NewzIntel.com

Category: Scandinavia

  • MIL-OSI: Changes in the Supervisory Board of LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus, and LHV Finance

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    The shareholders of AS LHV Varahaldus, AS LHV Kindlustus, and AS LHV Finance, belonging to the consolidation group of AS LHV Group, intend to elect, starting from 22 July 2025, Mihkel Torim as a new Member of the Supervisory Board, who will also assume the position of the Chairman of the Management Board of AS LHV Group on the same date. The Member of the Supervisory Board is elected for up to five years. The decision on the compliance of the new Member of the Supervisory Board with the suitability requirements will also be made by the Financial Supervision Authority.

    Mihkel Torim joined LHV at the beginning of 2023, when he assumed responsibility for managing and developing the investment banking operations of LHV Pank. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Swedbank, including the Head of Baltic Investment Banking, and also led the corresponding unit in Finland.

    Mihkel Torim is a Member of the Management Board of Fortima OÜ. Although Mihkel Torim does not currently hold any shares in LHV Group, he has the opportunity to acquire a total of 199,575 LHV Group shares in 2024 and 2025 through options granted to him.

    With the resignation of Madis Toomsalu from his position as Chairman of the Management Board of LHV Group, effective 22 July 2025, his mandates as a Member of the Supervisory Board of AS LHV Kindlustus, AS LHV Varahaldus, and AS LHV Finance will also terminate as of that date.

    LHV Group is the largest domestic financial group and capital provider in Estonia. LHV Group’s key subsidiaries are LHV Pank, LHV Varahaldus, LHV Kindlustus, and LHV Bank Limited. The Group employs over 1,150 people. As at the end of May, LHV’s banking services are being used by 471,000 clients, the pension funds managed by LHV have 111,000 active clients, and LHV Kindlustus protects a total of 176,000 clients. LHV Bank offers retail banking services to private clients in the United Kingdom, loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, and banking services to international fintech companies.

    Paul Pihlak
    Head of Investment Communications
    Phone: +372 5334 0078
    Email: paul.pihlak@lhv.ee 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Friday essay: ‘my heart is full of sparks’ – as war escalates, can I hope for Iran’s liberation from a tyrannical regime?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Hessom Razavi, Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, The University of Western Australia

    We are at a dinner party in suburban Perth, a home away from home for our diaspora. As guests arrive, a Persian ballad plays in the background: Morq-e Sahar (Dawn Bird), a freedom song, a century-old protest against dictatorships and tyranny in Iran. This version was sung by the late Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Iran’s most decorated maestro.

    Dawn bird, lament!
    Make my brand burn even more.
    With the sparks from your sigh, break
    And turn this cage upside down.

    Shajarian’s virtuoso voice frames an old question. One I’ve heard, it seems, at every Iranian gathering since my childhood. It hangs in the air like a cloud, unanswered, as guests greet each other with customary bowing and rooboosi (cheek kissing). We settle around a table laden with âjil (trail mix), fruit and wine, the smell of saffron rice and ghorme sabzi (herb stew) all around.

    For me, the scene is both familial and familiar. As is the question, which circles back around. “When will this regime change?” someone asks. The “regime” is Nezâm-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân, or the Regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    A missing voice

    Since the launch of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion against Iran last week, there has been a voice sometimes missing in the mainstream coverage – that of the Iranian people themselves.

    “Israel is not our enemy, the regime is our enemy,” chant many Iranians in Tehran and in the diaspora, a common sentiment in our community. They cite the regime that they have endured for 46 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution: a government most of them oppose and reject, with the vast majority of Iranians preferring democratic, if not secular, reform.

    I hear some Iranians, on social media and in conversation with people who live there, commending Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for assassinating Iran’s top military brass. These are the leaders of the Sepah, or the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the most powerful branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. Together with the mullahs – Iran’s Shia Muslim clerical class – they form the backbone of Iran’s government and economy.

    So far, Israel has assassinated Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, as well as Mohammad Kazemi, its intelligence chief, plus senior nuclear scientists and dozens of other officers. Israel has also indicated an interest in killing Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

    “Damet garm, aghayeh Netanyahu,” some Iranians are saying, literally “may your breath be warm”, or “good job, Netanyahu”. Amid the terror and confusion – not to mention the civilian deaths, so far, of over 200 Iranians – there is a rare and distinct sense of hope.

    State of corruption

    In view of Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza, this support for Israel may come as a surprise to many Australians, and Western liberals in general. Certainly, reconciling Israel’s role in Gaza versus Iran is jarring.

    But for now, I hear some Iranians saying “maybe our regime can finally be toppled”. Maybe Iran can reclaim its place in the international community, as the proud and prosperous nation it should be? As this crisis escalates, as buildings collapse and distressed Tehranis, including my family, flee the capital for the safety of the countryside, there is a heady sense of possibility.

    Wing-tied nightingale come out of the corner of your cage, and
    Sing the song of freedom for human kind.
    With your fiery breath ignite,
    The breath of this peopled land …

    I understand the allure of this hope; to an extent, I feel it myself. My family lives in Australia, not Iran, precisely because of the Iranian regime’s tyranny. We fled Iran in 1983 due to political persecution, after most of the adults in our extended family were arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned by the government.

    Two of my imprisoned uncles and one of my aunties were executed. Another uncle was beaten to death in custody. My grandfather, a noble old man, was imprisoned and tortured. We were far from unique; during the 1980s, the government imprisoned tens of thousands of its own people, executing many thousands of them.

    Little has changed since then. The Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guards have shown a pervasive disregard for human rights. They execute more of their own people than any country except China. They are a world leader in the use of torture; they deny freedoms of expression and press, association and assembly; they discriminate against women, girls, religious minorities, LGBTI people, and refugees. Tightly controlled elections ensure the success of desired candidates.

    Freedom House, a nonprofit organisation based in the US, gives Iran a score of 11 out of 100 for its provision of political rights and civil liberties. For many Iranians, it felt overdue when, in 2019, the US listed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, a decision followed by other countries, including Canada and Sweden. In 2023, the European parliament overwhelmingly voted for a resolution to do the same, with calls to expedite this motion in early 2025.

    In parallel to their human rights abuses, the Revolutionary Guard has hobbled the Iranian economy. Their corruption, financial incompetence and operation of black markets have compounded the effects of international sanctions. Consequently, the Iranian rial hit a historic low this year. It is now worth around one twentieth of its value in 2015.

    People’s life savings have dwindled in value, rendering older Iranians financially vulnerable. Inflation was 38.7% in May of this year, down from highs of over 40%. My family in Iran experience this as grocery and commodity prices that may rise in a single day, higher in the afternoon than in the morning. Some cities have experienced water cuts and power outages.

    While it hasn’t yet qualified as a failed state, Iran has been failing.

    All of this has occurred despite the country being richly endowed with the second- and third-highest natural gas and oil reserves in the world, respectively. Iran has a GDP of over $US404 billion – 36th in the world. Its youth are highly educated and literate, with more women enrolled in universities than men.

    Rather than accelerating the nation’s domestic development, however, the Iranian government has by its own admission spent tens of billions of dollars to expand its empire by funding terrorist proxies: Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the recently deposed Assad regime in Syria, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

    The Iranian people have suffered financially, but the Revolutionary Guards have not. They are estimated to control at least 10%, and up to 50%, of the country’s total economy, including up to an estimated 50% share of Iran’s US$50 billion per year oil profits. They have achieved this by commandeering an industrial empire, made up of hundreds of commercial companies, trusts, subsidiaries and nominally charitable foundations.

    A further US$2 billion or more per year comes from the government’s military budget, with periodic boosts during crises. Add to this the alleged shadowy operation of black markets, extortion, and the smuggling of alcohol, narcotics and weapons, accounting for an estimated US$12 billion per year in revenue.

    Contemplating this corruption, I am reminded of an anecdote from a personal associate who worked for a firm affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard. They shared stories of officers, the nation’s purported “guardians of Islam”, hosting parties where alcohol, firearms and sex workers were readily available.

    My associate recounted several instances of fraud and theft, one of them monumental in scale. In this “tea smuggling scandal”, the Revolutionary Guard defrauded billions of dollars from a government fund by illicitly exchanging some funds on the open market, falsely labelling cheap tea to on-sell as superior quality tea, and falsely labelling domestically produced machinery as “Made in Germany”.

    “They’re untouchable, and they know it”, my associate said. Another Iranian community member described them to me as “Iran’s super-mafia”.

    Speaking to family in Iran, they say many of the middle tier Revolutionary Guards live in their own shahrak-ha (towns) with dedicated markets, schools and resorts. Many of the Guards’ elite, meanwhile, live in mansions in the exclusive parts of north Tehran, with children who pursue conspicuously American “lifestyles of the rich and famous”. For an organisation that leads the chants of “marg bar America!” (death to America), one wonders if they see the irony in this.

    Turn our dark night to dawn

    I find myself sickened by the events of this war, and the harm it is causing. Struck with anxiety, some of our family members in Tehran haven’t slept for days. “The Israeli bombardments are non-stop, and so loud,” one family member told me.

    This week our extended family has struggled frantically to leave Tehran. Petrol is hard to come by and, in a mass exodus, the bumper-to-bumper traffic stands still for hours. I know some of the neighbourhoods being bombed; we lived in one of them in my childhood.

    “For every military commander that’s assassinated, a whole building might collapse, and with a dozen civilians trapped or killed,” another person told me, intimating that the civilian toll is higher than official counts.

    I am also worried about the raised hopes of Iranians. I have seen this before, when a spark – sometimes an inspirational act of courage from an ordinary citizen – leads to public surges in solidarity. At these moments during my childhood, my parents would tell me that the regime’s time was limited, it’s downfall inevitable. Iranians would see better days and people power would prevail.

    Truth and goodness rise like cream, my Dad would say, as if echoing Dr Martin Luther King’s arc of the moral universe bending towards justice.

    A beautiful sentiment no doubt, but one that has become difficult to believe over time. It often appears that the universe’s arc bends towards power, not justice. Fairness seems the exception, hardly the rule. At the time, Dad’s reassurances were protective, even noble. But as the 1979 revolution and its aftermath have shown, might beats right most days of the week.

    The cruelty of the cruel and the tyranny of the hunter
    Have blown away my nest.
    O God, O Heavens, O Nature,
    Turn our dark night to dawn.

    As I explain to Australian friends: how can a people surpass a government that has (1) the military on its side, (2) a stranglehold on oil revenue, and (3) a purported mandate from God?

    Guns, money and a holy book – a hard trifecta to crack, and powerful enough to attract a sufficient minority of cronies, bottom feeders and sycophants.

    What’s the size of this ruling minority? It’s difficult to be sure, but a 2023 survey of 158,000 respondents within Iran found that only 15% supported the Islamic Republic. Small, but sufficient to produce crowds burning American and Israeli flags. I’ve always marvelled at the regime’s ability to manufacture these images; I’m told by associates that they now use AI to produce some of these.

    Women Life Freedom

    As current events unfold, I find myself deeply sceptical of all the political actors, whether Iranian, Israeli, American, Arab or Russian. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, none of them have shown any serious interest in supporting democratic reform in Iran. “They’ve all profited from this government,” a senior community member told me. “Why would that change now?”

    For the sake of sanity, I find myself searching for credible sources of hope. The only one I settle on is faith in the Iranian people themselves. This the culture that has surrounded me since childhood, the qualities I’ve seen first hand in my countrywomen and men, whether young or old, home or abroad, Muslim, Bahai or secular: a resilience, a resourcefulness, a propensity for joy, a confidence and pride in culture, and an ability to prevail, over and again.

    It’s a new spring, roses are in bloom…
    …O rose, look towards this lover,
    Look again, again, again.

    These qualities are periodically staged for the world to see. Iranian people have not taken their oppression lying down, rising in (mainly) peaceful protests. There have been some 10 mass protests since the inception of the Islamic Republic in 1979. The largest of these was the Green Movement in 2009, when it was estimated that over a million citizens marched in Tehran alone. As recently as May 2025, strikes took place in over 150 cities, involving hundreds of thousands of workers.

    For the most part, these demonstrations have been met with severe repression by state authorities. One episode, from September 2022, deserves special mention. The world watched in horror as the regime cracked down on young women in Iran. This was their response to the Zan Zendegi Azadi (Woman Life Freedom) movement, where mass protests were triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini.

    Amini was a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who had been detained by the government’s “Morality Police” for wearing an improper hijab. Three days into her detention she died under suspicious circumstances. A leaked CT scan showed a skull fracture and brain haemorrhage. This corroborated eyewitness accounts that Amini had been severely beaten by police.

    Intentionally or not, a dress code infringement had been punished by death. Even for Iranians long accustomed to state violence, this was too much. Mass protests erupted in more than 100 cities across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.

    The protests were led by women, many of them defiantly removing their headscarves. True to its nature, the regime responded violently. In the months that followed, over 20,000 protesters were imprisoned, many later testifying to having been tortured through electric shock, flogging, waterboarding and rape.

    Human Rights Watch estimates that over 500 civilians – including 68 children and adolescents – were killed by security forces, which included the paramilitary Basijis, Revolutionary Guard Corps, police and prison guards.

    Things would get darker. That December the regime was accused of deliberately poisoning over 1,200 students at Kharazmi and Ark universities on the eve of a planned protest. Soon thereafter, there were allegations of toxic gas attacks against thousands of schoolgirls, in apparent retaliation for removing their hijabs. By 2024, the UN had accused Iran of a coordinated campaign of crimes against humanity, a claim rejected by the regime.

    As an eye surgeon, I was distressed to read a letter signed by over 100 Iranian ophthalmologists detailing eye injuries among protesters. The letter alleged that security forces had deliberately targeted people’s eyes with teargas canisters, rubber bullets and shotgun fire, resulting in traumatic injuries and irreversible blindness among protesters.

    Dew drops are falling from my cloudy eyes
    This cage, like my heart, is narrow and dark.
    O fiery sigh set alight this cage
    O fate, do not pick the flower of my life.

    There were separate reports of women’s faces and genitals being targeted by shotgun fire. The regime appeared to have interfered with medical services: protestors transported to police stations in ambulances were arrested after surgery or denied treatment. Doctors were reportedly coerced to supply false death certificates to disguise the true cause of protestors’ deaths. The British Medical Journal documented healthcare professionals being arrested, intimidated, kidnapped or killed in retaliation for treating protesters.

    If we didn’t know it already, Zan Zendegi Azadi reminded us of the risks, if not futility, of advocating for change in Iran.

    When mass civil movements like this, performed ten times over, have not worked, what alternatives are the people left with? Brutalised and impoverished by their own government, should we be surprised when a traditionally Islamic people welcome a Jewish state’s decapitation of their political leaders? Is it not tempting, even if lazy, to invoke the historical comparison of Cyrus the Great, Persian King of the Achaemenid Empire, who freed the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity?

    For the people of Iran and Israel – at the risk of naivety and romanticism – are we approaching an age of karma?

    O rose, look towards this lover,
    Look again, again, again.
    O heart-lost bird, shorten, shorten, shorten,
    The tale of separation.

    An uncertain scenario

    Regarding Operation Rising Lion, it is safe to say that Iranians, like any healthy community, hold a diversity of views.

    At one end of the spectrum, those who unconditionally condemn Israel’s attack should consider that the Iranian government has stockpiled over 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium. While not enough to build a nuclear warhead, this is far more enriched uranium than is needed for peaceful purposes.

    The Iranian government has also vowed to “wipe Israel off the map” for decades. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei lauded the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. In other words, Iran has said to Israel “we want to annihilate you, we’ll celebrate your deaths, and we could do it with nuclear weapons if we wished to”.

    Following Iran’s recent breach of its nonproliferation obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Israel says it has acted lawfully in attacking Iran for self-defense – a claim disputed by some international law experts. Even if one does not agree with Israel’s action, it is evident that they’ve long been baited by Iran.

    On the other side of the coin, Iranians who salute Israel and the US as their saviours should take caution. The US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declared as recently as March 2025 that there was no evidence that Iran was actively pursuing nuclear weapons, a finding corroborated by over a dozen other US intelligence elements including the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Insitute for Defense Analyses.

    One cannot ignore the disturbing echoes of the 2003 war on Iraq, where the absence of evidence for weapons of mass destruction was intentionally misrepresented by the US and UK governments. The consequences for Iraq have been disastrous.

    As for Netanyahu and his administration, they have shown a ruthless pursuit of narrow self-interest in Gaza. The deaths and injuries inflicted by the Israeli Defence Forces on more than 50,000 Palestinian children appear to have done nothing to quell their ambitions.

    With regards to Netanyahu himself, he is facing corruption charges that could result in his domestic imprisonment and he has more recently been the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including starvation and murder.

    What can Iranians learn from this? The evidence suggests this could be a war of passion and opportunism for Israel, rather than one of legitimate self-defence. In any case, they are not waging it for the benefit of Iranians.

    Israel has a tendency to set ambitious military goals that it can’t achieve. While it promises Operation Rising Lion will soon end, its track record suggests otherwise.

    A protracted conflict would see Iran’s civilian toll rise much higher. Power outages and fuel shortages have already begun; what happens once water, medical and food scarcity set in? Since Iran doesn’t allow many international aid agencies onto its soil, who will come to the rescue of Iranians as things escalate?

    Truth’s life has come to an end
    Faith and fidelity have been replaced by the shield of war.
    Lover’s lament and beloved’s coyness,
    Are but lies and have no power.

    Even if Israel succeeds in capturing or killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, what happens next? With the Revolutionary Guard’s roots in place, there is no guarantee, and in fact a low likelihood, of true democratic reform. In recent times, foreign interference in the region has not gone well. Look at Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria: all evidence of catastrophic worsening after the removal of autocrats.

    This is a complex and uncertain scenario with little room for moral grandstanding. Disabling Iran’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities could be a net win, but the manner in which it is being done sets a dangerous precedent. For the Iranian people, Netanyahu’s ambitions could ultimately prove both heroic and villainous.

    The cup of the rich is full of pure wine,
    Our cup is filled with our heart’s blood.
    O anxious heart, cry out aloud
    And avoid those who have powerful hands.

    As I watch coverage of the war, I find myself drifting back to Shajarian’s voice and to Morq-e Sahar, probably for distraction and comfort. What is real is my faith in my fellow Iranians. Many examples comes to mind. One, during a trip to Iran, was when I stayed with family at a roadhouse. That evening, we heard music emanating from the courtyard and followed some steps into an dark basement beneath the accommodation.

    There we found a large gathering of young Iranians, two dozen or more men and women risking the law by hanging out together to sing. We joined them as strangers, seated on the floor and holding hands at times. In the dim light, the group sang and sang, a couple of them playing instruments.

    I can’t say I knew the songs or comprehended all the lyrics; I didn’t need to, to understand their meaning. You may force our people underground, you may cage them, bombard and even kill them. But you will never extinguish their eternal Persian spirit.

    O rosy-cheeked cup-bearer, give the fiery water,
    Play a joyful tune, O charming friend.
    O sad nightingale lament from your cage.
    Because of your grief my heart is
    Full of sparks, sparks, sparks.

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

    – ref. Friday essay: ‘my heart is full of sparks’ – as war escalates, can I hope for Iran’s liberation from a tyrannical regime? – https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-my-heart-is-full-of-sparks-as-war-escalates-can-i-hope-for-irans-liberation-from-a-tyrannical-regime-259275

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Friday essay: ‘my heart is full of sparks’ – as war escalates, can I hope for Iran’s liberation from a tyrannical regime?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Hessom Razavi, Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, The University of Western Australia

    We are at a dinner party in suburban Perth, a home away from home for our diaspora. As guests arrive, a Persian ballad plays in the background: Morq-e Sahar (Dawn Bird), a freedom song, a century-old protest against dictatorships and tyranny in Iran. This version was sung by the late Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, Iran’s most decorated maestro.

    Dawn bird, lament!
    Make my brand burn even more.
    With the sparks from your sigh, break
    And turn this cage upside down.

    Shajarian’s virtuoso voice frames an old question. One I’ve heard, it seems, at every Iranian gathering since my childhood. It hangs in the air like a cloud, unanswered, as guests greet each other with customary bowing and rooboosi (cheek kissing). We settle around a table laden with âjil (trail mix), fruit and wine, the smell of saffron rice and ghorme sabzi (herb stew) all around.

    For me, the scene is both familial and familiar. As is the question, which circles back around. “When will this regime change?” someone asks. The “regime” is Nezâm-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân, or the Regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    A missing voice

    Since the launch of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion against Iran last week, there has been a voice sometimes missing in the mainstream coverage – that of the Iranian people themselves.

    “Israel is not our enemy, the regime is our enemy,” chant many Iranians in Tehran and in the diaspora, a common sentiment in our community. They cite the regime that they have endured for 46 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution: a government most of them oppose and reject, with the vast majority of Iranians preferring democratic, if not secular, reform.

    I hear some Iranians, on social media and in conversation with people who live there, commending Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for assassinating Iran’s top military brass. These are the leaders of the Sepah, or the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the most powerful branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. Together with the mullahs – Iran’s Shia Muslim clerical class – they form the backbone of Iran’s government and economy.

    So far, Israel has assassinated Hossein Salami, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, as well as Mohammad Kazemi, its intelligence chief, plus senior nuclear scientists and dozens of other officers. Israel has also indicated an interest in killing Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

    “Damet garm, aghayeh Netanyahu,” some Iranians are saying, literally “may your breath be warm”, or “good job, Netanyahu”. Amid the terror and confusion – not to mention the civilian deaths, so far, of over 200 Iranians – there is a rare and distinct sense of hope.

    State of corruption

    In view of Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza, this support for Israel may come as a surprise to many Australians, and Western liberals in general. Certainly, reconciling Israel’s role in Gaza versus Iran is jarring.

    But for now, I hear some Iranians saying “maybe our regime can finally be toppled”. Maybe Iran can reclaim its place in the international community, as the proud and prosperous nation it should be? As this crisis escalates, as buildings collapse and distressed Tehranis, including my family, flee the capital for the safety of the countryside, there is a heady sense of possibility.

    Wing-tied nightingale come out of the corner of your cage, and
    Sing the song of freedom for human kind.
    With your fiery breath ignite,
    The breath of this peopled land …

    I understand the allure of this hope; to an extent, I feel it myself. My family lives in Australia, not Iran, precisely because of the Iranian regime’s tyranny. We fled Iran in 1983 due to political persecution, after most of the adults in our extended family were arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned by the government.

    Two of my imprisoned uncles and one of my aunties were executed. Another uncle was beaten to death in custody. My grandfather, a noble old man, was imprisoned and tortured. We were far from unique; during the 1980s, the government imprisoned tens of thousands of its own people, executing many thousands of them.

    Little has changed since then. The Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guards have shown a pervasive disregard for human rights. They execute more of their own people than any country except China. They are a world leader in the use of torture; they deny freedoms of expression and press, association and assembly; they discriminate against women, girls, religious minorities, LGBTI people, and refugees. Tightly controlled elections ensure the success of desired candidates.

    Freedom House, a nonprofit organisation based in the US, gives Iran a score of 11 out of 100 for its provision of political rights and civil liberties. For many Iranians, it felt overdue when, in 2019, the US listed the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, a decision followed by other countries, including Canada and Sweden. In 2023, the European parliament overwhelmingly voted for a resolution to do the same, with calls to expedite this motion in early 2025.

    In parallel to their human rights abuses, the Revolutionary Guard has hobbled the Iranian economy. Their corruption, financial incompetence and operation of black markets have compounded the effects of international sanctions. Consequently, the Iranian rial hit a historic low this year. It is now worth around one twentieth of its value in 2015.

    People’s life savings have dwindled in value, rendering older Iranians financially vulnerable. Inflation was 38.7% in May of this year, down from highs of over 40%. My family in Iran experience this as grocery and commodity prices that may rise in a single day, higher in the afternoon than in the morning. Some cities have experienced water cuts and power outages.

    While it hasn’t yet qualified as a failed state, Iran has been failing.

    All of this has occurred despite the country being richly endowed with the second- and third-highest natural gas and oil reserves in the world, respectively. Iran has a GDP of over $US404 billion – 36th in the world. Its youth are highly educated and literate, with more women enrolled in universities than men.

    Rather than accelerating the nation’s domestic development, however, the Iranian government has by its own admission spent tens of billions of dollars to expand its empire by funding terrorist proxies: Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the recently deposed Assad regime in Syria, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

    The Iranian people have suffered financially, but the Revolutionary Guards have not. They are estimated to control at least 10%, and up to 50%, of the country’s total economy, including up to an estimated 50% share of Iran’s US$50 billion per year oil profits. They have achieved this by commandeering an industrial empire, made up of hundreds of commercial companies, trusts, subsidiaries and nominally charitable foundations.

    A further US$2 billion or more per year comes from the government’s military budget, with periodic boosts during crises. Add to this the alleged shadowy operation of black markets, extortion, and the smuggling of alcohol, narcotics and weapons, accounting for an estimated US$12 billion per year in revenue.

    Contemplating this corruption, I am reminded of an anecdote from a personal associate who worked for a firm affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard. They shared stories of officers, the nation’s purported “guardians of Islam”, hosting parties where alcohol, firearms and sex workers were readily available.

    My associate recounted several instances of fraud and theft, one of them monumental in scale. In this “tea smuggling scandal”, the Revolutionary Guard defrauded billions of dollars from a government fund by illicitly exchanging some funds on the open market, falsely labelling cheap tea to on-sell as superior quality tea, and falsely labelling domestically produced machinery as “Made in Germany”.

    “They’re untouchable, and they know it”, my associate said. Another Iranian community member described them to me as “Iran’s super-mafia”.

    Speaking to family in Iran, they say many of the middle tier Revolutionary Guards live in their own shahrak-ha (towns) with dedicated markets, schools and resorts. Many of the Guards’ elite, meanwhile, live in mansions in the exclusive parts of north Tehran, with children who pursue conspicuously American “lifestyles of the rich and famous”. For an organisation that leads the chants of “marg bar America!” (death to America), one wonders if they see the irony in this.

    Turn our dark night to dawn

    I find myself sickened by the events of this war, and the harm it is causing. Struck with anxiety, some of our family members in Tehran haven’t slept for days. “The Israeli bombardments are non-stop, and so loud,” one family member told me.

    This week our extended family has struggled frantically to leave Tehran. Petrol is hard to come by and, in a mass exodus, the bumper-to-bumper traffic stands still for hours. I know some of the neighbourhoods being bombed; we lived in one of them in my childhood.

    “For every military commander that’s assassinated, a whole building might collapse, and with a dozen civilians trapped or killed,” another person told me, intimating that the civilian toll is higher than official counts.

    I am also worried about the raised hopes of Iranians. I have seen this before, when a spark – sometimes an inspirational act of courage from an ordinary citizen – leads to public surges in solidarity. At these moments during my childhood, my parents would tell me that the regime’s time was limited, it’s downfall inevitable. Iranians would see better days and people power would prevail.

    Truth and goodness rise like cream, my Dad would say, as if echoing Dr Martin Luther King’s arc of the moral universe bending towards justice.

    A beautiful sentiment no doubt, but one that has become difficult to believe over time. It often appears that the universe’s arc bends towards power, not justice. Fairness seems the exception, hardly the rule. At the time, Dad’s reassurances were protective, even noble. But as the 1979 revolution and its aftermath have shown, might beats right most days of the week.

    The cruelty of the cruel and the tyranny of the hunter
    Have blown away my nest.
    O God, O Heavens, O Nature,
    Turn our dark night to dawn.

    As I explain to Australian friends: how can a people surpass a government that has (1) the military on its side, (2) a stranglehold on oil revenue, and (3) a purported mandate from God?

    Guns, money and a holy book – a hard trifecta to crack, and powerful enough to attract a sufficient minority of cronies, bottom feeders and sycophants.

    What’s the size of this ruling minority? It’s difficult to be sure, but a 2023 survey of 158,000 respondents within Iran found that only 15% supported the Islamic Republic. Small, but sufficient to produce crowds burning American and Israeli flags. I’ve always marvelled at the regime’s ability to manufacture these images; I’m told by associates that they now use AI to produce some of these.

    Women Life Freedom

    As current events unfold, I find myself deeply sceptical of all the political actors, whether Iranian, Israeli, American, Arab or Russian. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, none of them have shown any serious interest in supporting democratic reform in Iran. “They’ve all profited from this government,” a senior community member told me. “Why would that change now?”

    For the sake of sanity, I find myself searching for credible sources of hope. The only one I settle on is faith in the Iranian people themselves. This the culture that has surrounded me since childhood, the qualities I’ve seen first hand in my countrywomen and men, whether young or old, home or abroad, Muslim, Bahai or secular: a resilience, a resourcefulness, a propensity for joy, a confidence and pride in culture, and an ability to prevail, over and again.

    It’s a new spring, roses are in bloom…
    …O rose, look towards this lover,
    Look again, again, again.

    These qualities are periodically staged for the world to see. Iranian people have not taken their oppression lying down, rising in (mainly) peaceful protests. There have been some 10 mass protests since the inception of the Islamic Republic in 1979. The largest of these was the Green Movement in 2009, when it was estimated that over a million citizens marched in Tehran alone. As recently as May 2025, strikes took place in over 150 cities, involving hundreds of thousands of workers.

    For the most part, these demonstrations have been met with severe repression by state authorities. One episode, from September 2022, deserves special mention. The world watched in horror as the regime cracked down on young women in Iran. This was their response to the Zan Zendegi Azadi (Woman Life Freedom) movement, where mass protests were triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini.

    Amini was a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who had been detained by the government’s “Morality Police” for wearing an improper hijab. Three days into her detention she died under suspicious circumstances. A leaked CT scan showed a skull fracture and brain haemorrhage. This corroborated eyewitness accounts that Amini had been severely beaten by police.

    Intentionally or not, a dress code infringement had been punished by death. Even for Iranians long accustomed to state violence, this was too much. Mass protests erupted in more than 100 cities across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.

    The protests were led by women, many of them defiantly removing their headscarves. True to its nature, the regime responded violently. In the months that followed, over 20,000 protesters were imprisoned, many later testifying to having been tortured through electric shock, flogging, waterboarding and rape.

    Human Rights Watch estimates that over 500 civilians – including 68 children and adolescents – were killed by security forces, which included the paramilitary Basijis, Revolutionary Guard Corps, police and prison guards.

    Things would get darker. That December the regime was accused of deliberately poisoning over 1,200 students at Kharazmi and Ark universities on the eve of a planned protest. Soon thereafter, there were allegations of toxic gas attacks against thousands of schoolgirls, in apparent retaliation for removing their hijabs. By 2024, the UN had accused Iran of a coordinated campaign of crimes against humanity, a claim rejected by the regime.

    As an eye surgeon, I was distressed to read a letter signed by over 100 Iranian ophthalmologists detailing eye injuries among protesters. The letter alleged that security forces had deliberately targeted people’s eyes with teargas canisters, rubber bullets and shotgun fire, resulting in traumatic injuries and irreversible blindness among protesters.

    Dew drops are falling from my cloudy eyes
    This cage, like my heart, is narrow and dark.
    O fiery sigh set alight this cage
    O fate, do not pick the flower of my life.

    There were separate reports of women’s faces and genitals being targeted by shotgun fire. The regime appeared to have interfered with medical services: protestors transported to police stations in ambulances were arrested after surgery or denied treatment. Doctors were reportedly coerced to supply false death certificates to disguise the true cause of protestors’ deaths. The British Medical Journal documented healthcare professionals being arrested, intimidated, kidnapped or killed in retaliation for treating protesters.

    If we didn’t know it already, Zan Zendegi Azadi reminded us of the risks, if not futility, of advocating for change in Iran.

    When mass civil movements like this, performed ten times over, have not worked, what alternatives are the people left with? Brutalised and impoverished by their own government, should we be surprised when a traditionally Islamic people welcome a Jewish state’s decapitation of their political leaders? Is it not tempting, even if lazy, to invoke the historical comparison of Cyrus the Great, Persian King of the Achaemenid Empire, who freed the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity?

    For the people of Iran and Israel – at the risk of naivety and romanticism – are we approaching an age of karma?

    O rose, look towards this lover,
    Look again, again, again.
    O heart-lost bird, shorten, shorten, shorten,
    The tale of separation.

    An uncertain scenario

    Regarding Operation Rising Lion, it is safe to say that Iranians, like any healthy community, hold a diversity of views.

    At one end of the spectrum, those who unconditionally condemn Israel’s attack should consider that the Iranian government has stockpiled over 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium. While not enough to build a nuclear warhead, this is far more enriched uranium than is needed for peaceful purposes.

