Category: Trade

  • MIL-OSI USA: Mar 25, 2025 ATU: Transportation Secretary Duffy’s Call to Make Transit Safe Again is Welcome News for Transit Workers and Riders

    Source: US Amalgamated Transit Union

    John Costa, International President of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), the largest union representing public transit workers in the U.S., issued the following statement to praise Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Trump Administration for working to make public transportation safer for both passengers and transit workers. 

    “Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s letter to NY MTA to ‘clean up the subway’  was right on target and long overdue. He’s right. People do deserve the right to convenient, affordable, and safe public transportation, whether they are riding the subway in New York City or a bus in West Palm Beach, FL. And we really appreciate the DOT’s request for information on worker assaults.

    “If our customers do not feel safe, they are not going to ride. That is common sense. And for bus drivers, the FTA’s own numbers show that there has been a staggering 232 percent increase in assaults on transit workers in recent years. They get punched, slapped, spit on, stabbed, and shot on a regular basis. Two of our members were murdered on the job in recent months.

    “On behalf of the more than 7,000 ATU members working at NYC Transit in Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn and more than 20,000 members living in the NYC metropolitan area, I want to thank President Trump for calling out our employer and demanding better safety and security for everyone.

    “While we do not support withholding federal funding, it is clear that much more needs to be done to protect transit riders and workers.

    “The Secretary’s call for fare enforcement is spot on. Fifty percent of our riders on the bus in NYC don’t pay, costing the agency millions of dollars. We need more transit ambassadors on the trains and buses to enforce fares and keep the peace. And yes, it’s time for fully enclosed bus operator workstations to protect workers from vicious attacks which of course also put the general public at risk.” 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Stein Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Workforce and Apprenticeships

    Source: US State of North Carolina

    Headline: Governor Stein Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Workforce and Apprenticeships

    Governor Stein Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Workforce and Apprenticeships
    lsaito

    Raleigh, NC

    Today, Governor Josh Stein announced an executive order to create a Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships, chaired by Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley, State Senator Eddie Settle, and NC Community Colleges President Dr. Jeffrey Cox. He also met with students at Forsyth Tech Community College and toured the Transportation Technology Center. 

    “Our state’s greatest asset is our people, and to invest in our future, we must invest in our people. No state will outwork North Carolina when it comes to developing our workforce,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I am proud to sign this executive order and launch this council to keep delivering on the promise of North Carolina – that where you come from should never limit how far you can go.”

    “North Carolina’s workforce is the backbone of our thriving business climate,” said NC Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “I look forward to working together to identify and amplify strategies that help North Carolina’s workers and businesses continue to thrive.”

    “There is a lot of good work being done around North Carolina’s main streets and towns, and they need skilled workers to reap the benefits of our growing economy,” said Senator Eddie Settle. “I am proud to co-chair this council so that we can find ways to strengthen North Carolina’s workforce and attract more employers to every corner of our state.”

    “I am proud to co-chair this Council to work alongside Governor Stein’s team, the NC General Assembly and businesses and industries across the state to ensure our NC Community College System continues to expand apprenticeship and other workforce credential programs to give every citizen in North Carolina the skills they need to get a well-paying job in our modern economy,” said North Carolina Community College System President Jeffrey Cox.

    Governor Stein believes that every North Carolinian should have a shot at success – finding a good-paying job or starting a small business – no matter their background. Last month, he visited Wake Tech Community College to tour its auto tech lab and proclaimed February as Career and Technical Education Month. In January, Governor Stein joined Surry-Yadkin Works and Altec Industries to launch the Fostering Learning through Education, Employment, and Trades (FLEET) Program. Governor Stein recently released his state budget proposal, which invests $256 million in workforce development and pays for free community college for students pursuing credentials in high-demand fields. 

    Mar 25, 2025

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Members look into bolstering support for trade policies, fast-tracking digital trade growth

    Source: WTO

    Headline: Members look into bolstering support for trade policies, fast-tracking digital trade growth

    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) noted that Aid-for-Trade disbursements reached USD 48 billion in 2023, representing a 5 per cent decrease from 2022.  While most funds were channelled towards strengthening infrastructure and productive sectors, the OECD noted, only 2 per cent of Aid for Trade was allocated to trade policy and regulations.
    Representatives from Australia, Barbados, the Pacific Islands Forum and the United Kingdom shared their insights into ways to increase the participation of developing economies in the multilateral trading system. They highlighted that it is important for economies to develop and implement national strategies and to coordinate effectively with development partners. For example, progress in implementing the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy, covering services, e-commerce, trade facilitation and quality infrastructure, was acknowledged.
    The financial support dedicated to the WTO accession of Comoros and Timor-Leste was highlighted. Speakers also acknowledged the support provided under the Advisory Centre on WTO Law, the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the Fish Fund and the Standards and Trade Development Facility.
    The role of cooperation among developing economies in strengthening these economies’ trade capacities was also recognized. Speakers welcomed greater collaboration with the private sector on scaling up financial support.
    Members also examined the European Union’s 2024 Aid for Trade Progress Report. As one of the top donors of Aid for Trade, the European Union and its member states provided 36 per cent of the total disbursements in 2022, accounting for EUR 22 billion. The report also highlighted the role of Aid for Trade in creating an enabling environment for investments under the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy.
    According to the Digital Trade Integration Database of the European University Institute, the level of integration into digital trade differs widely across economies, with fewer enabling policies observed in lower-income economies.  The database contains information on the digital trade policies of 146 economies.
    Speakers noted that in Africa, digital trade integration is being held back by regulatory fragmentation, infrastructure gaps and limited access of small businesses to digital markets.
    To bolster the continent’s digital trade expansion, speakers underlined the importance of technical assistance and capacity-building activities to harmonize digital trade regulations, investments in broadband and logistics and greater access of small businesses to digital trade finance. For example, speakers stressed the importance of fully implementing the Digital Trade Protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Estimates indicate this could increase intra-regional trade in services by up to 10.3 per cent.
    More information on the WTO-led Aid for Trade initiative can be found here.

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    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Economics: WTO launches call for candidates for 2026 Young Professionals Programme

    Source: WTO

    Headline: WTO launches call for candidates for 2026 Young Professionals Programme

    The WTO Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is aimed at candidates aged 32 or younger as of 1 January 2026 from developing or least-developed WTO members that are under-represented at the professional level in the WTO Secretariat. It offers hands-on experience in addressing international trade issues and participating in WTO work. Selected candidates will be placed in a division that aligns with their interests and the WTO’s needs.
    Launched in 2016, the Young Professionals Programme (YPP) is a technical assistance programme overseen by the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Co-operation. It is financed by members’ voluntary contributions to the WTO Global Trust Fund.
    Full eligibility criteria and an online application form are available here.

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    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Economics: DDG Ellard urges action on harmful fisheries subsidies at Monaco Blue Initiative

    Source: World Trade Organization

    DDG Ellard emphasized the achievement by WTO members in successfully concluding the WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, the need to enter it into force, and opportunities offered by the upcoming 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) to be held in Nice, France from 9 to 13 June.

    She noted that the state of global fisheries resources is “alarming,” with 38% of fish stocks overexploited.  The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will be a powerful tool to address the deterioration of fish stocks by prohibiting subsidies for particularly harmful fishing activities.

    Prohibiting such subsidies is not only expected to contribute to the sustainability of ocean resources but will also create an opportunity for WTO members to redirect US$ 20 billion in annual harmful subsidies to more sustainable fishing practices, thereby supporting the livelihoods of millions of fisherfolk around the globe, DDG Ellard said.

    DDG Ellard noted that 17 acceptances of the Agreement are still needed from WTO members for it to come into force. “It is our hope to celebrate the entry into force with the international ocean community at UNOC,” she said.

    DDG Ellard also highlighted the WTO Fish Fund, which will start operations as soon as the Agreement enters into force. The Fund is designed to assist developing members in implementing the Agreement and establishing sustainable fisheries management.

    She noted that a developing or least developed WTO member is eligible for financing from the Fund provided it has ratified the Agreement, creating a powerful incentive to do so.

    WTO members are now seeking to build on the Agreement to address subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing, she told participants.

    “Members recognize that an agreement on subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing is essential to improve fish stocks and support the economic and environmental sustainability of our oceans for future generations,” she said.  “I am confident WTO members will do all they can to get there as quickly as possible.”

    Launched in 2010 by Prince Albert II of Monaco, the Monaco Blue Initiative serves as an informal think tank to accelerate the integration of ocean issues into international negotiations on the environment.

    More information regarding the WTO’s work with regards to reducing the impact of harmful fisheries subsidies can be found here.

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    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Unlawful Expulsions to El Salvador Endanger Lives Amid Ongoing State of Emergency

    Source: Amnesty International –

    In response to the recent unlawful expulsion of 238 Venezuelan nationals from the United States to El Salvador under the allegation that they belong to the criminal group Tren de Aragua, despite a court order barring their removal, Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said the following:

    “The expulsion of 238 individuals from the United States to El Salvador, despite a court order explicitly barring their removal, represents not only a flagrant disregard of the United States’ human rights obligations, but also a dangerous step toward authoritarian practices as the Trump administration ignored and is now calling for the firing of a federal judge of the United States Judiciary. This is also a dangerous endorsement of President Bukele’s punitive security agenda.

    The expulsion of 238 individuals from the United States to El Salvador, despite a court order explicitly barring their removal represents not only a flagrant disregard of the United States’ human rights obligations, but also a dangerous step toward authoritarian practices as the Trump administration ignored and is now calling for the firing of a federal judge of the United States Judiciary. This is also a dangerous endorsement of President Bukele’s punitive security agenda

    -Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International

    “According to available public information, the people expelled include individuals who were in the midst of ongoing court processes, were arrested while complying with their immigration obligations, were already granted protections in the United States including under the Convention Against Torture, and were labeled as gang members for their tattoos or connection to the Venezuelan state of Aragua with no other evidence. In fact, even U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have since admitted “many” had no criminal record at all and some were removed because of a perception they may commit crimes in the future. Importantly, these expulsions are not deportations, a legal process defined in U.S. law. They were expelled without removal orders, seemingly to serve an indefinite prison sentence under a system where fundamental human rights are routinely ignored.

    El Salvador under President Bukele has become emblematic of an alarming trend in the Americas—where mass incarceration, unchecked executive power, and the criminalization of marginalized communities are being touted as solutions to crime. Amnesty International has extensively documented the inhumane conditions within detentions centers in El Salvador, including the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), where those removed are now being held. Reports indicate extreme overcrowding, lack of access to adequate medical care, and widespread ill-treatment amounting to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Additionally, Salvadoran organizations have reported more than 300 deaths of individuals while in state custody, some of them showing clear signs of violence. No individual should be subjected to such conditions.

    There is a clear and troubling connection between President Bukele’s so-called “security” model in El Salvador and recent actions taken by the United States regarding migrants and people seeking safety. Both rely on a lack of due process and the criminalization of individuals based on discriminatory criteria (…) These policies are deeply unjust and violate international human rights standards

    -Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International

    There is a clear and troubling connection between President Bukele’s so-called “security” model in El Salvador and recent actions taken by the United States regarding migrants and people seeking safety. Both rely on a lack of due process and the criminalization of individuals based on discriminatory criteria. In El Salvador, this discrimination targets people living in impoverished communities, those with precarious jobs, limited education, or visible tattoos. Similarly, in the United States, Venezuelans fleeing hardship and seeking safety are branded as criminals based upon tattoos, their connection to the State of Aragua in Venezuela, and racist lies about associations with transnational criminal groups originating in their home country. These policies are deeply unjust and violate international human rights standards.

    The principle of non-refoulement, a cornerstone of international human rights law, unequivocally prohibits states from returning, removing, or transferring individuals to any country where they would face a real risk of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, or ill-treatment. By removing individuals to El Salvador under these circumstances, the United States has placed them in grave danger and failed to uphold its obligations its legal obligations. Meanwhile, El Salvador must be held accountable for facilitating policies that violate the rights of migrants and people seeking safety. Any subsequent removal of the individuals from El Salvador to Venezuela would also violate the principle of non-refoulement. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on States to ensure that Venezuelans are not deported, expelled or forced to return to Venezuela. Amnesty International has called for an absolute ban on all deportations of individuals to Venezuela given that the country is experiencing a situation of massive human rights violations.   

    On 27 March 2025, El Salvador will reach its third consecutive year under a state of emergency, a regime that has institutionalized patterns of abuse that are now being echoed beyond its borders, further eroding the international human rights framework (…) Rather than condemning these practices, other governments, such as the United States, appear to be emulating them

    -Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International

    What is particularly concerning is that the erosion of due process in El Salvador is now being normalized—both domestically and internationally. Rather than condemning these practices, other governments, such as the United States, appear to be emulating them. This is the dangerous consequence of authoritarian practices becoming systematic and recurring: they evolve from isolated abuses into official state policy. On 27 March 2025, El Salvador will reach its third consecutive year under a state of emergency, a regime that has institutionalized patterns of abuse that are now being echoed beyond its borders, further eroding the international human rights framework.

    Amnesty International urges the government of El Salvador, and all countries throughout the Americas, to resist participation in unjust deportation and removal schemes.

    Amnesty International urges the government of El Salvador, and all countries throughout the Americas, to resist participation in unjust deportation and removal schemes

    -Ana Piquer,  Americas director at Amnesty International

    Salvadoran authorities must urgently restore due process throughout the country and guarantee the human rights, safety, and dignity of all individuals currently detained, including the more than 84,000 people arrested under the ongoing state of emergency. The Salvadoran government must ensure its policies and practices do not facilitate further human rights abuses or place vulnerable individuals at risk.

    We also call on the US government to immediately return those that were illegally removed to El Salvador and halt any subsequent expulsions under this executive order, comply with the decisions of the US Judiciary, and immediately halt all plans for mass detentions and deportations, and reestablish the right to asylum at the United States’ southern border.  

    Amnesty International stands in solidarity with those impacted by this unjust policy and will continue to advocate for the protection of human rights in the Americas and beyond.”

    MIL OSI NGO

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Financial news: On holding auctions on March 26, 2025 to place OFZ issues No. 26218RMFS and No. 26240RMFS

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Exchange – Moscow Exchange –

    For bidders

    We inform you that, based on the letter of the Bank of Russia and in accordance with Part I. General Part and Part II. Stock Market Section of the Rules for Conducting Trading on the Stock Market, Deposit Market and Credit Market of Moscow Exchange PJSC, the order establishes the form, time, term and procedure for holding auctions for the placement and trading of the following federal loan bonds:

    1.

    Name of the Issuer Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
    Name of security Federal loan bonds with constant coupon income
    State registration number of the issue 26218RMFS from 23.10.2015
    Date of the auction March 26, 2025
    Information about the placement (trading mode, placement form) The placement of Bonds will be carried out in the Trading Mode “Placement: Auction” by holding an Auction to determine the placement price. BoardId: PACT (Settlements: Ruble)
    Trade code CO26218RMFSB
    ISIN code RO000A0ZHVV48
    Calculation code B01
    Additional conditions of placement The share of non-competitive bids in relation to the total volume of bids submitted by the Bidder may not exceed 90%.
    Trading time Trading hours: bid collection period: 12:00 – 12:30; bid execution period: 13:00 – 18:00.

    2.

    Name of the Issuer Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
    Name of security federal loan bonds with constant coupon income
    State registration number of the issue 26240RMFS from 06/28/2021
    Date of the auction March 26, 2025
    Information about the placement (trading mode, placement form) The placement of Bonds will be carried out in the Trading Mode “Placement: Auction” by holding an Auction to determine the placement price. BoardId: PACT (Settlements: Ruble)
    Trade code CO26240RMFS0
    ISIN code RO000A103br0
    Calculation code B01
    Additional conditions of placement The share of non-competitive bids in relation to the total volume of bids submitted by the Bidder may not exceed 90%.
    Trading time Trading hours: bid collection period: 14:30 – 15:00; bid execution period: 15:30 – 18:00.

    Contact information for media 7 (495) 363-3232Pr@moex.kom

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //VVV. MEEX.K.M.M.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: NEW AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES AND SEED VARIETIES

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 25 MAR 2025 5:07PM by PIB Delhi

    A total of 79 new high yielding varieties of seven major agricultural crops, 11 of fruits and 31 of vegetables were exhibited during Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela held during February 22-24, 2025. Besides, technologies for 18 biofertizers and bioformulations, Soil Test Fertilizer Recommendation Meter, Zn-loaded nano clay polymer composite; SpeedySeed Viability KitTM; Polymer composite seed coating for bruchid management; ⁠Nanocellulose extracted from pummelo peel and rice husk; Pea pod powder for instant noodles; Overripe banana powder in snack puffs and Muffins functionalized with by-products were also displayed. Eight new agricultural implements were also demonstrated during the event.

    The details of main topics covered in the technical sessions and farmer-scientist interactions are as follows session-wise:

    Session 1 : Technologies for Climate Resilient Agriculture; Session 2  : Crop Diversification; Session 3 : Digital Agriculture; Session 4 : Agricultural Marketing and Export; Session 5 : FPO-Start up linkage; Session 6 : Entrepreneurship Development of Youth and Women and Session 7 : Innovative Farmers Meet.

    The farmers, entrepreneurs, youth and women were sensitized and educated about the new varieties and technologies through guided tours to Live demonstrations of the salient varieties and technologies developed by ICAR-IARI; exhibitions on salient technologies, products and services of ICAR-IARI as well as ICAR Institutes, Agricultural Universities, KVKs, FPOs, entrepreneurs, start-ups, public and private companies; and farmers-scientists’ interactions were held in technical sessions of Unnat Krishi – Viksit Bharat theme.

    • 245 stalls of ICAR institutes, agricultural Universities, public and private institutes, farm entrepreneurs were showcased.

    • Over 1800 quintals of seeds of various crops like paddy, moong, pigeon-pea, pearl millet, and vegetables were provided to the farmers at a very reasonable rate. On-Spot advisories were provided to the farmers and other stakeholders.

    • Extension literatures on technologies were also distributed among all stakeholders

    Some of the major announcements during the event include supervision of “Krishi Chaupal – Vigyan se Kisan Tak” and engagement of the IARI awardee/ Innovative farmers etc. in dissemination of technol

    This information was given by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Shri Shri Bhagirath Choudhary in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

    ******

     MG/KSR/RN

    (Release ID: 2114897) Visitor Counter : 75

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-Evening Report: Critical thinking is more important than ever. How can I improve my skills?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland

    Siora Photography/Unsplash

    There is a Fox News headline that goes like this:

    Transgender female runner who beat 14,000 women at London Marathon offers to give medal back

    Read about the event elsewhere and it turns out the athlete was also beaten by thousands of people and it was a participation medal. While the Fox News headline is true, it is framed to potentially elicit a negative reaction.

    Misinformation is on the rise. We’re told we need to think critically when we read things online, but how can we recognise such situations? And what does it mean to think critically anyway?

    What is critical thinking?

    Critical thinking is based on the idea that if all ideas are equal, then all ideas are worthless. Without this assumption, there can be nothing to be critical of.

    When we think critically, we focus on the quality of our reasoning and the factors that can influence it. In other words, thinking critically primarily means being critical of your own thinking.

    Importantly, critical thinking is not strongly correlated with intelligence. While some believe intelligence is basically fixed (though there is debate around this), we can learn to think critically.

    Other factors being equal, there’s also no evidence thinking critically is an innate ability. In fact, we have evidence critical thinking can be improved as a skill in itself, and it is transferrable to other contexts.

    The tools of argumentation

    Many factors can affect the quality of your thinking. They include things like cognitive biases (systemic thinking errors), prior beliefs, prejudices and worldviews, framing effects, and how much you know about the subject.

    To understand the quality of our reasoning, we can use the concepts and language of argumentation.

    People often think “arguments” are about conflicting views. A better way to understand argumentation is to view it as a way of making our thinking visible and accessible to each other.

    Arguments contain premises, those things we think are true about the world, and conclusions, which is where we end up in our thinking. Moving from premises to conclusions is called inferring, and it is the quality of these inferences that is the concern of critical thinking.

    For example, if I offer the premises

    P1: All Gronks are green

    P2: Fred is a Gronk

    Then you have already inferred the conclusion

    C: Fred is green

    You don’t even need to know what a Gronk is to make that inference.

    All our rational judgements and decisions are made up of chains of inferences. Constructing, evaluating and identifying types of arguments is the core business of critical thinking.

    Argumentation is not about conflicting views – it’s making your thinking accessible.
    John Diez/Pexels

    How can we improve our critical thinking skills?

    To help us get better at it, we can understand critical thinking in three main ways.

    First, we can see critical thinking as a subject we can learn. In this subject, we study how arguments work and how our reasoning can be influenced or improved. We also learn what makes for good thinking by using ideas like accuracy, clarity, relevance, depth and more. These are what we value in good thinking. By learning this, we start to think about how we think, not just what we think about.

    Second, we improve our critical thinking by using what we’ve learned in real situations. This helps us build important thinking skills like analysing, justifying, evaluating and explaining.

    Third, we can also think of critical thinking as a habit or attitude – something we choose to practice in our everyday lives. This means being curious, open-minded and willing to question things instead of just accepting them. It also means being aware of our own biases and trying to be fair and honest in how we think.

    When we put all three of these together, we become better thinkers – not just in educational contexts, but in life.

    Practical steps to improving critical thinking

    Since critical thinking centres on the giving and taking of reasons, practising this is a step towards improvement. There are some useful ways to do this.

    1. Make reasoning – rather than conclusions – the basis of your discussions with others.

    When asking for someone’s opinion, inquire as to why they think that. And offer your thinking to others. Making our thinking visible leads to deep and meaningful conversations in which we can test each other’s thinking and develop the virtues of open-mindedness and curiosity.

    2. Always assess the credibility of information based on its source and with a reflection on your own biases.

    The processes of our thinking can shape information as we receive it, just as much as the source can in providing it. This develops the virtues of carefulness and humility.

    3. Keep the fundamental question of critical inquiry in mind.

    The most important question in critical thinking is: “how do we know?”. Continually testing the quality of your inquiry – and therefore thinking – is key. Focusing on this question gives us practice in applying the values of inquiry and develops virtues such as persistence and resilience.

    You are not alone!

    Reasoning is best understood as a social competence: we reason with and towards each other. Indeed, to be called reasonable is a social compliment.

    It’s only when we have to think with others that we really test the quality of our thinking. It’s easy to convince yourself about something, but when you play in the arena of public reasoning, the bar is much higher.

    So, be the reasonable person in the room.

    That doesn’t mean everyone has to come around to your way of thinking. But it does mean everyone will get closer to the truth because of you.

    Use online resources

    There are many accessible tools for developing critical thinking. Kialo (Esperanto for “reason”), brings together people from around the world on a user-friendly (and free) platform to help test our reasoning in a well-moderated and respectful environment. It is an excellent place to practice the giving and taking of reasons and to understand alternative positions.

    The School of Thought, developed to curate free critical thinking resources, includes many that are often used in educational contexts.

    There’s also a plethora of online courses that can guide development in critical thinking, from Australian and international universities.

    Peter Ellerton is affiliated with the Rationalist Society of Australia.

    ref. Critical thinking is more important than ever. How can I improve my skills? – https://theconversation.com/critical-thinking-is-more-important-than-ever-how-can-i-improve-my-skills-252517

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Video: Seizing Fake Pills | CBP

    Source: United States of America – Federal Government Departments (video statements)

    The trade of counterfeit and pirated goods threatens America’s innovation economy, the competitiveness of our businesses, the livelihoods of U.S. workers, and, in some cases, national security and the health and safety of consumers. Protect yourself and your family by avoiding potentially dangerous counterfeit items.

    Trade of illegitimate goods is associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and often funds criminal enterprises. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and partner government agencies work side-by-side to protect the intellectual property rights of American businesses. Safeguarding them from unfair competition, and loss of consumer trust, while upholding American innovation and ingenuity.

    Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/CBPgov
    Facebook ➤ https://facebook.com/CBPgov
    Twitter ➤ https://twitter.com/CBP
    Official Website ➤ https://www.cbp.gov

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKLumCHPCZ4

    MIL OSI Video

  • MIL-OSI Video: Victims of Slavery & amp;Transatlantic Slave Trade & other topics – Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

    Highlights:
    Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade
    Detained and Missing Staff
    Syria/Security Council
    Occupied Palestinian Territory
    UN Interim Force In Lebanon
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Democratic Republic of the Congo / Mediation
    Burundi
    Sudan
    South Sudan
    Ukraine
    Myanmar
    Ecuador
    Child Mortality

    VICTIMS OF SLAVERY AND TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
    Today is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The Secretary-General spoke at the General Assembly event to mark the Day and said that the transatlantic slave trade is an indelible stain on the conscience of humanity.
    Today, he said, we remember the women, children, and men forced to work in agonizing conditions, savagely punished, and deprived of their dignity and human rights, and we take strength in their resistance and demands for justice.
    The Secretary-General said the obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us, and he urged everyone to play their part in building inclusive societies free from the evils of racism.

    DETAINED AND MISSING STAFF
    Today is the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members. One hundred and one personnel were arrested or detained last year alone. In total, at least 52 of UN personnel are still in detention globally.
    In his message, the Secretary-General says we stand with all those detained, and with their families and loved ones, as we call for their immediate release and safe return.
    He urges governments to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel, and to continue pursuing accountability and justice for these crimes, while enhancing support and protection.
    And in a video message, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said that the rights of all U.N. staff must be fully respected.
    Out of the 52 detained colleagues, 23 as you know are arbitrarily detained in Yemen alone. Eight of those are from the Human Rights Office. “Their continued detention is a grave injustice,” Mr. Türk said.
    On this Day, the UN renews the calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

    SYRIA/SECURITY COUNCIL
    This morning at the Security Council, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told Council members that Syria stands at a crossroads: either to return to violence or to overcome the conflict and revive the economy. To take the right path, Syria needs increased and continued international support, he said.
    For his part, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said that we are making progress on the humanitarian front. We are now using more routes to deliver aid.
    He added that the reality is still grim. 16 million people – nearly three-quarters of the Syrian population – lack sufficient food, water, shelter, and medicine. We need to move with greater urgency, while we can – he said.

    Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=25%20March%202025

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8EmEq44Veo

    MIL OSI Video

  • MIL-OSI Video: UN Chief urges to combat racial discrimination and hate | United Nations

    Source: United Nations (Video News)

    Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, o the General Assembly to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

    The transatlantic slave trade is an indelible stain on the conscience of humanity.

    For more than four centuries, enslaved Africans were kidnapped and trafficked; dehumanized, abused and exploited.

    The depth and scale of the cruelty, inhumanity, and depravity of this practice is incomprehensible.

    So, too, is the suffering, fear, pain and misery endured by those millions of people exploited for profit.

    Today, we reflect on families ripped apart and communities decimated.

    We remember the women, children, and men forced to work in agonizing conditions, savagely punished, and deprived of their dignity and human rights.

    And we take strength in their resistance and demands for justice:

    From revolution in Haiti, to the underground railroad in the United States, to countless individual acts of courage and defiance.

    I deeply regret that several countries – including my own – were engaged in this immoral trade…

    A trade driven by greed and built on lies – particularly the lie of white supremacy…

    A trade enabled by insurers, bankers, shipping companies, legal systems and more…

    That saw individuals, institutions and corporations amass unimaginable wealth on the back of human suffering.

    When slavery was officially abolished, it was not the enslaved who were compensated, but the enslavers – receiving reparations equivalent to billions of dollars in today’s money.

    In an even crueler twist, some slaves were forced to pay compensation.

    Haiti had to fund payouts to those who had profited from its suffering – all in the name of securing its independence.

    Dear Friends,

    Today is not only a day of remembrance.

    It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today.

    The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us.

    Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions, cultures, and social systems.

    And deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and achieve their full potential.

    For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade – and their ongoing impact – have remained unacknowledged, unspoken, and unaddressed:

    Links to slavery were buried…

    Histories were rewritten, minimized or overlooked…

    Ongoing harms were excused or dismissed…

    And perpetrators seemed to hope their actions would be lost to the past.

    Dear Friends,

    They were wrong.

    Thanks to the tireless work of affected leaders and communities, calls to acknowledge and repair the past can no longer be ignored.

    This year, at both the African Union Summit and the Caribbean Community Heads of Government Meeting, I heard leader after leader make a powerful case for reparatory justice.

    Some institutions and states are taking steps to acknowledge and address their pasts…

    Museums and public spaces are commemorating the resistance of people of African descent, and celebrating their vast contribution to societies.

    This is a start.

    But we need much more.

    The horrors of the transatlantic slave trade are an undeniable fact.

    Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary – it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present, and building a future of dignity and justice for all.

    It is also important that reparatory justice frameworks are grounded in international human rights law….

    Developed with the participation of affected communities…

    And acknowledge the terrible harms caused.

    I urge everyone to play their part in building inclusive societies free from the evils of racism:

    That means countries complying with their international obligations – including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

    Implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination…

    And becoming Parties to the Convention if they are not already.

    It means business leaders promoting equality and combatting racism.

    And it means civil society, and everyday people continuing to push for justice, and taking a stand against racism wherever and whenever it appears.

    Excellencies,

    This mission is at the heart of the United Nations.

    The human dignity of every person is our founding creed.

    We must stand with everyone, everywhere to combat racial discrimination and hate, and to defend the human rights and dignity of all.

    Thank you.

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

    MIL OSI Video

  • MIL-OSI Europe: REPORT on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Decision 2003/17/EC as regards the equivalence of field inspections carried out in the Republic of Moldova on fodder plant seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of fodder plant seed produced in the Republic of Moldova, and as regards the equivalence of field inspections carried out in Ukraine on beet seed-producing crops and oil plant seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of beet seed and oil plant seed produced in Ukraine – A10-0043/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

    on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council

    amending Council Decision 2003/17/EC as regards the equivalence of field inspections carried out in the Republic of Moldova on fodder plant seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of fodder plant seed produced in the Republic of Moldova, and as regards the equivalence of field inspections carried out in Ukraine on beet seed-producing crops and oil plant seed-producing crops and on the equivalence of beet seed and oil plant seed produced in Ukraine

    (COM(2024)0052 – C9-0026/2024 – 2024/0027(COD))

    (Ordinary legislative procedure: first reading)

    The European Parliament,

     having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2024)0052),

     having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C9-0026/2024),

     having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

     having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 20 March 2024[1],

     having regard to Rule 60 of its Rules of Procedure,

     having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A10-0043/2025),

    1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out;

    2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

    3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

    Amendment  1

    Proposal for a decision

    Recital 3

     

    Text proposed by the Commission

    Amendment

    (3) The Commission examined the relevant legislation of the Republic of Moldova. It also carried out in 2016 an audit of the system of official controls and of certification of cereal, vegetable and oil and fibre plant seed in the Republic of Moldova and published its findings in a report4. On the basis of the audit, the Commission concluded that the national authorities responsible for the implementation of seed certification in the Republic of Moldova are competent, have adequate facilities in place, and operate appropriately. Those authorities are also responsible for field inspections of seed-producing fodder plants and for the certification of seed of fodder plants.

    (3) The Commission examined the relevant legislation of the Republic of Moldova. It also carried out in 2016 an audit of the system of official controls and of certification of cereal, vegetable and oil and fibre plant seed in the Republic of Moldova and published its findings in a report4. Following the receipt of additional documentation from the Republic of Moldova, the Commission considered that all recommendations made in the audit report had been addressed in a satisfactory manner. On the basis of the audit, the Commission concluded that the national authorities responsible for the implementation of seed certification in the Republic of Moldova are competent, have adequate facilities in place, and operate appropriately. Those authorities are also responsible for field inspections of seed-producing fodder plants and for the certification of seed of fodder plants.

    __________________

    __________________

    4 ‘Final report of an audit carried out in the Republic of Moldova from 14 June to 21 June 2016 in order to evaluate the system of official controls and certification of seed and their equivalence with European Union requirements’ https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit-report/details/3667.

    4 ‘Final report of an audit carried out in the Republic of Moldova from 14 June to 21 June 2016 in order to evaluate the system of official controls and certification of seed and their equivalence with European Union requirements’ https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit-report/details/3667.

     

     

    Amendment  2

    Proposal for a decision

    Recital 7

     

    Text proposed by the Commission

    Amendment

    (7) The Commission examined the relevant legislation of Ukraine. It also carried out an audit in 2015 of the system of official controls and of certification of cereal seed in Ukraine and published its findings in a report6. On the basis of the audit, the Commission concluded that the national authorities responsible for the implementation of seed certification in Ukraine are competent, have adequate facilities in place, and operate appropriately. Those authorities are also responsible for the field inspections of seed-producing crops of beet, sunflower, swede rape and soya bean, and for the certification of seed of those crops.

    (7) The Commission examined the relevant legislation of Ukraine. It also carried out an audit in 2015 of the system of official controls and of certification of cereal seed in Ukraine and published its findings in a report6. Following the receipt of additional documentation from Ukraine, the Commission considered that all recommendations made in the audit report had been addressed in a satisfactory manner. On the basis of the audit, the Commission concluded that the national authorities responsible for the implementation of seed certification in Ukraine are competent, have adequate facilities in place, and operate appropriately. Those authorities are also responsible for the field inspections of seed-producing crops of beet, sunflower, swede rape and soya bean, and for the certification of seed of those crops.

    __________________

    __________________

    6 ‘Final report of an audit carried out in Ukraine from 26 May 2015 to 4 June 2015 in order to evaluate the system of official controls and certification of cereal seed and their equivalence with European Union requirements’ https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit-report/details/3499.

    6 ‘Final report of an audit carried out in Ukraine from 26 May 2015 to 4 June 2015 in order to evaluate the system of official controls and certification of cereal seed and their equivalence with European Union requirements’ https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/audit-report/details/3499.

     

     

    EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

    The Rapporteur welcomes the European Commission proposal, which aims to update Council Decision 2003/17/EC that grants equivalence to certain non-EU countries as regards field inspections and production of seed of certain species that are carried out in accordance with Council Directives 66/401/EEC, 66/402/EEC, 2002/54/EC, 2002/55/EC and 2002/57/EC. The legal basis of this act is the Article 43(2) of the TFEU. That equivalence system contributes to the maintenance of the continuous supply of high quality seed in the Union.

    The Republic of Moldova has been included in the list of non-EU countries since 2018. Similarly, Ukraine joined this list in 2020 for seeds of different agricultural crops.

    The requesting countries have their seed laboratories accredited by the International Seed Testing Association. This provides additional assurance on the quality of the inspections and the seed produced in those countries and their compliance with Union legislation.

    Moreover, both Ukraine and Moldova have been admitted to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Seed Schemes for the Varietal Certification of Seed moving in International Trade, with respect to the seeds of the requested agricultural crops.

    Lastly, the Commission examined Ukraine’s and Moldova’s relevant legislation, carried out audits of systems of official controls and seed certification, and found them appropriate to the EU legislation.

    The Rapporteur supports the Commission’s proposal and suggest adopting it with the two factual and technical amendments related to the inspections. These amendments aim to ensure, in the long term, products entering single market fully comply with EU production requirements.

    As set out in the Commission’s proposal, all conditions are met in order to grant the equivalence to the Ukraine and Moldova. Given the evolving needs of the agricultural sector and international trade in high-quality seed production, as well as the importance of fostering global collaboration, the proposal should enhance the trade of seeds that complies with the Union regulations.

     

    ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

    The rapporteur declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

     

     

    PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

    Title

    Granting equivalence with EU requirements to Moldova and Ukraine as regards field inspections and production of seed

    References

    COM(2024)0052 – C9-0026/2024 – 2024/0027(COD)

    Date submitted to Parliament

    5.2.2024

     

     

     

    Committee(s) responsible

    AGRI

     

     

     

    Rapporteurs

     Date appointed

    Veronika Vrecionová

    20.11.2024

     

     

     

    Discussed in committee

    3.12.2024

    30.1.2025

     

     

    Date adopted

    19.3.2025

     

     

     

    Result of final vote

    +:

    –:

    0:

    30

    13

    1

    Members present for the final vote

    Arno Bausemer, Sergio Berlato, Stefano Bonaccini, Mireia Borrás Pabón, Daniel Buda, Gheorghe Cârciu, Asger Christensen, Barry Cowen, Carmen Crespo Díaz, Ivan David, Valérie Deloge, Salvatore De Meo, Csaba Dömötör, Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral, Herbert Dorfmann, Luke Ming Flanagan, Cristina Guarda, Martin Häusling, Krzysztof Hetman, Céline Imart, Elsi Katainen, Stefan Köhler, Norbert Lins, Cristina Maestre, Dario Nardella, Gilles Pennelle, Alvise Pérez, Katarína Roth Neveďalová, Bert-Jan Ruissen, Arash Saeidi, Eric Sargiacomo, Christine Singer, Raffaele Stancanelli, Anna Strolenberg, Pekka Toveri, Jessika Van Leeuwen, Veronika Vrecionová, Thomas Waitz, Maria Walsh

    Substitutes present for the final vote

    Sakis Arnaoutoglou, Alexander Bernhuber, Benoit Cassart, Elena Sancho Murillo, Anna Zalewska

    Date tabled

    25.3.2025

     

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Slave Trade ‘Indelible Stain’ on Humanity’s Conscience, Says Secretary-General at Remembrance Event

    Source: United Nations General Assembly and Security Council

    Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the General Assembly event to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in New York today:

    The transatlantic slave trade is an indelible stain on the conscience of humanity.  For more than four centuries, enslaved Africans were kidnapped and trafficked, dehumanized, abused and exploited.

    The depth and scale of the cruelty, inhumanity, and depravity of this practice is incomprehensible.  So, too, is the suffering, fear, pain and misery endured by those millions of people exploited for profit.

    Today, we reflect on families ripped apart and communities decimated.  We remember the women, children, and men forced to work in agonizing conditions, savagely punished, and deprived of their dignity and human rights.

    And we take strength in their resistance and demands for justice:  From revolution in Haiti, to the underground railroad in the United States, to countless individual acts of courage and defiance.

    I deeply regret that several countries — including my own — were engaged in this immoral trade.  A trade driven by greed and built on lies — particularly the lie of white supremacy.  A trade enabled by insurers, bankers, shipping companies, legal systems and more that saw individuals, institutions and corporations amass unimaginable wealth on the back of human suffering.  When slavery was officially abolished, it was not the enslaved who were compensated, but the enslavers — receiving reparations equivalent to billions of dollars in today’s money.

    In an even crueller twist, some slaves were forced to pay compensation.  Haiti had to fund payouts to those who had profited from its suffering — all in the name of securing its independence.

    Today is not only a day of remembrance.  It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today.

    The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us.  Systemic racism has been embedded into institutions, cultures, and social systems.

    And deeply rooted exclusion, racial discrimination and violence continue to undermine the ability of many people of African descent to thrive and achieve their full potential.

    For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade — and their ongoing impact — have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed.

    Links to slavery were buried, histories were rewritten, minimized or overlooked, ongoing harms were excused or dismissed and perpetrators seemed to hope their actions would be lost to the past.

    They were wrong.  Thanks to the tireless work of affected leaders and communities, calls to acknowledge and repair the past can no longer be ignored.

    This year, at both the African Union Summit and the Caribbean Community Heads of Government Meeting, I heard leader after leader make a powerful case for reparatory justice.

    Some institutions and States are taking steps to acknowledge and address their pasts; museums and public spaces are commemorating the resistance of people of African descent and celebrating their vast contribution to societies.  This is a start.

    But we need much more.  The horrors of the transatlantic slave trade are an undeniable fact.  Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary, it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present, and building a future of dignity and justice for all.

    It is also important that reparatory justice frameworks are grounded in international human rights law, developed with the participation of affected communities and acknowledge the terrible harms caused.

    I urge everyone to play their part in building inclusive societies free from the evils of racism.

    That means countries complying with their international obligations — including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and becoming parties to the Convention if they are not already.

    It means business leaders promoting equality and combating racism.  And it means civil society and everyday people continuing to push for justice and taking a stand against racism wherever and whenever it appears.

    This mission is at the heart of the United Nations.  The human dignity of every person is our founding creed.  We must stand with everyone, everywhere, to combat racial discrimination and hate and to defend the human rights and dignity of all.

    MIL OSI United Nations News

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) 2025: Congo Offers Attractive Tax Policies for Oil & Gas (O&G) Investors

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), March 25, 2025/APO Group/ —

    The Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons has announced it is working to improve the attractiveness of taxation in the hydrocarbons sector to fully realize the potential of the country’s hydrocarbons market.

    Speaking during the Technical Conference at the inaugural Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) – From Resources to Revenue: Developing the Republic of Congo’s Gas Sector – Jean-Jacques Ikama, Director General of Oil Economy, Audit and Trading, Ministry of Hydrocarbons, Congo explored the conditions and mechanisms for companies entering the country’s oil and gas sector.

    “Oil and gas activities can serve as a basis for the creation and operationalization of a very dynamic local market,” stated Ikama, adding, “We aim to redefine the hydrocarbons sector in our country and improve the conditions of exploration and production.”

    In addition to good taxation conditions and guaranteed frameworks, Congo has taken proactive steps to enhance its energy sector’s appeal to investors. The government will launch a new licensing round at CEIF, targeting accelerated oil and gas exploration and production activities.

    Meanwhile, Congo’s parastatal Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo is set to release its Gas Master Plan at CEIF 2025. The plan aims to advance the country’s gas monetization agenda by catalyzing new infrastructure development, including gas pipelines, processing facilities and gas-to-power plants. The plan also seeks to reduce energy imports and raise electricity access, which currently stands at 50%.

    A new Gas Code, expected in 2025, will provide a clear legislative framework for gas monetization, fiscal terms and resource management. The draft was presented to gas companies in late 2023 and is set for final approval in the coming months.

    Key gas monetization initiatives in the country include energy major Eni’s Congo LNG project and Chinese developer Wing Wah’s Banga Kayo project. These projects highlight the country’s dedication to advancing its energy infrastructure and diversifying revenue streams within the sector.

    These efforts positions Congo as an increasingly competitive and attractive destination for global energy investments.

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI: Eric Peter Weschke of AdvancedFolio Capital Management Rings NYSE Closing Bell

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SETAUKET, N.Y., March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eric Peter Weschke, president and CEO of AdvancedFolio Capital Management, joined an elite group of financial leaders by ringing the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Closing Bell. The event, broadcast live on CNBC, marked a significant achievement for Weschke, a 29-year veteran of the financial services industry and a prominent New York financial educator.

    Image by AdvancedFolio Capital Management

    For Weschke, this milestone represents a full-circle moment, as his journey in finance began decades ago, inspired by his mother, a pioneer who worked on the NYSE floor in the late 1960s.   “Being on the NYSE trading floor and ringing the closing bell was truly surreal,” Weschke says. “As a child, I remember visiting the exchange with my mother, who was among the first women to work there. To now be here, participating in a historic tradition, is an incredible honor both personally and professionally.”

    Eric Peter Weschke Celebrates Financial Leadership at NYSE

    The NYSE Closing Bell Ceremony is a symbolic tradition that marks the end of the trading day, often reserved for industry leaders, top executives, and companies making significant contributions to the financial world. Weschke’s participation reflects his longstanding influence in financial education, asset management, and wealth preservation strategies.

    The invitation to ring the closing bell places Weschke among distinguished financial figures who have shaped the industry. This honor acknowledges his contributions to advancing investor education and developing innovative wealth management approaches throughout his career. The ceremony, witnessed by traders, executives, and millions of viewers, showcases AdvancedFolio’s growing influence in the financial services sector.

    “This isn’t just a personal achievement; it’s a reflection of the trust our clients place in us and the strength of the brand we’ve built at AdvancedFolio Capital Management,” Weschke says.

    AdvancedFolio Capital Management Showcases Success on National Stage

    Founded by Eric Peter Weschke, AdvancedFolio Capital Management has established itself as a premier financial firm, offering personalized investment strategies and financial planning solutions. The firm prioritizes a client-first approach, crafting customized solutions while balancing asset protection with effective risk management.

    “At AdvancedFolio, our mission is simple: to provide our clients with strategic, tax-efficient investment plans that ensure long-term financial security,” Weschke says. “We’re not just managing wealth—we’re building financial confidence.”

    This commitment extends to education, with hundreds of free seminars and workshops offered to boost financial literacy among clients and the broader community. The firm’s expertise has earned national recognition, from appearances on CNBC to features in financial publications and high-profile industry events.

    “The success of AdvancedFolio Capital Management isn’t just about numbers; it’s about helping people build sustainable financial futures,” Weschke says. “The recognition we’ve received, from Nasdaq’s National Board in Times Square in 2021 to the NYSE Closing Bell in 2025, reflects our dedication to excellence.”

    Reflecting on the NYSE Immersion Moment

    “The excitement inside the exchange was electric,” he says. “The anticipation of ringing the bell, knowing it was being broadcast nationwide, was an unforgettable experience. It’s moments like these that remind me why I chose this career: to be part of something bigger than myself and contribute to the financial well-being of others.”

    During his visit, Weschke engaged in discussions with NYSE executives, traders, and financial analysts, gaining valuable insights into the current state of the markets and future trends.

    “It was fascinating to hear firsthand perspectives from professionals who operate at the heart of the financial world,” Weschke says. “From market analysts to on-air CNBC personalities, the exchange is a hub of financial expertise.”

    Beyond the ceremony, Weschke took a behind-the-scenes tour of the NYSE, where he gained a new appreciation for the technology and operations driving global financial markets.

    “Seeing the trading floor up close, rather than just on TV, gave me a whole new perspective,” Weschke says. “The floor is smaller than it appears on screen, but the energy, the technology, and the precision with which everything runs is remarkable.”

    A Career of Achievement

    Throughout his career, Eric Peter Weschke has been recognized for his expertise in institutional investment theory, risk management, and tax-efficient retirement income strategies. As a nationally published financial expert and speaker, he has guided countless individuals, families, and businesses toward achieving their financial goals.

    Among his professional accomplishments:

    • Former National Speaker on financial strategies for corporations across the U.S.
    • Chief Technical Analyst for the Swing-Trader Market Newsletter.
    • Senior Executive Syndicate Underwriting Team Member for a $20M Initial Public Bond Offering.
    • Senior VP and Northeast Regional Planner for First National Bank of Arizona.
    • Advisor of the Year (2003) for outstanding financial planning performance.
    • #1 Nationally Ranked Representative for Northwestern Mutual (1993) based on volume.

    Weschke is also a licensed investment advisor and 1031 Exchange Specialist, ensuring that his clients receive comprehensive, well-informed financial guidance.

    “Success in finance isn’t just about numbers; it’s about trust, relationships, and delivering long-term results,” Weschke says. “At  AdvancedFolio Capital Management, we’re committed to making a real impact in people’s lives.”

    Eric Peter Weschke’s Message to Clients and the Industry

    As Weschke reflects on his participation in the NYSE Closing Bell Ceremony, he hopes the event sends a powerful message to his clients and professional network.

    “This moment reinforces our firm’s relevance and credibility in today’s financial world,” Weschke says. “It’s proof that  AdvancedFolio Capital Management is being recognized at the highest levels for the work we do. Our exposure through CNBC, the NYSE, and Nasdaq has only strengthened our brand and mission.”

    With the future in focus, Weschke remains committed to expanding AdvancedFolio Capital Management, enhancing client services, and continuing to shape the financial landscape through education, innovation, and trust.

    “This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it’s just the beginning,” Weschke says. “We’re building something that will last, something that will help generations achieve financial stability and success.”

    About AdvancedFolio Capital Management

    AdvancedFolio Capital Management is a Setauket-based financial advisory firm committed to delivering personalized investment strategies and proactive wealth management solutions. By focusing on client education and disciplined financial planning, the firm helps individuals and families achieve their financial goals with confidence and clarity.

    Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investors are advised to consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Investment advisory services are offered through Coppell Advisory Solutions, LLC dba Fusion Capital Management, an SEC registered investment advisor. The firm only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. SEC registration is not an endorsement of the firm by the commission and does not mean that the advisor has attained a specific level of skill or ability. See full disclosures on FusionCM.com/compliance. Insurance and annuity products are not sold through Fusion Capital Management. Fusion does not endorse any annuity or insurance product, nor does it guarantee any insurance or annuity performance. Annuity and life insurance guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. If you withdraw money from or surrender your contract within a certain time after investing, the insurance company may assess a surrender charge. Withdrawals may be subject to tax penalties and income taxes. Persons selling annuities and other insurance products receive compensation for these transactions. These commissions are separate and distinct from Fusion’s investment advisory fees.

    Media Contact:

    Eric Peter Weschke
    AdvancedFolio Capital Management
    Phone: 631-675-1885
    Email: eric@advancedfolio.com
    Website: https://www.advancedfolio.com/

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/687a81d7-e1d7-4935-99ab-6e5f9f487014

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Crimes of the transatlantic slave trade ‘unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed’

    Source: United Nations 2

    By Vibhu Mishra

    Human Rights

    The transatlantic slave trade may have ended centuries ago but its legacy is ever present, the UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday, marking the International Day of Remembrance for its victims.

    Addressing the General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that systemic racism, economic exclusion and racial violence continue to deny people of African descent the opportunity to thrive.

    He called on governments to acknowledge the truth and finally honour the trade’s legacy by taking action.  

    For too long, the crimes of the transatlantic slave trade – and their ongoing impact – have remained unacknowledged, unspoken and unaddressed,” he said, denouncing erasure of history, rewriting of narratives and dismissal of slavery’s intrinsic harm.

    The obscene profits derived from chattel slavery and the racist ideologies that underpinned the trade are still with us,” he added.

    Four centuries of abuse

    For over four centuries, an estimated 25 to 30 million Africans – nearly a third of the continent’s population at the time – were forcibly taken from their homelands. Many did not survive the brutal journey across the Atlantic.

    The exploitation and suffering – families torn apart, entire communities decimated and generations condemned to bondage – was driven by greed and sustained by racist ideologies, which remain today.

    Honouring and remembering those who suffered, the UN in 2007 designated March 25 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

    The date marks the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in the United Kingdom in 1807, three years after the Haitian Revolution. The revolution led to the establishment of the Republic of Haiti – the first country to gain independence based on the actions of enslaved men and women.

    Forced to pay for their freedom

    Even after slavery was abolished, the UN chief noted, its victims were not compensated and, in many cases, formerly enslaved people were forced to pay for their freedom.

    Haiti, for instance, had to make massive payouts to those who profited from its suffering, a financial burden that set the young nation on a path of enduring economic hardship.

    “Today is not only a day of remembrance. It is also a day to reflect on the enduring legacies of slavery and colonialism and to strengthen our resolve to combat those evils today,” Mr. Guterres said.

    UN Photo/Manuel Elías

    UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the General Assembly meeting to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance.

    Move forward with resolve

    Mr. Guterres urged governments, businesses and civil society to take decisive action against racism and discrimination, urging nations to fully implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and to comply with their human rights obligations.

    Acknowledging this truth is not only necessary – it is vital for addressing past wrongs, healing the present and building a future of dignity and justice for all,” he stressed.

    Stains not easily erased

    The President of the General Assembly, Philémon Yang, echoed the Secretary-General’s concerns, stating that while slavery was formally abolished, its legacy persists in racial inequalities that span generations.

    The stains of injustice are not easily erased,” he said, pointing to ongoing disparities in housing, employment, healthcare, education and criminal justice systems.

    He stressed that addressing these injustices requires not only acknowledgment but concrete policy changes that ensure equity and inclusion.

    Mr. Yang also underscored the importance of education in confronting these painful legacies. He called for a global effort to integrate comprehensive histories of slavery and its aftermath into school curricula, emphasising that an informed society is better equipped to challenge prejudice and foster empathy.

    The Ark of Return

    This year’s commemoration also marked the tenth anniversary of the Ark of Return, the permanent memorial at the UN Headquarters in New York to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, located at UN Headquarters in New York.  

    Standing solemnly against the backdrop of the East River, the Ark of Return greets world leaders, government officials and the public as they enter UN Headquarters – a white-marble monument to the resilience and resistance of those who endured the horrors of slavery.

    Designed by Haitian-American architect Rodney Leon, it also educates future generations about the ongoing dangers of racism and exclusion.

    Ark of Return: The Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

    Click here to read UN News’ interview with Mr. Leon

    A living monument to memory and justice

    Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka (Literature, 1986) also address the commemoration in New York, having paid his respects at the Ark of Return.

    Acknowledging the significance of the monument and its prominence at UN Headquarters, Mr. Soyinka urged world leaders to go further by transforming static monuments into living, evolving spaces that not only honour the past but propel humanity toward justice.

    It is impossible to quantify reparations for such a global atrocity,” he said, emphasising the power of symbolism.

    He proposed another expression of remembrance dubbed the “Heritage Voyage of Return”, which would trace the paths of the transatlantic ships, stopping at historic ports of enslavement along the West African coast and beyond.

    This Voyage, he suggested, could serve as a living exposition – housing repatriated African artifacts, hosting cultural exhibitions and creating spaces for education, dialogue and artistic expression.

    UN Photo/Manuel Elías

    Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet and Nobel Laureate, delivers a keynote address to the commemorative meeting of the General Assembly to mark the International Day of Remembrance.

    Turn the tide, flip the phrase

    Salome Agbaroji, a young poet from the United States also spoke at the Commemoration, urging people of African descent to tell their “full and true” stories.

    Turn the tide, flip the phrase to reclaim our personhood and our narratives…your value goes far beyond the human labour you provide but lies in the vibrancy of your culture and innovations,” she said.

    Echoing Secretary-General António Guterres’ emphasis on the need to acknowledge the horrors or slavery and dispel false narratives, she called for greater support for educational programmes to inform and empower young people.

    MIL OSI United Nations News

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Colloquium to discuss developments in intellectual property

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Intellectual property and technology commercialisation will come under the spotlight at a colloquium that will be hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).

    Wednesday’s colloquium will be held under the theme: “Driving Innovation and Positioning Intellectual Property Commercialisation for a Better and Inclusive South Africa”.

    According to the Minister of the dtic, Parks Tau, the session will provide a platform to exchange ideas and experiences on addressing challenges hindering successful technology commercialisation, and what measures can be taken to address these challenges.

    He said the session, which the dtic will host in partnership with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), will focus on enhancing awareness and understanding of intellectual property (IP), technology management, and the commercialisation process. 

    Discussions will cover the advancement of new technologies and their impact on the IP landscape and the commercialisation of these innovations. 

    The session will also explore strategies for innovating, scaling, and commercialising more effectively during and after a pandemic.

    “The National System of Innovation stakeholders will exchange ideas and share experiences on overcoming challenges in intellectual property and technology commercialisation. The key focus areas include addressing barriers to successful commercialisation, improving access to venture capital funding, enhancing knowledge of equity structures, and creating effective market channels,” the Minister said.

    The session will bring together international and local expert speakers in the field of IP and technology commercialisation, including commercialisation specialists, IP Merchant Banks, venture capitalists, incubators and fund finders, among others.

    Significantly, the session will also see high school and tertiary students participating in order to instil an interest in IP. 

    “The learners will participate in an interactive session,, where they will be taken through the exciting journey of IP and technology development. 

    “This session will stimulate and harness a culture of innovation and creativity amongst South African school learners, build a future generation that will be ready and attuned to the skills needs of the 4IR [Fourth Industrial Revolution] and be a generation of job creators rather than job seekers,” Tau said.

    Some of the topics that will be discussed include technology development and commercialisation, intellectual property in successful commercialisation of products and services, and understanding IP rights and their role in technology transfer and economic growth.

    The colloquium will have exhibition stands for innovators to display their products and services.

    The exhibition will be used to showcase support offered by government to innovators through different funding instruments.

    The colloquium will get underway at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria from 9am. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI USA: Photo Wrap-Up: Welch Meets with Vermont Business and Farm Owners, Patients, Legislators in Senate’s First In-State Work Week 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    MONTPELIER, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spent the Senate’s first in-state work week of the 119th Session meeting with concerned Vermonters, business owners, farmers, patients, and members of the Vermont State Legislature.  
    On Saturday, March 15, Sen. Welch joined Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak and local legislators for a town hall in South Burlington. Senator Welch spoke about the Trump Administration’s reckless and illegal policies, which are hurting Vermont families, farmers, businesses, and the local economy. Watch the town hall here:  

    On Tuesday, March 18, Senator Welch convened Vermont and Canadian business leaders for a roundtable in Newport, Vermont —near the U.S.-Canada border— on Tuesday to discuss President Trump’s Trade War and how the Trump Administration’s reckless tariffs are hurting workers, families, and farmers. Senator Welch was joined by the Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, Member of Parliament for Compton-Stanstead, and Vermont and Canadian business owners. Following the roundtable, Senator Welch toured Track, Inc. and Built by Newport and continued discussions on the impacts of the tariffs.  

    Welch convenes international business leaders in Newport to discuss impacts of Trump’s trade war

    Welch at Track, Inc. with Mike Desmarais, Owner & CEO of Track Inc.

    Welch at Track, Inc. with Mike Desmarais, Owner & CEO of Track Inc.

    Welch at Built by Newport with owner Dave LaForce

    Welch at Built by Newport with the LaForce family

    On Wednesday, March 19, Senator Welch toured Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where he discussed his new bipartisan bill to support rural health care providers, the Rural Hospital Support Act and the impact of President Trump’s and Congressional Republicans’ proposed Medicaid cuts on Vermonters. Following the tour at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Sen. Welch met with business leaders and workers from Allard Lumber Co., and G.S. Precision, Inc., in Brattleboro. 

    Welch at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

    Welch Tours Allard Lumber Co. in Brattleboro

    Welch at G.S. Precision, Inc. in Brattleboro

    On Thursday, Senator Welch returned to the Statehouse to meet with the Vermont State Senate Appropriations Committee. The Senator provided an update on the recent passage of the Continuing Resolution and ongoing annual budget negotiations, as well as the harm of the budget proposed by President Trump and Congressional Republicans, which would make drastic cuts to Medicaid and other programs and services Vermonters rely on. Senator Welch was elected to the Vermont State Senate in 1980 and became the first Democrat in Vermont history to hold the position of President Pro Tempore.  
    After, he toured Rhino Foods, which develops and manufactures edible additions for ice cream and frozen foods, such as cookie dough. Rhino Foods is a Certified B Corp and is focused on advancing innovative employee-centered practices that help workers of all abilities and experience succeed. 
    Senator Welch also provided remarks and shared a meal at Winooski High School’s district-wide Community Iftar – an evening of community, celebration, and learning about Ramadan. This was Winooski’s fifth Community Iftar. 

    Welch provides an update to the Vermont Senate Appropriations Committee

    Welch Tours Rhino Foods to discuss workforce training and development

    Welch speaks at Winooski High School’s district-wide Community Iftar

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI: VERB Publishes Management’s Prepared Remarks During Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Call

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    LAS VEGAS and LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Verb Technology Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERB) (“VERB” or the “Company”), Transforming the Landscape of Social Commerce, Social Telehealth and Social Crowdfunding with MARKET.live; VANITYPrescribed; GoodGirlRx; and the GO FUND YOURSELF TV Show, today filed its Form 10-K reporting financial and operating results for the full year and the quarter ending December 31, 2024 and held an earnings conference call at 1 p.m. ET to discuss these results. Prepared remarks during the conference call of Rory J. Cutaia, the Company’s Chairman & CEO, are provided below.

    Company Participant
    Rory J. Cutaia, CEO

    Operator:
    Good afternoon and welcome to the full-year and fourth quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call for Verb Technology Company, Inc. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised, the call is being recorded at the Company’s request.

    On our call today is Rory J. Cutaia, Verb’s Founder, Chairman and CEO

    Before we begin, I’d like to remind everyone that statements made during this conference call will include forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, except as required by law, as the underlying facts and circumstances may change. Verb Technology Company disclaims any obligations to update these forward-looking statements, as well as those contained in the Company’s current and subsequent filings with the SEC.

    I would now like to turn the call over to Rory J. Cutaia, CEO. Rory?

    Rory:
    Thank you moderator, and thanks to everyone for joining us today for our fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results and business update conference call.

    Well it sure feels good being back before you, speaking directly to you about our company, our business, our performance, and sharing our direct, transparent, honest thoughts and strategies for how we intend to drive shareholder value in this business now and into the future.

    I’d like to begin with a brief discussion about our history and the challenging market conditions that influenced the formulation of the strategies we undertook to insulate ourselves from those conditions. I’m referring to insulating ourselves from those market conditions that became impediments to value creation in our former direct sales Software as a Service line of business, as well as those market conditions, particularly capital markets conditions, that affected, and are affecting many, many small and micro-cap exchange-listed companies even today.

    Then I’d like to discuss the strategies that we employed and the changes we’ve made that underlie the impressive results we’re now seeing in the business. I’ll also touch on the strategies we employed that resulted in what I’m proud to state is a well cash-infused, extremely healthy debt-free balance sheet and a super clean cap table, the combination of which provide the all-important foundation for the impressive revenue growth we’re now enjoying.

    Ok – let’s jump in. Historically, we were an R&D driven technology business, built around a SaaS platform, with a customer base that was comprised of, for the most part, direct sales companies, or as they are sometimes referred to: multi-level marketing companies. When we entered the market with our interactive video-based sales software, we set out to become the dominant player in this sector. What we saw at that time was the opportunity to address a market that included the large-scale sales teams, including tens of thousands of independent sales reps that these companies managed, all of whom needed a simple and effective, mobile-based sales tool.

    Over time we learned valuable lessons. First, while we onboarded large numbers of new sales reps every month, the attrition rate among sales reps at these companies was extraordinarily high, making it difficult and costly to generate meaningful revenue growth. In addition, while we developed what we believe were extremely effective tools to help sales reps, even inexperienced sales reps generate and convert sales leads, outdated internal communications policies at these companies prohibited us from communicating these tools and how to use them directly to the fields of sales reps which may have curtailed much of the sales rep attrition, as the companies that managed these reps were often ineffective at doing so themselves. Finally, the ever-changing nature of the customer base we served, as well as the give-it-away below cost pricing models adopted by competitors who found themselves marginalized by our superior product offering, required continued, costly R&D expenditures, and continued returns to the capital markets.

    These factors, coupled with what we perceived to be declining market multiples for SaaS businesses generally, drove our decision to sell that business unit and focus instead on our new, though not yet revenue-generating – Market.live, livestream shopping business. A bold move indeed, but one that has certainly proven now to have been in the best interests of our shareholders. This was the first prong of our multi-pronged strategy to restructure, reconstitute, and re-invent VERB.

    The next prong of our strategy was to insulate ourselves from the predatory financing terms imposed universally on companies like ours who relied on access to the capital markets to fund continued R&D and other growth capital requirements. Almost every financing initiative we undertook was fraught with last minute re-trading of material deal terms, ridiculous warrant coverage terms and conditions, post-deal financing exclusivity arrangements, tying the Company to bad financings into the future when additional capital was needed – all of which made us – and so many other companies in the same situation – perfect targets for short-selling – and for companies with any kind of trading volume, greed-driven illegal naked short-selling.

    It wasn’t hard to target companies that announced an upcoming financing as short-sellers could be confident that deal terms and corresponding share prices would be below whatever the then current trading price was. This capital markets environment eroded share prices across the board resulting in reverse splits required to maintain exchange listing requirements, and destroyed cap tables and balance sheets causing an unprecedented level of exchange de-listings. Ultimately, it was the individual retail investors, left without sufficiently aggressive regulatory intervention, who bore the brunt of this market activity and still do.

    To avoid this awful outcome, we developed a unique strategy to utilize Reg A to structure our capitalize raise initiatives and avoid the predatory hedge-fund investors, allowing us to issue straight common shares, priced at-the-market, with no warrant coverage, and no investment banking fees. This financing vehicle, unique for publicly-traded companies, among other financing strategies, allowed us to pay-off all of our debt, redeem all of the previously issued preferred shares, completely restructure our balance sheet, padding it with cash, taking shareholder equity from almost $2 million negative in June 2023 to more than $16 million positive in December 2024, and giving us a cash runway, conservatively assuming zero revenue growth, well into 2028 and beyond.

    The shareholder approved reverse split we did last year resulted in an extremely tight – less than 1 million share float – and essentially eliminated all of the warrant overhang from years-ago predatory financings. We’re very proud of how well that series of initiatives was executed, completing that important second prong of our multi-pronged strategy to restructure, reconstitute, and re-invent VERB.

    The next prong of our strategy was to diversify our revenue streams to insulate ourselves from changes in the market, including economic and regulatory changes, as well as changes within our own customer base and demand for our products and services. The challenge was to identify and develop independent, yet complementary revenue producing business units that could leverage the cost savings produced by a unified internal finance, sales, marketing, and technology department structure utilized by and across all business units.

    Recognizing that the core of our business was our interactive social video commerce technology and know-how, our strategy was to exploit those capabilities by entering the exploding telehealth industry, leading to the development and launch of VANITY Prescribed, followed by GoodGirlRX in partnership with TV and social media celebrity Savannah Chrisley, and then the development and launch of GO FUND YOURSELF, our very exciting, fast-growing crowd funding marketing platform. To give a sense of the revenue potential for Go Fund Yourself, we launched it in Q3 with little to no marketing and recognized $25 thousand in revenue – and then in Q4 we recognized $233 thousand in revenue. And if any of the more recent developments come to fruition for the Show – 2025 may be an extraordinary year for Go Fund Yourself and VERB stockholders.

    VANITY Prescribed was in development during Q3 and Q4, identifying suppliers, onboarding suppliers, then replacing suppliers, developing our online patient screening and prescription approval process, and shoring up our supply chain in anticipation of participating in the extraordinary growth of the telehealth space following the introduction and rapid adoption of the new GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Revenue, though now growing, was modest through that period and we’re excited for a broad-based launch and marketing campaign that is about to get under way.

    As to MARKET.live, at the end of Q3, we changed our focus and product offering by providing what we believe is an industry-leading end-to-end solution for brands seeking to adopt a social commerce strategy that they cannot manage in-house on a cost effective basis. That strategy has proven to be enormously successful producing exponential revenue growth. As reflected in our 2024 Form 10-K filed today, in Q1 we generated revenue of $7 thousand, in Q2 we generated revenue of $37 thousand, in Q3 we generated revenue of $103 thousand, and in Q4 we generated revenue of $490 thousand. An impressive and most welcomed trend by anyone’s standards.

    Combined 2024 revenue was $895 thousand, an increase of $832 thousand over 2023, representing revenue growth of 1,321% over that period. This performance is the greatest amount of revenue generated since the strategic sale of the Company’s direct sales SaaS business unit in June 2023.

    Looking at Q4 alone, we generated $723 thousand, an increase of $694 thousand over the same period last year, representing revenue growth of almost 2,400% over that period. And as compared to Q3 2024, revenue in Q4 increased by $595 thousand, representing growth of almost 465% quarter-over-quarter.

    While we historically do not provide going-forward guidance, we are comfortable sharing our expectation that Q1 2025 will surpass Q4 2024.

    Finally, as to the last prong of our multi-pronged strategy to restructure, reconstitute, and re-invent VERB, we recognized that any business that fails to identify and develop an artificial intelligence strategy will be marginalized. With that in mind, we explored a number of different strategies, including developing our own A.I. capabilities in-house, which we smartly rejected. Instead, we scoured the market for a company with a developed, tested, proprietary A.I. solution uniquely tailored to video-based social commerce. Upon testing the A.I. and social commerce capabilities of LyveCom, a bleeding-edge, video-based social commerce start-up, we entered into a licensing agreement to incorporate their technology into our MARKET.live platform.

    To our great surprise, we found that the integration of LyveCom’s tech resulted in a massive operational cost reduction. In fact, we anticipate a direct operational cost reduction of approximately $1 million per year. However, perhaps more importantly, we also recognized that the addition of LyveCom’s technology created an entirely new, updated platform, feature rich with capabilities far beyond our current platform and certainly beyond that of many other social commerce platforms. So rather than simply license the technology and risk LyveCom being acquired by a competitor, limiting our access to the technology and future iterations of it, we decided to acquire it ourselves. It is our expectation that the acquisition will be highly accretive and produce meaningful value for VERB stockholders.

    With the closing of the LyveCom acquisition, which remains on track and is expected to occur in the coming weeks, we will have effectively completed the transition of VERB from an unprofitable, cash-hungry business in a challenging market, to an extremely well-capitalized, well diversified business, with proven, strong, fast-growing revenue generation capabilities, A.I.-ready, with a tight float, clean cap table and debt-free balance sheet, poised for meaningful continued growth.

    In closing, I refer you to our Form 10-K filed today for greater details concerning our 2024 financial results as well as the press release distributed today summarizing those results for additional information I’ve not covered in my conference call today. I’ve chosen instead to use this time to provide context for those results and share our strategies and ongoing initiatives for continued growth and value-creation for VERB stockholders.

    Finally, and as anyone who can read a balance can see, with under 1 million shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024, and debt-free with more than $13 million in cash and highly liquid securities – and assuming ZERO value given for our three revenue generating business units – I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that our net cash value per common share is at least $13.50, which we believe represents a very compelling opportunity, very compelling indeed.

    I thank you for allowing me to address you all today and share with you our excitement and optimism for VERB shareholders now and into the future.

    Operator: This concludes the conference call. You may now disconnect.

    About VERB
    Verb Technology Company, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERB), is the innovative force behind interactive video-based social commerce. The Company operates three business units, each of which leverages its social commerce technology and video marketing expertise. The Company’s MARKET.live platform is a multi-vendor, livestream social shopping destination at the forefront of the convergence of e-commerce and entertainment, where brands, retailers, creators, and influencers engage their customers, clients, fans, and followers across multiple social media channels simultaneously. GO FUND YOURSELF is a revolutionary interactive social crowd funding platform and TV show for public and private companies seeking broad-based exposure across social media channels for their crowd-funded Regulation CF and Regulation A offerings. The platform combines a ground-breaking interactive TV show with MARKET.live’s back-end capabilities allowing viewers to tap, scan or click on their screen to facilitate an investment, in real time, as they watch companies presenting before the show’s panel of “Titans”. Presenting companies that sell consumer products are able to offer their products directly to viewers during the show in real time through shoppable onscreen icons. VANITYPrescribed.com and GoodGirlRx.com are telehealth portals, intended to redefine telehealth by offering a seamless, digital-first experience that empowers individuals to take control of their healthcare needs. They were designed and developed to disrupt the traditional healthcare model by providing tailored healthcare solutions at affordable, fixed prices – without hidden fees, membership costs, or inflated pharmaceutical markups. GoodGirlRx.com, a partnership with Savannah Chrisley, a well-known lifestyle personality and advocate for health and wellness, offers customers access to convenient, no-hassle telehealth services and pharmaceuticals, including the new weight-loss drugs, with fixed pricing regardless of dosage, breaking away from the industry’s traditional model of excessive pricing and pharmaceutical gatekeeping.

    The Company is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV and operates full-service production and creator studios in Los Alamitos, California.

    For more information, please visit: www.verb.tech

    Follow VERB and MARKET.live here:
    VERB on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VerbTechCo
    VERB on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerbTech_Co
    VERB on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/verb-tech
    VERB on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0eCb_fwQlwEG3ywHDJ4_KQ

    Sign up for E-mail Alerts here: https://ir.verb.tech/news-events/email-alerts

    FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
    This communication contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance, or achievements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, those identified in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our annual, quarterly and current reports filed with the SEC and the risk factors included in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC today. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

    Investor Relations Contact: investors@verb.tech

    Media Contact: info@verb.tech

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: WithSecure Corporation: SHARE REPURCHASE 25.3.2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WithSecure Corporation, STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE, 25 March 2025 at 6.30 PM (EET)
         
         
    WithSecure Corporation: SHARE REPURCHASE 25.3.2025
         
    In the Helsinki Stock Exchange    
         
    Trade date           25.3.2025  
    Bourse trade         Buy  
    Share                  WITH  
    Amount             15 000 Shares
    Average price/ share    0,9588 EUR
    Total cost            14 382,00 EUR
         
         
    WithSecure Corporation now holds a total of 256 890 shares
    including the shares repurchased on 25.3.2025  
         
    The share buybacks are executed in compliance with Regulation 
    No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council (MAR) Article 5
    and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052.
         
         
    On behalf of Withsecure Corporation  
         
    Nordea Bank Oyj    
         
    Janne Sarvikivi           Sami Huttunen  
         
         
    Contact information:    
    Laura Viita    
    Vice President Controlling, Investor relations and Sustainability
    WithSecure Corporation    
    Tel. +358 50 4871044    
    Investor-relations@withsecure.com    
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: SA: Disclosure of trading in own shares (excluding the liquidity agreement) made on March 17, 2025 to March 21, 2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    COFACE SA: Disclosure of trading in own shares (excluding the liquidity agreement) made on March 17, 2025 to March 21, 2025

    Paris, 25 March 2025 – 17.45

    Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of 16 April 2014 on market abuse1

    The main features of the 2024-2025 Share Buyback Program have been published on the Company’s website (http://www.coface.com/Investors/Disclosure-requirements, under “Own share transactions”) and are also described in the 2023 Universal Registration Document.

    Trading session
    of (Date)
    Number
    of shares
    Weighted
    average price
    Gross amount MIC Code Purpose
    of buyback
    17/03/2025 9,000 16.9793 € 152,813 € XPAR LTIP
    18/03/2025 9,000 17.2133 € 154,920 € XPAR LTIP
    19/03/2025 9,000 17.4057 € 156,651 € XPAR LTIP
    20/03/2025 9,000 17.4598 € 157,138 € XPAR LTIP
    21/03/2025 9,000 17.5953 € 158,357 € XPAR LTIP
    Total 17/03/2025 – 21/03/2025 45,000 17.3307 € 779,880 €   LTIP

    CONTACTS

    ANALYSTS / INVESTORS
    Thomas JACQUET: +33 1 49 02 12 58 – thomas.jacquet@coface.com
    Rina ANDRIAMIADANTSOA: +33 1 49 02 15 85 – rina.andriamiadantsoa@coface.com

    FINANCIAL CALENDAR 2025
    (subject to change)

    Q1-2025 results: 5 May 2025 (after market close)
    Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting: 14 May 2025
    H1-2025 results: 31 July 2025 (after market close)
    9M-2025 results: 3 November 2025 (after market close)

    FINANCIAL INFORMATION
    This press release, as well as COFACE SA’s integral regulatory information, can be found on the Group’s website: http://www.coface.com/Investors

    For regulated information on Alternative Performance Measures (APM), please refer to our Interim Financial Report for H1-2024 and our 2023 Universal Registration Document (see part 3.7 “Key financial performance indicators”).

      Regulated documents posted by COFACE SA have been secured and authenticated with the blockchain technology by Wiztrust.
    You can check the authenticity on the website www.wiztrust.com.
     

    COFACE: FOR TRADE
    As a global leading player in trade credit risk management for more than 75 years, Coface helps companies grow and navigate in an uncertain and volatile environment.
    Whatever their size, location or sector, Coface provides 100,000 clients across some 200 markets. with a full range of solutions: Trade Credit Insurance, Business Information, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Surety Bonds, Factoring.
    Every day, Coface leverages its unique expertise and cutting-edge technology to make trade happen, in both domestic and export markets.
    In 2024, Coface employed ~5,236 people and registered a turnover of €1.84 billion.

    www.coface.com

    COFACE SA is listed in Compartment A of Euronext Paris
    ISIN: FR0010667147 / Ticker: COFA


    1 Also in pursuant to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016 (and updates); Article L.225-209 and seq. of the French Commercial Code; Article L.221-3, Article L.241-1 and seq. of the General Regulation of the French Market Authority (AMF); AMF Recommendation DOC-2017-04 Guide for issuers on their own shares transactions and for stabilization measures.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New world-leading nature finance standards launched to encourage green investment

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    New world-leading nature finance standards launched to encourage green investment

    New standards will set the bar for nature investments, prevent greenwashing and helping business invest in restoring nature

    Aerial shot of river

    • The Overarching Principles Standard is the first of its kind, supporting investment in high-quality projects which restore rich habitats. 
    • The move marks the UK out as a world leader in the development of nature markets and will drive economic growth as part of our Plan for Change. 

    New government-backed pioneering green finance standards have been introduced today (Tuesday 25 March) to boost investment into nature and support economic growth, as well as helping to clamp down on “greenwashing”. 

    This landmark standard – launched by British Standards Institution (BSI) – will help nature-friendly investments across the UK to grow, by building confidence among businesses that these investments are making a real difference for our natural environment.   

    These new standards will bring a variety of benefits for the environment. Projects that could be supported include restoring wetlands, improving water quality, building flood resilience, and creating new habitats.  

    Through the Plan for Change this Government is working to deliver economic growth across the country, and to support this, we will make the UK the green finance capital of the world.   

    A healthy natural environment is crucial to economic growth. Without a healthy environment, there is no food, no business, and no economy. The Green Finance Institute found that nature-related risks including water shortages and soil health reduction could lead to a 6% reduction to GDP in the years ahead. That is why economic growth and nature restoration must go hand in hand.  

    This is the first standard for collective nature markets of its kind in the UK, and one of the first in the world, marking the UK out as a global leader and marks our ambition to pioneer nature markets which guard against greenwashing and lead to lasting environmental change.   

    Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said:    

    “We need urgent action from across society to address the nature crisis, and businesses have a crucial role to play in that effort. By having clear standards, we can strike a blow to greenwashing and give businesses confidence that their investment is truly helping our natural world recover.  

    “Through the Plan for Change, this Government is working relentlessly to grow the economy and this move gets us one step closer to fulfilling our ambition to make the UK the green finance capital of the world.”  

    Scott Steedman, Director – General, Standards at BSI said: 

    “Today marks a key milestone for the Nature Investment Standards (NIS) Programme with the launch of updated overarching principles ready for adoption across the UK. 

    “The principles are designed to provide consistency and rigour for high-integrity UK nature markets that trade in real, measurable environmental benefits. This supports the goal of increasing investment into nature, helping to create new revenue streams for farmers, land managers and other suppliers of nature-based solutions. 

    “BSI, in its role as the UK National Standards Body, looks forward to working closely with Defra to enable the take up of the revised standard and its implementation in the market.” 

    The new Overarching Principles Standard was created following an established BSI market led process for standards development which included extensive consultation with businesses and land managers.   

    BSI is also launching a consultation on a first version of a Natural Carbon Standard, as part of a wider framework of standards. This will gather market views specifically on high integrity principles for projects selling nature-based carbon credits in UK markets. These credits will consist of habitats which store carbon, such as woodlands or peatlands, helping us to reach Net Zero while providing benefits for landscapes and wildlife.     

    The Overarching Principles Standard (BSI Flex 701) is immediately available for use by market participants and will support investment in high quality nature and sustainable farming projects in the UK.    

    NOTES TO EDITORS:     

    • More information on the Overarching Principles Standard can be found here: [BSI Flex 701 v2.0 Nature Markets – Overarching Principles BSI](https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bsigroup.com%2Fen-GB%2Finsights-and-media%2Finsights%2Fbrochures%2Fbsi-flex-701-nature-markets-overarching-principles-and-framework%2F&data=05%7C02%7CAlex.Walsh%40defra.gov.uk%7C36f86aa99f89489ac9a808dd6b9546c8%7C770a245002274c6290c74e38537f1102%7C0%7C0%7C638785011065753774%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3zYbDOEaWTOIbHmYRo41Re%2BKFETlrYC%2F0YiDLaRJdVo%3D&reserved=0)  
    • The Overarching Principles and Natural Carbon standards are part of a family of standards which will apply to nature markets.  Other standards are in development and will cover Biodiversity markets, Nutrients projects and schemes and guidance on how projects should engage with local communities.  There is a new BSI navigation tool available on the BSI Nature Markets online Hub – to help stakeholders navigate the suite of BSI nature investment standards. 

    • Further details of a formal assurance framework to verify compliance will be set out in due course.   

    • The BSI have published research on assurance which sets out options for Government to ensure compliance with the new standards.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Negotiations update on an enhanced UK-Switzerland Trade Agreement

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Press release

    Negotiations update on an enhanced UK-Switzerland Trade Agreement

    The sixth round of negotiations on an enhanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Switzerland took place in Switzerland between 3 and 10 March 2025.

    Economic growth is the core mission of this government and FTAs have an important role to play in achieving this. We are seeking an enhanced FTA with Switzerland that guarantees market access for UK services suppliers, facilitates the seamless flow of data and ideas between two world-leading services powerhouses and provides long-term certainty on UK business travel to Switzerland. An enhanced FTA will contribute to growth and prosperity across the UK and build on our existing trading relationship with Switzerland. This currently supports 130,000 services jobs and more than £17 billion in services exports, including over £700m from Scotland and the North West.

    The UK government’s focus in talks continues to be on agreeing ambitious outcomes in services, investment and digital trade which are not covered in the existing UK-Swiss FTA. During the latest round, good progress was made in financial services in particular, with both sides focussed on agreeing the most comprehensive chapter either country has signed. On digital trade, provisions on data, source code and cryptography were discussed.

    A number of chapters were provisionally closed during this round, including customs and trade facilitation, and transparency.

    The government will only ever sign a trade agreement which aligns with the UK’s national interests, upholding high standards across a range of sectors, alongside protections for the National Health Service.   

    The next round of negotiations is expected to take place in the UK in early summer 2025.

    Any organisations or individuals interested in speaking to the Department for Business and Trade about negotiations with Switzerland should do so by emailing ch.fta.engagement@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI USA: Boosting Rural Business Development: Governor Polis and OEDIT Introduce Rural Jump-Start Operating Grants

    Source: US State of Colorado

    DENVER – Today, the Business Funding & Incentives division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced a three-year Rural Jump-Start (RJS) grant program to continue to encourage economic development and job creation in economically distressed, rural counties of Colorado as approved by the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC). 

    “Colorado is committed to supporting the small businesses that drive our economy and these grants will support businesses in our rural communities around the state. Colorado is one of the best places to start and grow a business, and we look forward to building on this important work to strengthen our economy,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

    Grants of $15,000, or $25,000 in identified coal transition communities, will support operating expenses for businesses that move to or start in designated RJS zones. Up to $630,000 is expected to be distributed over three years, supporting approximately 36 businesses and at least 120 new jobs, continuing the RJS program’s impact in rural communities. 

    “Companies in rural Colorado are creating incredible new technologies, enhancing our supply chain and creating valuable, good-paying jobs in their communities. Last year, the Rural Jump-start Program facilitated 212 new hires in our rural communities, and we are thrilled to continue the impact with these new operating grants,” said OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman. 

    The RJS Operating Grants announced today replace the original grant program, which sunsets at the end of this fiscal year. Eligible participating businesses are also eligible for relief from state income tax; state sales and use tax; county personal property tax; and municipal personal property tax (in participating municipalities). Qualified New Hires of participating businesses are also eligible for State income tax relief. 

    “The Rural Jump-start program was initiated in partnership with rural communities and has a proven track record of supporting new businesses and new jobs across Colorado’s rural counties. Implementing these new grants will enable more rural businesses to benefit from the program and contribute to their local communities and economies,” said OEDIT Deputy Director Jeff Kraft. 

    The RJS program was established by state statute in 2016 as a tax incentive program and expanded in 2021 to include operating and new hire grants. Currently, 35 Colorado counties have been approved as RJS Zones by the EDC and 33 companies are participating in the program. 

    About the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade 

    The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works to empower all to thrive in Colorado’s economy. Under the leadership of the Governor and in collaboration with economic development partners across the state, we foster a thriving business environment through funding and financial programs, training, consulting and informational resources across industries and regions. We promote economic growth and long-term job creation by recruiting, retaining, and expanding Colorado businesses and providing programs that support entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes at every stage of growth. Our goal is to protect what makes our state a great place to live, work, start a business, raise a family, visit and retire—and make it accessible to everyone. Learn more about OEDIT. 

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    PROTECTING UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECURITY: Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order imposing tariffs on countries that import Venezuelan oil.
    President Trump is levying a 25% tariff on all goods from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, whether directly from Venezuela or indirectly through third parties.
    The tariffs will lapse one year after a country ceases importing Venezuelan oil—or sooner if officials deem it appropriate.
    If tariffs are imposed on China, they will also apply to Hong Kong and Macau to prevent transshipment and evasion.
    These tariffs aim to sever the financial lifelines of Nicolás Maduro’s corrupt regime and curb its destabilizing influence across the Western Hemisphere.
    This action targets transnational criminal threats, such as the Tren de Aragua gang, and addresses the humanitarian crises fueled by Venezuela’s actions.
    ADDRESSING AN EMERGENCY SITUATION: The Maduro regime poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
    The Maduro regime systemically undermines democratic institutions by suppressing free and fair elections and consolidating power illegitimately.
    Venezuela’s endemic corruption and mismanagement under Maduro have crushed its people and triggered a regional humanitarian and public health crisis.
    Millions of Venezuelans have fled Maduro’s oppressive rule, imposing significant burdens on neighboring countries and destabilizing the Western Hemisphere.
    The Maduro regime has aided and facilitated the infiltration of the Tren de Aragua gang—a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization—into the United States by failing to secure its borders, allowing the gang to flourish within Venezuela, and refusing to take action against its members.
    These dangerous criminals exploited the previous administration’s open-border policies, establishing a foothold in U.S. communities and preying on American citizens through violent acts, including kidnapping, assault, and murder.

    USING OUR LEVERAGE TO SAFEGUARD OUR INTERESTS: President Trump is using America’s economic might to safeguard our interests and punish those who support Maduro’s regime.
    Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest.
    President Trump is sending a clear message that access to our economy is a privilege, not a right, and countries importing Venezuelan oil will face consequences.
    As President Trump said in the Presidential Memorandum on American First Trade Policy, trade policy is a critical component in national security.
    President Trump has successfully used tariffs in the past to advance America’s interests and address urgent national security threats and is doing so again today.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Colombian Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Send More Than A Ton Of Cocaine To The United States

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Oscar Henao-Montoya and His Co-Conspirators Touted Henao-Montoya’s Ability to Produce Cocaine, Control of Colombian Airstrips and Ports, and Relationships with Corrupt Members of the Colombian Air Force in Effort to Import Cocaine to the United States

    Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Louis A. D’Ambrosio, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that OSCAR HENAO-MONTOYA, a Colombian national, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.  HENAO-MONTOYA was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, before whom he previously pled guilty to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy.  Two of HENAO-MONTOYA’s charged co-conspirators, REHINNER MONTOYA-GARCIA and JUAN FELIPE SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA, also previously pled guilty to one count of cocaine importation conspiracy and were sentenced by Judge Caproni to 20 years and 15 years in prison, respectively. 

    Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Oscar Henao-Montoya and his co-conspirators sought to send a staggering quantity of cocaine from Colombia to the United States.  Today’s sentence, and those previously imposed in this case, send a clear message that those who seek to traffic cocaine into the United States will pay a steep price for their actions.  This Office, through its longstanding partnership with the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, will hold accountable those who seek to break our narcotics laws and harm our communities, regardless of where in the world they may hide.” 

    As reflected in the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and statements made in open court:

    HENAO-MONTOYA is a Colombian drug trafficker with longstanding familial connections to international cocaine distribution.  HENAO-MONTOYA is the younger brother of Orlando Henao-Montoya, a/k/a “El Hombre Overol,” the former leader of the Norte del Valle Cartel, the notorious drug cartel which operated principally in the Valle del Cauca region of Colombia and rose to prominence in the late 1990s after the Cali and Medellin cartels fragmented. HENAO-MONTOYA’s siblings also include Arcángel Henao Montoya, a/k/a “El Mocho,” Fernando Henao-Montoya, and Lorena Henao-Montoya, a/k/a “La Viuda De La Mafia.”  Together, the Henao-Montoya siblings ran the Norte del Valle Cartel, until Orlando and Lorena were murdered, and Arcángel Henao Montoya was deported from Panama to the U.S. 

    Between October 2020 and August 2021, HENAO-MONTOYA and co-conspirators who worked for HENAO-MONTOYA, including MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA, participated in a series of meetings in Colombia with DEA confidential sources (the “CSes”), who were acting at the direction of the DEA, to discuss their plans to import tons of cocaine into the U.S.  During those meetings, many of which were recorded, HENAO-MONTOYA discussed, among other things, his ability to export large quantities of cocaine from Colombia via control of airstrips (clandestine and overt) and ports in Colombia, as well as his relationships with corrupt members of the Colombian Air Force.  HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators also discussed various shipping routes to transport cocaine out of Colombia to the U.S. and, specifically, New York.  During certain of the meetings described above, HENAO-MONTOYA and individuals working for HENAO-MONTOYA were armed with firearms.

    During meetings with the CSes, HENAO-MONTOYA also discussed his access to and control of cocaine laboratories that could produce over one ton of cocaine, including a laboratory that HENAO-MONTOYA said could produce 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms of cocaine at a time. On one occasion, MONTOYA-GARCIA brought one of the CSes to territory controlled by the Revolution Armed Forces of Colombia (“FARC”), which MONTOYA-GARCIA said was where HENAO-MONTOYA had drug laboratories, and that these laboratories were guarded by FARC members.

    To ensure that their plan to import cocaine into the U.S. would be successful, HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators tested and provided cocaine samples for the CSes.  For example, in October 2020, MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA provided a one-kilogram sample of cocaine to one of the CSes to test its quality.  After expressing satisfaction with the quality of the cocaine, the CS told MONTOYA-GARCIA and SANTIBANEZ-CARDONA that “the Americans will go crazy in the United States” for the cocaine.  In addition, in April 2021, at HENAO-MONTOYA’s direction, MONTOYA-GARCIA provided an eight-kilogram sample of cocaine to undercover agents working for the Colombian National Police in exchange for approximately $16,000, which was intended to serve as a sample for the contemplated ton-quantity cocaine shipments that HENAO-MONTOYA and his co-conspirators sought to send to the U.S.

    *               *                *

    In addition to the prison term, HENAO-MONTOYA, 58, of Colombia, was sentenced to four years of supervised release.

    Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and the Colombian National Police for their assistance.

    This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew J.C. Hellman, David J. Robles, and Chelsea L. Scism are in charge of the prosecution.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada reveals tensions inherent in friendship

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jason Wang, Postdoctoral Fellow, Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre, Toronto Metropolitan University

    In his second inauguration address, United States President Trump began by declaring “the golden age of America begins right now” and closed with, “and our golden age has just begun.” Between these lines, he vowed to “tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.”

    Tying his trade policies to dubious claims about fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration, Trump’s approach appears less about economic strategy and more about asserting dominance. Invoking the language of imperial expansion, he even proposed the idea of making Canada the “cherished 51st state.”

    Historians like American Richard White quickly drew parallels to the 19th-century Gilded Age when robber barons thrived, leaving social inequality in their wake.




    Read more:
    Elon Musk’s bid to take over Twitter recalls the robber barons of the 19th century


    The celebrated Canada-U.S. friendship — further entrenched over the past three decades by the 1989 Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement, cross-border activity and snowbirds wintering in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. — has long balanced underlying tension stemming from the two nations’ power differences. This alludes to tensions inherent in friendships that have long been explored by philosophers.

    A ‘great relationship?’

    Trump’s recent sweeping tariffs on Canadian imports are only the latest chapter in a long history of economic clashes.

    From the U.S.’s Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which hit Canada hard during the Great Depression, to Richard Nixon’s 10 per cent import surcharge in 1971 and the long fight over softwood lumber that persisted through the early 2000s despite Canada’s favourable World Trade Organization rulings, these conflicts expose the fragility of Canada-U.S. relations. The uneasy reality is that friendship between nations is never as stable as it seems.

    The trade war has triggered a wave of cultural and economic nationalism in Canada that has gone beyond the “Buy Canadian” movement. At the National Ballet of Canada’s Swan Lake, recently, a stirring rendition of O Canada brought the audience to its feet.

    Chrystia Freeland, now minister of transport and internal trade, voiced the nation’s outrage on CNN: “Canadians are angry,” she said, condemning the tariffs as a betrayal of what she called the “great relationship.”

    Friendship ideals and power dynamics

    But beneath the outrage lies a harsher truth: Canada’s “friend” status is conditional, tied to America’s shifting priorities. The real question isn’t whether Canada is a trusted ally — it’s whether it was ever more than a subordinate in this “friendship.” At stake is the concept of friendship between nations.

    Philosophers exploring the intersection of friendship and politics offer a useful framework for understanding this imbalance.

    Written in the post-Cold War era, French Algerian philosopher Jacques Derrida’s The Politics of Friendship, first published in French in 1994, questions the very possibility of pure, stable friendship, arguing that it is never equal or unconditional.

    Instead, said Derrida, it is always a negotiation of power. Derrida questions idealized Aristotelian notions of friendship between nations — ideals that still quietly underpin our thinking about friendship, loyalty and betrayal.

    Friendship in fiction, Aristotle

    In his study of friendship in fiction, literary scholar Allan Hepburn points out that friendships are inherently political, foundational to social relations and embody democratic ideals of equality and fraternity, as Aristotle suggested.

    Tyrannical systems, by contrast, lack true friendships, while an ideal democracy extends mutual respect to all citizens. In this way, strangers are recognized as equals and potential friends, regardless of legal obligation, as Derrida emphasized.

    In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he distinguished transactional and virtuous friendship. The former is built on mutual advantage or shared pleasure, which to Aristotle is the lesser kind of friendship.

    In contrast, virtue-based friendship is both the most enduring and the rarest. Aristotle idealizes this latter type of friendship, describing it as “perfect friendship” in which individuals are “alike in virtue,” wishing well to each other as something good in itself, and are themselves morally upright.

    This ideal friendship — expected to be stable, enduring and intrinsically valuable — underpins discourses about the bond between nations based on shared values.




    Read more:
    What makes a good friend?


    True friendship reserved for individuals

    Political scientist Evgeny Roshchin argues that friendship, as a historical concept in international relations, helped mediate the shift from hierarchical to equal political relationships, shaping sovereignty and political order.

    In contrast, philosopher Simon Keller questions the idea of “friendship between countries,” asserting true friendship is reserved for individuals. He warns that comparing nations to friends may mislead us by shifting focus from genuine human connections to political dynamics.

    Yet the Aristotelian model of the friend as “a second self” has significant limitations, often ignoring differences and reinforcing hierarchy. For Derrida, friendship is not a fixed, harmonious ideal but an ongoing, unpredictable negotiation that blurs the boundary between ally and adversary.

    He contends: “‘Good friendship’ supposes disproportion. It demands a certain rupture in reciprocity or quality, as well as the interruption of all fusion or confusion between you and me.”

    Even at its most personal, friendship is marked by power dynamics — who holds it, who benefits from it and who can be cast aside. Not a cynical rejection of friendship, however, Derrida’s model calls for broadening its moral and political dimensions.

    Transactional structure

    Derrida’s model applies to the Canada-U.S. relationship, which has long been framed as one of mutual respect, built on democratic values and shared economic interests. But its underlying structure is transactional.

    The rhetoric of friendship has always served a function: to justify co-operation when it is useful and to smooth over conflict when it is not. The moment those interests diverge, the limits of the relationship become clear.

    Trump’s tariffs have exposed this dynamic in the clearest possible terms. Canada’s position as a friend to the U.S. is fragile and contingent, shaped by the fluctuating interests of the more powerful side.

    But the rupture is not new, nor is it a break from the norm. It’s simply a reminder of how the relationship has always worked. The question now is not whether Canada can restore its friendship, but whether it can afford to continue believing in it on the same terms.




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


    Embrace inherent fragility

    Derrida’s model of friendship offers a way forward. His model defies the simplistic binary of friend and foe, loyalty and betrayal, as these terms are ultimately mutually constitutive. Derrida calls for relationships that embrace their inherent fragility.

    For Canada, this doesn’t mean abandoning the discourse of friendship with the U.S. entirely, but rather acknowledging the bond’s fragile, conditional nature — always deferred, always on the brink of rupture.

    The challenge for Canada is to redefine its position in North America beyond the framework of mutuality and dependence. At the policy level, with Canada-U.S. relations, this means diversifying trade and diplomatic ties, resisting automatic alignment and asserting independent leadership in global affairs.

    At home, it means forging a national identity that is self-defined and free from the shadow of comparison.

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

    ref. How Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada reveals tensions inherent in friendship – https://theconversation.com/how-donald-trumps-trade-war-against-canada-reveals-tensions-inherent-in-friendship-252260

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Saskatchewan’s Indigenous Businesses Sector Showcased at Annual Gathering

    Source: Government of Canada regional news

    Released on March 25, 2025

    Largest Indigenous Economic Development Event in Country Returns for a Fourth Year

    Today, the Government of Saskatchewan hosted its fourth annual Indigenous Business Gathering (IBG) at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon. This year’s event saw massive year-over-year growth with over 1,100 people registered and more than 130 trade show booths. 

    “Collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses is crucial for the future growth and success of our province and the Indigenous Business Gathering plays a vital role in making these connections possible,” Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. “More Indigenous participation strengthens industries across our province while supporting economic reconciliation efforts. It is important that we recognize the growth and success of Indigenous owned businesses as they create jobs and opportunities in communities across Saskatchewan.”

    First Nations and Métis citizens represent over 17 per cent of Saskatchewan’s population, emphasizing the crucial role Indigenous-owned businesses and communities play in fostering economic growth in the province. In the fourth quarter of 2024, 4.7 per cent of Saskatchewan’s private businesses were majority-owned by Indigenous peoples. This was the third highest rate among the provinces and above the national average of 3.2 per cent. 

    [embedded content]

    “Kitsaki Management is proud to partner with the Indigenous Business Gathering,” Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership Chief Executive Officer Ron Hyggen said. “The connections formed here at IBG translate into real partnerships, contracts, and growth opportunities that might otherwise never materialize. By bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous businesses together, we are not just networking, we are actively reshaping Saskatchewan’s economic landscape to be more inclusive and innovative.”

    Through the Saskatchewan Indigenous Investment Finance Corporation (SIIFC), the province is increasing access to capital for Indigenous communities and entities to participate in natural resource development and value-added agriculture.

    In 2024, SIIFC announced its first ever loan guarantee for a group of six Indigenous partners to support their investment in the Seven Stars Energy project alongside Enbridge. This project will financially benefit nearly 25 per cent of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous population.

    Projects like these are key to strengthening the provincial economy, while protecting and promoting Saskatchewan’s vibrant communities.

    For more information, visit: siifc.ca.

    -30-

    For more information, contact:

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: MMO confirms I-VMS legislation schedule for 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    MMO confirms I-VMS legislation schedule for 2025

    MMO introduces licence condition for I-VMS ahead of new legislation

    In a variation notice issued this week, Marine Management Organisation (MMO), introduces a new licence condition that will come into force on 12 May 2025, requiring the use of a type-approved I-VMS device on any English under-12m vessel undertaking a trip to sea. 

    This early notice of the incoming requirements is the next stage of MMO’s preparations to support English fishers ahead of statutory legislation, expected to be laid by government later this year.

    This announcement follows the roll-out of I-VMS devices which saw over 80% of industry purchase and install an I-VMS device, with more than £1.57million in European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) grant funding paid out to fishers.

    The main requirement of this licence condition is for fishers to have installed a functioning type-approved I-VMS device that shares positional data during a trip to sea.

    Sean Douglas, MMO’s Head of Regulatory Assurance, said:

    “Good data is essential for sensible decision-making to protect fishing for the future. We’ve worked closely with the new government, DEFRA and suppliers to move forward with I-VMS for the benefit of both fishers and fisheries management.

    “This announcement should assure industry that I-VMS legislation is just around the corner. We urge those in the under-12m fleet who are actively fishing to make use of the coming weeks to ensure they have a device, switch it on and check things are working as they should.

    Mike Cohen, Chief Exec of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) shared, in support of I-VMS:

    “Today, many different people want to use the sea for many different purposes. Whether it is building a seaweed farm, installing wind turbines, declaring a conservation area, or something else. All of these things carry a risk that fishermen will get pushed out.

    “We have to defend our access to the traditional grounds that our industry depends on. The best way to do that is with data that proves how important those areas are to us. Larger vessels in the national fleet have been able to do that for some time now, thanks to the VMS devices they carry. In every map of fishing effort in UK waters, however, there is always a stark gap where the inshore fleet works.

    “I-VMS is the tool that we need to close that gap and defend the inshore fleet. With the data it provides, we can prove how important the inshore grounds are to fishing businesses and fishing communities. The better the coverage we have, the stronger our argument”.

    A marine future with I-VMS

    Sean Douglas, continued: “The data from I-VMS will, for the first time, provide a true understanding of what is happening across England’s marine environment. It will allow for smarter, evidence-based, decisions when it comes to marine developments, marine and fisheries management planning, regulatory displacement, niche and seasonal fisheries, as well as conservation and stock protection.

    “The licence condition is very much an introductory stage to support industry ahead of the statutory instrument, due this year. During this time, we will take a measured approach to enforcement, working with industry and suppliers to address issues. However, we will take action where necessary to ensure a level playing field”.

    “The sooner devices start transmitting data, the sooner fishers will become familiar with their device and tracking software, will know what is expected of them and can work with us – and their supplier – to resolve any unexpected issues.

    “Importantly, I-VMS data will also help fishers track their own activity and better understand their fishing effort.”

    Device suppliers provide either an app or web portal for fishers to track their own I-VMS data. These can be used to help fishers refine their efforts and business plans, as well as provide evidence to challenge developments or closed areas and use it as evidence in any compliance or conflict resolution.

    MMO has advised that a small minority of the under-12m fleet is yet to take any action, foregoing MMO’s offer of grant funding during the earlier roll-out period. But the message is clear:  If you’re an English under-12m fisher planning a trip to sea from 12 May 2025, you must get a device now.

    The I-VMS hotline remains open for enquiries on 01900 508618, Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm) and emails can be sent to ivms@marinemanagement.org.uk. Updated guidance can be found online at: gov.uk/mmo/i-vms-england.

    Updates to this page

    Published 25 March 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom