At the request of a unitholder whose units represent more than 1/10 of all the votes, Northern Horizon Capital AS invites Baltic Horizon Fund unit-holders and Swedish Depositary Receipt (hereinafter the “SDR”) holders (hereinafter together the “Investors”) to attend an extraordinary General Meeting (hereinafter the “General Meeting”) of Baltic Horizon Fund on 27 March 2025 at 14:00 (local Estonian time) at the office of Northern Horizon Capital AS at Roseni 7 (A tower), 6th floor, 10111 Tallinn, Estonia. Registration for the meeting will begin at 13:00. The General Meeting will be held in English.
The meeting is convened in accordance with sections 10.3.3., 10.5, 10.6 and 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund and section 47-1 of the Investment Funds Act of Estonia.
The total number of units and votes in Baltic Horizon Fund amounts to 143,562,514 .
Investors may also join the webinar to view the General Meeting online on 27 March 2025 at 14:00.
You will be provided with the webinar link and instructions how to join successfully. The webinar will be recorded and available online for everyone at the company’s website on www.baltichorizon.com.
Agenda, as proposed by the unitholder:
Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of Baltic Horizon Fund as of 1 May 2025 for a period of two years.
Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.
Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members, other than the chairman, for fulfilling obligations of the member of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.
Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund with the last date of the office being 30 April 2025.
Investors are invited to send questions and comments on the agenda to the Baltic Horizon fund manager at Tarmo.Karotam@nh-cap.com by 20 March 2025. Northern Horizon Capital AS will respond to the questions and comments at the meeting itself.
Participation – requirements and notice
Investors who are entered in the Baltic Horizon Fund registry of unit-holders maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE and holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system ten days before the date of the General Meeting, i.e. at the end of business of Nasdaq CSD SE on 17 March 2025, are entitled to participate in the meeting.
In order to facilitate the registration process, investors whose units are registered in their own name are invited to provide notice of their attendance by 24 March 2025 to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com. Notice should include name, personal identification number (or the registration number of the legal person), address, number of units represented and, if applicable attendance of any representatives, along with the name and personal identification number of the representatives. The attendance of a representative does not deprive the unit-holder of the right to participate at the meeting.
Instructions to holders of Baltic Horizon Fund SDRs registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden
IMPORTANT REQUIREMENT: SDR holders whose SDR-s are registered with Euroclear Sweden AB via a bank or other nominee are required to notify their bank or nominee account provider by 17 March 2025 to temporarily add their name on the Euroclear Sweden AB owner register.
Notice of participation should also be sent by 16:00 EET on 24 March 2025 to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com. Notice should include name, personal identification number (or the registration number of the legal person), address, number of units represented and, if applicable, attendance of any representatives, along with the name and personal identification number of the representatives. The attendance of a representative does not deprive the Investor of the right to participate at the meeting.
Representation under a power of attorney
Investors whose representatives are acting under a power of attorney are requested to prepare a written power of attorney for the representative in Estonian or English (templates can be found at Annex 1).
A copy of the executed power of attorney should be sent to bhfmeeting@nh-cap.com together with the notice of participation. In case the power of attorney is issued by a legal person, a certified copy of the registration certificate (or equivalent certificate of authority) shall also be submitted together with, as applicable, the documents certifying the authority of the representative in case the power of attorney is signed by a person under a power of attorney.
Baltic Horizon Fund is registered in Estonia, which means that any power of attorney (or any certified copy of the registration certificate of a legal person) issued in a foreign country should be notarised and accompanied by an apostille. The apostille requirement applies, for example, to powers of attorney issued and notarised in Sweden or Finland.
Instructions for the day of the General Meeting
We kindly ask Investors to bring a personal identification document, and for their representatives also to present the original written power of attorney in English or Estonian. In case the Investor is a legal person, documentation in Estonian or English certifying the authority of the Investor’s representative or the signatory of the power of attorney will also be requested.
Data collected by Northern Horizon Capital AS from powers of attorney, the unitholders registry maintained by Nasdaq CSD SE, and the list of holders of SDRs registered in the Euroclear Sweden AB system will be used for the purpose of registration for the meeting.
Decision to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund
According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Andrius Smaliukas as a new member of the supervisory board.
Dr. Smaliukas is the Managing Partner at MMSP, a Lithuanian law firm focused on strategic corporate advisory and dispute resolution. He previously partnered at one of the leading Pan-Baltic firm, Valiunas Ellex, and holds nearly 20 years of experience as an arbitrator and international arbitration lead counsel. Dr. Smaliukas earned his Ph.D. and Master of Laws from Vilnius University, conducted postgraduate research at Oxford, and completed executive programs at Cambridge Judge Business School and Harvard Law School. Dr.Smaliukas serves on the boards of Staticus Group, Kesko Senukai, has extensive advisory experience in commercial real estate M&A and investment management across the Baltic countries.
Andrius Smaliukas does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.
Decision to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund
According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Milda Dargužaitė as a new member of the supervisory board.
Milda Dargužaitė is the former CEO of Northern Horizon Capital A/S, the shareholder of Northern Horizon Capital AS. She was responsible for managing the company’s operations and strategic direction, including the development of new funds and investment vehicles. Milda has significant experience in both the public and private sectors, locally and internationally. She joined the company in 2018 after roles as the Chancellor at the Lithuanian Prime Minister’s Office, Managing Director of Invest Lithuania, and advisor to the Lithuanian Minister of Economy. Milda has a wealth of experience in finance and portfolio management from her time at Goldman Sachs in New York and Barclays in London. Milda Dargužaitė was the supervisory board member of Northern Horizon Capital AS from July 2018 until September 2023.
Milda holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. She has served on the boards of several Northern Horizon Group entities.
Milda Dargužaitė does not hold any units of the Baltic Horizon Fund.
Decision to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board of the Baltic Horizon Fund
According to section 11.2 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be appointed at the general meeting for a period of at least two years. The proposal is to elect Antanas Anskaitis as a new member of the supervisory board.
Antanas Anskaitis is a partner at Grinvest which is a private investment company with interests in real estate and transportation. Antanas has over 20 years of real estate investment management experience (out of which 16 within Northern Horizon Capital group). Since 2015 until 2020 Antanas managed a successful Baltic-Polish investment portfolio on behalf of Partners Group and lead over 30 commercial property transactions in the Baltics and Poland having experience both on sell and buy side. Antanas has MSc in Management and Economics.
Grinvest through its subsidiary in Estonia Gene Investments OÜ is the largest unitholder in Baltic Horizon Fund (>25%) at the time of this notice.
Decision to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board
According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting. According to section 11.4 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members elect a chairman from among themselves in the first meeting after election of any new member(s).
The supervisory board in this composition intends working in close liaison with Northern Horizon Capital AS in the subcommittees and meet at least once a month while Baltic Horizon Fund is in the turnaround phase. The proposal is therefore to pay remuneration to the chairman of the supervisory board in the amount of EUR 36,000 per calendar year.
Decision to pay remuneration to supervisory board members
According to section 11.11 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund, supervisory board members are entitled to remuneration for their service. The amount of remuneration payable to the chairman and members of the supervisory board shall be decided at the general meeting.
The proposed remuneration is the same as for the current members of the supervisory board. The unitholder proposes to remunerate each supervisory board member (except the chairman, who shall be remunerated in accordance with point 4 above) in the amount of EUR 11,000 per calendar year.
Decision to recall Reimo Hammerberg, Monica Hammer and David Bergendahl from the position of the supervisory board member of Baltic Horizon Fund
According to section 10.3.3 of the Rules of Baltic Horizon Fund the members of the supervisory board shall be recalled at the general meeting.
Annex 1:
Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in Estonian)
Form of power of attorney to appoint a representative for the general meeting (in English)
The Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund that is managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital AS.
Distribution: GlobeNewswire, Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Stockholm, www.baltichorizon.com
COPENHAGEN, March 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trust Stamp (Nasdaq: IDAI), the Privacy-First Identity Company™, has been awarded the D-seal, a recognized label for IT security and responsible data usage. The D-seal is the first of its kind to combine IT security and responsible data usage into a single label. This milestone further solidifies Trust Stamp’s leadership in delivering ethical, privacy-preserving digital identity solutions, particularly in humanitarian aid, financial inclusion, and public sector services, assuring these organizations that Trust Stamp’s privacy-first solutions meet the highest ethical and security standards. By voluntarily undergoing the comprehensive evaluation of the D-seal, Trust Stamp has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to responsible digital practices.
By adhering to the values of D-seal such as IT security, privacy, and responsible use of data, it can bring a shift to the humanitarian sector. The humanitarian sector has historically prioritized efficiency and fraud prevention over privacy, often collecting and storing vast amounts of biometric data without adequate safeguards. As a result, vulnerable populations face increased risks of data breaches, misuse, and unintended surveillance.
By voluntarily undergoing the comprehensive evaluation of the D-seal, Trust Stamp reinforces its longstanding commitment to responsible digital practices, and continues to lead the way—enhancing fraud prevention and operational efficiency while ensuring the protection of individual rights. Likewise, in financial inclusion, where billions remain unbanked due to a lack of verifiable identity, Trust Stamp’s privacy-preserving technology empowers individuals with secure, interoperable, and responsible identity solutions that open doors to financial services while minimizing risks of misuse or exploitation.
Beyond humanitarian and financial sectors, Trust Stamp’s commitment to ethical, secure, and interoperable identity solutions also extends to governments seeking to modernize their digital infrastructure without falling into the trap of vendor lock-in, a significant challenge, especially for developing nations. The achievement of the D-seal aligns with Trust Stamp’s commitment to breaking vendor lock-in and ensuring secure, ethical, and interoperable digital identity solutions. By leveraging privacy-preserving technologies that are adaptable and vendor-agnostic, Trust Stamp empowers public sector entities, as well as the humanitarian and financial sectors —to enhance security, efficiency, and inclusivity without being constrained by proprietary systems removing the constraints of vendor lock-in. This approach not only fosters innovation, it ensures that governments can implement sustainable and future-proof identity solutions that serve their citizens without compromising autonomy or security.
Scott Francis, Group Chief Technology Officer at Trust Stamp, stated:
“Receiving the D-seal certification underscores our commitment to security, privacy, and ethical data practices—values that are deeply embedded in our mission to break the cycle of vendor lock-in. The D-seal’s emphasis on IT security and responsible data usage aligns with our approach to interoperability, ensuring that identity solutions remain secure, privacy-preserving, but also interoperable. As interoperability in facial biometrics is non-existent today our recent patent addresses that gap, as it allows users to obtain and compare biometric samples across different vendors. By creating an open-format standard, we empower organizations to implement secure and scalable identity solutions .”
The D-seal achievement reaffirms a commitment to secure, privacy-first identity verification with interoperable, vendor-agnostic solutions that promote financial inclusion and tackle critical challenges in humanitarian and public sectors, fostering a digital identity ecosystem founded on privacy, trust, and accessibility.
For more information about Trust Stamp’s privacy-first identity solutions, visit www.truststamp.ai.
Trust Stamp the Privacy-First Identity CompanyTM, is a global provider of AI-powered identity services for use in multiple sectors including banking and finance, regulatory compliance, government, real estate, communications, and humanitarian services. Its technology empowers organizations with advanced biometric identity solutions that reduce fraud, protect personal data privacy, increase operational efficiency, and reach a broader base of users worldwide through its unique data transformation and comparison capabilities.
Located in six countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Trust Stamp trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq: IDAI). The company was founded in 2016 by Gareth Genner and Andrew Gowasack.
All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are “forward-looking statements” including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The information in this announcement may contain forward-looking statements and information related to, among other things, the company, its business plan and strategy, and its industry. These statements reflect management’s current views with respect to future events-based information currently available and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. The company does not undertake any obligation to revise or update
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
UKHSA publishes latest survey on healthcare-associated infections
The report finds that overall healthcare-associated infections were present in 7.6% of patients, a 1% increase on the last reported figures in 2016.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), antibiotic use (AMU) and antibiotic stewardship (AMS) for England in 2023.
The survey looks at data from 121 NHS trusts and independent sector organisations across England. It provides a one-day snapshot of prevalence levels in our healthcare system, offering insights on current practices and where targeted intervention across various healthcare settings are needed most.
The report for 2023 found that overall HCAIs were present in 7.6% of patients, a 1% increase on the last reported figures in 2016. This rise could be associated with increased pressure on the healthcare system following the COVID-19 pandemic and more unwell patients due to an ageing population or more patients with comorbidities. Work is being done to understand the increase further.
The results suggest England’s HCAI prevalence level is consistent with trends seen in other European countries, including Spain, Sweden and Ireland.
Prevalence varied across different settings. In acute NHS trusts, 8% of patients tested positive for an HCAI. However, expected higher levels at 16.6% were recorded in acute specialty trusts, such as orthopaedic and children’s trusts where patients can be more susceptible to HCAIs. Among specialty trusts, HCAI prevalence was highest in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at 15.9%.
Of the total number of 3,493 HCAIs reported by the participating organisations, pneumonia/lower respiratory tract infections (PNLRI) were the most common sites of infection (29.6%), followed by urinary tract infections (UTIs) (17.5%), and sepsis/disseminated infections (10.6%).
This year’s report included mental health and community sites for the first time, with prevalence levels at 5.1% and 5% respectively. These additional data sets are essential to develop our understanding of the HCAI risks and antibiotic use levels across different healthcare settings in England for comparative purposes.
The overall prevalence of antibiotic use in all hospital patients surveyed was 34.1% in 2023. This means that out of the 44,372 patients included in the national analysis, 15,134 were treated with an antibiotic on the day of the survey. In NHS acute care hospitals, the overall antibiotic use prevalence was similar in 2023 (37.3%), compared to 2016 (36.7%).
Further analysis of the antibiotics prescribed showed that ‘Access’ and ‘Reserve’ antibiotics accounted for 31.3% and 6% of total antibiotic use respectively in participating hospitals. The UK’s 2024 AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) categorisation system is a tool used to help healthcare professionals prescribe the most appropriate antibiotics for patients while protecting their future effectiveness. Most patients should receive ‘Access’ antibiotics in the first instance. They offer the most effective treatment while minimising the potential for resistance. However, in some cases, for example seriously ill patients in hospitals, treatment with ‘Watch’ or ‘Reserve’ antibiotics may be required. Watch’ antibiotics are first or second choice antibiotics for a limited number of infections, while ‘Reserve’ are “last resort” or new antibiotics.
By 2029, the UK is aiming to achieve 70% of total use of antibiotics from ‘Access’ across the human healthcare system to preserve efficacy. According to the latest assessment in 2023, this was 64.1% for England across the healthcare sector.
Dr Colin Brown, Deputy Director at UKHSA, said:
It’s good to see that overall levels of healthcare-associated infections remained relatively similar in 2023, compared to 2016. This is likely thanks to the efforts of staff across the healthcare system who work tirelessly to implement effective infection prevention and control measures, and ensure antibiotics are being prescribed and taken appropriately.
However, levels have still increased in some parts of the health service, which must be addressed – together with continuing to drive down overall levels. Work is being conducted to better understand the drivers so that we can protect patients, especially those who are more susceptible to these types of infection such as the elderly and people with comorbidities.
Aktia Bank Plc Stock Exchange Release 5 March 2025 at 3.00 p.m.
Aktia Bank Plc: Managers’ Transactions – Aleksi Lehtonen
Person subject to the notification requirement Name: Lehtonen, Aleksi Position: Chief Executive Officer Issuer: Aktia Bank Plc LEI: 743700GC62JLHFBUND16
Transaction date: 2025-03-03 Venue not applicable Instrument type: SHARE ISIN: FI4000058870 Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE
Transaction details (1): Volume: 6,623 Unit price: 0.00 EUR
Further information: Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Mass media www.aktia.com
Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.
Transaction date: 2025-03-03 Venue not applicable Instrument type: SHARE ISIN: FI4000058870 Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE
Transaction details (1): Volume: 6,716 Unit price: 0.00 EUR
Further information: Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Mass media www.aktia.com
Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.
Transaction date: 2025-03-03 Venue not applicable Instrument type: SHARE ISIN: FI4000058870 Nature of the transaction: RECEIPT OF A SHARE-BASED INCENTIVE
Transaction details (1): Volume: 4,469 Unit price: 0.00 EUR
Further information: Oscar Taimitarha, Director, Investor Relations, tel. +358 40 562 2315, ir (at) aktia.fi
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd Mass media www.aktia.com
Aktia is a Finnish asset manager, bank and life insurer that has been creating wealth and wellbeing from one generation to the next for 200 years. We serve our customers in digital channels everywhere and face-to-face in our offices in the Helsinki, Turku, Tampere, Vaasa and Oulu regions. Our award-winning asset management business sells investment funds internationally. We employ approximately 850 people around Finland. Aktia’s assets under management (AuM) on 31 December 2024 amounted to EUR 14.0 billion, and the balance sheet total was EUR 11.9 billion. Aktia’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (AKTIA). aktia.com.
Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia Showcases India’s Telecom Transformation at MWC 2025 Innovation, Inclusivity, Sustainability & Trust forms the core of India’s guiding principles towards tech governance: Shri JM Scindia
Ensuring spectrum management, market stability, telecom regulation & consumer protection key towards balancing innovation with regulation: Shri JM Scindia
Participation in MWC 25 underscores the global standing of India’s telecom revolution and reflects India’s commitment to tech governance
Posted On: 05 MAR 2025 10:53AM by PIB Delhi
Minister for CommunicationsShri Jyotiraditya M Scindia visited the prestigious Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, engaging in top level meetings with CEOs, addressed key sessions and witnessed major tech innovations in one of the world’s largest gatherings for the mobile and telecommunications industry.
This visit showcased India’s telecom transformation at Mobile World Congress 2025, with Bharat’s rapid 5G rollout, world’s lowest data tariffs, indigenous 4G/5G stacks & robust cybersecurity measures highlighted in the prestigious event.Participation in MWC 25 underscores the global standing of India’s telecom revolution and reflects India’s commitment to tech governance.
The Minister addressed key sessions on ‘Global Tech Governance: Rising to the Challenge’ and Balancing Innovation & Regulation: Global Perspectives on Telecom Policy’ at the event.
He said that “Innovation, Inclusivity, Sustainability & Trust forms the core of India’s guiding principles towards tech governance”and highlighted the successof Aadhaar, BharatNet in serving every citizen of the country.
The Minister also spoke about the four steps ofIndia’s efforts towards balancing innovation with regulation such as spectrum management; ensuring market stability; introducing telecom regulation to ease up various processes; and bringing cybersecurity measures for consumer protection.
During the MWC 2025 visit, Shri Scindia unveiled the curtains of India Mobile Congress 2025 and inaugurated Bharat Pavilion organized by the Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) with the support of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, featured 38 Indian telecom equipment manufacturers showcasing their state-of-the-art products, both hardware and software.
The Minister also inaugurated VVDN’s indigenously designed & manufacturedAI based Wi-Fi-7 during his visit to Bharat Pavillion. He also visited other booths such as Meta and Google Cloud, catching a glimpse of their various technological solutions.
As part of the visit, the Minister interacted with top industry leaders from Qualcomm, Cisco, Mavenir, Ericsson, Nokia, AMD, AT&T, Airtel, BSNL, CDOT, TEPC, during dinner with CEOs, enabling strategic partnerships and innovation in Telecom.
The event also featured bilateral meetings with GSMA, FCC, Poland and Sweden,along with booth visits to Companies exploring cutting-edge developments in 5G, artificial intelligence, and next-generation mobile technologies.
The Minister’s participation in MWC 2024 highlights India’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technologies for enhancing digital infrastructure. This engagement also reflects India’s strategic focus on strengthening international partnerships, driving investments in the telecommunications sector, and shaping global policies to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. Through active dialogue and collaboration, India aims to play a key role in shaping the future of global connectivity and technologicaladvancements.
AboutMobileWorldCongress2025
MWC 2025, themed “Converge. Connect. Create.”, is taking place from March 3–6 in Barcelona, bringing together 101,000+ attendees, 2,700+ exhibitors, and leaders from 200+ countries to showcase the latest in 5G, AI, IoT, and digital transformation. With 1,200+ speakers, including top executives and policymakers, key themes include 5G Inside, AI+, Connect X, Enterprise Re-invented, Game Changers and Digital DNA.. MWC 2025 is the world’s leading platform for mobile innovation, networking, and future connectivity.
Cities can be deeply unwelcoming places for wildlife. They are noisy, difficult to get around, full of people and heavily reliant on artificial lighting. Yet some species do better in urban areas than in rural ones.
Research is showing that animals of the same species that live in cities and the countryside are behaving differently. These disparities will probably grow since
over half of people worldwide now live in urban areas, and cities and towns are getting bigger.
A recent study from Tel Aviv University found that Egyptian fruit bats living in urban parts of Israel gave birth two and a half weeks earlier than rural populations. This gives them an advantage as they are more likely to reproduce twice per year.
In the urban areas in the study there was a higher abundance and diversity of fruit trees. In Tel Aviv, for instance, the trees are watered. This means there is fruit for a longer period across the year, meaning more reliable food supplies for the bats.
They may also be benefiting from the urban heat island effect, with warmer temperatures reducing the harshness of the winters felt by their rural neighbours.
Most species perceive humans as predators, so our presence disturbs and distracts them from feeding and breeding. To survive in human-dominated cities, animals must therefore be bold.
This is something researchers have studied for a while in wildlife like foxes. Urban foxes are often more confident in their response to new food when it is presented in a novel object like a puzzle box.
Urban birds, from robins to feral pigeons, are also bolder. In a 2008 study scientists found that urban birds are more tolerant of human disturbance than rural ones), allowing humans to approach them closely.
The birds that reacted less to approaching humans were descended from a large number of generations since urbanisation, showing a long history of adaptation. This behavioural change helps these animals to adjust their stress responses when they are exposed to new situations. If they did not do this, they would suffer with chronic stress.
To test whether this boldness in birds is due to evolutionary adaptations, one 2006 experimental study in Germany hand-raised blackbird chicks taken from both an urban centre and a nearby forest.
They kept all the birds in the same environment until they were adults and then tested their acute stress responses when the birds were caught and handled. The birds from the city had a lower stress response, suggesting that this difference was genetically determined.
However, urban birds tend to be less successful in raising chicks than those in more natural areas. Although birds can take advantage of food provided by people in many cities and towns across the world – whether directly in bird feeders, or by scavenging on our discarded food – urban areas do not provide enough of the invertebrate prey that many nestlings need.
Many of these changes in urban species are difficult for people to detect, but one in particular becomes clear when you spend time in cities across the world. Have you noticed that whichever city you visit there seem to be many animals of the same species?
Scientists call this biotic homogenisation. It happens when places start to become increasingly similar over time with the species that you can find there.
This process begins with the exodus of species that cannot tolerate living alongside humans. Large mammals, often predators, are the first to go as an area becomes increasingly urbanised.
Then the non-native species begin to move in. Feral pigeons, rats, starlings and many other species are introduced by people over time, whether accidentally or deliberately, until a point is reached when the biodiversity found in one city, say in the US, starts to resemble another in Europe.
Urbanisation is continually changing our relationship with animals and how we perceive nature. Although scientists debate whether we have entered the Anthropocene (a new geological age based on significant planetary changes caused by humans) it is undeniable that humans have and still are moulding landscapes to suit our needs.
The growth of cities and other urban areas is set to continue, with future urban expansion predicted to swallow 11-33 million hectares of natural habitat by 2100, an area the size of Norway. Indeed, humans are becoming the largest driving force in the evolution of wildlife.
Becky Thomas 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.
Cities can be deeply unwelcoming places for wildlife. They are noisy, difficult to get around, full of people and heavily reliant on artificial lighting. Yet some species do better in urban areas than in rural ones.
Research is showing that animals of the same species that live in cities and the countryside are behaving differently. These disparities will probably grow since
over half of people worldwide now live in urban areas, and cities and towns are getting bigger.
A recent study from Tel Aviv University found that Egyptian fruit bats living in urban parts of Israel gave birth two and a half weeks earlier than rural populations. This gives them an advantage as they are more likely to reproduce twice per year.
In the urban areas in the study there was a higher abundance and diversity of fruit trees. In Tel Aviv, for instance, the trees are watered. This means there is fruit for a longer period across the year, meaning more reliable food supplies for the bats.
They may also be benefiting from the urban heat island effect, with warmer temperatures reducing the harshness of the winters felt by their rural neighbours.
Most species perceive humans as predators, so our presence disturbs and distracts them from feeding and breeding. To survive in human-dominated cities, animals must therefore be bold.
This is something researchers have studied for a while in wildlife like foxes. Urban foxes are often more confident in their response to new food when it is presented in a novel object like a puzzle box.
Urban birds, from robins to feral pigeons, are also bolder. In a 2008 study scientists found that urban birds are more tolerant of human disturbance than rural ones), allowing humans to approach them closely.
The birds that reacted less to approaching humans were descended from a large number of generations since urbanisation, showing a long history of adaptation. This behavioural change helps these animals to adjust their stress responses when they are exposed to new situations. If they did not do this, they would suffer with chronic stress.
To test whether this boldness in birds is due to evolutionary adaptations, one 2006 experimental study in Germany hand-raised blackbird chicks taken from both an urban centre and a nearby forest.
They kept all the birds in the same environment until they were adults and then tested their acute stress responses when the birds were caught and handled. The birds from the city had a lower stress response, suggesting that this difference was genetically determined.
However, urban birds tend to be less successful in raising chicks than those in more natural areas. Although birds can take advantage of food provided by people in many cities and towns across the world – whether directly in bird feeders, or by scavenging on our discarded food – urban areas do not provide enough of the invertebrate prey that many nestlings need.
Many of these changes in urban species are difficult for people to detect, but one in particular becomes clear when you spend time in cities across the world. Have you noticed that whichever city you visit there seem to be many animals of the same species?
Scientists call this biotic homogenisation. It happens when places start to become increasingly similar over time with the species that you can find there.
This process begins with the exodus of species that cannot tolerate living alongside humans. Large mammals, often predators, are the first to go as an area becomes increasingly urbanised.
Then the non-native species begin to move in. Feral pigeons, rats, starlings and many other species are introduced by people over time, whether accidentally or deliberately, until a point is reached when the biodiversity found in one city, say in the US, starts to resemble another in Europe.
Urbanisation is continually changing our relationship with animals and how we perceive nature. Although scientists debate whether we have entered the Anthropocene (a new geological age based on significant planetary changes caused by humans) it is undeniable that humans have and still are moulding landscapes to suit our needs.
The growth of cities and other urban areas is set to continue, with future urban expansion predicted to swallow 11-33 million hectares of natural habitat by 2100, an area the size of Norway. Indeed, humans are becoming the largest driving force in the evolution of wildlife.
Becky Thomas 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.
Press conference by Ms. Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark and President of the Security Council for the month of March 2025.
Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Farchana/ Geneva, 5 March 2025 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) completed this week the expansion of the humanitarian hub in Farchana, Chad, in a move that will enable as many as 220,000 more people impacted by the escalating crisis in Sudan to receive help.
The expanded operational and accommodation capacity at the hub will strengthen cross-border interagency humanitarian operations for Sudan, the world’s worst displacement crisis. The expansion comes at a critical time, as the humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to worsen, with the urgent need for food, shelter, healthcare, and protection at an all-time high. According to recent figures, nearly nine million people in the Darfur region alone require immediate assistance.
“With the strengthened cross-border operations, IOM has already reached over 82,000 people in Darfur with critical humanitarian aid, and with the expansion of the Farchana hub, we are poised to provide life-saving assistance to an additional 220,000 people in the coming months,” said Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Chief of Mission in Chad. “The hub also enables greater collaboration between humanitarian actors, development agencies, and the government, which is essential for a comprehensive and sustainable response.”
Since April 2023, more than 11.5 million people have been displaced within Sudan, and an additional 3.5 million have fled across borders, including an estimated 930,000 people who have crossed from Sudan into Chad. The crisis has created unprecedented humanitarian needs in Sudan and neighbouring countries, and the inter-agency humanitarian hub in Farchana, established jointly by IOM and IHP, plays a critical role in coordinating and supporting these cross-border efforts.
The expansion includes office space, accommodations and other infrastructure that will help increase the operational capabilities of humanitarian organisations working in hard-to-reach field locations in Sudan. These enhancements enable international and national Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies to further scale up cross-border operations from Chad into Darfur, where humanitarian needs are rapidly escalating.
“Establishing a functional compound in eastern Chad was no small feat. The harsh climate, logistical constraints, and remote location pushed our team to its limits,” said Bram Krieps, IHP team leader during the 2024 operation. “But through the strength of IHP’s partnership and the determination of our experts, we turned a challenging environment into a secure and operational base that supports humanitarian cross-border efforts on the ground.”
Note to editor
The Farchana humanitarian hub, established in February 2024 with generous support from the governments of Luxembourg, Sweden and Germany through the IHP mechanism, serves as a vital coordination centre for 26 international and national NGOs and UN agencies facilitating cross-border aid delivery into the Darfur region of Sudan. Since its inception, the hub has supported 13 UN agencies, 31 international NGOs, one national NGO, and a government partner in their efforts to reach those most in need.
Managed by IOM, the expanded humanitarian hub is part of a network of 17 inter-agency humanitarian hubs. These hubs, located across four countries, provide essential office, warehousing and accommodation space for over 1,660 humanitarian personnel, playing a crucial role in facilitating coordinated responses to humanitarian crises worldwide.
Oslo, 5 March 2025 – DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today confirmed a gas/condensate discovery on the Mistral prospect in the Norwegian Sea license PL1119 in which the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary DNO Norge AS recently acquired a 10 percent interest.
The well encountered a 45-meter hydrocarbon column with good reservoir properties in the Garn Formation. Preliminary estimates of gross recoverable resources encountered are in the range of 19-44 million barrels of oil equivalent. In addition to DNO, license partners include Equinor Energy AS (50 percent and operator), OKEA ASA and Pandion Energy AS (20 percent each).
Located some 20 kilometers southwest of Equinor’s ongoing Lavrans subsea development, the Mistral discovery is a candidate for a fast-track tieback to this field. Given the good reservoir properties, the discovery likely allows for simplified development solutions.
To diversify its exploration portfolio, DNO entered into the Mistral license through a swap agreement with OKEA announced on 19 December 2024, shortly before spud date of the discovery well. In exchange, OKEA picked up a 10 percent interest in North Sea license PL1109 containing the Horatio prospect, in which DNO has retained a 20 percent interest. Exploration drilling is ongoing at Horatio. The DNO-OKEA transaction is subject to government approval.
Further south, DNO is currently drilling its Kjøttkake exploration well in North Sea license PL1182S in which the Company holds a 40 percent operated stake.
–
For further information, please contact: Media: media@dno.no Investors: investor.relations@dno.no
–
DNO ASA is a Norwegian oil and gas operator active in the Middle East, the North Sea and West Africa. Founded in 1971 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the Company holds stakes in onshore and offshore licenses at various stages of exploration, development and production in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Norway, the United Kingdom, Côte d’Ivoire, Netherlands and Yemen.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
London, March 5, 2025 – Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement of January 27, 2025, stating that Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI), through its subsidiary Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. had entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all the shares of Avenir LNG Limited (‘Avenir LNG’) owned by Golar LNG Limited and Aequitas Limited (the ‘Transaction’) and subject to completion of the Transaction, Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. intended to offer to buy the shares of all remaining shareholders in Avenir LNG.
The Transaction has been completed, and Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. now holds more than 95% of the outstanding shares and votes in Avenir LNG.
As the holder of more than 95% of Avenir LNG’s shares, Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. is able to acquire the remaining shares in Avenir LNG by way of a compulsory acquisition, in accordance with section 103 of the Companies Act 1981 of Bermuda (the ‘Bermuda Companies Act’). The board of directors of Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. has resolved to proceed with this compulsory acquisition, and a notice informing Avenir LNG’s shareholders of the compulsory acquisition has been issued (the ‘Compulsory Acquisition Notice’). The purchase price for the compulsory acquisition is $ 1.00 per Avenir LNG share (the ‘Purchase Price’), which is the same price per Avenir LNG share as in the Transaction.
Settlement under the compulsory acquisition will occur in accordance with the standard settlement procedures for compulsory acquisition transactions registered in the Euronext Securities Oslo system (the ‘VPS’). The settlement amount per Avenir LNG share that a shareholder will receive is NOK 11.19, representing the equivalent of $ 1.00 using Norges Bank’s mid-rate in the interbank market as published on March 4, 2025.
Further information about the compulsory acquisition is provided in the Compulsory Acquisition Notice. A copy of the Compulsory Acquisition Notice can also be obtained free of charge during ordinary course of business hours at the offices of DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA at Dronning Eufemias gate 30, N-0021 Oslo, Norway.
As outlined in the Compulsory Acquisition Notice, shareholders of Avenir LNG may, within a one-month period of such notice, starting on March 11, 2025, and ending on April 11, 2025, apply to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for an appraisal of the value of their Avenir LNG shares. Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. is entitled and bound to acquire the Avenir LNG shares of shareholders of Avenir LNG on the terms of the Compulsory Acquisition Notice upon the expiry of one month from the date on which such notice is given, unless a shareholder of Avenir LNG applies to the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appraise the value of their shares within the one month period, whereby Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. may within one month of the court appraising the value of the shares acquire all such shares at the price fixed by the court or cancel the Compulsory Acquisition Notice.
Completion of the compulsory acquisition and settlement of the Purchase Price are expected to occur on or about April 16, 2025 (subject to no shareholder applying to the Supreme Court of Bermuda for an appraisal of the value of their shares).
Following completion of the compulsory acquisition, Stolt-Nielsen Gas Ltd. will pursue a delisting of Avenir LNG’s shares from Euronext N-OTC.
Sponsored Norwegian Depository Receipts
Equro Issuer Services AS (‘Equro’), Avenir LNG’s registrar in the ‘VPS’, is registered as the holder of the underlying common shares in Avenir LNG’s register of members maintained at the registered office of Avenir LNG in Bermuda. It is not Avenir LNG’s underlying common shares issued in accordance with the Bermuda Companies Act and Avenir LNG’s bye-laws but Sponsored Norwegian Depository Receipts (‘SNDR’), representing the beneficial interests in such common shares, that are registered in book-entry form with the VPS. Shareholders of Avenir LNG (i.e. holders of SNDRs) must therefore refer to Equro for exercising their rights as shareholders of Avenir LNG. Should a shareholder (i.e. a holder of SNDRs) wish to apply to the Supreme Court of Bermuda to appraise the value of their Avenir LNG common shares (and SNDRs), the applicable number of common shares of Avenir LNG must first be transferred to such holder, and Equro must be contacted (info@equro.com) for such transfer to be performed (and prior to any application to the Supreme Court of Bermuda being made). Further details are available in the Compulsory Acquisition Notice.
SNDRs issued in the VPS have certain limitations and risks. You can read more about these limitations and risks in Equro’s general business terms and conditions available at Equro’s webpage. A service description for SNDRs is available at Euronext’s webpage.
Advisors
DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, is acting as financial advisor to Stolt-Nielsen Limited.
For additional information please contact:
Jens F. Grüner-Hegge Chief Financial Officer UK +44 (0) 20 7611 8985 j.gruner-hegge@stolt.com
Ellie Davison Head of Corporate Communications UK +44 (0) 20 7611 8926 e.davison@stolt.com
About Stolt-Nielsen Limited
Stolt-Nielsen (SNL or the Company) is a long-term investor and manager of businesses focused on opportunities in logistics, distribution and aquaculture. The Stolt-Nielsen portfolio consists of its three global bulk-liquid and chemicals logistics businesses – Stolt Tankers, Stolthaven Terminals and Stolt Tank Containers – Stolt Sea Farm and various investments. Stolt-Nielsen Limited is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo Børs: SNI).
Trifork subsidiary TestHuset partners with Cognizant on Testing-as-a-Service in Denmark
Copenhagen, 5 March 2025 – TestHuset, a leading company in software testing and quality assurance in Denmark, has entered into a partnership with the U.S.-based company Cognizant to introduce a new perspective on software testing and quality assurance in Denmark.
The partnership was established as part of KOMBIT’s recent tender, which was jointly awarded to Cognizant and TestHuset. Beyond KOMBIT, the collaboration will also extend to support other clients of both Cognizant and TestHuset. The partnership is anchored in TestHuset’s strong local presence in Denmark and is further strengthened by Cognizant’s experience with Testing-as-a-Service (TaaS) and its international reach through both nearshore and offshore resources.
KOMBIT’s tender is focused locally on TaaS, and TestHuset expects it will set a precedent for how large Danish private and public organizations will approach software quality assurance in the future. TestHuset anticipates growing demand for on-site TaaS teams supported by products that provide complete, data-driven insights into software quality. To meet this demand, TestHuset offers solutions such as Trifork Quality Intelligence, which delivers a holistic and transparent view of quality, along with a new AI-powered tool that accelerates testing and quality assurance for customers’ digital solutions.
Allan Tange, CEO of TestHuset, comments:
“KOMBIT’s tender is both ambitious and innovative, setting new standards for how organizations can rethink their approach to testing and quality assurance of their digital solutions. Our partnership with Cognizant has the potential to significantly enhance the quality of digital solutions across many large Danish enterprises. We are very excited to present our new concept to customers of both Cognizant and TestHuset in the near future.”
Thomas Djursø, Country Manager at Cognizant, adds:
“Together with TestHuset, we have created a strong setup for TaaS. With TestHuset’s experience and senior specialists working closely with Cognizant’s team in Denmark, we provide a robust on-site foundation for TaaS. This is further enhanced by Cognizant’s ability to scale through nearshore and offshore delivery and our significant investments in test automation and generative AI. Combined, this ensures that our customers can transition to TaaS with a focus on quality, speed of transformation, and efficiency gains.”
Investor and media contact Frederik Svanholm Group Investment Director, Head of IR & PR frsv@trifork.com, +41 79 357 7317
About Trifork Trifork is a pioneering global technology partner, empowering enterprise and public sector customers with innovative solutions. With 1,229 professionals across 73 business units in 16 countries, Trifork delivers expertise in inspiring, building, and running advanced software solutions across diverse sectors, including public administration, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, energy, financial services, retail, and real estate. Trifork Labs, the Group’s R&D hub, drives innovation by investing in and developing synergistic and high-potential technology companies. Trifork Group AG is a publicly listed company on Nasdaq Copenhagen. Learn more at trifork.com.
About TestHuset Founded in 2005, TestHuset is a leading quality assurance company helping large organizations improve their software quality. Since 2018, TestHuset has been part of the international development company Trifork. TestHuset delivers consulting, services, and competence development on both local and global levels. TestHuset is headquartered in Copenhagen with 75+ employees in Denmark, Sweden, and Spain. Learn more at testhuset.dk.
About Cognizant Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is a leading global technology and consulting company that transforms modern businesses, enabling them to operate intuitively and proactively. Cognizant has 340,100 employees and generated $19.4 billion in revenue in 2023. Cognizant helps clients modernize technology, rethink processes, and transform experiences to remain competitive in a rapidly changing world. Together, we are improving everyday life. Learn more at www.cognizant.com or follow @cognizant.
Q4 book to bill at 117%, +9 points vs Q4 2023, benefitting from the signature of large multi-year contract renewals and wins
FY 2024 book to bill at 82% vs 94% in prior year
FY 2024 revenue: €9,577 million, down -5.4% organically, impacted by previously-established contract terminations or scope reductions and by market softness in key geographies
Eviden: down -6.7% organically
Tech Foundations down -4.1% organically
Operating margin of 2.1% at €199m, with Eviden at 2.0% and Tech Foundations at 2.2%
Down -210 bps organically compared with FY 2023, mainly due to the allocation to the business of SG&A costs previously allocated to Other Operating Income & Expenses, as part of the separation project in prior year
Operating margin includes circa €40 million of provision for underperforming contracts following negotiations with customers
Free cash flow at €-2,233 million reflecting the end of one-off working capital optimization actions and higher capex linked to High Performance Computing contracts
Working capital optimization at December 2024 of €0.3 billion compared to €1.8 billion in prior year
Consisting solely of customer invoices paid in advance without any discount and on a pure voluntary basis;
No usage at all of account receivable factoring or specific optimization on trade payables.
Net income group share of €248 million, including notably:
€3,520 million income from the financial restructuring, including a €2,766 million gain on the debt-to-equity swap and €965 million IFRS 9 debt fair value treatment, which will be amortized in subsequent years
Goodwill and other non-current assets impairment charge of €2,357 million, reflecting the decrease of the Group’s enterprise value, which takes into account a lower fair value of the financial debts and a lower market capitalization
Paris, March 5, 2025 – Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, high-performance computing and information technology infrastructure, today announces its 2024 financial results.
Philippe Salle, Atos Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, declared:
“It was with great enthusiasm and conviction that I have joined the Atos Group in October 2024. Now that our financial restructuring has been successfully completed in December, the Group can focus on its transformation journey and on providing the highest level of support to our customers through innovation and quality of service. I will present my vision for Atos and our mid-term strategy during a Capital Markets Day on May 14.
During the fourth quarter, our commercial activity recovered thanks to the positive change of perception of our clients, who took note of the improvement of our credit rating. This positive commercial momentum materialized in renewals or extensions of large strategic multi-year contracts.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the teams involved for their outstanding contribution to the financial structuring of the company and to our employees, customers and partners for their continued support.”
FY 2024 performance highlights
In € million
FY 2024
FY 2023
Var.
FY 2023*
Organic Var.
Revenue
9,577
10,693
-10.4%
10,124
-5.4%
Operating Margin
199
467
-268
423
-224
In % of revenue
2.1%
4.4%
-230bps
4.2%
-210bps
OMDA
722
1,026
-304
In % of revenue
7.6%
9.6%
-200bps
Net income
248
-3,441
3,689
Free Cash Flow
-2,233
-1,078
-1,154
Net debt excl. IFRS 9 fair value treatment
-1,238
-2,230
992
Net debt
-275
-2,230
1,955
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
FY 2024 performance by Business
In € million
FY 2024 Revenue
FY 2023 revenue
FY 2023 revenue*
Organic variation*
Eviden
4,604
5,089
4,937
-6.7%
Tech Foundations
4,972
5,604
5,187
-4.1%
Total
9,577
10,693
10,124
-5.4%
In € million
FY 2024 Operating margin
FY 2023 Operating margin
FY 2023 Operating margin*
FY 2024 Operating margin %
FY 2023 Operating margin%
FY 2023 Operating margin%*
Organic variation*
Eviden
90
294
272
2.0%
5.8%
5.5%
-350 bps
Tech Foundations
109
172
151
2.2%
3.1%
2.9%
-70 bps
Total
199
467
423
2.1%
4.4%
4.2%
-210 bps
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
Group revenue was €9,577 million, down -5.4% organically compared with FY 2023. Overall, Group revenue evolution in 2024 reflects previously-established contract terminations or scope reductions and market softness in key geographies
Eviden revenue was €4,604 million, down -6.7% organically.
Digital activities decreased high single digit. The business was impacted by previously-established contract terminations and contract scope reductions, as well as by the continued market softness in North America, in the UK & Ireland and in Benelux and the Nordics.
Big Data & Security (BDS) revenue was roughly stable organically. Advanced Computing grew mid-single digit with large project deliveries in Denmark and Germany particularly during the fourth quarter. Revenue in Digital Security decreased low single digit due to contract terminations and volume decline.
Tech Foundations revenue was €4,972 million, down -4.1% organically.
Core revenue (excluding BPO and value-added resale (“VAR”)) decreased low single digit. Stronger revenue in Major Events (related to the Paris Olympic & Paralympic games and the UEFA) was offset by previously-established contract terminations and completions in North America and by contract scope and volume reduction in the UK.
Non-core revenue declined high single digit as planned, reflecting deliberate reduction of BPO activities in the UK and reduced value-added resale for hardware and software products.
Group operating margin was €199 million representing 2.1% of revenue, down -210 basis points organically compared with 2023:
This margin decrease comes mainly from the allocation to the business of €103 million SG&A costs previously allocated to Other Operating Income & Expenses as they related to the separation project conducted in 2023. The profitability of the Group was also impacted by revenue decrease and lower utilization of resources. Operating margin also includes circa €40 million of provision for underperforming contracts following negotiations with customers
Eviden’s operating margin was €90 million or 2.0% of revenue, down -350 basis points organically. Beyond the allocation of SG&A costs to the business for €48 million, profitability was also impacted by revenue decrease and lower utilization of resources.
Tech Foundations’ operating margin was €109 million or 2.2% of revenue down by -70 basis points organically. The positive impacts from the continued execution of the transformation program and the accelerated reduction of under-performing contracts via renegotiation were offset by higher allocation of SG&A cost to the business for €55 million.
FY 2024 performance by Regional Business Unit
In € million
FY 2024 Revenue
FY 2023 revenue
FY 2023 revenue*
Organic variation*
North America
1,909
2,280
2,177
-12.3%
UK / IR
1,500
1,770
1,763
-14.9%
Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)
946
911
905
+4.6%
Central Europe
2,207
2,506
2,253
-2.1%
Southern Europe
2,080
2,284
2,119
-1.9%
Growing markets
924
930
893
+3.4%
Others & Global structures
11
12
13
-16.3%
Total
9,577
10,693
10,124
-5.4%
In € million
FY 2024 Operating margin
FY 2023 Operating margin
FY 2023 Operating margin*
FY 2024 Operating margin %
FY 2023 Operating margin%
FY 2023 Operating margin%*
Organic variation*
North America
161
244
229
8.5%
10.7%
10.5%
-200 bps
UK / IR
72
75
77
4.8%
4.2%
4.3%
+40 bps
Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)
7
23
23
0.8%
2.5%
2.5%
-170 bps
Central Europe
10
31
23
0.5%
1.3%
1.0%
-60 bps
Southern Europe
80
99
82
3.9%
4.3%
3.9%
+0 bps
Growing markets
31
92
88
3.4%
9.9%
9.9%
-650 bps
Others & Global structures
-163
-97
-98
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Total
199
467
423
2.1%
4.4%
4.2%
-210 bps
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
North America revenue was €1,909 million, down -12.3% organically, impacted by contract terminations and general slowdown in market conditions.
Eviden revenue was down double digit, impacted by contract terminations and volume decline in Healthcare, Finance, and Transport & Logistics. BDS revenue remained stable.
Tech Foundations revenue was down high single digit due to contract completions and terminations in Media and in Insurance, as well as scope reductions with select customers.
Operating margin was €161 million or 8.5% of revenue, down -200 basis points organically.
Eviden’s margin declined, impacted by volume reduction and contract terminations.
Tech Foundations margin declined, due to lower utilization of resources and volume reduction.
UK & Ireland revenue was €1,500 million, down -14.9% organically.
Eviden revenue was down double digit. Digital revenue decreased, reflecting contract completions and volume reduction in the Public Sector. BDS revenue decreased as well, following the discontinuation of the low-margin “computing as a service” offering.
Revenue in Tech Foundations was down double digit, due to contract completion in Public Sector BPO activities.
Operating margin was €72 million, or 4.8% of revenue, up +40 basis points organically. Tech Foundations margin benefited from the extension of a large multi-year contract renewed at better financial terms, while Eviden margin was impacted by revenue decline and lower utilization of resources in Digital.
Benelux and the Nordics revenue was € 946 million, up +4.6% organically
Eviden revenue was up double digit, thanks particularly to BDS, with a new supercomputer sold to an innovation center in Denmark.
Revenue in Tech Foundations was down low single digit, with contract completions and volume decline in Healthcare and in Utilities.
Operating margin was €7 million, or 0.8% of revenue, down -170 basis points organically. Profitability was impacted by project overruns and lower utilization of resources in Digital.
Central Europe revenue was € 2,207 million, down -2.1% organically.
Eviden revenue was down low single digit. Decline in Digital due to volume reduction from Manufacturing and Defense customers was partially offset by the ongoing delivery of a large HPC in Germany.
Tech Foundations revenue was down low-single digit, reflecting scope reductions in the Banking and Automotive sectors.
Operating margin was €10 million or 0.5% of revenue, down -60 basis points organically. Tech Foundations’ margin improvement was offset by Eviden’s profitability decrease.
Southern Europe revenue was €2,080 million, down -1.9% organically.
Eviden revenue was down low-single digit. Digital activities declined due to volume reduction in Automotive, Transport & Logistics and Banking sectors. The delivery of a supercomputer project in Spain provided a higher prior year comparison basis for BDS.
Tech Foundations revenue declined low single digit due to contract completions with select customers.
Operating margin was €80 million or 3.9% of revenue, broadly stable organically. BDS’ margin improvement driven by ongoing contracts deliveries was partially offset by Eviden profitability decrease due to lower utilization of resources in Digital.
Growing Market revenue was €924 million, up +3.4% organically, reflecting stronger contributions related to the Paris Olympic & Paralympic Games and the UEFA contract.
Operating margin was €31 million or 3.4% of revenue, down -650 basis points reflecting higher marketing expenses for Major Events.
Others and Global Structures encompass the Group’s global delivery centers and global structures:
Global delivery centers net cost was €-72 million, broadly stable compared with last year.
Global Structures net cost was €-91 million and increased by €65 million, impacted by higher SG&A costs allocated to Operating margin in 2024 (rather than allocated to Other Operating Income, as part of the separation project in prior year).
Order entry and backlog
FY 2024 commercial activity
Order entry reached €7.9 billion in 2024. Eviden order entry was €4.1 billion and Tech Foundations order entry was €3.8 billion.
Book-to-bill ratio for the Group was 82% in 2024, down from 94% in 2023.
Eviden reported a book-to-bill ratio of 88% in 2024, down from 94% in 2023
Tech Foundations reported a book-to-bill ratio of 76% in 2024, down from 94% in 2023
Q4 2024 commercial activity
Order entry reached €2.7 billion in Q4 2024 bringing book to bill ratio to 117% for the quarter, benefitting from renewed client confidence thanks to the completion of the financial restructuring.
Eviden reported a book-to-bill ratio of 111% for the fourth quarter, increasing strongly by +12 points compared with Q4 2023, notably led by a strong performance of Digital with a book to bill at 127%. Main contract signatures in the fourth quarter included an application management services contract with a Ministry of Economy, contract renewals in application management and cybersecurity services with a large American retail company and with a large health provider, as well as a High-Performance Computer (HPC) upgrade with a European scientific community.
Tech Foundations reported a book-to-bill ratio of 122% for the fourth quarter, increasing by +6 points compared with Q4 2023. Main contract signatures in the fourth quarter included a 4-years contract extension for IT and digital transformation services with a state-owned savings bank. Several multi-year strategic contracts were renewed, in particular to provide Digital Workplace and Hybrid Cloud & Infrastructure services for North American and UK & Ireland customers in Financial Services, Public Sector, and Transport & Logistic.
Backlog & commercial pipeline
At the end of December 2024, the full backlog reached €13.0 billion representing 1.3 years of revenue.
The full qualified pipeline amounted to €4.3 billion at the end of December 2024, representing 5.1 months of revenue.
Human resources
The total headcount was 78,112 at the end of December 2024, decreasing by -17.9% compared with the end of December 2023 and includes:
Transfers of 4,900 employees to new providers in Q3 2024 following contract completions in North America and in the UK. Excluding these transfers, headcount has decreased by circa -13%,
Worldgrid disposal in Q4 2024 (-973 employees).
During the year, the Group hired 9,388 staff (of which 93.3% were Direct employees).
Employe attrition rate remained in line with historical levels, increasing slightly from 14.5% in 2023 to 15.6% in 2024. FY 2024 retention rate for key employees remained high at 92%.
Net income
Net income group share was €248 million, primarily due to a €3,520 million financial gain related to the financial restructuring of the Group and a €2,858 million cost recorded in Other Operating Income and Expenses, which included a €2,357 million impairment charges on goodwill and non-current assets.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow was €-2,233 million in 2024 reflecting primarily the end of one-off working capital optimization actions resulting in a negative change in working capital requirement for €1,498 million and higher capex linked to HPC contracts for €239 million.
Net debt and debt covenants
At December 31, 2024, net debt was €1,238 million (€275 million including IFRS 9 debt fair value treatment), compared to € 2,230 million as of December 31, 2023. and consisted of:
Cash and cash equivalents for €1,739 million
Short-term financial assets for €93 million
Borrowings for €3,069 million (nominal value) or €2,107 million (IFRS fair value)
The new credit documentation requires the Group to maintain:
from 31 March 2025, a minimum liquidity level of €650 million, to be verified at the end of each financial quarter;
from 30 June 2027, as from each half-year end, a maximum level of financial leverage (“Total Net Leverage Ratio Covenant”), which is defined as the ratio of Financial indebtedness (mainly excluding IFRS 16 impacts and IFRS 9 debt fair value treatment) to pre-IFRS 16 OMDA; the ceilings thus applicable will be determined no later than 30 June 2026 with reference to a flexibility of 30% in relation to the Business Plan adopted by the Group at that time; these ceilings will in any event remain between 3.5x and 4.0x.
As at December 31, 2024, the Group financial leverage (as defined above and pre IFRS 9 debt fair value treatment) was 3.16x.
Going concern and liquidity
The consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended December 31, 2024 have been prepared on a going concern basis.
The Group’s cash forecasts for the twelve months following the approval of the 2024 consolidated financial statements by the Board of Directors, result in a cash situation that meets its liquidity needs over that period.
The cash forecasts, which take into account the latest business forecasts, have been prepared based on the assumptions which were in line with the Group updated business plan communicated on September 2, 2024.
It is reminded that as part of its financial restructuring and following the completion on 18 December 2024 of the final steps of the Accelerated Safeguard Plan approved by the specialized Commercial Court of Nanterre on 24 October 2024, which resulted in: (i) a €2.1 billion gross debt reduction through the equitization of €2.9 billion of existing financial debts and the repayment of €0.8 billion interim financings with the new money debt provided to the Company;
(ii) €1.6 billion of new money debt and €0.1 billion of new money equity from the rights issue and the additional reserved capital increase and
(iii) no debt maturities before the end of 2029,
the Group now has the resources and flexibility to execute its midterm strategy.
Operating margin to Operating income
In € million
2024
2023
Operating margin
199
467
Reorganization
-119
-696
Rationalization and associated costs
-37
-38
Integration and acquisition costs
3
4
Amortization of intangible assets (PPA from acquisitions)
-57
-108
Equity based compensation
-2
-19
Impairment of goodwill and other non-current assets
-2 357
-2 546
Other items
-288
-169
Operating (loss)
-2 659
-3 106
Non recurring items were a net expense of €2,858 million.
Reorganization costs amounted to € 119 million.
Workforce adaptation measures relating mainly to restructuring plans launched in previous years were €77 million compared with €343 million in 2023, as the Group limited restructuring expenses to manage its cash position in 2024.
Separation and transformation related to the 2023 legal carve-out were incurred mostly at the start of the year for €42 million. In 2023, these costs amounted to €353 million, of which about one third corresponded to internal project costs.
Rationalization and associated costs amounted to € 37 million compared to € 38 million in 2023, mainly corresponding to the continuation of the data centers consolidation program.
Integration and acquisition costs amounted to € 3 million as certain earn-out and retention schemes did not materialize and were thus released to the income statement.
Amortization of intangible assets recognized in the purchase price allocation amounted to €57 million and was mainly composed of Syntel customer relationships and technologies.
Impairment of goodwill and other non-current assets amounted to € 2,357 million and mostly related:
To the impairment of goodwill for € 2,240 million in both Eviden (Americas and Northern Europe & APAC) and Tech Foundations (Northern Europe & APAC), and ;
To the impairment of customer relationships for € 109 million in Americas as a result of customer contract terminations.
In 2024, Other items were a net expense of €288 million compared with €169 million in 2023 and included:
€74 million of net capital gain related to the sale of Worldgrid offset by additional losses recognized on past transactions ;
€160 million of losses related to onerous contracts that were accounted for in OOI in previous years;
€96 million of legal fees and settlement related to major litigations, including the settlement concluded with Unisys in December;
€78 million of current assets write offs; and
€28 million of costs related to early retirement programs in Germany, the UK and France as well as others non-recurring items.
As a result, operating loss was at €-2,659 million, compared with a loss of €-3,106 million in 2023, reflecting primarily the €2,357 million impairment charge.
Operating Income to Net income Group Share
In € million
2024
2023
Operating (loss)
-2,659
-3,106
Net financial income (expense)
3,121
-227
Tax charge
-214
-112
Non-Controlling interests
–
-1
Share of net profit of equity-accounted investments
–
5
Net income (loss) Group Share
248
-3,441
Basic earning per share
0.034
-31.04
Diluted earning per share
0.031
-31.04
Net financial income was €3,121 million and was composed of:
The net cost of financial debt of €178 million, compared with €102 million in 2023. This €76 million increase mainly resulted from:
€38 million higher cost on the old debt (additional portions drawn on the RCF and higher interest rates on the Term Loan A);
€13m interests on the interim financing;
€12m interests on the new financing structure.
Other financial items for a net income of € 3,299 million in 2024 compared to net expense of € 125 million in 2023, composed mainly of:
The gain related to the financial restructuring of the Group for €3,520 million, detailed as follows:
In € million
2024
Fair value gain on the debt converted into equity
2,766
Fair value gain on the new debt
965
Fair value of the issued warrants
-45
Subtotal at financial restructuring date
3,686
Costs and fees reported in the income statement
-165
Impact reported under the other financial income
3,520
Other items of €221 million, including notably:
€78 million of exit fees on Interim financing loans repaid as part of financial restructuring on December 18, 2024;
€36 million lease liability interest (€26 million in 2023). This variation mainly resulted from the increase in discount rates;
€30 million financial expense on pensions(€31 million in 2023). This pension financial cost represents the difference between interest costs on pension obligations and the return on plan assets;
€29 million of net foreign exchange loss, including hedges (loss of €19 million in 2023);
€15 million of prior year transaction costs included in financial debts, which were fully amortized in 2024 in the context of the financial restructuring of the Group.
The tax charge for 2024 was €214 million, compared with €112 million in 2023. This €+102 million increase was mainly due to:
A €59 million impairment charge on deferred tax assets
A €37 million expense related to non-recoverable withholding tax
Net income group share was €248 million, primarily due to a €3,520 million financial gain related to the financial restructuring of the Group and a €2,858 million cost recorded in Other Operating Income and Expenses, which included a €2,357 million impairment charges on goodwill and non-current assets.
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share were €0.034. per share in 2024 and diluted earnings per share were €0.031 per share.
Free cash flow and net cash
In € million
2024
2023
Operating Margin before Depreciation and Amortization (OMDA)
722
1,026
Capital expenditures
-444
-205
Lease payments
-301
-358
Change in working capital requirement*
-1,192
-391
Cash from operations (CFO)*
-1,214
73
Tax paid
-81
-77
Net cost of financial debt paid
-178
-102
Reorganization in other operating income
-245
-605
Rationalization & associated costs in other operating income
-9
-47
Integration and acquisition costs in other operating income
-3
-8
Other changes**
-504
-312
Free Cash Flow (FCF)
-2,233
-1,078
Net (acquisitions) disposals
162
411
Capital increase
3,049
–
Share buy-back
-2
-3
Dividends paid
-18
-35
Change in net (debt)
958
-705
Opening net cash (debt)
-2,230
-1,450
Change in net cash (debt)
958
-705
Foreign exchange rate fluctuation on net cash (debt)
34
-75
Closing net (debt) excl. IFRS fair value treatment
-1,238
-2,230
IFRS Debt fair value treatment
963
–
Closing net (debt)
-275
-2,230
* Change in working capital requirement excluding the working capital requirement change related to items reported in other operating income and expense.
** “Other changes” include other operating income and expense with cash impact (excluding staff reorganization, rationalization and associated costs, integration and acquisition costs) and other financial items with cash impact, net long term financial investments excluding acquisitions and disposals, and profit sharing amounts payable transferred to debt
Free cash flow was €-2,233 million in 2024 reflecting primarily the end of one-off working capital optimization actions resulting in a negative change in working capital requirement for €1,498 million and higher capex linked to HPC contracts for €239 million.
Capital expenditures and lease payments totaled €745 million, up €182 million from the prior year reflecting a significant investment in the energy-efficient Exascale technology.
Change in working capital requirement was €-1,192 million, primarily from €-1,498 million lower working capital optimization compared with end of fiscal 2023. As at December 2024, working capital benefited from invoices paid in advance by customers for € 319 million, without any discount and on a pure voluntary basis. As at December 31, 2023, total specific optimization carried out by the Group to optimize its working capital amounted to € 1,817 million.
Cash out related to taxes paid increased by € 4 million and amounted to € 81 million in 2024, including € 6 million of taxes paid in connection with carve-out transactions completed in 2024.
Net cost of financial debt was €178 million as explained above.
The total of reorganization, rationalization & associated costs and integration & acquisition costs reached €256 million compared with €660 million in 2023 and included:
€135 million of reorganization costs in connection with restructuring measures as well as the continuation of the German restructuring plans; and
€110 million of costs related to the outstanding activities on the separation of the Group incurred mostly over the first quarter of the year.
Cash out related to Other changes was €-504 million compared to € -312 million in 2023, and included:
€166 million of costs incurred on onerous contracts (purchase commitments and customer contracts);
€144 million of transaction costs paid in the context of the financial restructuring;
€78 million of exit fees on interim financing
Costs related to litigations
As a result of the above impacts mainly driven by the change in the working capital requirement, the Group Free Cash Flow was € -2,233 million in 2024, compared to € -1,078 million in 2023.
The net cash impact resulting from disposals was €162 million mainly related to the net cash proceeds from the Worldgrid disposal of €232 million, partly offset by the write-off of a receivable on a past disposal.
Capital increase amounted to €3,049 million and were made of :
€2,904 million of equitization of financial debts; and
€145 million of new money equity raised mainly from the Rights Issue
In the context of the financial restructuring process of the Group.
No dividends were paid to Atos SE shareholders in 2024. The €18 million cash out (€35 million in 2023) corresponded to taxes withheld on internal dividend distributions and to dividends paid to minority interests.
Foreign exchange rate fluctuation determined on debt or cash exposure by country represented a decrease in net debt of €34 million.
As a result, the Group net debt position as of December 31, 2024 was €275 million (€1,238 million excluding the IFRS 9 debt fair value treatment), compared to €2,230 million as of December 31, 2023.
Consolidated financial statements
Atos consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, were approved by the Board of Directors on March 4, 2025. Audit procedures on the consolidated financial statements have been completed and the audit report will be issued after the review of the 2024 Universal Registration Document.
Advance Computing sales process update
On November 25, 2024, Atos announced that it has received a non-binding offer from the French State for the potential acquisition of 100% of the Advanced Computing activities of its BDS division, based on an enterprise value of €500 million, to be potentially increased to €625 million including earn-outs.
The offer received from the French State provides for an exclusivity period until May 31, 2025. If the exclusive negotiations lead to an agreement and subject to obtaining the customary commercial, employee and administrative authorizations, a Share Purchase Agreement, subject to work councils’, opinion may be signed by that date. An initial payment of €150 million is expected to be made available to Atos upon signing of the Share Purchase Agreement.
In addition, Atos has engaged into a sale process for its Mission Critical Systems business.
Capital Markets Day
Atos will present an update of its strategy and organization during a Capital Markets Day that will be held in Paris on May 14, 2025.
Dividend
Atos Board of Directors decided, in its meeting held on March 4, 2025, not to propose a dividend payment to the next Annual General Meeting.
Conference call
Atos’ Management invites you to an international conference call on the Group 2024 results, on Wednesday, March 5th, 2025 at 08:00 am (CET – Paris).
by telephone with the dial-in, 10 minutes prior the starting time. Please note that if you want to join the webcast by telephone, you must register in advance of the conference using the following link:
Upon registration, you will be provided with Participant Dial In Numbers, a Direct Event Passcode and a unique Registrant ID. Call reminders will also be sent via email the day prior to the event. During the 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call, you will need to use the conference access information provided in the email received upon registration.
After the conference, a replay of the webcast will be available on atos.net, in the Investors section.
Forthcoming events
April 25, 2025 (Before Market Opening)
First quarter 2025 revenue
May 14, 2025
Capital Markets Day
June 13, 2025
Annual General Meeting
August 1st, 2025 (Before Market Opening)
First semester 2025 results
APPENDIX
Q4 2024 revenue
In € million
Q4 2024 Revenue
Q4 2023 Revenue*
Organic variation*
Eviden
1,126
1,280
-12.0%
Tech Foundations
1,182
1,329
-11.0%
Total
2,309
2,608
-11.5%
In € million
Q4 2024 Revenue
Q4 2023 Revenue*
Organic variation*
North America
410
528
-22.3%
UK / IR
322
447
-28.1%
Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)
218
232
-6.1%
Central Europe
586
580
+1.1%
Southern Europe
519
556
-6.6%
Growing markets
251
261
-3.9%
Others & Global structures
2
4
-34.6%
Total
2,309
2,608
-11.5%
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
Group revenue was €2,309 million in Q4, down -11.5% organically compared with Q4 2023.
Eviden revenue was €1,126 million, down -12.0% organically.
Digital activities decreased double digit. The business was impacted by previously-established contract terminations contract scope reductions, as well as the continued market softness in North America and in the UK & Ireland.
Big Data & Security (BDS) revenue grew low single digit organically. Advanced Computing grew with large project deliveries in Germany.
Tech Foundations revenue was €1,182.0 million, down -11.0% organically.
Core revenue (excluding BPO and value-added resale (“VAR”)) decreased high-single digit, mainly impacted by contract terminations in North America and previously-established contract scope and volume reduction in UK.
Non-core revenue declined double digit reflecting deliberate reduction of BPO activities in the UK and less value-added resale for hardware and software products.
FY 2023 revenue and operating margin at constant scope and exchange rates reconciliation
For the analysis of the Group’s performance, revenue and OM for FY 2024 is compared with FY 2023 revenue and OM at constant scope and foreign exchange rates. Reconciliation between the FY 2023 reported revenue and OM, and the FY 2023 revenue and OM at constant scope and foreign exchange rates is presented below, by Business Lines and Regional Business Units.
FY 2023 revenue In € million
FY 2023 published
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
FY 2023*
Eviden
5,089
33
-192
7
4,937
Tech Foundations
5,604
-33
-401
17
5,187
Total
10,693
0
-592
24
10,124
FY 2023 revenue In € million
FY 2023 published
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
FY 2023*
North America
2,280
-1
-96
-6
2,177
Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)
911
0
-7
0
905
UK / IR
1,770
0
-53
47
1,763
Central Europe
2,506
0
-254
2
2,253
Southern Europe
2,284
0
-164
0
2,119
Growing Markets
930
0
-18
-19
893
Others & Global structures
12
1
0
0
13
Total
10,693
0
-592
24
10,124
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
FY 2023 Operating margin In € million
FY 2023 published
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
FY 2023*
Eviden
294
0
-25
2
272
Tech Foundations
172
0
-20
-1
151
Total
467
0
-45
1
423
FY 2023 Operating margin In € million
FY 2023 published
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
FY 2023*
North America
244
1
-15
-1
229
Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)
23
0
-1
0
23
UK / IR
75
4
-5
2
77
Central Europe
31
-3
-6
0
23
Southern Europe
99
-2
-16
0
82
Growing Markets
92
0
-3
-1
88
Others & Global structures
-97
-1
0
0
-98
Total
467
0
-45
1
423
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
Scope effects on revenue amounted to €-592 million and €-45 million on operating margin. They mainly related to the divesture of UCC, EcoAct, Italy, State Street JV, and Worldgrid.
Currency effects positively contributed to revenue for €+24 million and €+1 million on operating margin. They mostly came from the appreciation of the British pound, partially compensated by the depreciation of the Brazilian real, the US dollar, the Argentinian peso and the Turkish lira.
Q4 2023 revenue at constant scope and exchange rates reconciliation
For the analysis of the Group’s performance, revenue for Q4 2024 is compared with 2023 revenue at constant scope and foreign exchange rates.
In 2023, the Group reviewed the accounting treatment of certain third-party standard software resale transactions following the decision published by ESMA in October 2023 that illustrated the IFRS IC decision and enacted a restrictive position on the assessment of Principal vs. Agent under IFRS 15 for such transactions. The Q4 2023 revenue is therefore restated by € +48 million. The impact affected Eviden in North America RBU.
Reconciliation between the 2023 reported fourth quarter revenue and the 2023 fourth quarter revenue at constant scope and foreign exchange rates is presented below, by Business Lines and Regional Business Units:
Q4 2023 revenue In € million
Q4 2023 published
Restatement
Q4 2023 restated
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
Q4 2023*
Eviden
1,247
48
1,295
-1
-22
8
1,280
Tech Foundations
1,308
–
1,308
1
-1
21
1,329
Total
2,555
48
2,602
0
-23
29
2,608
Q4 2023 revenue In € million
Q4 2023 published
Restatement
Q4 2023 restated
Internal transfers
Scope effects
Exchange rates effects
Q4 2023*
North America
483
48
531
-1
-1
-1
528
Benelux and the Nordics
233
0
233
0
-1
0
232
UK / IR
433
0
433
0
-3
18
447
Central Europe
582
0
582
0
-2
0
580
Southern Europe
571
0
571
0
-16
0
556
Growing markets
250
0
250
0
0
12
261
Others & Global structures
3
0
3
1
0
0
4
Total
2,555
48
2,602
0
-23
29
2,608
*: at constant scope and December 2024 average exchange rates
Disclaimer
This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group’s expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors’ behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Atos’s beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Atos’s plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2023 Universal Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on May 24, 2024 under the registration number D.24-0429, as updated by chapter 2 “Risk factors” of the first amendment to Atos’ 2023 universal registration document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on November 7, 2024 under the registration number D.24-0429-A01 and by chapter 2 “Risk factors” of the second amendment to Atos’ 2023 universal registration document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on December 11, 2024 under the registration number D.24-0429-A02, and the half-year report filed published on August 6, 2024. Atos does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law.
This document does not contain or constitute an offer of Atos’s shares for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in Atos’s shares in France, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. This document includes information on specific transactions that shall be considered as projects only. In particular, any decision relating to the information or projects mentioned in this document and their terms and conditions will only be made after the ongoing in-depth analysis considering tax, legal, operational, finance, HR and all other relevant aspects have been completed and will be subject to general market conditions and other customary conditions, including governance bodies and shareholders’ approval as well as appropriate processes with the relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable laws.
About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with circa 78,000 employees and annual revenue of circa €10 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 68 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea) and listed on Euronext Paris.
The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.
Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to speak with President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Elbridge Colby. During the hearing, Senator Tuberville and Mr. Colby discussed the Trump administration’s plan to counter our foreign adversaries and the importance of selecting locations of military installations based on merit and not politics.
Read the transcript below or watch the full interaction on YouTube or Rumble.
ON COUNTERING CHINESE AGGRESSION IN PANAMA CANAL:
TUBERVILLE: “Good to see you and your family and thank you for wanting to take on this job. It’s going to be very difficult, but we think you can handle it. Mr. Colby, you advocate for a strategy of denial in military and geopolitical context. How does this concept translate to Central and South American places like Panama and the troubling amount of influence that China is starting to have and has had in that area? And by the way, they just announced that one of our major corporations is purchasing both ports at the Panama Canal, which is very good news.”
MR. COLBY: “Well, thanks very much, Senator. And I think the President’s early initiatives on our hemisphere in places like Panama are very encouraging. I think this is part of an overall strategy, both to secure our own interests directly, secure the territorial integrity of our homeland from unchecked migration and lethal fentanyl flows that are killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. But also, as you said, Senator, to ensure that China does not gain a foothold or beyond a dominant position in critical areas of Latin America, which I think was happening. I think that’s a big part of the strategy now. I think part of that is up to the military, but a lot of it’s part of the other agencies of government, the State Department. I know former ambassador in Mexico, Chris Landau, Ambassador Chris Landau, is going through his hearing downstairs. I believe he’s up for the Deputy Secretary of State. You know, I think that’s a kind of relationship between DOD and State Department where you have a clear picture that we’ve got to have a handle on our hemisphere. We’re pursuing our own strategies and we’re also empowering countries in the hemisphere and in the region to contribute more, you know, through development, through better governance themselves, through alignment with the kind of common-sense approaches that I think that we’re following here. That can result in better outcomes for all of us.”
TUBERVILLE: “Yeah, I think you’ll find the new administration in Panama is very receptive […] once you get in your position, you’ll find that out. Been down there several times, and they need help as we need more access to the canal. So, thank you for that.”
ON IMPORTANCE OF BRINGING SPACECOM TO BEST LOCATION:
TUBERVILLE: “In 2023, President Biden overrode President Trump, the Department of Air Force, and the findings of multiple studies, including an inspector general review and directed that the headquarters of Space Command remain in Colorado instead of moving to its selected location at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. My State. Mr. Colby, if confirmed, you will be the senior DOD official in charge of space policy, […] as well as strategy plans and capabilities for the entire department. Do you agree with me that, as a matter of policy, it is in our nation’s best interest to make basing decisions on merit and not on political agendas?”
MR. COLBY: “I do, Senator.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you. Mr. Colby, much of your work is about prioritizing our defense policy towards deterring aggression with China our pacing challenge. What do you make of the progress made over past few years by our adversaries toward integrating with their militaries. I’m talking about since Ukraine, Russia have had their conflict, all the people in the east basically that are running to China. What’s your thought on that?”
MR. COLBY: “Well, I think it’s really, really disturbing Senator. I think there has been this kind of, think of it as like a counter coalition. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. China’s kind of the cornerstone of that coalition. It’s by far the largest economy. Their support has made the Russian war effort in Ukraine sustainable. They’re helping the Iranians. The Iranians are helping them. The Russians are helping the North Koreans. So, I think there’s a couple of things to be done about that.
On the defense side, I think it’s important for us to work with our allies to kind of plug the gaps in our perimeter. A lot of that is getting our forces in a better state of readiness, putting them in the right place, getting our defense industrial base back in a good shape, robust defense funding, and then getting our allies to step up. I think a big part of this is we have some allies—Israel, I’ve mentioned, India, South Korea, Poland— they’re really pulling their weight. You could add Finland up there, is doing a pretty good job. But a lot of the biggest economies in our alliance network really aren’t pulling their weight. They’re starting now. So, I think there’s a real opportunity to capitalize on that because together, we are much wealthier than this counter coalition, but we’ve got to turn that into real military capability.”
ON BRICS:
TUBERVILLE: “Your quick thoughts on BRICS.”
MR. COLBY: “I think, you know, BRICS are sort of a representation of the changing world dynamic. I think Secretary Rubio put it very well. We’re no longer in Charles Krauthammer’s unipolar world. We’re in a world—United States is still, I think, the strongest country out there, but China is the biggest, most powerful rival we face in probably a hundred and fifty years, and other countries are making their decisions. Obviously, the Indians who I think our relationship there is golden going forward, and we should really deepen that. And if confirmed, I would make a big priority of that. They’re part of it, so it’s complicated. But people are going to be moving around talking to, you know, the Saudis are talking to Russians and they’re talking to us. That’s very common. That’s how the world’s going to be. That’s the reality of the world system as it is now, I think.”
TUBERVILLE: “Thank you.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 4 March 2025 at 22:30 EET
Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 04.03.2025
Espoo, Finland – On 4 March 2025 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:
Trading venue (MIC Code)
Number of shares
Weighted average price / share, EUR*
XHEL
2,620,152
4.76
CEUX
1,073,651
4.75
BATE
–
–
AQEU
100,000
4.75
TQEX
–
–
Total
3,793,803
4.76
* Rounded to two decimals
On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.
Total cost of transactions executed on 4 March 2025 was EUR 18,043,327. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 142,405,206 treasury shares.
Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.
On behalf of Nokia Corporation
BofA Securities Europe SA
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The Commission views the EU-Mercosur Agreement as politically and economically vital. The Commission’s objective is to ensure that the EU-Mercosur Agreement[1] delivers on the EU’s sustainability goals, while respecting the EU’s sensitivities in the agricultural sector.
Chief Negotiators met in October 2024 to discuss the outstanding issues. These include: the EU proposal for a Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Joint Instrument[2], inclusion of the Paris Agreement as an essential element of the EU-Mercosur Agreement and Mercosur’s interests in the areas of public procurement, vehicles, export duties, a rebalancing mechanism, and a protocol on cooperation.
On 6 December at the Mercosur Summit in Montevideo, the EU and Mercosur reached a political agreement concluding the negotiations.
In September 2024, eleven Member States[3] addressed a letter to the President expressing strong support for a rapid conclusion of the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur Agreement.
These Member States reiterated the high geopolitical and geoeconomic importance of the Agreement and its essential role in maintaining the EU’s economic and political influence in the region.
They also noted that the agreement provides a unique platform for cooperation between the EU and the Mercosur countries on trade and sustainable development matters, ensuring that we can achieve our common sustainability and climate change ambitions.
[3] The following Member States are signatories to the letter: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Tampering with a Monitoring Device/Clean Air Act, Conspiracy
Trials
United States v. Jason Lee Wagner
No. 3:22-CR-01754(Western District of Texas)
ECS Senior Litigation Counsel Todd Gleason
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris
On February 7, 2025, a jury convicted Jason Lee Wagner of conspiracy and 12 smuggling violations (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545, 2). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.
Between March 2015 and December 2019, Wagner and others bought and sold endangered reptiles from individuals in Mexico. Wagner and other co-conspirator suppliers and middlemen used social media to offer reptiles for sale and to negotiate the terms of the sale and delivery with customers in the United States and Mexico. His co-conspirators also used international money transfers to provide for “crossing fees,” sales and purchases, and other expenses. They then packaged and re-packaged the reptiles for illegal crossings using USPS and other courier services to transport them between Mexico and the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Indictments
United States v. Roy Ladell Weaver, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00048 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA David Williams
RCEC Patricia Miller
On February 19, 2025, a grand jury indicted Roy Ladell Weaver and his company, Pro Diesel Werks, LLC, with conspiring to impede the lawful functions of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), and substantive CAA violations (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Pro Diesel Werks provided vehicle repair and maintenance and performance enhancement services, including services on diesel engines and vehicle emission systems. The indictment alleges that between 2013 and March 2024, Weaver and the company, along with co-conspirators, disabled the hardware emissions control systems on the diesel vehicles of Pro Diesel Werks’ customers (a practice referred to as a “delete” or “deleting”), defeating the systems’ ability to reduce pollutant gases and particulate matter released to the atmosphere. The defendants are also alleged to have tampered with the monitoring device and method required under the CAA, that is they disabled the onboard diagnostic system on vehicles preventing the system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware deletes (a practice referred to as a “tune” or “tuning”).
The defendants charged customers between approximately $2,000 and $4,000 per vehicle to remove and disable the emission control systems on motor vehicles with diesel engines.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 7, 2025, Corey Potter pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting crab from Alaska (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 13, 2025. Kyle Potter, his son, was previously sentenced to pay a $20,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. A third defendant, Justin Welch, was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation.
Corey Potter owns two crab catching vessels; Kyle Potter and Welch worked as vessel captains. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested more than 7,000 pounds of Tanner and Golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter directed Welch and Kyle Potter to land the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. Neither captain landed the harvested crab at a port in Alaska, and they never recorded the harvest on a fish ticket, as required under state law.
A large portion of the king crab that arrived in Seattle from Alaska had died and was unmarketable. Corey Potter knew that some of the crab aboard was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease fatal to crustaceans. Officials were forced to destroy more than 4,000 additional pounds of Tanner crab due to the risk of BCS infection. If the defendants had properly landed the crab in Alaska, authorities could have inspected the harvest and removed the infected crab before leaving Alaska.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Kendall Glenn Hacker
No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
AUSA Emily Greenfield
On February 7, 2025, Kendall Glenn Hacker pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Animal Crush statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between November 2021 and June 2022, Hacker sent money through online payment applications, such as PayPal and Venmo, to Michael Macartney, an online chat group administrator. The members and participants of these groups funded, created, obtained, received, exchanged and/or distributed animal crush videos.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Chamness Dirt Works, et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00430 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Bryan Chinwuba
RCEC Karla Perrin
On February 7, 2025, property management company Horseshoe Grove, LLC, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for asbestos work practice standards (42 U.S.C. §§ 7412(h),7413(c)(1)). Horseshoe Grove’s owner and operator Ryan Richter pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Construction and demolition company Chamness Dirt Works, Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the CAA NESHAP for asbestos, and company owner and president, Ronald Chamness, pleaded guilty to a CAA negligent endangerment violation (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(4)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2025.
In November 2022, Horseshoe Grove acquired a property in The Dalles, Oregon, which included a mobile home park and two dilapidated apartment buildings. The previous owner provided the new buyers with an asbestos survey from December 2021, which identified more than 5,000 square feet of friable chrysotile asbestos within the two deteriorating buildings, with levels ranging from 2% to 25%. The survey also noted non-friable asbestos in various building materials, including siding and flooring, throughout the apartments. Despite these findings, Horseshoe Grove failed to implement the necessary precautions for asbestos removal.
In March 2023, Chamness Dirt Works began demolishing the two asbestos-laden structures without following proper removal procedures. Chamness did not engage a certified asbestos abatement contractor, did not wet the asbestos-containing debris, and dumped the material in a regular landfill.
Horseshoe Grove paid Chamness Dirt Works a total of $49,330 for the demolition, which did not meet the required safety standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Nos.4:25-CR-00018, 4:24-CR-00006, 00084 (District of Montana)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
AUSA Jeff Starnes
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 10, 2025, Hollis G. Hale pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(G), 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 11, 2025.
Hale conspired with Jack Schubarth to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting. Schubarth smuggled Marco Polo argali sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan into the United States. This protected species of sheep, native to high elevations in the Pamir region of Central Asia, is deemed the largest in the world.
In 2013, Schubarth provided genetic material to a third-party cloning facility, and, in 2016, received successfully cloned pure Marco Polo argali embryos. Schubarth raised a pure male argali clone that he named “Montana Mountain King.” In 2018, Schubarth began breeding Montana Mountain King with other species and selling the offspring throughout the U.S. To evade detection, Schubarth falsely labeled the offspring on Certificates of Veterinary Inspection and other official forms.
In June and July 2020, Hale facilitated the purchase and interstate transport of twelve hybrid Marco Polo argali sheep from Schubarth and falsely identified 43 species of sheep on a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. Hale falsified these documents knowing these sheep are prohibited in Montana. Schubarth was sentenced in September 2024 to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks conducted the investigation.
United States v. Zackery Brandon Barfield
No. 5:25-CR-00011 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
AUSA Joseph Ravelo
On February 12, 2025, Zachary Brandon Barfield pleaded guilty to three counts of poisoning and shooting dolphins in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1372(a)(2)(A), 1375(b); 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(G), 136l(b)(2)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Barfield is a charter and commercial fishing captain operating out of Panama City, Florida. In the summer of 2022, Barfield became frustrated with dolphins eating red snapper from the lines of charter fishing clients. Between June and August 2022, Barfield and others placed a commercial methomyl insecticide inside bait fish to feed to and poison the dolphins that surfaced near his boat.
While captaining another fishing trip in December 2022, Barfield saw dolphins eating snapper from fishing lines. This time, he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill a dolphin that surfaced near his vessel. In the summer of 2023, while on a charter fishing trip, Barfield used the same shotgun to shoot a dolphin that surfaced near the lines of clients.
The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation with assistance from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
United States v. James H. Spencer
No. 23-CR-00015 (Western District of Virginia)
AUSA Michael Baudinet
On February 21, 2025, James Howard Spencer, the Mayor of Glen Lyn, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(2)(A)). Spencer admitted to directing employees of the Town of Glen Lyn to illegally discharge raw sewage and other pollutants into the East River, a tributary of the New River, on three occasions- in the summer of 2019, December 2020, and June 2021.
The discharges occurred at a pump station located behind the Glen Lyn Post Office, which was not an authorized discharge point of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Glen Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The East River, a perennial stream and a tributary of the New River, is a protected waterway under the CWA.
Spencer knowingly violated multiple conditions of the NPDES permit, including discharges from unauthorized locations and failing to report the discharges to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Virginia State Police conducted the investigation.
United States v. Liza Hash
No. 1:25-CR-20007 (Southern District of Florida)
AUSA Tom Watts-FitzGerald
On February 25, 2025, Liza Hash pleaded guilty to discharging oil into United States and contiguous zone waters, violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2), 1321(b)(3)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2025.
Hash was the owner and operator of the S/V Juliet, a sailing vessel used for multi-day scuba diving trips between Miami and the Bahamas. Over the course of approximately six years, Hash’s vessel carried up to 12 passengers per trip, along with the crew, between the U.S. and the Bahamas.
On June 16, 2023, U.S. Coast Guard investigators boarded the Juliet following its return from the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.
During the inspection, they noted oily water in the bilge, and a pump connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, to facilitate illegal overboard discharges. Hash had used the vessel’s grey water tank (which is intended to hold liquid waste from the boat’s washer, dryer, sinks, and showers) to store oil-contaminated bilge water and discharge overboard.
Investigators estimate that Hash discharged approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water during the five-year period.
The United States Coast Guard conducted the investigation.
United States v. Old Dutch Mustard Company, Inc., d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company, et al.
No. 1:25-CR-00002 (District of New Hampshire)
ECS Trial Attorney Ron Sarachan
AUSA Matthew Hunter
ECS Paralegal Tonia Sibblies
On February 24, 2025, The Old Dutch Mustard Company, d/b/a Pilgrim Foods Company (Old Dutch), and company owner and president Charles Santich, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319(c)(2)(A)).
Old Dutch manufactured vinegar and mustard products, generating acidic wastewater during the process. Much of this wastewater consisted of spilled or leaked vinegar, or discarded vinegar that did not meet specifications. Old Dutch did not have a permit to discharge process wastewater. Instead, it stored the process wastewater in tanks and a trucking company hauled one or two truckloads of the wastewater off-site daily to the Rochester Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Old Dutch paid the trucking company for transporting each load. A second wastewater stream consisted of stormwater that became acidic after flowing through areas of the facility (especially the tank farm) where vinegar spilled. Old Dutch also paid the trucking company to haul the acidic stormwater to the POTW.
Santich decided to reduce costs by ordering workers to discharge some of the wastewater to a manmade ditch formed by an abandoned railroad bed at the top of a hill behind the facility, from which the wastewater would flow into the Souhegan River. In May 2017, Santich hired an excavation company to extend an underground pipe to the top of the hill behind the facility. He then directed an employee to repeatedly pump wastewater through the underground pipe to the abandoned railroad bed. Once the process wastewater or contaminated stormwater discharged at the top of the hill, it flowed to the river. Old Dutch did not have an NPDES or any other permit to discharge pollutants into the river.
In March 2021, Santich directed the same excavation company to install a sump at the corner of the tank farm area to collect the acidic stormwater and pump it directly up the hill through the buried pipe. Similarly, during the Fall of 2022, Santich hired the excavation company to clean out the undergrowth in the manmade ditch at the top of the hill and line it with riprap to create a better drainage ditch and facilitate the flow of wastewater to the river.
On August 2, 2023, EPA agents executed a search warrant at the Old Dutch facility and witnessed this illegal activity. Agents observed liquid that smelled like vinegar discharging from the end of the underground pipe into the riprap-lined ditch. The wastewater discharge had a pH of 3.6. The agents then conducted a dye test starting at the sump outside the corner of the tank farm area. The dye discharged from the underground pipe at the top of the hill and flowed along the riprap-lined drainage ditch and down to the river.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
On February 26, 2025, Fabcon Precast LLC (Fabcon) pleaded guilty to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation (29 U.S.C. § 666(e)). The criminal charge is related to an incident where an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.
Fabcon operates several facilities in the United States, including one in Grove City, Ohio, that manufactures precast concrete panels. At Fabcon, employees known as batch operators were responsible for the operation and cleaning of the facility’s only concrete mixer. Concrete was discharged from the bottom of the mixer through a pneumatic door. By design, the mixer had an exhaust valve that released the pneumatic energy powering the discharge door, rendering it inoperable. Some months prior to June 6, 2020, the handle that operated the valve broke off and was not replaced.
On June 6, 2020, Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator since January 2020, was on duty when the discharge door failed to close after releasing a batch of concrete. Because the valve was broken, Ledbetter could not perform the proper procedure to make the door safe to work around. When he attempted to free the door it closed on his head, trapping him. Eventually, Ledbetter was freed and transported to a hospital where he died five days later.
The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
No. 3:24-CR-00618 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Vyacheslav I. Piglitsin to time served and to pay $4,355 in restitution. On March 2, 2024, Piglitsin drove over the border from Mexico with Mexican pesticides that he failed to present for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433 and 1436). Inspectors found seventy-two 1-liter bottles of “Bovitraz” in his vehicle.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
Sentencings
United States v. Michael Hart
No. 3:24-CR-00383 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
Former AUSA Melanie Pierson
AUSA Mark Pletcher
On February 3, 2025, a court sentenced Michael Hart to time served followed by one year of supervised release. Hart also will pay $1,500 in restitution. Hart pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Mexico and sell them in violation of law (18 U.S.C. § 371). In addition, Hart admitted to conspiring to illegally import hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), namely HCFC 22, which is banned under the Clean Air Act.
Between June and December 2022, Hart purchased refrigerants in Mexico and smuggled them into the United States in his vehicle, concealed under a tarp and tools. Hart posted the refrigerants for sale on OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, and other sites, and sold them for a profit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Thalia Zambrano
No. 3:24-CR-01552 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
On February 6, 2025, a court sentenced Thalia Zambrano to time served, after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371).
On June 28, 2024, authorities apprehended Zambrano when she drove into the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry with 18 bottles of undeclared “Taktic” (Amitraz) concealed beneath a blanket on the back seat her car. Regulators in the United States canceled this pesticide due to the high concentration of amitraz.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Andrew Laughlin
No. 2:24-CR-00104 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Kathryn Lydon
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Andrew Laughlin to pay a $5,000 fine, complete a two-year term of probation, and pay $4,209 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Laughlin pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling reptiles into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).
In 2017, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents identified Laughlin as part of a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of turtles from the United States to an individual in Hong Kong (Individual A). Individual A met and maintained contact with certain wildlife-smuggling associates via Facebook. Investigators identified Laughlin as a suspect in the wildlife smuggling ring from Individual A’s Facebook contacts and communications with covert agents. In addition to corresponding on Facebook, Laughlin also sent text messages to Individual A and co-conspirators.
Between March and April 2018, Laughlin acted as a “middleman” in an international amphibian smuggling ring. During a conversation with an undercover agent, Laughlin said that he participated in the ring in order to acquire hard-to-find newts. He shipped or received at least four packages of amphibians, including packages to or from individuals located in Hong Kong and Sweden. The packages were falsely labeled as items including a “toy car,” “rubber toys,” or “a ceramic art piece.” The boxes actually contained live animals, including eastern box turtles, spotted turtles, and a variety of newt species.
A search warrant executed at the defendant’s residence uncovered 80 live newts of various species. Some of them tested positive for a virulent fungus which originated in Asia and has spread throughout the illegal pet trade. The restitution covered expenses incurred to store and test the animals.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Photo of newts seized from Laughlin’s residence; photo included in case press release at time of guilty plea
Nos. 1:22-CR-00131, 00132 (Eastern District of California)
AUSA Karen Escobar
On February 10, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez to 24 months incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Beltran-Chaidez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin in this multi-defendant case involving drugs and animal welfare violations (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)).
Between March and April 2021, Jorge Calderon-Campos (who calls himself “Americano”) supplied 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Mark Garcia and Alberto Gomez-Santiago, and an additional 60 pounds to Francisco Javier Torres Mora. Between January and April 2022, Calderon-Campos also possessed roosters he used to participate in an animal fighting venture.
During a search of his residence on April 26, 2022, law enforcement officers found numerous hens and roosters, various cockfighting implements (including razors and spurs) and six cockfighting trophies, including several with plates inscribed with “Team Amkno” (shorthand for “Team Americano”). At Calderon-Campos’s “stash house,” law enforcement officers found 14 hens and 77 roosters, cockfighting leashes, a cockfighting trophy, and a variety of syringes and pill bottles containing substances related to cockfighting supplements.
Jorge Calderon-Campos was sentenced in November 2024 to eight years and one month of incarceration. Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to violating the Animal Welfare Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A)); 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)).
On August 26, 2024, a court sentenced Antonio Beltran-Chaidez to 46 months’ incarceration, followed by 24 months’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)).
In January 2024, co-defendant Gomez-Santiago was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration, followed by 60 months supervised release. Mora was sentenced to four years and nine months incarceration. Horacio Ortega-Martinez, another associate of Calderon-Campos, was sentenced in April 2023 to 18 months incarceration, followed by 36 months supervised release, after pleading guilty to possessing gamecocks for an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C § 2156 (b)).
Co-defendant Garcia pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 3, 2025, to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval is scheduled for status conference June 18, 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department.
On February 11, 2025, a court sentenced Christopher Lee Carroll to serve nine years of incarceration and to pay $3 million in restitution. A jury convicted Carroll in August 2024 of three counts of bank fraud, three counts of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), 13 violations of the CAA, and two counts of threatening a witness (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 2, 1014, 1512 (b)(3), 1344; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Carroll and his business partner, George Reed, owned a time share exit company called Square One Group LLC. In April of 2020, they submitted a false and fraudulent application for a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. The loan application falsely stated that the spouses of Reed and Carroll owned the company to conceal Carroll’s status as a paroled felon, which would have precluded his company from receiving PPP funds. Carroll also used his wife’s name to avoid any potential liability for the fraud.
The PPP loan was supposed to help save businesses and jobs, but Carroll did not use the money to pay dozens of employees who were out of work or keep paying for health insurance for 17 of those employees. Instead, he used it to start a trucking company, Whiskey Dix Big Truck Repair LLC. Carroll and Reed then applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that they’d spent the money on payroll and other permitted expenses. Additionally, Reed and Carroll later sought a second loan of more than $1.6 million, taking a total of $660,000 in “owner draws” from the company after the loan was approved.
From May 2020 through December 2021, Carroll and Whiskey Dix violated the CAA by unlawfully removing the emissions control systems from more than 30 diesel-fueled trucks. In January 2022, Carroll tried to pressure two employees to take responsibility for the emissions tampering. When one of the employees said he was going to talk to federal investigators, Carroll threatened to stop paying for the employee’s attorney.
The court sentenced Whiskey Dix to complete a three-year term of probation after the jury convicted the company on 16 CAA violations. Reed pleaded guilty to bank fraud in September of 2022 and was sentenced January 23, 2025, to time served, and five years of supervised release. Reed was held jointly liable for $3 million in restitution.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On February 13, 2025, a court sentenced Jeffrey Radtke to 21 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Radtke pleaded guilty to conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C.§§ 371, 48(a)(2), (a)(3)).
Between June 2021 and August 2022, Radtke sent more than 40 payments (ranging from $1 through $300) he received from co-conspirators to pay videographers in Indonesia and other locations outside of the United States to create videos depicting the torture and deaths of juvenile macaque monkeys.
During the execution of a search warrant in April 2023, law enforcement found more than 2,600 videos and 2,700 images depicting animal crushing on Radtke’s computer.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jonathan Achtemeier
No. 3:24-CR-05072 (Western District of Washington)
AUSA Seth Wilkinson
AUSA Lauren Staniar
SAUSA Karla Perrin
On February 14, 2025, a court sentenced Jonathan Achtemeier to pay a $25,000 fine and serve four months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Achtemeier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) for his role in tampering with required monitoring devices on diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371).
Between 2019 and 2022, Achtemeier modified the software on hundreds of trucks nationwide to prevent the monitoring devices from detecting the removal of emissions controls. Achtemeier conspired with mechanics and truck fleet operators, instructing them on how to remove or disable anti-pollution hardware on diesel trucks, a process known as “deleting.” Achtemeier tampered with the monitoring device on his clients’ trucks by connecting laptops to the trucks’ onboard computers and remotely “tuning” the vehicles’ computers, which rendered required monitoring devices inaccurate. This allowed the trucks to run without functioning emissions control systems and resulted in the trucks emitting significantly more pollution than legally allowed.
Achtemeier charged as much at $4,500 per truck for work that often took him two hours or less. He advertised his services on social media nationwide, doing business as Voided Warranty Tuning or Optimized Ag. Between 2019 and 2022 his company took in more than $4.3 million in gross profits.
The Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
Assistance from ECS Senior Counsel Elinor Colbourn
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Andres Alejandro Sanchez to complete a three-year term of probation to include six months’ home detention. Sanchez pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally importing a spider monkey into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).
On October 7, 2024, Sanchez travelled from Mexico to Laredo, Texas, and failed to declare a spider monkey he had in his vehicle to Customs and Border Protection officers as he attempted to cross the border.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
Case photo of baby spider monkey rescued by authorities
United State v. Jose Carrillo
No. 8:23-CR-00222 (Middle District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Matt Morris
AUSA Erin Favorit
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Jose Carrillo to 84 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Carrillo pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Animal Welfare Act and knowingly possessing a firearm after a felony conviction (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 922(g)(1) and 924(d)).
On June 7, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Carrillo’s residence, seizing a total of 10 pit bull-type dogs. Several of the dogs exhibited scarring consistent with dogfighting. Authorities also discovered a .22 caliber rifle, a bloodstained wooden dogfighting “pit,” syringes, veterinary medications, a skin stapler, break sticks used to separate fighting dogs, and other suspected dogfighting paraphernalia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with assistance from the following agencies: Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshal Service; and the Pasco County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.
Photo of dogs from Carillo’s home included in press release, link below.
Nos. 2:23-CR-00600, 2:24-CR-00890 (District of Arizona)
AUSA Glenn McCormick
On February 18, 2025, a court sentenced Eric T. Scionti to 47 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Scionti pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and Animal Crushing in two separate cases (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(8), 48(a)(1)).
In December 2022, federal authorities received an anonymous tip that Scionti, a convicted felon, possessed a number of handguns, as well as grenades and bullet-proof body armor. On January 18, 2023, agents executed a search warrant, seizing six firearms and 1,826 rounds of ammunition from areas of a residence controlled by the defendant. Scionti has multiple Arizona state felony convictions and was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
While researching the defendant’s online activities, agents found video evidence depicting Scionti torturing pigeons. Agents executed a subsequent search warrant on September 29, 2023, for records and information associated with Scionti’s email account. During that search, agents seized approximately 168 videos and 89 digital photographs depicting Scionti torturing and mutilating live pigeons.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigations in these cases.
On February 19, 2025, a court sentenced Manuel Domingos Pita to 48 months’ incarceration and to pay more than $55 million in restitution. Also, Pita will forfeit real estate and cash/bank accounts. Pita pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act for causing the death of an employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1343; 29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).
Pita created and operated several shell construction companies, including one named Domingos 54 Construction, Inc. Pita used Domingos 54 to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying the number of workers for which he sought coverage in worker’s compensation insurance applications. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022.
Pita failed to disclose the number of workers he had. Had he properly disclosed the number of workers, he would have paid an additional $22.7 million+ in premiums. Additionally, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages.
Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
Nos. 3:24-CR-00101, 00116 (Northern District of Florida)
ECS Deputy Chief Joe Poux
ECS Paralegal Jonah Fruchtman
On February 20, 2025, a court sentenced Fernando Cruz Rubio to time served. Rubio pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) for failing to maintain an oil record book (ORB) (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)).
Rubio worked as a chief engineer on the M/V Suhar, a Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola, Florida. The ship was managed by Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., which was responsible for the ship’s day-to-day operations, including hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all environmental and international regulations.
The Coast Guard inspected the ship when it arrived in Pensacola on August 25, 2023. Inspectors determined that the vessel’s crew regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water overboard, bypassing onboard pollution control equipment, and falsified the ship’s ORB to conceal these discharges. On various trips, between March 2021 through August 25, 2023, Rubio, as the Suhar’s chief engineer, failed to accurately maintain the ORB and did not record overboard bilge water discharges.
Gremex was sentenced in October 2024 to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance plan. The shipping corporation also pleaded guilty to violating APPS.
The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service conducted the investigation.
United States v. Clancy Logistics, Inc., et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00344 (District of Oregon)
AUSA Andrew Ho
RCEC Gwendolyn Russell
On February 25, 2025, a court sentenced to Clancy Logistics, Inc., and owner Timothy C. Clancy, to each complete three-year terms of probation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of $101,510.00, jointly and severally. The defendants pleaded guilty to a felony count of tampering with a Clean Air Act monitoring device (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between October 2019 and July 2023, Timothy C. Clancy tampered with the onboard diagnostic systems (OBDs) and caused others to tamper with the OBDs, of at least 13 Class 8 diesel semi-trailer trucks owned or operated by his companies, Clancy Transport, Inc., and Clancy Logistics, Inc. The defendants’ actions prevented the OBDs from detecting malfunctions caused by the deletion of the vehicles’ emission control systems, in violation of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
As part of this process, Clancy directed his employees to disable and remove the emissions hardware from his companies’ vehicles. This involved removing exhaust systems and their corresponding emissions control components from the vehicles, hollowing out the functioning portion of the devices so that only the casing remained, and re-installing the casing to create the appearance that the emissions controls were intact. The vehicles’ OBDs were then tuned so that they could no longer detect the removal of the control equipment.
