The axis between Israel (and the US), the United Arab Emirates, and India is being countered by a bloc that includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Turkey is refocusing on the idea of an alliance of Muslim countries to minimise “dependence on outside the region.” At home, the row over the leadership of the main opposition party has reopened wounds that had never healed.
Whilst Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in China and Islamabad continues to offer itself as a mediator between the United States and Iran, Pakistan is facing growing internal instability. According to analysts, the suicide attack on a train in the capital of Balochistan confirms the strengthening of the armed insurgency and the government’s difficulties in ensuring security. Beijing has also called for the creation of a special force.
Three and a half months after the referendum that opened the way for constitutional reform, the government of Anutin Charnvirakul has presented a proposal that risks pushing the process back to square one, making the path towards a more representative Constitution uncertain.
“Magnifica Humanitas” is presented at the Vatican. Christopher Olah, cofounder of Anthropic, spoke at the event. “Pressures" in the sector distract from doing the "right thing”. For Leo, disarming AI is not enough; “repairing bonds, restoring trust” is needed. Cardinal Czerny cites the "ecological question”. Prof Lushombo calls on the global South not to lose the value of relationships. Some concepts from Asian cultures, like "emotional connectedness to ‘we’” and "mutual support”, are highlighted.
The Aruwakkalu area is located 25 km north of Puttalam, in the North-Western Province. It is an area considered a mainstay of Sri Lanka’s cement industry. The new plan allows valuable materials such as ilmenite, rutile and zircon to be separated from the soil layer. Experts say the deposit “is of geological and scientific importance”.
Today’s headlines: Ukraine strikes back with its drones following yesterday’s Russian raid on Kyiv. At least four people have died in the collapse of a building under construction on the outskirts of Manila. Delhi has a video opposing a new Google data centre removed from Instagram. A woman, Hong Kong’s first female astronaut, has been in orbit since yesterday as part of the Chinese Shenzhou-23 mission.
