Новости за 17.02.2024

By Huricihan Islamoglu 

The Israel-Hamas confrontation is spreading to the wider Middle Eurasian region. This marks a turning point in the on-going reconfiguration of geopolitics in Middle Eurasia. Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, the latter disrupting maritime trade through the Red Sea which carries nearly 30% of the world’s maritime container trade and 12% of its oil.

What will the geopoliticisation  of the Gaza War mean? Beyond the... Читать дальше...

By Imran Ahmed and Muhammad Saad Ul Haque

On 5 August 2019, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah announced to the parliament that the President had signed a decree abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution, which had given the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir substantial autonomy. Shah, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and one of the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argued that Article 370 was anti-women, detrimental to the state’s development and the reason behind poverty in the region. Читать дальше...

Iran’s regime goes to great lengths to twist the truth and present a false image of itself. And it spends huge amounts on propaganda efforts to create an illusion of popular support for the despotic rule of the mullahs. Meanwhile, even the regime’s own officials and insiders are warning about the threat of popular uprisings and widespread boycotts in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

By Tony Schick and Conrad Wilson, Oregon Public Broadcasting

(ProPublica) — It’s a scene police say plays out all too frequently in downtown Portland.

An officer hands someone a $100 ticket for possessing the deadly narcotic fentanyl and a card with a treatment hotline number. Call this number, the officer says, and the ticket goes away. The person caught with fentanyl never calls. The ticket goes unpaid.

“We’ve talked to exactly two people that have actually called that number,” said Sgt. Читать дальше...

The IDF’s recent airstrikes on civilian areas in Rafah mark the beginning of the final phase of Israel’s massive ethnic cleansing project. On Monday, Israel bombed a number of locations where Palestinian refugees were huddled in tents after fleeing Israel’s onslaught in the North. Videos of the destruction appeared on a number of Twitter-sites which showed a deeply-cratered wasteland in the middle of makeshift encampments. Not surprisingly, women and children made up the bulk of the casualties with no evidence of Hamas to be found anywhere. Читать дальше...

By Ryan McMaken

In recent months, stories from both the legacy media and the independent media have continued to pile up on how undocumented foreign nationals—also known as “migrants” and “illegal aliens”—are able to take advantage of a vast network of taxpayer funded benefits in daycare, medical care, housing, and more. 

For example, both the New York Post and Denver Post report that these foreign nationals have “overwhelmed” the Denver Health hospital system in Denver, and... Читать дальше...

By Jutta Wolf

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has projected a delay until 2062 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region, missing the schedule by a staggering 32 years.

The world leaders adopted the 17 Goals in 2015 to end extreme poverty and hunger, ensure access to clean water and sanitation, and provide quality universal education, among other targets, by 2030.

The 2024 SDG Progress Report has highlighted... Читать дальше...

By Rovshan Mammadli

(Eurasianet) — In December the U.S. State Department for the first time placed Azerbaijan on its Special Watch List for “engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reported an uptick in the suppression of religious freedoms and an intensification of persecution targeting Muslim communities, with 19 individuals reportedly jailed for their faith in the preceding year. 

To attribute weighty moral codes to athletes has always been a silly pastime of the judging classes and flesh admiring voyeurs.  But sporting bodies, in a manner similar to the clergy, demand something called the level playing field.  Fairness and fair play imply that sports people will follow various principles and rules in competition.  They will, for instance, do nothing to unravel and disturb this understanding of détente between the supremely talented.  We are all gifted on Olympus; may the... Читать дальше...

If stopping genocide is not a good enough reason for Biden to rein in Israel’s blood thirst, is losing the 2024 election a risk he’s willing to take?

Among the puzzling questions that the media chooses to ignore is asking high government officials why they are exercising the illegal use of power that violates the rule of law which they are required to obey.

The Arakan Army fighting for an independent Rakhine State in southwestern Myanmar seems to have given up its secessionist goal.

Nate Silver had a piece in the New York Times Monday arguing that people had good reason to be upset about the economy under Biden, and that it was not just perceptions that were out of touch with economic reality. Silver tells us:

An unprecedented number of countries and international organizations are expected to participate in the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) oral hearings on Israel’s occupation beginning February 19, 2024, Human Rights Watch said. Fifty-two countries and three international organizations will participate in the oral proceedings, more than in any other case since the world’s highest court began functioning in 1946.

By Matthew Santucci

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has released another critique of the Synod on Synodality, arguing that the ongoing discussion and discernment process offers “two opposing visions” of the nature, organization, and role of the Church. 

“On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded by Jesus on the apostles and their successors, with a hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly... Читать дальше...

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday said it was “appalled” over the death announced by Russian authorities of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison, calling for an impartial and transparent independent investigation.

New research suggesting a improved method for extracting lithium by applying plasma technology has been recently published.

Increasing access to water in extremely arid parts of sub-Saharan Africa can help nomadic livestock farmers in the short term. However, in the long run it may lead to serious consequences for their livelihoods. This is shown by new research from Uppsala University, published in Nature Climate Change. 

A female White-eared opossum (Didelphis albiventris) found dead in 2021 in Bosque dos Jequitibás Park in the center of Campinas, one of the largest cities in São Paulo state, Brazil, died from rabies meningoencephalitis, according to a group of researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL), the regional reference laboratory, working with health professionals affiliated with public institutions in São Paulo city and Campinas. 

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus 

Prabowo Subianto’s foreign and defense policies have come under the spotlight after the former army general and current defense minister claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election this week.

Prabowo won almost 60% of the votes, according to several polling agencies drawing attention to his policies amid rising tensions in the South China Sea and the China-United States rivalry. 

Indonesia is not a party to the South China Sea dispute... Читать дальше...

By Jim Garamone

In only two years, U.S. officials have made many positive inroads with allies and partners throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Ely Ratner, the assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, shared his thoughts on the second anniversary of the Indo-Pacific strategy during a presentation at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, yesterday. He spoke alongside representatives from the White House and State Department, illustrating the whole-of-government approach of the strategy. Читать дальше...

The most right wing nationalist ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government rejected Palestinian statehood following a Washington Post report that Israel's main ally the United States was advancing plans to establish a Palestinian state. "We will in no way agree to this plan, which says Palestinians deserve a prize for the terrible massacre they carried out against us" Finance Minister Smotrich said.

After Pakistan witnessed political, judicial, and economic strife during PTI four four-year government and when it reached new heights with the ouster of Imran Khan and the installation of the PDM and later on caretaker parliament, at this momentous juncture, the Pakistani voters gave their verdict in the February 8 general elections. Over 60 million voters participated in the 12th general elections. Several political parties across the country participated to elect representatives in the 265... Читать дальше...