
Curaleaf International Launches a Range of Medical Cannabis Products in Australia
LONDON, May 15, 2025 /CNW/ -- Curaleaf International, part of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (TSX: CURA) a leading international provider of medical cannabis products, today announced the launch of Curaleaf branded products in Australia. This announcement marks the expansion of Curaleaf's presence in one of the world's fastest growing medical cannabis markets and underscores its commitment to local collaboration, clinical integrity, and patient care.
The initial product offering, comprising four cannabis flower strains, will be distributed via Canngea, a licensed Australian manufacturer and wholesaler with a wealth of experience in medical cannabis. This partnership supports Curaleaf's vision to be the world's leading cannabis company by consistently delivering superior products and services.
Over the coming months, patients and healthcare professionals in Australia can look forward to a broader portfolio and further innovative solutions offered by Curaleaf, including precision-dosed inhalation formats and popular strains already widely prescribed across the UK, Germany, and other key European markets.
Juan Martinez, Head of Curaleaf International, commented: "Entering the Australian market is a significant milestone in our global strategy to expand access to high-quality, evidence-backed cannabis medicines. We're committed to supporting Australian patients and healthcare professionals with reliable, consistent products and the backing of one of the industry's most advanced supply chains."
Boris Jordan, Chairman and CEO of Curaleaf, added: "Australia is an exciting and rapidly evolving market, expected to surpass $1 billion in annual sales next year, and this launch is a positive step forward in our strategy to extend our position as the global leader in cannabis. We're bringing a proven portfolio and a strong track record of innovation, with more to come."
About Curaleaf International
Curaleaf International is shaping the future of cannabis through its commitment to research and product excellence. Powered by a strong presence at all stages of the supply chain, its unique distribution network throughout Europe, Canada and Australasia brings together pioneering research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction, and production. Amidst a rapid growth trajectory, the emphasis on quality and expertise aims to ensure the delivery of safe and legal cannabis.
Curaleaf International's network includes a clinic, pharmacy, and laboratory in the UK; cultivation and EU-GMP processing facilities in Portugal; an EU-GMP processing, quality assurance and research site in Spain; Four20 Pharma wholesaler and distributor in Germany; a Polish wholesaler and clinic; and the EU-GMP producer Northern Green Canada.
Curaleaf International is part of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., a leading international producer and distributor of consumer cannabis products.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Cision Canada
Sangfor Receives Frost & Sullivan's 2025 APAC Customer Value Leadership Recognition in the Extended Detection and Response Market
Frost & Sullivan applauds Sangfor for delivering advanced, AI-powered cybersecurity with exceptional customer value across the APAC region. SAN ANTONIO, June 10, 2025 /CNW/ -- Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Sangfor has been awarded the 2025 Asia-Pacific Customer Value Leadership Recognition in the XDR market for its outstanding achievements in customer-centric innovation, strategic execution, and long-term value delivery. This recognition highlights Sangfor's ability to lead with cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions while maintaining a strong focus on intuitive user experiences and operational flexibility in a complex threat landscape. Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. Sangfor excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to align strategic initiatives with market demand while executing them with efficiency, consistency, and scale. "Sangfor has strategically positioned itself as a customer-first XDR provider by combining deep technical capabilities, such as AI-powered threat detection and automation, with operational simplicity and flexible deployment options," said Lucas Ferreyra, senior industry analyst, cybersecurity practice at Frost & Sullivan. "Its strong performance across financial, healthcare, education, and government sectors in the APAC region confirms Sangfor's commitment to driving measurable cybersecurity outcomes while addressing evolving compliance needs." Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on innovation, global expansion, and strategic customer partnerships, Sangfor has demonstrated its ability to adapt and lead in a rapidly evolving cybersecurity market. The company's agility and sustained investment in AI, automation, and third-party integration have enabled it to scale effectively across Asia-Pacific while establishing a growing footprint in the EMEA region. Innovation remains central to Sangfor's approach. Its XDR platform offers comprehensive visibility across endpoints, networks, cloud environments, and IoT devices, leveraging more than 300 third-party tool integrations to provide a holistic threat response ecosystem. Sangfor's Security GPT—its generative AI security assistant—empowers security analysts at all levels to investigate threats, perform hunting queries, and accelerate incident response using natural language. "We are truly honored to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for our leadership in the XDR market. It affirms our relentless focus on delivering real, measurable value to our customers. Sangfor XDR is a cornerstone of our Security Operations series. It is designed to help enterprises modernize their security operations through next-level AI and automation. It simplifies complex processes and enhances detection and response to today's sophisticated threats. Looking ahead, we remain deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of cybersecurity innovation, developing even more intelligent, integrated, and adaptive security solutions that empower our customers to stay ahead of evolving threats," said Darren Du, Vice President of Sangfor International Market. Sangfor's unwavering commitment to customer experience strengthens its position in the market. From offering clear, all-in-one pricing models to ensuring localized deployments that meet data sovereignty and compliance needs, Sangfor provides scalable cybersecurity solutions tailored to organizations of all sizes and maturity levels. Its partner-led delivery model, coupled with direct engagement for enterprise customers, ensures flexible, high-touch service tailored to local market dynamics. Frost & Sullivan commends Sangfor for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company's forward-looking innovation pipeline, customer-first culture, and proven track record in delivering enhanced threat detection and response position as a leader shaping the future of the XDR market in APAC and beyond. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Customer Value Leadership Recognition to a company that demonstrates outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. The award recognizes forward-thinking organizations that are reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, megatrends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Contact: Tarini Singh E: [email protected] About Sangfor Sangfor Technologies is a global leader in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and IT infrastructure, providing fully integrated and AI-driven solutions. Founded in 2000 and publicly listed since 2018 (STOCK CODE: Sangfor serves over 100,000 customers worldwide, including Fortune Global 500 companies, government institutions, universities, and healthcare organizations. With over 8,000 employees and more than 70 branch offices across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM, the company is committed to delivering on its mission to Make Your Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure.


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Russia skirts Western sanctions to ramp up its military footprint in Africa
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Even as it pounds Ukraine, Russia is expanding its military footprint in Africa, delivering sophisticated weaponry to sub-Saharan conflict zones where a Kremlin-controlled armed force is on the rise. Skirting sanctions imposed by Western nations, Moscow is using cargo ships to send tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and other high-value equipment to West Africa, The Associated Press has found. Relying on satellite imagery and radio signals, AP tracked a convoy of Russian-flagged cargo ships as they made a nearly one-month journey from the Baltic Sea. The ships carried howitzers, radio jamming equipment and other military hardware, according to military officials in Europe who closely monitored them. The deliveries could strengthen Russia's fledgling Africa Corps as Moscow competes with the United States, Europe and China for greater influence across the continent. The two-year-old Africa Corps, which has links to a covert branch of Russia's army, is ascendant at a time when U.S. and European troops have been withdrawing from the region, forced out by sub-Saharan nations turning to Russia for security. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been battling fighters linked with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for more than a decade. At first, mercenary groups with an arms-length relationship to the Kremlin entered the fray in Africa. But increasingly, Russia is deploying its military might, and intelligence services, more directly. 'We intend to expand our cooperation with African countries in all spheres, with an emphasis on economic cooperation and investments,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 'This cooperation includes sensitive areas linked to defense and security.' From the ports, Russian weapons are trucked to Mali Russia's 8,800-ton Baltic Leader and 5,800-ton Patria are among hundreds of ships that Western nations have sanctioned to choke off resources for Russia's war in Ukraine. The ships docked and unloaded in Conakry, Guinea, in late May, AP satellite images showed. Other ships made deliveries to the same port in January. They delivered tanks, armored vehicles and other hardware that was then trucked overland to neighboring Mali, according to European military officials and a Malian blogger's video of the long convoy. The military officials spoke to AP about Russian operations on condition of anonymity. The AP verified the blogger's video, geolocating it to the RN5 highway leading into Bamako, the Malian capital. After the latest delivery in Conakry, trucks carrying Russian-made armored vehicles, howitzers and other equipment were again spotted on the overland route to Mali. Malian broadcaster ORTM confirmed that the West African nation's army took delivery of new military equipment. AP analysis of its video and images filmed by the Malian blogger in the same spot as the January delivery identified a broad array of Russian-made hardware, including 152 mm artillery guns and other smaller canons. AP also identified a wheeled, BTR-80 armored troop carrier with radio-jamming equipment, as well as Spartak armored vehicles and other armored carriers, some mounted with guns. The shipment also included at least two semi-inflatable small boats, one with a Russian flag painted on its hull, as well as tanker trucks, some marked 'inflammable' in Russian on their sides. The military officials who spoke to AP said they believe Russia has earmarked the most potent equipment — notably the artillery and jamming equipment — for its Africa Corps, not Malian armed forces. Africa Corps appears to have been given air power, too, with satellites spotting at least one Su-24 fighter-bomber at a Bamako air base in recent months. Moscow's notorious secret unit For years, French forces supported counterinsurgency operations in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. But France pulled out its troops after coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, in Burkina Faso in 2022 and Niger in 2023. Russian mercenaries stepped into the vacuum. Wagner Group, the most notable, deployed to Sudan in 2017 and expanded to other African countries, often in exchange for mining concessions. It earned a reputation for brutality, accused by Western countries and U.N. experts of human rights abuses, including in Central African Republic, Libya and Mali. Of 33 African countries in which Russian military contractors were active, the majority were Wagner-controlled, according to U.S. government-sponsored research by RAND. But after Wagner forces mutinied in Russia in 2023 and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed two months later in a suspicious plane crash, Moscow tightened its grip. Russian military operations in Africa were restructured, with the Kremlin taking greater control through Africa Corps. It is overseen by the commander of Unit 29155, one of the most notorious branches of Russia's shadowy GRU military intelligence service, according to the European Union. Unit 29155 has been accused of covertly attacking Western interests for years, including through sabotage and assassination attempts. The EU in December targeted Unit 29155 Maj. Gen. Andrey Averyanov with sanctions, alleging that he is in charge of Africa Corps operations. 'In many African countries, Russian forces provide security to military juntas that have overthrown legitimate democratic governments, gravely worsening the stability, security and democracy of the countries,' the EU sanctions ruling said. These operations are financed by exploiting the continent's natural resources, the ruling added. The Russian Ministry of Defense didn't immediately respond to questions about Averyanov's role in Africa Corps. Africa Corps recruitment Researchers and military officials say the flow of weapons from Russia appears to be speeding Africa Corps' ascendancy over Wagner, helping it win over mercenaries that have remained loyal to the group. Africa Corps is also is recruiting in Russia, offering payments of up to 2.1 million rubles ($26,500), and even plots of land, for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, plus more on deployment. Within days of the latest equipment delivery, Wagner announced its withdrawal from Mali, declaring 'mission accomplished' in a Telegram post. Africa Corps said in a separate post that it would remain. The changeover from Wagner to Africa Corps in Mali could be a forerunner for other similar transitions elsewhere on the continent, said Julia Stanyard, a researcher of Russian mercenary activity in Africa. 'Bringing in this sort of brand-new sophisticated weaponry, and new armored vehicles and that sort of thing, is quite a bit of a shift,' said Stanyard, of the Switzerland-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Armed groups in Mali have inflicted heavy losses on Malian troops and Russian mercenaries. The al-Qaida linked group JNIM killed dozens of soldiers in an attack this month on a military base. Insurgents also killed dozens of Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali last July. Some of the latest hardware could have been shipped over specifically in response to such attacks, military officials said. They said the jamming equipment, for example, could help defend against booby traps detonated using phone signals. Russian escort's red flags The latest convoy attracted attention because a Russian Navy warship, the Boykiy, escorted the ships after they set off in April from Russia's Kaliningrad region on the Baltic. Last October, in what's considered a hostile act, the Boykiy's radar systems locked onto a French Navy maritime surveillance plane on patrol against suspected Russian efforts to sabotage underwater cables, according to military officials. The convoy included a third sanctioned Russian cargo ship, the Siyanie Severa. It continued onward as Baltic Leader and Patria unloaded in Conakry, docking in Bata, Equatorial Guinea. Satellite imagery from May 29 shows trucks lined up on the dock as the ship unloaded. The AP could not verify whether the cargo included weapons or the ultimate destination for the shipment, though Wagner has maintained a strong presence in the nearby Central African Republic. ___ Leicester reported from Paris and Biesecker from Washington. Beatrice Dupuy and Rachel Leathe in New York contributed.


Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Five things to know about Canada's plan to meet the NATO defence spending target
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark Carney is promising that Canada will quickly boost its defence spending to hit the NATO member target of two per cent of national GDP this year. Canada has long promised to meet the target but has never had a detailed plan to get there. The announcement comes as NATO allies prepare for talks on raising the spending target to five per cent at the annual summit this month. Here's what you need to know about the announcement. 1. What is the NATO spending target? All NATO allies, Canada included, committed to spending the equivalent of two per cent of their GDP on defence in 2006. In 2014, NATO leaders agreed formally that countries that were not meeting the target must move toward it within a decade. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, allies agreed at the 2023 NATO summit to make two per cent the minimum spending target. Many European countries have rapidly scaled up their defence spending in response to Russia's war on Ukraine. As of this year, 22 of the 32 NATO member states are spending at least two per cent of their national GDP on defence. Canada is not among them. A leaked Pentagon document obtained by The Washington Post in 2023 quoted then-prime minister Justin Trudeau telling NATO officials that Canada would not meet the two per cent target. Under pressure from allies, the Trudeau government later promised to hit the two per cent benchmark by 2032. In January, then-defence minister Bill Blair told reporters he was trying to speed up that timeline to 2027. 2. Why is the target changing? At this year's NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, allies will discuss a proposal to boost the spending target to five per cent of GDP. That's expected to be broken down into two parts — 3.5 per cent for what NATO calls core defence spending and another 1.5 per cent for a broader category of defence and security-related spending. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters last week there was 'broad support' among allies for the change and that he had total confidence they would agree to it at the summit, which is being held June 24-26. The change is seen as a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for allies to pull more weight in NATO. Among NATO members, the U.S. spends the most on its military in dollar terms. In March, Trump suggested America might not defend its allies if they don't meet the target. 'If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them,' he said. According to NATO's most recent figures, U.S. defence spending was estimated at 3.19 per cent of GDP in 2024, down from 3.68 per cent a decade ago. It's the only NATO ally whose defence spending has dropped since 2014. 3. How much is Canada spending on defence? According to the latest NATO projections, Canada was on track to spend 1.45 per cent of GDP on defence in 2024-25. NATO allies also have agreed that 20 per cent of their spending should go toward equipment. In 2024, Canada was on track to spend 17.8 per cent of its total on equipment, making it one of only three countries to miss both parts of the target. Carney's announcement on Monday amounts to another $9.3 billion in spending in this fiscal year, 2025-26. Senior government officials told reporters at a briefing Monday morning that the country's defence spending for the fiscal year was projected to be $53.4 billion. With the announcement of this new spending, that sum is expected to rise to $62.7 billion for 2025-26 — or two per cent of Canada's national GDP, which is estimated at just over $3.1 trillion this year. While most of that — $53.4 billion — is Department of National Defence spending, about $14 billion is going to other government departments, including $370 million for the Communications Security Establishment. 3. What is the money being spent on? A large amount of the spending announced on Monday — $2.63 billion — is meant to 'empower the military to recruit and retain the personnel needed to carry out its mandate,' said a Government of Canada press release. The government says that funding will help accelerate military recruitment and expand the civilian defence workforce. It includes a pay raise for members. The Canadian Armed Forces is short more than 13,000 personnel in its regular and reserve forces. In February, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan said the Armed Forces was on track to meet its recruitment goal of enrolling 6,496 members this fiscal year. The military said it was aiming to reach its approved strength of 71,500 regular forces members and 30,000 reserve members by April 2029. Another $2.1 billion is set aside to diversify Canada's defence partnerships and help build the domestic defence industry. Carney has said Canada wants to join ReArm Europe, an 800 billion-euro plan to beef up the defence of EU countries. Government officials said Monday that $2.1 billion could help Canada enter joint procurements or multilateral initiatives with other countries. 5. What is happening with the Coast Guard? The government is planning to include $2.5 billion it spends on the Canadian Coast Guard in its NATO spending this year — about 60 per cent of the agency's total budget. The Coast Guard will remain part of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It's responsible for ensuring the safety of people in Canadian waters, carrying out search-and-rescue operations and conducting research, and has a fleet of icebreakers. The Coast Guard also has a mandate to 'ensure Canada's sovereignty and security by establishing a strong federal presence in our waters,' according to the Government of Canada. Government officials said there is no plan to arm the Coast Guard or its members. They say its inclusion in Canada's overall defence and security strategy reflects its role in providing what they call maritime domain awareness. The intent, officials told reporters, is to improve inter-service communication, particularly in the Arctic region. The increased co-operation could involve sending military members on Coast Guard trips, for example. The government said it's boosting the Coast Guard budget by $100 million. — With files from Kyle Duggan and The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.