Asia
All our reports, articles and notes covering this part of the world.
19 December 2020
Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Africa
IS-created network of buyers and the power of al-Qaeda
The new report from the investigative organization Conflict Armament Research tells how IS used the international network of buyers to gather materials for building weapons. The most important in the supply chain was the borderland of Turkey and Syria, where the members of IS under fake identities approached companies to order components necessary for building […]
19 December 2020
Afghanistan, USA, Africa
Speculating with water and the Taliban revenues
Water is now available as a trade commodity on Wall Street, just like gold or oil. The new contracts will allow traders to “bet” on whether water prices will rise or fall. Representatives of the entities responsible for introducing the new financial instrument claim that it will help farmers manage price risk and prepare for […]
17 December 2020
South Korea, USA
Aging reversed
Researchers from the Harvard Medical School restored vision in old mice by reversing their biological clock. They focused on the so-called epigenetic changes within cells which accumulate as the organism ages. The scientists think that the “epigenetic noise” is disrupting the cell’s ability to regenerate. It is responsible for the degenerative process we know as […]
17 December 2020
Romania, Namibia, India
Elections in Kashmir, Romania and Namibia – issues behind
Every third Romanian citizen (six million people altogether) lives on the verge of poverty. Despite that, there was no space for addressing their hardships in the recent parliamentary elections campaign. Marginalized people do not trust the government because many politicians despise their poverty and see it as a fault of those affected. The political parties […]
17 December 2020
Australia, USA, China, Australia and Oceania
The economic and military grwoth of China
It will take China only fifteen years before it develops capabilities to fight extended foreign wars. A report to the U.S. Congress informs that over the next five years China will work on its capabilities of performing large-scale military operations within “its maritime periphery”. From then on, in 10 to 15 years, it will develop […]
7 December 2020
Japan, USA
The computer faster than the laws of physics
The creators of the Cerebras CS-1 claim that their 1.2 trillion transistors computer chip can run simulations faster than the laws of physics. During a 3D analysis of over a million variables – from the temperature changes to the air circulation – which it did during the modeling of combustion in a coal-burning power plant, […]
28 November 2020
Japan
Human brain and the universe
Scientists found many similarities between two of the most complex of the existing systems – the human brain and the universe. The human brain has about 70 billion neurons, while there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the universe. In both of them, roughly 30 percent of mass are long filaments and nodes that […]
28 November 2020
Singapore, India, China, Europe
Mapping biodiversity, bees and smells
Mumbai, a metropolis of 20 million inhabitants, just got its first biodiversity map. The Indian cartoonist, Rohan Chakravarty, created the project to empower the local youth and encourage their sense of ownership over the city’s natural heritage. It also serves as a reminder to the authorities that local wildlife needs to be protected. Indian financial […]
28 November 2020
Nepal
Revival of Mount Everest’s tourism
Authorities of Nepal opened the country for tourists in the hope of reviving the economy. The travel sector provides around 8% of Nepal’s GDP and is a vital source of profit for 100 000 Sherpa people who have made almost no income this year so far. Sherpas play a crucial role in the expeditions, especially […]
26 November 2020
Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, India, China
The biggest regional free-trade agreement
Bloomberg Economics have forecasted potential GDP through 2050 for 39 countries, from the U.S. to Ghana. The forecast claims that by 2035 China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy and India will take the third position by 2033. The economical center is shifting from the West to the East, from the developed […]
