While Sri Lanka has endured many hardships over the past few years due to converging crises, the country has an opportunity to rise above economic collapse and political instability to forge a new future. The road to recovery will not be easy, but with some help from creditors and buy-in from citizens, Sri Lanka can start to provide its people with hope and security.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has spiraled into a human rights catastrophe that must be addressed before it is too late. Sri Lankans are struggling to put food on the table and many people are unable to receive vital healthcare. The IMF’s loan will do little to reverse the deep human cost of the ongoing crisis until the country's social problems are effectively dealt with.
While Washington supposedly blames all parties involved for the atrocities of the Tigray conflict, it accuses only Addis Ababa and its allies of "crimes against humanity." By doing so, the US continues its campaign against Ethiopia on a smaller scale, having already punished only Addis Ababa and Eritrea but not the TPLF. With the TPLF having lost the war, caution is needed when the US pretends to now want "peace and reconciliation."
Though Addis Ababa may not like it, Blinken's remarks are based on an unbiased US review of atrocities during the Tigray War. Amid Blinken's visit to Ethiopia and a new aid package, the US has signaled that the time has come to revitalize the longstanding bilateral relations. Washington and the international community must keep a close eye on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since he bears the main responsibility for the outbreak of the devastating civil war.
The attack on Crimea — illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 — not only struck a legitimate military target, destroying cruise missiles to be used by Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine, but it also served another blow to Putin and exposed major weaknesses in Moscow's defense systems.
Russia's air defense was able to successfully counter Ukraine's attack on Crimea, which hit civilian targets only — damaging a shop, a house, and part of a school. The people of Crimea overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation in 2014, and these types of assaults can't be tolerated.
There's a 2% chance that Ukraine will officially recognize a former Ukrainian territory (Luhansk, Donetsk or Crimea) as independent before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
The severity of this report raises the possibility of abolishing an institution that's failing the public and is set on a bedrock of discrimination. Perhaps most significantly, Casey finds that the depravity and suffering detailed in the review all link back to the austerity imposed under the coalition and Conservative governments since 2010. There's little chance that the Tories will be able to defend their record on crime in the lead-up to the next election. Their blind-sided focus on balancing the books has put the British public at risk and led to the country's largest police force reaching a potentially irreversible state of corrupt dilapidation.
Overemphasizing the role of austerity in this sorry state of affairs risks implying some kind of vindication of Met management, which Casey identifies as a "series of disconnected and competing moving parts" with "broken" vetting procedures and a lack of long-term planning. Senior officers facilitated a culture of bullying and discrimination to dominate an institution that's supposed to ensure justice and provide protection. Though the findings that the Met is institutionally sexist, racist, and homophobic are certainly contentious, there's no doubt the Met requires fundamental reform, which must come from the top.
Ultimately, Biden has made the right call by passing this legislation. Though the bill may exacerbate tensions with China amid an already strained relationship between Biden and Xi Jinping, it is a sound move by the Democratic leader, who is dealing with stiff Republican resistance and endeavoring to scientifically determine how COVID came to be.
Though this is, of course, good news, the next step must be holding the government and Biden admin. accountable for their poor response to this origin controversy. The American people deserve to hear what they knew about COVID in the early days and after. As the US intelligence committee continues to move toward the lab leak theory, the US will have to put even more pressure on China and the US bureaucracy for answers.
Fox News finds itself in real jeopardy concerning its defamation lawsuit defense. While media outlets rarely lose defamation cases, the amount of evidence against the network is exponentially growing. Not only did it knowingly promote false claims, but — as detailed in Grossberg's filings — the network also tried to cover its tracks by targeting its own employees.
While Grossberg's allegations should undoubtedly be investigated, the defamation lawsuit against the network and the stories that have accompanied it — gleefully parroted by the media — are baseless. Freedom of the press is foundational to democracy, and to continue to push that Fox is guilty of anything but journalism is dangerous.
Prioritizing ESG, which is part of progressives' effort to promote woke capitalism, leads financial firms to discount their financial duties. Such policies don't just promote liberal priorities ranging from renewable energy to the Black Lives Matter movement, they lead to disinvestment in fossil fuel companies that provide tax revenue and jobs.
ESG considers the financial costs of environmental damage and social upheaval; it doesn't in any way prioritize political or ideological objectives. With ESG funds expected to see massive growth in the coming years, US states can attract investors by highlighting projects and companies with a favorable climate or social impact.
HSBC's annual lending to fossil fuel projects is to the tune of $20B. In the past, the bank's executives have downplayed climate change risks. Moreover, HSBC will continue to finance existing fossil fuel projects in line with current and future declining global oil and gas demand, which is why labeling HSBC as a financial company that prioritizes ESG issues is misplaced.
There's a 75% chance that the US will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement before 2029, if a Republican wins the 2024 US presidential Election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Saudi Arabia’s imprisonment of Almadi was part of a pattern of human rights abuses by the government. Dozens of people have been prosecuted for their opinions in Saudi Arabia, and there must be global action to combat this systemic oppression. Riyadh's criminalization of dissent must end now.
Almadi’s release is a step in the right direction for human rights in Saudi Arabia. Almadi should never have been imprisoned, but it’s encouraging to see Saudi Arabia loosen up a little bit in the name of justice. With continued work, hopefully, Riyadh's record on human rights will improve along with better relations between the US and Saudi Arabia.
The Labour Party is right to explore all legal and peaceful options to prove that Obi won the election. There were many issues with this year's election, and additional oversight is needed to check the election results. Tinubu is not qualified to be president.
Tinubu has already been declared the winner of the February presidential election and received the necessary number of votes. Political rivals of Tinubu and their supporters need to drop their baseless challenges and join together to strengthen the nation.
At this time of shaky consumer confidence in the US banking system, the least the government could do is temporarily insure all deposits to prevent a dreaded bank run. Such a situation would lead to less competition while the big banks would get even bigger. After all, the smaller banks are not taking the same risks as the bigger ones, so they should not have to be put at risk.
The government is propping up ultra-wealthy, politically-connected individuals at the expense of average Americans, and this has to stop. Universally protecting all deposits would be a moral hazard that would allow banks to continue their risky behavior without skin in the game. The FDIC is funded on the backs of bank customers. This attempt to protect the wealthy is nothing but another questionable bailout.
There's a 50% chance that at least 4 FDIC-insured banks will fail in 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.