Analysis: Here is a summary of significant articles published on ForeignAffairs.co.nz on May 23, 2025.
MIL-OSI Global: Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed nationwide missile defense system
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives and Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder Posters that President Donald Trump used to announce Golden Dome depict missile defense as a shield. AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein President Donald Trump announced a plan to build a […]
MIL-Evening Report: NZ Budget 2025: funding growth at the expense of pay equity for women could cost National in the long run
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Curtin, Professor of Politics and Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Pay equity protest outside parliament on budget day, May 22 2025. Getty Images In 1936, when the National Party was created through a merger of the United and Reform parties, there was a recognition […]
MIL-Evening Report: Head knocks and ultra-violence: viral games Run It Straight and Power Slap put sports safety back centuries
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Yorke, Lecturer in sport management, Western Sydney University runitstraight24/instagram.com, The Conversation, CC BY Created in Australia, “Run It Straight” is a new, ultra-violent combat sport. Across a 20×4 metre grassed “battlefield,” players charge at full speed toward one another. Alternating between carrying the ball (ball runner) […]
MIL-Evening Report: Australian roads are getting deadlier – pedestrians and males are among those at greater risk
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne At least ten people died in fatal crashes earlier this month in a single 48-hour period on Victorian roads. It was the latest tragic demonstration of the mounting road trauma in […]
MIL-Evening Report: There is a growing number of ‘super-sized’ schools. Does the number of students matter?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Rowe, Associate Professor in Education, Deakin University LBeddoe/Shutterstock Earlier this week, The Sydney Morning Herald reported one of Sydney’s top public high schools had more than 2,000 students for the first time, thanks to the booming population in the area. This follows similar reports of other […]
MIL-Evening Report: From peasant fodder to posh fare: how snails and oysters became luxury foods
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Garritt C. Van Dyk, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Waikato An Oyster cellar in Leith John Burnet, 1819; National Galleries of Scotland, Photo: Antonia Reeve Oysters and escargot are recognised as luxury foods around the world – but they were once valued by the lower classes […]
MIL-OSI Global: Ukraine: it’s clear right now there are no serious plans for peace
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor When it comes to the sincerity, or otherwise, of Vladimir Putin’s apparent willingness to talk peace with Ukraine, the Russian leader has given us plenty of hints. He may insist he wants to see a deal done and an end […]
MIL-OSI Global: Starmer’s winter fuel allowance ‘U-turn’ sets him on a tricky path with backbenchers and voters
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London Turning things around? House of Commons/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND The U-turn is a long and, depending on your point of view, honourable or dishonourable tradition in British politics. Now Keir Starmer has been accused of following this tradition after […]
MIL-OSI Global: Just three nights of poor sleep might harm your heart – new study
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Annie Curtis, Professor (Assoc), School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences (PBS), RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences Prostock studio/Shutterstock We’ve long known that a lack of sleep is bad for the heart – but scientists are now starting to understand exactly how it causes harm. In a […]
MIL-OSI Global: Hay fever: why symptoms are so bad this year – and what to do if your usual remedies aren’t working
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Samuel J. White, Associate Professor & Head of Projects, York St John University Birch pollen affects around a quarter of hay fever sufferers in the UK. Dragana Gordic/ Shutterstock Hay fever can be annoying at the best of times. But this year, many people are reporting their usual […]
MIL-OSI Global: Mary Dorcey: queer Irish poet illuminates a form of sexuality even the law has overlooked
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jack Reid, PhD Candidate in Irish literature, University of Limerick Ezhova Mariia/Shutterstock It’s the tenth anniversary of the marriage referendum in Ireland on May 22. The first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote, Ireland has transformed itself from a conservative stronghold to a liberal state. This […]
MIL-OSI Global: Heart Lamp by the Indian writer Banu Mushtaq wins 2025 International Booker prize – a powerful collection of stories inspired by the real suffering of women
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen Vassallo, Associate Professor of French and Translation, University of Exeter Banu Mushtaq’s quietly powerful collection of short stories, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, shines a light on the lives of Muslim women in rural India. It is the first time that the International Booker prize has been won […]
MIL-OSI Global: ‘We are all lumped under one umbrella of hate’: when social attitudes change, what is life like for people who don’t agree?
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Carol Ballantine, Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer in Gender and Equality Studies, University College Dublin charactervectorart/Shutterstock Pseudonyms are used in this article; interviewees who asked for their real names to be used are asterisked. In 2016, one of us (Kath) attended New Normal, a conference in London which opposed […]
MIL-OSI Global: After 50 successful years, the European Space Agency has some big challenges ahead
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Brown, Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University Rosetta at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA/ATG medialab; Comet image: ESA/Rosetta/Navcam This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Space Agency (Esa). It has launched spectacularly successful missions, but is different to other space agencies which generally represent […]
MIL-OSI Global: Working women are too often left to deal with endometriosis alone. But big changes could be coming
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Victoria Williams, Research Fellow, University of Surrey PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Endometriosis is a long-term and invisible gynaecological condition that affects around 1.5 million women in the UK alone. It’s known for its unpredictable and debilitating symptoms, like chronic pelvic pain, heavy periods and fatigue. But many women […]
MIL-OSI Global: Why a ‘rip-off’ degree might be worth the money after all – research study
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sean Brophy, Senior Lecturer , Manchester Metropolitan University PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock Certain university degrees – especially in the arts and humanities – are often maligned as “rip-offs” or “Mickey Mouse degrees”. The argument is that while some degrees lead to high-paying jobs, others offer little financial return […]
MIL-OSI Global: Why Ofcom wants to plug a legal loophole around politicians presenting news
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen Cushion, Chair Professor, Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University Following a legal battle with GB News, the UK’s media regulator is proposing to tighten its rules on politicians appearing as presenters. Earlier this year, a judge concluded that Ofcom’s current impartiality guidelines are badly […]
MIL-OSI Global: NOAA’s 2025 hurricane forecast warns of a busy season – a storm scientist explains why and what meteorologists are watching
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Colin Zarzycki, Associate Professor of Meteorology and Climate Dynamics, Penn State U.S. forecasters are expecting an above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, with 13 to 19 named storms, and 6 to 10 of those becoming hurricanes. Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other forecasters release preseason […]
MIL-OSI Global: Canada’s skills crisis is growing — here’s how we can fix it
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Stephen Murgatroyd, Instructor, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta Canada needs to rethink how to prepare Canadians for the workforce. (Shutterstock) Canada is facing a significant skills shortage. According to recent data, 77 per cent of Canadian businesses surveyed say they are unable to find suitably skilled candidates […]
MIL-OSI Global: Golden Dome: what Trump should learn from Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ missile defence system plan
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matthew Powell, Teaching Fellow in Strategic and Air Power Studies, University of Portsmouth Donald Trump has unveiled plans for a new “next-generation” missile defence system which he says will by “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space”. The […]