Sunday, November 24

Types of News: Brief

News briefs are shorter stories about current events. It’s the who-what-when-and-where. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Please see our writers guidelines.

Military Forces Prepare For The Worst In And Around Ukraine
25Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Types of News: Brief

Military Forces Prepare For The Worst In And Around Ukraine

Negotiations Between Russia And the West Continue Even As Military Forces Prepare For Conflict January 25, 2022--Negotiations between Russia and the United States, Europe, and the NATO Alliance quickly slipped from fair to bad to worse last week, and yet diplomatic talks continue. Ukraine is at the center of attention. At issue is its territorial integrity as well as its future military allegiance and alliance. Ukraine is a former Soviet state about one and a half the size of the state of California. It borders seven countries: Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. Boundaries, NATO & Tensions For years, if not decades, it's been caught between a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West. But tensions in that struggle have never been w...
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House Committee Passes Bill On Digital Privacy Research
21Jan By Jacob DavenportNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

House Committee Passes Bill On Digital Privacy Research

January 21, 2022--The House Science, Space and Technology Committee conducted a full committee markup of digital privacy legislation on Wednesday. H.R. 847, the "Promoting Digital Privacy Technologies Act," would prompt the National Science Foundation to sponsor research on privacy-enhancing technologies and promote responsible data use. Reps. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, sponsored the bipartisan bill. The committee considered three amendments. The first two amendments were proposed by Rep. Stevens. The first amendment supported research for Privacy and Enhancing Technologies (PETS) whereas the second amendment suggested technical corrections to the definition of PETS and shifted the focus to mitigating privacy risks. The third and final amendment propo...
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Status of the World’s Vaccination Levels
15Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Economics, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Infographic

Status of the World’s Vaccination Levels

Vaccination Status Varies Widely By Country January 15, 2022--With the recent toss up over tennis great Novak Djokovic's vaccination status in the land down under, it is worth looking at the wider story of the vaccine distributions around the world. In terms of global health and economic recovery from the 2020-2022 pandemic, there is no issue more relevant than vaccine distribution. Even though the current makeup of vaccines are not strong enough to prevent infection with the Omicron variant, as the World Health Organization acknowledged this week, anecdotal evidence suggests they still prevent worst-case scenarios for the people who catch it. The maps below show which countries are on track for achieving mass vaccination and which are not. In the first picture, the depiction show...
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World Health Organization Recommends New COVID-19 Vaccines
12Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Brief

World Health Organization Recommends New COVID-19 Vaccines

Omicron Variant Marks A New Cycle In Vaccine Manufacturing To ensure vaccines intended to prevent COVID-19 work, manufacturers should update the compositions of the current vaccine, according to a 16-member technical advisory group for the World Health Organization. The recommendation comes as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeps through communities around the world. In a statement issued yesterday, the technical advisory group encouraged vaccine developers to study immune responses for their vaccines against the new variants of concern. To date, there are five known variants of concern:  Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron. "While the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the world, the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 is expected to continue and Omicron is unlikely to be the la...
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IMF: Crypto, Stocks Surged In Response To Central Bank Policies Since 2020
11Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Cryptocurrency, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Europe, EU, Eurozone, Types of News: Brief, United States

IMF: Crypto, Stocks Surged In Response To Central Bank Policies Since 2020

In Effect, The Policies Pose The Risk Of Shocks To The Financial Systems Photo by BTC Keychain January 11, 2022--Cryptocurrencies and stock market equities skyrocketed as central banks produced loose monetary policies amid the 2020 global pandemic. Although cryptocurrency prices and some high-growth stocks have dipped since the start of the year, they both "surged amid easy global financial conditions," the International Monetary Fund reported on today. That may come as no surprise among high finance investors who carefully watch interest rates established by central banks, especially those in the United States and Europe. But today's report by the IMF appears to be the first acknowledgment from the multilateral organization that government agencies are fueling the boom in r...
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Geneva Talks Avert US-Russian Conflict Over Ukraine, For Now
10Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Types of News: Brief

Geneva Talks Avert US-Russian Conflict Over Ukraine, For Now

January 10, 2022--U.S. and Russian diplomats meeting in Geneva this week face a tall task: Deescalate tensions over Ukraine. Russia has around 100,000 troops positioned near the Russian-Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, the United States is saying it will strengthen its defensive agreement with Ukraine. So far, the meetings appear to be promoting diplomacy as the answer. Since the leaders from the two countries met virtually just over a month ago, both sides have significantly raised the stakes and preferred worst-case scenarios. US-Russian diplomats met in Geneva Jan. 10, 2022. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman represented the United States to meet with Sergey Ryabkov, Russian's deputy foreign minister. Russia Seeks Security Guarantees Russian President Vladimir Putin laid...
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Israeli, Palestinian Authority Leaders Met In Person, And That In Itself Is Significant
30Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Israeli, Palestinian Authority Leaders Met In Person, And That In Itself Is Significant

December 30, 2021--Although there are no peace talks in place between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in central Israel this week. It's significant in that it was the first time Abbas visited Israel in a decade. It also marks a sign of support by Israel for the weak Palestinian government. Abbas represents Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. His leadership is often overshadowed by the Palestinian leadership in Gaza, which is controlled by militant Hamas. The year has seen rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, including a 22-day war between Israel and Hamas in May. Meeting Outcomes According to reporting by the Times of Israel, Gantz announced on Wednesday that Israel will offer the foll...
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Russian Court Closes International Nonprofit Critical of the Soviet Union
29Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Human rights, Types of News: Brief

Russian Court Closes International Nonprofit Critical of the Soviet Union

December 29, 2021--A Russian court closed a human rights organization called International Memorial for failing to mark a number of its social media posts as coming from a "foreign agent," the BBC reported on Tuesday. On its website, International Memorial is a Moscow-based nonprofit organization “studying political repressions in the USSR and in present-day Russia.” According to reporting by the BBC, the court prosecutor called the organization a “public threat,” saying it receives money from the West and focuses on crimes by the Soviet Union. Separately, a Moscow court closed its affiliate Memorial on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. Representatives from many Western governments condemned the action. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the group was...
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Biden And Putin To Talk Thursday To Try To Ease Tensions
29Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Types of News: Brief

Biden And Putin To Talk Thursday To Try To Ease Tensions

December 29, 2021--Amid rising tensions between the West and Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet by phone on Thursday. The talks come as military tensions rise between Russia and the West over Ukraine. The phone conversation comes ahead of diplomatic meetings scheduled in January in Geneva between Russia and the United States. "By and large we are seeing positive traction at this point," Putin said of the discussions during his Dec. 23 annual press conference. He said the topic of Ukraine is "a formidable issue" concerning Russia's security. He added that conflict "is not our choice." https://youtu.be/fwThVdceKv4 Conflict "is not our choice," Putin said during his Dec. 23 annual press conference. Relations between Russia...
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The Impact Of Conflict Still Reverberates Throughout The Middle East
29Dec By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

The Impact Of Conflict Still Reverberates Throughout The Middle East

Editor's Note: This year we saw international diplomats try to work out political solutions for many of the Arab Spring countries. Meanwhile, humanitarians worked directly with the people impacted by conflict and natural disasters. Fabrizio Carboni is one of them. He is regional director for the Near and Middle East for the International Committee of the Red Cross. The news is difficult to take in. But solutions cannot come unless we understand the issues impacting people. December 29, 2021--Fabrizio Carboni, regional director for the Near and Middle East for the International Committee of the Red Cross, discussed the major challenges faced by the Middle Eastern countries of Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Iraq in 2021.  "What we see ...
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