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Category: Germany

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Highland Councillor elected as Vice Chair of the North Sea Commission Transport Thematic Group

    Source: Scotland – Highland Council

    Councillor Ken Gowans, Chair of The Highland Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee has been elected as Vice Chair of the North Sea Commission Transport Thematic Group. The appointment was made during the NSC’s Executive Committee held last week in Oldenburg, Germany.

    The North Sea Commission is one of the six geographical commissions of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and its mission is to strengthen partnerships between regional authorities which face the challenges and opportunities presented by the North Sea.

    It serves as a platform for cooperation, information-sharing and lobbying between regional authorities across the North Sea Region, member come from the UK, EU and Scandinavia.

    The Commission is comprised of four thematic working groups, with each of these groups supported by an advisor and led by three politicians from around the North Sea region. 

    Councillor Ken Gowans said: “It is an honour to take on the role of Vice Chair of the Transport Group and I very much welcome this opportunity to ensure that Highland and Scotland are well represented so we can work together with transport partners in the North Sea region to improve our connectivity, for business trade and personal travel. The work of the Transport group will link to the other thematic areas.”

    These are:

    • The Energy & Climate Change Working Group
    • The Marine Resources Working Group
    • The Smart Regions Working Group

    1 Jul 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Switzerland: IMF Staff Concluding Statement—2025 Article IV Consultation Mission

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    July 1, 2025

    A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

    The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    Bern: Switzerland continues to benefit from strong fundamentals, highly credible institutions, and a skilled labor force, positioning it among the world’s most competitive, resilient, and innovative economies. Economic performance has been strong. Nonetheless, Switzerland faces important challenges, including from evolving global economic conditions, rising global trade tensions, and persistent safe-haven pressures and franc appreciation. The ongoing IMF Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) has called for strengthening supervisory, resolution, and crisis management frameworks, including to address gaps exposed during the Credit Suisse crisis, where the authorities are taking action. Navigating these challenges will require broad policy consensus and effective macroeconomic management. Priorities include safeguarding price stability, addressing emerging fiscal pressures, advancing strong financial sector reforms, implementing structural measures to boost productivity and competitiveness, and ratifying the new package of agreements with the EU to enhance external resilience.

    Economic Outlook

    With global headwinds, growth is projected to remain somewhat below potential in 2025-26. Growth is expected to reach 1.3 percent in 2025 (sporting events adjusted), up from 1 percent in 2024, driven by private consumption supported by real wage growth and stronger construction activity with easier monetary conditions. While unemployment rates have remained near their natural level, recent labor market indicators suggest some softening, e.g., declines in the vacancy-to-employment ratio. This is in line with moderate slack (0.3 percent of potential GDP) in 2025. Growth is projected at 1.2 percent in 2026, converging to potential (1.5 percent) by 2030, driven by a gradual increase in domestic and external demand; trade tariffs in the baseline reflect those prevailing in June 2025. Switzerland’s external position is assessed to be broadly in line with medium-term fundamentals and desirable policies.

    With a temporary decline below zero, headline inflation in 2025 will remain subdued; core inflation is expected to stay above zero and within the price stability range. While core inflation through May was 0.5 percent (y/y), reflecting some deceleration in rent inflation, headline inflation declined to -0.1 percent (y/y) driven by franc appreciation, lower electricity tariffs, and softer international oil prices, and is projected to end 2025 at 0.1 percent (y/y). Accommodative monetary policy and higher oil prices are expected to drive headline inflation to 0.6 percent (y/y) by end-2026.

    Important risks loom, particularly from external factors. Worsening geopolitical tensions and fragmentation, volatile energy prices, and uncertainty over trade policy and tariff levels could adversely impact confidence, exports, and investment. Sectoral impacts would likely vary. Heightened uncertainty could spark further safe-haven inflows and appreciation pressures with additional challenges for export-oriented and import-competing sectors. If heightened uncertainty extends over the medium term, Switzerland’s growth model could be affected if supply chains are disrupted and R&D spending is scaled back, impacting innovation, productivity, and potential growth. On the upside, a positive resolution of tariff negotiations with the U.S., both for Switzerland and the EU, would lead to better growth prospects and alleviate appreciation pressures. Fiscal easing in Germany may also support activity more than expected. Domestic demand may be bolstered by planned pension payment increases.

    Monetary Policy: Mitigating Deflationary Pressures

    The recent 25 bps policy rate cut was appropriate considering recent declines in inflation, signs of weakening in the labor market, and external uncertainty. This brought the cumulative policy easing over the past 1½ years to 175 bps and placed the policy rate at zero. Notably, core inflation has remained within the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) 0–2 percent price stability range, and medium-term inflation expectations have stayed anchored around the mid-point of the range. While additional easing may be needed if deflationary pressures materialize, future policy action needs to consider that trade-offs of further easing become more pronounced when policy rates decline below zero. Negative rates may amplify financial sector risks through lower bank profitability and possibly higher real estate exposures. Given the limited space for further policy rate cuts (the SNB’s main policy tool), these should be aimed at sharp and (or) persistent deflationary pressures that risk de-anchoring medium-term inflation expectations. Temporarily negative headline inflation should not warrant further easing. While intervention in the foreign exchange market (FXIs) may be needed to smooth the impact of safe-haven financial inflow surges, FXIs should continue to be considered cautiously, also given the SNB’s already large balance sheet. To mitigate balance sheet risks, the upcoming review of dividend policy should ensure that robust capital buffers are maintained and refrain from raising distributions.

    The SNB should continue to assess whether its monetary policy and communication frameworks warrant adjustments. Given the specific challenges facing Swiss monetary policy in a context of elevated uncertainty and low equilibrium interest rates, a review, possibly with external support as in the case of other major central banks, could be useful. The SNB should consider whether providing additional information in the context of monetary policy assessments or between quarterly meetings could support policy guidance. In light of the heightened uncertainty, attention should be given to clarifying the reaction function (including via scenario analysis) and strengthening the formulation of risks to the outlook.

     

    Fiscal Policy: Addressing Long-Term Fiscal Challenges

    The moderately looser fiscal stance projected for 2025 is appropriate given some economic slack. The general government’s overall fiscal surplus is projected to decline to 0.3 percent of GDP in 2025 from 0.6 percent of GDP in 2024, largely reflecting a reduction in the surplus of social security funds. The federal government’s deficit is projected to remain broadly unchanged vs. 2024 (0.2 percent of GDP), as higher defense and social welfare spending is offset by budget consolidation measures. The proposed Relief Package 2027 aims to cut expenditures by CHF 2–3 billion on a permanent basis from 2027 onwards to comply with the debt brake rule amid spending pressures and uncertain tax reform impacts. Staff note the limited room for maneuver implied by the debt-brake rule and the authorities’ choice of spending cuts over tax hikes. If moderate downside risks materialize, automatic stabilizers should operate fully. In the event of severe shocks, targeted transfers may be warranted via extraordinary provisions of the debt brake rule to avoid a deep recession, including one induced by a deflationary spiral. As in the past, staff note that there is a bias toward fiscal surpluses through spending below budget allocations and cautious revenue forecasts; efforts should continue to mitigate this where possible.

    Planned increases in pension payments will require additional revenues to preserve the financial strength of social security funds. A new 13th monthly pension payment, planned to start in December 2026, will require additional outlays of CHF 4.2 billion annually (0.5 percent of GDP). To this end, the Federal Council has proposed financing options, including a VAT rate increase of 0.7 ppt. Continued efforts, including stabilizing Pillar I pension finances for 2030-40, are essential to ensure long-term pension system viability amidst changing demographics and rising costs. Timely repayment (or recapitalization) of the disability insurance (IV) debt to the old-age and survivor’s insurance (AHV) is critical to safeguarding the structural and financial soundness of both schemes.

    Demographic trends, climate change, and defense spending pressures create medium-to-long term fiscal challenges. The 2024 Fiscal Sustainability Report projected demographic-related expenditures rising by 3 percent of GDP by 2060; absent compensatory policy decisions, climate mitigation measures to reach the net zero target could raise public debt by 3–4 ppt of GDP by 2040 and 8–11 ppt by 2060, depending on policy choices (e.g., carbon taxation vs. subsidies) and compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Defense spending is expected to increase significantly by 2032. Given the provisions of the debt brake rule, a comprehensive medium-and-long term plan is needed to identify and ensure that revenue increases and spending reprioritization are sufficient to meet these and other needs. A careful assessment is needed to determine whether pressures will emerge at the federal or cantonal level and whether the division of responsibilities across levels of government may need to be adjusted accordingly.

    Financial Sector: Enhancing Systemic Resilience

    While Switzerland’s financial system demonstrated resilience, systemic risks have remained high due to sizable real estate exposures. Mortgages account for a large share of bank lending and of assets of life insurers and pension funds. Risks are heightened by house price overvaluation, loosening mortgage lending standards, and initiatives to ease affordability criteria for new borrowers. Lower interest rates may further pressure banks, potentially leading to increased risk-taking.

    The ongoing FSAP has found the financial sector to be broadly resilient to severe shocks. Systemically-important (SIBs) and most other banks would remain above regulatory capital requirements under stress. Overall, liquidity risks for banks are relatively limited. Insurers also withstand severe solvency and liquidity scenarios. Still, global uncertainty and financial stability risks warrant reinforcing resilience.

    The 2023 Credit Suisse (CS) crisis exposed gaps in supervisory, resolution and crisis management frameworks and increased Too-Big-To-Fail (TBTF) risks, which the authorities have begun to address. Drawing on lessons from the CS crisis, the Federal Council has recently proposed several reforms aimed at strengthening the financial sector and thereby reducing the risks for the state, taxpayers and the economy. These would improve the TBTF framework, enhance bank governance, strengthen prevention, early intervention, and crisis preparedness, and expand the powers of FINMA. Staff commends the authorities as these proposals are broadly in line with FSAP recommendations; timely implementation of these bold reforms would further strengthen the long-term stability of the Swiss financial center.

    Enhanced legal powers and resources for FINMA are critical to strengthening the effectiveness of supervision. FINMA’s legal powers should be expanded to include a full suite of early intervention powers, immediately enforceable, including the ability to preemptively restrict banks’ business activities, require capital conservation measures, address governance failures, and rectify deficiencies in risk management. FINMA should be able to conduct onsite inspections as necessary, require forward-looking Pillar 2 capital add-on, impose administrative fines, and have broader ability to prescribe binding supervisory standards. FINMA should reduce reliance on external auditors. Enhanced market monitoring and reporting and better mechanisms for market abuse prevention, detection, and enforcement would benefit securities supervision. Overall, more supervisory resources are needed, including for direct supervision in corporate governance, risk management, market conduct, AML/CFT, cyber risk, and recovery and resolution. FINMA needs to be proactive and direct in its engagement with supervised firms across sectors (banks, insurance, securities).

    Systemic real estate risks call for expanding the macroprudential toolkit. The FSAP recommends introducing a debt-service-to-income (DSTI) cap in addition to the existing loan-to-value (LTV) cap and a sectoral capital-based instrument, separate from the sectoral countercyclical buffer (CCyB), which already stands at the 2.5 percent maximum. It would be also helpful to establish a formal Systemic Risk Council, comprised of SNB, FINMA, and Federal Department of Finance (FDF) representatives to regularly assess and communicate on systemic risk and decide on necessary policy measures.

    Switzerland’s financial safety net should be cast wider to better secure financial stability. Resolution planning should also cover Category 3 banks, which include some large and complex market participants, as well as designated insurance groups, and financial market infrastructures. FINMA, SNB, and FDF need to develop, and practice coordinated crisis response plans. The cap on deposit insurance contributions should be removed, and deposit insurance gradually aligned with international best practices. SNB efforts to establish and communicate a comprehensive emergency liquidity assistance framework—expanding support to all banks and making drawing conditions more flexible—are an important reinforcement of the safety net. The introduction of a Public Liquidity Backstop for SIBs, with the possibility of extending it to non-SIBs that might be systemic in failure, would provide an instrument allowing additional room for maneuver in a crisis.

    To protect the resilience and integrity of the Swiss financial center, enhanced vigilance on cyber, AML/CFT, crypto, and fintech risks is paramount. The cyber resilience framework should be broadened to all financial sector entities and external service providers. Progress in rolling out the Registry of Beneficial Ownership should continue, and the legal framework expanded to gatekeepers, including lawyers, accountants, trust, and company service providers. Crypto exposures, which are increasing, should be assessed comprehensively and the related Basel standards implemented in a timely manner. The concentrated and increasingly complex FMI structure warrants closer oversight and enhanced collaboration with foreign authorities, particularly in shared risk management platforms, recovery, and resolution.

    Structural Policies: Supporting Productivity Growth and Resilience to Global Shocks

    Switzerland enjoys high labor productivity—on par with the U.S. and above European peers. This has been supported by strong R&D, a high-quality education system, and deep global integration that fosters competition and innovation. Multinational corporations in high-value-added manufacturing have driven much of this performance. Labor productivity in small firms and services has lagged, constrained by low R&D intensity, limited access to funding, small markets, and expensive skilled labor. To sustain its competitive edge, Switzerland would benefit from policies that reduce administrative burdens, improve access to equity and R&D financing, strengthen ties to larger markets, and address labor shortages through upskilling and an open labor market. The ongoing revision of the Vocational Training Act is a welcome step, reinforcing Switzerland’s strength in workforce development and skills adaptation in a changing economy.

    The conclusion of negotiations with the EU resulted in a broad package of sectoral agreements aimed at stabilizing and developing bilateral relations. These agreements—covering areas such as electricity, food safety, and participation in EU programs—will require ratification by both sides, for which the necessary procedures have been launched. Continued engagement with the EU and other partners remains important to reduce uncertainty, safeguard access to critical markets, and strengthen resilience in the face of rising geo-economic fragmentation.

     

    *   *   *   *   *

     

    The IMF team thanks the Swiss authorities and other stakeholders for their hospitality, engaging discussions, and productive collaboration. We are especially grateful to the SNB and the State Secretariat for International Finance for assistance with arrangements.

    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Meera Louis

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/06/30/07012025-mcs-switzerland-imf-concluding-statement-2025-art-iv-consultation-mission

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI China: SCIO briefs media on green development in Qinghai province

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

    SCIO briefs media on green development in Qinghai province

    China SCIO | July 1, 2025

    A three-day media trip organized by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) kicked off Monday in northwestern China’s Qinghai province, bringing together nearly 30 journalists — including foreign correspondents from the United States, Germany, Spain, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates — to observe the progress of green development in the province.

    A press briefing was held Monday in Qinghai’s capital city Xining, where Zhang Jingang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Qinghai Provincial Committee and executive vice governor of the People’s Government of Qinghai Province, briefed the media and answered questions.

    On June 30, 2025, the State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press briefing in Xining, Qinghai province, about promoting green development. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]

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    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: /China Spotlight/ Toys for the Elderly Boost China’s ‘Silver’ Economy

    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

    HANGZHOU, July 1 (Xinhua) — In a playroom at a nursing home in China, several sprightly seniors gathered to play table hockey, competing in wits and skill, savoring every moment.

    Once considered a child’s play, these educational games are quickly becoming the latest craze among seniors.

    As China’s population ages at an accelerated rate, the once-overlooked consumer niche of games and toys for the elderly is emerging as a new pillar of the booming silver economy.

    Guan Weijian, a toy merchant in the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu, known as the “supermarket of the world,” quickly saw the wind blowing when he noticed such changes.

    Over the past year, his online store has seen a boom in demand for fitness gear and cognitive-development games and toys among older shoppers. Consumers aged 50 and up now make up 30 percent of his user base.

    “Our two best-selling toys are in the fitness and puzzle categories. They are low-impact yet fun, perfect for seniors to exercise or while away the time,” says Guan Weijian.

    “In fact, there are similarities between toys for the elderly and children’s toys in terms of developing reflexes, grip strength and coordination. In fact, some children’s toys can be easily adapted for the elderly with just a few simple changes,” Guan Weijian added.

    Realizing the potential of the senior toys sector as a promising niche, he decided to take advantage of the opportunity. In just three months after launching more than 10 products designed specifically for senior users, sales at his store far exceeded expectations.

    Searches for “toys for the elderly” on Taobao, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms, grew 124 percent year-on-year, and transaction volume increased by more than 70 percent. Consumers aged 55 and above now make up an increasing proportion of shoppers, and their purchase frequency is increasing.

    As the market expands, more and more toy manufacturers across China are shifting their focus to meet the needs of older consumers.

    According to Cheng Xin of Taobao’s toys and collectibles section, there are many new shops selling toys for the elderly popping up on the platform, some of which are newly established and many of which are converted from former children’s toy stores.

    “Toys are no longer exclusive to kids, nor are they pop culture icons. They are a lifelong hobby that can be enjoyed by a wide range of consumers of all ages,” Cheng Xin said, adding that Taobao plans to launch a special toy segment for seniors, providing them with customized operational support.

    The booming market of toys for the elderly has not only created new growth points for consumption, but also contributed to a profound transformation of the traditional production chain.

    A particularly striking example is Yunhe County in Zhejiang Province, East China, widely known as the “birthplace of China’s wooden toys.”

    Based on years of industrial experience, Yunhe County has now deeply integrated the wooden toy industry with the elderly care industry, forming an innovative industrial chain focusing on intellectual, health and entertainment products.

    The key to this transformation lies in the shift from “fun” to “functionality.” To date, local manufacturers have developed more than 200 wooden toys designed to improve hand-foot coordination and slow down memory loss in older adults.

    According to Yin Qian, president of Zhejiang Mimi Zhikang Technology Co., the company has developed more than 100 wooden puzzle toys that are both entertaining and mentally stimulating.

    To enhance the cognitive and rehabilitation properties of its products, the company collaborated with the Health Science Center of Xi’an Jiaotong University and the Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Group located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province.

    To date, the company has received more than 30 patents and supplies products to more than 500 senior care facilities across the country.

    Meanwhile, Yunhe is also targeting international markets. In recent years, the county has expanded the export of its wooden toys to senior schools, nursing homes and community centers overseas.

    “In 2024, our products were successfully exported to Germany, Japan and other markets, where they were warmly received by elderly users,” Yin Qian said.

    In the first quarter of this year, sales of wooden toys aimed at the elderly rose 50 percent year-on-year.

    China’s elderly population is projected to grow by more than 10 million a year over the next decade, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The silver economy’s share of China’s GDP is expected to rise to 9 percent by 2035, from 6 percent today.

    Data from iiMedia Research shows that China’s elderly care market will reach 12 trillion yuan (about $1.68 trillion) in 2023, up 16.5 percent year-on-year. The country’s silver economy is projected to reach about 30 trillion yuan by 2035, accounting for about 10 percent of GDP.

    Innovations in niche segments are opening up new opportunities in the silver economy, said Zhang Jinsong, secretary general of the Committee on Education for the Elderly of the Chinese Gerontological Society.

    The “silver” economy is poised to move beyond basic needs to consumption based on quality and pleasure, which will open up enormous potential,” he added. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: ECB Consumer Expectations Survey results – May 2024

    Source: European Central Bank

    1 July 2025

    Compared with April 2025:

    • median consumer perceptions of inflation over the previous 12 months remained unchanged, while median expectations for inflation one and three years ahead decreased, and median inflation expectations for five years ahead remained unchanged;
    • expectations for nominal income growth over the next 12 months increased, while expectations for spending growth over the next 12 months decreased;
    • expectations for economic growth over the next 12 months became less negative, while the expected unemployment rate in 12 months’ time decreased;
    • expectations for growth in the price of homes over the next 12 months remained unchanged, while expectations for mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead declined.

    Inflation

    In May, the median rate of perceived inflation over the previous 12 months remained unchanged at 3.1% for the fourth consecutive month. This was its lowest level since September 2021. Median expectations for inflation over the next 12 months decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 2.8%. Expectations for three years ahead also decreased, by 0.1 percentage points, to 2.4% while expectations for inflation five years ahead were unchanged at 2.1% for the sixth consecutive month. Uncertainty about inflation expectations over the next 12 months decreased in May, reversing the increase observed in April. While the broad evolution of inflation perceptions and expectations remained relatively closely aligned across income groups, over the previous year and a half inflation perceptions and short-horizon expectations for lower income quintiles were, on average, slightly above those for higher income quintiles. Younger respondents (aged 18-34) continued to report lower inflation perceptions and expectations than older respondents (aged 35-54 and 55-70), albeit to a lesser degree than in previous years.

    Inflation results

    Income and consumption

    Consumers’ nominal income growth expectations over the next 12 months increased to 1.0%, from 0.9% in April. This increase was observed across all income groups. Perceived nominal spending growth over the previous 12 months increased to 5.0%, from 4.9% in April. Conversely, expected nominal spending growth over the next 12 months decreased to 3.5% in May, from 3.7% in April. This decrease was prevalent across all income quintiles, except for the lowest income group.

    Income and consumption results

    Economic growth and labour market

    Economic growth expectations for the next 12 months became less negative, standing at -1.1% in May compared with -1.9% in April. Expectations for the unemployment rate 12 months ahead decreased to 10.4%, from 10.5% in April. Consumers continued to expect the future unemployment rate to be only slightly higher than the perceived current unemployment rate (9.9%), implying a broadly stable labour market.

    Economic growth and labour market results

    Housing and credit access

    Consumers expected the price of their home to increase by 3.2% over the next 12 months, which was unchanged from April. Households in the lowest income quintile continued to expect higher growth in house prices compared with those in the highest income quintile (3.5% and 3.1% respectively). Expectations for mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead declined to 4.4%, from 4.5% in April. As in previous months, the lowest income households expected the highest mortgage interest rates 12 months ahead (4.9%), while the highest income households expected the lowest rates (4.1%). The net percentage of households reporting a tightening (relative to those reporting an easing) in access to credit over the previous 12 months declined. The net percentage of those expecting a tightening over the next 12 months declined as well, reversing the increase seen in April.

    Housing and credit access results

    The release of the Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) results for June is scheduled for 29 July 2025.

    For media queries, please contact: Benoit Deeg, tel.: +49 172 1683704.

    Notes

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Virtune announces the listing of Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP, its flagship product, on Euronext Paris

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Paris, July 1st, 2025 – Virtune AB, the Swedish regulated crypto asset manager, today announced the listing of Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP (VCOIN50) on Euronext Paris. The exchange-traded product (ETP) is now available to investors in France through brokers and banks.

    Virtune has experienced sustained demand for digital assets from both institutional and retail investors across the Nordic and European regions since the launch of its first ETP around two years ago, earning the trust of over 140,000 investors. Building on this momentum, the VCOIN50 ETP – which was also listed on Xetra on June 2 – now marks another key milestone with its listing on Euronext Paris (Euronext ticker: VRTC), further advancing Virtune’s expansion into the European market. Coinbase is serving as the custodian for VCOIN50.

    Virtune has made history as the first company to list a crypto Exchange Traded Product (ETP) tracking the Coinbase 50 Europe index, developed by Coinbase, a trusted and global leader in crypto services and administered by MarketVector IndexesTM (“MarketVector”), a leading global index provider.

    This ETP represents several key firsts for European financial markets:

    • First ever ETP to track the Coinbase 50 Europe Index
    • The widest crypto ETP in Europe containing up to 50 crypto assets 

    About Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP:

    Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP is a physically-backed exchange-traded product (ETP) tracking the Coinbase 50 Europe Index, the premier global benchmark index for digital assets. Currently, VCOIN50 ETP offers exposure to 21 crypto assets that are compliant with market-specific regulatory and exchange-specific policies. Virtune’s expansion to include all 50 assets in the COIN50 is subject to regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The ETP provides exposure to up to 50 leading crypto assets and is rebalanced quarterly. The product features a transparent structure backed by physical holdings and secured with institutional-level solutions.

    Allocation as of 30th of June 2025:

    https://www.virtune.com/product/vcoin50

    About Virtune:

    Virtune is a Swedish-regulated crypto asset manager and issuer of 100% physically backed crypto ETPs. The company has experienced rapid growth in the Nordics since listing its first crypto ETP on Nasdaq Stockholm in May 2023. Today, Virtune manages $340 million in assets under management and has earned the trust of over 140,000 institutional and retail investors. Since its inception, Virtune has prioritized investor protection, and its success stems from its transparent, regulated approach and strong commitment to innovation and educating the market about crypto assets and ETPs.

    Christopher Kock, CEO of Virtune:

    “We have worked closely with Coinbase since our inception, leveraging their industry-leading custody, trading, and staking services across all our ETPs. Following the successful launch of the COIN50 ETP, we are proud to now bring this product to a broader European audience through its cross-listing on Euronext Paris. COIN50, designed as the crypto market’s equivalent of the S&P 500, aims to become the leading global crypto benchmark. This ETP provides both institutional and retail investors with diversified exposure to the crypto market – crafted by industry experts with deep experience and insight.”

    About Coinbase: 

    Crypto creates economic freedom by ensuring that people can participate fairly in the economy, and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is on a mission to increase economic freedom for more than 1 billion people. We’re updating the century-old financial system by providing a trusted platform that makes it easy for people and institutions to engage with crypto assets, including trading, staking, safekeeping, spending, and fast, free global transfers. We also provide critical infrastructure for onchain activity and support builders who share our vision that onchain is the new online. And together with the crypto community, we advocate for responsible rules to make the benefits of crypto available around the world.

    Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional: 

    “With the launch of the Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP in Europe, we’re making one of the most comprehensive benchmarks for the crypto market directly accessible to investors across the EU. This marks a major step forward in our mission to expand global access to digital assets and provide institutional-grade tools for navigating this evolving asset class. The introduction of this ETP reinforces our commitment to bridging traditional financial infrastructure with the growing demand for regulated, secure exposure to the digital economy.”

    About MarketVector:

    MarketVector IndexesTM (“MarketVector”) is a regulated Benchmark Administrator in Europe, incorporated in Germany and registered with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). MarketVector maintains indexes under the MarketVectorTM, MVIS®, and BlueStar® names. With a mission to accelerate index innovation globally, MarketVector is best known for its broad suite of Thematic indexes, a long-running expertise in Hard Asset-linked Equity indexes, and its pioneering Digital Asset index family. MarketVector is proud to be in partnership with more than 25 Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) issuers and index fund managers in markets throughout the world, with more than USD 57 billion in assets under management.

    Martin Leinweber, Director, Digital Asset Research and Strategy, MarketVector: 

    “The Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP marks a significant step forward for crypto investment in Europe, offering broad, institutional-grade exposure to digital assets through a single, efficient product. This milestone combines MarketVector’s index expertise, Coinbase’s market infrastructure, and Virtune’s transparent, regulated approach. We’re proud to deepen our partnership with Virtune by becoming the index provider for their entire range of crypto ETPs across Europe. Together, we’re delivering the tools institutional and retail investors need to navigate the digital asset landscape with greater confidence and clarity.”

    Key Information about the Product:

    • Exposure: Exposure to up to 50 leading crypto assets in one product
    • Backing: 100% physically backed by the underlying crypto assets
    • Custody: Institutional-grade custody by Coinbase
    • Management Fee: 0.95% per annum
    • Trading currency: USD, EUR
    • First day of trading on Euronext: Monday, 30th of June 2025
    • BloombergTicker: VCOIN50
    • ISIN: SE0024738389
    • WKN: A4A5D4
    • Exchange ticker: VRTC
    • Exchanges: Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Paris, Xetra

    For questions, contact:

    Christopher Kock, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors
    Mobile: +46 70 073 45 64
    Email: christopher@virtune.com

    About Virtune AB (Publ):

    Headquartered in Stockholm, Virtune is a regulated Swedish digital asset manager and issuer of crypto ETPs listed on regulated European exchanges. With strong regulatory foundations, partnerships with industry leaders, and a skilled team, Virtune delivers innovative and compliant investment products aligned with the evolving global crypto landscape.

    Crypto investments are associated with high risk. Virtune does not provide investment advice; investments are made at your own risk. Securities may increase or decrease in value, there is no guarantee of getting back invested capital. Read the prospectus, KID, terms at virtune.com.

    The Coinbase 50 Europe Index (“Index”) is the exclusive property of MarketVector Indexes GmbH (“MarketVector”) and its Licensors and has been licensed for use by Virtune AB (Publ) (“Licensee”). MarketVector has contracted with CC Data Limited to maintain and calculate the Index. CC Data Limited uses its best efforts to ensure that the Index is calculated correctly. Irrespective of its obligations towards MarketVector, CC Data Limited has no obligation to point out errors in the Index to third parties. In particular, MarketVector is not responsible for the Licensee and/or for Licensee’s legality or suitability and/or for Licensee’s business offerings. Offerings by Licensee, may they be based on the Virtune Coinbase 50 Europe ETP (“Product”) or not, are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by MarketVector and any of its affiliates, and MarketVector and any of its affiliates make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in Licensee and/or in Licensee’s business offerings. MARKETVECTOR AND ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES AND ANY OF ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO LICENSEE. 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Virtune announces the listing of Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP, its flagship product, on Euronext Amsterdam

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Amsterdam, July 1st, 2025 – Virtune AB, the Swedish regulated crypto asset manager, today announced the listing of Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP (VCOIN50) on Euronext Amsterdam. The exchange-traded product (ETP) is now available to investors in the Netherlands through brokers and banks such as Degiro.

    Virtune has experienced sustained demand for digital assets from both institutional and retail investors across the Nordic and European regions since the launch of its first ETP around two years ago, earning the trust of over 140,000 investors. Building on this momentum, the VCOIN50 ETP – which was also listed on Xetra on June 2 – now marks another key milestone with its listing on Euronext Amsterdam (Euronext ticker: VRTC), further advancing Virtune’s expansion into the European market. Coinbase is serving as the custodian for VCOIN50.

    Virtune has made history as the first company to list a crypto Exchange Traded Product (ETP) tracking the Coinbase 50 Europe index, developed by Coinbase, a trusted and global leader in crypto services and administered by MarketVector IndexesTM (“MarketVector”), a leading global index provider.

    This ETP represents several key firsts for European financial markets:

    • First ever ETP to track the Coinbase 50 Europe Index
    • The widest crypto ETP in Europe containing up to 50 crypto assets 

    About Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP:

    Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP is a physically-backed exchange-traded product (ETP) tracking the Coinbase 50 Europe Index, the premier global benchmark index for digital assets. Currently, VCOIN50 ETP offers exposure to 21 crypto assets that are compliant with market-specific regulatory and exchange-specific policies. Virtune’s expansion to include all 50 assets in the COIN50 is subject to regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The ETP provides exposure to up to 50 leading crypto assets and is rebalanced quarterly. The product features a transparent structure backed by physical holdings and secured with institutional-level solutions.

    Allocation as of 30th of June 2025:
    https://www.virtune.com/product/vcoin50

    About Virtune:

    Virtune is a Swedish-regulated crypto asset manager and issuer of 100% physically backed crypto ETPs. The company has experienced rapid growth in the Nordics since listing its first crypto ETP on Nasdaq Stockholm in May 2023. Today, Virtune manages $340 million in assets under management and has earned the trust of over 140,000 institutional and retail investors. Since its inception, Virtune has prioritized investor protection, and its success stems from its transparent, regulated approach and strong commitment to innovation and educating the market about crypto assets and ETPs.

    Christopher Kock, CEO of Virtune:

    “We have worked closely with Coinbase since our inception, leveraging their industry-leading custody, trading, and staking services across all our ETPs. Following the successful launch of the COIN50 ETP, we are proud to now bring this product to a broader European audience through its cross-listing on Euronext Amsterdam. COIN50, designed as the crypto market’s equivalent of the S&P 500, aims to become the leading global crypto benchmark. This ETP provides both institutional and retail investors with diversified exposure to the crypto market – crafted by industry experts with deep experience and insight.”

    About Coinbase:

    Crypto creates economic freedom by ensuring that people can participate fairly in the economy, and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is on a mission to increase economic freedom for more than 1 billion people. We’re updating the century-old financial system by providing a trusted platform that makes it easy for people and institutions to engage with crypto assets, including trading, staking, safekeeping, spending, and fast, free global transfers. We also provide critical infrastructure for onchain activity and support builders who share our vision that onchain is the new online. And together with the crypto community, we advocate for responsible rules to make the benefits of crypto available around the world.

    Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional: 

    “With the launch of the Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP in Europe, we’re making one of the most comprehensive benchmarks for the crypto market directly accessible to investors across the EU. This marks a major step forward in our mission to expand global access to digital assets and provide institutional-grade tools for navigating this evolving asset class. The introduction of this ETP reinforces our commitment to bridging traditional financial infrastructure with the growing demand for regulated, secure exposure to the digital economy.”

    About MarketVector:

    MarketVector IndexesTM (“MarketVector”) is a regulated Benchmark Administrator in Europe, incorporated in Germany and registered with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). MarketVector maintains indexes under the MarketVectorTM, MVIS®, and BlueStar® names. With a mission to accelerate index innovation globally, MarketVector is best known for its broad suite of Thematic indexes, a long-running expertise in Hard Asset-linked Equity indexes, and its pioneering Digital Asset index family. MarketVector is proud to be in partnership with more than 25 Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) issuers and index fund managers in markets throughout the world, with more than USD 57 billion in assets under management.

    Martin Leinweber, Director, Digital Asset Research and Strategy, MarketVector: 

    “The Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP marks a significant step forward for crypto investment in Europe, offering broad, institutional-grade exposure to digital assets through a single, efficient product. This milestone combines MarketVector’s index expertise, Coinbase’s market infrastructure, and Virtune’s transparent, regulated approach. We’re proud to deepen our partnership with Virtune by becoming the index provider for their entire range of crypto ETPs across Europe. Together, we’re delivering the tools institutional and retail investors need to navigate the digital asset landscape with greater confidence and clarity.”

    Key Information about the Product:

    • Exposure: Exposure to up to 50 leading crypto assets in one product
    • Backing: 100% physically backed by the underlying crypto assets
    • Custody: Institutional-grade custody by Coinbase
    • Management Fee: 0.95% per annum
    • Trading currency: USD, EUR
    • First day of trading on Euronext: Monday, 30th of June 2025
    • BloombergTicker: VCOIN50
    • ISIN: SE0024738389
    • WKN: A4A5D4
    • Exchange ticker: VRTC
    • Exchanges: Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Paris, Xetra

    For questions, contact:

    Christopher Kock, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors
    Mobile: +46 70 073 45 64
    Email: christopher@virtune.com

    About Virtune AB (Publ):

    Headquartered in Stockholm, Virtune is a regulated Swedish digital asset manager and issuer of crypto ETPs listed on regulated European exchanges. With strong regulatory foundations, partnerships with industry leaders, and a skilled team, Virtune delivers innovative and compliant investment products aligned with the evolving global crypto landscape.

    Crypto investments are associated with high risk. Virtune does not provide investment advice; investments are made at your own risk. Securities may increase or decrease in value, there is no guarantee of getting back invested capital. Read the prospectus, KID, terms at virtune.com.

    The Coinbase 50 Europe Index (“Index”) is the exclusive property of MarketVector Indexes GmbH (“MarketVector”) and its Licensors and has been licensed for use by Virtune AB (Publ) (“Licensee”). MarketVector has contracted with CC Data Limited to maintain and calculate the Index. CC Data Limited uses its best efforts to ensure that the Index is calculated correctly. Irrespective of its obligations towards MarketVector, CC Data Limited has no obligation to point out errors in the Index to third parties. In particular, MarketVector is not responsible for the Licensee and/or for Licensee’s legality or suitability and/or for Licensee’s business offerings. Offerings by Licensee, may they be based on the Virtune Coinbase 50 Europe ETP (“Product”) or not, are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by MarketVector and any of its affiliates, and MarketVector and any of its affiliates make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in Licensee and/or in Licensee’s business offerings. MARKETVECTOR AND ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES AND ANY OF ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO WARRANTIES AND BEAR NO LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO LICENSEE. 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: G7 calls for resumption of Iran nuclear talks

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    OTTAWA, July 1 (Xinhua) — The Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers on Monday called for a resumption of talks to reach a comprehensive, verifiable and lasting deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

    In a joint statement on Iran and the Middle East issued by Global Affairs Canada, the G7 foreign ministers called on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in accordance with its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information on all nuclear materials in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors.

    “We underscore the central importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is critical that Iran remain a party to and fully implement its obligations under the Treaty,” the statement said.

    The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union’s high representative, met in The Hague on June 25 to discuss recent developments in the Middle East. –0–

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI: Over half of sports fans are turning to AI or gen AI for more personalized content

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press contact:
    Elsa Estager Bergerou
    Tel: +33 6 59 62 55 13
    Email: elsa.estager-bergerou@capgemini.com

    Over half of sports fans are turning to AI or gen AI for more personalized content

    • AI has overtaken traditional search engines as the main source for sports information, with 67% of fans wanting all sports data aggregated in one place.
    • Digital insights are filling gaps in the live sports experience, with nearly 70% of fans seeking stats related to team, players and playing conditions primarily pre-match and during breaks.
    • Spectators want balance between tech innovation and authenticity, with almost three out of five fans worrying that too much technology could impact the thrill of live sport.

    Paris, July 1, 2025 – The Capgemini Research Institute today released its latest report, “Beyond the game: The new era of AI-powered sports engagement”, revealing how AI and generative AI (gen AI) are reshaping the global fan experience. As AI-powered tools become the primary gateway for sports content and data, fans still seek the thrill of authentic, in-person moments, therefore highlighting the need to strike a balance between the digital and physical worlds of sport.

    AI and gen AI power the next era of fan engagement
    AI is redefining how fans interact with sports. Over half (54%) of them now use AI or gen AI tools as their main source of information with 59% trusting content generated by these technologies. From personalized match summaries to real-time highlights reels, fans increasingly expect AI and gen AI to aggregate all sports-related content – 67% want a single, streamlined platform where they can discover information aggregated from websites, search engines and social media.

    However, personalization and interactivity are key to ensuring a genuine and authentic fan experience. While the report finds fans are returning to stadiums since the pandemic, with 37% already having attended live matches this year, AI is transforming how fans engage with sports overall. The technology is delivering tailored updates that enhance their experience of the game, with stats and facts about their favorite teams, fixtures, and players.

    Indeed, 64% of fans want AI to provide updates customized to their preferences, a similar number want to compete against well-known players in a virtual space during live games, and 58% would like to replay matches using ‘what-if’ scenarios. Just over a quarter (27%) are even willing to pay a premium for these AI-driven, interactive experiences. For instance, Tour de France fans can now play and follow their Fantasy team in real time, vote and elect the most combative rider of the day or even experience the race from inside an official fans car.

    “The true power of AI in sports, and especially gen AI, lies in its ability to transform how fans connect with the game, with athletes, and with each other,” explained Pascal Brier, Chief Innovation Officer at Capgemini and Member of the Group Executive Committee. “As technology evolves, unlocking new ways for fans to curate their own unique experience, will be a blend of real-time data with immersive, interactive opportunities. The challenge is to ensure that these innovations deepen the emotional connections that make sport so powerful for passionate supporters, while preserving the authenticity and integrity that defines the spirit of the game.”

    Balancing innovation with responsibility and the thrill of live sports
    Sports fans today are hungry for data but the report shows their digital engagement peaks before matches and during breaks, rather than during the live play itself. Nearly 70% of fans want access to player metrics and live match data, using these insights to enrich their understanding when the action pauses. By meeting fans’ appetite for insights at these key moments, data enriches the overall viewing experience while keeping the thrill of live sports intact.

    While digital innovation is widely embraced, nearly 60% of sports fans are concerned that too much technology could dampen the excitement of attending events, and over half fear it could diminish their overall enjoyment of the game or match. This highlights the importance of finding the right balance – leveraging technology to elevate the fan experience while preserving what makes live sports so uniquely compelling.

    The report finds that there is a lack of awareness about data privacy aspects of AI-powered sports viewing tools.
    For example, whereas about half of Gen Y and Gen Z fans are aware of the various kinds of data collected and explicitly consent to its storage, this is true for only 38% and 36% of baby boomers, respectively.

    There are also concerns about misinformation, as two-thirds of fans admit being worried that the spread of unverified content on AI or gen AI platforms could increase the risk of athletes being targeted or harassed by disgruntled supporters. What’s more, 57% of fans are concerned about the generation of false content resulting in the spread of misinformation about players or sports teams.

    Stadiums invest in tech to meet rising fan expectations
    The report finds that stadium operators are investing in apps and smart technologies to create smoother, more immersive experiences for digital-native audiences. Over half of attendees say ticketing, scheduling, and real-time apps enhance their stadium experience, while facial recognition entry and digital navigation are also valued.

    Download the full report here.

    Report methodology
    The Capgemini Research Institute surveyed f 12,017 sports fans across 11 countries, in March and April 2025: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US. The research explored fan behaviors, attitudes, and expectations around AI, gen AI, and digital innovations in sports.

    About Capgemini
    Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group of 340,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, generative AI, cloud and data, combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem. The Group reported 2024 global revenues of €22.1 billion.

    Get The Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

    About the Capgemini Research Institute
    The Capgemini Research Institute is Capgemini’s in-house think-tank on all things digital. The Institute publishes research on the impact of digital technologies on large traditional businesses. The team draws on the worldwide network of Capgemini experts and works closely with academic and technology partners. The Institute has dedicated research centers in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was ranked #1 in the world for the quality of its research by independent analysts for six consecutive times – an industry first.

    Visit us at https://www.capgemini.com/researchinstitute/

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    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI China: Defending champion Alcaraz labors to opening round win at Wimbledon

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

    Carlos Alcaraz reacts during the men’s singles first round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Fabio Fognini of Italy at Wimbledon Tennis Championship in London, Britain, June 30, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Men’s singles defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was dragged into a five-set marathon battle by Italy’s Fabio Fognini, as the Spaniard needed four hours and 37 minutes to progress from the first round at Wimbledon 7-5, 6-7(5) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 here on Monday.

    Alcaraz, 22, struggled on his serve under the scorching sun, while 38-year-old Fognini, who was making his final Wimbledon appearance, showed great resilience and net skills.

    The world No. 2 was forced to play until the deciding set before extending his winning streak to 19 matches. The two-time defending champion will face British wildcard Oliver Tarvet in the second round.

    “I knew at the beginning that it was going to be really difficult playing against Fabio,” said Alcaraz who defended his French Open title earlier this month. “The talent that Fabio has is immense. In every match he can show his best tennis. I think today he has shown one of his best tennis.”

    Eighth seed Holger Rune of Denmark and ninth seed Daniil Medvedev were both knocked out of the first round.

    Rune lost to Nicolas Jarry of Chile 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, while Medvedev was defeated by France’s Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.

    This is the first ever opening round exit for Medvedev at the grass-court Grand Slam.

    “I felt him playing very well. I felt like I didn’t play too bad. I don’t see much I could do better. I mean, it’s grass, so I could serve better on the tiebreak,” said the 29-year-old former US Open champion.

    In the women’s singles, top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus saw off Canada’s Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5 to set up a second round clash with Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.

    Sabalenka admitted she met some challenges from her opponent as she could hardly read her serve.

    “I think the goal is to win as quickly, as easier as possible, so physically you’re more fresh in the next rounds. But I think it was really good for me to have this little fight in the second set just to see where my level is and if I’m mentally ready to fight,” said Sabalenka, who withdrew from Wimbledon last year due to a shoulder injury.

    But Sabalenka’s close friend Paula Badosa failed to reach the second round as the ninth seed from Spain was beaten by local favorite Katie Boulter 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

    Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai, who entered the main draw by winning three qualifying matches, lost to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-4. Zhang’s compatriot Yuan Yue also exited after being defeated by Eva Lys of Germany, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China to set up first international association on deep-space exploration

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

    China will officially launch the International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA) next Monday, with a particular aim of empowering other developing countries in developing deep-space technologies.

    Located in Hefei, Anhui Province, the association will be the nation’s first international academic organization in the aerospace domain, capitalizing on the growing global interest in China’s lunar and Mars missions.

    The IDSEA will focus on deep-space study, which includes probes into the moon, other planets and asteroids, and promote international cooperation, according to the Hefei-based Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, one of the association’s five initiators.

    Wang Zhongmin, director of the lab’s international cooperation center, said the IDSEA aims to become an inclusive academic platform that will benefit developing countries in particular.

    “We hope to bring in as many developing countries as possible, and by initiating small yet impactful programs, such as on CubeSat design and training of scientists, we hope to enable these nations to access cutting-edge space technologies that once seemed far beyond their reach,” he said.

    Deep-space exploration has long been limited to a few countries due to its high thresholds of capital, technologies and talents. “The vast majority of countries may see a technological monopoly. Deep space technologies must move out of the small circle to benefit the whole of humanity,” Wang said.

    Despite being a latecomer to outer space exploration, China has rapidly emerged as a prominent player in this field while demonstrating its commitment to cooperating with other nations.

    In April, China announced that seven institutions from six countries — France, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — have been authorized to borrow lunar samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 mission for scientific research.

    China has also invited global partners to participate in its Mars missions. The country plans to launch the Tianwen-3 Mars sample-return mission around 2028, with the primary scientific goal of searching for signs of life on Mars. The retrieval of samples from Mars, the first of its kind in human history, is considered the most technically challenging space exploration mission since the Apollo program. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: G7 FMs call for resumption of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program

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

    The Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers on Monday called for the resumption of negotiations to reach a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program.

    In a joint statement on Iran and the Middle East issued by Global Affairs Canada, the foreign ministers called on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors.

    “We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty,” read the statement.

    G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high representative of the European Union, met in The Hague on June 25 and discussed recent events in the Middle East.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Funding terror: how west Africa’s deadly jihadists get the money they need to survive

    Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Egodi Uchendu, Professor (of History and International Studies), University of Nigeria

    The west Africa–Sahel region has seen a proliferation of militant Islamist groups since the 1990s.

    One of the most vicious groups operating in the region is Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (Support Group for Islam and Muslims). The militant group emerged in 2017 in Algeria and Mali, and has targeted civilian populations.

    The UN listed the group as an al-Qaeda affiliate in 2018. Al-Qaeda is an Islamist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s.

    The 2024 global terrorism index listed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin as one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organisations. Its influence has expanded in most parts of the Sahel. The group emerged to strengthen the jihadist insurgency under al-Qaeda. It combines violence with diplomacy to expand its influence and challenge state authorities.

    Despite growing pressure from counter militancy campaigns spearheaded by local, regional and international militaries, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin continues to survive and adapt by regrouping and reorganising. This was demonstrated in its latest operation in Burkina Faso in 2024. The group exerted significant control by closing schools, setting up taxation checkpoints and abducting locals.

    Its engagement in illicit economies has been key to the group’s successful expansion. This revenue is used to carry out devastating attacks.

    We research jihadi-based insurgencies, and have found that this is a common tactic among terrorist groups in the west Africa-Sahel axis, including Boko Haram militants.

    From our research, we find that Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin funds its activities by relying on

    • artisanal mining

    • kidnapping

    • livestock theft

    • money laundering.

    Dismantling the group’s illicit economies and blocking its financial flows are key to countering its activities.

    Financial resources

    The group needs money for fighting, and to sustain political and social influence in its areas of operation.

    Artisanal gold mining has proven to be a major factor in its expansion and resilience. In areas where the group exerts influence, illicit gold mining generates over US$30 billion annually. According to a report by Swissaid, a development group based in Switzerland, the main destinations for this gold are the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Switzerland.

    The jihadists gain access to gold by controlling mining sites and transport routes to and from mines. They sometimes allow trusted allies, who include local armed groups, bandits and other criminal networks, to mine in exchange for a payout. The extent of gold mining funds is not exactly known, but the artisanal sites in areas controlled by the group have the capacity to produce 725 kilograms of gold per year, valued at US$34 million.



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

    Another source of income – and political influence – is kidnapping for ransom. Kidnap victims include cattle owners, businessmen, state officials and foreigners. The group received a ₤30 million ransom in 2020 to release one French and two Italian hostages. Between 2017 and 2023, the group and its affiliated units were responsible for 845 out of approximately 1,100 recorded kidnappings in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Burkina Faso and Mali remain the epicentre of the group’s violent activities. In the first quarter of 2023, over 180 cases of kidnapping were recorded in these countries’ war-torn areas.

    Livestock theft has also been a critical source of funds. The practice of livestock theft as economic warfare and a means to generate funds has led to livestock being forcibly taken from herders who fail to pay zakat (a religious fee among Muslims) or subscribe to the group’s ideology. The stolen livestock are sold in Mali, Mauritania or Senegal. The ability to monetise stolen livestock makes their theft a cornerstone of the Sahelian war economy and a source of cash for weapons and vehicles.

    Money laundering is another illicit economy central to the militant group’s financing. It lends money to merchants, invests with banks and funds small shops with the aim of getting profits. This helps ensure a constant flow of money and provisions to support the group’s terrorist acts. It has attached much importance to this illicit economy, to the extent of assassinating those who interfere with its investments.

    Way out

    To cut down Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin’s financial base – and thereby weaken its capacity for militancy – counterinsurgency efforts need to take the following actions.

    • Government security actors should collaborate with local self-defence militias to regulate artisanal mining and thwart kidnappings.

    • Financial intelligence units need to identify merchants who receive money from the militant group to block the flow of illicit funds.



    Read more:
    Jihadism and coups in West Africa’s Sahel region: a complex relationship

    • Specialised courts that deal with money laundering and terrorism financing cases should be established and made operational in Burkina Faso and Mali, the epicentres of the group’s activities.

    • Burkina Faso and Mali should increase security around civilians to minimise civilian casualties from terror operations.

    Since finance is the basis of the militant group’s strength, regional security co-operation should be strengthened. This would help with systematically tracking illicit flows and stopping them.

    Egodi Uchendu receives funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. She has also received funding from TETFund, Nigeria, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Senegal, The A. G. Leventis Foundation, Greece, and the Fulbright Commission, USA.

    Muhammed Sani Dangusau 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. Funding terror: how west Africa’s deadly jihadists get the money they need to survive – https://theconversation.com/funding-terror-how-west-africas-deadly-jihadists-get-the-money-they-need-to-survive-242306

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Post-flood recovery: lessons from Germany and Nigeria on how to help people cope with loss and build resilience

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola, Senior Research Associate, United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), United Nations University

    Extreme climate events — floods, droughts and heatwaves — are not just becoming more frequent; they are also more severe.

    It’s important to understand how communities can recover from these events in ways that also build resilience to future events.

    In a recent study, we analysed how communities affected by the extreme flood events of 2021 in Germany’s Ahr Valley and in Lagos, Nigeria, grappled with recovery from floods.

    Our aim was to identify the factors – and combinations of factors – that served as barriers (or enablers) to recovery from disasters.

    We found that financial limitations, political interests and administrative hurdles led to prioritising immediate relief and reconstruction over long-term sustainable recovery.

    In both cases immediate and long-term recovery efforts were siloed, underfunded and focused on reconstruction to pre-disaster conditions.

    We concluded from our findings that the success of recovery efforts lies in balancing short-term relief and a long-term vision. While immediate aid is essential after a disaster, true resilience hinges on proactive measures that address systemic challenges and empower communities to build a better future.

    Recovery should not be merely action-oriented and building back infrastructure (engineering). It should also include insights in other areas, like governance and psychology, helping people to deal with losses and to heal.

    What worked

    To understand the recovery pathways of the two regions, we reviewed relevant literature, newspaper articles and government documents. We also interviewed government agencies, NGO representatives, volunteers and local residents in the communities where these floods occurred.

    We found that in the Ahr Valley, recovery wasn’t just about rebuilding structures, it was about empowering individuals.

    Through initiatives like mental health and first aid courses, residents learned to support one another. This fostered a sense of community and resilience that was essential for meeting the emotional challenges posed by the disaster.

    The focus on rebuilding with a sustainable vision also included environmental initiatives. For example, a type of heating system was put in place that didn’t rely on fossil fuels.

    Not only did this reduce carbon emissions, it also served as a symbol of hope. It showed there was an opportunity to create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly community.

    In Lagos, too, residents found strength in community and innovation. Grassroots efforts using sustainable materials like bamboo and palm wood highlighted the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people. Faith-based organisations provided material aid as well as emotional and spiritual support. This reinforced the bonds that held the community together.

    Each community faced unique challenges. But they shared a common thread: the importance of adaptive governance – flexible decision-making and strong community ties.

    For example, established building codes in the Ahr Valley provided a framework for reconstruction, ensuring that new structures were resilient and safe.

    In Lagos, the absence of strong government support highlighted the critical role of community organisations in providing services and fostering a sense of shared responsibility.

    What needs improvment

    In both the Ahr Valley and Lagos, the journey towards recovery has been fraught with obstacles as well.

    In the Ahr Valley, bureaucratic red tape has become a formidable barrier. Residents, eager to rebuild their lives, find themselves entangled in a complex web of regulations and lengthy approval processes. This has delayed their access to insurance and recovery funds. Waiting for months or even years has eroded hope and fuelled a sense of abandonment.

    Meanwhile, in Lagos, insufficient government support has left communities to fend for themselves, creating a breeding ground for uncertainty and conflict.

    Land tenure disputes, fuelled by a lack of clear property rights, sow seeds of distrust and hinder resettlement efforts. Political disagreements complicate the picture, as competing interests divert attention and resources away from those who need them most.

    In Lagos, none of the respondents reported having insurance to help them to recover from disaster-related losses.

    While some residents in the Ahr Valley did have insurance, many were under-insured.

    The Ahr Valley’s building codes offer a framework for reconstruction. But it’s clear that processes should be streamlined so communities can take ownership of their recovery.

    In Lagos, the importance of robust social safety nets is clear. Partnerships between communities and authorities are also needed.

    A different approach

    Recovery isn’t a separate process that occurs after disasters only. It should be seen as an essential part of managing risks. It’s important to understand what recovery involves and what resources are needed.

    This will help reduce future risks and increase resilience after extreme events.

    Governments should encourage flexible governance structures that value community voices and local knowledge to enable recovery. A good example is the New Orleans Recovery Authority, established after Hurricane Katrina. It involved local residents and city officials in planning and rebuilding efforts.

    Grassroots efforts in Lagos demonstrated the power of sustainable materials and community-led initiatives. Seeing things from the community’s point of view can help tailor solutions that fit the situation and adapt to evolving challenges.

    Training and capacity-building programmes empower communities to be active in their own recovery.

    Mental health and first aid courses were successful in the Ahr Valley. Equipping individuals with skills in sustainable practices and disaster preparedness helps weave a social fabric capable of weathering future storms.

    Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola is a Visiting Scientist at, the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS)

    Saskia E. Werners works with United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). She is grateful to have received research grants in support of her research on climate change adaptation and recovery.

    – ref. Post-flood recovery: lessons from Germany and Nigeria on how to help people cope with loss and build resilience – https://theconversation.com/post-flood-recovery-lessons-from-germany-and-nigeria-on-how-to-help-people-cope-with-loss-and-build-resilience-240260

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Air quality isn’t just bad in cities – here’s why and how we’re tracking pollution from upland fires

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Brownlow, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Sheffield Hallam University

    Peatland burns over the reservoir in Langsett, a village in South Yorkshire. Wendy Birks, CC BY-NC-ND

    Early one October afternoon in 2023, thick grey smoke drifted across Sheffield’s western skyline. As much of the city became blanketed, residents turned to social media to complain about “bonfire smoke”, while others were forced to leave the city due to breathing difficulties.

    However, this smoke did not originate within the city. It was drifting in from the Peak District, more than nine miles away, where controlled heather burning was taking place on the moorlands. For around six hours, levels of fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5), tiny airborne pollutants known to harm human health, exceeded 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air (µg/m³) and peaked at 70µg/m³, well above the guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization.

    This single incident points to the wider and largely invisible problem of the routine burning of the UK’s uplands. This can be a serious source of air pollution, but because most official air pollution monitoring concentrates on urban areas, the effects are overlooked. This is why we have started monitoring upland fires and the pollution they cause.

    Prescribed burning is a longstanding land management practice often used to control vegetation for grouse shooting or livestock grazing. It happens across a range of upland landscapes. Many of the areas being burned sit on deep peat, an organic-rich soil made from layers of slowly decomposed plant material formed over thousands of years in waterlogged conditions.

    Peatlands are incredibly important. They are one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet. In the UK, they cover around 12% of the land area and store an estimated 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon. This is equivalent to all the forests of Germany, France and the UK combined. Most of the UK’s peat is found in Scotland, but notable areas in England include the Peak District and North York Moors. However, their value goes well beyond carbon.

    Around 70% of Britain’s drinking water comes from upland areas that are largely peatland, and healthy peatlands help reduce flooding by slowing the flow of water from hills to towns and cities. They also provide vital habitats for birds, insects and rare plants, forming the UK’s largest area of semi-natural habitat.



    Read more:
    Wildfire smoke can harm human health, even when the fire is burning hundreds of miles away – a toxicologist explains why

    Despite their ecological importance, more than 80% of English peatlands are classified as degraded, often through historic air pollution, draining, overgrazing and, importantly, repeated burning.

    One hidden consequence of that burning is air pollution. These burns are often viewed as isolated rural events, but their effect on regional air quality can be substantial. On that day in Sheffield, pollution levels briefly rivalled those seen across the city during bonfire night, a well-known peak in urban air pollution.

    In response to that October event, our research team launched a new pilot monitoring network across part of the Peak District national park. This FireUp project combines air quality sensors, satellite data and community observations to detect and measure pollution from upland fires.

    Planned burning event in the Peak District captured via Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2024), retrieved from Copernicus SciHub and processed by European Space Agency.
    CC BY

    By using a mix of technologies and local reporting, we have documented spikes in PM2.5 pollution that would have otherwise been missed. Our system offers a clearer picture of when and where fires occur, and how far their smoke spreads, opening the door for better planning and stronger protections for public health. But the problem is not just a lack of data, it is also a failure of regulation. England’s current upland burning regulations are limited on four fronts.

    Heather and grass burning regulations introduced in 2021 prohibit burning only on peat deeper than 40cm inside designated sites. That means 60% of upland peat is excluded from these protections.

    With more than 95% of PM2.5 monitors located in urban areas, smoke from moorland fires in remote rural locations is rarely registered on official networks.

    The resources for organisations responsible for enforcing regulations have shrunk over the last decade. Natural England, one of the government’s statutory bodies responsible for environmental protection, has experienced a 4% decrease in funding for 2024-25 compared to the previous year.

    Prosecutions for illegal burning are exceptionally rare, with satellite analyses pointing to a higher level of unlicensed activity than official records suggest.

    In short, narrow legal scope, limited monitoring coverage and under-resourced enforcement leave many prescribed burns undetected and unaccounted for, along with the health and environmental risks they carry.

    Our FireUp system improves fire detections and helps quantify the effects of air pollution from these burns. As the UK government reviews regulations as part of the 2025 heather and grass burning consultation for England, and as upland fire risk increases, this kind of evidence is essential, not just to track what is happening, but to help shape a healthier and better future for the UK’s uplands.

    Our next step is to develop a citizen science app that makes it easier for people to report peatland fire incidents and upland burning to help improve regulation and log the effects of changes in air quality.

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

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

    James is a member of the Welsh Government Clean Air Advisory Panel, and Promoting Awareness of Air Quality Delivery Group. James also sits on the Scottish Government’s Air Quality Advisory Group.

    Maria Val Martin receives funding from UKRI and is a member of the DEFRA Air Quality Expert Group.

    Rebecca Brownlow 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. Air quality isn’t just bad in cities – here’s why and how we’re tracking pollution from upland fires – https://theconversation.com/air-quality-isnt-just-bad-in-cities-heres-why-and-how-were-tracking-pollution-from-upland-fires-258034

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Business schools are facing challenges to their diversity commitments. They must reinforce them to train leaders effectively

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Alessandro Ghio, Research professor in Accounting, ESCP Business School

    In March 2025, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a leading accreditation body, revised its guiding principles. This included removing the phrase “diversity and inclusion” from its accreditation standards and replacing it with the more neutral “community and connectedness”. The decision emerged amid a shifting legal and political climate in the United States, following a wave of executive orders and legislative efforts aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across public institutions.

    For years, diversity and inclusion have been central to how business schools engage with and signal social responsibility, shaping policies on faculty hiring, student recruitment and curricula. The AACSB change is more than a semantic adjustment – it reflects growing pressure on institutions to retreat from politically sensitive terrain.

    Now, business schools – many of which once celebrated DEI as a strategic and ethical imperative – are being forced to re-evaluate. Will they continue to invest in inclusion, or quietly abandon it under mounting institutional and political scrutiny? The answer will have global consequences, not just for higher education, but for the kind of leadership business schools claim to cultivate.

    Accreditation bodies: shaping business schools’ strategies

    The AACSB’s shift could have a significant impact on how business schools engage with diversity. As higher education institutions have embraced neoliberal, market-driven models, fuelled by students’ consumer-like expectations, external validation from accreditation bodies has become essential. Only 136 institutions (about 1% of all business schools) worldwide hold “triple accreditation” – accreditation by the AACSB, EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and Association of MBAs (AMBA). This status allows business schools to signal their elite standing and adherence to high international standards – and to charge higher tuition.

    Accreditation offers tangible benefits, including use of prestigious logos, membership in exclusive networks, mutual recognition of academic credits, student exchange opportunities, and access to shared resources and best practices. These benefits shape strategic decisions, as business schools prioritise accreditation to maintain their reputation and competitiveness to attract high-paying students.

    Many institutions even have associate or deputy deans dedicated to fulfilling accreditation requirements. Among these requirements has been the long-standing “diversity checkbox”, which required schools to demonstrate their commitment to diversity. AACSB was not alone in this focus: AMBA, another leading accreditation body that specialises in MBA programmes, annually recognises schools for their diversity efforts and initiatives promoting inclusion.

    Accreditation pressures are compounded by the influence of business school rankings, another powerful driver of institutional priorities. Rankings such as the Financial Times’ business school list include diversity-related indicators, such as gender balance in classrooms, representation of women among faculty, and international faculty diversity. Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Schools Diversity Index placed US universities George Washington, Howard and Morgan State at the very top in 2024. While these institutions don’t typically rank highly in overall MBA rankings, the diversity index offered them visibility and a competitive edge to attract prospective students.

    With accreditation bodies and business school rankings shaping institutional identities, a key question emerges: will business schools continue to prioritise diversity if structural incentives erode, or will it quietly disappear from the agenda?

    Diversity at a crossroads

    While the language of diversity has become commonplace in business school messaging – “we place inclusion and diversity at the heart of everything we do”; we “engage with DE&I strategically, practically – and of course via forefront research”; we [“want] to encourage and contribute to the conversation on diversity for and with all the students” – many institutions have gone beyond rhetoric, implementing concrete policies to promote diversity across student bodies, faculty recruitment and course content.

    In France, the grandes écoles – often criticised for perpetuating social elitism, as highlighted by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu – have introduced targeted admission pathways for students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. In the UK, business schools have begun auditing faculty diversity, particularly in terms of race and ethnicity. In Germany, where women professors remain underrepresented, ongoing efforts seek to address persistent gender imbalances in academic positions.

    These initiatives were not developed in a vacuum. Accreditation standards and external recognition gave institutions the legitimacy and incentive to act. Diversity became part of the strategic fabric – an ethical development, yes, but also a business case aligned with the values that accreditation and rankings rewarded.

    Now, with a major accreditation body stepping back and public discourse increasingly polarised, that alignment is beginning to fracture. In the US, federal support for diversity-related research is shrinking. Facing pressure from the Department of Education to end diversity initiatives or risk losing funding, some universities have already taken action by alternately moving to close DEI offices; removing references to DEI from websites, policies and official materials; or even cancelling a planned celebration of International Women’s Day.
    At least two US schools have either severed or planned to sever links with the PhD Project, a programme founded in 1994 that is devoted to “increasing the number of brilliant educators from all communities”. In Europe, some institutions may quietly reduce their commitments, no longer seeing DEI as worth the political or institutional risk.

    The dilemma is no longer about how to advance diversity – but whether to defend it at all. Business schools must decide: is diversity still central to their mission, or just another line item to be dropped when the pressure mounts?

    If business schools are serious about their social mission, they must continue investing in diversity – not as a symbolic gesture, but as a structural commitment. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not peripheral concerns; they are embedded in frameworks like the Principle of Responsible Management Education and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities) – benchmarks that many institutions cite as central to their values. More than 30 Nordic business schools, all members of AACSB, recently issued a joint statement that diversity remains a core value for them.

    Diversity and knowledge

    Beyond institutional mandates, diversity is foundational to the production of credible knowledge. In Why Trust Science? (2019), historian Naomi Oreskes argues that while “diversity does not heal all epistemic ills”, it plays a crucial role in identifying blind spots and challenging groupthink. Drawing on feminist theorists Sandra Harding and Helen Longino, she shows how epistemic communities that are diverse – and critically engaged – are better positioned to identify and correct biases. In more homogeneous groups, dominant assumptions often go unchallenged, leading to structural oversights that undermine both knowledge and legitimacy.

    At a time when trust in academic institutions is eroding, ensuring diverse perspectives is not just desirable – it is necessary. For business schools, which train future leaders and decision-makers, the stakes are especially high.

    This is a moment not to retreat from diversity, but to reclaim it. Rather than treating it as a politicized liability, schools can reassert it as a core academic and democratic value – a way of remaining relevant, rigorous and responsible. And in a climate where “woke” has become a catch-all insult, schools also have an opportunity to reclaim the term – not as provocation, but as a return to its original meaning: a principled alertness to social realities and structural injustice. The LGBTQI+ community’s reclamation of “queer” as a term of empowerment and resistance against societal norms can point the way.

    By reinforcing their commitment to diversity, business schools can help deepen critical inquiry, rebuild public trust in science and ultimately equip their students for leadership in this fractured world – which they will need to understand in all its complexity.

    Alessandro Ghio ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Business schools are facing challenges to their diversity commitments. They must reinforce them to train leaders effectively – https://theconversation.com/business-schools-are-facing-challenges-to-their-diversity-commitments-they-must-reinforce-them-to-train-leaders-effectively-252988

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Business schools are facing challenges to their diversity commitments. They must reinforce them to train leaders effectively

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Alessandro Ghio, Research professor in Accounting, ESCP Business School

    In March 2025, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a leading accreditation body, revised its guiding principles. This included removing the phrase “diversity and inclusion” from its accreditation standards and replacing it with the more neutral “community and connectedness”. The decision emerged amid a shifting legal and political climate in the United States, following a wave of executive orders and legislative efforts aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across public institutions.

    For years, diversity and inclusion have been central to how business schools engage with and signal social responsibility, shaping policies on faculty hiring, student recruitment and curricula. The AACSB change is more than a semantic adjustment – it reflects growing pressure on institutions to retreat from politically sensitive terrain.

    Now, business schools – many of which once celebrated DEI as a strategic and ethical imperative – are being forced to re-evaluate. Will they continue to invest in inclusion, or quietly abandon it under mounting institutional and political scrutiny? The answer will have global consequences, not just for higher education, but for the kind of leadership business schools claim to cultivate.

    Accreditation bodies: shaping business schools’ strategies

    The AACSB’s shift could have a significant impact on how business schools engage with diversity. As higher education institutions have embraced neoliberal, market-driven models, fuelled by students’ consumer-like expectations, external validation from accreditation bodies has become essential. Only 136 institutions (about 1% of all business schools) worldwide hold “triple accreditation” – accreditation by the AACSB, EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and Association of MBAs (AMBA). This status allows business schools to signal their elite standing and adherence to high international standards – and to charge higher tuition.

    Accreditation offers tangible benefits, including use of prestigious logos, membership in exclusive networks, mutual recognition of academic credits, student exchange opportunities, and access to shared resources and best practices. These benefits shape strategic decisions, as business schools prioritise accreditation to maintain their reputation and competitiveness to attract high-paying students.

    Many institutions even have associate or deputy deans dedicated to fulfilling accreditation requirements. Among these requirements has been the long-standing “diversity checkbox”, which required schools to demonstrate their commitment to diversity. AACSB was not alone in this focus: AMBA, another leading accreditation body that specialises in MBA programmes, annually recognises schools for their diversity efforts and initiatives promoting inclusion.

    Accreditation pressures are compounded by the influence of business school rankings, another powerful driver of institutional priorities. Rankings such as the Financial Times’ business school list include diversity-related indicators, such as gender balance in classrooms, representation of women among faculty, and international faculty diversity. Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Schools Diversity Index placed US universities George Washington, Howard and Morgan State at the very top in 2024. While these institutions don’t typically rank highly in overall MBA rankings, the diversity index offered them visibility and a competitive edge to attract prospective students.

    With accreditation bodies and business school rankings shaping institutional identities, a key question emerges: will business schools continue to prioritise diversity if structural incentives erode, or will it quietly disappear from the agenda?

    Diversity at a crossroads

    While the language of diversity has become commonplace in business school messaging – “we place inclusion and diversity at the heart of everything we do”; we “engage with DE&I strategically, practically – and of course via forefront research”; we [“want] to encourage and contribute to the conversation on diversity for and with all the students” – many institutions have gone beyond rhetoric, implementing concrete policies to promote diversity across student bodies, faculty recruitment and course content.

    In France, the grandes écoles – often criticised for perpetuating social elitism, as highlighted by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu – have introduced targeted admission pathways for students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. In the UK, business schools have begun auditing faculty diversity, particularly in terms of race and ethnicity. In Germany, where women professors remain underrepresented, ongoing efforts seek to address persistent gender imbalances in academic positions.

    These initiatives were not developed in a vacuum. Accreditation standards and external recognition gave institutions the legitimacy and incentive to act. Diversity became part of the strategic fabric – an ethical development, yes, but also a business case aligned with the values that accreditation and rankings rewarded.

    Now, with a major accreditation body stepping back and public discourse increasingly polarised, that alignment is beginning to fracture. In the US, federal support for diversity-related research is shrinking. Facing pressure from the Department of Education to end diversity initiatives or risk losing funding, some universities have already taken action by alternately moving to close DEI offices; removing references to DEI from websites, policies and official materials; or even cancelling a planned celebration of International Women’s Day.
    At least two US schools have either severed or planned to sever links with the PhD Project, a programme founded in 1994 that is devoted to “increasing the number of brilliant educators from all communities”. In Europe, some institutions may quietly reduce their commitments, no longer seeing DEI as worth the political or institutional risk.

    The dilemma is no longer about how to advance diversity – but whether to defend it at all. Business schools must decide: is diversity still central to their mission, or just another line item to be dropped when the pressure mounts?

    If business schools are serious about their social mission, they must continue investing in diversity – not as a symbolic gesture, but as a structural commitment. Diversity, equity and inclusion are not peripheral concerns; they are embedded in frameworks like the Principle of Responsible Management Education and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5: Gender Equality; SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities) – benchmarks that many institutions cite as central to their values. More than 30 Nordic business schools, all members of AACSB, recently issued a joint statement that diversity remains a core value for them.

    Diversity and knowledge

    Beyond institutional mandates, diversity is foundational to the production of credible knowledge. In Why Trust Science? (2019), historian Naomi Oreskes argues that while “diversity does not heal all epistemic ills”, it plays a crucial role in identifying blind spots and challenging groupthink. Drawing on feminist theorists Sandra Harding and Helen Longino, she shows how epistemic communities that are diverse – and critically engaged – are better positioned to identify and correct biases. In more homogeneous groups, dominant assumptions often go unchallenged, leading to structural oversights that undermine both knowledge and legitimacy.

    At a time when trust in academic institutions is eroding, ensuring diverse perspectives is not just desirable – it is necessary. For business schools, which train future leaders and decision-makers, the stakes are especially high.

    This is a moment not to retreat from diversity, but to reclaim it. Rather than treating it as a politicized liability, schools can reassert it as a core academic and democratic value – a way of remaining relevant, rigorous and responsible. And in a climate where “woke” has become a catch-all insult, schools also have an opportunity to reclaim the term – not as provocation, but as a return to its original meaning: a principled alertness to social realities and structural injustice. The LGBTQI+ community’s reclamation of “queer” as a term of empowerment and resistance against societal norms can point the way.

    By reinforcing their commitment to diversity, business schools can help deepen critical inquiry, rebuild public trust in science and ultimately equip their students for leadership in this fractured world – which they will need to understand in all its complexity.

    Alessandro Ghio ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Business schools are facing challenges to their diversity commitments. They must reinforce them to train leaders effectively – https://theconversation.com/business-schools-are-facing-challenges-to-their-diversity-commitments-they-must-reinforce-them-to-train-leaders-effectively-252988

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Indonesia can expand its gastrodiplomacy via plant-based meals in Europe: Research

    Source: The Conversation – Indonesia – By Meilinda Sari Yayusman, Researcher in International Relations and European Studies, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN)

    Raw vegetable and lettuce salad with Indonesian fried tempeh. Gekko Gallery/Shutterstock

    Gastrodiplomacy as the practice of a country’s diplomacy by promoting its cuisine, is now gaining popularity in several countries across the globe, including South Korea and Thailand.

    South Korea, for example, has introduced its so-called “Kimchi Diplomacy” in the world for the past years as part of the country’s soft power in promoting culinary culture. Thailand, meanwhile, has been spreading the influence of Thai food and expanding Thai restaurants around the globe, attracting the global communities to eat authentic Thai cuisine.

    Indonesia, with diverse food and beverages as well as indigenous spices, has also started to resort to this strategy to promote the country in the global forum.

    Our unpublished observation based on fieldwork in May 2023 and literature reviews since mid-2021 resulted in a recommendation for the Indonesian government to take advantage of its diverse menu for its gastrodiplomacy agenda.

    We recommend Indonesia emphasise plant-based dishes for its gastrodiplomacy strategy in Europe, given the region’s rising trend of plant-based food consumption.

    Why plant-based food

    A growing number of people are increasingly considering plant-based food as a dietary alternative to maintain their health following global concerns on the negative impacts of processed foods on health, society and the environment.

    Gado-gado (Indonesian authentic salad with peanut dressing).
    Endah Kurnia P/Shutterstock

    Indonesia has a lot of ingredients and spices to create plant-based menus that have met global healthy standards.

    Among them are tempeh, a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. The fermentation increases its nutritional quality. Tempeh has been known in the Netherlands and already has consumers in Europe. However, it is not widespread yet in the whole continent.

    Gado-gado, the famous Indonesian salad with its authentic peanut butter dressing, has also seen an emerging popularity in the global market. From our fieldwork, we have learned that almost all Indonesian restaurants worldwide, such as in The Hague and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, usually have gado-gado on their menus.

    Other plant-based cuisines that have potential to gain popularity abroad are asinan (fruit salad preserved with vinegar) and gudeg (jackfruit stewed in coconut milk).

    However, our observation shows that Indonesian vegan menus have yet to be widely known in Europe and other continents. Indonesia should promote them in the global market.

    Why Europe

    Plant-based food trend has been currently growing in many industrialised countries, especially in Europe.

    Gudeg, a traditional Javanese dish from Indonesia’s Yogyakarta, is made from young unripe jack fruit stewed for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk.
    Ricky_herawan/Shutterstock

    In Europe, the value of plant-based food sales increased by 49% between 2018 and 2020. This includes an expansion in the market for plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy.

    In the Netherlands, for example, sales rose by 50% during the same period. Germany and Poland have also witnessed a notable surge in the sales of plant-based food products, with an increase of 97% and 62%, respectively.

    With the change in people’s food consumption habits, Europe can be a significant, promising market for Indonesia to expand the promotion of its plant-based food products.

    Taking advantage of current presence

    The fact that Indonesia’s culinary presence in Europe is already evident, particularly in the Netherlands, should benefit Indonesia.

    Based on our finding, no less than 392 Indonesian restaurants are operating in West and South Europe, majority of which (295) is in the Netherlands. They have become popular since the 1970s.

    For hundreds of years, the Netherlands colonised parts of what is now Indonesia. The colonial history between the two nations has created a sense of romanticism, including what and how they ate in the past.

    Many Indonesian citizens living in European countries own Indonesian cuisine restaurants, and recently, they have started to develop plant-based menus in their kitchens.

    The Netherlands offers a promising hub for introducing Indonesian foods and establishing Indonesian restaurants in other parts of Europe.

    Tofu is an Indonesian traditional food made from soybean.
    Erly Damayanti/Shutterstock

    As part of our observation, we visited some Indonesian restaurants in the Netherlands that are developing plant-based menus in their kitchens for vegans and vegetarians, in response to the rising popularity of plant-based food in European society.

    Among them were De Vegetarische Toko, Toko Kalimantan, Bali Brunch 82 and Praboemoelih. They serve gado-gado, variants of tempeh and tofu and tumis buncis (vegetable stir-fry).

    De Vegetarische Toko, for example, has creatively transformed some authentic Indonesian foods into vegan and vegetarian-friendly versions. They replace the meats in menus like rendang (slow-cooked beef stew in coconut milk and spices) and semur (beef stew) with tempeh, tofu, beans and peanuts.

    With these creative innovations, these restaurants may have an excellent opportunity to extend and promote Indonesian plant-based meals more widely to other parts of Europe, thus supporting Indonesia’s gastrodiplomacy.

    More support needed

    Indonesia has acknowledged its gastrodiplomacy potential through several programs.

    In 2021, Indonesia launched “Indonesia Spice Up the World”. It becomes the country’s first-ever concrete initiative to promote Indonesian cuisine and attract investment opportunities in local spices and herbs.

    The initiative aims to increase Indonesian spice exports to US$2 billion, launch approximately 4,000 Indonesian restaurants abroad by 2024 and make Indonesia a culinary destination in the future.

    To support this kind of initiative, the Indonesian government should regularly and intensively communicate with all stakeholders involved in the Indonesian culinary industry. The partnership should aim to support Indonesian diaspora entrepreneurs looking to start businesses in the food sector abroad.

    One example is offering soft loans to these food entrepreneurs.
    Bank BNI, Indonesia’s fourth-largest bank, has begun offering this kind of loan.

    It is time for Indonesia to strengthen its international existence through gastrodiplomacy by taking advantage of the rising consumption of plant-based meals among global communities. Tempeh, gado-gado, asinan and gudeg can become a powerful weapon of Indonesia’s soft diplomacy on the global stage.

    Meilinda Sari Yayusman receives funding by the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia.

    Andika Ariwibowo receives funding by the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia.

    Prima Nurahmi Mulyasari receives funding by the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia.

    Ahmad Nuril Huda tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.

    – ref. Indonesia can expand its gastrodiplomacy via plant-based meals in Europe: Research – https://theconversation.com/indonesia-can-expand-its-gastrodiplomacy-via-plant-based-meals-in-europe-research-209193

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: AI applications are producing cleaner cities, smarter homes and more efficient transit

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mohammadamin Ahmadfard, Postdoctoral Fellow, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Toronto Metropolitan University

    Artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly transforming how cities generate, store and distribute energy, acting as the invisible conductor that orchestrates cleaner, smarter and more resilient cities.

    By integrating renewables — from solar panels and wind turbines to geothermal grids, hydrogen plants, electric vehicles and batteries — AI can enable cities to manage diverse energy sources as a single, intelligent system.

    One striking example is the Oya Hybrid Power Station in South Africa. Here, AI-driven controls seamlessly co-ordinate solar, wind and battery storage to deliver reliable power to up to 320,000 households. Using AI makes this kind of integration not only possible, but dramatically more efficient.

    Recent research shows AI can also optimize how batteries, solar and the grid interact in buildings. A 2023 study found that deep learning and real-time data helped a boarding school in Turin, Italy increase low-cost energy purchases and cut its electricity bill by more than half.

    Cleaner, smarter energy grids

    AI models are increasingly able to predict weather with greater precision. These predictions allow electric grid operators to plan hours ahead, storing excess energy in batteries or adjusting supply to meet demand before a storm or heatwave hits.

    Using AI to respond strategically to weather is a game-changer. In Cambridge, England, a system called Aardvark uses satellite and sensor data to generate rapid, accurate forecasts of sun and wind patterns.

    Unlike traditional supercomputer-driven weather models, Aardvark’s AI can deliver precise local forecasts in minutes on an ordinary computer. This makes advanced weather prediction more accessible and affordable for cities, utilities and even smaller organizations — potentially transforming how communities everywhere plan for and respond to changing weather.

    AI models are increasingly able to predict weather with greater precision, allowing electric grid operators to plan ahead, storing excess energy in batteries or adjusting supply to meet demand before a storm or heat wave hits.
    (Shutterstock)

    AI for smarter district heating and cooling

    In Munich, Germany, AI is improving geothermal district heating by using underground sensors to monitor temperature and moisture levels in the ground.

    The collected data feeds into a digital simulation model that helps optimize network operations. In more advanced versions, during winter cold snaps, such systems can suggest lowering flow to underused spaces like half-empty offices and boosting heat where demand is higher, such as in crowded apartments.

    This intelligent, self-optimizing approach extends the life of equipment and delivers more warmth with the same energy input.

    This is a breakthrough with enormous potential for cities in cold climates with established geothermal networks, such as Winnipeg in Canada and Iceland’s Reykjavik.

    Although these cities have not yet adopted AI-driven monitoring systems, they could benefit from AI’s real-time improvements in efficiency, comfort and energy savings during harsh winters — a principle that holds true wherever geothermal district heating and cooling exists.

    Inside the home, AI-managed smart climate systems can factor in how many people are in each room, which appliances are in use, how much natural sunlight each space receives.
    (Shutterstock)

    Smart buildings

    Inside the home, AI-managed smart climate systems can factor in how many people are in each room, which appliances are in use, how much natural sunlight each space receives and how much electricity or heat a home’s solar panels generate throughout the day.

    Based on this, AI determines how to heat or cool rooms efficiently, and can transfer energy from one space to another, balancing comfort with minimal energy use.

    Coastal cities and those in wind-heavy regions are using AI in other creative ways. In Orkney, Scotland, excess wind and tidal energy are converted into green hydrogen. Instead of letting that surplus power go to waste, an AI system called HyAI controls when to generate hydrogen based on wind forecasts, electricity prices and how full the hydrogen storage tanks are.

    When winds are strong at night and electricity is cheap, the AI can divert surplus power to produce hydrogen and store it for later use. On calmer days, that stored hydrogen can power fuel cells or buses.

    Energy storage

    AI is transforming energy storage into a smart, revenue-generating force. In Finland, a startup called Capalo AI has developed Zeus VPP, an AI-powered virtual power plant that aggregates distributed batteries from homes, businesses and other sites.

    Zeus VPP uses advanced forecasting and AI algorithms to decide when batteries should charge or discharge, factoring in energy prices, local consumption and weather forecasts. This enables battery owners to earn revenue by participating in electricity markets, while also supporting grid stability and making better use of renewable energy.

    Utility companies are also using AI to monitor everything from high-voltage transmission lines to neighbourhood transformers, dramatically increasing reliability.

    AI-powered dynamic line rating adjusts how much electricity a line can carry in real time, boosting capacity by 15 to 30 per cent when conditions allow. This helps utilities maximize the use of existing infrastructure instead of relying on costly upgrades.

    At the local level, AI analyzes smart metre data to predict which transformers are overheating due to rising EV and heat pump use.

    By forecasting these stress points, utilities can proactively upgrade equipment before failures happen — a shift from reactive to predictive maintenance that makes the grid stronger and cities more resilient.

    AI-powered public transit and mobility

    Transportation innovation is becoming part of the energy solution, with AI at the centre of this transformation. In New York City, energy company Con Edison has installed major battery storage systems to help manage peak electricity demand and reduce reliance on polluting peaker plants, which supply energy only during high-demand periods.

    More broadly, Con Edison is deploying advanced AI-powered analytics software across its electric grid — optimizing voltage, enhancing reliability and enabling predictive maintenance. Together, these efforts show how combining energy storage and AI-driven analytics can make even the world’s busiest cities more resilient and efficient.

    AI is also powering “vehicle-to-grid” innovations in California, where an AI-driven platform manages electric school buses that can supply stored energy back to the grid during periods of high demand.

    By carefully managing when buses charge and discharge, these systems help keep the grid reliable and ensure vehicles are ready for their daily routes. As this technology expands, parked electric vehicles could serve as valuable backup resources for the electricity system.

    Transportation innovation is becoming part of the energy solution.
    (Shutterstock)

    AI for clean energy initiatives

    AI is rapidly transforming cities by revolutionizing how energy is used and managed. Google, for example, has slashed cooling energy at its data centres by up to 40 per cent using AI that fine-tunes fans, pumps and windows more efficiently than any human operator.

    Organizations like the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), in collaboration with NVIDIA, Microsoft and others, have launched the Open Power AI Consortium, which is creating open-source AI tools for utilities worldwide.

    These tools will enable even the most resource-constrained cities to deploy advanced AI capabilities, without having to start from scratch, helping to level the playing field and accelerate the global energy transition.

    The result is not just cleaner air and lower energy bills, but a path to fewer blackouts and more resilient homes.

    Mohammadamin Ahmadfard receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Mitacs Inc. for his postdoctoral research at Toronto Metropolitan University.

    – ref. AI applications are producing cleaner cities, smarter homes and more efficient transit – https://theconversation.com/ai-applications-are-producing-cleaner-cities-smarter-homes-and-more-efficient-transit-256291

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Canada Day: How Canadian nationalism is evolving with the times — and will continue to do so

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eric Wilkinson, Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy, University of British Columbia

    Tariffs imposed on Canada by the United States have fuelled a surge in nationalist sentiment that played a significant role in the outcome of April’s federal election.

    Mark Carney’s new Liberal government has signalled an interest in pursuing nation-building projects that hearken back to an earlier period in Canadian history.

    Economic, cultural and social policy in Canada has often served the purpose of building national unity to facilitate cohesion and collective action. But some commentators have cautioned Canadians to dampen their reinvigorated sense of pride in their nation.



    Read more:
    Canadians are more patriotic than ever amid Trump’s trade war — but it’s important not to take national pride too far

    Those on the right view Canadian nationalism as an obstacle to neo-liberal economic policies while the left perceives it as irredeemably flawed.

    For people on the right, free trade and globalization are thought to produce the best economic outcomes, and nationalism obstructs those outcomes. But those on the progressive left argue that Canada was founded on racist policies and settler colonialism, so nationalism should be rejected because of this original sin.



    Read more:
    This Canada Day, settler Canadians should think about ‘land back’

    What is a nation?

    Both perspectives — and the public discussion of Canada’s national identity more generally — remain mired in confusion over the nature of nations. As a political philosopher, I have worked to clear up this confusion by determining what nations are and how they evolve.

    In the 19th century, French scholar Ernest Renan outlined a definition of nation that has yet to be improved upon. For Renan, a nation consists of two things: the daily commitment of a people to continue to live and work together and a collective memory of a shared past together.

    In contemporary times, Irish social scientist Benedict Anderson described nations as “imagined communities,” since the character of the nation is determined by the limits of the collective imagination of its citizens.

    These are subjective definitions of nations because they define national communities in terms of the identification of their members with the community.

    There are other, more common objective definitions of a nation involving identity, including shared ethnicity, religion or culture. But these definitions have long been criticized since many national identities transcend ethnicity, religion, culture or any other identity markers.

    Nations vs. states

    A national community is distinct from a state. The state constitutes the formal political institutions of a society, while the nation is the community of people within that society who view each other as compatriots. This is why the phrase “the people” is often used as a synonym for the national community.

    While some nations are stateless, in other cases, multiple nations co-exist within a single state.

    In Canada, there is the Québécois nation and many Indigenous nations within the Canadian nation. Although they are distinct, states and their governments will often build national identities around themselves to enable cohesion and collective action. Canada’s national identity was systematically shaped by successive governments — from Confederation onward — to build the society that Canadians live in today.

    The character of a particular nation is not fixed.

    The beliefs, practices and culture of the people who choose to live and work together can be shaped into anything they collectively decide on. A nation can adopt new values, redefine its membership or have one of its definitive characteristics fade from prominence.

    Accordingly, there is no reason to think that moral failings of a national community’s past must compromise it forever. A nation can, and sometimes does, recognize its past failures and become something better.

    Patriotism vs. nationalism

    A distinction is sometimes drawn between “patriotism” and “nationalism,” with the most famous being made by English social critic and novelist George Orwell.

    For Orwell, patriotism is devotion to a particular way of life without the desire to force it on other people, while nationalism denotes an impulse to seek power for one’s nation. Patriotism, then, is a benign, ethical form of partiality to one’s nation.

    Other thinkers have sought to explain how national identities and communities can be cultivated in an ethical way, described by Israeli philosopher Yael Tamir as “liberal nationalism.”

    The liberal nationalist, according to Tamir, seeks to construct a national identity that adopts the correct ethical values. They hope to harness the energy of nationalism to build a nation committed to liberty, inclusivity and progress.

    In 1867, George-Étienne Cartier described the Canadian identity that he and the other Fathers of Confederation sought to create as a “political nationality.” He viewed Canadian identity as being defined by shared principles rather than language or ethnicity.

    More than 150 years later, political theorist Michael Ignatieff made a similar distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism. In an ethnic nation, citizens identify with each other because they belong to the same ethnic, religious or cultural community. Meanwhile, in a civic nation, the people unite behind certain civic principles, like a commitment to democracy.

    Cartier’s concept of a political nationality was crucial to making sense of the political experiment that was Confederation. Having mostly abandoned their efforts to assimilate the French-Canadians, the British settlers in North America would now join with them to build a new national identity instead.

    Reshaping Canadian identity

    In his recent book, historian Raymond Blake explains how Canada’s post-Second World War prime ministers, through their speeches and public statements, reshaped Canada’s national identity.



    Read more:
    40 years later: A look back at the Pierre Trudeau speech that defined Canada

    Up through Louis St-Laurent, various prime ministers would refer to the “deux nations” origin of Canada as inspirational. British and French settlers had come together despite their differences to build a new society together, they pointed out.

    As time went on, it became clear this definition of Canada’s national identity wasn’t nearly inclusive enough, making no mention of Indigenous Peoples.

    The multicultural character of Canadian society was increasingly acknowledged by the government and Canadians at large until it was central to Canada’s identity. Canada’s national narrative has been reframed in recent years to recognize Indigenous Peoples as one of the three founding pillars of Canadian society. This evolution exemplifies exactly the change citizens should expect in a national community.

    This transformation in Canadian national identity shows that national communities can change over time — including, perhaps, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada.

    In the end, Canadians decide what sort of nation they want to inhabit. Canada’s political nationality has proven more resilient than even some of its founders might have anticipated, but not for lack of effort. There will always remain the work of building a better nation — and it’s work worth doing.

    Eric Wilkinson 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. Canada Day: How Canadian nationalism is evolving with the times — and will continue to do so – https://theconversation.com/canada-day-how-canadian-nationalism-is-evolving-with-the-times-and-will-continue-to-do-so-259352

    MIL OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Joint Statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers on Iran and the Middle East

    Source: Government of Canada News

    June 30, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    We the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, met in The Hague on June 25, 2025, where we discussed recent events in the Middle East.

    We reiterate our support for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced by U.S. President Trump, and urge all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.

    We appreciate Qatar’s important role in facilitating the ceasefire and express our full solidarity to Qatar and Iraq following the recent strikes by Iran and its proxies and partners against their territory. We welcome all efforts in the region towards stabilization and de-escalation.

    We reaffirm that the Islamic Republic of Iran can never have nuclear weapons, and urge Iran to refrain from reconstituting its unjustified enrichment activities. We call for the resumption of negotiations, resulting in a comprehensive, verifiable and durable agreement that addresses Iran’s nuclear program.

    In order to have a sustainable and credible resolution, we call on Iran to urgently resume full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as required by its safeguards obligations and to provide the IAEA with verifiable information about all nuclear material in Iran, including by providing access to IAEA inspectors. We condemn calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi

    We underscore the centrality of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. It is essential that Iran remains party to and fully implements its obligations under the Treaty.

    We reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East. In this context, we reaffirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Germany: Largest EIB financing for EWE – over 2,600 km of new underground power lines and more than 1,100 substations for Lower Saxony’s energy transition

    Source: European Investment Bank

    EIB

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) and EWE AG announced the largest EIB loan that EWE has ever received at a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the EIB’s Berlin office today.

    A long-term credit facility of up to €450 million was finalised at an event attended by German federal government ministers, project partners and stakeholders.

    This will support investment totalling more than €700 million between 2025 and 2028. The programme includes the laying of more than 2,600 kilometres of new underground power lines and the construction and modernisation of over 1,100 substations, constituting another major step forward for energy infrastructure and energy security in northern Germany.

    EWE Chief Financial Officer Frank Reiners said:

    “We are pleased to further develop our partnership with the EIB. This financing will help supercharge our investments in grid expansion and digitalisation. This will enable us to rapidly and securely integrate more renewable energy into the power grid and strengthen the security of supply in our regions, thereby making them more attractive for new industrial developments.”

    EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer added:

    “What many people do not know is that the most important energy-transition investments are often right under our feet. With over 2,600 km of new underground power lines and more than 1,100 new and modernised substations, we are working with EWE to build a hidden backbone for a more secure energy supply and expanded use of renewable energy throughout northern Germany. Today’s signature of the EIB’s largest-ever financing for EWE at the 25th anniversary event for our Berlin office – attended by high-ranking representatives from politics and business – sends a strong signal for the future of energy supply in Germany. 2024 was a record year for EIB support for the energy grid and this project shows how we are actively shaping Europe’s green future.”

    Hidden infrastructure – the backbone of the energy transition

    Investing in power grids is at the heart of the European energy transition. The massive expansion of renewable energy makes high-performance, flexible grids vital to adding new wind and solar power systems, switching to electrical power for heat and transport and ensuring secure, reliable supply for households and industry. Around 95% of the electricity fed into EWE’s power grid in Lower Saxony comes from renewable sources. The investments will enable an additional 3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity to be connected by 2028, representing an important contribution to German and European climate targets.

    2024: A record year for EIB power grid investment

    2024 was a record year for EIB support for power-grid investment across Europe. As the EU climate bank, the EIB has a long track record of financing key energy infrastructure projects making decarbonisation, economic growth and energy-security possible. In recent years, the EIB has financed grid modernisation and expansion in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and many other EU Member States, laying the foundations for a sustainable, interconnected European energy market.

    Contributing to national and EU objectives

    EWE’s investment programme is fully aligned with Germany’s national energy and climate plan, which foresees an 80% share of renewable energy in electricity use by 2030. It also supports the REPowerEU initiative by expanding clean-energy integration, cutting emissions and strengthening energy supply. A total of 40% Sof the investments will go to cohesion regions, promoting economic and social cohesion.

    The EIB – a reliable partner for Europe’s energy transition

    The EIB’s long-term, flexible financing provides a stable basis on which EWE can implement its investment plans, diversifies sources of funding and sends a positive signal to capital markets. As an anchor investor, the EIB is mobilising additional public and private capital for critical infrastructure projects.

    Background information

    EIB

    The European Investment Bank is the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects, supporting initiatives that promote sustainable growth, innovation and social cohesion in the European Union and beyond.

    EWE

    EWE AG is one of Germany’s leading energy and infrastructure companies, operating electricity, gas, water supply and telecommunications networks in Lower Saxony and beyond.

    EWE Electricity Grid Investments Germany

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    How to finance sustainable housing

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    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Iran says US ‘betrayed’ diplomacy by ‘encouraging’ Israeli attacks

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    TEHRAN, June 30 (Xinhua) — Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused the United States of “betraying” diplomacy, saying Washington’s alleged role in recent military strikes against Israel jeopardizes the future of proximity talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

    At a weekly press conference in Tehran, spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the United States had encouraged the Israeli attack, which came just two days before the scheduled sixth round of Oman-brokered Iran-US talks.

    The US has betrayed the diplomatic process, he stressed, adding that “one cannot expect that this fact will not affect the continuation of negotiations.”

    The diplomat also rejected US accusations that Iran was not serious about the talks, calling them “baseless” and a pretext to justify the strikes.

    In addition, E. Baghaei criticized Germany and France for supporting Israel, singling out German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks, which described Israeli actions as “the dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us.” These words will bring “historical and eternal shame on Germany,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Secretary of State Sarai concludes participation in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    June 30, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

    Access to development financing is essential to help countries thrive. It grows businesses, creates jobs, and builds a more secure future for families and communities at home and abroad. It also plays a critical role in supporting underserved communities in emerging markets as they make progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    To help drive progress on these priorities, the Honourable Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development), today participated in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), a high-level UN event, taking place from June 30 to July 3, 2025, in Sevilla, Spain.

    At the conference, Secretary of State Sarai reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to sustainable development and to building a more inclusive international financing system. As a clear example of this commitment, Canada contributed The Common Principles for Private Capital Mobilization to the Sevilla Platform for Action. Canada is co-leading this work alongside France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The Common Principles will serve as a road map for Canada and others to mobilize private capital for sustainable development now and into the future.

    Secretary of State Sarai also announced 3 initiatives aimed at mobilizing sustainable investments in emerging markets. They are as follows:

    • The Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers (A4FM) is a $10-million project in partnership with Convergence Blended Finance Inc. The project aims to increase the mobilization of private capital for blended finance funds—that is, a mix of private and public investment—improving the livelihoods of those in underserved communities in developing markets. The project supports gender inclusive investment strategies through knowledge building, repayable grants and tailored technical assistance
    • Support to the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) Facility is a $2-million project in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. This project aims to address the persistent misalignment between financial systems and SDGs. The INFF offers a structured approach to align diverse financial flows with sustainable development priorities
    • Funding the Future: Domestic Resource Mobilization in a Digital Economy is a $5-million project in partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. The project will help developing countries enhance domestic resource mobilization through a comprehensive technical assistance program, which includes support for implementing international standards to raise revenues from multinational enterprises, exchange information to combat illicit financial flows and implement measures to fight financial crime. The project will also mobilize international expertise to provide data, training, guidance and practical support to developing countries across a range of issues related to digitalization

    Following Secretary of State Sarai’s departure, Bob Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York, who also attended the conference, highlighted Scaling Capital for Sustainable Development (SCALED) on his behalf. Canada is contributing approximately $50 million to the SCALED initiative.

    SCALED will help address major barriers to private sector investment in developing countries by simplifying and standardizing blended finance structures, as well as quickly and efficiently get investments to market in support of the SDGs.

    These investments demonstrate Canada’s commitment to mobilizing all sources of finance. Combined private and public investment strengthens economic growth and stability in developing markets, helping achieve the SDGs.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Canada and Germany wrap up a milestone year of global collaboration as Eureka Network co-chairs

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    June 30, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Research Council of Canada

    After a groundbreaking year, Canada and Germany concluded their historic co-chairship of the Eureka Network. For the first time in the network’s history, 2 countries jointly led the world’s largest public network for research and innovation. 

    The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) led the year-long co-chairship, which ran from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Together, the co-chairs advanced the strategic goals of Eureka, facilitated new partnerships, and supported research and innovation projects across various industries and countries.

    Major milestones from the Canada-Germany Eureka co-chairship:

    • Circular Value Creation (CVC) call for proposals: A key initiative of the co-chairship focused on sustainability and resource efficiency, inviting participation from 17 countries. This is the largest joint call across Eureka in its history. The CVC call remains open until September 2025, providing exciting opportunities for innovators to work with international partners in the circular economy space.
    • Expanded global partnerships: One of the co-chairship’s most significant achievements was the strategic expansion of Eureka’s role within both the European and global innovation ecosystems. This includes the development of a joint action plan to strengthen cooperation between Eureka and the European Union in the medium to long term. The year also included the successful re-association of Singapore, which further enhances Eureka’s global outreach and fosters greater cross-regional collaboration. 
    • Impactful research and innovation opportunities: During the co-chairship, Eureka initiated several innovative bilateral and multilateral calls for proposals, focusing on areas such as light weighting and disaster resilience for climate solutions. These calls paved the way for groundbreaking innovation in addressing critical global challenges.
    • Eureka Global Innovation Summit 2025: A key highlight of the co-chairship was the Eureka Global Innovation Summit (GIS), held in April 2025 during Hannover Messe. The summit attracted more than 900 participants from around the world, including government ministers, industry leaders, and R&D experts. Canada had a strong delegation of companies who took full advantage of matchmaking opportunities, pitching sessions, and various B2B engagements designed to help create connections with potential R&D partners.

    Looking ahead 

    With the conclusion of the Canada–Germany co-chairship, the baton has officially passed to Switzerland for the 2025–2026 term. Canada remains fully committed to global collaborative innovation. As we move forward, we will continue to work side by side with our global partners — going further together.

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • I am under no pressure; I do not exert pressure on anyone, nor do I work under pressure: Vice-President

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    lign=”center”>When we go abroad, there is no ruling or opposition party — it’s only Bharat: Vice-President
    In politics, one may belong to different parties, but that does not mean we are enemies; our enemies may be across the borders, not within the country: Vice-President
    Legislatures must uphold the highest standards of conduct; If they fail to do so, citizens will turn to other platforms: Vice-President
    Vice-President addresses public gathering at ‘Sneh Milan Samaroh’ in Jaipur

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said, “I am not under pressure, I do not pressure anyone, I do not work under pressure, nor do I make others work under pressure.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939599837579927882

    Addressing a public gathering at the ‘Sneh Milan Samaroh’ in Jaipur, Shri Dhankhar said, “I was a little concerned—not for my health—but for my friend, the former Chief Minister, who said we are under pressure. He is one of my oldest friends in Rajasthan politics and a well-wisher. Since he spoke publicly, I would also like to say publicly—he need not worry. I am under no pressure, nor do I pressure anyone, nor do I operate under pressure.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939615411064213804

    Discussing the constitutional position of Governors, he remarked, “When the Governor is in the state, they are often treated like an easy punching bag.” He elaborated, “If the State government and the Central government are ruled by different political political parties, it becomes very easy to make allegations. But over time, this dynamic has changed — now even the Vice-President and the President are being dragged into this domain. This, in my view, is a matter of concern, reflection, and philosophical thought, and it is not appropriate.”

     

    Expressing concern over the current political climate, he said, “The current political atmosphere and temperature are not healthy — neither for individuals nor for democracy. It is a matter of concern and reflection.” He emphasized, “Power keeps changing hands; the ruling party becomes opposition, the opposition becomes ruling party. But that does not mean we should become enemies. Our enemies may lie across the border — not within the country.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939607471641010602

    Highlighting that national interest should be above party politics, the Vice-President said, “When we travel abroad, there is no ruling or opposition party; we only represent Bharat — and this has now been demonstrated. This step shows that for us, the nation is supreme. National interest is our duty, Bharatiyata is our pride. Whenever India is the topic, we do not stand divided. Political differences exist within the country, but there are no personal animosities. This is a powerful message that everyone must understand.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939613193577628124

    He further added, “The political temperature is becoming intolerable. Unrestrained statements are made casually. But we must understand that India represents one-sixth of the global population. No other country comes close. Who else possesses a 5000-year-old culture? It is unparalleled and extraordinary.”

     

    Speaking about responsible discourse, he said, “Often, in a state of emotion, we raise questions or encourage conflict — but if I am not the one getting hurt, I might say ‘keep fighting.’ These are not matters to be sensationalized in newspapers — they cause real pain. Our economy suffers deeply. And why? Because where was India 11 years ago? This is not a political matter. In every era, India has progressed. Great accomplishments were made in the 1950s, 60s, 70s. When I talk about the current era, it should not be seen as a comparison to previous ones — I am comparing India with the world.”

     

    He emphasized, “India was once counted among the five most fragile economies — today, it ranks among the world’s top four economies. Look at the countries we’ve surpassed. Just wait a little more — Japan, Germany, the UK, Canada, Brazil — all are behind us. Such a leap has been taken that the world refers to the last decade as the period of India’s economic rise — a feat unmatched by any other major nation.”

     

    Highlighting the role of the opposition in a democracy, the Vice-President said, “Opposition does not mean adversary. Democracy requires expression, debate, dialogue — what the Vedas call Anantavaad.”

     

    He warned, “When expression reaches a point where opposing views are dismissed entirely, expression loses its essence. Expression is crucial — it is the soul of democracy. But if it is suppressed or becomes so extreme that it ignores all other viewpoints, then it ceases to be meaningful. To make expression meaningful, debate is essential — and debate means engaging with people who disagree with you. There is a strong possibility that they may be right. That is why listening to others strengthens your own expression.”

     

    He also invoked the work of the Constituent Assembly, saying, “The Constituent Assembly took nearly three years — 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days — of painstaking effort to give us the Constitution.” He explained, “There were deep issues at the time; consensus was difficult, but they never engaged in confrontation. There was no disruption. Through dialogue and compromise, they arrived at consensus — confrontation never crossed their minds.”

     

    Speaking on policymaking in the interest of farmers, the Vice-President said, “If the subsidies given by the government to farmers reach them directly, every farming household could receive more than ₹30,000 per year.” He further added, “If fertilizer subsidies are transferred directly to farmers, the choice to adopt natural or organic farming will be theirs.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939615942507639111

    He cited the example of the United States and said, “In the U.S., the average annual income of a farming household is higher than that of an average household — that’s the kind of direction we should aim for.”

     

    The Governor of Rajasthan, Shri Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde; the Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Shri Vasudev Devnani; Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Shri Tikaram Juli; Patron of the Rajasthan Progressive Forum, Shri Harimohan Sharma; and the Forum’s Working President, Shri Jeetram Chaudhary, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

  • I am under no pressure; I do not exert pressure on anyone, nor do I work under pressure: Vice-President

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    lign=”center”>When we go abroad, there is no ruling or opposition party — it’s only Bharat: Vice-President
    In politics, one may belong to different parties, but that does not mean we are enemies; our enemies may be across the borders, not within the country: Vice-President
    Legislatures must uphold the highest standards of conduct; If they fail to do so, citizens will turn to other platforms: Vice-President
    Vice-President addresses public gathering at ‘Sneh Milan Samaroh’ in Jaipur

    The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, today said, “I am not under pressure, I do not pressure anyone, I do not work under pressure, nor do I make others work under pressure.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939599837579927882

    Addressing a public gathering at the ‘Sneh Milan Samaroh’ in Jaipur, Shri Dhankhar said, “I was a little concerned—not for my health—but for my friend, the former Chief Minister, who said we are under pressure. He is one of my oldest friends in Rajasthan politics and a well-wisher. Since he spoke publicly, I would also like to say publicly—he need not worry. I am under no pressure, nor do I pressure anyone, nor do I operate under pressure.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939615411064213804

    Discussing the constitutional position of Governors, he remarked, “When the Governor is in the state, they are often treated like an easy punching bag.” He elaborated, “If the State government and the Central government are ruled by different political political parties, it becomes very easy to make allegations. But over time, this dynamic has changed — now even the Vice-President and the President are being dragged into this domain. This, in my view, is a matter of concern, reflection, and philosophical thought, and it is not appropriate.”

     

    Expressing concern over the current political climate, he said, “The current political atmosphere and temperature are not healthy — neither for individuals nor for democracy. It is a matter of concern and reflection.” He emphasized, “Power keeps changing hands; the ruling party becomes opposition, the opposition becomes ruling party. But that does not mean we should become enemies. Our enemies may lie across the border — not within the country.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939607471641010602

    Highlighting that national interest should be above party politics, the Vice-President said, “When we travel abroad, there is no ruling or opposition party; we only represent Bharat — and this has now been demonstrated. This step shows that for us, the nation is supreme. National interest is our duty, Bharatiyata is our pride. Whenever India is the topic, we do not stand divided. Political differences exist within the country, but there are no personal animosities. This is a powerful message that everyone must understand.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939613193577628124

    He further added, “The political temperature is becoming intolerable. Unrestrained statements are made casually. But we must understand that India represents one-sixth of the global population. No other country comes close. Who else possesses a 5000-year-old culture? It is unparalleled and extraordinary.”

     

    Speaking about responsible discourse, he said, “Often, in a state of emotion, we raise questions or encourage conflict — but if I am not the one getting hurt, I might say ‘keep fighting.’ These are not matters to be sensationalized in newspapers — they cause real pain. Our economy suffers deeply. And why? Because where was India 11 years ago? This is not a political matter. In every era, India has progressed. Great accomplishments were made in the 1950s, 60s, 70s. When I talk about the current era, it should not be seen as a comparison to previous ones — I am comparing India with the world.”

     

    He emphasized, “India was once counted among the five most fragile economies — today, it ranks among the world’s top four economies. Look at the countries we’ve surpassed. Just wait a little more — Japan, Germany, the UK, Canada, Brazil — all are behind us. Such a leap has been taken that the world refers to the last decade as the period of India’s economic rise — a feat unmatched by any other major nation.”

     

    Highlighting the role of the opposition in a democracy, the Vice-President said, “Opposition does not mean adversary. Democracy requires expression, debate, dialogue — what the Vedas call Anantavaad.”

     

    He warned, “When expression reaches a point where opposing views are dismissed entirely, expression loses its essence. Expression is crucial — it is the soul of democracy. But if it is suppressed or becomes so extreme that it ignores all other viewpoints, then it ceases to be meaningful. To make expression meaningful, debate is essential — and debate means engaging with people who disagree with you. There is a strong possibility that they may be right. That is why listening to others strengthens your own expression.”

     

    He also invoked the work of the Constituent Assembly, saying, “The Constituent Assembly took nearly three years — 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days — of painstaking effort to give us the Constitution.” He explained, “There were deep issues at the time; consensus was difficult, but they never engaged in confrontation. There was no disruption. Through dialogue and compromise, they arrived at consensus — confrontation never crossed their minds.”

     

    Speaking on policymaking in the interest of farmers, the Vice-President said, “If the subsidies given by the government to farmers reach them directly, every farming household could receive more than ₹30,000 per year.” He further added, “If fertilizer subsidies are transferred directly to farmers, the choice to adopt natural or organic farming will be theirs.”

    https://twitter.com/VPIndia/status/1939615942507639111

    He cited the example of the United States and said, “In the U.S., the average annual income of a farming household is higher than that of an average household — that’s the kind of direction we should aim for.”

     

    The Governor of Rajasthan, Shri Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde; the Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, Shri Vasudev Devnani; Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Shri Tikaram Juli; Patron of the Rajasthan Progressive Forum, Shri Harimohan Sharma; and the Forum’s Working President, Shri Jeetram Chaudhary, and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: There is no loneliness epidemic – so why do we keep talking as if there is?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Brendan Kelly, Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin

    fran_kie/Shutterstock.com

    Most people experience periods of loneliness, isolation or solitude in their lives. But these are different things, and the proportion of people feeling lonely is stable over time. So why do we keep talking about an epidemic of loneliness?

    Before the COVID pandemic, several studies showed that rates of loneliness were stable in England, the US, Finland, Sweden and Germany, among other places, over recent decades.

    While COVID changed many things, loneliness levels quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels. In 2018, 34% of US adults aged 50 to 80 years reported a lack of companionship “some of the time” or “often”. That proportion rose to 42% during the pandemic but fell to 33% in 2024.

    That’s a lot of lonely people, but it is not an epidemic. In some countries, such as Sweden, loneliness is in decline – at least among older adults.

    Despite these statistics, the idea that loneliness is increasing is pervasive. For example in 2023, the US surgeon general warned about an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation”. The UK even has a government minister with an explicit responsibility for addressing loneliness.

    Loneliness is a problem, even if it is not an epidemic. Social connection is important for physical and mental health. Many people feel lonely in a crowd or feel crowded when alone. In 2023, the World Health Organization announced a “Commission on Social Connection”. The WHO is right: we need to reduce loneliness in our families, communities and societies.

    But the idea that loneliness is an “epidemic” is misleading and it draws us away from sustainable solutions, rather than towards them. It suggests that loneliness is a new problem (it is not), that it is increasing (it is not), that it is beyond our control (it is not), and that the only appropriate reaction is an emergency one (it is not).

    In the short term, loneliness is an undesirable psychological state. In the long term, it is a risk factor for chronic ill health.

    Loneliness is not a sudden crisis that needs a short-term fix. It is a long-term challenge that requires a sustained response. An emergency reaction is not appropriate – a measured response is. Initiatives by the US surgeon general and WHO are welcome, but they should be long-term responses to an enduring problem, not emergency reactions to an “epidemic”.

    Vivek Murthy, the former US surgeon general warned about an epidemic of loneliness in America.
    lev radin/Shutterstock

    Medicalising normal human experience

    Conceptual clarity is essential if true loneliness is to be addressed. Pathologising all instances of being alone risks medicalising normal human experiences such as solitude. Some people feel alive only in crowds, but others were born lighthouse keepers. In a hyper-connected world, loneliness should be solvable, but solitude must be treasured.

    So, if there is no loneliness epidemic, why do we keep talking as if there is? Media framing of the issue and the human tendency to panic reinforce each other. We click into news stories based on subjective resonance rather than objective evidence.

    Human behaviour is shaped primarily by feelings, not facts. We dramatise, panic, and overstate negative trends. If trends are positive, we focus on minor counter-trends, ignore statistics and make things up.

    In the case of loneliness, the problem is real, even if the “epidemic” is not. Loneliness is part of the human condition, but alleviating each other’s loneliness is also part of who we are – or who we can become.

    Addressing loneliness is not about solving a short-term problem or halting an “epidemic”. It means learning to live with each other in new, more integrated ways that meet our emotional needs. Loneliness is not the problem. It is a consequence of living in societies that are often disconnected and fragmented.

    The solution? We cannot change the essentials of human nature – and nor should we try. But we can be a little kinder to ourselves, speak to each other a little more, and cultivate compassion for ourselves and other people.

    We need to connect with each other better and more. We can. We should. We will.

    Brendan Kelly 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. There is no loneliness epidemic – so why do we keep talking as if there is? – https://theconversation.com/there-is-no-loneliness-epidemic-so-why-do-we-keep-talking-as-if-there-is-259072

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anette Hoffmann, Senior Researcher at the Institute for African Studies and Egyptology, University of Cologne

    During the first world war (1914-1918) thousands of African men enlisted to fight for France and Britain were captured and held as prisoners in Germany. Their stories and songs were recorded and archived by German linguists, who often didn’t understand a thing they were saying.

    Now a recent book called Knowing by Ear listens to these recordings alongside written sources, photographs and artworks to reveal the lives and political views of these colonised Africans from present-day Senegal, Somalia, Togo and Congo.

    Anette Hoffmann is a historian whose research and curatorial work engages with historical sound archives. We asked her about her book.

    How did these men come to be recorded?

    About 450 recordings with African speakers were made with linguists of the so-called Royal Prussian Phonographic Commission. Their project was opportunistic. They made use of the presence of prisoners of war to further their research.

    In many cases these researchers didn’t understand what was being said. The recordings were archived as language samples, yet most were never used, translated, or even listened to for decades.

    The many wonderful translators I have worked with over the years are often the first listeners who actually understood what was being said by these men a century before.

    What did they talk about?

    The European prisoners the linguists recorded were often asked to tell the same Bible story (the parable of the prodigal son). But because of language barriers, African prisoners were often simply asked to speak, tell a story or sing a song.

    We can hear some men repeating monotonous word lists or counting, but mostly they spoke of the war, of imprisonment and of the families they hadn’t seen for years.

    Abdoulaye Niang from Senegal sings in Wolof.
    Courtesy Lautarchiv, Berlin275 KB (download)

    In the process we hear speakers offer commentary. Senegalese prisoner Abdoulaye Niang, for example, calls Europe’s battlefields an abattoir for the soldiers from Africa. Others sang of the war of the whites, or speak of other forms of colonial exploitation.

    When I began working on colonial-era sound archives about 20 years ago, I was stunned by what I heard from African speakers, especially the critique and the alternative versions of colonial history. Often aired during times of duress, such accounts seldom surface in written sources.

    Joseph Ntwanumbi from South Africa chants in isiXhosa.
    Courtesy Lautarchiv, Berlin673 KB (download)

    Clearly, many speakers felt safe to say things because they knew that researchers couldn’t understand them. The words and songs have travelled decades through time yet still sound fresh and provocative.

    Can you highlight some of their stories?

    The book is arranged around the speakers. Many of them fought in the French army in Europe after being conscripted or recruited in former French colonies, like Abdoulaye Niang. Other African men got caught up in the war and were interned as civilian prisoners, like Mohamed Nur from Somalia, who had lived in Germany from 1911. Joseph Ntwanumbi from South Africa was a stoker on a ship that had docked in Hamburg soon after the war started.

    In chapter one Niang sings a song about the French army’s recruitment campaign in Dakar and also informs the linguists that the inmates of the camp in Wünsdorf, near Berlin, do not wish to be deported to another camp.

    An archive search reveals he was later deported and also that Austrian anthropologists measured his body for racial studies.

    His recorded voice speaking in Wolof travelled back home in 2024, as a sound installation I created for the Théodore Monod African Art Museum in Dakar.

    Chapter two listens to Mohamed Nur from Somalia. In 1910 he went to Germany to work as a teacher to the children of performers in a so-called Völkerschau (an ethnic show; sometimes called a human zoo, where “primitive” cultures were displayed).

    After refusing to perform on stage, he found himself stranded in Germany without a passport or money. He worked as a model for a German artist and later as a teacher of Somali at the University of Hamburg. Nur left a rich audio-visual trace in Germany, which speaks of the exploitation of men of colour in German academia as well as by artists. One of his songs comments on the poor treatment of travellers and gives a plea for more hospitality to strangers.

    Stephan Bischoff, who grew up in a German mission station in Togo and was working in a shoe shop in Berlin when the war began, appears in the third chapter. His recordings criticise the practices of the Christian colonial evangelising mission. He recalls the destruction of an indigenous shrine in Ghana by German military in 1913.

    Also in chapter three is Albert Kudjabo, who fought in the Belgian army before he was imprisoned in Germany. He mainly recorded drum language, a drummed code based on a tonal language from the Democratic Republic of Congo that German linguists were keen to study. He speaks of the massive socio-cultural changes that mining brought to his home region, which may have caused him to migrate.

    Together these songs, stories and accounts speak of a practice of extracting knowledge in prisoner of war camps. But they offer insights and commentary far beyond the “example sentences” that the recordings were meant to be.

    Why do these sound archives matter?

    As sources of colonial history, the majority of the collections in European sound archives are still untapped, despite the growing scholarly and artistic interest in them in the last decade. This interest is led by decolonial approaches to archives and knowledge production.

    Sound collections diversify what’s available as historical texts, they increase the variety of languages and genres that speak of the histories of colonisation. They present alternative accounts and interpretations of history to offer a more balanced view of the past.

    Anette Hoffmann 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. African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say – https://theconversation.com/african-prisoners-made-sound-recordings-in-german-camps-in-ww1-this-is-what-they-had-to-say-254127

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  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Johannesburg’s problems can be solved – but it’s a long journey to fix South Africa’s economic powerhouse

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Philip Harrison, Professor School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand

    Joburg skyline. South African Tourism/Flickr, CC BY

    South African president Cyril Ramaphosa met senior leaders of Johannesburg and Gauteng, the province it’s located in, in March 2025 to discuss ways to arrest the steep decline in South Africa’s largest city.

    Ramaphosa announced a two-year-long presidential intervention to tackle some of the city’s most pressing issues. It is to be led by the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group with eight cross-governmental and multi-stakeholder workstreams.

    Johannesburg was established 130 years ago, where the world’s largest-ever gold deposits were discovered. It grew rapidly in the early 20th century and became the country’s economic heartland and largest population centre. Like all South African cities, it was deeply scarred by apartheid policies. People were divided by racially defined groups. Good services and a strong economy benefited a minority, and a black majority were pushed into impoverished ghettos.

    But, for about the first two decades of post-apartheid rule from 1994, Johannesburg led the country with innovation and progressive change. It pioneered the new local government system, institutional reforms, new practice on city strategy and planning, pro-poor service delivery, and modern transport infrastructure.

    Today, however, the city is in a dire state. Over the past decade, roughly coinciding with the arrival of messy coalition governance in 2016, sound political leadership, administrative stability and financial management have crumbled. Underinvestment in infrastructure maintenance has led to collapsing services. Public trust is deteriorating among increasingly frustrated communities. This was evident in local election results. It also shows up in recent data released by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory on public trust in local government.

    The local economy has stagnated. The city’s official unemployment rate of 34.3% is higher than the national average of 32.9%. Mounting joblessness and dwindling incomes have intertwined with depleted trust to knock levels of payment for property rates and service charges. In turn this has deepened the financial and service maintenance crisis.

    Corruption in many parts of the city is an endemic complicating factor.

    The presidential intervention is designed to address this complex interplay between embedded legacies and failings post-apartheid. The workstreams involving city officials and concerned stakeholders are generating ideas for priority actions. There is also a new energy in the city government, with the executive mayor and members of his mayoral committee making turnaround promises.

    This long overdue attention is heartening. But some caution is called for. While some “quick wins” are needed, there will be no easy turnaround. The best prospect is likely to be a process of recovery that will require patience and methodical attention over the long term. A city cannot be repaired in the way an automobile can. A city has a trillion moving parts and is in a constant state of makeover, as dynamics of economy, technology, demography, environment, society, politics, and more, interact and produce change.

    The question is not whether a city is fixed – it can never finally be – but rather what trajectory it is on. For Johannesburg, the question is how to exit the downward spiral and begin the process of reconstruction.

    We are a group who previously worked in the City of Johannesburg as officials, who are now academics with decades of experience observing local governance trends and dynamics, or scholars engaged in civil society coalitions or communities mobilising around the crisis. Some of us have been involved in the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group over the last few months.

    Our view is that there are four areas needing urgent but sustained attention.

    Focus areas

    The first is the need for a joint effort across national, provincial and municipal government to resolve the crisis. We are pleased that this has begun. The political leadership in the city (and of the province) failed to grasp the opportunity provided by the post-2024 election national compromises to put together a broad-based government of local unity to lead reconstruction. There is no option now but to pursue an inter-governmental initiative led by national government with the committed involvement of the other spheres.

    Only genuine collaboration will succeed.

    In this respect, the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group holds promise. But what will be needed is careful, concerted work focused first on short-term priorities. Then, over years, on key structural challenges facing the city.

    Second, the city needs civil society in all its forms to hold a careful balance between keeping up the pressure on municipal government, constantly holding it accountable to its residents, and working with government to help it solve problems. The Joburg Crisis Alliance, Jozi-my-Jozi, WaterCAN and similar initiatives are claiming well-recognised and respected voice in the affairs of the municipality.

    Johannesburg needs a city government that is open to this scrutiny, accepting the need for transparency, and open to the help that civil society can offer.

    To raise the level of accountability and collaboration, a clear programme of restoration has to be communicated openly to the public. Milestones and expenditure requirements need to be set that allow for constant monitoring. There must be open council meetings, and regular online and in-person briefings.

    Also required are new mechanisms for citizen-based monitoring. These may include trained citizen monitors reporting on service delivery. Alternatively, the establishment of a sort of “Citizen’s Council” which meets regularly to receive reports from these monitors and the city administration.

    International examples include the Bürgerrat model. This is now fully institutionalised in parts of Germany and Austria to strengthen local democracy and accountability. In this model, citizens are randomly selected to sit on a council which monitors performance of local government and provides new ideas.

    Another approach could be for civil society organisations to be invited to a Citizen’s Council that would act in support of the oversight processes of the elected Municipal Council.

    Third, there has to be a solution to unstable coalition governments. These seem to be structured to facilitate separate political fiefdoms where spoils can be divided in the allocation of portfolios. At minimum, the presidential intervention must provide for a check and balance on processes where bureaucratic appointments and budgetary allocations may serve the interests of cronyism. For example, there should be transparency and rigour in appointments to the boards of Johannesburg’s municipally owned companies.

    Regulatory reforms are required in the political arena. This should include rules for the distribution of seats on the municipal executive and the election of mayors. Between January 2023 and August 2024 a tiny minority party held the mayoralty because the larger parties could not agree on a mayoral selection or, more cynically, to ensure that the executive mayor could not call large parties to account.

    More importantly, though, there has to be a change in political culture. This is a longer-term process.

    Fourth, the problems run far deeper than what bureaucratic reorganisation can achieve.

    The longer-term project is to build a capable administration with clear political direction and oversight but insulated from personal agendas and factional battles. The administration became confused and demoralised because of the political instability over an extended period. There are, however, still many capable and committed public servants in the city bureaucracy. The focus should be on working with them to rebuild the administration, making it a place where talent and initiative are recognised and rewarded.

    Restored political leadership and a rejuvenated administration is needed for a long term process, extending far beyond the quick wins. This process will involve refurbishing the decaying network infrastructure, restoring financial stability, reestablishing social trust and returning confidence to the city’s economy.

    2025 marks 30 years since the first democratic local elections. National government is looking seriously at sweeping municipal reforms. And the next municipal election – likely to be held at the end of 2026 – is an opportunity to make a deep transformation effort. Citizens can ensure that parties contesting the election place Johannesburg’s recovery at the heart of their agenda.

    Philip Harrison has received funding from South Africa’s National Research Foundation in support of the South African Research Chair in Spatial Analysis and City Planning.

    The Gauteng City-Region Observatory receives core grant funding from the Gauteng Provincial Government.

    Lorena Nunez Carrasco received funding from the National Research Foundation in support of research on the South African response on COVID-19

    Rashid Seedat receives funding from Gauteng Provincial Government for the Gauteng City-Region Observatory. He is affiliated with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation as a member of the Board of Trustees.

    – ref. Johannesburg’s problems can be solved – but it’s a long journey to fix South Africa’s economic powerhouse – https://theconversation.com/johannesburgs-problems-can-be-solved-but-its-a-long-journey-to-fix-south-africas-economic-powerhouse-256013

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