Month: March 2022
Russia energy superpower
. Today Russia is one of the top three oil producers in the world (after America and roughly equal with Saudi Arabia) and is also the world’s largest natural-gas exporter and second-largest producer, again after America. Vladimir putin once said that he did not like hearing Russia described as an “energy superpower”. Will the Ukraine
a new phase in the Ukraine war
Since the Russian invasion began on February 24th rockets, missiles, bombs and artillery have almost entirely spared Ukraine’s capital, hitting only suburban areas, and airfields, outside the city limits. But a series of strikes on civilian targets beginning on March 14th, perhaps including explosions from missiles shot down by Kyiv’s air defence system, indicate that
Russia Sanctions on Global War
The country’s oil and gas majors have been hit, it has been largely shut out of the global financial system and many Western firms are pulling out of the country. But world leaders have remained quiet about its exports of metals and agricultural goods. war-induced disruptions are already threatening food security in vulnerable nations, and
Omicron in China
China is enduring its first big outbreak of the Omicron variant, and the ranks of the unlucky have grown rapidly. At least 40m people are under some form of lockdown, including an entire province, Jilin. Keeping China mostly covid-free has cost residents a good deal of privacy. Those with smartphones must scan qr codes to
The New China After Ukraine-Russia War
The world’s emerging superpower is weighing its options. The deepening of ties with Russia will be guided by cautious self-interest, as China exploits the war in Ukraine to hasten what it sees as America’s inevitable decline. The focus at all times is its own dream of establishing an alternative to the Western, liberal world order.Do
Racism Royal Society of Chemistry
In the 15 years Robert Mokaya has been a professor at Nottingham university, he has had all his applications for funding for research projects turned down by Britain’s main chemistry funding body .Funding applications are reviewed and decided by fellow experts in the field whose names are not published, but the name of the applicant
Russians to give American astronaut ride to Earth
A US astronaut will now be returning to Earth, after fears his Russian lift home might not materialise. Under international space law, astronauts from all nations must “provide all possible help” to other astronauts when needed, “including emergency landing in a foreign country or at sea”. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos,
Russian anti-virus use
Germany’s cyber-security authority has warned against using anti-virus software from Russian headquartered company Kaspersky .Russian information-technology businesses could be spied on or forced to launch cyber-attacks. Kaspersky said it would seek clarification from the BSI on its decision, which was “not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky products”, and how to address its concerns.
Facebook fined €17m
Facebook parent company Meta has been fined €17m for breaching EU data privacy laws. The Irish data watchdog said Meta’s platforms had “failed to have in place appropriate technical and organisational measures” in the context of the 12 personal data breaches. Two European supervisory authorities working as part of the General Data Protection Regulations decision-making
Afghans turn to cryptocurrencies
US sanctions, failing banks, and the drying up of foreign aid and cash transfers since the Taliban takeover have left Afghanistan’s economy in tatters. Crypto is coming to the rescue. Fans of cryptocurrencies say they are the future of money and will stop people having to rely on banks. And in Afghanistan, it’s banks that