Category: Vehicles

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major improvement scheme at Dawsons Corner and Stanningley Bypass planned to start this month

    Source: City of Leeds

    In February 2025, the Department for Transport gave the green light for £35.709 million funding to enable the council to deliver essential maintenance work, improving safety and reliability for people and businesses using Dawsons Corner and Stanningley Bypass.

    This forms part of a £44.179m total package with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority funding of £8.470m.

    Dawsons Corner connects the A647 Stanningley Road and the A6120 Ring Road, two of the most important routes in the city. Around 57,000 vehicles and 1,200 pedestrians and cyclists use Dawsons Corner every day. The scheme forms part of the Connecting Leeds strategy to maintain and improve Leeds’ Inner and Outer Ring Roads.

    Road users are now being urged to prepare as significant enabling work begins this month to make improvements to the A647/A6120 Dawsons Corner junction and complete joint replacement and resurfacing works on the Stanningley Bypass.

    Works involve substantial enlargement and realignment of the junction ahead of construction.

    The council work hard to prioritise, plan and co-ordinate complex schemes to ensure as least disruption as possible across our busy city. To help minimize disruption, part of the works are planned during the school summer holidays to take advantage of reduced traffic levels.

    Changes to the junction will reduce congestion and delays, helping to support economic growth across Leeds and Bradford. The reduction in congestion will also lead to a better environment in terms of improved air quality. Improvements are also planned to see better traffic flow, with bus journey times also reduced and improved safer crossing facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

    The scheme will:
    • Improve safety for people walking, wheeling, and cycling
    • Improve connectivity in key areas by providing pedestrian and cycling facilities at the Dawsons Corner junction linking in with the Leeds Bradford Cycle Superhighway
    • Make bus journeys more reliable with improved bus facilities and dedicated bus lanes on the A647 Bradford Road
    • Widen the carriageway on the A6120 Ring Road to improve the junction and accommodate a shared pedestrian / cycle route
    • Improve connectivity between Leeds and Bradford, supporting economic growth, and improved access to jobs, education, healthcare, and leisure opportunities
    • Enhanced landscaping and planting features

    The council’s appointed contractor John Sisk are set to construct the scheme, which is scheduled to take up to 18 months to complete.

    Find out more
    Attend a drop-in event, see the plans and chat to a member of the team:
    • Thursday 15 May between 11am-7pm at Pudsey Civic Hall, Dawsons Corner, LS28 5TA

    Sign up to project updates and find out more by visiting this link.

    Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said:
    “I am delighted to see works are set to commence this month – the need to improve the Dawsons Corner junction has been a major priority for some time. It’s important not only to improve traffic flow and air quality, but also support essential links to future housing growth and developments and for people to be able to access jobs more easily with consistent travel times.”

    “On Thursday 15 May 11am-7pm the council will hold a drop-in event at Pudsey Civic Hall, with your chance to view the plans and speak with the project team. We will keep residents regularly updated as the works progress and have set up a website https://dawsonscorner.commonplace.is/ with information about the project, along with plans and timescales. Local residents and businesses have been sent a letter to help them learn more about how the construction will impact them.”

    Sisk’s regional director Robin Metcalf said: “We’re delighted to be starting work on this important project and proud to be continuing our strong relationship with Leeds City Council. We’ve made commitments not only to deliver the scheme in a way that causes as little disruption as possible, but also to support the local economy by offering employment opportunities and using local businesses wherever we can. Our local teams will be on hand throughout the works to help keep things running smoothly and to work closely with the public as the project progresses.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Solidarity and dedication in response to devastating Myanmar earthquake

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    On 28 March, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar. From the epicentre in the city of Sagaing, the tremors were felt across Thailand, Bangladesh, China and Laos. Our teams already in the country immediately mobilised to travel to the affected areas in Sagaing, Mandalay, Naypyitaw and Southern Shan states to assess initial needs, while our emergency teams prepared to arrive in Myanmar as earlier as possible.

     

    Jessa Pontevedra, emergency coordinator based in southeast Asia was one of them. She shares her experiences from the first week of our emergency response in Myanmar.

    Jessa Pontevedra, medical coordinator in Myanmar What I witnessed in Naypyidaw deeply affected me as a public health professional, but the devastation in Mandalay touched me to my core as humanitarian.

    Jessa Pontevedra, Switzerland, 2024.
    © Pierre-Yves Bernard/MSF

    We landed in Yangon in the middle of the night on 1 April and headed directly to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) office for briefings. After a few hours of rest, we set out the next morning on the 6.5-hour long drive to Naypyitaw, mainly along the highway to join the team who had already gone there on 30 March.

    But about 100 kilometres from the city we started seeing the impact of the earthquake – cracks marred the road, a stark reminder of the disaster’s reach. We entered this well-designed city, Myanmar’s capital, and checked into a hotel, where some displaced families who could afford it had taken refuge.

    In the evening, we met the rest of the emergency team to set the objectives for the coming days. As a medical coordinator, my role is to assess the health situation: evaluating both the condition of medical facilities and the urgent needs of affected people.

    A maternity ward in a jewellery museum

    Before the earthquake, Naypyidaw boasted major medical institutions: a 1,000-bed hospital, a 500-bed paediatric hospital, 500-bed orthopaedic hospital, 500-bed maternity, and more. Yet, all of these large, specialised hospitals couldn’t operate to their full capacity due to structural damage to the facilities.

    One of the more striking examples of adaptation was the repurposing of a 500 beds-obstetric-children’s hospital. The patients, staff and some of the equipment relocated to an unoccupied private jewellery museum that was untouched by the earthquake. The owner, eager to help, welcomed the maternity in his building and compound. The museum, originally intended to be a high-end tourist attraction, had become an emergency healthcare space. Inside the grand rooms, there were rows and rows of beds set up for pregnant women about to give birth.

    A metal detector at the entrance now served as the triage point, with desks further inside used for antenatal and postnatal consultations. Other rooms were transformed into emergency wards, and an operating theatre was already performing caesarean sections. Staff, who were themselves displaced, had set up tents to sleep in the compound, as well as the families of patients. A brick building in the back of the compound which looked like a train station, was used as the administration offices and kitchen for the staff. 

    The express road connecting Mandalay to Sagaing was cracked by the earthquake on 28 March and parts of it are still unusable. Myanmar, April 2025.
    Lena Pflueger/MSF

    I saw a lot of solidarity and dedication

    There, I met the superintendent of the hospital, who took the time to speak with us despite the challenging situation. Amid the hectic environment, she was still smiling. Staff and patient’s families were sharing the place, sharing meals, offering donations to the ones in need, supporting each other… acting as a big community. Everyone was coping as best they could… collectively.

    A paediatric hospital, originally another 500-bed facility, had been relocated across the city and was now operating as a 32-bed township hospital – without any operating theatre. Looking at the community’s needs – pregnant women give birth, and kids get sick even amidst a natural disaster –, a 500-bed hospital becoming a 32-bed hospital, the math was not adding up.

    The encounter with the superintendent at this facility, deeply touched me. The healthcare professionals were so dedicated, trying their best. The community spirit everywhere and coming together really resonated with me as I am southeast Asian, and this is a big part of our culture. Coming together in times of needs… They were also appreciative that MSF is with them in this emergency.

    Many people experiencing homelessness in an urban space

    Five days later, I left Naypyidaw, taking the old highway instead of the express road. As we approached Mandalay city, we saw makeshift shelters of plastic sheeting on one side of the road, housing perhaps 1,000 people. On the other side, buildings lay in ruins. The following days, as we moved around the city to assess the hospitals, we saw similar damages – collapsed homes and communities in disarray. Many affected people were quite vulnerable, without access to water and sanitation, lacking the basic requirement to preserve their dignity. 

    A patient receives medication at an MSF mobile clinic set up inside a monastery, which is currently sheltering about 80 families from the neighbourhood whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged and are no longer safe to live in. Myanmar, April 2025.
    Lena Pflueger/MSF

    In Mandalay, families who chose to stay close to their damaged or collapsed houses were staying at the gates or front yard, or along the street – some even re-entering their damaged houses, risking further injury just to access basic facilities like bathrooms. The hospitals were partially functional and able to attend to the injured – although oftentimes outside barely shielded from the elements by simple tarps.

    Throughout these assessments, our teams have already been providing basic health consultations, psychological first aid to the affected communities and distributed essential items such as hygiene kits in cooperation with local civil society organisations. The logistics teams have been working tirelessly to restore water and sanitation facilities, setting up latrines in monasteries where many displaced families sought refuge.

    More challenges may come

    With the rainy season approaching, the challenges are mounting. The situation might become increasingly precarious. If thousands of people are experiencing homeless in urban areas, and with the risk of disease outbreaks, responding to their needs will be incredibly challenging.

    What I witnessed in Naypyidaw touched me to my core as a public health professional, but what I saw in Mandalay touched to my core as humanitarian.

    For now, the communities are finding ways to support one another. I remember one couple staying at the same hotel in Naypyidaw, that I met when I was out for my usual run. They were also doing their morning exercise. It was the man’s birthday that day. But given the situation, the celebration would not be a party. “We have lost our home too,” he said, “But we are bit more blessed, so we want to give back.” And they did so by doing food, water and essential item distributions in one of the most affected neighbourhoods of Naypyidaw.

    I also keep in mind this doctor I met. He was from a less affected town who had rallied a group of healthcare colleagues to set up a free clinic. They quickly began receiving donations from people abroad – food, essential items, and more. This spirit of community in Myanmar is powerful, but I can’t help but wonder: how long can it last?

    Our emergency teams continue to work almost around the clock, further assessing and anticipating the needs, supporting the relief efforts wherever possible along with the communities that are so engaged. The recovery from this massive earthquake will be long for the affected people, no matter where they live, they need to have access to life-saving humanitarian assistance. 

    MIL OSI NGO

  • MIL-OSI USA: Burlison Joins Push to Scrap Biden’s $1 Trillion Energy Scam

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Burlison (R-Missouri 7th District)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Eric Burlison (MO-07) joined fellow House Republicans in calling for the full repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) costly green energy subsidies. In a letter sent to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, the lawmakers warned that keeping even a single subsidy undermines conservative energy principles and jeopardizes America’s return to energy dominance.

    Republicans were elected on a promise to dismantle Biden’s Green New Scam,” said Rep. Burlison. “These subsidies are distorting the energy market, driving up costs, and threatening our grid. We must follow through—no half-measures, repeal it all.

    The letter emphasizes that the IRA’s nearly $1 trillion in subsidies for solar, wind, EVs, hydrogen, and more are not only fiscally irresponsible but also weaken national security, destabilize the energy grid, and betray Republican commitments to free-market energy policy.

    Read the full letter below.

    Dear Chairman Smith:
    As fellow Members of the House Republican Conference, we write to underscore the urgent need to fully repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its green energy subsidies, which will cost taxpayers approximately $1 trillion over the next decade. We are deeply concerned that President Trump’s commitment to restoring American energy dominance and ending what he calls the “green new scam” is being undermined by parochial interests and short-sighted political calculations. 
     

    The IRA contains eight major energy subsidies, each of which burdens taxpayers, inflates energy costs, and threatens the reliability of our power grid. Each of these subsidies props up unreliable energy sources while displacing dependable, proven energy like coal and natural gas.

    Republicans ran—and won—on a promise to completely dismantle the IRA and end the left’s green welfare agenda. The first chapter of our 2024 platform reaffirms our commitment to “terminating the Socialist Green New Deal.” Despite our previously unified stance, some Members of our conference now feel compelled to defend wind and biofuel credits, advocate for carbon capture and hydrogen subsidies, or protect solar and electric vehicle giveaways. Keeping even one of these subsidies opens the door to retaining all eight. How do we retain some of these credits and not operate in hypocrisy? The longstanding Republican position has been to allow the market to determine energy production. If every faction continues to defend their favored subsidies, we risk preserving the entire IRA because no clearly defined principle will dictate what is kept and what is culled. 

    Leaving IRA subsidies intact will actively undermine America’s return to energy dominance and national security. In 2024 alone, solar represented 61% of all new electricity generation in our nation, with more expected this year. By the end of this year, wind generation in the U.S. is expected to increase 11% from 2023 because of these subsidies.These numbers do not reflect a natural market shift. They are the result of government subsidies that distort the U.S. energy sector, displace reliable coal and natural gas and the domestic jobs they produce, and put the stability and independence of our electric grid in jeopardy.

    To see the consequences of this path, we need only to look at Europe’s overreliance on renewables, which has left them vulnerable and reliant on Russian oil and gas. Meanwhile, China gladly sells us solar panels and electric vehicle components while expanding its own coal capacity to maintain grid stability and economic advantage. If we do not course correct, we will trade American energy
    dominance for dependence on hostile regimes.

    Our path forward is clear. We must fully repeal the IRA’s green subsidies. Doing so will:
     

    • Save Taxpayers $1 trillion. Estimates project the Inflation Reduction Act will cost
      between $825 billion—according to the Congressional Budget Office as of January 2025—
      and over $1 trillion, per analysts at Goldman Sachs, over the next decade.4 Eliminating
      these subsidies will allow us to rein in the debt and reallocate funds to genuine national
      priorities.
    • Ease inflation and spur economic growth. IRA subsidies exacerbate inflation and push
      up interest rates, making it harder for Americans to buy homes and cars and start
      businesses. Repealing them will provide immediate financial relief and create a stronger
      economic environment.
    • Restore energy affordability and security. IRA subsidies force utilities to overbuild
      solar and wind capacity, weakening grid reliability and increasing energy costs. Ending
      these subsidies will restore affordability and stability to our energy supply.

    This is our only opportunity for an IRA repeal. Without effectively fully repealing all IRA subsidies, as envisioned under the House reconciliation framework, we would jeopardize America’s return to energy dominance and passage of an extension of the expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, as well as the President’s other tax priorities. Failure to act undermines the mandate given to us by the American people.

    We urge our colleagues to stand firm in the upcoming reconciliation process. We must reject half-measures and deliver a full repeal of the IRA’s energy subsidies for the sake of American taxpayers and for the future of American energy. 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Centre Rawdon — RCMP investigates serious collision on Hwy. 14

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    East Hants District RCMP is investigating a serious collision that occurred in Centre Rawdon.

    On May 8, at approximately 12:05 p.m., RCMP officers, fire services, and EHS, responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Hwy. 14 and South Rawdon Rd. Investigators learned that a Freightliner truck was travelling west on Hwy. 14 and a Chevrolet Cruze was travelling north on South Rawdon Rd. when they collided.

    The rear passenger of the Cruze, an infant, suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to hospital by EHS LifeFlight. The driver and passenger of the vehicle, a 34-year-old South Rawdon woman and a 69-year-old Hantsport woman, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to hospital by EHS.

    The driver and lone occupant of the truck, a 70-year-old man of Williamswood, suffered minor injuries.

    An RCMP collision reconstructionist attended the scene and the investigation is ongoing.

    The intersection was closed several hours but has since reopened.

    File #: 2025-617980

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI: Infineon to Present at the dbVIC – Deutsche Bank ADR Virtual Investor Conference May 15th

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MUNICH, May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY), based in Munich and a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT, today announced that Daniel Gyoery, Senior Director Investor Relations will present at the dbVIC – Deutsche Bank American Depositary Receipt (ADR) Virtual Investor Conference on May 15, 2025. This virtual investor conference is aimed exclusively at introducing global companies with ADR programs to investors.

    DATE: May 15th
    TIME: 9:00 EDT / 15:00 CET
    LINK: REGISTER HERE

    This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

    It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.  

    Participation is free of charge.

    Recent Company Highlights

    • Infineon is the #1 global leader in automotive semiconductors, power semiconductors, and microcontrollers
    • Microcontroller: Infineon’s microcontrollers serve as the brains of smarter, safer cars and secure IoT devices. Over the past decade, the company has consistently outgrown the market and achieved the global #1 position.
    • Powering AI – from grid to core: the exponential data growth driven by digitalization and AI is increasing the energy demand of data centers. Infineon offers solutions, extending from the grid to the core to maximize the efficiency, power density and reliability of AI infrastructure.
    • Shaping mobility & Humanoid robots: ever-smarter, more integrated cars and humanoid robots need fast, secure controllers as well as high-speed networking. Infineon’s microcontroller leadership and the acquisition of Marvell Technology’s automotive ethernet business combine two world-class solutions, forming a unique system solution meeting the needs of these emerging technologies.
    • Focus on high growth and margin retention combined with consistent shareholder returns. Fiscal year 2025 guidance already includes a haircut for potential tariff headwinds.

    About Infineon
    Infineon Technologies AG is a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Infineon drives decarbonization and digitalization with its products and solutions. The Company had around 58,060 employees worldwide (end of September 2024) and generated revenue of about €15 billion in the 2024 fiscal year (ending 30 September). Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the OTCQX International over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: IFNNY).

    About Virtual Investor Conferences®
    Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

    Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access.  Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

    CONTACTS:

    Infineon Technologies AG
    Daniel Györy
    Senior Director Investor Relations
    Office: +49 89 234 35078
    Daniel.Gyoery@infineon.com 

    Virtual Investor Conferences
    John M. Viglotti
    SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access
    OTC Markets Group
    (212) 220-2221
    johnv@otcmarkets.com 

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: ProvisionAi Leads Industry in Sustainable Logistics: Webinar Highlights Available Online

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FRANKLIN, Tenn., May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  ProvisionAi continues to set industry benchmarks in sustainable and cost-efficient logistics solutions with its revolutionary AI-driven AutoO2 platform. Recently, the company successfully hosted an insightful webinar on Scope 3 emissions management, attracting significant attention from logistics and sustainability leaders globally. The session, praised by participants for its practical insights, is now available on YouTube for public viewing.

    ProvisionAi’s AutoO2 has dramatically reduced both costs and carbon emissions for major shippers by intelligently designing replenishment loads to maximize truck utilization. Last year alone, AutoO2 eliminated 88,000 truck trips, delivering a 5-10% increase in truckload capacity.

    “Our recent webinar clearly demonstrated how businesses can simultaneously reduce transportation costs and environmental impact,” said Tom Moore, Founder and CEO of ProvisionAi. “We’re pleased to share the webinar online, providing valuable insights and strategies to an even broader audience.”

    A recent case study showcased during the webinar highlighted significant outcomes: a ProvisionAi client achieved an 8% reduction in truckloads and a corresponding 13% reduction in CO₂ emissions within just 21 days. This success equates to removing 149 truck trips and preventing 222 metric tonnes of carbon emissions—comparable to the annual carbon sequestration capacity of 265 acres of U.S. forests.

    Companies like P&G, Unilever, and Campbell’s have already benefited from ProvisionAi’s solutions, experiencing substantial economic savings and measurable sustainability improvements.

    “Our technology allows companies to align sustainability with profitability, proving that environmental responsibility doesn’t have to come at an additional cost,” Moore added.

    To view the full webinar and learn more about integrating cost-effective and sustainable logistics practices, visit ProvisionAi’s YouTube channel. For further details on ProvisionAi’s innovative solutions, please visit www.provisionai.com.

    About ProvisionAi
    ProvisionAi transforms logistics by delivering cost-saving, sustainable AI-driven solutions. With its flagship platform, AutoO2, ProvisionAi enables companies to significantly cut carbon emissions, reduce operational costs, and optimize their logistics operations sustainably.

    Media Contact:

    Tom Moore
    tom.moore@provisionai.com
    Cell: +1 615 417-9591
    ProvisionAi.com

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/065a4b9a-ed60-46fb-8ac6-51ddd23fcbf9

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Protect what grows — learn about the connection between human, animal and plant health this International Day of Plant Health

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    May 9, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario

    How important are plants really? More than you might think.

    Healthy plants are fundamental for the existence and well-being of both humans and animals. They also stabilize the environment and maintain the balance of ecosystems, while fostering economic growth. On May 12, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) encourages Canadians to mark the International Day of Plant Health by learning more about the role and risks to plant health. This year’s theme, ‘The importance of plant health in One Health,’ highlights the connections between human, animal, and plant health and emphasizes how they are all part of a single, integrated system.

    Plant pests pose significant risks to this balance. They attack Canada’s crops, forests, the environment and other natural resources. Invasive insects and plants, plant diseases, snails, and other organisms can disrupt ecosystems and damage critical economic activities such as food production, horticulture, and forestry. These pests often spread through cargo transport, human activities such as moving firewood, and extreme weather events that can carry them over great distances.

    The CFIA works with industries, stakeholders, and governments to reduce threats by using risk assessments, surveys, and inspections to prevent invasive species from spreading across Canada.

    Each of us has a role in protecting plant health. Here are some of the ways you can help prevent the spread of invasive species:

    • Learn about invasive species in your area and how to recognize them.
    • Don’t bring plants, seeds or plant products into Canada without declaring them to border officials, when coming back in the country.
    • Don’t move firewood; always buy and burn local wood or choose heat-treated firewood.
    • Inspect and clean outdoor gear, vehicles, or equipment (such as boats, ATVs, RVs, camping gear, or lawn mowers) before moving them to new areas.
    • Report any suspicious plant pests. You can do so online or by contacting your local CFIA office.

    By working together, we can help protect our plants, animals, and environment.

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Bay Roberts — UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued for Jesse Lewis

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Update: Bay Roberts RCMP advises that wanted man, Jesse Lewis, has been arrested.

    Bay Roberts RCMP is looking to arrest wanted man, 27-year-old Jesse William Lewis, who is actively evading police. Lewis was last seen yesterday evening and is believed to be in the North River to Brigus area.

    Lewis is wanted in relation to a number of charges including:

    • Robbery
    • Theft of a vehicle
    • Dangerous operation of a vehicle
    • Possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes
    • Mischief over $5,000
    • Flight from peace officer
    • Forcible confinement
    • Failure to comply with a probation order

    It is a criminal offence to aid a wanted individual.

    Anyone having information about the current location of Jesse Lewis is asked to contact Bay Roberts RCMP at 709-786-2118. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Man given suspended jail term for illegal Lincolnshire waste site

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Man given suspended jail term for illegal Lincolnshire waste site

    The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted a Lincolnshire man for running an illegal waste site at Thorpe Farm, Skendleby, in East Lindsey.

    A pile of waste which was on site.

    • Court imposes fines, costs and confiscation order on director and his company for nearly £100,000
    • Judge tells defendant he ran business in ‘arrogant and bullish’ manner
    • Environment Agency officer verbally abused during site inspection.

    At Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday 7 May 2025, Matthew Berry, 46, of Ivy House Farm, Blyborough, near Gainsborough, received a suspended sentence of 36 weeks. This is on condition that he stays out of trouble and abides by a curfew between 9pm and 5am for a 3 month period. He was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs and a surcharge of £154.

    Berry’s company, SBR Foxhills Limited, was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £29,626.35 and a £190 surcharge.

    The defendant and company also have a confiscation order imposed of £45,000, representing the recovery of the proceeds from the crime. Berry was warned that he faces up to 12 months in prison if that sum remains unpaid after 3 months.

    In sentencing Berry, Her Honour Judge Sjolin Knight told him that he had taken an “arrogant and bullish approach.” It was also “remarkable” that he claimed not to have established his environmental obligations.

    She noted that he had run his business in such a way that he, “violated strict environmental laws that are there to protect the environment for everyone.”

    The court was told that in the spring of 2021, Berry, the sole director of SBR Foxhills Limited, became interested in a site at Thorpe Farm.

    With a view to the company purchasing the site, he took over the control in April and began a clearance operation.  The site had no environmental permit or other authorisation to store or treat waste.

    There was a lot of waste already on the site.  He agreed to move baled waste that had been stacked in a building. He also agreed to remove waste vehicles to a breakers’ site and brought heavy plant to the site for that purpose.

    However, rather than clearing and improving the site, he dumped the baled waste on a concrete pad. This was porous, cracked, had no sealed drainage and had an unsealed manhole cover that led to a void.  He then abandoned the site leaving the baled waste exposed to the elements which inevitably caused it to degrade. 

    Environment Agency officers visited the site and Berry told them that he intended to clear the area. They gave him advice and attempted to work with him.  He agreed to provide the requisite waste transfer notes that would prove lawful removal.

    By November 2021, it was clear that the site had not been abandoned.  Officers continued to try to work with him but their attempts were rejected.

    On one occasion, Berry verbally berated a senior officer telling him that he hoped he got cancer and died.  Not content with his verbal abuse, he followed up his unpleasant words a few minutes later with a similarly offensive email. 

    Both Berry and his company entered not guilty pleas at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court in June 2022.  However, shortly before their trial was due to start, in November 2023, they changed their pleas to guilty.  They were finally sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on 7 May 2025.

    As part of its investigations, the Environment Agency used drones for routine inspections to safely capture evidence of the waste activities. This use of technology is an on-going feature of the agency’s work.

    Yvonne Daly, an environment manager for the Environment Agency in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, said:

    Rogue contractors and operators in the waste sector should take note we will not tolerate illegal waste activities in Lincolnshire.

    We will take enforcement action to protect the environment, people and legitimate businesses.

    And we will not tolerate abuse or bad behaviour to our officers – everyone should be treated with respect.

    We would also like to thank the fantastic support from Lincolnshire Police and East Lindsey District Council throughout this case.

    Anyone with suspicions of waste crime can call our incident hotline, 0800 807060, or Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.

    The Charges

    Charge 1: operating a non-exempt waste operation without a permit, contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

    Particulars of offence

    SBR Foxhills Limited, between the 8 April 2021 and 26 February 2022 operated without an environmental permit a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the treatment and storage of waste at Thorpe Farm, Skendleby. 

    Charge 2: operating a non-exempt waste operation without a permit, contrary to Regulations 12 and 38(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

    Particulars of offence

    Matthew Berry, between the 8 April 2021 and 26 February 2022, by consent, connivance or neglect, allowed the company SBR Foxhills Limited to operate without an environmental permit a regulated facility, namely a waste operation for the treatment and storage of waste at Thorpe Farm, Skendleby.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Global: Nasa’s planned budget cuts could set back space science, but show how to future-proof the agency

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Loizos Heracleous, Professor of Strategy, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

    Illustration of the Orion spacecraft. Nasa

    The 2026 Nasa budget proposal would slash around US$6 billion (£4.4 billion) in funding. This is a huge reduction, amounting to around 25% of recent Nasa budgets. The savings would mainly come from Nasa science programmes, potentially devastating high profile missions and international collaborations.

    However, the budget proposal also represents an intentional redirection of Nasa’s focus by government through resource allocation. The state has long supported the development of a robust commercial space sector, and this budget is a further step in that direction.

    Congress will have the final say and the cost to science could be high if the budget goes through without major amendments. One casualty could be Mars Sample Return (MSR), a joint endeavour with the European Space Agency that is intended to retrieve Martian soil and rock collected by the Perseverance rover and deliver it to laboratories on Earth.

    An audit of MSR released in February 2024, suggested that the mission’s overall cost could exceed US$7.5 billion (£5.6 billion). The timescale for the mission was also slipping into the 2040s.

    Nasa agreed to look at quicker and cheaper ways of carrying out the mission, a process which is ongoing. But as a big ticket item under the agency’s Science Directorate, MSR could nevertheless be cancelled if the proposed budget were to be passed.

    Other projects likely to be affected include the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which aims to investigate dark energy and exoplanets, and the DaVinci mission to Venus, which seeks to study the planet’s dense atmosphere and surface composition. Since the James Webb Space Telescope is already constructed and operating, it is expected to continue doing so.

    However broader funding reductions for Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate, from US$7.3 billion (£5.4 billion) to US$3.9 billion (£2.9 billion), may limit the scope of future projects and the pipeline of early innovations.

    The Nancy Grace Roman telescope could be one casualty of the budget proposal.
    Nasa

    The proposed budget could also lead to an accelerated retirement for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion crew capsule. These are the vehicles designed to carry US astronauts to the Moon under a Nasa programme called Artemis.

    This programme aims to establish a permanent US base on the Moon, allowing astronauts to carry out science and to learn how to make use of lunar resources –such as the abundant water ice sitting in craters at the poles.

    This ice could be turned into water for life support and chemically split to provide propellant for spacecraft. This could bring down the cost of space exploration because it would avoid having to transport supplies from Earth.

    The retirement of the SLS and Orion would happen after the Artemis III mission, which is planned to be the first to land astronauts on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. This decision suggests that the administration has heeded those who warn that if China gets to the Moon’s surface before the US, it could damage American space leadership.

    But it also implies that White House officials are in no hurry to build up a sustained presence on the lunar surface, as laid out under the Artemis plan, since finding replacements for Orion and the SLS will take time.

    With each SLS launch costing upwards of US$4 billion, the rocket’s longer term financial sustainability has been repeatedly called into question. Cancelling the SLS and Orion could also lead to thousands of job losses. These concerns are valid. However, in a robust industry, there is opportunity for people.

    Globally, the space industry is growing fast, with a value of US$570 billion (£427 billion) in 2023, having grown 7.4% from the previous year. A flexible and vibrant industrial sector could offer ample opportunity for displaced workers.

    Other commercial players such as Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and Sierra Space are developing their own launch systems, crewed vehicles, and – in some cases – space stations. This competitive ecosystem accelerates innovation and reduces costs, which ultimately benefits the broader economy and the country.

    Having said all that, critics say an extended hiatus in crewed lunar exploration while commercial companies develop these spacecraft may hand China the advantage when it comes to establishing a dominant presence on the Moon.

    Past precedent

    The White House budget proposals are a request and not law. Congress has the final say in whether these programs are retired and when. There are precedents: in 2010 the Obama administration proposed the wholesale cancellation of the second Bush administration’s Constellation program to return to the Moon. However, Congress intervened to rescue the Orion spacecraft.

    While Constellation’s two rockets – the Ares I and Ares V – were technically cancelled, the SLS (which in many ways resembles the Ares V) was conceived as a compromise.

    If approved, the proposed budget cuts would usher Nasa more strongly towards an orchestrator or “systems integrator” role. This would see the agency convening and coordinating a complex web of commercial, academic, and international participants. Nasa would therefore shift towards focusing on oversight, seeding innovation, and ensuring mission coherence.

    The agency already has experience of public-private partnerships such as the programs that resupply the International Space Station with cargo and crew. The Artemis programme also aims to involve private companies as partners rather than simply contractors.

    The proposed cuts would indeed disrupt the agency, but they are also emblematic of a shift in national priorities toward support for the development of space capabilities by private companies. Many Nasa programmes carry high symbolic or scientific value – sometimes both.

    But in some cases, their costs are difficult to defend when commercial alternatives could be developed for either the full mission or parts of the mission at a fraction of the cost.

    As Nasa shifts toward an orchestrator role and the commercial space sector matures, these changes, though painful in the short term, may serve the interests of US leadership in space over the long term.

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

    ref. Nasa’s planned budget cuts could set back space science, but show how to future-proof the agency – https://theconversation.com/nasas-planned-budget-cuts-could-set-back-space-science-but-show-how-to-future-proof-the-agency-256103

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI China: China-CEEC cooperation sees steady development, important opportunities: commerce ministry

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    China-CEEC cooperation sees steady development, important opportunities: commerce ministry

    BEIJING, May 9 — Economic and trade relations between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) have developed healthily and stably, presenting great opportunities for future cooperation, China’s commerce ministry said on Friday.

    China’s trade with CEEC has grown at an average annual rate of 8.8 percent since 2012, while its import from the countries has grown at an average annual rate of 7.4 percent, both outpacing the growth rate of China’s foreign trade during the same period, Yan Dong, deputy head of the ministry told a press conference.

    In 2024, China’s trade with CEEC increased by 6.3 percent year on year, reaching a record high of 142.3 billion U.S. dollars, data from the ministry shows.

    Meanwhile, the two sides also saw more and more robust investment activities, Yan said, adding that China’s investment in the countries has exceeded 24 billion dollars so far.

    A new highlight of China-CEEC investment cooperation has emerged in recent years as Chinese enterprises from the industrial chains of electric vehicles and power batteries intensified their efforts in investigation and investment in the CEEC, he noted.

    In the future, there will be important opportunities for China-CEEC cooperation, with China’s efforts to comprehensively deepen high-level opening-up, as well as the establishment of various economic and trade platforms safeguarding bilateral cooperation, according to Yan.

    The complementarity between China and CEEC in the sectors of industry, trade of goods and services trade also provides new space for cooperation, Yan added.

    The 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair will be held in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang Province from May 22 to May 25 this year. The event is expected to be one of the main platforms for showcasing the characteristic products of CEEC, expanding imports from CEEC, and promoting mutual investment between China and the countries, according to the ministry.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Deer Lake — Two suspended drivers stopped by RCMP in Cormack and Deer Lake, vehicles seized

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Two suspended drivers, one located in Cormack and the other in Deer Lake, were stopped by RCMP on May 8, 2025. Both vehicles were seized and impounded.

    At approximately 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, while on patrol in Cormack, RCMP Traffic Services West observed a known suspended driver operating a vehicle on the Main Road. The driver attempted to evade police, turning off onto a dirt road. A traffic stop was conducted and the driver, a 35-year-old man, was ticketed for driving while suspended.

    Later in the afternoon, shortly before 3:00 p.m., Deer Lake RCMP stopped a vehicle on Nicholsville Road in Deer Lake. The driver, a 63-year-old man, held a suspended licence. He was ticketed for driving while suspended.

    Driving while suspended is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act. In addition to a minimum fine of $130.00 and the accumulation of two demerit points, the vehicle is seized and impounded for 30 days.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU illustrators discuss the art of the picture book

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Kate Winter in her studio

    A group of prize-winning illustrators from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will be sharing their expertise during a special event in Cambridge on Monday, 19 May.

    The event is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize, which is awarded annually to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s book illustration.

    The panel will feature three recent winners of this national award – Flavia Drago, Mariajo Ilustrajo and Kate Winter – all alumni of ARU’s world-leading Children’s Book Illustration MA course in Cambridge.

    Taking place at Waterstones bookshop on Sidney Street, the event is aimed at anyone interested in illustration and the art of visual storytelling. The talented trio will discuss the elements of a successful picture book and provide valuable tips for aspiring illustrators.

    Flavia Drago, originally from Mexico City, won the Klaus Flugge Prize in 2021 for her book Gustavo the Shy Ghost, which also topped The New York Times’ best sellers list. Flavia is currently studying a PhD at ARU, focusing on horror in children’s picture books.

    Originally from Madrid, Mariajo Ilustrajo is now based in the UK and won the award in 2023 for Flooded, which she started on the MA course at ARU. The story, which features animals teaming up to tackle the impacts of climate change, also earned her the Best New Talent prize at the World Illustration Awards.

    Kate Winter received the award last year for The Fossil Hunter, marking the first time a non-fiction book has won the £5,000 prize. After completing her MA in Children’s Book Illustration, Kate now lectures on ARU’s BA (Hons) Illustration course, balancing her teaching with her work as a professional illustrator and writer.

    “I feel very fortunate to be able to bring ideas and stories alive for children through the universal language of illustration. I am really looking forward to talking to Mariajo and Flavia about our different approaches to making picture books, how we develop ideas and what role the images play in our storytelling.”

    Kate Winter

    The event will be chaired by Dr Elys Dolan, a Senior Lecturer in Children’s Books Illustration at ARU. Elys, an award-winning author and illustrator of books such as Weasels and Steven Seagull Action Hero, also studied on the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at ARU’s Cambridge School of Art.

    The event on Monday, 19 May at Waterstones in Cambridge runs from 6pm-7.30pm and tickets are priced at £8. For further information and to purchase tickets, visit Celebrating the Klaus Flugge Prize with Kate Winter, Mariajo Ilustrajo and Flavia Drago | Events at Waterstones Bookshops

    Meanwhile Polly Noakes, who graduated from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at ARU in 2015, has just been announced as the winner of the 2025 Oscar’s Book Prize. Polly received the £10,000 award for her picture book Just The Two Of Us.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Another boost for British car industry as £1 billion secured for new Sunderland gigafactory

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Another boost for British car industry as £1 billion secured for new Sunderland gigafactory

    New state-of-the-art gigafactory ignites growth in industrial heartlands, supporting 1,000 jobs and powering up 100,000 electric vehicles a year

    • Chancellor visited Sunderland today following landmark economic deal with the US that saved thousands of auto jobs and slashed tariffs on car exports
    • Latest action in the Government’s Plan for Change to strengthen our industrial heartlands, make Britain a clean energy superpower and put more money in people’s pockets through good jobs

    Working people will benefit from 1,000 jobs at a new state-of-the-art gigafactory in Sunderland in a £1 billion auto deal to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and boost growth.

    This investment is another boost for the British car industry after yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the United States saved thousands of jobs by slashing tariffs on British exports.

    The new AESC gigafactory will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, powering up to 100,000 EVs each year – a six-fold increase on the country’s current capacity – making the UK globally competitive selling more British EVs at home and abroad and helping to achieve our net zero target.

    In the landmark transaction, the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance will provide financial guarantees which unlock £680 million in financing from banks including Standard Chartered, HSBC, SMBC Group, Societe Generale and BBVA. This will cover construction and operation of the new plant. The remaining £320 million has been secured through private financing in addition to new equity provided by AESC.

    In addition to this £1 billion investment, the Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is also investing £150 million in grant funding.

    This is the Government’s Plan for Change in action, making us more competitive on the world stage, helping Britain on its way to becoming a clean energy superpower through innovation in the automotive sector, and delivering economic growth that puts more money in people’s pockets through high skilled jobs.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:

    We are going further and faster to boost our industries’ resilience and encourage their growth as part of our Plan for Change, and this investment follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the US which will save thousands of jobs in the industry.

    This investment in Sunderland will not only further innovation and accelerate our move to more sustainable transport, but it will also deliver much-needed high quality, well-paid jobs to the North East, putting more money in people’s pockets.

    Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said:

    We’re backing our world-class car industry, and this investment is yet another vote of confidence in the North East’s thriving auto manufacturing hub which will secure a thousand well-paid jobs and boost prosperity across the region.

    Our modern Industrial Strategy will drive this growth even further, powering our high-potential sectors like advanced manufacturing so we can deliver jobs and investment in every corner of the UK and make our Plan for Change a reality.

    The Chancellor visited AESC in Sunderland today (Friday 9 May) where she met staff and local leaders to discuss how the investment will bring jobs and prosperity to the North East, and how the landmark economic deal secured with the US will secure the industry for years to come.

    The deal slashes car export tariffs from 27.5% to 10% and will apply to a quota of 100,000 UK cars – almost the total exported last year.

    This will save some car companies hundreds of millions of pounds, making high skilled jobs in industrial heartlands like Sunderland more secure.

    Shoichi Matsumoto, CEO of Japanese headquartered AESC, said:

    This investment marks a key milestone in AESC’s ongoing efforts to support the UK’s path towards decarbonisation and the expansion of its EV market.

    Through close collaboration with strategic partners, we strive to accelerate this transition while creating high-quality local jobs and building resilient, sustainable supply chain.

    We are honoured to contribute to the development of low-carbon economy with our advanced battery technologies.

    John Flint, National Wealth Fund CEO, said:

    AESC’s gigafactory will not only help to retool our car industry for net zero it will also support jobs, growth, and prosperity in the Northeast.

    This investment further demonstrates the significant role NWF is playing to crowd private capital into the industries and regions where its most needed, boosting government’s growth and clean energy missions.

    UKEF CEO, Tim Reid, said:

    This hugely exciting project is a prime example of how export financing is a powerful tool for unlocking growth opportunities for British exporters and strengthening local economies.

    We’re proud to join forces with partners to back this pioneering gigafactory that will help cement the UK’s prowess as an EV battery-making force for years to come.

    More information

    • The government continues to unlock private investment in UK automotive design, development, and manufacturing as the sector transitions to zero emission technology.
    • To date, the Automotive Transformation Fund and Advanced Propulsion Centre funding programmes have leveraged over £6 billion of investment from the private sector.
    • Last year’s Autumn Budget also confirmed over £2 billion for capital and research and development funding over five years for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and their supply chains – a vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, supporting investment and productivity growth.

    Additional quotes

    Ian Stuart, UK CEO for HSBC who were joint ECA Coordinator & Structuring Bank (alongside SCB) as well as Underwriting Bank and Mandated Lead Arranger, said:

    We’re extremely proud to have played a leading role in this complex and significant deal, including as underwriter, structuring bank and joint ECA co-ordinator.

    Once operational, the gigafactory will unlock a huge increase in the UK’s EV battery production, supporting the electrification of vehicles and the wider green transition. The inward investment involved in the project will also deliver highly-skilled jobs and economic growth to North East England.

    Hideo Kawafune, CEO, Head of EMEA, SMBC Banking International plc said:

    SMBC Group is delighted to participate in the successful financing of this landmark Gigafactory project. As a lending partner we’re proud to work alongside partners such as National Wealth Fund, UK Export Finance and Sinosure, as well as existing client AESC, in order to support projects which power the energy transition.” 

    Saif Malik, CEO, UK and Head, Client Coverage, UK, Standard Chartered said:

    We are proud to support this transformative UK project. The development of AESC’s new gigafactory will deliver significant economic benefits locally while supporting the development of zero-emission technology. This is more than an investment in infrastructure, it’s a commitment to innovation, UK economic growth and sustainability. Supporting the transition to net zero is deeply embedded in how we operate as a Bank, and this project reflects how we bring that to life by supporting clients on their own sustainability journeys.

    Lenaig Trenaux, Societe Generale’s Global Head of Batteries, Mining and Industries, said:

    We are proud to have worked with AESC to deliver the first gigafactory project financing in the UK, which has benefitted from strong support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance.

    Societe Generale’s deep understanding of the EV value chain, coupled with our experience working with AESC, were instrumental in delivering the project financing.

    This is another demonstration of SG’s commitment to the green mobility and another step towards the energy transition.

    Beatriz Roa, Global Sectoral Head of Industrials at BBVA, states:

    BBVA is proudly supporting AESC in this landmark project in the UK. This gigafactory will help foster the transition to electric vehicles while supporting the buildup of an entire ecosystem around battery manufacturing in Sunderland. These are key objectives in BBVA’s efforts to support the transition to a more sustainable economy and to the auto and energy industries in particular.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI: Onex Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated

    TORONTO, May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Onex Corporation (TSX: ONEX) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.

    “Onex continues to make progress and is benefitting from recent operational enhancements and a focus on areas where we have a proven right to compete,” said Bobby Le Blanc, CEO and President. “Our Private Equity and Credit teams have raised an aggregate of $2.5 billion in fee-generating capital since the start of the year, and our teams continue to advance their near- and long-term value creation plans. Our debt-free balance sheet includes $1.6 billion of liquidity, providing additional security and flexibility, including for ongoing share repurchases.”

    Financial Results
    ($ millions except per share amounts)
    Quarter Ended March 31
      2025
      2024  
    Net earnings $ 168   $ 10  
    Net earnings per diluted share $ 2.36   $ 0.13  
               
    Investing segment net earnings $ 123   $ 54  
    Asset management segment net earnings (loss)   25     (26 )
    Total segment net earnings(1) $ 148   $ 28  
    Total segment net earnings per fully diluted share(2) $ 2.05   $ 0.33  
    Asset management fee-related earnings (loss)(3) $ 11   $ (4 )
    Total fee-related earnings (loss)(4) $ 2   $ (12 )
    Distributable earnings(5) $ 38   $ 45  
                 

    Highlights

    • Onex had approximately $8.3 billion of investing capital, or $116.97 (C$168.28) per fully diluted share(6) at March 31, 2025. Onex’ investing capital per fully diluted share returned 3% for the quarter and 9% for the 12 months ended March 31, 2025 (3% and 16%, respectively, in Canadian dollars). Over the last five years, investing capital per fully diluted share has had a compound annual return of 17%.
    • Onex’ private equity investments had net gains of $96 million or a 2% return in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024: $30 million or a 1% return). Investments in Credit strategies generated net gains of $11 million or a 1% return in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2024(7) : $11 million or a 1% return).
    • Onex raised approximately $2.5 billion in fee-generating capital across its Private Equity and Credit platforms in the first quarter of 2025.
    • Onex Partners Opportunities Fund achieved its final close, raising aggregate commitments of approximately $1.2 billion for a two-year investing period, including affiliated vehicles, exceeding its initial target.
    • ONCAP V achieved its final close with $1.3 billion in total commitments. ONCAP V achieved several key objectives relative to its prior fund, including growing total commitments, increasing third-party capital by 54%, and adding many new investors to the platform. ONCAP V has completed five investments to date and the fund is approximately 50% deployed.
    • Onex Credit continues to build on its momentum and has priced ten CLO transactions through April, including five new issues. In total, the team raised or extended approximately $5.3 billion of fee-generating assets under management across its tactical allocation and structured credit strategies.
    • Onex repurchased 1,379,506 Subordinate Voting Shares in the first quarter at a cost of $98 million(8) (C$141 million(8)) or an average cost per share of $71.17 (C$102.09). In April, Onex renewed its normal course issuer bid permitting Onex to purchase for cancellation up to 10% of the public float in its Subordinate Voting Shares.
    • Onex had $36.9 billion of FGAUM at March 31, 2025, a 17%(7) increase over the last 12 months. Run-rate management fees(9) increased to $202 million as of March 31, 2025.
    • Unrealized carried interest from funds managed by Onex totaled $308 million as of March 31, 2025.
    • Onex’ cash and near-cash(10) balance was $1.6 billion or 19% of Onex’ investing capital as of March 31, 2025 (December 31, 2024 – $1.6 billion or 19%).

    Dividend Declaration

    The Board of Directors has declared a second quarter dividend of C$0.10 per Subordinate Voting Share payable on July 31, 2025, to shareholders of record on July 10, 2025.

    Webcast

    Onex management will host a webcast to review Onex’ first quarter 2025 results on Friday, May 9, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The webcast will be available in listen-only mode from the Presentations and Events section of Onex’ website, https://www.onex.com/events-and-presentations. A 90-day on-line replay will be available shortly following the completion of the event.

    Additional Information

    Enclosed are supplementary financial schedules related to Onex’ consolidated net earnings, investing capital, fee-related earnings (loss), distributable earnings, and cash and near-cash changes for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the results, are posted on Onex’ website, www.onex.com, and are also available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. A supplemental information package with additional information is available on Onex’ website, www.onex.com.

    About Onex

    Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders and clients across the globe. Formed in 1984, we have a long track record of creating value for our clients and shareholders. Our investors include a broad range of global clients, including public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, banks, insurance companies, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. In total, Onex has approximately $53.1 billion in assets under management, of which $8.3 billion is Onex’ own investing capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.

    Onex is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release may contain, without limitation, statements concerning possible or assumed future operations, performance or results preceded by, followed by or that include words such as “believes”, “expects”, “potential”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans” and words of similar connotation, which would constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve significant and diverse risks and uncertainties that may cause actual operations, performance or results to be materially different from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities law, Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. These cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward-looking statements in this press release.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures which have been calculated using methodologies that are not in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. The presentation of financial measures in this manner does not have a standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS Accounting Standards and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar financial measures presented by other companies. Onex management believes these financial measures provide useful information to investors. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to information contained in the consolidated financial statements have been presented where practical.

    For Further Information:

    Jill Homenuk
    Managing Director – Shareholder
    Relations and Communications
    Tel: +1 416.362.7711
    Zev Korman
    Vice President, Shareholder
    Relations and Communications
    Tel: +1 416.362.7711
       
     
    Supplementary Financial Schedules
      Quarter ended March 31
      2025(i)
    2024(i)
     
    (Unaudited)($ millions except per share amounts) Investing   Asset Management   Total   Total
     
    Segment income $ 123   $ 78   $ 201   $ 94  
    Segment expenses       (53 )   (53 )   (66 )
    Segment net earnings $ 123   $ 25   $ 148   $ 28  
                     
    Stock-based compensation recovery (expense)   26     (10 )
    Amortization of property, equipment and intangible assets, excluding right-of-use assets   (3 )   (5 )
    Restructuring recovery (expenses), net   (1 )   3  
    Unrealized performance fee and carried interest included in segment net earnings – Credit       (7 )
    Other   (2 )   1  
    Net earnings           $ 168   $ 10  
                     
    Segment net earnings per fully diluted share $ 1.70   $ 0.35   $ 2.05   $ 0.33  
    Net earnings per share                
    Basic           $ 2.36   $ 0.13  
    Diluted           $ 2.36   $ 0.13  
    (i) Refer to pages 17 and 18 of Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for further details concerning the composition of segmented results.
     
    Investing Capital(i)
         
    (Unaudited)($ millions except per share amounts) March 31, 2025
      December 31, 2024
     
    Private Equity            
    Onex Partners Funds $ 4,735   $ 4,659  
    ONCAP Funds   732     795  
    Carried Interest   286     264  
        5,753     5,718  
    Private Credit            
    Investments   934     924  
    Carried Interest   22     22  
        956     946  
    Cash and Near-Cash   1,564     1,578  
    Other Net Assets   26     31  
    Investing Capital $ 8,299   $ 8,273  
    Investing Capital per fully diluted share (U.S. dollars)(ii) $ 116.97   $ 113.70  
    Investing Capital per fully diluted share (Canadian dollars)(ii) $ 168.28   $ 163.54  
    (i) Refer to the glossary in Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for further details concerning the composition of investing capital.
    (ii) Fully diluted shares for investing capital per share were 71.0 million at March 31, 2025.
     
    Fee-Related Earnings (Loss) and Distributable Earnings
             
    (Unaudited)($ millions) Quarter Ended
    March 31, 2025
      Quarter Ended
    March 31, 2024
     
    Private Equity            
    Management and advisory fees $ 29   $ 22  
    Total fee-related revenues from Private Equity $ 29   $ 22  
    Compensation expense   (16 )   (22 )
    Support and other net expenses   (8 )   (10 )
    Net contribution $ 5   $ (10 )
             
    Structured Credit        
    Management and advisory fees $ 23   $ 17  
    Total fee-related revenues from Structured Credit $ 23   $ 17  
    Compensation expense   (7 )   (6 )
    Support and other net expenses   (4 )   (3 )
    Net contribution $ 12   $ 8  
             
    Other Credit          
    Management and advisory fees $ 3   $ 11  
    Performance fees       4  
    Total fee-related revenues from Other Credit $ 3   $ 15  
    Compensation expense   (3 )   (8 )
    Support and other net expenses   (6 )   (9 )
    Net contribution $ (6 ) $ (2 )
             
    Asset management fee-related earnings (loss) $ 11   $ (4 )
             
    Public Company and Onex Capital Investing        
    Compensation expense $ (5 ) $ (4 )
    Other net expenses   (4 )   (4 )
    Total expenses $ (9 ) $ (8 )
             
    Total fee-related earnings (loss) $ 2   $ (12 )
             
    Realized carried interest(i) $ 5   $ 3  
    Realized gain on corporate investments and interest income   31     54  
    Distributable earnings $ 38   $ 45  
    (i) Includes carried interest Onex is entitled to from the Falcon Funds.
     

    Fee-related earnings (loss) and distributable earnings are non-GAAP financial measures. The tables below provide reconciliations of Onex’ net earnings to fee-related earnings (loss) and distributable earnings during the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.

    (Unaudited)($ millions) Quarter Ended
    March 31, 2025
      Quarter Ended
    March 31, 2024

     
    Net earnings $ 168   $ 10  
    Stock-based compensation expense (recovery)   (26 )   10  
    Amortization of property, equipment and intangible assets, excluding right-of-use assets   3     5  
    Restructuring expenses (recovery), net   1     (3 )
    Unrealized performance fees and carried interest included in segment net earnings – Credit       7  
    Other   2     (1 )
    Total segment net earnings   148     28  
    Investing segment net earnings   (123 )   (54 )
    Net loss (gain) from carried interest(i)   (23 )   14  
    Total fee-related earnings (loss) $ 2   $ (12 )
    Realized carried interest(i)   5     3  
    Realized gain on corporate investments and interest income   31     54  
    Total distributable earnings $ 38   $ 45  
    (i) Includes carried interest Onex is entitled to from the Falcon Funds.
     

    Cash and Near-Cash

    The table below provides a breakdown of cash and near-cash at Onex as at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.

    (Unaudited)($ millions) March 31, 2025
      December 31, 2024
     
    Cash and cash equivalents – Investing segment(i) $ 529   $ 840  
    Management fees and recoverable fund expenses receivable(ii)   491     464  
    Cash and cash equivalents within Investment Holding Companies(iii)   226     156  
    Treasury investments   169     83  
    Subscription financing and rebalancing receivable from ONCAP V(iv)   149     35  
    Cash and near-cash $ 1,564   $ 1,578  
    (i) Excludes cash and cash equivalents allocated to the asset management segment related to accrued incentive compensation and outstanding unhedged DSUs, PSUs and RSUs ($40 million (December 31, 2024 – $89 million)).
    (ii) Includes management fees and recoverable fund expenses receivable from certain funds which Onex has elected to defer cash receipt from.
    (iii) Cash and cash equivalents are reduced by Onex’ share of uncalled expenses payable by the Investment Holding Companies of $36 million (December 31, 2024 – $36 million) and $2 million payable by the Investment Holding Companies for Onex’ management incentive programs related to a private equity realization (December 31, 2024 – $2 million).
    (iv) Includes $65 million of subscription financing receivable, including interest receivable, attributable to third-party investors in ONCAP V and a Credit Fund (December 31, 2024 – $35 million attributable to third-party investors in Onex Partners V and ONCAP V), and an $84 million receivable from ONCAP V related to the rebalancing of the fund (December 31, 2024 – nil).
     

    The table below provides a reconciliation of the change in cash and near-cash from December 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

    (Unaudited)($ millions)    
    Cash and near-cash at December 31, 2024 $ 1,578  
    Private equity realizations and distributions   125  
    Private equity investments   (38 )
    Net private credit strategies investment activity   1  
    Repurchase of share capital of Onex Corporation   (105 )
    Cash dividends paid   (5 )
    Net other, including cash flows from asset management activities, operating costs and changes in working capital   8  
    Cash and near-cash at March 31, 2025 $ 1,564  
           

    _________________________________________

    (1) Refer to pages 17 and 18 of Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for further details concerning the composition of segment net earnings. A reconciliation of total segment net earnings to net earnings is provided in the supplementary financial schedules in this press release.
    (2) Refer to the glossary in Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for details concerning the composition of fully diluted shares.
    (3) Asset management fee-related earnings (loss) excludes Onex’ public company expenses and other expenses associated with managing Onex’ investing capital and is a component of total fee-related earnings (loss).
    (4) Total fee-related earnings (loss) is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed under International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS Accounting Standards”). Therefore, it may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other companies. The most directly comparable financial measure under IFRS Accounting Standards to fee-related earnings (loss) is Onex’ net earnings. Refer to the 2025 Year-to-date Results & Activity section of Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A and the supplementary financial schedules in this press release for further details concerning fee-related earnings (loss).
    (5) Distributable earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS Accounting Standards. Therefore, it may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other companies. The most directly comparable financial measure under IFRS Accounting Standards to distributable earnings is Onex’ net earnings. Refer to the 2025 Year-to-date Results & Activity section of Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A and the supplementary financial schedules in this press release for further details concerning distributable earnings.
    (6) Refer to the glossary in Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for details concerning the composition of investing capital per fully diluted share. The percentage changes in investing capital per share exclude the impact of capital deployed in Onex’ asset management segment, where applicable, and dividends paid by Onex.
    (7) Adjusted to exclude the impact from the transfer of Onex Falcon.
    (8) Additionally, Onex incurred expenses of $2 million (C$3 million) related to a share repurchase tax.
    (9) Refer to the glossary in Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A for details concerning the composition of run-rate management fees.
    (10) Cash and near-cash is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated using methodologies that are not in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. The presentation of this measure does not have a standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS Accounting Standards and therefore might not be comparable to similar financial measures presented by other companies. The most directly comparable financial measure under IFRS Accounting Standards to cash and near-cash is Onex’ consolidated cash and cash equivalents balance, which was $569 million at March 31, 2025 (December 31, 2024 – $929 million). Refer to the Cash and Near-Cash section of Onex’ Q1 2025 Interim MD&A and the supplementary financial schedules in this press release for further details concerning Onex’ cash and near-cash.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Top Tribal Loans with Guaranteed Approval for Bad Credit – IOnline Payday Loans

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SHERIDAN, Wyo., May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — If your credit score isn’t perfect, the search for financial assistance can seem to be very frustrating— but it doesn’t have to be. Tribal loans direct lenders guaranteed approval have proven to be a convenient, easy, and reliable alternative to traditional loans for people with really bad credit, offering quick approval and effortless procedures. In this guide, we’ll cover the best tribal loans for bad credit and introduce you to iOnline Payday Loans, one of its top providers that provides a quick, secure, and entirely online process of tribal loans direct lender guaranteed approval no teletrack.

    >> Click Here to Apply for No Credit Check Loans >>

    According to their website, iOnline Payday Loans is a reliable source that can connect you with tribal lenders who can get you approved for a loan within 24 hours or even less if you’ve been turned down in the past. Moreover, their service is made to help your credit struggles, as opposed to taking advantage of them, you can access the funds you need without fearing you won’t be approved. Keep reading as we discuss the pros, cons, and simple steps to apply, which can help you determine if this is the right choice for your financial situation.

    >> Click Here to Apply for No Credit Check Loans >>

    What Are Tribal Loans?

    Tribal loans no credit check are a form of short-term loan that are typically issued by lenders that are based on tribal land and are operated by the Native American community. Due to the principle of tribal sovereignty, these lenders aren’t subject to the same state-backed regulation that rules the world of traditional financial organisations. This makes it possible for them to provide loans to people with poor credit or no credit, which is attractive to borrowers who have faced difficulties obtaining funds from banks and other lenders.

    >> Click Here to Apply for No Credit Check Loans >>

    Tribal installment loans direct lenders generally have fast approval times and less strict credit standards. Their accessibility, however, can come at a higher interest rate compared to conventional loans. The money from these loans can be used for a variety of things, including unexpected medical bills or car repairs. Keep in mind that tribal payday loans, by definition, will vary by lender since each tribe has their own set of rules and regulations. So, when taking out a guaranteed tribal loan for bad credit, be sure to know all the terms and costs to avoid being scammed.

    Types of Tribal Loans For Bad Credit

    • Tribal loans direct lender guaranteed approval
      These loans are offered by tribal lenders with high approval chances, even for borrowers with poor credit histories.
    • Tribal loans no credit check
      Get quick access to funds without a traditional credit check, ideal for those with damaged or limited credit.
    • Tribal payday loans
      Short-term loans from tribal lenders that offer fast cash, typically due by your next paycheck.
    • Easiest tribal loans to get
      These are simple, fast-approval loans from tribal lenders that require minimal documentation.
    • Tribal loans direct lender guaranteed approval no teletrack
      Loans with no Teletrack checks, providing easy approval directly from tribal lenders for those with poor credit.
    • Tribal installment loans for bad credit direct lenders
      Flexible repayment tribal loans provided in installments, designed specifically for borrowers with bad credit.
    • Guaranteed tribal loans bad credit
      These loans promise high approval odds for bad credit borrowers, thanks to tribal lender protections and regulations.
    • Tribal loans no credit check direct lender
      Direct tribal lenders offer loans without running a credit check, making them accessible for most applicants.
    • Easy tribal loans for bad credit
      These loans offer a quick and hassle-free borrowing experience for people struggling with bad credit.

    How Tribal Loans Work: iOnline Payday Loans

    At iOnline Payday Loans, we want these tribal loans for bad credit to be as accessible as possible for the fastest financial relief. Allow us to simplify the process, so you can secure financing quickly. Here’s how it works:

    1. Loans through Tribal Lenders Available: iOnline Payday Loans links you with a direct lender based out of sovereign tribal lands, which means that your line of credit will be void by the time you successfully repay your loan.
    2. Ease of the Online Application System: The applicant completes a brief online form with minimal personal, employment and income information; there is no paperwork and no in-person visit is required.
    3. No Hard Credit Checks: Tribal lenders typically don’t do a hard credit pull, so this is good news if you have bad credit or no credit.
    4. Fast Approval and Funding: If approved, money is deposited directly into the borrower’s bank account — usually by the next business day.
    5. Flexible Loan Types Offered: With options ranging from payday and personal loans to instalment and auto loans, borrowers can easily find the loan that fits them best and get that loan in the same business day.
    6. Repayment in Instalments: iOnline tribal loans are repaid over time in instalments, rather than paying off the loan in one big single payment.
    7. Regulated by Tribal Laws: Because the loans are subject to tribal law, loan terms may provide for benefits not otherwise available under state-regulated loans.

    Why do iOnline Payday Loans offer the Best Tribal Loans for Bad Credit?

    iOnline Payday Loans has now emerged as a credit favourite for those with a poor score by providing quick, friendly and amazing tribal lending options. Here’s why they stand out:

    1. Easy Application: The application procedure at iOnline Payday Loans is also 100% online and designed to be quick, simple, and to save time. Borrowers can apply in minutes without needing a lot of documentation. This easy system is very helpful for those people who desperately need fast cash and do not want to go through the long process.

    2. No Credit Check Requirement: Unlike conventional loan providers, the advances from iOnline Payday Loans are not determined by credit scores. It enables people with bad credit or no credit to get a loan, so even though it is not always applicable, it is sometimes the best option for people whose applications have been denied elsewhere because of their credit.

    3. Flexible Loan Options: iOnline is a direct lender that has a range of loan options (payday, instalment, personal, and auto loans) to fit everyone’s financial needs. A variety of choices in repayments and loan amounts gives borrowers the ability to select a loan structure they can afford and manage.

    4. Fast Fund Disbursement: After a loan is approved, iOnline Payday Loans guarantee immediate delivery of funds, usually on the same or following business day. This speed is perfect for prospective borrowers who need access to cash right away due to an emergency expense like medical fees or urgent home repair.

    5. Wide Variety of Borrowers are Eligible: iOnline does consider applications from people with a range of financial circumstances, including people on low incomes, those who are self-employed and applicants with previous credit issues. Their accessible lending requirements allow more people to qualify, as not only do they cater to more than just a traditional financial borrower with a 40-hour week job, but they have multiple guidelines for different borrowers.

    6. Clear and simple terms: The details of all loan costs and interest rates are displayed on the iOnline platform so that borrowers can make well-informed decisions. This high level of transparency means there are no hidden costs or shady clauses, a prerequisite for trust between the parties and preventing future repayment disputes.

    7. Secure and Confidential: iOnline Payday Loans is extremely concerned about your security. The site is built with strong encryption and privacy features to keep your personal and financial data secure. Borrowers can rest assured that their information is dealt with safely as they go through the application, approval and repayment process.

    How to Apply for Tribal Payday Loans at iOnline Payday Loans?

    It is quick and easy to apply for a tribal payday loan through iOnline Payday Loans, and the process was created to make it easy for those with bad credit to get approved. It’s all done online and just takes a couple of basic steps:

    1. Visit the Official Website: Go to https://ionlinepaydayloans.com/. This is the site for processing all tribal loans. Please make sure you are on the right site to apply for a safe and secure application.

    2. Click on “Apply Now”: Click the big “Apply Now” button on the homepage. This will direct you to their official application page, from which you can start the process of applying for a tribal loan.

    3. Fill Out the Online Form: Fill out the online loan application form by providing us with all the personal details. They’ll likely ask for:

    • Name and contact 
    • Full Address
    • Current employment status
    • Monthly income estimate
    • Bank account info

    4. Choose Loan Amount: Choose the amount of loan you would like to apply for. iOnline will get you connected to a network of tribal loan providers, so ensure you are borrowing an amount you are comfortable paying back.

    5. Submit the Form for Review: After you fill out the form correctly, click to send. The service will then search through its network of tribal lenders to find the one that best fits your needs.

    6. Receive Loan Offer and Review Terms: If you are matched with a lender, you’ll be presented with a loan offer that includes APR, loan amount, repayment period, fees and any other terms that are specific to the loan. Please read these terms and conditions carefully before you accept them.

    7. E-sign and Accept the Loan: If you are happy with the lender’s terms, you can sign the agreement digitally to accept the loan. Documents don’t have to be sent by fax or mail — it’s all processed online.

    8. Get Money in your Bank Account: Upon approval, your money will be transferred to your bank account by the next business day. It may take your bank a little time to process the disbursement.

    Pros & Cons of Best Tribal Loans: iOnline Payday Loans

    Pros:

    • Fast Funds Access: iOnline Payday Loans provides fast approvals and faster processing times of your loan, so that you can receive your money on the same or next business day.
    • Minimal Documentation: Their application process has less paperwork than normal loans, making it more user-friendly and resulting in faster approval and payout of money.
    • Flexibility & Accessibility: iOnline Payday Loans offers loan amounts and repayment schedules that can be customised to fit borrowers’ specific needs.
    • Consideration of Bad Credit: You can be accepted for a loan if you have a poor credit history in many instances.
    • Quick & Fast: This type of loan is called an unsecured loan, meaning you do not have equity, and they are not protected by a financial institution that grants you the loan, and this type of loan can be as little as $1000 or as much as $25,000.
    • Online Convenience: The whole loan application process is purely online, providing ease and convenience to borrowers.

    Cons:

    • High-Interest Rates & Costs: Payday loans can also be costly, as they generally come with extremely high interest rates and fees.
    • Short Repayment Period: Borrowers who are unable to repay a payday loan when they get paid may require assistance in repaying the loan by the time they receive their next paycheck.
    • Potential Debt Cycle: Some borrowers end up in a “debt trap”, meaning that they continually take out new cash advance loans to cover the costs of previous ones (due to the high fees and the extremely short terms of repayment).
    • Limited Consumer Protections: Because of tribal sovereignty, some tribal loans could have fewer consumer protections than classic loans.

    Other Types of Loans for Bad Credit at iOnline Payday Loans

    iOnline Payday Loans specialises in providing a variety of bad credit loans. Every type of credit loan is made to help you in a financial emergency with minimum qualifications. The following is the type of loan:

    1. Best Payday Loans for Bad Credit: The best payday loan for bad credit is a short-term loan designed to help you handle your current financial commitments. Unlike long-term loans there are fast payout, with a short-term period and an applicant is not stuffed with collateral. They’re dependent on the borrower’s work, paid back if they reach their next wage. Payday loans are available to needy industrious and those with blemishes on their credit.

    2. Personal Loans: Top Personal loans no credit check provide a huge sum of cash that can be used for any purpose, like debt consolidation, medical expenses, or large purchases. These loans often have longer terms for repayment and may have either fixed or variable interest rates. There is a personal loan for borrowers who need a moderate amount of loan with an easy repayment plan.

    3. Installment Loans: best Installment loans no credit check lend you a certain amount of money, to be repaid in a set series of scheduled payments. These loans are great for people who want a simple repayment plan with a set monthly payment and repayment timeline. You can use installment loans however you need them — just like the loans for bad credit.

    4. Auto Loans: Auto loans are meant for anyone wishing to buy a car. These are loans that have competitive interest rates and a great repayment plan. Borrowers can buy a new or used car with the loan, and the vehicle is used as collateral for the purchase. Also, Car financing for all types of credit.

    Eligibility Criteria & Details For Tribal Loans At iOnline Payday Loans

    To be approved in iOnline Payday Loans application process you need to be eligible and to give right information using the online form. The process is meant to be easy, quick, and open to people with bad credit.

    Eligibility Criteria:

    1. Age Criteria: You should have 18 years of age.
    2. Residence: Must have a legal U.S. residence and a verifiable residential address.
    3. Proof of income: You have to be able to demonstrate verifiable income (employment, benefits or self-employment).
    4. Active Bank Account: You must have an account under your name to get the loan amount disbursed.
    5. Real Contact Information: Include a phone number and email to be able to communicate.

    Details Needed

    1. Full legal name.
    2. Date of birth.
    3. Social Security Number (SSN).
    4. Housing (whether you rent or own, ZIP code).
    5. Source of income.
    6. Monthly gross income.
    7. Desired loan amount.

    Conclusion

    If you have bad credit and are in need of a quick and dependable financial assistance, iOnline Payday Loans is a reliable service to consider. Their connection with tribal lenders afford them the ability to accept your loan application fast, fund fast, and control the whole loan process online. For ease and inclusivity, iOnline puts you in touch with the right loan – without all the credit checks or traditional red tape. Whether it is a short-term payday loan, installment loan, or convenient Title loan, they guarantee a hassle free experience that fits your financial situation.

    Frequently Asked Questions—Best Tribal Loans For Bad Credit

    What are tribal payday loans?

    Tribal payday loans are loans offered by lenders that are based on Native American tribal land and that operate under tribal law. Unlike standard loans, they may even have more flexible credit requirements and terms that are ideal for borrowers who have little or no credit.

    Can I qualify for a tribal loan if I have a bad credit at iOnline Payday Loans?

    Yes, iOnline Payday Loans is a lender connecting service, and most of the lenders in its network consider applications from individuals who have bad credit. The decision is more about income and ability to repay than it is about credit score.

    How much can I borrow with a tribal loan?

    The amount of the loan differs by lender and can be any amount from $100 to $5,000. The specific offer will vary based on your income and other eligibility factors.

    Are tribal loans legal and regulated?

    Yes, tribal loans are legal. They are subject to the sovereignty-based tribal law of the Native American tribe that issues them, not state lending laws. But whether or not it is actually legal can depend on rules specific to each state.

    Do I have to fax documents to apply?

    No faxing is needed. iOnline Payday Loans IOnline Payday Loans has a completely online application that can provide all the information that you need to the lender.

    Media Contact:
    Company Name: IOnline Payday Loans
    Registered Office Address: 1095 Sugar View Dr Ste 500 Sheridan, WY 82801
    Company Website: https://ionlinepaydayloans.com/
    Email: mria@ionlinepaydayloans.com
    Phone: 307-777-7311
    Contact person name: Mria

    Disclaimer: This announcement contains general information about IOnline payday loan services and should not be considered financial advice. Ionline Payday Loans does not guarantee loan approval, and loan terms may vary by applicant and lender requirements. Loans are available to U.S. residents only.

    Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c02c7d42-6784-4504-889d-e2bf3bff1469

    https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/05822a34-ec00-4f97-9ae1-9f589c4117f7

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: £25 billion powered Wales Pension Partnership pool to deliver growth and jobs for Wales

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    £25 billion powered Wales Pension Partnership pool to deliver growth and jobs for Wales

    People from Cardiff to Carmarthen will see a boost to their local communities and job opportunities, thanks to the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) launching a new investment company that pools £25 billion of assets.

    • Biggest ever Welsh pension fund to be established with £25 billion pooled into a new investment company that can deliver growth as part of our Plan for Change
    • The Wales Pension Partnership is being transformed – by pooling the pension funds of 22 Local Authorities it will unleash the full potential of the Local Government Pension Scheme to act as an engine for growth in Wales
    • Success of the Partnership is reflected in schemes like Uskmouth Power Station in Newport – supporting 300 jobs with benefits to the local community and economy

    The WPP is being transformed so that the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pool, which will consolidate the assets of 22 Local Authorities’ schemes representing 412,000 members, will be the biggest pension fund in Welsh history, capable of delivering huge investments felt first-hand by businesses and communities in Wales. 

    By setting up this investment company in Wales, the investment decisions the fund makes can reflect the unique cultural and economic climate of Wales, collaborating with local businesses to invest in communities and delivering growth – making sure the LGPS is delivering for those whose hard-earned money it guards, and their communities.

    To see an example of this, Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell today visited Uskmouth Power Station which has benefited from £6.5 million of investment from the WPP for its redevelopment from a coal fired power station into a sustainable energy site –supporting 300 new full-time jobs during construction driving economic growth and prosperity for the community.

    UK Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell MP said: 

    Pensions are a massive part of the economy – and we’re seeing this brought to life here in Wales, where a successful Local Government Pension Scheme is investing in the right places to drive opportunity and growth for the local community.

    I’m delighted to visit Uskmouth Power Station in Newport, which has had a £6 million boost from the Wales Pension Partnership, creating 300 jobs which mean opportunity and prosperity at a local level.

    Making sure everyone can benefit from the potential of larger pension pools ties into the ambitions of our Plan for Change to boost investment in communities across the country, bringing long-term economic benefits.

    The Wales Pension Partnership said:

    The Wales Pension Partnership investment in Uskmouth Battery Energy Storage Systems demonstrates our ambitions to attract investment into crucial Welsh infrastructure and secure national energy supplies.

    This investment shows our commitment to working with Quinbrook and our strategic partner GCM Grosvenor to: deliver strong investment returns for our pensioners, ensure long-term energy security, reduce carbon emissions, provide jobs and regeneration opportunities across Wales. This is one of many projects that we have in our investment pipeline and will be unveiling over the next 12 months.

    Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans MS said:

    We have long recognised the benefits of a strong single Welsh Local Government Pension Scheme pool.  We want to see the Wales Pensions Partnership continue to go from strength to strength delivering returns for members and able to invest in economic growth for Wales and the UK.

    UK Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon OBE MP said:

    We are determined to get the best value out of taxpayers’ money, which is why we are reforming the Local Government Pensions Scheme pools in Wales and England to be more efficient, fit-for-purpose and deliver for public servants and their communities.

    The scheme plays a vital role in boosting investment and growth across Wales and ultimately putting more money in working people’s pockets as part of our Plan for Change.

    The site, once a coal fired power station, is being repurposed to provide up to 460 megawatt hours of electricity storage capacity for the National Grid and bring a retired rail line back into service to deliver materials, saving nearly 8,400 heavy good vehicles from the local road network. 

    The investment embraces the spirit of change the government has asked to see from LGPS pools with the wider pooling process for the UK’s world-class LGPS set to conclude in March 2026. Reforms will see the LGPS punching its weight globally, while bringing benefits to local communities through dedicated investment strategies and improving transparency for its members. 

    These reforms will ensure the Local Government Pension Scheme is fit for the future, and boost investment to drive the economic growth and prosperity promised by the Plan for Change.

    Additional Information

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Is Kenya’s president safe in a crowd? Security expert scans VIP protection checklist

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Principal Policy Analyst, Governance Department, The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)

    Protecting any president requires multiple layers of intelligence, physical security and rapid response security protocols. Exact operational details are classified, but there are global best practices in VIP protection.

    The issue of presidential protection in Kenya has become particularly relevant following an incident in early May 2025 when someone in a crowd threw a shoe at President William Ruto during a public event, hitting his hand.

    I have studied policing and security policies in Kenya for over 15 years, interacting closely with the country’s security protocols. In my view this incident exposed several critical security lapses around the elite officers tasked with protecting the president.

    The security of the president is a critical issue in Kenya. The country is exposed to terror groups like the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab and other criminal networks in the region.

    In 2021, a businessman embedded himself into the presidential motorcade and drove into then president Uhuru Kenyatta’s official residence. In 2017, an unidentified man who was said to have illegally accessed the highly protected state house grounds was shot dead by presidential guards.

    There are multiple layers to Kenya’s protection protocols. They include National Intelligence Service officers, the Kenya Defence Force, Presidential Escort Police officers drawn from the highly trained General Service Unit, bomb disposal experts and regular police officers. Their deployment depends on the nature of the presidential engagement.

    While the shoe incident may be passed off as simply embarrassing, it should serve as a wake-up call to tighten security protocols around the president without necessarily compromising his public engagement with citizens.

    What’s in place

    Prior to any presidential visit across the country, security teams conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the destination. This includes coordinating with local policing agencies, clearing airspace, mapping secure transport routes and identifying nearby medical facilities in case of emergencies.

    Presidential motorcade routes are pre-planned and a dry run is made. This often includes mapping alternative routes to avoid predictability should there be assailants along a presidential route. It is common to see some roads temporarily closed and security officers conducting sweeps for any threats or explosives. In areas deemed high risk, counter security sniper teams are covertly deployed in strategic areas.

    Cases of attacks on presidential motorcades are rare in Kenya. However, in 2002 during presidential campaigns, angry opposition supporters stoned then president Daniel Moi’s motorcade. In November 2021, an angry mob hurled rocks at then deputy president Ruto’s motorcade.

    The National Intelligence Service and Presidential Escort Unit covertly scout locations in advance, assessing potential security vulnerabilities. Crowd sizes, and entry and exit points for the head of state are mapped out in advance.

    In cases where meetings are held in town halls or huge tents, attendees are screened using metal detectors and/or physical searches. Uniformed and plainclothes security officers embed themselves in the crowd to monitor any threats.

    The president and any dignitaries accompanying him have at least three layers of security.

    The inner ring consists of close protection officers who are always within an arm’s length of the president to physically thwart any threats. The middle ring has armed security guards who watch for, among others, sudden movements and abnormal behaviour within the crowd. The outer ring consists of regular police and paramilitary units from the General Service Unit who secure the outside perimeter.

    The presidential motorcade is a coordinated convoy of heavily armoured vehicles. It includes lead and chase cars, communication units and emergency response teams. Traffic is managed by local traffic police officers to ensure unobstructed movement. Routes are kept confidential until necessary.

    The president’s security may opt to use a decoy vehicle if there is a security threat, to confuse and derail potential risk sources. In all these cases, there is a contingent of specialised General Service Unit officers, called the Recce unit, that always accompanies the president.

    Kenya’s presidential security precautions follow standard VIP security protection like those for heads of state across the world. However, in some neighbouring countries, for instance, presidents move in heavily armed military convoys. This has not been seen in Kenya.

    If a potential threat is detected, the president is immediately shielded and whisked away to a secure vehicle or evacuated by air in high-risk events. In such cases, the Kenya Defence Forces secures the president.

    Despite stringent security measures, incidents can occur. For instance, in March 2025, a British tourist was fatally hit by a vehicle in Ruto’s motorcade. This prompted investigations and reviews on motorcade safety protocols.

    Such events highlight the challenges of balancing presidential security with public safety, especially in densely populated urban areas.

    Security failures

    The shoe-throwing incident targeting Ruto highlighted five major failures in presidential protection protocols.

    First, crowd screening and access control failures. The alleged assailant was very close to the president, suggesting an inadequate distance between the crowds and the president. The inner ring of security also failed to spot the perpetrator raising a shoe in the air to use as a projectile. This indicates weak front-row eye sweeps and scans by the president’s security.

    Second, there was an apparent delay in security response. The elite officers around the president should have subdued the alleged attacker within seconds. It could mean most had their eyes on the president or cameras, as opposed to scanning the crowds for any sudden movements.

    Third, security allowed the president to stand too close to a crowd that hadn’t been screened. Best practices require a no-go zone of three to five metres for individuals who have not been scanned or screened.

    Fourth, there was an apparent gap in intelligence and threat assessment. Aggressive or agitated people next to the president should draw the attention of security officers. Plainclothes security officers are usually deployed to monitor crowd behaviour. It isn’t enough to rely on uniformed officers.

    Undercover agents are critical for flagging pre-attack signals, such as nervousness or repeated adjustments of positions.

    Fifth, there was no clear evacuation plan for the president. After the incident, the president continued speaking. In high-risk scenarios, protocols often demand instant relocation of the president to a secure vehicle or helicopter, where the military takes over and airlifts him to safety.

    What should change

    Kenya’s presidential security detail may be forced to:

    • increase standoff distance between the president and crowds

    • deploy more plainclothes officers to blend in and monitor crowds around the president

    • mandate stricter screening of those in close proximity to the president

    • conduct more frequent security risks drills for rapid neutralisation of potential threats.

    The exact details of presidential security in Kenya are confidential. However, the overarching structure aims to provide comprehensive protection to the president while maintaining public safety and order during official engagements. No security protocol is 100% foolproof. But a balance needs to be struck between overly aggressive crowd control and accessibility.

    – Is Kenya’s president safe in a crowd? Security expert scans VIP protection checklist
    – https://theconversation.com/is-kenyas-president-safe-in-a-crowd-security-expert-scans-vip-protection-checklist-256268

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI Russia: The first group of cross-border autotourism participants in 2025 departed from the Chinese city of Hunchun to Russia

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    CHANGCHUN, May 9 (Xinhua) — The first group of participants in a cross-border car tour in 2025 set off from the Chinese border city of Hunchun, northeast China’s Jilin Province, to Russia on Thursday.

    The event involved 16 people from all over China who drove through the Hunchun checkpoint in cars, starting a 6-day cross-border journey.

    The event will last from May 8 to May 13. During this period, the motorcade will successively arrive in Kraskino, Andreyevka, Slavyanka, Nakhodka and Vladivostok.

    “Since its launch, the China-Russia cross-border car tour has been popular among car travel enthusiasts in China. The participants of the current group come from Beijing, Liaoning, Anhui and other parts of the country,” said Mao Ruijin, the group’s leader.

    It is expected that 10 such groups will be sent out from Hunchun City this year as part of the China-Russia cross-border car tours. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: A military parade was held in Vladivostok in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Vladivostok, May 9 (Xinhua) — A military parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War was held in the center of Vladivostok, the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD), on Friday. About 1,900 people and over 50 units of modern and vintage equipment took part in the parade.

    Before the parade began, the Russian national flag and the Victory Banner were carried out to the central street of the city to the music of “Sacred War”. After that, the Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako congratulated those gathered on the holiday and thanked the veterans for their feat.

    The military parade started at 10:00. Commander of the Pacific Fleet Admiral Viktor Liina rode around the parade formation and congratulated the parade participants on the 80th anniversary of the Victory. Those gathered observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. Artillery guns fired during the performance of the Russian National Anthem.

    The parade procession was opened by a company of Nakhimov drummers. The parade included a group of standard-bearers with the standards of the fronts, parade units in the uniform of infantrymen, pilots and sailors of the wartime, a combined company of Pacific Fleet officers, submariners and sailors of the Primorsky flotilla of the Pacific Fleet’s mixed forces, a combined battalion of the Pacific Fleet’s naval aviation, as well as cadets, border guards, employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service, young army members and members of military-patriotic clubs.

    After the parade companies passed along the central street of the city, a parade of military equipment began, in which more than 50 vehicles took part, including the legendary T-34 tanks, the Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery unit of the Great Patriotic War ISU-152, the modern T-80BV tank, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems, the Tiger-M special-purpose armored car, the Uran-14 multifunctional robotic complex of engineering troops on a tracked chassis, the Murmansk electronic warfare complex, and other vehicles.

    The military parade also took place in Khabarovsk, Blagoveshchensk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Chita, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Ussuriysk and other cities of the Far East. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI: Form 8.3 – [GLOBALDATA PLC – 08 05 2025] – (CGWL)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FORM 8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1.        KEY INFORMATION

    (a)   Full name of discloser: CANACCORD GENUITY WEALTH LIMITED (for Discretionary clients)
    (b)   Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
            The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.
    N/A
    (c)   Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
            Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree
    GLOBALDATA PLC
    (d)   If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: N/A
    (e)   Date position held/dealing undertaken:
            For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure
    08 MAY 2025
    (f)   In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
            If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”
    N/A

    2.        POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

    (a)      Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

    Class of relevant security: 0.01p ORDINARY
      Interests Short positions
    Number % Number %
    (1)   Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 11,079,670 1.3737    
    (2)   Cash-settled derivatives:        
    (3)   Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:        
    TOTAL: 11,079,670 1.3737    

    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    (b)      Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)

    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:  
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:  

    3.        DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    (a)        Purchases and sales

    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit
    0.01p ORDINARY SALE 380 183p
    0.01p ORDINARY SALE 21,830 186.1p
    0.01p ORDINARY SALE 380 188.435p

    (b)        Cash-settled derivative transactions

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. CFD
    Nature of dealing
    e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position
    Number of reference securities Price per unit
    NONE        

    (c)        Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

    (i)        Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type
    e.g. American, European etc.
    Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
    NONE              

    (ii)        Exercise

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. call option
    Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit

    (d)        Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing
    e.g. subscription, conversion
    Details Price per unit (if applicable)
    NONE      

    4.        OTHER INFORMATION

    (a)        Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”

    NONE

    (b)        Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i)   the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii)   the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”

    NONE

    (c)        Attachments

    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO
    Date of disclosure: 09 MAY 2025
    Contact name: MARK ELLIOTT
    Telephone number: 01253 376539

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI: Form 8.3 – [ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC – 08 05 2025] – (CGWL)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    FORM 8.3

    PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY
    A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE
    Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the “Code”)

    1.        KEY INFORMATION

    (a)   Full name of discloser: CANACCORD GENUITY WEALTH LIMITED (for Discretionary clients)
    (b)   Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):
            The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named.
    N/A
    (c)   Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:
            Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree
    ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC
    (d)   If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: N/A
    (e)   Date position held/dealing undertaken:
            For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure
    08 MAY 2025
    (f)   In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?
            If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state “N/A”
    N/A

    2.        POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

    (a)      Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

    Class of relevant security: 1p ORDINARY
      Interests Short positions
    Number % Number %
    (1)   Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 11,158,803 2.0643    
    (2)   Cash-settled derivatives:        
    (3)   Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:        
    TOTAL: 11,158,803 2.0643    

    All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

    Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

    (b)      Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors’ and other employee options)

    Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists:  
    Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:  

    3.        DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

    Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

    The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

    (a)        Purchases and sales

    Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit
    1p ORDINARY SALE 11,375 64.5188p

    (b)        Cash-settled derivative transactions

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. CFD
    Nature of dealing
    e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position
    Number of reference securities Price per unit
    NONE        

    (c)        Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

    (i)        Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

    Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type
    e.g. American, European etc.
    Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit
    NONE              

    (ii)        Exercise

    Class of relevant security Product description
    e.g. call option
    Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit

    (d)        Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

    Class of relevant security Nature of dealing
    e.g. subscription, conversion
    Details Price per unit (if applicable)
    NONE      

    4.        OTHER INFORMATION

    (a)        Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

    Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:
    Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”

    NONE

    (b)        Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

    Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:
    (i)   the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or
    (ii)   the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:
    If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state “none”

    NONE

    (c)        Attachments

    Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO
    Date of disclosure: 09 MAY 2025
    Contact name: MARK ELLIOTT
    Telephone number: 01253 376539

    Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

    The Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code’s disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

    The Code can be viewed on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Car Clubs Help Drive Sustainable Transport

    Source: Scotland – City of Dundee

    As part of its drive to promote sustainable transport choices for people in Dundee, the city council is working with car club operators to highlight the environmental and economic benefits of car sharing. 

    Councillors Heather Anderson and Siobhan Tolland met up with representatives of Co Wheels and Enterprise to discuss how car clubs are growing locally – with cars located across the city and special offers for local people  

    The council has worked with both companies to help them find new street locations for cars. 

    Climate, Environment and Biodiversity convener Councillor Anderson said: “Car clubs offer an alternative to car ownership which help in our efforts to cut pollution and improve air quality, which include the introduction of the city centre Low Emission Zone. 

    “We want to work as closely as we can with car drivers to help enhance our environment for everyone.” 

    Fair Work, Economic Growth and Infrastructure convener Councillor Tolland added: “We are keen to have a range of options available for sustainable transport and these clubs offer real choice for people. 

    “Reducing congestion and the resulting pollution is a key aim, and car clubs help to assist with this.” 

    Richard Falconer, Head of Mobility at Co Wheels: “As the longest-established car club operator in Dundee, Co Wheels is proud to have served the city for over 14 years, providing convenient, flexible and sustainable transport options. We were the first to introduce electric vehicles for hire in Dundee, and we continue to lead the way with a growing fleet that now includes nine vehicles across the city centre, including four EVs and brand-new hybrid MG ZS models. 

    “With hundreds of members across Dundee, Co Wheels offers a practical alternative to car ownership, helping reduce congestion and emissions while supporting a cleaner, greener future for the city. We’re also proud to be the highest-rated national car club in the UK — a reflection of our commitment to quality, exceptional customer service and community impact.” 

    You can find details on the Co Wheels website here  

    Jason Parks, Enterprise Car Club Director, UK & Ireland, said: “We are proud to have been part of the Dundee community for more than a decade, providing residents, businesses and visitors with more choice in how they travel and supporting the city’s ambition to reduce congestion and promote shared and active travel.  

    “Our expansive, nationwide car club network connects customers to where they need to go, whether that’s in and around the city, or at train stations, transport hubs and on-street locations across the UK.  

    “Through Enterprise Car Club, members have 24/7 access to vehicles, including cars and vans, that they can rent by the hour or by the day through the convenience of a mobile app. We are committed to providing the residents and businesses of Dundee with accessible mobility solutions that get them to where they need to be in the most efficient and effective way.”  

    You can find details on the Enterprise website here 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barr, Artificial Intelligence and the Labor Market: A Scenario-Based Approach

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.1 In my remarks, I would like to address a key question facing economists, policymakers, and people all over the world: How will artificial intelligence, particularly generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, affect workers and the labor market in the years ahead?
    Before I turn to that issue, I’d like to touch on a topic that I expect is also of interest: the outlook for the U.S. economy and the implications for monetary policy.
    The U.S. economy entered this quarter in a relatively strong position: The unemployment rate has been low and stable, and the disinflationary process has continued on a gradual, albeit uneven, path towards our 2 percent objective. Private domestic final purchases have been solid. Overall, the economy has been resilient.
    Against that backdrop, the outlook has been clouded by trade policies that have led to an increase in uncertainty, contributing to declines in measures of consumer and business sentiment. I expect tariffs to lead to higher inflation in the United States and lower growth both in the United States and abroad starting later this year.
    In my view, higher tariffs could lead to disruption to global supply chains and create persistent upward pressure on inflation. Faced with substantial tariffs, businesses will likely change how they source intermediate inputs, and it will take time and investment for them to reroute their distribution networks. Conversely, global trade networks may change rapidly, and some suppliers may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive these changes. This concern is particularly acute for small businesses, which are less diversified, less able to access credit, and hence more vulnerable to adverse shocks. Small businesses play a vital role in production networks, often providing specialized inputs that can’t easily be sourced elsewhere, and business failures could further disrupt supply chains. As we saw during the pandemic, such disruptions can have large and lasting effects on prices, as well as output.
    I am equally concerned that tariffs will lead to higher unemployment as the economy slows. Thus, the FOMC may be in a difficult position if we were to see both rising inflation and rising unemployment.
    The size and scope of the recent tariff increases are without modern precedent, we don’t know their final form, and it is too soon to know how they will affect the economy. Yet given the economy’s strong starting point and the progress we have made in bringing inflation back toward our 2 percent objective, monetary policy is in a good position to adjust as conditions unfold. Meanwhile, we will also be closely monitoring how technologies like artificial intelligence are being integrated into economic activity and analyzing the implications for how the economy will evolve.
    Let me now return to the longer-term question of how AI will affect the labor market. Debate about machines replacing workers is nothing new, and even artificial intelligence is not particularly new either. AI has, in some form, arguably been around for decades. Computer scientists have been developing machine learning algorithms for many years, and these algorithms have been widely used in commercial applications, such as fraud detection and advertising. Speech and facial recognition are already ubiquitous. These more long-standing forms of AI are continuing to improve, driving progress in domains ranging from finance to medical diagnosis, and becoming so deeply embedded in our daily lives that we scarcely notice them anymore.
    But GenAI promises to go much further. Unlike traditional machine learning techniques, which often focus on relatively simple prediction and classification tasks, the large language models that have emerged in recent years can generate new content—anything from news articles to computer code to images and video to customer service dialogue. Emerging forms of “agentic” AI can undertake complex, multistep tasks—for example, taking a customer through a transaction and then placing an automated order. As AI continues to develop, it will increasingly be combined with physical technologies like autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics, further extending its ability to interact with the real world. And AI may be shaping up to become what the esteemed economist Zvi Griliches called an “invention of a method of inventing” that speeds up the research and development process itself.2
    Growing evidence indicates that AI will be a “general purpose technology”—such as railroads, electricity, or computers—which is characterized by widespread adoption, complementary progress in many downstream applications, and ongoing improvement in the core technology.3 Past general purpose technologies have dramatically improved productivity. So, against this background, the natural question is, what about AI?
    In trying to understand how AI might transform work, it’s useful to consider how it could be applied in individual occupations, each of which comprises a range of tasks that vary in their susceptibility to automation. Like past waves of information technology, AI will substitute for human labor in some tasks, complement human labor in other tasks, and spur the creation of new tasks that humans will perform, at least initially.4 The net effects of AI on employment, both in the aggregate and across demographic and education groups, will depend on the relative size of these offsetting effects.
    A pessimistic view is that AI and robotics could become so capable and cost effective as to render most human labor obsolete, culminating in mass unemployment. Such concerns about technological advances are hardly a novel development. At least since the Luddites of the early 19th century tried to disable textile looms, people have feared that machines would bring about steep declines in employment, wages, and human welfare.5
    Economists have long been skeptical of that view, which suffers from the “lump of labor fallacy”—the presumption that there’s a fixed amount of work to be done, so if machines do it, humans will not.6 New technologies do eliminate some existing occupations, and not all workers benefit from technological change. But technology also creates new occupations, and the many waves of technological advances over the centuries haven’t rendered humans obsolete. For example, many of the tasks that were performed by humans in the 1950s are now performed by computers and robots, and yet the unemployment rate is similar to what it was back then, while the labor force participation rate is higher overall.
    However, the amazing potential capabilities and breadth of applications associated with AI—many of which are already apparent—make it worth asking whether this time may be different. AI holds enormous promise of faster economic growth, advances in human health, and a higher standard of living. But alongside the kinds of labor market disruptions seen in past episodes of revolutionary technological change, we will need to consider the possibility of more sweeping changes in the way we work.
    A Scenario ApproachIn a previous speech, I outlined two hypothetical scenarios describing how AI could evolve.7 In the first scenario, we see only incremental adoption that primarily augments what humans do today but still leads to significant and widespread productivity gains. In the second scenario, we see profound change, in which we extend human capabilities with far-reaching consequences.
    Today, I will apply the same approach to analyze the potential effects of AI on the labor market. Of course, there is tremendous uncertainty about how AI will evolve and how it will affect the economy, as well as society more broadly. Amid this uncertainty, a scenario-based approach can give us a framework for thinking about the potential effects of AI on employment, real wages, and productivity, as well as for considering the possible role that government could play in influencing this transition.
    Scenario 1: Incremental ProgressLet’s start with the “gradual” scenario, in which new AI technologies are adopted at a brisk, but not a breathless, pace or advance quickly at first and then plateau—perhaps because of constraints imposed by computing resources, the exhaustion of novel training data, and rising energy consumption.
    Under this scenario, AI primarily operates by automating some—but not all—tasks within many occupations. We’ve seen some of this task substitution happen already: Computer programmers rely on AI copilots to write code, allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks, while customer support agents can use chatbots to improve and expedite their responses.8 Lawyers draw on GenAI to conduct legal research, while AI-powered safety features improve the performance of human automobile drivers.
    Under this scenario, as foundational models improve, novel use cases are discovered, and businesses continue to integrate AI into their operations, more and more occupations will be affected, and many jobs will use AI tools more intensively. As these technologies improve, even incremental change may allow AI to become accurate and cheap enough to replace some occupations altogether. It’s hard to make predictions at this stage. But a plausible conjecture is that we could see, for example, fewer human programmers, lawyers, or commercial drivers. At the same time, most current occupations would persist in this scenario—albeit in modified and more productive forms.
    Beyond existing occupations, general purpose technologies also encourage the creation of new occupations, fueled by new products and novel ways of doing business. It’s difficult to envision the novel jobs that will replace the ones we might lose to an incremental AI scenario. But one possibility is that the future could bring us managers of AI agents, specialists in human–AI collaboration, ethicists, safety experts, and large numbers of people involved in adopting, maintaining, and educating about AI tools. Technology, and how we use a particular innovation, evolves in unpredictable ways, and we should expect to be surprised.
    Under this scenario, jobs remain plentiful, real wages are buoyed by productivity gains, and employment and labor force participation remain high and could even rise, if strong wage growth entices new labor market entrants and if improvements in health care increase work capacity among older or disabled individuals. If the widespread adoption of AI proceeds gradually, then workers will have time to adjust, reducing the disruption to the labor market—though, as with previous general purpose technologies, AI would likely imply that some groups of workers experience a painful process of dislocation and transition.
    Retraining could help here. A recent survey carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that many businesses plan to retrain their workers to use AI rather than laying them off.9 In some cases, AI may disrupt career ladders by automating many entry-level tasks—such as reviewing legal documents or drafting code—that were historically performed by early-career workers. But if labor demand changes slowly enough, students and workers are more likely to have time to predict which skills will be marketable and to make and recoup human capital investments before their skills become obsolete.
    What about the effect of AI on inequality? Some research suggests that GenAI may help less-productive workers catch up to their more-productive peers.10 That said, the AI economy will likely put a premium on digital skills, facility with new technologies, and adaptability. The precedent of the computer revolution suggests that highly educated workers may benefit most, boosting wage inequality—a phenomenon called “skill-biased technological change.”11 Another possibility is that the labor share of income could decline, if capital owners benefit more than wage earners—for example, because the gains accruing from AI adoption go to large, highly capitalized firms whose technical capabilities, consumer networks, and training data allow them to develop state-of-the-art AI techniques.
    Scenario 2: TransformationNow let’s consider an alternative scenario in which AI completely transforms the economy. As I described in my earlier speech, in this transformative scenario, humans employ AI to unleash their imagination and creativity—combined with robust investment in research and development—to make rapid breakthroughs that have the potential to improve our lives. With growth propelled by swift technological progress, society’s resources would be vastly expanded, AI would spur revolutionary advances in health, and many individuals would enjoy more time for leisure activities.
    Indeed, transformative AI could bring about a state of affairs that John Maynard Keynes famously envisioned almost a hundred years ago, one in which there are “ever larger and larger classes and groups of people from whom problems of economic necessity have been practically removed.”12 At the same time, transformative AI could imply a much smaller role for human labor—a development that would entail sweeping social changes and profound challenges for government.
    Under this scenario, AI would take over a broad range of existing jobs. As economist Anton Korinek writes, “AI systems advance toward mastering all forms of cognitive work that can be performed by humans, including new tasks that don’t even exist yet.”13 Building on developments we are already starting to see, improved chatbots and AI agents would outperform their human counterparts in activities ranging from customer support to medical diagnosis. Along similar lines, advanced robotics could increasingly substitute for human workers in manual and production jobs. Widespread automation would bring many benefits. The availability and quality of many services could increase markedly, and many less-desirable jobs—such as those involving tedious tasks or dangerous working conditions—could be transferred to machines.
    What jobs would exist in this more transformative scenario? As in the more gradual scenario—and just as has happened in the past, when earlier general purpose technologies were adopted—we would see the emergence of new occupations. These would notably include jobs that involve managing the new AI-dominated economy. In addition, some existing occupations would likely persist, at least for some time. This would be the case for three key reasons. First, some jobs may prove especially hard to automate. For example, plumbers and mechanics rely on physical dexterity and adaptability to situations—attributes that machines may find difficult to replicate, or to replicate cheaply. Second, in some contexts, consumers may insist on a human touch. Patients may still want human doctors and therapists, while parents may want human teachers and caregivers to look after their children. Third, even when AI has the technical capability to carry out tasks, some jobs are likely to be protected by laws and regulations. For example, legal and political systems would likely continue to insist on human judges and elected officials. Eventually, however, an increasing share of current jobs may be automated. The technological frontier is moving quickly, consumers’ preferences may change as they become more comfortable interacting with AI, and the regulatory landscape could evolve to provide broader roles for AI.
    It’s difficult to say how many jobs will exist under transformative AI. On the one hand, it’s possible that—as has happened so often in the past—the economy will find inventive new ways to keep most people employed. On the other hand, there are concerns that some workers could experience a large enough decline in their earnings potential that paid work may no longer be an available option. Employment and labor force participation could fall; displaced workers may grapple with a loss of daily routines, social connectedness, and the meaning they derived from employment. The risk of a significant decline in employment looms large in many people’s concerns about AI, and it’s important for policymakers to be attentive to that risk.
    Even if AI ultimately creates as many jobs as it eliminates, we should expect that the transition will be difficult. Existing firms would likely reorganize their production, laying off workers in the process. They could also lose market share to technologically sophisticated start-ups, which could scale up with a minimal number of human workers managing AI subordinates.14 Many displaced workers would have obsolete skills, and skill mismatch could lead to a structural increase in unemployment as these workers retool for new occupations. It is possible that unemployment might rise only temporarily. It is also possible, however, that more sustained increases could be observed. That would be the case if technology continued to evolve too quickly for many workers to keep up, leading to continual churn and ongoing dislocation.
    How might transformative AI affect income inequality? Both traditionally high-wage occupations, such as lawyers and financial professionals, and lower-wage occupations, such as factory and retail workers, could be automated, and it is difficult to predict how AI would affect wage structures. But the largest wage gains would likely go to the highest-skilled workers, as they would be best positioned to implement frontier technologies and help oversee the AI economy. In addition, if capital owners are the main beneficiaries, the labor share of income could decline precipitously.
    Transformative AI could bring about profound improvements in living standards, leisure opportunities, and human health. At the same time, society would confront profound distributional changes and potential challenges. Much would depend on how broadly the economic benefits are shared, how policymakers respond, and how society adapts to the rapid pace of change.
    How Will We Know Which Future We Are Living in?The world looks very different across these two scenarios. As AI spreads throughout the economy, how will we know which world we’re living in, particularly in view of the likelihood that AI adoption will proceed at different rates in different occupations and industries?
    First, we will need to track how many businesses are using AI and how it is affecting their operations. Recent surveys give different impressions about AI adoption thus far, but they consistently show rapid increases in usage over time.15
    Second, we will need to monitor AI’s evolving technological capabilities. AI developers test their models against human performance in benchmark activities like standardized tests and visual tasks. Results of these tests will continue to provide important clues about which activities, and thus which occupations, are at risk of being automated. Along these lines, economists have already developed measures of occupations’ exposure to automation. They have based these measures on the characteristics of the tasks involved in different occupations.16 Of course, as the set of tasks that AI can perform expands, these measures can be updated accordingly.
    A third way to judge how AI is changing the economy is that data on job openings will likely be a leading indicator of changes in labor demand. What kinds of jobs are employers creating? What skills do they cite in job ads?17
    And, lastly, job growth by occupation and industry is likely to reflect the emerging effects of AI. So far, the imprint of AI is difficult to discern in the employment statistics, but that is likely to change. It may be difficult to disentangle the effects of AI from the other determinants of employment growth, especially in real time. But in the event of truly sweeping changes in the occupational structure, the effects of AI should show up in the data.
    Looking AheadWhat do these two scenarios imply for society? In scenario 1, the issues that society has to address will be more straightforward. Policymakers will have to decide how to regulate emergent technologies, education and training programs will have to be tailored to shifts in labor demand, and some labor market regulations may need to be updated. In scenario 2, the issues that society will need to address will be more profound. Questions will include how to ensure that the economic gains associated with AI are broadly shared across individuals and households, and how to adapt social institutions to a world in which many more individuals in their prime working years may be working less. Fortunately, although this second scenario would entail many difficult challenges, it also implies a world in which society has many more resources to deploy against those challenges.
    Those are some of the big questions that society may need to grapple with in the future, and most of these questions are not those that will be primarily addressed by monetary policymakers. As a central banker, I can speak more specifically about how structural changes in the economy related to AI could affect monetary policy considerations—in particular, the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices. Monetary policy considerations could be affected in many ways; I will limit myself to two prominent possibilities.
    First, AI may require monetary policymakers to reassess our estimates of the natural rate of unemployment, which informs our assessment of the cyclical state of the economy and thus the appropriate stance of monetary policy. The natural rate, which we call u*, is the unemployment rate that corresponds to the maximum level of employment that can be maintained without producing undesirably high inflation. Among other things, u* depends on the efficiency with which matches are formed between workers and firms, and it could rise if shifts in labor demand across industries and occupations lead to skill mismatch and lengthy unemployment spells as workers retrain and switch careers. The natural rate also depends on the demographic composition of the labor force, which AI could affect. If AI shifts the workforce toward groups that have higher labor force attachment but lower unemployment rates (such as college graduates), the result could be downward pressure on u*. It should be stressed that u* is never directly observed and is difficult to discern in real time. But economists use a wide range of models to estimate the natural rate, and we can use those models to see how u* is changing as AI is adopted more widely.18
    Another related consideration relevant for monetary policy is how economic changes due to AI will affect the neutral interest rate, or r*, which is the level of the real interest rate consistent with the economy being at its potential and inflation being at our 2 percent objective. Economic theory suggests that a permanently higher growth rate of productivity, of the kind that might arise under either AI scenario, tends to raise r*. When that happens, a higher real interest rate would be required to deliver any desired monetary policy stance. A challenge that we face is that it is difficult to work out in real time how r* is evolving. But we can make judgments about developments in the behavior of r* by monitoring the relationship between economic activity and interest rates and by using financial market information to estimate longer-run real interest rates.
    ConclusionI’ll return to the broader point and conclude. AI is poised to transform our economy, likely in profound ways. But the speed and extent of that transformation are not yet clear. AI is likely to boost productivity, increase scientific discovery, and transform the nature of work. How these developments unfold will have important implications for society and for central bankers.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See page 502 in Zvi Griliches (1957), “Hybrid Corn: An Exploration in the Economics of Technological Change,” Econometrica, vol. 25 (October), pp. 501–22. See also Iain M. Cockburn, Rebecca Henderson, and Scott Stern (2019), “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation: An Exploratory Analysis,” in Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb, eds., The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 115–48, and Martin Neil Baily, David M. Byrne, Aidan T. Kane, and Paul E. Soto (forthcoming), “Generative AI at the Crossroads: Light Bulb, Dynamo, or Microscope,” Brookings Institution working paper. Return to text
    3. The term “general purpose technology” is typically abbreviated to GPT. To avoid confusion with ChatGPT, I will continue to use the longer term. For a definition and discussion of past general purpose technologies, see Timothy F. Bresnahan and Manuel Trajtenberg (1995), “General Purpose Technologies ‘Engines of Growth’?” Journal of Econometrics, vol. 65 (January), pp. 83–108. For a discussion of whether earlier AI techniques already meet these criteria, see Avi Goldfarb, Bledi Taska, and Florenta Teodoridis (2023), “Could Machine Learning Be a General Purpose Technology? A Comparison of Emerging Technologies Using Data from Online Job Postings,” Research Policy, vol. 52 (January), 104653. For a discussion of GenAI specifically, see Tyna Eloundou, Sam Manning, Pamela Mishkin, and Daniel Rock (2023), “GPTs Are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models,” (PDF) March 17 (revised August 22). For a contrasting view that AI will have only modest effects on productivity over the next 10 years, see Daron Acemoglu (2025), “The Simple Macroeconomics of AI,” Economic Policy, vol. 40 (January), pp. 13–58. Return to text
    4. See Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo (2019), “Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 33 (Spring), pp. 3–30. Return to text
    5. As David Autor writes, “There have been periodic warnings in the last two centuries that automation and new technology were going to wipe out large numbers of middle class jobs. The best-known early example is the Luddite movement of the early 19th century, in which a group of English textile artisans protested the automation of textile production by seeking to destroy some of the machines.” See page 3 in David H. Autor (2015), “Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 29 (Summer), pp. 3–30. Return to text
    6. For example, see textbook discussions of automation and unemployment by Paul A. Samuelson (1964), Economics: An Introductory Analysis, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill), pp. 333–37; and James D. Gwartney and Richard Stroup (1982), Economics: Private and Public Choice, 3rd ed. (New York: Academic Press), pp. 518–19. Return to text
    7. See Michael S. Barr (2025), “Artificial Intelligence: Hypothetical Scenarios for the Future,” speech delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, February 18. See also Anton Korinek and Donghyun Suh (2024), “Scenarios for the Transition to AGI,” NBER Working Paper Series 32255 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, March). Return to text
    8. For evidence that GenAI increases the productivity of human programmers, see Sida Peng, Eirini Kalliamvakou, Peter Cihon, and Mert Demirer (2023), “The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot,” (PDF) February 13. For similar evidence regarding customer support agents, see Erik Brynjolfsson, Danielle Li, and Lindsey Raymond (2025), “Generative AI at Work,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 140 (May), pp. 889–942. Return to text
    9. See Jaison R. Abel, Richard Deitz, Natalia Emanuel, and Benjamin Hyman (2024), “AI and the Labor Market: Will Firms Hire, Fire, or Retrain?” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Liberty Street Economics (blog), September 4. Among surveyed businesses in New York and New Jersey, about half of businesses that planned to use AI within the next six months expected to retrain their current staff to use AI. Return to text
    10. See Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang (2023), “Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence,” Science, July 13, vol. 381 (6654), pp. 187–92. Return to text
    11. See Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz (2008), The Race between Education and Technology (Cambridge: Harvard University Press). Return to text
    12. See page 372 in John Maynard Keynes (1930), “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” in Essays in Persuasion (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1963), pp. 358–73. Return to text
    13. See page 9 in Anton Korinek (2024), “The Economics of Transformative AI,” (PDF) Reporter, no. 4 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research), pp. 9–12. Return to text
    14. See Erin Griffith (2025), “A.I. Is Changing How Silicon Valley Builds Start-Ups,” New York Times, February 20. See also Microsoft (2025), 2025: The Year the Frontier Firm Is Born, Work Trend Index Annual Report, April 23, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/2025-the-year-the-frontier-firm-is-born. Return to text
    15. For a summary of recent survey evidence on AI adoption, see Leland Crane, Michael Green, and Paul Soto (2025), “Measuring AI Uptake in the Workplace,” FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 5). Across six firm-level surveys, the share of respondents using some form of AI ranges widely—from 5 to 40 percent—likely in part reflecting differences in sample composition, question wording, and the period over which AI usage is measured. Across 10 individual-level surveys, usage of GenAI generally ranges between 20 and 40 percent, with much higher rates among computer programmers. Return to text
    16. For examples of this approach, see Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne (2017), “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?” Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 114 (January), pp. 254–80; Erik Brynjolfsson, Tom Mitchell, and Daniel Rock (2018), “What Can Machines Learn, and What Does It Mean for Occupations and the Economy?” AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol. 108 (May), pp. 43–47; Edward W. Felten, Manav Raj, and Robert Seamans (2018), “A Method to Link Advances in Artificial Intelligence to Occupational Abilities,” AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol. 108 (May), pp. 54–57; and Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, and Rock, “GPTs Are GPTs” (see note 3). Return to text
    17. See Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, Jonathon Hazell, and Pascual Restrepo (2022), “Artificial Intelligence and Jobs: Evidence from Online Vacancies,” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 40 (April), pp. S293–340. Return to text
    18. See Brandyn Bok, Richard K. Crump, Christopher J. Nekarda, and Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau (2023), “Estimating Natural Rates of Unemployment: A Primer,” (PDF) Working Paper Series 2023-25 (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, August). One approach for estimating u* is to aggregate across demographic groups that differ in their average unemployment rates over long periods. Another common approach is to estimate state-space models that incorporate a Phillips curve relationship between unemployment and inflation, as in Thomas Laubach (2001), “Measuring the NAIRU: Evidence from Seven Economies,” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 83 (May), pp. 218–31. In addition, assessments of the natural rate can be informed by models that yield estimates of matching efficiency, such as Regis Barnichon and Andrew Figura (2015), “Labor Market Heterogeneity and the Aggregate Matching Function,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, vol. 7 (October), pp. 222–49; and Hie Joo Ahn and Leland D. Crane (2020), “Dynamic Beveridge Curve Accounting,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-027 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Smarter bins and cleaner streets because we Love Norwich

    Source: City of Norwich

    As part of the Love Norwich initiative more than 72 bins have been replaced, refurbished or newly installed across Norwich city centre.

    This work is part of a wider effort to tackle littering, improve recycling rates and reduce environmental impact.​

    Keeping the streets of Norwich litter free and places to be proud of is a top priority and thanks to £76k in funding from the HM Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund we’ve been able to overhaul bins across the key areas of the city such as around Marks and Spencer and the railway station.

    Of the 72 bins, 39 new silver dual bins have been installed, 10 black dual bins purchased, and 23 traditional cast iron bins have been refurbished and returned to service.

    All new dual bins feature clearly marked green openings for recycling, designed wide enough to accept empty pizza boxes, a common cause of blockages and overflowing bins in the past. These bins will help reduce contamination and encourage people to separate their waste more easily and conveniently.​

    Recycling rates from these bins will be closely monitored, and further improvements will be considered where needed.​

    Councillor Emma Hampton, portfolio holder for the environment, said:​

    It’s vital that we keep our city clean, safe and looking its best, and bins play a bigger part in that than people might realise. This work is about more than just replacements. It’s a real step forward in how we manage waste in the city centre, and it supports our wider goals for recycling, sustainability and quality of life.“​

    Outside the main city centre, black dual bins have been installed to replace smaller or damaged ones, particularly those affected by flyposting and vape stickers. These larger-capacity bins will reduce the risk of overflow, cut down on fly-tipping and mean fewer collection visits are needed helping to reduce unnecessary vehicle movement in the city.

    Unused cast iron bins have also been given a new lease of life. Repainted in traditional Norwich green and gilded with gold lettering.

    This work draws on the expertise of colleagues at Norwich City Services Ltd (NCSL), who have ensured every installation is in the best location to support cleaner streets and less littering.​

    Bins are emptied up to three times a day, seven days a week, with the frequency carefully monitored and adjusted based on how much they’re being used.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Kenya’s president safe in a crowd? Security expert scans VIP protection checklist

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Douglas Lucas Kivoi, Principal Policy Analyst, Governance Department, The Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA)

    Protecting any president requires multiple layers of intelligence, physical security and rapid response security protocols. Exact operational details are classified, but there are global best practices in VIP protection.

    The issue of presidential protection in Kenya has become particularly relevant following an incident in early May 2025 when someone in a crowd threw a shoe at President William Ruto during a public event, hitting his hand.

    I have studied policing and security policies in Kenya for over 15 years, interacting closely with the country’s security protocols. In my view this incident exposed several critical security lapses around the elite officers tasked with protecting the president.

    The security of the president is a critical issue in Kenya. The country is exposed to terror groups like the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab and other criminal networks in the region.

    In 2021, a businessman embedded himself into the presidential motorcade and drove into then president Uhuru Kenyatta’s official residence. In 2017, an unidentified man who was said to have illegally accessed the highly protected state house grounds was shot dead by presidential guards.

    There are multiple layers to Kenya’s protection protocols. They include National Intelligence Service officers, the Kenya Defence Force, Presidential Escort Police officers drawn from the highly trained General Service Unit, bomb disposal experts and regular police officers. Their deployment depends on the nature of the presidential engagement.

    While the shoe incident may be passed off as simply embarrassing, it should serve as a wake-up call to tighten security protocols around the president without necessarily compromising his public engagement with citizens.

    What’s in place

    Prior to any presidential visit across the country, security teams conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the destination. This includes coordinating with local policing agencies, clearing airspace, mapping secure transport routes and identifying nearby medical facilities in case of emergencies.

    Presidential motorcade routes are pre-planned and a dry run is made. This often includes mapping alternative routes to avoid predictability should there be assailants along a presidential route. It is common to see some roads temporarily closed and security officers conducting sweeps for any threats or explosives. In areas deemed high risk, counter security sniper teams are covertly deployed in strategic areas.

    Cases of attacks on presidential motorcades are rare in Kenya. However, in 2002 during presidential campaigns, angry opposition supporters stoned then president Daniel Moi’s motorcade. In November 2021, an angry mob hurled rocks at then deputy president Ruto’s motorcade.

    The National Intelligence Service and Presidential Escort Unit covertly scout locations in advance, assessing potential security vulnerabilities. Crowd sizes, and entry and exit points for the head of state are mapped out in advance.

    In cases where meetings are held in town halls or huge tents, attendees are screened using metal detectors and/or physical searches. Uniformed and plainclothes security officers embed themselves in the crowd to monitor any threats.

    The president and any dignitaries accompanying him have at least three layers of security.

    The inner ring consists of close protection officers who are always within an arm’s length of the president to physically thwart any threats. The middle ring has armed security guards who watch for, among others, sudden movements and abnormal behaviour within the crowd. The outer ring consists of regular police and paramilitary units from the General Service Unit who secure the outside perimeter.

    The presidential motorcade is a coordinated convoy of heavily armoured vehicles. It includes lead and chase cars, communication units and emergency response teams. Traffic is managed by local traffic police officers to ensure unobstructed movement. Routes are kept confidential until necessary.

    The president’s security may opt to use a decoy vehicle if there is a security threat, to confuse and derail potential risk sources. In all these cases, there is a contingent of specialised General Service Unit officers, called the Recce unit, that always accompanies the president.

    Kenya’s presidential security precautions follow standard VIP security protection like those for heads of state across the world. However, in some neighbouring countries, for instance, presidents move in heavily armed military convoys. This has not been seen in Kenya.

    If a potential threat is detected, the president is immediately shielded and whisked away to a secure vehicle or evacuated by air in high-risk events. In such cases, the Kenya Defence Forces secures the president.

    Despite stringent security measures, incidents can occur. For instance, in March 2025, a British tourist was fatally hit by a vehicle in Ruto’s motorcade. This prompted investigations and reviews on motorcade safety protocols.

    Such events highlight the challenges of balancing presidential security with public safety, especially in densely populated urban areas.

    Security failures

    The shoe-throwing incident targeting Ruto highlighted five major failures in presidential protection protocols.

    First, crowd screening and access control failures. The alleged assailant was very close to the president, suggesting an inadequate distance between the crowds and the president. The inner ring of security also failed to spot the perpetrator raising a shoe in the air to use as a projectile. This indicates weak front-row eye sweeps and scans by the president’s security.

    Second, there was an apparent delay in security response. The elite officers around the president should have subdued the alleged attacker within seconds. It could mean most had their eyes on the president or cameras, as opposed to scanning the crowds for any sudden movements.

    Third, security allowed the president to stand too close to a crowd that hadn’t been screened. Best practices require a no-go zone of three to five metres for individuals who have not been scanned or screened.

    Fourth, there was an apparent gap in intelligence and threat assessment. Aggressive or agitated people next to the president should draw the attention of security officers. Plainclothes security officers are usually deployed to monitor crowd behaviour. It isn’t enough to rely on uniformed officers.

    Undercover agents are critical for flagging pre-attack signals, such as nervousness or repeated adjustments of positions.

    Fifth, there was no clear evacuation plan for the president. After the incident, the president continued speaking. In high-risk scenarios, protocols often demand instant relocation of the president to a secure vehicle or helicopter, where the military takes over and airlifts him to safety.

    What should change

    Kenya’s presidential security detail may be forced to:

    • increase standoff distance between the president and crowds

    • deploy more plainclothes officers to blend in and monitor crowds around the president

    • mandate stricter screening of those in close proximity to the president

    • conduct more frequent security risks drills for rapid neutralisation of potential threats.

    The exact details of presidential security in Kenya are confidential. However, the overarching structure aims to provide comprehensive protection to the president while maintaining public safety and order during official engagements. No security protocol is 100% foolproof. But a balance needs to be struck between overly aggressive crowd control and accessibility.

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

    ref. Is Kenya’s president safe in a crowd? Security expert scans VIP protection checklist – https://theconversation.com/is-kenyas-president-safe-in-a-crowd-security-expert-scans-vip-protection-checklist-256268

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Major boost for mobile cinema

    Source: Scottish Government

    £500,000 funding to Screen Machine.

    Funding has been announced enabling an order to be placed for a new Screen Machine mobile cinema serving rural communities across Scotland.

    The £500,000 Scottish Government grant allows Regional Screen Scotland (RSS) to order a new vehicle to take films to 44 locations in areas including the Highlands and Islands, Moray and North Ayrshire.

    After the previous 80-seat vehicle was retired in 2023 following 18 years and 250,000 miles on the road, RSS started fundraising for a permanent replacement costing £1.7 million. A leased vehicle is currently continuing the service until April 2026.

    The new machine will be energy efficient with the ability to charge via solar panels and battery packs, instead of a diesel generator.

    Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:

    “The Screen Machine service is a hugely important asset, bringing cinema to the doorsteps of people in many rural and island communities.

    “It has proved its worth over 26 years, providing entertainment that town and city residents take for granted. In doing so it enriches people’s lives and plays a part in tackling rural depopulation.

    “This grant allows Regional Screen Scotland to order a new, bespoke vehicle able to use Scotland’s ferry network and negotiate our rural roads. I wish the organisation well as it continues efforts to reach its fundraising target.”

    Regional Screen Scotland interim Chief Executive Simon Drysdale said:

    “This generous grant from the Scottish Government completely transforms our fundraising campaign to raise the money required to build a new Screen Machine. We can now plan with greater confidence for a service that will be secured into the 2040s.

    “Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported our campaign so far, from Screen Scotland to the Arran Trust, customers of the Newtonmore Grill, letter-writing children in Barra and many, many more.”

    Background

    The grant for the Screen Machine comes from the Scottish Government’s Gaelic Capital Fund, which supports developments of benefit to Gaelic-speaking communities.  

    Regional Screen Scotland launched its public fundraising campaign in September 2024. Energy firm SSEN Transmission has already announced it will give £350,000 from its Regional Community Benefit Fund.  Further support has come from actors Alan Cumming and Dame Judi Dench and fundraising continues.

    Around 180,000 tickets have been sold in Highland, Argyll & Bute, Western Isles, Moray, North Ayrshire, Aberdeenshire and Orkney over the last 10 years. In 2024-25 the service showed 51 films at 450 screenings at which it employed a total of 57 local ushers.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s new-energy passenger car sales surge in April

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Visitors learn about a car at the 20th China (Changsha) International Automobile Exposition in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province, Dec. 4, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    China’s new-energy passenger vehicle market continued to see robust growth in April, with retail sales reaching about 922,000 units, industry association data showed Thursday.

    The figure marked a 37 percent year-on-year increase, but a 7 percent decrease from the previous month, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

    The penetration rate of new-energy vehicles, a gauge of popularity, in the domestic market stood at 52.3 percent in April.

    During the first four months of the year, total retail sales of new-energy passenger cars amounted to 3.34 million units, representing a 37 percent increase from the previous year, the CPCA data showed.

    Retail sales of passenger cars stood at 1.79 million in April, up 17 percent year on year, but 8 percent lower than the previous month.

    During the first four months of the year, total retail sales of passenger cars hit 6.92 million, up 9 percent year on year.

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI China: EU targets 95-bln-euro worth of US imports

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    Flags of the European Union fly outside the Berlaymont Building, the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, Jan. 29, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The European Commission has launched a public consultation targeting U.S. imports worth 95 billion euros (107.2 billion U.S. dollars), warning that retaliatory measures could take effect if ongoing negotiations with the United States fail to yield an agreement, according to a statement released on Thursday.

    The consultation covers a broad range of U.S. industrial and agricultural goods, including wine, frozen meat, aircraft, cars and car parts, chemicals, electrical equipment, healthcare products, and machinery.

    In parallel, the bloc is also weighing new restrictions on 4.4 billion euros of European Union (EU) exports to the United States, such as steel scrap and chemical products.

    Currently, the EU faces 25 percent U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, and automobiles, alongside 10 percent baseline duties on most other exports. The bloc has been preparing for a possible end to a 90-day tariff truce, which is set to expire on July 8. If no deal is reached, the U.S. universal tariffs could rise to 20 percent.

    The Commission stated that the consultation on countermeasures aims to address both the universal U.S. tariffs and those specifically targeting cars and auto parts.

    At the same time, the Commission announced that the EU will launch a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute against the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs and duties on vehicles and vehicle components. The EU will submit a formal request for consultations, arguing that the U.S. measures violate core WTO rules.

    “The EU’s objective is thus to reaffirm that internationally agreed rules matter, and these cannot be unilaterally disregarded by any WTO member, including the U.S.,” the statement underlined.

    While underscoring the EU’s preference for a negotiated solution, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that the bloc “continues preparing for all possibilities.”

    The Commission noted that nearly 70 percent of EU exports to the United States – amounting to 379 billion euros – are now affected by the new tariffs, including some that are temporarily suspended. These tariffs have increased business costs, slowed economic growth, fueled inflation, and contributed to heightened global economic uncertainty.

    Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback on the proposed measures until June 10. Following the consultation, the Commission will finalize its proposal and consult EU member states. If necessary, a legal act imposing tariffs could be swiftly enacted should talks with Washington collapse.

    Regarding the WTO dispute, once the EU formally requests consultations, both parties will have up to two months to reach a mutually acceptable resolution. If no agreement is reached, the EU may request the establishment of a dispute panel to adjudicate the matter. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars)

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-OSI Australia: CLAY WELLS ROAD, BRAY (Grass Fire)

    Source: South Australia County Fire Service

    BRAY

    Issued on
    09 May 2025 16:13

    BAY Scrub Fire

    Issued for BRAY near Robe in the Lower South East.

    The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) advises that there is a bushfire in the Lake Hawdon South Conservation Park at Bray, approximately 20 kilometres south east of Robe in the Lower South East.

    CFS and Department of Environment and Water crews are currently working to contain the fire within the park’s boundaries, these operations are being supported by private landowners who are utilising heavy machinery.

    This fire will continue to burn throughout the night and will be monitored by crews on scene.

    The fire poses no threat to the community at this time but smoke and flames may be visible from Clay Wells Road and the Southern Ports Highway well into the night.

    Hazards in the area may include reduced visibility due to smoke and emergency vehicles operating in the area.

    Message ID 0008592

    MIL OSI News