But we were both frustrated by the media at the time. We set out to tell the truth when everyone else seemed set on choosing sides. We had grand ideas about how far we could reach... - Unknown
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| GLOBAL |
TECH GROUPS OUTLINE PRIORITIES FOR E-COMMERCE TALKS: Leading tech
groups from the United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada and Australia
have outlined their priorities for talks on a potential WTO e-Commerce
agreement — including provisions guaranteeing the free movement of data across
borders and a prohibition on tariffs and taxes on cross-border data flows and
digital products.
"Digital technologies and e-commerce are vital to the
growth and development of the global economy, and the WTO is an important venue
for the development of e-commerce rules that will ensure that companies can
grow, innovate, and create jobs," the groups said in a statement. They
included the Information Technology Industry Council, the Internet Association,
DigitalEurope and the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries
Association.
A group of 70 developed and developing countries agreed at the
WTO's ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires in December to start exploratory work
toward future negotiations on electronic commerce rules. Participants are
meeting again this week in Geneva in hopes of making a decision whether to move
forward by this fall.
Any negotiation on a plurilateral pact could take years to
complete, given privacy concerns associated with the transfer of data across
borders. However, in one sign of why companies want to negotiate rules in this
area, the
McKinsey Global Institute has estimated that the amount of data crossing borders had
grown about 45 times larger in 2014 than it was in 2005. [POLITICO's Morning Trade, July 17, 2018]
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| ISRAEL |
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| EGYPT |
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| JORDAN |
Jordan’s location at the
nexus of Asia, Africa, and Europe has helped shape this young country’s culture
and society and placed it squarely in the middle of regional geopolitics. Now
facing challenges of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, Jordan is being tested by
the conflicts on its borders, but has remained peaceful, welcoming, and
tolerant. [The Nation, Travels, July 17, 2018]
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| VIETNAM |
The population of
Vietnam is young and forward-looking, positioning the country for a dynamic
future and shaping its own identity. While the Vietnam War left an indelible
imprint on both the land and people of this small Southeast Asian country and
reminders of the war endure in various forms, the remarkable resilience of the
Vietnamese people and the country’s strategic position have helped transform it
into an economically and geopolitically important nation on the modern world
stage. [The Nation, Travels, July 17, 2018]
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| INDIA |
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| EUROPE |
SCIENTIFIC DATA
AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FAKE NEWS: The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy
(ITRE) Committee, represented by MEPs Eva Kaili and Paul Rübig, has launched
the European Science-Media Hub, the aim of which is to provide European
citizens with scientific data on a variety of issues. The ITRE Committee wants
journalists to “translate” the data into articles that will be published on the
the hub. “We have a big discussion about fake news. We do believe that we
should not touch the content, because it is more important to protect freedom
of speech, even a freedom of a lie, than banning content,” said Kaili. The
project will have an estimated budget of €1.5 million and will start its work
in around four months, Kaili told POLITICO. [POLITICO Brussels Influence, July
20, 2018]
European Championships,
various
This multi-sport event brings together a
variety of different disciplines in its first edition. Berlin will be hosting
the athletics programme, while golf, rowing, triathlon, gymnastics, cycling and
swimming will all take place in Glasgow. Among the Scottish venues, the
open-water swimming will be held in the stunning Loch Lomond, while the golf
will play out at the wonderful Gleneagles.
When: 2-12
August
Where: Glasgow, Scotland; Berlin, Germany
Where: Glasgow, Scotland; Berlin, Germany
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/sports-events-to-watch-this-month/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=080118global&utm_content=080118global+Version+A+CID_16cf1c196aa662c6712bee6c7e39ad7e&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=Read%20More
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| SPAIN |
Vuelta a España, cycling
While Spain’s grand cycling tour
doesn’t carry quite the same gravitas as its French, or even Italian,
equivalents, it is still thoroughly entertaining. This year’s race starts with
an individual time trial through Malaga, before
six summit finishes in the final eight stages of the race. In particular, look
out for Stage 17 and the ludicrously difficult climb of Monte Oiz in the Basque
country.
When: 25 August-16 September
Where: Various, Spain
Where: Various, Spain
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/sports-events-to-watch-this-month/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=080118global&utm_content=080118global+Version+A+CID_16cf1c196aa662c6712bee6c7e39ad7e&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=Read%20More
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| SERBIA |
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| GEORGIA |
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| SLOVAKIA |
Welcome home, Aslan 🛬
Slovakia has extradited a suspected member of Shamil Basayev’s old
terrorist group to
Russia, after holding him in custody for seven years. Russian federal agents
say Aslan Yandiev organized and committed several terrorist attacks in 2006 in Vladikavkaz, killing four
people and injuring dozens more. Russian officials say he emigrated in 2010
using false documents. A year later, Slovakian police arrested him. Yandiev’s
lawyers protested his extradition back to Russia, denying the terrorism charges
against him. Killed in 2006, Shamil Basayev was one of Chechnya’s most infamous
terrorists. [The Real Russia. Today. July 18, 2018]
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| RUSSIA |
Russia's censor worries about your reputation 😟
Russia’s
federal censor, Roskomnadzor, has reportedly distributed a letter to telecommunications companies, warning that using the instant messenger Telegram to provide “information and help
services” could pose “reputational and other risks.”
On July
12, the Telegram channel Esher
II posted a copy of the letter, signed
by Oleg Ivanov, Roskomnadzor’s deputy director. Filipp Kulin, the author
of Esher II, told Meduza that he received the PDF from a contact at a
Russian telecoms company.
In the
letter, Ivanov states that a Russian court ruled in April “to limit the
functioning” of Telegram, requiring not only Roskomnadzor but “other legal entities” to assist in the effort.
Russia’s
federal censor has reportedly been arguing behind the scenes with Apple and Google about the meaning of the term
“other legal entities.” Russian officials have ordered the Internet giants to
remove Telegram from their mobile app stores, but both companies have refused,
insisting that Russia’s legal system issue a direct ruling that names their
businesses explicitly, according to Roskomnadzor head Alexander
Zharov. [The Real Russia. Today. July 13, 2018]
Russia's HIV epidemic 😷
The
number of new
HIV infections is
still rising
rapidly in Moscow.
According to data just released by Russia’s
Health Ministry, the capital recorded 20.4 percent more HIV cases in 2017. The worst increase occurred in the
Tambov region, where recorded HIV infections jumped 65.9 percent. Overall, from
2016 to 2017, the number of new recorded HIV cases across Russia dropped
insignificantly from 86,900 to 85,800,
says the Health Ministry.
According
to the UN, Russia has experienced one of the world’s worst HIV outbreaks in
recent years. The total number of people currently infected with HIV in Russia
is believed to be roughly one
million.
Russia’s Federal AIDS Research Center says the Health Ministry’s figures are
too low, arguing that the number of new HIV infections in 2017 was actually 104,400. [The
Real Russia. Today. July 13, 2018]
Saving Oyub 🙏
Council
of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović has written an open letter to Russian Attorney
General Yuri
Chaika, asking
for the release of human rights activist Oyub Titiev, who was detained in January 2018
on drug possession charges that he denies. In the letter, Mijatović cites a
recent report by Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council, which criticized
the police response to Titiev’s claims that he is being framed. Mijatović also
points out that Russia’s own human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, and
the head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Mikhail Fedotov, have both
called repeatedly for moving Titiev’s case outside the North Caucasus,
demonstrating “doubts as to the likelihood that Mr.
Titiev’s rights will be safeguarded if the case remains in the Chechen Republic.” Closing her letter, Mijatović
asks Chaika for information about “specific actions” by the Attorney General’s
Office in response to the report issued by the Presidential Human Rights
Council. The Real Russia. Today. July 17, 2018]
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| GREAT BRITAIN |
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| READ |
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| NIGERIA |
💸 Defrauded Nigerians
More
than 70 Nigerian citizens gathered at their country’s embassy in Moscow on
Friday to complain that they were deceived into attending the World Cup on the promise that they
could work while in Russia.
The leader of a volunteer group told the magazine RBC that the first Nigerian
tourists started reporting scammers as early as two weeks ago. They were
reportedly sold “fan IDs” for $300 and round-trip tickets, and told they could
earn money while in Moscow. When they arrived in the Russian capital, however,
they learned that their documents don’t allow them to work, and the scammers
quickly canceled their return tickets.
On
Thursday, a false
rumor started
spreading among the Nigerians in Moscow that Turkish Airlines had arranged a
flight to take them home, but they were turned away at Sheremetyevo Airport,
and police vans delivered them to the Nigerian embassy. More than 70 stranded tourists gathered at the embassy on
Friday, and another
several hundred are
spread across the country.
The
newspaper Kommersant previously
reported that foreigners have tried to use “soccer fan passports” to find work
or even apply for asylum in Russia. People from African countries have
apparently been especially eager to use Russia’s simplified visa process during
the World Cup. [The Real Russia. Today. July 13, 2018]
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| ANGOLA |
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| MEXICO |
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
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