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Category: DJF

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Klaas Knot: How is the water? Continuing our work to preserve financial stability

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    Thank you. I want to start by telling you a little story. Some of you may know it.

    There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way. The older fish nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and says “What the hell is water?”

    This parable was famously used by the American writer David Foster Wallace in a commencement speech in 2005. Now, just like Wallace, I don’t plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining to you what water is. The point of the fish story is merely that, like he said: ‘the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.’

    Now, Wallace was speaking to a class of graduates about the benefits of a liberal arts education in life. To have his idea being used by some central bank technocrat at a conference on financial stability would probably be his worst nightmare come true. But although it may seem a stretch, I think his idea applies to our world too. Because financial stability is an obvious and important reality. Its impact is universal. Financial stability affects households, businesses, governments-and ultimately, the trust that underpins our economies. It’s the basis of everything in economic life.

    Because of its universal impact, financial stability seems like a natural state. We take out our phone and we pay. And the bread that we buy costs the same as it did last week. And when we wake up in the morning our savings are still in our bank account. Financial stability is something that seems to be just there, unconditionally. But it really isn’t. It is something we must continuously work for. It demands vigilance, coordination, and above all, the political will to act before the crisis hits. I know that you are aware of this. But many people tend to forget.

    As this is my last address in my capacity as Chair of the FSB, let me take this opportunity to look back a bit, take stock. And ask: where do we stand? How is the water?

    In truth, it has been anything but calm. Over the past years, we have experienced quite some waves in the financial system: the dash for cash during the onset of the Covid pandemic, the commodity market turmoil following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the failure of Archegos Capital Management in March 2021, and the market volatility associated with the recent trade tariff announcements. Central banks had to intervene in some of these episodes to support market functioning and the supply of credit to the economy. And in each case, parts of the non-bank financial sector played a central role in amplifying the stress.

    Non-bank financial intermediation, or NBFI, has grown into a critical part of the financial system. Its rise has been driven by regulatory shifts, search for yield, technological innovation, and demographic trends leading to asset accumulation.

    The NBFI sector brings real benefits. NBFIs offer a diversified source of funding and much needed competition for banks. But they also have vulnerabilities-liquidity mismatches and the inability of some market players to prepare for them, leverage, and growing interconnectedness with banks. Historically, regulation of this sector focused on investor protection, market integrity, and other mandates. But those don’t fully capture the systemic risks. We needed a financial stability lens.

    That’s what the FSB brought to the table. Our work to date has included policy recommendations to enhance money market fund resilience, to address structural liquidity mismatch in open-ended funds, and to enhance liquidity preparedness for margin calls. Later this month, we will deliver policy recommendations to the G20 to address financial stability risks arising from leverage in NBFI.

    Have we made a difference? The recent bout of tariff-related volatility in global markets could serve as a test. We saw a global sell-off in equity markets and historic trading volumes. Typical correlations between certain asset classes broke down. We saw some deleveraging and large margin and collateral calls. Yet – the system held. That is encouraging. But let’s be honest: we can’t credit our reforms just yet. Because the FSB’s recommendations have not yet been implemented in full. And recommendations alone don’t reduce systemic risk. Implementation does. That means authorities must not only put them into national laws and regulations, they must also have the capacity to operationalise them.

    One of the biggest challenges we face in NBFI is data. We need better data. More data. And better use of that data. There is a reason why the non-bank sector was formerly called “shadow banking”. It’s opaque. There are gaps. And those gaps mean we often don’t see the vulnerabilities-until it’s too late. The quality and timeliness of non-bank data are essential for identifying and assessing vulnerabilities and for designing and calibrating effective policies. We must address these data challenges. We can’t keep relying on crises to reveal what we should have seen coming.

    That’s why a high-level group within the FSB is now exploring how to close those data gaps-to support risk monitoring, policy design and implementation, and cross-border cooperation.

    And let’s be clear: we can’t just copy-paste banking rules onto the NBFI sector. It’s too diverse and different from banks. We need to look at both non-bank entities and activities. But our goal should be clear: a level playing field across the financial system. Not by weakening bank rules-but by strengthening the resilience of the non-bank sector.

    Which brings me to the banking sector. During my tenure as FSB Chair, we witnessed something unprecedented: the failure of a global systemically important bank. The demise of Credit Suisse, together with the failure of three US regional banks, was a stark reminder that bank failures are not relics of the past. It brought lessons for banks and financial authorities. In some areas, our work to make the banking sector more resilient is not yet complete. Take the final Basel III standards. These are designed to strengthen the resilience of banks to withstand losses. And yet-they still have not been implemented in many jurisdictions. The Credit Suisse case also highlighted that more than 15 years after the Global Financial Crisis, authorities still face challenges in dealing with failing banks.

    So yes, we’ve made progress. But we’re not done. And in the meantime, we must protect what we’ve already built.

    Because let’s not forget: during all the recent episodes of financial stress the banking system held up. In fact, during the pandemic, banks acted as shock absorbers. Not shock amplifiers. They absorbed losses. They kept credit flowing. They helped keep the economy afloat. That’s no small feat.

    And I believe that is largely thanks to the reforms we put in place after the global financial crisis. The years of hard work. The tough decisions. The commitment to resilience.

    But now, more than 15 years later, we’re hearing familiar calls again-for deregulation. But also calls for simplification. And let me be clear: those two are not the same.

    I understand the desire to simplify. Banking regulation and supervision has become overly complex. Over the past 15 years, a great deal of regulation has been introduced from various angles -global, EU, national. Micro and macro. New risks added, old ones rarely removed. There’s overlap. There’s friction. And yes, sometimes, there’s a lack of supervisory proportionality for smaller institutions. That’s worth looking into.

    But keep in mind that, beyond some point, simple rules are less risk-sensitive. And that means they have to be stricter. You want simpler rules? Sure, but those rules must then be calibrated at a more prudent level. That is the general thinking behind the standardised approach of Basel III. That is also the thinking behind the leverage ratio.

    Most importantly, what we must avoid is confusing simplification with deregulation. Deregulation means effectively lowering buffers by relaxing the rules. That would both reduce resilience in the banking system and increase the likelihood of financial crises. We cannot afford to undo the progress we have made. Especially not now, in this time of unusually high uncertainty, both on the economic and political front. That would be a big mistake. As the late Rudiger Dornbusch used to say: ‘The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.’

    Which brings me to my next point. The developments in both the bank and non-bank sectors are unfolding against a backdrop of major structural shifts-shifts that could reshape financial stability as we know it. I am talking here about technology, about payments, and climate risk.

    Technological innovation is transforming the financial sector. It’s adding new layers of complexity. And it’s doing so at speed.

    The period leading up to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis was marked by balance sheet expansion and financial product innovation. But over the past 15 years, the focus has shifted toward technological innovation. The FSB has been watching this closely. It’s our job to harness the benefits while mitigating the risks.

    And yes, the benefits are real. Technology has made financial services faster, more accessible, more efficient. And in some areas, like AI, we have only started to see its full impact. But it also brings new risks. Why? Because of the speed and scale of adoption. For example in cyberattacks. Because of the growing interconnections with the traditional financial system. Because of the concentration of services in a few key providers.

    Technology creates new interdependencies. And it can accelerate the pace at which a crisis unfolds. Technological innovation is perhaps most visible in the payments space, where new platforms and digital assets are rapidly reshaping how value moves across borders and between users.

    These dynamics are most visible in crypto-assets. This fast-growing market has seen more than its fair share of bankruptcies, liquidity crises and outright fraud, even as its links with traditional finance continue to grow. At the FSB, we have long maintained that crypto does not yet pose a systemic risk, but recent developments suggest we may be approaching a tipping point. Barriers for retail users have dropped significantly, particularly with the introduction of crypto ETFs. The interlinkages with the traditional financial system continue to grow. Stablecoin issuers, for example, now hold substantial amounts of U.S. Treasuries. This is a segment we must monitor closely.

    The crypto ecosystem will continue to evolve-and so must our regulatory frameworks. Jurisdictions are actively developing these, and the FSB’s recommendations offer a common foundation. This is especially important given the inherently cross-border nature of crypto. Effective implementation must extend beyond the G20, supported by strong regulatory and supervisory cooperation.

    Now, part of crypto’s rise can be traced to the shortcomings of cross-border payments. This is a complex, technical issue. But solving it has real-world benefits-for people, for businesses, for economies. This is the goal of the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments. The aim of the roadmap is to bring about cheaper, faster and more transparent and inclusive cross-border payment services for the benefit of citizens and businesses worldwide.

    We’ve made progress. The FSB, the CPMI, and others have done a lot of work. However, our goals are ambitious. And while they have driven changes by both the private and public sectors, we continue to see significant challenges, particularly in certain regions and payment corridors. As we move toward crafting a strategy for the next phase of work, we are seeking to clarify the issues that continue to impede progress. We will continue to work with the private sector to get it done.

    Next to technology and payments, we face another growing challenge-one that’s no longer on the horizon, but right at our doorstep. I’m talking about climate change. Now, climate change may originate outside the financial sector-but its impact on financial stability is very real.

    Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. And as they occur, the risks to financial systems continue to rise. These events test the ability of financial institutions to manage risk and maintain services-especially in the most vulnerable regions. That’s why we must keep strengthening risk management practices. And why we must build resilience-across the entire global financial system.

    The FSB’s Climate Roadmap, launched in 2021 and endorsed by the G20, gives us a coordinated path forward. It focuses on four key areas: firm-level disclosures, data, vulnerability analysis, and regulatory and supervisory tools.

    These four pillars are not standalone. They’re connected. They build on each other.

    For example: consistent, reliable corporate disclosures are the foundation. They help close data gaps. They help firms-and authorities-understand climate-related risks. Better data leads to better analysis. And better analysis leads to better policy.

    And we are making progress. More jurisdictions and companies are adopting climate-related disclosures. New global standards on sustainability assurance are boosting trust in those disclosures. Tools like climate risk dashboards and scenario analyses help us understand vulnerabilities. International bodies are issuing guidance on how to integrate climate risks into existing regulatory and supervisory frameworks. And across the global financial community, we’re seeing knowledge shared, capacity built, and good practices identified.

    But let’s be honest-challenges remain. Especially when it comes to implementation. The groundwork is there. But now, the focus must shift to action-by firms and by authorities. We still lack reliable, granular, and comparable data. That makes it hard to fully assess and manage climate-related risks.

    And let’s face it-traditional financial stability tools weren’t built for this. They’re not always fit for purpose when it comes to forward-looking, long-horizon risks like climate change. That’s why developing robust, climate-specific analytical approaches must remain a top priority.

    Because climate risk isn’t just an environmental issue. It’s a financial one. And it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.

    Let me wrap up.

    Financial stability is an international public good. Every single issue I have mentioned today – NBFI, banking, crypto, payments, climate – they all cross borders. And so must our response be.

    If we want to meet today’s challenges to financial stability, we have to continue to work together. And we need to stay committed to the international bodies we have built to underpin that cooperation, such as the Basel Committee and the FSB. In a fragmented world, global cooperation is harder. But it is also more essential. During the global financial crisis, policymakers acted swiftly and in unison. We must preserve that capacity.

    Because for society, financial stability is like what water is for fish. We barely notice it-until it’s gone. Preserving financial stability is continuous hard work. It is complicated, it is technical, it is not glamorous. Calibrating risk weights for banks doesn’t make headlines. It doesn’t fill the streets with protestors. Therefore, it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves from policy makers, among all the other issues they have on their plate.

    But make no mistake: a stable financial system is the foundation for almost all public policy. When financial stability is lost, everything else falls apart. Governments can’t focus on education, or healthcare, or climate. They’re too busy drawing up rescue plans for an economy in free fall.

    So we have to continue our work. Which means maintaining our ambition as policy makers to take the agreed policies all the way through to implementation. Let’s keep our eyes on the water. And let’s keep it safe and stable.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UN Human Rights Council 59: UK Statement on the report of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    UN Human Rights Council 59: UK Statement on the report of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan

    UK Statement for the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the report of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

    Thank you, Mr President.

    Special Rapporteur,

    We welcome your dedication to highlighting the grave human rights situation in Afghanistan. The UK fully supports your mandate.

    As you have outlined, as we approach the fourth anniversary of Taliban rule, women and girls are denied their right to education, employment, freedom of movement and expression.

    Discrimination against so many is compounded by the lack of accessible, affordable and impartial judicial institutions.

    The Taliban must reverse these inhumane restrictions to ensure a brighter future for all Afghans, including minorities such as LGBT+ individuals and people from ethnic Hazara communities.

    23 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance. The UK continues to provide assistance, working with the UN and others.

    We remain committed to working constructively for an Afghanistan at peace with itself, its neighbours and the international community. Afghanistan cannot achieve long-term stability and prosperity while half its population is systematically excluded from society.

    The international community must remain united in ensuring accountability and in urging the Taliban to change direction.

    Special Rapporteur, what are the short and long-term consequences of this erosion of justice for Afghan society as a whole?

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UN Human Rights Council 59: UK Statement for the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Speech

    UN Human Rights Council 59: UK Statement for the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea

    UK Statement for the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

    Thank you Mr President,

    We thank the Special Rapporteur for his update and reiterate our ongoing support to his vital mandate. We remain concerned by Eritrea’s continued lack of engagement with the Special Rapporteur and minimal human rights scrutiny in the country.

    During Eritrea’s Universal Periodic Review in May 2024, the UK welcomed progress made in promoting economic, social and cultural rights, including an improvement in higher education opportunities. But more still needs to be done to ensure that the rights of Eritreans are fully promoted and protected.

    Meaningful change is urgently needed.

    The system of national service needs a comprehensive evaluation to help stem the flow of young people leaving the country in search of freedoms and opportunities they cannot access in Eritrea.

    Furthermore, those arbitrarily detained for political reasons, or for their religion or belief, must be released.

    Special Rapporteur,

    How can this Council further support your mandate, including by facilitating visits to the region?

