NewzIntel.com

Category: Universities

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City’s biggest summer event buoyed by new wave of sponsors – including the University of Aberdeen The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 has announced a significant wave of new sponsors, joining previously confirmed partners in supporting this summer’s must-attend event.

    Source: University of Aberdeen

    The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 has announced a significant wave of new sponsors, joining previously confirmed partners in supporting this summer’s must-attend event.
    The latest businesses and organisations to sign up include the University as well as Boskalis, Clarksons Port Services, Dales Marine, DC Thomson, Glen Garioch, Greenwell Equipment, Sea-Cargo, Shell, Streamline Shipping Group, Targe Towing and TotalEnergies.
    Professor Peter Edwards, Vice-Principal Regional Engagement at the University, said: “World renowned, international in its approach, collaborative by nature and always looking to the horizon –  we share many of the traits which make the Tall Ships Races such a special and unforgettable experience.
    “A community of more than 130 nationalities, we are also more than just an ancient university with a deep connection to the region’s maritime history. We are an active champion for our local community and are delighted to be supporting the 2025 Races and showcasing the best of the North-east of Scotland.”
    The festival – billed as Europe’s largest free family event – takes place between 19-22 July and nearly 50 Tall Ships have already signed up from South America, the Middle East and Europe which will create a dazzling parade of sail.
    The Tall Ships Aberdeen ‘Quayside Concerts’ in Peterson Seabase – a freight yard being transformed into one of Scotland’s biggest outdoor music venues – will feature three nights of ticketed events with major headline acts, and a free gig on Sunday night featuring renowned Scottish headliners.
    This is alongside an exciting free events programme, featuring renowned Scottish headliners on the Sunday night and a vibrant schedule of daytime, family-friendly entertainment that is expected to draw an estimated 400,000 visits to Aberdeen.

    We are an active champion for our local community and are delighted to be supporting the 2025 Races and showcasing the best of the North-east of Scotland.” Professor Peter Edwards, Vice-Principal Regional Engagement at the University

    Councillor Martin Greig, Chair of Aberdeen’s Tall Ships 2025 organising committee, said: “The Tall Ships experience will have a massive, positive impact on Aberdeen and the region. The importance of the Tall Ships is reflected in the support that has been given by our generous sponsors.
    “I am absolutely delighted that high-profile partners have agreed to contribute so positively to make the event a success. This is the biggest event that Aberdeen, and its region, has seen in almost 30 years. The support from these distinguished businesses is truly appreciated.” 
    The new supporters join previously announced sponsors ASCO, Aspect: The Strategic Communications Experts, Balmoral Group, Equinor, Global Maritime, John Lawrie Metals, OPITO, Peterson Energy Logistics and Serica Energy.
    Aberdeen is the only UK host port for the Tall Ships Races this summer and – based on the experience of previous host ports – the event stands to inject tens of millions of pounds into the city and wider economy.
    Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “Everyone involved in the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen is delighted by the wave of support shown by businesses and organisations getting on board as sponsors. We can’t thank them enough and I would urge others to become sponsors, too.
    “Their contribution is invaluable in making the spectacular event in July the best it can be, while leaving a lasting legacy for the city’s economy and its reputation for hosting large-scale events that can attract hundreds of thousands of visits.”
    The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 is supported through EventScotland’s International Events Funding Programme.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Building Sustainable Business Models Across Africa: The Student Story of Mich Jane Awuor

    Source: Universities – Science Po in English

    Students in front of the entrance at 1 St-Thomas (credits: Pierre Morel)

    Virtual Undergraduate Open House day 2025

    Come meet our teams and students at our campuses.

    Sign-up

    Virtual Graduate Open House day 2025

    Meet faculty members, students and representatives and learn more about our 30 Master’s programmes.

    Sign-up

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Gene Hackman will be remembered as the Hollywood actor’s actor

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Will Jeffery, Sessional Academic, Discipline of Film Studies, University of Sydney

    Gene Hackman, an acting titan of 1970s and ‘80s Hollywood with more than 80 screen credits to his name, has died at 95. He was found dead in his home with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, and his dog.

    Hackman had a rugged, dominating and commanding presence on screen, known for his emotionally honest, raw and fierce performances. Always the tough guy, never the romantic lead, off camera he was shy and enjoyed the quiet life.

    I first saw Hackman as a child in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). My dad put the film on for the upside-down ocean liner disaster sequences, but it was Hackman who left a lasting impression. I vividly remember being so moved by his final speech berating God for deserting the ship’s passengers and crew while he hangs from a pressure valve door over flames.

    There is no actor who comes close to conveying authority with such humanity and reserve.

    He was often referred to as the actor’s actor and mentioned by Hollywood A-listers such as Kevin Costner as the best actor they’ve ever worked with. Clint Eastwood, once Hackman retired, described him as “too good not to be performing”.

    Hackman will leave a legacy to be studied and appreciated for years to come.

    Finding a foot in show business

    Born in San Bernardino, California, on January 30 1930, Hackman’s family moved to Danville, Illinois, when he was three. Hackman’s father left when he was 13, which he described to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio as his father “driving by with a casual wave goodbye”.

    Hackman joked to Lipton the departure of his father at an early age made him a better actor.

    Hackman left Danville at the age of 16 to join the marines, where he spent roughly four years. He was a rebellious child, but as Peter Shelley detailed in his biography of Hackman, the marine corps was the first time he gave in to authority.

    After the marine corps, Hackman moved to New York wanting to become an actor, telling people he was inspired by tough guy James “Jimmy” Cagney.

    In New York, Hackman struggled making a living as an artist while waiting for his breakthrough (his uncle told him to give up and get an honest job). Moving to California, he became friends early on with Dustin Hoffman (they finally appeared opposite each other in Hackman’s penultimate film, 2003’s Runaway Jury).

    After struggling for years, Hackman landed his first credited screen role in 1964’s Lilith at the age of 34. He played a small part opposite upcoming star Warren Beatty.

    As Hackman recounted to Lipton, Beatty told director Arthur Penn how great Hackman was in a scene they did together. That landed Hackman his breakthrough role playing Buck Barrow opposite Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the 1967 hit Bonnie and Clyde, earning him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

    Breaking through in the 1970s

    It wasn’t until the 1970s that Hackman began his leading role career, starring in The French Connection (1971) as the unforgettable hard-boiled New York detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. This role earned him his first Academy Award, for best actor.

    He was to wait more than 20 years for his second and final Academy Award, for playing the ruthless Little Bill Daggett opposite Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992).

    Throughout the 1970s, Hackman was gaining huge popularity on screen, sharing records with the likes of Robert Redford and Harrison Ford as the highest grossing stars at the box office.

    There are too many great Hackman performances to mention, but my favourites are Unforgiven, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation (1974), Hoosiers (1986), Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).

    The French Connection’s director, William Friedkin, said in an interview Hackman was anti-authority and anti-racism because of his upbringing in an area known for its large Ku Klux Klan presence, and his absent father.

    Hackman almost pulled out of The French Connection one week into shooting because he didn’t like “beating on people” for a four-month shoot. He told Friedkin “I don’t think I can do this,” but Friedkin refused to let him go.

    Hackman recalled he was eternally grateful Friedkin didn’t, as it was “the start of [his] career”.

    Hackman said his character Popeye Doyle was a “bigot, an antisemitic, and whatever else you wanted to call him”, and he famously struggled to say the N-word in one key scene. He initially protested the line but eventually went with it, believing “that’s who the guy is […] you couldn’t really whitewash him”.

    Hackman often played the character who had the greatest authority on the surface but slipped up, whether he was playing the hero or the villain. Even for a role such as Reverend Scott in The Poseidon Adventure, in which Hackman played a self-righteous preacher onboard the capsized SS Poseidon, he questions his religion as he leads the entire band of escapees to safety.

    A life after acting

    Hackman retired from acting in 2004 at age 74.

    There are many stories about why he retired, like, as Shelley writes, not wanting to play Hollywood “grandfathers” and his “heart wasn’t in shape”, but his life after acting gives a strong hint: he had other interests.

    Over the past 20 years, Hackman wrote three historical fiction novels, was a keen painter, and enjoyed exercise such as cycling. Married to classical pianist Arakawa from 1991 until their death, they lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he designed his own home (yes, he also loved architecture!).

    A man of many talents who played a kaleidoscopic range of authoritative roles, Hackman will almost certainly be remembered mainly for his tough-guy performance in The French Connection – though many will also remember him as the Hollywood actor’s actor.

    Will Jeffery 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. Gene Hackman will be remembered as the Hollywood actor’s actor – https://theconversation.com/gene-hackman-will-be-remembered-as-the-hollywood-actors-actor-233109

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: London leaders unveil Growth Plan to turbocharge productivity and add more than £100bn to London’s economy

    Source: Mayor of London

    • London Growth Plan aims to put an extra £11k a year in the pocket of every Londoner and provide £27bn extra tax revenue to fund vital public services in the capital and across the country  
    • The plan targets restoring London’s productivity growth back to 2% per year – making London’s economy £107bn larger by 2035 
    • Plan’s inclusive growth ambitions include a 20% rise in household income for the lowest earning 20% of Londoners 
    • £21m additional funding this year will revitalise local high streets  
    • The Mayor and London Councils issue joint call on UK Government for more investment and devolution to boost local and national growth 

     

    The Mayor of London and London Councils have come together today (Thursday 27 February 2025) with local leaders from business, education and the voluntary sector to launch a bold new plan to turbocharge economic growth and increase prosperity across the capital.

     

    Developed together with London & Partners – in collaboration with businesses, trade unions and London’s communities – the London Growth Plan sets out a blueprint to kickstart the capital’s productivity, which has flatlined since the 2008 global financial crisis.

     

    The plan aims to restore productivity growth to an average of two per cent a year in the next decade, which would make London’s economy £107bn* larger by 2035 and put an extra £11,000 on average in the pockets of the near-nine million Londoners. This would also mean the capital contributing an extra £27.5bn in taxes to the Treasury in 2035, providing vital revenues for investment in public services.

     

    London’s productivity grew by an average of 3.16 per cent each year between 1998 and 2007, but between 2008 and 2022, average productivity growth was just 0.12 per cent a year. Growing productivity is the key to higher wages, higher living standards and increased investment in public services in London and across the UK.

     

    The new plan focuses on inclusive economic growth to make sure that more Londoners can contribute to and benefit from the capital’s success. Helping more Londoners into work, bringing down housing costs and improving public transport are all vital to reducing poverty in London, improving living standards and driving growth. The plan aims to achieve a 20 per cent rise in the household weekly income (after housing costs) of the lowest earning 20 per cent of Londoners – which would mean more than a million London households would have an extra £50 to spend each week, on average, after paying for housing costs. 

     

    The London Growth Plan outlines huge opportunities for turbocharging the capital’s economy and harnessing the growth potential of sectors such as AI, life sciences, robotics, clean tech, quantum computing and the creative industries. Key drivers to deliver the plan’s growth ambitions for the capital include a renewed focus on nurturing world-class talent, helping Londoners get the skills they need for productive careers, backing business innovation with new investment and technology, taking a bolder approach to housing and infrastructure, and reinvigorating London’s local high streets. 

     

    A long-term strategic relationship between London and the UK Government will be a crucial part of delivering the plan. London is the engine of the UK economy and, with national support, this plan can harness its economic power and potential for the benefit of all Londoners and the whole country, helping to fund investment in public services across Britain.

     

    Priorities in the London Growth Plan include:  

     

    • Backing business: London government will help to power ‘industrial innovation corridors’ around the capital – supporting new space, facilities and infrastructure to ensure innovation can thrive. This will build on the potential of the WestTech Corridor (anchored in White City going through Old Oak and Park Royal), the UK Innovation Corridor (anchored in the Knowledge Quarter going towards Cambridge) and the Thames Estuary (anchored in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park going out to Essex and Kent).  A new proposed London Tech and Inclusive Growth Fund could provide up to £100m loan and equity funding for high-growth small and midsize enterprises.  
    • Talent and skills: An Inclusive Talent Strategy will build the capital’s skilled workforce to unleash the potential of Londoners and – in turn – London’s economy. This will help create at least 150,000 high quality jobs, with a focus on fair pay and good work, to deliver Mayoral manifesto commitments. As well as supporting more people into work and ensuring all Londoners can get the skills or training needed to progress their careers, the strategy will help attract world-class talent to study and work in the capital. New rent-controlled Key Worker Homes will also help London to attract and retain its essential workforce. 
    • Housing and infrastructure: Local leaders will work with UK Government to extend and upgrade London’s public transport network, prioritising transformational projects to unlock new affordable homes and growth – including the Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead, the Bakerloo line extension and the West London Orbital. The plan also calls for more devolution of London’s suburban rail services. This will be reinforced by the next London Plan, which will prioritise growth, increase housing delivery and ensure better digital connectivity.  
    • Inward investment and promotion: London will take the lead in implementing national reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme, exploring the development of a major joint fund to invest in places that encourage innovation, including venture capital. The plan will also support London’s goal to be a net-zero city by 2030, attracting significant institutional capital for green infrastructure. There will be support to set up a new quantum tech incubator, London Life Sciences Week will be backed to become a key global event for the sector, and London leaders will explore a new business visitor centre to promote the capital’s world-leading offer by bringing companies together with agencies and developers.  
    • High streets and local economies: £21m additional funding this year will support boroughs with town centre regeneration, including potentially creating a publicly owned High Street Estate Agency to bring empty properties back into use. The plan also reiterates the Mayor’s commitment to revitalising neighbourhood policing so that the capital’s high streets always feel welcoming and safe.  

     

    Delivering the London Growth Plan will be a genuine partnership between the Mayor, local government leaders and central government, working in coalition with universities, incubators, accelerators, venture capitalists, innovation districts, corporate innovators, capital markets and international investors.  

     

    London’s leaders want central government to help unleash the capital’s economic potential by giving the Mayor and boroughs more freedoms to fund their own growth priorities, and the flexibility to spend money in the best way to drive good growth. This is on top of continuing to lobby the Government to secure agreements with our biggest international trading partners that ensure London’s key sectors can continue to grow and thrive.  

     

    Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This growth plan provides a golden opportunity to turbocharge growth and unlock London’s full potential – for the benefit of all Londoners and the whole country.  

     

    “It’s a blueprint for how we can help to create 150,000 good jobs, build more affordable homes, deliver major new transport upgrades and skill up Londoners for the well-paid jobs of tomorrow. From AI, life sciences and climate tech to our financial and creative industries, London is home to many of the best businesses in the world, which we want to back to grow and thrive over the next decade. 

     

    “Ultimately, growth means little if people cannot feel the benefits or see the positive change it brings to their area. So our goal is to deliver economic growth in every corner of our city that helps to raise living standards, puts more money in people’s pockets and enables us to invest in our public services, as we continue to build a fairer and more prosperous London for all.” 

     

    Cllr Claire Holland, leader of London Councils, added: “The London Growth Plan is a blueprint to drive inclusive economic growth in the capital and across the UK, boosting productivity and ensuring more Londoners can feel the benefits of growth.

     

    “It sets out our ambitions to unleash growth in the industries of the future, deliver new housing and infrastructure to support the London economy, and develop a new Inclusive Talent Strategy, helping more people to get into work and get the skills they need to progress.

     

    “Boroughs are resolutely pro-growth and are committed to working with business, the Mayor of London and national government to turbocharge growth in every corner of our city.” 

     

    Laura Citron, chief executive of London & Partners, concluded: “This is a huge moment for our city: a shared vision, a clear plan, and now the momentum to make it happen. As the capital’s growth agency, we’ll be working closely with investors, entrepreneurs, partners, and places across the city to drive growth for London and Londoners – attracting investment, scaling our businesses, bringing in visitors and world-class events, while telling London’s story brilliantly. Our city is built on reinvention, and this is our next big chapter.”

    London’s universities and research institutes will be key partners in nurturing the talent and innovation required to deliver the Plan’s growth targets. The Plan highlights University College London’s Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory and Imperial’s recent purchase of the Victoria Industrial Estate in the proposed WestTech innovation corridor as examples of the specialist spaces needed to support inclusive growth. 

    Prof Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, said: “Universities like Imperial play a critical role in attracting and nurturing world-class talent, fuelling inclusive growth, and strengthening London’s position as a global leader in innovation. That’s why the best innovation ecosystems have world-renowned research universities at their heart.

    “The WestTech Corridor, anchored by Imperial College London, will be central to delivering the Mayor’s ambitious London Growth Plan, driving a vibrant innovation ecosystem in West London and acting as a powerful engine for investment, economic growth and job creation across the UK and the wider world.”

    Dr Michael Spence, President and Provost at UCL, said: “Innovation, driven by universities working with local government and businesses, has huge potential to spur growth and create jobs in London. The London Growth Plan reflects the importance of universities like UCL in helping to attract, nurture and realise inclusive growth in our capital city.

    “UCL’s campuses are at the heart of London’s innovation corridors, driving the talent pipeline alongside our cutting-edge facilities delivering world class research. Within ten minutes of our Bloomsbury campus, one of the world’s largest and most collaborative innovation districts is taking shape in the Knowledge Quarter, with huge potential to bring together life science, technology, healthcare and academia in one place. On Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, UCL East is at the heart of the UK’s newest culture and learning quarter at East Bank, a driving force behind cultural and creative industries innovation and regeneration in London.”

    The newly published London Growth Plan has also been welcomed by leading voices from across the capital’s business community.  

    Karim Fatehi OBE, Chief Executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “LCCI welcomes the Mayor’s London Growth Plan to maximise London’s economic potential and maintain its position as the best city in the world to do business. Businesses of all sizes are the lifeblood of the London economy, and measures such as the London Tech and Inclusive Growth fund will help them grow and attract investment.

    “We especially welcome the Growth Plan’s focus on skills – giving Londoners access to industry-relevant training, employment and careers support. This inclusive strategy will ensure London’s economic success means prosperity for all Londoners.”

    Laura Timm, London Policy Representative at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “FSB is delighted to see a strong, ambitious and upbeat Growth Plan that hones in on three key FSB drivers for small business growth—namely, access to targeted finance, cultivating a high-functioning skills system, and presenting opportunities for small firms to win public procurement contracts.

    “Over 99 per cent of all firms in the capital are small in size but significant in growth potential. We look forward to working with the Mayor of London, the Deputy Mayor for Business and other stakeholders in implementing the Growth Plan – which we hope will create the environment that helps a local small firm take on their first apprentice, seal an exporting opportunity, and tackle the scourge of business crimes up and down our high streets.”

    John Dickie, Chief Executive of Business LDN, said: “The bold ambitions set out in the London Growth Plan rightly focus on unlocking the city’s full potential so that businesses can succeed and Londoners thrive. Delivering on this agenda will require the city to double down on existing efforts to tackle barriers to inclusive growth such as housing and skills where we have the agency to act.

    “The Government needs to ensure London has the tools it needs to turbocharge growth and help the UK get out of the economic slow lane. This means stepping up by providing long-term, flexible funding to unlock vital infrastructure and affordable housing so that the city remains an attractive place to live, work, visit and do business.”

    Read more at www.growthplan.london.  

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic students learn to fight corruption

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The Youth Council of the Administration of the Kalininsky District of St. Petersburg, the intracity municipal formation of the Akademicheskoe municipal district and the Higher School of Law and Forensic Science (HSJISTE) of SPbPU held an interactive practice-oriented event within the framework of anti-corruption education and counteraction to antisocial phenomena among the youth “Corruption: A Game Without Rules”.

    Prevention of antisocial phenomena, including corruption, is one of the tasks of the security and legal education system at the Polytechnic University, solved jointly with the administration of the Kalininsky District and the municipal formation of the Akademicheskoe municipal district. Practical knowledge obtained by students will allow them to apply it in their future professional activities, and at present will help develop the skills of lawful behavior in society, – noted the Vice-Rector for Security of SPbPU Alexander Airapetyan.

    The interactive format of individual and team work, heated discussions and debates with elements of simulating professional investigations and court decisions made the event exciting for students. Volunteers of the Polytechnic Squad and interested students coped with the task perfectly.

    In the event “Corruption: Game without rules” we took on the roles of investigators who had to solve complicated corruption cases using specific materials with evidence. Each administrative-investigative version contained information on various signs of corruption provided for by the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The goal of the game: to collect as much evidence as possible to identify the corruption scheme and expose the culprits, the guys shared.

    The organizers’ significant legal and practical experience in fighting corruption made it possible to fill the format of the business scientific and educational game with practice-oriented aspects.

    The municipality actively works with young people, including on issues of preventing antisocial phenomena, and in the Polytechnic University we have found a partner and like-minded person in organizing significant scientific, educational and practice-oriented events, – commented the head of the municipality of the MO “Akademicheskoe” Igor Pyzhik, expressing hope for the introduction of positive experience not only in the student environment, but also in schools.

    “The formation of an anti-corruption worldview in the modern youth environment is a priority of the national security of the Russian Federation, since it is aimed at developing democratic processes of state and municipal governance,” noted Dmitry Mokhorov, Director of the Higher School of Law and Technical Education. “Reinforcing skills in the educational process through professional interactive events in cooperation with subjects of state and municipal governance, law enforcement officers has become a trend in the training of modern youth at the Polytechnic University. This is why our graduates are in demand on the labor market.”

    Following the event, the organizers noted the adaptability of new methods of interaction with young people, the students’ interest in acquiring new skills and the ability to apply this knowledge in real professional situations and in their personal lives. Further points of interaction in matters of legal education were outlined, including the participation of students as mentors in schools in the Kalininsky District.

    It was interesting. This is not a game, but professional training close to real activities. We had to work hard and use all the knowledge we received in class so that the team not only completed all the tasks, but also demonstrated unconventional thinking in resolving practical disputes. Thanks to the Polytechnic University for the fact that there are so many interesting things in our studies! — the guys shared their impressions of the event.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientists have studied the neurobiology of pragmatic thinking

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

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

    An international team with the participation of HSE scientists studied how the brain understands hidden meanings in speech. Using fMRI, the researchers discovered that if the meaning is obvious, the areas responsible for decision-making are active, and with complex and ambiguous statements, the areas that analyze the context and intentions of the interlocutor are activated. The more difficult the task, the more these areas interact, helping the brain figure it out. Studypublished in the journalTerround.

    Every person has encountered a situation when the words of the interlocutor do not match their real meaning. We understand hints, sarcasm and even irony, although the formally spoken words may indicate the opposite. This process in cognitive science is called pragmatic thinking – the ability to extract meaning from context, even if it was not explicitly expressed.

    An international team of scientists tried to understand how the brain copes with such situations. The study participants played a “referential game” — a method for studying how people interpret ambiguous messages. In each test, four available characteristics and three monsters — potato, eggplant, or pear — appeared on the screen. Each of them had an accessory: a blue cap, a red cap, or a yellow scarf. The speaker gave a hint, highlighted with a yellow rectangle, for example: “red cap.” The subjects had to understand which character was being discussed, but the hint was not always unambiguous, and the correct answer depended on the context. The tasks were divided into three difficulty levels: simple, complex, and unambiguous. There were 96 tasks in total — 32 for each level.

    To understand which areas of the brain are involved in the interpretation process, the scientists recorded the participants’ brain activity using functional MRI (fMRI). This is a neuroimaging method that allows studying brain activity in real time. The authors of the article also developed six computer models to understand how people analyze information and what strategies their understanding is based on.

    The results showed that when a person quickly understands the meaning of a phrase and is confident in their answer, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which helps make decisions, and the ventral striatum (VS), which is associated with the feeling of making the right choice, are active.

    But when the meaning of a statement is not obvious, the brain restructures its work, involving other areas. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) analyzes the intentions of the interlocutor and helps to understand a complex situation. The anterior insular cortex (AI) reacts to uncertainty and tension, participating in the formation of emotions. The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is responsible for speech processing. The more complex the task, the more actively these areas interact, helping the brain correctly interpret the meaning.

    The researchers also found that the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others affected how well they performed on the task. Those who performed better had more active connections between the prefrontal and anterior insular cortex, indicating that they were more flexible in their thinking. Previously, pragmatic thinking had been studied within the framework of general models that assumed common cognitive mechanisms. However, this study showed that people’s interpretation strategies differed.

    “Understanding speech is not just a matter of intelligence or memory. Our brains use a complex system that integrates language, social thinking, and contextual analysis,” comments the research fellow. International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, National Research University Higher School of EconomicsMario Martinez Saito: “These findings could also have practical applications. Perhaps, thanks to such research, your voice assistant will finally understand the difference between sincere praise and sarcasm.”

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Gene Hackman will be remembered as the Hollywood actor’s actor

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Jeffery, Sessional Academic, Discipline of Film Studies, University of Sydney

    Gene Hackman, an acting titan of 1970s and ‘80s Hollywood with more than 80 screen credits to his name, has died at 95. He was found dead in his home with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, and his dog.

    Hackman had a rugged, dominating and commanding presence on screen, known for his emotionally honest, raw and fierce performances. Always the tough guy, never the romantic lead, off camera he was shy and enjoyed the quiet life.

    I first saw Hackman as a child in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). My dad put the film on for the upside-down ocean liner disaster sequences, but it was Hackman who left a lasting impression. I vividly remember being so moved by his final speech berating God for deserting the ship’s passengers and crew while he hangs from a pressure valve door over flames.

    There is no actor who comes close to conveying authority with such humanity and reserve.

    He was often referred to as the actor’s actor and mentioned by Hollywood A-listers such as Kevin Costner as the best actor they’ve ever worked with. Clint Eastwood, once Hackman retired, described him as “too good not to be performing”.

    Hackman will leave a legacy to be studied and appreciated for years to come.

    Finding a foot in show business

    Born in San Bernardino, California, on January 30 1930, Hackman’s family moved to Danville, Illinois, when he was three. Hackman’s father left when he was 13, which he described to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio as his father “driving by with a casual wave goodbye”.

    Hackman joked to Lipton the departure of his father at an early age made him a better actor.

    Hackman left Danville at the age of 16 to join the marines, where he spent roughly four years. He was a rebellious child, but as Peter Shelley detailed in his biography of Hackman, the marine corps was the first time he gave in to authority.

    After the marine corps, Hackman moved to New York wanting to become an actor, telling people he was inspired by tough guy James “Jimmy” Cagney.

    In New York, Hackman struggled making a living as an artist while waiting for his breakthrough (his uncle told him to give up and get an honest job). Moving to California, he became friends early on with Dustin Hoffman (they finally appeared opposite each other in Hackman’s penultimate film, 2003’s Runaway Jury).

    After struggling for years, Hackman landed his first credited screen role in 1964’s Lilith at the age of 34. He played a small part opposite upcoming star Warren Beatty.

    As Hackman recounted to Lipton, Beatty told director Arthur Penn how great Hackman was in a scene they did together. That landed Hackman his breakthrough role playing Buck Barrow opposite Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the 1967 hit Bonnie and Clyde, earning him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

    Breaking through in the 1970s

    It wasn’t until the 1970s that Hackman began his leading role career, starring in The French Connection (1971) as the unforgettable hard-boiled New York detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. This role earned him his first Academy Award, for best actor.

    He was to wait more than 20 years for his second and final Academy Award, for playing the ruthless Little Bill Daggett opposite Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992).

    Throughout the 1970s, Hackman was gaining huge popularity on screen, sharing records with the likes of Robert Redford and Harrison Ford as the highest grossing stars at the box office.

    There are too many great Hackman performances to mention, but my favourites are Unforgiven, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation (1974), Hoosiers (1986), Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).

    The French Connection’s director, William Friedkin, said in an interview Hackman was anti-authority and anti-racism because of his upbringing in an area known for its large Ku Klux Klan presence, and his absent father.

    Hackman almost pulled out of The French Connection one week into shooting because he didn’t like “beating on people” for a four-month shoot. He told Friedkin “I don’t think I can do this,” but Friedkin refused to let him go.

    Hackman recalled he was eternally grateful Friedkin didn’t, as it was “the start of [his] career”.

    Hackman said his character Popeye Doyle was a “bigot, an antisemitic, and whatever else you wanted to call him”, and he famously struggled to say the N-word in one key scene. He initially protested the line but eventually went with it, believing “that’s who the guy is […] you couldn’t really whitewash him”.

    Hackman often played the character who had the greatest authority on the surface but slipped up, whether he was playing the hero or the villain. Even for a role such as Reverend Scott in The Poseidon Adventure, in which Hackman played a self-righteous preacher onboard the capsized SS Poseidon, he questions his religion as he leads the entire band of escapees to safety.

    A life after acting

    Hackman retired from acting in 2004 at age 74.

    There are many stories about why he retired, like, as Shelley writes, not wanting to play Hollywood “grandfathers” and his “heart wasn’t in shape”, but his life after acting gives a strong hint: he had other interests.

    Over the past 20 years, Hackman wrote three historical fiction novels, was a keen painter, and enjoyed exercise such as cycling. Married to classical pianist Arakawa from 1991 until their death, they lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he designed his own home (yes, he also loved architecture!).

    A man of many talents who played a kaleidoscopic range of authoritative roles, Hackman will almost certainly be remembered mainly for his tough-guy performance in The French Connection – though many will also remember him as the Hollywood actor’s actor.

    Will Jeffery 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. Gene Hackman will be remembered as the Hollywood actor’s actor – https://theconversation.com/gene-hackman-will-be-remembered-as-the-hollywood-actors-actor-233109

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Eugene Doyle: Yellow Peril!  Red Peril! ‘We cannot hide anymore’. Chinese warships in the Tasman Sea. 

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle

    The Western media went into overdrive this week to work the laconic Kiwis into a mild frenzy over three Chinese naval vessels conducting exercises in the Tasman Sea a few thousand kilometres off our shores.

    What was really behind this orchestrated campaign?

    The New Zealand government led the rhetorical charge over the Hengyang, the Zunyi and the Weishanhu in mare nostrum (“Our Sea”, as the Romans liked to call the Mediterranean).

     “We cannot hide at this end of the world anymore,” Defence Minister Judith Collins said in light of three Chinese boats in the Tasman.

    Warrior academics were next . “We need to go to the cutting edge, and we need to do that really, really fast,” the ever-reliable China hawk Anne-Marie Brady of Canterbury University said, telling 1 News the message of the live-firing exercises was that China wants to rule the waves.

    The British Financial Times chimed in with a warning that “A confronting strategic future is arriving fast”.

    Could this have anything to do with the fact we are fast approaching the New Zealand government’s 2025 budget and that they — and their Australian, US and UK allies — are intent on a major increase in Kiwi defence funding, moving from around 1.2 percent of GDP to possibly two percent? A long-anticipated Defence Capability Review is also around the corner and is likely to come with quite a shopping list of expensive gear.

    The New Zealand government led the rhetorical charge over the Hengyang, the Zunyi and the Weishanhu in mare nostrum (“Our Sea”, as the Romans liked to call the Mediterranean). Image: www.solidarity.co.nz

    What’s good for the goose . . .
    It is worth pointing out that New Zealand and Australian warships sailed through the contested Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the South China Sea as recently as September 2024. What’s good for the goose is good for the Panda.

    And, of course, at any one time about 20 US nuclear submarines are prowling in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea. Each can carry missiles the equivalent of over 1000 Hiroshima bombs — truly apocalyptic.

    Veteran New Zealand peace campaigner Mike Smith (a friend) was not in total disagreement with the hawks when it came to the argy-bargy in the Tasman.

    “The emergence apparently from nowhere of a Chinese naval expedition in our waters I think may be intended to demonstrate that they have a large and very capable blue water navy now and won’t be penned in by AUKUS submarines when and if they arrive off their coast.

    “I think the main message is to the Australians: if you want to homebase nuclear-capable B-52s we have more than one way to come at you. That was also the message of the ICBM they sent into the Pacific: Australia is no longer an unsinkable aircraft carrier.”

    According to the Asia Times, China fired the ICBM — the first such shot into the Pacific by China — just days after HMNZS Aotearoa sailed through the Taiwan Strait with Australian vessel HMAS Sydney.

    Smith says our focus should be on building positive relationships in the Pacific on our terms. “Buying expensive popguns will not save us.”

    China Scare a page out of Australia’s Red Scare playbook
    For people good at pattern recognition this week’s China Scare was obviously a page or two out of the same playbook that duped a majority of Australians into believing China was going to invade Australia. They were lulled into a false sense of insecurity back in 2021 — the mediascape flooded with Red Alert, China panic stories about imminent war with the rising Asian power.

    As a sign of how successful the mainstream media can be in generating fear that precedes major policy shifts: research by Australia’s Institute of International & Security Affairs showed that more Australians thought that China would soon attack Australia than Taiwanese believed China would attack Taiwan!

    Once the population was conditioned, they woke one morning in September 2021 with the momentous news that Australia had ditched a $90 billion submarine defence deal with France and the country was now part of a new anti-Chinese military alliance called AUKUS. This was the playbook that came to mind last week.

    There are strong, rational arguments that could be made to increase our spending at this time. But I loathe and decry this kind of manipulation, this manufacturing of consent.

    I also fear what those billions of dollars will be used for. Defending our coastlines is one thing; joining an anti-Chinese military alliance to please the US is quite another.

    Prime Minister Luxon has called China — our biggest trading partner — a strategic competitor. He has also suggested, somewhat ludicrously, that our military could be a “force multiplier” for Team AUKUS.

    We are hitching ourselves to the US at the very time they have proven they treat allies as vassals, threatened to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal, continue to commit genocide in Gaza, and are now imposing an unequal treaty on Ukraine.


    Australia’s ABC News on Foreign Minister Winston Peter’s talks in China. Video: ABC

    Whose side – or calmer independence?
    Whose side should we be on? Or should we return to a calmer, more independent posture?

    And then there’s the question of priorities. The hawks may convince the New Zealand population that the China threat is serious enough that we should forgo spending money on child poverty, fixing our ageing infrastructure, investing in health and education and instead, as per pressure from our AUKUS partners, spend some serious coin — billions of dollars more — on defence.

    Climate change is one battle that is being fought and lost. Will climate funding get the bullet so we can spend on military hardware? That would certainly get a frosty reaction from Pacific nations at the front edge of sea rise.

    The government in New Zealand is literally taking the food out of children’s mouths to fund weapons systems. The Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme provides nutritious lunches every day to a quarter of a million of New Zealand’s most needy children.

    Its funding has recently been slashed by over $100 million by the government despite its own advisors telling it that such programmes have profound long-term wellbeing benefits and contribute significantly to equity. In the next breath we are told we need to boost funding for our military.

    The US appears determined to set itself on a collision course with China but we don’t have to be crash test dummies sitting alongside them. Prudence, preparedness, vigilance and risk-management are all to be devoutly wished for; hitching our fate to a hostile US containment strategy is bad policy both in economic and defence terms.

    In the absence of a functioning media — one that showcases diverse perspectives and challenges power rather than works hand-in-glove with it — populations have been enlisted in the most abhorrent and idiotic campaigns: the Red Peril, the Jewish Peril and the Black Peril (in South Africa and the southern states of the USA), to name three.

    Our media-political-military complex is at it again with this one — a kind of Yellow Peril Redux.

    New Zealand trails behind both Australia and China in development assistance to the Pacific. If we wish to “counter” China, supporting our neighbours would be a better investment than encouraging an unwinnable arms race.

    In tandem, I would advocate for a far deeper diplomatic and cultural push to understand and engage with China; that would do more to keep the region peaceful and may arrest the slow move in China towards seeking other markets for the high-quality primary produce that an increasingly bellicose New Zealand still wishes to sell them.

    Let’s be friends to all, enemies of none. Keep the Pacific peaceful, neutral and nuclear-free.

    Eugene Doyle is a community organiser and activist in Wellington, New Zealand. He received an Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian award in 2023 for community service. His first demonstration was at the age of 12 against the Vietnam War. This article was first published at his public policy website Solidarity and he is a regular contributor to Asia Pacific Report and Café Pacific.

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: HSBC Leader Encourages Businesses to embrace ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

    Source: City of York

    HSBC UK’s Head of Technology Sector has encouraged York businesses to adapt to thrive in the climate of ‘functional disruptive change’ represented by the rapid development of AI.

    In his keynote address to over 60 businesses at the first York Tech Forum on 13 February, Roland Emmans from HSBC UK explored the fast-moving tech landscape and underlined the importance for businesses of all shapes and sizes of keeping pace with rapid technological change.

    Roland Emmans said:

    AI has vast potential to help businesses solve challenges and serve their customers better. The pace of change is increasing day by day, we need to embrace this change, its impact on technology, our teams and consumer demands.

    “A combination of great technology and great people is key – leveraging complementary strengths like AI’s processing power alongside expert human judgement.”

    The event, held at City of York Council’s West Offices headquarters on Thursday 13 February, began with a welcome from Cllr Pete Kilbane, the council’s portfolio holder for Economy and Culture, who reflected on how York’s tech sector has thrived in recent years.

    Cllr Kilbane highlighted major local developments, from the Institute for Safe Autonomy, a £45 million purpose-built facility which launched at the University of York in 2023, to the 6G Lab of the North, which works with the next generation of innovative telecommunications systems.

    Attendees also heard from Doug Winters, Founder and CTO of Isotoma Ltd, a York-based software development agency. Doug shared challenges and lessons from his business’ 20 year-journey, advising businesses that AI technologies, while useful for businesses, need to be used according to the situation, and are not a ‘silver bullet’ Doug also shared tips on the value of continuous planning throughout a project.

    Cllr Pete Kilbane, Executive Member for Economy and Culture at City of York Council, said:

    We have big ambitions for York as a vibrant tech hub. Tech sector investment will bring well-paid jobs and marked economic benefits.

    “To truly embrace the benefits of rapid technological change, we need to help businesses in all sectors, from retail to rail, adapt to using technology to become more efficient, innovative, resilient and sustainable. This event is part of a series which includes our upcoming AI skills training for retail and hospitality businesses, delivered by our partners at the Coders Guild, and the Reignite events which have bolstered York’s status as a UNESCO City of Media Arts.

    “I’d like to thank all of our speakers and everyone who joined us for this inspiring and thought-provoking session. To find out more about how we can support businesses to grow and adapt to technological change, start a conversation with our Business Growth Managers at economicgrowth@york.gov.uk.”

    This event was funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic at the forum of rectors of leading Russian and Iranian universities

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The University of Tehran hosted the 7th Forum of Rectors of Universities of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was attended by more than 50 university leaders, representatives of scientific organizations and government agencies of the two countries. Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University was represented by the Director of the Institute of Power Engineering Viktor Barskov and Associate Professor of the SPbPU Institute of Power Engineering, a graduate of the Iranian Shahid Beheshti University and SPbPU Mehdi Basati Panah.

    The forum participants were welcomed by Iranian Minister of Science Simo Sarraf Hossein and Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky.

    The partners discussed strategies for developing academic and scientific cooperation. In his speech at the session “Exact and Natural Sciences, Agriculture”, Viktor Barskov highlighted priority areas for cooperation: joint research in the field of sustainable energy, renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. He also touched upon student and teacher exchange programs, the creation of joint specialized courses, and the organization of summer and winter schools on innovative technologies.

    During the discussions, Mehdi Basati Panah proposed expanding the format of the event to “BRICS” to include universities from other developing countries. This, he said, would enhance international knowledge exchange and open up new opportunities for joint projects.

    The Polytechnic University actively cooperates with 8 Iranian universities. The SPbPU delegation held talks with Iranian universities, including the University of Tehran, the Iranian University of Science and Technology (IUST) and the Sharif University of Technology, where they discussed cooperation in energy between the Gas Turbine Institute and the Institute of Power Engineering of SPbPU. The parties also expressed their intention to participate in joint research projects, the development of specialized training courses for students and student exchange programs in the field of engineering.

    The Polytechnic delegation held talks with the Mayor of Tehran, Dr. Zakani, and members of the Energy Committee of the Iranian Parliament to discuss potential areas of cooperation between SPbPU and Tehran municipal institutions, focusing on urban development and technological innovation.

    Developing a partnership between our universities is not just a step towards academic progress, but also an important contribution to solving global challenges such as energy transition, noted Viktor Barskov. Mehdi Basati Panah added that his personal experience of studying in Russia and Iran demonstrates the effectiveness of such partnerships.

    The forum became an important step for the implementation of new projects and expansion of educational opportunities for students and researchers of both countries.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: IPMET has been transformed: modern classrooms await students

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    As part of the StroimNashDom project, large-scale renovation work to re-equip the academic building at the Institute of Industrial Management, Economics and Trade (50 Novorossiyskaya St.) has been completed. On February 26, the grand opening of the renovated first floor of the academic building, equipped with modern and comfortable classrooms for students, took place.

    The transformed floor is the result of the painstaking work of the builders and the enormous work of the university and IPMET staff to equip the classrooms with modern equipment. The total area of the renovated space was 2,242 m².

    The main goal of the renovation was to create the most favorable environment for learning and research. And this was certainly a success. 19 rooms with 320 seats are ready for work. Particular attention was paid to the computerization of the educational process.

    “It’s nice to see how the space here is being transformed. It’s very comfortable here. I think that students and teachers will spend not only their study time here, but also their extracurricular time,” noted Lyudmila Pankova, Vice-Rector for Educational Activities at SPbPU, during the opening ceremony. “This space can become a second home for our graduates. For example, we can invite former students here to give lectures to the students.”

    “We understand that the future of education is in technology,” emphasized Vladimir Shchepinin, Director of IPMEiT. “That is why we focused on creating modern computer classes, equipping classrooms with projection equipment, and updating the laboratory base for quality management. Now there are six computer classes for 159 seats, equipped with modern technology. In addition, students can expect four classrooms for 140 seats, as well as a specialized educational laboratory for “Qualimetry and Modeling in Quality Management.”

    In total, 190 computers have been installed and prepared for the educational process. Each classroom is equipped with projection equipment and connected to the Internet. Moreover, all rooms and corridors have access to high-speed Wi-Fi.

    In addition to the classrooms, the spaces for employees and utility rooms have also been renovated. For the convenience of students, the corridors have been equipped with rest areas.

    “We are very happy that we now have the opportunity to study in such wonderful conditions,” said first-year student Stepan Orlov. “Modern equipment and a comfortable environment will undoubtedly help us better absorb the material and achieve greater success in our studies.”

    The opening of the renovated building is an important step in the development of the institute and an investment in the future of students. Modern classrooms with the latest equipment will allow teachers to use innovative teaching methods, and students to gain knowledge that meets the requirements of the modern labor market.

    Photo archive

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Grattan on Friday: Albanese falls victim to a Chinese burn

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    As the Albanese government struggles to stay on its political feet, who would have thought the China issue would suddenly insert itself into the campaign, leaving the prime minister looking, at best, flat-footed?

    Improving and stabilising what had become a toxic bilateral relationship under Scott Morrison has been one of the Albanese government’s major pluses in its foreign and trade policy.

    China has taken off all of the roughly $20 billion in barriers it had enacted on Australian exports. Australian lobsters are back on Chinese menus. And who can forget the PM’s visit to China, when he was lauded as “a handsome boy”.

    But now, almost on the eve of the election campaign, a Chinese military exercise in the Tasman Sea has not just reminded Australians of Chinese military power, but has left the PM appearing poorly informed. Or not wanting to offend the Chinese.

    Of course, China did not set out to force Anthony Albanese into what were publicly misleading comments. That was all his own doing.

    The China incident was on the morning of Friday last week, when its navy commenced the live-fire exercise.

    Albanese was briefed on Friday afternoon. Later in the day, a reporter asked him about an ABC report of “commercial pilots [being] warned about a potential hazard in airspace” where three Chinese warships had been sailing.

    The PM said: “China issued, in accordance with practice, an alert that it would be conducting these activities, including the potential use of live fire”. This told, at best, a sliver of what was a rather alarming story.

    The government says the Chinese had acted in accordance with the law but the amount of notice they’d given (which was not provided directly to Australia) was inadequate. Representations about this were made by Foreign Minister Penny Wong to the Chinese.

    It took evidence before Senate estimates hearings this week to paint a full picture of what happened.

    On Monday, Rob Sharp, CEO of Airservices Australia (the country’s civil air navigation services provider) told senators: “We became aware at two minutes to ten on Friday morning – and it was, in fact, a Virgin Australia aircraft that advised one of our air traffic controllers – that a foreign warship was broadcasting that they were conducting a live firing 300 nautical miles east off our coast. So that’s how we first found out about the issue.”

    Initially, “we didn’t know whether it was a potential hoax or real”.

    Meanwhile, a number of commercial planes were in the air and some diverted their routes.

    On Wednesday, Australian Defence Force Chief David Johnston was asked at another estimates hearing whether Defence was only notified of what was happening from a Virgin flight and Airservices Australia 28 minutes after the Chinese operation firing window commenced. Johnston’s one-word reply was “Yes”.

    Australia does not know whether the Chinese ships, which proceeded towards Tasmania, intend to circumnavigate the continent, or whether they have been accompanied by a submarine.

    Relations with China won’t be a first-order issue with most voters at this cost-of-living election. But these events play to the Dutton opposition, for whom national security is home-ground territory.

    They reinforce the broader impression, which has taken hold, of Albanese being poor with detail.

    Dutton said on Sydney radio on Thursday, “I don’t know whether he makes things up, but he seems to get flustered in press conferences. You hear it – the umming and ahing, and at the end of it, you don’t know what he’s actually said.

    “But what we do know is that he is at odds with the chief of the Defence force, and he needs to explain why, on such a totemic issue, he either wasn’t briefed, that he’s made up the facts, that he’s got it wrong.”

    Wong hit back, “We have been very clear China is going to keep being China, just as Mr Dutton isn’t going to stop being Mr Dutton – the man who once said it was inconceivable we wouldn’t go to war is going to keep beating the drums of war.

    “The Labor government will be calm and consistent; not reckless and arrogant.”

    There’s one political complication for Dutton in seeking to exploit the China issue. Despite his natural hawkishness, in recent times he has been treading more softly on China, with an eye to the importance of voters of Chinese heritage in some seats.

    The Trump administration has dramatically increased the uncertainty of the international outlook that the Australian government, whether Labor or Coalition, will face during the next parliamentary term.

    Defence Minister Richard Marles this week talked up the US administration’s policy in the region. “We are very encouraged by the focus that the Trump Administration is giving in terms of its strategic thinking to the Indo Pacific.”

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who was in Washington lobbying for a tariff exemption was also, declared that “the alliance and the economic partnership between Australia and the US is as strong as it’s ever been.”

    Whether we get that exemption will be an early indication of where we stand in terms of the special relationship with the US. But who knows what the US might want in return.

    A volatile world and perhaps pressure from the US may push Australia into spending more on defence, which on present planning is due to tick past 2% of GDP.

    Dutton has already said he would put more funding into defence, although, like most other aspects of opposition policy, the amount is vague. The Coalition says when it produces its costing (which will be in the last days before the election) there will be more precision.

    We’ve yet to see how the crucial US-China relationship evolves. That trajectory will have implications for Australia, positive or negative. On the very worst scenario, if China, encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s benign attitude to Russia, moves on Taiwan, the security of which the president has refused to guarantee, that could produce a dire situation in the region.

    Australia remains confident of continuing American support for AUKUS. But if Trump becomes even more arbitrary and adventurous, AUKUS could become a lot less popular not in America but in Australia.

    Michelle Grattan 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. Grattan on Friday: Albanese falls victim to a Chinese burn – https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-albanese-falls-victim-to-a-chinese-burn-251029

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Beijing’s Daxing airport economic zone seeks business cooperation

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone (BDIAEZ) held an industry promotion event Wednesday, attracting entrepreneurs and business leaders to explore cooperation opportunities in aviation logistics, life sciences and health care.

    An industry promotion event exploring business cooperation opportunities is held in the Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone, Feb. 26, 2025. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

    At the event, several specialized industrial parks and platforms were introduced, including the International Regenerative Medicine Industrial Park, the International Medical Equipment Industrial Park, and the International Aviation Headquarters Park. These initiatives are designed to gather innovative resources, strengthen industrial clusters and drive regional economic growth.

    In recent years, the BDIAEZ has prioritized its life sciences sector by establishing platforms that support the development of cell technology and medical supply chains. The goal is to attract high-end enterprises and lay a solid foundation for a world-class health cluster. To further enhance trade and logistics capabilities, the zone also launched platforms for industrial goods supply chains and cross-border e-commerce, which are expected to improve operational efficiency and foster industry development.

    Six projects were also signed at the event, covering areas such as aviation services, life and health, trade logistics and emerging industries. Key projects include the Low-altitude Technology Exhibition and Trading Center, which will showcase next-generation aviation innovations, and the Xinzhuoyue Regenerative Medicine R&D Headquarters, which is set to work with the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on cell-based therapies. 

    Wahed Ahmadzai, CEO and founder of nHUB, a Beijing-based company committed to building inclusive hubs, noted the BDIAEZ’s strategic importance, calling it the “gateway to China and China’s gateway to the world.” He added that the BDIAEZ’s prime location, together with multiple supportive policies, makes it an exceptionally attractive environment for building and innovating businesses.

    Xu Guojin, general manager of Beijing Zhengkai Technology Co. Ltd., expressed confidence about future cooperation with the BDIAEZ. “The most appealing aspect is the combination of national, municipal and district-level advantages, along with the unique policies of the airport zone,” she said. “Combined with the benefits offered by the comprehensive bonded zone and free trade zone, this synergy is highly attractive to my company and future partners.”

    Strategic development plans for Beijing Daxing International Airport were also released at the event. These include the construction of four runways, 256 aircraft parking bays, and a terminal complex spanning 1.43 million square meters. The airport aims to handle 72 million passengers and 630,000 aircraft movements annually. 

    This expansion underscores the airport’s role not simply as a transportation hub, but as a key driver for future economic development in the region, according to a representative from Beijing Daxing International Airport.

    In addition, the event saw the launch of two international talent programs. In partnership with the National School of Development at Peking University, the BDIAEZ will establish a talent base to train professionals and foster entrepreneurship in fields like aviation logistics, e-commerce and biomedicine. Separately, the “Vine Plan” International Innovation Center will connect businesses with international students through internships, study tours and incubation programs.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: UK science flies to the Moon with NASA

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    UK science flies to the Moon with NASA

    Advanced technology funded by the UK Space Agency began its 4-month journey to the Moon this morning, on board NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission.

    The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft, which weighs 200kg and is about the size of a washing machine, aims to map the location and form of water on the Moon. This will improve scientists’ understanding of lunar resources and support future missions, when astronauts return to the lunar surface.

    On board is the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) – a state-of-the-art thermal imaging camera developed by the University of Oxford with £3.1 million funding from the UK Space Agency and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

    Science Minister Sir Patrick Vallance said:

    Backed by UK Government funding, this project could be key to unlocking new insights into lunar water and in turn sustain future missions and deep space exploration for generations to come.

    Space is a fast-growing global industry, and these investments will generate important information to help grow the sector.

    The LTM is designed to measure the surface temperature and the various minerals that make up the lunar landscape, which is vital information to help confirm the presence and location of water. The instrument will work in tandem with NASA’s High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) to produce the most detailed maps of water on the Moon’s surface to date.

    The Lunar Thermal Mapper being worked on at Oxford University. Credit: Department of Physics, University of Oxford.

    Neil Bowles, instrument scientist for LTM at Oxford University, said:

    The measurements of temperature will help confirm the presence of the water signal in HVM3’s measurements and the two instruments will work together to map the composition of the Moon, showing us details that have only been hinted at from previously.

    The UK’s role in Lunar Trailblazer demonstrates the importance of collaboration in the space sector, and the significant space expertise found in academic institutions across the country.

    The Clarendon Lab at the University of Oxford, which includes the Infrared Multilayer Laboratory, manufactured infrared filters for the mission. Durham University manufactured the precision LTM optics, mirrors, and pointing mirror. Cardiff University provided long wave infrared mesh filters, essential for the Lunar Thermal Mapper’s ability to accurately measure the surface temperature and composition of the Moon.

    Lauren Taylor, Major Projects Lead at The UK Space Agency, said:

    The UK Space Agency is thrilled to be a part of NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission. Our work with the University of Oxford to develop the Lunar Thermal Mapper showcases the UK’s leading role in space exploration and scientific research.

    This mission will provide invaluable data on the Moon’s water resources, supporting future human missions and enhancing our understanding of the lunar environment.

    UK companies also made significant contributions. From Ramp in Yeovil providing coatings and paint, and Micro Systems in Warrington manufacturing mechanical parts, to STFC RAL Space in Harwell providing insulation and electronics.

    Marie-Claire Perkinson, Chair of the Space, Science and Exploration Committee at the UKspace trade association, said:

    The launch of the UK Lunar Thermal Mapper instruments demonstrates the capabilities of the UK academic community working in collaboration with their industrial suppliers.

    Once in orbit around the Moon, Lunar Trailblazer will cover the surface 12 times a day and use its instruments to examine features including the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon’s South Pole, which could contain significant quantities of water ice.

    Lunar Trailblazer launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket together with Intuitive Machine’s IM-2 spacecraft, which will attempt a soft landing on the Moon next week.

    The UK Space Agency is also funding the joint UK-Canada Aqualunar Challenge to further our understanding of lunar water and its potential uses. The Aqualunar Challenge focuses on developing innovative technologies to purify water found on the Moon, which is crucial for supporting future human missions. The winners will be announced in March.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Scientific Regiment. Student Katya Petrova’s Memories of War and Study

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    When talking about contemporaries of the Great Patriotic War, the first to be remembered are the participants in the military operations, and they do not forget about home front workers, scientists and teachers, but stories about ordinary students are rare. They did not throw themselves under tanks, defending their native land, did not stand two shifts in a row at the machine, did not organize production and did not save lives in hospitals, but they also lived their war years and remembered them forever – they performed a small student feat, receiving an education in a difficult time for the country and using it for the benefit of the Motherland in the post-war years. Today we will tell you about such a person in the “Scientific Regiment” section.

    Ekaterina Valerianovna Petrova is a candidate of economic sciences, professor of the statistics department at the Moscow Institute of Economics and Management, and an Honorary Worker of Higher Professional Education of the Russian Federation. She was awarded the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd degree, the Order of Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and other medals.

    Ekaterina Petrova entered the mechanical engineering department of the Moscow Engineering and Economics Institute named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze (now the State University of Management) in 1940. After completing her first year, the war began and she and her family had to evacuate to the Saratov region for two years, where she worked as an accountant on a state farm. In October 1943, the institute called Ekaterina back to Moscow, where she was able to live independently due to the fact that students were given work cards for food, orders for clothing and footwear, and a stipend was paid to all students, and not just excellent students or those with low incomes, as was the case before the war. In this way, the state invested in the future even in the most difficult years. Despite all the difficulties, the management of the Moscow Engineering and Economics Institute tried to provide comfortable living conditions in the dormitories, replenished the institute’s material resources whenever possible, arranged a normal life, and even organized festive evenings with the participation of artists.

    The dean of the mechanical engineering faculty at that time was Khadzhi-Murat Timurovich Aldakov, who at the beginning of the war was deputy head of the construction of defensive lines near Moscow.

    “At first, Hadji-Murat Timurovich gave the impression of being a withdrawn, somewhat gloomy person, so at first the students were afraid of him,” recalls Ekaterina Valerianovna. “However, having met him on business once or twice, everyone understood that he treated the students very kindly and fairly. I was able to see for myself that he was also an excellent teacher, since I completed my diploma project under his supervision.”

    According to Ekaterina Valerianovna, everyone studied with great enthusiasm and tried not to miss lectures. The shortage of textbooks also had an impact on attendance – often only one manual was given to three or four students, and for some subjects there were none at all, so they prepared for exams only from their own lecture notes. Accordingly, teachers approached teaching with full responsibility and explained the subject until the students fully understood it. For example, Professor of the Department of Organization and Planning of Production Eduard Adamovich Satel had a manner of conducting, as they would say now, interactive lectures – he asked students questions about how they would solve various problems of production processes.

    Ekaterina Petrova especially remembers the associate professor of the department of production organization and planning, Yuri Osipovich Lyubovich, who, thanks to his sensitive attitude towards students, goodwill and gentle humor, became a true friend of his students.

    “His imposing appearance, velvety voice and artistic abilities captivated the audience and worked genuine miracles. The students listened with admiration to every word when the material of deep scientific content was presented. And, what is most surprising, these wonderful lectures, thanks to the art of reading, could be easily recorded,” says Ekaterina Valerianovna.

    There were practically no vacations during the war years, instead students worked in the Moscow suburban subsidiary farm of the Moscow Institute of Power Engineering, in haymaking, in logging, at vegetable warehouses. No one even thought about being released from work, everyone worked for the needs of the country and the front.

    In May 1945, the maximum concentration of efforts of the entire state led to the Great Victory over Nazi Germany and its allies. Of course, the difficulties did not end there; a long period of restoration of the country lay ahead. Ekaterina Petrova graduated from MIEI in 1947, continued her education in graduate school, and since 1950 began teaching at her native university, which she never left, having trained thousands of specialists over many years.

    Yes, the years of the Great Patriotic War were much harder physically and morally than our days. However, the feelings that students of those years experienced, judging by the words of Ekaterina Valerianovna, were the same:

    “The student years, which coincided for my generation with the war years, were nevertheless the happiest: there was the joy of victories at the front, the joy of communicating with teachers and friends, the joy of youth and the expectation of all the best ahead.”

    Students of those years forged victory with knowledge and labor in the rear, bringing a bright future closer. Today, when our country is once again facing challenges, students of the State University of Management continue to study and develop, making their contribution to supporting the country and preserving the future. The stories of these generations are separated by time, but united by a common desire for knowledge and love for the Motherland.

    #Scientific regiment

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/27/2025

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Preferred candidate to lead Office for Students confirmed

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    Press release

    Preferred candidate to lead Office for Students confirmed

    Professor Edward Peck CBE named as preferred candidate to be the next Chair of the Office for Students by Education Secretary

    The Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has named Professor Edward William Peck CBE as her preferred candidate to be the next Chair of the Office for Students.

    Professor Peck will now go on to attend a pre-appointment hearing before the Education Select Committee on 4 March.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England. It is responsible for ensure that every student has a fulfilling university experience that enriches their lives and careers. Following last year’s election one of its top priorities has been monitoring the financial sustainability of the sector.

    Professor Peck has been selected following a rigorous assessment process conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. He currently serves as Chair of the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce and is the DfE’s Student Support Champion, and will stand down as Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University this summer.

    If appointed Professor Peck will take over from Sir David Behan, who was appointed interim chair last year following Lord Wharton of Yarm’s resignation. Sir David’s independent review, Fit for the Future, was published in July and is informing the OfS’s priorities on financial sustainability and quality. 

    Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

    Professor Peck has played a key role in supporting students and has a wealth of experience that will be instrumental in guiding the OfS forward. I look forward to finalising his appointment. 

    He will play a vital part in supporting higher education providers’ financial sustainability and breaking down barriers to opportunity. Through our Plan for Change we want to ensure students from all backgrounds are at the heart of the higher education system, and receive a high quality education that will help them drive growth as we fix the foundations of our economy. 

    I would like to thank Sir David for his independent review and the work he has done as interim chair which will inform the strategic direction of the OfS as it implements his core recommendations.

    The Chair leads the OfS at board level, working with Ministers and the Chief Executive to provide clear leadership and priorities for the next phase of the OfS’ critical work.

    Since 2014 Professor Peck has served as Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University, and currently holds roles as a trustee of UCAS, Chair of the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce and the DfE’s first Student Support Champion. Following his appointment he will stand down from these roles.

    He has also served on the Independent Advisory Panel for Post-18 Education and Funding (the Augar Review), and from 2008-2014 was Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

    Following his pre-appointment hearing, the Education Select Committee will publish their recommendations, which the Education Secretary will consider before deciding whether to finalise the appointment.

    Updates to this page

    Published 27 February 2025

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI USA: February 26th, 2025 Heinrich, Stansbury Lead Colleagues to Demand Reversal of Trump Attacks on Programs Serving Tribes and Tribal Members

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for New Mexico Martin Heinrich
    WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) led 109 of their colleagues in a bicameral letter to President Donald Trump, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in demanding that efforts to fire employees and defund programs that serve Tribes and Tribal members be stopped and reversed.
    The lawmakers demanded that the President, Secretary Burgum, and Secretary Kennedy, “take immediate action to halt, exempt, and reverse the impacts to federal employees and funding serving Indian Country, as those positions and programs are essential for the administration of legally mandated Tribal programs and services.”
    Outlining the impact of the Trump administration’s actions to-date, the lawmakers wrote, “Your administration’s recent executive actions undermine Tribal sovereignty, existing federal law, and the federal-Tribal government-to-government relationship” The lawmakers continued, “In the past month, your administration has taken aim at thousands of federal workers across various government agencies. Reports indicate that this includes more than 2,600 federal employees at the Department of Interior, including more than 100 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees, more than 40 Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) employees, several employees at the Office of Indian Affairs, as well as social workers, firefighters, and police that work on behalf of Indian Country, plus some 950 Indian Health Service (IHS) employees at the Department of Health and Human Services.”
    The lawmakers further reminded the President and Secretary Burgum that “Tribal Nations are sovereign governments with a unique legal and political relationship to the United States. The inherent sovereignty of Tribes is recognized in the U.S. Constitution, in treaties, and across many federal laws and policies, and it has been consistently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.” The lawmakers continued, “These trust and treaty obligations in some cases predate both the establishment of all of the agencies in question as well as the United States itself. Pursuant to those legal obligations, we must adequately fund and staff agencies that provide these essential services and programs, including at BIA, BIE, and IHS.”
    In the Senate, the letter was led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). The letter was signed by U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
    In the House, the letter was led by U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.). The letter was signed by 93 House members, including U.S. Representatives Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.).
    The full text of the letter is available here and below.
    Dear President Trump, Secretary Burgum, and Secretary Kennedy:
    We write to you today to urge you to take immediate action to halt, exempt, and reverse from existing or future executive actions any federal offices, services, or funding that serve Indian Country, as these positions and programs are essential to the administration of legally mandated Tribal programs and services.
    We are gravely concerned about the implementation of recent Executive Orders (EO), including EO 14210 entitled “Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative,” and the implications of reductions in the federal workforce and funding for Indian Country. As you know, the U.S. government has both trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations. These responsibilities are implemented by agencies including the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), Indian Health Service (IHS), and others, providing critical healthcare, education, and social services to Tribal communities. Your administration’s recent executive actions undermine legally required commitments to sovereign Tribal Nations, existing federal law, and the federal-Tribal government-to-government relationship.
    In the past month, your administration has taken aim at thousands of federal workers across various government agencies. Reports indicate that this includes more than 2,600 federal employees at the Department of the Interior, including more than 100 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees, more than 40 Bureau of Indian Education employees, several employees at the Office of Indian Affairs, as well as social workers, firefighters, and police that work on behalf of Indian Country, plus some 950 Indian Health Service employees at the Department of Health and Human Services. There have also been reports of layoffs at Tribal Colleges and Universities, including dozens of educators at both Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute which are operated by the Bureau of Indian Education.
    Independent federal oversight entities, such as the Office of the Special Counsel, have already deemed some of these firings to be unlawful. Beyond the legal questions surrounding the ability to fire employees without specifying performance or conduct issues, any unilateral attempts to disrupt existing services administered or funded by the BIA, BIE, IHS, or other Tribal-serving entities would directly violate the trust and treaty obligations of the United States to Tribal Nations.
    Tribal Nations are sovereign governments with a unique legal and political relationship to the United States. The inherent sovereignty of Tribes is recognized in the U.S. Constitution, in treaties, and across many federal laws and policies, and it has been consistently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. These trust and treaty obligations in some cases predate both the establishment of all of the agencies in question as well as the United States itself. Pursuant to those legal obligations, the U.S. must adequately fund and staff agencies that provide these essential services and programs, including at BIA, BIE, and IHS.
    We have many concerns about the legality of the administration’s recent actions and, importantly, the ways in which those actions impact the sovereignty, self-determination, and trust and treaty obligations for Indian Country. The implementation of these obligations is a vital, non-discretionary part of federal law and the federal budget. This is not a partisan issue. We urge your administration to immediately halt, exempt, and reverse any federal workforce or federal funding reductions for Tribal programs or services and to engage in formal consultation with affected Tribal Nations at the government-to-government level. Any attempts to unilaterally dismantle or undermine these programs violates trust and treaty obligations, the U.S. Constitution, and centuries of legal precedent.
    Sincerely,

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Virgin Australia’s deal with Qatar has been given the green light. Travellers should be the winners

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrystal Zhang, Associate Professor, Aerospace Engineering & Aviation, RMIT University

    Petr Podrouzek/Shutterstock

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given the green light for Qatar Airways to buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, as part of a strategic alliance. The deal will shake up the Australian aviation market.

    The announcement follows a detailed assessment by the Foreign Investment Review Board, and a draft determination to authorise the deal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

    The deal allows Qatar Airways to buy the 25% stake from the US private equity firm Bain Capital, and makes an eventual initial public offering of Virgin more likely. It also allows Virgin to operate regular services from some of Australia’s major capital cities to Doha.

    Chalmers said the agreement will be subject to enforceable conditions, including retaining Australians on the board of Virgin and protecting consumer data.

    The ACCC has previously said the tie-up would boost competition and benefit consumers.

    The announcement comes on the same day as competitor Qantas posted its latest half-year earnings, showing statutory profits up 6% on the same period last year. So, will Australian flyers be the ultimate winners?

    Getting Australians around the world

    For many Australian travellers, getting where they want to go around the world has long meant making a stopover, especially if travelling to Europe.

    Currently, Qantas does operate direct flights between Perth and three cities in Europe: London, Paris and Rome.

    Doha’s Hamad International Airport is an important global aviation hub.
    Light Orancio/Shutterstock

    However, other international carriers – including Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Malaysia Airways and some Chinese carriers – all provide connecting flights via an international hub airport.

    Doha’s Hamad International Airport is one such hub, and Qatar Airways currently flies from there to more than 170 destinations.

    At the heart of this new partnership is what’s called a “wet lease arrangement”. Virgin will be able to use both the aircraft and crew of Qatar Airways to operate its own flights.

    That will allow Virgin to compete as if it were an established international carrier, because it provides access to Qatar’s international network. It should also mean streamlined transit procedures, minimal waiting times, and better baggage handling.

    This deal is expected to create 28 new weekly return services to Doha, from Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane. Having additional flights to this hub by Virgin will give travellers many more options for getting around the world.

    More competition for Qantas

    The agreement will greatly expand Virgin’s international reach and make it more competitive with Qantas. Virgin had to scale back its international footprint after it went into receivership in 2020.

    Qantas will continue to be a major player in flying Australians to Europe. It has also recently added more direct flights from Perth to European destinations.

    But we may be seeing signs of more robust competition pressures already. In its profit announcement on Thursday, Qantas outlined a plan for cabin upgrades for its Boeing 737s as it awaits delivery of new Airbus aircraft.

    Virgin will offer international flights through a ‘wet lease’ arrangement with Qatar.
    Seth Jaworski/Shutterstock

    Turning things around

    Virgin Australia has come a long way since entering voluntary administration in April 2020. After being sold to Bain Capital, the airline restructured its cost base, fleet and commercial functions.

    With a focus on cutting costs and improving its Velocity frequent flyer program, Virgin has since been able to bounce back from the brink and win back market share.

    That success means Virgin is now better positioned to return to international markets and compete with Qantas there, too.

    It will give the airline’s owners more confidence in handing over to a new chief executive and preparing the ground for a long-delayed initial public sharemarket offering that would see Virgin return to the Australian Securities Exchanges (ASX).

    Chrystal Zhang 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. Virgin Australia’s deal with Qatar has been given the green light. Travellers should be the winners – https://theconversation.com/virgin-australias-deal-with-qatar-has-been-given-the-green-light-travellers-should-be-the-winners-251025

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Politics and property – how our leaders are among the privileged using legal loopholes to build their wealth

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rod Campbell, Honorary fellow, Deakin University

    Not so long ago, former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was branded “Mr Harbourside Mansion”, a moniker bestowed upon him by his own side of politics.

    Turnbull’s estimated A$200 million in wealth when he entered politics was well known. So too was the estimated $56 million in riches accrued outside of politics by Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd and his family.

    Not all politicians are multimillionaires like Turnbull and Rudd. But generally, they are wealthier than their constituents. They are also more likely to own more than one home.

    A recent ABC analysis of the parliamentary public interests register found 215 of Australia’s 227 members and senators own at least one property. 77 of them recorded interest in three or more properties.

    Out of touch pollies?

    Australians know their politicians tend to be richer than they are and sometimes it makes waves.

    Anthony Albanese’s purchase of a $4 million home on the New South Wales Central Coast dominated headlines for weeks, and it’s still being raised in focus and research groups as an issue with voters.

    Crucially, like Turnbull and Rudd’s wealth, Albanese’s cash splash on his coastal dream home has always been publicly available information.

    Veiled wealth

    But Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has mostly managed to skate by in the conversations about MPs and their money. He has kept the media’s focus on his brief career as a Queensland police officer, rather than the riches he has accrued through investing in property.

    While Dutton has not made a secret of his previous investments, and elements of his wealth have dripped into the public domain in the past, his affluence has rarely been discussed in whole terms. That changed this week with the Nine newspapers estimating his property investments at $30 million in transactions across 26 pieces of real estate.

    The portfolio, bought and sold over 35 years, eclipse Albanese’s property interests several times over.

    Dutton’s story highlights a tension that continues to frustrate voters: politicians who enjoy superior wealth are the ones who decide the financial circumstances of their constituents’ lives.

    Uncomfortable questions

    The stories highlighting Dutton’s prosperity have pointed out his past use of tax structures, including discretionary trusts, self-managed super funds and family companies to manage his money.

    Dutton has defended the millions he has made in property purchases. He’s accused his political rivals of mounting a “smear campaign” by trying to discredit him for being an “astute investor”.

    On the other side of politics, Albanese has refused to say if he used negative gearing before he became prime minister to reduce his tax bill.

    Exposing and debating the wealth of our leaders may be uncomfortable for them, but it’s an opportunity to push all sides of politics to address the aspects of our tax system that make it less fair.

    Tax loopholes for some

    The first thing to understand is that there are far fewer tax loopholes for avoiding tax on wages. If you work for a living, like most Australians, there are not many tax tricks for you.

    If you own assets and earn income from investments, however, things are a little different. How you own the assets is also important. Simply owning your own home is nice, but not as good as owning assets through a discretionary trust, a self-managed super fund, or a family company.

    Financial vehicles

    A discretionary trust is a way of holding income earning assets where the income stream can be split between beneficiaries. This means money can be directed to the people in the trust who face the lowest marginal tax rates, such as adult children, rather than a higher-earning parent, who faces a higher tax rate.

    The income earned from trusts overwhelmingly goes to high income earners. Treasury estimates (page 47) that the top 10% of income earners receive 63% of the income from trusts, while the bottom half of income earners get just 11% of the income.

    A self-managed super fund helps reduces taxation because of the various tax breaks for superannuation. For example, an owner might have their business in their self-managed super fund, with the income to the fund being taxed at a lower rate than it would have if it was owned in the business owner’s name.

    A family company, like trusts and self-managed super funds, is a vehicle for owning assets. If the assets are owned by a family company, then profits are subject to company tax rates. This can be as low as 25% if the company turnover is less than $50 million per year.

    All three of these asset-owning vehicles are entirely legal. And they can have legitimate uses. But they also provide tax loopholes that can be used to reduce the amount of tax someone has to pay and to obscure who actually owns the assets.

    Level the playing field

    This is fundamentally unfair. These structures for reducing tax are mostly only available to the wealthy. The average wage earner cannot structure their income through such complex tax structures.

    Scrapping the capital gains tax discount, getting rid of discretionary trusts, placing more limits on the types of assets that can be held in self-managed super funds, and increasing tax rates on people with big super balances would reduce the ability of the wealthy to avoid paying tax.

    It is hard to reform tax loopholes because most people don’t understand them and the people who do understand them reap the biggest benefits from them.

    The current discussion around Dutton’s investments might help more people become cognisant of these tax structures and how some of the biggest beneficiaries are politicians pretending to understand what it’s like to be a worker in a cost-of-living crisis.

    Rod Campbell is the Research Director at The Australia Institute, an independent research organisation based in Canberra. See www.australiainstitute.org.au

    – ref. Politics and property – how our leaders are among the privileged using legal loopholes to build their wealth – https://theconversation.com/politics-and-property-how-our-leaders-are-among-the-privileged-using-legal-loopholes-to-build-their-wealth-250929

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Revealed: the profound economic impact on women who experience domestic violence

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Summers, Professor, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney

    Shutterstock

    The greatest achievements in women’s economic progress in recent decades are potentially being eroded by domestic violence. This is the key finding of a new research report being released today by the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School. The report provides data that enable us, for the first time, to quantify the economic impact of domestic violence on Australian women.

    The increase in women’s participation in employment and higher education in recent decades has been nothing short of dramatic. In 1966, about 37% of women were in the labour force, compared to 84% of men. By 2024 that figure had climbed to 63%, with almost 7 million women employed, 57.3% of them in full-time jobs.

    Yet our research shows a dramatic “employment gap” between women who have experienced domestic violence and those who have not.

    In 2021-22, the employment rate for women who had experienced partner violence or abuse (physical, sexual, emotional or economic) was 5.3% lower than the employment rates for women who had never experienced violence.

    The gap is larger for women who have experienced economic abuse, reaching 9.4% in 2021-22, according to customised data commissioned from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) especially for this report.

    The employment gap varies among sub-groups of women. For instance, the gap between women with disability who have recently experienced economic abuse by a partner and women with disability who have never experienced partner violence or abuse is 13.4%. For culturally and linguistically diverse women, the employment gap was 3.7%.

    We used the 2018-19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey to try to calculate employment gaps for First Nations women. They certainly existed but, because of the small sample size, the results were not statistically significant. Further research is urgently needed.

    The 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey conducted by the ABS reported that 451,000 women have had a previous partner who had controlled or tried to control them from working or earning money. More than 30,000 women have experienced similar conduct from their current partner.

    In other words, many men are using forceful tactics to try to sabotage their partners’ employment. They resort to such tactics as hiding her car keys, letting down the car tyres, damaging her work clothes, even getting into her phone’s calendar to change her appointments, trying to make her appear unreliable as an employee.

    The ‘education gap’

    What is of perhaps even greater concern for the long-term employment prospects of women is the other key finding of our report: the existence of an “education gap” among young women at university. This is especially the case because the growth of women’s participation in higher education has been spectacular.

    In 1982, a mere 8% of women aged 25-34 held a bachelor degree or higher. By 2023, this had skyrocketed to 51.6% of women in this age range holding at least a bachelor degree, amounting to 990,000 women.

    The education gap is a new and truly shocking finding that young women who experience domestic violence fail to complete their university degrees. For young women, by the time they are 27, there is a nearly 15% gap in the rates of university degree attainment between victim-survivors and other women.

    Statistical analysis of data obtained from the Australian Longitudinal Study in Women’s Health, which surveys the same women over time, allows us to track the direct impact of domestic violence in the following years. We show that domestic violence causes a 5.2% decline in young women’s university degree attainment in the year following the first time they report experiencing violence. This rises to 9.7% three years after the violence is first reported.

    These findings on the impact of violence on university education in Australia have never previously been reported.

    Ripple effects of violence against women

    The implications of these findings are immensely significant for the progress of women’s employment.

    The lifelong consequences of failing to complete their degrees are significant, with individuals holding a bachelor’s degree in Australia earning 41% more annually than those with only Year 12 schooling. In addition, these young women are likely to have accrued an indexed HECS debt that could affect their credit rating throughout their lives. Their lower earnings also mean a concomitant decrease in retirement savings.

    These young women’s economic futures are severely compromised and it will be extremely difficult for them to ever recover those lost opportunities.

    Neither can we overlook the fact of, and possible connection between, the dramatic fall in men’s share of bachelor degrees. Women are now outperforming men at university. In 2023, a majority (57.2%) of bachelor students were women. Is this a source of resentment among men?

    The existence of domestic violence among students may be news to many people. Indeed, it is not something that has attracted much attention, including from universities, which have policies to provide paid leave and other supports for staff members who experience domestic violence but little for students.

    Yet it ought not to be surprising. We know that many students cohabit and so the possibility for violence exists. And we know from the Personal Safety Survey in 2016 that women aged 18-24 experience the highest rates of recent partner violence: 19.3% (compared to 11.5% for women aged 25 to 34 and 7.7% for women aged 35-44).

    Our findings point to the growing prevalence of men trying to exert economic control over their partners. Essential to this has been the use of surveillance, especially stalking of women, designed to intimidate and further control. In 2021-22 the Personal Safety Survey found 323,800 women reported a male intimate partner had “loitered or hung around outside their workplace, school or educational facility”. Often such stalking is accompanied by harassment using a phone or other device, which has been made easier by the advent of new technologies.

    In other words, the two gaps identified in this report represent the economic consequences of domestic violence, in addition to the physical harm women suffer when targeted by violent partners.

    The full report, by Anne Summers, with Thomas Shortridge and Kristen Sobeck (2025), will be available online on Friday, February 28.

    Anne Summers has received research funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the federal Office for Women.

    – ref. Revealed: the profound economic impact on women who experience domestic violence – https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-profound-economic-impact-on-women-who-experience-domestic-violence-250278

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Why does music make us feel things?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina McFerran, Professor and Head of Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit; Director of Researcher Development Unit, The University of Melbourne

    Al Cruz/Unsplash

    Imagine a scene from the movie Jaws, with the great white shark closing in on another helpless victim. The iconic semi-tone pattern builds and your heartbeat rises with it; the suspense pulls you further to the edge of your seat.

    Now picture that scene without the score. Much of the tension evaporates.

    Maybe it’s a heartfelt pop ballad or a suspenseful soundtrack. If you are my age, it might be the Friends theme song, forever associated with the (largely unfulfilled) hope for sharing apartments with mates and growing old together in a blissful acceptance of one another’s limitations. Music is a powerful force to induce and pre-empt all kinds of emotions in us.

    But how do so many different combinations of rhythm, harmony and melody trigger such profound reactions?

    The categorical approach

    Swedish music psychology researcher Patrik Juslin proposed the most popular explanation of music’s ability to trigger emotion.

    He identified eight key mechanisms under the acronym BRECVEMA. The categories begin with more fundamental connections:

    Brain stem reflexes – maybe a movie jumpscare moment or another sudden, frightening sound triggering a pre-conscious response. Evolution programmed these reactions into the brain over thousands of years in order to influence arousal levels and initiate the necessary emotional response.

    Rhythmic entrainment, like the tendency to tap your foot to the beat; the benefits of moving in time together have been critical to human survival and evolution.

    Then, the listings become increasingly complex:

    Evaluative conditioning in the fashion of Pavlov’s dog. After years of watching and cultural references, we hear the Jaws music and automatically feel tense.

    The contagion effect, wherein we feel the emotions we perceive in the music. Lyrics aren’t necessary; the Peanuts cartoon’s signature tune, for example, strongly conveys childhood wonder and freedom without any words.

    The visual imagery many people experience when listening to music, imagery which is often tied to some deep emotion.

    Episodic memories, when hearing certain music brings up recollections of a past event. Music therapists can monitor the emotional reactions people have when unexpectedly reminded of particular situations, be they positive, negative or both. The therapists then use their expertise to support people in processing these resulting emotions.

    From there, Juslin’s model gets more technical and music theory-based:

    Musical expectancy, when we anticipate the resolution of a chord or phrase. This is something you might feel rather than consciously notice. Take My Heart Will Go On: a delicate tension builds through the chorus, before finally resolving as Celine Dion sings the final line of the section and listeners are put to ease.

    Aesthetic judgements, closely related to the ways we experience pleasure, are our personal emotional responses to how beautiful (or not) we consider a piece of music.



    Read more:
    Different songs for different days: why it’s important to actively choose the music for your mood

    It makes sense that a theory using the brain to explain otherwise indescribable relationships would be popular. It provides a level of objectivity to what is, in essence, a purely subjective and non-generalisable experience.

    Celine Dion keeps listeners on tenterhooks before the chorus comes to a beautifully satisfying resolution.

    Is it just about neurological pathways?

    Evolutionary theories suggest music and emotions are connected because of the inherent musicality we are each born with, essential to our ability to develop relationships and flourish.

    Parent-infant interactions often have musical aspects to them, described as:

    • pulse, a shared tempo, where infant and carer move in time together and synchronise to one underlying beat

    • quality, the character and melodic interplay of voices and movements, mirroring one another in dynamics and timbre

    • narrative, the tendency for the same phrases, gestures and movements to be repeated on the same pitch and pace over time.

    When responding to musical sounds, babies are also able to recognise musical phrases even when they start on a different note.

    Subsequently, however, other learning and our limited brain capacity mean this ability is buried deep, so it rarely translates to perfect pitch or other forms of music theory knowledge that underpin Mozart-like genius.

    A mother, laying on a bed, holds her smiling baby up on her chest.
    All of us are born with an inherent musicality.
    FamVeld/Shutterstock

    This baby-talk theory may be the most intimate and emotion-based explanation for why music affects us so strongly – it was designed to enhance our emotional bonds with others. When adults coo and dance with babies, they are being musical, meaning emotional reactions to music are implicit in human nature.

    Cognitive developmental theorists like Steven Pinker have opinions firmly in contrast to this. Pinker calls music “evolutionary cheesecake”, functioning only to tickle the senses and serving no evolutionary purpose.

    Pleasure for purpose

    Cultures across the world have long acknowledged the healing power of music.

    Sound healing practitioners in India and China, for example, point to ancient traditions of healing and draw correlations between recovery from illness and certain tones, scales and chants. Some suggest the vibrations of different tones can serve specific purposes.

    In the West, the idea of emotional differences between major and minor scales still has public traction even though its academic credibility hasn’t really extended in the past 100 years.

    None of these concepts have been used in the modern practice of music therapy, but they do reflect assumptions many people hold about how music works.

    Instead, a fundamental principle of music therapy is based on how each person’s unique connections with music shapes their emotional reactions. What moves your sibling to tears might leave you cold, for example. It always depends on a range of conditions – historical, cultural and personal.

    Cultural upbringing, simple song-like phrases from infancy and our own unique musical preferences and behaviours all shape these connections. They’re powerful, but they sure ain’t simple.

    The Conversation

    Katrina McFerran has received funding from the Australian Research Council to investigate music and emotions. She is affiliated with the Australian Music Therapy Association.

    – ref. Why does music make us feel things? – https://theconversation.com/why-does-music-make-us-feel-things-250756

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: New report slaps an official price tag on Australia’s precious natural assets

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra

    Roadwarrior Photography/Shutterstock

    Climate regulation through carbon storage was worth A$43.2 billion to Australia in 2020-21, according to a report released today which seeks to put a monetary value on the benefits flowing from our natural assets.

    Australia’s first national ecosystem accounts were released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today. Together, they reveal the key ways our environment contributes to Australia’s economic and social wellbeing in dollar terms.

    Ecosystems covered by the accounts include desert, grasslands, native forests, rivers, streams, coastal areas and oceans.

    The accounts provide a holistic view of Australia’s land, freshwater and marine environments. They intend to help policymakers look beyond GDP to a broader measurement of how ecosystems contribute to society and the economy.

    Valuing our ecosystems

    The accounts cover services provided by Australia’s ecosystems in 2020–21.

    Australian ecosystems stored more than 34.5 billion tonnes of carbon – the most valuable service by ecosystems examined in the accounts, according to the ABS.

    It brought a $43.2 billion benefit to Australia in the form of climate regulation. Plants and other organisms reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by removing and storing them. This helps stabilise the climate, avoiding damage caused by climate change.

    Grasslands made the biggest contribution to carbon storage, followed by native forests and savannas.

    The accounts show grazed biomass, or grasslands, provide $40.4 billion in benefits, through the forage provided to cattle and sheep. The dollar figure represents what farmers would otherwise have spent on feeding their livestock.

    The accounts also examined the provision of surface water taken from ecosystems, and used for drinking, energy production, cooling, irrigation and manufacturing. This was valued at $1.4 billion.

    The provision of wild fish, sold to consumers to eat, was put at $39.2 million.

    The accounts also reveal how coral reefs, sandbanks, dunes and mangroves protect our coastlines against tides and storm surges.

    The ABS estimates mangroves protected 4,006 dwellings around Australian coastlines. This prevented more than $57 million worth of building damage.

    The accounts also track changes in Australia’s ecosystems.

    Some 281,000 hectares of mostly farmland were converted to urban and industrial uses between 2015–16 and 2020–21. And 169,000 hectares of “steppe” land – flat, unforested grassland – was converted to sown pastures and fields.

    Feral animal and weed species continue to spread. Meanwhile, the number of threatened native species is increasing.

    Why do we need ecosystem accounting?

    Think of a logged forest. The value of the timber produced counts towards Australia’s gross domestic product. But cutting trees down also produces a loss. For example, the forest is no longer there for the community to enjoy. And it no longer provides “services” such as filtering water and preventing soil erosion.

    There are many reasons to measure the value of those services. For example, governments might then be able to charge a logging company a licence fee which reflects the community value of the forest. A government may decide the forest is too valuable to allow logging at all, or the fee may just be set too high for any company to find it profitable to log it.

    To date, the value lost when trees are cut down, or other ecosystems are damaged, has not been included in the national accounts. The new environmental accounts seek to change this.

    Obviously, ecosystems are complex and difficult to measure. The ABS has been guided by an international framework developed by the United Nations.

    The ecosystem accounts are a collaboration between several federal agencies: the ABS, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the CSIRO.

    Boundless plains and golden soil, girt by sea

    The accounts distinguish between environmental “realms”.

    About half of Australia’s terrestrial (dry land) realm is desert. About a quarter is savanna and grassland. Intensively used land, such as pastures, is a smaller proportion.

    There are contrasts between the states. Western Australia has 158 million hectares of desert while Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have none. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory host 97% of Australia’s mangroves.

    About half of Australia is the marine realm, covering 681 million hectares. Some 30% of this is the marine shelf and 70% deep sea. About 14 million hectares comprise coral reefs. The darker areas in the map below show where most fish are caught.

    The coastal realm comprises mangroves and saltmarsh. In 2021, mangroves covered an estimated 1.1 million hectares of Australia’s coastal areas.

    A small but important proportion of Australia is our freshwater realm, comprising rivers and streams. The accounts show between 2015–16 and 2020–21, 4% of natural environments along perennial rivers were converted to higher intensity land uses.

    Where to now?

    These accounts are just the first step in estimating the value of Australia’s natural assets.

    The ABS will update Australia’s ecosystem accounts annually. It describes the inaugural accounts as “experimental” and says the government agencies involved will run a consultation process to improve them.

    We can expect the accounts to become more useful over time as data accrues and trends can be identified.

    According to the ABS, policy uses for the accounts include managing healthy and resilient ecosystems, and integrating biodiversity into planning.

    Poet and playwright Oscar Wilde defined a cynic as someone who “knows the price of everything but the value of nothing”. In today’s society we often underrate things that do not have a dollar value attached.

    So this compilation of Australia’s ecosystems, and their value to us, is a welcome development. It should lead to more informed, holistic decisions about whether natural assets should be protected, or damaged for economic benefit.

    John Hawkins 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. New report slaps an official price tag on Australia’s precious natural assets – https://theconversation.com/new-report-slaps-an-official-price-tag-on-australias-precious-natural-assets-250623

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Moon Occultation of Star Cluster, Double Visibility of Venus and Partial Solar Eclipse

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    In March, high solar activity continues: if there are spots on the surface of the Sun, flares are possible, which can lead to the appearance of polar lights (sometimes visible in mid-latitudes). In addition, the period from February to April is close to the equinox (March 20), which means that the probability of the appearance of polar lights increases.

    The most interesting events of March: on the night of March 5-6, the Moon will cover the open star cluster M45 Pleiades, known as the “Seven Sisters”; double visibility of Venus (the ability to see the planet both in the evening and in the morning) will be observed from March 17 to 25; on March 29, there will be a partial solar eclipse that will be visible to residents of the North-West and Central parts of Russia.

    More details about the events that can be observed from the territory of the Russian Federation:

    On March 2, the Moon will appear larger because it will be at its closest point in its orbit to Earth (perigee) and will pass 6° south of Venus, which will also be quite visible, allowing those with perfect vision to try to see the planet’s phase.

    March 8 is the best day of the month to observe Mercury, which will reach its maximum elongation (angular distance from the Sun). Like Venus, Mercury can be observed in phase, but you will need a telescope for this. Also, from March 8, Mercury begins its retrograde motion for Earth observers (from east to west, i.e. in the direction opposite to the Sun’s (annual) motion).

    In March, as in February, it will be easier for us to find the planets of the Solar System, which on certain days of the month will be near the Moon. For example, the Moon will pass north of Uranus on March 5, on March 6 – north of the bright star Aldebaran – alpha of the winter constellation Taurus, which, if you try, can be seen in full, comparing the less bright stars of this constellation with star maps. They all form a recognizable outline, which our ancestors defined as the outline of a bull.

    On March 6 and 7, the Moon passes 5° north of another planet in the Solar System, Jupiter. On March 9, the Moon passes 2° north of Mars, which is easily recognizable by its orange hue, 2° south of Pollux, the brightest star in the constellation Gemini, and Castor, the alpha of this constellation, can be seen nearby on the same line.

    On March 12, Mercury passes 6° south of Venus, and the Moon passes 2° north of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo.

    On March 14, there will be a total lunar eclipse, which, unfortunately, will only be visible in the northeast of the country (Kamchatka and Chukotka). There, the total phase of the eclipse will be visible (the Moon will be illuminated by sunlight that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere, which will give the Moon a red tint).

    In mid-March, the period of visibility of Mercury will end, hiding in the rays of the setting Sun. Astrologers call this phenomenon “retrograde Mercury” and build various frightening scenarios for such a movement of the closest planet to the Sun in the Solar System, but in reality such a movement does not threaten anyone or anything.

    On March 17, a “double” visibility of Venus is expected, when we will be able to see this planet both in the morning, before sunrise over the eastern horizon, and in the evening, immediately after sunset low over the western horizon.

    On March 20, the vernal equinox will occur – the time when the length of day and night becomes equal. A holiday that has been celebrated in many countries of the world since ancient times.

    March 29 — a partial solar eclipse that can be observed in the central and northwestern regions of Russia (Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, St. Petersburg and Pskov). In these cities, the Moon will cover the Sun by 13-40%, depending on the location. Thus, for Murmansk, the maximum phase of the eclipse is about 0.4 (40% of the solar disk), the peak time is 14:45 local time. For St. Petersburg: the phase is about 0.13 (13%), the peak time is 13:47 local time. For Moscow: the phase is only 0.02 (2%), which makes the eclipse almost invisible without special equipment. This very rare, fascinating phenomenon is definitely worth seeing, but due to the small phase of the eclipse, it is necessary to use special solar filters.

    The material was prepared by: Alfiya Nesterenko, head of the Vega observatory of NSU, Egor Konyaev, engineer of the Vega observatory of NSU.

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

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: What’s the difference between burnout and depression?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gordon Parker, Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney

    Yuri A/Shutterstock

    If your summer holiday already feels like a distant memory, you’re not alone. Burnout – a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion following prolonged stress – has been described in workplaces since a 5th century monastery in Egypt.

    Burnout and depression can look similar and are relatively common conditions. It’s estimated that 30% of the Australian workforce is feeling some level of burnout, while almost 20% of Australians are diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives.

    So what’s the difference between burnout and depression?

    Depression is marked by helplessness and burnout by hopelessness. They can have different causes and should also be managed differently.

    What is burnout?

    The World Health Organization defines burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” resulting from excessively demanding workload pressures. While it is typically associated with the workplace, carers of children or elderly parents with demanding needs are also at risk.

    Our research created a set of burnout symptoms we captured in the Sydney Burnout Measure to assist self-diagnosis and clinicians undertaking assessments. They include:

    • exhaustion as the primary symptom

    • brain fog (poor concentration and memory)

    • difficulty finding pleasure in anything

    • social withdrawal

    • an unsettled mood (feeling anxious and irritable)

    • impaired work performance (this may be result of other symptoms such as fatigue).

    People can develop a “burning out” phase after intense work demands over only a week or two. A “burnout” stage usually follows years of unrelenting work pressure.

    What is depression?

    A depressive episode involves a drop in self-worth, increase in self-criticism and feelings of wanting to give up. Not everyone with these symptoms will have clinical depression, which requires a diagnosis and has an additional set of symptoms.

    Clinically diagnosed depression can vary by mood, how long it lasts and whether it comes back. There are two types of clinical depression:

    1. melancholic depression has genetic causes, with episodes largely coming “out of the blue”

    2. non-melancholic depression is caused by environmental factors, often triggered by significant life events which cause a drop in self-worth.

    When we created our burnout measure, we compared burnout symptoms with these two types of depression.

    Burnout shares some features with melancholic depression, but they tend to be general symptoms, such as feeling a loss of pleasure, energy and concentration skills.

    We found there were more similarities between burnout and non-melancholic (environmental) depression. This included a lack of motivation and difficulties sleeping or being cheered up, perhaps reflecting the fact both have environmental causes.

    Looking for the root cause

    The differences between burnout and depression become clearer when we look at why they happen.

    Personality comes into play. Our work suggests a trait like perfectionism puts people at a much higher risk of burnout. But they may be less likely to become depressed as they tend to avoid stressful events and keep things under control.

    Excessive workloads can contribute to burnout.
    tartanparty/Shutterstock

    Those with burnout generally feel overwhelmed by demands or deadlines they can’t meet, creating a sense of helplessness.

    On the other hand, those with depression report lowered self-esteem. So rather than helpless they feel that they and their future is hopeless.

    However it is not uncommon for someone to experience both burnout and depression at once. For example, a boss may place excessive work demands on an employee, putting them at risk of burnout. At the same time, the employer may also humiliate that employee and contribute to an episode of non-melancholic depression.

    What can you do?

    A principal strategy in managing burnout is identifying the contributing stressors. For many people, this is the workplace. Taking a break, even a short one, or scheduling some time off can help.

    Australians now have the right to disconnect, meaning they don’t have to answer work phone calls or emails after hours. Setting boundaries can help separate home and work life.



    Read more:
    Australians now have the right to disconnect – but how workplaces react will be crucial

    Burnout can be also be caused by compromised work roles, work insecurity or inequity. More broadly, a dictatorial organisational structure can make employees feel devalued. In the workplace, environmental factors, such as excessive noise, can be a contributor. Addressing these factors can help prevent burnout.

    As for managing symptoms, the monks had the right idea. Strenuous exercise, meditation and mindfulness are effective ways to deal with everyday stress.

    Regular exercise can help manage symptoms of burnout.
    alexei_tm/Shutterstock

    Deeper contributing factors, including traits such as perfectionism, should be managed by a skilled clinical psychologist.

    For melancholic depression, clinicians will often recommend antidepressant medication.

    For non-melancholic depression, clinicians will help address and manage triggers that are the root cause. Others will benefit from antidepressants or formal psychotherapy.

    While misdiagnosis between depression and burnout can occur, burnout can mimic other medical conditions such as anemia or hypothyroidism.

    For the right diagnosis, it’s best to speak to your doctor or clinician who should seek to obtain a sense of “the whole picture”. Only then, once a burnout diagnsois has been affirmed and other possible causes ruled out, should effective support strategies be put in place.

    If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    Gordon Parker receives funding from the University of of NSW.

    – ref. What’s the difference between burnout and depression? – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-burnout-and-depression-250043

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities – Wāhine toa and women’s health champion a finalist for Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year – Vic

    Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

    Professor Bev Lawton ONZM (Ngāti Porou), founder of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s national centre for women’s health research, gets up every morning to save lives—and she’s up for the 2025 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year award for her groundbreaking research.

    Throughout her career, first as a GP, then as founder of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, Bev has sought to reduce preventable harm and death for Māori and non-Māori women, their children and whānau. With a kaupapa Māori lens, she focuses on clinical care pathways, and systems to identify how these can better perform for women, babies, and whānau.

    “Every member of my team works to eliminate preventable harm and death for women, babies, and whānau. One such goal includes eliminating cervical cancer. With the taonga of vaccination, and HPV self-testing, this is now achievable,” says Bev.

    The achievement Bev is most proud of in her career is her advocacy for HPV self-testing. She says, “The voices of women in Aotearoa New Zealand have contributed to everything about the way in which this programme has been implemented. It was research in real-time. Those that had had the test as part of research projects, were informing the programme as it was being rolled out.”

    “Regularly I meet people who tell me they were not just happy to do their HPV self-test, they were proud of it—because they own it, and they tell their friends to do it too. It is reaching a lot of people. Screening rates are going up.”

    Bev is a partner in the ongoing campaign to eliminate cervical cancer. “We have the tools, but it will require funding, and a plan. The introduction of HPV self-testing in September 2023 is a fantastic step, but our HPV vaccination coverage is very low in comparison to Australia, where their government has committed nearly $50m to support the national elimination strategy.

    “If I had a wish, it is that tomorrow, myself and every woman in Aotearoa be literally or figuratively, standing behind the Minister of Health when they announce their commitment to resourcing a cervical cancer elimination strategy.”

    Previous Patron of Te Tātai Hauora o Hine and advisory board member Dame Silvia Cartwright says, “Over many years of association with Bev, I have been deeply impressed both by the quality and breadth of her research, but also by the skill she has demonstrated in nurturing the work of a whole generation of younger researchers who share her passion for the improvement in health care delivery. Bev has the rare ability to gather wide support for her work, but also to make it available at every level of the health care community. Her academic rigour and advocacy for improvement in health care together make her stand out in a field where it is notoriously difficult to achieve real, practical results.”

    Working with iwi and communities, including Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Toa, Bev leads projects and programmes to create positive, long term health system transformation. Each, she says, comes from years of relationship-building across iwi, hapū, health care providers and champions—all with the overall goal or serving community to reduce harm and save lives.

    Bev speaks to the impact of having a rōpū Kaumātua advising her, saying, “The kaumātua ensure our mahi is tika (true) and responds to community. I get the right people on the waka. It’s not just my effort that has achieved the successes we have had in women’s health. It takes a lot of people to make this happen, as well as our vision for māmā and pēpi flourishing,” says Bev.

    Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Māori, Professor Rawinia Higgins says, “Bev’s career exemplifies how research can create real-life, meaningful change. Her research shapes a better world, where women and children live longer, healthier lives.

    “Her ability to collaborate with health providers, policy advisers, kuia kaumātua, funders, and people in the Māori community, exemplifies what we as a university want to achieve through research. Her achievement, to become a finalist in these prestigious awards, is superbly well-deserved—and if one more person self-tests because they’ve seen her story and experienced her advocacy, then she has achieved her goal.”

    The other two finalists in New Zealander of the Year are Dame Lisa Carrington for pushing boundaries in sport and inspiring the next generation, and Sarah Hirini ONZM for redefining what is possible on and off the rugby field.

    The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland on 20 March.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: What’s the difference between burnout and depression?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Gordon Parker, Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney

    Yuri A/Shutterstock

    If your summer holiday already feels like a distant memory, you’re not alone. Burnout – a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion following prolonged stress – has been described in workplaces since a 5th century monastery in Egypt.

    Burnout and depression can look similar and are relatively common conditions. It’s estimated that 30% of the Australian workforce is feeling some level of burnout, while almost 20% of Australians are diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives.

    So what’s the difference between burnout and depression?

    Depression is marked by helplessness and burnout by hopelessness. They can have different causes and should also be managed differently.

    What is burnout?

    The World Health Organization defines burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” resulting from excessively demanding workload pressures. While it is typically associated with the workplace, carers of children or elderly parents with demanding needs are also at risk.

    Our research created a set of burnout symptoms we captured in the Sydney Burnout Measure to assist self-diagnosis and clinicians undertaking assessments. They include:

    • exhaustion as the primary symptom

    • brain fog (poor concentration and memory)

    • difficulty finding pleasure in anything

    • social withdrawal

    • an unsettled mood (feeling anxious and irritable)

    • impaired work performance (this may be result of other symptoms such as fatigue).

    People can develop a “burning out” phase after intense work demands over only a week or two. A “burnout” stage usually follows years of unrelenting work pressure.

    What is depression?

    A depressive episode involves a drop in self-worth, increase in self-criticism and feelings of wanting to give up. Not everyone with these symptoms will have clinical depression, which requires a diagnosis and has an additional set of symptoms.

    Clinically diagnosed depression can vary by mood, how long it lasts and whether it comes back. There are two types of clinical depression:

    1. melancholic depression has genetic causes, with episodes largely coming “out of the blue”

    2. non-melancholic depression is caused by environmental factors, often triggered by significant life events which cause a drop in self-worth.

    When we created our burnout measure, we compared burnout symptoms with these two types of depression.

    Burnout shares some features with melancholic depression, but they tend to be general symptoms, such as feeling a loss of pleasure, energy and concentration skills.

    We found there were more similarities between burnout and non-melancholic (environmental) depression. This included a lack of motivation and difficulties sleeping or being cheered up, perhaps reflecting the fact both have environmental causes.

    Looking for the root cause

    The differences between burnout and depression become clearer when we look at why they happen.

    Personality comes into play. Our work suggests a trait like perfectionism puts people at a much higher risk of burnout. But they may be less likely to become depressed as they tend to avoid stressful events and keep things under control.

    Excessive workloads can contribute to burnout.
    tartanparty/Shutterstock

    Those with burnout generally feel overwhelmed by demands or deadlines they can’t meet, creating a sense of helplessness.

    On the other hand, those with depression report lowered self-esteem. So rather than helpless they feel that they and their future is hopeless.

    However it is not uncommon for someone to experience both burnout and depression at once. For example, a boss may place excessive work demands on an employee, putting them at risk of burnout. At the same time, the employer may also humiliate that employee and contribute to an episode of non-melancholic depression.

    What can you do?

    A principal strategy in managing burnout is identifying the contributing stressors. For many people, this is the workplace. Taking a break, even a short one, or scheduling some time off can help.

    Australians now have the right to disconnect, meaning they don’t have to answer work phone calls or emails after hours. Setting boundaries can help separate home and work life.



    Read more:
    Australians now have the right to disconnect – but how workplaces react will be crucial

    Burnout can be also be caused by compromised work roles, work insecurity or inequity. More broadly, a dictatorial organisational structure can make employees feel devalued. In the workplace, environmental factors, such as excessive noise, can be a contributor. Addressing these factors can help prevent burnout.

    As for managing symptoms, the monks had the right idea. Strenuous exercise, meditation and mindfulness are effective ways to deal with everyday stress.

    Regular exercise can help manage symptoms of burnout.
    alexei_tm/Shutterstock

    Deeper contributing factors, including traits such as perfectionism, should be managed by a skilled clinical psychologist.

    For melancholic depression, clinicians will often recommend antidepressant medication.

    For non-melancholic depression, clinicians will help address and manage triggers that are the root cause. Others will benefit from antidepressants or formal psychotherapy.

    While misdiagnosis between depression and burnout can occur, burnout can mimic other medical conditions such as anemia or hypothyroidism.

    For the right diagnosis, it’s best to speak to your doctor or clinician who should seek to obtain a sense of “the whole picture”. Only then, once a burnout diagnsois has been affirmed and other possible causes ruled out, should effective support strategies be put in place.

    If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

    Gordon Parker receives funding from the University of of NSW.

    – ref. What’s the difference between burnout and depression? – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-burnout-and-depression-250043

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Universities – Call for action in Vietnam to make low-emission food system reforms – Flinders

    Source: Flinders University

    While food systems account for up to 30% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, Vietnam is holding high-level talks aimed at creating more sustainable farming systems in the country’s ‘food bowl,’ the Mekong Delta region.

    However, public policy experts are asking whether an extended series of government and large organisations running high-level multistakeholder forums (MSFs) is the best approach – and with few signs of low-emission food production systems commencing since the forums started almost 30 years ago.

    Based on policy and literature reviews and interviews with 40 organisations in Vietnam, the Vietnamese researchers led by experts from Nong Lam University have joined Flinders University Professor in Public Policy Thuy Pham to highlight the need for policymakers and

    MSF organisers to learn and implement important ‘real-world’ changes to greenhouse gas emissions and equity in society.

    “Our investigations on the impact of 17 MSFs in Vietnam show they have shared some valuable knowledge but all this has generally made little contribution to outcomes on emissions, climate change mitigation and equity in communities,” says Professor Pham, from Flinders University’s College of Business, Government and Law.

    “Current MSFs operate at different scales – regional, national, provincial – targeting different stakeholder groups for different objectives and outcomes,” she says, of a new article published in the World Development Perspectives journal.

    “This means there is a lack of effective discussion across the groups, and not all stakeholders know about the forums, so limiting opportunities for collaboration, information sharing, networking and resource efficiency.”

    “Rather than running more MSFs, we recommend that the great ideas produced at these forums should be used by policymakers to make progress on emission targets in food production, and in turn on equity.”

    The researchers suggest that key policymakers should learn from and work with existing MSFs, rather than establish new ones and waste time.  

    They say reducing emissions and more sustainable food production requires holistic, cross-sectoral and multilevel solutions developed by multiple stakeholders. Technical solutions need to align with transformative governance and wide-ranging and inclusive stakeholder engagement with all players in food systems – while taking into account the interests and perspectives of these different stakeholders.

    Coauthor of the study Dr Tang Thi Kim Hong, from the Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh City, says Vietnam’s policies on emission reductions and food systems – such as its Nationally Determined Contribution, and Resolution 34 on national food security until 2030 – require the participation of all sectors, state and non-state stakeholders as well as local communities and ethnic minorities.

    “It is important, therefore, to analyse the degree to which a low-emission food system in the Mekong Delta is inclusive, and to assess whether all stakeholders or affected parties and their interests are represented in the decision-making process.”

    While MSFs are designed to be “bring together a range of stakeholders to participate in decision-making and/or implementation in order to address a land, climate or resource problem or to achieve a common goal,” too often they are led and controlled by ‘powerful’ stakeholders who have funds, access to knowledge and political networks. This leaves local communities, Indigenous people and women behind, researchers say.

    “We would suggest that key policymakers and funding agencies should learn from, and work with, existing MSFs to understand what works, what doesn’t, what works best and where, when and for whom, before establishing new ones,” adds Professor Pham, who is also affiliated with the Center for International Forestry Research in Indonesia (CIFOR).

    “These MSFs should also ensure and empower disadvantaged groups such as Indigenous people local communities, women and youth to take the ownership, leadership and have a voice in how these MSFs should be run and operated, and how they can meaningfully address the on-ground problems.”

    The article, ‘Multistakeholder forums in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Stakeholders’ perspectives regarding their outcomes and effectiveness for low-emission food systems’ (2025) by Thu Thuy Pham, Thi Kim Hong Tang, Vy Thao Ngo, Ngoc My Hoa Tran, Thi Thuy Anh Nguyen, Thi Van Anh Nguyen, Trung Son Nguyen and Dinh Yen Khue Nguyen has been published in World Development Perspectives DOI:10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100661.

    Professor Thuy Pham, based at the Flinders College of Business, Government and Law, also is affiliated with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia. Other corresponding authors from Vietnam’s Nong Lam University – Dr Kim Tang, from the Faculty of Forestry, and Dr Thao Ngo, from the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, contributed equally to the study.

    Food systems account for up to 30% of total global greenhouse gas emissions when accounting for all elements and stakeholders (environment, people, inputs, processing, infrastructure, institutions, etc), according to an FAO report. This includes activities related to the production, processing, distribution, preparation, use, and sale of food, and the outputs of these activities, including socio-economic and environment.

    MSFs aim to bring together multiple stakeholders, including farmers and community groups, to develop climate solutions and make meaningful, on-the-ground reforms to set up low-emission food systems and improve equity.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Head lice are getting harder to kill. Here’s how to break the nit cycle

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney

    DGLimages/Shutterstock

    Wrangling head lice, and the children they infest, must be up there with the most challenging duties a parent or carer has to face.

    And the job is getting harder. Commonly used chemical products aren’t working as well as they once did, meaning head lice are harder to kill.

    You can still rid your children of lice – but it’s likely to take some patience and persistence.

    Remind me, what are head lice? And nits?

    Head lice are tiny six-legged insects that are only found in the hair on a human’s head – most commonly in the hair of primary school-aged children.

    Head lice have been a constant companion for humans throughout their millions of years of evolution.

    Lice love living in our hair. But they scoot down to our scalp up to a half dozen times a day to drink our blood.

    Their claws are perfectly designed to scuttle up and down shafts of hair. But while they’re nimble on our hair, once they’re off, they don’t last long –they’re clumsy, uncoordinated and die quickly.

    The term “nits” actually describes the eggs of head lice. They’re often the first sign of an infestation. And with one louse laying more than 100 in their month-long lifespan, there can be a lot of them.

    Head lice live for around a month.
    logika600/Shutterstock

    Can they spread diseases?

    No. Head lice are annoying and their bites may cause skin reactions. But Australian health authorities don’t consider lice a health risk. There is no evidence that head lice can spread pathogens that cause disease.

    The stigma of head lice infestations can be greater than any direct health consequences for infested children.

    Why do my children always pick up lice?

    From child care through to primary school, it’s likely your child has had a head lice infestation at least once. One Australian study found the infestation rate in Australian classrooms ranged from no cases to 72% of children affected.

    Girls are more likely to be carry head lice than boys. Long hair means it’s easier for the head lice to hitch a ride.

    One study found that in some classrooms, almost three in four children had head lice.
    CDC/Unsplash

    Head lice don’t jump or fly, they move from head to head via direct contact.

    Head lice come home with your children because they spend time in close contact with other children, hugging, playing or crowding around books or screens. Any head-to-head contact is a pathway of infections.

    Rules differ slightly between states but in New South Wales and Queensland, children don’t need to be kept home from school because of head lice.

    How can I keep my home free of head lice?

    Keeping the house clean and tidy won’t keep head lice away. They don’t care how clean your bed sheets and towels are, or how frequently you vacuum carpets and rugs.

    There may be a risk of head lice transfer on shared pillows, but even that risk is low.

    There’s no need to change the child’s or other family member’s bedding when you find lice in a child’s hair. Research-based recommendations from NSW Health are that “bed linen, hats, clothing and furniture do not harbour or transmit lice or nits and that there is no benefit in washing them as a treatment option”.

    I’ve used nit solution. Why isn’t it working?

    A wide range of products are available at your local pharmacy to treat head lice. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration assesses products to ensure that they are both safe and effective.

    The problem is that most of these products are insecticides that kill the lice on contact but may not kill the eggs.

    Also, if treatments aren’t completed as directed on product labels, some head lice won’t be killed.

    Head lice also seem to be fighting back against the chemicals we’ve been using against them and it’s getting harder to clear children of infestations.

    So how can you get rid of them?

    You’ll need conditioner and a nit comb.
    riopatuca/Shutterstock

    Don’t expect any miracle cures but health authorities in Australia generally recommend the “conditioner and comb” or “wet comb” method. This means you physically remove the lice without the need for chemical applications.

    There are three key steps:

    1. immobilise the lice by applying hair conditioner to the child’s damp hair and leaving it there for around 20 minutes

    2. systematically comb through the hair using a fine toothed “lice comb”. The conditioner and lice can be wiped off on paper towels or tissues. Only adult lice will be collected but don’t worry, we’ll deal with the eggs later

    3. repeat the process twice, about a week apart, to break the life cycle of the head lice.

    Repeating the process after a week allows the remaining eggs to hatch. It sounds counter-intuitive but by letting them hatch, the young lice are easier to remove than the eggs. You just need to remove them before they start laying a fresh batch of eggs and the infestation continues.

    While children are much more likely to have head lice, the reality is that everyone in the household is just as likely to host a head louse or two. You don’t necessarily need everyone to have a treatment but “grown ups” should be on the lookout for lice too.

    Cameron Webb and the Department of Medical Entomology, NSW Health Pathology and University of Sydney, have been engaged by a wide range of insect repellent and insecticide manufacturers to provide testing of products and provide expert advice on medically important arthropods. Cameron has also received funding from local, state and federal agencies to undertake research into various aspects of management of various medically important arthropods.

    – ref. Head lice are getting harder to kill. Here’s how to break the nit cycle – https://theconversation.com/head-lice-are-getting-harder-to-kill-heres-how-to-break-the-nit-cycle-250397

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: 34 new species discovered in Wuyishan National Park

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    A three-year biological survey in Wuyishan National Park, a UNESCO natural and cultural heritage site in southeastern China, has yielded the discovery of 34 new species, including plants, insects and fungi, experts said.
    The park, located in the subtropical region spanning Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, provides a diverse range of environments suitable for wildlife and plants.
    The baseline survey, launched in April 2021, covered more than 100,000 hectares of the park’s Fujian section. In addition to the 34 new species, 10 species were newly recorded in China.
    The survey focused on various ecosystems and biological groups, including higher plants, terrestrial vertebrates, amphibians, aquatic organisms, insects and microorganisms, said Cai Bin, an engineer from the park’s scientific research and monitoring center.
    More than 100 experts and scholars from over 20 universities and research institutes participated.
    One of the key discoveries was the Wuyi forest frog. Wu Yanqing, a deputy researcher from the College of Life and Environmental Science at Wenzhou University in Zhejiang province, found the new amphibian.
    “The identification of this new vertebrate species was unexpected, as many domestic and international experts had previously visited the area for specimen collection in the last century, leading to the publication of many model animals,” Wu said.
    After noticing subtle differences in the frog’s appearance compared to other forest frogs, Wu’s discovery was confirmed through DNA molecular identification in the lab.
    “Due to the high altitudes and geographical isolation, amphibious reptiles evolve more rapidly during the process of species differentiation,” Wu explained. “Advancements in scientific research and monitoring have also played a crucial role in this discovery.”
    Among the 34 new species, 14 are types of flies. Li Meilin, a doctoral candidate from the College of Plant Protection at China Agricultural University in Beijing, discovered nine new species of Empididae, also known as dance flies.
    “Dance flies are named for their unique light and agile flight patterns, which resemble dancing,” Li said.
    “These flies are harmless to humans and do not spread diseases,” the doctoral student added. “They feed on pests and pollinate flowers.”
    Li emphasized that dance flies require specific environmental conditions to survive and reproduce, including adequate soil, plant coverage, water and biodiversity.
    “Wuyishan National Park provides an ideal habitat for these sensitive species,” Li said.
    Wu noted, “The park’s well-preserved environment is key to the discovery of new species. Some species may have existed for millions of years but went extinct before we could document them due to environmental pollution or habitat disruption.”
    The baseline survey deepens the understanding of Wuyishan National Park’s wildlife and enhances the park’s conservation and management capabilities. The park plans to install an integrated monitoring system to further safeguard its natural resources, Cai said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: NW China unearthed ceramics reveal multi-ethnic integration centuries ago

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Porcelain wares unearthed in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which were produced nearly 1,000 years ago during an ethnic minority-ruled dynasty, bear high resemblance to those made in the “porcelain capital” of Jingdezhen in east China.

    This undated file combo photo shows ceramics unearthed at the Suyukou kiln in Helan Mountain in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

    Archaeologists believe that the findings in Ningxia serve as evidence of the country’s multi-ethnic integration at that time.

    Remnants of the Suyukou kiln were discovered in 2017 in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia, and cover an area of roughly 40,000 square meters.

    From 2021 to 2024, archaeologists from the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Fudan University excavated around 2,400 square meters, finding remnants of workshops featuring six furnaces, as well as pits where workers used to mine porcelain clay, coal, quartz, lime and other raw materials and fuels, which were needed to make porcelain.

    The fine white ceramics discovered at this site exhibit delicate textures, warm glaze, and glittering and translucent effects — which are very similar to those found in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province.

    This undated file photo shows a porcelain bowl unearthed at the Suyukou kiln in Helan Mountain in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

    Judging from its production scale and saggars marked with the character guan, which literally means official, archaeologists believe that the Suyukou kiln was an official kiln producing bowls, cups, plates and other daily utensils — mainly for the royal family during the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227).

    Qin Dashu, a professor with the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, noted that such white ceramics were popular among aristocrats and scholars during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).

    “Song and Western Xia used to be on good terms and had close technological and cultural exchanges,” he said. “It is likely that the Northern Song officials sent excellent craftsmen to the Western Xia and helped them produce this fine white porcelain.”

    Based on their studies of the porcelain discovered at the site, archaeologists concluded that quartz content and performance parameters there were near to or even reached the technical standards of modern “high quartz porcelain” — making these wares the earliest discovery of “high quartz porcelain” in China.

    According to Zhu Cunshi, head of the Ningxia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, porcelain clay mined near Suyukou features high aluminum oxide content, which makes it difficult to produce such delicate white porcelain.

    “The craftsmen creatively added quartz to the clay to increase the proportion of silicon dioxide and reduce the proportion of aluminum oxide, so as to create products similar to the ceramics from Jingdezhen,” he explained.

    This aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 24, 2024 shows archaeologists conduct excavations at the Suyukou kiln in Helan Mountain in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

    These findings show that China’s porcelain “dual formula” technology can be traced back to the earlier Western Xia Dynasty, and thus did not originate during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as previously believed, said Zhu.

    The Suyukou site is believed to be the earliest Western Xia Dynasty kiln site found to date in China. Li Zheng, a researcher with the National Cultural Heritage Administration, noted that the discovery of the Suyukou kiln for the first time explains the origin of ceramics used by the Western Xia royal family — thereby answering an important archaeological question in terms of China’s ceramic development history.

    “The Suyukou porcelain kiln site, integrating the high-end kiln industry technologies of both south and north China at that time, is an important demonstration of the official technical and cultural exchanges between the Western Xia and Northern Song dynasties, and a reflection of the integration of multi-ethnic exchanges in ancient China,” she said. 

    MIL OSI China News –