Picture this: On your way out of the office, you notice a manager berating an employee. You assume the worker made some sort of mistake, but the manager’s behavior seems unprofessional. Later, as you’re preparing dinner, is the scene still weighing on you – or is it out of sight, out of mind?
If you think you’d still be bothered, you’re not alone. It turns out that simply observing mistreatment at work can have a surprisingly strong impact on people, even for those not directly involved. That’s according to new research led by Edwyna Hill, co-authored by Rachel Burgess, Manuela Priesemuth, Jefferson McClain and me, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
Using a method called meta-analysis – which takes results from many different studies and combines them to produce an overall set of findings – we reviewed the growing body of research on what management professors like me call “third-party perceptions of mistreatment.” In this context, “third parties” are people who observe mistreatment between a perpetrator and the victim, who are the first and second parties.
We looked at 158 studies published in 105 journal articles involving thousands of participants. Those studies explored a number of different forms of workplace mistreatment ranging from incivility to abusive supervision and sexual harassment. Some of those studies took part in actual workplaces, while others examined mistreatment in tightly controlled laboratory settings.
The results were striking: We found that observing a co-worker being mistreated on the job has significant effects on the observers’ emotions. In fact, we found that observers of mistreatment may be as affected by what happened as the people actually involved in the event.
These reactions fall along a spectrum – some helpful, others less so. On the encouraging side, we found that observers tend to judge perpetrators and feel empathy for victims. These reactions discourage mistreatment by creating a climate that favors the victim. On the other hand, we found that observers may also enjoy seeing their co-workers suffer – an emotion called “schadenfreude” – or blame the victim. These sorts of reactions damage team dynamics and discourage people from reporting mistreatment.
Why it matters
These findings matter because mistreatment in the workplace is disturbingly common – and even more frequently observed than experienced. One recent study found that 34% of employees have experienced workplace mistreatment firsthand, but 44% have observed it happening to someone else. In other words, nearly half of workers have likely seen a scenario like the one described at the start of this article.
Unfortunately, the human resources playbook on workplace mistreatment rarely takes third parties into account. Some investigation occurs, potentially resulting in some punishment for the perpetrator and some support for the victim. A more effective response to workplace mistreatment would recognize that the harm often extends beyond the victim – and that observers, too, may need support.
What still isn’t known
What’s needed now is a better understanding of the nuances involved in observing mistreatment. Why do some observers react with empathy, while others derive pleasure from the suffering of others? And why might observers feel empathy for the victim but still respond by judging or blaming them? Answering these questions is a crucial next step for researchers and leaders seeking to design more effective workplace policies.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
Jason Colquitt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In our view, these campaigns often cherry-pick evidence and mask a coordinated effort that targets access and diversity in American colleges.
As scholars who study access to higher education, we have found that when these efforts are paired with pressure to reinstate standardized tests, they amount to a rollback of inclusive practices.
A Department of Education letter sent to congressional offices from Feb. 14, 2025, stated that is “unlawful for an educational institution to eliminate standardized testing to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity.” The letter also claimed that the most widely used admissions tests, the SAT and ACT, are objective measures of merit.
In our recent peer-reviewed article, we analyzed more than 70 empirical studies about the SAT’s and ACT’s roles in college admissions. Our work found several flaws in how these exams function, especially for historically underserved students.
Several elite universities – including Yale, Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – have reinstated SAT or ACT requirements, reversing test-optional policies that institutions expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These changes have reignited debates about how well these tests measure students’ academic preparedness and how colleges should weigh them in admissions decisions.
During a May 21, 2025, hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, some witnesses argued that using test scores allows colleges to admit students based on merit. Others maintained that test scores can function as barriers to higher education.
Our research shows that while these tests are statistically reliable – that is, they produce consistent results for students across subjects and during multiple attempts under similar conditions – they are not as valid as some argue.
That is because they systematically favor those with more access to high-quality schooling, stable socioeconomic conditions and opportunities to engage with test prep coaches and courses. That test prep can cost thousands of dollars.
In short, both tests tend to reflect privilege more than potential.
For example, students from higher-income households routinely outperform their peers on the ACT and SAT.
This isn’t surprising, considering wealthier families can afford test prep services, private tutoring and test retakes. These advantages translate into higher scores and open doors to selective colleges and scholarship opportunities.
Meanwhile, students from low-income families often face challenges – such as less experienced instructors and less access to high-level science, math and advanced placement courses – that test scores do not factor in.
These outcomes don’t just reflect academic differences; they reflect inequities that shape how students prepare for and perform on these tests.
We also found that high school GPA outperforms standardized tests in predicting college success. GPA captures years of classroom performance, effort and teacher feedback. It reflects how students navigate real-world challenges, not just how they perform on a single timed exam.
For many students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, grades can offer a better indication of how prepared they are for college-level work.
This issue matters because admissions decisions aren’t just technical evaluations – they are value statements. Choosing to center test scores in admissions rewards certain kinds of knowledge, experiences and preparation.
The American Council on Education defines equity as opportunities for success. It means building educational environments that recognize diverse forms of potential and equip all learners to thrive.
It’s worth noting that research on testing often focuses on elite institutions, where standardized test scores are more likely to be used as high-stakes screening tools. Our systematic review found that, even in elite schools, the tests’ ability to accurately predict college academic performance is often limited (moderate in statistical terms).
But most college students attend state universities, public regional universities, minority-serving institutions, or colleges that accept most applicants. Our study found that at these institutions, standardized test scores are even less likely to predict how students will do.
This may be because state universities and public regional universities are more likely to serve highly diverse student populations, including older, part-time and first-generation students and those who are balancing work and family responsibilities.
With the debate over the role of standardized tests in the admissions process, higher education stands at a crossroads: Will colleges yield to political pressure and narrow definitions of merit and ignore equity? Or will institutions reaffirm their mission by embracing broader, fairer tools for recognizing talent and supporting student success?
The answer depends on what values are prioritized.
Our research and that of others make it clear that standardized tests should not be the gatekeepers of opportunity.
If universities define merit on test scores alone, they risk closing the doors of opportunity to capable students.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Get rid of states? Legal scholar Stephen Legomsky, who taught for 34 years at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, has just published a book, “Reimagining the American Union,” that proposes a radical idea: Abolish state government. The Conversation’s politics and democracy editor, Naomi Schalit – a former statehouse reporter herself – interviewed Legomsky about the provocative idea behind his book, in which he advocates moving most of the functions of state government down to the local level, closer to those represented and governed by it.
You propose abolishing states. Why?
The book is a thought experiment. The proposal I’m offering is long term. I realize we need states during the current political moment.
I think the states are the root cause of many, if not most, of the current dangers faced by U.S. democracy. I also see the states as a significant source of fiscal waste. We don’t need three levels of government – national, state and local – all regulating us and all taxing us. Two would do just fine. And after careful, detailed analysis, I concluded that every benefit ever claimed for state government could be achieved at least as well, and in many cases better, by the local governments.
I’m imagining the framers sitting in Independence Hall. And you go back in time and suggest to them not having states. I think most of them would drop dead at the thought, because it ultimately implies a much more powerful federal government. What would you say to them?
After they stop laughing, I would emphasize that I’m not proposing a wholesale transfer of power from the states to an all-powerful, all-knowing central government. Yes, some of the functions currently performed by the states could better be performed at the national level, but I’m proposing that the lion’s share devolve down to the local governments, which are even closer to the people they represent than the state legislatures can ever be.
What functions would your plan hand over to the federal government?
A prime example is licensing. I looked up all the different occupations that require state licenses. I was astonished: practically every health care profession, barbers, engineers, lawyers, architects, the list is endless.
If you live near a state line, you can’t practice in both states unless you get two licenses. If you move to another state, you have to get another license. This seems silly. The human anatomy, human hair, engineering principles, don’t change as you cross from New York to New Jersey. Nor do we need 50 different state driver’s licenses; a single national license administered through local agencies would be more efficient.
You say states are the root cause of the greatest threats to American democracy. What are those threats?
Here’s one especially jarring statistic: From 1969 until today, the Democratic presidential nominees won the national popular vote in a slight majority of the elections. Yet, during the presidential terms that resulted from those elections, Republican presidents have gotten to make 15 of the 20 Supreme Court appointments.
If you devolve these functions and services to localities, wouldn’t you end up with a mirror of the current state-level structure? Wouldn’t this just send a lot of state personnel down to the local level?
Yes, much of that structure would devolve. However, I see that as a good thing. Devolution is unavoidable in a country this size. Not everything can be done by the central government. The question for me is, do we need two levels of subordinate political subdivisions or one? One seems more efficient. And when problems are too big for one local government to handle on its own, it can partner with other local governments or with the national government, just as many local governments do today.
Abolishing state government means no more meetings of the state legislature, like this one in the Maine House of Representatives on Jan. 4, 2023, at the State House in Augusta. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty
If there were no states to gerrymander or pass voter-suppression laws, wouldn’t some national government agency just do it instead?
Redistricting would be performed by a nonpartisan redistricting commission that I propose be made up of technicians, mainly demographers, statisticians and geographers, under broad, general principles enacted by Congress. That’s what almost every other democracy in the world does today.
Why did you write this book?
For a long time, I’ve been distressed about so many of the dangers to our democracy. So, one day, I found myself compiling what ended up becoming a fairly long mental list of all of my democracy-related grievances.
That’s a nice analogy. And as I thought about that list, it suddenly struck me that the vast majority of these problems couldn’t occur without states. That got me thinking about whether we really need states in the first place.
If it’s just a thought experiment, something that’s not going to happen, why would you think it’s worthwhile spending time writing this?
And why would I be so vain as to think anybody would want to waste their time reading it?
And your answer is, ‘Because I’m an academic!’
It’s that, plus more. I do hope there’s some scholarly value in this. But I’m also writing for the long term. States are secure for now, but history teaches us that the more distant future is full of surprises.
Stephen Legomsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
If this all feels exceptional, it should. Governors typically activate their own state troops, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would do on June 11 ahead of expected immigration protests.
The last example of a president federalizing troops over the objection of a state government dates to Jim Crow segregation, a period marked by legal practices that routinely denied due process and citizenship rights to Black Americans in the South. In the 1960s, numerous Black freedom struggles took stands against this authoritarianism backed by militarized law enforcement.
As a scholar of U.S. history, I’ve just completed a book on Jim Crow policing and the ways Black Americans fought back against racist law and order. I think the militarization of policing in Los Angeles opens important questions about democracy and state violence.
Jim Crow dreams
During the Civil Rights Movement, the federal government activated National Guard troops over Southern state objections when those states would neither enforce court orders nor protect protesters.
In those cases, presidents protected people with the help of troops. In Trump’s case, he’s using troops to protect the government from protesters.
The Trump administration’s vision of law enforcement aims for the type of militarized authority that state governments institutionalized under Jim Crow policing. If your political enemy is perceived more like an enemy combatant, the rules of legal procedure, especially due process, might not apply. Policing becomes war.
Before troops enforced civil rights, Black Southerners saw the National Guard as an enemy rather than a friend.
In the words of Ida B. Wells-Barnett after a white riot against Black residents in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1917, “The police were either indifferent or encouraged the barbarities. … The major part of the National Guard was indifferent or inactive. No organized effort was made to protect the Negroes or disperse the murdering groups.”
Eisenhower sends in the troops
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education changed things. It overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision that legalized racial segregation and ruled that segregated public school education was unconstitutional. This significantly altered the federal government’s responsibility in the South’s legal system of white supremacy.
Seven of nine Black students walk onto the campus of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., with a National Guard officer as an escort on Oct. 15, 1957. AP Photo/File
But state authorities had learned from the Little Rock experience. Southern governors in Alabama and Mississippi deployed the National Guard themselves. This time they intended to only minimally protect Freedom Riders to block federal law enforcement. In Mississippi, police arrested and prison guards tortured Freedom Riders in the state penitentiary. Mob violence killed no one.
James Meredith, center, is escorted by federal marshals as he appears for his first day of class at the previously all-white University of Mississippi on Oct. 1, 1962. AP Photo, File
The same was not true during the desegregation of public universities.
The occasion became a publicity stunt for Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace. He temporarily blocked the entrance to Foster Auditorium, intent on stopping the court-ordered registration of three Black students.
“I stand before you here today in place of thousands of other Alabamians whose presence would have confronted you,” Wallace said to federal authorities. A National Guard general said, “Sir, it is my sad duty to ask you to step aside under the orders of the President of the United States.”
A National Guard general informs Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace that the guard was under federal control, as the two meet at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on June 11, 1963. AP Photo, File
Wallace also triggered the last federal use – until now – of the National Guard. Alabama’s Selma-to-Montgomery march began as a memorial to Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young Black civil rights activist who was killed by police on Feb. 26, 1965. The march became primarily a symbol for the year’s Voting Rights Act.
The history of the National Guard in the South is an important part of what’s unfolding in Los Angeles and across the nation.
For most of the National Guard’s history in the South, political leaders used domestic military power to preserve the interests of racial authoritarians, not racial egalitarians. Little Rock, Tuscaloosa, Selma: Those moments when troops protected racial justice protesters at home stand out as some of America’s most hopeful moments.
Recent statements by Trump administration officials help illustrate how it envisions using military power in domestic law enforcement. On June 8, 2025, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “to arrest rioters” – a request beyond the original order to protect ICE agents.
And on June 12, Noem said that “the military people that are working on this operation … are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country.”
But the calls to constrain ICE follow an American tradition of fighting authoritarianism.
Justin Randolph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video reconstruction of Pelkey delivered a victim impact statement. The trial judge reported being deeply moved by this performance and issued the maximum sentence for manslaughter.
As part of the ceremonies to mark Israel’s 77th year of independence on April 30, 2025, officials had planned to host a concert featuring four iconic Israeli singers. All four had died years earlier. The plan was to conjure them using AI-generated sound and video. The dead performers were supposed to sing alongside Yardena Arazi, a famous and still very much alive artist. In the end Arazi pulled out, citing the political atmosphere, and the event didn’t happen.
The use of artificial intelligence to “reanimate” the dead for a variety of purposes is quickly gaining traction. Over the past few years, we’ve been studying the moral implications of AI at the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and we find these AI reanimations to be morally problematic.
Before we address the moral challenges the technology raises, it’s important to distinguish AI reanimations, or deepfakes, from so-called griefbots. Griefbots are chatbots trained on large swaths of data the dead leave behind – social media posts, texts, emails, videos. These chatbots mimic how the departed used to communicate and are meant to make life easier for surviving relations. The deepfakes we are discussing here have other aims; they are meant to promote legal, political and educational causes.
Chris Pelkey was shot and killed in 2021. This AI ‘reanimation’ of him was presented in court as a victim impact statement.
Moral quandaries
The first moral quandary the technology raises has to do with consent: Would the deceased have agreed to do what their likeness is doing? Would the dead Israeli singers have wanted to sing at an Independence ceremony organized by the nation’s current government? Would Pelkey, the road-rage victim, be comfortable with the script his family wrote for his avatar to recite? What would Christie think about her AI double teaching that class?
The answers to these questions can only be deduced circumstantially – from examining the kinds of things the dead did and the views they expressed when alive. And one could ask if the answers even matter. If those in charge of the estates agree to the reanimations, isn’t the question settled? After all, such trustees are the legal representatives of the departed.
But putting aside the question of consent, a more fundamental question remains.
What do these reanimations do to the legacy and reputation of the dead? Doesn’t their reputation depend, to some extent, on the scarcity of appearance, on the fact that the dead can’t show up anymore? Dying can have a salutary effect on the reputation of prominent people; it was good for John F. Kennedy, and it was good for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The fifth-century B.C. Athenian leader Pericles understood this well. In his famous Funeral Oration, delivered at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, he asserts that a noble death can elevate one’s reputation and wash away their petty misdeeds. That is because the dead are beyond reach and their mystique grows postmortem. “Even extreme virtue will scarcely win you a reputation equal to” that of the dead, he insists.
Do AI reanimations devalue the currency of the dead by forcing them to keep popping up? Do they cheapen and destabilize their reputation by having them comment on events that happened long after their demise?
In addition, these AI representations can be a powerful tool to influence audiences for political or legal purposes. Bringing back a popular dead singer to legitimize a political event and reanimating a dead victim to offer testimony are acts intended to sway an audience’s judgment.
It’s one thing to channel a Churchill or a Roosevelt during a political speech by quoting them or even trying to sound like them. It’s another thing to have “them” speak alongside you. The potential of harnessing nostalgia is supercharged by this technology. Imagine, for example, what the Soviets, who literally worshipped Lenin’s dead body, would have done with a deep fake of their old icon.
Good intentions
You could argue that because these reanimations are uniquely engaging, they can be used for virtuous purposes. Consider a reanimated Martin Luther King Jr., speaking to our currently polarized and divided nation, urging moderation and unity. Wouldn’t that be grand? Or what about a reanimated Mordechai Anielewicz, the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, speaking at the trial of a Holocaust denier like David Irving?
But do we know what MLK would have thought about our current political divisions? Do we know what Anielewicz would have thought about restrictions on pernicious speech? Does bravely campaigning for civil rights mean we should call upon the digital ghost of King to comment on the impact of populism? Does fearlessly fighting the Nazis mean we should dredge up the AI shadow of an old hero to comment on free speech in the digital age?
No one can know with certainty what Martin Luther King Jr. would say about today’s society. AP Photo/Chick Harrity
Even if the political projects these AI avatars served were consistent with the deceased’s views, the problem of manipulation – of using the psychological power of deepfakes to appeal to emotions – remains.
But what about enlisting AI Agatha Christie to teach a writing class? Deep fakes may indeed have salutary uses in educational settings. The likeness of Christie could make students more enthusiastic about writing. Fake Aristotle could improve the chances that students engage with his austere Nicomachean Ethics. AI Einstein could help those who want to study physics get their heads around general relativity.
But producing these fakes comes with a great deal of responsibility. After all, given how engaging they can be, it’s possible that the interactions with these representations will be all that students pay attention to, rather than serving as a gateway to exploring the subject further.
Living on in the living
In a poem written in memory of W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden tells us that, after the poet’s death, Yeats “became his admirers.” His memory was now “scattered among a hundred cities,” and his work subject to endless interpretation: “the words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living.”
The dead live on in the many ways we reinterpret their words and works. Auden did that to Yeats, and we’re doing it to Auden right here. That’s how people stay in touch with those who are gone. In the end, we believe that using technological prowess to concretely bring them back disrespects them and, perhaps more importantly, is an act of disrespect to ourselves – to our capacity to abstract, think and imagine.
Nir Eisikovits directs UMass Boston’s Applied Ethics Center, which receives funding from the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He’s also a data ethics advisor to mindguard.com
Daniel J. Feldman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The foods and scents we associate with our childhoods can provide a meaningful source of comfort and connection.zeljkosantrac/E+ via Getty Images
Walking around my neighborhood in the evening, I am hit by the smells of summer: fresh-cut grass, hamburgers grilling and a hint of swimming pool chlorine. These are also the smells of summers from my adolescence, and they remind me of Friday evenings at the community pool with my friends and our families gathered around picnic tables between swims. The memories always brings a smile to my face.
As a social psychologist, I shouldn’t feel surprised to experience this warm glow. My researchfocuses on nostalgia – a sentimental longing for treasured moments in our personal pasts – and how nostalgia is linked to our well-being and feelings of connection with others.
Triggered by sensory stimuli such as music, scents and foods, nostalgia has the power to mentally transport us back in time. This might be to important occasions, to moments of triumph and – importantly – moments revolving around close family and friends and other important people in our lives.
As it turns out, this experience is good for us.
How the concept of nostalgia evolved
For centuries, nostalgia was considered unhealthy.
In the 1600s, a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer studied mercenaries in the Italian and French lowlands who longed desperately for their mountain homelands. Witnessing their weeping and despondency, he coined the term nostalgia and attributed it to a brain disease. Other thinkers of the time echoed this view, which persisted through the 18th and 19th centuries.
However, early thinkers made an error: They assumed that nostalgia was causing unpleasant symptoms. It may have been the reverse. Unpleasant experiences, such as lonelinessand grief, can arouse nostalgia, which can then help people cope more effectively with these hardships.
While nostalgia is a universal experience, it is also deeply personal. The moments for which we are each nostalgic and the stimuli that might trigger our nostalgic memories can vary from one person to the next depending on the experiences that each of us have. But people within the same culture may find similar stimuli to be nostalgic for them. In a 2013 study, for instance, my team found that American participants rated pumpkin pie spice as the most nostalgia-evoking scent out of a variety of options.
Many nostalgia-inducing scents vary from person to person, but pumpkin pie spice may be one of the most evocative scents in the U.S. Redjina Ph/Moment via Getty Images
The nostalgic power of scents and foods
In 1922, the French novelist Marcel Proust wrote about the strength of scents and foods to elicit nostalgia. He vividly described how the experience of smelling and eating a tea-soaked cake mentally transported him back to childhood experiences with his aunt in her home and village. This sort of experience is now often referred to as the Proust effect.
Science has confirmed what Proust described. Our olfactory system, the sensory system responsible for our sense of smell, is closely linked to brain structures associated with emotions and autobiographical memory. Smells combine with tastes to create our perception of flavor.
Foods also tend to be central to social gatherings, making them easily associated with these memories. For instance, a summer barbecue might feel incomplete to some without slices of juicy watermelon. And homemade pumpkin pie may be an essential dessert at many Thanksgiving tables. The watermelon or pie may then serve as what are known in social psychology as social surrogates, foods that serve as stand-ins for valued relationships due to their inclusion at past occasions with loved ones.
My research team and I wanted to know how people benefited from feeling nostalgic when they encountered the scents and foods of their pasts. We began in 2011 by exposing study participants to 33 scents and chose 12 of them for our study. Participants rated some scents, such as pumpkin pie spice and baby powder, as highly evocative of nostalgia, while rating others – such as money and cappuccino –as less evocative.
Those who experienced more nostalgia when smelling the scents experienced greater positive emotions, greater self-esteem, greater feelings of connection to their past selves, greater optimism, greater feelings of social connectedness and a greater sense that life is meaningful.
We came to similar conclusions when we studied nostalgia for foods. Foods seemed to be more strongly linked to nostalgia than either scents or music when comparing the amount of nostalgia our participants experienced for foods to what previous research participants experienced for scents and songs. More recently, we found that nostalgic foods are comforting and that people find nostalgic foods comforting because those nostalgic foods remind them of important or meaningful moments with their loved ones.
For some, a summer barbecue wouldn’t be complete without the smell and taste of juicy watermelon. GMVozd/E+ via Getty Images
Balancing benefits and trade-offs
Although nostalgia can be associated with foods that should be eaten only in moderation – such as burgers and cookies – there are other ways to channel our nostalgia through foods.
We can have nostalgia with healthy foods. For instance, orange slices remind me of halftime at childhood soccer matches. And many people, including our research participants, feel intense nostalgia around watermelon. Other researchers have found that tofu is a nostalgic food for Chinese participants.
But when nostalgia does involve consumption of unhealthy foods, there are still other ways to experience it without the health trade-offs. We found that participants experienced the benefits of food-evoked nostalgia just from imagining and writing about the foods – no consumption necessary. Other researchers have found that drawing comforting foods can enhance well-being. Even consuming less healthy foods more mindfully helps people enjoy their food while reducing their caloric consumption.
Once seen as detrimental to our health, nostalgia provides us with an opportunity to reap numerous rewards. With nostalgic foods, we might be able to nourish both our bodies and our psychological health.
Chelsea Reid does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
When you lose your health insurance or switch to a plan that skimps on preventive care, something critical breaks.
The connection to your primary care provider, usually a doctor, gets severed. You stop getting routine checkups. Warning signs get missed. Medical problems that could have been caught early become emergencies. And because emergencies are both dangerous and expensive, your health gets worse while your medical bills climb.
As gerontologyresearchers who study health and financial well-being in later life, we’ve analyzed how someone’s ties to the health care system strengthen or unravel depending on whether they have insurance coverage. What we’ve found is simple: Staying connected to a trusted doctor keeps you healthier and saves the system money. Breaking that link does just the opposite.
And that’s exactly what has us worried right now. Members of Congress are debating whether to make major cuts to Medicaid and other social safety net programs. If the Senate passes its own version of the tax-and-spending package that the House approved in May 2025, millions of Americans will soon face exactly this kind of disruption – with big consequences for their health and well-being.
And those who buy their own coverage may find that they can no longer afford the premiums. In 2024, average premiums on the individual market exceeded more than US$600 per month for many adults, even with subsidies.
Medicaid was established in the 1960s, explains a scholar of the program’s history.
Consequences of becoming uninsured
Health insurance is more than a way to pay medical bills; it’s a doorway into the health care system itself. It connects people to health care providers who come to know their medical history, their medications and their personal circumstances.
When that door closes, the effects are immediate. Uninsured people are much less likely to have a usual source of care – typically a doctor or another primary care provider or clinic you know and trust. That relationship acts as a foundation for managing chronic conditions, staying current with preventive screenings and getting guidance when new symptoms arise.
Researchers have found that adults who go uninsured for even six months become significantly more likely to postpone care or forgo it altogether to save money. In practical terms, this means they’re less likely to be examined by someone who knows their medical history and can spot red flags early.
Our research team analyzed how their experiences changed when they lost, and sometimes later regained, a regular source of care during those six years.
Many of the participants in this study had multiple chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
Those who didn’t see the same provider on a regular basis were far less likely to feel heard or respected by health care professionals. They had fewer medical appointments, filled fewer prescriptions and were less likely to follow through with recommended treatments.
Their health also deteriorated considerably over the six years. Their blood pressure and blood sugar levels rose, and they had more elevated indicators of kidney impairment compared with their counterparts who had regular care providers.
The longer they went without consistent health care, the worse these clinical markers became.
Warning signs
Preventive care is one of the best tools that both patients and their health care providers have to head off major health problems. This care includes screenings like cholesterol and blood pressure checks, mammograms, PAP smears and prostate exams, as well as routine vaccinations. But most people only get preventive care when they stay engaged with the health care system.
Our research team also examined what happened to preventive care based on whether the participants had a regular doctor. We found that those who kept seeing the same providers were almost three times more likely to get basic preventive services than those who did not.
Over time, these missed preventive care opportunities can add up to a big problem. They can turn what could have been a manageable issue into an emergency room visit or a long, expensive hospital stay.
For example, imagine a man in his 50s who no longer gets cholesterol screenings after losing insurance coverage. Over several years, his undiagnosed high cholesterol leads to a heart attack that could have been prevented with early medication. Or a woman who skips mammograms because of out-of-pocket costs, only to face a late-stage cancer diagnosis that might have been caught years earlier.
Waiting too long to deal with a health condition can mean you make a trip to the emergency room, increasing the cost of care for you and others. FS Productions/Tetra images via Getty Images
Shifting the costs
Patients whose conditions take too long to be diagnosed aren’t the only ones who pay the price.
We also studied how stable care relationships affect health care spending. To do this, we linked Medicare claims cost data to our original study and tracked the medical costs of the same adults age 50 and older from 2014 to 2020. One of our key findings is that people with regular care providers were 38% less likely to incur above-average health care costs.
These savings aren’t just for patients – they ripple through the entire health care system. Primary care stability lowers costs for both public and private health insurers and, ultimately, for taxpayers.
But when people lose their health care coverage, those savings disappear.
Emergency rooms see more uninsured patients seeking care that could have been handled earlier and more cheaply in a clinic or doctor’s office. While hospitals are legally required to provide emergency care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, much of the resulting cost goes unreimbursed.
Hospitals foot the bill for about two-thirds of those losses. They pass the other third along to private insurance companies through higher hospital fees. Those insurers, in turn, raise their customers’ premiums. Larger taxpayer subsidies can then be required to keep hospitals open.
It contributes to the health care stability our research shows is critical for good health. Medicaid makes it possible for many Americans with serious medical conditions to have a regular doctor, get routine preventive services and have someone to turn to when symptoms arise – even when they have low incomes. It helps prevent health care from becoming purely crisis-driven.
As Congress considers cutting Medicaid funding by hundreds of billions of dollars, we believe that lawmakers should realize that scaling back coverage would break the fragile links between millions of patients and the providers who know them best.
Jane Tavares receives funding from from the SCAN Foundation, the RRF Foundation for Aging, and Milbank Memorial Fund .
Marc Cohen receives funding from the SCAN Foundation, the RRF Foundation for Aging and Milbank Memorial Fund .
On a cool February morning in 1904, a spark ignited a fire in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Within hours, a raging inferno swept eastward across the harbor district, consuming everything in its path. By evening, the local firefighters were overwhelmed, and the city sent telegrams to the fire chiefs of major Northeastern cities pleading for help in battling the blaze.
Washington, Philadelphia and New York, along with other cities, responded quickly with dozens of engine companies. Yet when they arrived at the scene, many responders could not hook up to Baltimore’s hydrants since each city had its own threading standards to connect fire hoses.
The fire resulted in damages of over US$3.5 billion in today’s dollars. It created a call for a national standard of threads for hoses and fire hydrant outlets. These standards now improve emergency responses across the country – and the same concept of standardization allows for consistency and replicability in scientific research.
In science, the ideal way to evaluate data is related to the concept driving the calls for uniform fire hose equipment. When scientists compare their results to those obtained in other laboratories, or with previously published data, the comparisons are most meaningful if all datasets were made with standardized practices and reference materials.
Museum scientistslike usprovide compelling insights into the natural world, prehistory and historical culture heritage. Like that of many other scientists, our work, and the measurements we take day to day, depends upon standard references.
Here we offer two fascinating stories from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum Conservation Institute that highlight how scientific measurement standards allow for exciting new discoveries:
You are what you drink
In 2007, the New Mexico Bureau of Reclamation exhumed the remains of dozens of Civil War-era soldiers from the ruins of Fort Craig. They had been left behind when the fort was abandoned in 1885.
Anthropologists from the Smithsonian and the Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico identified the remains as belonging to a diverse range of people – including a few dozen African American Buffalo Soldiers, a group that made up a relatively small percentage of the U.S. military at that time.
Historical records tell researchers that most of the military units at Fort Craig mobilized out of Kentucky and Virginia, but official records don’t always tell the full story. The group of project scientists, which included one of us, Christine France, needed a way to confirm the origin of these individuals and restore some identity to these forgotten soldiers.
The researchers decided to use stable isotope analysis on the bones. This technique counts the number of atoms of a particular element in the sample that have one or more extra neutrons – this is the “heavy” isotope – and compares it with the number of atoms that have a normal number of neutrons – this is the “light” isotope.
Drinking water in southern latitudes has more naturally occurring heavy oxygen atoms compared with northern latitudes. If a soldier’s bones had a relatively high ratio of the heavy to the light oxygen atoms, that soldier likely spent more time drinking water from the South.
Researchers have measured oxygen isotopes in other archaeological remains and in water all over North America, giving us a water “isotope map.” But matching the bone isotope values to the water map is like comparing apples to oranges, and every lab has subtle variations in its instruments. The scientists needed to normalize and calibrate the isotope ratios they had measured to a reference standard.
In this case, the standard was the average oxygen isotope value of ocean water, a convention that stable isotope researchers agreed upon as a consistent and readily available value. The researchers now had a uniform way to say how many more – or fewer – heavy oxygen isotopes the bones contained compared to the ocean water standard.
Other archaeology labs and the North American water isotope map use that same standard comparison, allowing them to directly compare all the bone isotope values to one another, and to the North American water isotope map.
Ultimately, the method helped the team identify several soldiers who came from quite far away to join the company, including individuals who likely grew up in the mid-Atlantic, New England and Southeast.
The exact circumstances that brought these soldiers together is lost to history. But the researchers’ ability to assign them geographic provenance with the help of reference standards gave them further insight into this pivotal time in U.S. history.
Volcanic glass mirrors
Humans have always been fascinated by looking at themselves in the mirror. In Mesoamerica – modern-day central and southern Mexico together with northern Central America – archaeologists have found convex round objects so finely polished that they have been termed mirrors.
But instead of using them for vanity, shamans from ancient times likely used them as a tool to access portals to other dimensions.
The oldest Preclassic mirrors (2000 BCE to 250 CE) were fashioned from polished iron ores, but later Postclassic period mirrors (900 CE to 1450 CE) were made from obsidian, a typically black silica-rich volcanic glass.
The collections at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian contain six large, rectangular obsidian mirrors, purchased in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their labels state they come from the “Valley of Mexico.”
Obsidian tablets, a view of both their front and back sides, found in the National Museum of the American Indian collections. NMAI, Martinez et al (2022)
Archeologists rarely find rectangular obsidian mirrors like these at pre-Columbian dig sites. So, local artisans skilled in stone polishing likely made these unusually shaped objects upon request by Spanish invaders around the time of European contact. But which Mesoamerican culture did they come from?
Scientists from the Museum Conservation Institute, including two of us, Thomas Lam and Edward Vicenzi, and a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, worked with staff at the National Museum of the American Indian on an effort to pinpoint which volcano created the obsidian in the mirrors.
The location of the obsidian source would indicate whether the Aztecs who controlled eastern central Mexico, or the Purépecha who controlled an area west of the Aztecs, produced the objects, as both had ample sources of obsidian in their territories.
To conduct such a study, the researchers required two types of reference materials: obsidian that had erupted from known volcanic locations, and a reference obsidian that scientists already knew the composition of to confirm the quality of the analysis.
The first reference obsidians, from known locations, told the researchers about the differences in geochemistry of the volcanoes in central Mexico. That information allowed them to match the mirror analyses to the known volcanic location analyses and their map coordinates. The second reference obsidian served as a quality control specimen for the analysis.
Museum Conservation Institute scientists used a nondestructive technique called X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze ratios of elements in the obsidians. The process works by “exciting” atoms in the obsidian, and a spectrum of X-ray energies is given off as the atoms “relax.”
Scientists analyzed the obsidian shards to see which elements were present in them in which ratios, and where in Mexico obsidian contained similar elements at similar ratios. Sharps et al. (2021)
The results showed that all the specimens came from a region controlled by the Purépecha, not the Aztecs. The museum curators updated their records describing the mirrors to include this new information about their origin.
Creating standards
Standardized measurement procedures and reference materials play a central role in museum science. Organizations dedicated to rigorous measurement science, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal government agency, help create some of these standards and research new measurement procedures.
Without their leadership, it would be far more difficult for researchers like us to produce high-quality data and discern the relationships between specimens in the natural and cultural heritage sciences. With quality measurement standards in our toolbox, we are finding new insights into human history and the natural world.
Edward Vicenzi is a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Material Measurement Laboratory.
Christine France and Thomas Lam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre
Participants of the three-day exchange on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses, Vienna, 9 June 2025. (OSCE) Photo details
From 9 to 11 June, 16 women human rights defenders and civil society representatives from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Vienna to highlight the urgent need to prioritize addressing violence against women and girls in post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The three-day exchange built on previous meetings facilitated by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme in Sarajevo (2022), Vienna (2023), and Tbilisi (2024), fostering providing a platform for grassroots actors to share practical insights from their work in conflict-affected contexts. Discussions focused on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses.
Women activists from Syria and Colombia contributed their valuable cross-regional , offering insights into how rights-based recovery efforts are can be inclusive, effective, and responsive to the needs of women and girls.
“This exchange is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that gender justice and survivor-centred responses are integral to sustainable recovery,” said Dr. Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. “The lessons we are gathering from grassroots actors are shaping how we support efforts to build back better with safety, dignity, and equality at the core.”
Participants engaged directly with high-level representatives of the OSCE and its participating States, advocating for flexible and sustained support to survivors of violence, increased investment in shelters and psychosocial and health services, and the continued recognition of women-led civil society as a critical force for stability and inclusion.
The exchange was organized by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme’s flagship WIN Project, which works to strengthen women’s participation in conflict prevention, mediation, and broader efforts related to comprehensive security. The June event in Vienna was supported by the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE, and co-hosted by Ambassador Svendsen Ellen.
Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE
Headline: Advancing protection from violence against women in conflict: civil society voices at the centre
Participants of the three-day exchange on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses, Vienna, 9 June 2025. (OSCE) Photo details
From 9 to 11 June, 16 women human rights defenders and civil society representatives from Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina met in Vienna to highlight the urgent need to prioritize addressing violence against women and girls in post-conflict reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The three-day exchange built on previous meetings facilitated by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme in Sarajevo (2022), Vienna (2023), and Tbilisi (2024), fostering providing a platform for grassroots actors to share practical insights from their work in conflict-affected contexts. Discussions focused on improving support for survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ensuring the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in shaping institutional responses.
Women activists from Syria and Colombia contributed their valuable cross-regional , offering insights into how rights-based recovery efforts are can be inclusive, effective, and responsive to the needs of women and girls.
“This exchange is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure that gender justice and survivor-centred responses are integral to sustainable recovery,” said Dr. Lara Scarpitta, OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. “The lessons we are gathering from grassroots actors are shaping how we support efforts to build back better with safety, dignity, and equality at the core.”
Participants engaged directly with high-level representatives of the OSCE and its participating States, advocating for flexible and sustained support to survivors of violence, increased investment in shelters and psychosocial and health services, and the continued recognition of women-led civil society as a critical force for stability and inclusion.
The exchange was organized by the OSCE Gender Issues Programme’s flagship WIN Project, which works to strengthen women’s participation in conflict prevention, mediation, and broader efforts related to comprehensive security. The June event in Vienna was supported by the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OSCE, and co-hosted by Ambassador Svendsen Ellen.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
In this testimonial to FBI Salt Lake City, a victim of a romance scam warns about how scammers can lure with good intentions and take advantage of you financially.
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
On this episode of our podcast, we’ll learn about FBI’s first crisis response canines, who—along with their expert handlers—are specially trained to support victims of violent crimes and mass violence incidents.
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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (video statements)
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of 13-year-old Sa’Wade Birdinground. Sa’Wade was last seen on October 6, 2024, at her family’s residence in Garryowen, Montana.
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How have the deposit rates changed in the top 20 banks?
The wave of rate cuts is an expected trend against the backdrop of the decision taken by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Most banks of the top 20 have already revised their terms deposits. Thus, on June 17, the average interest rates for deposits consist of:
18.9% for a term of three months (a decrease of 0.6 percentage points); 18.2% for products opened for six months (a discount of almost 1 percentage point); 17.4% for deposits for a term of 12 months (the yield dropped by more than 1 percentage point).
“Even before the key rate was lowered, the industry was seeing a trend towards worsening deposit conditions – the decision by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation accelerated this trend,” experts note.
However, the changes in the industry did not come as a surprise – under the influence of the regulator’s policy, experts expected a reduction in rates on savings products. At the same time, banks began to review the terms and conditions credit programs – the negative dynamics will continue in the near future.
Which banks have already revised their deposit terms?
Russian banks immediately began revising their rates after the Central Bank of the Russian Federation’s decision. Among the first major financial institutions to reduce their deposit rates were:
The most favorable conditions for deposits are maintained when opening a deposit for a short period (usually up to three months). Banks also offer special conditions for new depositors – increased rates apply when opening for the first time contribution or savings account.
14:30 06/17/2025
Source:
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
The project for planning the street and road network near the Teply Stan metro station has been approved. The corresponding resolution was signed by Sergei Sobyanin.
According to the project, over three kilometers of roads will be reorganized, Projected Driveways No. 1226 (from Mikhail Greshilov Street to Projected Driveway No. 5408) and 1229 will be built. In addition, Projected Driveways No. 1224 and 5408, sections of Profsoyuznaya and Mikhail Greshilov Streets (from Novoyasenevsky Prospekt to Projected Driveway No. 1226 in the direction of Golubinskaya Street) will be reconstructed.
Modern bus stops will be installed for passengers of ground city transport. Additional sidewalks and ground crossings will be arranged for pedestrians, and bike paths for cyclists.
The implementation of the planning project will improve transport services for the integrated development area, bounded by Profsoyuznaya, Golubinskaya streets and the Moscow Ring Road.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
A monument to the “Metro Builders of Russia” will be erected on Sokolnicheskaya Square in the capital. The corresponding decree of the Moscow Government was signed Sergei Sobyanin.
The monument will appear in the Moscow Metro square – next to Rusakovskaya Street, where in December 1931, in the courtyard of house 13, construction began on the first stage of the Moscow Metro from Sokolniki to Park Kultury, which opened in 1935.
The front part of the composition will feature two dynamic figures: one will depict a metro builder from the 1930s, the other a modern representative of this profession, which is important for the city. Both figures will be placed in a niche resembling a metro tunnel, against the background of the Metrostroy emblem. The back of the monument will feature a map of the capital from 1935 with the first scheme of the Moscow metro.
The design and production of the monument is planned to be completed in 2025.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
CHONGQING, June 17 (Xinhua) — Seven people were trapped Tuesday afternoon due to a carbon monoxide leak in a tunnel under construction on a high-speed railway in southwest China’s Chongqing, local authorities said.
So far, four people have been rescued, while three remain trapped. The incident occurred in the Zhongliangshan tunnel on the Xi’an-Chongqing high-speed railway.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
ASTANA, June 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on China and Tajikistan to expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment.
Xi Jinping made the statement at a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on the sidelines of the second China-Central Asia summit in the Kazakh capital Astana.
The Chinese leader recalled that during his visit to Tajikistan last year, he and E. Rahmon jointly announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperation and partnership in a new era, developed new plans and reached new agreements on comprehensive cooperation.
According to him, both sides should implement these agreements in a timely manner, bring more practical results and promote the high-quality construction of a Chinese-Tajik community with a common future.
Xi Jinping stressed that China is a reliable neighbor and partner of Tajikistan and firmly supports Tajikistan in protecting its national independence, sovereignty and security.
China and Tajikistan should give full play to the role of the strategic dialogue mechanism between the foreign ministers of the two countries, coordinate and promote cooperation in various fields, Xi said.
The two countries should also expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment, further accelerate the implementation of transport infrastructure projects and continuously promote connectivity, the Chinese leader said.
He pointed out that the role of the Confucius Institutes, Lu Ban Workshop and the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine should be fully utilized, and that the Chinese Culture Day, which will be held in Tajikistan this fall, should be well organized.
China and Tajikistan should further strengthen cooperation in law enforcement and security and step up efforts to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, he noted.
The two countries share common interests in upholding multilateralism and safeguarding the international trade and economic order, he said, calling on both sides to strengthen coordination and cooperation within multilateral mechanisms, including the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism.
China supports Tajikistan’s important role in global climate governance, the Chinese leader added. –0–
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Xinhua | 17.06.2025
Key words: China, Central Asia
Source: Xinhua
Lightning: China is ready to cooperate with Central Asian countries to safeguard international justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics – Xi Jinping Lightning: China is ready to cooperate with Central Asian countries to safeguard international justice, oppose hegemonism and power politics – Xi Jinping
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) — China and the European Union (EU) reaffirmed their commitment to ecology and environment cooperation during the 10th ministerial dialogue on environmental policy held in Brussels last Friday, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Tuesday.
The dialogue, co-chaired by China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu and Jessica Rosewall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Sustainability and a Competitive Circular Economy, focused on key areas such as biodiversity conservation, the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity, contacts and exchanges on the development of international instruments on plastic pollution, the latest achievements in pollution prevention and control, and joint promotion of the multilateral environmental governance process.
Both sides commended the tangible results achieved under the auspices of the China-EU High-Level Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. Huang Runqiu called for stronger solidarity and more joint action amid growing global environmental and climate challenges.
Huang Runqiu also called on both sides to better play their roles in the dialogue mechanism, implement the goals and tasks set in the dialogue, focus on deepening pragmatic cooperation in key areas, jointly advance the process of multilateral governance of ecology and environment, and build a multilateral exchange platform, thus laying a sound foundation for deepening cooperation on ecology and environment between China and the EU.
J. Rosewall commended China’s leading role in facilitating the achievement of the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and stressed the need to further increase financial support to ensure the effective implementation of the goals and objectives of this framework.
J. Rosewall also stressed the importance of further engagement with China in areas such as developing international instruments on plastic pollution, combating air and chemical pollution, protecting water resources and deforestation-free supply chains to advance global efforts on environmental and climate governance. -0-
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) — The 2025 Summer Davos forum will be held from June 24 to 26 in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, event organizers said Tuesday.
The 2025 Summer Davos Forum, also known as the 16th annual meeting of emerging global leaders of the World Economic Forum (WEF), will be held under the theme “Entrepreneurship in a New Era” this year and will bring together about 1,800 participants from more than 90 countries and regions, the forum organizers said at a press conference in Beijing.
This year’s forum will focus on five key areas: interpreting the global economy, China’s prospects, industries in a changing world, investing in people and the planet, and new energy and materials.
This year, China will reaffirm its positive stance of high-level opening-up to the outside world and share the dividends and opportunities of its development with the rest of the world, according to Chen Shuai, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). -0-
WHO is developing new tools and innovative partnerships to boost countries’ defenses against future pandemics, including real-time threat detection and genomic analysis of viruses.
In today’s interconnected world, health threats spread faster than ever. A new virus can cross continents in hours. An outbreak in one country can escalate into a global crisis in days. This reality requires constant innovation to protect lives and prevent the next pandemic.
Building on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin leverages innovative tools and collaborations for more effective disease surveillance worldwide. Just over three years after its inauguration, the Hub now supports over 150 countries in detecting health threats more effectively and rapidly.
The Hub’s latest annual report highlights the growing impact of this work and provides key insights into progress made in 2024.
As no country can tackle the next pandemic alone, WHO is supporting countries to implement Collaborative Surveillance, a new collaborative approach to disease surveillance that promotes data and information sharing so that outbreaks can be detected and controlled faster.
The early warning system hosted at the Hub, called Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS), scans online sources in real time and uses AI technology to identify public health threats more efficiently.
“The Hub is ensuring that the most robust tools and analytics are available to enhance early threat detection and rapid response and support decision-makers around the world,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I have urged all WHO Member States to work closely with the Hub, not only to strengthen their own national and regional health security, but also to contribute to global preparedness and response.”
Pathogen genomics, which analyses the genetic material of viruses and other pathogens, has become a powerful tool to track and predict outbreaks. The Hub’s International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) connects over 235 organizations and countries to expand genomic surveillance more equitably around the world, including through a US$ 4 million fund for low- and middle-income countries.
“As part of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence builds on proven surveillance approaches while continuously developing and integrating new, innovative methods for detecting and responding to health threats,” said Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
To help decision-makers better understand an emerging health emergency and plan an effective response, the Hub is developing a cutting-edge platform that will visualize disease transmission and simulate the impact of different countermeasures. Once launched, the pandemic simulator will provide actionable insights to policy-makers and support them in responding to a health crisis.
“Our commitment to fostering trust, building partnerships and driving innovation has never been stronger. Together, we are building a safer, healthier world for all,” said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Deputy Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme.
The collaborative spirit is also evident in the Hub’s physical space in Berlin, a dynamic campus for global collaboration that welcomes thousands of experts and collaborators each year at more than 60 onsite workshops and events.
“Germany has been a strong supporter of scientific innovation for global health security, including the vision to establish the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence,” said Dr Oliver Morgan, Director of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. “Germany recognized the urgent need for a space where science, technology and partnerships can come together to protect the world from future health threats. This vision is now a reality and we are proud to call Berlin the home for the Hub.”
“The WHO Hub in Berlin is a vibrant place for collaboration and co-creation. By leveraging WHO’s convening power, we bring partners together, facilitate data sharing and joint analysis, and support the collective adoption of innovative approaches,” said Sara Hersey, Director of Collaborative Intelligence at the WHO Hub in Berlin.
With the ongoing threat of future pandemics, WHO remains at the forefront of developing tools, building partnerships and strengthening public health intelligence and surveillance capacities worldwide.
A sharing session for the social welfare sector on the fifth anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, jointly organised by the Government and Connecting Hearts, concluded today.
The event was attended by about 300 management staff of social welfare organisations, with several thousand representatives from the social welfare sector joining it online.
Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun said at its ceremony that with the implementation of the National Security Law, the Labour & Welfare Bureau and the Social Welfare Department have enhanced the mechanisms such as including the requirement into relevant documents for the department’s subsidised and subvented services.
This is to ensure non-governmental organisations’ compliance with the security law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in the delivery of services, he added.
Mr Sun also mentioned the amendments of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance, which allow prompt and appropriate actions taken on registered social workers convicted of offences endangering national security.
The labour chief said that upon the implementation of these enhancements, the social welfare sector not only showed a rising awareness of safeguarding national security but also integrated such awareness into the operation of their organisations, fully demonstrating that safeguarding national security is everyone’s responsibility.
Mr Sun emphasised that the bureau and the department will continue to organise activities to promote national security education and patriotism in partnership with Connecting Hearts and encourage organisations providing subvented welfare services to make use of the dedicated fund to enhance their staff’s understanding of national affairs by arranging Mainland exchange tours and studies programmes.
He highlighted the overwhelming response from social workers on the Thousands of Hong Kong Social Workers Exploring the Motherland & Hong Kong Social Work Teaching Staff Exploring the Motherland tours as clear indication of the sector’s wish to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the nation’s overall development.
Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan today toured the Yangshan Port in Shanghai to gain insights into the operations of its automated terminal.
She pointed out that the Port of Shanghai and ports in Hong Kong are advancing in unison towards greening, digitalisation and the adoption of smart technologies. The visit has deepened exchanges between the two sides on high-quality port development and allowed Hong Kong to draw on Yangshan Port’s experience to facilitate discussions with port operators on a roadmap for Hong Kong ports’ smart transformation.
In addition to highlighting that Shanghai and Hong Kong are both vital shipping centres to the country, Ms Chan expressed hope that the visit and exchanges would enable both cities to work together towards the country’s strategic goal of becoming a maritime powerhouse, and explore opportunities for deeper collaboration.
On Monday, Ms Chan arrived at Shanghai to begin her two-day visit where she first met Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission Director Yu Fulin and other officials to discuss traffic management, shipping and aviation, and other issues of mutual interest.
Her engagements on Monday also involved a visit to an all-electric ferry, which started operating in April, to learn about Shanghai’s progress in promoting green transport, and a meeting with representatives of the China Shipowners’ Association.
At the meeting with the association, Ms Chan gave an overview of the latest developments of Hong Kong’s maritime services, and encouraged Mainland shipowners and shipping enterprises to register their ships in Hong Kong.
“What the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip, I no longer understand the goal,” he said in a televised interview. He added, “To harm the civilian population in such a way … can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.”
A day later, during a summit with prime ministers of Nordic countries in Finland, Merz doubled down. “I take a very, very critical view of what has happened in Gaza,” he said in reference to Israel’s bombing campaign and the blockade of food and other aid.
Merz is not alone in the German government. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also weighed in, noting that Germany’s stance against antisemitism and its “full support” for the right of Israel to exist “must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip.”
Still, as a scholar of the Shoah – the Hebrew term for the Holocaust – I know that this rebuke from Germany hits differently. Post-war Germany has a long-standing political commitment to Israel’s security. It is a commitment rooted in the nation’s historical responsibility for the Nazis’ annihilation of European Jews and that has been staunchly reaffirmed by German governments since the 1952 agreement of reparations between the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer, and the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.
