NewzIntel.com

Category: Scandinavia

  • MIL-OSI China: Europe urged to diversify trade markets over US tariff coercion, supply chains disruption

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

    As Washington presses ahead with additional tariffs on products from the European Union (EU) and beyond, European officials and experts are urging the diversification of trade markets to mitigate the damage that such coercive financial statecraft is inflicting on global supply chains.

    TARIFF GAME SETTING OFF CHAIN REACTION

    U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday that his administration would impose 30 percent tariffs on EU and Mexican exports, arguing that bilateral trade had long been unbalanced and lacked reciprocity.

    Trucks wait to enter the Container Terminal Tollerort in Hamburg, Germany, May 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

    The Irish Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald described the tariff threat as “volatile” and “not helpful at all.” “That poses a challenge for Ireland, for Europe, for the world,” she told Xinhua at a press conference in London.

    Countries across Europe have been warning about the impact of the seemingly unrelenting tariff assaults on their economies.

    The Bank of Slovenia estimated that U.S. tariffs could indirectly disrupt the broader European value chain and impact about 15,000 jobs in Slovenia, a significant number in a country of just 2.1 million people.

    The Bank of England also said in its latest Financial Stability Report that the global economy faces rising downside risks, citing U.S. tariffs, and despite a new trade agreement between Britain and the United States in May, a further escalation in trade disputes globally could amplify financial stress and drag on economic growth in Britain.

    Companies of all sizes, from those exporting to the U.S. to manufacturers heavily reliant on global supply chains, are feeling the strain that the tariffs are placing on their operations.

    Neb Chupin, founder of Croatia’s Hermes International, a successful fig jam producer in the U.S. market, said, “With 10 percent tariffs, we are losing about 20,000 U.S. dollars a week. What would happen with 30 or even 50 percent tariffs? I cannot even sleep at night as the situation is very unstable.”

    With 40 percent of exports going to the U.S., Finland’s pharmaceutical industry could also be severely affected by potential U.S. tariffs. Johanna Sipola, deputy CEO of Keskuskauppakamari, or the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, called the tariffs “unrealistic” and warned that the greater risk is the uncertainty they create.

    “If the tariffs were implemented, the repercussions for international pharmaceutical production would be significant. The industry’s delivery chains are unusually global, and even minor disruptions can trigger substantial changes in medicine prices and demand,” Sipola said.

    Beyond the immediate effects, the high-stakes tariff game is setting off a chain reaction across global supply chains and geopolitical dynamics.

    Gavran Igor, an economic analyst from Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the longer-term impact of the tariffs could prove even more damaging for Balkan manufacturers that are integrated into EU-based industries, particularly automotive supply chains.

    Czech Republic’s Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said that exports to the United States account for less than 3 percent of the country’s total exports. However, the country would also be indirectly affected through its European partners who purchase Czech goods and components.

    STRENGTHENING COOPERATION WITH MULTI-PARTNERS URGED

    Inevitably, even countries with modest trade ties to the world’s largest economy can still feel the ripple effects of Washington’s unpredictability. In response, experts recommend that European nations broaden their trade partnerships, especially with China, Southeast Asia and other regions.

    “Europe must, in the long term, become more independent from the American market. A joint free trade zone with the ASEAN countries and the rapid ratification of the agreement with Mercosur are urgently needed,” Dirk Jandura, president of the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services, said in a statement after Trump’s new tariff announcement.

    Mario Boselli, chairman of the Italy China Council Foundation, said that the shifting dynamics might prompt Europe to reconsider its external economic strategy. In his view, strengthening cooperation with China is a “highly strategic choice.”

    “If economies, like the EU, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil and India, keep global trade open, the U.S. tariffs’ impact on global supply chains will be lower. That’s the opportunity,” said Carlo Altomonte, associate professor of the Department of Social and Political Sciences of Bocconi University in Milan.

    Martin Geissler, Partner at the management consultancy Advyce & Company, echoed the suggestions by sharing Germany’s auto industry as an example. “German automakers have often not yet recognized the growth prospects that exist in Africa and many emerging countries,” Geissler said, contrasting this with China’s strategic engagement with multi-partners.

    Bernardo Mendia, Secretary General of the Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is leading a Portuguese delegation to the ongoing China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.

    A key factor driving Portugal’s participation this year, in his words, is the rise of protectionism, logistical disruptions and geopolitical shifts. In the face of these challenges, China offers a distinctive platform to develop innovative solutions, business models, and collaborative partnerships, he said.

    Looking ahead, experts believe that Washington’s trade policies could ultimately backfire on the U.S. economy itself.

    “The U.S. needs many of our industrial products, which cannot be easily replaced in the short term. This allows German manufacturers of these goods to largely pass on the tariffs in their prices to the detriment of the U.S. economy,” said Juergen Matthes, head of International Economic Policy, Financial and Real Estate Markets Research Unit at the German Economic Institute. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Big milestone for the future of quantum computing. We are delivering the world’s first operational deployment of a Level 2 quantum computer, powered by our stack and in partnership with Atom Computing. Congrats to EIFO, Novo Nordisk Foundation and QuNorth.

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Big milestone for the future of quantum computing. We are delivering the world’s first operational deployment of a Level 2 quantum computer, powered by our stack and in partnership with Atom Computing. Congrats to EIFO, Novo Nordisk Foundation and QuNorth.

    Powerful things can happen when Nordic vision and global collaboration come together. Today, Denmark’s – and Europe’s – quantum ambitions take a bold step forward with the launch of QuNorth. In this new initiative, the EIFO and Novo Nordisk Foundation together invest €80 million to establish QuNorth. Its mission is to acquire, build and operate the world’s most powerful commercial quantum computer. This computer will be called Magne, inspired by a figure of strength in Norse mythology.  We are so proud that this computer will be delivered by Microsoft and Atom Computing and that Magne will be the first operational deployment anywhere in the world of a Level 2 machine powered by logical qubits. This is a milestone moment for the quantum industry as we step past the era of Level 1 NISQ machines and into a new era of increasingly powerful reliable quantum computation. I am also proud that our partnership with QuNorth reflects trust in Microsoft’s quantum expertise and exemplifies our deep roots and commitment to Denmark, the Nordic region, and Europe’s success. It mirrors our mission to help develop vibrant quantum ecosystems through technology-forward investments. Magne will provide quantum startups, academic and research institutions, and the private sector with the latest quantum capabilities, which promise to accelerate innovation and drive further economic growth. At Microsoft, we stand behind milestones like this that represent what we deeply value: advancing technology in ways that matter for our partners and that enable further innovation. QuNorth and Magne are clear examples of what can be achieved when the right people, institutions and ideas come together. I am excited to see QuNorth and Magne come to life over the coming months! #QuantumComputing #Innovation #Microsoft #MicrosoftQuantum #Magne

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Human Rights Committee Closes One Hundred and Forty-Fourth Session

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Human Rights Committee this afternoon closed its one hundred and forty-fourth session in Geneva after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Latvia, North Macedonia, Spain and Viet Nam, which were reviewed during the session.

    Changrok Soh, Committee Chairperson, said the Committee had come to the end of a productive session and commended the Committee members for their commitment and professionalism.  The Committee had held constructive dialogues with Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Latvia, North Macedonia, Spain and Viet Nam.   The concluding observations would be issued on the Committee’s webpage later today. 

    Mr. Soh said also during the session, the Committee adopted nine lists of issues prior to reporting related to Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Denmark, Ghana, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Sweden and Switzerland.

    On individual communications, the Committee considered 22 drafts, including one draft decision prepared in accordance with the simplified format adopted by the Committee at its one hundred and fortieth session. The drafts related to 51 communications: 26 were decided on the merits, 12 communications were declared inadmissible, and 13 communications were discontinued.  Regarding the communications decided on the merits, the Committee found violations in 25 of them.

    The Committee also adopted the follow up report on concluding observations of Armenia and Germany. 

    Mr. Soh said the Committee’s one hundred and forty-fifth session was scheduled to take place in March 2026, instead of October 2025 as originally planned, due to the financial crisis.  The Committee greatly regretted the cancellation of the October session, which was unprecedented in the Committee’s 50-year history.  As a result, the Committee had convened an emergency meeting with States parties at this session and he expressed appreciation for the 60 States that had attended and were committed to finding solutions which enabled the Committee to fulfil its mandate.   

    At its next session from 2 to 19 March 2026, the Committee is scheduled to review the periodic reports of Andorra, Canada, Chad, Republic of Moldova and Slovakia, and adopt lists of issues prior to reporting on Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Czechia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hungary, Mexico and Senegal, as well as the list of issues on Rwanda.

    In closing, Mr. Soh expressed appreciation to members of the bureau as well as the members of the Secretariat, the Petitions Section, United Nations entities, civil society and all those who made the session possible. 

    Before the meeting closed, several Committee Members took the floor, discussing the unique and challenging situation which the Committee had found itself in, and the impact that the financial crisis had on the work of the Committee.  Despite the constraints, the current session had still been productive, and the Committee would continue to strive to ensure the human rights of people all around the world.  Experts thanked all those responsible for the success of the current session.  It was hoped Member States could come together to solve the current challenges, and that all sessions could take place next year as planned. 

    The Committee’s next session is scheduled to be held from 2 to 19 March 2026, during which it will review the reports of Andorra, Canada, Chad, Republic of Moldova and Slovakia.

    ___________

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media; 
    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

    CCPR25.019E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Danish Presidency debriefs EP committees on priorities

    Source: European Parliament

    Denmark holds the Presidency of the Council until the end of 2025. This text will be updated regularly as the hearings take place.

    Agriculture and Rural Development Committee

    On 15 July, Jacob Jensen, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, said that the Presidency will focus on easing the administrative burden for farmers while continuing to promote the green transition and animal welfare. Concluding the current negotiations on the common agricultural policy (CAP) simplification package and starting discussions on the post-2027 CAP will also be priorities.

    Several MEPs called for fair conditions between farmers inside and outside the EU in connection with the Mercosur Agreement and animal welfare. They asked how the presidency will help guarantee the EU’s protein and fertiliser self-sufficiency and support organic farmers. Others raised the issue of ensuring that the green transition does not compromise the agriculture sector’s sustainability.

    Regional Development Committee

    On 15 July, Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre argued that cohesion policy should continue to play a crucial role in the EU budget, as the Presidency works on proposals for the next multiannual financial framework (MFF). She said that funding should also support competitiveness and be flexible in the face of unexpected events. Ms Bjerre highlighted the need to strengthen rule of law conditionality in the allocation of EU funds.

    MEPs agreed on the need to modernise cohesion policy and make it more flexible, but asked for the Presidency’s support in defending the policy’s core purpose – reducing inequalities between regions – and the role of regions and local authorities.

    Legal Affairs Committee

    On 15 July, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard stressed the need to boost EU competitiveness but also to protect common values while advancing the green and digital transition. He committed to make progress on draft bills on the protection of adults and insolvency, while promoting rules on parenthood.

    Morten Bødskov, Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, will strive to simplify existing rules for the benefit of EU businesses in the upcoming negotiations on sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations. Mr Bødskov also intends to advance the patent package and the “28th regime” initiative (a single set of EU rules to support innovation).

    MEPs inquired about plans to strengthen the rule of law, fight illegal migration and improve licensing, considering the planned withdrawal of the proposal on standard essential patents. They also asked for work to move ahead on the special tribunal for the crime of aggression, for measures to ensure that simplification does not lead to deregulation, and for efforts to balance rights and copyright in the context of new technologies.

    Foreign Affairs Committee

    On 15 July, European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre said that the Presidency wants to advance EU accession negotiations with all candidate countries. She also added that the EU must act more independently to ensure its security. The dialogue with Türkiye will continue, but its accession negotiations will remain on hold.

    MEPs called for more support for some candidate countries on their EU path. They also enquired on possible new strategic partners for the EU, given recent developments in relations with the US, and called for the deepening of relations with Latin America. They also asked what steps the Presidency intends to take to help the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

    Environment, Climate Change and Food Safety Committee

    On 15 July, Jacob Jensen, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, highlighted the need to simplify EU legislation for farmers and food producers, and to promote innovation through tools such as new genomic techniques, on which the Presidency aims to strike a deal with Parliament. He stressed the importance of making the EU’s agri-food sector more competitive while maintaining high standards of sustainability and food safety. Other priorities include an EU strategy for plant-based proteins, animal welfare, and action to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

    MEPs raised questions about the future of the CAP, demanding greater fairness, increased support for smaller farms, and clear targets for pesticide reduction. MEPs also enquired about trade agreements, such as with Mercosur, and a possible ban on PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).

    Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, stressed the importance of reaching an agreement on the EU 2040 climate target, to offer clear guidance for climate action, investment, and industrial competitiveness. He underlined the need for an agreement before the COP30 in Brazil on 10–21 November 2025, to show EU leadership and unity.

    Some MEPs raised concerns about energy affordability and the social impact of the new emissions trading system, while others stressed excessive flexibility would undermine the 2040 target.

    Civil liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee

    On 15 July, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the Presidency would prioritise work on the fight against serious cross-border and organised crime, action to improve victims’ rights, and police cooperation to counter migrant smuggling. The Presidency will also advance work on the directive and regulation to combat child sexual abuse.

    Torsten Schack Pedersen, Minister for Resilience and Preparedness, called for implementation of the “Preparedness Union” strategy to strengthen EU security, resilience and preparedness. The Presidency will advance work on the reformed EU civil protection mechanism, the stockpiling strategy and measures to protect critical infrastructure.

    MEPs asked the Presidency about progress on the directives on combating corruption and victims’ rights. According to the Justice Minister, work on both will continue promptly as a priority. MEPs and the Ministers also discussed law enforcement access to data, and measures against terrorism and online radicalisation.

    Kaare Dybvad, Minister for Immigration and Integration, emphasised the need to implement the Asylum and Migration Pact in full. The Presidency will work on proposals on safe third countries, safe countries of origin and a common approach to returns. He also mentioned the possibility of developing external partnerships and possible return hubs in third countries, stressing the need to uphold international law and human rights. Other priorities are action to combat migrant smuggling and the EU talent pool.

    On Migration and Asylum Pact implementation, MEPs asked about the solidarity platform, protection of human dignity, and cooperation with third countries. The minister replied that priority should be given to people in need of refugee status. Economic migrants must use legal channels, and those with no right to stay need to be returned to their home countries.

    Marie Bjerre, Minister for European Affairs, said the Presidency aimed to strengthen the link between respect for EU values and access to EU funds, enhance the Council’s rule of law dialogues, and support tools such as the Commission’s rule of law report. It will also work to reinforce the conditionality mechanism in the next long-term budget, by increasing funding for it and ensuring more automatic application.

    Some MEPs raised concerns about the situation in Hungary, and called for a stronger conditionality mechanism and better protection of media freedom and civil society. Others called for clarity on the definition of rule of law, and raised the issues of spyware use against journalists and the situation in Gaza.

    Employment and Social Affairs Committee

    On 15 July, Employment Minister Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen stressed that the Presidency would focus on investing in skills, fair labour mobility, strengthening social dialogue, and occupational health. She aims to advance the revision of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMRD) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for Displaced Workers. Minister for Social Affairs and Housing Sophie Hæstorp Andersen highlighted the need to improve independent living for persons with disabilities and to improve access to sustainable and affordable housing.

    MEPs highlighted the lack of legislative proposals in social areas and voiced concern about the future of the European Social Fund+. They stressed the need to strengthen the European Labour Authority, and addressed the working conditions of non-EU nationals, the lack of skilled workers, and the migration of qualified workers. Others asked for action on employment rights for persons with disabilities, the coordination of social security systems, and the European Child Guarantee.

    Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee

    On 15 July, Caroline Stage Olsen, Digital Affairs Minister, emphasised the need for action to boost investment and cut red tape. Special attention will be given to protecting minors online through firm Digital Services Act enforcement, new age verification rules and action to tackle addictive design. She supported postponing elements of the AI Act to give business, especially smaller companies, more time to comply.

    Morten Bødskov, Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, stressed the Presidency’s intention to tackle customs challenges, unfair competition, slow growth and job loss. The minister also expressed strong support for the green transition and the need to advance work on simplification packages and regulatory burden reduction targets.

    MEPs asked about the Presidency’s plans to work on e-commerce, the posting of workers, attracting talent and the “28th regime” (a single set of EU rules to support innovation). They also enquired about digital policy loopholes and the Digital Fairness Act, and the need to advance negotiations on the late payments regulation and the European defence industrial strategy.

    Development Committee

    On 15 July, Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called for a stronger Team Europe approach, given the widening gap between humanitarian needs and the resources available. Presidency priorities include the Global Gateway, the Samoa Agreement, the EU-African Union (AU) Summit, human rights and the sustainable development goals. The Presidency will champion external action in negotiations on the next long-term EU budget.

    MEPs stressed the importance of development aid and the need to make sure foreign investment upholds human rights, while also voicing concern over irregular migration. They called for a broader EU presence at the next EU-AU Summit, and asked about the Presidency’s plan for the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

    Public Health Committee

    On 16 July, Sophie Løhde, Danish Minister for Interior and Health, highlighted the need to strengthen EU preparedness through efficient medical countermeasures, ensure better access to medicines, and address antimicrobial resistance. She shared the Presidency’s commitment to finalising the Council’s position on the critical medicines act, hoping an agreement with Parliament could be reached on the pharmaceutical package by the end of the year.

    MEPs quizzed the minister on medicine affordability, rare diseases, and healthcare workforce shortages. Some called for a greater focus on women’s health, action against PFAS contamination, and improved EU coordination of health and military crisis preparedness.

    Constitutional Affairs Committee

    On 16 July, European Affairs Minister Marie Bjerre said the Presidency priorities were to advance a merit-based EU accession process and uphold the rule of law. She also highlighted the need to reinforce democratic resilience, for instance through the Commission’s Democracy Shield and improved transparency of foreign interests. The Presidency is also committed to strengthening interinstitutional cooperation and pursuing institutional reforms within the existing treaty framework.

    MEPs raised questions on the link between internal EU reforms and future accessions, the use of qualified majority voting to overcome institutional deadlocks, the right of inquiry, and electoral reform. Bjerre replied that the lack of consensus among member states on possible treaty changes made that a less feasible path.

    Security and Defence Committee

    On 16 July, Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that one of the priorities was to continue to support Ukraine politically, militarily and financially, and work on integrating the Ukrainian defence industry into the EU one. This includes paving the way for Ukrainian companies to set up facilities in the rest of Europe. He also mentioned the need for Europe to be able to defend itself by 2030 by increasing its defence readiness and production, and freeing up defence financing.

    MEPs questioned the minister on a range of topics, including the use of frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction, a dedicated European defence fund, removing hurdles to support the Ukrainian defence industry, and the pros and cons of non-EU country access to EU defence funds.

    Fisheries Committee

    On 16 July, Jacob Jensen, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, said the Presidency would prioritise the green transition, simplification, including for the Ocean Pact, and better regulation of fisheries. They will also focus on fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea for 2026 to allow fishers to plan early.

    MEPs highlighted fleet renewal, the Baltic Sea’s herring situation and the MFF’s role in achieving sustainability, simplification, and climate goals. They expressed concern over the 24-metre fleet renewal restriction and called for specific funding mechanisms for the Ocean Pact. Finally, they welcomed the focus on 2026 fishing quotas and sustainability objectives.

    Transport and Tourism Committee

    Boosting competitiveness, easing the administrative burden, ensuring a green transition in transport and tourism, but also military mobility, are the main drivers of Danish presidency, said Thomas Danielsen, Minister of Transport on 16 July. He hoped to start talks with MEPs on passenger rights and rules on counting CO2 emissions, as well as to finish negotiations on railway capacity infrastructure. Morten Bødskov, Minister of Business, Industry and Financial Services, added the Presidency perspective on shipping transport and upcoming EU ports and maritime industry strategies.

    The majority of transport committee MEPs welcomed the Presidency priorities, the ambition to reach a Council position on weights and dimensions rules, while some questioned the focus on the green transition. On passenger rights, MEPs were frustrated with the Council decision to force into a tight deadline to reach a deal on future rules, and asked the minister not to forget the multimodal part of the package.

    Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee

    On 16 July, Minister for Environment and Gender Equality, Magnus Heunicke, outlined priorities including combating gender-based violence, promoting equal opportunities by involving men and boys, and strengthening LGBTQI equality amid rising hate and harassment. He announced that a Council meeting on 17 October would focus on equality and non-discrimination.

    MEPs raised concerns about the absence of an EU-wide consent-based definition of rape, the lack of progress on the revision of the Victims’ Rights Directive, the under-representation of women in government, and the stalled horizontal anti-discrimination directive. In response, Heunicke confirmed that there would be a discussion on a consent-based rape definition, and that finalising the Victims’ Rights Directive negotiations was a priority.

    International Trade Committee

    On 16 July, Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen named agreements on the revised general scheme of preferences (GSP) and the foreign investment screening review as being among his priorities. The phasing-out of Russian gas imports and ratification of the trade agreement with Mercosur are also high on the agenda. The Presidency will also work to negotiate a new trade relationship with the US, while being prepared for other scenarios.

    MEPs welcomed the priorities, particularly on concluding the Mercosur Agreement, phasing out Russian gas imports and concluding the revision of the GSP. Some MEPs also questioned the Presidency on how EU-Israel trade relations should evolve given the humanitarian situation in the Middle East.

    Culture and Education Committee

    On 16 July, Mattias Tesfaye, Minister for Education and Youth, said that Presidency wanted to make vocational education and training more attractive, ensure learning mobility, and focus on how the digitalisation affects learning outcomes. The Presidency will also prioritise negotiations on the next generation of Erasmus+ and on the European education area.

    Many MEPs expressed their concerns about the future of the Erasmus+ programme and enquired about the protection of children online, recognition of competences, and the safety of young students in the workplace.

    Jakob Engel-Schmidt, Minister for Culture, Media and Sports Policy, highlighted the need to prohibit the use of images, voice and other personal features in deepfakes or lifelike imitations. The EU Copyright Regulation should be updated to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence to the cultural and creative sectors, either by guaranteeing fair remuneration for rights holders or by achieving the best possible conditions for licensing agreements. In sport, the Presidency promises to do more to uphold democratic values and integrity in the awarding of international sports events.

    MEPs asked for measures to help EU countries implement the European Media Freedom Act and highlighted the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. MEPs also raised issues such as protecting heritage against natural disasters and gender equality programmes in sport.

    Industry, Research and Energy Committee

    On 16 July, Caroline Stage Olsson, Minister for Digital Affairs, outlined two priorities: enhancing digital competitiveness and protecting minors online. She advocated for reducing the administrative burden on business and for strategic investment for a more sovereign Europe. She also highlighted work on enforcing the Digital Services Act (DSA), stricter regulations for age verification and data protection, and the establishment of a competitiveness fund.

    Some MEPs stressed the need to reduce dependency on non-European tech companies and to balance regulation with simplification, to foster innovation while protecting consumers. Questions were asked about the impact of the DSA on free speech and privacy, and about investment in less connected regions.

    Troels Lund Poulsen, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, outlined four priorities: enhancing Europe’s defence capabilities, supporting Ukraine, fostering cooperation with NATO and strengthening the EU’s defence against hybrid threats. He also stressed the importance of the European defence industry programme (EDIP) to this end.

    Torsten Schack Pedersen, Minister for Resilience and Preparedness, focused on cybersecurity and highlighted three priorities: strengthening EU cyber resilience, framing a robust EU response to cyber crises, and simplifying the EU cyber legislation framework.

    MEPs enquired about the creation of a unified European defence market, the standardisation of defence products, and the need for joint procurement to enhance defence capabilities. Questions also focused on Baltic Sea security and measures to counter potential sabotage. Concerns were voiced about Europe’s dependency on non-European defence suppliers.

    Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, emphasised the importance of a secure, clean and affordable energy supply, as well as of a stronger energy sector, focusing on renewable and clean energy produced locally. He called for an approach that would balance environmental protection with economic competitiveness and for Europe to phase out its dependency on Russian energy.

    Morten Bødskov, Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs focused on competitiveness and highlighted the need for increased investment in green technologies and new critical technologies such as life sciences, artificial intelligence, biotech, and quantum. Mr Bødskov also stressed the need to simplify regulations to foster innovation and growth.

    MEPs stressed the need for a more efficient regulatory environment to foster innovation and competitiveness. They expressed concerns about high energy prices and highlighted the importance of investing in clean energy technologies and infrastructure to achieve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Several MEPs questioned the balance between environmental protection and economic competitiveness, and called for a more pragmatic approach to regulation that would not stifle innovation and growth.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • Iceland to launch negotiations on security, defence partnership with EU

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Iceland will launch talks on a security and defence partnership with the European Union, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said on Thursday at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Keflavik.

    Frostadottir said she was hoping to conclude talks by the end of the year.

    “This is very important for us to show that we can have cooperation on critical infrastructure, civil protection, any sort of dual use defence investment and this also includes hybrid and cyber threats,” she said.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Video: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Iceland

    Source: European Commission (video statements)

    On 17 July 2025 Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Iceland.
    Discussing in a press point with the Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadottir.

    Follow live events and access media content here:
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    MIL OSI Video –

  • MIL-OSI: Landsbankinn hf.: Landsbankinn’s results for the first half of 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Landsbankinn’s profit in the first half of 2025 amounted to ISK 18.3 billion after tax, ISK 10.4 billion thereof in the second quarter. 
    • Annualised ROE was 11.5% as compared with 10.5% for the same period the previous year. 
    • The net interest margin as a ratio of average total asset position was 2.9% and the net interest margin of domestic households was 2.1% during the period. 
    • Net interest income amounted to ISK 32.5 billion and net fee and commission income was ISK 6.2 billion.  
    • TM’s performance in the period 28 February to 30 June 2025 from insurance contracts was ISK 925 million, thereof ISK 655 million in the second quarter. The combined ratio of TM, 93.2%, is the combined claims ratio, cost-income ratio and reinsurance ratio calculated based on income from insurance contracts in the first half of 2025. 
    • The cost-income ratio was 35.8%, compared with 33.1% for the same period of 2024. 
    • The total capital ratio was 24.0% at the end of the period. The Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) of the Central Bank of Iceland sets the total capital requirement at 20.4%. 
    • In February, the Bank finalised the sale of Additional Tier 1 securities (AT1) in the amount of USD 100 million. This was the Bank’s inaugural AT1 issuance. The Bank also issued senior non-preferred bonds in the amount of NOK 500 million and SEK 1,300 million. There was considerable over-demand for the bonds. 
    • The Bank’s AGM on 19 March 2025 approved payment of a dividend of ISK 18.9 million to shareholders. Total dividend paid by the Bank since 2013 will amount to ISK 210.6 billion at the end of the year. 
    • Settlement of the purchase by Landsbankinn of TM tryggingar hf. and delivery took place 28 February 2025 and the Bank assumed operation of the company as of that date. The Annual General Meeting of TM, held on 29 April 2025, approved a motion from the Board of Directors to pay a dividend to shareholders for the operating year 2024 in the amount of ISK 2.5 million.   
    • At the end of April, the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings announced an upgrade of the Bank’s credit rating, from BBB+ to A-. This is the highest credit rating Landsbankinn has achieved since 2014, when S&P started rating the Bank. 

    Lilja Björk Einarsdóttir, CEO of Landsbankinn: 

     “The Bank’s strong half-year results reflect its solid position. A broad range of services contributes to stable and sound operations, and continuous improvements enhance customer satisfaction. Significant market volatility in the past three months has impacted returns from investment assets but fee and commission income increased year-over-year. Defaults have not increased despite persistently high interest rates, which is encouraging. 

    There has been a noticeable slowdown in the Bank’s mortgage lending, alongside reduced demand for non-indexed mortgages. On the other hand, corporate lending has grown steadily. There is strong growth in deposits and market funding has also been successful. The Bank’s issuance of EUR 300 million in green bonds in June was at the most favourable terms it has received in many years, following an upgrade to the Bank’s credit rating. With this issuance, all of the Bank’s general bond issues in euros are now green. 

    The integration of TM into the Landsbankinn group is progressing well. We have made several organisational changes and operations to best leverage the group’s strengths and the results so far are promising. Our focus is on increasing TM’s market share in the insurance sector by boosting insurance sales through Landsbankinn’s distribution network, as well as maintaining TM’s strong customer relationships, particularly with corporate clients. 

    Landsbankinn recently advertised for sale the beautiful and historic building at Austurstræti 11, along with three adjacent properties. The sales process has not yet concluded and emphasis is being placed on conducting it carefully and professionally. The Bank has a long-standing history in the city centre, as does TM, which in June moved its main office operations back down-town, to Kalkofnsvegur. At the same time, 24 TM employees transferred to the Bank and TM’s branch was merged with Landsbankinn’s branch at Reykjastræti 6. As is the case with Landsbréf, TM shares various services with Landsbankinn. Close cooperation within the group is key to achieving success and continuing to provide excellent customer service. By leveraging all our strengths to support our customers, we contribute to a prosperous future for them and for society as a whole.” 

    Landsbankinn’s financial calendar 

    • Q3 2025 23 October 2025 
    • Annual results 2025 29 January 2026 

    For further information contact:

    Public Relations, pr@landsbankinn.is

    Investor Relations, ir@landsbankinn.is

    Attachments

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed 

    Siili Solutions Plc Stock Exchange Release 17 July 2025 at 19:00 EEST 

    Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed 

    Siili Solutions Plc announced on 26 May 2025 that the Board of Directors had decided to launch a share repurchase programme. The purpose of the programme was to acquire the company’s own shares to cover obligations arising from long-term share-based incentive schemes. 

    Siili has today completed the aforementioned share repurchase programme. The repurchases commenced on 2 June 2025 and ended today, 17 July 2025. During the repurchase period, Siili acquired a total of 31,000 own shares, corresponding to approximately 0.38 percent of the company’s total shares. The average price per share was EUR 6.38, and the total purchase price amounted to approximately EUR 197 809. 

    Following the repurchases, Siili holds a total of 31,698 own shares, representing approximately 0.39 percent of the total number of shares in the company. 

    Further information: 
    Aleksi Kankainen, CFO 
    Email: aleksi.kankainen@siili.com 
    Phone: +358 40 534 2709 

    Distribution: 
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd 
    Key media 
    www.siili.com 

    Siili Solutions in brief 
    Siili Solutions Plc is a forerunner in AI-powered digital development. Siili is the go-to partner for clients seeking growth, efficiency and competitive advantage through digital transformation. Our main markets are Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Siili Solutions Plc’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange. Siili has grown profitably since its founding in 2005. www.siili.com/en 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed 

    Siili Solutions Plc Stock Exchange Release 17 July 2025 at 19:00 EEST 

    Siili Solutions Plc: Share Repurchase Programme Completed 

    Siili Solutions Plc announced on 26 May 2025 that the Board of Directors had decided to launch a share repurchase programme. The purpose of the programme was to acquire the company’s own shares to cover obligations arising from long-term share-based incentive schemes. 

    Siili has today completed the aforementioned share repurchase programme. The repurchases commenced on 2 June 2025 and ended today, 17 July 2025. During the repurchase period, Siili acquired a total of 31,000 own shares, corresponding to approximately 0.38 percent of the company’s total shares. The average price per share was EUR 6.38, and the total purchase price amounted to approximately EUR 197 809. 

    Following the repurchases, Siili holds a total of 31,698 own shares, representing approximately 0.39 percent of the total number of shares in the company. 

    Further information: 
    Aleksi Kankainen, CFO 
    Email: aleksi.kankainen@siili.com 
    Phone: +358 40 534 2709 

    Distribution: 
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd 
    Key media 
    www.siili.com 

    Siili Solutions in brief 
    Siili Solutions Plc is a forerunner in AI-powered digital development. Siili is the go-to partner for clients seeking growth, efficiency and competitive advantage through digital transformation. Our main markets are Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Siili Solutions Plc’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Stock Exchange. Siili has grown profitably since its founding in 2005. www.siili.com/en 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Chief of the Air Staff speech at Global Air & Space Chiefs’ Conference 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    Chief of the Air Staff speech at Global Air & Space Chiefs’ Conference 2025

    Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton’s speech at the Global Air & Space Chiefs’ Conference 17 July 2025

    Susannah thank you very much and Dave thank you A – for being here and B – for giving such a great presentation, I am now starting to doubt the fact that I took out the animal videos from last year out of my presentation.

    As you heard yesterday this is the last appearance for me as the CAS at the Global Air Space Chiefs Conference and I am going to miss it. This conference provides a fantastic opportunity for us to get to know each other, build relationships, and most importantly to share ideas.

    Combined with RIAT and the invitation to our crews, to our industries, and to our spouses, this always feels like a very special event. 

    You might remember that two years ago I showed this picture of Caitlin and me on holiday in Greece as a mechanism to try and build a rapport or relationship. I got in trouble because I hadn’t cleared it with her before I showed it but I’m doing it again, it’ll be fine.

    I wanted to start today by saying a huge thank you to the global air and space chief community for your friendship and support over the two years while I’ve been chief and particularly over the last year.

    Some of you know that Caitlin was not at RIAT last year as she underwent a pretty aggressive form of chemotherapy, and that camaraderie and support that I felt from this international community was incredible. It’s those bonds of friendship and understanding that will sustain us both in peacetime and in war.

    I am pleased to say that Caitlin is doing well and she’ll be back at RIAT.

    And for those of you who are wondering she is still a divorce lawyer. So, if she hands you her business card you should be afraid, if she hands your spouse her business card – be very very afraid!

    Two years ago in 2023 when I stood on this stage, the war in Ukraine was just over a year old and my key conclusion was that after 3 decades of peace dividend and fighting impressive counter-terrorism campaigns globally, we – the Royal Air Force and other air forces needed to change if we were going to avoid the kind of war that we saw playing out in Ukraine. 

    Our response to this demand for change intellectually was to update our air operating concept. At the heart of it is this idea of decision superiority supported by agility, integration, and resilience.

    Roll forward a year, last year we focused on deterrence. In whatever way you describe it, warfare is costly, and I argued that our job as military leaders was to stop these wars from starting.

    I also explained last year where our priorities lay in terms of developing the capabilities to ensure we could deter the kind of fight we’ve seen in Ukraine.

    It started with command and control. Capabilities to counter the A2 AD threat. Integrated area missile and defence and agile combat employment. And taking a leaf out of Dave’s book I also showed you this picture of my good friend Patrick Sanders, shortly after he finished being the head of the British Army at Glastonbury. I’m pleased to say that Patrick has gone past his Glasto phase and is now a successful podcaster and it’s really good, I can really recommend it. But Patrick was in the news again last weekend with a warning that we should head as we think about the pace of change.

    As you heard from the Minister, last month the UK published its Strategic Defence Review, a vision about making Britain safer, secure at home, and strong abroad. It played back to us much of the logic and analysis we’ve talked about in conferences like this for several years. As you’ve heard today, it focuses on warfighting readiness, it’s clear about putting NATO first, and using defence as and engine for growth, with UK innovation driven by lessons from Ukraine, and a whole of society response.

    This is a radical shift for the UK.

    And all of that is before The Hague Summit where many of our allies signed up to spend significantly more on Defence.

    This is a watershed moment for the UK and the West.

    Throughout my whole career Defence budgets have shrunk, armed forces have got smaller. I was at RAF Cranwell recently talking to our officer cadets about to graduate and coming out into their next phase of training and into the Air Force. I told them that they are entering an air force that none of us have known. An Air Force where budgets are growing, and numbers are increasing.

    Last year, I also talked about the high low mix and its importance and autonomous collaborative platforms, and you’ve heard about that from the minister this morning.

    I got Jim Beck our Director of Capability, who we saw yesterday, to promise in front of all of you he would deliver this year the first of a family of ACPs that would improve the lethality and survivability of our crewed platforms.

    I want to pay tribute to Jim today and the wider team for delivering in April this year StormShroud.

    It is an impressive capability that was delivered with a different attitude towards risk both in terms of its acquisition and in the terms of the way it’s operated.  It also delivered through collaboration with warfighters, traditional defence industry, and new entrants to it.

    I am enormously proud of what Jim, the team and the wider team have done to deliver it, and I am enormously pleased that what SDR sets out is a direction of travel that we have been on as air forces for several years.

    But the SDR is clear, and I’m clear that we have to do this quickly, and we can’t do it on our own.

    To borrow a phrase from my great friend Jabba Steur the Dutch chief, we need to be ready to fight tonight, tomorrow, and together.

    These alliances, that these conferences help build are incredibly important to us, and frankly the alliance with the United States of America is the most important of all.

    Arthur Tedder and Tooey Spatz, the first Chief of Staff for the US Air Force, forged a relationship during the second world war that sustained them through peace. Today the relationships we form in peacetime need to sustain us through war.

    This year has seen many of us in this room flying alongside our US friends and fighting alongside them globally.

    But is not just about working together as allies, this evolving battlespace demands that we work together across all 5 domains, and that’s why that is the theme of this conference how do we integrate air and space power into this evolving battlespace.

    I want to use 3 stories from the past, present and future to illustrate why this is important and what lessons we might draw about how we do it.

    Now looking round the room, I think quite a lot of us in the room remember the early days in our career the end of the Cold War.

    Every self-respecting junior officer would have read Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising.

    In it, NATO face the task of repelling Russian aggression from Eastern Europe through or by, as Tom said,

    ‘…penetrating the most concentrated SAM belt the world had ever known.’

    In Tom Clancy’s day that was a job for Air Forces it required large packages of aircraft, it was what our flag exercises, Red Flag, Green Flag, Maple Flag, were all about. Honing our Large Force Employment skills – we relished the opportunity; we loved flying and fighting alongside the very best from other nations.

    I’m sure just the mention of it evokes warm memories at the time when it was the air force that we knew and loved, when we had more hair, slimmer waists, and we didn’t groan when we got out of chairs.

    This was air power’s World Cup. I was also going to say this was, for our American audience, it’s like the World Series, but I found out that Donald Trump seems to recognise Soccer is the more important game, and if you’re going to have a world event you do have to invite people from other countries to it, just saying. Sorry Dave!

    This was a complex mission and attrition was expected. In Tom Clancy’s novel, more than a dozen of the most technologically advanced aircraft the West had were lost on that first mission. In the 1980s we had the mass to cope with that kind of level of attrition. Today, we know that this is going to require more than just brilliant air forces. Even the most ardent advocate of air power, Dave Deptula agrees.

    In Tom Clancy’s time, other terrestrial domains lacked the tools to be able to really influence this fight. Space and cyber weren’t even nascent capabilities.

    Today, not only is it feasible to integrate effects across multi domains, it is essential. And this is hard, it’s hard to do it on a national level, trying to do it multi-nationally, across a continent is exponentially more difficult but it is the challenge of our generation, and our adversaries know that and they’re trying to emulate us. Fortunately, however they are showing us how not to do it.

    When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it looked like integrated multi-domain operations. With two combined armies, supported by strategic fires, tactical and strategic air power provided by VKS, land launched, sea launched, air launched cruise missile, electronic warfare, and critical space and cyber effects, surely that was integrated?

    But the reality is Russia’s sees air power differently to the west, in the western way of warfare, air power is at the heart of the way we fight. In Russia it’s about supporting the land campaign, and we know as Justin Bronkin and Dag Henrikson have pointed out that Russia has always struggled to integrate air power emissions to deliver strategic effect. So in those first few hours and days after the war started, what we saw was Russia’s actions were stove pipped, they were deconflicted in time and space and fratricide both electronically and kinetically was commonplace. But three years and a million causalities later, Russia is learning. And we have to learn too, as General Patton said,

    Our job as air chiefs is to educate our aviators and our commander so that we are ready for the next Storm Rising. There’s no way I could write it.

    I’ve stood on this stage and said, that we should not image that Ukraine is the way in which we would fight in the future. Ukraine is a 19th Century war, fought with 20th Century tactics and 21st Century weapons.

    What we need to do is fight 21st Century war, with 21st Century capabilities, and 21st Century thinking.

    2025 has given for us some examples of how this air led innovation and integration can make a difference. We’ve heard about Ukraine’s audacious attack against Russia’s strategic assets and operations in Iran have really shown us what exquisite air power integrated with other multi-domain effects can do at both the strategic and campaign level.

    But when the war starts, we know that it’s going to be a dynamic environment, and so whilst the tactics and the targets might be the same as they were in Tom Clancy’s day, the threat has changed, and the tactics need to change too.

    There’s breadth, scale, depth coupled with three years of operational experience mean the threat is much greater than it was in Tom Clancy’s time. And so the tactics need to change, and we need an integrated approach.

    We need space, cyber, land, sea, and air to work together.

    We know space will deliver PNT, we know it will deliver ISR, we know it will deliver battle damage assessment, but it can also be used to disrupt our adversaries’ communications. We can shield our own forces from their satellites.

    Cyber can disrupt and degrade C2 systems.

    The maritime environment might deliver fires or air defence.

    The land domain might launch Stromshroud, project special forces or launch attacks against key targets.

    We get this right; we create control of the air. We might be limited in time and geography, but it opens up the opportunity for our forces to target and exploit other opportunities.

    But no plan survives contact with the enemy and we need a mechanism to adapt and react, to ensure that we’re able to exploit opportunities and make the right decisions at the right time in this complex environment.

    In the UK we’ve developed NEXUS, it’s our combat cloud and it will form part of the digital targeting web the minister talked about this morning and it’s through that that we’ll deliver the tempo and deliver that all domain C2. But C2 is about more than the network, it’s about our commanders, our decision making and our training. We’ve got challenge in NATO in particular, how do we command and control in a dynamic environment, multi-domain operations when we’re structured by component and organised by components or geography.

    NATO’s land component commander argues that it’s the Army’s task, the Army should, alone deal with the counter A2 AD threat in Kaliningrad. He might be right in that specific environment, but it’s not proven or tested. It would be like me saying that actually it’s air power that should be the soul force that blunts Russian attacks into NATO territory. We need to lift ourselves out of these historic rivalries and reductive arguments and think about how we deliver truly integrated multi-domain effects.

    How do we set the board at risk in the way Dave said yesterday to make sure we are ready for the next Storm Rising.

    We can learn lessons from other campaigns and operations and the next panel will talk about some of those. But I think we need to test, to train, and to educate our people.

    In the real world, exercises like Bamboo Eagle provide high-end, multi-domain, multinational and long-range exercises where we can test ourselves against these kinds of scenarios. Red Flag has always been the pinnacle air exercise, in this case Red Flag was just the starter to the main course which was exercise Bamboo Eagle.

    175 aircraft from Canada, the UK, Australia, and the US. In an operation that ranged right across the indo-pacific. But we don’t just need to rely on the real world anymore, the synthetic environment provides us with opportunities to test and train in ways we’ve not been able to before.

    In the UK, we’ve developed Gladiator, a synthetic, multi-domain environment that connects national and international components so they can mission rehearse the most complex of multi-domain operations that we are unable to imagine.

    Earlier last year, in Exercise Cobra Warrior, the weather meant that we were unable to conduct some of the flying that we intended, quite a common thing in the UK.

    What we did was, we flew the mission in Gladiator. The full COMAO flew real-time, and then the combined synthetic and real picture that came from that was fed into the was fed into the ops centre which allowed our C2 and ISR teams to test themselves as though it had been for real.

    We can no longer wait to find out what we know and adapt when the war starts.

    For those, like Dave and Shawn Harris who have walked the corridors of the USAF’s School of Advanced Air and Space Power Studies, they’ll see this quote.

    We need to provide those opportunities for our people, so that they are ready for the next Storm Rising.

    The Americans have shown the way with Bamboo Eagle and the phenomenal capability off the coast of California, but I think we need something like this in Europe too.

    Somewhere where we can bring our Armies, Navies, and Air Forces together. Where we can test the land component commander’s assertion that he can alone address the counter A2 AD task in Kaliningrad. Where we can find out how do we command and control multi-domain effects in NATO when we’re organised by components.

    We have talked and sat around the NATO Air Chiefs table about creating some airspace we can turn on and off over the North Sea. But for our agencies and our airlines it’s all a bit too difficult.

    Now to be fair, North Sea might not be the right place. Our friends in Sweden and Finland have got a lot of space and are keen to help. What I would like to do is to see our European and NATO forces pool our resources and create that capacity and capability here in Europe.

    So let me sum up.

    We have to be ready for this next Storm Rising.

    We know it is going to be harder than it was in Tom Clancy’s day.

    Fighting a bespoke, exquisite air campaign that’s not integrated into this evolving battlespace will lead to campaign failure.

    What we need is genuinely integrated multi-domain effects, at this operational and strategic level not just at the tactical level where we know that we excel. How we do that is through thinking and practice. We can do some of that in synthetic environment and that also allows us an opportunity to exploit some of those tools that Keith and others talked about yesterday. But we need to do it in the real world too, so we can identify the frictions and fix them.

    I’ll be honest, I don’t know the answer to this NATO conundrum about command and control and how we do that command and control integrated action and deliver multi-domain effects when we’re organised by component. But the answer to it starts with thinking and practice, and it’s through that we will be able to deter, to fight and to win – tonight, tomorrow and together.

    Thank you very much.

    Updates to this page

    Published 17 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: EU agencies help shut down major hacktivist group

    Source: European Union 2

    NoName057(16) has professed support for the Russian Federation since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the start of the war, it has executed multiple DDoS attacks against critical infrastructure during high-level (political) events. The group has also exhibited anti-NATO and anti-U.S. sentiment. During a DDoS attack, a website or online service is flooded with traffic, overloading its capacity and thus making it unavailable. The hacktivist group has executed 14 attacks in Germany, some of them lasting multiple days and affecting around 230 organisations including arms factories, power suppliers and government organisations. Attacks were also executed across Europe during the European elections. In Sweden, authorities and bank websites were targeted, while in Switzerland multiple attacks were carried out during a video message given by the Ukrainian President to the Joint Parliament in June 2023, and during the Peace Summit for Ukraine in June 2024. Most recently, the Netherlands was targeted during the NATO Summit at the end of June.

    To execute their attacks, the group recruited supporters through a messaging service. It is estimated that the hackers were able to mobilise around 4000 users who supported their operations by downloading malware that made it possible for them to participate in the DDoS attacks. The group also built its own botnet using hundreds of servers around the world that increased the attack load, causing more damage.

    Coordination of the many international partners was crucial for the success of the operation. Through Eurojust, authorities were able to coordinate their findings and plan an action day to target the hacktivist group. The Agency ensured that multiple European Investigation Orders and Mutual Legal Assistance processes were executed. During the action day on 15 July, Eurojust coordinated any last-minute judicial requests that were needed during the operation.

    Europol facilitated the information exchange, supported the coordination of the operational activities and provided extended operational analytical support, as well as crypto tracing and forensic support during the lent of the investigation, and coordinated the prevention and awareness raising campaign, released to unidentified yet offenders via messaging apps and social media channels. During the action day, Europol set-up a Command Post at Europol’s headquarters and made available a Virtual Command post for online connection with the in-person Command.

    The investigation culminated in an action day on 15 July where actions targeting the group took place in eight countries. Authorities were able to disrupt of over 100 servers worldwide. Searches took place in Germany, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Czechia, Poland and France to gather evidence for the investigation. Additionally, authorities informed the group and 1100 supporters and 17 administrators about the measures taken and the criminal liability they bear for their actions. Seven international arrest warrants have been issued. Germany issued six warrants which are directed inter alia against suspects living in the Russian Federation. Two suspects are accused of being the main instigators responsible for the activities of NoName057(16). Photos and descriptions of some of the suspects can be found on the websites of Europol and Interpol.

    The following authorities were involved in the actions:

    • Czechia: District Prosecutor’s Office of Prague 5; Police, National Counterterrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime Agency (NCTEKK)
    • Estonia: Estonian Police and Border Guard Board
    • Germany: Prosecutor General’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Cyber Crime Centre; Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)
    • Finland: Prosecution District of Southern Finland; National Bureau of Investigation – Cybercrime Investigation Unit
    • France: Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office – National Jurisdiction against Organised Crime (JUNALCO) ; National Cyber Unit of the Gendarmerie nationale
    • Latvia: State Police of Latvia – International Cooperation Department & Cybercrime Enforcement Department
    • Lithuania: Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania; Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau
    • Netherlands: Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Netherlands and Police of the Netherlands
    • Spain: Investigative Central Court nr. 1 Audiencia Nacional; Audiencia Nacional Prosecutor´s Offices; National Police; Guardia Civil
    • Sweden: Polisen
    • Switzerland: Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland; Federal Office of Police fedpol
    • United States: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: NEWS: Sanders Introduces Pensions for All Act to Guarantee Retirement Security for Every American

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
    WASHINGTON, July 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today introduced the Pensions for All Act, sweeping legislation that would provide comprehensive retirement coverage to the more than 56 million working-class Americans who currently have no retirement plan through their employer.  
    “We can no longer tolerate a rigged retirement system that allows the CEOs of large corporations to receive massive golden parachutes for themselves, while denying workers a pension after a lifetime of work,” Sanders said. “If we are serious about addressing the retirement crisis in America, corporations must be required to offer all of their workers a traditional pension plan that guarantees a monthly income in retirement. And if corporations refuse to offer a decent retirement plan, their workers must be allowed to receive the same type of pension that every member of Congress receives. If we can guarantee a defined benefit pension plan for members of Congress, we can and we must provide that same level of retirement security to every worker in America.” 
    In our country today, nearly half of older workers between the ages of 55 and 64 have no retirement savings at all and no idea how they will be able to retire with any shred of dignity or respect. 
    “If Congress can provide over $1 trillion in tax breaks for the top 1% and over $900 billion in tax breaks for large corporations, please do not tell me that we cannot afford to make sure that every worker in America can retire with the dignity and the respect they deserve,” Sanders continued.
    Today, more than 22.8% of seniors in the United States live in poverty — compared to just 5.1% in Denmark, 5.8% in France, 12.6% in Germany and 14.8% in Canada. Unacceptably, nearly 22% of seniors in America are trying to survive on less than $15,000 a year while half of our nation’s elderly population makes less than $30,000 a year. 
    The Pensions for All Act would reverse this trend by requiring corporations to either: 
    Provide a traditional pension plan for their workers that is at least equivalent to the plan provided to new members of Congress under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), or
    Pay into the federal retirement system at a level that ensures all of their workers receive the same amount of retirement benefits as Members of Congress.
    Importantly, this legislation would also offer reduced contribution requirements for self-employed workers and small businesses.  
    The bill builds on Sanders’ Social Security Expansion Act, which would increase Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year and fully fund the program for the next 75 years by applying the Social Security payroll tax on all income above $250,000. Together, these bills would finally ensure retirement security for all. 
    The legislation is endorsed by United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA); Alliance for Retired Americans; Just Solutions; Equal Rights Advocates; Popular Democracy in Action; and NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.
    “Fifty years ago, nearly 50% of American workers had a pension. Today, less than 10% do, and nearly half of older workers have no retirement savings at all. That isn’t a flaw in the system—it’s the system working exactly as the wealthy designed it. We’ve gone from being a country that promised security and dignity in old age to being a country that forces people to work until they’re in the grave. After a lifetime of hard work, every American deserves the promise of a secure, dignified retirement—not a future filled with fear, uncertainty, and poverty. Pensions have long been the bedrock of retirement for working-class people, but corporate greed has eroded that foundation. The billionaire class gutted pensions in pursuit of profit, and Washington let it happen. CEOs walk away with golden parachutes while working people walk into retirement with nothing. Meanwhile, every Member of Congress has a guaranteed pension—for life. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for the people who build this country. The retirement crisis is real, and it’s time for Congress to act. Thank you to Senator Bernie Sanders—a leader who knows which side he’s on—for standing up for the working-class,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. 
    Read the bill text here. 
    Read a summary of the bill here. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 12 countries agree to confront Israel collectively over Gaza after Bogotá summit

    ANALYSIS: By Mick Hall

    Collective measures to confront Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people have been agreed by 12 nations after an emergency summit of the Hague Group in Bogotá, Colombia.

    A joint statement today announced the six measures, which it said were geared to holding Israel to account for its crimes in Palestine and would operate within the states’ domestic legal and legislative frameworks.

    Nearly two dozen other nations in attendance at the summit are now pondering whether to sign up to the measures before a September deadline set by the Hague Group.

    New Zealand and Australia stayed away from the summit.

    The measures include preventing the provision or transfer of arms, munitions, military fuel and dual-use items to Israel and preventing the transit, docking or servicing of vessels if there is a risk of vessels carrying such items. No vessel under the flag of the countries would be allowed to carry this equipment.

    The countries would also “commence an urgent review of all public contracts, in order to prevent public institutions and public funds, where applicable, from supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory, to ensure that our nationals, and companies and entities under our jurisdiction, as well as our authorities, do not act in any way that would entail recognition or provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

    The countries will prosecute “the most serious crimes under international law through robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions at national or international levels, in compliance with our obligation to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes”.

    They agreed to support universal jurisdiction mandates, “as and where applicable in our legal constitutional frameworks and judiciaries, to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes in the Occupied Palestine Territory”.

    This will mean IDF soldiers and others accused of war crimes in Palestine would face arrest and could go through domestic judicial processes in these countries, or referrals to the ICC.

    The statement said the measures constituted a collective commitment to defend the foundational principles of international law.

    It also called on the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to commission an immediate investigation of the health and nutritional needs of the population of Gaza, devise a plan to meet those needs on a continuing and sustained basis, and report on these matters before the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

    Following repeated total blockades of Gaza since October 7, 2023, Gazans have been dying of starvation as they continue to be bombed and repeatedly displaced and their means of life destroyed.

    The official death toll stands at nearly 59,000, mostly women and children, although some estimates put that number at over 200,000.

    The joint statement recognised Israel as a threat to regional peace and the system of international law and called on all United Nations member states to enforce their obligations under the UN charter.

    It condemned “unilateral attacks and threats against United Nations mandate holders, as well as key institutions of the human rights architecture and international justice” and committed to build “on the legacy of global solidarity movements that have dismantled apartheid and other oppressive systems, setting a model for future co-ordinated responses to international law violations”.

    Countries face wrath of US
     Ministers, high-ranking officials and envoys from 30 nations attended the two-day event, from July 15-16, called to come up with the measures. It is now hoped some of those attendees will sign up to the statement by September.

    For countries like Ireland, which sent a delegation, signing up would have profound implications. The Irish government has been heavily criticised by its own citizens for continuing to allow Shannon Airport as a transit point for military equipment from the United States to be sent to Israel.

    It would also face the prospect of severe reprisals by the US, as would others thinking of adding their names to the collective statement. The US is now expected to consult with nations that attended and warn them of the consequences of signing up.

    The summit had been billed by the UN Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, as “the most significant political development of the last 20 months”.

    Albanese had told attendees that “for too long, international law has been treated as optional — applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful”.

    “This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end,” she said.

    Co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, the Hague group was established by nine nations in late January at The Hague in the Netherlands to hold Israel to account for its crimes and push for Palestinian self-determination.

    Colombia last year ended diplomatic relations with Israel, while South Africa in late December 2023 filed an application at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide, which was joined by nearly two dozen countries.

    The ICJ has determined a plausible genocide is taking place and issued orders for Israel to protect Palestinians and take measures to stop genocide taking place, a call ignored by the Zionist state.

    Representatives from the countries arrived in Bogota this week in defiance of the United States, which last week sanctioned Albanese for attempts to have US and Israeli political officials and business leaders prosecuted by the ICC over Gaza.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it an illegitimate “campaign of political and economic warfare”.

    It followed the sanctioning of four ICC judges after arrest warrants were issued in November last year for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Ahead of the Bogota meeting, the US State Department accused The Hague Group of multilateral attempts to “weaponise international law as a tool to advance radical anti-Western agendas” and warned the US would “aggressively defend” its interests.

    Signs of division in the West
     Most of those attending came from nations in the Global South, but not all.

    Founding Hague Group members Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa attended the Summit. Joining them were Algeria, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, China, Djibouti, Indonesia, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

    However, in a sign of increasing division in the West, NATO members Spain, Portugal, Norway, Slovenia and Turkey also attended.

    Inside the summit, former US State Department official Annelle Sheline, who resigned in March over Gaza, defended the right of those attending “to uphold their obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”.

    “This is not the weaponisation of international law. This is the application of international law,” she told delegates.

    The US and Israel deny accusations that genocide is taking place in Gaza, while Western media have collectively refused to adjudicate the claims or frame stories around Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the strip, despite ample evidence by the UN and genocide experts.

    Since 7 October 2023, US allies have offered diplomatic cover for Israel by repeating it had “a right to defend itself” and was engaged in a legitimate defensive “war against Hamas”.

    Israel now plans to corral starving Gazans into a concentration camp in the south of the strip, with many analysts expecting the IDF to exterminate anyone found outside its boundaries, while preparing to push those inside across the border into Egypt.

    Asia Pacific and EU allies shun Bogota summit
     Addressing attendees at the summit yesterday, Albanese criticised the EU for its neo-colonialism and support for Israel, criticisms that can be extended to US allies in the Asia Pacific region.

    Independent journalist Abby Martin reported Albanese as saying: “Europe and its institutions are guided more by colonial mindset than principle, acting as vessels to US Empire even as it drags us from war to war, misery to misery.

    “The Hague Group is a new moral centre in world politics. Millions are hoping for leadership that can birth a new global order, rooted in justice, humanity and collective liberation. It’s not just about Palestine. This is about all of us.”

    The Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was asked why Foreign Minister Penny Wong did not take up an invite to attend the Hague Group meeting. In a statement to Mick Hall in Context, a spokesperson said she had been unable to attend, but did not explain why.

    She said Australia was a “resolute defender of international law” and added: “Australia has consistently been part of international calls that all parties must abide by international humanitarian law. Not enough has been done to protect civilians and aid workers.

    “We have called on Israel to respond substantively to the ICJ’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    “We have also called on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the ICJ, including to enable the unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale.”

    When asked why New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters had failed to take up the invitation or send any of his officials, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson simply refused to comment.

    She said MFAT media advisors would only engage with “recognised news media outlets”.

    Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as a number of his ministers, have been referred to the ICC by domestic legal teams, accused of complicity in the genocide.

    Evidence against Albanese was accepted into the ICC’s wider investigation of crimes in Gaza in October last year, while Luxon’s referral earlier this month is being assessed by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.

    Delegates told humanity at stake
     Delegates heard several impassioned addresses from speakers on what was at stake during the two-day event in Bogota.

    Palestinian-American trauma surgeon, Dr Thaer Ahmad, told the gathering that Palestinians seeking food were being met with bullets, describing aid distribution facilities set up by the US contractor-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as “slaughterhouses”. More than 800 starving Gazans have been killed at the GHF aid points so far.

    “People know they could die but cannot sit idly by and watch their families starve,” he said.

    “The bullets fired by GHF mercenaries are just one part of the weaponisation of aid, where Palestinians are ghettoised into areas where somebody in military fatigues decides if you are worthy of food or not.”

    Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour had urged the summit attendees to take decisive action to not only save the Palestinian people, but redeem humanity.

    “Instead of outrage at the crimes we know are taking place, we find those who defend, normalise, and even celebrate them,” he said.

    “The core values we believed humanity agreed were universal are shattered, blown to pieces like the tens of thousands of starved, murdered and injured civilians in Palestine.

    “The mind and heart cannot fathom or process the immense pain and horror that has taken hold of the lives of an entire people. We must not fail — not just for Palestine’s sake — but for humanity’s sake.”

    At the beginning of the summit, Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir told summit delegates the Palestinian genocide threatened the entire international system.

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote in The Guardian last week: “We can either stand firm in defence of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics.”

    Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers, as well as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, met in Brussels at the same time as the Bogota summit, to discuss Middle East co-operation, but also possible options for action against Israel.

    At the EU–Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas put forward potential actions after Israel was found to have breached the EU economic cooperation deal with the bloc on human rights grounds. As expected, no sanctions, restricted trade or suspension of the co-operation deal were agreed.

    The EU has been one of Israel’s most strident backers in its campaign against Gaza, with EU members Germany and France in particular supplying weapons, as well as political support.

    The UK government has continued to supply arms and operate spy planes over Gaza over the past 21 months, launched from bases in Cyprus, while its military has issued D-Notices to censor media reports that its special forces have been operating inside the occupied territories.

    Mick Hall is an independent Irish-New Zealand journalist, formerly of RNZ and AAP, based in New Zealand since 2009. He writes primarily on politics, corporate power and international affairs. This article is republished from his substack Mick Hall in Context with permission.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: 12 countries agree to confront Israel collectively over Gaza after Bogotá summit

    ANALYSIS: By Mick Hall

    Collective measures to confront Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people have been agreed by 12 nations after an emergency summit of the Hague Group in Bogotá, Colombia.

    A joint statement today announced the six measures, which it said were geared to holding Israel to account for its crimes in Palestine and would operate within the states’ domestic legal and legislative frameworks.

    Nearly two dozen other nations in attendance at the summit are now pondering whether to sign up to the measures before a September deadline set by the Hague Group.

    New Zealand and Australia stayed away from the summit.

    The measures include preventing the provision or transfer of arms, munitions, military fuel and dual-use items to Israel and preventing the transit, docking or servicing of vessels if there is a risk of vessels carrying such items. No vessel under the flag of the countries would be allowed to carry this equipment.

    The countries would also “commence an urgent review of all public contracts, in order to prevent public institutions and public funds, where applicable, from supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory, to ensure that our nationals, and companies and entities under our jurisdiction, as well as our authorities, do not act in any way that would entail recognition or provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

    The countries will prosecute “the most serious crimes under international law through robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions at national or international levels, in compliance with our obligation to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes”.

    They agreed to support universal jurisdiction mandates, “as and where applicable in our legal constitutional frameworks and judiciaries, to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes in the Occupied Palestine Territory”.

    This will mean IDF soldiers and others accused of war crimes in Palestine would face arrest and could go through domestic judicial processes in these countries, or referrals to the ICC.

    The statement said the measures constituted a collective commitment to defend the foundational principles of international law.

    It also called on the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to commission an immediate investigation of the health and nutritional needs of the population of Gaza, devise a plan to meet those needs on a continuing and sustained basis, and report on these matters before the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

    Following repeated total blockades of Gaza since October 7, 2023, Gazans have been dying of starvation as they continue to be bombed and repeatedly displaced and their means of life destroyed.

    The official death toll stands at nearly 59,000, mostly women and children, although some estimates put that number at over 200,000.

    The joint statement recognised Israel as a threat to regional peace and the system of international law and called on all United Nations member states to enforce their obligations under the UN charter.

    It condemned “unilateral attacks and threats against United Nations mandate holders, as well as key institutions of the human rights architecture and international justice” and committed to build “on the legacy of global solidarity movements that have dismantled apartheid and other oppressive systems, setting a model for future co-ordinated responses to international law violations”.

    Countries face wrath of US
     Ministers, high-ranking officials and envoys from 30 nations attended the two-day event, from July 15-16, called to come up with the measures. It is now hoped some of those attendees will sign up to the statement by September.

    For countries like Ireland, which sent a delegation, signing up would have profound implications. The Irish government has been heavily criticised by its own citizens for continuing to allow Shannon Airport as a transit point for military equipment from the United States to be sent to Israel.

    It would also face the prospect of severe reprisals by the US, as would others thinking of adding their names to the collective statement. The US is now expected to consult with nations that attended and warn them of the consequences of signing up.

    The summit had been billed by the UN Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, as “the most significant political development of the last 20 months”.

    Albanese had told attendees that “for too long, international law has been treated as optional — applied selectively to those perceived as weak, ignored by those acting as the powerful”.

    “This double standard has eroded the very foundations of the legal order. That era must end,” she said.

    Co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa, the Hague group was established by nine nations in late January at The Hague in the Netherlands to hold Israel to account for its crimes and push for Palestinian self-determination.

    Colombia last year ended diplomatic relations with Israel, while South Africa in late December 2023 filed an application at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide, which was joined by nearly two dozen countries.

    The ICJ has determined a plausible genocide is taking place and issued orders for Israel to protect Palestinians and take measures to stop genocide taking place, a call ignored by the Zionist state.

    Representatives from the countries arrived in Bogota this week in defiance of the United States, which last week sanctioned Albanese for attempts to have US and Israeli political officials and business leaders prosecuted by the ICC over Gaza.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it an illegitimate “campaign of political and economic warfare”.

    It followed the sanctioning of four ICC judges after arrest warrants were issued in November last year for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Ahead of the Bogota meeting, the US State Department accused The Hague Group of multilateral attempts to “weaponise international law as a tool to advance radical anti-Western agendas” and warned the US would “aggressively defend” its interests.

    Signs of division in the West
     Most of those attending came from nations in the Global South, but not all.

    Founding Hague Group members Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa attended the Summit. Joining them were Algeria, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, China, Djibouti, Indonesia, Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Lebanon, Libya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

    However, in a sign of increasing division in the West, NATO members Spain, Portugal, Norway, Slovenia and Turkey also attended.

    Inside the summit, former US State Department official Annelle Sheline, who resigned in March over Gaza, defended the right of those attending “to uphold their obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”.

    “This is not the weaponisation of international law. This is the application of international law,” she told delegates.

    The US and Israel deny accusations that genocide is taking place in Gaza, while Western media have collectively refused to adjudicate the claims or frame stories around Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the strip, despite ample evidence by the UN and genocide experts.

    Since 7 October 2023, US allies have offered diplomatic cover for Israel by repeating it had “a right to defend itself” and was engaged in a legitimate defensive “war against Hamas”.

    Israel now plans to corral starving Gazans into a concentration camp in the south of the strip, with many analysts expecting the IDF to exterminate anyone found outside its boundaries, while preparing to push those inside across the border into Egypt.

    Asia Pacific and EU allies shun Bogota summit
     Addressing attendees at the summit yesterday, Albanese criticised the EU for its neo-colonialism and support for Israel, criticisms that can be extended to US allies in the Asia Pacific region.

    Independent journalist Abby Martin reported Albanese as saying: “Europe and its institutions are guided more by colonial mindset than principle, acting as vessels to US Empire even as it drags us from war to war, misery to misery.

    “The Hague Group is a new moral centre in world politics. Millions are hoping for leadership that can birth a new global order, rooted in justice, humanity and collective liberation. It’s not just about Palestine. This is about all of us.”

    The Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was asked why Foreign Minister Penny Wong did not take up an invite to attend the Hague Group meeting. In a statement to Mick Hall in Context, a spokesperson said she had been unable to attend, but did not explain why.

    She said Australia was a “resolute defender of international law” and added: “Australia has consistently been part of international calls that all parties must abide by international humanitarian law. Not enough has been done to protect civilians and aid workers.

    “We have called on Israel to respond substantively to the ICJ’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

    “We have also called on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the ICJ, including to enable the unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale.”

    When asked why New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters had failed to take up the invitation or send any of his officials, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) spokesperson simply refused to comment.

    She said MFAT media advisors would only engage with “recognised news media outlets”.

    Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, as well as a number of his ministers, have been referred to the ICC by domestic legal teams, accused of complicity in the genocide.

    Evidence against Albanese was accepted into the ICC’s wider investigation of crimes in Gaza in October last year, while Luxon’s referral earlier this month is being assessed by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.

    Delegates told humanity at stake
     Delegates heard several impassioned addresses from speakers on what was at stake during the two-day event in Bogota.

