Category: Transport

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ7: Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

LCQ7: Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work
LCQ7: Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work
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Following is a question by Dr the Hon David Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (October 30): Question: The Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work (the Pilot Programme) was launched in September 2022, and its industry coverage has also been expanded from the construction industry to the catering and hotel industry and the transportation and logistics industry from May this year onwards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the total number of reported work injury cases in the construction industry in Hong Kong since September 2022 and, among them, the number of cases which are eligible for the Pilot Programme; (2) of the average waiting time of injured employees from the time of injury to commencement of rehabilitation treatment under the Pilot Programme; (3) as it is learnt that some injured employees who are eligible for the Pilot Programme have refused to participate in the Programme, whether the Government has gained an understanding of the reasons for their refusal; (4) of the types of work injury involved in the cases participating in the Pilot Programme, with a breakdown by the extent of injury; (5) among the injured employees who have participated in the Pilot Programme and recovered (i.e. reached maximum medical improvement), of the number of those who have returned to work and, among them, the percentage of those who are able to return to their original positions (especially employees in the construction industry who are able to re-enter the industry); (6) among the injured employees who have participated in the Pilot Programme and recovered but are unable to return to work, of the number of those who have completed the procedures of medical assessment of injury (i.e. assessment of permanent incapacity); and (7) as it is learnt that some non-profit-making organisations or training organisations in the community provide retraining and return-to-work support services specifically for persons recovered from work injury, how many employees who have recovered under the Pilot Programme but are unable to return to work have been referred to such organisations for follow-up? Reply: President, To strengthen rehabilitation services for employees injured at work, the Labour Department (LD) launched the Pilot Rehabilitation Programme for Employees Injured at Work (Pilot Programme) in September 2022. The Pilot Programme adopts a case management approach to provide timely and co-ordinated private out-patient rehabilitation treatment services for participating injured employees to facilitate their early recovery and return to work. Currently, the Pilot Programme covers the construction industry, catering and hotel industry and transportation and logistics industry, targeting employees who have sustained musculoskeletal injuries at work and have been (or are expected to be) absent from work for six weeks or more. Eligible persons can participate on a voluntary basis. My reply to the Dr the Hon David Lam’s question is as follows: (1) From September 2022 to September 2024, the number of employees’ compensation claims in the construction industry involving incapacitation of employees for more than 3 days as a result of work injuries reported under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and received by the LD is about 6 900. As at the end of September 2024, the LD and the Work Injury Rehabilitation Office (WIRO) set up by the service contractor of the Pilot Programme have, based on the reported work injury cases, identified 4 596 injured construction employees who preliminarily fulfilled the admission criteria of the Pilot Programme, and proactively invited their participation. As at the end of September 2024, a total of 1 011 injured construction employees have enrolled in the Pilot Programme. (2) According to the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, an employer must notify the Commissioner for Labour of any work accident within 14 days after the accident occurs or after it comes to his knowledge. As mentioned in part (1), the LD and WIRO will preliminarily identify suitable injured employees based on the reported work injury cases, proactively invite them to participate in the Pilot Programme and arrange interviews to ascertain their eligibility for and willingness to participate in the Pilot Programme. Thereafter, the case manager will schedule an appointment for the employee to meet with the case doctor. Once the case doctor determines after clinical assessment that the employee’s injury is suitable for treatment under the Pilot Programme, the relevant rehabilitation treatment will begin immediately. Therefore, the duration from the time of injury to the commencement of treatment for an injured employee depends on the reporting time and the specific circumstances of the individual work injury case (such as the time needed to successfully contact the injured employee, when the employee can meet with the case manager and confirm their consent to participate in the Pilot Programme). Generally, counting from the first successful contact with the injured employee for introducing the Pilot Programme, an injured employee can receive treatment from a case doctor approximately after 10 working days.(3) Some eligible injured employees have chosen not to participate in the Pilot Programme for various reasons, including their wish to continue receiving rehabilitation treatment services provided by the Hospital Authority, consideration that the location of the hospital or clinic they currently seek consultations is more convenient, preference for arranging their own private medical services, and their wish to continue receiving free private rehabilitation treatment provided by their employers. (4) As at the end of September 2024, 1 350 injured employees from the construction industry, catering and hotel industry, and transportation and logistics industry have enrolled in the Pilot Programme. Their injuries primarily involved contusions and bruises, sprains and strains, fractures, etc, which accounted for approximately 80 per cent of all cases. Around 70 per cent of participants have already reached Maximum Medical Improvement (i.e. recovered) after treatment, with the majority recovering within 5 months after commencing treatment.(5) Under the Pilot Programme, if participants do not return to work within two months after recovery, case managers will continue to follow up on their return-to-work status for the following three months. As of the end of September 2024, the return-to-work status of the 939 recovered employees is as follows:

Return-to-work status
Number of employees (proportion)

Engaged in same kind of work*
413 (approximately 44 per cent)

Engaged in other kinds of work*
73 (approximately 8 per cent)

Return-to-work status under follow up
201 (approximately 21 per cent)(mainly those who have recently recovered from their injuries)

Not yet returned to work during the follow up period
252 (approximately 27 per cent)

Total
939

*including those employed by the original employer or a different employer Among the 413 recovered employees engaged in the same kind of work, 329 (approximately 80 per cent) were construction employees; and among the 73 recovered employees engaged in other kinds of work, 63 (approximately 86 per cent) were construction employees.(6) Among the 252 recovered employees who were yet to return to work during the follow-up period as mentioned in part (5), 197 (approximately 78 per cent) have been arranged to attend an assessment conducted by the Employees’ Compensation Assessment Board (commonly known as work injury assessment). The main reasons some cases have not yet received work injury assessment include pending arrangements for the assessment, the necessity to undergo legal procedures due to disputes over employees’ compensation, or the involvement of injuries other than musculoskeletal for which the relevant treatments are yet to complete, etc.(7) Each participant under the Pilot Programme is assigned a case manager to follow up on their case. The case manager co-ordinates rehabilitation treatment and assists in the participant’s return-to-work, which includes, with the employee’s consent, liaising with employers to facilitate return-to-work arrangements, or providing information on the job market based on the employee’s circumstances. Furthermore, depending on the needs of individual cases and the wish of the employees concerned, participants may be referred to relevant non-governmental organisations for services such as employment counselling, vocational training, and job skills training to enhance their skills and prepare for return-to-work during the recovery journey. As of the end of September 2024, a total of 20 participants agreed to be referred to the relevant organisation, of whom six have returned to work, 11 were yet to return to work during the follow-up period after recovery, and the return-to-work status of the remaining three was still being monitored.

Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2024Issued at HKT 11:59

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MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Designs unveiled for Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment
Source: New South Wales Government 2

Headline: Designs unveiled for Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment

Published: 30 October 2024

Released by: Minister for Health, Minister for Regional Health

The Cessnock community is invited to provide feedback on the latest designs for the $138 million Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment.
The NSW Government is investing $138 million in the Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment to significantly enhance healthcare services for the region and meet the health care needs of the growing population.

The schematic design provides the next level of detail for the redevelopment, showcasing modern healthcare facilities and the expanded services to be delivered.

The redevelopment will include construction of a new two-level acute services building that will house an expanded emergency department, two inpatient wards featuring single and two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, a new medical imaging service, and day surgery spaces.

In the 2024-25 NSW Budget an additional $26.5 million was allocated to the Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment, bringing the total investment to $138 million. This will support the delivery of additional facilities including an operating theatre and procedure room, a Central Sterilising Services Department (CSSD) and a modern pharmacy.

The Cessnock community is encouraged to attend information drop-in sessions and give feedback on:
- Tuesday 12 November, 10:00am – 12:00pm, Cessnock Hospital main foyer (View Street)
- Wednesday 13 November, 9:00am – 1:00pm, Cessnock Village Shopping Centre
Consultation with staff and the community will continue throughout the project including working groups that will seek community input in the Arts in Health program and landscaping and outdoor spaces to ensure that local culture is reflected in the hospital’s design.

Construction is expected to begin in 2025, following the appointment of a main works contractor.

For more information and the opportunity to have your say visit the project website at http://www.hneinfra.health.nsw.gov.au/projects/cessnock or contact the project team at HI-Cessnock@health.nsw.gov.au

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:

“From the expanded emergency department and operating theatres, this redevelopment will transform healthcare for the people of Cessnock by addressing capacity and supporting contemporary models of care.

“The Cessnock Hospital Redevelopment is being informed by extensive staff and community feedback and we encourage the community to have their say on this next stage of design which will be considered as part of the planning and design process.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Cessnock Clayton Barr:

“This project will deliver the healthcare enhancements the Cessnock community deserves in a welcoming and supportive environment.

“The additional services including theatres, Central Sterilising Services Department, and pharmacy will benefit communities across the Lower Hunter region.

“I would like to see as many people as possible involved in the conversation about our future hospital; what it might look like and how it might work best for everyone.

“So please, if you can, come along to either of the planned community information sessions to play your part in this once in a generation build.”

Quotes attributable to the Executive Director Infrastructure, Sustainability and Planning, Dr Ramsey Awad:

“We are committed to delivering a state-of-the-art hospital that provides the best care to the Cessnock community close to home.

“We’ve listened carefully to the community’s feedback and responded with a design that not only meets today’s healthcare demands but will also serve the region well into the future.”
MIL OSI News –
January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Justice Michael Ball appointed to Court of Appeal

Source: New South Wales Government 2

Headline: Justice Michael Ball appointed to Court of Appeal

Published: 30 October 2024

Released by: Attorney General

Experienced lawyer, Justice Michael Ball, has been appointed to be a Judge of the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of NSW.

His Honour brings more than 45 years of legal expertise to the state’s top appellate court. Prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010, he spent most of his career working in Sydney as a solicitor with international commercial law firm Allen Allen & Hemsley/Allens Arthur Robinson.

Since 2014, Justice Ball has sat in the Commercial and Technology and Construction Lists. He became the List Judge for those lists and the Commercial Arbitration List in 2022.

His Honour started his career in South Australia with Mollison Litchfield in 1980 while also tutoring commercial law at the University of Adelaide. The following year he joined the Australian Law Reform Commission, where he worked on the Insurance Contracts and Evidence Law references. He became a solicitor at Allen & Hemsley in 1983.

Justice Ball was appointed Senior Associate two years later and in 1987 made a Partner in the litigation department.

During his 27 years with the firm, his Honour was involved in several high-profile cases in competition and insolvency law. This included C7, Antico v Heath Fielding Australia, the Linter litigation, Pioneer and Giant Resources litigation and Trade Practices Commission v Australian Meat Holdings.

His Honour graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1978 with a combined degree in Arts and Law. He is a co-author of ‘Kelly and Ball Principles of Insurance Law’, a leading text on Insurance law in Australia.

Justice Ball will be sworn in as a Judge of Appeal on 4 November 2024.

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Justice Michael Ball to the Court of Appeal bench.

“His Honour is a highly respected lawyer and member of the Supreme Court, and his expertise will be invaluable to the Court and everyone who interacts with it.

“I congratulate Justice Ball on this well-deserved achievement.”

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: $7.2m boost for little learners – more free health checks rolled out for preschoolers

Source: New South Wales Government 2

Headline: $7.2m boost for little learners – more free health checks rolled out for preschoolers

Published: 30 October 2024

Released by: Minister for Education and Early Learning, Minister for Health

More children will get free health and development checks with the Minns Labor Government today announcing $7.2 million for 881 early childhood education and care services across NSW.

The NSW Government opt-in Health and Development Checks in Early Childhood and Care program supports health professionals to visit early childhood education and care services to conduct the checks for four-year-olds to help identify additional support the children may need before school.

More than 7,000 children have received a free health and development check in their early childhood education and care service since the program began in 2023.

The checks assess various aspects of the child development, including problem solving skills, listening, talking and, social skills. Physical growth and dental health will also be monitored.

The program aims to make it easier for more services to offer the checks.

Eligible services received up to $7,500 to support:

1. Staffing to support services to deliver the health and development checks

2. Provision of private space to conduct the checks.

3. Support to address health and development needs identified through the checks.

The checks offered through early childhood education and care services provide families with a free alternative to visiting a doctor or Child and Family Health service.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of NSW children are not developmentally on track when they start school, according to the most recent Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data.

All preschools and long day care services can participate in the Health and Development Checks in Early Childhood Education and Care program by contacting their local health district.

This is all part of the Minns Labor Government’s plan to give kids across NSW the best start in life.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“Health and development checks provide families with valuable information about their child’s growth and development.

“Offering the free checks at early childhood education and care services makes it easier for working families to participate and ensures there is early intervention for students who need it.

“The Minns Labor Government is supporting long term health and development outcomes for all children across NSW, regardless of their family’s postcode, income or circumstances.”

Minister for Health and Regional Health Ryan Park said:

“Starting school is an exciting time, but with two in five children starting school developmentally off track we need to do more to support young children and their families.

“Providing health and development checks for four-year-olds in preschools or long day care centres makes it far more convenient for busy families to help their children have the best start to school.

“These checks especially in the first 2,000 days help families get the information they need to support their child’s development and to seek help, if needed.”

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Translation: Council of Ministers meeting on 30 October 2024

MIL OSI Translation. Timor-Leste Portuguese to English –

Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Spokesperson for the Government of Timor-Leste

……………………………………………. ……………………………………………. …………………….

Press release

Council of Ministers meeting on 30 October 2024

The Council of Ministers met at the Government Palace, in Dili, and approved the draft Government Resolution that extends, until April 10, 2025, the suspension of the teaching, learning and practice of martial arts and the temporary closure of all places and facilities intended for the teaching, learning and practice of martial arts, initially approved by Government Resolution No. 45/2023, of November 10, and extended by Government Resolution No. 17/2024, of April 24.

This Government Resolution aims to consolidate and reinforce the social peace achieved since November 2023. With a measured and controlled approach, it is intended, in the future, to allow the practice of martial arts exclusively in the context of sport, promoting healthy exercise and contributing to the civic and humanistic education and training of young people. However, at this time, the suspension of the teaching, learning and practice of martial arts and the temporary closure of the respective facilities remain.

The Government congratulates the population, particularly young people, for their collaboration in complying with Government Resolution No. 17/2024, of April 24, which has contributed significantly to maintaining order and social peace throughout the country.

*****

The draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, and by the President of the Civil Service Commission, Agostinho Letêncio de Deus, regarding the Seniority Promotion Regime for Public Administration career personnel, was also approved.

This legislative initiative aims to ensure career progression for those who, for various reasons, have been unable to achieve merit-based promotions in recent years. The system is based on criteria such as seniority, performance evaluation, age, professional training, service provision in remote areas, good behavior and attendance. The law establishes that promotion based on seniority will occur annually, and will be carried out through an internal competition regulated by the Civil Service Commission, which determines the vacancies available for each grade and professional category.

It is expected that this seniority-based promotion regime will reduce stagnation in the careers of civil servants, valuing the dedication of many years to public service, especially for those who face difficulties in participating in conventional competitions.

*****

Finally, the Government Resolution project, presented by the Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Verónica das Dores, regarding compliance with the registration regime and contribution obligation within the scope of the Social Security Contributory Regime, was approved.

This legislation reinforces the State’s duty, enshrined in Article 56 of the Constitution of the Republic, to organize a social security system that protects all workers in the country, in the public and private sectors, and ensures the right to social security and assistance. Established by Law No. 12/2016, of November 14, the social security system has been in force since 2017 and defines the responsibilities of employers, including the registration of workers and the monthly submission of remuneration statements to the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).

This Government Resolution determines that all entities of the direct and indirect State Administration must regularize the registration of their workers with the INSS by November 15, 2024, as well as submit monthly remuneration statements by the 15th of each month. The INSS provides the necessary tables on its website and, by November 30, 2024, will present to the Council of Ministers a list of entities in non-compliance.

Failure to comply with this Resolution will result in civil, financial, reintegration and disciplinary liability for those responsible for services and entities of the direct and indirect State Administration with jurisdiction over the registration of workers and the monthly submission of Remuneration Declarations, as applicable. END

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

MIL Translation OSI

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China expresses disapproval for EU’s tariff ruling

Source: China State Council Information Office 3

China-made new energy vehicles await shipment to Europe in Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China does not approve of or accept the European Commission’s decision to impose extra tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Background Press Call on U.S. Efforts to Address U.S. Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern

US Senate News:

Source: The White House
Via Teleconference
2:38 P.M. EDT
MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for joining today’s call. As a reminder, this call will be on background, attributable to senior administration officials, and it is embargoed until 5:00 p.m. Eastern today.
For your awareness, not for your reporting, on the call today we have [senior administration official], [senior administration official], [senior administration official], and [senior administration official].
We’ll follow up shortly after the call with embargoed materials as well, but I will turn it over to [senior administration officials] who will have a few words at the top, and then we’ll take your questions.
Over to you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Eduardo, and thanks to everybody for joining us today.
Since the earliest days of the administration, President Biden has said we are at an inflection point with respect to advanced technologies. And as he’s often said, we will see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50.
And that has motivated historic investments, mobilizing hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment to rebuild American manufacturing and innovation.
The flipside of that, of course, of promoting critical technologies is, of course, protecting them. And recognizing how transformative certain technologies can be, the President directed his national security team to ensure that where we have significant advantages, our world-leading technologies and know-how are not used against us to undermine our national security. That’s been the guiding principle for the Biden-Harris administration’s export control policies, as well as the Outbound Investment Program that we’re glad to announce is being finalized today.
As many of you know, we’ve been working on this approach to address certain outbound investments in sensitive technologies and critical sectors that could undermine American national security for some time. And, in particular, we’ve been focused on the exploitation of certain intangible benefits that often accompany U.S. outbound investments and that help companies succeed through, for example, enhancing their standing and prominence, providing certain types of assistance, introducing investment and talent networks, opening up market access, and enhancing access to additional financing.
The People’s Republic of China has a stated goal, as you know: to develop key sensitive technologies that will directly support the PRC’s military modernization and related activities, including weapons development, and it has exploited U.S. investments to develop domestic, military, and intelligence capabilities.
So, today, the Treasury Department will issue a Final Rule to implement President Biden’s Executive Order 14105, from August of 2023, which is entitled “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern.”
The Final Rule provides the operative regulations and a detailed, explanatory discussion regarding its intent and application. And as directed in the President’s executive order, the Final Rule does prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that pose a particularly acute national security risk to the United States.
The Final Rule also requires U.S. persons to notify the Treasury Department of certain other transactions involving a defined set of technologies and products that may contribute to a threat to the national security of the United States.
Covered technologies fall into three categories: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence. This set of technologies, we believe, is core for the next generation of military, cybersecurity, surveillance, and intelligence applications, providing what we believe are force multiplier capabilities.
The United States already prohibits and restricts the export to countries of concern of many of the technologies and products covered by the Final Rule. This program complements the United States’ existing export control and inbound screening tools by preventing U.S. investment from advancing the development of these technologies and products in countries of concern.
The Treasury Department, as [senior administration official] will lay out, has used feedback through the notice and comment process to help design a carefully tailored approach. And we also want to commend Senators Casey and Cornyn, Representatives DeLauro, Fitzpatrick, and Pascrell, as well as Representatives Meeks and McCaul in particular, for their leadership on this issue.
The overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on Senators Casey and Cornyn’s Outbound Investment Transparency Act as an amendment to the Senate NDAA demonstrates the shared will of Congress and the administration to meaningfully regulate outbound investments.
So, with that, I’ll turn it over to [senior administration official] to provide more detail on the content of the Final Rule.
Over to you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks very much. As mentioned today, Treasury is issuing, at the direction of the President, a targeted and narrowly scoped regulation that implements a new program to address this threat to U.S. national security. The Final Rule has clear thresholds and definitions to implement the executive order, and provides detailed, explanatory discussion regarding its intent and application to assist investors and other stakeholders to help them navigate this new program.
The Final Rule does two things at its core, as previewed: First, it prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions involving semiconductors, quantum, and artificial intelligence. And second, it requires U.S. persons to notify Treasury of certain other transactions involving semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
The rule explains in detail the scope of the program, definitions, processes, requirements, and penalties for non-compliance, among other things. Importantly, this rule has benefited from the input of a variety of stakeholders, industry experts, and allies and partners.
We had two rounds of formal comments on the rulemaking to implement the executive order, first with the August 2023 ANPRM that was issued alongside the ENO and on which we got 60 comments from stakeholders. Those comments were integral in developing the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that we issued in June of this year and on which we received more than 40 additional comments, which further informed the development of the Final Rule.
Over two-plus years, Treasury, along with the Departments of State and Commerce, have led extensive engagements with stakeholders across the globe. These engagements and our deliberate decision to offer two rounds of public comment have helped us receive insightful feedback that has helped inform the Final Rule to ensure to choose our national security objectives while taking into account the need to be focused, targeted, and clear.
Now, I’ll briefly discuss a few key aspects of the rule.
First, as [senior administration official] suggested, the rule imposes requirements on U.S. persons. This includes prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions with what the rule identifies as covered foreign persons, and requires the U.S. persons to notify the Treasury Department about other transactions that involve covered foreign persons.
Second, the Final Rule focuses on specific categories of investment transactions where the target of the investment has a nexus to the PRC and activities involving sensitive technologies and products.
In terms of what transactions are covered, the Final Rule applies to, among other things, a U.S. person’s acquisition of an equity interest or contingent equity interest, certain debt financing, certain greenfield investments, or investments that could result in corporate expansion and joint ventures. This would include, for example, a U.S. investment firm taking an equity stake in an advanced semiconductor manufacturer in the PRC. It would also cover a U.S. company’s purchase of land in the PRC to develop a quantum computing research facility.
There are exceptions for certain types of transactions that are less likely to contribute to the national security threat we’re worried about.
For example, the Final Rule excepts or carves out certain investments by a U.S. person to publicly trade securities and certain investments made by a limited partner in a pooled investment fund, among others.
In light of our ongoing conversations with allies and partners on the importance of multilateral efforts in this area, the Final Rule also includes an exception for certain transactions involving a person of a country or territory outside the United States where the Secretary of the Treasury has determined that the country or territory is addressing national security concerns posed by outbound investment.
And third, in terms of the technologies and products in scope for the program, the Final Rule provides technical details on the subsets of semiconductors, quantum, and artificial intelligence that are relevant to the program.
For example, a U.S. person is prohibited from acquiring equity in a PRC entity that manufactures advanced semiconductors or that is developing an AI system designed exclusively or intended for a military end use. A U.S. person would be required to notify Treasury if they are acquiring equity in a PRC company that manufactures legacy semiconductors.
Other examples include direct equity investments by a company or private equity fund into any PRC company that is repurposing an AI model for penetration testing or automated vulnerability detection and exploitation, which would be covered under the rule as either notifiable or prohibited, depending on the design end use and computing power used to train an AI system.
In addition to direct investments, indirect investments through a parent of a PRC company that is using AI models to improve targeting, intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance, or autonomous weapons systems for military use would be prohibited, as would such indirect investments in a PRC company developing or scaling quantum computers or networks to undermine encryption systems. These technologies can be used for advanced code breaking, the development of next-generation military applications, or offensive cyber operations.
Additionally, in general, the rule is based on a U.S. person’s knowledge of the relevant facts, rendering a transaction to be covered under the rule. Enforcement and penalties are consistent with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, the authority by which the President issued the executive order.
The Final Rule takes effect on January 2nd, giving stakeholders time to organize internal infrastructure and processes to ensure compliance with the rule.
The lengthy preamble to the rule summarizes the response to the comments received, as well as provides an explanation of the changes since the proposed rule issued over the summer.
And let me make two additional and final points before concluding.
First, this program is calibrated to help ensure our actions can be supported multilaterally, which is a critical component to maximize its effectiveness and reduce backfill from other investors. The administration has been engaged in extensive conversations with allies and partners on the issue, and we are encouraged to see some allies and partners, including the European Commission and the United Kingdom, exploring the issue of outbound investment security in their own jurisdictions.
Second, cross-border investment flows have long contributed to U.S. economic vitality. This targeted action is focused on national security and scope to address specific risks posed by certain U.S. outbound investment, and it maintains our longstanding commitment to open investment.
Thanks. And back to you, Eduardo, for questions.
MODERATOR: Thank you. We now have time for a few questions. If you’d like to ask a question, please use the “Raise Your Hand” feature on Zoom, and we’ll come to you.
First up, we’ll go to Michael Martina.
Q    Hi there. Appreciate you doing this. So, what you described sounds quite similar to the notice for proposed rulemaking earlier in the year. I’m wondering if you can detail any specific or key changes that you made to the original notice you said it was used to inform this Final Rule. So, are any changes from earlier?
And just an effort at clarification. You know, given the exemptions for publicly traded securities, is it the White House’s contention that China has not significantly exploited publicly traded security purchases by U.S. investors to enhance their military or intelligence capabilities? My understanding is that this is perfectly fine — you could trade public securities for Chinese defense companies under this; that’s totally within the rules. Is that correct? Thanks.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, maybe I’ll take the first question, Eduardo. And then, [senior administration official], if you want to chime in on the second from a White House perspective.
So, I think while largely consistent with the NPRM in scope and structure, the Final Rule does contain some changes, including with respect to clarity of the rule and thinking forward to compliance.
So, for example, we’ve selected clear technical thresholds for notifiable and prohibited transactions involving AI systems based on the amount of compute power to train an AI system that is open in the NPRM; refine how the rule applies to U.S. persons with investment banking authority and non-U.S. entity, such that it clearly applies only to those who actually exercise authority, for example; and clarifying with respect to compliance and enforcement with the rule.
And so, there are a number of areas where we have honed and focused and sharpened the rule since then, and those are some examples.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks for the question, Michael. So, I will say we do have existing authorities to address the threat you were discussing. So, for example, Treasury has authorities — the Chinese military industrial complex sanctions regulations that are intended to address U.S. persons from purchasing or selling publicly traded securities and companies that are involved in this sector, and there are others as well.
MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to the line of Anita Powell.
Q    Thank you so much. As you guys are surely aware, Elon Musk is developing a data center in China to train the algorithm to work on self-driving cars. That’s a lot simpler than I think it really is. But anyway, is this the type of investment that might be restricted under this new rule? Can you just kind of flesh that out for us?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Happy to start.
Look, I don’t think we’re going to get into hypothetical scenarios, but just reiterate some of the points that I’ve said.
What the rule is really targeted on is capital and the intangibles that can flow from such American capital to go into the development of PRC-based — not just based, but PRC-based entities that are developing these advanced technologies. And so, that’s sort of the scope of the rule.
And one thing I will mention is that Treasury will provide some guidance and other documents during this interim period before the rule goes online. That’s certainly our intent to help flesh this out. But I think going back to the core tenets of the rule is the best way to answer that.
MODERATOR: Next up, we’ll go to the line of (inaudible).
Q    Yeah, hi. Thanks for doing this and for taking my question. Could you talk a little bit more about the engagement with allies and partners in the process of finalizing this rule, specifically which allies specifically you engaged with and whether there are any allies who are going to create similar rules of their own? Thank you.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: [Senior administration official], maybe you could start with engagements with allies that you’ve had, but then maybe, [senior administration official], if we could go to you, you could talk a little bit about the G7 as well. That might be helpful.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:   Yeah, sure. Thanks.
So, in terms of — just to sort of put a topper before going to [senior administration official], we’ve had a number of engagements with partners and allies, which have resulted in not only sort of technical exchanges about what we are doing and why we’re doing it, but also various statements. And [senior administration official] will allude to one of them with regard to the G7, but obviously the European Commission and the United Kingdom have made statements in support of these goals. And so, it’s an ongoing process and one that will continue.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, and just to add on to what [senior administration official] said, this is something that, you know, even from the White House level we engage with our closest allies and partners on. And [senior administration official] referenced, you know, a line in the G7 leaders’ statement from Apulia early this year that refers to, you know, recognizing that appropriate measures designed to address risk from outbound investments are important to complement our existing toolkit.
So, it’s a conversation that we’re frequently having with our key partners and allies.
MODERATOR: And we have time for one more. We’ll go to the line of Patrick Tucker.
Q    Hey. Thanks. Patrick Tucker from Defense One.
So, when you say the rule prohibits people from acquiring equity in a PRC entity that manufactures semiconductors that might be used in autonomous weapons systems or that might be repurposed for AI penetration testing, is that based on an observation that there are U.S. firms that currently have investments in those areas of autonomous weaponry and penetration testing for China? Or are you making the rule now in anticipation that firms might begin to invest in that sort of thing? I’m trying to get a sense of the degree to which U.S. firms have exposure and have willingly made investments in these areas of the Chinese military.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So let me start, [senior administration official], and then perhaps, [senior administration official], pass it to you.
I think what we are worried about, which I would focus on, is the kinds of scenarios that we have outlined, which is supported by data. And one statistic that comes to mind — and I won’t get it exactly right, so I’d refer you to the Georgetown Center for — I think it’s Technology — that had a statistic that said something to the effect of: For a five-year period, I think between 2016 and 2020 or 2021, 17 percent of investment in Chinese artificial intelligence companies included U.S. participation, and of that, 91 percent was at the venture capital stage.
I think if you think about those sets of facts and scenarios, that’s the kind of situation that when it comes to certain artificial intelligence capable of impacting our national security, from military intelligence, cyber, other related perspectives, that’s what we’re concerned about.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, I would just add to that that part of the motivation, as we were looking at some case studies to inform the development of this executive order and the regulation, actually was focused on cybersecurity, where we had a number — we saw a number of VC investments directly into firms working on cybersecurity that ended up on the entity list for working with Chinese military or intelligence services.
MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone, for joining. That’s all the time we have for today. As a reminder, this call was on background, attributable to senior administration officials, and the contents of the call are embargoed until 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
We’ll follow up shortly with embargoed materials as well. but do reach out to us, to the NSC or Treasury, with any questions in the meantime. Thanks so much.
3:00 P.M. EDT

MIL OSI USA News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: What performances to go to with children. Yuri Kuklachev’s choice

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

On the stages of Moscow theaters you can see a variety of performances for young viewers – from classic fairy tales to modern works. People’s Artist of the RSFSR Yuri Kuklachev tells us which productions will give bright impressions to children and teenagers.

“For miracles to happen, you need to go towards them yourself! Therefore, I invite everyone to the most extraordinary performances that give hope, charge with vigor and excellent mood. In these productions, both fairy-tale heroes and modern characters that we meet every day come to life, the action is filled with music, songs, dances and incredible circus tricks, and some even involve furry artists of the Cat Theater. I advise you not to miss it and enjoy it with the whole family!” says Yuri Kuklachev.

“The Little Humpbacked Horse” at the Moscow Children’s Variety Theatre

Address: Baumanskaya street, house 32, building 1

Dates: November 10, December 1

Age limit: 6

The musical theatrical performance in folk style at the Moscow Children’s Variety Theatre was created based on the fairy tale of the same name by Pyotr Yershov. Together with the main characters, Ivan and his faithful friend and assistant the Little Humpbacked Horse, the audience will visit a fair, the royal palace and even the seabed. The familiar story from childhood will be revealed in a new way by musical numbers combining folk motifs and modern sounds.

You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

“Cats Show” at the Kuklachev Cat Theatre

Address: Kutuzovsky Prospect, Building 25

Dates: November 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, December 1

Age limit: 6

A circus troupe arrives in town: magicians, clowns, trainers, acrobats and dancers. The cunning and wily director of the program meets a tramp on the street and offers him to become a handyman in his team. Once in the circus, the hero gets acquainted with life behind the scenes – its intrigues and rivalries, friendship and love.

The production includes illusionists and, of course, four-legged artists – cats and dogs.

You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

“Fedorino grief” at the Children’s Musical Theatre of the Young Actor

Address: Malaya Dmitrovka street, house 8, building 4

Dates: November 17, December 7, January 26

Age limit: 0

Fedora is such a slob and a dirty girl that her things don’t want to live with her anymore: the sieve and trough have galloped away across the fields and meadows, the shovel and broom have gone, the iron and saucepan have run away. There’s nothing to do – Fedora will have to go looking for them. The actors on stage will portray frying pans, cups, spoons and even cats, and the audience will learn what to do so that things don’t want to leave their owners.

The play was based on the fairy tale of the same name in verse by Korney Chukovsky.

Tickets – on mos.ru.

“In a Busy Place” at the Tereza Durova Theatre

Address: Pavlovskaya street, building 6

Date: November 28

Age limit: 16

The play by Alexander Ostrovsky was transferred to the stage of the Tereza Durova Theatre by director Irina Pakhomova, presenting a plot at the intersection of melodrama, comedy and detective, and conveying the bustle of the inn with bright colours and folk motifs.

You won’t get bored in a busy place – there is carousing, robbery, treachery and love. While they are treating you in one room, they are robbing you in another. In every impulse, good or bad, there is spiritual passion and true Russian fearlessness.

You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

Samurai Sword and Venetian Carnival. Tereza Durova on plays in which children act

“Visiting Grandfather Durov” at the “Grandfather Durov’s Corner” theater

Address: Durova street, house 4, building 2

Date: November 21

Age limit: 0

The performance dedicated to the founder of the theater, the famous trainer and artist Vladimir Durov, is created in the format of a divertissement – numbers not connected by a common plot will follow one another. But they are united, of course, by love for animals. Children will get acquainted with the actors of “Grandfather Durov’s Corner”: dogs, cats, goats, raccoons, a fennec fox, ferrets, crows and monkeys.

Tickets – on mos.ru.

“The Tale of the Soldier and the Firebird and the Stupid Queen” at the Moscow Children’s Fairytale Theatre

Address: Bolshoy Fakelny Lane, Building 18, Bldg. 2

Date: November 2

Age limit: 6

The main character of the production, the Soldier, is a man who is experienced, but trusting, lives with an open heart. But whether the stupid queen has a heart is a big question, she is so greedy, stupid and stupid. But in good fairy tales, good always prevails, so the Soldier will overcome all the tests: he will defeat the deceitful merchant and the treacherous minister, and will also meet love – the beautiful Mashenka.

You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

“Well Done, Tom Thumb!” at the Moscow Puppet Theatre

Address: Bazhova street, house 9

Date: November 17

Age limit: 6

Many people know the tale of Tom Thumb in the version by the Brothers Grimm, and the Moscow Puppet Theater based it on Nikolai Shuvalov’s play. Together with the young and brave spectators, the cheerful and resourceful hero will stroll along new paths of the famous story and reveal the meaning of the proverb “Small but precious.”

You can buy tickets on mos.ru.

“Alice in Wonderland” at the Folklore Center “Moscow”

Address: Barclay Street, Building 9

Dates: November 10 and 23, December 7

Age limit: 6

Gleb Matveychuk’s musical based on the famous fairy tale by Lewis Carroll will surely appeal not only to children, but also to their parents.

Alice sees a dream full of metaphors, riddles and unusual adventures. Will she be able to show courage, bravery and perseverance to find the way home, win the fight with the cruel Red Queen and wake up?

Viewers will see a story of first love, attempts to find answers to important everyday and philosophical questions, as well as an unexpected twist on a familiar plot.

Tickets – on mos.ru.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145926073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Young Muscovites create cartoons about SVO participants and veterans of the Great Patriotic War

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Pupils extracurricular activities center “Na Sumsky”created the cartoon “A Minute of Holy Memory”, dedicated to the fighters of the special military operation (SVO) and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. This is the first computer animation of the senior children of the advanced level group of the studio “Tryam!” The work won the city multimedia competition “We are Muscovites”.

The studio’s youngest students – preschoolers – prepared drawings with wishes for the special operation participants, which also appear in the cartoon.

“The cartoon is based on a poem by the poet Alexei Shmelev, who helps the SVO fighters. The guys were very active in creating the cartoon, they worked harmoniously, as one team. When it was necessary to come up with the main character – a soldier, he was copied from the older brother of one of the studio members,” said Lyubov Lazareva, the head of the animation studio.

Now the children are creating a new project dedicated to the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Victory. The educational cartoon will be filmed using computer animation. It will illustrate the movements of troops on the world map. To accurately convey the facts, the children studied and recreated on the screen models of military equipment from the Great Patriotic War.

In addition, the studio participants weave tactical bracelets for the SVO fighters and write letters to them.

The guys from the “Art Modeling in 3D” studio also support the participants of the special operation. Under the guidance of teachers, they developed models of keychains in the form of a house, a heart, the sun and the word “thank you”, and then printed them on a 3D printer and sent them to the fighters on the front lines.

“Our students, having received feedback – a video message from servicemen, were very inspired to create new functional household items, which are so necessary today in the SVO. They decided to develop a model of a compact stand for a phone. We are already preparing the first batch of such products,” said Anna Dzhunkovskaya, head of the Art Modeling in 3D studio.

The extracurricular activity center “Na Sumsky” was founded in 1918. Currently, 5.5 thousand children study there, they attend 328 clubs and sections.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145931073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Taupō SH1 maintenance jumps the queue

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

A major change in the scheduling of the maintenance on SH1 between Tīrau and Waiouru has seen the closure of the East Taupō Arterial section of SH1 brought forward to Monday 11 November until 6 December 2024.

The work required on the East Taupō Arterial road includes rebuilding 2.5km of the road, adjusting median barriers, clearing the shoulders, repairing signs and adding in new line marking.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Roger Brady, says this change in scheduling has a range of benefits for road users and the wider Taupō community.

“There are a number of large events planned in November and December in Taupō, including the Cycle Challenge and Ironman 70.3 World Championship(external link). Changing the sequence of our work on SH1 means we avoid causing considerable disruption to competitors and spectators during the lead up and at the events.

“We had originally planned on a second SH1 closure between Ātiamuri to Wairakei to happen before this Christmas, but the work on that section will now take place in spring 2025. As a result we can fit in the work on the East Taupō Arterial section of SH1 before Christmas.

“Once completed, we would only need to come back for the final surfacing early next year, minimising the overall impact of motorists.

“We’ve worked closely with Taupō District Council (TDC) to understand the best timing for closing the various sections and believe together we have come up with a solution that is best for the wider Taupō community. TDC are able to incorporate road works they need to do into our closure, and they have helped to shape our traffic management to minimise disruption as much as possible. We’d like to extend our thanks to TDC for working so collaboratively with us.

“We’d also like to thank the Taupō community and businesses for their understanding and patience. We know that we haven’t been able to provide much notice, but this short-term disruption will be worth it in the long run.”

Taupō will be very busy during December and there will be pressure on the highways and local roads in the area due to the various events as well as the road works. Motorists are encouraged to use the official detour via Broadlands Road and Ohaaki Road to SH5, and vice versa. The recommended detour adds an extra 45.5 km and approx. 32 min to journeys.

Those travelling to north or south destinations either side of Taupō may prefer to utilise other state highway routes such as SH3, SH4 and SH49.

Putāruru to Tokoroa closures in December

SH1 between Tokoroa and upper Ātiamuri is currently closed, with the road rebuilding work progressing well. Subject to this work being completed as planned by the end of November, the crews will then start work on the Putāruru to Tokoroa section in the last week of November. SH1 will be closed for approximately 4 weeks until Friday 20 December with all north and south bound vehicles being detoured 24/7.

“Crews are working hard to finish work on the Tokoroa to upper Ātiamuri. We are also depending on good weather. Once completed, over 24 lane kilometres, or nearly 130,000 square metres of road, will have been upgraded,” Mr Brady says.

“As soon as crews are finished there, they will be moving north to the next section. We’re unable to work on both sections as it’s too disruptive to have both sections closed to the public at once.”

Specific work sites and final dates are expected to be confirmed in the coming week. Keep an eye on nzta.govt.nz/t2w for the latest updates.

This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.

Construction work on SH1 between Tokoroa and upper Ātiamuri.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Loretta Hart, 94.7 The Pulse

Source: Australian Ministers 1

LORETTA HART, HOST: As we celebrate 50 years of community radio in Australia, we’re featuring women doing great things in the sector and those making an impact on it. One such woman is my next guest, someone who is a champion for all things community broadcasting, the Honourable Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications. Welcome to the program.

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Great to be with you.

HART: And we’ve also been joined by Libby Coker in the studio as well, our Federal Member for Corangamite. Welcome, Libby.

LIBBY COKER, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CORANGAMITE: Welcome to you too. It’s great to be with you.

HART: And look, I can’t go past that we actually got our station manager. Leo. Leo, welcome back from long service leave.

LEO RENKIN, 94.7 STATION MANAGER: Thank you, Loretta. It’s been a very entertaining first day.

HART: Absolutely. So, Michelle, you know, we know that the Labor Government introduced community radio back in the ‘70s. Can you share with us the importance of community broadcasting and radio, what- the importance it holds for the Government of today?

ROWLAND: It’s absolutely an essential part of our media ecosystem, and I think it is opportune to reflect when Gough Whitlam started community broadcasting 50 years ago, it was referred to as experimental. So this was a step into the unknown about what can be done with this very valuable resource we call spectrum. I think it was one of the wisest moves that’s been made in communications regulation in this country, because where community broadcasting fits in in this whole ecosystem is it provides the heavy lifting that’s been done on media diversity. We are one of the most concentrated media ownership markets in the world, and to have hundreds of community broadcasters right around Australia serving localism, supported by volunteers, having connections with community.

I’m really privileged to be here, just seeing the connections that you have with individuals, with community, how you reflect the local area. You try and think of another media format that can do that. You can’t. You can’t do it on a digital platform. You can’t do it in a profit making commercial broadcasting sense. It’s done through people who want to make a difference. Meeting Marwa, earlier from Syria, one of your stars. Clearly, that’s been life changing for her and she’s found a place here. I just think that says it all. It says everything about community broadcasting, community radio. It really does bring people together. Congratulations to The Pulse for clearly doing it so well. You really are the epitome of why we support this sector.

HART:  Thank you so much. You used the word experimental, and I know we’re 50 years on, but I would say it still feels experimental. We have this opportunity to bring in new voices, to try new things to be nimble, which is such an exciting place for us to be. I’m wondering, Michelle, you know, as we move into this on demand lifestyle, I watch everything these days on – when it suits me on the TV, people are into their podcasts. Where do you see community radio fitting into this on demand space?

ROWLAND: I think community radio is going to continue to innovate. Everyone thought radio was going to die with the advent of the iPod and then the iPhone, but community radio has really still found its place. You can find the app; you can listen to it anywhere you want. We’ve introduced a prominence framework in Australia as well to make local content easier to find. I think that the sector will continue to adapt, and I think it does it through two ways. Firstly, it is that local element, but it also is able to connect. It’s two-way. It’s not television. It’s two-way. When you have those personalities that are able to engage, continue to innovate through innovations like podcasting. Podcasting is one of those things, you know, it took off a few years ago, as did- we saw it with the ABC developing iView to have a library. Community broadcasting is doing the same thing, and it’s that kind of innovation that is going to keep it strong. But the key thing here, I’m sure Libby will agree, you need people. You need people, which goes to the whole reason why we’re doing the first really deep sustainability dive into the sector. You can’t operate for profit, but sponsorships are harder to come by. Volunteerism is on the decline, that’s just a fact. So we’ve got to look at new ways of support, and you’ve got to be able to attract people to be part of this. You’re doing it so well here. I could tell as soon as I walked in – you’re very lucky, Libby, to be representing such a special electorate.

COKER: Yeah. Thanks, Michelle. I’m very fond of The Pulse. It’s been a place where people can come together and it fills a unique niche in this region. We have commercial radio, but we are also quite limited in our range of media. So if you want to have an in-depth interview on an issue, you really need to come to The Pulse to do that. I wish you all the best, and hope you continue to go from strength to strength and be here for another 50 years. It’s an impressive effort.

HART:  Thank you, Libby. We will hold you to helping us.

COKER: Yes, I know you will.

LEO RENKIN CO-HOST: Just one thing that we haven’t really mentioned is the people who go on from the community radio station as well. Like we have Stefan, who’s gone back to Serbia and now presents TV over there. We also have Michelle Rimmer, you might see who’s an ABC reporter over in the UK – they all get their start somewhere like here. It’s very important because most commercial stations and there’s very limited opportunities at the ABC to get experience, and without it, there would be a lot of people who couldn’t go on and make a career out of radio. I think it’s one of the most underrated, important things that happen, not only radio, TV they go onto as well.

HART: Couldn’t agree more.

RENKIN: Yeah. That’s part of I think that thing is getting harder and harder to get experience, particularly for people in the media. I think that’s one of the things that we often forget about. You know, coming to a place like we’ve spoken about Marwa this morning, coming to a place where you can then get a chance to go ahead and do those things in media. Without it, as you mentioned before, it’s not a very diverse sector in the media field.

ROWLAND: I think it’s great that people who are in community broadcasting, like Rove McManus, you know, he got his start on community TV. They go on to great things. But we also want them to stay.

RENKIN: Exactly.

ROWLAND: To nurture others as well. So it becomes a virtuous cycle.

RENKIN: That’s right. They get picked very quickly, yeah.

HART:  That’s right. I keep telling Marwa not to be so good because SBS is going to find her. She’s our most downloaded program and does an amazing job for her community. But I think that’s right. I mean, and we’re really proud of the links that we’re making with Deakin to support young journalists, students, and those in communications and marketing to come in. I want to give a shout out we had a young man, Cooper Watkins. Cooper came and did an eight-week intro to broadcasting program with us. Just on the weekend, he hosted an hour program with three interviews, and then on Monday, did six interviews for a two-hour program. And he’s just finished his journalism degree. But he is eager to get his hands on these buttons, to get behind the microphone and to get experience.

So you’re right, Leo. I think that whilst we can have diverse voices, we can have underrepresented stories being given some air, but we’re also a training ground. But you’re right, Michelle, we want people to stay as well. Yeah.

RENKIN: I’ve got Loretta chained to the desk actually.

[Laughter]

I think one of the underrated things about community radio is, like we’ve seen this morning, a diverse group of people coming together, and I think that’s very important for social cohesion as well. We often think of everyone in the community being different, but a place where they can come together and be different is a very special thing to have.

ROWLAND: Couldn’t agree more.

HART: Michelle, just lastly, what can we look forward to- as community broadcasters, what can we look forward to the Albanese Government supporting and providing in this space?

ROWLAND: Well, I want to reiterate that this is a government that doesn’t just say we support community broadcasting. We’ve backed that up with $23 million in funding. We want to continue to make sure that this sector remains strong. The first Bill I actually presented to the Parliament as Minister was on community broadcasting to help ease some of that regulatory burden. We have the sustainability review that’s being finalised by my Department now. I think it’s been really important to go out and to consult with the sector about what their needs are. When that comes through, I’m sure it will have some really practical suggestions in there for reform.

But as Libby will tell you too, you know, we want to be judged on our delivery. It’s really something to be able to go to- I’ve lost count of how many community radio stations I’ve been to or have been on around Australia. But I want to be clear to your listeners. We’re a Government of delivery. We’re not afraid of the hard reforms. There are hard things happening in the media at the moment. This sector is under great challenge through the multinational digital platforms, under great stress through just the transition as well. It’s not the advertising market that it used to be. It is hard. There has to be that adaptation across mainstream media, but also by every part of the ecosystem, including community and just discussions today. This is an area that’s not without its challenges, even here in Geelong.

But I can give you this commitment that we want to follow through on ensuring sustainability. We are going to have to make some hard decisions. But you can be assured that with good people like Libby backing you up in the Parliament as well, I think that this is a universally supported sector. It’s one that actually goes right across the aisle. You get people from regional areas and from metro areas who do support community radio. So I think that the proposals that we will put up, I’m confident that they’ll have strong support. There’s always a need to do more. Let’s be clear. I want to do expectations management. There’s always a need to do more. With hundreds of community radio stations across Australia with so many thousands of volunteers, we do have to remember I think come back to first principles. This is the fourth estate. It’s about making sure that authentic Australian voices, entertainment, and news get out there. We’re in an era of mis- and disinformation that is harmful to our democracy. This fourth estate that you support here is the front row of that fight against it. That’s one of the key reasons why I’m so passionate about it.

RENKIN: Can I just add to that, Loretta?

HART: Yeah, well, you can, but you’ve got 30 seconds.

RENKIN: Sorry, 30 seconds. We found in COVID that we did have enormous amount of people come to us from different ethnic groups and want us to promote the vaccination programs and things that were going on because the only information they were referring to was online stuff, information from their own country. So for example, they were getting information from Croatia about what was going on, and then trying to think that was what was going to go on in Australia. Well, it was completely wrong. So we had some of our presenters come in and say, we have to get this message out, we have to get this message out. I think that’s one of the things that we- you know, when you said before about being the fourth pillar, I suppose, is that we can provide information from local community groups and for the local community groups, the best thing they know is word of mouth. And if it comes from one of the representatives, and then-

ROWLAND: They trust.

RENKIN: They trust, exactly.

HART:  They do indeed. It’s been a very fantastic conversation this morning. Thanks so much to Leo. Thanks very much to Libby Coker. And also thanks so much, Michelle, for being here, our Federal Minister for Communications. It’s been wonderful to have you in the studio with us.

ROWLAND: Absolute pleasure.

COKER: Thank you.

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ14: Improving the water quality of the Tsuen Wan waterfront

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Joephy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (October 30):

Question:

     In his 2022 Policy Address, the Chief Executive set a target of reducing the pollution load at identified outfalls emanating stench in specific districts (including Tsuen Wan) by half before the end of this year. It has been reported that the Government department concerned has indicated recently that the aforesaid target has been achieved ahead of the schedule, and the pollution load of the Tsuen Wan waterfront has been reduced by about 80 per cent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it has been reported that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) indicated last month that 70 cases of misconnection of drains had been found in Tsuen Wan and, among them, 36 cases had been rehabilitated or were under acceptance inspection, of the specific locations of such cases of drain misconnections and the specific rehabilitation measures taken; as for the remaining cases of drain misconnections pending rehabilitation, of the Government’s rehabilitation works plan and timetable;

(2) as the EPD has indicated that following the rehabilitation of misconnected drains, the next task is to continue to identify other sources of pollutants, of the progress and targets of such task and the plans in place to monitor the water quality situation of the Tsuen Wan waterfront, for example, whether prosecution will be instituted against property owners involved in the misconnections of drains to prevent recurrence of similar problems; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) upon the completion of the drain rehabilitation works mentioned in (1), of the specific measures put in place by the Government to ensure that the drains can be effectively maintained and managed on a long-term basis, and whether such measures cover preventive maintenance and contingency rehabilitation plans; whether the Government will introduce new technologies to enhance the durability and operation efficiency of drains;

(4) whether the Government has plans to extend across the territory the successful experience and fruitful outcomes of rehabilitating drains at the Tsuen Wan waterfront as well as the techniques applied, so as to improve the overall pollution load and odour intensity of the waterfront of Hong Kong; whether the Government will collaborate with environmental groups and experts to jointly take forward the work of ameliorating pollution at the waterfront;

(5) as it has been reported that the Government has installed monitoring systems at the Tsuen Wan Sports Centre to monitor on an ongoing basis the odour changes of the Tsuen Wan waterfront, of the details of the data collected by such monitoring systems (including ways to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data); of the water and air quality data of the Tsuen Wan waterfront collected by the Government over the past two years, and whether such data shows a trend of progressive improvement; and

(6) whether the Government has short-term and long-term plans to continuously improve the water quality and odour of the Tsuen Wan waterfront; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government has all along been attached great importance to improving the water quality of Victoria Harbour. Since the launch of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme by the Government, all sewage generated from both sides of Victoria Harbour, including Tsuen Wan District, has been intercepted and diverted to the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works for centralised treatment. As a result, the overall water quality of Victoria Harbour has improved significantly. The Cross Harbour Race, which was suspended for years due to poor water quality, has resumed since 2011 and has returned to its traditional route in the central area of Victoria Harbour since 2017. To further ameliorate the remaining near-shore water quality and odour problems of Victoria Harbour, the Chief Executive set out the target in the 2022 Policy Address to reduce the pollution load by half before end-2024 at stormwater outfalls with serious pollution problems along both sides of Victoria Harbour, in particular in Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City districts. Since then, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has conducted large-scale pollution source investigations mainly in the three priority areas mentioned above. More than 8 000 stormwater and sewage manholes have been inspected, with nearly 2 000 water samples collected for chemical and Escherichia coli (E. coli) level analyses. We have also identified pollution sources by way of dye-tracing tests, detection robot, ground penetrating radar (GPR), sonar inspection boat and other advanced equipment, while working closely with the Drainage Services Department (DSD) and the Buildings Department (BD) to rehabilitate defective sewers. With the progressive completion of rehabilitation works, the overall pollution load at the relevant outfalls in the above three priority areas has been reduced by about 80 per cent and the odour problem has also been ameliorated significantly, which is widely welcomed by residents in the vicinity.

     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Joephy Chan is as follows:

(1) Most of the cases found in Tsuen Wan District are concentrated in areas of earlier development, such as Chung On Street (Tai Pei Square, Yi Pei Square, Sam Pei Square and Sze Pei Square), Lo Tak Court and the area around Heung Wo Street, etc. To trace the pollution sources in Tsuen Wan District, the EPD made the best endeavour and inspected over 1 000 stormwater and sewage manholes, collected over 400 water samples for chemical and E. coli level analyses, and successfully identified a total of 70 locations of sewer misconnection in the district. With instant follow-ups and rectifications made in collaboration with the DSD and the BD, we have so far completed rehabilitation for 36 cases involving a higher pollution load, thereby reducing the overall pollution load by about 90 per cent. The distribution of sewer misconnection cases in the district is listed in Table 1. The remaining 34 sewer misconnection cases pending rectification are mainly confronted with a more complex construction environment or technical issues. For example, works are required to be carried out beneath busy vehicular accesses and in narrow back lanes with congested underground utilities, which significantly limit the available space for the works. Our target is to complete these remaining misconnection cases within this year to further improve the water quality and odour problem of the harbourfront in the district.

(2) In terms of progress and target for continuous identification of pollution sources, the EPD has implemented a continuous monitoring programme in Tsuen Wan District and adopted innovative tracking methods, including installing surveillance camera systems inside stormwater manholes at certain strategic locations to perform around-the-clock flow monitoring inside the manholes. When abnormal discharge is detected, the intelligence function will immediately issue an alert message for taking prompt follow-up actions. Compared with the traditional method of deploying staff to open manholes for inspection every time, this new method can monitor the flow of sewage from upstream into the stormwater systems continuously and identify the pollution sources, thus saving manpower. Besides, the EPD has applied other innovative technologies to monitor the conditions of drains, including deploying a sonar inspection boat and using a GPR to scan underground drains and sewers, which enable the generation of instant images to show the connections of underground stormwater drains and nearby sewers without digging up the roads. In order to continuously monitor the water quality of the Tsuen Wan harbourfront, the EPD has also set up three regular near-shore water quality monitoring stations at the near-shore locations of Tsuen Wan Bay near the outfalls of Tai Chung Road, Ma Tau Pa Road and Tai Ho Road box culverts. Monthly sampling is conducted to monitor the water quality, with indicators including dissolved oxygen and organic pollutant levels (5-day biochemical oxygen demand), etc.

     To rectify misconnection cases, the DSD carries out regular inspections of the conditions and structures of public sewerage and stormwater drainage systems. When defective sewers or manholes are found, rehabilitation works will be promptly arranged. As for misconnection cases in buildings, the BD will issue statutory repair/removal orders pursuant to the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) to urge or order the property owners concerned to discharge their responsibilities to rectify the problems of sewer misconnection. For cases which remain non-compliant after receipt of such orders, the BD will take appropriate enforcement actions according to the circumstances. Among the 30 ongoing misconnection cases in buildings in Tsuen Wan District, 22 cases are undergoing rectification, while the BD will continue to follow up the remaining eight cases, for which statutory orders have been issued.

(3) Upon completion of the pipe rehabilitation works, the DSD will conduct regular inspections and clearances of sediment from the drainage pipe system to ensure its proper functioning. Furthermore, the DSD will inspect and assess the operational and structural conditions of the existing underground channels according to their plans. Following a risk-based principle, appropriate replacement and rehabilitation plans are formulated in an orderly manner, including deploying different methods to install fibreglass or polyester fibre linings in the existing pipes through trenchless excavation, thereby enhancing the maintenance of the drainage system. These advanced technologies for pipe replacement and rehabilitation can maintain the reliability of the drainage system and at the same time reduce the impact on the public during the construction period. The contractors of the DSD have also reserved materials for rehabilitating drainage pipes and manpower for emergency deployment to carry out urgent pipe rehabilitation works. Meanwhile, the DSD is committed to the development and application of various innovative technologies and machinery to assist in drainage service operations, including remote-controlled desilting robots and pipeline inspection robots, the use of drones for pipeline closed-circuit television surveys, and smart water level sensors. These devices can not only enhance the efficiency of drainage service operations, but can also reduce the risks of works and protect the safety of workers.

(4) Based on the success case in rehabilitating sewer misconnections in Tsuen Wan District, the EPD has extended the techniques applied therein to other priority areas and has been in close communication with various organisations and university research teams to pool our wisdom and work together for improving the harbourfront environment. In particular, the EPD has since 2022 engaged a team from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to install monitoring instruments at the Tsuen Wan Sports Centre, specifically monitoring the concentration of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), which is an air pollutant associated with odours at the Tsuen Wan harbourfront. The DSD also worked with another HKUST team to jointly develop new technologies. By deploying large curtains and Malodour Control Hydrogel at the outlets of box drains along the coast, the emission of malodour is inhibited. Looking ahead, the Government will continue to collaborate with experts from various fields to adopt innovation and practicable solutions to further consolidate the achievements in ameliorating the water quality and odour problems of Victoria Harbour.

(5) To objectively assess the actual effectiveness of rectification of misconnections in improving the odour levels in harbourfront areas, the Government has installed odour monitoring instruments at the Tsuen Wan Sports Centre and other locations along Victoria Harbour shorelines to continuously monitor odour changes in harbourfront areas. A team from the HKUST will conduct regular maintenance and calibration for the monitoring instruments, and verify the collected data to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the monitoring data. The monitoring data collected from the Tsuen Wan harbourfront revealed that the concentration of H2S, which is the key cause of odour, showed a significant downward trend. The H2S concentration recorded in August 2024 was 80 per cent lower when compared to that in early 2022. The records of monthly average concentration data are shown in Figure 1 and Table 2.

     As for water quality, the monitoring data recorded in the waters near three stormwater drain outlets at the Tsuen Wan West harbourfront showed that the near-shore water quality in the area has undergone significant improvement. The overall average dissolved oxygen level in seawater has increased by about 30 per cent, while the content of organic pollutants has decreased by about 40 per cent. The annual average water quality data recorded at the near-shore water quality monitoring stations are shown in Table 3.

     The EPD interviewed members of the public at the Tsuen Wan harbourfront in August this year. Seventy-five per cent of the respondents agreed that the odour problem at the harbourfront had improved, with half of them considering the improvement to be significant.

(6) In order to continuously improve the water quality and odour problems at the Tsuen Wan harbourfront, apart from the short-term measures including investigating and rectifying misconnections as mentioned in (2) to (4), the Government will continue to implement the following medium-to-long-term improvement measures:

(i) Desilting Works: Regular desilting works will be carried out for the three main box culverts (stormwater drains in Tai Chung Road, Tai Ho Road and Ma Tau Pa Road) in Tsuen Wan District to reduce the discharge of pollutants or sediments from the stormwater drains into the near-shore waters;

(ii) Sewer Replacement and Rehabilitation Works: To prevent leakeage of sewers from affecting the water quality along the Tsuen Wan harbourfront, the Government will undertake public works projects to rehabilitate some of the aged underground sewers in Tsuen Wan District. As at December 2023, approximately 11 kilometres of sewers in Tsuen Wan District were undergoing replacement and rehabilitation, and the works are expected to be completed in phases by end-2026; and

(iii) Village Sewerage Sytems: Village sewerage works for Chuen Lung and Lo Wai are expected to be completed by end-2025. Moreover, village sewerage works are also underway in rural areas in Tsuen Wan District, namely San Tsuen, Wo Yi Hop and Sheung Kwai Chung. The works projects will commence upon completion of land acquisition procedures and funding approval by the Legislative Council, and the works are expected to be completed in three to five years.

     All in all, the Government will continue to take forward various improvement and monitoring measures to strive for turning the Tsuen Wan harbourfront into a new landmark of water-friendly culture.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: World Osteoporosis Day highlights need for comprehensive care strategies, says GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

World Osteoporosis Day highlights need for comprehensive care strategies, says GlobalData

Posted in Pharma

Marking World Osteoporosis Day on 20 October, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) brought worldwide attention to a crucial issue: the urgent need for robust osteoporosis screening and sustained care strategies to prevent fragility fractures. Under the theme “Say No to Fragile Bones,” it highlighted the gaps in diagnosis and treatment, stressing the importance of proactive approaches and structured care to mitigate rising fracture risks as global populations age, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Osteoporosis, often termed a “silent disease,” progresses without symptoms until a fracture occurs, making it the primary cause of fragility fractures worldwide. With millions affected globally, osteoporosis results in weakened bone structure and increases fracture risk, particularly in the spine and hip.

Such fractures lead to extended recovery times, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life and placing strain on healthcare systems. As the global population ages, untreated osteoporosis will exert an even greater burden on health services, underscoring the need for preventive strategies and consistent patient management.

Sulayman Patel, MSci, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “World Osteoporosis Day 2024 pushes both the public and healthcare professionals to prioritize preventive measures. The IOF’s ‘5 Steps to Bone Health’ campaign emphasizes specific actions, including weight-bearing exercises, a nutrient-rich diet, and lifestyle adjustments. However, these guidelines must be coupled with systems that ensure early identification and consistent management of at-risk individuals to be effective.”

Research from GlobalData and expert interviews reveal significant under-treatment in osteoporosis care. A European key opinion leader (KOL) stated, “We are currently doing very bad, with few patients having osteoporosis that receive treatment. There is a tremendous gap between what should be done and what is currently done.”

This shortfall is especially pronounced in post-fracture care, where many patients are neither diagnosed nor treated for underlying osteoporosis. These gaps highlight the need for structured follow-up care and comprehensive treatment pathways.

Patel continues: “This gap presents an opportunity for pharmaceutical and healthcare companies to drive advancements in diagnostic tools. Companies like Siemens Healthineers and ImageBiopsy Lab are already using machine learning technologies to enhance early detection. Wider adoption of these tools could lead to earlier diagnoses, minimizing healthcare costs associated with untreated osteoporosis.

Amid persistent unmet needs, Amgen’s Evenity addresses a critical gap by simultaneously promoting bone formation and reducing bone resorption, offering a comprehensive approach to fracture prevention.

Patel concludes: “Moreover, structured programs like Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are essential for effective osteoporosis management. FLS provides post-fracture patients with critical assessments, medication, and lifestyle support to prevent future fractures. Yet FLS programs remain underutilized, particularly in regions with fragmented healthcare systems. World Osteoporosis Day highlights the need for a coordinated approach to osteoporosis care, spanning diagnosis and ongoing management, to ensure comprehensive support for all patients.”

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Bladder cancer diagnosed incident cases across 8MM to reach 0.34 million in 2033, forecasts GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Bladder cancer diagnosed incident cases across 8MM to reach 0.34 million in 2033, forecasts GlobalData

Posted in Pharma

The diagnosed incident cases of bladder cancer in the eight major markets (8MM*) are set to register an annual growth rate (AGR) of 2.24% from 0.28 million in 2023 to 0.34 million in 2033, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, “Bladder Cancer – Epidemiology Forecast to 2033,” reveals that the US will have the highest number of diagnosed incident cases of bladder cancer among the 8MM at 0.10 million cases, whereas France will have the lowest number at 0.02 million cases in 2033.

Antara Bhattacharya, Associate Project Manager, Epidemiology team at GlobalData, comments: “In 2023, men are more affected than women with approximately 78% men and 22% women.”

Older adults in ages 60 years and above accounted for almost 87% of the diagnosed incident cases of bladder cancer in the 8MM in 2023, while younger adults in ages 18–59 years accounted for approximately 13% of the cases.

GlobalData estimates that in 2023, approximately 45% of the incident cases of bladder cancer were diagnosed in the early stages by AJCC TNM staging, whereas only 6% of cases had a delayed diagnosis. Additionally, approximately 79% of the incident cases by tumor “T” stage at diagnosis were diagnosed in earlier stages, whereas only 4% cases were in severe stages.

The high rate of diagnosis at earlier stages can be attributed to the success of increasing rates of cystoscopy, which is an invasive and expensive procedure. Approximately 74% of diagnosed prevalent cases of NMIBC relapse or recurred to MIBC.

Bhattacharya concludes: “Bladder cancer is the ninth most common cancer type, and timely detection of the disease is both challenging and expensive. Diagnosis relies mainly on cystoscopy, which is an invasive procedure and difficult in low-resource settings. Even after being diagnosed in early stages when the disease is highly treatable, the relapse and recurrence rates are high.

“Hence, adequate research and medical interventions are needed to facilitate different medical approaches for the timely detection and treatment. Epidemiological studies focusing on bladder cancer stages with relapse or recurrence can improve treatment outcomes. Additionally, bladder cancer treatment requires a multifaceted approach that integrates medical and surgical interventions, lifestyle modifications, ongoing support, along with immunotherapy, targeted therapy, clinical trials, and follow-up care.”

*8MM: The US, 5EU (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK), Japan, and urban China.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Egypt marks major achievement with malaria-free certification, but need for global R&D remains significant, says GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Egypt marks major achievement with malaria-free certification, but need for global R&D remains significant, says GlobalData

Posted in Pharma

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Egypt as being malaria-free, following a near 100-year endeavour by the Egyptian government. Egypt is the third country to be declared malaria-free in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, and the 44th country globally. However, hundreds of millions of cases of malaria are still reported worldwide each year. These staggering numbers reinforce a global need for research and development, particularly for malaria vaccines, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Stephanie Kurdach, Infectious Disease Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Egypt’s malaria-free certification is a significant achievement, as this is a country which once recorded millions of cases. Unfortunately, the global burden of malaria remains high.”

The WHO reported nearly 250 million cases of malaria and over 600,000 malaria-related deaths worldwide in 2022.

In order to be certified malaria-free by the WHO, a country must prove that there has been no local transmission of any human malaria parasites for at least the past three consecutive years. Additionally, a country must maintain a fully functional surveillance and response system to prevent the re-establishment of indigenous transmission.

Egypt’s efforts to reduce mosquito-borne diseases began in the 1920s, when the country prohibited agricultural crops near homes. Other efforts over the past 100 years have included opening a malaria control station, recruiting thousands of healthcare workers, launching a public health surveillance project, and public education.

Kurdach continues: “To address the global burden of malaria and work towards global eradication, research and development is critical. Just as Egypt remains obligated to maintain surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment efforts throughout the nation, other nations plagued by malaria are in dire need of robust surveillance systems, diagnostic tools, affordable health care, and malaria vaccines.”

There are currently only two malaria vaccines which are WHO prequalified* and recommended for use in children: GSK’s Mosquirix and Serum Institute of India’s R21/Matrix-M.

According to GlobalData, there are 12 other malaria vaccines currently in Phase II development, including vaccines from BioNTech, GSK, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the University of Oxford. No new malaria vaccines are in Phase III development or pre-registration.

Kurdach concludes: “There is a serious global unmet need for malaria vaccines, which is evidenced by the late-stage development pipeline. Egypt’s malaria-free certification serves as a reminder and call to action that malaria elimination is possible with increased research and development.”

*The recommendations of Mosquirix and R21/Matrix-M by the WHO are relatively recent and occurred in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Diabetes Awareness Month shines light on prevention and treatment options, says GlobalData

Source: GlobalData

Diabetes Awareness Month shines light on prevention and treatment options, says GlobalData

Posted in Medical Devices

Diabetes Awareness Month, observed every November, is dedicated to raising awareness about diabetes, promoting education, and advocating for improved care and support for those affected by the condition. This month-long campaign seeks to improve public understanding of diabetes, address common misconceptions, and reduce the stigma often associated with the condition. It also provides a platform for people living with diabetes to share their stories, foster community, and encourage advocacy efforts. Diabetes Awareness Month is important, as prevalence is increasing for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Diabetes is a chronic health condition characterized by the body’s inability to properly regulate blood sugar levels. There are three primary types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes. Each type of diabetes presents unique challenges, requiring tailored approaches to management and treatment. During Diabetes Awareness Month, organizations work to educate the public on these differences and the importance of early diagnosis.

Alexandra Murdoch, Senior Medical Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Diabetes is a growing global health issue. Increasing awareness around diabetes can lead to earlier diagnoses, better management, and a decrease in related complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.”

According to GlobalData’s pipeline database, diabetes care devices are the leading market by pipeline products, with over 250 active products in the pipeline. These devices include digital therapeutics, continuous glucose monitors, contrast agents for diagnostics, and more. Many of the diabetes care devices in the pipeline database are expected to be approved in 2025, and many more from 2026-2029.

Early diagnosis and the creation of a treatment plan is crucial when it comes to diabetes, as there are several complications co-occurring conditions associated with diabetes, including vision loss, heart disease, kidney disease, foot ulcers and lower limb amputations. It is possible to reduce the risk of complications through lifestyle management, such as not smoking, being active, controlling blood pressure, eating healthy, and monitoring blood glucose levels.

Murdoch concludes: “Diabetes Awareness Month plays a critical role in promoting understanding and support for the millions affected by diabetes worldwide. By highlighting the realities of living with diabetes, addressing misconceptions, and emphasizing the importance of early detection and effective management, the campaign makes strides toward reducing the overall impact of diabetes on individuals and society.”

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: The number of users of the My ID service has doubled since the beginning of 2024

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Mobile application “My id” is becoming increasingly popular among Muscovites. Since the beginning of this year alone, the number of users has more than doubled. It now exceeds 125 thousand people.

In the capital Department of Information Technology noted that the demand for the application is growing due to the constant expansion of its capabilities.

“Since the launch of “My ID”, the number of documents whose information can be viewed in it has increased by 1.5 times. For example, a digital certificate of a large family has become available in the application, which can be presented to confirm the privileged status. At the same time, we continue to improve the already popular services of the application. Thus, recently, pet owners have the opportunity not only to view basic information about their pets, but also to control the timing of vaccinations and treatment, as well as quickly proceed to an appointment at a state veterinary clinic directly from the application,” the press service of the department said.

With the My ID app, city residents can be sure that the necessary information will always be at hand. Currently, 14 types of documents and services are available in the app, including information on Russian and foreign passports, taxpayer identification numbers, birth certificates, SNILS, and others. This simplifies filling out various applications and online forms, and also allows sending information to trusted persons.

In addition, the application provides digital versions of some documents, including a compulsory medical insurance policy, a single library card, and a large family certificate. They can be used to obtain various city services. For example, the barcode of the single library card from the application can be presented in the capital’s libraries to borrow and return books, and the QR code of the digital certificate of a large family will allow you to confirm your privileged status, for example, when buying tickets in the capital’s cultural institutions.

Any registered user of the mos.ru portal can use the application – just log in to the application using your account. In the settings, the user can independently select the documents that he wants to use. The information specified by the user in the personal account or provided when receiving government services will be automatically displayed in the application.

The mobile application “My id” is developing Department of Information Technology of the City of Moscow together with the State Institution “New Management Technologies”.

The use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence to improve the quality of life of city residents corresponds to the objectives of the national program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation” and the regional project of the capital “Digital Public Administration”. More information about this and other national projects implemented in Moscow can be found Here.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145916073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Sobyanin: More than 3.4 thousand coaches and teachers prepare athletes in Moscow

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Sergei Sobyanin congratulated Muscovites on Coach’s Day and wished everyone who works in this field success in their work.

“Today, Russia celebrates Coach’s Day. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to the most important people in the lives of athletes, those who pass on their invaluable experience and support them throughout their careers,” the Moscow Mayor noted on his Telegram channel.

Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @mos_sobyanin

More than 3.4 thousand specialists are involved in training athletes in Moscow, 350 of whom hold the title of “Honored Trainer of Russia”.

“In addition, the number of amateurs who regularly engage in physical culture is growing, so specialized specialists are in great demand. There are many sports dynasties in Moscow. Children, inspired by their parents, follow in their footsteps. First they do it themselves, then they start teaching,” added Sergei Sobyanin.

An example of the capital’s sports dynasty is the spouses Raisa and Sergey Galperin, who have trained more than one generation of successful athletes. Both are honored coaches of Russia. Their sons Gleb and Egor also linked your life with sports.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/major/themes/11969050/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: More than 30 thousand students took part in the Moscow Youth Days

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Over 30,000 students from more than 60 educational institutions in the city joined the Moscow Youth Days this year. Events in this format have been held in the capital since 2023.

“The Days of the Moscow Youth are an important communication platform for interacting with students. Here, kids can get to know the areas that interest them better, and also learn a lot of useful information about large-scale events and city projects,” she noted.

Ekaterina Dragunova, Chairman of the Committee for Public Relations and Youth Policy of Moscow.

The project days are held at the capital’s universities and colleges throughout the academic year. In 2023, more than 22 thousand students took part in them. In 2024, the Moscow Youth team visited more than 60 educational institutions in Moscow, including the National University of Science and Technology MISIS, the Russian State University for the Humanities, the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Moscow Aviation Institute and many others. The last day of Moscow Youth this year was held on October 30 at the Kutafin Moscow State Law University.

Representatives of the “Youth of Moscow” spoke about key events and student competitions. After that, the students visited a project fair, where they talked to teams, took part in various events and themselves became activists. Here you could find a community of interests and, together with like-minded people, engage in career advancement, stand-up comedy, public speaking, street sports and much more.

Students also had the opportunity to join the Youth of Moscow team and become ambassadors of the project. At the moment, more than 120 people have joined their ranks. They introduce other students to the opportunities the city provides to young Muscovites, such as campaigns, useful resources, innovative sites, educational programs and large-scale events. To join the team of ambassadors, you must submit an application on a special page.

Days of Moscow Youth are a convenient platform for direct interaction with the active youth of the city. Every semester, educational institutions of the capital host off-site events, where students are introduced to various projects. Moscow Youth is constantly working in 11 areas. The team has organized over 3.5 thousand events, in which more than two million people took part.

You can find out more about the project on the portal orin social networks.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145924073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: US elections: Editorial writers at LA Times, Washington Post resign after billionaire owners block Kamala Harris endorsements

Democracy Now!

This is Democracy Now!, “War, Peace and the Presidency.” I am Amy Goodman, with Juan González:

The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post newspapers are facing mounting backlash after the papers’ publishers announced no presidential endorsements would be made this year. The LA Times is owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, and The Washington Post is owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

National Public Radio (NPR) is reporting more than 200,000 people have cancelled their Washington Post subscriptions, and counting.

A number of journalists have also resigned, including the editorials editor at the Los Angeles Times, Mariel Garza, who wrote, “How could we spend eight years railing against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country and then fail to endorse the perfectly decent Democrat challenger — who we previously endorsed for the U.S. Senate?”

Veteran journalists Robert Greene and Karin Klein have also resigned from the L.A. Times editorial board.

At The Washington Post, David Hoffman and Molly Roberts both resigned on Monday from the Post editorial board. Michele Norris also resigned as a Washington Post columnist, and Robert Kagan resigned as editor-at-large.

David Hoffman, who just won a Pulitzer Prize for his series “Annals of Autocracy,” wrote, “I believe we face a very real threat of autocracy in the candidacy of Donald Trump. I find it untenable and unconscionable that we have lost our voice at this perilous moment.”

David Hoffman joins us now, along with former Los Angeles Times editorials editor Mariel Garza.

David Hoffman, let’s begin with you. Explain why you left The Washington Post editorial board. Oh, and at the same time, congratulations on your Pulitzer Prize.

DAVID HOFFMAN: Thank you very much.

I worked for 12 years writing editorials in which I said over and over again, “We cannot be silent in the face of dictatorship, not anywhere.” And I wrote about dissidents who were imprisoned for speaking out.

And I felt that I couldn’t write another editorial decrying silence if we were going to be silent in the face of Trump’s autocracy. And I feel very, very strongly that the campaign has exposed his intention to be an autocrat.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, David Hoffman, is there any precedent for the publisher of The Washington Post overruling their own editorial board?

DAVID HOFFMAN: Yeah, there’s lots of precedent. It’s entirely within the right of the publisher and the owner to do this. Previous owners have often told the editorial board what to say, because we are the voice of the institution and its owner. So, there’s nothing wrong with that.

What’s wrong here is the timing. If they had made this decision early in the year and announced, as a principle, they don’t want to issue endorsements, nobody would have even blinked. A lot of papers don’t. People have rightly questioned whether they actually have any impact.

What matters here was, we are right on the doorstep of the most consequential election in our lifetimes. To pull the plug on the endorsement, to go silent against Trump days before the election, that to me was just unconscionable.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Mariel Garza, could you talk about the situation at the LA Times and your reaction when you heard of the owner’s decision?

MARIEL GARZA: Certainly. It was a long conversation over the course of many weeks. We presented our proposal to endorse Kamala Harris. And, of course, there was — to us, there was no question that we would endorse her. We spent nine years talking about the dangers of Trump, called him unfit in 5 million ways, and Kamala Harris is somebody that we know. She’s a California elected official.

We’ve had a lot of conversations with her. We’ve seen her career evolved. We were going to — we were going to endorse her. And there was no indication that we were going to suddenly shift to a neutral position, certainly not within a few weeks or months of the election.

At first, we didn’t get a clear answer — sounds like it’s the same situation that happened at The Washington Post — until we pressed for one. We presented an outline with — these are the points we’re going to make — and an argument for why not only was it important for us, an editorial board whose mission is to speak truth to power, to stand up to tyranny — our readers expect it.

We’re a very liberal paper. There is no — there is no question what the editorial board believes, that Donald Trump should not be president ever.

AMY GOODMAN: Mariel, I wanted to —

MARIEL GARZA: So, it was perplexing. It was mystifying. It was — go ahead.

AMY GOODMAN: Mariel, I wanted to get your response to the daughter of the LA Times owner. On Saturday, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s daughter Nika Soon-Shiong posted a message online suggesting that her father’s decision was linked to Kamala Harris’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Nika wrote, “Our family made the joint decision not to endorse a presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I have been involved in the process.

“As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,” she wrote.

Her father, Patrick Soon-Shiong, later disputed her claim, saying that she has no role at the Los Angeles Times. Mariel Garza, your response?

MARIEL GARZA: Look, I really don’t know what to say, because I have — that was — if that was the case, it was never communicated to us. I do not know what goes on in the conversation in the Soon-Shiong household. I know that she is not — she does not participate in deliberations of the editorial board, as far as I know. I’ve never spoken to her.

We all know how she feels about Gaza, because she’s a prolific tweeter. So, I really can’t say. And this is part of the bigger problem, is we were never given a reason for why we were being silent.

If there was a reason — say it was Israel — we could have explained that to readers. Instead, we remain silent. And that’s — I mean, this is not a time in American history where anybody can remain silent or neutral.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, David Hoffman, this whole issue has been raised by some critics of Jeff Bezos that his company has a lot of business with the US government, and whether that had any impact on Bezos’s decision. I’m wondering your thoughts.

DAVID HOFFMAN: I can’t be inside his mind. His company does have big business, and he’s acknowledged it’s a complicating factor in his ownership. But I can’t really understand why he made this decision, and I don’t think it’s been very well explained. His explanation published today was that he wants sort of more civic quiet, and he thought an endorsement would add to the sense of anxiety and the poisonous atmosphere.

But I disagree with that. I think, like in the LA Times, I think readers have come to expect us to be a voice of reason, and they’ve looked to endorsements at least for some clarity. So, frankly, I also feel that we’re still lacking an explanation.

AMY GOODMAN: You know, you have subtitle, the slogan of The Washington Post, of course, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” It’s being mocked all over social media. One person wrote, “Hello Darkness My Old Friend.”

David Hoffman, your response to that? But also, you won the Pulitzer Prize for your series “Annals of Autocracy,” and you talk about digital billionaires, as well, and what this means. How does this fit into your investigations?

DAVID HOFFMAN: You know, I would hope everybody would understand and acknowledge that we’ve done a lot of good for democracy and human rights. You know, I’ve had governments react sharply to a single editorial. When we call them out for imprisoning dissidents, it matters that we are very widely read.

And that’s another reason why I feel this was a big mistake, because we actually were on a path, for decades, of championing democracy and human rights as an institution.

And, you know, I have to tell you, I wrote a book in Russia about oligarchs. I understand how difficult it is when you have a lively and independent group of journalists. And ownership really matters. And, you know, we’re not just another widget company.

This is actually a group of very, very deep-thinking and oftentimes very aggressive people that have a desire to change the world. That’s the kind of journalism that The Washington Post has sponsored and engaged in.

In 2023, we published a series of editorials that took a look deep inside how China, Russia, Burma, you know, other places — how these autocracies function. One of the findings was that many of these dictatorships are using technology to clamp down on dissent, even things as tiny as a single tweet.

Young people, young college students are being thrown in prison in Cuba, in Belarus, in Vietnam. And I documented these to show how this technology actually isn’t becoming a force for freedom, but it’s being turned on its head by dictatorship.

AMY GOODMAN: We have to leave it there, David Hoffman, Washington Post reporter, stepped down from the Post editorial board when they refused to endorse a presidential candidate; Mariel Garza, LA Times editorials editor who just resigned.

I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

This programme is republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States Licence.

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China’s Shenzhou-19 spaceship docks with space station combination

Source: China State Council Information Office 2

China’s Shenzhou-19 crewed spaceship successfully docked with the space station combination on Wednesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The spaceship made a fast, automated rendezvous and docking with the front port of the space station’s core module Tianhe at 11 a.m. (Beijing Time).
The astronaut trio aboard the spaceship will then enter the Tianhe module. Meanwhile, the Shenzhou-18 crew members are ready for their arrival.
The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China early on Wednesday.

MIL OSI China News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Salvation Army/Diabetes Australia Partnership Launch

Source: Ministers for Social Services

30 October 2024

Good afternoon, everybody. Fantastic to be here. I’d like to acknowledge that Aboriginal people are the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. I just want to make four points. Settle in, it’ll take about half an hour. I was joking. First of all, Nick McCallum. I’d like to acknowledge Nick does a great job. He’s one of a band of people, Colonel Kelvin, who Brendan has gathered around him, and there’s a few other like-minded souls. And, whenever Brendan and Sandra think something needs to be pushed along, Nick has always got a very open mind and journalist in the best tradition of Melbourne. He wants to see the right thing by our community. It’s great to see Nick Reece here. You’ll get up, son. Okay. I just want to be the first to call you the Mayor, Lord Mayor. Justine Cain, CEO of Diabetes Australia. Thank you, Diabetes Australia I’m going to talk a little bit more about it in a moment, but it’s great you’re here. You’ll be busy.

And Justine in your introduction, you said you’ve already had important conversations with 60 to 70 people. That’s almost everyone in the room, or the equivalent of. And when you think about it, when we reduce it, 1.9 million Australians have diabetes and someone’s diagnosed every five minutes, you realise that it is a big issue and you realise that people who live on the streets, people who live insecurely, just don’t get the same deal.

So, I’m very pleased that Diabetes Australia took up our encouragement to work with Brendan, and I’m hoping that this is a model, as you are very positively and optimistically said. I should also acknowledge Brendan and Sandra. I acknowledge Brendan. Sandra. Well done. I love Brendan. He’s on a he’s on billboards in my electorate. I mean, they do a great job, and this is a great building. I just want to make these points so, you know, acknowledge everyone else too. You’re beautiful people.

Diabetes, it’s real. I’ve had family members with it. But it’s treatable. There are things that can be done. And the worst thing in the world is seeing preventable conditions. You know, being the Minister for the NDIS, sometimes you get a genetic lottery. The great American poet Robert Frost, talking about the suicide of his son, he used the term the shafts of fate. And some things are unavoidable. But preventable illness is as it says, it’s really on all of us to go that extra distance. And so, the fact that you’re teaming up with Project 614, I think there’ll be a lot of other organizations very interested. So, I’m just excited. I think it’s really good, and I make at this point that, = you know, behind us, Matthew 1128 up on the wall, it really says it invites people to – this building and what happens in it is to provide support. It’s to provide comfort, to provide peace. But that doesn’t happen without people making that happen. So, great about the diabetes.

I’d also like to acknowledge part of the reason why I keep coming back here, other than Brendan’s amazing charisma is, they do a lot of good stuff. And since I’ve been the Minister for Services Australia, which is a great privilege, I learned a lot about, you know, it’s not the sexiest portfolio in the government, but I’m now convinced there’s no thing that the government does, which is any more important than what we do at Services Australia. And what I’ve found out is that every year, or last year, Australians went online and dealt with Services Australia and Medicare 1.1 billion times online. That’s a lot. And we have 318 offices, and we have 30,000 plus people working. Over 10 million people come and visit Service Australia offices, which is a lot. It’s amazing. We just answer tens of millions of calls. And by the way, we’re answering quicker than we used to, which is great. But for some people, they’re not going to get on the phone. They’re not going to come into the office. They’re not going to be a digital native transacting. And then you what I realized is we need to go out to the people.

And that in our communities, there are people who are under-documented or undocumented. We’ve got people who just aren’t in the Medicare system. It’s not that the safety net is inadequate. They’re just not in it. And that’s not anybody’s fault. Life has a way of, can upend endured, you know. A traumatic childhood, you just – there’s no blame about this. But some people are not going to go and sit down and sit in a Centrelink office or fill in a Medicare form online. And that’s where I think what Brendan’s Project 614 and the Salvo’s do so well, and plenty of other places. So, it’s been very exciting for me to be able to work with my agency and say, why don’t we put really special people in our agency, at the homelessness organisations or frontline organisations and Nick Carbine’s here. He’s done a great job, but we’re now doing it in 27 different organisations around the country. This is not rocket science. This has not involved us having to go to the budget to get new money. And by the way, the Services Australia staff, they get more volunteers to come out and do the outreach than there are outreach positions. So, it reflects well on our public servants. But now we’re doing it right across Australia, but we started it here and in Sydney with Bill Crews, the Reverend Bill Crews.

Now there’s 27 frontline organizations. Over 20,000 different people have now been joined into the system who were missing, and that just means that they are getting some of that support, which a lot of other people take for granted. Now we’ve extended them. We’ve got Hearing Australia, putting in checking people’s hearing here. That’s great. That’s another agency that I work with. The National Disability Insurance Scheme, they’re now working with a lot of people on the NDIS and making sure they can get access. And so that’s fabulous. I mean, Project 614 has of course been doing other work, drug and alcohol work and VicPol and the Housing Vic people have also been utilising this place. But what I like about this place and working with it with the feds is, we’re going to the people and that’s really what it’s all about.

When I announced that I was changing jobs – not retiring, changing jobs, Brendan was one of the first on the phone. I thought oh, that’s beautiful. He’s just a beautiful man, Brendan. He said, is our contract sorted for when you go? I mean, he sort of said, is it true? And he got into that conversation. And it’s great that David Hazlehurst is here. Services Australia sees the value of doing the outreach work. But really, what I wanted to say in conclusion, in addition to the diabetes work done here by the Salvos, the work done by all of you to join people up is really hope. See, I love coming to this building. It’s a marvellous building. You know, back in the 1880s, 1890s, people were building buildings to last. It showed the importance they attached to it. But whilst this is a beautiful building, it’s what happens in the building is what makes it significant.

So, this is really a canteen of hope. It’s a building of hope. The volunteers and the people who work here, they’re people of hope. Hope is just the idea which says that you can have a better future and see. Hope is just the emotion that you can look forward to things, and that you have the ability, therefore, to take those steps. If we don’t have hope in our lives, then we have nothing. If we don’t have the idea or the expectation or the dream that things can get better, that there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning, then you live in a very dark place. And what I love about this building of hope, this operation of hope, is that it delivers that in spades.

And I love the fact that it’s got – the canteen, it’s rated 4.3, I think, on Google reviews, which is great. It is ironic because that’s what Grossi Florentino across the road. So, it is interesting. And the ham cheese and tomato sandwiches here are probably more value for money too.

So, you’ve got the hope that you can get a good food, good meal here. But more importantly, all of you are people who subscribe to the view that other people are important. None of you are here because of yourselves. You are all here because you know that none of us are worth anything unless our fellow man and woman is doing okay. And that’s why I was lucky to be introduced by Warren Snowdon. Warren was the father of the House. that’s a term they used in parliament. Longest serving member. And he’s worked on diabetes and Aboriginal communities in central Australia because he represented most of the Northern Territory. But when I think about Warren or I think about any of you who I haven’t mentioned by name, I just know that the world is a very complex and disturbing place. Big elections in America. The news is full of all the things going wrong. But the people in this room, you’ve got hope that the place can be better. And that’s what Diabetes is doing. And that’s why I love today. Because this is just all about hope.

Thank you.

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Unexplained death at Port Augusta

Source: South Australia Police

Major Crime Investigation Branch and Port Augusta CIB detectives are investigating the unexplained death of a 26 year-old woman from Port Augusta.

The woman, who had physical and intellectual disabilities, died in Royal Adelaide Hospital on Monday night (October 28).

She was taken to Port Augusta Hospital on October 24 after SA Ambulance attended at her Edinburgh Terrace home. She was found to be seriously ill with significant infected wounds.

On October 25, the woman’s condition deteriorated, and she was transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Port Augusta CIB detectives were advised and commenced a criminal neglect investigation and searched her home.

The woman’s death has been declared a major crime.

Major Crime officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray said the investigation was in its early stages and the examination of the house was expected to take several days.

Major Crime detectives and Forensic Response Section officers have been in Port Augusta working with local police since yesterday.

“There are significant indicators of criminal neglect, but it is not yet clear if that caused the woman’s death,’’ he said.

“Because of this there is a simultaneous criminal and coronial investigation underway that involves a significant commitment of resources.

“The criminal investigation will examine the role of everyone who was involved in the provision of care to the victim and to determine if anyone is criminally responsible for the death. I expect that will take some time.’’

“I would urge anyone who knows the victim that had raised concerns about her care to contact police.’’

Anyone with any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

[embedded content]

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Supporting at-risk young men in Victoria to break the cycle of gendered violence

Source: Ministers for Social Services

30 October 2024

Joint with:

The Hon Justine Elliot MP
Assistant Minister for Social Services
Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence
Member for Richmond

Mr Sam Rae MP
Member for Hawke

The Albanese Labor Government is strengthening efforts to prevent gender-based violence in Australia through its new $23 million early intervention trials focussed on engaging at risk young men and adolescent boys, including two trial sites in the Hume and Greater Shepparton regions of Victoria.

Assistant Minister for Social Services and the Prevention of Family Violence, Justine Elliot, alongside the Federal Member for Hawke, Sam Rae, today met with Berry Street and their consortia partners who have been chosen to deliver the trial in the Hume region.

Speaking from the trial site in Hume, Assistant Minister Elliot said early intervention work with young men is vital to helping break future cycles of violence in the community.

“Ending gender-based violence is a complex issue, and we know that early intervention as part of a holistic approach is critical,” Assistant Minister Elliot said.

“Through the Trial, we will intervene early to break the cycle of family, domestic, and sexual violence by improving the wellbeing of at-risk young men and boys in the key 12-to-18-year age range”

“The 12 trial sites across Australia, including here in North-West of Melbourne, will support young men and boys to recover and heal from their experience of violence and help them to avoid choosing to use violence in their future relationships.”

Local Federal Member, Sam Rae MP, said how important it was for these trials to be delivered by local services in order to get the best outcomes for the community.

“Berry Street, alongside Uniting, Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health, Care First Support Services and Drummond Street, are experts in the field and importantly, know our area and our community”, Mr Rae said.

“Backed by investment from the Albanese Labor Government, these services will deliver this critical support in our area, and provide the counselling and care that some young men and boys may need to ensure a safer future.”

Successful grant recipients across Australia are expected to commence delivering services from early 2025.

Following National Cabinet last month, the Albanese Labor Government committed a further $80 million to enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports for children and young people who have witnessed or experienced family, domestic and sexual violence.

More information on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 is available on the Department of Social Services website.

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family, or sexual violence, call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au

Feeling worried or no good? Connect with 13YARN Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporters on 13 92 76, available 24/7 from any mobile or pay phone, or visit www.13yarn.org.au

Kids Helpline (1800 551 800) is a free, confidential online and phone counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

MIL OSI News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: From an ambulance to a hybrid operating room: How Moscow saves stroke patients

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Stroke is an acute disorder of blood supply to the brain, in which it is important to provide fast and high-tech assistance. In Moscow, a stroke network has been created on the basis of the largest multidisciplinary hospitals, which includes 13 specialized centers. In anticipation of World Stroke Day, which is celebrated on October 29, we tell you about one of them – at the flagship emergency care center City Clinical Hospital (CCH) No. 15 named after O.M. Filatov.

A mos.ru correspondent followed in the footsteps of a patient at a stroke center and talked to doctors. How a multidisciplinary team is formed, what high-tech equipment allows finding the brain lesion and performing minimally invasive intervention, and what a hybrid operating room looks like — in our report.

Beyond the Red Line. From the Ambulance to the Shock Ward

Severe headache, nausea and vomiting, loss of consciousness or loss of consciousness, convulsions. These symptoms are typical of both ischemic stroke (impaired blood circulation due to vascular occlusion) and hemorrhagic stroke (ruptured blood vessels, causing blood to enter tissues). The first step is to call an ambulance team, which will take you to the nearest stroke center with a free operating room. Osman Osmanov, Deputy Chief Physician for Emergency Care at City Clinical Hospital No. 15 named after O. M. Filatov, shows an information board installed in the admissions department of the flagship center on the first floor.

“Already on the way, the ambulance team gives us information about the patient. On the board, we see what time the acute condition arose, what is the level of consciousness according to the Glasgow Coma Scale and hemodynamic indicators: blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, saturation. In all flagship centers, the “triage” system has been implemented, according to which people are distributed among functional zones depending on the priority of assistance: red, yellow or green. Critical patients are marked on the board in red. Stroke is always “red”. Due to a blood clot in a vessel, brain tissue is damaged due to starvation,” Osman Osmanov specified.

Meanwhile, a patient arrives at the center. There is a separate entrance for ambulances: through a spacious box separated from the reception area by glass doors. These doors open automatically for the team. Following the red line on the floor, it takes the patient to the anti-shock department. Doctors simultaneously register the person and collect a full anamnesis from the ambulance paramedics. Five minutes after arriving at the center, the patient is taken to the CT room.

A multidisciplinary team is formed for each new case, emphasized Ikram Tagirov, head of the resuscitation and intensive care department for patients with acute cerebrovascular accident.

“Not a minute can be wasted in vascular accidents, the life and subsequent rehabilitation of a person depend on our actions. That is why stroke centers are opening in Moscow, where there is everything for diagnostics and provision of qualified medical care for such pathologies: CT, MRI, ECG, at least two angiographs, laboratory equipment. We have four X-ray surgical operating rooms, one of which is hybrid. A multidisciplinary team of neurologists, resuscitators, specialists in radiation diagnostics, and X-ray endovascular surgeons is on duty around the clock. They are ready to meet the patient when they see on the board that he is coming. Sometimes a stroke or a heart attack occurs, then we involve cardiologists. If it turns out not to be a stroke, but a hematoma, then we involve neurosurgeons,” the doctor explained.

From the triage system to the “space” operating room: how the flagship center of the O.M. Filatov Hospital No. 15 is organized Moscow doctors have developed a technique for diagnosing childhood strokes — Sobyanin Sobyanin: Vascular centers received 8 angiographs with 3D modeling function Over the past eight years, Moscow doctors have managed to increase the number of operations performed to remove blood clots by more than 30 times.

Computed tomography for scanning the bloodstream

The council is assembled right in the CT room. First of all, blood is taken for analysis and a native CT examination is performed (without contrast agent): the overall picture is assessed. Then, if indicated, CT angiography is performed to detect cerebral artery occlusion.

If a hemorrhage or a space-occupying lesion of the brain is detected during a native examination, the patient is consulted by a neurosurgeon. When a person with an ischemic stroke is admitted in the therapeutic window (the time when a drug that dissolves a clot can be administered to a patient in this condition) and in the absence of contraindications, the question of thrombolytic therapy (TLT) arises. This is the breakdown of blood clots using medications. The faster the procedure is performed, the better the effect and the lower the neurological deficit. Thrombolytic therapy has strict time limits – 4.5 hours from the onset of symptoms, noted neurologist Zaretta Kurbanova.

“We usually understand whether a particular patient is suitable for thrombolytic therapy before the ambulance arrives, since we know the onset time of the disease. If we are convinced by native CT that the ischemic focus (zone of dead cells) has not yet formed, we perform thrombolytic therapy and administer a thrombolytic drug. By that time, the test results are ready, because before thrombolysis it is important to check hemoglobin, platelets, and a coagulogram. After a native examination of the brain, if there are indications, we proceed to CT angiography. Contrasting the vessels allows us to scan the bloodstream and find the site of blockage that caused the stroke. It is in the CT examination room that a neurologist and an X-ray endovascular surgeon decide whether endovascular intervention (thromboextraction) is possible, that is, surgical extraction of a thrombus,” said Zaretta Kurbanova.

In case of intracerebral hematoma, angiography is used to find the source of the hemorrhage and the patient is transferred to a neurosurgeon. Diagnostic procedures take about 30-40 minutes. The next stage is the operating room.

Inside the “space” operating room. Stenting and thrombus extraction

We leave the CT room and call the “red” elevator. The doors open immediately, and we go in a spacious cabin to the third floor – to the operating and resuscitation unit. If an intervention were planned, the anesthesiologist would already be waiting for us here. Most often, operations are performed under general anesthesia: the patient should not move while the surgeon works with microinstruments on small vessels.

We put on a doctor’s suit – gowns, caps, masks – and go into the hybrid operating room. This is the heart of the stroke center, and doctors call it “Cosmos”. The latest generation angiographic complex, an artificial blood circulation machine, and ultrasound devices are installed here. Cardiovascular and general surgeons, traumatologists, gynecologists and other specialists can work together in the operating room. To understand all the sensors and monitors, we ask Sergei Korotkikh, a doctor of X-ray endovascular diagnostics and treatment, to give us a tour.

He approaches the angiographic complex, presses a button on the display, and the couch smoothly rotates in different planes. For example, it tilts to the side: in this position, cardiac surgeons can conveniently operate on the aorta. In the case of a stroke, the couch is straightened. Sergei Korotkikh presses another button, and now the angiograph tube — an X-ray machine — moves in different planes.

“With the help of an angiograph, we display a detailed image of the lesion on the screen, “remove” bone structures and build a vascular tree. The operation is performed using a minimally invasive endovascular method. Through small punctures, we insert flexible catheters into the vessel and open a stent in the thrombosis area. It is embedded in the structure of the thrombus, and we remove them both. After the intervention, we check whether the blood flow has been completely restored. And we always monitor the pressure: it can jump or fall sharply. After the thrombus is removed, the blood supply is restored, and the tissue in the brain is soft, it reacts sensitively to the effects of blood,” the doctor explained.

We study angiographic images taken during operations. In the first one, the black “branches” – the blood supply – are cut off. In the second one, after treatment, they stretched across the brain again. The operation lasts about half an hour, then the person, accompanied by an anesthesiologist, is transported to the neurological intensive care unit.

On the mend. Rehabilitation and prevention of recurrent stroke

The final stage is a comprehensive examination to identify the cause of the stroke and reduce the risk of its recurrence. Rehabilitation begins in intensive care and continues in specialized centers or hospital departments.

Innovative equipment also helps to recover from a stroke. For example, training is carried out on exercise machines with biofeedback. And a glove exercise machine helps to restore fine motor skills of the hands. A neurointerface is used to restore statolocomotor disorders, control of upper limb movements, and cognitive functions. Muscovites can receive free medications to reduce the risk of secondary stroke for two years from the date of diagnosis.

The city also has a stroke prevention program. People at risk undergo ultrasound examinations of the neck vessels to detect atherosclerotic plaques, and those diagnosed with atrial fibrillation are prescribed blood thinners.

Saving Hearts. Moscow’s Chief Cardiac Surgeon on Minimally Invasive Techniques and Disease Prevention Technologies on guard of health: what high-precision equipment is used in Moscow hospitals Angiograph, incubator and robotic technology: what makes the capital’s new medical centers unique Sobyanin spoke about the new standard of emergency medical care in flagship centers

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145869073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Construction of the International Hockey Academy continues in the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

As part of the formation of a sports cluster in the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain, the construction of the Alexander Ovechkin International Hockey Academy continues. This was reported by the Minister of the Moscow Government, head of the capital’s Department of Urban Development Policy Vladislav Ovchinsky.

“The main building of the Alexander Ovechkin International Hockey Academy will have training grounds and two ice arenas. One of them will have an auditorium for 1,500 seats. A multifunctional conference hall will also be equipped here. A hotel for athletes and a recovery and rehabilitation center are being built on the territory of the academy. In addition, as part of the formation of a sports cluster, they plan to build a beach sports center and a year-round water recreation and entertainment complex here,” explained Vladislav Ovchinsky.

In addition, Mnevnikovskaya floodplain will have well-equipped tennis courts, volleyball, streetball, and workout courts. They will also build an ice and multi-purpose sports palace, an ice palace, a multi-functional building with a curling arena, a billiards palace, a rowing base, and a building for the CSKA basketball club.

“A large sports cluster is being formed on the territory of the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain, for the construction of facilities for which the city is providing land as part of the implementation of large-scale investment projects. Thus, over three hectares have been allocated for the construction of the Alexander Ovechkin International Hockey Academy, almost 2.5 hectares for a multifunctional ice palace for the Russian curling team, over 3.6 hectares for a complex with two ice arenas, martial arts and gymnastics halls, and a tennis center will appear on an area of 2.2 hectares,” said the Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Department of City Property of the capital

Maxim Gaman.

To implement large-scale investment projects, investors are provided with land without bidding. In addition to sports facilities, production complexes, innovation centers, social institutions, transport, commercial and other facilities can receive the status of such a project. For their construction, the city provides plots for rent for five years.

On the instructions of Sergei Sobyanin, the city is paying special attention to the quality of sports infrastructure facilities. As noted by the Chairman of the Committee for State Construction Supervision of Moscow (Mosgosstroynadzor) Anton Slobodchikov, since the start of construction of the academy last summer, Mosgosstroynadzor has conducted five on-site inspections. Inspectors assessed the volume of work performed, the organization of the construction site, and compliance with safety requirements. Specialists from the subordinate Expertise Center were involved in the inspections. They conducted instrumental studies of the quality of structures and materials used, as well as their compliance with design documentation.

Earlier Sergei Sobyanin reportedthat after the completion of the integrated development of the Mnevnikovskaya floodplain territory, a sports cluster with a total area of about 500 thousand square meters will appear here.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

https://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145891073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Historical festival and excursions prepared at VDNKh for National Unity Day

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

On November 3 and 4, in honor of National Unity Day, VDNKh will host excursions and a historical festival, reported Natalia Sergunina, Deputy Mayor of Moscow.

“The program is prepared in such a way that it will be interesting for everyone – both adults and children. In addition to excursions, Muscovites and tourists will be treated to immersive performances and master classes,” Natalia Sergunina clarified.

On November 3 and 4 at 13:00, everyone is invited to an educational walk “National Unity in the Symbols of VDNKh Architecture”. Participants will see iconic places of the complex, such as the “Friendship of Nations” fountain and Pavilion No. 1 “Central”. Guides will tell about the history of the celebration of National Unity Day at the exhibition.

On November 4 at 15:00, 17:00 and 19:30 there will be excursions in the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center. Visitors will learn about space programs and experiments that are conducted in orbit. In addition, at the meetings they will list the cities of Russia where they are preparing for flights and from where it is possible to launch rockets and satellites.

On the same day at 17:00 and 19:00, thematic walks will begin in the Museum of Slavic Literature “Word”.

Admission is free with prior registration. on the exhibition website.

Old recipes and theatrical interactives

The festival “Bread Ear – Gold of Russia” is planned for November 4 at the Industrial Square. It will include master classes with theatrical performances reflecting different eras in Russian history.

A large tent with four zones will be prepared for the guests. They will be transported to the 12th, 17th, 19th and 20th centuries. There they will learn how to bake gingerbread, kalachi and bread according to traditional recipes. Here they will also perform romances, play the gusli and gudok. In addition, you can join a ballroom dancing lesson and an interactive session with poems and fairy tales.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145862073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Perekopsky pond in Zyuzino has been put in order

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Specialists from the city services complex have rehabilitated the Perekop pond in the southwest of the capital. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

“The pond, located on the territory of the Zyuzinskaya volost museum park between residential buildings, was in an unsatisfactory condition: silt deposits had accumulated at the bottom, which caused the water area to bloom during the warm season, and the coastal strip was partially destroyed. In connection with this, a decision was made to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation of the pond, now it is again a comfortable place for city residents to relax,” said Pyotr Biryukov.

The specialists removed the silt deposits, which increased the average depth of the pond. After that, they formed the pond bed by backfilling with sand and began repairing the shoreline, which was over 200 meters long. According to the project, it was done in two ways: vertically – in the form of a crib wall made of larch logs and sloping – with backfilling with crushed stone. In addition, the pavement of the path and stairways was restored.

At the final stage, three bioplateau zones with a total area of about 240 square meters were organized. More than 3.5 thousand aquatic plants were planted there.

The city regularly conducts surveys of water bodies and, if problems are identified, makes decisions on rehabilitation. The list of water bodies is compiled annually taking into account the wishes of Muscovites.

Pond Bykovo Boloto in Zelenograd was put in order Izyutinsky pond in the south of the capital has been put in order

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145906073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Fountains at VDNKh Prepared for Winter

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

Specialists from the city economy complex have prepared the fountains on the territory of VDNKh for the winter period. This was reported by the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Housing and Public Utilities and Improvement Petr Biryukov.

“The fountain season ended in the capital on October 12, after which they began preparing the structures for winter. They washed the fountains “Friendship of Peoples”, “Stone Flower”, “Golden Ear” and 14 fountains located on the Central Alley of VDNKh. The work was carried out by utility crews with the involvement of special equipment,” said Pyotr Biryukov.

The fountains at VDNKh are complex architectural and artistic structures with a large number of gilded sculptures, as well as decorative copper and bronze elements. They require careful maintenance and are washed exclusively by hand.

The gilded elements and smalt mosaics were cleaned with a citric acid solution using soft brushes, and the granite surfaces were washed using high-pressure devices with a neutral agent. Industrial climbers were used to clean the upper part of the Golden Ear fountain, which is 16 meters high. Boats were used to reach the fountain, located in the center of the Third Kamensky Pond.

During the winter period, specialists will carefully check the technical condition of the fountains, all structures in underground collectors, hydraulics, pumping equipment and jet-forming elements.

In 2018–2019, all 14 fountains located on the Central Alley were restored at VDNKh, as well as fountains that are cultural heritage sites: “Golden Ear”, “Stone Flower” and “Friendship of Peoples”. They were given back their historical appearance and their engineering systems were completely updated.

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

Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/145908073/

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 25, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Strong Portfolio and Strategic Priorities Support Phillips 66 Third-Quarter Results

Source: Phillips

Reported third-quarter earnings of $346 million or $0.82 per share; adjusted earnings of $859 million or $2.04 per share
Returned $1.3 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases
Achieved business transformation $1.4 billion run-rate savings target, including $1 per barrel Refining cost reduction
Progressed asset dispositions totaling $2.7 billion toward $3 billion target, including recently executed agreements

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), a leading integrated downstream energy provider, announced third-quarter earnings.
“Our employees continue to execute our strategic priorities, deliver strong operating performance and leverage the benefits of our differentiated downstream portfolio,” said Mark Lashier, chairman and CEO of Phillips 66.
“We have achieved our cost reduction and Midstream synergy targets,” said Lashier. “In addition, we have significantly advanced our asset disposition program with recently announced transactions. Our commitment to operational excellence and disciplined capital allocation continues to create long-term shareholder value.”
Financial Results Summary ( in millions of dollars, except as indicated)

3Q 2024

2Q 2024

Earnings

$

346

1,015

Adjusted Earnings 1

859

984

Adjusted EBITDA 1

1,998

2,183

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share – Diluted

0.82

2.38

Adjusted Earnings Per Share – Diluted 1

2.04

2.31

Cash Flow From Operations

1,132

2,097

Cash Flow From Operations, Excluding Working Capital 1

1,513

1,181

Capital Expenditures & Investments 2

358

367

Return of Capital to Shareholders

1,277

1,325

Share repurchases

800

840

Dividends paid

477

485

Cash

1,637

2,444

Debt

19,998

19,960

Debt-to-capital ratio

40

%

40

%

Net debt-to-capital ratio 1

38

%

36

%

1Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.

2Excludes acquisitions of $567 million in the third quarter of 2024, and purchases of government obligations of $1.1 billion in third-quarter of 2024.

Segment Financial and Operating Highlights (in millions of dollars, except as indicated)

3Q 2024

2Q 2024

Change

Earnings 1

$

346

1,015

(669

)

Midstream

644

767

(123

)

Chemicals

342

222

120

Refining

(108

)

302

(410

)

Marketing and Specialties

(22

)

415

(437

)

Renewable Fuels

(116

)

(55

)

(61

)

Corporate and Other

(327

)

(340

)

13

Income tax expense

(44

)

(291

)

247

Noncontrolling interests

(23

)

(5

)

(18

)

Adjusted Earnings 1,2

$

859

984

(125

)

Midstream

672

753

(81

)

Chemicals

342

222

120

Refining

(67

)

302

(369

)

Marketing and Specialties

583

415

168

Renewable Fuels

(116

)

(55

)

(61

)

Corporate and Other

(327

)

(340

)

13

Income tax expense

(205

)

(278

)

73

Noncontrolling interests

(23

)

(35

)

12

Adjusted EBITDA 2

$

1,998

2,183

(185

)

Midstream

892

971

(79

)

Chemicals

466

348

118

Refining

188

531

(343

)

Marketing and Specialties

656

484

172

Renewable Fuels

(92

)

(43

)

(49

)

Corporate and Other

(112

)

(108

)

(4

)

Operating Highlights

Midstream NGL Fractionated Volumes (MBD)

728

744

(16

)

Chemicals Global O&P Utilization

98

%

98

%

—

%

Refining

Turnaround Expense ($)

137

100

37

Realized Margin ($/BBL) 2

8.31

10.01

(1.70

)

Crude Capacity Utilization

94

%

98

%

(4

%)

Clean Product Yield

87

%

86

%

1

%

Renewable Fuels Produced (MBD)

44

31

13

1Segment reporting is pre-tax.

2Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.

Third-Quarter 2024 Financial Results
Reported earnings were $346 million for the third quarter of 2024 versus $1.0 billion in the second quarter. Third-quarter earnings included a legal accrual of $605 million in the Marketing and Specialties segment, costs related to the planned shutdown of the Los Angeles Refinery of $41 million in the Refining segment, and an impairment of $28 million in the Midstream segment. Second-quarter earnings included a gain on sale of investment of $238 million and an impairment of $224 million, both impacting the Midstream segment. Adjusted earnings for the third quarter were $859 million versus $984 million in the second quarter.
Midstream third-quarter 2024 adjusted pre-tax income decreased compared with the second quarter mainly due to seasonal maintenance costs and lower equity earnings, partially offset by higher export margins.
Chemicals reported pre-tax income increased mainly due to higher margins and lower costs.
Refining adjusted pre-tax loss was a decrease compared to the second quarter, primarily due to a decline in realized margins largely driven by lower market crack spreads.
Marketing and Specialties adjusted pre-tax income increased primarily due to higher margins.
Renewable Fuels reported pre-tax loss increased primarily due to lower realized margins, partially offset by higher volumes.
As of September 30, 2024, the company had $1.6 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $5.3 billion of committed capacity available under credit facilities.
Business Highlights and Strategic Priorities Progress
Distributed $12.5 billion through share repurchases and dividends since July 2022 and on pace to achieve the company’s $13 billion to $15 billion target by year-end.
Achieved $1.4 billion in run-rate business transformation savings, delivering on the company’s target ahead of schedule.
Expanded its Midstream NGL wellhead-to-market business with the acquisition of Pinnacle Midstream and approved a follow-on processing plant expansion in the Midland Basin expected to be completed in mid-year 2025.
Achieved target of over $400 million of run-rate synergies from the successful integration of DCP Midstream.
Received proceeds of $1.3 billion since 2022 toward the company’s $3 billion asset disposition target. In addition, the company recently agreed to sell its 49% interest in a Switzerland-based retail joint venture for $1.24 billion, and its interests in non-core Midstream assets in North Dakota.
Investor Webcast
Members of Phillips 66 executive management will host a webcast at noon ET to provide an update on the company’s strategic initiatives and discuss the company’s third-quarter performance. To access the webcast and view related presentation materials, go to phillips66.com/investors and click on “Events & Presentations.” For detailed supplemental information, go to phillips66.com/supplemental.
About Phillips 66
Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is a leading integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, Marketing and Specialties, and Renewable Fuels businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future. For more information, visit phillips66.com or follow @Phillips66Co on LinkedIn.Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information —This news release includes the terms “adjusted earnings,” “adjusted pre-tax income (loss),” “adjusted EBITDA,” “adjusted earnings per share,” “refining realized margin per barrel,” “cash from operations, excluding working capital,” and “net debt-to-capital ratio.” These are non-GAAP financial measures that are included to help facilitate comparisons of operating performance across periods and to help facilitate comparisons with other companies in our industry. Where applicable, these measures exclude items that do not reflect the core operating results of our businesses in the current period or other adjustments to reflect how management analyzes results. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are included within this release.
References in the release to earnings refer to net income attributable to Phillips 66. References to run-rate business transformation savings include cost savings and other benefits that will be captured in the sales and other operating revenues impacting gross margin; purchased crude oil and products costs impacting gross margin; operating expenses; selling, general and administrative expenses; and equity in earnings of affiliates lines on our consolidated statement of income when realized. Run-rate savings include run-rate sustaining capital savings. Run-rate sustaining capital savings include savings that will be captured in the capital expenditures and investments on our consolidated statement of cash flows when realized.
Basis of Presentation — Effective April 1, 2024, we changed the internal financial information reviewed by our chief executive officer to evaluate performance and allocate resources to our operating segments. This included changes in the composition of our operating segments, as well as measurement changes for certain activities between our operating segments. The primary effects of this realignment included establishment of a Renewable Fuels operating segment, which includes renewable fuels activities and assets historically reported in our Refining, Marketing and Specialties (M&S), and Midstream segments; change in method of allocating results for certain Gulf Coast distillate export activities from our M&S segment to our Refining segment; reclassification of certain crude oil and international clean products trading activities between our M&S segment and our Refining segment; and change in reporting of our 16% investment in NOVONIX from our Midstream segment to Corporate and Other. Accordingly, prior period results have been recast for comparability.
In the third quarter of 2024, we began presenting the line item “Capital expenditures and investments” on our consolidated statement of cash flows exclusive of acquisitions, net of cash acquired. Accordingly, prior period information has been reclassified for comparability.
Cautionary Statement for the Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 —This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws relating to Phillips 66’s operations, strategy and performance. Words such as “anticipated,” “estimated,” “expected,” “planned,” “scheduled,” “targeted,” “believe,” “continue,” “intend,” “will,” “would,” “objective,” “goal,” “project,” “efforts,” “strategies” and similar expressions that convey the prospective nature of events or outcomes generally indicate forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on management’s expectations, estimates and projections as of the date they are made. These statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, and you should not unduly rely on them as they involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements include: changes in governmental policies or laws that relate to our operations, including regulations that seek to limit or restrict refining, marketing and midstream operations or regulate profits, pricing, or taxation of our products or feedstocks, or other regulations that restrict feedstock imports or product exports; our ability to timely obtain or maintain permits necessary for projects; fluctuations in NGL, crude oil, refined petroleum, renewable fuels and natural gas prices, and refining, marketing and petrochemical margins; the effects of any widespread public health crisis and its negative impact on commercial activity and demand for refined petroleum or renewable fuels products; changes to worldwide government policies relating to renewable fuels and greenhouse gas emissions that adversely affect programs including the renewable fuel standards program, low carbon fuel standards and tax credits for renewable fuels; potential liability from pending or future litigation; liability for remedial actions, including removal and reclamation obligations under existing or future environmental regulations; unexpected changes in costs for constructing, modifying or operating our facilities; our ability to successfully complete, or any material delay in the completion of, any asset disposition, acquisition, shutdown or conversion that we have announced or may pursue, including receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals or permits related thereto; unexpected difficulties in manufacturing, refining or transporting our products; the level and success of drilling and production volumes around our midstream assets; risks and uncertainties with respect to the actions of actual or potential competitive suppliers and transporters of refined petroleum products, renewable fuels or specialty products; lack of, or disruptions in, adequate and reliable transportation for our products; failure to complete construction of capital projects on time or within budget; our ability to comply with governmental regulations or make capital expenditures to maintain compliance with laws; limited access to capital or significantly higher cost of capital related to illiquidity or uncertainty in the domestic or international financial markets, which may also impact our ability to repurchase shares and declare and pay dividends; potential disruption of our operations due to accidents, weather events, including as a result of climate change, acts of terrorism or cyberattacks; general domestic and international economic and political developments, including armed hostilities (such as the Russia-Ukraine war), expropriation of assets, and other diplomatic developments; international monetary conditions and exchange controls; changes in estimates or projections used to assess fair value of intangible assets, goodwill and property and equipment and/or strategic decisions with respect to our asset portfolio that cause impairment charges; investments required, or reduced demand for products, as a result of environmental rules and regulations; changes in tax, environmental and other laws and regulations (including alternative energy mandates); political and societal concerns about climate change that could result in changes to our business or increase expenditures, including litigation-related expenses; the operation, financing and distribution decisions of equity affiliates we do not control; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Phillips 66’s businesses generally as set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Phillips 66 is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Earnings

Millions of Dollars

2024

2023

3Q

2Q

Sep YTD

3Q

Sep YTD

Midstream

$

644

767

1,965

724

2,060

Chemicals

342

222

769

104

494

Refining

(108

)

302

410

1,712

4,481

Marketing and Specialties

(22

)

415

759

605

1,501

Renewable Fuels

(116

)

(55

)

(226

)

22

164

Corporate and Other

(327

)

(340

)

(989

)

(354

)

(992

)

Pre-Tax Income

413

1,311

2,688

2,813

7,708

Less: Income tax expense

44

291

538

670

1,754

Less: Noncontrolling interests

23

5

41

46

199

Phillips 66

$

346

1,015

2,109

2,097

5,755

Adjusted Earnings

Millions of Dollars

2024

2023

3Q

2Q

Sep YTD

3Q

Sep YTD

Midstream

$

672

753

2,038

581

1,915

Chemicals

342

222

769

104

494

Refining

(67

)

302

548

1,742

4,525

Marketing and Specialties

583

415

1,305

605

1,501

Renewable Fuels

(116

)

(55

)

(226

)

22

164

Corporate and Other

(327

)

(340

)

(989

)

(303

)

(812

)

Pre-Tax Income

1,087

1,297

3,445

2,751

7,787

Less: Income tax expense

205

278

709

660

1,768

Less: Noncontrolling interests

23

35

71

21

218

Phillips 66

$

859

984

2,665

2,070

5,801

Millions of Dollars

Except as Indicated

2024

2023

3Q

2Q

Sep YTD

3Q

Sep YTD

Reconciliation of Consolidated Earnings to Adjusted Earnings

Consolidated Earnings

$

346

1,015

2,109

2,097

5,755

Pre-tax adjustments:

Impairments 1

28

224

415

—

—

Net gain on asset dispositions

—

(238

)

(238

)

(101

)

(123

)

Change in inventory method for acquired business

—

—

—

(46

)

(46

)

Los Angeles Refinery shutdown-related costs 2

41

—

41

—

—

Legal accrual 3

605

—

605

30

30

Legal settlement

—

—

(66

)

—

—

Business transformation restructuring costs

—

—

—

51

127

Loss on early redemption of DCP debt

—

—

—

—

53

DCP integration restructuring costs

—

—

—

4

38

Tax impact of adjustments 4

(161

)

13

(171

)

10

(14

)

Noncontrolling interests

—

(30

)

(30

)

25

(19

)

Adjusted earnings

$

859

984

2,665

2,070

5,801

Earnings per share of common stock ( dollars )

$

0.82

2.38

4.94

4.69

12.61

Adjusted earnings per share of common stock ( dollars ) 5

$

2.04

2.31

6.25

4.63

12.71

Reconciliation of Segment Pre-Tax Income (Loss) to Adjusted Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

Midstream Pre-Tax Income

$

644

767

1,965

724

2,060

Pre-tax adjustments:

Impairments 1

28

224

311

—

—

Net gain on asset disposition

—

(238

)

(238

)

(101

)

(137

)

Change in inventory method for acquired business

—

—

—

(46

)

(46

)

DCP integration restructuring costs

—

—

—

4

38

Adjusted pre-tax income

$

672

753

2,038

581

1,915

Chemicals Pre-Tax Income

$

342

222

769

104

494

Pre-tax adjustments:

None

—

—

—

—

—

Adjusted pre-tax income

$

342

222

769

104

494

Refining Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

$

(108

)

302

410

1,712

4,481

Pre-tax adjustments:

Impairments 1

—

—

104

—

—

Los Angeles Refinery shutdown-related costs 2

41

—

41

—

—

Net loss on asset disposition

—

—

—

—

14

Legal accrual 3

—

—

—

30

30

Legal settlement

—

—

(7

)

—

—

Adjusted pre-tax income (loss)

$

(67

)

302

548

1,742

4,525

Marketing and Specialties Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

$

(22

)

415

759

605

1,501

Pre-tax adjustments:

Legal accrual 3

605

—

605

—

—

Legal settlement

—

—

(59

)

—

—

Adjusted pre-tax income

$

583

415

1,305

605

1,501

Renewable Fuels Pre-Tax Income (Loss)

$

(116

)

(55

)

(226

)

22

164

Pre-tax adjustments:

None

—

—

—

—

—

Adjusted pre-tax income (loss)

$

(116

)

(55

)

(226

)

22

164

Corporate and Other Pre-Tax Loss

$

(327

)

(340

)

(989

)

(354

)

(992

)

Pre-tax adjustments:

Business transformation restructuring costs

—

—

—

51

127

Loss on early redemption of DCP debt

—

—

—

—

53

Adjusted pre-tax loss

$

(327

)

(340

)

(989

)

(303

)

(812

)

1Impairments primarily related to certain gathering and processing assets in the Midstream segment, as well as certain crude oil processing and logistics assets in California, reported in the Refining segment.

2Shutdown-related costs recorded in the Refining segment include pre-tax charges for severance costs.

3Legal accrual primarily related to ongoing litigation.

4We generally tax effect taxable U.S.-based special items using a combined federal and state statutory income tax rate of approximately 24%. Taxable special items attributable to foreign locations likewise use a local statutory income tax rate. Nontaxable events reflect zero income tax. These events include, but are not limited to, most goodwill impairments, transactions legislatively exempt from income tax, transactions related to entities for which we have made an assertion that the undistributed earnings are permanently reinvested, or transactions occurring in jurisdictions with a valuation allowance.

5YTD 2024, Q3 2024, Q3 2023 are based on adjusted weighted-average diluted shares of 426,301 thousand, 419,827 thousand, and 447,255 thousand, respectively. Other periods are based on the same weighted-average diluted shares outstanding as that used in the GAAP diluted earnings per share calculation. Income allocated to participating securities, if applicable, in the adjusted earnings per share calculation is the same as that used in the GAAP diluted earnings per share calculation.

Millions of Dollars

Except as Indicated

2024

3Q

2Q

Reconciliation of Consolidated Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA

Net Income

$

369

1,020

Plus:

Income tax expense

44

291

Net interest expense

191

200

Depreciation and amortization

543

497

Phillips 66 EBITDA

$

1,147

2,008

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

Impairments

28

224

Net gain on asset disposition

—

(238

)

Los Angeles Refinery shutdown-related costs

41

—

Legal accrual

605

—

Legal settlement

—

—

Total Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax)

674

(14

)

Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

—

7

Phillips 66 EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items and Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

$

1,821

2,001

Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

24

26

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

12

19

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

188

195

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests

(47

)

(58

)

Phillips 66 Adjusted EBITDA

$

1,998

2,183

Reconciliation of Segment Income before Income Taxes to Adjusted EBITDA

Midstream Income before income taxes

$

644

767

Plus:

Depreciation and amortization

233

224

Midstream EBITDA

$

877

991

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

Net gain on asset disposition

—

(238

)

Impairments

28

224

Midstream EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

$

905

977

Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

5

5

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

3

10

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

26

37

Adjusted EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests

(47

)

(58

)

Midstream Adjusted EBITDA

$

892

971

Chemicals Income before income taxes

$

342

222

Plus:

None

—

—

Chemicals EBITDA

$

342

222

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

None

—

—

Chemicals EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

$

342

222

Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

13

15

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

(2

)

—

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

113

111

Chemicals Adjusted EBITDA

$

466

348

Refining Income (loss) before income taxes

$

(108

)

302

Plus:

Depreciation and amortization

230

204

Refining EBITDA

$

122

506

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

Los Angeles Refinery shutdown-related costs

41

—

Refining EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

$

163

506

Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

(1

)

1

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

(1

)

(2

)

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

27

26

Refining Adjusted EBITDA

$

188

531

Marketing and Specialties Income (loss) before income taxes

$

(22

)

415

Plus:

Depreciation and amortization

32

32

Marketing and Specialties EBITDA

$

10

447

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

Legal accrual

605

—

Marketing and Specialties EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

$

615

447

Other Adjustments (pre-tax):

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates income taxes

7

5

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates net interest

12

11

Proportional share of selected equity affiliates depreciation and amortization

22

21

Marketing and Specialties Adjusted EBITDA

$

656

484

Renewable Fuels Loss before income taxes

$

(116

)

(55

)

Plus:

Depreciation and amortization

24

12

Renewable Fuels EBITDA

$

(92

)

(43

)

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

None

—

—

Renewable Fuels EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items

$

(92

)

(43

)

Corporate and Other Loss before income taxes

$

(327

)

(340

)

Plus:

Net interest expense

191

200

Depreciation and amortization

24

25

Corporate and Other EBITDA

$

(112

)

(115

)

Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax):

None

—

—

Total Special Item Adjustments (pre-tax)

—

—

Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

—

7

Corporate EBITDA, Adjusted for Special Items and Change in Fair Value of NOVONIX Investment

$

(112

)

(108

)

Millions of Dollars

Except as Indicated

September 30, 2024

Debt-to-Capital Ratio

Total Debt

$

19,998

Total Equity

29,784

Debt-to-Capital Ratio

40

%

Total Cash

1,637

Net Debt-to-Capital Ratio

38

%

Millions of Dollars

September 30, 2024

Reconciliation of Net Cash Used in Operating Activities to Operating Cash Flow, Excluding Working Capital

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

$

1,132

Less: Net Working Capital Changes

(381

)

Operating Cash Flow, Excluding Working Capital

$

1,513

Millions of Dollars

Except as Indicated

2024

3Q

2Q

Reconciliation of Refining Income (Loss) Before Income Taxes to Realized Refining Margins

Income (loss) before income taxes

$

(108

)

302

Plus:

Taxes other than income taxes

100

74

Depreciation, amortization and impairments

230

203

Selling, general and administrative expenses

60

51

Operating expenses

922

884

Equity in earnings of affiliates

12

(33

)

Other segment expense, net

(4

)

(1

)

Proportional share of refining gross margins contributed by equity affiliates

193

260

Special items:

None

—

—

Realized refining margins

$

1,405

1,740

Total processed inputs ( thousands of barrels )

145,440

151,296

Adjusted total processed inputs ( thousands of barrels )*

168,951

174,107

Income (loss) before income taxes ( dollars per barrel )**

$

(0.74

)

2.00

Realized refining margins ( dollars per barrel )***

$

8.31

10.01

*Adjusted total processed inputs include our proportional share of processed inputs of an equity affiliate.

**Income before income taxes divided by total processed inputs.

***Realized refining margins per barrel, as presented, are calculated using the underlying realized refining margin amounts, in dollars, divided by adjusted total processed inputs, in barrels. As such, recalculated per barrel amounts using the rounded margins and barrels presented may differ from the presented per barrel amounts.

Source: Phillips 66

MIL OSI Economics –

January 25, 2025