New report by maritime risk company says piracy in northern Indian Ocean, off Somali coast has reduced significantly

New report by maritime risk company says piracy in northern Indian Ocean, off Somali coast has reduced significantly

Piracy in the northern Indian Ocean has decreased over the last decade, and now the greatest threat to seafarers in the region is state-backed threats against shipping, particularly in the waters around Yemen, a new report reveals. In Dryad Global’s annual report for 2021/22, the maritime risk company notes that...

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Military spending rises to $2 trillion as world records highest number of violent conflicts since World War II

Military spending rises to $2 trillion as world records highest number of violent conflicts since World War II

The world is facing highest number of violent conflicts since 1945, from Yemen to Syria, Myanmar and Sudan and now the catastrophic war in Ukraine, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said. Speaking about a report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, Guterres said peace is the most important task...

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Stabilisation: DR Congo leadership lead strategy to co-opt former combatants into government

Stabilisation: DR Congo leadership lead strategy to co-opt former combatants into government

Ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) now include P-DDRCS, a national strategy for demobilisation, disarmament, community recovery and stabilisation aimed at former combatants in the troubled central African country. The strategy’s official title is the Demobilisation, Disarmament, Community Recovery and Stabilisation Programme....

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Trade sanctions: New report says war in Ukraine will speed up Europe’s move away from fossil fuels

Trade sanctions: New report says war in Ukraine will speed up Europe’s move away from fossil fuels

A report last month by Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences, found that Germany could survive the next winter without Russian energy, but only with extreme efforts to replace Russian gas with imports while ramping up coal-fired power plants and promoting largescale conservation and energy efficiency. It also depends...

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<strong>How Russian invasion of Ukraine has reshaped oil geopolitics, transition to clean energy, climate and food</strong>

How Russian invasion of Ukraine has reshaped oil geopolitics, transition to clean energy, climate and food

On February 22, Germany scuttled its approval of a newly built gas pipeline from Russia and is now planning to import liquefied natural gas from countries such as Qatar and the United States. Belgium is reconsidering its exit from nuclear power, while Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are...

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Success of workers at global giant Amazon to form union gives flailing US labour movement fresh impetus

Success of workers at global giant Amazon to form union gives flailing US labour movement fresh impetus

Last week, workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island delivered one of the biggest victories for organised labour in a generation when they voted to form a union – the first such organising effort to succeed at any Amazon worksite in the United States and a stunning upset for...

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Billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of huge stake in Twitter has ratcheted up hopes and fears over free speech

Billionaire Elon Musk’s acquisition of huge stake in Twitter has ratcheted up hopes and fears over free speech

Elon Musk is one of the tech sector’s most inscrutable individuals – as evidenced by his recent decision to become Twitter’s largest shareholder. On Tuesday, four weeks after he bought a 9.2 per cent stake in the social networking platform through the purchase of nearly 73.5 million shares at a...

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Chelsea put to the sword again as the reigning European League Champions’ manager stares at awkward exit

Chelsea put to the sword again as the reigning European League Champions’ manager stares at awkward exit

Carlo Ancelotti hailed Karim Benzema’s “fantastic” hat-trick as he fired Real Madrid to a 3-1 win against Chelsea that put the Champions League holders on the brink of elimination after Wednesday’s quarter-final first leg. Benzema produced a masterclass at Stamford Bridge as the France striker netted twice in the first...

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Western powers on high alert as suspicions of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine rise

Western powers on high alert as suspicions of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine rise

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its seventh week, Western governments and independent observers continue to warn that Russia’s military could escalate from indiscriminately bombing cities to using non-conventional warfare, in particular chemical weapons. The Kremlin has denied any intention to use chemical weapons. But the Russian government has been...

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