China send a fleet of Y-20 transport planes loaded with missiles to Serbia

China send a fleet of Y-20 transport planes loaded with missiles to Serbia

    Sunday, April 10, 2022   No comments

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Russian ally Serbia took the delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system in a veiled operation this weekend, amid Western concerns that an arms buildup in the Balkans at the time of the war in Ukraine could threaten the fragile peace in the region.

Media and military experts said Sunday that six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport early Saturday, reportedly carrying HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military.

The Chinese cargo planes with military markings were pictured at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport. Serbia’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment.

The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.

“The Y-20s’ appearance raised eyebrows because they flew en masse as opposed to a series of single-aircraft flights,” wrote The Warzone online magazine. “The Y-20′s presence in Europe in any numbers is also still a fairly new development.”

Serbian military analyst Aleksandar Radic said that “the Chinese carried out their demonstration of force.”

read more from the AP story...

China's major English language online outlet said this about the event:

A fleet of six Y-20 cargo planes of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force was reportedly spotted in Serbia on Saturday, with observers saying on Sunday that it could be the largest overseas operation by the Chinese domestically developed large transport plane yet, displaying the country's strategic transport capabilities.

Citing commercial flight trackers, US news website thedrive.com reported on Saturday that the six Y-20 aircraft were first spotted heading west in Turkish airspace late Friday night, and later local residents took photos of the Y-20s, which allegedly landed in Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia. The aircraft later flew over the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey again on their way back to China.

China has not made an official announcement about the mission as of press time, but the Global Times learned that the Y-20s indeed have carried out such a flight.

Read GT story here...

Analysts have already connected this event to the war in Ukraine.

As the Ukraine war rages on, Serbia is feeling the heat because of its ties with Russia. While in the U.N. General Assembly, Serbia voted in favor of the resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supporting Ukrainian territorial integrity, Belgrade avoided imposing economic sanctions against Russia.

With its partnership with Russia under duress, Serbian ties with Beijing appear carefree in comparison. Indeed, the war in Ukraine provides Serbia with an opportunity to continue and boost the policy, which was already unfolding even before the war, of replacing Russia with China as Serbia’s primary non-Western partner. This policy is even more appealing as Serbia is about to undergo an electoral cycle in April 2022, making China a perfect instrument of domestic promotion for the Serbian leadership.

A Shocking 99% of Us Are Now Breathing Unhealthy Air, WHO Warns

A Shocking 99% of Us Are Now Breathing Unhealthy Air, WHO Warns

    Thursday, April 07, 2022   No comments

We often take the air we breathe for granted, but new data reveals that the pollutants behind millions of preventable deaths now taint the air most of us breathe at unhealthy levels.

"Air pollution has an impact at a much lower level than previously thought," says World Health Organization technical officer Sophie Gumy, in reference to WHO's recently updated air quality guidelines.

Based on an analysis of air pollution data covering more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries, WHO says 99 percent of the world's population now breathes air that does not meet the updated safety guidelines. This covers 80 percent of the world's urban areas.

read more ...

Paper: Turkish government exploring plans to "initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government"

Paper: Turkish government exploring plans to "initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government"

    Tuesday, April 05, 2022   No comments

 The Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, reported on Monday that the Turkish authorities are currently in discussions to initiate a dialogue with the Syrian government, which would restore relations between the two countries to normal.

The newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that "the policy of balance recently adopted by Turkey, and the role that Ankara has played in recent months, especially toward resolving the war in Ukraine"... makes the current timing good for resolving Turkey's crisis in Syria.

The sources pointed out that Turkey, "in all its contacts with the Syrian administration," emphasizes 3 indispensable things, namely "preserving the unitary structure and the unity of the Syrian territories, and ensuring the security of refugees returning to their country," in addition to "the activity of the Kurdistan Workers' Party."

According to the newspaper, Ankara conveyed these important messages to Damascus, especially before the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the UAE.

This development is one in many initiated by Erdogan's government to stablaize the economy before the elections. Turkish economy suffered due the the Syrian war, which Erdogan assumed would end fast. That did not. Now the Turkish economy is under stress due the war in Ukraine.

A Reuters poll showed, Monday, that "the annual inflation rate in Turkey is expected to rise to 61.5% in April, and only decrease to 52.2% by the end of the year, due to the country's impact on the crisis in Ukraine and the rise in commodity prices."

The average estimate of 17 institutions for annual inflation in April was 61.5%, with expectations ranging between 58.25% and 62.7%, and the decline of the lira and the rise in food and energy prices pushed inflation in February to its highest level in 20 years, recording 54.4% This is despite tax cuts on basic goods and government support for some electricity bills to ease the burden on household budgets.

Turkey's consumer price index has risen since last fall, with the lira weakening after the central bank in September began the 500 basis point cut cycle that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had long sought.

Economists pointed to "expectations of global consumer price inflation, in the wake of the Russian military operation, with energy prices reaching their highest levels in several years after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow," explaining that "Turkey imports almost all of its energy needs."

A Chicago synagogue officially designates itself 'anti-Zionist'

A Chicago synagogue officially designates itself 'anti-Zionist'

    Tuesday, April 05, 2022   No comments

The Tzedek Chicago membership has voted to add anti-Zionism to the core values of our congregation.

The Tzedek Chicago membership has voted to affirm a unanimous board decision to change “non-Zionism” to “anti-Zionism” in our core values statement. This vote followed on a months-long series of membership meetings and collective discernment - and the Tzedek leadership is immensely grateful to the many members who participated so actively and honestly in this process. Beyond this one decision, we are committed to continuing this important and sacred conversation together as a community -  and how we might create and live out a Judaism beyond Zionism.

We will be putting a committee together to draft a public statement that will explain our decision. We intend to include many of the comments and insights that were shared during our community process, so that the statement may reflect the depth and complexity of our conversation.

Here is the original board Q&A explaining the reason for its decision:

Why Did Tzedek Chicago originally include “Non-Zionism” as part of our core values?

read more from the source... 

See how almost a quarter of humanity ushered in Ramadan, their holiest month

See how almost a quarter of humanity ushered in Ramadan, their holiest month

    Monday, April 04, 2022   No comments

Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, began this weekend for the 1.8 billion Muslims around the world. From sun-up to sundown, the physically able among them will fast — abstaining not just from food but also so much as a sip of water.

Read the article...

With Russia is working on developing more trade with the ruble, the Dominance of US Dollar will be reduced

With Russia is working on developing more trade with the ruble, the Dominance of US Dollar will be reduced

    Friday, April 01, 2022   No comments

With Russia is working on developing more trade with the ruble, together with sanctions, all that will Reduce Dominance of US Dollar.

The US-led Western sanctions campaign against Russia threatens to chip away at the US dollar’s dominance as the world’s reserve currency, a top IMF official told The Financial Times.

Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s first deputy managing director, said the sweeping sanctions against Russia will lead to more countries making transactions in other currencies.

“The dollar would remain the major global currency even in that landscape but fragmentation at a smaller level is certainly quite possible,” she said. “We are already seeing that with some countries renegotiating the currency in which they get paid for trade.”

Since the sanctions campaign began, Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken steps to increase trade with the ruble. He said that Russia will stop selling gas to “unfriendly” nations unless they pay in the Russian currency. Moscow has also proposed to India to make deals in ruble-rupee-denominated payments.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval in Russia rises while Biden's drops in US

Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval in Russia rises while Biden's drops in US

    Thursday, March 31, 2022   No comments

 

Approval numbers regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's activities since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War have seen a steep increase in recent months, according to a new poll from independent pollster Levada.

The poll showed that approval of Putin's actions increased from 69 percent in January to 83 percent in March.

But in the U.S., Putin's confidence rating has dropped to dismal lows, according to another new poll from the Pew Research Center. Just 6 percent of surveyed U.S. adults said that they have confidence in Putin after his decision to invade Ukraine.

....

The Pew Research poll found that 72 percent of Americans have some or a lot of confidence in Zelensky, the highest rating out of any global leader included in the survey.

When it comes to U.S. President Joe Biden's handling of international affairs, Americans are much more divided. Of the respondents, 48 percent said that they have confidence in Biden's handling of international affairs, while 52 percent said that they have no confidence or not too much confidence.

A Quinnipiac University national poll, conducted between March 10 and 14, found that 49 percent of respondents have a negative view of Biden's response to the war, compared to 42 percent who approve.

Read the source article...