NewzIntel.com

    • Checkout Page
    • Contact Us
    • Default Redirect Page
    • Frontpage
    • Home-2
    • Home-3
    • Lost Password
    • Member Login
    • Member LogOut
    • Member TOS Page
    • My Account
    • NewzIntel Alert Control-Panel
    • NewzIntel Latest Reports
    • Post Views Counter
    • Privacy Policy
    • Public Individual Page
    • Register
    • Subscription Plan
    • Thank You Page

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: A Philosopher Looks at Clothes by Kate Moran is engaging and unpretentious – we need more philosophy books like this

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sarah Richmond, Honorary Associate Professor of Philosophy, UCL

    With a few exceptions, philosophers have had little to say about clothes. Maybe this is because the topic seems frivolous, or feminine, unworthy of the attention of a predominantly male collection of thinkers.

    Perhaps, too, the transience of fashion, and the fact that clothes belong – quite literally – to the domain of mere appearance, also has something to do with it. In A Philosopher Looks at Clothes, an engaging and informative book, Kate Moran, philosophy professor at Brandeis University in the US, urges us to think again.

    As Moran points out, clothing looms large in life. Every day we dress, deciding how many layers to wear and whether we need a coat – or might a cardigan suffice? We gaze critically at other people’s choices (“OMG, those shoes!”). We wonder how to rise to the challenge of an imminent Eurovision-themed party.

    From a historical point of view, also, our species-specific recourse to clothes stretches back to the earliest human society. In mythical time, it begins with Adam’s and Eve’s discovery, in shame, that they were naked. If fashion is transient, clothes, per se, are not.

    Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

    Clothes, Moran tells us, serve three basic purposes: protection, modesty and decoration. At once, these introduce questions of deep philosophical interest. Are the purposes equally important? Why, throughout human history, have we refused to settle merely for protection, desiring for example that a hat should be of some favoured colour or shape? To what extent do our decorative choices express our personal identity? Do clothes ever qualify as works of art? Why is modesty an abiding concern, given that we all know the contours of the unclothed body?

    In many contexts, and especially today, clothes invite ethical and political assessment. Clothes communicate a great deal of information about us, including our social position and the causes we espouse.



    Read more:
    A brief history of the slogan T-shirt

    We may knowingly exploit this, choosing to flaunt an obviously expensive garment or to wear our football team’s scarf. In other cases the meanings are imposed. The uniforms forced on prisoners, for example, emphasise subordination and erase their individuality.

    Poignantly, research into textile history has uncovered a streak of resistance in even the most ill-treated captives. In concentration camps during the second world war some prisoners altered their uniforms, or mended them, or added pockets. As Moran remarks, these actions were not just practical; their aim, too, was to “recover some sense of identity and dignity”.

    Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche by Edvard Munch (1906).
    Thiel Gallery, Stockholm

    In the brilliantly conceived series by Cambridge University Press to which this title belongs, each author discusses some general topic from a perspective that is philosophically informed and at the same time personal.

    We need more books like these, to counteract the entrenched pretence of disinterestedness in philosophy. (Nietzsche, exceptionally, saw through it, denouncing philosophers as “advocates who do not want to be seen as such … sly spokesmen for prejudices that they christen as ‘truths’”.)

    Knowledge of the significance, in an author’s life, of her subject-matter enriches the reader’s imaginative experience of a book. Describing herself as an “ardent hobbyist” who sews her own clothes, Moran provides an additional facet to her account of today’s fashion industry and its scandalous environmental costs.

    The reader knows that Moran herself has found an alternative. This lends a certain authority to her judgement that, however futile it may seem for any one person to step off the fast-fashion bus: “There is an important moral difference between being inefficacious and being innocent.”

    Moran shows how many areas of philosophy can illuminate the phenomenon of clothes: not only ethics and political thought, but also aesthetics, theories of communication, of personal identity, of gender and cultural appropriation.

    For readers unfamiliar with academic philosophy, these forays offer a path into a rich conceptual landscape. Along the way, we are offered a multitude of riveting facts. Who would have guessed that pink has not always been for girls, and blue for boys? And there are pictures, too. My highlight was the “revenge dress” that Princess Diana wore to a gala dinner in the midst of hostilities with Charles, in a successful bid to divert press attention from his appearance on TV.

    This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

    Sarah Richmond 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. A Philosopher Looks at Clothes by Kate Moran is engaging and unpretentious – we need more philosophy books like this – https://theconversation.com/a-philosopher-looks-at-clothes-by-kate-moran-is-engaging-and-unpretentious-we-need-more-philosophy-books-like-this-260473

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Farewell to summer? ‘Haze’ and ‘trash’ among Earth’s new seasons as climate change and pollution play havoc

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Felicia Liu, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainability, University of York

    Throughout history, people have viewed seasons as relatively stable, recurrent blocks of time that neatly align farming, cultural celebrations and routines with nature’s cycles. But the seasons as we know them are changing. Human activity is rapidly transforming the Earth, and once reliable seasonal patterns are becoming unfamiliar.

    In our recent study, we argue that new seasons are surfacing. These emergent seasons are entirely novel and anthropogenic (in other words, made by humans).

    Examples include “haze seasons” in the northern and equatorial nations of south-east Asia, when the sky is filled with smoke for several weeks. This is caused by widespread burning of vegetation to clear forests and make way for agriculture during particularly dry times of year.

    Or there is the annual “trash season”, during which tidal patterns bring plastic to the shores of Bali, Indonesia, between November and March.

    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.

    At the same time, some seasons are disappearing altogether, with profound consequences for ecosystems and cultures. These extinct seasons can encompass drastically altered or terminated migratory animal behaviour, such as the decline of seabird breeding seasons in northern England.

    Climate change is also calling time on traditional winter sport seasons by making snow scarcer in alpine regions.

    Nature’s new rhythms

    Perhaps more common are “syncopated seasons”. The changes are akin to new emphases on beats or off-beats in familiar music that capture the listener’s attention.

    Syncopated seasons include hotter summers and milder winters in temperate climates, with increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather that exposes more people and ecosystems to stress.

    The timings of key seasonal events, like when leaves fall or certain migratory species arrive, are becoming more unpredictable. We coined the term “arrhythmic seasons”, a concept borrowed from cardiology, to refer to abnormal rhythms which include earlier springs or breeding seasons, longer summers or growing seasons, and shorter winters or hibernating seasons.

    Changing seasonal patterns throw the interdependent life cycles of plants and animals out of sync with each other, and disrupt the communities that are economically, socially and culturally dependent on them.

    In northern Thailand, human activity has reshaped nature’s rhythms and affected the supply of water and food in turn. Communities along the Mekong river’s tributaries have relied on the seasonal flow of rivers to fish and farm for generations.

    At first, upstream dams disrupted these cycles by blocking fish migration and preventing the accumulation of sediment that farms need for soil. More recently, climate change has shifted rainfall patterns and made dry seasons longer and rainy seasons shorter but more intense, bringing fires and further uncertainty to farmers.

    Let’s rethink time

    How we react to changing seasonal patterns can either worsen or improve environmental conditions. In south-east Asia, public awareness of the “haze season” has led to better forecasting, the installation of air filters in homes and the establishment of public health initiatives.

    These efforts help communities adapt. But if society only uses adaptive fixes like these, it can make the haze worse over time by failing to tackle its root causes. By recognising this new season, societies might normalise the recurrence of haze and isolate anyone who demands the government and businesses deal with deforestation and burning.

    Powerful institutions like these shape narratives about seasonal crises to minimise their responsibility and shift blame elsewhere. Understanding these dynamics is crucial to fostering accountability and ensuring fair responses.

    The shifting seasons require us to rethink our relationship with time and the environment. Today, most of us think about time in terms of days, hours and minutes, which is a globalised standard used everywhere from smartphones to train timetables. But this way of keeping time forgets older and more local ways of understanding time – those that are shaped by natural rhythms, such as the arrival of the rainy season, or solar and lunar cycles, rooted in the lives and cultures of different communities.

    Diverse perspectives, especially those from Indigenous knowledge systems, can enhance our ability to respond to environmental changes. Integrating alternative time-keeping methods into mainstream practices could foster fairer and more effective solutions to environmental problems.

    Seasons are more than just divisions of time – they connect us with nature. Finding synchrony with changing seasonal rhythms is essential for building a sustainable future.

    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.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Farewell to summer? ‘Haze’ and ‘trash’ among Earth’s new seasons as climate change and pollution play havoc – https://theconversation.com/farewell-to-summer-haze-and-trash-among-earths-new-seasons-as-climate-change-and-pollution-play-havoc-260765

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Popular Tunisian island’s cultural heritage at risk due to tourism, neglect and climate change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Majdi Faleh, Academic Fellow & Lecturer in Architecture and Cultural Heritage, Nottingham Trent University

    The Sidi Yati mosque in Djerba, which dates back to the 10th century, has been damaged by coastal erosion. Mehdi Elouati, CC BY-NC-ND

    Nestled in the southern Mediterranean, off the south-east coast of Tunisia, lies the island of Djerba. With a rich cultural and religious history, it has been a crossroad of many civilisations, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs, and is home to many unique architectural sites. These include the Sedouikech underground mosque, St Joseph’s Church and the El Ghriba Synagogue.

    But, for many years, Djerba’s cultural heritage has been in danger. This is due to a combination of over-tourism, environmental change and human neglect.

    An underground mosque on the island of Djerba.
    Mariana Delca / Shutterstock

    By the 1990s to early 2000s, when Djerba was at the height of its popularity, the island was attracting between 1 million and 1.5 million visitors each year. It is one of Tunisia’s most popular tourist areas, with more hotels than any other destination in the country.

    Tourism has resulted in excessive tourist traffic in Djerba, particularly during the summer. It has also contributed to other problems such as water stress and waste generation. According to figures from 2020, hotels alone generate between 35% and 40% of all the waste on the island.

    But the development of tourism has, above all, altered Djerba’s cultural landscape. In some areas of the island, Djerba’s traditional housing – houmas, menzels and houchs – have given way to more modern tourist infrastructure.

    This has accelerated since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, when long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted. Weak institutional oversight has led to vandalism, illegal construction on archaeological sites and unauthorised demolitions.

    The development of tourism on Djerba has also eroded traditional ways of life. The island has experienced significant changes due to tourism, with the development of roads, ferries, an airport and the internet leading to a decline in traditional activity. Livelihoods like agriculture, fishing and artisanal crafts have declined and are often now showcased only in tourist areas.

    Life on Djerba has changed since it was opened up for tourism.
    BTWImages / Shutterstock

    Climate change has worsened Djerba’s problems. Rainfall patterns have changed across the island over recent decades, with models suggesting that annual precipitation rates could drop 20% by the end of the century. More frequent and prolonged droughts are expected.

    At the same time, rising sea levels and increasingly common storm surges are affecting the island. Research from 2022 found that 14% of Djerba’s beaches are now highly vulnerable to submersion and coastal erosion.

    Several historical monuments on Djerba have already experienced periodic flooding and saltwater intrusion. The ruins of Sidi Garous and the shrine of Sidi Bakour are now entirely underwater and have been replaced by memorials.

    Other archaeological sites located near the coast like Haribus, Meninx, Ghizene and Edzira, some of which date back to the Roman era (eighth century BC to fifth century AD), are now partially or fully submerged. Studies by Tunisia’s National Institute of Heritage suggest that many of these sites have been lost permanently to the encroaching sea.

    World heritage site

    Significant portions of Djerba’s cultural heritage have already been erased by sea-level rise and coastal erosion. Future losses could be even more severe. The island’s cultural heritage will only grow more precarious without meaningful preservation and climate adaptation efforts.

    However, many of Djerba’s monuments, historical buildings and traditional dwellings have suffered from years of neglect. A chronic lack of local and international funding, as well as weak institutional frameworks for heritage management, mean some of the island’s historic structures have been abandoned. Many other buildings have deteriorated due to a lack of protective measures and maintenance.

    Community organisations such as the Association for the Safeguarding of the Island of Djerba have tried to step in to fill the void left by weak institutional frameworks. Their work ranges from delivering public awareness campaigns to local young people to efforts like re-purposing ancient rainwater tanks to manage periods of drought.

    But these grassroots efforts alone are not enough to stop Djerba’s cultural heritage from deteriorating at its current pace.

    The ruins of a Housh, a traditional dwelling, on the island of Djerba.
    Ahmed Bedoui, CC BY-NC-ND

    In September 2023, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) announced that it was adding Djerba to its list of world heritage sites. Tunisia’s culture ministry welcomed the decision. It followed years of efforts by local groups and government officials to add Djerba to the list.

    Djerba’s inclusion offers hope for the long-term preservation of the island’s heritage. A world heritage site designation increases global recognition and enables improved access to sources of funding.

    And since Djerba’s classification, there has been some progress. The culture ministry has established a task force to monitor the construction of buildings and other infrastructure, collect data on designated protected areas, and prepare projects to preserve heritage sites.

    But Djerba’s cultural heritage remains in danger. Improved preservation of these sites will require continuous funding and stringent regulation of tourism and construction activities.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Popular Tunisian island’s cultural heritage at risk due to tourism, neglect and climate change – https://theconversation.com/popular-tunisian-islands-cultural-heritage-at-risk-due-to-tourism-neglect-and-climate-change-223612

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • Defence, diaspora and digital: PM Modi’s UK trip to reinforce bilateral agenda

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (4)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-nation visit from July 23 to 26, starting with the United Kingdom at the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This will be his fourth official visit to the UK, reaffirming the growing depth and breadth of India-UK ties, particularly in defence, innovation, healthcare, education, and diaspora engagement.

    Defence cooperation between the two countries spans joint exercises, technological collaboration, and knowledge exchange. The Indian and British armed forces regularly participate in bilateral and multilateral drills. In 2023, the Indian Navy joined Exercise Konkan in the Arabian Sea, while the Indian Air Force took part in Exercise Cobra Warrior at Royal Air Force Waddington. The Indian Army participated in the seventh edition of Exercise Ajeya Warrior held in Salisbury, UK. A major multinational air exercise, Exercise Tarang Shakti, is scheduled for August 2024. These engagements reflect a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing operational synergy and promoting indigenous defence production under India’s Make in India initiative.

    In the area of science and technology, India and the UK have established themselves as close partners, with joint research programmes amounting to $387–516 million (approx. £300–400 million). The India-UK Science and Innovation Council, which convenes biennially, provides the framework for cooperation in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, pandemic preparedness, and quantum science. During the April 2023 SIC meeting in the UK, an MoU was signed for expanded collaboration, including the creation of a new India-UK Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre focused on industrial decarbonisation. India was also named a partner country in the UK’s International Science Partnership Fund, building upon the Newton-Bhabha Fund legacy.

    Healthcare cooperation saw a pivotal moment during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with the joint development of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the UK and the Serum Institute of India. In July 2022, both nations signed the India-UK Framework Agreement for collaboration on healthcare workforce, aiming to streamline the recruitment and training of healthcare professionals. As per UK government data from June 2023, 60,533 Indian nationals are working in the National Health Service (NHS), the second-highest after British citizens. Among doctors in the NHS, 18 percent are of Asian origin, including 10,865 Indians. There are 31,992 Indian nurses and 11,499 clinical support staff, reflecting India’s critical contribution to the UK’s healthcare system.

    Education continues to be a key pillar of the bilateral relationship. The number of Indian students enrolling in UK universities has consistently risen since 2015-16, with an estimated 170,000 currently studying in the country. A landmark development under India’s New Education Policy: the University of Southampton’s Gurugram campus was recently inaugurated, becoming the first fully operational foreign university campus in India under UGC regulations. Further boosting collaboration, both nations signed a mutual recognition of academic qualifications MoU in July 2022.

    Mobility and migration are being actively facilitated under the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement signed in May 2021. The Young Professional Scheme, announced in November 2022 by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Rishi Sunak on the sidelines of the G20 Bali Summit, enables 3,000 young graduates between 18 and 30 years of age to live and work in each other’s countries for up to two years.

    The Indian diaspora in the UK remains a cornerstone of bilateral relations. According to the 2021 Census, 1.864 million people of Indian origin reside in the UK, forming 2.6 percent of its population. Of these, 369,000 hold Indian passports. The diaspora has made significant contributions across academia, medicine, science, arts, business, and politics. A report by Grant Thornton and FICCI in 2022 identified over 65,000 Indian diaspora-owned businesses in the UK. Among them, 654 companies with annual revenues exceeding $129,000 (approx. £100,000) together generated $47.5 billion (approx. £36.84 billion) in revenue, paid over $1.29 billion (approx. £1 billion) in corporate taxes, invested more than $2.58 billion (approx. £2 billion) in capital expenditure, and supported over 174,000 jobs.

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Amid GOP Assault on Healthcare, Pressley, Duckworth, DeGette, Schakowsky, Frost, Colleagues Unveil EACH Act, Keep Up Fight for Reproductive Justice

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

    Lawmakers File EACH Act to End Hyde Amendment, Lift Unjust Abortion Coverage Restrictions on Medicaid, Other Government Sponsored Plans

    Follows Passage of Big, Ugly Bill that Guts Medicaid, Defunds Planned Parenthood, Further Restricts Healthcare

    Bill Text (PDF) | Floor Speech (YouTube)

    WASHINGTON – Today, as Republicans continue their assault on healthcare, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01), Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10), and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), led their colleagues in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Healthcare (EACH) Act, bold legislation to guarantee abortion coverage—regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance. The lawmakers’ bill follows the enactment of Trump and Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill, which will gut Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthood health centers, and push essential reproductive care further out of reach for millions of people.

    The EACH Act ends the discriminatory Hyde Amendment and lifts unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those who depend on Medicaid and other government-sponsored plans. The bill affirms the fundamental right to abortion care and helps ensure everyone can get the reproductive healthcare they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code.

    Rep. Pressley unveiled the bill in a floor speech last night. Full video of that speech is available here.

    “Abortion care is health care, and health care is a human right. With Trump and Republicans advancing a cruel, coordinated assault on our bodily autonomy—gutting Medicaid, defunding Planned Parenthood, and decimating access to care—we must use every tool available to protect and expand reproductive healthcare,” said Congresswoman Pressley, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “The EACH Act would help us do just that. By repealing the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which has denied necessary care for vulnerable communities for nearly half a century, our bill would help ensure everyone in America can get the reproductive healthcare they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code. I’m grateful to Senator Duckworth and our colleagues for their partnership on this critical priority.”

    “Ever since Trump’s far-right Supreme Court majority struck down Roe, Republicans have made it their mission to strip away a woman’s right to reproductive health care—a right they have no place to stand in the way of,” said Senator Duckworth. “As Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Betrayal kicks millions off their health care, we must act to help strengthen access to abortion coverage for low-income Americans, servicemembers and millions more—no matter their zip code. I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation alongside my colleagues so we can do just that.”

    “For nearly 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has been Republicans’ go-to tool for chipping away at abortion rights, denying coverage to the most vulnerable communities,” said Rep. DeGette, Co-Chair of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus. “Now, they’re doubling down with the Big Bad Bill, blocking Medicaid patients from accessing any kind of care, not only abortion care, but also birth control and cancer screenings, at Planned Parenthood. The EACH Act is how we fight back, guaranteeing access to abortion care—no matter your income, your insurance, or your ZIP code”

    “The Hyde Amendment is a racist, discriminatory policy designed to put reproductive and economic freedom out of reach for women of color and low-income women who need an abortion. By restricting Medicaid coverage of abortion, the Hyde Amendment robs those working to make ends meet of the freedom to control their lives and decisions about what is best for their families,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “Keeping the Hyde Amendment in place is yet another way for Trump and the extremists in the GOP to limit peoples’ reproductive freedom. Every person should have the freedom to make their own reproductive health care decisions regardless of their income, race, where they work, what zip code they live in, or how they get their insurance. That is why our bill, the EACH Act, will finally repeal the harmful Hyde Amendment. Abortion is health care and health care is a human right.”

    “Women should be able to get the abortion care they need no matter where they live or how much money they have. But for decades, the Hyde Amendment and similar abortion restrictions have blocked low-income women from getting the health care they need and wrongfully divided abortion care from health care for no other reason than Republican politicians’ extreme anti-choice views,” said Senator Murray. “The EACH Act would get rid of the Hyde Amendment and related abortion coverage bans that endanger the health and lives of women who rely on Medicaid or other government-sponsored health coverage. I will always fight to end Hyde and other unjust policies that allow politicians to interfere with women’s ability to make decisions about their bodies, their lives, and their futures.”

    “As Republicans gut Medicaid, defund Planned Parenthoods nationwide, and continue their onslaught of attacks on our bodily autonomy, the Hyde Amendment and other federal coverage restrictions are discriminatory barriers that continue to prevent access to safe and legal abortion care,” said Senator Hirono. “Everyone deserves access to reproductive health care. By ending the Hyde Amendment and expanding coverage for abortion services, the EACH Act would help guarantee abortion access for all, protecting our reproductive rights and our ability to make decisions about our own bodies.”

    “Everyone should have the freedom to control their own lives and bodies, no matter their income, race, or zip code,” said Nourbese Flint, President of All* Above All. “For too long, restrictions like the Hyde Amendment have robbed people working to make ends meet of their ability to make personal decisions about their health, families, and futures. In a time of escalating attacks on reproductive freedom – and efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, shut down clinics, and restrict care – the EACH act sets a powerful standard and helps to end racist and classist health care restrictions. We are proud to support this visionary bill to expand abortion access and ensure coverage for all.”

    Trump and Republicans’ Big, Ugly Bill, which passed Congress earlier this year, will dismantle access to reproductive health care in every state. It will defund Planned Parenthood, block Medicaid reimbursements to health centers, and slash care for millions of people. It would also gut Medicaid, ripping coverage from at least 10 million Americans and cutting off access to essential maternity care, birth control, cancer screenings, and more.

    Text of the EACH Act is available here.

    Joining the lawmakers in introducing the EACH Act are Representatives Alma Adams, Pete Aguilar, Gabe Amo, Yassamin Ansari, Jake Auchincloss, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Wesley Bell, Ami Bera, Don Beyer, Suzanne Bonamici, Shontel Brown, Julia Brownley, Nikki Budzinski, Janelle Bynum, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Ed Case, Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Joaquin Castro, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Judy Chu, Gil Cisneros, Katherine Clark, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver II, Steve Cohen, J. Luis Correa, Angie Craig, Jasmine Crockett, Jason Crow, Sharice Davids, Danny K. Davis, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Suzan DelBene, Chris Deluzio, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Dexter, Lloyd Doggett, Sarah Elfreth, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Dwight Evans, Shomari Figures, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Lois Frankel, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Jesús “Chuy” García, Jared Golden, Dan Goldman, Maggie Goodlander, Josh Gottheimer, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes, Steven Horsford, Val Hoyle, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Hank Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, William R. Keating, Robin Kelly, Tim Kennedy, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Greg Landsman, Rick Larsen, John B. Larson, George Latimer, Susie Lee, Summer L. Lee, Teresa Leger Fernández, Mike Levin, Ted Lieu, Seth Magaziner, John Mannion, Doris Matsui, Lucy McBath, Sarah McBride, April McClain Delaney, Jennifer McClellan, Betty McCollum, Morgan McGarvey, Jim McGovern, Gregory Meeks, Rob Menendez, Grace Meng, Kweisi Mfume, Dave Min, Gwen Moore, Joseph Morelle, Kelly Morrison, Jared Moskowitz, Seth Moulton, Kevin Mullin, Jerry Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Frank Pallone Jr., Jimmy Panetta, Chris Pappas, Nancy Pelosi, Scott Peters, Brittany Pettersen, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Mike Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Emily Randall, Jamie Raskin, Luz Rivas, Deborah Ross, Raul Ruiz, Patrick Ryan, Andrea Salinas, Linda T. Sánchez, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Bradley Scott Schneider, Hillary Scholten, Kim Schrier, David Scott, Brad Sherman, Mikie Sherrill, Lateefah Simon, Adam Smith, Eric Sorensen, Darren Soto, Melanie Stansbury, Greg Stanton, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland, Suhas Subramanyam, Eric Swalwell, Emilia Sykes, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Mike Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Paul Tonko, Norma Torres, Ritchie Torres, Lori Trahan, Derek T. Tran, Lauren Underwood, Juan Vargas, Gabe Vasquez, Marc Veasey, Nydia M. Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, George Whitesides, Nikema Williams, and Frederica Wilson, along with Senators Klobuchar, Warren, Padilla, Merkley, Blumenthal, Rosen, Shaheen, Schiff, Heinrich, Gillibrand, Coons, Cantwell, Van Hollen, Blunt Rochester, Sanders, Gallego, Booker, Smith, Baldwin, Wyden, Welch, Markey, Murphy, Kim, Whitehouse, Fetterman, Cortez Masto, Kelly, and Lujan.

    The EACH Act is endorsed by the following organizations: All* Above All, National Women’s Law Center, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Center for American Progress, Guttmacher Institute, Power to Decide, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Brigid Alliance, National Network of Abortion Funds, Midwest Access Coalition, Equality California, Silver State Equality, OutCenter Southwest Michigan, Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, National Abortion Federation, Cobalt, Health Not Prisons Collective, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Families USA, UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Center for Biological Diversity, Reproductive Freedom for All, CA LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Justice and Joy National Collaborative, End Rape On Campus, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Council of Jewish Women, Silver State Hope Fund of Nevada, Above!, The National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), National Council of Jewish Women, American Humanist Association, The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Chicago Abortion Fund, Ibis Reproductive Health, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, American Atheists, National Health Law Program, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Advocates for Youth, Courage California, ProgressNow New Mexico, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, EMAA Project, Black Women for Wellness Action Project, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), Keystone Progress Education Fund, Wyoming Right To Choose, Safe Abortions For Everyone Maine, REPRO Rising Virginia, National Abortion Federation, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), National Partnership for Women & Families, Catholics for Choice, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), Families USA, American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, Women’s Foundation of Florida, People Power United, Equality California, Abortion Forward, Black Women’s Health Imperative, SiX Action, Population Institute, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, Pregnancy Justice, Just Solutions, UltraViolet Action, National Women’s Political Caucus, Equal Rights Advocates, Feminist Majority Foundation, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, American Association of University Women (AAUW), Interfaith Alliance, and Community Catalyst.

    Last month, in the wake of the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Congresswoman Pressley spent the week convening leaders and impacted families, renewing her calls for comprehensive legislation to protect abortion care, and uplifting the experiences of people impacted by cruel abortion bans and denials of essential medical care.

    Congresswoman Pressley has been outspoken in demanding justice for Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old pregnant mother who was declared brain dead in February and was forced to remain on life support due to Georgia’s abortion ban. Rep. Pressley delivered an impassioned floor speech in which she underscored that Adriana’s case is far too common in the unjust history of denying Black women their dignity, humanity, and right to bodily autonomy – and that GOP abortion bans such as Georgia’s deepen this pain and bar critical healthcare freedom. Last week, Rep. Pressley issued a statement after Adriana’s infant son Chance was delivered via emergency Cesarean section and Adriana was taken off life support.

    Throughout her time in Congress, Rep. Pressley has fought persistently to protect fundamental reproductive and sexual healthcare rights. 

    • On the first anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Rep. Pressley introduced the Abortion Justice Act, sweeping, intersectional legislation to address access to abortion care and put forth a comprehensive vision of a just America where abortion care is readily available—without stigma, shame or systemic barriers—for all who seek it, regardless of zip code, immigration status, income, or background.
    • Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere. 
    • Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of the EACH Act, bold legislation to repeal the Hyde Amendment and help guarantee abortion coverage—regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance.
    • Shortly before the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rep. Pressley led a group of her Black women colleagues in writing to President Biden urging him to declare a public health emergency amid the unprecedented threats to abortion rights nationwide. 
    • Rep. Pressley condemned the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade., and implored the Senate to protect abortion rights and slammed the white supremacist roots of anti-abortion efforts.
    • In October 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on Josseli Barnica, who died on Sept. 3, 2021 after being denied emergency abortion care in Texas as she suffered a miscarriage.
    • In September 2024, in a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Hearing, Rep. Pressley highlighted the harmful and deadly impact of abortion bans in America to date, and outlined in detail the shameful circumstances under which Amber Nicole Thurman died after being denied necessary abortion care in Georgia.
    • In June 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Idaho v. United States; Moyle v. United States – the case about whether emergency abortion care is included under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 
    • In May 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on a Louisiana bill that would classify medication abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. 
    • In April 2024, at a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley played “Fact or Fiction” with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to emphasize the safety and efficacy of medication abortion drug mifepristone.
    • In August 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Fifth Circuit Court decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
    • In July 2023, Rep. Pressley, alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation to help people with disabilities—who face discrimination and extra barriers when seeking care—get better access to reproductive healthcare and the informed care they need to control their own reproductive lives.
    • In July 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter birth control.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote to recommend the approval of the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference applauding the decision and urging the FDA to approval over-the-counter birth control without delay.
    • In May 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ami Bera, MD (CA-06) and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), reintroduced their bicameral Affordability is Access Act to ensure that once the FDA determines an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs.
    • In April 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Texas court ruling on mifepristone, and discussed the Texas case in a recent floor speech in which she affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care and access to mifepristone as essential. She later joined Governor Maura Healey, Senator Elizabth Warren (D-MA), and local leaders in announcing action to protect Mifepristone in Massachusetts.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Schakowsky, Lee, DeGette, Torres and Strickland, reintroduced the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act harmful and discriminatory Helms Amendment and expand abortion access globally.
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Hirono led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral congressional resolution honoring abortion providers and clinic staff. 
    • In March 2023, Rep. Pressley delivered a speech in which she discussed the pending court case in Texas, which aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire nation. In her remarks, Rep. Pressley affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care, and accessibility to the abortion pill mifepristone as essential.
    • In September 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing to examine the threat posed by abortion bans and underscored the urgency of the Senate passing the Women’s Health Protection Act. 
    • In April 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians. She re-Introduced the legislation In January 2023.
    • Rep. Pressley has led calls in Congress for the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, and applauded the FDA’s action in January 2023 to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication pills.
    • As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley has led the fight to repeal the Hyde Amendments from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July 2020 published a Medium post on the importance of doing so. She applauded the removal of the Hyde Amendment in President Biden’s FY2022 budget.
    • In May 2020, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.
    • In August 2021, Rep. Pressley, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, and Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee led more than 70 of their House Democratic colleagues in introducing a resolution in support of equitable, science-based policies governing access to medication abortion care. 
    • In January 2023, Rep. Pressley introduced a resolution to condemn all forms of political violence in the U.S., regardless of its target or intent. That same day, she delivered a powerful speech on the House floor slamming Republicans’ harmful, misleading anti-abortion resolution.
    • In September 2022, Rep. Pressley hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester for a convening on their work to address the Black maternal health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care in states across the nation following the harmful U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. 
    • In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade.
    • In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription. 
    • In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley championed a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and reinstate insurance coverage for abortion services.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Additional Funding Available for Zero-Emission School Buses

    Source: US State of New York

    overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that an additional $200 million is now available for zero-emission school buses through the third installment of funding from the historic $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. The funding, distributed through the New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP), supports the purchase of electric buses, charging infrastructure, and fleet electrification planning as public schools transition to zero-emission technologies that improve air quality and reduce pollution in communities. This investment helps ensure that schoolchildren, drivers, and the communities where they live across New York benefit from clean, quiet, and healthy buses.

    “New York State is leaning into our Environmental Bond Act commitment to provide public schools with the funding and resources to make electric school buses more affordable,” Governor Hochul said. “We are leaving no school behind as we reduce pollution from vehicles so every student can benefit from clean air while building healthier, more sustainable communities for New Yorkers across the state.”

    Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), NYSBIP provides incentives to eligible school bus fleet operators, including school districts and school bus operators, that purchase zero-emission buses. It also offers charging infrastructure vouchers to help support the installation of Level 2 or DC fast chargers and provides funding to develop fleet electrification plans. This support helps ensure safer, more reliable transportation for students while giving schools the tools they need to make smart, cost-effective upgrades.

    The funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis with incentive amounts covering up to 100 percent of the incremental cost of a new or repowered electric school bus. This helps offset some or all of the difference in purchase price between zero-emission buses and comparable diesel or gasoline buses. All school bus fleet operators in New York State can also qualify for funding for fleet electrification plans, which provide a customized roadmap for electric bus adoption.

    New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Today is the latest in a series of support that NYSERDA has offered to help make it easier for fleet operators to plan, navigate incentives for bus purchases and install vehicle charging infrastructure. We are excited to help more adopt zero-emission school buses through this additional Environmental Bond Act funding.”

    Program eligibility and rules for charging infrastructure funding are available online through the NYSBIP Implementation Manual. School bus fleet operators do not apply directly for school bus funding. Vehicle dealers apply the funding to the price of buses on their behalf after fleet operators have issued purchase orders. Fleet operators apply directly to NYSERDA for charging vouchers, which support adding charging infrastructure to their depots.

    Larger funding amounts are available for high-need school districts and school districts with significant portions of their population living in disadvantaged communities, as determined by the New York State Climate Justice Working Group criteria. While these districts are defined as priority districts through this program, all school districts can earn increased incentives by removing a gas or diesel bus from operation, purchasing wheelchair accessible buses, or purchasing buses with vehicle to grid capability. All school districts that complete fleet electrification plans also become eligible for higher funding amounts.

    New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said, “The continued rollout of zero-emission school buses is critical to improving air quality and protecting the health of students and drivers in communities across the State. Investments through the Bond Act are making the transition to these greener vehicles more affordable for school districts. Under the leadership of Governor Hochul and in coordination with our state agency partners, DEC remains focused on administering Bond Act funding to support this important program and continue momentum to help address climate impacts, reduce harmful emissions, and improve quality of life for New York families.”

    New York State Department of Public Service CEO Rory M. Christian said, “Kudos to Governor Hochul and her team for encouraging further adoption and deployment of zero-emission school buses. This program will help continue our move toward a cleaner environment, which benefits all of us.”

    New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “I thank Governor Hochul for her continued investment in the health of our children and commitment to building healthier communities across the state. Cleaner air means healthier kids, and reducing pollution around schools helps protect them from asthma and other respiratory problems.”

    Modernizing public school transportation with zero-emission buses is a priority for Governor Hochul to ensure the health of New York students. The FY25-26 New York State Budget continued to build momentum for school districts to put electric school buses on the road this year while providing districts with additional flexibility and time to complete their electrification plans and get hands-on experience with this new technology. The new independent range estimate requirement for bus manufacturers will also give school districts greater confidence that the buses will meet specific mileage and route conditions.

    Since NYSBIP’s launch, 88 school districts have applied for funds to purchase 529 buses, which includes 50 priority school districts accounting for 406 buses, and 400 districts are now working with NYSERDA to create Fleet Electrification Plans.

    The Bond Act requires that disadvantaged communities receive no less than 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefit of total Bond Act funds. In line with this goal, NYSERDA aims to ensure that at least 40 percent of the New York School Bus Incentive Program benefits disadvantaged communities. Buses domiciled in priority districts are eligible for higher incentive amounts in support of new zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure.

    New York State provides many resources for school bus fleet operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission buses, including an Electric School Bus Guidebook, a collection of practical user guides that highlight the benefits of electric school buses to make each part of transitioning a bus fleet easy to understand. This is a resource that can inform discussions with schools, New York State agencies, legislators, communities, manufacturers, bus dealers, and utilities to raise awareness on the Bond Act funding available to school districts and to help more communities understand the health and climate benefits that electric buses provide. Fleet operators seeking assistance should contact NYSERDA at [email protected].

    State Senator Kevin Parker said, “The additional $200 million in funding for zero-emission school buses is a bold investment in our children’s health, our environment, and the future of clean energy in New York. By accelerating the transition to electric school buses, we’re not only reducing harmful emissions but also improving air quality and public health in our communities, especially in neighborhoods that have long suffered from high pollution levels. This is a win for clean energy, for equity, and for every New Yorker.”

    State Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I am pleased that an additional $200 million is now available to school districts to support the transition to zero-emission school buses. New York has been a leader in the fight against climate change, and this funding, provided through the historic Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act approved by New Yorkers, will further our efforts to reduce carbon emissions while alleviating financial burdens for New York schools. I would like to thank Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for their dedication to making New York a cleaner place, and I also extend my gratitude to the voters who approved this Bond Act.”

    State Senator Jeremy Cooney said, New York must remain committed to our environmental goals for a brighter future for New Yorkers, but we also realize that the state has a role to play in making this clean energy transition a reality. Today’s announcement is an important step in the right direction, and proof that we’ll continue to help our public schools, bolster charging infrastructure, and create a cleaner, healthier New York.”

    Assemblymember William Magnarelli said, “The Governor’s investment in zero-emission school buses shows the state’s continued commitment to climate leadership and advancing equitable access to clean transportation. The investment allows for a smooth transition to clean transportation and alleviates the anxiety of how districts will pay for the buses.”

    Assemblymember Michael R. Benedetto said, “I applaud Governor Hochul for making this a priority. This $200 million will help many school districts as they work to make the transition to electric buses. It’s a meaningful step toward cleaner air and healthier communities for our children.”

    Assemblymember Didi Barrett said, “The upfront cost of zero emission school buses has been a significant concern for all of the schools in my Assembly District, and the vast majority of districts across the State. This newly released funding from the 2022 Environmental Bond Act offers welcome financial support for our schools to electrify their bus fleets, bringing us closer to creating cleaner, safer and quieter commutes for our school children while helping us get closer to our ambitious climate goals.”

    Association of School Business Officials Executive Director Brian Cechnicki said, “Continued investments, including this funding, are critical for school districts to meet the state’s zero-emission bus mandate, and we are appreciative of NYSERDA for partnering with districts in this work.”

    New York School Bus Contractors Association President Tommy Smith said, “The New York School Bus Contractors Association is grateful that New York State continues to lead in financing the transition to electric school buses. We are excited about the advancements in battery technology that will further accelerate this initiative and help deliver cleaner, quieter, and more sustainable transportation for our students.”

    Mothers Out Front Distributed Senior Organizer Sarah Smiley said, “It is great news for students, parents, and school districts that more funding is now available for electric school buses, charging infrastructure, and fleet transition planning. We hope more districts leverage the New York School Bus Incentive Program funding so that our children have clean rides to school and we can reduce emissions for a healthier planet.”

    For more than fifty years, NYSERDA has been a trusted and objective resource for New Yorkers, taking on the critical role of energy planning and policy analysis, along with making investments that drive New York toward a more sustainable future. New York State is investing nearly $3 billion in electrifying its transportation sector and rapidly advancing measures that all new passenger cars and trucks sold be zero-emission. There are a range of initiatives to grow access to EVs and improve clean transit for all New Yorkers including EV Make Ready, EVolve NY, Charge Ready NY 2.0, the Drive Clean Rebate, the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program, and the New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: African Union, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), convene a Validation Workshop to Scale Proven Solutions for Foundational Learning in Africa

    Source: APO


    .

    The Validation Workshop on Scalable Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Practices to End Learning Poverty in Africa was officially opened today. The two-day gathering, held at the African Union Commission (AUC) Headquarters in Addis Ababa from July 22 to 23, 2025, marks a significant step forward in the collective effort to address the continent’s learning crisis and ensure that every child acquires the essential foundational skills they deserve by age 10.

    The workshop brings together technical experts from 25 Member States, along with representatives from the African Union Commission, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and other development partners. The goal is to validate the research findings constituting the mapping of scalable good practices for foundational literacy and numeracy across the continent.

    “The continental Foundational Literacy and Numeracy mapping resource we are validating today is an essential step toward reversing this trend. It seeks to gather, synthesise, and spotlight what works—real, evidence-based, scalable practices that have shown success across diverse African contexts. Whether it’s structured pedagogy in Uganda, mother-tongue based instruction in Ethiopia, or targeted instruction by learning level in Zambia, these are not only just case studies, but blueprints with promise for large-scale systemic change”, Prof. Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI).

    Across West, Central, East, and Southern Africa, an alarming 9 out of 10 children are unable to read and understand a simple sentence by the age of 10. While enrollment in primary and lower secondary education has increased significantly over the last two decades, millions of children attend school without acquiring the foundational skills they need. This persistent learning crisis is more than an educational challenge; it poses a threat to future economic prosperity.

    “This workshop is a significant step in creating a broader pathway of engagement for foundational learning and numeracy between educators, policy makers and practitioners to improve learning outcomes: learning from one another through the cross-fertilisation of successes, and more importantly, taking the lead in adapting scalable solutions and embedding them into national education sector plans, policies, and programmes”, emphasized Dr Laila Gad, UNICEF Representative to the African Union and UNECA

    The outcomes of this workshop will also contribute to the End Learning Poverty for All in Africa Campaign (ELPAf)—a four-year African Union–UNICEF initiative launched in September 2024 during the AU Year of Education. ELPAf aims to end learning poverty in Africa by strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy, which are the cornerstones of all further learning and skill acquisition. Foundational learning holds the most significant promise for overcoming Africa’s education challenges, laying the groundwork for lifelong learning, and empowering African children to thrive as engaged citizens and contributors to their communities and economies.

    Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).

    MIL OSI Africa –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Allen Announces August Community Office Hours

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA-12)

    Today, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12) announced members of his staff will host Community Office Hours across Georgia’s 12th District during the month of August.

    During these events, members of Congressman Allen’s staff will be available to assist constituents with a variety of federal issues, including help navigating various federal agencies such as FEMA, Social Security, Veterans Affairs, Medicare, and others. Community Office Hours are a quarterly resource provided by Congressman Allen’s staff designed to serve constituents closer to home. Congressman Allen himself will not be in attendance.

    After the announcement, Congressman Allen issued the following statement:

    “I invite anyone seeking help with a federal issue to take advantage of the one-on-one services my office provides. If you need assistance dealing with a federal agency, our dedicated caseworkers stand ready to help you. Please visit my team during Community Office Hours next month or contact one of our district offices for more information.”

    See below for a list of Community Office Hours dates, times, and locations by county (excluding counties in which Congressman Allen has a permanent office):

    Burke County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 19th from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

    WHERE: County Commission Boardroom, Burke County Courthouse

    111 E. 6th Street

    Waynesboro, GA 30830

    Candler County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 5th from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    WHERE: Metter City Hall

    49 S. Rountree Street

    Metter, GA 30439

    Columbia County

    WHEN: Wednesday, August 27th from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM

    WHERE: Grovetown City Hall

    103 Old Wrightsboro Road

    Grovetown, GA 30813

    Effingham County

    WHEN: Friday, August 15th from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    WHERE: Effingham County Board of Commissioners

    804 S. Laurel Street

    Springfield, GA 31329

    Emanuel County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    WHERE: Swainsboro-Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce

    102 S. Main Street

    Swainsboro, GA 30401

    Evans County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 5th from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

    WHERE: Claxton City Hall

    206 W. Railroad Street

    Claxton, Georgia 30417

    Glascock County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 19th from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    WHERE: Family Connections & Communities in School

    370 W. Main Street

    Gibson, GA 30810

    Jefferson County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 19th from 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

    WHERE: Community Club House

    101 McNair Street

    Wrens, GA 30833

    Jenkins County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

    WHERE: Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce

    548 Cotton Avenue

    Millen, GA 30442

    Johnson County

    WHEN: Monday, August 11th from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

    WHERE: Wrightsville City Hall

    8647 S. Marcus Street

    Wrightsville, GA 31096

    Lincoln County

    WHEN: Wednesday, August 27th from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

    WHERE: Lincoln County Courthouse

    210 Humphrey Street

    Lincolnton, GA 30817

    McDuffie County

    WHEN: Wednesday, August 6th from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

    WHERE: Thomson-McDuffie Administrative Building

    210 Railroad Street

    Thomson, GA 30824

    Montgomery County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM

    WHERE: Montgomery County Courthouse

    400 S. Railroad Avenue

    Mount Vernon, GA 30445

    Screven County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

    WHERE: Screven County Courthouse, Commission Boardroom

    216 Mims Road

    Sylvania, GA 30467

    Tattnall County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 5th from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

    WHERE: Glennville Welcome Center/Chamber of Commerce

    136 S. Veterans Boulevard

    Glennville, GA 30427

    Treutlen County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

    WHERE: Treutlen County Commissioners’ Office

    1830 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

    Soperton, GA 30457

    Warren County

    WHEN: Wednesday, August 6th from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    WHERE: Warren County Chamber of Commerce

    46 Norwood Street

    Warrenton, GA 30828

    Washington County

    WHEN: Thursday, August 21st from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    WHERE: Sandersville City Hall

    141 W. Haynes Street

    Sandersville, GA 31082

    Wheeler County

    WHEN: Monday, August 4th from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM

    WHERE: Alamo City Hall

    7 W. Main Street

    Alamo, GA 30411

    Wilkes County

    WHEN: Tuesday, August 26th from 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

    WHERE: Washington Wilkes Chamber of Commerce

    26 West Square

    Washington, GA 30673

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Materials Science and Engineering Department Leaders Transition

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    Dean JC Zhao of the University of Connecticut (UConn) College of Engineering is pleased to announce a transition in leadership for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). 

    Zhao has appointed Professor Avinash Dongare as interim MSE department head, replacing current department head Professor Bryan Huey who will depart the UConn College of Engineering to join Purdue University as its next head of the School of Materials Engineering. Huey will start at Purdue on Aug. 15.

    Avinash Dongare has been selected as the new interim MSE department head.

    “I am pleased to appoint Professor Avinash Dongare as the interim head of our MSE Department at UConn,” says Zhao. “He is a nationally respected researcher and a dedicated educator whose leadership and collaborative approach will help guide the department during this important transition.” 

    Dongare earned his doctorate (2008) in MSE from the University of Virginia. He joined UConn in 2012 as an assistant professor in MSE and was recently promoted to a full professorship in 2023. He also holds joint appointments as a professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering and the Department of Physics. In addition, Dongare has been the director of graduate studies within the MSE department since 2020.   

    Dongare was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2024) and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (2024). He is recognized as one of the world’s top 2% of scientists (2024). He is also the recipient of the Early CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (2015), and the National Academies NRC Research Associateship Award from the US Army Research Office (2007).  

    Dongare’s research includes the development and application of advanced computational techniques across scales to predict the behavior of materials under extreme environments. He has authored 100+ peer-reviewed publications and proceedings. His research has totaled nearly $20 million in externally funded grants and contracts across a diverse array of sponsors (NSF, DOE, DOD, & industry). He also served as an editor for the Journal of Materials Science (2018 to 2022) and is active member in materials and mechanics communities (TMS, MRS, ASME, SES, and APS).  

    “It is an honor to serve as the interim department head and to help lead the community that I have been a part of for over a decade,” says Dongare. “I have been nurtured in this department and genuinely value the collegial and supportive culture that it offers. The department has continued to rise in rankings over the last decade – thanks to the inspirational leadership of Pamir Alpay and Bryan Huey. I am committed to working closely with our faculty, staff, and students to continue moving forward in materials research and education under Dean Zhao.” 

    Bryan Huey has been selected as Purdue University’s new head of materials engineering.

    Huey joined UConn Engineering in 2004 and rose through the ranks from assistant professor to full professor. He has served as the department’s head since 2017.

    He saw the growth of the department in those years, with their faculty overseeing $50 million in active research (as of fall 2024). The UConn MSE department is ranked 34th nationwide in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, and is in the top 20 among public institutions. Also in fall 2024, Huey and fellow faculty, staff and students celebrated moving into the new 200,000-square-foot Science One building, which also houses the Institute of Materials Science. 

    “I want to humbly thank Professor Bryan Huey for his outstanding leadership over the past seven years, and for many years serving the department beforehand,” Zhao says. “His commitment to research excellence, student success, and departmental growth has left an enduring legacy at UConn Engineering. We wish him continued success at Purdue.” 

    Before arriving at UConn, Huey earned three degrees in MSE: his bachelor’s in 1993 from Stanford University and his master’s (1996) and doctorate (1999) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a member of the Materials Research Society’s Strategic Agility Council. Huey is also the past chair of the University Materials Council, the nationwide association of MSE department heads. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Welch Introduces Bipartisan, Bicameral Bills to Eliminate Burn Pits and Help Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits 

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) this week introduced the Waste and Illegal Property Eradication (WIPE) Act and the Health Records Enhancement Act, bipartisan, bicameral bills that would improve, expand, and enhance protections for veterans under the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT) Act in addition to eliminating burn pits to help prevent future toxic exposure cases. U.S. Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) introduced companion legislation for both bills in the House. U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) is a cosponsor of the Health Records Enhancement Act in the House. 
    The WIPE Act is cosponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and would improve servicemember health and strengthen national security by improving how the U.S. military eliminates dangerous materials both at home and overseas. This legislation invests in safer disposal systems for the future by replacing outdated and harmful waste disposal practices with modern, secure alternatives and will incur no increase in overall defense spending by offsetting the same amount from funds allocated for current open-air waste disposals in contingency operations. The WIPE Act’s provisions prohibiting the use of open-air burn pits and use of the disposal systems were included in the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).  
    The Health Records Enhancement Act will improve data collection on burn pit and toxic substance exposure by allowing family members to provide the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense to with vital health data and observations of health conditions related to toxic exposure for designated individuals or deceased veterans. 
    “When we passed the PACT Act, we took a major step forward to ensure the cost of the war will include the cost of caring for the warrior. But we can—and must—do more to address the risk burn pits and other toxic substances pose for our veterans,” said Senator Welch. “These bills will improve protections for veterans exposed to toxic substances and invest in waste disposal alternatives that will eliminate burn pits. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan group in introducing these essential, common-sense bills.”  
    “Our servicemembers make extraordinary sacrifices to defend our nation, and we owe it to them to ensure they are not exposed to unnecessary harm while serving,” said Senator Tillis. “These commonsense bills allow us to invest in safer, more secure waste disposal systems to eliminate the use of toxic burn pits and improve data collection on burn pit exposure to better protect the health of our troops and veterans.” 
    “As an emergency medicine physician and founder of the bipartisan Burn Pits Caucus, I’ve seen firsthand the devastating health consequences toxic exposure has had on our servicemembers. The WIPE Act and Health Registry Enhancement Act take urgent, practical steps to eliminate burn pits and strengthen protections for veterans who have already suffered too much. These bipartisan bills are about accountability, prevention, and doing right by the men and women who sacrificed for our country. We must ensure no generation of veterans is ever again left to suffer from toxic exposure,” said Representative Dr. Ruiz. 
    “Exposure to toxic emissions from burn pit toxins has led to tragic consequences for far too many members of our military community.  We owe it to our heroes to transition to safer, more sustainable waste management technologies,” said Representative Bilirakis.  “We have a moral obligation to explore ways to protect public health, reduce environmental harm, and fulfill our responsibility to those impacted by outdated and dangerous disposal practices. Our bill is an important step in the right direction.” 
    Senator Welch has championed efforts to limit toxic substance exposure among veterans in the Senate, including supporting legislation to educate servicemembers on the impact of burn pits and other airborne hazards and improve data collection on veterans affected by toxic exposure. Last year, Senator Welch introduced the bicameral Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry 2.0 Act, which passed as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the bipartisan Burn Pit Elimination Act, both bills that would improve protections for veterans under the PACT Act and prevent future toxic exposure cases.   
    Last Congress, a bipartisan amendment led by Sens. Welch, Tillis, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) requiring the VA to conduct a review on mortality and toxic exposure data for veterans who served in Kosovo passed with bipartisan support in the Senate. Senator Welch also cosponsored the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act, Reducing Exposure to Burn Pits Act, and Toxic Exposure Education for Servicemembers Act, bills that build on the PACT Act to provide increased support for veterans exposed to burn pits, improve data collection on burn pit and toxic substance exposure, and help mitigate future toxic substance exposure for servicemembers. 
    Learn more about the WIPE Act and read the full text of the bill. 
    Learn more about the Health Records Enhancement Act and read the full text of the bill. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Canada: The Government of Canada invests over $14.4 million in 17 projects that will foster youth environmental literacy across Canada

    Recipient Total Project description Maritime Aboriginal Peoples Council $741,487 This project will foster ocean and climate literacy for youth aged 5 through 18 in schools across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick through classroom presentations and public outreach events. Students will learn about the organisms found within the Atlantic Ocean and local freshwater watersheds. Grand Council Treaty #3 Representative Services Inc.  $782,922 This project will deliver knowledge and skills on climate change for children, youth, and adults in Treaty #3 territory in Northwestern Ontario and Eastern Manitoba to become climate leaders in their communities and participate in the emerging green economy. The programming will combine western climate science and Anishinaabe Traditional Knowledge specific to Treaty #3. Aqqiumavvik Society $1,500,199 This project will develop and pilot a culturally relevant, age-appropriate environmental literacy program to enhance avatimik kamattiarniq (the concept of environmental stewardship) for youth in Arviat, Nunavut. Kitselas First Nation $221,700 This project will provide Kitselas First Nation youth with the skills and knowledge to address climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the cumulative effects of pollution affecting their traditional territory. BC Parks Foundation $1,800,000 This project will provide opportunities for students across British Columbia (BC) to learn about and take positive steps to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss, both in British Columbia’s provincial parks and in their school grounds and classrooms. Cape Breton University $326,614 This project will conduct participatory analysis on the impact and accessibility of environmental literacy with youth and their teachers from schools in all provinces and territories in Canada. Project participants will also practice methods of policy writing and presentation, as well as co-create teaching materials. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Southern Alberta Chapter $342,524 This project aims to develop the environmental literacy and leadership of young Canadians, especially those from underserved communities in Southern Alberta, through training and a mentoring group. This will give youth the skills and perspectives to help them overcome current environmental challenges and participate in eco-advocacy. Ducks Unlimited Canada, on behalf of the Nature Education Collective $797,898 This project will support the Nature Education Collective to systematically enhance environmental literacy at a national scale in school systems across Canada. Through an integrated package of scalable solutions that support normalizing climate and biodiversity education, this project will work with partner school systems to elevate regional leadership, expand teacher training, and provide inclusive programming directly to students. AquaAction $635,296 This project will help address eco-anxiety in kindergarten to Grade 12 students through a learning program in Montréal, Quebec. The program aims to create a generation of water stewards that will take action to address freshwater issues and contribute to sustainability. This will be done through encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and developing job-ready skills to help young Canadians participate in a sustainable blue economy. Aurora College $1,461,680 This project will provide a wide range of locally and culturally relevant opportunities for junior kindergarten to Grade 12 students and youth to learn about climate change and its impact on the Northwest Territories. This will include in-classroom and on-the-land programming, training for junior kindergarten to Grade 12 educators, and community workshops. The Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research, Education and Conservation $939,592 This project will provide environmental knowledge, service-learning, and leadership opportunities for young Canadians, particularly Indigenous, BPOC, 2SLGBTQ+ youth and other underserved communities. This project will engage youth in community-based actions linked to the major environmental crises and provide training for educators to best integrate environmental education into their teaching. The Calgary Zoological Society $1,562,992 This project aims to integrate environmental literacy into teacher training and professional development for in-service teachers by identifying non-formal teaching institutions to serve as community practicum sites specializing in environmental education. Wanuskewin Heritage Park Authority $300,000 This project will create materials to enhance interactive ecological education through an Indigenous lens, enhance and develop new guided cultural tours, and augment their video series with a focus on the interconnections between cultures and the land for visitors of Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Starfish Environmental Society $396,213 The goal of this project is to create experiential, Indigenous-led environmental literacy material to support kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers in Six Nations and Hamilton schools to ground youth environmental literacy in Haudenosaunee cultural perspectives. Friends of the Rouge Watershed Inc. $255,000 This project will ensure that students and community volunteers, with a high proportion of first-generation and racially diverse Canadians, have free access to natural spaces in the Rouge Watershed, including environmental education through skills training and hands-on opportunities to restore forest and wetland habitats. Nature Québec $1,117,814 The objective of the project is to green learning spaces by creating micro-ecosystems in schoolyards, while integrating environmental education for students and school staff. This project aims to foster student contact with nature and develop educational materials based on citizen science. By collaborating with experts, the project will assess the impact of environmental practices on student behaviour and raise awareness of climate issues throughout the school community. Conservation Council of New Brunswick $1,286,043 This project will create a province-wide network of environmental educators that will allow all schools in New Brunswick to access current, place-based, educational climate change-centered programming while also giving educators the tools to teach their students outside and utilize their outdoor spaces.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI: C&F Announces Expansion into Southwest Virginia

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    TOANO, Va., July 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — C&F Financial Corporation (the Corporation) (NASDAQ: CFFI), the holding company for C&F Bank, is proud to announce a significant expansion of its commercial banking operations with a seasoned team that will establish its presence in Southwest Virginia. This strategic move positions C&F to serve key markets including Roanoke, Lynchburg, Danville, Martinsville, and Blacksburg.

    Leading this expansion is Matt Hubbard, who joins as Southwest Virginia Regional President. With over 15 years of commercial banking leadership experience, most recently at Atlantic Union Bank, (formerly American National Bank). Matt brings deep market knowledge and a strong commitment to community engagement. He is a graduate of Radford University and the William & Mary Mason School of Business.

    Joining Matt are two highly respected banking professionals:

    • Sally Siveroni, Commercial Credit Officer, began her banking career in 1986 and most recently served as Regional Credit Officer at Atlantic Union Bank. She is a graduate of James Madison University.
    • James Little, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, has 17 years of experience in both retail and commercial banking. A fellow James Madison University graduate and VBA Bank School alumnus, James is also deeply involved in community initiatives.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Matt, Sally, and James to the C&F family,” said Tom Cherry, President and CEO of C&F Bank. “Their expertise and strong community ties will accelerate our growth in this promising region, where we already enjoy strong customer relationships.”

    With this expansion, C&F is now firmly positioned as one of the premier community banks serving the entire Commonwealth of Virginia—an achievement that underscores the company’s strategic vision and competitive strength.

    About C&F

    C&F Bank operates 31 banking offices and five commercial loan offices located throughout Virginia and offers full wealth management services through its subsidiary C&F Wealth Management, Inc. C&F Mortgage Corporation and its subsidiary C&F Select LLC provide mortgage loan origination services through offices located in Virginia and the surrounding states. C&F Finance Company provides automobile, marine and recreational vehicle loans through indirect lending programs offered primarily in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and Southern United States from its headquarters in Henrico, Virginia.

    Additional information regarding the Corporation’s products and services, as well as access to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available on the Corporation’s website at http://www.cffc.com.

    Contact: Jason Long, CFO and Secretary
      (804) 843-2360

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e0101d3-4ffc-436f-a151-f7f79df53bdd

    The MIL Network –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI USA: Sen. RaShaun Kemp Responds to Partial Release of Frozen Federal Education Funds

    Source: US State of Georgia

    ATLANTA (July 22, 2025) —Today, Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D–Atlanta) issued the following statement regarding the federal government’s decision to release a portion of previously frozen funds for after-school and summer programs:

    “I welcome the administration’s decision to release $1.3 billion in frozen funding for after-school and summer learning programs, but the damage has already been done. This last-minute reversal caused unnecessary disruption for school districts and families preparing for the upcoming school year. Withholding congressionally approved funding at such a critical moment was destabilizing and avoidable.

    The federal government is still withholding $5 billion in funding that schools are counting on. I urge the administration to release these remaining funds without delay. This money supports teacher training, English language learners and the core infrastructure needed to help students and educators succeed. The longer the funds remain out of reach, the more we risk failing the very people our public education system is meant to serve.

    I will continue to speak out when this administration makes reckless decisions that jeopardize education and disrupt the lives of families who rely on it. Silence in the face of bad policy is not leadership. It is our responsibility to hold decision-makers accountable and fight for a future where every student has the tools they need to reach their full potential.”

    # # # #

    Sen. RaShaun Kemp represents the 38th Senate District, which includes a portion of Fulton County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-0105 or by email at RaShaun.Kemp@senate.ga.gov.

    For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.

    MIL OSI USA News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: US announces withdrawal from UNESCO again

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    WASHINGTON, July 22 (Xinhua) — The United States on Tuesday announced its decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), two years after rejoining it.

    According to a statement from the US State Department, the decision was made in connection with UNESCO’s policy, which Washington believes “promotes divisive social and cultural initiatives” against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    “UNESCO’s decision to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a member state is highly problematic, runs counter to US policy and contributes to the spread of anti-Israeli rhetoric within the organization,” the statement said.

    The US withdrawal from UNESCO will take effect at the end of December 2026.

    This is the third time the United States has withdrawn from the organization, and the second time during the Donald Trump administration. Since the start of Trump’s second term this year, his administration has already announced withdrawals from the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Health Organization, and the UN Human Rights Council. –0–

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: New Higher Education Minister and Deputy sworn in

    Source: Government of South Africa

    Tuesday, July 22, 2025

    Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has been sworn in as Minister of that portfolio in Cape Town this afternoon.

    During the same ceremony, former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier, Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube, was sworn in as his deputy.

    The swearing-in ceremony was held at Tuynhuys in the presence of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

    Manamela and Dube-Ncube were appointed following the removal of Dr Nobuhle Nkabane from the role of Minister and Higher Education and Training on Monday evening.

    Dube-Ncube was appointed in terms of Section 93 (b) of the Constitution, which allows the President to appoint no more than two Deputy Ministers from outside the National Assembly. – SAnews.gov.za

    Share this post:

    MIL OSI Africa –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: School Teachers’ Review Body remit letter for 2026 and 2027

    Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

    Correspondence

    School Teachers’ Review Body remit letter for 2026 and 2027

    The Secretary of State’s letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body asking for recommendations on teachers’ pay and conditions for 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028.

    Applies to England

    Documents

    Letter from Bridget Phillipson to Dr Mike Aldred

    PDF, 173 KB, 4 pages

    Details

    Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson’s letter to Dr Mike Aldred, Chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

    Updates to this page

    Published 22 July 2025

    Sign up for emails or print this page

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Livestock and lions make uneasy neighbours: how a fence upgrade helped protect domestic and wild animals in Tanzania

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jonathan Salerno, Associate Professor, Colorado State University, Colorado State University

    Protecting livestock in areas where large carnivores (like lions) live is increasingly important as human land use expands, wildlife habitat shrinks, and climatic changes reshape the ways in which humans and wildlife interact. Protecting the carnivores from livestock owners is important too. Intact carnivore populations support more resilient food webs and the ecosystem services they provide.

    It’s not easy for people, livestock, and carnivores to live together without conflict, though. One of the best ways to reduce conflict is to protect livestock like cattle and sheep from being attacked by predators.

    There are various methods to do this, like guarding livestock or erecting fences. That’s all very well for the livestock inside the fences, but do predators simply turn to the nearest unprotected livestock for their meal instead? Are the neighbours’ cattle, sheep, and goats at greater risk? This question hasn’t been explored much by researchers.

    We’re a group of conservation practitioners and scientists who have studied the interactions of carnivores, livestock, and people in Tanzania and elsewhere for decades to try and find solutions to conflict problems.

    Our study area is next to a national park which protects important populations of lion, leopard, hyena, African wild dog, and cheetah. The people who live here have traditionally kept their livestock overnight in enclosures made of acacia-thorn branches. More recently, some of them have built pens, or corrals, from tall chain link fencing. We knew from years working with communities and from previous research that these fortified corrals were effective at keeping livestock safe from predators.

    Our next step was to find out whether this made other nearby livestock less safe.

    Read more: What’s behind the conflict between people and animals in Tanzania

    The results were intriguing. We found that the new enclosures made predation less likely in the nearby traditional enclosures too.

    This type of beneficial spillover effect had yet to be documented in other systems where interventions aim to protect livestock from large carnivores.

    Our results show that in conservation, it’s important to look closely at complex local dynamics. The findings may help explain why there’s so much uncertainty about the effectiveness of various human–wildlife conflict mitigation strategies.

    Beneficial spillover effects

    People who keep livestock in east Africa have long had strategies to keep their animals safe from large carnivores. Sometimes acacia-thorn night enclosures (known locally as bomas), intensive herding practices, and guarding dogs work well.

    Other times, and especially in communities within and adjacent to large, protected carnivore populations, traditional strategies fall short.

    This is the case in Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa Landscape. In our study area adjacent to Ruaha National Park, any pastoralist or agropastoralist (herding and crop farming) household has about a 30% chance of losing one or more animals to predation each year. This is a serious economic loss on top of important cultural and emotional costs.

    Read more: Losing a calf to wolves in Sweden hurts. But if lions take one in Uganda, a farming family’s income is gone

    Lion Landscapes, an organisation that some of us have been running for over a decade, works to support human-carnivore coexistence. Adjacent to Ruaha, we have been partnering with households to build 1.8-metre chain-link corrals. We subsidise them. Households contribute 25% of the cost and some of the labour for construction.

    We analysed about 25,000 monthly reports of livestock predation in fenced and traditional enclosures, using statistical models. There were 846 predation events over nearly four years. Unexpectedly, while we did detect spillover effects, these appeared to be beneficial. Rather than displacing conflicts, fortified enclosures actually conferred protective effects on their traditional-enclosure neighbours.

    For example, households within 50 metres (the minimum observed distance) of a fortified enclosure were half as likely to experience predation compared with distant households 2 kilometres away. And these beneficial effects increased with the number of fortified enclosures in a neighbourhood. Finally, the effects appeared to be durable over time.

    The fortified enclosures were extremely effective. We showed that households could break even after paying for the fence in just a few years through avoided livestock losses. And we know that when domestic animals aren’t being killed, their owners are more tolerant of predators. We didn’t record carnivore killings in this study but it has happened fairly frequently in the area in the past.

    In a few of the world’s human-wildlife conflict systems, where data exist to assess spillover effects, there is evidence that detrimental spillovers do occur. For instance, beehive deterrents may redirect elephants to nearby crop fields, or lethal removal of individual wolves may redirect the surviving pack to prey on adjacent ranches. Nevertheless, these are very under-studied interactions.

    Livestock management and carnivore coexistence

    In systems where humans, livestock, and wildlife overlap and sometimes come into conflict, management strategies too often focus on wildlife. Another option is to reduce whatever attracts wildlife. In the case of large carnivores, this means managing livestock.

    Read more: Livestock are threatened by predators – but old-fashioned shepherding may be an effective solution

    Our results support this approach by demonstrating that management and protection of livestock is fundamental for reducing conflict, and can benefit not only livestock owners but landscape-level coexistence.

    Conservationists and policy-makers need to encourage these practices that benefit people, carnivores, and livestock in shared landscapes.

    – Livestock and lions make uneasy neighbours: how a fence upgrade helped protect domestic and wild animals in Tanzania
    – https://theconversation.com/livestock-and-lions-make-uneasy-neighbours-how-a-fence-upgrade-helped-protect-domestic-and-wild-animals-in-tanzania-258113

    MIL OSI Africa –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Ghana’s security strategy has kept terror attacks at bay: what other countries can learn from its approach

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dublin City University

    Ghana stands out in west Africa as a nation that has not experienced terrorist attacks, even though it’s geographically close to countries that have. In Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria, extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) have wreaked havoc.

    This resilience is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate counter-terrorism strategies employed by Ghana’s security institutions.

    Ghana’s counter-terrorism framework was set out in 2020. It has four pillars: prevent, pre-empt, protect, and respond. The idea is to coordinate multiple agencies, including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Bureau.

    These pillars guide strategies to address both immediate threats and underlying vulnerabilities. Poverty, religious radicalism and porous borders are common drivers of terrorism in west Africa.

    I am an international security and global governance researcher. My co-author is a government and international studies scholar.

    Four years ago we wrote a paper examining Ghana’s resilience against terrorist attacks. Our findings are still relevant given the increasing activities of terror groups in the west African region.

    Read more: West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond

    We wanted to identify what works as a potential model for other countries.

    Using a qualitative methodology, we interviewed stakeholders — including police officers, members of the armed forces, Muslim community leaders, and immigration officials. We also analysed the national framework for preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism.

    Our findings showed that Ghana’s success is traceable to an approach that integrates community engagement with advanced border technology, inter-agency training, media collaboration and intelligence operations. And it addresses both immediate and underlying threats.

    We argue that Ghana’s ability to balance prevention with security offers solutions for stability in a geopolitically volatile region.

    Read more: Ghana’s new president faces tough regional security problems: why he’s well-placed to tackle them

    Community engagement

    One of the standout strategies is community engagement. This serves multiple purposes, from guiding people away from extremism to gathering intelligence.

    The Ghana Police Service, for instance, engages Muslim-dominated communities, known as “Zongos”, to counter radical Islamic ideologies that could be exploited by terrorist groups.

    By collaborating with local religious leaders, police make communities aware of the dangers of radicalisation. They foster trust and encourage residents to report suspicious activities. This approach also works in tackling illegal arms circulation.

    Ghana has an estimated 2.3 million small arms in circulation – 1.1 million of them illegally possessed. The availability of so many weapons fuels terrorist activities across west Africa.

    Community based de-radicalisation aligns with global best practices. In Norway, for instance, it was used to disengage youth from extremist groups.

    Technology at borders

    Ghana’s border control management is another part of its counter-terrorism strategy. Ghana Immigration Service uses advanced security software and integrated systems like the “Immigration 360” system, designed to fully automate passenger processing and data management.

    The system manages records of fingerprints and other data to improve reporting and intelligence sharing between Ghana Immigration and other security agencies.

    The technology makes it possible to quickly identity individuals on terrorist watchlists and detects concealed goods. This helps prevent illegal cross-border movements.

    There are gaps in Ghana’s defences, however. The influx of migrants fleeing extremist violence in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2024 highlights the urgency of scaling up investments in the technology.

    Read more: West Africa could soon have a jihadist state – here’s why

    Training for preparedness

    Ghana combats new and varying forms of terrorism by uncovering trends and training personnel to deal with them.

    A notable example was the six-day joint training in 2022 involving the Ghana Immigration Service, Police Service, Customs, Economic and Organised Crime Office, and the National Intelligence Bureau.

    The country also works with regional neighbours like Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin, and partners such as the United States, through initiatives like “Operation Epic Guardian”.

    Media as a strategic partner

    Terrorists rely on media to amplify fear and publicise their causes. Ghana’s security agencies counter this tactic by actively engaging media houses to report accurately.

    The Ghana Armed Forces, for instance, works with media to debunk false reports, which can cause public panic and inadvertently aid terrorists.

    The Ghana Police Service emphasises regular dialogue with media to ensure sensitive information is verified before publication, reducing the risk of tipping off suspects. However, media competition for viewers poses a challenge.

    Surveillance and intelligence gathering

    Surveillance and intelligence gathering is critical. Plainclothes armed forces and immigration personnel blend into communities to monitor potential threats. The approach has worked but is constrained by resources.

    It can also risk human rights violations, such as wrongful profiling, and is less effective against multiple targets compared to technological solutions like facial recognition or CCTV.

    Read more: Funding terror: how west Africa’s deadly jihadists get the money they need to survive

    Challenges and regional implications

    Despite its successes, Ghana’s counter-terrorism framework faces challenges that could undermine its long-term efficacy:

    • logistical and financial constraints

    • the influx of migrants fleeing regional violence

    • a lack of harmonised security cultures within the regional body, Ecowas.

    In all, Ghana’s strategies offer lessons for west Africa, where terrorism is a growing threat.

    Its community engagement model could be followed in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to counter radicalisation and arms proliferation, provided it avoids religious stereotyping.

    – Ghana’s security strategy has kept terror attacks at bay: what other countries can learn from its approach
    – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-security-strategy-has-kept-terror-attacks-at-bay-what-other-countries-can-learn-from-its-approach-260333

    MIL OSI Africa –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Learning statistics through story: students get creative with numbers

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Johan Ferreira, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    Statistics professor Johan Ferreira was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of “screen time” involved in online learning in 2021. He imagined students must be feeling the same way, and wondered what he could do to inspire them and make his subject matter more appealing.

    One of the topics in statistics is time series analysis: statistical methods to understand trend behaviour in data which is measured over time. There are lots of examples in daily life, from rainfall records to changes in commodity prices, import or exports, or temperature.

    Ferreira asked his students to write a short, fictional “bedtime” story using “characters” from time series analysis. The results were collected into a book that is freely available. He tells us more about it.

    Why use storytelling to learn about statistics?

    I’m fortunate to be something of a creative myself, being a professional oboe player with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s a valuable outlet for self-expression. I reflected on what other activity could inspire creativity without compromising the essence of statistical thinking that was required in this particular course I was teaching.

    Example of a time series, the kind of data analysed using statistical methods. Author provided (no reuse)

    I invited my third-year science and commerce students at the University of Pretoria to take part in a voluntary storytelling exercise, using key concepts in time series analysis as characters. Students got some guidelines but were free to be creative. My colleague and co-editor, Dr Seite Makgai, and I then read, commented on and edited the stories and put them together into an anthology.

    Students gave their consent that their stories could be used for research purposes and might be published. Out of a class of over 200 students, over 30 contributions were received; 23 students permitted their work to be included in this volume.

    We curated submissions into two sections (Part I: Fables and Fairy Tales and Part II: Fantasy and Sci-Fi) based on the general style and gist of the work.

    The project aimed to develop a new teaching resource, inspire students to take ownership of their learning in a creative way, and support them through informal, project-based peer learning.

    This collection is written by students, for students. They used personal and cultural contexts relevant to their background and environment to create content that has a solid background in their direct academic interests. And the stories are available without a paywall!

    What are some of the characters and stories?

    Student Lebogang Malebati wrote Stationaryville and the Two Brothers, a tale about AR(1) and AR(2). In statistics, AR refers to processes in which numerical values are based on past values. The brothers “were both born with special powers, powers that could make them stationary…” and could trick an evil wizard.

    David Dodkins wrote Zt and the Shadow-spawn. In this story, Zt (common notation in time series analysis) has a magic amulet that reveals his character growth through a sequence of models and shows the hero’s victory in the face of adversity. He is a function of those that came before him (through an AR process).

    Then there’s Nelis Daniels’ story about a shepherd plagued by a wolf called Arma (autoregressive moving average) which kept making sheep disappear.

    And Dikelede Rose Motseleng’s modern fable about the love-hate relationship between AR(1) (“more of a linear guy” with a bad habit of predicting the future based on the past) and MA(1), “the type of girl who would always provide you with stationarity (stability).”

    What was the impact of the project?

    It was a deeply enriching experience for us to see how students see statistics in a context beyond that of the classroom, especially in cases where students reformulated their stories within their own cultural identities or niche interests.

    Three particular main impacts stand out for us:

    • students have a new additional reference and learning resource for the course content

    • new students can refer to the experiences and contextualisation of this content of former students, leading to informal peer learning

    • students engage in a cognitive skill (higher-order and creative thinking) that is not frequently considered and included in this field and at this level.

    In 2024, shortly after the book was published, we asked students in the time series analysis course of that year to read any one of four stories (related to concepts that were already covered in the course material at that point in time). We asked them to complete a short and informal survey to gauge their experience and insights regarding the potential of this book as a learning resource for them.

    The 53 responses we got indicated that most students saw the book as a useful contribution to their learning experience in time series analysis.

    Student perceptions of value of stories. Author supplied, Author provided (no reuse)

    One positive comment from a student was:

    I will always remember that the Random Walk is indeed not stationary but White Noise is. I already knew it, but now I won’t forget it.

    Will you build on this in future?

    It is definitely valuable to consider similar projects in other branches of statistics, but also, in other disciplines entirely, to develop content by students, for students.

    At this stage, we’re having the stories and book translated into languages beyond English. In large classes that are essential to data science (such as statistics and mathematics), many different home languages may be spoken. Students often have to learn in their second, third, or even fourth language. So, this project is proving valuable in making advanced statistical concepts tactile and “at home” via translations.

    Our publisher recently let us know that the Setswana translation is complete, with the Sepedi and Afrikaans translations following soon. To our knowledge, it’ll be the first such project not only in the discipline of statistics, but in four of the official languages in South Africa.

    – Learning statistics through story: students get creative with numbers
    – https://theconversation.com/learning-statistics-through-story-students-get-creative-with-numbers-261198

    MIL OSI Africa –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: First report on babies born following pioneering licensed IVF technique to reduce the risk of mitochondrial diseases

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    July 16, 2025

    The first published research findings from the Newcastle team on the children born following pioneering licensed IVF technique to reduce the risk of mitochondrial diseases.

    The research papers, published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) by the team based at Newcastle University and the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust describe the reproductive and clinical outcomes of pronuclear transfer treatments performed to date.

    In the absence of a cure for mitochondrial DNA diseases, attention has focussed on IVF-based technologies to reduce the risk of disease by limiting transmission of disease-causing mitochondrial DNA mutations from mother to child.

    The UK was the first country to approve laws to allow the use of the ground-breaking IVF-based mitochondrial donation technology, pronuclear transfer, in 2015. The technique is designed to reduce the risk of mitochondrial DNA disease in children born to women who carry high levels of disease-causing mitochondrial DNA mutations.

    Journalists came to this press briefing to hear from clinicians, scientists and embryologists caring for the mothers affected by mitochondrial disease about the first babies, the science, the methods and the data, and to ask their questions. 

    Speakers included:

    Professor Sir Doug Turnbull, Emeritus Professor of Neurology, Newcastle University

    Professor Mary Herbert, Professor of Reproductive Biology, Newcastle University and Monash University

    Professor Bobby McFarland, Director of the NHS Highly Specialised Service for Rare Mitochondrial Disorders (Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) and Professor of Paediatric Mitochondrial Medicine at Newcastle University

    Dr Louise Hyslop, Consultant Embryologist, Newcastle Fertility Centre, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Genome engineering for species conservation

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    July 18, 2025

    Much has been made of the potential of genome engineering to bring back extinct species.  But what about its potential for biodiversity and conservation of existing threatened species?

    Traditional conservation techniques such as captive breeding and habitat protection can be successful in boosting population numbers but this can leave species populations with low genetic diversity, leaving them more vulnerable to future threats like new diseases or climate change.

    In a new Perspectives article in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, a team of scientists examines the potential for CRISPR-based editing to complement existing conservation in the following ways:

    1. Restoring lost variation – bringing back genetic diversity that has been lost from the gene pool of the modern populations of threatened species, using DNA from samples of the species collected decades or even centuries ago, which are stored in natural history museums all over the world
    2. Facilitated adaptation – introducing genes from related, better-adapted species to confer traits like heat tolerance or pathogen resistance, equipping threatened species to adapt to rapid environmental change
    3. Reducing genetic load – populations that have previously crashed in numbers often carry harmful mutations that have become fixed by chance, so targeted gene edits could replace these mutations with the healthy variant from before the population crash – with the potential to improve fertility, survival rates, and overall health.

    Is this what the future of conservation looks like?  What potential does it have and what are the risks scientists need to avoid?

    Journalists came to this briefing to hear from three of the authors and put their questions to them.

    Speakers included:

    Prof Cock van Oosterhout, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the University of East Anglia 

    Dr Anna Keyte, Species Director at Colossal Biosciences

    Prof Jim Groombridge, Professor of Biodiversity Conservation, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent

    This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study looking at estimates of brain ageing and the Covid pandemic

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    July 22, 2025

    A study published in Nature Communications looks at brain ageing during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

    Dr Eugene Duff, Advanced Research Fellow in Informatics, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, said:

    “Mohammadi-Nejad and colleagues present a unique analysis of MRI data from the UK Biobank study to identify evidence for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic period – independent of the infection itself – on brain health and aging.  They were able to show that, even in the absence of COVID-19 infection, living through the pandemic was associated with accelerated aging of the brain, and could point to a variety of factors potentially contributing to this acceleration, such as sex and socio-demographic background.  With this approach, the authors were able to quantify more extensive brain health associations of the pandemic period than studies focusing purely on effects of the virus itself.  However, as an observational study it is not possible to fully exclude that factors unrelated to the pandemic could contribute to the observed acceleration. While the events of the pandemic were exceptional, this work demonstrates the stark effects that the conditions of an individual’s life may have on brain and cognitive health, and the value of careful dissection of the myriad of local and global factors contributing to these conditions.”

    Prof Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford, said:

    “While this is a very carefully conducted analysis, we have to be cautious with interpretation.

    “The brain age difference between the two groups (as indexed by brain scanning) was on average only 5 months, and difference in cognitive performance between groups was only on the total time taken to complete one of the tests.  Is this really going to make a significant difference in everyday life?

    “Furthermore, the time between scans was much shorter in the people scanned before and after the pandemic, compared to those who had both scans before the pandemic. We therefore don’t know if brain aging would have recovered if more time elapsed.”

    Dr Maxime Taquet, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, said:

    “This landmark brain imaging study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated brain ageing in some people.  By comparing scans taken more than two years apart, researchers found that the average person’s brain appeared to age an extra 5.5 months for every year lived during the pandemic.  It is important to note that the majority of people showed brain ageing at the expected rate.  However, a higher-than-usual proportion showed striking increases in brain age of an extra 15 to 20 months per year.

    “Among those infected with COVID-19, the increased brain age correlated with lower scores in a test of thinking skills like attention and problem-solving.  This might help explain why some people who had COVID-19 have impaired cognition.

    “The findings raise important questions about the long-term neurological impact of the pandemic, whether due to infection itself or the broader psychological and social stress it caused.  The authors suggest that the observed brain ageing may reflect a biopsychosocial effect combining the impact of COVID-19 infection with the psychological and social stresses of the pandemic.  However, it is also possible that the observed association is primarily biological, driven largely by undetected infections.  An analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that over 90% of the UK population may have been infected by the end of 2022, meaning that many participants classified as ‘uninfected’ might have had asymptomatic or undocumented cases.  This raises the possibility that viral exposure played a more central role in the study findings than assumed.

    “Another possibility is that the findings do not reflect a causal relationship and are due to a form of selection bias.  For instance, if individuals whose brains were ageing more slowly happened to be scanned sooner, and therefore before the pandemic, this could have contributed to the observed association despite the study’s efforts to rule out such confounding.

    “The study was well-designed and based on unique UK Biobank data with repeated brain scans.  The researchers also acknowledge limitations.  The sample excludes people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and depression and the UK Biobank underrepresents the most socioeconomically deprived groups, the very populations in which the association between the pandemic and brain ageing was largest. This means the association in the general population could be even more pronounced.”

    ‘Accelerated brain ageing during the COVID19 pandemic’ by Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad et al. was published in Nature Communications at 16:00 UK time on Tuesday 22 July 2025. 

    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61033-4

    Declared interests

    Dr Eugene Duff: “I have no conflicts of interest.”

    Prof Masud Husain: “I don’t have any conflict of interest.”

    Dr Maxime Taquet: “I do not have a conflict of interest.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Russia: In the Vyshka tent at VK Fest, they sent messages into space and immersed themselves in the virtual world

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University “Higher School of Economics” –

    An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    The site may not display correctly in older browser versions. For optimal site experience, we recommend using a modern browser.

    We use cookies to improve the HSE website and make it more convenient to use. More detailed information about the use of cookies can be foundHere, our rules for processing personal data are –Here. By continuing to use the site, you confirm that you have been informed of the use of cookies by the HSE website and agree with our rules for processing personal data. You can disable cookies in your browser settings.

    ABC ABC ABC A A A A A

    Regular version of the site

    Date

    July 22

    Headings

    The article mentions

    Persons

    Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    .

    MIL OSI Russia News –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: How falling vaccination rates are fuelling the antibiotic resistance crisis

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ruchika Gupta, Assistant Professor and Medical Microbiologist, Department of Pathobiology and Lab Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre and Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University

    Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health threats we face today. It’s often blamed on the overuse of antibiotics, and for a good reason. But there’s another major factor quietly driving this crisis that doesn’t get as much attention: low vaccination rates.

    In early 2025, Ontario had a measles outbreak with 2,200 cases as of mid-July, mostly in people who hadn’t been fully vaccinated. An outbreak in Alberta that began in March has expanded to more than 1,300 cases as of mid-July.

    Measles had been eliminated in Canada since 1998, but it’s now reappearing, largely due to missed or delayed vaccinations. On the surface, these might seem like a limited viral outbreak. But the ripple effects go much further, causing more illness, more complications and, ultimately, more antibiotic use.

    Why measles can lead to antibiotic use

    Measles itself is a viral infection, so antibiotics don’t treat it directly. But the virus weakens the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to bacterial infections like pneumonia or ear infections, conditions that do require antibiotics.

    Unsurprisingly, this pattern isn’t new. A 2019 study published in Pediatrics showed that many children hospitalized with measles in the United States developed secondary infections that required antibiotic treatment, especially pneumonia and ear infections.

    While data from the Ontario outbreak is still being analyzed, experts expect a similar surge in antibiotic prescriptions to treat these preventable complications.

    The antibiotic resistance chain reaction

    Every time we use antibiotics, we give bacteria a chance to adapt.
    (NIAID), CC BY

    Here’s where it gets dangerous. Every time we use antibiotics, we give bacteria a chance to adapt. The most vulnerable bacteria die, but tougher ones survive and spread. This leads to antibiotic resistance where treatments that used to work no longer do.

    Even appropriate use of antibiotics, like treating a bacterial infection after measles, adds to the problem. And the more often we need to prescribe antibiotics, the faster this resistance builds.

    A 2022 global study published in The Lancet estimated that antimicrobial resistance directly caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019 and contributed to many millions more. As resistance spreads, doctors are forced to use more toxic, expensive or last-resort drugs, and sometimes, no effective treatment exists at all.

    Antibiotic resistance means that treatments that used to work no longer do.
    (NIAID), CC BY

    How vaccines help fight resistance

    Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools we have not just to prevent disease, but to reduce antibiotic use and slow resistance. By stopping infections before they happen, vaccines reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place.

    Some vaccines protect directly against bacteria. Pneumococcal vaccines (PCV13, PCV15, PCV20) guard against a major cause of pneumonia, brain infections and ear infections. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and diphtheria vaccines prevent other respiratory bacterial diseases.

    Other vaccines protect against viruses, which can weaken the body and open the door to bacterial infections called as secondary bacterial infections.

    The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine not only prevents measles but also reduces the chance of bacterial pneumonias that often occur after measles due to immunosuppression.

    The seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccines help prevent viral infections that can trigger secondary bacterial complications.

    The rotavirus vaccine that protects against diarrheal disease in children has also been shown to reduce antibiotic use by more than 20 per cent, according to a 2024 study in Vaccine.

    In fact, a 2020 study in Nature found that improving childhood vaccination coverage in low- and middle-income countries could reduce antibiotic-treated illnesses in kids under five by more than 20 per cent. That’s a massive step forward in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

    A wake-up call

    The measles outbreaks in Ontario and Alberta aren’t just local issues; they are a global warning. Each missed vaccine doesn’t just put one person at risk; it potentially means more infections, more complications and more antibiotics. That, in turn, means more antibiotic resistance for everyone.

    Vaccines are not just about individual protection. They are a public health strategy that keeps antibiotics effective for when we really need them, especially for vulnerable people like cancer patients, transplant recipients and the elderly, who rely on antibiotics to survive routine infections.

    Vaccines, in fact, do more than prevent disease. They protect our ability to treat infections by reducing the need for antibiotics and slowing the rise of resistant bacteria. With preventable diseases like measles making a comeback, now is the time to recognize the broader impact of vaccine hesitancy.

    Choosing to vaccinate is more than a personal decision. It’s a way to protect our communities and preserve the life-saving power of antibiotics for generations to come.

    Ruchika Gupta 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. How falling vaccination rates are fuelling the antibiotic resistance crisis – https://theconversation.com/how-falling-vaccination-rates-are-fuelling-the-antibiotic-resistance-crisis-259682

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: I research rip currents where ‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowned. Here’s why they’re so deadly

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Chris Houser, Professor in Department of Earth and Environmental Science, and Dean of Science, University of Waterloo

    Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor who played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has drowned on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.

    It is reported that he was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him offshore. This is a beach popular among surfers and one that’s known to have large waves and strong currents.

    It’s also a beach that I have taken students to in order to study the formation of rip currents and to better understand what beach users know about the hazard.

    What exactly are rip currents?

    Rip currents — commonly referred to as rips or colloquially as rip tides — are found on ocean beaches and some large lakes around the world.



    Read more:
    The Great Lakes are powerful. Learning about ‘rip currents’ can help prevent drowning

    The rips at Playa Cocles and along a large part of the Costa Rican Caribbean coast are known as channel or bathymetric rips that form as the nearshore sand bar moves toward the land through the summer. The water thrown towards the land by the breaking waves returns offshore as a concentrated and fast flowing current at gaps in the nearshore sand bar.

    During storm conditions, we have measured the rip currents at Playa Cocles at over two metres per second. These rips are known to increase rapidly (or pulse) in strength due to changes in wave breaking, leading to unsuspecting swimmers being taken far offshore and exiting beyond the zone of breaking waves.

    Rip current at Playa Cocles showing change in size and strength with surfers for scale. (Chris Houser)

    While it can be difficult to spot a rip from shore, they can be identified by an area of relatively calm water between breaking waves, a patch of darker water or the offshore flow of water, sediment and debris.

    Caught in a rip current

    A person caught in a rip is transported away from shore into deeper waters, but they aren’t pulled under the water. If they are a weak swimmer or try to fight the current, they may panic and fail to find a way out of the rip and back to shore. Survivor stories highlight panic, anxiety, distress and fear, a tendency to fight the current and an inability to make a decision on how to escape the rip.

    While it is possible to “break the grip of the rip” by swimming parallel to the beach or toward breaking waves at an angle to the beach, there is no single escape strategy due to the unique rip circulation pattern.

    It’s possible to escape a rip by flipping onto your back, floating to keep your head above the water and following the current until you’re returned to the shore by the current or able to swim safely toward the shore. If you are taken beyond where the waves break, or you’re unable to swim back to shore, continue to float and signal for help.

    Rip currents account for more than 50 deaths a year in Costa Rica; approximately 19 drownings a year involve foreign tourists from the United States, Nicaragua, Canada and Germany. While most drownings in the country occur on Pacific coast beaches that are a short distance to the city of San José, more than five drownings occur each year along the Caribbean coast.

    Playa Cocles was the site of five drownings that occurred over eight days in 2004, an event that prompted tourism-dependent business owners to establish a lifeguard station on the beach.

    Costa Rican drownings

    On average, each drowning in Costa Rica costs more than US$2 million (USD). This includes the direct costs of search and rescue, the costs of repatriation and the long-term economic burden of a lost life. This is in addition to the great personal loss experienced by family and friends.

    A survey at Playa Cocles and other beaches in Costa Rica revealed that a majority of beach users did not observe warning signs and that many were unable to interpret the warning and did not change their behaviour.

    The majority of foreign drowning victims in Costa Rica had limited knowledge of rips and were unable to avoid the times and locations that were most hazardous.

    In general, visitors to a beach often use simple visual cues when deciding to take risks. Recent studies suggest that tourists think beach access points and resorts are located adjacent to safe swimming areas, particularly when visual cues such as manicured paths and promotional posters that promote swimming at those locations.

    Visitors are a high-risk group for drownings. They’re generally unfamiliar with the beach and its safety measures and often have poor knowledge of beach hazards, such as rip currents and breaking waves. This lack of knowledge can be exacerbated by language barriers, an overconfidence in swimming ability and peer pressure.

    Rip current and beach users at Playa Cocles. The red flag was placed by lifeguards to mark the location of the rip for beach users. (Chris Houser)

    Playa Cocles is a beautiful beach, but it’s known to have dangerous rips depending on the size of the breaking waves and the position of the sand bar.

    When visiting any beach — from the Caribbean to the Great Lakes — it’s important to remember that there may be rip currents and to take serious precautions.

    Chris Houser receives funding from NSERC.

    – ref. I research rip currents where ‘Cosby Show’ star Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowned. Here’s why they’re so deadly – https://theconversation.com/i-research-rip-currents-where-cosby-show-star-malcolm-jamal-warner-drowned-heres-why-theyre-so-deadly-261653

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Ghana’s security strategy has kept terror attacks at bay: what other countries can learn from its approach

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dublin City University

    Ghana stands out in west Africa as a nation that has not experienced terrorist attacks, even though it’s geographically close to countries that have. In Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria, extremist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) have wreaked havoc.

    This resilience is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate counter-terrorism strategies employed by Ghana’s security institutions.

    Ghana’s counter-terrorism framework was set out in 2020. It has four pillars: prevent, pre-empt, protect, and respond. The idea is to coordinate multiple agencies, including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Bureau.

    These pillars guide strategies to address both immediate threats and underlying vulnerabilities. Poverty, religious radicalism and porous borders are common drivers of terrorism in west Africa.

    I am an international security and global governance researcher. My co-author is a government and international studies scholar.

    Four years ago we wrote a paper examining Ghana’s resilience against terrorist attacks. Our findings are still relevant given the increasing activities of terror groups in the west African region.



    Read more:
    West Africa terror: why attacks on military bases are rising – and four ways to respond

    We wanted to identify what works as a potential model for other countries.

    Using a qualitative methodology, we interviewed stakeholders — including police officers, members of the armed forces, Muslim community leaders, and immigration officials. We also analysed the national framework for preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism.

    Our findings showed that Ghana’s success is traceable to an approach that integrates community engagement with advanced border technology, inter-agency training, media collaboration and intelligence operations. And it addresses both immediate and underlying threats.

    We argue that Ghana’s ability to balance prevention with security offers solutions for stability in a geopolitically volatile region.



    Read more:
    Ghana’s new president faces tough regional security problems: why he’s well-placed to tackle them

    Community engagement

    One of the standout strategies is community engagement. This serves multiple purposes, from guiding people away from extremism to gathering intelligence.

    The Ghana Police Service, for instance, engages Muslim-dominated communities, known as “Zongos”, to counter radical Islamic ideologies that could be exploited by terrorist groups.

    By collaborating with local religious leaders, police make communities aware of the dangers of radicalisation. They foster trust and encourage residents to report suspicious activities. This approach also works in tackling illegal arms circulation.

    Ghana has an estimated 2.3 million small arms in circulation – 1.1 million of them illegally possessed. The availability of so many weapons fuels terrorist activities across west Africa.

    Community based de-radicalisation aligns with global best practices. In Norway, for instance, it was used to disengage youth from extremist groups.

    Technology at borders

    Ghana’s border control management is another part of its counter-terrorism strategy. Ghana Immigration Service uses advanced security software and integrated systems like the “Immigration 360” system, designed to fully automate passenger processing and data management.

    The system manages records of fingerprints and other data to improve reporting and intelligence sharing between Ghana Immigration and other security agencies.

    The technology makes it possible to quickly identity individuals on terrorist watchlists and detects concealed goods. This helps prevent illegal cross-border movements.

    There are gaps in Ghana’s defences, however. The influx of migrants fleeing extremist violence in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2024 highlights the urgency of scaling up investments in the technology.



    Read more:
    West Africa could soon have a jihadist state – here’s why

    Training for preparedness

    Ghana combats new and varying forms of terrorism by uncovering trends and training personnel to deal with them.

    A notable example was the six-day joint training in 2022 involving the Ghana Immigration Service, Police Service, Customs, Economic and Organised Crime Office, and the National Intelligence Bureau.

    The country also works with regional neighbours like Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin, and partners such as the United States, through initiatives like “Operation Epic Guardian”.

    Media as a strategic partner

    Terrorists rely on media to amplify fear and publicise their causes. Ghana’s security agencies counter this tactic by actively engaging media houses to report accurately.

    The Ghana Armed Forces, for instance, works with media to debunk false reports, which can cause public panic and inadvertently aid terrorists.

    The Ghana Police Service emphasises regular dialogue with media to ensure sensitive information is verified before publication, reducing the risk of tipping off suspects. However, media competition for viewers poses a challenge.

    Surveillance and intelligence gathering

    Surveillance and intelligence gathering is critical. Plainclothes armed forces and immigration personnel blend into communities to monitor potential threats. The approach has worked but is constrained by resources.

    It can also risk human rights violations, such as wrongful profiling, and is less effective against multiple targets compared to technological solutions like facial recognition or CCTV.



    Read more:
    Funding terror: how west Africa’s deadly jihadists get the money they need to survive

    Challenges and regional implications

    Despite its successes, Ghana’s counter-terrorism framework faces challenges that could undermine its long-term efficacy:

    • logistical and financial constraints

    • the influx of migrants fleeing regional violence

    • a lack of harmonised security cultures within the regional body, Ecowas.

    In all, Ghana’s strategies offer lessons for west Africa, where terrorism is a growing threat.