Clancy and his companies tampered with the OBDs on their diesel semi-trailer trucks so that they could operate the vehicles with real or perceived increased performance and fuel efficiency and reduce or eliminate the cost and burden associated with maintaining the vehicles. As a result, a greater volume of pollutants was emitted from the vehicles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
No. 5:24-CR-00028 (Western District of North Carolina)
AUSA Katherine T. Armstrong
On February 27, 2025, a court sentenced Robert G. Gambill to pay a $9,500 fine and to forfeit a rifle, scope, and ammunition for killing a bald eagle in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 668(a)). As required under provisions of the Act, $2,500 of the fine will be apportioned equally between two witnesses who reported the shooting.
On June 5, 2024, Gambill set his firearm on a fencepost and targeted, shot, and killed a bald eagle that was perched in a tree near a bridge in Sparta, North Carolina. After killing the eagle, Gambill drove away from the scene, abandoning the carcass on the bank of the New River. Two witnesses recovered the carcass and turned it over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The U.S. FWS forensic laboratory determined that injuries suffered by the bald eagle were consistent with a gunshot wound from a high-powered rifle.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office.
On February 28, 2025, a court sentenced Willie Russell to 24 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and exhibiting dogs in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1); 18 U.S.C. § 371). Russell is the fourteenth and final defendant to plead guilty in this federal dog fighting case. The other co-defendants are: Tamichael Elijah; Marvin Pulley, III; Brandon Baker; Christopher Travis Beaumont; Herman Buggs, Jr.; Terrance Davis; Timothy Freeman; Terelle Ganzy; Gary Hopkins; Cornelious Johnson; Rodrecus Kimble; Donnametric Miller; Willie Russell; and, Fredricus White.
On April 24, 2022, the defendants converged on a property in Donalsonville, Georgia, where they held a large-scale dog fighting event. They brought a total of 24 pit bull-type dogs to fight in a series of matches over that weekend. Law enforcement personnel who disrupted the event found numerous dogs inside crates in cars on the property.
The participants used their cars to store dogs who had already fought, as well as those awaiting their turn in the fighting pit. Some dogs were kept on chains on the property. Law enforcement rescued a total of 27 dogs, including a badly injured dog that later perished from its injuries. Dogs in the cars also bore recent injuries and scars.
All defendants but Freeman pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to violate the animal fighting prohibition of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Defendants Beaumont and Miller also pleaded guilty to sponsoring or exhibiting (i.e., handling) a dog in a dog fight. Defendants Baker, Davis, Ganzy, Johnson, Pulley, and White further pleaded guilty to possessing and transporting a dog for purposes of using the dog in an animal fighting venture. Freeman pleaded guilty to spectating at an animal fight. Defendants Miller and Pulley also pleaded guilty to unlawfully possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General; and the Seminole County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bay County, Florda, Sheriff’s Office.
A bill that proposes to ban first-cousin marriage in the UK will receive its second reading in the House of Commons on March 7.
The bill, proposed by Conservative former minister Richard Holden, follows the introduction of a ban on cousin marriages that came into effect in Norway in 2023 and a planned ban in Sweden from mid-2026.
Different reasons might be given for proposing to ban first-cousin marriage. However, one significant reason given by supporters of these bans is concern for public health. Holden claimed in his speech to parliament that: “First-cousin marriage should be banned on the basis of health risk alone.”
In the UK, a long-standing research study of childhood outcomes in Bradford, where there has traditionally been a high rate of cousin marriages within the Pakistani community, recently found that children of first cousin parents had higher rates of learning and speech problems and more visits to hospitals and doctors.
The increased incidence of certain genetic illnesses in children of related parents has long been recognised. When parents are closely related, they are more likely to carry the same faulty genes.
If both parents pass on the same faulty gene to their child, the child has a higher chance of developing a genetic illness (about double the risk of parents who aren’t related). The Bradford study had earlier found that first-cousin marriages were linked to 30% of cases of birth defects in the studied population.
The recent study suggests that even once you exclude those children diagnosed with recessive genetic conditions – and even after adjusting for other risk factors such as poverty – the children had higher rates of illness and developmental problems.
Although it is laudable to wish to seek measures to prevent health and learning problems in future children, there is a fundamental ethical challenge.
Banning first-cousin marriage will not prevent children from having genetic illness or health problems, rather, it will prevent some children from being born and mean that different children (with a lower chance of genetic or other problems) are born instead.
Harm principle
A basic legal and ethical principle, defended by the 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill, is that states are only justified in restricting the basic freedoms of individuals to prevent harm to others. But if we take the “harm principle” seriously, then the health case for a marriage ban dissolves. There will be no child who is saved from illness or harm because of a law banning first-cousin marriage.
It might be thought that a ban would still be justified, based on community health rather than for the sake of specific children. The idea would be that it would be important to prevent first-cousin marriage because of the high rate of genetic illness in offspring. Perhaps the hope would be to reduce pressure on the health system. But there are several problems with this argument.
First, most children of parents who are first cousins are healthy. The rate of genetic or congenital problems is 6% (compared with 3% in parents who are not related). This means that 94% of children will not have genetic or congenital problems. Or to put it another way, given the small additional risk, over 30 couples would have to be prevented from marrying to prevent one child from being born with an inherited genetic problem. The same argument applies to the extra learning problems seen in the Bradford study that were not diagnosed as genetic problems: most children of first-cousin parents did not have learning difficulties or serious illness.
Next, a ban on cousin marriage to reduce the rates of illness or learning problems in their offspring would represent an attempt to prevent certain people from having children for the sake of benefiting the population. But once we frame it in that way, it is clear that such an effort would be eugenic, based on a particular group’s perceived genetic fitness to reproduce.
Such a policy would be an example of some of the most troubling forms of eugenics: restricting basic freedoms (the freedom to marry and have children) for the sake of the common good.
Third, the health-based reason to ban first-cousin marriages is because of the elevated rate of birth defects and health problems in children. However, the rate of these problems is also increased in parents who are related more distantly. And in close-knit ethnic groups there can be shared genes and increased rate of congenital problems (so-called endogamy), even without cousin marriage.
If we ban first-cousin marriages, families could shift to others within their extended family. Or, if we wanted to prevent higher rates of birth defects, we might need to ban not just first- and second-cousin marriages, but also marriage within ethnic communities. But that would look even more problematic.
How should we respond then to the high rates of health and learning problems in communities like those in Bradford?
One important response is to be aware of the additional needs of those communities (Bradford has areas that are among the most deprived in the UK) and to ensure that the needs of children are addressed.
A second response is to provide education to families and to young people who are potentially marrying so that they are aware of the increased risks associated with cousin marriage and can make informed decisions.
Finally, there are more sophisticated and targeted ways of identifying risks for couples while respecting their reproductive rights. So-called expanded reproductive carrier screening could identify before they become pregnant, whether both partners in a couple are carriers for the same genetic illness. That could help them to decide whether to have children together, whether to use other techniques – such as IVF – to prevent genetic illness or to adopt. That expanded screening isn’t currently available on the NHS, but it could be made available to couples who are related.
We should be concerned about higher rates of illness in the children of parents who are related. But the ethical answer isn’t to ban them from getting married.
Dominic Wilkinson receives funding from the Wellcome Trust.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
March 04, 2025
“Should the government work for billionaires and giant corporations? Or should it work for working people, helping our friends, families, and neighbors get access to the medicine and doctors they need when they’re sick?”
“Republicans may think they have the votes in Congress to cut health care, but if Americans ring the alarm bells and fight back, we can again save health care coverage for millions.”
Op-Ed in the Boston Globe
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, published an op-ed warning of the dangers of massive cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and giant corporations. Senator Warren called for working people to fight back and participate in the tax fight by voicing their opposition to these cuts.
Read the full op-ed here and below:
Boston Globe – Senator Warren: Trump is targeting Medicaid. Don’t let him win.March 3, 2025
President Trump and Elon Musk have unleashed a sandstorm of chaos in the past six weeks — on purpose. From starting a trade war with Canada to renaming the Gulf of Mexico, Trump is trying to distract from his real agenda: more tax giveaways for billionaires and billionaire corporations, paid for on the backs of hard-working Americans. One of their top targets? Medicaid.
Life carries lots of risk. No one knows if their grandmother will outlive her savings. No one knows if their baby will run up a million dollars in medical bills. No one knows if their sister will be in a catastrophic accident and need full-time caregivers.
And that’s where Medicaid steps up. Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government and covers more than 79 million people, including almost 2 million people in Massachusetts. If the program is cut, the harm will echo through nearly every home in America.
About half of all births are covered by Medicaid. Over a third of all children have health care thanks to Medicaid. More than half of all nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid. Many people are counting on Medicaid to pay for medicine that treats their cancer, the hip replacement they need to walk, the prescription for their child’s inhaler, or the nursing home that takes care of their uncle with dementia.
Cuts to health care programs would be devastating. In Massachusetts, nearly 2 in 3 seniors in nursing homes are covered by Medicaid. If that funding is cut, some of those nursing homes will be forced to cut back or close entirely, which could leave elderly people kicked to the curb.
Around 92 percent of working-age adults receiving Medicaid coverage are either working — often two or even three low-wage or part-time jobs — or not working because they’re caregivers, have an illness or disability, or are in school. Cuts to Medicaid could mean they have to decide which medicines they will have to skip or whether they will need to cancel a trip to the doctor to have a cough checked out. Failing to treat medical conditions early will cost more money, both in higher long-term medical bills and in knocking more low-wage workers out of their jobs and jeopardizing their ability to support their families.
For pregnant women, decisions about skipping visits to the doctor or forgoing prenatal vitamins can leave them and their babies at risk — again triggering greater costs in the long run for them and their babies. Denying health care to pregnant women could mean that their babies develop preventable conditions that could alter their entire lives.
The consequences of cutting Medicaid will be felt in nearly every community. Massachusetts is rightly proud of its community health centers and network of local and regional hospitals. Without Medicaid, their business models simply wouldn’t work. About half of all revenues at our community health centers come from Medicaid. Significant cuts in funding will probably mean health centers will have to cut care — and may have to close pediatric wings, cancer treatment centers, and mental health services.
All this misery so that a handful of billionaires and billionaire corporations can get another tax break.
The legislative process is not glamorous, but it tells us a lot about our values as a country. Should the government work for billionaires and giant corporations? Or should it work for working people, helping our friends, families, and neighbors get access to the medicine and doctors they need when they’re sick?
Trump, Musk, and Republicans in Congress have made it clear whose side they’re on: giant corporations and billionaires — the very people who don’t seem to understand what one bad medical diagnosis can cost a family. But they do understand that cutting health care for millions of people is unpopular everywhere, which is why they are probably hoping people will pay more attention to Trump’s bluster about buying Greenland than to the tax fight unfolding in Congress. Now is not the time to tune out — now is the time to fight back to save the health care program that helps millions of people in this country get health care.
In 2017, Trump paired up with Republicans in Congress to slash Medicaid by $800 billion and gut health insurance protections. Democrats were in the minority in the House and Senate back then, just as they are today, but thanks to people raising their voices and shaking the ground under the feet of these Republican politicians, their efforts failed, and we managed to save health care for millions.
Republicans may think they have the votes in Congress to cut health care, but if Americans ring the alarm bells and fight back, we can again save health care coverage for millions. We can win, but only if we fight back.
Oslo, Norway (4 March 2025) – On 1 March 2025, 15,000 Restricted Share Units (RSUs) granted to Carel Hooijkaas on 1 March 2023, in accordance with the terms of his employment agreement, as approved by the Board of Directors of TGS ASA, and TGS Remuneration Policy, approved by the shareholders of TGS ASA, vested. Each vested RSU represents the right to receive one share of the Company’s common stock, with the shares to be issued from the Company’s treasury stock. The vested RSUs may be partially settled in cash using the fair market value of the shares as defined under the award agreement, to cover tax withholding obligations and other necessary deductions that arise in connection with the vest.
The schedule attached reflects the holdings of the primary insider.
About TGS TGS provides advanced data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. With leading-edge technology and solutions spanning the entire energy value chain, TGS offers a comprehensive range of insights to help clients make better decisions. Our broad range of products and advanced data technologies, coupled with a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, make TGS a trusted partner in supporting the exploration and production of energy resources worldwide. For further information, please visit www.tgs.com.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 2
Media Advisory Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Nursing for at least six months may spur beneficial gut bacteria connected to better heart health years later. What An observational study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that infants who had more diverse bacteria in their gut had lower childhood blood pressure, and this protective association was stronger if they were breastfed for at least six months. The findings published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. For the research, investigators reviewed data from 526 children enrolled in a prospective study in Denmark. They looked for connections between infant gut bacteria, which can be influenced by nutrition and supports a variety of health functions, and childhood blood pressure. To assess this, they collected fecal samples to analyze bacteria in the infants’ intestines during their first week, month, and year of life. Three and six years later, they measured the children’s blood pressure. The researchers found children with more diverse gut bacteria at one month had lower blood pressure six years later. They then assessed the influence of breastfeeding, which was measured in this study for durations of at least six months. They discovered that among children breastfed for at least six months, the blood-pressure lowering effect of having more diverse bacteria in their gut was even stronger. Specifically, those with a greater diversity of gut bacteria throughout the first month of life had systolic blood pressure that was about 2 mm Hg lower six years later if they were breastfed for at least six months. Researchers believe there may be several reasons for these associations. Certain gut bacteria have evolved specialized biologic machinery that allows them to convert otherwise indigestible carbohydrates in breast milk into calories and substances that can be used by the body. Specific Bifidobacterium species, including B. infantis, are superstars when it comes to breaking down these carbohydrates and turning them into short-chain fatty acids that may influence blood pressure and support cardiovascular health. In infants who are not breastfed, bacteria that do not have breast milk carbohydrates to feed on may instead break down carbohydrates that line the intestines. This could result in a condition called a “leaky gut,” where bacteria and fat could enter the bloodstream. A leaky gut has been linked to inflammation and increased blood pressure in adults. Additionally, the researchers found that some types of bacteria, including H. pylori, were present in some infants and these bacteria were linked to increased blood pressure years later. H. pylori, which can be passed from a mother to child, can create persistent levels of low inflammation and may influence a “leaky gut.” To make participants in the study as comparable as possible, the researchers accounted for a mother’s medical history, their diet during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, when and how a child was born, and how long they were breastfed. About 4% to 7% of children worldwide have high blood pressure, which can start when the fetus develops in the womb. These rates have doubled since 2020, which is why researchers are studying factors that may offset these risks and improve cardiovascular health. The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant K01HL141589. Who Charlotte Pratt, Ph.D., R.D., Acting Chief, Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch, NHLBI Study Liu T, Stokholm J, Zhang M, et al. Infant Gut Microbiota and Childhood Blood Pressure: Prospective Associations and the Modifying Role of Breastfeeding. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025; doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.037447. About the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information, visit https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health® ###
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Pinar Dinc, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science & Researcher, Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University
Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), has called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself. In a letter read out by his political allies in Istanbul, Turkey, on February 27, he wrote: “I take on the historical responsibility for this call … All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself.”
Two days later, the PKK’s executive committee declared a ceasefire to its armed struggle against the Turkish state. The conflict, which began in 1984 with the aim of establishing an independent Kurdish state in response to state oppression, has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Öcalan has been imprisoned on an island south of Istanbul since 1999, when he was captured by Turkish security forces in Kenya. But he has remained the leader of the PKK throughout and has kept his strong personality cult among the Kurdish freedom movement.
He was the force behind the PKK’s shift away from its separatist goals in the 2000s. He argued that the solution to the Kurdish question in the Middle East was for greater autonomy and Kurdish rights through the idea of “democratic confederalism”, built on the pillars of direct democracy rather than a nation-state model.
In his letter, Öcalan repeated this argument. He blamed the past 200 years of capitalist modernity for the break up of the alliance between the Kurds and the Turks. And he highlighted the importance of a truly democratic society and political space for a lasting solution to the Kurdish struggle.
Öcalan’s letter mainly addressed the Turkish public and international community, and is likely to have been “approved” by the Turkish state. As such, it was rather short, at times vague, and did not propose a detailed framework about the peace process between Turkey and the PKK.
But after Öcalan’s letter was read out, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy party (DEM), shared with journalists an additional remark Öcalan had made.
Öcalan had apparently said: “Undoubtedly, in practice, the laying down of arms and the dissolution of the PKK require the recognition of democratic politics and a legal framework”. This point suggests that Öcalan’s call to disarm is merely the beginning of a long process to bring the conflict to a close.
The PKK has announced that, in order for disarmament and dissolution to be put into practice, Öcalan needs to lead this congress personally. This indicates an expectation for Öcalan to gain some sort of freedom to communicate and direct the process.
Support for dissolution
Leading figures from several pro-Kurdish groups have welcomed the order for the PKK to disarm. This has included Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Salih Muslim, the former co-chairperson of the Democratic Union party (PYD) in Syria.
Öcalan’s call has also received support from the international community. This includes the US and UK, which alongside many other nations, recognise the PKK as a terrorist organisation. On February 27, US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes told CNN that the announcement was “a significant development” that “we believe will help bring peace to this troubled region”.
Perhaps most importantly, Öcalan’s announcement has been welcomed almost unanimously by political parties in Turkey. Only the ultra-nationalist Good and Victory parties oppose the call to dissolve the PKK, seeing any negotiations with the group as compromising national integrity.
But, despite this important step towards peace, it remains difficult to see an imminent end to the Kurdish struggle in Turkey. The Justice and Development party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement party, which have ruled Turkey together since 2023, have been continuing their oppression of the democratic sphere.
They have replaced elected Kurdish mayors with government officials, while also imprisoning democratically elected Kurdish politicians. And people in the media, civil society and other democratic movements, such as the People’s Democratic Congress, have been criminalised and detained.
At the same time, Turkey considers the SDF and other Kurdish organisations like the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the PYD as offshoots of the PKK. It has supported its militia force in Syria, the Syrian National Army, to stop the Kurdish autonomous region on its border from achieving political status, seeing it as a direct threat to national security.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has warned the PKK of further action if the process of disarmament is stalled. In a post on X on March 1, Erdoğan wrote: “If the promises are not kept … such as delaying, deceiving, changing names … we will continue our operations, if necessary, until we eliminate the last terrorist”.
This signals an expectation from the Turkish state that they want all of the groups they associate with the PKK, armed and non-armed, to also disband. However, Abdi has asserted that Öcalan’s call for the PKK to dissolve does not apply to the group he leads. “If there is peace in Turkey, that means there is no excuse to keep attacking us here in Syria”, Abdi said.
The Syrian National Army has been launching attacks in northern Syria to capture territory from the SDF, with fighting particularly intense around the Tishreen Dam.
So far, the only positive approach from the Turkish government has been signalling a possible change in the constitutional definition of citizenship to go beyond ethnic criteria. This would be a first step towards a more pluralist and inclusive description of citizenship in Turkey, where people from several ethnic groups have lived for centuries.
There are various concerns over the ways in which the dissolution process will be carried out. But the possibility of peace is valuable as it opens up democratic avenues for struggle. Resolving the Kurdish question, one of Turkey’s most pressing unresolved issues, will pave the way for progress in other areas such as democratisation and freedom of expression.
Pinar Dinc is the principal investigator of the ECO-Syria project, which receives funding from the Strategic Research Area: The Middle East in the Contemporary World (MECW) at the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Sweden.
Municipality Finance Plc Stock exchange release 4 March 2025 at 2:00 pm (EET)
Municipality Finance Group’s Annual Report for 2024 published
Municipality Finance Group’s Annual Report and Corporate Governance Statement for the year 2024 have been published in English and Finnish.
MuniFin Group’s Annual Report fulfills the reporting requirements of European Single Electronic Format (ESEF). In accordance with these requirements, Report of the Board of Directors and the Consolidated Financial Statements are published not only in the Annual Report file but additionally in a separate zip file in which Report of the Board and the Financial Statements are marked up with XBRL tags. These ESEF Financial Statements have been subject to an independent auditor’s assurance.
MuniFin Group has also published Pillar 3 Disclosure document in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and Directive 2013/36/EU. The document is available in English. The remuneration aspects of Pillar 3 reporting are also available separately in Finnish in MuniFin Group’s Remuneration Report 2024.
MuniFin Group has also published its Green Impact Report and Social Impact Report for 2024 in English.
All of the above-mentioned reports are available on MuniFin’s website at www.munifin.fi.
MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC
Further information:
Esa Kallio President and CEO tel. +358 50 337 7953
MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the Republic of Finland. The Group’s balance sheet totals over EUR 53 billion.
MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. MuniFin’s customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, corporate entities under their control, and non-profit organisations nominated by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA). Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.
MuniFin’s customers are domestic, but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.
Read more: www.munifin.fi
Important Information
The information contained herein is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into any such country or jurisdiction or otherwise in such circumstances in which the release, publication or distribution would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, any securities or other financial instruments in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption from registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
This communication does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or under the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
To Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen 4 March 2025 Company announcement no. 3/2025
Notice of annual general meeting in the BANK of Greenland A/S
The BANK of Greenland A/S will hold its annual general meeting on Wednesday 26 March 2025 at 4pm (UTC -2) as an electronic annual general meeting with the possibility to participate physically at the BANK of Greenland’s head office in Nuuk.
Proposals to the Annual General Meeting of Municipality Finance Plc
Municipality Finance Plc’s (hereinafter MuniFin) Board of Directors (the Board) and the Shareholders’ Nomination Committee (the Nomination Committee) have made the following proposals to the Annual General Meeting (the AGM) convening on 25 March 2025 at 10:00 (EET):
Use of profit shown on the balance sheet and the distribution of dividend
MuniFin has distributable funds of EUR 373,330,287.47 of which the profit for the financial year totaled EUR 73,737,412.43.
In accordance with the dividend policy MuniFin’s aim is to pay 30-60% of the Group’s financial year’s profit in dividends. The Board proposes to the AGM that a dividend of EUR 1.86 per share, totaling EUR 72,658,664.28 shall be distributed based on the balance sheet to be adopted for 2024. This corresponds to 54.8% of the Group’s financial year’s profit.
MuniFin’s profit for the financial year is strong. The Board considers the proposed payment of dividend justified. MuniFin clearly fulfils all the prudential requirements set to it. No substantial changes in the company’s financial position have occurred after the end of the financial year and the Board estimates that the distribution of dividends will not place the fulfilment of the capital requirements or the company’s liquidity in jeopardy nor is it incompatible with the legislation applicable to MuniFin.
The dividend is paid to a shareholder who is registered in the company’s shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date of dividend payment on 27 March 2025. The Board proposes that the dividend be paid 3 Aprill 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Remuneration and composition of the Board
The Nomination Committee proposes to the AGM the following remuneration of the Board for the term from the closing of the 2025 AGM to the closing of the next AGM (the Term 2025-2026):
Annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Board EUR 51,000
Annual fixed remuneration of the Vice Chair of the Board EUR 33,000;
Annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Risk or Audit Committee EUR 36,000;
Annual Fixed remuneration of Board member EUR 28,000; and
For each Board and committee meeting as well as for each meeting required by the authorities, to the members and Vice chair of the Board, a fee of EUR 600 per meeting attended and to the Chairs, EUR 950 per meeting attended
The proposed remuneration means an increase of EUR 6,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Board, an increase of EUR 4,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of the Vice Chair of the Board, an increase of EUR 5,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of the Chairs of the Risk and Audit Committees and an increase of EUR 3,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of a Board member.
The Nomination Committee proposes to the AGM that nine members will be elected to the Board for the Term 2025–2026. The Nomination Committee proposes that the following current members will be re-elected: Ms. Maaria Eriksson, Mr. Kari Laukkanen, Mr. Tuomo Mäkinen, Ms. Elina Stråhlman, Ms. Leena Vainiomäki and Mr. Arto Vuojolainen. In addition, the Nomination Committee proposes that Ms. Liisa Harju, Mr. Juho Malmberg and Mr. Henrik Rainio will be elected to the Board as new members. Mr. Markku Koponen and Mr. Dennis Standell, current members of the Board, will not be available to the Board for the next term.
Liisa Harjula serves as Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ownership Steering Department of the Prime Minister’s Office. Harjula has extensive experience in private equity investment, financial management, and investor relations. Juho Malmberg is a professional board member with extensive experience from leadership roles in IT management across the banking sector and other industries. Henrik Rainio serves as the Director of Finance at the City of Porvoo. Rainio has essential expertise in the Finnish municipal sector, which is crucial for MuniFin’s business.
The Nomination Committee proposes to the Board to be elected by the AGM to reappoint Kari Laukkanen as the Chair and Maaria Eriksson as the Vice Chair.
Election and remuneration of the auditor
The Board proposes to the AGM to elect PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy as the company’s auditor for the Term 2025–2026. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has announced that if they are elected as the company’s auditor, Jukka Paunonen, APA, will act as the principal auditor. The Board proposes to the AGM that the auditor’s fees be paid according to the invoice approved by the company.
Sustainability reporting verifier and remuneration
The Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the authorized sustainability audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy be selected as the company’s sustainability reporting assurer for the term 2025-2026. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has informed the company that Tiina Puukkoniemi will act as the responsible sustainability reporting auditor. The Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the sustainability reporting assurer’s fees be paid according to the invoice approved by the company.
The invitation to the AGM, including relevant appendices, is available on MuniFin’s website in Finnish.
MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC
Further information:
Esa Kallio President and CEO tel. +358 50 337 7953
MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finland’s largest credit institutions. The owners of the company include Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the State of Finland. The Group’s balance sheet is over EUR 53 billion.
MuniFin’s customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, joint county authorities, corporate entities under the control of the above-mentioned organisations, and affordable social housing. Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.
MuniFin’s customers are domestic, but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.
Press Release Proximus Global and Nokia partner to offer network APIs to help developers create enterprise applications #MWC25
The parties will further develop APIs to enable developers to create new applications for enterprises, including financial services and healthcare.
4 March 2025 Espoo, Finland – Proximus Global, the leading global digital communications company combining the strengths of BICS, Telesign and Route Mobile, today announced that it will partner with Nokia to explore opportunities that utilize their respective strengths in network API solutions to support developers as they create new applications for enterprises. The collaboration aims to expose Proximus Global and Nokia APIs on each other’s marketplaces, bridging the gap between the various industry segments and the telecom ecosystem.
Proximus Global’s network APIs will be exposed on Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal, while Nokia will benefit from Proximus Global’s presence within the telco market to make its CAMARA and 5G APIs available globally. The collaboration will enable enterprises and operators to leverage rapidly expanding API capabilities within a range of areas, including network slicing, a key enabler in 5G private networks, as well as fraud protection and other services.
Proximus Global will also seek to utilize Nokia’s Network Exposure Platform and its Enterprise API Hub to give developers easy access to Proximus Global’s network capabilities for creating software applications that work across its 5G and 4G networks. Nokia’s Network Exposure Platform is an implementation of the GSMA Operator Platform, a standard for a common platform exposing operator capabilities to developers.
“Proximus Global has traditionally offered a rich set of communication API through our CPaaS offering. We aim now to complement these with network API to allow enterprise and developers to easily access network capabilities. Our collaboration with Nokia will strengthen our API capabilities, and the work we are doing with developers, all with the aim of providing Proximus Global enterprise and wholesale customers with new, value-added solutions,” said Christophe Van De Weyer, Chief Product Officer at Proximus Global, and CEO of Telesign.
Proximus Global is targeting several applications, including a real-time fraud prevention API that uses location data to detect and prevent suspicious transactions, as well as network slicing capabilities, for example in mass gathering events, such as concerts. APIs provide access to deep functionality and data within networks, allowing developers to utilize those network capabilities to build new use cases for their customers.
“We are very pleased to expand Nokia’s relationship with Proximus Global to the area of network APIs. Our collaboration will give greater access and organization to how Proximus Global’s network is integrated into developer ecosystems and platforms. This will ensure choice, flexibility, and security in creating new applications,” said Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia.
Since launching the Network as Code platform in September 2023, Nokia’s ecosystem of Network as Code platform partners has grown to 55 currently and includes BT, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, StarHub, Telefonica, and Telecom Argentina. Nokia’s commitment to API monetization extends beyond network-side aggregation and includes hyperscalers like Google Cloud; Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) platform providers such as Infobip; vertical independent software vendors like Elmo; and the world’s largest public API hub through Nokia’s acquisition of Rapid.
About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation.
With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.
About Proximus Global Proximus Global, combining the strengths of Telesign, BICS, and Route Mobile, is transforming the future of communications and digital identity. Together, our solutions fuel innovation across the world’s largest companies and emerging brands. Our unrivaled global reach empowers businesses to create engaging experiences with built-in fraud protection across the entire customer lifecycle. Our comprehensive suite of solutions – from our super network for voice, messaging, and data, to 5G and IoT; and from verification and intelligence to CPaaS for personalized omnichannel engagement – enables businesses and communities to thrive. Reaching over 5 billion subscribers, securing more than 180 billion transactions annually, and connecting 1,000+ destinations, we honor our commitment to connect, protect and engage everyone, everywhere.
Oslo, Norway – IDEX Biometrics has received a production order from the manufacturing partner Beautiful Card Corporation (BCC). The order has a value of approx. USD 50,000 and is the first of a larger biometric payment card program issued across both Mastercard and Visa for the Japanese market.
“BCC is a clear front-runner, with a commitment to bring biometric smart cards to customers and partners world-wide, for payment and access cards. As IDEX and BCC already have material ready for production, we have been able to respond to our partners’ imminent implementation program”, comments Catharina Eklof, Chief Executive Officer at IDEX Biometrics.
For further information contact: Marianne Bøe, Head of Investor Relations, + 47 91800186 Kristian Flaten, CFO, +47 95092322 E-mail:ir@idexbiometrics.com
About IDEX Biometrics IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market. For more information, please visit www.idexbiometrics.com
Trademark Statement IDEX, IDEX Biometrics and the IDEX logo are trademarks owned by IDEX Biometrics ASA. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.
About this notice: This notice discloses inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and was issued by Marianne Bøe, Head of Investor Relations, on 04 March 2025 at 08:12 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The notice is published in accordance with section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council
The Security Council’s programme of work for March will feature a signature event on increasing the adaptability of peace operations, while also leaving space for additional meetings on new developments, its President for the month said at a Headquarters press conference today.
Christina Markus Lassen (Denmark), who holds the 15-member organ’s rotating presidency for this month, said the open debate on ensuring that peace operations adapt and respond to new realities, to be held on 24 March, will be chaired by her country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen. The aim is to “simply to have an honest look” at peacekeeping, she said.
Denmark will preside over the European Union’s annual briefing to the Council, under the agenda item on cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations, to be delivered by the newly-appointed European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Stressing that European security architecture is key to the stability of the continent and the wider neighbourhood, she noted that the Union is not only a strategic partner to the United Nations but also a humanitarian and development partner.
The monthly programme for March focuses on the mandated meetings “because it’s already a very packed agenda”, she said. “By not stuffing the programme, we are leaving, of course, slots open for the Council to consider new developments as they may arise,” she said, noting that Denmark will also prioritize themes such a women, peace and security and climate, peace and security.
Her country is returning to the presidency of the Council after 20 years — it will strive “to be constructive, creative and consistent”, she said. Denmark will bring its strong faith in international law and the Charter of the United Nations into the country-specific files. “We’ll first and foremost try to be an honest broker” in this difficult and challenging time, she said.
The quarterly briefing on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is scheduled on the first day of the Commission on Status of Women, she pointed out, adding that this is not completely a coincidence. “We do want to have a special focus during the meeting on the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan,” she said.
Noting several mandated meetings concerning the Middle East, from Gaza to Yemen to Syria to Lebanon, she said that the Council on 27 March will hold a briefing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, it will monitor that and other crises, and if there are developments that warrant holding a meeting sooner, it will do so. “We’ve learned that the hard way,” she added.
She also responded to several questions posed by media correspondents, many of which concerned Ukraine. While there is hope for “some kind of breakthrough” at the moment, she highlighted the need to ensure “the right terms”. It is crucial to not reward the aggressor and punish the victim, she added, reaffirming the need to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is no doubt about who the threat is, she said, stressing that there must be consequences for invading a neighbouring country.
As to whether the United Nations has been sidelined on this issue, she pointed to the General Assembly debate last week which aired many concerns. The resolution that was adopted provides a framework for the many conversations that are happening currently, she said, adding that the United States delegation has clearly articulated a vision to try to move the needle and change the current stalemate. But Ukraine has to be present when Ukraine is being discussed, and Europe should be participating when its security is being discussed, she said, noting the European amendments to the United States draft text.
Europe must ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position when negotiations happen, she said. In per capita terms, Denmark is the biggest contributor of military support to Ukraine right now and will continue to support it, she affirmed.
Responding to a question about the provision in Chapter VI of the Charter, which would bar a party to the conflict that is the subject of a Council resolution from participating in a vote concerning that text, she pointed out that for this to work, “everybody would have to agree on that”. It is difficult to see the Permanent Five members of the Council agreeing to such a solution because that would have to be applied to other situations as well. When the correspondent followed up that answer by noting that it is a procedural issue and therefore would only require a majority vote, she replied: “in principle, yes, I think you’re right, but I don’t think anybody thinks this is really realistic.”
Regarding United States President Donald J. Trump’s demand that the Denmark Government give Greenland to his country, she said it is indeed necessary to strengthen security around the Arctic and the High North. But Greenland belongs to Greenlanders and its future is for them to decide. Noting that Greenland is an integrated part of Denmark, she said independence is possible, if Greenlanders decide so.
Several correspondents posed questions concerning Gaza, Israel’s violations and the viability of the two-State solution. Ms. Lassen noted several meetings concerning the Middle East on the Council’s agenda in March as well as the Arab League Summit on 4 March. Many positive things have come out of the ceasefire agreement, she said, expressing concern that Hamas is rejecting the extension of its first phase, while Israel is blocking humanitarian aid. Both parties must continue to negotiate phase 2 of the agreement and eventually make the ceasefire permanent.
As to why Denmark has not recognized Palestine, she said that “it is not just us”. This recognition should happen as part of a larger negotiation, she said, adding: “We need to use that chip when it really, really matters.”
