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  • MIL-OSI Global: Is it better to shower in the morning or at night? Here’s what a microbiologist says

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester

    Showering is an important part of an good hygiene routine. Valerii_k/ Shutterstock

    It’s a question that’s long been the cause of debate: is it better to shower in the morning or at night?

    Morning shower enthusiasts will say this is the obvious winner, as it helps you wake up and start the day fresh. Night shower loyalists, on the other hand, will argue it’s better to “wash the day away” and relax before bed.

    But what does the research actually say? As a microbiologist, I can tell you there actually is a clear answer to this question.

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    First off, it’s important to stress that showering is an integral part of any good hygiene routine — regardless of when you prefer to have one.

    Showering helps us remove dirt and oil from our skin, which can help prevent skin rashes and infections.

    Showering also removes sweat, which can quell body odour.

    Although many of us think that body odour is caused by sweat, it’s actually produced by bacteria that live on the surface of our skin. Fresh sweat is, in fact, odourless. But skin-dwelling bacteria – specifically staphylococci – use sweat as a direct nutrient source. When they break down the sweat, it releases a sulphur-containing compound called thioalcohols which is behind that pungent BO stench many of us are familiar with.

    Day or night?

    During the day, your body and hair inevitably collect pollutants and allergens (such as dust and pollen) alongside their usual accumulation of sweat and sebaceous oil. While some of these particles will be retained by your clothes, others will inevitably be transferred to your sheets and pillow cases.

    The sweat and oil from you skin will also support the growth of the bacteria that comprise your skin microbiome. These bacteria may then also be transferred from your body onto your sheets.

    Showering at night may remove some of the allergens, sweat and oil picked up during the day so less ends up on your bedsheets.

    However, even if you’ve freshly showered before bed, you will still sweat during the night – whatever the temperature is. Your skin microbes will then eat the nutrients in that sweat. This means that by the morning, you’ll have both deposited microbes onto your bed sheets and you’ll probably also wake up with some BO.

    A night shower can help rinse away the day’s dirt and grime, but you might not smell as fresh the next morning.
    leungchopan/ Shutterstock

    What particularly negates the cleaning benefits of a night shower is if your bedding is not regularly laundered. The odour causing microbes present in your bed sheets may be transferred while you sleep onto your clean body.

    Showering at night also does not stop your skin cells being shed. This means they can potentially become the food source of house dust mites, whose waste can be allergenic. If you don’t regularly wash your sheets, this could lead to a build-up of dead skin cell deposits which will feed more dust mites. The droppings from these dust mites can trigger allergies and exacerbate asthma.



    Read more:
    Your bed probably isn’t as clean as you think – a microbiologist explains

    Morning showers, on the other hand, can help remove dead skin cells as well as any sweat or bacteria you’ve picked up from your bed sheets during the night. This is especially important to do if your sheets weren’t freshly washed when you went to bed.

    A morning shower suggests your body will be cleaner of night-acquired skin microbes when putting on fresh clothes. You’ll also start the day with less sweat for odour-producing bacteria to feed on – which will probably help you smell fresher for longer during the day compared to someone who showered at night. As a microbiologist, I am a day shower advocate.

    Of course, everyone has their own shower preference. Whatever time you choose, remember that the effectiveness of your shower is influenced by many aspects of your personal hygiene regime – such as how frequently you wash your bed sheets.

    So regardless of whether your prefer a morning or evening shower, it’s important to clean your bed linen regularly. You should launder your sheets and pillow cases at least weekly to remove all the sweat, bacteria, dead skin cells and sebaceous oils that have built up on your sheets.

    Washing will also remove any fungal spores that might be growing on the bed linen – alongside the nutrient sources these odour producing microbes use to grow.

    Primrose Freestone 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 it better to shower in the morning or at night? Here’s what a microbiologist says – https://theconversation.com/is-it-better-to-shower-in-the-morning-or-at-night-heres-what-a-microbiologist-says-256242

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Britain is already becoming an ‘island of strangers’ – but immigration isn’t the driver

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Skey, Lecturer in Media and Communications, Loughborough University

    Matthew Troke/Shutterstock

    Keir Starmer’s recent speech on immigration has generated a good deal of controversy. In announcing a government white paper to cut legal migration, the prime minister said: “Nations depend on rules – fair rules. Sometimes they’re written down, often they’re not, but either way, they give shape to our values … Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”

    As someone who has researched what gives people a sense of national belonging, I would argue there is evidence that Britain has become an “island of strangers” in the sense that people live increasingly isolated lives. But the problem has very little to do with migration.

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    New public opinion research from think tank More in Common has found that 50% of Britons feel disconnected from society around them, while 44% say they sometimes feel like “strangers in their own country.” This feeling of alienation was strongest among Asian Britons.

    Some evidence suggests a relationship between diversity (ethnic and racial diversity) and lack of social cohesion, rather than migration. The More in Common polling found that 53% of those polled say multiculturalism benefits the UK’s national identity, while 47% say it harms it. But the evidence is mixed, and studies find that it is inequality, not diversity, that has the biggest effect.

    Rather than portraying the problem as solely because of immigration, the prime minister might usefully focus on other significant factors that have made people feel like strangers.

    First is the dramatic loss of community spaces and assets in recent decades in the face of local government cuts and rising property prices. Government austerity has led to a decrease in funding for local authorities of around 50% between 2010 and 2020.

    My own research in this area shows the significance of places like community centres in allowing young people from different backgrounds to come together. When they do, they feel a greater sense of belonging in their communities. Some research has also shown a link between austerity cuts to youth services and rising knife crime.

    Over the last three decades, places and spaces where people come together to participate in activities and engage with those from different backgrounds have been decimated.

    Between 2018 and 2023 in London alone, 46 community spaces permanently shut down. The public service union Unison estimates that “funding cuts have led to the closure of more than two-thirds of council-run youth centres in England and Wales since 2010”.

    Almost 800 libraries were closed during the 2010s, and more continue to disappear each year. Leisure centres are also at risk. A 2023 report by the Local Government Association suggests that 40% of council areas will lose some or all of their leisure centre services in the next two years.

    The undermining of publicly-owned community spaces has been matched in the private sector. The pub – a key marker of community identity for many – has been subject to increasing pressure.

    A recent report from industry body the BBPA claimed that “nearly 300 pubs closed across England and Wales in 2024 – an equivalent of six a week”. The group pointed to rising costs and the fact that consumer habits are changing, with younger people drinking far less.

    A lonely island

    The loss of community assets means people have fewer places to engage with others on a regular basis. There is also evidence that the pandemic and online isolation have driven high rates of loneliness affecting all age groups and generations.

    According to the Campaign to End Loneliness, in 2022 nearly 50% of UK adults reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always. And around 7% experience chronic loneliness.

    While levels of isolation and loneliness have gone up for all generations, it is notable that a report for the Centre for Social Justice found the problem is worst for 18- to 24-year-olds, with 29% of this age group saying they “feel a fundamental separateness from other people and the wider world”.

    Britain’s younger generations are struggling with loneliness.
    Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock

    When it comes to discussing community and cohesion in contemporary Britain, it is interesting that only certain groups (usually particular kinds of migrants and their offspring) are the focus. We can see this in wider political and media debates, where such groups are blamed for living separate lives or not integrating.

    I’ve written about this idea before, finding that minority groups “broadly replicate the ethnic majority in terms of their attitudes towards British identity and institutions”. More recent survey data supports this. Figures for various ethnic groups are remarkably consistent when it comes to feeling they belong in Britain – Asian (85%), black (86%) and white (84%).

    Class divide

    The idea that people in Britain are increasingly living separate lives – or in what Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, calls a segregated society – is rarely discussed in terms of inequality or class.

    And yet, the More in Common polling found that financial insecurity is one of the strongest predictors of whether Britons feel disconnected from society.

    Income inequality in Britain is widening. Recent figures show that in 2022 alone, “incomes for the poorest 14 million people fell by 7.5%, while incomes for the richest fifth saw a 7.8% increase”. Moreover, research shows a link between lower economic status and higher rates of loneliness and social isolation.

    It is perhaps these growing divisions that should really be the focus of any government strategy. Focusing on local initiatives designed to protect, or expand, community assets such as libraries and youth and outreach centres appears a much more productive means of ensuring that Britain’s isn’t completely transformed into an island of strangers.

    Michael Skey receives funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council

    He is a member of Amnesty International

    – ref. Britain is already becoming an ‘island of strangers’ – but immigration isn’t the driver – https://theconversation.com/britain-is-already-becoming-an-island-of-strangers-but-immigration-isnt-the-driver-256724

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: UK and EU sign new trade, fishing and defence deal – what do economists think?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Maria Garcia, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Bath

    The UK and EU have announced a range of historic and wide-ranging new agreements touching on trade, defence and borders.

    Since the 2016 Brexit vote, COVID and conflict have changed the global economic landscape dramatically – with consumers feeling the effects every day. So the time could be ripe for a “reset” of relations between the UK and its largest trading partner.

    Beyond trade, the two sides have agreed to negotiate further on a youth mobility scheme. And in future, travellers with UK passports will be able to use e-gates and avoid lengthy queues in some European countries.

    But the agreement is also fraught with political risk, as opposition parties circle to capitalise on the vexxed question of tighter UK-EU relations. We asked a panel of experts for their analysis of the announcements.

    Fisheries agreement unlocks path to ‘reset’

    Maria Garcia, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Bath

    These were the first steps towards the much-vaunted Labour UK-EU “reset”. The announcement of agreements between the UK and EU covered security, energy and fisheries.

    But the announcement falls short of key UK priorities for the reset, which includes a series of measures to facilitate trade with what is still the UK’s largest trade partner and market. The bloc represented 48% of UK goods exports, 36% of services exports, and 51% of goods imports in 2024.

    Fisheries represent roughly 5% of UK agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports, and 0.03% of the UK economy. That may be a smaller slice of GDP than many people might think. But given the regional concentration of the fishing industry, it is vitally important to those communities. The situation is the same in EU countries.

    Fisheries was a difficult issue to tackle in the negotiations for the 2021 UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). Under the TCA, the EU agreed to phase out 25% of its catch share in British waters.

    And there was an understanding on permits to fish species subject to fishing quotas that would allow fleets to fish in each others’ waters. The terms of this were due to expire in June 2026.

    French president Emmanuel Macron insisted that without a deal on fisheries he would not accept other areas of the reset. And North Sea countries joined the call to negotiate a deal on fish. This represented a difficult ask for the UK government, given fierce criticism from opposition parties.

    This agreement settles access to fisheries for the next 12 years. Despite its limited economic impact in absolute terms, the political significance should not be underestimated. It is a clear signal of the Starmer government’s commitment to move forward in the relationship with the EU – particularly relevant at a time of complicated global trading relations.

    Other proposed measures include waiving the requirement to submit safety declarations, agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and a veterinary agreement to facilitate agricultural trade. These matters are included in the newly published memo in which the UK and EU commit to work towards agreement on SPS. However, there is no announcement as to when this might be finalised.

    But the settlement on fisheries means an important hurdle has been overcome on the path towards the reset.

    Big boost for the UK’s top food export

    Mausam Budhathoki, PhD Researcher, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling

    This UK-EU agreement has major implications for the Scottish salmon industry, a vital part of Scotland’s economy. In 2024, salmon exports hit a record £844 million, with France accounting for 55% of the total. Salmon is the UK’s top food export, and as such stands to benefit from the reduced customs checks and paperwork outlined in the deal. This will ease access to EU markets.

    Since Brexit, the industry has faced export delays, higher costs and an estimated loss of £80 million–£100 million in EU sales due to new regulatory hurdles. The UK government projects the agreement could add £9 billion to the economy by 2040, with agrifood sectors like salmon farming gaining. Yet, the deal extends EU fishing rights in UK waters until 2038, which may disrupt marine ecosystems essential to salmon farming.

    Although salmon are farmed in sea pens, they rely on clean, stable marine environments that could be affected by increased fishing activity. The agreement also remains politically sensitive. Future UK-EU disputes or changes could bring revisions, creating uncertainty for long-term planning and investment. While the deal offers clear trade benefits, the industry must balance growth opportunities with environmental and political risks.

    The agreement will ease the export process for UK goods to Europe.
    john abrams/Shutterstock

    Defence deal could boost UK economy as well as security

    Conor O’Kane, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Bournemouth University

    The deal looks like the beginning of a path to closer economic ties between the UK and EU, reversing a trend of UK disengagement from Europe following Brexit.

    Growth in the UK economy has been sluggish in recent years, and exporters are facing uncertainty as a result of recent US trade policies. So any opportunity for UK firms to have easier access to EU markets has to be seen as a positive for economic growth.

    Faster economic growth will be absolutely key for UK chancellor Rachael Reeves to meet her “fiscal rules” (reducing national debt and only borrowing money for investment). It will also help to avoid further cuts to government spending. UK borrowing is currently above what the Office for Budget Responsibility was projecting only a year ago.

    The agreement on security and defence is one area of particular interest where growth is concerned. According to the UK government, the agreement “paves the way” for the participation of UK firms in the EU’s €150 billion (£126 billion) joint procurement programme to rearm Europe.

    The EU is stepping up its security spending in light of the Trump administration’s desire to reduce its support for Nato, and there is real potential for the UK defence industry to benefit.

    Mausam Budhathoki receives funding from the EATFISH project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant 956697)..

    Conor O’Kane and Maria Garcia 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. UK and EU sign new trade, fishing and defence deal – what do economists think? – https://theconversation.com/uk-and-eu-sign-new-trade-fishing-and-defence-deal-what-do-economists-think-257052

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Governors are leading the fight against climate change and deforestation around the world, filling a void left by presidents

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Mary Nichols, Distinguished Counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles

    Forests like the Amazon play vital roles in balancing the environment, from storing carbon to releasing oxygen. Silvestre Garcia-IntuitivoFilms/Stone/Getty Images

    When the annual U.N. climate conference descends on the small Brazilian rainforest city of Belém in November 2025, it will be tempting to focus on the drama and disunity among major nations. Only 21 countries had even submitted their updated plans for managing climate change by the 2025 deadline required under the Paris Agreement. The U.S. is pulling out of the agreement altogether.

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the likely absence of – or potential stonewalling by – a U.S. delegation will take up much of the oxygen in the negotiating hall.

    You can tune them out.

    Trust me, I’ve been there. As chair of the California Air Resources Board for nearly 20 years, I attended the annual conferences from Bali in 2007 to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, in 2023. That included the exhilarating success in 2015, when nearly 200 nations committed to keep global warming in check by signing the Paris Agreement.

    In recent years, however, the real progress has been outside the rooms where the official U.N. negotiations are held, not inside. In these meetings, the leaders of states and provinces talk about what they are doing to reduce greenhouse gases and prepare for worsening climate disasters. Many bilateral and multilateral agreements have sprung up like mushrooms from these side conversations.

    This week, for example, the leaders of several state-level governments are meeting in Brazil to discuss ways to protect tropical rainforests that restore ecosystems while creating jobs and boosting local economies.

    What states and provinces are doing now

    The real action in 2025 will come from the leaders of states and provinces, places like Pastaza, Ecuador; Acre and Pará, Brazil; and East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

    While some national political leaders are backing off their climate commitments, these subnational governments know they have to live with increasing fires, floods and deadly heat waves. So, they’re stepping up and sharing advice for what works.

    State, province and local governments often have jurisdiction over energy generation, land-use planning, housing policies and waste management, all of which play a role in increasing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    Their leaders have been finding ways to use that authority to reduce deforestation, increase the use of renewable energy and cap and cut greenhouse gas emissions that are pushing the planet toward dangerous tipping points. They have teamed up to link carbon markets and share knowledge in many areas.

    In the U.S., governors are working together in the U.S. Climate Alliance to fill the vacuum left by the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle U.S. climate policies and programs. Despite intense pressure from fossil fuel industry lobbyists, the governors of 22 states and two territories are creating policies that take steps to reduce emissions from buildings, power generation and transportation. Together, they represent more than half the U.S. population and nearly 60% of its economy.

    Tactics for fighting deforestation

    In Ecuador, provinces like Morona Santiago, Pastaza, and Zamora Chinchipe are designing management and financing partnerships with Indigenous territories for protecting more than 4 million hectares of forests through a unique collaboration called the Plataforma Amazonica.

    Brazilian states, including Mato Grosso, have been using remote-sensing technologies to crack down on illegal land clearing, while states like Amapá and Amazonas are developing community-engaged bioeconomy plans – think increased jobs through sustainable local fisheries and producing super fruits like acaí. Acre, Pará and Tocantins have programs that allow communities to sell carbon credits for forest preservation to companies.

    Global Forest Watch uses satellite data to track forest cover change. Green shows areas with at least 30% forest cover in 2000. Pink is forest loss from 2003-2023. Blue is forest gain from 2000 to 2020.
    Global Forest Watch, CC BY

    States in Mexico, including Jalisco, Yucatán and Oaxaca, have developed sustainable supply chain certification programs to help reduce deforestation. Programs like these can increase the economic value in some of foods and beverages, from avocados to honey to agave for tequila.

    There are real signs of success: Deforestation has dropped significantly in Indonesia compared with previous decades, thanks in large part to provincially led sustainable forest management efforts. In East Kalimantan, officials have been pursuing policy reforms and working with plantation and forestry companies to reduce forests destruction to protect habitat for orangutans.

    It’s no wonder that philanthropic and business leaders from many sectors are turning to state and provincial policymakers, rather than national governments. These subnational governments have the ability to take timely and effective action.

    Working together to find solutions

    Backing many of these efforts to slow deforestation is the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, which California’s then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger helped launch in 2008. It is the world’s only subnational governmental network dedicated to protecting forests, reducing emissions and making people’s lives better across the tropics.

    Today, the task force includes 43 states and provinces from 11 countries. They cover more than one-third of the world’s tropical forests. That includes all of Brazil’s Legal Amazon region, more than 85% of the Peruvian Amazon, 65% of Mexico’s tropical forests and over 60% of Indonesia’s forests.

    From a purely environmental perspective, subnational governments and governors must balance competing interests that do not always align with environmentalists’ ideals. Pará state, for example, is building an 8-mile (13 kilometer) road to ease traffic that cuts through rainforest. California’s investments in its Lithium Valley, where lithium used to make batteries is being extracted near the Salton Sea, may result in economic benefits within California and the U.S., while also generating potential environmental risks to air and water quality.

    Each governor has to balance the needs of farmers, ranchers and other industries with protecting the forests and other ecosystems, but those in the task force are finding pragmatic solutions.

    Pará State Gov. Helder Barbalho arrives for the Amazon Summit in August 2023. Eight South American countries agreed to launch an alliance to fight deforestation in the Amazon at the meeting.
    Evaristo SA / AFP via Getty Images

    The week of May 19-23, 2025, two dozen or more subnational leaders from Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia and elsewhere are gathering in Rio Branco, Brazil, for a conference on protecting tropical rainforests. They’ll also be ironing out some important details for developing what they call a “new forest economy” for protecting and restoring ecosystems while creating jobs and boosting economies.

    Protecting tropical forest habitat while also creating jobs and economic opportunities is not easy. In 2023, data show the planet was losing rainforest equivalent to 10 soccer fields a minute, and had lost more than 7% since 2000.

    But states and cities are taking big steps while many national governments can’t even agree on which direction to head. It’s time to pay attention more to the states.

    Mary Nichols is affiliated with the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, which cosponsors the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force.

    – ref. Governors are leading the fight against climate change and deforestation around the world, filling a void left by presidents – https://theconversation.com/governors-are-leading-the-fight-against-climate-change-and-deforestation-around-the-world-filling-a-void-left-by-presidents-256988

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Covid-19 death tolls in Europe highlight stark regional differences in 2020 and 2021

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Florian Bonnet, Démographe et économiste, spécialiste des inégalités territoriales, Ined (Institut national d’études démographiques)

    The political decisions made during 2020 and 2021 to combat the Covid-19 pandemic profoundly altered daily life. Professionally, societies faced partial unemployment and widespread adoption of remote work; personally, individuals endured lockdowns and social distancing measures. These interventions aimed to reduce infection rates and ease pressure on healthcare systems, with the primary public health goal of minimizing deaths.


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    More than five years after the pandemic began, what do we know about its impact on human longevity? Here’s a closer look.

    A decline in global life expectancy

    Initial assessments of the pandemic’s toll have been refined over time. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report published in May 2024, global life expectancy declined by 1.8 years between 2019 and 2021, erasing a decade of progress. These estimates rely on “excess mortality”, a metric that measures the difference between observed mortality during the pandemic and expected mortality in its absence.

    Excess mortality can be quantified using different indicators, such as the number of excess deaths. However, comparing this indicator between countries of different sizes and age structures can be challenging. Another informative metric is the loss of life expectancy at birth, calculated globally by organisations such as the WHO.

    The regular calculation, publication and dissemination of excess mortality indicators are vital for comparing the pandemic’s impact across countries at the national level. However, it is important to recognise that the pandemic did not affect all areas within countries equally. Variability in the severity of the pandemic’s impact often stemmed from differing confinement strategies implemented to contain the virus.

    This uneven distribution highlights the need to quantify these indicators at a more granular geographical level. Such localised analysis can reveal the regions most severely affected, providing valuable insights into the pandemic’s effects and enabling the development of targeted response strategies.

    In a series of studies conducted in 2024, we introduced an innovative method to calculate excess mortality at the regional level. We used this method to estimate excess mortality in 561 European regions in 2020 and expanded the scope to 569 regions across 25 countries in 2020 and 2021. The findings, based on loss of life expectancy at birth, reveal stark contrasts in the pandemic’s impact across Europe.

    In 2020, significant declines in life expectancy were observed in northern Italy and Spain

    Figure 1 illustrates the spatial distribution of estimated losses of life expectancy in 2020. These losses were highest in northern Italy and central Spain. In the Italian regions of Bergamo and Cremona, life expectancy dropped by nearly four years, while Piacenza experienced a decline of three and a half years. In Spain, the regions of Segovia, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Madrid saw losses of approximately three years.

    The losses were even more pronounced among men (data not presented here), who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic. In Cremona, the decline in life expectancy among men reached nearly five years, while in Bergamo, it was close to four and a half years.

    Figure 1: Estimated loss of observed life expectancy at birth (e0) in 2020 across 569 regions in 25 European countries. Estimates are for both sexes combined.
    Fourni par l’auteur

    Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, along with eastern Sweden and northern and eastern France, also experienced significant, though less severe, declines. In France, the Paris region and areas near the German border recorded the highest losses, ranging from 1.5 to 2 years.

    In contrast, other regions saw much smaller impacts. This is particularly true for southern Italy, much of Scandinavia and Germany, southern parts of the United Kingdom, and western France. In these regions, observed life expectancy is close to what would have been expected in the absence of the pandemic. In France, the implementation of lockdown measures in March and November likely prevented the pandemic from spreading across the entire country from the initial clusters in the north and east.

    In 2021, a shift in the pandemic toward Eastern Europe

    Figure 2 shows the estimated losses of life expectancy in 2021. At a glance, the regions most affected by excess mortality during the Covid-19 pandemic differed significantly from those in 2020. The most substantial losses were concentrated in Eastern Europe.

    Figure 2: Estimated loss of observed life expectancy at birth (e0) in 2021 across 569 regions in 25 European countries. Estimates are for both sexes combined.
    Fourni par l’auteur

    Among regions where life expectancy declined by more than two years, 61 of Poland’s 73 regions, 12 of the Czech Republic’s 14 regions, all eight Hungarian regions, and seven of Slovakia’s eight regions were affected. In contrast, only one Italian region and one Spanish region experienced losses exceeding two years, despite these countries being heavily impacted in 2020.

    Germany saw much greater losses in 2021 than in 2020, particularly in its eastern regions, where declines often exceeded 1.5 years. In southern Saxony, Halle and Lusatia, losses approached two years. Conversely, Spain and Scandinavia recorded the lowest declines in life expectancy.

    In France, the losses were more uniform than in 2020, generally ranging from 0 to 1.5 years. The highest loss occurred in the Parisian suburbs, particularly Seine-Saint-Denis, where life expectancy fell by 1.5 years – or two years for men.

    What is the overall assessment for these two years?

    To determine the overall impact of 2020 and 2021 in terms of life expectancy loss, we used an indicator that sums up the years of life lost due to the pandemic over this two-year period. This method allows us to rank the 569 European regions.

    The regions most affected were Pulawy, Bytom and Przemyski in southeastern Poland, along with Kosice and Presov in eastern Slovakia. Among the top 50 regions, Eastern Europe dominated, with 36 Polish regions, six Slovakian regions, two Czech regions, one Hungarian region, and both Lithuanian regions included. Italian regions such as Cremona, Bergamo and Piacenza also ranked high, falling between the 15th and 30th positions. In France, Seine-Saint-Denis ranked 81st, while all other French regions were outside the top 100.

    It is crucial to analyse the impact of a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic at a fine geographical scale, as within-country disparities can be significant. This was particularly evident in Italy in 2020, where the north was far more affected than the south, and in Germany in 2021, with stark differences between the west and the east.

    Our study highlighted the severe impact of the pandemic in specific European regions, where life expectancy losses exceeded three years. The most affected regions shifted over time, moving from areas with traditionally high life expectancy (such as northern Italy, central Spain and the greater Paris region) in 2020 to regions with traditionally lower life expectancy (Eastern Europe) in 2021. France was relatively spared compared to the rest of Europe, with the notable exception of Seine-Saint-Denis.

    The coming years will be critical in determining whether life expectancy levels can return to their long-term trajectories or if the pandemic has caused lasting structural changes in certain regions.

    Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

    – ref. Covid-19 death tolls in Europe highlight stark regional differences in 2020 and 2021 – https://theconversation.com/covid-19-death-tolls-in-europe-highlight-stark-regional-differences-in-2020-and-2021-246374

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: 1 in 5 Gazans face starvation. Can the law force Israel to act?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University

    As Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing scores of people a day, the two-month ceasefire that brought a halt to the violence earlier this year feels like a distant memory.

    Israel’s overall military and political objective in Gaza hasn’t changed after 19 months of war: it is still seeking the absolute defeat of Hamas and return of the remaining Israeli hostages.

    But it is unclear how Hamas will ever be militarily defeated unless there is a complete and unconditional surrender and the laying down of all arms. This appears unlikely, despite the success of Israel’s so-called “decapitation strategy” targeting the Hamas leadership.

    And Hamas continues to hold an estimated 57 Israeli hostages in Gaza, of which up to 24 are believed to still be alive. The group is insisting on guarantees that Israel will end the war before releasing any more hostages.

    An ongoing blockade for 18 years

    Israel announced Sunday it will allow a “basic” amount of food to enter Gaza after a nearly three-month blockade of the strip. It was not clear when or how the aid would resume amid “extensive” new ground operations the military said Sunday it had also just begun.

    Israel first imposed a land, sea and air blockade of Gaza in 2007 after Hamas came to power. These restrictions have severely limited the movement of people and vehicles across the border, as well as the amount of food, medicine and other goods that have been permitted to go into and out of Gaza.

    These controls increased significantly after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. They’ve been maintained at heightened levels ever since.

    The January ceasefire temporarily increased the flow of food, medical aid and other support into Gaza. However, this came to an end in early March when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut off aid again to pressure Hamas to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages. Hostilities resumed soon after.

    The United Nations’ humanitarian efforts in Gaza have now come to a “near-standstill”. On May 13, Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief coordinator, addressed the UN Security Council, stating:

    For more than 10 weeks, nothing has entered Gaza – no food, medicine, water or tents. […] Every single one of the 2.1 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face the risk of famine. One in five faces starvation.

    Israel denies there are food shortages in Gaza. It has said it wouldn’t permit any trucks to enter the strip until a new system is in place to prevent Hamas from siphoning supplies.

    International law is clear

    Both the 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law make clear:

    The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited.

    In addition, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) makes starvation of civilians a war crime.

    Under international humanitarian law, Fletcher noted, Israel has the responsibility to ensure aid reaches people in territory it occupies. However, Israel’s method of distributing aid, he said, “makes aid conditional on political and military aims” and “makes starvation a bargaining chip”.

    What have the courts found?

    International courts have not ignored Israel’s obligations on this front.

    In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif (one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack), in addition to Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

    In relation Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber found:

    there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies.

    As Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute, there is no obligation on the government to act on the arrest warrants. Both men remain free to travel as long as they do not enter the territory of a Rome Statute party. (Even then, their arrest is not guaranteed.)

    The ICC warrants will remain in effect unless withdrawn by the court. The arrest in March of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte highlighted that while ICC investigations may take time, those accused of crimes can eventually be brought before the court to face justice.

    This is especially so if there is a change in political leadership in a country that allows an arrest to go ahead.

    Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing another case in which South Africa alleges Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza.

    The case began with high-profile hearings last year when the court issued provisional measures, or orders, requiring Israel to refrain from engaging in any genocidal acts.

    The most recent of those orders, issued last May, called on Israel to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah (in southern Gaza) and maintain the opening of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to allow “unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.

    These orders remain in effect. Yet, Rafah today is a “no-go zone” that Gazans have been ordered to evacuate. And Israel’s blockade of the strip and restrictions on aid and food entering the territory have clearly been in defiance of the court.

    Late last month, the ICJ began hearings to form an opinion on Israel’s duties to allow aid to enter Gaza. Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, criticised the ICJ’s hearings as “another attempt to politicise and abuse the legal process in order to persecute Israel”.

    The court’s advisory opinion on this issue is not expected for several months. A final decision on South Africa’s broader case may take years.

    So, what can be done?

    Reflecting on the situation in Gaza, Fletcher observed at the UN:

    This degradation of international law is corrosive and infectious. It is undermining decades of progress on rules to protect civilians from inhumanity and the violent and lawless among us who act with impunity. Humanity, the law and reason must prevail.

    Yet, while the Security Council continues to have the situation in Gaza under review, it has proven incapable of acting decisively because of US support for Israel.

    The Biden Administration was prepared to use its veto power to block binding Security Council resolutions forcing Israel to respond to the humanitarian crisis. The Trump Administration would no doubt do the same.

    However, as Duterte’s arrest shows, international law sometimes does result in action. The finding by another UN body last week that Russia was responsible for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 is another case in point.

    As the Dutch foreign minister pointed out in that case, the finding sends a message that “states cannot violate international law with impunity”.

    Donald Rothwell receives funding from Australian Research Council

    – ref. 1 in 5 Gazans face starvation. Can the law force Israel to act? – https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-gazans-face-starvation-can-the-law-force-israel-to-act-256695

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s lifting of Syria sanctions is a win for Turkey, too – pointing to outsized role middle powers can play in regional affairs

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Hyeran Jo, Associate Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meet in Turkey on April 11, 2025. TUR Presidency/ Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

    President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025, that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria. The turnaround was a huge victory for the government of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa as he attempts to consolidate power nearly six months on from his movement’s stunning toppling of the longtime regime of Bashar al Assad.

    But it wasn’t all down to Syria lobbying on its own behalf. In announcing the policy shift, Trump largely attributed the shift to his Saudi hosts as well as Turkey. Both nations are longtime Assad foes who quickly championed al-Sharaa and have been pushing the U.S. to normalize ties with Syria’s new government.

    Turkey, whose resources and land have been heavily affected by instability in neighboring Syria, was particularly instrumental in pushing Trump to accept the post-Assad government, even over objections from Israel.

    As experts in international relations and Turkish law and politics, we believe the developments in Syria point to the outsized role a small-to-middle power like Turkey can have in regional and international matters. That is particularly true in the Middle East, where world powers such as the U.S. are perceived to have a declining and at times unpredictable influence.

    An opening in Syria

    After 13 years of devastating civil war, Syria faces a slew of large challenges, including the immediate task of state building. Not only is violence still readily apparent in Syria itself – as the recent killing of Alawites, allegedly by government forces, or fighters aligned with them, showed – but neighboring Israel has also repeatedly attacked positions in Syria in an attempt to weaken the new government. To Israel’s government, a strong, militarized Syria would pose a threat, particularly in regard to the unstable border at the Golan Heights.

    Despite the issues that confront Syria’s new government, it has nonetheless demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for gaining international acceptance – a notable fact given al-Sharaa’s leadership ties to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a formerly al-Qaeda linked group listed as one of the U.S. foreign terrorist organizations since 2014.

    Turkey presses its influence

    In this context, Turkey’s hand has been especially important.

    Since Trump took office, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has pressed the American president to lift sanctions. The two men had struck up a strong relationship during the first Trump administration, with the U.S. president declaring himself to be a “big fan” of the Turkish leader.

    Turkey’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy can be seen as part of its broader effort to fill the vacuum left by Assad’s fall. Doing so not only bolsters Erdogan’s position as a regional player, but it also advances his domestic agenda.

    Turkey has moved quickly on numerous fronts in charting the future course of Syria by pursuing economic and security projects in the country. First and foremost, Turkey has upped its investment in Syria.

    Also, as it did in Libya and Somalia, Turkey has contributed to the training and equipping of new Syrian security forces.

    In the northeast Syrian province of Idlib, Turkey is funding education, health care and electricity, and the Turkish lira is the de facto currency across northwestern Syria.

    The roots of these engagements lie in Turkey’s interest in managing its own security situation.

    Since 1984, Turkey has been fighting Kurdish separatist groups, most notably the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is aligned with the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria – one of the groups that fought Assad’s forces during Syria’s civil war.

    A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG near Qamishli’s airport in northeastern Syria on Dec. 8, 2024.
    Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

    Assad’s fall led to Russia’s retreat from Syria. Meanwhile, Iranian influence, too, has waned as a result of not only Assad’s departure, but also the military downgrading of Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. And the U.S. no longer actively supports the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria.

    Into this void of external influence, Turkey quickly seized an opportunity to reshape the security landscape.

    Ankara, which still controls large chunks of territory in Syria’s northeast from the fight against Assad and Syrian Kurdish groups, agreed to a Syrian plan to incorporate the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, into the new Syrian army.

    The Turkish perspective has long been that the fight against the PKK can succeed in the long run only with stability on Syrian soil. Now, the PKK is trying to reach peace with the Turkish government, but whether the SDF in Syria will disarm and disband is far from certain. As such, having a strong, stable Syrian government in which a Kurdish majority is accommodated may be in Ankara’s best interests.

    Meanwhile, al-Sharaa’s success in rebuilding Syria after the civil war would also help Turkey on another front: the issue of Syrian refugees.

    Turkey currently hosts around 3.2 million refugees from Syria – the most of any country. The sheer number and length of stay of these displaced people have put a strain on Turkey’s economy and social relations, leading to clashes between Turks and Syrian refugees.

    There is also a broad consensus in Turkey that the Syrian refugee problem in Turkey can be solved only through a comprehensive return strategy.

    Although naturalized Syrians in Turkey make up an important constituency within the voter base of Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, the only solution currently envisaged by the Turkish president and his allies is repatriation. For this, rapid and stable development of infrastructure and the housing stock in Syria is considered essential.

    Donald Trump looks on as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on May 14, 2025. The confab also had Turkish fingerprints all over it.
    Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP

    Prospects for small-to-middle powers

    Turkey’s strategic opportunity in Syria is not without clear risks, however. The incursions by the Israeli military illustrates the challenge Turkey faces in advancing its own interests in Syria. It is notable that Trump’s announcement on sanctions was seemingly made without the knowledge – and against the wishes – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    Additionally, Turkey is looking to finesse a growing role in the region into strengthening its position over the long-running dispute in Cyprus. The island, which lies a couple of hundred miles off Syria’s coast, is divided into two regions, with Greek Cypriots in the south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north – with only Turkey recognizing the self-declared state in the north. Turkey is trying to regulate maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean through an agreement with Syria, but the plan is stalled since the European Union supports Greece’s position in Cyprus.

    The Turkish moves in Syria are nonetheless being broadly felt elsewhere. Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar support the post-Assad arrangement in Syria and see their own interests being served alongside Turkey’s, although the rivalry of the Sunni world is at stake.

    The lifting of sanctions by the U.S. will have long-term political impacts beyond short-term economic impacts. Syria has little direct trade with the U.S., only exporting its agricultural products and antiques. But the appearance of political legitimacy and recognition is a diplomatic win for Turkey, as well as for Syria. The political opening brings with it the promise of future investment in Syria.

    Turkey’s dealing with Syria showcases how small-to-middle powers can chart the waters of statecraft in their own way. The days of international affairs being dominated by superpowers appear to be over – as many have long predicted. And in Syria, Turkey is providing a blueprint for how small-to-middle powers can work that to their advantage.

    Hyeran Jo receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY). The article was made possible in part by the CCNY grant (G-PS-24-62004, Small State Statecraft and Realignment). She is also a senior fellow at the Center on Armed Groups and a member of an expert advisory group at the Institute for Integrated Transitions. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.

    Ece Göztepe Çelebi receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY). The article was made possible in part by the CCNY grant (G-PS-24-62004, Small State Statecraft and Realignment). She is a Turkish and Comparative Constitutional Law professor at the Law Faculty of Bilkent University (Ankara/Turkey). The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author.

    – ref. Trump’s lifting of Syria sanctions is a win for Turkey, too – pointing to outsized role middle powers can play in regional affairs – https://theconversation.com/trumps-lifting-of-syria-sanctions-is-a-win-for-turkey-too-pointing-to-outsized-role-middle-powers-can-play-in-regional-affairs-254162

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Joe Biden has prostate cancer with bone spread – an oncologist explains what you need to know

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

    ArChe1993/Shutterstock

    Former US President Joe Biden, aged 82, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, marking a serious escalation in the disease.

    The diagnosis was made after he sought medical help for worsening urinary symptoms – a decision that likely saved his life. A small nodule on his prostate led to further investigation, revealing a high-grade cancer with a Gleason score of nine out of ten. This score indicates one of the most aggressive and fast-growing types of prostate cancer.

    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide, especially affecting those over the age of 50. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland located just below the bladder, responsible for producing seminal fluid. While many prostate cancers grow slowly and may never cause serious harm, some – like Biden’s – are far more dangerous, capable of spreading quickly, often before symptoms are even noticed.

    The Gleason score is a critical tool used to grade prostate cancer based on how abnormal the cancer cells appear under a microscope. It ranges from six to ten, with higher scores indicating more aggressive disease.

    A score of nine suggests that the cancer cells are highly abnormal and likely to spread rapidly, requiring immediate and intensive treatment.

    In Biden’s case, the cancer has already metastasized – or spread – beyond the prostate, to the bones. This places him in stage four, the most advanced stage of prostate cancer. While not curable at this point, it is still treatable and can be managed with a combination of therapies aimed at slowing the disease’s progression and alleviating symptoms.

    A significant detail in Biden’s diagnosis is that the cancer is hormone-sensitive. Prostate cancer cells typically rely on male hormones such as testosterone to grow. Hormone-sensitive cancers can respond well to treatments that block or lower hormone levels – a common first step in managing the disease. This therapy may be combined with chemotherapy, targeted medications, and drugs that help reduce the risk of complications from bone metastases, such as fractures or severe pain.

    Early prostate cancer often has no symptoms, which is why regular screening is crucial, especially for older men or those with a family history of the disease.

    When symptoms do appear, they might include frequent urination (especially at night), difficulty starting or maintaining urine flow, or a feeling that the bladder hasn’t fully emptied. More advanced cancer may manifest as pain in the hips, back, or pelvis, as well as fatigue or unexplained weight loss – all of which contributed to Biden’s decision to seek medical attention.

    While the news of Biden’s diagnosis has been met with concern, it has also sparked a wave of bipartisan support. Messages have poured in from political allies and opponents alike, including President Donald Trump. Beyond the personal response, Biden’s condition has reignited public discussions about prostate cancer – particularly around access to screening, the importance of early detection, and disparities in treatment outcomes.

    The reality is stark: one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. For many, it may never become life-threatening. But for others, it can be aggressive and fast-moving, underscoring the importance of vigilance and regular check-ups.

    Biden’s case is a sobering reminder that cancer doesn’t discriminate based on fame or status. It also serves as a testament to the power of listening to your body and seeking help when something feels wrong. Thanks to advancements in medical research, treatment options today are more effective than ever, offering patients a better quality of life – even in the face of a serious diagnosis.

    As Biden begins treatment, his journey may inspire more men to talk to their doctors, get tested and take their health seriously. With the right care and support, life with prostate cancer – even at stage four – is still worth living, and still full of moments that matter.

    Justin Stebbing 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. Joe Biden has prostate cancer with bone spread – an oncologist explains what you need to know – https://theconversation.com/joe-biden-has-prostate-cancer-with-bone-spread-an-oncologist-explains-what-you-need-to-know-257037

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The new Carney government must tackle Canada’s outdated system of intergovernmental relations

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jennifer Wallner, Associate Professor, School of Political Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    Throughout the recent federal election campaign, political leaders outlined their vision for Canada’s future. Responding to a dramatically changing geopolitical climate, party platforms contained ambitious policy proposals about how to reposition the country for the challenges that lie ahead.



    Read more:
    Getting ready for what’s next: 4 scenarios for Canada’s future in a Trumpian world

    But the leaders were silent about how a new federal government would navigate the division of powers among various levels of government in order to bring their proposals to life.

    Canada’s Constitution separates powers between Ottawa and the provinces based on the principle of divided sovereignty. No order of government is subordinate to the other and, in principle, all governments can act autonomously in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

    Life would be easy if the problems we faced adhered to the 1867 Constitution Act. Most challenges, however, transcend the individual categories of jurisdiction. Collaboration among jurisdictions is therefore essential to meet the individual and collective needs of Canadians.

    From apprenticeships to energy corridors, childcare to caregiving, most policy areas require sustained and substantive co-ordination to succeed. Often, like in case of housing and climate change, this must also include municipalities.

    In addition, intergovernmental co-ordination must finally reflect a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples.

    How exactly to work together?

    Nonetheless, the significance of intergovernmental relations in implementing policy continues to be overlooked, including by the victorious Liberals.

    The Liberal Party’s Canada Strong platform refers eight times to nation-building projects. But it fails to acknowledge the need to transform intergovernmental relations for 21st century challenges.

    Instead, the Constitution is seemingly perceived as a minor inconvenience, not as a key governance challenge: “We will work with the provinces and territories,” the policy says, seemingly hoping that somehow things will work out.

    Federal leaders seem oblivious to the fact that Canada is one of the most decentralized federations worldwide. The provinces exercise fiscal and jurisdictional autonomy exceeding those of other countries. In the meantime, the decisions of individual provinces and territories have implications that stretch far beyond their own borders.

    Take natural resources.

    Natural resources fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and, increasingly, the territories. But their development profoundly affects economic and environmental policy.

    If one province or territory unilaterally decimates the natural resources of their region, it’s not just that specific province or territory that bears the consequences. This is just one of many sectors in need of collective consideration so that all of Canada benefits.



    Read more:
    ‘Elbows up’ in Canada means sustainable resource development

    Ottawa isn’t really the ‘leader’

    There is a simple truth here: orders of government in Canada are not completely autonomous over their areas of jurisdiction. The federal government does not have the legitimate authority to compel provincial-territorial action; in the meantime, provinces and territories have little means to influence federal policy according to the needs and wants of their constituents.

    Rather than tackling this institutional problem, the federal government often asserts itself as the leader
    Alternatively, the federal government evokes an ad hoc “Team Canada” approach in response to imminent crises, like the re-negotiation of the former NAFTA agreement in 2017 and today’s threats and tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.



    Read more:
    Why Alberta’s Danielle Smith is rejecting the Team Canada approach to Trump’s tariff threats

    Neither option, however, addresses the deeper problem: intergovernmental relations in Canadian federalism are notoriously weak and lack the legitimacy and transparency to bring about effective collective action.

    Canadian and international research shows that a robust institutional framework is critical for nurturing the key ingredient for effective and legitimate intergovernmental relations: Reciprocity.

    Regular policy meetings among governments and senior level public servants, especially when backed by sufficient administrative and political support, promotes shared norms and understandings, enhancing the potential for long-term policy solutions.

    Royal commission?

    If this type of regular collaboration is entrenched, it would be more difficult to obstruct meaningful collective action that respects Canada’s political integrity.

    Reciprocity is at odds with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s threats to create a national unity crisis if a list of demands isn’t met. It is also at odds with Ottawa’s penchant under former prime minister Justin Trudeau to use federal tax dollars to pursue policy objectives that were within provincial jurisdiction.

    As Mark Carney’s new government gets to work, Canadians must question not only the fiscal soundness of its proposals, but also their feasibility considering the deep divisions in Canadian federalism.

    Without taking tangible steps to reimagine Canada’s outdated system of intergovernmental relations or developing a road map for institutional reform, the lasting policy changes that are needed to reposition Canada in an increasingly hostile environment are unlikely to materialize.

    About 100 Canadian academics recently argued in an open letter, Canada needs to establish a royal commission for securing Canada’s future. As past experience has shown, this approach has great potential, but it must be developed in partnership among federal, provincial and territorial governments, including those of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

    Jörg Broschek receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

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

    – ref. The new Carney government must tackle Canada’s outdated system of intergovernmental relations – https://theconversation.com/the-new-carney-government-must-tackle-canadas-outdated-system-of-intergovernmental-relations-256432

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sex and disability: Nigerian women share their stories

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Obasanjo Bolarinwa, Senior lecturer, York St John University

    Imagine feeling invisible simply because of your body. Now imagine that invisibility extends into how society treats your desires, your safety, and your rights.

    That is the everyday reality for many women with disabilities in developing countries, where 80% of people with disabilities live. And it’s an issue the policymakers must address to promote inclusive policies that reach the most marginalised.

    We are global health researchers and authors of a recent qualitative study that explores the sexual experiences of women with disabilities in Lagos, Nigeria.

    Despite growing global interest in sexual and reproductive health, the voices of women with disabilities have remained largely unheard, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria.

    Our research aims to break this silence.

    The women in our study told us they had sexual needs and desires like any other women, but they faced particular challenges such as societal stigma, inadequate access to reproductive health services, widespread misconceptions about contraception and sexual harassment. They suggested how more accessible health services and better legal protection could help them.

    How we did our study

    We spoke to 24 women in Lagos between the ages of 20 and 45. Sixty-seven percent of participants had physical disabilities, while 33% had visual impairments.

    Participants were recruited through local networks and came from a range of educational, employment and marital backgrounds. They were asked open-ended questions in interviews conducted in English, Yoruba or Pidgin.

    We focused on how disability influenced their sexual activity, autonomy, contraceptive use, engagement in risky sexual behaviours, and experiences of sexual violence.

    What we learnt

    Our research found that the women were mostly sexually active and understood their sexual rights.

    However, they faced major barriers:

    • physical limitations

    • poor access to affordable contraceptives

    • misinformation

    • vulnerability to sexual violence, with limited support available

    • widespread stigma that made it difficult for them to express their sexuality freely and safely.

    ‘We are not asexual’

    Many participants rejected the stereotype that they were “asexual” or uninterested in sex. They emphasised they had sexual needs and desires just like any other woman.

    Some participants expressed that being disabled made certain sex positions painful or physically impossible.

    A woman who was in her thirties told us that her husband complained that she couldn’t “do different styles”.

    Other women expressed sadness, frustration, or even guilt for not being able to satisfy their partners, leading to feelings of rejection and abandonment.

    Accessing modern contraceptives was another major issue.

    Some of the women said they were afraid of using contraceptives because of health myths – like the fear that birth control might worsen their disability or cause infertility.

    Others struggled to go to pharmacies because of their limited mobility and obstacles such as being unable to use stairs.

    Several women said they had experienced harassment, assault or rape, often linked to their vulnerability and social isolation.

    One woman described her sexual assault.

    If I were not disabled and nothing was wrong with me, the one that happened to me would not happen. Because of my leg, I didn’t have any energy to shout, and the people that were supposed to assist me did not show up. If I had legs and was complete, the thing that happened to me will not happen.

    A visually impaired woman said she couldn’t defend herself or even recognise her attacker when she was abused.

    Another said:

    If I had legs, that thing would not have happened to me.

    A number of women also spoke about the fear of being blamed or shamed about their sexual harassment experience. Others said people in their communities believed they had no right to complain.

    It’s not all bad

    Still, it wasn’t all despair. The women in the study had clear and actionable suggestions.

    They called for accessible health facilities, better education for men about disability and sex, and more media campaigns to challenge stigma.

    They wanted laws that specifically protected them against sexual harassment and health systems that included them in terms of physical accessibility and financial subsidy.

    Some called for free or subsidised contraceptives or door-to-door services for those unable to travel.

    One participant simply asked for a walking aid so she could visit the hospital when she needed to.

    We are not invisible

    The findings highlight the need for accessible, affordable sexual and reproductive health services tailored to women with disabilities.

    This includes disability-friendly healthcare, public education to challenge stereotypes, stronger legal protections, and initiatives that empower women to assert their rights.

    Society needs to stop pretending that women with disabilities are invisible.
    They are here. They are sexually active. And they have a right to love, pleasure, safety and choice.

    Obasanjo Bolarinwa works for York St. John University, United Kingdom.

    Blessing Babalola works for Federal University Oye-Ekiti.

    CLIFFORD O ODIMEGWU works for the University of the Witwatersrand.

    Aliu Mohammed 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. Sex and disability: Nigerian women share their stories – https://theconversation.com/sex-and-disability-nigerian-women-share-their-stories-254405

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: For a Canadian in London, King Charles’ Royal Garden Party inspires sustainability education

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Janice Denoncourt, Associate Professor in Intellectual Property and Innovation Law, Nottingham Trent University

    On a glorious afternoon recently, I had the good fortune to attend a specially themed Education and Skills Garden Party hosted at Buckingham Palace in London to celebrate the contributions of educators in the United Kingdom and beyond.

    As a Canadian citizen living and working in education in the United Kingdom, I was invited to attend by the High Commission of Canada in London.

    The occasion provided a relaxing yet exciting opportunity to reflect on my involvement embedding sustainability into education related to innovation and intellectual property (IP) rights law.

    Royal Gardens as oasis

    King Charles has been a lifelong supporter of sustainability education, which is a new addition to the curricula. For me, the Royal garden and lake beautifully highlighted concerns with sustainability.

    The King’s Royal garden at the Palace is an oasis in the city of London, alive with foliage and wildlife that guests may stroll around and explore. According to the event leaflet: “A survey of the Garden by the London Natural History Society revealed a wealth of flora and fauna, some quite rare species.”

    Garden parties are a special way for members of the Royal Family to speak to a broad range of people, all of whom have made a positive impact on their community. Today these events are a way to recognize and reward public service.

    A network of sponsors is used to invite guests, including lord-lieutenants, societies and associations, government departments and local government, as well as representatives of various churches and other faiths.

    Charles first marked the issue of pollution in 1970 when he was a 21-year-old student. The King continues to champion his lifelong passion regarding the importance of the health of the environment and living sustainably.

    ‘The garden party at Buckingham Palace for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee,’ painting by Frederick Sargent, 1887.
    (Royal Collection (U.K.) 407255/Wikipedia)

    Why intellectual property and sustainability?

    Since 2004, I have been an innovation, intellectual property rights and business law educator. My research group contributed to a publication called The Guide to The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed to explore the connections between the United Nation’s 17 SDGs, sustainable development and IP.

    Intellectual property is of concern because we need to envision and build a common future with innovation and creativity. How sustainability challenges are overcome depends on the commercialization of new green technology catalysts.

    However, this process is complex. Choosing between solar versus wind, or hydro, geothermal or tidal energy technologies involves making difficult choices. IP rights, such as patents, provide practical scientific information about new green technologies. This information helps society to prioritize public, private and alternative financing to support climate change mitigation and adaptation.

    Canadian firms have patented numerous climate change mitigation technologies.

    For example, the Toronto-based WhalePower has significantly advanced fluid dynamics and has filed Canadian, European Union, United States, Chinese and Indian patents to protect its new technology. Their award-winning invention, inspired by the bumpy flippers of humpback whales, results in more efficient and reliable wind turbine blades.



    Read more:
    Here’s why UK tides are soon going to play a much bigger part in powering your home

    This “tubercle” technology, named for a rounded point of a bone, also has applications for hydroelectric turbines and for revolutionizing fan design. These blades, featuring tubercles (bumps) on the leading edge, reduce aerodynamic drag and improve performance. WhalePower also generates revenue by licensing its patented technology to other companies to use in wind turbines.

    Patents encourage knowledge sharing

    Patents encourage knowledge sharing, because the way the invention works must be disclosed, rather than kept secret.

    For example, new tidal energy inventors can read Whalepower’s patents and be inspired to further advance the new technology with additional incremental innovations.

    A granted patent is published for free online and digitally tagged using globally recognized classification codes to facilitate easy searching by scientists, investors and financiers. The data collected on the patent register is also used to design new climate innovation research studies and inform policy-making.

    In this manner, IP often stimulates investment by providing the legal rights needed to justify longer-term investment in a changing landscape of innovation.

    Long-term investment into green technology is a form of environmental stewardship that I discuss in more detail in my article “Companies and UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.” IP rights support firms like Whalepower by enabling knowledge tools that can bring sustainable development goals closer to fruition.

    Patent attorneys and Earthshot Prize

    The significant role of IP rights in promoting sustainability gained a higher profile when the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) became an Official Nominator for the annual Earthshot Prize launched by Prince William’s Royal Foundation in 2020.

    CIPA helps to identify and nominate solutions for the environmental challenges that the prize aims to address. One nominated solution that uses DNA sequencing and nature’s own colours to create sustainable dyes to reduce the use of water and harmful chemicals in the fashion industry, Colorifix, was a runner-up in the 2023 edition.



    Read more:
    Can marketing classes teach sustainability? 4 key insights

    CIPA provides crucial IP rights checks to finalists, ensuring that their innovations have no outstanding IP issues. This partnership is an example of how the Royal Family works together with CIPA to use the power of IP to help solve sustainability challenges.

    As the King stated when he was Prince of Wales in 2017: “Mine is not a new commitment, but perhaps you will allow me to restate my determination to join you in continuing to do whatever I can, for as long as I can, to maintain not only the health and vitality of the ocean and all that depends upon it, but also the viability of that greatest and most unique of living organisms — nature herself.”

    Janice Denoncourt is affiliated with the British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS)..

    – ref. For a Canadian in London, King Charles’ Royal Garden Party inspires sustainability education – https://theconversation.com/for-a-canadian-in-london-king-charles-royal-garden-party-inspires-sustainability-education-256869

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The rise of psychedelic capitalism: Work harder and be happy about it?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kevin Walby, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Winnipeg

    Once stigmatized and outlawed, psychedelics are moving from the counterculture to the mainstream. From Prince Harry’s use of psilocybin to National Football League quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ adventures with ayahuasca, our media is awash with accounts of their professed benefits.

    Hundreds of universities around the world are now engaging in psychedelic research. And psychedelic legalization initiatives are taking hold.

    Psychedelics are becoming big business. Just as private capital flooded the cannabis sector years ago, a psychedelic gold rush is underway.

    Wealthy entrepreneurs are investing in the psychedelic industry while biotechnology start-ups are raising capital and running clinical trials on novel psychedelic molecules. Venture capitalists are eyeing the prospects of a new lucrative mass market.

    The authors of this article have a new book out: ‘Psychedelic Capitalism’ published by Fernwood.
    (Fernwood)

    Three causes for concern

    To date, most debates about psychedelics have offered little critical analysis of their relationship to the political economy of modern capitalism and broader power structures. In our new book Psychedelic Capitalism, we make three central claims about the so-called psychedelic renaissance.

    First, the medicalization of psychedelics is likely to restrict access and reinforce existing health and social inequalities.

    Second, the corporatization of psychedelics will enable economic elites to dominate the market while appropriating the vast reservoir of knowledge built up by Indigenous communities, public institutions and underground researchers.

    And third, rather than representing progressive drug reform, the limited legalization of select psychedelics for medical use will help to entrench and sustain the drug war and the criminalization of most drug use.

    Ignoring community knowledge

    Across North America, we’re seeing a medicalization of psychedelics, where a range of problems are presented as treatable by these substances. This is happening in a way that boosts corporate control of the process and pushes aside community and Indigenous knowledge.

    We have seen this scenario play out in Australia. Substances such as psilocybin and MDMA are legally available, but only through a doctor’s prescription and at great financial cost — raising questions about equity, access and who these therapies are for.

    Framing psychedelics as pharmaceutical commodities and individualized health-care solutions reinforces the prohibitionist narrative that these substances are unsuitable for use outside of the medical context. This narrative shifts attention away from how medicalized use might perpetuate a neoliberal ideology — locating mental “disorder” within an individual, rather than addressing more systemic causes such as poverty, inequality and social exclusion.

    It also disregards centuries of traditions created by Indigenous community use, as well as the values of the psychedelic underground.

    A system built on expensive individual therapy, medically trained gatekeepers and hyper-controlled clinical access is not the model that most advocates have envisioned.

    A pill-only model for productivity and happiness

    The foundations of psychedelic capitalism were largely created by public innovation at the public’s expense and are now in the process of being taken over by private capital.

    Psychedelic conferences increasingly resemble corporate trade shows. The psychedelic tourism industry continues to expand and cater to elite clients. For-profit companies like Mind Medicine and Compass Pathways are eliminating psychotherapy from their treatment protocols and embracing a “pill-only” model favoured by Big Pharma.

    Psychedelics, including microdosing and psychedelic-assisted therapy, are marketed as a way for the general population to extract more work out of their already overworked lives, and to be happy about it in the process.

    Companies are competing to capture intellectual property to harness profits from existing compounds and erect legal barriers around new chemicals and their applications.

    The for-profit ketamine industry already offers a glimpse into the future of corporatized psychedelic therapy. This includes a lack of attention to risks, deceitful marketing and little consideration to therapeutic care.

    There has been a surge of new patent applications (and granted patents) in the U.S. on substances such as psilocybin, LSD, DMT, 5-MeO DMT and mescaline that seek to secure exclusivity, monopolize supply chains and privatize knowledge that already exists in the public domain.

    Psychedelics have been swept up into the well-rehearsed capitalist playbook where private players are fabricating exclusionary rights over what are ultimately the products of collective human struggle and intellectual achievement.

    Medical legalization of psychedelics

    The medicalized approach to psychedelic mainstreaming also connects to drug law and policy.

    Across North America, the biomedical approach is the main influence on drug law and the primary avenue for psychedelic access in most jurisdictions. This approach is widely supported by psychedelic capitalists who have a financial stake in medical legalization and want to limit legal access to anything outside of the medical-pharma frame.

    In the United States, places like Oregon and Colorado have more holistic legal models that include elements of community control to prevent corporate capture. But most state initiatives remain limited in scope and are centred around medicalized therapy, particularly for military veterans. Even in Oregon, which has been lauded for its progressive drug policies, there has been an unmistakable drift toward medicalization.

    Canada’s cannabis industry exemplifies how processes of legalization can become intertwined with the interests of corporate-dominated industries.

    As Michael Devillaer, professor of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences and author of Buzz Kill (2024), has explained, the cannabis industry has prioritized profit maximization, product promotion and increased consumption at the expense of public health concerns.

    What is best for public interest?

    As the medical legalization of psychedelics deepens, we are likely to see the intensification of criminal penalties for recreational and other uses.

    In fact, police seizures of psychedelics like psilocybin in the U.S. have increased in recent years. Global arrests for the transportation of compounds such as ayahuasca, iboga and peyote have also increased.

    These problems are likely to be exacerbated by systems of bifurcated scheduling, where a drug product is placed in a different class from the active ingredient or substance.

    For example, if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were to approve psilocybin for depression or MDMA for PTSD, it is likely that only FDA-approved medicinal psilocybin and MDMA products would be rescheduled, while the substances themselves would continue to be prosecuted as restricted narcotics.

    It is in the public interest to move beyond a myopic focus on medical legalization to a more open, decriminalized model of public access. An approach like this would not only mitigate the threats associated with corporate capture, it would also reduce the harms associated with criminalization and the war on drugs.

    Community-controlled decriminalization is a better path to mainstreaming psychedelics than relinquishing power to the medical industry and pharmaceutical cartels that provide monopolized services to primarily affluent customers.

    And treating drug use and dependence as a public health issue and incentivizing harm reduction and support services for at-risk populations would go a long way to mitigating the tragedies of the drug war.

    Kevin Walby receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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

    – ref. The rise of psychedelic capitalism: Work harder and be happy about it? – https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-psychedelic-capitalism-work-harder-and-be-happy-about-it-253003

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: When friendship is treated as essential, what happens to young adults who don’t have any?

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Laura Eramian, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University

    All participant names in this story are pseudonyms.

    What does it mean to have few or no friends in a time when social connection is seen as key to a healthy and fulfilling life? This is the question at the centre of our recent research study on modern friendship in an Atlantic Canadian city.

    Friendship is having a cultural moment. From journalists to physicians, a wide range of experts have pointed to friendship and social connection as being vital for people to live good and healthy lives and as a way to combat a growing “loneliness epidemic.”

    But not everyone experiences friendship in the same way. Andrew, a student in his mid-20s who took part in our study, identified as having no friends. He told us:

    “I do feel sad and lonely a lot. But I also feel kind of at peace, because I’m pretty introverted. I do want my alone time. So I kind of struggle going back and forth between liking not having friends and then also hating it. It’s just those two are always in conflict.”

    Andrew’s experience reflects the broader tensions many people feel about modern friendship. While friendship is widely valued, western culture also prizes self-sufficiency and sees virtues in introversion.

    These ideals can affirm a desire for solitude, but they don’t stop people from worrying about the negative effects of living friendless lives. These conflicting messages can leave people unsure of how to feel about living without friends.

    Ready to make a change? The Quarter Life Glow-up is a new, six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions. Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    Exploring friendlessness in adulthood

    In our study, we interviewed 21 men and women to understand experiences of friendlessness. Over half were in the “quarter life” phase, meaning they were in their 20s or 30s. They ranged from young professionals, to students, to minimum wage workers.

    Some participants had rich family lives, professional lives or spousal relationships. Others were almost entirely socially isolated. Still, all participants saw lacking friends as something they struggled with, thought about or needed to justify to others.

    Some participants had strong family ties, but still struggled with friendships. Young parents spend time with their daughter on Family Day in Vancouver in 2018.
    (Shutterstock)

    Research has shown that being alone doesn’t always mean people are lonely and that people may give different meanings to their solitude.

    Since we recruited “friendless” rather than “lonely” people for our study, we didn’t assume that people without friends were lonely. Instead, we aimed to understand how they experienced life without friends.

    Why people struggle to make friends

    Participants in our study reported a range of challenges to making friends, as well as insights into what it’s like not to have them.

    Challenges included lacking regular encounters with others due to the structures of school or work or having quit social media and lost touch with friends. Some were disappointed by friendships in the past, or reported other priorities over making friends.

    For example, Tim, a lawyer in his 30s, explained there are many “metrics” of a good life, and that he had no friends because he had chosen to put his time into his career and family.

    Melissa, an administrative assistant in her 20s, felt she always ended up in “lopsided” friendships where she gave more than she received.

    Andrew explained that he no longer had friends at university after moving out of residence, a problem compounded by the public health restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    However, the pandemic didn’t necessarily cause new friendship challenges. Most of our participants said they already had no friends, so lockdown orders didn’t change anything.

    Friendless but not always lonely

    Our study revealed two key narratives people told about the relation of friendlessness to loneliness. On the one hand, they reported intense loneliness and said they suffered without friends. On the other hand, people said having no friends afforded opportunities for self-sufficiency and independence.

    Crucially, there was no clear distinction between participants who claimed to be lonely or not lonely. Rather, participants often told conflicting stories of feeling lonely without friends or feeling good about being alone or self-reliant.

    Participants reported a range of challenges to making friends, as well as insights into what it’s like not to have them.
    (Shutterstock)

    Melissa, for example, talked about her profound loneliness, yet also spoke with pride about how she has learned to get herself out of any situation because she had no one to rely on.



    Read more:
    Lonely extroverts, happy hermits: why being alone isn’t the same as being lonely – and why it matters

    Regardless of the degree of loneliness they reported, our quarter-life participants often felt shame or stigma for being friendless. Some of our participants imagined others thought there was something wrong with them.

    If you have experienced these feelings, you aren’t alone. While people may blame themselves or feel shame, as social scientists, we believe the causes of friendlessness or loneliness are bigger than individuals and their choices.

    Making friends isn’t just a personal challenge

    To formulate solutions to social disconnection, it’s not enough to simply ask, “why don’t people just go and make friends?” While friendship often appears to be a matter of personal choice and mutual liking, like all social relationships, it can be enabled or constrained by the broader ways our societies are organized.

    If there is a loneliness epidemic, it can’t be understood solely as a matter of individual choice or the pitfalls of social media or other technology. It also needs to be seen as a structural condition born of infrastructural and policy failures that require collective solutions to address.

    A better question might be: is friendship accessible to people? Are there enough free, inclusive public spaces where people can gather to meet or make friends? How do the rigid, often unpredictable work schedules faced by many young adults make it difficult to cultivate friendships?

    You may recognize these barriers in your own life and feel disconnected not because you aren’t trying, but because the conditions for connection are so often missing.

    If our society values friendship as much as it claims in the quest to combat loneliness, then collectively we could be doing much more to create social spaces and policies that enable social connection.

    Laura Eramian receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    Peter Mallory receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. When friendship is treated as essential, what happens to young adults who don’t have any? – https://theconversation.com/when-friendship-is-treated-as-essential-what-happens-to-young-adults-who-dont-have-any-253814

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

    The U.S. Housing Corporation built nearly 300 homes in Bremerton, Wash., during World War I. National Archives

    In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in just two years.

    These weren’t hastily erected barracks or rows of identical homes. They were thoughtfully designed neighborhoods, complete with parks, schools, shops and sewer systems.

    In just two years, this federal initiative provided housing for almost 100,000 people.

    Few Americans are aware that such an ambitious and comprehensive public housing effort ever took place. Many of the homes are still standing today.

    But as an urban planning scholar, I believe that this brief historic moment – spearheaded by a shuttered agency called the United States Housing Corporation – offers a revealing lesson on what government-led planning can achieve during a time of national need.

    Government mobilization

    When the U.S. declared war against Germany in April 1917, federal authorities immediately realized that ship, vehicle and arms manufacturing would be at the heart of the war effort. To meet demand, there needed to be sufficient worker housing near shipyards, munitions plants and steel factories.

    So on May 16, 1918, Congress authorized President Woodrow Wilson to provide housing and infrastructure for industrial workers vital to national defense. By July, it had appropriated US$100 million – approximately $2.3 billion today – for the effort, with Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson tasked with overseeing it via the U.S. Housing Corporation.

    Over the course of two years, the agency designed and planned over 80 housing projects. Some developments were small, consisting of a few dozen dwellings. Others approached the size of entire new towns.

    For example, Cradock, near Norfolk, Virginia, was planned on a 310-acre site, with more than 800 detached homes developed on just 100 of those acres. In Dayton, Ohio, the agency created a 107-acre community that included 175 detached homes and a mix of over 600 semidetached homes and row houses, along with schools, shops, a community center and a park.

    Designing ideal communities

    Notably, the Housing Corporation was not simply committed to offering shelter.

    Its architects, planners and engineers aimed to create communities that were not only functional but also livable and beautiful. They drew heavily from Britain’s late-19th century Garden City movement, a planning philosophy that emphasized low-density housing, the integration of open spaces and a balance between built and natural environments.

    Milton Hill, a neighborhood designed and developed by the United States Housing Corporation in Alton, Ill.
    National Archives

    Importantly, instead of simply creating complexes of apartment units, akin to the public housing projects that most Americans associate with government-funded housing, the agency focused on the construction of single-family and small multifamily residential buildings that workers and their families could eventually own.

    This approach reflected a belief by the policymakers that property ownership could strengthen community responsibility and social stability. During the war, the federal government rented these homes to workers at regulated rates designed to be fair, while covering maintenance costs. After the war, the government began selling the homes – often to the tenants living in them – through affordable installment plans that provided a practical path to ownership.

    A single-family home in Davenport, Iowa, built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    National Archives

    Though the scope of the Housing Corporation’s work was national, each planned community took into account regional growth and local architectural styles. Engineers often built streets that adapted to the natural landscape. They spaced houses apart to maximize light, air and privacy, with landscaped yards. No resident lived far from greenery.

    In Quincy, Massachusetts, for example, the agency built a 22-acre neighborhood with 236 homes designed mostly in a Colonial Revival style to serve the nearby Fore River Shipyard. The development was laid out to maximize views, green space and access to the waterfront, while maintaining density through compact street and lot design.

    At Mare Island, California, developers located the housing site on a steep hillside near a naval base. Rather than flatten the land, designers worked with the slope, creating winding roads and terraced lots that preserved views and minimized erosion. The result was a 52-acre community with over 200 homes, many of which were designed in the Craftsman style. There was also a school, stores, parks and community centers.

    Infrastructure and innovation

    Alongside housing construction, the Housing Corporation invested in critical infrastructure. Engineers installed over 649,000 feet of modern sewer and water systems, ensuring that these new communities set a high standard for sanitation and public health.

    Attention to detail extended inside the homes. Architects experimented with efficient interior layouts and space-saving furnishings, including foldaway beds and built-in kitchenettes. Some of these innovations came from private companies that saw the program as a platform to demonstrate new housing technologies.

    One company, for example, designed fully furnished studio apartments with furniture that could be rotated or hidden, transforming a space from living room to bedroom to dining room throughout the day.

    To manage the large scale of this effort, the agency developed and published a set of planning and design standards − the first of their kind in the United States. These manuals covered everything from block configurations and road widths to lighting fixtures and tree-planting guidelines.

    A single-family home in Bremerton, Wash., built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    National Archives

    The standards emphasized functionality, aesthetics and long-term livability.

    Architects and planners who worked for the Housing Corporation carried these ideas into private practice, academia and housing initiatives. Many of the planning norms still used today, such as street hierarchies, lot setbacks and mixed-use zoning, were first tested in these wartime communities.

    And many of the planners involved in experimental New Deal community projects, such as Greenbelt, Maryland, had worked for or alongside Housing Corporation designers and planners. Their influence is apparent in the layout and design of these communities.

    A brief but lasting legacy

    With the end of World War I, the political support for federal housing initiatives quickly waned. The Housing Corporation was dissolved by Congress, and many planned projects were never completed. Others were incorporated into existing towns and cities.

    Yet, many of the neighborhoods built during this period still exist today, integrated in the fabric of the country’s cities and suburbs. Residents in places such as Aberdeen, Maryland; Bremerton, Washington; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Watertown, New York; and New Orleans may not even realize that many of the homes in their communities originated from a bold federal housing experiment.

    These homes on Lawn Avenue in Quincy, Mass., in 2019 were built by the U.S. Housing Corporation.
    Google Street View

    The Housing Corporation’s efforts, though brief, showed that large-scale public housing could be thoughtfully designed, community oriented and quickly executed. For a short time, in response to extraordinary circumstances, the U.S. government succeeded in building more than just houses. It constructed entire communities, demonstrating that government has a major role and can lead in finding appropriate, innovative solutions to complex challenges.

    At a moment when the U.S. once again faces a housing crisis, the legacy of the U.S. Housing Corporation serves as a reminder that bold public action can meet urgent needs.

    Eran Ben-Joseph 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. Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis – https://theconversation.com/believe-it-or-not-there-was-a-time-when-the-us-government-built-beautiful-homes-for-working-class-americans-to-deal-with-a-housing-crisis-253512

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Tomato trade dispute between the US and Mexico is boiling over again – with 21% tariffs due in July

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andrew Muhammad, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

    The country of origin – Mexico – is noted on the label of a package of Campari tomatoes for sale in the produce section of a Safeway grocery store on March 4, 2025, in Denver. AP Photo/David Zalubowski

    Although technically they’re a fruit, tomatoes are one of the most-consumed vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the fresh produce the nation buys from foreign countries, tomatoes often rank first or second, behind avocados.

    This trade is now jeopardized because the Trump administration has revived a three-decade-old effort to limit imports.

    As economists who study global trade issues affecting agricultural commodities and processed food products, we have assessed the benefits of imported tomatoes and other products on consumers and businesses. Fresh tomato imports ensure year-round availability for consumers, contribute significantly to the U.S. economy by generating billions in sales and supporting thousands of jobs, and promote competitive pricing that benefits both consumers and businesses.

    New import restrictions could put all that at risk because domestic production cannot satisfy national demand. For tomatoes, like steel and other products, efforts to reverse trade imbalances can decrease consumer satisfaction and potentially destroy more jobs and economic activity than they create.

    Initiating a dumping investigation

    This tussle over tomatoes began in the 1990s.

    At that time, unprecedented growth in tomato imports from Mexico prompted U.S. producers to ask the Clinton administration to investigate whether they were being sold at unfairly low prices. If that were the case, it would violate both World Trade Organization rules and U.S. trade policy.

    The U.S. responded with an antidumping investigation, conducted by the Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission. The agencies were tasked with seeing if imports are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair market value – the definition of dumping.

    Dumping can harm domestic producers by depressing local prices to compete with imports, causing financial distress. An antidumping duty is essentially a tariff.

    The Commerce Department ruled against Mexican producers, finding that they had engaged in dumping, but reached an agreement with them. Mexican tomato exporters agreed to set minimum prices, leading the U.S. to call off its investigation. The U.S. and Mexico have subsequently entered into a string of suspension agreements over the years.

    The first was implemented in 1996, and the most recent took effect in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s prior term after his administration had threatened to impose a 17.5% tomato tariff.

    Squashing the tomato suspension agreement

    But in April 2025, the Commerce Department announced that it would withdraw from the latest tomato suspension agreement. The Trump administration plans to begin to impose, starting in July, antidumping duties of 21% on fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico.

    It is not obvious at this stage if American importers and consumers will bear the full burden of this tariff, or if Mexican tomato exporters will absorb this cost.

    This move is supposed to benefit fresh tomato producers in the U.S. – most of which are in Florida, with a significantly smaller number located in California. The tariffs could, however, hurt produce distributors, wholesalers and retailers, as well as American consumers.

    People in the U.S. have become accustomed to buying fresh tomatoes to toss into their salads and stuff into their sandwiches year-round, even though in most of the country you can only harvest field-grown tomatoes in the warmest months of the year.

    Focusing only on fresh tomatoes

    This dispute doesn’t involve all the tomatoes and tomato products Americans eat.

    U.S. tomato production is split into two main categories. Fresh tomatoes are usually purchased in a supermarket’s fresh produce section, to be consumed whole, chopped or sliced. This dispute is about those tomatoes.

    The other kind is processing tomatoes, which companies use for making tomato paste, canned or stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce. California leads the nation in processing tomato production. Unlike fresh tomatoes, where the U.S. imports far more than it produces or exports, the U.S. is actually running a trade surplus in processed tomato products.

    When the North American Free Trade Agreement was implemented in January 1994, U.S. fresh tomato production was more than four times the quantity of imported fresh tomatoes: 3.7 billion pounds (1.7 million metric tons) produced versus only 870 million pounds (400,000 metric tons) imported.

    Domestic production has steadily declined since then, while imports have increased. Imported fresh tomatoes are now twice as plentiful: 2.2 billion pounds (1 million metric tons) were grown in the U.S. in 2023, compared with 4.4 billion pounds (2 million metric tons)“ imported .

    This happened as Americans were eating more fresh tomatoes than ever: almost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) per capita in 2023.

    Mexico supplies most of the fresh tomatoes Americans buy in supermarkets.
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Influx didn’t clearly affect prices

    In 2024, fresh tomato imports totaled US$3.6 billion, with $3.1 billion coming from Mexico. This was a 367% increase since NAFTA took effect, adjusted for inflation.

    Given that costs of production are lower in Mexico for many products, especially in the fresh produce sector where labor costs are less than half U.S. levels, you might figure that this arrangement has kept prices for fresh tomatoes in the U.S. low. But there’s little evidence to support that. Instead, the opposite seems true.

    In 1995, the price that U.S. importers paid of Mexican tomatoes was 31 cents per pound. Since then, import prices have steadily increased to 74 cents per pound in 2024. They have often exceeded prices paid to American farmers and kept pace with the overall rise in food prices the past three decades.

    While restricting imported Mexican tomatoes might benefit U.S. tomato producers by making it easier for them to raise their prices, there are other factors to consider. Imports play a crucial role in boosting economic activity and creating jobs. According to a recent study, these imports generated a total economic impact of more than $8 billion.

    The extra $5 billion comes from all the value-added activities associated with getting that produce from the border to consumers. That total economic impact supports approximately 47,000 U.S. jobs tied to tomato storage, distribution, wholesaling and retailing.

    We would expect antidumping duties on imported fresh tomatoes to increase prices, and reduce the amount of fresh tomatoes Americans can buy. That would also shrink some of the economic impact and eliminate some of the jobs spurred by the imported tomato boom.

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

    – ref. Tomato trade dispute between the US and Mexico is boiling over again – with 21% tariffs due in July – https://theconversation.com/tomato-trade-dispute-between-the-us-and-mexico-is-boiling-over-again-with-21-tariffs-due-in-july-255813

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Colleen Tolan, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Center for Women in Business, Rutgers University

    Dialogue can make a difference. Pixelfit/E+/Getty Images

    Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans believe women are thriving, over half believe men’s progress has stalled or even reversed.

    To make matters more complex, recent research has revealed a massive divide along gender and partisan lines. The majority of Republican men think full gender equity in America has been achieved, while the majority of Democratic women think there’s still work to be done.

    As researchers at the Rutgers Center for Women in Business, we think this divide matters a lot. And for business leaders, this gap isn’t just a social or political issue. It’s a leadership challenge with direct implications for team cohesion and morale. If gender equity efforts are seen by some employees as a loss rather than a collective gain, leaders risk inadvertently entrenching division.

    When equity feels like a loss

    Efforts to advance gender equity often come with the reassurance that equality isn’t a zero-sum game – that women’s advancement need not come at men’s expense. Data backs this up, showing, for example, that having gender-diverse executive teams can boost company profits by as much as 21%.

    Yet workers’ perceptions of gender equity efforts tell another story.

    For example, 61% of Americans believe changing gender norms have made it easier for women to be successful at work, but only 36% say the same for men. What’s more, 61% of men think women have equal job opportunities, but only 33% of women believe the same thing.

    These differences reveal an important truth: Perception, not policy alone, shapes how equity efforts are received.

    Involving men in the equity conversation

    Research suggests men and women associate power with different psychological outcomes. Men are more likely to associate power with control, while for women, power is more often linked to a feeling of freedom. As a result, efforts to share power may feel more liberating to women but destabilizing to men – particularly to those already in power.

    But this doesn’t mean one’s gain needs to come at another’s expense – just that people make sense of change through the lens of their own identities and experiences.

    When men perceive progress for women as a threat to their status or opportunity, resistance grows, even in the face of data suggesting otherwise. This cycle becomes especially difficult to break because it requires challenging one’s own beliefs, which isn’t always easy.

    This is why learning about others’ experiences is so useful. For example, a man and a woman might be equally ambitious and capable, but perhaps only one of them experiences being routinely interrupted in meetings. These differences in personal history and lived experience shape how work environments are interpreted and therefore navigated.

    Understanding this diversity of perspectives and discussing lived experiences can help gender equity efforts become more effective. Building a truly equitable future requires acknowledging that feelings about efforts required to reach that future may differ widely.

    With that in mind, here are some best practices for leaders to consider as they navigate the changing landscape.

    Preparing for differences in perspective

    Avoid zero-sum thinking. If men think gender equity efforts will erode their opportunities or diminish their own power, they’ll disengage. Leaders should instead frame equity as essential to team and business success – and ground conversations in metrics that show how inclusion drives outcomes.

    Know that the stakes may vary. Women may see gender equity as a matter of justice or even survival, and when stakes are existential, compromise can be difficult. At the same time, they may experience organizational progress toward gender equity as a personal win. Publicizing these changes and their mutually beneficial gains can help to create a more cohesive team where everyone can thrive.

    Be aware that different clocks are ticking. Some men may view change as happening too quickly, destabilizing established norms. Women, on the other hand, may feel progress is too slow, given centuries of systemic inequity. Holding both views as worthy of respect requires teamwork. Encourage dialogue where the goal is mutual understanding rather than unity.

    Building coalitions around shared experiences

    Promote policies that benefit everyone. By promoting policies such as hybrid work and parental leave that benefit everyone, workplaces will attract and retain a more diverse workforce, which leads to greater innovation. Encourage men to take advantage of these policies and ensure your company culture makes it acceptable to do so. This enables men to actually experience the benefit of these initiatives. Align efforts around shared values – such as the desire for healthier families, better education or stronger economies.

    Use both/and thinking. Supporting men who express fears about status loss can open space for dialogue. Provide that space. At the same time, acknowledge the ongoing struggles women continue to face and their fears about workplaces returning to “the way they used to be.” One viewpoint does not need to negate the other.

    Prioritize lived experience. Rather than insisting that everyone see gender equity the same way, find ways for men to experience mutually beneficial initiatives. Then, encourage dialogue about experiences rather than ideas.

    Bridge divides with dialogue

    Mixed mentorship matters. Pairing employees with mentors of different backgrounds – across gender, race, age, department or seniority level – can help them cultivate curiosity and learn from one another.

    Activate resource groups. Groups focused on cross-cultural engagement provide employees with a platform to discuss challenges, share experiences and collaborate on inclusion initiatives. Additionally, encouraging allies to participate in employee resource groups and business resource groups fosters increased openness and understanding. Leaders can support groups by providing resources, visibility and executive sponsorship.

    Embrace discomfort. In general, people work to avoid feeling uncomfortable. However, discomfort is often necessary for growth. Starting with this premise and encouraging thoughtful, open and honest discussions about sensitive topics and potential fears can help foster transparency and build trust. Leaders can facilitate these conversations through town halls, roundtable discussions or dedicated dialogue sessions.

    Progress depends not just on metrics and policies but on trust, communication and humility. When people feel seen and heard – whether they’re feeling empowered or uncertain – they’re more likely to engage.

    In other words, the real opportunity isn’t to win an argument about whether gender equity is “done,” but to build organizations where everyone can see a future for themselves in the workplace – and feel as if they have a role in shaping it.

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

    – ref. Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how – https://theconversation.com/leaders-can-promote-gender-equity-without-deepening-polarization-heres-how-254921

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests − Nigeria shows the human costs

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Kathryn Rhine, Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

    A large number of children are born with HIV in Nigeria. Kristian Buus/Corbis News via Getty Images

    A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5 million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and ultimately compromise U.S. interests. These interests included securing access to Nigeria’s substantial oil reserves, maintaining regional military stability and protecting trade partnerships worth billions.

    Following years of agitation from AIDS activists, Bush launched the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, in 2003. This U.S.-led HIV treatment program has since saved tens of millions of lives around the globe.

    While living in Nigeria for my work as a medical anthropologist, I witnessed PEPFAR’s rollout and saw firsthand how the powerful therapies it provided transformed Nigerian lives. The women I worked with told me they could finally put aside the fears of death or abandonment that had consumed their days. Instead, they could focus on a newly expanded horizon of possibilities: building careers, finding love, having healthy children.

    Now, however, a serious threat to preventing and treating HIV worldwide looms. The Trump administration’s decision to substantially restrict access to a vital HIV prevention tool – PEPFAR-funded preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP – would cut off ongoing treatment for millions of people and block future access for countless others who need this protection.

    The Trump administration aims to cut HIV prevention funding.

    The timing is devastating: Scientists recently made a major advance in HIV prevention. Named the 2024 Breakthrough of the Year by the journal Science, the drug lenacapavir offers six months of HIV protection with one injection. Unlike previous PrEP options that required daily pills, which created significant barriers to consistent access and adherence, this twice-yearly injection dramatically simplifies prevention.

    By undermining access to a treatment that has been essential to reducing HIV rates, the Trump administration’s new restrictions threaten to derail two decades of bipartisan investment in eliminating HIV globally. The consequences extend well beyond individual lives.

    Afterlife of aid

    “Some people that have it, they choose to be wicked and just spread it all around,” confided Elizabeth, a woman I interviewed during my time in Nigeria. I am using a pseudonym to protect her privacy. “They say, ‘Somebody gave it to me, so I am going to spread it too.’ But if they know that they can live positively with the virus, it would reduce their evil thoughts.”

    Elizabeth’s words reveal a concerning dynamic: When hope for treatment disappears, a dangerous desperation can take its place. Patients who feel abandoned by health care systems might lose motivation to protect others from HIV. They may also stop seeking medical care, abandon prevention measures and turn away from future aid.

    Cultural anthropologists use the phrase “the afterlife of aid” to describe what happens after global aid programs are withdrawn or drastically reduced. Communities are left not just without resources but with a lasting sense of betrayal that undermines their willingness to seek help, creating cycles of skepticism that can persist for generations.

    Treatment as hope

    In my fieldwork, I’ve witnessed how managing life with the virus involves far more than taking medications. It requires carefully navigating personal relationships, family obligations, cultural expectations and hopes for the future.

    Many of the women I worked with had contracted HIV from their husbands or boyfriends. Some even suspected their partners’ positive status but were unable to protect themselves. Before these medications, women – both HIV positive and HIV negative – had to choose between risking rejection or risking transmission.

    The welfare of entire families depends on access to HIV medication. Here, a woman who is the sole provider of several children takes antiretroviral treatment.
    Saurabh Das/AP Photo

    Elizabeth and David’s story illustrates these challenges. They had been together for more than a year when David proposed. “When I sensed he was serious about marriage, I knew I had to tell him my status,” Elizabeth told me during one of our many conversations. Though initially shocked, he remained committed to their relationship.

    Elizabeth had maintained a decade of careful adherence to her HIV treatment, but the couple still struggled with consistent condom use. David described using condoms as akin to “eating candy with the wrapper still on it.” He also was eager to have a baby. While PrEP had greatly reduced transmission risk, it placed the full burden of protecting her husband on Elizabeth.

    The path Elizabeth navigated highlights how Nigerian cultural expectations complicated their situation. When proving one’s fertility is often considered essential to establishing gender identity, the pressure to have sex without protection created additional tension. Moreover, Elizabeth’s need to balance her own health needs with her husband’s desires reflected the delicate negotiation many Nigerian women face between personal well-being and marriage.

    As Elizabeth prepared for the birth of their child, she expressed both joy and anxiety: “I have to stay healthy for both of them now.”

    Politicizing global health

    Previous interruptions in aid foreshadow what’s at stake when shifts in U.S. political priorities compromise global health funding.

    Consider the global spike in maternal and child mortality when President Ronald Reagan instituted the Mexico City Policy, often referred to as the “global gag rule.” It blocked U.S. funding to all international nongovernmental organizations that provided or even referred abortion services.

    This policy has been repeatedly implemented by Republican administrations – including those of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump during his first term – and subsequently rescinded by Democratic presidents, creating a disruptive cycle of funding uncertainty. Among these affected organizations are recipients of PEPFAR funds.

    The human cost of this policy pendulum is measurable and significant. Researchers have found that when this law is enacted, nations across the globe suffer increased death rates for newborns and mothers as well as jumps in HIV cases. In countries heavily dependent on U.S. aid, the Mexico City Policy has resulted in approximately 80 additional child deaths and nine additional maternal deaths per 100,000 live births annually and about one additional HIV infection per 10,000 uninfected people.

    The Trump administration reinstated the global gag rule in 2017.
    Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

    My research in Nigeria also reveals the fragile progress that now hangs in the balance. Before treatments arrived, HIV ravaged Nigerian communities. In 2001, nearly 6% of the population had HIV, totaling around 3.5 million people. The Hausa language reflected this trauma: Terms for AIDS also meant “lifeless body” and “nearby grave.”

    Following the rollout of HIV treatments, Nigeria’s cases dropped dramatically – by 2010, prevalence had fallen to 4.1%. Declines continued steadily as treatment access expanded from 360,000 people in 2010 to over 1 million by 2018. This progress was heavily dependent on international support, with PEPFAR and other global donors providing over 80% of the US$6.2 billion spent fighting HIV in Nigeria between 2005 to 2018.

    In 2019, around 1.3% of the population had HIV, or 1.9 million people.

    From personal choice to global security

    What’s at stake isn’t just increasing HIV rates. The Trump administration’s reductions in foreign aid threaten to unravel over two decades of U.S. investment in global security and economic growth.

    Public health crises rarely stay contained within national boundaries. When health systems fail in West Africa, diseases can quickly spread overseas and require costly emergency responses. The 2014 Ebola outbreak demonstrated this reality, when cases reached America and prompted a $5.4 billion emergency response. Similarly, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, which infected around 60 million Americans, showed how quickly infectious diseases circle the globe when surveillance and containment systems are inadequate.

    Inconsistent aid, in turn, undermines American global leadership and creates openings for competing powers to establish their influence. China has actively exploited these gaps, establishing bilateral trade with Africa reaching $295 billion in 2024. While the U.S. reduced its global health engagement during previous administrations, China expanded its global health diplomacy, partnering on issues ranging from infectious disease prevention and control to health emergency response and health technology innovation.

    Meanwhile, restrictions in PrEP access risk recreating the same impossible choices women faced at the advent of the epidemic: choosing between disclosing their status and risking abandonment; accepting unprotected sex and risking transmission, or refusing unprotected sex and risking violence or loss of economic support.

    I believe the result is a far less safe world where preventable suffering continues, hard-won progress unravels and the promise of an AIDS-free generation remains unfulfilled.

    Kathryn Rhine has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the West African Research Association, the American Council of Learned Societies, Fulbright programs, the National Science Foundation, and the National Security Education Program. These views are her own and not those of her institution.

    – ref. Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests − Nigeria shows the human costs – https://theconversation.com/cutting-hiv-aid-means-undercutting-us-foreign-and-economic-interests-nigeria-shows-the-human-costs-253705

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: In what order did the planets in our solar system form?

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

    An artistic rendition of our solar system, including the Sun and eight planets. vjanez/iStock via Getty Images

    Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

    Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones further away? – Gavriel, age 10, Paducah, Kentucky

    A cloud of collapsing gas created our Sun, the first thing to form in our solar system. This happened about 4½ billion years ago.

    Then the planets began to emerge, as the billions of particles of gas and dust left over from the Sun’s formation became a flattened disk.

    Known as a protoplanetary disk, it was enormous and surrounded the Sun for billions of miles. Within the disk, the gas and dust particles started to collide, solidify and stick together, like snowflakes clumping together to form snowballs.

    As the particles clung together, the microscopic grains became pebble-size objects and then grew and grew. Some became rocks the size of baseballs, others the size of a house, and a few as big as a planet.

    This process, called accretion, is how everything in the solar system – planets, moons, comets and asteroids – came into being.

    Telescopes can see young solar systems being born. This image is a protoplanetary disk from a distant star in the Milky Way galaxy.
    NASA/ALMA/ESO/NAOJ/NRAO/A.Isella;/B.Saxton/NRAO/AUI/NSF

    The ice line

    By studying computer models and observing the creation of other star systems, astronomers like us have learned a lot about the early days of our solar system.

    When the Sun was still forming and the protoplanetary disk was making planets, there was a distance from the Sun where it was cold enough for ice to gather. That place, the ice line – sometimes called the snow line – was in what’s now the asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter.

    Today, of course, ice is found on almost every planet, even on Mercury. But back then, only the young protoplanets beyond the ice line were cold enough to have it. The ice, gas and dust, slamming into each other for millions of years, accumulated into enormous bodies that ultimately became giant planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

    While all this was happening, the smaller planets inside the ice line were forming too. But with less raw material to work with, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars took much longer.

    Today, it’s believed that Jupiter and Saturn, the largest planets, were the first to fully form, both within a few million years. Uranus and Neptune were next, within 10 million years. The inner planets, including Earth, took at least 100 million years, maybe more.

    To put it another way, the four planets closest to the Sun are the youngest; the two planets farthest out, the next youngest; and the two in between, the oldest. The difference in age between the youngest and oldest planets is perhaps 90 million years.

    That sounds like an enormous age difference, but in space, 90 million years isn’t really that long – less than 1% of the total time the universe has been around. One way to consider it: Think of Earth as a little sister with a big brother, Jupiter, who’s 2 or 3 years older.

    Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2019, this is a photo of Jupiter, the fifth planet out from the Sun.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill (CC-BY)

    Location, location, location

    Soon after formation the giant worlds began to migrate, moving inward toward the Sun or outward away from the Sun, before finally settling into their final orbits.

    For instance, Neptune migrated outward, switching places with Uranus, and pushed a lot of the small, icy bodies into the Kuiper Belt, a place in the outer solar system that’s home to dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and Makemake and millions of comets.

    Meanwhile, Jupiter moved inward, and its massive gravity forced some forming planets into the Sun, where they disintegrated. Along the way, Jupiter flung some smaller rocks out of the solar system altogether; the rest went to the asteroid belt.

    But most critically, as Jupiter settled into its own orbit, it moved all of the forming objects and likely finalized the location of the remaining inner planets, including Earth.

    All of Jupiter’s tugging helped put our planet in the so-called “Goldilocks zone,” a place just the right distance from the Sun, where Earth could have liquid water on its surface and the right temperature for life to evolve. If Jupiter hadn’t formed the way it did, it’s entirely possible life would not have ignited on Earth – and we would not be here today.

    Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

    And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

    Lucas Brefka receives funding from a NASA Exoplanet Research Program grant.

    Christopher Palma 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. In what order did the planets in our solar system form? – https://theconversation.com/in-what-order-did-the-planets-in-our-solar-system-form-252262

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Space tourism’s growth blurs the line between scientific and symbolic achievement – a tourism scholar explains how

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Betsy Pudliner, Associate Professor of Hospitality and Technology Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Stout

    Blue Origin’s NS-31 flight lifted off on April 14, 2025. Justin Hamel/Getty Images

    On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six women – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez – on a suborbital journey to the edge of space.

    The headlines called it a historic moment for women in space. But as a tourism educator, I paused – not because I questioned their experience, but because I questioned the language. Were they astronauts or space tourists? The distinction matters – not just for accuracy, but for understanding how experience, symbolism and motivation shape travel today.

    In tourism studies, my colleagues and I often ask what motivates travel and makes it a meaningful experience. These women crossed a boundary by leaving Earth’s surface. But they also stepped into a controversy about a symbolic one: the blurred line between astronaut and tourist, between scientific achievement and curated experience.

    This flight wasn’t just about the altitude they flew to – it was about what it meant. As commercial space travel becomes more accessible to civilians, more people are joining spaceflights not as scientists or mission specialists, but as invited guests or paying participants. The line between astronaut and space tourist is becoming increasingly blurred.

    Blue Origin’s NS-31 flight brought six women to the edge of space.

    In my own work, I explore how travelers find meaning in the way their journeys are framed. A tourism studies perspective can help unpack how experiences like the Blue Origin flight are designed, marketed and ultimately understood by travelers and the tourism industry.

    So, were these passengers astronauts? Not in the traditional sense. They weren’t selected through NASA’s rigorous training protocols, nor were they conducting research or exploration in orbit.

    Instead, they belong to a new category: space tourists. These are participants in a crafted, symbolic journey that reflects how commercial spaceflight is redefining what it means to go to space.

    Space tourism as a niche market

    Space tourism has its origins in 1986 with the launch of the Mir space station, which later became the first orbital platform to host nonprofessional astronauts. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mir and its successor, the International Space Station, welcomed a handful of privately funded civilian guests – most notably U.S. businessman Dennis Tito in 2001, often cited as the first space tourist.

    Space tourism has since evolved into a niche market selling brief encounters to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. While passengers on the NS-31 flight did not purchase their seats, the experience mirrors those sold by commercial space tourism providers such as Virgin Galactic.

    Like other forms of niche tourism – wellness retreats, heritage trails or extreme adventures – space travel appeals to those drawn to novelty, exclusivity and status, regardless of whether they purchased the ticket.

    These suborbital flights may last just minutes, but they offer something far more lasting: prestige, personal storytelling and the feeling of participating in something rare. Space tourism sells the experience of being somewhere few have visited, not the destination itself. For many, even a 10-minute flight can fulfill a deeply personal milestone.

    Tourist motivation and space tourism’s evolution

    The push-and-pull theory in tourism studies helps explain why people might want to pursue space travel. Push factors – internal desires such as curiosity, an urge to escape or an eagerness to gain fame – spark interest. Pull factors – external elements such as wishing to see the view of Earth from above or experience the sensation of weightlessness – enhance the appeal.

    Space tourism taps into both. It’s fueled by the internal drive to do something extraordinary and the external attraction of a highly choreographed, emotional experience.

    Participants in space tourism wear branded jumpsuits with the company’s logo, pose for photos and talk to the media about their experience.
    AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

    These flights are often branded – not necessarily with flashy logos, but through storytelling and design choices that make the experience feel iconic. For example, while the New Shepard rocket the women traveled in doesn’t carry a separate emblem, it features the company’s name, Blue Origin, in bold letters along the side. Passengers wear personalized flight suits, pose for preflight photos and receive mission patches or certificates, all designed to echo the rituals of professional space missions.

    What’s being sold is an “astronaut-for-a-day” experience: emotionally powerful, visually compelling and rich with symbolism. But under tourism classifications, these travelers are space tourists – participants in a curated, short-duration excursion.

    Representation and marketing experience

    The image from the Blue Origin flight of six women boarding a rocket was framed as a symbolic victory – a girl-power moment designed for visibility and celebration – but it was also carefully curated.

    This wasn’t the first time women entered space. Since its inception, NASA has selected 61 women as astronaut candidates, many of them making groundbreaking contributions to space science and exploration. Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir not only entered space – they trained as astronauts and contributed significantly to science, engineering and long-duration missions. Their journeys marked historic achievements in space exploration rather than curated moments in tourism.

    Recognizing their legacy is important as commercial spaceflight creates new kinds of unique, tailored experiences, ones shaped more by media performance than by scientific milestones.

    The Blue Origin flight was not a scientific mission but rather was framed as a symbolic event. In tourism, companies, marketers and media outlets often create these performances to maximize their visibility. SpaceX has taken a similar approach with its Inspiration4 mission, turning a private orbital flight into a global media event complete with a Netflix documentary and emotional storytelling.

    The Blue Origin flight sold a feeling of progress while blending the roles between astronaut and guest. For Blue Origin, the symbolic value was significant. By launching the first all-female crew into suborbital space, the company was able to claim a historic milestone – one that aligned them with inclusion – without the cost, complexity or risk associated with a scientific mission. In doing so, they generated enormous media attention.

    Tourism education and media literacy

    In today’s world, space travel is all about the story that gets told about the flight. From curated visuals to social media posts and press coverage, much of the experience’s meaning is shaped by marketing and media.

    Understanding that process matters – not just for scholars or industry insiders, but for members of the public, who follow these trips through the narratives produced by the companies’ marketing teams and media outlets.

    Another theory in tourism studies describes how destinations evolve over time – from exploration, to development, to mass adoption. Many forms of tourism begin in an exploration phase, accessible only to the wealthy or well connected. For example, the Grand Tour of Europe was once a rite of passage for aristocrats. Its legacy helped shape and develop modern travel.

    As more people travel to a destination over time, it moves through the tourism area life cycle. During the early exploration phase, the destination has only a few tourists.
    Coba56/Wikimedia Commons

    Right now, space tourism is in the exploration stage. It’s expensive, exclusive and available only to a few. There’s limited infrastructure to support it, and companies are still experimenting with what the experience should look like. This isn’t mass tourism yet, it’s more like a high-profile playground for early adopters, drawing media attention and curiosity with every launch.

    Advances in technology, economic shifts and changing cultural norms can increase access to unique destinations that start as out of bounds to a majority of tourists. Space tourism could be the next to evolve this way in the tourism industry. How it’s framed now – who gets to go, how the participants are labeled and how their stories are told – will set the tone moving forward. Understanding these trips helps people see how society packages and sells an inspirational experience long before most people can afford to join the journey.

    Betsy Pudliner is affiliated with International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators.

    – ref. Space tourism’s growth blurs the line between scientific and symbolic achievement – a tourism scholar explains how – https://theconversation.com/space-tourisms-growth-blurs-the-line-between-scientific-and-symbolic-achievement-a-tourism-scholar-explains-how-255284

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Seven countries in Latin America where human rights are taking the biggest hit

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nicolas Forsans, Professor of Management and Co-director of the Centre for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, University of Essex

    Latin America is undergoing one of its most profound human rights crises in decades. The region’s civic space is shrinking rapidly, from mass surveillance and arbitrary arrests to political repression, enforced disappearances and impunity for state violence.

    The 2025 State of the World’s Human Rights report, released by Amnesty International, lays bare the magnitude of the challenge. Seven countries – Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba and El Salvador – are at the epicentre of this authoritarian surge.

    Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January has only deepened the problem. In a separate report published in the same week, Amnesty argues that Trump’s nationalist rhetoric and policy reversals have emboldened strongman leaders. These have undercut international accountability and accelerated rights violations across the hemisphere.

    Here are the countries where the assault on human rights is being felt most acutely.

    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. Join The Conversation for free today.

    1. Haiti

    Nowhere has the collapse in human rights been more visible than in Haiti. By the end of 2024, more than 700,000 people – half of them children – had been internally displaced due to spiralling gang violence and state failure.

    Criminal organisations routinely engaged in killings, sexual violence and attacks on hospitals and schools. A December 2024 massacre in Cité Soleil, a densely populated part of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, saw at least 207 people executed by the Wharf Jérémie gang.

    The justice system has all but ceased to function. Meanwhile, deportations of Haitians from the US and neighbouring Dominican Republic has surged.

    According to Amnesty, nearly 200,000 people were returned without due process in 2024 alone. Trump’s crackdown on migration, framed as necessary for border security, has accelerated these mass removals.

    2. Nicaragua

    Nicaragua’s president, Daniel Ortega, has refined authoritarianism into an efficient machine of repression. More than 5,000 civil society groups, private universities and media outlets have been closed since 2018. This included 1,500 from January to September 2024 alone.

    Over 400 critics have been stripped of nationality since 2023 and dozens of journalists have been forcibly disappeared or jailed. The legal status of hundreds of evangelical groups has also been revoked.

    In 2024, the government criminalised dissent to the point where entire sectors of civil society have vanished. Indigenous communities, meanwhile, faced displacement and armed attacks from pro-government militias, with little international response.

    3. Venezuela

    Venezuela remains mired in repression. A presidential election in July 2024, which was stolen by Nicolás Maduro, was followed by the arbitrary detention and torture of protesters – including children. Independent journalists were arrested and NGOs threatened with closure.

    Many Venezuelans subsequently fled the country. Persecutions and despair at the election results saw 20,000 people migrate northwards through the jungle of the Darién Gap in September 2024 alone, a 70% increase on the previous month.



    Read more:
    Venezuela: Maduro’s declaration of victory isn’t fooling anyone

    In reality, the numbers are probably much higher. A poll following the election indicated that 43% of those remaining in the country were considering emigrating, but official data has not been made available. More than 7.8 million citizens have left Venezuela over the past ten years, with around 28 million people still residing there.

    In June 2023, the International Criminal Court resumed its investigation into the Maduro regime for alleged crimes against humanity. But Venezuela’s government continues to obstruct justice. With Trump’s administration disinterested in multilateral mechanisms, efforts to restore democracy face steeper odds.

    4. Mexico

    Mexico’s public security has become dangerously militarised. A constitutional amendment in September 2024, a few days before the end of the Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration, placed the National Guard under military control. This has enabled widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings. Nine human rights defenders and four journalists were killed in 2024 alone.

    López Obrador’s administration undermined press freedom at home. It also failed to protect those seeking asylum. And with Trump back in office, deportations from the US to Mexico have increased. Returnees are often placed at risk of cartel violence and exploitation.

    5. Colombia

    Colombia suffered Latin America’s longest running insurgency, lasting over 50 years. Despite the country’s robust institutional frameworks, peace remains elusive. In 2024, over 195,000 people were forcibly confined by armed groups, and landmines continue to endanger more than 600,000 civilians.

    Child recruitment, sexual violence and targeted killings of former combatants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) rebel group have surged. Meanwhile, progress on implementing the 2016 peace accord remains slow.

    Investigations into military-perpetrated extrajudicial killings are ongoing, but face budgetary constraints and political pushback. Trump’s withdrawal of US support for transitional justice mechanisms has further weakened international backing for Colombia’s fragile reconciliation efforts.



    Read more:
    Colombia’s fragile peace process in danger as guerrilla violence rises

    6. Cuba

    The Cuban authorities are continuing to suppress dissent through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and censorship. Over 100 people were arrested for protesting in 2024, with many forced into self-incriminating video confessions. Independent media and activists were subject to constant surveillance and harassment.

    Amid economic collapse, more than 18% of the population has fled the island in two years. These mass migrations often result in perilous journeys and widespread family separations. The economic crisis has been exacerbated by US sanctions reimposed and intensified under Trump.

    7. El Salvador

    President Nayib Bukele’s model of mass incarceration continues to attract global attention. Nearly 84,000 people have been arrested since 2022 under a state of emergency that suspends basic rights and legal guarantees.

    Surveillance, arbitrary detentions and public humiliation of detainees have become routine. Trump’s vocal admiration of Bukele’s “tough on crime” stance has lent international legitimacy to this dangerous approach.



    Read more:
    Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s strongman leader doing Donald Trump’s legwork abroad

    Trump’s return to the White House has intensified human rights setbacks across Latin America. His withdrawal from human rights and climate agreements has emboldened authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent and accelerate policies to exploit resources without fear of US pressure or accountability.

    Latin American migrants in the US have also faced a resurgence of mass deportations. Rhetoric portraying migrants as criminals has fuelled xenophobia and enabled sweeping immigration raids and policy rollbacks. Sanctuary cities like Chicago have been targeted and legal protections for undocumented residents eroded.

    Latin America’s current trajectory suggests a drift not just toward repression, but a normalisation of state violence. While local resistance remains strong, particularly among grassroots activists and civil society, international solidarity has been weakened by geopolitical shifts.

    The region risks cementing a new era of authoritarian resilience – one in which the defence of human rights is not just dangerous but futile.

    Nicolas Forsans 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. Seven countries in Latin America where human rights are taking the biggest hit – https://theconversation.com/seven-countries-in-latin-america-where-human-rights-are-taking-the-biggest-hit-255782

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Tories get ghosted: new study shows dating app users are more likely to swipe right on Reform voters

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte, Associate Professor in Quantitative Political Science, University of Southampton

    The Conservative party is in existential crisis over the electoral threat posed by Reform UK. But a recent experiment shows that not only is the new rightwing party usurping the old guard in the polls – it’s also eclipsing the Tories on the dating market.

    In recent local elections, Reform took control of ten councils in England, adding 677 councillors. The Conservatives, meanwhile, lost 674 councillors and control of 16 councils.

    Over on the love market, a recent study I co-authored shows people were more likely to swipe right (“like” or indicate interest) for a Reform voter than a Tory. While Reform voters had a 39% chance of a match, Conservatives had 35%.

    The parties of the left and centre had the highest match rates overall, with Labour supporters having a 52% chance of a match, Greens on 51% and Liberal Democrats on 49%.

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    These results come from a behavioural experiment involving 2,000 people in Britain. We asked participants to evaluate online dating profiles to see how politics shapes a person’s chances of getting a match.

    Participants were shown AI-generated dating profiles — over 20,000 in total — and asked to swipe left (“dislike”) or right (“like”). The profiles varied randomly across characteristics like looks, ethnicity, job, hobbies and, most importantly, political affiliation.

    Some profiles expressed support for mainstream parties — Labour, Conservatives, Greens, Lib Dems as well as rightwing newcomer, Reform UK.

    What really stood out in the experiment was how much dating preferences followed political lines. People weren’t necessarily put off by more extreme views – but they were more likely to reject someone from the opposite side of the political spectrum.

    The politics of dating polarises. Conservative voters would rather date someone further to their right (Reform) and Labour voters would rather date someone further to their left (the Greens) than cross the Labour-Conservative divide in the centre.

    While people tend to prefer partners who vote for the same party as them, they also prefer partners who belong to the same left and right “camp”.

    You up? You Lib Dem?
    Shutterstock/r.classen

    Dating preferences were heavily split along the left-right divide, with leftwing voters 37% more likely to reject someone on the right than vice-versa. This explains, in part, why rightwing people are less popular on dating apps overall, compared with leftwing people.

    Given that the population of dating app users tends to be younger (and therefore less rightwing), the politics penalty is skewed against rightwing folks. In effect, the “number of fish in the sea” willing to date them is smaller than the number they themselves are willing to date.

    Men and women reacted largely in a similar way. There’s often talk of a gender divide in rightwing support – particularly among younger people. But we found no evidence that women were any more or less likely than men to swipe left on Reform UK supporters.

    So, the Conservatives are not only at risk of electoral annihilation thanks to the Reform threat. They’re also denying their supporters dates. In a dating world shaped more by political alignment than ideological distance, the chances of success depend less on what someone believes — and more on which side they’re on.

    Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte receives funding from the British Academy.

    – ref. Tories get ghosted: new study shows dating app users are more likely to swipe right on Reform voters – https://theconversation.com/tories-get-ghosted-new-study-shows-dating-app-users-are-more-likely-to-swipe-right-on-reform-voters-256824

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How aid cuts could make vulnerable communities even less resilient to climate change

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kalle Hirvonen, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Insitute; Research Fellow, UNU-WIDER, United Nations University

    An irrigation project in Mozambique. Marcos Villalta / Save the Children, CC BY-NC-ND

    As global temperatures rise and climate-related disasters become more frequent, the need to adapt is rapidly increasing. That need for adaptation – from adjusting farming practices to diversifying livelihoods and strengthening infrastructure – is most acute in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti and Vietnam.

    Despite contributing a negligible share of historical global greenhouse gas emissions, these countries are facing the brunt of climate change. Yet as the demand for long-term resilience grows, international aid priorities are shifting in the opposite direction.

    Over the past three years, several major rich countries have substantially cut their development aid budgets. Remaining funds have been redirected towards emergency relief.

    This shift could undermine the climate finance commitments made by wealthy countries to mobilise US$300 billion (£228 billion) a year for climate action in the most vulnerable low- and middle-income countries by 2035.

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    Emergency aid, while vital for saving lives during crises such as droughts and floods, is reactive by nature. It arrives only after disaster has struck, often with a substantial delay.

    By contrast, climate adaptation is proactive. It focuses on anticipating future risks and helping communities prepare for changing environments.

    A key part of this is supporting transitions away from sectors like crop agriculture that are particularly vulnerable to climate-related shocks. In some cases, adapting to a changing climate may also require helping families move safely — turning relocation into a choice rather than a last resort.

    In Ethiopia, one of the world’s most drought-prone countries, a US government-funded food security programme aimed to strengthen resilience by offering livelihood training, organising savings groups and providing a US$200 lump sum to poor rural households. Research shows that this programme improved food security and protected assets during periods of drought.

    Livestock farming in the Somali region of Ethiopia which was severely affected by droughts in 2011.
    Malini Morzaria/EUECHO, CC BY-NC-ND

    In Nicaragua, families who received cash transfers alongside vocational training or investment grants were better protected against drought shocks than those relying on cash alone. These households could supplement farming with other income sources. This made them less vulnerable to drought-related losses and helped stabilise their earnings throughout the year.

    These schemes are known as “cash-plus programmes”. They help create the conditions for households to adapt and thrive. But when climate and environmental shocks overwhelm the resilience of local communities, relocation may still become the only viable option.

    That’s why proactive adaptation efforts need to be scaled up and broadened — not only to meet immediate needs but to support longer-term transitions. This includes investing in sustainable livelihoods through diversified income sources, skills training and, when necessary, enabling safe and voluntary relocation.

    Some pilot interventions that supported seasonal rural-to-urban migration have shown what’s possible. In Bangladesh, a small migration subsidy of just US$8.50 helped the participating poor farm households affected by seasonal famine cover travel costs.

    Migration for temporary work increased by 22%, and families back home experienced improvements in food security. With even modest support, people were able to access job opportunities in cities and strengthen their resilience.

    Programmes that make it easier for people to choose to move from rural areas to cities could help families move with dignity rather than in desperation. However, scaling up such initiatives successfully remains a challenge, requiring strong political commitment and effective governance.

    Climate relocation

    Without proactive planning and support, migration often happens out of necessity rather than choice. This kind of displacement typically occurs within national borders rather than across continents — contrary to popular narratives.

    In fact, 59% of the world’s forcibly displaced population live within their own country. By the end of 2023, a record 75.9 million people across 116 countries were internally displaced — a 51% increase over the previous five years, driven in part by climate change.

    A family leave their home in Oklahoma, US, as a result of the 1930s dust bowl disaster.
    Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information.

    History provides sobering lessons about relocation triggered by environmental collapse. In the 1930s, a severe drought and dust storms struck the Great Plains in the US, creating the “dust bowl”. This devastated farmland and forced millions of people to leave their homes, as economic hardship became widespread and the land so degraded that crops wouldn’t grow.

    Today, similar patterns loom as droughts, floods and rising seas threaten livelihoods around the world. Small island states such as Tuvalu face existential threats from rising sea levels, with entire communities at risk of being displaced.

    These mounting threats underscore a hard truth: the window for effective climate adaptation is rapidly closing. As climate disruptions intensify, the case for long-term investment in resilience has never been clearer. Without proactive adaptation, the cycle of crisis and response will only deepen.

    Societies can adapt, but doing so takes foresight, investment and courage. In the face of escalating climate risks, bold, forward-looking policies are not a luxury — they are a necessity. By supporting longer-term strategies, rich-country governments and aid charities can enable vulnerable communities to withstand, adapt and, when necessary, move with dignity.

    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.

    Kalle Hirvonen’s recent and ongoing research has been funded by the CGIAR Trust Fund (https://www.cgiar.org/funders/), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

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

    – ref. How aid cuts could make vulnerable communities even less resilient to climate change – https://theconversation.com/how-aid-cuts-could-make-vulnerable-communities-even-less-resilient-to-climate-change-255358

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Moomin merchandise and fashion: 80 years of ultra-savvy marketing that taps into childhood nostalgia

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children’s Literature & Childhood Culture, Queen Mary University of London

    On a visit to the British Library in London to research this piece, I was preceded by a woman with a lilac-coloured tote featuring a mischievous-looking girl with a severe top knot and black dress. I instantly recognised the distinctive outline of Tove Jansson’s Little My, one of the many brilliant characters of the Moominverse.

    A committed researcher, I summoned up the courage to ask about the bag and the woman carrying it. Anna – visiting the library to work on her fairy tale novel – immediately told all about her hold-all. About how she felt a connection with “fiery and independent” Little My specifically and Moomins generally. About how they took her back to her Swedish childhood, when she would hand-knit the distinctive rotund creatures. I had clearly hit the jackpot with Anna – Moomin owner, wearer and maker, all in one.

    Anna had bought the bag in Sweden, but you don’t have to go to the Scandinavian birthplace of the Moomins to buy into their world. Anna could have gone to the Moomin emporium 30 minutes’ walk away in Covent Garden, or just shopped online.

    This is part of a series of articles celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Moomins. Want to celebrate their birthday with us? Join The Conversation and a group of experts on May 23 in Bradford for a screening of Moomins on the Riviera and a discussion of the refugee experience in Tove Jansson’s work. Click here for more information and tickets.

    Today’s Moomin empire is vast and varied. The Moomins is a brand worth multi-millions, with 800 licencees worldwide. This 80th anniversary year will see capsule collections galore from the likes of Comme des Garçons, Acne Studios and Polarn O. Pyret.

    The products span interior décor, clothing and accessories, ceramics and much, much more. Driven in part by the extension into media that includes video games and TV, Moomins can be found on everything from planes to pencils. It’s very possible to eat, sleep, wear, play Moomin – to immerse yourself entirely in the Moomin world.

    It’s all very typical of the 21st-century media and entertainment asset landscape. And yet, as Moomin aficionados know full well, none of it is new. There has been Moomin merch for as long as there have been Moomins.

    Their creator Tove Jansson took an active role in the development of the Moomin industry. Part of her training had been in illustrations for advertising and when the books and comic strips took off, she herself provided images for a drinks manufacturer selling themed whortleberry juice and other libations. Jansson also designed a board game and supported and oversaw the development of several products and lines, taking immense care over their quality and details.

    The scale of the operation soon became overwhelming and Jansson became increasingly frustrated and resentful of the demands on her creative time. One of her characters, Snufkin, is bemused by why people “liked to have things” (Finn Family Moomintroll, 1948) and the books have a certain anti-consumerist bent. From this perspective, the vast Moomin industry today goes against the spirit of the works.

    And yet. The same book in which Snufkin spoke this way is also a book (whose Finnish original title is The Hobgoblin’s Hat) full to the brim with … things. And those things are invested with immense fascination and power. As the Snork character points out “a top hat is always somewhat extraordinary, of course”.

    Jansson herself had a strong impulse to work with others to extend and flesh out her creations, releasing them from the confines of the books. She was actively involved in early stage adaptations, crafting sets and costumes, and later became absorbed in the long-term creation of a Moominhouse diorama (and series of associated tableaux) with partner Tuulikki Pietilä and physician friend Pentti Eistola.

    Making her creations tangible and tactile was clearly a huge draw for this sculptor’s daughter. One of the most striking features of the Moomins on paper is their smooth rotundity – they’re almost begging to be made into three dimensions.

    So much for the creator. But what of Moomin consumers? People around the world have clearly long wanted to feel closer to the Moomin world, and to buy into it. But why? The reasons are both aesthetic and affective. As for the Swedish-born writer I encountered at the British Library, the Moomins are often keyed into the nostalgia and innocence of childhood. And, as with Anna’s sense of kinship with Little My, people often feel an instinctive affiliation with one or more of the Moomin’s vast and varied cast.

    The books also encapsulate and convey a whole host of associations (or “values” in brand speak) which people identify with, want to share and display. Some of these are relatively banal (though fundamental) and apparent elsewhere – things like friendship, warmth, family and acceptance.

    But there are also features quite specific to Moomins and to Jansson herself: a relish of life and sensuous experience, gender fluidity, space for both light and dark, for wanderlust and the joy of cocooning at home. All of this is conveyed in words and images of exceptional quality and distinction.

    The whimsy is delivered with distinctive Scandinavian style and flair: a clean, pared-back aesthetic and sharp lines accompanied by a rich and bold colour palette. Who wouldn’t want to wear a hand-painted silk AALTO dress by Finnish designer Tuomas Merikoski that transposes the lush greens of one of the later Moomin books, The Dangerous Journey?

    Eight decades after their first publication, Moomins continue to be highly covetable and to catalyse creativity. As with Anna’s Little My tote, they are set to accompany and assist many more generations of writers and creatives in their imaginative endeavours.

    Kiera Vaclavik 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. Moomin merchandise and fashion: 80 years of ultra-savvy marketing that taps into childhood nostalgia – https://theconversation.com/moomin-merchandise-and-fashion-80-years-of-ultra-savvy-marketing-that-taps-into-childhood-nostalgia-256168

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Introducing The Conversation and the BBC’s Secrets of the Sea – my journey to meet six marine scientists pioneering ocean solutions

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Anna Turns, Senior Environment Editor

    Senior environment editor Anna Turns with BBC radio producer Jo Loosemore CC BY-NC-ND

    After a long drive to Godrevy lighthouse near St Ives in Cornwall, the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing. I’m here with BBC radio producer Jo Loosemore, on a roadtrip to meet some of the marine scientists researching how ocean health is vital to our future.

    As we squeeze between crevices in the cliffs to shelter from the elements at Godrevy beach, I interview Ed Gasson, a glaciologist at the University of Exeter. His story is full of surprises.

    Jo Loosemore with Anna Turns on Godrevy beach.
    Ed Gasson, CC BY-NC-ND

    This corner of north Cornwall is one I have visited many times, usually on bright, sunny days during weekend getaways or family holidays. I’ve gazed at the lighthouse, enjoyed spotting seals on the rocks beneath, and sat with both icecream and binoculars in hand on the benches by the coast path.

    But I had never looked closely at these cliffs below, until now. And I could never have guessed that this coastline had any connections to the ice age, the Antarctic or sea-level rise.

    In a collaboration between The Conversation and BBC South West, Secrets of the Sea is a new series that showcases local stories with global significance. World experts based across Devon and Cornwall are at the forefront of marine research into seaweeds and seagrass, seabed restoration and offshore shellfish farming.

    Prepping to record inside the National Maritime Museum of Cornwall.
    Jo Loosemore, CC BY-NC-ND

    From the rocky foreshore in Torquay to the mussel-covered pontoons of Plymouth harbour, I’ve been speaking to scientists about their work, their passions and the potential for our oceans to hold the key to climate resilience. Healthier seas mean our planet will be much better able to weather the stormy seas of the climate crisis.

    Each of the six radio programmes and accompanying articles delves into a different aspect of our oceans. Through 19th-century archives, in tiny test tubes on a lab bench, or inside a walk-in fridge full of marine fungi, this series explores creative ways to study ocean health. So, join me on BBC Sounds and here at The Conversation to go beneath the waves with a sense of wonder – and optimism.

    Listen to a mini-series of four short episodes on BBC Radio Devon from May 20-23 here. The full six-part series will air weekly from May 23 at 8.30pm on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.


    Local science, global stories.

    In collaboration with the BBC, Anna Turns travels around the West Country coastline to meet ocean experts making exciting discoveries beneath the waves.

    This article is part of a series, Secrets of the Sea, exploring how marine scientists are developing climate solutions.

    – ref. Introducing The Conversation and the BBC’s Secrets of the Sea – my journey to meet six marine scientists pioneering ocean solutions – https://theconversation.com/introducing-the-conversation-and-the-bbcs-secrets-of-the-sea-my-journey-to-meet-six-marine-scientists-pioneering-ocean-solutions-249981

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Britain’s net zero construction workforce is already at risk of burn out

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Simon Addyman, Associate Professor in Project Management, UCL

    Kittirat Roekburi/Shutterstock

    The pressure of decarbonising industrial sectors is weighing on workers.

    The UK’s Labour government seeks a low-carbon and homegrown energy supply by 2030. The scale and pace of this transformation is unprecedented in the country’s power sector, and will involve building twice as much transmission infrastructure (pylons, cables, substations) in the next five years as was built over the last decade.

    Much of the workforce will be drawn from the construction sector, which employs 2.3 million people. Construction forms the dominant supply chain to the 17 major infrastructure projects involved in an overhaul of the electricity grid that will connect new wind farms in the North Sea and northern Scotland to homes and businesses across Great Britain.

    The workers “on the tools” who will carry out much of this transformation are struggling. The latest analysis from the Office for National Statistics suggests that the suicide risk of construction workers is three times higher than the male national average. Scholars of construction project management have identified a toxic workplace culture in the industry, citing aggressive market competition and demanding performance metrics.

    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.

    This is a problem that is largely being ignored. When planners at the National Energy System Operator assessed the UK’s capacity to build a clean power sector by 2030, they considered the absolute number of workers needed, the skills required and how employment is changing in the sector.

    Their assessment failed to consider the broader implications for workforce mental health and wellbeing of such a quick and comprehensive upgrade – but it is people who are going through a rapid transition, not just infrastructure.

    Expect more of these in years to come.
    J R Patterson/Shutterstock

    Going green, feeling blue

    Construction workers already endure long hours and stress due to tight deadlines. A rapid transition to green power will substantially increase their workload, unless managed carefully.

    Our report, published July 2024, looked into wellbeing and suicide in the construction industry. We concluded that the UK government, major infrastructure owners such as National Grid and their supply chain partners who provide specialist design and construction services, must work together to solve this problem.

    Major infrastructure owners offer mental health services, such as confidential counselling, legal advice and financial guidance, to help their own employees manage personal or work-related issues. But most workers on the tools are not directly employed by these owners. Most are self-employed, or hired by construction firms, of which 99% are small- and medium-sized enterprises.

    More than 96% of construction firms have fewer than 15 employees. Smaller suppliers of specialist trade skills, like electrical and mechanical installation, have fewer employment protections and more compressed schedules, and are even less likely to have the capacity to provide these services.

    Some infrastructure owners and big construction companies extend their health and wellbeing services to these smaller suppliers. However, in an industry that is dominated by competitive tendering, which favours suppliers that keep costs low, it is no surprise that uptake has been low.

    Owners of infrastructure assets like electricity pylons and substations can drive workplace improvements by adopting procurement models that prioritise suppliers that are offering measures to improve worker wellbeing.

    Research from one of us (Jing Xu) and fellow project management expert Yanga Wu, has shown that the top-down prescriptive approach traditionally applied to health and safety in construction does not work for wellbeing. This requires a bottom-up approach, that makes it easy for workers to tell managers what they are struggling with and what they think would help.

    The construction sector also faces a shortage of workers and skills required for the green transition. The industry training board forecasts that the industry must attract the equivalent of 50,300 extra workers a year to meet expected levels of work over the next five years.

    The UK is not training enough workers to achieve net zero.
    Paya Mona/Shutterstock

    In the power sector, however, there is the additional complication of an ageing workforce, as well as differences in employment conditions between permanent and contract staff. Key expertise is at risk of being lost with retirements. Older workers often face additional pressure, not only to meet performance targets but also to compensate for gaps in expertise, and all within a fast-paced environment.

    To improve mental health and wellbeing among a diverse workforce requires engaging with workers directly and ensuring their voices are heard. This involves more than upgrading technical skills. Research to better understand how organisations can care for their workforce in the context of increasing pressures due to achieving net zero is also vital.

    Further research and collaboration with infrastructure owners and major construction contractors could help manage the risks and provide valuable insights for other sectors that will need to follow suit, such as heating, transport and agriculture.

    It is imperative to consider what a transition means: the technical transition of replacing outmoded technology, as well as the social transition, which prioritises not only skills but workplace mental health. Without a focus on both policy and people, clean power will not be delivered.

    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.

    Simon Addyman receives funding from University College London.

    Jing Xu receives funding from University College London.

    – ref. Britain’s net zero construction workforce is already at risk of burn out – https://theconversation.com/britains-net-zero-construction-workforce-is-already-at-risk-of-burn-out-249328

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Joe Biden has advanced prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 9. What does this mean?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

    Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has already spread to his bones.

    A statement Biden’s office issued on Sunday revealed Biden was diagnosed after experiencing urinary issues.

    Biden’s office said his cancer has a Gleason score of nine out of ten. It also said his cancer “appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management”.

    So what is a Gleason score? And what does it mean for a cancer to be hormone-sensitive?

    What is prostate cancer?

    Prostate cancer is any cancer that begins in the prostate, part of the male reproductive system. This small golf ball-sized gland is located below the bladder.

    The prostate is below the bladder.
    izunna/Shutterstock

    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. In Australia, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer by the age of 85.

    Some types of prostate cancer are low risk, grow very slowly, and may not require immediate treatment. Others are highly aggressive and can spread to other tissues and organs.

    What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

    Early prostate cancers do not usually cause symptoms, and therefore can be difficult to detect.

    At later stages, prostate cancer symptoms can include frequent urination, pain and/or a weak stream while urinating, blood in urine/semen, back/pelvic pain, and weakness in the legs or feet.

    Advanced prostate cancer which has spread to bones can cause pain, fatigue and weight loss.



    Read more:
    How does cancer spread to other parts of the body?

    What is the Gleason score?

    The Gleason score is one way of measuring the aggressiveness of prostate cancers. It assists doctors in categorising prostate cancers into different groups and in selecting appropriate treatments for patients.

    To calculate the Gleason score, clinicians take multiple samples of the tumour, called biopsies. To obtain each sample, a small needle is inserted into the tumour and a sliver of tissue (usually around 12 millimetres long) is extracted for testing.

    Because the different regions of the tumour can have different cancer cells present, pathologists then pick two different sections of the tumour biopsy they think best represent the whole tumour.

    Then, they grade each of the two sections with a score from 1 to 5. Grade 1 means the cancer cells present look a lot like normal, healthy cells. Grade 5 means the cancer cells look very abnormal. To get a patient’s Gleason score, the two grades are added together.

    Patients with a Gleason score of 6 or less are considered low risk and may not require immediate treatment.

    A Gleason score of 8–10 indicates a highly aggressive prostate cancer that will likely grow quickly.

    In Australia, 67.9% of men at diagnosis have a Gleason score of 7 or less.

    It’s not the only tool

    The Gleason score is only one tool health-care professionals use to guide the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

    Other tools include blood tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA, which is often elevated in prostate cancer patients), physical examinations (such as a digital rectal examination), and imaging of the tumour (such as via CT scans, MRI, or ultrasounds).

    While we don’t have all of the information about Biden’s diagnosis, a Gleason score of 9 indicates that his cancer is very aggressive.

    What is hormone-sensitive prostate cancer?

    Hormones are chemical signals made by various glands in our bodies. They are released into the bloodstream and can activate different processes in different cells and tissues.

    Hormones are very important for the normal functioning of our bodies, but some types of cancers also need hormones in order to grow.

    Prostate cancers that are “hormone-sensitive” need male sex hormones (also called androgens) to grow. Testosterone, which is primarily produced in the testicles, is an example of an androgen.

    How are hormone-sensitive cancers treated?

    Hormone therapies work either by reducing androgen levels, or by blocking the function of androgens. This can slow down or even kill hormone-sensitive prostate cancers, since they depend on androgens for their continued growth and survival.

    Androgen-deprivation therapy is usually the first hormone therapy those with prostate cancer will receive. It aims to reduce the levels of androgen produced by the testicles, either through surgical or chemical castration.

    Other types of hormone therapy, which can also be used in combination with androgen-deprivation therapy, include androgen-receptor blockers. These drugs bind to cell receptors, blocking the interaction between the androgens and the cancer cells. This means the cancer cells can’t access the androgens they need to grow.



    Read more:
    Every cancer is unique – why different cancers require different treatments, and how evolution drives drug resistance

    Of course, hormones are also necessary for normal bodily functions, meaning blocking them has side effects. Hormone therapies for prostate cancer commonly have side effects such as erectile dysfunction, weight gain, fatigue and osteoporosis, which causes bones to become weak and brittle.

    While hormone therapy may not be pleasant, it is an effective treatment option. Prostate cancers which become insensitive to hormone therapies are much more difficult to treat and generally considered incurable.

    Besides hormone therapy, prostate cancer may also be treated with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy – it depends on the patient.

    In addition, many new treatments for prostate cancers are currently under investigation, including laser procedures to remove cancer cells and CAR T therapy, which involves transforming a patient’s own immune cells into cancer-fighting cells.

    For patients whose prostate cancer has spread to their bones, treatments are usually aimed at stopping the cancer from spreading further and reducing symptoms.

    Biden and his family are now said to be reviewing treatment options.

    Sarah Diepstraten receives funding from Cure Cancer Australia and My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.

    John (Eddie) La Marca receives funding from Cancer Council Victoria. He is affiliated with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

    – ref. Joe Biden has advanced prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 9. What does this mean? – https://theconversation.com/joe-biden-has-advanced-prostate-cancer-with-a-gleason-score-of-9-what-does-this-mean-256998

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Climate scientists are trusted globally, just not as much as other scientists – here’s why

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Omid Ghasemi, Research Associate in Behavioural Science at the Institute for Climate Risk & Response, UNSW Sydney

    I. Noyan Yilmaz, Shutterstock

    Societies increasingly rely on scientists to guide decisions in times of uncertainty, from pandemic outbreaks to the rise of artificial intelligence.

    Addressing climate change is no different. For governments wanting to introduce ambitious climate policies, public trust in climate scientists is pivotal, because it can determine whether voters support or resist those efforts.

    So do people trust climate scientists, and what affects levels of trust? Our new study shows climate scientists are less trusted than other types of scientists globally. But there are profound variations in this trust gap between countries, and within them.

    Finding ways to increase trust in climate scientists is crucial if the world is to implement effective policies to avert dangerous global warming.

    Low trust in climate scientists may hinder effective climate science communication and reduce public engagement with climate solutions.
    Mozgova, Shutterstock.

    Examining trust in science

    We collaborated with an international team of researchers to analyse data from one of the largest cross-national surveys of public attitudes toward science. The dataset includes responses from nearly 70,000 people across 68 countries. It offers a rare global snapshot of how people perceive scientists in general, and climate scientists in particular.

    Each of these people rated their trust in climate scientists on a five-point scale, with a five indicating very high trust and a one being not trusted at all.

    Trust in scientists more generally was assessed using a 12-item questionnaire that measured perceptions of expertise, integrity, benevolence and openness. The responses were averaged to create a composite trust score. Higher scores reflected higher levels of trust.

    We found trust in scientists was moderately strong worldwide, as it was above the midpoint of the scale (averaging 3.6 out of 5). But trust in climate scientists was slightly lower (averaging 3.5). The difference between the two scores is what we call the “trust gap”.

    In 43 of the 68 countries, the trust gap was statistically significant, with people reporting lower trust in climate scientists than in scientists in general.

    The size of the trust gap varied between countries. In Europe, Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) and North America the gap tended to be smaller. Larger gaps emerged in parts of Latin America and Africa.

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo had the widest gap, with climate scientists trusted less than in any other country. This may reflect local concerns that global climate agendas — often supported by international scientists — prioritise resource extraction for foreign renewable energy demands over local interests. Such feelings may be particularly acute in regions where mining has brought limited community benefit.

    Six countries bucked the trend. Climate scientists were more trusted than scientists overall in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Egypt, Israel and Germany.

    In China and Germany, this may reflect strong investment in green energy, high levels of public support for climate action, and the visible role climate scientists play in shaping policy.

    What’s going on here?

    Not surprisingly, people with more positive views of science tended to express higher trust in scientists and even more so, climate scientists. But people with dim views of scientists were less trusting of climate scientists.

    Age also played a role. Older people tended to trust scientists more than younger people. But younger people were more likely to trust climate scientists.

    Climate scientists were generally less trusted than scientists regardless of gender. While men reported slightly lower trust in scientists than women did, the difference was not statistically significant.

    Among all the variables we examined, political orientation emerged as one of the strongest factors associated with trust in climate scientists. People with right-leaning or conservative views reported lower trust in climate scientists compared with those with more left-leaning or liberal views.

    However, the meaning of terms such as “liberal” and “conservative” can vary considerably between countries. For example, in Australia, the Liberal Party is politically right-leaning. But in the United States, “liberal” typically refers to left-leaning or progressive views. This variation makes cross-national comparisons complex and requires careful interpretation of results.

    As a particular person’s political orientation shifted further to the right, the trust gap between climate scientists and scientists widened.

    In 28 countries across the Americas, Europe and Oceania, right-leaning orientation was associated not only with lower trust in climate scientists than people who leaned to the left, but also with a larger gap between trust for scientists generally and trust for climate scientists.

    In a smaller subset of countries, particularly in parts of Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, the pattern reversed – right-leaning individuals expressed greater trust in climate scientists than their left-leaning counterparts.

    These findings suggest it is not political orientation alone that drives public trust, but how climate issues are framed in political discourse. In many Western countries, public messaging around climate change — particularly from conservative parties and media — has cast doubt on the credibility of climate science. This politicisation, often amplified by vested interests such as fossil fuel lobbies, may help explain the erosion of trust among some conservative groups.

    Closing the trust gap

    Trust alone will not solve the climate crisis, but it plays a crucial role in shaping how societies respond to scientific guidance.

    Ambitious, evidence-based policies require public support to succeed. A persistent trust gap — no matter how small — can undermine that support and help explain why many governments continue to fall short of their climate targets.

    Closing the trust gap through transparent communication, inclusive public engagement, and consistent political leadership is essential for turning awareness into action.

    Omid Ghasemi receives funding from the Australian Academy of Science.

    Ben Newell receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

    – ref. Climate scientists are trusted globally, just not as much as other scientists – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/climate-scientists-are-trusted-globally-just-not-as-much-as-other-scientists-heres-why-256441

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The re-emergence of polio in Papua New Guinea shows global eradication remains elusive

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Michael Toole, Associate Principal Research Fellow, Burnet Institute

    Last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

    The highly infectious virus was found in two healthy, polio-vaccinated children who were screened following detection of the virus during routine wastewater sampling in Lae, PNG’s second largest city. Wastewater samples are also positive in the capital Port Moresby, indicating the potential of spread around the country.

    The strain has been identified as circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, similar genetically to a strain circulating in Indonesia.

    So what does this mean? And what will happen now in PNG?

    First, what is polio?

    Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious disease caused by the poliovirus. It primarily affects children.

    Most infections don’t cause significant symptoms and go largely unnoticed. But less than 1% of infections result in paralysis.

    Poliovirus is spread by person-to-person contact or the ingestion of contaminated virus from faeces. The virus multiplies in the gut of people who are infected, and they shed the virus in their stool for several weeks. In this way it can spread through a community, especially in areas with poor sanitation.

    A recent review also suggested a greater role for transmission via respiratory particles than we previously thought.

    Wild poliovirus (as distinct from vaccine-derived poliovirus, which we’ll discuss shortly) was a major public health issue prior to the rollout of vaccination in 1950s. This campaign led to the virtual elimination of the disease in rich countries such as Australia.

    Since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988, cases have decreased by 99% globally. Wild poliovirus remains endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Polio is caused by the poliovirus.
    Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock

    Polio vaccines

    There are two types of vaccines – the oral polio vaccine and the inactivated polio vaccine.

    Delivered as two drops in the mouth at least four times in early childhood, the oral vaccine contains a live-attenuated (weakened) form of the poliovirus. It triggers a strong immune reaction in the gut that slows the replication of wild poliovirus, and reduces shedding in the stool, limiting transmission.

    The oral vaccine does carry a small risk of the weakened vaccine strain causing paralysis. This occurs in
    roughly one in 2.7 million doses of the oral vaccine administered, usually at the first dose.

    The inactivated polio vaccine (part of the routine immunisation program in Australia) contains an inactivated or dead form of the poliovirus, which is unable to cause polio in the recipient.

    Given as an injection, this vaccine stimulates the immune system to produce protective antibodies in the blood against poliovirus. Three doses of the inactivated vaccine are highly protective against developing symptoms and paralysis from polio.

    However, this vaccine is thought not to be as effective as the oral vaccine at preventing infection and shedding in the gut. Therefore, it doesn’t prevent transmission.

    What is vaccine-derived poliovirus?

    As the weakened poliovirus in the oral vaccine is still shed in the stool, it can spread in communities with poor sanitation. The vaccine strain can mutate to a form that can cause paralysis, like wild poliovirus. The result, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, is a problem particularly when polio immunisation rates are low.

    The risk of international spread of vaccine-derived poliovirus has been assessed as high by the WHO and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were outbreaks in 39 countries in 2023–24.

    A novel oral polio vaccine, nOPV2, which is less likely to mutate, has been used in outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus since 2021.

    Routine vaccination with the inactivated polio vaccine is key to preventing vaccine-derived poliovirus, and is recommended by WHO. The polio endgame will involve this transition from the oral vaccine to the inactivated vaccine.

    In 2019, all countries had introduced the inactivated vaccine. However uptake remains low because of a lack of resources and inadequate access to health services in poor countries.

    What happens now in PNG?

    The PNG government has responded swiftly to activate its polio emergency response plan, supported by partners including WHO, UNICEF and the Australian government.

    Notably, PNG’s vaccination rate is among the lowest in the world, with only about 50% of children born each year receiving the recommended childhood vaccines, including the oral polio vaccine. To induce herd immunity and prevent outbreaks of disease, coverage should be at least 95%.

    PNG was declared polio free in 2000. But there was an outbreak in 2018 of vaccine-derived polio type 1 with 26 cases across nine provinces. The outbreak was brought under control through supplementary rounds of vaccination, enhanced surveillance, and expanded communication and community engagement.

    There are many lessons to be learned from the successful response to the 2018 polio outbreak. These three pillars of the response remain relevant:

    • mass vaccination (using nOPV2)
    • enhanced surveillance for cases and wastewater sampling
    • communication (through traditional and social media) and localised community engagement.

    Further research will be crucial to understand where transmission is occurring and target the response accordingly. This includes the question of potential for spread between Indonesia and PNG – a neglected health security issue.

    How about the risk in Australia?

    While the risk of spread of polio in Australia is low, the virus does not respect borders, and we cannot become complacent.

    Australia’s overall coverage with the inactivated vaccine is close to 95% but there has been a concerning decline in childhood immunisation since the COVID pandemic. Australia must address this and maintain its polio wastewater monitoring system.

    Supporting PNG and working with other countries towards global polio eradication is the best way Australia can protect itself.

    This outbreak is a timely reminder that the last mile in the global eradication of polio remains elusive. As we emerge from a pandemic, the need for international cooperation, strengthening health systems and responding swiftly to health emergencies such as polio couldn’t be stronger.

    Michael Toole has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

    Suman Majumdar, through the Burnet Institute receives grant funding from the Victorian Government and the Australian Government via the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, the Medical Research Future Fund and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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

    – ref. The re-emergence of polio in Papua New Guinea shows global eradication remains elusive – https://theconversation.com/the-re-emergence-of-polio-in-papua-new-guinea-shows-global-eradication-remains-elusive-256899

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Ahmed Ibrahim, Senior Lecturer, Computing and Security, Edith Cowan University

    Shutterstock/The Conversation

    It’s nearly impossible to use the internet without being asked about cookies. A typical pop-up will offer to either “accept all” or “reject all”. Sometimes, there may be a third option, or a link to further tweak your preferences.

    These pop-ups and banners are distracting, and your first reaction is likely to get them out of the way as soon as possible – perhaps by hitting that “accept all” button.

    But what are cookies, exactly? Why are we constantly asked about them, and what happens when we accept or reject them? As you will see, each choice comes with implications for your online privacy.

    What are cookies?

    Cookies are small files that web pages save to your device. They contain info meant to enhance the user experience, especially for frequently visited websites.

    This can include remembering your login information and preferred news categories or text size. Or they can help shopping sites suggest items based on your browsing history. Advertisers can track your browsing behaviour through cookies to show targeted ads.

    There are many types, but one way to categorise cookies is based on how long they stick around.

    Session cookies are only created temporarily – to track items in your shopping cart, for example. Once a browser session is inactive for a period of time or closed, these cookies are automatically deleted.

    Persistent cookies are stored for longer periods and can identify you – saving your login details so you can quickly access your email, for example. They have an expiry date ranging from days to years.

    What do the various cookie options mean?

    Pop-ups will usually inform you the website uses “essential cookies” necessary for it to function. You can’t opt out of these – and you wouldn’t want to. Otherwise, things like online shopping carts simply wouldn’t work.

    However, somewhere in the settings you will be given the choice to opt out of “non-essential cookies”. There are three types of these:

    • functional cookies, related to personalising your browsing experience (such as language or region selection)

    • analytics cookies, which provide statistical information about how visitors use the website, and

    • advertising cookies, which track information to build a profile of you and help show targeted advertisements.

    Advertising cookies are usually from third parties, which can then use them to track your browsing activities. A third party means the cookie can be accessed and shared across platforms and domains that are not the website you visited.

    Google Ads, for example, can track your online behaviour not only across multiple websites, but also multiple devices. This is because you may use Google services such as Google Search or YouTube logged in with your Google account on these devices.

    An example of cookie preferences offered by a website.
    The Conversation

    Should I accept or reject cookies?

    Ultimately, the choice is up to you.

    When you choose “accept all,” you consent to the website using and storing all types of cookies and trackers.

    This provides a richer experience: all features of the website will be enabled, including ones awaiting your consent. For example, any ad slots on the website may be populated with personalised ads based on a profile the third-party cookies have been building of you.

    By contrast, choosing “reject all” or ignoring the banner will decline all cookies except those essential for website functionality. You won’t lose access to basic features, but personalised features and third-party content will be missing.

    The choice is recorded in a consent cookie, and you may be reminded in six to 12 months.

    Also, you can change your mind at any time, and update your preferences in “cookie settings”, usually located at the footer of the website. Some sites may refer to it as the cookie policy or embed these options in their privacy policy.

    How cookies relate to your privacy

    The reason cookie consent pop-ups are seemingly everywhere is thanks to a European Union privacy law that came into effect in 2018. Known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), it provides strict regulations for how people’s personal data is handled online.

    These guidelines say that when cookies are used to identify users, they qualify as personal data and are therefore subject to the regulations. In practice, this means:

    • users must consent to cookies except the essential ones
    • users must be provided clear info about what data the cookie tracks
    • the consent must be stored and documented
    • users should still be able to use the service even if they don’t want to consent to certain cookies, and
    • users should be able to withdraw their consent easily.

    Since a lot of website traffic is international, many sites even outside the EU choose to follow GDPR guidelines to avoid running afoul of this privacy law.

    Better privacy controls

    Cookie pop-ups are tiresome, leading to “consent fatigue” – you just accept everything without considering the implications.

    This defeats the purpose of informed consent.

    There is another way to address your online privacy more robustly – Global Privacy Control (GPC). It’s a tech specification developed by a broad alliance of stakeholders (from web developers to civil rights organisations) that allows the browser to signal privacy preferences to websites, rather than requiring explicit choices on every site.

    GPC is not universally available, and it’s not a legal requirement – a number of browsers and plugins support it, but broader adoption may still take time.

    Meanwhile, if you’re worried you may have accidentally consented to cookies you don’t want, you can find an option in your browser settings to delete cookies and get back to a clean slate (be warned, this will log you out of everywhere). If you want to learn even more, the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation has a project called Cover Your Tracks.

    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. What does it mean to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ all cookies, and which should I choose? – https://theconversation.com/what-does-it-mean-to-accept-or-reject-all-cookies-and-which-should-i-choose-256219

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What causes ADHD? What we know, don’t know and suspect

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Alison Poulton, Senior Lecturer, Brain Mind Centre Nepean, University of Sydney

    Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock

    Neurodevelopmental disorders are a diverse group of conditions that affect the brain from early development. They include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.

    These conditions usually become more evident over time. This is because delays in the skills a child is expected to have developed at each age become more apparent.

    ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects around 8-10% of children and 2-5% of adults.

    ADHD affects a person’s efficiency at completing tasks (for example, because they get distracted) and their behaviour (such as losing things or struggling to pay attention).

    ADHD can affect all aspects of functioning including problems learning and maintaining friendships. If undiagnosed, the challenges are likely to persist and may lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

    How is it diagnosed?

    There is no specific genetic or brain abnormality that causes ADHD and no single reliable test to diagnose it.

    A formal diagnosis depends on whether a child shows at least six of the diagnostic criteria for inattention (at least five for adults) and/or at least six of the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity (at least five for adults). These have to persist for at least six months.

    The diagnostic criteria include:

    • difficulty concentrating (for example, trouble listening, poor attention to detail, not getting tasks finished)

    • hyperactivity (including fidgeting, feeling restless and running around, constantly chatting)

    • impulsivity (for example, interrupting conversations and games, difficulty waiting their turn).

    Not everyone with ADHD is hyperactive. For people with inattentive-type ADHD, their main difficulty is inattention, for example, concentrating consistently on everyday tasks that are not particularly interesting.

    If someone meets the criteria for hyperactivity-impulsivity and for inattention, they have combined-type ADHD.

    How reliable is diagnosis?

    One problem with these criteria is they’re not specific to ADHD. For example, difficulties concentrating can also be a symptom of depression.

    This is why it’s not enough to simply tick a symptom checklist. The formal diagnostic criteria emphasise these symptoms must interfere with daily functioning.

    The key question is: are ADHD symptoms causing day-to-day problems or holding this person back?

    What this means will vary from person to person, depending on what their everyday activities involve.

    For example, someone may struggle to concentrate at school but excel later on in a creative career such as photography, or in a high-intensity job with hard deadlines, such as journalism.

    It also means a person may only meet the full diagnostic criteria at certain stages of their life. Subthreshold ADHD – when someone meets some criteria but not enough for a diagnosis – can still cause significant difficulties.

    Gender differences

    Boys aged between four and 11 are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than girls.

    This may partly be because the diagnostic criteria are especially good at identifying hyperactive young boys. But they are not as effective for girls, particularly those who are not hyperactive or disruptive, or who try to hide their difficulties concentrating.

    Girls and women are likely to be diagnosed later and show more “internalising symptoms”, such as depression. However the rate of underdiagnosis in girls has been improving over the last four decades.

    The gender disparity also evens out with age. The female proportion of young adults diagnosed with ADHD is closer to half (38%).

    Adults may first notice symptoms of ADHD when managing significant life changes.
    Maria Svetlychnaja/Shutterstock

    What about genetics?

    There is also a strong genetic component. Heritability for ADHD is around 70–80%. This describes how much of the person-to-person differences in ADHD are due to genetics, rather than environmental influences.

    The more closely someone is related to a person with ADHD – in other words, the more genes they have in common – the more likely they are to have ADHD.

    However the genetics are complex. It’s not as simple as finding a gene or selection of genes “responsible” for ADHD.

    For example, early research linked ADHD to six genes that target neurotransmission (how the brain sends chemical signals). But the effect of each gene was small.

    ADHD is now understood to be a polygenic disorder, with thousands of common genetic variants involved.

    Each of these genes is capable of making a discrete but minuscule contribution to the overall expression of ADHD. Because these genes are common, the traits of ADHD are distributed throughout the population, with no clearly defined cut-off between those who do and do not have the condition.

    Within a family, the interaction between shared genetics and a shared environment (their household) make it difficult to study these separately.

    Does environment play a role?

    A supportive family can help a child with ADHD cope better with everyday tasks, as parents often adapt their parenting style to their child’s behaviour. This may mask the ADHD and delay diagnosis.

    But if one or both parents also has ADHD, this may affect their parenting style. It can be difficult to determine how much of that child’s behaviour is due to their inherited ADHD, and how much to the family environment and parenting.

    Studies have also shown children who are relatively young for their year when they start school have higher rates of treatment for ADHD. This points to their environment playing a role in when their ADHD is diagnosed, but not necessarily its cause.

    For more information about ADHD, as well as information about support groups, visit the ADHD foundation or ADHD Australia websites.

    Alison Poulton is a member of the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association and ADHD Australia. She has received personal fees and non-financial support from Shire/Takeda; and book royalties from Disruptive Publishing (ADHD Made Simple).

    – ref. What causes ADHD? What we know, don’t know and suspect – https://theconversation.com/what-causes-adhd-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-241119

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –