Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: ARU illustrators discuss the art of the picture book

    Source: Anglia Ruskin University

    Kate Winter in her studio

    A group of prize-winning illustrators from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) will be sharing their expertise during a special event in Cambridge on Monday, 19 May.

    The event is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize, which is awarded annually to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s book illustration.

    The panel will feature three recent winners of this national award – Flavia Drago, Mariajo Ilustrajo and Kate Winter – all alumni of ARU’s world-leading Children’s Book Illustration MA course in Cambridge.

    Taking place at Waterstones bookshop on Sidney Street, the event is aimed at anyone interested in illustration and the art of visual storytelling. The talented trio will discuss the elements of a successful picture book and provide valuable tips for aspiring illustrators.

    Flavia Drago, originally from Mexico City, won the Klaus Flugge Prize in 2021 for her book Gustavo the Shy Ghost, which also topped The New York Times’ best sellers list. Flavia is currently studying a PhD at ARU, focusing on horror in children’s picture books.

    Originally from Madrid, Mariajo Ilustrajo is now based in the UK and won the award in 2023 for Flooded, which she started on the MA course at ARU. The story, which features animals teaming up to tackle the impacts of climate change, also earned her the Best New Talent prize at the World Illustration Awards.

    Kate Winter received the award last year for The Fossil Hunter, marking the first time a non-fiction book has won the £5,000 prize. After completing her MA in Children’s Book Illustration, Kate now lectures on ARU’s BA (Hons) Illustration course, balancing her teaching with her work as a professional illustrator and writer.

    “I feel very fortunate to be able to bring ideas and stories alive for children through the universal language of illustration. I am really looking forward to talking to Mariajo and Flavia about our different approaches to making picture books, how we develop ideas and what role the images play in our storytelling.”

    Kate Winter

    The event will be chaired by Dr Elys Dolan, a Senior Lecturer in Children’s Books Illustration at ARU. Elys, an award-winning author and illustrator of books such as Weasels and Steven Seagull Action Hero, also studied on the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at ARU’s Cambridge School of Art.

    The event on Monday, 19 May at Waterstones in Cambridge runs from 6pm-7.30pm and tickets are priced at £8. For further information and to purchase tickets, visit Celebrating the Klaus Flugge Prize with Kate Winter, Mariajo Ilustrajo and Flavia Drago | Events at Waterstones Bookshops

    Meanwhile Polly Noakes, who graduated from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at ARU in 2015, has just been announced as the winner of the 2025 Oscar’s Book Prize. Polly received the £10,000 award for her picture book Just The Two Of Us.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko recalled the important role of teachers, scientists and athletes during the Great Patriotic War

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko congratulated Russians on Victory Day and recalled the important role of Soviet teachers, lecturers, scientists and athletes during the Great Patriotic War.

    “In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and in the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, declared by President Vladimir Putin, it is especially important to treat the memory of the exploits of our heroes with care. Soviet teachers during the war, despite all the difficulties, remained true to their high mission. They taught in the most difficult conditions, shared knowledge and warmth, and created new methods. All this testifies to the resilience of the Soviet education system and the heroism of teachers,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

    He added that modern teachers also remain true to their work: they continue to pass on knowledge to students and form a strong value foundation in them. And the national project “Youth and Children” contributes to the development of the education sector.

    On Victory Day, a new project about the exploits of teachers during the war is launched in Russia – “The Feat of a Teacher”, created by the Mashuk Knowledge Center together with participants of the All-Russian historical and educational program of the Victory Museum “School Museum of Victory”. Within the framework of it, everyone will be able to learn the real stories of heroic teachers who fought at the front. The project’s videos will tell about teachers who built bridges under fire, were on the battlefields near Stalingrad, repeated the feat of Alexander Matrosov, saved hundreds of pupils of an orphanage for the disabled, and ensured the crossing of children and teenagers on foot to the Soviet rear across the front line.

    In addition, Dmitry Chernyshenko recalled the achievements of Soviet scientists, inventors, university professors and students during the Great Patriotic War. They created applied developments, conducted fundamental research, and trained personnel needed by the country. For example, Leningrad scientists ensured the creation and operation of the Road of Life across Lake Ladoga. The most important developments were carried out in the field of military affairs and defense, medicine. Universities and scientific organizations continued to defend candidate and doctoral dissertations, new specialties were opened and laboratories appeared to conduct priority research.

    “Our President Vladimir Putin called the Victory in the Great Patriotic War a triumph of the Soviet and Russian people. The achievements of scientists and athletes also confirm these words. And the example of modern heroes of the SVO shows that even now in our country there are selfless people – true patriots,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.

    Students of physical education institutes enlisted in the army in whole courses. For example, in 1941, combat units and subdivisions were formed at the Moscow Institute of Physical Education, which later heroically fought near Moscow and contributed to the salvation of the capital. Seven students and teachers of the institute were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

    Almost all of the students of the Leningrad Institute of Physical Education named after P.F. Lesgaft, led by the rector, stood up to defend their city, and later fought behind enemy lines and on other fronts. In 1942, this university was the only civilian university in the country to be awarded the military Order of the Red Banner.

    In addition, in the first months of the war, a unique unit was created – the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade for Special Purposes. It included more than 800 athletes, including honored masters of sports, champions and record holders of the country. Among them were track and field athletes brothers Seraphim and Georgy Znamensky, speed skater Anatoly Kapchinsky, boxer Nikolay Korolev and others.

    Sport also played an important humanitarian role, reminding people that peacetime would definitely come. Since 1941, Moscow hosted the Football Championship and Cup. In 1942, Feodosiy Vanin set a world record for the 20,000 m distance at the Dynamo stadium, and over 8,000 people took part in the cross-country race in Sokolniki. The track and field relay race along the Garden Ring was held in 1942, 1943 and 1944. In 1943, Gorky hosted the USSR Track and Field Championship. In 1944, cross-country races became a symbol of the liberation of the territories.

    To mark the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a series of books entitled “Memory” was published by order of the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Olympic Committee – a four-volume work dedicated to the heroic contribution of Russian athletes to the Victory.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: OSCE helps to institutionalize cyber hygiene training programs in Ukraine’s law enforcement universities

    Source: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – OSCE

    Headline: OSCE helps to institutionalize cyber hygiene training programs in Ukraine’s law enforcement universities

    Four cyber hygiene training facilities were officially opened in educational institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine on 6 and 7 May 2025 with the support of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU). The rooms will serve to educate the future law enforcers – cadets of the Lviv State University of Internal Affairs, Lviv State University of Life Safety, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, and Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs – about the safe and responsive use of digital tools. The new in-person cyber hygiene training course designed for cadets and students includes practical assignments, case studies, and hands-on training.
    The four training facilities complement a broader educational package developed by the SPU in co-operation with the Ministry. In addition to the in-person and online cyber hygiene training programmes for cadets and students, the SPU also trained 50 trainers (ToT), namely educators and the Ministry’s staff. It is complemented by an instructor manual and learning tools, including the educational board game CyberAlias.
    “The human factor is the weakest link in any cyber-attack (e.g., email phishing, malware distribution) and good practices such as strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and regular software updates can dramatically reduce cyber risks,” said Pierre Baussand, Chief of Operations of the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme. “In today’s digital war, investing in cyber hygiene education is not only about defending networks — it is about safeguarding the integrity of strategic rule of law institutions, and Ukraine’s democratic future.”
    The initiative comes at a time of mounting urgency. According to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, in 2024, Ukraine experienced a nearly 70% increase in cyber incidents, with 4,315 cases recorded, up from 2,541 the previous year. Hackers are increasingly targeting critical sectors, including energy, government services, law enforcement, and telecommunications. This upward trend continues into 2025, exacerbating threats to civilian infrastructure posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
    These efforts are part of a project implemented by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-Budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine in partnership with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and with financial support from Organisation’s participating States and partners, full list of the Programme’s donors is available here. 

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Council commemorates 80th anniversary of VE Day

    Source: Northern Ireland City of Armagh

    The Vice Lord Lieutenant, Richard Hamilton-Stubber, Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Kyle Savage and council chief executive Roger Wilson along with local elected members pictured at the beacon lighting ceremony, which formed part of council’s VE Day 80th anniversary celebration event.

    Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council commemorated the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day with a series of events that paid tribute to this pivotal historical moment and honoured those who made immense sacrifices during World War II.

    A national Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving took place at St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh on Wednesday 07 May from 7.30pm, which marked the beginning of the anniversary commemorations in the borough.

    Organised by the cathedral, the service saw around 400 people in attendance, including His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for County Armagh, The Earl of Caledon; Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kyle Savage; and local elected representatives.

    The service, which was led by The Very Reverend Shane Forster, Dean of Armagh featured acts of remembrance, prayers, choir music and the lighting of the Lamp Light, symbolising the ‘light of peace’ that emerged from the darkness of war.

    Commemorations continued the morning of Thursday 08 May, with the raising of a VE Day flag at the council’s three civic headquarters, which provided a visual reminder of this historic occasion.

    Later that evening a special celebratory event took place at the Craigavon Civic and Conference Centre, with over 200 people attending. The event featured musical entertainment from the Corcrain Flute Band and the Jenny Chambers School of Speech and Drama choir as well as a classic wartime treat of fish and chips.

    Attendees also got to hear an insightful speech from local historian Richard Edgar before The Vice Lord Lieutenant, Richard Hamilton-Stubber read the special VE Day tribute.

    Joined by the Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Kyle Savage and local representatives, the evening concluded with a symbolic beacon lighting ceremony at Craigavon Lakes at 9.30pm.


    Reflecting on the VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations, Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Councillor Kyle Savage commented: 

    “As Deputy Lord Mayor, it was a profound honour to participate in our local commemorative events for the 80th anniversary of VE Day. This significant milestone allowed us to pause, reflect, and pay tribute to the immense sacrifices made by those during World War II.”


    An exhibition at Armagh County Museum, which features both digital and physical archives, offering visitors a window into local life during World War II, will remain open until Saturday 05 July.

    While local community groups continue to host their own VE Day celebration events across the borough, following £40,000 provided through the council’s financial assistance programme.

    For more information about national VE Day 80th anniversary events, click here.

    See gallery of images from these VE Day 80th anniversary commemoration events below.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Advocating for Social Sciences in Higher Education: Sciences Po at the CIVICA Global Forum

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    On 6 and 7 May, Sciences Po joined a prominent European event on social sciences in higher education, organised through our European university alliance, CIVICA. The CIVICA Global Forum 2025 was hosted by one of the 10 members of the alliance, IE University (Madrid, Spain).

    The theme of this two-day event, “Leveraging Social Sciences in Higher Education: Navigating Global Challenges and Complexities”, draw high-level speakers, including prominent figures in academia but also representatives from industry and politics. This European debate on the future of higher education included the important topics of European
    competitiveness and the role of AI in enriching the academic ecosystem.

    Sciences Po took its part in those pressing discussions through 6 speakers that made the journey to Madrid:

    > Discover our selection of 6 inspiring quotes from key speakers at the forum:

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI Global: Missile strikes and drone attacks heighten South Asian crisis – 8 questions answered over the role of Pakistan’s military in responding

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Ayesha Jalal, Professor of History, Tufts University

    A mosque lies in ruins after an Indian airstrike in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on May 7, 2025. Zubair Abbasi/Middle East Images//AFP via Getty Images

    Pakistan’s government has pledged to respond “at a time, place and manner of its choosing” following an air attack from India that killed 31 people in Pakistan on May 6, 2025.

    The missile strike comes at a time of increased tension between the two South Asian neighbors following a terror attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir on April 22 that resulted in the deaths of 26 Indian tourists.

    India blamed the assault on its neighbor although has yet to provide any solid proof of a link between the assailants and the Pakistani state.

    To understand more about how Pakistan’s powerful military is viewing the incident, and weighing a response, The Conversation U.S. turned to Ayesha Jalal, an expert on South Asian history and politics who is the Mary Ricardson Professor of History at Tufts University.

    Who will makes the decisions over how Pakistan responds?

    This is clearly a defense issue, so the Pakistani military is going to take the lead. Any decision over how to respond to the Indian airstrikes will have to be done in consultation with the civilian government. But ultimately it will be the powerful Pakistani generals that will be making the decisions.

    In Pakistan, this is the usual way of doing things. The military has dominated politics in Pakistan for decades. Partly, this is due to the very dynamic we are seeing now. From the creation of Pakistan onward, there has been tension with India, including over Kashmir. Indeed the two countries went to war over Kashmir within a year of the partition of India soon after the creation of Pakistan. So the military has always been seen as central to Pakistan’s view of itself as an independent nation.

    Then in 1958, the Pakistani army toppled the civilian government in the country’s first of several military coup attempts, three of which have been successful.

    Since that time onward, no civilian government has been able to govern successfully for long without the support of the army. Recent political developments in the country – the ouster and arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and a 2024 election that resulted in a weak coalition government – have only strengthened the hand of Pakistan’s military.

    What do we know about Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Syed Asim Munir?

    Despite the Pakistani Army’s position of power, Gen. Syed Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff, is someone who has tried to keep out of the spotlight. He is known as a very religious character – he is a Hafiz, meaning he has memorized the Quran. And he is seen as a tough, fairly inaccessible soldier.

    He is also a hawk when it comes to relations with India. Speaking after the Kashmir attack and before India’s airstrikes, Munir warned, “Let there be no ambiguity: Any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response.”

    Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir on July 16, 2023.
    Iranian Presidency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    This approach is somewhat of a departure from that of the man he replaced in 2022, former Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. Bajwa was more inclined to look for a peaceful resolution with India over Kashmir and other issues.

    Munir, by contrast, presents a a more belligerent front in the face of what many in Pakistan see as Indian aggression, while framing the rivalry between the two nations in religious terms.

    What role has he and the Pakistani army played so far in the crisis?

    A lot has been made, especially in India, of comments that Munir made a few days before the attack in Pahalgam.

    Munir described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein” and framed the long-running animosity between Pakistan and India in religious terms, invoking the “two-nation” theory that states that India is a homeland for Hindus; Pakistan is one for Muslims. The theory, conveyed by much of India’s media, is that Munir’s was an inflammatory statement that encouraged the Pahalgam attack.

    But there is nothing in what he said that was entirely original or new: This has been the narrative of the Pakistani military for several decades. It is simply how they talk.

    Is there evidence that Pakistan’s military played a role in the attack?

    None that India has presented as yet.

    India has blamed Pakistan for supporting the Kashmiri militants responsible – but hasn’t articulated what the actual relationship is between Pakistan and the militant group, The Resistance Front.

    Certainly, Pakistan has in the past had ties to some of the many militant groups in Kashmir. For some groups, that has meant crossing over from Indian-controlled Kashmir to Pakistan for training.

    But the argument that “Pakistan used to do it, so they must be doing it now” seems unsupported – certainly, Indian hasn’t presented solid evidence to any international body.

    What has the reaction of the international community been?

    India is not on as strong of ground as it was in 2019, when a suicide bomber in Pulwama, Indian-administerd Kashmir, killed 40 members of the Central Reserve Police Force. On that occasion, the international community swung behind India, with the U.S. offering counterterrorism support while calling on Pakistan to stop sheltering terrorists.

    Without firm evidence of a link between the attack and Pakistan this time around, the international community has found it difficult to go with India’s narrative of the attack. The U.S. has called on both sides to find a “peaceful resolution.”

    Meanwhile China has indicated that it is standing by Pakistan in a statement in which it expressed “regret over India’s military actions” while also calling on both India and Pakistan to “avoid taking actions that further complicate the situation.”

    What pressures will the Pakistani army be under to respond?

    In Pakistan, the view is this is India attempting to assert its dominance and create what analysts have called a “new normal” in relationships between the two countries – one in which India will retaliate to any perceived Pakistani-linked terror attack with missile strikes on Pakistan’s territory.

    The theory here is that India doesn’t mind escalation, in fact it is seen as serving the Hindu nationalist aims of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    But I wouldn’t describe it as public pressure on Pakistan’s military to respond, it is more strategic pressure. Pakistan will need to prevent this “new normal” happening, and so will, in my view, very likely respond in kind to the Indian airstrikes.

    What can Pakistan do in response?

    Well, for starters it has, in theory, the capacity to hit over 200 Indian cities with its arsenal of missiles. But Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has already said that strikes would only target Indian military targets and not civilians. Pakistan also has to weigh how India may respond to any retaliatory strikes.

    But India has expanded the usual terms of engagement when it comes to Kashmir. Typically in recent years, fighting has been contained along the “line of control” – the border between Indian- and Pakistani-controled Kashmir.

    But the Indian airstrike was deep within Pakistan. India says that the targets were all terrorist, but civilians were killed in the process – and Pakistan’s military will not be able to just leave it at that. A response is very much expected, especially now that India has upped the ante by using Israeli made Harop drones in an attempt to target the Pakistani air defense system. Pakistan claims it has shot down 25 of these drones.

    What are the risks of escalation for Pakistan?

    Obviously the most pressing risk is that Pakistan and India are both nuclear states. If Pakistan retaliates in an escalatory way, and then India responds in a similar fashion, this gets to a point where the use of nuclear weapons is a very real risk.

    War would also hit Pakistan’s economy at a time when it is seen to be improving after years of crisis. But that will likely be of secondary importance in the decision-making process for Pakistan’s military if it believes that the country’s integrity is being threatened.

    In addition, Pakistan’s generals will likely be of the view that India, in attacking Pakistan, is trying to thwart any economic recovery in Pakistan – with the belief being that India’s government fears a powerful, more economically stable rival.

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

    ref. Missile strikes and drone attacks heighten South Asian crisis – 8 questions answered over the role of Pakistan’s military in responding – https://theconversation.com/missile-strikes-and-drone-attacks-heighten-south-asian-crisis-8-questions-answered-over-the-role-of-pakistans-military-in-responding-256185

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Global: The prospect of a US pope was once viewed with suspicion – but Leo XIV could prove an important counter to Trump

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Massimo D’Angelo, Research Associate in the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, Loughborough University

    Pope Leo XIV has been elected as the 267th pontiff, leader of the Catholic church and spiritual guide to more than 1.4 billion Catholics. He is the first pope in history to come from the United States.

    Since the 19th century, the influence of the United States within the Catholic Church has steadily increased, mirroring the country’s global geopolitical rise. US bishops, institutions and donors have played a growing role in shaping church policy, appointments and international engagement, signalling a shift away from traditional European dominance.

    This growing influence had long been accompanied by unease over the idea of entrusting the leadership of the global Catholic community to a figure from the world’s most powerful nation. In this sense, the election of Leo XIV is an unexpected and significant choice.

    Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955, has spent much of his ecclesiastical life to date in Peru, where he became a respected figure within the local church. He had been sent to Peru on a missions after taking his solemn vows as an Augustinian and studying in Rome.

    Once there, he served for many years as judicial vicar and professor of canon, patristic (early Christian), and moral theology in Trujillo. In 2014, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Chiclayo and became its bishop in 2015, a post he held until 2023.

    Prevost gained Peruvian citizenship and was widely regarded as a stabilising, pastoral presence in a church often divided between liberation theology and ultra-traditionalism. Known for his humility and approachability, he was respected for his ability to foster dialogue among Peru’s diverse episcopate.

    His longstanding commitment to Latin America helped shape his international reputation and proved key to his eventual election as the church’s first North American pope.

    Continuity or rupture with Francis?

    It is difficult to determine at this early stage whether the election of Leo XIV will mark a continuation of Pope Francis’s pontificate or a clear departure from it. More likely, it will represent something of a middle path.

    The first image of the newly elected pope – appearing on the balcony in traditional white and red papal garments, adorned with a gold cross – was striking. It echoed the appearance of Benedict XVI in 2005, in contrast to Francis’s more austere choice of a plain white cassock and silver cross, which reflected a deliberate gesture of humility.

    Yet, Leo XIV’s strong focus on the poor – rooted in his years as a missionary in Peru – and his warm greeting to the Peruvian community, one of the Church’s global peripheries, suggest a clear line of continuity with Francis’s pastoral priorities.

    Even his choice of name evokes Leo XIII, pope from 1878 to 1903 and author of Rerum Novarum, the landmark encyclical on social justice and the rights of the poor. Leo XIV may, therefore, embody a papacy that maintains a firm commitment to the marginalised, while adopting a less confrontational, more measured style than that of his reformist predecessor, who sometimes adopted openly anti-curial stances.

    A Counterweight to Trump?

    Prior to becoming pope, Prevost has, on several occasions, openly criticised the current US administration – particularly on matters of migration policy. As a cardinal, he voiced concern over statements made by US vice president J.D Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019.

    He shared an article challenging Vance’s interpretation of Christian love in relation to immigration. Prevost also shared posts critical of both Donald Trump and Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland.

    In this light, the election of an American pope – once a prospect viewed with suspicion – could now represent one of the strongest moral voices against the hardline migration policies of his own country’s government and a counterbalance to Donald Trump’s influence.

    The choice of the name Leo is also potentially significant here. Pope Leo XIII strongly opposed extreme nationalism, viewing it as a threat to the Church’s universal mission and moral authority.

    While acknowledging the value of legitimate patriotism, he maintained that loyalty to God and the church must always take precedence over allegiance to the nation-state. In encyclicals such as Immortale Dei and Sapientiae Christianae, he defended the church’s supranational character and cautioned against subordinating faith to national interests.

    For Leo XIII, true civic virtue could never conflict with divine law, and any form of nationalism that did so risked becoming a kind of idolatry. In an era of rising nationalism across the globe – particularly in the United States – connecting to this message would be a clear and powerful statement.

    While the prospect of an American pope once caused concern, the choice of Leo XIV shows sensitivity to the world’s margins. Yet, in a Church where Catholic growth is most pronounced in Africa and Asia – while numbers continue to decline in Europe and the Americas – the election of another western pontiff is not without its challenges. Some regions may still feel overlooked or underrepresented.

    A promising gesture was the decision to deliver a brief message in Spanish from the balcony of St Peter’s – the first time in papal history. At the same time, it is striking that the most globally diverse conclave ever convened has placed the church’s leadership in the hands of a cardinal from the world’s most powerful nation. The new pope will need to unify a church that is increasingly global and moving beyond its eurocentric past.

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

    ref. The prospect of a US pope was once viewed with suspicion – but Leo XIV could prove an important counter to Trump – https://theconversation.com/the-prospect-of-a-us-pope-was-once-viewed-with-suspicion-but-leo-xiv-could-prove-an-important-counter-to-trump-256146

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New reports examine impact of nuclear decommissioning in Scotland

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    New reports examine impact of nuclear decommissioning in Scotland

    Research offers a positive outlook for communities impacted by the decommissioning process.

    A new study has revealed that Scotland’s £25 billion nuclear decommissioning programme could deliver significant long-term economic and social benefits at both national and local levels over the next 90 years and beyond.

    The research – led by the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC), in collaboration with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) – has highlighted potential economy-wide gains in employment, skills development, household income and consumption offering a positive outlook for communities impacted by the decommissioning process.

    The study has helped inform politicians and key policy makers on the opportunities and has contributed to the formation of a cross-party committee on nuclear decommissioning in the Scottish Parliament.

    As one of the UK’s key nuclear decommissioning sites, Dounreay plays a crucial role in the NDA’s long-term efforts to safely decommission early nuclear facilities. It has been a stable employer since it was established in the 1950s but the decommissioning process brings uncertainty for the surrounding communities about the future.

    Interviews were carried out with residents and stakeholders in Caithness and North Sutherland directly impacted by decommissioning at Dounreay. The responses were that the issues are compounded by underinvestment in essential infrastructure, rural depopulation, and remoteness. At the same time, the presence of the skilled workforce as well as the increased interest in the region’s renewable energy resources means that decommissioning can be a driver for building future skills and capacities for economic diversification and local resilience.

    Heather Barton, Cross Industry Learning Manager at the NDA, said:

    It has been great to engage with another area of the University of Aberdeen, the Just Transition Lab, through our partnership with the NDC.

    A real strength of working with the NDC is that there are numerous areas where we can collaborate to achieve our goals of decommissioning the UK’s nuclear sites safely, securely, sustainably and cost effectively.

    This study will help inform politicians and policy makers on key economic development opportunities and enable discussions around support for communities including skills and training.

    To view the full reports, visit:

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Perseverance pays off for fast streamer Folashade

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Case study

    Perseverance pays off for fast streamer Folashade

    Meet the civil servant who secured a coveted spot on the Civil Service Fast Stream accelerated development programme at the fourth attempt.

    Folashade Atiko

    If you’d told Folashade Atiko five years ago she’d be working right at the heart of government and beginning to help shape policies that could impact on all our lives, she simply wouldn’t have believed you.

    But it’s the 28-year-old civil servant’s own tenacity, talent and resilience that secured her a spot on the coveted Fast Stream accelerated development programme at the fourth attempt – and she’s already seizing the opportunities that it brings.

    Since joining the programme’s policy scheme, the strategy adviser at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government has met senior ministers, provided support in a House of Lords debate and is helping to deliver a UK-wide strategy on social cohesion.

    Best of all, she is helping to bring the changes she could only dream about whilst studying for a Masters degree in International Development and Public Health at the University of Sheffield. 

    “If you’d have told the ‘university me’ who was writing about these things, that one day I might be advising the government on it, I wouldn’t have believed it – but I actually am,” she said.

    Fast Stream

    The Fast Stream is regarded as one of the UK’s top employers for graduates, blending workplace learning with formal training and, depending on the scheme, the chance to work towards professional qualifications. One in nine of those who gained a coveted place in 2024 were  existing civil servants and they have the chance to become a Grade 7 within three years. 

    Folashade, who lists two-plus years’ supermarket work and a role as a car parking attendant on her pre Civil Service CV, first applied for the programme back in 2020. Whilst two attempts for the Fast Stream were unsuccessful, Folashade did secure a Summer Internship which was extended before joining the Civil Service at the DWP as a policy graduate It was from this role that she applied to the Fast Stream another two times, finally winning a coveted place on her fourth go.

    “I did it with a lot of perseverance,” she said. “I kept trying until they realised I was the sort of person who should be on the Fast Stream.“

    And actually gaining that hands-on experience has proved invaluable to Folashade.

    “I knew I wanted to be a fast streamer, but I didn’t know what they wanted from me to be able to help me get there,” she explained.

    “But having been in the Civil Service for a bit longer and gaining institutional knowledge, I was more able to put it into practice. It gave me a great foundation. I really would recommend it to existing civil servants.”

    Broadening horizons

    Folashade is driven to make a difference to the lives of others and believes the Fast Stream is helping achieve that goal.

    So whilst being involved in meetings that include the highest ministers of state and taking up new opportunities (Folashade even developed a debating pack for minister Lord Khan of Burnley and sat in on his debate at the House of Lords) might add a touch of glamour to her role, she remains firmly grounded. 

    “As exciting as that really was, I still love the day to day of coming into work, working on really important issues and finding ways to tackle loneliness and loss of community,” she said.

    A bright future

    As well as completing her Masters degree (she joined the Civil Service during that period), Folashade is open to the many varied opportunities open to fast streamers.

    “I would definitely like to be in the sort of space where I am now, where the  policies I’m helping to design,develop and deliver are almost immediate,” she said.

    “I definitely want a role where I’m going to work every day to make where I live or where other people live better.”

    Find out more about the Fast Stream.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI USA: Kugler, Assessing Maximum Employment

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you, Francine, and thank you to the Central Bank of Iceland for the invitation to speak to you today.1
    My subject is the Federal Reserve’s mandate of maximum employment. In the Fed’s monetary policymaking, maximum employment and stable prices are linked in the mandate assigned to the Federal Reserve by U.S. law, which we refer to as the dual mandate. Icelanders, I know, are a seafaring people, and those here will understand what I mean when I say that the dual mandate is our “lodestar,” a word our two languages share. It is our goal and our guide in setting monetary policy.
    There is an important distinction between our dual-mandate goals. For reasons that I will explain, while the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has defined “stable prices” as 2 percent annual inflation, such numerical precision is not possible in defining maximum employment.
    To achieve price stability, the Fed adopted a numerical target for inflation in 2012 that hasn’t changed. It has remained unchanged because the Committee has repeatedly reaffirmed the judgment that it made in 2012 that 2 percent inflation is the rate most consistent with its statutory mandate. In contrast, the Federal Reserve has not spelled out a numerical goal for the unemployment rate or some other measure of employment because maximum employment can move up and down over time and is not directly measurable, and also because the different factors that determine it are either difficult or impossible to measure in real time.
    Plan of the TalkThe unemployment rate is the statistic that the public most often uses to form views about labor market conditions, and it is also the statistic that economists most often use to try to infer maximum employment. And economists frequently refer to u* as the unemployment rate that corresponds to maximum employment. That said, in my speech today, I would like to offer historical examples of why u* varies over time and why it would be a mistake to assume that it is a fixed number.2 Then, I will review the evolution of the unemployment rate over the past two decades and show that this rate has varied over time, moved by the interplay of myriad factors such as demographics, labor market regulations, changes in business or consumer confidence, or cyclical changes in aggregate demand and monetary policy shocks. In contrast, u* is moved mostly by either structural changes, such as skill deterioration or capital depreciation, or by long-run factors in the labor market, such as the demographic and skill composition of the population. As a result, u* does not move as much as the unemployment rate over time.3 This is significant because monetary policy is aimed at managing the business cycle to minimize deviations from maximum employment.
    In reviewing the unemployment rate, I will also note that it certainly bears valuable information, but, in many cases, this needs to be complemented with other labor market indicators to have a fuller picture of the state of the economy.
    As I have noted, maximum employment is not directly measurable. Likewise, we cannot observe u* directly, and it has to be inferred by statistical techniques, which I’ll review.4 One element common to all the approaches that I review is that they use a number of labor market indicators in addition to the unemployment rate in forming their estimates of maximum employment. Another element in common to some of the approaches is that they try to separate transient factors, or higher-frequency variation, from a more permanent, long-run feature of the economy that can be interpreted as u*.
    Case Study: The Assumption of a Fixed Maximum Employment in the 1970sA common assumption in the economics profession during the 1960s was that u* was 4 percent.5
    While this number might have been a decent approximation of u* during that period, it did not consider the possibility of meaningful changes in that value and, specifically, changes due to the rapid growth in labor supply from the post–World War II baby boomers entering the workforce. Especially because younger workers have higher levels of unemployment, the advent of the baby boomers meant that u* in the 1970s was surely higher than 4 percent. The Federal Reserve was slow in revising its estimate of u*. The high unemployment rate and too low fixed estimate of u* minimum unemployment, in conjunction with the failure to recognize the slowdown in trend productivity, led the Federal Reserve to exaggerate the estimate of slack in the economy and maintain monetary policy that was too loose, adding to other factors driving persistently high inflation over that decade.6 This experience led the Federal Reserve to recognize that a fixed 4 percent value for u* was a poor basis for understanding the cyclical position of the economy.
    The experience of the 1960s and 1970s made it clear that demographic changes need to be considered in estimating u*—a topic I will explore further in my speech.
    The U.S. Labor Market over the Past Two DecadesThe U.S. labor market over the past two decades provides some valuable circumstantial evidence for how maximum employment can change over time. Let me start by discussing the Great Recession, which began in late 2007 and was driven by a severe financial crisis. In the months before the recession began, the unemployment rate reached a low of 4.4 percent and then peaked at 10 percent in October 2009. Although the unemployment rate is a useful metric of the severity of that event, an additional variable that reflects the depth and persistence of the downturn in the labor market after the Great Recession was the share of long-term unemployed—the percentage of unemployed people out of work for 27 weeks or more—which was nearly twice as high as during the deep recession of the 1980s. Longer spells of unemployment can generate persistence because the longer the duration of unemployment for workers, the more their skills erode and the harder it is to become reemployed, leading, in turn, to higher unemployment, a phenomenon known as hysteresis. While some have argued that only workers unemployed for shorter durations should be counted in estimating the slack in the economy, hysteresis is an important part of slack during periods with high unemployment.7 Instead, the experience of the Great Recession reinforced the value of consulting other useful measures of slack.
    After the Great Recession, it took eight years for the unemployment rate to reach the pre-recession low, but when it did, in 2016, it continued to fall, reaching 3.5 percent in 2019 and remaining close to this level until the beginning of the COVID-19 recession in 2020. One thing that was remarkable about this period was that this low level of unemployment occurred without any escalation of inflation. Personal consumption expenditures inflation ran well below an annual rate of 2 percent for almost all of the decade after the Great Recession, when monetary policy was highly accommodative. One could infer that u* had moved down over this period.
    Turning to the pandemic recession, the unemployment rate rose to nearly 15 percent in two months, but a distinguishing feature of this increase was that a large fraction of the unemployed were temporarily laid off.8 Economic research suggests that those who lose their jobs via temporary layoffs have a high likelihood of being recalled, with the latest estimates suggesting a 60 percent probability.9 Considering this, it was not surprising that the post-pandemic recovery was characterized by a fast decline in the unemployment rate.10 In this sense, the unemployment rate alone was not a sufficient indicator of the true state of the labor market. In the post-pandemic recovery, the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent by April 2023. Again, for a second time we saw the unemployment rate falling to levels that were in the past associated with price pressures, whereas in this case inflation was also falling.
    In summary, the past two recessions underscored that there are useful statistics beyond the unemployment rate that help inform a reading of maximum employment, and the past two recoveries suggest that the U.S. economy may sustain unemployment as low as 3.5 percent.
    Turning to the current state of the labor market, the unemployment rate has risen only very slowly, and it has moved within a tight range of around 4.2 percent, which is its current reading. In addition, temporary layoffs are back at their pre-pandemic level, and vacancies and quits have leveled off. As a consequence, I judge the labor market to be stable. Most likely, the labor market is also close to maximum employment given that the estimates of u* from some of the models that I will consider in the rest of this speech are in the vicinity of 4.2 percent.
    I have used some historical examples to illustrate how the unemployment rate has changed over time, and I have made some informal inference on the movements of u* in certain periods. Now let me explore different ways of estimating maximum employment. I will cover three separate methods: a method that uses the demographic composition of the population; a definition that considers the unemployment rate in conjunction with inflation in order to get closer to a definition of u* consistent with stable prices; and, lastly, a definition that focuses on maximum employment that one can obtain by taking into account that workers take time to find jobs and firms take time to fill job openings. Some of the models that I review also consider the labor force participation rate, as structural variation in this rate also affects maximum employment. Historical experience with the different forces that can move around maximum employment indicates that all three of these approaches could be helpful in the future when trying to estimate maximum employment.11
    Estimation of Maximum Employment Using DemographicsIn describing the impact of the baby boomers on the labor market, I have already provided an example of how the demographic composition of the workforce may affect maximum employment. More generally, the age distribution in the population or educational attainment or skill distribution are always important factors in evaluating the potential workforce. Beyond the composition of the workforce, developments within specific demographic subgroups also may be relevant for maximum employment. For instance, the increase in labor force participation of women over the past 50 years has been an important factor that has augmented the available workforce. Granular data from the Labor Department’s monthly survey of household employment known as the Current Population Survey, sometimes in conjunction with data on job openings and flows in and out of employment, can add demographic details to the estimation of maximum employment.
    The models that exploit demographic data separate the trend or structural factors in both the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate from transient factors in individual demographic groups, allowing an estimate of maximum employment.12 I think of this as a “bottom up” approach.13
    One can add an additional layer of complexity in working with demographic groups. One important aspect of the unemployment rate is its characteristic countercyclical dynamics—that is, the way this rate increases at the onset of recessions due to an increase in the flow out of employment or layoffs, and its decline in expansions as more unemployed workers find jobs and flow into employment. In recognition of the importance of these flows, one alternative to extracting trends by demographic group is to extract trends in the flows by demographic groups and reconstruct u* dynamics from those flows. The implicit assumption is that the trend components of flows into and out of unemployment capture structural characteristics of the labor market, including market imperfections and the cost of job searches for both workers and employers.14 The models in this class estimate a trend unemployment rate in the range between 4.1 and 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.15
    Estimation of Maximum Employment Consistent with Stable PricesAs I mentioned, the dual mandate includes stable prices. The models that I have just described do not contain information on prices. However, one may include price information by adding inflation as a measure of aggregate price pressures in order to come up with an estimate of maximum employment consistent with stable prices.16 A higher unemployment rate signals more workers are available to work, indicating more slack. As more workers are employed, the economy is moving to a situation of fewer resources being available for additional output and most likely to more price pressures. Maximum employment consistent with stable prices ideally strikes a balance between additional workers being hired and additional increases in prices. I have alluded to this concept in an informal way when arguing that in the period after the Great Recession, u* may have moved down through 2019.
    In practice, inflation information is folded into the model by adding a relationship between prices and the unemployment rate known as the Philips curve. There is a long tradition in extracting trend employment consistent with stable prices using a various labor market and output measures. I will draw upon that heritage and briefly describe a model that like the statistical methods that I have already reviewed also aims at estimating maximum employment by separating the unemployment rate from cyclical factors, but it does so by using numerous output and labor market indicators in conjunction with price information.17 Output indicators include both gross domestic product and gross domestic income. Among labor market indicators, in addition to the unemployment rate, there are payrolls, the workweek, and labor force participation, which means that the model is not limited to just the unemployment rate in inferring trend unemployment. The purpose of using many indicators is the belief that all of them follow the same cycle, and that it is easier to identify and separate the cycle from trend using a large set of indicators. Coming back to the Phillips curve, I would note that models that estimate u* are somewhat sensitive to the specification of the Phillips curve. For instance, the model that I have just described has a u* estimate of about 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, but alternative Phillips curve specifications may lower it below 5 percent.18
    Estimation of the Efficient Level of EmploymentA third, often less mentioned concept of full employment is the “efficient” level of unemployment. This concept starts with the idea that it is inefficient for society to have unemployed workers and job openings. Society as a whole would gain by matching those workers with those job openings in a productive way. Of course, it is impossible to instantaneously reduce unemployed workers and job openings to zero. Newly unemployed workers take time to find a job, and vacancies take time to fill as firms find and screen applicants with the right skills. The empirical relationship between the unemployment rate and the job openings rate is summarized by the Beveridge curve, a downward-sloping curve along which more unemployed workers are associated with fewer job openings. The Beveridge curve is a structural aspect of the labor market, and it is effectively a constraint on the relationship between the unemployment rate and the job openings rate. However, given the Beveridge curve, monetary policymakers can try to move the economy along the curve closer to a point at which the total number of vacancies plus unemployed is minimized. One can show that this happens somewhere in between the two, precisely around a value of the unemployment rate equal to the geometric average of the unemployment and vacancy rate.19 The current estimate of this full employment concept places the unemployment rate at 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
    Conclusion and Policy MessageI want to draw some conclusions from the points I have made today.
    My discussion has touched upon many different statistics of the labor market, including the possibility of using data that exploits the heterogeneity of different demographic groups, which I judge to be very informative about u*. The reason is that different business cycles are generated by different shocks that affect the economy in different ways, so that useful indicators of slack in past cycles may not be as insightful in the future. For instance, when there is slack in the labor market, measures taking into account unemployment duration can be more informative about the persistence of unemployment and future slack. By contrast, when labor markets are tight, measures of flows into, out of, and across jobs will give a better measure of the job opportunities for workers and potential upward pressures on wages. Similarly, the vacancy and unemployment ratio combination used in the definition of efficient u* can provide an alternative measure of maximum employment.
    Of course, any one of the estimation techniques that I have reviewed has limitations. For instance, there are constraints on the number of indicators that each model can process. This implies that some models will be better at capturing some drivers of maximum employment than others. That is why I cannot point to the best statistic or best model of maximum employment. I can only acknowledge that a rich set of models and indicators only benefits the policymaker. Given the uncertainty in estimating maximum employment in real time and the many options available, I consider it undesirable to adopt one particular measure to guide monetary policy. This is something to bear in mind as I approach the current review of the FOMC’s Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, which we call our framework.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. In fact, early on, economists have embarked to estimate the time-varying maximum employment in the economy. At least since Perry (1970), it was noted that u* can vary over time; see George L. Perry (1970), “Changing Labor Markets and Inflation,” (PDF) Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, no. 3, pp. 411–48. Return to text
    3. Consistent with the view that u* moves less than the unemployment rate over time, in this speech, most of the models that I review assume that u* is the trend component of the unemployment rate. For an alternative view that challenges the weaker cyclicality of u* relative to the unemployment rate, see Robert E. Hall and Marianna Kudlyak (2023), “The Active Role of the Natural Rate of Unemployment,” NBER Working Paper Series 31848 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, November; revised December 2024). Return to text
    4. For some early examples of the use of advanced statistical techniques such as the application of Kalman filtering techniques, see, for instance, the early examples of Peter K. Clark (1987), “The Cyclical Component of U.S. Economic Activity,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 102 (November), pp. 797–814; and Kenneth N. Kuttner (1994), “Estimating Potential Output as a Latent Variable,” Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, vol. 12 (July), pp. 361–68. For a recent summary of the literature, see Alessandro Barbarino, Travis J. Berge, and Andrea Stella (2024), “The Stability and Economic Relevance of Output Gap Estimates,” Journal of Applied Econometrics, vol. 39 (September/October), pp. 1065–81. Return to text
    5. See Arthur M. Okun (1962), “Potential GNP: Its Measurement and Significance,” Proceedings of the Business and Economics Statistics Section, pp. 98–104. Return to text
    6. See Athanasios Orphanides (2003), “The Quest for Prosperity without Inflation,” Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 50 (April), pp. 633–63. Return to text
    7. See, for instance, Olivier J. Blanchard and Lawrence H. Summers (1987), “Hysteresis in Unemployment,” European Economic Review, vol. 31 (February–March), pp. 288–95. Return to text
    8. In addition, the rise in temporary layoffs was considered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to be understated, because many respondents to the Current Population Survey misreported their status as employed but not at work—that is, the properly measured unemployment rate would have risen by much more than was actually reported; see, for example, page 6 of the May 2020 Employment Situation report, which is available on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_06052020.pdf. Return to text
    9. See the classic study of David M. Lilien (1980), “The Cyclical Pattern of Temporary Layoffs in United States Manufacturing,” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 62 (February), pp. 24–31. For a more recent paper that makes use of matched employer–employee data, see Arash Nekoei and Andrea Weber (2015), “Recall Expectations and Duration Dependence,” American Economic Review, vol. 105 (May), pp. 142–46. Return to text
    10. Moreover, academic research also suggests that the extent of firms’ recourse to temporary layoffs is correlated with firms’ expectations of near-term economic activity. This would have suggested in real time that a sharp rise in temporary layoffs was not as worrisome as a similar increase in permanent job losses. See Arash Nekoei and Andrea Weber (2020), “Seven Facts about Temporary Layoffs,” CEPR Discussion Paper 14845 (London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, June 3). Return to text
    11. Some studies distinguish long-run unemployment, which would fall in the first category of models that use demographic information, from stable price unemployment, which also adds a Phillips curve to the model. For a recent review, see Richard K. Crump, Christopher J. Nekarda, and Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau (2020), “Unemployment Rate Benchmarks,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-072 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August). Return to text
    12. The resulting unemployment rate trend can be thought of as a “natural rate.” The first reference to a “natural rate” of unemployment is from Milton Friedman in 1968. Friedman made it clear that he used the term to try and separate real forces from monetary forces, which are assumed to be more transient; therefore, it seems appropriate to use the term “natural rate” for estimates from demographic trends. See Milton Friedman (1968), “The Role of Monetary Policy,” American Economic Review, vol. 58 (March), pp. 1–17. That said, such a concept is controversial; see Richard Rogerson (1997), “Theory Ahead of Language in the Economics of Unemployment,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 11 (Winter), pp. 73–92. Return to text
    13. See, for instance, Stephanie Aaronson, Bruce Fallick, Andrew Figura, Jonathan Pingle, and William Wascher (2006), “The Recent Decline in the Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Implications for Potential Labor Supply,” (PDF) Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, pp. 69–154; Daniel Aaronson, Luojia Hu, Arian Seifoddini, and Daniel G. Sullivan (2015), “Changing Labor Force Composition and the Natural Rate of Unemployment,” Chicago Fed Letter 338 (Chicago: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago); Andreas Hornstein and Marianna Kudlyak (2019), “Aggregate Labor Force Participation and Unemployment and Demographic Trends,” February 28, https://ssrn.com/abstract=3347310; and Didem Tüzemen (2019), “Job Polarization and the Natural Rate of Unemployment in the United States,” Economics Letters, vol. 175 (February), pp. 97–100. Return to text
    14. See, for instance, Mary C. Daly, Bart Hobijn, Ayşegül Şahin, and Robert G. Valletta (2012), “A Search and Matching Approach to Labor Markets: Did the Natural Rate of Unemployment Rise?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 26 (Summer), pp. 3–26. Return to text
    15. See Murat Tasci (2012), “The Ins and Outs of Unemployment in the Long Run: Unemployment Flows and the Natural Rate,” Working Paper 12-24 (Cleveland: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, November). See also Richard K. Crump, Stefano Eusepi, Marc Giannoni, and Ayşegül Şahin (2019), “A Unified Approach to Measuring u*,” (PDF) BPEA Conference Drafts, March 7–8. Ahn adds unemployment duration in conjunction with flows to estimate u*; see Hie Joo Ahn (2023), “Duration Structure of Unemployment Hazards and the Trend Unemployment Rate,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, vol. 151 (June), 104664. Return to text
    16. Estimates that use prices are sometimes referred to as the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, or NAIRU, although NAIRU is somewhat of a misnomer. In fact, the inflation process in the Great Moderation is not described well by an accelerationist Phillips curve but rather by a mean reverting process around a stable trend, conveniently proxied by long-run inflation expectations. In that case, it would be more accurate to talk about “NIRU,” or non-inflationary rate of unemployment. Return to text
    17. The estimate that I report are from a variant of the model in Charles A. Fleischman and John M. Roberts (2011), “From Many Series, One Cycle: Improved Estimates of the Business Cycle from a Multivariate Unobserved Components Model,” (PDF) Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2011-46 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October). Return to text
    18. For instance, the Phillips curve could be non-linear as in Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti B. Eggertsson (2023), “It’s Baaack: The Surge in Inflation in the 2020s and the Return of the Non-Linear Phillips Curve,” NBER Working Paper Series 31197 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, April). Return to text
    19. The efficient level of unemployment is also referred to as the “full employment rate of unemployment” or FERU; see Pascal Michaillat and Emmanuel Saez (2024), “u* = √uv: The Full-Employment Rate of Unemployment in the United States,” (PDF) BPEA Conference Draft, September 26–27. Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Global: The prospect of an American pope was once viewed with suspicion – but Leo XIV could prove an important counter to Trump

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Massimo D’Angelo, Research Associate in the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, Loughborough University

    Pope Leo XIV has been elected as the 267th pontiff, leader of the Catholic church and spiritual guide to more than 1.4 billion Catholics. He is the first pope in history to come from the United States.

    Since the 19th century, the influence of the United States within the Catholic Church has steadily increased, mirroring the country’s global geopolitical rise. American bishops, institutions and donors have played a growing role in shaping church policy, appointments and international engagement, signalling a shift away from traditional European dominance.

    This growing influence had long been accompanied by unease over the idea of entrusting the leadership of the global Catholic community to a figure from the world’s most powerful nation. In this sense, the election of Leo XIV is an unexpected and significant choice.

    Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955, has spent much of his ecclesiastical life to date in Peru, where he became a respected figure within the local church. He had been sent to Peru on a missions after taking his solemn vows as an Augustinian and studying in Rome.

    Once there, he served for many years as judicial vicar and professor of canon, patristic (early Christian), and moral theology in Trujillo. In 2014, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Chiclayo and became its bishop in 2015, a post he held until 2023.

    Prevost gained Peruvian citizenship and was widely regarded as a stabilising, pastoral presence in a church often divided between liberation theology and ultra-traditionalism. Known for his humility and approachability, he was respected for his ability to foster dialogue among Peru’s diverse episcopate.

    His longstanding commitment to Latin America helped shape his international reputation and proved key to his eventual election as the church’s first North American pope.

    Continuity or rupture with Francis?

    It is difficult to determine at this early stage whether the election of Leo XIV will mark a continuation of Pope Francis’s pontificate or a clear departure from it. More likely, it will represent something of a middle path.

    The first image of the newly elected pope – appearing on the balcony in traditional white and red papal garments, adorned with a gold cross – was striking. It echoed the appearance of Benedict XVI in 2005, in contrast to Francis’s more austere choice of a plain white cassock and silver cross, which reflected a deliberate gesture of humility.

    Yet, Leo XIV’s strong focus on the poor – rooted in his years as a missionary in Peru – and his warm greeting to the Peruvian community, one of the Church’s global peripheries, suggest a clear line of continuity with Francis’s pastoral priorities.

    Even his choice of name evokes Leo XIII, pope from 1878 to 1903 and author of Rerum Novarum, the landmark encyclical on social justice and the rights of the poor. Leo XIV may, therefore, embody a papacy that maintains a firm commitment to the marginalised, while adopting a less confrontational, more measured style than that of his reformist predecessor, who sometimes adopted openly anti-curial stances.

    A Counterweight to Trump?

    Prior to becoming pope, Prevost has, on several occasions, openly criticised the current US administration – particularly on matters of migration policy. As a cardinal, he voiced concern over statements made by US vice president J.D Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019.

    He shared an article challenging Vance’s interpretation of Christian love in relation to immigration. Prevost also shared posts critical of both Donald Trump and Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele regarding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland.

    In this light, the election of an American pope – once a prospect viewed with suspicion – could now represent one of the strongest moral voices against the hardline migration policies of his own country’s government and a counterbalance to Donald Trump’s influence.

    The choice of the name Leo is also potentially significant here. Pope Leo XIII strongly opposed extreme nationalism, viewing it as a threat to the Church’s universal mission and moral authority.

    While acknowledging the value of legitimate patriotism, he maintained that loyalty to God and the church must always take precedence over allegiance to the nation-state. In encyclicals such as Immortale Dei and Sapientiae Christianae, he defended the church’s supranational character and cautioned against subordinating faith to national interests.

    For Leo XIII, true civic virtue could never conflict with divine law, and any form of nationalism that did so risked becoming a kind of idolatry. In an era of rising nationalism across the globe – particularly in the United States – connecting to this message would be a clear and powerful statement.

    While the prospect of an American pope once caused concern, the choice of Leo XIV shows sensitivity to the world’s margins. Yet, in a Church where Catholic growth is most pronounced in Africa and Asia – while numbers continue to decline in Europe and the Americas – the election of another western pontiff is not without its challenges. Some regions may still feel overlooked or underrepresented.

    A promising gesture was the decision to deliver a brief message in Spanish from the balcony of St Peter’s – the first time in papal history. At the same time, it is striking that the most globally diverse conclave ever convened has placed the church’s leadership in the hands of a cardinal from the world’s most powerful nation. The new pope will need to unify a church that is increasingly global and moving beyond its eurocentric past.

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

    ref. The prospect of an American pope was once viewed with suspicion – but Leo XIV could prove an important counter to Trump – https://theconversation.com/the-prospect-of-an-american-pope-was-once-viewed-with-suspicion-but-leo-xiv-could-prove-an-important-counter-to-trump-256146

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Russia: ​Chinese-Russian Zoomer Couple ‘Discover New World’ Through Video Camera Lens

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Experience the “atmosphere of old Shanghai” in Shanghai’s hutongs, study Huangmei opera dressed in hanfu in Anhui Province, and get to know the pottery culture in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province… Sasha (Alexandra Antonenko), a Russian zoomer, studies Chinese customs and traditions and posts her impressions through the lens of her camera on her social media account, “Doctor of Sciences Alexandra.”

    Having appeared on social media two years ago, the doctoral student of Shanghai Jiaotong University has become a “super popular blogger”, and her “hits”: “Everyday Life of a Chinese-Russian Family”, “How Much Do You Know About Russia?”, “Sasha Learns Chinese” and other videos have won numerous awards. In 2023, her work won first place in the short video competition “Generation Z Sings About China – The History of Shanghai”; and in 2024, she was recognized as one of the best in the 6th International Short Video Competition “A Look at China from the Outside”.

    “Social networks create our world in “real time”, many of my foreign friends are interested in how I live in China, so I came up with the idea to show my daily life, culture and local cuisine through video. So I hope to build a cultural bridge between China, Russia and the whole world through the camera,” Sasha told the ChinaNews internet portal in an exclusive interview why she decided to make short videos.

    The fact that Sasha became a “star blogger” is largely due to the “behind-the-scenes” support of her husband Zhao Yiwei. In 2022, Sasha, who at that time had only lived in China for a month, met Zhao Yiwei in a coffee shop, gradually, thanks to many common interests, they discover each other’s spiritual world – this is how a love story begins that knows no boundaries. Over three years, they visited more than 20 cities in China, tried dishes from different regions, visited great mountains, saw great rivers … The videos that Sasha filmed during her trips made her family in Russia and fans from all over the world exclaim: “It turns out that China is not only skyscrapers!”

    Her video “How to be safe in China” has gone viral abroad in particular. In this video, Sasha walks alone along the night streets of Shanghai and has friendly conversations with passersby who give her the warmth and ease of this city. “Many people are getting to know China again through many real stories like ours, this is the main purpose of why we make such videos and their value, and this motivates us to continue this work,” said Zhao Yiwei.

    In February 2025, Sasha and Zhao Yiwei registered their marriage in China.

    Like many multinational couples, they have encountered cultural contradictions during their life together, but their openness and willingness to learn from each other always allow them to find quick solutions to problems. In the future, Sasha dreams of combining scientific work and filming videos. She is diligently studying Chinese and plans to conduct research on China’s foreign policy in order to create a more professional platform for cultural communication that will help those who are interested. And Zhao Yiwei emphasized that it is important not only to read a lot of books, but also to travel ten thousand li, he does not want to engage in superficial propaganda, but hopes to build a “cultural bridge” for communication step by step, brick by brick.

    In February 2025, the “cross-border love story” ended happily: Sasha and Zhao Yiwei registered their marriage in China, and in May they plan to hold a wedding with elements of Chinese and Russian styles. On their social media accounts, they received many comments from fans wishing them “eternal love”, which prompted them to continue filming videos.

    “Cultural differences are not a barrier, but a key that opens a new world, I am sure that our story is just beginning,” says Sasha.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Russian Sinologist: Building Language Bridges to Chinese Culture

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia from May 7 to 10 and take part in the celebrations in Moscow dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Russian sinologist, director of the Confucius Institute at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) Taras Ivchenko (Chinese name – Yi Fucheng) is looking forward to this event with great interest.

    “To deepen cooperation between countries, we must first build a bridge of communication, and language is such a bridge,” Yi Fucheng said figuratively in an exclusive interview with Zhongxin News Agency, speaking about the importance of teaching Chinese for humanitarian exchanges between the two countries. “Our task is to make this bridge even stronger and more reliable.”

    As the director of the first Confucius Institute in Moscow, Yi Fucheng has witnessed the entire process of its development since its founding in 2007. He said that at RSUH, about 400 students study Chinese in various departments, including such specialties as philosophy, linguistics, international relations, political science, cultural studies, and others. In his teaching practice, Yi Fucheng always pays attention to how to help students truly understand the culture behind the Chinese language.

    “It is not enough for cultural promoters to simply talk about China. They cannot limit themselves to talking about dumplings, calligraphy, or poetry from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. They must explain the culinary traditions, aesthetic tastes, and deep meanings of poetry behind them. Only in this way can the charm of culture be truly revealed,” Yi Fucheng emphasized.

    In September 2023, the first Orchid Award ceremony was held in Beijing, where Yi Fucheng was awarded the Friendship Ambassador Award. The award is a recognition of his long-standing efforts to promote cultural exchanges between China and Russia, as well as a reflection of his love for the Chinese language.

    Today, more and more young Russians are “discovering” the world of Chinese through social media. Short videos and real-time comments make communication between the youth of the two countries more intense. And Fucheng is happy about this: “Expanding exchange is good.” However, he also reminds that language learning should delve into the culture itself.

    In his classes, he tries to instill this in-depth approach in his students. Not only does he encourage them to participate in cultural activities, but he also recommends books with philosophical depth. “For example, Qian Mu’s Public Lectures on Chinese Thought or Feng Youlan’s A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy. I often suggest that students try reading them, although they say it’s difficult,” he smiles. “But I always tell them, ‘If you get down to it, difficult things will become easy.’ The more difficult it is, the more interesting and valuable it is to learn.” In his opinion, interest is the starting point in learning a language, but only a constant desire for knowledge allows a person to move forward.

    In addition to traditional culture, Yi Fucheng emphasizes the importance of understanding modern China. Speeches by Chinese leaders and government reports are required reading in his classes. “You need to learn to feel the precision of expression and the way of thinking of the country’s political language hidden behind the words.”

    In March 2013, during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia, a meeting was held with Russian sinologists, students studying Chinese, and media representatives. Yi Fucheng was invited to the meeting and acted as one of the representatives. He still remembers the event well.

    As a Sinologist, Yi Fucheng hopes that in the future the two countries can deepen cooperation in education and people-to-people exchanges by implementing more educational projects.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-Evening Report: USP World Press Freedom Day warnings over AI, legal reform and media safety

    World Press Freedom Day is not just a celebration of the vital role journalism plays — it is also a moment to reflect on the pressures facing the profession and Pacific governments’ responsibility to protect it.

    This was one of the key messages delivered by two guest speakers at The University of the South Pacific (USP) Journalism’s 2025 World Press Freedom Day celebrations this week, the UN Human Rights Adviser for the Pacific, Heike Alefsen, and Fiji Media Association’s general secretary, Stanley Simpson.

    In her address to journalism students and other attendees on Monday, chief guest Alefsen emphasised that press freedom is a fundamental pillar of democracy, a human right, and essential for sustainable development and the rule of law.

    “Media freedom is a prerequisite for inclusive, rights-respecting societies,” Alefsen said, warning of rising threats such as censorship, harassment, and surveillance of journalists — especially with the spread of AI tools used to manipulate information and monitor media workers.

    UN Human Rights Adviser for the Pacific Heike Alefsen (from left), USP Journalism programme head Dr Shailendra Singh, and Fiji Media Association’s general secretary Stanley Simpson . . . reflecting on pressures facing the profession of journalism. Image: Mele Tu’uakitau

    AI and human rights
    She stressed that AI must serve human rights — not undermine them — and that it must be used transparently, accountably, and in accordance with international human rights law.

    “Some political actors exploit AI to spread disinformation and manipulate narratives for personal or political gain,” she said.

    She added that these risks were compounded by the fact that a handful of powerful corporations and individuals now controlled much of the AI infrastructure and influenced the global media environment — able to amplify preferred messages or suppress dissenting voices.

    “Innovation cannot come at the expense of press freedom, privacy, or journalist safety,” she said.

    Regarding Fiji, Alefsen praised the 2023 repeal of the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) as a “critical turning point,” noting its positive impact on Fiji’s ranking in the RSF World Press Freedom Index.

    World Press Freedom Day at The University of the South Pacific on Monday. Image: USP — the country rose four places to 40th in the 2025 survey.

    However, she emphasised that legal reforms must continue, especially regarding sedition laws, and she highlighted ongoing challenges across the Pacific, including financial precarity, political pressure, and threats to women journalists.

    According to Alefsen, the media landscape in the Pacific was evolving for the better in some countries but concerns remained. She highlighted the working conditions of most journalists in the region, where financial insecurity, political interference, and lack of institutional support were prevalent.

    “Independent journalism ensures transparency, combats disinformation, amplifies marginalised voices, and enables people to make informed decisions about their lives and governance. In too many countries around the world, journalists face censorship, detention, and in some cases, death — simply for doing their jobs,” she said.

    Strengthening media independence and sustainability
    Keynote speaker Stanley Simpson, echoed these concerns, adding that “the era where the Fiji media could survive out of sheer will and guts is over.”

    “Now, it’s about technology, sustainability, and mental health support,” he said.

    Speaking on the theme, Strengthening Media Independence and Sustainability, Simpson emphasised the need for the media to remain independent, noting that journalists are often expected to make greater sacrifices than professionals in other industries.

    “Independence — while difficult and challenging — is a must in the media industry for it to maintain credibility. We must be able to think, speak, write, and report freely on any matter or anyone,” Simpson said.

    According to Simpson, there was a misconception in Fiji that being independent meant avoiding relationships or contacts.

    “There is a need to build your networks — to access and get information from a wide variety of sources. In fact, strengthening media independence means being able to talk to everyone and hear all sides. Gather all views and present them in a fair, balanced and accurate manner.”

    He argued that media could only be sustainable if it was independent — and that independence was only possible if sustainability was achieved. Simpson recalled the events of the 2006 political upheaval, which he said contributed to the decline of media freedom and the collapse of some media organisations in Fiji.

    “Today, as we mark World Press Freedom Day, we gather at this great institution to reflect on a simple yet profound truth: media can only be truly sustainable if it is genuinely free.

    “We need democratic, political, and governance structures in place, along with a culture of responsible free speech — believed in and practised by our leaders and the people of Fiji,” he said.

    USP students and guests at the 2025 World Press Freedom Day event. Picture: Mele Tu’uakitau

    The new media landscape
    Simpson also spoke about the evolving media landscape, noting the rise of social media influencers and AI generated content. He urged journalists to verify sources and ensure fairness, balance and accuracy — something most social media platforms were not bound by.

    While some influencers have been accused of being clickbait-driven, Simpson acknowledged their role. “I think they are important new voices in our democracy and changing landscape,” he said.

    He criticised AI-generated news platforms that republished content without editorial oversight, warning that they further eroded public trust in the media.

    “Sites are popping up overnight claiming to be news platforms, but their content is just AI-regurgitated media releases,” he said. “This puts the entire credibility of journalism at risk.”

    Fiji media challenges
    Simpson outlined several challenges facing the Fiji media, including financial constraints, journalist mental health, lack of investment in equipment, low salaries, and staff retention. He emphasised the importance of building strong democratic and governance structures and fostering a culture that respects and values free speech.

    “Many fail to appreciate the full scale of the damage to the media industry landscape from the last 16 years. If there had not been a change in government, I believe there would have been no Mai TV, Fiji TV, or a few other local media organisations today. We would not have survived another four years,” he said.

    According to Simpson, some media organisations in Fiji were only one or two months away from shutting down.

    “We barely survived the last 16 years, while many media organisations in places like New Zealand — TV3’s NewsHub — have already closed down. The era where the Fiji media would survive out of sheer will and guts is over. We need to be more adaptive and respond quickly to changing realities — digital, social media, and artificial intelligence,” he said.

    Dr Singh (left) moderates the student panel discussion with Riya Bhagwan, Maniesse Ikuinen-Perman and Vahefonua Tupola. Image: Mele Tu’uakitau

    Young journalists respond
    During a panel discussion, second-year USP journalism student Vahefonua Tupola of Tonga highlighted the connection between the media and ethical journalism, sharing a personal experience to illustrate his point.

    He said that while journalists should enjoy media freedom, they must also apply professional ethics, especially in challenging situations.

    Tupola noted that the insights shared by the speakers and fellow students had a profound impact on his perspective.

    Another panelist, third-year student and Journalism Students Association president Riya Bhagwan, addressed the intersection of artificial intelligence and journalism.

    She said that in this era of rapid technological advancement, responsibility was more critical than ever — with the rise of AI, social media, and a constant stream of information.

    “It’s no longer just professional journalists reporting the news — we also have citizen journalism, where members of the public create and share content that can significantly influence public opinion.

    “With this shift, responsible journalism becomes essential. Journalists must uphold professional standards, especially in terms of accuracy and credibility,” she said.

    The third panelist, second-year student Maniesse Ikuinen-Perman from the Federated States of Micronesia, acknowledged the challenges facing media organisations and journalists in the Pacific.

    She shared that young and aspiring journalists like herself were only now beginning to understand the scope of difficulties journalists face in Fiji and across the region.

    Maniesse emphasised the importance of not just studying journalism but also putting it into practice after graduation, particularly when returning to work in media organisations in their home countries.

    The panel discussion, featuring journalism students responding to keynote addresses, was moderated by USP Journalism head of programme Dr Shailendra Singh.

    Dr Singh concluded by noting that while Fiji had made significant progress with the repeal of the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA), global experience demonstrated that media freedom must never be taken for granted.

    He stressed that maintaining media freedom was an ongoing struggle and always a work in progress.

    “As far as media organisations are concerned, there is always a new challenge on the horizon,” he said, pointing to the complications brought about by digital disruption and, more recently, artificial intelligence.

    • Fiji rose four places to 40th (out of 180 nations) in the RSF 2025 World Press Freedom Index to make the country the Oceania media freedom leader outside of Australia (29) and New Zealand (16).

    Niko Ratumaimuri is a second-year journalism student at The University of the South Pacific’s Laucala Campus. This article was first published by the student online news site Wansolwara and is republished in collaboration with Asia Pacific Report.

    USP Journalism students, staff and guests at the 2025 World Press Freedom Day celebrations at Laucala campus on Monday. Image: Mele Tu’uakitau

    Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Sudan: MSF returns to Bashair Teaching hospital in Khartoum amidst soaring cholera needs

    Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

    KHARTOUM – Exactly two years after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) first worked in south Khartoum’s Bashair Teaching hospital, Sudan, our team is again joining the hospital’s Ministry of Health staff in partnership to meet people’s immense needs. MSF suspended activities at the hospital in January 2025 after repeated violent incidents. Our initial focus will be the worrying and growing cholera outbreak.

    “Our team in Bashair Teaching hospital has been working to ensure that the 20-bed cholera treatment unit is ready to receive patients. Training for over 60 hospital staff members has been completed, and cholera-related medical supplies have arrived at the hospital,” says Slaymen Ammar, MSF medical coordinator for Sudan. “The war has had a devastating impact on people’s access to healthcare. The population in many localities within the capital, including south Khartoum, still don’t have the needed access to essential, life-saving healthcare.”

    “Restarting and expanding critical health services in Bashair Hospital and beyond can’t wait – it was needed yesterday,” says Ammar.

    Like many health facilities in Khartoum and across Sudan, Bashair Teaching hospital stopped functioning when war first broke out in April 2023. A few weeks later, medics and volunteers reopened it to ensure the community could still access healthcare. An MSF surgical and medical team joined them on 9 May 2023, enabling the hospital to provide surgery alongside emergency medical care. In the first five weeks of working there, the emergency room saw more than 1,000 patients, over 900 of them with trauma-related injuries.

    For 20 months, MSF teams worked alongside volunteers and medical staff to provide healthcare to people trapped in violence and devastation in south Khartoum. During this time, we continuously saw desperately injured and ill patients flocking to the hospital, demonstrating the significant needs in this part of Khartoum. In August 2023, for example, MSF and the Bashair Teaching hospital team treated more than 200 people in two days in successive mass influxes of wounded after bombings nearby. When the maternity department reopened the following month, 40 babies were delivered in the first two weeks, including seven by caesarean section.

    Over the past two years, MSF has had to suspend activities several times. In 2023, a ban on the transport of surgical supplies to Khartoum forced a stop to all surgical activities – including caesarean sections and trauma care – for several months. In November and December 2024, violent incidents, including the killing of a patient in the hospital, led MSF to suspend temporarily. When armed men again entered the hospital in January 2025, MSF made the difficult decision to suspend all activity at the hospital. 

    The situation in Khartoum is significantly calmer now but many hospitals and healthcare facilities have been damaged or closed because of the war and are not fully functional. In addition to restarting work in Bashair Teaching hospital, MSF is providing general healthcare through mobile clinics in central and south Khartoum, and we are preparing to restart other medical activities in various parts of the city and state. MSF also continues to support medical activities in Omdurman, at Al Buluk hospital and Al Nao hospitals, where we run a cholera treatment unit, in addition to other activities aiming to improve water and sanitation services in the area.

    “The needs in Khartoum remain immense. The current cholera outbreak is only one of the challenges facing people still living in Khartoum or returning from other parts of the country,” says Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator for Sudan. “Humanitarian assistance must be scaled up, access facilitated and medical care protected to ensure that all those who need it, in Khartoum and in the rest of Sudan, can access healthcare.”

    MIL OSI NGO

  • MIL-OSI USA: Barr, Artificial Intelligence and the Labor Market: A Scenario-Based Approach

    Source: US State of New York Federal Reserve

    Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.1 In my remarks, I would like to address a key question facing economists, policymakers, and people all over the world: How will artificial intelligence, particularly generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, affect workers and the labor market in the years ahead?
    Before I turn to that issue, I’d like to touch on a topic that I expect is also of interest: the outlook for the U.S. economy and the implications for monetary policy.
    The U.S. economy entered this quarter in a relatively strong position: The unemployment rate has been low and stable, and the disinflationary process has continued on a gradual, albeit uneven, path towards our 2 percent objective. Private domestic final purchases have been solid. Overall, the economy has been resilient.
    Against that backdrop, the outlook has been clouded by trade policies that have led to an increase in uncertainty, contributing to declines in measures of consumer and business sentiment. I expect tariffs to lead to higher inflation in the United States and lower growth both in the United States and abroad starting later this year.
    In my view, higher tariffs could lead to disruption to global supply chains and create persistent upward pressure on inflation. Faced with substantial tariffs, businesses will likely change how they source intermediate inputs, and it will take time and investment for them to reroute their distribution networks. Conversely, global trade networks may change rapidly, and some suppliers may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive these changes. This concern is particularly acute for small businesses, which are less diversified, less able to access credit, and hence more vulnerable to adverse shocks. Small businesses play a vital role in production networks, often providing specialized inputs that can’t easily be sourced elsewhere, and business failures could further disrupt supply chains. As we saw during the pandemic, such disruptions can have large and lasting effects on prices, as well as output.
    I am equally concerned that tariffs will lead to higher unemployment as the economy slows. Thus, the FOMC may be in a difficult position if we were to see both rising inflation and rising unemployment.
    The size and scope of the recent tariff increases are without modern precedent, we don’t know their final form, and it is too soon to know how they will affect the economy. Yet given the economy’s strong starting point and the progress we have made in bringing inflation back toward our 2 percent objective, monetary policy is in a good position to adjust as conditions unfold. Meanwhile, we will also be closely monitoring how technologies like artificial intelligence are being integrated into economic activity and analyzing the implications for how the economy will evolve.
    Let me now return to the longer-term question of how AI will affect the labor market. Debate about machines replacing workers is nothing new, and even artificial intelligence is not particularly new either. AI has, in some form, arguably been around for decades. Computer scientists have been developing machine learning algorithms for many years, and these algorithms have been widely used in commercial applications, such as fraud detection and advertising. Speech and facial recognition are already ubiquitous. These more long-standing forms of AI are continuing to improve, driving progress in domains ranging from finance to medical diagnosis, and becoming so deeply embedded in our daily lives that we scarcely notice them anymore.
    But GenAI promises to go much further. Unlike traditional machine learning techniques, which often focus on relatively simple prediction and classification tasks, the large language models that have emerged in recent years can generate new content—anything from news articles to computer code to images and video to customer service dialogue. Emerging forms of “agentic” AI can undertake complex, multistep tasks—for example, taking a customer through a transaction and then placing an automated order. As AI continues to develop, it will increasingly be combined with physical technologies like autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics, further extending its ability to interact with the real world. And AI may be shaping up to become what the esteemed economist Zvi Griliches called an “invention of a method of inventing” that speeds up the research and development process itself.2
    Growing evidence indicates that AI will be a “general purpose technology”—such as railroads, electricity, or computers—which is characterized by widespread adoption, complementary progress in many downstream applications, and ongoing improvement in the core technology.3 Past general purpose technologies have dramatically improved productivity. So, against this background, the natural question is, what about AI?
    In trying to understand how AI might transform work, it’s useful to consider how it could be applied in individual occupations, each of which comprises a range of tasks that vary in their susceptibility to automation. Like past waves of information technology, AI will substitute for human labor in some tasks, complement human labor in other tasks, and spur the creation of new tasks that humans will perform, at least initially.4 The net effects of AI on employment, both in the aggregate and across demographic and education groups, will depend on the relative size of these offsetting effects.
    A pessimistic view is that AI and robotics could become so capable and cost effective as to render most human labor obsolete, culminating in mass unemployment. Such concerns about technological advances are hardly a novel development. At least since the Luddites of the early 19th century tried to disable textile looms, people have feared that machines would bring about steep declines in employment, wages, and human welfare.5
    Economists have long been skeptical of that view, which suffers from the “lump of labor fallacy”—the presumption that there’s a fixed amount of work to be done, so if machines do it, humans will not.6 New technologies do eliminate some existing occupations, and not all workers benefit from technological change. But technology also creates new occupations, and the many waves of technological advances over the centuries haven’t rendered humans obsolete. For example, many of the tasks that were performed by humans in the 1950s are now performed by computers and robots, and yet the unemployment rate is similar to what it was back then, while the labor force participation rate is higher overall.
    However, the amazing potential capabilities and breadth of applications associated with AI—many of which are already apparent—make it worth asking whether this time may be different. AI holds enormous promise of faster economic growth, advances in human health, and a higher standard of living. But alongside the kinds of labor market disruptions seen in past episodes of revolutionary technological change, we will need to consider the possibility of more sweeping changes in the way we work.
    A Scenario ApproachIn a previous speech, I outlined two hypothetical scenarios describing how AI could evolve.7 In the first scenario, we see only incremental adoption that primarily augments what humans do today but still leads to significant and widespread productivity gains. In the second scenario, we see profound change, in which we extend human capabilities with far-reaching consequences.
    Today, I will apply the same approach to analyze the potential effects of AI on the labor market. Of course, there is tremendous uncertainty about how AI will evolve and how it will affect the economy, as well as society more broadly. Amid this uncertainty, a scenario-based approach can give us a framework for thinking about the potential effects of AI on employment, real wages, and productivity, as well as for considering the possible role that government could play in influencing this transition.
    Scenario 1: Incremental ProgressLet’s start with the “gradual” scenario, in which new AI technologies are adopted at a brisk, but not a breathless, pace or advance quickly at first and then plateau—perhaps because of constraints imposed by computing resources, the exhaustion of novel training data, and rising energy consumption.
    Under this scenario, AI primarily operates by automating some—but not all—tasks within many occupations. We’ve seen some of this task substitution happen already: Computer programmers rely on AI copilots to write code, allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks, while customer support agents can use chatbots to improve and expedite their responses.8 Lawyers draw on GenAI to conduct legal research, while AI-powered safety features improve the performance of human automobile drivers.
    Under this scenario, as foundational models improve, novel use cases are discovered, and businesses continue to integrate AI into their operations, more and more occupations will be affected, and many jobs will use AI tools more intensively. As these technologies improve, even incremental change may allow AI to become accurate and cheap enough to replace some occupations altogether. It’s hard to make predictions at this stage. But a plausible conjecture is that we could see, for example, fewer human programmers, lawyers, or commercial drivers. At the same time, most current occupations would persist in this scenario—albeit in modified and more productive forms.
    Beyond existing occupations, general purpose technologies also encourage the creation of new occupations, fueled by new products and novel ways of doing business. It’s difficult to envision the novel jobs that will replace the ones we might lose to an incremental AI scenario. But one possibility is that the future could bring us managers of AI agents, specialists in human–AI collaboration, ethicists, safety experts, and large numbers of people involved in adopting, maintaining, and educating about AI tools. Technology, and how we use a particular innovation, evolves in unpredictable ways, and we should expect to be surprised.
    Under this scenario, jobs remain plentiful, real wages are buoyed by productivity gains, and employment and labor force participation remain high and could even rise, if strong wage growth entices new labor market entrants and if improvements in health care increase work capacity among older or disabled individuals. If the widespread adoption of AI proceeds gradually, then workers will have time to adjust, reducing the disruption to the labor market—though, as with previous general purpose technologies, AI would likely imply that some groups of workers experience a painful process of dislocation and transition.
    Retraining could help here. A recent survey carried out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that many businesses plan to retrain their workers to use AI rather than laying them off.9 In some cases, AI may disrupt career ladders by automating many entry-level tasks—such as reviewing legal documents or drafting code—that were historically performed by early-career workers. But if labor demand changes slowly enough, students and workers are more likely to have time to predict which skills will be marketable and to make and recoup human capital investments before their skills become obsolete.
    What about the effect of AI on inequality? Some research suggests that GenAI may help less-productive workers catch up to their more-productive peers.10 That said, the AI economy will likely put a premium on digital skills, facility with new technologies, and adaptability. The precedent of the computer revolution suggests that highly educated workers may benefit most, boosting wage inequality—a phenomenon called “skill-biased technological change.”11 Another possibility is that the labor share of income could decline, if capital owners benefit more than wage earners—for example, because the gains accruing from AI adoption go to large, highly capitalized firms whose technical capabilities, consumer networks, and training data allow them to develop state-of-the-art AI techniques.
    Scenario 2: TransformationNow let’s consider an alternative scenario in which AI completely transforms the economy. As I described in my earlier speech, in this transformative scenario, humans employ AI to unleash their imagination and creativity—combined with robust investment in research and development—to make rapid breakthroughs that have the potential to improve our lives. With growth propelled by swift technological progress, society’s resources would be vastly expanded, AI would spur revolutionary advances in health, and many individuals would enjoy more time for leisure activities.
    Indeed, transformative AI could bring about a state of affairs that John Maynard Keynes famously envisioned almost a hundred years ago, one in which there are “ever larger and larger classes and groups of people from whom problems of economic necessity have been practically removed.”12 At the same time, transformative AI could imply a much smaller role for human labor—a development that would entail sweeping social changes and profound challenges for government.
    Under this scenario, AI would take over a broad range of existing jobs. As economist Anton Korinek writes, “AI systems advance toward mastering all forms of cognitive work that can be performed by humans, including new tasks that don’t even exist yet.”13 Building on developments we are already starting to see, improved chatbots and AI agents would outperform their human counterparts in activities ranging from customer support to medical diagnosis. Along similar lines, advanced robotics could increasingly substitute for human workers in manual and production jobs. Widespread automation would bring many benefits. The availability and quality of many services could increase markedly, and many less-desirable jobs—such as those involving tedious tasks or dangerous working conditions—could be transferred to machines.
    What jobs would exist in this more transformative scenario? As in the more gradual scenario—and just as has happened in the past, when earlier general purpose technologies were adopted—we would see the emergence of new occupations. These would notably include jobs that involve managing the new AI-dominated economy. In addition, some existing occupations would likely persist, at least for some time. This would be the case for three key reasons. First, some jobs may prove especially hard to automate. For example, plumbers and mechanics rely on physical dexterity and adaptability to situations—attributes that machines may find difficult to replicate, or to replicate cheaply. Second, in some contexts, consumers may insist on a human touch. Patients may still want human doctors and therapists, while parents may want human teachers and caregivers to look after their children. Third, even when AI has the technical capability to carry out tasks, some jobs are likely to be protected by laws and regulations. For example, legal and political systems would likely continue to insist on human judges and elected officials. Eventually, however, an increasing share of current jobs may be automated. The technological frontier is moving quickly, consumers’ preferences may change as they become more comfortable interacting with AI, and the regulatory landscape could evolve to provide broader roles for AI.
    It’s difficult to say how many jobs will exist under transformative AI. On the one hand, it’s possible that—as has happened so often in the past—the economy will find inventive new ways to keep most people employed. On the other hand, there are concerns that some workers could experience a large enough decline in their earnings potential that paid work may no longer be an available option. Employment and labor force participation could fall; displaced workers may grapple with a loss of daily routines, social connectedness, and the meaning they derived from employment. The risk of a significant decline in employment looms large in many people’s concerns about AI, and it’s important for policymakers to be attentive to that risk.
    Even if AI ultimately creates as many jobs as it eliminates, we should expect that the transition will be difficult. Existing firms would likely reorganize their production, laying off workers in the process. They could also lose market share to technologically sophisticated start-ups, which could scale up with a minimal number of human workers managing AI subordinates.14 Many displaced workers would have obsolete skills, and skill mismatch could lead to a structural increase in unemployment as these workers retool for new occupations. It is possible that unemployment might rise only temporarily. It is also possible, however, that more sustained increases could be observed. That would be the case if technology continued to evolve too quickly for many workers to keep up, leading to continual churn and ongoing dislocation.
    How might transformative AI affect income inequality? Both traditionally high-wage occupations, such as lawyers and financial professionals, and lower-wage occupations, such as factory and retail workers, could be automated, and it is difficult to predict how AI would affect wage structures. But the largest wage gains would likely go to the highest-skilled workers, as they would be best positioned to implement frontier technologies and help oversee the AI economy. In addition, if capital owners are the main beneficiaries, the labor share of income could decline precipitously.
    Transformative AI could bring about profound improvements in living standards, leisure opportunities, and human health. At the same time, society would confront profound distributional changes and potential challenges. Much would depend on how broadly the economic benefits are shared, how policymakers respond, and how society adapts to the rapid pace of change.
    How Will We Know Which Future We Are Living in?The world looks very different across these two scenarios. As AI spreads throughout the economy, how will we know which world we’re living in, particularly in view of the likelihood that AI adoption will proceed at different rates in different occupations and industries?
    First, we will need to track how many businesses are using AI and how it is affecting their operations. Recent surveys give different impressions about AI adoption thus far, but they consistently show rapid increases in usage over time.15
    Second, we will need to monitor AI’s evolving technological capabilities. AI developers test their models against human performance in benchmark activities like standardized tests and visual tasks. Results of these tests will continue to provide important clues about which activities, and thus which occupations, are at risk of being automated. Along these lines, economists have already developed measures of occupations’ exposure to automation. They have based these measures on the characteristics of the tasks involved in different occupations.16 Of course, as the set of tasks that AI can perform expands, these measures can be updated accordingly.
    A third way to judge how AI is changing the economy is that data on job openings will likely be a leading indicator of changes in labor demand. What kinds of jobs are employers creating? What skills do they cite in job ads?17
    And, lastly, job growth by occupation and industry is likely to reflect the emerging effects of AI. So far, the imprint of AI is difficult to discern in the employment statistics, but that is likely to change. It may be difficult to disentangle the effects of AI from the other determinants of employment growth, especially in real time. But in the event of truly sweeping changes in the occupational structure, the effects of AI should show up in the data.
    Looking AheadWhat do these two scenarios imply for society? In scenario 1, the issues that society has to address will be more straightforward. Policymakers will have to decide how to regulate emergent technologies, education and training programs will have to be tailored to shifts in labor demand, and some labor market regulations may need to be updated. In scenario 2, the issues that society will need to address will be more profound. Questions will include how to ensure that the economic gains associated with AI are broadly shared across individuals and households, and how to adapt social institutions to a world in which many more individuals in their prime working years may be working less. Fortunately, although this second scenario would entail many difficult challenges, it also implies a world in which society has many more resources to deploy against those challenges.
    Those are some of the big questions that society may need to grapple with in the future, and most of these questions are not those that will be primarily addressed by monetary policymakers. As a central banker, I can speak more specifically about how structural changes in the economy related to AI could affect monetary policy considerations—in particular, the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices. Monetary policy considerations could be affected in many ways; I will limit myself to two prominent possibilities.
    First, AI may require monetary policymakers to reassess our estimates of the natural rate of unemployment, which informs our assessment of the cyclical state of the economy and thus the appropriate stance of monetary policy. The natural rate, which we call u*, is the unemployment rate that corresponds to the maximum level of employment that can be maintained without producing undesirably high inflation. Among other things, u* depends on the efficiency with which matches are formed between workers and firms, and it could rise if shifts in labor demand across industries and occupations lead to skill mismatch and lengthy unemployment spells as workers retrain and switch careers. The natural rate also depends on the demographic composition of the labor force, which AI could affect. If AI shifts the workforce toward groups that have higher labor force attachment but lower unemployment rates (such as college graduates), the result could be downward pressure on u*. It should be stressed that u* is never directly observed and is difficult to discern in real time. But economists use a wide range of models to estimate the natural rate, and we can use those models to see how u* is changing as AI is adopted more widely.18
    Another related consideration relevant for monetary policy is how economic changes due to AI will affect the neutral interest rate, or r*, which is the level of the real interest rate consistent with the economy being at its potential and inflation being at our 2 percent objective. Economic theory suggests that a permanently higher growth rate of productivity, of the kind that might arise under either AI scenario, tends to raise r*. When that happens, a higher real interest rate would be required to deliver any desired monetary policy stance. A challenge that we face is that it is difficult to work out in real time how r* is evolving. But we can make judgments about developments in the behavior of r* by monitoring the relationship between economic activity and interest rates and by using financial market information to estimate longer-run real interest rates.
    ConclusionI’ll return to the broader point and conclude. AI is poised to transform our economy, likely in profound ways. But the speed and extent of that transformation are not yet clear. AI is likely to boost productivity, increase scientific discovery, and transform the nature of work. How these developments unfold will have important implications for society and for central bankers.

    1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text
    2. See page 502 in Zvi Griliches (1957), “Hybrid Corn: An Exploration in the Economics of Technological Change,” Econometrica, vol. 25 (October), pp. 501–22. See also Iain M. Cockburn, Rebecca Henderson, and Scott Stern (2019), “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation: An Exploratory Analysis,” in Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb, eds., The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 115–48, and Martin Neil Baily, David M. Byrne, Aidan T. Kane, and Paul E. Soto (forthcoming), “Generative AI at the Crossroads: Light Bulb, Dynamo, or Microscope,” Brookings Institution working paper. Return to text
    3. The term “general purpose technology” is typically abbreviated to GPT. To avoid confusion with ChatGPT, I will continue to use the longer term. For a definition and discussion of past general purpose technologies, see Timothy F. Bresnahan and Manuel Trajtenberg (1995), “General Purpose Technologies ‘Engines of Growth’?” Journal of Econometrics, vol. 65 (January), pp. 83–108. For a discussion of whether earlier AI techniques already meet these criteria, see Avi Goldfarb, Bledi Taska, and Florenta Teodoridis (2023), “Could Machine Learning Be a General Purpose Technology? A Comparison of Emerging Technologies Using Data from Online Job Postings,” Research Policy, vol. 52 (January), 104653. For a discussion of GenAI specifically, see Tyna Eloundou, Sam Manning, Pamela Mishkin, and Daniel Rock (2023), “GPTs Are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models,” (PDF) March 17 (revised August 22). For a contrasting view that AI will have only modest effects on productivity over the next 10 years, see Daron Acemoglu (2025), “The Simple Macroeconomics of AI,” Economic Policy, vol. 40 (January), pp. 13–58. Return to text
    4. See Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo (2019), “Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 33 (Spring), pp. 3–30. Return to text
    5. As David Autor writes, “There have been periodic warnings in the last two centuries that automation and new technology were going to wipe out large numbers of middle class jobs. The best-known early example is the Luddite movement of the early 19th century, in which a group of English textile artisans protested the automation of textile production by seeking to destroy some of the machines.” See page 3 in David H. Autor (2015), “Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 29 (Summer), pp. 3–30. Return to text
    6. For example, see textbook discussions of automation and unemployment by Paul A. Samuelson (1964), Economics: An Introductory Analysis, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill), pp. 333–37; and James D. Gwartney and Richard Stroup (1982), Economics: Private and Public Choice, 3rd ed. (New York: Academic Press), pp. 518–19. Return to text
    7. See Michael S. Barr (2025), “Artificial Intelligence: Hypothetical Scenarios for the Future,” speech delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York, February 18. See also Anton Korinek and Donghyun Suh (2024), “Scenarios for the Transition to AGI,” NBER Working Paper Series 32255 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, March). Return to text
    8. For evidence that GenAI increases the productivity of human programmers, see Sida Peng, Eirini Kalliamvakou, Peter Cihon, and Mert Demirer (2023), “The Impact of AI on Developer Productivity: Evidence from GitHub Copilot,” (PDF) February 13. For similar evidence regarding customer support agents, see Erik Brynjolfsson, Danielle Li, and Lindsey Raymond (2025), “Generative AI at Work,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 140 (May), pp. 889–942. Return to text
    9. See Jaison R. Abel, Richard Deitz, Natalia Emanuel, and Benjamin Hyman (2024), “AI and the Labor Market: Will Firms Hire, Fire, or Retrain?” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Liberty Street Economics (blog), September 4. Among surveyed businesses in New York and New Jersey, about half of businesses that planned to use AI within the next six months expected to retrain their current staff to use AI. Return to text
    10. See Shakked Noy and Whitney Zhang (2023), “Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence,” Science, July 13, vol. 381 (6654), pp. 187–92. Return to text
    11. See Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz (2008), The Race between Education and Technology (Cambridge: Harvard University Press). Return to text
    12. See page 372 in John Maynard Keynes (1930), “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” in Essays in Persuasion (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1963), pp. 358–73. Return to text
    13. See page 9 in Anton Korinek (2024), “The Economics of Transformative AI,” (PDF) Reporter, no. 4 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research), pp. 9–12. Return to text
    14. See Erin Griffith (2025), “A.I. Is Changing How Silicon Valley Builds Start-Ups,” New York Times, February 20. See also Microsoft (2025), 2025: The Year the Frontier Firm Is Born, Work Trend Index Annual Report, April 23, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/2025-the-year-the-frontier-firm-is-born. Return to text
    15. For a summary of recent survey evidence on AI adoption, see Leland Crane, Michael Green, and Paul Soto (2025), “Measuring AI Uptake in the Workplace,” FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 5). Across six firm-level surveys, the share of respondents using some form of AI ranges widely—from 5 to 40 percent—likely in part reflecting differences in sample composition, question wording, and the period over which AI usage is measured. Across 10 individual-level surveys, usage of GenAI generally ranges between 20 and 40 percent, with much higher rates among computer programmers. Return to text
    16. For examples of this approach, see Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne (2017), “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?” Technological Forecasting and Social Change, vol. 114 (January), pp. 254–80; Erik Brynjolfsson, Tom Mitchell, and Daniel Rock (2018), “What Can Machines Learn, and What Does It Mean for Occupations and the Economy?” AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol. 108 (May), pp. 43–47; Edward W. Felten, Manav Raj, and Robert Seamans (2018), “A Method to Link Advances in Artificial Intelligence to Occupational Abilities,” AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol. 108 (May), pp. 54–57; and Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin, and Rock, “GPTs Are GPTs” (see note 3). Return to text
    17. See Daron Acemoglu, David Autor, Jonathon Hazell, and Pascual Restrepo (2022), “Artificial Intelligence and Jobs: Evidence from Online Vacancies,” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 40 (April), pp. S293–340. Return to text
    18. See Brandyn Bok, Richard K. Crump, Christopher J. Nekarda, and Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau (2023), “Estimating Natural Rates of Unemployment: A Primer,” (PDF) Working Paper Series 2023-25 (San Francisco: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, August). One approach for estimating u* is to aggregate across demographic groups that differ in their average unemployment rates over long periods. Another common approach is to estimate state-space models that incorporate a Phillips curve relationship between unemployment and inflation, as in Thomas Laubach (2001), “Measuring the NAIRU: Evidence from Seven Economies,” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 83 (May), pp. 218–31. In addition, assessments of the natural rate can be informed by models that yield estimates of matching efficiency, such as Regis Barnichon and Andrew Figura (2015), “Labor Market Heterogeneity and the Aggregate Matching Function,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, vol. 7 (October), pp. 222–49; and Hie Joo Ahn and Leland D. Crane (2020), “Dynamic Beveridge Curve Accounting,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-027 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March). Return to text

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HyD holds sharing session on Hong Kong’s major transport infrastructure projects to exchange innovative engineering experiences with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Director of Highways, Mr Tony Yau, today (May 9) led a department delegation in a sharing session on Hong Kong’s major transport infrastructure projects with Mainland counterparts in Shanghai to jointly exchange innovative experiences in implementing transport infrastructure works. The sharing session attracted the participation of many Mainland counterparts, who came from more than 20 contractors, light-rail manufacturers, railway operators, design institutes, etc which are respectively central state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises and civilian-run enterprises, including China Railway Group Limited, China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited represented by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Company Limited, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Company Limited, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Company Limited, BYD Company Limited, Shanghai Shenkai Public Transport Operation Management Company Limited, and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Company Limited, etc.

         At the sharing session, the Highways Department (HyD) introduced the major findings of the Strategic Studies on Railways and Major Roads beyond 2030, which covered cross-boundary railway projects (the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and the Northern Link Spur Line); smart and green mass transit systems (the East Kowloon Line and the South Island Line (West)); and strategic route projects (the Northern Metropolis Highway and Route 11) being planned and implemented by the department to the Mainland counterparts. The attendees were very interested in the implementation of these projects.

         The HyD will soon seek funding approval for the investigation and design work of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project from the Legislative Council. Government Engineer of Railway Development Mr Thomas Sze said at the sharing session that the preliminary design of the project would commence in the second half of 2025, while at the same time the department would invite relevant contractors and operators to submit expressions of interest to provide their views on project proposals, procurement and financial agreements, so as to facilitate the department in ascertaining the market’s interest and capability in the construction and operation of the project, thereby formulating appropriate tender specifications and terms. Mr Sze appealed for active participation of interested parties and added that the HyD would strive to award the works contract and commence the detailed design and construction works between 2027 and 2028, with a view to completing the works and achieving simultaneous commissioning of the Hong Kong section and the Shenzhen section by 2034 to 2035. In addition, the HyD is actively exploring with Mainland counterparts to adopt Mainland design standards and construction specifications in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) project as a cross-boundary railway project, as well as the arrangement of introducing Mainland new machineries, construction materials and innovative construction technologies in the project, with an aim to further achieving savings in construction costs and compressing construction time.

         Mr Yau said that the teams of Hong Kong’s major infrastructure projects have always possessed the features of internationalisation, with many major infrastructures jointly designed and constructed by leading local and global engineering firms in the past. He hoped that the department would adopt a “technological innovation” and “policy innovation” dual-innovation mindset and approach to attract more Mainland enterprises to participate in the implementation of Hong Kong’s infrastructure projects, thereby introducing advanced and innovative construction technologies as well as new construction materials and machineries from the Mainland, while integrating the unique experience of the local engineering talent in responding to environmental challenges in Hong Kong, allowing the engineering sectors on the Mainland and in Hong Kong to jointly capitalise on their respective strengths and join hands to lead the development of Hong Kong’s engineering technology to new heights, thus achieving the goal of further shortening construction times and reducing construction costs.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Appointment of Bishop of Carlisle: 9 May 2025

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Appointment of Bishop of Carlisle: 9 May 2025

    The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Robert Saner-Haigh, for election as Bishop of Carlisle

    The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Robert Saner-Haigh, Suffragan Bishop of Penrith in the Diocese of Carlisle, for election as Bishop of Carlisle, in succession to The Right Reverend James William Scobie Newcome, following his retirement.

    Background

    Rob was educated at Birmingham University and trained for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.  He served his title at St. Lawrence, Appleby in the Diocese of Carlisle, and was ordained Priest in 2006. He was appointed Diocesan Initial Ministerial Education Officer in 2007 and Diocesan Director of Ordinands in 2008.  Alongside both of these roles he served as Bishop’s Chaplain and Assistant Priest at St. Michael’s, Dalston, with Cumdivock, Raughton Head and Wreay.  In 2010, he was appointed Priest in Charge of Holy Trinity Kendal and, from 2020, served as Director of Mission and Ministry for the Diocese of Newcastle and Residentiary Canon of Newcastle Cathedral.

    In 2022, Rob took up his current role as Suffragan Bishop of Penrith, in the Diocese of Carlisle and, since 2023, he has served as Acting Bishop of Carlisle.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Three Board Members reappointed to the Museum of the Home

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Three Board Members reappointed to the Museum of the Home

    The Secretary of State has reappointed Alain Clapham, Viscount Charles Colville and Professor Caroline Malone as Board Members of the Museum of the Home for a second term of 3 years, from 4 November 2024 until 3 November 2027.

    Alain Clapham

    Alain ‘Fusion’ Clapham is an award-winning communicator and strategic thinker, recognised for his ability to shape narratives that connect institutions, businesses and communities. With a background in media, digital strategy, and cultural consultancy, he has worked with leading organisations – including YouTube, Historic Royal Palaces, Wellcome Collection and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) – to develop innovative approaches to audience engagement and institutional change.

    His work with heritage bodies, brands, educational institutions and corporate leaders has positioned him as a key figure in discussions around cultural representation, public discourse, and strategic transformation. He has advised on projects that bridge policy, digital evolution, and public engagement, ensuring institutions remain both forward-thinking and accessible.

    As the director of BMTstories and SUPERORGANIC, Alain leads cultural platforms that connect audiences and industry through innovative practice and creative empowerment. His work as a public speaker, facilitator and Transformative Storyteller fosters dialogue, learning, and expression across diverse communities.

    Viscount Charles Colville

    Charles Colville is a television producer and Crossbench member of the House of Lords. He is a graduate in Modern History from Durham University. He started his career as a journalist in the West Midlands and went on to work for BBC’s Newsnight programme becoming the Moscow producer during the fall of the Soviet Union. Moving to documentaries he made a wide range of science and history programmes working with museums and heritage organisations around the world.

    He used his experience as a journalist and historical knowledge to create independent, fresh narratives. Since leaving the BBC he has made a series on the role of the Queen in our national life. 

    In the House of Lords he speaks on the media and digital issues amongst other matters. He has supported amendments in the Environment Bill to reduce plastic pollution. As a member of cross-party Communications and Digital Select Committee he has taken part in inquiries on digital regulation and UK public service broadcasting. The current inquiry is into the government’s consultation into the privatisation of Channel 4. He is a great supporter of the Museum of the Home and looks forward to continuing working with the Board of Trustees.

    Professor Caroline Malone

    Caroline Malone studied archaeology and anthropology and undertook research on prehistory in southern Europe, an area where she has continued fieldwork in Malta, Sicily and Italy, most recently leading the ERC funded FRAGSUS Project. She was Curator for English Heritage of the Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury and an Inspector of Ancient Monuments before commencing an academic career at Bristol, Cambridge and Queen’s University Belfast. She was the editor of Antiquity Journal, and also has served as Keeper of the former department of Prehistoric and Romano British Antiquities at the British Museum, as Senior Tutor of Hughes Hall Cambridge, and as Senior Proctor of Cambridge University.  She is the author of a number of books and papers. She is currently a visiting Professor at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge and  Emeritus Professor of Prehistory at Queen’s University Belfast, and is DCMS Trustee of the Museum of the Home.

    Remuneration and Governance Code

    Board Members of the Museum of the Home are not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s [Governance Code on Public Appointments].

    The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Alain Clapham has not declared any significant political activity. Caroline Malone has declared that she has stood as a candidate for Local Council Elections in Cambridge, Castle Ward for the Liberal Democrats in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She also canvassed on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in Cambridge, Castle Ward in 2022 and 2023. Viscount Colville is a freelance TV producer.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor likely to gain 5 senators, cementing the left’s Senate dominance

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    I previously wrote about the Senate the morning after the election. About half the Senate is elected at each House of Representatives election. Those up for election include six senators out of 12 for every state and all four territory senators. So 40 of the 76 senators were up for election.

    State senators elected at this election will start their six-year terms on July 1, while territory senators are tied to the term of the lower house.

    At a double dissolution election, all senators are up for election, and this truncates the terms of senators. With Labor and the Greens so dominant at this election, the Coalition may try a double dissolution if they win the next election.

    Senators are elected by proportional representation in their jurisdictions with preferences. At a half-Senate election, with six senators in each state up for election, a quota is one-seventh of the vote, or 14.3%. For the territories, a quota is one-third or 33.3%. Half a quota on primary votes (7.1% in a state) is usually enough to give a party a reasonable chance of election.

    It’s likely to take at least another three weeks to get final Senate results. All votes need to be data entered into a computer system, then a button is pressed to electronically distribute preferences. It’s only after this button press that we know final outcomes and margins.

    At the 2019 election (the last time these state senators were up for election), the Coaliition won 17 of the 36 state senators, Labor 11, the Greens six, One Nation one and Jacqui Lambie one. The right won by 18–17, with one for Lambie.

    Queensland’s senators split 4–2 to the right, Tasmania 3–2 to the left with one for Lambie and the other states were tied at 3–3.

    The four senators from the ACT and Northern Territory were last up for election in 2022. At that election, left-wing independent David Pocock and Labor won both ACT seats, while the NT went one Labor, one Country Liberal Party (CLP).

    At this election, it’s likely Labor will gain a senator in every mainland state at the expense of the Coalition, while the Greens, One Nation, Lambie and Pocock will hold their existing seats.

    The most likely outcome of this half-Senate election is 18 Labor out of 40 (up five), 13 Coalition (down five), six Greens (steady), and one each for One Nation, Lambie and Pocock (all steady). This would give the left a 25–14 win with one for Lambie.

    In 2022, the 36 state senators (not up for election in 2025) were 14 Coalition, 13 Labor, six Greens and one each for One Nation, the United Australia Party (UAP) and Tammy Tyrrell. During the last term Lidia Thorpe defected from the Greens, Fatima Payman from Labor and Tyrrell from the Jacqui Lambie Network.

    If Labor wins 18 seats at this half-Senate election, they will have 30 total senators out of 76, the Coalition 27, the Greens 11, One Nation two, and one each for Pocock, Lambie, the UAP, Thorpe, Payman and Tyrrell. Labor and the Greens alone would have 41 of the 76 senators, above the 39 needed for a majority.

    Counting Thorpe and Payman with the left, and the UAP with the right, the left would have an overall 44–30 majority with two others (Lambie and Tyrrell).

    National Senate votes and a state by state breakdown

    With 74% of enrolled voters counted nationally for the Senate, Labor has 35.5% of Senate votes (up 5.4% since 2022), the Coalition 29.9% (down 4.4%), the Greens 11.7% (down 0.9%), One Nation 5.6% (up 1.3%), Legalise Cannabis 3.4% and Trumpet of Patriots (ToP) 2.6%.

    The national House primary votes are currently 34.7% Labor, 32.2% Coalition, 11.8% Greens, 6.3% One Nation and 1.9% ToP. Usually major parties get a lower Senate vote than a House vote owing to more parties who run in the Senate. I believe Labor is benefiting in the Senate from the lack of a viable Teal option.

    In very late counting for both the House and Senate, the Greens usually gain at the Coalition’s expense as absent votes that are counted late are poor for the Coalition and good for the Greens. This would provide a further boost to Labor’s chances of gaining five senators.

    In New South Wales, with 79% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.65 quotas, the Coalition 2.08, the Greens 0.78, One Nation 0.42, Legalise Cannabis 0.23 and ToP 0.16. Labor’s third candidate is 0.23 quotas ahead of One Nation and should win.

    In Victoria, with 71% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.44 quotas, the Coalition 2.20, the Greens 0.88, One Nation 0.31, Legalise Cannabis 0.25, ToP 0.17, Family First 0.13 and Victorian Socialists 0.11. One Nation has the best chance to win outside Queensland, but Socialists’ preferences will flow strongly to Labor.

    In Queensland, with 71% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.16 quotas, the Liberal National Party 2.15, the Greens 0.74, One Nation 0.49, Gerard Rennick 0.34, ToP 0.25 and Legalise Cannabis 0.24. Labor will win two, the LNP two, the Greens one and One Nation will probably win the final seat.

    In Western Australia, with 68% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.57 quotas, the Liberals 1.83, the Greens 0.92, One Nation 0.40, Legalise Cannabis 0.28 and the Nationals 0.24. The Liberals will soak up right-wing preferences that would otherwise go to One Nation, so Labor should win the last seat.

    In South Australia, with 78% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.70 quotas, the Liberals 1.94, the Greens 0.89, One Nation 0.37, ToP 0.20 and Legalise Cannabis 0.19. Labor’s third candidate has a 0.33 quota lead over One Nation.

    In Tasmania, with 84% of enrolled counted, Labor has 2.49 quotas, the Liberals 1.66, the Greens 1.14, Lambie 0.51, One Nation 0.36 and Legalise Cannabis 0.23. It’s likely Tasmania will be a status quo result: two Labor, two Liberals, one Green and one Lambie. If this occurs, Tasmania would be the only state without a loss for the Coalition.

    In the ACT, with 79% of enrolled counted, Pocock has easily retained with 1.19 quotas and Labor is certain to win the second seat with 0.95 quotas. The Liberals won just 17.2% or 0.52 quotas and the Greens 0.23 quotas.

    Turnout is relatively low in the NT. With 57% of enrolled counted, Labor has 1.03 quotas, the CLP 1.02, the Greens 0.33 and One Nation 0.24. Labor and the CLP will hold their two seats.

    Close seats in the House

    Since my last update on Wednesday, the ABC has called Melbourne, Menzies, Fremantle and Bendigo for Labor, taking Labor’s seat total to 91 of 150. The Coalition has won 40 seats, the Greens zero and all Others ten, with nine seats remaining undecided.

    In the undecided seats, Labor is the clear favourite in Bullwinkel and Calwell, and currently just behind in Bean and Longman but with a good chance of overturning those deficits. The Liberals are the favourites in Flinders, Monash and Bradfield, the Greens are favourites to hold one seat (Ryan) and Teal Monique Ryan should hold Kooyong.




    Read more:
    Explore the new House of Representatives


    The Conversation

    Adrian Beaumont 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. Labor likely to gain 5 senators, cementing the left’s Senate dominance – https://theconversation.com/labor-likely-to-gain-5-senators-cementing-the-lefts-senate-dominance-256207

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Slovakia: Bilal Zahid

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    News story

    Change of His Majesty’s Ambassador to Slovakia: Bilal Zahid

    Mr Bilal Zahid has been appointed His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Slovak Republic in succession to Mr Nigel Baker OBE MVO who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Zahid will take up his appointment during September 2025.

    Mr Bilal Zahid

    Curriculum vitae           

    Full name: Bilal Zahid

    Date Role
    2024 to present Full Time Language Training
    2023 to 2024 Kyiv, Minister Counsellor
    2022 to 2023 FCDO, Joint Head of Ukraine Campaign Unit
    2020 to 2022 FCO, then FCDO, Additional Director, Eastern Europe and Central Asia
    2016 to 2020 Northern Ireland Office, Deputy Director
    2015 to 2016 Northern Ireland Office, Head of Political Section
    2013 to 2015 Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs
    2011 to 2013 Cabinet Office, Policy Adviser, National Security Secretariat
    2009 to 2011 Northern Ireland Office, Fast Stream roles

    Media enquiries

    Email newsdesk@fcdo.gov.uk

    Telephone 020 7008 3100

    Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

    Updates to this page

    Published 9 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Celebrations at St Peter’s as academy rated Good by Ofsted

    Source: City of Wolverhampton

    Inspectors visited St Peter’s Collegiate Academy recently and, in their report published this week, found that pupils ‘achieve well’ thanks to consistent approaches to teaching and the curriculum which the school has put in place.

    Leaders have undertaken careful adjustments to continue improving pupils’ education and exam results, and extensively developed the school’s approach to teaching, ensuring higher levels of consistency across subjects – with pupils speaking positively to inspectors about the improvements which have been made.

    Pupils ‘know that the school’s expectations for their achievement and how they conduct themselves are high and consistent’, and how the school lives up to its values of ‘respect, service and aspiration’. One pupil stated: “St Peter’s is a community which supports all pupils and provides a safe environment for us to learn.’

    St Peter’s is an ‘inclusive school where pupils of all backgrounds are valued and welcome’, and identifies the needs of students with special educational needs or disabilities ‘with precision’.

    Staff at the school, part of Three Spires Trust, check pupils’ reading ages carefully on entry, enabling ‘effective support’ to those who need to become more fluent readers, and there is further provision in place to encourage a love of reading.

    The school has worked extensively to develop its sixth form, establishing a joint sixth form with another school in the trust which has contributed to students ‘learning the curriculum in greater depth and being better prepared’ for exams. Sixth formers are ‘well guided in their choice of courses’ and given ‘useful guidance to inform and support them to access ambitious destinations’.

    Attendance levels are high, and inspectors say the school is ‘rightly proud of its extensive offer for pupils’ personal development’, including clubs, visits and residentials.

    Governors and trustees are ‘ambitious for the school and its pupils’, ‘very well informed’, and offer supportive challenge. Meanwhile, the trust has ‘worked effectively with leaders to review and develop the school’s work’, with staff speaking ‘highly positively’ of the changes which have been made.

    Inspectors concluded that the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and sixth form provision at St Peter’s Collegiate Academy are all Good. Previously, the school had been judged to require improvement.

    Principal Timothy Mullen-Furness said: “We are absolutely delighted that Ofsted has recognised the tremendous progress we’ve made as an academy.

    “This report reflects the unwavering dedication of our staff, the positive attitudes of our students, and the strength of our wider community. St Peter’s continues to grow as a place where every student is welcomed, valued, and supported to fulfil their God given potential. As we look ahead to our brand new academy building, opening in January 2026, we remain committed to providing an exceptional education in a truly inclusive environment.”

    Matt Jevons, Chair of Governors, added: “As both Chair of Governors and a parent at the school, I am fortunate enough to witness the unstinting dedication and professionalism of our staff every day. It is therefore extremely pleasing to see their efforts formally acknowledged in the inspection report and in the review meetings.

    “As parents, we entrust the school significantly to care for and educate our children, and this judgment reaffirms our faith in the school’s long term commitment to excellence.”

    Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “This is an excellent report which recognises the significant progress made at St Peter’s Collegiate Academy, and it is a testament to the collective effort, resilience and ambition across the academy. I would like to congratulate Timothy and everyone at St Peter’s on their continuing success.”

    Data shows that 97% of schools in Wolverhampton are currently rated either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, the highest ever.
     

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-OSI China: Sports events fuel tourism consumption in China

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

    When Jiang Xiaojuan and her husband boarded a plane for a journey of around 3,500 kilometers, they were not just headed on holiday; they were pursuing a shared passion: badminton.

    The couple from Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang region, flew to the coastal city of Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province, to catch the 2025 Sudirman Cup, held during China’s bustling May Day “golden week” holiday.

    The couple instinctively knew that spectating would not be enough, which is why they had packed their rackets into their suitcases.

    Wang Zhiyi of China competes in the women’s singles match against An Se Young of South Korea during the final match between China and South Korea at BWF Sudirman Cup in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, May 4, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

    “Xiamen has plenty of badminton courts and a vibrant local scene,” Jiang told Xinhua outside the stadium, shortly after cheering for China’s win in the final. “As soon as we landed, we joined a local group and played three matches.”

    For Jiang, blending sports with travel was the perfect getaway: “It’s good for both body and mind,” she said with a grin.

    A new trend of sports-driven tourism is emerging in China as more travelers are building their itineraries around tournaments, marathons and championship games. Cities are seizing the opportunity, leveraging major events to boost hotel bookings, catering consumption and cultural exploration.

    The government is backing this trend. National action plans released in March and April highlighted the integration of sports, culture, and tourism as a strategic pillar for stimulating domestic consumption, calling for more high-quality sports programs and distinctive events.

    Xiamen’s hosting of this year’s Sudirman Cup was a prime example. Running from April 27 to May 4, the tournament coincided with the country’s five-day May Day holiday, attracting crowds of badminton fans alongside regular holiday tourists.

    Local businesses saw a noticeable boost, with hotels across the city reporting higher bookings than the previous year. Shen Xiaoyan of Le Meridien Xiamen said the hotel hosted several groups in town for the competition. To attract more guests, the hotel offered bundled packages with perks like complimentary shuttle service to the arena and free court time.

    The city didn’t rely solely on the matches. “We rolled out ‘sports-plus’ packages to enrich the visitor experience,” said Chen Lan, deputy head of Xiamen’s sports bureau. Initiatives like “Walk with the Champions” city tours and campus visits by athletes added layers of experience beyond stadiums.

    More people are prioritizing health and leisure amid rising living standards, said Li Peigong, president of Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance. “A combination of sports and travel has become a go-to solution that caters to a wide range of needs.”

    This shift aligns with China’s broader development strategy to become a leading sporting nation by advancing competitive sports, encouraging mass participation, and developing its sports industry — all in parallel.

    With annual growth surpassing 10 percent over the past years, the sports industry has emerged as a key driver of consumption, innovation, and employment in the country.

    In 2024 alone, Xiamen hosted 40 high-level sports events, generating more than 2.6 billion yuan (about 361 million U.S. dollars) in revenues.

    Meanwhile, Shanghai is setting the pace for sports-driven consumption. In March, the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix drew a record-breaking 220,000 spectators, exceeding last year’s attendance. Of those, 15 percent were overseas visitors, with 60 percent traveling to Shanghai specifically for the race, doubling the number from the previous year.

    But the excitement didn’t stop at the racetrack. F1 fans flowed into Shanghai’s buzzing neighborhoods, dining at upscale restaurants, shopping in luxury boutiques, and browsing duty-free stores.

    “Ticket sales rose by 30 percent compared to 2023,” said Yang Yibin, chairman of Shanghai Juss Sports Development Group. “This isn’t just a race — it’s an invitation to discover China.”

    In 2024, Shanghai hosted 178 major sporting events, raking in 11.38 billion yuan. When including related spending on tourism, dining, and shopping, the total soared to nearly 31 billion yuan.

    Experts argue that sports tourism is helping lesser-known destinations stay competitive in an increasingly crowded travel market. This ensures steady visitor flow while offering fresh, engaging experiences, said Zou Xinxian, a professor at Beijing Sport University.

    “Sports help activate destination brands and build unique, recognizable identities,” Zou said. Sports events like marathons enable cities to showcase their local culture in dynamic, participatory ways.

    Over the May Day holiday, sports events were seamlessly woven into local culture to attract visitors.

    In Jilin, a 10-kilometer warm-up marathon took place alongside a traditional kite festival at the scenic Chagan Lake, with runners passing through villages rich in ethnic character. Meanwhile, in Yunnan, a large-scale sports carnival featuring a variety of competitions drew athletes and tourists alike to its stunning natural landscapes.

    Li Peiyao, a researcher at Jilin University, sees a broader shift in consumer behavior: from buying things to seeking meaningful experiences.

    “Sporting events don’t just bring people together,” said Li. “They help foster connection, cultural identity, and shared memories.”

    MIL OSI China News

  • MIL-Evening Report: The artist as creator of all things: Julie Fragar wins the Archibald for a portrait among the stars

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Honorary Senior Fellow, School of Culture and Communication. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne

    Winner Archibald Prize 2025, Julie Fragar ‘Flagship Mother Multiverse (Justene)’, oil on canvas, 240 x 180.4 cm
    © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter

    Beatrice Gralton, who curated this year’s Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes, has hung the exhibition well. Julie Fragar’s Archibald-winning portrait of her friend and fellow artist Justene Williams is impossible to miss in the central court of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

    Fragar’s subject bursts out of the central space, as though she is herself the Big Bang that created the Universe. This is the artist as the Creator of All Things, the governor of a world that extends from her hands. Behind her are the stars from whence she may have come.

    Her face is grave, but severe – governing the multiverse is a serious task. She hovers above the figures she has created, including her daughter, Honore, who has also inspired many of Williams’ works. Honore appears in the painting twice, first as a tiny child looking up, and then as an eight-year-old, half-hidden behind the assortment of objects and detritus that Williams uses to make her art.

    The title, Flagship Mother Multiverse, comes from Williams’ recent New Zealand installation work, Making Do Rhymes With Poo, best described as an endurance piece where the artist used her own body to make a series of works.

    By painting in monochrome, Fragar enables the viewer to focus first on the subject, before taking in the details of the confusion of the elements beneath her. Her dress, quietly captioned “Flag ship Mother” (with “mother” printed in verso), reinforces that this mother, who makes all things, is indeed captain of her ship.

    The Wynne prize and urban beauty

    Much of the time, the Australian landscape is imagined as bush, desert, or lush pastoral land. Winner of the Wynne prize, Jude Rae’s painting Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal, celebrates the accidental moments of urban beauty. The artist lives in Redfern where, high on the hill, it is possible to see the lights of the Botany Bay container terminal: a place that never sleeps.

    Winner Wynne Prize 2025, Jude Rae ‘Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal’, oil on linen, 200 x 150.4 cm.
    © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio

    The Wynne prize is awarded to a landscape painting or figure sculpture, and Rae has painted her urban landscape just at that moment where the sky blushes a faint pink, turning to dark blue, before the almost black of the night sky.

    There are no stars to be seen in the city sky. They are blotted out by the dazzling multicoloured lights of the machines that govern the movement of goods and services, the creators of wealth in our artificial landscape.

    The surface of Rae’s painting is disconcertingly flat, as though the paint is embedded within the canvas. It could almost have been created by her transferring her thoughts, rather than paint, onto the canvas.

    ‘Nature’s gestures’ in the Sulman

    The calm of Rae’s approach is in marked contrast to the exuberant painterly style of Gene A’Hern’s Sky Painting, which has been awarded the Sir John Sulman Prize for “subject painting, genre painting or mural project”.

    In his time, Sir John Sulman was one of the more reactionary gallery trustees, calling the modern art of the 1920s and ‘30s “awful rubbish”.

    It does seem somewhat ironic that the prize that bears his name has consistently been awarded to more adventurous entries.

    Unlike the Archibald and Wynne Prizes, which must be judged by the gallery’s trustees, the Sulman is judged by an artist, a different one every year. This year the judge was Elizabeth Pulie. While A’Hern’s work could hardly be described as decorative in the same way as Pulie’s, it does have a strong sense of colour and rhythm in a way that maybe spoke to her.

    Winner Sulman Prize 2025, Gene A’Hern ‘Sky painting’, oil and oil stick on board, 240 x 240 cm.
    © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio

    A’Hern describes his painting as conveying a sense of “nature’s gestures”, of the different elements of sight and sound that combine to form the country of the Blue Mountains that is his home.

    His description of his prizewinning painting – as well as its appearance, with gloriously curving gestural elements – are a reminder that the barriers between the different categories in this annual festival of art are best described as “fluid”.

    While I was in the crowd waiting for the announcement, I was asked to define “subject painting, genre painting or mural project”. The truth of the matter is that all categories are blurred and, with the exception of portraiture, are interchangeable.

    The definition of portraiture, as established by Mr Justice Roper in the court case brought against the trustees in 1944, still stands. A portrait is “a pictorial representation of a person, painted by an artist”. A landscape, however, may represent a photographically accurate representation of a place, or a feeling about that place. A genre or subject painting may show people, or not. It may express objects, or emotions. A mural is simply a painting on a wall.

    Although both Sydney and Melbourne sport many murals on laneway walls, it is many years since a mural has won the Sulman, which is a great pity.

    After the television crews and crowds of journalists had departed, I returned to the gallery for a final look at Fragar’s prizewinning portrait. It was still lit up by the lights for the cameras. It struck me then that this image would make an excellent mural – or perhaps a giant projection in the sky of a woman making a universe, using the power of her mind.

    Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2025 exhibition is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until August 17.




    Read more:
    Archibald Packing Room Prize goes to Abdul Abdullah for Jason Phu portrait, among broader set of bold and deeply personal works


    Joanna Mendelssohn has in the past received funding from the Austraian Research Council

    ref. The artist as creator of all things: Julie Fragar wins the Archibald for a portrait among the stars – https://theconversation.com/the-artist-as-creator-of-all-things-julie-fragar-wins-the-archibald-for-a-portrait-among-the-stars-253748

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Russia: 80 years of the Great Victory!

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    Russia is painted in black, gold and red colors – for several days now, people all over the country and beyond its borders have been celebrating Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. The State University of Management, known for its patriotic traditions, did not stay away either. On May 6, our students and staff laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On May 7, we held a ceremonial event on campus. And today is the main day – the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory!

    Over these 80 years, hundreds of thousands of words have been said about the meaning of the holiday, but they are still never enough. There will never be enough words to express the pain of millions of victims and the weight of their loss. Today we celebrate the anniversary of the day when the pain, if not ended, then stopped growing. This is a unique holiday of bitter tears flowing into tears of happiness. And the second thing is more important, because life always wins.

    Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroyev: “I congratulate all the staff and students of the State University of Management on the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory! This holiday always inspires us, gives us a sense of pride in our country and our people, inspires us to great achievements, does not allow us to give up and retreat in the face of difficulties. Each of our small successes in work or study, each step of the podium in sports competitions, each step forward of the soldiers of the Russian army in a special military operation is an echo of that Great Victory, without which there would be no modern life.

    Every year the significance of this date only grows, because living witnesses of those events pass away and with each May parade we all bear an ever-increasing responsibility to our ancestors, the duty to preserve the memory of their feat, the obligation to pass on the historical truth to descendants. GUU never forgets this important mission of the university, regularly holds internal and off-site patriotic events, helps in search operations on the battlefields, and regularly participates in the information campaign of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education “Scientific Regiment”. Just yesterday, on May 8, together with our students – members of the GUU expeditionary corps, as well as colleagues from RTU MIREA and the “Arctic Team”, we opened a memorial in the village of Selizharovo in the Tver Region. In this way, we carry the historical memory and the banner of the Great Victory from the glorious past to the triumphant future of Russia. And no one can stop this movement of the national spirit and self-awareness.

    Happy holiday, Happy Victory Day!

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 05/09/2025

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-Evening Report: Glyn Davis to quit as the prime minister’s top public servant

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Glyn Davis, Anthony Albanese’s hand-picked Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, will leave the post on June 16.

    Albanese paid tribute to Davis for rebuilding the public service.

    “One of the key priorities of our government’s first term was rebuilding the capacity of the Australian Public Service,” the PM said in a statement.

    “This included rebuilding the confidence of people who worked in the APS, making sure they understood that the government valued their ideas, respected their hard work and recognised their vital role in our democracy.”

    Albanese said Davis had “worked calmly and steadily to reassert the purpose of the public service”.

    He described Davis as “a man of unique strengths: an intellectual who embraces the practical, an institutionalist who champions reform.

    “To his enduring credit, he leaves a great national institution in far better shape than he found it, to the benefit of all Australians.”

    Davis, who has written extensively on public policy, had a long career in academia before taking the PM&C post. He was vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, where he undertook major reform.

    Earlier, he had served the Queensland Labor governments of Wayne Goss and Peter Beattie.

    His wife, Margaret Gardner, is former vice-chancellor of Monash University, and presently is Governor of Victoria.

    Among the Albanese government’s public service reforms has been stripping back the use of consultants, bringing more work in-house.

    The public service became a frontline issue at the election with the opposition promising a big cut to its size.

    Davis said on Friday that he planned to take “a break, some time to think and write, some more involvement in the arts, and a moment to reflect on how best to contribute”.

    He remains a visiting professor in the Blavatnik School at Oxford and hopes to spend some time there. “And I will get involved in some research projects at Melbourne also.” But he was not leaving one role for another, he added.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Glyn Davis to quit as the prime minister’s top public servant – https://theconversation.com/glyn-davis-to-quit-as-the-prime-ministers-top-public-servant-255961

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Special Report: Sounding Memory – Two Great Compositions of China and Russia in the Year of the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

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

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

    Moscow, May 9 /Xinhua/ — There are musical works that very accurately reflect their time and the collective unconscious of millions of people. They arise at turning points in history and shape the historical memory of peoples.

    During the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the great Victory in Russia, the song “The Holy War” by Alexander Alexandrov is heard, and in China, the cantata “The Yellow River” by Xian Xinghai is heard. Despite the fact that these works were born in different years and in different countries, they have become cultural symbols for the peoples who fought together on the fronts of World War II.

    MONUMENTS OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT BORN IN THE FIRE OF WAR

    During the World Anti-Fascist War, China was the main theater of military operations in Asia, and the USSR was in Europe. The Chinese people were the first to rise up in the fight against the Japanese militarists, waged the longest war and, like the Soviet Union, suffered colossal losses.

    The legendary Yellow River Cantata was created in 1939, when the Chinese people had already been fighting Japanese aggression for almost eight years. The 34-year-old composer Xian Xinghai wrote it in six days and nights in the communist-liberated area of Yan’an (Shaanxi Province, Northwest China). He was inspired by a patriotic poem by Guan Weiran, which formed the basis of the lyrics.

    “They both shared the same aspiration of expressing the nation’s voice during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression through music,” said Liu Ni, director of the Yan’an Revolutionary Memorial Museum.

    The piece was first performed in April 1939 and soon spread throughout China, becoming a symbol of national resistance to Japanese aggressors. “The cantata, in which the Yellow River symbolizes the nation, sounded like a powerful battle cry for the people of China,” said Liu Meng, a professor at the Yan’an Cadre School.

    “A work like the Yellow River Cantata means that the Chinese nation and the Chinese people cannot be defeated by external enemies,” said Zuo Zhenguan, a renowned composer and musicologist who has researched the life and work of Xian Xinghai.

    “Arise, great country, rise to mortal combat with the dark fascist force, with the damned horde!” — these words from the Soviet song “Sacred War” performed by the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A. V. Alexandrov send shivers down your spine. This song, like an eternal memory of the feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, has lived for more than 80 years and is performed by the ensemble at concerts both in Russia and abroad.

    According to the head of the ensemble – artistic director Gennady Sachenyuk, in the first days after Germany’s attack on the USSR, composer Alexander Alexandrov saw in one of the newspapers the poems of the poet Vasily Lebedev-Kumach that struck him. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses of those events, he immediately went to write music, and the next day the musicians were already rehearsing the song in the ensemble’s building. “This song was probably needed like air, precisely in those days,” said G. Sachenyuk.

    On June 26, 1941, the song “Svyatnaya Voina” was first performed at the Belorussky Station in Moscow, from where trains with Red Army soldiers were leaving for the front. It was a one-song concert and its premiere. “You always imagine the faces of the people who went through all this, how it all united them, especially when people stand up in the audience. And they stand up during this song at every concert,” says Dmitry Trunov, an artist of the choir of the A. V. Alexandrov Ensemble.

    According to the rector of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, Alexander Ryzhinsky, these two great musical works provided spiritual support for the fight against Japanese militarism and German fascism, and also became monuments to the national spirit of China and Russia.

    “VICTORY OVERTURES”

    In May 1940, Xian Xinghai, on the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, went from Yan’an to the Soviet Union to complete work on a documentary film about the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In the Soviet Union, he made corrections to “Yellow River” and completed its editing.

    “This cantata is a spiritual monument to the Chinese nation. The Yellow River has the same effect on Chinese citizens as the Holy War has on Russians, being a symbol of struggle, a symbol of victory, an impulse to further aspiration to live and remain strong,” Nikolai Kirillov, chief conductor of the A. V. Alexandrov Ensemble, told Xinhua. “Each of them, at one time, produced such an effect for their country, for their people, provided such assistance, such support, which was needed at that moment.”

    “Both the Yellow River and the Sacred War cantatas combined the national musical language with the fight against the enemy, becoming a powerful spiritual weapon in the anti-fascist war,” said Ren Xuewen, deputy director of the Department of Party History and Party Construction at the Yan’an Cadre School. He noted that during World War II, the Soviet Union performed the Yellow River, and the Soviet song Sacred War was distributed in China on the radio.

    “The Yellow River” and “The Holy War” are “victory overtures” created by life itself, which testify to a great friendship forged in blood.

    On April 18, 2025, the Chinese Embassy in Russia held a photo exhibition, “Sincere Friends Tempered in Trials,” dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. “The joint celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Anti-Fascist War will help bring peace to all of humanity,” military retiree Vyacheslav Pechugin, a visitor to the event, said in an interview with Xinhua.

    During the war, many events took place that united the two nations. More than 2,000 Soviet pilots defended the skies of China, delivering powerful blows to the Japanese aggressors. Chinese pilot Tang Do participated in the Great Patriotic War as a deputy squadron commander of a fighter aviation regiment. Chinese journalist Hu Jibang wrote about the decisive struggle of the Soviet people.

    “The cooperation between China and the USSR during the anti-fascist war was not only interstate strategic mutual assistance, but also a demonstration of friendship established by peoples at the expense of their lives and sacrifices,” Ren Xuewen emphasized.

    THE MAJESTIC POWER OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

    Every time there are important holidays, the Yellow River Cantata is performed in Yan’an, the birthplace of the great work. It is also a compulsory performance at local music colleges. “It is a masterpiece that most reflects the national spirit of China,” said Guo Qiang, deputy director of the Xi’an Conservatory of Music.

    For 86 years since the Yellow River appeared, it has been performed many times in concert halls in Russia. This has become a good tradition and part of the growing humanitarian exchanges between the two countries. At the same time, Holy War has been constantly performed by Chinese musicians, appeared in TV programs and films, and has become known to many Chinese.

    “These two pieces of art born in the fire of war have become a cultural heritage that knows no national boundaries,” said Zhou Zhou, a Chinese graduate student at Russia’s V.S. Popov Academy of Choral Art who has conducted Chinese and Russian student choirs performing “Holy War” and “Yellow River” on numerous occasions.

    During the war, the two countries shared hardships, and today they are developing together. Relations between China and Russia, good neighbors and true friends, are constantly moving forward. In particular, cooperation in the humanitarian sphere is dynamic.

    A rich and varied program has been developed within the framework of the China-Russia Cross Years of Culture /2024-2025/. For example, about 1.5 million people attended hundreds of events within the framework of the “Chinese New Year in Moscow” festival, which took place from January 28 to February 9.

    “Russian-Chinese cooperation in the humanitarian sphere is the most important component of the multifaceted complex of bilateral relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction. We are always pleased to note its progressive development in all areas,” said the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

    “Today, when the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind is gaining popularity, the time and space of the symphony of sounds of the Yellow River and Holy War cantatas tell us that only by continually strengthening the ties between people and preserving the hard-won peace can we pay tribute to our ancestors,” Liu Meng said. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LegCo to consider the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong Bill

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

         The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on next Wednesday (May 14) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong Bill will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.
     
         The Second Reading debate on the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024 will also resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.
     
         On Government motion, the Secretary for Justice will move a proposed resolution under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance. The proposed resolution is set out in Appendix 1.
     
         On Member’s Bill, the Second Reading debate on the City University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2025 will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.
     
         On Members’ motions, Michael Tien will move a motion on “Actively dovetailing with national and global trends and studying the reform of the curriculum framework for primary and secondary schools”. The motion is set out in Appendix 2.
     
         Yiu Pak-leung will move a motion on “Reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as an international tourism hub and consolidating its position as a world-class premier tourism destination”. The motion is set out in Appendix 3.
     
         Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
     
         The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-Evening Report: It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne

    This year, for many Australians, it feels like summer never left. The sunny days and warm nights have continued well into autumn. Even now, in May, it’s still unusually warm.

    Much of the southern half of the continent is experiencing both unseasonable warmth and dry conditions. This is linked to persistent high atmospheric pressure (called “blocking”) to the south and southeast of Australia.

    While temperatures will fall across southern Australia as we approach the winter solstice, early indications are that this winter will be a warm one. Rainfall predictions are less certain.

    The extra warmth we’ve experienced raises obvious questions about the influence of human-caused climate change. The warming signal is clear and it’s a sign of things to come.

    A warm and dry autumn for many

    March and April brought unseasonal heat to much of Australia.

    March was widely hot, with temperatures several degrees above normal across much of the country. But April’s heat was largely restricted to the southeast.

    Australia had its hottest March on record and the heat has continued, especially in Victoria and parts of New South Wales.
    Bureau of Meteorology

    Victoria had its warmest April on record, and parts of the state experienced temperatures more than 3°C above normal across both March and April.

    Temperatures normally fall quite quickly over the southeast of Australia during April and May as the days shorten and the continent’s interior cools. But this year, southern Australia was unusually warm at the start of May. Some locations experienced days with maximum temperatures more than 10°C above normal for the time of year.

    Records were broken in Hobart and parts of Melbourne, which had their warmest May nights since observations began.

    The start of May saw daytime maximum temperatures across much of Australia well above average for the time of year.
    Bureau of Meteorology

    While Queensland and the New South Wales coast have had very wet spells, including downpours from Tropical Cyclone Alfred at the start of March, other parts of Australia have been quite dry.

    The area between Adelaide and Melbourne has been exceptionally dry. A drought is unfolding in the region after a severe lack of rainfall, with deficits stretching back over the past year or so. Western Tasmania is also suffering from a severe lack of rainfall since the start of autumn, although welcome rain fell in the past week.

    And it’s not just on land that unusual heat has been observed. The seas around Australia have been warmer than normal, causing severe coral bleaching to the west and east of the continent, harmful algal blooms and other ecosystem disruptions.

    Warm seas likely triggered the microalgal bloom in coastal waters of South Australia.
    Anthony Rowland

    Blocking highs largely to blame

    A high pressure system has dominated over the south and southeast of Australia over the past few months.

    High pressure in the Tasman Sea can sometimes get stuck there for a few days. This leads to what’s known as “blocking”, when the usual passage of weather systems moving from west to east is obstructed. This can lock in weather patterns for several days or even a week.

    Repeated blocking occurred this autumn. As winds move anticlockwise around high pressure systems in the Southern Hemisphere, blocking highs in the Tasman Sea can bring moist, onshore winds to the New South Wales and Queensland coasts, increasing rainfall. But such high pressure systems also bring drier conditions for the interior of the southeast and much of Victoria and South Australia.

    Often, these high pressure systems also bring northerly winds to Victoria, and this can cause warmer conditions across much of the state.

    High pressure systems also tend to bring more clear and sunny conditions, which increases daytime temperatures in particular. Air in high pressure systems moves down towards the surface and this process causes warming, too.

    Australia sits between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and is subject to their variability, so we often look there to help explain what’s happening with Australia’s climate. In autumn though, our climate influences, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole, are less active and have weaker relationships with Australian climate than at other times of year. Neither of these climate influences is in a strong phase at the moment.

    A warm winter on the cards

    One big question is how long the heat will last. In parts of southeast Australia, including Melbourne, average temperatures drop quickly at this time of year as we approach the winter solstice.

    However, the seasonal outlook from the Bureau of Meteorology points to a high likelihood of a relatively warm winter.

    Australians rarely escape having a winter without any significant cold spells, but the long-range forecast suggests we should anticipate above-normal temperatures on average. Both daytime maximum temperatures and nighttime minimum temperatures are expected to be above average generally this winter.

    Climate and water long-range forecast, issued 1 May 2025 (Bureau of Meteorology)

    Global warming is here

    The elephant in the room is climate change. Human-caused climate change is increasing autumn temperatures and the frequency of late season heat events. As greenhouse gas emissions continue at a record pace, expect continued warming and a greater chance of autumn heatwaves in future.

    The effect of climate change on rainfall is less clear though. For the vast majority of Australia, there is high uncertainty as to whether autumn will become wetter or drier as the world warms.

    Andrew King receives funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather and the National Environmental Science Program.

    ref. It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot? – https://theconversation.com/its-almost-winter-why-is-australia-still-so-hot-256071

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