    Thank you.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Situation in the Middle East: E3 Statement at the IAEA Extraordinary Board, 16 June 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3

    Speech

    Situation in the Middle East: E3 Statement at the IAEA Extraordinary Board, 16 June 2025

    Joint statement by Ambassador Corinne Kitsell, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, on behalf of France, Germany and the UK (E3) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Extraordinary Board of Governors meeting on 16 June 2025.

    Chair,

    The E3 are concerned about  the ongoing escalation of tensions in the Middle East, following Israeli strikes against targets in Iran and Iran’s response. The E3 reiterate their commitment to the region’s stability and call on all sides to abide by international law, show restraint and refrain from taking further steps which could lead to serious consequences such as potential radioactive release. Escalation is in the interest of no one in the region.

    We reiterate our full support to the IAEA’s independent and impartial mandate and thank the DG for his recent update to the UNSC.

    The E3 have repeatedly expressed their deep concern about Iran’s accelerating and expanding enrichment activities without any plausible civilian justification. The E3 are also worried by recent statements by high-ranking officials on Iran’s willingness to take new and special measures to protect nuclear materials and equipment that would not be declared to the IAEA. As a state party to the NPT and its nuclear safeguards regime, Iran is obliged to declare and put all nuclear material located in Iran under IAEA safeguards. Such statements are concerning and exacerbate the IAEA Comprehensive Report’s findings of Iran’s continued noncompliance with its safeguards agreement and that the IAEA is not in a capacity to verify that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.

    Manipulative attempts to link this crisis with the resolution passed by the Board is an unjustified and irresponsible narrative politicising the IAEA and the safeguards system. The resolution this Board adopted last week was a necessary and long-overdue step to hold Iran into account for its failure to cooperate sufficiently with the Agency over the past six years. It was measured and gave Iran a final opportunity to resolve the outstanding safeguards issues. Iran’s full cooperation with the IAEA and full implementation of its safeguards agreement are a legal obligation and a necessary foundation for any enduring agreement.

    The E3 have repeatedly expressed our commitment to a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear programme and the security of the state of Israel. We have supported recent US diplomatic efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement. We regret Iran’s decision not to participate in talks scheduled this Sunday in Oman. We will spare no efforts to contribute to a negotiated solution, in coordination with the United States.

    Thank you, Chair.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: From an idea to a forum for 3,200 people: how HSE students are building the business environment of the future

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    On May 31, the Higher School of Economics hosted the fifth, anniversary Forum of the HSE Business Club — the largest student entrepreneurial event in the country. In five years, students have transformed it from a local initiative into a large-scale platform uniting market leaders, investors, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to build a business while still studying.

    Entirely organized by students, the forum became living proof: entrepreneurship at HSE is already working. In 2025, the event attracted a record 3,200 registrations and was supported by 20 partner companies. The online broadcast attracted thousands of views. VTB Bank acted as the general partner of the event.

    Dmitry Shminke

    Deputy Vice-Rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics

    — The HSE Business Club Forum is a shining example of what our students are capable of when they have an idea, a team, and a desire to do truly meaningful things. This event is the result of colossal work, created entirely by the hands of students, and this is its main value.

    They don’t just listen to lectures, they create big events, learn in the process, take responsibility and leave the university with real management and project experience. Such initiatives show that studying at HSE is not about later, but about now. And this is inspiring.

    The forum also gives students a unique opportunity to meet with current entrepreneurs – ask questions, discuss their ideas and simply see what business looks like from the inside. Live communication with people who have already gone from idea to business.

    Dmitry Palchikov

    President of the HSE Business Club

    — At the Business Club, we believe that entrepreneurship begins with initiative — with the ability to take responsibility, assemble a team, negotiate, attract people, form an idea and bring it to fruition.

    And every year we are convinced: the forum is a tool with which we form a new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. Those who will build businesses, create teams, make important decisions. And it is important for us that this generation has the right values, the right thinking and the right ambitions. Ambition not just to do big, but to do significant. Not just to earn, but to create. Not just to talk, but to take responsibility.

    It is important for us not only to inspire, but also to show that the entrepreneurial path is closer than it seems. Everything starts with a simple dialogue, with a desire to learn more, with the first idea. The forum is a space where you can take this first step. We want each participant to leave with a new question, a new contact or an idea that will launch something important.

    Thank you, HSE, for freedom and trust. And thank you to everyone who came: you are creating the future of entrepreneurship today.

    Investments in ideas: how the round table went

    One of the key events was the round table “The Future of Business: Investments in Youth Entrepreneurship”, organized jointly with the ANO “Development of Human Capital”. Representatives of investment funds, the venture industry, the university and the Business Club took part in the discussion.

    The discussion focused on early investments in student startups, criteria for their attractiveness to investors, and the role of universities in supporting young entrepreneurs. Participants discussed how the university environment can become a catalyst for the development of startup ecosystems and which mechanisms work most effectively.

    Pitch session: from words to deeds

    The forum became a real platform for testing student ideas. Nine student teams spoke at the pitch session, presenting their projects to investors and industry experts. The startups included an AR atlas, infusion devices, an AI interior designer, gaming PCs, a fitness community, and AI applications for mental support.

    Participants received not only feedback, but also the opportunity to attract partners, clients and mentors.

    Managing the Future: Insights from Industry Leaders

    The speakers at the forum were the country’s leading entrepreneurs, each of whom shared not only their experience, but also a strategic view on business development.

    Stanislav Bliznyuk, President of T-Technologies, spoke about digital transformation and the role of young people in the development of ecosystems. According to him, more than 40% of the company’s employees are recent graduates. The company operates on the “Test and Learn” principle: successful solutions are implemented instantly, mistakes are part of the process, the main thing is not to scale failures.

    Vladimir Yevtushenkov, founder of AFK Sistema, gave a speech on leadership in a crisis. The main thesis is the ability to maintain composure in conditions of uncertainty: “If a person is overcome by panic, consider that he has lost.”

    Oleg Zherebtsov, founder of the Lenta chain and Solopharm, shared his approach to creating effective operating models. The focus is on eliminating unnecessary links, focusing on speed and a strong team, digitalization and customer focus.

    Mikhail Grebenyuk, founder of the consulting company Resulting, presented a 20-point checklist that allows you to evaluate a business idea at the concept stage. The company’s portfolio includes more than 1,000 built sales departments and an annual revenue of 2 billion rubles.

    Other speakers at the forum include Ivan Tavrin (Kismet Capital Group), Dmitry Chuiko (Whoosh), Rinat Aliyev (Educate Online), Alexander Dubovenko (GOOD WOOD), Anton Makarov (divan.ru), Viktor Kuznetsov (VseInstrumenty.ru), Sergey Lebedev (CHICKO), Amiran Mutsoev (Dream Island).

    Education in practice

    The forum gave HSE students not only knowledge, but also the opportunity to apply it in practice. Organizing a large-scale event, working with partners, logistics, moderating platforms, managing teams – all this became part of the real experience of the Business Club participants.

    In parallel with the main speeches, practical workshops were held in the Small Hall: how to build a team, what to do with conflicts and how to develop a business in conditions of uncertainty. Semyon Shimichev, the founder of the Mates coffee chain, also spoke about his path – he opened his first outlet at the age of 19.

    General partner of the forum: VTB Partners: Sber, Ozon, Alfa-Bank, X5 Group, SBS Consulting, Domodedovo, Kept, Axenix, Future Today, FRII, Changellenge, Rosselkhozbank, HSE Business Incubator, Promsvyazbank, Svyatoy Istochnik and others.

    June 16

    “Vyshka” in Telegram

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Choose Canada this summer with the new Canada Strong Pass

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    OTTAWA, June 16, 2025

    This summer, Canadians can enjoy the very best Canada has to offer with the Canada Strong Pass. From museums and railroads to national parks and camping spots, the federal government is making it easier for families to choose Canada as they make their summer plans—and enjoy the places and experiences that bring us together and make Canada strong.

    From June 20 to September 2, 2025, the Canada Strong Pass will offer expanded access to Canada’s nature and culture across the country, helping families discover and celebrate Canada throughout the summer.

    The Pass includes:

    • Parks Canada: Free admission for all visitors to national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada and a 25% discount on camping fees.
    • National museums and the Plains of Abraham Museum: Free admission for children aged 17 and under and a 50% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.
    • VIA Rail: Free travel for children aged 17 and under when accompanied by an adult and a 25% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.
    • Selected participating provincial and territorial museums and galleries: Free admission for children and a 50% discount for young adults aged 18 to 24.

    By making these experiences more accessible, the Pass enables Canadians to connect with what unites us, discover our country’s diversity, take pride in our shared Canadian identity, and immerse ourselves in the stories and landscapes that shape who we are.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: NATO participates in EU European Youth Event in Strasbourg

    Source: NATO

    “What if Google Maps was a game?” This question was brought to a whole new level when NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division presented an Alliance-themed Geoguessr game at the biennial European Youth Event (EYE) on 14 June 2025.

    Hosted at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France and attended by various European Union (EU) institutions, international organisations, civil society and youth organisations, the EYE brings together thousands of 16- to 30-year-olds from across the European Union, and beyond. It provides a platform for young people to exchange views and debate with European parliamentarians and other influential decision-makers.

    For the first time, the event included a dedicated session on NATO and provided European youth with the opportunity to learn more about how the Alliance works to ensure peace and security for one billion people across Europe and North America. The briefing covered an introduction to NATO, a panel session in which young Europeans were able to ask questions to experts about the Alliance’s core business, and a fast-paced location-guessing challenge with a French professional Geoguessr, Bastel.

    Geoguessr is an online game in which players are dropped in a random location somewhere in the world. Using a 360-degree image from Google Street View, they must guess where they have landed based on the scenery, geographical features, or local elements specific to certain locations. To help educate young people about the Alliance, a specific version of the game was created with 35 significant locations from NATO’s history, such as the Palais de Chaillot, opposite the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, where NATO’s Headquarters was based from 1952 to 1959. By playing along with Bastel and NATO staff, the more-than-150 attendees were able to learn more about the origins and relevance of the Alliance in a fun and engaging manner.

    The event concluded with an open conversation between the young audience members and NATO experts. Questions centred around today’s security challenges, NATO-EU unity in the context of defence, and how young people can help contribute to the Alliance’s mission.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Steijn: The AI assistant transforming meal planning for millions in the Netherlands

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Steijn: The AI assistant transforming meal planning for millions in the Netherlands

    Albert Heijn carries about 17,000 different products in its 1,200 stores, and it has a system of demand forecasting that makes as many as one billion predictions a day to ensure the best possible balance between supply and demand.

    A separate product team is responsible for the price labels on the electronic shelves in the stores.

    “There is an algorithm behind them that automatically calculates the best discounts every 15 minutes,” van Ameyden says. As products get closer to their expiration date, the discounts get bigger. “At the beginning of the day you might see 20% off, and it can go to 70%.”

    Willems, back at home in her kitchen in Nieuw-Vennep, said that as long as she’s been shopping for groceries, she’s been an Albert Heijn customer, and before Steijn appeared, she was using recipes she found in the app.

    Steijn has added a helpful twist, however, introducing new flavors – both by suggesting variations on favorite recipes and introducing new ones.

    “For example, lentils – I never used lentils for any of my recipes, but when I entered three ingredients in Steijn, it came up with a lentil soup, and we loved it,” she said. “Thanks to Steijn I’m now a big fan of lentils.”

    Van Straaten said Steijn has delivered both practical and unexpected benefits.

    “I think Steijn saves me about an hour and a half to two hours a week,” he said. “But I think what is even more important is that I provide my kids with healthier food and a better variety of food.”

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: We’ve operated in Europe for more than 40 years – and we have been and always will be a steadfast partner to Europe. With Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, we’re committed to offering the most comprehensive set of sovereignty solutions for customers across Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud and the National Partner Clouds operated by our European partners. Today, we are announcing new offerings that bring digital sovereignty to all European organizations in the public cloud and unlock new ways to run private sovereign clouds too…

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: We’ve operated in Europe for more than 40 years – and we have been and always will be a steadfast partner to Europe. With Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, we’re committed to offering the most comprehensive set of sovereignty solutions for customers across Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud and the National Partner Clouds operated by our European partners. Today, we are announcing new offerings that bring digital sovereignty to all European organizations in the public cloud and unlock new ways to run private sovereign clouds too…

    We’ve operated in Europe for more than 40 years – and we have been and always will be a steadfast partner to Europe. With Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, we’re committed to offering the most comprehensive set of sovereignty solutions for customers across Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud, and the National Partner Clouds operated by our European partners. Today, we are announcing new offerings that bring digital sovereignty to all European organizations in the public cloud and unlock new ways to run private sovereign clouds too: When it comes to the public cloud, we’re introducing Data Guardian, which ensures all remote access by our engineers to the systems that store and process customer data in Europe is approved and monitored by European resident personnel in real-time and logged in a tamper-evident ledger. As well as External Key Management for customer-controlled encryption, providing an additional guarantee of data protection. We’re also introducing Sovereign Private Cloud, which includes Microsoft 365 Local, which brings together our productivity server software into an Azure Local environment that can run entirely in a customer’s own datacenter, with full control on security, compliance and governance. These new offerings build on decades of pioneering work in sovereign cloud solutions by ourselves and our partners, and reflect our ongoing commitment to giving you more choice, control, and security. You can learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gNW2gd8V

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Announcing comprehensive sovereign solutions empowering European organizations

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: Announcing comprehensive sovereign solutions empowering European organizations

    Today, we are taking the next step in strengthening our European Digital Commitments to empower our customers with greater choice, more control over their data privacy and the most robust digital resilience we have ever offered. Building on our 42-year history as a company in Europe, we are expanding our efforts with Microsoft Sovereign Cloud. This offer spans both public cloud and private digital infrastructure, ensuring our customers can choose the right balance of control, compliance and capability for their needs.