‘Staatsräson’ and its critics
In 2008, then-chancellor Angela Merkel went so far as to call this commitment to Israel’s security Germany’s “Staatsräson,” or “reason of state.” In a speech she gave to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on March 18, 2008, Merkel emphasized that “only if Germany acknowledges its perpetual responsibility for the moral catastrophe of German history can we shape the future humanely.” She went on to assert that Germany’s “historic responsibility” is “part of my country’s raison d’état.” She added: “Israel’s security is never negotiable for me as German chancellor.”
The argument that Israeli security is Germany’s “reason of state” was reiterated by Merkel’s successor, Olaf Scholz, during his visit to Israel on Oct. 17, 2023 – just 10 days after the Hamas attack. Standing next to Scholz, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Palestinian militant group “the new Nazis.”
Tracing back the term’s origins and history, renowned historian Enzo Traverso recently noted that theorists and practitioners of “reason of state” agree that the concept “denotes the violation by a political power of its own ethical principles in service to a higher interest, generally the safeguarding of its own power.”
The problem with Germany’s invocation of the “Staatsräson” as prioritizing the security of Israel above other concerns is that it implies defending policies even if they contravene Germany’s foundational ethical principles, such as those declared in its constitution. Article 1 asserts that the German people “acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.”
Such principles were born out of the recognition of the horrendous violation of human rights under the Nazi regime and the acknowledgment of Germany’s “perpetual responsibility,” as Merkel put it.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks ahead of a special session of the Israeli parliament on March 18, 2008. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool/Getty Images
In Germany’s public discourse, as well as school curricula, the Shoah is always described as absolutely unique.
But as Israeli-American genocide and Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov has argued, this assertion is also open to criticism:
“Germany’s commitment to the uniqueness of the Holocaust, from which it also derives its unique commitment to Israel, has arguably put it in a morally highly dubious position of both long denying its own past colonial crimes [in Namibia] and of denying Israel’s culpability in the present destruction of Gaza, including the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.”
Germany’s commitment to the uniqueness of the Shoah also leaves little room for an acknowledgment of the Nakba – the violent expulsion of around 800,000 Palestinians before, during and after the foundation of the state of Israel.
And it leaves no room for a recognition of how both catastrophes, the Shoah and the Nakba, are, as Bartov insists, “inextricably entangled.”
Antisemitism definitions — and their critics
As a consequence of Germany’s responsibility for the Shoah and its commitment to its uniqueness, the country has some of the strictest laws to combat antisemitism in the world. But critics also note widespread conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
It has been criticized for being too vague, leading to the labeling of Jewish and non-Jewish people who oppose the current Israeli war in Gaza as “antisemitic.”
Stern, who describes himself as Zionist, has sharply criticized the misuse of his definition to stifle academic freedom and criticism of the actions of the Israeli nation.
In an article for the conservative Germany newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Israeli legal scholar Itamar Mann
argued that Germany “needs a new definition of antisemitism.”
He applauded the recent adoption, by the German leftist party Die Linke, of a separate definition of antisemitism laid out in the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. Formulated in 2021 by more than 350 respected scholars, many of them Jewish, the declaration rejects labeling as antisemitic political speech that “criticizes or opposes Zionism as a form of nationalism.”
Mann calls on the German government to implement policies to “protect all Jews, including those who … reject the current Israeli government and insist on a vocabulary that allows us to be Jewish and to criticize Israel.”
A historic shift?
The recent remarks of Merz may represent a subtle but sure shift in Germany’s “Staatsräson” and how it engages with its historical debt, Israel and antisemitism.
And that may be a first step in moving away from a “Staatsräson” that, in the words of scholar of Middle Eastern politics Lena Obermaier, is “detrimental for Palestinians and progressive Jews” and gives Israel international cover when accused of massive violations of international law.
What Merkel called Germany’s “perpetual responsibility for the moral catastrophe” of the Holocaust would, from my perspective as a scholar of the Shoah, demand nothing less.
Elisabeth Weber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
“What the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip, I no longer understand the goal,” he said in a televised interview. He added, “To harm the civilian population in such a way … can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.”
A day later, during a summit with prime ministers of Nordic countries in Finland, Merz doubled down. “I take a very, very critical view of what has happened in Gaza,” he said in reference to Israel’s bombing campaign and the blockade of food and other aid.
Merz is not alone in the German government. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also weighed in, noting that Germany’s stance against antisemitism and its “full support” for the right of Israel to exist “must not be instrumentalized for the conflict and the warfare currently being waged in the Gaza Strip.”
Still, as a scholar of the Shoah – the Hebrew term for the Holocaust – I know that this rebuke from Germany hits differently. Post-war Germany has a long-standing political commitment to Israel’s security. It is a commitment rooted in the nation’s historical responsibility for the Nazis’ annihilation of European Jews and that has been staunchly reaffirmed by German governments since the 1952 agreement of reparations between the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Konrad Adenauer, and the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.
‘Staatsräson’ and its critics
In 2008, then-chancellor Angela Merkel went so far as to call this commitment to Israel’s security Germany’s “Staatsräson,” or “reason of state.” In a speech she gave to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on March 18, 2008, Merkel emphasized that “only if Germany acknowledges its perpetual responsibility for the moral catastrophe of German history can we shape the future humanely.” She went on to assert that Germany’s “historic responsibility” is “part of my country’s raison d’état.” She added: “Israel’s security is never negotiable for me as German chancellor.”
The argument that Israeli security is Germany’s “reason of state” was reiterated by Merkel’s successor, Olaf Scholz, during his visit to Israel on Oct. 17, 2023 – just 10 days after the Hamas attack. Standing next to Scholz, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Palestinian militant group “the new Nazis.”
Tracing back the term’s origins and history, renowned historian Enzo Traverso recently noted that theorists and practitioners of “reason of state” agree that the concept “denotes the violation by a political power of its own ethical principles in service to a higher interest, generally the safeguarding of its own power.”
The problem with Germany’s invocation of the “Staatsräson” as prioritizing the security of Israel above other concerns is that it implies defending policies even if they contravene Germany’s foundational ethical principles, such as those declared in its constitution. Article 1 asserts that the German people “acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every community, of peace and of justice in the world.”
Such principles were born out of the recognition of the horrendous violation of human rights under the Nazi regime and the acknowledgment of Germany’s “perpetual responsibility,” as Merkel put it.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks ahead of a special session of the Israeli parliament on March 18, 2008. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool/Getty Images
In Germany’s public discourse, as well as school curricula, the Shoah is always described as absolutely unique.
But as Israeli-American genocide and Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov has argued, this assertion is also open to criticism:
“Germany’s commitment to the uniqueness of the Holocaust, from which it also derives its unique commitment to Israel, has arguably put it in a morally highly dubious position of both long denying its own past colonial crimes [in Namibia] and of denying Israel’s culpability in the present destruction of Gaza, including the killing and starvation of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.”
Germany’s commitment to the uniqueness of the Shoah also leaves little room for an acknowledgment of the Nakba – the violent expulsion of around 800,000 Palestinians before, during and after the foundation of the state of Israel.
And it leaves no room for a recognition of how both catastrophes, the Shoah and the Nakba, are, as Bartov insists, “inextricably entangled.”
Antisemitism definitions — and their critics
As a consequence of Germany’s responsibility for the Shoah and its commitment to its uniqueness, the country has some of the strictest laws to combat antisemitism in the world. But critics also note widespread conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
It has been criticized for being too vague, leading to the labeling of Jewish and non-Jewish people who oppose the current Israeli war in Gaza as “antisemitic.”
Stern, who describes himself as Zionist, has sharply criticized the misuse of his definition to stifle academic freedom and criticism of the actions of the Israeli nation.
In an article for the conservative Germany newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Israeli legal scholar Itamar Mann
argued that Germany “needs a new definition of antisemitism.”
He applauded the recent adoption, by the German leftist party Die Linke, of a separate definition of antisemitism laid out in the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. Formulated in 2021 by more than 350 respected scholars, many of them Jewish, the declaration rejects labeling as antisemitic political speech that “criticizes or opposes Zionism as a form of nationalism.”
Mann calls on the German government to implement policies to “protect all Jews, including those who … reject the current Israeli government and insist on a vocabulary that allows us to be Jewish and to criticize Israel.”
A historic shift?
The recent remarks of Merz may represent a subtle but sure shift in Germany’s “Staatsräson” and how it engages with its historical debt, Israel and antisemitism.
And that may be a first step in moving away from a “Staatsräson” that, in the words of scholar of Middle Eastern politics Lena Obermaier, is “detrimental for Palestinians and progressive Jews” and gives Israel international cover when accused of massive violations of international law.
What Merkel called Germany’s “perpetual responsibility for the moral catastrophe” of the Holocaust would, from my perspective as a scholar of the Shoah, demand nothing less.
Elisabeth Weber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare released data on Monday on the progress of area coverage under kharif crops as of June 13, 2025, indicating a slight increase compared to the previous year. The total area sown for kharif crops in 2025 stands at 89.29 lakh hectares, up by 1.48 lakh hectares from 87.81 lakh hectares in 2024.
According to the data, rice cultivation has seen a positive trend, with 4.53 lakh hectares sown in 2025 compared to 4.00 lakh hectares in 2024, marking an increase of 0.53 lakh hectares. The normal area for rice, based on the average from 2019-20 to 2023-24, is 403.09 lakh hectares. Pulses have also recorded a rise, with the sown area increasing to 3.07 lakh hectares in 2025 from 2.60 lakh hectares in 2024, a gain of 0.47 lakh hectares. Among pulses, urd bean and moong bean showed notable increases of 0.24 lakh hectares and 0.17 lakh hectares, respectively, while arhar saw a slight decline of 0.11 lakh hectares.
The area under coarse cereals, including Shri Anna, remained nearly stable at 5.89 lakh hectares in 2025, marginally lower than 5.90 lakh hectares in 2024. Bajra cultivation surged significantly, with 0.86 lakh hectares sown compared to just 0.03 lakh hectares last year, an increase of 0.83 lakh hectares. However, maize and ragi witnessed declines of 0.68 lakh hectares and 0.29 lakh hectares, respectively.
Oilseeds recorded a positive shift, with the sown area rising to 2.05 lakh hectares in 2025 from 1.50 lakh hectares in 2024, driven largely by a 0.66 lakh hectare increase in soybean cultivation. Groundnut, however, saw a slight decrease of 0.13 lakh hectares. Sugarcane cultivation remained robust, with 55.07 lakh hectares sown in 2025, slightly up from 54.88 lakh hectares in 2024. Cotton and jute & mesta, on the other hand, experienced minor declines of 0.09 lakh hectares and 0.17 lakh hectares, respectively.
The data reflects the normal area coverage for kharif crops, calculated as an average from 2019-20 to 2023-24, totaling 1096.64 lakh hectares. The marginal increase in sown area this year highlights steady progress in kharif sowing, with notable variations across specific crops. The Ministry continues to monitor agricultural trends to support farmers and ensure food security as part of its ongoing initiatives.
With over 1 gigawatt of solar equipment supplied in South Africa in the past year, Trinasolar (www.Trinasolar.com) returns to the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) reaffirming its position as a long-term partner in Africa’s clean energy journey. At this year’s event in Cape Town, the company is spotlighting its next-generation solar and battery storage solutions, designed to withstand extreme weather, harsh environmental conditions, and evolving grid demands across the continent.
“As the energy crisis and climate volatility continue to impact South Africa and the broader African region, Trinasolar is focused on delivering real solutions that enable long-term energy security,” said Vincent Wu, Global Sales Vice President and MEA MU Head at Trinasolar. “Our high-efficiency PV modules and advanced energy storage systems are engineered to meet the challenging realities on the ground. Through our presence at AEF, we’re reinforcing our commitment to supporting Africa’s transition to a greener, more stable energy future; one built on innovation, resilience, and strategic collaboration.”
Taking centre stage is the launch of the Vertex N 630W (NED19RC.20), Trinasolar’s newest ultra-durable solar module. Tailored for Africa’s diverse and often unpredictable conditions, the module features reinforced mechanical design, anti-dust and corrosion-resistant components, and a record-breaking 55 mm hail resistance rating, which is more than double the industry standard.
Certified for fire safety and built to perform in environments rich in salt, ammonia, and sand, the module delivers a maximum power output of 630W and up to 23.3% efficiency. Its low-voltage, high-string design is compatible with leading inverters, while reducing system costs and installation time for commercial and utility-scale developers.
“We’re seeing strong momentum across the region, especially in the commercial, industrial, and utility-scale sectors where innovation and ease of installation matter,” said Zaheer Khan, Regional Director for South Africa, Trinasolar MEA. “Installers and partners are drawn to solutions like the Vertex N 630W, not just for its performance, but because it addresses real operational challenges in tough environments.
“In just the past year, Trinasolar has delivered over a gigawatt of technology solar equipment in South Africa alone,” Khan added. “It’s a milestone that reflects our growing footprint, trusted relationships, and long-term commitment to the region. And we’re just getting started.”
Trinasolar’s growing Africa portfolio includes solar modules, smart tracker systems, energy storage solutions, and floating PV technologies. These offerings are designed to meet the continent’s diverse energy needs with quality, flexibility, and integration at the core. With local presence in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and warehouse facilities in Durban that maintain 10–20 megawatts of stock for quick nationwide delivery, Trinasolar supports rapid deployment across the region. Its expanding footprint includes commercial engagement in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and other strategic markets.
Over the past decade, Trinasolar has played a key role in shaping South Africa’s solar market—driving utility-scale projects, enabling C&I growth, and supporting the country’s path toward decentralisation and clean energy. As Africa’s energy transition accelerates, Trinasolar remains focused on scaling integrated systems, expanding local talent and operations, and collaborating closely with governments, utilities, and private sector partners to deliver long-term energy resilience.
Trinasolar will be exhibiting at Booth B15 at the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town from 17–20 June, where its senior team will be available for business meetings and stakeholder discussions.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Trinasolar.
For media inquiries please contact: Mariam Agag – PR Manager, Trinasolar MEA Email: mariam.agag@trinasolar.com
About Trinasolar (688599. SH): Founded in 1997, Trinasolar Co Ltd (stock symbol: Trinasolar; stock code: 688599) is engaged mainly in PV products, PV systems and smart energy. PV products include R&D, production and sales of PV modules. PV systems consist of power stations and system products. Smart energy comprises mainly PV power generation and operations and maintenance, smart solutions for energy storage, smart microgrid, and development and sales of multi-energy systems. We are committed to leading the way in smart PV and energy storage solutions and facilitating the transformation of new power systems for a net-zero future.
On June 10, 2020, Trinasolar was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE). It was the first PV and energy storage company to go public on the STAR Market providing PV products and systems, as well as smart energy. For more information, please visit www.Trinasolar.com.
Access to more affordable homes, increased funding for schools and their pupils, and investment in Birmingham’s transport networks are among the Chancellor’s spending priorities.
These headlines come from the Government’s Spending Review, which unveiled on 11 June, outlining their spending plans for the next three years.
Finance officers are assessing what the Chancellor’s announcement means for the council’s own finances and services and the picture will become clearer later in the year.
Cllr John Cotton, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “I welcome this Spending Review, and I’m encouraged the Chancellor has included funding for projects like the extension of the West Midlands Metro into East Birmingham, which will bring with it hundreds of jobs.
“Working closely with West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, we are ambitious for Birmingham and its people, and we need a government that matches those ambitions – so I am glad to see investment in education, children and young people are among those key spending priorities,
“With the right support, cities like Birmingham can unlock growth and tackle inequalities that continue to hold too many people back – and the Government’s commitment to invest £39 billion in affordable housing is also key to this. This funding will transform the lives of so many people.”
In Birmingham – one of the youngest cities in Europe – children will benefit from the £4.7 billion committed to spending on schools, up by £2 billion – to improve facilities and opportunities in education by 2028/29.
There will also be investment in amenities and activities for young people, which in Birmingham could translate into revitalising local facilities. This is part of a new Local Growth Fund and an additional Mayoral Growth Fund to help cities deliver on the Government’s Growth Mission.
In addition £410 million will be spent on extending the Free School Meals scheme to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This comes on top of the council’s ongoing work to auto-enrol children across the city who qualify for free school meals, but have not applied for them.
Meanwhile school breakfast clubs will be open to all children – to ensure their school day gets off to a good start.
Housing features highly in this Spending Review – with a £39 billion commitment to increase the provision of affordable housing across the country over the next decade.
Being able to access this funding will help Birmingham City Council tackle the city’s housing crisis – by improving access to safe, decent and affordable housing, to those most in need.
Extending the West Midlands Metro through East Birmingham – connecting the Birmingham Sports Quarter and investment in West Midland Rail Hub will all help create thousands of jobs and opportunities for local business as part of our ambitious inclusive growth agenda for East Birmingham.
This investment in key infrastructure will help to deliver Birmingham’s Sports Quarter – which will be home to Birmingham City FC’s new stadium.
The Monetary Policy Rate (MoPR) was unchanged at 1.9 percent of the previous week, for a paper maturing on 25 June 2025. The summarised results of the auction held on 17 June 2025, are attached below:
