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☆ China says Philippines has 'provoked trouble' in South China Sea with U.S. backing
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A vessel identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as "Chinese maritime militia" (back R) and a China Coast Guard vessel (front R) sailing near the Philippine military chartered Unaizah May 4 (L) during its supply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on March 5, 2024. China accused the Philippines on Friday of having "provoked trouble" in the South China Sea with U.S. backing, a week after Beijing and Manila traded accusations over a new confrontation in the disputed waters. "The Philippine side, with U.S. support and solicitation, has been stirring up trouble in many spots in the South China Sea," Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China's defence ministry, said on its official WeChat account. Beijing and Manila have been involved this year in a series of confrontations at reefs and outcrops in the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety. Sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal has never been established.

Persons: Thomas Shoal, Wu Qian, China's, EEZs Organizations: Philippine Coast Guard, China Coast Guard, Philippine, Unaizah, U.S, National Maritime Council, National Security Council, Navy's, China's Coast Guard, United, UN, Scarborough, Association of Southeast, Nations Locations: China, Philippines, South, U.S, Beijing, Manila, South China, Spratly, Scarborough, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, The U.S, Huangyan, United Nations

☆ Amnesty International says there is ‘sufficient evidence’ to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-04 | by ( Nada Bashir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Amnesty International on Wednesday said that it had gathered “sufficient evidence to believe” that Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against the Palestinian people – a charge the Israeli government has vehemently denied. Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants carried out an attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostage. Israel’s military called Amnesty’s report “entirely baseless” and said it failed to account for the both the operational realities faced by Israeli soldiers within Gaza. As the humanitarian situation in Gaza grows more desperate, Amnesty International says Israel has brought the Palestinian population within the enclave “to the brink of collapse,” noting the “disastrous conditions” within the strip, caused by Israel’s destruction of critical infrastructure. Hassan Jedi/Anadolu/Getty ImagesEvidence featured in the report explores the deepening hunger crisis civilians in Gaza are facing, with obstructions to vital humanitarian aid reaching the strip.

Persons: “, ”, General Agnès Callamard, Israel, Moshe Ya’lon –, –, Abdel Kareem Hana, Eyad Baba, Dawoud Abu Alkas, Ayla Nasman, Ahmad, Arwa, Hassan Jedi, Amnesty’s, Ali Moustafa, Callamard, ” Callamard Organizations: CNN, Amnesty, United Nations, International, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, International Court of Justice, Israeli, Watch, UN, Convention, Getty, Attack Munitions, ” Amnesty, UN Human Rights, Reuters, Health Organization, Palestinian Ministry, Health, Amnesty International Locations: Gaza, Israel, The Hague, South Africa, Deir al, Balah, Nuseirat, AFP, Jabalia, Rafah, Arish, Egypt, USA, Germany

☆ This greenhouse keeps crops cool. It could prove valuable as our planet bakes
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-28 | by ( Tom Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —In a world where the climate is increasingly hot and volatile, farmers are having trouble keeping their crops cool. A startup founded in the desert of Saudi Arabia thinks it might have a solution. Heat peaks can desiccate crops, killing them outright if unmitigated, or stressing crops, leaving them more vulnerable to pests and disease. A prototype farm in Bada, Saudi Arabia, uses SecondSky in polyethylene greenhouse covers manufactured by SABIC. Desertification is a pressing issue and will be the focus of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December, as leaders seek to curtail an accelerating problem.

Persons: Derya Baran, John Keppler, ”, Mark Tester, Ryan Lefers, Iyris, Keppler, Armando Alvarez, Vincent Martin, SecondSky, Martin Organizations: CNN, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, United Arab, Innovation, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, National Food Production Initiative, Sea, SABIC, Sea Global, UN Convention, United Nations Locations: Saudi Arabia, Iyris, KAUST, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Latin America, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Spain, Bada, Bada , Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

☆ Afghan girl who encouraged others to sing wins children’s peace prize
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Nila Ibrahimi won the International Children’s Peace Prize on Tuesday, an award that has recognized luminaries including climate activist Greta Thunberg and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Afghan women prepare almonds at a factory on the outskirts of Aybak in Samangan Province on September 9, 2024. She co-founded “Her Story,” which encourages Afghan girls to share their stories, spotlighting the voices of those still in Afghanistan. Teenage girls and women are not allowed to study or work and can only leave the house with a male relative. “Human rights are protected in Afghanistan and no one is discriminated,” said spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat Fitrat.

Persons: Nila Ibrahimi, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Ibrahimi, ”, Canada Ibrahimi, ” Ibrahimi, Richard Bennett, ” Bennett, Afghanistan’s, Hamdullah Fitrat Organizations: CNN, Getty, Foundation, Geneva, Human Rights, United Nations, UN, Women, Taliban Locations: ”, Afghanistan, Kabul, Aybak, Samangan Province, AFP, Canada, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Netherlands

☆ Scientists discover ‘dark’ oxygen being produced more than 13,000 feet below the ocean surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

It’s also possible, these scientists warn, that deep-sea mining could disrupt the way carbon is stored in the ocean, contributing to the climate crisis. A documentary about deep-sea mining that Sweetman watched in a hotel bar in São Paulo, Brazil, unleashed a breakthrough. However, several countries, including the United Kingdom and France, have expressed caution, supporting a moratorium or ban on deep-sea mining to safeguard marine ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. Earlier this month, Hawaii banned deep-sea mining in its state waters. Many unanswered questions remain about how dark oxygen is produced and what role it plays in the deep-sea ecosystem.

Persons: Andrew Sweetman, they’re, ”, Sweetman, ‘, SAMS, I’ve, “, Franz Geiger, ’ ”, Geiger, Charles E, Emma H, Morrison, Daniel Jones, Beth Orcutt, Orcutt, Craig Smith, Smith, Camille Bridgewater, Hawaii’s Smith, ” Geiger, Diva Amon, ” Sweetman Organizations: CNN, Clarion, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Nature, NHMDeepSea, SMARTEX, International, Authority, UN, AA, Northwestern University, Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, National Oceanography, Bigelow Laboratory, Ocean Sciences, University of Hawaii, Geological Survey, University Locations: São Paulo, Brazil, Evanston , Illinois, Southampton, England, Maine, Mānoa, Jamaica, United Kingdom, France, Hawaii, Clarion

☆ 'Only pirates do this,' a general said after China's Coast Guard, armed with bladed weapons, clashed with Philippine boats in the South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Only pirates do this," General Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a social media post regarding the recent actions of the Chinese coast guard. This is how barbaric the Chinese Coast Guard is in the recent RoRe mission of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Chinese coast guard might have used pirate-like tactics, but it's not legally piracy. This photo taken on February 15, 2024, shows an aerial view of Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The nine-dash line is a map marking designating China's sweeping and controversial claims to the South China Sea.

Persons: —, Romeo Brawner Jr, …, 7vzFDem1DE — Jay Tarriela, it's, Harrison Prétat, Thomas Shoal, Prétat, Thomas, Brawner, Philippines MaryKay Carlson Organizations: Service, Staff, Armed Forces, Business, China, China's Coast Guard, South China, Coast Guard, Center for Strategic, Studies, Maritime Transparency Initiative, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, UN, ROSA, Philippine Navy, Mutual Defense, People's Locations: Philippines, China, Philippine, Beijing, South, BRP Sierra, Scarborough Shoal, AFP, South China, Manila, It's, People's Republic of China

☆ Why America hates its children
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-07 | by ( Lydia Kiesling | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Time and again, I was struck by a public attitude toward children I seldom encountered in America: unequivocal support. In America, we socialize our children to see strangers not as helpers but as threats. Virtually every other industrialized nation provides more government aid for their children than America does. Children who are neglected — a loose term inextricably tied to poverty — are thrown into a foster-care system known for its propensity to harm children. From the tumult of the pandemic, the calls for America to care more for its children are getting louder.

Persons: George Washington, Jesse Zhang, Charlie Shepherd, Shepherd, Richard Nixon, Nixon, Franklin Roosevelt, leery, unironically, Sen, Joe Manchin, Serabi Medina, Serabi, Sandy, —, Lydia Kiesling Organizations: United Nations, hasn't, UN, Senate, National Government, Social Security, Jet, Centers for Disease Control, Business, Child Protective Services, Pediatrics, Black Panthers, National Domestic Workers Alliance, State, Mobility, New York Times Magazine, New Yorker Locations: Greece, America, Sweden, Oregon, Idaho, Athens, Chicago, Sandy Hook , Connecticut, Uvalde , Texas, Portland , Oregon, New Mexico

Even if he were to be convicted in Washington or another trial, top party leaders and many voters have indicated they would stand by Trump anyway. And Trump and his allies are pushing to dismiss and delay the trials and have worked with state parties to craft rules favorable to him. The RNC rules don’t include any provisions specific to the unprecedented scenario unfolding. And, yes, if they choose Donald Trump -- the voters are looking at this, and they think there is a two-tiered system of justice. And unlike in 2016, when a large faction within the party resisted Trump's candidacy, the Republican Party has transformed under Trump.

Persons: Trump, “ It’s, ”, Benjamin Ginsberg, “, ” Ginsberg, Chris LaCivita, Ronna McDaniel, McDaniel, he’s, Donald Trump, ” McDaniel, Trump's, Texas Sen, Ted Cruz, Alanna Durkin Richer Organizations: Republican, Super, GOP, Trump, D.C, RNC, Republican National Committee, Republican Party, Republican National Committee's, CNN’s, Union, White, Associated Press Locations: Washington, Milwaukee, CNN’s State, Texas, Boston

☆ Russia's 'ghost ships' could be targeted at a sea choke point in a bid to enforce the West's oil price cap
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has been using so-called "ghost ships" to skirt the West's oil price cap. Russia sends millions of barrels of crude oil through a choke point at the Danish straits, per the outlet. AdvertisementRussian oil tankers could face a crackdown at a key choke point, according to the Financial Times. But Denmark could struggle to stop the ghost ships because of constraints on its own navy, according to maritime experts. Blocking commercial traffic in the Danish straits would come close to a declaration of war," Hans Peter Michaelsen, an independent defense analyst, told Reuters.

Persons: —, Hans Peter Michaelsen Organizations: EU, Financial Times, Service, European Union, KSE, Bloomberg, FT, UN, Reuters Locations: Russia, Denmark, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, EU, Danish

☆ This Moroccan startup is growing crops in the desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Sand to Green is a Moroccan startup that can transform a patch of desert into a sustainable and profitable plantation in five years, according to Wissal Ben Moussa, its co-founder and chief agricultural officer. Wissal Ben Moussa, Sand to Green co-founder and chief agricultural officer. “My top three favorite trees are carob, fig and pomegranate,” Ben Moussa says. “With this system we create biodiversity, which means better soil, healthier crops and a bigger yield,” Ben Moussa says. “We can go anywhere in the world as long as we have access to brackish water,” Ben Moussa says.

Persons: Wissal Ben Moussa, ”, Ben Moussa, Sand, Morocco that’s, ” Ben Moussa, “, Green Organizations: London CNN, United Nations, UN Convention, Biosaline Agriculture Locations: Africa, South America, Europe, China, Moroccan, Biochar, Morocco, Asia, Dubai, Tanzania, Sand, Mauritania, Senegal, Namibia, Egypt, United States

The tribunal will issue an advisory opinion, which is not legally binding, but offers an authoritative statement on legal matters that could guide countries as they craft climate protection law. The prime ministers, representing the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS), will argue that countries have an obligation to protect the marine environment under the UN convention on the Law of the Sea, including from greenhouse gas emissions. Low-lying island states like Tuvalu and Vanuatu are also at risk of becoming submerged by water by the end of the century due to slow-onset climate impacts. Small island nations have also sought legal clarity on nations' climate obligations in other courts. Vanuatu led a campaign to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on countries' obligations to address climate change.

Persons: Kausea Natano, Gaston Browne of, Tuvalu's Natano, Valerie Volcovici, Diane Craft Organizations: International Tribunal, International, UN, Court of Justice, Assembly, Thomson Locations: Hamburg, Germany, Tuvalu, Gaston Browne of Antigua, Barbuda, Small, States, Vanuatu

☆ Island States Seek Climate Protection From Law of the Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Valerie Volcovici, Kausea Natano, Gaston Browne of, Tuvalu's Natano, Diane Craft Organizations: International Tribunal, International, UN, Court of Justice, Assembly Locations: Hamburg, Germany, Tuvalu, Gaston Browne of Antigua, Barbuda, Small, States, Vanuatu

☆ Global tax loss: Countries could lose trillions in revenue to tax havens in next decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The estimated $4.7 trillion shortfall is based on an analysis of aggregated data for 47 countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. All in, the report’s authors estimate that $4.7 trillion is roughly equivalent to a year’s worth of public health spending worldwide. The outlook for systemic global tax reformWhile the Tax Justice Network was initially hopeful that OECD tax reform efforts that started a decade ago might reduce global tax abuse, those efforts have hit multiple roadblocks and implementation delays. Now, TJN backs proposals to move authority for global tax rulemaking from the OECD to the United Nations. “The key to ending cross-border tax abuse is to deliver on a UN tax convention and to create a global tax body under UN auspices,” the report’s authors contend.

Persons: TJN, ”, Alex Cobham, Cobham, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Tax Justice Network, of Tax, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development, OECD, Apple, Senate Finance, Democratic, Tax, Network, United Nations, UN Locations: New York, United Kingdom, Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Ireland, United States

But in South Korea, “no-kids zones” have become remarkably popular in recent years. In addition to the world’s lowest birthrate, South Korea has one of the world’s fastest aging populations. A widely circulated crowd-sourced Google Map shows the location of many of South Korea's no-kids zones, as identified by users. A man looks at strollers at a baby fair in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2022. See why South Korea has the world's lowest fertility rate 02:41 - Source: CNNNo kids to kids first?

Persons: it’s, Yong Hye, Bonnie Tilland, Tilland, ”, Lee Yi, “ It’s, Lee Ji, Kim Se, “, choong, ” Tilland, Yong, don’t, ” Yong, Barista Ahn Hee, yul, they’re Organizations: Seoul CNN —, South, Google, Income Party, National Assembly, Facebook, Human Rights, UN, Yonsei University, Leiden University, Hankook Research, CNN Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Jeju, Japan, United States, South, Korea, Netherlands, ‘

☆ White House: No U.S. surveillance craft in China's airspace
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - There are no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, repeating denials of China's claim that U.S. high-altitude balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022. Asked at a White House press briefing to clarify whether the United States was operating aircraft in Chinese-claimed airspace as opposed to over China's internationally recognized territory, Kirby declined to specify further. "There is no U.S. surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace," he said. Those operations anger Beijing, which accuses the United States of damaging regional stability and stirring up controversy over maritime disputes.

☆ Guest view: Protecting Earth’s underground heroes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Tokiers Mark Tercek | Mark Tercek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

This activity seals and traps hidden underground ecosystems and their carbon-capturing capabilities. A recent estimate published by Nature found that more than 70% of the Earth’s known soil biodiversity hotspots are unprotected by current conservation schemes. The first step is to incorporate underground ecosystems into global conservation and climate schemes. We should also begin systematically mapping and monitoring underground biodiversity hotspots across the Earth. Researchers are starting to record, analyse and use soundscapes to identify underground biodiversity hotspots.

☆ Rising tensions between 2 of NATO's biggest militaries are driving fears of the first war between alliance members
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Greece and Turkey have two of NATO's largest militaries and are in an important corner of Europe. Their tensions have escalated in recent years, stoking new fears about the first war within NATO. Greece's defense spending in 2022 was the highest in the alliance as a share of GDP. (NATO also calls for 20% of members' defense spending to go toward equipment purchases and upgrades.) Greece's defense minister said that "as long as there is a threat of territorial sovereignty, it renders futile any attempt at communication."

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