po Food companies sell products that are less healthy in poorer countries, says report By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 17:31:59 +0800 LONDON — The world's biggest food and beverage companies on average sell products in low-income countries that are less healthy than what they sell in high-income countries, according to a new report. Products sold by companies including Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever were assessed as part of a global index published by the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), its first since 2021. The non-profit group found that across 30 companies, the products sold in low-income countries scored lower on a star rating system developed in Australia and New Zealand than those sold in high-income countries. In the Health Star Rating system, products are ranked out of five on their healthiness, with five the best, and a score above 3.5 considered to be a healthier choice. Full Article
po Blackpink's Lisa holds 1st Singapore fan-meet; fans fight over signed T-shirts while others dress up for chance to meet her By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:03:00 +0800 Monday blues were non-existent at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday (Nov 11) as fans of Blackpink's Lisa strolled into the venue in their Y2K-style outfits inspired by the Thai singer's Rockstar music video. Singapore was the first stop for the 27-year-old's first solo fan-meet tour and needless to say, the excitement could be felt, and heard. Once the lights turned off and Lisa appeared, the screams were deafening. The show started with a bang, fittingly with her self-titled hit song Lalisa. Usually at fan-meets of K-pop idols, the special effects are kept to a minimum unlike concerts. PHOTO: UnUsUaL Entertainment But at Lisa's, the performances were elevated with bursts of pyrotechnics and visual effects. After the first song, she sat down for a few interactive segments. During Welcome Lisa, she tried local delicacies like kaya toast and chicken rice. Full Article
po Global CO2 emissions to hit record high in 2024: Report By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:30:17 +0800 BAKU — Global carbon dioxide emissions, including those from burning fossil fuels, are set to hit a record high this year, pulling the world further off course from averting more destructive climate extremes, scientists said on Wednesday (Nov 13). The Global Carbon Budget report, published during the UN's COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, said global CO2 emissions are set to total 41.6 billion metric tons in 2024, up from 40.6 billion tons last year. The bulk of these emissions are from burning coal, oil and gas. Those emissions would total 37.4 billion tons in 2024, up by 0.8 per cent in 2023, the report said. The rest are from land use, a category that includes deforestation and forest fires. The report by more than 80 institutions was led by the University of Exeter in UK. "We don't see a sign of fossil fuel emissions peaking in 2024," said lead author Pierre Friedlingstein, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter. Without immediate and steep emissions cuts worldwide, "we will just go straight into the 1.5C target, we'll just pass it and continue," he said. Full Article
po Trump's Day One: Deportations, border wall, scrapping Biden humanitarian programs By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:48:40 +0800 WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is expected to take a slew of executive actions on his first day as president to ramp up immigration enforcement and roll back signature Biden legal entry programs, a sweeping effort that will be led by incoming "border czar" Tom Homan and other Republican immigration hardliners, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The executive actions would give federal immigration officers more latitude to arrest people with no criminal records, surge troops to the US-Mexico border and restart construction of the border wall, the sources said. Homan, who served as acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2017-2018 under Trump, will bring a deep understanding of the US immigration system after a four-decade career that took him from a frontline Border Patrol agent to head of the agency that arrests and deports immigrants in the US illegally. Full Article
po Israeli strikes pound Lebanon, Hezbollah strikes back By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 10:26:30 +0800 BEIRUT/JERUSALEM — The Israeli military pounded Beirut's southern suburbs with airstrikes on Tuesday (Nov 12), mounting one of its heaviest daytime attacks yet on the Hezbollah-controlled area, and struck the middle of the country where more than 20 people were killed. Smoke billowed over Beirut as around a dozen strikes hit the southern suburbs starting in midmorning. After posting warnings to civilians on social media, the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut's Dahiyeh area and later said it dismantled most of the group's weapons and missile facilities. Israel said it had taken steps to reduce harm to civilians and repeated its standing accusation that Hezbollah deliberately embeds itself into civilian areas to use residents as human shields, a charge Hezbollah rejects. In northern Israel, two people were killed in the city of Nahariya when a residential building was struck, Israeli police said. Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for a drone attack that it said was aimed at a military base east of Nahariya. Full Article
po Proposed law could mandate treatment for community disturbances linked to mental health By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:25:14 +0800 The Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT) will be able to mandate mental health treatment for those who cause unreasonable interferences in the community if a bill to amend the Community Disputes Resolution Act (CDRA) goes through. The bill was proposed in Parliament by Minister for Community, Culture and Youth Edwin Tong on Tuesday (Nov 12). The CDRT currently hears disputes under CDRA between neighbours involving acts of unreasonable interference with the enjoyment or use of places of residence. Under the bill, the tribunal will be able to issue Mandatory Treatment Orders (MTO) should there be a belief that the acts of disturbance stem from an underlying psychiatric condition. "In those cases, the issue therefore is not just a disamenity one," Minister Tong said. "Hence, the MTO is intended to address the root cause of certain acts that a resident may engage in." Tong added that their priority remains in persuading the resident to go for treatment voluntarily, and that the CDRT-issued MTO is a measure of last resort. There are also criteria that must be met for the MTO to be issued. Full Article
po Police probing deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School students; school meting out disciplinary actions By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:55:49 +0800 SINGAPORE – The police are investigating deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School (SSP) students that were created and spread by other students. In response to queries from The Straits Times, school principal Ong Kim Soon said SSP is “aware of the incident involving the creation and sharing of deepfake photos by our student-athletes”. “The school does not condone such harmful behaviour,” he said, adding that it has launched an investigation and lodged a police report. The police, in response to queries from ST, confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. A reader who identified himself as a parent of a victim had alerted ST in an e-mail on Nov 12 about the deepfake nude images that were being circulated. “Many parents of affected female students in Singapore Sports School are making police reports about deepfake nude photos of their daughters generated by male students from the school,” the parent said. When contacted, the parent said that female teachers were also targeted, and that the school has offered affected students counselling. Full Article
po Pakistan limits outdoor activities, market hours to curb air pollution-related illness By www.asiaone.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 10:21:25 +0800 LAHORE — Pakistan's Punjab province banned most outdoor activities and ordered shops, markets and malls in some areas to close early from Monday (Nov 11) to curb illnesses caused by intense air pollution. The province has closed educational institutions and public spaces like parks and zoos until Nov. 17 in places including Lahore, the world's most polluted city in terms of air quality, according to Swiss group IQAir's live ratings. The districts of Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala have seen an unprecedented rise in patients with respiratory diseases, eye and throat irritation, and pink eye disease, the Punjab government said in an order issued late on Sunday. The new restrictions will also remain in force until Nov. 17. "The spread of conjunctivitis/ pink eye disease due to bacterial or viral infection, smoke, dust or chemical exposure is posing a serious and imminent threat to public health," the Punjab government said. Full Article
po Pier Competitor: China's Power Position in Global Ports By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: May 12, 2022 May 12, 2022 Commercial international port terminals owned and operated by Chinese firms provide dual-use capabilities to the People's Liberation Army during peacetime. They enable China to project power into critical regions worldwide by providing military logistics and intelligence networks. Full Article
po Nowhere to Hide? Global Policing and the Politics of Extradition By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Nov 2, 2022 Nov 2, 2022 U.S. power extends beyond the military and economic spheres to include policing. The United States has used its global policing power to capture terrorists, warlords, and drug kingpins. But extradition is not simply a bureaucratic tool. States’ geopolitical interests shape their willingness to cooperate with others in extraditing fugitives. Full Article
po Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project: The Promise and Peril of High-Potential Environmental Partnerships By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Feb 9, 2023 Feb 9, 2023 In the first comprehensive post-mortem analysis of the Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project (NKMCAP), Reine Rambert and Amanda Sardonis examine how NKMCAP failed to live up to its potential, by focusing on three different dimensions of partnership effectiveness: 1) the sustainability of the partnership, 2) the effectiveness of the collaboration process itself, and 3) the achievement of the planned objectives. Rambert and Sardonis extract several transferable lessons from the challenges faced by NKMCAP that are highly consequential to partnership effectiveness. Full Article
po A US Ambassador Working for Cuba? Charges Against Former Diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha Spotlight Havana's Importance in the World of Spying By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Dec 15, 2023 Dec 15, 2023 Calder Walton writes that if proved, Victor Manuel Rocha's espionage would place him among the longest-serving spies in modern times. Allowing him to operate as a spy in the senior echelons of the U.S. government for so long would represent a staggering U.S. security failure. Full Article
po Reining in Rebellion: The Decline of Political Violence in South America, 1830–1929 By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Mar 12, 2024 Mar 12, 2024 After a century of rebellion, South America experienced a rapid decline in revolts in the early 1900s. Historical narratives and an analysis of a comprehensive new dataset show that the decrease stemmed in large part from the expansion and professionalization of the region’s militaries, which were driven by an export boom and the threat of interstate conflict. Full Article
po Hindutva as Pop Culture, The Telegraph By ramachandraguha.in Published On :: Sat, 02 Dec 2023 15:27:42 +0000 In recent years, a stream of books and articles have appeared seeking to analyse the theory and practice of Hindutva. They have sought to alternatively explain, critique, or justify the rising influence of the BJP and the RSS. Some have focused on organizational questions, on the building of social networks on the ground and how [...] Full Article Politics and Current Affairs Culture H-Pop by Kunal Purohit
po 213621: USG concerned about possible LeT attack By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 19 May 2011 23:36:07 +0530 As the November 2008 Mumbai attack has shown, LeT is capable of launching attacks that can directly undermine Pakistan,s relations with its neighbors and regional stability generally. Full Article The Cables
po U.S. confident of safety of nuclear weapons, despite al-Qaeda presence By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 21 May 2011 01:31:15 +0530 Full Article The India Cables
po Once upon a time, Qureshi on Kashmir By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 21 May 2011 01:39:02 +0530 Full Article News
po ‘Many Pakistans, so we need many Pakistan policies' By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 21 May 2011 01:42:40 +0530 ‘India does not want to play into the hands of terrorists by shunning dialogue.' Full Article The India Cables
po 236332: US saw "additional opportunities" to embed own troops in Pakistan military’s FATA operations By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 21 May 2011 02:26:52 +0530 Full Article The Cables
po Benazir spoke of terror camps, bid to oust her By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sun, 22 May 2011 01:51:46 +0530 Full Article News
po When in power, people start making money, Maran told U.S. Political Officer By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Mon, 23 May 2011 05:03:27 +0530 The estranged DMK M.P. spoke about party's corrupt image & predicted its downfall; criticised ‘freebies'; praised Rahul Gandhi; was ‘very downbeat' about United Progressive Alliance's electoral prospects Full Article India
po 176372: DMK calls off threat to pull support from UPA over Sri Lanka violence By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Mon, 23 May 2011 06:01:46 +0530 The resignation drama has helped distract attention from the DMK party's woes in advance of next years Parliamentary elections. Full Article The Cables
po ‘Pakistan's actions at the UN may embolden other member states to oppose U.S. positions' By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 24 May 2011 05:04:02 +0530 U.S. Mission in New York raised concerns about Pakistan's voting on key issues such as counterterrorism and human rights Full Article Comment
po 45425: India proposes US observer status at SAARC By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 24 May 2011 06:01:53 +0530 In a surprise development, the GOI has told us that it would welcome US participation as an Observer to SAARC. Full Article The Cables
po 114010: monitoring Pakistan's coalition support funds By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 26 May 2011 06:04:20 +0530 Pending post verification are claims that total $279 million for the March-May 2007 period. The areas of greatest concern to us include costs for helicopter operations ($83 million annually), radar maintenance ($65 million annually) and Joint Staff operations ($5 million annually). Full Article The Cables
po 134295: fixing coalition support funding to Pakistan By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 26 May 2011 06:04:44 +0530 Between August 2006 and July 2007, we received a claim for 26 million USD in barbed wire and pickets. While these items are no doubt helpful in protecting outposts, the claim figures are highly suspect. Full Article The Cables
po 213853: China thanked for support of nominations of 3 Pakistan-based individuals for UNSCR 1267 designation By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:31:38 +0530 Deputy Director Shen acknowledged the message but offered no further comment. Full Article The Cables
po Data | The NDA juggernaut has halted with the BJP-led alliance losing power in key States By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Wed, 25 Dec 2019 15:13:30 +0530 While the BJP-led NDA won resoundingly in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it has lost power in five major State assemblies since December 2018. Full Article Data
po U.S. to deport 161 Indians this week By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Mon, 18 May 2020 07:41:36 +0530 Among those on the list to be deported, the maximum 76 are from Haryana, followed by 56 from Punjab; 12 from Gujarat; five from Uttar Pradesh; four from Maharashtra ; two each from Kerala, Telengana and Tamil Nadu; and one each from Andhra Pradesh and Goa. Full Article World
po Data | How election fund was spent during 2021 State polls By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sun, 10 Oct 2021 01:12:58 +0530 The AIADMK spent the highest share in spreading the party’s propaganda (99.5%) and relied only on media and advertisements Full Article Data
po Two migrant labourers shot at, injured in Pulwama: Police By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sun, 25 Sep 2022 00:02:14 +0530 The victims were identified as Shamshad and Faizan Qasri from Bihar's Batya Zila Full Article India
po Explained | Centre and State powers over water resources By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 06 Oct 2022 15:13:20 +0530 Who controls India’s water resources: Centre, States or both? How are inter-State river disputes settled? Who supplies drinking water to Indian citizens? Full Article India
po Data Point | Looking back at the contributions of Indian women leaders By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Mon, 31 Oct 2022 15:35:51 +0530 The Data Point is a bi-weekly newsletter in which The Hindu’s Data team decodes the numbers behind today’s biggest stories. Full Article Data
po Data | Unknown sources of political income spiked after electoral bond entry, BJP cornered lion’s share By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:45:21 +0530 National parties’ unknown income rose from 66% to 71% in the three years before and after the scheme’s introduction Full Article Data
po 66% of councillors elected to MCD in 41-70 age group, 53% women: Report By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Thu, 08 Dec 2022 16:47:27 +0530 Polling was held on December 4 and the results were announced on Wednesday. Full Article India
po Data | MLAs in poll-bound Karnataka have average assets worth ₹34.6 crore, highest among all States By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 15 Apr 2023 12:53:57 +0530 MLAs in Karnataka have on average assets worth ₹34.6 crore, the highest among all the States Full Article Data
po Data | BJP had the edge in the recent bipolar contests in Karnataka By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 22 Apr 2023 11:51:28 +0530 Elections in Karnataka have increasingly become bipolar, with 77% of the seats recording bipolar contests in 2018 Full Article Data
po Cyrus Broacha on Indian wrestlers’ protest, IPL taking over sports and Ding Liren becoming the world chess champion By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Fri, 05 May 2023 15:39:15 +0530 The columnist puts the spotlight on India’s star female wrestlers who have accused Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of serial sexual harassment Full Article Life & Style
po Odisha political parties urge ECI to ensure neutrality of government machineries during elections By www.thehindu.com Published On :: Sat, 17 Feb 2024 20:38:13 +0530 As many as 3.32 crore voters will cast their votes in 37,809 polling stations across State Full Article Other States
po Navigating China’s Opportunistic Approach to Overseas Naval Base Acquisition By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Nov 16, 2023 Nov 16, 2023 This report, by Maxwell Simon (MPP '23) and Jayaram Ravi (MPP '23), explores the drivers of setback and success that China has encountered in the process of developing dual-use and military-dedicated naval installations abroad. It looks at cases where China has considered or actively pursued military-dedicated installations to characterize Beijing’s general approach to overseas naval base acquisition. Full Article
po Indian Election Was Awash in Deepfakes – But AI Was a Net Positive for Democracy By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Jun 10, 2024 Jun 10, 2024 As India concluded the world’s largest election on June 5, 2024, with over 640 million votes counted, observers could assess how the various parties and factions used artificial intelligence technologies – and what lessons that holds for the rest of the world. Full Article
po Colin L. Powell Embodied the American Dream By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Oct 21, 2022 Oct 21, 2022 Colin L. Powell was a great American. A brilliant soldier, statesman and patriot, he devoted his life to public service, and he cherished the United States, his family and his many friends. While acknowledging America’s challenges, he drew inspiration from its noble purpose and promise. “America remains the last best hope of Earth,” he said in his 1994 Howard University commencement address “You are its inheritors, and its future is today placed in your hands.” The trajectory of his life—from humble beginnings as a Jamaican immigrant’s son growing up in the Bronx to the highest levels of government—is a true American dream. Full Article
po The Faultlines Podcast: A Conversation with Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Dec 1, 2022 Dec 1, 2022 A conversation hosted by the Faultlines Podcast with Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky covering her career at the U.S. State Department and current geopolitical issues like the Russia-China strategic alignment. Full Article
po “Lula's Possible Trip to the US Before Taking Office Puts the Embassy In a Tight Spot” By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Dec 3, 2022 Dec 3, 2022 Recent guest speaker at the Future of Diplomacy Project, Ricardo Zuniga, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, was quoted in Folha de Sao Paulo describing Brazil as "a great multilateral actor and has a long legacy of involvement in peace processes, in the search for multilateral solutions to one of the most complex security problems." Full Article
po "Biden makes suprise visit to Ukraine before heading to Poland for invasion anniversary" By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Feb 20, 2023 Feb 20, 2023 U.S. President Joe Biden spent five hours in the Ukrainian capital on Monday, meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and even taking a stroll through the streets of Kyiv – despite the sound of air sirens – to visit The Wall of Remembrance, which displays portraits of the approximately 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers who have died since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The trip was kept under a media blackout until a few hours after Biden’s arrival, with the president’s official schedule only saying he would fly in the evening to Warsaw for a planned visit. The New York Times reported, quoting an anonymous official source, that Biden arrived in Kyiv early this morning after making the same 10-hour long journey from Poland that every world leader visiting Ukraine since the start of the war has. Full Article
po EVENT DEBRIEF: The Geopolitics of Latin America Amid the War in Ukraine and China-U.S. Tensions By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Apr 10, 2023 Apr 10, 2023 The following is an event write-up about the recent Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) seminar on “The Geopolitics of Latin America amid the War in Ukraine and China-U.S. Tensions” moderated by Negah Angha, Fellow at the Institute of Politics, on March 29, 2023. Full Article
po Writing Policy Recommendations for Academic Journals: A Guide for the Perplexed By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Jun 1, 2024 Jun 1, 2024 How can scholars write effective policy recommendations? Despite the potential importance of academic work to the policy debate, many scholars receive little training on why and how to make policy recommendations. To remedy this problem, here are steps to guide scholars as they begin developing policy recommendations for their articles. Full Article
po Potential Fruits of the Biden-Putin Summit By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Jun 4, 2021 Jun 4, 2021 The last time Joe Biden met Vladimir Putin, the two did not exactly hit it off. During the March 2011 meeting the-then vice president of the United States urged the then-prime minister of Russia not to return to the Kremlin, and then claimed to have reached unflattering conclusions about his Russian counterpart’s soul after the meeting was over. Putin too seems to have no love lost for Biden, even if he has been less blunt in showing it. Full Article
po Dynamics of Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism Threats to Post-Soviet Russia By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Jun 21, 2022 Jun 21, 2022 Simon Saradzhyan was invited to publicly brief the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee addressing the adequacy of strategies to prevent, counter, and respond to nuclear terrorism, and identify technical, policy, and resource gaps. The consensus study is a congressionally mandated analysis included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1299I) sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy). Nearly 60 stakeholders concerned about this topic from the Department of Defense, US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, State Department, National Security Council, US Congress, the National Labs, and many non-governmental organizations were in attendance. The briefings are available at the NAS event website. Video of the presentation can be found here. Full Article
po Lessons from 'The New Harvest' on How Academics Can Turn Their Work into Policy By www.belfercenter.org Published On :: Dec 8, 2016 Dec 8, 2016 "The goal of the book was to invest in thinking. It doesn't have a list of recommendations but generates options for action that are backed by evidence. We chose to forgo credit by adopting this approach, but it’s been very encouraging to see some key impacts that acknowledge the book." Full Article