    With this expanded offering we are announcing Data Guardian for European operations, External Key Management for customer-controlled encryption, Regulated Environment Management for simplified configuration and Microsoft 365 Local for critical productivity services in private cloud environments.

    This brings together comprehensive productivity, security and cloud solutions designed to enable European organizations to grow, compete and lead on their own terms and with more control than ever before across Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud and National Partner Clouds.

    Building on our experience delivering sovereignty solutions that meet the needs of highly regulated customers and government agencies, our Sovereign Public Cloud is an evolution and expansion of the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty and will be offered across all existing European datacenter regions, for all European customers, across enterprise services such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Security and Power Platform. Sovereign Public Cloud ensures customer data stays in Europe, under European Law, with operations and access controlled by European personnel, and encryption is under full control of customers. This is enabled for all customer workloads running in our European datacenter regions requiring no migration.

    Microsoft’s new Sovereign Private Cloud will support critical collaboration, communication and virtualization services workloads on Azure Local. This solution now integrates Microsoft 365 Local and our security platform with Azure Local, providing consistent capabilities for hybrid or air-gapped environments to meet resiliency and business continuity requirements.

    In France and Germany, our National Partner Clouds offer comprehensive capabilities of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure in an independently owned and operated environment. In France, we have an agreement with Bleu, a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini, for Bleu to operate a “cloud de confiance” for the French public sector, critical infrastructure providers and essential services providers that is designed to meet SecNumCloud requirements. In Germany, we have an agreement with Delos Cloud, an SAP subsidiary, for Delos Cloud to operate a sovereign cloud for the German public sector that is designed to meet the German government’s Cloud Platform Requirements.

    Across our Sovereign Public Cloud, Sovereign Private Cloud and support for National Partner Clouds, Microsoft Sovereign Cloud offers the most comprehensive set of sovereignty solutions in the industry for integrated productivity, security and cloud.

    Sovereign Public Cloud for all Microsoft Cloud customers in Europe

    Many technology providers have approached sovereignty as niche requirements for a unique set of customers that require a specific deployment approach that at times is at odds with the economics and innovation of public cloud systems. This often requires running duplicate systems and teams, migrating to separate environments and limiting access to cutting-edge technologies like AI. However, Microsoft’s Sovereign Public Cloud builds an evolving set of sovereign capabilities that can be configured to meet specific needs without sacrificing functionality or requiring migration to specialized datacenters. With Microsoft’s Sovereign Public Cloud currently in preview and set to be generally available in all European cloud regions later this year, we will introduce new features and solutions that reinforce this vision.

    Announcing Data Guardian

    Our EU Data Boundary already provides an industry-leading commitment to store and process your data on infrastructure located in Europe. Data Guardian will add an additional level of assurance by ensuring that only Microsoft personnel residing in Europe control remote access to these systems. Data Guardian adds additional human and technical oversight whenever engineers outside of Europe need access. All remote access by Microsoft engineers to the systems that store and process your data in Europe is approved and monitored by European resident personnel in real time and will be logged in a tamper-evident ledger.

    Announcing External Key Management to extend Azure Managed HSM

    Encryption under the full control of customers provides an additional guarantee of data protection. With external key management, customers can connect Azure to keys stored on their own Hardware Security Module (HSM) on-premises or hosted by a trusted third party. We’re working with major HSM manufacturers such as Futurex, Thales and Utimaco to ensure their support.

    Announcing Regulated Environment Management

    The Regulated Environment Management service will allow customers to easily manage all these features in one place (for instance, configuring Data Guardian policies or reviewing access log entries). Regulated Environment Management will be at the center of the customer experience for configuring, deploying and monitoring workloads in support of sovereign operations. Together, these tools will be at the center of the customer experience for configuring, deploying and monitoring workloads in the Sovereign Public Cloud.

    Sovereign Private Cloud with Azure Local and Microsoft 365 Local

    While strengthening sovereign controls in public cloud environments is critical, we also understand that some scenarios require certain workloads be run in a physical environment under full customer control to support business continuity risk mitigation. Azure Local delivers Microsoft cloud services in customer locations, enabling organizations to meet specific data residency and sovereignty requirements. It includes core Azure capabilities — such as compute, storage, networking and virtualization services — while providing a consistent management and developer experience. Azure Local is ideal for delivering services closer to where data is generated or regulated, whether in-country, on-premises or in partner-operated datacenters. Microsoft’s Sovereign Private Cloud solution is in preview today and will be generally available later this year.

    Announcing Microsoft 365 Local

    Microsoft 365 Local provides customers with additional choice by bringing together Microsoft’s productivity server software into an Azure Local environment that can run entirely in a customer’s own datacenter.

    This provides a simplified deployment and management framework for organizations to run Microsoft’s trusted productivity servers in environments they fully control. Built on our validated reference architecture and powered by Azure Local, Microsoft 365 Local enables customers to deploy Microsoft productivity workloads like Exchange Server and SharePoint Server in their own datacenters or sovereign cloud environments — with full control on security, compliance and governance.

    Private Sovereign Cloud is designed for governments, critical industries and regulated sectors that need to meet the highest standards of data residency, operational autonomy and disconnected access.

    Building a sovereign cloud and AI partner ecosystem for Europe

    To support European customers in implementing and operating sovereign solutions, we are also excited to preview a new Microsoft Sovereign Cloud specialization in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. This specialization will provide our European customers the ability to identify Partners who have differentiated themselves based on their demonstrated capabilities in supporting their Sovereign Cloud ambitions on Microsoft technology. Our preview partners include Accenture, Arvato Systems, Atea, Atos, Crayon, Capgemini, Dell Technologies, IBM, Inspark, Infosys, Lenovo, Leonardo, NTT Data, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone.

    “The launch of Microsoft Sovereign Cloud marks a pivotal moment in empowering European institutions and industries with the control, compliance and innovation they need to thrive in today’s digital economy,” said Aiman Ezzat, CEO of Capgemini Group.

    “As a shareholder of Bleu, we have already set up a National Partner Cloud in France in order to deliver Microsoft technologies in a sovereign environment that respects the French State requirements. With decades of experience in Microsoft technologies and deep expertise in regulated sectors, we are uniquely positioned to help our clients harness the full power of Microsoft’s sovereign public and private cloud solutions. Together, we are enabling a trusted digital future for Europe.”

    Delivering on our digital commitments to Europe

    Together, Microsoft Sovereign Cloud is grounded in our European Digital Commitments and offers the best mix of choice, control and resilience for European customers. Microsoft is proud to offer the broadest set of sovereignty solutions available on the market today and we will constantly look for new ways to ensure our European customers have the options and assurances they need to operate with confidence.

    In a time of geopolitical volatility, we are committed to providing digital stability. With each step we take in this journey, we invite open dialogues with our customers, policymakers and regulators as we continue to innovate.

    Tags: Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Sovereign Cloud, National Partner, Power Platform, Sovereign Private Cloud, Sovereign Public Cloud

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: You know AI is transformative when it’s at your dinner table. In the Netherlands today, I met the Albert Heijn team who are using Azure AI Foundry to help customers navigate everyday decisions, like what’s for dinner.

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: You know AI is transformative when it’s at your dinner table. In the Netherlands today, I met the Albert Heijn team who are using Azure AI Foundry to help customers navigate everyday decisions, like what’s for dinner.

    Really impressed by how Steijn tackles the problem with habit-driven user design – helping users within their existing decision-making flow rather than forcing new workflows. It’s a smart example of making AI feel seamless and intuitive. This is exactly where GenAI shines, not just through automation, but through contextual augmentation that enhances everyday choices. And we’re just scratching the surface with such applications, industries like healthcare, education, and logistics are next in line to benefit from similar personalized, AI-powered experiences.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: ICYMI: Rep. Hinson Joins The Signal Sitdown

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01)

    Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-02) joined Daily Signal’s Bradley Devlin on The Signal Sitdown podcast. The two discussed the media bias contributing to the cover-up of President Biden’s mental decline, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, countering the CCP’s illicit practices, and more.

    In case you missed it…

    Click here to watch the full episode of The Signal Sitdown.

    China Has Secret Police in the US. This Congresswoman Is Trying to Stop It.
    The Daily Signal
    Bradley Devlin
    June 12, 2025

    In December 2024, Chen Jinping, a 60-year-old Manhattan resident, pleaded guilty to opening and operating a secret Chinese police station for China’s Ministry of Public Security in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood. Chen was arrested with “Harry” Lu Jianwang in April 2023, following an FBI investigation into the outpost.

    Though these arrests were the first of their kind, according to Justice Department officials, American authorities suspect that China has these kinds of outposts all over the country. 

    And China’s nefarious activities in New York City hardly scratch the surface. For decades, Chinese operatives have infiltrated American universities and companies, smuggled drugs and human beings across America’s borders, and stolen American intellectual property and technology—even corn seeds from fields in Iowa.

    President Donald Trump was one of the first to see the threat of China clearly. Under the president’s leadership, Republicans in Congress are trying to prevent and punish this malign Chinese activity. This week, one of the House Republicans spearheading that effort, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, joins “The Signal Sitdown” to discuss.

    “My passion for this policy started in my district,” Hinson said. The aforementioned seed-stealing spies were operating in Hinson’s backyard. “There was actually a Chinese spy ring busted stealing seeds out of a cornfield in Dysart, Iowa.”

    “They wanted to take them back to China. They want to cheat,” Hinson explained. “It’s all about reverse engineering because there is so much R&D that has gone into seed technology so that we can grow the most resilient, best yielding plants in the world.”

    China’s unfair trade practices can often be more subtle than outright theft, however. “[The Chinese] are using tactics like transnational shipment,” Hinson told The Daily Signal.

    “So, especially in the auto-parts industry, for example,” Hinson explained, “something coming in from China is gonna be tariffed, so then they ship it through Singapore or Vietnam or someplace with a lesser tariff to get around our tariff laws.”

    “They’re economically cheating and getting a better deal,” Hinson continued. “Meanwhile, you’ve got American producers trying to play on that same playing field and it’s not level.”

    Hinson has introduced the Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act with Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., to provide federal law enforcement more capacity to crack down on these trade practices.

    “What we’re trying to do is make sure that President Trump’s Department of Justice… [will have] the resources and a specific task force to be able to go after these malign actors who are, again, intentionally cheating,” she explained.

    “We think this cost is hundreds of billions of dollars every year on the low end,” Hinson said. “This has been decades in the making, right? You’ve got entire industries that have been ceded and now China owns them.”

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Xi meets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev 2025-06-16 21:47:21 Chinese President Xi Jinping met here Monday with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ahead of the second China-Central Asia Summit.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense

      ASTANA, June 16 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met here Monday with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ahead of the second China-Central Asia Summit.

      Xi arrived in the Kazakh capital of Astana earlier Monday to attend the second China-Central Asia Summit

    loading…

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Samsung Debuts New Hotel TV Lineup at HITEC 2025 to Elevate the Connected Guest Journey

    Source: Samsung

    Samsung Electronics will showcase its upcoming 2025 Hospitality (HTV) lineup at the 2025 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), the world’s largest, longest-running hospitality technology event, in Indianapolis. At booth #4215, attendees can discover Samsung’s new generation of HTVs designed to empower hotel owners with dynamic management tools while providing guests with effortless streaming and seamless connectivity options.
    “Today’s travelers are no longer just looking for a room, they’re seeking personalized experiences that feel thoughtfully designed and engaging,” said Sara Grofcsik, Head of Sales, Samsung Electronics America. “Samsung is helping hotels meet these expectations by providing a connected ecosystem of in-room displays, entertainment options and intuitive content management tools that make it easy to create memorable guest journeys from check-in to check-out.”

    Premium picture, design and guest entertainment
    Samsung’s latest in-room HTVs deliver premium picture quality, modern design and intuitive features that elevate hotel stays. The 2025 lineup includes:

    HU8000F: Powered by Samsung’s Crystal Processor 4K, HDR10+, and Dynamic Crystal Color, the HU8000F HTV immerses guests in one billion shades of color with lifelike clarity and detail. Its sleek AirSlim design creates an elegant, nearly bezel-free look that complements any hotel space. The HU8000F also features adaptive sound technology, which provides real-time audio scene analysis and quality optimizations for any programming. (Available in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 85-inch sizes)
    HU6000F: With Samsung’s Crystal Processor 4K, the ultra-high-definition HU6000F HTV automatically adjusts image brightness and contrast to optimal levels in every frame, allowing guests to enjoy their favorite content as it was meant to be viewed. The slim, bezel-less HTV adds comfort and sophistication to hotel rooms. (Available in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch sizes)
    HU701F: Designed for flexibility, the HU701F HTV delivers the same ultra-high-definition picture quality as the HU8000F and HU6000 models, paired with an innovative, ergonomic form factor. The slim, bezel-less HTV sits on an adjustable swivel stand that rotates 360 degrees for easy viewing from any angle. This rotating center stand makes the HU701F ideal for multi-room suites, allowing guests to enjoy a single HTV as they move throughout the suite. (Available in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch sizes)

    Attendees can also discover how Samsung’s award-winning The Frame (model name HL03F) transforms hotel interiors with stunning 4K QLED picture quality. Blending technology and art, The Frame features an innovative Art Mode that allows hotel managers to customize guest rooms by displaying curated collections of modern or classic artwork—or even tailored visuals such as hotel-branded imagery—when the TV is not in use. The Anti-Reflection Matte Display minimizes light interference for a gallery-like effect, while the Slim-Fit Wall Mount allows the TV to sit flush against the wall, serving as a true art piece.
    Hotel-ready features and integrated hospitality solutions
    Together with The Frame, Samsung’s new HU8000F and HU701F models expand guest entertainment options by adding Disney+ and Prime Video to the existing portfolio of OTT apps like Netflix and Samsung TV Plus. Guests can easily access these apps through the intuitive on-screen Smart Hub and enjoy a wide variety of streaming content during their stay.
    Samsung’s hospitality solutions also help hotels unlock new operational efficiencies and revenue streams. Samsung LYNK Cloud provides centralized remote management and actionable business insights, streamlining global hospitality operations while driving incremental revenue through targeted promotions. With the Visual eXperience Transformation (VXT) platform, operators can create, manage, and distribute content across all displays in a connected ecosystem. IoT connectivity through SmartThings Pro and the Multi-Code Remote further enable staff to personalize in-room experiences and ensure interference-free control, enhancing both convenience and guest satisfaction.
    Samsung will offer booth demonstrations showcasing how SmartThings Pro enables guests to control their hotel room temperature, lighting, shades and more using one central device.

