Новости за 23.04.2024

While wind and solar do not emit carbon dioxide, there are substantial environmental degradations and humanity atrocities occurring in China, Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. The materials for EV batteries and to produce electricity from wind turbines and solar panels, require large scale mining of critical minerals and metals, many of which are mined and refined in countries like China and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where human rights violations against miners are common and environmental protections are limited. Читать дальше...

Navigating the growing Artificial Intelligence conundrum from a Christian perspective

At the backdrop of current geopolitical changes, Russia and Africa are apparently showing a renewed commitment towards strengthening comprehensive healthcare partnership, opening a new chapter after signing several joint agreements during the first and second Russia-Africa summits held in October 2019 and July 2023. After the sudden collapse of the Soviet empire, Russia noticeably backed away from Africa, but now on a meandering return journey to pick up where it departed in 1991.

A few months ago I met with a group of students to talk about what’s happening in Israel and Gaza. Some were Jewish, some were Palestinian.

The landscape of terrorism and insurgency in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, has been significantly shaped by the activities of two militant organizations: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA). While the TTP has its roots in the tribal areas of Pakistan and primarily targets the Pakistani state for its alliance with the West, the BLA operates in the Baluchistan province, focusing on autonomy or independence from Pakistan. Despite their distinct origins and objectives... Читать дальше...

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area, has long been plagued by developmental challenges, lagging behind other provinces in terms of infrastructure, education, healthcare, and overall socio-economic indicators. Despite numerous governments coming into power since 1970, promises of progress and development have often remained unfulfilled, leaving the people of Balochistan disillusioned and disheartened. After the 2024 elections, there is renewed hope among the populace for meaningful change and progress. Читать дальше...

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) stands as one of the most ambitious and transformative infrastructure projects that Pakistan has undertaken in its recent history, promising a profound impact on the nation’s socio-economic landscape. This multi-billion-dollar initiative is a crucial part of China’s broader Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that aims to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter economic future. The corridor stretches from Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province to Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang region... Читать дальше...

The new geopolitics of East Asia is dominated by the emerging regional rivalry between China and the United States. This new strategic reality has been driven by China’s economic rise against the backdrop of the US’ “rebalancing” foreign policy in Asia and its relative economic decline. The rivalry extends well beyond maritime issues. East and Southeast Asian states have been drawn into this contest, whether or not they have disputes with China in the South China Sea (SCS). The geopolitical transformation... Читать дальше...

Judaism is not a missionary faith and so doesn’t actively try to convert non-Jewish people (in many countries anti-Jewish laws prohibited converting to Judaism for centuries). Despite this, the modern Jewish community does increasingly welcome would-be converts. A person who converts to Judaism becomes a Jew just as Jewish, or often more so, than someone born into Judaism. 

Indonesia’s foreign policy, strategically positioned at the crossroads of major geopolitical interests involving the USA, China, Russia, and the European Union, confronts an evolving international landscape marked by a shift towards multipolarity and increasing unpredictability. This complex milieu demands a highly calculated and nuanced approach from Indonesia, as it seeks to navigate the intricate dynamics posed by these global powers.

By Hamdi Firat Buyuk

Local polls, which resulted in a surprise defeat for Erdogan, saw a wave of digital rights violations, including disinformation campaigns, fake news, hacking and court’s access blocks, BIRN monitoring shows.

BIRN’s Digital Rights Violations Monitoring registered a surge in digital rights violations during Turkey’s March 31 local elections, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP experienced a major defeat at the... Читать дальше...

By Aissatou Kanté and Sampson Kwarkye 

Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s election as Senegal’s youngest president on 24 March was celebrated domestically and internationally as confirmation of the country’s strong democratic tradition.

Observers believe that Senegalese citizens and the youth in particular, the Constitutional Council and religious and political actors were impressively resilient in navigating an often violent three-year political crisis. They successfully resisted attempts... Читать дальше...

By Jon Miltimore

The Biden administration recently rolled out new emissions regulations that the New York Times said will “transform the American automobile market.”

In what the paper called “one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is mandating that a majority of new passenger vehicles sold in America be hybrids or EVs by 2032.

The Biden administration and defenders of the policy argue that... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of George Sheetz, who was charged a $23,000 fee to build on his own land in El Dorado County, California. The case is bound to affect governments, builders, and homebuyers across the state and nation.

The story of where the Oakland Athletics baseball team will play after they leave the Oakland Coliseum this season has taken some surprising turns.

Once considered a dead policy issue, the Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule” is back in the headlines.

By Martin George Holmes

One of the worst novels of the nineteenth century, aesthetically and politically, is Julius Vogel’s Anno Domini 2000 (1889). It is stylistically absurd because the author was a statesman with no literary prowess. It is appalling politically because it envisions a future in which the British Empire survives into the second millennium. It remains in print to this day.

Vogel’s novel is relevant because it challenges recent scholarly attempts to portray the British Empire as a paragon of liberty. Читать дальше...

I am not ordinarily a celebrant for the state of the economy, but the media have been so over the top in pushing the economic doom story during the Biden presidency, that I feel the need to put some reality into the picture.

Israeli bombs continue to fall on Gaza, killing Palestinian civilians with abandon. Al Jazeera published a story about the destruction of 24 hospitals in Gaza, each of them bombed mercilessly by the Israeli military. Half of the 35,000 Palestinians killed by Israel were children, their bodies littering the overwhelmed morgues and mosques of Gaza. The former United Nations assistant secretary-general for human rights Andrew Gilmour told BBC Newsnight that the Palestinians are experiencing “collective... Читать дальше...

The attitudes down under towards social media have turned barmy.  While there is much to take Elon Musk to task for his wrecking ball antics at the platform formerly known as Twitter, not to mention his highly developed sense of sociopathy, the hysteria regarding the refusal to remove images of a man in holy orders being attacked by his assailant in Sydney suggests a lengthy couch session is in order.  But more than that, it suggests that the censoring types are trying, more than ever, to tell... Читать дальше...

Iran’s security forces raped, tortured, and sexually assaulted detainees while repressing widespread protests in 2022 and 2023, Human Rights Watch said Monday. The grave abuses are part of a broader pattern of serious human rights violations to repress dissent.

By Alex Willemyns

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state were subjected to “ethnic cleansing” by security forces working with vigilante groups in 2023, says a report released by the United States on Monday.

About 1 million Rohingya refugees have lived in Bangladesh since 2017, when an operation by Myanmar’s military drove them across the border. Hundreds of thousands more, though, remain in Myanmar, and have been designated as “stateless” by the United Nations.

In its annual human rights country reports... Читать дальше...