In a major liquidity move, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) injected a total of Rs 11,051.549 billion into the market on Friday through a combination of conventional Reverse Repo Purchase and Shariah-compliant Mudarabah-based Open Market Operations (OMOs).
As part of the operation conducted on July 18, 2025, the SBP accepted Rs 10,933.948 billion under Reverse Repo Purchase (Injection) for 7-day and 14-day tenors, based on 32 submitted quotes. An additional Rs 117.601 billion was infused into the market through Islamic OMOs under the Mudarabah structure.
For the 7-day reverse repo tenor, the central bank received six bids totaling Rs 165.95 billion. The rate of return ranged between 11.09% and 11.10%. All bids were accepted at a return rate of 11.09%, with the entire Rs 165.95 billion realized.
In the 14-day tenor, the SBP attracted 26 bids amounting to Rs 11,072.724 billion, with rates ranging between 11.03% and 11.13%. The central bank accepted all 26 bids, injecting a realized sum of Rs 10,767.998 billion at a return rate of 11.03%. Notably, Rs 5,795 billion was offered at 11.03%, out of which Rs 5,473.95 billion was accepted on a pro-rata basis.
Parallel to the conventional operations, SBP also executed Mudarabah-based OMOs for both 7-day and 14-day tenors. For the 7-day Shariah-compliant window, two bids were received totaling a realized value of Rs 162.857 billion, with return rates between 11.11% and 11.13%. The SBP accepted Rs 101.638 billion at 11.11%. Out of Rs 115 billion offered at this rate, Rs 55 billion was taken on a pro-rata basis.
Additionally, the central bank received two bids for the 14-day Islamic tenor, totaling Rs 15.963 billion at a fixed rate of 11.13%. Both bids were accepted in full.
The move is seen as part of SBP’s ongoing efforts to maintain market liquidity and manage short-term interest rates through calibrated open market operations.
How we verified videos of demolitions in Gazapublished at 16:10 British Summer Time 18 July
16:10 BST 18 July
Benedict Garman BBC Verify senior journalist
Moving back to our story on the demolitions of buildings in Gaza by the Israeli military, we’re going to walk you through how our journalists carry out investigations like this.
We verified scores of videos showing scenes of destruction by the Israeli military. Israel restricts international journalists from entering Gaza, but at BBC Verify we monitor hundreds of social media feeds related to the war across TikTok, Telegram, X and Facebook.
Some accounts share videos filmed by soldiers and contractors working for Israel. As well as general scenes of destruction, many of these include the exact moment of demolition, either with controlled explosions, or with construction machinery like excavators and bulldozers.
By matching features in these videos to satellite imagery and pre-existing geolocated footage – for example, street level videos filmed by Palestinians – it was possible to establish their location. Then comparing satellite photos of the same places helped narrow down the time frame in which the demolitions happened, as the day a video is published is not necessarily the day it was filmed.
We only focused on videos depicting demolitions since Israel withdrew from the ceasefire in March.
There are many more verified videos which show construction vehicles moving around Gaza, under the guard of the Israeli military.
In nature’s endless game of survival and attraction, appearances can deceive. A soft flutter of wings might signal prey, a wasp, or danger. A bright color could warn of poison or invite a mate. But in one curious case, a dancing jumping spider has taken deception to a whole new level.
Jumping spiders are not what people typically imagine when they think of showy, dramatic displays. Yet one species, the Maratus vespa, does something few creatures dare. This jumping spider imitates one of its biggest threats – a wasp.
This surprising performance raised a question that scientists at the University of Cincinnati couldn’t ignore: why would a spider mimic a predator during something as important as courtship?
That question led to an experiment unlike most in behavioral biology. And the journey from simple curiosity to machine-aided discovery unveiled a strange and brilliant piece of evolutionary theater.
Jumping spiders in a wasp disguise
With travel restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, fieldwork came to a halt. But curiosity did not. Biologists at the University of Cincinnati turned to computers, hoping to uncover the secrets behind the spider’s dramatic disguise.
Humans often see faces where none exist, on rocks, in tree bark, even in cloud formations. Scientists wondered if the spider’s “wasp face” was a real mimicry or simply a trick of human perception.
To answer this question, the researchers needed a third party without such bias. They used computer vision techniques and machine learning.
Neural networks were trained to identify and classify images of different insect and spider species based on patterns and shapes. The test included 62 species, from jumping spiders to flies and wasps.
Wasp-like spiders trick algorithm
The results surprised the researchers. The artificial intelligence made classification errors nearly 12 percent of the time across all species. Thirteen species were identified correctly every single time. But others were harder to pin down.
“The original idea was inspired by one species, a peacock jumping spider called Maratus vespa, which is Latin for wasp,” said UC student and study lead author Olivia Harris.
In the case of Maratus vespa and a few other spiders, the AI struggled more than usual. It misidentified these spiders as wasps more than 20 percent of the time. Even without human bias, the computer saw what looked like a wasp.
This revealed something important. The spider’s mimicry may be strong enough to fool not just people but machines as well. If artificial intelligence gets confused, real predators might too.
Spider’s dance looks like a wasp
Maratus vespa is no ordinary spider. During courtship, it performs an elaborate dance. It raises its abdomen to display bright, bold patterns. The colors echo those of a wasp’s body. But it doesn’t stop there.
This jumping spider also raises side flaps on its body. The added shape creates the outline of a wasp’s triangular face.
The mimicry becomes more convincing with movement, colors, and structure. And this illusion, oddly enough, is used in one of the most vulnerable moments of its life, mating.
“That got us thinking,” Harris said. “Why would a spider want to look like a wasp, which is a predator of spiders, especially as a primary element of its courtship display?” The answer lies in attention, survival, and split-second timing.
Male jumping spiders seeking attention
Jumping spiders are highly visual animals. They have multiple sets of eyes, each with different abilities. Females especially are careful observers.
When they detect movement from afar, particularly something that resembles a predator, they freeze and focus.
It turns out, this reaction might give males a critical opening. If the female thinks a wasp is nearby, she becomes alert but still. That moment of pause may allow the male spider to begin his courtship display.
The study’s authors believe the male uses this mimicry as a tactic. It isn’t to scare her, but to capture her attention and hold it long enough to start the dance.
Spiders aren’t the only tricksters
Nature is full of strange strategies when it comes to attracting mates. Some male moths, for example, imitate the ultrasonic calls of bats. This discourages females from flying away.
In Africa, topi antelope bulls pretend to spot predators to stop females from leaving their territory.
“But this is the only case we’ve found of males mimicking a predator visually,” she said.
Visual mimicry as a courtship trick remains extremely rare. That makes the Maratus vespa spider an unusual and fascinating example.
The study suggests this behavior represents a form of sensory exploitation. The male takes advantage of how the female processes visual information.
The limits of illusion
Professor Nathan Morehouse, who co-authored the study, explained that the illusion works best from a distance or from the female’s side view.
These angles rely on her peripheral vision, which sees only in green. At that range, the bright pattern and angular shape suggest danger. But when the male moves closer, the illusion wears off.
“Females will not be fooled forever. If they were, they would be robbed of the ability to make mate choices, which would put the species at a long-term disadvantage,” Morehouse said. “It’s beneficial for the males to break the illusion.”
In other words, the mimicry is a tool to get noticed, not to deceive permanently. The female must still decide if the male is worthy. And once she’s focused, she uses her color-sensitive front eyes to make that decision.
Jumping spiders posing as wasps
The team now hopes to follow up with behavioral studies. They want to test if live female spiders behave differently based on the strength of the male’s visual mimicry.
Do some jumping spiders copy wasps better than others? Do females prefer males with more convincing patterns? And can these differences affect which males succeed in passing on their genes?
These questions may reveal even more about how animals use deception not just for survival, but for love.
In the meantime, Maratus vespa continues to dance its strange, bright, and possibly risky dance in the wilds of Australia. A spider pretending to be its enemy, all in the name of romance.
The study is published in the journal Behavioral Ecology.
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In 2008, Erez Ben-Yosef unearthed a piece of Iron Age “trash” and inadvertently revealed the strongest magnetic-field anomaly ever found.
Ben-Yosef, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, had been working in southern Jordan with Ron Shaar, who was analyzing archaeological materials around the Levant. Shaar, a geologist at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was building a record of the area’s magnetic field.
The hunk of copper slag — a waste byproduct of forging metals — they found recorded an intense spike in Earth’s magnetic field around 3,000 years ago.
When Ben-Yosef’s team first described their discovery, many geophysicists were skeptical because the magnitude of the spike was unprecedented in geologic history. “There was no model that could explain such a spike,” Ben-Yosef told Live Science.
Related: Major ‘magnetic anomaly’ discovered deep below New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua
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So Shaar worked hard to give them more evidence. After they had analyzed and described samples from around the region for more than a decade, the anomaly was accepted by the research community and named the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly (LIAA). From about 1100 to 550 B.C., the magnetic field emanating from the Middle East fluctuated in intense surges.
Shaar and Ben-Yosef were using a relatively new technique called archaeomagnetism. With this method, geophysicists can peer into the magnetic particles inside archaeological materials like metal waste, pottery and building stone to recreate Earth’s magnetic past.
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This technique has some advantages over traditional methods of reconstructing Earth’s magnetic field, particularly for studying the relatively recent past.
Generally, scientists study Earth’s past magnetic field by looking at snapshots captured in rocks as they cooled into solids. But rock formation doesn’t happen often, so for the most part, it gives scientists a glimpse of Earth’s magnetic field hundreds of thousands to millions of years ago, or after relatively rare events, like volcanic eruptions. Past magnetic-field data helps us understand the “geodynamo” — the engine that generates our planet’s protective magnetic field. This field is generated by liquid iron slowly moving around the planet’s outer core, and this movement can also affect, and in turn be affected by, processes in the mantle, Earth’s middle layer. So differences in the magnetic field hint at turmoil roiling deep below the surface in Earth’s geodynamo.
Locations where researchers have found archaeological samples with evidence of the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly. (Image credit: Locations where evidence of the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly has been found.)
“We cannot directly observe what is going on in Earth’s outer core,” Shaar told Live Science. “The only way we can indirectly measure what is happening in the core is by looking at changes in the geomagnetic field.”
Knowing what the magnetic field did in the past can help us predict its future. And some studies suggest our planet’s magnetic field is weakening over time. The magnetic field shields us from deadly space radiation, so its weakening could lead to a breakdown in satellite communications, and potentially increase cancer risk. As a result, predicting the magnetic field based on its past behavior has become ever more important. But observational data of the magnetic field’s intensity only began in 1832, so it’s difficult to make predictions about the future if we only dimly understand the forces that steered the magnetic field in the past. Archaeomagnetism has started to fill these gaps.
How do we see the magnetic field from an archaeological artifact?
Archaeomagnetism takes advantage of our human ancestors’ harnessing of the earth around them — they started building firepits, making bricks and ceramics, and eventually, smelting metals.
In each of these tasks, materials are heated to intense temperatures. At high enough temperatures, thermal energy makes the particles inside a material dance around. Then, as the material is removed from the fire and cools, the magnetically sensitive particles inside naturally orient in the direction of Earth’s magnetic field, like miniature compass needles. They become “stuck” in place as the material hardens, and will retain this magnetic orientation unless the material is heated again.
The settled magnetic particles in an archaeological artifact offer a unique snapshot of the magnetic field at the time the material was last hot. This snapshot is regional, spanning a radius of about 310 miles (500 kilometers) around the sample — the scale at which the magnetic field is thought to be uniform, Shaar said. When the sample is dated with radiocarbon or other techniques, scientists can begin to build a chronological record of an area’s magnetic field.
These artifacts are so helpful for geophysicists because Earth’s magnetic field constantly drifts. For instance, in 2001, the magnetic north pole was closer to the very northern tip of Canada, but by 2007, it had moved over 200 miles (320 km) closer to the geographic north pole. That’s because two large “lobes” of strong magnetism, called flux patches, in the outer core underneath Canada and Siberia act as funnels for the magnetic field, pulling it into Earth. As these lobes shift, they move magnetic north.
And while most of the planet’s magnetic-field lines go from north to south, about 20% diverge from these paths, swirling to form eddies called magnetic anomalies.
It’s these anomalies that researchers are struggling to explain, and that artifacts could reveal.
A growing field
Although archaeomagnetism has been around since the 1950s, magnetic-field-measuring technologies, like the magnetometer, have improved dramatically since then. Refined statistical analysis techniques also now allow much more detailed interpretation of archaeomagnetic data.
To get all of the data in one place and synthesize our understanding of Earth’s magnetic field, scientists have started to build a global database called Geomagia50, hosted at the University of Minnesota’s (UM) Institute for Rock Magnetism. But even as the technique grows in popularity, there are many hurdles to widespread adoption.
“The equipment is quite expensive,” Maxwell Brown, a UM geophysicist and custodian of the Geomagia50 database, told Live Science. The most precise magnetometers can cost between $700,000 and $800,000, Brown said. “So there are only a few labs in the [United States] that have one of these.”
Yoav Vaknin, an archaeologist at Tel-Aviv University and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, collects samples from a burnt Iron Age structure in Jerusalem. (Image credit: Yoav Vaknin)
As a result, about 90% of the data in the Geomagia50 database has come from Europe, Brown said. Africa doesn’t have a single magnetometer available to geophysicists for archaeomagnetic sampling, meaning our magnetic snapshot of the continent is largely blank. Additionally, there are no current avenues for the average archaeologist to send their artifacts to be sampled, Ben-Yosef added. Anyone without a magnetometer has to set up an official partnership with someone who does have one.
Even if the equipment is available, sampling takes time and expertise, Shaar said. Measuring the direction of the field can sometimes be relatively simple, but understanding the intensity of the field takes much more work. The sample must be heated and reheated 20 separate times, gradually replacing the original magnetization and destroying the sample.
“It sounds like it’s an easy thing: We put it in a magnetometer or instrument, and we get the results. No. For each artifact, we spend two months working in the lab, making experiments and then getting the results. It’s a complicated, experimental procedure,” Shaar explained.
This lack of global data limits our understanding of what the magnetic field has been up to in recent history. “We clearly have a very strong bias [toward Europe] in the data distribution,” Monika Korte, a geophysicist and magnetic modeler at Germany’s GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, told Live Science. “Where we have sparse data we have just a very blurred picture, a very rough idea of what’s going on.”
Geographic diversity is important, as samples taken from one area can indicate the magnetic field only in that area.
For instance, other data similar to the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly’s intense spikes of magnetic strength have been spotted in places like China and Korea around the Iron Age as well, but there’s not enough evidence to confirm these as bona fide anomalies or to say whether they are related to the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly, Korte said.
Why should we learn more about historic anomalies?
The discovery of the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly redefined our previous understanding of the potential strength of the field, Shaar said. Understanding how much the magnetic field can change may seem like a purely abstract endeavor, but these ancient fluctuations may have implications for modern times.
Another important anomaly is the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region of weakened magnetic field that spans central South America in a strip that ends near southern Africa. It likely first emerged 11 million years ago, caused by the slight difference in location of the magnetic axis and the rotational axis at Earth’s core. As the magnetic field is slightly off-center to the rotational axis, the field dips in strength over the South Atlantic, though the field’s interaction with the churning mantle may also contribute to the anomaly.
The South Atlantic Anomaly still exists today, and has disrupted communications from satellites and the International Space Station, as the weak magnetic field in the region lets through more radiation from solar wind. Studying the SAA throughout its history has helped scientists understand how our magnetic field changes over time, and how such anomalies alter the likelihood of a magnetic field reversal, when Earth’s north and south poles flip.
But although scientists have a reasonable understanding of the South Atlantic Anomaly, its weakened magnetic field is very different from the strong spikes of the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly, which has baffled geophysicists. And though researchers haven’t pinpointed the exact extent of the anomaly, its seemingly small scale of around 1,000 miles (1,609 km) across, combined with the extremely high spikes in the magnetic field, isn’t easily explained.
Some geomagnetists had suggested that the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly developed due to a narrow flux patch that developed on the outer core under the equator before it drifted north towards the Levant, potentially contributing to other spikes of intensity recorded in China. The inverse of the large lobes that funnel the magnetic field into the planet at the North Pole, this “positive” flux patch would have pushed the field out in a powerful burst. Others believed the single flux patch didn’t travel, instead multiple grew under the Levant, erupted, and decayed in place. Still, no theories can explain why the flux patch developed in the first place.
With the most up-to-date archaeomagnetic data, geomagnetist Pablo Rivera at the Complutense University of Madrid published a paper in January that simulated both the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly and the South Atlantic Anomaly. By modeling their movement over time, his work suggested that both anomalies may have been influenced by a superplume underneath Africa — a massive blob of hot rock on the barrier between the core and the mantle that may disrupt the flow of the geodynamo below it.
However, much is still unknown.
“So far, there is not a single simulation that really describes all the [magnetic] features that we see well,” Korte told Live Science.
Many archaeomagnetic data points from around the globe suggest there may be more intensity spikes that could help resolve the mystery and create a unifying theory to explain the SAA, the LIAA and other spikes. But there currently isn’t enough data to describe them accurately, or even begin to understand their causes.
“We don’t really understand what causes these anomalies, but we hope to learn more about how the geodynamo operates and what kinds of changes we also can expect for the future magnetic field,” Korte said.
This certainty is needed now more than ever, as more of our communications take to the skies. More than 13,500 satellites currently orbit Earth — a dramatic increase from only around 3,000 in 2020. The Government Accountability Agency estimates that another 54,000 satellites will launch by 2030. These satellites monitor weather patterns, send phone and TV signals, and create GPS.
Satellites are generally protected from space radiation by Earth’s magnetic field. But in places where the field is weaker, such as above the South Atlantic Anomaly, satellites have more memory problems as radiation bombards onboard computers and corrupts data.
Filling out the picture
Despite the expense and technical challenges of archaeomagnetism, there are many initiatives to expand the amount of data. In the U.S., the Institute for Rock Magnetism is expanding its archaeomagnetism program to begin building a more thorough history of the magnetic field in the Midwest, hoping to build their own localized dating system using archaeomagnetism, similar to the record Shaar and his collaborators have built in the Levant.
Interest in archaeomagnetism is also growing around the globe. The first archaeomagnetism data from Cambodia was published in 2021, and the first regional model of the magnetic field of Africa for the recent past was published in 2022.
As the field of archaeomagnetism grows, scientists can start building a better understanding of how features like superplumes affect the magnetic field. The past 50 or so years of data has captured “only a really tiny snapshot in time,” Shaar said, and “maybe there are more [anomalies] to find.”
A cross-sectional observational study published in Menopause highlights the elevated prevalence and risk factors for depressive symptoms among women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), also known as premature menopause. Researchers found that nearly one-third of women with POI experienced depressive symptoms, and that younger age at diagnosis, severity of menopausal symptoms, fertility-related grief, and lack of emotional support were significant contributors.1,2
The study, “Depressive symptoms in women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI): a cross-sectional observational study,” evaluated data from 345 women attending a multidisciplinary POI clinic in the Netherlands between April 2020 and December 2023. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), with a score >19 indicating significant depressive symptoms.
A total of 29.9% of participants met this threshold. Despite hormone therapy being a common component of POI management, the study found no significant difference in depressive symptoms between those using estrogen plus progestogen therapy (41.7%) and those not using it (42.6%; P = 0.89). Researchers emphasized that “estradiol levels did not correlate with depressive symptoms,” suggesting a limited role of hormone levels in mental health outcomes among this population.
Multivariate logistic regression identified several factors independently associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms. These included:
Younger age at POI diagnosis (OR, 0.95; P = .01)
Higher severity of menopausal symptoms, as measured by the Greene Climacteric Scale (OR, 1.13; P < .001)
Lower scores on the PROMIS emotional support scale (OR, 0.86; P < .001)
Lower fertility-related quality of life scores among those experiencing infertility-related grief (OR, 0.93; P < .001)
Conversely, a genetic etiology of POI was associated with lower odds of depression (OR, 0.10; P = .04). The authors hypothesize that a genetic cause may allow for more anticipatory guidance and support, potentially reducing psychological distress.
The analysis showed that emotional and psychosocial dimensions—rather than hormonal or physiological measures—were stronger predictors of depressive symptoms. “This suggests that psychosocial factors are crucial. Psychological interventions should focus on these factors to address the unique needs of this population,” the authors concluded.
In subgroup analyses, similar associations were found. Among women younger than 30 years, more severe menopausal symptoms (OR, 1.18; P < .001) and lower emotional support (OR, 0.81; P = .03) remained significant predictors. In women over 30, a younger age at diagnosis and lower TSH levels were additionally linked to depressive symptoms.
Notably, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats were not independently associated with depressive symptoms. This contrasts with findings from studies on women undergoing natural menopause, where vasomotor symptoms are often linked to mood disturbances.
“These findings underscore the need for comprehensive care addressing both physical and psychological aspects of menopause at an early age,” said Monica Christmas, MD, associate medical director for The Menopause Society. “Although hormone therapy is recognized as the standard of care for those with POI for management of some menopause-related symptoms and preventive care, it is not first-line treatment for mood disorders. This was evident in this study in which there was no difference in depressive symptoms between those using hormones and those not using hormone therapy.”
She added, “Addressing behavioral-health concerns with evidence-based interventions should be part of any comprehensive POI care plan.”
The authors of the study also emphasized the importance of routine mental health screening in women with POI. Given the relatively high prevalence of depressive symptoms and the psychosocial impact of a POI diagnosis—including infertility, stigma, and life disruption—integrating behavioral health into reproductive endocrinology care may improve overall outcomes.
This large-scale study provides evidence that the mental health burden among women with POI is significant and is more closely tied to psychosocial than hormonal factors. The findings advocate for the development of multidisciplinary care models that incorporate mental health services, emotional support networks, and fertility counseling to meet the comprehensive needs of this vulnerable patient population.
References:
The Menopause Society. Depression often associated with early menopause: Why some women are at greater risk. EurekAlert. July 16, 2025. Accessed July 18, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1091270
van Zwol-Janssens C, Louwers YV, Laven JSE, Schipper J, Jiskoot G. Depressive symptoms in women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI): a cross-sectional observational study. Menopause. Published online July 15, 2025. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000002614
Global Health Fellows (GHF) is Pfizer’s signature skills-based volunteering program, empowering colleagues to lend their skills and expertise to global health partners in underserved communities around the world. For over 20 years, the program has helped to strengthen health systems and close the health equity gap in communities that need it most.
Through the program, Pfizer colleagues have participated in pro bono consulting projects across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S., where they work alongside local nonprofits and organizations to address pressing healthcare challenges. From helping to improve data transparency in Kenya to expanding access to public health insurance in Zanzibar, Global Health Fellows are making a meaningful difference.
The Leo Project
In Kenya, a team of Global Health fellows supported a local clinic operated by The Leo Project, a community-based organization driving social change through education, health, and community outreach. “Through ongoing conversations, it became clear how important having access to community-level data is,” said Christine Rossin, Senior Director, Pfizer Statistics Program, who was on the ground in Nanyuki, Kenya. “It gave us the insights we needed to identify key issues, which then helped us pivot and refine our approach.”
The team worked closely with the staff from The Leo Project to uncover the root cause of the data access challenges – a communication breakdown with their database vendor. By helping the organization resolve this issue, Pfizer’s team of Global Health Fellows were able to help train a staff member on data visualization software and create a customized dashboard to track key performance indicators.
“Being able to transform raw data into insightful visuals and reports in one platform is a dream come true,” said Grace Mbithi, Medical Records Officer, The Leo Project. “This will empower us to make data-driven decisions that will improve patient care and operations.”
Photo credit: The Leo Project
PharmAccess
In Zanzibar and Tanzania, teams of Global Health Fellows collaborated with PharmAccess, a global organization improving access to better healthcare by helping the government implement a new public health insurance program to reach at-risk populations. “PharmAccess has been a longtime partner of Global Health Fellows,” explained Catherine Robinson, Senior Director, Pfizer International Government Affairs. “We worked with them to support a project with the government to implement a health equity fund to cover the indigent population on the island.”
During in-person visits to government offices, the Fellows gained a deeper understanding of the infrastructure and data limitations that were impacting progress. “We saw early on that there wasn’t consistent access to data at the community level,” said Catherine. “Our goal was to identify the eligible population for the health equity fund and provide input on how the government, working with donors, could finance it.”
Collaborating in-person with the PharmAccess team helped Fellows gain critical insights they wouldn’t have uncovered remotely, allowing them to map out a practical strategy to move implementation forward.
Photo credit: PharmAccess
IFPW Foundation
In partnership with IFPW Foundation, an organization working to improve availability and accessibility to safe medicines, Pfizer Fellows provided “coaching” to local supply chain healthcare professionals through the Strategic Training Executive Program (STEP 2.0). By building up the skills of healthcare professionals in areas such as inventory management, distribution, and data tracking, Pfizer is helping to improve access to essential medicines.
“I’ve worked in drug development throughout my entire career,” said Hari Prasad Narasimhan, Group Lead, Pfizer Global Medical Devices and Combination Products, who participated in the India STEP 2.0 initiative. “Unlike in large metro cities, railroads and even internet connectivity in these areas can’t be taken for granted. Restocking the warehouse, updating the database, and ensuring appropriate delivery of medicines were the key challenges, and this program enabled us to provide solutions.”
The Global Health Fellows program has also deployed Pfizer colleagues to support supply chain optimization initiatives through STEP 2.0 in countries including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Pakistan, and across Southeast Asia.
Photo credit: Empower School of Health
Since its inception in 2003, nearly 1,000 Pfizer colleagues have participated in the Global Health Fellows program. By volunteering their diverse expertise, colleagues are creating positive impact in communities around the world. As Catherine Robinson said, “It’s amazing. It’s been the highlight of my time at Pfizer. If I could, I would do it every year. It felt so good to be close to a community.”
Gary Trent Jr. and Bobby Portis are both returning to the Bucks.
Editor’s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic here. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams.
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LAS VEGAS — As long as two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo dons the green and cream, the big picture is always going to be most important for the Milwaukee Bucks.
For that reason, large ideas took up Part 1 of The Athletic’s conversation with Bucks general manager Jon Horst. The outlook for next season, including an overview of the offseason, the vision moving forward and potential changes to the team’s style of play, were the first topics on the docket, but the new collective bargaining agreement has made all of the small details crucial. If the team is going to find success in the coming years, they will need players up and down the roster to make an impact and outperform their contracts.
Those minor details make up the second part of the conversation. Rather than taking a closer look at the rationale behind signing free-agent center Myles Turner, today’s conversation takes a closer look at the importance of the team’s shooting guards, the upside in a point guard room headlined by three players younger than 25, improving the situation for the veterans on the wing and what the return of fan favorite Bobby Portis could mean to the Bucks this season.
(This interview was lightly edited for clarity.)
In the first part of this interview, we talked about the importance of surrounding Antetokounmpo with 3-point shooters. You’ve decided to bring back Gary Trent Jr., and you’ll also have AJ Green. How much did their strong playoff performances mean to you in committing to them in the future and maybe their projections moving forward?
From an analytics perspective, I care a great deal about the data; you know that. You want a big enough sample size where it’s not a bet, but a certainty. I don’t know that we have that level of sample size on some of those lineups yet, but I will tell you that in the playoffs and throughout the course of the regular season, some of our highest net rating lineups, both because they were elite offensively and they were very good defensively, had AJ Green, Gary Trent, Giannis, Kevin Porter Jr. and Bobby Portis in them. And, in fact, the AJ, Gary, Kevin, and Giannis lineup, that four-man lineup, was as good as any four-man lineup against the Pacers the entire playoffs.
Now, I wish that it would have been more than the first round and we moved on and they didn’t. So we didn’t get to test that as much as we wanted, but sometimes you have to take as much information as you have and make the best bets that you can. So, there’s some data — not as much as I would like — behind those lineups, that style of play and what it can do against really, really hard teams to guard against and play against like the Indiana Pacers, who went to the NBA Finals and lost in seven games. So there’s no question that we took that sample size, we took the sample size for the regular season that we had, and we went in and we bet on it.
I think Gary Trent had his two best games of the season, maybe, in our two most important games of the season. In two closeout opportunities, the guy played unbelievable. And AJ Green was unbelievable also, and I think that says a lot about them. And don’t forget, these guys are 25, 26 years old, so they’re just entering their prime. And so I think the best is in front of those guys. I’m happy about them. They’re not just shooters. They’re tough, physical guys that can grind and defend, make a play off the bounce and those guys are going to be a lot better this year than they were last year.
AJ Green has been extension-eligible for more than a week now. What have those conversations been like and how confident are you that you will be able to get an extension done with him?
First and foremost, the day that he became officially eligible to have extension conversations, he was the first call I made. I called him. We didn’t dive deep into negotiations, but I just told him how much we love him, believe in him, and want him here long term. And I did the same thing with his agent, Matt Bollero, who I love and respect in this business.
And so we’ve already made the contact. AJ wants to be here, AJ wants to figure something out. Obviously, we’ve got to figure a deal out and we have the whole season to do it. I hope it doesn’t take that long. I think they hope it doesn’t take that long either, but as the dust starts to settle on a pretty busy offseason, that’ll be the most important thing for us to figure out with AJ. And I know he feels the same about trying to figure it out with us.
At the trade deadline last season, you acquired Kevin Porter Jr., and after he declined his player option for this upcoming season, he signed a larger deal with you. I’m not sure if you’d go as far as saying you believe he is your starting point guard next season, but it feels like a massive opportunity for him. What led to your belief and trust in him to bring him back for a second season with the Bucks?
He’s another player that I think stepped up in the biggest moments in the playoffs. With no playoff experience, he came into a very hostile environment, pressure-loaded environment, and I thought was very, very good.
He plays well off of Giannis, and people forget that a few years ago he was one of the best catch-and-shoot 3-point shooters in the league. He’s big, he’s physical, he can create for himself, he can create for others and can make shots. And he grew defensively with us this year, and I think he’s very capable on that end.
Whether he’s our starter or not our starter, that’s for Doc (Rivers) to decide, but obviously we’ve invested in him and we want him around. We’ve tried to create a situation where he has a chance to thrive and grow, and if so, he can have his option and he can benefit from it. But for us to get that continuity of a guard who we thought played well with us after we acquired him was huge and I think he’s primed to have a really big year. He’s in the right environment, he’s in the right group that loves him and supports him and is to give him the chance to be his best.
Kyle Kuzma is coming off one of his least efficient seasons in the NBA. He struggled in the postseason as well. How did you tell him to try to attack this offseason, and what do you see as his pathway for having a more productive season in his second year with the Bucks?
First of all, we were intentional, and we talked about this a lot when we did it at the deadline. Kyle was a target and nothing’s changed. I think Kyle gives us a chance to play fast, gives us a chance to be huge, play a lot of different big lineups. He’s a plus-plus defender at multiple positions and he’s a guy that offensively, when he plays with confidence and plays within the flow, is very impactful.
We still believe in Kyle. He struggled. He hadn’t been to the playoffs in a while either. And I thought he played great for us for most of the regular season after we acquired him and I think he struggled in the playoffs. And he would tell you that. Doc and I have already gone to L.A. to spend time with him. Doc’s gonna spend time with him again.
I think the biggest thing with Kyle is just getting the familiarity, working with our coaches in the off-season, being part of a training camp and just really building into a system where he understands where he’s gonna get his looks, how he can have his impact and where we can understand him better. He’s very, very good (at power forward). And so I think getting him more minutes at the four … is going to be helpful.
He’s a guy we believe in a lot, and I think he’s going to have a big year with us this year, just having continuity with a good team and a full offseason with a good team, which he hasn’t had in a while. So we’re excited for him.
Taurean Prince was productive for you in the regular season, but ended up struggling to make that same type of impact in the postseason. What gave you enough confidence in him to bring him back again next season?
I think a little bit like Kyle, I think continuity is going to be good for TP. And I think our roster … is better suited for Taurean this year than it was last year. I think Taurean had a hell of a year for us.
He was one of the top five in the league in 3-point shooting. Again, a plus defender, a great professional, a great locker-room guy, just someone that you want to be part of your organization, but also can play. He played most of the year guarding ones and twos and being guarded by twos and threes and he should be like a wing-forward, like a three-four. And the way that our team is built now, he’s gonna have a lot more of those matchups.
Probably, he will come off the bench, although who knows, it’ll be open competition, but I think if you put him in a position where he’s playing against the right positions night in and night out and he’s doing it off the bench versus a starter and he can have the same type of production that he had last year, I think it’s going to be a home run for us. I’m excited to have him back.
Bobby Portis has been such a big part of everything you guys have done over the last five years that it just felt like there was never any doubt he was going to be back next season, but could you talk about how much he means to this team?
Well, I’m glad you didn’t have any doubt. I did. I was nervous as hell. I did not want to go through a season, a practice, a day without Bobby Portis as part of the team that I’m a part of. I think Bobby is so much the ethos of who we are. He is the underdog. He fights. He grinds. There’s no one that cares more, in my opinion, about the Milwaukee Bucks than Bobby.
He loves the Milwaukee Bucks. He feels like it’s a family, it’s a city and a fan base that’s embraced him. It’s an organization that’s embraced him. And he continues to give back to our organization and take less on the margins and do different things here and there. I felt like it was a tough negotiation with his agent, Mark Bartelstein, who I love in this business as much as anybody, and I thought we got to the right place. But it was a tough negotiation.
Bobby chose us. Bobby wasn’t short on options, but he wanted to be here. He wants to win, and he wants to with this group of guys. He loves playing with Giannis. He loves the things that we’ve done in free agency. He was high on the guys that we brought back. He and I talked a lot about the roster and just his thoughts on different guys. And I’m just really excited he’s with us.
We have already discussed Scoot (Kevin Porter Jr.) and bringing him back to Milwaukee for a second season, but you also brought in two other point guards. Let’s start with Ryan Rollins. Why did you think he was such a good fit for you moving forward?
I thought Ryan played well for us. He had a little bit of a breakout year, like AJ Green the year before. I think they’re on similar timelines. I love that he got some playoff experience. I thought he did well in the few minutes that he had.
People probably don’t think about it a lot, but Ryan had a decision midway through this season to play or not with a pretty serious shoulder situation and he played. That just shows you how tough he is and how committed he is. He played a good half of our season and in the playoffs with a pretty painful shoulder situation, which he’s gotten taken care of. It’s totally resolved. He is totally healthy now, and that alone I think is going to give him more confidence in fighting through screens defensively and taking hits offensively.
But he is a big guard that’s physical, that can shoot. He’s been coming on as a playmaker, can finish in traffic, and is a good defender on the ball, which we want. I say this all the time and I say this with affection because he is one of my favorite people and I think he’ll love this shout-out. he reminds me of George Hill. I think he has a George Hill-type career in front of him and that’s high, high praise in my opinion because G-Hill is one of the best people that I’ve been around.
For us to be able to invest in him, give him a deal that keeps him with us for a couple of years, it’s a bit of a bridge deal. He’s got a chance to outplay it, and we’ll take care of him, we hope to figure it out at the end, but it gives him some security that I think he’s earned. I think Ryan was a important pick-up for us. Doc was pushing for the Ryan pick-up. It’s something that we wanted to figure out.
In addition to bringing back Scoot and Ryan, you also added Cole Anthony. What do you think he can do for you next season?
The idea on Cole is — and you can see a theme — there’s another 24, 25-year-old guard. He just turned 25 in May. Cole’s an electric scorer. Two years ago, he was in the running for NBA Sixth Man of the Year. In our system, in our metrics, he’s performed like a kind of starter, key reserve at different points in his young career.
He’s electric with the ball, a very capable shooter. I think he can be one of the guys that you’ve seen year in and year out come into our system and get a higher dose of better shot quality because of playing with Giannis and playing in our system and improve as a shooter. I think he could have a huge shooting year, which would be massive for him and us. And he’s just got an edge to him. I hope he takes this as an affectionate thing, and this is true, when I saw the idea of Cole Anthony, him being free and our chance to get him, I think he’s like a guard version of Bobby Portis. I think he can bring so much swag and energy to our team.
He’s capable of winning a game by himself any given night. And I think he’ll grow in our system having less possession-by-possession pressure on him playing with Giannis and playing in Doc’s system and Doc having been a point guard and being able to mentor him the way he has with Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins. I think he could have a huge year for us and if he does, it will be a great decision for him and a great decision for us.
***
Eric Nehm is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Milwaukee Bucks. Previously, he covered the Bucks at ESPN Milwaukee and wrote the book “100 Things Bucks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” Nehm was named NSMA’s 2022 Wisconsin Sports Writer of the Year. Follow Eric on Twitter @eric_nehm
Arsenal have completed the signing of Noni Madueke from Chelsea in a deal worth £52m.
Arsenal will pay an initial fee of £48.5m plus £3.5m in add-ons.
The winger has signed a five-year contract at the Emirates Stadium and becomes Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer after Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard.
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Madueke, who has seven caps for England, predominantly plays on the right wing but can also operate on the left. He is seen by Arsenal as a player who can add depth and quality to their attack.
The 23-year-old is the seventh player to make the move from Chelsea to Arsenal in the last six years, after Kepa, Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz, Jorginho, Willian and David Luiz.
Madueke scored 20 goals in 92 games for Chelsea following his £29m arrival from PSV Eindhoven in 2023.
He helped them win the Conference League last season and also played a part in their Club World Cup triumph in the United States.
His Chelsea departure follows another round of heavy investment in their attack, with Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens having arrived from Ipswich, Brighton and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
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Why Arsenal fans doubt Madueke – and why they might be wrong
Arsenal’s pursuit of Noni Madueke has provoked a vociferous online reaction from fans. A poll conducted by Sky Sports shows voters feel he would be a bad signing. Some have even signed a petition against the deal.
For many, the frustration stems from Arsenal shopping at Chelsea again. Madueke becomes the seventh player in six years to move from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates Stadium. The list holds cautionary tales in David Luiz, Willian and Raheem Sterling.
Go back further and there are more examples, from William Gallas and Lassana Diarra to Petr Cech. Overall, it is clear which club has benefited most from the transactions. Even the more successful signings, most notably Kai Havertz, continue to split opinion.
The £65m fee paid for Havertz remains a subject of debate, two years on, and the finances involved in the deal for Madueke are even more contentious. Arsenal will pay up to £52m, allowing Chelsea to make a huge profit on a player they signed for £29m in 2023.
It is a hefty fee, particularly for a player who primarily plays in the same position as Bukayo Saka. Arsenal fans are entitled to wonder whether Madueke has done enough in the last two and a half years at Chelsea to justify a 70 per cent increase in his value.
A lack of end product has been a source of frustration. Madueke started last season with a hat-trick against Wolves in a 6-2 win at Molineux but went on to score only seven times and provide only three assists in 32 Premier League appearances in total.
Read Nick Wright’s feature on why Madueke could suit Arsenal
Madueke thanks Chelsea fans for ‘love, praise and also the criticism’
“I want to thank you for the last three or so years. To every staff member that helped me along this journey, thank you. To my teammates thank you for everything, I leave with only love and admiration for you guys.
“We achieved so much this season and I honestly wish you guys nothing but the best. To Enzo Maresca, it was a privilege to play under you, thank you for trying to better me as a player and as a person.
“Lastly thank you to every single Chelsea fan. Thank you for the love, the praise and also the criticism, I appreciate it all. I leave here with nothing but fond memories.”
Merson says: ‘Are Arsenal preparing for Saka’s exit?’
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson:
“I am flabbergasted by Arsenal signing Noni Madueke. I’m shocked. If Arsenal went and bought any player from Chelsea, he’d have been the last one I thought they’d sign.
“I just don’t see it. It’s a lot of money for a player who is not a prolific goalscorer. He’s the sort of player that has a good game here and a good game there, but that’ll be it. The consistency of performance isn’t there.
“I hope he proves me wrong, but he’ll have the good games, just like he did for England last month. But then you won’t see him for a few weeks.
“Call me a cynic, but is there another reason why they are doing this deal? Are there concerns about the future of Saka?
“Are they getting this deal done, and then all of a sudden it allows a potential sale of Saka or someone else?
“The one player at Arsenal who has to play every week is Saka. When he doesn’t play, they are not the same team. The players around him are not the same when he doesn’t play.
“If fit, he plays. So why do you spend £52m on a backup for him?”
Read Paul Merson’s full verdict on Madueke’s move to Arsenal
In
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Chelsea, £5m
Martin Zubimendi – Real Sociedad, £51m
Christian Norgaard – Brentford, £15m
Noni Madueke – Chelsea, £52m
Out
Jorginho – Flamengo, free
Kieran Tierney – Celtic, free
Nuno Tavares – Lazio, £4.3m
Marquinhos – Cruzeiro, undisclosed
Takehiro Tomiyasu – released
Thomas Partey – released
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
New arrival Noni Madueke believes that his instinct led him to Arsenal, as he feels that this is the right move for him to continue progressing personally and professionally.
The England international winger has swapped one corner of London for another after signing from Chelsea, returning to his north London roots having been born and raised in Barnet.
Therefore the 23-year-old admits it was a proud moment when he put pen to paper on his new contract, as he seeks to continue developing his game with his best years still ahead of him.
Reflecting on why he opted to join us, he explained: “I’m somebody who goes with my gut feeling a lot of the time and I feel like it’s steered me in the right direction so far. So, I don’t think it’s going to be any different here. I think it’s going to be a great success and I’m really happy to be here.
“I’ve just been relaxed, waiting for the green light and when I came in today, it all felt real. I’m really happy and really proud, so it’s a great moment for me. It’s great to go back home, be with my mum, my dad. I know my mum misses me in the house!
Read more
33 great photos as Madueke becomes a Gunner
“It’s already a great team with a clear identity and I can’t wait to bring my style to the team and try and help the boys as much as possible to take that next step.”
When pressed about his aims for the upcoming campaign, Noni added: “To win all the competitions we’re in, I feel like we’re definitely capable of doing that. And also to help the team in every way I can and grow as a player, but also as a person.”
Noni’s attacking threat will be key to us achieving those ambitions, but he has proved in his time in the Premier League so far that he’s more than capable of putting the fear into opposition defenders.
Read more
Stats: What Noni Madueke brings to Arsenal
No player in the competition averaged more carries ending in a shot, while only three other wingers bettered his non-penalty xG. He also averages 3.5 shots per game, and his versatility will be crucial for Mikel Arteta going forward.
“I feel like everyone here, all the players here in the team are established Premier League players in their own right and I’d like to say I am as well,” Noni added.
“I try and be a dual threat from the left and from the right. Of course, it’s a little different when I play on the left or when I play on the right, but it doesn’t really matter to me where I play. I only really have one thought in my mind when I get the ball to feet or in space, it is just to line up the full-back and go past him, so that’s definitely one of my main strengths.”
Having been involved in the same Three Lions squads as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly in recent months, Noni can lean on plenty of familiar faces over his first few weeks at the club.
This summer saw him help Chelsea win the Club World Cup so he has been granted extra time off to recuperate, but he admits he is already itching to get going with his new teammates.
“I’ve spoken to Dec, Myles, Bukayo, even Jurrien as well and they all say amazing things about the club and the culture here, how warm it is and how much of a family it is,” he smiled. “I’m really happy to be a part of the Arsenal family now.
“I’m very happy, very excited to get to work. I’ll go on holiday for a little bit now, but I can’t wait to get back and meet all the boys and train.
“I was saying it to all my friends walking around here, you don’t even want to take the rest. I know I have to for my body and stuff to heal, but when I come back, I’ll be raring to go.”
Watch the full interview with Noni now by pressing play on the video above
Read more
Get to know Madueke with these 13 facts
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