    Its community engagement model could be followed in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to counter radicalisation and arms proliferation, provided it avoids religious stereotyping.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Ghana’s security strategy has kept terror attacks at bay: what other countries can learn from its approach – https://theconversation.com/ghanas-security-strategy-has-kept-terror-attacks-at-bay-what-other-countries-can-learn-from-its-approach-260333

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Livestock and lions make uneasy neighbours: how a fence upgrade helped protect domestic and wild animals in Tanzania

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Jonathan Salerno, Associate Professor, Colorado State University, Colorado State University

    Protecting livestock in areas where large carnivores (like lions) live is increasingly important as human land use expands, wildlife habitat shrinks, and climatic changes reshape the ways in which humans and wildlife interact. Protecting the carnivores from livestock owners is important too. Intact carnivore populations support more resilient food webs and the ecosystem services they provide.

    It’s not easy for people, livestock, and carnivores to live together without conflict, though. One of the best ways to reduce conflict is to protect livestock like cattle and sheep from being attacked by predators.

    There are various methods to do this, like guarding livestock or erecting fences. That’s all very well for the livestock inside the fences, but do predators simply turn to the nearest unprotected livestock for their meal instead? Are the neighbours’ cattle, sheep, and goats at greater risk? This question hasn’t been explored much by researchers.

    We’re a group of conservation practitioners and scientists who have studied the interactions of carnivores, livestock, and people in Tanzania and elsewhere for decades to try and find solutions to conflict problems.

    Our study area is next to a national park which protects important populations of lion, leopard, hyena, African wild dog, and cheetah. The people who live here have traditionally kept their livestock overnight in enclosures made of acacia-thorn branches. More recently, some of them have built pens, or corrals, from tall chain link fencing. We knew from years working with communities and from previous research that these fortified corrals were effective at keeping livestock safe from predators.

    Our next step was to find out whether this made other nearby livestock less safe.



    Read more:
    What’s behind the conflict between people and animals in Tanzania

    The results were intriguing. We found that the new enclosures made predation less likely in the nearby traditional enclosures too.

    This type of beneficial spillover effect had yet to be documented in other systems where interventions aim to protect livestock from large carnivores.

    Our results show that in conservation, it’s important to look closely at complex local dynamics. The findings may help explain why there’s so much uncertainty about the effectiveness of various human–wildlife conflict mitigation strategies.

    Beneficial spillover effects

    People who keep livestock in east Africa have long had strategies to keep their animals safe from large carnivores. Sometimes acacia-thorn night enclosures (known locally as bomas), intensive herding practices, and guarding dogs work well.

    Other times, and especially in communities within and adjacent to large, protected carnivore populations, traditional strategies fall short.

    This is the case in Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa Landscape. In our study area adjacent to Ruaha National Park, any pastoralist or agropastoralist (herding and crop farming) household has about a 30% chance of losing one or more animals to predation each year. This is a serious economic loss on top of important cultural and emotional costs.



    Read more:
    Losing a calf to wolves in Sweden hurts. But if lions take one in Uganda, a farming family’s income is gone

    Lion Landscapes, an organisation that some of us have been running for over a decade, works to support human-carnivore coexistence. Adjacent to Ruaha, we have been partnering with households to build 1.8-metre chain-link corrals. We subsidise them. Households contribute 25% of the cost and some of the labour for construction.

    We analysed about 25,000 monthly reports of livestock predation in fenced and traditional enclosures, using statistical models. There were 846 predation events over nearly four years. Unexpectedly, while we did detect spillover effects, these appeared to be beneficial. Rather than displacing conflicts, fortified enclosures actually conferred protective effects on their traditional-enclosure neighbours.

    For example, households within 50 metres (the minimum observed distance) of a fortified enclosure were half as likely to experience predation compared with distant households 2 kilometres away. And these beneficial effects increased with the number of fortified enclosures in a neighbourhood. Finally, the effects appeared to be durable over time.

    The fortified enclosures were extremely effective. We showed that households could break even after paying for the fence in just a few years through avoided livestock losses. And we know that when domestic animals aren’t being killed, their owners are more tolerant of predators. We didn’t record carnivore killings in this study but it has happened fairly frequently in the area in the past.

    In a few of the world’s human-wildlife conflict systems, where data exist to assess spillover effects, there is evidence that detrimental spillovers do occur. For instance, beehive deterrents may redirect elephants to nearby crop fields, or lethal removal of individual wolves may redirect the surviving pack to prey on adjacent ranches. Nevertheless, these are very under-studied interactions.

    Livestock management and carnivore coexistence

    In systems where humans, livestock, and wildlife overlap and sometimes come into conflict, management strategies too often focus on wildlife. Another option is to reduce whatever attracts wildlife. In the case of large carnivores, this means managing livestock.



    Read more:
    Livestock are threatened by predators – but old-fashioned shepherding may be an effective solution

    Our results support this approach by demonstrating that management and protection of livestock is fundamental for reducing conflict, and can benefit not only livestock owners but landscape-level coexistence.

    Conservationists and policy-makers need to encourage these practices that benefit people, carnivores, and livestock in shared landscapes.

    Amy Dickman works for Lion Landscapes as the Joint CEO

    Jonathan Salerno, Kevin Crooks, Rekha Warrier, and Stewart Breck do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Livestock and lions make uneasy neighbours: how a fence upgrade helped protect domestic and wild animals in Tanzania – https://theconversation.com/livestock-and-lions-make-uneasy-neighbours-how-a-fence-upgrade-helped-protect-domestic-and-wild-animals-in-tanzania-258113

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI Analysis: Learning statistics through story: students get creative with numbers

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Johan Ferreira, Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    Photo by Markus Krisetya via Unsplash

    Statistics professor Johan Ferreira was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of “screen time” involved in online learning in 2021. He imagined students must be feeling the same way, and wondered what he could do to inspire them and make his subject matter more appealing.

    One of the topics in statistics is time series analysis: statistical methods to understand trend behaviour in data which is measured over time. There are lots of examples in daily life, from rainfall records to changes in commodity prices, import or exports, or temperature.

    Ferreira asked his students to write a short, fictional “bedtime” story using “characters” from time series analysis. The results were collected into a book that is freely available. He tells us more about it.

    Why use storytelling to learn about statistics?

    I’m fortunate to be something of a creative myself, being a professional oboe player with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. It’s a valuable outlet for self-expression. I reflected on what other activity could inspire creativity without compromising the essence of statistical thinking that was required in this particular course I was teaching.

    I invited my third-year science and commerce students at the University of Pretoria to take part in a voluntary storytelling exercise, using key concepts in time series analysis as characters. Students got some guidelines but were free to be creative. My colleague and co-editor, Dr Seite Makgai, and I then read, commented on and edited the stories and put them together into an anthology.

    Students gave their consent that their stories could be used for research purposes and might be published. Out of a class of over 200 students, over 30 contributions were received; 23 students permitted their work to be included in this volume.

    We curated submissions into two sections (Part I: Fables and Fairy Tales and Part II: Fantasy and Sci-Fi) based on the general style and gist of the work.

    The project aimed to develop a new teaching resource, inspire students to take ownership of their learning in a creative way, and support them through informal, project-based peer learning.

    This collection is written by students, for students. They used personal and cultural contexts relevant to their background and environment to create content that has a solid background in their direct academic interests. And the stories are available without a paywall!

    What are some of the characters and stories?

    Student Lebogang Malebati wrote Stationaryville and the Two Brothers, a tale about AR(1) and AR(2). In statistics, AR refers to processes in which numerical values are based on past values. The brothers “were both born with special powers, powers that could make them stationary…” and could trick an evil wizard.

    David Dodkins wrote Zt and the Shadow-spawn. In this story, Zt (common notation in time series analysis) has a magic amulet that reveals his character growth through a sequence of models and shows the hero’s victory in the face of adversity. He is a function of those that came before him (through an AR process).

    Then there’s Nelis Daniels’ story about a shepherd plagued by a wolf called Arma (autoregressive moving average) which kept making sheep disappear.

    And Dikelede Rose Motseleng’s modern fable about the love-hate relationship between AR(1) (“more of a linear guy” with a bad habit of predicting the future based on the past) and MA(1), “the type of girl who would always provide you with stationarity (stability).”

    What was the impact of the project?

    It was a deeply enriching experience for us to see how students see statistics in a context beyond that of the classroom, especially in cases where students reformulated their stories within their own cultural identities or niche interests.

    Three particular main impacts stand out for us:

    • students have a new additional reference and learning resource for the course content

    • new students can refer to the experiences and contextualisation of this content of former students, leading to informal peer learning

    • students engage in a cognitive skill (higher-order and creative thinking) that is not frequently considered and included in this field and at this level.

    In 2024, shortly after the book was published, we asked students in the time series analysis course of that year to read any one of four stories (related to concepts that were already covered in the course material at that point in time). We asked them to complete a short and informal survey to gauge their experience and insights regarding the potential of this book as a learning resource for them.

    The 53 responses we got indicated that most students saw the book as a useful contribution to their learning experience in time series analysis.

    One positive comment from a student was:

    I will always remember that the Random Walk is indeed not stationary but White Noise is. I already knew it, but now I won’t forget it.

    Will you build on this in future?

    It is definitely valuable to consider similar projects in other branches of statistics, but also, in other disciplines entirely, to develop content by students, for students.

    At this stage, we’re having the stories and book translated into languages beyond English. In large classes that are essential to data science (such as statistics and mathematics), many different home languages may be spoken. Students often have to learn in their second, third, or even fourth language. So, this project is proving valuable in making advanced statistical concepts tactile and “at home” via translations.

    Our publisher recently let us know that the Setswana translation is complete, with the Sepedi and Afrikaans translations following soon. To our knowledge, it’ll be the first such project not only in the discipline of statistics, but in four of the official languages in South Africa.

    Johan Ferreira receives funding from the Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, based at the University of the Witwatersrand, towards this Scholarship of Learning and Teaching project.

    – ref. Learning statistics through story: students get creative with numbers – https://theconversation.com/learning-statistics-through-story-students-get-creative-with-numbers-261198

    MIL OSI Analysis –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK Biobank’s whole body imaging project scans 100,000 volunteers

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    July 15, 2025

    UK Biobank has reached its target of scanning 100,000 volunteers as part of a landmark project to provide for scientific research the most detailed look inside the human body. This is now the world’s largest whole-body imaging project – scanning the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of volunteers to give researchers a new layer of detail to explore what happens in people’s bodies as they age and how and why we become ill as we age.

    One billion images have now been generated from these scans, and tens of thousands of researchers around the world have been using these (as it has been released in batches since the project began) along with UK Biobank’s information on lifestyle, medical history, genetics and blood proteins from the same volunteers, to do research into ill health.

    Findings from the 1,300 peer-reviewed papers using this data so far include better brain scanning for patients with dementia symptoms in NHS memory clinics, faster analysis of heart scans in over 90 countries, and developments in understanding biological age of organs versus chronological age.

    Soon, approved researchers will have access to the full set of imaging data from all 100,000 volunteers to help develop new diagnostics, preventative medicines and treatments.

    Journalists came to this press briefing to ask your questions and to hear from those running the project discuss:

    – What’s so special about this data and why are researchers so excited by it?

    – How is this project helping the UK and the NHS right now?

    – What scientific findings have the imaging data already led to?

    – Why is the focus now switching to repeating scans of people, rather than scanning more people?

    – Who can use this data and what can they use it for?

    Speakers included:

    Prof Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive, UK Biobank

    Prof Naomi Allen, Chief Scientist, UK Biobank

    Prof Paul Matthews, Chair of the UK Biobank Imaging Working Group; and Edmond and Lily Safra Professor of Translational Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Imperial College London; and Director, The Rosalind Franklin Institute

    Prof Louise Thomas, Professor of Metabolic Imaging, University of Westminster

    Prof Rachel McKendry, Executive Director, Discovery, Wellcome

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Schools in Westminster to receive up to £8K to boost pupils’ health and wellbeing | Westminster City Council

    Source: City of Westminster

    Twenty-five schools in Westminster have received up to £8,000 in grant funding to improve pupils’ health and wellbeing.

    The school health and wellbeing survey, a Westminster City Council initiative administered by the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU), was implemented in 25 schools across the city in 2024. The survey, covering topics such as emotional health and wellbeing, safety, food and diet and physical activity, collected responses from 1,357 pupils.

    The survey results have helped the council understand what children need to improve their health and wellbeing and it has given schools a valuable insight into their pupils’ lives. 

    Following the survey, each school has received their confidential report and a grant to act on the findings relevant to their pupils – £5,000 for primaries and £8,000 for secondaries and special schools.

    Gabby Woolf, Vice Principal of King Solomon Academy, said:

    “King Solomon Academy is very grateful to have received a grant from Westminster after participating in the school health and wellbeing survey, which is especially crucial in these times of scarcity. Our findings have shown supporting pupils’ emotional health and wellbeing is important for their health and education. The grant has allowed us to better fund our therapeutic counselling provision, which is run by Place 2 Be and has been a huge support for pupils’ emotional wellbeing and mental health.”

    Cllr Nafsika Butler-Thalassis, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Voluntary Sector, said:

    “The voices of children and young people are crucial for designing comprehensive health and wellbeing programmes that answer to their needs. This survey and funding will give schools the knowledge and resources needed to act on the issues that matter most to their pupils, whether that is online safety, mental wellbeing or physical health. It reflects our continued commitment to building a healthier and fairer community for our children in Westminster.”

    The council currently leads on a range of health and wellbeing services and initiatives for children and young people:

    • The School Health Service has been enhanced with a wider emotional and mental health offer. It has been delivering asthma training (as part of the Asthma Friendly School initiative) and developing school partnership agreements.
    • The funding for the Mental Health Youth Worker service has been extended for two years to support the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people attending Youth Hubs in Westminster.
    • The Edward Wilson Primary School Superzone has been created to help school children play safely, breathe clean air, be active, enjoy a healthy diet and thrive.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

    July 23, 2025
←Previous Page
1 … 33 34 35 36 37 … 1,010
Next Page→
NewzIntel.com

NewzIntel.com

MIL Open Source Intelligence

  • Blog
  • About
  • FAQs
  • Authors
  • Events
  • Shop
  • Patterns
  • Themes

Twenty Twenty-Five

Designed with WordPress