World

A growing number of Israelis are choosing to not show up for their reserve duty obligations, and more are threatening to join them.  The movement is a response to the plans by Netanyahu’s government to dramatically “reform” the judicial system in what seems like a transparent attempt to protect the Prime Minister, who faces corruption charges in an ongoing trial.

A former advisor to Yair Lapid, the former PM and current opposition leader, claimed he made the decision  because he has “no choice – I cannot do reserve duty under a regime that is trying to destroy us, and I cannot do reserve duty in an undemocratic country.”

For his part, Lapid falls just short of supporting the movement, but he continues to give it legitimacy.

Like America, it appears the rift between the “left” and the “right” is becoming existential at its core.  For we Americans, we can overcome this turmoil, but for Israel, they are surrounded by enemies, including the Palestinians, who would rather see them dead than live peacefully with them.

Outlying islands owned by Taiwan have been experiencing their internet go out over and over again these past five years.  One island, Matsu, recently had their internet cut again.  The culprit is almost always the same, Chinese boats that invade their waters and send divers down to cut cables connecting the islands to the main island.  So far, the Chinese have done this to Matsu alone 27 times in the past five years.

Matsu is home to 14,000 residents, who make due by creating limited internet connectivity through microwave radio transmission, which is a slower form of internet than dial-up. Taiwan’s Coast Guard caught one Chinese ship red-handed, but it was able to escape to Chinese waters.

A major reason why corporations feel so emboldened to offer Americans subpar entertainment and news reporting is their ability to offset the loss of American revenue with sweet business deals with China’s Communist Party.  The woke beast these corporations have been feeding, however, has arrived in China, with Tsunghua University Students now suing the Ministry of Education because it banned the display of the fascist rainbow flag that was once a symbol of gay rights and has now become a symbol of bigotry and hate aimed at heteronormative culture.  Given China’s population collapse, encouraging LGBTQ culture might not be in the best interest of the state.

The Communist Party of Vietnam has nominated Vo Can Thuong, the youngest member of the party’s politburo at 52 years of age, to be the next President. The nomination assures he will be the next President. He is an ally of the current General Secretary, Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Thuong has been leading a massive “anti-corruption” sweep of the party.  His selection assures the current policies and the current purge will continue under his leadership. He replaces the previous president, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who was forced to resign as a result of the “anti-corruption” purge.

Bola Tinubu was declared the winner in a contested national election that has his opponents already calling for a revote and calls for their followers to reject the claimed election results. Tinubu is the figurehead of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress party, winning 37 percent of the vote title, with his closest opponent, Atiku Abubakar finishing at 29 percent.

Tinubu appealed to the losing parties’ followers saying, “I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team up together. It is the only nation we have. It is one country and we must build together.”

Protests in Sudan have continued against the country’s self-installed military rulers.  In the latest round of protests outside the capital Khartoum, police admit to killing a protester, shooting him to death, escalating the violence on both sides.  So far, 125 protestors have been killed since the coup occurred in October of 2021.

The police defended their actions, saying “We saw the video that was widely circulated, including the falling of one of the protesters due to the behavior of one of our police officers, and we confirm here that the police had taken all the necessary legal procedures against him. We also stress that this was an individual behavior that was rejected by the police and against the orders we had given to our forces on the ground.”

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors tweeted in response to the killing Ibrahim Mazjoob, the latest protestor to be killed by the military junta, “The martyrdom of the revolutionary Ibrahim Majzoob is another crime added to the crimes of the police, the coup authority and its military council.”

President Rani Wickremesinghe is facing major protests after the nation decided to go with IMF-recommended tax increases to help the beleaguered country secure IMF funding. After the embattled President issued a ban on strikes, Sri Lankans commenced to strike, adding to the nation’s rising instability.

After the Pro-Europe government resigned, the protests continue, being led, allegedly, by Russian operatives.  The Pro-Russian Shor party appears to be leading the protests.  They currently only hold 6 seats in Moldova’s legislature.  The current President, , is being called a dictator in the protests that allege they want government subsidies for their energy bills and an avoidance of war.

Just a few months after an earthquake struck Turkey, leaving tens of thousands dead and critical infrastructure in tatters, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to hold national elections in May, presumably because among the chaos of the moment he can more easily “win,” by hook or by crook.

The Biden administration could tell them a thing or two about exploiting upheaval to “win” elections.

Erdogan said of his decision “This nation will do what is necessary on May 14, God willing. We will build better buildings in place of those which collapsed.  We will win hearts and we will unroll a new future in front of our people.”

 A passenger train collided with a freight train about 80 miles outside of Thessaloniki.  The collision has left at least 85 injured and 32 dead, figures that are expected to go up as the work continues to find survivors.  The crash occurred February 28, 203.