As flames in the region climb higher and ISIS claims establishment of a caliphate, discord among regional and global forces prevents any meaningful solution.

The Western strategy of fighting warfare with warfare has only perpetuated sectarian divides, creating the very environment that fostered ISIS.

Khalid al-Asaad, an 83-year-old caretaker of antiquities in Syria, was beheaded by ISIS, but did not receive the same attention as a slain lion.

Robert Bensh discusses the myriad ways that ISIS and the Paris attack impact global energy security and geopolitics in the Middle East.

During the 30-days of Ramadan, and while Muslims in the Arab world have been fasting since May 26, millions have tuned into Saudi Arabia's MBC to watch the first ever series about ISIS.

The Great Mosque, in all its majestic grandeur, is less enticing if you're an American woman who somehow finds herself inside it.

Hagai Yodan premieres a daring piano-tech concerto at Jerusalem’s 2024 Piano Festival.

Israeli health experts reveal that 1 in 10 youth struggle with eating disorders, highlighting a need for urgent action.

Malta ESG Alliance holds ISIMGħUNA conference to bring children and national leaders together to talk about the country's future

Nazir SiyalKARACHI: Jeroen Willems, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Mission to Pakistan, called upon Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Syed Awais Qadir Shah, here on Tuesday. CEU Mission to Pakistan leader Jeroen was accompanied by Ms. … read more

At the end of the first week at the 16th Conference of Parties on Biodiversity (COP16), finance emerges as the biggest issue but also shrouded in controversies. On Saturday, as the COP moved closer to its most crucial phase of negotiations, resource mobilization—listed under Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF)—took centerstage, with […]

Americans live under the assumption that water is cheap, pure, and plentiful. But how true is that?

[Radio Dalsan] Mogadishu -- The Federal Government of Somalia has dispatched four planes of humanitarian aid to Baidoa, the capital of the Southwest State, in response to escalating concerns over a severe drought expected to hit the region.

Global education is facing a critical moment amid severe setbacks. Millions of children are out of school, learning levels are falling, and millions are leaving school without the skills they need. New out-of-school figures reveal that global progress in reducing the number of out-of-school children has been just 1 percent since 2015, leaving 251 million […]

The eastern region of Baalbek, Lebanon was believed to be a “safe zone” for residents, and refugees who had been displaced by the increased hostilities across the country. That changed on October 29, when an Israeli airstrike on the region resulted in over sixty casualties, including two children. On October 30, the Israeli Defense Forces […]

Despite earlier income convergence among nations, many low-income countries (LICs) and people are falling further behind. Worse, the number of poor and hungry has been increasing again after declining for decades. After the post-Second World War ‘Golden Age’ ended over half a century ago, the world has seen unequal and uneven economic growth, industrialisation, and […]

The 15 August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan devastated the lives of millions of Afghans. But the rights and freedoms of women and girls in particular have been progressively trampled by a series of edicts that have created a virtual system of gender apartheid.

Prince William receives new surprising title as he prepares to become KingPrince William, who's making headlines for his future role as monarch amid King Charles health crisis, has received a new title before taking the throne.The Prince of Wales has seemingly given Princess Kate a reason to laugh...

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are facing fresh "cause for anxiety" following what royal commentator Lee Cohen calls a string of "bad judgments." Speaking to Nana Akua on GB News, Cohen, who has frequently criticized the Sussexes, suggested that the couple may be enduring "sleepless nights"...

Some of the creeping impacts of this triple crisis are possibly the most debilitating: Africa is the most severely impacted region by desertification and land degradation, with approximately 45% of its land area affected. In the Horn of Africa and the Sahel alone, it imposes food shortages on more than 23 million people. Just last […]

Although classified as a compact tropical cyclone and considered one of the smallest in the North Atlantic, Hurricane Oscar has caused considerable damage in eastern Cuba since it made landfall on October 20, 2024. Cuban authorities have confirmed that the death toll has risen to seven, in additional to the damage in infrastructure. Communications and […]

Chad is currently in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis due to persisting armed conflict, mass displacement, widespread hunger, natural disasters, and an overall lack of essential services. Due to security challenges from the Boko Haram militant group, millions of Chadians have faced decreased mobility as well as human rights violations including imprisonment, beatings, […]

“Farming is in my blood, and I can’t imagine doing anything else,” said Mahim Mazumder, a farmer from Assam. “Even though the past three to five years have seen drastic changes—with temperatures rising so much that even sitting under a tree no longer offers relief—I will keep farming, even if it only yields a small […]

Scientists warn of vastly higher impacts on billions of people’s livelihood and cost to the global economy by the accelerating losses in the world’s snow and ice regions, aka the cryosphere. Over 50 leading cryosphere scientists released an annual report on the status of the world’s ice stores on Tuesday (November 12) at the UN […]

Philippine institutions and governance structures must be strengthened as part of any effort to reform the country's financial supervisory structure.

BERLIN: Germany is headed for snap elections on February 23, the main parties agreed on Tuesday, aiming to form a stable government after Chan­cellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed last week.

The country’s two biggest parties agreed on the early timetable, which will see centre-left leader Scholz seek a vote of confidence on December 16, said the parliamentary leader of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), Rolf Muetzenich.

This would pave the way for the February vote in a compromise hammered out with the conservative opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian allies CSU.

The agreement seeks to quickly restore political stability at a time when Europe’s biggest economy is set to shrink for a second year in a row and amid heightened geopolitical volatility, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

As per agreement between two biggest parties, Chancellor Scholz will seek trust vote on Dec 16

The election date would mean Germany will be ruled by a lame-duck chancellor and stuck in the middle of its campaign period when Donald Trump is inaugurated as US president on January 20.

Embattled Scholz, who wants to run again despite poor poll ratings, initially suggested an election in late March but came under heavy pressure from all other parties to speed up the process.

The CDU is riding high in the polls and its leader Friedrich Merz had pushed strongly for an election as early as possible — a demand backed by two thirds of voters, according to a recent survey.

“We don’t have unlimited time to elect a new government in Germany, regardless of who leads it… because the world around us is not waiting,” Merz said on Tuesday.

“It’s not as if everyone is holding their breath and watching Germany in fascination, as decisions are taken in Europe, Asia and the United States.

“The world expects a Germany that is capable of taking action.”

Winter election campaign

The February 23 date would force politicians to run their campaigns in the dark and cold of winter, when voters will be less enthusiastic to flock to outdoor events than during the usual summer campaign seasons.

Scholz is expected to lose the confidence vote in the lower house of parliament, after which President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will have 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag.

Elections have to be held within 60 days of the dissolution.

Scholz took office in late 2021, taking over from the CDU’s Angela Merkel, in a three-way coalition with the left-leaning Greens and the liberal and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

But mounting differences over economic and fiscal policy came to a head last week when Scholz fired the rebellious FDP finance minister Christian Linder, prompting the small party to leave the government.

Since then, Scholz’s SPD and the Greens have carried on in a minority government that would need opposition support to pass any laws — something the CDU/CSU had rejected in the absence of clarity on an election date.

Future scenarios

Scholz’s coalition marked the first time a tripartite alliance has ruled at the federal level, and it may not be the last, given Germany’s increasingly fragmented political party landscape.

Fears about immigration have driven the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It is now polling at close to 20 per cent, but other parties have pledged to shun it as a coalition partner.

The latest polls put the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance firmly in the lead at 32pc.

To win a majority, however, the conservatives would likely need the future backing of the SPD, which is currently polling at 15.5pc, in a so-called grand coalition, plus a third party.

Contenders for that spot, according to current polling, would be either the FDP, with five percent support, or possibly the Greens, who are polling at 11pc.

Lindner, who has said he wants to be finance minister again, on Tuesday welcomed the date for new elections, saying:“Happily we now have clarity on this question.” He earlier said that he thought Merz “will almost certainly be the next chancellor of Ger­many. The only question is: Who will chancellor Merz govern with?”

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2024

vital is vision chapter 1

The Precision Agriculture for Resilient Commercial Horticulture Sector Project will promote horticulture commercialization by (i) catalyzing the formation of producer groups and (ii) strengthening vertical market linkages between producer groups and downstream agribusiness. The project location is in Bakhmal district in the Jizzakh region, directly benefiting at least 170 small-scale farmers while indirectly supporting at least 85 agricultural workers and their families.

Microwaves in homes, offices and laboratories have been found to host diverse microbiomes, highlighting the importance of regular cleaning

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A contentious meeting of physicists highlighted concerns, failures and possible fixes for a crisis in condensed matter physics

A proposal to define the Anthropocene, a geologic epoch defined by human activity, has been rejected – surprising even scientists who consulted the voting group

In an ongoing swarm of earthquakes that began hitting Japan in 2020, the shifting weight of surface water may have spurred the shaking

Most ingredients touted as the key to better health fail to live up to the hype but fibre bucks this trend, with benefits for the whole body, not just the gut

Feedback digs into a baffling ad for a mobile game and identifies a new and devilish way to advertise a product online: make it as confusing as possible to encourage people to click (it worked on Feedback)

We get about a quarter of our calories from snacks and new research shows that this isn't necessarily bad for us. Done right, snacking can boost our health

A small world in the outer solar system appears to have volcanic activity possibly spurred by liquid water

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Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986, giving us our only up-close look at the planet – but unusual space weather just before the craft arrived has given us a misleading idea about the planet’s magnetic field

Fossil evidence shows that humans have been practising cannibalism for a million years. Now, archaeologists are discovering that some of the time they did it to honour their dead

Most people are too risk-averse when it comes to life's biggest choices. Learning how to overcome the cognitive biases at play can help you make better decisions - with no looking back

An analysis of 20,000 metal objects from Bronze Age Europe suggests human economic behaviour may not have changed much over the past 3500 years