Новости за 06.03.2024

TotalEnergies said Wednesday it has signed, together with its partner QatarEnergy, an agreement to acquire participating interests in Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa, from Africa Oil South Africa, Azinam (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas) and Ricocure.

China’s economy has struggled to bounce back since the pandemic when the government’s draconian “Zero COVID” policy severely suppressed economic activity for three years. Despite the lifting of lockdowns in December 2022, the swift rebound seems a distant illusion.

In 2014 Paraguay’s National University of the East (UNE) was among the top five public – private institutions of tertiary education nationwide.  Ten years ago, under the leadership of Chancellor Victor Britez Chamorro [1], UNE secured abundant financial resources from the Government of President Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, enabling the university to have its own TV channel, introduce Paraguay’s economic diplomacy in North America, bolstered research in Renewable Energy Industry and provided scholarships... Читать дальше...

Most of what the political class calls policies are really aspirations with no policy content. They are feel-good statements that promote goals most people would support, with no associated policies that would move toward those goals. The following is an example.

By Jane L. Johnson

Stephen Anderson, in his Mises Wire essays of February 1 (“Are Bankruptcies of Some US States in the Future?”) and February 23 (“US States Have a Long History of Defaulting”), worries that some US states may be on the precipice of bankruptcy. While a potential problem—especially in light of high debt levels among federal government, businesses, and consumers—possible state bankruptcies and defaults must be clarified before we conclude that state bankruptcies lie ahead. Читать дальше...

By Saimum Parvez

On 7 January 2024 the incumbent Awami League (AL) was re-elected in Bangladesh in an election that was neither free nor fair. The election was described by the international media as a bad day for democracy and a charade, while many doubted the legitimacy of the election results. Due to major opposition parties’ boycott of the election, only the AL and its affiliates competed. For the competing candidates, winning the elections was dependent on pre-election negotiations with the ruling party. Читать дальше...

By Leo von Breithen Thurn

The outcome of the Rwanda elections in July 2024 could potentially influence the United Kingdom’s perception of Rwanda as a “safe country” for sending asylum seekers, which may in turn impact UK policies and potentially the political climate, including elections within the UK.

For instance, should some country or countries interfere in Rwanda’s electoral processes or subsequently influence the president and the government regarding the UK-Rwanda agreement on immigration... Читать дальше...

Since the Hamas raid penetrated the multi-tiered Israeli border security on October 7, 2023 (an unexplained collapse of Israel’s defensive capabilities), 2.3 million utterly defenseless Palestinians in the tiny crowded Gaza enclave have been on the receiving end of over 65,000 bombs/missiles plus non-stop tank shelling and snipers.

John Maynard Keynes, memorializing the death of his mentor Alfred Marshall a century ago, wrote that the “master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts…. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher.” Keynes might have been describing himself. He considered economics a moral science that must draw on a wide culture while keeping an “open mind to the shifting picture of experience.”

Much to the chagrin of President Joe Biden, the so-called migrant crisis at the border with Mexico has turned into a hot campaign issue. Undocumented migrants have been crossing the US border in record numbers — 2.5 million in 2023 alone, according to US Border Patrol. Due to lacking infrastructure and administrative capacity, alarming scenes of chaos, overcrowding, and human desperation have ensued. Recent polls show that many voters blame Biden and feel that he’s doing a bad job managing the migrant influx. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Supreme Court was right to keep President Trump’s name on the ballot.

Nikki Haley won the Republican primary in Washington, D.C., with about 63 percent of the vote to Donald Trump’s 33 percent, securing all 19 available delegates, and becoming the first woman to ever win a Republican presidential primary. 

Spectacular archeological finds reveal the true past of the first Europeans.

On March 10, 2024, the rare event of a “super new moon,” marks the beginning of the first day of fasting in the month of Ramadan on March 11. In a similar way the  Constitution, Charter or Covenant of Medina pre-dated the English Magna Carta by almost six centuries. 

The history of such experiments is not promising.  Why would those in the US like the game of rugby league, when an established code of superficial similarity already exists?  Fundamental differences, for one thing, abound.  The US NFL Superbowl tries to keep blood and violence off the pitch.  Force, when exercised, is chivalric, the moves ceremonially packaged.  Such contests are astonishingly contained, hemmed in by a distinct netting of protocol and protections.  These US padded gladiators remain calm... Читать дальше...

By Xia Ri

Hydrogen is touted as the “ultimate energy source of the 21st century”. Significant in promoting sustainable global economic development, it gradually becomes one of the important drivers for global energy transition.

However, the vast majority of hydrogen produced globally is mainly derived from fossil energy, a process that emits a large amount of carbon dioxide. This type of hydrogen is also known as “grey hydrogen”. In this production process, when carbon dioxide is captured... Читать дальше...

The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder. 
 
The findings, published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth ­­& Environment, suggest that the first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur over 10 years earlier than previous projections, which focused on when the region would be ice-free for a month or more. The trend remains consistent under all future emission scenarios. Читать дальше...

Parkinson’s disease patients who experience freezing of gait (a sudden inability to initiate or continue movement, often resulting in a fall) wake up several times during the night, feel sleepy during the day, and have REM sleep behavior disorder. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep plays a role in the maintenance of many cognitive processes. 

The moon lander Odysseus, known as Odie, touched down on the Moon’s surface on February 22, becoming the first time the U.S. has landed on the Moon in more than 50 years and the first commercial moon lander to successfully land on the Moon. Along with its science payload, the spacecraft also brought along a fusion of art and space exploration, SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence (SETI AIR), Felipe Pérez Santiago’s Earthling Project, a collection of global musical compositions representing Earth’s cultural diversity and harmony. Читать дальше...

Scientists from the University of Rochester have developed new electrochemical approaches to clean up pollution from “forever chemicals” found in clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, and a wide array of other products. A new Journal of Catalysis study describes nanocatalysts developed to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.

Strategies deployed for the restoration of degraded land have had promising results in Brazil’s semi-arid region, improving the microbial properties of the soil and contributing to a return of native ecosystem services. The techniques include removal of cattle or restriction of their access to specific areas of pasture; cultivation of cover crops; and terracing to control erosion. Recovery of soil microbial properties maintains biodiversity and raises crop yields, contributing to agricultural sustainability. Читать дальше...

In good news for office workers, a new study from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre (Australia) has found increasing your step count may counteract the health consequences of too much sedentary time each day.

Azerbaijan has crowned the November 2020 Karabakh victory with the February 2024 presidential elections, re-delegating the incumbent president with a fresh 7-year-long mandate to rule the nation with restored territorial integrity for the first time since the fall of the USSR.

By Kerry Boyd Anderson

Democratic voters in Michigan last week sent a message to President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, expressing their deep disapproval of his approach to the war in Gaza. However, it remains unclear what impact their protest might have on US policy.

Michigan is a key swing state in US presidential elections and one of the states that is crucial for Biden to win. The president is elected through the Electoral College system, which is based on votes in states rather than a nationwide popular vote... Читать дальше...

By Daniel Payne

Leaked internal documents have revealed that members of a prominent transgender advocacy organization admitted that the children who receive permanently life-changing transgender procedures are too young to be capable of giving informed consent.  

The documents also show, according to a watchdog group, that the organization’s endorsement of transgender procedures for children is based on “pseudoscience.”

The group Environmental Progress published on... Читать дальше...