Latest news with #Sjogren
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Tactical tweaks crucial at Women's Euro 2025, says Uefa technical observer
Spain's Aitana Bonmati (in red) in action against Switzerland's Viola Calligaris during their Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final in Bern on July 18. OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland – Greater tactical flexibility has led to a marked improvement in the ability of teams to change plans mid-game at Euro 2025, former Norway coach Martin Sjogren told Reuters ahead of the semi-finals, which will see Germany take on Spain on July 23. The Swede, who coached the Norwegians at the last Euro and is part of the Uefa group of technical observers scrutinising the games in Switzerland, said many teams had impressed him with how smoothly they changed tack. 'Women's football is developing very quickly, it looks more tactical than what it did in the last championship. There is a trend that there are clear plans for what to do in a given situation,' Sjogren said after landing in Geneva for the July 22 semi-final between England and Italy, which took place after press time. 'If a team needs to close the game to secure the result, then there is a clear plan for what to do, if they need to force a goal, there is a clear plan, so the tactical understanding and the tactical depth in all the teams, you see a clear picture, and that is a development from previous championships.' Sjogren used Switzerland's final group match against Finland, in which the hosts needed a draw and the Finns a win to progress, as an example of the amount of tactical switching that can happen. The Finns took the lead, only for the Swiss to secure a 1-1 draw in second-half stoppage time. 'Finland set up to force a goal and managed to do so, then Switzerland changed, forcing the Finns to switch to try to secure the result, then Switzerland managed to score in one of the last kicks – it's just one example of how things can change in a game,' he said. While impressed by the strategies employed by the Swiss in their quarter-final defeat by Spain, Sjogren said the combination of technical skills and tactical intelligence means the Spaniards, who take on Germany in their semi-final in Zurich, are still the team to beat. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Changi Airport's passenger traffic crosses 17.5 million mark in Q2 2025 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore Teen charged after she allegedly sold vaporisers, put up WhatsApp ad showing e-cigarettes Life Having a workout partner could be the secret to sticking to your fitness goals Singapore 2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to S'pore, put down humanely after salmonella detected Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving 'They (Spain) don't need to play so many other types of football, they are still very secure and good in what they do as a foundation. I still see Spain as the team that looks the most homogeneous, and they are still the best,' he said. Sjogren, who is head coach at Swedish club side Hammarby, and his observer colleagues will meet ahead of the first semi-final to discuss what they have seen, and they will produce a report on the tournament after the July 27 final. 'We'll see what the final report shows, but there's no doubt that women's football will keep developing, definitely,' Sjogren said. REUTERS
New Paper
3 days ago
- Health
- New Paper
A helping hand for those with hidden conditions on Singapore's public transport
For 34-year-old university administrative employee Vivien Shiw, getting off a train at the next stop just to rest on a bench on the platform is routine. Though she looks young and healthy, she lives with autoimmune diseases Sjogren's and vasculitis, as well as arthritis, which make standing for long painful. When the pain in her legs worsens, she sometimes squats in the MRT train. Another passenger like her, Ms Ratnah Hafizah, has multiple sclerosis, which is also an autoimmune disease. She used to take Grab rides to pick up her son from kindergarten, even though his pre-school was only one bus stop away from her home. Ms Ratnah, who is 33 and self-employed in branding and content writing, said carrying a May I Have a Seat Please card, which she ties to her bag, has since given her the confidence to take a priority seat on buses without the fear of being judged by others. The card was first piloted as a sticker by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2019 to help passengers be aware of those with hidden or invisible medical conditions who need a seat during public commutes. It is part of the Helping Hand scheme, an initiative by the Caring SG Commuters Committee - comprising several ministries, agencies and public transport operators - to foster a more inclusive public transport system. The May I Have a Seat Please initiative includes a lanyard and card for passengers with long-term conditions, while the sticker version is meant for people with short-term medical conditions. The card was created for those with hidden conditions such as chronic pain or fatigue, dizziness, heart disease and arthritis. It is also for commuters recovering from a stroke, those with physical injuries, ongoing cancer treatment or prosthetic limbs, and early-stage expectant mothers. As at May, LTA said it has distributed about 10,600 stickers for short-term conditions and 20,400 cards for long-term conditions. Passengers can collect them for free at the passenger service centre at MRT stations, bus interchanges, and at selected SimplyGo ticket offices. They do not need to show proof of their conditions. Some with invisible conditions are still doubted because of their youthful appearances. A 21-year-old university student who wanted to be known only as Ms Lim has multiple health conditions that result in leg pain when she stands for longer than 20 minutes. She said she was laughed at by a passenger service employee when she requested a May I Have a Seat Please card. Diagnosed with endometriosis, ovarian cysts, pelvic congestion syndrome and adenomyosis, she said the staff member did not believe she was unwell, even after seeing her medical records. "I did receive (the card) in the end, but it left a sour taste," she said. For some commuters, the card has not really worked. Ms Shiw, who has been carrying the card for about a year, said she often gets stares from other commuters. No one has offered her a seat on her journey from Sengkang to Kent Ridge for work. The only visible sign of her condition is the rash she gets when she puts too much pressure on her legs, but people do not associate a rash with the need for a seat, she said. Her fear is that she will fall down, as she has trouble balancing. LTA said it will continue to work with public transport operators to improve the Helping Hand initiative. The authority said all public transport operators have training programmes, developed together with social service agencies, to equip staff with skills to spot and assist commuters with disabilities. Since 2016, training in commuter inclusivity has been part of the Enhanced Vocational Licence Training Programme conducted by the Singapore Bus Academy for all bus captains. Over 10,455 bus captains have completed the programme, LTA said. More than 4,500 of SMRT's front-line staff - including station managers, bus captains and service ambassadors - have completed the operator's inclusive service delivery training, developed with social service agencies and special education (Sped) schools. The training includes role-play scenarios and hands-on learning to develop skills and sensitivity to help commuters with diverse needs. Over 7,000 SMRT staff are certified Caring Commuter Champions, trained to support commuters with disabilities. Madam Aileen Goh, 59, a senior assistant station manager at SMRT Trains, has helped unwell passengers and those with dementia by escorting them to the station's WeCare rooms to rest, and providing them with water and snacks while contacting their family members to pick them up. She said her training has taught her to look out for those who need help and given her the confidence to assist them, such as by slowly approaching elderly passengers wandering around the station and gently checking in on them. Mr Dalvinder Singh, a bus captain at Tower Transit Singapore, said the May I Have a Seat Please card has made it easier to identify passengers in need. In 2024, he noticed a commuter with visual impairment waiting at a bus stop with the card. He approached to offer help, informed him of the bus service number, guided him on board, and later helped him alight at his stop. "Before the cards were introduced, we would usually rely on visual cues or if the commuter approached us first. Now, with the lanyards and cards, I can take the initiative to offer help more confidently and appropriately," said Mr Singh. Help for passengers with autism Passengers with invisible disabilities, such as dementia and autism spectrum disorder, can also get additional help at Changi Airport. Changi Airport Group worked with Sped schools and organisations to launch in 2022 a customisable step-by-step airport guide and specialised training for staff. Front-line airport staff are also trained to recognise LTA's May I Have a Seat Please lanyard and the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard - a global symbol for hidden disabilities launched by England's Gatwick Airport in 2016 - as part of their induction. Selected staff, such as those in supervisory roles, are nominated to be care ambassadors and receive specialised training to spot and support passengers with invisible disabilities such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome or dementia. Since August 2024, over 330 staff members across 15 organisations at Changi Airport, such as Certis Aviation Security and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, have been trained as care ambassadors by Rainbow Centre, identifiable by a pin they wear on their uniform. Parents of children with autism said the special accommodations made by airport and public transport staff make a world of difference when travelling. Ms Edwina Fan and her 18-year-old son Wallace Tan fly about twice a year to visit his grandparents in Taiwan. When Ms Fan explained to airport staff that Wallace was unable to look into the camera to pass through the e-gate, which is more commonly used now, the staff led them to the manual counter. She said staff also acceded to her request for Wallace to board the plane first with his family, as he is uncomfortable with crowds, and for him to be served his meals earlier. On public transport, Wallace, who is triggered by sounds such as babies crying, wears headphones and has his family's helper by his side. On public transport, Wallace Tan, who is triggered by sounds such as babies crying, wears headphones and has his family's helper by his side. PHOTO: EDWINA FAN Ms Fan recalled how Wallace once had a meltdown, and MRT staff formed a circle around him on the platform to give him space. They also stopped another passenger from filming a video of him. She hopes for wider recognition of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard in Singapore, and for the symbol to be included on signage for priority seats on trains. Ms Tiffany Tee took her son Atkins Soong, who has autism, on his first overseas trip in 10 years in May. She said airport staff did not pressure the 14-year-old to make eye contact when checking his passport, and allowed him to play with his piece of Blu-tack as he passed through the body scanner. Ms Tiffany Tee took her son Atkins Soong, who has autism, on his first overseas trip in 10 years in May. PHOTO: TIFFANY TEE Airport staff also let Atkins bring a slime toy - considered a liquid of over 100ml - on board to calm him down if needed. A flight attendant also showed him and his father to their seats on the plane. "We are less stressed by no staring or additional unwelcome remarks falling on us," said Ms Tee, 49, who does administrative work. She said improved awareness of autism has made transport staff more compassionate. "The experience encouraged us to bring him out more often. We are less afraid to bring him out."
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boeing In Talks To Restart C-17 Production
Two decades after the last example rolled off the production line, Boeing says it's in negotiations with at least one customer to build more C-17 Globemaster III airlifters. The development comes as countries around the world look to boost their armed forces' capabilities, and with no immediate successor to the C-17 waiting in the wings. Turbo Sjogren, VP and general manager of Boeing Global Services-Government Services, confirmed to Shephard Defense at the Paris Air Show today that 'early infancy' talks were underway with one country, with a view to a potential C-17 production restart.'It is a very extraordinary effort to do,' Sjogren told the same publication, noting that it was 'reflective of the utility of the aircraft.' He added that interest in new-build C-17s was being expressed by several other countries, too. None of those countries was named, but TWZ has approached Boeing for more details. The nations involved may or may not be drawn from the C-17's existing customer base. As well as the U.S. Air Force, its biggest operator, the C-17 is flown by Australia, Canada, India, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Finally, NATO's multinational Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing also operates C-17s. One potentially new customer for the C-17 is Japan. Earlier this year, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba disclosed an interest in buying C-17. Previously, we speculated that any such aircraft for Japan would have to be transferred from the U.S. Air Force or from the inventory of an allied operator. If a new production line were to open, that would change things entirely. Certainly, a continued demand for the C-17 is understandable among both established operators and potential new customers. Outside of China and Russia, there is no real equivalent to the C-17, with many countries instead turning to the Airbus A400M or the Embraer C-390 Millennium for their airlift needs, which offer a very different set of capabilities. The A400M was originally marketed as a gap-filler between the C-130 Hercules at one end and the C-17 at the other. Meanwhile, the C-390 has often been described, in loose terms, as a jet-powered C-130. The C-17 can transport 100,000 pounds of cargo more than 4,500 nautical miles. It can make high-angle, steep approaches at relatively slow speeds, allowing it to operate into small, austere airfields and onto runways as short as 3,500 feet long and just 90 feet wide. While it has tactical capabilities, it's equally adept as a long-range, heavy-lift strategic transport. Unlike the A400M, the C-17 can lift everything up to an M1 Abrams main battle tank, so its outsized load-carrying capabilities are impressive and useful. The A400M, in contrast, is much more of a tactical transport that offers certain strategic capabilities. It can carry 30,000 pounds of cargo over 2,400 nautical miles, and it can also operate from unprepared or semi-prepared strips. Clearly, the A400M isn't a direct replacement for the C-17, but at the same time, Boeing says it has no planned replacement for the Globemaster III. But bringing the C-17 back into production, whatever the demand, will not be straightforward. Back in 2018, we reported on how Boeing had put the Long Beach, California, facilities where it built the C-17 up for sale. This appeared to bring a definitive end to C-17 production, as well as Boeing's serial manufacture of military aircraft in Southern California. But even at that time, there was a question about whether emerging U.S. Air Force demands might make a restart an attractive idea. Specifically, the U.S. Air Force was, back then, looking to add three C-17 squadrons as part of a larger push to drastically expand the size of its force and to enhance its ability to move personnel and materiel across the globe. Those plans fell by the wayside, but the C-17 aspiration seemed something of a non-starter at that time. When it was active, Boeing's Long Beach facility, comprising a nearly four-million-square-foot plot of land adjacent to Long Beach Airport, produced 279 C-17s for the U.S. Air Force and foreign customers. McDonnell Douglas had developed and first started production of the C-17 at the site in 1991. Boeing bought that firm in 1997, taking over the Globemaster III program and the production facilities in the process. Though Boeing still provides C-17-related maintenance and other services in Southern California, the production facilities at Long Beach have been idle since the last Globemaster III left the plant in 2015. Even before that, in 2013, the RAND Corporation conducted a detailed analysis of what it might cost to reboot C-17 production after a multi-year pause. The figure was close to $8 billion to support the production of up to 150 new derivatives with improved fuel efficiency. RAND assumed that Boeing would build those aircraft somewhere else rather than in Long Beach. We have also reached out to Boeing today to get a better idea of what it would now take to start building C-17s again. A production restart could perhaps also be aligned with Boeing's Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP), which provides modernization and support to the existing C-17 fleet. If a new production run proved to be feasible, Boeing would likely look again at an updated configuration, which would be a more capable and efficient subtype. Some of these improvements might also be relevant for upgrades of C-17s built in the original series. In the longer term, the U.S. Air Force has been eyeing more exotic airlift capabilities, like blended-wing-body (BWB) designs. While there are still many unknowns about the kinds of capabilities and platforms that the service will need in the future, one thing that seems to be central, at least at this stage, is the requirement for a much greater degree of survivability compared to legacy airlift platforms. A revamped C-17 would not deliver on that front. On the other hand, the requirement to replace the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 fleets is becoming increasingly urgent. The program to field new U.S. Air Force airlift capabilities is still at an early stage and it's unclear if it will be pursued under the (currently still unofficial) Next-Generation Airlift (NGAL) name, or if it will be reconfigured under the name Next-Generation Airlift System, to better represent that fact that it will involve a family of different platforms and capabilities. Regardless, the service doesn't have much time to stand up and deliver on an entirely new strategic airlifter or family of strategic airlifters. Absolutely critical to the fate of the U.S. Air Force C-17 fleet is the fact that these vital aircraft are being tasked at a far higher rate than planned. Major contingencies all over the world, from Afghanistan to Ukraine, in particular, have put many extra hours on these airframes. A potential future contingency in the Pacific would see the fleet taxed even harder and possibly over a longer period of time. Some argue that more C-17 capacity is needed just to fight that conflict in the distributed manner the Pentagon wants. On top of this, promising new capabilities are giving C-17s the ability to execute kinetic roles via standoff weapons delivery, which could be a great way to take some pressure off the bomber force. At the same time, the question of where the capacity to actually execute that mission would come from during a time when aerial logistics would be pushed to the max isn't clear. Hence why the call for more C-17s, or something that is similarly capable, is growing louder. With all this in mind, the U.S. Air Force might well welcome the opportunity to buy additional C-17s, if it can find the funds to do so, even if only as a gap-filler. In fact, depending on the level of foreign interest in new-build C-17s, an order from the Pentagon may well be critical in order to get any production restart off the ground. At this point, it remains very questionable whether restarting C-17 production is possible, let alone economical. On the other hand, there's little doubt that customers looking for an airlifter that's able to land on an unimproved airstrip in the middle of nowhere or carry an Abrams main battle tank have very few realistic options at this point in time. Contact the author: thomas@
Business Insider
17-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Boeing wants a bigger slice of Europe's surging defense spending
Boeing expects to significantly expand its operations in Europe as defense and geopolitical tensions take center stage at this week's Paris Air Show. Tuesday's media briefing, Boeing 's first of the event, focused on its partnerships with European firms and growing defense opportunities on the continent. "We're expecting a very, very significant expansion in the next 10 years, and that is not just across our services business, but across additional programs," said Turbo Sjogren, senior vice-president for government services. With the war in Ukraine continuing, and the US becoming increasingly isolationist under President Donald Trump, European governments are increasing their defense spending. "There is a real threat, and a growing threat on the continent," said Tim Flood, an executive at Boeing's defense, space, and security division. He said Boeing expected several countries to increase their defense spending pledges at next week's NATO summit. "There is a growing need for industrial self-reliance and a growing push for European autonomy, which is driving the way European countries are going to procure," Flood said. Defense won't be affected by Trump's tariffs as much as commercial aviation, given the structure of the contracts. However, rising tensions around the world have still prompted more European countries to seek more control over their defense programs. "The aerospace supply chain is global. Nobody can do it themselves. Maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we're going to have to work together," Sjogren said. He said programs developed in the US and Europe would continue to rely on components made on both sides of the Atlantic. "These are great companies that provide great service, and they do some things better than we do," Sjogren added. "Why would we try and do work where we've got a local partner who can do it better than us?" Geopolitics overshadowed the first day of the Paris Air Show, as organizers closed off the stands of four Israeli defense companies. The Israeli defense ministry said in a statement that the French government ordered offensive weapons to be removed from the displays. Meanwhile, many attendees from the Middle East have pulled out of the air show, including the CEO of Qatar Airways. "The number of engagements we were expecting to have, particularly with a number of Middle Eastern countries, has dropped off sharply," Sjogren said.
Business Insider
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Argenx presents new Efgartigimod data at EULAR 2025
argenx (ARGX) SE 'announced the presentation of positive results from Phase 2 studies evaluating VYVGART in Sjogren's disease and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies at the European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR 2025, from June 11 – 14 in Barcelona, Spain. argenx also announced that the FDA has granted efgartigimod Fast Track designation for the treatment of primary Sjogren's disease.' Confident Investing Starts Here: Published first on TheFly – the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>>
