Turkey: Erdogan's iron grip pn Turkey ?

Ask a Turk when it was great in Turkey. They won't be able to answer .

Erdogan just expedited the collapse . He just short-sold USD overnight and caused millions of Turks to loose money .

However I think this will end up being good for the country . Turks did not ever fight for their civil rights. I hope that once AKP is gone they will have the following otherwise the cycle will continue.

• separation of powers and independent judicial system
• independent central bank
• hiring/developing talents in government/universities regardless their political affiliation
• freedom of speech
• improvement in ease of doing business
• Better government investment strategies with faster/higher ROI . Turkey built airports no one lands , bridges that utilized at a fraction of the forecasted volume.

Update : What I wrote above is the common denominator in any developed country. It's not rocket science . 

Read more at: https;//www.quora.com

China - US relations: Chip competition heating up

The US-China chip war is heating up after Huawei launched a new phone featuring technology that Washington was hoping to keep out of China's reach.

Last month, Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro phone without providing much detail on the chips used for the device. But Ottawa-based TechInsights, a research organization specializing in semiconductors, made a surprising discovery after taking the phone apart for analysis — the device was run on a Chinese-made Kirin 9000s 7-nanometer processor. The scale of the chip is essential, as smaller-scale chips can be packed with more elements, thus making them faster and more powerful. The chip also appears to be 5G capable.

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

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Ukraine war: Will Putin be able to survive a negotiated peace or loss ?

When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his three-pronged invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, his goal was to erase Ukraine as a sovereign nation in a matter of days. At the time, it seemed a plausible goal, in Russia and in the West. More than a year later, Ukraine's survival is a much safer bet than Putin's.

Ukraine has systemically and strategically taken back half the territory Russia seized, inflicting humiliating loss after debilitating setback. As Ukraine's battlefield victories pile up, the U.S. and its NATO allies are giving it increasingly sophisticated weapons.

Russia's 'catastrophic' missing men problem Why Western tanks might help Ukraine beat Russia What would actually happen if Putin hit Ukraine with tactical nukes?

"If 2023 continues as it began, there is a good chance Ukraine will be able to fulfill President Volodymyr

 Zelenskyy's New Year's pledge to retake all of Ukraine by the end of the year — or at least enough territory to definitively end Russia's threat," Liz Sly suggested at The Washington Post.

Read more at:       https://theweek.com/russo-ukrainian-war/1020161/will-putin-survive-his-catastrop and

https://www.cato.org/blog/can-putin-survive-settlement-war-ukraine

The Last days or the End days ?

Are we living in the last days? With all that going on in our world that’s a fair question to ponder. The last days in the Bible are surely coming true, right? 

There’s no shortage of opinions and pieces written about the end times. Many of them are a little crazy and not actually found in the Bible. To actually answer that question we need to ask another question, what does the Bible say about the last days?

The phrase “in the last days” only appears in the Bible 6 times. That might be surprising considering how much it’s talked about. But maybe more surprising is that this phrase is not found in Revelation.  

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:14-17

EU provides EURO 1.5 billion financial aid to Ukraine

The EU is supporting Ukraine with a further €1.5 billion (roughly $1.6 billion). The aim is to help the country affected by the Russian war of aggression to rebuild critical infrastructure such as roads or bridges and to maintain necessary public facilities such as hospitals or schools.

"Today, we've disbursed another €1.5 billion in macro-financial Assistance to Ukraine. Month after month, we continue to play our part in rebuilding a modern and prosperous country, while helping to cover the country's needs," the European Commission announced.

Read more at: https ://dw.com.

Russian activists fight on from exile

The Moldova-born Russia is one of this year's recipients of the Free Media Award from Germany's Zeit Foundation. And this is only the latest in the string of accolades and awards for the 36-year-old, who is a member of multiple international investigative networks, including the team behind the Panama Papers investigation.

In Russia, Anin's Important Stories (IStories.media) website first drew headlines in 2020 by looking into procurement of ventilation machines during the COVID pandemic. In the same year, they also published a report on one of the most sensitive topics in the country — apparent corruption linked to the family of President Vladimir Putin. Anin was forced to leave Russia the following year.

Read more at: https://www.dw.com

China's Tik-T,ok fined by EU: European regulators slapped TikTok with a €345 million fine Friday for failing to protect children's privacy

European regulators slapped TikTok with a €345 million fine Friday for failing to protect children's privacy. It's the first time the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are predominantly in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating back to the second half of 2020.

The Commission's investigation also found that the default settings posed a risk to children under 13 who had gained access to the platform even though they were underage.

In addition, the Commission ruled that a 'family pairing' feature designed for parents to manage settings was not strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent.

Read more at https://www.euronews.com

China's President will skip G20 meetng in New Delhi India next weekend

Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed Monday that Li would be at the G20 Leaders' Summit on Saturday and Sunday, which it described as an important forum for economic cooperation.

"In attending this meeting, Premier Li Qiang will convey China's thoughts and positions on G20 cooperation, pushing for the G20 to strengthen unity and cooperation, and working together to combat global economic and development challenges," spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.

Read more at: https://www.france24.com

Nobel Prize Awards Ceremony: Withdraws invitations for Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies

The Nobel Foundation on Saturday withdrew its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the decision announced a day earlier "provoked strong reactions."

Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they would boycott this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its position from a year earlier and invited representatives of the three countries to attend, saying it "promotes opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone."

Read more at: https://www.cbc.com