    For hotels currently using the HBU8000, a software update will soon be available to enable Google Cast without interrupting service.1 Major properties participated in a successful pilot of this upgrade, and have recently selected Samsung LYNK Cloud as their preferred solution. These locations underwent simultaneous software updates of devices, demonstrating the scalability and reliability of the solution.
    Included in the streaming options is Apple AirPlay. Through casting solutions like AirPlay, Google Cast and OTT integration, Samsung HTVs deliver seamless viewing options and an optimized solution that enhances the overall guest experience.
    Samsung HTVs are also built with practical features tailored for hotel environments, including RJ12 connectors, bathroom speaker support and LAN out ports. Powered by the intuitive and secure Tizen platform, the latest lineup offers smooth navigation, enterprise-grade protection with Samsung Knox and flexible connectivity through multiple HDMI and USB ports.
    Samsung’s systems integrators create connected guest experience
    Within Samsung’s booth at HITEC, attendees will find hospitality solutions from leading system integrators including GuestTek, Moviebeam, Enseco, WorldVue and Sonifi. These partners will demonstrate how Samsung hospitality displays seamlessly connect with their dynamic platforms to create more personalized guest experiences and drive operational efficiency across the industry.
    Additional system integrators in Samsung’s booth include MCOMS, Uniguest and Allbridge.

    Samsung offers special savings this summer
    To kick off the summer travel season, Samsung is running special promotions in June and July on select displays. Hotel brands of all sizes can outfit their properties with displays, in key locations such as lobbies, restaurants, spas and guest rooms.
    Throughout the month of June, Samsung is offering up to $1,000 off its 105-inch 5K UHD Smart Signage and up to $500 off the Color E-Paper display. Additionally, Samsung is offering up to $400 off its LCD Video Walls, which create a virtually seamless large-format viewing experience to elevate any business setting, and up to $280 off the Samsung Kiosk, which meets the demands of any high-traffic self-service environment. Hotel owners can enjoy up to $200 off Samsung Pro TVs — which range from 43- to 85-inches — to match the screen size requirements of any location.
    From now until the end of July, customers can also take advantage of the buy one WAF Interactive Display, get one Samsung Pro TV free promotion.
    Samsung’s new lineup of HTVs will be available for early order starting at HITEC 2025. For more information about Samsung’s hospitality solutions, please visit www.samsung.com.

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: The battle for TikTok is at the forefront of a deeper geopolitical trend

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Shweta Singh, Assistant Professor, Information Systems and Management, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

    Mijansk786/Shutterstock

    After years of mounting scrutiny over TikTok’s data practices, in 2024 the Chinese video platform was threatened with a forced sale in the US or a nationwide ban. With the deadline looming on June 19, US–China tech rivalry has entered a new and more aggressive phase. TikTok vowed to fight forced divestment, claiming it would “trample” free speech.

    But what started as a controversy over data privacy now has global implications. This conflict is about more than just an app. It represents a shift in the balance of digital power — one that could redefine how nations view national security, economic sovereignty and the internet itself.

    In light of my research on AI bias, algorithmic fairness, and the societal impact of digital platforms and my experience advising government on AI regulation and digital ethics, I see TikTok as the flashpoint of a broader, more dangerous trend. Digital spaces are becoming battlefronts for geopolitical influence.

    TikTok has evolved from a social media app to – in the eyes of some policymakers – a digital weapon. Its massive global following has made it a cultural juggernaut. But this viral success has also made it a prime target in the escalating US-China tech war.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    US politicians worry that its owner, ByteDance, could be forced by the Chinese government to hand over American user data, or manipulate TikTok’s algorithm to serve Beijing’s political agenda.

    The concerns are serious, even if not proven. Platforms have been used to sway political sentiment before — as with Facebook in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But TikTok is different. Its algorithm isn’t like those of other social platforms that rely on a user’s social graph (what you follow, who you know) to connect people, organisations and places.

    Instead, TikTok uses a real-time recommendation system based on micro-interactions: how long you watch a video, whether you pause or replay it and even your swipe patterns. The result is an ultra-addictive content stream. This gives TikTok an almost unprecedented power to shape opinions, whether intentionally or not.

    TikTok in the US: three possible scenarios

    There are three potential outcomes for TikTok. The first is a forced sale to a US-based entity, which could satisfy lawmakers but likely provoke severe retaliation from China.

    The second is a ban, which may be more symbolic than effective, but would send a strong message. The third, and perhaps most likely, is a long, drawn-out legal battle that results in a stalemate. Trump seems set to extend the June 19 deadline, after all.

    But there’s a deeper issue here. The world is becoming increasingly divided along digital lines. The US and China are building rival digital ecosystems, each suspicious of the other’s platforms.

    Like past restrictions on Huawei and Nvidia chip exports, this case signals how national security and economic policy are merging in the digital age. This threatens to splinter the internet, with countries choosing sides for their suppliers based on political and economic allegiances rather than technical merit.

    For China, TikTok is a symbol of national pride. It’s one of the few Chinese apps to achieve global success and become a household name in western markets. Forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok, or banning it, could be seen as an affront to China’s ambitions on the global digital stage. It’s no longer just about a platform — it’s about control over the future of technology.

    TikTok’s defenders argue that banning the app would undermine free speech, stifle creativity and unfairly target a foreign-owned platform. These concerns are valid, but the broader landscape of digital platforms is far from straightforward.

    Other platforms have faced criticism over allegations of spreading misinformation, amplifying bias and contributing to social harm. However, the key distinction with TikTok lies in its algorithm and its ability to sway opinions on a global scale.

    TikTok’s “for you” feed tracks micro-interactions, serving up personalised content with an addictive intensity. As a result, users can find themselves pulled deeper into curated content streams without realising the extent to which their preferences are being shaped.

    While its competitors might be able to spread misinformation and stoke division in more traditional ways, TikTok could potentially do so through the finely tuned manipulation of the user’s attention. This is a potent tool in the world of digital politics.

    It also raises critical questions about how the US approaches regulation. Is TikTok a genuine national security threat or simply a symbol of the growing strategic competition between two superpowers?

    Rather than relying on bans and trade wars, what is needed is robust, cross-border frameworks that prioritise transparency, data protection, algorithmic accountability and the mitigation of online harms.

    Concerns about harassment, disinformation, addictive design and algorithms that amplify toxic content are not unique to TikTok. US legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act and the proposed Platform Accountability and Transparency Act signal growing concern. But these efforts remain piecemeal.

    The EU’s Digital Services Act is a welcome model for accountability. But global coordination is now essential. Without it, there is the risk of further fragmentation of the internet (what has been called the “splinternet” — where access is determined by geopolitics rather than universal principles).

    The digital world has long been dominated by a handful of powerful corporations. Now it is increasingly shaped by state rivalries. The battle over TikTok is a harbinger of deeper tensions around how data, influence and trust are distributed online.

    The real question now is not whether TikTok survives, but whether nations can craft a digital future that prioritises democratic values, cross-border collaboration and the public good. This isn’t just about national security or free speech. It’s a defining moment in the battle for the future of the internet.

    Shweta Singh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. The battle for TikTok is at the forefront of a deeper geopolitical trend – https://theconversation.com/the-battle-for-tiktok-is-at-the-forefront-of-a-deeper-geopolitical-trend-258341

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Frozen, thawed: how Arendelle’s glacier would fare under modern climate change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Harold Lovell, Senior Lecturer, Glaciology, University of Portsmouth

    As a glaciologist who thinks about ice a lot, rewatching the movie Frozen umpteen times with my six-year-old daughter provides ample opportunity for my imagination to run wild. The movie is set in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle, which is modelled on a fjord landscape, complete with a large glacier at the head of Arenfjord. Ice unsurprisingly plays a very prominent role in the story. Yet this glacier receives very little attention.

    Glaciers are receding across the world at an unprecedented rate. And on more than one occasion I have wondered how Arendelle’s glacier might have fared since the time of Frozen.

    To add some scientific rigour to this thought experiment, it is useful to approximate a real geographical location. Arendelle is inspired by the fjords of western Norway, a region where most of the glaciers flow from the Jostedalsbreen ice cap, the largest ice mass in mainland Europe.

    We can also approximate the date. Based on various clues, including the clothing and technology on show, it appears the events in Frozen take place one July in the mid-19th century. This means the glacier is depicted towards the end of the little ice age, a cool period lasting several centuries during which most northern hemisphere glaciers expanded to their largest size in recent history.

    In the movie, the glacier plunges from a high elevation plateau into the fjord below and looks steep and crevassed at the front. This implies a healthy, advancing glacier, in a similar condition to the many outlet glaciers of Jostedalsbreen that reached their little ice age maximum positions around this time.

    The short-term health of Arendelle’s glacier may have been further boosted by the unseasonal summer snowfall and cold temperatures that Elsa’s powers unleashed on the kingdom.

    Real glaciers are shrinking fast

    The fate of the fictional glacier since the little ice age would have been less positive, as demonstrated by the very real glaciers of Jostedalsbreen. This period has been characterised by accelerated climate warming, causing widespread glacier retreat and thinning.

    Since Elsa’s time, the real glaciers it’s based on have shrunk by about a fifth. Individual glaciers have retreated several kilometres at rates of up to 20 metres per year. This makes it likely that, without any further help from Elsa, Arendelle’s glacier would have retreated onto land within decades of the time of the film.

    How Jostedalsbreen’s glaciers have retreated from the little ice age (red outline) to today (blue).
    Andreassen et al. 2023

    In the late 1980s and early 1990s, an increase in winter snowfall in western Norway meant most major glaciers in the region began to advance up to a few hundred metres. The Arendelle glacier might therefore have grown again for a time, although probably not enough for the glacier to re-enter the fjord. While there are other explanations, the more imaginative mind might consider the possibility that a descendent of Elsa was responsible for this period of increased snowfall.

    Since the early 2000s, those same glaciers have shrunk significantly, retreating by up to 70 metres per year. That’s largely because higher air temperatures mean more ice is melting in summer. Several of Jostedalsbreen’s glaciers have retreated almost back onto the plateau, while others are disconnecting from the larger ice bodies that have been nourishing them for centuries.

    What would Arendelle’s glacier look like today?

    Retreat of this scale means the fictional glacier today might look something like Briksdalsbreen, now just a small tongue spilling over from the plateau ice behind. Indeed, it is quite possible that in 2025, designated by the UN as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, Arendelle’s glacier would no longer have been visible from Arendelle Castle.

    Briksdalsbreen, one of Jostedalsbreen’s outlet glaciers, shows what the Arendelle glacier might look today.
    Nataliya Nazarova / shutterstock

    So, if Arendelle’s glacier were real, it would be a shadow of its 19th-century self – much like its real-life Norwegian equivalents. By 2050, approximately 200 years after the time of Frozen, the glacier would probably have retreated onto the plateau. The ice cap would also have thinned considerably and might even be in the early stages of terminal break up.

    However, while this is one potential scenario for Jostedalsbreen in the 21st century, it is by no means certain. Climate scientists agree that concerted action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit warming.

    Magic helped Arendelle once. This time, it’ll take real-world action to ensure the real glaciers have a fighting chance of still being around by the time Frozen 3 is finally released.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Harold Lovell receives funding from NERC.

    – ref. Frozen, thawed: how Arendelle’s glacier would fare under modern climate change – https://theconversation.com/frozen-thawed-how-arendelles-glacier-would-fare-under-modern-climate-change-255539

    MIL OSI Analysis –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Life’s Better by Bike — Even Small Rides Can Make a Big Difference 16 June 2025 Islanders are being invited to leave the car at home and hop on their bikes this June

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    Islanders are being invited to leave the car at home and hop on their bikes this June, as part of the Isle of Wight Council’s ‘Life’s Better by Bike’ campaign.

    The campaign aims to inspire residents to swap shorter car journeys for cycling — boosting their own health and wellbeing while helping to protect the Island’s environment.

    Throughout June, the campaign will highlight how cycling can help improve physical fitness, strengthen mental wellbeing, and contribute to cleaner, greener communities.

    While we recognise that not all routes are currently ideal for cycling — with some lanes and footpaths in need of improvement — the campaign also aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining and enhancing our cycling infrastructure. Feedback from local cycling groups is vital in helping us identify areas that need attention.

    Simon Bryant, the Isle of Wight’s Director of Public Health, said: “We know that regular cycling can help reduce stress, improve mental focus, and boost heart health. It’s also a great way to reconnect with nature, enjoy time with friends and family, and rediscover that sense of freedom we often lose in busy daily life. Life really is better by bike — and we’d love to see as many people as possible joining in this June.”

    With the Island’s roads often busy, especially during peak times, cycling can offer a refreshing alternative for some journeys — no queues, just the freedom of two wheels. However, we understand that for others, walking may feel like a safer or more accessible option, and that’s okay too. The key is finding ways to stay active and reduce car use where possible.

    The council will be promoting local cycle routes — including those best suited for beginners or families — offering inspiration for Islanders of all abilities to get started or rediscover the simple joy of riding a bike.

    The Isle of Wight celebrates its highly reputed status as one of the top cycling destinations in the world. With around 200 miles of cycle tracks, byways and bridleways, there are plenty of opportunities to explore — whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or just starting out.

    Residents are encouraged to share their cycling adventures on social media, tagging the council and using the hashtag #LifesBetterByBike for a chance to be featured.

    Even a short ride can make a big difference — to your health, your mood, and the environment we all share.

    Residents can find cycling tips, local routes, and ways to get involved by visiting our Life’s better by bike webapge: Life’s better by bike

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Support for Struggling Island Households – DWP Household Support Fund 16 June 2025 Households on the Isle of Wight will benefit from extended financial assistance thanks to the DWP extension of the HSF

    Source: Aisle of Wight

    Households on the Isle of Wight will benefit from extended financial assistance with the cost of food, utilities, and wider essentials thanks to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) extension of the Household Support Fund (HSF). Available from early-June 2025 until March 2026, the fund provides £1.994 million to help eligible Island residents struggling to manage the continued cost of living pressures.

    Ian Lloyd, Strategic Manager for Partnerships and Support Services, Isle of Wight Council, emphasised the importance of this funding: “Supporting our community through these challenging times is a top priority, as recognised in the Island’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The extended Household Support Fund will offer crucial assistance to those facing financial hardship.”

    Key Support Measures

    • Supermarket Vouchers: A £25 one-off voucher will be distributed to up to 10,000 households receiving Local Council Tax Support as of 19 May 2025. These vouchers will be sent out in July. Pensioners in receipt of Local Council Tax Support as of 29 September 2025 will receive an additional supermarket voucher in November.

    • Utility Support for Pensioners: Eligible pensioners will receive £75 pre-paid utility cards or vouchers between November and February, in addition to the supermarket voucher in November.

    • Additional Vouchers: Up to three £25 supermarket vouchers will be available for households experiencing significant financial crises through Isle of Wight Council and partner organizations.

    • Foodbank and Community Pantry Support: Essential food items will be provided to those in financial crisis need.

    • Help Through Crisis: Support for utility debt, energy-efficient white goods, and emergency food assistance.

    • Community Grants: Funding will be available for local initiatives offering crisis and preventative approaches through support and guidance, with application windows in June, September, and January.

    For more information, visit the council’s cost of living web page, email hsf@iow.gov.uk, or call (01983) 823644.

    This initiative aligns with the Isle of Wight’s Poverty Reduction Strategy 2024-2029, which aims to address financial hardship through targeted support, preventative measures, and long-term planning in partnership.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Dstl celebrates King’s Honours and team commendations

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    News story

    Dstl celebrates King’s Honours and team commendations

    Dstl engineer Peter Briggs awarded an OBE for his work securing UK defence and security capabilities, and Dstl teams receive VCDS commendations.

    Dstl scientist Peter Briggs OBE

    Peter Briggs, Senior Principal Engineer in Positioning, Navigation and Timing at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list 2025. He has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

    The prestigious honour acknowledges Peter’s significant contributions to the UK’s defence and security capabilities through his expert work in Positioning, Navigation and Timing technologies at Dstl.

    During his 23-year career at Dstl, he has led numerous groundbreaking projects that have enhanced the resilience of the UK’s critical navigation systems, developed countermeasures against emerging threats and strengthened collaboration with international partners.

    On hearing about his award Peter said:

    I am amazed and proud to receive this honour for the work I’ve done over my career. I’d like to thank all of my incredible colleagues, both nationally and internationally, that I have worked with and learnt from over the years. Their team effort has led to me proudly receiving this honour.

    The recognition comes as Dstl teams have also received Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) commendations for their exceptional work on critical defence projects.

    Dr Paul Hollinshead, Dstl’s Chief Executive, said:

    This well-deserved honour recognises Peter’s exceptional technical leadership and innovation in critical defence technologies. His work has significantly enhanced the UK’s security capabilities and represents the outstanding talent we have at Dstl.  

    We’re especially proud that our teams have also been recognised through the Vice Chief of Defence Staff commendations, which highlight the crucial contribution Dstl makes to national security through cutting-edge research and collaboration with military and industry partners.

    Taskforce Spirit commendation recognises international collaboration

    A combined Dstl and Ministry of Defence (MOD) team has been commended for supporting allies with leading-edge expertise to help develop long-term military capability.

    Taskforce Spirit developed and delivered innovative wargaming, modelling and analytical techniques to inform critical capability priorities and investment decisions, helping to generate forces fit for the future operating environment.

    The work, conducted alongside allies and partners, has enhanced the UK’s reputation in the Strategic Force Development arena and contributed to United Kingdom National Security Objectives to counter global threats and support UK interests and influence.

    Dstl Strategic Force Analysis team recognised for Strategic Defence Review work

    Dstl’s Strategic Force Analysis team has also received a commendation for their crucial role in providing the MOD with force design and capability evidence to inform the Strategic Defence Review (SDR).

    Between August 2024 and January 2025, the team developed coherent candidate Defence Force Structures representing different policy choices, costed principal alternatives, and explored variations as requested by Defence Reviewers. Their work ensured senior management understood the challenges and choices available to Defence, drawing praise from the Chief of Defence Staff.

    Multidisciplinary team receives Vice Chief of Defence Staff commendation

    A multidisciplinary team including Dstl scientists has received a prestigious VCDS commendation for their work on a complex flight test event conducted in the US in late 2024.

    The successful trial tested multiple technologies and concepts to improve air survivability in a complex Anti-Access Area Denial (A2AD) environment. The whole-force collaboration included elements from the RAF Rapid Capabilities Office, Air and Space Warfare Centre, Dstl and industry partners.  

    Dstl continues to play a vital role in science and technology innovation for the UK’s defence and security, with experts like Peter Briggs and the commended teams demonstrating the organisation’s world-class capabilities and contributions to national security.

    Updates to this page

    Published 16 June 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s message to mark the 100-day Countdown to the International Day of Peace [scroll down for French version]

    Source: United Nations secretary general

    On 21 September, the world unites for the International Day of Peace. This year’s call: “Act Now for a Peaceful World”.

    Peace can’t wait – and it starts with us.

    We all have the power to help silence guns, build bridges and plant the seeds of lasting change.

    As we launch the 100-day countdown to Peace Day, let’s do our part to forge a more peaceful world.

    ***

    Le 21 septembre, le monde s’unit pour célébrer la Journée internationale de la paix. L’appel lancé cette année est : « Agissons maintenant pour l’avènement d’un monde pacifique ».

    La paix n’attend pas – et elle commence avec nous.

    Nous avons toutes et tous le pouvoir de faire taire les armes, de tisser des liens et de semer les graines d’un changement durable.

    À 100 jours de la célébration de la Journée de la paix, agissons pour forger un monde plus pacifique.

    ***
     

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CS chairs HR meeting

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired the second meeting of the fourth-term Human Resources Planning Commission, during which he introduced the work of the Committee on Education, Technology & Talents (CETT).

    Chaired by the Chief Secretary, the CETT co-ordinates cross-bureau efforts to drive technological innovation, industrial innovation and the co-ordinated development of human resource supply and demand on the basis of strategic positioning and advantages of the “eight centres”, while flexibly bringing in and gathering talent from various sectors to build an international hub for high-calibre talent to contribute to the high-quality development of the country.

    The Education Bureau introduced the work on the development of universities of applied sciences (UAS). The commission members supported the Government’s efforts in related fields and gave opinions on the work plan of the Alliance of UAS.

    Meanwhile, the Security Bureau briefed the meeting on the measures to facilitate the two-way flow of Mainland and Hong Kong high-end talent. The commission members were pleased to note that the measures would enhance the Greater Bay Area’s strategic planning on the mobility of talent and expedite the development of a talent hub in the bay area, fully reflecting Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of being closely connected to the world with the strong support of the motherland under “one country, two systems”.

    The commission was also briefed by the Labour & Welfare Bureau on the arrangements for admission of professionals of specified skilled trades to Hong Kong. The new arrangements, formulated under the CETT’s steer, allows young and experienced non-degree professionals to apply for entry into Hong Kong under the designated employment policy and talent scheme to join eight skilled trades facing acute manpower shortages.

    Applications will be accepted starting June 30 for a period of three years, with an overall quota of 10,000 and the quota for each skilled trade is limited to 3,000. The commission welcomed the new arrangements and anticipated it would effectively address the shortage of mid-level technical professionals and inject new impetus into the relevant trades.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

    Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel’s waves of strikes against Iran, on June 15, 2025. Photo by Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    Israel’s conflict with Iran represents far more than another Middle Eastern crisis – it marks the emergence of a dangerous new chapter in nuclear rivalries that has the potential to reshape global proliferation risks for decades to come.

    What began with Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and other targets on June 13, 2025 has now spiraled into the world’s first full-scale example of what I as an expert in nuclear security call a “threshold war” – a new and terrifying form of conflict where a nuclear weapons power seeks to use force to prevent an enemy on the verge of nuclearization from making that jump. As missiles continue to rain down on both Tehran and Tel Aviv – with hundreds dead in Iran and at least 24 killed in Israel – the international community is witnessing the collapse of traditional deterrence frameworks in real time.

    Unlike traditional nuclear rivalries where both sides possess declared arsenals – like India and Pakistan, who despite their tensions operate under mutual deterrence – this new threshold dynamic creates an inherently unstable escalation spiral. Iran increasingly believes it cannot deter Israeli aggression without nuclear weapons, yet every step toward acquiring them invites more aggressive Israeli strikes. Israel, for its part, cannot permanently eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge through military means – it can only delay it through means that would seemingly guarantee future Iranian determination to acquire the ultimate deterrent.

    Under this dynamic, neither side can step back without accepting an intolerable outcome: for Israel, an Iran more determined than even in becoming a nuclear weapons nation capable of deterring Israeli action and ending its regional military dominance; for Iran, the risk of regime change through devastating Israeli strikes. The consequences of this deadly logic extend far beyond the Middle East.

    Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025.
    AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

    The preventive strike precedent

    The stakes could not be higher, as Iranian officials have called the attack “a declaration of war” and vowed that destroyed nuclear facilities “would be rebuilt.” Israel, meanwhile has warned its campaign will continue “for as many days as it takes.”

    Most ominously, the scheduled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off, with Tehran dismissing any such dialogue as “meaningless.” This may suggest diplomacy’s window – which opened for just a few months under Trump’s second administration, after being closed during his first – was deliberately slammed shut.

    More broadly, the Israeli strikes mark a dangerous evolution in international norms around preventive warfare. While Israeli officials called this a “preemptive strike,” the legal and strategic reality is different. Preemptive strikes respond to imminent threats – like Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War against Arab armies preparing to attack. Preventive strikes, by contrast, target distant future threats when conditions seem favorable – like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

    Israel justified its action by claiming Iran could rapidly assemble up to 15 nuclear bombs. Yet, as the International Atomic Energy Agency director, Rafael Grossi, warned beforehand, an Israeli strike could solidify rather than deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, potentially prompting withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. True to that warning, on June 16, Iran announced it was preparing a parliamentary bill that would see the country leave the 1968 treaty.

    Israel’s calculations in opting to strike build on the same erosion of international legal frameworks that has legitimized preemptive warfare since the United States’ military action in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. America’s “war on terror” fundamentally challenged sovereignty norms through practices like drone strikes and preemptive attacks. More recently, operations in Gaza and elsewhere have demonstrated that violations of international humanitarian law carry limited consequences in practice. For Israel, this permissive environment has seemingly created both opportunity and justification regarding striking Iran – something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pursuing for decades.

    Already, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant demonstrated nuclear facilities’ vulnerability in modern warfare. I believe Israel’s actions further risk normalizing attacks on nuclear infrastructure, potentially legitimizing similar preventive actions by India, China or the U.S. against emerging nuclear programs elsewhere.

    From strikes to regional conflagration

    Israel’s initial strike quickly triggered inevitable escalation. Iran’s retaliation came in waves: first hundreds of drones and missiles on June 13, then sustained barrages throughout the following days. By the morning of June 15, both countries were trading strikes on energy infrastructure, military bases and civilian areas, with no immediate end in sight.

    The Houthis in Yemen have since joined the fight, by launching ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. Notably absent are Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran’s Iraqi militias – all significantly damaged by recent action by Israel. This degradation of Iran’s “axis of resistance” – its traditional forward deterrent – fundamentally alters Tehran’s strategic calculations. Without strong proxies to threaten retaliation, Iran is more exposed to Israeli strikes, making nuclear weapons seem like the only reliable deterrent against future attacks.

    The escalation pattern illustrates what can happen when when a government casts aggression as prevention. Having initiated the recent escalation of hostilities, Israel now faces the consequences. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s vow that destroyed facilities “would be rebuilt” underscores that Israeli action designed to prevent nuclearization may instead result in Iran pursuing it with renewed determination.

    The commitment trap

    This creates what strategists call the “commitment trap” – a dynamic where both sides face escalating costs but cannot back down. Israel faces its own strategic dilemma. The strikes may ultimately accelerate rather than prevent Iranian nuclearization, yet backing down would mean accepting a nuclear Iran. Netanyahu’s promise that current strikes are “nothing compared to what they will feel in coming days” shows how quickly strikes sold as preventative escalate toward total war.

    Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on June 14, 2025.
    Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

    Unlike established nuclear powers that can negotiate from positions of strength, threshold states, such as Iran, face a stark choice: remain vulnerable to preventive strikes and regime change or race toward the protection that nuclear deterrence provides.

    North Korea offers the clearest example of this dynamic. Despite decades of sanctions and military threats, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has made it essentially immune to preventive strikes. Iranian leaders understand this lesson well – the question is whether they can reach the same protected status before suffering decisive preventive action.

    Traditional nuclear deterrence theory assumes rational actors operating under mutual vulnerability. But threshold wars break these assumptions in fundamental ways. Iran cannot fully deter Israeli action because it lacks confirmed weapons, while Israel cannot rely on deterrence to prevent Iranian weaponization because Iran’s nuclear program continues advancing.

    This creates “use it or lose it” dynamics: Israel faces shrinking windows to act preventively as Iran approaches weaponization; Iran faces incentives to accelerate its program before suffering additional strikes.

    The absence of effective external mediation compounds these risks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the strikes reveals this dynamic starkly. Initially opposing military action and preferring diplomacy to “bombing the hell out of” Iran, Trump pivoted dramatically after the strikes began, and warned that “there’s more to come. A lot more.”

    His post on Truth Social – “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it!” – demonstrates how quickly diplomatic efforts can collapse once threshold wars begin.

    Global implication

    The international response reveals how thoroughly Israel’s Operation Rising Lion has normalized aggression against nuclear facilities. While European leaders called for “maximum restraint,” none condemned Israel’s initial attacks. Russia and China condemned the attacks but took no concrete action. The U.N. Security Council produced only statements of “concern” about “escalation.”

    This normalization sets what I believe to be a catastrophic precedent. The threshold war model threatens to unravel decades of nuclear governance based on deterrence rather than preemption.

    Indeed, the Iran-Israel threshold war sets dangerous precedents for other regional nuclear competitions. Successful preventive strikes could incentivize similar actions elsewhere, eroding diplomatic nonproliferation efforts. Conversely, rapid nuclearization by Iran could encourage other threshold states, like Saudi Arabia, to pursue nuclear capabilities swiftly and secretly.

    When preventive strikes become the enforcement mechanism for nonproliferation norms, the entire architecture of nuclear governance begins to crumble. Without these frameworks, the world faces an unstable future defined by cycles of preventive strikes and accelerated nuclear proliferation – far more dangerous than the Cold War-era standoffs that shaped nuclear governance.

    Farah N. Jan 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.

    – ref. Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules – https://theconversation.com/iran-israel-threshold-war-has-rewritten-nuclear-escalation-rules-258965

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

    Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel’s waves of strikes against Iran, on June 15, 2025. Photo by Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    Israel’s conflict with Iran represents far more than another Middle Eastern crisis – it marks the emergence of a dangerous new chapter in nuclear rivalries that has the potential to reshape global proliferation risks for decades to come.

    What began with Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and other targets on June 13, 2025 has now spiraled into the world’s first full-scale example of what I as an expert in nuclear security call a “threshold war” – a new and terrifying form of conflict where a nuclear weapons power seeks to use force to prevent an enemy on the verge of nuclearization from making that jump. As missiles continue to rain down on both Tehran and Tel Aviv – with hundreds dead in Iran and at least 24 killed in Israel – the international community is witnessing the collapse of traditional deterrence frameworks in real time.

    Unlike traditional nuclear rivalries where both sides possess declared arsenals – like India and Pakistan, who despite their tensions operate under mutual deterrence – this new threshold dynamic creates an inherently unstable escalation spiral. Iran increasingly believes it cannot deter Israeli aggression without nuclear weapons, yet every step toward acquiring them invites more aggressive Israeli strikes. Israel, for its part, cannot permanently eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge through military means – it can only delay it through means that would seemingly guarantee future Iranian determination to acquire the ultimate deterrent.

    Under this dynamic, neither side can step back without accepting an intolerable outcome: for Israel, an Iran more determined than even in becoming a nuclear weapons nation capable of deterring Israeli action and ending its regional military dominance; for Iran, the risk of regime change through devastating Israeli strikes. The consequences of this deadly logic extend far beyond the Middle East.

    Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on June 15, 2025.
    AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

    The preventive strike precedent

    The stakes could not be higher, as Iranian officials have called the attack “a declaration of war” and vowed that destroyed nuclear facilities “would be rebuilt.” Israel, meanwhile has warned its campaign will continue “for as many days as it takes.”

    Most ominously, the scheduled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran were called off, with Tehran dismissing any such dialogue as “meaningless.” This may suggest diplomacy’s window – which opened for just a few months under Trump’s second administration, after being closed during his first – was deliberately slammed shut.

    More broadly, the Israeli strikes mark a dangerous evolution in international norms around preventive warfare. While Israeli officials called this a “preemptive strike,” the legal and strategic reality is different. Preemptive strikes respond to imminent threats – like Israel’s 1967 Six-Day War against Arab armies preparing to attack. Preventive strikes, by contrast, target distant future threats when conditions seem favorable – like Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

    Israel justified its action by claiming Iran could rapidly assemble up to 15 nuclear bombs. Yet, as the International Atomic Energy Agency director, Rafael Grossi, warned beforehand, an Israeli strike could solidify rather than deter Iran’s nuclear ambitions, potentially prompting withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. True to that warning, on June 16, Iran announced it was preparing a parliamentary bill that would see the country leave the 1968 treaty.

    Israel’s calculations in opting to strike build on the same erosion of international legal frameworks that has legitimized preemptive warfare since the United States’ military action in Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. America’s “war on terror” fundamentally challenged sovereignty norms through practices like drone strikes and preemptive attacks. More recently, operations in Gaza and elsewhere have demonstrated that violations of international humanitarian law carry limited consequences in practice. For Israel, this permissive environment has seemingly created both opportunity and justification regarding striking Iran – something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pursuing for decades.

    Already, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant demonstrated nuclear facilities’ vulnerability in modern warfare. I believe Israel’s actions further risk normalizing attacks on nuclear infrastructure, potentially legitimizing similar preventive actions by India, China or the U.S. against emerging nuclear programs elsewhere.

    From strikes to regional conflagration

    Israel’s initial strike quickly triggered inevitable escalation. Iran’s retaliation came in waves: first hundreds of drones and missiles on June 13, then sustained barrages throughout the following days. By the morning of June 15, both countries were trading strikes on energy infrastructure, military bases and civilian areas, with no immediate end in sight.

    The Houthis in Yemen have since joined the fight, by launching ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. Notably absent are Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran’s Iraqi militias – all significantly damaged by recent action by Israel. This degradation of Iran’s “axis of resistance” – its traditional forward deterrent – fundamentally alters Tehran’s strategic calculations. Without strong proxies to threaten retaliation, Iran is more exposed to Israeli strikes, making nuclear weapons seem like the only reliable deterrent against future attacks.

    The escalation pattern illustrates what can happen when when a government casts aggression as prevention. Having initiated the recent escalation of hostilities, Israel now faces the consequences. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s vow that destroyed facilities “would be rebuilt” underscores that Israeli action designed to prevent nuclearization may instead result in Iran pursuing it with renewed determination.

    The commitment trap

    This creates what strategists call the “commitment trap” – a dynamic where both sides face escalating costs but cannot back down. Israel faces its own strategic dilemma. The strikes may ultimately accelerate rather than prevent Iranian nuclearization, yet backing down would mean accepting a nuclear Iran. Netanyahu’s promise that current strikes are “nothing compared to what they will feel in coming days” shows how quickly strikes sold as preventative escalate toward total war.

    Missiles fired from Iran are pictured in the night sky over Jerusalem on June 14, 2025.
    Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

    Unlike established nuclear powers that can negotiate from positions of strength, threshold states, such as Iran, face a stark choice: remain vulnerable to preventive strikes and regime change or race toward the protection that nuclear deterrence provides.

    North Korea offers the clearest example of this dynamic. Despite decades of sanctions and military threats, Pyongyang’s nuclear program has made it essentially immune to preventive strikes. Iranian leaders understand this lesson well – the question is whether they can reach the same protected status before suffering decisive preventive action.

    Traditional nuclear deterrence theory assumes rational actors operating under mutual vulnerability. But threshold wars break these assumptions in fundamental ways. Iran cannot fully deter Israeli action because it lacks confirmed weapons, while Israel cannot rely on deterrence to prevent Iranian weaponization because Iran’s nuclear program continues advancing.

    This creates “use it or lose it” dynamics: Israel faces shrinking windows to act preventively as Iran approaches weaponization; Iran faces incentives to accelerate its program before suffering additional strikes.

    The absence of effective external mediation compounds these risks. U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the strikes reveals this dynamic starkly. Initially opposing military action and preferring diplomacy to “bombing the hell out of” Iran, Trump pivoted dramatically after the strikes began, and warned that “there’s more to come. A lot more.”

    His post on Truth Social – “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to ‘make a deal.’ They should have done it!” – demonstrates how quickly diplomatic efforts can collapse once threshold wars begin.

    Global implication

    The international response reveals how thoroughly Israel’s Operation Rising Lion has normalized aggression against nuclear facilities. While European leaders called for “maximum restraint,” none condemned Israel’s initial attacks. Russia and China condemned the attacks but took no concrete action. The U.N. Security Council produced only statements of “concern” about “escalation.”

    This normalization sets what I believe to be a catastrophic precedent. The threshold war model threatens to unravel decades of nuclear governance based on deterrence rather than preemption.

    Indeed, the Iran-Israel threshold war sets dangerous precedents for other regional nuclear competitions. Successful preventive strikes could incentivize similar actions elsewhere, eroding diplomatic nonproliferation efforts. Conversely, rapid nuclearization by Iran could encourage other threshold states, like Saudi Arabia, to pursue nuclear capabilities swiftly and secretly.

    When preventive strikes become the enforcement mechanism for nonproliferation norms, the entire architecture of nuclear governance begins to crumble. Without these frameworks, the world faces an unstable future defined by cycles of preventive strikes and accelerated nuclear proliferation – far more dangerous than the Cold War-era standoffs that shaped nuclear governance.

    Farah N. Jan 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.

    – ref. Iran-Israel ‘threshold war’ has rewritten nuclear escalation rules – https://theconversation.com/iran-israel-threshold-war-has-rewritten-nuclear-escalation-rules-258965

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Highways to hell: west Africa’s road networks are the preferred battleground for terror groups

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olivier Walther, Associate Professor in Geography, University of Florida

    What’s the connection between roads and conflict in west Africa? This may seem like an odd question. But a study we conducted shows a close relationship between the two.

    We are researchers of transnational political violence. We analysed 58,000 violent events in west Africa between 2000 to 2024. Our focus was on identifying patterns of violence in relation to transport infrastructure.

    Anecdotal evidence suggests that roads, bridges, pipelines and other transport systems are increasingly attacked across west Africa, but little is known about the factors that explain when, where and by whom.

    Violence in west Africa involves a complex mix of political, economic and social factors. Weak governance, corruption, urban-rural inequalities and marginalised populations have been exploited by numerous armed groups, including transnational criminal networks and religious extremists.

    West Africa has been one of the world’s most violent regions since the mid 2010s. In 2024 alone, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data initiative recorded over 10,600 events of political violence in the region. These ranged from battles between armed groups, explosions and other forms of remote violence, to attacks on unarmed civilians. An estimated 25,600 people were killed. This has been the status quo in the region for nearly a decade.

    The results of our study show that 65% of all the attacks, explosions, and violence against civilians recorded between 2000 and 2024 were located within one kilometre of a road.

    Only 4% of all events were located further than 10km from a road. This pattern was consistent across all road types but most pronounced near highways and primary roads.

    We think the reason for this pattern is that there is fierce competition between state and non-state actors for access to and use of roads.

    Governments need well-developed road networks for a host of reasons, including the ability to govern, enabling economic activity, and security. Roads enable military mobility and reduce potential safe havens for insurgents in remote regions.

    Insurgent groups also see transport networks as prime targets. They create opportunities to blockade cities, ambush convoys, kidnap travellers, employ landmines, and destroy key infrastructure.

    Our research is part of a long line of work that explored the role of infrastructure in relation to security in west Africa. Our latest research reinforces earlier findings linking the two. Transport networks have become battlegrounds for extremist groups seeking to destabilise states, isolate communities and expand their influence.

    The network

    The west African road network is vast, estimated at over 709,000km of roads by the Global Roads Inventory Project. It compares unfavourably with other African regions. For example, paved roads remain relatively scarce in west Africa (17% of the regional network) when compared with north Africa (83%).

    Poorly maintained roads impose costs on west African countries. They increase transport time of perishable goods, shorten the operational life of trucks, cause more accidents, and reduce social interactions between communities.

    Still, significant variations in road quality are found across the region. The percentage of paved roads ranges from a high of 37% in Senegal to just over 7% in Mali. Nigeria has the largest road network in west Africa with an estimated 195,000km, but much of it has deteriorated because of poor maintenance.

    Road-related violence is on the rise

    We found that road-related attacks have been on the rise since jihadist groups emerged in the mid-2010s. Only 31 ambushes against convoys were reported in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger from 2000-2015, against 497 from 2016-2023.

    Attacks frequently occur along the same road segments, such as around Boni in the Gourma Mounts, where Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) conducted nine attacks against Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries between 2019 and 2024.

    Violence was the most clustered near roads in 2011, with 87% of all violent events located within 1km of a road. Our analysis shows that, though still high, there’s been a decline post-2000: 59% in 2022 and 60% in 2024. This evolution reflects the ruralisation of conflict in west Africa. As jihadist insurgents target rural areas and small towns more and more, an increasing share of violent events also occurs far away from roads.

    We’ve studied the root causes of west Africa’s violence for nearly a decade, documenting the ever-intensifying costs paid by its people. In the process, we’ve uncovered overlooked aspects of the turmoil, including the centrality of the road networks to an understanding of where the violence is happening.

    The most dangerous roads of west Africa

    Our findings show that violence against transport infrastructure is very unevenly distributed in west Africa and that specific road segments have been repeatedly targeted. This was particularly the case in the Central Sahel, Lake Chad basin, and western Cameroon.

    For example, the 350km ring road linking Bamenda to Kumbo and Wum in Cameroon is the most violent road in west Africa, with 757 events since 2018, due to the conflict between the government and the Ambazonian separatists.

    The longest segments of dangerous roads are in Nigeria, particularly those connecting Maiduguri in Borno State to Damaturu, Potiskum, Biu and Bama.

    In the central Sahel, the road between Mopti/Sévaré and Gao is by far the most violent transport axis, with 433 events since the beginning of the civil war in Mali in 2012. South of Gao, National Road 17 leading to the Nigerien border, and National Road 20 heading east toward Ménaka have experienced 177 and 139 events respectively since the Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP) intensified its activities in the region in 2017.

    In Burkina Faso, all the roads leading to Djibo near the border with Mali have experienced high levels of violence since the early 2020s.

    Building transport infrastructure to promote peace

    Roads are an important part of state counterinsurgency strategies and a strategic target for local militants. Yes, as our work highlights, transport infrastructure is largely ignored in debates that emphasise more state interventions as a means of combating insecurity. Sixty years after the independence of many west African countries, road accessibility remains elusive in the region.

    Peripheral cities such as Bardaï, Bilma, Kidal and Timbuktu, where rebel movements have historically developed, are still not connected to the national network by tarmac roads.

    The duality of the transport infrastructure, as both a facilitator and target of violence, has put government forces at a disadvantage. Regular forces are heavily constrained by the sparsity and poor conditions of the road network, which makes them vulnerable to attacks without necessarily allowing them to project their military power over long distances.

    Rather than building transport infrastructure, states have focused on strengthening security by investing in military bases. The military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have further reinforced this trend, with the creation of a joint force by the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States.

    Strengthening security has taken precedence over developmental support for peripheral communities, who experience the worst of the violence.

    Olivier Walther receives funding from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    Alexander John Thurston receives funding from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    Steven Radil receives funding from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    – ref. Highways to hell: west Africa’s road networks are the preferred battleground for terror groups – https://theconversation.com/highways-to-hell-west-africas-road-networks-are-the-preferred-battleground-for-terror-groups-258517

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kenya’s peacebuilding efforts hold valuable lessons for the rest of the world, but gaps remain

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Leonor Oliveira Toscano, PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Oslo

    Kenya has been praised as a “model for the world” when it comes to peacebuilding efforts to manage outbreaks of violence within its borders. The country has systematically put in place a peacebuilding architecture rooted in a history of local peace initiatives. These date back to the early 1990s.

    Over this period, the Wajir Peace and Development Committee emerged in the country’s north-eastern region. The committee successfully addressed decades of inter-clan violence in Wajir, an arid county bordering Somalia. It also inspired the emergence of numerous local peace committees across the country.

    These committees have been set up in some other African countries – like Ghana, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Burundi – and continue to contribute informally to local peacebuilding in these states.



    Read more:
    Training local leaders in mediation can reduce violence: positive results in Nigeria

    In Kenya, the committees became institutionalised after post-election violence in 2007-08 and a mediation process led by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. They now form part of the national peacebuilding architecture.

    Violence triggered by the contested 2007 presidential election outcome resulted in the killing of more than 1,000 people. The mediation process led to a power-sharing agreement signed by the presidential contenders Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

    The country’s peacebuilding architecture is now supported by several policies and frameworks. These include the constitution of 2010. The system that’s been built has the capacity to connect a wide variety of peacebuilding actors – both state and non-state, formal and informal – at all levels of society. This helps resolve conflict and build resilience.

    The Kenyan government initiated a review of the peacebuilding architecture in 2023. It involved a lengthy consultation process and high levels of participation among Kenyans. The National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management led the way, assisted by an independent panel of 13 peacebuilding experts.

    Released at the end of 2024, the review looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the architecture.

    It offers a vision for building a robust peacebuilding system, along with an actionable roadmap. One lesson is that Kenya can use the capacities and unique approaches of different peacebuilding actors. At the local level, peace committees showed that they made contributions to early warning systems and building confidence in communities.

    However, insufficient resources and a consistent focus on electoral violence prevent the system from addressing other drivers of conflict.

    The strengths

    Local peace committees, with membership typically drawn from ordinary citizens, religious groups or local civil society organisations, play a crucial role. They support dialogue around conflict issues. They promote trust and understanding, and can build a constructive environment for conflict resolution.

    Their information gathering feeds into the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Conflict Early Warning and Response System (CEWARN) to prevent election violence. Local peace committees have contributed to negotiating local disputes. They have also helped de-polarise ethnic identities and facilitated local peace agreements. One example was the Modogashe Declaration. It sets ground rules to solve conflict and local disputes over pasture, water access and cattle rustling.



    Read more:
    Kenya violence: 5 key drivers of the decades-long conflict in the north and what to do about them

    We are researchers in Norway on a project focusing on civilian agency, local peace and resilience building. Our own interviews with committee members in Nakuru – a county greatly affected by the violence in 2007-08 – found that peace committee members continued to work together and share conflict-sensitive information with local stakeholders. These include administration officers and religious leaders, and covered periods during and after the 2022 elections.

    Further, local peace committees can offer women valuable opportunities for participation in conflict management. This contributes to their protection, for example from sexual violence.

    The weaknesses

    Despite these successes, Kenya’s peacebuilding architecture faces pressing challenges.

    First, local peace committees aren’t perfect. They can be manipulated by politicians seeking to build local support. They can also compete with traditional actors such as elders in conflict resolution.

    Kenya’s institutionalisation of local peacebuilding strengthened information flow across all levels. But it also threatens to undermine local peacebuilding agency and autonomy. Formalising local peace committees can spur an unhealthy monetisation of peacebuilding, with some members joining for financial gain. This threatens to erode the voluntary character of peacebuilding as a common good and undermine genuine priorities for peace.



    Read more:
    How women in Kenya mobilised for peace after surviving violence

    Second, elite-level politics in Kenya creates the persistent risk of electoral violence. This diverts attention and resources away from other long-standing causes of conflict. The drivers of violence in Kenya are varied and region specific. They include disputes over access to land, and marginalisation of ethnic and religious communities. Climate change threatens to worsen competition and conflict between pastoralists and farming communities.

    Our analysis of event data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data shows that communal violence is the deadliest form of political violence in Kenya. For their part, fatalities related to election violence have decreased. This underscores the urgent need to consistently invest in prevention and local peacebuilding beyond narrow electoral periods.

    Fatalities in Kenya by type of armed violence: 2010-2023

    Electoral competition can escalate violence between pastoralists and farmers, but it’s the persistence of communal conflicts that represents a serious threat. Communal violence particularly affects Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas in the Rift Valley, eastern and north-eastern regions.

    What next

    Our interviews with local peace committee members show that funding for their activities diminishes outside election years. This hampers their capacity to address conflict outside these periods.

    Yet research has shown that local peacebuilding can build social resilience against recurrent communal violence. Peacebuilding interventions grounded in local realities are also vital for countering insurgent violence. This is especially important as counterterrorism operations by state forces often trigger cycles of violence rather than resolving underlying issues.



    Read more:
    Drivers of electoral violence in Kenya: red flags to watch out for

    Our research finds that Kenyans place significant trust in local peacebuilders, such as community leaders, elders and women. The review of the country’s peacebuilding architecture proposes a 40% quota for women, youth and people with disabilities in local peace committees.

    However, quotas alone may not be sufficient to address the political and cultural challenges that entrench inequality.

    Ultimately, political elites need to transform Kenya’s “win at all costs” politics. This way, the country’s mediators and peacebuilders can address the deep social and economic grievances that underpin cycles of violence.

    Leonor Toscano’s doctoral research is supported by the grant from the European Research Council’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (852816; PI: Jana Krause). Leonor Toscano conducted interviews with LPC members in Kenya.

    Jana Krause received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant number 852816 (ResilienceBuilding).

    Marika Miner’s post-doctoral research is also supported by the grant from the European Research Council’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (852816; PI: Jana Krause).

    – ref. Kenya’s peacebuilding efforts hold valuable lessons for the rest of the world, but gaps remain – https://theconversation.com/kenyas-peacebuilding-efforts-hold-valuable-lessons-for-the-rest-of-the-world-but-gaps-remain-257761

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: LaLota and Stefanik Renew Charge Against Hochul’s Commuter Tax

    Source: US Representative Nick LaLota (NY-01)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY), Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Members of the New York and New Jersey Congressional Delegations sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, thanking them for their leadership in fighting to block New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s controversial congestion pricing plan, calling it an unfair commuter tax on hardworking families and small businesses. They further urged the Administration to continue their work in stopping this proposal from moving forward, emphasizing that congestion pricing would disproportionately burden middle- and working-class commuters from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and New Jersey.

    “Hochul’s commuter tax was never about improving transit—it’s about squeezing hardworking suburban families to paper over the MTA’s bloated, mismanaged budget,” said Rep. LaLota. “She’s forcing law-abiding, taxpaying commuters into a system riddled with crime, delays, and dysfunction—without demanding a shred of accountability. I’m proud to stand with President Trump and Secretary Duffy in the fight to stop Hochul’s commuter tax and protect our constituents from this reckless and unfair scheme.”

    “I stand strongly with President Donald Trump, Secretary Sean Duffy, and my fellow New Yorkers fighting Kathy Hochul’s insane and costly congestion pricing tax scheme that harms New York workers and families — all while Hochul further exacerbates subway crime! New Yorkers across the political spectrum oppose this insane and costly failed policy,” said Chairwoman Stefanik.

    “Governor Hochul’s congestion pricing is a shameless cash grab—punishing hardworking New Yorkers to cover up her own mismanagement. I’m grateful to President Trump and his Administration for standing up for our commuters and pushing back against this disastrous plan, and I urge them to keep up the fight,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino. 

    “Thank you, President Trump and Secretary Duffy, for standing up to Kathy Hochul’s disgraceful commuter tax scheme on behalf of middle and working-class commuters. Hochul’s ridiculous push to stick them with a tax or ride a subway system plagued by violent crime. This out-of-touch tax grab is a slap in the face to hardworking New Yorkers, and I’ll keep fighting alongside this administration for real solutions that prioritize safety and affordability,” said Rep. Mike Lawler. 

    “The MTA’s reckless mismanagement has left law-abiding commuters to foot the bill, while fare evasion skyrockets, service and public safety decline — yet the Governor refuses to take responsibility. The Trump Administration is right and acting well within its legal discretion to rescind the Biden Administration’s rubber-stamping of this tax. We’ll keep fighting this cash grab by using every tool at our disposal and look forward to working with President Trump and Secretary Duffy,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. 

    “Since January 5th, New Jersey commuters have faced a flawed and unfair cash grab under New York City’s congestion pricing plan,” said Congressman Kean. “We must put an end to this extremely dysfunctional program, created by Governor Hochul and New York State Democrats, which places many commuters at a disadvantage—especially New Jersey residents, who already pay some of the highest taxes in the nation. I am committed to standing up for New Jersey taxpayers to ensure this unfair burden is lifted, and I will continue working closely with President Trump and Secretary Duffy until congestion pricing is permanently canceled.”

    “I am proud to stand with my colleagues in thanking President Trump and Secretary Duffy for their unwavering commitment to stopping the deeply flawed commuter tax scheme peddled by Kathy Hochul,” said Congressman Langworthy. “It is heartening to finally have an administration who stands with working families, small businesses, and everyday commuters across our state. Thank you for standing with us and being steadfast advocates for the people of New York State and I look forward to our continued partnership.”

    In the letter, the Members highlighted the public safety crisis plaguing New York’s transit system, the MTA’s mismanagement and ongoing financial irresponsibility, and the devastating impact that congestion pricing would have on suburban communities across New York and New Jersey. They further emphasized that while the fight against this ill-conceived tax is not yet over, the Administration’s leadership offers hope to the thousands of commuters across the region who deserve better.

    To read the full text of the letter, click HERE.

    Background: 

    The Central Business District Tolling Program is part of New York City’s broader congestion pricing plan, which charges vehicles for entering Manhattan’s Central Business District below 60th Street. New York Governor Hocul’s plan for congestion pricing began on January 5, 2025.

    In November 2024, LaLota, former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, and Reps. Garbarino, Lawler, and Malliotakis sent a letter to President Trump requesting an end to the planned implementation of the congestion pricing.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Kenya’s peacebuilding efforts hold valuable lessons for the rest of the world, but gaps remain

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Leonor Oliveira Toscano, PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of Oslo

    Kenya has been praised as a “model for the world” when it comes to peacebuilding efforts to manage outbreaks of violence within its borders. The country has systematically put in place a peacebuilding architecture rooted in a history of local peace initiatives. These date back to the early 1990s.

    Over this period, the Wajir Peace and Development Committee emerged in the country’s north-eastern region. The committee successfully addressed decades of inter-clan violence in Wajir, an arid county bordering Somalia. It also inspired the emergence of numerous local peace committees across the country.

    These committees have been set up in some other African countries – like Ghana, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Burundi – and continue to contribute informally to local peacebuilding in these states.

    Read more: Training local leaders in mediation can reduce violence: positive results in Nigeria

    In Kenya, the committees became institutionalised after post-election violence in 2007-08 and a mediation process led by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. They now form part of the national peacebuilding architecture.

    Violence triggered by the contested 2007 presidential election outcome resulted in the killing of more than 1,000 people. The mediation process led to a power-sharing agreement signed by the presidential contenders Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga.

    The country’s peacebuilding architecture is now supported by several policies and frameworks. These include the constitution of 2010. The system that’s been built has the capacity to connect a wide variety of peacebuilding actors – both state and non-state, formal and informal – at all levels of society. This helps resolve conflict and build resilience.

    The Kenyan government initiated a review of the peacebuilding architecture in 2023. It involved a lengthy consultation process and high levels of participation among Kenyans. The National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management led the way, assisted by an independent panel of 13 peacebuilding experts.

    Released at the end of 2024, the review looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the architecture.

    It offers a vision for building a robust peacebuilding system, along with an actionable roadmap. One lesson is that Kenya can use the capacities and unique approaches of different peacebuilding actors. At the local level, peace committees showed that they made contributions to early warning systems and building confidence in communities.

    However, insufficient resources and a consistent focus on electoral violence prevent the system from addressing other drivers of conflict.

    The strengths

    Local peace committees, with membership typically drawn from ordinary citizens, religious groups or local civil society organisations, play a crucial role. They support dialogue around conflict issues. They promote trust and understanding, and can build a constructive environment for conflict resolution.

