Category: Switzerland

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s FDI inflow rises 13.2% in March

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow saw marginal recovery in March, in contrast to a decline seen in the first three months, official data showed Friday.

    FDI in the Chinese mainland in actual use climbed by 13.2 percent year on year last month, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. In the first three months, FDI inflow totaled 269.2 billion yuan (about 37.35 billion U.S. dollars), down 10.8 percent year on year.

    During the January-March period, 12,603 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, representing a year-on-year growth of 4.3 percent, the ministry said.

    In breakdown, actual use of FDI in the manufacturing and services industries during the three-month period stood at 71.51 billion yuan and 193.33 billion yuan, respectively.

    Meanwhile, actual use of FDI in high-tech sectors reached 78.61 billion yuan, with FDI in the e-commerce services sector, bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, aerospace equipment manufacturing sector and medical instrument manufacturing sector growing by 100.5 percent, 63.8 percent, 42.5 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively.

    Investments from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries jumped by 56.2 percent during the period, while those from the European Union increased by 11.7 percent, the data showed. Investments from Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the Republic of Korea grew by 76.8 percent, 60.5 percent, 29.1 percent, and 12.9 percent, respectively.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: XploraDEX Presale Hits Final 48 Hours—Last Window to Enter XRP’s Most Anticipated DeFi Launch

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZURICH, Switzerland, April 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The $XPL presale is entering its final 48 hours, and the energy is electric across the XRP community. With the countdown now measured in hours, not days—the remaining allocation is being claimed at a record pace, and the presale page is witnessing its highest activity since launch.

    XploraDEX is rewriting the playbook for decentralized exchanges by integrating artificial intelligence into every layer of the trading experience. This isn’t just another DEX—it’s a full-fledged, AI-powered trading ecosystem custom-built for XRPL. And now, the opportunity to get in before launch is almost gone.

    Purchase $XPL Token

    Over the past few weeks, XploraDEX has drawn massive attention for its innovative approach. AI-powered trade signals, automated execution, personalized dashboards, and strategic portfolio optimization are just some of the tools that will empower traders to outmaneuver volatile markets.

    What makes $XPL Token stand out isn’t just the tech—it’s the timing. With XRP’s ecosystem evolving rapidly, XploraDEX arrives at a pivotal moment when traders are seeking smarter tools, faster performance, and more control over their strategies.

    Here’s what early $XPL backers are getting access to:

    • First access to AI features at launch
    • Discounted trading fees across all pairs
    • Entry into exclusive staking programs
    • Priority whitelist for future token offerings via Launchpad
    • Voting rights in protocol governance decisions

    Join $XPL Presale Round

    As of this announcement, over 85% of the presale allocation has been claimed. High-volume wallets have increased their buying pressure in anticipation of the listing, while thousands of smaller wallets have also joined, signaling a wave of grassroots support.

    The $XPL Presale isn’t just about buying early—it’s about entering a DeFi project that brings actual innovation to the XRPL landscape. And with platform rollout set to begin shortly after the presale ends, early buyers will be at the forefront of one of the most technologically advanced launches on XRPL to date.

    Participate in $XPL Presale

    There are 48 hours left on the clock. After that, $XPL will go public at a higher price, and the early-entry advantages will be gone. If you’ve been considering your entry—this is your last, best chance to do it before the rest of the market catches up.

    Join the $XPL Presale While It’s Still Open: https://sale.xploradex.io

    For Live Updates & Community Buzz: Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram

    Contact:
    Oliver Muller
    oliver@xploradex.io
    contact@xploradex.io

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0545d2e8-bb84-47e1-bd67-166232904fa0

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: XploraDEX Presale Enters Final 48 Hours—XRP’s Smartest Traders Are Locking In Before It’s Too Late

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZURICH, Switzerland, April 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With just 2 days remaining, the XploraDEX $XPL presale is officially in its final hours and the XRP community knows it. Momentum has reached a peak, investor activity is exploding, and the last remaining allocation is evaporating as savvy traders scramble to get in before it’s too late.

    More than just a presale, XploraDEX represents a bold leap forward for DeFi on the XRP Ledger. As the first AI-powered decentralized exchange on XRPL, the platform merges the power of predictive analytics, intelligent trade automation, and real-time market data into a seamless user experience. This is the future of on-chain trading and it’s launching in just days.

    Join $XPL Presale Round

    With over 82% of the token allocation claimed, $XPL has become one of the most in-demand assets across XRPL this year. The presale portal has seen record-breaking wallet activity over the past 24 hours, as last-minute buyers realize the opportunity window is narrowing fast.

    The $XPL token is not just a utility—it’s the backbone of the XploraDEX ecosystem. Holders will gain access to:

    • Premium AI trading dashboards and algorithmic tools
    • Automated trading signals and portfolio strategy optimizers
    • Fee discounts and priority staking pools
    • Governance power and early access to future token sales

    The protocol is launching at the perfect time, when demand for smarter, more efficient DeFi tools is surging. With many XRPL traders still relying on outdated platforms, XploraDEX offers a significant upgrade, enabling users to trade faster, analyze deeper, and automate smarter.

    Participate in $XPL Presale

    The platform rollout begins immediately after the presale ends. $XPL will list on XRPL DEXs at a higher price, and staking pools, AI tool activation, and liquidity incentives will launch in quick succession. Early backers won’t just benefit from better pricing, they’ll lead the ecosystem as it goes live.

    With 48 hours left, FOMO is in full effect. Influencers, whale wallets, and first-time DeFi users are all converging on the XploraDEX sale—because after two days, this presale will be history.

    Buy $XPL on Presale

    If you’ve been waiting, watching, or hesitating—this is your final signal. The smartest traders on XRP have already locked in. Now it’s your move.

    Secure Your $XPL Token Allocation Before Time Runs Out: https://sale.xploradex.io

    Stay connected and Join the XploraDEX AI Revolution

    Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram

    Contact:
    Oliver Muller
    oliver@xploradex.io
    contact@xploradex.io

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/94fb8324-7184-4f91-89d9-521ab0e1d761

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI China: ​Beijing Intl Film Festival kicks off with star-studded opening

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    More than 100 filmmakers, actors and industry professionals braved heavy rain Friday afternoon to walk the red carpet at Yanqi Lake International Convention Center for the opening of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF).

    Actor Yin Xiaotian, dressed as Charlie Chaplin, poses on the red carpet for the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening ceremony in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    Departing from the typical red carpet protocol, several stars appeared in costumes as iconic film characters, including Charlie Chaplin, Bruce Lee and Zorro. Others recreated scenes from classics like “Roman Holiday,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “The Wandering Earth” and “In the Mood for Love” — paying tribute to two major milestones: the 120th anniversary of Chinese filmmaking and the 130th anniversary of cinema worldwide.

    The festivities continued inside with an elaborate opening gala featuring performances celebrating film history.

    Sun Junmin, head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, paid tribute to world cinema and extended her best wishes for success to filmmakers from around the world.

    A photo captures the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening gala in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    “The festival’s 15-year journey of perseverance has grown into a bridge connecting Chinese and international filmmakers and a platform showcasing global cinematography,” she said, adding she was confident in and looked forward to the continued growth of China’s film industry.

    Acclaimed Chinese director Jiang Wen appeared at the gala as the head of this year’s jury for the festival’s prestigious Tiantan Award competition. This year’s jury panel includes Chinese American director and actor Joan Chen, British director David Yates, Chinese mainland actor Ni Ni, Finnish director Teemu Nikki, Swiss director and actor Vincent Perez, and Chinese art director Tim Yip from Hong Kong, China.

    Jiang Wen remarked that a film can be interpreted in countless ways, emphasizing that “what you see in a movie depends entirely on who you are.” Joan Chen shared her perspective on cinema more poetically: “Films bear the imprints of time – the movie camera like a black box preserving the passage of time: human existence, mortality, love, loss and fear.”

    The Tiantan Award jury appears on stage during the gala of the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening ceremony in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    The jury will decide winners across 10 categories, including best feature film, best director and best screenplay. All awards will be presented at the festival’s closing ceremony and gala on April 26.

    The competition received a record 1,794 feature film submissions from 103 countries and regions. Fifteen films have been shortlisted for the final competition, including three Chinese entries: “Better Me, Better You,” “Deep in the Mountains” and “Trapped.”

    Switzerland serves as the Country of Honor at this year’s BJIFF. The Swiss film “Frieda’s Case” is competing for the Tiantan Award, with a special Swiss Film Week featuring screenings of select Swiss films across Beijing theaters and filmmaker Q&A sessions.

    At the gala, Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri said: “We’re honored to present the captivating panorama of Swiss cinema to Beijing this spring.” He highlighted the timing — coinciding with 75 years of Sino-Swiss ties and their bilateral China-Switzerland Year of Culture and Tourism — as particularly meaningful. He extended warm wishes for cinematic collaboration and expressed hope for strengthened cultural exchange through film.

    The Swiss film delegation poses on the red carpet for the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening ceremony in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    There were several performances — from moving songs and dances to film montages and robotic stage performers — honoring Chinese animated features like “Ne Zha 2” and classic films from China’s 120-year cinematic history.

    As world cinema marks its 130th anniversary, Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its first Chinese American president, delivered an impassioned keynote speech. She traced film’s evolution from the Lumière brothers’ “The Arrival of a Train” to today’s digital technology and diverse storytelling approaches, likening 130 years of cinema to an unstoppable train.

    Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of the United States, speaks at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening gala in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    Yang described how the artistic films of China’s “Fifth Generation” directors first attracted her interest in Chinese cinema. She also explained how working on international film projects showed her that movies can overcome language and cultural barriers. “Cinema,” she said, “is the language that best connects the world.”

    During the gala, actors and filmmakers representing upcoming movies “The Dumpling Queen,” “A Gilded Game,” and “The One” took the stage to introduce their projects. The ceremony also featured the launch of the “China Film Consumption Year,” a major new initiative.

    The program, backed by the China Film Administration and China Media Group, aims to integrate cinema with everyday consumer activities across culture, tourism and commerce, according to officials. The initiative seeks to connect films with daily experiences, from dining to travel, while boosting consumer engagement.

    The initiative’s first major event, the Beijing Film Life Festival, runs alongside the film festival and features city-wide celebrations across multiple venues. The centerpiece is a film bazaar at Langyuan Station, BJIFF’s main venue, offering over 150 cultural brands, 70 food vendors and themed interactive zones that combine cinema with lifestyle experiences.

    “China Film Consumption Year” is launched during the 15th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) opening ceremony in Beijing, April 18, 2025. [Photo courtesy of BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    The festival runs until April 27 and will feature diverse events, including a film carnival, pitch sessions for emerging filmmakers and cross-industry collaborations. The screening program includes 18 thematic sections showcasing nearly 300 domestic and international films — ranging from nostalgic classics to rare or previously unreleased works in China — with approximately 900 showings at 33 premium venues.

    Additional highlights include cutting-edge technology showcases, dedicated programs for short films and sports films, works by female directors and young filmmakers, creative markets, an AI film competition and a university student film festival.

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    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: XploraDEX Presale Enters Final 72 Hours – Last Call Before XRP’s First AI Decentralized Exchange Goes Live

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZURICH, Switzerland, April 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — With just 72 hours left on the clock, the presale for XploraDEX’s $XPL Token has entered its final and most intense phase. What began as one of the most ambitious launches on XRPL is now transforming into a full-blown movement, as traders, whales, and DeFi pioneers scramble to secure their position before the door shuts for good.

    XploraDEX is not just a new decentralized exchange. It’s a smart trading ecosystem powered by artificial intelligence, designed specifically for the XRP Ledger. The platform promises to usher in a new generation of on-chain trading, where decisions are informed by predictive analytics, behavior-based automation, and real-time machine learning insights.

    Join $XPL Presale

    Over the past two weeks, XploraDEX has captured the attention of the wider crypto community. What started with grassroots momentum quickly evolved into a presale frenzy. Today, over 96% of the $XPL allocation has been claimed, with new participants arriving by the minute as FOMO reaches a boiling point.

    The $XPL token is the core of this revolution. Holders gain access to a suite of premium tools and benefits, including:

    • AI-generated market analysis and trade execution signals
    • Automated strategy deployment based on user risk profiles
    • Access to private staking pools and yield opportunities
    • Launchpad participation for future XRPL-based token sales
    • Protocol governance rights that let holders help shape the platform

    Participate in $XPL Presale

    But beyond features, what’s truly driving this rush is timing. XploraDEX is launching at a pivotal moment when demand for advanced, efficient DeFi solutions on XRPL is skyrocketing. Unlike traditional DEXs that rely on outdated methods and guesswork, XploraDEX provides data-driven precision that adapts with the market.

    In the final 72 hours of the presale, activity has spiked across all fronts. The XploraDEX Telegram is flooded with new users, Twitter mentions are trending, and high-value wallets continue to deploy capital into $XPL. This is no longer just a presale—it’s the tipping point before a historic launch.

    Once the sale ends, $XPL will debut on XRPL-based DEXs at a significantly higher valuation. Platform rollout will begin immediately, starting with staking, AI beta modules, and liquidity farming. Those who acted early will gain not just token value, but first access to the most intelligent trading interface XRPL has ever seen.

    Buy $XPL Token Now

    This is your last call to move early, think long-term, and be part of a smarter wave of DeFi. In 72 hours, this chapter closes—and the next one belongs to those who made the leap.

    Join the $XPL Presale While You Still Can: https://sale.xploradex.io

    Stay connected and Join the XploraDEX AI Revolution

    Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram

    Contact:
    Oliver Muller
    oliver@xploradex.io
    contact@xploradex.io

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b0e1f941-9e56-4655-bc90-2a10bd837b1d

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: XRP News: XploraDEX Presale Nears Deadline as XRP’s First AI Decentralized Exchange Prepares for Launch

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    ZURICH, Switzerland, April 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The final countdown is officially on. With only 3 days remaining until the XploraDEX $XPL Presale closes, the race is heating up fast. Traders across the XRPL ecosystem are moving swiftly to secure what’s left of the allocation before the window slams shut. The presale has already crossed the 80% mark, and with demand at an all-time high, the remaining supply is vanishing by the hour.

    XploraDEX isn’t just another token launch, it’s the dawn of a new trading experience for XRP users. As the first AI-powered decentralized exchange built on XRPL, XploraDEX brings intelligent automation, real-time data analysis, and predictive execution to the DeFi landscape. It’s a major leap forward for traders who demand speed, strategy, and smarter tools.

    JOIN $XPL Presale Now

    Designed from the ground up with machine learning integration, XploraDEX empowers users to:

    • Analyze markets in real-time with AI-generated trade signals
    • Automate strategies based on personal trading preferences and market behavior
    • Access tailored volatility alerts and risk assessments
    • Participate in a fully decentralized launchpad and staking program

    The $XPL token is the engine powering this innovation. Holding $XPL gives users access to the platform’s core features, including advanced analytics, trading fee discounts, early staking pools, and governance rights. It’s not just a utility—it’s a passport to the most sophisticated trading protocol on XRPL.

    Since the start of the presale, momentum has accelerated exponentially. Whale wallets have steadily accumulated significant $XPL positions, and community participation has surged across Twitter and Telegram. As the final 72-hour countdown begins, latecomers are racing to claim their spot before launch.

    Participate in $XPL Presale

    Once the presale concludes, $XPL will be listed on XRPL-based DEXs at a higher valuation. With platform deployment, staking rewards, and AI dashboard features rolling out in phases shortly after, early participants will be the first to benefit from the full capabilities of the ecosystem.

    This is more than a presale—it’s your opportunity to be early to the most advanced DeFi project to launch on XRPL. XploraDEX has the tech, the timing, and the traction. And now, with 3 days left, the door is closing fast.

    If you’re reading this, you still have a chance. But in 72 hours, this chapter will be over—and those who acted will be the ones shaping what comes next.

    Join the $XPL Presale While You Still Can: https://sale.xploradex.io

    Stay connected and Join the XploraDEX AI Revolution

    Website | $XPL Token Presale | X | Telegram

    Contact:
    Oliver Muller
    oliver@xploradex.io
    contact@xploradex.io

    Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XploraDEX. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.

    Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sector—including cryptocurrency, NFTs, and mining—complete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.

    Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.

    Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an “as-is” basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2eed35d3-2094-4423-8621-972b9b5fa255

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s attacks on central bank threaten its independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cristina Bodea, Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University

    Nearly every country in the world has a central bank – a public institution that manages a country’s currency and its monetary policy. And these banks have an extraordinary amount of power. By controlling the flow of money and credit in a country, they can affect economic growth, inflation, employment and financial stability.

    These are powers that many politicians – including, currently, U.S. President Donald Trump – would seemingly like to control or at least manipulate. That’s because monetary policy can provide governments with economic boosts at key times, such as around elections or during periods of falling popularity.

    The problem is that short-lived, politically motivated moves may be detrimental to the long-term economic well-being of a nation. They may, in other words, saddle the economy with problems further down the line.

    That is why central banks across the globe tend to receive significant leeway to set interest rates independently and free from the electoral wishes of politicians.

    In fact, monetary policymaking that is data-driven and technocratic, rather than politically motivated, has since the early 1990s been seen as the gold standard of governance of national finances. By and large, this arrangement, in which central bankers keep politicians at arm’s length, has achieved its main purpose: Inflation has been relatively low and stable in countries with independent central banks, such as Switzerland or Sweden – certainly until the pandemic and war in Europe began pushing up prices globally.

    In comparison, countries such as Lebanon and Egypt, where independence was never extended, or Argentina and Turkey, where it has been curtailed, have experienced more bouts of high inflation.

    But despite independence being seen to work, central banks over the past decade have come under increased pressure from politicians. They hope to keep interest rates low and reap voter gratitude for a humming economy and cheap loans.

    Trump is one recent example. In his first term as president, he criticized his own choice to head the U.S. Federal Reserve and demanded lower interest rates. After Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that tariffs are “highly likely” to trigger inflation, Trump lashed out on April 17, 2025, in an online post in which he accused Powell of being “TOO LATE AND WRONG” on interest rate cuts, while suggesting that the central banker’s “termination cannot come fast enough!”

    As political economists, we are not surprised to see politicians try to exert influence on central banks. Monetary policy, even with independence, has always been political. For one thing, central banks remain part of the government bureaucracy, and independence granted to them can always be reversed – either by changing laws or backtracking on established practices.

    Moreover, the reason politicians may want to interfere in monetary policy is that low interest rates remain a potent, quick method to boost an economy. And while politicians know that there are costs to besieging an independent central bank – financial markets may react negatively or inflation may flare up – short-term control of a powerful policy tool can prove irresistible.

    Legislating independence

    If monetary policy is such a coveted policy tool, how have central banks held off politicians and stayed independent? And is this independence being eroded?

    Broadly, central banks are protected by laws that offer long tenures to their leadership, allow them to focus policy primarily on inflation, and severely limit lending to the rest of the government.

    Of course, such legislation cannot anticipate all future contingencies, which may open the door for political interference or for practices that break the law. And sometimes central bankers are unceremoniously fired.

    However, laws do keep politicians in line. For example, even in authoritarian countries, laws protecting central banks from political interference have helped reduce inflation and restricted central bank lending to the government.

    In our own research, we have detailed the ways that laws have insulated central banks from the rest of the government, but also the recent trend of eroding this legal independence.

    Politicizing appointees

    Around the world, appointments to central bank leadership are political – elected politicians select candidates based on career credentials, political affiliation and, importantly, their dislike or tolerance of inflation.

    But lawmakers in different countries exercise different degrees of political control.

    A 2025 study shows that the large majority of central bank leaders – about 70% – are appointed by the head of government alone or with the intervention of other members of the executive branch. This ensures that the preferences of the central bank are closer to the government’s, which can boost the central bank’s legitimacy in democratic countries, but at the risk of permeability to political influence.

    Alternatively, appointments can involve the legislative power or even the central bank’s own board. In the U.S., while the president nominates members of the Federal Reserve Board, the Senate can and has rejected unconventional or incompetent candidates.

    Moreover, even if appointments are political, many central bankers stay in office long after the people who appointed them have been voted out. By the end of 2023, the most common length of the governors’ appointment is five years, and in 41 countries the legal mandate was six years or longer. Powell is set to stay on as Fed chair until his term expires in 2026. The Fed chair position has traditionally been protected by law, as Powell himself acknowledged in November 2024: “We’re not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms. So we’re protected into law. Congress could change that law, but I don’t think there’s any danger of that.” But Trump’s firing of leaders of other independent federal agencies has set up a legal challenge that could affect the Fed, too.

    In the 2000s, several countries shortened the tenure of their central banks’ governors to four or five years. Sometimes, this was part of broader restrictions in central bank independence, as was the case in Iceland in 2001, Ghana in 2002 and Romania in 2004.

    The low inflation objective

    As of 2023, all but six central banks globally had low inflation as their main goal. Yet many central banks are required by law to try to achieve additional and sometimes conflicting goals, such as financial stability, full employment or support for the government’s policies.

    This is the case for 38 central banks that either have the explicit dual mandate of price stability and employment or more complex goals. In Argentina, for example, the central bank’s mandate is to provide “employment and economic development with social equity.”

    Poor monetary policy can lead to rising prices in Argentina.
    AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

    Conflicting objectives can open central banks to politicization. In the U.S. the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of stable prices and maximum sustainable employment. These goals are often complementary, and economists have argued that low inflation is a prerequisite for sustainable high levels of employment.

    But in times of overlapping high inflation and high unemployment, such as in the late 1970s or when the COVID-19 crisis was winding down in 2022, the Fed’s dual mandate has become active territory for political wrangling.

    Since 2000, at least 23 countries have expanded the focus of their central banks beyond just inflation.

    Limits on government lending

    The first central banks were created to help secure finance for governments fighting wars. But today, limiting lending to governments is at the core of protecting price stability from unsustainable fiscal spending.

    History is dotted with the consequences of not doing so. In the 1960s and 1970s, for example, central banks in Latin America printed money to support their governments’ spending goals. But it resulted in massive inflation while not securing growth or political stability.

    Today, limits on lending are strongly associated with lower inflation in the developing world. And central banks with high levels of independence can reject a government’s financing requests or dictate the terms of loans.

    Yet over the past two decades, almost 40 countries have made their central banks less able to limit central government funding. In the more extreme examples – such as in Belarus, Ecuador or even New Zealand – they have turned the central bank into a potential financier for the government.

    Scapegoating central bankers

    In recent years, governments have tried to influence central banks by pushing for lower interest rates, making statements criticizing bank policy or calling for meetings with central bank leadership.

    At the same time, politicians have blamed the same central bankers for a number of perceived failings: not anticipating economic shocks such as the 2007-09 financial crisis; exceeding their authority with quantitative easing; or creating massive inequality or instability while trying to save the financial sector.

    And since mid-2021, major central banks have struggled to keep inflation low, raising questions from populist and antidemocratic politicians about the merits of an arm’s-length relationship.

    But chipping away at central bank independence, as Trump appears to be doing with his open criticism of the Fed chair and implicit threats of dismissal, is a historically sure way to high inflation.

    This is an updated version of an article that was originally published by The Conversation on June 14, 2024.

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

    ref. Trump’s attacks on central bank threaten its independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation) – https://theconversation.com/trumps-attacks-on-central-bank-threaten-its-independence-and-that-isnt-good-news-for-sound-economic-stewardship-or-battling-inflation-254870

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE-Led Training Enhances Ammunition Management Capacity of the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE-Led Training Enhances Ammunition Management Capacity of the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic

    Participants of the training learn safe ammunition handling techniques from German Bundeswehr experts. (OSCE) Photo details

    From 1 to 11 April 2025, eighteen specialists from the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic completed a training course on safe storage, surveillance and transportation of ammunition. The course was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic and with support from the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.
    This 2-week intensive training course, led by experts from Bundeswehr Verification Center (BwVC), equipped participants with in-depth technical knowledge and practical skills in handling ammunition safely in line with international standards. The training adhered to globally recognized frameworks, including the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), the UN “Orange Book,” the Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), and OSCE best practice guides.
    Throughout the course, participants gained hands-on experience and insights into the safe storage, surveillance, and transportation of ammunition, all of which are crucial for enhancing national security and ensuring compliance with international regulations. By following the best international practices, the training reinforced the Kyrgyz Republic’s commitment to improving ammunition safety management, contributing to the country’s overall security infrastructure.
    This session marked the final phase of training delivered so far by the German Armed Forces from 2023 to 2025. Throughout this period, a total of 65 personnel from the Ministry of Defense were successfully trained.
    **This initiative is part of an ongoing series of activities within the extra-budgetary project “Improvement of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Conventional Ammunition (CA) Life-Cycle Management Capacity of the Ministry of Defence of the Kyrgyz Republic,” supported by Austria, France, Germany, Norway and Switzerland.

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing Intl Film Festival to mark World Anti-Fascist War victory

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    The 15th Beijing International Film Festival is set to feature a special screening program commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

    (Clockwise from top left) Stills from “The Zone of Interest,” “The Thin Red Line,” “Above the Drowning Sea,” “The Burmese Harp,” “Downfall,” and “Shoah,” which will be presented during the 15th Beijing International Film Festival. [Images courtesy of the BJIFF Organizing Committee]

    The screenings are part of this year’s Beijing Film Panorama, an annual program that showcases nostalgic classics, new releases and films not previously screened in China. The event is popular with both fans and industry professionals.

    The first ticket sold during Monday’s presale was for Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” (2023), which won the Academy Award for best international feature at the 2024 Oscars. The film explores themes of complicity through its depiction of a Nazi officer’s family living next to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

    The film is part of the special “Cinema and Peace” program at the festival. “As we mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, we are launching this themed program. Spanning generations, these films ring the bell of world peace through cinema,” said Lin Siwei, deputy head of the China Film Archive, deputy director of the China Film Art Research Center, and deputy secretary-general of the BJIFF Organizing Committee.

    Twelve films will be screened, including several rarely seen in China that have been newly restored in 4K. Among them is Leopold Lindtberg’s “The Last Chance” (1945), which won both the international peace award and best feature film at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. The film follows an American and a British soldier who escape from a Nazi train in wartime Italy and lead a group of refugees to Switzerland. The Swiss Embassy in China provided copyright and archival support for the screening.

    Claude Lanzmann’s “Shoah” (1985), the landmark 9.5-hour Holocaust documentary, is featured in the program and will screen alongside the Asian premiere of Guillaume Ribot’s 2025 documentary “All I Had Was Nothingness,” which examines Lanzmann’s commitment to creating “Shoah.”

    Other notable films in the lineup include Terrence Malick’s Golden Bear-winning “The Thin Red Line” (1998), adapted from James Jones’ novel about the World War II Guadalcanal campaign; Oliver Hirschbiegel’s “Downfall” (2004), which chronicles Hitler’s final days through the perspective of his secretary Traudl Junge; Kon Ichikawa’s “The Burmese Harp” (1956), about a Japanese soldier who becomes a Buddhist monk after the war; and Larisa Shepitko’s “Wings” (1966), a portrait of a Soviet World War II pilot.

    The selection also features Sam Peckinpah’s “Cross of Iron” (1977), Kazuo Hara’s documentary “The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On” (1987), and Luuk Bouwman’s 2024 documentary “The Propagandist.”

    The program includes “Above the Drowning Sea” (2017), a documentary by Rene Balcer and Nicola Zavaglia about Jewish refugees who found sanctuary in Shanghai during World War II. The film highlights the role of Chinese diplomat Ho Feng Shan, who defied the Nazis and his own government to provide visas to refugees. Told from the perspectives of both the refugees and the Chinese people who sheltered them, the documentary offers a reflection on solidarity in times of crisis.

    The Beijing International Film Festival will run from April 18 to 26, featuring a range of activities, including forums, masterclasses, film pitching sessions and the Tiantan Award.

    This year’s Beijing Film Panorama will present 18 thematic sections, showcasing nearly 300 international films across about 900 screenings at 33 venues in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Venues include commercial theaters, arthouse cinemas and various cultural spaces.

    Other main screening segments include a centennial tribute to director Robert Altman, along with films by Jiri Menzel, Andrei Tarkovsky and the late David Lynch.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 18, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 18, 2025.

    Labor’s poll surge continues in YouGov, but they’re barely ahead in Freshwater
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Labor increased their lead again in a YouGov poll, but Freshwater put them ahead by just 50.3–49.7. This article also covers the final WA upper house results

    Why Kinshasa keeps flooding – and why it’s not just about the rain
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gode Bola, Lecturer in Hydrology, University of Kinshasa The April 2025 flooding disaster in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, wasn’t just about intense rainfall. It was a symptom of recent land use change which has occurred rapidly in the city, turning it into

    Grattan on Friday: Peter Dutton’s tax indexation ‘aspiration’ has merit – so why didn’t we hear about it before?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Peter Dutton, now seriously on the back foot, has made an extraordinarily big “aspirational” commitment at the back end of this campaign. He says he wants to see a move to indexing personal income tax – an assault on the

    Keith Rankin Essay – Barbecued Hamburgers and Churchill’s Bestie
    Essay by Keith Rankin. Operation Gomorrah may have been the most cynical event of World War Two (WW2). Not only did the name fully convey the intent of the war crimes about to be committed, it, also represented the single biggest 24-hour murder toll for the European war that I have come across. On the

    Public toilets could be the jewels in our cities’ crowns – if only governments would listen
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Tietz, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW Sydney A New South Wales Senate inquiry into public toilets is underway, looking into the provision, design and maintenance of public toilets across the state. Whenever I mention this inquiry, however, everyone nervously laughs and the conversation moves on.

    Bad news – why Australia is losing a generation of journalists
    Shrinking budgets and job insecurity means there are fewer opportunities for young journalists, and that’s bad news, especially in regional Australia, reports 360info ANALYSIS: By Jee Young Lee of the University of Canberra Australia risks losing a generation of young journalists, particularly in the regions where they face the closure of news outlets, job insecurity,

    Why do scientists want to spend billions on a 70-year project in an enormous tunnel under the Swiss Alps?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tessa Charles, Accelerator Physicist, Monash University An artist’s impression of the tunnel of the proposed Future Circular Collider. CERN The Large Hadron Collider has been responsible for astounding advances in physics: the discovery of the elusive, long-sought Higgs boson as well as other new exotic particles, possible

    Could you accidentally sign a contract by texting an emoji? Here’s what the law says
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer McKay, Professor in Business Law, University of South Australia Parkova/Shutterstock Could someone take you to court over an agreement you made – or at least appeared to make – by sending a “👍”? Emojis can have more legal weight than many people realise. A search of

    Why healthy eating may be the best way to reduce food waste
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Trang Nguyen, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide Stokkete, Shutterstock Australians waste around 7.68 million tonnes of food a year. This costs the economy an estimated A$36.6 billion and households up to $2,500 annually. Much of this food is wasted at

    Why can’t I keep still after intense exercise?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ken Nosaka, Professor of Exercise and Sports Science, Edith Cowan University Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Do you ever feel like you can’t stop moving after you’ve pushed yourself exercising? Maybe you find yourself walking around in circles when you come off the pitch, or squatting and standing and squatting

    ‘We get bucketloads of homework’: young people speak about what it’s like to start high school
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Stevens, PhD Candidate, Education, Murdoch University Rawpixel.com Starting high school is one of the most significant transitions young people make in their education. Many different changes happen at once – from making new friends to getting used to a new school environment and different behaviour and

    How to tackle the ‘gender play gap’: 4 ways to encourage young women back into sport
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Kay, PhD Candidate at the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University matimix/Shutterstock Women’s sport has recently enjoyed unprecedented success in Australia. We have seen the Matildas sell out 16 successive home games, a world-record attendance for a women’s Test cricket match at the

    Want straighter teeth or a gap between? Don’t believe TikTok – filing them isn’t the answer
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland After decades of Hollywood showcasing white-picket-fence celebrity smiles, the world has fallen for White Lotus actor Aimee Lou Wood’s teeth. Wood was bullied for her looks in her youth and expressed gratitude for

    1 in 6 New Zealanders is disabled. Why does so much health research still exclude them?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachelle Martin, Senior Lecturer in Rehabilitation & Disability, University of Otago Getty Images Disabled people encounter all kinds of barriers to accessing healthcare – and not simply because some face significant mobility challenges. Others will see their symptoms not investigated properly because it’s assumed a problem is

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI: WISeKey Releases 2024 Audited Financial Results and Outlines its 2025 Vision for Post Quantum Technology Convergence

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WISeKey Releases 2024 Audited Financial Results and Outlines its 2025 Vision for Post Quantum Technology Convergence

    Schedules Conference Call and Webcast for Tuesday, April 22 at 10:00 am ET (4:00 pm CET)

    Geneva, Switzerland – April 17, 2025 – Ad-Hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 of SIX Listing Rules – WISeKey International Holding Ltd (NASDAQ: WKEY / SIX: WIHN) (“WISeKey” or “the Company”), a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT technologies, today announced its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024, and shared its strategic vision for 2025, a year expected to be defined by the convergence of foundational technologies and the emergence of Sovereign AI.

    Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey, commented: “2024 has been a pivotal year for WISeKey. We ended the year with a very strong balance sheet, strategic technological milestones, and a clear roadmap to take advantage of new opportunities ahead. From launching 17 secure satellites in partnership with SpaceX and further advancing negotiations on our semiconductor personalization center strategy, to scaling our blockchain platforms and developing post-quantum chips, we have created a solid foundation across every layer of digital trust infrastructure.

    We started 2025 on a very strong note and have now entered what I define as the ‘Year of WISeKey Convergence.’ This is more than a strategy, it is a paradigm shift. We are bringing together four foundational pillars: semiconductors, satellites, blockchain, and digital identity, into unified and interoperable ecosystems. This convergence allows us to offer end-to-end solutions where each component reinforces the other, enabling exponential innovation and resilience.

    For instance, our post-quantum secure chips, developed by our semiconductor subsidiary SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), are now being embedded into WISeSat satellites to create a secure foundation for a decentralized IoT infrastructure. Blockchain and identity platforms like SEALCOIN and WISeID are being deployed to power autonomous, tamper-proof transactions between machines, satellites, and users. Combining this with our partnership with the Hedera distributed ledger, brings transparency and immutability to these transactions. Additionally, our work with the Swiss Army is proceeding with the testing of a secure smartphone and secure communications with our WISeSat Satellites.

    This convergence approach positions WISeKey at the intersection of some of the most critical transformations of our time, such as quantum-resilient security, space-based connectivity, and the decentralized economy. We are not just adapting to the digital future, we are building it. For WISeKey, 2025 is expected to be a year of execution and scale, where our integrated business units aim to deliver tangible impact.”

    FY 2024 HIGHLIGHTS

    • $90.6 million cash balance (as of December 31, 2024) alongside a much cleaner balance sheet.
    • $11.9 million FY 2024 revenue, down from $30.1 million in FY 2023, reflects an expected decrease as a result of a transitional year with semiconductors customers gradually shifting to our next-generation quantum-resistant solutions and delayed building inventory until the release alongside the impact of the excess inventory accumulation by customers in 2023.
    • $7.0 million investments in R&D for the development of new projects and technologies, including SEALSQ’s post-quantum chip, SEALCOIN, and our WISeSat next generation satellites.
    • First engineering samples of our new quantum resistant secure microcontroller delivered in Q4 2024, in line with our semiconductors’ R&D plan initiated in 2022. We are on target to make our QVault-TPM, the next generation of secure microcontrollers built by SEALSQ on our new Secure RISC-V CPU, available on the market in Q4 2025.
    • Signed a landmark agreement with the Swiss Army to co-develop advanced cybersecurity and space-based capabilities. The first new generation WISeSat satellite under this initiative was launched in January 2025.
    • $115 million pipeline of secured and pending business opportunities over the period from 2026 to 2028 as of April 15, 2025.

    LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025

    Strong Financial Foundation to Support Strategic Growth

    WISeKey’s 2024 year-end solid cash position in excess of $90 million (predominantly secured via the over $80 million capital raised during 2024 by SEALSQ), alongside the availability of any additional financing should it be required, and its much cleaner balance sheet, place the Company in a very strong position to invest in high-growth areas such as post-quantum cybersecurity, next-generation semiconductors, satellite infrastructure, and blockchain-based ecosystems.

    Despite certain sector-wide headwinds, the Company’s overall outlook remains robust with a pipeline of secured and pending business opportunities exceeding $115 million for the period from 2026 to 2028, supported by growing public sector and defense partnerships.

    WISeKey anticipates strong growth in 2025, propelled by SEALSQ’s quantum-resistant technology developments and expanding IoT security demand. This growth is expected to be driven by the integration of chip revenue from new sources, an expansion in chip personalization services, additional revenue generated by WISeSat, and the consolidated revenue from our planned investments.

    In our semiconductors vertical, SEALSQ has been the main revenue contributor in 2024 and in prior years. We anticipate that our new Quantum-Resistant chips will be available on the market in Q4 2025. WISeKey foresees generating substantial returns from the full-scale commercial deployment of this quantum resistant chip starting in 2026.

    WISeKey has therefore taken several initiatives to develop new revenue streams and strengthen net results.

    These initiatives include:

    • Quantix Edges: Semiconductor Personalization & Design Center in Spain

    WISeKey and SEALSQ jointly, together with OdinS and TProtege, two Spanish companies with extensive experience in R&D&I (Research & Development & Innovation) worldwide and in the design and manufacturing of IoT devices and solutions, plan to establish in the Region of Murcia a “Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity and Microchips” under the financial umbrella of the Microelectronics and Semiconductors Plan (PERTE CHIP) initiated by Spain.   The project called Quantix Edges is in the final stages of the approval process by SETT, the Spanish government’s entity responsible for funding under the PERTE budgets.

    • Consolidated revenue from acquisition opportunities

    The potential IC’ALPS acquisition, if completed, would bolster SEALSQ’s Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) development, and further strengthen WISeKey’s portfolio of products.

    • WISeSat’s new generation satellites

    Six more launches are planned during 2025 and 2026, with the next one currently scheduled for June 2025.

    • SEALCOIN’s TIoT commercial launch

    Following on from the successful Proof of Concept carried out in Q1 2025, SEALCOIN is working to identify partners to perform other PoCs and further demonstrate its readiness for industrialization of its TIoT solution.

    • Quantum as a Service

    In 2025, WISeKey advanced its commitment to quantum computing by investing in ColibriTD, a pioneering quantum technology company, aiming to integrate ColibriTD’s Quantum-as-a-Service (QaaS) platform into its Quantum Roadmap.

    • Scaled Up Global Footprint

    WISeKey continues to strategically expand its global presence, secure key partnerships with renowned distributors and sales representatives in crucial markets. These alliances have strengthened WISeKey’s market position while fueling growth by leveraging each partner’s expertise and established networks.

    KEY DEVELOPMENTS BY SUBSIDIARY

    SEALSQ: Leadership in IoT and Post-Quantum Cryptography Era

    SEALSQ advanced the Company’s mission to secure the connected world by focusing on post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and IoT security. Through its QUASAR platform, SEALSQ developed quantum-resistant technologies to protect data against future quantum threats, aligning with global standards like those from NIST. SEALSQ’s future strategy is built around four key priorities:

    1. Commercial Launch of Post-Quantum Chips

    • Commercial launch of two new post-quantum semiconductors, targeting IoT, PC, Tablets, and various industrial applications including medical, military and automotive sectors.
    • Expansion of chip fabrication partnerships to increase output for enterprise and government security solutions.
    • SEALSQ has set an ambitious five-year target to capture 20% of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) market, a goal supported by strong market engagement. By the end of 2024, SEALSQ had secured over 60 qualified leads and one Design-IN for its TPM products, which are slated for commercial launch in 2025.
    • Developing Quantum resistant ASIC (custom design secure chips) for specific large client needs.

    2. Executing Targeted Acquisitions, Investments and Joint Ventures

    • Advanced and exclusive negotiations to acquire 100% of IC’ALPS; expected to be finalized in 2025.
    • As part of its global expansion strategy, SEALSQ is in final stage negotiations with Spanish authorities to establish an Outsourced Semiconductor Personalization and Test Center (OSPTC) in Spain. SEALSQ is exploring the development of similar OSPTCs in India, the United States, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
    • Planned continuing investment in startups engaged in quantum computing and AI initiatives as part of the SEALQUANTUM Initiative.

    3. R&D and Strategic Investments in Post-Quantum Security

    • SEALSQ is investing in the final development, qualification, certification (Common Criteria EAL5+ and FIPS 140-3 Level 3) process and the Industrialization (Wafer Test, Final Test, Packaging, Key Injection) of its Quantum-Resistant TPM 2.0 chip with a commercial launch target date set for Q4 2025. We are in discussions with over 60 interested potential customers, including major electronics manufacturers.
    • Scaling the first TPM PQC chip in broader ASIC offer for addressing the Medical, Defense, and IoT market segments.
    • First deployment of SEALSQ’s Quantum Resistant IoT chips on the WISeSat picosatellite constellation, enhancing secure connectivity in remote regions.

    4. Expanding Trust Services

    • Scaling managed PKI solutions for Matter IoT and enterprise security.
    • Expanding SSL/TLS and GSMA certificate offerings to reinforce global digital trust ecosystems.
    • Pushing adoption of INeS PKI Post quantum Cryptography latest features.

    WISeSat: Expanding Secure Space Capabilities

    WISeKey advanced its WISeSat.Space project, deploying low-earth-orbit picosatellites to provide secure IoT connectivity for remote applications. The Company continued to invest in this innovative satellite network, aiming to enhance global coverage for IoT ecosystems. With further deployments planned for 2025, WISeSat.Space is poised to address growing market demand for secure, satellite-based communication solutions, supporting critical infrastructure and underserved regions.

    Strategic Partnership with Swiss Armed Forces in the Space Sector
    In 2024, the WISeSat.Space division not only reinforced its strategic partnership with the Swiss Armed Forces in the space sector through the initiation of new projects, but it also formalized agreements with RUAG, the strategic integrator for the Swiss Armed Forces, for a national defence project focused on device-to-device communications.

    European Low Earth Orbit Satellite Constellation
    To date, WISeSat.Space has launched 17 mini-satellites with Space X into orbit through a strategic investment and partnership with FOSSA Systems, aimed at expanding its portfolio of space technology assets. Over the next 36 months, WISeSat.Space plans to deploy 88 next-generation satellites, following the January 2025 launch from California, which should significantly enhance global IoT connectivity and environmental monitoring capabilities, supporting applications such as climate change analysis, disaster response, and precision agriculture.

    Pioneering Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Transactions from Space
    In 2024, we took steps to launch a groundbreaking mission that harnesses WISeKey’s advanced security solutions in conjunction with the Hedera network to pioneer the exchange of SEALCOIN from space. Successfully tested in Q1 2025, this initiative marked the first-ever demonstration of secure digital cryptocurrency transactions conducted from orbit and established a proof-of-concept redefining boundaries of blockchain integration, a new era of space-based digital economies. Through this innovative endeavour, we reaffirmed our commitment to leading the development of digital currencies in an expanding technological landscape.

    Blockchain Ecosystem: SEALCOIN and WISe.ART

    SEALCOIN, WISeKey’s transactional IoT platform, made significant progress toward deploying decentralized digital identity solutions, leveraging blockchain to enable secure Web 3.0 transactions using our WISelD platform to incorporate Distributed Identity capabilities. With a development timeline set for key milestones in 2025, SEALCOIN aims to deliver scalable solutions for secure, trust-based interactions across digital networks, enhancing user control over identity and data.

    WISe.ART advanced its blockchain-based ecosystem for digital art and NFTs, integrating Web 3.0 technologies to ensure secure authentication and tokenization, capitalizing on the digital collectibles market. The WISe.ART platform has been developed to serve galleries, museums, and collectors, backed by WISeKey’s root-of-trust and blockchain compatible certificates of authenticity.

    WISeID: Empowering Private Digital Identity

    WISeID, WISeKey’s flagship digital identity platform, introduced biometric authentication, self-sovereign identity (SSI), and post-quantum cryptographic protocols, making it one of the world’s most secure digital identity systems.

    Complementing this, during 2024 WISeKey announced the ongoing development and planned launch of the SEALPhone, an ultra-secure smartphone designed with a privacy-by-design architecture. Currently in testing mode with several strategic clients, SEALPhone integrates WISeID and SEALCOIN, enabling secure communication, identity protection, and digital asset storage on a single hardware platform.

    FILING OF 2024 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 20-F

    WISeKey filed its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in the Form 20-F for the full year period ended December 31, 2024, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17, 2025. The Form 20-F can be accessed by visiting the Company’s website at www.wisekey.com.
    In addition, the Company’s stockholders may receive a hard copy of the Form 20-F, which includes complete audited financial statements, free of charge by contacting its Investor Relations Representative at lcati@equityny.com or +1 212 836-9611.

    CONFERENCE CALL

    The Company will host a conference call to review its results on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 10:00 am ET (4:00 pm CET). To join, please use the following dial-in numbers:

    • Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 877-445-9755
    • International Dial-In Number: 201-493-6744

    The webcast of the call can be accessed through the Investor Relations section of WISeKey’s website at www.wisekey.com. An archived version of the call will also be made available.

    ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL & OPERATIONAL DATA

    Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) [as reported]

      12 months ended December 31,
    USD’000, except earnings per share 2024   2023   2022
               
    Net sales 11,875   30,918   23,814
    Cost of sales (7,104)   (15,754)   (13,588)
    Depreciation of production assets (478)   (420)   (132)
    Gross profit 4,293   14,744   10,094
               
    Other operating income 184   167   2,073
    Research & development expenses (7,026)   (4,398)   (3,862)
    Selling & marketing expenses (8,550)   (6,523)   (7,275)
    General & administrative expenses (16,324)   (17,290)   (11,466)
    Total operating expenses (31,716)   (28,044)   (20,530)
    Operating loss (27,423)   (13,300)   (10,436)
               
    Non-operating income 1,629   2,374   3,937
    Debt conversion expense (32)   (562)   (827)
    Interest and amortization of debt discount (1,013)   (624)   (168)
    Non-operating expenses (2,018)   (3,107)   (5,551)
    Loss before income tax expense (28,857)   (15,219)   (13,045)
               
    Income tax income / (expense) (3,086)   (230)   3,238
    Loss from continuing operations, net (31,943)   (15,449)   (9,807)
               
    Discontinued operations:          
    Net sales from discontinued operations     1,805
    Cost of sales from discontinued operations     (978)
    Total operating and non-operating expenses from discontinued operations     (5,274)
    Income tax recovery from discontinued operations     25
    Loss on disposal of a business, net of tax on disposal     (15,026)
    Income / (loss) on discontinued operations     (19,448)
               
    Net loss (31,943)   (15,449)   (29,255)
               
    Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (18,497)   (89)   (1,780)
    Net loss attributable to WISeKey International
    Holding Ltd
    (13,446)   (15,360)   (27,475)
               
    Earnings per Class A Share (USD)          
    Earnings per Class A Share from continuing operations          
    Basic (0.92)   (0.50)   (0.44)
    Diluted (0.92)   (0.50)   (0.44)
    Earnings per Class A Share from discontinued operations          
    Basic     (0.87)
    Diluted     (0.87)
               
    Earning per Class A Share attributable to WISeKey International Holding Ltd          
    Basic (0.39)   (0.51)   (1.22)
    Diluted (0.39)   (0.51)   (1.22)
               
    Earnings per Class B Share (USD)          
    Earnings per Class B Share from continuing operations          
    Basic (9.17)   (5.01)   (4.36)
    Diluted (9.17)   (5.01)   (4.36)
    Earnings per Class B Share from discontinued operations          
    Basic     (8.65)
    Diluted     (8.65)
               
    Earning per Class B Share attributable to WISeKey International Holding Ltd          
    Basic (3.86)   (5.06)   (12.22)
    Diluted (3.86)   (5.06)   (12.22)
               
    Other comprehensive income / (loss), net of tax:          
    Foreign currency translation adjustments 287   (842)   (1,434)
    Reclassifications out of the OCI arising during period     1,156
    Defined benefit pension plans:          
    Net gain (loss) arising during period (1,206)   (1,151)   2,934
    Other comprehensive income / (loss) (919)   (1,993)   2,656
    Comprehensive income / (loss) (32,862)   (17,442)   (26,599)
               
    Other comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (28)   (99)   (964)
    Other comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to WISeKey International Holding Ltd (891)   (1,894)   3,620
               
    Comprehensive income / (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (18,525)   (188)   (2,744)
    Comprehensive income / (loss) attributable
    to WISeKey International Holding Ltd
    (14,337)   (17,254)   (23,855)

    The notes are an integral part of our consolidated financial statements.

    Consolidated Balance Sheets [as reported]

      As at December 31,   As at December 31,
    USD’000 2024   2023
           
    ASSETS      
    Current assets      
    Cash and cash equivalents 90,600   15,311
    Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses 4,285   5,471
    Notes receivable, current 13   63
    Inventories 1,418   5,230
    Prepaid expenses 1,364   1,290
    Government assistance 2,247   1,718
    Other current assets 573   1,008
    Total current assets 100,500   30,091
           
    Noncurrent assets      
    Notes receivable, noncurrent 32  
    Deferred income tax assets   3,077
    Deferred tax credits 250   15
    Property, plant and equipment net of accumulated depreciation 3,275   3,392
    Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization 96   96
    Operating lease right-of-use assets 1,502   2,052
    Goodwill 8,317   8,317
    Equity securities, at cost 455   486
    Other noncurrent assets 261   275
    Total noncurrent assets 14,188   17,710
    TOTAL ASSETS 114,688   47,801
           
    LIABILITIES      
    Current Liabilities      
    Accounts payable 13,496   12,863
    Notes payable 5,900   4,085
    Indebtedness to related parties, current 78   79
    Convertible note payable, current 9   190
    Deferred revenue, current 93   217
    Current portion of obligations under operating lease liabilities 607   638
    Income tax payable 2   4
    Other current liabilities 1,135   832
    Total current liabilities 21,320   18,908
           
    Noncurrent liabilities      
    Bonds, mortgages and other long-term debt 102   1,820
    Convertible note payable, noncurrent   1,519
    Deferred revenue, noncurrent 21   24
    Indebtedness to related parties, noncurrent 1,387  
    Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent 853   1,443
    Employee benefit plan obligation 3,877   3,001
    Other noncurrent liabilities 4   2
    Total noncurrent liabilities 6,244   7,809
    TOTAL LIABILITIES 27,564   26,717
    Commitments and contingent liabilities      
           
    SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
    Common stock – Class A 16   400
               Par value – CHF 0.01 and CHF 0.25      
    Authorized – 2,000,880 and 2,000,880 shares      
    Issued and outstanding – 1,600,880 and 1,600,880 shares      
    Common stock – Class B 359   8,170
    Par value – CHF 0.10 and CHF 2.50      
    Authorized – 6,194,267 and 6,194,267      
    Issued – 3,365,560 and 3,076,150      
    Outstanding – 3,309,052 and 2,954,097      
    Share subscription in progress 1  
    Treasury stock, at cost (56,508 and 122,053 shares held) (502)   (691)
    Additional paid-in capital 316,431   289,448
    Accumulated other comprehensive income / (loss) 3,150   4,041
    Accumulated deficit (294,407)   (280,961)
    Total shareholders’ equity attributable to WISeKey shareholders 25,048   20,407
    Noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries 62,076   677
    Total shareholders’ equity 87,124   21,084
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 114,688   47,801

    The notes are an integral part of our consolidated financial statements.

    Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, after evaluating the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by the 2024 annual report, identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting relating to an ineffective review control that was identified by the auditor.  As a result, an adjustment was made to the additional paid-in capital and noncontrolling interest in the equity accounts by the Company prior to the issuance of the financial statements ended December 31, 2024, which did not impact upon the total equity. See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements.

    About WISeKey
    WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”, SIX: WIHN; Nasdaq: WKEY) is a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT solutions platform. It operates as a Swiss-based holding company through several operational subsidiaries, each dedicated to specific aspects of its technology portfolio. The subsidiaries include (i) SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, (ii) WISeKey SA which specializes in RoT and PKI solutions for secure authentication and identification in IoT, Blockchain, and AI, (iii) WISeSat AG which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, specifically for IoT applications, (iv) WISe.ART Corp which focuses on trusted blockchain NFTs and operates the WISe.ART marketplace for secure NFT transactions, and (v) SEALCOIN AG which focuses on decentralized physical internet with DePIN technology and house the development of the SEALCOIN platform.

    Each subsidiary contributes to WISeKey’s mission of securing the internet while focusing on their respective areas of research and expertise. Their technologies seamlessly integrate into the comprehensive WISeKey platform. WISeKey secures digital identity ecosystems for individuals and objects using Blockchain, AI, and IoT technologies. With over 1.6 billion microchips deployed across various IoT sectors, WISeKey plays a vital role in securing the Internet of Everything. The company’s semiconductors generate valuable Big Data that, when analyzed with AI, enable predictive equipment failure prevention. Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey cryptographic Root of Trust, WISeKey provides secure authentication and identification for IoT, Blockchain, and AI applications. The WISeKey Root of Trust ensures the integrity of online transactions between objects and people. For more information on WISeKey’s strategic direction and its subsidiary companies, please visit www.wisekey.com.

    Disclaimer

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our business strategy, financial performance, results of operations, market data, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, as well as any other statements which are not historical facts and can be identified by forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “should,” “will” and “would” or similar words. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include WISeKey’s ability to continue beneficial transactions with material parties, including a limited number of significant customers; market demand and semiconductor industry conditions; the growth of the post-quantum cryptography market; the adoption by developers and customers of quantum computing; the successful launch our post-quantum chips; our ability to sell post-quantum cryptography products to consumers; our ability to develop NIST-approved algorithms for our post-quantum semiconductor technologies; our ability to expand our chip personalization services; our ability to derive consolidated revenue from our planned investments; growth in our cybersecurity certificate and managed PKI services and acquisitions; our ability to expand our Semiconductor personalization and design facilities and semiconductor production; our ability to grow our U.S., Middle East and Asia-Pacific market presence; our ability to expand our Trust services; our development and tokenization of WISe.ART; our expansion of the WISeSat.Space project and the deployment of our next generation satellites; our proposed expansion into EMEA, North America and Asia; the deployment and commercialization of SEALCOIN and TIoT; the ongoing development and adopted of WISeID; and the risks discussed in WISeKey’s filings with the SEC. Risks and uncertainties are further described in reports filed by WISeKey with the SEC.

    This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”), the FinSa’s predecessor legislation or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

    Press and Investor Contacts

    WISeKey International Holding Ltd
    Company Contact:  Carlos Moreira
    Chairman & CEO
    Tel: +41 22 594 3000
    info@wisekey.com 
    WISeKey Investor Relations (US) 
    The Equity Group Inc.
    Lena Cati
    Tel: +1 212 836-9611
    lcati@equityny.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Transocean Ltd. Announces Time Change for First Quarter 2025 Earnings Call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) announced today that, due to a scheduling conflict, it is changing the time of its first quarter 2025 earnings call. It will now conduct the teleconference starting at 10 a.m. EDT, 4 p.m. CEST, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

    As previously announced, the company’s first quarter 2025 earnings will be reported on Monday, April 28, with the teleconference scheduled on Tuesday, April 29. Individuals who wish to participate in the call should dial +1 785-424-1619 approximately 15 minutes prior to the scheduled 10 a.m. EDT start time and refer to conference code 119877.

    The teleconference will be simulcast in a listen-only mode at: www.deepwater.com, by selecting Investors, News, and Webcasts. A replay of the conference call will be available after 1 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. CEST, on April 29. The replay, which will be archived for approximately 30 days, can be accessed at +1 402-220-7202, passcode 119877. The replay also will be available on the company’s website.

    About Transocean

    Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. The company specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on ultra-deepwater and harsh environment drilling services and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.

    Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 34 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 26 ultra-deepwater floaters and eight harsh environment floaters.

    For more information about Transocean, please visit: www.deepwater.com.

    Analyst Contact:
    Alison Johnson
    +1 713-232-7214

    Media Contact:
    Pam Easton
    +1 713-232-7647

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI USA: NIST’s Curved Neutron Beams Could Deliver Benefits Straight to Industry

    Source: US Government research organizations

    When an ordinary beam of neutrons strikes the team’s silicon grating, the millions of scored lines on the grating convert the neutrons into an Airy beam, whose wavefront travels along a parabolic path. The triangular shapes on the detector match the predicted behavior of an Airy beam, offering evidence of the team’s success.

    Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST

    In a physics first, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a way to make beams of neutrons travel in curves. These Airy beams (named for English scientist George Airy), which the team created using a custom-built device, could enhance neutrons’ ability to reveal useful information about materials ranging from pharmaceuticals to perfumes to pesticides — in part because the beams can bend around obstacles. 

    “We’ve known about these strange, self-steering wave patterns for a while, but until now, no one had ever made them with neutrons,” said NIST’s Michael Huber, one of the paper’s authors. “This opens up a whole new way to control neutron beams, which could help us see inside materials or explore some big questions in physics.” 

    A paper announcing the findings appears in today’s issue of Physical Review Letters. The team was led by the University of Buffalo’s Dusan Sarenac, and coauthors from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo in Canada built the custom device that helped create the Airy beam. The team also includes scientists from the University of Maryland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institut, and Germany’s Jülich Center for Neutron Science at Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum. 

    In addition to following parabola-shaped paths, Airy beams behave in other ways that can defy intuition. Unlike a typical flashlight beam, they do not spread out as they travel. They even have the capability of “self-healing,” meaning that if an obstacle blocks part of the beam, the rest of the beam regenerates its original shape after passing the obstacle.

    While other research teams have created Airy beams out of other particles — such as photons or electrons — wrangling neutrons into Airy beams is more difficult. Lenses are powerless to bend them, and because neutrons have no charge, electric fields do not affect them. The team needed a new approach.

    So the researchers custom-built a diffraction grating array — a square of silicon about the size of a pencil eraser’s head and scored with tiny lines. These lines, arranged into more than six million squares one micrometer across and separated at precise distances from one another, can split an ordinary beam of neutrons into an Airy beam. 

    While the idea of scratching up a piece of silicon is simple in principle, figuring out just how to arrange the scratches to produce the Airy beam was anything but. 

    “It took us years of work to figure out the correct dimensions for the array,” said coauthor Dmitry Pushin, IQC faculty and professor at the University of Waterloo. “We only needed about 48 hours to carve the grating at the University of Waterloo’s nanofabrication facility, but before that it took years of a postdoctoral fellow’s time to prepare.”

    Neutron Airy beams could help neutron imaging facilities see better, Huber said. They would help increase the resolution of a scan or create different focal spots to look more closely at particular parts of objects, improving commonly used imaging techniques such as neutron scattering and neutron diffraction. 

    One of the most tantalizing possibilities, Huber said, would be to find ways to combine a neutron Airy beam with another type of neutron beam.

    “We think combining neutron beams could expand the Airy beams’ usefulness,” said Sarenac. “If someone wants Airy beams tailored for some physics or material application, they can tweak our techniques and get them.”

    For example, scientists might combine a neutron Airy beam with a helical wave of neutrons, which the team learned to create a decade ago. Superimposing the two beams would allow scientists to explore a material’s chirality — a characteristic often described as “handedness,” where a molecule has two mirror-image forms that can have dramatically different properties.

    A better way to explore and characterize chirality could facilitate the development of chiral molecules with specific properties and functions, potentially revolutionizing industries such as pharmaceuticals, materials science and chemical manufacturing. The global market for chiral drugs, for example, exceeds $200 billion annually, and chiral catalysis techniques underpin the manufacture of many chemical products. 

    Chirality is also growing in importance for quantum computing and other cutting-edge electronic applications such as spintronics. 

    “A material’s chirality can influence how electrons spin, and we could use spin-polarized electrons for information storage and processing,” Huber said. “Controlling it could also help us manipulate the qubits that form the building blocks of quantum computers. Neutron Airy beams could help us explore materials with these capabilities far more effectively.”

    Paper: D. Sarenac, O. Lailey, M.E. Henderson, H. Ekinci, C.W. Clark, D.G. Cory, L. DeBeer-Schmitt, M.G. Huber, J.S. White, K. Zhernenkov, and D.A. Pushin. Generation of Airy Neutron Beams. Physical Review Letters. Published online April 17, 2025. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.153401.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Biotech IPOs surge 68.4% YoY to $8.52 billion in 2024 amid public market recovery, reveals GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    Biotech IPOs surge 68.4% YoY to $8.52 billion in 2024 amid public market recovery, reveals GlobalData

    Posted in Business Fundamentals

    Biopharmaceutical initial public offerings (IPOs) saw an upturn in 2024, with 50 completed IPOs raising $8.52 billion, a 68.4% increase from the $5.06 billion raised in 2023 and marking the highest total IPO value raised since 2021. This rebound, driven by US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, marks the highest total since 2021. While cautious, investors are showing increased interest in companies with strong clinical data, signaling a recovery in the public markets and a shift toward more advanced-stage biopharmaceuticals, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Deals Database, completed IPOs that raised more than $100 million almost doubled, from $4.39 billion across 15 IPOs in 2023 to $7.88 billion across 24 IPOs in 2024.

    Alison Labya, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The increase in the number of high-value IPOs in 2024 suggests that while public investors remain selective, increased capital availability due to interest rate cuts has facilitated investments in biopharmaceutical companies with a strong value proposition.”

    The largest biopharmaceutical IPO completed in 2024 was Switzerland-based dermatology company Galderma, which raised $2.48 billion. Galderma’s IPO followed a planned IPO in February 2022 that did not close, as well as Galderma postponing its IPO in March 2023 amid market volatility.

    Labya adds: “Despite the overall increase in IPO value raised, discovery and preclinical-stage companies saw a four-fold drop in total IPO value from $490.6 million in 2023 to $112.5 million in 2024, indicating a shift in public investor preference towards more advanced stage companies.”

    However, IPO activity could be dampened by an anticipated increase in private biopharmaceutical M&A in 2025 as companies seek to refill their pipelines ahead of upcoming patent expirations.

    Labya concludes: “The US President Donald Trump’s administration has introduced uncertainty to the biopharmaceutical industry across healthcare policies, drug pricing reforms, and regulatory frameworks, all of which could impact investor confidence. Additionally, Trump’s recent tariff announcement on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China has led to increased market volatility, potentially delaying IPOs as investors await the countries’ responses to the tariffs.”

    Note: Includes all completed IPO deals for companies headquartered globally from 2020–2025 YTD. Includes deals where deal values are disclosed in the public domain.

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI: Correction: Sword Group: Information on the Payment of the 2024 Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting on 28 April, the Group confirms the payment of a dividend of €2 gross per share.

    The payment schedule is as follows:
    Ex-Date: 30/04/2025 (unchanged date)
    Record Date: 02/05/2025 (date shifted by one day)
    Payment Date: 05/05/2025 (date changed to Monday)

    Explanation of the different deadlines:
    Ex-date: date (in the morning) from which securities are traded without the dividend
    Record date: date (in the evening) taken into account by the financial intermediaries to determine who is entitled to the dividend

    Explanation of the withholding tax:
    As Sword’s registered office is in Luxembourg, there is a 15% withholding tax.
    However, it is possible to be exempt from this withholding tax, as explained below:

    Individual shareholder who is a French tax resident:
    If the shares are not placed on a PEA:
    – The shareholder will benefit from a tax credit in France equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided
    – The IFU will mention the amount of the dividend and the amount of the tax credit 

    If the shares are placed on a PEA:
    – The tax credit cannot be refunded since the dividend is not taxed in France

    A shareholder that is a legal entity established in France (with a holding of less than 10% and an acquisition price of less than 1.2 million euros)
    – The shareholder will benefit from a tax credit in France equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided

    A shareholder, whether an individual or a legal entity, residing in a State other than France (with a holding of less than 10% and an acquisition price of less than 1.2 million euros)
    – If the double taxation tax treaty between Luxembourg and the State of residence provides for a lower rate of tax withheld at source, the shareholder can file a request for partial or total reimbursement with the Luxembourg tax authorities (form 901bis)
    – Moreover, in accordance with the tax treaty, the shareholder will benefit in his country of residence from a tax credit that is equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided

    A shareholder who is a legal entity able to benefit from the European Parent-Subsidiary Directive (+ EEE and Switzerland), that owns or promises to own on the date of the dividend distribution, for at least twelve months, a holding of at least 10%
    or an acquisition price of at least 1.2 million euros
    – Exoneration from tax withheld at source in Luxembourg

    Agenda
    28/04/25: Annual Shareholders Meeting 2024
    24/07/25: Publication of Q2 2025 Revenue

    About Sword Group

    Sword has 3,500+ IT/Digital specialists active in 50+ countries to accompany you in the growth of your organisation in the digital age.

    As a leader in technological and digital transformation, Sword has a solid reputation in complex IT & business project management.

    Sword optimises your processes and enhances your data.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Sword Group: Information on the Payment of the 2024 Dividend

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting on 28 April, the Group confirms the payment of a dividend of €2 gross per share.

    The payment schedule is as follows:
    Ex-Date: 30/04/2025 (unchanged date)
    Record Date: 02/05/2025 (date shifted by one day)
    Payment Date: 05/05/2025 (date changed to Monday)

    Explanation of the different deadlines:
    Ex-date: date (in the morning) from which securities are traded without the dividend
    Record date: date (in the evening) taken into account by the financial intermediaries to determine who is entitled to the dividend

    Explanation of the withholding tax:
    As Sword’s registered office is in Luxembourg, there is a 15% withholding tax.
    However, it is possible to be exempt from this withholding tax, as explained below:

    Individual shareholder who is a French tax resident:
    If the shares are not placed on a PEA:
    – The shareholder will benefit from a tax credit in France equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided
    – The IFU will mention the amount of the dividend and the amount of the tax credit 

    If the shares are placed on a PEA:
    – The tax credit cannot be refunded since the dividend is not taxed in France

    A shareholder that is a legal entity established in France (with a holding of less than 10% and an acquisition price of less than 1.2 million euros)
    – The shareholder will benefit from a tax credit in France equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided

    A shareholder, whether an individual or a legal entity, residing in a State other than France (with a holding of less than 10% and an acquisition price of less than 1.2 million euros)
    – If the double taxation tax treaty between Luxembourg and the State of residence provides for a lower rate of tax withheld at source, the shareholder can file a request for partial or total reimbursement with the Luxembourg tax authorities (form 901bis)
    – Moreover, in accordance with the tax treaty, the shareholder will benefit in his country of residence from a tax credit that is equal to the amount withheld at source => double taxation is avoided

    A shareholder who is a legal entity able to benefit from the European Parent-Subsidiary Directive (+ EEE and Switzerland), that owns or promises to own on the date of the dividend distribution, for at least twelve months, a holding of at least 10%
    or an acquisition price of at least 1.2 million euros
    – Exoneration from tax withheld at source in Luxembourg

    Agenda
    28/04/25: Annual Shareholders Meeting 2024
    24/07/25: Publication of Q2 2025 Revenue

    About Sword Group

    Sword has 3,500+ IT/Digital specialists active in 50+ countries to accompany you in the growth of your organisation in the digital age.

    As a leader in technological and digital transformation, Sword has a solid reputation in complex IT & business project management.

    Sword optimises your processes and enhances your data.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Security: Building capacity to combat illicit cultural heritage trafficking with the EuroMed Justice Project

    Source: Eurojust

    The TAF activity, which was organised upon request from Egyptian and Cypriot authorities, brought together 35 participants from Algeria, Belgium, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Palestine*, Switzerland and the United Kingdom to share strategies and best practices in combating the illicit trade. The activity was officially opened and attended by the Ambassador of Cyprus to Egypt, the Deputy Head of the European Delegation in Cairo and high level representatives from Egypt. The Country representatives shared case studies and success stories, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of their efforts to protect cultural heritage.

    The illicit trafficking of cultural goods has become a lucrative business for organised crime. It can be used for money laundering, sanctions evasion, and terrorism financing, and comes with a devastating cost. To combat this, the TAF activity facilitated cooperation and knowledge-sharing among stakeholders.

    In addition to the sharing of case studies and success stories, the participants also gained insights from presentations delivered by the representative of the Eurojust Anti-Trafficking Team, as well as several international organizations (Council of Europe, UNICRI, and UNODC). Bilateral meetings were also arranged alongside the main activity.

    By sharing knowledge and expertise, the gathering has set the stage for enhanced cooperation and collaboration to combat illicit cultural heritage trafficking.

    The EuroMed Justice project aims to develop sustainable cooperation mechanisms for cross-border judicial cooperation in criminal matters between Member States of the European Union and the South Partner Countries. It organises TAF activities upon request of participating authorities in order to provide tailored support to activities and actions.

    *This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI: Pioneering Swiss Law Firm OBERSON ABELS Goes Live on iManage Cloud

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CHICAGO, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — iManage, the company dedicated to Making Knowledge Work™, today announced that leading Swiss law firm OBERSON ABELS SA has successfully gone live on iManage Cloud, becoming the first Swiss law firm to adopt iManage Work from the company’s newly launched Cloud Region in Switzerland.

    The firm transitioned from on-premises solutions to iManage Cloud, attracted by its proven, market-recognized platform now available through a Swiss-based Cloud Region. The shift gives the firm a competitive edge by eliminating the burden of on-premises hardware, enhancing security and resilience, and improving efficiency for its legal professionals—while also laying the groundwork for adopting advanced capabilities like AI.

    “OBERSON ABELS is proud to be the first law firm on the Swiss-hosted instance of iManage Cloud,” said Pierre-Marie Glauser, Co-Managing Partner, OBERSON ABELS. “When we decided to move away from on-premises document and email management, we did a thorough marketplace review and found the iManage knowledge work platform to be both powerful and intuitive, while fully meeting all our regional security requirements. Choosing iManage Cloud opens an exciting new era for us, where we can enhance our expertise and skills with industry-leading technology and deliver optimal outcomes for our clients.”

    OBERSON ABELS has approximately 90 users across four different offices accessing the iManage knowledge work platform through iManage Cloud. To assist in its migration to iManage Cloud, OBERSON ABELS SA worked with local iManage partner Eficio.

    “We were pleased to use our 20 years of experience and unique know-how within the legal field to successfully migrate OBERSON ABELS to iManage Cloud,” said Emmanuel Potvin, CEO at Eficio. “With iManage Cloud, OBERSON ABELS has equipped its interdisciplinary teams with a comprehensive knowledge work platform that will enable them to collaborate and be productive from anywhere, on any device, safely and securely.”

    iManage offers customers ten global iManage Cloud Regions to choose from, including the new Swiss region. Built on Microsoft Azure, each iManage Cloud Region consists of three independent data centers, for maximum security, performance, and reliability.

    “OBERSON ABELS’ decision to adopt iManage Cloud reflects their innovative and visionary mindset,” said Chris RuBert, Executive Vice President of Cloud Operations & Support Services, at iManage. “At iManage, we place the utmost importance on data security and are continually investing in ways to meet the highest standards. With our new Swiss Cloud Region, we’re able to deliver our trusted platform in compliance with local data residency requirements—opening the door for more Swiss firms to confidently adopt iManage.”

    About iManage
    iManage is dedicated to Making Knowledge Work™. Our cloud-native platform is at the center of the knowledge economy, enabling every organization to work more productively, collaboratively, and securely. Built on more than 20 years of industry experience, iManage helps leading organizations manage documents and emails more efficiently, protect vital information assets, and leverage knowledge to drive better business outcomes. As your strategic business partner, we employ our award-winning AI-enabled technology, an extensive partner ecosystem, and a customer-centric approach to provide support and guidance you can trust to make knowledge work for you. iManage is relied on by more than one million professionals at 4,000 organizations around the world. Visit www.imanage.com to learn more.

    Follow iManage via:
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/imanage
    X: https://x.com/imanageinc
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@iManage 

    Press contact:
    Alicia Saragosa, iManage
    press@imanage.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why do scientists want to spend billions on a 70-year project in an enormous tunnel under the Swiss Alps?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tessa Charles, Accelerator Physicist, Monash University

    An artist’s impression of the tunnel of the proposed Future Circular Collider. CERN

    The Large Hadron Collider has been responsible for astounding advances in physics: the discovery of the elusive, long-sought Higgs boson as well as other new exotic particles, possible hints of new forces of nature, and more.

    Located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on the border of France and Switzerland, the LHC is expected to run for another 15 years. Nevertheless, physicists are already planning what will come after it.

    One of the most favoured proposals for CERN’s next step is the 70-year Future Circular Collider (FCC) project. More than three times the size of the LHC, this enormous proposed machine promises to resolve some mysteries of the universe – and undoubtedly reveal some new ones.

    What will the Future Circular Collider do?

    The LHC, which occupies a circular tunnel 27 kilometres in circumference, is currently the largest machine in the world. The FCC would be housed in a much larger 91km tunnel in the Geneva basin between the Jura mountains and the Alps.

    The first stage of the FCC would be the construction and operation of a collider for electrons (the lightweight particles that make up the outer shell of atoms) and positrons (the antimatter mirror images of electrons). This collider would allow more precise measurements of the Higgs boson.

    The planned Future Circular Collider would occupy a tunnel 91 kilometres long, dwarfing the 27-kilometre Large Hadron Collider.
    CERN

    The second stage would be a collider for protons (heavier particles found in the cores of atoms). The LHC already collides protons, but the new collider would accelerate the protons up to more than seven times as much energy.

    This increase in collision energy allows for the discovery of particles never produced by humanity before. It also brings with it technical challenges, such as the development of high-powered superconducting magnets.

    Known unknowns

    The most high-profile result from the LHC has been the discovery of the Higgs boson, which lets us explain why particles in the universe have mass: they interact with the so-called Higgs field which permeates all of space.

    This was a great victory for what we call the Standard Model. This is the theory that, to the best of our current knowledge, explains all the fundamental particles in the universe and their interactions.

    However, the Standard Model has significant weaknesses, and leaves some crucial questions unanswered.

    The FCC promises to answer some of these questions.

    Collisions between high-energy particles may shed light on several unanswered questions of physics.
    CERN

    For example, we know the Higgs field can explain the mass of heavy particles. However, it is possible that a completely different mechanism provides mass to lighter particles.

    We also want to know whether the Higgs field gives mass to the Higgs boson itself. To answer these Higgs questions we will need the higher energies that the FCC will provide.

    The FCC will also let us take a closer look at the interactions of very heavy quarks. (Quarks are the tiniest components of protons and some other particles.) We hope this may shed light on the question of why the universe contains so much more matter than antimatter.

    And the FCC will help us look for new particles that might be dark matter, a mysterious substance that seems to pervade the universe.

    Of course, there is no guarantee that the FCC will provide the answers to these questions. That is the nature of curiosity-driven research. You know the journey, but not the destination.

    Competing colliders

    The FCC is not the only major particle physics project under consideration.

    Another is a proposed 20-kilometre machine called the International Linear Collider, which would likely be built in Japan.

    The US has several projects on the go, mainly detectors of various kinds. It also supports an “offshore Higgs factory”, located in Europe or Japan.

    One project that may concern the FCC’s backers is the planned 100 kilometre Chinese Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), which has significant similarities to the FCC.

    This poses a dilemma for Europe: if China goes ahead with their project, is the FCC still worthwhile? On the other hand, CERN chief Fabiola Gianotti has argued that the FCC is necessary to keep up with China.

    High costs

    The decision on the FCC won’t be taken lightly, given the large cost associated with the project.

    CERN estimates the first stage will cost 15 billion Swiss francs (around US$18 billion or A$28 billion at current exchange rates), spread out over 12 years. One third of this cost is the tunnel construction.

    The size of the sum has attracted criticism. However, a CERN spokesperson told the Agence France-Press that up to 80% of the cost would be covered by the organisation’s current annual budget.

    The second stage of FCC, which would reuse the 91km tunnel as well as some existing LHC infrastructure, is currently estimated to cost 19 billion Swiss francs. This costing carries a large uncertainty, as the second stage would not be commissioned until 2070 at the earliest.

    Benefits beyond science

    Pure science has not been the only benefit of the LHC. There have been plenty of practical technological spinoffs, from medical technology to open and free software.

    One specific example is the Medipix chips developed for a detector at the LHC, which are now used across multiple areas in medical imaging and material science.

    For the past 70 years, CERN has served as a fantastic model for peaceful and efficient international collaboration. Beyond its astonishing scientific output, it has also produced significant advances in engineering that have spread through society. Building the FCC will be an investment in both technology and curiosity.

    Tessa Charles has previously received funding through an EU Horizon 2020 project, the FCC Innovation Study (FCCIS).

    Ulrik Egede receives funding from the Australian Research Council to carry out research at the Large Hadron Collider. He is representing southeast Asia and Australia/NZ on the International Committee of Future Accelerators.

    ref. Why do scientists want to spend billions on a 70-year project in an enormous tunnel under the Swiss Alps? – https://theconversation.com/why-do-scientists-want-to-spend-billions-on-a-70-year-project-in-an-enormous-tunnel-under-the-swiss-alps-254577

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI: WISeKey, SEALSQ, OISTE Foundation, and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Unite to Launch HUMAN-AI-T, a Global Initiative to Embed Humanity into Artificial Intelligence UNAOC AI for #OneHumanity: Human-Centered Artificial Intell

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WISeKey, SEALSQ, OISTE Foundation, and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Unite to Launch HUMAN-AI-T, a Global Initiative to Embed Humanity into Artificial Intelligence
    UNAOC AI for #OneHumanity: Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

    Geneva, Switzerland, April 17, 2025 –WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”) (SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), a leading global cybersecurity, blockchain, and IoT company, its subsidiary SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, the OISTE Foundation, and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) today announced that are joining forces with leading global institutions, innovators, and thought leaders to launch HUMAN-AI-T, a pioneering initiative that places humanity at the heart of artificial intelligence.

    In 2022, during the early stages of artificial intelligence’s emergence, the Onuart Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG), and the Government of Spain (including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State for Digitalization), organized the First Global Dialogue on AI at the United Nations in Geneva. The event, held on October 10 and 11 in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room (also known as the “Spain Room at the UN”), brought together high-level global speakers such as Dr. Rafael Yuste, Director of the U.S. Brain Initiative, and Mr. Carlos Moreira, CEO of WISeKey. It was opened by Dr. Amandeep Gill, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology; Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for UNAOC; Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of UNOG; as well as Ms. Carmen Artigas, Spain’s Secretary of State for Digitalization, and Ms. Ángeles Moreno Bau, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The meeting concluded with the approval of a manifesto signed by all participants, addressing the emergence of new human rights frameworks in the era of AI.

    Codenamed HUMAN-AI-T, the initiative seeks to develop a universal AI platform rooted in the collective wisdom, ethical principles, and cultural richness of human civilization. By drawing on verified and ethically sourced knowledge—ranging from religious texts and philosophical treatises to indigenous traditions and legal doctrines—this platform will become a digital vault preserving and promoting the values that unite humanity.

    Inspired by the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, HUMAN-AI-T will act as a secure repository of humanity’s ethical DNA. All content will be digitally signed and protected using advanced post-quantum cryptographic technologies developed by WISeKey and SEALSQ, ensuring trust, traceability, and resilience for generations to come.

    The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations plays a foundational role in HUMAN-AI-T. Guided by its principle of “Many Cultures, One Humanity,” UNAOC will embed intercultural and interreligious dialogue into the AI’s core, creating a system that reflects humanity’s diverse voices while reinforcing shared values of peace, dignity, and inclusion.

    This initiative comes at a crucial moment, as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and quantum computing draw closer to reality. The possibility of superintelligent systems operating beyond human oversight raises profound ethical concerns. HUMAN-AI-T proactively addresses these risks by ensuring that such systems are anchored in universal ethics and human-centered safeguards.

    “We are entering an era where machines may become more intelligent than their creators. If we do not act now, we risk building technologies that evolve beyond our moral control,” said Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of WISeKey. “HUMAN-AI-T is our response to this challenge. It is not just about creating smarter machines, but about ensuring those machines remain aligned with the best of what makes us human.”

    The initiative supports the vision outlined in the United Nations General Assembly’s historic resolution advocating for safe, secure, and trustworthy AI systems. HUMAN-AI-T reinforces this mission by transforming AI into a global moral infrastructure, a platform that enhances human potential, safeguards dignity, and reclaims the future of technology for the common good.

    Through this bold collaboration, HUMAN-AI-T is poised to redefine the future of artificial intelligence, turning it from a source of disruption into a beacon of ethical progress for all of humanity.

    The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is a United Nations entity that builds bridges between societies, promotes dialogue and understanding, and seeks to forge the collective political will required to accomplish these tasks. UNAOC works as a convener and facilitator to bring all sectors of society together to strengthen intercultural and interreligious dialogue to diminish hostility, and promote mutual respect and harmony among the people and cultures of the world.

    #HUMANAIT #QuantumRisks #AGI #AIForGood #OneHumanity #TrustedAI #EthicalAI

    About WISeKey

    WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”, SIX: WIHN; Nasdaq: WKEY) is a global leader in cybersecurity, digital identity, and IoT solutions platform. It operates as a Swiss-based holding company through several operational subsidiaries, each dedicated to specific aspects of its technology portfolio. The subsidiaries include (i) SEALSQ Corp (Nasdaq: LAES), which focuses on semiconductors, PKI, and post-quantum technology products, (ii) WISeKey SA which specializes in RoT and PKI solutions for secure authentication and identification in IoT, Blockchain, and AI, (iii) WISeSat AG which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, specifically for IoT applications, (iv) WISe.ART Corp which focuses on trusted blockchain NFTs and operates the WISe.ART marketplace for secure NFT transactions, and (v) SEALCOIN AG which focuses on decentralized physical internet with DePIN technology and house the development of the SEALCOIN platform.

    Each subsidiary contributes to WISeKey’s mission of securing the internet while focusing on their respective areas of research and expertise. Their technologies seamlessly integrate into the comprehensive WISeKey platform. WISeKey secures digital identity ecosystems for individuals and objects using Blockchain, AI, and IoT technologies. With over 1.6 billion microchips deployed across various IoT sectors, WISeKey plays a vital role in securing the Internet of Everything. The company’s semiconductors generate valuable Big Data that, when analyzed with AI, enable predictive equipment failure prevention. Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey cryptographic Root of Trust, WISeKey provides secure authentication and identification for IoT, Blockchain, and AI applications. The WISeKey Root of Trust ensures the integrity of online transactions between objects and people. For more information on WISeKey’s strategic direction and its subsidiary companies, please visit www.wisekey.com.

    Disclaimer
    This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (“FinSA”), the FinSa’s predecessor legislation or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

    Press and Investor Contacts

    WISeKey International Holding Ltd
    Company Contact: Carlos Moreira
    Chairman & CEO
    Tel: +41 22 594 3000
    info@wisekey.com 
    WISeKey Investor Relations (US) 
    The Equity Group Inc.
    Lena Cati
    Tel: +1 212 836-9611
    lcati@equityny.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Announces New US$75 Million Credit Facility

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    CALGARY, Alberta, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (“Gran Tierra” or the “Company”) (NYSE American:GTE)(TSX:GTE)(LSE:GTE) today announced that it has, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Gran Tierra Energy Colombia GmbH, a Swiss limited liability company, entered into a reserve-based lending facility with commitments of up to US$75 million as of the date hereof (the “closing date”). The new facility has a final maturity date in 36 months from the closing date.

    Ryan Ellson, Chief Financial Officer of Gran Tierra, commented today:

    “We are very pleased to have successfully closed a new credit facility which enhances our liquidity and underscores the strength and resilience of our business. Securing this facility during a period of market volatility is a testament to the quality of our assets, the consistency of our cash flow generation, and the confidence our partners have in Gran Tierra’s strategy. This facility supports our continued commitment to strengthening our balance sheet, enhancing operational flexibility, and delivering long-term value to all stakeholders.”

    Highlights of the new facility include:

    • A commitment of US$75 million, redetermined annually (beginning May 1, 2026)
    • Interest payable on the facility is based on a Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus a margin of 4.50% per annum
    • Final maturity date of 36 months from the closing date
    • All outstanding principal, interest, and other payment obligations are due on the maturity date with option to prepay without prepayment penalty
    • The loan is secured by, among other things, the economic rights over certain contracts together with Gran Tierra’s Colombian commercial establishment

    Contact Information

    For investor and media inquiries please contact:

    Gary Guidry
    President & Chief Executive Officer

    Ryan Ellson
    Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

    +1-403-265-3221

    info@grantierra.com

    About Gran Tierra Energy Inc.

    Gran Tierra Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is an independent international energy company currently focused on oil and natural gas exploration and production in Canada, Colombia and Ecuador. The Company is currently developing its existing portfolio of assets in Canada, Colombia and Ecuador and will continue to pursue additional new growth opportunities that would further strengthen the Company’s portfolio. The Company’s common stock trades on the NYSE American, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GTE. Additional information concerning Gran Tierra is available at www.grantierra.com. Except to the extent expressly stated otherwise, information on the Company’s website or accessible from our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference into and should not be considered part of this press release. Investor inquiries may be directed to info@grantierra.com or (403) 265-3221.

    Gran Tierra’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) are available on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company’s Canadian securities regulatory filings are available on SEDAR+ at http://www.sedarplus.ca and UK regulatory filings are available on the National Storage Mechanism website at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

    Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release, and those statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “target,” “goal,” “guidance,” “budget,” “plan,” “objective,” “potential,” or similar expressions or variations on these expressions are forward-looking statements. The Company can give no assurances that the assumptions upon which the forward-looking statements are based will prove to be correct or that, even if correct, intervening circumstances will not occur to cause actual results to be different than expected. Because forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. There are a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact and benefits of the new credit facility and the crude oil sales contracts; the nature of the Company’s relationship with Trafigura; the Company’s cash flows and liquidity; and those factors set out in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and in the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The information included herein is given as of the date of this press release and, except as otherwise required by the securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to, or to withdraw, any forward-looking statement contained in this press release to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: The Board of Directors has resolved to carry out directed issues of units totaling approximately SEK 25 million and a fully underwritten rights issue of units of approximately SEK 15 million

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SINGAPORE, SOUTH AFRICA, SOUTH KOREA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR ANY OTHER MEASURES. PLEASE REFER TO IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT THE END OF THE PRESS RELEASE.

    The Board of Directors of Terranet AB (”Terranet” or the ”Company”) has today, April 16 2025, with authorization from the annual general meeting on May 21, 2024, decided to carry out a directed issue of 2,956,297 units consisting of B-shares and warrants of series TO9 B to a number of qualified investors of approximately SEK 8.8 million (the “First Directed Issue”). The Board of Directors of the Company has further, subject to subsequent approval by the Annual General Meeting, resolved on a directed issue of 5,461,210 units consisting of B-shares and warrants of series TO9 B to members of the Company’s Board of Directors and management as well as external investors, of approximately SEK 16.2 million (the “Second Directed Issue” and together with the First Directed Issue, the “Directed Issues”). One unit in the Directed Issues consists of thirty-three (33) B-shares and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B. To compensate the shareholders who do not participate in the Directed Issues, the Board of Directors of Terranet, subject to subsequent approval by the Annual General Meeting, has resolved on a fully secured rights issue of a maximum of 13,880,714 units consisting of B-shares and warrants of series TO9 B, which, if fully subscribed, will provide the Company with approximately SEK 15 million before deduction of issue costs (the “Rights Issue”). One unit in the Rights Issue consists of twelve (12) B-shares and three (3) warrants of series TO9 B. The Directed Issues and the Rights Issue are carried out at the same subscription price, with the subscription price set at SEK 0.09 per B-share. Through the Directed Issues, Terranet will raise approximately SEK 25 million before deduction of issue costs, and upon full subscription of the Rights Issue, Terranet will raise approximately SEK 15 million before deduction of issue costs. The notice to the Annual General Meeting will be published through a separate press release.

    Comments from Management
    “We are at a very exciting stage as we intensify our commercialization journey with the goal of signing our first agreement to initiate commercialization during this year. In 2024, Terranet achieved success and delivered on previously set milestones with excellence, laying the foundation for the collaborations and ongoing dialogues with leading industrial players in the market. The capital raise enables us to take the next step from a development-stage company to a commercial enterprise, and I see this as an attractive opportunity to personally take part in this journey together with well-renowned investors who recognize the strong potential of Terranet’s technology”, says Lars Lindell, CEO of Terranet.

    Comments from the Board of Directors
    “We are grateful for the strong confidence shown by our shareholders. Their support has enabled a capital raise on favorable terms with committed and reputable investors, despite an eventful and volatile stock market. Given full subscription of the issued warrants, the capital raise secures our liquidity through the second quarter of 2026. This strengthens our negotiating position and provides a solid foundation for converting the potential and interest in our technology into real shareholder value”, says Torgny Hellström, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Terranet.

    Summary of the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue:

    • The First Directed Issue comprises a maximum of 2,956,297 units. Subscribers in the First Directed Issue include, among others, Hunter Capital AB (publ) (“Hunter”). One unit in the First Directed Issue consists of thirty-three (33) B-shares and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B. The subscription price in the First Directed Issue is SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which represents a premium of approximately 4.0 percent compared to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s B-share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market between April 7, 2025, and April 11, 2025. The First Directed Issue will provide Terranet with approximately SEK 8.8 million before deduction of issue costs.
    • The Second Directed Issue comprises a maximum of 5,461,210 units and is directed to members of the Board of Directors, management, and external investors, including Johannes Schildt (one of the founders of Kry), White Eye AB, and Scan Invest Limited (“Scan”). One unit in the Second Directed Issue consists of thirty-three (33) B-shares and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B. The subscription price in the Second Directed Issue is SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which is the same subscription price as in the First Directed Issue. The Second Directed Issue will provide Terranet with approximately SEK 16.2 million before deduction of issue costs.
    • The Board of Director’s resolution on the Second Directed Issue is conditional upon approval by the Annual General Meeting, scheduled for May 23, 2025. Notice of the Annual General Meeting will be published through a separate press release.
    • The Rights Issue comprises a maximum of 13,880,714 units. One unit in the Rights Issue consists of twelve (12) B-shares and three (3) warrants of series TO9 B. The warrants are issued free of charge.
    • The subscription price per unit in the Rights Issue is SEK 1.08 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share. The subscription price per B-share is the same as in the Directed Issues. Upon full subscription, the Rights Issue will provide Terranet with approximately SEK 15 million before deduction of issue costs.
    • The right to subscribe for units in the Rights Issue shall, with preferential rights, be granted to shareholders in proportion to the number of B-shares they already own, where one (1) existing B-share entitles the holder to one (1) unit right, and eighty-six (86) unit rights entitle the holder to subscribe for one (1) unit.
    • The last day of trading in Terranet’s B-shares including the right to receive unit rights in the Rights Issue is April 25, 2025. The B-shares will be traded excluding the right to receive unit rights from April 28, 2025.
    • The subscription period for the Rights Issue runs from May 27, 2025, up to and including June 11, 2025.
    • The Rights Issue is covered by subscription commitments of approximately SEK 35.2 thousand, corresponding to 0.2 percent of the Rights Issue, and underwriting commitments of approximately SEK 15 million, corresponding to approximately 99.8 percent of the Rights Issue. Thus, the Rights Issue is covered to 100 percent by subscription commitments and underwriting commitments. Hunter has entered into a underwriting commitment amounting to approximately SEK 7.5 million. Furthermore, Scan has also entered into a underwriting commitment amounting to approximately SEK 7.5 million.
    • The full terms and conditions of the Rights Issue, including additional information about the Company, will be available in an information memorandum expected to be published around May 26, 2025 (the “Memorandum”).
    • The purpose of the Rights Issue is to finance the continued development of the BlincVision product, prepare for future commercialization, and repay an existing interest-bearing debt of approximately SEK 8 million.

    Background and rationale in summary
    Terranet is in an expansion phase with the development of BlincVision and has achieved several important milestones in 2024, including successful tests and partnerships with leading players in the automotive industry. To take the next step, financing is required to complete the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and continue the development towards volume production in collaboration with potential future partners.

    In order to carry out the necessary development work required to commercialize BlincVision and repay the Company’s outstanding interest-bearing debt of approximately SEK 8 million, the Board of Directors of Terranet has identified a need for additional capital. Therefore, the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue are being carried out. The proceeds from the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue will primarily be used for:

    •        Repayment of outstanding loans, approximately 20 percent.
    •        External development costs for components for BlincVision, approximately 25 percent.
    •     In-house development work as well as market and sales activities for BlincVision, approximately 25 percent.
    •        Investments in tangible fixed assets, approximately 10 percent.
    •        Working capital, approximately 20 percent.

    The First Directed Issue
    The Board of Directors of Terranet has today, with the support of the authorization from the Annual General Meeting on May 21, 2024, resolved to carry out the First Directed Issue, which comprises a maximum of 2,956,297 units at a subscription price of SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share. Each unit in the First Directed Issue consists of thirty-three (33) B-shares and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B. The warrants are issued free of charge. Through the First Directed Issue, the Company will raise approximately SEK 8.8 million before issue costs. The right to subscribe for units will be granted exclusively, deviating from shareholders’ preferential rights, to Hunter and Milad Pournouri.

    The Board of Directors has placed great emphasis on ensuring that the subscription price for the First Directed Issue is market-based in relation to the current share price. After negotiations at arm’s length between the Company and the intended investors, the subscription price has been set at SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which represents a premium of approximately 4.0 percent compared to the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s B-share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market between April 7, 2025, and April 11, 2025. Considering this, the Board of Directors concludes that the subscription price is market-based and reflects the demand for the Company’s B-shares.

    The Second Directed Issue
    Further, the Board of Terranet has today, subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting scheduled for May 23, 2025, resolved to carry out the Second Directed Issue. The Second Directed Issue comprises a total of 5,461,210 units and is being implemented, among other things, to enable subscriptions by members of the Company’s Board of Directors and management. Since members of the Company’s board of directors and management are subject to Chapter 16 of the Swedish Companies Act (2005:551) (the so-called Leo Act), the Second Directed Issue requires approval from a shareholders’ meeting in the Company. For the decision of the shareholders’ meeting to be valid, at least nine-tenths of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting must vote in favor of the decision. Following approval at the Annual General Meeting, the right to subscribe for units in the Second Directed Issue will be granted to CEO Lars Lindell, CFO Dan Wahrenberg, CCO Jonas Renander, CTO Pierre Ekwall, Chairman of the Board Torgny Hellström, and Board member Magnus Edman, as well as the current shareholder Oliver Aleksov and external investors Johannes Schildt, White Eye AB, Scan, Alex Ghafori, and Max Björs.

    The subscription price for the Second Directed Issue is SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per share, which is the same subscription price as in the First Directed Issue. Through the Second Directed Issue, Terranet will raise approximately SEK 16.2 million before issue costs. Each unit in the Second Directed Issue consists of thirty-three (33) B-shares and five (5) warrants of series TO9 B. The warrants are issued free of charge.

    Deviation from shareholder’ preferential rights
    The reasons for the deviation from shareholders’ preferential rights and the targeting of the Directed Issues to the Board of Directors, management, existing shareholders, and qualified investors are as follows. Prior to the decision on the Directed Issues, the board carefully examined and considered alternative financing options, including raising capital solely through a rights issue. However, after a comprehensive assessment and considering that a directed issue allows the Company to receive capital sooner, the Board of Directors believes that new issues carried out with a deviation from shareholders’ preferential rights, combined with a rights issue, are a more favorable option for the Company and its shareholders than a rights issue alone. Therefore, the Board of Directors’ assessment is that it is in the best interests of both the Company and its shareholders to proceed with the Directed Issues.

    The reason the Directed Issues is aimed at selected institutional and private investors is that such an issue further diversifies and strengthens the Company’s shareholder base. The reason why one existing shareholder is given the opportunity to participate is that this investor has been a shareholder in the Company for a long period and continues to show great interest in the Company. All of the investors in the Directed Issues have expressed long-term interest and commitment to the Company, which the Board of Directors believes provides security and stability for both the Company and its shareholders. At the same time, other shareholders are given the opportunity to subscribe to units on the same terms through the Rights Issue.

    The Company is in an important phase and requires financing to ensure its long-term operations. According to the Board of Directors’ assessment, a more extensive and isolated rights issue would require significantly more time and resources to execute and would also entail a higher risk of a negative impact on the share price, particularly considering the current volatile and challenging market conditions. From a shareholder perspective, an isolated rights issue thus poses a risk of a negative effect on the share price compared to a directed issue combined with a rights issue. In view of the market volatility, the Board of Directors has assessed that a rights issue, without the Directed Issues, would need to be considerably larger and would therefore also require greater underwriting commitments from an underwriting consortium, which would result in additional costs and/or further dilution depending on the type of compensation for such underwriting.

    Considering the above, the Board of Directors’ collective assessment is that the reasons for carrying out the Directed Issues in combination with a compensation issue in the form of the Rights Issue outweigh the reasons for conducting a more extensive isolated rights issue.

    The Board of Directors has, in connection with the decisions on the Directed Issues, placed significant emphasis on ensuring that the subscription price is market-based in relation to the prevailing share price. After arm’s length negotiations between the company and the qualified investors, the subscription price has been set at SEK 2.97 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which represents a premium of approximately 4.0 percent compared to the volume-weighted average price of the company’s B-share on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market between April 7, 2025, and April 11, 2025. Considering this, the board assesses that the subscription price is market-based and reflects the demand for the company’s B-shares.

    The Rights Issue
    To compensate shareholders who do not participate in the Directed Issues, the Board of Directors, subject to subsequent approval by the annual general meeting, has decided to carry out the Rights Issue of up to 13,880,714 units, which, if fully subscribed, could raise approximately SEK 15 million before deduction of issue costs. One unit in the Rights Issue consists of twelve (12) B-shares and three (3) warrants of series TO9 B. The warrants are issued free of charge.

    Those who are registered as shareholders in Terranet on the record date of April 29, 2025 will receive one (1) unit right for each (1) existing B-share, and eighty-six (86) unit rights will entitle the holder to subscribe for one (1) unit. The subscription price in the Rights Issue will be SEK 1.08 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which is the same subscription price as in the Directed Issues. Participants in the Directed Issues will not receive any unit rights in the Rights Issue for the units subscribed through the Directed Issues.

    In the event that not all units are subscribed through the exercise of unit rights, the Board of Directors will decide on the allocation of units subscribed without the support of unit rights, within the framework of the maximum amount of the Rights Issue. The allocation will be made as follows:

    • First, allocation will be made to those who have subscribed for units using unit rights, regardless of whether the subscriber was a shareholder on the record date. In case of over-subscription relative to the number of unit rights each person used for subscription, allocation will be made based on the number of unit rights exercised, and if this cannot be done, by drawing lots.
    • Second, allocation will be made to others who have subscribed for units without the support of unit rights. If they cannot receive full allocation, it will be done based on the number of units they have subscribed for, and if this cannot be done, by drawing lots.
    • Lastly, any remaining units will be allocated to the underwriters who have entered into underwriting commitments in relation to the size of their respective underwriting commitments, and if this cannot be done, by drawing lots.

    The subscription period will run from May 27, 2025, up to and including June 11, 2025. Trading in unit rights will take place on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market from May 27, 2025, up to and including June 5, 2025, and trading in BTU (paid subscribed units) will take place on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market from May 27, 2025, up to and including June 30, 2025.

    The Company will prepare and publish the Memorandum in connection with the Rights Issue.

    Warrants of series TO9 B
    Each warrant of series TO9 B gives the right to subscribe for one (1) new B-share in the Company. One (1) warrant of series TO9 B entitles the holder to subscribe for one (1) B-share in the Company at a subscription price of SEK 0.18 (equivalent to 200% of the subscription price per B-share in the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue). The subscription for B-shares using the warrants of series TO9 B will take place during the period from December 1, 2025, up to and including December 15, 2025.

    If all warrants of series TO9 B are fully utilized within the framework of the units offered, the Company may receive an additional maximum of approximately SEK 15.1 million. The warrants are intended to be admitted to trading on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market.

    Subscription commitments and underwriting commitments
    The Rights Issue is covered by 0.2 percent of subscription commitments, corresponding to approximately SEK 35.2 thousand, and by approximately 99.8 percent of underwriting commitments, corresponding to approximately SEK 15 million. Hunter has entered into a underwriting commitment amounting to approximately SEK 7.5 million. Furthermore, Scan has also entered into a underwriting commitment amounting to approximately SEK 7.5 million.Thus, the Rights Issue is fully covered by subscription commitments and underwriting commitments. The entered subscription commitments and underwriting commitments are not secured by bank guarantees, pledges, or similar arrangements. Subscription commitments have been entered into by Chairman of the Board of Directors Torgny Hellström, CFO Dan Wahrenberg, and CTO Pierre Ekwall. For the underwriting commitments, a underwriting compensation of twelve (12) percent of the underwritten amount will be paid in the form of units. The subscription price for the underwriting compensation amounts to SEK 1.08 per unit, corresponding to SEK 0.09 per B-share, which is the same as the subscription price in the Rights Issue. No compensation is paid for the subscription commitments that have been entered into.

    The Board considers it favorable for the Company to offer compensation to the underwriters in the form of units instead of cash, as it positively impacts the Company’s liquidity. The subscription price in the directed issue to the underwriters was negotiated at arm’s length during the arrangement of the underwriting commitments, in consultation with the financial advisor and after an analysis of usual market factors.

    Shares, share capital and dilution
    Through the First Directed Issue, the number of B-shares in the Company will increase by 97,557,801 B-shares, from 1,193,741,451 B-shares to 1,291,299,252 B-shares. The Company’s share capital will thus increase by SEK 975,578.010, from SEK 11,937,414.510 to SEK 12,912,992.520. The newly issued shares in the First Directed Issue will result in a total dilution effect of approximately 7.6 percent of the number of B-shares and votes in the Company.

    Through the Second Directed Issue, the number of B-shares in the Company will increase by 180,219,930 B-shares, from 1,291,299,252 B-shares to 1,471,519,182 B-shares. The Company’s share capital will increase by SEK 1,802,199.300, from SEK 12,912,992.520 to SEK 14,715,191.820. The newly issued shares in the Second Directed Issue will result in a further dilution effect of approximately 12.2 percent of the number of B-shares and votes in the Company. The dilution effect, the specified number of B-shares and the share capital before and after the Second Directed Issue, consider the B-shares issued in the First Directed Issue.

    The Directed Issues will result in a total dilution effect of 18.9 percent of the number of B-shares and votes in the Company. Through the Directed Issues, the number of B-shares in the Company will increase by 277,777,731 B-shares, from 1,193,741,451 B-shares to 1,471,519,182 B-shares. The Company’s share capital will thus increase by SEK 2,777,777.310, from SEK 11,937,414.510 to SEK 14,715,191.820.

    Upon full subscription in the Rights Issue, the number of B-shares in Terranet will increase by up to an additional 166,568,568 B-shares, from 1,471,519,182 B-shares to 1,638,087,750 B-shares, and the share capital will increase by up to SEK 1,665,685.680, from SEK 14,715,191.820 to SEK 16,380,877.500. For existing shareholders who do not participate in the Rights Issue, this corresponds to an additional dilution effect of approximately 10.2 percent of the votes and share capital in the Company upon full subscription.

    The total dilution effect from full subscription in the Rights Issue, together with the Directed Issues, amounts to approximately 27.1 percent.

    Upon full exercise of all warrants of series TO9 B within the scope of the offered units, the number of B-shares in Terranet will increase by up to an additional maximum of 83,729,677 B-shares, from 1,638,087,750 B-shares to 1,721,817,427 B-shares, and the share capital will increase by up to SEK 837,296.770, from SEK 16,380,877.500 to SEK 17,218,174.270. Full exercise of all warrants of series TO9 B would result in an additional dilution effect of up to 4.9 percent.

    Preliminary timetable for the Rights Issue

    April 25, 2025 Last day of trading in B-shares including the right to receive unit rights
    April 28, 2025 First day of trading in B-shares excluding the right to receive unit rights
    April 29, 2025 Record date for the Rights Issue
    May 26, 2025 Disclosure of the Memorandum
    May 27, 2025 – June 5, 2025 Trading with unit rights
    May 27, 2025 – June 11, 2025 Subscripition period
    May 27, 2025 – June 30, 2025 Trading in paid subscribed units (BTU)
    June 13, 2025 Preliminary date for publication of the outcome in the Rights Issue

    Annual General Meeting
    The Board of Directors’ resolution regarding the Second Directed Issue and the Rights Issue is subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting, which will be held on May 23, 2025. A notice of the Annual General Meeting will be published in a separate press release.

    The Memorandum
    The complete terms and conditions of the Rights Issue, as well as other information about the Company, will be set out in the Memorandum, which will be published by the Company prior to the commencement of the subscription period. The Memorandum is expected to be published on the Company’s website, www.terranet.com, around May 26, 2025.

    Advisers
    Mangold Fondkommission AB is the financial advisor to Terranet in connection with the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue. Eversheds Sutherland Advokatbyrå AB is the legal advisor to the Company in connection with the Directed Issues and the Rights Issue.

    For more information, please contact:
    Dan Wahrenberg, CFO
    E-mail: dan.wahrenberg@terranet.se

    This information is such that Terranet AB is required to make public in accordance with the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The information was made public by the Company’s contact person above on April 16, 2025, at 18:00 CET.

    About Terranet AB (publ) 
    Terranet’s goal is to save lives in urban traffic. The company develops innovative technical solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicles (AV). Terranet’s anti-collision system BlincVision laser scans and detects road objects up to ten times faster than any other ADAS technology available today.
    The company is headquartered in Lund, with offices in Gothenburg and Stuttgart. Since 2017, Terranet has been listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (Nasdaq: TERRNT-B). Follow our journey at: www.terranet.se

    Certified Adviser to Terranet is Mangold Fondkommission AB.

    Important information
    The release, announcement or distribution of this press release may, in certain jurisdictions, be subject to restrictions. The recipients of this press release in jurisdictions where this press release has been published or distributed shall inform themselves of and follow such restrictions. The recipient of this press release is responsible for using this press release, and the information contained herein, in accordance with applicable rules in each jurisdiction. This press release does not constitute an offer, or a solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities in Terranet in any jurisdiction, neither from Terranet nor anyone else.

    This press release does not constitute or form part of an offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States. The securities referred to herein may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There is no intention to register any securities referred to herein in the United States or to make a public offering of the securities in the United States. The information in this press release may not be announced, published, copied, reproduced or distributed, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, within or into Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such announcement, publication or distribution of the information would not comply with applicable laws and regulations or where such actions are subject to legal restrictions or would require additional registration or other measures than what is required under Swedish law. Actions taken in violation of this instruction may constitute a crime against applicable securities laws and regulations.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Ascom Annual General Meeting approves all proposals of the Board of Directors

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
    Baar, Switzerland, April 16, 2025

    At the Annual General Meeting held on April 16, 2025, in Zug, the shareholders of Ascom Holding AG approved by a large majority all proposals presented by the Board of Directors.

    54 shareholders attended the Annual General Meeting. In total, 20’238’079 registered shares with voting rights were represented, which corresponds to 56.22 % of the share capital. They approved all proposals of the Board of Directors including:

    • Approval of the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2024. The shareholders decided to pay out a gross dividend of CHF 0.10 per share for the 2024 financial year.
    • Approval of the 2024 Remuneration Report and Sustainability Report.
    • All members of the Board of Directors and its Chairman Dr. Valentin Chapero Rueda were re-elected for another one-year term. Nicole Burth Tschudi, Laurent Dubois, and Dr. Monika Krüsi were also re-elected to the Compensation and Nomination Committee.
    • Approval of the future remuneration for the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board.
    • Approval of an amendment to the Articles of Association stating that the company strives to create sustainable value. Furthermore, the shareholders decided to introduce a term limit of 12 years for members of the Board of Directors, while at the same time abolishing the age limit of 70 years.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Aisha Ahmad, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto

    United States President Donald Trump has been loud and clear. America’s liberal democratic allies cannot rely on the U.S. to protect them.

    Trump has also suggested using illegal force to achieve his own imperialist ambitions, even against former allies.

    Message received.

    Canadians and Europeans understand the American partnership is over.

    They’re now processing the implications of America’s apparent democratic collapse for global security.

    Does Trump’s stance mean that liberal democracies are now vulnerable to invasions, annexations and theft of natural resources? Yes, it does.




    Read more:
    An American military invasion of Canada? No longer unthinkable, but highly unlikely


    International security scholarship shows that, unless they are deterred, predatory superpowers use force to seize territory and natural resources for the purpose of aggrandizement.

    While an invasion of Canada is not imminent, the threats to democratic nations are now fully detectable and predictable.

    The responsible time to deter these threats is right now.

    Asymmetric deterrence

    Deterrence works when the imposed cost of an action is higher than its expected benefit. That means a hostile power won’t attack Canada if the risks of invasion are higher than the value of seizing our natural resources.

    Given that Canada is extremely resource-rich, that’s a challenge.

    While the Canadian government can make smart choices on military procurement, there is little any Canadian leader can do to transform the Canadian Armed Forces into a superpower army.

    Even if Canada redirected every penny of its budget to defence spending, it could not catch up with American, Russian or Chinese military power. Given this asymmetry, is deterrence possible?

    Absolutely.

    To get there, Canada must take two big steps: first, adopt a “whole-of-society” defence system to protect the homeland; and second, contribute to a democratic nuclear umbrella.




    Read more:
    Amid U.S. threats, Canada’s national security plans must include training in non-violent resistance


    Whole-of-society defence

    In “whole-of-society” defence, all citizens play a role in national security and emergency response. This approach requires mandatory military service and nationwide civil defence preparations.

    Whole-of-society defence not only improves societal resilience, but it also scares away potential invaders.

    Ordinary citizens can in fact defeat superpowers using nothing more than small arms and light weapons. The U.S. and Russia have both been trounced in the past by well-armed resistance movements.

    For a power-drunk dictator, whole-of-society defence is a sobering reality check.

    The presence of a large, well-armed and well-trained domestic population promises invaders a bloody, expensive and protracted ground war. That means high risks, low rewards, skyrocketing costs and decades-long timelines.

    That’s enough to deter a predatory superpower.




    Read more:
    Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States


    Many of Canada’s democratic allies have already embraced whole-of-society defence. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland all have mandatory military service and civil defence, and sensible gun regulations that allow law-abiding citizens to contribute to national security.

    Canada has every reason to adopt the Scandinavian approach to national defence, including mandatory military and civil service and the removal of some restrictions on Canadian firearms. An excellent model to consider is Sweden’s brand new “Total Defence” system.

    Norwegians, Finns and Swedes are peaceful people who have learned to survive next to a dangerous superpower. Canadians must look at their own vulnerabilities and see the logic and wisdom behind the Scandinavian approach.

    A democratic nuclear umbrella

    Although the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits nuclear weapons development, the Trump administration’s utter disdain for democratic allies has prompted a global rethink. Trump has demanded NATO countries stop relying on the U.S. military and spend more on their own defence.

    Nuclear weapons acquisition complies with his demand.

    Germany and Poland have reopened the nuclear debate, but most European democracies lack the materials to develop their own weapons. Instead, they are looking to France and the United Kingdom to create a new European nuclear umbrella.

    Some Canadians hope the U.K. and French umbrellas could protect Canada, too.

    That’s the wrong mentality.

    The U.K. and France have a combined 515 nuclear weapons. Russia has 5,580.

    Instead of asking the U.K. and France to further stretch their limited arsenals, Canada could step up and contribute to the solution.

    Canada is already a nuclear-threshold state with both the know-how and raw materials to develop a nuclear weapon. It would take time and money, but Canada is in a better position to help than most other European countries.

    Once across the nuclear threshold, Canada would have a bulletproof defence of its homeland. It could then work with the U.K. and France as an equal and reliable partner, contributing to a democratic nuclear umbrella to protect vulnerable allies.

    This would require formal withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but that action doesn’t need to be provocative or unilateral. Canada could co-ordinate its withdrawal with European allies as part of a collective defence of liberal democracies.

    In the face of rising tyranny and superpower conquest, Canada can either choose to be a burden on its overstretched French and British allies or a source of renewed safety for its democratic friends.

    Defending democracy

    Deterrence is hard work, but it is infinitely better than the horrors of invasion.

    Mandatory military service and nuclear weapons may be new ideas for Canadians, but other friendly democracies have been using these strategies for decades.

    The good news is that successful deterrence means stability and peace, so citizens can relax and carry on with their lives. Canadians want this safety for themselves, and for their allies, too.

    The time for Canada to act is now, when threats are foreseeable but not imminent. Waiting until an army amasses at the border is too late.

    To deter aggression, Canadians need to step up and be a little more like their Scandinavian, British and French allies. That is the price of continued freedom.

    Aisha Ahmad receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    ref. How could Canada deter an invasion? Nukes and mandatory military service – https://theconversation.com/how-could-canada-deter-an-invasion-nukes-and-mandatory-military-service-253414

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Global: King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jason Garcia-Portilla, Lecturer in Business Management, University of Winchester

    King Charles’s recent visit to the Vatican may appear to be simply a symbolic gesture of ecumenical goodwill. But moments like this provide an opportunity to look at the long-term consequences of church-state relations around the world.

    Britain, of course, has a complicated history with the Catholic church. Edward VII (Charles’s great-great-grandfather) was the first UK monarch to visit the Vatican since the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

    The UK (and much of western Europe) is largely secular today, but this is a global exception: 85% of the world’s population identifies as religious. These beliefs are often passed down through generations, not necessarily chosen freely.

    Today’s religious identities have more to do with political decisions made centuries ago than with personal faith. Spain and Portugal are predominantly Catholic not because of the individual choices of their population, but because their monarchs aligned (and maintained the hegemony) of the Roman Catholic church-state. In England, on the other hand, King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in the 1530s, challenging (“protesting”) against the universal papal authority and leading to the establishment of the Church of England.

    This religious split also carried over to former colonies. Compare the US, (a Protestant country) to Mexico or Brazil (Catholic countries), and you’ll see the long shadow of these old decisions. My research shows the profound and lasting consequences of religion on these societies.

    Diverging nations

    In my book Ye Shall Know Them by Their Fruits, I analysed data from 65 countries across Europe and the Americas using both qualitative and quantitative methods.

    My findings suggest that countries with historical and legal alignments with the Catholic church — such as Spain, Portugal, Austria, Ireland and much of Latin America — tend to underperform on a number of metrics, including inequality and education, and have more political corruption compared to states that maintained institutional separation (such as through the Protestant Reformation). Historical Protestant countries include the UK, Switzerland, Scandinavian and North American countries.

    In particular, countries with strong traditional links to the Catholic church tend to exhibit higher levels of corruption and inequality. They also perform weaker in education, sustainability and competitiveness compared to Protestant countries.

    Prosperity and educational differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics are evident even within countries. In Switzerland, the Protestant cantons (such as Geneva and Zurich) are currently the most competitive, while the Roman Catholic cantons (such as Ticino and Valais) are the least competitive. In Germany, Protestants are more educated (0.8 years more) and more prosperous (5.4% higher income) than Catholics.

    Differences in economic prosperity and education are even higher comparing data across Protestant and Catholic countries.

    Before the Reformation, literacy in England was below 10%, and the Roman church largely monopolised education. The Protestant emphasis on individual reading – especially of the Bible – dramatically increased literacy rates and access to knowledge. This paved the way for broader democratic participation, industrialisation and innovation.

    Protestantism similarly proved influential in historical law revolutions, gradually separating society from feudal institutions and papalist medieval canon law.

    In Britain, the Reformation was not just a theological shift, but a political one, breaking institutional ties with Rome and affirming national sovereignty. The long-term effects of that decision have echoed through the UK’s democratic and economic development.

    Church-state relations

    The Vatican’s political influence is often underestimated. The Roman Catholic church is the only religious body that is, at the same time, a sovereign political state – with ambassadors, diplomatic immunity and seats at international forums. The pope holds absolute executive, legislative and judicial authority.

    Many of today’s Catholic-majority countries maintain formal relations with the Roman See through bilateral treaties called concordats. These agreements exert the power of the church in countries that have them, and are rarely democratically consulted with the population.

    In Colombia, for example, concordats throughout history have linked religion and politics, have given church-influenced groups power over the economy, and allowed Rome to control what is taught in public and private education at all levels.

    Since then, liberal efforts have reestablished much of the state’s power. But the effects are still evident in the strong cultural identity and presence of Catholicism in the country. Colombia has one of the highest proportions of adults raised as Roman Catholics in the world (92%), after Paraguay (94%).

    The Vatican remains a political actor whose influence is often underestimated.
    Collection Maykova/Shutterstock

    Historically, informal gestures of religious diplomacy have laid the groundwork for further cooperation and formal agreements with Rome.

    But King Charles’s recent Vatican visit is more diplomatic than anything. It reflects modern efforts to maintain and strengthen state-to-state relations and discuss shared global concerns like climate change and peacebuilding.

    It is for this reason that the king’s visit matters – not because a formal treaty is on the table, but because it shows the strength of the UK’s experience since the Reformation. An exemplary model of the success of church-state separation, British democracy and prosperity have thrived for centuries – without formal entanglements with the Catholic church.

    Dr Jason Garcia-Portilla earned his PhD in Organization Studies and Cultural Theory at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), financed with a Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship–ESKAS. Additionally, he holds an MSc in Climate Change and Policy from the University of Sussex in the UK (funded by the British Chevening Scholarship).

    ref. King Charles visits the Vatican: my research shows countries that cut ties with the Catholic Church perform better – https://theconversation.com/king-charles-visits-the-vatican-my-research-shows-countries-that-cut-ties-with-the-catholic-church-perform-better-254357

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI: Freename Launches the First Universal Web3 and DNS Domain Marketplace

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Zurich, Switzerland, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Freename is all set to revolutionize the domain industry by introducing the first universal marketplace dealing with decentralized and traditional domain names, all in one place. Launched on April 7, 2025, the domain marketplace serves as the first-of-a-kind universal platform, combining DNS and blockchain domain ecosystems. Termed as ‘Freename Aftermarket’, the unified platform provides users with seamless trading opportunities. Initially, users are invited to join with zero percent fees for a limited time, and there are exclusive rewards as well. 

    One-Stop Solution for Brands and Domain Investors

    With the launch of this all-in-one domain marketplace, Freename is setting a new standard in domain trading. Users now have the ability to list and purchase Web3 and DNS domains within a single, user-friendly platform. 

    The secondary-domain marketplace offers ICANN-registered domains for sale, along with Web3 domains launched by Freename, Unstoppable Domains (UD), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), and Base Name Service (BNS). So, it’s a relatively bigger pool for brands and domain traders alike.

    This platform will likely gain traction because it doesn’t charge commission on domain trading. For starters, Freename Aftermarket offers domain trading at 0% commission.          

    Furthermore, to incentivize early adoption, the first-ever ICANN-accredited and Web3 domain registrar will offer exclusive rewards, including a special Discord badge, Freename credits and free Web3 domain drops for early listers.

    With this unique and innovative business venture, the Freename team looks confident that it can revolutionize the domain aftermarket industry. “This marks a historic moment in the domain industry,” said Davide Vicini, CEO and Co-Founder at Freename. 

    This marketplace focuses on creating a more dynamic environment for domain investors. Not only does it offer domains for sale, but it also provides support to new buyers and sellers via domain appraisal sessions.

    With Web3 domains gaining mainstream adoption, Freename’s multi-chain approach ensures interoperability across leading blockchain networks. By bridging DNS and Web3 domains, the platform empowers users with a secure, scalable, and decentralized marketplace.

    About Freename

    Freename is the leading multi-chain Web3 namespace platform, enabling users to mint, manage, and trade domains across major blockchain networks. As a bridge between Web2 and Web3, Freename offers innovative tools for domain security, brand protection, and decentralized ownership.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: STMicroelectronics future-proofs the development of next-gen cars with innovative memory solution for automotive microcontrollers

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    STMicroelectronics future-proofs the development of next-gen cars
    with innovative memory solution for automotive microcontrollers

    • New Stellar microcontrollers with xMemory enable simpler, more scalable computing platform for developing software-defined vehicles and evolving electric vehicle architectures  
    • Extensible capability equips carmakers for continuous innovation, including more memory-hungry AI applications  
    • xMemory, based on ST proprietary phase-change memory (PCM) technology, will start production later in 2025 

    Geneva, Switzerland, April 16, 2025 — STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has announced Stellar with xMemory, a new generation of extensible memory embedded into its Stellar series of automotive microcontrollers, that transforms the challenging process of developing software-defined vehicles (SDV) and evolving platforms for electrification.  

    Instead of managing multiple devices with varying memory options and the associated development and qualification costs, Stellar with xMemory introduces a single, innovative device with extensible memory, providing customers with an efficient and cost-effective solution. This simpler approach from the start enables carmakers to future-proof their designs, with room for additional innovation later in their development cycle, reducing development costs and accelerating time to market with a simpler supply chain. Stellar with xMemory will be first available on the Stellar P6 MCUs, which target the new drivetrain trends and architectures for electric vehicles (EVs), with production to start later in 2025. 

     “ST has developed the ultimate memory technology for the automobile market with the smallest bit cell to meet the endless need for more memory. Stellar with xMemory will streamline the car architectures of tomorrow, making them more cost-effective and significantly reduce development time for carmakers,” said Luca Rodeschini, Group Vice President and General Purpose and Automotive Microcontrollers Division General Manager, STMicroelectronics. “This innovative solution enables the same hardware to ensure carmakers have the infrastructure and capabilities with the headroom to continuously innovate their products over time. It provides peace of mind to introduce new innovations in digitalization and electrification, allowing them to stay ahead in the market and extend the lifetime of their vehicles.” 

    “With the embedded Phase Change Memory (PCM) technology, Stellar offers a robust and flexible memory concept to create highly performant, adaptable microcontrollers for automotive usage. The technology provides application advantages compared to other memory technologies, such as RRAM and MRAM,” said Axel Aue, Vice President, Bosch. 

    By choosing an extensible MCU like Stellar with xMemory, engineers can avoid costly hardware redesigns to support software features. As software inevitably grows, whether during the initial development or through post-launch OTA updates, the same platform can be upgraded in the field, significantly reducing time-to-market and maintenance costs. A solution like Stellar with xMemory also enables simplified logistics and bill of material efficiency,” said Anshel Sag, Principal Analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy.

    How it works 
    Carmakers need seamless integration of software and hardware to maximize reuse across platforms, extend vehicle longevity and enhance digital capabilities. Memory becomes a bottleneck as software complexity grows, driven by new features and regulations, memory-hungry AI and Machine Learning applications, and over-the-air (OTA) updates. ST’s xMemory addresses this challenge by extending the memory either during the development phase or when vehicle is in the field, giving them unlimited application upgrades. 

    Selecting the right MCU at the start of the SDV lifecycle ensures sufficient on-chip memory for future software development. Today’s choice of over-specifying memory increases costs, while under-specifying may necessitate finding and re-qualifying a different MCU with extra memory later, adding complexity, cost, and delays. Stellar MCUs with xMemory are competitively priced to bring additional savings, simplify the OEM supply chain, and accelerate time to market by lengthening the product lifetime and maximizing reuse across projects to reduce time for qualification. 

    Technical notes for editors on PCM and Stellar: 
    ST has been at the forefront of the transition from Flash to eNVM technology in automotive MCUs, introducing the first 28nm eNVM qualified for automotive applications, which is at the core of the xMemory. ST’s embedded Phase-Change Memory (ePCM) has the best power, performance, area (PPA) index of NVM technologies such as RRAM, MRAM, and Flash. 

    With the industry’s smallest eNVM cell size, PCM fabricated at 18nm and 28nm nodes provides twice the memory density of other technologies.

    The latest-generation PCM technology will be available on all upcoming Arm®-based Stellar P and G automotive MCUs. The Stellar family is dedicated to automotive applications and simplifies vehicle electrical architectures for increased power, flexibility, and safety. The portfolio includes Stellar Integration MCUs (Stellar P and Stellar G series) for centralized zone and domain controllers and body applications, which consolidate the functions of multiple, separate communication and control ECUs, and Stellar Electrification MCUs (Stellar E series), which are optimized for control of EV traction-module power converters.  

    For more information, please go to www.st.com/stellar-xmemory  

    About STMicroelectronics
    At ST, we are 50,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of cloud-connected autonomous things. We are on track to be carbon neutral in all direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1 and 2), product transportation, business travel, and employee commuting emissions (our scope 3 focus), and to achieve our 100% renewable electricity sourcing goal by the end of 2027.

    Further information can be found at www.st.com.

    INVESTOR RELATIONS
    Jérôme Ramel
    EVP Corporate Development & Integrated External Communication
    Tel: +41.22.929.59.20
    jerome.ramel@st.com

    MEDIA RELATIONS
    Alexis Breton
    Corporate External Communications
    Tel: +33.6.59.16.79.08
    alexis.breton@st.com

    Attachments

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: iRhythm Technologies Releases 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report That Demonstrates Ongoing Commitment to Culture of Quality and Sustainability

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN FRANCISCO, April 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRTC), a leading digital health care company focused on creating trusted solutions that detect, predict, and prevent disease, today announced that it has published its 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s efforts to build a sustainable and inclusive future.

    “iRhythm’s core mission is to create a better world for patients by delivering better health and better insights through our trusted solutions and innovative technologies,” said Sumi Shrishrimal, iRhythm’s Chief Risk Officer and leader of Sustainability and Impact. “We accomplish this by being a responsible, ethical, and inclusive company dedicated to the highest standards of quality and excellence across our business as we execute upon our long-term strategic growth plan. I am so proud of the work our teams do every day, and our 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report reflects how we make cardiac monitoring more accessible, how we enable providers to better detect and prevent disease, and how we impact our communities as a global company.”

    The 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report details sustainability accomplishments across four key pillars:

    • Quality and Sustainable Technology Innovation highlights include enhancing our quality systems, improving our customers’ experience through Electronic Health Record (EHR) integration and innovative product launches, securing a strategic licensing agreement to advance connected patient care, and forming an Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Governance Steering Committee to address AI risks and opportunities in alignment with the company’s strategic goals
    • Access and Health Equity highlights include expanding globally by launching commercially in four European countries (Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland) and receiving regulatory approval from the Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Agency for the Zio® 14-day, long-term continuous ECG monitoring system
    • Workforce and Inclusion highlights include refreshing our core values to define the workplace culture we would like to shape going forward, revising our code of conduct to provide employees with resources and guidance needed to operate with unquestionable integrity, and introducing new recognition opportunities to celebrate employees who elevate the company’s values through their work
    • Environmental Impact highlights include completing inventory of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, achieving 89.5% landfill waste diversion across our operations, obtaining ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Certification, completing a life cycle analysis (LCA) of our products, and being named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Greenest Companies for 2025

    For more information about iRhythm’s corporate sustainability efforts, please visit our Corporate Sustainability page here.

    About iRhythm Technologies
    iRhythm is a leading digital health care company that creates trusted solutions that detect, predict, and prevent disease. Combining wearable biosensors and cloud-based data analytics with powerful proprietary algorithms, iRhythm distills data from millions of heartbeats into clinically actionable information. Through a relentless focus on patient care, iRhythm’s vision is to deliver better data, better insights, and better health for all. To learn more, please visit https://www.irhythmtech.com/.

    Investor Contact
    Stephanie Zhadkevich
    investors@irhythmtech.com

    Media Contact
    Kassandra Perry
    irhythm@highwirepr.com

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Europe: AFRICA/SUDAN – The London conference ends without a final declaration; the RSF proclaim the formation of an alternative government

    Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

    Wednesday, 16 April 2025 war  

    Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The London conference organized exactly two years after the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war on 15 April 2023, to try to put an end to the conflict, ended without a final declaration.The conference was convened by the United Kingdom, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), France and Germany, and was attended by foreign ministers and high-level representatives of Canada, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Qatar, South Sudan, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda and the United States of America, together with high-level representatives of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations (UN). However, the absence of the two opposing forces—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo—has severely limited the prospects for progress. The organizers of the conference said that this year’s participants pledged more than $1 billion to Sudan and its neighbors. This figure includes $590 million from the EU and its member states and $158 million from the United Kingdom.The final declaration that was supposed to address the formation of a contact group to mediate between the parties, fell through due to differences between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, according to The Guardian. The first two support General al-Burhan, while the third are suspected of siding with Dagalo. The latter, coinciding with the London conference, proclaimed once again yesterday, April 15, the formation of an alternative government to the one led by General al-Burhan, calling it a “Government of Peace and Unity, the true face of Sudan.” Dagalo described the administration as “an alliance between the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, civil society, humanitarian organizations, and youth movements.” He also emphasized that the RSF government aims to unify Sudan by committing to providing education, healthcare, and essential services throughout the war-torn country, and not only in the territories they control. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 16/4/2025)
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    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI China: Chaplin family’s journey to discover their origins

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    When comedy icon Charlie Chaplin’s wife, Oona O’Neill Chaplin, passed away in 1991, the entire family gathered to handle the estate. While sorting through the inheritance, Victoria Chaplin discovered a locked bedside table in her father Charlie Chaplin’s room. Unable to open it herself, she summoned a locksmith. When the drawer was finally opened, she found a mysterious letter inside.

    Dolores Chaplin, actor and granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, speaks at a Q&A session during the second Macao International Comedy Festival, Macao, April 10, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Mahua Fun Age]

    The letter was from a man named Jack Hill, who wrote, not asking for money, but simply to call out Chaplin as “a little liar.” Hill claimed that Chaplin was not really born in London as stated in his autobiography, but rather in a caravan in the Black Patch area of Smethwick near Birmingham. Furthermore, Hill revealed that the caravan belonged to his aunt, who was known as the “Gypsy Queen.”

    “This letter was very intriguing, especially considering he received thousands of letters from fans all over the world. Yet, he chose to keep this particular letter locked away in the bedside table,” Dolores Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, told China.org.cn on April 11 in Macao. Dolores was attending the second Macao International Comedy Festival to present the documentary film “Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp,” directed by her sister Carmen Chaplin, and which she served on as one of the producers.

    According to Dolores, her aunt Victoria showed the letter to her father, Michael, who still recalled how Charlie would often tell them as children, “You are part Gypsy.”

    “My father was a romantic who always identified with this culture,” Dolores said. “He was passionate about Gypsies and Gypsy music, so he became deeply passionate about the letter and wanted to learn more. Seeing his passion, I just thought this would make a great documentary.”

    This was how the project “Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp” began, though it would take many years to complete, facing numerous challenges in securing financing, licenses and conducting research. The film evolved into a true family endeavor, with deep involvement from multiple generations. Family members participated both on camera — sharing personal insights and memories — and behind the scenes as producers.

    A screening and Q&A session for “Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp” at the second Macao International Comedy Festival, Macao, April 10, 2025. [Photo/China.org.cn]

    The project’s significance lies in its potential to finally acknowledge the possible Romani heritage that may have inspired Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Tramp character. Featuring intimate interviews and unprecedented access to the Chaplin estate, the documentary presents a profound exploration of Chaplin’s roots. It weaves together film excerpts, home movies and archival footage, as well as contributions from movie star Johnny Depp and renowned contemporary Romani artists to tell this compelling story.

    “It’s very healing to do a documentary on your ancestors,” Dolores said, noting it was also a journey to help fix the tumultuous relationship between Charlie and Michael. “It was healing for my father. It was healing for us, too. I found my father had a lot in common with his father — really more than he knows.”

    “Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp” will also be screened at the upcoming 15th Beijing International Film Festival, set to open on April 18.

    Dolores believes that her grandfather is now more relevant than ever, “because he’s always been somebody who defends the underdog,” she said. “And in our society, there’s always the underdog …. My grandfather was a humanist and he really spoke for the people and defended anybody who was pushed to the ground.”

    As a comedic giant, Charlie Chaplin and his films — including classics like “City Lights” (1931) and “Modern Times” (1936) — have long been revered in China. Between 1979 and 1981, China imported 19 American films, 12 of which were Chaplin comedies. While in turn, Dolores shared, “He was a big fan of China. He had a lot of beautiful artworks from China, and I could see that it was a culture he really liked.”

    Then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Charlie Chaplin pose for a photo in Geneva in 1954. [File photo/Xinhua]

    Charlie Chaplin’s cultural significance was further cemented through historic meetings with notable Chinese figures, such as Peking opera master Mei Lanfang in the 1930s, and then Premier Zhou Enlai in 1954 when a Chinese delegation attended the Geneva Conference.

    Back in the United States, however, Chaplin was accused of communist sympathies and faced political persecution, ultimately being forced to leave the U.S. in 1952 and settle in Switzerland. Decades later, history seems to be repeating itself, as the world has again become chaotic and divided. This is perhaps most evident in the United States’ recent launch of a bullying tariff war against the world, particularly targeting China.

    Dolores emphasized that China and the U.S. should move in the right direction and find a way forward. “The Chinese community has been so integrated into America… they should find a way.”

    MIL OSI China News