Efforts never fail speech

The statement issued by Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was nothing short of an intimation, nay confirmation, of the apocalyptic economic crisis that the island nation confronts. The numbers thrown by Mr Wickremesinghe are self-explanatory of the mess that he will need to clean up to put Sri Lanka back on track. Government revenues cover only 40 per cent of the expenditure being incurred. The fiscal deficit is around 13 per cent of GDP. The foreign exchange reserves are virtually non-existent. According to Wickremesinghe, “It is a challenge for the treasury to find USD 1 million.” Petrol stocks are down to just one day. Sri Lanka is looking at power cuts of around 15 hours a day because a quarter of the electricity is produced from oil which the government has no money to buy. There are huge shortages of medicines. Shortages of virtually every other commodity, including food, are inescapable. With the government being “compelled to print money” to pay … [Read more...] about India Must Lead Quad Effort to Pull Out Sri Lanka from Clutches of China’s Debt Trap Diplomacy

The massacre in El Paso, Texas, has, for the moment, reminded Americans of the danger posed by far-right terrorists. Former national-security officials have demanded that the U.S. government “make addressing this form of terrorism as high a priority as countering international terrorism has become since 9/11.” Retired Marine General John Allen and the former senior U.S. diplomat Brett McGurk have argued that far-right extremism poses “an equal threat” as jihadist groups such as ISIS. This is incorrect. White nationalism is a far greater threat to American democracy than jihadism, and always has been. But there are actually two challenges posed by white nationalism: One is the threat posed to American communities by attacks like the one in El Paso, which law enforcement can and should prevent. The other is the threat the ideology the attackers support poses to American democracy, which can be defeated only through politics, and only by the American people themselves. “There’s an … [Read more...] about Only the Right Can Defeat White Nationalism

Ko Jung-ae The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo. Inauguration speeches of past presidents were much of the same. They all praised the history of the Korean people, while describing the president as a leader who will open a new era and present many promises in all fields of national governance. For example, the last president made a promise that he will create a country that no one has ever experienced. President Yoon Suk-yeol’s address, however, was different. The difference was more significant than the simple fact that he mentioned “freedom” 35 times but never mentioned “unity.” His inaugural address was to the world audience. At the same time, nationalism was largely diluted. The speech was devoid of any mention of the Korean people. According to Yoon Pyung-joong, honorary professor at Hanshin University, nationalistic sentiments and collective unconscious is a habit of mind for the Korean people. Yoon, however, did not use it at all. In his inaugural … [Read more...] about Parsing Yoon’s inaugural address

Tuesday on FNC’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” host Tucker Carlson defended prior statements regarding so-called great replacement theory pertaining to the U.S. electorate and how Democrats had openly claimed shifts in demographics would be to their political advantage. Carlson’s remarks come in the wake of the Buffalo, NY shooting in which the suspect allegedly used the theory for justification for actions. Many on the left had attacked the FNC host, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who Carlson called a coward for declining to appear on his FNC show. Transcript as follows: Last May, a 17-year-old high school senior called Payton Gendron received an assignment in his economics class. The assignment asked, “What do you want to do when you retire?” He answered, “Commit murder-suicide.” Gendron’s teacher immediately reported his threat to authorities who sent him to the emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation. Gendron was there for just 20 hours, as he … [Read more...] about Carlson: Democrats Have Decided Rather Than Convince You, They Will Change the Electorate

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 17 OVID, Colo. (AP) — Shortly after daybreak on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, Don Schneider tinkers with seed-dispensing gear on a mammoth corn planter. The day’s task: Carefully sowing hundreds of acres of seed between long rows of last year’s desiccated stalks to ensure the irrigation water he's collected over the winter will last until harvest time. A two-hour’s drive eastward, Steve Hanson, a fifth-generation Nebraska cattle breeder who also produces corn and other crops, is preparing to seed, having stored winter water to help ensure his products make it to market. Like Schneider and countless others in this semi-arid region, he wants his children and grandchildren to be able to work the rich soil homesteaded by their ancestors in the 1800s. Schneider and Hanson find themselves on … [Read more...] about Colorado, Nebraska jostle over water rights amid drought

A recent report reveals that a lobbying group funded by Facebook has been planting stories in newspapers across the United States in an effort to manipulate the media and fight big tech regulation. A report from the Washington Post reveals that a political advocacy group called American Edge was secretly funded by Facebook (now known as Meta) and has been manipulating news narratives by placing stories in newspapers across the United States. American Edge aimed to oppose Senate-backed antitrust legislation that attempted to reign in the Big Tech Masters of the Universe. Mark Zuckerberg surrounded by guards ( Chip Somodevilla /Getty) American Edge commissioned studies, placed op-eds in newspapers, and worked with minority business associations, former national security officials, and conservative groups to push back against the bill. In sponsored ads, American Edge focused on people’s fear of cybersecurity attacks from Russia and China, echoing arguments made by … [Read more...] about Report: Facebook Fought Against Regulation by Manipulating the News

Woo Sang-hyeok competes during the men's high jump event during the Diamond League athletics Doha meeting at the Khalifa International stadium in Doha on May 13. [AFP/YONHAP] High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok became the first Korean ever to win a World Athletics Diamond League event on Friday, beating Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Mutaz Essa Barshim by three centimeters at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Woo, the current world indoor champion, overcame the odds in very windy conditions to take first place with a height of 2.33 meters. With only four athletes managing to cleat 2.20 meters due to the unfavorable weather conditions — it was so windy in Doha that the men's pole vault had to be rescheduled — Woo's effort saw him far outpace the pack and take the world lead spot for the current season. After clearing 2.20 meters in one jump, Woo struggled at 2.24 meters, needing all three attempts to clear the bar. After that early stumble, Woo cleared 2.27 meters in two … [Read more...] about High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok wins Diamond League title

BRUSSELS — The world economy is heading into a potentially grim period as rising costs, shortages of food and other commodities and Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine threaten to slow economic growth and bring about a painful global slump. Two years after the coronavirus pandemic emerged and left much of the globe in a state of paralysis, policymakers are grappling with ongoing challenges, including clogged supply chains , lockdowns in China and the prospect of an energy crisis as nations wean themselves off Russian oil and gas . Those colliding forces have some economists starting to worry about a global recession as different corners of the world find their economies battered by events. Finding ways to avoid a slowdown while continuing to exert pressure on Russia for its war in Ukraine will be the primary focus of finance ministers from the Group of 7 nations who are convening in Bonn, Germany, this week. At a news conference on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet L. … [Read more...] about Economic Headwinds Mount as Leaders Weigh Costs of Confronting Russia

Scores of people on Wednesday gathered in Mullivaikkal village, in Sri Lanka’s northern Mullaitivu district, to remember the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians who were brutally killed in the final stages of the civil war in May 2009, when the armed forces crushed the LTTE. Simultaneously, dozens came together expressing solidarity in a rare public remembrance event in capital Colombo, at Galle Face, the ocean front where citizens’ groups are protesting for 40 days now, asking President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit over the economic crisis stifling the country. Although small, the commemoration in Colombo assumed significance, amid sharp divisions in how the Sinhala-majority south and Tamil majority north perceive the civil war’s end. While the UN has recorded at least 40,000 civilian deaths in the final stages of the war, many in the island’s south are yet to confront hard questions about the Sri Lankan military’s alleged human rights abuses at the time, that too targeting … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka war anniversary: Tamil victims remembered in Colombo

The U.S. has now reached the once unthinkable toll of 1 million deaths from COVID-19 . How could this happen in the wealthiest country in the world? In a word, because of poverty—and the policy choices that perpetuate it. Our task now is to make different choices. Americans across the country have suffered during this pandemic. But new research by the Poor People's Campaign strongly suggests the poor and low-income have suffered the most. Even controlling for vaccination rates, they found that COVID-19 death rates in poorer U.S. counties were nearly double those in wealthier counties. During the deadliest phases of the pandemic, it rose to five times as many. White Americans still make up the largest share of America's poor and those who've died from COVID-19. But Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Americans are significantly overrepresented in America's poorest counties, and COVID-19 casualty rates run significantly higher for many communities of color. Poor Americans are … [Read more...] about One million COVID-19 deaths is a searing indictment of inequality in America | Opinion