    Their information gathering feeds into the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Conflict Early Warning and Response System (CEWARN) to prevent election violence. Local peace committees have contributed to negotiating local disputes. They have also helped de-polarise ethnic identities and facilitated local peace agreements. One example was the Modogashe Declaration. It sets ground rules to solve conflict and local disputes over pasture, water access and cattle rustling.

    Read more: Kenya violence: 5 key drivers of the decades-long conflict in the north and what to do about them

    We are researchers in Norway on a project focusing on civilian agency, local peace and resilience building. Our own interviews with committee members in Nakuru – a county greatly affected by the violence in 2007-08 – found that peace committee members continued to work together and share conflict-sensitive information with local stakeholders. These include administration officers and religious leaders, and covered periods during and after the 2022 elections.

    Further, local peace committees can offer women valuable opportunities for participation in conflict management. This contributes to their protection, for example from sexual violence.

    The weaknesses

    Despite these successes, Kenya’s peacebuilding architecture faces pressing challenges.

    First, local peace committees aren’t perfect. They can be manipulated by politicians seeking to build local support. They can also compete with traditional actors such as elders in conflict resolution.

    Kenya’s institutionalisation of local peacebuilding strengthened information flow across all levels. But it also threatens to undermine local peacebuilding agency and autonomy. Formalising local peace committees can spur an unhealthy monetisation of peacebuilding, with some members joining for financial gain. This threatens to erode the voluntary character of peacebuilding as a common good and undermine genuine priorities for peace.

    Read more: How women in Kenya mobilised for peace after surviving violence

    Second, elite-level politics in Kenya creates the persistent risk of electoral violence. This diverts attention and resources away from other long-standing causes of conflict. The drivers of violence in Kenya are varied and region specific. They include disputes over access to land, and marginalisation of ethnic and religious communities. Climate change threatens to worsen competition and conflict between pastoralists and farming communities.

    Our analysis of event data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data shows that communal violence is the deadliest form of political violence in Kenya. For their part, fatalities related to election violence have decreased. This underscores the urgent need to consistently invest in prevention and local peacebuilding beyond narrow electoral periods.

    Fatalities in Kenya by type of armed violence: 2010-2023

    Electoral competition can escalate violence between pastoralists and farmers, but it’s the persistence of communal conflicts that represents a serious threat. Communal violence particularly affects Kenya’s arid and semi-arid areas in the Rift Valley, eastern and north-eastern regions.

    What next

    Our interviews with local peace committee members show that funding for their activities diminishes outside election years. This hampers their capacity to address conflict outside these periods.

    Yet research has shown that local peacebuilding can build social resilience against recurrent communal violence. Peacebuilding interventions grounded in local realities are also vital for countering insurgent violence. This is especially important as counterterrorism operations by state forces often trigger cycles of violence rather than resolving underlying issues.

    Read more: Drivers of electoral violence in Kenya: red flags to watch out for

    Our research finds that Kenyans place significant trust in local peacebuilders, such as community leaders, elders and women. The review of the country’s peacebuilding architecture proposes a 40% quota for women, youth and people with disabilities in local peace committees.

    However, quotas alone may not be sufficient to address the political and cultural challenges that entrench inequality.

    Ultimately, political elites need to transform Kenya’s “win at all costs” politics. This way, the country’s mediators and peacebuilders can address the deep social and economic grievances that underpin cycles of violence.

    – Kenya’s peacebuilding efforts hold valuable lessons for the rest of the world, but gaps remain
    – https://theconversation.com/kenyas-peacebuilding-efforts-hold-valuable-lessons-for-the-rest-of-the-world-but-gaps-remain-257761

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Highways to hell: west Africa’s road networks are the preferred battleground for terror groups

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olivier Walther, Associate Professor in Geography, University of Florida

    What’s the connection between roads and conflict in west Africa? This may seem like an odd question. But a study we conducted shows a close relationship between the two.

    We are researchers of transnational political violence. We analysed 58,000 violent events in west Africa between 2000 to 2024. Our focus was on identifying patterns of violence in relation to transport infrastructure.

    Anecdotal evidence suggests that roads, bridges, pipelines and other transport systems are increasingly attacked across west Africa, but little is known about the factors that explain when, where and by whom.

    Violence in west Africa involves a complex mix of political, economic and social factors. Weak governance, corruption, urban-rural inequalities and marginalised populations have been exploited by numerous armed groups, including transnational criminal networks and religious extremists.

    West Africa has been one of the world’s most violent regions since the mid 2010s. In 2024 alone, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data initiative recorded over 10,600 events of political violence in the region. These ranged from battles between armed groups, explosions and other forms of remote violence, to attacks on unarmed civilians. An estimated 25,600 people were killed. This has been the status quo in the region for nearly a decade.

    The results of our study show that 65% of all the attacks, explosions, and violence against civilians recorded between 2000 and 2024 were located within one kilometre of a road.

    Only 4% of all events were located further than 10km from a road. This pattern was consistent across all road types but most pronounced near highways and primary roads.

    We think the reason for this pattern is that there is fierce competition between state and non-state actors for access to and use of roads.

    Governments need well-developed road networks for a host of reasons, including the ability to govern, enabling economic activity, and security. Roads enable military mobility and reduce potential safe havens for insurgents in remote regions.

    Insurgent groups also see transport networks as prime targets. They create opportunities to blockade cities, ambush convoys, kidnap travellers, employ landmines, and destroy key infrastructure.

    Our research is part of a long line of work that explored the role of infrastructure in relation to security in west Africa. Our latest research reinforces earlier findings linking the two. Transport networks have become battlegrounds for extremist groups seeking to destabilise states, isolate communities and expand their influence.

    The network

    The west African road network is vast, estimated at over 709,000km of roads by the Global Roads Inventory Project. It compares unfavourably with other African regions. For example, paved roads remain relatively scarce in west Africa (17% of the regional network) when compared with north Africa (83%).

    Poorly maintained roads impose costs on west African countries. They increase transport time of perishable goods, shorten the operational life of trucks, cause more accidents, and reduce social interactions between communities.

    Still, significant variations in road quality are found across the region. The percentage of paved roads ranges from a high of 37% in Senegal to just over 7% in Mali. Nigeria has the largest road network in west Africa with an estimated 195,000km, but much of it has deteriorated because of poor maintenance.

    Road-related violence is on the rise

    We found that road-related attacks have been on the rise since jihadist groups emerged in the mid-2010s. Only 31 ambushes against convoys were reported in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger from 2000-2015, against 497 from 2016-2023.

    Attacks frequently occur along the same road segments, such as around Boni in the Gourma Mounts, where Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) conducted nine attacks against Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries between 2019 and 2024.

    Violence was the most clustered near roads in 2011, with 87% of all violent events located within 1km of a road. Our analysis shows that, though still high, there’s been a decline post-2000: 59% in 2022 and 60% in 2024. This evolution reflects the ruralisation of conflict in west Africa. As jihadist insurgents target rural areas and small towns more and more, an increasing share of violent events also occurs far away from roads.

    We’ve studied the root causes of west Africa’s violence for nearly a decade, documenting the ever-intensifying costs paid by its people. In the process, we’ve uncovered overlooked aspects of the turmoil, including the centrality of the road networks to an understanding of where the violence is happening.

    The most dangerous roads of west Africa

    Our findings show that violence against transport infrastructure is very unevenly distributed in west Africa and that specific road segments have been repeatedly targeted. This was particularly the case in the Central Sahel, Lake Chad basin, and western Cameroon.

    For example, the 350km ring road linking Bamenda to Kumbo and Wum in Cameroon is the most violent road in west Africa, with 757 events since 2018, due to the conflict between the government and the Ambazonian separatists.

    The longest segments of dangerous roads are in Nigeria, particularly those connecting Maiduguri in Borno State to Damaturu, Potiskum, Biu and Bama.

    In the central Sahel, the road between Mopti/Sévaré and Gao is by far the most violent transport axis, with 433 events since the beginning of the civil war in Mali in 2012. South of Gao, National Road 17 leading to the Nigerien border, and National Road 20 heading east toward Ménaka have experienced 177 and 139 events respectively since the Islamic State – Sahel Province (ISSP) intensified its activities in the region in 2017.

    In Burkina Faso, all the roads leading to Djibo near the border with Mali have experienced high levels of violence since the early 2020s.

    Building transport infrastructure to promote peace

    Roads are an important part of state counterinsurgency strategies and a strategic target for local militants. Yes, as our work highlights, transport infrastructure is largely ignored in debates that emphasise more state interventions as a means of combating insecurity. Sixty years after the independence of many west African countries, road accessibility remains elusive in the region.

    Peripheral cities such as Bardaï, Bilma, Kidal and Timbuktu, where rebel movements have historically developed, are still not connected to the national network by tarmac roads.

    The duality of the transport infrastructure, as both a facilitator and target of violence, has put government forces at a disadvantage. Regular forces are heavily constrained by the sparsity and poor conditions of the road network, which makes them vulnerable to attacks without necessarily allowing them to project their military power over long distances.

    Rather than building transport infrastructure, states have focused on strengthening security by investing in military bases. The military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have further reinforced this trend, with the creation of a joint force by the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States.

    Strengthening security has taken precedence over developmental support for peripheral communities, who experience the worst of the violence.

    – Highways to hell: west Africa’s road networks are the preferred battleground for terror groups
    – https://theconversation.com/highways-to-hell-west-africas-road-networks-are-the-preferred-battleground-for-terror-groups-258517

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Defense News: USS America Arrives in Sydney

    Source: United States Navy

    SYDNEY – Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), the flagship of the America Strike Group, arrived in Sydney, today, June 14, for a scheduled port visit. The ship carries embarked Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and is currently conducting routine operations in the South Pacific.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: “Resilience isn’t enough”: why the growth of women’s football could lead to player burnout

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Helen Owton, Lecturer in Sport and Fitness, The Open University

    Millie Bright (Chelsea Fcw) of England shooting to goal during the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France Jose Breton- Pics Action/Shutterstock

    Women’s football has exploded onto the global stage. Record-breaking crowds, major sponsorships, elite athletes and huge media deals have transformed the sport into a fast-growing spectacle. Its rise may be inspiring, but behind the success, many players are struggling with the growing physical and mental demands of the modern game.

    As the game becomes faster and more physically intense, players are expected to deliver top performances across crowded domestic seasons, international tournaments and growing commercial commitments.

    Recovery windows are shrinking, while the pressure to remain at peak performance only grows. Physiotherapists have already warned that many female players face burnout, overtraining and a rising risk of injuries due to inadequate rest and recovery time.

    With growing visibility also comes increasing scrutiny. Female players now live under the spotlight of social media, where they are expected not only to perform, but to lead, inspire and remain endlessly positive – often while facing online abuse.

    Chelsea and England star Fran Kirby has spoken openly about the criticism she has received about her body, especially after injuries or illness when she wasn’t at peak fitness.

    Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK’s latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences.

    “I get called fat all the time,” she has said, highlighting how online abuse adds another layer of psychological strain that isn’t always visible, but can be deeply harmful.

    Mental health is increasingly part of the conversation around women’s football, but real support remains patchy. After the tragic suicide of Sheffield United’s 27-year-old midfielder Maddy Cusack in 2023, the FA commissioned a report into mental health support across the Women’s Super League (WSL).

    More players are speaking publicly about the pressures of anxiety, burnout and emotional distress, but access to professional psychological care still depends largely on the resources of individual clubs.

    For some players, the psychological toll deepens even further after injury. One study found that professional female footballers are nearly twice as likely to experience psychological distress after undergoing surgery. Yet mental health support during injury recovery remains inconsistent across the WSL.

    Millie Bright’s story offers a recent example. The Chelsea and England defender missed much of the 2023-24 season due to injury and, in 2025, withdrew from the England squad citing burnout. She eventually underwent knee surgery and chose to prioritise her rehabilitation over international duty, highlighting the difficult choices players face when balancing physical and emotional wellbeing.

    Governing bodies and clubs have a crucial role to play in safeguarding players’ wellbeing. Yet Uefa has come under fire for putting commercial growth ahead of player welfare with its expansion of the women’s Champions League into the new “Swiss model” format.

    Instead of facing three opponents twice, teams will now play six different teams during the league phase, splitting those matches home and away. While the extra fixtures may boost visibility and revenue, they also add to an already punishing schedule, heightening the risk of fatigue, injury and burnout for players who are already stretched to the limit.

    Financial security remains another major challenge. Some WSL players reportedly earn as little as £20,000 a year, forcing many to juggle full-time jobs or academic studies alongside football.

    For mothers in the game, the demands are even higher, as they manage childcare, training, travel and recovery with little institutional support. Maternity policies remain inconsistent, and many players face intense pressure to return quickly to peak form after pregnancy.

    Extraordinary resilience

    Despite these enormous challenges, female players continue to demonstrate extraordinary resilience, paving the way for the next generation. But as a 2024 Health in Education Association report notes, resilience alone isn’t enough. Without proper investment in both physical and mental health services, the long-term wellbeing and careers of these athletes remain at risk.

    While mental toughness is often celebrated, research shows that resilience depends heavily on the support structures available. In the WSL, access to mental health care and sports psychology varies dramatically between clubs.

    The FA has announced plans to make wellbeing and psychology roles mandatory in WSL licensing, which is a positive step. But for many players, consistent, high-quality support remains far from guaranteed.

    There is no doubt that women’s football has finally gained the attention it deserves. But progress must not come at the cost of player welfare. A sustainable future for the sport means investing not just in performance, but in protection: standardised access to physiotherapy, sport psychology and wellbeing professionals for all players, across all clubs.

    If the game truly wants to thrive long-term, it must create a culture where players aren’t just expected to perform, but are supported to rest, recover and speak openly about their mental health – without fear, stigma or consequence.

    Helen Owton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. “Resilience isn’t enough”: why the growth of women’s football could lead to player burnout – https://theconversation.com/resilience-isnt-enough-why-the-growth-of-womens-football-could-lead-to-player-burnout-258432

    MIL OSI Analysis –