Category: Science

MIL-OSI Analysis: How to protect your favourite urban trees from increasing danger

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Lucy Grace, PhD Candidate, Climate Change and Literature, Nottingham Trent University

Whether your favourite tree is in a private garden, on wasteland, in a school playground or on the street, your emotional response may be admiration, relaxation, rejuvenation or awareness of the seasons passing. But so many special trees are experiencing a combination of threats.

According to a new report from environmental charity the Tree Council and government-funded agency Forest Research, introduced pests and diseases, pollution, extreme weather and infrastructure development are all on the increase, which could be a disaster for the UK’s trees. These affect trees’ condition, resilience and capacity to mitigate the climate and nature crises.

Not only do trees play ecological roles in nature, such as shelter for wildlife and protection from floods, many people have long-standing connections to trees. A report from the Tree Council highlights the role of trees as an important part of the “fabric of human cultures and societies”.

This demonstrates a move away from appreciating only the ecological benefits provided by urban trees and towards the social and cultural importance they hold for local populations.

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The ecological and biodiversity values of trees are well-documented. Trees offer homes and food for birds, insects and wildlife. They prevent rainwater reaching the ground by as much as 45%. When combined with grass, surface water flooding is reduced by 99% compared with tarmac. Urban trees reduce air pollution, quieten noise and keep cities shaded and cool.

Thousands of people cast votes for their favourite trees in the UK and Europe. In a recent study, over half of 1,800 adults surveyed said they had a favourite tree and 74% felt that urban development is the greatest threat to our trees.

That’s not the only threat, though. Single species planting of street trees, for example, leaves the trees vulnerable to diseases (such as Dutch elm or ash dieback). Rising temperatures and water scarcity leaves trees competing for resources.

But what does that mean for our urban trees? Approximately 30% of tree cover in England exists outside forest and woodland. Such trees form an essential habitat in urban areas where 83% of the UK’s population live, yet more than ever before our urban trees are facing threats from a deadly combination of environmental change and human development. In Wales, for example, 7,000 mature trees in towns and cities were lost between 2006 and 2013.

To try to address this growing crisis, woodland charity Forest Research have released a new, national free to use “trees outside woodland” map. This refers to any trees found in settings such as parks, open countryside and farmland, gardens and estates, or beside roads and paths.

These can be on a street corner, beside a railway track or in a market square and includes very old trees like those listed on the ancient tree inventory plus otherwise unremarkable trees growing in unusual settings, such as the vandalised 200-year-old Sycamore Gap tree.

Why we love trees

England is dawdling behind many other countries when it comes to protecting important trees. Forest Research found that trees outside woodland share many of the social and cultural values associated with trees in woodlands, however people make specific relationships with these urban trees and they are more likely to be considered unique and irreplaceable.

Trees in urban areas have huge social benefits too.
Karo Martu/Shutterstock

They can be recognised for their grace and beauty or for their associations with customs, beliefs and rituals. They can be a place to rest and play and symbols of community belonging. They can give a sense of continuity, connecting people’s lifespans with reflections about the natural world and everything beyond.

Many countries give clear titles to their important trees. In Poland, they are called natural monuments, in Germany they are living monuments. Spain, Belgium, Greece, Mexico and Finland use the term “monumental trees”. In New Zealand, special urban trees are referred to as national living landmarks. Currently England falls behind in designating trees for protection based on their historical or aesthetic importance.

Trees for everyone

A common feature across many countries is the opportunity for anyone, including members of the public, to recommend a tree for protection. Tree equity is the idea that everyone should have access to the benefits of trees. It includes prioritising and deploying resources in the areas where people have least access to them.

Tree inequity exists in most UK towns and cities. On average, the most economically and socially deprived and most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods have half the tree canopy cover compared to the least deprived and least diverse.

Canopy cover ranges from 1–2% in parts of north-east England to 36% in Hampstead, north London. Even within London there are wide variations.

So ensure your favourite tree can be appreciated and celebrated by your community as a living monument, make sure it is on the Trees Outside Woodland map. And check if it needs a drink.

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Lucy Grace receives funding from AHRC for her PhD through the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership.

– ref. How to protect your favourite urban trees from increasing danger – https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-your-favourite-urban-trees-from-increasing-danger-258227

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Why it can be harder to sleep during the summer – and what you can do about it
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University

The amount of daylight we get in the summer can seriously mess with our body clock. Lysenko Andrii/ Shutterstock

As the days stretch long and the sun lingers late into the evening, most of us welcome summer with open arms. Yet for a surprising number of people, this season brings an unwelcome guest: insomnia.

For these people, summer is a time of tossing and turning, early waking – or simply not feeling sleepy when they should. Far from just being a nuisance, this seasonal insomnia may chip away at mood, concentration and metabolic health.

But why does insomnia spike in summer — and more importantly, what can be done about it? The answer lies in the light.

Every tissue in the body owns a molecular “clock”. However, these clocks take their cue from a central timekeeper – the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus. This cluster of about 20,000 neurons synchronises the myriad cellular clocks to a near 24-hour cycle.

It uses the external light detected by the eyes as a cue, driving the release of two different hormones: melatonin, which makes us sleepy and a pre-dawn surge cortisol to help us wake.

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In winter, this light cue is short and sharp. But in June and July, daylight can stretch on for 16 or 17 hours in the mid‑latitudes. That extra dose matters because evening light is the most potent signal for pushing the central timekeeper later. In summer melatonin shifts by roughly 30 minutes to an hour later, while dawn light floods bedrooms early and kills the hormone off sooner.

This can have a big effect on the amount of sleep we get. One study monitored the sleep of 188 participants in the lab on three nights at different times of the year. The researchers found that total sleep was about an hour shorter in summer than winter.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep — the sleep stage most strongly linked to emotional regulation and the consolidation of emotionally charged memories — accounted for roughly half the sleep loss in summer.

The same team later tracked 377 patients over two consecutive years and showed that sleep length and REM sleep began a five‑month decline soon after the last freezing night of spring. Sleep length shrank by an average of 62 minutes, while REM decreased by about 24 minutes. Slow-wave sleep – the phase most critical for tissue repair, immune regulation and the consolidation of factual memories – reached its annual low around the autumn equinox.

Both studies took place in a city bathed in artificial light – suggesting that even in modern environments our sleep remains seasonally affected.

Big population surveys echo these findings. Among more than 30,000 middle‑aged Canadians, volunteers interviewed in midsummer said they slept eight minutes less than those interviewed in midwinter. The summer interviewees also reported greater insomnia symptoms in the fortnight after the autumn clock change – suggesting the abrupt time shift exacerbates underlying seasonal misalignment.

One study also compared the effect of summer sleep in people living at very different latitudes – such as near the equator, where there’s little change in day length in the summer, and near the Arctic circle, where the differences are extreme. The study found that for people living in Tromsø, Norway, their self-reported insomnia and daytime fatigue rose markedly in summer. But for people living in Accra, Ghana (near the equator), these measures barely budged.

This show just how strongly daylight – and the amount of daylight hours we experience – can affect our sleep quality. But it isn’t the only culprit of poor summertime sleep.

The warm temperatures can also interrupt our sleep.
antoniodiaz/ Shutterstock

Temperature is another factor that can spoil sleep during the summer months.

Just before we fall asleep, our core body temperature begins a steep descent of roughly 1°C to help us fall asleep. It reaches its lowest point during the first half of the night.

On muggy summer nights this can make falling asleep difficult. Laboratory experiments show that even a rise from 26°C to about 32°C increases wakefulness and reduces both slow-wave and REM sleep.

Different people are also more vulnerable to summer insomnia than others. This has to do with your unique “chronotype” – your natural preference to rise early or sleep late.

Evening chronotypes – “night owls” – already lean towards later bedtimes. They may stay up even later when it stays bright past ten o’clock. Morning chronotypes, on the other hand, may find themselves waking up even earlier than they normally do because of when the sun rises in the summer.

Mood can amplify the effect. Research found people who suffered with mental health issues were more likely to experience difficulty sleeping in summer.

Chronic anxiety, alcohol use and certain prescription drugs — notably beta blockers, which suppress melatonin — can all make sleep more elusive in summer.

Reclaiming summer sleep

Happily, there are many ways of fixing the issue.
- Get some morning sunshine. Try to step outside within an hour of waking up – even if it’s just for 15 minutes. This tells the clock that the day has begun and nudges it to finish earlier that evening.
- Create an artificial dusk. Around two hours before bed, close the curtains, turn off the lights and reduce the intensity of your phone screen’s blue light to help your melatonin rise on time.
- Don’t let the dawn light in. Being exposed to the dawn light too early will wake you up. Blackout curtains or a contoured eye-mask can ensure you don’t wake before you’re rested.
- Keep things cool. Fans, breathable cotton or linen sheets or a lukewarm shower before bed all help the body to achieve that crucial one-degree drop in core temperature needed to get a good night’s sleep.
The deeper lesson here from chronobiology is that humans remain, biologically speaking, seasonal animals. While our industrialised lives flatten the calendar, our cells still measure day length and temperature just as plants and migratory birds do.

By adapting and aligning our habits with those light signals, we might just be able to recapture some sleep – even during the warmer months.

Timothy Hearn 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. Why it can be harder to sleep during the summer – and what you can do about it – https://theconversation.com/why-it-can-be-harder-to-sleep-during-the-summer-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-259292
MIL OSI Analysis –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Why it can be harder to sleep during the summer – and what you can do about it
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Timothy Hearn, Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics, Anglia Ruskin University

The amount of daylight we get in the summer can seriously mess with our body clock. Lysenko Andrii/ Shutterstock

As the days stretch long and the sun lingers late into the evening, most of us welcome summer with open arms. Yet for a surprising number of people, this season brings an unwelcome guest: insomnia.

For these people, summer is a time of tossing and turning, early waking – or simply not feeling sleepy when they should. Far from just being a nuisance, this seasonal insomnia may chip away at mood, concentration and metabolic health.

But why does insomnia spike in summer — and more importantly, what can be done about it? The answer lies in the light.

Every tissue in the body owns a molecular “clock”. However, these clocks take their cue from a central timekeeper – the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus. This cluster of about 20,000 neurons synchronises the myriad cellular clocks to a near 24-hour cycle.

It uses the external light detected by the eyes as a cue, driving the release of two different hormones: melatonin, which makes us sleepy and a pre-dawn surge cortisol to help us wake.

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.

In winter, this light cue is short and sharp. But in June and July, daylight can stretch on for 16 or 17 hours in the mid‑latitudes. That extra dose matters because evening light is the most potent signal for pushing the central timekeeper later. In summer melatonin shifts by roughly 30 minutes to an hour later, while dawn light floods bedrooms early and kills the hormone off sooner.

This can have a big effect on the amount of sleep we get. One study monitored the sleep of 188 participants in the lab on three nights at different times of the year. The researchers found that total sleep was about an hour shorter in summer than winter.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep — the sleep stage most strongly linked to emotional regulation and the consolidation of emotionally charged memories — accounted for roughly half the sleep loss in summer.

The same team later tracked 377 patients over two consecutive years and showed that sleep length and REM sleep began a five‑month decline soon after the last freezing night of spring. Sleep length shrank by an average of 62 minutes, while REM decreased by about 24 minutes. Slow-wave sleep – the phase most critical for tissue repair, immune regulation and the consolidation of factual memories – reached its annual low around the autumn equinox.

Both studies took place in a city bathed in artificial light – suggesting that even in modern environments our sleep remains seasonally affected.

Big population surveys echo these findings. Among more than 30,000 middle‑aged Canadians, volunteers interviewed in midsummer said they slept eight minutes less than those interviewed in midwinter. The summer interviewees also reported greater insomnia symptoms in the fortnight after the autumn clock change – suggesting the abrupt time shift exacerbates underlying seasonal misalignment.

One study also compared the effect of summer sleep in people living at very different latitudes – such as near the equator, where there’s little change in day length in the summer, and near the Arctic circle, where the differences are extreme. The study found that for people living in Tromsø, Norway, their self-reported insomnia and daytime fatigue rose markedly in summer. But for people living in Accra, Ghana (near the equator), these measures barely budged.

This show just how strongly daylight – and the amount of daylight hours we experience – can affect our sleep quality. But it isn’t the only culprit of poor summertime sleep.

The warm temperatures can also interrupt our sleep.
antoniodiaz/ Shutterstock

Temperature is another factor that can spoil sleep during the summer months.

Just before we fall asleep, our core body temperature begins a steep descent of roughly 1°C to help us fall asleep. It reaches its lowest point during the first half of the night.

On muggy summer nights this can make falling asleep difficult. Laboratory experiments show that even a rise from 26°C to about 32°C increases wakefulness and reduces both slow-wave and REM sleep.

Different people are also more vulnerable to summer insomnia than others. This has to do with your unique “chronotype” – your natural preference to rise early or sleep late.

Evening chronotypes – “night owls” – already lean towards later bedtimes. They may stay up even later when it stays bright past ten o’clock. Morning chronotypes, on the other hand, may find themselves waking up even earlier than they normally do because of when the sun rises in the summer.

Mood can amplify the effect. Research found people who suffered with mental health issues were more likely to experience difficulty sleeping in summer.

Chronic anxiety, alcohol use and certain prescription drugs — notably beta blockers, which suppress melatonin — can all make sleep more elusive in summer.

Reclaiming summer sleep

Happily, there are many ways of fixing the issue.
- Get some morning sunshine. Try to step outside within an hour of waking up – even if it’s just for 15 minutes. This tells the clock that the day has begun and nudges it to finish earlier that evening.
- Create an artificial dusk. Around two hours before bed, close the curtains, turn off the lights and reduce the intensity of your phone screen’s blue light to help your melatonin rise on time.
- Don’t let the dawn light in. Being exposed to the dawn light too early will wake you up. Blackout curtains or a contoured eye-mask can ensure you don’t wake before you’re rested.
- Keep things cool. Fans, breathable cotton or linen sheets or a lukewarm shower before bed all help the body to achieve that crucial one-degree drop in core temperature needed to get a good night’s sleep.
The deeper lesson here from chronobiology is that humans remain, biologically speaking, seasonal animals. While our industrialised lives flatten the calendar, our cells still measure day length and temperature just as plants and migratory birds do.

By adapting and aligning our habits with those light signals, we might just be able to recapture some sleep – even during the warmer months.

Timothy Hearn 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. Why it can be harder to sleep during the summer – and what you can do about it – https://theconversation.com/why-it-can-be-harder-to-sleep-during-the-summer-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-259292
MIL OSI Analysis –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Analysis: Assisted dying: what happens now the House of Lords has the bill?

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Gover, Senior Lecturer in British Politics, Queen Mary University of London

The House of Lords will now scrutinise the bill. Flickr/House of Lords , CC BY-NC-ND

MPs have voted to introduce assisted dying, almost seven months after this bill was first debated in the House of Commons. The proposal – a backbench private member’s bill promoted by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater – would allow terminally ill people in England and Wales to receive assistance to end their lives.

That the bill has completed its House of Commons passage is an important milestone. Its success is perhaps also surprising given that private members’ bills face a precarious route through that chamber. Even a small number of determined opponents is often enough to derail them.

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But that has not materialised in this case. MPs on all sides of the debate deserve credit for enabling the bill to be decided on its merits rather than by procedural subterfuge and political game-playing.

Even so, the bill’s passage into law is not yet assured. It must now go through an equivalent series of legislative stages in the House of Lords. If the Lords makes any changes, these must in turn be agreed to by MPs – potentially setting off a process of compromise known as “ping-pong” – before the bill can enter the statute book.

This has led to speculation around whether the Lords could block the legislation.

Unlikely to block the bill outright

Stereotypes of the Lords as a holdout of social conservatism are now largely out of date. Indeed it is the Lords that has, to a large extent, kept the issue of assisted dying on the political agenda. Prior to Leadbeater’s bill, peers proposed a series of private members’ bills on this topic – including in 2014, 2020, 2021 and 2024. None, however, made it through the chamber.

Despite this recent history, it is difficult to predict exactly how the Lords will respond to this assisted dying bill. As an unelected and largely appointed chamber, the Lords contains many members with expertise directly relevant to the bill, including medical, legal and disability rights. For many peers, the Lords’ central constitutional purpose is to subject proposals to in-depth scrutiny – and they will surely want to do so here.

In principle, it would be possible for the Lords to reject the assisted dying bill outright. The often-cited Salisbury convention, which states that peers should not block any proposal in the governing party’s election manifesto, would clearly not apply to this backbench measure.

Yet such an outcome would appear unlikely. In practice, it is exceptionally rare for any bill to be rejected outright by peers. This is in large part because the chamber recognises that it should be for the elected House of Commons to set the direction of policy, with the Lords playing a supporting scrutiny role.

Whatever the chamber’s balance of opinion on assisted dying – and some peers may well be individually willing to vote it down – the chamber as a whole seems likely to conclude that they would be playing with constitutional fire to reject such a high-profile bill that has been passed on a free vote by MPs.

In-depth scrutiny

What is more difficult to call is whether the bill could run out of time before it has completed its passage. The last time an assisted dying bill made significant progress in the Lords, a decade ago, it became mired in hundreds of amendments and never made it out of committee stage.

Given the gravity of this bill, and the degree of Lords expertise, there is likely to be significant demand to conduct in-depth scrutiny and to make amendments to the legislative text. Unlike in the House of Commons – where only a small number of amendments are selected by the speaker for a decision – in the Lords, every proposed amendment can be moved and spoken to. All of this will require parliamentary time.

It is also theoretically possible that a small number of opponents could deliberately propose large numbers of amendments purely to gum up proceedings. Most of the time, peers act with restraint – and they would probably do so here too, given the high risk of generating backlash against the chamber. But the combination of strong feelings with a “free-vote” conscience issue makes this harder to definitively rule out.

Adding to the unpredictability is that the timetables available remain uncertain. If the Lords makes any changes to the bill these would need to return to MPs for approval before the bill can pass into law. As things stand, the last available Commons sitting Friday – by default there are only 13 each session, when private members’ bills are considered – is July 11. There is now next to no chance of this deadline being met.

A tight timetable

It is possible in principle for the Lords to expedite scrutiny of the bill. But House of Lords procedures recommend observing minimum periods between bill stages. This ensures there is time, for example, to consider the issues raised at one stage before deciding whether to pursue them further at the next.

Departing from these conventions would be politically unthinkable on a bill criticised by many – largely unfairly – for inadequate parliamentary scrutiny.

Yet it is straightforward for ministers to grant additional time in the Commons. Indeed, it would arguably break with recent practice for time to not be provided. In both cases since 2010 where a regular private member’s bill required additional Commons time for Lords amendments – in 2019 and 2023 – this was provided by the then Conservative governments.

This means that the second key deadline is the end of the current parliamentary session, at which point most outstanding legislation automatically falls. Sessions typically last around one year, and some had expected this one to end sometime in the autumn.

But the length of sessions is elastic – within the control of ministers – and it is not unusual for those immediately after a general election to last significantly longer.

Nor does the Lords operate the same system of private members’ bill Fridays as the Commons, though it would be unusual to schedule substantive debates on them earlier in the week. Either way, there would surely be pressure for sufficient parliamentary time to be found.

Ultimately, one of the stories of this bill’s passage to date has been that the constraints of an often-inadequate parliamentary process have not been allowed to prevent MPs from expressing their will. Many in the Lords will recognise the risks of any situation in which they are now seen to stand in its way.

Daniel Gover 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. Assisted dying: what happens now the House of Lords has the bill? – https://theconversation.com/assisted-dying-what-happens-now-the-house-of-lords-has-the-bill-259572

MIL OSI Analysis –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: At June’s Nato summit, just keeping Donald Trump in the room will be seen as a victory

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

Gints Ivuskans/Shutterstock

When Nato leaders meet for their annual summit in The Hague on Wednesday June 25, all eyes will be on Donald Trump. Not only is the 47th president of the United States less committed to the alliance than any of his predecessors in Nato’s 76-year history. But he has also just joined Israel’s war with Iran and seems to have given up his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Leaders of Nato’s 32 member states should therefore have had a packed agenda. Although there are several meetings and a dinner planned for June 24, the actual summit – which has tended usually to stretch out over several days – has been reduced to a single session and a single agenda item. All of this has been done to accommodate the US president.

A single session reduces the risk of Trump walking away from the summit early, as he did at the G7 leaders meeting in Kananaskis, Canada, on June 16.

The single item remaining on the agenda is Nato members’ new commitment to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. This is meant to placate Trump who demanded such an increase even before his inauguration in January 2025.

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Trump has frequently complained, and not without justification, that European members of the alliance invested too little in their defence and were over-reliant on the US. A draft summit declaration confirming the new spending target has now been approved after Spain secured an opt-out.

Even accounting for Trump’s notorious unpredictability, this should ensure that Nato will survive the Hague summit intact. What is less clear is whether Nato’s members can rise to the unprecedented challenges that the alliance is facing.

These challenges look different from each of the member states’ 32 capitals. But, for 31 of them, the continued survival of the alliance as an effective security provider is an existential question. Put simply, they need the US, while the US doesn’t necessarily need to be part of the alliance.

The capability deficit that Canada and European member states have compared to the US was thrown into stark relief by Washington’s airstrikes against Iran over the weekend. This is not simply a question of increasing manpower and to equip troops to fight. European states also lack most of the so-called critical enablers, the military hardware and technology required to prevail in a potential war with Russia.

This includes, among other things, intelligence capabilities, heavy-lift aircraft to quickly move troops and equipment and command and control structures that have traditionally been provided by US forces. These will take significant time and resources to replace.

For now, Russia is tied down in Ukraine, which will buy time. And the 5%-commitment – even if not all member states will get there quickly or at all – is likely to go some way towards to mobilise the necessary resources for beefing up Europe’s defences. But time and resources are not limitless. And is not yet clear what the American commitment to Europe will be in the future and when and how it will be reduced.

A new type of war

Nor is it completely obvious what kind of war Europe should prepare for. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is both a very traditional war of attrition and a very modern technological showdown.

A future confrontation with the Kremlin is initially likely to take the form of a “grey-zone” conflict, a state of affairs between war and peace in which acts of aggression happen but are difficult to attribute unambiguously and to respond to proportionately.

This has arguably already started with Russian attacks on critical infrastructure. And as the example of Ukraine illustrates, grey-zone conflicts have the potential to escalate to conventional war.

In February 2022, Russia saw an opportunity to pull Ukraine back into its zone of influence by brute force after and launched a full-scale invasion, hoping to capture Kyiv in a matter of a few days. This turned out to be a gross misjudgement on the Kremlin’s part. And three years on from that, if frequent Russian threats are to be believed, the possibility of a nuclear escalation can no longer be ruled out either.

Key members of the alliance are unequivocal in their assessment of Russia as an existential threat to Europe. This much has been made clear in both the UK’s strategic defence review and the recent strategy paper for the German armed forces.

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, the former prime minister of The Netherlands, gives a press conference before the Nato summit.

Yet, this is not a view unanimously shared. Trump’s pro-Putin leanings date back to their now infamous meeting in Helsinki when he sided with the Russian president against his own intelligence services.

In Europe, long-term Putin supporters Victor OrbanOrbán and Robert Fico, the prime ministers of EU and Nato members Hungary and Slovakia, have just announced that they will not support additional EU sanctions against Russia.

Hungary and Slovakia are hardly defence heavyweights, but they wield outsized institutional power. Their ability to veto decisions can disrupt nascent European efforts both within the EU and Nato to rise to dual challenge of an increasingly existential threat to Europe from Russia and American retrenchment from its 80-year commitment to securing Europe against just that threat.

What will, and more importantly what will not, happen at the Nato summit in The Hague will probably be looked back on as another chapter in the remaking of the international order and the European security architecture. A Nato agreement on increased defence spending should be enough to give the organisation another lease of life. But the implicit inability to agree on what is the main threat the alliance needs to defend itself against is likely to put a short expiration date on that.

Read more:
US joins Israel in attack on Iran and ushers in a new era of impunity

Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK and a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

– ref. At June’s Nato summit, just keeping Donald Trump in the room will be seen as a victory – https://theconversation.com/at-junes-nato-summit-just-keeping-donald-trump-in-the-room-will-be-seen-as-a-victory-259585

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Mounjaro becomes available on the NHS: what to know and what to do if you’re not eligible

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

bigshot01/Shutterstock

Obesity remains one of the most pressing, and preventable, health challenges of our time. The UK is one of a number of countries undoubtedly struggling with it.

It affects nearly every organ system in the body, contributing to cardiovascular conditions like coronary heart disease; musculoskeletal issues such as osteoarthritis and gout; and even the development of certain cancers, including of the breast, uterus and colon. Its impact on mental health is also significant.

A few years ago, injectable weight-loss drugs entered clinical use and quickly captured public attention for their ability to promote rapid fat loss. Ozempic is available on the NHS, but only for managing type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is authorised for weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction and is also available on the NHS, though access is currently limited to specialist weight management services.

Now, a new option has emerged: Mounjaro, which is approved for both type 2 diabetes and weight loss. This dual-purpose drug is now available on the NHS, offering another potential tool in the fight against obesity.

Demand is expected to be high. However, access will be limited at first, with strict eligibility criteria for NHS prescriptions.

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What is Mounjaro?

Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a once weekly injectable medication designed to help control blood-sugar levels. It works by boosting the secretion and effects of insulin, improving glycaemic control in people with Type 2 diabetes. It also slows gastric emptying — the process by which food leaves the stomach — and enhances feelings of fullness by acting on the brain. This combined effect reduces appetite and helps support weight loss.

Compared to similar medications like Ozempic and Wegovy (both brand names for semaglutide), clinical trials found Mounjaro more effective, with some participants losing up to 20% of their body weight over a 72-week period.

Read more:
The best exercises to do while taking weight loss drugs

Who is eligible for Mounjaro on the NHS?

The NHS has introduced specific criteria to prioritise patients most in need.

First, patients need a BMI of 40 or more (classified as morbid obesity). People from certain ethnic backgrounds, such as South Asian communities, may be eligible at a lower BMI due to higher clinical risk of health conditions.

Second, at least four obesity-related health conditions must be diagnosed, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidaemia (abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels), cardiovascular disease and obstructive sleep apnoea. (Some of these conditions often occur together; for example, high blood pressure and cholesterol.)

Patients are encouraged to check their BMI and confirm their diagnoses before contacting a GP. This helps ensure appointments are used effectively and discussions remain focused.

While the current criteria are strict, there is optimism that eligibility will broaden in the coming years to include people with lower BMIs and fewer co-morbidities.

Not eligible? Don’t despair

The NHS continues to offer a comprehensive weight-loss programme, tiered according to BMI and previous attempts at weight loss. Don’t underestimate the value of group-based programmes or community referrals – when a healthcare professional refers a patient to a community-based health service for further care or support – many of which can be accessed via your GP.

These services, such as the NHS digital weight management programme, support both individuals and families and can be highly effective for sustainable fat loss.

GPs may also refer patients to online courses and structured exercise programmes. Lifestyle interventions, including increased physical activity and healthier eating, remain cornerstones of obesity treatment and are critical for long-term success, even when medications are used.

Read more:
From diet to drugs: what really works for long-term weight loss

Higher tier interventions may be considered if lifestyle changes fail or if the patient has significant co-morbidities. This is where medications like Mounjaro, or private prescriptions, may become relevant – albeit that the cost of the latter may be a limiting factor for some.

Other treatments include Orlistat, a medication that reduces fat absorption in the gut. This can be effective for some but often causes unpleasant side effects, such as oily stools and gastrointestinal upset

Gastric banding or surgery may also result in significant, sustained weight loss, but they come with risks, can lead to surgical complications, and recovery can be demanding

It’s also important to recognise that drugs like Mounjaro aren’t suitable for everyone. They can cause side effects significant enough for people to stop using them, and in some cases, they may not work at all.

In this new era of faster, medication-assisted weight loss, we must remember that long-term change is about more than quick fixes. Sustainable success comes from consistent effort, willingness to change and methods that are both practical and lasting.

Medications can help, sometimes dramatically, but they’re not the only answer. A return to basics, with tailored support and realistic goals, remains as relevant as ever.

So whether you qualify for Mounjaro, are trying lifestyle changes, or are exploring other options, remember this: the journey to better health is personal, gradual and worth it.

Dan Baumgardt 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. Mounjaro becomes available on the NHS: what to know and what to do if you’re not eligible – https://theconversation.com/mounjaro-becomes-available-on-the-nhs-what-to-know-and-what-to-do-if-youre-not-eligible-259582

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Here’s why the public needs to challenge the ‘good AI’ myth pushed by tech companies

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Professor in Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies, Director of Centre for AI Futures, SOAS, University of London

While there’s been much negative discussion about AI, including on the possibility that it will take over the world, the public is also being bombarded with positive messages about the technology, and what it can do.

This “good AI” myth is a key tool used by tech companies to promote their products. Yet there’s evidence that consumers are wary of the presence of AI in some products. This means that positive promotion of AI may be putting unwanted pressure on people to accept the use of AI in their lives.

AI is becoming so ubiquitous that people may be losing their ability to say no to using it. It’s in smartphones, smart TVs, smart speakers like Alexa and virtual assistants like Siri. We’re constantly told that our privacy will be protected. But with the personal nature of the data that AI has access to in these devices, can we afford to trust such assurances?

Some politicians also propagate the “good AI” promise with immense conviction, mirroring the messages coming from tech companies.

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.

My current research is partly explained in a new book called the The Myth of Good AI. This research shows that the data feeding our AI systems is biased, as it often over-represents privileged sections of the population and mainstream attitudes.

This means that any AI products that don’t include data from marginalised people, or minorities, might discriminate against them. This explains why AI systems continue to be riddled with racism, ageism and various forms of gender discrimination, for instance.

The speed with which this technology is impinging on our everyday life, makes it very hard to properly assess the consequences. And an approach to AI that is more critical of how it works does not make for good marketing for the tech companies.

Power structures

Positive ideas about AI and its abilities are currently dominating all aspects of AI innovation. This is partly determined by state interests and by the profit margins of the tech companies.

These are tied into the power structures held up by tech multi-billionaires, and, in some places, their influence on governments. The relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, despite its recent souring, is a vivid manifestation of this.

And so, the public is at the receiving end of a distinctly hierarchical top-down system, from the big tech companies and their governmental enablers to users. In this way, we are made to consume, with little to no influence over how the technology is used. This positive AI ideology is therefore primarily about money and power.

As it stands, there is no global movement with a unifying manifesto that would bring together societies to leverage AI for the benefit of communities of people, or to safeguard our right to privacy. This “right to be left alone”, codified in the US constitution and international human rights law, is a central pillar of my argument. It is also something that is almost entirely absent from the assurances about AI made by the big tech companies.

Yet, some of the risks of the technology are already evident. A database compiling cases in which lawyers around the world used AI, identified 157 cases in which false AI-generated information – so called hallucinations – skewed legal rulings.

Some forms of AI can also be manipulated to blackmail and extort, or create blueprints for murder and terrorism.

Tech companies need to programme the algorithms with data that represents everyone, not just the privileged, in order to reduce discrimination. In this way, the public are not forced to give into the consensus that AI will solve many of our problems, without proper supervision by society. This distinction between the ability to think creatively, ethically and intuitively may be the most fundamental faultline between human and machine.

It’s up to ordinary people to question the good AI myth. A critical approach to AI should contribute to the creation of more socially relevant and responsible technology, a technology that is already trialled in torture scenarios, as the book discusses, too.

The point at which AI systems would outdo us in every task is expected to be a decade or so away. In the meantime there needs to be resistance to this attack on our right to privacy, and more awareness of just how AI works.

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam 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. Here’s why the public needs to challenge the ‘good AI’ myth pushed by tech companies – https://theconversation.com/heres-why-the-public-needs-to-challenge-the-good-ai-myth-pushed-by-tech-companies-259200

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Causes and Consequences of Flooding in California’s Central Valley
Source: US Geological Survey
Breadcrumb

News
Causes and Consequences of Flooding in California’s Central Valley
USGS researchers are leveraging advances in satellite-based monitoring to better characterize and predict flood inundation, which is essential for effective emergency response and water management planning.

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are long corridors of water vapor transport that extend from the tropics to mid-latitudes. These meteorological phenomena can bring large amounts of rain or snow to the western United States each year. In locations like California, AR storms are responsible for the largest magnitude floods in the state.

Emergency responders, water managers and planners need to be able to predict where flood inundation will occur due to an AR storm. But the complex connection between AR precipitation and flooding – which is needed for these predictions – is only partially understood.

How remote sensing is helping complete the picture

Fortunately, advances in satellite-based monitoring enabled USGS researchers to create long-term map records of surface water dynamics (including flooding) from 20 years of MODIS satellite imagery. These new records are high frequency (monthly) and cover the entire year. The winter-time record is especially valuable; previous research using Landsat excluded this time period due to wintertime cloud cover limitations in the satellite image record.

This pair of images shows flooding in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley region inland of San Francisco Bay. The image on the left was captured by the MODIS Aqua satellite on December 10, 2005, and the image at right was captured on January 4, 2006. Water is dark blue/black, vegetation is green, bare land is brown, and clouds are white.

In collaboration with the Desert Research Institute and other federal and academic partners, USGS scientists used these map products to investigate the connection between ARs and wintertime flooding in California’s Central Valley. Their study was recently published in the Journal of Flood Risk Management. The researchers compared spatially explicit locations of winter inundation to a chronology of atmospheric river landfalls, the corresponding integrated vapor transport associated with each storm (a measure of the total amount of precipitation passing over a specific area), and surface conditions (i.e., antecedent soil moisture).

They found significant relationships between inundation patterns and climatic factors, helping identify specific locations and conditions under which flooding occurs in relation to ARs. The findings also indicate areas where surface water frequently occurs outside of designated flood boundaries.

Actionable science

By revealing the relationship between AR storms and winter inundation patterns, the scientists were able to assess infrastructure flood exposure and identify possible floodwater management strategies, specifically the opportunity to use floodwaters for aquifer recharge. This knowledge can help inform land use planning, like infrastructure development and cropland distribution. The findings also highlight where AR-driven flooding occurs, driving home the importance of revising flood boundary maps and management strategies. Overall, remote sending products are a valuable decision-support tool for enhancing flood risk mitigation and groundwater recharge efforts in the region and beyond.

Related

May 30, 2017

Patterns in the Landscape – Analyses of Cause and Effect

Understanding the rates and causes of land-use/land-cover (LULC) change helps answer questions about what, where, how, and why the Earth’s surface is changing. Land-surface change results from human activities or natural processes like floods, droughts, and wildfires, and many of these change processes are observable in satellite imagery. The growing historical catalog of satellite images allows…

Understanding the rates and causes of land-use/land-cover (LULC) change helps answer questions about what, where, how, and why the Earth’s surface is changing. Land-surface change results from human activities or natural processes like floods, droughts, and wildfires, and many of these change processes are observable in satellite imagery. The growing historical catalog of satellite images allows…

Learn More

June 3, 2025

Assessing causes and consequences of winter surface water dynamics in California’s Central Valley using satellite remote sensing Assessing causes and consequences of winter surface water dynamics in California’s Central Valley using satellite remote sensing

California’s Central Valley is increasingly vulnerable to winter floods. A comprehensive spatial baseline of flood extents is critical for inundation analyses that can enhance future flood predictions, but cloud cover has prevented the regular observation of surface water extents with optical satellite imagery. In this study, we leveraged the daily resolution of Moderate Resolution…

Authors

Christine M. Albano, Christopher E. Soulard, Blake A. Minor, Jessica J. Walker, Britt Windsor Smith, Eric K. Waller, Michael D. Bartles, Tom Corringham, Anthony T. O’Geen, Melissa M. Rohde, Anne Wein

MIL OSI USA News –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: New Cantwell Fact Sheet: Republican Bill Threatens to Upend WA’s Reproductive Health System & Increase Costs as Three-Year Dobbs Decision Anniversary Approaches

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
06.23.25
New Cantwell Fact Sheet: Republican Bill Threatens to Upend WA’s Reproductive Health System & Increase Costs as Three-Year Dobbs Decision Anniversary Approaches
Health care professionals warn of labor & delivery department closures, higher rates of breast and cervical cancer due to missed screenings, & heightened trauma for sexual assault survivors; Republican bill would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid funding, straining care options for all
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, one day before the third anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, warned of dire consequences for reproductive health care in Washington state if the Republican reconciliation bill is passed.
“In the State of Washington, Planned Parenthood serves about 100,000 patients annually,” said Sen. Cantwell at a May 14 press conference with Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson. “About half of those patients rely on Medicaid. And it accounts for about half of the annual budget of Planned Parenthood [of Greater Washington and North Idaho]. These clinics and their patients count on that delivering care.”
Sen. Cantwell issued a new fact sheet with details about the proposed cuts, and exclusive new testimonials from patients, doctors, and other health care professionals about how the cuts would impact Washingtonians.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Business leaders welcome the government’s modern Industrial Strategy
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Business leaders welcome the government’s modern Industrial Strategy

Business leaders have welcomed the government’s modern Industrial Strategy – a 10-year plan to promote growth.
Business leaders from across the UK have welcomed the government’s modern Industrial Strategy. The Strategy is a 10-year plan to promote business investment and growth and make it quicker, easier and cheaper to do business in the UK.

The plan focuses on 8 sectors where the UK is already strong and there’s potential for faster growth: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services.

Joint statement from business groups:

“The Industrial Strategy launched today marks a significant step forward and a valuable opportunity for the business community to rally behind a new vision for the UK—boosting confidence, sentiment, and enthusiasm for investment.

“From start-ups and small businesses to large corporates, businesses need a more attractive, stable environment that enables faster, easier, and more certain investment decisions.

“We welcome the Government’s engagement with businesses across the UK. Much of what we’ve shared has been heard and reflected in this strategy. While there’s more to do, we are ready to support the next steps.

“We encourage businesses nationwide to get behind this strategy and champion the UK as the best place to live, work, invest, and do business.”

Statement on behalf of:

Shevaun Haviland, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce

Rain Newton-Smith, Director General, Confederation of British Industry

Aaron Asadi, Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Nation

Tina McKenzie, Policy and Advocacy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses

Stephen Phipson, Chief Executive Officer, Make UK

Michelle Ovens, Founder, Small Business Britain

Dom Hallas, Executive Director, Startup Coalition

Advanced Manufacturing

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, Chief Executive, Royal Academy of Engineering:

“We are delighted to see the announcement of new skills packages for tech, engineering and defence, recognising that the Industrial Strategy’s objectives simply cannot be delivered without a significant boost to investment in our engineering and tech talent base. These packages provide a much-needed opportunity for government to take a holistic view of the rapidly changing skills landscape, and to work with partners across industry and professional bodies to make sure the UK tackles its longstanding skills and diversity deficits in these crucial areas. Today is International Women in Engineering Day – a reminder that we still have much to do to deliver equitable participation in these high-value jobs, and better outcomes for people from all parts of the UK.

“The Royal Academy of Engineering looks forward to supporting government in taking forward these recommendations, including through our new Skills Centre. We also welcome the publication of the Technology Adoption Review and hope that this will result in meaningful action to increase the capacity of the UK’s industrial base and public sector to deploy existing technologies at the scale and pace demanded in today’s tech-driven world.”

John Harrison, General Counsel and Head of Public Affairs, Airbus:

“Airbus welcomes the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy. Having worked closely with the Government to help shape this plan, we are delighted to see it deliver a long-term vision, built on a genuine partnership with industry.

“The firm long-term commitment to the full innovation lifecycle, from R&D in the Aerospace Technology Institute to a focus on commercialisation and supply chain resilience, provides the confidence and stability needed to fuel innovation and anchor high-value manufacturing in the UK for decades to come. The significant new investment in skills is also critical, creating a strong pipeline of engineering and digital talent, which will be the foundation for developing the sustainable technologies of the future, from hydrogen-powered aircraft to next-generation space systems. We stand ready to help turn this ambitious strategy into a reality for British industry.”

Clean Energy

Dhara Vyas, CEO, Energy UK:

“Energy UK welcomes the Government’s new Industrial Strategy and Clean Energy Industries sector plan, which rightly recognise the pivotal role energy will play across the whole economy, powering growth through digitalisation and electrification, boosting regional prosperity and delivering economic security and resilience.  

“Stable, affordable energy prices will help ensure that the UK remains a competitive place to do business, and in an increasingly uncertain global operating environment, clean power will deliver energy security. Focussing on priority technologies where the UK has global expertise will deliver a strong competitive advantage for our businesses and economy.  

“We know the investment necessary to decarbonise the economy will mostly be funded by the private sector. Clarity on Government policy, removal of the barriers to investment and targeted support are all essential to meet this ambition.”    

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary, Prospect Union: 

“Boosting clean energy is not only an important mission in its own right, it is central to the success of every other sector. It is welcome to see the government doubling down on this mission, focusing investment on key technologies like renewables and nuclear energy, and recognising the key role that trade unions play as partners in this strategy. 

“Securing the investment is important, but perhaps the biggest challenge in this area is around the workforce. The energy workforce is undergoing an unprecedented transition, which creates opportunities for many but also serious challenges that need to be addressed. 

“Delivering on this strategy in a way which creates prosperity and supports jobs will require the government’s forthcoming energy workforce plan to be as ambitious as possible and fully backed by all parts of government.” 

Martin Pibworth, Chief Executive Designate, SSE plc:

“The government’s industrial strategy is a welcome signal of long-term thinking and ambition – doubling down on homegrown energy is the right thing for security, resilience and affordability, making the most of the UK’s competitive geographical and technical advantages in renewables in particular. It’s exactly the kind of commitment that gives industry the confidence to deliver at pace and scale, and with important decisions on energy policy expected in the weeks ahead, we hope to see a continued focus on unlocking investment that drives growth. As the UK’s clean energy champion, SSE is investing £17.5bn over five years to 2027 – building the infrastructure, creating high-quality jobs, supporting the supply chain and driving the innovation needed to deliver a net zero economy.”

Creative Industries

Caroline Norbury, Chief Executive, Creative UK:

“The Sector Plan signals that the creative industries are central to the UK’s growth story. From freelancers to scale-ups, this is a step towards the joined-up support our sector needs – and Creative UK stands ready to work with government and industry partners to turn ambition into action. 

“As we move into delivery mode, it’s essential that all parts of the sector – from cultural organisations to creative tech firms – are empowered to grow, invest and contribute fully to the UK’s economic future.”

Dana Strong, Sky Group CEO:

“We warmly welcome the Government’s support for the UK’s creative industries in today’s Industrial Strategy. The media and entertainment sector is a cultural powerhouse and a key driver of growth, with the potential to add £10 billion to the economy and create 40,000 jobs by 2033. Seizing this opportunity is vital to maintaining the UK’s global leadership in creativity.”

Alison Lomax, Managing Director, YouTube UK & Ireland: 

“We welcome the Creative Industries Sector Plan’s commitment to a robust framework for creatives across the UK. It’s particularly encouraging to see the government acknowledge the digital creator economy’s vital role in driving growth for our creative industries. By embracing new distribution models that boost our cultural exports, this vision will solidify the UK’s position as a global cultural superpower.”

Defence

David Lockwood OBE, CEO, Babcock International:

“We welcome the release of the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy today, setting out the strategic direction for critical sectors including advanced manufacturing, space and nuclear. The Government’s intent to back British businesses and invest in sovereign industries will lay the foundations for economic growth and unleash the potential of the growth sectors to drive prosperity across the UK. We look forward to the publication of the Defence Sector Plan, and working with the Government to bolster the British defence industrial base and safeguard our national and economic security.”

Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, BAE Systems:

“The UK’s modern Industrial Strategy rightly recognises the importance of investing in skills and developing a workforce for the future. The UK’s defence sector is a powerhouse of skilled employment and training. Across the supply chain, it’s critical that we continue to invest in our people, just as much as we invest in technology, to ensure we can deliver the capabilities our armed forces need to stay ahead in an era of increasing instability.

“That’s why, this year alone, BAE Systems is recruiting more than 2,400 new apprentices and graduates across the UK and we recognise the importance of government, industry and academia working together to develop the talent needed to support this critical high growth sector.”

Paul Livingston CBE, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin UK & NATO:

“Lockheed Martin welcomes publication of the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and especially its identification of defence, space, and digital technologies as core areas for driving economic growth and expanding mutually beneficial international partnerships with the United States, NATO and their allies. With 28 facilities spanning the length and breadth of the country we’re committed to combining the best skills, expertise and technologies from the UK and the United States to boost capacity, sustain jobs and deliver economic benefits in both countries.”

Digital and Tech

Antony Walker, Deputy CEO, techUK:

“Today, the government has outlined welcome measures to boost confidence for the UK tech sector and the wider economy.

“techUK has long called for the Industrial Strategy to focus on strengthening the conditions for growth of the UK tech sector and accelerating the adoption of new technologies across the economy and public services.

“In an era of rapid technological change, the government must now work in true partnership with business to bolster investment and digital adoption across the whole of the UK economy and secure the country’s competitive advantage in key markets, including semiconductors and AI. techUK, and our members, stand ready to support this government to do so.”

Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, BT Group:

 “Long-term plans which have positive impact pay. 

“BT has invested over £24bn in the UK so far this decade and will invest a further £20bn before it’s done, to upgrade the country’s digital infrastructure.

“That’s why we welcome the Government’s Industrial Strategy for the decade ahead.

“And it’s great to see it give telecoms prominence: at the centre of a high-growth sector as well as a lever for growth in the wider economy. 

“We look forward to working more with Government on steps they can take to unlock further growth, and make sure the UK’s record-breaking fibre success story is followed fast by an acceleration in 5G too.”

Emily Turner, UK CEO, HSBC Innovation Banking:

“I welcome today’s Industrial Strategy, which sets out positive steps to back the UK’s growth driving sectors, particularly Digital and Technologies. This ten-year strategy will help position the UK as an open and attractive destination for talent and investment, at a time when global competition is particularly acute.  ”We look forward to working closely with our clients and the government to ensure the effective implementation of the sector plans to help realise the full ambition of the UK’s industrial strategy, while ensuring that it remains flexible to keep pace with technological developments.”

Darren Hardman, CEO, Microsoft UK:

“This is a really progressive plan from the Government. Cutting red tape, reducing energy costs, accelerating the delivery of new projects and ensuring the UK has a highly skilled workforce to take advantage of the AI economy. These are all critical factors in encouraging investment from businesses here in the UK and around the world.”

Vishal Marria, Founder and CEO, Quantexa:

“This Industrial Strategy is a key moment for the UK’s growth economy. By addressing structural headwinds like energy costs and grid access, the government is unlocking the potential of British industry. As a UK-founded data and AI company, we welcome the vision to make Britain the best place to build, scale, and invest. Lowering business electricity costs, accelerating clean energy, and prioritising digital skills are vital for sectors like technology, financial services, defence, and advanced manufacturing – all of which will rely on AI and trusted data to compete and lead. This strategy is the bold signal of confidence UK industry has been waiting for.”

Financial Services

Hannah Gurga, Director General, ABI: 

“Today’s Industrial Strategy delivers a clear long-term growth vision, commitment to genuine partnership with business and the regulatory certainty firms need to thrive. We’re pleased that financial services has been recognised as a key growth sector and look forward to working with government on the detailed sector plan.

“The expansion of the British Business Bank’s capacity and its new £6.6 billion growth-capital commitment will unlock vital funding to support smaller UK businesses and drive growth.”

Miles Celic OBE, Chief Executive Officer, TheCityUK:

“The ambitions of today’s Industrial Strategy are laudable, highlighting the priorities for national growth. Financial and related professional services are crucial to its success, from unlocking private capital for innovative businesses to increasing investible opportunities across the regions and nations.

“We believe that supporting growth across whole country is particularly important and we are pleased to see the establishment of the Strategic Investment Opportunities Unit within the Office for Investment. This is the first critical step in the proposal we’ve been pushing to attract investors and capital.

“Transforming both the planning and public procurement processes, making it easier for businesses to bring in global talent whilst addressing the skills shortfall here in the UK, and strengthening global market partnerships are vital for future proofing the economy and are steps where our industry has long called for action.

“The detailed delivery plans for each of the eight sectors of the Industrial Strategy will be critical to realising its ambition. We look forward to seeing these. The vital issue now is delivery. We are committed to working closely with government and the regulators on the successful execution of these ambitions.”

James Alexander, CEO, UKSIF:

“We welcome the overarching ambition of the Industrial Strategy, which feels like a generational shift in thinking. This rightly recognises that government and investors need to work in partnership through a shared vision so we can make the UK the ‘sustainable finance capital of the world’.”

Life Sciences

Richard Torbett, Chief Executive, ABPI:

“This strategy sets out a clear vision for how to grow the UK economy and is rightly focused on many of the key inputs the country needs to get right to create the conditions for success. The task now must be to move quickly from planning to delivery, rapidly boosting UK attractiveness for investment and returning the country to international competitiveness.   “For UK life sciences, a successful strategy means ensuring the UK is not only a cutting-edge place to research and develop the medicine of the future, but also a country which seeks to embrace and use the life-changing innovations we are developing. This will be the key litmus test for success in the upcoming life science sector plan and the NHS 10-year plan, where we hope to see more detail.”

Steve Bates OBE, CEO, UK BioIndustry Association (BIA):

 “The Industrial Strategy has prioritised the life sciences sector because it will disproportionately drive economic growth over the next decade and help deliver an NHS fit for the future.

“SMEs are the lifeblood of this innovative industry and a strength of the UK ecosystem, securing £3.7 billion investment last year, much of it from overseas. We are on the verge of creating a new generation of globally-impactful companies, so it is a smart move by Government to establish a dedicated support service to help 10–20 high-potential UK life science companies scale, attract investment, and remain headquartered in the UK.

“The £4 billion British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital initiative will bring new agility to support fledgling companies and cutting-edge technologies as part of the pro-innovation Industrial Strategy. We look forward to working closely with the Bank as they establish this programme for our sector.

“These, alongside improved health data resources for innovators, faster clinical trials, more streamlined and joined-up medicines regulation and access pathways, and investments in medicines manufacturing, mean this Industrial Strategy and the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan deliver across the breadth of BIA’s priorities on behalf of our members. These plans are just the beginning, however, as we will now get down to the serious work of delivering these commitments in partnership with the Government.”

Professor Andrew Morris CBE FRSE PMedSci, President, Academy of Medical Sciences:

“Today’s Industrial Strategy represents a significant step forward for UK life sciences – placing the sector at the heart of our economic future and recognising health and wealth are inseparable. This bold vision acknowledges what the Academy of Medical Sciences has long argued: that our world-leading research institutions, the NHS and our exceptional scientific talent can drive national and regional renewal in ways no other sector can match. 

“We are particularly encouraged by the Government’s ambitious goal to make the UK the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030, and the third most important globally by 2035. This scale of ambition, combined with over £2bn of committed funding, demonstrates the recognition that life sciences uniquely delivers both economic prosperity and improved health outcomes for all.  

“The strategy’s focus on pillars for the life sciences – supporting world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place to start and grow life sciences businesses, and driving health innovation through NHS reform – provides the framework needed to unlock the sector’s full potential. We welcome the commitment to continue investing in discovery research alongside applied sciences, ensuring we maintain curiosity-driven research that underpins future breakthroughs. 

“Alignment with the forthcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan offers unprecedented opportunity to ensure that cutting-edge innovations deliver rapid benefits for patients whilst driving economic growth. We look forward to the detailed life sciences sector plan that will translate these ambitions into action, and will continue working with Government to deliver this vision where scientific excellence drives both patient benefit and national prosperity as the UK achieves its full potential as a global leader in life sciences.”  

Professional and Business Services

Malcolm Gomersall, CEO, Grant Thornton UK:

“The publication of the Industrial Strategy is a welcome step forward in setting out a clear, long-term path for growth in the sectors that are powering our economy.

“The strategy and the Professional and Business Services plan reflect our own investment priorities for the future, such as increased tech and AI adoption, fostering a highly skilled workforce in areas such as cyber security, digital and net zero transition and growing our specialist capabilities which support the expansion of our clients into international markets. I welcome the clear intention that the wider sector deliver this strategy in partnership with the Government through the Professional and Business Services Council.

“As an employer of over 5,500 people in one UK’s fastest growing and most resilient sectors, ourown journey and track record over recent years has been remarkable. To achieve our ambitious growth plans, we know that we need to continue investing in the future, which means ensuring our people have the right skills and tools for a new era of business.”

Jon Holt, Group Chief Executive and UK Senior Partner, KPMG:

“The UK is the second-largest exporter of professional and business services, making our industry central to this country’s economic strength. We are at the forefront of the AI revolution, we are major employers of diverse talent and we support businesses of all sizes across the country. As a global success story it’s only right that we’re recognised as a high growth sector.

“This industrial strategy makes bold choices and sets clear priorities. Its impact will come from a genuine partnership between Government and business, working together on wins to really unlock the growth, profitability and investment that will shape the UK’s future.”

Rachel Taylor, Government and Health Industries Leader, PwC:

“An industrial strategy without business is just a wish list. The UK Government’s new strategy sets a welcome direction – and business stands ready to turn ambition into action.

“Skills are the new growth currency. The Strategy sets out a bold plan to close the UK’s skills gap, and this will make important steps in addressing business leaders’ concerns that we are losing top talent to other countries. We must work together – government, business and our world-class education institutions – to build the workforce of the future and keep that talent here.

“Business is ready to lean in. With the right framework, we can unlock investment, drive innovation and deliver the growth and opportunity this strategy sets out to achieve.”

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Published 23 June 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
June 24, 2025
MoPR partners with IIM Ahmedabad to train Panchayats in generating own source revenue

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), under the banner of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, has launched a comprehensive Training of Trainers (ToT) programme aimed at strengthening the financial autonomy of Panchayats. The three-day programme, inaugurated today at the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, focuses on enhancing the capacity of Panchayats to generate their Own Source Revenue (OSR). This initiative is being implemented under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.

Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, inaugurated the training session, which brought together faculty from IIM Ahmedabad, officials from IIPA, nominated Master Trainers from 16 States and Union Territories, and senior ministry officers. In his keynote address, Bharadwaj emphasized the national vision of creating Atmanirbhar Panchayats, identifying OSR as a key pillar in achieving this goal. He highlighted that the ability to raise and manage local revenues is a marker of a Panchayat’s leadership strength, public trust, and institutional maturity.

Calling the ToT a platform for transforming knowledge into actionable practices, Shri Bharadwaj encouraged participants to return to their States equipped with strategies to foster financial independence through local innovation and community engagement. He also commended IIM Ahmedabad for its role in designing a field-oriented and research-backed training module. He urged participating States and UTs to integrate the training outcomes into their systems by institutionalizing Panchayat-level revenue planning and implementing model frameworks being developed by the Ministry. He emphasized that these steps will help create a network of trained resource persons and financially conscious Panchayat functionaries, leading to resilient, accountable, and development-ready local governments.

Sushil Kumar Lohani, Additional Secretary, MoPR, elaborated on the Ministry’s broader efforts to empower Panchayats financially. He revealed that the Ministry is currently developing a Model OSR Rules framework following an in-depth review of State-level legislation. Additionally, a Digital Tax Collection Portal is in the works, designed to streamline tax collection, improve accountability, and ensure digital integration suited to local needs. Shri Lohani expressed confidence that this ToT would lay the foundation for replicating OSR capacity-building efforts throughout the Panchayati Raj system.

The training modules have been crafted by IIM Ahmedabad’s faculty to focus on practical implementation, behavioural insights, and peer learning. Key areas covered include the fundamentals of OSR, strategic revenue enhancement methods, behavioural science in tax collection, revenue utilization for village development, innovative financing mechanisms, revenue planning, and project management for effective implementation of Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

Addressing the gathering, Prof. Ranjan Kumar Ghosh from IIM Ahmedabad lauded the Ministry’s commitment to integrating OSR into mainstream Panchayati Raj governance. He underscored the significance of the training as a chance for participants to shift their perspective on local governance—from a compliance-driven model to one based on proactive planning, citizen involvement, and financial independence.

The session also showcased inspiring case studies from high-performing Gram Panchayats in Odisha, Gujarat, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, illustrating innovative approaches to revenue generation. A total of 65 Master Trainers from 16 States and UTs are taking part in this round of training, with a second ToT scheduled for early July to cover the remaining regions. The programme is designed to have a cascading impact, with trained participants expected to support implementation and adaptation efforts at the State level.

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: The Quiet Professionals: Building the mission, one base at a time

Source: US State of Wyoming

Wyoming Air National Guard

By Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen

The Quiet Power Behind the Mission

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Every day, people flip on a light switch, run hot water, and turn up the air conditioning without giving it a second thought. Phones charge. Toilets flush. Stormwater drains away. Every day, people drive on smooth, paved roads and work in buildings that stay upright with silent beams and pillars.

Although often invisible in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, even the smallest part of the built environment is a testament to the civil engineers who make the world a hospitable place. Although they work in plain sight, they are quiet professionals who do not seek recognition or praise.

They just want the lights to come on.

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts. The trip also included 15 Airmen from the 90th Civil Engineering Squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

Specialists in heavy construction operation, structural, water and fuel systems maintenance, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, or HVAC/R, electrical power production, electrical systems, and engineer assistants all do their part in the world of civil engineering.

And while working in the Wyoming Air National Guard, they do their part in a unique context, too.

“We build bases,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Christian Lowe, who helps lead the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron. “You take a patch of dirt somewhere in the world and the Air Force says, ‘Dibs,’ and it’s flattened. Then there’s tents, air traffic control towers, and a runway. All these things are built up. It’s tangible, it’s palpable, it’s touchable. And for the right-minded person, it’s hugely gratifying.”

In the Air National Guard, civil engineering is divided into two specialized units with distinct but overlapping missions. One unit is the Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer, also known as RED HORSE. They are a highly mobile, rapidly deployable response force that builds bases in combat zones. The other specialized unit is Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force, or Prime BEEF, which focuses on maintaining bases and their utility systems, whether at home or abroad.

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron is a Prime BEEF squadron.

Surveyors, Specialists and the Science of Repair

During the weeklong training exercise, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Vinny Wagoner, an engineer assistant, peered through a surveying instrument while measuring the 3,500-foot-long airstrip at the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site.

Resting at a cross-section of theory and application, an engineer assistant uses a lot of math, maps and rulers.

“The thing I enjoy about the job is you get a lot of updated toys, like state-of-the-art surveying equipment,” Wagoner said. “You have to keep up with the times.”

An engineer assistant resembles a superhero with a day job, like Clark Kent, with two distinct wardrobes. Indoors, Wagoner sports business casual while plotting an airstrip from scratch on the geospatial software program GeoExPT. Outdoors, he dons a hard hat while making onsite inspections, muddying his steel-toe boots in a construction zone.

They also help if an airstrip gets bombed.

The system the U.S. Air Force uses to repair a cratered airstrip is called Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery, or RADR.

After an attack, damage assessment teams glass the airstrip with binoculars, collecting information. Drones sweep overhead. Towers detect. Together, they identify debris, unexploded ordnance, craters and camouflets, and spall damage from an attack. The information is fed into GeoExPT, which creates a real-time map of the pockmarked airstrip.

Members of Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, are the first personnel on the airstrip, combing it for munitions that failed to detonate on impact. They neutralize them through a variety of means. For example, they carry out blow-and-go operations, placing premade charges near the munitions and detonating them. They conduct standoff munitions disruptions, employing small arms from a distance. Sometimes they unwire unexploded munitions.

Once bulldozers broom off all the shells and debris, the craters must be filled. Each step in the process has a dedicated crew that performs their tasks with assembly-line execution.

Muscle Memory, Machines and Motivation

First, the engineer assistant measures the lip of the crater’s edge, homing in on the entire patch of airstrip that has bulged, even to the slightest degree. For safety and functionality purposes, it is imperative the runway remain level.

Another crew attaches a wheel saw to a compact track loader, or CTL, to cut out the cratered patch of airstrip. The wheel saw looks like a giant steel pizza cutter that is 45 or 60 inches in diameter, respectively. The six-person crew divides into two sub-crews, each with two CTL operators and a spotter. Two CTLs face each other on parallel sides of a crater, cutting through concrete at approximately one foot per minute. The whirl of the wheel saw is shrill.

The next step removes the crater and the surrounding upheaval. An excavator with an impactor pounds the cut-out block of concrete, pulverizing it. An excavator with a bucket scoops out the rubble, leaving behind a precise square hole in the ground. It is two feet deep.

The slash-and-splash technique is a method used to backfill the excavated area. A 3,000-pound sack of flowable-fill material is suspended over the square hole on the fork of an excavator. A spotter slashes the bag, pouring out the material until it reaches 10 inches to the top. The remaining inches are capped with rapid-setting concrete or asphalt poured from a volumetric mixer. Finally, the new patch of airstrip is rolled and raked smooth.

After an attack, one team can repair up to 18 craters in less than seven hours.

“Muscle memory gets built into all these pieces of equipment,” Lowe said. “That’s why we have our guys practice going out there, finding a crater, and getting it back to where we are launching planes off that runway again.”

In addition to ensuring operational readiness after an attack, the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron put their skills to work in a variety of other contexts and scenarios during their weeklong training exercise.

All week long, the Dirt Boys reared in their heavy machinery, kicking up dust all around them. Before the dust settled, the black silhouette of the bulldozer resembled an apex predator on the savannah. U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicholas Cardillo and U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Levi Phillips, specialists in heavy construction operation, often wore mirrored sunglasses that reflected the glare of day as they worked late into the afternoon.

Building Futures and Flying Home

Before enlisting, Phillips worked construction in the private sector before realizing he wanted to do it in a more challenging context. Navedo came from a military family and knew he wanted to serve but wasn’t sure how. They both landed in the 90th Civil Engineering Squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base and haven’t looked back.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to get behind a piece of equipment or drive a truck,” Phillips said. “For my job, we grade roads. Then we drive on it two weeks later, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I did that.’ I just think it’s cool.”

Cardillo agreed. “It’s fun,” he said. “You always have something different going on. And then you get to see the work you’ve put in. You get to see it pay off. There’s so many things we drive by right now that we had a hand in building. That part of it is really cool.”

Neither of them had operated a crane until North Carolina. They took turns in the cab with the joystick, feeling the flow of the boom as it swung across the sky. The test weight they used was a 900-pound drum. Cardillo dropped anchor and hooked the drum.

“It seemed easy at first when you were dropping the claw,” Cardillo said. “But when you put weight on it and you start moving back and forth, it really starts swinging. It took me some time to get used to that and figure out how to catch the load swing.”

Once he began to operate the joystick with just the tips of his fingers, the movements became smoother.

“That crane really put something in me,” Phillips said. “With the crane, you boom out, stick up, pick the boom up, and lower your winch all at the same time. There’s always something going on. It’s just very cool.”

Thanks to their training in the military, Cardillo and Phillips are certified in dozers, excavators, jackhammers, rollers, loaders, graders, sweepers, water truck, dump truck, asphalt, concrete and more. Phillips wants to get certified in crane operation now. All this training is provided by the U.S. Air Force.

The training in civil engineering is always cutting-edge. Back home, the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron partners with Laramie County Community College, sending shops to get trained with staff and instructors at the school.

“All our training is in line with the industry standard in the private sector,” Lowe said. “If you’re going through an electrician’s course, for example, you’re training to the National Electrical Code. You’re getting exposed to everything you would see on the civilian side and getting qualified for it.”

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Luis Navedo did his research before signing on to be a specialist in HVAC/R.

“I have my universal license through my Air Force training, and that’s for life,” he said. “Once I get out after four years, I can buy and sell refrigerant anywhere.”

Also, Navedo is proud to be a specialist in HVAC/R for the military.

“Think of a base like Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada,” he said. “It’s like 115 degrees there every day. Let’s say there’s no HVAC, all the servers would melt. Then the mission is impacted, and everyone starts losing their head. Cooling and heating is essential.”

During the weeklong training exercise, instructors at the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site marveled at the work ethic on display by the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron.

“They were phenomenal,” U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Tyler Nadeau, an electrical cadre, said. “They were proactive. They asked questions.”

Other equipment the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron trained on during the week included the Mobile Aircraft Arresting System, the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit, the BEAR Distribution System and the Expeditionary Airfield Lighting System.

“On Monday, they had no clue about a new piece of equipment,” Nadeau said. “On Friday, they could teach it.”

Soon it was time to go back home.

The 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron packed up and headed to the airstrip, waiting for a lift.

After a while, a shimmering trace appeared in the sky, magnifying into a C-130 Hercules in its final descent. It thundered down at around 100 knots, roaring by the cheering 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron. The buzzing propellers still whirled ferociously as the aircraft turned around and taxied back to the passengers before coming to a full stop.

The rear cargo door lowered, settling into the baked airstrip. A loadmaster in a flight suit approached the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron. An officer broke from the group and met him at the edge of the airstrip, shaking hands.

With cargo bags hoisted over their shoulders, the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron filed onto the rear ramp of the C-130 Hercules, locating their seats. They buckled in and grabbed a fistful of red netting. The loadmasters worked in a whirl of straps, winches and staticky headset communication. Soon the rear cargo door raised again, pinching off the North Carolina daylight.

A few remaining Airmen watched as the aircraft peeled off the runway and shrank soundlessly into the sky, bringing everyone back home. The takeoff and landing of a C-130 Hercules would not be possible without the 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron at the Wyoming Air National Guard and people like them. But they do not seek glory or praise.

They are the quiet professionals.

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they all received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts from April 27-May 3, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen)

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they all received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts from April 27-May 3, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen)

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they all received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts from April 27-May 3, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen)

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they all received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts from April 27-May 3, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen)

The Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Civil Engineer Squadron recently returned from a weeklong trip to the North Carolina Air National Guard Regional Training Site, where they all received hands-on training in their respective trades and crafts from April 27-May 3, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Swingen)

MIL OSI USA News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Ever-changing universe revealed in first imagery from NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Source: US Government research organizations

From distant stars and galaxies to asteroids whizzing through the solar system, this next-generation facility unveils its first imagery and brings the night sky to life like never before

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a major new scientific facility jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, released its first imagery today at an event in Washington, D.C. The imagery shows cosmic phenomena captured at an unprecedented scale. In just over 10 hours of test observations, NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory has already captured millions of galaxies and Milky Way stars and thousands of asteroids. The imagery is a small preview of Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year scientific mission to explore and understand some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.

“The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory demonstrates that the United States remains at the forefront of international basic science and highlights the remarkable achievements we get when the many parts of the national research enterprise work together,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow.”

“NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director. “Through this remarkable scientific facility, we will explore many cosmic mysteries, including the dark matter and dark energy that permeate the universe.”

“We’re entering a golden age of American science,” said Harriet Kung, acting director of DOE’s Office of Science. “NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory reflects what’s possible when the federal government backs world-class engineers and scientists with the tools to lead. This facility will drive discovery, inspire future innovators and unleash American excellence through scientific leadership.”

[embedded content]

_{Made from over 1,100 images captured by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the video begins with a close-up of two galaxies then zooms out to reveal about 10 million galaxies. Those 10 million galaxies are roughly .05% of the approximately 20 billion galaxies Rubin Observatory will capture during its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time.}_Credit_{: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory}

The result of more than two decades of work, Rubin Observatory is perched at the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile, where dry air and dark skies provide one of the world’s best observing locations. Rubin’s innovative 8.4-meter telescope has the largest digital camera ever built, which feeds a powerful data processing system. Later in 2025, Rubin will begin its primary mission, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, in which it will ceaselessly scan the sky nightly for 10 years to precisely capture every visible change.

The result will be an ultrawide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the universe. It will bring the sky to life with a treasure trove of billions of scientific discoveries. The images will reveal asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, supernova explosions, far-off galaxies and perhaps cosmic phenomena that no one has seen before.

[embedded content]

_{In about 10 hours of observations, NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids (which pose no danger). Annually, about 20,000 asteroids are discovered in total by all other ground and space-based observatories. Rubin Observatory alone will discover millions of new asteroids within the first two years of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Rubin will also be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar system.}_Credit_{: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory}

Rubin Observatory is named in honor of trailblazing U.S. astronomer Vera C. Rubin, who found conclusive evidence of vast quantities of invisible material known as dark matter. Understanding the nature of dark matter, dark energy and other large-scale cosmic mysteries is a central focus of Rubin Observatory’s mission. Dark energy is what scientists call the mysterious and colossally powerful force that appears to be causing galaxies in the universe to move away from each other at an accelerating rate. Although dark matter and dark energy collectively comprise 95% of the universe, their properties remain unknown.

Rubin Observatory will also be the most efficient and effective solar system discovery machine ever built. Rubin will take about a thousand images of the Southern Hemisphere sky every night, allowing it to cover the entire visible Southern sky every three to four nights. In doing so, it will find millions of unseen asteroids, comets and interstellar objects. Rubin will be a game changer for planetary defense by spotting far more asteroids than ever before, potentially identifying some that might impact the Earth or moon.

Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth.

^{Explore this image in full resolution on the NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory website.}

The amount of data gathered by Rubin Observatory in its first year alone will be greater than that collected by all other optical observatories combined. This treasure trove of data will help scientists make countless discoveries about the universe and will serve as an incomparable resource for scientific exploration for decades to come.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 23 June 2025 Departmental update International Day of Yoga 2025: “One Earth, One Health”
Source: World Health Organisation

WHO Assistant Director– General for Health Systems, Dr Yukiko Nakatani, addressed the meeting:

“In today’s world, self-care is not a luxury. It is a necessity and an important component of universal health coverage. As we face many global challenges, self-care offers a simple yet powerful way to protect our health and promote well-being. It combines the wisdom of traditional practices with science-based strategies and personal experience.”

The following morning, a vibrant yoga session took place on the lawns of Allée des Drapeaux, drawing participants from the diplomatic community, local residents, and international visitors.

Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist, shared her reflections on the day:

“A systematic review on yoga reflects the latest science and confirms yoga’s positive effects on mental health, cardiovascular function, physical fitness and quality of life. Investment in and implementation of this type of rigorous science enables WHO to develop evidence-based guidance to support national policies and programmes that reflect the lived experiences, needs and benefits reported by millions of people worldwide.”

In Delhi, WHO’s South-East Asia office hosted a virtual celebration on the morning of 21 June, allowing global participation through live streaming. The event featured guided yoga sessions and reflections on yoga’s global impact.

In her address, Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, emphasized the broader significance of the day:

“This year’s theme, ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health,’ reminds us of the deep connection between our well-being and the health of our planet. Yoga is more than just physical exercise—it is a journey toward inner peace and harmony. In a world facing environmental challenges, yoga offers a path to sustainability. It encourages us to live simply, consume mindfully, and respect the natural world. When we care for the Earth, we care for ourselves.”

She also highlighted compelling research:
- 77% of people report feeling physically stronger after regular yoga practice.
- 82% of patients with chronic inflammation experienced nearly a 50% reduction in symptoms after six weeks of daily yoga.
- A Harvard Medical School study found that 60% of participants with depression experienced significant symptom reduction after practicing yoga twice a week for eight weeks.
At the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), colleagues marked the occasion with a practical and accessible approach. Diana Tawadros, a certified yoga instructor and EMRO staff member, led a session demonstrating simple stretches for the neck, arms, and shoulders— designed to reduce tension and improve posture and perfect for those spending long hours at their desks.

Diana’s sessions are supported by the EMRO Staff Association and are open to all colleagues. Those interested in joining can contact Diana Tawadros or Maha El Bakry via email.

To mark the occasion, WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO) shared a calming 10-minute desk- yoga video to encourage everyone to take a mindful pause, showing that even a few minutes of movement and breath can support well-being—no mat or change of clothes required.

WHO continues to promote yoga as a powerful tool for health and well-being. Its mYoga app, launched in 2022, provides accessible, evidence-based yoga guidance for people of all ages and backgrounds. WHO is also developing a technical report on yoga training standards to ensure quality, safety, and inclusivity in yoga instruction worldwide.

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MIL OSI United Nations News –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: 23 June 2025 News release Tobacco control efforts protect 6.1 billion people – WHO’s new report
Source: World Health Organisation

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released its report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin, warning that action is needed to maintain and accelerate progress in tobacco control as rising industry interference challenges tobacco policies and control efforts.

The report focuses on the six proven WHO MPOWER tobacco control measures to reduce tobacco use, which claims over 7 million lives a year:
- Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies;
- Protecting people from tobacco smoke with smoke-free air legislation;
- Offering help to quit tobacco use;
- Warning about the dangers of tobacco with pack labels and mass media;
- Enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and
- Raising taxes on tobacco.
Since 2007, 155 countries have implemented at least one of the WHO MPOWER tobacco control measures to reduce tobacco use at best-practice level. Today, over 6.1 billion people, three-quarters of the world’s population, are protected by at least one such policy, compared to just 1 billion in 2007. Four countries have implemented the full MPOWER package: Brazil, Mauritius, the Netherlands (Kingdom of the), and Türkiye. Seven countries are just one measure away from achieving the full implementation of the MPOWER package, signifying the highest level of tobacco control, including Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia and Spain.

However, there are major gaps. Forty countries still have no MPOWER measure at best-practice level and more than 30 countries allow cigarette sales without mandatory health warnings.

“Twenty years since the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, we have many successes to celebrate, but the tobacco industry continues to evolve and so must we,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “By uniting science, policy and political will, we can create a world where tobacco no longer claims lives, damages economies or steals futures. Together, we can end the tobacco epidemic.”

The WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report, developed with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, was launched during the 2025 Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Global Tobacco Control. The awards celebrated several governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) making progress to reduce tobacco use.

“Since Bloomberg Philanthropies started supporting global tobacco control efforts in 2007, there has been a sea change in the way countries prevent tobacco use, but there is still a long way to go,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. “Bloomberg Philanthropies remains fully committed to WHO’s urgent work – and to saving millions more lives together.”

The WHO Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 report reveals that the most striking gains have been in graphic health warnings, one of the key measures under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), that make the harms of tobacco impossible to ignore:
- 110 countries now require them – up from just 9 in 2007 – protecting 62% of the global population; and
- 25 countries have adopted plain packaging.
WHO warns, however, that enforcement is inconsistent, and smokeless tobacco packaging remains poorly regulated. The new report is accompanied by a new data portal that tracks country-by-country progress between 2007–2025.

Despite their effectiveness, 110 countries haven’t run anti-tobacco campaigns since 2022. However, 36% of the global population now lives in countries that have run best-practice campaigns, up from just 19% in 2022. WHO urges countries to invest in message-tested and evaluated campaigns.

Taxes, quit services and advertising bans have been expanding, but many improvements are needed:
- Taxation: 134 countries have failed to make cigarettes less affordable. Since 2022, just 3 have increased taxes to the best-practice level.
- Cessation: Only 33% of people globally have access to cost-covered quit services.
- Advertising bans: Best-practice bans exist in 68 countries, covering over 25% of the global population.
Around 1.3 million people die from second-hand smoke every year. Today, 79 countries have implemented comprehensive smoke-free environments, covering one-third of the world’s population. Since 2022, six additional countries (Cook Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Uzbekistan) have adopted strong smoke-free laws, despite industry resistance, particularly in hospitality venues.

There has been a growing trend to regulate the use of e-cigarettes or ENDS – Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems. The number of countries regulating or banning ENDS has grown from 122 in 2022 to 133 in 2024, a clear signal of increased attention to these products. However, over 60 countries still lack any regulations on ENDS.

WHO is calling for urgent action in areas where momentum is lagging. “Governments must act boldly to close remaining gaps, strengthen enforcement, and invest in the proven tools that save lives. WHO calls on all countries to accelerate progress on MPOWER and ensure that no one is left behind in the fight against tobacco,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of Health Promotion.

MIL OSI United Nations News –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Canada: Minister Olszewski to announce support to enhance business productivity in Alberta

Source: Government of Canada News

June 23, 2025 – Edmonton, Alberta

The Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan), will announce federal investments to bolster the global competitiveness and productivity at cutting-edge Alberta businesses in fields like manufacturing, agri-food, technology and health sciences.

Minister Olszewski will be joined by Doug Griffiths, President & CEO, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce; Corey Smith, President & CEO, RAM Elevators + Lifts; and, James Neufeld, Founder & CEO, samdesk.

Speakers will take questions from the media following the remarks.

Date:
Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Time:
10:00 a.m. (MT)

Location:
samdesk
10130 103 St, Unit 750
Edmonton, AB

MIL OSI Canada News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Victor Counted, Associate Professor of Psychology, Regent University

What does it mean to live a good life? Psychologists and social scientists have been focusing on a new idea called flourishing – a sense of well-being that goes beyond just happiness or success. It’s about your whole life being good, including how you interact with other people and your community. So then, how do Africans fare when it comes to flourishing?

Victor Counted is a psychological scientist whose research across 40 African countries offers a data-rich rethinking of flourishing on the continent. His findings challenge the dominant narrative that Africa is “lagging behind” in development by showing a more nuanced picture of what it means to live a good life. We asked him more.

What is flourishing?

Flourishing is more than economic growth or individual happiness. It’s a multidimensional state of being that reflects how people feel about their lives and how well their lives are actually going. So it also measures people’s values within their community.

The idea of well-being often carries a Eurocentric emphasis on the individual – personal satisfaction, autonomy, achievement. Flourishing accounts for how whole a person is in relation to their environment.

It includes the social, spiritual and ecological contexts in which one lives. So, it’s not just about how one feels, but how one lives – fully, meaningfully and in a satisfying relationship with the world around us.

What’s the Global Flourishing Study?

The Global Flourishing Study tries to measure global patterns of human flourishing. It’s an ongoing five-year longitudinal study in over 200,000 participants across 22 countries.

I was one of the team of global scholars brought together to examine the trends on what it means to live well across cultures and life circumstances.

Read more:
What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

The study identifies six key dimensions of flourishing:
- Happiness and life satisfaction
- Mental and physical health
- Meaning and purpose
- Character and virtue
- Close social relationships
- Financial and material stability
Participants rate how they’re doing in each of these areas on a scale from 0 to 10. Further questions capture experiences related to trust, loneliness, hope, resilience, and other related well-being variables.

CC BY-ND

Of the 22 nations, five were African: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Egypt.

While these countries didn’t top the global rankings (Indonesia and Mexico did), Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt all reported relatively high flourishing scores, especially when well-being was considered apart from financial status.

Nigeria, for example, ranked 5th globally in flourishing scores that excluded financial indicators – ahead of many wealthier nations. Nigerians indicated strengths in social relationships, character and virtues (like forgiveness or helping others). But potential areas of growth included financial well-being, housing, ethnic discrimination and education.

Overall, this suggests that while material resources matter, they’re not the only thing that determines well-being. Kenya ranked 7th, Egypt 10th, Tanzania 11th and South Africa 13th. Each showed unique strengths in areas like meaning, social connection or mental health.

You did a separate study on flourishing in Africa. What did you find?

In a 2024 study we analysed data from the Gallup World Poll (2020–2022) to explore 38 indicators of well-being across 40 African countries.

This study offered a more detailed and culture-sensitive picture of how Africans experience and prioritise flourishing. The dimensions explored were derived from both local and universal sources, allowing for regionally relevant insights.

We found that African populations often score high in meaning, character and social relationships – despite economic hardship. This offers an important corrective to western assumptions about well-being.

Some of our key findings were:

● There is significant diversity between and within African countries. Mauritius consistently ranked highest in life evaluations (overall satisfaction with their lives), while countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe scored lowest.

● East African countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia showed strong performance in social well-being indicators (like feeling respected or learning new things daily) even when economic indicators were low.

● Countries in West Africa, such as Senegal and Ghana, scored high in emotional well-being, with many people reporting positive daily emotions like enjoyment and laughter.

● Southern African nations, despite challenges like income inequality, displayed resilience through strong community ties and cultural practices rooted in the philosophy of ubuntu.

The results reinforced that flourishing in Africa cannot only be reduced to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (a measure of the average economic output per person in a country) – nor to western norms of success.

What can African countries focus on to flourish?

In my view, the path to greater flourishing lies in embracing local knowledge and investing in culturally relevant development priorities. Instead of following western pathways – centred on individual advancement – Africa can model alternative flourishing pathways that reflect what matters most to African people.

1. Prioritise local knowledge systems

African ideas about a connected society – like ubuntu (southern Africa), ujamaa (east Africa), teranga or wazobia (west Africa), and al-musawat wal tarahum (north Africa) teach people to care for each other and live in peace. These values help people live meaningful lives and can inform leadership and legislation.

2. Redefine development metrics

Western development models focus on individual achievement, economic output and material consumption. GDP per capita fails to capture the everyday realities and aspirations of African communities. We should also measure things like how happy people are, how hopeful they feel about the future, how strong and resilient their communities are, and how clean, safe and dignifying their living environments are.

This is not a new idea – for years development scholars have called for a shift away from narrow economic indicators toward a focus on human dignity, agency, and the real opportunities people have to pursue the lives they value. What’s new is the growing availability of data and the momentum to take these alternative metrics seriously in shaping national policies and priorities.

3. Invest in education for character development

Quality education is essential to unlocking the continent’s potential to flourish. But Africa needs more than just academic skills and workforce readiness – it needs a strategy for intentional development of values and habits that shape how a person thinks, feels, and acts with integrity.

Part of the problem lies in how the humanities – fields like history, literature, philosophy, and religious studies – are often undervalued or underfunded in education systems. But it is precisely these disciplines that nurture moral imagination, critical reflection, and civic responsibility. We need educational models that form not just workers, but whole persons – people who can think ethically, act responsibly, and lead with character in their communities.

Read more:
What makes a person seem wise? Global study finds that cultures do differ – but not as much as you’d think

What does Africa offer the world in terms of flourishing?

Africa is not waiting to be saved. Across the continent, people are building communities of care, cultivating joy amid hardship, and passing on values of unity, faith, and compassion. This is what development looks like when rooted in human dignity.

Africa flourishing goals offer an alternative vision for development – one that starts with what Africa already has, not what it lacks. These are locally emic aspirations for well-being. They are shaped by Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and religious/spiritual traditions. Pursuing these goals means prioritising wholeness over wealth, community over consumption, and resilience over rescue.

The continent has so much to offer the world: wisdom, strong community values, and ways of staying resilient and living fully even in hard times. But many of these local insights are missing in the global science of well-being.

Victor Counted consults for Africa Flourishing Initiative

– ref. Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being – https://theconversation.com/which-african-countries-are-flourishing-scientists-have-a-new-way-of-measuring-well-being-257458
MIL OSI – Global Reports –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Victor Counted, Associate Professor of Psychology, Regent University

What does it mean to live a good life? Psychologists and social scientists have been focusing on a new idea called flourishing – a sense of well-being that goes beyond just happiness or success. It’s about your whole life being good, including how you interact with other people and your community. So then, how do Africans fare when it comes to flourishing?

Victor Counted is a psychological scientist whose research across 40 African countries offers a data-rich rethinking of flourishing on the continent. His findings challenge the dominant narrative that Africa is “lagging behind” in development by showing a more nuanced picture of what it means to live a good life. We asked him more.

What is flourishing?

Flourishing is more than economic growth or individual happiness. It’s a multidimensional state of being that reflects how people feel about their lives and how well their lives are actually going. So it also measures people’s values within their community.

The idea of well-being often carries a Eurocentric emphasis on the individual – personal satisfaction, autonomy, achievement. Flourishing accounts for how whole a person is in relation to their environment.

It includes the social, spiritual and ecological contexts in which one lives. So, it’s not just about how one feels, but how one lives – fully, meaningfully and in a satisfying relationship with the world around us.

What’s the Global Flourishing Study?

The Global Flourishing Study tries to measure global patterns of human flourishing. It’s an ongoing five-year longitudinal study in over 200,000 participants across 22 countries.

I was one of the team of global scholars brought together to examine the trends on what it means to live well across cultures and life circumstances.

Read more: What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

The study identifies six key dimensions of flourishing:
- Happiness and life satisfaction
- Mental and physical health
- Meaning and purpose
- Character and virtue
- Close social relationships
- Financial and material stability
Participants rate how they’re doing in each of these areas on a scale from 0 to 10. Further questions capture experiences related to trust, loneliness, hope, resilience, and other related well-being variables.

CC BY-ND

Of the 22 nations, five were African: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Egypt.

While these countries didn’t top the global rankings (Indonesia and Mexico did), Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt all reported relatively high flourishing scores, especially when well-being was considered apart from financial status.

Courtesy Victor Counted

Nigeria, for example, ranked 5th globally in flourishing scores that excluded financial indicators – ahead of many wealthier nations. Nigerians indicated strengths in social relationships, character and virtues (like forgiveness or helping others). But potential areas of growth included financial well-being, housing, ethnic discrimination and education.

Overall, this suggests that while material resources matter, they’re not the only thing that determines well-being. Kenya ranked 7th, Egypt 10th, Tanzania 11th and South Africa 13th. Each showed unique strengths in areas like meaning, social connection or mental health.

You did a separate study on flourishing in Africa. What did you find?

In a 2024 study we analysed data from the Gallup World Poll (2020–2022) to explore 38 indicators of well-being across 40 African countries.

This study offered a more detailed and culture-sensitive picture of how Africans experience and prioritise flourishing. The dimensions explored were derived from both local and universal sources, allowing for regionally relevant insights.

We found that African populations often score high in meaning, character and social relationships – despite economic hardship. This offers an important corrective to western assumptions about well-being.

Some of our key findings were:

● There is significant diversity between and within African countries. Mauritius consistently ranked highest in life evaluations (overall satisfaction with their lives), while countries like Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe scored lowest.

● East African countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia showed strong performance in social well-being indicators (like feeling respected or learning new things daily) even when economic indicators were low.

● Countries in West Africa, such as Senegal and Ghana, scored high in emotional well-being, with many people reporting positive daily emotions like enjoyment and laughter.

● Southern African nations, despite challenges like income inequality, displayed resilience through strong community ties and cultural practices rooted in the philosophy of ubuntu.

The results reinforced that flourishing in Africa cannot only be reduced to gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (a measure of the average economic output per person in a country) – nor to western norms of success.

What can African countries focus on to flourish?

In my view, the path to greater flourishing lies in embracing local knowledge and investing in culturally relevant development priorities. Instead of following western pathways – centred on individual advancement – Africa can model alternative flourishing pathways that reflect what matters most to African people.

1. Prioritise local knowledge systems

African ideas about a connected society – like ubuntu (southern Africa), ujamaa (east Africa), teranga or wazobia (west Africa), and al-musawat wal tarahum (north Africa) teach people to care for each other and live in peace. These values help people live meaningful lives and can inform leadership and legislation.

2. Redefine development metrics

Western development models focus on individual achievement, economic output and material consumption. GDP per capita fails to capture the everyday realities and aspirations of African communities. We should also measure things like how happy people are, how hopeful they feel about the future, how strong and resilient their communities are, and how clean, safe and dignifying their living environments are.

This is not a new idea – for years development scholars have called for a shift away from narrow economic indicators toward a focus on human dignity, agency, and the real opportunities people have to pursue the lives they value. What’s new is the growing availability of data and the momentum to take these alternative metrics seriously in shaping national policies and priorities.

3. Invest in education for character development

Quality education is essential to unlocking the continent’s potential to flourish. But Africa needs more than just academic skills and workforce readiness – it needs a strategy for intentional development of values and habits that shape how a person thinks, feels, and acts with integrity.

Part of the problem lies in how the humanities – fields like history, literature, philosophy, and religious studies – are often undervalued or underfunded in education systems. But it is precisely these disciplines that nurture moral imagination, critical reflection, and civic responsibility. We need educational models that form not just workers, but whole persons – people who can think ethically, act responsibly, and lead with character in their communities.

Read more: What makes a person seem wise? Global study finds that cultures do differ – but not as much as you’d think

What does Africa offer the world in terms of flourishing?

Africa is not waiting to be saved. Across the continent, people are building communities of care, cultivating joy amid hardship, and passing on values of unity, faith, and compassion. This is what development looks like when rooted in human dignity.

Africa flourishing goals offer an alternative vision for development – one that starts with what Africa already has, not what it lacks. These are locally emic aspirations for well-being. They are shaped by Africa’s indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and religious/spiritual traditions. Pursuing these goals means prioritising wholeness over wealth, community over consumption, and resilience over rescue.

The continent has so much to offer the world: wisdom, strong community values, and ways of staying resilient and living fully even in hard times. But many of these local insights are missing in the global science of well-being.

– Which African countries are flourishing? Scientists have a new way of measuring well-being
– https://theconversation.com/which-african-countries-are-flourishing-scientists-have-a-new-way-of-measuring-well-being-257458

MIL OSI Africa –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Plymouth raises the flag, marking the start of Armed Forces Week

Source: City of Plymouth

The Armed Forces Flag was raised today following a ceremony outside Plymouth Guildhall, marking the start of Armed Forces Week.

The ceremony was attended by the Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Councillor Kathy Watkin and Captain Iain Ritchie representing the Naval Base Commander, alongside other military and civic leaders.

The flag will be flown all week, as events take place across the city, including the Strength of Spirit Games Rehabilitation Triathlon, hosted by the Royal Navy on Thursday 26 June and Armed Forces Day in association with Babcock International, on Saturday 28 June, both on Plymouth Hoe.

Councillor Sally Haydon, Cabinet Member for Events, said: “Plymouth is incredibly proud of its military history and Armed Forces based in the city. Armed Forces Week is an opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to our military, from serving personnel to reservists, veterans and cadets, for all the admirable work they do.

“On Thursday we are extremely privileged to be able to hold the Strength of Spirit Games, ahead of celebrating Armed Forces Day on Plymouth Hoe, which is looking to be a truly spectacular event.”

Captain Iain Richie, HMNB Devonport’s Captain of the Base (COB) said: “Armed Forces Week in Plymouth is a celebration of the strong relationship between the Armed Forces based in and around the city and the community that supports us. People will know that ships, submarines, Commandos, Gunners, and medical personnel from Plymouth are continually deployed to protect the UK and provide stability around the globe; none of that would be possible without the support of the people of Plymouth. Events this week will showcase our close bond with the city.”

Visitors are encouraged to come along to Plymouth Hoe and watch the athletes compete in the Strength of Spirit Games Rehabilitation Triathlon, sponsored by AECOM and Defence Recovery. The event starts with the swim at Tinside Lido, followed by the cycle and static row, before crossing the all-important finish line!

For the second year running the games will include the Plymouth School Sports Partnership Junior Rowing Challenge, sponsored by AECOM, from 10am to 11.15am, also on Plymouth Hoe. This will see children from military families will take part in their own thrilling rowing challenge, representing 24 local primary schools.

Darren Carlile, Head of National Security UK&I AECOM, said: “AECOM is proud to stand behind the Armed Forces community, including serving personnel and veterans. As a former member of the Corps of Royal Engineers and a colleague to many fellow veterans, I witness daily the exceptional skills and value they bring to our organisation.

“We’re honoured to once again support the Strength of Spirit Games, including the inspiring Rehabilitation Triathlon, and we’ll be cheering on all the remarkable athletes taking part. We’re also thrilled to back the Plymouth School Sports Partnership Junior Rowing Challenge and wish every student competing the very best of luck.”

There will be plenty more interactive displays, military equipment, thrilling demonstrations, and entertainment to enjoy at Armed Forces Day, delivered in association with Babcock , on Saturday, from 10am. Visitors can get up close to the Merlin Mk4 helicopter and chat to the aircrew, and watch an air demonstration from 4pm, with the Swordfish W5856, Yak-52 and the Black Cats Helicopter Display. (Subject to weather).

John Gane, Site Managing Director of Babcock’s Devonport facility, said: “Celebrating the significant contribution that our Armed Forces bring to the nation through this series of events is fantastic. As a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, an employer of veterans and reservists, and one of the UK’s largest defence businesses, it is a privilege to support Plymouth Armed Forces Day again this year.

“We’ve got an action-packed display planned on 28 June, featuring plenty of hands-on activities for all ages, including a variety of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) challenges to try, and where you can find out more about the wide range of career opportunities available, including our award-winning apprenticeships.”

Armed Forces Day will see ‘villages’ set up across the Hoe, from each Military Service, Emergency Services and the Veterans Village supported by the Royal British Legion Devon County, which includes over 100 charities and organisations offering information and advice, plus lots of hands-on activities to try.

There will be a range of live music performances throughout the day, finishing with a free evening concert, sponsored by C&G Catering, featuring: Company B, Not the Cowboys, Be Here Now and Good Times.

Both military events are supported by sponsors and partners – thank you to Babcock International, Royal British Legion Devon County, C&G Catering, Foster for Plymouth, South West Highways, Plymouth Citybus and Ivor Dewdney for supporting Armed Forces Day. And AECOM, Defence Recovery with delivery partners: South West Highways, Plymouth Active Leisure and Samworth Brothers Cornwall for supporting the Strength of Spirit Games.

For all the latest information about Plymouth Armed Forces Day including the full programme, and the Strength of Spirit Games, visit: plymoutharmedforcesday.co.uk.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Leader reacts to Government’s new Industrial Strategy

Source: City of Manchester

Leader of the Council Bev Craig welcomes the new strategy that has the potential to create jobs, while attracting new business and supporting growth.

Cllr Craig said:

“Manchester is the fastest-growing UK city and will be at the forefront of creating thousands of new jobs and growing the country’s economy. Finally, we have a Government with a long term national Industrial Strategy focused on attracting investment, making it easier for businesses to grow, protecting jobs and -crucially – backing our plans locally. Having just returned from a Greater Manchester International Trade Mission, we know the difference this makes.

“Manchester already has globally recognised strengths in many of the key priority sectors identified – such as life sciences, professional, legal and business services, creative industries and digital, tech and AI – this will supercharge them even more.

“It’s great to see the Government announce an Industrial Strategy Council to oversee delivery and even better news that Manchester has been chosen as its headquarters. In a changing world, the world’s first industrial city is well-placed to help shape the dynamic industries of the future.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Iran is considering closing the strait of Hormuz – why this would be a major escalation

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University

Faced with the prospect of continuing Israeli airstrikes and further American involvement, Iran’s parliament has reportedly approved plans to close the strait of Hormuz.

This is potentially a very dangerous moment. The strait of Hormuz is an important shipping lane through which 20% of the world’s oil transits – about 20 million barrels each day.

The waterway connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran can either disrupt maritime traffic or attempt to “close” the strait altogether. These are distinctly different approaches with different risks and outcomes.

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.

The first option is to try and disrupt maritime traffic like Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been doing in the Red Sea since winter 2024. This can be done by attacking passing ships with rockets and drones.

There are already reports that Iran has started to jam GPS signals in the strait, which has the potential to severely interfere with passing ships, according to US-based maritime analyst Windward.

Disruption of this kind is likely to deter shipping companies from using this route for fear of casualties and loss of cargo. Shipping companies that want to avoid the Red Sea can always use alternative shipping lanes, such as the Cape of Good Hope route. As inconvenient as that is, there is no such option in the case of the Gulf.

As we’ve seen with Houthis’ attacks, such disruptions have impacts on oil price, but also ripple effects on stock markets and inflation. Although the US and its western allies can absorb these economic effects – certainly for a while – disrupting the strait would still demonstrate that Tehran has some leverage.

The credibility factor

The second option – “closing” the strait would involve interdicting all maritime traffic. This is akin to a blockade. And for it to work, as we have seen in the Black Sea with Russia’s failed attempt at blockading Ukraine, a blockade must be credible enough to deter all traffic.

Iran has a number of ways to block the strait. It could deploy mines in the waters around the choke point and sink vessels to create obstacles. Iran would also likely use its navy, including submarines, to engage those attempting to break the blockade; use electronic and cyber attacks to disrupt navigation; and threaten civilian traffic and regional ports and oil infrastructure with drones and rockets.

It’s worth noting that Iran still has plenty of short-range rockets. Israel claims to have destroyed much of its longer range ballistic-missile capability, but it is understood that the country still has a stockpile of short-range missiles that could be effective in targeting ships and infrastructure in the Gulf as well as US bases in the region.

Recent events have shown up Iran as a bit of a paper tiger. It has made bold claims about its plan to retaliate and the military strength it has to do so. Yet with almost no air power capabilities (apart from drones and missiles) and limited naval power – and with its proxies either defeated or on the back foot – Iran is no longer in a position to project power in the region.

Iran’s response to the current Israeli attacks have not managed to inflict any major damage or achieve any strategic or political objectives. It’s hard to see a change on the battlefield as things stand.

Vital waterway: 20% of the world’s oil transts through the Strait of Hormuz.
w:en:Kleptosquirrel/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

For this reason, Tehran’s best option is to target the strait of Hormuz, which has the potential to cause a significant spike in oil prices, leading to a major disruption of the global economy.

Short of being able to rival the US or Israel on the battlefield, Iran might decide to use asymmetrical means of disruption (in particular missile and drone attacks on civilian shipping) to affect the global economy. Closing or disrupting the strait would be an effective way of doing that.

A blockade, even a partial one, would offer Tehran some options on the diplomatic scene. For instance, it has been reported that the US asked China to convince Iran not to close the strait. This demonstrates that Tehran can use the threat of a blockade to its advantage on the diplomatic front. But for this to work, the blockade needs to be effective and thus sustained.

What would be the effect of a blocking the Strait?

Disrupting traffic in the strait could drag Gulf states – Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar – into the conflict, since their interests will be directly affected. It’s important to consider how they might respond and whether this will drive them closer to the US – and even Israel, as was already happening with the Abraham Accords and the tentative, but shaky, rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Read more:
US joins Israel in attack on Iran and ushers in a new era of impunity

These are all things Iran would have factored into its calculations a year ago when Israel was targeting its proxies, including Hezollah, Hamas and the various Shia militias it funds in Iraq and elsewhere. But now, given that it has suffered an enormous military setback, which has hurt the regime’s prestige and credibility – including, importantly, at home – Tehran is more likely to downplay these risks. I would expect it to proceed with its blockade plans.

Even if China voices concerns, like it did regarding the Houthis’ attacks, this is unlikely to change the decision. The regime is cornered. If the leaders believe they could be toppled, they are likely to consider the risks worth taking, particularly if they feel it could give them diplomatic leverage.

The US has enough naval and air power to disrupt such a blockade. It can preemptively destroy Iran’s mine-laying forces. It can also target missile launch sites inland and respond to threats as and when they arise.

This is likely to prevent Iran from completely closing the strait. But it won’t prevent the Islamic republic from disrupting maritime trade enough to have serious effects on the world economy. This might well be one of the last cards the regime has to play, both on the battlefield and in the diplomatic arena.

Basil Germond 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. Iran is considering closing the strait of Hormuz – why this would be a major escalation – https://theconversation.com/iran-is-considering-closing-the-strait-of-hormuz-why-this-would-be-a-major-escalation-259562

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: NIST Releases Extensive Video Update on Champlain Towers South Investigation

Source: US Government research organizations

NCST Champlain Tower South Collapse Investigation | Technical Update (June 2025)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) National Construction Safety Team (NCST) has released an extensive video update on its investigation into the June 2021 partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida. The update reviews the investigation’s history and progress, shares preliminary findings, and highlights potential impacts that this complex investigation could have on building codes and standards.

In the video, investigative lead Judith Mitrani-Reiser and co-lead Glenn Bell explain how the team has determined that some of the hypotheses they are considering for how the failure occurred have a higher likelihood than others. The team has reviewed two dozen hypotheses, relying on extensive physical evidence, imagery, historical records, witness interviews, remote sensing data, laboratory testing, computer modeling and more.

“As we have shared in previous updates, there were many design and construction problems that weakened the building from the start,” said Mitrani-Reiser. “These deficiencies posed many potential failure initiation possibilities both in the pool deck and the tower, and each is being carefully considered so that we can narrow our focus to the most likely ones and seek to rule out others.”

The two experts describe the extensive planning and coordination that helped the team systematically work through analyses, testing and modeling to arrive at its preliminary findings. They note that from NIST’s initial deployment of a preliminary reconnaissance team in the first 48 hours after the collapse, this investigation has relied on collaboration with local authorities and expertise from across the federal government, private industry and academia.

Researchers used a saw to cut into a steel-reinforced concrete slab following a slab-column connection test at the University of Washington. The cut reveals shear cracking and failure at the surface.

Credit: NIST

Higher-Likelihood Collapse Hypotheses

Bell walks viewers through three hypotheses with higher likelihood, beginning with the failure of one of the typical slab-column connections in the pool deck. He describes factors that contributed to low margins of safety in the pool deck, including understrength of the building’s original structural design relative to the requirements of the building code. Additionally, he notes that steel reinforcement was not placed where it should have been, leading to significantly diminished strength of the pool deck slab and slab-column connections. He also points to heavy planters that were not in the original design, as well as a rehabilitation of the pool deck decades earlier that added sand and pavers, increasing the load on a system that was already functionally and structurally inadequate. The team also found corrosion of the steel reinforcement in the pool deck concrete, which can weaken the slabs and slab-column connections.

“While there is strong evidence that the collapse initiated in the pool deck, we have not ruled out a failure initiation in the tower,” said Bell. “The fact that the pool deck collapsed before the tower does not preclude the possibility that there was some initiating event in the tower that set off the collapse of the very vulnerable pool deck.”

Some of the design, construction and degradation issues found in the pool deck are also evident in the building tower and present other plausible hypotheses that the team continues to pursue. In addition to the misplacement of steel reinforcement within slabs and columns, some basement columns had prolonged exposure to water due to ponding and flooding in the garage. This can cause corrosion of the steel reinforcement and deteriorate the concrete. The team therefore also considers it a higher likelihood that the collapse was initiated by either the diminished strength of the columns in the tower or the failure of a slab-beam-column joint in the southernmost column line of the east part of the tower, close to where the tower joined the pool deck.

Replicas of Champlain Towers South building components were tested until failure at the University of Minnesota. This image shows a failed connection between the pool deck slab-beam and the slab-drop-beam.

Credit: NIST

Lower-Likelihood Collapse Hypotheses

The investigation team determined that there is a lower likelihood that the partial collapse was initiated by two potential problems beneath the building: voids known as “karst” or pile failure. Mitrani-Reiser explains how satellite data was used to look for gradual settling or sinking of the ground in the general area of Champlain Towers South. None was seen in the area in the five years before the partial collapse, nor was localized sinking observed near the building in the days leading up to the tragedy.

The team found no evidence of karst in the limestone on which the foundation sits, and careful studies of the limestone showed it has features that actually inhibit the formation of karst. Team members calculated that the foundation pile capacity shown on the design drawings was sufficient to carry the building loads and laboratory and nondestructive testing of pile concrete showed adequate material strength. Finally, the basement slab did not show any distress or trauma that would indicate karst formation or pile failure, such as cracking or sinking.

Bell also notes as a lower likelihood scenario the separation of the pool deck/street-level slab from the south basement wall.

Preliminary Findings Rely on Broad Range of Evidence

In the past few months, the team has updated the collapse timeline based on interviews and records, modeling results, and new analyses of audio and digital evidence.

Although there is very little video from the night of the collapse, every image was meticulously analyzed to determine its precise perspective and identify clues that could inform the timeline, such as changes to reflections of light on building surfaces, such as a wall.

Mitrani-Reiser describes how team members made a breakthrough by using a novel approach to analyzing videos. They compared the soundwaves of the audio recorded by two videos from different parts of the building to find and correlate patterns of sounds in each video. This helped pinpoint when the videos overlapped in time and provided insight into what was happening in the building by comparing the building’s movement at the same time on two different floors. All audiovisual evidence in NIST’s possession has now been timestamped.

Mitrani-Reiser also notes the importance of social science research to develop carefully crafted interviews that have helped to elicit important memories not reported elsewhere. Information gained in these interviews has helped confirm the collapse timeline, in tandem with the video evidence.

A NIST NCST investigator examines the underside of a test specimen following a slab-beam-column test at the University of Minnesota.

Credit: NIST

Implications for the Future

“Two clear questions coming out of this investigation are why the design and construction problems were not discovered when Champlain Towers South was built, and how do we evaluate the structural safety of existing buildings?” said Bell.

While the video presentation does not offer recommendations for changes to codes or practice, it does highlight some areas that industry experts could consider. These include how special inspections that are mandated for safety might impact construction quality control by giving builders a false sense of security that someone else will catch their errors later.

Mitrani-Reiser also shares that the investigation found no records from the original construction of the building, and few from its early life, and notes the importance of records retention going beyond initial drawings to include “quality assurance records and, particularly, peer review reports where they exist.”

Finally, Mitrani-Reiser calls on the engineering and construction professions to take seriously the apparent lack of quality control and quality assurance found in the case of Champlain Towers South. She noted that, “this tragic event has revealed flaws in our systems, and quality is at the heart of it.”

The team is finalizing its analysis and has begun drafting its investigation report, which is expected to be completed in 2026.

MIL OSI USA News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: “Ahead of Time Together”: Winners and Prize-Winners of “Highest Standard” Awarded in Moscow

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

June 13th Center of Cultures The HSE hosted a ceremony to honor the winners of the All-Russian School OlympiadHighest quality“. Of the more than 4.5 thousand winners and prize winners, about 700 schoolchildren from 67 regions of Russia took part in it. The best of the best were noted in special nominations established by the organizing committee of the Olympiad. For the second year in a row, the Olympiad “Highest Standard” is held with the support of Sber.

Before the ceremony, a festival program was organized in the HSE atrium, which for an hour and a half became the main city square of HSE City with street activities and artists, a lounge area and elegant pavilions, flags and garlands.

Here you could get a consultation from a neuro-fortune teller, play table football and hockey, solve puzzles and dance, take part in the creation of living paintings. In the chill-zone of Sber, which is supporting the Olympiad for the second season, schoolchildren played computer games, ate ice cream and got answers to questions about building a dream career, and in the VR-greenhouse of the ROST Group of Companies, a partner of Vysshaya Proba in biology, they picked tomatoes, drank smoothies and tried snacks with the taste of tomato and cucumber.

In the Photo Mosaic zone, participants were invited to contribute to the creation of the HSE inscription from hundreds of photographs of Olympiad diploma winners. Those who wished could take part in a quest introducing HSE, in the game What? Where? When?, continue to build up their intellectual potential at the master class What Can Be Learned from Social (and Not Only) Network Analysis? or the training Creative Worlds: How Ideas Turn into Collaborations.

The guests then moved to the Cultural Center. The participants of the ceremony honoring the diploma holders (similar events were previously held in Saint Petersburg, Perm And Nizhny Novgorod) said the first vice-rector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Vadim Radaev.

“The Olympiad “Higher Standard” will soon turn 30, and every year it becomes more and more beautiful and cool. It already includes 30 profiles, including two new ones – “Industrial Programming” together with “Yandex” and “History of Art” together with the Pushkin Museum. And of course, the competition is growing. This year, more than 50 thousand people took part in it, and your victory is even more significant. There are more than 4.5 thousand winners and prize-winners, and even more diplomas, because some of you managed to win the Olympiad in several profiles,” said Vadim Radaev.

The First Vice-Rector also thanked the partners and the team of organizers, “who are conducting the ‘Higher Test’ at the highest level.”

Olga Tsukanova, Managing Director and Head of the Academic Partnerships Directorate at Sber, joined in the congratulations. She emphasized that the Higher School of Economics offers a wide range of sciences, and those who win the Olympiads then find themselves in a variety of fields.

“We will be glad to see you among our employees, clients, partners, and we are ready to support those who see the future, who are moving towards the future, who are ready to lead others. Invitations to internships at Sber are received not only by students, but also by schoolchildren, who can try themselves in our product teams, “twist” the products that we release to the market. And students, especially after two years of study, having received a solid base, do cool projects at Sber,” said Olga Tsukanova.

The organizing committee of the Olympiad established special nominations in which the best of the best were recognized: “Everest of Science” (diplomas in five or more profiles), “Conquering Olympus” (the highest results in profiles from 90 points), “Victory Marathon” (prize places for four or more years), “Ahead of Time” (completion of tasks two grades higher than the class of study, and tasks for the 7th grade by sixth-graders) and “HSE Olympiads” (winning several intellectual competitions of the National Research University Higher School of Economics). The laureates in these nominations, as well as two diploma winners of the Olympiad, who celebrated their birthday on June 13, were presented with diplomas, medals and gifts on stage.

Deputy Vice-Rector – Head Directorate for the Development of Intellectual Competitions HSE University Danil Fedorov, congratulating the winners in the “Everest of Science” nomination, urged them to apply to a university where it is difficult to study, reminding them that the Higher School of Economics is exactly such a university.

Olga Tsukanova invited the winners in the Conquering Olympus nomination to become students of the AI360: Artificial Intelligence Engineering track of the bachelor’s program Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, which is being implemented at HSE jointly with Sber and Yandex.

Chairman of the Methodological Commission for the Profile “Foreign Languages” – Head Foreign language schools HSE University Ekaterina Kolesnikova compared the process of preparing for the Olympics to playing sports. “The winners in the “Victorious Marathon” nomination know very well that those who do not stop when things are difficult, who act at the limit of their capabilities, win,” she noted.

The winners in the “Ahead of Time” nomination were announced by Anna Korovko, Senior Director for Main Educational Programs at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and the Chair of the Methodological Commission for the “Political Science” profile, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Denis Stukal. Anna Korovko promised that by the time they finish 11th grade, studying at the HSE will become even more difficult, and Denis Stukal, himself a former Olympiad participant, called them true leaders who not only challenged those who were a year or two older than them, but also succeeded in doing so.

“You have a great future ahead of you, and I hope that at some point it will become inextricably linked with our university, because HSE is a university that is also ahead of its time. Let’s get ahead of it together and move only forward,” Denis Stukal concluded.

The Chairperson of the Methodological Commission for the Economics Profile, Daria Tabashnikova, announced the winner in the HSE Olympiads brand nomination, Anastasia Usenko, who won the Vysshaya Proba Olympiad, the In Your Own Words essay championship, and the Highest Aerobatics competition. “Collecting awards, receiving diplomas, and preferences is great, but it’s even cooler when a person tries himself in different things and succeeds,” Daria Tabashnikova emphasized.

The results of the event were summed up by the Director for Work with Gifted Students at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Tamara Protasevich.

“The ending Olympiad season of “Highest Standard” is the fifteenth, anniversary one for our team, which is responsible for its implementation. The year 2025 is generally rich in anniversaries: 5 years of the All-Russian Case Championship, 10 years of “Highest Aerobatics”. And “Highest Standard” is our largest project: registration for it began in August last year, and diplomas are being awarded now, in June. The Olympiad is constantly in the focus of our attention, and we are constantly improving it,” said Tamara Protasevich.

She gave examples of feedback from Olympiad participants, which those present in the hall agreed with, raising glowing hearts: “The level of tasks is decent, difficult, but interesting,” “The atmosphere is pleasant, comfortable, not overwhelming, allows you to enjoy completing the Olympiad tasks,” “Organization – everything is clear and well thought out, prompt responses to questions, caring, friendly volunteers.”

Tamara Protasevich also announced another nomination – “Recognition of the Organizers”, the winners of which were the best volunteers – students of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, who over the past three years participated in the “Higher Standard” and other intellectual competitions of the university. “Without these guys, not a single project of our directorate would have taken place. They are the best!” – she concluded.

The ceremony of honoring the diploma winners ended with a collective performance of the student anthem “Gaudeamus”, after which all its participants were awarded the Olympiad diplomas and medals in the lobby of the Center of Cultures. Some of them shared their impressions with the news service “Vyshka.Glavnoe”.

“The Highest Standard” is a combination of all the best that can be found at the Olympiad, says Erland Glukhov, a 10th-grader at the AMTEK General Education Lyceum in Cherepovets. “I participated in the in-person stage in Moscow, my friends in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, and everyone was happy with the organization of the process and the support of the participants. I especially like the tasks: they are designed in an unconventional way, they include interesting elements, and they are really interesting to solve.”

According to Erland, behind every victory at the Olympics there is, first and foremost, hard work, not only your own, but also that of your mentors, as well as the support of your parents.

“When I was doing assignments in the Law profile, I had the feeling that I was in some other universe the whole time, that I fell asleep in the first minute and woke up in the last minute, when everything was already done,” said Alexander Gimpelson, a 10th-grade student at School No. 7 “Russian Classical School” in Ryazan. “The assignments required a creative approach, and it was always necessary not only to reproduce the provisions of the laws, but also to understand them, evaluate them from different angles, and show how they can be applied in practice.”

In preparation for the Olympiad, Alexander mastered scientific literature, thanks to which “these complex adverbial participial phrases, thirty subordinate clauses in one sentence of the law became lively and understandable.” In a year, he plans to enroll in the Faculty of Law at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and subsequently specialize in the field of private law.

11th-grader Polina Platonova from the Vladimir region has been participating in Olympiads since the 4th grade. This year she went to Nizhny Novgorod for the “Highest Standard”, and she associates the in-person round competitions with both a holiday and a tense struggle. The girl is considering the possibility of entering the National Research University Higher School of Economics – Nizhny Novgorod and also associates her further professional development with jurisprudence.

Albina Markaryan, an 11th-grader from Voronezh, participated in the final round in her hometown and will be applying to the HSE for a bachelor’s degree in International Relations this year. Before the awards ceremony, she walked around the atrium (“everything was organized wonderfully, lots of competitions and entertainment”), she liked everything in the university building, and she has no doubt that if she is accepted, these feelings will not only remain, but will also intensify.

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

MIL OSI Russia News –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Scorecard for Safer Play: Athletic Field Assessment Form Updated for Mobile Use
Source: US State of Connecticut

A new online version of the UConn Extension’s existing Athletic Field Assessment Form provides school grounds managers and turf professionals with an easier way to document, monitor, and maintain safe athletic fields. Developed by a team from the Sustainable Landscape Program, the new tool was built on a 14-year legacy of the paper assessment form to create a mobile-friendly format, making it easier to assess turf health, track maintenance activities, and advocate for resources.

The idea for digitizing the original paper scorecard was sparked when Vickie Wallace, senior extension educator, gave a presentation at a National Sports Field Managers Association (SFMA) conference several years ago. She shared data collected from an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project focused on the assessments of Connecticut school athletic fields and surrounding landscapes. She was aided in the three-year data collection effort by the late emeritus professor, Bill Dest, students, and project staff member Alyssa Siegel-Miles.

“At the end of my presentation, a colleague from the turfgrass seed industry approached me and said, ‘your assessment form could be a really cool app,” Wallace says. That conversation changed the direction of a portion of UConn’s next IPM grant proposal, which ultimately included development of the new online assessment tool.

Building on a Proven Framework

Wallace, Dest, and UConn professor Jason Henderson from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture were the primary authors of the original assessment form. The form has been in use for well over a decade and remains available on the UConn School IPM website. Designed to support school grounds managers and assess the safety and quality of athletic fields, both the paper assessment form and the new assessment tool assigns numerical ratings to a variety of factors that can influence the playing surface quality of the athletic field, including turfgrass density, surface uniformity, and wear damage, weed and pest presence, along with the ability to record necessary cultural maintenance such as mowing, irrigation, nutrient applications, cultivation and overseeding, and turfgrass health.

“We worked hard to build a comprehensive tool that municipal and school grounds managers could use to inform and communicate with administrators about management practices related to field care,” Wallace says.

For many school grounds managers, especially those in K-8 settings, this tool becomes a powerful way to justify funding for overseeding, irrigation improvements, and other maintenance activities.

“I had a couple of school grounds managers tell me after one of our school grounds workshops that they hesitated to use the original assessment because when combining the category scores together, the final quantified number clearly highlighted the quality of the athletic field surface. The managers interpreted a low score to incorrectly mean they were doing something wrong, rather than recognize the score provided evidence that their overused fields required additional staff, supplies, and equipment to ensure quality playing surfaces,” says Wallace. “The tool was created to help them advocate for more resources and improve safety.”

By adding the opportunity to enter data from the field, store data related to maintenance inputs in situ, the tool allows the input of data to be easy and quick. There is no longer the need to make notes in the field and transfer the data to a paper or computer log later in the day.

Features and Flexibility

Now available as a web-based tool that can be accessed from both desktop and mobile devices, the Athletic Field Assessment Tool includes expanded functionality without a cost to input data. Managers can create an account and enter static field data like identified turfgrass species, renovation history, or soil type, along with dynamic reports on mowing, overseeding, cultivation, and turf quality ratings. The UConn Digital Experience Group worked with Wallace and Siegel-Miles to build the online tool.

Key features include:
- Turf Quality Rating on a 1–15 scale, with 15 being excellent
- Report types including weed or other pest presence and maintenance events
- Photo uploads for visual documentation
- Data filtering and report printing
- Unlimited field entries and ample data storage
“You can enter data for as many fields as you want, and tailor how often you assess them based on field use,” Wallace says.

Some managers conduct a varying range of assessments to monitor turf health and recovery from wear because they have both high school and elementary fields with different use levels. Data can be stored on the phone or ultimately transferred to a computer at the end of the season.

Feedback from school grounds managers played an important role in shaping the final product. The team tested beta versions and provided input to improve usability and relevance for turfgrass professionals.

A Tool for Communication and Collaboration

Because school grounds managers often communicate with school administrators or athletic directors, the tool helps them present data related to present day/current field conditions to support real time decisions related to field playability or event scheduling. The tool can also document, in an easily understood format, how routine management practices impact turfgrass health.

“Documenting the level of activity on a field helps justify why a field needs to recover or rest, or documenting wear damage on a field helps argue the need to rotate practices to another section of the field,” Wallace says. “It supports conversations with administrators and coaches, so they understand the importance of turf care.”

That value isn’t going unnoticed.

” I believe [the tool] can help professionals in our sports turf industry very much. It is also very user-friendly,” says Richard Calarco, CSFM, AOLCP, L&C Park Consultants, LLC; retired director of Parks and Recreation from the Town of Hebron.

This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Fostering Sustainable Landscapes at the Urban-Rural Interface.

Follow UConn CAHNR on social media

MIL OSI USA News –
June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Embarrassed? Why this feeling might actually be good for you

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura Elin Pigott, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation, Course Leader in the College of Health and Life Sciences, London South Bank University

Embarrassment is generated by a network of different brain regions working together. Kues/ Shutterstock

Picture this: it’s your first day at a new job. You’re about to introduce yourself to a large group of people you’ll be working with – and promptly fall flat on your face. Not exactly the entrance you had in mind.

We’ve all cringed at moments like these — whether they happen to us or to others. That instant, full-body wince, and the shared, silent relief that it didn’t happen to you.

Embarrassment is a universal, visceral and oddly contagious emotion. It’s what psychologists call a self-conscious emotion. This means it hinges on our awareness of ourselves through others’ eyes.

Unlike shame or guilt, embarrassment isn’t usually moral — it’s about looking awkward or inept. Context matters too. We feel more embarrassed in front of people whose opinions we value or who hold power.

Yet while embarrassment may feel uncomfortable, it actually has surprising social and psychological benefits.

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Empathy and social connection

Evolutionary psychologists believe embarrassment developed as a social corrective – a way to acknowledge mistakes, signal remorse and reduce conflict within groups.
This instinct probably helped our ancestors stay in the group, which was critical for survival. People who showed embarrassment were seen as more trustworthy and cooperative.

In this way, embarrassment can invite empathy and forgiveness, strengthening relationships. It signals that we care what others think, promoting approachability and emotional closeness. So, while it’s uncomfortable in the moment, embarrassment probably evolved to keep communities cohesive.

Embarrassment is also contagious. Most of us have cringed on someone else’s behalf. This shows how deeply tuned our social brains are. We empathise with others’ awkwardness, often rushing to reassure them. This empathy helps preserve harmony and can also help us build connection with others.

Embarrassment signals remorse and can invite empathy from others.
fizkes/Shutterstock

Trust and virtue

Visible signs of embarrassment – such as blushing or stumbling over words – are often seen as signs of honesty and generosity. One study found that people who show embarrassment are judged to be more trustworthy and sociable.

Blushing may have evolved on purpose to be a visible, honest signal of humility that others instinctively trust. Experiments even show we’re more likely to forgive someone who looks embarrassed than someone who acts indifferent.

Learning social norms

Forgetting you’re not on mute in a Zoom meeting, sending a message to the wrong group chat or realising your shirt’s inside out after an important meeting. These moments may be minor, but our brains still process them as social threats – albeit small ones.

In this way, embarrassment helps us adhere to social norms and expectations – many of which are unwritten and only discovered once we’ve flubbed them by mistake. Embarrassment acts as an internal guide, helping us remember social missteps and encouraging us to conform to shared expectations – not out of shame, but because it feels right. It also nudges us whenever we stray near the edges of what’s socially comfortable, helping us course-correct swiftly.

The way we react to an embarrassing situation is also important in helping us learn from our experiences. Many of us laugh nervously when embarrassed. This effectively reframes the incident from threatening to harmlessly amusing in our minds.

Humility and authenticity

Embarrassment keeps egos in check, signals emotional intelligence and makes us more relatable. In a curated world, an awkward moment can humanise us and build credibility.

However, while moderate embarrassment is healthy and constructive, excessive fear of it can become harmful – crossing into social anxiety.

Your brain on embarrassment

Embarrassment isn’t generated by a single “embarrassment centre” in the brain. Rather, it’s generated by a network of different brain regions working together.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a region in the front of the brain that’s active during self-reflection and when thinking about how others perceive us. It’s also involved in storing social memories – which is why an embarrassing memory, even from years ago, can still make you cringe when it pops into your head.

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the reason you blush, your heart pounds and you feel sweaty when you’re deeply embarrassed. The ACC activates your “fight or flight” reaction. When the ACC fires up, it also helps us adjust our behaviour – aiding in impulse control and helping us learn from the mistake so we don’t do it again.

The amygdala is the brain’s emotional alarm bell. When we get embarrassed, the amygdala registers the emotional intensity of the situation – especially the fear of being seen negatively.

People with social anxiety show an imbalance between the mPFC and amygdala. Their mPFC is underactive (so they’re less able to rationalise others’ perspectives), while their amygdala is overactive (causing excessive fear signals). This combination makes it hard for them to accurately gauge social situations, often interpreting them as more threatening and embarrassing than they really are.

Finally, the insula, a region located deep in the brain, helps us tune into our emotions and bodily states. This creates that gut-level discomfort we feel during embarrassing moments. All these regions work in concert during an embarrassing moment.

Embarrassment is uncomfortable, yes – but it’s also a reminder that we care about others and want to belong. It’s part of what makes us human. So the next time you experience an embarrassing moment, try to laugh it off and remember that the moment is helping us to learn and connect.

Laura Elin Pigott 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. Embarrassed? Why this feeling might actually be good for you – https://theconversation.com/embarrassed-why-this-feeling-might-actually-be-good-for-you-259094

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Why social media injury recovery videos could do more harm than help

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Craig Gwynne, Senior Lecturer in Podiatry, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Studio Romantic/Shutterstock

When Kim Kardashian glided into the launch party of her NYC SKIMS boutique on a knee scooter, a mobility aid for people with lower leg injuries – stiletto on one foot, designer cast on the other – she wasn’t just managing an injury. She was creating content.

And she’s far from alone.

In 2024, rapper Kid Cudi turned his own broken foot into a viral storyline, posting updates of himself on crutches and in a surgical boot after a mishap at the Coachella festival in California. These high profile injuries don’t just invite sympathy; they generate style points, followers and millions of views.

But as injury recovery morphs into online entertainment, it raises an important question: is this trend helping people heal or encouraging risky behaviour that can delay recovery?

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Open any social media feed and you’ll likely stumble across videos of people hobbling through supermarkets, dancing on crutches, or sweating through workouts in a medical boot. Hashtags like #BrokenFootClub and #InjuryRecovery have spawned thriving online communities where users share advice, frustrations and recovery milestones. For many, rehab has become a public performance, complete with triumphant comeback narratives.

And it’s not just celebrities. All sorts of people are turning their injuries, from hiking sprains to post-surgery recoveries, into digital diaries. Some offer helpful tips or emotional support, while others focus on fast-tracked progress, sometimes glossing over the slower, necessary steps that true healing demands.

A broken foot used to mean rest. Now it can mean millions of views.

Watching others navigate recovery can be deeply reassuring. Seeing someone joke about wobbling to the bathroom or demonstrate how to climb stairs with crutches can ease the loneliness that often comes with injury.

And some creators are genuinely getting it right. Increasing numbers of healthcare professionals, from orthopaedic surgeons to physiotherapists and podiatrists, now use social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to share safe exercises, realistic timelines and expert tips on navigating recovery. For people who struggle to access in-person care, this clinically sound content can be a lifeline.

But not all content is created equal – and some can do more harm than good.

When rest gets rebranded

But on social media, rest isn’t always part of the narrative. The most viewed recovery videos often aren’t posted by healthcare professionals but by influencers eager to showcase rapid progress. Some discard crutches too soon, hop unaided, or attempt high-impact exercises while their bodies are still vulnerable – all for the sake of engagement.

What’s often missing is the unglamorous reality: swelling, setbacks, rest and the slow, sometimes frustrating, pace of real healing. Bones, tendons and ligaments aren’t impressed by likes or follower counts. Healing requires time and carefully structured loading: a gradual, deliberate increase in weight bearing and movement to rebuild strength without risking re-injury.

Ignoring this process can lead to delayed healing, chronic pain, re-injury, or even long term joint and muscle complications that can affect the knees, hips, or back.

And this isn’t just speculation. A 2025 study examining TikTok content on acute knee injuries found that most videos were produced by non-experts and often contained incomplete or inaccurate information. Researchers warned that this misinformation may not only distort patient expectations but also lead to decisions that hinder proper recovery. Similar trends were found in anterior cruciate ligament knee injury videos, where dangerous, non-evidence based practices were widely promoted to millions of viewers.

Healthcare professionals are now seeing the ripple effects firsthand. Many physiotherapists and podiatrists report a growing number of patients arriving with unrealistic expectations shaped by social media, rather than medical advice. Some patients feel frustrated when their recovery doesn’t match the rapid progress they see online. Others attempt risky exercises before their bodies are ready, setting themselves back.

A 2025 study examining TikTok content on acute knee injuries found that most videos were produced by non-experts and often contained incomplete or inaccurate information. Researchers warned that this misinformation may not only distort patient expectations but also lead to decisions that hinder proper recovery.

The World Health Organization has also flagged the dangers of online health misinformation. When social media shortcuts replace professional care, patients risk not only slower recovery but potentially more complex medical problems, while clinicians are left managing the aftermath.

Recovery isn’t a race

While supportive online communities can be a valuable source of comfort, the pressure to “bounce back” quickly can be dangerous. Viral videos and celebrity recoveries can create a toxic sense of comparison, tempting people to rush their own healing process.

Research shows that the psychological drive to return to activity, particularly among younger adults, can reduce rehab compliance and sharply increase the risk of re-injury. True recovery isn’t governed by trending hashtags; it follows a personal, biologically determined timeline that requires patience, rest, and carefully structured rehabilitation.

Seeing stars like Kim Kardashian with a designer cast might make injury look fashionable. But for most people, a broken foot is not glamorous; it’s weeks of awkward movement, discomfort, adaptation and quiet, steady healing.

Mobility content can inspire, motivate, and connect – but it’s not a road map for your own recovery. If you’re injured, approach online content with curiosity, not comparison. Learn from others, but listen to your body. Healing is personal. Your recovery won’t be dictated by views, likes, or viral trends – it will unfold on your body’s own timetable.

Craig Gwynne 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. Why social media injury recovery videos could do more harm than help – https://theconversation.com/why-social-media-injury-recovery-videos-could-do-more-harm-than-help-258533

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Society needs a systems update to cope with climate crisis – my new film explains why

Source: The Conversation – UK – By James Dyke, Associate Professor in Earth System Science, University of Exeter

The climate and ecological crisis is one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. If the world fails to address it, and over the rest of this century we continue to burn fossil fuels and pump even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, we’ll face catastrophe. On this much, almost all governments agree (with some notable exceptions such as the US).

Even the world’s largest oil and gas companies now acknowledge that their products are behind the alarming increase in global temperatures and that we will have to transition to alternative fuels. Eventually.

In some oil and gas firms’ net zero policies you will often see the word “eventually” or its equivalent used. Yes, they accept that the age of fossil fuels will be over, but they don’t give any end date. In fact, with continued expansion of new oil and gas fields they appear to give every indication of continuing to be fossil fuel companies for the foreseeable future.

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Will such firms actually phase out coal, oil and gas at the rate required to avoid dangerous climate change? How quickly does that now have to happen? Immediately.

At current rates of emissions, the window to have a 50:50 chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C will close in as little as six years. Given that global emissions are not stabilising but in fact going up, we are in the process of overshooting 1.5°C and heading deep into dangerous climate change territory.

Does that mean it’s game over, that the climate catastrophes we fear will come to pass? Thinking about these sorts of systemic risks form the basis of much of my current research. This includes some pretty alarming analysis on how societies can react to challenges such as climate change in ways that can make the situation much worse.

But herein lies a potentially powerful source of hope for the future because what we do as individuals and members of communities and countries will make all the difference. That’s what was on my mind when I started working on a new climate change documentary with filmmaker Paul Maple.

Radical reductions

Our new film System Update: Rebooting Our Future argues that, while we may have run out of time to avoid dangerous climate change, we are now only beginning to see how we can not just avoid further environmental damage but make a much better world for all of humanity. To do that, we must go beyond the incremental and timid policies of today. We need to be radical and dig into the drivers of climate change.

Take economic growth, for example. You will not find a political party in power in any industrialised nation that does not have continued economic growth as one of its core objectives. Economic performance is often the main way politicians are judged. That’s why threats of a recession lead news reports.

In System Update, I ask what is this economic growth for, if it continues to drive expanded energy and material consumption and drive us further towards climate and ecological collapse?

If our economic and political systems cannot deliver radical emissions reductions in a sustainable and fair way, then they need to be rebooted. Rather than policies being orientated towards maximising economic growth, we can instead question how the current goods and services an economy produces are used.

How can local communities be empowered to make themselves more resilient to climate change while reducing their emissions? Where can citizen assemblies strengthen our democracies and help foster the wider support for ambitious climate action? These assemblies work by recruiting a representative cross section of society who hear from a range of climate experts, and then work together to provide policy recommendations.

I put such questions to an amazing group of activists, academics and policymakers. We quickly discovered from economic anthropologist Jason Hickel that there is no end of new thinking about economics.

Lawyer and key architect of the Paris agreement Farhana Yamin recounted the epic battle that she and others have been waging with politicians to get them to understand and act on some of the fundamental truths of climate change. Researcher and strategist Laurie Laybourn spoke of the need for leaders to understand how this gathering storm of climate change demands new mindsets.

Climate change adaptation expert Kathryn Brown made the case for a rapid increase in efforts to protect communities from environmental change, while climate historian Alice Bell put today’s debates into the wider context. Climate campaigner Max Wakefield and climate justice activist Dylan Hamilton connected the big picture elements of the climate crisis to both everyday actions like what you buy and how to you travel, to deeper engagement with politics.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed about the scale of climate change. There is a constant stream of bad news about rising temperatures and extreme weather. What I hope System Update shows is that there is no end of ideas for how such an outcome could be averted, and how you could put them into practice.

We will win. The age of fossil fuels is ending. The question now is, how fast do you want to make that happen?

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

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

James Dyke 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. Society needs a systems update to cope with climate crisis – my new film explains why – https://theconversation.com/society-needs-a-systems-update-to-cope-with-climate-crisis-my-new-film-explains-why-257503

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: How the end of carbon capture could spark a new industrial revolution

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Andres Clarens, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia

Steelmaking uses a lot of energy, making it one of the highest greenhouse gas-emitting industries.
David McNew/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to claw back US$3.7 billion in grants from industrial demonstration projects may create an unexpected opening for American manufacturing.

Many of the grant recipients were deploying carbon capture and storage – technologies that are designed to prevent industrial carbon pollution from entering the atmosphere by capturing it and injecting it deep underground. The approach has long been considered critical for reducing the contributions chemicals, cement production and other heavy industries make to climate change.

However, the U.S. policy reversal could paradoxically accelerate emissions cuts from the industrial sector.

An emissions reality check

Heavy industry is widely viewed as the toughest part of the economy to clean up.

The U.S. power sector has made progress, cutting emissions 35% since 2005 as coal-fired power plants were replaced with cheaper natural gas, solar and wind energy. More than 93% of new grid capacity installed in the U.S. in 2025 was forecast to be solar, wind and batteries. In transportation, electric vehicles are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. automotive market and will lead to meaningful reductions in pollution.

But U.S. industrial emissions have been mostly unchanged, in part because of the massive amount of coal, gas and oil required to make steel, concrete, aluminum, glass and chemicals. Together these materials account for about 22% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The global industrial landscape is changing, though, and U.S. industries cannot, in isolation, expect that yesterday’s means of production will be able to compete in a global marketplace.

Even without domestic mandates to reduce their emissions, U.S. industries face powerful economic pressures. The EU’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism imposes a tax on the emissions associated with imported steel, chemicals, cement and aluminum entering European markets. Similar policies are being considered by Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the United Kingdom, and were even floated in the United States.

The false promise of carbon capture

The appeal of carbon capture and storage, in theory, was that it could be bolted on to an existing factory with minimal changes to the core process and the carbon pollution would go away.

Government incentives for carbon capture allow producers to keep using polluting technologies and prop up gas-powered chemical production or coal-powered concrete production.

The Trump administration’s pullback of carbon capture and storage grants now removes some of these artificial supports.

Without the expectation that carbon capture will help them meet regulations, this may create space to focus on materials breakthroughs that could revolutionize manufacturing while solving industries’ emissions problems.

The materials innovation opportunity

So, what might emissions-lowering innovation look like for industries such as cement, steel and chemicals? As a civil and environmental engineer who has worked on federal industrial policy, I study the ways these industries intersect with U.S. economic competitiveness and our built environment.

There are many examples of U.S. innovation to be excited about. Consider just a few industries:

Cement: Cement is one of the most widely used materials on Earth, but the technology has changed little over the past 150 years. Today, its production generates roughly 8% of total global carbon pollution. If cement production were a country, it would rank third globally after China and the United States.

Researchers are looking at ways to make concrete that can shed heat or be lighter in weight to significantly reduce the cost of building and cooling a home. Sublime Systems developed a way to produce cement with electricity instead of coal or gas. The company lost its IDP grant in May 2025, but it has a new agreement with Microsoft.

Making concrete do more could accelerate the transition. Researchers at Stanford and separately at MIT are developing concrete that can act as a capacitor and store over 10 kilowatt-hours of energy per cubic meter. Such materials could potentially store electricity from your solar roof or allow for roadways that can charge cars in motion.

How concrete could be used as a capacitor. MIT.

Technologies like these could give U.S. companies a competitive advantage while lowering emissions. Heat-shedding concrete cuts air conditioning demand, lighter formulations require less material per structure, and energy-storing concrete could potentially replace carbon-intensive battery manufacturing.

Steel and iron: Steel and iron production generate about 7% of global emissions with centuries-old blast furnace processes that use intense heat to melt iron ore and burn off impurities. A hydrogen-based steelmaking alternative exists today that emits only water vapor, but it requires new supply chains, infrastructure and production techniques.

U.S. Steel has been developing techniques to create stronger microstructures within steel for constructing structures with 50% less material and more strength than conventional designs. When a skyscraper needs that much less steel to achieve the same structural integrity, that eliminates millions of tons of iron ore mining, coal-fired blast furnace operations and transportation emissions.

Chemicals: Chemical manufacturing has created simultaneous crises over the past 50 years: PFAS “forever chemicals” and microplastics have been showing up in human blood and across ecosystems, and the industry generates a large share of U.S. industrial emissions.

Companies are developing ways to produce chemicals using engineered enzymes instead of traditional petrochemical processes, achieving 90% lower emissions in a way that could reduce production costs. These bio-based chemicals can naturally biodegrade, and the chemical processes operate at room temperature instead of requiring high heat that uses a lot of energy.

Is there a silver bullet without carbon capture?

While carbon capture and storage might not be the silver bullet for reducing emissions that many people thought it would be, new technologies for managing industrial heat might turn out to be the closest thing to one.

Most industrial processes require temperatures between 300 and 1830 degrees Fahrenheit (150 and 1000 degrees Celsisus for everything from food processing to steel production. Currently, industries burn fossil fuels directly to generate this heat, creating emissions that electric alternatives cannot easily replace. Heat batteries may offer a breakthrough solution by storing renewable electricity as thermal energy, then releasing that heat on demand for industrial processes.

How thermal batteries work. CNBC.

Companies such as Rondo Energy are developing systems that store wind and solar power in bricklike materials heated to extreme temperatures. Essentially, they convert electricity into heat during times when electricity is abundant, usually at night. A manufacturing facility can later use that heat, which allows it to reduce energy costs and improve grid reliability by not drawing power at the busiest times. The Trump administration cut funding for projects working with Rondo’s technology, but the company’s products are being tested in other countries.

Industrial heat pumps provide another pathway by amplifying waste heat to reach the high temperatures manufacturing requires, without using as much fossil fuel.

The path forward

The Department of Energy’s decision forces industrial America into a defining moment. One path leads backward toward pollution-intensive business as usual propping up obsolete processes. The other path drives forward through innovation.

Carbon capture offered an expensive Band-Aid on old technology. Investing in materials innovation and new techniques for making them promises fundamental transformation for the future.

Andres Clarens receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.

– ref. How the end of carbon capture could spark a new industrial revolution – https://theconversation.com/how-the-end-of-carbon-capture-could-spark-a-new-industrial-revolution-257894

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: I’m an expert in crafting public health messages: Here are 3 marketing strategies I use to make Philadelphia healthier

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sarah Bauerle Bass, Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University

A comic book produced for Black transgender women in Philadelphia explains the benefits of using PrEP to prevent HIV infection. Wriply Bennet for the Risk Communication Laboratory, Temple University

In Philadelphia, the leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer and unintentional drug overdose. While some of these deaths are caused by things out of our control – like genetics – many are largely preventable.

Preventable deaths are the result of a series of decisions. Whether a person decides to smoke, eat lots of fried foods or be a couch potato, their decisions – sometimes unconsciously – can affect their health.

I’m a health communication expert and public health researcher at Temple University in North Philadelphia. I began working in public health in the late 1980s at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and before that I worked in marketing and public relations. I have spent my career thinking about how health decisions are like many of the decisions consumers make each day around which products to buy.

One key difference with health decisions is the inherent risks involved. There isn’t much risk in trying a new brand of cereal, but there is risk in riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

Many people have a “that won’t happen to me” attitude when making a decision that involves risk. This element of “risk perception” has guided my interest in health decisions and how to use commercial marketing techniques – the same ones companies use to sell products – to encourage people to get vaccinated, get a colonoscopy or get treated for a medical condition.

Temple students involved in the RapidVax project talk to Kensington residents about COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic.
Temple University College of Public Health

Breaking demographics into psychographics

One strategy I use is segmentation analysis.

Segmentation analysis is the process of looking at groups of people who may look like they are all similar on the surface – such as Black women from North Philadelphia – and then breaking them into smaller groups based on differences in their attitudes, beliefs or behaviors.

Looking at these “psychographics” instead of demographics like age or sex can help public health communication researchers better understand how to communicate effectively.

For example, I led a study in 2021 that looked at how connected transgender women living in Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area felt to other members of the trans community. We wanted to see if messaging about PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, the medication used to prevent HIV infection, would need to be different depending on how connected they felt.

We found that participants who were more engaged with the trans community were not only more knowledgeable about PrEP, but they were also more likely to see the benefits of using it compared with those who were less engaged.

This indicates that strategies to reach those not as connected may need to include, for example, providing more basic information about what PrEP is and how it works.

An example of perceptual mapping that shows different attitudes and beliefs around the HIV prevention medication PrEP.
Temple University College of Public Health

Mathematical models and 3D maps

Another powerful marketing tool that I use is a process known as perceptual mapping and vector message modeling.

Using simple survey answers, we can mathematically model how people are thinking about a health decision and present it in a three-dimensional map.

Similar to how someone might think about the relationship between where cities or countries are in relation to each other – such as where Philadelphia is in relation to New York or Chicago – we can take answers from a survey and convert them into distances. We ask people to agree or disagree to statements about the benefits or barriers to a decision and enter their responses into a computer program to create the map.

We can then do vector message modeling, which shows how to move the group toward the desired decision.

Think back to high school physics when you may have learned about the amount of force, or pushing and pulling, needed to move one object toward another. Vector message modeling helps us figure out which beliefs to push or pull against to get the group to move toward a particular decision, and it helps us create the most persuasive messages for that group.

When we use vector modeling along with segmentation analysis, we can also compare how messaging may need to be similar or different for different groups.

For example, I used segmentation analysis and then perceptual mapping and vector message modeling to understand how medical mistrust might affect the decision to get vaccinated for COVID-19 among a group of Philadelphians who had not yet been vaccinated.

Education materials created after using commercial marketing techniques to identify persuasive messages about COVID-19 booster shots.
Temple University College of Public Health

Our team then looked at perceptual maps and vector message modeling by levels of mistrust. The vectors showed that those with high levels of medical mistrust would be more likely to respond to messages that addressed concerns about the pandemic being a hoax, or the worry that minorities wouldn’t get the same treatment as others.

This allowed us to think about how to build in messages around those issues in public media campaigns or other communication strategies that encourage vaccination.

Decision-making tools

I have used these methods to create and test a number of different communication strategies to influence health decisions.

For example, I’ve developed web-based tools that have been used in hospitals and clinics in Philadelphia to encourage methadone patients with hepatitis C to receive antiviral treatment for their infection, Black cancer patients to take part in a clinical trial or to get genetic testing, and patients with low literacy and higher risk of colorectal cancer to have a colonoscopy.

Staff members from the Risk Communication Laboratory organize materials to educate North Philadelphia residents about COVID-19 booster shots.
Temple University College of Public Health

My colleagues and I have also developed posters, booklets and social media posts that encourage low-income and vaccine-hesitant Philadelphians in Kensington to get COVID-19 booster shots; educational slides for low-literacy Philadelphia adults on dirty bombs and how the radioactive weapons might be used in a terror attack; and a comic book for trans women to learn about the benefits of PrEP use.

Getting people to make better decisions about their health can be an uphill battle. We all have our reasons for not doing things that are good for us. For example, what did you eat for lunch today? Was it healthy? If not, why did you eat it?

My job is to figure out what makes people do what they do, and then help them make decisions that keep them healthy.

Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

Sarah Bauerle Bass has received funding from a number of organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Departments of Health, and independent pharma research grants from Gilead and Merck.

– ref. I’m an expert in crafting public health messages: Here are 3 marketing strategies I use to make Philadelphia healthier – https://theconversation.com/im-an-expert-in-crafting-public-health-messages-here-are-3-marketing-strategies-i-use-to-make-philadelphia-healthier-254905

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: 3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Cynthia H. Chuang, Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Penn State

Women living in states that ban or severely restrict abortion may be especially motivated to avoid unintended pregnancy. Viktoriya Skorikova/Moment via Getty Images

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated a nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states.

The Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has vastly reshaped the national abortion landscape. Three years on, many states have severely restricted access to abortion care. But the decision has also had a less well-recognized outcome: It is increasingly jeopardizing access to contraception.

We are a physician scientist and a sociologist and health services researcher studying women’s health care and policy, including access to contraception. We see a worrisome situation emerging.

Even while the growing limits on abortion in the U.S. heighten the need for effective contraception, family planning providers are less available in many states, and health insurance coverage of some of the most effective types of contraception is at risk.

A growing demand for contraception

Abortion restrictions have proliferated around the country since the Dobbs decision. As of June 2025, 12 states have near-total abortion bans and 10 states ban abortion before 23 or 24 weeks of gestation, which is when a fetus is generally deemed viable. Of the remaining states, 19 restrict abortion after viability and nine states and Washington have no gestational limits.

It’s no surprise that women living in states that ban or severely restrict abortion may be especially motivated to avoid unintended pregnancy. Even planned pregnancies have grown riskier, with health care providers fearing legal repercussions for treating pregnancy-related medical emergencies such as miscarriages. Such concerns may in part explain emerging research that suggests the use of long-acting contraception such as intrauterine devices, or IUDs, and permanent contraception – namely, sterilization – are on the rise.

A national survey conducted in 2024 asked women ages 18 to 49 if they have changed their contraception practices “as a result of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.” It found that close to 1 in 5 women began using contraception for the first time, switched to a more effective contraceptive method, received a sterilization procedure or purchased emergency contraception to keep on hand.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs reshaped the landscape of abortion access across the U.S.

A study in Ohio hospitals found a nearly 16% increase in women choosing long-acting contraception methods or sterilization in the six months after the Dobbs decision, and a 33% jump in men receiving vasectomies. Another study, which looked at both female and male sterilization in academic medical centers across the country, also reported an uptick in sterilization procedures for young adults ages 18 to 30 after the Dobbs decision, through 2023.

A loss of contraception providers

Ironically, banning or severely restricting abortion statewide may also diminish capacity to provide contraception.

To date, there is no compelling evidence that OB-GYN doctors are leaving states with strict abortion laws in significant numbers. One study found that states with severe abortion restrictions saw a 4.2% decrease in such practitioners compared with states without abortion restrictions.

However, the Association of American Medical Colleges reports declining applications to residency training programs located in states that have abortion bans – not just for OB-GYN training programs, but for residency training of all specialties. This drop suggests that doctors may be overall less likely to train in states that restrict medical practice. And given that physicians often stay on to practice in the states where they do their training, it may point to a long-term decline in physicians in those states.

But the most significant drop in contraceptive services likely comes from the closure of abortion clinics in states with the most restrictive abortion policies. That’s because such clinics generally provide a wide range of reproductive services, including contraception. The 12 states with near-total abortion bans had 57 abortion clinics in 2020, all of which were closed as of March 2024. One study reported a 4.1% decline in oral contraceptives dispensed in those states.

Contraception under threat

The Dobbs decision has also encouraged ongoing efforts to incorrectly redefine some of the most effective contraceptives as medications that cause abortion. These efforts target emergency contraceptive pills, known as Plan B over-the-counter and Ella by prescription, as well as certain IUDs. Emergency contraceptive pills are up to 98% effective at preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex, and IUDs are 99% effective.

Neither method terminates a pregnancy, which by definition begins when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. Instead, emergency contraceptive pills prevent an egg from being released from the ovaries, while IUDs, depending on the type, prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg or prevent an egg from implanting in the uterus.

Conflating contraception and abortion spreads misinformation and causes confusion. People who believe that certain types of contraception cause abortions may be dissuaded from using those methods and rely on less effective methods. What’s more, it may affect health insurance coverage.

Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income children and adults, has been required to cover family planning services at no cost to patients since 1972. Since 2012, the Affordable Care Act has required private health insurers to cover certain women’s health preventive services at no cost to patients, including the full-range of contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

According to our research, the insurance coverage required by the Affordable Care Act has increased use of IUDs, which can be prohibitively expensive when paid out of pocket. But if IUDs and emergency contraceptive pills were reclassified as interventions that induce abortion, they likely would not be covered by Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act, since neither type of health insurance requires coverage for abortion care. Thus, access to some of the most effective contraceptive methods could be jeopardized at a time when the right to terminate an unintended or nonviable pregnancy has been rolled back in much of the country.

Indeed, Project 2025, the conservative policy agenda that the Trump administration appears to be following, specifically calls for removing Ella from the Affordable Care Act contraception coverage mandate because it is a “potential abortifacient.” And politicians in multiple states have expressed support for the idea of restricting these contraceptive methods, as well as contraception more broadly.

On the third anniversary of the Dobbs decision, it is clear that its ripple effects include threats to contraception. Considering that contraception use is almost universal among women in their reproductive years, in our view these threats should be taken seriously.

Cynthia H. Chuang receives funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Carol S. Weisman 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. 3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk – https://theconversation.com/3-years-after-abortion-rights-were-overturned-contraception-access-is-at-risk-258458

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

June 24, 2025