    The Iranian government has also vowed to “wipe Israel off the map” for decades. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei lauded the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians. In other words, Iran has said to Israel “we want to annihilate you, we’ll celebrate your deaths, and we could do it with nuclear weapons if we wished to”.

    Following Iran’s recent breach of its nonproliferation obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Israel says it has acted lawfully in attacking Iran for self-defense – a claim disputed by some international law experts. Even if one does not agree with Israel’s action, it is evident that they’ve long been baited by Iran.

    On the other side of the coin, Iranians who salute Israel and the US as their saviours should take caution. The US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declared as recently as March 2025 that there was no evidence that Iran was actively pursuing nuclear weapons, a finding corroborated by over a dozen other US intelligence elements including the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Insitute for Defense Analyses.

    One cannot ignore the disturbing echoes of the 2003 war on Iraq, where the absence of evidence for weapons of mass destruction was intentionally misrepresented by the US and UK governments. The consequences for Iraq have been disastrous.

    As for Netanyahu and his administration, they have shown a ruthless pursuit of narrow self-interest in Gaza. The deaths and injuries inflicted by the Israeli Defence Forces on more than 50,000 Palestinian children appear to have done nothing to quell their ambitions.

    With regards to Netanyahu himself, he is facing corruption charges that could result in his domestic imprisonment and he has more recently been the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, including starvation and murder.

    What can Iranians learn from this? The evidence suggests this could be a war of passion and opportunism for Israel, rather than one of legitimate self-defence. In any case, they are not waging it for the benefit of Iranians.

    Israel has a tendency to set ambitious military goals that it can’t achieve. While it promises Operation Rising Lion will soon end, its track record suggests otherwise.

    A protracted conflict would see Iran’s civilian toll rise much higher. Power outages and fuel shortages have already begun; what happens once water, medical and food scarcity set in? Since Iran doesn’t allow many international aid agencies onto its soil, who will come to the rescue of Iranians as things escalate?

    Truth’s life has come to an end
    Faith and fidelity have been replaced by the shield of war.
    Lover’s lament and beloved’s coyness,
    Are but lies and have no power.

    Even if Israel succeeds in capturing or killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, what happens next? With the Revolutionary Guard’s roots in place, there is no guarantee, and in fact a low likelihood, of true democratic reform. In recent times, foreign interference in the region has not gone well. Look at Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria: all evidence of catastrophic worsening after the removal of autocrats.

    This is a complex and uncertain scenario with little room for moral grandstanding. Disabling Iran’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities could be a net win, but the manner in which it is being done sets a dangerous precedent. For the Iranian people, Netanyahu’s ambitions could ultimately prove both heroic and villainous.

    The cup of the rich is full of pure wine,
    Our cup is filled with our heart’s blood.
    O anxious heart, cry out aloud
    And avoid those who have powerful hands.

    As I watch coverage of the war, I find myself drifting back to Shajarian’s voice and to Morq-e Sahar, probably for distraction and comfort. What is real is my faith in my fellow Iranians. Many examples comes to mind. One, during a trip to Iran, was when I stayed with family at a roadhouse. That evening, we heard music emanating from the courtyard and followed some steps into an dark basement beneath the accommodation.

    There we found a large gathering of young Iranians, two dozen or more men and women risking the law by hanging out together to sing. We joined them as strangers, seated on the floor and holding hands at times. In the dim light, the group sang and sang, a couple of them playing instruments.

    I can’t say I knew the songs or comprehended all the lyrics; I didn’t need to, to understand their meaning. You may force our people underground, you may cage them, bombard and even kill them. But you will never extinguish their eternal Persian spirit.

    O rosy-cheeked cup-bearer, give the fiery water,
    Play a joyful tune, O charming friend.
    O sad nightingale lament from your cage.
    Because of your grief my heart is
    Full of sparks, sparks, sparks.

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

    – ref. Friday essay: ‘my heart is full of sparks’ – as war escalates, can I hope for Iran’s liberation from a tyrannical regime? – https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-my-heart-is-full-of-sparks-as-war-escalates-can-i-hope-for-irans-liberation-from-a-tyrannical-regime-259275

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Samsung Electronics Partners With Electronic Arts and Xbox To Bring EA SPORTS FC™ 25 to Samsung Gaming Hub

    Source: Samsung

     
    Samsung Electronics today announced a partnership with Electronic Arts (EA) and Xbox to bring the action of EA SPORTS FCTM 25 to Samsung Gaming Hub. Samsung TV and monitor owners can now play EA SPORTS FC 25 through the Xbox app with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)1 on supported devices.2 All players need to get started is a compatible controller and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes EA Play.
     
    As a special promotion, new Xbox Game Pass subscribers can receive a two-month Ultimate Game Pass subscription.3 The offer is available to both existing Samsung TV owners and those who buy a new, qualifying TV. To redeem, users can simply download the Samsung Promotions app on their Samsung TV, click the Xbox promotion banner or scan the QR code with their mobile device, and then follow the steps on the screen to activate their offer.
     
    “We are delighted to bring EA SPORTS FC 25 to Samsung TVs and monitors through cloud gaming on Samsung Gaming Hub,” said Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “As the world’s leading TV manufacturer, one of our goals is to immerse soccer fans around the world in the exciting game of soccer, whether they are playing the game or watching a match live on a Samsung TV.”
     
    EA SPORTS FC 25 gives players more ways to win for the club, by teaming up with friends across their favorite modes with 5v5 Rush and managing their clubs to victory as FC IQ delivers more tactical control than ever before. Fans will also continue to experience unparalleled authenticity with the most true-to-life experience of football’s biggest competitions, clubs and stars. FC 25 features over 19,000 athletes across more than 700 teams, 120 stadiums and 30 leagues from around the world.
     
    Samsung Gaming Hub, first introduced in 2022, has redefined home entertainment by giving players access to thousands of games directly on Samsung TVs and monitors. This includes the 2025 TV series, spanning Samsung Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, OLED, QLED, The Frame and The Frame Pro, which are powered by Samsung Vision AI for AI enhanced picture and sound, along with new personalized features that bring people closer to the shows, movies and games they love.
     
    In a first for the TV industry, Samsung has partnered with Microsoft to integrate Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) into its smart TVs and monitors, and now supports a wide range of streamed games from partners including NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Amazon Luna.
     
    For more information on Samsung Gaming Hub, please visit www.samsung.com.
     
     
    1 In 27 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Korea), the game is available via Samsung Gaming Hub.
    Supported features and games may vary by country and model. An internet connection, additional gaming service subscription and compatible controller are required. Samsung Account required for network-based smart services, including streaming apps and other smart features.
    2 Available on select 2022 or later Samsung Smart TVs and Monitors.
    3 Claim Game Pass Ultimate trial by August 12,2025. Redeem at https://www.xbox.com/redeem by August 19, 2025. Valid for new Xbox Game Pass members only. Available in all regions with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) supporting the Xbox app on Samsung, excluding Korea and Argentina.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Press release – Human rights breaches in Georgia, Iran and Mali

    Source: European Parliament

    On Thursday, Parliament adopted human rights resolutions on Georgia, Iran and Mali.

    Media freedom in Georgia and the case of Mzia Amaglobeli

    MEPs are deeply concerned about arbitrary detentions in Georgia and the government’s harassment of and violence against journalists. They demand the immediate and unconditional release of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, condemning her arrest as politically motivated . They strongly condemn the Georgian Dream regime’s systemic assault on democratic institutions, political opposition, independent media, civil society and judicial independence. They call for independent investigations and urge the authorities to act immediately to ensure journalists’ safety.

    Parliament also calls for the release of all political prisoners, including activists, opposition leaders and former President Mikheil Saakashvili. In the resolution, MEPs call urgently for the repeal of repressive laws, restoration of democracy, and full protection of media freedom and civil liberties. The EU must step up its support for Georgian civil society, while pressing for sanctions on officials responsible for democratic backsliding, MEPs add.

    They also express grave concern at the latest wave of assaults against Georgian non‑governmental organisations, which is putting the work of targeted organisations at risk.

    The resolution was adopted by 324 votes in favour, 25 against and 87 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (19.6.2025)

    The case of Dr Ahmadreza Djalali in Iran

    Parliament condemns Dr Ahmadreza Djalali’s sham trial, torture and lack of access to medical care, and urge Iran to provide him with legal representation and defence and allow contacts with his family.

    MEPs call on Iran to put a moratorium on executions and abolish the death penalty. They urge Sweden and relevant member states and the European External Action Service to adopt targeted measures in response to Iran’s continued detention of EU nationals, including Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris.

    They reiterate their call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organisation and extend EU sanctions to those who take EU nationals hostage, execute opposition members en masse, and commit other human rights violations. They demand that UN human rights mechanisms be fully activated in Iran, including the Special Rapporteur. They also call on EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to raise Djalali’s case in public and during all engagements with her Iranian counterparts.

    The resolution was adopted by 486 votes in favour, 8 against and 29 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (19.6.2025)

    Dissolution of political parties and crackdown on the opposition in Mali

    Parliament condemns the dissolution of political parties in Mali and the repression of the opposition. MEPs criticise the authorities for actions that undermine democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and demand respect for international human rights law and Mali’s own commitments.

    They note the transitional president’s 2024 request to create conditions for transparent and peaceful elections, and call for the immediate release of those arrested or abducted for political reasons, an end to repression and intimidation, and guarantees for the safety of opposition members and civil society actors.

    Parliament also denounces the ongoing violence and Islamist terrorism in Mali, and stresses the need for accountability for human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Wagner Group/Africa Corps, and reaffirms the EU’s support for multi-party democracy, civil society, and human rights in Mali. MEPs express serious concern over the growing illegal migration flows from Mali, fuelled by growing insecurity, political instability and economic stagnation and call on the Malian authorities to take full responsibility for preventing uncontrolled departures.

    The resolution was adopted by 511 votes in favour, 14 against and with 25 abstentions. For further details, the full version will be available here. (19.6.2025)

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Highlights – REGI – Reporting back to committee – Mission to Sweden – 25.06.25 – Committee on Regional Development

    Source: European Parliament

    REGI Sweden mission_May 2025 © Image used under license from Adobe Stock

    The Committee on Regional Development will have a reporting back to committee on the subject of its mission to Sweden from 26-28 May at its meeting on Wednesday 25 June 2025.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: British holidaymaker dies from rabies: what you need to know about the disease and getting the jab if you’re going abroad this summer

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

    Olexandr Panchenko/Shutterstock.com

    The recent death of a British woman from rabies after a holiday in Morocco is a sobering reminder of the risks posed by this almost universally fatal disease, once symptoms begin.

    If you’re considering travelling to a country where rabies is endemic, understanding how rabies works – and how to protect yourself – may go a long way in helping you stay safe.

    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.

    Rabies is a zoonotic disease – meaning it is transmitted from animals to humans – and is caused by a viral infection. In 99% of cases the source of the infection is a member of the canidae family (such as dogs, foxes and wolves). Bats are another animal group strongly associated with rabies, as the virus is endemic in many bat populations.

    Even in countries that are officially rabies-free, including in their domestic animal populations – such as Australia, Sweden and New Zealand – the virus may still be found in native bat species. Other animals known to transmit rabies include raccoons, cats and skunks.

    Rabies is caused by lyssaviruses (lit. rage or fury viruses), which are found in the saliva of infected animals. Transmission to humans can occur through bites, scratches or licks to broken skin or mucous membranes, such as those in the mouth. Once inside the body, the virus spreads to eventually reach the nervous system.

    Because it causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, symptoms are primarily neurological, often stemming from damage to the nerve pathways responsible for sensation and muscle control.

    Patients who develop rabies symptoms often experience altered skin sensation and progressive paralysis. As the virus affects the brain, it can also cause hallucinations, and unusual or erratic behaviours. One particularly distinctive symptom – hydrophobia, a serious aversion to water – is believed to result from severe pain and difficulty associated with swallowing.

    Once rabies symptoms appear, the virus has already caused irreversible damage. At this stage, treatment is limited to supportive intensive care aimed at easing discomfort – such as providing fluids, sedation and relief from pain and seizures. Death typically results from progressive neurological deterioration, which ultimately leads to respiratory failure.

    It’s important to note that rabies symptoms can take several weeks, or even months, to appear. During this incubation period, there may be no signs that prompt people to seek medical help. However, this window is crucial as it offers the best chance to administer treatment and prevent the virus from progressing.

    Another danger lies in how the virus is transmitted. Even animals that don’t appear rabid – the classical frothing mouth and aggressive behaviour for instance – can still transmit the virus.

    Rabies can be transmitted through even superficial breaks in the skin, so minor wounds should not be dismissed or treated less seriously. It’s also important to remember that bat wounds can often be felt but not seen. This makes them easy to overlook, should there be no bleeding or clear mark on the skin.

    Don’t be tempted to pet stray animals in rabies endemic countries, not matter how cute they appear.
    cristi180884/Shutterstock.com

    The vaccine

    The good news is that there are proven and effective ways to protect yourself from rabies – either before travelling to a higher-risk area, or after possible exposure to an infected animal.

    Modern rabies vaccines are far easier to administer than older versions, which some may recall – often with discomfort. In the past, treatment involved multiple frequent injections (over 20 in all) into the abdomen using a large needle. This was the case for a friend of mine who grew up in Africa and was one day bitten by a dog just hours after it had been attacked by a hyena.

    The vaccine can now be given as an injection into a muscle, for instance in the shoulder, and a typical preventative course requires three doses. Since the protective effect can wane with time, booster shots may be needed for some individuals to maintain protection.

    Sustaining a bite from any animal should always be taken seriously. Aside from rabies, animals carry many potentially harmful bacteria in their mouths, which can cause skin and soft tissue infections – or sepsis if they spread to the bloodstream.



    Read more:
    How to treat a wound – without using superglue, grout or vodka, like some people

    First aid and wound treatment is the first port of call, and seeking urgent medical attention for any bites, scratches or licks to exposed skin or mucous membranes sustained abroad. In the UK, this also applies to any injuries sustained from bats.

    A doctor will evaluate the risk based on the wound, the animal involved, whether the patient has had previous vaccines, and in which country they were bitten, among other things. This will help to guide treatment, which might include vaccines alone or combined with an infusion of immunoglobulin infusions – special antibodies that target the virus.

    Timing is crucial. The sooner treatment is started, the better the outcome. This is why it is so important to seek medical help immediately.

    In making the decision whether you should get a vaccine before going on holiday, there are recommendations, but ultimately the choice is individual. Think about what the healthcare is like where you are going and whether you’ll be able to get treatment easily if you need it.

    Vaccines can have side-effects, though these tend to be relatively minor, and the intended benefits vastly exceed the costs. And of course avoid contact with stray animals while on holiday, despite how tempting it may be to pet them.

    Several rules of thumb can counteract the dangers of rabies: plan your holiday carefully, seek travel advice from your GP, and always treat animal bites and scrapes seriously.

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

    – ref. British holidaymaker dies from rabies: what you need to know about the disease and getting the jab if you’re going abroad this summer – https://theconversation.com/british-holidaymaker-dies-from-rabies-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-disease-and-getting-the-jab-if-youre-going-abroad-this-summer-259325

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI: Kvika banki hf.: Offering of bonds on June 25

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Kvika will offer bonds in a new series, KVIKA 28 0703, for sale on Wednesday 25 June 2025. The bonds will be issued under Kvika’s EMTN programme and listed on the Nasdaq Iceland exchange. The bonds pay a quarterly interest of 3-month REIBOR plus a spread. Principal is repaid in one payment at maturity, 3 July 2028. 

    The offering will be a Dutch auction, all bonds will be sold at the highest accepted spread on 3-month REIBOR.

    Expected settlement date is Thursday 3 July 2025.

    Capital Markets at Kvika manages the auction and bids will be received through the email utbod@kvika.is until 16:00 GMT on Wednesday 25 June 2025. 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Kvika banki hf.: Offering of bonds on June 25

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Kvika will offer bonds in a new series, KVIKA 28 0703, for sale on Wednesday 25 June 2025. The bonds will be issued under Kvika’s EMTN programme and listed on the Nasdaq Iceland exchange. The bonds pay a quarterly interest of 3-month REIBOR plus a spread. Principal is repaid in one payment at maturity, 3 July 2028. 

    The offering will be a Dutch auction, all bonds will be sold at the highest accepted spread on 3-month REIBOR.

    Expected settlement date is Thursday 3 July 2025.

    Capital Markets at Kvika manages the auction and bids will be received through the email utbod@kvika.is until 16:00 GMT on Wednesday 25 June 2025. 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Brand Scotland takes centre stage at Royal Highland Show

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Brand Scotland takes centre stage at Royal Highland Show

    Scottish Secretary to bang the drum for Scotland’s iconic food, drink, agriculture and farming sectors at the Edinburgh event

    Fresh from new Spending Review financial backing, the UK Government’s Brand Scotland campaign to boost exports of Scottish products and promotion of inward investment takes centre stage at the Royal Highland Show from today (Thursday June 19).

    Scottish Secretary Ian Murray will be in attendance and later host a reception with the Scotch Whisky Association to promote our iconic national tipple, enjoyed by tens of millions around the world.

    Exhibitors and showgoers will hear how the UK Government is working with Scottish businesses to maximise the benefits of recent trade deals with India, US and the EU to create significant opportunities at home and abroad. 

    The UK-India trade deal slashes tariffs on whisky. Meanwhile the UK-EU deal also means that British farms will be able to sell sausages and burgers to the EU for the first time in five years.

    Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said:

    Scotland is at the heart of the UK Government’s Plan for Change to put more money in the pockets of working Scots by investing in the country’s renewal. That’s why in last week’s Spending Review the Chancellor unleashed a new era of growth for Scotland, confirming billions of pounds of investment and creating thousands of high-skilled jobs.

    Our Brand Scotland campaign is an important part of this commitment and the Royal Highland Show is a fantastic opportunity to bang the drum for our iconic produce and help turbo-charge sales of Scottish goods and services at home and abroad. Following my recent successful trips to Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Washington and New York – and last week’s all women trade mission to Spain, led by Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill – we’re already seeing positive results from championing Brand Scotland.

    The trio of trade deals sealed by the Prime Minister is a fantastic opportunity for Scotland’s food and drink sector – from slashing tariffs on whisky and gin in India to putting Scottish burgers and sausages back on the menu for the EU. I look forward to continuing to work with Scottish businesses and other key partners as we give our country the global platform it deserves.

    The Scottish Secretary is expected to meet with NFU Scotland President Andrew Connon, Quality Meat Scotland, Lidl executives to discuss the retailers’ ambitions for growth in Scotland and support of Scottish food and drink suppliers and Graham’s Dairies to chat about export opportunities. He is also due to visit Scotland’s Larder where a huge range of Scottish food and drink producers will be in attendance.

    Other stakeholders lined up include Penicuik-based Moredun Institute which employs over 170 scientists, vets  and support staff promoting livestock health and welfare through cutting-edge research and education.

    Showgoers dropping into the UK Government marquee will be able to hear from UK Government departments and agencies about how they are delivering for people in Scotland and for our businesses across the world 

    Also present in the marquee will be exhibits from a number of exciting UK Government funded projects, including The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Scottish Football Association (grassroots football funding), Dramtubes & Project Harmless (British Business Bank funded) and Destination Tweed (National Lottery Heritage Fund).

    Other government departments and agencies in attendance will be:

    • Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (promoting the UK’s extensive overseas network, which works day in day out to promote our country)
    • Department for Business & Trade (direct access to global trade expertise)
    • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
    • Department for Work & Pensions
    • Ministry of Defence (Army, Navy, RAF)
    • Department for Transport (with Northern Lighthouse Board – responsible for the waters surrounding Scotland and the Isle of Man)
    • Shared Rural Network (SRN – designed to improve mobile coverage and boost connectivity across the UK, with the biggest uplifts in rural parts of Scotland and Wales. It is jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s four mobile network operators – EE, Three, VMO2 and Vodafone – with the objective of delivering 4G coverage to 95% of the UK by December 2025).

    Further information
    The Royal Highland Show is Scotland’s biggest outdoor event, attracting around 190,000 people. It runs from June 19 to 22.

    The Scotland Office’s Spending Review settlement allocates £0.75 million each year to champion our ‘Brand Scotland’ trade missions to promote Scotland’s goods and services on the world stage and to encourage further growth and investment.  

    As well as the Brand Scotland visits mentioned earlier, we have also supported a trade mission from Glasgow to Shanghai and have plans for more visits during the year.

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Joint Statement to the OSCE

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Joint Statement to the OSCE

    Acting Ambassador Deirdre Brown delivers a joint statement marking the 2025 International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

    Thank you, Madam Chair.

    I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine and my own country the United Kingdom.

    Today, on 19 June, we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. We pay tribute to victims, survivors and those around the world who dedicate their lives to ending conflict-related sexual violence.

    Madam Chair, the global scale and trajectory of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) cases in recent years is deeply concerning. In the OSCE region, we have continued to see evidence of conflict-related sexual violence committed by Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, indicating its potential use as a tactic of war. This has been documented by successive Moscow Mechanism reports, ODIHR Interim Reports and other independent monitoring.

    It is vital that we, the international community, take effective action to end impunity for conflict-related sexual violence. Sexual violence in all forms must stop, all perpetrators must be held accountable, and survivors must be supported.

    The UN Security Council’s resolutions on prevention and response to CRSV are important mechanisms in this regard. Multilateral cooperation and international initiatives such as the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and the OSCE’s mandated work on prevention and accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Armed Conflict highlight the importance of working together towards internationally agreed standards on accountability and support to survivors.

    We strongly support the priorities of Ukraine’s 2025 chairpersonship of the International Alliance, and its specific focus on raising awareness of sexual violence in conflict settings, strengthening international support for survivors, and mobilising global efforts towards justice.

    It is important that conflict-related sexual violence is tackled as part of wider global action to end all forms of gender-based violence, achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in all their diversity, implement global Women, Peace and Security commitments, empower women’s rights organisations, and promote and defend comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

    Madam Chair, participating States must continue to work together to promote international action to address and prevent conflict-related sexual violence. We must work to ensure that survivor-centred approaches are at the heart of our collective international response, and that survivors including children born of conflict-related sexual violence receive the support and protection they need.

    Updates to this page

    Published 19 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI: Lucinity and PwC Collaborate to Simplify AI Integration for Compliance Teams

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    REYKJAVIK, Iceland, June 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lucinity, a leader in AI-powered financial crime prevention, is working with PwC Denmark to streamline AI adoption for compliance teams. This collaboration embeds AI-driven solutions into financial crime workflows, boosting efficiency, automating manual tasks, and enhancing decision-making for financial institutions.

    Financial institutions face mounting regulatory scrutiny over money laundering, fraud, and sanctions violations. Lucinity’s AI-powered platform accelerates investigations, transforms user experience, and strengthens compliance, while PwC’s integration expertise ensures seamless AI deployment.

    Lucinity’s platform features a centralized Case Manager for financial crime investigations and the Luci AI Agent for intelligent automation, streamlining compliance workflows. Financial institutions can configure their AI-driven processes to align with their unique requirements through Lucinity’s self-serve interface. Built with security and explainability at its core, the platform ensures transparency and provides clear AI-driven insights that can be easily explained to regulators. Lucinity has helped various banks, fintechs, and payment providers, including Visa, Trustly, Finshark, Kroo Bank, Arion Bank, and Kvika Bank, enhance financial crime compliance.

    PwC brings deep expertise in financial services, regulatory compliance, and technology integration. Its strengths include aligning AI with business processes, managing smooth deployments, and providing change management and workforce training to facilitate AI adoption. This ensures financial institutions can implement AI-driven compliance solutions efficiently while maintaining regulatory alignment.

    A key innovation in this collaboration is Luci Skills—AI-powered automations for compliance tasks like negative news search, money flow analysis, case summaries, and transaction analysis. Financial institutions can also build custom AI capabilities within Lucinity’s framework, supported by PwC.

    “PwC Denmark’s reputation as a trusted leader in financial services makes them an ideal collaborator,” said Gudmundur Kristjansson, CEO of Lucinity. “Their expertise in compliance and technology integration, combined with our AI-driven solutions, simplifies AI adoption for financial institutions.”

    Lucinity’s AI technology plays a key role in supporting efforts to enhance compliance and risk management. By working closely with customers to develop innovative solutions, this collaboration represents a meaningful step toward meeting their evolving needs.

    Lucinity and PwC Denmark are launching joint Proof of Concepts (PoCs) to drive AI innovation in financial crime compliance.

    To learn more about the collaboration or to contact Lucinity’s experts, visit https://lucinity.com/

    About Lucinity

    ​​Lucinity is an AI software company for financial crime operations, designed to accelerate compliance teams. Lucinity enhances intelligence gathering, analysis, and decision-making, allowing institutions to streamline operations and reduce costs. As an open, configurable, no-code platform, Lucinity offers a seamless integration of data, automated workflows, and a modern user interface, making it a crucial tool for enhancing productivity and operational efficiency in the financial sector.

    About PwC

    At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into competitive advantage. We’re a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 370,000 people in 149 countries (2,800 people in Denmark). Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting we help build, accelerate and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.dk.

    Contact
    celina@lucinity.com 

    The MIL Network –

  • Climate change: As the planet hits record temperatures, what is the science is telling us?

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Concentrations in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, reached a fresh high of 422 parts per million in 2024 the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has said.

    After another record-breaking year for global temperatures in 2024, pressure is rising on policymakers to step up efforts to curb climate change.

    The last global scientific consensus on the phenomenon was released in 2021 through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but scientists say evidence shows global warming and its impacts have since been unfolding faster than expected.

    Here is some of the latest climate research:

    CRITICAL POINT

    The world may already have hit 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) of warming above the average pre-industrial temperature – a critical threshold beyond which it is at risk of irreversible and extreme climate change, scientists say.

    A group of researchers made the suggestion in a study released in November based on an analysis of 2,000 years of atmospheric gases trapped in Antarctic ice cores.

    Scientists have typically measured today’s temperatures against a baseline temperature average for 1850-1900. By that measure, the world is now at nearly 1.3 C (2.4 F) of warming.

    But the new data suggests a longer pre-industrial baseline, based on temperature data spanning the year 13 to 1700, which put warming at 1.49 C in 2023, the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience said.

    OCEAN CHANGES

    The warming of the Atlantic could hasten the collapse of a key current system, which scientists warn could already be sputtering.

    The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which transports warm water from the tropics to the North Atlantic, has helped to keep European winters milder for centuries.

    Research in 2018 showed that AMOC has weakened by about 15% since 1950, while research published in February 2024 in the journal Science Advances suggested it could be closer to a critical slowdown than previously thought.

    In addition, with the world in the throes of a fourth mass coral bleaching event — the largest on record — scientists fear the world’s reefs have passed a point of no return.

    Scientists will be studying bleached reefs from Australia to Brazil for signs of recovery over the next few years if temperatures fall.

    EXTREME WEATHER

    Ocean warming is not only fuelling stronger Atlantic storms, it is also causing them to intensify more rapidly, with some jumping from a Category 1 to a Category 3 storm in just hours.

    Growing evidence shows this is true of other ocean basins. In October 2024 Hurricane Milton needed only one day in the Gulf of Mexico to go from tropical storm to the Gulf’s second most powerful hurricane on record, slamming Florida’s west coast.

    Warmer air can also hold more moisture, helping storms carry and eventually release more rain. As a result, hurricanes are delivering flooding even in mountain towns like Asheville, North Carolina, inundated in September 2024 by Hurricane Helene.

    FORESTS AND FIRES

    Global warming is drying waterways and sapping moisture from forests, creating conditions for bigger and hotter wildfires from the U.S. West and Canada to southern Europe and Russia’s Far East.

    Research published in October in Nature Climate Change calculated that about 13% of deaths associated with toxic wildfire smoke during the 2010s could be attributed to the climate effect on wildfires.

    Brazil’s Amazon in 2024 was in the grip of its worst and most widespread drought since records began in 1950. River levels sank to all-time lows last year, while fires ravaged the rainforest.

    That added concern to scientific findings earlier last year that between 10% and 47% of the Amazon will face combined stresses of heat and drought from climate change, as well as other threats, by 2050.

    That could push the Amazon past a tipping point, with the jungle no longer able to produce enough moisture to quench its own trees, at which point the ecosystem could transition to degraded forests or sandy savannas.

    Globally, forests appear to be struggling. A July 2024 study found that forests overall failed to absorb the year before as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as in the past, due largely to the Amazon drought and wildfires in Canada. That means a record amount of CO2 entered the atmosphere.

    In addition, scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found in December 2024 that while the vast Arctic tundra has been a carbon sink for thousands of years, rising wildfire emissions mean the tundra is now releasing more carbon than it stores.

    VOLCANIC SURGE

    Scientists fear climate change could even boost volcanic eruptions. In Iceland, volcanoes appear to be responding to rapid glacier retreat. As ice melts, less pressure is exerted on the Earth’s crust and mantle.

    (REUTERS)

  • MIL-OSI: JLT Mobile Computers announces a generational change in marketing leadership

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Växjö, Sweden, June 24, 2025 * * * JLT Mobile Computers, a leading developer and supplier of reliable computers for demanding environments, today announced the planned generational change in its marketing leadership. This leadership transition reflects JLT’s strategic initiative to centralize and mobilize its marketing resources, reinforcing its commitment to global growth and market expansion.

    Christian Meincke, who has served as Chief Marketing Officer at JLT since 2023, is retiring. Tejal Ranjan, Vice President of Marketing, will take on global responsibility for the company’s marketing strategy, planning, and operations.

    Tejal joined JLT as VP of Marketing, USA in October 2024 and brings over 20 years of international experience in B2B technology marketing. Throughout her career, Tejal has held executive marketing positions at global technology firms, leading digital transformation efforts, building high-performing teams, and launching integrated campaigns that accelerated revenue growth and brand recognition. She is recognized for her customer-centric approach, data-driven decision-making, and her ability to closely align marketing with sales for measurable business impact.

    To learn more about JLT Mobile Computers, and the company’s products, services and solutions, visit jltmobile.com. Financial information is available on JLT’s investor page.

    About JLT Mobile Computers

    JLT Mobile Computers is a leading developer and supplier of rugged mobile computing devices and solutions for demanding environments. 30 years of development and manufacturing experience have enabled JLT to set the standard in rugged computing, combining outstanding product quality with expert service, support and solutions to ensure trouble-free business operations for customers in warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, mining, ports and agriculture. JLT operates globally from offices in Sweden, France, and the US, complemented by an extensive network of sales partners in local markets. The company was founded in 1994, and the share has been listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market stock exchange since 2002 under the symbol JLT. Eminova Fondkommission AB acts as Certified Adviser. Learn more at jltmobile.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: JLT Mobile Computers announces a generational change in marketing leadership

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Växjö, Sweden, June 24, 2025 * * * JLT Mobile Computers, a leading developer and supplier of reliable computers for demanding environments, today announced the planned generational change in its marketing leadership. This leadership transition reflects JLT’s strategic initiative to centralize and mobilize its marketing resources, reinforcing its commitment to global growth and market expansion.

    Christian Meincke, who has served as Chief Marketing Officer at JLT since 2023, is retiring. Tejal Ranjan, Vice President of Marketing, will take on global responsibility for the company’s marketing strategy, planning, and operations.

    Tejal joined JLT as VP of Marketing, USA in October 2024 and brings over 20 years of international experience in B2B technology marketing. Throughout her career, Tejal has held executive marketing positions at global technology firms, leading digital transformation efforts, building high-performing teams, and launching integrated campaigns that accelerated revenue growth and brand recognition. She is recognized for her customer-centric approach, data-driven decision-making, and her ability to closely align marketing with sales for measurable business impact.

    To learn more about JLT Mobile Computers, and the company’s products, services and solutions, visit jltmobile.com. Financial information is available on JLT’s investor page.

    About JLT Mobile Computers

    JLT Mobile Computers is a leading developer and supplier of rugged mobile computing devices and solutions for demanding environments. 30 years of development and manufacturing experience have enabled JLT to set the standard in rugged computing, combining outstanding product quality with expert service, support and solutions to ensure trouble-free business operations for customers in warehousing, transportation, manufacturing, mining, ports and agriculture. JLT operates globally from offices in Sweden, France, and the US, complemented by an extensive network of sales partners in local markets. The company was founded in 1994, and the share has been listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market stock exchange since 2002 under the symbol JLT. Eminova Fondkommission AB acts as Certified Adviser. Learn more at jltmobile.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Christine Lagarde: Strengthening economies in a stormy and fragmenting world

    Source: European Central Bank

    Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ninth Annual Research Conference “Economic and financial integration in a stormy and fragmenting world” organised by the National Bank of Ukraine and Narodowy Bank Polski in Kyiv, Ukraine

    Kyiv, 19 June 2025

    It is an honour to be here in Kyiv – a city that has come to symbolise resilience, dignity and the enduring spirit of freedom. Kyiv stands not only as the heart of Ukraine, but as a beacon of what it means to hold fast to democratic values in the face of immense challenge.

    As the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko once wrote, “In your own house – your own truth. Your own strength and freedom.” Ukraine’s fight today reminds all of Europe of this powerful truth: our security and prosperity rely on unity, on integration with our neighbours.

    In the face of Russia’s unjustified war of aggression, Ukrainians have demonstrated extraordinary courage and resilience in defence of their country.

    In my remarks today, and in keeping with the theme of this conference, I would like to reflect on the historical lessons we have learned about strengthening and integrating economies in an increasingly stormy and fragmented world.

    Experience shows that closer ties with the European neighbourhood can provide a strong foundation for Ukraine to rebuild and emerge stronger. And as geopolitical tensions rise and global supply chains fragment, the case for deeper regional cooperation has never been clearer.

    Europe’s own long history of integration offers valuable insights that can help guide Ukraine’s path forwards. Two key lessons stand out.

    First, while deeper integration increases the potential rewards, it also raises the risks if not managed wisely. Sound domestic policy frameworks are essential to maximise growth and safeguard stability.

    Second, the benefits of integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Maintaining them depends on continuous reform – but reforms must also deliver tangible improvements for people’s lives, and do so relatively quickly.

    The benefits of integration in a fragmenting world

    During the Cold War, the Iron Curtain fractured the European economy. Trade between East and West fell by half. This division was like imposing a 48% tariff – leading to immense welfare losses and isolating the Eastern bloc from global markets.[1]

    But the transformation since Europe’s eastern enlargement has been nothing short of remarkable. On average, countries that joined the EU in 2004 have nearly doubled their GDP per capita over the past two decades.

    Critically, this was not just about catching up from a low base. Between 2004 and 2019, the EU’s new Member States saw their GDP per capita grow 32% more than comparable non-EU countries.[2] The difference was deeper economic integration – and those that were already highly embedded in the regional economy gained the most.

    While all new members experienced gains, countries with stronger integration into regional value chains recorded nearly 10 percentage points higher GDP per capita growth compared with less integrated peers – regardless of geographic proximity.[3]

    This difference was driven mainly by technology and productivity spillovers. ECB research shows that a 10% increase in productivity among western EU firms translated into a 5% productivity gain for central and eastern European firms linked to their supply chains.[4]

    The case for regional integration is therefore clear – and in today’s increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, it has become even more compelling.

    First, regional integration underpins growth.

    European economies are highly open, which means a world splintering into rival trading blocs poses clear risks to prosperity. Yet Europe’s most important trading partner is Europe itself: around 65% of euro area exports go to other European countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway. For Ukraine too, Europe is the principal trading partner, accounting for over 50% of its goods trade in 2024.

    By deepening economic ties – more closely linking neighbouring economies – we can reduce our exposure to external shocks. Rising trade within our region can help offset losses in global markets.

    Second, regional integration strengthens resilience.

    One consequence of geopolitical fragmentation is the realignment of supply chains toward trusted partners. Nearly half of firms involved in external trade have already revised their strategies – or intend to do so – including relocating parts of their operations closer to home.[5] While this trend reduces strategic dependencies, it can also raise costs.

    Yet large integrated regions can mitigate these costs by replicating many of the benefits of globalisation at the regional level. Supply chains can be reorganised regionally, allowing each country to specialise based on its comparative advantage within regional value chains.

    Ukraine stands to benefit significantly from expanding these networks across the region – and the EU stands to benefit, too, from having Ukraine as a partner.[6]

    In the automotive sector, for example, Ukrainian firms already produce around 7% of all wire harnesses used in EU vehicles.[7] As the industry shifts towards electric vehicles, which require more complex wiring systems, Ukraine’s manufacturing base is well positioned to scale up and play a larger role in the EU value chain.

    Equally transformative is Ukraine’s drone industry, which has become one of the most advanced in the region. Drones are not only a critical component of modern warfare, but also a technology with substantial spillover effects and far-reaching dual-use applications.

    Indeed, the country’s ambitious goal of producing 4.5 million drones by 2025 has accelerated innovation in materials science, battery technology and 3D printing. These advances are already finding civilian applications in sectors such as logistics, agriculture and emergency response.

    In short, for both existing EU members and neighbouring countries like Ukraine, regional integration is both a path to prosperity and a strategic anchor in an increasingly fragmented world.

    Managing the risks of integration

    But examining the experience of countries that have used regional integration as a platform for growth and reform reveals two important lessons.

    The first is that if integration is not accompanied by appropriate reforms, it can create new vulnerabilities – especially in the financial sphere.

    Financial integration often brings volatile capital inflows, which can make it difficult to distinguish sustainable growth from unsustainable excesses in real time.

    One way this can happen is when productivity gains in tradable sectors, such as manufacturing, drive up wages in those sectors, which then spill over into higher wages in non-tradable sectors and push up overall inflation.[8]

    While this effect is a normal feature of catching-up, it can make it easy to mistake genuine convergence for economic overheating. If foreign capital is in fact driving financial imbalances – such as unsustainable real estate booms – countries may exhibit the same patterns of rising wages and inflation, masking underlying vulnerabilities.

    Another potential distortion is that capital inflows can significantly affect government fiscal positions by boosting tax revenues and creating the illusion of permanently greater fiscal space. This often leads to procyclical fiscal policies, with governments increasing spending or cutting taxes during boom periods – only to face fiscal stress when inflows reverse or growth slows.

    Both dynamics have been visible during Europe’s recent experience with regional integration.

    After the eastern enlargement, financial integration accelerated rapidly. Between 2003 and 2008, the new Member States experienced an extraordinary surge in capital inflows, averaging over 12% of GDP annually – twice the typical level for emerging markets globally.[9]

    Initially, this rapid financial integration brought clear benefits: it expanded access to credit, fuelled growth and enabled much-needed development. However, in many countries, foreign capital was disproportionately channelled into consumption and construction booms, while tax revenues rose sharply on the back of property transactions and buoyant domestic demand.[10] This led to widespread misallocation of private capital and inefficient public spending.

    Capital flows then reversed sharply when the global financial crisis struck, exposing these imbalances. Between December 2008 and May 2013, external bank liabilities in non-euro area central and eastern European countries declined by an average of 27% – with some countries experiencing drops of more than 50%.[11]

    Yet the risks associated with financial integration can be avoided. Not all countries in the region were affected equally. Those that performed better typically shared two key features.

    First, they had clear policies to channel foreign investment into productive sectors. Strong industrial strategies, a skilled workforce and integration into global supply chains helped direct capital towards manufacturing and tradable services – sectors that drive export growth and are less prone to unsustainable booms and asset bubbles.[12]

    Second, they maintained robust financial policy frameworks. Tighter capital requirements, active macroprudential measures and countercyclical buffers strengthened domestic banking sectors and curbed excessive mortgage lending. These tools enabled those countries to absorb large capital inflows without creating destabilising imbalances.[13]

    The lesson is clear: as countries integrate into the region, strong domestic policy frameworks are critical to ensuring that capital inflows support long-term growth rather than generating financial instability or inefficient allocation.

    This insight is especially relevant for Ukraine today as it charts its path towards recovery. If reconstruction proceeds as planned, the country could attract significant capital inflows over the next decade. But without the right safeguards, that capital risks being misallocated – undermining long-term productivity instead of strengthening it.

    There are encouraging signs. The EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area have already driven significant reforms in the financial sector. Ukraine’s banking regulation now aligns with more than 75% of EU standards, covering critical areas such as capital adequacy, governance and auditing.[14]

    The National Bank of Ukraine has adopted a risk-based supervisory model inspired by the Single Supervisory Mechanism – the system of banking supervision in Europe – markedly improving oversight. Despite extremely challenging circumstances, Ukraine is also modernising its capital markets – consolidating exchanges, upgrading settlement systems and strengthening regulatory enforcement to attract long-term investors.

    These reforms are already delivering results: in 2023, Ukraine’s banking sector remained profitable and well capitalised despite the ongoing war – an outcome that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

    Still, further progress is essential, especially in fiscal governance. Strengthening public investment management will be critical to ensure that reconstruction funds are allocated transparently and efficiently.

    This is not just about meeting external standards. It is about ensuring that every euro, and every hryvnia, delivers real returns for the Ukrainian people.[15]

    Making integration sustainable

    However, reforms cannot be treated as a one-time effort.

    So, the second key lesson is that the benefits of regional integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Sustaining them requires continuous reform – and, just as importantly, it requires citizens to see visible, tangible improvements in their daily lives.

    In this context, there are two risks to watch out for.

    The first is that institutional reform momentum can fade if economic benefits do not follow quickly.

    Deeper regional integration typically begins with aligning framework conditions, such as legal systems, regulation and public administration. These areas often improve rapidly. But for the economic gains to materialise, domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors must respond to the new incentives created – and this takes time.

    In the long run, evidence shows that countries with initially weaker institutions benefit the most from adopting higher standards.[16] But in the short run, if people only see the effort and not the payoff, public support for further reforms can weaken, putting long-term convergence at risk.

    The second risk is that structural shifts in the economy may weaken the link between integration and economic convergence over time.

    The integration of goods markets has traditionally driven convergence almost automatically, as foreign direct investment flows to countries with lower land and labour costs, supply chains relocate and lower-income countries benefit from technology transfers.

    As I mentioned earlier, this will remain an important mechanism even in an era of supply chain reshoring. But countries cannot rely on it as heavily as in the past. Future growth in intra-EU trade is expected to depend increasingly on services – particularly digital services.

    However, research shows that services sector activity tends to concentrate in larger, more affluent urban areas that exhibit the hallmarks of a knowledge economy: high tertiary education rates, strong technology and science sectors and robust digital infrastructure.[17]

    This means that deeper integration alone will not guarantee broad-based convergence across all regions. Over time, countries will need to invest more in education, skills and digitalisation to ensure they can build high levels of human capital.

    Maintaining the path of convergence is therefore not easy. But slowing down reform efforts is not the answer – especially in the shock-prone world we face today.

    There is a clear link between strong institutions and economic resilience. ECB research indicates that, during the pandemic, regions with lower institutional quality experienced – all else equal – an additional decline of around 4 percentage points in GDP per capita compared with the ten regions with the highest quality of government.[18]

    As our economies are increasingly buffeted by global turbulence, institutional backsliding therefore risks creating a vicious circle: repeated shocks can undermine economic convergence and further erode public confidence in the reform process.

    The best way for countries to sustain reform momentum is to recognise the importance of maintaining public support and, as far as possible, pair governance improvements with a focus on sectors where they have a clear competitive edge – and where deeper integration with the region can unlock significant and rapid growth opportunities.

    This way, the benefits of reforms will be felt more quickly and more widely.

    Ukraine is well positioned to put this into practice. Its IT sector is already relatively strong: IT services exports reached nearly USD 7 billion in 2023, making it one of the country’s leading export sectors despite the war.[19]

    Ukraine also produces around 130,000 STEM graduates each year – exceeding Germany and France[20] – and it ranks among the top five countries globally for certified IT professionals.[21] Successful IT clusters are active in several cities, and major foreign firms – including Apple, Microsoft, Boeing and Siemens – have established R&D operations in the country.

    A dynamic defence tech ecosystem is also taking shape[22], with Ukrainian start-ups attracting almost half a billion US dollars in funding in 2024 – surpassing many of their peers across central and eastern Europe.[23] Experience from countries like Israel suggests that such a foundation can enable the country to emerge as a broader technology hub in the years ahead.

    If Ukraine stays the course on institutional reform and continues to adapt its economy to new opportunities, despite the stormy environment, it can emerge as a vital engine of growth and a key contributor to the region’s future.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude.

    Ukraine stands at a pivotal moment – facing the hardships of war, the challenge of reconstruction and the opportunity of deeper regional integration.

    In a world marked by shifting geopolitical realities, such integration offers a clear path to recovery and lasting prosperity.

    The recent history of regional integration shows not only its immense benefits, but also the importance of managing transitional risks through robust policy frameworks. It also underlines the need to sustain reform over time by ensuring that people feel its benefits.

    I am confident that Ukraine will be able to fully realise its economic potential, turning the upheaval of today into the foundation for a dynamic future.

    As Ivan Franko, one of Ukraine’s greatest poets, once wrote: “even though life is but a moment and made up of moments, we carry eternity in our souls.”

    This enduring spirit captures the resilience and potential of Ukraine’s people and its economy – a spirit that will continue to drive advancement and renewal in the years ahead.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Aid for investment in new nuclear power in Sweden – E-002358/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-002358/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Hanna Gedin (The Left), Jonas Sjöstedt (The Left)

    In May 2025, the Swedish Parliament adopted a decision allowing state aid for firms investing in new nuclear reactors in Sweden. The aid takes the form of both government loans and two-way contracts for difference. The cost is put at SEK 400 billion, of which the Government will provide SEK 300 billion in loan capital. A price hedging agreement will also guarantee the nuclear power companies at least 80 öre/kWh from the Government for 40 years.

    EU state aid rules, in principle, prohibit state aid that distorts competition in the internal market, but allow derogations if the aid is deemed necessary, proportionate and compatible with the common interest as referred to in Article 107(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

    In the light of this:

    • 1.Has the Commission received a notification from Sweden on the proposed aid scheme for new nuclear power and, if so, does it regard the scheme as compatible with EU state aid rules?
    • 2.Does the Commission regard the aid as proportionate and necessary, especially in view of the fact that there is already an electricity surplus in many parts of Sweden?
    • 3.How is it to be ensured that the proposed aid scheme does not lead to distortions of competition vis-à-vis other non-fossil power sources, such as wind or solar?

    Submitted: 11.6.2025

    Last updated: 18 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Dangerous plans promoting carcinogenic waste incineration in Western Macedonia – E-002352/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-002352/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Kostas Papadakis (NI)

    The plans put forward by the Government and monopoly groups with regard to carcinogenic waste incineration are causing intense concern among the people of Western Macedonia. The announcements of PPC S.A. – in the presence of the Prime Minister – regarding its intention to build a waste ‘energy recovery’ unit in the lignite yard of the Ptolemaida 5 lignite power plant which will receive 288 000 tonnes of rubbish from all over Western and Central Macedonia as well as from Thessaly, Epirus and Corfu, are a case in point.

    The New Democracy Government and PPC S.A. are engaged in a sordid propaganda campaign for the unit that will purportedly use anti-pollution technology and be environmentally friendly, advertising corresponding plants in Sweden and Denmark, which however have been the subject of specific complaints. For example, Denmark’s Society of Engineers has complained about CopenHill in Copenhagen in relation to water contamination in the adjacent port and the uncontrolled import of waste for incineration from non-EU countries.

    In view of the above:

    • 1.What is the Commission’s position on the urgent request of residents and bodies of Ptolemaida – and of Western Macedonia as a whole – to stop all plans to promote carcinogenic waste incineration immediately?
    • 2.What is the Commission’s position on the fact that the ‘green’ strategy and energy plans within the framework of the so-called circular economy and delignitisation are demonstrably very seriously affecting the health, life and rights of the people, as well as the environment itself, and are sacrificing them on the altar of the profitability of business groups?

    Submitted: 11.6.2025

    Last updated: 19 June 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Teenagers recruited as hitmen: Denmark and Sweden strike back at violence-as-a-service

    Source: Europol

    The arrests follow multiple investigations into attempted murders ordered via encrypted platforms, including a recent attack on 7 May 2025 in Kokkedal. A total of seven individuals aged between 14 and 26 have now been arrested or surrendered to Danish authorities from abroad, notably Sweden and Morocco. Among those arrested are two 18-year-old men apprehended in Western Sweden and suspected…

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: ZetaDisplay and COOP Forge Strategic Partnership to Launch Advanced In-Store Retail Media Network

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZetaDisplay has entered into a strategic agreement with Coop Norway to roll out a next-generation Retail Media solution across the retail store’s footprint in the region. This milestone partnership aims to enhance the customer journey through data-driven, in-store communications, while offering advertisers a scalable, measurable media platform within grocery retail. 

    Coop is Norway’s second-largest grocery retailer, with a portfolio of approximately 1,200 grocery and home improvement stores. As part of the first phase, 128 digital screens will be deployed by ZetaDisplay into 32 of Coop’s Obs hypermarkets across Norway.

    Strategically positioned in high-traffic areas, the screens will serve as dynamic touchpoints for brand messaging and real-time promotions. A curated group of partners has been invited to collaborate on the development and testing of the initial launch. 

    ZetaDisplay will deliver a turnkey Retail Media infrastructure, including state-of-the-art hardware, advanced software, and fully managed services. The solution is designed to deliver contextual and actionable messages at the point of decision-making, enabling new revenue streams for Coop and increased ROI for advertisers. 

    Coop Norway selected ZetaDisplay following an extensive evaluation of potential partners. 

    Christian Skaarud, Head of Media at Coop Norway says:

    “After a thorough review of multiple providers, ZetaDisplay clearly stood out by offering the most comprehensive and innovative solution. Their proven expertise and leadership in digital signage and Retail Media give us full confidence as we move forward with implementation that we believe will set a new industry benchmark.”

    Anders Olin, CEO of ZetaDiplay Group comments:

    “This collaboration with Coop Norway reinforces our position in data-driven customer engagement, and we look much forward to working closely with Coop to bring our shared vision to life. In addition, this is a confirmation that our Engage Suite CMS software product investments in Retail Media solutions are highly competitive across the market landscape.”

    Jørn Olsen, Director of Retail Media & Analytics at ZetaDisplay explains:

    “We’re very excited to partner with Coop to help define and deliver the future of in-store Retail Media. With so many platforms now available, brands are facing new challenges in reaching and targeting audiences effectively. Our Retail Media strategies provide a data-driven solution, bridging the gap between the precision of online advertising and the impact of in-store engagement to capitalize on the changing media landscape.” 

    MALMÖ, ZETADISPLAY AB (PUBL) – 19 june 2025

    For further information please contact:

    Christian Skaarud 
    Head of Media  
    Coop Norge SA 
    Tel:  +47 954 86 670 
    Email: Christian.tofte.Skaarud@coop.no 

    Jørn Olsen 
    Director Retail Media & Analytics 
    ZetaDisplay Norway AS 
    Tel: +47 913 81 343 
    Email: jorn@zetadisplay.com 

    ABOUT COOP NORWAY

    Coop is Norway’s second-largest grocery retailer, with a portfolio of approximately 1,200 grocery and home improvement stores under brands such as Obs, Extra, Coop Prix, Coop Mega, Coop Marked, Matkroken, Obs BYGG, and Coop Byggmix. Owned by customers through membership in local cooperative societies, Coop collectively represents over 2.5 million members and family members. The umbrella organization, Coop Norge SA, handles joint functions and strategic initiatives across the network. 

    ABOUT ZETADISPLAY

    More than 20 years of leadership and innovation in digital signage.
    ZetaDisplay was founded 2003 in Sweden as one of the early pioneers of digital signage. We are one of the leading European corporations in the digital signage market and a leading force in the European digital signage industry. Our proprietary software platform, digital business development and consulting services, innovative digital signage solutions, and creative concepts regularly inspire- influence and guide millions of people every day in retail environments, in restaurants, on advertising screens, in factories, on trains, on cruise ships, in stadiums, in workplaces and in all types of public spaces indoor and outdoor. ZetaDisplay is one of the largest leading European digital signage companies with direct operations in eight European countries and the US with +125,000 active installations in over 50 countries, across all major continents where we are the business partner of choice for many of the worlds most respected blue-chip brands and companies.

    ZetaDisplay is based in Malmö-Sweden, has a turnover of SEK +600 million and employs approx. 250 co-workers. ZetaDisplay is owned by the investment company Hanover Investors. More information at www.ir.zetadisplay.com and www.hanoverinvestors.com.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Huawei and China Telecom Win TM Forum’s Excellence Award 2025 in Data and AI Innovation

    Source: Huawei

    Headline: Huawei and China Telecom Win TM Forum’s Excellence Award 2025 in Data and AI Innovation

    [Copenhagen, Denmark, June 18, 2025] At the Digital Transformation World (DTW) 2025 hosted by TM Forum, the project AI Agents Driving New Era of O&M and Transforming Customer Experience jointly created by Huawei and China Telecom won the Excellence Award 2025 in Data and AI Innovation. This prestigious international award is a testimony to the industry’s recognition of their efforts in integrating AI with communication technologies.

    Huawei and China Telecom win the excellence award in data and AI innovation

    Implementing the AI+ Strategy and Making Groundbreaking Joint Innovations
    China Telecom has spent years fine-tuning their AI+ strategy. Collaborating with its strategic partner Huawei, China Telecom established the Future Agent Joint Innovation Center to explore the application of network foundation models and agents in cloud-network operations. Through substantial advancements in key technologies like domain-specific model training and chain-of-thought optimization, the two companies have developed and deployed the Home Broadband Installation and Maintenance Agent and the Wireless Network Optimization Task Model. These developments have significantly enhanced O&M efficiency and helped upskill O&M personnel.
    Agent Applications Yield Outstanding Results and Boost Service Efficiency
    China Telecom reports that it has developed a range of AI assistants and agent applications based on its network foundation model. By the end of 2024, the total number of service invocations exceeded 46 million, with monthly active users reaching 120,000. In addition, 39 ecosystem partners have utilized these tools to create more than 2,000 AI applications. The Home Broadband Installation and Maintenance Agent revolutionizes service experience through two key innovations:

    Customer self-service: This agent supports real-time consultation and self-service troubleshooting, shifting the service model from reactive response to intelligent interaction.
    O&M efficiency: This agent assists installation and maintenance personnel in accurately locating faults, shortening the troubleshooting duration by 30% and reducing the workload of inquiry center experts by 10%. It is now applicable in all home broadband, IPTV, and home Wi-Fi scenarios. Online self-service channel usage has risen by 10%, enabling tens of millions of households to enjoy intelligent services with instant responses and zero wait times.

    The Wireless Network Optimization Task Model elevates traditional localized performance optimization, which relies on expert experience, to global experience optimization using high-precision network simulation and intelligent parameter adjustment. This enhances both quality and efficiency. In pilot regions, user experience has improved by 10% to 15%, the handling time of typical issues has reduced by 20% to 30%, and the test workloads in poor-QoE areas have decreased by 10% to 15%.
    Leading Technical Standards and Building an Industry Ecosystem
    Huawei and China Telecom have improved the accuracy of the foundation model and the success rate of agent tasks, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of AI applications. In addition, China Telecom, along with TM Forum and Huawei, has developed several standards, including lifecycle management for foundational models and technical specifications for AI agents. These standards aim to transform innovative practices into industry-wide frameworks, and expedite the intelligent transformation of the global ICT sector.
    Prospects
    This award underscores the leading role of Huawei and China Telecom in the AI+network domain. Both companies have committed to deepening their strategic partnership, driving technological innovation and standards development, and strengthening the digital transformation of the global communications industry.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • Finnish parliament votes to withdraw from landmines treaty

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Finland’s parliament voted on Thursday in favour of withdrawing the country from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines amid concerns over a military threat posed by neighbouring Russia.

    Finland joins other European Union and NATO members bordering Russia – Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland – in exiting or planning to exit the treaty, as fears grow about their much larger neighbour.

    President Alexander Stubb, who leads Finland’s foreign and security policy, on Tuesday defended the move.

    “The reality in the endgame is that we have as our neighbouring country an aggressive, imperialist state called Russia, which itself is not a member of the Ottawa Treaty and which itself uses landmines ruthlessly,” he said.

    Russia has used landmines in its invasion of Ukraine.

    The Finnish decision follows similar votes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, where parliaments have already approved the withdrawal.

    (Reuters)

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Energy Sector – Equinor’s first solar plant in Denmark starts production

    Source: Equinor

    19 JUNE 2025 – Production has commenced at the 65 MW Ingerslev Å solar plant located in Jutland, Denmark. The facility is operated by BeGreen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equinor.

    Anders Bade, senior vice president for onshore and markets within Renewables at Equinor.

    “This is another step in our ambition to establish a profitable onshore renewables business in select markets across Europe and the Americas. Currently, we have around 1.2 GW of onshore capacity in production and under construction ,” says Anders Bade, senior vice president for onshore and markets within Renewables at Equinor.

    Ingerslev Å marks an important milestone as BeGreen’s first project to reach production since Equinor acquired the company in 2023. With the launch of Ingerslev Å, all four Equinor subsidiaries that specialize in onshore renewables and battery storage now have assets in operation.

    “Our ownership of local companies provides a strong foundation for value creation by leveraging their on-the-ground expertise and maximizing synergies with our trading house, Danske Commodities,” says Bade.

    Danske Commodities will sell the power generated from Ingerslev Å on merchant terms in the DK1 power market in western Denmark. The annual production is estimated at 68 GWh.

    The construction of Ingerslev Å was completed in under a year, showcasing the rapid project cycles typical of onshore renewables. The facility features over 100,000 solar panels and six transformer stations installed on site.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Energy Sector – Equinor’s first solar plant in Denmark starts production

    Source: Equinor

    19 JUNE 2025 – Production has commenced at the 65 MW Ingerslev Å solar plant located in Jutland, Denmark. The facility is operated by BeGreen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equinor.

    Anders Bade, senior vice president for onshore and markets within Renewables at Equinor.

    “This is another step in our ambition to establish a profitable onshore renewables business in select markets across Europe and the Americas. Currently, we have around 1.2 GW of onshore capacity in production and under construction ,” says Anders Bade, senior vice president for onshore and markets within Renewables at Equinor.

    Ingerslev Å marks an important milestone as BeGreen’s first project to reach production since Equinor acquired the company in 2023. With the launch of Ingerslev Å, all four Equinor subsidiaries that specialize in onshore renewables and battery storage now have assets in operation.

    “Our ownership of local companies provides a strong foundation for value creation by leveraging their on-the-ground expertise and maximizing synergies with our trading house, Danske Commodities,” says Bade.

    Danske Commodities will sell the power generated from Ingerslev Å on merchant terms in the DK1 power market in western Denmark. The annual production is estimated at 68 GWh.

    The construction of Ingerslev Å was completed in under a year, showcasing the rapid project cycles typical of onshore renewables. The facility features over 100,000 solar panels and six transformer stations installed on site.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Christine Lagarde: Strengthening economies in a stormy and fragmenting world

    Source: European Central Bank

    Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ninth Annual Research Conference “Economic and financial integration in a stormy and fragmenting world” organised by the National Bank of Ukraine and Narodowy Bank Polski in Kyiv, Ukraine

    Kyiv, 19 June 2025

    It is an honour to be here in Kyiv – a city that has come to symbolise resilience, dignity and the enduring spirit of freedom. Kyiv stands not only as the heart of Ukraine, but as a beacon of what it means to hold fast to democratic values in the face of immense challenge.

    As the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko once wrote, “In your own house – your own truth. Your own strength and freedom.” Ukraine’s fight today reminds all of Europe of this powerful truth: our security and prosperity rely on unity, on integration with our neighbours.

    In the face of Russia’s unjustified war of aggression, Ukrainians have demonstrated extraordinary courage and resilience in defence of their country.

    In my remarks today, and in keeping with the theme of this conference, I would like to reflect on the historical lessons we have learned about strengthening and integrating economies in an increasingly stormy and fragmented world.

    Experience shows that closer ties with the European neighbourhood can provide a strong foundation for Ukraine to rebuild and emerge stronger. And as geopolitical tensions rise and global supply chains fragment, the case for deeper regional cooperation has never been clearer.

    Europe’s own long history of integration offers valuable insights that can help guide Ukraine’s path forwards. Two key lessons stand out.

    First, while deeper integration increases the potential rewards, it also raises the risks if not managed wisely. Sound domestic policy frameworks are essential to maximise growth and safeguard stability.

    Second, the benefits of integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Maintaining them depends on continuous reform – but reforms must also deliver tangible improvements for people’s lives, and do so relatively quickly.

    The benefits of integration in a fragmenting world

    During the Cold War, the Iron Curtain fractured the European economy. Trade between East and West fell by half. This division was like imposing a 48% tariff – leading to immense welfare losses and isolating the Eastern bloc from global markets.[1]

    But the transformation since Europe’s eastern enlargement has been nothing short of remarkable. On average, countries that joined the EU in 2004 have nearly doubled their GDP per capita over the past two decades.

    Critically, this was not just about catching up from a low base. Between 2004 and 2019, the EU’s new Member States saw their GDP per capita grow 32% more than comparable non-EU countries.[2] The difference was deeper economic integration – and those that were already highly embedded in the regional economy gained the most.

    While all new members experienced gains, countries with stronger integration into regional value chains recorded nearly 10 percentage points higher GDP per capita growth compared with less integrated peers – regardless of geographic proximity.[3]

    This difference was driven mainly by technology and productivity spillovers. ECB research shows that a 10% increase in productivity among western EU firms translated into a 5% productivity gain for central and eastern European firms linked to their supply chains.[4]

    The case for regional integration is therefore clear – and in today’s increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, it has become even more compelling.

    First, regional integration underpins growth.

    European economies are highly open, which means a world splintering into rival trading blocs poses clear risks to prosperity. Yet Europe’s most important trading partner is Europe itself: around 65% of euro area exports go to other European countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway. For Ukraine too, Europe is the principal trading partner, accounting for over 50% of its goods trade in 2024.

    By deepening economic ties – more closely linking neighbouring economies – we can reduce our exposure to external shocks. Rising trade within our region can help offset losses in global markets.

    Second, regional integration strengthens resilience.

    One consequence of geopolitical fragmentation is the realignment of supply chains toward trusted partners. Nearly half of firms involved in external trade have already revised their strategies – or intend to do so – including relocating parts of their operations closer to home.[5] While this trend reduces strategic dependencies, it can also raise costs.

    Yet large integrated regions can mitigate these costs by replicating many of the benefits of globalisation at the regional level. Supply chains can be reorganised regionally, allowing each country to specialise based on its comparative advantage within regional value chains.

    Ukraine stands to benefit significantly from expanding these networks across the region – and the EU stands to benefit, too, from having Ukraine as a partner.[6]

    In the automotive sector, for example, Ukrainian firms already produce around 7% of all wire harnesses used in EU vehicles.[7] As the industry shifts towards electric vehicles, which require more complex wiring systems, Ukraine’s manufacturing base is well positioned to scale up and play a larger role in the EU value chain.

    Equally transformative is Ukraine’s drone industry, which has become one of the most advanced in the region. Drones are not only a critical component of modern warfare, but also a technology with substantial spillover effects and far-reaching dual-use applications.

    Indeed, the country’s ambitious goal of producing 4.5 million drones by 2025 has accelerated innovation in materials science, battery technology and 3D printing. These advances are already finding civilian applications in sectors such as logistics, agriculture and emergency response.

    In short, for both existing EU members and neighbouring countries like Ukraine, regional integration is both a path to prosperity and a strategic anchor in an increasingly fragmented world.

    Managing the risks of integration

    But examining the experience of countries that have used regional integration as a platform for growth and reform reveals two important lessons.

    The first is that if integration is not accompanied by appropriate reforms, it can create new vulnerabilities – especially in the financial sphere.

    Financial integration often brings volatile capital inflows, which can make it difficult to distinguish sustainable growth from unsustainable excesses in real time.

    One way this can happen is when productivity gains in tradable sectors, such as manufacturing, drive up wages in those sectors, which then spill over into higher wages in non-tradable sectors and push up overall inflation.[8]

    While this effect is a normal feature of catching-up, it can make it easy to mistake genuine convergence for economic overheating. If foreign capital is in fact driving financial imbalances – such as unsustainable real estate booms – countries may exhibit the same patterns of rising wages and inflation, masking underlying vulnerabilities.

    Another potential distortion is that capital inflows can significantly affect government fiscal positions by boosting tax revenues and creating the illusion of permanently greater fiscal space. This often leads to procyclical fiscal policies, with governments increasing spending or cutting taxes during boom periods – only to face fiscal stress when inflows reverse or growth slows.

    Both dynamics have been visible during Europe’s recent experience with regional integration.

    After the eastern enlargement, financial integration accelerated rapidly. Between 2003 and 2008, the new Member States experienced an extraordinary surge in capital inflows, averaging over 12% of GDP annually – twice the typical level for emerging markets globally.[9]

    Initially, this rapid financial integration brought clear benefits: it expanded access to credit, fuelled growth and enabled much-needed development. However, in many countries, foreign capital was disproportionately channelled into consumption and construction booms, while tax revenues rose sharply on the back of property transactions and buoyant domestic demand.[10] This led to widespread misallocation of private capital and inefficient public spending.

    Capital flows then reversed sharply when the global financial crisis struck, exposing these imbalances. Between December 2008 and May 2013, external bank liabilities in non-euro area central and eastern European countries declined by an average of 27% – with some countries experiencing drops of more than 50%.[11]

    Yet the risks associated with financial integration can be avoided. Not all countries in the region were affected equally. Those that performed better typically shared two key features.

    First, they had clear policies to channel foreign investment into productive sectors. Strong industrial strategies, a skilled workforce and integration into global supply chains helped direct capital towards manufacturing and tradable services – sectors that drive export growth and are less prone to unsustainable booms and asset bubbles.[12]

    Second, they maintained robust financial policy frameworks. Tighter capital requirements, active macroprudential measures and countercyclical buffers strengthened domestic banking sectors and curbed excessive mortgage lending. These tools enabled those countries to absorb large capital inflows without creating destabilising imbalances.[13]

    The lesson is clear: as countries integrate into the region, strong domestic policy frameworks are critical to ensuring that capital inflows support long-term growth rather than generating financial instability or inefficient allocation.

    This insight is especially relevant for Ukraine today as it charts its path towards recovery. If reconstruction proceeds as planned, the country could attract significant capital inflows over the next decade. But without the right safeguards, that capital risks being misallocated – undermining long-term productivity instead of strengthening it.

    There are encouraging signs. The EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area have already driven significant reforms in the financial sector. Ukraine’s banking regulation now aligns with more than 75% of EU standards, covering critical areas such as capital adequacy, governance and auditing.[14]

    The National Bank of Ukraine has adopted a risk-based supervisory model inspired by the Single Supervisory Mechanism – the system of banking supervision in Europe – markedly improving oversight. Despite extremely challenging circumstances, Ukraine is also modernising its capital markets – consolidating exchanges, upgrading settlement systems and strengthening regulatory enforcement to attract long-term investors.

    These reforms are already delivering results: in 2023, Ukraine’s banking sector remained profitable and well capitalised despite the ongoing war – an outcome that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

    Still, further progress is essential, especially in fiscal governance. Strengthening public investment management will be critical to ensure that reconstruction funds are allocated transparently and efficiently.

    This is not just about meeting external standards. It is about ensuring that every euro, and every hryvnia, delivers real returns for the Ukrainian people.[15]

    Making integration sustainable

    However, reforms cannot be treated as a one-time effort.

    So, the second key lesson is that the benefits of regional integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Sustaining them requires continuous reform – and, just as importantly, it requires citizens to see visible, tangible improvements in their daily lives.

    In this context, there are two risks to watch out for.

    The first is that institutional reform momentum can fade if economic benefits do not follow quickly.

    Deeper regional integration typically begins with aligning framework conditions, such as legal systems, regulation and public administration. These areas often improve rapidly. But for the economic gains to materialise, domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors must respond to the new incentives created – and this takes time.

    In the long run, evidence shows that countries with initially weaker institutions benefit the most from adopting higher standards.[16] But in the short run, if people only see the effort and not the payoff, public support for further reforms can weaken, putting long-term convergence at risk.

    The second risk is that structural shifts in the economy may weaken the link between integration and economic convergence over time.

    The integration of goods markets has traditionally driven convergence almost automatically, as foreign direct investment flows to countries with lower land and labour costs, supply chains relocate and lower-income countries benefit from technology transfers.

    As I mentioned earlier, this will remain an important mechanism even in an era of supply chain reshoring. But countries cannot rely on it as heavily as in the past. Future growth in intra-EU trade is expected to depend increasingly on services – particularly digital services.

    However, research shows that services sector activity tends to concentrate in larger, more affluent urban areas that exhibit the hallmarks of a knowledge economy: high tertiary education rates, strong technology and science sectors and robust digital infrastructure.[17]

    This means that deeper integration alone will not guarantee broad-based convergence across all regions. Over time, countries will need to invest more in education, skills and digitalisation to ensure they can build high levels of human capital.

    Maintaining the path of convergence is therefore not easy. But slowing down reform efforts is not the answer – especially in the shock-prone world we face today.

    There is a clear link between strong institutions and economic resilience. ECB research indicates that, during the pandemic, regions with lower institutional quality experienced – all else equal – an additional decline of around 4 percentage points in GDP per capita compared with the ten regions with the highest quality of government.[18]

    As our economies are increasingly buffeted by global turbulence, institutional backsliding therefore risks creating a vicious circle: repeated shocks can undermine economic convergence and further erode public confidence in the reform process.

    The best way for countries to sustain reform momentum is to recognise the importance of maintaining public support and, as far as possible, pair governance improvements with a focus on sectors where they have a clear competitive edge – and where deeper integration with the region can unlock significant and rapid growth opportunities.

    This way, the benefits of reforms will be felt more quickly and more widely.

    Ukraine is well positioned to put this into practice. Its IT sector is already relatively strong: IT services exports reached nearly USD 7 billion in 2023, making it one of the country’s leading export sectors despite the war.[19]

    Ukraine also produces around 130,000 STEM graduates each year – exceeding Germany and France[20] – and it ranks among the top five countries globally for certified IT professionals.[21] Successful IT clusters are active in several cities, and major foreign firms – including Apple, Microsoft, Boeing and Siemens – have established R&D operations in the country.

    A dynamic defence tech ecosystem is also taking shape[22], with Ukrainian start-ups attracting almost half a billion US dollars in funding in 2024 – surpassing many of their peers across central and eastern Europe.[23] Experience from countries like Israel suggests that such a foundation can enable the country to emerge as a broader technology hub in the years ahead.

    If Ukraine stays the course on institutional reform and continues to adapt its economy to new opportunities, despite the stormy environment, it can emerge as a vital engine of growth and a key contributor to the region’s future.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude.

    Ukraine stands at a pivotal moment – facing the hardships of war, the challenge of reconstruction and the opportunity of deeper regional integration.

    In a world marked by shifting geopolitical realities, such integration offers a clear path to recovery and lasting prosperity.

    The recent history of regional integration shows not only its immense benefits, but also the importance of managing transitional risks through robust policy frameworks. It also underlines the need to sustain reform over time by ensuring that people feel its benefits.

    I am confident that Ukraine will be able to fully realise its economic potential, turning the upheaval of today into the foundation for a dynamic future.

    As Ivan Franko, one of Ukraine’s greatest poets, once wrote: “even though life is but a moment and made up of moments, we carry eternity in our souls.”

    This enduring spirit captures the resilience and potential of Ukraine’s people and its economy – a spirit that will continue to drive advancement and renewal in the years ahead.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Christine Lagarde: Strengthening economies in a stormy and fragmenting world

    Source: European Central Bank

    Speech by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, at the ninth Annual Research Conference “Economic and financial integration in a stormy and fragmenting world” organised by the National Bank of Ukraine and Narodowy Bank Polski in Kyiv, Ukraine

    Kyiv, 19 June 2025

    It is an honour to be here in Kyiv – a city that has come to symbolise resilience, dignity and the enduring spirit of freedom. Kyiv stands not only as the heart of Ukraine, but as a beacon of what it means to hold fast to democratic values in the face of immense challenge.

    As the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko once wrote, “In your own house – your own truth. Your own strength and freedom.” Ukraine’s fight today reminds all of Europe of this powerful truth: our security and prosperity rely on unity, on integration with our neighbours.

    In the face of Russia’s unjustified war of aggression, Ukrainians have demonstrated extraordinary courage and resilience in defence of their country.

    In my remarks today, and in keeping with the theme of this conference, I would like to reflect on the historical lessons we have learned about strengthening and integrating economies in an increasingly stormy and fragmented world.

    Experience shows that closer ties with the European neighbourhood can provide a strong foundation for Ukraine to rebuild and emerge stronger. And as geopolitical tensions rise and global supply chains fragment, the case for deeper regional cooperation has never been clearer.

    Europe’s own long history of integration offers valuable insights that can help guide Ukraine’s path forwards. Two key lessons stand out.

    First, while deeper integration increases the potential rewards, it also raises the risks if not managed wisely. Sound domestic policy frameworks are essential to maximise growth and safeguard stability.

    Second, the benefits of integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Maintaining them depends on continuous reform – but reforms must also deliver tangible improvements for people’s lives, and do so relatively quickly.

    The benefits of integration in a fragmenting world

    During the Cold War, the Iron Curtain fractured the European economy. Trade between East and West fell by half. This division was like imposing a 48% tariff – leading to immense welfare losses and isolating the Eastern bloc from global markets.[1]

    But the transformation since Europe’s eastern enlargement has been nothing short of remarkable. On average, countries that joined the EU in 2004 have nearly doubled their GDP per capita over the past two decades.

    Critically, this was not just about catching up from a low base. Between 2004 and 2019, the EU’s new Member States saw their GDP per capita grow 32% more than comparable non-EU countries.[2] The difference was deeper economic integration – and those that were already highly embedded in the regional economy gained the most.

    While all new members experienced gains, countries with stronger integration into regional value chains recorded nearly 10 percentage points higher GDP per capita growth compared with less integrated peers – regardless of geographic proximity.[3]

    This difference was driven mainly by technology and productivity spillovers. ECB research shows that a 10% increase in productivity among western EU firms translated into a 5% productivity gain for central and eastern European firms linked to their supply chains.[4]

    The case for regional integration is therefore clear – and in today’s increasingly fragmented geopolitical landscape, it has become even more compelling.

    First, regional integration underpins growth.

    European economies are highly open, which means a world splintering into rival trading blocs poses clear risks to prosperity. Yet Europe’s most important trading partner is Europe itself: around 65% of euro area exports go to other European countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway. For Ukraine too, Europe is the principal trading partner, accounting for over 50% of its goods trade in 2024.

    By deepening economic ties – more closely linking neighbouring economies – we can reduce our exposure to external shocks. Rising trade within our region can help offset losses in global markets.

    Second, regional integration strengthens resilience.

    One consequence of geopolitical fragmentation is the realignment of supply chains toward trusted partners. Nearly half of firms involved in external trade have already revised their strategies – or intend to do so – including relocating parts of their operations closer to home.[5] While this trend reduces strategic dependencies, it can also raise costs.

    Yet large integrated regions can mitigate these costs by replicating many of the benefits of globalisation at the regional level. Supply chains can be reorganised regionally, allowing each country to specialise based on its comparative advantage within regional value chains.

    Ukraine stands to benefit significantly from expanding these networks across the region – and the EU stands to benefit, too, from having Ukraine as a partner.[6]

    In the automotive sector, for example, Ukrainian firms already produce around 7% of all wire harnesses used in EU vehicles.[7] As the industry shifts towards electric vehicles, which require more complex wiring systems, Ukraine’s manufacturing base is well positioned to scale up and play a larger role in the EU value chain.

    Equally transformative is Ukraine’s drone industry, which has become one of the most advanced in the region. Drones are not only a critical component of modern warfare, but also a technology with substantial spillover effects and far-reaching dual-use applications.

    Indeed, the country’s ambitious goal of producing 4.5 million drones by 2025 has accelerated innovation in materials science, battery technology and 3D printing. These advances are already finding civilian applications in sectors such as logistics, agriculture and emergency response.

    In short, for both existing EU members and neighbouring countries like Ukraine, regional integration is both a path to prosperity and a strategic anchor in an increasingly fragmented world.

    Managing the risks of integration

    But examining the experience of countries that have used regional integration as a platform for growth and reform reveals two important lessons.

    The first is that if integration is not accompanied by appropriate reforms, it can create new vulnerabilities – especially in the financial sphere.

    Financial integration often brings volatile capital inflows, which can make it difficult to distinguish sustainable growth from unsustainable excesses in real time.

    One way this can happen is when productivity gains in tradable sectors, such as manufacturing, drive up wages in those sectors, which then spill over into higher wages in non-tradable sectors and push up overall inflation.[8]

    While this effect is a normal feature of catching-up, it can make it easy to mistake genuine convergence for economic overheating. If foreign capital is in fact driving financial imbalances – such as unsustainable real estate booms – countries may exhibit the same patterns of rising wages and inflation, masking underlying vulnerabilities.

    Another potential distortion is that capital inflows can significantly affect government fiscal positions by boosting tax revenues and creating the illusion of permanently greater fiscal space. This often leads to procyclical fiscal policies, with governments increasing spending or cutting taxes during boom periods – only to face fiscal stress when inflows reverse or growth slows.

    Both dynamics have been visible during Europe’s recent experience with regional integration.

    After the eastern enlargement, financial integration accelerated rapidly. Between 2003 and 2008, the new Member States experienced an extraordinary surge in capital inflows, averaging over 12% of GDP annually – twice the typical level for emerging markets globally.[9]

    Initially, this rapid financial integration brought clear benefits: it expanded access to credit, fuelled growth and enabled much-needed development. However, in many countries, foreign capital was disproportionately channelled into consumption and construction booms, while tax revenues rose sharply on the back of property transactions and buoyant domestic demand.[10] This led to widespread misallocation of private capital and inefficient public spending.

    Capital flows then reversed sharply when the global financial crisis struck, exposing these imbalances. Between December 2008 and May 2013, external bank liabilities in non-euro area central and eastern European countries declined by an average of 27% – with some countries experiencing drops of more than 50%.[11]

    Yet the risks associated with financial integration can be avoided. Not all countries in the region were affected equally. Those that performed better typically shared two key features.

    First, they had clear policies to channel foreign investment into productive sectors. Strong industrial strategies, a skilled workforce and integration into global supply chains helped direct capital towards manufacturing and tradable services – sectors that drive export growth and are less prone to unsustainable booms and asset bubbles.[12]

    Second, they maintained robust financial policy frameworks. Tighter capital requirements, active macroprudential measures and countercyclical buffers strengthened domestic banking sectors and curbed excessive mortgage lending. These tools enabled those countries to absorb large capital inflows without creating destabilising imbalances.[13]

    The lesson is clear: as countries integrate into the region, strong domestic policy frameworks are critical to ensuring that capital inflows support long-term growth rather than generating financial instability or inefficient allocation.

    This insight is especially relevant for Ukraine today as it charts its path towards recovery. If reconstruction proceeds as planned, the country could attract significant capital inflows over the next decade. But without the right safeguards, that capital risks being misallocated – undermining long-term productivity instead of strengthening it.

    There are encouraging signs. The EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area have already driven significant reforms in the financial sector. Ukraine’s banking regulation now aligns with more than 75% of EU standards, covering critical areas such as capital adequacy, governance and auditing.[14]

    The National Bank of Ukraine has adopted a risk-based supervisory model inspired by the Single Supervisory Mechanism – the system of banking supervision in Europe – markedly improving oversight. Despite extremely challenging circumstances, Ukraine is also modernising its capital markets – consolidating exchanges, upgrading settlement systems and strengthening regulatory enforcement to attract long-term investors.

    These reforms are already delivering results: in 2023, Ukraine’s banking sector remained profitable and well capitalised despite the ongoing war – an outcome that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

    Still, further progress is essential, especially in fiscal governance. Strengthening public investment management will be critical to ensure that reconstruction funds are allocated transparently and efficiently.

    This is not just about meeting external standards. It is about ensuring that every euro, and every hryvnia, delivers real returns for the Ukrainian people.[15]

    Making integration sustainable

    However, reforms cannot be treated as a one-time effort.

    So, the second key lesson is that the benefits of regional integration are neither automatic nor permanent. Sustaining them requires continuous reform – and, just as importantly, it requires citizens to see visible, tangible improvements in their daily lives.

    In this context, there are two risks to watch out for.

    The first is that institutional reform momentum can fade if economic benefits do not follow quickly.

    Deeper regional integration typically begins with aligning framework conditions, such as legal systems, regulation and public administration. These areas often improve rapidly. But for the economic gains to materialise, domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors must respond to the new incentives created – and this takes time.

    In the long run, evidence shows that countries with initially weaker institutions benefit the most from adopting higher standards.[16] But in the short run, if people only see the effort and not the payoff, public support for further reforms can weaken, putting long-term convergence at risk.

    The second risk is that structural shifts in the economy may weaken the link between integration and economic convergence over time.

    The integration of goods markets has traditionally driven convergence almost automatically, as foreign direct investment flows to countries with lower land and labour costs, supply chains relocate and lower-income countries benefit from technology transfers.

    As I mentioned earlier, this will remain an important mechanism even in an era of supply chain reshoring. But countries cannot rely on it as heavily as in the past. Future growth in intra-EU trade is expected to depend increasingly on services – particularly digital services.

    However, research shows that services sector activity tends to concentrate in larger, more affluent urban areas that exhibit the hallmarks of a knowledge economy: high tertiary education rates, strong technology and science sectors and robust digital infrastructure.[17]

    This means that deeper integration alone will not guarantee broad-based convergence across all regions. Over time, countries will need to invest more in education, skills and digitalisation to ensure they can build high levels of human capital.

    Maintaining the path of convergence is therefore not easy. But slowing down reform efforts is not the answer – especially in the shock-prone world we face today.

    There is a clear link between strong institutions and economic resilience. ECB research indicates that, during the pandemic, regions with lower institutional quality experienced – all else equal – an additional decline of around 4 percentage points in GDP per capita compared with the ten regions with the highest quality of government.[18]

    As our economies are increasingly buffeted by global turbulence, institutional backsliding therefore risks creating a vicious circle: repeated shocks can undermine economic convergence and further erode public confidence in the reform process.

    The best way for countries to sustain reform momentum is to recognise the importance of maintaining public support and, as far as possible, pair governance improvements with a focus on sectors where they have a clear competitive edge – and where deeper integration with the region can unlock significant and rapid growth opportunities.

    This way, the benefits of reforms will be felt more quickly and more widely.

    Ukraine is well positioned to put this into practice. Its IT sector is already relatively strong: IT services exports reached nearly USD 7 billion in 2023, making it one of the country’s leading export sectors despite the war.[19]

    Ukraine also produces around 130,000 STEM graduates each year – exceeding Germany and France[20] – and it ranks among the top five countries globally for certified IT professionals.[21] Successful IT clusters are active in several cities, and major foreign firms – including Apple, Microsoft, Boeing and Siemens – have established R&D operations in the country.

    A dynamic defence tech ecosystem is also taking shape[22], with Ukrainian start-ups attracting almost half a billion US dollars in funding in 2024 – surpassing many of their peers across central and eastern Europe.[23] Experience from countries like Israel suggests that such a foundation can enable the country to emerge as a broader technology hub in the years ahead.

    If Ukraine stays the course on institutional reform and continues to adapt its economy to new opportunities, despite the stormy environment, it can emerge as a vital engine of growth and a key contributor to the region’s future.

    Conclusion

    Let me conclude.

    Ukraine stands at a pivotal moment – facing the hardships of war, the challenge of reconstruction and the opportunity of deeper regional integration.

    In a world marked by shifting geopolitical realities, such integration offers a clear path to recovery and lasting prosperity.

    The recent history of regional integration shows not only its immense benefits, but also the importance of managing transitional risks through robust policy frameworks. It also underlines the need to sustain reform over time by ensuring that people feel its benefits.

    I am confident that Ukraine will be able to fully realise its economic potential, turning the upheaval of today into the foundation for a dynamic future.

    As Ivan Franko, one of Ukraine’s greatest poets, once wrote: “even though life is but a moment and made up of moments, we carry eternity in our souls.”

    This enduring spirit captures the resilience and potential of Ukraine’s people and its economy – a spirit that will continue to drive advancement and renewal in the years ahead.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Terranet to attend Auto.AI and Safety.AD USA 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Terranet will be represented at Auto.AI and Safety.AD USA 2025, taking place June 30–July 1 in San Francisco, California. These conferences bring together leading experts in AI, traffic safety, ADAS, and autonomous driving.

    Safety.AD and Auto.AI are key industry forums for discussing how new technologies and artificial intelligence can contribute to safer mobility. Our presence strengthens both our connection to the North American market and our role as an active player in the development of future safety solutions for both ADAS and autonomous vehicles.

    “With our MVP approaching launch, this is the right place to engage with key stakeholders, clarify our value proposition, and show how we’re contributing to safer traffic – while also gaining valuable insights from the market,” says Jonas Renander, Chief Commercial Officer at Terranet.

    For more information, please contact:
    Lars Lindell, CEO
    E-mail: lars.lindell@terranet.se

    About Terranet AB (publ)
    Terranet’s mission is to save lives in urban traffic. We develop groundbreaking technology solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, with a focus on protecting vulnerable road users from injury. Using a unique and patented sensor technology, Terranet’s system BlincVision scans the road with laser precision – detecting objects up to ten times faster and with greater accuracy than any other ADAS solution on the market today.

    Terranet is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, with additional operations in Gothenburg and Stuttgart – at the heart of the European automotive industry. Since 2017, the company has been listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (Nasdaq: TERRNT-B). Visit us at www.terranet.se

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Terranet to attend Auto.AI and Safety.AD USA 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Terranet will be represented at Auto.AI and Safety.AD USA 2025, taking place June 30–July 1 in San Francisco, California. These conferences bring together leading experts in AI, traffic safety, ADAS, and autonomous driving.

    Safety.AD and Auto.AI are key industry forums for discussing how new technologies and artificial intelligence can contribute to safer mobility. Our presence strengthens both our connection to the North American market and our role as an active player in the development of future safety solutions for both ADAS and autonomous vehicles.

    “With our MVP approaching launch, this is the right place to engage with key stakeholders, clarify our value proposition, and show how we’re contributing to safer traffic – while also gaining valuable insights from the market,” says Jonas Renander, Chief Commercial Officer at Terranet.

    For more information, please contact:
    Lars Lindell, CEO
    E-mail: lars.lindell@terranet.se

    About Terranet AB (publ)
    Terranet’s mission is to save lives in urban traffic. We develop groundbreaking technology solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, with a focus on protecting vulnerable road users from injury. Using a unique and patented sensor technology, Terranet’s system BlincVision scans the road with laser precision – detecting objects up to ten times faster and with greater accuracy than any other ADAS solution on the market today.

    Terranet is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, with additional operations in Gothenburg and Stuttgart – at the heart of the European automotive industry. Since 2017, the company has been listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (Nasdaq: TERRNT-B). Visit us at www.terranet.se

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-Evening Report: The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher White, Historian, The University of Queensland

    The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one.

    As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate, and told in furtive whispers about people’s encounters with the dead.

    The dead haunt our imagination in a number of different forms, whether as “cold spots”, or the walking dead popularised in zombie franchises such as 28 Days Later.

    The franchise’s latest release, 28 Years Later, brings back the Hollywood zombie in all its glory – but these archetypal creatures have a much wider and varied history.

    Zombis, revenants and the returning dead

    A zombie is typically a reanimated corpse: a category of the returning dead. Scholars refer to them as “revenants”, and continue to argue over their exact characteristics.

    In the Haitian Vodou religion, the zombi is not the same as the Hollywood zombie. Instead, zombi are people who, as a religious punishment, are drugged, buried alive, then dug out and forced into slavery.

    The Hollywood zombie, however, draws more from medieval European stories about the returning dead than from Vodou.

    A perfect setting for a ‘zombie’ film

    In 28 Years Later, the latest entry in Danny Boyle’s blockbuster horror franchise, the monsters technically aren’t zombies because they aren’t dead. Instead, they are infected by a “rage virus”, accidentally released by a group of animal rights activists in the beginning of the first film.

    This third film focuses on events almost three decades after the first film. The British Isles is quarantined, and the young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) and his family live in a village on Lindisfarne Island. This island, one of the most important sites in early medieval British Christianity, is isolated and protected by a tidal causeway that links it to the mainland.

    Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams star in the new film, out in Australian cinemas today.
    Sony Pictures

    The film leans heavily on how we imagine the medieval world, with scenes showing silhouetted fletchers at work making arrows, children training with bows, towering ossuaries and various memento mori. There’s also footage from earlier depictions of medieval warfare. And at one point, the characters seek sanctuary in the ruins of Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, which was built in 1132.

    The medieval locations and imagery of 28 Years Later evoke the long history of revenants, and the returned dead who once roved medieval England.

    Early accounts of the medieval dead

    In the medieval world, or at least the parts that wrote in Latin, the returning dead were usually called spiritus (“spirit”), but they weren’t limited to the non-corporeal like today’s ghosts are.

    Medieval Latin Christians from as early as the 3rd century saw the dead as part of a parallel society that mirrored the world of the living, where each group relied on the other to aid them through the afterlife.

    Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript.
    British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13

    While some medieval ghosts would warn the living about what awaited sinners in the afterlife, or lead their relatives to treasure, or prophesise the future, some also returned to terrorise the living.

    And like the “zombies” affected by the rage virus in 28 Years Later, these revenants could go into a frenzy in the presence of the living.

    Thietmar, the Prince-Bishop of Merseburg, Germany, wrote the Chronicon Thietmari (Thietmar’s Chronicle) between 1012 and 1018, and included a number of ghost stories that featured revenants.

    Although not all of them framed the dead as terrifying, they certainly didn’t paint them as friendly, either. In one story, a congregation of the dead at a church set the priest upon the altar, before burning him to ashes – intended to be read as a mirror of pagan sacrifice.

    These dead were physical beings, capable of seizing a man and sacrificing him in his own church.

    A threat to be dealt with

    The English monastic historian William of Newburgh (1136–98) wrote revenants were so common in his day that recording them all would be exhausting. According to him, the returned dead were frequently seen in 12th century England.

    So, instead of providing a exhausting list, he offered some choice examples which, like most medieval ghost stories, had a good Christian moral attached to them.

    William’s revenants mostly killed the people of the towns they lived, returning to the grave between their escapades. But the medieval English had a method for dealing with these monsters; they dug them up, tore out the heart and then burned the body.

    Other revenants were dealt with less harshly, William explained. In one case, all it took was the Bishop of Lincoln writing a letter of absolution to stop a dead man returning to his widow’s bed.

    These medieval dead were also thought to spread disease – much like those infected with the rage virus – and were capable of physically killing someone.

    Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript.
    British Library, Arundel MS 83.

    The undead, further north

    In medieval Scandinavia and Iceland, the undead draugr were extremely strong, hideous to look at and stunk of decomposition. Some were immune to human weapons and often killed animals near their tombs before building up to kill humans. Like their English counterparts, they also spread disease.

    But according to the Eyrbyggja saga, an anonymous 13th or 14th century text written in Iceland, all it took was a type of community court and the threat of legal action to drive off these returned dead.

    It’s a method the survivors in 28 Years Later didn’t try.

    The dead live on

    The first-hand zombie stories that were common during the medieval period started to dwindle in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, which focused more on individuals’ behaviours and salvation.

    Nonetheless, their influence can still be felt in Catholic ritual practices today, such as in prayers offered for the dead, and the lighting of votive candles.

    We still tell ghost stories, and we still worry about things that go bump in the night. And of course, we continue to explore the undead in all its forms on the big screen.

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

    – ref. The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history – https://theconversation.com/the-28-days-later-franchise-redefined-zombie-films-but-the-undead-have-an-old-rich-and-varied-history-247900

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Christopher White, Historian, The University of Queensland

    The history of the dead – or, more precisely, the history of the living’s fascination with the dead – is an intriguing one.

    As a researcher of the supernatural, I’m often pulled aside at conferences or at the school gate, and told in furtive whispers about people’s encounters with the dead.

    The dead haunt our imagination in a number of different forms, whether as “cold spots”, or the walking dead popularised in zombie franchises such as 28 Days Later.

    The franchise’s latest release, 28 Years Later, brings back the Hollywood zombie in all its glory – but these archetypal creatures have a much wider and varied history.

    Zombis, revenants and the returning dead

    A zombie is typically a reanimated corpse: a category of the returning dead. Scholars refer to them as “revenants”, and continue to argue over their exact characteristics.

    In the Haitian Vodou religion, the zombi is not the same as the Hollywood zombie. Instead, zombi are people who, as a religious punishment, are drugged, buried alive, then dug out and forced into slavery.

    The Hollywood zombie, however, draws more from medieval European stories about the returning dead than from Vodou.

    A perfect setting for a ‘zombie’ film

    In 28 Years Later, the latest entry in Danny Boyle’s blockbuster horror franchise, the monsters technically aren’t zombies because they aren’t dead. Instead, they are infected by a “rage virus”, accidentally released by a group of animal rights activists in the beginning of the first film.

    This third film focuses on events almost three decades after the first film. The British Isles is quarantined, and the young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) and his family live in a village on Lindisfarne Island. This island, one of the most important sites in early medieval British Christianity, is isolated and protected by a tidal causeway that links it to the mainland.

    Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams star in the new film, out in Australian cinemas today.
    Sony Pictures

    The film leans heavily on how we imagine the medieval world, with scenes showing silhouetted fletchers at work making arrows, children training with bows, towering ossuaries and various memento mori. There’s also footage from earlier depictions of medieval warfare. And at one point, the characters seek sanctuary in the ruins of Fountains Abbey, in Yorkshire, which was built in 1132.

    The medieval locations and imagery of 28 Years Later evoke the long history of revenants, and the returned dead who once roved medieval England.

    Early accounts of the medieval dead

    In the medieval world, or at least the parts that wrote in Latin, the returning dead were usually called spiritus (“spirit”), but they weren’t limited to the non-corporeal like today’s ghosts are.

    Medieval Latin Christians from as early as the 3rd century saw the dead as part of a parallel society that mirrored the world of the living, where each group relied on the other to aid them through the afterlife.

    Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript.
    British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13

    While some medieval ghosts would warn the living about what awaited sinners in the afterlife, or lead their relatives to treasure, or prophesise the future, some also returned to terrorise the living.

    And like the “zombies” affected by the rage virus in 28 Years Later, these revenants could go into a frenzy in the presence of the living.

    Thietmar, the Prince-Bishop of Merseburg, Germany, wrote the Chronicon Thietmari (Thietmar’s Chronicle) between 1012 and 1018, and included a number of ghost stories that featured revenants.

    Although not all of them framed the dead as terrifying, they certainly didn’t paint them as friendly, either. In one story, a congregation of the dead at a church set the priest upon the altar, before burning him to ashes – intended to be read as a mirror of pagan sacrifice.

    These dead were physical beings, capable of seizing a man and sacrificing him in his own church.

    A threat to be dealt with

    The English monastic historian William of Newburgh (1136–98) wrote revenants were so common in his day that recording them all would be exhausting. According to him, the returned dead were frequently seen in 12th century England.

    So, instead of providing a exhausting list, he offered some choice examples which, like most medieval ghost stories, had a good Christian moral attached to them.

    William’s revenants mostly killed the people of the towns they lived, returning to the grave between their escapades. But the medieval English had a method for dealing with these monsters; they dug them up, tore out the heart and then burned the body.

    Other revenants were dealt with less harshly, William explained. In one case, all it took was the Bishop of Lincoln writing a letter of absolution to stop a dead man returning to his widow’s bed.

    These medieval dead were also thought to spread disease – much like those infected with the rage virus – and were capable of physically killing someone.

    Depiction of the undead from a medieval manuscript.
    British Library, Arundel MS 83.

    The undead, further north

    In medieval Scandinavia and Iceland, the undead draugr were extremely strong, hideous to look at and stunk of decomposition. Some were immune to human weapons and often killed animals near their tombs before building up to kill humans. Like their English counterparts, they also spread disease.

    But according to the Eyrbyggja saga, an anonymous 13th or 14th century text written in Iceland, all it took was a type of community court and the threat of legal action to drive off these returned dead.

    It’s a method the survivors in 28 Years Later didn’t try.

    The dead live on

    The first-hand zombie stories that were common during the medieval period started to dwindle in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, which focused more on individuals’ behaviours and salvation.

    Nonetheless, their influence can still be felt in Catholic ritual practices today, such as in prayers offered for the dead, and the lighting of votive candles.

    We still tell ghost stories, and we still worry about things that go bump in the night. And of course, we continue to explore the undead in all its forms on the big screen.

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

    – ref. The 28 Days Later franchise redefined zombie films. But the undead have an old, rich and varied history – https://theconversation.com/the-28-days-later-franchise-redefined-zombie-films-but-the-undead-have-an-old-rich-and-varied-history-247900

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –