Новости за 28.03.2024

By C. Todd Lopez

The Defense Department relies heavily on space-based satellites for much of the work it does to defend the United States, and that reliance is expected to grow in coming years.

While space assets such as satellites will always be at risk from U.S. adversaries, the best way to ensure continued access to space capabilities is proliferation, Derek Tournear, director of the Space Development Agency, said.

“Proliferation is our biggest defense,” Tournear... Читать дальше...

Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, six out of the eight judges of Islamabad High Court wrote a letter to the Supreme Judicial Council members complaining about interference of Pakistan army’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence [ISI] in judicial affairs. 

In his March 24th opinion piece for the Times, David Brooks agrees with a “broad consensus atop the Democratic Party” (is there room for such breadth on the peak of that lofty mountain?) saying that Israel has the right to defend its apartheid regime by killing, banishing or imprisoning not only Gaza’s entire military but its entire elected government (the West Bank’s elected government, as well, but for a 2007 Israel-assisted coup there reversing the election).

Brooks approves of this “consensus” among top Democratic party officials... Читать дальше...

As per international relations a state can change its friends but cannot change its neighbors owing to geographical compulsions. Neighbors should at least have good relations if not the best and trade relations should not be paused at any cause. Pakistan and Afghanistan are interlinked in similar bond and are connected geographically. There is a need of the hour that they should have good relations. 

A Hadith declares that the month of Ramadan was when the three Abrahamic Religions began to receive their Books of Revelation. This Hadith, cited by ibn Kathir in elucidating Qur’an 2:185; states that the month of Ramadan is a very special month because this one month in the Islamic lunar calendar was the same month when four of God’s books of revelation began to reach down to four special Prophets: Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. 

The waste trade watchdog Basel Action Network (BAN), which takes its name from the global Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, is warning of what appears to be another wave of illegal e-waste trafficking that is now finding its way to Malaysia.

Following substantial military setbacks in recent months, the Myanmar military has declared its intention to enforce, for the first time, a conscription law enacted in 2010, mandating young individuals to undergo a minimum of two years of military service. The military, grappling with substantial territorial losses to the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine state since November 2023, faces a critical shortage of manpower and seeks to replenish its ranks.

Delivering growth and national pride, Modi is set to clock a third term (1) as PM of the most populous country of the world

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Nathan Porter, visited Islamabad from March 14-19, 2024, to hold discussions on the second review of Pakistan’s economic program supported by an IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). 

All attempts by senior leadership to form an electoral alliance between the BJD and BJP in Odisha have failed due to popular opposition to such an alliance in forthcoming elections. Both parties have declared their candidates for the general and state elections. Mr. Naveen Patnaik has also announced his candidates for the BJD. At this stage, it seems like the narrative of the ruling party under the leadership of Mr. Patnaik resembles that of a surrendered general who wishes to become a philanthropist... Читать дальше...

“Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery.” The Sixth Commandment has been encoded in civil law throughout the world, and though it has proven to be unenforceable in most instances, it has nonetheless functioned as an example of the law as a teacher: what it taught is the importance of the marriage contract.

Togo’s political landscape undergoes another significant shift with the adoption of a new constitution. This revision, enacted on March 25, 2024, ushers in a fundamental change from a presidential to a parliamentary system. The adoption of the new constitution has ignited controversy. While potential advantages exist, serious anxieties have also been voiced.  Given Togo’s history of simmering political and social tensions, alongside the growing terrorist threat in the north, this change, for better or worse... Читать дальше...

With the Indian parliamentary election commencing shortly, the critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government have claimed that India is sitting on a “ticking bomb” of joblessness . The critics have further said that each year, around 7 to 8 million youth are added to the labour force in India, but between 2012 and 2019, there was almost zero growth in employment – just 0.01%!

By David Brady, Jr.

The raid on an Amish family farm is the direct result of government protectionism of big agriculture through needless and cumbersome regulations.

Amos Miller is an Amish farmer in Pennsylvania who has become a thorn in the side of the State of Pennsylvania and the federal government for his selling of raw milk and other unregulated products. Miller first came to the attention of the Food and Drug Administration in 2016 when they claimed his milk was linked... Читать дальше...

The United States relented and abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution requiring Israel to abide by a two-week ceasefire. Popular pressure forced this small step. Organized campaigns against Biden’s re-election created a political crisis which threatened to delegitimize Zionism and the U.S. state itself.

By Jonathan Power

Once again, the media is presenting us with images of the mother of all famines — stretching from Yemen to Somalia, to Sudan and South Sudan, to the Central African Republic, to northern Nigeria and, most recently, to Gaza.

It’s a bad famine, but there have been bad famines in the not-so-distant past—the great Ethiopian one in 1985, which triggered the rock star Bob Geldof to organise a massive worldwide popular response. (I remember running with tens of thousands... Читать дальше...

By Jitsiree Thongnoi

Ratawee Phuiphom is an ardent supporter of the “Red Shirts,” a Thai pro-democracy movement that took hold in the years after a military coup deposed Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister in 2006.

This army of street activists has always been linked with Pheu Thai, the political party associated with the Shinawatra family. Pheu Thai is back in power as the head of Thailand’s first civilian-led government since 2014, but Rantawee says she feels let down. ... Читать дальше...

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s walls are caving in.

Mr. Netanyahu’s multiple battles fall into two categories: keeping his increasingly fragile government in place and fighting a war he has already lost in the court of public opinion and possibly on the ground in Gaza if measured by the prime minister’s war goals.

On Monday, Israel suffered its most significant international setback since 2016 with the US allowing the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Читать дальше...

A Houthi court sentenced 32 men, 9 of them to death, on January 23, 2024, in an unfair mass trial based on dubious charges of “sodomy,” Human Rights Watch said today. The Houthis should end their use of the death penalty and other forms of cruel and degrading punishment and provide fair trials for those charged.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The resolution passed with 14 votes in favor; the United States abstained. 

Sri Lanka's economic crisis has worsened due to IMF deals, causing social unrest, unemployment, poverty, and food insecurity, and posing significant challenges for its people.

By Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy

In efforts to address the Sudanese crisis, there is a consensus that the only viable solution lies in an immediate ceasefire, a return to the negotiating table and the initiation of a political process.

This call for action resonates among Sudanese citizens, the African Union, which previously has intervened to mediate negotiations, and Egypt, the key neighboring country most affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan.

This conflict... Читать дальше...

By Kwong Wing

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has pulled a planned initial public offering in Hong Kong of its logistics subsidiary Cainiao, sparking fears that the city is losing its shine as a financial center amid a crackdown on dissent.

Chairman Joseph Tsai told an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on Tuesday that the company had halted plans for the Cainiao IPO because "the market in Asia is sluggish and lacks liquidity, so there is no point in pushing forward."

By David Vergun

An important goal of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing artificial intelligence that is trustworthy for the Defense Department — particularly for making life-or-death recommendations to warfighters, said Matt Turek, deputy director of DARPA's Information Innovation Office.

AI, machine learning and autonomy are being used by about 70% of DARPA's programs in some form or another, Turek said Wednesday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event. Читать дальше...

By Daniel Payne

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump this week is advertising United States-themed Bibles ahead of Easter, urging supporters to purchase a copy of the holy book and help “make America pray again.”

Trump announced the commemorative Bible offering on social media this week, saying he partnered with country singer Lee Greenwood on the initiative. Greenwood’s 1984 song “God Bless the USA” is traditionally played before Trump's campaign rally and event speeches. Читать дальше...