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Category: Global

  • MIL-OSI Global: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Hodgetts, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Durham University

    Until now, little has been known about the effect PMDD can have on relationships. simona pilolla 2/ Shutterstock

    An estimated 2% of people who menstruate are thought to have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The condition causes severe emotional, mental and physical symptoms in the week or two before a person’s menstrual cycle – including brain fog, stomach cramps, bloating, mood swings, anger, sadness, low self-worth, anxiety and even thoughts of suicide.

    Although PMDD symptoms usually stop when the period starts, the condition can still make everyday life difficult. Research shows that PMDD is associated with people having a poor quality of life, missing work or school and withdrawing from social activities. The repercussions that PMDD has on a person’s life often persist beyond the symptomatic phase of the person’s cycle.

    Yet despite the prevalence of PMDD, little is known about how it affects life at home, as no studies have been done.

    My recent research is the first to shed light on how PMDD impacts life and relationships – from the perspective of both those with PMDD and their partners. Our findings showed that both PMDD sufferers and their partners experienced similarly poor life and relationship quality.

    My coauthor and I ran two studies that both used online surveys.

    In the first study, we asked people with PMDD to complete two questionnaires. The first was designed to tell us about their quality of life. They answered questions about four different areas of their life: their physical health, psychological health, social relationships and living conditions.

    The second questionnaire was designed to tell us about their relationship with their spouse by asking questions about different components of their relationship (including love, trust, intimacy, commitment and passion), as well as their overall satisfaction with the relationship. We compared their responses to a control group of people of menstruation age who did not have PMDD.

    Our results showed significantly lower quality of life in people with PMDD compared to people in the control group. This difference was evident in all four of the areas of life that we studied. We also found that participants with PMDD consistently reported lower quality of life when it came to their psychological health, social relationships and living conditions – regardless of their menstrual cycle phase.

    Relationship quality, too, was significantly lower for those with PMDD compared to the control group when it came to trust, intimacy and passion. However, when it came to love and commitment, people with PMDD and those without the condition reported similar levels of satisfaction.

    PMDD and partners

    In the second study, we compared the responses of people who are in a relationship with someone who has PMDD, with those who are in a relationship with someone who menstruates but does not have PMDD.

    Our study found PMDD is associated with poor relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners.
    Roman Chazov/Shutterstock

    We used the same questionnaire as the previous study to investigate relationship quality. To study quality of life, we used a standard questionnaire that was designed for people who provide care or support for an adult. This asked questions about different areas of life that are relevant for familial carers, such as their support for caring, caring choices, any stress they experience, money matters, personal growth, sense of value, ability to care and satisfaction.

    We found that PMDD partners also had lower life quality compared to the control group. This difference was evident in every area of life except money matters (where both groups had similarly low scores). When it came to relationship quality, results from the PMDD partners echoed those from the PMDD patients – both reported lower relationship satisfaction in all areas except for love and commitment.

    Our study shows that PMDD is associated with poor life and relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners. This highlights the need for support that goes beyond prescription drugs and managing symptoms. This support also needs to be available to the loved ones and partners of people with PMDD who provide care and support.

    These findings suggest that future research should aim to develop PMDD-specific interventions that support both the person with PMDD and their partner. My future research plans are to delve deeper into the aspects of relationships affected by PMDD. For instance, I am planning a follow-up study involving interviews and focus groups with PMDD sufferers and their loved ones, to better identify areas for intervention and inform the development of supportive strategies.

    There are many reasons why this kind of support is important. For instance, we know from research into other mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety) just how crucial good interpersonal relationships are for successfully managing these conditions in the long term.

    We also know that the partners and spouses of people with a mental illness often find themselves acting as a familial caregiver for their partner. Studies of other mood disorders have shown that familial caregivers are at a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves, when compared to the general population. Supporting familial caregivers is known to improve life for all involved.

    My research shows that PMDD isn’t just a problem for patients. It impacts daily life and relationship quality for both people in a relationship. This study provides a first step. Now that we have a better understanding of the wider effect that PMDD has, we can start to investigate how to support both people.

    Sophie Hodgetts 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. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study – https://theconversation.com/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-harms-relationships-for-both-sufferers-and-their-partners-new-study-255083

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David M. Evans, Professor of Sociotechnical Futures, University of Bristol Business School, University of Bristol

    Luis Molinero/Shutterstock

    The UK government is considering expanding its sugar tax on fizzy drinks to include milkshakes and other sweetened beverages, as part of new proposals announced in April 2025. The Treasury confirmed it plans to move forward not only with broadening the tax but also with lowering the sugar threshold that triggers it from 5g to 4g of sugar per 100ml.

    The changes, dubbed by critics as the “milkshake tax”, would end the current exemption for dairy-based drinks, as well as plant-based alternatives such as oat and rice milk. Chancellor Rachel Reeves first signalled the potential expansion in the 2024 budget, suggesting the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), to give it its official name, could be widened to cover a broader range of high-sugar drinks.

    Based on our research into dietary change, conducted as part of the H3 project on food system transformation, we see this as a welcome and timely development.

    Not everyone shares this optimism. Opponents of what they see as “nanny state” interventionist policies argue that the SDIL has failed to deliver any real improvements to public health. In a UK newspaper’s straw poll, for example, 88% of respondents claimed the sugar tax has not significantly reduced obesity rates. Shadow Chancellor Melvyn Stride described the proposed expansion as a “sucker punch” to households, particularly given the ongoing cost of living crisis.

    Scepticism around these proposals is not surprising. Many people, regardless of political affiliation, are wary of additional taxation. And indeed, there is evidence suggesting that fiscal tools such as taxes and subsidies can be blunt instruments. They are also often regressive, placing a disproportionate burden on lower-income households.

    These concerns are valid – but they don’t quite apply to the SDIL.

    Crucially, the SDIL is not a tax on consumers. It is levied on manufacturers and importers, who are incentivised to reduce the sugar content of their products to avoid the charge. According to Treasury figures, since the introduction of the SDIL, 89% of fizzy drinks sold in the UK have been reformulated to fall below the taxable threshold.

    For instance, the Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group Suntory invested £13 million in reformulating drinks like Ribena and Lucozade, removing 25,000 tonnes of sugar, making the products exempt from the levy. This means households aren’t priced out of soft drinks – they can simply choose reformulated and presumably cheaper versions.

    It’s true that the UK is still grappling with a serious obesity problem. In England alone, 29% of adultsand 15% of children aged two to 15 are obese.

    But the SDIL is having an effect. Excessive sugar consumption is consistently associated with rising obesity rates in the UK and globally. There has been a clear reduction in the sales of sugar from soft drinks, and the SDIL is reported to have generated £1.9 billion in revenue since its introduction in 2018.

    Early signs suggest health benefits, too. One study found a drop in obesity rates among 10 to 11-year-old girls following the levy’s implementation. Another analysis suggests that the greatest health benefits will be seen in more deprived areas, and that it may actually help to narrow some health inequalities for children in England.



    Read more:
    Child obesity is linked to deprivation, so why do poor parents still cop the blame?

    Shifting responsibilty

    The government’s 2016 announcement of the sugar tax gave manufacturers time to reformulate products before the tax’s introduction in 2018.

    Of course, the SDIL is no silver bullet. There are many contributing factors to the obesity epidemic, ranging from genetic predisposition to “obesogenic” environments – social contexts that promote unhealthy eating and sedentary behaviour, such as areas with a lot of fast food restaurants, limited access to healthy food options and a lack of pavements, parks, or safe places to exercise.

    Questions remain about the negative health effects of reformulated drinks, some of which still contain high levels of sweeteners or additives. And in the broader context of the need for food system transformation, focusing solely on soft drinks may be too narrow an approach.



    Read more:
    Are artificial sweeteners okay for our health? Here’s what the current evidence says

    But the SDIL’s success lies not just in outcomes but in its design. It shifts responsibility from individuals to industry, encouraging systemic change rather than simply blaming people for making “bad” choices. The government’s 2016 announcement of the levy gave manufacturers a two-year head start, allowing them to reformulate and get their products to market before it took effect in 2018.

    It’s also telling that the idea of taxing milkshakes has sparked such outrage, while most people now accept the high taxation of tobacco. That’s because smoking, as a public health issue, has matured: its risks are well understood and widely acknowledged. Obesity, meanwhile, is still catching up, despite posing similar health threats, including as a leading cause of cancer.

    In the UK, there’s still a strong social stigma around discussing diet and weight. But given the scale and urgency of the obesity crisis, it could be time to overcome this reluctance. Effective change will require bold, systemic policies – not just public awareness campaigns – but multipronged and targeted interventions that reshape the economic and cultural environments in which people make food choices.

    Expanding the SDIL may not be a cure-all, but the evidence so far suggests it’s a smart step in the right direction.

    David M. Evans receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).
    He is affiliated with Defra (the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as a member of their Social Science Expert Group.

    Jonathan Beacham receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).

    – ref. ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity – https://theconversation.com/milkshake-tax-theres-growing-evidence-that-expanding-the-uks-sugar-levy-could-help-tackle-obesity-255646

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Silvia Maioli, Associate professor and Principal Researcher, Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet

    Certain prescription drugs combinations had different effects on the mice. roger ashford/ Shutterstock

    Millions of older adults take five or more prescription drugs every day to manage chronic illnesses. While polypharmacy is often necessary, this practice has also been linked to many negative health outcomes in older adults – including memory problems, increased risk of falls and greater frailty.

    The most common prescription drugs involved in polypharmacy are those used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. Importantly, these same conditions are also known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

    This raises an important question: could polypharmacy have any influence on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

    Our recent research in mice suggests that certain prescription drugs combinations might actually have a positive effect on memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. However, these effects appeared to differ depending on whether the mouse was male or female.

    To better understand how polypharmacy may affect Alzheimer’s disease, we designed an experiment using mice that were genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s-like brain changes. These mice had amyloid plaques – clumps of protein in the brain that, with time, are linked with memory loss and considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease .

    We tested two different combinations of five commonly prescribed drugs, including: analgesics (painkillers), antithrombotics (to prevent blood clots), lipid-modifying agents (such as statins, which lower cholestrol), beta-blockers (which help controlling arrythmias and hypertension) and Ace inhibitors (used to treat cardiovascular conditions), as well as antidepressants.

    Both groups of mice were given paracetamol, aspirin, an antidepressant, a statin and a blood pressure drug. The only differences between the two groups were the specific types of statin and cardiovascular drugs used. The first group were given simvastatin and metoprolol, while the second group was given atorvastatin and enalapril.

    We gave these prescription drug combinations to both male and female mice. We then tested their memory, examined their brains for signs of disease and analysed blood samples for disease-related markers.

    Our findings showed that polypharmacy has both positive and negative effects on Alzheimer’s disease progression. The effects largely depended on which specific drug combinations were used as well as the sex of the mice.

    The first drug combination had beneficial effects in male mice. These mice showed better memory, reduced signs of Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain (such as the number and size of amyloid plaques) and fewer signs of the disease in their blood. This suggested that polypharmacy delayed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

    In females, however, the same combination had very little to no effect on signs and symptoms of the disease.

    But for the mice in the second combination group, the results were different. The benefits previously seen in males disappeared. In female mice, their memory worsened.

    Certain drug combinations reduced signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the male mice’s brains, such as the size and number of amyloid plaques.
    nobeastsofierce/ Shutterstock

    We also looked at what happened when some of the drugs were taken on their own. In some cases, they had beneficial effects for the female mice – improving memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain. For instance, the statin simvastatin improved memory and reduced signs of brain inflammation in female mice when the drug was taken on its own.

    Polypharmacy and brain health

    These results show how complex the effects of polypharmacy can be, especially in the context of a brain disease such as Alzheimer’s. They also suggest that men and women may respond differently to certain drug combinations.

    This is not surprising. Biological sex is known to influence how drugs are absorbed and metabolised and their effect on the body. When it comes to polypharmacy, these differences can become more pronounced, having an even stronger effect on drug safety and efficacy.

    This could partly help explain why the same drug combinations had very different effects in the male and female mice in our study. Other possible explanations for why certain drug combinations only improved signs and symptoms of the disease in male mice include sex differences in hormone levels and differences in immune responses that may influence how drugs work in the brain. Understanding these mechanisms will be key to tailoring safer and more effective treatments for the disease.

    Our study confirms that current, universal prescribing approaches for older adults may not be ideal.

    It’s also worth noting that older women are more likely to be polypharmacy users compared to men. This highlights the importance of understanding the effects of polypharmacy that are specific to men and women, and developing more personalised prescribing approaches.

    Future translational studies (from mice to humans) looking at how drug combinations affect Alzheimer’s in males and females are also warranted to help reduce risks and improve healthcare in the ageing population.

    The global population is continuing to age, which means that an even greater number of people are going to be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is why it’s so important we understand all of the causes of the disease and how it can be prevented.

    Silvia Maioli receives funding from The Swedish Research Council, Alzheimerfonden, King Gustaf V:s and Queen Victorias Foundation, The private initiative “Innovative ways to fight Alzheimer´s disease – Leif Lundblad Family and others”, Margaretha af Ugglas Foundation, The regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet, Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse, Stiftelsen Gamla Tjänarinnor

    Francesca Eroli received funding from Stiftelsen För Gamla Tjänarinnor and Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse.

    – ref. Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study – https://theconversation.com/alzheimers-certain-combinations-of-prescription-drugs-may-slow-progression-of-the-disease-says-mice-study-254243

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hazel Flight, Programme Lead Nutrition and Health, Edge Hill University

    Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

    Sugar — sweet, satisfying, and everywhere. From fresh fruit and honey to processed table sugar and drinks, it sneaks into nearly everything we eat. While delicious, sugar delivers what nutritionists call “empty calories” — energy without any essential nutrients. And with overconsumption linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and dental problems, it’s no wonder health authorities are urging us to cut back.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting added sugar to less than 10% of daily calorie intake, while the BMJ suggests even lower: no more than six teaspoons (25g) per day for women and nine teaspoons (38g) for men.

    In response, many people are turning to non-nutritive sweeteners — sugar alternatives that deliver sweetness without the calories. These include popular options like aspartame, sucralose, stevia and monk fruit extract. Found in many diet drinks, sugar-free snacks and low-calorie foods, these sweeteners are designed to help manage weight and blood sugar levels.

    But not all that tastes sweet is sweet in effect. Let’s zoom in on one of the most controversial sugar substitutes: aspartame.

    Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was discovered in 1965 and is 180–200 times sweeter than sugar. It was first regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974 and approved for use in dry foods in 1981. Today, it’s estimated to be found in over 6,000 food and drink products and 600 pharmaceutical items.

    Aspartame was initially embraced as a tool to help reduce obesity and support diabetics, offering a sweet fix without the sugar spike. But despite decades of use, its safety is still the subject of intense scientific and public debate.

    Potential benefits

    Aspartame has a similar taste to sugar, albeit much more intense, but comes with almost no calories, making it attractive for those who’re weight-conscious. With obesity rates soaring globally, even small calorie savings can matter.

    Aspartame does not raise blood glucose levels, making it a preferred choice for those managing type 2 diabetes. However, other research has found potential associations with metabolic syndrome and diabetes risk, suggesting that aspartame should be used as part of a controlled diet rather than a straight swap for sugar.

    While assessments suggest that aspartame is safe within current intake guidelines, concerns persist.

    Potential risks

    Some people may experience side-effects like headaches, dizziness, or mood changes. There’s emerging evidence linking aspartame to neurodegeneration, strokes and even dementia.

    Aspartame can increase levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid in the brain, which is a serious concern for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine. This causes it to accumulate in the blood and brain, potentially leading to brain damage. People with PKU must avoid aspartame completely.

    One study reported symptoms after consuming aspartame including irritability, migraines, anxiety and insomnia, especially with excessive consumption.

    In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame) as “possibly carcinogenic”, though it remains approved for consumption within existing safety limits. Some studies suggest a link to cancer, but conclusions remain mixed.



    Read more:
    Aspartame: popular sweetener could be classified as a possible carcinogen by WHO – but there’s no cause for panic

    It’s also advised that pregnant women avoid aspartame, as research suggests it may affect the placenta’s structure and function.

    Artificial sweeteners, despite being calorie-free, may trick the brain into craving more sweetness. This could lead to increased appetite and weight gain rather than weight loss. In fact, several studies have found a positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and obesity.

    Gut health matters

    Emerging evidence suggests that aspartame and other sweeteners may disrupt the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria that play a key role in digestion, immunity and even mood. This disruption can negatively affect digestive health and immune function, potentially increasing the risk of infections and other health issues.



    Read more:
    Artificial sweetener could harm your gut and the microbes that live there – new study

    Aspartame may offer a tempting sugar-free fix, but it’s not without its risks. The World Health Organization advises against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control and research continues to reveal complex links between aspartame and chronic diseases, from neurological issues to gut health concerns.

    Hazel Flight 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. Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains – https://theconversation.com/aspartame-the-artificial-sweetener-is-calorie-free-but-not-risk-free-a-nutritionist-explains-254318

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Annettee Nakimuli, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Makerere University

    Pre-eclampsia is a danger to pregnant women. It’s a complication characterised by high blood pressure and organ damage, arising during the second half of pregnancy, in labour or in the first week after delivery.

    It plays a major role in about 16% of the deaths of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.

    And it’s on the rise: between 2010 and 2018, the incidence of pre-eclampsia in Africa jumped by around 20%.

    Pre-eclampsia usually occurs in young mothers during a first pregnancy. Girls under the age of 18 years are most at risk. The probability that a 15-year-old girl will die from complications of pregnancy is one in 150 in developing countries, versus one in 3,800 in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization.

    Not only does pre-eclampsia pose a serious health threat to women, it also harms babies. It contributes to stillbirth, preterm birth and low birth weight.

    Yet we still do not know enough about pre-eclampsia. This gap has driven my research into the disease.

    I conducted the first genetic case-control study on pre-eclampsia among African women in comparison to European women over a decade ago for my PhD research.

    My work revealed that both African and European populations have a gene (KIR AA genotype) that increases the chance of pre-eclampsia. However, African women are at greater risk of pre-eclampsia than other racial groups. This is because they’re more at risk of carrying a fetus with a C2-type HLA-C gene from the father. African populations have a higher frequency of this gene, which raises the likelihood of risky mother-fetus combinations.

    An additional finding from my research is that genetic protection from pre-eclampsia works differently across populations – and African populations carry unique protective genes. However, even with these additional protections, African women are at greater risk of developing severe pre-eclampsia due to the other challenges, like access to healthcare and socio-economic constraints.

    There’s inequality in the treatment of the condition too. In my experience, wealthier and better-educated African women often receive the necessary diagnosis and treatment. Poorer and less-educated African women too often do not.

    Pre-eclampsia research, especially in Africa, requires a lot more funding, as does broader research related to the maternal health of African women.

    Pre-eclampsia in Uganda

    Around 287,000 women worldwide die during pregnancy and childbirth every year. Shockingly, 70% of these are African women.

    Most of these deaths are preventable. For example, around 10% are the result of high blood pressure-related conditions during pregnancy.

    Uganda’s Ministry of Health recorded in 2023 that out of 1,276 maternal deaths reported, 16% were associated with high blood pressure.

    Hospitals are being overwhelmed by patients with the illness. For example, Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala receives around 150 patients with the condition every month. It has set up a special ward to treat them.

    The maternal mortality rate (death due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth) in Uganda is 284 per 100,000 live births. In Australia it is 2.94. The neonatal mortality rate (death during the first 28 completed days of life) is 19 per 1,000 live births in Uganda against 2.37 in Australia. Infant mortality (death before a child turns one) is 31 per 1,000 live births in Uganda versus 3.7 in Australia, according to the WHO’s Global Health Observatory.

    This stark contrast highlights an enormous gap in care that the two countries’ pregnant mothers and babies receive.

    Part of the problem in Uganda, as in many developing countries, is persistent challenges in healthcare infrastructure. There are shortages of healthcare workers, medical supplies and facilities, particularly in the rural areas.

    Early detection is key

    As a clinician and researcher working at the centre of Uganda’s healthcare system, I witness mothers arriving at hospitals already in a critical condition, with limited options to treat the complications associated with pre-eclampsia. It is heartbreaking.

    The condition is both preventable and treatable if caught early. My research focuses on identifying biological signs of the likelihood of complications during pregnancy, using data analysis informed by Artificial Intelligence.

    These predictive biomarkers, as they are called, enable us to categorise patients based on their risk levels and identify those most likely to benefit from specific treatments or preventive measures.

    The precise causes of pre-eclampsia are not certain, but factors beyond genetics are thought to be problems with the immune system and inadequate development of the placenta. But much of what researchers know comes from work done in high-income countries, often with a limited sample size of African women.

    Consequently, the findings may not apply directly to the genetics of sub-Saharan African women. My research addresses this knowledge gap.

    Building on my findings about genetic determinants, I am leading a research team at Makerere University to design interventions tailored to specific prevention and treatment strategies for African populations.

    Raising pre-eclampsia awareness

    Research alone is not enough. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between research and practice.

    During my fieldwork, I have witnessed first-hand how many Ugandan women are not aware of pre-eclampsia’s warning signs and miss out on vital prenatal care. These warning signs often include headache, disturbances with vision, upper pain in the right side of the abdomen and swelling of the legs.

    But we can develop screening algorithms so that healthcare professionals can rapidly diagnose women at higher risk early in their pregnancy. Timely intervention, including specific treatment and plans for delivery, would reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

    In my capacity as a national pre-eclampsia champion appointed by Uganda’s Ministry of Health, I am spearheading initiatives to raise awareness and improve access to maternal healthcare services.

    Through community outreach programmes and educational campaigns, we want to empower all women, rich and poor, with knowledge about the condition and encourage them to seek medical assistance at an early stage.

    More resources must be allocated to genetics research to realise our goals of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and its associated complications.

    This investment will drive the development of predictive technology for precise diagnosis, and enable timely intervention for at-risk mothers.

    Moreover, investigating the genetic roots of pre-eclampsia could lead to novel therapies that reduce the need for costly medical procedures or prolonged care for those affected.

    This would reduce the strain on already overburdened African healthcare systems.

    Annettee Nakimuli receives funding from the Gates Foundation, GSK and the Royal Society.

    – ref. African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication – https://theconversation.com/african-women-at-higher-risk-of-pre-eclampsia-a-dangerous-pregnancy-complication-249222

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shawn Datchuk, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Iowa

    Pennsylvania is considering legislation that mandates cursive instruction in public schools. Angela Guthrie/iStock via Getty Images

    Recently, my 8-year-old son received a birthday card from his grandmother. He opened the card, looked at it and said, “I can’t read cursive yet.”

    Then he handed it to me to read.

    If you have a child in the Philadelphia School District, chances are they have not been taught how to read or write cursive either.

    But cursive handwriting is making a comeback of sorts for K-8 students in the United States. Several states in recent years passed legislation mandating instruction in cursive handwriting, including California, Iowa and Oklahoma.

    Pennsylvania and New Jersey are considering similar legislation, as are other states.

    I’m an associate professor of special education and the director of the Iowa Reading Research Center. At the center, we’re conducting a systematic review of prior research to improve cursive handwriting instruction.

    We also want to know how learning cursive affects the development of reading and writing skills.

    Cursive instruction sidelined

    In cursive handwriting, the individual letters of a word are joined with connecting strokes, such as in a person’s signature.

    Cursive fell out of favor in U.S. schools over a decade ago. In 2010, most states adopted Common Core academic standards which omitted cursive handwriting from expected academic skills to be learned by K-8 students. In fact, the standards only briefly mention print handwriting, a writing style in which the individual letters of a word are unconnected, as a skill to be taught in early elementary grades.

    Educators often have trouble finding enough time in the school day to teach all the expected writing skills, let alone something that’s not mandated such as cursive handwriting.

    In several national surveys, teachers have reported limited amounts of time for writing instruction and that they have found it difficult to address both the basic skills of writing, such as handwriting, and more advanced skills, such as essay composition.

    Benefits of handwriting

    The increased interest in cursive handwriting likely stems from effort by policymakers to improve the literacy performance of K-12 students across the country.

    On the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment, a measure of nationwide reading progress, only 31% of fourth grade students scored proficient or above. Philadelphia’s numbers were worse, with just 19% of fourth grade students scoring proficient or above.

    Research suggests it may be possible to improve overall writing and reading through handwriting instruction.

    The benefits have been more closely studied with print handwriting, but preliminary evidence suggests cursive handwriting instruction may also be beneficial. Some studies have found cursive handwriting instruction can improve handwriting legibility, writing length and select reading skills. In a 2020 study, researchers found cursive handwriting instruction can also improve spelling accuracy and storytelling ability.

    Why might cursive make a difference? On the surface, it seems like a simple motor skill. But under the surface, cursive handwriting draws upon deep reading knowledge and requires the coordination of multiple cognitive and physical processes.

    To handwrite letters or spell words in print or cursive, students need to commit multiple aspects of each letter to memory. For example, if students handwrite the word “cat,” they need to know the overall shape of each letter, as well as its name and sound.

    After drawing upon this reading knowledge from memory, students use a combination of motor and vision systems to write each letter and the entire word. Gross motor movements are used to adjust the body and arm to the writing surface. Fine motor movements are used to manipulate the pencil with one’s fingers. And visual-motor coordination is used to write each letter and adjust movements as needed.

    Many U.S. historical documents, such as the Constitution, were written in cursive.
    Douglas Sacha/Moment Collection via Getty Images

    A skill with staying power?

    Besides potential benefits to overall writing and reading development, cursive handwriting continues to have social importance.

    It is often used to sign formal documents via a cursive signature, or to communicate with close friends or loved ones. Furthermore, understanding cursive is needed to read important historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.

    Even in the digital age, touch-screen tablets and other devices often come with the ability to handwrite text with an electronic pencil. I teach courses at the University of Iowa, and many of my students handwrite their notes on electronic tablets.

    For schools, low-tech options such as paper and pencils remain more cost-efficient than high-tech options. For example, it can be time-consuming and expensive to replace a broken laptop but relatively cheap to sharpen a broken pencil or get a new piece of paper.

    Although it may be difficult for educators to find sufficient time for writing instruction, students will likely benefit from developing the capacity to express their ideas in a variety of ways, including cursive handwriting.

    For anyone interested in learning about cursive handwriting and teaching it to their children or students, the Iowa Reading Research Center will release a free online course and curricula called CLIFTER on June 2, 2025.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

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

    – ref. Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try – https://theconversation.com/can-learning-cursive-help-kids-read-better-some-policymakers-think-its-worth-a-try-253610

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Maria Lungu, Postdoctoral Researcher of Law and Public Administration, University of Virginia

    Data like this seven-day crime map from Oakland, Calif., feeds predictive policing AIs. City of Oakland via CrimeMapping.com

    The 2002 sci-fi thriller “Minority Report” depicted a dystopian future where a specialized police unit was tasked with arresting people for crimes they had not yet committed. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the drama revolved around “PreCrime” − a system informed by a trio of psychics, or “precogs,” who anticipated future homicides, allowing police officers to intervene and prevent would-be assailants from claiming their targets’ lives.

    The film probes at hefty ethical questions: How can someone be guilty of a crime they haven’t yet committed? And what happens when the system gets it wrong?

    While there is no such thing as an all-seeing “precog,” key components of the future that “Minority Report” envisioned have become reality even faster than its creators imagined. For more than a decade, police departments across the globe have been using data-driven systems geared toward predicting when and where crimes might occur and who might commit them.

    Far from an abstract or futuristic conceit, predictive policing is a reality. And market analysts are predicting a boom for the technology.

    Given the challenges in using predictive machine learning effectively and fairly, predictive policing raises significant ethical concerns. Absent technological fixes on the horizon, there is an approach to addressing these concerns: Treat government use of the technology as a matter of democratic accountability.

    Troubling history

    Predictive policing relies on artificial intelligence and data analytics to anticipate potential criminal activity before it happens. It can involve analyzing large datasets drawn from crime reports, arrest records and social or geographic information to identify patterns and forecast where crimes might occur or who may be involved.

    Law enforcement agencies have used data analytics to track broad trends for many decades. Today’s powerful AI technologies, however, take in vast amounts of surveillance and crime report data to provide much finer-grained analysis.

    Police departments use these techniques to help determine where they should concentrate their resources. Place-based prediction focuses on identifying high-risk locations, also known as hot spots, where crimes are statistically more likely to happen. Person-based prediction, by contrast, attempts to flag individuals who are considered at high risk of committing or becoming victims of crime.

    These types of systems have been the subject of significant public concern. Under a so-called “intelligence-led policing” program in Pasco County, Florida, the sheriff’s department compiled a list of people considered likely to commit crimes and then repeatedly sent deputies to their homes. More than 1,000 Pasco residents, including minors, were subject to random visits from police officers and were cited for things such as missing mailbox numbers and overgrown grass.

    Lawsuits forced the Pasco County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office to end its troubled predictive policing program.

    Four residents sued the county in 2021, and last year they reached a settlement in which the sheriff’s office admitted that it had violated residents’ constitutional rights to privacy and equal treatment under the law. The program has since been discontinued.

    This is not just a Florida problem. In 2020, Chicago decommissioned its “Strategic Subject List,” a system where police used analytics to predict which prior offenders were likely to commit new crimes or become victims of future shootings. In 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department discontinued its use of PredPol, a software program designed to forecast crime hot spots but was criticized for low accuracy rates and reinforcing racial and socioeconomic biases.

    Necessary innovations or dangerous overreach?

    The failure of these high-profile programs highlights a critical tension: Even though law enforcement agencies often advocate for AI-driven tools for public safety, civil rights groups and scholars have raised concerns over privacy violations, accountability issues and the lack of transparency. And despite these high-profile retreats from predictive policing, many smaller police departments are using the technology.

    Most American police departments lack clear policies on algorithmic decision-making and provide little to no disclosure about how the predictive models they use are developed, trained or monitored for accuracy or bias. A Brookings Institution analysis found that in many cities, local governments had no public documentation on how predictive policing software functioned, what data was used, or how outcomes were evaluated.

    Predictive policing can perpetuate racial bias.

    This opacity is what’s known in the industry as a “black box.” It prevents independent oversight and raises serious questions about the structures surrounding AI-driven decision-making. If a citizen is flagged as high-risk by an algorithm, what recourse do they have? Who oversees the fairness of these systems? What independent oversight mechanisms are available?

    These questions are driving contentious debates in communities about whether predictive policing as a method should be reformed, more tightly regulated or abandoned altogether. Some people view these tools as necessary innovations, while others see them as dangerous overreach.

    A better way in San Jose

    But there is evidence that data-driven tools grounded in democratic values of due process, transparency and accountability may offer a stronger alternative to today’s predictive policing systems. What if the public could understand how these algorithms function, what data they rely on, and what safeguards exist to prevent discriminatory outcomes and misuse of the technology?

    The city of San Jose, California, has embarked on a process that is intended to increase transparency and accountability around its use of AI systems. San Jose maintains a set of AI principles requiring that any AI tools used by city government be effective, transparent to the public and equitable in their effects on people’s lives. City departments also are required to assess the risks of AI systems before integrating them into their operations.

    If taken correctly, these measures can effectively open the black box, dramatically reducing the degree to which AI companies can hide their code or their data behind things such as protections for trade secrets. Enabling public scrutiny of training data can reveal problems such as racial or economic bias, which can be mitigated but are extremely difficult if not impossible to eradicate.

    Research has shown that when citizens feel that government institutions act fairly and transparently, they are more likely to engage in civic life and support public policies. Law enforcement agencies are likely to have stronger outcomes if they treat technology as a tool – rather than a substitute – for justice.

    Maria Lungu receives funding from the University of Virginia, Digital Technology for Democracy Lab. She is affiliated with nonprofit Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP).

    – ref. Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects – https://theconversation.com/predictive-policing-ai-is-on-the-rise-making-it-accountable-to-the-public-could-curb-its-harmful-effects-254185

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Peace Corps isn’t just about helping others − it’s a key part of US public diplomacy

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Thomas J Nisley, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Kennesaw State University

    Peace Corps volunteers pose with the U.S. flag after they are sworn in during a 2002 event in Burkina Faso. Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images

    Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his administration has slashed the work of many U.S. government agencies, including those focused on foreign policy. Now, there is concern that the Peace Corps could join the other foreign aid programs the administration is trying to dismantle.

    The United States Agency for International Development largely shut down in February and March 2025, with its workforce reduced from more than 10,000 to 15 people on staff.

    In early April 2025, members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency showed up at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., signaling possible cuts.

    DOGE has also called for reducing the number of the Peace Corps’ 970 full-time staff who help recruit and oversee the work of volunteers.

    The Guardian reported on April 28 that the Peace Corps is offering staff a buyout, and that Peace Corps leadership expects “significant restructuring efforts.”

    The Peace Corps told The New York Times in an April 28 statement that “the agency will remain operational and continue to recruit, place, and train volunteers, while continuing to support their health, safety and security, and effective service.”

    As a scholar of international affairs, I think it is important to understand the subtle – but important – role that the Peace Corps plays in helping the U.S. maintain a positive international image.

    President John F. Kennedy greets Peace Corps volunteers at the White House in August 1962.
    Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

    Understanding the Peace Corps

    In 1961, President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps, an independent agency in the federal government, alongside USAID as a way to reinvigorate American diplomacy.

    Kennedy viewed the State Department as an organization that lacked innovation, staffed by self-serving people without much practical experience.

    Since the 1960s, the Peace Corps has sent more than 240,000 U.S. citizens – many of them young people – to work as volunteers in more than 60 low- and middle-income countries on short-term projects, ranging from teaching students English to helping farmers increase their food production. This works out to about 3,500 to 4,000 volunteers abroad each year.

    As Kennedy hoped, many of these American volunteers returned home to eventually serve in the State Department, with some rising to the top ranks, such as Christopher Hill, a career diplomat who served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon in the 1970s.

    Peace Corps volunteers, sometimes known as PCVs, also go on to work in other types of public service, including in educational roles. It has also been common for former Peace Corps volunteers to work for USAID.

    Peace Corps’ role in US government

    The Peace Corps is not part of the day-to-day activities of U.S. foreign policy in the same way as the State Department, for example, which has diplomatic missions across the world.

    The Peace Corps, with a US$495 million annual budget, does contribute to U.S. foreign policy goals by enhancing U.S. soft power. Soft power, in this context, means getting others to want what you want.

    The political scientist Joseph Nye introduced the academic concept of soft power to the mainstream in the early 1990s. It is often misunderstood. Some mistakenly refer to the military as hard power, and economic and diplomatic tools as soft power.

    But soft power – and the allure of a project like the Peace Corps – is founded in the power of attraction. The Peace Corps, simply put, helps improve the U.S.’s image worldwide.

    My research on Latin American countries has shown that the presence of a Peace Corps program improves the popular perception of the U.S. among communities there. A good reputation fosters goodwill and helps the U.S. achieve its concrete foreign policy goals, be it making a trade deal or helping to end a conflict.

    The political scientist Stephen Magu has found similar results across Africa, including a connection between the number of Peace Corps volunteers in a country and support for the U.S. in its work at the United Nations.

    The Peace Corps’ experience

    The Peace Corps uses a very selective application process to recruit Americans of all ages to volunteer for two years in a foreign country, doing different kinds of service work ranging from agriculture and education to health and the environment.

    Most are younger people with college degrees, but there is no upper age limit to qualify and no requirement of a college degree to serve.

    There is no single Peace Corps experience.

    But all volunteers live and work in a community that has requested a volunteer to help with different types of activities. This could include helping local women set up their own small businesses in Panama or offering health workshops on reducing the risk of contracting and spreading HIV in Eswatini, formerly knwon as Swaziland. These volunteers are usually *the only Americans for miles around.

    Volunteers are expected to live modestly and are paid a monthly living allowance that covers their bare necessities.

    Volunteers’ work is not easy and not without risk. Since 1961, 311 people have died while serving. Most of the deaths are due to accidents, usually related to transportation. Some have died from diseases and illness, and a few have been victims of murder.

    Peace Corps’ approach to volunteer work

    The Peace Corps emphasizes what is known as grassroots development in foreign aid circles. This means that a Peace Corps volunteer tries to use local money and expertise to achieve goals jointly identified by the community and the volunteer.

    Critics of the Peace Corps have argued, among other things, that it has not made widespread changes that reliably last beyond the two-year term of each volunteer.

    But the Peace Corps is not intended to change the trajectory of a country’s economic development and suddenly make a poor country a rich one. Volunteers do help the people in the community they serve in small but meaningful ways.

    In my own service as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1989 to 1991, for example, I had a demonstration vegetable garden where I grew nutritious vegetables such as spinach and mustard greens. Dominicans did not traditionally eat these vegetables, but I got my neighbors and friends to try them. Some learned to really like them and began to grow them on their own.

    A Peace Corps volunteer teaches English to students in Bucharest, Romania, in 1985.
    Paul Conklin/Getty Images

    Another kind of public diplomacy

    When asked in 1962 how he saw the relationship of the Peace Corps to U.S. foreign policy, Kennedy responded that he saw the Peace Corps as “an opportunity to emphasize a different part of our American character,” instead of the idea that the U.S. is a “harsh, narrow-minded militaristic, materialistic society.”

    The Trump administration tends to view foreign assistance programs as open-ended charity programs that need to be eliminated.

    I believe that foreign assistance programs are not charity – they are public diplomacy tools that contribute to the U.S.’s global power. If the Peace Corps is eliminated, the U.S. will lose another important tool of foreign policy.

    I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1989 to 1991

    – ref. Peace Corps isn’t just about helping others − it’s a key part of US public diplomacy – https://theconversation.com/peace-corps-isnt-just-about-helping-others-its-a-key-part-of-us-public-diplomacy-255571

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Even judges appointed by Trump are ruling against him

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

    Judges appointed by Donald Trump are ruling against him during his second presidential term. Zolnierek – iStock/Getty Images Plus

    During his first term in office, President Donald Trump appointed 226 federal court judges, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices. Trump successfully installed judges who promoted his political agenda, including overturning the landmark ruling from 1973 that declared the Constitution guaranteed the right to abortion, Roe v. Wade.

    But something different seems to be happening in his second term.

    Instead of upholding Trump administration policies, federal judges − including those appointed by Trump – are blocking the implementation of much of the president’s second-term agenda.

    So, what’s going on?

    I’m a scholar of judicial decision-making and presidential interactions with the courts. Although it may seem strange that judges Trump appointed are ruling against him, it’s actually not that weird.

    Instead, it’s an example of what happens when a president overreaches his authority, and takes legal positions that even his own judicial appointees cannot support.

    The presidential proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, which a federal judge ruled violates the law.
    The White House

    How judicial decision-making works

    In 2018, Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts got into a very public spat over the nature of judicial decision-making.

    This began when Trump attacked U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, appointed by President Barack Obama, for putting a hold on Trump’s asylum policy. In his criticism, Trump referred to Tigar as an “Obama judge.”

    In an unusual retort, Roberts defended the integrity of the federal bench by writing, “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”

    Trump responded, “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”

    Both Trump and Roberts had a point.

    Trump is correct that judges have different points of view, and those perspectives influence their decision-making. Indeed, more than a half-century of research clearly demonstrates that judges’ ideologies heavily shape how they rule.

    Put simply, judges appointed by Democratic presidents tend to rule liberally, and judges appointed by Republican presidents tend to rule conservatively. This includes a strong inclination to support the positions of the president who appointed them.

    But Roberts is also correct that judges try to do their best to resolve disputes fairly. That is to say, the law also shapes the choices judges make.

    The law in this context refers to the Constitution, legislation passed by Congress and precedents created by the federal courts. These various forms of law operate as a constraint on judges, limiting their ability to reach decisions solely on the basis of their political preferences. Judges must choose from a limited range of choices that are within the bounds of the Constitution, existing law and judicial precedent.

    In a nutshell, judges have discretion, but they don’t have totally free choice.

    President Donald Trump greets Chief Justice John Roberts before he addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025.
    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Even ‘Trump judges’ believe the president is overreaching

    This understanding of judicial decision-making is central for grasping why Trump’s judicial appointees – and other judges – are a significant obstacle to Trump’s ability to enact his second-term agenda.

    To illustrate, let’s assume that judges appointed by Trump share his political agenda and want to support it. For them to do this, the actions of the Trump administration have to fall within a limited range of activities that judges can plausibly uphold under the Constitution, existing laws and federal court precedent.

    The problem is that the Trump administration is taking actions that exceed its legal authority. As a result, even judges appointed by Trump cannot support such actions, because there is no reasonable interpretation of the law that would allow them to do so.

    This is precisely what happened on May 1, 2025, when a Trump-appointed judge blocked the administration’s efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people it suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization. This act allows the president to deport natives of an enemy nation during a “declared war” or “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign government.

    Trump argues that he can use this act because the Tren de Aragua gang is engaged in “irregular warfare” against the United States that amounts to an “invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States.”

    But Trump-appointed Judge Fernando Rodriguez didn’t accept this argument.

    Instead, Rodriguez wrote that “the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful.” Rodriguez reasoned that Tren de Aragua’s actions in the United States do not amount to an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” and therefore the act does not apply.

    In short, Rodriguez said that Trump overreached and tried to claim powers beyond those granted to him by the Alien Enemies Act.

    Trump’s losing now, but that may change

    Although federal court judges, both those appointed by Democrats and those appointed by Republicans, continue to block much of the Trump administration’s policy agenda, this may change for two reasons.

    First, the Trump administration could take a more measured approach to pursue its goals by working within the scope of existing law.

    Judges have vented their frustration with what one judge called “shoddy” legal work by administration lawyers and another said were weak arguments that don’t reflect “the diligence the Court expects from any litigant … let alone the United States Department of Justice.” The administration’s lawyers can learn from these losses and develop new legal strategies.

    Second, different judges may view the Trump administration’s actions differently. Indeed, Trump successfully appointed many judges who have an expansive understanding of executive authority. If Trump can get cases before those judges – something his administration is trying to do – these cases could have very different outcomes.

    Like it or not, the results of highly significant cases are often determined by the perspective of a single judge.

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

    – ref. Even judges appointed by Trump are ruling against him – https://theconversation.com/even-judges-appointed-by-trump-are-ruling-against-him-255835

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elisabeth M. Hausrath, Professor of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    A panorama created from images taken by the rover Curiosity while it was working at a site called ‘Rocknest’ in 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

    Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the Sun.

    Because Mars and Earth share so many features, scientists have long wondered whether Mars could have once harbored life. Today, Mars is very cold and dry, with little atmosphere and no liquid water on the surface − traits that make it a hostile environment for life. But some observations suggest that ancient Mars may have been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life.

    Even though scientists observing the surface of Mars conclude that it was once warmer than it is today, they haven’t been able to find much concrete evidence for what caused it to be warmer. But a study my colleagues and I published in April 2025 indicates the presence of carbonate minerals on the planet, which could help solve this puzzle.

    Carbonate minerals contain carbon dioxide, which, when present in the atmosphere, warms a planet. These minerals suggest that carbon dioxide could have previously existed in the atmosphere in larger quantities and provide exciting new clues about ancient Mars’ environment.

    As a geochemist and astrobiologist who has studied Mars for more than 15 years, I am fascinated by Mars’ past and the idea that it could have been habitable.

    Ancient carbon cycle on past Mars

    Observations of Mars from orbiting satellites and rovers show river channels and dry lakes that suggest the Martian surface once had liquid water. And these instruments have spotted minerals on its surface that scientists can analyze to get an idea of what Mars may have been like in the past.

    Today, Mars is very cold, with a thin atmosphere and dry climate. But in the ancient past, it may have been warmer and wetter, with a thicker heat-trapping atmosphere.
    NASA/J. Bell – Cornell U./M. Wolff – SSI via AP, File

    If ancient Mars had liquid water, it would have needed a much warmer climate than it has today. Warmer planets usually have thick atmospheres that trap heat. So, perhaps the Martian atmosphere used to be thicker and composed of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. If Mars did once have a thicker carbon dioxide-containing atmosphere, scientists predict that they’d be able to see traces of that atmospheric carbon dioxide on the surface of Mars today.

    Gaseous carbon dioxide dissolves in water, a chemical process that can ultimately contribute to formation of solid minerals at and below the surface of a planet − essentially removing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Lots of scientists have previously tried to find carbonate minerals on the surface of Mars, and part of the excitement about a warmer, wetter early Mars is that it could have been a suitable environment for ancient microbial life.

    Finding carbonates on Mars

    Previous searches for carbonates on Mars have turned up observations of carbonates in meteorites and at two craters on Mars: Gusev crater and Jezero crater. But there wasn’t enough to explain a warmer past climate on Mars.

    For the past few years, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has been traversing a region called Gale crater. Here, the rover’s chemistry and mineralogy instrument has discovered lots of the iron-rich carbonate mineral siderite.

    The Curiosity rover has detected carbonates on Mars’ surface.
    NASA

    As my colleagues and I detail in our new study about these results, this carbonate mineral could contain some of the missing atmospheric carbon dioxide needed for a warmer, wetter early Mars.

    The rover also found iron oxyhydroxide minerals that suggest some of these rocks later dissolved when they encountered water, releasing a portion of their carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Although it is very thin, the modern Martian atmosphere is still composed mainly of carbon dioxide.

    In other words, these new results provide evidence for an ancient carbon cycle on Mars. Carbon cycles are the processes that transfer carbon dioxide between different reservoirs − such as rocks on the surface and gas in the atmosphere.

    Potential habitats for past microbial life on Mars

    Scientists generally consider an environment habitable for microbial life if it contains liquid water; nutrients such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur and necessary trace elements; an energy source; and conditions that were not too harsh − not too acidic, too salty or too hot, for example.

    Since observations from Gale crater and other locations on Mars show that Mars likely had habitable conditions, could Mars then have hosted life? And if it did, how would researchers be able to tell?

    Although microorganisms are too small for the human eye to detect, they can leave evidence of themselves preserved in rocks, sediments and soils. Organic molecules from within these microorganisms are sometimes preserved in rocks and sediments. And some microbes can form minerals or have cells that can form certain shapes. This type of evidence for past life is called a biosignature.

    Collecting Mars samples

    If Mars has biosignatures on or near the surface, researchers want to know that they have the right tools to detect them.

    So far, the rovers on Mars have found some organic molecules and chemical signatures that could have come from either abiotic − nonliving − sources or past life.

    The Curiosity rover travels across Mars searching for signs that the planet could have once been habitable.

    However, determining whether the planet used to host life isn’t easy. Analyses run in Earth’s laboratories could provide more clarity around where these signatures came from.

    To that end, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has been collecting and sealing samples on Mars, with one cache placed on the surface of Mars and another cache remaining on the rover.

    These caches include samples of rock, soil and atmosphere. Their contents can tell researchers about many aspects of the history of Mars, including past volcanic activity, meteorite impacts, streams and lakes, wind and dust storms, and potential past Martian life. If these samples are brought to Earth, scientists could examine them here for signs of ancient life on another planet.

    Elisabeth M. Hausrath receives funding from NASA, including from the MSL Curiosity rover Participating Scientist Program and the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

    – ref. Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life – https://theconversation.com/ancient-mars-may-have-had-a-carbon-cycle-a-new-study-suggests-the-red-planet-may-have-once-been-warmer-wetter-and-more-favorable-for-life-255207

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Running with a stroller: 2 biomechanics researchers on how it affects your form − and risk of injury

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Allison Altman Singles, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Mechanical Engineering, Penn State

    Running with a stroller can alter running form, but a few simple tricks can reduce chronic injury risk. iStock via Getty Images Plus

    “Faster, mommy, faster!” Allison’s toddler squealed as she ran down the hill by her house with her jogging stroller. As a longtime runner and running biomechanics researcher, she found herself in the same situation as many parents of young children: squeezing in runs between work meetings, meal prep and nap schedules.

    A running stroller offered flexibility – but something felt off. That question about her running form soon became the starting point for a shared research effort.

    The two of us – Allison Altman Singles and Joe Mahoney – are professors and biomechanics researchers interested in how running form affects injury risk. Together, we founded the Biomechanics and Gait Evaluation Laboratory, or BaGEL, at Penn State Berks.

    The BaGEL Lab’s runway and camera system helps researchers study the biomechanics of stroller running.
    RDB Imaging LLC

    Biomechanics is the science of how the body moves − blending biology and physics to understand how muscles, bones and joints work together like a machine. Allison’s experience with stroller running raised questions we couldn’t find clear answers to in the research – so we brought these questions into the lab. For the past four years, we’ve been studying how running with a stroller affects gait and the risk of overuse injuries.

    How stroller running affects the runner

    Most stroller-related regulations focus on the child’s safety and comfort. But what about the adult doing the pushing? Overuse injuries such as shin splints, stress fractures and runner’s knee are common in all runners. Subtle changes in running mechanics, such as those that occur when adapting to a heavy stroller, can lead to these injuries.

    We found two earlier studies that hinted at the biomechanical effects of stroller running. One showed that pushing a stroller led the runner to lean forward more and change their hip posture. Another showed the runner slowed down and took longer strides when pushing a stroller. But overall, researchers and regulators have largely overlooked the runner’s experience.

    Example of a pilot data collection run in our lab.

    We decided to find out more. We invited healthy adult runners into our lab. Each participant ran with and without a stroller. We recorded their motion using high-speed motion capture – the same technology that video games and Hollywood movies use. Each runner completed trials over a force plate, which recorded the impact of every stride. After data collection, we began analyzing the results.

    What we found

    Our results suggested that running with a stroller presents a trade-off. It increases some risk factors for overuse injuries, while reducing others.

    In general, the stroller runners had less impact per step – this measurement refers to the force of the collision between the foot and the ground. Runners experienced a 16% lower impact force when pushing a stroller.

    What impact force looks like during a foot strike while running.

    Pushing down on the handlebars redirects some impact through the stroller’s wheels, reducing the load on the legs. This lower impact force decreases the risk of common injuries such as shin splints, runner’s knee and stress fractures.

    We also found a 36% increase in torsion – the twisting load produced between the foot and the ground. This increase is concerning because torsional stress contributes to stress fractures in the lower leg, a common overuse injury among distance runners.

    Holding the handlebars restricts how much a runner swings their arms and rotates their chest, which normally balances out the twisting from each step. And controlling and maintaining the stroller’s direction further increases this twisting force.

    Our study confirmed that stroller running can also cause the runner to lean forward more. Running coaches typically recommend a slight forward lean, but with a stroller, runners leaned six degrees farther forward. This shift affected their leg positioning and pushed their center of mass forward. Studies have shown that a shift like this may increase injury risk.

    How can I run more safely with a stroller?

    What can you do to minimize the risk of injury if you run with a stroller?

    Adjust your stride and posture. Shorten your stride slightly and try to maintain a neutral posture. Avoid leaning too far forward, especially when going uphill.

    Choosing the right stroller can also make injury less likely. Look for models with adjustable handlebars and lighter frames. If the stroller feels too low, you may naturally lean forward.

    What’s next?

    In the future, we plan to explore several research questions.

    We conducted this study indoors on a flat surface. Next, we want to understand how hills and uneven terrain affect stroller running mechanics and whether different pushing styles – such as one-handed or “push-and-chase” – change the forces.

    We’re also interested in whether alternate stroller designs, such as hands-free options like tethered or pull-behind strollers, allow for a more natural running form. We want to explore how these designs might affect a runner’s form. We’re also examining whether stroller use changes runners’ habits, training volume or motivation.

    Stroller running remains a great way for parents to stay active while spending time with their young children. But just like any other type of running, form matters. Paying attention to your posture and choosing gear that supports healthy movement can make all the difference.

    We hope our findings help other parents stay injury-free during those stroller miles, as their child gleefully squeals, “Faster, Mommy, faster!” Running with your child can be fun, empowering and safe — especially with the right awareness and a little science on your side.

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

    – ref. Running with a stroller: 2 biomechanics researchers on how it affects your form − and risk of injury – https://theconversation.com/running-with-a-stroller-2-biomechanics-researchers-on-how-it-affects-your-form-and-risk-of-injury-252341

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Jostling for the papacy: A look back on the conclave’s history

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Colin Rose, Associate Professor of European and Digital History, Brock University

    Pope Francis’s successor will be elected in the coming days in a millennium-old ceremony known as the papal conclave. During the conclave, the 135 eligible Cardinal Electors of the Catholic Church will sequester themselves and elect a new pope in isolation.

    During that time, they will have no contact with the outside world and they will vote repeatedly, in written ballots and verbal declaration, until one of them achieves a two-thirds majority.

    Every failure brings sighs from the crowds in St. Peter’s Square as the votes, burned with a chemical admixture, send up a plume of inky black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. White smoke, signalling a new pope has been elected, provokes cheers and celebrations and the beginning of a new papal era.



    Read more:
    How the next pope will be elected – what goes on at the conclave

    The history of the conclave, especially during the Italian Renaissance that I teach and research, tells us a lot about how the papacy is both a religious and a political office.

    The Pope is at once the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church as well as the absolute monarch of Vatican City. He is both bishop of Rome and prince of the smallest sovereign state in the world.

    Politics of the papacy

    In the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, the Vatican was the capital of a much-larger Papal State. This territorial buffer around Rome at its height bordered the territories of Florence, Naples, Milan and Venice, and covered much of northern Italy.

    Popes wielded great influence in the dramatic politics of famous Italian families like the Medici: it was a Medici pope, Clement VII, who helped negotiate the installation of the first Medici duke in Florence.

    Apocryphal accounts persist of Julius II, the so-called “Warrior Pope,” leading a charge over the walls of Bologna in 1506.

    At the same time popes, and Catholic policy, had profound consequences for European and global politics: Clement’s successor Paul III excommunicated England’s King Henry VIII, cementing the English break with Rome in 1538.

    A portrait of Pope Alexander VI Borgia circa 1495.
    (Vatican Museums)

    Alexander VI was more audaciously imperial: he sponsored the treaty that arbitrarily divided the entire world outside of Europe between Spain (his home country) and Portugal in 1494.

    Alexander VI’s historical infamy is perhaps outdone only by his son, Cesare Borgia, made famous by his mention is Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince.

    Becoming pope was a big deal for a cardinal and his family. Leading candidates known as papabili (pope-ables) began strategizing and negotiating even before popes died.

    When a pontiff died, those cardinals abroad began their travels to Rome, construction began on the temporary cells that would house them all during the sequestration and the real work of electing a pope began.

    Enea Silvio Piccolomini left a detailed memoir of his election as Pius II in 1458. In it he describes a process of negotiating, threatening, cajoling and strategizing that make the scheming in the recent movie Conclave look unsophisticated.

    Renaissance Italy wrestled with and ultimately reconciled itself to the political nature of the papacy.

    Many, including popes such as Pius II, expressed discomfort with the political power of the papacy. While it was a clear factor in the schism of European Christendom that led to the emergence of the Protestant churches in the 16th century, in early modern Italy the political power of the papacy was a reality of the diplomatic milieu.

    The empty throne

    The conclave marks a special place in early modern history as a time when ordinary political order was overturned for a brief period known as the sede vacante (the Vacant See).

    The Vacant See was a time when identities were swappable and when, as one Paolo di Grassi told a judge in 1559, “in Vacant See [Romans] are the masters. The People are the Masters.” Di Grassi had, during the Vacant See of November 1559, pursued his own longstanding grudges against his enemies and been involved in at least one armed brawl.

    While they waited for a new pope, Romans and everyone else might have passed the time with another favourite vice: gambling on the conclave’s outcome.



    Read more:
    Who will the next pope be? Here are some top contenders

    European princes and other potentates of the church paid close attention to conclaves, tried to smuggle information in and out and steer the conclave in favour of their preferred candidate.

    In 1730, for instance, Cardinal Lambertini smuggled a letter out of his conclave thanking a benefactor for their donations to his future ordination as Pope Benedict XIV.

    The election held everyone’s attention as a rare and unusually impactful event in the Roman calendar.

    While Rome’s streets thrummed with tension during the chaotic days of a Vacant See, the conclave proceeded serenely and secretly within the Vatican’s walls.

    The use of white smoke to mark the election of a pope only began in the 20th century. During the Renaissance, the sound of bells would be a more effective way to spread the news through Rome, before the new pope was announced to the city and the world.

    Much turns on that announcement now, as much did in previous centuries. The conclave elects both a pope and a head of state. While Vatican City is magnitudes smaller than the Papal State of the past, it remains a sovereign state.

    Papal pronouncements shape not just religious thought but political action, through voting, advocacy and more. Today’s crowds might be less raucous than Renaissance Romans, but they are nonetheless invested in the results.

    Colin Rose receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Jostling for the papacy: A look back on the conclave’s history – https://theconversation.com/jostling-for-the-papacy-a-look-back-on-the-conclaves-history-255492

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump targets NPR and PBS as public and nonprofit media account for a growing share of local news coverage

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Powers, Professor of Communication, University of Washington

    The Seattle Times currently funds 30 reporter positions through philanthropy and government aid. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

    Republicans in Washington have their sights – once again – on defunding public media.

    On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the termination of taxpayer support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that helps fund American public media stations of all sizes, from NPR and PBS, to smaller outlets like WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, and KGOU in Norman, Oklahoma.

    Many Republicans have denounced public media programming as biased, outdated or simply unnecessary.

    Beneath those familiar talking points lies a long-standing assumption: that the market already provides “abundant, diverse and innovative news options,” as the president’s executive order put it.

    That assumption is wrong. And the story of media in Washington state reveals why.

    Public media’s expanding footprint

    As a communication scholar at the University of Washington, I’ve studied journalism in Seattle and across Washington state for the past decade.

    During that time, I’ve watched for-profit journalism struggle to meet the needs of the region. For this reason, local news outlets have increasingly turned to other sources of revenue.

    The shift has been striking. Just 10 years ago, about 10% of all full-time journalists in Seattle worked for local, nonprofit affiliates of NPR and PBS. Today, that figure is closer to 30%.

    That growing share reflects investments by NPR affiliates like KUOW and KNKX and public television station Cascade PBS, which have expanded their coverage of critical topics like homelessness and immigration. Federal support plays a small but significant role, making up between 5% and 10% of their budgets. The rest of their funding comes from a combination of donations, sponsorship and philanthropic grants.

    However, public media’s expanding footprint is also a symptom of collapse elsewhere: corporate cutbacks at commercial broadcast media networks and stations, the shuttering of community newspapers and the disappearance of alt-weeklies, which sometimes challenged mainstream political or cultural narratives.

    To be sure, public media has not and cannot replace everything that has been lost. But it has helped fill the void left after once-iconic outlets like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer underwent huge layoffs.

    Donors, tax dollars plug holes

    Public media outlets are only one prong of an increasingly noncommercial local news system. In the past, local media were dominated by commercial players that garnered the lion’s share of their revenues through advertising.

    Now, more and more journalism jobs in the state of Washington, including those at commercial outlets, are sustained by philanthropy and government spending. The Seattle Times – which is still, by far, the largest newsroom in the city – pays 30 of its reporters through philanthropic funding. That’s roughly 20% of its entire newsroom. The national nonprofit Report for America has, since its inception in 2018, placed 13 reporters in towns and cities across Washington to cover underserved topics like rural health and veterans issues.

    Meanwhile, the Murrow News Fellowship, launched in 2023 and funded by Washington’s state Legislature, has enabled 16 full-time journalists to be hired for two-year stints in commercial, nonprofit and public media newsrooms around the state.

    Universities are also playing a role. Long a pipeline into the profession, undergraduate and graduate journalism programs have increasingly become a piece of the local news infrastructure. Roughly 10% of all state Legislature coverage in Washington, for example, is now produced by undergraduate student journalists. Many report for newsrooms that no longer have a dedicated journalist in Olympia, the state’s capital.

    Then-state Sen. Pramila Jayapal speaks to reporters in Olympia, Wash., about a proposal to make community and technical college free for state residents without a bachelor’s degree.
    AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

    News isn’t always profitable

    All of these examples – public media, philanthropic support for nonprofit outlets and jobs at for-profit media enterprises, and student journalism – meet needs that for-profit journalism can no longer address on its own.

    Of course, no funding model is perfect. Last year, KUOW laid off three newsroom staffers due to a budget shortfall. Cascade PBS journalists are threatening to strike over low pay. Some critics worry that philanthropic funding can subtly shape news organizations’ coverage priorities.

    But to pretend the market can fix these problems is to ignore that it played a key part in creating them. When a newsroom job disappears, it’s not because watchdog journalism has lost its civic value. It’s because it became hard to monetize.

    Professional reporting takes time and doesn’t inherently deliver high traffic or quick profits. But it does inform citizens, promote government accountability and strengthen communities.

    The push to defund NPR and PBS stems in large part from long-standing Republican antipathy toward public media. But it also rests on a belief that journalism should only survive if it can compete in the marketplace.

    In Washington state, we’ve already seen what happens when we rely on markets alone: fewer reporters, less oversight and a growing amount of AI-generated news that provides no original reporting.

    If these defunding efforts succeed, they will likely do real harm to local news. KNKX has warned that it would lead to “difficult decisions and sacrifices at the expense of access to local journalism.” KUOW has signaled that it would “immediately need to raise 1 million dollars” to offset the loss in federal funding.

    Translation: It could lead to fewer reporters and less reporting at a time when more of both is needed.

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

    – ref. Trump targets NPR and PBS as public and nonprofit media account for a growing share of local news coverage – https://theconversation.com/trump-targets-npr-and-pbs-as-public-and-nonprofit-media-account-for-a-growing-share-of-local-news-coverage-255740

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Being honest about using AI at work makes people trust you less, research finds

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Oliver Schilke, Director of the Center for Trust Studies, Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Arizona

    Whether you’re using AI to write cover letters, grade papers or draft ad campaigns, you might want to think twice about telling others. That simple act of disclosure can make people trust you less, our new peer-reviewed article found.

    As researchers who study trust, we see this as a paradox. After all, being honest and transparent usually makes people trust you more. But across 13 experiments involving more than 5,000 participants, we found a consistent pattern: Revealing that you relied on AI undermines how trustworthy you seem.

    Participants in our study included students, legal analysts, hiring managers and investors, among others. Interestingly, we found that even evaluators who were tech-savvy were less trusting of people who said they used AI. While having a positive view of technology reduced the effect slightly, it didn’t erase it.

    Why would being open and transparent about using AI make people trust you less? One reason is that people still expect human effort in writing, thinking and innovating. When AI steps into that role and you highlight it, your work looks less legitimate.

    But there’s a caveat: If you’re using AI on the job, the cover-up may be worse than the crime. We found that quietly using AI can trigger the steepest decline in trust if others uncover it later. So being upfront may ultimately be a better policy.

    Being caught using AI by a third party has consequences, as one New York attorney can attest.

    Why it matters

    A global survey of 13,000 people found that about half had used AI at work, often for tasks such as writing emails or analyzing data. People typically assume that being open about using these tools is the right choice.

    Yet our research suggests doing so may backfire. This creates a dilemma for those who value honesty but also need to rely on trust to maintain strong relationships with clients and colleagues. In fields where credibility is essential – such as finance, health care and higher education – even a small loss of trust can damage a career or brand.

    The consequences go beyond individual reputations. Trust is often called the social “glue” that holds society together. It drives collaboration, boosts morale and keeps customers loyal. When that trust is shaken, entire organizations can feel the effects through lower productivity, reduced motivation and weakened team cohesion.

    If disclosing AI use sparks suspicion, users face a difficult choice: embrace transparency and risk a backlash, or stay silent and risk being exposed later – an outcome our findings suggest erodes trust even more.

    That’s why understanding the AI transparency dilemma is so important. Whether you’re a manager rolling out new technology or an artist deciding whether to credit AI in your portfolio, the stakes are rising.

    What still isn’t known

    It’s unclear whether this transparency penalty will fade over time. As AI becomes more widespread – and potentially more reliable – disclosing its use may eventually seem less suspect.

    There’s also no consensus on how organizations should handle AI disclosure. One option is to make transparency completely voluntary, which leaves the decision to disclose to the individual. Another is a mandatory disclosure policy across the board. Our research suggests that the threat of being exposed by a third party can motivate compliance if the policy is stringently enforced through tools such as AI detectors.

    A third approach is cultural: building a workplace where AI use is seen as normal, accepted and legitimate. We think this kind of environment could soften the trust penalty and support both transparency and credibility.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Oliver Schilke received funding from the National Science Foundation (Award #1943688).

    Martin Reimann receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts research grant (#1925643–38-24) and a National Security Systems (TRIF NSS) research grant.

    – ref. Being honest about using AI at work makes people trust you less, research finds – https://theconversation.com/being-honest-about-using-ai-at-work-makes-people-trust-you-less-research-finds-253590

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Yuanzhi Tang, Professor of Biogeochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

    Piles of rare earth oxides praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium. Peggy Greb/USDA-ARS

    Every time you use your phone, open your computer or listen to your favorite music on AirPods, you are relying on critical minerals.

    These materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life. From lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite in batteries to gallium in telecommunication systems that enable constant connectivity, critical minerals act as the essential vitamins of modern technology: small in volume but vital to function.

    Yet the U.S. depends heavily on imports for most critical materials. In 2024 the U.S. imported 80% of rare earth elements it used, 100% of gallium and natural graphite, and 48% to 76% of lithium, nickel and cobalt, to name a few.

    Rising global demand, high import dependency and growing geopolitical tensions have made critical mineral supply an increasing national security concern − and one of the most urgent supply chain challenges of our time.

    That raises a question: Could the U.S. mine and process more critical minerals at home?

    As a geochemist who leads Georgia Tech’s Center for Critical Mineral Solutions and an engineer focused on energy innovation, we have been exploring the options and barriers for U.S. critical mineral production.

    What’s stopping critical minerals from being produced domestically?

    Let’s take a look at rare earth elements.

    These elements are essential to modern technology, electric vehicles, energy systems and military applications. For example, neodymium is critical for making the strong magnets used in computer hard discs, lasers and wind turbines. Gadolinium is vital for MRI machines, while samarium and cerium play key roles in nuclear reactors and energy systems such as solar and wind power.

    Despite their name, rare earth elements are actually not rare. Their concentrations in the Earth’s crust are comparable to more commonly mined metals such as zinc and copper.

    However, rare earth elements do not often occur in easily accessible, economically viable mineral forms or high-grade deposits. As a result, identifying resources with sufficiently high concentration and large volume is crucial for enabling their economic production.

    MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility is in California near the Nevada border.
    Tmy350/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The U.S. currently has only two domestic rare earth mining locations: Georgia and California.

    In southeast Georgia, rare earths are being produced as a byproduct of heavy mineral sand mining, but the produced rare earth concentrates are shipped out of state and then abroad for refining into the materials used in renewable energy technologies and permanent magnets.

    The other location is in Mountain Pass, California, where hard rock mining extracts a rare earth carbonate mineral called bastnaesite. Yet again, much of the material is sent abroad for refining. As a result, the entire supply chain − from mining to final use in products − stretches across continents.


    U.S. Geological Survey

    Meeting the U.S. demand for rare earth elements and other critical minerals from operations within the United States will require more than just opening new mines. It will require developing and scaling up new technologies, as well as building processing operations.

    Historically, processing has largely taken place overseas because of the environmental impacts, energy demand and regulatory constraints.

    The potential, but long road, to new mines

    Investment in exploration activity for critical minerals is rapidly increasing across the U.S.

    In 2017 the U.S. Geological Survey launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative − known as Earth MRI − to identify potential sources of critical minerals within the country.

    Some areas that appear promising for rare earth elements have lots of chemical weathering, in which rocks containing rare earth elements are broken down by reacting with water and air. Exploration is underway at several of these sites, including in locations in Wyoming and Montana.

    A map shows focus areas for 23 mineral systems that could have critical mineral resources.
    USGS

    Identifying a resource, however, is not the same as producing it.

    Traditional mining can take a decade or two from exploration to production and up to 29 years in the U.S., the second-longest timeline in the world. Although this timeline could be changing under the current administration, companies might still face major uncertainties related to permitting, infrastructure development and, in some places, community opposition. Managing environmental impacts, such as air and water pollution and high water consumption and energy use, can further increase cost and extend project timelines.

    Given that the exploration projects mentioned above are still in early stage, the U.S. needs additional, parallel efforts that can bring resources to the market at an accelerated pace.

    Mining the materials we have already mined

    One of the fastest ways to increase U.S. rare earth production may not require digging new holes in the ground − but rather returning to old ones.

    The Atlantic coast region stands out on the Earth MRI map as a particularly promising area. What’s even better is that this region has already established extensive mining activities and mature infrastructure, which allows for much faster speed to market.

    Georgia has mineral sand deposits that are rich in titanium, zirconium, and rare earth elements. Titanium and zirconium − both used in aerospace, energy and medical applications − are already mined in Florida and Georgia. In southeast Georgia, rare earth elements found with these heavy mineral sands are already being recovered as rare earth concentrates.

    Kaolin mining near Macon, Ga.

    Kaolin, a white clay used in paper, paint and porcelain, has been mined in Georgia for over a century, and it can also contain rare earth elements. Georgia generates more than 8 million tons of kaolin annually, making it the leading U.S. producer and a large exporter. This also comes with millions of tons of mining and processing residues, or what’s known as tailings.

    Recent research studies suggest that there is significant potential for extracting rare earth elements in the tailings.

    The tailings are already mined and sitting on the surface. There is no need to drill or blast. That means existing infrastructure, faster timelines and lower costs and than new mining operations.

    Technological innovations, such as bioleaching, ligand-based extraction and separation and electrochemical separation, are now making mining these legacy wastes possible. New processing facilities could be built near existing kaolin or heavy mineral sand operations or former mine sites, bringing materials to market in a few years rather than decades.

    The future of waste mining

    This approach is part of a broader strategy known as “waste mining,” “urban mining” or “mining the anthropogenic cycle.”

    It involves the recovery of critical minerals from existing waste streams such as mine tailings, coal ash and industrial byproducts. It is also part of building a circular economy, where materials are reused and recycled rather than discarded.

    The U.S. has the potential to catalyze new domestic supply chains for materials essential to national security and technology. Waste mining and recycling are critical pieces to ensure the long-term sustainability of these supply chains.

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

    – ref. How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes – https://theconversation.com/how-the-us-can-mine-its-own-critical-minerals-without-digging-new-holes-252609

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mark Carney in Washington: His visit with Trump kicks off high-wire politics in Canada

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Thomas Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, Canada

    Prime Minister Mark Carney is headed to Washington, D.C., for a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump as the American president continues his trade war and annexation threats against Canada.

    “We are meeting as heads of our government,” Carney said at a news conference late last week. “I am not pretending those discussions will be easy.”

    The White House visit comes just a week after Carney led the Liberals to their fourth consecutive election victory.

    It was a result that, at first blush, allowed each party to claim that it won, or at least that it did not totally lose. That sets up a Parliamentary session that will feature several interesting dynamics.

    The Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre won several more seats than in 2021 and their highest share of the national vote in decades, though Poilievre himself lost his seat.



    Read more:
    Canada’s Conservatives, with an assist from Donald Trump, are down — but they’re far from out

    The NDP under an outgoing Jagmeet Singh managed to hold onto the balance of power in the upcoming minority Parliament for a third consecutive time. Elizabeth May continues to represent the Green Party in the House of Commons. Yves-François Blanchet kept the Bloc Québécois relevant for voters in Québec.

    Even Justin Trudeau, no longer in politics, won — his legacy is not in the gutter due to a predicted Conservative majority win that never materialized once Carney replaced him.

    But in the coming weeks and months, the leaders and their parties face difficult circumstances that could turn them into losers — most importantly, how Carney manages the relationship with Trump.

    The role of Trump

    Carney and the Liberals capitalized on exceptional
    circumstances     driven by Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state. Winning four consecutive elections is a rare feat for any political party in Canada.
    But Carney cannot count on fortune continuing to smile upon him. He must now manage a party within which he has little history and few favours to call in — a party that he has dragged from centre-left under Trudeau to centre-right.

    The new prime minister will have to rely on aides and advisers to a much greater extent than all former office-holders who had years or decades of experience in the political area, including the House of Commons. At the same time, he will have to demonstrate to Canadians that he is in charge and makes the final decisions.

    Invariably, there will be Liberal missteps in the weeks ahead: ethical lapses for some MPs, ministerial appointments that go awry and disappointment among those not appointed to cabinet. Because Carney has been prime minister for less than two months, the upcoming Speech from the Throne on May 27 — to be delivered by King Charles — that sets the government’s goals is shrouded in mystery.

    Beyond Ottawa, premiers from several different political parties — each with their own agenda — await Carney. South of the border, the unpredictable Trump, with his infuriating rhetoric and disruptive actions, is in office for another three-and-half-years.

    As a newcomer to politics elected on his first attempt to the country’s highest political office, Carney could have at least have one topic of conversation in common with Trump when they meet on Tuesday. Trump too was a political outsider who catapulted into office on his first attempt. The two may find some bond in their shared experience.

    The greatest danger for Carney is not from Trump’s rhetoric but from broader economic conditions. He ran for office on the promise of being able to manage economic turmoil. But politicians of any stripe have little control in a global economic slump or an all-out tariff war. If unemployment, inflation or the cost-of-living tick upward, Carney will quickly lose his lustre among many Canadians.

    The new Parliament

    For the Conservatives, Poilievre’s leadership will continue to weigh on the party in the weeks and months ahead. Losing his Ottawa seat weakens his claim to stay on as leader. He now needs to win a byelection in Alberta triggered by the resignation of Conservative MP Damien Kurek.

    The worst outcome for the party is years of infighting between those who support giving Poilievre one more chance and those who believe that 2025 is the best the party can do under his leadership.

    The best outcome is for Poilievre to become a bridge-builder within the party and to Conservatives across Canada, and to rebrand himself to be more palatable to Canadian voters. This will not be easy and he hasn’t shown much inclination to do so.

    The NDP’s Singh has already announced his resignation and accepted responsibility for the party electing only seven MPs. A period of soul-searching leading to a leadership contest has already started. The loss of seats, and returning to Ottawa with an interim leader, lessens the voice of the party in political discourse. If a new leader is elected who is not an MP, the party will be further hampered.

    The Greens remain in the House of Commons, but as a party of one. The jury continues is out on whether the party can exist without its leader, Elizabeth May, who has said she wouldn’t rule out joining Carney’s cabinet.

    Blanchet returns to Ottawa with fewer Bloc MPs and a murky mission. He had hoped that the Bloc would hold the balance of power once the votes were counted, but was foiled by the NDP. He has already faced criticism from his own supporters when he promised to collaborate with other parties in Ottawa to secure Canada’s economic future.

    Beginning with Carney’s handling of Trump this week, how skilfully each party, and leader, performs its distinct high-wire act in the next few months will determine the ultimate winners and losers. The show is about to begin.

    Thomas Klassen 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. Mark Carney in Washington: His visit with Trump kicks off high-wire politics in Canada – https://theconversation.com/mark-carney-in-washington-his-visit-with-trump-kicks-off-high-wire-politics-in-canada-255675

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The timeless appeal of We’ll Meet Again underscores people’s need for sentimentality

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Clare V. Church, Fellow of the Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London

    It begins with just a few gentle flourishes from the orchestra before the honey-voiced singer launches into the chorus. Her words are instantly familiar to listeners, who sing along without having to search for the lyrics on their smartphones or strain their voices to remain in key. The song’s simplicity is its boon and its enduring message of softness and sentimentality its raison d’être.

    More than 85 years after its release, We’ll Meet Again – made famous by singer Vera Lynn – continues to resonate with listeners, whether they experienced the second world war or not. In fact, as we head into the 80th anniversary of the war’s end, it is one song that is sure to be at the top of all British commemorative playlists.

    While embarking on this next year of remembrance, it is important to question why this song echoes so resoundingly across time and space. Why is it that, after all these years, we continue to meet We’ll Meet Again again, and again and again?

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

    Written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, We’ll Meet Again was first recoded by Lynn in 1939. Its chorus is as follows:

    We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when, but I’ll know we’ll meet again some sunny day.

    Keep smiling through, just like you, always do, ‘til the blue skies chase those dark clouds far away.

    In the early war, Lynn performed the song – as well as other wistful tunes – at palladiums across the country and over the radio. She gained a reputation as a “sweet singer of sweet songs” and was soon after bestowed the moniker “the Forces’ sweetheart”.

    By 1941, Lynn hosted her own BBC radio show named Sincerely Yours, described by Radio Times as a “letter in words and music” to fighting men. After reading messages from munitions girls to their husbands and congratulations to new fathers in the military, Lynn signed off the show crooning We’ll Meet Again, authenticating the song as her signature.

    Throughout the remainder of the war, she performed the song over the radio and in film (including in the fittingly titled We’ll Meet Again in 1943) as well as in concerts as far afield as Myanmar.

    Vera Lynn performing We’ll Meet Again in 1943.

    However, the song was not met with universal acceptance. Some, including parliamentarian Earl Winterton, believed that Lynn’s song harmed soldier morale, arguing that its emotional message deflated appetite for the war. Diarists for Mass Observation – a social research project launched in 1937 that collected journal entries from volunteer citizens – repeated this idea. One diarist claimed that Lynn’s songs were “too intimate for broadcasting” and another called her catalogue “carefully written sob stuff”.

    But just as some criticised, others came to her defence. Gunner A. E. Buckeridge, for example, scorned Winterton in Union Jack magazine for taking it “upon himself to decide what the men should like”. Frank Owen of the South East Asia Command similarly wrote that Lynn’s crooning “really hits the heart” and thanked her for ameliorating “the abiding home sickness” of soldiers.

    The debate did not centre on whether We’ll Meet Again was sentimental. Rather, it questioned if such sentimentality helped or hindered fighting men.

    By 1945, many listeners sat in the former camp, contending that We’ll Meet Again eased war’s hardships by reminding listeners of their home and humanity. In fact, it would be the song’s ability to do this that would propel its popularity to new heights in the following decades.

    Post-war resonance

    Following the end of hostilities, the ballad proliferated across media, genres and audiences. It was referenced in a wide range of films and television series, including Dr Strangelove (1964), Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) and even Stranger Things (2016).

    Other musicians covered the song too, including Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash. Pink Floyd’s song Vera (1979) even contained the lyrics: “Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? / Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day?”

    The song was also used in war-related commemorative events and political addresses. This includes Queen Elizabeth II’s April 2020 broadcast that discussed the burgeoning COVID crisis and asserted: “We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”

    So, what is it about this song that has maintained such longevity in the national consciousness?

    In many post-war recollections, veterans especially praised the song’s emotionality. In a 1996 oral history interview, for instance, veteran George William Ledger remembered how grown men were brought to tears after listening to Lynn. He recalled that “when Vera Lynn got up and sang on that stage … it was quiet, you could hear a pin drop”. He added that her songs were especially powerful because they “dwelt on the emotions of people”.

    In select accounts within the BBC’s WW2 People’s War Project, this theme was reiterated. One contributor wrote that Lynn was so popular because she “entertained us … with her very emotional songs”. Another writer claimed that We’ll Meet Again raised the morale of the troops “who knew how near was a terrifying death”.

    Even comments made on the song’s YouTube page reference its emotional resonance, with one user writing: “Played this song for my dad over skype (81) years old with Alzheimer’s. He knew word for word with tears streaming. Bless him.”

    These recollections serve as a poignant reminder of the power of sentimentality and giving people the permission to emote during times of struggle. The song – both during the war and after – provided safely contained moments to embrace softness.

    Typically, when you think of a “war song”, you might be tempted to think of a military march, full of brazen boasts of strength and stoicism – both of which are characteristics commonly tied to narratives of war and heroism.

    But the enduring resonance of We’ll Meet Again underlines the timeless testament of another set of heroic virtues: softness and sentimentality. The song demonstrates that in times of incredible hardship and trauma, all people require spaces to ache, mourn and feel.

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

    – ref. The timeless appeal of We’ll Meet Again underscores people’s need for sentimentality – https://theconversation.com/the-timeless-appeal-of-well-meet-again-underscores-peoples-need-for-sentimentality-253505

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How a community-focused vision for net zero can revive local economies

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Max Lacey-Barnacle, Senior Research Fellow, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex

    Kampan/Shutterstock

    Across the world, the transition to a green economy is under threat. Growing antipathy towards the costs of tackling climate change, stoked especially by right-wing populists, undermines ambitions to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

    In the UK, leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch recently described achieving net zero by 2050 as “impossible”, stating that it would bankrupt the country. Reform, a major rival to the right of Badenoch’s Conservative party want to scrap the UK’s net zero targets altogether.

    A new vision of net zero is urgently needed. To help fund the UK’s transition to a green economy, the UK government seeks to attract private investment from international corporations that are not based in the UK.

    The Indian company Tata Group is investing £4 billion in eletric vehicles (EVs) and battery production in the UK. Danish company Orsted has invested £15 billion in UK offshore windfarms in the last decade. French company EDF Energy has invested £4.5 billion in net zero technologies and infrastructure in the UK.

    This approach comes with considerable risks. Profits can be extracted out of local economies, which benefits the shareholders of international corporations, not UK businesses.

    Ownership can also change between private entities and move even further afield. Last year, Orsted sold stakes in four UK offshore wind farms to a Canadian investment company.

    UCL climate scientist Mark Maslin explains net zero.

    But there’s an alternative that directly strengthens the resilience of the UK’s economy. Community wealth building is a model of economic development that ensures any profits generated from new green industries is recirculated within the local economy.

    To make this happen, communities need support from so-called “anchor institutions”. These are large organisations that are “anchored” to their local economy and cannot relocate, because their ownership structure is tied to a particular location. Think universities, hospitals or local government institutions.

    Within this approach, anchor institutions procure goods and services from nearby suppliers, so they circulate money locally and strengthen regional supply chains.

    This concept originated over a decade ago in the US. It’s since been applied in Canada, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands.

    For the past four years, I’ve been exploring how community wealth building is becoming embedded in the UK’s fast-growing green economy.

    UK anchors and the green economy

    In north-west England, Preston city council retained the procurement spend of anchor institutions located in Preston city to the tune of £112.3 million in 2020 – £74 million more than in 2012/13.

    In Oldham in northern England, the council supported the development of community-led energy plans in two neighbourhoods, Sholver and Westwood. The plans outlined what a decarbonised heat, electricity and transport system would look like for each area. The council launched a website to share energy efficiency advice. The council also helped to set up two local community energy projects.

    Oldham Community Power installed solar panels on five primary schools and a community building to reduce their energy bills. Saddleworth Community Hydro have used excess profits from the sale of renewable electricity in 2023 to fund £58,000 worth of local sustainability projects.

    Some local councils in the UK are adopting a community wealth building approach.
    witsarut sakorn/Shutterstock

    The council in Lewes in southern England have committed to using community wealth building to transition towards net zero. Hundreds of houses have been retrofitted to increase their energy efficiency, with retrofit contracts arranged with local companies. EVs are being used to collect food waste. New sustainable housing is being built by local tradespeople using locally sourced materials wherever possible.

    The Lewes Climate Hub hosts community events and green business workshops in a council-owned property. Procurement spend by local anchor institutions has also doubled from £5m in 2020 to £10m in 2024.

    In North Ayrshire, Scotland, two municipally owned solar PV farms on council-owned land have generated a £13 million budget surplus. This has been redirected towards addressing fuel poverty by making low-income homes more energy efficient. The council’s new green jobs fund has supported over £1.14 million of investment into 65 businesses to enable a range of sustainability related measures.

    Encouragingly, more plans to bring together community wealth building and net zero continue to emerge. In London, partnerships between anchor institutions and community energy organisations could be integral to developing 1,000 community energy projects across the capital by 2030.

    Successful scale-up of community wealth building will require strong leadership, political commitments and supporting strategies that align with the green economy. Already, some initiatives are beginning to generate wealth through the green economy and keeping it in local communities, rather than ownership and profits going to distant corporations.

    To counter a rising opposition to net zero in the UK, prioritising community-focused visions that revive local economies will be vital.

    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.

    Max Lacey-Barnacle receives funding from The British Academy.

    – ref. How a community-focused vision for net zero can revive local economies – https://theconversation.com/how-a-community-focused-vision-for-net-zero-can-revive-local-economies-252955

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Russia and Turkey are wielding religion as soft power – but one patriarch is standing in their way

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katie Kelaidis, Research Fellow Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies, University of Cambridge

    Turkish nationalists are calling on the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to revoke the passport of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the highest ranking Greek Orthodox cleric in the US.

    As a Turkish citizen, the archbishop is one of the few clerics eligible to become the next Patriarch of Constantinople. The holder of this position is often called the “spiritual leader” of Eastern Orthodox Christians, though this status is contested.

    Critics of Elpidophoros believe he should be stripped of his Turkish citizenship for repeatedly referring to the Patriarch of Constantinople as “ecumenical”. This, which means the position represents a number of different Christian Churches, is a nod to the potential global authority of the office. Turkey does not recognise the patriarch’s ecumenical status.

    They also criticise Elpidophoros for using the name Constantinople instead of Istanbul (most recently during a Greek Independence Day celebration at the White House). This was the name of the city when it was the capital of the Ottoman empire.

    The situation might seem somewhere between petty and parochial – the concerns of a small and relatively unimportant corner of the world, or a momentary flare-up in the Greek-Turkish conflict. But this could not be further from the truth.

    The Patriarchate of Constantinople is a critical player in two volatile regions: the Middle East and eastern Europe. Both Turkey and Russia, regional powers in these unstable areas, have made religion a central component of their propaganda.

    They have each sought to present themselves as the guardian of their respective religious tradition, despite having spent much of the 20th century in various forms of state-sponsored hostility to religion. For Russia and Turkey, the Patriarchate of Constantinople stands as an obstacle to their preferred narratives.

    Religious politics

    Russia under Vladimir Putin and Turkey under Erdoğan have become deeply invested in promoting themselves as the guardians of traditional Christianity and Islam, respectively. By leveraging this position, they have garnered sympathy and support among people who were once indifferent or even hostile to them.

    Influential conservative commentators in the US such as Tucker Carlson and Rod Dreher have praised Putin’s “anti-woke” rhetoric. And some ultraconservative American men are reportedly converting to Russian Orthodoxy.

    Turkey, for its part, began establishing mosques and training imams abroad, including in western Europe, as early as the 1970s. But in the past 23 years, under the rule of the Justice and Development party (AKP), it has significantly expanded these efforts.

    The enemies Russia and Turkey claim to combat are both internal and external. Putin, Erdoğan and their aligned clerics, have been vocal in their denunciation of western “decadence”. This is usually represented by the liberal sexual and gender politics of western nations.

    Yet they have been just as adamant in opposing those within their own traditions. In Russia’s case, this has meant perceived liberalisers largely situated in the Hellenic world – not just the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but also the Patriarchate of Alexandria, as well as the Churches of Greece and Cyprus.

    For Turkey, this internal enemy has primarily taken the form of Saudi-backed Wahhabism, a strict, ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam.

    The international religious influence of Russia and Turkey depends on a specific national narrative. Russia must be not only a historically Orthodox nation, but the leading Orthodox nation – the rightful inheritor of the eastern Roman world.

    Likewise, Turkey must present itself as an explicitly and entirely Muslim nation, the heir to an Ottoman empire reimagined as far more homogeneous than it ever truly was.

    This requires both countries reject much of their 20th-century history. Neither Soviet communism nor the strict secularity of Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, fits the current plot. It also demands the rewriting of medieval and early modern histories.

    And for both, the Patriarch of Constantinople poses a significant problem. This is especially true if he is seen as anything more than a local ethnic leader, hence the objection to the use of “ecumenical” in his title.

    If the Patriarch of Constantinople is a global religious leader, then Moscow is not the undisputed head of the Orthodox world, nor is Turkey a homogeneously Muslim nation with a homogeneously Muslim past.

    Why the next patriarch matters

    Patriarch Bartholomew, the current Patriarch of Constantinople, ascended to the throne in 1991. He has been a moderate and modernising force in the Orthodox world and beyond. Bartholomew has championed issues such as environmentalism, inter-religious dialogue and human rights, while also opposing Russian aggression in Ukraine.

    Now Bartholomew is 85 years old, the conversation has turned to the question of his successor. The options are limited, as the next patriarch must be a Turkish citizen.

    If the patriarchate is to continue serving as a kind of opposition to Russian and Turkish expansionism, the next leader must also be a moderate. Should a more reactionary figure take the office, there is a real danger this counterbalance will be lost.

    For those who hope to resist Russian and Turkish aggression and to promote values such as human rights in the Orthodox world and Middle East, there is simply no better choice than Archbishop Elpidophoros.

    He has challenged Russian expansionism in Ukraine, defended democracy and pluralism and has taken a pastoral approach to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and women in the Church.

    Though the patriarch is a relatively obscure position in global terms, it is precisely because of the current global situation that there may be no more important religious leader than one who can exert influence across eastern Europe and the Middle East.

    The fact that allies of Putin and Erdoğan have joined in attacking Elpidophoros suggests not only that they do not want him to become the next Patriarch of Constantinople. It also suggests that western democracies should take a deep interest in who does.

    The patriarchate is a rejection of the historical lies upon which both Russian and Turkish soft power rest. Thus, the man who occupies the office must be up to the task.

    Katie Kelaidis 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. Russia and Turkey are wielding religion as soft power – but one patriarch is standing in their way – https://theconversation.com/russia-and-turkey-are-wielding-religion-as-soft-power-but-one-patriarch-is-standing-in-their-way-254247

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump likes to know where his suits come from. His tariffs could now upend the world’s fashion supply chains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Arooj Rashid, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Nottingham Trent University

    Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

    US president Donald Trump has a particular look. Sharp navy suits, overly long ties and crisp white shirts, always structured to command attention. It’s a power uniform rooted in a very traditional idea of masculine elegance. Trump wants it to look expensive, meticulously crafted, consistent, and entirely his own.

    Behind the populist slogans and “Buy American” rhetoric, this president has long embraced symbols of global luxury. While he’s worn American tailoring from Brooklyn’s Martin Greenfield – a craftsman who has dressed everyone from Barack Obama to Colin Powell – he has also been a longstanding customer of Brioni, an exclusive Italian brand of tailored clothing.

    So, while campaigning for American-made goods Trump has for years enjoyed the prestige of the “Made in Italy” tag, and the luxurious connotations it brings to menswear.

    But his trade policies have done the opposite for the global fashion industry. By threatening massive trade tariffs on countries like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, he has potentially created chaos for both the industry and consumers.

    Traditionally, what’s known as “country of origin” has been represented by the “made in” label, a key branding tool that can shape consumer perceptions of product quality and other attributes. However, as globalisation has led to the outsourcing of design, materials and production, the definition has become increasingly complex.

    “Designed in” and “country of brand origin” have come to define prestigious product qualities, while country image is used to reflect perceptions of a nation and its products. For example, “designed in Italy” often evokes craftsmanship and luxury in fashion goods. Similarly, Germany has a historical reputation for excellence in producing cars. And “Japanese brand origin” is associated with cutting-edge technology and reliability, particularly in electronics and vehicles.

    Two decades ago, as production costs in the US and Europe mounted, clothing production moved to Asia. While China has remained an important supplier, trade tensions saw production move to countries including Vietnam, India and Bangladesh in the early mid-2010s. But with the threat of new tariffs on these countries, brands are scrambling again.

    This time they have far fewer alternatives. And for companies that rely on the storytelling behind where a garment is made, this isn’t just a supply chain headache. It’s an identity crisis.

    ‘Made in Italy’ – like Trump’s Brioni suits – conveys more than just the country of manufacture.
    Northfoto/Shutterstock

    In fashion, a garment’s origin is not merely a logistical detail – it’s part of its identity. Labels like “made in Italy”, “made in India” or “made in Bangladesh” carry different connotations. These could be luxury and craftsmanship – embroidery skills, for example – or affordability at scale.

    Over time, brands have cultivated these country associations as part of their marketing strategies, shaping consumer perception and trust. The result is a strategic decision for fashion companies, which must now consider cost and efficiency and how changing suppliers might affect their brand’s perceived values and identity.

    For example, brands like H&M and Levi Strauss & Co. have promoted their ethical sourcing in India or partnerships in Pakistan due to their expertise. But now they risk being taxed extensively. So what is the solution?

    The impact on consumers

    The growing risk of new trade rules and tariffs is making it harder for countries that supply fashion goods to stay competitive.

    First, brands must re-assess globalisation of the fashion industry and develop alternative supply chains. While a quick shift may be possible for simpler fashion products, relocating production for more complex or premium goods is usually a long-term investment. As a result, brands will be investigating country images that are perceived to be trusted and trustworthy as trading partners.

    But one unexpected outcome of these policies may be the return of European production and the emergence of “safe” sourcing locations in countries less exposed to trading restrictions. This could be Portugal and Romania for mid-market clothing, and Italy for high-end fashion goods. These would be more predictable and offer a globally recognised brand image.

    Heritage clothing brand Barbour still manufactures some of its lines in the UK.
    Robert Way/Shutterstock

    For some companies, shifting production to Italy will allow them to maintain product prestige while avoiding some of the eye-watering tariffs threatened for some Asian countries. Meanwhile others may look to move back to the UK because of its association with younger, niche markets.

    This won’t necessarily make clothing cheaper for consumers. It does though offer a level of reassurance, especially for higher-end or mid-market labels looking to preserve their image amid instability.

    Trump’s own affinity for Brioni reflects this implicit value. Though his public rhetoric prioritised American manufacturing, his choice of a luxury Italian tailor speaks to a broader truth: country image matters. And in fashion, it can be everything.

    The consequences of these trade policies are now visible across the fashion ecosystem. For example, American brands like Everlane and Pact are built around affordability and transparency. They rely on production in south or south-east Asia, and now face the challenge of rising costs.

    Larger companies will be rethinking pricing strategies, renegotiating contracts or halting expansion in regions hardest hit by tariffs.

    For consumers, this could mean higher prices and reduced variety. The label inside a garment now tells a more complex story – not only of where it was made but also of the political and economic forces shaping global trade.

    Even if these tariffs are eventually reduced or reversed, the disruption they have caused has already left a mark. They have redefined the meaning and importance of country-of-origin labels, exposed the fragility of global supply chains, and placed new pressure on brands to balance ethics, economics and image in a volatile environment. In fashion, where identity is crafted through fabric and narrative, the story behind the label has never mattered more.

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

    – ref. Trump likes to know where his suits come from. His tariffs could now upend the world’s fashion supply chains – https://theconversation.com/trump-likes-to-know-where-his-suits-come-from-his-tariffs-could-now-upend-the-worlds-fashion-supply-chains-255337

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Intermittent fasting: is it the calories or carbs that count?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Collins, Associate Professor of Nutrition, University of Surrey

    Eating low-carb twice a week could have similar benefits as intermittent fasting. Kmpzzz/ Shutterstock

    Intermittent fasting is not only a useful tool for weight loss, it’s also shown to have many benefits for metabolic health – independent of weight loss. Yet many people may find intermittent fasting to be a challenge, especially if following the 5:2 version of the diet where calories are severely restricted two days a week.

    But my latest study shows that you don’t need to severely restrict your calories to get the metabolic benefits of intermittent fasting. Even just restricting the number of carbs you eat twice a week may be enough to improve your metabolic health.

    Intermittent fasting appears to be so beneficial for health because of the way it alters our metabolism.

    After a meal, our body enters the postprandial state. While in this state, our metabolism pushes our cells to use carbohydrates for immediate energy, while storing some of these carbs as well as fat for later use. But after several hours without food, in the postabsorptive “fasted” state, our metabolism switches to using some of our fat stores for energy.

    In this regard, intermittent fasting ensures a better balance between the sources it uses for energy. This leads to improved metabolic flexibility, which is linked with better cardiometabolic health. In other words, this means lower risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

    My colleagues and I previously ran a study to demonstrate the effects of a fast on the body. We observed that following a day of both total fasting or severe calorie restriction (eating around only 25% of each person’s daily calorie requirements), the body was better at clearing and burning the fat of a full English breakfast the next day. Fasting shifted the body from using carbs to using fat. This effect carried on both during the fast and the next day.

    Our research has also compared the effects of intermittent fasting to a calorie-matched or?, calorie-restricted diet. Both groups followed the diet until they lost 5% of their body weight.

    Despite both groups losing the same 5% of body weight, and at the same rate, the intermittent fasting group had greater improvements in their metabolic handling, similar to what we saw in the previous trial.

    Other researchers who have compared the effects of the 5:2 variant of the intermittent fasting diet to a calorie-matched, calorie-restricted diet have also found fasting is beneficial for metabolic health.

    Metabolic health benefits

    But why exactly is intermittent fasting so beneficial for metabolic health? This is a question I sought to answer in my latest study.

    In our study, restricting carbs had the same favourable metabolic effects as fasting.
    Dulin/ Shutterstock

    For people who follow the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet, typical fasting days are, by their nature, very low in calories – equating to only a few hundred calories per day. Because people are consuming so few calories on fasting days, it also means they’re consuming very few carbohydrates. Given the postprandial state is governed by carbohydrate availability, this begged the question as to whether it’s the calorie restriction or the carbohydrate restriction that’s creating the metabolic effect when intermittent fasting.

    We recruited 12 overweight and obese participants. Participants were first given a very low-carb diet one day. Another day, they were given a severely calorie-restricted diet (around 75% fewer calories than they’d normally eat). After each fasting day, we gave them a high-fat, high-sugar meal (similar to an English breakfast) to see how easily their bodies burned fat.

    What we found was that the shift to fat burning and improved fat handling of the high-calorie meal were near identical following both the traditional calorie-restricted “fast” day and the low-carb day. In other words, restricting carbs can elicit the same favourable metabolic effects as fasting.

    It will be important now for more studies to be conducted using a larger cohort of participants to confirm these findings.

    Such findings may help us address some of the practical problems we face with intermittent fasting and traditional low-carb diets.

    For intermittent fasting diets, severe calorie restriction on fasting days can increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies if not careful. It can similarly be a trigger for disordered eating.

    Strict carb restriction can also be challenging to adhere to long-term, and may lead to an unhealthy fear of carbs.

    The other limitation of both intermittent fasting and continuous carb restriction is that weight loss is a likely outcome. Hence these approaches are not universally beneficial for those who need to improve their health without losing weight or those looking to maintain their weight.

    We are now testing the feasibility of an intermittent carb restriction diet, or a low-carb 5:2. So instead of restricting calories two days a week, you would restrict the number of carbs you consume twice a week. If this is proven to be beneficial, it would offer the benefits of fasting without restricting calories on “fast” days.

    Adam Collins receives funding from BBSRC Food Biosystems Doctoral Training Programme. He also serves as Head of Nutrition for Form NutritionTM.

    – ref. Intermittent fasting: is it the calories or carbs that count? – https://theconversation.com/intermittent-fasting-is-it-the-calories-or-carbs-that-count-254752

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The growing threat to U.S. democracy will literally cost lives

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Andrew C. Patterson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, MacEwan University

    According to a recent survey, most political scientists agree that President Donald Trump is turning the United States government into an autocracy, all too quickly.

    As political scholars Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way explain, a competitive-authoritarian country is one where elections are held and election results carry, but incumbents alter the game so as to tilt the odds of winning heavily in their favour. This effectively makes it an autocratic regime, with one person holding the lion’s share of power.

    Politicians tilt these odds by doing exactly the sorts of things Trump is doing. He is replacing civil servants with loyalists, and then repurposing the long-standing institutions they serve. This is so he can use those institutions for political gain — to punish dissenters and reward allies. All to support his staying in power.

    As just one recent example, Levistky and Way predicted in February that the Internal Revenue Service would become one of the many departments that Trump would weaponize. On April 15, Trump called for the IRS to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status in response to the university’s refusal to acquiesce. Trump had previously withheld billions of dollars in grant funding.



    Read more:
    Harvard is suing the White House: here’s what Trump hopes to achieve by targeting universities

    Is there any case in which Trump has still acted in the service of the American public? Arguably, no, not by a long shot. Even the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post describes his first 100 days as a remarkable failure across multiple fronts.

    The headlines have been blistering, calling those first 100 days “horrifying” and “inept.” Nor is the American public impressed: most give his performance a grade of D or F, according to a recent poll.

    The biggest threat of all may be permanent damage to government institutions.

    Democracy and population health

    As research shows, these trends cannot possibly be good for the lives and livelihoods of American citizens. We have known for over a decade that the recruitment of civil servants based on their political affiliations or loyalties, rather than credentials, is a recipe for political corruption. Corruption, in turn, harms population health.

    My own recent study affirms these findings. It also concludes that the impact of civil service hiring on population health is surprisingly direct. All of this suggests more corruption and worse health as Trump tightens his control over the civil service.

    Democracy, too, matters for population health. In another study, we found that democracies have as much as 11 years of added life expectancy, and 75 per cent lower rates of infant mortality, compared to autocratic countries. For someone focused on cross-national differences in health, these were huge differences.

    Economic impacts

    Trump’s actions will soon affect American wallets as well if they haven’t already, as research on both civil service hiring and democratization would suggest.

    It’s not difficult to demonstrate the threat, which continues to evolve in real time. Tourism in the U.S. has taken a serious hit in recent weeks, with airline bookings from Canada down 70 per cent.



    Read more:
    Does cancelling a trip to the U.S. really send a political message, or is it just hurting local tourism?

    People from other countries first started boycotting American goods and services in response to Trump’s tariff campaign. In the meantime, Congress has done little to curtail the detainment of migrants without just cause, or their deportation to a Salvadorean mega-prison without due process. And now tourists are afraid to travel to the U.S.

    It is fair to say that both economic prosperity and population health require investment in the same government infrastructures that the Trump administration is now downsizing.

    Yet the damage does not stop at the border. Trump’s decisions will have ripple effects on global health. Programs focused on containing infectious disease in the developing world are bearing the brunt of huge cuts to USAID.

    Speed and volume

    Trump’s approach is not informed by any kind of economic expertise. He is shooting the American economy in both feet by waging a tariff war against other countries as he simultaneously decimates tourism and upends a low-cost workforce with his immigration policy.

    Americans who voted for him will not get the price control they were hoping for, with supply-chain disruptions coming quickly down the pipeline.

    Nor can Americans count on the court system to preserve democracy. This is for two reasons.

    First, Trump’s executive actions are happening far too quickly. He has had a record number of executive orders since taking office only three months ago. It may take months if not years for challenges to these decisions to work their way through courts.

    Second, courts will not necessarily rule on the side of democracy, as in the Supreme Court’s decision to assure legal immunity for Trump.

    None of this bodes well. According to one watchdog based in Sweden, the U.S. could lose its status as a democratic nation in just a few months — well before the midterm elections.

    CNN reports on President Trump’s statement that he doesn’t know if he needs to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

    Starting a movement

    All of this has one common denominator: Trump’s unhinged executive power. A decidedly meek U.S. Congress needs to wake from its stupor and constrain that power.

    But at the time of this writing, the House judiciary committee plans to slip provisions into a budget megabill that will grant Trump ever more sweeping power over regulations.

    One solution may be what we sociologists refer to as a social movement. This is where as many people as possible choose to act. Small interactions — like sharing an article with friends and family — can make a big difference, according to one prominent perspective in sociology.

    Other means are more direct, like joining a protest or writing to members of Congress. And then there are decisions about what not to do. Universities and law firms are encouraged not to participate in the fraying of American democracy by making a “deal” with the Trump administration.

    The take-home message is that the threat to American democracy is real and it is imminent. The impact on human health and well-being will be global. If the collapse of American democracy affects all of us, inside and outside of U.S. borders, then we can all agree to do something about it.

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

    – ref. The growing threat to U.S. democracy will literally cost lives – https://theconversation.com/the-growing-threat-to-u-s-democracy-will-literally-cost-lives-254170

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Even a capped, time-limited youth visa scheme would be of value to young people in the UK and EU

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Johanna L. Waters, Professor of Human Geography, UCL

    EF Stock/Shutterstock

    More than 60 Labour MPs have signed a letter calling on the government to support a youth mobility agreement with the EU.

    The letter called for a visa scheme that would be time limited and capped. This would be in line with other youth mobility agreements that the UK has with a number of countries and territories, including Australia and South Korea.

    Mobility would be for a defined period (such as three years), and the number of visas issued would be limited. The scheme would be aimed at young people in the UK and EU under 30 years old. This follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s promise to “reset” relations with the EU following his election in July 2024.

    At the upcoming EU-UK summit to be held in London on May 19 2025, opportunities for young people to travel between the UK and the EU will be a key part of negotiations between politicians.

    The European Commission have made no secret of their desire for such a scheme. They initially proposed a version of this in April 2024. Some EU countries, such as Germany, have spoken out in favour. Brexit has limited the ability of young people to spend time in the UK, with all the cultural, linguistic and other benefits potentially gained from this.

    The UK government’s enthusiasm has, in contrast, been more muted. They have a number of concerns, including immigration. Returning to any sort of free movement with the EU has been roundly rejected by politicians.

    Concerns over immigration

    Consecutive UK governments have been concerned with reducing net immigration, and international student visas contribute to these figures. Consequently, reducing numbers of incoming international students has been seen as a way of controlling immigration – to the dismay of bodies representing the UK’s higher education sector.

    But other countries, such as the US, exclude international students from immigration figures. Debates concerning removing international students from immigration numbers in the UK are ongoing. A poll commissioned by Universities UK found that only around a third of the British public viewed international students as migrants.

    As it stands, however, there are no plans to change the way international students are counted. Any new youth mobility agreement would presumably affect migration figures, but the direction is as yet unknown. And existing youth mobility schemes have had a relatively small impact on immigration numbers.

    Opportunities for young people

    As discussed in my forthcoming book (co-authored with Rachel Brooks) on student mobility after Brexit, young people in Britain have been particularly affected by changes in UK-EU relations.

    These have included their ability to study in Europe, as a consequence of the UK’s withdrawal from the Erasmus+ Programme – the EU’s initiative to support learning, work, sport and training in another EU country. The Republic of Ireland has allocated funding to allow students at universities in Northern Ireland to remain part of Erasmus+.

    At the moment, young Britons are treated no differently from any other potential immigrants to Europe, requiring a visa to study there for more than three months.

    UK citizens travelling to the EU now need a visa for stays of more than 90 days.
    Prostock-studio/Shutterstock

    The new Turing scheme has replaced Erasmus+ to fund study abroad for UK students. But it is far from a like-for-like replacement, is not reciprocal, and students and university staff have reported problems with securing visas in time.

    An agreement with the EU, enabling relatively stress-free travel for young people – albeit for a limited period of time – would be a significant benefit given the current situation.

    Young people from the EU now face similar regulations and restrictions when coming to the UK. A visa and “health surcharge” are now required for any stay over six months. International tuition fees must also be paid by EU citizens on UK degree courses. In addition, postgraduate students are no longer able to bring dependents.

    Consequently, fewer young people from Europe now choose the UK as a study destination. Recent figures show a significant drop in EU students coming to the UK – from 147,950 in 2019-20 to 75,490 in 2023-24. A resurgence in the number of EU students would probably be beneficial to UK universities, and the UK would, at the very least, appear more welcoming to young people from the EU.

    The re-election of Donald Trump as president of the US has ushered in new geopolitical realities. Relations between the US, UK and EU are shifting and uncertain, making a UK-EU deal in areas such as trade, security and education more important. The mobility of young people, as both learners and workers, is an important component of any negotiations on such a deal.

    Johanna L. Waters 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. Even a capped, time-limited youth visa scheme would be of value to young people in the UK and EU – https://theconversation.com/even-a-capped-time-limited-youth-visa-scheme-would-be-of-value-to-young-people-in-the-uk-and-eu-255267

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Indonesian postcard image ‘dangerous’ but Fiji a rising star in RSF press freedom index

    Pacific Media Watch

    To mark the release of the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) partnered with the agency The Good Company to launch a new awareness campaign that puts an ironic twist on the glossy advertising of the tourism industry.

    Three out of six countries featured in the exposé are from the Asia Pacific region — but none from the Pacific Islands.

    The campaign shines a stark light on the press freedom violations in countries that seem perfect on postcards but are highly dangerous for journalists, says RSF.

    It is a striking campaign raising awareness about repression.

    Fiji (44th out of 180 ranked nations) is lucky perhaps as three years ago when its draconian media law was still in place, it might have bracketed up there with the featured “chilling” tourism countries such as Indonesia (127) — which is rapped over its treatment of West Papua resistance and journalists.

    Disguised as attractive travel guides, the campaign’s visuals use a cynical, impactful rhetoric to highlight the harsh realities journalists face in destinations renowned for their tourist appeal.

    Along with Indonesia, Greece (89th), Cambodia (115), Egypt (170), Mexico (124) and the Philippines (116) are all visited by millions of tourists, yet they rank poorly in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, reports RSF.

    ‘Chilling narrative’
    “The attention-grabbing visuals juxtapose polished, enticing aesthetics with a chilling narrative of intimidation, censorship, violence, and even death.

    “This deliberately unsettling approach by RSF aims to shift the viewer’s perspective, showing what the dreamlike imagery conceals: journalists imprisoned, attacked, or murdered behind idyllic landscapes.”


    The RSF Index 2025 teaser.     Video: RSF

    Indonesia is in the Pacific spotlight because of its Melanesian Papuan provinces bordering Pacific Islands Forum member country Papua New Guinea.

    Despite outgoing President Joko Widodo’s 10 years in office and a reformist programme, his era has been marked by a series of broken promises, reports RSF.

    “The media oligarchy linked to political interests has grown stronger, leading to increased control over critical media and manipulation of information through online trolls, paid influencers, and partisan outlets,” says the Index report.

    “This climate has intensified self-censorship within media organisations and among journalists.

    “Since October 2024, Indonesia has been led by a new president, former general Prabowo Subianto — implicated in several human rights violation allegations — and by Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as vice-president.

    “Under this new administration, whose track record on press freedom offers little reassurance, concerns are mounting over the future of independent journalism.”

    Fiji leads in Pacific
    In the Pacific, Fiji has led the pack among island states by rising four places to 40th overall, making it the leading country in Oceania in 2025 in terms of press freedom.

    A quick summary of Oceania rankings in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index. Image: RSF/PMW

    Both Timor-Leste, which dropped 19 places to 39th after heading the region last year, and Samoa, which plunged 22 places to 44th, lost their impressive track record.

    Of the only other two countries in Oceania surveyed by RSF, Tonga rose one place to 46th and Papua New Guinea jumped 13 places to 78th, a surprising result given the controversy over its plans to regulate the media.

    RSF reports that the Fiji Media Association (FMA), which was often critical of the harassment of the media by the previous FijiFirst government, has since the repeal of the Media Act in 2023 “worked hard to restore independent journalism and public trust in the media”.

    In March 2024, research published in Journalism Practice journal found that sexual harassment of women journalists was widespread and needed to be addressed to protect media freedom and quality journalism.

    In Timor-Leste, “politicians regard the media with some mistrust, which has been evidenced in several proposed laws hostile to press freedom, including one in 2020 under which defaming representatives of the state or Catholic Church would have been punishable by up to three years in prison.

    “Journalists’ associations and the Press Council often criticise politicisation of the public broadcaster and news agency.”

    On the night of September 4, 2024, Timorese police arrested Antonieta Kartono Martins, a reporter for the news site Diligente Online, while covering a police operation to remove street vendors from a market in Dili, the capital. She was detained for several hours before being released.

    Samoan harassment
    Previously enjoying a good media freedom reputation, journalists and their families in Samoa were the target of online death threats, prompting the Samoan Alliance of Media Professionals for Development (SAMPOD) to condemn the harassment as “attacks on the fourth estate and democracy”.

    In Tonga, RSF reports that journalists are not worried about being in any physical danger when on the job, and they are relatively unaffected by the possibility of prosecution.

    “Nevertheless, self-censorship continues beneath the surface in a tight national community.”

    In Papua New Guinea, RSF reports journalists are faced with intimidation, direct threats, censorship, lawsuits and bribery attempts, “making it a dangerous profession”.

    “And direct interference often threatens the editorial freedom at leading media outlets. This was seen yet again at EMTV in February 2022, when the entire newsroom was fired after walking out” in protest over a management staffing decison.

    “There has been ongoing controversy since February 2023 concerning a draft law on media development backed by Communications Minister Timothy Masiu. In January 2024, a 14-day state of emergency was declared in the capital, Port Moresby, following unprecedented protests by police forces and prison wardens.”

    This impacted on government and media relations.

    Australia and New Zealand
    In Australia (29), the media market’s heavy concentration limits the diversity of voices represented in the news, while independent outlets struggle to find a sustainable economic model.

    While New Zealand (16) leads in the Asia Pacific region, it is also facing a similar situation to Australia with a narrowing of media plurality, closure or merging of many newspaper titles, and a major retrenchment of journalists in the country raising concerns about democracy.

    Pacific Media Watch collaborates with Reporters Without Borders.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How did sport become so popular? The ancient history of a modern obsession

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia

    Roman mosaics discovered in Sicily show women playing different sports. David Pineda Svenske/Shutterstock

    It’s almost impossible to go a day without seeing or hearing about sport.

    Walk around any city or town and you will almost always catch a glimpse of people playing sports in teams or participating solo.

    Turn on the TV or radio and you’ll be able to find some kind of sport being played at international or national level.

    Why do people love sport so much?

    To answer this question, it’s worth a dive back into ancient history.

    An ancient person’s perspective

    One of the most famous figures from the ancient world, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), once wrote that when he was a boy he was obsessed with playing sports:

    I liked to play ball as a boy and my playing slowed my progress in learning to read and write.

    The earliest portrait of Saint Augustine in a 6th century fresco, Lateran, Rome.
    Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    In fact, Saint Augustine was so preoccupied with playing ball that his teacher was said to sometimes beat him for it. His teacher said it was bad to waste one’s youth on such things – it’s better to study hard.

    Why was Saint Augustine obsessed with ball games? He loved to win:

    I loved to play games […] in these games I was overmastered by my vain desire to excel, so I used to strive to win, even by cheating.

    Plenty of people today probably share Saint Augustine’s view that winning is one of the things that make sport enjoyable.

    Of course, there are many other reasons why people might like to play sport.

    What sports did they play?

    If you walked down a city street in ancient Greek and Roman times, it’s likely you’d come across children or even adults playing a ball game.

    Handball games played in ancient Greece.
    Gardiner, E. Norman/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    The Roman playwright Plautus (3rd/2nd century BC) even has one of his characters complain about people “who play ball in the street”.

    Ball games were probably the most popular sporting activity in the ancient world and could be played in many different ways.

    In one ball game, called episkyros, two teams competed against each other. If one team got the ball over the line behind the other team, they scored. Feet and hands could be used and tackles were permitted.

    Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

    Of course, many other sports were also popular: athletics, swimming, wrestling, lifting weights and boxing were all favourites.

    Ancient ideas about the origins of sports

    For the ancient Greeks, the earliest mention of a ball game appears in the Odyssey, an epic poem composed by the poet Homer in probably the eighth or seventh century BC.

    In the Odyssey, Nausicaa, daughter of the King of the Phaeacians, plays a ball game with some other girls on the beach. While they throw the ball, they sing songs:

    Then when they had had their joy of food, she and her handmaids, they threw off their headgear and fell to playing at ball, and white-armed Nausicaa was leader in the song.

    During the game, Nausicaa throws the ball too far. Her maid can’t catch it and the ball flies into the sea. All the girls shout out when it goes flying.

    Already in the 3rd century BC, Nausicaa was sometimes regarded as the inventor of ball games. However, other people attributed the invention of ball games to different regions of Greece, saying the games were invented by the Sicyonians or Spartans.

    But it is unlikely any Greeks were the original inventors of ball games.

    In Egypt, thousands of years before Homer’s epics, there are already artistic depictions of ball games.

    For example, in the tomb of the Nomarch of the 11th Dynasty (c. 2150-2000 BC), Baqet III, there is artwork showing women playing ball games and men wrestling each other.

    Ancient ball games.
    J. Murray/Picryl, CC BY

    Baqet III, whose tomb contained these artistic depictions of various sports, was likely a true sports lover.

    Why did people like sports?

    People liked ball games for many different reasons.

    One was for the sheer fun and excitement. Another was because they were considered a healthy type of exercise.

    Ancient Greek and Roman doctors even told their patients to play ball games to become healthier.

    For example, the famous ancient Greek physician Galen (129-216 AD) wrote an essay titled On Exercise with a Small Ball.

    He argued “exercises with a small ball are superior to other kinds of exercises”.

    He claimed ball games were especially healthy because they moved all of the muscles and because teamwork was good for the soul.

    People in the ancient world also thought just watching sport could be something worth doing.

    The writer Lucian of Samosata (born 120 AD), for instance, said watching athletes competing for glory could help to encourage men to achieve similar feats: “many of the spectators go away in love with manfulness and hard work”, wrote Lucian.

    So it seems there’s nothing new about our modern love of playing and watching sports, and this obsession will probably continue for thousands of years into the future.

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

    – ref. How did sport become so popular? The ancient history of a modern obsession – https://theconversation.com/how-did-sport-become-so-popular-the-ancient-history-of-a-modern-obsession-254057

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: As Warren Buffett prepares to retire, does his investing philosophy have a future?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University

    Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old investing legend and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced plans to step down at the end of this year.

    His departure will mark the end of an era for value investing, an investment approach built on buying quality companies at reasonable prices and holding them for the long term.

    Buffett’s approach transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a small textile business in the 1960s into a giant conglomerate now worth more than US$1.1 trillion (A$1.7 trillion).

    He built his fortune backing US industry in energy and insurance and American brands, including big stakes in household names such as Coca-Cola, American Express and Apple.

    At Berkshire’s annual meeting at the weekend, held in an arena with thousands of devoted investors, Buffett named Greg Abel as his successor.

    Abel, 62, is currently chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, as well as vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s vast non-insurance operations.

    He’s known for his disciplined, no-nonsense management style. The company’s board has now voted unanimously to approve the move.

    This changing of the guard comes at a pivotal moment. Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency has already delivered significant economic policy shifts.

    Meanwhile, questions about US economic dominance grow louder against China’s continued rise.

    The ‘Oracle of Omaha’

    Few names command as much respect in the world of finance as Warren Buffett. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930, Buffett displayed an early genius for numbers and investing. He bought his first stock at age 11.

    His investment philosophy – buying undervalued companies with strong fundamentals – would later earn him the nickname the “Oracle of Omaha” for his uncanny ability to predict market trends and identify winning investments years before others did.

    Value investing

    Buffett drew his investment approach from the value investment principles of British-born US economist Benjamin Graham.

    He preferred businesses with lasting advantages and a clear value proposition. Some of his key investments included insurance company GEICO, railroad company BNSF, and more recently Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD.

    He avoided speculative bubbles (such as the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s and, more recently, cryptocurrencies) and preached long-term patience to investors. As he famously wrote in a 1988 letter to shareholders:

    In fact, when we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.

    Buffett’s guidance helped Berkshire navigate many economic booms and recessions. Over his six decades at the helm, the company delivered impressive compounded annual returns of almost 20% – virtually double those of the S&P 500 index.

    Beyond financial success, Buffett championed ethical business practices and pledged to donate more than 99% of his wealth through the Giving Pledge, which he cofounded with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.



    Read more:
    How Warren Buffett’s enormous charitable gifts reflect the ‘inner scorecard’ that has guided him up to the billionaire’s planned retirement

    Challenges to Buffett’s strategy in today’s world

    In an op-ed for the New York Times in 2008, Buffett famously shared the maxim that guides his investment decisions:

    Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.

    But his strategy thrived in an era of increasing globalisation, free trade, and US economic supremacy. The world has shifted since Buffett’s heyday.

    There are concerns about the recent underperformance of value investing. Technology companies now dominate older industries.

    This raises questions about whether those who succeed Buffett can spot the next major industry disruptors.

    America first?

    Trump’s return as US president heralds major changes in economic policy. Trade restrictions might hurt some of Berkshire’s international investments. However, these same policies might benefit Buffett’s US-focused investments.

    The idea of US economic superiority also faces new questions. China may overtake the US economy in the 2030s. The US share of global economic output has fallen from about 22% in 1980 to about 15% today.

    Buffett’s “never bet against America” mantra faces new scrutiny.

    Warren Buffett discusses trade deficits and protectionism on May 3.

    The challenges for Buffett’s successor

    Abel inherits a company with about US$348 billion (A$539 billion) in cash. That’s a serious amount of capital to deploy wisely amid global economic uncertainty and Trump’s trade war.

    Abel will likely maintain Berkshire’s core values while updating its approach. His challenges include:

    1. Maintaining the “Buffett premium”: Abel lacks Buffett’s cult-like following among investors, which may gradually erode the additional value the market assigns to Berkshire due to Buffett’s leadership.

      Without Buffett’s reputation, Abel may face increased pressure to effectively deploy Berkshire’s massive cash pile in a still-expensive stock market, where valuations are high and finding bargains is harder than ever.

    2. Technological adaptation: while Berkshire has increased its technology investments over the years (including positions in Apple and Amazon), balancing its legacy holdings (such as Coca-Cola and railroads) with growth sectors (AI, renewables) remains challenging.

    3. Environmental concerns: Berkshire Hathaway’s heavy reliance on coal and gas-fired utilities has drawn growing criticism as investors and regulators demand cleaner energy solutions.

    4. Replicating the “golden touch”: Buffett’s genius wasn’t just in picking stocks. It was also in capital allocation, deal-making, and crisis management (for example, buying into Goldman Sachs during the global financial crisis). Can Abel replicate that?

    After Buffett

    Buffett’s principles – patience, intrinsic value and betting on America – are timeless. But the world has moved on. His successor must navigate geopolitical risks, technological disruption, and the rise of passive investing while preserving Berkshire’s unique culture.

    The post-Buffett era represents more than just a leadership change. It’s a test of whether Buffett’s principles can survive in an increasingly short-term, technology-dominated, and geopolitically complex world.

    Abel’s leadership will reveal the enduring power – or limitations – of Buffett’s philosophy.

    Angel Zhong 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. As Warren Buffett prepares to retire, does his investing philosophy have a future? – https://theconversation.com/as-warren-buffett-prepares-to-retire-does-his-investing-philosophy-have-a-future-255867

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Valentin-Yves Mudimbe: the philosopher who reshaped how the world thinks about Africa

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Christophe Premat, Associate Professor in French Studies (cultural studies), head of the Centre for Canadian Studies, Stockholm University

    Valentin-Yves Mudimbe. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    Congolese thinker, philosopher and linguist Valentin-Yves Mudimbe died on 21 April 2025 at the age of 83. He was in the US, where he had lived for many years.

    A towering figure in African critical thought, Mudimbe’s work – translated and studied worldwide – has profoundly shaped postcolonial studies. He leaves a groundbreaking intellectual legacy on the colonisation of knowledge and the condition of Africans.

    At a time when debates on decolonising knowledge are gaining ground, Mudimbe’s passing invites us to revisit the work of a thinker who, since the 1980s, paved the way for a radical critique of imposed “categories”. He wanted to help rebuild intellectual frameworks which imagined and defined Africa on its own terms, not through the labels or categories imposed by colonial powers.

    As a specialist in postmodern and postcolonial theories, I think he had considerable influence on the field of postcolonial studies.

    He was one of the most influential African thinkers of the 20th century. His impact did not come from activism, but from careful, sustained intellectual work. With his seminal work The Invention of Africa (1988) he profoundly disrupted African and postcolonial studies. His work went far beyond the usual east-west divide.

    A journey between Africa and exile

    Valentin-Yves Mudimbe was born in 1941 in Jadotville (now Likasi), in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His early education took place in a Benedictine monastery. Later, he pursued further studies at Louvain in Belgium.

    His religious education left a lasting mark on his thinking. It shaped his critical approach to knowledge. His work often explored the connections between language, power, and how ideas become institutionalised.

    In 1970, Mudimbe returned to the newly independent Congo. He began teaching at the National University of Zaïre. The country was then caught between postcolonial hope and growing disillusionment.

    Under Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime, the political atmosphere grew stifling for independent thinkers. The state had adopted the rhetoric of “authenticity”, turning it into a tool of control. Faced with this ideological stranglehold, Mudimbe chose exile in 1979.

    He relocated to the US, where he taught at Stanford and later Duke University. There, he continued his work of critical deconstruction. Yet, despite his physical distance, he remained deeply committed to Africa’s future.

    Deconstructing the ‘colonial library’

    First published in English in 1988 as the The Invention of Africa, the book was translated into French in 2021 under the title L’Invention de l’Afrique, (Présence africaine).

    Mudimbe offers much more than a critique of colonial representations. He examined the “colonial library”. It refers to the vast collection of religious, anthropological and administrative texts that, for centuries, framed Africa as an object to be studied, dominated and “saved”. Mudimbe was always careful not to accept ideas just because they were passed down. Instead, he was always looking for new ways to think freely and independently.

    Unlike Edward Said, the Palestinian-American literary theorist and critic who exposed how the west constructed a mythologised “Orient”, Mudimbe revealed something more insidious. He showed that Africa was often imagined as a void to be filled. It was cast as a cultural blank slate, which helped justify the colonial mission.

    This radical deconstruction raised a crucial question: how can we produce knowledge that does not, even through critique, reproduce the very colonial frameworks it seeks to challenge?

    The book’s impact was profound, resonating across Africa, Europe and North America. It created an intellectual foundation for thinkers like Achille Mbembe, Souleymane Bachir Diagne and Felwine Sarr, who, in turn, continued to explore what truly decolonised African thought might look like.

    Building something new

    Mudimbe was never satisfied with existing structures. He aimed to build something new from the ground up. For him, liberating Africa required a rebuilding of knowledge systems. He rejected the assumption that western intellectual frameworks alone could define Africa. He also warned against essentialist temptations – the trap of creating new conceptual prisons in the name of authenticity.

    His thinking followed a rigorous method: analysing discourse, questioning inherited categories, and dismantling false assumptions.

    This demanding work aimed to empower Africa to think for itself without cutting itself off from the rest of the world.

    His fiction – Between Tides (in French, Entre les eaux. Dieu, un prêtre, la révolution), Before the Birth of the Moon (Le Bel Immonde in French), Shaba Deux : les carnets de mère Marie Gertrude – embodies the same refusal to be stereotyped.

    His characters navigate colonial legacies, state nationalism and rigid identity politics through stories of displacement and fragmented memory.

    Language itself becomes a battleground for creativity in his novels. Sharply crafted, his prose captures the diversity of contemporary African experience. Through both his literary and philosophical works, Mudimbe consistently insisted that identity is never a given. It is always a construct to be questioned.

    A living legacy

    As Africa navigates complex geopolitical transformations and redefines its cultural identities, Mudimbe’s intellectual legacy proves more vital than ever. His work challenges us to recognise that true liberation extends beyond political sovereignty or cultural revival. It requires the radical work of reinventing how knowledge itself is produced and validated.

    Mudimbe’s lasting legacy urges us to remain intellectually vigilant in a world where knowledge is constantly shifting. He challenges us to reject rigid categories, embrace complexity with care, and make room for uncertainty instead of rushing to resolve it.

    For Mudimbe, to decolonise knowledge means relentless critique paired with creative reconstruction. It means building pluralistic and open frameworks that honour Africa’s diverse experiences without nostalgia or complacency.

    Christophe Premat is a lecturer and researcher in Francophone cultural studies at the Department of Romance and Classical Studies at Stockholm University. In 2018, he published the book For a Critical Genealogy of the Francophonie, released by Stockholm University Press. He states that he worked at the French Institute of Sweden / French Embassy in Stockholm from 2008 to 2013, dealing, among other things, with issues related to the Francophonie. He is currently a member of CISE (Confédération Internationale Solidaire Écologiste), an association of French citizens abroad founded in 2018 (https://cise-francaisdeletranger.net/). He is the head of the Centre for Canadian Studies at Stockholm University.

    – ref. Valentin-Yves Mudimbe: the philosopher who reshaped how the world thinks about Africa – https://theconversation.com/valentin-yves-mudimbe-the-philosopher-who-reshaped-how-the-world-thinks-about-africa-255902

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Zelensky – not Trump – may have ‘won’ the US-Ukraine minerals deal

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Eve Warburton, Research Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, and Director, Indonesia Institute, Australian National University

    Last week, the Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine that gives it privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources.

    Some news outlets described the deal as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “caving” to US President Donald Trump’s demands.

    But we see the agreement as the result of clever bargaining on the part of Ukraine’s war-time president.

    So, what does the deal mean for Ukraine? And will this be help strengthen America’s mineral supply chains?

    Ukraine’s natural resource wealth

    Ukraine is home to 5% of the world’s critical mineral wealth, including 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as vital for defence, construction and high-tech manufacturing.

    However, there’s a big difference between resources (what’s in the ground) and reserves (what can be commercially exploited). Ukraine’s proven mineral reserves are limited.

    Further, Ukraine has an estimated mineral wealth of around US$14.8 trillion (A$23 trillion), but more than half of this is in territories currently occupied by Russia.

    What does the new deal mean for Ukraine?

    American support for overseas conflict is usually about securing US economic interests — often in the form of resource exploitation. From the Middle East to Asia, US interventions abroad have enabled access for American firms to other countries’ oil, gas and minerals.

    But the first iteration of the Ukraine mineral deal, which Zelensky rejected in February, had been an especially brazen resource grab by Trump’s government. It required Ukraine to cede sovereignty over its land and resources to one country (the US), in order to defend itself from attacks by another (Russia).

    These terms were highly exploitative of a country fighting against a years-long military occupation. In addition, they violated Ukraine’s constitution, which puts the ownership of Ukraine’s natural resources in the hands of the Ukrainian people. Were Zelensky to accept this, he would have faced a tremendous backlash from the public.

    In comparison, the new deal sounds like a strategic and (potentially) commercial win for Ukraine.

    First, this agreement is more just, and it’s aligned with Ukraine’s short- and medium-term interests. Zelenksy describes it as an “equal partnership” that will modernise Ukraine.

    Under the terms, Ukraine will set up a United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund for foreign investments into the country’s economy, which will be jointly governed by both countries.

    Ukraine will contribute 50% of the income from royalties and licenses to develop critical minerals, oil and gas reserves, while the US can make its contributions in-kind, such as through military assistance or technology transfers.

    Ukraine maintains ownership over its natural resources and state enterprises. And the licensing agreements will not require substantial changes to the country’s laws, or disrupt its future integration with Europe.

    Importantly, there is no mention of retroactive debts for the US military assistance already received by Ukraine. This would have created a dangerous precedent, allowing other nations to seek to claim similar debts from Ukraine.

    Finally, the deal also signals the Trump administration’s commitment to “a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine” – albeit, still without any security guarantees.

    Profits may be a long time coming

    Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration and conservative media in the US are framing the deal as a win.

    For too long, Trump argues, Ukraine has enjoyed US taxpayer-funded military assistance, and such assistance now has a price tag. The administration has described the deal to Americans as a profit-making endeavour that can recoup monies spent defending Ukrainian interests.

    But in reality, profits are a long way off.

    The terms of the agreement clearly state the fund’s investment will be directed at new resource projects. Existing operations and state-owned projects will fall outside the terms of the agreement.

    Mining projects typically work within long time frames. The move from exploration to production is a slow, high-risk and enormously expensive process. It can often take over a decade.

    Add to this complexity the fact that some experts are sceptical Ukraine even has enormously valuable reserves. And to bring any promising deposits to market will require major investments.

    What’s perhaps more important

    It’s possible, however, that profits are a secondary calculation for the US. Boxing out China is likely to be as – if not more – important.

    Like other Western nations, the US is desperate to diversify its critical mineral supply chains.

    China controls not just a large proportion of the world’s known rare earths deposits, it also has a monopoly on the processing of most critical minerals used in green energy and defence technologies.

    The US fears China will weaponise its market dominance against strategic rivals. This is why Western governments increasingly make mineral supply chain resilience central to their foreign policy and defence strategies.

    Given Beijing’s closeness to Moscow and their deepening cooperation on natural resources, the US-Ukraine deal may prevent Russia — and, by extension, China — from accessing Ukrainian minerals. The terms of the agreement are explicit: “states and persons who have acted adversely towards Ukraine must not benefit from its reconstruction”.

    Finally, the performance of “the deal” matters just as much to Trump. Getting Zelensky to sign on the dotted line is progress in itself, plays well to Trump’s base at home, and puts pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the table.

    So, the deal is a win for Zelensky because it gives the US a stake in an independent Ukraine. But even if Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves turn out to be less valuable than expected, it may not matter to Trump.

    Eve Warburton receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Westpac Scholars Trust.

    Olga Boichak is a director of the Foundation of Ukrainian Studies in Australia. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Westpac Scholars Trust.

    – ref. Why Zelensky – not Trump – may have ‘won’ the US-Ukraine minerals deal – https://theconversation.com/why-zelensky-not-trump-may-have-won-the-us-ukraine-minerals-deal-255875

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Cook Islands environment group calls on govt to condemn Trump’s seabed mining order

    By Losirene Lacanivalu, of the Cook Islands News

    A leading Cook Islands environmental lobby group is hoping that the Cook Islands government will speak out against the recent executive order from US President Donald Trump aimed at fast-tracking seabed mining.

    Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) says the arrogance of US president Trump to think that he could break international law by authorising deep seabed mining in international waters was “astounding”, and an action of a “bully”.

    Trump signed the America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources order late last month, directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to allow deep sea mining permits.

    The order states: “It is the policy of the US to advance United States leadership in seabed mineral development.”

    NOAA has been directed to, within 60 days, “expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.”

    It directs the US science and environmental agency to expedite permits for companies to mine the ocean floor in the US and international waters.

    In addition, a Canadian mining company — The Metals Company — has indicated that they have applied for a permit from Trump’s administration to start commercially mining in international waters.

    The mining company had been unsuccessful in gaining a commercial mining licence through the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

    ‘Arrogance of Trump’
    Te Ipukarea Society’s technical director Kelvin Passfield told Cook Islands News: “The arrogance of Donald Trump to think that he can break international law by authorising deep seabed mining in international waters is astounding.

    “The United States cannot pick and choose which aspects of the United Nations Law of the Sea it will follow, and which ones it will ignore. This is the action of a bully,” he said.

    “It is reckless and completely dismissive of the international rule of law. At the moment we have 169 countries, plus the European Union, all recognising international law under the International Seabed Authority.

    “For one country to start making new international rules for themselves is a dangerous notion, especially if it leads to other States thinking they too can also breach international law with no consequences,” he said.

    TIS president June Hosking said the fact that a part of the Pacific (CCZ) was carved up and shared between nations all over the world was yet another example of “blatantly disregarding or overriding indigenous rights”.

    “I can understand why something had to be done to protect the high seas from rogues having a ‘free for all’, but it should have been Pacific indigenous and first nations groups, within and bordering the Pacific, who decided what happened to the high seas.

    “That’s the first nations groups, not for example, the USA as it is today.”

    South American countries worried
    Hosking highlighted that at the March International Seabed Authority (ISA) assembly she attended it was obvious that South American countries were worried.

    “Many have called for a moratorium. Portugal rightly pointed out that we were all there, at great cost, just for a commercial activity. The delegate said, ‘We must ask ourselves how does this really benefit all of humankind?’

    Looking at The Metals Company’s interests to commercially mine in international waters, Hosking said, “I couldn’t help being annoyed that all this talk assumes mining will happen.

    “ISA was formed at a time when things were assumed about the deep sea e.g. it’s just a desert down there, nothing was known for sure, we didn’t speak of climate crisis, waste crisis and other crises now evident.

    “The ISA mandate is ‘to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from the harmful effects that may arise from deep seabed related activities.

    “We know much more (but still not enough) to consider that effective protection of the marine environment may require it to be declared a ‘no go zone’, to be left untouched for the good of humankind,” she added.

    Meanwhile, technical director Passfield also added, “The audacity of The Metals Company (TMC) to think they can flaunt international law in order to get an illegal mining licence from the United States to start seabed mining in international waters is a sad reflection of the morality of Gerard Barron and others in charge of TMC.

    ‘What stops other countries?’
    “If the USA is allowed to authorise mining in international waters under a domestic US law, what is stopping any other country in the world from enacting legislation and doing the same?”

    He said that while the Metals Company may be frustrated at the amount of time that the International Seabed Authority is taking to finalise mining rules for deep seabed mining, “we are sure they fully understand that this is for good reason. The potentially disastrous impacts of mining our deep ocean seabed need to be better understood, and this takes time.”

    He said that technology and infrastructure to mine is not in place yet.

    “We need to take as much time as we need to ensure that if mining proceeds, it does not cause serious damage to our ocean. Their attempts to rush the process are selfish, greedy, and driven purely by a desire to profit at any cost to the environment.

    “We hope that the Cook Islands Government speaks out against this abuse of international law by the United States.” Cook Islands News has reached out to the Office of the Prime Minister and Seabed Minerals Authority (SBMA) for comment.

    Republished from the Cook Islands News with permission.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Fiji media welcomes credible news services, but not ‘pop-up propagandists’, says Simpson

    By Anish Chand

    Entities and individuals that thrived under the previous government with public relations contracts now want to be part of the media or run media organisations, says Fiji Media Association (FMA) secretary Stanley Simpson.

    He made the comments yesterday while speaking at a World Press Freedom Day event hosted by the journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific.

    “We were attacked by fake accounts and a government-funded propaganda machine,” he said.

    “It is ironic that those who once spinned and attacked the media as irrelevant  — because they said no one reads or watches them anymore — now want to be part of the media or run media organisations.”

    “There are entities and individuals that thrived under the previous government with PR contracts while the media struggled and now want to come and join the hard-fought new media landscape.”

    Simpson said the Fijian media fraternity would welcome credible news services.

    “We have to be wary and careful of entities that pop up overnight and their real agendas.”

    “Particularly those previously involved with political propaganda.

    “And we are noticing a number of these sites seemingly working with political parties and players in pushing agendas and attacking the media and political opponents.”

    Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –