denied the rights and protections to which they are entitled.

    This inspection examined initial age decisions based on appearance and demeanour made by the Home Office when first encountering young people who claim asylum, in particular those arriving by small boat. It also examined subsequent age assessments, including those conducted by the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB), which sits within the Home Office and since 2023 has been assisting local authorities by conducting Merton-compliant age assessments on their behalf.

    Inspectors set out to understand how far the Home Office went to ensure that its assessments were sufficiently mindful of the difficulty of getting it right and of the consequences of getting it wrong. Inspectors looked for evidence that processes were methodical, fairly and consistently applied, and child-sensitive; that decisions were balanced and reasonable; and that those involved were open to learning from others and from their mistakes.

    Inspectors found that many of the long-standing concerns about policy and practice, especially in respect of initial age decisions, remain unanswered, and for small boat arrivals some of these concerns had increased. Yet there was a surprising lack of curiosity about decisions that were subsequently disputed and overturned, and a prevailing view that there was no learning to take from these later assessments as the processes were too dissimilar.

    For those disputing their initial age decision, the greater reliance on qualified social workers, whether employed by local authorities or by the NAAB, the recognised Merton ‘standard’, and the fact that there is more time to probe and reflect, made for a more careful and thorough process, though still not guaranteed to get it right. Here there was a need to improve information sharing (with local authorities regarding age disputed individuals dispersed to their area) and capacity (especially of the NAAB to meet the demand it had generated for its services), along with record-keeping, data and quality assurance. 

    Previous inspections have raised concerns about the Home Office’s ability to identify vulnerable adults and respond effectively. In focusing on determining chronological age the Home Office needs to take care that it is not deflected from making a more holistic assessment of individual needs, since a young person who is assessed correctly to be over 18 may nonetheless be vulnerable and at risk if placed with other adults. 

    Underlying my eight recommendations the overall message is that the Home Office should look to work more closely and collaboratively with external stakeholders, including local authorities in England and Wales and their equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Strategic Migration Partnerships, Non-Governmental Organisations, and should involve others (interpreters, social workers, experts and practitioners in supporting and providing services for children and young people) as much as possible in designing and delivering its processes.

    Home Office policies and practice in relation to age assessments will always be hotly contested, not least because of what is at stake. But a more open and inclusive approach will make it easier for the Home Office and its critics to maintain a constructive dialogue about how to ensure that the best interests of children are served. Committing to better communication, engagement and collaboration would be a start.

    Yesterday, the government also issued a written ministerial statement regarding the use of scientific methods to help determine age. As no scientific methods are currently in use, this was out of scope for this inspection. However, the ICIBI will no doubt wish to return to age assessments at some point to follow up on its recommendations, and this will also be an opportunity to inspect any new methods that are in use at that time.

    David Bolt CBE, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

    23 July 2025

    Updates to this page

    Published 23 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press conference following Council of Ministers meeting no. 135

    Source: Government of Italy (English)

    22 Luglio 2025

    Council of Ministers meeting no. 135 was held at Palazzo Chigi today. Following the meeting, Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo, Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alberto Barachini, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Maurizio Leo, Special government commissioner for prison facilities Marco Doglio and Director General of the National Cybersecurity Agency Pref. Bruno Frattasi held a press conference to illustrate the measures approved.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • Over 2.22 crore SC students benefitted from scholarships in last 5 years: Centre

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Union government on Wednesday informed Parliament that more than 2.22 crore Scheduled Caste students have received scholarships over the past five years under two key central schemes aimed at promoting higher education among disadvantaged communities.

    In a written reply during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said that 2,22,31,139 SC students benefitted from the Post Matric Scholarship (PMS) Scheme, while 20,340 others received assistance under the Top-Class Education Scheme.

    Athawale said that the financial assistance has helped reduce the economic burden on SC families, enabling students to access quality education and improve their academic prospects.

    He noted that beneficiaries have enrolled in premier institutions across the country, including Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Technology (NITs), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), National Institute of Design (NIDs), Institute of Hotel Management (IHMs) and National Law University (NLUs).

    “These schemes have contributed significantly to enhancing the educational standard of SC students and promoting socio-economic mobility by addressing both economic and social disadvantages,” the minister added.

  • ADB projects India’s GDP to grow at 6.5% in 2025, 6.7% in 2026 amid strong domestic demandion

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday projected that India’s GDP will grow at 6.5% in 2025 and a robust 6.7% in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand, a normal monsoon, and monetary easing.

    Inflation in India is expected to stay well within the Reserve Bank of India’s target range, with headline inflation projected at 3.8% for 2025 and 4.0% for 2026, according to the ADB. A sharp decline in food prices has helped ease overall price pressures, with Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation falling to 2.1% in June — the lowest level in over six years — as food inflation turned negative.

    India’s real GDP growth is projected to range between 6.4% and 6.7% this fiscal year, reaffirming the country’s position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said earlier this month.

    Meanwhile, ADB has lowered its growth forecasts for developing Asia and the Pacific for both this year and the next. The downward revisions are attributed to weaker exports due to higher US tariffs and global trade uncertainty, as well as subdued domestic demand.

    According to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) July 2025, the region’s economies are now expected to grow by 4.7% this year, a 0.2 percentage point decrease from April’s projection. The 2026 forecast has also been revised downward to 4.6% from 4.7%.

    The outlook for developing Asia and the Pacific could worsen further if US tariffs and trade tensions escalate. Other risks include geopolitical conflicts that could disrupt global supply chains and drive up energy prices, as well as a deeper-than-expected slump in China’s property market.

    “Asia and the Pacific have weathered an increasingly challenging external environment this year. But the economic outlook has weakened amid intensifying risks and global uncertainty,” said ADB Chief Economist Albert Park.

    “Economies in the region should continue strengthening their fundamentals and promoting open trade and regional integration to support investment, employment, and growth,” Park added.

    Growth projections for the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the region’s largest economy, remain unchanged at 4.7% for this year and 4.3% for next year. Southeast Asian economies are expected to be hit hardest by deteriorating trade conditions and rising uncertainty. ADB now forecasts growth of 4.2% for the subregion this year and 4.3% next year—both figures roughly half a percentage point lower than the April estimates.

    — IANS

  • ECI begins process to elect new Vice-President after Dhankhar’s resignation

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced that it had initiated the process to conduct elections for the office of the Vice-President of India, two days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post citing health reasons.

    In an official statement, the Commission said, “The Election Commission of India, under Article 324, is mandated to conduct the election to the office of the Vice President of India. The election to the office of the Vice President of India is governed by The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and the rules made thereunder, namely The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974,”

    Under Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice-President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, using the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, with voting conducted by secret ballot.

    The Commission added that it had already started the process of constituting the electoral college and was finalising the appointment of returning officers. The official election schedule would be announced after the completion of these preparatory steps.

    Dhankhar’s tenure was originally set to end on August 10, 2027.

  • Govt clears six semiconductor projects worth ₹1.55 lakh crore, over 27,000 jobs on cards

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    The Centre has so far approved six semiconductor manufacturing projects, entailing a cumulative investment of around ₹1.55 lakh crore. These are expected to generate over 27,000 direct jobs, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

    Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said the approvals are part of the government’s ₹76,000-crore ‘Semicon India Programme’, aimed at building a semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

    “Semiconductor manufacturing is a highly specialised industry involving complex processes. Most of the jobs created are skilled roles,” Prasada said in a written reply. He added that the sector, being foundational, is likely to have a cascading impact on employment across other industries and supply chains.

    As part of the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, fiscal support has been extended to 22 approved startups and MSMEs. Of these, three design companies are based in Telangana, where 11 others have received design infrastructure support. Additionally, 22 institutes in the state are being supported under the Chips to Startup (C2S) programme, with six receiving financial assistance.

    Tamil Nadu also has three approved companies under the DLI scheme, while six firms have received design infrastructure support.

    The C2S programme targets the development of 85,000 skilled professionals in the semiconductor sector. So far, over 45,000 students from 100 institutions have enrolled. The government is providing engineering colleges with design tools and software to support chip design training.

    In 2022, the Skilled Manpower Advanced Research and Training (SMART) Lab was set up at NIELIT Calicut, with the goal of training one lakh engineers. Over 42,000 engineers have been trained so far, the minister said.

    The government is also working with global industry and academic partners including Lam Research, IBM, and Purdue University to build capacity in chip design and manufacturing.

    IANS

  • MIL-OSI Security: District Man Sentenced to 11.5 Years in Scheme to Steal Residential Real Estate Using Fraudulent Deeds

    Source: US FBI

               WASHINGTON – Jeffrey M. Young-Bey, 68, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 138 months in prison for his role a scheme that stole residential real estate property in order to generate more than $850,000 in fraudulent loans, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

               Young-Bey was found guilty by a jury on Feb.12, 2024, on 12 federal charges: one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud, two counts of mail fraud, two counts of money laundering, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. In addition to the  term of incarceration, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered five years of supervised release.

               Joining in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen of the Washington Field Office, which led the investigation. 

               According to the government’s evidence, beginning in November 2019, Young-Bey conspired to steal a residential townhome located in LeDroit Park in order to obtain mortgage financing against the stolen property. 

               Young-Bey identified a target property owned free and clear by an elderly homeowner. He then prepared a fraudulent property deed, including forged signatures of the true owners and used a fake notary stamp to make the deed appear legitimate.

               Young-Bey filed the deed with the District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds, transferring the title from the true owners to a corporate entity. Young-Bey passed a check to the D.C. Recorder of Deeds to pay for the transfer taxes but put a stop payment order on the check before the D.C. government could cash the check. After causing the fake deed to be recorded with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds, he falsely told a mortgage services business that another individual had inherited the property and wanted to take a large loan against the value of the home.

               Young-Bey created a fake rental lease and deceived the mortgage company into loaning one of his associates approximately $360,000 against the value of the home they did not own, which was split evenly between the two. Young-Bey used his half of the proceeds to buy a BMW 3-Series valued at approximately $23,000. 

               After succeeding on the first scam, Young-Bey executed a second fraudulent scheme on a Shephard Park property in the District, forging the names of the two owners, using the fake notary stamp, and recording the deed at the D.C. Recorder of Deeds Office. Young-Bey again put a stop payment order on the transfer tax check before it could be cashed. Young-Bey used the recorded deed to obtain a construction loan of more than $500,000 against the value of the house.  Young-Bey took a portion of the loan and purchased a BMW 7-Series worth approximately $120,000. He promptly sold the home to a legitimate real estate company for an additional $42,000 in profit. The fraud was discovered when the real estate company began performing renovations on the home and the rightful owners were alerted to the construction and demolition by their neighbors. 

               This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher R. Howland and Kevin L. Rosenberg of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Gina Torres. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Rothstein, who investigated and indicted the case, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Virginia Cheatham, former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Viviana Vasiu, and Paralegal Specialist Lisa Abbe, each of whom assisted in investigating the case. The prosecution team was also assisted by Tonya Jones from the Victim Witness Assistance Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Lenerz from the Appellate Section.

    21cr661

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: YieldMax® ETFs Announces Distributions on HOOY, CONY, ULTY, AMDY, YMAG, and Others

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO and MILWAUKEE and NEW YORK, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YieldMax® today announced distributions for the YieldMax® Weekly Payers and Group C ETFs listed in the table below.

    ETF
    Ticker    1    		 ETF Name Distribution
    Frequency    		 Distribution
    per Share    		 Distribution
    Rate    2,4    		 30-Day
    SEC Yield3    		 ROC5 Ex-Date &
    Record
    Date    		 Payment
    Date
    CHPY YieldMax® Semiconductor Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.3723 35.54% 0.04% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    GPTY YieldMax® AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.3219 35.36% 0.00% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    LFGY YieldMax® Crypto Industry & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF Weekly $0.4876 62.94% 0.00% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    QDTY YieldMax® Nasdaq 100 0DTE Covered Call ETF Weekly $0.1944 22.64% 0.00% 86.12% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    RDTY YieldMax® R2000 0DTE Covered Call ETF Weekly $0.3901 44.01% 1.65% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    SDTY YieldMax® S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call ETF Weekly $0.1607 18.44% 0.07% 42.60% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    ULTY YieldMax® Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Weekly $0.1029 85.29% 0.00% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    YMAG YieldMax® Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs Weekly $0.2033 68.60% 63.17% 42.42% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    YMAX YieldMax® Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs Weekly $0.1838 68.48% 82.40% 6.23% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    ABNY YieldMax® ABNB Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.3748 40.32% 2.85% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    AMDY YieldMax® AMD Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.5656 85.13% 2.82% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    CONY YieldMax® COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.7951 103.37% 2.93% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    CVNY YieldMax® CVNA Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $2.0473 61.43% 2.71% 97.34% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    DRAY* YieldMax® DKNG Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		   – – – – – –
    FIAT YieldMax® Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.1381 60.28% 4.73% 93.10% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    HOOY YieldMax® HOOD Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $6.8981 121.23% 1.43% 100.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    MSFO YieldMax® MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.4139 29.80% 2.97% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    NFLY YieldMax® NFLX Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.4350 32.40% 2.80% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    PYPY YieldMax® PYPL Option Income Strategy ETF Every 4
    weeks    		 $0.2731 27.61% 3.48% 0.00% 7/24/25 7/25/25
    Weekly Payers & Group D ETFs scheduled for next week: CHPY GPTY LFGY QDTY RDTY SDTY ULTY YMAG YMAX AIYY AMZY APLY DISO MSTY SMCY WNTR XYZY YQQQ


    Standardized Performance and Fund details can be obtained by clicking the ETF Ticker in the table above or by visiting us at     www.yieldmaxetfs.com

    Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance current to the most recent month-end can be obtained by calling (866) 864 3968.

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

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

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

    *The inception date for DRAY is July 14, 2025

    1All YieldMax® ETFs shown in the table above (except YMAX, YMAG, FEAT, FIVY and ULTY) have a gross expense ratio of 0.99%. YMAX, FEAT have a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.99% for a gross expense ratio of 1.28%. YMAG has a management fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.83% for a gross expense ratio of 1.12%. FIVY has a Management Fee of 0.29% and Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses of 0.59% for a gross expense ratio of 0.88%. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are indirect fees and expenses that the Fund incurs from investing in the shares of other investment companies, namely other YieldMax® ETFs. ULTY has a gross expense ratio of 1.40%, and a net expense ratio after the fee waiver of 1.30%. The Advisor has agreed to a fee waiver of 0.10% through at least February 28, 2026.

    2The Distribution Rate shown is as of close on July 22, 2025. The Distribution Rate is the annual distribution rate an investor would receive if the most recent distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by annualizing an ETF’s Distribution per Share and dividing such annualized amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions may also include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease an ETF’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These Distribution Rates may be caused by unusually favorable market conditions and may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future.

    3 The 30-Day SEC Yield represents net investment income, which excludes option income, earned by such ETF over the 30-Day period ended June 30, 2025, expressed as an annual percentage rate based on such ETF’s share price at the end of the 30-Day period.

    4 Each ETF’s strategy (except those of the Short ETFs) will cap potential gains if its reference asset’s shares increase in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset’s shares decrease in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF. Each Short ETF’s strategy will cap potential gains if its reference asset decreases in value, yet subjects an investor to all potential losses if the reference asset increases in value. Such potential losses may not be offset by income received by the ETF.

    5ROC refers to Return of Capital. The ROC percentage indicates how much the distribution reflects an investor’s initial investment. The figures shown for each Fund in the table above are estimates and may later be determined to be taxable net investment income, short-term gains, long-term gains (to the extent permitted by law), or return of capital. Actual amounts and sources for tax reporting will depend upon the Fund’s investment activities during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Your broker will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year to tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

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

    Important Information

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

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

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

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

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

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GPTY)

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

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

    Risk Disclosure (applicable only to MARO)

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

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to BABO and TSMY)

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

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

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

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

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to GDXY)

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

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

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

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YBIT)

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

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

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

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

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to the Short ETFs)

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, for any Fund that focuses on an individual security (e.g., TSLA, COIN, NVDA, MSTR), may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets and distributions, if any, may decline.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to CHPY)

    Semiconductor Industry Risk. Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, and such competition may have an adverse effect on their profit margins. Semiconductor companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Semiconductor companies’ supply chain and operations are dependent on the availability of materials that meet exacting standards and the use of third parties to provide components and services.

    The products of semiconductor companies may face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. Capital equipment expenditures could be substantial, and equipment generally suffers from rapid obsolescence. Companies in the semiconductor industry are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights would adversely affect the profitability of these companies.

    Risk Disclosures (applicable only to YQQQ)

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

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

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

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

    © 2025 YieldMax® ETFs

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: MARA Holdings, Inc. Announces Proposed Private Offering of $850 Million of Zero Coupon Convertible Senior Notes

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Miami, FL, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) (“MARA” or the “Company”), a leading digital energy and infrastructure company, today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market conditions and other factors, $850 million aggregate principal amount of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2032 (the “notes”) in a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). MARA also expects to grant to the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, within a 13-day period beginning on, and including, the date on which the notes are first issued, up to an additional $150 million aggregate principal amount of the notes. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether, when or on what terms the offering may be completed.

    The notes will be unsecured, senior obligations of MARA. The notes are not expected to bear regular interest (other than special interest in limited circumstances) and the principal amount of the notes is not expected to accrete. Special interest, if any, on the notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on February 1 and August 1 of each year, beginning on February 1, 2026 (if and to the extent that special interest is then payable on the notes). The notes will mature on August 1, 2032, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed or converted in accordance with their terms. Subject to certain conditions, on or after January 15, 2030, MARA may redeem for cash all or any portion of the notes. If MARA redeems fewer than all the outstanding notes, at least $75 million aggregate principal amount of notes must be outstanding and not subject to redemption as of the relevant redemption notice date. Holders of the notes will have the right to require MARA to repurchase for cash all or any portion of their notes on January 4, 2030, if the last reported sale price of MARA’s common stock on the second trading day immediately preceding the repurchase date is less than the conversion price. The notes will be convertible into cash, shares of MARA’s common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of MARA’s common stock, at MARA’s election. Prior to May 1, 2032, the notes will be convertible only upon the occurrence of certain events and during certain periods, and thereafter, at any time until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date. The interest rate, initial conversion rate and other terms of the notes will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering. MARA expects that the reference price used to calculate the initial conversion price for the notes will be the U.S. composite volume weighted average price of MARA’s common stock from 2:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on the date of pricing.

    MARA expects to use up to $50 million of the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to repurchase a portion of its existing 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “1.00% 2026 convertible notes”) in privately negotiated transactions with the remainder of the net proceeds to be used to pay the cost of the capped call transactions (as described below), to acquire additional bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, strategic acquisitions, expansion of existing assets, and repayment of additional debt and other outstanding obligations.

    In connection with any repurchase of the 1.00% 2026 convertible notes, MARA expects that holders of the 1.00% 2026 convertible notes who agree to have their notes repurchased and who have hedged their equity price risk with respect to such notes (the “hedged holders”) will unwind all or part of their hedge positions by buying MARA’s common stock and/or entering into or unwinding various derivative transactions with respect to MARA’s common stock. The amount of MARA’s common stock to be purchased by the hedged holders or in connection with such derivative transactions may be substantial in relation to the historic average daily trading volume of MARA’s common stock. This activity by the hedged holders could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of MARA’s common stock, including concurrently with the pricing of the notes, resulting in a higher effective conversion price of the notes. MARA cannot predict the magnitude of such market activity or the overall effect it will have on the price of the notes or MARA’s common stock.

    In connection with the pricing of the notes, MARA expects to enter into privately negotiated capped call transactions with one or more of the initial purchasers and/or their respective affiliates and/or other financial institutions (the “option counterparties”). If the initial purchasers exercise their option to purchase additional notes, MARA expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of such additional notes to enter into additional capped call transactions with the option counterparties. The capped call transactions will cover, subject to anti-dilution adjustments, the number of shares of common stock underlying the notes sold in the offering. The capped call transactions are generally expected to reduce potential dilution to the common stock upon any conversion of notes and/or offset any cash payments MARA elects to make in excess of the principal amount of converted notes, as the case may be, with such reduction and/or offset subject to a cap.

    MARA has been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates expect to purchase shares of common stock and/or enter into various derivative transactions with respect to the common stock concurrently with or shortly after the pricing of the notes. This activity could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of the common stock or the notes at that time. In addition, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to the common stock and/or purchasing or selling the common stock or other securities of MARA in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the notes and prior to the maturity of the notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of the notes, in connection with any redemption of the notes, any fundamental change repurchase of the notes or any exercise of a holder’s optional repurchase right, and, to the extent MARA unwinds a corresponding portion of the capped call transactions, following any other repurchase of the notes). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of the common stock or the notes, which could affect the ability of noteholders to convert the notes and, to the extent the activity occurs during any observation period related to a conversion of notes, it could affect the number of shares of common stock, if any, and value of the consideration that noteholders will receive upon conversion of the notes.

    The notes will be offered and sold to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act. The offer and sale of the notes and the shares of MARA’s common stock issuable upon conversion of the notes, if any, have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, and the notes and any such shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. Any offer of the notes will be made only by means of a private offering memorandum.

    This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the notes, nor shall there be any sale of the notes in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Nothing in this press release shall be deemed an offer to purchase MARA’s 1.00% 2026 convertible notes.

    About MARA

    MARA (NASDAQ:MARA) deploys digital energy technologies to advance the world’s energy systems. Harnessing the power of compute, MARA transforms excess energy into digital capital, balancing the grid and accelerating the deployment of critical infrastructure. Building on its expertise to redefine the future of energy, MARA develops technologies that reduce the energy demands of high-performance computing applications, from AI to the edge.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the completion, size and timing of the offering, the anticipated use of any proceeds from the offering, and the terms of the notes and the capped call transactions. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including uncertainties related to market conditions and the completion of the offering on the anticipated terms or at all, the other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of MARA’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 3, 2025 and the risks described in other filings that MARA may make from time to time with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and MARA specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.

    MARA Company Contact:
    Telephone: 800-804-1690
    Email: ir@mara.com

    MARA Media Contact:
    Email: mara@wachsman.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Mobix Labs Accelerates Growth with Appointment of Phil Sansone as CEO as Co-Founder Fabian Battaglia Transitions to Strategic Advisor

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ~ Mobix enters powerful new growth phase, expanding its footprint in defense, military, aerospace, and high-speed wireless innovation ~

    ~ Leadership transition marks new phase of expansion and innovation ~

    IRVINE, Calif. , July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mobix Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOBX) (“Mobix” or the “Company”), a fabless semiconductor company focused on next-generation wireless and wired connectivity, today announced that Fabian Battaglia, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, is retiring from his role as CEO effective July 25, 2025. Phil Sansone, who has served as Interim CEO since April 2025, has been named Chief Executive Officer, effective July 25, 2025. Battaglia will remain actively involved with the Company as a senior advisor to the CEO and Board of Directors.

    “Mobix Labs was founded with a mission to transform high-performance connectivity, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together,” said Fabian Battaglia. “Taking this company from an early-stage vision to a Nasdaq-listed innovator in just a few years has been the honor of my career. I have complete confidence in Phil’s leadership and look forward to supporting him and the Board in my new advisory role. The future of Mobix has never been brighter.”

    Under Battaglia’s leadership, Mobix grew from a startup into a public company with a rapidly expanding presence in advanced communication technologies. As CEO, he spearheaded Mobix’s strategic expansion into critical sectors including defense, military, aerospace, and wireless communications, as well as rapid growth through M&A.

    “Fabian’s vision, passion, and relentless commitment laid the foundation for Mobix’s success,” said Jim Peterson, Executive Chairman of the Board. “We are grateful for his exceptional leadership and pleased that he will continue contributing to the Company in an advisory capacity. We are equally excited to welcome Phil as our new CEO — a proven leader with the insight, drive, and strategic acumen to guide Mobix into its next chapter of growth.”

    Phil Sansone brings over two decades of operational leadership experience, including his most recent role leading Mobix as interim CEO. In that time, he has accelerated customer acquisition, strengthened internal execution, and positioned the Company for scalable expansion.

    “I’m honored to take the helm as CEO of Mobix Labs at this pivotal moment,” said Phil Sansone, Chief Executive Officer. “We have extraordinary technology, world-class talent, and a clear vision. As we enter our next phase, I’m committed to delivering transformative solutions to our customers and exceptional value to our shareholders.”

    The leadership transition underscores Mobix’s commitment to long-term innovation, growth, and operational excellence as the Company continues to scale across key growth markets.

    Phil Sansone brings over 30 years of global sales and executive management experience within the semiconductor industry. Previoulsy, Sansone held senior roles at Microsemi and MaxLinear and spent nearly two decades at Avnet, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President of North American sales and engineering. He was instrumental in driving market share gains and improving operational performance. Sansone’s proven leadership in global distribution, strategic partnerships, and revenue growth strongly supports Mobix’s continuing success in dynamic, high-demand markets.

    Since joining Mobix Labs in October 2021 as Vice President of Sales, Sansone has notably expanded the company’s footprint in the military, defense, and aerospace sectors, securing key orders for technologies utilized in critical U.S. military and defense platforms.

    About Mobix Labs, Inc.

    Mobix Labs designs, develops, and supplies advanced connectivity and sensing solutions for high-growth sectors, including aerospace, defense, wireless, medical, industrial, and automotive markets. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Mobix’s offerings include mmWave RF modules, EMI filters, optical interconnects, and active optical cable systems. Founded in 2020, the company is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker MOBX.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about future events and the performance of Mobix Labs, Inc. (“Mobix,” the “Company,” “we,” or “our”), and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s strategic growth initiatives, market expansion plans, leadership transition, expectations regarding the Company’s technology development, customer relationships, product demand, and future financial and operational performance.

    Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions, as they relate to Mobix or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict and that are, in many cases, beyond the Company’s control.

    Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to: the ability of the Company to effectively execute its growth strategy; risks related to leadership transitions and management continuity; macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions; supply chain disruptions; market acceptance of new products and technologies; customer demand and procurement timing in the defense and aerospace sectors; the Company’s ability to maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements; and other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including under the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

    Mobix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

    About Mobix Labs, Inc.

    Mobix Labs (Nasdaq: MOBX) is a purpose-built, 100% U.S.-based supplier of advanced connectivity solutions targeting aerospace, defense, AI, and 5G infrastructure markets. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Mobix Labs delivers performance-critical RF, optical, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) interconnect technologies through proprietary semiconductor IP, advanced packaging, and vertically integrated manufacturing. Learn more at www.mobixlabs.com.

    Investor Contact:
    Ryan Battaglia
    rbattaglia@mobixlabs.com

    Media Contact:
    Christopher Lancaster
    clancaster@mobixlabs.com

    Source: Mobix Labs, Inc.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Fidelity D & D Bancorp, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUNMORE, Pa., July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fidelity D & D Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDBC) and its banking subsidiary, The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank, announced its unaudited, consolidated financial results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2025.

    Unaudited Financial Information

    Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 was $6.9 million, or $1.20 diluted earnings per share, compared to $4.9 million, or $0.86 diluted earnings per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.  The $2.0 million, or 40%, increase in net income resulted primarily from a $2.8 million increase in net interest income coupled with a $0.8 million increase in non-interest income. This was partially offset by a $1.1 million increase in non-interest expense and a $0.6 million increase in the provision for income tax.

    For the six months ended June 30, 2025, net income was $12.9 million, or $2.23 diluted earnings per share, compared to $10.0 million, or $1.73 diluted earnings per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2024.  The $2.9 million, or 29%, increase in net income stemmed from the $4.9 million increase in net interest income and $1.1 million increase in non-interest income. This was partially offset by a $2.0 million increase in non-interest expense and a $1.0 million increase in the provision for income tax.

    “I am pleased to share that we delivered another strong quarter, underscoring the continued momentum of our strategy and the dedication of our entire team,” stated Daniel J. Santaniello, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Second quarter 2025 net income increased 40% over last year’s second quarter to $6.9 million, with diluted earnings per share rising to $1.20. This performance was driven by a 19% increase in net interest income—reflecting our disciplined loan portfolio expansion and enhanced yields as well as a 16% rise in non-interest income.

    Year-to-date, net income has grown 29% to $12.9 million, a clear testament to the strength of our relationship-based deposit strategy and prudent expense management. Our asset quality remains solid, and we further strengthened our capital position, with shareholders’ equity up 7% providing a strong foundation for continued growth in the second half of 2025.

    These results reflect more than financial performance—they speak to the strength of our culture, our commitment to our clients, and our deep roots in the communities we serve. I want to sincerely thank our talented and dedicated team of bankers, whose expertise and focus on service excellence drive our success every day. Together, we continue to build a stronger, more resilient financial institution—one that delivers meaningful value to our bankers, clients, shareholders, and communities.”

    Consolidated Second Quarter Operating Results Overview

    Net interest income was $17.9 million for the second quarter of 2025, a 19% increase over the $15.1 million earned for the second quarter of 2024.  The $2.8 million increase in net interest income resulted from the increase of $3.7 million in interest income primarily due to a $213.6 million increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets and a 19 basis point increase in fully-taxable equivalent (“FTE”) (non-GAAP measurement) yield. The loan portfolio had the most significant impact, producing a $2.8 million increase in FTE interest income from $124.6 million in higher quarterly average balances and an increase of 24 basis points in FTE loan yield. Additionally, the Company experienced an increase of $1.1 million in interest earned from interest-bearing deposits with other financial institutions from $102.0 million in higher average balances. Slightly offsetting the higher interest income, there was a $0.9 million increase in interest expense due to a $178.8 million quarter-over-quarter increase in average interest-bearing liability balances. The increase was due to growth of $208.3 million in average interest-bearing deposit balances. However, this deposit growth was partially offset by a $28.5 million decrease in average short-term borrowings.

    The FTE yield on interest-earning assets was 4.77% for the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 19 basis points from the 4.58% for the second quarter of 2024. The overall cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 2.52% for the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 6 basis points from the 2.58% for the second quarter of 2024.  The cost of funds decreased 1 basis point from 1.96% to 1.95% for the second quarters of 2024 and 2025, respectively. The Company’s FTE net interest spread was 2.25% for the second quarter of 2025, an increase of 25 basis points from 2.00% recorded for the second quarter of 2024.  FTE net interest margin increased to 2.92% for the three months ended June 30, 2025 from 2.71% for the same period of 2024 primarily due to the growth in higher yielding taxable commercial loans.

    For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the provision for credit losses on loans was $300 thousand and the provision for unfunded commitments was $20 thousand compared to a $275 thousand provision for credit losses on loans and a $140 thousand provision for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments for the three months ended June 30, 2024. For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the increase in the provision for credit losses on loans compared to the prior year period was due to $155 thousand in higher net charge-offs and a higher average total loan balance compared to the same period in 2024. For the three months ended June 30, 2025, the decrease in the provision for unfunded commitments was due to lower levels of unfunded commitments during the quarter due to increased utilization, specifically commercial construction commitments, compared to the year earlier period.

    Total non-interest income increased $0.8 million, or 16%, to $5.4 million for the second quarter of 2025 compared to $4.6 million for the second quarter of 2024. The increase in non-interest income was primarily attributed to increases of $0.2 million in trust fees, a $0.2 million BOLI death benefit, $0.2 million in loan service charges, and $0.1 million in interchange fees. 

    Non-interest expenses increased $1.1 million, or 8%, for the second quarter of 2025 to $14.7 million from $13.6 million for the same quarter of 2024. The increase in non-interest expenses was primarily due to the increases in salaries and benefits expense of $0.8 million, premises and equipment expense of $0.2 million, and advertising expense of $0.2 million. These increases were partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in professional services for the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the same period of 2024.

    The provision for income taxes increased $0.6 million during the three months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 primarily due to a $2.6 million increase in income before taxes.

    Consolidated Year-To-Date Operating Results Overview

    Net interest income was $35.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 compared to $30.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024.  The $4.9 million increase in net interest income resulted from the increase of $6.4 million in interest income primarily due to a $181.0 million increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets and a 20 basis point increase in FTE yield.  On the asset side, the loan portfolio interest income growth resulted from producing $5.3 million more in interest income from an increase of 25 basis points in FTE loan yields on $120.5 million in higher average balances. Additionally, the Company experienced an increase of $1.5 million in interest earned from interest-bearing deposits with other financial institutions from $71.6 million in higher average balances. The increase in interest income was partially offset by a decrease of $0.3 million in interest earned on the investment portfolio due to decreases of 6 basis points in yield and $11.3 million in average balances. On the funding side, total interest expense increased by $1.5 million primarily due to an increase in interest expense paid on deposits of $2.5 million from a 2 basis points higher rates paid on a $194.0 million larger average balance of interest-bearing deposits, partially offset by a decrease in interest expense on borrowings of $1.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

    The overall cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 2.51% for the six months ended June 30, 2025 compared to 2.54% for the six months ended June 30, 2024.  The cost of funds decreased 1 basis point to 1.94% for the six months ended June 30, 2025 from 1.95% from the same period of 2024. The FTE yield on earning assets was 4.75% for the six months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of 20 basis points from the 4.55% year-to-date June 30, 2024.  The Company’s FTE net interest spread was 2.24% for the six months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of 23 basis points from the 2.01% recorded for the same period of 2024.  FTE net interest margin increased by 21 basis points to 2.91% for the six months ended June 30, 2025 from 2.70% for the same 2024 period primarily due to the increase in yields earned on loans and leases outpacing the rates paid on interest-bearing deposits.

    For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the provision for credit losses on loans was $755 thousand and the provision for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments was a net benefit of $65 thousand compared to a $400 thousand provision for credit losses on loans and a $90 thousand provision for credit losses on unfunded commitments for the six months ended June 30, 2024. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the increase in the provision for credit losses on loans compared to the prior year period was due to $215 thousand in higher net charge-offs and a higher average total loan balance compared to the same period in 2024. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, the decrease in the provision for unfunded commitments was due to lower growth in unfunded commitments during the period due to increased utilization, specifically commercial construction commitments, compared to the year earlier period.

    Total non-interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2025 was $10.3 million, an increase of $1.1 million, or 12%, from $9.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024.  The increase was primarily due to $0.3 million higher fees from trust fiduciary activities. The Company also had $0.2 million more non-interest income resulting from an increase in interchange fees, a $0.2 million BOLI death benefit, and an increase of $0.2 million in service charges on commercial loans. During the first half of 2025, gains of $0.5 million on the sale of a commercial loan and $0.3 million from the sale of a property were offset by $0.8 million in losses recognized on the sale of securities.

    Non-interest expenses increased to $29.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, an increase of $2.0 million, or 7%, from $27.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024. Salaries and benefits expense increased $1.3 million due to an increase in bankers, group insurance costs, and banker incentives in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Additionally, the Company saw an increase of $0.5 million in advertising and marketing expenses primarily due to a $0.3 million increase in Neighborhood Assistance Program donations from which the Company recognized $0.2 million in additional tax credits causing a corresponding decrease in PA shares tax expense. There was also an increase of $0.5 million in premises and equipment expense primarily due to higher costs for software licenses, subscriptions, and maintenance. The increases were partially offset by $0.3 million less in professional services expense.

    The provision for income taxes increased $1.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 primarily due to a $3.9 million increase in income before taxes and $0.2 million less in tax credits. 

    Consolidated Balance Sheet & Asset Quality Overview

    The Company’s total assets had a balance of $2.7 billion as of June 30, 2025, an increase of $114.0 million from December 31, 2024. The increase resulted from $82.1 million in growth in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2025 compared to December 31, 2024. The loans and leases portfolio increased $37.9 million over the same period. Asset growth was offset by a decrease of $11.4 million in the investment portfolio primarily due to the sale of $17.5 million in available-for-sale securities and $11.3 million in paydowns partially offset by $14.7 million in purchases of securities.

    During the same time period, total liabilities increased $100.0 million, or 4%. Deposit growth of $94.5 million was utilized to fund loan growth and increase interest-bearing cash balances. For interest-bearing deposit accounts, the Company experienced increases of $37.2 million in money market deposits, $17.2 million in interest-bearing checking accounts, $14.4 million in time deposits, and $1.6 million in savings and clubs. The deposit growth is primarily driven by growth in existing account balances from the relationship building strategy along with targeted direct marketing campaigns driving new client acquisitions and active management of promotional and retention rates. Additionally, the Company experienced an increase of $24.1 million in non-interest-bearing checking accounts. As of June 30, 2025, the ratio of insured and collateralized deposits to total deposits was approximately 75%.

    Shareholders’ equity increased $13.9 million, or 7%, to $217.9 million at June 30, 2025 from $204.0 million at December 31, 2024. The increase was caused by $8.3 million higher retained earnings from net income of $12.9 million plus a $4.9 million, after tax, improvement in accumulated other comprehensive income from lower net unrealized losses recorded on available-for-sale securities, partially offset by $4.7 million in cash dividends paid to shareholders. An additional $0.9 million was recorded from the issuance of common stock under the Company’s stock plans and stock-based compensation expense. At June 30, 2025, there were no credit losses on available-for-sale and held-to-maturity debt securities.  Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is excluded from regulatory capital ratios. The Company remains well capitalized with Tier 1 capital at 9.16% of total average assets as of June 30, 2025.  Total risk-based capital was 14.72% of risk-weighted assets and Tier 1 risk-based capital was 13.57% of risk-weighted assets as of June 30, 2025. Tangible book value per share was $34.25 at June 30, 2025 compared to $31.98 at December 31, 2024.  Tangible common equity was 7.38% of total assets at June 30, 2025 compared to 7.16% at December 31, 2024.

    Asset Quality

    Total non-performing assets were $3.5 million, or 0.13% of total assets, at June 30, 2025, compared to $7.8 million, or 0.30% of total assets, at December 31, 2024. Past due and non-accrual loans to total loans were 0.41% at June 30, 2025 compared to 0.71% at December 31, 2024. Net charge-offs to average total loans were 0.05% at June 30, 2025 compared to 0.03% at December 31, 2024.

    About Fidelity D & D Bancorp, Inc. and The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank

    Fidelity D & D Bancorp, Inc. has built a strong history as trusted financial advisor to the clients served by The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank (“Fidelity Bank”).  Fidelity Bank continues its mission of exceeding client expectations through a unique banking experience. It operates 21 full-service offices throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lehigh and Northampton Counties and a Fidelity Bank Wealth Management Office in Schuylkill County. Fidelity Bank provides a digital banking experience online at www.bankatfidelity.com, through the Fidelity Mobile Banking app, and in the Client Care Center at 1-800-388-4380. Additionally, the Bank offers full-service Wealth Management & Brokerage Services, a Mortgage Center, and a full suite of personal and commercial banking products and services. Part of the Company’s vision is to serve as the best bank for the community, which was accomplished by having provided over 5,960 hours of volunteer time and over $1.3 million in donations to non-profit organizations directly within the markets served throughout 2024. Fidelity Bank’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to the full extent permitted by law.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures to provide information useful to the reader in understanding its operating performance and trends, and to facilitate comparisons with the performance of other financial institutions. Management uses these measures internally to assess and better understand our underlying business performance and trends related to core business activities.  The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures and key performance indicators may differ from the non-GAAP financial measures and key performance indicators other financial institutions use to measure their performance and trends. Non-GAAP financial measures should be supplemental to GAAP used to prepare the Company’s operating results and should not be read in isolation or relied upon as a substitute for GAAP measures.  Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP are presented in the tables below.

    Interest income was adjusted to recognize the income from tax exempt interest-earning assets as if the interest was taxable, fully-taxable equivalent (“FTE”), in order to calculate certain ratios within this document.  This treatment allows a uniform comparison among yields on interest-earning assets.  Interest income was FTE adjusted, using the corporate federal tax rate of 21% for 2025 and 2024.

    Forward-looking statements

    Certain of the matters discussed in this press release constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as such may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  The words “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

    The Company’s actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation:

      ■ local, regional and national economic conditions and changes thereto;
      ■ the short-term and long-term effects of inflation, and rising costs to the Company, its customers and on the economy;
      ■ the risks of changes and volatility of interest rates on the level and composition of deposits, loan demand, and the values of loan collateral, securities and interest rate protection agreements, as well as interest rate risks;
      ■ securities markets and monetary fluctuations and volatility;
      ■  disruption of credit and equity markets;
      ■ impacts of the capital and liquidity requirements of the Basel III standards and other regulatory pronouncements, regulations and rules;
      ■ governmental monetary and fiscal policies, as well as legislative and regulatory changes;
      ■ effects of short- and long-term federal budget and tax negotiations and their effect on economic and business conditions;
      ■ the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation;
      ■ the impact of new or changes in existing laws and regulations, including laws and regulations concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance and their application with which the Company and its subsidiaries must comply;
      ■ the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other accounting standard setters;
      ■ the effects of competition from other commercial banks, thrifts, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, credit unions, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market and other mutual funds and other financial institutions operating in our market area and elsewhere, including institutions operating locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, together with such competitors offering banking products and services by mail, telephone, computer and the internet;
      ■ the effects of economic conditions of any other pandemic, epidemic or other health-related crisis such as COVID-19 and responses thereto on current customers and the operations of the Company, specifically the effect of the economy on loan customers’ ability to repay loans;  
      ■ the effects of bank failures, banking system instability, deposit fluctuations, loan and securities value changes;  
      ■ technological changes;  
      ■ the interruption or breach in security of our information systems, continually evolving cybersecurity and other technological risks and attacks resulting in failures or disruptions in customer account management, general ledger processing and loan or deposit updates and potential impacts resulting therefrom including additional costs, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and financial losses;  
      ■ acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses;  
      ■ the failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of reserves for loan losses and estimations of values of collateral and various financial assets and liabilities;  
      ■ acts of war or terrorism; and  
      ■ the risk that our analyses of these risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies developed to address them could be unsuccessful.

    The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect analyses only as of the date of this release.  The Company has no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

    For more information please visit our investor relations web site located through www.bankatfidelity.com.

    FIDELITY D & D BANCORP, INC.
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (dollars in thousands)    		  
    At Period End:   June 30, 2025     December 31, 2024  
    Assets                
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 165,495     $ 83,353  
    Investment securities     545,821       557,221  
    Restricted investments in bank stock     4,240       3,961  
    Loans and leases     1,837,477       1,800,856  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans     (19,976 )     (19,666 )
    Premises and equipment, net     40,097       35,914  
    Life insurance cash surrender value     58,849       58,069  
    Goodwill and core deposit intangible     20,364       20,504  
    Other assets     46,208       44,404  
                     
    Total assets   $ 2,698,575     $ 2,584,616  
                     
    Liabilities                
    Non-interest-bearing deposits   $ 558,074     $ 533,935  
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,877,254       1,806,885  
    Total deposits     2,435,328       2,340,820  
    Short-term borrowings     10       –  
    Secured borrowings     6,134       6,266  
    Other liabilities     39,191       33,561  
    Total liabilities     2,480,663       2,380,647  
                     
    Shareholders’ equity     217,912       203,969  
                     
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,698,575     $ 2,584,616  
    Average Year-To-Date Balances:   June 30, 2025     December 31, 2024  
    Assets                
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 129,527     $ 55,773  
    Investment securities     551,906       557,537  
    Restricted investments in bank stock     4,066       3,960  
    Loans and leases     1,822,654       1,741,349  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans     (20,189 )     (19,391 )
    Premises and equipment, net     35,839       35,580  
    Life insurance cash surrender value     58,503       56,455  
    Goodwill and core deposit intangible     20,423       20,641  
    Other assets     42,950       41,755  
                     
    Total assets   $ 2,645,679     $ 2,493,659  
                     
    Liabilities                
    Non-interest-bearing deposits   $ 540,320     $ 527,825  
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,852,895       1,697,529  
    Total deposits     2,393,215       2,225,354  
    Short-term borrowings     16       32,446  
    Secured borrowings     6,194       6,830  
    Other liabilities     35,497       32,471  
    Total liabilities     2,434,922       2,297,101  
                     
    Shareholders’ equity     210,757       196,558  
                     
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,645,679     $ 2,493,659  
    FIDELITY D & D BANCORP, INC.
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
    (dollars in thousands)    		  
        Three Months Ended     Six Months Ended  
        Jun. 30, 2025     Jun. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2025     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Interest income                                
    Loans and leases   $ 25,328     $ 22,516     $ 49,924     $ 44,649  
    Securities and other     4,437       3,523       8,149       7,016  
                                     
    Total interest income     29,765       26,039       58,073       51,665  
                                     
    Interest expense                                
    Deposits     (11,738 )     (10,459 )     (22,925 )     (20,400 )
    Borrowings and debt     (98 )     (463 )     (186 )     (1,204 )
                                     
    Total interest expense     (11,836 )     (10,922 )     (23,111 )     (21,604 )
                                     
    Net interest income     17,929       15,117       34,962       30,061  
                                     
    Provision for credit losses on loans     (300 )     (275 )     (755 )     (400 )
    Net (provision) benefit for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments     (20 )     (140 )     65       (90 )
    Non-interest income     5,359       4,615       10,332       9,188  
    Non-interest expense     (14,710 )     (13,616 )     (29,264 )     (27,306 )
                                     
    Income before income taxes     8,258       5,701       15,340       11,453  
                                     
    Provision for income taxes     (1,337 )     (766 )     (2,428 )     (1,460 )
    Net income   $ 6,921     $ 4,935     $ 12,912     $ 9,993  
        Three Months Ended  
        Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Interest income                                        
    Loans and leases   $ 25,328     $ 24,596     $ 24,584     $ 24,036     $ 22,516  
    Securities and other     4,437       3,712       3,475       3,263       3,523  
                                             
    Total interest income     29,765       28,308       28,059       27,299       26,039  
                                             
    Interest expense                                        
    Deposits     (11,738 )     (11,187 )     (11,468 )     (11,297 )     (10,459 )
    Borrowings and debt     (98 )     (88 )     (217 )     (571 )     (463 )
                                             
    Total interest expense     (11,836 )     (11,275 )     (11,685 )     (11,868 )     (10,922 )
                                             
    Net interest income     17,929       17,033       16,374       15,431       15,117  
                                             
    Provision for credit losses on loans     (300 )     (455 )     (250 )     (675 )     (275 )
    Net benefit (provision) for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments     (20 )     85       85       (135 )     (140 )
    Non-interest income     5,359       4,973       4,847       4,979       4,615  
    Non-interest expense     (14,710 )     (14,554 )     (14,395 )     (13,840 )     (13,616 )
                                             
    Income before income taxes     8,258       7,082       6,661       5,760       5,701  
                                             
    Provision for income taxes     (1,337 )     (1,091 )     (826 )     (793 )     (766 )
    Net income   $ 6,921     $ 5,991     $ 5,835     $ 4,967     $ 4,935  
    FIDELITY D & D BANCORP, INC.
    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (dollars in thousands)    		  
    At Period End:   Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Assets                                        
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 165,495     $ 211,195     $ 83,353     $ 120,169     $ 78,085  
    Investment securities     545,821       540,960       557,221       559,819       552,495  
    Restricted investments in bank stock     4,240       4,021       3,961       3,944       3,968  
    Loans and leases     1,837,477       1,817,509       1,800,856       1,795,548       1,728,509  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans     (19,976 )     (20,017 )     (19,666 )     (19,630 )     (18,975 )
    Premises and equipment, net     40,097       34,995       35,914       36,057       35,808  
    Life insurance cash surrender value     58,849       58,458       58,069       57,672       57,278  
    Goodwill and core deposit intangible     20,364       20,431       20,504       20,576       20,649  
    Other assets     46,208       43,758       44,404       41,778       42,828  
                                             
    Total assets   $ 2,698,575     $ 2,711,310     $ 2,584,616     $ 2,615,933     $ 2,500,645  
                                             
    Liabilities                                        
    Non-interest-bearing deposits   $ 558,074     $ 555,684     $ 533,935     $ 549,710     $ 527,572  
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,877,254       1,901,775       1,806,885       1,792,796       1,641,558  
    Total deposits     2,435,328       2,457,459       2,340,820       2,342,506       2,169,130  
    Short-term borrowings     10       10       –       25,000       98,120  
    Secured borrowings     6,134       6,190       6,266       6,323       7,237  
    Other liabilities     39,191       35,977       33,561       34,843       30,466  
    Total liabilities     2,480,663       2,499,636       2,380,647       2,408,672       2,304,953  
                                             
    Shareholders’ equity     217,912       211,674       203,969       207,261       195,692  
                                             
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,698,575     $ 2,711,310     $ 2,584,616     $ 2,615,933     $ 2,500,645  
    Average Quarterly Balances:   Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Assets                                        
    Cash and cash equivalents   $ 161,316     $ 97,384     $ 67,882     $ 41,991     $ 58,351  
    Investment securities     546,149       557,726       560,453       554,578       551,445  
    Restricted investments in bank stock     4,158       3,973       3,957       3,965       3,983  
    Loans and leases     1,832,162       1,813,040       1,797,023       1,763,254       1,707,598  
    Allowance for credit losses on loans     (20,357 )     (20,019 )     (20,050 )     (19,323 )     (19,171 )
    Premises and equipment, net     35,954       35,722       36,065       36,219       35,433  
    Life insurance cash surrender value     58,697       58,307       57,919       57,525       55,552  
    Goodwill and core deposit intangible     20,386       20,459       20,529       20,602       20,677  
    Other assets     42,729       43,177       41,454       41,734       42,960  
                                             
    Total assets   $ 2,681,194     $ 2,609,769     $ 2,565,232     $ 2,500,545     $ 2,456,828  
                                             
    Liabilities                                        
    Non-interest-bearing deposits   $ 547,278     $ 533,286     $ 538,506     $ 522,827     $ 530,048  
    Interest-bearing deposits     1,878,548       1,826,957       1,769,265       1,702,187       1,670,211  
    Total deposits     2,425,826       2,360,243       2,307,771       2,225,014       2,200,259  
    Short-term borrowings     10       22       10,326       37,220       28,477  
    Secured borrowings     6,162       6,226       6,297       6,429       7,269  
    Other liabilities     36,050       34,937       34,695       31,999       30,734  
    Total liabilities     2,468,048       2,401,428       2,359,089       2,300,662       2,266,739  
                                             
    Shareholders’ equity     213,146       208,341       206,143       199,883       190,089  
                                             
    Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $ 2,681,194     $ 2,609,769     $ 2,565,232     $ 2,500,545     $ 2,456,828  
    FIDELITY D & D BANCORP, INC.
    Selected Financial Ratios and Other Financial Data
        Three Months Ended  
        Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Selected returns and financial ratios                                        
    Basic earnings per share   $ 1.20     $ 1.04     $ 1.02     $ 0.87     $ 0.86  
    Diluted earnings per share   $ 1.20     $ 1.03     $ 1.01     $ 0.86     $ 0.86  
    Dividends per share   $ 0.40     $ 0.40     $ 0.40     $ 0.38     $ 0.38  
    Yield on interest-earning assets (FTE)*     4.77 %     4.73 %     4.68 %     4.68 %     4.58 %
    Cost of interest-bearing liabilities     2.52 %     2.49 %     2.60 %     2.70 %     2.58 %
    Cost of funds     1.95 %     1.93 %     2.00 %     2.08 %     1.96 %
    Net interest spread (FTE)*     2.25 %     2.24 %     2.08 %     1.98 %     2.00 %
    Net interest margin (FTE)*     2.92 %     2.89 %     2.78 %     2.70 %     2.71 %
    Return on average assets     1.04 %     0.93 %     0.90 %     0.79 %     0.81 %
    Pre-provision net revenue to average assets*     1.28 %     1.16 %     1.06 %     1.05 %     1.00 %
    Return on average equity     13.02 %     11.66 %     11.26 %     9.89 %     10.44 %
    Return on average tangible equity*     14.40 %     12.93 %     12.50 %     11.02 %     11.72 %
    Efficiency ratio (FTE)*     61.17 %     61.67 %     65.48 %     65.33 %     66.47 %
    Expense ratio     1.40 %     1.37 %     1.48 %     1.41 %     1.47 %
        Six months ended  
        Jun. 30, 2025     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Basic earnings per share   $ 2.24     $ 1.74  
    Diluted earnings per share   $ 2.23     $ 1.73  
    Dividends per share   $ 0.80     $ 0.76  
    Yield on interest-earning assets (FTE)*     4.75 %     4.55 %
    Cost of interest-bearing liabilities     2.51 %     2.54 %
    Cost of funds     1.94 %     1.95 %
    Net interest spread (FTE)*     2.24 %     2.01 %
    Net interest margin (FTE)*     2.91 %     2.70 %
    Return on average assets     0.98 %     0.82 %
    Pre-provision net revenue to average assets*     1.22 %     0.98 %
    Return on average equity     12.35 %     10.57 %
    Return on average tangible equity*     13.68 %     11.87 %
    Efficiency ratio (FTE)*     61.42 %     67.01 %
    Expense ratio     1.38 %     1.49 %
    Other financial data   At period end:  
    (dollars in thousands except per share data)   Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    Assets under management   $ 1,030,268     $ 955,647     $ 921,994     $ 942,190     $ 906,861  
    Book value per share   $ 37.78     $ 36.70     $ 35.56     $ 36.13     $ 34.12  
    Tangible book value per share*   $ 34.25     $ 33.16     $ 31.98     $ 32.55     $ 30.52  
    Equity to assets     8.08 %     7.81 %     7.89 %     7.92 %     7.83 %
    Tangible common equity ratio*     7.38 %     7.11 %     7.16 %     7.19 %     7.06 %
    Allowance for credit losses on loans to:                                        
    Total loans     1.09 %     1.10 %     1.09 %     1.09 %     1.10 %
    Non-accrual loans   6.50x     3.36x     2.68x     2.77x     2.75x  
    Non-accrual loans to total loans     0.17 %     0.33 %     0.41 %     0.39 %     0.40 %
    Non-performing assets to total assets     0.13 %     0.23 %     0.30 %     0.29 %     0.28 %
    Net charge-offs to average total loans     0.05 %     0.02 %     0.03 %     0.02 %     0.03 %
                                             
    Capital Adequacy Ratios                                        
    Total risk-based capital ratio     14.72 %     14.74 %     14.78 %     14.56 %     14.69 %
    Common equity tier 1 risk-based capital ratio     13.57 %     13.57 %     13.60 %     13.38 %     13.52 %
    Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio     13.57 %     13.57 %     13.60 %     13.38 %     13.52 %
    Leverage ratio     9.16 %     9.22 %     9.22 %     9.30 %     9.30 %

    * Non-GAAP Financial Measures – see reconciliations below

    FIDELITY D & D BANCORP, INC.
    Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to GAAP
    Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to GAAP   Three Months Ended  
    (dollars in thousands)   Jun. 30, 2025     Mar. 31, 2025     Dec. 31, 2024     Sep. 30, 2024     Jun. 30, 2024  
    FTE net interest income (non-GAAP)                                        
    Interest income (GAAP)   $ 29,765     $ 28,308     $ 28,059     $ 27,299     $ 26,039  
    Adjustment to FTE     760       771       764       775       751  
    Interest income adjusted to FTE (non-GAAP)     30,525       29,079       28,823       28,074       26,790  
    Interest expense (GAAP)     11,836       11,275       11,685       11,868       10,922  
    Net interest income adjusted to FTE (non-GAAP)   $ 18,689     $ 17,804     $ 17,138     $ 16,206     $ 15,868  
                                             
    Efficiency Ratio (non-GAAP)                                        
    Non-interest expenses (GAAP)   $ 14,710     $ 14,554     $ 14,395     $ 13,840     $ 13,616  
                                             
    Net interest income (GAAP)     17,929       17,033       16,374       15,431       15,117  
    Plus: taxable equivalent adjustment     760       771       764       775       751  
    Non-interest income (GAAP)     5,359       4,973       4,847       4,979       4,615  
    Plus: Loss on sales of securities     –       822       –       –       –  
    Net interest income (FTE) plus adjusted non-interest income (non-GAAP)   $ 24,048     $ 23,599     $ 21,985     $ 21,185     $ 20,483  
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP) (1)     61.17 %     61.67 %     65.47 %     65.33 %     66.48 %
    (1) The reported efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP measure calculated by dividing non-interest expense by the sum of net interest income, on an FTE basis, and adjusted non-interest income.                                        
                                             
    Tangible Book Value per Share/Tangible Common Equity Ratio (non-GAAP)                                        
    Total assets (GAAP)   $ 2,698,575     $ 2,711,310     $ 2,584,616     $ 2,615,933     $ 2,500,645  
    Less: Intangible assets     (20,364 )     (20,431 )     (20,504 )     (20,576 )     (20,649 )
    Tangible assets     2,678,211       2,690,879       2,564,112       2,595,357       2,479,996  
    Total shareholders’ equity (GAAP)     217,912       211,674       203,969       207,261       195,692  
    Less: Intangible assets     (20,364 )     (20,431 )     (20,504 )     (20,576 )     (20,649 )
    Tangible common equity     197,548       191,243       183,465       186,685       175,043  
                                             
    Common shares outstanding, end of period     5,767,490       5,767,500       5,736,252       5,736,025       5,735,728  
    Tangible Common Book Value per Share   $ 34.25     $ 33.16     $ 31.98     $ 32.55     $ 30.52  
    Tangible Common Equity Ratio     7.38 %     7.11 %     7.16 %     7.19 %     7.06 %
                                             
    Pre-Provision Net Revenue to Average Assets                                        
    Income before taxes (GAAP)   $ 8,258     $ 7,082     $ 6,661     $ 5,760     $ 5,701  
    Plus: Provision for credit losses     320       370       165       810       415  
    Total pre-provision net revenue (non-GAAP)     8,578       7,452       6,826       6,570       6,116  
    Total (annualized) (non-GAAP)   $ 34,404     $ 30,220     $ 27,157     $ 26,423     $ 24,600  
                                             
    Average assets   $ 2,681,194     $ 2,609,769     $ 2,565,232     $ 2,500,545     $ 2,456,828  
    Pre-Provision Net Revenue to Average Assets (non-GAAP)     1.28 %     1.16 %     1.06 %     1.05 %     1.00 %
    Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to GAAP   Six months ended  
    (dollars in thousands)   Jun. 30, 2025     Jun. 30, 2024  
    FTE net interest income (non-GAAP)                
    Interest income (GAAP)   $ 58,073     $ 51,665  
    Adjustment to FTE     1,531       1,497  
    Interest income adjusted to FTE (non-GAAP)     59,604       53,162  
    Interest expense (GAAP)     23,111       21,604  
    Net interest income adjusted to FTE (non-GAAP)   $ 36,493       31,558  
                     
    Efficiency Ratio (non-GAAP)                
    Non-interest expenses (GAAP)   $ 29,264     $ 27,306  
                     
    Net interest income (GAAP)     34,962       30,061  
    Plus: taxable equivalent adjustment     1,531       1,497  
    Non-interest income (GAAP)     10,332       9,188  
    Plus: Loss on sales of securities     822       –  
    Net interest income (FTE) plus non-interest income (non-GAAP)   $ 47,647     $ 40,746  
    Efficiency ratio (non-GAAP) (1)     61.42 %     67.01 %
    (1) The reported efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP measure calculated by dividing non-interest expense by the sum of net interest income, on an FTE basis, and adjusted non-interest (loss) income.                
                     
    Pre-Provision Net Revenue to Average Assets                
    Income before taxes (GAAP)   $ 15,340     $ 11,453  
    Plus: Provision for credit losses     690       490  
    Total pre-provision net revenue (non-GAAP)   $ 16,030     $ 11,943  
    Total (annualized) (non-GAAP)   $ 32,326     $ 23,951  
                     
    Average assets   $ 2,645,679     $ 2,453,998  
    Pre-Provision Net Revenue to Average Assets (non-GAAP)     1.22 %     0.98 %
       
    Contacts:  
    Daniel J. Santaniello Salvatore R. DeFrancesco, Jr.
    President and Chief Executive Officer Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
    570-504-8035 570-504-8000

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Indonesian military set to complete Trans-Papua Highway under Prabowo’s rule

    By Julian Isaac

    The Indonesian Military (TNI) is committed to supporting the completion of the Trans-Papua Highway during President Prabowo Subianto’s term in office.

    While the military is not involved in construction, it plays a critical role in securing the project from threats posed by pro-independence Papuan resistance groups in “high-risk” regions.

    Spanning a total length of 4330 km, the Trans-Papua road project has been under development since 2014.

    However, only 3446 km of the national road network has been connected after more than a decade of construction.

    “Don’t compare Papua with Jakarta, where there are no armed groups. Papua is five times the size of Java, and not all areas are secure,” TNI spokesman Major-General Kristomei Sianturi told a media conference at the Ministry of Public Works on Monday.

    One of the currently active segments is the Jayapura–Wamena route — specifically the Mamberamo–Elim section, which stretches 50 km.

    The project is being carried out through a public-private partnership and was awarded to PT Hutama Karya, with an investment of Rp3.3 trillion (about US$202 million) and a 15-year concession. The segment is expected to be completed within two years, targeting finalisation next year.

    Security an obstacle
    General Kristomei said that one of the main obstacles was security in the vicinity of construction sites.

    Out of 50 regencies/cities in Papua, at least seven are considered high-risk zones. Since its inception, the Trans-Papua road project has claimed 17 lives, due to clashes in the region.

    In addition to security challenges, the delivery of construction materials remains difficult due to limited infrastructure.

    “Transporting goods from one point to another in Papua is extremely difficult because there are no connecting roads. We’re essentially building from scratch,” General Kristomei said.

    In May 2024, President Joko Widodo convened a limited cabinet meeting at the Merdeka Palace to discuss accelerating development in Papua. The government agreed on the urgent need to improve education, healthcare, and security in the region.

    The Minister of National Development Planning, Suharso Monoarfa, announced that the government would ramp up social welfare programmes in Papua in coordination with then Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin, who chairs the Agency for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy in Papua (BP3OKP).

    ‘Welfare based approaches’
    “We are gradually implementing welfare-based approaches, including improvements in education and health, with budgets already allocated to the relevant ministries and agencies,” Suharso said in May last year.

    As of March 2023, the Indonesian government has disbursed Rp 1,036 trillion for Papua’s development.

    This funding has supported major infrastructure initiatives such as the 3462 km Trans-Papua Highway, 1098 km of border roads, the construction of the 1.3 km Youtefa Bridge in Jayapura, and the renovation of Domine Eduard Osok Airport in Sorong.

    Republished from the Indonesia Business Post.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ASC commissions: letters to Lord Hanson

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Correspondence

    ASC commissions: letters to Lord Hanson

    Letters from the Chair of the Animals in Science Committee to the Lords Minister about timescales and scope for commissioned advice.

    Documents

    Timescales for ASC commissions: letter to Lord Hanson (accessible)

    HTML

    Timescales for ASC commissions: letter to Lord Hanson

    PDF, 114 KB, 2 pages

    Refining the scope for commissioned advice: letter to Lord Hanson (accessible)

    HTML

    Refining the scope for commissioned advice: letter to Lord Hanson

    PDF, 123 KB, 2 pages

    Details

    Dr Sally Robinson, Chair of the Animals in Science Committee, wrote to David Hanson, Lords Minister, on 27 June 2025.

    She provided an update on the committee’s progress with commissioned advice and requested an extension to the deadlines for the commissions on strengthening leading practice, and strengthening the functioning of Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies (AWERBs) and the Named Information Officer (NIO).

    On 8 July 2025, she followed up with proposals for the refined scope of the commission on strengthening the functioning of AWERBs and the NIO.

    Lord Hanson has agreed these changes to the timescales and scope.

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    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: China-Tajikistan Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use Opens in Dushanbe

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

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

    BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) — The China-Tajikistan Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use under the Belt and Road Initiative recently opened in Dushanbe.

    The opening ceremony of the new laboratory took place on Monday in the capital of Tajikistan, the press service of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) reported. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Science and Technology of China Chen Jiachang and President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan (NAS RT) Kobiljon Khushvakhtzoda.

    The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology will work with the Tajik side to promote high-quality laboratory construction by providing political support, training international research teams, and promoting the protection of biological resources and the coordinated development of the industry, Chen Jiachang said in a conversation with researchers from both sides.

    He expressed hope that the laboratory will serve as a model for scientific and technological cooperation between China and Tajikistan and give new impetus to the high-quality development of the Belt and Road.

    The project of the China-Tajikistan joint laboratory was approved on October 14, 2024. Its founders are the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan. The work of the new institution will be aimed at expanding the capabilities of scientific and technological innovation and coordinated development in the fields of biodiversity conservation and ecological services in Central Asian countries, according to a statement published on the website of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography. -0-

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: How can we harness AI to tackle the complexity of disaster risk?

    Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction

    To say that artificial intelligence will reshape the way we live and work is to state the obvious. However, reflecting on its promise and perils for one’s own area of work is quite another matter.

    Earlier this month I had the opportunity to participate in the ITU-hosted ‘AI for Good’ summit in Geneva, where during several sessions we explored the many ways that generative, predictive and integrated AI promises a vast range of benefits for disaster risk reduction and disaster response. Later, in New York, I joined a discussion with students, academics and practitioners at Columbia University’s National Centre for Disaster Preparedness, where I was struck – and greatly encouraged – by the focus on building multidisciplinary approaches to managing increasingly complex and systemic risks.

    What stayed with me was the sense of convergence: the technological leaps in AI are rising to match the complexity of systemic risk.

    Below are five reflections on how we might use AI not only to do more, but to do better.

    One: Let’s start by asking the right questions

    The need for deeper and greater dialogue between producers of solutions and users of such solutions is nothing new – but with AI tools the stakes may be higher, and the opportunities more available.

    Problems once deemed intractable – those requiring swift analysis of vast and varied data drawn from scattered sources – are now within reach. But we need to be prudent in how we allocate our resources towards these new possibilities.

    We could use the new tools to build an AI-based epidemiological model for earthquakes that very rapidly estimates the type and quantum of search-and-rescue and medical needs after a seismic event. We may be able to develop faster ways of alerting lightning-strike-prone communities ahead of electrical storms. We could find ways to rapidly identify sources and control the spread of misinformation to avoid panic during an emergency.

    To decide how and where we employ our new AI toolkits, we must articulate the demand from both disaster risk reduction practitioners and at-risk communities, and prioritize the problems that matter most. 

    Two: We must redefine disaster risk governance for the AI era

    Our systems of risk governance were born in a simpler time, so we need to retrofit them for an AI-enabled future. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are not only going to redefine traditional professions – but also traditional institutions.

    For example, at present, the formal institutions of the state have the authority to issue alerts and ask people to evacuate in the wake of an impending cyclone. We are already beginning to see situations where competing sources of information are sometimes more agile, more nimble, and more accurate. Such developments are likely to displace the traditional state institutions that have the sole authority for actions such as evacuating people in the face of an impending hazardous event. We are going to need to find ways to ensure that decisions are streamlined, but institutional accountability remains in place.

    Authorities must still be held responsible for taking the best possible decisions – whether those decisions are made in data-constrained or data-rich environments. We need to remember that AI is no more than a tool to help us do our jobs better.

    Three: AI will become critical infrastructure

    Yes – AI holds great promise for disaster risk reduction, and for just about every other sector, in many cases being put to good use keeping complex systems flowing smoothly. 

    We need to remember that AI itself relies on infrastructure – data centres, energy infrastructure, digital connectivity infrastructure – and this too needs to be resilient to physical hazards and climate risk. AI infrastructure is growing rapidly, spanning multiple geographies across the world. As a result, it will inevitably be exposed to a range of hazards – many of them increasingly frequent and intense. 

    We must make sure that we plan, locate, design and build AI infrastructure to manage these risks – now and into the future. As we inevitably rely more on AI systems to manage disaster risks, if compromised by disasters, these systems could trigger complex cascading risks leading to potentially catastrophic systemic failure.

    This infrastructure brings sustainability challenges, and, if unmanaged, will create new risks. Data centres consume huge amounts of power and water. As demand for AI grows, we’ll need more investment in green computing and low-resource solutions – including safeguards so that the environmental costs don’t fall on those already bearing the heaviest burdens.

    Four: It’s time to rethink disaster education for an AI era

    Over the past two decades formal disaster risk reduction education has expanded rapidly. 

    In India alone more than two dozen universities or colleges offer Masters’ degrees in disaster risk management. But many of the subjects taught – like multi-sectoral policy analysis for disaster risk reduction; hazard, vulnerability and risk assessment; disaster risk reduction planning; early warning systems – are likely to increasingly be performed by AI. Such programmes will need to equip students to use new tools, and adapt further to future developments.

    These skills must be taught not only at elite institutions – to avoid knowledge inequality we must make sure that access is widespread. This is part of a much broader challenge – those communities that stand to gain the most from AI are those that are currently least served: lacking in connectivity, living in data-poor zones, and whose voices are unrepresented and ignored.

    There are emerging initiatives for public-good AI models that are trained to serve priority needs in vulnerable regions, and these must be supported and encouraged so we can fill those gaps.

    Five: We must keep risk knowledge grounded in people

    There is a deeper issue: If there is one single learning from the practice of disaster risk reduction over the last three decades, it is that disaster risk is socially constructed.

    It’s the behaviour of human beings in social, economic, political and cultural spheres that leads to accumulation of risk in a society. To date the AI use cases for disaster risk reduction are heavily loaded towards understanding, observing and predicting hazards. At best they are focused on forecasting the impacts based on the people, capital assets and economic activity in the path of hazards and how vulnerable they are. It stops well short of helping us understand why they are where they are and why they are fragile in the first place.

    If we are going to use AI to foster the agency of individuals, persons, households, communities, and local governments to take actions that reduce risk – we must target not just short term actions but also long-term development choices. AI can only work with the data it’s given, and risk is often under-represented or misrepresented in marginalized areas. This is both a technical and a social issue: we must make sure that community-generated data feeds into AI-supported solutions, and that all people are given agency to act – and not just to be analyzed.

    We must find ways to use AI to support deeper transformations in our society that lower risk and build resilience for all. If we fail to do this our efforts will be focused largely on more efficient band-aids.

    AI opens up powerful new possibilities for disaster risk reduction. But real progress won’t come from algorithms alone. It will come from asking better questions, forging stronger partnerships, and keeping justice, equity, and long-term resilience at the core of our innovation.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI: Waldencast Acquires Novaestiq Corp. and U.S. Rights to Leading Injectable Hyaluronic Acid Gel Line, Saypha®, Under the Obagi Medical Brand

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Acquisition strengthens Obagi Medical’s product portfolio with proven, scientifically backed, injectable portfolio

    New products position Obagi Medical at the forefront of health, beauty and aesthetics convergence

    LONDON, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Waldencast plc (NASDAQ: WALD) (“Waldencast”), a global multi-brand beauty and wellness platform, today announced that it has acquired Novaestiq Corp. (Novaestiq), a growth-oriented aesthetic and medical dermatological innovations company, as well as the U.S. rights to the Saypha® line of hyaluronic acid (HA) injectable gels. The strategic acquisition expands Obagi Medical’s offerings beyond U.S. medical-grade skincare, a market projected to be $2.2 billion by 2029, into the growing U.S. dermal filler market, projected to reach $2 billion in market size by 2029, effectively doubling its addressable market.1 The move marks a pivotal step in positioning Obagi Medical as an industry leader in integrated skincare and aesthetic solutions.

    “We are excited to further diversify Obagi Medical’s portfolio of medical-grade skincare with consumer centric, in-office injectable procedures through the introduction of the Obagi Medical Saypha® ChIQ™ and MagIQ™ lines of injectable HA gels,” said Michel Brousset, Co-Founder and CEO of Waldencast. “Adding proven products into our portfolio increases our addressable market and allows us to deliver solutions for professionals and patients seeking both skincare and aesthetic treatments, all under the trusted Obagi Medical brand.”

    Obagi Medical’s philosophy advocates for a holistic, science-driven approach where potent skincare and professional procedures work in tandem to achieve and maintain optimal skin health and a youthful appearance. These injectable products will play a pivotal role in the evolution of Obagi Medical into an end-to-end, synergistic solution that integrates medical-grade skincare with aesthetic treatments to deliver enhanced outcomes, prolonged results, and greater patient satisfaction. Beyond the two current offerings, the Novaestiq transaction provides access to a future pipeline of novel injectables in North America.

    Saypha®,2 currently undergoing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, is recognized globally as a proven, safe and efficacious HA injectable with high levels of patient satisfaction. The new Obagi Medical injectable portfolio is supported by an industry-leading clinical program that reflects the brand’s commitment to science-backed innovation. Core pivotal studies are more than twice the size of typical nasolabial fold (NLF) and midface trials and include the highest representation of Fitzpatrick Skin Types I, V, and VI – underscoring Obagi Medical’s mission to provide effective solutions for all skin types and tones.

    Saypha® is distinguished by its proprietary technology delivering advanced HA treatments through a stable 3D matrix designed to provide natural-looking results with optimally balanced gel characteristics. This technology powers a portfolio of clinically proven products that lead in multiple performance categories including high HA content at injection, ideal gel distribution, and consistent injection force and swelling behavior. Saypha®, a product of Croma-Pharma GmbH, is developed and manufactured in Austria and marketed in over 80 countries, leveraging 40 years of expertise in HA-based treatments with more than 110 million syringes produced. This global reach and deep market insight allow for the delivery of trusted, personalized care to patients and professionals worldwide.

    “We believe that great results start with great skincare and are perfected with great after care,” said Dr. Suzan Obagi, Chief Medical Director at Obagi Medical. “By combining Obagi Medical skincare with injectable procedures under the guidance of a qualified professional, patients can achieve more significant, longer-lasting, and natural-looking results. This acquisition also allows our professionals to offer patients more personalized, higher quality and safer products that their customers are looking for.”

    Obagi Medical’s vision is to become the #1 Dermatological Mega Brand uniquely serving all the needs of physicians, patients and consumers globally. It is already the fastest-growing U.S. professional-skincare brand among the top ten in its category.3 This momentum is powered by a three-pronged strategy: anchoring products in dermatological science, introducing breakthrough innovations, and expanding its global reach.

    Brousset added, “We are thrilled to introduce this new offering that will strengthen Obagi Medical’s market position, drive innovation, and create new growth opportunities in our fast-evolving industry. We see an accelerating global convergence of health, beauty, and aesthetics – an intersection where Obagi Medical is uniquely positioned to lead. We also plan to leverage this acquisition to expand Obagi Medical’s footprint.”

    Transaction Details
    Under the terms of the definitive agreement relating to the transaction, Waldencast has agreed to acquire Novaestiq in exchange for (1) certain amount of cash payable at closing, (2) certain additional ongoing royalties based on net sales of Saypha® products, and (3) the contingent issuance of Waldencast class A shares (equal to approximately 7% of Waldencast’s fully diluted class A shares), based on the receipt of FDA approval relating to the Saypha® products (triggering the issuance of 3,273,000 Waldencast class A shares) and the achievement of cumulative net revenue thresholds of (a) $100 million (triggering the issuance of an additional 3,273,000 Waldencast class A shares) and (b) $200 million (triggering the further issuance of 3,273,000 Waldencast class A shares), respectively, reflecting meaningful long-term commercial targets, with (a) and (b) being earnable until June 20, 2031. The details of the transaction will be summarized in more detail in a Form 6-K that Waldencast will file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) following this press release.

    About Waldencast
    Founded by Michel Brousset and Hind Sebti, Waldencast’s ambition is to build a global best-in-class beauty and wellness operating platform by developing, acquiring, accelerating, and scaling conscious, high-growth purpose-driven brands. Waldencast’s vision is fundamentally underpinned by its brand-led business model that ensures proximity to its customers, business agility, and market responsiveness, while maintaining each brand’s distinct DNA. The first step in realizing its vision was the business combination with Obagi Medical and Milk Makeup. As part of the Waldencast platform, its brands will benefit from the operational scale of a multi-brand platform; the expertise in managing global beauty brands at scale; a balanced portfolio to mitigate category fluctuations; asset light efficiency; and the market responsiveness and speed of entrepreneurial indie brands. For more information please visit: https://ir.waldencast.com/.

    About Obagi Medical
    Obagi Medical is an industry-leading, advanced skincare line rooted in research and skin biology, with a legacy of 35+ years of experience. Initially known for its leadership in the treatment of hyperpigmentation with the Obagi Nu-Derm® System, Obagi Medical products are designed to address a variety of skin concerns, including premature aging, photodamage, skin discoloration, acne, and sun damage. As the fastest-growing professional skincare brand in the U.S. in 2024,3 Obagi Medical empowers individuals to achieve healthy, beautiful skin. More information about Obagi is available on the brand’s website, https://www.obagi.com.

    1In preparing for this transaction, Waldencast engaged management consulting services from a reputed global consulting firm. 2Saypha® products are not approved medical devices, and each product has a premarket approval (PMA) application under review by the FDA. 3Among the Top 10 Professional Skin Care Brands in the U.S., according to Kline’s 2024 Global Professional Skin Care Series (China, Europe and the U.S.).

    Advisors
    Holland & Knight LLP is serving as Waldencast’s legal advisor, with support from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Experium Capital Advisers is serving as Waldencast’s financial advisor.

    Forward-Looking Statements
    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the intended benefits of the transaction with Novaestiq, the ability to obtain FDA approval for Saypha®, the contingent issuance of Waldencast class A shares, and the growth strategies of Waldencast, including Obagi Medical and Novaestiq. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “estimates,” “projects,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “future,” “propose,” “target,” “goal,” “objective,” “outlook” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the control of Waldencast, Obagi Medical and Novaestiq that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include, but are not limited to: (i) the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the transaction; (ii) the inability to obtain FDA approval for one or both of the Saypha® products; (iii) the general impact of geopolitical events, including the impact of current wars, conflicts and other hostilities; (iv) the overall economic and market conditions, sales forecasts and other information about Waldencast’s possible or assumed future results of operations or our performance; (v) changes in general economic conditions; (vi) the impact of any international trade or foreign exchange restrictions, the imposition of new or increased tariffs, foreign currency exchange fluctuations; (vii) that the price of Waldencast’s securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including Waldencast’s, Obagi Medical’s or Novaestiq’s inability to implement their business plans; and (viii) the ability to implement Waldencast’s strategic initiatives and continue to innovate Obagi Medical’s existing products and anticipate and respond to market trends and changes in consumer preferences. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of Waldencast’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 20, 2025, or in other documents that may be filed or furnished by Waldencast from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Waldencast assumes no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

    Contacts

    Investors
    ICR
    investors@waldencast.com

    Media
    ICR
    waldencast@icrinc.com

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Canada contributes CAD 250,000 for food, animal and plant health standards

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Canada contributes CAD 250,000 for food, animal and plant health standards

    WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed Canada’s donation: “Compliance with international standards enhances food security in both importing and exporting countries by facilitating trade in agricultural products. The long-term impact of STDF-related programs will benefit producers, traders and governments along global and regional value chains, helping them raise export revenues, income levels and living standards. The STDF will continue to facilitate inclusive and safe trade worldwide, in close partnership with Canada.”
    Heath MacDonald, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said: “The Government of Canada will continue to support global efforts to adopt international standards for food safety and animal and plant health. Investing in larger-scale capacity building projects, like the Standards and Trade Development Facility, will help improve food security, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable economic growth around the world.”
    Beyond participation in the STDF Working Group, Canadian officials have shared expertise to strengthen the delivery of STDF projects. This includes innovative projects to pilot the use of Codex Guidelines on voluntary third-party assurance programmes (vTPA) in Africa and Central America for more effective risk-based food safety systems. For instance, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) hosted a learning visit for regulators from Honduras and Belize in 2024, and co-organized webinars in March and April 2025 attended by more than 100 experts, many in Africa, to share insights from Canada’s risk-based food safety model. Additionally, the CFIA will host a learning visit for regulators from Rwanda and Uganda in September 2025, as a follow up to the April 2025 webinar and to further share information on this model.  
    This donation underscores Canada’s major and long-standing commitment to the STDF’s programme goal, bringing its total contributions to CHF 7.6 million since 2005.
    Canada has contributed over CHF 15 million to WTO trust funds over the past 23 years.
    The STDF is a global multi-stakeholder partnership that promotes safe and inclusive trade. It was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the WTO, which houses and manages the partnership.
    In support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the STDF responds to evolving SPS needs, drives inclusive trade and contributes to sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, food security and resilience to climate change.
    Developing economies and least developed countries are encouraged to apply to the STDF for SPS project and project preparation grants. Information on how to apply is available here.
    To date, the STDF has funded over 260 safe trade projects benefiting developing and least developed country economies.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Gaza: As starvation spreads, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away – joint statement

    Source: Amnesty International –

    As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.

    Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, 109 organisations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a ceasefire now.

    “Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” said one agency representative. 

    Massacres at food distribution sites in Gaza are occurring near-daily. As of July 13, the UN confirmed 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the rest at distribution points. Thousands more have been injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on July 20, confining Palestinians to less than 12 per cent of Gaza. WFP warns that current conditions make operations untenable. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime. 

    Just outside Gaza, in warehouses – and even within Gaza itself – tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organisations blocked from accessing or delivering them. The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death. An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: “Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.” 

    Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and older people. Illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distributions in Gaza average just 28 trucks a day, far from enough for over two million people, many of whom have gone weeks without assistance.

    The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning. 

    Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale. But, with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams. On July 10, the EU and Israel announced steps to scale up aid. But these promises of ‘progress’ ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive. 

    Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions. It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.

    Governments must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that current arrangements will work. It is time to take decisive action: demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organisations. States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition. 

    Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures, like airdrops or flawed aid deals, serve as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace states’ legal and moral obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. States can and must save lives before there are none left to save.

    Signatories: 

    1. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
    2. A.M. Qattan Foundation
    3. A New Policy
    4. ACT Alliance
    5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
    6. Action for Humanity
    7. ActionAid International
    8. American Baptist Churches Palestine Justice Network
    9. Amnesty International
    10. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
    11. Associazione Cooperazione e Solidarietà (ACS)
    12. Bystanders No More
    13. Campain
    14. CARE 
    15. Caritas Germany
    16. Caritas Internationalis
    17. Caritas Jerusalem
    18. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
    19. Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
    20. CESVI Fondazione
    21. Children Not Numbers
    22. Christian Aid
    23. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
    24. CIDSE- International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
    25. Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS)
    26. Council for Arab‑British Understanding (CAABU)
    27. DanChurchAid (DCA)
    28. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
    29. Doctors against Genocide
    30. Episcopal Peace Fellowship
    31. EuroMed Rights
    32. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
    33. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V.
    34. Gender Action for Peace and Security
    35. Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
    36. Global Witness
    37. Health Workers 4 Palestine
    38. HelpAge International
    39. Humanity & Inclusion (HI)
    40. Humanity First UK
    41. Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
    42. Insight Insecurity
    43. International Media Support
    44. International NGO Safety Organisation
    45. Islamic Relief
    46. Jahalin Solidarity
    47. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
    48. Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Professionals (KAMMP)
    49. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
    50. MedGlobal
    51. Medico International
    52. Medico International Switzerland (medico international schweiz)
    53. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
    54. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
    55. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
    56. Médecins du Monde France
    57. Médecins du Monde Spain
    58. Médecins du Monde Switzerland
    59. Mercy Corps
    60. Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
    61. Movement for Peace (MPDL)
    62. Muslim Aid
    63. National Justice and Peace Network in England and Wales
    64. Nonviolence International
    65. Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC)
    66. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
    67. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
    68. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
    69. Oxfam International
    70. Pax Christi England and Wales
    71. Pax Christi International
    72. Pax Christi Merseyside
    73. Pax Christi USA
    74. Pal Law Commission
    75. Palestinian American Medical Association
    76. Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
    77. Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS)
    78. Peace Direct
    79. Peace Winds
    80. Pediatricians for Palestine
    81. People in Need
    82. Plan International
    83. Première Urgence Internationale (PUI)
    84. Progettomondo
    85. Project HOPE
    86. Quaker Palestine Israel Network
    87. Rebuilding Alliance
    88. Saferworld
    89. Sabeel‑Kairos UK
    90. Save the Children (SCI)
    91. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
    92. Solidarités International
    93. Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina
    94. Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER)
    95. Terre des Hommes Italia
    96. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
    97. Terre des Hommes Nederland
    98. The Borgen Project
    99. The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
    100. The Glia Project
    101. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
    102. The Institute for the Understanding of Anti‑Palestinian Racism
    103. Un Ponte Per (UPP)
    104. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
    105. War Child Alliance
    106. War Child UK
    107. War on Want
    108. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.
    109. Welthungerhilfe (WHH)

     

    MIL OSI NGO –