    Palestinian-American trauma surgeon, Dr Thaer Ahmad, told the gathering that Palestinians seeking food were being met with bullets, describing aid distribution facilities set up by the US contractor-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as “slaughterhouses”. More than 800 starving Gazans have been killed at the GHF aid points so far.

    “People know they could die but cannot sit idly by and watch their families starve,” he said.

    “The bullets fired by GHF mercenaries are just one part of the weaponisation of aid, where Palestinians are ghettoised into areas where somebody in military fatigues decides if you are worthy of food or not.”

    Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour had urged the summit attendees to take decisive action to not only save the Palestinian people, but redeem humanity.

    “Instead of outrage at the crimes we know are taking place, we find those who defend, normalise, and even celebrate them,” he said.

    “The core values we believed humanity agreed were universal are shattered, blown to pieces like the tens of thousands of starved, murdered and injured civilians in Palestine.

    “The mind and heart cannot fathom or process the immense pain and horror that has taken hold of the lives of an entire people. We must not fail — not just for Palestine’s sake — but for humanity’s sake.”

    At the beginning of the summit, Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir told summit delegates the Palestinian genocide threatened the entire international system.

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote in The Guardian last week: “We can either stand firm in defence of the legal principles that seek to prevent war and conflict, or watch helplessly as the international system collapses under the weight of unchecked power politics.”

    Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers, as well as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, met in Brussels at the same time as the Bogota summit, to discuss Middle East co-operation, but also possible options for action against Israel.

    At the EU–Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas put forward potential actions after Israel was found to have breached the EU economic cooperation deal with the bloc on human rights grounds. As expected, no sanctions, restricted trade or suspension of the co-operation deal were agreed.

    The EU has been one of Israel’s most strident backers in its campaign against Gaza, with EU members Germany and France in particular supplying weapons, as well as political support.

    The UK government has continued to supply arms and operate spy planes over Gaza over the past 21 months, launched from bases in Cyprus, while its military has issued D-Notices to censor media reports that its special forces have been operating inside the occupied territories.

    Mick Hall is an independent Irish-New Zealand journalist, formerly of RNZ and AAP, based in New Zealand since 2009. He writes primarily on politics, corporate power and international affairs. This article is republished from his substack Mick Hall in Context with permission.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Yinson Production’s Titus de Greeff Joins African Energy Week (AEW) 2025 to Discuss Innovative Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) Solutions

    Source: APO – Report:

    Titus de Greeff, Head of Corporate Finance for Western Hemisphere at Yinson Production, has confirmed his participation as a speaker at African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies 2025, taking place from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town. His participation comes as Yinson Production scales up its low-carbon energy solutions and deepens its footprint across Africa’s offshore oil and gas sector through innovation, strategic investments and clean technology integration.

    As Yinson Production continues to expand its footprint across the continent, the company recently made a strategic stopover in Namibia, engaging with regional stakeholders and presenting its sustainability-focused offshore energy solutions. As Namibia rapidly rises as a frontier market for hydrocarbons, Yinson Production’s presence underscores its intent to support responsible development through FPSO systems equipped with carbon-reducing technologies.

    Yinson Production’s pioneering efforts are further exemplified by the FPSO Agogo, which will operate offshore Angola has part of the Agogo Integrated West Hub development. The vessel incorporates a suite of low-carbon technologies including a close flare system, hydrocarbon blanketing, combined cycle systems, automated process controls and all-electric drives. These innovations are expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions from FPSO operations and support Yinson Production’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. The Agogo project will develop two deepwater discoveries – Agogo and Ndungu – in Block 15/06, located approximately 20km west of the operational FPSO N’Goma. This development positions Yinson Productions at the center of Angola’s next wave of deepwater growth while reinforcing the company’s commitment to cleaner offshore production.

    Recognizing the importance of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the global energy transition, Yinson Production has also expanded its decarbonization portfolio through key investments. In 2024, the company acquired Norway-based CCS business Stella Maris and made a strategic investment in Ionada, a technology firm specializing in compact carbon capture systems. These moves reflect Yinson Production’s intent to integrate CCS into its FPSO operations and further reduce the environmental footprint of offshore energy projects.

    “Yinson Production is redefining what sustainable offshore development looks like, combining cutting-edge FPSO innovation with bold carbon reduction strategies. As Africa advances oil and gas developments – from onshore to shallow water to deepwater – solutions introduced by Yinson Productions will support successful project development,” states Tomás Gerbasio, VP of Commercial and Strategic Engagement, African Energy Chamber.

    De Greeff’s participation at AEW: Invest in African Energies 2025 is set to highlight the company’s role as a trailblazer in low-carbon energy, its support for Africa’s energy security and its contributions to sustainable oil and gas production.

    – on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

    About AEW:
    Invest in African Energies is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit http://www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

    Media files

    .

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI: Valour Enters Swiss Market with HBAR and ICP Staking ETP Listings on SIX Swiss Exchange

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    • Valour Launches First Products on SIX Swiss Exchange: Valour has officially entered the Swiss market with the listing of two staking ETPs—1Valour Hedera (HBAR) and 1Valour Internet Computer (ICP)—on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
    • Access to Native Yield Through Regulated ETPs: Both products offer secure, transparent, and regulated exposure to HBAR and ICP, while integrating native staking rewards directly into their structure.
    • Accelerating Toward 100 ETPs in Europe: With this launch, Valour now offers over 75 ETPs across Europe and continues to expand its footprint in line with its goal of reaching 100 ETPs by the end of 2025.

    TORONTO, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DeFi Technologies (the “Company” or “DeFi Technologies”) (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B), a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi”), is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Valour Inc., and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour“), a leading issuer of exchange traded products (“ETPs“) has successfully listed two digital asset ETPs on the SIX Swiss Exchange—marking its inaugural product launch in Switzerland.

    The newly listed products are:

    • 1Valour Hedera (HBAR) Physical Staking (ISIN: GB00BRC6JM96)
    • 1Valour Internet Computer (ICP) Physical Staking (ISIN: GB00BS2BDN04)

    These cross-listed ETPs are already trading on other major European exchanges and will now be accessible to Swiss investors through their existing brokerage accounts. With competitive management fees and integrated staking rewards, both products provide secure, transparent, and regulated access to digital assets while enabling investors to benefit from native protocol yields.

    About the Listed Products

    1Valour Hedera (HBAR) Physical Staking
    HBAR is the native token of the Hedera network, a high-throughput, proof-of-stake public ledger designed for enterprise-grade applications. This ETP offers investors exposure to HBAR while capturing staking rewards—distributed directly to the product and reflected in its net asset value—without requiring users to manage wallets or custodianship themselves.

    1Valour Internet Computer (ICP) Physical Staking ICP powers the Internet Computer, a decentralized network that enables secure, scalable smart contract execution and web-speed blockchain functionality. This ETP provides passive exposure to ICP while generating staking yield, enabling investors to participate in the network’s native economics via a traditional financial instrument.

    Executive Commentary

    Johanna Belitz, Head of Nordics and DACH at Valour, commented:
    “Launching on SIX is a major milestone in our mission to democratize access to digital assets. Switzerland is one of the most forward-looking markets for regulated crypto products, and we’re proud to offer investors here access to yield-bearing protocols like HBAR and ICP in a simple and compliant format.”

    Elaine Buehler, Head of Products at Valour, added:
    “Our debut on the SIX Swiss Exchange reflects growing institutional and retail appetite for digital asset products that generate yield. These ETPs not only give investors exposure to two high-quality blockchain ecosystems—they do so through structures designed for security, simplicity, and accessibility.”

    With the addition of these products on SIX, Valour continues to expand its footprint across Europe, now offering over 75 ETPs on exchanges including Spotlight (Sweden), Börse Frankfurt (Germany), Euronext (Paris and Amsterdam), and now SIX (Switzerland). The Company remains on track to reach its goal of 100 ETPs by year-end 2025.

    About DeFi Technologies
    DeFi Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: DEFT) (CBOE CA: DEFI) (GR: R9B) is a financial technology company bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance (“DeFi”). As the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager of its kind, DeFi Technologies offers equity investors diversified exposure to the broader decentralized economy through its integrated and scalable business model. This includes Valour, which offers access to over sixty-five of the world’s most innovative digital assets via regulated ETPs; Stillman Digital, a digital asset prime brokerage focused on institutional-grade execution and custody; Reflexivity Research, which provides leading research into the digital asset space; Neuronomics, which develops quantitative trading strategies and infrastructure; and DeFi Alpha, the company’s internal arbitrage and trading business line. With deep expertise across capital markets and emerging technologies, DeFi Technologies is building the institutional gateway to the future of finance. Follow DeFi Technologies on LinkedIn and X/Twitter, and for more details, visit https://defi.tech/  

    DeFi Technologies Subsidiaries

    About Valour
    Valour Inc. and Valour Digital Securities Limited (together, “Valour”) issues exchange traded products (“ETPs”) that enable retail and institutional investors to access digital assets in a simple and secure way via their traditional bank account. Valour is part of the asset management business line of DeFi Technologies. For more information about Valour, to subscribe, or to receive updates, visit valour.com.

    About Reflexivity Research
    Reflexivity Research LLC is a leading research firm specializing in the creation of high-quality, in-depth research reports for the bitcoin and digital asset industry, empowering investors with valuable insights. For more information please visit https://www.reflexivityresearch.com/

    About Stillman Digital
    Stillman Digital is a leading digital asset liquidity provider that offers limitless liquidity solutions for businesses, focusing on industry-leading trade execution, settlement, and technology. For more information, please visit https://www.stillmandigital.com

    About Neuronomics AG
    Neuronomics AG is a Swiss asset management firm specializing in AI-powered quantitative trading strategies. By integrating artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience and quantitative finance, Neuronomics delivers cutting-edge solutions that drive superior risk-adjusted performance in financial markets. For more information please visit https://www.neuronomics.com/

    Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:
    This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the the listing of 1Valour Hedera (HBAR) Physical Staking ETP, 1Valour Internet Computer (ICP) Physical Staking ETP; the development of the Internet Computer protocol, Hedera blockchain; development of additional ETPs and the number of ETPs anticipated by end of 2025; investor confidence in Valour’s ETPs; investor interest and confidence in digital assets; the regulatory environment with respect to the growth and adoption of decentralized finance; the pursuit by the Company and its subsidiaries of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but is not limited the acceptance of Valour ETPs by exchanges; growth and development of decentralised finance and cryptocurrency sector; rules and regulations with respect to decentralised finance and cryptocurrency; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

    THE CBOE CANADA EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

    For further information, please contact:

    Olivier Roussy Newton
    Chief Executive Officer
    ir@defi.tech
    (323) 537-7681

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: South Africa: Committee on Health Receives Inputs on Tobacco Bill from Lesedi Black Business Forum and World Vapers Alliance

    Source: APO


    .

    The Portfolio Committee on Health has received briefings from the Lesedi Black Business Forum (LBBF) and the World Vapers Alliance (WVA) on the Tobacco and Electronic Delivery System Control Bill.

    The LBBF supported the objectives of the Bill but called for a balance between public health and economic considerations. It said it has interacted with the Department of Health, via an online workshop organised by the department in 2020 but the LBBF is disappointed that the issues it raised in that workshop are not reflected in the final draft Bill submitted to Parliament.

    On regulation, it said it supports efforts to reduce smoking in South Africa. Mr Lobi of the LBBF said a smarter, more practical approach is required to achieve the Bill’s goal while avoiding harm to communities and businesses in the process. He urged the government to focus more on stopping the out-of-control illicit tobacco trade, which harms young people and the poor the most.

    The LBBF said the government should work on preventing young people from smoking by using behavioural and educational programmes, as was done in the past with HIV/Aids awareness campaigns, for instance. These programmes are key to finding a lasting solution to reducing smoking.

    Mr Lobi said: “We have a problem with the criminalisation of smokers. Treating smokers as criminals is unfair and ineffective, and we encourage a more supportive approach to help them quit.”

    The LBBF emphasised that in their local municipality, tobacco manufacturing is an anchor industry but it is being jeopardised by the Bill, should it be adopted as it is. Mr Lobi added: “Beyond specific Lesedi consideration, the Bill fails to account for the commercial interests of small traders that dot the South African landscape due to lack of employment opportunities.”

    The WVA is concerned that the Bill equates vaping with smoking. Provisions such as flavour bans, advertising restrictions, plain packaging and public use bans exacerbate the situation. Overregulation may drive consumers back to smoking or the illicit market. Notably, WVA said the Bill fails to acknowledge vaping as a tool for harm reduction. The WVA in its briefing submitted evidence from Sweden, demonstrating a remarkable 55% decline in smoking rates over the past decade.

    Committee chairperson Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said inputs made during the public engagement process will be taken into consideration and applied when the committee starts its deliberation on the Bill after consultations with the public are completed.

    The objective of the Bill is to strengthen public health protection measures, align South African tobacco control law with the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and repeal the Tobacco Control Act of 1993 and its amendments.

    Key provisions in the Bill include the introduction of 100 percent smoke-free indoor public places and certain outdoor areas; a ban on the sale of cigarettes through vending machines; the implementation of plain packaging with graphic health warnings; a ban on the display of products at points of sale; and the regulation and control of electronic nicotine delivery systems and non-nicotine delivery systems.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ethiopia Takes Bold Strides on Health Taxes to Drive Universal Health Coverage

    Source: APO – Report:

    .

    In a landmark show of political will and multisectoral collaboration, the Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR), the Ministry of Health, and partners are spearheading one of Africa’s most promising health financing reforms. By embracing health taxes as a strategic tool, Ethiopia has started strengthening its national health system, curbing the rise of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and advancing its journey toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

    This momentous collaboration was showcased during a high-level training workshop held from 13 to 14 June 2025 in Adama, Ethiopia. The forum was jointly organized by WHO Ethiopia and the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and with generous financial support from the Government of Norway.

    The two-day event brought together 63 MPs and parliamentary staff as well as 13 senior officials of the Ministry of Health, reaffirming the critical role of legislative bodies in shaping public health through economic policy.

    The workshop focused on consolidating the capacity of lawmakers to further understand and champion health taxes—specifically excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages. These taxes are globally recognized for their dual impact: they discourage the use of harmful products while generating sustainable revenue to fund essential health services.

    In her opening remarks, H.E. Lomi Bedo, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, emphasized the transformative power of Ethiopia’s 2020 excise tax law. “By raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful products, Ethiopia has taken a critical step toward safeguarding public health and promoting healthier communities,” she stated. “Increasing prices on unhealthy commodities remains one of the most effective strategies to reduce their consumption and associated health risks, including addiction and premature death.”

    Her remarks echoed the growing recognition of Parliament’s proactive legislative stance—one that aligns with the nation’s development vision and its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Ethiopian State Minister of Health H.E. Dr. Dereje Duguma on his part warned that misleading narratives from the tobacco industry persist—particularly claims that more than 50% of the tobacco market has turned illicit post-legislation. He stressed the importance of evidence-based policymaking and pledged the Ministry’s continued collaboration with Parliament, WHO, and all development partners to strengthen tax administration and uphold Ethiopia’s progress toward UHC and NCD control.

    Delivering a keynote address, Dr. Owen Laws Kaluwa, WHO Representative to Ethiopia, praised Ethiopia’s leadership in adopting bold and effective non-traditional mechanisms to raise additional funds for the country. “Stronger health systems enable countries to allocate scarce resources to their most pressing priorities,” Dr. Kaluwa said. “The 2020 excise tax legislation remains one of the most impactful policy tools for reducing the consumption of harmful products while boosting domestic revenue.”

    Dr. Kaluwa highlighted that WHO’s support to Ethiopia is part of a multi-year project on health taxes implemented in collaboration with IPU and funded by the Norwegian Government. As a priority country in this initiative, Ethiopia is receiving targeted technical assistance for policy analysis, tax implementation, and improved access to NCD treatment and care.

    Throughout the workshop, MPs and parliamentary technical staff deliberated on the latest global and national evidence on the effectiveness of health taxes. Participants engaged in hands-on sessions using updated policy briefs, data, and technical tools designed to inform legislative decisions and sustain tax implementation in the long term.

    Key discussions focused on the importance of Parliament’s role in maintaining robust tax systems, supporting annual adjustments, and shielding policy development from industry interference. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to advancing fiscal policies that prioritize public health and social equity.

    Health taxes have gained wider recognition globally as part of a broader push to combat NCDs—conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that account for more than 70% of global deaths and disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. Ethiopia’s approach—grounded in science, backed by policy, and supported by partners—demonstrates how strategic legislation can serve both public health and economic resilience.

    Looking ahead, WHO Ethiopia reaffirmed its dedication to working alongside Parliament, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and other stakeholders to reinforce Ethiopia’s health financing landscape. This includes ensuring that health taxes are not only implemented but effective, efficient, and accountable public financial management systems are necessary for the additional revenues to reach and be accountable for expenditure objectives.

    “Health taxes are not just a revenue tool—they are a health-saving, life-preserving measure,” Dr. Kaluwa concluded. “Ethiopia’s continued leadership in this space is not only commendable but also offers a blueprint for the region and beyond.”

    As the country continues its path toward UHC, Ethiopia’s experience highlights the power of political commitment, intersectoral collaboration, and strategic investment in health. The success of its health tax policy and administration illustrates how even modest fiscal interventions can yield transformative outcomes—saving lives, strengthening systems, and building a healthier future for all.

    – on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Ethiopia.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI China: Poland appoint Jan Urban as new manager

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

    Jan Urban became the new coach of the Poland men’s football team, the Polish Football Association (PZPN) announced on Wednesday.

    The 63-year-old replaced Michal Probierz, who resigned after the 2-1 defeat to Finland in Helsinki in the FIFA World Cup qualifier.

    “I’m very happy that I have a chance to work in the national team. Every coach has his own style and ideas. The most important thing is to use the maximum potential of the team,” Urban was quoted as saying by the official site of the PZPN.

    “Our goal is to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. I wish the coach every success and assure him he can count on our full support,” said the PZPN president Cezary Kulesza.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: /China Focus/ China Promotes International Cooperation on Frontiers of Scientific Research

    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

    SHANGHAI, July 17 (Xinhua) — The enduring mystery of how consciousness originates in the brain appears to have recently gained clarity, with a groundbreaking “road map” thanks to the efforts of an ambitious international “big science” initiative led by Chinese scientists.

    Last week, the prestigious international journal Cell and its sister publications published a series of 10 papers revealing breakthrough results in brain mapping, detailing the complex neural connections in species ranging from reptiles and birds to rodents, great apes, and humans.

    A collaborative effort by more than 300 scientists from China, France, Sweden and the UK has resulted in a major expansion of the brain atlas, providing key insights into the neural networks that control perception, movement, learning, memory and decision making.

    The achievements come at a time when China is actively promoting global scientific cooperation for the benefit of all humanity. From fundamental physics and deep space exploration to marine habitability and life sciences, the country is investing in and leading a number of cutting-edge open science projects where international partnerships are a key criterion.

    A comprehensive national science center has been established in the Beijing suburb of Huairou, housing 37 advanced research facilities, 16 of which are already open to scientists from around the world. An additional 430,000 hours of machine time have been allocated for their use in 2024 alone.

    The International Meridian Circle Program, a flagship initiative led by China’s scientific community to enhance global space-based weather monitoring capabilities, is one of the international projects being implemented in Huairou Science City.

    In June, at the Second Belt and Road Science and Technology Exchange Conference in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, China reaffirmed its support for global projects such as Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) and Ocean Negative Carbon Emission (ONCE) launched by Chinese scientists.

    The DDE program has been hailed by the scientific journal Science as the “Google of geology,” and is set to unravel significant scientific mysteries, including the global distribution of metal ore deposits.

    ONCE plans to develop the world’s first carbon neutrality standard for the ocean sector. It was unanimously adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) last November with global support, signaling China’s growing role in the global climate agenda.

    The Global Hadal Trench Exploration Program (GHTEP), proposed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was endorsed by the UN this year, opening a new chapter of global cooperation in trench scientific research.

    The program involves Chinese scientists and their colleagues from more than 10 countries jointly exploring the deepest unexplored ocean trenches on Earth. To date, 145 scientists from around the world have made 214 dives to the deepest points of nine sea trenches on the planet, including the Mariana Trench and the Kermadec Trench. Exploring the abyss is considered important for answering questions about the origins of life, its fate, and the future of humanity.

    “Hadal zone research is only available to a few countries, while the 37 known marine trenches and depressions are scattered around the globe, making closer international cooperation necessary,” said ANC research fellow Du Mengran.

    China has also launched the π-HuB project, which brings together scientific teams from 18 countries to map the vast diversity of human proteins and decipher the complex mechanisms underlying bodily functions. It is the next big thing in life sciences after mapping the human genome.

    Robert Moritz, a professor at the US Institute for Systems Biology, said the project has the potential to transform the entire field of proteomics.

    China also engages with the global scientific community through projects such as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the Large High Altitude Cosmic Ray Observatory (LHAASO), a near-Earth space station, and a series of lunar and deep-space exploration missions.

    The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has allocated 200 kg of payload for the Chang’e-8 lunar mission as part of international cooperation. The Chang’e-7 lunar probe will carry payloads from Egypt, Bahrain, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and the International Lunar Observatories Association (ILOA) as part of its mission.

    Last week, the International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), an international scientific organization dedicated to deep space exploration, was officially opened in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province, East China.

    Looking ahead, a Chinese brain mapping team is preparing to launch the International Primate Mesoscale Brain Atlas Consortium in collaboration with international partners. After five to six years of preparatory work by Chinese scientists, the collaboration with the international team will begin in September this year. The goal of this initiative is to create a more complete map of the human brain.

    “We call for sustained global scientific collaboration to jointly advance towards the highly ambitious goal of deciphering mesoscale atlases of primate brains, including the human brain,” said Pu Muming, scientific director of the CAS Shanghai Advanced Brain and Intelligence Research Center.

    “Scientists from more than 20 countries and nearly a hundred researchers have already expressed their intention to join the consortium and work together,” Pu Mumin added. -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 USA: Video: Kaine Grills Trump Administration Over Incineration of Food for Starving Children

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine

    BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO OF THE EXCHANGE IS AVAILABLE HERE.

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), grilled Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas over the Trump Administration’s order to incinerate 500 metric tons of emergency food, which the U.S. had already purchased to feed starving children. Reuters reported in May that the food was being stored at a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) warehouse in Dubai and was set to expire in July. The news of the incineration of this food was reported on Monday by The Atlantic.

    “Yesterday, The Atlantic reported that the expiration date on those 500 tons of nutritious food for starving kids was now upon us, and the U.S. had decided to incinerate that food rather than allow starving children to have it,” said Kaine. “Mr. Rigas, you’re the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources. These are resources that were purchased with U.S. taxpayer dollars. They’re specifically designed to save the lives of starving children. Why is it a good use of resources to not distribute that food to kids and instead burn it?”

    Rigas responded, “I’d have to look into that particular issue and see how those foodstuffs got there.”

    “I asked this question at a hearing yesterday so you would be prepared to know that I would ask it today, and we called your office to tell you that I would ask it today. So the notion that you need to look into it strikes me as a little bit odd. As you sit here today, is that food being distributed to kids or is it being incinerated?” Kaine asked.

    “If it’s been expired, my understanding is it’s the policy of the government to not distribute expired food or medicine,” Rigas responded.

    “We’ve been asking Secretary Rubio about this back into March. Since it has been known for months that this food would have an expiration date, why has the State Department decided to burn it rather than distribute it to starving children?” Kaine pressed.

    “I don’t have a good answer for that question,” Rigas said. “I am as distressed about that as you are.”

    Rigas continued, “I think that this was just a casualty of the shutdown of USAID.”

    “I view at as an intentional thing,” Kaine continued. “It’s not a mistake if you’ve been on notice of it for two months, and you’ve made the decision to keep the warehouse locked and allow this food to be destroyed rather than … feed at least 27,000 acutely malnourished children for a month.”

    “I’d have to look into what the facts of the matter were,” Rigas responded.

    “Sometimes the tiniest detail really exposes the soul,” Kaine concluded. “A government that is put on notice—here are resources that will save 27,000 starving kids. Can you please distribute them or give them to someone who can? Who decides, ‘no, we would rather keep the warehouse locked, let the food expire, and then burn it?’ To me, that really exposes the soul of this endeavor.”

    Rigas concluded by saying that he would look into it and find out what happened.

    Video of Kaine raising The Atlantic’s reporting during the July 15 SFRC nominations hearing for U.S. Representative Michael Waltz to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. John Arrigo to be U.S. Ambassador to Portugal, and Ms. Christine Toretti to be U.S. Ambassador to Sweden is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Moldova – Moldova Launches Agrotek Arena: A New Incubator for Digital Agriculture, Robotics, and FoodTech

    Source: Innovate Moldova Programme

    Chișinău, Moldova – Moldova is taking a decisive step toward the future of agriculture with the launch of a new incubator and pre-accelerator at Agrotek Arena Incubator, an innovation space dedicated to digital agriculture, robotics, and food technology. The initiative is part of the Innovate Moldova Programme, funded by Sweden, and aims to modernize the country’s agri-food sector through innovation, research, and international collaboration.

    On July 9, 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Moldova’s Ministry of Digitalization and Economic Development (MDED), the Technical University of Moldova (UTM), the Innovate Moldova Programme, and the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF), marking the start of this strategic partnership.

    The incubator will span 1,300 square meters across two refurbished floors of Agrotek Arena and will host up to 30 residents – startups, student entrepreneurs, researchers, and agri-food businesses. It is projected to benefit over 3,000 students, farmers, and food processors annually by providing access to cutting-edge technologies, prototyping labs, greenhouses, and innovation support programs.

    “Agriculture remains a backbone of Moldova’s economy. Yet, without modern tools and forward-thinking infrastructure, its full potential cannot be realized, Agrotek Arena will serve as a launchpad for innovation, helping us bridge the gap between academia, industry, and global partners.”

    stated Doina Nistor, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitalization and Economic Development.

    The incubator is set to open its doors to residents by September 1st, with a structured acceleration program launching in October 2025. Activities will focus on developing viable agri-tech solutions in areas such as precision agriculture, smart irrigation, and sustainable food processing.

    Shared Investment and Global Collaboration

    The $1 million project is built on a shared funding model. Innovate Moldova Programme and UMAEF are supporting the refurbishment of common areas, while UTM is offering rent-free space and managing energy efficiency upgrades. Residents will contribute by equipping their dedicated offices with air conditioning, furnishings, and technical installations.

    Agrotek Arena will also establish strong linkages with European and North American technology providers. Strategic collaborations include:

    Davis Weather Stations for climate-smart farming,
    Biosfera’s GPS AgTech Solutions for resource-optimized agriculture,
    SAS Cropio ERP Systems for real-time farm data analytics.

    These partnerships not only bolster Moldova’s agricultural transformation but also create long-term business opportunities for EU, EFTA and North Atlantic region.

    A Foundation for Moldova’s AgriTech Future

    Located on UTM’s 5-hectare Mircești campus in capital Chișinău and linked to 570 hectares in Criuleni region, Agrotek Arena is the first major milestone in the broader Agrotek Park vision. Future plans include the development of high-tech farming sites, applied R&D centers, and repurposed Soviet-era infrastructure into labs and innovation hubs.

    “This is more than a building—it’s the beginning of Moldova’s transformation into a regional hub for sustainable agri-tech. By fostering ties between startups, universities, and international partners, we are laying the groundwork for high-value job creation and export-ready technologies.”

    said Sergiu Rabii, Programme Director at the Innovate Moldova Programme

    Agrotek Arena will also support Moldova’s alignment with EU standards by integrating sustainable design, ESG practices, and inclusive economic development into its operational model.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Killing of Civilians in Gaza Waiting in Line for Humanitarian Aid Must End, Relief Chief Tells Security Council, Urging Return to UN-Led Delivery Mechanism

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    As civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in Gaza are being killed, speakers in the Security Council today urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid operations in the Strip, called for a return to United Nations-led delivery mechanisms, and stressed the urgent need for both the release of hostages and a ceasefire.

    “Gaza’s soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.  He recalled General Assembly resolution 46/182, adopted in 1991, which laid the groundwork for modern international humanitarian assistance by establishing a framework and guiding principles — humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence — for the UN’s role in coordinating humanitarian efforts during emergencies. 

    Israel, as the occupying Power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies, he said, adding:  “But that is not happening.  Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity.”  He went on to urge Council members to consider whether Israel’s rules of engagement incorporate all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm, in all circumstances.  This means verifying targets, giving effective advance warnings, carefully choosing tactics and weapons, and canceling or suspending an attack if it would cause disproportionate civilian harm, he said.

    Number of Aid Trucks Currently Allowed into Gaza ‘Drop in the Ocean’ 

    Between 19 May and 14 July, only 1,633 trucks — or 62 per cent of the roughly 2,600 submitted to the Israeli authorities and 74 per cent of those approved for entry — reached the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.  “To be clear, this is a drop in the ocean of needs, compared to the average of 630 truckloads, that entered daily” during an earlier ceasefire, he said. The ceasefire proved what’s possible.  It’s time to return to those levels without delay.

    Turning to recent remarks by Israel’s Defence Minister about moving Palestinians into a “humanitarian city”, he said the proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah is “not humanitarian”, underscoring the need to protect civilians wherever they are, release all hostages held by Hamas, allow humanitarian aid at scale and ensure the safety of humanitarian workers.  “You owe that to Israeli and Palestinian civilians, to the last hopes of a sustainable peace, and to the UN Charter,” he said, calling for a ceasefire.

    Today’s meeting was called by Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, following abhorrent reports of human suffering in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including killings at aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a non-UN mechanism established with support from Israel and the United States.  Between 27 May and 7 July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded the killings of 798 Palestinian civilians — including children — desperate to find food, at or near distribution sites and humanitarian convoys.

    International Community Failing Gaza’s Children

    “Among the survivors was Donia, a mother seeking a lifeline for her family after months of desperation and hunger,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  Donia’s 1-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed in the attack after speaking his first words just hours earlier.  The mother was lying critically injured in a hospital bed, clutching her son’s tiny shoe. “No parent should experience such a horrific tragedy,” she said.

    “The simple truth is that we are failing Gaza’s children,” she said, noting that child malnutrition in Gaza has surged 180 per cent since February, with nearly 6,000 cases in June.  Most households lack safe water, fueling disease outbreaks — waterborne illnesses now make up 44 per cent of medical consultations.  Hospitals are overwhelmed, short on medicine and fuel, and emergency care is collapsing.  At least 12,500 patients, including many children, need urgent medical evacuation, but few are being accepted abroad.  “History will judge this failure harshly,” she warned, adding:  “And the children will judge it too.” 

    She implored that UNICEF and its humanitarian partners be allowed to do their jobs.  “We have proven that essentials like medicine, vaccines, water, food, and nutrition for babies can reach those in need, wherever they are, when we have appropriate access,” she said, calling for an urgent return to the functioning UN-led aid pipeline with safe and sustained humanitarian access through all available crossings.

    […]

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Hacktivist group responsible for cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in Europe taken down

    Source: Eurojust

    NoName057(16) has professed support for the Russian Federation since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Since the start of the war, it has executed multiple DDoS attacks against critical infrastructure during high-level (political) events. The group has also exhibited anti-NATO and anti-U.S. sentiment. During a DDoS attack, a website or online service is flooded with traffic, overloading its capacity and thus making it unavailable. The hacktivist group has executed 14 attacks in Germany, some of them lasting multiple days and affecting around 230 organisations including arms factories, power suppliers and government organisations. Attacks were also executed across Europe during the European elections. In Sweden, authorities and bank websites were targeted, while in Switzerland multiple attacks were carried out during a video message given by the Ukrainian President to the Joint Parliament in June 2023, and during the Peace Summit for Ukraine in June 2024. Most recently, the Netherlands was targeted during the NATO Summit at the end of June.

    To execute their attacks, the group recruited supporters through a messaging service. It is estimated that the hackers were able to mobilise around 4000 users who supported their operations by downloading malware that made it possible for them to participate in the DDoS attacks. The group also built its own botnet using hundreds of servers around the world that increased the attack load, causing more damage.

    Coordination of the many international partners was crucial for the success of the operation. Through Eurojust, authorities were able to coordinate their findings and plan an action day to target the hacktivist group. The Agency ensured that multiple European Investigation Orders and Mutual Legal Assistance processes were executed. During the action day on 15 July, Eurojust coordinated any last-minute judicial requests that were needed during the operation.

    Europol facilitated the information exchange, supported the coordination of the operational activities and provided extended operational analytical support, as well as crypto tracing and forensic support during the lent of the investigation, and coordinated the prevention and awareness raising campaign, released to unidentified yet offenders via messaging apps and social media channels. During the action day, Europol set-up a Command Post at Europol’s headquarters and made available a Virtual Command post for online connection with the in-person Command.

    The investigation culminated in an action day on 15 July where actions targeting the group took place in eight countries. Authorities were able to disrupt of over 100 servers worldwide. Searches took place in Germany, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Czechia, Poland and France to gather evidence for the investigation. Additionally, authorities informed the group and 1100 supporters and 17 administrators about the measures taken and the criminal liability they bear for their actions. Seven international arrest warrants have been issued. Germany issued six warrants which are directed inter alia against suspects living in the Russian Federation. Two suspects are accused of being the main instigators responsible for the activities of NoName057(16). Photos and descriptions of some of the suspects can be found on the websites of Europol and Interpol.

    The following authorities were involved in the actions:

    • Czechia: District Prosecutor’s Office of Prague 5; Police, National Counterterrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime Agency (NCTEKK)
    • Estonia: Estonian Police and Border Guard Board
    • Germany: Prosecutor General’s Office Frankfurt am Main – Cyber Crime Centre; Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA)
    • Finland: Prosecution District of Southern Finland; National Bureau of Investigation – Cybercrime Investigation Unit
    • France: Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office – National Jurisdiction against Organised Crime (JUNALCO) ; National Cyber Unit of the Gendarmerie nationale
    • Latvia: State Police of Latvia – International Cooperation Department & Cybercrime Enforcement Department
    • Lithuania: Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania; Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau
    • Netherlands: Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Netherlands and Police of the Netherlands
    • Spain: Investigative Central Court nr. 1 Audiencia Nacional; Audiencia Nacional Prosecutor´s Offices; National Police; Guardia Civil
    • Sweden: Polisen
    • Switzerland: Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland; Federal Office of Police fedpol
    • United States: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: With each day that passes, the suffering increases. We urge the parties to secure an immediate ceasefire: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    With each day that passes, the suffering increases. We urge the parties to secure an immediate ceasefire: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza.

    The United Kingdom, together with Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia, called for this meeting out of deep concern for the Israeli government’s inhumane approach to the crisis in Gaza. 

    This week marks 650 days since the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7th. 

    With each day that passes, the hostages suffer yet more agony, in appalling conditions and deprived from contact with their loved ones. 

    And with each day that passes, the people of Gaza suffer death, desperation and displacement.

    This conflict has gone on for far too long. 

    There is a deal to be done. 

    We urge the parties to engage in the spirit of compromise to secure an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and a pathway towards lasting peace.

    I will make three points.

    First, it is imperative that Israel lift its restrictions on aid entering Gaza. 

    Without fuel, water systems and hospitals in Gaza are on the verge of collapse. 

    Without medical supplies, treatable illnesses are costing lives. 

    And without food, Palestinians are dying from malnutrition or forced desperately to scramble for supplies.

    The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has acknowledged that the UN has the unique capacity to meet the immense humanitarian need. 

    So we call on Israel to allow the UN to save lives immediately and without obstruction. 

    The United Kingdom welcomes the agreement between the EU and Israel, but we need to see words turned into action.

    Second, we strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations. 

    We urge Israel immediately to implement and enforce robust measures to protect civilians. 

    In the past four months, more than 1,000 children have been killed.

    Palestinians have also been fired upon by the IDF while desperately seeking food, with 800 people killed at aid sites. 

    This is abhorrent.

    Third, the United Kingdom is appalled by the Israeli Defence Minister’s comments on forced displacement of Palestinians to Rafah. 

    This would contravene the fundamental principles upon which the UN was founded. 

    Palestinian territory must not be reduced, and civilians must be able to return home.

    President, the path forward lies in diplomacy and compromise to deliver lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

    We commend the leadership of France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in co-chairing the upcoming conference on a Two-State Solution, which offers us a crucial opportunity to advance this goal.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 July 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Ensuring comprehensive value chain emissions reporting through the prompt adoption of CountEmissions EU – P-002356/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    1. Since December 2024, after both co-legislators had adopted and the European Parliament confirmed their positions on the file, the Commission has urged the trilogues to start. Denmark recently confirmed that it will take up the CountEmissionsEU file under its Presidency. A swift start of the trilogue negotiations is underway and the date for the opening trilogue meeting is already agreed.

    2. The Commission is ready to support and facilitate the discussions between the co- legislators to achieve a timely adoption of the CountEmissions EU regulation. If the adoption were to be significantly delayed, the objectives of the Commission proposal to harmonise the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of transport services to enable customers to choose more sustainable transport options while encouraging the uptake of GHG accounting by businesses, and thereby to contribute to the overall EU’s climate objectives, would be further pushed back. Lack of a unified EU framework would also mean continued use of divergent methods across operators, reducing comparability and interoperability and creating extra burdens to industry. Green transport solutions might not be rewarded properly in the market due to possible greenwashing and consumer mistrust in published information.

    Last updated: 16 July 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Ricketts Discusses Importance of Snapback Sanctions Against Iran with U.N. Ambassador Nominee Michael Waltz

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Pete Ricketts (Nebraska)
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed the importance of our allies enacting snapback sanctions against Iran with Michael Waltz, nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations.
    “It’s absolutely critical that the E3 do those snapback sanctions.  Will you [Waltz] commit to working with them to push them to get that snapback in place?” said Ricketts.  “One of the things that Iran always says is that they want this program for peaceful means, yet there’s no reason they need an enrichment program.  23 other nations have nuclear power without enrichment facilities.  The only way we can ensure they don’t have a nuclear program, is if they don’t have any enrichment facilities.”
    Ricketts also discussed anti-Semitism at the United Nations.
    “You mentioned in your opening remarks the anti-Semitism that is rampant in the United Nations.  You gave the statistic that there were more resolutions targeting Israel than all other nations combined—by double,” said Ricketts.  “I have seen nothing from the U.N. calling on Hamas to surrender.  That is exactly how this conflict would end.  The people in Gaza would be able to start looking for a better way of life once that terrorist organization surrenders.”
    Click here to watch more.
    The hearing considered the nominations of John Arrigo, to be Ambassador to Portugal; Christine Toretti, to be Ambassador to Sweden; and Michael Waltz, to be Ambassador to the United Nations.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: My liberal vision for a thriving economy

    Source: Liberal Democrats UK

    Read Ed’s speech in full

    Thank you very much. It’s lovely to see you all this afternoon – as I hope to make a splash… this time, on dry land!

    I don’t know if someone planned it, or if it is just a coincidence that my speech on the economy comes a day after the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech. But I’m grateful both to the Chancellor for being my warm-up act, and to the IPPR for such a timely invitation.

    Let me start by taking you back 12 months…

    Just a few weeks after taking office, the Government quietly decided to cancel plans for a brand new “exascale” supercomputer at Edinburgh University – a supercomputer that could perform a billion billion calculations every second. 50 times more powerful than any computer in the UK. The announcement didn’t attract much attention at the time. It was rather overshadowed by Labour’s incomprehensible decision to withdraw the Winter Fuel Payment from millions of struggling pensioners. But just like Winter Fuel Payments, Ministers were forced to admit they’d made a mistake, and last month they U-turned on that decision too.

    So why am I talking to you about a supercomputer? Partly because I think that computer in Edinburgh, and other projects like it, will be essential to growing our economy over the years and decades ahead. If we are going to support Britain’s amazing tech start-ups and scale-ups… If we are going to attract investment and entrepreneurs from around the world… If we are going to be the home of the next big breakthroughs in science and medicine and artificial intelligence… Then we have to show that we are absolutely committed to investing in the digital infrastructure that those companies and researchers need.

    So I am glad that Ministers U-turned, but they cost that project a year. And we all know that in the world of scientific and technological innovation – especially when it comes to artificial intelligence – a year is an awfully long time to lose. 

    But the other reason I bring up that story is that I think it encapsulates what has gone so badly wrong in government over the past year – especially when it comes to fixing the economy. Labour came into office, opened the books, and found a terrible mess left by the Conservative Party. In this case, Conservative Ministers had announced a new £800 million supercomputer in a glittering press release full of boosterish language and self-congratulation. Just one problem: the project was completely unfunded. So, faced with the challenge of finding the money to make this crucial investment, Labour chose short-term penny-pinching instead.

    Just like when it came to Winter Fuel Payments, or bus fares, or family farms, or Personal Independence Payments, or the National Insurance hike that is hurting British businesses so badly. Mistakes made by a government with no vision for our economy, no strategy for growth. Just a desire to find some cash to keep the Treasury spreadsheet happy, no matter what.

    Now let me be clear: fiscal responsibility is essential. The Conservatives showed what happens when you let borrowing spiral out of control and don’t grow the economy.

    Borrowing more than £100 billion a year, just to pay the interest on our existing debts. More than the entire education budget. Enough to fund the whole of the National Health Service for six months. At a time when government debt is 100% of national income. So managing the public finances carefully, to bring down those borrowing costs and the national debt, and to give businesses the confidence they need to invest, is critically important.

    Yet in truth, this started before the last Conservative Government – even before the 2008 financial crisis. For decades now, Britain’s long-term fiscal future has been weakened because the big budget challenges haven’t been faced up to – by governments or oppositions. And I think a key reason for this is the way we do the Budget itself.

    The Treasury, hoarding power behind those intimidating walls on Horse Guards Road. The Chancellor, emerging every six months to make a fiscal statement, with a new set of forecasts and a scorecard of policies carefully tuned to meet her fiscal rules. And then what? No real debate.

    In theory, MPs have to approve spending for each individual department every year. It’s called the “estimates” process. In practice, it’s a sham. Last month, Parliament “approved” £1.1 trillion in government spending with just three hours of debate. That’s about £6 billion every minute. So instead of real debate and scrutiny, all we get is endless speculation about what new black hole the Chancellor will face in six months’ time, and what tweaks she will make to bring the numbers back into line. 

    Having tough fiscal rules and sticking to them is critical. But the way we scrutinise the budgets prepared to meet those rules, is nothing short of lamentable. And we need nothing less than a major overhaul of the whole system.

    I think we should look at a budget process more like the one Sweden brought in when it faced its own budget crisis in the early nineties. When its debt soared to just over 70% of GDP. Now the Swedish Parliament gets to debate the Government’s budget – and can propose alternatives and amendments – before it is finalised, and gets a proper period of scrutiny and accountability in the months that follow. And now, Sweden’s debt is down to 30% of GDP.

    It matters how a country takes its decisions on the budget. It may be less exciting, but process matters. So I think we should put more power in MPs’ hands to hold the Treasury and every Department properly to account on behalf of our constituents. Supported by a new Office of the Taxpayer, based in Parliament. That alone would rock Whitehall to its core. It would make MPs roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and take more responsibility. The trade-offs and choices that get hidden and ignored by Britain’s opaque system, would become stark and unavoidable. And without such a major system change like this, I fear British politics will never deliver the fiscal responsibility so desperately needed.

    But let’s remember: fiscal responsibility alone is a means to an end. Not the end in itself. And certainly no substitute for an economic vision. You won’t be surprised to hear that my economic vision is a liberal one. With free trade, investment in education, support for enterprise. And rigorous competition policy to stop bigger businesses rigging the system. But if we are to build a liberal economy, we have to start with a clear-eyed analysis of where liberal economic policies have gone wrong in recent years.

    We cannot celebrate the advances in overall prosperity without recognising that, too often, that prosperity has not been properly shared. Individuals, communities – even whole regions have been left behind. Boris Johnson’s point about the need to “level up” was right, even if the execution left a lot to be desired. People from all over the world have enriched our economy and our society – but when governments lose control of immigration, as they so clearly did under the same Boris Johnson, it can impose social and financial costs too. And sometimes comfort and complacency has led liberal economists to neglect the importance of security. Food security. Personal security. National security.

    Our new liberal economics can’t afford to repeat those mistakes. It can’t be about going back to the world as it was – before Trump, before Covid, before Brexit, before the crash. What we need is Liberal Economics 2.0. Retaining all that worked so brilliantly in version one. But recognising its errors and correcting them, too. Grasping the new realities of our changing world – from AI to climate change, to demographic trends that make the fiscal outlook even more challenging. From the need to increase defence spending to the strength of new economic superpowers like China and India. 

    The era of interdependence is over. We need cooperation, but not dependence.

    But even in this new world, some old truths remain. Some are even truer than before. Like the importance of trade.

    Trade was how Victorian Liberals overturned protectionism imposed by the Tories – to usher in a period of free trade and growth. We champion free trade because it enlarges individual freedom. As one of my predecessors as Liberal leader put it – free trade “gives the freest play to individual energy and initiative and character, and the largest liberty both to producer and consumer”. And of course, free trade brings growth and lowers the cost of living.

    That is why we opposed the Conservatives’ Brexit deal – the biggest and most destructive act of protectionism in our lifetime. It’s why Liberal Democrats have pressed for a new bespoke UK-EU Customs Union. Why we are pressing Labour to go well beyond its timid “reset” with Europe and tear down Tory trade barriers as quickly as possible. To free British businesses from reels of costly red tape and bring down prices in our shops. And why Liberal Democrats are arguing for a new economic coalition of the willing, for more free trade not just with Europe, but with Commonwealth allies, and Asian allies too.

    The anti-free trade politics of Donald Trump have to be taken on. We can’t let the tariff man’s bullying approach to trade and geopolitics succeed. We know where that ends. That’s why appeasing the White House isn’t smart. Remember, Donald Trump isn’t forever. And as ordinary Americans suffer the costs of his idiocy, the tide will turn. Let the Conservatives and Nigel Farage champion Trump. We Liberal Democrats will champion Britain, and defend free trade so hard-won by those nineteenth century Liberals. 

    The party of trade. And as Liberals, we are also the party of people. Because underpinning our vision for the economy is an understanding of what the economy really is. It isn’t just a series of abstract percentages and meaningless slogans. We understand that, when you strip everything else away, an economy is its people.

    So growing the economy means getting the right people, with the right skills, in the right jobs. That starts with a new approach to education and training – which across the UK has got narrower and narrower, when the rest of the world has got broader.

    But my local university, Kingston, is reversing that trend with its Future Skills programme. Every undergraduate – whatever they are studying – now also studies everything from creative problem solving to digital competency and artificial intelligence, from empathy to resilience, from adaptability to being enterprising. Skills they need. And skills businesses say they want. That’s the kind of education I want for all our young people. And anyone else who wants it later in life.

    And because the economy is about people, I believe that means that to get growth, to boost productivity, we need to focus far more on incentives. We need to build an incentive economy. An economy that gets the incentives right – to motivate people, to encourage people, to reward people who do their bit and play by the rules. And to stop people who break the rules.

    In Government, Liberal Democrats focused on getting the incentives right. Introducing the pupil premium. An incentive for schools to take more of the most disadvantaged children – and focus on them. Raising the personal income tax allowance by four thousand pounds. Taking the lowest paid out of income tax. Incentivising work for everyone, but especially the less well-off. So the Liberal Democrat record shows we’ve long been the party of incentives – and so many of our big ideas today are about how we encourage people to do the right thing.

    When it comes to backing Britain’s small and growing businesses, for example. The start-ups and scale-ups. The entrepreneurs and the self-employed. They are the engines of our economy, the beating heart of local communities, but they’ve been so let down in recent years. Just remember how the Conservative Government shamefully excluded over a million self-employed people from financial support during Covid. Leaving only us – the Liberal Democrats – to stand up for them in Parliament.

    Because we prioritise growth, we have long championed the self-employed and the small business owners. For them too, it’s about government getting the incentives right. That’s why we’d abolish the unfair system of business rates and replace it with a better Commercial Landowner Levy – to increase the incentive to invest and grow. It’s why we’re opposing Labour’s misguided job tax and its unfair tax raid on family farms and other family businesses.

    It’s why I’ve proposed the idea of “Employment in a Box”, to force every Government department – especially HMRC – to come together to make the UK the easiest place in the world for a business to take on its first employees. Because we need to stop holding back small firms that want to grow, and free them – encourage them – to do so. 

    And getting the incentives right also means getting rid of the wrong incentives. So a ban on bonuses for water company CEOs who keep polluting our rivers and seas – and fines if they don’t stop – fit my vision of an incentive economy. We’ve got to stop rewarding failure.

    And, of course, we need to think totally afresh about how we incentivise more people into work. With our focus on care and carers, Liberal Democrats have argued for a special higher minimum wage for care workers – £2 an hour higher than the national minimum wage – to incentivise more people into the care sector. And for family carers – where millions have given up work to look after their loved ones, and millions more have had to reduce their hours – we have argued for an overhaul of the crazy Carer’s Allowance system. So it properly supports carers and enables them to juggle work and care – instead of penalising them for taking on more hours. Getting the incentives right.

    And that inevitably takes us to the unsustainable welfare bill – and the Government’s shambolic attempt to reform welfare. Cutting Personal Independence Payments from disabled people and their carers was indefensible and it’s right those plans were dropped. But what got lost in the Government’s desperation to make the sums add up was an important truth: we need to get more people who aren’t working into work. It’s better for their dignity. It’s better for their families. And it’s better for the economy. The problem is, the Government’s proposed solution would have made the problem worse. Taking away the very support that enables many disabled people to work at all.

    What we need to do – and what our party will always champion – is to put in place the flexibility, security and support people need in order to work. Working from home, if that’s what their condition requires. Part-time, if that’s all they can manage. Helping employers to make whatever reasonable adjustments their workers need. Again, it comes back to Liberal values. Seeing people as individuals, and treating them fairly.

    It’s what makes me so angry about the assessment process. The impenetrable forms that show no comprehension of what life is like for disabled people or their carers. The dehumanising nature of it all. Trying to turn everyone into a box to be ticked or crossed. Not an individual to be engaged with and understood. Let me give you an example. Before the pandemic, 83% of PIP assessments were done face-to-face. There were often problems with such face-to-face assessments, no doubt about it. But at least they happened. Then during lockdown, they understandably switched to being done on the phone or by video. But when the pandemic ended, Conservative Ministers chose to make that switch to phone assessments permanent. So, last year, just 5% of PIP assessments were face-to-face. I think that was a massive mistake. That Conservative policy opened the door to error, abuse and fraud. And I strongly suspect it’s one of the main reasons the welfare bill has ballooned – and why public trust in the system has been undermined. We must go back to face-to-face assessments as soon as possible – so those who need support get it, and those who don’t, don’t.

    And of course we need to invest in people’s health. Physical and mental health. To get the welfare bill down, and more people back into work. How can we rebuild the economy, when more than six million people are stuck on NHS waiting lists?  How can we grow the economy when 2.8 million people are shut out of the labour market by long-term illness? When people are waiting weeks for a GP appointment? A healthy economy needs a healthy population, and a healthy NHS. So Liberal Democrat campaigns on GPs and dentists and hospitals and social care are about giving people the healthcare they deserve, but they are also core to our economic vision too.

    And while we’re thinking about people, let me turn to the cost-of-living crisis people are facing right now, and the number one thing driving it: energy bills. With inflation rising to 3.6% last month, this needs tackling urgently. Families and pensioners are being clobbered with energy bills that are still more than £50 a month higher than they were five years ago. So many people, who were already struggling to make ends meet, having to find an extra £50 a month – just to keep the lights on, or keep their homes warm this winter.

    And businesses are suffering too. Even with the welcome extra help promised in the new Industrial Strategy, parts of British industry will continue to face some of the highest electricity prices in the OECD.

    We have to get those prices down – to boost living standards and grow our economy.

    A big part of that are the things Liberal Democrats have consistently championed… Generating far more electricity from cheap, clean, renewable sources: solar, wind, tidal, hydro-electric. Insulating people’s homes and making them more energy efficient, so they are much cheaper to heat. Things the Liberal Democrats had a great track record on in government. Things the Conservatives put into reverse after 2015. And – when it comes to home insulation especially – something I’m afraid this Labour Government simply hasn’t made enough of a priority so far.

    But there’s another part of this problem that we haven’t spoken enough about, that I want to address today. And that’s the narrative – seized upon by Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch – that says the reason energy bills are so high is that we’re investing too much in renewable power. And if we just stopped that investment – and relied more on oil and gas instead – bills would magically come down for everyone.

    The experience of record high gas prices in recent years shows that’s not true. And even when gas prices are softer, the long history of volatility in fossil fuel prices means it’s only a matter of time before high prices return. So we know that tying ourselves ever more to fossil fuels would only benefit foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin – which is probably why Farage is so keen on it.

    But I think we also have to be honest and admit that we have done a really bad job winning that argument. Those of us who understand how important renewable energy is for our economy – how only renewable energy can deliver permanently low and secure energy prices, today and in the future – have too readily dismissed the rantings of Farage. But refusing to engage hasn’t stopped his myths from spreading. From gaining traction in the new world of fake news.

    So we must change that. Starting with the kernel of truth that underpins the myth. People are currently paying too much for renewable energy. But not for the reasons Nigel Farage would have you believe.

    Because generating electricity from solar or wind is now significantly cheaper than gas – even when you factor in extra system costs for back-up power when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. But people aren’t seeing the benefit of cheap renewable power, because wholesale electricity prices are still tied to the price of gas – Even though half of all our electricity now comes from renewables, compared to just 30% from gas. That’s because the wholesale price is set by the most expensive fuel in the mix – and in the UK, that’s almost always gas. 97% of the time in 2021, the cost of electricity was set by the price of gas.

    And what does that mean for families, pensioners and businesses? It means we’re all paying that higher gas price in our bills, even though most of the energy we’re using comes from much cheaper sources. Not only is that manifestly unfair, but it is also undermining public support for the investment we need in renewable power. When people don’t see the benefits of cheap, clean energy in their bills, we shouldn’t be surprised if they’re sceptical about building more of it.

    So we have got to break the link between gas prices and electricity costs. We have to. It’s something both the Conservative Government and now Labour have spoken about. But when it came to it, both of them put it in the “too difficult” drawer, and just left the problem to fester. So, as with social care, as with sewage, it falls to us – the Liberal Democrats – to say: it might be difficult, but we have to do it. We can’t afford not to. Not when the price is Nigel Farage.

    Now this happens to be a problem we’ve grappled with before – that I grappled with before – back when we were in government. It was part of the thinking behind the incentive mechanism we created for new renewable projects: Contracts for Difference. These contracts give energy companies the certainty they need to invest in renewables. If the wholesale price drops below the agreed strike price, the government pays them the difference.

    But crucially, they give consumers a fair deal too. If the wholesale price goes above the strike price – like they did when gas prices soared when Russia invaded Ukraine – energy companies pay back the difference, taking money off household energy bills. If all renewables were on Contracts for Difference, the electricity market would be a lot fairer and people would see the benefits of cheap renewables in their bills when gas prices are high.

    The problem is, only about 15% of renewable power is generated under Contracts for Difference. The rest is still governed by the old Renewables Obligation Certificates scheme – or ROCs – introduced by the last Labour Government all the way back in 2002 – when ministers didn’t have the foresight to realise that renewable power would get so much cheaper over the next two decades. Unlike Contracts for Difference, companies with ROCs get paid the wholesale price – in other words, the price of gas – with a subsidy on top. Subsidies paid through levies on our energy bills – costing a typical household around £90 a year. It shouldn’t be this way, and it doesn’t have to be any longer. The Government should start today a rapid process of moving all those old ROC renewable projects onto new Contracts for Difference.

    It’s an idea from academics at the UK Energy Research Centre that they call “pot zero”. And in 2022 they estimated that it could save around £15 billion a year – not only encouraging the end of those Renewable Obligation Certificate levies, but in the process cutting the typical household energy bill by more than £200. So my challenge to ministers is this. If you want to bring people’s energy bills down, if you want to tackle the cost of living, if you want to build support for renewable power – stop tinkering, stop dithering, stop deliberating. Start phasing out those unfair Renewable Obligation Certificate schemes today, by offering instead new Contracts for Difference we Liberal Democrats brought in. The incentive scheme is there. We created it. Please – use it. One simple trick to save everyone at least £200 a year.

    And there are so many ways we could do more to cut electricity bills for people and businesses. One example: why aren’t we pushing much harder for more interconnectors, cables that allow us to import electricity from Europe when it’s more expensive here, and export electrons when it’s more expensive there? Of course, Brexit was bad news for this trade – for both existing interconnectors and worse news for new projects. But one potentially big benefit for the UK rejoining the EU’s internal energy market is greater cross-border trade in power, and so lower electricity bills for consumers.

    After nearly a decade of criminally negligent energy policies under the Conservatives, that pushed up everyone’s bills, I believe the right policies now could cut energy bills in half – at least – within ten years. That should be the goal. Nothing less.

    A Liberal Democrat energy policy in service of the British people. Not a Nigel Farage energy policy in service of Vladimir Putin. So just imagine what our economy could look like, in the next decade or so.

    Energy bills slashed – easing the pressures on families and businesses. People helped into work, instead of trapped on NHS waiting lists or discarded as “inactive”. Education and training to equip people with the skills for the future.

    British start-ups and scale-ups thriving with the support they need. Entrepreneurs and the self-employed recognised for the risks they take. Trade boosted, especially with our neighbours in Europe.

    The public finances, carefully managed and properly scrutinised in Parliament. And a supercomputer or two, hopefully not putting think tanks out of business!

    An economy growing strongly, where everyone feels the benefits. An economy underpinned by our proud Liberal Democrat values. Proud British values. An economy that is truly innovative, dynamic, prosperous and fair.

    That is our vision – and I can’t wait to make it happen.

    Thank you.
     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Zonal pricing is dead – here’s how the UK should change its electricity system instead

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Cassandra Etter-Wenzel, DPhil Candidate in Energy Policy, University of Oxford

    Marcin Rogozinski/Shutterstock

    The UK government has decided against setting different prices for electricity based on the locations of consumers.

    Zonal pricing would have categorised Britain into distinct zones, each with wholesale electricity prices that reflect how much power is generated locally, and how much demand there is for it. It would have raised prices in areas with lots of demand but low generation, like London, and lowered them where supply outstrips demand, such as in the turbine-rich Scottish Highlands.

    This might have caused an immediate increase in the energy bills of already vulnerable households in some high-demand, low-generation areas, such as Tower Hamlets in London and Blackpool in north-west England.

    But the idea was to encourage the construction of renewable energy to meet high demand in higher-priced zones, and prompt big electricity consumers to move to where electricity is cheaper. It was also intended to ease the need for new infrastructure to transmit electricity over long distances, like pylons. Australia, Norway and several EU nations already use this method.

    The ultimate goal of zonal pricing was to make the price of electricity more accurately reflect generation and transmission costs. However, one thing has significantly inflated electricity prices in recent years, which this pricing method wouldn’t have addressed on its own: gas.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    Gas is expensive, even more so since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Britain’s electricity system operator brings power plants onto the system to meet demand in order of the lowest to highest marginal costs.

    The point at which supply meets demand forms the wholesale price of electricity. Renewable sources, like wind and solar, have zero or very low marginal costs. But most of the time the wholesale price is set by gas plants, because they can readily fill a gap in supply but have high and erratic marginal costs (largely tied to what they pay for fuel).

    We need another, cheaper technology to set the wholesale price of electricity. Batteries, which can store electricity over several hours, and options capable of storing energy for longer, such as compressed air and low-carbon hydrogen, could be just the thing.

    The idea is simple: batteries can be charged at times when there is a lot of surplus electricity generation (on a bright, windy day, for example) and discharge it at times of peak demand (or when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow). This would entail grid operators (and ultimately, consumers) not having to pay gas plants to fire up when renewable generation cannot meet the shortfall.

    Unfortunately, batteries comprised just 6% of Britain’s total electricity capacity in 2024. Investment in energy storage has lagged behind what the government forecasts is necessary to meet its 2030 clean power goals, but it is at least increasing.

    Research shows that the more money that is invested in batteries, the more associated costs come down. If used instead of gas to stabilise the grid, energy storage could significantly lower the wholesale cost of the UK’s energy over time, and with the right balance of policies, household bills too. This would require subsidies to cover some of the cost of making and installing batteries, and planning mandates to build new renewables alongside new batteries.

    Affordable and fair

    The government could also try alternatives to zonal pricing. Wholesale electricity prices could reflect the “strike” price in renewable energy contracts. This is the price at which developers have agreed to build clean electricity generation projects, like wind farms. This would mean that gas no longer sets the wholesale price, but stable, predictable prices agreed years in advance, which would help to regulate the retail costs consumers pay.

    Solar arrays installed on farmland in Devon, southern England.
    Pjhpix/Shutterstock

    These types of reforms can help set efficient energy prices, which the government usually talks about as the price needed to encourage investment in new energy technologies. But just because prices are efficient, it doesn’t mean they’re fair. Some households struggle to afford their energy bills even when markets are working efficiently. So, when prices change to encourage cleaner energy, it can hit them harder.

    The government should implement new policies and expand eligibility for existing measures to take the burden off energy-poor households. These include social tariffs, which offer discounted rates to vulnerable consumers, and discounts for blocks of electricity use when renewables are generating a lot of it.

    Transition funds could help poorer households meet bills, while schemes to encourage home insulation and other improvements could see more homes with rooftop solar panels and battery storage.

    This support, combined with increasing investment in energy storage and renewables, will lower the wholesale price of electricity over time – and make energy more affordable (and fair) for everyone.

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

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Anupama Sen has previously received funding from the Quadrature Climate Foundation and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

    Cassandra Etter-Wenzel and Sam Fankhauser do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Zonal pricing is dead – here’s how the UK should change its electricity system instead – https://theconversation.com/zonal-pricing-is-dead-heres-how-the-uk-should-change-its-electricity-system-instead-260985

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI: Announcement of Premier PDF Solutions 2025 Semiconductor Industry Events

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PDF Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDFS), a leading provider of comprehensive data solutions for the semiconductor and electronics ecosystems, today announces that it will host two important semiconductor industry events in 2025.

    Connected Equipment Summit
    On October 9th, 2025, PDF Solutions will host its inaugural Connected Equipment Summit in Chandler, Arizona. This premier industry event will showcase the Company’s latest innovations in equipment connectivity, secure remote access and monitoring, and the transformative applications of AI and digital twin technology in semiconductor equipment management.

    Following PDF Solutions’ acquisition of secureWISE LLC earlier in 2025, the summit will unveil the details of the Company’s strategic vision to combine Cimetrix factory automation software solutions with secureWISE capabilities to deliver superior equipment operational efficiency and secure collaboration across the entire semiconductor ecosystem.

    The event will feature insights from key stakeholders throughout the semiconductor value chain, including equipment makers, foundries, and fabless companies. These industry leaders will share their experiences and success stories implementing secureWISE solutions, demonstrating the tangible value of secure remote semiconductor equipment connectivity and control from multiple perspectives within the ecosystem.

    Additional information including agenda, logistics and registration for the Connected Equipment Summit can be found using the following link:
    https://go.pdf.com/l/814523/2025-06-04/c94lg

    Users Conference
    On December 3rd and 4th, 2025, PDF Solutions will host its Users Conference in Santa Clara, CA. This high-profile industry event will cover the breadth of the PDF Solutions platform products and feature expert insights, real-world case studies, and interactive discussions designed to address the most pressing challenges in modern semiconductor manufacturing. The conference will be held in conjunction with PDF Solutions’ Analyst Day on Wednesday, December 3rd.

    For over 30 years, PDF Solutions has anticipated and supported the semiconductor industry’s transformation and needs by delivering innovative solutions. Today, the industry faces accelerating innovation—3D architectures, chiplets, and sophisticated hybrid packages—while navigating increasingly complex supply chains. Simultaneously, AI promises to revolutionize semiconductor design and manufacturing, creating unprecedented efficiency gains across all levels.

    This dynamic landscape demands new levels of collaboration and integration among key semiconductor ecosystem players. A new type of industry platform is essential to unify these diverse stakeholders.

    At this event, PDF Solutions will unveil its latest platform innovations, specifically engineered to:

    • Manage the unique characteristics and massive volumes of design and manufacturing data
    • Enable secure collaboration with robust IP protection
    • Leverage AI embedded throughout its architecture to help each participant rapidly evaluate and optimize business decisions

    This comprehensive event will explore cutting-edge developments in semiconductor manufacturing technology and digital transformation. Key topics will include:

    Strategic Overview

    • Product Strategy & Roadmap: Latest updates on PDF Solutions’ strategic direction and product release plans

    Technology Leadership & Innovation

    • Leading-Edge Technology Development: Keynote presentation on breakthrough innovations and acceleration strategies
    • Digital Transformation in Manufacturing: Keynote and panel discussion examining enterprise integration challenges and solutions in semiconductor production

    Supply Chain & Operations

    • Global Supply Chain Integration: Strategic approaches to operational control across distributed semiconductor manufacturing networks

    Advanced Analytics & AI Solutions

    • Compound Semiconductor Analytics: Keynote and panel discussion focused on manufacturing analytics and yield optimization in compound semiconductor production
    • Manufacturing Data Lake Architecture: In-depth exploration of PDF Solutions’ latest semiconductor manufacturing data platform
    • Scalable Data Analytics & Visualization: Deep dive into next-generation manufacturing data analytics and visualization capabilities
    • AI Model Deployment Infrastructure: Comprehensive overview of scalable artificial intelligence deployment solutions

    Equipment Management & Control

    • Secure Manufacturing Equipment Control: Solutions for secure management and control of semiconductor manufacturing systems
    • AI-Powered Equipment Optimization: Advanced artificial intelligence applications for equipment performance and process control

    Additional information including agenda, speakers, logistics and registration for the PDF Solutions 2025 Users Conference can be found using the following link:
    https://events.pdf.com/

    About PDF Solutions
    PDF Solutions (Nasdaq: PDFS) provides comprehensive data solutions designed to empower organizations across the semiconductor and electronics industry ecosystem to improve the yield and quality of their products and operational efficiency for increased profitability. The Company’s products and services are used by Fortune 500 companies across the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem to achieve smart manufacturing goals by connecting and controlling equipment, collecting data generated during manufacturing and test operations, and performing advanced analytics and machine learning to enable profitable, high-volume manufacturing.

    Founded in 1991, PDF Solutions is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company (directly or through one or more subsidiaries) is an active member of SEMI, INEMI, TPCA, IPC, the OPC Foundation, and DMDII. For the latest news and information about PDF Solutions or to find office locations, visit https://www.pdf.com.

    Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, PDF Solutions also operates worldwide in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan. For the Company’s latest news and information, visit https://www.pdf.com

    PDF Solutions and the PDF Solutions logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PDF Solutions, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

    Company Contacts
    Christophe Begue
    VP, Corporate Strategic Marketing
    christophe.begue@pdf.com

    Sonia Segovia
    Investor Relations
    (408) 938-6491
    sonia.segovia@pdf.com

    The MIL Network –