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Category: Global

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ceasefires like the one between Iran and Israel often fail – but an agreement with specific conditions is more likely to hold

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Donald Heflin, Executive Director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

    President Donald Trump speaks to reporters outside the White House on June 24, 2025, in Washington, less than 12 hours after announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Within hours of President Donald Trump unexpectedly announcing an upcoming ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23, 2025, both countries launched airstrikes against the other.

    “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f–k they’re doing,” an angry and frustrated Trump told reporters outside the White House on June 24.

    While Iran and Israel have tentatively agreed to the truce – and Trump reiterated on June 24 that the “ceasefire is in effect” – it is not clear whether this deal can hold. Some research shows that an estimated 80% of ceasefire deals worldwide fail.

    Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with former Ambassador Donald Heflin, an American career diplomat who serves as the executive director of the Edward R. Murrow Center at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, to understand how ceasefires typically work – and how the Israel-Iran deal stacks up against other agreements to end wars.

    An excavator removes debris from a residential building that was destroyed in Israel’s June 13, 2025, airstrike on Tehran, Iran.
    Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

    How do ceasefire deals typically happen?

    There are classes taught on how to negotiate ceasefires, but it is ad hoc with each situation.

    For example, in one scenario, one of the warring parties wants a ceasefire and has decided that the conflict isn’t going well. The second party might not want a ceasefire, but could agree that it is getting tired or the risks are too high, and agrees to work something out.

    The next scenario, which leads to more success, is when both parties want a ceasefire. They decide that the loss of life and money has gone too far for both sides. One of the parties approaches the other through intermediaries to say it wants a ceasefire, and the other warring party agrees.

    In a third situation – which is what we are seeing with the Iran-Israel deal – the outside world imposes a ceasefire. Trump likely told both Israel and Iran: Look, it’s enough. This is too dangerous for the rest of the world. We don’t care what you think. Time for a ceasefire.“

    The U.S. has done this in the Middle East before, like after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab countries led by Egypt and Syria. Israel was achieving big military victories, but the risk was pretty great for the world. The U.S. came in and said, “That’s enough, stop it now.” And it worked.

    Does the US bring the warring parties to a table in this kind of situation, or simply pressure the countries to stop fighting?

    It is more of the U.S. saying, “We are done.” When the U.S. does something like this, it is often going to have backup from the European Union and other countries like Qatar, saying, “The Americans are right. It is time for a ceasefire.”

    It appears that this Israel-Iran deal does not have specific conditions attached to it. Is that typical of a ceasefire deal?

    This deal doesn’t seem to have any specific details attached to it. Ceasefires work better when they have that. Lasting ceasefires need to address the concerns of the warring parties and give each side some of what it wants.

    For instance, in the Ukraine and Russia war, we have not seen either one of those countries push for a ceasefire. Part of the problem is Crimea and eastern Ukraine, sections of land in Ukraine that Russia has annexed and claims as its own. Russia would be happy with a deal that puts it in charge of Crimea and Ukraine, but Ukraine won’t agree to that. The question of who controls specific areas of land has to be addressed in this conflict; otherwise, the ceasefire isn’t going to last.

    Search and rescue efforts continue in a building in Beersheba, Israel, hit by a ballistic missile fired from Iran shortly before the ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump came into effect on June 24, 2025.
    Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    Who is responsible for ensuring that both sides uphold a ceasefire?

    Security guarantees are an important part of negotiating and maintaining long-term ceasefires. Big countries like the U.S. could say that if a warring party violates a ceasefire agreement, they are going to punish them.

    In the 1990s, the U.S. and Europe assured Ukraine that if it gave up its nuclear arsenal, the U.S. would defend Ukraine if Russia ever invaded it. Russia has invaded Ukraine twice since then, in 2014 and 2022. The U.S. gave a more substantial response in the form of sending weapons and other war materials to Ukraine after the 2022 invasion, but there have been no real consequences for Russia.

    That has created a problem for ceasefires in the future, because the U.S. didn’t deliver on its past security guarantees.

    The further away you get from Europe, the less interested the West is in wars. But in those kinds of disputes, United Nations and other international peacekeeping troops can be sent in. Sometimes, that can work brilliantly in one place, like with the example of international peacekeeping troops called the multilateral Observer Mission stationed between Israel and Egypt helping maintain peace between those countries. But you can copy it to another place and it just doesn’t work as well.

    How does this ceasefire fit within the history of other ceasefires?

    It’s too early to tell. What matters is how the details get fleshed out.

    Ideally, you can get representatives of the Israeli and Iranian governments to sit around a conference table to reach a detailed agreement. The Israelis might say, “We have got to have some kind of assurances that Iran is not going to use a nuclear weapon.” And the Iranians could say, “Assassinations of our military generals and scientists has got to stop.” That kind of conversation and agreement is what is missing, thus far, in this process.

    Why is it so common for ceasefire deals to fail?

    Some ceasefire deals don’t get to the underlying conditions of what really caused the problem and what made people start shooting this time around. If you don’t get to the core issues of a conflict, you are putting a Band-Aid on the situation. Putting a Band-Aid on someone when they are bleeding is a good move, but you ultimately might need more than that to stop the bleeding.

    The outside world might be pretty happy with a ceasefire deal that seems to stop the fighting, but if the details are not ironed out, the experts would say, “This isn’t going to last.”

    Donald Heflin 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. Ceasefires like the one between Iran and Israel often fail – but an agreement with specific conditions is more likely to hold – https://theconversation.com/ceasefires-like-the-one-between-iran-and-israel-often-fail-but-an-agreement-with-specific-conditions-is-more-likely-to-hold-259739

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: To make buy-now-pay-later fair for consumers, regulators need to understand why shoppers use it

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anita Lifen Zhao, Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Management, Swansea University

    fornStudio/Shutterstock

    Many consumers – especially gen Z and millennials – use buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) to split or defer payments. The types of purchases made with BNPL can range from groceries and takeaway deliveries to luxury items.

    Nearly 40% of regular BNPL users consider shopping a leisure activity. Easily accessing such credit could increase consumption in this group. It is, therefore, unsurprising that the UK BNPL market is projected to triple from 2021 levels by 2030.

    With timely repayments, this short-term credit option is free from interest and fees. As an unregulated service, BNPL requires minimal financial checks, ensuring that most purchases will be swiftly approved.

    A buyer can acquire items quickly without paying the full amount upfront – the BNPL provider pays the retailer for the goods and recoups the amount from the buyer through instalments.

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    So how do BNPL providers make their money? While they may charge customers late fees and account costs, their primary revenue comes from taking a percentage of each BNPL transaction from the retailer and a service fee. This business model is standard for payment services.

    But retailers often pay much more for BNPL transactions – sometimes three times more than traditional credit card processing. So to ensure they make a profit, BNPL providers deftly encourage consumers to shop with retailers that use their services.

    BNPL is a form of embedded finance – meaning that it seamlessly integrates payments into retailer sites. More than half of retailers are seeing better conversion (more people going on to buy after browsing) when they offer BNPL. This also allows many retailers to expand their market, as BNPL makes products accessible to more consumers.

    But there’s a catch. With higher BNPL fees, nearly one in three retailers pass these costs on to customers through higher product prices at the checkout. Consumers face higher prices, and yet BNPL promotes affordability.

    A marriage made in heaven?

    In this scenario, BNPL acts only as a credit product. But in reality it is more than that. Several providers have created shopping platforms promoting retailers and offering easy repayment management.

    This combination of easy funds, appealing shopping experiences and technology-enabled repayment distinguishes BNPL. Our research indicates that BNPL could reshape retail landscapes by weakening competition.

    Many BNPL providers offer user-friendly websites and apps, exceeding traditional financial service expectations and influencing key psychological determinants of BNPL use, such as viewing it as a way to save money or being psychologically distanced from the act of borrowing.

    As revealed in our most recent study, these platforms are visually appealing, highlight various brands and offer targeted discounts. BNPL is easy to navigate, expands budgets and provides access to credit to those who might otherwise struggle. While BNPL appears to democratise credit, its opaque nature can also present pitfalls.

    The package can promote consumer spending, debt and over-consumption. Consequently, there has been a rise in late fees. More than half of BNPL users have incurred a fee, one in three have missed a payment and three in four are at risk of needing debt advice. Others have borrowed to repay BNPL debt.

    BNPL options can make the buying process seamless.
    Tada Images/Shutterstock

    This escalates when consumers have multiple agreements across providers, complicating debt management. Many BNPL users feel vulnerable, weighing long-term savings against marketing that encourages spending. Their ability to manage this vulnerability affects their financial health, wellbeing and self-image.

    As concerns about BNPL debt rise, regulators in countries such as the UK are addressing its financial service aspects. However, they often overlook providers’ techniques for targeting consumers and supporting their shopping habits.

    Potential regulation focuses on financial attributes, including affordability checks, but neglects the technological mechanisms that keep customers using BNPL.

    Our research suggests that BNPL’s success rests on its effective use of technology, particularly artificial intelligence and its algorithms. They streamline the loan process, enable repayments to be tailored to each consumer, help shoppers find what they’re looking for and identify retailers, brands and products that a user might like. BNPL providers are technology-based retail platforms as much as financial institutions.

    BNPL in numbers

    To protect consumers, legislation like that proposed in the UK must address the technological heart of BNPL and the risks of algorithmic marketing when designing retail sites. These risks could include targeted retailer and product promotions that nudge buying behaviour, or building a customer’s reliance on delaying payments.

    Proposed regulation focuses on the individual credit agreement between a user and provider. This overlooks cumulative BNPL spending and its persistence. What’s needed is a holistic approach considering that consumers often enter multiple agreements at once. This affects shopping habits, budgeting and repayment behaviour.

    Only by addressing this will consumers be appropriately protected. But rethinking BNPL will also mean thinking again about who might be a vulnerable consumer. Traditional demographic factors fail to capture BNPL users’ psycho-social characteristics – things like materialism, impulsiveness and financial literacy. These are more influential than demographic markers on their usage and repayment behaviour.

    Regulators need to understand who is using BNPL and why. Only then will they appreciate BNPL’s full scope and market impact and be able to enable consumers to have a healthy relationship with credit.

    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. To make buy-now-pay-later fair for consumers, regulators need to understand why shoppers use it – https://theconversation.com/to-make-buy-now-pay-later-fair-for-consumers-regulators-need-to-understand-why-shoppers-use-it-259487

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How restoring river catchments can minimise drought and flood risks

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Neil Entwistle, Professor of River Science and Climate Resilience, University of Salford

    Elenitsa/Shutterstock

    As Britain’s first heatwave of 2025 hits with temperatures climbing above 30°C, Yorkshire has joined the northwest in official drought status.

    This spring has been the driest in the UK since 1893. May’s rainfall was 43% lower than the long-term average. Fish rescues have already taken place in Shropshire as rivers dried up. Low water levels have made it difficult for boats to navigate along some canals.

    Water companies in regions such as Hampshire, Yorkshire and Cumbria are encouraging residents to conserve water.

    Years of drainage, overgrazing and peatland degradation have turned much of the UK’s uplands into fast-draining systems. Rainfall that once infiltrated slowly now rushes off hillsides, filling rivers quickly, before vanishing just as fast.

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    Even after a year of exceptional rain and flooding, the soils and ecosystems that should be buffering us against drought are depleted. This recent spell of dry weather has exposed just how fragile the system has become.

    The UK government reconvened the national drought group – a coalition of its most senior decision-makers, Environment Agency, water companies, plus key farming and environmental groups – on June 5 to address growing concerns as reservoir levels which are at 77% of capacity nationally.

    Water availability remains under pressure across much of England. Sources in the northwest Pennines, Haweswater and Thirlmere in the Lake District, which supply much of the northwest, are currently at around 50% of capacity. Normally, they would be around 75% full. In Yorkshire, these water levels are currently around 60%.

    The reservoir at Anglezarke in Lancashire is drying out.
    Neil Entwistle, CC BY-NC-ND

    But landscapes can be restored in ways that reduce both flood risk and the effects of drought. At Smithills Estate near Bolton, the Mersey Forest (Cheshire and Merseyside’s community forest), conservation charity Woodland Trust and the Environment Agency have spent the last decade restoring 1,700 hectares of upland.

    They have blocked old drainage channels, rewetted peat bogs, planted trees, improved soil structure and adapted farming. These changes (often referred to as natural flood management) allow the land to hold water longer, slow its release, and sustain the flow of water in rivers during dry periods that can help water conservation and reduce the risk of floods.

    Restoring rivers

    We both grew up in the shadow of the moorlands around Rivington and Smithills in Bolton. We built our careers restoring rivers and their catchments and want to prevent “water-stressed” situations where water demand exceeds the available supply. We continue to study the implications and resilience of natural flood management here in the UK and overseas.

    At Smithills, restored bogs act like sponges, soaking up rain and releasing it gradually. Newly planted woodland supports biodiversity, encourages water infiltration and provides shade, which reduces evaporation. Natural flood management has slowed water down across the catchment, helping to reduce peak flows during storms by 27.3% and has boosted river flows during dry spells by storing and slowly releasing water by 27.1%.

    Tree trunks slow down the flow of water.
    Neil Entwistle, CC BY-NC-ND

    Tree trunks laid across the gullies have kept areas of Smithills wet throughout spring, creating valuable habitat and supporting water resilience in the landscape. We’re working with partners to monitor natural flood management benefits and expand restoration, while also exploring new questions.

    These include how the structures influence greenhouse gas emissions through wetting and drying cycles, affect sediment capture and storage, and how their function changes over time. This research is helping to shape how nature-based solutions are understood, valued and adopted more widely.

    Mitigation (tackling the root causes) and adaptation (adjusting systems and behaviours) to water stresses require landowners, water companies, local authorities, regulators, environmental groups and communities to work together to deliver shared outcomes.

    But this effort needs to be matched by an understanding that changes in how land is managed too. If the landscape continues to shed water rapidly, reservoirs will struggle to recover even when rain does arrive. We need to slow the flow of water and rejuvenate the lost natural processes at large scales through restoration.

    Farmers are grazing cattle on the heath.
    Neil Entwistle, CC BY-NC-ND

    The UK will face water shortages within the next decade unless urgent action is taken. The recent Independent Water Commission, set up by the UK government to recommend a major overhaul of the water sector’s planning, regulation and infrastructure, highlights the importance of nature-based solutions, such as restoring natural processes like river flow and wetland function, alongside natural capital investment.

    This involves putting money and resources into the protection, restoration or enhancement of nature, to secure long-term benefits such as clean air, water purification or flood protection.

    Nature-based solutions can be scaled up quickly, plus they benefit people and the environment. Local communities can also get involved in meaningful restoration work. At Smithills, volunteers plant trees and help monitor the benefits of natural flood management, including changes in water quality, water levels and biodiversity. Farmers are exploring regenerative grazing.

    Schools use the estate for environmental learning. This is not only about resilience – it is about reconnecting people with the natural landscapes that surround them.

    To avoid routine hosepipe bans, protect biodiversity and secure food and water supply into the future, land needs to be at the centre of the UK’s drought strategy. Restoring bogs, woodlands and soils is not a luxury. It is essential infrastructure in a changing climate.

    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.

    Neil Entwistle has received previous funding from British Council, Universities UK, NERC for work related to river restoration and climate resilience. He also works for a boutique fund manager, to fund and deploy solutions to some of the most pressing Nature-related challenges our economy faces today.

    Neil Macdonald receives funding from DEFRA through the Natural Flood Management Programme (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/natural-flood-management-programme).

    – ref. How restoring river catchments can minimise drought and flood risks – https://theconversation.com/how-restoring-river-catchments-can-minimise-drought-and-flood-risks-258840

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK plan to cut energy bills for industrial firms threatens to leave small businesses out in the cold

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Hampton, Researcher, Environmental Geography, University of Oxford

    The UK government aims to cut energy bills for large businesses by up to a quarter over four years, thanks to a £2 billion investment within its new industrial strategy. The aim is to make British manufacturers of steel, cars, chemicals, glass and other industrial sectors more competitive with foreign firms.

    UK businesses pay some of the highest energy prices in Europe. Under the new scheme, roughly 7,000 energy-intensive businesses will be exempt from paying green levies on their electricity bills. These levies raise funds to support the deployment of renewable energy and to enact energy-efficiency measures like the insulation of low-income households.

    The exemption should make it a bit easier for British companies to switch from fossil fuels to electricity by making the latter cheaper – an important step in the decarbonisation of the economy to tackle climate change. And it may lower costs enough to bring them within orbit of prices paid elsewhere in Europe.

    However, heavy industry in the UK is already largely shielded from many of the levies applied to the average energy bill. The British Industry Supercharger scheme, which since April 2024 has exempted energy-intensive industries from renewable energy policy costs and provided discounted network charges, is set to save British manufacturers between £320 million and £410 million in 2025 alone.

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    The supercharger scheme fully exempts eligible firms from paying several costs linked to encouraging renewable energy investment and production. Industrial energy users covered under this scheme also enjoy a 60% reduction in network charges, compared with businesses outside the scheme.

    The government’s new “modern industrial strategy” sets out plans to raise this discount to 90% from 2026.

    Modelling conducted before the government’s announcement suggested that, if the major green levies on electricity were removed, average non-domestic electricity bills could fall by around 15%.

    While significant, this reduction is unlikely to fully resolve the competitiveness challenges facing most businesses, as even discounted energy prices would remain high by international standards.

    There are other limitations with the strategy. To start, more could be done to encourage firms to switch from fossil fuels to electricity by not just cutting electricity levies but shifting some onto gas bills.

    The cost of expanding and upgrading the grid to support more electrification and renewables is another concern. These investments in power lines and wind farms will be essential, but they won’t come cheap. Reducing the contribution made by big businesses to these costs means the burden for these essential upgrades will fall on smaller businesses and households.

    There are several options for addressing these challenges, however. One is to make energy demand more flexible, by financially incentivising businesses to use electricity when its supply from renewable sources is generally greater.

    Another way to cut network costs for businesses is to offer grid connection arrangements with a less secure electricity supply. These arrangements include allowing the network operator to reduce maximum capacity during times of grid congestion, and sharing a connection with several other businesses.

    Most importantly, the UK needs to move away from a system where the cost of gas sets the price of electricity most of the time, even though less than half of the country’s electricity now comes from gas. This can be achieved by expanding renewable energy storage (in the form of grid-scale batteries for example), so that grid operators are less reliant on gas power plants to fill gaps in electricity supply from wind and solar.

    Reform to Britain’s energy market and its pricing structure would make a real difference too, though this will also require significant investment in grid infrastructure and careful regulatory change.



    Read more:
    How gas keeps the UK’s electricity bills so high – despite lots of cheap wind power

    No relief for smaller businesses

    While the government’s priority is energy savings for larger businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically pay the highest rates for their energy. This is even despite most smaller firms being exempt from green levies.

    Energy-intensive sectors, such as hospitality and retail, remain highly vulnerable to energy costs. Average non-domestic electricity prices increased by over 75% between 2021 and 2024, while gas prices more than doubled. This has contributed to a surge in business failures: in June 2024, company insolvencies were 17% higher than a year earlier, reaching the third highest monthly total since 2000.

    Unfortunately, support for SMEs is heading in the wrong direction. Having funded a pilot energy advice service in the West Midlands, the government’s June spending review did not include funding to expand support for energy efficiency or renewable installations to SMEs nationwide. This leaves millions of smaller businesses exposed to high energy prices, without help to cut costs or emissions.

    The government’s new strategy may help some of the UK’s largest manufacturers compete internationally. But without targeted support for smaller firms, the benefits could be unevenly shared. The UK’s wider economy will continue to struggle with high energy costs and business failures as a result.

    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.

    Sam Hampton receives funding from the Economics and Social Research Council.

    Jan Rosenow is affiliated with the Regulatory Assistance Project.

    – ref. UK plan to cut energy bills for industrial firms threatens to leave small businesses out in the cold – https://theconversation.com/uk-plan-to-cut-energy-bills-for-industrial-firms-threatens-to-leave-small-businesses-out-in-the-cold-259707

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Brazil’s dangerous flirtation with counterterrorism

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Fitzgerald, Associate Professor of Terrorism Studies, Dublin City University

    American pop star Lady Gaga delivered a free concert to over 2.1 million revellers on Copacabana beach in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in May. Those attuned to security concerns saw a policing and public safety nightmare.

    And shortly after the concert, Rio de Janeiro’s civil police secretary, Felipe Curi, announced that the worst realisation of this nightmare had almost come to pass. An improvised bomb attack targeting fans had been thwarted thanks to police intelligence.

    A loose group of conspirators from across Brazil, gelled across chat apps and other social media by anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, planned to murder civilians. The intention was to send a political message about resisting what they see as “indecency” and “social decadence”.

    Given the setting, volume of media coverage and possibility of a panicked stampede, Brazil had surely avoided the worst terrorist attack in its history.

    For an attack to qualify as “terrorism”, it must be carried out for explicitly political purposes – motives akin to reshaping society violently or agitating for self-determination through force.

    Yet, a month after the thwarted Copacabana attack, the main conversation about terrorism in Brazil is focused on mistaken efforts to label criminal groups as terrorists.

    In late May, Brazil’s Congress fast tracked a bill that would broaden the definition of terrorism to include the actions of criminal organisations and militias. This is on the basis that their routine practices of “imposing territorial control” are designed to spread “social or widespread terror”. The bill is overly vague and extremely dangerous.

    Brazilian organised crime

    Equating organised crime and the violence it produces with “terrorism” is somewhat understandable. Organised gangs in Brazil, such as Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), control vast expanses of territory, and civilians ultimately pay the price.

    However, as endemic as organised crime is in Brazil, these groups strive for self-enrichment. Their violence is used solely to either protect or enhance this goal. Neither CV nor PCC have any political motive that would qualify their actions as terrorism.

    The government already has legal ways to deal with criminal groups, but it has been hard to achieve lasting, positive results using these methods.

    Should the actions of criminal organisations be reclassified as terrorism, a new suite of measures will become available to the state’s repressive apparatus. This will be true for the current government and future administrations.

    New measures to fight terrorism are practically guaranteed to erode democratic and procedural norms. Armed with a remit to eradicate terrorism, states have repeatedly shown that they exacerbate the very cycles of violence they aim to erase.

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    French-Algerian philosopher Jacques Derrida identified the essence of this dilemma in 2003. In an interview reflecting on the 9/11 attacks on the US, Derrida said that the primary threat of terrorism was not just in the violence itself, but in how societies respond to it.

    The US’s disastrous “war on terror”, for example, led to a consequential wave of violence worldwide. It is estimated to have killed over 500,000 civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And western countries that joined the fray have suffered jihadist attacks in return.

    Governments also adopted new measures to deal with security issues inside their own countries. Potential terrorists were apprehended through surveillance, with the new goal of counterterrorism being to intervene before violence is able to occur.

    States of emergency, which significantly curtail civil liberties, were routinely imposed in the aftermath of high-profile terrorist attacks. This included a state of emergency after the November 2015 attacks in Paris that gave the authorities power to search any premises without judicial oversight.

    The implementation of this logic continues today. At the time of writing, denunciations of Israel’s assault on Gaza continue to be spuriously tied to support for “terrorism”.

    Hamas is a terrorist organisation. But that should not see Palestinian civilians – nor supporters of their rights – labelled as potential terrorists. Yet student protesters in the US have been threatened with deportation, financial ruin and even imprisonment.

    The term “terrorism” contains within it a power to dress state repression as a proportionate response to emergency. In El Salvador, we have seen how counterterrorism is being applied as an emergency means to solve the country’s organised crime problem.

    Nayib Bukele’s government has sent countless criminals to the Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison in Tecoluca. It has also condemned many innocent civilians to a parallel fate, with little-to-no chance of redress or due process.

    The tragic consequences of state crackdowns against those spuriously labelled as “terrorists” lingers in the historical memory of Brazil. This new bill moves to the Senate at a time of renewed culturing reckoning with the consequences of Brazil’s repressive campaigns under the military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985.

    Brazil should recognise its fortune in never having truly adopted the discourse of the war on terror. Now, it should not adopt an evolved discourse of counterterrorism to address the very serious – but very separate – problem of organised crime.

    In the name of order and progress, and with an eye towards civilians who would ultimately pay the price, this bill cannot be allowed to become law.

    James Fitzgerald 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. Brazil’s dangerous flirtation with counterterrorism – https://theconversation.com/brazils-dangerous-flirtation-with-counterterrorism-258347

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: New industrial strategy brings Rachel Reeves’ securonomics to life – but will it protect Britain from more supply chain shocks?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Phil Tomlinson, Professor of Industrial Strategy, Co-Director Centre for Governance, Regulation and Industrial Strategy (CGR&IS), University of Bath

    Peter Titmuss/Shutterstock

    Brexit, COVID, the war in Ukraine and now Trump’s tariffs have all highlighted how vulnerable life in the UK is to disruptions in trade. Everyday items that people rely on can be subject to major shortages, delays and price rises, due to something as simple as a ship getting stuck in a canal.

    This is because the UK is hugely reliant on other countries to provide much of what it needs. Medical supplies, cars, electronics and fruit are just a few of Britain’s favourite things that it tends to buy in from elsewhere.

    Global supply chains deliver lower prices and wider choice to consumers but they are also often highly complex. In the car industry for example, components may move within and between companies and cross national boundaries many times, before ending up in the final assembled vehicle. This can make them vulnerable.

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    In response to the disruption of recent years, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has long been arguing for what she calls “securonomics” – investing in domestic energy sources and resilient networks. So perhaps it was no surprise that the British government’s new industrial strategy plans emphasise the importance of supply chain security.

    A new industrial competitiveness scheme for example, is designed to cut energy costs for the UK’s most energy intensive firms, which manufacture things like steel, ceramics and glass. This should help domestic supply capacity.



    Read more:
    UK plan to cut energy bills for industrial firms threatens to leave small businesses out in the cold

    A reported £600 million has also been allocated to develop the UK’s logistics industry. And there is a proposal for a “national supply chain centre” to identify weaknesses, enhance domestic capability and build strategic international partnerships. Vulnerabilities and dependencies will also be more closely monitored.

    Another focus will be to diversify critical supply chains by reducing the UK’s dependence on single supplier nations (such as China for rare earth elements or semiconductors). One option should be strengthening alliances with friendly nations (known as “friendshoring”) with the aim of embedding supply chains in places that can be relied upon.

    The recently announced trade deals with the US and India, and signs of greater cooperation with the EU do offer some promise in this area. Trade deals help with supply chain cooperation, but could go further and include resilience initiatives (such as creating joint stockpiles of things like critical minerals) to reduce disruption in the future.

    An increased supply of cyber security.
    metamorworks/Shutterstock

    Manufacturing from home

    On the domestic front, the UK could still do more to incentivise “reshoring” (bringing some manufacturing or production of goods back to the UK). Reversing decades of decline in these sectors would be challenging, and require a long-term investment in domestic capacity and skills. But it could also deliver a boost to jobs and growth, potentially in parts of the UK which need it most.

    Given recent geopolitics, the government has also prioritised strengthening the defence supply chain, allocating £173 million of new funding on defence infrastructure and skills. Developments are are at an early stage, but the recent UK-EU security and defence partnership is a welcome start. And more work will be needed to make UK-EU collaboration on building a resilient defence industry across Europe a reality.

    Supply chains within that industry (and others, such as healthcare) can be vulnerable to cyberattacks and economic coercion from malicious groups and hostile foreign states. So enhancing cybersecurity in logistics and infrastructure will also be critical.

    This will mean better protection for ports, customs systems and logistics software. There is some limited additional funding on offer for this, but more will be required, which in turn will open up new opportunities for firms in the cyber industry. Indeed, a “cyber cluster” of businesses is already emerging in central England from the government defence and technology campus at Porton Down in Wiltshire across to GCHQ – the national centre for intelligence and security – in Gloucestershire.

    But with still much to do, overall Reeves has been right to stress the importance of supply chains. They are crucial to people’s jobs and homes, the medicines they need and the food they eat. And supply chain security is not just an economic issue. It is a strategic imperative for safeguarding the UK, its businesses and the welfare of its citizens.

    The tone of the new industrial strategy reflects Reeves’s “securonomics” rhetoric. But how far this goes in actually strengthening supply chains and boosting their resilience remains open to question, especially in the context of limited resources and a chancellor keen to build a reputation for fiscal prudence.

    Phil Tomlinson receives funding from the Innovation and Research Caucus (IRC).

    David Bailey receives funding from the ESRC’s UK in a Changing Europe programme.

    Paddy Bradley is affiliated with the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise based at Newcastle University.
    He is Chair of TransWilts Community Interest Company which aims to increase public use of trains and buses in the Wiltshire area.
    He is Chair of Governors of Wiltshire College and University Centre.

    – ref. New industrial strategy brings Rachel Reeves’ securonomics to life – but will it protect Britain from more supply chain shocks? – https://theconversation.com/new-industrial-strategy-brings-rachel-reeves-securonomics-to-life-but-will-it-protect-britain-from-more-supply-chain-shocks-258410

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US attack on Iran lacks legal justification and could lead to more nuclear proliferation

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David Hastings Dunn, Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham

    After a stern warning from Donald Trump, Israel and Iran appear finally to be observing a US-brokered ceasefire announced by Donald Trump overnight on June 23. But just as it remains unclear what the state of the conflict is, many other uncertainties remain when it comes to the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

    We still don’t know the extent to which Iran’s stock of enriched uranium and the capability to use it have been destroyed. But leaving aside such practical considerations, the US bombing raid also constituted an attack on the prevailing international legal order.

    In some ways, the US actions echo the 1981 Israeli strike on Osirak when the Israeli Air Force attacked and partially destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor, killing ten Iraqi soldiers and one French technician.

    However, the US attack can be seen as more serious because it has been launched in a far more fragile and geopolitical environment. Moreover, the state violating the legal rules is the erstwhile guardian of the legal order –– the USA.

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    The attacks appear to be the logical follow through of Trump’s withdrawal from the joint comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) in 2018. This was the Obama-era agreement that significantly limited Iran’s enrichment of nuclear material. For Trump, that negotiated deal was imperfect, as it relied on ongoing Iranian restraint. His decision to unleash US bombers was designed to end the nascent Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.

    But such unilateral actions rarely result in such black and white results. And this situation shows every indication of being no different. It is for this reason that negotiated solutions and agreed legal frameworks are generally regarded as better long-term solutions than military force.

    A significant inhibition on the use of force to remove nuclear threats has been its lack of justification under international law. When the administration of George W Bush decided to launch its invasion of Iraq in 2003, the US, UK and Australian governments that spearheaded the invasion relied on the express legal justification that Iraq was already in breach of existing UN security council resolutions that required it to be disarmed of all weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

    For his part, Trump relied on the argument that Iran’s nuclear facilities already posed an imminent threat to US security. This argument had been undermined by none other than Trump’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, just weeks previously.

    Gabbard testified before Congress in March that the US “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons programme he suspended in 2003”.

    Tulsi Gabbard delivers the annual threat assessment in March 2025.

    Trump, who has a habit of ignoring his intelligence community, dismissed Gabbard’s assessment saying, “I don’t care what she said. I think they’re very close to having it”.

    No legal justification

    One thing that is striking about the June 22 US bombing campaign is the cursory attention given to any substantive legal justification. It’s a distinct contrast to Bush’s attempts – however much this strained the law to breaking point – to justify his 2003 use of force.

    The US ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Camille Shea, made only the most limited of references to the legality of the action in her speech to the UN security council a day after the US strikes.

    George W Bush’s ‘Mission accomplished’ speech.

    In our book Drones, Force, and Law we demonstrate how the defining mark of an international society is that states recognise the need to give an account of their behaviour in terms of the accepted legal rules.

    Even when policymakers know that they are breaking established interpretations of the law, they rarely admit this publicly. They seek to offer a legal justification – however strained and implausible – that is in conformity with the rules.

    If a state openly admitted that it was violating the law, giving a justification for its conduct only in terms of that state’s values and beliefs, then it would be treating others with contempt. It would, to quote the respected Australian international relations theorist, Hedley Bull, “place in jeopardy all the settled expectations that states have about one another’s behaviour”.

    This is exactly what Trump is doing by not seeking to expressly justify the US’ use of force in legal terms. This invites others to mount a broader assault on international law itself as something that is both fragile and hypocritical in the hands of the powerful.

    Unintended consequences

    The US has justified its attack as aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. But a perverse consequence of the attack is that it is likely to further erode the norm against proliferation. There are two key arguments here.

    The first is that all three Iranian facilities attacked were, before Israel initially attacked Iran on June 12, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. So, by attacking these installations, the US – like Israel four decades ago with its attack against Osirak – was signalling that it had no confidence in the multilateral mechanisms of non-proliferation. It was essentially saying that it has to rely on unilateral action.

    The second consequence is that a strike aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may instead push it – and others – to accelerate weaponisation efforts. These US attacks may confirm for many the earlier lessons from Iraq, as well as subsequently in Libya and Ukraine. States without nuclear weapons are vulnerable to regime change or military action.

    If this is the lesson that is drawn by those who live in dangerous neighbourhoods and who are increasingly worried about their security, then the US action could serve as a further spur to nuclear proliferation.

    Trump has shown a worrying propensity to ignore legal constraints on his power both domestically and internationally. This action, less than six months into his administration, is an alarming harbinger of his contempt for the internationally agreed legal rules restricting the use of force.

    David Hastings Dunn has previously received funding from the ESRC, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Open Democracy Foundation and has previously been both a NATO and a Fulbright Fellow.

    Nicholas Wheeler has formally received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and the Open Society Foundations.

    – ref. US attack on Iran lacks legal justification and could lead to more nuclear proliferation – https://theconversation.com/us-attack-on-iran-lacks-legal-justification-and-could-lead-to-more-nuclear-proliferation-259638

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is your cat vocal or quiet? The explanation could be in their genes

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Grace Carroll, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast

    savitskaya iryna/Shutterstock

    If you’ve ever shared your home with more than one cat, you’ll know how different their personalities can be. One might chirp for food, purr loudly on your lap and greet visitors at the door. Another might prefer quiet observation from a distance.

    So why do some cats become chatty companions while others seem more reserved?

    A recent study led by wildlife researcher Yume Okamoto and their colleagues at Kyoto University suggests that part of the answer may lie in cat genes.

    Cat owners from across Japan were asked to complete a questionnaire about their cat (the Feline Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire), and to take a cheek swab from their pet to provide a DNA sample. The survey included questions about a range of cat behaviour, including purring and vocalisations directed at people.

    The researchers in the recent Japanese study focused on the cats’ androgen receptor (AR) gene, located on the X chromosome. This gene helps regulate the body’s response to hormones such as testosterone and contains a section where a DNA sequence is repeated. AR is an essential part of vertebrate biology.

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    The most ancient form of AR appeared in the common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates, over 450 million years ago. AR controls the formation of male reproductive organs, secondary sexual characteristics and reproductive behaviour. The number of these sequences alters how responsive the gene is. Shorter repeats make the receptor more sensitive to androgens. In other species, including humans and dogs, shorter repeats in the AR gene have been linked with increased aggression and extraversion.

    Among 280 spayed or neutered cats, those with the short AR gene variant purred more often. Males with the variant also scored higher for directed vocalisations such as meowing to be fed or let out. Females with the same genotype, however, were more aggressive towards strangers. Meanwhile, cats with the longer, less active version of the gene tended to be quieter. This variant was more common in pedigree breeds, which are typically bred for docility.

    Could you resist this kitten’s meowing?
    digidreamgrafix/Shutterstock

    Domestication is generally thought to have increased vocal behaviour in cats, so it may seem odd that the version of the gene linked to increased communication and assertiveness is the one also found in wild species such as lynx.

    But this study doesn’t tell a straightforward narrative about how cat domestication selects for sociable traits. Instead, it points to a more complex picture. One where certain ancestral traits like aggression may still be useful, especially in high-stress or resource-scarce domestic environments.

    Some animals spend a lot of time around humans because they are attracted by our resources rather than bred as companion animals or farmed. Urban gulls offer an interesting example of how close proximity to humans doesn’t always make animals more docile. In cities, herring and lesser black-backed gulls (both often referred to as seagulls) have become bolder and more aggressive.

    Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University found that urban gulls were less fearful of humans and more prone to squabbling compared to their rural counterparts. In urban areas, where food is highly contested, being assertive gets results. Gulls are often vilified in the UK press during breeding season as urban villains, swooping down to snatch your lunch or chase pedestrians. This suggests that life alongside humans can sometimes favour more confrontational behaviour.

    The parallels with cats raise broader questions about how environment and genes shape behaviour. Okamoto and colleagues’ findings may reflect a trade-off. Traits linked to the short AR variant, such as greater vocalisation or assertiveness, might offer advantages in gaining human attention in uncertain or competitive settings. But these same traits may also manifest as aggression, suggesting that domestication can produce a mix of desirable and challenging traits.

    It’s worth bearing in mind that this kind of variation between individuals is fundamental to the evolution of species. Without variation in behaviour, species would struggle to adapt to changing environments. For cats, this means there may be no single ideal temperament, but rather a range of traits that prove useful under different domestic conditions.

    From cats to gulls, life alongside humans doesn’t always produce gentler animals. Sometimes, a little pushiness pays off.

    Grace Carroll 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. Is your cat vocal or quiet? The explanation could be in their genes – https://theconversation.com/is-your-cat-vocal-or-quiet-the-explanation-could-be-in-their-genes-259402

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: A border conflict may cost the Thai prime minister her job

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Petra Alderman, Manager of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science

    The fate of Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is hanging in the balance after only ten months in office. A recent flare-up in a historical border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand could become her ultimate undoing.

    Paetongtarn has been criticised for her handling of the conflict after tensions escalated in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a fire exchange with Thai troops.

    One of Paetongtarn’s sore points is the longstanding close relationship between her father Thaksin Shinawatra and the former Cambodian prime minister and current president of the Senate, Hun Sen.

    Thaksin spent 15 years in self-imposed exile after he was ousted as Thailand’s prime minister in a 2006 military coup. Hun Sen enabled Thaksin to use Cambodia as a frequent base for meeting political allies during his exile. He even named Thaksin his special advisor.

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    Following Thaksin’s return to Thailand in August 2023, after which he spent six months in detention, Hun Sen visited Thaksin within days of his release on parole. This further buttressed the relationship between the two.

    Conservative Thais have used this closeness to criticise Paetongtarn and her government for being “too soft” in their dealings with Cambodia. But things turned particularly ugly on June 18 when an audio recording of Paetongtarn’s 17-minute phone call with Hun Sen was leaked via his official Facebook page.

    In the recording, Paetongtarn refers to Hun Sen in familial terms as “uncle” and offers to “take care of” anything he might want in exchange for a peaceful resolution to the border conflict.

    She also disparages a senior Thai army general, Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, who oversees the border region. This is a dangerous move in a country where the military has considerable political clout and a history of successful military interventions against the Shinawatras.

    The leak has had a chilling effect on the close personal relations between the Shinawatras and Hun Sen. Its domestic effects have also been nothing short of disastrous for Paetongtarn.

    It came at a time of deteriorating relations between Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party and Bhumjaithai, its largest coalition partner. Bhumjaithai used the leaked audio recording to exit the ruling coalition on June 18, leaving Paetongtarn with a slim governing majority amid a major political crisis.

    She is now facing a string of popular protests from across the political spectrum and mounting calls by the opposition to resign.

    Paetongtarn has issued a public apology and arranged a call with Boonsin to explain her conversation with Hun Sen. On June 20, she also made a hasty trip to the border area to appear alongside Boonsin in a show of unity.

    But none of these actions are likely to repair the damage. Paetongtarn now has three options.

    Paetongtarn’s three options

    Her first option is to dig in and continue as prime minister, a path she seems to have settled on for now. This won’t guarantee her long-term survival. Her coalition, which has been cobbled together on the back of political necessity and controversial dealmaking rather than loyalty and shared policy agendas, is still fragile.

    In the wake of Bhumjaithai’s exit, other coalition partners held internal party meetings to discuss whether to follow suit or continue to stick with the embattled prime minister. For now, all remaining coalition partners have pledged their support, probably in exchange for some of the cabinet positions left vacant by Bhumjaithai.

    The current cabinet reshuffle, due to be unveiled by June 27, might paper over the coalition cracks. But it won’t resolve all problems. At least three MPs from the Democrat party, Pheu Thai’s third-largest coalition partner, have signalled they would resign should their party stick with Paentongtarn.

    Pheu Thai’s new largest coalition partner, the ultra-conservative United Thai Nation (UTN) party, might also cause further trouble.

    The party was initially set to push for Paentongtarn’s resignation in exchange for preserving the coalition arrangements. This ultimately did not happen, but Paetongtarn cannot rest on her laurels. UTN is internally fractured, and one faction’s exit could destabilise the entire government.

    Even if Paetongtarn manages to keep the coalition together, she could still be brought down by legal means. Several Bhumjaithai-aligned senators have lodged respective petitions with the Constitutional Court and the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate Paetongtarn for ethical misconduct.

    This could lead to her impeachment and eventual dismissal, as in the case of her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin. Other legal challenges are also mounting.

    And then there is always the possibility of another coup. The military brought down the governments of Paetongtarn’s father and later her aunt Yingluck in 2014.

    Paetongtarn’s second option is to resign, making way for parliament to select a new prime minister. The selection would have to be made from a list of prime ministerial candidates submitted to the Election Commission before the 2023 election.

    Pheu Thai originally fielded three prime ministerial candidates, the maximum number permitted by law. With Srettha and Paetongtarn out of the game, Chaikasem Nitisiri would be Pheu Thai’s only prime ministerial option.

    However, Chaikasem is rumoured to suffer from a long-term ill health, and Pheu Thai would still need to muster sufficient support from its coalition partners. This could prove difficult as UTN is one of the only coalition parties left that still has a viable prime ministerial candidate. It could use this situation to try and take over the premiership.

    Under the third option, Paetongtarn could dissolve parliament and call a snap election. This is perhaps her least attractive option.

    The People’s party, the progressive successor of the Move Forward party that beat Pheu Thai to first place in the 2023 election, is enjoying a considerable surge in popularity. Going to the polls could prove too risky, not only for Pheu Thai but also for the entire conservative establishment.



    Read more:
    Thailand’s conservative elites oust prime minister and ban opposition

    None of these options are particularly promising, but they carry an important lesson about the volatility of political dealmaking. Whether Paetongtarn and – more crucially – her father will learn this lesson remains to be seen. In the meantime, all eyes will be on Thailand and the country’s military.

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

    – ref. A border conflict may cost the Thai prime minister her job – https://theconversation.com/a-border-conflict-may-cost-the-thai-prime-minister-her-job-259532

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Dementia: are younger generations really less likely to develop the disorder, as a recent study has claimed?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Clarissa Giebel, Senior Research Fellow in the Institute of Population Health, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast, University of Liverpool

    The study revealed that dementia cases decreased for each subsequent generation. AtlasStudio/ Shutterstock

    Dementia affects over 57 million people worldwide – and this number is only projected to grow. By 2030, 78 million people are estimated to have dementia. By 2050, it’s projected that number will reach 139 million people.

    Despite this, a surprising new study has suggested that dementia risk has actually declined with each generation. However, there are good reasons to be sceptical of this finding.

    The researchers analysed data from 62,437 people aged 70 and over. Data was collected from three longitudinal cohort studies on ageing, including one conducted in the US, one in Europe and one from England.

    To conduct their analysis, the researchers compared probable dementia diagnoses from people born in eight different generation cohorts. The people in the first cohort were born in 1890-1913, while those in the most recent cohort were born in 1944-48.

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    The researchers employed an algorithm that suggested probable dementia diagnosis. This was based on participants’ demographic characteristics, as well as their cognitive performance and everyday functioning skills (including how well they were able to perform daily functions, such as washing and feeding, and how well they could remember things). These are standard assessment tools used in clinical practice to diagnose dementia.

    To then validate the algorithm’s projections on probable dementia cases, the predictions were compared against a sub-sample of participants from the US Aging, Demographics and Memory study who had a clinical diagnosis of dementia.

    The participants in this study had undergone a rigorous three- to four-hour cognitive assessment. The algorithm used to create dementia projections showed an over 85% agreement with clinical diagnosis data from that sub-sample data.

    Once dementia status was calculated, the authors computed two models to ascertain the relationship between age, cohort and dementia onset. They also included gross domestic product (GDP) in their analyses, as there’s a correlation between GDP and health – with research showing that people in higher-income nations tend to be healthier than those living in lower-income nations.

    Dementia cases fell across the generations – with those born between 1944and 1948 having the lowest risk.
    Halfpoint/ Shutterstock

    Their findings revealed that dementia cases decreased for each subsequent generation. For instance, in the US, the algorithm indicated that 25% of people born between 1890-1912 developed dementia, while only 15% of those born in the most recent cohort (1939-1943) developed dementia.

    In England, almost 16% of people born between 1924-28 were indicated to have developed dementia, compared with around 15% in those born between 1934-38. This effect was also apparently more pronounced for women than for men.

    It remains unclear why dementia cases fell across the generations, with more recent cohorts having reduced dementia cases.

    Projected diagnoses

    What does this mean? And how does this compare against existing projections?

    While the authors used a large sample from three established ageing research cohorts, the findings are based on data from high-income countries only.

    It’s well known that dementia can be better diagnosed and cared for in high-income countries, where there are more and better healthcare services and professionals. Dementia is hugely stigmatised in low- and middle-income countries as well. As a result, many people are not as aware of dementia as people living in high-income societies.

    This means people in lower-income countries may know less about the associated risk factors for dementia and are less likely to receive a diagnosis and support. This is particularly relevant given the fact that most people with dementia reside in low- and middle-income countries.

    With a lack of cohort data on older adults and dementia cases in low- and middle-income countries, the findings from this study do not provide representative projections on dementia diagnoses globally.

    It’s also important to consider the methods the authors used in their study. The authors used a prediction model. Although this model had high agreement with clinical diagnosis, there are still cases of dementia that will have been missed out as a result.

    Similarly, the authors did not distinguish between dementia subtypes in their modelling. Dementia is just an umbrella term. About 60-70% of dementia cases are actually Alzheimer’s disease.

    But there are also many rarer subtypes – such as Lewy Body dementia or semantic dementia. Each subtype brings with it different symptoms. A generic model is unlikely to pick up each subtype dementia case correctly.

    All these factors may possibly explain how the study came to their conclusions.

    Dementia cases worldwide are actually predicted to increase. As such, the findings from this study should be considered with caution. It may not be the case that dementia prevalence continues to fall for more recently born generations.

    Part of the reason for these projections is due to the fact that people are living longer and growing older. Dementia primarily affects people aged over 65, so with more people living to be over 65 this means that more people will be at risk of developing the disorder.

    The world population is growing, too. So naturally we’re going to see more people living with dementia – particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where people may have less knowledge of dementia symptoms and may be less able to address the modifiable risk factors linked to greater risk, due to poor healthcare infrastructure.

    We know that overall, people from more socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds experience greater health inequalities – and these health inequalities may contribute to increased risk of dementia. But as this factor was not taken into account in the study, it’s difficult to know whether there really will be any differences in the projected number of dementia cases in younger generations.

    Clarissa Giebel receives funding from the ESRC and the NIHR. She sits on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Lewy Body Society.

    – ref. Dementia: are younger generations really less likely to develop the disorder, as a recent study has claimed? – https://theconversation.com/dementia-are-younger-generations-really-less-likely-to-develop-the-disorder-as-a-recent-study-has-claimed-258429

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why Nice was right to say no – for now – to new Alzheimer’s drugs

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Atkinson, Senior Research Fellow, History of Health and Medicine, University of Liverpool

    The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has declined to recommend two new Alzheimer’s drugs for routine NHS use in England. While disappointing for some families affected by dementia, this decision reflects a cautious and evidence-based approach that protects patients and public funds.

    The drugs in question – lecanemab, made by Eisai, and donanemab made by Eli Lilly – have received significant attention, with headlines hailing them as “breakthrough” treatments and “miracle” drugs. However, Nice has a long history of closely scrutinising new dementia drugs – and, as in previous cases, it has raised important questions about how much benefits these medicines actually provide.

    The main claim is that these drugs can delay the progression of Alzheimer’s by about four to six months in people with early-stage disease. That’s not nothing – but it’s also not the dramatic shift some headlines imply.

    It’s also important to distinguish between clinical trial results and how treatments perform in everyday care. Trial conditions are controlled and selective, whereas the NHS treats a much broader mix of patients.

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    There are other factors to consider, too. These drugs come with risks – including the potential for brain swelling and bleeding – and require invasive testing, such as lumbar puncture or regular brain scans, before and during treatment. The infusions must also be delivered at a hospital infusion over many months. For some patients, that burden may outweigh the modest benefit.

    Another issue is that we don’t yet know whether the benefits last beyond the 18-month trial period. Nice must base its decisions on long-term projections, using well established tools such as the quality-adjusted life year to weigh the health benefits against the cost to the NHS. These decisions often involve complex models – and reasonable people may interpret the evidence differently.

    Cost plays a role too. In the US, the drugs are priced at up to £25,000 per patient per year. While companies can offer discounts to the NHS, Nice must still consider whether the same money might do more good elsewhere in the health system.

    In this case, Nice concluded that the benefits of the new Alzheimer’s treatments are still too small to justify the additional costs at the current price point – a decision supported by some experts.

    Tom Dening, professor of dementia research at the University of Nottingham, described the benefits as “minimal” and warned they could distract from other priorities, such as providing good care and support for people already living with dementia.

    A person receiving the treatment would need to go for regular infusions.
    Laura v.d. Broek/Shutterstock.com

    Heated debate

    Nonetheless, the debate has become heated. Some drug companies have argued that the UK system is flawed, suggesting that even offering their drug for free would not be enough to secure approval. But this misunderstands how Nice works. Evaluating the full cost – not just of the drug, but of scans, infusions and monitoring – is not a flaw, it’s part of responsible decision-making.

    There are echoes here of earlier disputes from the 2000s when companies tried to publicly pressure Nice to change its decisions. However, history suggests that this strategy rarely works. Ministers have consistently supported Nice’s independence, and the agency’s record shows that it usually says “yes” – or at least yes under certain conditions – even to very expensive drugs, where the evidence supports their use.

    The current decision is still technically a “final draft”. Both companies have until July 3 to comment or appeal. In 2007, Eisai took Nice to court – and lost. This time, an appeal is more likely.

    Understanding the principles behind Nice’s decision helps put this outcome in context. These are not decisions taken lightly. They reflect a careful balance of evidence, risk, cost and benefit to patients – and, crucially, a commitment to fairness in how NHS resources are used.

    Paul Atkinson received funding from the Wellcome Trust for the research on which this article draws.

    Sally Sheard has received funding from Wellcome, NIHR, UKRI and the PGH Foundation.

    – ref. Why Nice was right to say no – for now – to new Alzheimer’s drugs – https://theconversation.com/why-nice-was-right-to-say-no-for-now-to-new-alzheimers-drugs-259475

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Non-traditional sports like pickleball and bouldering are helping Canadians get active this summer

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sarah Woodruff, Professor, Director of the Community Health, Environment, and Wellness Lab, University of Windsor

    While gym memberships and traditional sports will always have their place, more people are choosing leisure activities that are fun, flexible and social. (Shutterstock)

    On a warm summer Canadian evening, you might hear the pop-pop of a pickleball game, spot someone scaling a climbing wall at a community centre or catch players rallying on a padel court — a fast-growing racquet sport that looks like a mix between tennis and squash.

    What may once have seemed like fringe hobbies are now part of a growing movement. Canadians are seeking alternative ways to stay physically active, connect socially and improve their mental and physical well-being.

    While gym memberships and traditional sports will always have their place, more people are choosing leisure activities that are fun, flexible and social.

    Activities like pickleball, climbing, padel, disc golf, cricket, ultimate frisbee and stand-up paddleboarding are gaining momentum, offering a fresh approach to fitness that suits all ages, skill levels and motivations.

    Why are these activities booming?

    The COVID-19 pandemic played a big role in reshaping how people get physically active. With gyms closed and organized sports on hold, people turned to parks, driveways and community spaces for movement.

    What began as temporary adjustments soon evolved into permanent shifts for some. Many people realized that being active didn’t have to be rigid or repetitive; it could be more social and genuinely enjoyable. TikTok videos and Instagram reels showcasing everything from “how to videos” to “beginner fails” have also helped pique curiosity and increase participation in these activities.

    According to Pickleball Canada, 1.54 million Canadians are playing the sport in 2025 — a 57 per cent increase in participation over the past three years. Meanwhile, Padel, which is already popular in Europe and Latin America, is gaining ground in major Canadian cities like Toronto and Vancouver because of how accessible and easy to learn it is.

    Sales increases in paddleboards, the debut of sport climbing at the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics and the increase in popularity of spikeball (also known as roundnet) all signal a broader shift toward fun, accessible and social forms of physical activity.

    More than just exercise

    The physical and mental health benefits of being physically active are well established, and yet many Canadians are still not active enough to meet the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines. The guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity per week, perform muscle-strengthening activities twice a week, limit sedentary time and aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night.

    Alternative sports may help address this gap by offering new routes into physical activity. Beyond the well-known physical health benefits, such as cardiovascular health, strength, agility and co-ordination, these activities are equally effective at supporting mental health and social well-being.

    For example, a recent study by Canadian researchers looked at 28 studies that investigated health and/or well-being of adult pickleball players. The results suggested positive social and psychological effects — in addition to health and fitness benefits — were evident, particularly for older adults.



    Read more:
    Light exercise can yield significant cognitive benefits, new research shows

    Sports like pickleball, padel and ultimate frisbee thrive on social connection, as players and partners often chat, laugh, build relationships and have potlucks or social time afterwards, all which help build community and foster a sense of belonging.

    Other activities, such as bouldering and climbing, encourage mental concentration, resilience and problem-solving, as routes are often designed to be attempted several times before being successful. This helps get people stronger and more confident, as they learn to keep trying even when something feels hard at first. This sense of progress and enjoyment keeps people motivated.

    When an activity is fun, social and rewarding, people are more likely to stick with it over time. When people want to be active, rather than feeling like they have to, they’re more likely to reap the long-term benefits of being active. This is known as intrinsic motivation, a key factor for maintaining long-term physical activity because people are more likely to do something they genuinely like.

    Because these alternative sports are fun, low-pressure and easy to try at any level, they offer a great starting point for anyone, regardless of age, experience or ability.

    Embracing the movement

    Across Canada, cities are increasingly investing in these growing recreational activities. Municipal parks and empty buildings are rapidly being repurposed for new pickleball and padel courts. According to an industry journal, the number of climbing gyms across Canada increased from 136 in 2021 to 169 in 2024.

    Part of the appeal lies in accessibility. These types of activities are beginner-friendly. Unlike many traditional sports where skills and speed are expected upfront, there is no need to be in peak physical shape or have the best gear. Most people can try these activities with little more than a pair of shoes and a rental.

    These activities are also adaptable and low-impact, making them accessible to a wide range of participants. They’re often intergenerational and focused more on enjoyment than competition.

    Just as importantly, they support physical literacy — the confidence and competence to stay active throughout one’s life. Building physical literacy early and sustaining it throughout adulthood is a cornerstone of long-term health promotion and chronic disease prevention.

    If you’ve been meaning to try one of these activities, this summer might be your chance. After all, fitness doesn’t have to be a chore; sometimes it starts with just showing up and saying yes to something different.

    Sarah Woodruff receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and We Spark Health Institute.

    – ref. Non-traditional sports like pickleball and bouldering are helping Canadians get active this summer – https://theconversation.com/non-traditional-sports-like-pickleball-and-bouldering-are-helping-canadians-get-active-this-summer-258771

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to deal with racism in an intimate relationship

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Maya A. Yampolsky, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Université Laval

    Intimate racism can take many forms, ranging from hostile insults and racial slurs to more subtle, pervasive everyday microaggressions. (Shutterstock)

    Relationships between people of different ethnic or racial backgrounds have become increasingly common. Research indicates that more adolescents and young adults are entering into inter-ethnic relationships, and survey data from the United States shows that an increasing number of people have a favourable view of these relationships.

    Inter-ethnic relationships are often seen as an act of love that conquers racism since people from different backgrounds overcome marginalization to create inter-ethnic families.

    While these bonds can potentially decrease prejudice against members of racialized groups, cross-cultural connections are also vulnerable to the far-reaching influence of racism.

    No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.

    Read more from Quarter Life:

    Intimate racism

    Racism is a system of domination and oppression that is deeply rooted in colonization and slavery, where whiteness was idealized and every other ethnic group was dehumanized. Racialized people who are not white are also susceptible to endorsing this false hierarchy, leading to racism between racialized minority groups.

    We use the term “intimate racism” (inspired by the term intimate partner violence) to highlight that racism exists in close relationships, and that it requires special attention.

    Intimate racism can take many forms, ranging from hostile insults and racial slurs to more subtle, pervasive everyday microaggressions (for example, a parent stereotyping their child as less smart because of their racialized identity).

    Intimate racism can also touch on prejudices against racialized people that are particular to physical and emotional intimacy, which show up differently in our familial and romantic relationships.

    Racism in family

    From childhood, we depend on our parents and family to support and guide us, helping us form secure attachments as well as stable and loving bonds within our families and with others as we grow and expand our social connections.

    These days, multiracial families are more common. However, parents of multiracial children may not always understand their children’s realities with racism, they may not be able to support their racialized children against racism and they may discriminate against their racialized children, shaking the very foundations of the family bonds.

    These days, multiracial families are more common. However, parents of multiracial children may not always understand their children’s realities with racism.
    (Shutterstock)

    Mixed-race children have reported favouritism for lighter skin colour and isolation within their families, as well as having their racial identities denied and stereotyped by family members.

    In a study on microaggressions in families, one mixed-race research participant told researchers:

    “Even though my skin was darker, I had straight hair, I had the white features and I behaved the way a white girl should behave, and so my grandmother always favoured me and was much nicer to me and horrible to my sister.”

    In addition, transracial adoption has a long history of racialized children being forced into white families and institutions in order to erase their heritage and cultural identity.

    This legacy has endured, with many white adoptive families thinking they need to “save” racialized children from their minority families by erasing their backgrounds and cutting them off from their community.

    Racialized adoptees in white families have shared that they experience identity erasure, denial of racism’s existence and microaggressions and insults from the very people who are supposed to protect them. Such experiences expose them to racial isolation and violence.

    Racism in romantic relationships

    Our close relationships are supposed to be safe from racism; our meaningful connections with people who we know accept us, love us and see us for who we are can act as a protection from the harms of oppression.

    So when we experience racism from our loved ones, it is a violation of the shared trust, safety and intimacy that we need from those who are supposed to be closest to us.

    When it comes to romantic partners, our attractions can sometimes be coloured by exposure to media and messages that frame racialized people as “exotic” or inferior.

    People in inter-ethnic romantic relationships have shared experiences where their partner sought them out to fulfil fantasies based on degrading racist sexual stereotypes. Racialized people can also be stereotyped by their partners.

    When people experience intimate racism, they also experience greater distress and trauma and negative impacts on their well-being.
    (Shutterstock)

    These stereotypes can also be echoed by family and friends, who may view an inter-ethnic relationship as unserious and hold negative views of a partner based on racial stereotypes.

    In a study of intimate racism conducted by one of us (Maya A. Yampolsky) and colleagues, a Black participant said: “My former partner accused all Jamaican males of being cheaters and liars.”

    When people experience intimate racism, they also experience greater distress, trauma and negative impacts on their well-being. The impact extends beyond individual hurt to the relationship dynamic, rupturing trust and affection for our loved ones, and leading to strained or even dissolved relationships.

    Groups that are subject to more than one source of marginalization (because of race, gender, class, ability and so on) face multiple oppressions with intimate racism. Racialized women face sexist expectations of submissiveness, and queer racialized people often experience both racism in LGBTQ2S+ spaces and homophobia or transphobia in their racial communities.

    What can you do to address intimate racism?

    There isn’t enough research that looks at resolving intimate racism yet, but we can draw on findings from couples conflict, anti-racism repairs and social therapy for inspiration.

    Interracial couples who value the importance of ethnic identities and multiculturalism are more likely to recognize racism at large, and how it can influence their relationship, which may help prevent intimate racism from showing up in these relationships.

    We know that repairing harm from racism involves acknowledging the impact rather than the intent of our actions, recognizing our own biases and how they appear in our life, apologizing sincerely and committing to changing our behaviour in the future.

    Social therapy can also provide tools to address racial tensions and change harmful relationship dynamics by encouraging open conversations about race, and allowing partners and families to explore how history has shaped their ways of loving, accepting or rejecting one another.

    Ultimately, tackling intimate racism is part of our work to dismantle racism at the roots of all our social institutions so that racism doesn’t creep into our cherished connections.

    Maya A. Yampolsky has received funding from both the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

    Iman Sta-Ali, Libera Amadiwakama Mochihashi, and Renaud Dion-Pons 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. How to deal with racism in an intimate relationship – https://theconversation.com/how-to-deal-with-racism-in-an-intimate-relationship-247870

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa – what’s behind its bid for soft power

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Issouf Binaté, enseignant-chercheur, Université Alassane Ouattara de Bouaké

    Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa as the geopolitical and economic landscape in the region shifts. In Senegal, the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation has entered a key partnership in the oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, Karpowership, a company providing electricity via floating power plants, now supplies energy to eight African countries. But Turkey’s not stopping there. As part of its soft power strategy, it is also winning hearts and minds through education and culture while deepening trade and security ties.

    Historian Issouf Binaté, who has studied Turkey’s growing presence in west Africa, breaks down how Ankara is positioning itself as an alternative to both former colonial powers and newer global players competing for influence on the continent.

    What drives Turkey’s growing influence in west Africa?

    Turkey’s foreign policy in west Africa leans on two main pillars.

    One is institutional power, driven by state-backed agencies (embassies, the religious affairs directorate Diyanet, and the economic cooperation agency (TIKA) .

    The other is more grassroots, led by non-state actors such as religious foundations and NGOs.

    These groups laid the groundwork for Turkey’s African expansion long before Ankara officially stepped in.

    A key player in Turkey’s earlier outreach was the Gülen movement, named after preacher Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024). The Gülen movement pioneered Turkey’s soft power approach with “Turkish schools”, starting with the Yavuz Sultan Selim and Yavuz Selim-Bosphore high schools in Dakar in 1997.

    Also at the end of the 1990s a network composed of Turkish business leaders and social activists under the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists, which claimed over 100,000 member companies, expanded Turkey’s influence across Africa. At that time, Turkey had only three diplomatic representations for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

    The more recent contact with Africa comes at a time when western hegemony faces growing criticism from a new generation of Africans engaged in decolonial movements. Gülen-affiliated institutions now number 113, alongside religious and secular schools run by other groups like Mahmud Hudayi Vakfi and Hayrat Vakfi. Since the 2016 political rift between Gülen and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, these schools were gradually transferred to Maarif Foundation, Turkey’s state-run overseas education arm.

    Back in 2003, Turkey had only 12 diplomatic missions across Africa. Today, that number has grown to 44, bolstered by Turkish religious foundations (like Mahmud Hudayi Vakfi and Hayrat Vakfi), NGOs, and entrepreneurs who have filled the gap left by the Gülen movement.

    Another powerful player in Turkey’s Africa strategy is Turkish Airlines, now one of the top carriers on the continent. It is now flying to 62 airports in 41 African countries.

    What role do west African students trained in Turkey play?

    By investing in education, Turkey didn’t just open its doors to African students. It also planted the seeds for a long-term influence strategy. These students, and more broadly young African migrants trained in Turkey, are now among the key messengers of “Turkishness” back home.

    In doing so, Ankara is following a familiar path once used by colonial powers. They used student mobility as a powerful tool for their diplomacy.

    This policy of openness took several forms. As early as 1960, it welcomed students from non-self-governing territories in accordance with UN General Assembly resolutions.

    Then, in the 1990s, Turkey continued this effort through a scholarship programme for African students, supported by the Islamic Development Bank. During this period, Turkey launched the Büyük Öğrenci Projesi (Great Student Project), which provided scholarships to international students.

    Starting in 2012, this programme was re-branded as YTB (Yurtdışı Türkler ve Akraba Topluluklar Başkanlığı, or Directorate for Turks Abroad and Related Communities). It introduced reforms, including a digital application process for scholarships via an app on the YTB website. This shift caused a dramatic spike in interest. Applications soared from 10,000 to 155,000 between 2012 and 2020.

    For non-scholarship students, Turkey simplified visa processes, reduced tuition fees, and offered other incentives. These measures contributed to a significant increase in the number of applicants to study in Turkey. As the number of universities in Turkey jumped from 76 to 193 between 2003 and 2015, the country became increasingly attractive.

    By 2017, Turkey had become the 13th most popular destination for students from sub-Saharan Africa, according to Campus France (a platform that supports international students studying in France). By 2019, there were an estimated 61,000 African students studying in Turkey.

    Now, nearly three decades into this strategy, many of these former students are stepping into new roles. They are taking over from Turkish entrepreneurs in fostering socioeconomic ties with Africa. They also act as bridges, promoting Turkish universities and supporting visitors in areas like medical and industrial tourism.

    In Istanbul, some run cargo companies – some of them informal – that ship goods to Africa. Others are working to formalise these ventures and build long-term economic bridges. Groups like Bizim Afrika, a network of African Turkish-speakers, and the Federation of African Students in Turkey (founded in 2019), are playing key roles in shaping this next chapter of Turkey–Africa relations.

    How is Turkey’s strategy in west Africa different from that of China or France?

    In substance, Turkey’s strategy isn’t so different from that of France or China. It also carries traces of colonial thinking, even though its approach leans more on religious soft power like building mosques across Africa. Unlike France, which used force in its colonial past, Turkey is trying to gain influence through other means. It uses familiar tools: embassies, schools, cinema, security services, and development agencies.

    However, Turkey has learned from the criticism faced by western powers at a pivotal moment in Africa’s global relations.

    While access to Europe, the US and Canada has become more difficult due to stricter visa rules, Turkey has opened its doors. It eased visa procedures for African business people, expanded its universities, and promoted medical tourism.

    Turkey has become a hub for several sectors. It’s a major centre for nose surgery (rhinoplasty), hair transplants, and textiles. Its textile industry now supplies traders at Makola Market in Accra, Adjamé’s Forum in Côte d’Ivoire, and the Grand Marché in Bamako.

    Turkey has also capitalised on the security crisis in the Sahel, where France’s military presence has become controversial. It stepped in by selling Bayraktar TB2 drones and offering private security services to some governments.

    Is this Turkish presence set to last?

    Turkey’s presence in Africa is now visible in several symbolic ways. You can see it in Maarif schools, murals at Abidjan airport, the “Le Istanbul” restaurant in Niamey’s government district, or the National Mosque in Accra, modelled after Istanbul’s Blue Mosque.

    Turkey’s engagement is a work in progress. But its outreach to Africa is already yielding results. Trade volume reached US$40.7 billion in 2022. The return of the first waves of African students trained in Turkey has shifted the dynamic. Cooperation no longer relies solely on Turkish business people and social entrepreneurs.

    Even though African elites often speak English, French or Arabic, new voices are emerging. Young people trained in Turkey are beginning to find their place. Many work in import-export, construction, and even Islamic religious leadership. This trend points to promising prospects for long-term ties.

    For Turkey, Africa represents a continent with major economic opportunities. Becoming a trusted partner is now a key goal. On the diplomatic level, Turkey gained observer status at the African Union in 2005 and has hosted Turkey-Africa summits in Istanbul since 2008.

    This growing involvement suggests that Turkey’s role in Africa is likely to last. It will depend on the continent’s market needs, especially at a time when many African countries are rethinking their relationships with traditional western powers and international institutions.

    Issouf Binaté 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. Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa – what’s behind its bid for soft power – https://theconversation.com/turkey-is-stepping-up-its-influence-in-west-africa-whats-behind-its-bid-for-soft-power-256929

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa – what’s behind its bid for soft power

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Issouf Binaté, enseignant-chercheur, Université Alassane Ouattara de Bouaké

    Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa as the geopolitical and economic landscape in the region shifts. In Senegal, the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation has entered a key partnership in the oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, Karpowership, a company providing electricity via floating power plants, now supplies energy to eight African countries. But Turkey’s not stopping there. As part of its soft power strategy, it is also winning hearts and minds through education and culture while deepening trade and security ties.

    Historian Issouf Binaté, who has studied Turkey’s growing presence in west Africa, breaks down how Ankara is positioning itself as an alternative to both former colonial powers and newer global players competing for influence on the continent.

    What drives Turkey’s growing influence in west Africa?

    Turkey’s foreign policy in west Africa leans on two main pillars.

    One is institutional power, driven by state-backed agencies (embassies, the religious affairs directorate Diyanet, and the economic cooperation agency (TIKA) .

    The other is more grassroots, led by non-state actors such as religious foundations and NGOs.

    These groups laid the groundwork for Turkey’s African expansion long before Ankara officially stepped in.

    A key player in Turkey’s earlier outreach was the Gülen movement, named after preacher Fethullah Gülen (1941–2024). The Gülen movement pioneered Turkey’s soft power approach with “Turkish schools”, starting with the Yavuz Sultan Selim and Yavuz Selim-Bosphore high schools in Dakar in 1997.

    Also at the end of the 1990s a network composed of Turkish business leaders and social activists under the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists, which claimed over 100,000 member companies, expanded Turkey’s influence across Africa. At that time, Turkey had only three diplomatic representations for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

    The more recent contact with Africa comes at a time when western hegemony faces growing criticism from a new generation of Africans engaged in decolonial movements. Gülen-affiliated institutions now number 113, alongside religious and secular schools run by other groups like Mahmud Hudayi Vakfi and Hayrat Vakfi. Since the 2016 political rift between Gülen and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, these schools were gradually transferred to Maarif Foundation, Turkey’s state-run overseas education arm.

    Back in 2003, Turkey had only 12 diplomatic missions across Africa. Today, that number has grown to 44, bolstered by Turkish religious foundations (like Mahmud Hudayi Vakfi and Hayrat Vakfi), NGOs, and entrepreneurs who have filled the gap left by the Gülen movement.

    Another powerful player in Turkey’s Africa strategy is Turkish Airlines, now one of the top carriers on the continent. It is now flying to 62 airports in 41 African countries.

    What role do west African students trained in Turkey play?

    By investing in education, Turkey didn’t just open its doors to African students. It also planted the seeds for a long-term influence strategy. These students, and more broadly young African migrants trained in Turkey, are now among the key messengers of “Turkishness” back home.

    In doing so, Ankara is following a familiar path once used by colonial powers. They used student mobility as a powerful tool for their diplomacy.

    This policy of openness took several forms. As early as 1960, it welcomed students from non-self-governing territories in accordance with UN General Assembly resolutions.

    Then, in the 1990s, Turkey continued this effort through a scholarship programme for African students, supported by the Islamic Development Bank. During this period, Turkey launched the Büyük Öğrenci Projesi (Great Student Project), which provided scholarships to international students.

    Starting in 2012, this programme was re-branded as YTB (Yurtdışı Türkler ve Akraba Topluluklar Başkanlığı, or Directorate for Turks Abroad and Related Communities). It introduced reforms, including a digital application process for scholarships via an app on the YTB website. This shift caused a dramatic spike in interest. Applications soared from 10,000 to 155,000 between 2012 and 2020.

    For non-scholarship students, Turkey simplified visa processes, reduced tuition fees, and offered other incentives. These measures contributed to a significant increase in the number of applicants to study in Turkey. As the number of universities in Turkey jumped from 76 to 193 between 2003 and 2015, the country became increasingly attractive.

    By 2017, Turkey had become the 13th most popular destination for students from sub-Saharan Africa, according to Campus France (a platform that supports international students studying in France). By 2019, there were an estimated 61,000 African students studying in Turkey.

    Now, nearly three decades into this strategy, many of these former students are stepping into new roles. They are taking over from Turkish entrepreneurs in fostering socioeconomic ties with Africa. They also act as bridges, promoting Turkish universities and supporting visitors in areas like medical and industrial tourism.

    In Istanbul, some run cargo companies – some of them informal – that ship goods to Africa. Others are working to formalise these ventures and build long-term economic bridges. Groups like Bizim Afrika, a network of African Turkish-speakers, and the Federation of African Students in Turkey (founded in 2019), are playing key roles in shaping this next chapter of Turkey–Africa relations.

    How is Turkey’s strategy in west Africa different from that of China or France?

    In substance, Turkey’s strategy isn’t so different from that of France or China. It also carries traces of colonial thinking, even though its approach leans more on religious soft power like building mosques across Africa. Unlike France, which used force in its colonial past, Turkey is trying to gain influence through other means. It uses familiar tools: embassies, schools, cinema, security services, and development agencies.

    However, Turkey has learned from the criticism faced by western powers at a pivotal moment in Africa’s global relations.

    While access to Europe, the US and Canada has become more difficult due to stricter visa rules, Turkey has opened its doors. It eased visa procedures for African business people, expanded its universities, and promoted medical tourism.

    Turkey has become a hub for several sectors. It’s a major centre for nose surgery (rhinoplasty), hair transplants, and textiles. Its textile industry now supplies traders at Makola Market in Accra, Adjamé’s Forum in Côte d’Ivoire, and the Grand Marché in Bamako.

    Turkey has also capitalised on the security crisis in the Sahel, where France’s military presence has become controversial. It stepped in by selling Bayraktar TB2 drones and offering private security services to some governments.

    Is this Turkish presence set to last?

    Turkey’s presence in Africa is now visible in several symbolic ways. You can see it in Maarif schools, murals at Abidjan airport, the “Le Istanbul” restaurant in Niamey’s government district, or the National Mosque in Accra, modelled after Istanbul’s Blue Mosque.

    Turkey’s engagement is a work in progress. But its outreach to Africa is already yielding results. Trade volume reached US$40.7 billion in 2022. The return of the first waves of African students trained in Turkey has shifted the dynamic. Cooperation no longer relies solely on Turkish business people and social entrepreneurs.

    Even though African elites often speak English, French or Arabic, new voices are emerging. Young people trained in Turkey are beginning to find their place. Many work in import-export, construction, and even Islamic religious leadership. This trend points to promising prospects for long-term ties.

    For Turkey, Africa represents a continent with major economic opportunities. Becoming a trusted partner is now a key goal. On the diplomatic level, Turkey gained observer status at the African Union in 2005 and has hosted Turkey-Africa summits in Istanbul since 2008.

    This growing involvement suggests that Turkey’s role in Africa is likely to last. It will depend on the continent’s market needs, especially at a time when many African countries are rethinking their relationships with traditional western powers and international institutions.

    Issouf Binaté 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. Turkey is stepping up its influence in west Africa – what’s behind its bid for soft power – https://theconversation.com/turkey-is-stepping-up-its-influence-in-west-africa-whats-behind-its-bid-for-soft-power-256929

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kenya police brutality – it will take more than laws and public anger to change behaviour

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, Adjunct Associate Professor, Departnent of Social Sciences, Pwani University

    Kenya has once again been reminded of brutality within its police force. Two events in mid-June 2025 pointed to the grave challenge that Kenya must confront to reform the service.

    The first was the death in police custody of a teacher and blogger. A few days later a bystander at the scene of a protest in Nairobi was shot and severely injured by police.

    The use of excessive force to disperse and arrest peaceful demonstrators has got worse since the nationwide protests by young Kenyans in June 2024. Police have also been behind disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

    Excesses by the National Police Service have prompted action in the past. Repressive laws have been repealed and mechanisms are in place to identify, report and punish police excesses.

    Wide-ranging policing reforms mandated by the 2010 constitution have also been carried out since 2013. As part of these reforms, the Independent Police Oversight Authority was set up to investigate police wrong-doing. The conviction and dismissal rates are low, however, because of defective prosecutions, poor investigations, witnesses fearing retribution or victimisation, lack of evidence, and lengthy court trials.

    I am a political scientist with a focus on Kenya’s security sector. It is my view that the quest to change police behaviour in Kenya must go beyond the rule book, recriminations and repeated political proclamations of police reform.

    In my view real change will come about only if the state, firstly, puts funds into the recurrent and development expenditures of the police. The aim should be to ensure these institutions are able to enforce compliance and accountability. Secondly, the state needs to strengthen its partnership with local-level civil society organisations affected by policy brutality. And lastly, it must set up digital channels that people can confidently use to lodge their complaints.

    Funding gaps

    The National Police Service is underfunded. This has constrained its ability to maintain law and order. It has:

    • inadequate and poorly maintained equipment and gear

    • insufficient monthly fuel allocations for patrols and other critical functions

    • poor training and operational physical facilities.

    Added to these constraints are dehumanising working conditions and deplorable living conditions. This undermines their morale and ability to deliver quality services.

    Another blow to police morale is the entrenched culture of corruption. Corrupt practices skew recruitment, transfers, deployments, promotions and procurement.

    At the same time, the police service is expected to deal with a host of domestic and global security challenges. These include cybercrimes, cross-border security, violent extremism and terrorism.

    Money needs to be allocated to improve facilities, equipment and gear. This should also enhance its logistical and technological capabilities, and provide affordable and decent housing and medical cover for its officers.

    Providing adequate resources can also counter the culture of corruption, which is often driven by poor renumeration and working conditions.

    Budget allocations should sustain police reforms. This should include:

    Partnerships with communities

    Community policing in Kenya makes a significant contribution to local-level security. This form of policing is citizen-centred with an emphasis on addressing crime risk factors by encouraging citizen participation.

    Also known by its Kiswahili name, Nyumba Kumi, meaning “Ten Households”, the key strategy is anchoring community policing at the household level. Despite several problems associated with formulation and implementation, community policing in Kenya has improved local-level police-community relations in some areas of the country.

    The community policing strategy is aimed at addressing emerging security needs such as infiltration by terrorist groups. It serves the whole of Kenya in terms of local-level security and is viewed as one of the key areas of police reform and a shift to democratic policing.

    Community involvement can address the lack of trust between citizens and police officers due to police bias or brutality. But this is a gradual process that happens through daily interactions between communities and the police.

    Public participation channels

    Public participation is enshrined in Kenya’s constitution as one of the principles and values of good governance. By establishing a complaints and redress mechanism, public participation can become an integral component of promoting effective handling of complaints.

    The constitution has created different institutions to address public complaints. These include the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and the Independent Police Oversight Authority. Some of these have digital public complaints systems, which provide more confidentiality and better access for people.

    Other channels of handling complaints include civil society actors and the media. Civil society organisations provide civic education and mobilise citizens to take part in monitoring and evaluation government’s performance.

    Making these channels more effective could help absorb public anger that could turn into violence.

    Conclusion

    Police brutality in Kenya has arisen through historical, social, economic and political factors. Mitigating it therefore requires a long-term, combined top-down and bottom-up approach.

    Genuine political support from the country’s political leaders is essential to instil positive attitudes about Kenya’s political and security institutions. It also requires genuine support from local-level or grassroots communities. This, in turn, entails communities trusting each other and building social cohesion.

    Oscar Gakuo Mwangi 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. Kenya police brutality – it will take more than laws and public anger to change behaviour – https://theconversation.com/kenya-police-brutality-it-will-take-more-than-laws-and-public-anger-to-change-behaviour-259327

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Kenya police brutality – it will take more than laws and public anger to change behaviour

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, Adjunct Associate Professor, Departnent of Social Sciences, Pwani University

    Kenya has once again been reminded of brutality within its police force. Two events in mid-June 2025 pointed to the grave challenge that Kenya must confront to reform the service.

    The first was the death in police custody of a teacher and blogger. A few days later a bystander at the scene of a protest in Nairobi was shot and severely injured by police.

    The use of excessive force to disperse and arrest peaceful demonstrators has got worse since the nationwide protests by young Kenyans in June 2024. Police have also been behind disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

    Excesses by the National Police Service have prompted action in the past. Repressive laws have been repealed and mechanisms are in place to identify, report and punish police excesses.

    Wide-ranging policing reforms mandated by the 2010 constitution have also been carried out since 2013. As part of these reforms, the Independent Police Oversight Authority was set up to investigate police wrong-doing. The conviction and dismissal rates are low, however, because of defective prosecutions, poor investigations, witnesses fearing retribution or victimisation, lack of evidence, and lengthy court trials.

    I am a political scientist with a focus on Kenya’s security sector. It is my view that the quest to change police behaviour in Kenya must go beyond the rule book, recriminations and repeated political proclamations of police reform.

    In my view real change will come about only if the state, firstly, puts funds into the recurrent and development expenditures of the police. The aim should be to ensure these institutions are able to enforce compliance and accountability. Secondly, the state needs to strengthen its partnership with local-level civil society organisations affected by policy brutality. And lastly, it must set up digital channels that people can confidently use to lodge their complaints.

    Funding gaps

    The National Police Service is underfunded. This has constrained its ability to maintain law and order. It has:

    • inadequate and poorly maintained equipment and gear

    • insufficient monthly fuel allocations for patrols and other critical functions

    • poor training and operational physical facilities.

    Added to these constraints are dehumanising working conditions and deplorable living conditions. This undermines their morale and ability to deliver quality services.

    Another blow to police morale is the entrenched culture of corruption. Corrupt practices skew recruitment, transfers, deployments, promotions and procurement.

    At the same time, the police service is expected to deal with a host of domestic and global security challenges. These include cybercrimes, cross-border security, violent extremism and terrorism.

    Money needs to be allocated to improve facilities, equipment and gear. This should also enhance its logistical and technological capabilities, and provide affordable and decent housing and medical cover for its officers.

    Providing adequate resources can also counter the culture of corruption, which is often driven by poor renumeration and working conditions.

    Budget allocations should sustain police reforms. This should include:

    Partnerships with communities

    Community policing in Kenya makes a significant contribution to local-level security. This form of policing is citizen-centred with an emphasis on addressing crime risk factors by encouraging citizen participation.

    Also known by its Kiswahili name, Nyumba Kumi, meaning “Ten Households”, the key strategy is anchoring community policing at the household level. Despite several problems associated with formulation and implementation, community policing in Kenya has improved local-level police-community relations in some areas of the country.

    The community policing strategy is aimed at addressing emerging security needs such as infiltration by terrorist groups. It serves the whole of Kenya in terms of local-level security and is viewed as one of the key areas of police reform and a shift to democratic policing.

    Community involvement can address the lack of trust between citizens and police officers due to police bias or brutality. But this is a gradual process that happens through daily interactions between communities and the police.

    Public participation channels

    Public participation is enshrined in Kenya’s constitution as one of the principles and values of good governance. By establishing a complaints and redress mechanism, public participation can become an integral component of promoting effective handling of complaints.

    The constitution has created different institutions to address public complaints. These include the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, and the Independent Police Oversight Authority. Some of these have digital public complaints systems, which provide more confidentiality and better access for people.

    Other channels of handling complaints include civil society actors and the media. Civil society organisations provide civic education and mobilise citizens to take part in monitoring and evaluation government’s performance.

    Making these channels more effective could help absorb public anger that could turn into violence.

    Conclusion

    Police brutality in Kenya has arisen through historical, social, economic and political factors. Mitigating it therefore requires a long-term, combined top-down and bottom-up approach.

    Genuine political support from the country’s political leaders is essential to instil positive attitudes about Kenya’s political and security institutions. It also requires genuine support from local-level or grassroots communities. This, in turn, entails communities trusting each other and building social cohesion.

    Oscar Gakuo Mwangi 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. Kenya police brutality – it will take more than laws and public anger to change behaviour – https://theconversation.com/kenya-police-brutality-it-will-take-more-than-laws-and-public-anger-to-change-behaviour-259327

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: US approves twice-yearly injection for HIV prevention – what you need to know about lenacapavir

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Andrew Owen, Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool

    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lenacapavir, an injectable drug that offers long-lasting protection against HIV infection. Administered once every six months, this new treatment marks a major advancement in expanding prevention options for people at risk of HIV infection.

    Most HIV prevention drugs are daily pills (known as PrEP), which many people struggle to take regularly for various reasons, including inconvenience, price, stigma and side-effects. Lenacapavir works differently. It’s a new type of drug that attacks HIV’s protective shell, stopping the virus from copying itself at multiple stages.

    In recent years, two other long-acting medicines have been developed for HIV, but neither of them offers protection for a full six months like lenacapavir.

    People using the long-acting lenacapavir injection take pills for a short time – either two weeks before the shot or for the first days after – to ensure they are protected while the injection starts working.

    After that, just one injection under the skin keeps the drug working and protects people for six months. This makes a big difference for those who find it hard to take a pill every day because of a busy life, forgetting or because of the stigma they face. Discretion can sometimes be an important factor, and people receiving long-acting medicines don’t need to carry pills or explain them to others.

    Even though lenacapavir is highly effective at preventing HIV, it doesn’t offer protection from other sexually transmitted infections, so using condoms and getting regular screening for sexually transmitted diseases remains important.

    Two breakthrough HIV cases in the second pivotal study of lenacapavir were linked to a virus mutation that made it resistant to the drug. That is rare, but it demonstrates why regular check-ups remain important to ensure the drug continues working effectively.

    Most people don’t experience serious side-effects when using long-acting lenacapavir for prevention. The most common side-effect is mild discomfort at the injection site – things like redness, swelling or soreness – which usually resolves quickly on its own.

    A few people have reported feeling nauseous, but this is uncommon. The drug can interact with some other medicines, so it must only be used under medical supervision.

    Lenacapavir doesn’t provide protection against STIs, so condoms should still be used.
    Wongsakorn 2468/Shutterstock.com

    Global roll out? Price will be a big factor

    Regulatory agencies in different regions work independently to scrutinise medicines and so approval by one is not a guarantee of approval by another. However, it could be approved for use in the UK later in 2025, and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is already evaluating lenacapavir.

    The price of lenacapavir will be a big factor in how widely it is used globally. In the US, it’s currently priced at around US$28,000 per year (£22,000), but the cost of medicines often differs in different countries.

    Since the overwhelming majority of people affected by HIV live in low- and middle-income countries, a twice-yearly prevention could have a profound effect and it is contingent on everyone working in global health to help ensure that happens quickly.

    Some researchers have estimated that generic manufacturers supplying low- and middle-income countries could make lenacapavir for as little as US$25 a year if it were made in large enough quantities. But achieving this will require major investment and coordination to ensure the drug reaches the regions where HIV is still a major public health challenge.

    Earlier this year, Gilead, the pharmaceutical company behind lenacapavir, also presented data on a once-yearly version of the drug, so even longer protection may become available in the future.

    Lenacapavir is a major step forward in HIV prevention. With just two injections a year, it is a simple and highly effective option for people who need protection but find daily pills difficult. It’s not a replacement for other forms of protection – condoms and regular testing are still important – but it could be life changing for many people.

    If it becomes widely available around the globe, it could help make HIV prevention more accessible, more adaptable and easier to deliver for a wide range of people.



    Read more:
    HIV prevention: why a new injectable drug could be such a breakthrough – podcast

    Andrew Owen is a Director and CSO for Tandem Nano Ltd. and a co-inventor of patents relating to long-acting medicines. He has consulted Gilead Sciences. Shionogi and Assembly Biosciences, and has been an investigator on grant income received by his institutions from from Tandem Nano Ltd., Gilead Sciences, ViiV Healthcare, and Bicycle Therapeutics.

    – ref. US approves twice-yearly injection for HIV prevention – what you need to know about lenacapavir – https://theconversation.com/us-approves-twice-yearly-injection-for-hiv-prevention-what-you-need-to-know-about-lenacapavir-259467

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Charitable giving grew to $593B in 2024, propelled by a strengthening US economy and a booming stock market

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jon Bergdoll, Associate Director of Data Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

    Paul Newman, the late actor and philanthropist, co-founded Camp Boggy Creek, which children with serious illnesses and their families attend for free. AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

    U.S. charitable giving increased 3.3% to US$593 billion in 2024, lifted by the strength of the economy.

    The annual report from the Giving USA Foundation, produced in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy,
    found that this was the second-highest level on record after adjusting for inflation.

    Giving grew at the fastest pace since 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic led many Americans to make larger-than-usual donations. It was also the first time since then that growth in giving outpaced inflation.

    As two of the report’s lead researchers, we see many signs of healthy growth in charitable giving in 2024. Our data shows that the strong economy, which grew 2.8% in 2024, bolstered individual and corporate giving and allowed foundations to maintain the historically high level of giving seen from them in recent years.

    It also helped that stock markets performed well in 2024, consumer sentiment was generally positive, personal income rose and inflation continued to ease.

    Donations to nearly every charitable category we track grew.

    Individuals and corporations led overall growth

    Individual donors continued to provide the bulk of the nation’s charitable gifts. The $392 billion they gave to charity accounted for two-thirds of the year’s total. Giving by individuals grew 5.1% from 2023 − a swifter pace than for all donations.

    Corporate giving rose even faster. It was up 6% to a record $44 billion.

    This growth reflects the high pretax profits earned by corporations in 2024 and the trend toward corporations donating a higher share of pretax profits in recent years.

    For example, corporations generally donated less than 1% of pretax profits from 2004-2018. But our research team started to see corporate giving rise to 1% or more in the 2019 data. This was also the case in 2024, when corporate giving stood at 1.1% of pretax profits.

    Corporate philanthropy has grown by more than 50% since 2019, a trend that has coincided with rising in-kind donations of insulin products and other pharmaceuticals. Drugmakers made an estimated $24 billion in these donations in 2024 − up 41% since 2019.

    To be sure, corporations’ donations amounted to just 7% of overall giving in 2024.

    Meanwhile, grants made by foundations exceeded $100 billion for the third straight year. Almost $1 out of every $5 contributed to charity was from a foundation in each of those years.

    Giving by foundations in the five years ending in 2024 was higher than any other period since Giving USA has tracked this data. Foundation giving, however, remained fairly flat from 2023 to 2024, at about $110 billion.

    Around 8% of all gifts made in 2024 were from bequests included in people’s wills, the same as in 2023. Bequests totaled $44 billion, down 4.4% when adjusted for inflation. But the total given through bequests varies quite a bit from year to year.

    Most kinds of donations increased

    Donations to most of the nine charitable categories Giving USA tracks increased. The one exception: Gifts to churches and other religious institutions fell 1%. But religious giving remained by far the top category, followed by human services and education.

    Religious causes received 23% of all donations, a total of $147 billion. Giving to human services nonprofits, such as food banks and homeless shelters, increased considerably during the pandemic. It now accounts for about 14% of all donations. In 2024, these gifts totaled $91 billion.

    Giving to education, which primarily consists of donations to colleges and universities has tended to grow more slowly than overall giving in recent years.

    Giving for education rebounded to a record high in 2024, however, rising nearly 10% from a year earlier. And these gifts have grown at a quick pace over the past decade, increasing by more than 22% from 2015 to 2024. The $88 billion in gifts received for education in 2024 was the third-largest of the nine categories we follow.

    Several other categories also reached all-time highs of giving in 2024: health, at $61 billion; arts, culture and humanities, at $25 billion; and environment and animals, at $22 billion.

    The increases in giving for most kinds of nonprofits, supported by strong growth in giving by individuals and corporations, indicate that the charitable sector ended 2024 in a relatively solid position.

    Jon Bergdoll receives grant funding from the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes Giving USA.

    Christina Daniken receives grant funding from the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes Giving USA.

    – ref. Charitable giving grew to $593B in 2024, propelled by a strengthening US economy and a booming stock market – https://theconversation.com/charitable-giving-grew-to-593b-in-2024-propelled-by-a-strengthening-us-economy-and-a-booming-stock-market-259221

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth Bettini, Assistant Professor of Special Education, Boston University

    The demographics of the special education teacher workforce have remained static, but the student population these educators serve is becoming more diverse. Courtney Hale/E+ via Getty Images

    Teachers of color positively impact all students, including students of color with disabilities. Yet, the special education teacher workforce is overwhelmingly white.

    In our recent research, we found that special education teacher demographics are not keeping pace with changes in the student population.

    In 2012, about 80% of U.S. public school teachers were white, including about 80% of special education teachers, while less than 20% were teachers of color. By contrast, in the same year, students of color constituted 47% of those diagnosed with disabilities.

    In our recent study, we examined whether these numbers have changed. Analyzing multiple national datasets on the teacher workforce, we found the proportion of special education teachers of color has been static, even as the student population is rapidly becoming more diverse.

    So, the special education teacher workforce is actually becoming less representative of the student population over time. Specifically, in 2012, 16.5% of special education teachers were people of color, compared with 17.1% in 2021. In that same span, the share of students with disabilities who are students of color rose from 47.3% in 2012 to 53.9% in 2021.

    In fact, for the special education teacher workforce to become representative of the student population, U.S. schools would need to triple the number of special education teachers of color.

    As scholars who study teacher recruitment and retention and teacher working conditions, we are concerned that this disparity will affect the quality of education students receive.

    Why does a diverse teacher workforce matter?

    Without more support from the government, the U.S. teacher workforce is likely to remain predominantly white.
    gradyreese/iStock via Getty Images

    For children of color, the research is clear: Teachers of color are, on average, more effective than white teachers in providing positive educational experiences and outcomes for students of color, including students of color with disabilities.

    One study found that low-income Black male students who had one Black teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade were 39% less likely to drop out of high school and 29% more likely to enroll in college.

    Moreover, teachers of color are just as effective as white teachers – and sometimes more effective – in teaching white students.

    Providing pathways

    The U.S. has institutions dedicated to attracting and retaining educators of color: Programs at historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and other minority-serving institutions prepare a substantial number of new teachers of color annually.

    Further, many local initiatives support educators of color and attract teachers who might not otherwise have opportunities to join the profession.

    These include: Grow Your Own programs that recruit effective teachers of color from local communities, teacher residency programs that help schools retain teachers of color, and
    scholarships and loan forgiveness programs that support all teachers, including teachers of color.

    However, the U.S. educator workforce faces broad challenges with declining interest in the teaching profession and declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs. In this context, our findings indicate that without significant investments, the teacher workforce is likely to remain predominately white – at significant cost to students with disabilities.

    Anti-DEI movement cuts funding

    The Trump administration has canceled teacher preparation grants that recruit teachers of color and has taken other actions that could lead to a less diverse and skilled educator workforce.
    Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

    While there have been long-standing challenges, recent steps taken by the Trump administration could limit efforts to boost teacher diversity.

    In its push to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the administration has cut grant funding for programs designed to develop a diverse educator workforce.

    The administration has also cut millions of dollars dedicated to training teachers to work in underfunded, high-poverty schools and has threatened additional funding cuts to universities engaging in equity-based work.

    These federal actions make the teacher workforce less adept at addressing the substantial challenges facing U.S. schools, such as declining interest in the teaching profession and and persistent racial disparities in student outcomes.

    Given the strong evidence of the benefits of teachers of color and the national trends that our research uncovered, federal and state investments should prioritize supporting prospective teachers of color.

    Elizabeth Bettini’s research has been funded by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences, the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, and the Spencer Foundation. She is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research and Teacher Education Division, for which she edits the journal Teacher Education and Special Education.

    LaRon A. Scott has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. He is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division and the American Association for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

    Tuan D. Nguyen receives funding from the National Science Foundation to do work around STEM teachers and computer science education.

    – ref. Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools – https://theconversation.com/diversifying-the-special-education-teacher-workforce-could-benefit-us-schools-254916

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth Bettini, Assistant Professor of Special Education, Boston University

    The demographics of the special education teacher workforce have remained static, but the student population these educators serve is becoming more diverse. Courtney Hale/E+ via Getty Images

    Teachers of color positively impact all students, including students of color with disabilities. Yet, the special education teacher workforce is overwhelmingly white.

    In our recent research, we found that special education teacher demographics are not keeping pace with changes in the student population.

    In 2012, about 80% of U.S. public school teachers were white, including about 80% of special education teachers, while less than 20% were teachers of color. By contrast, in the same year, students of color constituted 47% of those diagnosed with disabilities.

    In our recent study, we examined whether these numbers have changed. Analyzing multiple national datasets on the teacher workforce, we found the proportion of special education teachers of color has been static, even as the student population is rapidly becoming more diverse.

    So, the special education teacher workforce is actually becoming less representative of the student population over time. Specifically, in 2012, 16.5% of special education teachers were people of color, compared with 17.1% in 2021. In that same span, the share of students with disabilities who are students of color rose from 47.3% in 2012 to 53.9% in 2021.

    In fact, for the special education teacher workforce to become representative of the student population, U.S. schools would need to triple the number of special education teachers of color.

    As scholars who study teacher recruitment and retention and teacher working conditions, we are concerned that this disparity will affect the quality of education students receive.

    Why does a diverse teacher workforce matter?

    Without more support from the government, the U.S. teacher workforce is likely to remain predominantly white.
    gradyreese/iStock via Getty Images

    For children of color, the research is clear: Teachers of color are, on average, more effective than white teachers in providing positive educational experiences and outcomes for students of color, including students of color with disabilities.

    One study found that low-income Black male students who had one Black teacher in third, fourth or fifth grade were 39% less likely to drop out of high school and 29% more likely to enroll in college.

    Moreover, teachers of color are just as effective as white teachers – and sometimes more effective – in teaching white students.

    Providing pathways

    The U.S. has institutions dedicated to attracting and retaining educators of color: Programs at historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and other minority-serving institutions prepare a substantial number of new teachers of color annually.

    Further, many local initiatives support educators of color and attract teachers who might not otherwise have opportunities to join the profession.

    These include: Grow Your Own programs that recruit effective teachers of color from local communities, teacher residency programs that help schools retain teachers of color, and
    scholarships and loan forgiveness programs that support all teachers, including teachers of color.

    However, the U.S. educator workforce faces broad challenges with declining interest in the teaching profession and declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs. In this context, our findings indicate that without significant investments, the teacher workforce is likely to remain predominately white – at significant cost to students with disabilities.

    Anti-DEI movement cuts funding

    The Trump administration has canceled teacher preparation grants that recruit teachers of color and has taken other actions that could lead to a less diverse and skilled educator workforce.
    Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

    While there have been long-standing challenges, recent steps taken by the Trump administration could limit efforts to boost teacher diversity.

    In its push to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the administration has cut grant funding for programs designed to develop a diverse educator workforce.

    The administration has also cut millions of dollars dedicated to training teachers to work in underfunded, high-poverty schools and has threatened additional funding cuts to universities engaging in equity-based work.

    These federal actions make the teacher workforce less adept at addressing the substantial challenges facing U.S. schools, such as declining interest in the teaching profession and and persistent racial disparities in student outcomes.

    Given the strong evidence of the benefits of teachers of color and the national trends that our research uncovered, federal and state investments should prioritize supporting prospective teachers of color.

    Elizabeth Bettini’s research has been funded by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Special Education Research within the Institute of Education Sciences, the US Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, and the Spencer Foundation. She is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research and Teacher Education Division, for which she edits the journal Teacher Education and Special Education.

    LaRon A. Scott has received funding from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs. He is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children’s Teacher Education Division and the American Association for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

    Tuan D. Nguyen receives funding from the National Science Foundation to do work around STEM teachers and computer science education.

    – ref. Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools – https://theconversation.com/diversifying-the-special-education-teacher-workforce-could-benefit-us-schools-254916

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Federal energy office illustrates the perils of fluctuating budgets and priorities

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Christelle Khalaf, Associate Director, Government Finance Research Center, University of Illinois Chicago

    How much money goes into which pile often changes with the presidency. valiantsin suprunovich/iStock / Getty Images Plus

    When new presidential administrations enter the White House, federal agencies often find their funding and priorities shifting, sometimes dramatically.

    I’m a scholar who studies how policy and market shifts affect regional economies, labor markets and public systems, particularly in the context of critical infrastructure such as energy and water. I’ve seen how both of those types of changes – of funding levels and priorities – destabilize agencies and cut off long-term projects before they achieve their intended goals.

    In one research project, with co-authors Dr. Deborah A. Carroll and Zach Perkins, I took a close look at one office within a federal agency, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. What we found serves as an example of how these changes have played out in the past, and it gives context to how the Trump administration’s changes are playing out now in that agency and across the federal government.

    The office, known by researchers and its personnel as EERE, is mainly focused on funding research and development to advance energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and reduce the costs of those technologies to consumers. Its key efforts involve low-emission transportation, renewable electricity generation and decreasing the carbon emissions of buildings and industry processes.

    It makes grants to, and enters research and development agreements with, small businesses, industry, national laboratories, universities and state and local governments. Recipients are often required to contribute matching funds or other support to the project to complement the federal funding.

    In general, Congress appropriates funding to the office as part of the yearly budget process. However, the office also receives sporadic influxes of additional funding to stimulate the economy or address concerns related to energy security and greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately, the amount of funding EERE gets depends in part on overall economic conditions or national crises.

    Boosting funding levels

    Some of those supplemental allocations can be significant, and many last until the funds have been spent, even if that takes a number of years. Following the energy crisis in the early 2000s, Congress allocated EERE a total of about $7 billion in funding for research and development in energy efficiency, renewable energy and biofuels.

    Then in 2009, following the Great Recession, Congress gave EERE $16.7 billion – most of which was to help low-income families pay to install efficient light sources or insulation to save them money. About $5.4 billion was for research and development.

    In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Energy Act of 2020, mainly focusing on nuclear energy and carbon capture technologies but also providing over $500 million in research and development funding for EERE.

    In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated about $16.3 billion to EERE. And in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act provided an additional $18 billion. As with other additional funding allocations, Congress made most of that money available until the total authorized amount has been spent.

    But the future of these allocations is uncertain. A January 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump requested that all agencies immediately pause the disbursement of funds Congress approved in both laws.

    In its 2026 budget, the Trump administration is proposing spending $900 million on EERE’s work – a 70% reduction from its 2025 allocation of $3.5 billion. This echoes a move during Trump’s first term when the White House proposed the office’s funding be cut by nearly 70% between the 2017 and 2018 budgets. However, at that time, Congress decided to keep the office’s budget largely intact. Congress will review and decide on this proposed budget as well.

    Solar energy is just one of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s areas of research.
    alexsl/iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Shifting priorities

    How those varying amounts of money are spent also changes, often based on shifts in political leadership with different views about what types of technologies are most worth investing in, and about the most effective role of government in developing new technologies.

    Our qualitative analysis has found that Republican administrations typically believe that very-early-stage research and development is an appropriate role for the federal government, but that as technologies move closer to commercialization, the private sector should take the lead.

    In contrast, we found that Democratic administrations believe that promising innovations often fail to reach the market due to insufficient private sector support during the demonstration and deployment phases. So they tend to advocate for increased federal involvement to assist with the transition from research to market-ready technologies.

    There is also a partisan difference in which technologies get financial support. Solar and wind energy technologies have historically received higher funding under Democratic administrations. In contrast, bioenergy and hydrogen technologies have received higher funding under Republican administrations.

    Funding the future

    EERE often funds projects that are considered too risky for private investors to fund alone. Expanding knowledge requires experimentation, so some EERE projects have achieved notable success, while others have not.

    For instance, the office’s investments have played a pivotal role in both spreading electric vehicle technologies and reducing their cost to consumers. Beginning with a major funding boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and with further allocations in subsequent years, EERE helped fund breakthroughs in battery manufacturing, power electronics and electric drive systems.

    These advancements contributed to a sharp rise in adoption: In 2012, there were just 100,000 electric vehicles registered in the U.S. By 2022, that number was above 3 million. And in 2014, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles accounted for 3% of all new light-duty vehicle sales. By 2024, that share had grown to 19%.

    EERE’s investments in electric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells, by contrast, have not done so well. Despite significant government support in the 2000s, their commercial availability remains largely limited to California, where most of the country’s hydrogen refueling stations are located.

    Various aspects of electric vehicle technologies have received federal support.
    Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

    A change in approach

    Our analysis of the office’s operations finds that the amount of change in funding levels and priorities can create an environment that hinders thoughtful project selection. Programs that begin under one administration can’t be counted on to continue under subsequent presidents, and dollars allocated for the future may be repurposed down the road, leaving projects only partially finished.

    Studies also find that rapidly increasing budgets can create misaligned incentives as public administrators scramble to use the funds during the authorization period. For example, some may prioritize grantees who can accept and spend money rapidly, regardless of the potential public benefit of their innovation.

    Further, the shifting priorities complicate long-term planning for government officials, researchers and businesses. Sustaining innovation over a long period takes years of commitment. Studies have shown that inconsistent or volatile government funding can hinder overall technological progress and discourage private investment. One example is the exploration of algae-based biofuels in the 1980s, which was shut down in the 1990s due to shifting federal priorities. That stalled progress in the field and led to a loss of more than half of the genetic legacy collected through the program. In the late 2000s, the federal government resumed funding algae-based biofuel research.

    Overall, research by us and others underscores the importance of sustained funding and institutional continuity to ensure the success of publicly funded research and development. That’s what other peer countries are doing: boosting long-term investments in clean energy with consistent priorities and predictable funding.

    Following that model, in contrast to the current practice of ever-shifting priorities, would create more effective opportunities to develop, produce and deploy innovative energy technologies in the U.S., helping to maintain global competitiveness and reduce reliance on foreign manufacturing.

    Christelle Khalaf received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to examine EERE R&D funding trends. She has also received funding from the Department of Energy for separate research.

    – ref. Federal energy office illustrates the perils of fluctuating budgets and priorities – https://theconversation.com/federal-energy-office-illustrates-the-perils-of-fluctuating-budgets-and-priorities-255936

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University

    The star attorneys of the Scopes trial: Clarence Darrow, left, for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    Ask Americans about the Scopes trial, and they might have heard of it as the “trial of the century,” a showdown over teaching human evolution.

    Less well known are its origins. As historian Edward J. Larson observed in “Summer for the Gods,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning book: “Like so many archetypal American events, the trial itself began as a publicity stunt.”

    Held during July 1925 in the tiny railroad town of Dayton, Tennessee, located not far from the public university where I teach Appalachian studies, the trial was a “stunt” prompted by the state legislature’s passage of the Butler Act, which forbade educators in public schools from teaching “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” Tennessee was the first state to enact this type of legislation.

    This “monkey trial” – so dubbed by journalist H. L. Mencken, for humans’ common ancestor with apes – exposed a cultural rift in the United States, as many Christians wrestled with how to reconcile biblical beliefs with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. That rift would be widened by media coverage and national response. Over the past century, collective memories of the trial, as interpreted through music, film and literature, have proven a bellwether of the ongoing “culture wars” in American society.

    Publicity stunt

    In Tennessee, support for the Butler Act was hardly universal. Not in favor was George Rappleyea, manager of a Dayton-area coal and iron mining operation. Rappleyea lobbied other community leaders, some of whom supported the new law, to collectively stage a trial, hoping media attention would generate economic activity in the town.

    Those instigators approached John T. Scopes, a social science and math teacher at the local public high school who had also substitute-taught some biology lessons. The 24-year-old could not recall if his lectures had in fact violated the Butler Act, but the textbook in use at his school included evolutionary theory. Scopes agreed to participate.

    Testifying against their teacher were three students who had clearly been coached to do so. Nevertheless, the presiding judge persuaded the grand jury to indict.

    As an early indication of outside interest, Paul Patterson, the publisher of The Baltimore Sun, paid Scopes’ bail, and the ACLU announced it would defend him.

    Center of the storm

    Arguments started on July 10, 1925, at the Rhea County Courthouse. The trial may have begun as a determination of whether Scopes had violated the Butler Act, but both sides soon focused on debating the relative merits of biblical cosmology versus Darwinian theory.

    American teacher John Scopes, second from left, stands during his trial for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution.
    Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    Representing the creationist perspective was prosecuting attorney Tom Stewart, a future senator from Tennessee. Special counsel William Jennings Bryan, a former U.S. secretary of state, was included on the prosecution team at the behest of a Christian fundamentalist organization.

    The evolutionary theory position was argued by prominent trade union lawyer Clarence Darrow. An agnostic who distrusted religious fundamentalism, Darrow wrote that “there was no limit to the mischief that might be accomplished unless the country was aroused to the evil at hand.”

    A circuslike atmosphere enveloped Dayton. Embodying the “monkey trial” was the performing chimpanzee Joe Mendi, whose trainers posed him for photographs around town. More than 200 journalists attended the trial, with articles appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker and other publications around the nation.

    Joe Mendi, a monkey who performed in films and theater, was brought to Dayton during the trial.
    Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981/Tennessee State Library & Archives

    Receiving the most attention was Mencken, whose reportage for The Baltimore Sun did not attempt to disguise his bias against the cultural values of rural America. Dayton’s people, he wrote, “are simply unable to imagine a man who rejects the literal authority of the Bible.”

    Updates were circulated in real time via radio – the first U.S. trial to be broadcast live nationally. Filmed footage was rushed from Dayton to be shared in the nation’s theaters as newsreels.

    The trial ended on July 21, 1925, with a conviction and a fine. Scopes’ conviction was eventually overturned on a technicality. Since the trial had not challenged the legality of the Butler Act, however, that law remained on the books in Tennessee for more than four decades.

    ‘Monkey Biz-Ness’

    Commenting on the Scopes trial were two 1925 recordings by major singers of the day: a comedic jazz ditty entitled “Monkey Biz-Ness (Down in Tennessee),” performed by the International Novelty Orchestra with singer Billy Murray; and the country hit “The John T. Scopes Trial (The Old Religion’s Better After All),” sung by Vernon Dalhart. The latter song’s lyrics, composed by Carson Robison, warned listeners that “you may find a new belief, it will only bring you grief.”

    Other songs of the era – with titles such as “The Bible’s True,” “You Can’t Make a Monkey Out of Me,” “You Talk Like a Monkey and You Walk Like a Monkey” and “Ain’t No Bugs on Me” – echoed that same line of thought: “rural” skepticism toward the “urban,” pro-science perspective on the origins of humankind.

    Supporters of the ‘Anti-Evolution League’ amid the Scopes trial. From Literary Digest, July 25, 1925.
    Mike Licht/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    Whereas Scopes was the subject of ridicule in those songs, he and his defenders were celebrated as heroes in “Inherit the Wind,” a 1955 Broadway play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. A fictionalized portrayal of the Scopes trial, the play powerfully defended free speech – veiled criticism of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s recent investigations of various American citizens for their political positions and beliefs.

    “Inherit the Wind” inspired a 1960 film of the same name, directed by Stanley Kramer. Its “fanaticism and ignorance” speech depicts the character based on Darrow – played by Spencer Tracy – arguing that without science, society would regress back to a time of unconstrained bigotry. The film received its debut American screening in Dayton on the 35th anniversary of the end of the Scopes trial; Scopes himself was the guest of honor.

    ‘Fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding.’

    Representations of rural Tennessee in popular culture depictions and in media coverage of the trial drew from a font of stereotypes about Appalachia that have continued into the present century. Condescending depictions of the region have been present in American culture since before the Civil War.

    Centennial commemoration

    Memory of the Scopes trial endures in popular culture. Take, for instance, a reference in Bruce Springsteen’s 1990 song “Part Man, Part Monkey,” or Ronald Kidd’s 2006 “Monkey Town,” a historical novel for young adults.

    Dayton did benefit from the notoriety of the Scopes trial, thanks to sustained cultural tourism. Proud of its unique history, the town today boasts a historical marker to alert passersby to the significance of the landmark event that took place in the Rhea County Courthouse. And in 2025, Dayton has been hosting a series of events to commemorate the trial’s centennial.

    Back in 1925, even the Baltimore journalist Mencken begrudgingly praised Dayton and its townspeople, admitting, “It would be hard to imagine a more moral town than Dayton.”

    “I expected to find a squalid Southern village … What I found was a country town of charm and even beauty,” he wrote.

    Ted Olson 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. ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since – https://theconversation.com/monkey-biz-ness-pop-culture-helped-fan-the-flames-of-the-scopes-monkey-trial-100-years-ago-and-ever-since-255946

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University

    The star attorneys of the Scopes trial: Clarence Darrow, left, for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images

    Ask Americans about the Scopes trial, and they might have heard of it as the “trial of the century,” a showdown over teaching human evolution.

    Less well known are its origins. As historian Edward J. Larson observed in “Summer for the Gods,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning book: “Like so many archetypal American events, the trial itself began as a publicity stunt.”

    Held during July 1925 in the tiny railroad town of Dayton, Tennessee, located not far from the public university where I teach Appalachian studies, the trial was a “stunt” prompted by the state legislature’s passage of the Butler Act, which forbade educators in public schools from teaching “any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” Tennessee was the first state to enact this type of legislation.

    This “monkey trial” – so dubbed by journalist H. L. Mencken, for humans’ common ancestor with apes – exposed a cultural rift in the United States, as many Christians wrestled with how to reconcile biblical beliefs with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. That rift would be widened by media coverage and national response. Over the past century, collective memories of the trial, as interpreted through music, film and literature, have proven a bellwether of the ongoing “culture wars” in American society.

    Publicity stunt

    In Tennessee, support for the Butler Act was hardly universal. Not in favor was George Rappleyea, manager of a Dayton-area coal and iron mining operation. Rappleyea lobbied other community leaders, some of whom supported the new law, to collectively stage a trial, hoping media attention would generate economic activity in the town.

    Those instigators approached John T. Scopes, a social science and math teacher at the local public high school who had also substitute-taught some biology lessons. The 24-year-old could not recall if his lectures had in fact violated the Butler Act, but the textbook in use at his school included evolutionary theory. Scopes agreed to participate.

    Testifying against their teacher were three students who had clearly been coached to do so. Nevertheless, the presiding judge persuaded the grand jury to indict.

    As an early indication of outside interest, Paul Patterson, the publisher of The Baltimore Sun, paid Scopes’ bail, and the ACLU announced it would defend him.

    Center of the storm

    Arguments started on July 10, 1925, at the Rhea County Courthouse. The trial may have begun as a determination of whether Scopes had violated the Butler Act, but both sides soon focused on debating the relative merits of biblical cosmology versus Darwinian theory.

    American teacher John Scopes, second from left, stands during his trial for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution.
    Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    Representing the creationist perspective was prosecuting attorney Tom Stewart, a future senator from Tennessee. Special counsel William Jennings Bryan, a former U.S. secretary of state, was included on the prosecution team at the behest of a Christian fundamentalist organization.

    The evolutionary theory position was argued by prominent trade union lawyer Clarence Darrow. An agnostic who distrusted religious fundamentalism, Darrow wrote that “there was no limit to the mischief that might be accomplished unless the country was aroused to the evil at hand.”

    A circuslike atmosphere enveloped Dayton. Embodying the “monkey trial” was the performing chimpanzee Joe Mendi, whose trainers posed him for photographs around town. More than 200 journalists attended the trial, with articles appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker and other publications around the nation.

    Joe Mendi, a monkey who performed in films and theater, was brought to Dayton during the trial.
    Looking Back at Tennessee Photograph Collection, 1890-1981/Tennessee State Library & Archives

    Receiving the most attention was Mencken, whose reportage for The Baltimore Sun did not attempt to disguise his bias against the cultural values of rural America. Dayton’s people, he wrote, “are simply unable to imagine a man who rejects the literal authority of the Bible.”

    Updates were circulated in real time via radio – the first U.S. trial to be broadcast live nationally. Filmed footage was rushed from Dayton to be shared in the nation’s theaters as newsreels.

    The trial ended on July 21, 1925, with a conviction and a fine. Scopes’ conviction was eventually overturned on a technicality. Since the trial had not challenged the legality of the Butler Act, however, that law remained on the books in Tennessee for more than four decades.

    ‘Monkey Biz-Ness’

    Commenting on the Scopes trial were two 1925 recordings by major singers of the day: a comedic jazz ditty entitled “Monkey Biz-Ness (Down in Tennessee),” performed by the International Novelty Orchestra with singer Billy Murray; and the country hit “The John T. Scopes Trial (The Old Religion’s Better After All),” sung by Vernon Dalhart. The latter song’s lyrics, composed by Carson Robison, warned listeners that “you may find a new belief, it will only bring you grief.”

    Other songs of the era – with titles such as “The Bible’s True,” “You Can’t Make a Monkey Out of Me,” “You Talk Like a Monkey and You Walk Like a Monkey” and “Ain’t No Bugs on Me” – echoed that same line of thought: “rural” skepticism toward the “urban,” pro-science perspective on the origins of humankind.

    Supporters of the ‘Anti-Evolution League’ amid the Scopes trial. From Literary Digest, July 25, 1925.
    Mike Licht/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    Whereas Scopes was the subject of ridicule in those songs, he and his defenders were celebrated as heroes in “Inherit the Wind,” a 1955 Broadway play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. A fictionalized portrayal of the Scopes trial, the play powerfully defended free speech – veiled criticism of Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s recent investigations of various American citizens for their political positions and beliefs.

    “Inherit the Wind” inspired a 1960 film of the same name, directed by Stanley Kramer. Its “fanaticism and ignorance” speech depicts the character based on Darrow – played by Spencer Tracy – arguing that without science, society would regress back to a time of unconstrained bigotry. The film received its debut American screening in Dayton on the 35th anniversary of the end of the Scopes trial; Scopes himself was the guest of honor.

    ‘Fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding.’

    Representations of rural Tennessee in popular culture depictions and in media coverage of the trial drew from a font of stereotypes about Appalachia that have continued into the present century. Condescending depictions of the region have been present in American culture since before the Civil War.

    Centennial commemoration

    Memory of the Scopes trial endures in popular culture. Take, for instance, a reference in Bruce Springsteen’s 1990 song “Part Man, Part Monkey,” or Ronald Kidd’s 2006 “Monkey Town,” a historical novel for young adults.

    Dayton did benefit from the notoriety of the Scopes trial, thanks to sustained cultural tourism. Proud of its unique history, the town today boasts a historical marker to alert passersby to the significance of the landmark event that took place in the Rhea County Courthouse. And in 2025, Dayton has been hosting a series of events to commemorate the trial’s centennial.

    Back in 1925, even the Baltimore journalist Mencken begrudgingly praised Dayton and its townspeople, admitting, “It would be hard to imagine a more moral town than Dayton.”

    “I expected to find a squalid Southern village … What I found was a country town of charm and even beauty,” he wrote.

    Ted Olson 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. ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since – https://theconversation.com/monkey-biz-ness-pop-culture-helped-fan-the-flames-of-the-scopes-monkey-trial-100-years-ago-and-ever-since-255946

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Supreme Court rules Trump can rapidly deport immigrants to Libya, South Sudan and other countries they aren’t from

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eleanor Paynter, Assistant Professor of Italian, Migration, and Global Media Studies, University of Oregon

    Internally displaced people walk along a street in Juba, South Sudan, on Feb. 13, 2025. Brian Inganga/AP Photos

    For the past several months, the Trump administration has been trying to deport immigrants to countries they are not from – despite an April 2025 federal ruling that had blocked the White House from doing so.

    A divided Supreme Court decided on June 23, in a brief emergency order, that the Trump administration can, for now, legally deport immigrants to countries they were not born in – known as “third countries” – without giving them time to contest their destination. The third countries that President Donald Trump has recently prioritized, including El Salvador, South Sudan and Libya, are known for being dangerous places with weak rule of law and routine human rights violations.

    The 6-3 decision did not specify a legal rationale for the ruling. The court’s three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, all dissented.

    “Apparently, the Court finds the idea that thousands will suffer violence in farflung locales more palatable than the remote possibility that a District Court exceeded its powers when it ordered the government provide notice to the targeted migrants,” Sotomayor wrote in a 19-page dissent, joined by Kagan and Brown Jackson.

    Understanding this legal case

    The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court at the end of May to allow the rapid deportation of eight men who were convicted of crimes to South Sudan. Only one of those immigrants is from South Sudan, a politically unstable country in northeastern Africa. The rest are from Cuba, Mexico, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

    Brian Murphy, a federal judge in Massachusetts, had blocked those immigrants’ deportation to South Sudan on May 21, saying that this move violated his April 2025 court order. In that ruling, he stated that people being deported to third countries should have time to contest their destination if it might put them in danger.

    The flight to South Sudan was rerouted to an American military base in the East African country of Djibouti, where the men are reportedly living in a converted shipping container while they wait to hear whether they will be deported to South Sudan.

    Murphy also ruled in April that the Trump administration cannot send other immigrants to Libya if they are not foreign nationals of that North African country.

    I study how restrictive immigration policies make people’s journeys into a new country dangerous and can harm their well-being. In that research, I have interviewed African migrants who have traversed the Sahara Desert, Libya and the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, where they seek asylum.

    The White House has not explained why it wants to send immigrants to South Sudan or Libya.

    Libya’s government has denied any direct coordination with the U.S. on this issue, and South Sudan’s government has said that any immigrants deported there with criminal records would be sent to their own countries.

    But a May federal court filing said that Trump administration officials have tried to negotiate deportation arrangements with Libya and South Sudan that give the governments money or other benefits for taking in immigrants from the U.S.

    South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, right, meets with Abdel Fattah, a general from Sudan, at a September 2024 ceremony in Juba, South Sudan.
    South Sudan Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images

    South Sudan’s shaky footing

    Migrants can legally be deported to another nation when their country of origin refuses to repatriate them – though this practice is rare.

    Former President Joe Biden, for example, deported Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to Mexico if it was politically or logistically difficult to repatriate them.

    But the Trump administration is the first to insist on expedited removal of immigrants to countries outside of Latin America.

    South Sudan became a country in 2011, when it split from Sudan after a decades-long war. Since then, South Sudan has been led by a single president – Salva Kiir – who has been described by international critics as authoritarian, meaning he tries to centralize his own power and limit other people’s political rights. In March 2025, Kiir oversaw the arrest of vice president and opposition leader Riek Machar.

    Fighting between the government and opposition forces has prompted more than 2.3 million South Sudanese to flee to neighboring countries since 2013.

    In 2025 alone, the country’s civil conflict has prompted more than 130,000 people to become internally displaced, meaning they were forced to leave their homes and live elsewhere within the country.

    In March, Uganda deployed its troops to South Sudan to support the president, prompting concern of a full-scale civil war between forces backing Kiir and opposition forces. The United Nations then extended a U.S.-sponsored arms embargo in May to prevent weapons from reaching the region.

    The conflict has also blocked the distribution of lifesaving aid, including food and other basic supplies, to reach people in South Sudan. About 57% of the country’s estimated 11 million people do not get enough food.

    In March, the U.S. State Department ordered nonemergency U.S. government employees to leave South Sudan.

    The State Department has also documented “significant human rights issues” in South Sudan, including threats to freedom of expression, as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions.

    Libya’s danger for migrants

    People demonstrate against the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, Libya, on June 20, 2025.
    Mahmud Turkia/AFP via Getty Images

    The Trump administration is also trying to send immigrants to Libya, which has not had a stable government since the U.S. and other countries supported the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libya is currently ruled by two rival governments: the internationally recognized Government of National Unity in the country’s western region and the Government of National Stability in the east.

    The U.S. has not had an embassy in Libya since 2014 due to unpredictable and unstable security there.

    Armed militias control sections of Libya, and in some cases, they are also embedded as part of the governments.

    Libya is a significant destination for migrants from countries throughout Africa and the Middle East who want to work in, or just pass through, Libya on their way north to Europe.

    It is also a dangerous place for migrants. A 2023 U.N. fact-finding mission in Libya documented what migrants have long maintained in interviews with advocacy groups – they are regularly held for ransom by human traffickers, enslaved, and arrested and tortured in detention centers partly funded by Europe.

    A mass grave found in 2021 near the village of Tarhouna contained the bodies of hundreds of locals who had disappeared under militia rule. In February 2025, the U.N. confirmed the discovery of mass migrant graves, with bodies showing signs of gunshot wounds.

    In a May 2025 court declaration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the injunction halting rapid third-country deportations threatens “a significant commercial deal to expand activities of a U.S. energy company in Libya.” In Libya, home to Africa’s largest oil reserves, U.S. companies are actively seeking to rekindle partnerships with the country’s national oil company.

    In June, Trump included Libya on the list of countries banned from sending citizens to the U.S., citing the inability to “safely and reliably vet and screen” citizens from Libya and the other banned countries.

    Other options for Trump administration

    The U.S. is actively seeking additional countries it could send immigrants to in the future, even if they are not from those places.

    Rubio issued a memo on June 14, about expanding the list of countries in the current travel ban against foreign nationals from 12 countries, including Libya. He noted that the 36 additional countries – mostly in Africa and including South Sudan – could mitigate the harsh policy by agreeing to accept immigrants from other countries who are deported from the U.S.

    Eleanor Paynter 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. Supreme Court rules Trump can rapidly deport immigrants to Libya, South Sudan and other countries they aren’t from – https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-rules-trump-can-rapidly-deport-immigrants-to-libya-south-sudan-and-other-countries-they-arent-from-258155

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Samantha Thompson, Astronomy Curator, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

    The Rubin Observatory is scheduled to release its first images in 2025. RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/B. Quint

    Everything in space – from the Earth and Sun to black holes – accounts for just 15% of all matter in the universe. The rest of the cosmos seems to be made of an invisible material astronomers call dark matter.

    Astronomers know dark matter exists because its gravity affects other things, such as light. But understanding what dark matter is remains an active area of research.

    With the release of its first images this month, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun a 10-year mission to help unravel the mystery of dark matter. The observatory will continue the legacy of its namesake, a trailblazing astronomer who advanced our understanding of the other 85% of the universe.

    As a historian of astronomy, I’ve studied how Vera Rubin’s contributions have shaped astrophysics. The observatory’s name is fitting, given that its data will soon provide scientists with a way to build on her work and shed more light on dark matter.

    Wide view of the universe

    From its vantage point in the Chilean Andes mountains, the Rubin Observatory will document everything visible in the southern sky. Every three nights, the observatory and its 3,200 megapixel camera will make a record of the sky.

    This camera, about the size of a small car, is the largest digital camera ever built. Images will capture an area of the sky roughly 45 times the size of the full Moon. With a big camera with a wide field of view, Rubin will produce about five petabytes of data every year. That’s roughly 5,000 years’ worth of MP3 songs.

    After weeks, months and years of observations, astronomers will have a time-lapse record revealing anything that explodes, flashes or moves – such as supernovas, variable stars or asteroids. They’ll also have the largest survey of galaxies ever made. These galactic views are key to investigating dark matter.

    Galaxies are the key

    Deep field images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and others have visually revealed the abundance of galaxies in the universe. These images are taken with a long exposure time to collect the most light, so that even very faint objects show up.

    Researchers now know that those galaxies aren’t randomly distributed. Gravity and dark matter pull and guide them into a structure that resembles a spider’s web or a tub of bubbles. The Rubin Observatory will expand upon these previous galactic surveys, increasing the precision of the data and capturing billions more galaxies.

    In addition to helping structure galaxies throughout the universe, dark matter also distorts the appearance of galaxies through an effect referred to as gravitational lensing.

    Light travels through space in a straight line − unless it gets close to something massive. Gravity bends light’s path, which distorts the way we see it. This gravitational lensing effect provides clues that could help astronomers locate dark matter. The stronger the gravity, the bigger the bend in light’s path.

    The white galaxies seen here are bound in a cluster. The gravity from the galaxies and the dark matter bends the light from the more distant galaxies, creating contorted and magnified images of them.
    NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI

    Discovering dark matter

    For centuries, astronomers tracked and measured the motion of planets in the solar system. They found that all the planets followed the path predicted by Newton’s laws of motion, except for Uranus. Astronomers and mathematicians reasoned that if Newton’s laws are true, there must be some missing matter – another massive object – out there tugging on Uranus. From this hypothesis, they discovered Neptune, confirming Newton’s laws.

    With the ability to see fainter objects in the 1930s, astronomers began tracking the motions of galaxies.

    California Institute of Technology astronomer Fritz Zwicky coined the term dark matter in 1933, after observing galaxies in the Coma Cluster. He calculated the mass of the galaxies based on their speeds, which did not match their mass based on the number of stars he observed.

    He suspected that the cluster could contain an invisible, missing matter that kept the galaxies from flying apart. But for several decades he lacked enough observational evidence to support his theory.

    Vera Rubin operates the Carnegie spectrograph at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson.
    Carnegie Institution for Science, CC BY

    Enter Vera Rubin

    In 1965, Vera Rubin became the first women hired onto the scientific staff at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, D.C.

    She worked with Kent Ford, who had built an extremely sensitive spectrograph and was looking to apply it to a scientific research project. Rubin and Ford used the spectrograph to measure how fast stars orbit around the center of their galaxies.

    In the solar system, where most of the mass is within the Sun at the center, the closest planet, Mercury, moves faster than the farthest planet, Neptune.

    “We had expected that as stars got farther and farther from the center of their galaxy, they would orbit slower and slower,” Rubin said in 1992.

    What they found in galaxies surprised them. Stars far from the galaxy’s center were moving just as fast as stars closer in.

    “And that really leads to only two possibilities,” Rubin explained. “Either Newton’s laws don’t hold, and physicists and astronomers are woefully afraid of that … (or) stars are responding to the gravitational field of matter which we don’t see.”

    Data piled up as Rubin created plot after plot. Her colleagues didn’t doubt her observations, but the interpretation remained a debate. Many people were reluctant to accept that dark matter was necessary to account for the findings in Rubin’s data.

    Rubin continued studying galaxies, measuring how fast stars moved within them. She wasn’t interested in investigating dark matter itself, but she carried on with documenting its effects on the motion of galaxies.

    A U.S quarter honors Vera Rubin’s contributions to our understanding of dark matter.
    United States Mint, CC BY

    Vera Rubin’s legacy

    Today, more people are aware of Rubin’s observations and contributions to our understanding of dark matter. In 2019, a congressional bill was introduced to rename the former Large Synoptic Survey Telescope to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. In June 2025, the U.S. Mint released a quarter featuring Vera Rubin.

    Rubin continued to accumulate data about the motions of galaxies throughout her career. Others picked up where she left off and have helped advance dark matter research over the past 50 years.

    In the 1970s, physicist James Peebles and astronomers Jeremiah Ostriker and Amos Yahil created computer simulations of individual galaxies. They concluded, similarly to Zwicky, that there was not enough visible matter in galaxies to keep them from flying apart.

    They suggested that whatever dark matter is − be it cold stars, black holes or some unknown particle − there could be as much as 10 times the amount of dark matter than ordinary matter in galaxies.

    Throughout its 10-year run, the Rubin Observatory should give even more researchers the opportunity to add to our understanding of dark matter.

    Samantha Thompson 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. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake – https://theconversation.com/the-vera-c-rubin-observatory-will-help-astronomers-investigate-dark-matter-continuing-the-legacy-of-its-pioneering-namesake-259233

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Samantha Thompson, Astronomy Curator, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

    The Rubin Observatory is scheduled to release its first images in 2025. RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/B. Quint

    Everything in space – from the Earth and Sun to black holes – accounts for just 15% of all matter in the universe. The rest of the cosmos seems to be made of an invisible material astronomers call dark matter.

    Astronomers know dark matter exists because its gravity affects other things, such as light. But understanding what dark matter is remains an active area of research.

    With the release of its first images this month, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun a 10-year mission to help unravel the mystery of dark matter. The observatory will continue the legacy of its namesake, a trailblazing astronomer who advanced our understanding of the other 85% of the universe.

    As a historian of astronomy, I’ve studied how Vera Rubin’s contributions have shaped astrophysics. The observatory’s name is fitting, given that its data will soon provide scientists with a way to build on her work and shed more light on dark matter.

    Wide view of the universe

    From its vantage point in the Chilean Andes mountains, the Rubin Observatory will document everything visible in the southern sky. Every three nights, the observatory and its 3,200 megapixel camera will make a record of the sky.

    This camera, about the size of a small car, is the largest digital camera ever built. Images will capture an area of the sky roughly 45 times the size of the full Moon. With a big camera with a wide field of view, Rubin will produce about five petabytes of data every year. That’s roughly 5,000 years’ worth of MP3 songs.

    After weeks, months and years of observations, astronomers will have a time-lapse record revealing anything that explodes, flashes or moves – such as supernovas, variable stars or asteroids. They’ll also have the largest survey of galaxies ever made. These galactic views are key to investigating dark matter.

    Galaxies are the key

    Deep field images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and others have visually revealed the abundance of galaxies in the universe. These images are taken with a long exposure time to collect the most light, so that even very faint objects show up.

    Researchers now know that those galaxies aren’t randomly distributed. Gravity and dark matter pull and guide them into a structure that resembles a spider’s web or a tub of bubbles. The Rubin Observatory will expand upon these previous galactic surveys, increasing the precision of the data and capturing billions more galaxies.

    In addition to helping structure galaxies throughout the universe, dark matter also distorts the appearance of galaxies through an effect referred to as gravitational lensing.

    Light travels through space in a straight line − unless it gets close to something massive. Gravity bends light’s path, which distorts the way we see it. This gravitational lensing effect provides clues that could help astronomers locate dark matter. The stronger the gravity, the bigger the bend in light’s path.

    The white galaxies seen here are bound in a cluster. The gravity from the galaxies and the dark matter bends the light from the more distant galaxies, creating contorted and magnified images of them.
    NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI

    Discovering dark matter

    For centuries, astronomers tracked and measured the motion of planets in the solar system. They found that all the planets followed the path predicted by Newton’s laws of motion, except for Uranus. Astronomers and mathematicians reasoned that if Newton’s laws are true, there must be some missing matter – another massive object – out there tugging on Uranus. From this hypothesis, they discovered Neptune, confirming Newton’s laws.

    With the ability to see fainter objects in the 1930s, astronomers began tracking the motions of galaxies.

    California Institute of Technology astronomer Fritz Zwicky coined the term dark matter in 1933, after observing galaxies in the Coma Cluster. He calculated the mass of the galaxies based on their speeds, which did not match their mass based on the number of stars he observed.

    He suspected that the cluster could contain an invisible, missing matter that kept the galaxies from flying apart. But for several decades he lacked enough observational evidence to support his theory.

    Vera Rubin operates the Carnegie spectrograph at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson.
    Carnegie Institution for Science, CC BY

    Enter Vera Rubin

    In 1965, Vera Rubin became the first women hired onto the scientific staff at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, D.C.

    She worked with Kent Ford, who had built an extremely sensitive spectrograph and was looking to apply it to a scientific research project. Rubin and Ford used the spectrograph to measure how fast stars orbit around the center of their galaxies.

    In the solar system, where most of the mass is within the Sun at the center, the closest planet, Mercury, moves faster than the farthest planet, Neptune.

    “We had expected that as stars got farther and farther from the center of their galaxy, they would orbit slower and slower,” Rubin said in 1992.

    What they found in galaxies surprised them. Stars far from the galaxy’s center were moving just as fast as stars closer in.

    “And that really leads to only two possibilities,” Rubin explained. “Either Newton’s laws don’t hold, and physicists and astronomers are woefully afraid of that … (or) stars are responding to the gravitational field of matter which we don’t see.”

    Data piled up as Rubin created plot after plot. Her colleagues didn’t doubt her observations, but the interpretation remained a debate. Many people were reluctant to accept that dark matter was necessary to account for the findings in Rubin’s data.

    Rubin continued studying galaxies, measuring how fast stars moved within them. She wasn’t interested in investigating dark matter itself, but she carried on with documenting its effects on the motion of galaxies.

    A U.S quarter honors Vera Rubin’s contributions to our understanding of dark matter.
    United States Mint, CC BY

    Vera Rubin’s legacy

    Today, more people are aware of Rubin’s observations and contributions to our understanding of dark matter. In 2019, a congressional bill was introduced to rename the former Large Synoptic Survey Telescope to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. In June 2025, the U.S. Mint released a quarter featuring Vera Rubin.

    Rubin continued to accumulate data about the motions of galaxies throughout her career. Others picked up where she left off and have helped advance dark matter research over the past 50 years.

    In the 1970s, physicist James Peebles and astronomers Jeremiah Ostriker and Amos Yahil created computer simulations of individual galaxies. They concluded, similarly to Zwicky, that there was not enough visible matter in galaxies to keep them from flying apart.

    They suggested that whatever dark matter is − be it cold stars, black holes or some unknown particle − there could be as much as 10 times the amount of dark matter than ordinary matter in galaxies.

    Throughout its 10-year run, the Rubin Observatory should give even more researchers the opportunity to add to our understanding of dark matter.

    Samantha Thompson 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. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake – https://theconversation.com/the-vera-c-rubin-observatory-will-help-astronomers-investigate-dark-matter-continuing-the-legacy-of-its-pioneering-namesake-259233

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Fiji advocacy group slams Indonesian role in MSG as a ‘disgrace’

    Asia Pacific Report

    A Fiji-based advocacy group has condemned the participation of Indonesia in the Melanesian Spearhead Group which is meeting in Suva this week, saying it is a “profound disgrace” that the Indonesian Embassy continues to “operate freely” within the the MSG Secretariat.

    “This presence blatantly undermines the core principles of justice and solidarity we claim to uphold as Melanesians,” said We Bleed Black and Red in a social media post.

    The group said that as the new MSG chair, the Fiji government could not speak cannot credibly about equity, peace, regional unity, or the Melanesian family “while the very agent of prolonged Melanesian oppression sits at the decision-making table”.

    The statement said that for more than six decades, the people of West Papua had endured “systemic atrocities from mass killings to environmental devastation — acts that clearly constitute ecocide and gross human rights violations”.

    “Indonesia’s track record is not only morally indefensible but also a flagrant breach of numerous international agreements and conventions,” the group said.

    “It is time for all Melanesian nations to confront the reality behind the diplomatic facades and development aid.

    “No amount of financial incentives or diplomatic charm can erase the undeniable suffering of the West Papuan people.

    “We must rise above political appeasement and fulfill our moral and regional duty as one Melanesian family.

    “The Pacific cannot claim moral leadership while turning a blind eye and deaf ear to colonial violence on our own shores. Justice delayed is justice denied.”

    ‘Peaceful, prosperous Melanesia’
     Meanwhile, The Fiji Times reports that the 23rd MSG Leaders’ Summit got underway on Monday in Suva, drawing heads of state from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and representatives from New Caledonia’s FLNKS.

    Hosted under the theme “A Peaceful and Prosperous Melanesia,” the summit ended yesterday.

    This year’s meeting also marked Fiji’s first time chairing the regional bloc since 1997.

    Fiji officially assumed the MSG chairmanship from Vanuatu following a traditional handover ceremony attended by senior officials, observers, and dignitaries at Draiba.

    Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape arrived in Suva on Sunday and reaffirmed Papua New Guinea’s commitment to MSG cooperation during today’s plenary session.

    He will also take part in high-level talanoa discussions with the Pacific Islands Forum’s Eminent Persons Group, aimed at deepening institutional reform and regional solidarity.

    Observers from the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and Indonesia were also present, reflecting ongoing efforts to expand the bloc’s influence on issues like self-determination, regional trade, security, and climate resilience in the Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Semen allergies may be suprisingly common – here’s what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Carroll, Reader / Associate Professor in Reproductive Science, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Yuriy Maksymiv/Shutterstock

    Imagine itching, burning, swelling, or even struggling to breathe just moments after sex. For a small but growing number of women, that’s not an awkward anecdote – it’s a medical condition. It’s called seminal plasma hypersensitivity (SPH) – an allergy to semen.

    This rare but underdiagnosed allergy isn’t triggered by sperm cells, but by proteins in the seminal plasma — the fluid that carries sperm. First documented in 1967, when a woman was hospitalised after a “violent allergic reaction” to sex, SPH is now recognised as a type 1 hypersensitivity, the same category as hay fever, peanut allergy and cat dander.

    Symptoms range from mild to severe. Some women experience local reactions: burning, itching, redness and swelling of the vulva or vagina. Others develop full-body symptoms: hives, wheezing, dizziness, runny nose and even anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening immune response.

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

    Until 1997, SPH was thought to affect fewer than 100 women globally. But a study led by allergist Jonathan Bernstein found that among women reporting postcoital symptoms, nearly 12% could be classified as having probable SPH.

    I conducted a small, unpublished survey in 2013 and found a similar 12% rate. The true figure may be higher still. Many cases go unreported, misdiagnosed, or dismissed as STIs, yeast infections, or general “sensitivity”. One revealing clue: symptoms disappear when condoms are used.

    A 2024 study reinforced this finding, suggesting that SPH is both more common and more commonly misdiagnosed than previously believed.

    The problem isn’t the sperm

    The main allergen appears to be prostate-specific antigen (PSA): a protein found in all seminal plasma, not just that of a particular partner. In other words, women can develop a reaction to any man’s semen, not just their regular partner’s.

    There’s also evidence of cross-reactivity. For example, Can f 5, a protein found in dog dander, is structurally similar to human PSA. So women allergic to dogs may find themselves reacting to semen too. In one unusual case, a woman with a Brazil nut allergy broke out in hives after sex, probably due to trace nut proteins in her partner’s semen.

    Diagnosis begins with a detailed sexual and medical history, often followed by skin prick testing with the partner’s semen or blood tests for PSA-specific antibodies (IgE).

    In my own research involving symptomatic women, we demonstrated that testing with washed spermatozoa, free from seminal plasma, can help confirm that the allergic trigger is not the sperm cells themselves, but proteins in the seminal fluid.

    And it’s not just women. It’s possible some men may be allergic to their own semen.

    This condition, known as post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), causes flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue, brain fog and muscle aches, immediately after ejaculation. It’s believed to be an autoimmune or allergic reaction. Diagnosis is tricky, but skin testing with a man’s own semen can yield a positive reaction.

    What about fertility?

    Seminal plasma hypersensitivity doesn’t cause infertility directly, but it can complicate conception. Avoiding the allergen – usually the most effective treatment for allergies – isn’t feasible for couples trying to conceive.

    Treatments include prophylactic antihistamines (antihistamine medications taken in advance of anticipated exposure to an allergen, or before allergy symptoms are expected to appear to prevent or reduce the severity of allergic reactions), anti-inflammatories and desensitisation using diluted seminal plasma. In more severe cases, couples may choose IVF with washed sperm, bypassing the allergic trigger altogether.

    It’s important to note: SPH is not a form of infertility. Many women with SPH have conceived successfully – some naturally, others with medical support.

    So why don’t more people know about this?

    Because sex-related symptoms often go unspoken. Embarrassment, stigma and a lack of awareness among doctors mean that many women suffer in silence. In Bernstein’s 1997 study, almost half of the women who had symptoms after sex had never been checked for SPH, and many had spent years being misdiagnosed and getting the wrong treatment.

    If sex routinely leaves you itchy, sore or unwell – and condoms help – you might be allergic to semen.

    It’s time to bring this hidden condition out of the shadows and into the consultation room.

    Michael Carroll 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. Semen allergies may be suprisingly common – here’s what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/semen-allergies-may-be-suprisingly-common-heres-what-you-need-to-know-259308

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What Glastonbury is like for deaf people – one of the festival’s DeafZone coordinators explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dai O’Brien, Associate Professor, BSL and Deaf Studies, York St John University

    The sense of community is something Deaf people share with how hearing people experience festivals. Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock

    For the past few years at Glastonbury, sign language interpreters have gone viral on social media for enthusiastically signing songs beside the stage. But those clips tell us nothing about what the overall experience of the festival is like for deaf people. How do deaf people experience and enjoy live music, and how do they create their own alternative space which is not focused around sound?

    I am deaf and use British Sign Language (BSL) as my preferred language. As well as my academic job teaching BSL and Deaf studies at York St John University, I am also one of the coordinators of DeafZone. It’s a small charity which organises, among other things, the BSL interpreters of events like Glastonbury.

    But a key reason for setting up DeafZone was to instigate a space for cultural exchange. In the DeafZone, the more progressive, open-minded people who are attracted to Glastonbury’s tradition as a space of radical thought and alternative lifestyles may be open to learning more about deaf people, our languages and cultures.

    An absolutely key element of deaf people’s experience of festivals is the creation of alternative deaf spaces. Deaf people do not experience festivals in the same way as hearing people in more ways that the simple absence of sound.

    We create our own spaces which are visual and tactile. The interpretation of song lyrics into BSL is only a small, albeit very visible, part of this alternative festival space.

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    People often look at me strangely when I tell them that one of my best every festival experiences was in a portaloo. Understandable, I suppose, when you consider what usually happens in portaloos in festivals.

    However, this particular experience was focused on the way in which the plastic walls of the portaloo acted as a gigantic amplifier of the sound vibrations in the air. This made the inside of the loo an intensely tactile experience of music, with different frequencies vibrating through different parts of my body.

    A less smelly way of accessing this tactile experience of music is through plastic drinks holders or balloons. Balloons can be a risky option, however, as security sometimes confiscate them under the impression that they are full of nitrous oxide. This is frustrating, but can result in conversations which invite them into the lived deaf space we are inhabiting and give them an alternative way of appreciating music which does not rely on sound.

    Of course, deaf people often also simply position themselves directly in front of the sound stacks. But the key is that the experience of sound is again a physical, tactile one, subverting the idea that music must be enjoyed as an auditory experience.

    The values of the space created have some overlaps with those of the wider festival. Deaf spaces centre the use of signed languages. Their creators – including myself – firmly believe that deaf children should have access to signed languages from birth to stave off language deprivation.

    We also resist the medicalisation of deafness. These are beliefs which find common ground in the radical political roots of Glastonbury, in which ideas of equality and acceptance are core principles.

    This means that at its heart, the festival is a very welcoming space for deaf people, regardless of whether there is a shared language or not. There’s a shared respect for humanity that transcends language modality.

    This comes back to the fact that DeafZone is not just about organising interpreters for access to song lyrics. We give non-signing people a chance to engage with us in our space, to appreciate our values, and to learn about the mistreatment that deaf communities and cultures have suffered.

    Regardless of whether you’re deaf or hearing, the uniqueness of the Glastonbury festival provides opportunities to learn from each other and enjoy each other’s languages. If that includes room for dancing together to your favourite band, so much the better.

    Dai O’Brien is affiliated with DeafZone.

    – ref. What Glastonbury is like for deaf people – one of the festival’s DeafZone coordinators explains – https://theconversation.com/what-glastonbury-is-like-for-deaf-people-one-of-the-festivals-deafzone-coordinators-explains-258532

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –