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Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI Global: As Donald Trump cuts funding to Antarctica, will the US be forced off the icy continent?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Lynda Goldsworthy, Research Associate, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania

    Mozgova/Shutterstock

    President Donald Trump has begun eroding the United States presence in Antarctica by announcing deep funding cuts to his nation’s science and logistics on the icy continent.

    The Trump administration has significantly reduced funding for both Antarctica’s largest research and logistics station, McMurdo, and the National Science Foundation which funds US research in Antarctica.

    More cuts are foreshadowed. If carried through, US science and overall presence in Antarctica will be seriously diminished – at a time when China is significantly expanding its presence there.

    Since 1958, the US has been a leader in both Antarctic diplomacy and science. Shrinking its Antarctic presence will diminish US capacity to influence the region’s future.

    Why the US matters in Antarctica

    The US has historically focused its Antarctic influence in three key areas:

    1. Keeping Antarctica free from military conflict

    The US has built considerable Antarctic geopolitical influence since the late 1950s. Under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, it initiated (and later hosted) negotiations that led to the development of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty.

    It was also key to establishing the fundamental principles of the treaty, such as using the Antarctic region only for peaceful purposes, and prohibiting military activities and nuclear weapons testing.

    2. Governing Antarctica together

    The US was influential in developing the international legal system that governs human activities in the Antarctic region.

    In the 1970s, expanding unregulated fishing in the Southern Ocean led to serious concerns about the effects on krill-eating species – especially the recovery of severely depleted whale populations.

    The US joined other Antarctic Treaty nations to champion the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR), signed in 1980. It prioritises conservation of Southern Ocean ecosystems and all species, over maximum fish harvesting.

    The US also contributed to the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection. Among other measures it prohibits mining and designates Antarctica as “a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”.

    3. Scientific research and collaboration

    The US operates three year‑round Antarctic research stations: Palmer, Amundsen-Scott and McMurdo.

    McMurdo is Antarctica’s largest research station. Amundsen-Scott is located at the South Pole, the geographic centre of Antarctica, and the point at which all Antarctic territorial claims meet. The South Pole station is thus important symbolically and strategically, as well as for science.

    The US has the largest number of Antarctic scientists of any nation in the continent.

    US scientific work has been at the forefront of understanding Antarctica’s role in the global climate system, and how climate change will shape the future of the planet. It has also played a major role in Southern Ocean ecosystem and fisheries research.

    This research has underpinned important policies. For example, US input into models to predict and manage sustainable krill yields has been pivotal in regulating the krill fishery, and ensuring it doesn’t harm penguin, seal and whale populations.

    The US has also been a staunch supporter of a comprehensive network of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area proposed by the US and New Zealand is the largest in the world.

    A broad ripple effect

    The US influence in Antarctica extends beyond the list above. For example, the US has a significant Antarctic-based space program. And US citizens make up most Antarctic tourists, and the US plays a significant role in regulating tourism there.

    The full extent of the Trump administration’s cuts is still to play out. But clearly, if they proceed as signalled, the cuts will be a major blow not to just US interests in Antarctica, but those of many other countries.

    The US has the best-resourced logistics network in Antarctica. Its air transport, shipping and scientific field support has traditionally been shared by other countries. New Zealand, for instance, is closely tied with the US in resupply of food and fuel, and uses US air and sea logistics for many operations to the Ross Sea region.

    And joint research programs with the US will be affected by reduced funding in Antarctica directly, and elsewhere.

    For example, reported cuts to the climate programs of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) may hamper satellite coverage of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean. This would affect Australian scientists collecting data on ocean temperature, sea-ice state and other metrics used in climate research and weather forecasting.

    Worrying times ahead

    China has signalled its intention to be a key geopolitical player in Antarctica and has greatly expanded its Antarctic presence in recent years.

    China has five Antarctic research stations. Its sixth summer station is due for completion in 2027. China also operates two icebreaker ships, helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft in Antarctica and is building new, large krill trawlers.

    Both China and Russia, are increasingly active in their opposition to environmental initiatives such as marine protected areas.

    A smaller US presence creates greater opportunities for others to shape Antarctica’s geopolitics. This includes pressure to erode decades-long protection of the Antarctic environment, a push for more intensive fish and krill harvesting, and potentially reopening debate on mining in the region.

    Lynda Goldsworthy and Tony Press co-authored the chapter Power at the Bottom of the World in the new book Antarctica and the Earth System.

    A smaller US presence creates opportunities for others to shape Antarctica’s geopolitics.
    Oleksandr Matsibura/Shutterstock

    Lynda Goldsworthy, research associate with IMAS, UTAS, undertakes occasional contract work with the Deep Sea Conservation, is a member of AFMA’s SouthMac advisory group ) and of CSIRO National Benefit Advisory Committee.

    Tony Press receives funding from the Australia-Japan Foundation (Department of .Foreign Affairs and Trade)

    – ref. As Donald Trump cuts funding to Antarctica, will the US be forced off the icy continent? – https://theconversation.com/as-donald-trump-cuts-funding-to-antarctica-will-the-us-be-forced-off-the-icy-continent-254786

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Comet, rocket, space junk or meteor? Here’s how to tell your fireballs apart

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael J. I. Brown, Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University

    A blaze of light streaks across the sky, but what is it? Wendy Miller/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

    There’s a blaze of light across the sky! A fireball is seen by thousands, and mobile phone and dashcam footage soon appears on social media.

    But what have people just seen? A mix of social media hashtags suggests confusion about what has streaked overhead. Was it a Soviet Venus probe? Was it one of Elon Musk’s satellites or rockets? Was it a meteor? Was it a comet?

    While these objects have some similarities, there are crucial differences that can help us work out what just passed over our heads.

    Shooting stars, meteors and comets

    Shooting stars can often be seen on dark, clear nights in the countryside as brief flashes of light travelling across the sky. Usually, they are gone in just a second or two.

    To capture a shooting star with this level of detail, your camera settings need to be just right, because they are very brief flashes of light.
    Andrew Xu/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

    Shooting “stars” are not stars, of course. They are produced by dust and pebbles burning up high in the atmosphere, typically above 50km in altitude. Comets are often a source of this dust, and regular showers of shooting stars happen when Earth travels through comets’ orbits.

    Sometimes shooting stars burn with colours that reflect their composition – including iron, magnesium and calcium.

    Meteors and shooting stars are actually the same thing. But when people talk about meteors, they often mean bigger and brighter events – bolides. Bolides result from rocks and boulders plunging into Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in bright flashes of light that can outshine all the stars and planets in the night sky.

    Bolides can reach the lower atmosphere and sometimes produce audible sonic booms. Occasionally pieces of the bolide – meteorites – even make it to Earth’s surface.

    The Chelyabinsk fireball was a bolide.

    While bolides can survive longer than shooting stars, they also don’t last for long. As they are initially travelling at tens of kilometres per second, they don’t take long to traverse the atmosphere.

    The Chelyabinsk meteor, the largest bolide known to impact Earth in over a century, shone brightly for only 20 seconds or so.

    If you see something blaze across the sky, it almost certainly isn’t a comet. Comets are so far away from us that their vast speeds are imperceptible to the human eye. Furthermore, while comets are sometimes depicted as fiery, their glow is more subtle.

    Space junk

    Maybe the bright flash you just saw was space junk? Perhaps. The number of orbital rocket launches and satellites has increased rapidly in recent years, and this has resulted in some spectacular reentries, which are often discarded rocket stages.

    Like meteors, space junk travels at vast speeds as it travels through the atmosphere and it begins burning up spectacularly. Also like meteors, you can see colours indicative of the materials burning up, such as steel and aluminium. However, there are a few things that distinguish space junk from meteors.

    When rockets and satellites are launched into orbit, they typically travel along paths that roughly follow Earth’s curvature. So when space junk begins to enter the atmosphere, it’s often travelling almost horizontally.

    Space junk also travels at slower speeds than shooting stars and meteorites, entering Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 8km/s rather than tens of kilometres per second.

    Because of these factors, space junk can take minutes to enter the atmosphere and travels hundreds of kilometres in the process. Over this time, the space junk will slow down and break up into pieces, and the more solidly constructed parts might make it down to Earth.

    The slower pace of space junk fireballs gives people time to grab phones, take footage and post on social media, perhaps with a little colourful commentary added for good measure.

    A Russian rocket reenters the atmosphere over south eastern Australia.

    Rockets

    While space junk can produce a light show, rockets can also put on amazing displays. If you happen to be near Cape Canaveral or Vandenberg Space Force Base in the United States, or Wairoa in Aotearoa New Zealand, then it’s not unexpected to see a rocket launch. You get smoke, flames and thundering noise.

    But in other parts of the world you may get a different view of rockets.

    Rockets that bring satellites into our orbit accelerate to 8km/s. As they do, they travel many hundreds of kilometres at over 100km altitude. American satellite launches often travel near the coast, passing major cities including Los Angeles.

    As rockets approach orbit, they are more subtle than the flames and noise of liftoff. Rockets produce plumes of exhaust gases that rapidly and silently expand in the vacuum of space.

    While these plumes are typically seen near launch sites, they can be visible elsewhere, too.

    Sometimes rocket engines are ignited after reaching an initial orbit to boost satellites to higher orbits, send probes into the Solar System or slow rockets down for reentry. Rockets may also vent excess fuel into space, again producing plumes or spirals of gases. While not necessarily a common occurrence, these have been seen all over the world.

    A deorbit burn over Western Europe.

    Do look up

    There’s a lot to see in the night sky – the familiar Moon, stars and planets. But there’s the unexpected, too – something blazing across the sky in minutes or even mere seconds. While fireballs may be puzzling at first, they are often recognisable and we can figure out what we’ve just witnessed.

    Have you had the good fortune to see a fireball for yourself? If not, pop outside on a clear dark night. Perhaps you will see something unexpected.

    Michael J. I. Brown receives research funding from the Australian Research Council and Monash University.

    – ref. Comet, rocket, space junk or meteor? Here’s how to tell your fireballs apart – https://theconversation.com/comet-rocket-space-junk-or-meteor-heres-how-to-tell-your-fireballs-apart-213083

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day observed in China

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

    National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day observed in China

    Updated: May 12, 2025 09:16 Xinhua
    An aerial drone photo taken on May 10, 2025 shows volunteers from the University of South China demonstrating cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills to students in Hengyang City, central China’s Hunan Province. China observes the National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day on May 12 each year. Various publicity, drill and training activities are carried out across China to improve public awareness of scientific disaster prevention and self-rescue. [Photo/Xinhua]
    Rescuers participate in a water rescue drill at Lvjin Lake in Huaibei City, east China’s Anhui Province, May 11, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    An aerial drone photo shows rescuers conducting a drill navigating speedboats to save individuals trapped on isolated islands in the river in Jindong District of Jinhua City, east China’s Zhejiang Province, May 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
    A firefighter introduces the use of escape ropes to students at a middle school in Pengshan District of Meishan City, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, May 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China to ramp up teacher training

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

    Students present flowers to their teachers at a primary school in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, March 6, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

    China will focus on building high-level teacher training universities over the next five years as part of broader efforts to enhance the country’s teacher education system and capabilities, according to a recent notice.

    Issued by the Ministry of Education and the National Development and Reform Commission, the notice emphasizes combining hard infrastructure investment with soft capacity development, prioritizing the cultivation of future teachers’ scientific literacy and practical skills. Key objectives include building first-class teacher education colleges, specialized disciplines and curricula.

    Reforms will be carried out in existing teacher training programs, integrating undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Practical training and teaching will account for a larger portion of the curriculum for education majors, who will be required to complete more than 18 weeks of mock teaching, the notice said.

    Universities will also be encouraged to have their faculty members participate in training primary and secondary school teachers. Such contributions will be considered in evaluations for higher professional titles and awards, it said.

    More resources will be allocated to teacher training colleges in underdeveloped regions, the notice added.

    Funding will be coordinated through central government budgets, ultra-long-term special national bonds and local special government bonds.

    The ministry and NDRC will plan institutional layouts based on teacher training needs, setting basic criteria for eligible institutions. Local governments will provide guidance and support, with implementation rolled out in phases based on institutional preparedness and detailed plans, the notice said.

    Last year, China had 18.91 million teachers at all education levels, according to the Ministry of Education.

    In 2023, 78 percent of primary school teachers and 93 percent of middle school teachers held bachelor’s degrees or higher, said Li Yongzhi, president of the China National Academy of Educational Sciences.

    The central leadership has attached great importance to teacher training and has repeatedly stressed the need to improve teacher quality, he said.

    China has 226 teacher training universities and nearly 600 universities offering teaching degrees, Li said. A recent initiative has supported recruiting postgraduate students from top universities to teach in primary and secondary schools.

    Teacher salaries have steadily improved, and the goal of ensuring that primary and middle school teachers receive pay no lower than that of local government officials has been largely achieved, he said.

    The central government has invested tens of billions of yuan in improving the working and living conditions of rural teachers in less-developed regions, he added.

    University faculty members have also become a major force in high-tech innovation. More than 40 percent of academicians at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and nearly 70 percent of recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, are employed at higher education institutions, Li said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN honours with Traditional Māori Welcome at the University of Auckland

    Source: ASEAN

    In his first official engagement in New Zealand and during his visit to the University of Auckland, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, was formally welcomed with a Pōwhiri — a traditional Māori ceremony of hospitality and respect. Dr. Kao expressed his deep appreciation to the University for the warm reception and the opportunity to engage in such a meaningful cultural experience during his visit.

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN honours with Traditional Māori Welcome at the University of Auckland appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland

    Source: ASEAN

    Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, today met with Professor Dawn Freshwater, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland, to explore opportunities for deepening collaboration between universities in ASEAN and in  New Zealand. Their discussion focused on advancing academic and research partnerships to support education and regional development.

    The post Secretary-General of ASEAN meets with Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-Evening Report: A prisoner voting ban shows again how few checks there are on parliamentary power

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Winter, Associate Professor in Political Theory, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

    Getty Images

    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith’s recent announcement that the government would reinstate a total ban on prisoners voting was in keeping with the coalition’s overall tough-on-crime approach.

    The move was called “ridiculous” and “stupid” by opposition spokespeople, largely because it contradicted findings by the Supreme Court and the Waitangi Tribunal.

    But behind those concerns about the ban placing an “unreasonable limit on the electoral rights guaranteed under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act” lies a broader constitutional question to do with parliament’s relationship with the courts.

    In short, removing prisoner voting rights will damage a critical but fragile check on government power – what is known as the “judicial declaration of inconsistency”.

    An ‘executive paradise’

    New Zealand has been described as an “executive paradise” by constitutional lawyer and former prime minister Geoffrey Palmer. There is no upper house, no federal structure, and the courts lack the power to strike down unconstitutional legislation.

    The constitution itself is a collection of statutes and conventions that, for the most part, can be changed by a simple parliamentary majority. The 1990 Bill of Rights Act is a cornerstone of that constitution, but is an ineffectual check on government power.

    When parliament considers a bill that is potentially inconsistent with “the human rights and fundamental freedoms” set out in the Bill of Rights, the attorney-general delivers a report explaining the inconsistencies.

    This is supposed to be a deterrent, and one might think it would be the end of the matter. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Adverse attorney-general reports have appeared regularly (there have been 15 since 2021) without blocking legislation.

    Parliament’s habit of passing legislation that does not comply with the Bill of Rights is why the recently developed judicial declaration of inconsistency is constitutionally important.

    The declaration is a “soft” legal power. It doesn’t strike down laws or rewrite them. Rather, it is a “weak form” of review that enables affected citizens to petition the court to declare a law inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. This should then spur parliament to fix the problem.

    The declaration aims to start a constitutional dialogue between the two branches of government. Enabling citizens to hold parliament accountable, it is a vital instrument in a system otherwise heavily dominated by the executive branch.

    Constitutional dialogue in action

    The High Court issued the first such declaration in the case of Taylor vs Attorney-General in 2015, declaring a total ban on prisoners voting was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act. The government appealed, but the Supreme Court affirmed the declaration in a landmark 2018 decision.

    What happened next, however, was just as important. If the declaration was to initiate a constitutional dialogue, it was up to parliament to respond – which it did. In 2020, it rescinded the ban on voting for prisoners incarcerated for less than three years.

    Then, in 2022, it amended the Bill of Rights to require the attorney-general to notify parliament when a superior court issues a declaration of inconsistency. And it required a ministerial report to parliament on the government’s response within six months.

    Those measures put in place a framework for constitutional dialogues. And this process played out in the next (and to date only) declaration of inconsistency. This was in 2022, when the Supreme Court declared prohibiting 16-year-olds from voting was inconsistent with the Bill of Rights.

    In 2023, the government tabled its response and introduced a bill to enable 16-year-olds to vote in local elections. The government initially announced it would do the same for parliamentary elections. But that idea was dropped when it became clear this wouldn’t get the necessary super-majority support of 75% of MPs.

    Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann: courts and parliament could work together.
    Getty Images

    An over-powered parliament

    Although modest, parliament’s responses were constitutionally important because they modelled a new framework for accountability. Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann suggested the process illustrated how courts and parliament could work together in the “gradual and collaborative elaboration” of New Zealand’s constitution.

    An evolving constitutional dialogue would enable the courts to pose a modest check on New Zealand’s over-powered parliament. So, those who hoped they were seeing the dawn of a new constitutional convention will be disheartened by the move to ban all prisoners from voting.

    The current government has already terminated the bill enabling 16-year-olds to vote, without mentioning this contradicted the Supreme Court’s declaration of inconsistency.

    Should parliament now ban prisoner voting, it will have nullified all substantial responses to declarations of inconsistency. That would be a profound constitutional setback.

    Parliament regularly flouts the Bill of Rights. We are now seeing it double down by rolling back its previous responses to judicial declarations.

    New Zealanders already have comparatively little constitutional protection from parliament. Reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting will undermine the practice of constitutional dialogue between the two branches of government. And it will weaken a fragile check on government power.

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

    – ref. A prisoner voting ban shows again how few checks there are on parliamentary power – https://theconversation.com/a-prisoner-voting-ban-shows-again-how-few-checks-there-are-on-parliamentary-power-256226

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Footy’s ‘code wars’ are back, but which is actually the No. 1 Australian sport: the NRL or AFL?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney

    NRL Photos, Matt Turner/AAP, Wikimedia, The Conversation, CC BY

    Every now and then, so-called “code wars” erupt between the major Australia winter football codes: the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football League (AFL).

    This animosity likely stems from a phenomenon known as “the Barassi Line”, a cultural and geographical divide based on football preference which runs from Eden, NSW, through Canberra and up to Arnhem Land.



    Read more:
    The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia’s footy fans

    Recently, NRL chair Peter V’Landys claimed victory over the AFL in a strongly worded salvo:

    Rugby league has reaffirmed its standing as the No. 1 sporting code in Australia and the Pacific after the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) announced record-breaking attendances, TV audiences, participation, revenue and assets.

    But is he right to state the NRL as Australia’s No. 1 sport?

    A uniquely Australian battle

    The battleground in Australia is unique: most nations have only one major football code, soccer. Australia though has four – Australian rules football (AFL), rugby league (NRL), soccer and rugby union.

    More competition is good for the consumer and, in this case, the consumer is the Aussie sports fan.

    The way these fans watch, play and pour money into each sport is closely tracked by each league. And the competition for talent, fans, sponsors and eyeballs via TV, digital media and streaming grows every year.

    Thanks to Australian sports media experts SportsIndustryAU, we can now make a direct comparison between the codes.

    What the numbers say

    It’s important to note the NRL’s recent chest-beating refers to audiences in Australia and the Pacific, explaining the code’s push into Papua New Guinea (PNG) and potentially further expansion in New Zealand.



    Read more:
    Sports diplomacy: why the Australian government is spending $600 million on a new NRL team in PNG

    In terms of revenue, the AFL earned 39% more than the NRL in 2024: $1.04 billion compared to the NRL’s $744.8 million.

    In terms of profit, the NRL’s was 51% higher than the AFL in 2024. This was in large part due to the NRL having only half the operational expenses of the AFL.

    However, if we look at operating profit (gross profit minus operating expenses), the AFL was 13% higher than the NRL before it made its annual distributions to clubs. The AFL distributes its profits among its 18 clubs, with smaller clubs receiving more than the more powerful teams.

    In terms of net assets (the value of an organisation’s assets minus its liabilities), the AFL is also richer: it has net assets of $482.3 million compared to $322.4 million for the NRL. The AFL owns Marvel Stadium and a share in the sports data and analytics company Champion Data. By comparison, the NRL has shares in many hotels.

    In terms of TV audience, the NRL was 10% larger in terms of average aggregated audiences for free-to-air and paid subscription services in 2024: 153.7 million to the AFL’s 140.3 million. However, AFL matches go longer and the season features more games than the NRL. Also, these figures do not include streaming numbers, which will be part of future broadcast deals.

    In terms of attendance and membership, the AFL is a clear winner.

    The AFL welcomed 8.4 million fans through the gate in 2024, compared to 4.3 million for the NRL.

    For membership, the AFL’s clubs boasted 1.32 million collectively in 2024. In the NRL, there are slightly more than 400,000 club members (based on club data – the NRL does not release membership data).

    In terms of participation, Ausplay – a national tracking survey led by the Australian Sports Commission – estimates 641,390 Aussie rules players, compared to 531,323 for rugby league (which includes touch football and Oztag).

    No clear-cut answer

    While more of the numbers point to an AFL advantage, this heavyweight battle will never be completely settled, and both codes’ future expansion plans will further muddy the waters.

    The NRL has just announced the Perth Bears will join in 2027 or 2028. This team revives the old North Sydney Bears with a new Western Australia base. This will bring the number of NRL clubs to 19.

    A possible 20th team is slated for New Zealand, or Ipswich in the western Brisbane corridor.

    Similarly, the AFL is expanding, first to Tasmania, which is set to become its 19th club in 2028.

    Beyond that, it’s possible the league will look to the Northern Territory, Canberra or another team in Western Australia or South Australia to join as the 20th team.

    One key advantage for the NRL is its international appeal.

    For two years, it has hosted games in Las Vegas. And after the NRL’s successful Magic Round in Brisbane, CEO Andrew Abdo floated the possibility of taking the event overseas, with Hong Kong and Dubai reportedly expressing interest.

    Of course, as a domestic game, Australian rules football cannot logically expand beyond our shores.

    But whether beyond our boundaries or within, the NRL vs AFL rivalry will continue, and an unequivocal winner will never really be settled on.

    Tim Harcourt 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. Footy’s ‘code wars’ are back, but which is actually the No. 1 Australian sport: the NRL or AFL? – https://theconversation.com/footys-code-wars-are-back-but-which-is-actually-the-no-1-australian-sport-the-nrl-or-afl-256088

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • Study finds how obesity is linked to long Covid

    Source: Government of India

    Source: Government of India (2)

    lass=”selectable-text copyable-text x15bjb6t x1n2onr6″ dir=”ltr”>People with excess weight are more likely to experience long-term neurological and mental health symptoms after Covid-19, including headaches, vertigo, smell and taste disorders, sleep disturbances, and depression, according to new research.

    The study was conducted by visiting PhD scholar Debora Barbosa Ronca from the Edith Cowan University (ECU) Centre of Precision Health.

    “We anticipated some level of association between excess weight and post-Covid-19 symptoms based on prior evidence linking obesity with worse long-term Covid-19 outcomes. What stood out was the consistency of findings across a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms—including memory problems, depression, sleep disturbances, and sensory impairments,” said Ronca.

    She noted that while the study did not include subgroup analyses by ethnicity, the inclusion of data from 23 countries suggested the global relevance of the findings.

    Excess weight has been associated with the development of long Covid—or Post-Covid-19 Condition—as defined by the World Health Organization.

    While the mechanisms behind this link are not yet fully understood, Ronca suggested it may be related to an exaggerated inflammatory response caused by excess fatty tissue in the body. Additionally, fat tissue may assist the SARS-CoV-2 virus in entering the body and act as a reservoir, allowing it to spread.

    Some studies have shown that long Covid symptoms can persist for 12 months or longer, highlighting the need for long-term medical support.

    “These symptoms can significantly impact quality of life and may linger for months. As we face overlapping public health challenges in the post-pandemic era—such as long Covid, mental health issues, and rising obesity rates—it’s essential to develop personalised and multidisciplinary care strategies to support affected individuals,” Ronca added.

    She emphasised that healthcare providers should be aware that individuals with excess weight may face a higher risk of experiencing long-term neurological and mental health symptoms after Covid-19.

    “This population may require closer monitoring and integrated care. Combining weight management, mental health support, and rehabilitation into post-Covid care plans could improve patient outcomes,” she said.

    (ANI)

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘We’re just doing our best’ – cultural backlash hits Auckland kava business

    By Coco Lance, RNZ Pacific digital journalist

    A new Auckland-based kava business has found itself at the heart of a cultural debate, with critics raising concerns about appropriation, authenticity, and the future of kava as a deeply rooted Pacific tradition.

    Vibes Kava, co-founded by Charles Byram and Derek Hillen, operates out of New Leaf Kombucha taproom in Grey Lynn.

    The pair launched the business earlier this year, promoting it as a space for connection and community.

    Byram, a Kiwi-American of Samoan descent, returned to Aotearoa after growing up in the United States. Hillen, originally from Canada, moved to New Zealand 10 years ago.

    Both say they discovered kava during the covid-19 pandemic and credit it with helping them shift away from alcohol.

    “We wanted to create something that brings people together in a healthier way,” the pair said.

    However, their vision has been met with growing criticism, with people saying the business lacks cultural depth, misrepresents tradition, and risks commodifying a sacred practice.

    Context and different perspectives
     Tensions escalated after Vibes Kava posted a promotional video on Instagram, describing their offering as “a modern take on a 3000-year-old tradition” and “a lifestyle shift, one shell at a time”.

    On their website, Hillen is referred to as a “kava evangelist,” while videos feature Byram hosting casual kava circles and promoting fortnightly “kava socials.”

    The kava they sell is bottled, with tag names referencing the effects of each different kava bottle — for example, “buzzy kava” and “chill kava”.

    Their promotional content was later reposted on TikTok by a prominent Pacific influencer, prompting an influx of online input about the legitimacy of their business and the diversity of their kava circles.

    The reposted video has since received more than 95,000 views, 1600 shares, and 11,000 interactions.

    In the TikTok caption, the influencer questioned the ethical foundations of the business.

    “I would like to know what type of ethics was put into the creation of this . . . who was consulted, and said it was okay to make a brand out of a tradition?”

    Criticised the brand’s aesthetic
    Speaking to RNZ Pacific anonymously, the influencer criticised the brand’s aesthetic and messaging, describing it as “exploitative”.

    “Their website and Instagram portray trendy, wellness-style branding rather than a proud celebration of authentic Pacific customs or values,” they said.

    “I feel like co-owner Charles appears to use his Samoan heritage as a buffer against the backlash he’s received.

    “Not to discredit his identity in any way; he is Samoan, and seems like a proud Samoan too.

    “However, that should be reflected consistently in their branding. What’s currently shown on their website and Instagram is a mix of Fijian kava practice served in a Samoan tanoa. That to me is confusing and dilutes cultural authenticity.”

    Fiji academic Dr Apo Aporosa said much of the misunderstanding stems from a narrow perception of kava as simply being a beverage.

    “Most people who think they are using kava are not,” Aporosa said.

    ‘Detached from culture’
    “What they’re consuming may contain Piper methysticum, but it’s detached from the cultural framework that defines what kava actually is.”

    Aporosa said it is important to recognise kava as both a substance and a practice — one that involves ceremony, structure, and values.

    “It is used to nurture vā, the relational space between people, and is traditionally accompanied by specific customs: woven mats, the tanoa bowl, coconut shell cups (bilo or ipu), and a shared sense of respect and order.”

    He said that the commodification of kava, through flavoured drink extracts and Western “wellness” branding, is concerning, and that it distorts the plant’s original purpose.

    “When people repackage kava without understanding or respecting the culture it comes from, it becomes cultural appropriation,” he said.

    He added that it is not about restricting access to kava — it is about protecting its cultural integrity and honouring the knowledge Pacific communities have preserved for upwards of 2000 years.

    Fijian students at the Victoria University of Wellington conduct a sevusevu (kava ceremony) to start off Fiji Language Week. Image: RNZ Pacific/Koroi Hawkins

    ‘We can’t just gatekeep — we need to guide’
     Dr Edmond Fehoko, is a renowned Tongan academic and senior lecturer at Otago University, garnered international attention for his research on the experiences and perceptions of New Zealand-born Tongan men who participate in faikava.

    He said these situations are layered.

    “I see the cultural appreciation side of things, and I see the cultural appropriation side of things,” Fehoko said.

    “It is one of the few practices we hold dearly to our heart, and that is somewhat indigenous to our Pacific people — it can’t be found anywhere else.

    “Hence, it holds a sacred place in our society. But, we as a peoples, have actually not done a good enough job to raise awareness of the practice to other societies, and now it’s a race issue, that only Pacific people have the rights to this — and I don’t think that is the case anymore.”

    He explained that it is part of a broader dynamic around kava’s globalisation — and that for many people, both Pacific and non-Pacific, kava is an “interesting and exciting space, where all types of people, and all genders, come in and feel safe”.

    “Yes, that is moving away from the cultural, customary way of things. But, we need to find new ways, and create new opportunities, to further disseminate our knowledge.

    ‘Not the same today’
    “Our kava practice is not the same today as it was 10, 20 years ago. Kava practices have evolved significantly across generations.

    “There are over 200 kava bars in the United States . . . kava is one of the few traditions that is uniquely Pacific. But our understanding of it has to evolve too. We can’t just gatekeep — we need to guide,” he said.

    Dr Edmond Fehoko . . . “Kava practices have evolved significantly across generations.” Image: RNZ Pacific/ Sara Vui-Talitu

    He added that the issue of kava being commercialised by non-Pacific people cannot necessarily be criticised.

    “It’s two-fold, and quite contradictory,” he said, adding that the criticism against these ventures often overlooks the parallel ways in which Pacific communities are also reshaping and profiting from the tradition.

    “We argue that non-Pacific people are profiting off our culture, but the truth is, many of us are too,” he said.

    “A minority have extensive knowledge of kava . . . and if others want to appreciate our culture, let them take it further with us, instead of the backlash.

    “If these lads are enjoying a good time and have the same vibe . . . the only difference is the colour of their skin, and the language they are using, which has become the norm in our kava practices as well.

    “But here, we have an opportunity to educate people on the importance of our practice. Let’s raise awareness. Kava is a practice we can use as a vehicle, or medium, to navigate these spaces.”

    Vibes Kava co-founder Charles Byram . . . It’s tough to be this person and then get hurt online, without having a conversation with me. Nobody took the time to ask those questions.” Image: Brady Dyer/BradyDyer.com/RNZ Pacific

    ‘Getting judged for the colour of my skin’
     “I completely understand the points that have been brought up,” Byram said in response to the criticism.

    Tearing up, he said that was one of the most difficult things to swallow was backlash fixated on his cultural identity.

    “I felt like I was getting judged for the colour of my skin, and for not understanding who I was or what I was trying to accomplish. If my skin was a bit darker, I might have been given some more grace.

    “I was raised in a Samoan household. My grandfather is Samoan . . . my mum is Samoan. It’s tough to be this person and then get hurt online, without having a conversation with me. Nobody took the time to ask those questions,” he said.

    The pair also pushed back on claims they are focused on profit.

    “We went there to learn, to dive into the culture. We went to a lot of kava bars, interviewed farmers, just to understand the origin of kava, how it works within a community, and then how best to engage with, and showcase it,” Byram said.

    “People have criticised that we are profiting — we’re making no money at this point. All the money we make from this kava has gone back to the farmers in Vanuatu.”

    Representing a minority
    Hillen thinks those criticising them represent a minority.

    “We have a lot of Pasifika customers that come here [and] they support us.

    “They are ecstatic their culture is being promoted this way, and love what we are doing. The negative response from a minority part of the population was surprising to us.”

    Critics had argued that the business showcased confusing blends of different cultural approaches.

    Byram and Hillen said that it is up to other people to investigate and learn about the cultures, and that they are simply trying to acknowledge all of them.

    Byram, however, added that the critics brought up some good points — and that this will be a catalyst for change within their business.

    “Yesterday, we joined the Pacific Business Hub. We are [taking] steps to integrate more about the culture, community, and what we are trying to accomplish here.”

    They also addressed their initial silence and comment moderation.

    ‘Cycle so self-perpetuating’
    “I think the cycle was so self-perpetuating, so I was like . . . I need to make sure I respond with candor, concern, and active communication.

    “So I deleted comments and put a pause on things, so we could have some space before the comments get out of hand.

    “At the end of the day . . . this is about my connection with my culture and people more than anything, and I’m excited to grow from it. I’m learning, and I’m utilising this as a growth point. We’re just doing our best,” Byram said.

    Hillen added: “You have to understand, this business is super new, so we’re still figuring out how best to do things, how to market and grow along with not only the community.

    “What we really want to represent as people who care about, and believe in this.”

    Byram said they want to acknowledge as many peoples as possible.

    “We don’t want to create ceremony or steal anything from the culture. We really just want to celebrate it, and so again, we acknowledge the concern,” he added.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Major brands don’t need to kowtow to Trump: they have the power to bring people together

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Beverland, Professor of Brand Management, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex

    Whatever you think of his personality or politics, it’s impossible to deny the success of Donald Trump as a brand. Supporters and detractors across the world are transfixed by his second term as US president.

    And so far, many corporate brands appear keen to get alongside him. The leaders of Tesla, Amazon and Meta were all prominent guests at Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.

    By then, Mark Zuckerberg had already shifted company policy on fact checking to be more aligned with the political wind. Weeks later, retail giants Walmart and Target had rolled back diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

    Even the NFL, which had so infuriated Trump in his first term with its support for diversity, has come to heel.

    So now that Trump is back in town, is the only option available to big US organisations to swing to the right? Well, not necessarily.

    Our research suggests that the rise of populism actually represents an opportunity for brands to rebuild a sense of shared national identity.

    And the most well-known brands are the best placed to do this. Their familiar place in people’s everyday lives gives them huge power as non-political agents of collective identity which can cross divides of race, class, geography and age.

    A great example of this was during the presidential election campaign when Trump’s team wanted to organise a publicity stunt involving the Republican candidate “working” at a branch of McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.

    Trump’s love of the golden arches is well known, but McDonald’s is a strongly non-political brand. So what should it do? Refuse and risk a backlash, or accept and be accused of taking sides?

    In the end, the company’s response was a masterclass in neutrality.

    McDonald’s told its employees that the company was neither red (Republican) nor blue (Democrat), but golden. Referring to both presidential candidates’ love of McDonald’s, the company made it clear that the permission granted to Trump illustrated one of their core values, stating: “We open our doors for everyone”.

    The plan worked. And this was partly down to McDonald’s being widely thought of as an authentic brand which connects people.

    Research has shown that people really value a company’s place in local communities. And McDonald’s is a place which hosts children’s birthday parties, where you can catch up with friends, where you might even have had your first ever job.

    This kind of power to unify is something other brands can do too. As something our earlier research shows, brands can benefit from bringing people together, by creating a sense of shared identity.

    Brand new

    In New Zealand for example, ANZ Bank was widely applauded for a campaign featuring Indian immigrants. The advert tells the story of a father and son and their mixed cricketing loyalties (the parent to India, the child to New Zealand).

    It is a tale of immigrants achieving their version of the national dream, through hard work and trademark Kiwi humour. This kind of narrative-driven campaign does not pitch one side against another, but instead highlights the things that bind people together.

    Similarly in the UK, the department store John Lewis has become a seasonal advertising staple as it reminds customers of their shared rituals over Christmas. And Kraft’s “How do you love your Vegemite” campaign allowed new immigrants to participate in local snacking rituals, helping them feel Australian.

    In the US, a 1971 Coca Cola commercial (one of the most lauded adverts ever) presented a united multi-cultural collection of young people as a response to the anti-Vietnam war counter-culture.

    So far, American brands have struggled to navigate the ever-shifting pronouncements coming from the White House in Trump’s second term. Amazon for example, quickly went back on its decision to list the cost of tariffs on products after it was branded a “hostile move”.

    But one brand does stand out. And that’s Ford.

    Perhaps it was inevitable that the car maker which came to symbolise successful 20th century American manufacturing would get this right. And the company’s decision to extend employee discounts to all consumers in what it describes as “unprecedented times” is a clever move.

    Some might call it a cynical tactic to embrace Trump’s tariffs and encourage Americans to buy American. But the firm (which will likely take a huge hit from more expensive imported parts and materials) is doing much more than that.

    Its new campaign (with the slogan “From America for America”) reminds US citizens that the brand is part of their lives, regardless of their political home. Supportive full-page print ads go further, setting out the firm’s long history spent backing the people of America.

    One Ford executive says that the campaign is about “authenticity” and Ford being a brand “that all consumers can rely on, especially in these uncertain times”.

    Authenticity is much prized when the political landscape is so polarised. And while divisions cannot be healed solely by brands, they can help to remind us of shared values and a sense of community. And in doing so, dial down those political tensions.

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

    – ref. Major brands don’t need to kowtow to Trump: they have the power to bring people together – https://theconversation.com/major-brands-dont-need-to-kowtow-to-trump-they-have-the-power-to-bring-people-together-249401

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Homer’s Iliad is a rap battle

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Forstenzer, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Co-Director of the Centre for Engaged Philosophy, University of Sheffield

    The Anger of Achilles by Jacques-Louis David (1819). Kimbell Art Museum

    Homer’s Iliad is one of the foundational stories of European civilisation. The Iliad is a long poem – an epic – thought to have first been put down in writing in the eighth century BC, though the story is set several hundred years before, perhaps as early as the 12th or 13th century BC.

    It explores a few crucial violent weeks within a much longer war between an alliance of Greek city-states and the city of Troy over Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. In it, we find ancient Greek gods and humans sharing a common reality. They concurrently star as the central characters of both a mythological and an earthly dramatic encounter, on which the fate of a people rests.

    In his work, public philosopher Cornel West argues that there is a “gangster” inside all of us. The challenge, West teaches, is to learn to keep these “gangster elements” in check so that we can still live with decency and integrity in an often violent and unjust world. This struggle, I contend, is at the heart of both Homer’s Iliad and the art of battle rap.

    This article is part of Rethinking the Classics. The stories in this series offer insightful new ways to think about and interpret classic books and artworks. This is the canon – with a twist.

    Battle rap is an art form where two or more MCs confront one another in a freestyle rap that includes boasts, insults, wordplay and disses (related to but not to be confused with rap beefs like the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud).

    The history of this kind of verbal jousting goes back at least to flyting – poetic duels usually involving rhyming insults, widespread in northern Europe in the late medieval era. (See Assassin’s Creed Valhalla for its recent reimagining.) And it also has African roots. But its latest iteration is thought to have emerged in the hip-hop scene in New York in the 1980s. The 1981 Busy Bee versus Kool Moe Dee battle at the Harlem World club in New York is an important part of hip-hop lore.



    Read more:
    A brief history of the diss track – from the Roxanne Wars to Megan Thee Stallion

    The rap battles featured in 8 Mile brought the scene mainstream attention.

    It was arguably the 2002 film 8 Mile, however, that starred real battle rap legend, Eminem, that made the art form well known beyond hardcore rap aficionados. Today it is a pop culture streaming event, with millions of followers and official leagues.

    The object of a battle rap is to display flow, braggadocio and quick wit. Humour is often a plus, but lyrically dexterous, rhythmic, creative “burns” are the name of the game.

    So what do the Iliad and battle rap have in common?

    Both art forms encourage us, the listeners, to react, reflect and ultimately select with which speaker to side. We are thrust into the centre of the action without much of a narrator to explain things.

    Both the Iliad and rap battles are part of the oral poetic tradition, since we think the Iliad was orally recited for generations before it was put down in writing. They are therefore both addressed to a live audience.

    Emily Wilson, who translated The Iliad in 2023, gives a lively contemporary reading.

    The Iliad is a story of war between Greeks and Trojans, but also of “beefs”. Menelaus versus Paris over the hand of Helen. Achilles versus Agamemnon, the king of the Greeks who wrongs him by expropriating one of his slaves. And Achilles versus Hector, the Trojan prince who kills Patroclus, Achilles’s closest friend.

    The high moment of the poem is arguably the encounter between Achilles and Hector. Before they battle to the death, Hector offers Achilles a deal: whoever wins won’t disrespect the other’s body.

    In response, Achilles belows: “Curse you, Hector, and don’t talk of oaths to me. Lions and men make no compacts, nor are wolves and lambs in sympathy: they are opposed, to the end. You and I are beyond friendship: nor will there be peace until one or the other dies.”

    Achilles is calling out Hector’s attempt at showing nobility of character, because Hector tries to separate the duty to wage conflict from rage and disrespect of his enemy. Achilles flatly rejects the proposal. For him, the only reason to fight is to satiate his grief-induced rage and so no respect can be given even after death.

    The battle of Hector and Achilles as imagined in Troy (2004).

    Ultimately, Achilles kills Hector and desecrates his body, but Hector was clearly the better man. Two worldviews collide. Which one should we side with?

    In a battle rap, the question of how we judge which MC to be victorious is always at stake. Do we side with the MC who best “rocks the mic” by pleasing the audience, or the one who more lyrically and intelligently cuts the opponent to the bone?

    Here are five more themes shared by The Iliad and battle rap.

    1. The pursuit of fame

    Battle rap has made gifted MCs into street rap legends. Long before record deals were the prize, MCs battled for respect and street fame.

    This pursuit of legendary status also lies at the very heart of The Iliad, as Achilles is warned by his mother, the goddess Thetis, that he will die if he fights in the Trojan war, but in return his “glory never dies”.

    2. Communal belonging

    Battle rappers and the warriors in The Iliad act in their own name but they also represent wider groups heralding from different places. They all, in some way, carry responsibility for and aim to bring reflected fame to their respective communities.

    3. Displaying skill

    Most battle raps take the form of a take down of the opponent, but the real object is to demonstrate verbal prowess. Simply entertaining will not cut it. “You now have to make sense of what you say, in order for us to give you the power,” summarises hip-hop legend KRS-One.

    The Iliad opens with a muse telling the audience that the epic will recount the “wrath of Achilles”, but in fact we find skilful interventions in speech that make us wonder whether the reasons for conflict can ever justify the grief it causes.

    4. An honour code

    What is truly worth living and dying for are central themes in The Iliad, as in battle rap. There we find talk of loyalty, honour, respect, courage, friendship and fame.

    The overt answers given can be taken as embraces of a certain kind of toxic masculinity where dominance, rage, cunning and violence are celebrated, but maybe these answers subtly point to their ultimate hollowness.

    Lurking behind the repeated injunction to “be the best”, battle rap and Homer’s epic invite the question of what is truly worth admiring: skill, dominance, wealth, integrity, courage, beauty, truth, justice, love or glory? They provide no singular answer.

    5. Creativity and living within the ‘funk’ of life

    Instead, we are left to sit within what West calls the “funk of life” – the mess of it all. From there, we can see that the stories we tell ourselves have the power to shape and define our actions and our very lives.

    So the main question becomes: at a time when simplistic stories of violence and domination are presented to us as easy answers to complex social realities, can we create new and richer stories of our own?

    Joshua Forstenzer’s work receives funding from the Yale Center for Faith and Culture as part of its Templeton-funded Life Worth Living project (https://lifeworthliving.yale.edu/).

    – ref. Homer’s Iliad is a rap battle – https://theconversation.com/homers-iliad-is-a-rap-battle-252562

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise fact that norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Farah N. Jan, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Pennsylvania

    A member of the Indian Border Security Force stands guard near the India-Pakistan border. Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

    India and Pakistan have seen the scenario play out before: a terror attack in which Indians are killed leads to a succession of escalatory tit-fot-tat measures that put South Asia on the brink of all-out war. And then there is a de-escalation.

    The broad contours of that pattern have played out in the most recent crisis, with the latest step being the announcement of a ceasefire on May 10, 2025.

    But in another important way, the flare-up – which began on April 22 with a deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed – represents significant departures from the past. It involved direct missile exchanges targeting sites inside both territories and the use of advanced missile systems and drones by the two nuclear rivals for the first time.

    As a scholar of nuclear rivalries, especially between India and Pakistan, I have long been concerned that the erosion of international sovereignty norms, diminished U.S. interest and influence in the region and the stockpiling of advanced military and digital technologies have significantly raised the risk of rapid and uncontrolled escalation in the event of a trigger in South Asia.

    These changes have coincided with domestic political shifts in both countries. The pro-Hindu nationalism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has heightened communal tensions in the country. Meanwhile Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Gen. Syed Asim Munir, has embraced the “two-nation theory,” which holds that Pakistan is a homeland for the subcontinent’s Muslims and India for Hindus.

    Newspapers with front page articles on the India-Pakistan conflict are displayed on May 8, 2025.
    Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

    This religious framing was even seen in the naming of the two countries’ military operations. For India, it is “Operation Sindoor” – a reference to the red vermilion used by married Hindu women, and a provocative nod to the widows of the Kashmir attack. Pakistan called its counter-operation “Bunyan-un-Marsoos” – an Arabic phrase from the Quran meaning “a solid structure.”

    The role of Washington

    The India-Pakistan rivalry has cost tens of thousands of lives across multiple wars in 1947-48, 1965 and 1971. But since the late 1990s, whenever India and Pakistan approached the brink of war, a familiar de-escalation playbook unfolded: intense diplomacy, often led by the United States, would help defuse tensions.

    In 1999, President Bill Clinton’s direct mediation ended the Kargil conflict – a limited war triggered by Pakistani forces crossing the Line of Control into Indian-administered Kashmir – by pressing Pakistan for a withdrawal.

    Similarly, after the 2001 attack inside the Indian Parliament by terrorists allegedly linked to Pakistan-based groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage engaged in intense shuttle diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi, averting war.

    And after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which saw 166 people killed by terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, rapid and high-level American diplomatic involvement helped restrain India’s response and reduced the risk of an escalating conflict.

    As recently as 2019, during the Balakot crisis – which followed a suicide bombing in Pulwama, Kashmir, that killed 40 Indian security personnel – it was American diplomatic pressure that helped contain hostilities. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later wrote in his memoirs, “I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019.”

    A diplomatic void?

    Washington as peacemaker made sense: It had influence and a vested interest.

    During the Cold War, the U.S. formed a close alliance with Pakistan to counter India’s links with the Soviet Union. And after the 9/11 terror attacks, the U.S. poured tens of billions of dollars in military assistance into Pakistan as a frontline partner in the “war on terror.”

    Simultaneously, beginning in the early 2000s, the U.S. began cultivating India as a strategic partner.

    A stable Pakistan was a crucial partner in the U.S. war in Afghanistan; a friendly India was a strategic counterbalance to China. And this gave the U.S. both the motivation and credibility to act as an effective mediator during moments of India-Pakistan crisis.

    Today, however, America’s diplomatic attention has shifted significantly away from South Asia. The process began with the end of the Cold War, but accelerated dramatically after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. More recently, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have consumed Washington’s diplomatic efforts.

    Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the U.S. has not appointed an ambassador in New Delhi or Islamabad, nor confirmed an assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs – factors that must have hampered any mediating role for the United States.

    And while Trump said the May 10 ceasefire followed a “long night of talks mediated by the United States,” statements from India and Pakistan appeared to downplay U.S. involvement, focusing instead on the direct bilateral nature of negotiations.

    Should it transpire that Washington’s role as a mediator between Pakistan and India has been diminished, it is not immediately obvious who, if anyone, will fill the void. China, which has been trying to cultivate a role of mediator elsewhere, is not seen as a neutral mediator due to its close alliance with Pakistan and past border conflicts with India. Other regional powers like Iran and Saudi Arabia tried to step in during the latest crisis, but both lack the power clout of the U.S. or China.

    This absence of external mediation is not, of course, a problem in itself. Historically, foreign interference – particularly U.S. support for Pakistan during the Cold War – often complicated dynamics in South Asia by creating military imbalances and reinforcing hardline positions. But the past has shown external pressure – especially from Washington – can be effective.

    Breaking the norms

    The recent escalation unfolded against the backdrop of another dynamic: the erosion of international norms since the end of the Cold War and accelerating after 2001.

    America’s “war on terror” fundamentally challenged international legal frameworks through practices such as preemptive strikes against sovereign states, targeted drone killings and the “enhanced interrogation techniques” of detainees that many legal scholars classify as torture.

    More recently, Israel’s operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria have drawn widespread criticism for violations of international humanitarian law – but have resulted in limited consequences.

    Security forces patrol the street near the Wuyan area of Pampore in south Kashmir on May 7, 2025.
    Faisal Khan/Anadolu via Getty Images

    In short, geopolitical norms have been ebbed away and military actions that were once deemed red lines are crossed with little accountability.

    For India and Pakistan, this environment creates both opportunity and risk. Both can point to behaviors elsewhere to justify assertive actions that they have undertaken that, in previous years, would have been deemed a step too far – such as attacks on places of worship and sovereignty violations.

    Multi-domain warfare

    But what truly distinguished the latest crisis from those of the past is, I believe, its multi-domain nature. The conflict is no longer confined to conventional military exchanges along the line of control – as it was for the first five decades of the Kashmir question.

    Both countries largely respected the line of control as a de facto boundary for military operations until the 2019 crisis. Since then, there has been a dangerous progression: first to cross-border airstrikes into each other’s territories, and now to a conflict that spans conventional military, cyber and information spheres simultaneously.

    Reports indicate Chinese-made Pakistani J-10 fighter jets shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including advanced French Rafale jets. This confrontation between Chinese and Western weapons represents not just a bilateral conflict but a proxy test of rival global military technologies – adding another layer of great-power competition to the crisis.

    In addition, the use of loitering drones designed to attack radar systems represents a significant escalation in the technological sophistication of cross-border attacks compared to years past.

    The conflict has also expanded dramatically into the cyber domain. Pakistani hackers, claiming to be the “Pakistan Cyber Force,” report breaching several Indian defense institutions, potentially compromising personnel data and login credentials.

    Simultaneously, social media and a new right-wing media in India have become a critical battlefront. Ultranationalist voices in India incited violence against Muslims and Kashmiris; in Pakistan, anti-India rhetoric similarly intensified online.

    Cooler voices prevailing … for now

    These shifts have created multiple escalation pathways that traditional crisis management approaches weren’t designed to address.

    Particularly concerning is the nuclear dimension. Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine is that it will use nuclear weapons if its existence is threatened, and it has developed short-range tactical nuclear weapons intended to counter Indian conventional advantages. Meanwhile, India has informally dialed back its historic no-first-use stance, creating ambiguity about its operational doctrine.

    Thankfully, as the ceasefire announcement indicates, mediating voices appear to have prevailed this time around. But eroding norms, diminished great power diplomacy and the advent of multi-domain warfare, I argue, made this latest flare-up a dangerous turning point.

    What happens next will tell us much about how nuclear rivals manage, or fail to manage, the spiral of conflict in this dangerous new landscape.

    Farah N. Jan 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. India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise fact that norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder – https://theconversation.com/india-pakistan-ceasefire-shouldnt-disguise-fact-that-norms-have-changed-in-south-asia-making-future-de-escalation-much-harder-256285

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: World-first solar thermal demonstrator targets net zero breakthrough for industry and agriculture

    Source:

    12 May 2025

    An illustration of the lightweight plastic mirrors, which are a more cost-effective alternative to traditional glass-based solar thermal systems.

    Industry and academia are collaborating to build a world-first, cost-effective concentrated solar thermal (CST) demonstrator that is set to transform Australia’s industrial heat sector by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.

    Using lightweight plastic mirrors to focus sunlight on a specific target to create the necessary heat needed for industrial processes, the University of South Australia (UniSA) has joined forces with Impacts Renewable Energy Pty Ltd and Charles Sturt University (CSU) on the clean energy project.

    Leveraging more than a decade of research into durable, weather-resistant reflective coatings, the project – funded by the Federal Government’s Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite program – will fabricate and install a novel, two-module CST demonstrator incorporating the mirrors.

    These mirrors, created through patented UniSA technology, offer an affordable and easily transportable alternative to traditional glass-based solar thermal systems. They generate heat that can either be applied directly in industrial processes or to heat water to create steam to power a turbine and produce electricity.

    “Industrial process heat accounts for a staggering 25% of global energy use and 20% of CO2 emissions,” says project lead Dr Marta Llusca Jane.

    “Unfortunately, most renewable energy technologies – like photovoltaics – fall short of meeting the high-temperature demands of these sectors. Our plastic-based CST technology fills that gap and does so with significant cost and installation advantages.”

    The project’s first phase will see two full-scale models – each made up of 16 thermoformed and coated panels – constructed, installed and tested at CSU’s “Vineyard of the Future”.

    The panels incorporate a multilayer aluminium-silica reflective coating developed by UniSA’s Future Industries Institute, applied via a physical vapour deposition to ensure durability and optimal solar reflectivity.

    Unlike conventional solar thermal systems that require heavy infrastructure to support fragile glass mirrors, this new system features Impacts’ durable, patented lightweight plastic mirror panels that can be flat-packed, transported, and assembled with ease.

    The goal is to generate solar thermal energy at temperatures between 100°C and 400°C – ideal for processes such as food production, grain and pulse drying, sterilising, solar desalination, mining sites, polluted groundwater remediation and wastewater treatment.

    Dr Llusca Jane says the AEA funding is critical to the project’s success.

    “Without this funding, the technical and financial risks of early-stage commercialisation would be too high for private investors. This demonstrator will allow us to scale the technology for real-world applications,” she says.

    The second stage, to be pursued under the AEA’s Innovate program, will see a larger, commercial-scale pilot tested with key agribusiness and industrial partners. Strong interest has already been expressed by several national and international producers, highlighting the technology’s outstanding commercial potential.

    Industry Professor Colin Hall, inventor of the plastic mirror coating technology currently used in the automotive industry, says the time is ripe for such innovation.

    “We’re seeing record fossil fuel prices and increasing pressure for industries to decarbonise,” Prof Hall says. “This CST solution is uniquely suited to Australia’s hot, dry climate and offers a viable pathway to zero-emissions process heat.”

    With the potential to reduce the cost of renewable process heat for agribusiness and industry by 40% and unlock export opportunities for Australian manufacturing, Dr Llusca Jane says the project signals a green industrial future.

    “By proving this technology in the field, we are laying the foundation for a cleaner, more resilient energy system across Australia and beyond.”

    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    Contact for interview: Dr Marta Llusca Jane E: Marta.LluscaJane@unisa.edu.au

    Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: Candy.Gibson@unisa.edu.au

    Other articles you may be interested in

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: More scanners across the country for better care of brittle bones

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    More scanners across the country for better care of brittle bones

    Government announces 29,000 extra bone scans will be delivered each year, helping with earlier diagnosis of illness such as osteoporosis.

    • Government confirms 13 new state-of-the-art DEXA scanners to support better bone care  
    • Tens of thousands of patients set to benefit through extra scans 
    • Scanners are delivered as part of government commitment upheld in Plan for Change

    29,000 extra bone scans per year will be delivered for patients across England thanks to the government rolling out 13 new DEXA scanners. 

    The new scanners were promised as part of the government’s Elective Reform Plan and mark another step closer towards fixing the NHS and making it fit for the future, as set out in the Plan for Change.

    More than one in three women and one in five men will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis in their lifetime and so these scanners are equipped with advanced technology to identify with minute detail the quality of a patient’s bones.

    They will help with early diagnosis of illness such as osteoporosis, which weakens bones, making them so fragile that even a cough or sneeze could cause a painful break for people across the country.    

    13 areas will receive the new equipment this year, including hospitals in West Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire serving some of the most under resourced and rural communities, with patients already receiving invitations for appointments to use the new scanners. 

    Seven of the new machines will enable trusts to offer new or extended DEXA services, improving access and reducing patient journey times. Another six scanners will replace existing machines, helping to increase the reliability and productivity of bone diagnostic services.

    Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

    Having seen the pain of a family member breaking a hip because of her osteoporosis, I know only too well how debilitating  a condition it can be.

    We know that early diagnosis of brittle bone conditions means faster treatment and better outcomes for patients, which is why I promised before the election that we would deliver an extra 15,000 scans a year. The investment the government is making in new scanners across the country will deliver an extra 29,000 scans a year, almost double what I promised.

    Our Plan for Change is cutting waiting lists by investing in our NHS, which is only possible because of the increase in employers’ national insurance.

     Sue Mann, Clinical Lead for Women’s Health at NHS England, said:

    This is a welcome targeted investment for the NHS Trusts across England set to receive these new scanners from this month – they measure tiny reductions in bone density that can help us diagnose osteoporosis in its early stages, before you break a bone.

    These scanners are key tools for prevention, particularly for some women who are known to be at higher risk of osteoporosis such as those who go through early menopause.

    Craig Jones, Chief Executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, said: 

    This investment in scanners is really good news for people with osteoporosis.  We want to thank Wes Streeting for ensuring bone scans are part of his package to modernise scanning technology so we can catch diseases like osteoporosis earlier. 

    This, and the recent good news on waiting lists, gives us confidence the NHS is beginning to turn a corner.

    Mr Haitham Hamoda, Trustee and Past Chair British Menopause Society said:

    This is very welcome news. Osteoporosis and related fractures is a significant public health issue. It is estimated that more than one in three women may sustain an osteoporosis related fracture with significant associated morbidity and mortality.

    In addition, women with premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause have a significantly increased risk of osteoporosis and related fractures. Increasing access and availability to bone density screening and assessment will improve detection and allow earlier discussion of preventative measure and treatment.

    Dr Katharine Halliday, President of the Royal College of Radiologists, said:

    We welcome the pledge for more DEXA scanners which will help to deliver better care for patients at risk of osteoporosis.

    Increasing capacity to deliver scans in the hospitals and regions that need it most will be an important step to make sure patients receive timely, effective care no matter where they live.

    Over three million appointments have already been delivered since the end of June 2024, smashing the government’s target of delivering 2 million extra operations, scans and appointments.  

    Background information:

    The following locations will receive new scanners:

    • Harefield Hospital (Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust)

    • North Middlesex Hospital (North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust)

    • Newark Hospital (Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation NHS Trust)

    • Royal Victoria Infirmary (The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

    • CDC Ellesmere Port (Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation NHS Trust)

    • Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

    • Cranleigh Village Hospital (Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)

    The following locations will receive replacement scanners:

    • Leeds General Infirmary (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust)

    • Wharfedale General Hospital (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust)

    • Dewsbury Hospital (Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust)

    • Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital (Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust)

    • Salford Royal (Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust)

    • St Catherine’s Hospital (Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New NHS programme to reduce brain injury in childbirth 

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    New NHS programme to reduce brain injury in childbirth 

    Government to roll out the Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) programme nationally

    • Government rolls out NHS programme to boost maternity safety
    • Scheme will help maternity staff rapidly respond to emergencies and protect mothers and babies 
    • Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthetists, involved in developing and testing quality improvement programme

    Expectant mothers will receive safer maternity care as a new NHS programme to help prevent brain injury during childbirth is rolled out across the country. 

    The Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme will help maternity staff to better identify signs that the baby is in distress during labour so they can act quickly.

    It will also help staff respond more effectively to obstetric emergencies, such as where the baby’s head becomes lodged deep in the mother’s pelvis during a caesarean birth.

    The government programme, which will begin from September and follows an extensive development phase and pilot scheme, will reduce the number of avoidable brain injuries during childbirth – helping to prevent lifelong conditions like cerebral palsy.

    The national rollout is only one step the government is taking to improve maternity services under its Plan for Change to fix the health service, as it reforms the NHS to ensure all women receive safe, personalised and compassionate care.   

    Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: 

    All expectant mothers giving birth in an NHS hospital should have peace of mind that they are in safe hands.

    This vital programme will give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies, reducing the devastating impact of avoidable brain injury. 

    Under our Plan for Change, we are supporting trusts to make rapid improvements and training thousands more midwives – but I know more needs to be done. We will put women’s voices right at the heart of our reforms as we work to improve care.

    The national rollout follows a pilot in 12 maternity units that was launched in October and delivered by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the THIS (The Healthcare Improvement Studies) Institute.

    The pilot has shown the programme will fill an important gap in current training by bringing multidisciplinary teams together to work more collaboratively than ever before, to improve outcomes. The programme will give clinicians more confidence to take swift action managing an emergency during labour.  

    It is expected to reduce unacceptable inequalities in maternity outcomes across England – so that most maternity units achieve outcomes comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts. 

    This government is dedicated to improving maternity services more widely and is committed to training thousands more midwives, as well as setting an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap.

    In addition, we have allocated an extra £57 million for Start for Life services, helping expectant and new mothers with their infants by providing expert, trusted advice and guidance around pregnancy, birth and motherhood.

    Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said:

    The ABC programme supports multidisciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care. Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthetists, have been involved in developing and testing this quality improvement programme.

    We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure situations. The RCOG is extremely proud to have been part of this fantastic collaboration.

    Gill Walton, Royal College of Midwives Chief Executive, said:

    Every midwife, maternity support worker, obstetrician, anaesthetist and sonographer wants to provide good, safe care – and the best way to do that is by working and training together. The ABC programme has brought together all those involved in maternity care, offering practical solutions to some of the most acute clinical challenges.

    Crucially the ABC programme tools and training have been developed based on the voices of women, families and maternity staff. This has been the key to the success of the pilot programme.

    Equally the will and drive of midwives and the wider multidisciplinary team to improve safety and outcomes for women and their families has been evident across the course of the training at the pilot sites.

    The ABC programme has the potential to reduce the devastating impact of brain injuries during childbirth and the RCM is proud to have been part of this innovative programme and we hope to see this adopted and implemented across maternity services.

    Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, Director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, said:

    The ABC programme design is based on the principle that evidence-based, co-designed patient-focused standardisation of clinical practice can reduce unwarranted variation and improve care and outcomes.

    Crucially, this needs to be supported by comprehensive improvement resources, including training, tools and assets to enable good clinical practice and teamwork and respectful and inclusion communication and decision-making with women and birth partners.

    The pilot has shown that it’s possible to train people effectively and efficiently. A national commitment to implement the programme at scale will be important in ensuring that the benefits are seen.

    Notes to editors 

    The following sites participated in the pilot scheme: 

    • Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 
    • East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 
    • Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 
    • Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust 
    • Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 
    • Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 
    • Croydon Health Services NHS Trust 
    • Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 
    • St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
    • Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
    • Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
    • Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

    Updates to this page

    Published 12 May 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why doesn’t Australia make more medicines? Wouldn’t that fix drug shortages?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Coomber, PhD Candidate, Pharmaceutical Supply Chains, The University of Queensland

    IM Imagery/Shutterstock

    About 400 medicines are in short supply in Australia. Of these, about 30 are categorised as critical. These are ones with a life-threatening or serious impact on patients, and with no readily available substitutes.

    Since 2024, there has been a nationwide shortage of sterile fluid. This continues to affect health care across Australia.

    However, medicine shortages in Australia are not new. We know from past experience that six classes of medications are the most likely to go short: antibiotics, anaesthesia and pain relief treatments, heart and blood pressure medications, hormonal medications, cancer treatments and epilepsy medications.

    So, could we prevent medication shortages if Australia made more medicines?

    Why are there so many shortages?

    Australia has a very small pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. It mainly makes vaccines and some generic medications (ones no longer protected by a patent). In fact, Australia imports 90% of its medications.

    Most raw ingredients are also imported, including the active pharmaceutical ingredient. This is the ingredient that has a therapeutic effect, such as salbutamol to manage asthma or atorvastatin to lower cholesterol. Australia also imports the inactive ingredients known as excipients. These include fillers, bulking agents and preservatives.

    Then there are medication delivery devices (such as inhalers or syringes) and packaging (which has to be sterile) to source.

    A shortage in one ingredient or component – in Australia or internationally – will affect the production and supply of the finished product. This can lead to shortages.

    Often, there are limited sources (or a single source) for medication components. This makes supply chains particularly vulnerable.

    Australia is a small player, globally

    Australia is a small market for pharmaceuticals, compared with other OECD countries.

    So during a shortage of medications, raw materials or other components, suppliers prioritise larger and therefore more valuable markets.

    Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has an underpinning pricing mechanism to provide affordable medicines for Australians. But this also makes the market less attractive to medication manufacturers.

    Therefore, countries where markets are bigger, and offer larger profit margins, are more attractive. This restricts the type and range of medications offered to the Australian market, including when supplies are short.

    Australia needs medicines, raw ingredients and sterile packaging, all of which can be in short supply.
    RGtimeline/Shutterstock

    So could ramping up local manufacture help?

    The answer is maybe.

    But developing Australia’s limited pharmaceutical manufacturing would take many years to reach a level and capacity for sustainable supply.

    Increasing local manufacturing would address access to some medicines. However, domestic manufacturers also need access to raw ingredients. These could also be made locally.

    For pharmaceutical manufacturing to be viable and profitable in Australia there must be “economies of scale”.

    Considerations include the availability of raw materials, production costs (including labour), access and availability of infrastructure and specialist facilities. To justify their investments, companies will ultimately need to sell enough product to cover these and other costs.

    But Australian manufacturers struggle to achieve economies of scale due to the small domestic market. So they would need to export some of their products to supplement domestic sales.

    To boost Australia’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, all states and territories would need a coordinated approach to planning and investment. This would also need bipartisan political support and a strategic long-term commitment.

    What could we do in the short term?

    Health authorities stockpiling medicines is the obvious short-term solution to Australian medication shortages. However, we’d need to carefully manage the stored medicines to ensure supply meets demand. We’d also need to make sure medicines are used before they expire. If not carefully managed, a stockpile risks unnecessary expense and waste.

    Currently, state and territories manage the use of medications in their own hospitals. However, we could standardise medication use in hospitals nationally. With co-operation among states and territories this would allow manufacturers and suppliers to better plan production and distribution of medicines. Not only would this provide more certainty for suppliers, it would reduce the states and territories competing with each other for medicines in short supply.

    We also need to review the pricing mechanism for medicines to make the Australian market more attractive for pharmaceutical imports. This would also help Australia move higher up the priority list when medicines are in short supply.

    Peter Coomber is currently employed by Queensland Health as Senior Director Central Pharmacy, and is a RAAF Reservist Pharmaceutical Officer.

    Lisa Nissen receives funding from NHMRC/MRFF and other state and commonwealth research grant schemes. Lisa was previously the state president for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Qld) branch (2008-2015) and a member of the national board. She has previously held positions on the TGA advisory committee for vaccines and advisory committee on scheduling of medicines. Lisa is a current member of AHPRA’s Scheduled Medicines Expert Committee.

    – ref. Why doesn’t Australia make more medicines? Wouldn’t that fix drug shortages? – https://theconversation.com/why-doesnt-australia-make-more-medicines-wouldnt-that-fix-drug-shortages-255766

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Meteorites and marsquakes hint at an underground ocean of liquid water on the Red Planet

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hrvoje Tkalčić, Professor, Head of Geophysics, Director of Warramunga Array, Australian National University

    UAESA / MBRSC / Hope Mars Mission / EXI / Andrea Luck, CC BY

    Evidence is mounting that a secret lies beneath the dusty red plains of Mars, one that could redefine our view of the Red Planet: a vast reservoir of liquid water, locked deep in the crust.

    Mars is covered in traces of ancient bodies of water. But the puzzle of exactly where it all went when the planet turned cold and dry has long intrigued scientists.

    Our new study may offer an answer. Using seismic data from NASA’s InSight mission, we uncovered evidence that the seismic waves slow down in a layer between 5.4 and 8 kilometres below the surface, which could be because of the presence of liquid water at these depths.

    The mystery of the missing water

    Mars wasn’t always the barren desert we see today. Billions of years ago, during the Noachian and Hesperian periods (4.1 billion to 3 billion years ago), rivers carved valleys and lakes shimmered.

    As Mars’ magnetic field faded and its atmosphere thinned, most surface water vanished. Some escaped to space, some froze in polar caps, and some was trapped in minerals, where it remains today.

    Four billion years ago (top left), Mars may have hosted a huge ocean. But the surface water has slowly disappeared, leaving only frozen remnants near the poles today.
    NASA

    But evaporation, freezing and rocks can’t quite account for all the water that must have covered Mars in the distant past. Calculations suggest the “missing” water is enough to cover the planet in an ocean at least 700 metres deep, and perhaps up to 900 metres deep.

    One hypothesis has been that the missing water seeped into the crust. Mars was heavily bombarded by meteorites during the Noachian period, which may have formed fractures that channelled water underground.

    Deep beneath the surface, warmer temperatures would keep the water in a liquid state – unlike the frozen layers nearer the surface.

    A seismic snapshot of Mars’ crust

    In 2018, NASA’s InSight lander touched down on Mars to listen to the planet’s interior with a super-sensitive seismometer.

    By studying a particular kind of vibration called “shear waves”, we found a significant underground anomaly: a layer between 5.4 and 8 kilometres down where these vibrations move more slowly.

    This “low-velocity layer” is most likely highly porous rock filled with liquid water, like a saturated sponge. Something like Earth’s aquifers, where groundwater seeps into rock pores.

    We calculated the “aquifer layer” on Mars could hold enough water to cover the planet in a global ocean 520–780m deep — several times as much water as is held in Antarctica’s ice sheet.

    This volume is compatible with estimates of Mars’ “missing” water (710–920m), after accounting for losses to space, water bound in minerals, and modern ice caps.

    Meteorites and marsquakes

    We made our discovery thanks to two meteorite impacts in 2021 (named S1000a and S1094b) and a marsquake in 2022 (dubbed S1222a). These events sent seismic waves rippling through the crust, like dropping a stone into a pond and watching the waves spread.

    The crater caused by meteorite impact S1094b, as seen from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
    NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

    InSight’s seismometer captured these vibrations. We used the high-frequency signals from the events — think of tuning into a crisp, high-definition radio station — to map the crust’s hidden layers.

    We calculated “receiver functions,” which are signatures of these waves as they bounce and reverberate between layers in the crust, like echoes mapping a cave. These signatures let us pinpoint boundaries where rock changes, revealing the water-soaked layer 5.4 to 8 kilometres deep.

    Why it matters

    Liquid water is essential for life as we know it. On Earth, microbes thrive in deep, water-filled rock.

    Could similar life, perhaps relics of ancient Martian ecosystems, persist in these reservoirs? There’s only one way to find out.

    The water may be a lifeline for more complex organisms, too – such as future human explorers. Purified, it could provide drinking water, oxygen, or fuel for rockets.

    Of course, drilling kilometres deep on a distant planet is a daunting challenge. However, our data, collected near Mars’ equator, also hints at the possibility of other water-rich zones – such as the icy mud reservoir of Utopia Planitia.

    What’s next for Mars exploration?

    Our seismic data covers only a slice of Mars. New missions with seismometers are needed to map potential water layers across the rest of the planet.

    Future rovers or drills may one day tap these reservoirs, analysing their chemistry for traces of life. These water zones also require protection from Earthly microbes, as they could harbour native Martian biology.

    For now, the water invites us to keep listening to Mars’ seismic heartbeat, decoding the secrets of a world perhaps more like Earth than we thought.

    Hrvoje Tkalčić receives funding from The Australian Research Council.

    Weijia Sun works for Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He receives funding from National Key R&D Program of China.

    – ref. Meteorites and marsquakes hint at an underground ocean of liquid water on the Red Planet – https://theconversation.com/meteorites-and-marsquakes-hint-at-an-underground-ocean-of-liquid-water-on-the-red-planet-255408

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Farmers fear dingoes are eating their livestock – but predator poo tells an unexpected story

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Mason, PhD candidate in Conservation Biology, Deakin University

    Kristian Bell/Shutterstock

    Killing carnivores to protect livestock, wildlife and people is an emotive and controversial issue that can cause community conflict. Difficult decisions about managing predators must be supported by strong scientific evidence.

    In Australia, predators such as dingoes and foxes are often shot or poisoned with baits to prevent them from killing sheep and cattle. Feral cats and foxes are also killed to protect native wildlife.

    But research elsewhere suggests public perceptions of how predators affect ecosystems and livestock are not always accurate.

    Our recent study sought to shed light on these controversies. We examined the scat, or poo, left behind by dingoes, foxes and cats. We focused on the mallee region of Victoria and South Australia where there are calls to resume dingo culling to stop them killing livestock.

    A contentious issue

    Our study took place in the Big Desert-Wyperfeld-Ngarkat reserve complex in the semi-arid mallee region of Victoria and South Australia. This continuous ecosystem comprises about 10,000 km² of protected native mallee bushland, and is entirely surrounded by crop and livestock farming areas.

    Fox-baiting is conducted along the boundaries of Victorian-managed reserve areas. Dingo baiting occurs in the South Australian-managed section of the park.

    Since March 2024, the small dingo population has been protected in Victorian-managed areas due to their critically low numbers in the region.

    Prior to the change, Victorian farmers and authorised trappers could control dingoes on private land and within public land up to 3km from farms. Farmers say they have lost livestock since dingoes were protected.

    What are predators eating in the mallee region?

    We collected and analysed 136 dingo, 200 fox and 25 cat scats to determine what each predator in the area was eating and how their diets differed.

    Livestock was not a major part of the diet of dingoes, foxes or cats. Some 7% of fox scats contained sheep or cattle remains. This was more than that of dingoes, at 2% of scats. No feral cat scats contained livestock remains.

    The dingo diet was dominated by kangaroos, wallabies and emus, which comprised more than 70% of their diet volume.

    Cats and foxes consumed more than 15 times the volume of small native mammals compared with dingoes, including threatened species such as fat-tailed dunnarts.

    Our data must be interpreted with caution. Scat analysis cannot differentiate between livestock killed by predators and those that are scavenged. It also can’t tell us about animals that a predator killed but did not eat.

    In 2022–23, when we collected the scats, rainfall in the area was high and prey was abundant. So, while we found livestock were not likely to be a substantial part of these predators’ diets at the time of our research, this can change depending on environmental conditions.

    For example, fire and extended drought may force predators to move further to find food and water. They may move from conservation areas to private land, where they could prey on livestock.

    A taste for certain prey

    A predator’s poo doesn’t tell the full story of how it affects prey populations.

    To understand this further, we used motion-sensing wildlife cameras to assess which prey were available in the ecosystem. We compared it to the frequency they occurred in predator’s diets. This allowed us to determine if dingoes, foxes or cats target specific prey.

    We found foxes and cats both consumed small mammals proportionally more than we expected, given the prey’s availability in the study area. Cats consumed birds at a higher rate than expected, and dingoes consumed echidnas more than expected.

    Further intensive monitoring work is needed to determine how these dietary preferences affect the populations of prey species.

    Embracing the evidence

    The findings build on a substantial previous research suggesting foxes and cats pose a significant threat to native mammals, birds, reptiles and other wildlife, including many threatened species. Our results suggest foxes may cause more harm to sheep than dingoes overall – a finding consistent with research elsewhere in Victoria.

    Dingoes were the only predator species that regularly preyed on kangaroos and wallabies. These species are abundant in the region. They can also compete with livestock for grazing pastures, consume crops and degrade native vegetation.

    Currently, dingoes are killed on, or fenced out of, large parts of Australia due to their perceived threat to livestock.

    Lethal control of invasive species remains important to protect native wildlife and agriculture. But such decisions should be based on evidence, to avoid unforeseen and undesirable results.

    For example, fox control can lead to increased feral cat numbers and harm to native prey. Fewer dingoes may mean more feral goats and kangaroos.

    Non-lethal and effective alternatives exist to indiscriminately killing predators to protect livestock, such as protection dogs and donkeys. These measures are being embraced by farmers and graziers globally, often with high and sustained success.

    In Australia, governments should better embrace and support evidence-based and effective approaches that allow farming, native carnivores and other wildlife to coexist.

    Rachel Mason conducted this research with grant funding from the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action. She is a current member of the Australian Mammal Society, the Australasian Wildlife Management Society, and the Ecological Society of Australia.

    Euan Ritchie receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Action. Euan is a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, a member of the Ecological Society of Australia and the Australian Mammal Society, and President of the Australian Mammal Society.

    – ref. Farmers fear dingoes are eating their livestock – but predator poo tells an unexpected story – https://theconversation.com/farmers-fear-dingoes-are-eating-their-livestock-but-predator-poo-tells-an-unexpected-story-254787

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Neag School of Education Celebrates 151 Bachelor of Science Graduates

    Source: US State of Connecticut

    UConn’s Neag School of Education held its undergraduate commencement ceremony at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday morning, celebrating 151 Bachelor of Science graduates from its Sport Management and Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Teacher Education programs.

    The joyful, sunny day began with a beloved Neag School tradition: the procession of graduates down Glenbrook Road from the Gentry Building to the Jorgensen, led by UConn’s mascot Jonathan XV. Once inside the auditorium, the Class of 2025 was greeted by cheers and applause from hundreds of family, friends, and other guests. The Neag School of Education banner was presented and placed onstage by Alexa Granfield, the class representative. Lead Marshal Megan Staples, associate professor of mathematics education, then opened the commencement ceremony before welcoming Dean Jason G. Irizarry to the podium.

    “It may sound cliché, but it is true: our students are special,” Irizarry said. “They are dedicating themselves to career paths that seek to improve education, support sport, and serve youth. As we like to say, there’s no place like the Neag School. Today’s graduates are proof of that. … All of us in the Neag School are already looking forward to the achievements that these selfless, dedicated young people are certain to realize in the years to come.”

    This year’s commencement speaker was Suzanne M. Wilson, the Neag Endowed Professor of Teacher Education and a professor in the Neag School’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction. She is a nationally known expert on teacher preparation and professional development who has had an indelible impact on the field of education. She was elected to the National Academy of Education in 2013 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022.

    “You have all chosen to join what some call the ‘caring professions’,” Wilson said to the graduates. “These professions focus on the emotional, psychological, intellectual, physical, and social well-being of others. Outsiders often think that the caring professions are easy work – after all, you just have to show up and be nice. Care. But these professions entail impossibly demanding work. … The fundamental challenge you face is that the learner or the client is the one who must do the work; no matter how loudly or clearly you talk, you can only offer them motivation and ideas. You can’t make them learn. That’s a tough job, and you never completely master it. You learn and relearn it over a lifetime.”

    So, Wilson offered the Class of 2025 three pieces of advice she said she wished she knew when she completed her bachelor’s degree: learn to hear, embrace your inevitable mistakes, and be kind.

    “Pretty simple, right?” Wilson said. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these habits are either personality traits or come naturally. You must consciously decide to practice doing these things for every person you work with, every day. … It takes will and skill, not to mention intelligence and knowledge, empathy and modesty, passion and compassion, patience and persistence, resilience and humility. … Given everything that you — the Class of 2025 — have already done at UConn and elsewhere, I have no doubt that you are up to the challenge.”

    Prior to joining UConn, Wilson was a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University, where she served on the faculty for 26 years. She was also the first director of the Teacher Assessment Project, which developed prototype assessments for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

    It may sound cliché, but it is true: our students are special. They are dedicating themselves to career paths that seek to improve education, support sport, and serve youth. &#8212 Dean Jason G. Irizarry

    “Dr. Wilson’s distinguished career has been marked by groundbreaking scholarship, service at the highest levels of our profession, and an unwavering commitment to students and colleagues,” Irizarry said. “A steadfast mentor, collaborator, and advocate, Dr. Wilson’s leadership and advocacy at the national level have also shaped policy and practice in profound ways.”

    As it was Mother’s Day, Irizarry took a moment early on in the ceremony to thank all the mother figures in the audience or elsewhere who guided and supported the graduates. Then a short video played that was a compilation of Mother’s Day wishes recorded by some of the Neag School graduates. It was a heartfelt moment that had many in the audience looking for tissues.

    Another beloved Neag School commencement tradition is a performance by the graduating music education students toward the end of the ceremony. This year, nine graduates performed an arrangement of “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson, prompting their classmates to stand up and dance.

    Provost Anne D’Alleva was in attendance to congratulate the graduates and confer the Bachelor of Science degrees.

    “I charge you now to assume fully the responsibilities of your new status, to enlarge upon the foundations of knowledge which you have acquired, to take upon yourselves the obligations of an enlarged vision, and to seek to do your fair share of the work of this world,” D’Alleva said. “You are now alumni of UConn’s Neag School of Education. … Congratulations!”

    The UConn Neag School of Education commencement ceremony was also livestreamed and is still available for viewing.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Maple Leafs’ goalie Anthony Stolarz’s injury highlights concerns about concussions in ice hockey

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kewei Bian, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University

    During Game 1 of the Maple Leafs’ ongoing playoff series against the Florida Panthers, Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was struck in the head by Panthers forward Sam Bennett.

    Although Stolarz remained in the game for several minutes following the hit, he eventually skated to the bench, vomited and exited the ice. He was later stretchered out of the arena and taken to a hospital. Stolarz rejoined his teammates the following day, but will not play in Game 2 and isn’t expected to return for the series.

    While it’s unclear whether he was officially diagnosed with a concussion, the incident has once again reignited concern over brain injuries in hockey.

    As researchers specializing in brain injury biomechanics, we use both experimental (laboratory-based) and computational methods to investigate the biomechanical mechanisms of concussion and explore effective prevention strategies.

    Cases like this underscore the importance of concussion detection, management and prevention, particularly in high-impact sports like hockey where head injuries remain a significant risk.

    Concussions and TBI in ice hockey

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, is a growing public health concern worldwide. These injuries result from direct or indirect impacts to the head and can have both immediate and long-term health consequences.

    In the United States alone, 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related TBIs occur annually. In Canada, around 24 per cent of reported concussions are related to sports. In 2019, roughly 1.6 per cent of people in Canada — more than 400,000 people — aged 12 and older reported at least one concussion.

    Ice hockey, one of Canada’s most popular sports, is associated with a particularly high risk of concussion. Around 22 per cent of Canadian ice hockey players between the ages of 10 and 25 experience at least one concussion. According to official injury reports from the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association, concussions can occur up to 24.3 times per 1,000 player game hours.

    At the professional level, the risks remain significant. Based on averages from the 2009–10, 2010-11 and 2011–12 National Hockey League seasons, approximately 5.8 concussions occurred per 100 players each season. Concussion-related salary loss also reached US$42.8 million in one year.

    What happens during a concussion?

    From a biomechanical perspective, a concussion occurs when the head experiences an external impact. Since the skull is very stiff and the brain has inertia, the skull moves immediately while the brain initially remains in its original position. The brain eventually catching up with the skull’s motion.

    In straight-line, or translational, impacts, the skull compresses the brain at the point of contact, creating localized positive pressure. At the same time, on the opposite side of the brain, the skull’s movement creates negative pressure.

    In rotational impacts — when the head is spun — the skull’s movement causes shear forces within the brain tissue, causing it to deform. Since the brain consists of different regions responsible for different functions, this tissue deformation can affect specific brain functional regions, leading to the range of symptoms associated with concussion.

    Understanding concussion symptoms

    Concussions can impact a range of functions, including physical, cognitive, emotional and cognitive abilities.

    Typical symptoms include headache, dizziness, trouble with balance, vomiting, blurry vision, confusion, sleep issues, memory problems and even loss of consciousness.

    These symptoms are commonly seen in athletes, including those in ice hockey. Among NHL athletes, the most commonly reported post-concussion symptoms, in order of frequency, are headaches, dizziness, nausea, neck pain, low energy or fatigue, blurred vision, light sensitivity, nervousness or anxiety, irritability and vomiting.

    A CityNews segment about how Stolarz’s head injury sparked a conversation around concussion awareness.

    Concussions may present immediately following a head impact, or they may emerge hours or even days later. While most concussions can recover within seven to 10 days, some could last longer.

    While the short-term effects typically include headache, vomiting and dizziness, the long-term effects may cause symptoms such long-term memory loss, depression and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Concussion assessment and management

    Diagnosing concussions is challenging because they are not visible on traditional imaging techniques like CT scans. Instead, concussion assessments rely on clinical evaluation of symptoms.

    The NHL has a concussion protocol in place that requires players to be immediately removed from the game for evaluation if one is suspected. The decision is based on observed physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related symptoms.

    Other evaluation methods, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), are also employed to assess TBIs and concussion. The GCS assesses the severity of TBI by evaluating eye opening, verbal response and motor response on a scale. The GCS score of 13-15 is classified as mild TBI, or concussion.

    Those suspected of having a concussion should stop all activities and seek medical attention to begin concussion treatment and receive guidance on recovery and rehabilitation.

    Concussion prevention and prediction

    Reducing sport-related concussion rates requires a multi-faceted approach, including policy changes, stricter enforcement of rules and increased education and awareness.

    Protective equipment also plays a key role. Helmets, in particular, are effective at protecting the head from injury. One study found wearing a helmet in ice hockey can reduce head linear acceleration, rotational velocity and the brain strain resulting from external impacts. Continuous improvements in ice hockey helmet design can further reduce injury risks.

    To better understand and predict concussions, biomechanical researchers have developed injury metrics based on head kinematics and brain strain. Head kinematics-based injury metrics, such as peak linear acceleration and peak rotational acceleration, are derived from sensor-captured movement.

    Another promising approach involves brain strain–based metrics, which use high-fidelity computational models to estimate brain tissue deformation. Since brain strain is closely associated with the risk of brain injury, these models are valuable for predicting and analyzing concussion mechanisms.

    Ultimately, addressing concussions in ice hockey requires continued interdisciplinary research to better understand and address concussions in ice hockey. Protecting players from concussion is paramount to ensuring the game evolves as safely as it does competitively.

    Haojie Mao receives funding from NSERC to investigate brain biomechanics and helmet safety.

    Carter Goan, Emilie Anne Potts, Kewei Bian, and Sakib Ul Islam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Maple Leafs’ goalie Anthony Stolarz’s injury highlights concerns about concussions in ice hockey – https://theconversation.com/maple-leafs-goalie-anthony-stolarzs-injury-highlights-concerns-about-concussions-in-ice-hockey-256056

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Poll – New Zealanders back action on preventing alcohol harm – Health Coalition

    Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

    New Zealanders are calling time on the alcohol industry’s influence and supporting stronger safeguards to protect health-especially for children.
    A new independent poll shows overwhelming support for tighter safeguards on how alcohol is sold and marketed. Clear majorities support firm limits on key problems such as the price of cheap alcohol, online deliveries, and industry involvement in policy making. Nearly 80% back a ban on alcohol ads seen by children. (ref. https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/new-zealanders-strongly-support-policies-curb-alcohol-harm-will-government-listen )
    “Alcohol is the most harmful drug in Aotearoa, but it’s marketed like a harmless treat,” says Karen Wright, Health Coalition Aotearoa. “Our legislation is outdated and is maintaining large inequities in harm. People are saying enough is enough. They back action to protect children, whānau and communities from alcohol harm.”
    The majority support making alcohol less available
    • 81% agree online alcohol deliveries should have to follow the same checks as bars and stores
    • 76% agreed with neighbourhood limits on the number of places selling alcohol
    • 58% support returning the alcohol purchase age to 20 years old
    The majority support removing industry from policymaking and telling the truth about alcohol harms
    • 71% agree the alcohol industry should stay out of policymaking
    • 66% support cancer warning labels on alcohol products
    The majority support safeguards against alcohol advertising
    • 80% back a ban on alcohol ads seen by children
    • 62% support a ban on all alcohol advertising and sponsorship
    • 68% agree sporting organisations should be supported to move away from alcohol sponsorship
    Support for making alcohol less affordable
    • 58% agree cheap alcohol should not be sold below a certain price
    • 47% agree the Government should increase the price of alcohol by 10% and use that money for alcohol treatment services and harm prevention. A further 11% were unsure.
    The poll shows strong support for the three areas known to reduce alcohol consumption and harm for communities – safeguards for affordability, availability and advertising. Successive New Zealand Governments have not implemented long-standing recommendations to address these issues. Instead they have made disappointing, minor tweaks to the law governing alcohol.
    “The people of Aotearoa are ready for change. Now it’s up to the Government to act,” says Steve Randerson, Health Coalition Aotearoa. “As a country we have done this before with tobacco, when the Government brought in sensible safeguards around tobacco marketing. The public supports similar action for alcohol marketing, which would benefit young people and those trying to cut down or stop drinking.”
    Alcohol causes a broad range of harms to the consumer, whānau and communities. Alcohol fuels violence and causes at least seven types of cancer. It also causes lifelong brain injury to babies exposed during pregnancy – and many other harms to health and society. It’s also deeply woven into everyday life, from rugby matches to music festivals-thanks to relentless industry marketing.
    “Alcohol companies spend millions telling us drinking is fun, sexy and essential. But the ads don’t tell us it causes cancer,” says Steve Randerson. “Our children deserve better. So do we.”
    The cost of replacing alcohol sponsorship in sport is relatively low-just $10-12 million per year, or 5-6% of total sponsorship revenue.
    “This is a fixable problem,” says Karen Wright. “New Zealanders want politicians to put people before profits. Solutions to reduce harms must not be influenced by an industry motivated by sales and profit. It’s time to overhaul our alcohol laws to protect our children and those most impacted by harm.”
    Health Coalition Aotearoa is calling time and urges the Government to act on the clear public mandate and introduce evidence-based reforms to reduce alcohol harm across Aotearoa.
    More information
    Poll details
    This poll provides the most up to date data on current public opinion on alcohol policies of New Zealand adults.
    Results are based upon questions asked in a Talbot Mills Research nationwide online survey of a sample of 1161 nationally representative respondents in NZ 18 years of age and over. The questions were asked in March 2025.
    Participants were asked ‘To reduce the problems associated with alcohol use, how strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements (%)’ followed by a range of alcohol policy measure statements.
    The last public opinion survey was the 2023 University of Otago/Cancer Society survey. Our PHCC Briefing includes 2023 results for comparison where relevant, but we caution comparing results too closely as the methodology and question and response options differed between the two surveys.
    This poll was funded by Health Coalition Aotearoa and the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Maple Leafs’ goalie Anthony Stolarz’s injury highlights concerns about concussion in ice hockey

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kewei Bian, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University

    During Game 1 of the Maple Leafs’ ongoing playoff series against the Florida Panthers, Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz was struck in the head by Panthers forward Sam Bennett.

    Although Stolarz remained in the game for several minutes following the hit, he eventually skated to the bench, vomited and exited the ice. He was later stretchered out of the arena and taken to a hospital. Stolarz rejoined his teammates the following day, but will not play in Game 2 and isn’t expected to return for the series.

    While it’s unclear whether he was officially diagnosed with a concussion, the incident has once again reignited concern over brain injuries in hockey.

    As researchers specializing in brain injury biomechanics, we use both experimental (laboratory-based) and computational methods to investigate the biomechanical mechanisms of concussion and explore effective prevention strategies.

    Cases like this underscore the importance of concussion detection, management and prevention, particularly in high-impact sports like hockey where head injuries remain a significant risk.

    Concussions and TBI in ice hockey

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, is a growing public health concern worldwide. These injuries result from direct or indirect impacts to the head and can have both immediate and long-term health consequences.

    In the United States alone, 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related TBIs occur annually. In Canada, around 24 per cent of reported concussions are related to sports. In 2019, roughly 1.6 per cent of people in Canada — more than 400,000 people — aged 12 and older reported at least one concussion.

    Ice hockey, one of Canada’s most popular sports, is associated with a particularly high risk of concussion. Around 22 per cent of Canadian ice hockey players between the ages of 10 and 25 experience at least one concussion. According to official injury reports from the British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association, concussions can occur up to 24.3 times per 1,000 player game hours.

    At the professional level, the risks remain significant. Based on averages from the 2009–10, 2010-11 and 2011–12 National Hockey League seasons, approximately 5.8 concussions occurred per 100 players each season. Concussion-related salary loss also reached US$42.8 million in one year.

    What happens during a concussion?

    From a biomechanical perspective, a concussion occurs when the head experiences an external impact. Since the skull is very stiff and the brain has inertia, the skull moves immediately while the brain initially remains in its original position. The brain eventually catching up with the skull’s motion.

    In straight-line, or translational, impacts, the skull compresses the brain at the point of contact, creating localized positive pressure. At the same time, on the opposite side of the brain, the skull’s movement creates negative pressure.

    In rotational impacts — when the head is spun — the skull’s movement causes shear forces within the brain tissue, causing it to deform. Since the brain consists of different regions responsible for different functions, this tissue deformation can affect specific brain functional regions, leading to the range of symptoms associated with concussion.

    Understanding concussion symptoms

    Concussions can impact a range of functions, including physical, cognitive, emotional and cognitive abilities.

    Typical symptoms include headache, dizziness, trouble with balance, vomiting, blurry vision, confusion, sleep issues, memory problems and even loss of consciousness.

    These symptoms are commonly seen in athletes, including those in ice hockey. Among NHL athletes, the most commonly reported post-concussion symptoms, in order of frequency, are headaches, dizziness, nausea, neck pain, low energy or fatigue, blurred vision, light sensitivity, nervousness or anxiety, irritability and vomiting.

    A CityNews segment about how Stolarz’s head injury sparked a conversation around concussion awareness.

    Concussions may present immediately following a head impact, or they may emerge hours or even days later. While most concussions can recover within seven to 10 days, some could last longer.

    While the short-term effects typically include headache, vomiting and dizziness, the long-term effects may cause symptoms such long-term memory loss, depression and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

    Concussion assessment and management

    Diagnosing concussions is challenging because they are not visible on traditional imaging techniques like CT scans. Instead, concussion assessments rely on clinical evaluation of symptoms.

    The NHL has a concussion protocol in place that requires players to be immediately removed from the game for evaluation if one is suspected. The decision is based on observed physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related symptoms.

    Other evaluation methods, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), are also employed to assess TBIs and concussion. The GCS assesses the severity of TBI by evaluating eye opening, verbal response and motor response on a scale. The GCS score of 13-15 is classified as mild TBI, or concussion.

    Those suspected of having a concussion should stop all activities and seek medical attention to begin concussion treatment and receive guidance on recovery and rehabilitation.

    Concussion prevention and prediction

    Reducing sport-related concussion rates requires a multi-faceted approach, including policy changes, stricter enforcement of rules and increased education and awareness.

    Protective equipment also plays a key role. Helmets, in particular, are effective at protecting the head from injury. One study found wearing a helmet in ice hockey can reduce head linear acceleration, rotational velocity and the brain strain resulting from external impacts. Continuous improvements in ice hockey helmet design can further reduce injury risks.

    To better understand and predict concussions, biomechanical researchers have developed injury metrics based on head kinematics and brain strain. Head kinematics-based injury metrics, such as peak linear acceleration and peak rotational acceleration, are derived from sensor-captured movement.

    Another promising approach involves brain strain–based metrics, which use high-fidelity computational models to estimate brain tissue deformation. Since brain strain is closely associated with the risk of brain injury, these models are valuable for predicting and analyzing concussion mechanisms.

    Ultimately, addressing concussions in ice hockey requires continued interdisciplinary research to better understand and address concussions in ice hockey. Protecting players from concussion is paramount to ensuring the game evolves as safely as it does competitively.

    Haojie Mao receives funding from NSERC to investigate brain biomechanics and helmet safety.

    Carter Goan, Emilie Anne Potts, Kewei Bian, and Sakib Ul Islam do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Maple Leafs’ goalie Anthony Stolarz’s injury highlights concerns about concussion in ice hockey – https://theconversation.com/maple-leafs-goalie-anthony-stolarzs-injury-highlights-concerns-about-concussion-in-ice-hockey-256056

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Population explosions and declines are related to how stable the economy and environment are

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ken G. Drouillard, Professor, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and Director of the School of the Environment, University of Windsor

    A country’s population is affected by, and in turn affects, environmental and economic issues. (Shutterstock)

    For 200 years, we’ve been warned of unchecked population growth and how it leads to environmental instability. On the other hand, today some countries face decreasing populations, alongside increasing proportions of elderly people, causing economic instability.

    These two facets of population crises — explosions and declines — are occurring in different parts of the world, and have a global impact on the environment and on economies. Discussions about achieving economic and environmental sustainability must consider population changes, technology and the environment, given these concepts are closely interwoven.

    Population explosions and declines are related to both environmental and economic instability; some countries make reactionary choices that trade off short-term domestic economic progress over the environment.

    The crisis of population explosions

    In 1798, English economist Thomas Malthus warned of a population explosion, inferring that population growth will outstrip agricultural production. Malthus’s ideas became re-popularized by American scientist Paul R. Ehrlich in his book published at the height of population growth in the 1960s. Both predicted that a population explosion would cause shortages in resources and escalating environmental damage.

    Like Malthus, Ehrlich was criticized for a crisis “that never happened” because human ingenuity, a byproduct of population, overcomes the worst fears of environmentalists. This counter-argument relies on technological advances making more efficient use of resources while lowering the environmental impacts.

    This is best exemplified by efficiency gains of agriculture that have continued to feed a growing world. Ehrlich’s predictions of cumulative environmental damage are best illustrated by the growing intensity of climate change and species loss as the global population continues to grow even though the current growth rate is slower than it was in the 1960s.

    A graph reflecting how population growth, species diversity and global temperature correlate over time.
    (K. Drouillard), CC BY

    Unified growth theory describes how economies change over the long term. It starts with a period of slow technological progress, low income growth and high population growth. Over time, these conditions give way to a modern growth phase, where technology improves quickly, income rises steadily and population growth slows as societies go through a demographic transition towards stable population sizes.

    Technological progress positively contributes to national economies over the long term. However, early adoption of green technology often relies on finance and government incentives that may imply short-term economic burdens. Yet when green technology is implemented and coupled to slowing population growth, it leads to decreasing national environmental footprints that pave a way towards joint environmental and economic sustainability.

    The crisis of population declines

    Declining populations cause inverted age pyramids with larger numbers of elderly people. These shifting demographics cause economic instability. They also constrain technological progress and social security.

    Population declines work against the gains described by unified growth theory. Presently, 63 countries have reached their peak population and 48 more are expected to peak within 30 years. Fears of population decline are also being forecast at the global scale.

    The global population is predicted to peak between the mid-2060s to 2100, stabilizing at 10.2 billion from its present 8.2 billion.

    In their book, Empty Planet, political scientist Darrell Bricker and political commentator John Ibbitson warn that zero population growth will happen even faster. They argue once a country decreases its fertility to below replacement (2.1 children per woman), the social reinforcements of increasing urbanization, costs of raising children and increased empowerment over family planning make it almost impossible to increase the birth rate.

    For highly affluent countries, the per capita GDP is decreasing as the proportion of elderly in the population increases. Although this pattern doesn’t hold when less affluent countries are added, the figure demonstrates tangible economic impacts for countries grappling with aging populations.

    A graph showing the percentage of elderly people in a country’s population, correlated with GDP and adjusted for inflation.
    (K. Drouillard), CC BY

    Simultaneous explosions and declines

    Affluent nations facing decline can react to economic instability in ways that counter global economic and environmental sustainability.

    In the past, affluent nations were the drivers of green technology. However, economic instability from population declines can cause reluctance to invest, adopt and share green technology crucial for mitigating environmental damage at the global scale.

    The issue is compounded by the fact that many countries overlook how their own decline in population growth contributes to economic instability. They instead focus on short-term solutions to their economic situation that may include unsustainable resource use.

    Left unaddressed, the real issue of population decline becomes unresolved, allowing social anxieties against immigration and global trade to grow. This can exacerbate the issue halting technology sharing, slowing economic growth and increasing economic inequality and environmental damage.

    The above is exemplified by policies now being implemented by the United States. Where immigration was previously used as a backstop against low fertility, growing cultural backlash to immigration pressures rooted in anxiety about economic uncertainties have generated new policies causing the deportation of millions of immigrants and closing borders. This will most likely accelerate a population decline in the U.S., as highlighted by a Congressional Budget Office report.

    At the same time, the U.S. is shifting its energy policy away from increased shares of renewable, green energy sources back to a focus on fossil fuels that will worsen climate damage.

    Climate damage costs are currently two per cent of global GDP, and may increase to between two to 21 per cent of some countries’ incomes by the end of the century. The growing applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and its high energy use will add to climate damage. AI may also contribute to the economic challenges related to population decline if it replaces, rather than supports, labour.

    Finally, tariff wars add new barriers against green technology sharing.

    Canada’s lowered immigration

    Canada, which already has a low fertility rate and is reacting to the U.S. trade war, has its own challenges. This year, immigration targets were decreased by 19 per cent. The lack of support for and subsequent removal of the carbon tax and possible extension of pipeline infrastructure could generate similar delays in the transition away from fossil fuels.



    Read more:
    Who really killed Canada’s carbon tax? Friends and foes alike

    In the most recent federal election, discussions about environmental policy were largely side-tracked by economic issues.

    Our research indicates that Canada and other affluent nations need to establish longer-term solutions to economic instabilities that mitigate environmental damage while promoting sustainable national and global economies.

    The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals offer pathways for economic, social and environmental sustainability. However, realizing these goals requires society to fully acknowledge the intertwined relationships between population growth, economy, environment and international technology-sharing in ways that transcend short-term national interests and reactionary policies.

    The past decade has seen strong momentum from social and natural sciences as well as international organizations, business and civil society. Unfortunately, the current climate of economic uncertainty is halting this progress — unless the public can force broader discussions about sustainable approaches back into the political sphere.

    Ken G. Drouillard receives funding from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canadian Water Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, St. Clair River Conservation Authority and North Shore of Lake Superior Remedial Action Plans.

    Claudio N. Verani receives/has received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF), and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

    Marcelo Arbex has received funding from University of Windsor UW-SSHRC Explore.

    – ref. Population explosions and declines are related to how stable the economy and environment are – https://theconversation.com/population-explosions-and-declines-are-related-to-how-stable-the-economy-and-environment-are-253302

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: New recommendations for regulating neurotechnology in Canada include protecting Indigenous rights

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Judy Illes, Professor of Neurology and Director of Neuroethics Canada; Vice Chair, Bioethics Council for Canada, University of British Columbia

    Advances in neurotechnology, including AI applications, need to be regulated. (Shutterstock)

    With Canada’s federal election behind us, we can now focus on a renewed commitment to our values and to economic growth. Both entail a commitment to the health and well-being of Canadians.

    Brain health in particular has taken on new meanings over the past years, and has garnered substantial recent attention from major international organizations such as UNESCO and the World Health Organization.

    Once centred on finding treatments for conditions that affect the nervous system such as movement disorders and epilepsy, neurotechnology is evolving.

    Advances involve implantable technologies, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). Other examples include responsive neurostimulation and stimulation of the vagus nerve.

    The market in non-invasive and wearable devices is also growing. These technologies aim to address mental health disorders and improve quality of life for people suffering from conditions like chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorders.

    Combined with AI, these brain technologies are also finding their way into the non-medical lives of Canadians for personal use, education, workplace and entertainment.



    Read more:
    Two-thirds of Canadians have experimented with generative AI, but most don’t understand its impacts

    Recommendations for neurotechnology

    The finalized version of the UNESCO ethics recommendation for neurotechnology will be negotiated during the week of May 12. This will prepare the way for its formal adoption this fall by the 194 member states.

    The recommendation carefully considers how neurotechnology can respect human dignity and the human rights of privacy, freedom of thought, data authenticity and protection, and justice. Other concerns pertaining to Indigeneity, marginalization, disability and vulnerability are touched upon.

    If Canada adopts the recommendation, it could have far-reaching implications for Canadian citizens. It will influence — if not directly affect — federal funding and resource priorities and relevant government ministries. These include Health Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

    Canadian principles

    In 2024, drawing upon the work of both Health Canada and the Working Party on Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and Converging Technologies of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of Canadian experts from medicine, law and public health delivered guidance for responsible innovation in neurotechnology.

    These experts — including two of the authors of this article — strategically revised the original nine principles offered by the OECD into five tailored for Canada. These were: physical and personal safety and trust; societal deliberation and stewardship; global collaboration; strong oversight; and inclusivity and Indigeneity.

    In April 2025, Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the original UNESCO expert group published considerations to further safeguard against the risk of neurotechnology becoming an instrument of colonialism. These considerations include access to neurotechnologies for the relief of neurological conditions, as well as for their adoption in research, industry and daily life guided by the values and rights of Indigenous Peoples about brain health and wellness.

    They included strategies for informed consent processes that align with Indigenous perspectives, and transparency about the use, storage and collection of neural data. Recommendations were also made for investments in digital infrastructure and literacy, and paths to intellectual property protections suitable to holistic and collective knowledge.

    Trust in science

    The behind-the-scenes efforts that led to the UNESCO ethics recommendation must come to the forefront.

    In October 2024, a Bioethics Council for Canada/Le Conseil canadien de bioéthique (BCC-CCB) was legally constituted to provide independent advice to the Canadian government and public. Building on the lessons learned from 140 bioethics councils worldwide, Canada’s new BCC-CCB is poised to ensure that the public’s trust in science is central to the federal government’s mission.

    Trust must be a renewed theme in matters pertaining to brain health and brain data, alongside other advances that will affect future generations. This trust will mitigate the noise and confusion surrounding us in a time of rapid technological progress, and foster leadership that an informed Canada can provide.

    Judy Illes served as a Member of the Ad Hoc Expert Advisory Group on the Ethics of Neurotechnology Recommendation at UNESCO.

    Jennifer Chandler is an external advisory board member for InBrain Neuroelectronics.

    Vardit Ravitsky is President and CEO of The Hastings Center for Bioethics, a research center based in NY, USA.

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

    – ref. New recommendations for regulating neurotechnology in Canada include protecting Indigenous rights – https://theconversation.com/new-recommendations-for-regulating-neurotechnology-in-canada-include-protecting-indigenous-rights-256197

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Philosopher Hannah Arendt provokes us to rethink what education is for in the era of AI

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Paul Tarc, Professor, Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies, Western University

    Arendt urged people to question how the human-constructed world can be passed on and ‘set right’ across time. (Barbara Niggl Radloff/Wikipedia), CC BY-SA

    In the 1954 essay The Crisis in Education, German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt argued that crisis can act as an opportunity to revisit questions that have produced presumed and outdated answers.

    Arendt was concerned with how the loss of tradition and authority in larger social and political spheres was reflected in the adoption of child-centred learning in public schooling in the United States.

    She argued that, in education, educators must maintain their authority, which ultimately rested on their taking responsibility for the world and for children. Arendt urged people grappling with “why Johnny can’t read” to leave behind their pre-judged answers, and instead return to the very “essence of education.” For Arendt, this centred on how the human-constructed world can be passed on and “set right” with each new generation and across time.

    The rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) presents a new crisis for the world and for education. Following Arendt, the crises that AI portends is a new vantage — or a rupture — to return to the question of what education is for.

    Rupture of AI

    Technologies have always mediated our understandings and practices of education: not only hardware or pencils, but writing itself can be understood as a technology. In our time, however, AI represents a qualitative rupture in contemporary practices and understandings of education.

    As Yuval Noah Harari has argued, AI should be better understood as an agent than a tool. As an agent, it is designed and evolving as a self-learning entity able to make independent decisions; it alters past interdependencies of humans and technology.

    Facing the impacts and intervention of AI, school policy experts, administrators and educators are pressed to react fairly quickly to try and maintain our favoured practices.

    For example, we try to tweak our practices of assessment in the face of new AI technologies like ChatGPT. A major concern is students “cheating” on assessments and unfairly or illegitimately advancing through school. This knee-jerk approach by educators to tackle the use of AI reflects a dominant, taken-for-granted answer about the purpose of education: that schooling is a mechanism to filter and sort young generations for a merit-based society.

    Concern around how AI is affecting student assessment and potential student cheating reflects assumptions about school as a place that filters students into different groups.
    (Shutterstock)

    Could AI itself be used to catch cheating? Canadian computer science professor Mark Daley doesn’t think so. He writes: “Instead of chasing technological silver bullets, educators need to confront the harder questions: Why are students cheating? … How do we foster a culture of learning rather than one of grade-chasing?”

    Beyond fair grade chasing

    Generally, there is a lot of agreement on the need to go in the direction that Daley recommends.

    For example, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has most recently included “global competence” into its global standardized testing of students. The OECD acknowledges the importance of learning processes, as well as outcomes, and of critical thinking and values like individual responsibility.

    The International Baccalaureate (IB), created in the field of international schools in the 1960s, has now penetrated into both public and private systems across the globe. Although it began as the International Schools Examination Syndicate, its longstanding aspirational vision of creating a better world through a humanist education of the whole person has carried through into the 21st century.

    Both of these more learner-centred visions for education, however, remain founded on these “filtering” uses of education. The IB’s very growth and sustainability and distinction lies in the positional advantage it affords its users. The OECD, more directly, reflects neoliberal, “human capital” conceptions of education that imply students are resources to be developed for the growth of a country’s economy.

    I believe we must go further than (better) assessments of higher-order thinking and processes of learning designed to filter students more creatively and/or efficiently for work. We must nurture an educational orientation over an instrumental one.

    High stakes

    The stakes are high beyond education, because AI portends great disruptions to political economy, work and the organization of human societies. AI and automation might mean that human labour becomes an ever-lower percentage of overall labour and economic productivity. Will our political processes be largely determined by wealthy owners and partners of the AI industry, or by more democratic processes?

    These possible transformations demand a reorientation of educational purpose to inform both school policies pertaining to uses of AI and data, and school curricula and teaching in classrooms.

    Many teachers want to foster critical thinking and student participation over grade chasing in schools. This remains an important goal. But, more fundamentally, schools need to become educational spaces where the concept of cheating, or unfairly beating someone else, becomes senseless.

    In this altered scenario, teachers and students would spend their time together in school examining, as Arendt said, “what the world is like,” how they are located within it and how it might be renewed and passed on across generations.

    A shelter for thinking

    Educators might take the opportunity to reconsider the function of schooling as educating children and youth to come to know, and participate in, a common world facing multiple crises. They are to be introduced to this world, in all its complexity, so that they develop understanding and care for the world and thereby choose to take responsibility for renewing and re-setting it, as adults.

    In returning to Arendt’s question on the essence of education, education researcher Mario Di Paolantonio’s introduces an updated answer for schooling in articulating what is educational in schooling in a world under crises.

    In his view, education provides a place, a “unique human dwelling, where we can maintain and give shelter to a thinking and engagement with ‘something more’ that sustains the hope and affirmation of nevertheless living on with significance.” It offers “a place for passing time together, for sheltering a repertoire of worldly artefacts, common visions, interpretations and aspirations.”

    “These,” he writes, “can be brought into meaningful configurations gathered from the meaningful patterns of the past to help us tend, mend and repair the sense and pull of the world that wears down from generation to generation.”

    Paul Tarc receives funding from Social Science and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant Program and Faculty of Education, Western University

    – ref. Philosopher Hannah Arendt provokes us to rethink what education is for in the era of AI – https://theconversation.com/philosopher-hannah-arendt-provokes-us-to-rethink-what-education-is-for-in-the-era-of-ai-247316

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How AI could help safeguard Indigenous languages

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Anna Luisa Daigneault, PhD Student in Linguistic Anthropology, Université de Montréal

    If there are few speakers left of a language, how does a community revive it? In our current era, 3,000 languages are at risk of extinction due to the pressures of colonization, globalization, forced cultural assimilation, environmental devastation and other factors.

    According to Canada’s Commission for Indigenous Languages, “research shows that no Indigenous language in Canada is safe and that all are in varying stages of endangerment.”

    Our society is also being shaped by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. Can AI be used for the benefit of Indigenous language survival in Canada and elsewhere?

    According to the World Economic Forum, most AI chatbots are trained on 100 of the world’s 7,000 languages. English is the main driver of most large language models.

    This scenario leaves the bulk of the world’s languages in the dust. In the coming years, will AI contribute to language revitalization, or language oppression?

    A language in a box

    In a 2023 TEDx talk, Northern Cheyenne computer engineer Michael Running Wolf shared his design of a cedar box that looks both ancient and contemporary. He described the dragonfly-adorned device as a “cedar-enclosed, offline Edge AI that contains the inner workings of a minimal voice-based language curricula — in other words, a language in a box.”

    He proposed that conversational AI technology, much like Amazon Alexa or Google Home, could help language learners improve their fluency.

    Running Wolf is the technical director of the First Languages AI Reality initiative at the Québec Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The program propels Indigenous scholars and technologists towards creating innovative solutions regarding language loss.

    A TEDx Talk by Michael Running Wolf on how AI can assist Indigenous langauge learning.

    Voice-controlled tools trained via machine learning could serve as AI assistants for speakers who wish to hear unfamiliar sounds pronounced accurately, and practice their own pronunciation. This technology could establish a new means for facilitating oral transmission, which is crucial when there are few fluent speakers left.

    At the heart of Running Wolf’s project is Indigenous data sovereignty, which ensures that Indigenous people retain control over their data.

    A place in the digital world

    Around the world in the Philippines, AI scholar and politician Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo is on a quest to support the Indigenous languages of her home country. She created NightOwlGPT, a new AI-powered translation app.

    In an email to me, Lamentillo wrote:

    “In the Philippines alone, we are working on nine languages, many of which are endangered. Our goal is to ensure that these languages — not just the dominant ones — have a place in the digital world.”

    NightOwlGPT creator Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo.
    (Arwin Doloricon)

    We have seen that in the hands of the powerful, AI software can lead to oppressive forms of control, such as excessive AI-powered surveillance by Amazon and the U.S. government’s unethical data mining tactics.

    When it comes to the survival or extinction of languages, it is important to question the power behind AI tools. Who controls them, and who benefits from them?

    When I asked about the democratization of AI, Lamentillo noted the need for inclusivity:

    “AI’s rapid advancement could parallel historical patterns of colonization. If AI is truly a black swan event — a disruptive moment in history — then what happens when 99 per cent of languages are left behind? This is more than just a linguistic issue; it’s a serious matter of accessibility, representation and digital equity.

    If we don’t change who is leading AI development, we risk creating a new form of colonization — one where only a small fraction of the world has the tools to thrive.”

    Diversity of voices

    Linguistics professor Emmanuel Ngué Um.
    (Emmanuel Ngué Um)

    At a recent workshop series on endangered languages, Emmanuel Ngué Um, a professor of linguistics at the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon, spoke on behalf of a research team of African linguists.

    They are currently using Mozilla’s Common Voice platform to create open-source datasets containing thousands of words and audio recordings in 31 African languages.

    The platform aims to make speech recognition and voice-based AI more inclusive by crowd-sourcing a massively multilingual speech corpus. But this process is not without significant challenges in Africa.

    Ngué Um noted that building datasets for languages with many dialects is not straightforward. There may not be a standardized spelling or pronunciation that should be used by AI as the accepted norms for the language.

    Because of postcolonial changes, many African languages do not have one unified or agreed-upon writing system. This issue can slow the creation of teaching tools, but many local efforts backed by UNESCO are underway to change this.

    So, how do automatic speech recognition tools deal with dialectical diversity? And how do text-to-speech models handle competing writing systems?

    As Ngué Um wrote in an email to me:

    “AI has been instrumental in delivering services that applied linguists have promised but are slow to deliver. This is not due to a lack of will or means on the part of linguists, but rather, because of the linguistic reality in Africa.

    Despite the impact of colonization and the imposition of a monolithic ideal on language reality, Africa reflects the plurality, fluidity and resourcefulness that drive human communication…If AI is informed by these intricacies at all phases of its implementation, it will adequately address the diversity of voices…in Africa.”

    It is clear that AI engineers and computational linguists need to integrate thoughtful approaches that take into account unique circumstances of languages.

    In the not-too-distant future, using AI tools to learn and communicate in under-resourced languages may become the norm. However, that shift depends on financial backing, accurate training data for machine learning, and community desire to embrace AI. Ultimately, data sovereignty and equitable access must be at the core of AI tools.

    Anna Luisa Daigneault volunteers for Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, a non-profit organization whose work is not connected to contents of this article.

    – ref. How AI could help safeguard Indigenous languages – https://theconversation.com/how-ai-could-help-safeguard-indigenous-languages-255359

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Pope Leo XIV liberal or conservative? Why these labels don’t work for popes

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mark Yenson, King’s University College, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Vice-President and Academic Dean (Interim), Western University

    The 133 cardinal electors sequestered in the Sistine Chapel elected a new pope May 8. The choice was a surprise — Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, who has carried out most of his ministry in Peru, before being elevated to Vatican roles by Pope Francis.

    As commentators and the media try to piece together backgrounders on Pope Leo XIV, one obvious question will be, “Is he a liberal or a conservative?” The same question was asked about Pope Francis, and about the cardinals entering this conclave.

    When applied to individual Catholics, the terms “liberal” and “conservative” can mean very different things. One could be conservative in regard to liturgy and church practice while being strongly committed to anti-racism and environmentalism.

    Or one might be considered a social conservative on issues such as marriage, sexuality and gender while holding clearly left-wing, social democratic views on the role of government.

    Even if Catholics are comfortable self-identifying as liberal or conservative Catholics, we should not treat these terms as if their meaning were obvious — especially since even as purely political terms the meaning of “liberal” or “conservative” is contested.

    Papacy as institution

    Things become all the more complicated when we are talking about the pope, the supreme head of the Catholic Church. The papacy as an institution is conservative by definition.

    The pope is considered the successor of the Apostle Peter, and his job description is precisely to maintain the unity and catholicity (“wholeness”) of the Church’s life, not only in space but through time — that is, to ensure continuity.

    But because of this role to maintain the fullness of a tradition and the unity of the Church, the pope cannot be conservative (or liberal) in a political sense.

    Pope Francis legacy

    The pontificate of Francis should have served as a lesson against liberal/conservative labels. From the beginning of his pontificate, he advocated strenuously for migrants and refugees. He reached out personally to LGBTQ+ communities. He initiated a worldwide “synodal” process that included broad consultation and fostered discussion of topics previously considered out of bounds, such as ordination of women as deacons (though not priests). He placed women in high-ranking positions in the Roman curia previously reserved only for clerics.

    But Francis was also critical of “gender ideology,” affirmed Church teaching on abortion and maintained the Church’s reservation of ordination to men only. While he angered self-identified conservatives, he often disappointed self-identified liberals.

    Instead of trying to impose political categories, it makes more sense to try to uncover the internal dynamics and motivations of a pope’s teaching and ministry. For example, Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato si’, was a landmark in Catholic teaching on ecology. Far from being a political manifesto, the letter presents a vision of the human being within creation, informed by the Bible, theological reflection and modern Catholic social teaching. Francis frequently references the social thought of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who himself affirmed that the Church “must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone.”



    Read more:
    Laudato Si’: A look back on Pope Francis’s environmental legacy

    As the British theologian Anna Rowlands astutely notes, Catholic social teaching “functions as a social philosophy that never fully baptizes a liberal philosophy or sentiment. It remains locked in a complex dialogue … with liberal democracy.”

    The role of the pope, highlighted in Francis’s teaching on ecology, is to inspire a different kind of social and moral imagination, one not reducible to particular ideological positions.

    Catholic teaching, conscience

    Another example that subverts the liberal/conservative dichotomy was the well-known response of Pope Francis to a journalist’s question about homosexuality in the priesthood: “Who am I to judge?” Francis did not overturn “conservative” teachings in sexual ethics.

    But he did speak as a member of the Jesuit religious order and as a pastor, who knows that the general law must be applied in specific cases that introduce complexities and require nuanced concrete responses.

    There was also a tacit appeal to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), that an individual is bound to follow their conscience.

    For his part, Benedict XVI (as then-Cardinal Ratzinger), in a 1991 address to American bishops in Dallas, alluded to “the classical principle of moral tradition that conscience is the highest norm which [the human person] is to follow even in opposition to authority.” According to this principle, while church teaching authority would inform conscience, “conscience … would retain the final word.”

    There is no doubt that LGBTQ+ Catholics were able to hear something different in Francis’s language than they had heard in Benedict’s. However, both Benedict and Francis could appeal to shared principles, which were theological rather than political, and not reducible to liberal versus conservative categories.

    Weight of political polarization

    In our current political context, political terms like “liberal” and “conservative” tend to carry the weight of American political polarization.

    In the American context at the moment, “conservative Catholic” in its most radical form blends theological traditionalism — devotion to the traditional Latin mass, emphasis on doctrinal orthodoxy and opposition to Francis’s reformist papacy — with support for the Republican party and MAGA movement.

    As professor of moral philosophy Massimo Borghesi has argued, this radical conservative opposition to Francis has its genesis in the pro-capitalist Catholic neo-conservatism of the 1980s and 90s, and is a predominantly American phenomenon.

    In addition, as writer and editor James T. Keane noted in a 2021 article in the Jesuit magazine America, the political polarizations that have seeped into the American Catholic Church should not set the map for the rest of the world, least of all the papacy. It is important to remember this fact as the first North American pope begins his pontificate.

    Choice of name Leo

    Cardinal Robert Prevost, who has become Pope Leo XIV, has given indications of being critical of the Trump administration on issues of peace and migration, very much in line with Francis.

    His choice of the name Leo harkens back to Pope Leo XIII, the pope credited with initiating modern Catholic social teaching, and signals an emphasis on the Church’s advocacy for peace and justice. The new pope’s first Urbi et Orbi (“To the City and to the World”) address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica signalled continuity with Francis — peace, dialogue, encounter, bridge-building.

    And Pope Leo’s career as a missionary, bishop and Vatican cardinal outside of the U.S. means that his context is not confined to the polarizations of the U.S. Catholic Church and its bishops.

    Will the new Pope, Leo XIV, be liberal or conservative? Pope Francis did not fit neatly into these categories: I hope Pope Leo won’t either.

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

    – ref. Is Pope Leo XIV liberal or conservative? Why these labels don’t work for popes – https://theconversation.com/is-pope-leo-xiv-liberal-or-conservative-why-these-labels-dont-work-for-popes-256180

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Exclusive: China’s Global Initiatives Shape the Architecture of a Just World — Tajik Expert

    Translation. Region: Russian Federal

    Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

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

    Dushanbe, May 11 (Xinhua) — China’s three global initiatives – in development, security and civilization – together with the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind reflect Beijing’s strategic vision of building a just, sustainable and multipolar world, Guzel Maitdinova, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

    In her opinion, the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia from May 7 to 10, as well as his participation in the events marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, became an important milestone in the practical promotion of Chinese initiatives and strengthening the concept of a community with a common future for mankind in international affairs.

    G. Maitdinova noted that the PRC Chairman has repeatedly emphasized the need to counter unilateralism, bullying and power politics. This position, according to her, demonstrates China’s commitment to the principles of a fair global order and the prevention of the dominance of one center of power. China and Russia advocate multipolarity, where each state has the right to a sovereign choice of development path. Support by developing countries of each other’s foreign policies in this context reflects their common strategy of countering a unipolar world order.

    Speaking about the economic dimension, the expert emphasized the importance of President Xi Jinping’s statement on joint responsibility with Russia for protecting the multilateral trading system and the stability of global supply chains. In her opinion, this demonstrates the desire of China and Russia to form a new economic architecture free from sanctions pressure and dictates from Western structures.

    Commenting on the call of the PRC Chairman for consolidation of the Global South and protection of interests of developing countries, G. Maitdinova stated that Beijing and Moscow play a key role in forming a new international order based on equality and cultural diversity. China, in particular, advocates reform of international institutions and fair distribution of resources and access to technologies and markets.

    The expert emphasized that Xi Jinping’s active bilateral and multilateral meetings in Moscow with leaders of other countries reflect China’s course toward expanding partnerships with developing countries and forming an alternative agenda for global interaction. These contacts confirm China’s status as a responsible global actor capable of uniting countries on the basis of mutual benefit and collective security.

    According to G. Maitdinova, Xi Jinping’s visit gave impetus to the practical implementation of China’s three initiatives and strengthened the idea of a community with a common future for humanity. It became an expression of China’s readiness to take the lead in promoting fair and sustainable principles of global governance. “China not only formulates ideas, but also implements them in concrete steps, laying the foundation for the formation of a fairer and more balanced international order,” she concluded. -0-

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: G20 is too elite. There’s a way to fix that though – economists

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Danny Bradlow, Professor/Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria

    The G20 claims to be “the premier forum for international economic cooperation”.

    But is it?

    As scholars of global economic governance, we are sceptical of this claim. Here are our main reasons.

    • The G20 is insufficiently representative of the 193 member states of the United Nations plus the small number of non-member states.

    • It is a self-selected group of 19 countries and the European and African Unions.

    • It has no mandate to act or speak on behalf of the international community.

    • It has no transparent or formal mechanisms through which it can communicate with actors who do not participate in the G20 but have a stake in its deliberations and their outcomes.

    The growing tensions in the world make it more urgent to improve the efficacy of the G20. Firstly, because there is growing evidence of the loss of interest in global cooperation. Secondly, because rich states are cutting their official development assistance and are failing to meet their commitments to help countries deal with loss and damage from climate impacts and make their economies more resilient to shocks.

    And thirdly, because rich countries are also reluctant to discuss financing sustainable and inclusive development in forums like the upcoming Fourth Financing for Development Conference or the UN, where all states can participate. They prefer exclusive forums like the G20.

    Here, after briefly describing the structure of the G20, we argue that its lack of representation is a major problem. We offer a solution and argue that, as chair of the G20 this year, South Africa is well placed to promote this solution.

    What is the G20 and how does it function?

    The G20 was established in the late 1990s in the wake of the East Asian financial crisis. Its members were invited by the US and Germany based on a proposal from the Canadian government. Initially only finance ministers and central bank governors of major advanced and emerging economies were involved. After the financial crisis of 2008-2009 it was upgraded to summit level with the same membership.

    A summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating presidency.

    The group accounts for 67% of the world’s population, 85% of global GDP, and 75% of global trade. The membership comprises 19 of the “weightiest” national economies plus the European Union and the African Union. The 19 national economies are the G7 (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada), plus Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. These countries are permanently “in”. The remaining 90% of countries in the world are excluded unless invited as “special guests” on an ad hoc basis.

    Representatives of a select group of international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization also participate, together with those from some UN entities.

    The G20’s work is managed by a troika consisting of the current president with the assistance of the past president and the incoming president. In 2025 this troika consists of South Africa as the current chair, Brazil as the past chair and the US, which will become the G20 president in 2026. The G20 has no permanent secretariat.

    The consistency in G20 membership has proven to be an advantage because it helps foster a sense of familiarity, understanding and trust at the technical level among the permanent members. This is helpful in times of crisis and in dealing with complex problems.

    But its exclusivity and informal status have limited its ability to address major challenges such as the global response to the economic and health consequences of the COVID pandemic. This is because an effective response required agreement and coordinated action by all states and not just those in the G20.

    A solution

    We think that the governance model of the Financial Stability Board offers a solution.

    The Financial Stability Board was established under the umbrella of the G20 in 2009. Its job is to coordinate international financial regulatory standard-setting, monitor the global financial system for signs of stress, and to make recommendations that can help avert potential financial crises.

    It is also an exclusive club. Its membership consists of the financial regulatory authorities in the G20 countries plus those in a few other countries that are considered financially systemically important.

    However, unlike the G20, the Financial Stability Board has made a systematic effort to learn the views of non-members. It has established six Regional Consultative Groups, one each for the Americas, Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa.

    The objective is to expand and formalise the Financial Stability Board’s outreach activities beyond its membership and to better reflect the global character of the financial system.

    The regional consultative groups operate in a framework which promotes compliance within each region with the Financial Stability Board’s policy initiatives. The framework enables the group members to share among themselves and with the board their views on common problems and solutions and on the issues on the board’s agenda.

    Importantly, each regional group is co-chaired by an official from a Financial Stability Board member and an official from a non-member institution.

    Applying this model to the G20 would allow the current G20 membership to continue, while obliging the members to establish a consultation process with regional neighbours. This would create a limited form of representation for all the world’s states.

    It would also empower the smaller and weaker members of the G20 because it would enable them to speak with more confidence and credibility about the challenges facing their region.

    This arrangement would also establish a limited form of G20 accountability towards the international community.

    Next steps

    As chair of the G20 chair for 2025, South Africa is well placed to promote this solution to the group’s representation problem. It should work with the African Union to establish an African G20 regional consultative group. South Africa and the African Union could invite each African regional organisation to select one representative to serve on the initial consultative group.

    South Africa could also commit to convey the outcomes of G20 regional consultative group meetings to the G20.

    South Africa can then use this example to demonstrate to the G20 the value of having a G20 regional consultative group and advocate that other regions should adopt the same approach.

    Danny Bradlow, in addition to his position at the University of Pretoria, is the Senior G20 Advisor, South African institute of International Affairs.

    Robert Wade 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. G20 is too elite. There’s a way to fix that though – economists – https://theconversation.com/g20-is-too-elite-theres-a-way-to-fix-that-though-economists-255783

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –