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Category: Transport

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? How celebrity endorsements can shape public health

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ivo Vlaev, Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

    Sir Keir Starmer has become the first sitting UK prime minister to publicly take an HIV test to reduce stigma around Aids and encourage more people to get tested.

    There are historical parallels. In 1956, when Elvis Presley, at the height of his fame, was filmed receiving his polio vaccine on US television.

    Do these high-profile gestures really change attitudes and behaviour, or are they just headline-grabbing stunts?

    A closer look at the behavioural science behind celebrity endorsements suggests that, under the right conditions, public demonstrations by famous figures can indeed shift social norms, reduce stigma and influence health outcomes. However, the effects depend a lot on the credibility of the endorser, the authenticity of the act and the presence of sustained, follow-up campaigns.

    Elvis Presley’s polio jab is one of the most iconic examples of celebrity-led health campaigns. But many other well-known figures have encouraged the public to adopt protective health measures, from actors promoting annual flu jabs to footballers advocating organ donation drives.

    The premise is that a celebrity’s endorsement can normalise certain behaviour by tapping into the principles of “social learning theory”, particularly observational learning. That is, when we see someone we admire or trust do something, we are more likely to follow suit.

    In the 1950s, polio was a serious threat, capable of causing paralysis or death. After witnessing Elvis roll up his sleeve on national television, many teenagers – previously sceptical or apathetic – became far more willing to accept the polio vaccine. That event is now hailed as a masterclass in leveraging popular culture to address a public health crisis.

    A masterclass in leveraging popular culture.

    A cornerstone of behavioural science is the recognition that who delivers a message can be as important as – or sometimes more important than – what the message contains. The so-called “messenger effect” highlights how we are often more persuaded by people we perceive to be credible, relatable or high status.

    In the case of Elvis, he was already idolised by millions. He was the perfect conduit to promote vaccination among teenagers who might otherwise dismiss appeals from older authority figures.

    Starmer occupies a different kind of influence. Supporters of the Labour party may see him as a trustworthy figure, while others could be sceptical of a politician’s motives. This underscores a key aspect of the messenger effect: if a large segment of the target audience views the figure as partisan or self-serving, the endorsement can backfire or simply fail to register.

    Another powerful effect identified in behavioural science is social norms – our shared understandings of what is typical or appropriate – which strongly influence whether we take certain actions.

    Stigma around HIV remains a major barrier to testing and treatment. Even though medical advances have changed the landscape of HIV/Aids care, many people still fear the societal consequences of a positive diagnosis. According to the UK Health Security Agency, around 5,000 people in the UK are unaware they are living with HIV, partly because they hesitate to test in the first place.

    By publicly taking an HIV test, Starmer aimed to shift perceptions and normalise testing. In terms of social identity theory, seeing a prominent figure within the national community – especially one involved in shaping policies – undergo testing can communicate that “people like us” view HIV testing as a routine, responsible health measure. This may be particularly powerful for people who identify politically with Starmer or who respect his leadership position.

    Despite the potential of celebrity or high-profile endorsements, behavioural science also points to authenticity as a vital ingredient. Audiences are more likely to change their behaviour if they believe the celebrity genuinely cares about the issue rather than simply seeking publicity. If endorsements are perceived as insincere or politically opportunistic, their effect can be muted or even counterproductive.

    In Elvis’s case, he was known for engaging with young fans and had a track record of public good works, which helped bolster the sense that his polio vaccination was done for more than just a publicity boost.

    For Starmer, sustaining the momentum beyond a single test – through continued advocacy, support of free testing programmes, and visibility in HIV-awareness campaigns – could reinforce the perception of a real commitment rather than a fleeting photo opportunity.

    Nudges

    Behavioural scientists also often talk about “nudges” – small interventions that change people’s choices without forbidding options or significantly changing incentives. A celebrity endorsement can serve as a nudge by making a desirable health behaviour (like getting tested) more top-of-mind or socially acceptable.

    However, historically, Elvis’s vaccination was not a standalone act. It was part of a broader public health strategy involving schools, local campaigns and continued outreach. Those elements ensured that once people were motivated to get the polio jab, they could do so easily.

    For HIV testing, the same principle applies: visible leadership from Starmer may spark initial interest, but practical measures – such as pop-up testing centres, free home-test kits and confidential testing support – are vital to maintain engagement.

    Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? In reality, the two scenarios differ in time and context. A 21st-century political leader raising awareness about HIV testing in the UK operates within a more complex media landscape than a 1950s rock ’n’ roll icon on American primetime television. Yet, there is a parallel: both used their public status to tackle a widespread health concern, hoping to overcome stigma and promote an important preventative measure.

    Ultimately, celebrity moments can open the door, but only a sustained, evidence-based strategy will keep it open – and encourage people to walk through.

    Anyone in England can order a free and confidential HIV test from www.freetesting.hiv to do the test at home.

    Ivo Vlaev 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. Is Keir Starmer the new Elvis? How celebrity endorsements can shape public health – https://theconversation.com/is-keir-starmer-the-new-elvis-how-celebrity-endorsements-can-shape-public-health-249643

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why ‘low carbon’ roses are flown around the world

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition

    Grown in Ecuador (Équateur en français), sold in Paris. Robert Crum / shutterstock

    As you read this, planes full of roses are heading from east Africa and South America to almost every corner of the world. If you buy someone a rose this Valentine’s Day, it may be in the air right now or perhaps in a refrigerated warehouse in the Netherlands.

    A huge logistical operation ensures those flowers are timed to be perfectly in bloom on the 14th. From flower farm to bouquet can take just a few days. In all, hundreds of millions of roses will be shipped internationally this week, and many will die before they can be sold.

    Can all this flying be justified?

    You’re reading the Imagine newsletter – a weekly synthesis of academic insight on solutions to climate change, brought to you by The Conversation. I’m Will de Freitas, energy and environment editor, covering for my colleague Jack Marley who is lovesick. This week, we’re looking at flowers.

    Many people don’t realise just how far a Valentine’s rose has probably travelled. Though roses can be grown in the UK (and some species are native), most of them won’t flower for at least another few months.

    Jill Timms and David Bek, academics at the University of Coventry who have researched the global flower trade point out: “This sort of localised growing does not satisfy the demand for volume, variety and year-round supply, or indeed guarantee sustainability in terms of energy, pesticide use and so on.”

    This means most roses are imported from countries with more land, more sunshine, and a cheaper workforce. Major growers include Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya and Ethiopia. The Netherlands is actually the biggest exporter of roses, partly due to its own production in greenhouses but mostly thanks to its position as a crucial hub for the global trade. Flowers sent to the UK from the Netherlands were probably grown elsewhere.

    To ensure they stay fresh, those flowers are kept cool as they’re transported in a series of refrigerated lorries, planes or boats, while some are sprayed with chemicals to freeze them.

    “Geography matters,” say Timms and Bek. “Some flowers travel by sea, some cargo plane and others in the hold of passenger jets, all with very different carbon footprints.”



    Read more:
    Valentine’s Day: five ways to ensure your flowers are ethical

    Low-carbon flowers, a long way away

    Figuring out a flower’s carbon footprint is not straightforward. Jennifer Lavers and Fiona Kerslake from the University of Tasmania compared cut flowers grown in heated or refrigerated greenhouses in the Netherlands with those grown in Kenya.

    “Maintaining the controlled environmental conditions inside these [Dutch] buildings requires artificial light, heat and cooling, so each rose grown in The Netherlands contributes an average of around 2.91kg of CO₂ to the atmosphere.”

    “In contrast”, they write, “a single rose grown on a farm in Kenya contributes only 0.5kg. This is largely because Kenyan hot houses do not use artificial heating or lighting, and most farm workers walk or cycle to work. As a result, flowers grown in tropical regions are sometimes considered low-carbon (of course, this doesn’t always factor in international transport).”



    Read more:
    Sustainable shopping: your guilt-free guide to flowers this Valentine’s Day

    Paul D. Larson of the University of Manitoba points out that, while local production would ground some of the international flower flights, “growing flowers in greenhouses can use as much energy as shipping them [to North America] from Colombia by air freight”.

    Larson, a professor of supply chain management, does highlight one major issue with “low carbon” flowers in the global south, however:

    “Since flowers are not classified as edible, they are often exempt from pesticide regulations. Thus, many flower production workers in Ecuador and Colombia have suffered from respiratory problems, rashes and eye infections caused by exposure to toxic chemicals in fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides.”



    Read more:
    Valentine’s Day: COVID-19 wilted the flower industry, but sustainability still a thorny issue

    The flower trade in Ecuador and Colombia was actually engineered a few decades ago to try and stem the flow of cocaine into the US, says Jay L. Zagorsky, an associate professor at Boston University’s business school.

    “One part of the strategy was to convince farmers in Colombia to stop growing coca leaves – a traditional Andean plant that provides the raw ingredient for making cocaine – by giving them preferential access to US markets if they grew something else.”

    Whether this policy helped stop drug production is unclear, says Zagorsky, but American domestic rose growing has collapsed and “many businesses in Colombia and Ecuador started growing and shipping flowers north”.



    Read more:
    Americans spend millions of dollars on Valentine’s Day roses. I calculated exactly how much

    No one expects you to know exactly how a flower was grown, what conditions were like for workers, or to conduct a full “life cycle assessment” of their carbon footprint. But what can you do to help this Valentine’s Day?

    Timms and Bek, the flower trade experts at Coventry University, wrote about five ways to ensure your flowers are ethical. They contrast flowers grown in the Netherlands and Kenya and say that “your priorities need to guide your purchase: environmental issues include carbon footprint, chemical use, ecological degradation and water use; social issues include health and safety standards, gender discrimination, precarious employment and land rights.”

    – ref. Why ‘low carbon’ roses are flown around the world – https://theconversation.com/why-low-carbon-roses-are-flown-around-the-world-249769

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hoeven: President Trump Nominates NDPI Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to Serve as Assistant Secretary for Elementary & Secondary Education

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

    02.12.25

    WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after President Donald Trump nominated North Dakota’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED).Hoeven worked with incoming Education Secretary Linda McMahon during her time as the Director of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and recommended to McMahon both in person and over the phone that Baesler be nominated to this position.

    “We appreciate President Trump and Department of Education Secretary-elect McMahon nominating Kirsten to this position. Kirsten has done a tremendous job overseeing the education of students in North Dakota and will be a great asset to the Trump administration,” said Hoeven. “Kirsten has spent her career focused on education and has experience ranging from teaching in a classroom to leading the NDPPI. We congratulate her on her nomination and will work with our colleagues to ensure she is confirmed by the Senate as quickly as possible.”

    Baesler has served as state school superintendent since January 2013, where she leads the 86-person team responsible for overseeing the education of both public and nonpublic school students in North Dakota. Prior to her election as superintendent, Baesler spent 24 years working in the Bismarck Public School System including as a vice principal, classroom teacher and library media specialist. She spent nine years on the Mandan School Board, serving as president of the board for seven years. Baesler is a native of Flasher and graduated from Bismarck State College, Minot State University and Valley City State University.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Hickenlooper, Colleagues Sound Alarm Over National Park Staffing Shortages Due to Trump’s Hiring Freeze

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined 21 of his Senate colleagues in a letter urging Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to immediately take action to resolve looming staffing shortages at the National Park Service.

    The letter follows President Trump’s hiring freeze, his cancellation of thousands of job offers for seasonal National Park Service employees, and his buyout offers made without clear legal authority. These actions pave the way for a damaging loss of staff at national parks in Colorado and across the nation in the coming summer months and beyond.

    “Americans showing up to national parks this summer and for years to come don’t deserve to have their vacations ruined by a completely preventable – and completely irresponsible – staffing shortage. And local economies don’t deserve to have their livelihoods destroyed for political gain,” wrote the senators.

    Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

    Dear Secretary Burgum:

    We urge you to immediately reissue seasonal employment offers for the National Park Service, officially rescind damaging and short-sighted deferred resignation and early retirement offers, and to instead work to safeguard, grow, and shape the National Park Service workforce to meet the needs of our national parks and their visitors.

    We are alarmed that the National Park Service revoked employment offers for seasonal staff for the upcoming summer season. Incoming seasonal staff – whose work is critical to managing the influx of visitors during the summer “peak season” – had offers in their hands that were yanked away just days after the inauguration.

    National Park Service rangers carry out a wide array of functions critical to protecting natural resources, keeping visitors safe, providing for recreation, and creating an inspiring and educational experience for visitors. National Park units experience a summer surge in visitation that peaks in July, and the Service hires more than 6,000 seasonal employees to manage that extra work. Without seasonal staff during this peak season, visitor centers may close, bathrooms will be filthy, campgrounds may close, guided tours will be cut back or altogether cancelled, emergency response times will drop, and visitor services like safety advice, trail recommendations, and interpretation will be unavailable.

    We are also alarmed that the administration’s offer of deferred resignation and voluntary early retirement, made without clear legal authority, as well as open threats about future terminations will lead to a damaging loss of full-time staff at the National Park Service, which is already operating well below prior staffing levels despite significant increases in visitation. As a result of onerous budget caps during the 2010s, the National Park Service lost 15% of its staff while park visitation also increased by 15%. If a significant number of National Park Service employees take one of the offers – or further terminations are made – park staffing will be in chaos.  Not only does this threaten the full suite of visitor services, but could close entire parks altogether.

    Gutting staffing at national park units will devastate local “gateway” communities where parks generate significant economic activity – from hotels to restaurants to stores to outfitters. In 2023, an estimated 325 million park visitors spent an estimated $26.4 billion in local gateway regions, supporting an estimated 415,000 jobs and $55.6 billion in total economic output in the national economy.

    Americans showing up to national parks this summer and for years to come don’t deserve to have their vacations ruined by a completely preventable – and completely irresponsible – staffing shortage. And local economies don’t deserve to have their livelihoods destroyed for political gain. We urge your cooperation in protecting national parks for the enjoyment of everyone by ensuring National Park Service staffing meets the needs of the 433 national park units in all 50 states.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: The UN must play a vital role in stabilising and rebuilding Syria: UK statement at the UN Security Council

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

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

    I will make three points today.

    First, a little over two months have passed since the interim authorities took control of Damascus, offering hope for a brighter future and a more peaceful future for the Syrian people. 

    We are encouraged by efforts made in the weeks since and we welcome the interim authorities’ pledges to form an inclusive transitional government, leading to free and fair elections.

    We welcome the engagement between the Special Envoy, his office and the interim authorities and his plans to return to Damascus shortly. 

    As the Special Envoy has said, Syria’s political transition cannot afford to fail.

    As Syrians take the next steps towards a political process, we expect to see appointments to the transitional government and the recently announced Legislative Council and the Preparatory Committee which represent the diversity of Syrian society.

    We hope there will be a clear process and timeline for this next phase of the transition, which respects the rights and safety of all Syrians.

    Second, we have been clear, as others have too, that Syrians should chart their own future and that a political process should be Syrian-owned and Syrian-led.

    However, as Special Envoy Pederson and ASG Msuya both reminded us, it is essential that the international community step in and support as the challenges are vast and humanitarian needs acute.

    It is imperative that the UN, alongside the international community, plays a vital role in supporting Syrians to stabilise and then rebuild their country. 

    The deep scars and the damage of over a decade of conflict cannot be healed in a matter of months.

    Last week the UK, working with the World Food Programme, committed over $3.7 million to the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative which will enable Ukraine to support the most vulnerable Syrians and alleviate suffering.

    So we endorse the Special Envoy’s call that we must also take this opportunity to scale up early recovery and sustainable programming to enable Syrians to feed themselves, to keep the lights on, to create jobs and build a better future.

    Finally, we welcome the visit to Damascus of the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on 8 February.

    This marks a positive step forward.

    We must use this window of opportunity and the work to support the OPCW and Syria to declare and destroy Assad’s remaining chemical weapons programme, for a more stable and secure Syria.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA News: President Donald J. Trump Brings Marc Fogel Home

    Source: The White House

    class=”has-text-align-left”>After years of being wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, U.S. citizen Marc Fogel is finally home thanks to the relentless efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to secure his release — making good on a promise President Donald Trump made to Fogel’s 95-year-old mother, Malphine.
     
    Fogel said it best: “President Trump is a hero … I will forever be indebted to President Trump, to Steve [Witkoff] over there — what a dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just exudes from his body.”
     
    His release was met with immediate praise from Fogel’s family and a bipartisan group of officials and lawmakers:
     
    The Fogel Family: “We are beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home … Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs. This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”
     
    Malphine Fogel: “I would like to thank [President Trump] profusely. He promised me he would get him out — and he kept his promise, and I can’t thank him enough.”
     
    Anne Fogel: “[President Trump] was true to his word. It’s amazing. It’s just such a different relationship and I’m just so incredibly grateful to the president.”
     
    Fogel lawyers Martin De Luca and Andrew Smith: “Marc Fogel’s release is historic, long overdue, and a testament to the power of strong leadership. After years of bureaucratic inaction including consistent refusals to designate Marc as wrongfully detained, President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home.”
     
    Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA): “After more than 3 years in Russian captivity, I join his family, our federal partners, and all of his fellow Pennsylvanians in welcoming Marc Fogel home — exactly where he belongs. Thank you to those at the @WhiteHouse who made his release possible, and to his wife Jane, mom, siblings, and kids here in Pennsylvania who never, ever gave up.”
     
    Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA): “Marc Fogel’s return home is long overdue—and I know all of Pennsylvania, especially his family, will be welcoming him back with open arms. I want to thank @POTUS and @SteveWitkoff for their efforts in finally bringing Marc home.”
     
    Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA): “Thank you @POTUS for bringing Marc home! All of Pennsylvania is happy he is back safely, especially his amazing 95 year old mom, Mafa, who never stopped fighting for his release. Dina and I were honored to witness this emotional and historic moment tonight at the White House.”
     
    Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA): “When President Trump met with Marc Fogel’s mother, Malphine, in Butler on July 13, 2024, he pledged to do everything he could to bring Marc home safely. Today, President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the Trump administration have fulfilled this promise. I want to thank President Trump for successfully securing Marc’s release and for reuniting the Fogel family.”
     
    Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA): “After more than three and a half long years of detention, Marc Fogel is finally on his way home from Russia. Thank you to President Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff for their urgency and dedication to bringing Marc home.”
     
    Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul: “Hallelujah! Fantastic news! Praise be to President Donald Trump … This is just fantastic news for anybody who cares about patriotic Americans.”
     
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “None of this is possible without President Trump. This is the tenth America that’s come home after being detained somewhere overseas — in just three weeks in the White House.”

    Special Envoy Steve Witkoff: “The president’s policy on Americans that are held abroad is that we leave nobody behind. It’s very similar to the military credo … I think that you’ll see a President who is extraordinarily proactive in seeking all hostages to be released.”  

       

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash, Cromwell-Clyde Road

    Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

    Police can confirm two people have died following a crash on State Highway 8/Cromwell-Clyde Road yesterday evening.

    The two-vehicle crash, involving a vehicle and a motorbike, was reported to emergency services at 5pm.

    Sadly, both the motorbike rider and the sole occupant of the vehicle died at the scene.

    The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation.

    ENDS

    Issued by the Police Media Centre

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Eastbound SR 516 travelers in south King County must stay in left lane to enter northbound I-5

    Source: Washington State News 2

    Existing ramp on the right side of eastbound SR 516 will close for four months on Feb. 18

    KENT – Drivers on eastbound State Route 516 in the Kent, Des Moines and SeaTac area need to be prepared for a temporary change in how they enter northbound Interstate 5.

    Beginning 10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, the existing eastbound SR 516 loop ramp to northbound I-5 will close for four months. Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will rebuild the ramp as part of the SR 509 Completion Project.

    While the ramp is closed, drivers will be redirected to a temporary left turn lane and traffic signal just east of the I-5 overpass beginning at 4 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19. This will allow eastbound travelers to safely turn left across SR 516 and enter a temporary ramp to northbound I-5.

    “There may be a bit of a learning curve for drivers,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Ward Anderson. “Eastbound SR 516 drivers are used to staying in the right lane to take the ramp to northbound I-5. Now, they’ll need to remember to stay left and then get in that temporary left turn lane.”

    Signs warning travelers to stay to the left will be posted.

    The existing loop ramp is being rebuilt so that its entrance will align with an intersection where other ramps to and from northbound I-5 will be located. It will also remove some of the sharp curve in the ramp.

    SR 509 Completion Project information

    Improvements at the I-5/SR 516 interchange are part of the SR 509 Completion Project. The project builds 3 miles of new tolled highway between I-5 and South 188th Street near the south end of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The new highway will be completed in stages. The portion under construction between I-5 and 24th Avenue is scheduled to open in 2025. The final stage will build the remaining 2 miles of the expressway between 24th Avenue South and South 188th Street. The entire project is planned for completion by 2029.

    Photos of construction work are available on the project’s Flickr page.

    Puget Sound Gateway Program overview

    The SR 509 Completion Project is part of WSDOT’s Puget Sound Gateway Program, which also includes the SR 167 Completion Project in Pierce County. The two projects finish critical missing links in Washington’s highway and freight network.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Governor Demands NYPA Suspend Proposed Rate Hike

    Source: US State of New York


















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    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: $150M Investment to Connect MacArthur Airport to LIRR

    Source: US State of New York

    February 12, 2025

    Albany, NY

    Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a transformational $150 million investment to connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Ronkonkoma Station with the proposed North Terminal at MacArthur Airport, significantly improving accessibility and enhancing the region’s transportation infrastructure. This initiative builds on the Governor’s commitment to the development of a new terminal at MacArthur Airport, further positioning Long Island as a hub for economic growth and innovation.

    “Long Islanders deserve modern, efficient transit systems that make their daily lives easier and fuel local economic growth,” Governor Hochul said. “By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development. This $150 million investment will also create good-paying union jobs while transforming how Long Islanders connect to one another, to New York and to the rest of the world.”

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    The new funding further leverages Governor Hochul’s 2022 commitment of $40 million for a new North Terminal at MacArthur Airport. The project will include a pedestrian walkway linking the airport and LIRR station, redesigned road networks and upgrades to various infrastructure. These enhancements will improve passenger experience, reduce travel times and position MacArthur Airport as a key transportation hub for Long Island.

    MacArthur Airport has long played a vital role in Suffolk County’s transportation system, evolving from a military airfield in 1942 to being recognized as one of the best small airports in America. This latest investment reaffirms the State’s commitment to improving infrastructure and expanding economic opportunities in the region.

    By improving connectivity and unlocking the potential of 48 acres of land surrounding the station, the project will drive further development and tourism growth. The investment aligns with the Governor’s broader vision for Long Island, which includes strengthening transit networks, expanding housing access and fostering job creation.

    By improving transit access, redesigning road networks, and enhancing critical infrastructure, we are unlocking new opportunities for businesses, tourism, and economic development.

    Governor Hochul

    Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “This transformative investment demonstrates New York State’s commitment to building world-class infrastructure that drives economic growth. The direct connection between MacArthur Airport and the LIRR network will create new opportunities for business development, tourism, and job creation that will benefit Long Island for generations to come. The additional funding advances Long Island’s momentum as a hub for economic growth, expanding opportunities for residents, businesses, and visitors alike.”

    Empire State Development Board Chairman Kevin Law said, “As a Long Islander, I know firsthand how critical robust transportation infrastructure is to our region’s future. This $150 million investment to connect MacArthur Airport with the LIRR’s Ronkonkoma Station will catalyze economic development, enhance quality of life, and create new possibilities for sustainable growth. The improved accessibility and modernized transit network will help cement Long Island’s continued success as a premier destination to live, work, and do business.”

    Long Island Rail Road President Rob Free said, “The LIRR is the fastest, safest and most economical way to travel across Long Island and this project is a unique opportunity to help take more cars off the roads,” said LIRR President Rob Free. “Moving MacArthur’s terminal closer to Ronkonkoma station will encourage people to take the train to the airport. The LIRR is already the best travel experience to JFK and we are ready to help MacArthur Airport grow by bringing that same great travel experience there too.”

    Embedded Flickr Album

    Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said, “I thank Governor Hochul for recognizing the critically important need for infrastructure investment to help grow Suffolk County’s economy and protect its environment. Without these investments Suffolk County cannot grow to accommodate new businesses or create new opportunities for residents or improve transportation. This is a great win for the people of Suffolk County.”

    Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin J. McCaffrey said, “We thank the Governor for her investment in the Infrastructure surrounding the Ronkonkoma train station. We believe this investment goes hand in hand with the County’s continued investment to provide for the economic development of this important area of the county.”

    Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg said, “MacArthur Airport has always had the potential to serve as a much-needed transit hub for Long Islanders, and today’s announcement takes us one step closer to making that a reality, ” said Suffolk County Legislature Minority Leader Jason Richberg. “The new, expanded North Terminal will make traveling and commuting easier for our millions of residents, create jobs, and bring more tourism and business to Suffolk County. I want to thank Governor Hochul for this critical investment that will go a long way in strengthening our region.”

    Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said, “We would like to acknowledge and thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to investing in our region. Commercial Development at Ronkonkoma South represents an incredible opportunity for the region and certainly maximizes the potential of our regional airport. With this investment, we are laying the foundation for long-term economic growth, bringing in high-quality jobs, and creating new opportunities for our young professionals to live and work right here in our community. We are also leveraging the investments made in our transportation infrastructure, including the enhancements to the LIRR and the future potential of Amtrak service. With mixed-use residential development north of the Ronkonkoma railroad, we have a unique opportunity to create a thriving, connected transportation hub that supports our workforce and strengthens our economy.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Member of the 764 Criminal Enterprise Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Other Charges

    Source: US State of California

    Jairo Jaime Tinajero, 25, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Western District of Kentucky to the following charges contained in the superseding information: racketeering conspiracy, online enticement, three counts of production of child sexual abuse material, three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), five counts of interstate communications of threats, cyberstalking, and conspiracy to murder Jane Doe 1 in aid of racketeering. The terms of the plea agreement specify that both parties agree to the applicability of the terrorism sentencing enhancement (U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4 n. 4).

    On Oct. 11, 2023, a grand jury in the Western District of Kentucky returned an indictment charging Tinajero with online enticement and production of child sexual abuse material. On Oct. 4, 2023, in the Eastern District of Arkansas, Tinajero was arrested on a criminal complaint that was filed in the Western District of Kentucky.

    According to the court documents, Tinajero is a self-identified member of the 764 network. The 764 network’s accelerationist goals include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. Government. Beginning in 2020, Tinajero started communicating with, and grooming, several minor victims to obtain sexually explicit content from them, including Jane Doe 1. In 2023, Tinajero began to threaten the safety of Jane Doe 1 and her family. Tinajero posted online in encrypted platforms associated with 764 and related groups a “Lorebook” – commonly used in 764 blackmail schemes — containing Jane Doe 1’s identifying information along with nude pictures of the minor.

    Between July 2023 and September 2023, during multiple discussions over social media, Tinajero and a co-conspirator agreed that Tinajero should kill Jane Doe 1. Tinajero and the co-conspirator specifically discussed that Tinajero should murder Jane Doe 1 and dispose of Jane Doe 1’s body in a barrel of acid after the murder. Tinajero posted multiple messages on various social media websites stating that he planned to kill Jane Doe 1 with a firearm because Jane Doe 1 refused to provide additional child sexual abuse material.

    On Aug. 26, 2023, Tinajero posted on Telegram, “Im determined to die” and “If I gotta kill her I can’t let her live and f**k with dudes and girls while I’m sick and miserable” and “Im gonna live stream it.” Tinajero also posted a picture of Jane Doe 1. On Sept. 2, 2023, Tinajero posted on Telegram, “I wanna kill them so bad just show up at their cribs and shoot 100 rounds in 5 seconds” and, on Sept. 3, 2023, posted “I didn’t wanna do anything bc I was scared of dying or prison but now I’m determined to die if I have to after getting rid of [Jane Doe 1] . . . .” Tinajero also began soliciting others to assist with attempting to kill Jane Doe 1.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Erwin Roberts for the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. The Violent Crime and Racketeering Section for the Criminal Division and the Eastern District of Arkansas provided assistance.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Pictou — Search Warrant leads to seizure of drugs, weapon

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Pictou County Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit (PCISCEU) seized drugs and a weapon from a Pictou residence during a search warrant execution.

    In December 2024, PICSCEU began investigating potential drug trafficking from a residence on Poplar St., Pictou.

    On February 6, members of the PCISCEU, assisted by the Pictou County District RCMP, RCMP Police Dog Services, Pictou County District GIS, and Stellarton Police Service, executed a search warrant at the residence and seized cocaine, methamphetamine, and a bladed weapon.

    Five people were arrested at the home, including:

    • Emily Jessica Barker, 31, of Masstown
    • Amanda Michelle Binder, 23, of Stellarton
    • Amanda Leeanne Deyoung, 45, of New Glasgow
    • Colin Martin Graham, 34, of Stellarton
    • Jarom Elliott Merriam, 40, of Truro

    All five have been charged with two counts each of Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking and Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose. They were released from custody pending a court appearance on April 14i n Pictou Provincial Court.

    Nova Scotians are encouraged to contact their nearest RCMP detachment or local police to report crime, including the illegal sale of drugs, in their communities. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or using the P3 Tips app.

    Note: The PCISCEU is made up of police officers from Pictou County District RCMP, Westville Police Service, and Stellarton Police Service.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Only political will can end world hunger: Food isn’t scarce, but many people can’t access it

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Clapp, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, and Member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, University of Waterloo

    History has shown us again and again that, so long as inequality goes unchecked, no amount of technology can ensure people are well fed.

    Today, the world produces more food per person than ever before. Yet hunger and malnutrition persist in every corner of the globe — even, and increasingly, in some of its wealthiest countries.

    The major drivers of food insecurity are well known: conflict, poverty, inequality, economic shocks and escalating climate change. In other words, the causes of hunger are fundamentally political and economic.

    The urgency of the hunger crisis has prompted 150 Nobel and World Food Prize laureates to call for “moonshot” technological and agricultural innovations to boost food production, meaning monumental and lofty efforts. However, they largely ignored hunger’s root causes — and the need to confront powerful entities and make courageous political choices.

    Food is misallocated

    To focus almost exclusively on promoting agricultural technologies to ramp up food production would be to repeat the mistakes of the past.

    The Green Revolution of the 1960s-70s brought impressive advances in crop yields, though at considerable environmental cost. It failed to eliminate hunger, because it didn’t address inequality. Take Iowa, for example — home to some of the most industrialized food production on the planet. Amid its high-tech corn and soy farms, 11 per cent of the state’s population, and one in six of its children, struggle to access food.

    Even though the world already produces more than enough food to feed everyone, it’s woefully misallocated. Selling food to poor people at affordable prices simply isn’t as profitable for giant food corporations.

    They make far more by exporting it for animal feed, blending it into biofuels for cars or turning it into industrial products and ultra-processed foods. To make matters worse, a third of all food is simply wasted.



    Read more:
    Earth Day 2024: 4 effective strategies to reduce household food waste

    Meanwhile, as the laureates remind us, more than 700 million people — nine per cent of the world’s population — remain chronically undernourished. A staggering 2.3 billion people — more than one in four — cannot access an adequate diet.

    Women queue up to receive food distributed by local volunteers at a camp in Somalia in May 2019. Conflicts hinder the effective delivery of humanitarian aid during food security crisis.
    (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

    Confronting inequity

    Measures to address world hunger must start with its known causes and proven policies. Brazil’s Without Hunger program, for example, has seen dramatic 85 per cent reduction in severe hunger in just 18 months through financial assistance, school food programs and minimum wage policies.

    Our politicians must confront and reverse gross inequities in wealth, power and access to land. Hunger disproportionately affects the poorest and most marginalized people, not because food is scarce, but because people can’t afford it or lack the resources to produce it for themselves. Redistribution policies aren’t optional, they’re essential.

    Governments must put a stop to the use of hunger as a weapon of war. The worst hunger hotspots are conflict zones, as seen in Gaza and Sudan, where violence drives famine. Too many governments have looked the other way on starvation tactics — promoting emergency aid to pick up the pieces instead of taking action to end the conflicts driving hunger.



    Read more:
    Colonialism, starvation and resistance: How food is weaponized, from Gaza to Canada

    Stronger antitrust and competition policies are vital to curb extreme corporate concentration in global food chains — from seeds and agrochemicals to grain trading, meat packing and retail — that allow firms to fix prices and wield outsized political influence.

    Dependency trap

    Governments must also break the stranglehold of inequitable trade rules and export patterns that trap the poorest regions in dependency on food imports, leaving them vulnerable to shocks.

    Instead, supporting local and territorial markets is critical in helping build resilience to economic and supply chain disruptions. These markets provide livelihoods and help ensure diverse, nutritious foods reach those who need them.

    Mitigating and adapting to climate change requires massive investments in transformative approaches that promote resilience and sustainability in food systems.

    Agroecology — a farming system that applies ecological principles to ensure sustainability and promotes social equity in food systems — is a key solution, proven to sequester carbon, build resilience to climate shocks and reduce dependence on expensive and environmentally damaging synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

    More research should explore agroecology’s full potential. And we must adopt plant-rich, local and seasonal diets, ramp up measures to tackle food waste and reconsider using food crops for biofuels.

    This means pushing back against Big Meat and biofuel lobbies, while investing in climate-resilient food systems.

    Bold political action needed

    This is not to say that technology has no role — all hands need to be on deck. But the innovations most worth pursuing are those that genuinely support more equitable and sustainable food systems, and not corporate profits. Unless scientific efforts are matched by policies that confront power and prioritize equity over profit, then hunger is likely to here to stay.

    The solutions to hunger are neither new nor beyond reach. What’s missing is the political will to address its root causes.

    This message is shared by my colleagues with the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, IPES-Food, whose work covers a range of expertise and experience. Hunger persists because we allow injustice to endure. If we are serious about ending it, we need bold political action, not just scientific breakthroughs.

    Jennifer Clapp receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).

    – ref. Only political will can end world hunger: Food isn’t scarce, but many people can’t access it – https://theconversation.com/only-political-will-can-end-world-hunger-food-isnt-scarce-but-many-people-cant-access-it-248736

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the pollution of today will become the ‘technofossils’ of the far future

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester

    dimitris_k / shutterstock

    How might you make your mark on the world forever? Write a play more timeless than Shakespeare, or compose music to out-do Mozart, or score the winning goal in the next World Cup final, perhaps?

    There’s an easier way of leaving an indelible mark on our planet. Just finish a soft drink and toss the can (and the remains of the chicken dinner that went with it), ditch last year’s impulse purchases from your wardrobe, resurface that old patio, upgrade your mobile phone … simply carry on with everyday life, that is, and you’ll likely leave a fascinating legacy. It might last a billion years.

    We’re palaeontologists, and have spent our careers looking at the fossil record of the deep past, puzzling out how those magnificent animal and plant relics have been preserved as dinosaur bones, the carapaces of ancient crustaceans, lustrous spiralled ammonites, petrified flower petals and many more. Often they still have exquisite detail intact after millions of years.

    We’ve now turned our attention to the myriad everyday objects that we make and use, to see what kind of future fossils – we call them technofossils – they will make. We’ve written about this in our new book, Discarded: how technofossils will be our ultimate legacy. Here are some key messages:

    The first things that’ll catch the eye of any far-future palaeontologist are our manufactured objects – buildings, roads, machines and so on. In recent decades, they have rocketed in amount to over a trillion tonnes, to now outweigh all living things on Earth. That’s a lot of raw material for generating future fossils.

    Then, most things we make are designed to be durable, to resist corrosion and decay, and are significantly tougher than the average bone or shell. Just from that they have a head start in the fossilisation stakes.

    Many are new to the Earth. Discarded aluminium cans are everywhere, for instance, but to our planet, they’re a wondrous novelty, as pure aluminium metal is almost unknown in nature. In the past 70 years we’ve made more than 500 million tonnes of the stuff, enough to coat all of the US (and part of Canada) in standard aluminium kitchen foil.

    What’s going to happen to it? Aluminium resists corrosion, but not forever. Buried underground in layers of mud and sand, a can will slowly break down, but often not before there’s a can-shaped impression in these new rocks, lined with microscopic clay crystals newly-grown out of the corroding aluminium.

    Everyday items can be flushed onto a floodplain and be quickly buried under sediments. As they slowly degrade they may leave an impression on the soft muds and silts for future palaeontologists to puzzle over.
    Sarah Gabbott

    Having been shielded from ultraviolet light, the thin plastic liner inside the can may endure too. (Oil-based plastic is even more novel in geological terms, being entirely non-existent until the 20th century). These two materials compressed side-by-side represent future fossil signatures of our time on Earth.

    Billions of fossilised chicken thighs

    But what about bones – the archetypal fossil relic? There will be many of these as future fossils, stark evidence of our species’ domination over others.

    The standard supermarket chicken seems mundane. But it’s now by far the most common bird of all, making up about two-thirds of all bird biomass on Earth, and its abundance in life increases its fossilisation chances after death.

    We stack the odds further by tossing the bones into a plastic bin-bag, that’s then carted to the landfill site to join countless more bones for burial in neatly engineered compartments – also plastic-lined. There, the bones will begin to mummify, another useful step in the road to petrifaction. Our landfills are giant middens of the future and will be stuffed full of the bones of this one species.

    Geologists of the far future may conclude that chickens could only have existed thanks to a more intelligent species.
    dba87 / shutterstock

    These bones – super-sized but weak, riddled with osteoporosis, sometimes fractured and deformed – will tell their own grisly story. Future geologists will puzzle over a suddenly-evolved bird so abundant yet so physically helpless. Will they figure out the story of a broiler chicken genetically
    engineered to feed relentlessly to maximise weight gain, for slaughter just five or six weeks after hatching? We suspect the fossil evidence will be damning.

    Fossilised fleeces

    Fossilizeable fashion is also new. Humans have worn clothes for thousands of years, but archaeological clothes discoveries are rare, because made of natural fibres they are feasted on by clothes moths, microbes and other scavengers. Fossil fur and feathers are rare too, for the same reasons.

    But cheap, cheerful and hyper-abundant polyester fashion is quite different. There’s no need for mothballs with these garments because synthetic plastics are indigestible to most microbes. How long might they last? Some ancient fossil algae have coats of plastic-like polymers, and these have lasted, beautifully preserved, for many millions of years.

    Fossil clothes will surely perplex far-future palaeonologists, though: first to work out their shape from the crumpled and flattened remains, and then to work out what purpose they served. With throwaway fashion, we’re making some eternal puzzles.

    Concrete and computers

    The lumps of concrete from your old patio are not any old rocks. The recipe for concrete, involving furnace-baked lime, is rare on Earth (the minerals involved occasionally form in magma-baked rock), but humans have made it hyper-abundant. There are now more than half a trillion tonnes of concrete on Earth, mostly made since the 1950s – that’s a kilo per square metre averaged over the Earth. And concrete is hard-wearing even by geological standards: most of its bulk is sand and gravel, which have been survivors throughout our planet’s history.

    There’s nothing old about computers and mobile phones, but they are based on the same element – silicon – that makes up the quartz (silicon dioxide) of sand and gravel. A fossilised silicon chip will be tricky to decipher, though: the semiconductors now packed on to them are just nanometres across, tinier than most mineral forms geologists analyse today.

    But the associated paraphernalia, the burgeoning waste of keyboards, monitors, wiring, will form more obvious fossils. The patterns on these, like the QWERTY keyboard, resemble the fossil patterns seized upon by today’s palaeontologists as clues to ancient function. That would depend on the excavators, though: fossil keyboards would make more sense to hyper-evolved rats with five-fingered paws, say, than superintelligent octopuses of the far future.



    Read more:
    What species would become dominant on Earth if humans died out?

    It’s fun to conceptualise like this, and set the human story within the grand perspective of Earth’s history. But there’s a wider meaning. Tomorrow’s future fossils are today’s pollution: unsightly, damaging, often toxic, and ever more of a costly problem. One only has to look at the state of Britain’s rivers and beaches.

    Understanding how fossilisation starts now helps us ask the right questions. When plastic trash is washed out to sea, will it keep travelling or become safely buried, covered by marine sediments? Will the waste in coastal landfill sites stay put, or be exhumed by the waves as sea level rises? The answers will be found in future rocks – but it would help us all to work them out now.

    Sarah Gabbott is affiliated with Green Circle Nature Regeneration Community Interest Company 13084569.

    Jan Zalasiewicz 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 the pollution of today will become the ‘technofossils’ of the far future – https://theconversation.com/how-the-pollution-of-today-will-become-the-technofossils-of-the-far-future-248815

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Wyden Appoints New Field Representative for Eastern Oregon

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
    February 12, 2025
    Washington D.C.— U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced that Andrew Cutler has begun work as his new field representative for Eastern Oregon, covering Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and Wheeler counties. 
    “I’m gratified to have someone on my team as knowledgeable and passionate as Andrew is about issues in Eastern Oregon,” Wyden said. “A field representative’s role is about being a region’s eyes and ears, hearing directly from locals about logical and meaningful solutions to the area’s specific challenges. I know Andrew will work hard to support and represent his fellow Eastern Oregonians in any way he can to shorten the distance between our state and Washington, DC.”  
    Cutler, a Treasure Valley Community College and Boise State University alum, comes into this role with a wealth of knowledge about the region. Prior to joining Wyden’s staff, Cutler was the regional editorial director for the EO Media Group from July 2020 to June 2024, where he also served as editor and publisher for the East Oregonian and the Hermiston Herald from May 2019 to June 2024. Cutler also served as editor of The Observer in La Grande from November 2012 to December 2017, and later returned as interim editor from May 2021 to June 2024. He also was the publisher of The Observer from 2015 to 2017.
    “As a resident of Eastern Oregon since 2012, I know how important it is to help the region with issues  where Senator Wyden can assist, such as securing federal funds, wildfire mitigation, economic development, rural healthcare, broadband accessibility and more,” Cutler said. “I look forward to collaborating with everyone in the region to work on solutions Senator Wyden can bring back to DC to make lasting and positive impacts here at home.”        
    Cutler replaces Kathleen Cathey, who retired in December 2024, after serving the people of Eastern Oregon on behalf of Senator Wyden for nearly 20 years.
    “Kathleen leaves huge shoes to fill after close to two decades of service, and I immensely  appreciate her deep community connections that enabled her to work successfully with farmers, ranchers, veterans, educators, local officials and all residents wanting to make  Eastern Oregon an even better place to live and work,’’ Wyden said. “I’m confident Andrew will keep building on those accomplishments and helping me to generate new successes.” 
    Cutler can be reached at andrew_cutler@wyden.senate.gov while the previous Eastern Oregon office in La Grande is moved to Pendleton.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warner, Reed, Colleagues Blast Trump Admin. Decision To Shutter The CFPB and Put Consumers & Military Families at Risk

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and a number of their Senate colleagues in a letter demanding that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) perform its essential work supervising and investigating violations of consumer financial protection laws and taking forceful enforcement actions against scammers and payday lenders. This letter comes on the heels of an ill-advised move by the Trump administration to shutter the CFPB, which collects, investigates, and monitors consumer complaints about financial products and services, and provides relief to consumers who have been wronged by unscrupulous financial providers. 

    As a consumer watchdog, the CFPB looks out for Americans’ financial wellbeing, preventing scams and holding offenders accountable. This is especially true for servicemembers, veterans, and their families, Since the agency’s inception, the CFPB has returned over $21 billion back to consumers who have fallen victim to abusive and illegal activity.

    “This morning, in your capacity as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), you issued a directive to employees to cease all work without your express written approval.  This includes investigations, supervision, enforcement, and litigation activities, as well as all stakeholder engagement and public communications.  This decision leaves all Americans susceptible to predatory lending and other abusive practices, but in particular, it eliminates protections that prevent servicemembers from being exploited,” wrote the senators.

    In this letter, the Senators also express The Trump Administration’s decision to stop supervision, enforcement, and litigation eliminates key protections enacted by Congress through the Military Lending Act (MLA) and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to protect servicemembers, who are disproportionally targeted by predatory lenders and schemes, and often face greater financial risks than civilian borrowers due to the nature of their military service.  The financial and legal protections in these bipartisan laws – most notably a temporary reduction in interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans – are critical to national defense and military readiness. 

    “Nullifying the MLA and imperiling servicemembers’ rights under the SCRA will degrade military readiness, cost taxpayers money, and tarnish servicemembers’ records.  The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that ‘high-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.’  Morale suffers when servicemembers and their families are trapped in cycles of debt. And taxpayers are on the hook when our servicemembers leave the military due to avoidable personal issues like financial insecurity.  According to DOD, each separated servicemember costs the Pentagon more than $58,000,” they continued.

    “Accordingly, we request that the CFPB continue to supervise and investigate violations of the consumer financial protection laws and take forceful enforcement actions against lenders that violate the law, especially when it comes to predatory lending that harms our military readiness. We also request that the CFPB continue to make public communications to consumers, especially to servicemembers regarding the rights that they are owed under the SCRA,” the letter concluded.

    In addition to Sens. Warner and Reed, the letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Edward Markey (D-MA).

    A copy of the letter is available here and below:                                                      

    Dear Director Vought:

    This morning, in your capacity as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), you issued a directive to employees to cease all work without your express written approval.  This includes investigations, supervision, enforcement, and litigation activities, as well as all stakeholder engagement and public communications.  This decision leaves all Americans susceptible to predatory lending and other abusive practices, but in particular, it eliminates protections that prevent servicemembers from being exploited. 

    This funding, supervision, enforcement, and communications freeze will hit military families especially hard.  Without a functional CFPB, military families will be stripped of their financial protections under the bipartisan Military Lending Act (MLA) that they have earned and deserve by serving our Nation.  The CFPB is the primary agency responsible for supervising and enforcing the MLA against nonbank financial companies, including payday lenders, pawnshops, and debt collectors who have charged servicemembers interest rates as high as 600% and who have threatened to derail their careers if they do not pay up. 

    The agency’s supervision and enforcement program has delivered concrete results for the military.  The CFPB has resolved 39 cases involving harm to servicemembers and veterans, returning $363 million to victims, including six enforcement actions for violations of the MLA.  Two additional MLA cases are currently pending in court, alleging that a pawn shop and an installment lender charged sky high interest rates to military families and engaged in deceptive practices to illegally harvest fees.  With these cases frozen, no supervision, staff locked out, and additional enforcement off the table, unscrupulous lenders will exploit these circumstances to engage in additional predatory lending.  The actions that you have taken since being installed as Acting Director betray our servicemembers and empower scammers who want to rip them off.

    Further, recent CFPB research identified a long-running pattern of lenders failing to decrease servicemembers’ interest rates while on active duty as required by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).  These failures cost servicemembers thousands of dollars per year.  The CFPB’s public communications have held lenders accountable and helped servicemembers exercise their rights under Federal law.

    Nullifying the MLA and imperiling servicemembers’ rights under the SCRA will degrade military readiness, cost taxpayers money, and tarnish servicemembers’ records.  The Department of Defense (DOD) has stated that “high-cost debt can detract from mission focus, reduce productivity, and require the attention of supervisors and commanders.”  Morale suffers when servicemembers and their families are trapped in cycles of debt.  And taxpayers are on the hook when our servicemembers leave the military due to avoidable personal issues like financial insecurity.  According to DOD, each separated servicemember costs the Pentagon more than $58,000.

    Accordingly, we request that the CFPB continue to supervise and investigate violations of the consumer financial protection laws and take forceful enforcement actions against lenders that violate the law, especially when it comes to predatory lending that harms our military readiness.  We also request that the CFPB continue to make public communications to consumers, especially to servicemembers regarding the rights that they are owed under the SCRA. 

    We request your commitment no later than February 12, 2025.  Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces National Right to Work Act

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

    February 12, 2025

     Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

     

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reintroduced the National Right to Work Act to preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations or to refrain from such activities.

    “The National Right to Work Act ensures all American workers have the ability to choose to refrain from joining or paying dues to a union as a condition for employment,” said Dr. Paul. “Kentucky and 26 other states have already passed right to work laws. It’s time for the federal government to follow their lead.”

    “More Congressmen and Senators than ever before cosponsored the National Right to Work Act in the previous Congress, and we’re grateful to Senator Paul for introducing it again this year. Union bosses don’t get to decide what policies are “pro-worker.” That’s up to workers themselves, and the overwhelming majority support the Right to Work principle that union dues should always be a voluntary choice. The National Right to Work Act protects that choice. Anyone who truly stands with workers and against the union boss special interests that seek to force workers to pay union dues should support Senator Paul’s bill,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work Committee.

    The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Roger Wicker (R-MS) Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Katie Britt (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), James Lankford (R-OK), Tim Scott (R-SC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Mike Lee (R-UT).

    Consistent with his continued efforts to reduce the massive size of government, Dr. Paul’s legislation does not add to existing federal law but instead deletes existing federal forced unionism provisions.

    The National Right to Work Act repeals six statutory provisions that allow private-sector workers, and airline and railroad employees, to be fired if they don’t surrender part of their paycheck to a union. Dr. Paul’s legislation will put bargaining power back where it belongs: in the hands of the American workers.

    You can read the National Right to Work Act HERE.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Gozetotide approved for the treatment of prostate cancer

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Gozetotide binds to the cancer cells with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on their surface, making them visible during the PET scan.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today, 12 February 2025, approved gozetotide (brand name Illuccix) to be used in a type of medical imaging procedure called a Position Emission Tomography (PET) scan which is used to detect specific types of cancer cells in adults with prostate cancer.

    Gozetotide binds to the cancer cells with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) on their surface, making them visible during the PET scan.

    This gives healthcare professionals valuable information about the disease to help inform treatment options.

    The pharmaceutical form of this medicine is administered as one solution for injection.

    Julian Beach, MHRA Interim Executive Director of Healthcare Quality and Access, said:

    “Patient safety is our top priority, which is why I am pleased to confirm approval of gozetotide to detect specific types of cancer cells in adults with prostate cancer.

    “We’re assured that the appropriate regulatory standards of safety, quality and effectiveness for the approval of this new formulation have been met.

    “As with all products, we will keep its safety under close review.”

    A number of pivotal and supportive studies from the literature were presented to demonstrate efficacy and safety in the proposed indication, which are summarised in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC). 

    Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

    Some of the potential side effects include a temporarily increased blood level of a digestive enzyme (amylase), constipation, feeling weak, and warmth where the injection site is given.

    For the full list of all side effects reported with this medicine, see Section 4 of the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) or the SmPC available on the MHRA website.

    Anyone who suspects they are having a side effect from this medicine are encouraged to talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse and report it directly to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme, either through the website (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/) or by searching the Google Play or Apple App stores for MHRA Yellow Card.   

     ENDS   

    Notes to editors   

    • The new marketing authorisation was granted on 12 February 2025 to TELIX PHARMACEUTICALS (UK) LIMITED

    • This product was submitted and approved via a national procedure. 

    • More information can be found in the Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information leaflets which will be published on the MHRA Products website within 7 days of approval. 

    • The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe.  All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks. 

    • The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care. 

    For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Preston City Council supports Rough Sleepers with first steps towards Independence

    Source: City of Preston

    With the acquisition of a central Preston property, Preston City Council is launching a night service.

    The aim of the service is to work with rough sleepers in taking steps to get them off the streets and into accommodation, whilst offering them safety, support and advice to help them gain independence.

    Supported by MEAM (Making Every Adult Matter) a consultation was carried out over a six-month period, by Preston City Council’s Housing Advice Services and Rough Sleeper Initiative team (RSI).

    Led by Preston City Council’s Service User Involvement Worker, a small peer group made up of frontline workers and service users, gave feedback on what a nighttime provision could offer.

    The most common answer from service users when asked what was needed was ‘more beds’.

    Preston City Council is committed to delivering this, especially for vulnerable, homeless women, whose numbers are growing, and who need gender specific accommodation alongside trauma-informed help and recovery.

    Based on the feedback, the night service, which plans to open its doors in March 2025, will comprise of cubicles for up to 14 people, and allocate places based on referrals from the Outreach Team working with our partners.

    The plans around increasing accommodation options for rough sleepers will see a focus on trauma informed recovery and breaking the cycle. Preston City Council will build on the successes of the Rough Sleeper Initiative Outreach

    The team who have worked relentlessly for positive change on challenging cases. From the Target Priority Group identified in 2021, 90% are now in accommodation.

    Alongside recovery models, Preston City Council will be addressing ways to aid prevention due to an increase in single homeless applications, and to avoid them becoming entrenched rough sleepers.

    Working with partner agencies to offer support around mental health, drugs and alcohol addiction in a supportive and inclusive environment, service users will also be able to partake in activities and support groups, helping them take positive steps towards gaining independence.

    Councillor Nweeda Khan, Cabinet Member for Communities and Social Justice at Preston City Council said:

    Preston City Council firmly believes that any individual sleeping on the streets in our city is unacceptable, and we stand committed to getting people off the streets and into secure and safe accommodation. National challenges around homelessness and housing have risen dramatically in recent years and we work hard with our community partners to stem the tide of increasing numbers of homelessness in Preston.

    We thank all our partners who time to take part in the research that was carried out.

    Currently there is limited emergency accommodation in the city and the Council have made opening a new Night Shelter Service a priority project, supported as part of a wider package, by the limited funding it has available, to tackle the problem.

    The Night Service will also provide longer term help and solutions through gender specific pathways, to more permanent housing and work with clients to break the cycle of an ‘on the street lifestyle.

    Preston City Council has invested significant resource in this priority area to date and has a strong long-term relationship with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

    The Council continues to explore all avenues for additional funding to support homelessness and rough sleeping.

    An agreement has now been reached with the Foxton Centre, a charity that supports vulnerable communities in Preston. The Council will continue to support the Foxton Day Centre which is, according to data from the Foxton Centre, is used mainly for food during the breakfast session, some showers and some laundry.

    John Parkinson, Chair of the Trustees at the Foxton Centre said:

    We welcome PCC investment in a night shelter in the city. This adds to the range of facilities provided in Preston to support rough sleepers and address the growing problem of homelessness.

    The agreement between PCC and The Foxton to continue to invest in the Foxton Day Centre and create a steering group to coordinate and build on the range of partnerships is a positive step forward. This will enable the further development of joined up services including medical, mental health, addiction and legal support which are currently in place at the Day Centre.

    Multi-agency coordination between statutory and voluntary sector providers is the most effective way to use the resources needed to support rough sleepers.

    As well as nighttime support, Preston’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), was activated in early January and has seen 44 people assisted during its operation, 10 have moved on for a variety of reasons and 34 of those currently in accommodation will be allocated support workers.

    SWEP is a good practice requirement offered by Preston City Council Housing and Homelessnes Services to ensure that people sleeping rough are not at risk of harm during extreme cold or severe weather.

    Drop-in Sessions

    Preston City Council is holding a series of drop-in sessions at the Town Hall between 4 – 8pm, in collaboration with MEAM for local businesses, answering questions and offering more information about the night service.

    Follow-up workshops are being offered for those interested in being involved or discussing ways in working together with the Council and MEAM.

    Awareness session

    • Thursday 27 February

    Workshops

    • Tuesday 4 March
    • Wednesday 5 March
    • Thursday 13 March

     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New road safety measures following tragic accident

    Source: City of Plymouth

    Safety measures, including an extension of the 30mph speed limit along part of the A374 Embankment Road in Plymouth, along with the removal of a number of mature trees, will be implemented following a tragic accident where a driver sadly lost his life.

    In 2023, a young man was fatally injured in a road traffic collision. At the inquest last year, the coroner raised concerns about trees that line the road, particularly after hearing evidence from a forensic collision investigator, road safety engineer and a motor police officer, who all agreed that the location of the trees was “dangerous” and one of the contributing factors in the accident.

    As a result, the coroner wrote to the Council and requested that measures be taken to improve safety for pedestrians and all road users.

    The Council cannot ignore the recommendations of the coroner. Officers have assessed the road and in order to address the safety concerns, is planning on extending the existing 30mph speed limit along the western section of Embankment Road by around 800 metres on both sides, from its current terminal north-east of Stanley Place to a point north-east of the rowing club.

    In addition, the assessment found that not only are the trees sited very close to the road, but they have grown so big the footway is now incredibly narrow. Unfortunately, it is not possible to widen the footway or provide a safety barrier between the trees and the highway. Therefore, the Council plans to remove around 25 trees along the outbound side from the Glendinning cement depot to Arnold’s Point. These works will not involve any road closures but will eventually require complete reconstruction of the carriageway and footway over around 450 metres of road.

    The trees will be removed during February half-term (Monday 17 to Friday 21 February), when traffic levels will be reduced. 

    The Council is looking to plant replacement trees away from the road.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation for visitor levy scheme for Aberdeen approved

    Source: Scotland – City of Aberdeen

    A public consultation for a potential visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen which would raise revenue to be used for improvements for the visitor economy in the city has been agreed.

    Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee today approved the move which would see the scheme charge a percentage fee on overnight stays in accommodation.

    Convener of Finance and Resources Councillor Alex McLellan said: “Aberdeen City Council has developed the visitor levy scheme with key stakeholders which will now go out to consultation.

    “There is the potential for the scheme to raise significant funds to help support our ambition to be a leading visitor destination.

    “Our decision around whether or not to introduce a visitor levy will be informed by the consultation as it is important to consider the views of the trade, and a key part of that discussion will be around how the council could use the funds to boost the city’s economy, increase visitor numbers, and, in turn, fill hotel rooms.”

    Chair of the Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association Frank Whitaker said “It is fair to say that the hotel sector lobbied hard against legislation for a visitor levy. However, the law now enables local authorities across Scotland to implement a visitor levy, so it is incumbent on industry to work with local authorities to develop effective schemes that support local economic growth.

    “The introduction of a visitor levy scheme in Aberdeen City has the potential to be a positive economic growth lever if correctly invested, benefitting not just all types of visitors to Aberdeen but also local residents.”

    The report to committee said The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee or tax on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. The levy would be calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation, after deducting any commission costs.

    The main purpose of the bill is to invest more in the local economy in ways that will benefit business and leisure visitors as well as residents.

    The local authority has the discretion to set what the rate is and the legislation allows for local authorities to set different rates for different purposes or areas meaning that different rates can be set for particular events, such as arts festivals or special conferences and that local authorities can vary the area in which the levy applies within their boundary.

    Local authorities cannot vary the type of accommodation that the levy would apply to and that includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, camping sites, caravan parks, accommodation in a vehicle, or on board a vessel which is permanently or predominantly situated in one place.

    Cruise ships and motor homes are not subject to the levy. The levy is not payable where the visitor or any other person utilising the right to reside in the overnight accommodation is in receipt of benefits, payments, or allowances for a disability.

    The report said if it goes ahead, the absolute earliest a visitor levy scheme can come into effect in Aberdeen is 1 April 2027. For public consultation, a rate of 7% is proposed which would produce a levy of £5 per night on an average hotel room of £70 a night.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council unveils new £25m HGV and welfare bus fleet with enhanced safety features

    Source: Scotland – City of Edinburgh

    Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson alongside fleet colleagues at Bankhead Depot.

    Safety is at the heart of the Council’s fleet, with our entire fleet of new Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) along with our welfare buses all equipped with enhanced safety features.

    We’re investing over £25m into our new HGVs and welfare buses as part of our wider £56.8m Fleet Asset Management Plan 2023-2029.  

    We’ve taken inspiration from the Progressive Safe System (PSS) which was implemented by Transport for London (TfL) in October 2024 to enhance vehicle awareness and reduce the likelihood of collisions. There are seven key requirements under PSS:

    • Camera monitoring system fitted to the vehicle’s nearside
    • Class V and VI mirrors
    • Blind spot sensors fitted to the vehicles nearside
    • Moving off sensors fitted to the front of the vehicle
    • Side under-run protection on both sides of the vehicle
    • Audible warning alerts when vehicles turn left
    • Prominent visual warning signage

    In addition to adhering to PSS requirements, all our new vehicles are fitted with an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS). AEBS uses sensors to monitor a vehicle’s surroundings and automatically apply the brakes if a collision is likely.

    Whilst there are no such safety requirement anywhere else in the UK outside of London, we took the decision to ensure all HGVs purchased as part of the replacement programme were equipped with the technology to meet this standard.

    Our 152 strong HGV fleet is comprised of refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, road gritters, mobile library uses, construction vehicles in roads services, and utility trucks for maintaining streets and greenspace.

    Whilst our 27 welfare buses, which transport children with Additional Support Needs (ASN), are not classed as HGV we took the decision to order these buses with the new safety features. These vehicles operate in and around schools and built-up areas during peak travel times so it’s important they are as safe as possible for everyone.

    We’ve now taken delivery of over 70 of our new HGVs, with all new refuse collection vehicles due to arrive by the end of March 2025 and all other HGVs due to be in service this year.

    Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson said:

    I was delighted to go down to Bankhead this morning to see some of these new vehicles firsthand and talk to our colleagues who operate them. We have a responsibility to our colleagues and our residents to make sure our fleet is as safe as possible. This is why we’re investing tens of millions of pounds into our fleet.

    With these changes I’m confident that we have the most advanced local authority fleet in Scotland when it comes to safety features. I hope that other parts of Scotland and the UK will look to London and Edinburgh’s example and follow suit.

    Safety is an absolute priority for us when delivering our services and I have no doubt that these new features will have a positive impact.

    Published: February 12th 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Consultation launched to define Liverpool’s 15-year economic vision

    Source: City of Liverpool

    A public consultation has been launched asking businesses and residents to comment on a vision to grow Liverpool’s multi-billion-pound economy over the next 15 years.

    The Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy will set the framework for growth up to 2040 and the eight-week consultation, hosted by Liverpool City Council, aims to inform the development of the resulting action plan.

    The vision for Liverpool 2040 is to create a strong and inclusive economy that leaves no one behind.

    The strategy focuses on strengthening foundations to build a fairer, more prosperous, and sustainable city that creates opportunities for a good life for all its residents.

    The draft strategy focuses on several key themes, including:

    • Strengthening key sectors to drive growth, innovation, investment and productivity
      Key sectors include: Health & Life Sciences, Creative and Digital industries, Advanced Manufacturing and Maritime.
    • Build a vibrant, productive and resilient business base
    • Ensure access to skills development, employment opportunities and career building
    • Place people at the heart of growth activity and supporting aspirations and networks

    Several public engagement events will be staged over the coming months to gather views from the public. People can also go online at www.liverpool.gov.uk/growthstrategyconsultation to find out more and give their feedback.

    Liverpool currently powers a £16.7 billion economy, with over 14,000 businesses and around 230,000 people in employment.

    However, significant challenges remain, including low productivity and investment, financial pressures on public services, inequality of opportunity in some communities, and health challenges.

    In light of these challenges, the Council, which recently submitted a New Town bid to Government to regenerate a huge part of North Liverpool, is committed to supporting businesses and residents. Delivering an inclusive economy a core pillar for Liverpool’s Strategic Partnership plan for 2040.

    This draft inclusive growth strategy will also complement other key aims such as the city’s Net Zero commitment, the actions outlined in the 2040 Health of the City report as well as the Council’s Local Plan, Housing Plan and Transport Plan.

    To further underline the Council’s commitment, since June 2023, its Business Support Service has provided advice and guidance to over 1,000 Liverpool businesses and supported 300+ residents with direct advice on starting up a new business.

    The Adult Learning and Skills team has also supported over 4,500 residents to develop essential workplace skills, and the Ways to Work team has supported 1,708 economically inactive and unemployed residents with employment and skills services.

    Councillor Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Growth, said: “This draft Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy is a vital piece of work and one which will come to define the conditions that support our businesses to grow.

    “Feedback to this draft strategy is crucial, it needs to reflects the views and needs of our businesses, non-profit organizations, charities, and voluntary organization – be it education, transport, housing or digital connectivity.

    “We also want to hear residents’ views to ensure we create a strong, relevant and deliverable strategy, one that will inform the initiatives, interventions and investment into the infrastructure the city needs to underpin our future economy.

    “All of this feedback will help us strengthen the strategy, ensure we deliver the right action for economic growth, and best placing us to build inclusivity so residents and communities thrive.”

    Councillor Lila Bennett, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Employment, Educational Attainment and Skills, said “The success of this strategy will be deeply rooted in the strength and diversity of our partnerships and our collective commitment and action. All our partners have a key role in driving economic growth and ensuring benefits are felt across all communities.

    “We also want our partners, including the business community, to embrace and deliver for our residents by realising opportunities and addressing challenges, from climate change to AI, to train and upskill their workforce to be ready for the economy of the future.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: CSL Behring’s Gene Therapy HEMGENIX® (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) Four Years Post-Infusion Data Continue to Show Sustained Efficacy and Safety in Adults with Hemophilia B

    Source: CLS Limited

    CSL Behring’s Gene Therapy HEMGENIX® (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) Four Years Post-Infusion Data Continue to Show Sustained Efficacy and Safety in Adults with Hemophilia B

    • 94 percent of patients eliminated factor IX prophylaxis and remained free of continuous prophylaxis through four years post-treatment
    • Mean factor IX activity levels were sustained at near normal levels of 37% through four years post-treatment, reinforcing the efficacy of HEMGENIX in the treatment of hemophilia B
    • Phase 3 HOPE-B data showed that a one-time treatment with HEMGENIX provided long-term bleed protection as mean adjusted annualized bleeding rate (ABR) for all bleeds was reduced by approximately 90% from lead-in as compared to year four

    KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Feb. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Global biotechnology leader CSL (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) today announced the four-year results from the pivotal HOPE-B study confirming the long-term durability and safety of a one-time infusion of HEMGENIX® (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb) for adults living with hemophilia B. In an oral presentation at the 18th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD), data showed that through four years, HEMGENIX continues to deliver elevated and sustained factor IX activity levels, can offer long-term and greater bleed protection compared to prophylactic treatment, can eliminate the need for routine factor IX prophylaxis, and maintains a favorable safety profile. Approved in 2022 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), HEMGENIX is the first gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who currently use factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes. It is also the only approved gene therapy for hemophilia B that can treat adult patients with and without AAV5 neutralizing antibodies thereby providing the potential for a greater number of eligible patients to be treated.

    “Hemophilia B can cause spontaneous bleeds into the joints, resulting in extreme pain and progressive, arthritis-like damage, which can lead to permanent physical debility,” said Steven Pipe, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Laurence A. Boxer Research Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Pediatric Medical Director, Hemophilia and Coagulation Disorders Program Director, Special Coagulation Laboratory University of Michigan. “These results underscore the ability of HEMGENIX to offer long-term bleed protection with a one-time treatment, resulting in dramatic decreases in all annual bleed rates, including joint bleeds, and sustained independence from regular prophylactic infusions.”

    In the Phase III, open-label, single-dose, single-arm HOPE-B trial, 54 adult male participants with severe or moderately severe hemophilia B, with or without preexisting AAV5 neutralizing antibodies, were infused with a single dose of HEMGENIX. Of the 54 participants who received HEMGENIX, 51 completed four years of follow-up. HEMGENIX produced mean factor IX levels of 41.5 IU/dL (n=50) at year one, 36.7 IU/dL (n=50) at year two, 38.6 IU/dL (n=48) at year three and 37.4 IU/dL (n=47) at year four post-infusion. In addition, mean adjusted annualized bleeding rate (ABR) for all bleeds was reduced by approximately 90% from lead-in (4.16, n=54) as compared to year four (0.40, n=51). Furthermore, joint bleeds were reduced from a mean ABR of 2.34 at lead-in to 0.09 during year four. In year four, 94% of patients remained free of continuous prophylaxis treatment. No patients returned to continuous prophylaxis between year three and year four.

    There were no serious adverse events related to treatment with HEMGENIX. HEMGENIX was generally well-tolerated, with a total of 96 treatment-related adverse events (AEs), 92 (96%) of which occurred in the first six months post-treatment. The most common adverse events were an increase in alanine transaminase (ALT), for which nine (16.7%) participants received supportive care with reactive corticosteroids for a mean duration of 81.4 days (standard deviation: 28.6; range: 51-130 days).

    “These data continue to instill confidence in the clinical benefits of HEMGENIX, highlighting the remarkable impact of this one-time treatment to reduce the frequency of bleeds in people with hemophilia B and improve quality of life by alleviating the burden of ongoing factor IX prophylactic treatment,” said Andres Brainsky, Vice President R&D Hematology at CSL. “CSL is committed to continuing to provide ongoing data analyses of HEMGENIX, ensuring that healthcare providers and patients have the necessary information to make informed decisions about treatment options. We are proud to continue to provide life-changing treatment options to the hemophilia community.” 

    The multi-year clinical development of HEMGENIX was led by uniQure (Nasdaq: QURE) and sponsorship of the clinical trials transitioned to CSL after it licensed global rights to commercialize the treatment. Additionally, CSL established a post-marketing registry, which will be informative to all stakeholders and will generate additional evidence on the long-term safety, efficacy, and durability of gene therapy. HEMGENIX has also been granted conditional marketing authorization by the European Commission (EC) for the European Union and European Economic Area, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as authorization by Health Canada, Switzerland’s Swissmedic and provisional approval by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

    For more information on HEMGENIX, please visit www.Hemgenix.com.

    About the Pivotal HOPE-B Trial
    The pivotal Phase III HOPE-B trial is an ongoing, multinational, open-label, single-arm study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HEMGENIX. Fifty-four adult hemophilia B patients classified as having moderately severe to severe hemophilia B and requiring prophylactic factor IX replacement therapy were enrolled in a prospective, six-month or longer observational period during which time they continued to use their current standard of care therapy to establish a baseline Annual Bleeding Rate (ABR). After at least the six-month lead-in period, patients received a single intravenous administration of HEMGENIX at a 2×10^13 gc/kg dose. Patients were not excluded from the trial based on pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to AAV5.

    A total of 54 patients received a single dose of HEMGENIX in the pivotal trial, with 51 patients completing at least four years of follow-up. The primary endpoint in the pivotal HOPE-B study was ABR 52 weeks after achievement of stable factor IX expression (months 7 to 18) compared with the six-month lead-in period. For this endpoint, ABR was measured from month seven to month 18 after infusion, ensuring the observation period represented a steady-state factor IX transgene expression. Secondary endpoints included assessment of factor IX activity.

    No serious treatment-related adverse reactions were reported. One death resulting from urosepsis and cardiogenic shock in a 77-year-old patient at 65 weeks following dosing was considered unrelated to treatment by investigators and the sponsor company. A serious adverse event of hepatocellular carcinoma was determined to be unrelated to treatment with HEMGENIX by independent molecular tumor characterization and vector integration analysis. No inhibitors to factor IX were reported. 

    About Hemophilia B
    Hemophilia B is a life-threatening rare disease caused by a mutation on the F9 gene, resulting in low levels of functional clotting factor IX. People with the condition are particularly vulnerable to bleeds in their joints, muscles, and internal organs, leading to pain, swelling, and joint damage. Treatments for moderate to severe hemophilia B typically include life-long prophylactic infusions of factor IX to temporarily replace or supplement low levels of the blood-clotting factor.

    About HEMGENIX®
    HEMGENIX is a gene therapy that reduces the rate of abnormal bleeding in eligible people with hemophilia B by enabling the body to continuously produce factor IX, the deficient protein in hemophilia B. It uses AAV5, a non-infectious viral vector, called an adeno-associated virus (AAV). The AAV5 vector carries the Padua gene variant of Factor IX (FIX-Padua) to the target cells in the liver, generating factor IX proteins that are 5x-8x more active than normal. These genetic instructions remain in the target cells, but generally do not become a part of a person’s own DNA. Once delivered, the new genetic instructions allow the cellular machinery to produce stable levels of factor IX.

    Important Safety Information (ISI)

    What is HEMGENIX®?
    HEMGENIX®, etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb, is a one-time gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who:

    • Currently use Factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or
    • Have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or
    • Have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes.

    HEMGENIX is administered as a single intravenous infusion and can be administered only once.

    What medical testing can I expect to be given before and after administration of HEMGENIX?
    To determine your eligibility to receive HEMGENIX, you will be tested for Factor IX inhibitors. If this test result is positive, a retest will be performed 2 weeks later. If both tests are positive for Factor IX inhibitors, your doctor will not administer HEMGENIX to you. If, after administration of HEMGENIX, increased Factor IX activity is not achieved, or bleeding is not controlled, a post-dose test for Factor IX inhibitors will be performed.

    HEMGENIX may lead to elevations of liver enzymes in the blood; therefore, ultrasound and other testing will be performed to check on liver health before HEMGENIX can be administered. Following administration of HEMGENIX, your doctor will monitor your liver enzyme levels weekly for at least 3 months. If you have preexisting risk factors for liver cancer, regular liver health testing will continue for 5 years post-administration. Treatment for elevated liver enzymes could include corticosteroids.

    What were the most common side effects of HEMGENIX in clinical trials?
    In clinical trials for HEMGENIX, the most common side effects reported in more than 5% of patients were liver enzyme elevations, headache, elevated levels of a certain blood enzyme, flu-like symptoms, infusion-related reactions, fatigue, nausea, and feeling unwell. These are not the only side effects possible. Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect you may experience.

    What should I watch for during infusion with HEMGENIX?
    Your doctor will monitor you for infusion-related reactions during administration of HEMGENIX, as well as for at least 3 hours after the infusion is complete. Symptoms may include chest tightness, headaches, abdominal pain, lightheadedness, flu-like symptoms, shivering, flushing, rash, and elevated blood pressure. If an infusion-related reaction occurs, the doctor may slow or stop the HEMGENIX infusion, resuming at a lower infusion rate once symptoms resolve.

    What should I avoid after receiving HEMGENIX?
    Small amounts of HEMGENIX may be present in your blood, semen, and other excreted/secreted materials, and it is not known how long this continues. You should not donate blood, organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation after receiving HEMGENIX.

    Please see full prescribing information for HEMGENIX.

    You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

    You can also report side effects to CSL Behring’s Pharmacovigilance Department at 1-866-915-6958. 

    About CSL
    CSL (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) is a global biotechnology company with a dynamic portfolio of lifesaving medicines, including those that treat haemophilia and immune deficiencies, vaccines to prevent influenza, and therapies in iron deficiency and nephrology. Since our start in 1916, we have been driven by our promise to save lives using the latest technologies. Today, CSL – including our three businesses: CSL Behring, CSL Seqirus and CSL Vifor – provides lifesaving products to patients in more than 100 countries and employs 32,000 people. Our unique combination of commercial strength, R&D focus and operational excellence enables us to identify, develop and deliver innovations so our patients can live life to the fullest. For inspiring stories about the promise of biotechnology, visit CSL.com/Vita and follow us on Twitter.com/CSL.

    For more information about CSL, visit CSL.com.

    Media Contacts
    Etanjalie Ayala, CSL Behring
    Mobile: +1 610 297 1069
    Email: etanjalie.ayala@cslbehring.com

    Stephanie Fuchs, CSL Behring
    Mobile: +49 151 58438860
    Email: Stephanie.Fuchs@cslbehring.com

    SOURCE CSL Behring

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Opening Remarks by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at Ukraine Defense Contact Group (As Delivered)

    Source: United States Department of Defense

    Good afternoon, friends.

    Thank you, Secretary Healy for your leadership, both in hosting and now leading the UDCG. 

    This is my first Ukraine Defense Contact Group. And I’m honored to join all of you today.  

    And I appreciate the opportunity to share President Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine.

    We are at, as you said Mr. Secretary, a critical moment. As the war approaches its third anniversary, our message is clear: The bloodshed must stop.  And this war must end.

    President Trump has been clear with the American people – and with many of your leaders – that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority.

    He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal. 

    We will only end this devastating war – and establish a durable peace – by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.

    We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.  

    Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.  

    A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again.  

    This must not be Minsk 3.0. 

    That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. 

    Instead any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops. 

    If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission. And they should not covered under Article 5.  There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact.

    To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine. 

    To further enable effective diplomacy and drive down energy prices that fund the Russian war machine, President Trump is unleashing American energy production and encouraging other nations to do the same. Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table. 

    Safeguarding European security must be an imperative for European members of NATO. As part of this Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.

    Members of this Contact Group must meet the moment.  

    This means:  Donating more ammunition and equipment. Leveraging comparative advantages.  Expanding your defense industrial base. And importantly, leveling with your citizens about the threat facing Europe.

    Part of this is speaking frankly with your people about how this threat can only be met by spending more on defense.  

    2% is not enough; President Trump has called for 5%, and I agree.

    Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future. A down payment as you said Mr. Secretary of peace through strength.

    We’re also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.

    The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland.  We must – and we are – focusing on security of our own borders.

    We also face a peer competitor in the Communist Chinese with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing tradeoffs to ensure deterrence does not fail. 

    Deterrence cannot fail, for all of our sakes.

    As the United States prioritizes its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front. 

    Together, we can establish a division of labor that maximizes our comparative advantages in Europe and Pacific respectively.

    In my first weeks as Secretary of Defense, under President Trump’s leadership, we’ve seen promising signs that Europe sees this threat, understands what needs to be done, and is stepping up to the task.

    For example, Sweden recently announced its largest ever assistance package. We applaud them for committing $1.2 billion in ammunition and other needed materiel.

    Poland is spending 5% of GDP on defense already, which is a model for the continent.

    And 14 countries are co-leading Capability Coalitions. These groups are doing great work to coordinate Europe’s contributions of lethal assistance across eight key capability areas.

    These are first steps. More must still be done.  

    We ask each of your countries to step up on fulfilling the commitments that you have made.  

    And we challenge your countries, and your citizens, to double down and re-commit yourselves not only to Ukraine’s immediate security needs, but to Europe’s long-term defense and deterrence goals. 

    Our transatlantic alliance has endured for decades. And we fully expect that it will be sustained for generations to come. But this won’t just happen.  

    It will require our European allies to step into the arena and take ownership of conventional security on the continent.  

    The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defense partnership with Europe. Full stop.   

    But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.  Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security. 

    Honesty will be our policy going forward – but only in the spirit of solidarity.   

    President Trump looks forward to working together, to continuing this frank discussion amongst friends, and to achieve peace through strength – together.

    Thank you.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Prolific shoplifter jailed in east London

    Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

    A prolific shoplifter who repeatedly targeted stores in east London has been convicted following a Met Police investigation.

    Officers were called to Tesco Express on High Road in Leytonstone at 16:00hrs on Tuesday, 7 January, following a report a man had been apprehended by staff after attempting to steal a large amount of alcohol.

    The offender was detained by officers outside the store, with the incident captured on CCTV and the footage recovered as part of the investigation.

    Lee Moise, 46 (12.04.86), of no fixed address, was further charged with nine other thefts and common assault on a member of staff at the same location, as well as a theft at Co-op on Homerton High Street.

    He appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 9 January where he was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for 18 months.

    Inspector Mohammed Uddin, from the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Homerton, said:

    “We know shoplifting has a significant impact on businesses which also extends to staff, and successful cases like this highlight our commitment to bringing offenders to justice as we focus on the crimes that matter most to Londoners.

    “Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams continue to work alongside local stores big and small on effective crime prevention initiatives, as well as carrying out more arrest enquiries and liaising with the council to identify shoplifters with the help of their CCTV operations.

    “We are also working with drug and homeless outreach teams who provide support to people known for shoplifting which is often used to fund their drug habits. It’s these targeted approaches that is making a difference in communities across London.”

    A Tesco spokesperson said:

    “Our colleagues work hard to serve our customers every day, and each member of our team deserves to feel safe at work.

    “We would like to thank all the officers and our internal security team who have worked collaboratively on this case.

    “We continue to liaise closely with our partners, such as the Metropolitan Police, to share information and invest in new ways to keep our stores, like the High Road Leytonstone Express, safe places to work and shop.”

    The conviction of Moise is another example of the intelligence-led approach Safer Neighbourhood teams in east London are taking to remove prolific shoplifters from their respective wards.

    In Homerton alone, neighbourhood officers have made 15 arrests relating to more than 50 crimes since September 2024, of which six people are currently serving prison terms.

    More widely, the Met is collaborating with the business community to target those who continuously shoplift, using data and technology such as phone tracking and surveillance techniques.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Member Of The 764 Criminal Enterprise Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy and Other Charges

    Source: United States Attorneys General 10

    Jairo Jaime Tinajero, 25, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Western District of Kentucky to the following charges contained in the superseding information: racketeering conspiracy, online enticement, three counts of production of child sexual abuse material, three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), five counts of interstate communications of threats, cyberstalking, and conspiracy to murder Jane Doe 1 in aid of racketeering. The terms of the plea agreement specify that both parties agree to the applicability of the terrorism sentencing enhancement (U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4 n. 4).

    On Oct. 11, 2023, a grand jury in the Western District of Kentucky returned an indictment charging Tinajero with online enticement and production of child sexual abuse material. On Oct. 4, 2023, in the Eastern District of Arkansas, Tinajero was arrested on a criminal complaint that was filed in the Western District of Kentucky.

    According to the court documents, Tinajero is a self-identified member of the 764 network. The 764 network’s accelerationist goals include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. Government. Beginning in 2020, Tinajero started communicating with, and grooming, several minor victims to obtain sexually explicit content from them, including Jane Doe 1. In 2023, Tinajero began to threaten the safety of Jane Doe 1 and her family. Tinajero posted online in encrypted platforms associated with 764 and related groups a “Lorebook” – commonly used in 764 blackmail schemes — containing Jane Doe 1’s identifying information along with nude pictures of the minor.

    Between July 2023 and September 2023, during multiple discussions over social media, Tinajero and a co-conspirator agreed that Tinajero should kill Jane Doe 1. Tinajero and the co-conspirator specifically discussed that Tinajero should murder Jane Doe 1 and dispose of Jane Doe 1’s body in a barrel of acid after the murder. Tinajero posted multiple messages on various social media websites stating that he planned to kill Jane Doe 1 with a firearm because Jane Doe 1 refused to provide additional child sexual abuse material.

    On Aug. 26, 2023, Tinajero posted on Telegram, “Im determined to die” and “If I gotta kill her I can’t let her live and f**k with dudes and girls while I’m sick and miserable” and “Im gonna live stream it.” Tinajero also posted a picture of Jane Doe 1. On Sept. 2, 2023, Tinajero posted on Telegram, “I wanna kill them so bad just show up at their cribs and shoot 100 rounds in 5 seconds” and, on Sept. 3, 2023, posted “I didn’t wanna do anything bc I was scared of dying or prison but now I’m determined to die if I have to after getting rid of [Jane Doe 1] . . . .” Tinajero also began soliciting others to assist with attempting to kill Jane Doe 1.

    The FBI is investigating the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Erwin Roberts for the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. The Violent Crime and Racketeering Section for the Criminal Division and the Eastern District of Arkansas provided assistance.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: LECTRA: 2024: improved financial results in what remains a degraded environment

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    2024: improved financial results in what remains a degraded environment

    • Revenues: 526.7 million euros (+10%)*
    • EBITDA before non-recurring items: 91.1 million euros (+15%)*
    • Net income: 29.6 million euros (-9%)*
    • Free cash flow before non-recurring items: 72.1 million euros (+59%)*
    • Dividend**: €0.40 per share (+11%)

    * Change at actual exchange rates (%)
    ** Proposed to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on April 25, 2025

         
    In millions of euros October 1 – December 31 January 1 – December 31
      2024(1) 2023 2024(1) 2023
    Revenues 132.5 119.3 526.7 477.6
    Change at actual exchange rates (%) 11%   10%  
    EBITDA before non-recurring items(2) 22.6 19.8 91.1 79.0
    Change at actual exchange rates (%) 14%   15%  
    EBITDA margin before non-recurring items
    (in % of revenues)    		 17.1% 16.6% 17.3% 16.5%
    Income from operations before non-recurring items(2) 11.9 12.3 49.3 49.1
    Change at actual exchange rates (%) -3%   0%  
    Net income 8.4 7.7 29.6 32.6
    Free cash flow before non-recurring items(2) 22.2 13.2 72.1 45.3
             

    (1)   2024 figures include Launchmetrics since January 23,2024
    (2)   The definition for performance indicators appears in the Management Discussion of December 31, 2024

    Paris, February 12, 2025. Today, Lectra’s Board of Directors, chaired by Daniel Harari, reviewed the consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2024. Audit procedures have been performed by the Statutory Auditors. The certification report will be issued at the end of the Board of Director’s meeting of February 27, 2025.

    To facilitate analysis of the Group’s results, the accounts of Lectra excluding Launchmetrics (the “Lectra 2023 scope”) are analyzed separately from the Launchmetrics accounts. The detailed 2024 vs 2023 comparisons for the Lectra 2024 scope and for Launchmetrics are based on actual exchange rates, whereas the comparisons for the Lectra 2023 scope are stated on a like-for-like basis.

    1.    SUMMARY OF THE YEAR 2024

    The year 2024 was marked by a severely degraded macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, prompting the Group’s customers to exercise prudence in their investment decisions, though situations varied across geographies and market sectors.

    Under these conditions, for the Lectra 2023 scope, orders for new systems were stable, and new SaaS subscriptions grew by 8%, confirming their success and increasing adoption by the Group’s customers.

    2024 earnings in line with recent estimates

    On October 30, the Group reported that revenues and EBITDA before non-recurring items were expected to be near the lower end of the ranges indicated on February 14, i.e., revenues of 480 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items of 85 million euros for the Lectra 2023 scope; and 42 million euros in revenues and EBITDA margin before non-recurring items of over 15% for Launchmetrics, i.e., revenues of 522 million and 91.3 million euros of EBITDA margin before non-recurring items for the Lectra 2024 scope.

    In total, full-year 2024 revenues grew 10% to 526.7 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items increased 15% to 91.1 million euros.

    Successful integration of Launchmetrics

    Launchmetrics achieved revenues of 41.2 million euros and an EBITDA before recurring items of 7.0 million euros, and exceeded the Group’s profitability expectations with an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items of 16.9%.

    What’s more, this acquisition has considerably expanded Lectra’s SaaS activity, providing the basis for a twofold increase in SaaS revenues to 77.4 million euros at end-2024 and strengthening SaaS’s future potential.

    The integration — in terms of processes, teams and products — is already a proven success and enables Lectra to form a coherent set of SaaS activities. Launchmetrics has also contributed its top-level practices in the area of SaaS, thus enriching the customer experience across the Group.

    Continuing improvement in the fundamentals of the Group’s business model

    The fundamentals of the Group’s business model were substantially improved, notably on the basis of the strict cost control policy implemented since May 2023, and the contribution of Launchmetrics. Recurring revenues increased by 18%, with margins covering nearly all fixed costs. The EBITDA margin before non-recurring items rose 0.8 percentage point, to 17.3%. Free cash flow before non-recurring items generated in 2024 came to 72.1 million euros (+59%) and the Group’s net debt was brought down to 20.6 million euros at December 31, 2024.

    2.    Q4 2024

    Q4 2024 revenues were up 11% compared to Q4 2023, at 132.5 million euros, with Launchmetrics contributing 11.0 million euros.

    EBITDA before non-recurring items (22.6 million euros) was up 14% and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items came to 17.1% (+0.5 percentage points).

    Free cash flow before non-recurring items rose sharply to 22.2 million euros (+68%).

    Lectra 2023 scope

    Currency changes had only a limited impact on revenues and results.

    Orders for new systems were stable compared to Q4, 2023, at 38.6 million euros, and new SaaS subscriptions came up to 3.6 million euros (+17%).

    Revenues came to 121.5 million euros, up 1%: revenues for new systems were down 6%, while recurring revenues were 5% higher.

    EBITDA before non-recurring items was 21.0 million euros and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items came to 17.3%, up 0.3 percentage point.

    3.    2024

    Full-year 2024 revenues came to 526.7 million euros, up 10% with the following breakdown: 28% of total revenues for new systems, down 5%, 72% of total revenues in recurring revenues, up 18%, including Saas revenues of 77.4 million euros (x2.5).

    Launchmetrics, which has been consolidated since January 23, 2024, contributed 41.2 million euros to 2024 revenues.

    Gross profit came to 376.9 million euros, up 13%, and the gross profit margin was 71.6%, up 1.8 percentage points over 2023.

    EBITDA before non-recurring items came to 91.1 million euros, up 15%, and the EBITDA margin before non-recurring items rose 0.8 point to 17.3%.

    Income from operations before non-recurring items amounted to 49.3 million euros, stable compared to 2023. This included a 22.7-million-euro charge for amortization of intangible assets arising from the acquisitions carried out since 2021.

    Research and development costs, which were fully expensed in the period and included in fixed overhead costs, represented 12.8% of revenues (11.7% in 2023).

    Financial income and expenses represented a net charge of 6.0 million euros (2.8 million euros in 2023) due to higher interest rates and the financing of the Launchmetrics acquisition.

    Foreign exchange gains and losses generated a net loss of 2.2 million euros.

    Taking into account the amortization of intangible assets, the increase in financial expenses, and an income tax expense of 10.9 million euros, net income amounted to 29.6 million euros, down 9% compared to 2023.

    Free cash flow before non-recurring items was significantly higher, at 72.1 million euros (+59%).

    A particularly robust balance sheet

    At December 31, 2024, the Group had a particularly robust balance sheet with a consolidated shareholders’ equity of 374.4 million euros, a negative working capital requirement of 25.2 million euros and net debt of 20.6 million euros. The net debt consisted of financial debt of 102.5 million euros and cash of 81.9 million euros.

    Lectra 2023 scope

    Currency changes had only a limited impact on revenues and results.

    Orders for new systems (144,9 million euros) were stable compared to 2023.

    Orders for perpetual software licenses (11.4 million euros) fell by 18% — as most new software is now sold in SaaS mode— while orders for equipment and accompanying software (113.0 million euros), and for training and consulting (17.3 million euros) rose by 2% and 9%, respectively.

    Revenues were up 2% at 485.5 million euros, and recurring EBITDA was up 7% at 84.2 million Euros.

    4.    DIVIDEND

    The Company maintained its attractive shareholder compensation policy with dividends representing a payout ratio of about 40% of net income in 2023 and, as a result of the strong increase in free cash flow, the company has decided on a payout ratio of 50% of net income for the year 2024.

    The Board of Directors will propose to the Shareholders’ Meeting of April 25, 2025 the payment of a dividend at €0.40 per share in respect of fiscal year 2024.

    5.    CHANGES IN GOVERNANCE

    Following a disagreement with the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer regarding the role of the Lead Director, Ross McInnes has decided to resign from his position as Director, effective April 24, 2025. The Board of Directors thanks him for his contribution over the past three years. 

    As of April 25, 2025, the Board of Directors of Lectra will consist of 7 members: Daniel Harari (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Nathalie Rossiensky (Lead Director, Independent Director), Céline Abecassis-Moedas (Independent Director), Karine Calvet (Independent Director), Pierre-Yves Roussel (Independent Director), Jérôme Viala (non-Independent Director) and Hélène Viot-Poirier (Independent Director). 

    6.    ASSESSMENT OF THE 2023-2025 STRATEGIC ROADMAP – SECOND PROGRESS REPORT

    Launched in 2017, the Lectra 4.0 strategy aims to position the Group as a key Industry 4.0 player in its three strategic market sectors: fashion, automotive and furniture, before 2030. The strategy has been implemented up to now through three strategic roadmaps.

    The first strategic roadmap, which covered the 2017-2019 period, established the key fundamentals for the future of the Group.

    The second roadmap, which ran from 2020 through 2022, achieved a new dimension for the Group – primarily through the acquisition of Gerber in June 2021 – and opened new perspectives, with a financial position stronger than ever before, an extended worldwide presence, a broader customer base, a powerful product portfolio, a growing number of customers using its new offers for Industry 4.0, and a new brand image.

    The Group’s ambition over the 2023-2025 period is to take full advantage of its change in dimension to accelerate growth, to significantly increase the volume of SaaS in revenues, and to seize acquisition opportunities.

    Despite the unstable economic and geopolitical climate, Lectra successfully maintained its long-term strategic orientations. Further, all the fundamentals of the Group’s business model improved significantly and customer adoption of the SaaS model accelerated. The Group acquired Launchmetrics and strategic partnerships were concluded with Six Atomic and AQC.

    With the commitment of employees and recognition by customers, Lectra stands at the forefront in building a more sustainable future. The Group has taken numerous steps to enhance its offering to reduce environmental impact for its customers, notably through material traceability for fashion, thanks to the acquisition of a majority stake in TextileGenesis in early 2023.

    Details of the second progress report on this 2023-2025 strategic roadmap can be found in the December 31, 2024 “Management Discussion and Analysis” document, available on Lectra.com.

    7.    OUTLOOK

    In the challenging environment of 2024, Lectra proved to be highly resilient, confirming the relevance of its strategy and the quality of its fundamentals—crucial assets for the Group’s continued development.

    Outlook for 2025

    While initial positive signs can be detected, the lack of visibility in what remains an uncertain economic and geopolitical context, could continue to weigh on investment decisions by the Group’s customers going forward.

    In this context, the Group has begun the year 2025 with confidence and will pursue its strategy by meeting the needs of its customers as closely as possible via the quality of its offers for Industry 4.0 and by developing its SaaS activity.

    As in the previous two years, visibility regarding orders for new systems remains low, with no way of anticipating the timing or magnitude of a possible rebound, which could nevertheless occur during the course of the year.

    Recurring revenues, which accounted for 72% of total revenues in 2024, are expected to grow further in 2025, largely on the strength of expanding SaaS activity.

    Furthermore, the Group will maintain strict cost controls and anticipates a mix of orders that will favorably impact the gross margin.           

    In light of the above, Lectra has set the 2025 objective of achieving recurring revenues of over 400 million euros, including 90 million euros of SaaS revenues.

    Overall, revenues are expected to be between 550 and 600 million euros, with an EBITDA margin before non-recurring items close to 20%, based on exchange rates at December 31st, 2024, particularly of $1.04/€1.

    The Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations and the financial statements for Q4 and the fiscal year 2024 are available on lectra.com. First quarter earnings for 2025 will be published on April 24. The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting will take place on April 25, 2025.

    About Lectra

    As a major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the Industry 4.0 revolution with boldness and passion by providing best-in-class technologies.The Group offers industrial intelligence solutions – software, equipment, data and services – that facilitate the digital transformation of the companies it serves. In doing so, Lectra helps its customers push boundaries and unlock their potential. The Group is proud to state that its 3,000 employees are driven by three core values: being open-minded thinkers, trusted partners and passionate innovators.Founded in 1973, Lectra reported revenues of 527 million euros in 2024. The company is listed on Euronext, where it is included in the following indices: CAC All Shares, CAC Technology, EN Tech Leaders and ENT PEA-PME 150.

    For more information, visit lectra.com.

    Lectra – World Headquarters: 16–18, rue Chalgrin • 75016 Paris • France
    Tel. +33 (0)1 53 64 42 00 – www.lectra.com
    A French Société Anonyme with capital of €37,966,274 • RCS Paris B 300 702 305

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Brings Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification and Sleep Apnea Features to Galaxy Watch in South Africa

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung Electronics recently announced that two health feature updates on its Galaxy Watch line-up are now available for the South African market. The Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN) and Sleep Apnea detection features, accessible through the Samsung Health Monitor app, provide Galaxy Watch users with enhanced tools to manage their cardiovascular health more effectively. These software updates, which went live on January 13, 2025, are part of Samsung’s ongoing commitment to improving health monitoring capabilities through wearable technology.
     

     
    The IHRN feature is designed to detect irregular heart rhythms suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that can lead to severe health complications if left undiagnosed. By continuously monitoring and recording heart rhythms, this feature offers users a better understanding of their heart health. Alongside the IHRN, the Samsung Health Monitor app also allows Galaxy Watch users to monitor their blood pressure and perform on-demand electrocardiogram (ECG) tests, giving a comprehensive view of their cardiovascular health from the convenience of their wrist.
     
    Following its approval by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in 2023, the IHRN feature has already been rolled out in various global markets. South Africa is one of the latest regions to benefit from this advancement.
     
    In addition to the IHRN feature, the new Sleep Apnea detection tool offers users the ability to identify early signs of obstructive sleep apnea, a common but serious sleep disorder that often goes undiagnosed. According to the South African Society for Sleep and Health, 26% of adults in South Africa are affected by sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to severe health risks such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
     
    Both features, integrated into the Samsung Health Monitor app, further enhance Galaxy Watch’s ability to support users in managing their overall health. These tools are part of Samsung’s larger initiative to provide consumers with the technology they need to easily manage and take control of their health and well-being. Initially available on the Galaxy Watch Ultra, Watch7, Watch6 Classic, and Watch FE, the features will be expanded to previous editions in the near future.
     
    As one of the leaders in wearable health technology, Samsung continues to bring cutting-edge features to its devices, making it easier for users to track and maintain their health and wellness with greater confidence.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: River Tame stocked with thousands of fish

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    The Environment Agency has boosted the populations of dace, chub and roach in Greater Manchester as 4,000 fish have been released into the River Tame.

    Photo shows Luke Theaker, Environment Agency Fisheries Officer, on the left, and Chris Clarke, Chair of the River Tame Anglers, releasing fish into the River Tame.

    The fish were released at two locations in the river, near Hyde.

    The Fisheries Improvement Programme, which is paid for by rod licence sales, has funded work with the River Tame Anglers to create fish refuges and boost habitat to support fish survival in this area.

    Stocking occurs in winter because water temperatures are low and this minimises any stress on the fish, giving them the best possible survival rates.

    February is a good time to introduce the fish into rivers, as it enables them to acclimatise to their new surroundings, ahead of their spawning season in the spring.

    Fish also play a critical role in sustaining a river’s finely-balanced eco-system, so the wider natural environment will also get a helping hand, as a result of the restocking.

    ‘Amazing opportunity’ to boost fish numbers

    Mark Easedale, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Greater Manchester, said:

    The carefully coordinated releases on the River Tame provides an amazing opportunity to further boost fish numbers and support our local angling clubs.

    Our officers work closely with partners across Greater Manchester to protect and enhance local fish populations.

    This includes responding to reports of fish in distress, gathering evidence at pollution incidents, protecting or enhancing habitats for fish, improving angling access and addressing barriers to fish migration.

    We hope this stocking in the River Tame will encourage even more people to give fishing a go, but before you do go out to the banks, remember it’s important to buy a rod licence, as you could end up with a fine if you don’t.

    Photo shows Luke Theaker, Environment Agency Fisheries Officer, on the right, and Chris Clarke, Chair of the River Tame Anglers, releasing fish into the River Tame.

    Surveys help ensure fish released in right locations

    The new recruits to the Tame have all been reared at the Environment Agency’s National Coarse Fish Farm in Calverton, Nottinghamshire.

    Every year, the Environment Agency stocks almost half a million fish of nine different species into England’s rivers. Being the principal supply of coarse fish for 32 years, the fish farm plays a crucial role to help improve fisheries around the country.

    Fisheries officers use data from national surveys to identify where there are problems with poor breeding, issues with survival rates, or where numbers have been impacted following a pollution incident.

    These surveys help the officers ensure that fish are released into the right locations and where the need is greatest as well as supporting angling clubs to boost local fishing spots.

    Fisheries Officers inspect rod licences 24/7 throughout the North West, and work continually on cases of illegal fishing and other associated fisheries crime. Fishing illegally can result in a fine of up to £2,500, and offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized.

    It’s easy to buy a rod fishing licence online. Get yours here: Buy a rod fishing licence

    Illegal fishing and other offences can be reported to the Environment Agency’s Incident Hotline on 0800 807060.

    Background

    • Rod fishing licence income is vital to the work of the Environment Agency to maintain, improve and develop fisheries.
    • Revenue generated from rod fishing licence sales is reinvested to benefit angling, with work including tackling illegal fishing, protecting and restoring habitats for fish and improving facilities for anglers.
    • The Fisheries Improvement Programme invests in English rivers by funding projects to protect and improve fish stocks and habitats, provide new facilities for anglers, and give more people the opportunity to try fishing.

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –