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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 3 February 2025 – VEGA, a global leader in AV/IT solutions, announces two major milestones: the relocation of its global headquarters to Champion Tower at 3 Garden Road, Hong Kong, and the appointment of Max Davies, formerly a senior leader at Crestron, as Country Manager for VEGA Australia. These developments underline VEGA’s commitment to innovation, leadership, and delivering exceptional solutions to clients worldwide. VEGA relocates its global headquarters to Champion Tower at 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong, reflecting its commitment to innovation and global service. New Global Headquarters at Champion Tower In February 2025, VEGA will relocate its global headquarters to Champion Tower in Hong Kong’s central business district. This move reflects VEGA’s focus on fostering growth and collaboration while staying close to its key clients in the financial services and business sectors. The new headquarters, situated on a high level with stunning views of Mid-Levels, features state-of-the-art facilities designed to host client events, partner meetings, and internal team collaborations. “Our relocation to 3 Garden Road mirrors the ambitious growth plans of our clients and underscores our leadership in Asia and the Middle East,” said Steven Medeiros, CEO of VEGA. “This move enhances our ability to serve our clients better, foster innovation within our team, and build an even stronger future for VEGA.” Max Davies Joins as Country Manager for VEGA Australia VEGA is proud to welcome Max Davies as the new Country Manager for VEGA Australia. With nearly 20 years of experience in AV/IT solutions, Max brings a wealth of expertise from his time at Crestron, where he led large scale projects like Canon’s head office and ANZ Bank’s Sydney headquarters. Max’s expertise in AV/IT integration, workplace technology, and strategic project delivery makes him an ideal leader to drive VEGA’s growth in the Australian market. His deep understanding of cutting-edge collaboration technologies positions him to meet the evolving needs of VEGA’s clients. “I’m excited to join VEGA to build on the success of the Australian team and the greater global business,”* said Max Davies. “I’ll be working alongside some of the best people in the industry, striving to provide excellence and innovation for our clients.” Steven Medeiros added: “Max’s leadership and expertise from his time at Crestron will strengthen VEGA’s position in Australia and elevate our ability to deliver exceptional solutions across industries.” These announcements reflect VEGA’s focus on innovation, client success, and global growth as the company continues to expand its footprint and deliver world-class AV/IT solutions. Hashtag: #VEGA #vegaglobal https://www.vega-global.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/onevega/https://www.facebook.com/onevega2024/https://www.instagram.com/vega_global/ The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. VEGA With over 30 years of expertise, VEGA is a global leader in AV/IT solutions, delivering innovative, reliable, and tailored services to over 12,000 clients across 19 countries. Specializing in AV/IT integration, digital workplace strategy, and managed services, VEGA has completed over 100,000 projects worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.vega-global.com

LOS ANGELES, USA – Newsaktuell – 31 January 2025 – High levels of governance have masked a slow decline in Germany, with political, economic, and social fractures “festering over years”, a new scientific report released only weeks ahead of the February 23 parliamentary elections concludes. On February 23, Germany elects a new Bundestag. The issue of migration plays a particularly important role, not least for supporters of the far-right AfD party – seen here at a demonstration in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, the seat of the Bundestag, in 2022. (Photo by Christoph Soeder/dpa) “It has become clear that Germany rested on its laurels for far too long”, the BGI Germany Report on the country’s governance performance says. It is based on the Berggruen Governance Index (BGI) and was conducted by researchers from the Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute think tank, the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and the Hertie School, a German university. In their report “Germany 2025 – Slow decline in governance performance erupts into crisis of government as geopolitics worsen” the researchers conclude that the country’s government and administrative systems have appeared increasingly sclerotic and hesitant to adopt necessary changes. Effective, often painful reforms are urgently needed, but political and economic constraints make them difficult to implement, the researchers write. The 2024 BGI measures democratic accountability, delivery of public goods and state capacity on a scale from 0 to 100. It analyses the years from 2000 to 2021. According to the report, Germany has lost ground on all three measures, with structural problems festering since the “deceptively benign” years of the chancellorship of Angela Merkel (2005-2021). The Democracy Accountability Index score, for example, slid to 93 in 2021 from a near perfect 99 at the beginning of the century. The data “suggests that some of Germany’s state capacity and democratic accountability challenges were masked by economic growth, driven by the success of its export-oriented model during the 2010s”, the report says. Chief among Germany’s challenges are economic troubles that have worsened in recent years, largely stemming from a lack of public investment during that period in areas such as digitalization and transport infrastructure. On February 23, Germans go to the polls early after the ruling three-party coalition consisting of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) collapsed in November. Intra-government fighting over how to get the country’s ailing economy back on track was a main factor of the break-up. At the same time, social trust is declining in Europe’s largest economy. However, a possible new government under the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and its candidate for the chancellorship, Friedrich Merz, seems poised to exacerbate divisions rather than resolving them, the researchers say. The economic difficulties heighten uncertainty and discontent, the report argues – with migration emerging as the other major flashpoint. Rhetoric on economic scarcity is used to highlight tensions over migration, which are exploited by both the extreme right and left. That debate has been exacerbated by a recent deadly stabbing in which a migrant facing deportation from Germany is the main suspect. Yet immigration is essential to Germany’s future growth, the BGI report says: “Any future government will have to attempt to reconcile anti-immigrant attitudes with the social reality of integration and the economic necessity of attracting foreign-born workers.” Merz is promising a hard line on migration in case of an election victory. Despite provoking outrage from other political parties, Merz on Wednesday (January 29) pushed through a vote in parliament on proposals for tightening immigration controls. “Current asylum and immigration policy jeopardizes the security of the people and the confidence of all of society in the state,” the text of the motion by the CDU/CSU says. The passed proposal includes a request to the German government to turn back asylum seekers at Germany’s borders. But even more incendiary in German politics has been Merz’s willingness to break long-standing taboos and use votes from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in order to pass the motion. All long-established parties in the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, had previously said they would not work with the AfD, with many Germans alarmed at the rise of the party in recent years in a country still scarred by its Nazi past. According to the latest opinion polls by the five major polling institutes, the conservative CDU/CSU is clearly in the lead, polling at between 28 and 34 per cent. Second comes the AfD with 19 to 21 per cent, followed by the SPD with 15 to 19 per cent. The current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a member of the SPD. The Greens are at 12 to 15 per cent in the opinion polls, while the FDP this time may not clear the 5-per-cent-threshold necessary to enter the Bundestag. ———————————————- This text and the accompanying material (photos and graphics) are an offer from the Democracy News Alliance, a close co-operation between Agence France-Presse (AFP, France), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA, Italy), The Canadian Press (CP, Canada), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa, Germany) and PA Media (PA, UK). All recipients can use this material without the need for a separate subscription agreement with one or more of the participating agencies. This includes the recipient’s right to publish the material in own products. The DNA content is an independent journalistic service that operates separately from the other services of the participating agencies. It is produced by editorial units that are not involved in the production of the agencies’ main news services. Nevertheless, the editorial standards of the agencies and their assurance of completely independent, impartial and unbiased reporting also apply here. Further coverage by the Democracy News Alliance can be found in the DNA digital newsroom at https://www.presseportal.de/en/nr/174021 Hashtag: #DNA The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 31 January 2025 – Memecoins were on the rise in 2024. Their overall market capitalisation increased from $20 billion last January up to $120 billion in December 2024. Such coins as DOGE, PEPE, or SHIB have thrived, primarily driven by community support and innovative strategies. Some experts have even acknowledged meme coins as a viable crypto trend. TRUMP, a meme coin created by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th U.S. President, has emerged as a speculative and rather controversial asset. However, it may still signal mass adoption of crypto, regulatory warm-ups and new crypto trends. Global broker Octa explains how the meme coin may impact the market. Source: Shutterstock TRUMP: launch and accelerated growth Donald Trump surprised society on 17 January 2025, three days before his inauguration, by launching the meme coin TRUMP based on the Solana blockchain. Trump announced the launch on his official X and Truth Social accounts. The coin’s value quickly surged, particularly when it was listed on several CEX (centralised crypto exchanges) like ByBit. Within two days, it increased from $7 on 17 January to $75 on 19 January. The next day, when the President entered the White House, the price soared significantly. The minimum was around $38 per coin. At one point, the coin became the 19th most valuable crypto globally during its peak on 19 January. At the moment of writing the article, the coin ranks 25th on CoinMarketCap in terms of market capitalisation, outperforming popular memecoins like PEPE and, notably, 10-year-old XMR. TRUMP is considered a memecoin since it has no inherent value, and the asset’s price entirely depends on the market sentiment: buyers and sellers can manipulate the price. Nonetheless, Trump’s fans and crypto enthusiasts have actively supported the coin. The volume of daily traded coins reached its maximum on the inauguration day, 20 January, and surpassed $52 billion. Currently, the circulating supply accounts for almost a fifth of the whole supply: 200 million tokens. Another 800 million are controlled by Trump-owned entities. The developers plan to release the remaining tokens gradually within three years. However, many experts are concerned because the owner can ruin the market by selling the controlled assets. MELANIA meme coin: launch and impact on the market Following the TRUMP coin hype, Melania Trump announced the launch of her own meme coin, MELANIA. While its value almost reached $13 on 20 January, and a lot of crypto traders abandoned TRUMP to trade MELANIA, the asset’s price has dropped since then. The First Lady’s coin was officially presented by her incorporated company, MKT World LLC. The coin has contributed to the Trump family’s crypto hype. There were even rumours that another coin from Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the elected President, was about to see the world. However, no official news or proof was released, so this could be fake. The future of TRUMP TRUMP has been a controversial asset. Some believe it signals ‘a new regulatory era, where governments see crypto as a technology to reach out to the masses directly’. Others are sure that the launch has undermined the credibility of the industry, as the coin is rather volatile and speculative. For example, a popular Bitcoin investor, Erik Voorhees, has criticised the asset. ‘Although TRUMP may be considered as a ‘rug pull’—a quickly abandoned coin—it may have potential longevity. One of the deciding factors is the remaining 80% of the supply and its future’, comments Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. ‘For now, the future of the asset depends on the crypto society and its willingness to buy TRUMP. This is proved by the MELANIA launch, which shifted liquidity in its favour and significantly dropped the President’s token price.’ Considering the emotion-driven buying frenzy of the TRUMP coin, which potentially drove many newcomers to the crypto market, it’s likely to provoke another rise of memes from celebrities and influencers. While meme coins are known for their high returns, especially during the launch on CEX, they are very volatile and speculative. Traders should avoid quick decisions and overbudgeting to secure their funds. What is more, it’s advised to beware of scams. For example, there are fake TRUMP tokens now. Moreover, hackers can try to capitalise on the meme hype. Just recently, scammers breached Nasdaq’s X account and promoted a fake meme coin, STONKS. It was launched the same day and was a copycat of a pre-existing memecoin on Solana. Despite this, the project’s market capitalisation reached $80 million. Several days later, the token’s price dropped. Nonetheless, TRUMP can be considered an evidence of a crypto-favourable regulation. Since Donald Trump was elected as the U.S. President, crypto society has considered this as another proof of an anticipated bull run and crypto mass adoption. For example, Bitcoin hit another ATH (all-time-high) on the inauguration day. This is probably driven by the President’s crypto-related plans, such as industry deregulation or a potential strategic Bitcoin reserve. Hashtag: #Octa The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Octa Octa is an international CFD broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and various services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools. The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including the improvement of educational infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities. In the APAC region, Octa received the ‘Best Trading Platform Malaysia 2024’ and the ‘Most Reliable Broker Asia 2023’ awards from Brands and Business Magazine and International Global Forex Awards, respectively.