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Freedom House Announces 2025 Award Recipients

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The honorees were recognized at Freedom House’s annual awards ceremony.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Freedom House recognized a distinguished slate of advocates for democracy and freedom around the globe at its Annual Awards in Washington, DC, last night. Award recipients included Venezuelan democratic movement leader María Corina Machado, US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), representatives from the government and civil society of Taiwan, and Server Mustafayev, an unjustly imprisoned Crimean Tatar human rights defender.

“The suppression of freedom anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere,” said Freedom House interim Copresidents Gerardo Berthin and Annie Boyajian. “For almost 85 years, Freedom House has worked tirelessly around the world to expand and defend freedom and democracy. Our latest research has shown that we are in the midst of a nearly two-decade decline in global freedom. But there is hope. The courage and commitment of these groups and individuals in their defense of democratic principles are a powerful reminder that democracy only endures through the resolve of those who rise up to protect it. Freedom House is thrilled to honor our 2025 awardees.”

The Freedom Award

María Corina Machado received the Freedom Award, which recognizes outstanding leaders in the cause of freedom and democracy. Machado, the leader of Venezuela’s democratic movement, won more than 92 percent of the vote in an October 2023 presidential primary election. Despite her triumph, the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro disqualified her from running for president in the 2024 general election. Machado unified democratic forces behind Ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia’s candidacy in response, empowering nearly a million volunteers within Venezuela to safeguard the vote. Today, although she and her team remain under intense persecution by the regime, Machado continues to lead efforts alongside Venezuelans and the international community to achieve a democratic transition.

This year’s award was presented by Russian human rights activist and Free Russia Foundation advocacy director Evgenia Kara-Murza, who is married to former political prisoner and 2023 Freedom Award winner Vladimir Kara-Murza. The award was accepted by Rafael de la Cruz, an advisor to María Corina Machado.

Past recipients of the Freedom Award, which was launched in 1943, include the women of Iran; His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Václav Havel, the playwright, dissident, and first postcommunist president of Czechoslovakia; Saudi activist Hala al-Dosari; journalist Edward R. Murrow; Uyghur activist Ilham Tohti; and Pablo Casals, the musician and opponent of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.  

The Leadership Award

US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger F. Wicker (R-MS) each received Freedom House’s Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding dedication to principled US leadership on the world stage and support for those on the front lines of the struggle against tyranny, such as in Ukraine, Taiwan, and the prodemocracy movement of Belarus.

The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen has represented New Hampshire in the US Senate since 2009. As current ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Shaheen champions a strong national defense and robust engagement with transatlantic allies, and has been a consistent advocate for democracy movements around the world. The Honorable Roger F. Wicker has represented Mississippi in the US Senate since 2007. He is currently serving as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the US Helsinki Commission, and is a champion for democratic values and human rights across Europe and Eurasia.

Previous recipients of the Leadership Award include then–Vice President Joe Biden, Senator John McCain, Senator Bob Corker, then–House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Lindsey Graham. This year’s award was presented by the Honorable Jane Harman, cochair emeritus of the Freedom House Board of Trustees.

The Beacon Award

The government and civil society of Taiwan received the inaugural Beacon Award for their steadfast efforts to protect their own vibrant democracy, and to support the global struggle for freedom, in the face of escalating pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. Representative Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, on behalf of the government of Taiwan, and civil society representative Chiang Min-yen accepted the award.

Alexander Tah-Ray Yui has been Taiwan’s representative to the United States since December 2023. He has over 35 years of experience in diplomacy and previously served as Taiwan’s vice minister of foreign affairs from 2021 to 2023. Chiang Min-yen is a nonresident fellow at the Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, where he focuses on Beijing’s economic coercion toward Taiwan, and at the Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), where he specializes in economic security and the semiconductor industry. The award was presented by Ambassador Robert Tuttle, a member of the Freedom House Board of Trustees.

The Alfred Moses Liberty Award

Server Mustafayev received the Alfred Moses Liberty Award, which honors exemplary courage by political prisoners or outstanding efforts to secure their release.

Mustafayev, a Crimean Tatar human rights defender, cofounded the Crimean Solidarity movement to support victims of political persecution in Russian-occupied Crimea. He was arrested by Russian authorities seven years ago on May 21, 2018, for alleged involvement with the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir—such charges are often fabricated by Moscow as a pretext to silence dissent. In 2020, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison alongside six codefendants. His detention is widely recognized as politically motivated and has been condemned by Amnesty International, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Freedom House’s Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners. The award was accepted on Mustafayev’s behalf by Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova and presented by Norman Willox, chairman of the Freedom House Board of Trustees.

Key Supporters

Freedom House is grateful to the Event Chairs Karen and Norman Willox, Co-Chairs Rodger Desai and Dr. Susan Gauthier, The Honorable Jane Harman, Maurice Perkins, Collin and Joanna Roche, and the Event Underwriters of the 2025 Annual Awards, Aegon Transamerica Foundation, Rodger Desai and Dr. Susan Gauthier, William and Sheila Konar Foundation, Collin and Joanna Roche; Freedom Supporters — Eileen Donahoe, Thomas and Susana Kahn, Karen and Norman Willox; and Freedom Advocates — Anonymous in Memory of Former Freedom House Trustee, Congressman Jim Kolbe, The Honorable Goli Ameri, The Honorable Jane Harman, Conrad Kiechel and Nancy Savage, Pan American Energy, Susan and Thomas Staudt, Telecom Argentina SA, Carlotta and Wendell Willkie, and David Willkie.

Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free. We inform the world about threats to freedom, mobilize global action, and support democracy’s defenders.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freedom-house-announces-2025-award-recipients-302462450.html

SOURCE Freedom House

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11:11 Systems’ Research Finds 93% of ANZ IT Leaders Report Rising Infrastructure Costs, Cyberattacks Are Top Data Centre Concern

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New study reveals rising costs, cyber risk and complexity reshaping IT resilience strategies for 2027

SYDNEY, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 11:11 Systems, a leading managed infrastructure solutions provider, today announced results from its 2027 State of IT Infrastructure Resilience study. The global survey of more than 700 IT leaders finds that rising costs, expanding complexity and growing cyber risk are forcing organisations to rethink how they build, protect and recover critical infrastructure.

The survey shows that Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) IT leaders are making infrastructure and budget decisions with two big worries in mind: infrastructure costs keep climbing and cyber threats aren’t going away. Identity platforms and production environments top the list of leading data centre concerns in the region, while hybrid complexity and inconsistent data protection make it difficult to maintain a reliable recovery plan.

AI adds another layer of urgency. Nearly all ANZ respondents are either investing in or evaluating AI-enhanced IT and security tools, but fewer than one in five report that AI-enhanced backup or disaster recovery is operational today. There’s a clear gap between AI ambition and recovery readiness, and it tells us something important: focus investment on capabilities that make resilience easier to see, test and put into action.

ANZ Key findings include:

Infrastructure costs are rising significantly. 93% of respondents saw an increase in total data centre infrastructure costs over the past 12 months, with an average increase of 14% year-over-year.Cyber risk and infrastructure costs are converging. 48% of respondents name cyberattacks as the top concern in their data centres, and nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) expect data protection, backup and recovery budgets to increase in 2027.Cyberattacks remain common and costly. 76% of IT leaders experienced one or more attacks in the last 12 months, with 25% of respondents experiencing three or more. 43% also report the average cost of one hour of downtime from a cyberattack was more than $250,000.Complexity is the number one barrier to resilience. 56% identified the complexity of planning for cyber incident recovery as their greatest challenge, followed by lack of in-house expertise and insufficient budgets.AI investment is outpacing readiness. 63% are investing in AI-enhanced IT or security toolsets, but only 18% have operational AI-enhanced backup or disaster recovery capabilities.

“This research quantifies what IT leaders are already feeling; the challenges are stacking up faster than the budgets,” said Jason Buffington, principal analyst and founder of Data Protection Matters, which conducted the research. “Cyberattacks remain an ever-present threat, and now organisations have to govern their own AI while defending against the attackers’ AI, all while rising hardware costs squeeze budgets that were already tight. For many organisations, the way through that storm is leaning on expertise as-a-service to reduce complexity, while modernising how they protect and recover their data.”

Marc Beder, Executive General Manager, EMEA and APAC at 11:11 Systems, said, “Resilience requires more than investing in new technology. Organisations need to understand which systems are most critical to their operations, how quickly they need to recover and whether their recovery plans will work under pressure. With many businesses relying on virtualised environments such as VMware to run critical applications and workloads, protecting the underlying infrastructure and ensuring these systems can be recovered quickly is essential. As IT environments become more complex, regular testing and a clear understanding of recovery capabilities can help organisations identify gaps and ensure their infrastructure is ready to support business operations when disruption occurs.”

The study was commissioned by 11:11 Systems and conducted by Data Protection Matters (DPM), an independent analyst firm specialising in data protection, backup, cyber resilience, business continuity, disaster recovery and BaaS/DRaaS. The survey included more than 700 IT leaders at organisations across EMEA, the Americas and APAC. Respondents included both decision-makers and implementers responsible for IT infrastructure, cybersecurity or backup and disaster recovery.

The full 2027 State of IT Infrastructure Resilience (APAC) report is available here.

About 11:11 Systems

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that empowers customers to modernise, protect, and manage mission-critical applications and data through 11:11’s resilient cloud platform. Learn more at 11:11 Systems and follow 11:11 on LinkedIn.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/1111-systems-research-finds-93-of-anz-it-leaders-report-rising-infrastructure-costs-cyberattacks-are-top-data-centre-concern-302938466.html

SOURCE 11:11 Systems

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Coremail Helps Thai Businesses Manage High-Volume Email Delivery

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BANGKOK, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As Thailand’s digital economy continues to grow, businesses increasingly rely on email to deliver essential information to customers. From banking notifications and financial statements to order confirmations and service updates, delayed or failed emails can disrupt operations, affect customer experience and place additional pressure on IT teams.

Coremail, an enterprise email technology provider with over 27 years of experience, is addressing these challenges through its Coremail Delivery System, a dedicated platform designed to support large-scale business email communications.

For organizations handling large volumes of business emails, managing delivery alongside everyday employee communications can create operational challenges. Heavy sending workloads may affect system performance, while limited visibility into delivery results makes it harder to identify problems and respond promptly.

Coremail Delivery System is designed specifically for high-volume business email delivery, helping organizations manage large-scale sending tasks more efficiently while reducing potential pressure on their primary email systems.

The platform supports immediate and scheduled delivery, flexible sending controls and detailed performance reporting. Administrators can track delivery performance, analyze delivery results and adjust sending strategies based on operational requirements. Its high-availability architecture is designed to reduce single points of failure and support service continuity in the event of system disruptions.

These capabilities are particularly relevant to Thailand’s financial services sector, where timely delivery of account statements, transaction notifications and customer notices is essential. E-commerce businesses can use the system for order confirmations, promotional campaigns and customer updates, while government agencies and large enterprises can manage public announcements and other high-volume communications.

For organizations with international operations, Coremail Secure Global Relay provides a complementary solution for cross-border email communications. Through its global relay network and intelligent routing, the service helps businesses improve email connectivity with overseas customers, suppliers and partners.

Coremail also supports customers through its established subsidiary in Thailand. Its local team provides deployment guidance, technical assistance and ongoing service coordination, working closely with businesses and partners to address local requirements and support long-term operations.

Founded in 1999, Coremail serves more than 25,000 organizations and over one billion end users worldwide. The company continues to develop secure, scalable email technologies for businesses across Thailand, Southeast Asia and international markets.

For more information, visit www.coremail.co.th.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/coremail-helps-thai-businesses-manage-high-volume-email-delivery-302937387.html

SOURCE Coremail

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Martello Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter of the 2027 Fiscal Year

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/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES./

 Continued profitability and strengthening operating cash flow through the first half of FY27 support investment in Mitel Performance Analytics (MPA) growth and the pursuit of new high-value innovation opportunities.

Strengthened operating cash flow in Q2 FY27, reflecting the Company’s leaner operating model and continued financial discipline.Profitable for the third sequential quarter, reflecting a turnaround compared to the prior year, establishing a foundation for investment in growth initiatives.Advanced product innovation and ideation initiatives in Q2 FY27, using AI-augmented development to accelerate prototyping and software delivery at lower cost. Deepening integration with Mitel’s innovation and product teams to align the MPA roadmap with Mitel’s strategy, including support for Mitel Workforce Experience (WX) and AI-driven insights that position MPA as a proactive service assurance solution, detecting and enabling resolution of communications issues before they affect users.Advanced joint growth initiatives with Mitel, including co-developing new packaging and go-to-market models for MPA, and strengthening ecosystem presence through collaboration at Mitel events.

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 12, 2026 /CNW/ — Martello Technologies Group Inc., (“Martello” or the “Company”) (TSXV: MTLO), a provider of proactive service assurance solutions for unified communications and collaboration (UCC) systems, today released financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2026.

“In the second quarter of FY27, Martello continued to focus on execution of its strategic priorities”, said Jim Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Martello. “We advanced joint initiatives with Mitel to expand how MPA is packaged and offered to partners and customers and progressed new AI capabilities for MPA; we also continued to validate targeted market opportunities identified through our ongoing discovery framework. We’re significantly advancing AI integration in development, resulting in faster cycles with excellent quality. Our strengthening positive operating cash flow and a leaner operating model provides resources to grow our investment in product innovation and development cycle time. We remain focused on building long-term shareholder value through disciplined execution, targeted growth investments and continued operational efficiency”.

“Martello is shifting from transformation to building for growth”, said Terence Matthews, Chairman of Martello. “Reliable communications are increasingly critical for organizations, and the Company’s deep alignment with Mitel together with its ongoing discovery practice places it at the center of that need. The Board is confident in the disciplined approach and believes the combination of a solid financial foundation and a focused strategy positions Martello to create long-term value for shareholders”.

Financial Highlights

September 30,

September 30,

September 30,

September 30,

(in 000’s)

2026

2025

2026

2025

(Three months ended)

(Six months ended)

Sales

$

2,814

2,999

5,684

6,087

Cost of Goods Sold

330

466

651

927

Gross Margin

2,483

2,533

5,032

5,160

Gross Margin

%

88.3 %

84.5 %

88.5 %

84.8 %

Operating Expenses

1,803

9,611

3,554

14,140

Income (Loss) from operations

680

(7,078)

1,479

(8,980)

Other expense

(509)

(374)

(915)

(604)

Income (Loss) before income tax

171

(7,452)

563

(9,584)

Income tax expense

(4)

(2)

(4)

(2)

Net income (loss)

168

(7,455)

560

(9,586)

Total Comprehensive Income (Loss)

$

255

(7,688)

690

(9,621)

EBITDA (1)

$

660

(6,517)

1,534

(7,672)

Adjusted EBITDA (1)

$

869

(759)

1,751

(1,953)

(1) Non-IFRS measure.  See “Non-IFRS Financial Measures”.

Q2 FY27 Financial Highlights

Revenue was $2.81 million in Q2 FY27, representing a 6% decrease compared to $3.00 million in the same period of the prior year. The decline was primarily due to lower renewal rates on sunsetting legacy product offerings and customer churn in Vantage DX within the Modern Workplace Optimization (MWO) business segment, partially offset by an increase in the Mitel business segment revenue.  Revenue from the Mitel business segment increased by 12% to $1.66 million in Q2 FY27 compared to $1.49 million in the same period of the prior year. The increase was driven by pricing adjustments and growth in subscriptions across certain Mitel product offerings, partially offset by the discontinuation of certain Mitel products that incorporated MPA. As Mitel and Martello negotiate a new contract, the companies are exploring new go-to-market models that represent potential mutual growth opportunities. The Mitel business continues to be a significant source of revenue and gross margin, representing 59% of total revenues in Q2 FY27 compared to 50% in Q2 FY26. Gross margin in the Mitel business segment remained strong and consistent at 97% in Q2 FY27 (compared to 96% in Q2 FY26).The MWO business segment, which includes Vantage DX and sunsetting legacy products, contributed 41% of revenues in Q2 FY27, compared to 50% in the same period last year. MWO revenue declined by $0.36 million (24%) compared to Q2 FY26,  reflecting the continued sunsetting of legacy products and some Vantage DX customer churn.98% of total revenues were recurring in Q2 FY27, compared with 97% in the same period in the prior year.Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) totaled $0.92 million in Q2 FY27, a decrease of $0.06 million (6%) compared to $0.98 million in Q2 FY26. The decline was primarily driven by lower renewal rates on sunsetting legacy product offerings. This was partially offset by growth in the Mitel segment as described above.Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 88.3% in Q2 FY27 compared to 84.5% in Q2 FY26. This improvement was driven by lower product delivery and support costs following the Company’s operational restructuring in Q3 FY26 as well as lower hosting costs, which collectively more than offset the impact of lower revenue.Operating expenses decreased to $1.80 million in Q2 FY27 from $9.61 million in Q2 FY26. The decrease primarily reflected a $5.91 million impairment of intangible assets related to the MWO segment recognized in the prior year. Excluding this impairment, operating expenses decreased by $1.90 million (51%), driven mainly by lower costs following the operational restructuring in Q3 FY26. Ongoing cost optimization initiatives also contributed to the year-over-year improvement in operating performance.Income from operations was $0.68 million in Q2 FY27 compared to a loss of $7.08 million in the same period of FY26. representing a year-over-year improvement of $7.76 million. The improvement primarily reflected the one-time impairment of intangible assets recognized in the same quarter of the prior year and lower operating expenses, partially offset by lower revenue, as discussed above.Other expense increased to $0.51 million in Q2 FY27 from $0.37 million in Q2 FY26, primarily due to a foreign exchange loss of $0.03 million compared to a gain of $0.10 million in the prior-year quarter. Interest expense on the Company’s loan, which was $0.42 million in both periods, remained the largest component of other expense.Net income for Q2 FY27 was $0.17 million, compared to a loss of $7.45 million in Q2 FY26, representing an increase of $7.62 million. Stronger profitability in Q2 FY27 reflects the changes discussed above partially offset by a foreign exchange loss of $0.03 million compared to a gain of $0.10 million in Q2 FY26.EBITDA (a non-IFRS measure) improved to $0.66 million in Q2 FY27 from a loss of $6.52 million in Q2 FY26, which included a $5.91 million impairment of intangible assets. Excluding the impairment, EBITDA improved by $1.27 million, driven by lower headcount and vendor costs following the operational restructuring.Adjusted EBITDA (a non-IFRS measure) reached positive $0.87 million in Q2 FY27, a meaningful turnaround from a loss of $0.76M in Q2 FY26, driven by the operational restructuring in Q3 FY26 and disciplined financial management.

The financial statements, notes and Management Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and on Martello’s website at www.martellotech.com. The financial statements include the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Martello. All amounts are reported in Canadian dollars. MRR is a non-IFRS measure, representing average monthly recurring revenues earned in a fiscal quarter. 

This press release does not constitute an offer of the securities of the Company for sale in the United States. The securities of the Company have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, (the “1933 Act”) as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the 1933 Act.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Martello Technologies Group

Martello (TSXV: MTLO) is a technology company that provides proactive service assurance solutions for unified communications and collaboration (UCC) platforms including Mitel and Microsoft Teams. Martello is a public company headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at http://www.martellotech.com

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information can be identified by words such as: “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “seek,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “will” and similar references to future periods and ” includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including expectations regarding disciplined financial management resulting in investment in growth initiatives, the expectation that artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented development will accelerate rapid prototyping and software delivery at lower cost, the aim to build long-term shareholder value through disciplined execution, targeted growth investments and continued operational efficiency, the expectation that a new contract will be negotiated between Martello and Mitel, and that new go-to-market models will represent potential mutual growth opportunities. 

Forward-looking information is neither a statement of historical fact nor assurance of future performance. Instead, forward-looking information is based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking information relates to the future, such statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information. Therefore, you should not rely on any of the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information include, among others, the following:

Continued volatility in the capital or credit markets and the uncertainty of additional financing.Our ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms and the impact of increased funding costs on our financial position.Changes in customer demand.Disruptions to our technology network including computer systems and software, as well as natural events such as severe weather, fires, floods and earthquakes or man-made or other disruptions of our operating systems, structures or equipment.Delayed purchase timelines and disruptions to customer budgets, as well as Martello’s ability to maintain business continuity.and other risks disclosed in the Company’s filings with Canadian Securities Regulators, which are available on the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Any forward-looking information provided by the Company in this news release is based only on information currently available and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking information, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Martello Technologies Group Inc.

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