[TĐH:Summarizing the ASEAN’s countries’ votes:

Members:

In favor (8): Bruinei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore

Abstensions (2): Vietnam, Laos.

Observers (2): In favor: Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste

Total: 10 in favors, 2 abstentions]

141 members of the 193-nation body voted in support of the nonbinding, largely symbolic resolution.

Monitors show result of a United Nations General Assembly vote for a U.N. resolution upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia’s invasion. | Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo

By MIA MCCARTHY, Reuters

02/23/2023 04:37 PM EST

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine, almost exactly one year after it invaded the neighboring country.

In the 193-member body, 141 members voted in support of the resolution, exceeding the two-thirds threshold needed to pass.

Continue reading U.N. calls for Russia to leave Ukraine →

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

by Noah Barkin, GMF

China’s post-pandemic charm offensive with Europe was supposed to shift into overdrive this past week.

Instead, a visit by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, showed just how challenging it will be for Beijing to get its relationship with Europe back on track, at a time when China’s ties with Russia appear to be deepening and those with Washington are sinking to new depths.

Wang’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference, sandwiched between trips to Paris, Rome, Budapest, and Moscow, was the clearest illustration to date of the diplomatic dilemma China faces as it emerges from three years of self-imposed COVID isolation, the last of which clouded by the war in Ukraine.

Continue reading China misreads the room in Munich →

“Ukraine is still independent and free,” Biden said in Warsaw.

ByLibby Cathey

February 22, 2023, 12:08 AM, ABC

‘Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,’ Biden says

President Biden made remarks in Poland ahead of the anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Continue reading Biden speaks in Poland after surprise trip to Ukraine: ‘Kyiv stands strong’ →

Big Oil’s Big Lies: How the industry denied global warming – Part 1 | People and Power

Big Oil’s Big Lies: How the industry denied global warming – Part 2 | People and Power

Al Jazeera English – 9-2-2023

More than 40 years ago, the world’s largest and most profitable oil companies began to understand the effects their products were having on our climate. Their own scientific research told them so – well before it became common knowledge.

But for the next four decades – time we could have better spent transitioning to greener forms of energy – they sought to discredit and downplay evidence of global warming and the calamities it would lead to; wildfires, rising sea levels, extreme storms and much else besides. Continue reading Big Oil’s Big Lies: How the industry denied global warming – 2 parts →

Crowdsourced donations are fueling eyes in the sky.

FEBRUARY 16, 2023, 10:06 AM FP

By Faine Greenwood, an expert on unmanned aerial vehicles, technology in humanitarian aid, remote sensing, spatial data, and data policy and ethics.

A Ukrainian serviceman demonstrates a drone carrying a mock grenade in Bakhmut

A Ukrainian serviceman holds up a drone carrying a mock grenade in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Feb. 9. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Almost a year after Russian tanks first began rolling over the border into Ukraine, a war many expected would be over within a month continues to grind on. It’s grimly reminiscent of European conflicts of the 20th century—but it’s also the first war in history where both sides have made extensive use of cheap, startlingly effective small drones, the kind that can be bought at electronics stores or built with simple hobby kits.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, I knew two things for sure. First, that Ukraine was going to stun the world with what it could do with small do-it-yourself and consumer drones, a skillset that their drone hobbyists and tech experts had been tirelessly expanding ever since Russia’s earlier invasion in 2014 – efforts led by now-famous volunteer drone organizations like Aerorozvidka, whose members had become some of the world’s premier experts on building, modifying, and using small, cheap drones in warfare.  Second, I knew that as an expert in both consumer and hobby drones, I was going to do my best to document what happened next.

Continue reading The drone war in Ukraine is cheap, deadly, and made in China →

Top of the Agenda Munich Security Conference Focuses on Ukraine War Effort Hundreds of Western officials are in Munich to discuss boosting support for Ukraine, which could include further military aid and stronger sanctions against Russia. In a video address to attendees, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for accelerated weapons deliveries (NYT) to defend against Russian forces. A report issued by the chair of the conference warned that “revisionist actors” are threatening the international order, but also said that the order should better address (DW) the interests of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The leaders of countries including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are expected to attend the security conference, while both Russia and Iran were uninvited (FT). Instead, the Belarusian and Russian presidents met separately to discuss their alliance. Meanwhile, Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut killed five people (Kyiv Independent) yesterday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

Continue reading CFR – Daily News Brief – Feb. 17, 2023 →

‘The plan included sabotage and militarily trained people disguised as civilians to carry out violent actions,’ according to Moldovan leader.

BY WILHELMINE PREUSSEN

FEBRUARY 13, 2023 5:31 PM CET Politico

Russia wants to stage a coup d’état in Moldova, the country’s President Maia Sandu said Monday.

Sandu called for heightened security measures in Moldova after the pro-EU government resigned last week, following months of pressure from Moscow which is waging an all-out war on neighboring Ukraine.

“The plan included sabotage and militarily trained people disguised as civilians to carry out violent actions, attacks on government buildings and taking hostages,” Sandu told reporters at a press conference Monday.

She added that citizens of Russia, Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia would be among those entering Moldova to try to spark protests in an attempt to “change the legitimate government to an illegitimate government, controlled by the Russian Federation to stop the EU integration process.”

Continue reading Russia is planning coup in Moldova, says President Maia Sandu →

The Other Face of Europe | Al Jazeera World

Al Jazeera English – 16-12, 2020

In European cities, young people of Arab descent often see themselves as socially, economically and culturally excluded from their immediate environment. In some cases, they are also vulnerable to radicalisation. Continue reading The other face of Europe →

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Written By

• Ralph A. CossaPresident Emeritus and WSD-Handa Chair in Peace Studies

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PacNet #7 – Dealing with Increased Chinese Aggressiveness – PART ONE

The following are some of the key findings and recommendations from the August 2022 US-Taiwan Deterrence and Defense Dialogue. PacNet 7 provides a summary of the dialogue. The full report, with expanded key findings and recommendations can be found here.

Taiwan is under attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) politically, economically, psychologically, and militarily—the latter through more aggressive Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) gray zone military operations short of actual direct conflict. This multidimensional threat requires a multidimensional response in ways that complement and enhance military deterrence. PRC behavior represents a global—and not just a Taiwan or US—problem which demands a global response.

Continue reading Dealing with Increased Chinese Aggressiveness (2 parts) →

February 9, 2023

By David Leonhardt, Good Morning, The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2023

Good morning. We explain why the Biden administration is trying to crack down on those sneaky fees charged by hotels, rental cars, internet providers and more.

Ticketmaster is especially aggressive about imposing fees.Paul Sakuma/Associated Press

A market failure

Sneaky fees have become a big part of America’s consumer economy.

Hertz charges almost $6 a day simply for using a toll transponder in a rental car. Marriott and Hilton add nightly “resort fees” to the bill even at hotels that nobody would consider to be resorts. American, Delta and United list one airfare when you first search for a seat — and then add charges for basic features like the ability to sit next to your spouse.

Continue reading Economics: Market failure – Stopping sludge →

1. Syria longs for international aid amid earthquake devastation

Al Jazeera English – 8 thg 2, 2023

The scale of the destruction in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit swaths of Turkey and Syria on Monday has been unprecedented, even for residents of the war-torn country.

On the Syrian side, the area affected by the 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks is divided between government-controlled territory and the country’s last opposition-held pocket of land, encircled by Russian-backed government forces.

The UN says damaged roads, a lack of equipment and tough winter conditions are hampering efforts to find survivors in Syria.

Rescue and relief efforts are being criticised as inadequate and hundreds of buildings have collapsed. Continue reading Syria longs for international aid amid earthquake devastation – How much is politics hampering delivery of aid to Syria? →

Daily News BriefFebruary 7, 2023

Top of the Agenda WHO Predicts Death Toll in Syria, Turkey Quake Could Rise by ‘Thousands’ Syrian and Turkish officials said at least five thousand people were killed (NYT) by yesterday’s consecutive earthquakes at the Syria-Turkey border and their aftershocks, making the quakes one of the deadliest natural disasters to occur this century. As rescue efforts continue, an official from the Eastern Mediterranean office of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the death toll could rise by thousands and that there is a “substantial” risk of another aftershock. Aid teams from more than sixty-five countries have arrived in southern Turkey to support relief efforts, Hürriyet reported, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared a three-month state of emergency in ten provinces. Meanwhile, the Syrian government is unable to receive direct aid from many countries because of sanctions on Bashar al-Assad’s government. Additionally, a border crossing used to deliver humanitarian aid to rebel-held northern Syria was damaged in the disaster.

Continue reading CFR – Daily news brief Feb. 7, 2023 →

Simone McCarthy, CNN

When Antony Blinken makes an expected trip to Beijing in the coming days for what would be the first visit to China by a US secretary of state since 2018, he will be cutting a stark contrast to the scene in the Chinese capital one year earlier.  Then, Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the opening of the Beijing Olympics – meeting for talks and dinner in Putin’s honor, and declaring a “no limits” partnership between the two neighbors. Weeks later, as Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine starting an invasion that would devastate the country and cause a humanitarian crisis, Chinese leaders did not shrink from that declaration.  Though Beijing claimed impartiality in the conflict and no advance knowledge of Russia’s intent, it also refused to condemn Moscow. Instead, it parroted Kremlin lines blaming NATO for provoking the conflict – further fracturing relationships with both Europe and the US.  Continue reading Putin and Xi are as close as ever, and that’s a problem for the US  →

Al Jazeera English – 24-12-2022

Encouraged by the reversal of pro-abortion rights in the United States, a loose coalition of evangelical Christians, far-right politicians and Russian oligarchs are now engaged in a fierce campaign against progressive, liberal values in Europe.

But what is driving this so-called moral crusade? And who is funding it?

For People & Power, filmmakers Sarah Spiller, Mark Williams and Callum Macrae went in search of answers.

Europe’s New Moral Crusade: A campaign against progressive values | People and Power

America’s democratic difficulties will have major implications for the world.

Article by Richard Haass, PF

Originally published at Project Syndicate

January 24, 2023 12:28 pm (EST)

For more than three-quarters of a century, the United States has played an outsized, constructive role in the world. To be sure, there have been major errors, including the Vietnam War and the 2003 Iraq War, but the US got it right far more often than not.

Continue reading The World’s Stake in American Democracy →