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A majority in the lower chamber of the British parliament, the House of Commons, has voted in favour of making assisted dying accessible to the terminally ill in England and Wales. The law allows adults with less than six months to live access to medical assistance in ending their lives. The decision will now be put to a panel of experts. The national press is divided.

Isaias Afwerki avait promis des élections lors de son arrivée au pouvoir en 1991, mais celles-ci n'ont toujours pas eu lieu.

Isaias Afwerki avait promis des élections lors de son arrivée au pouvoir en 1991, mais celles-ci n'ont toujours pas eu lieu.

Isaias Afwerki avait promis des élections lors de son arrivée au pouvoir en 1991, mais celles-ci n'ont toujours pas eu lieu.

A 2024-1.2.6-EUREKA felhívás célja a vállalkozói szféra, különösen a kis- és középvállalkozások nemzetközi kutatás-fejlesztési együttműködését elősegítő Eureka programban való magyar részvétel támogatása.

La toxoplasmose est une infection répandue dans le monde, causée par le parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Chez les personnes en bonne santé, elle passe souvent inaperçue ou provoque des […]

L’article Toxoplasmose : symptômes, transmission et diagnostic de cette infection parasitaire est apparu en premier sur .

Die EU hält an ihrem Mantra fest, dass die Diplomatie Vorrang vor militärischen Maßnahmen haben sollte.

Guido Crosetto a expliqué que l'OTAN devait s'adapter à une nouvelle réalité et que l'Alliance, dans sa forme actuelle, n'avait « plus de raison d'être ».

The post Le ministre italien de la Défense s’interroge sur la pertinence de l’OTAN appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Nach der Bombardierung iranischer Atomanlagen hat sich das iranische Parlament für eine Schließung der Schifffahrtsstraße von Hormus ausgesprochen. Viele Öl- und Gasexporte mehrerer Länder werden durch die Meerenge verschifft. Über die Folgen einer möglichen Sperrung äußert sich Energieexpertin Claudia Kemfert, Leiterin der Abteilung Energie, Verkehr, Umwelt im DIW Berlin:

Die Straße von Hormus verkörpert die Verwundbarkeit unserer globalisierten Energieversorgung. Diese nur 50 Kilometer breite Meerenge zwischen Iran und Oman fungiert als neuralgischer Punkt des Welthandels, durch die täglich 21 Millionen Barrel Öl und ein Viertel des global gehandelten Flüssigerdgases fließen. Die Konzentration dieser Energieströme auf einen einzigen Durchgang macht deutlich, wie fragil die Fundamente unserer Energiesicherheit sind. 

Die Flüssigerdgasexporte, darunter kritische Exporte aus Katar, sind für Europas Energieversorgung unverzichtbar geworden. Diese Abhängigkeit zeigt, wie die Diversifizierung weg von russischem Gas neue Verwundbarkeiten geschaffen hat. Beim Öl sieht es etwas anders aus: Obwohl deutsche Ölimporte nicht direkt über die Straße von Hormus kommen, wäre eine Blockade über den Weltmarktmechanismus spürbar. Steigende Energiepreise würden vor allem die chemische Industrie, den Transportsektor und die Verbraucher*innen treffen.

Die Lehre aus der Hormus-Analyse ist eindeutig und sollte ein Weckruf sein: Echte Energiesicherheit liegt nicht in der Diversifizierung von Importen, sondern in der Überwindung der Importabhängigkeit. Eine resiliente Energieversorgung erfordert nicht nur geografische Diversifizierung, sondern auch fundamentale strukturelle Veränderungen. Deutschland muss die Energie- und Wärmewende nicht nur aus klimapolitischen Gründen vorantreiben, sondern auch als Strategie der nationalen Sicherheit. Deutschland hat die Chance, die Hormus-Verwundbarkeit als Katalysator für eine beschleunigte Energietransformation zu nutzen und sich international als Vorreiter echter Energiesouveränität zu positionieren.

L’Algérie, terre de plus en plus convoitée par les grandes puissances économiques, se dote d’une infrastructure industrielle de poids. À Oran, dans la zone industrielle […]

L’article Une usine de pneus sino-algérienne 4.0 prend racine dans cette wilaya est apparu en premier sur .

Willkommen bei Europa Kompakt. In der heutigen Ausgabe: Die Kommission beharrt darauf, dass sie ihr Gesetz gegen Greenwashing nicht aufgegeben hat, Der Iran-Konflikt überschattet die NATO- und EU-Gipfel in dieser Woche, Europas transnationale Revolutionäre der extremen Rechten.

The move deals a further blow to the Green Claims directive, which is already under pressure from the Commission.

Die Koalition will Rentner per steuerfreiem Zuverdienst zum Arbeiten bewegen. Klingt gut, doch es dürfte die Altersungleichheit verschärfen. Es gibt bessere Alternativen. , Der Fachkräftemangel bedroht zunehmend die Existenz vieler Unternehmen und belastet die deutsche Wirtschaft. Ein enormes Potenzial, um dem entgegenzuwirken, liegt in der Erwerbstätigkeit nach dem Renteneintritt. Die Bundesregierung hat dies erkannt und will mit der Aktivrente Anreize schaffen: Wer ...

In September 2024 heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides in Nepal, villages like Roshi in Kavre district affected. Credit: Barsha Shah

By Tanka Dhakal
BLOOMINGTON, USA, Jun 23 2025 (IPS)

Asia is heading towards more extreme weather events with a possibility of heavy toll on the region’s economies, ecosystems, and societies, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The WMO’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report released today says Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fueling more disaster-prone weather events.

In 2024, Asia’s average temperature was about 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average, ranking as the warmest or second warmest year on record, depending on the dataset. The warming trend between 1991 and 2024 was almost double that during the 1961 to 1990 period.

Report highlights the changes in key climate indicators, including surface temperature, glacier mass, and sea level, which will have major impacts in the region. “Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

In 2024, heatwaves gripped a record area of the ocean. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record, with Asia’s sea surface 10 years period warming rate nearly double the global average.

Report says that sea level rise on the Pacific and Indian Ocean sides of the continent exceeded the global average, increasing risks for low-lying coastal areas.

“The work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and their partners is more important than ever to save lives and livelihoods,” Saulo said.

Asia land temperatures. Source: World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Water Resources Are in Danger and Causing Destruction

State of the glaciers, which are regarded as water storage for most of the region, is facing an existential threat. Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat caused decisive damage to glaciers in the central Himalayas and Tian Shan Mountain range. 23 out of 24 glaciers suffered mass loss, leading to an increase in hazards like glacial lake outburst floods and landslides and long-term risks for water security.

The High-Mountain Asia (HMA) region, centered on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions, with glaciers covering an area of approximately 100,000 square km. It is known as the world’s Third Pole. Over the last several decades, most glaciers in this region have been retreating. Which is increasing the risk of glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

Community in Thame village in the Mt. Everest region in Nepal is still recovering from the disaster caused by a small glacial lake outburst flood in August 2024, while living in fear of a similar disaster.

From the high Himalayas to coastal areas in Asia experiencing destructive weather events. Extreme rainfall caused great damage and heavy casualties in many countries in the region, tropical cyclones left a trail of destruction, and drought added heavy economic and agricultural losses.

The report included a case study from Nepal, showing how important early warning systems and anticipatory actions are to prepare for and respond to climate variability and change. In late September 2024, Nepal experienced heavy rainfall that led to severe flooding and landslides across the country.

According to the government data, the disaster claimed at least 246 lives and left 218 people missing. Damages to energy infrastructure are estimated at 4.35 billion Nepali rupees, while the agricultural sector faced a loss equivalent to 6 billion Nepali rupees. Reports note that early warning systems and preparation for anticipatory actions helped limit human casualties. But the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) in Nepal highlighted the urgent need for a tailored, impact-based flood forecasting system at the national level.

Extreme heat events

In many parts of Asia, extreme heat is becoming a concerning issue as countries like India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan in South Asia are already dealing with heat waves. In 2024, prolonged heat waves affected East Asia from April to November.

According to the report, Asia is the continent with the largest landmass extending to the Arctic and is warming more than twice as fast as the global average because the temperature increase over land is larger than the temperature increase over the ocean.

In 2024, most of the ocean area of Asia was affected by marine heatwaves of strong, severe, or extreme intensity—the largest extent since records began in 1993.  During August and September 2024, nearly 15 million square kilometers of the region’s ocean were impacted—one-tenth of the Earth’s entire ocean surface.

“The purpose of the report is not only to inform. It is to inspire action,” said president of WMO Regional Association Dr. Ayman Ghulam.

He highlighted the need for stronger early warning systems, regional collaboration, and greater investments in adapting transboundary water and climate risk management.

“We must ensure that modern science guides decision-making at every level,” Ghulam said.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Access to critical raw materials (CRMs) is increasingly being shaped by geopolitical dynamics, fuelling a global competition for supply security. This paper applies the gravity model of trade to examine how OECD countries leverage Aid for Trade (AfT), Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to influence CRM imports from developing countries. Using extensive bilateral panel data from 1995 to 2023, we find that PTAs are particularly effective, affecting both the intensive and extensive margins of trade. These findings highlight the strategic role of formal trade agreements and suggest that a coordinated policy mix of trade diplomacy, investment, and aid is essential for resilient and diversified CRM supplies.

Access to critical raw materials (CRMs) is increasingly being shaped by geopolitical dynamics, fuelling a global competition for supply security. This paper applies the gravity model of trade to examine how OECD countries leverage Aid for Trade (AfT), Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to influence CRM imports from developing countries. Using extensive bilateral panel data from 1995 to 2023, we find that PTAs are particularly effective, affecting both the intensive and extensive margins of trade. These findings highlight the strategic role of formal trade agreements and suggest that a coordinated policy mix of trade diplomacy, investment, and aid is essential for resilient and diversified CRM supplies.

Access to critical raw materials (CRMs) is increasingly being shaped by geopolitical dynamics, fuelling a global competition for supply security. This paper applies the gravity model of trade to examine how OECD countries leverage Aid for Trade (AfT), Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to influence CRM imports from developing countries. Using extensive bilateral panel data from 1995 to 2023, we find that PTAs are particularly effective, affecting both the intensive and extensive margins of trade. These findings highlight the strategic role of formal trade agreements and suggest that a coordinated policy mix of trade diplomacy, investment, and aid is essential for resilient and diversified CRM supplies.

Big Tobacco affirme que les taxes supplémentaires favoriseront le marché noir, mais tout le monde n'est pas d'accord.

The post L’industrie de la cigarette met en garde l’UE contre l’augmentation des taxes pour gonfler ses recettes budgétaires appeared first on Euractiv FR.