03 World

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.cbsnews.com

The strongest geomagnetic storm in more than 20 years slammed Earth on Friday, with explosions of plasma and magnetic fields causing some radio blackouts and the northern lights to extend to the southern U.S. On Monday, officials warned the storms aren’t yet over.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said early Monday that a G3, or “strong,” geomagnetic storm warning was in effect until 2 a.m. ET. While stronger storms are no longer likely and conditions are expected to “gradually wane” throughout the day, the center said in its forecast that moderate to strong geomagnetic storms are “likely” on Monday, as are minor storms on Tuesday.

The center also said “solar activity is expected to be at high levels” with a possibility of more solar flares, or bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the sun.

The update came as another X-class solar flare was recorded. X-class flares are the strongest class of these solar bursts, and the latest was recorded as “moderate.”

“Flares of this magnitude are not frequent,” the center said. “…Users of high frequency (HF) radio signals may experience temporary degradation or complete loss of signal on much of the sunlit side of Earth.”

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.abc4.com

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge Monday lifted a ban on the social media platform X showing Australians a video of a bishop being stabbed in a Sydney church.

The temporary ban was put in place April 22, but the judge rejected the application from Australia’s eSafety Commission to extend the court order that would have expired Monday.

Australian Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett said he would publish his reasons for imposing and lifting the order later.

The decision was a win for the company rebranded by billionaire Elon Musk when he bought Twitter l ast year. X was alone among social media platforms in refusing to remove video of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed. Musk has argued that he is standing up for a freedom of speech principle. Australian lawmakers have accused him of arrogance and of lacking a sense of social responsibility.

“Not trying to win anything. I just don’t think we should be suppressing Australian’s rights to free speech,” Musk posted on X after the ruling.

Go to Article
Excerpt from apnews.com

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — When Luana Salva got her first formal job after years of prostitution, she was ecstatic.

A quota law in Argentina that promoted the inclusion of transgender people in the work force — unprecedented in Latin America expect in neighboring Uruguay — pulled her from the capital’s street corners into the Foreign Ministry last year.

Yet just months after Salva got her first paycheck, right-wing President Javier Milei entered office and began slashing public spending as part of his state overhaul to solve Argentina’s worst economic crisis in two decades. Abruptly fired in a wave of government layoffs, Salva said her world began to unravel.

Go to Article
Excerpt from amp.theguardian.com

The European Commission has fiercely criticised a decision by the Eurovision organisers to ban audience members from waving the EU flag at Saturday’s grand final in Sweden as “completely regrettable” and “mind-blowing”.

The European Broadcasting Union, which organises the annual song contest, blamed heightened geopolitical tensions for the ban, but indicated it was ready to think again next year. Footage shared on social media on Sunday showed the blue and gold-starred flag being waved at last year’s final, which was held in Liverpool.

The flag furore is the latest controversy to hit this year’s competition in Malmӧ, already overshadowed by a row over Israel’s inclusion and the disqualification of the Dutch entrant hours before the final.

Go to Article
Excerpt from business.inquirer.net

Malé, Maldives — The International Monetary Fund warned the Maldives against looming “debt distress” Monday, as the small but strategically placed luxury tourist destination looks set to borrow more from main creditor China.

Since winning office last year, President Mohamed Muizzu has reoriented the atoll nation — known for its upmarket beach resorts and celebrity vacationers — away from traditional benefactor India and towards Beijing.

Last month his party won parliamentary elections in a landslide after promising to build thousands of apartments, reclaim more land for urban development, and upgrade airports, all with Chinese funding.

Without naming the archipelago’s main lender, the IMF said the Maldives remained “at high risk of external and overall debt distress” without “significant policy changes”.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.dailymail.co.uk

Chinese students in Britain live in fear from the ‘long arm of Chinese government’, a report warns today.

Students are being intimidated, harassed and silenced by Chinese authorities as part of a sinister pattern of ‘transnational repression’, according to Amnesty International.

Interviews with 32 students in eight countries, including the UK, reveal that many are being photographed and followed at university protests, leading to their families being threatened by police in China.

Almost a third of students said officials had harassed their families to prevent them from criticising the Chinese government or its policies while overseas.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.nytimes.com

The United States has not ruled out withholding more military support to Israel’s campaign against Hamas if Israel undertakes a major attack on Rafah, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Sunday.

“If Israel launches this major military operation into Rafah, then there are certain systems that we are not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation,” Mr. Blinken told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He did not elaborate.

Last week, the White House imposed a delay on the delivery of 3,500 bombs out of concern over the potential harm to civilians in Rafah, where many Gazans have sought shelter since the start of the fighting seven months ago. Mr. Blinken said those are the only weapons that the United States has held back “at present.”

Two days after the State Department sent a report to Congress raising “substantial questions” regarding Israel’s efforts to protect civilians in Gaza, Mr. Blinken was circumspect in his criticism of Israel’s response to the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.texarkanagazette.com

HONG KONG — An appeals court on Wednesday granted the Hong Kong government’s request to ban a popular protest song, overturning an earlier ruling and deepening concerns over the erosion of freedoms in the once-freewheeling global financial hub.

“Glory to Hong Kong” was often sung by demonstrators during huge anti-government protests in 2019. The song was later mistakenly played as the city’s anthem at international sporting events, instead of China’s “March of the Volunteers,” in mix-ups that upset city officials.

It was the first time a song has been banned in the city since Britain handed the territory back to Chinese rule in 1997.

Critics have said prohibiting broadcast or distribution of the song further reduces freedom of expression since Beijing launched a crackdown in Hong Kong following the 2019 protests. They have also warned the ban might disrupt the operation of tech giants and hurt the city’s appeal as a business center.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.catalannews.com

Aliança Catalana, the far-right pro-independence party, has entered the Catalan parliament for the first time, winning two seats in Sunday’s election.

Party leader Sílvia Orriols will represent the interests of residents in the Girona province, after gaining a seat in the chamber, after coming to prominence as the Ripoll mayor ever since last year’s municipal election.

The party also won representation in the Lleida constituency, but none in Barcelona, the most populated area of Catalonia.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.bloomberg.com

Niger Junta Escalates Benin Border Spat Blocking Chinese Oil Exports  Bloomberg

Go to Article
Excerpt from kyivindependent.com

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.msn.com

Argentina ramps up pressure on Venezuela over opposition embassy refugees  MSN

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.stamfordadvocate.com

Lithuanian president is the front-runner as country heads to runoff vote in two weeks  The Advocate

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.usnews.com

Armenian Police Detain 88 People During Anti-Government Protests – IFX  U.S. News & World Report

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.darientimes.com

Chad’s opposition leader challenges the results of the presidential elections  Darien Times

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.telesurenglish.net

On Monday, Nuria Parlon, the spokesperson for the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), stated that her party’s priority is to lead a tripartite regional government by joining forces with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and the leftist formation Comuns Sumar.

Previously, the PSC achieved a historic victory in the Catalan elections, securing 42 seats on Sunday. Together for Catalonia (Junts) increased its number of seats from 32 to 35, while the ERC’s seats dropped from 33 to 20 and Comuns Sumar obtained six legislators.

Parlon stated that her political organization would talk to all parties, except for the far-right Vox and Catalan Alliance, an Islamophobic party that entered parliament for the first time.

On Monday morning, former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont asserted that he would present his candidacy to be invested as president and emphasized that his party could achieve a broader majority than the Socialist candidate Salvador Illa could form.

Go to Article
Excerpt from www.manilatimes.net

First word

OF the six recognized strategies for statecraft in conflict in international relations (negotiation, deterrence, coercive diplomacy, crisis management, war termination and détente), I have discussed so far coercive diplomacy and crisis management as strategic tools for statecraft that our government can employ in the present state of relations in the West Philippine Sea.