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<keyword id="19896882" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Canada" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Canada" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Canada">Canada</keyword> is set to make notable changes to its immigration policies, aiming to manage the influx of <keyword id="20073340" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-students" source="keywords">international students</keyword> by cutting down on the number of <keyword id="20293675" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="study-permits" source="keywords">study permits</keyword> issued. This move comes as part of the government’s broader strategy to control its <keyword id="23227485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="temporary-resident-population" source="keywords">temporary resident population</keyword> and maintain the integrity of its immigration system. Prime Minister <keyword id="19898713" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Justin-Trudeau" source="keywords">Justin Trudeau</keyword> recently announced that the country will reduce the number of study permits granted to foreign nationals, citing concerns over the misuse of the immigration system. The reduction is already underway, with Canada issuing 35 percent fewer study permits this year compared to previous years. Moving forward, the Canadian government plans to decrease these permits by an additional 10 percent in 2025, lowering the number of new permits issued from 4,85,000 in 2024 to 4,37,000 in the following year. Trudeau talked about the need to address those exploiting the system in a post on X (earlier called Twitter). "Immigration is an advantage for our economy - but when bad actors abuse the system and take advantage of students, we crack down," he said. While immigration continues to play a critical role in strengthening Canada's economy, Trudeau added that these measures are essential to preserving the system's integrity. Canada's Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship department echoed this sentiment in an official news release, confirming the government's commitment to managing temporary resident arrivals. The department outlined a plan to stabilise the intake of study permits at the reduced figure for 2026, ensuring that the numbers remain consistent with 2025. To address the importance of advanced degree holders, the government will set aside approximately 12 percent of available study permits for master's and doctoral candidates. These students will need to provide a letter from their respective province or territory, recognising the significant contributions they can make to the Canadian workforce. <keyword id="19946179" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="marc-miller" source="keywords">Marc Miller</keyword>, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, said that the changes are part of a larger effort to ensure a well-regulated and sustainable immigration system. “Not everyone who wishes to come to Canada will be granted entry, and not everyone currently residing here will be able to remain indefinitely. It is our duty to safeguard the integrity of our immigration policies, and we are committed to adapting them to meet today’s evolving challenges,” he said. The reduction in study permits is expected to have a considerable impact on international students, particularly from India. India has long been the leading source of foreign students in Canada, with an estimated 427,000 <keyword id="19971660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-students" source="keywords">Indian students</keyword> currently studying in the country, according to data from the High Commission of India in Ottawa. Education is one of the key pillars of collaboration between the two nations, and the new policy could affect thousands of Indian nationals aspiring to pursue higher studies in Canada. (With ANI and PTI inputs)

Canada to cut study permits for International students by 35%, Indian students to be impacted

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple">Apple's</a> ongoing switch to USB-C charging cords has thrown off my whole charging rig.</li><li>My drawers are full of cords — but, somehow, I never have the one I need.</li></ul>The other night, I did something regrettable that has become a too-familiar experience for me: I went to bed without charging my phone. Not out of choice, not for some <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/phone-free-vacations-digital-detox-summer-2024-6">zen mindful practice</a> of not keeping my phone next to my bed. It was because, at some point during the day, my phone's charging cord had been commandeered to some other outlet outside the bedroom to charge some other device.Not long ago, there was peace in my charging kingdom. I had multiple iPhone chargers in key locations (bedside, couchside, deskside, kitchen counter). A mini-USB was occasionally in the mix for Kindles or other occasional devices. Everything was compatible, convenient, and within arm's reach.But in the last year, it feels like I've descended into Charging Cord Hell. Cords are constantly being moved around from outlet to outlet, and I find myself scavenging the kitchen cord drawer for something that used to be as plentiful as an iPhone charger — and coming up empty-handed.<div type="image" title="tangled of cords in a drawer" height="1346" width="1182" msid="112385141" hostid="261" sizebytes="137954"></div>There are a few reasons for my hell.Some of them are my own fault, I'll admit. I had the idea to add a few children to my household. No one tells new parents that one of the biggest changes to their lives will be that their charging cord equilibrium will be completely thrown off. Not only do you have a bunch of new devices (baby monitors, noise machines) that take up charging space, but when they're starting to crawl around, you may find yourself with a chaos agent hellbent on pulling cords out of the wall socket. Rearrangement of your whole charging rig may be necessary.My kids have exited the baby stage, but now they have their own devices to charge. There are tablets, walkie-talkies, random electronic toys, an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-ai-toy-grok-not-related-elon-musk-grok-xai-2023-12">AI-powered talking stuffed animal voiced by Grimes</a> that uses USB-C. It is not uncommon that I have found my iPhone charger on the kitchen counter removed, and in its place, charging is a remote-controlled monster truck.<div type="image" title="monstertruck charging" height="1414" width="1142" msid="112385138" hostid="261" sizebytes="112272"></div>I take personal responsibility for this part of the problem. But it's not just me. The tech companies bear some responsibility, as well as a scapegoat we can all agree to get mad at: European Union regulators.Let's start there. In 2022, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/apple-iphone-getting-usb-c-2022-10">EU passed a regulation</a> saying that all phones, computers, and cameras must have USB-C chargers by 2025. That meant Apple, which used its Lightning charging cords for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-mac-products-great-classic-boring-2023-11">iPhones, iPads, and AirPods</a>, would have to concede and start making new USB-C-compliant devices. (The 2023 iPhone 15 was the first iPhone to use USB-C.)This means a lot of other new devices, like the off-brand Theragun knockoff I bought at T.J. Maxx, now use USB-C for charging.But everything still isn't so simple. Now, I have cords that are USB-C at one end and go into a regular USB brick. Others are USB-C at both ends and require a USB-C brick. Charging up my new fake Theragun (which I don't recommend; I don't know how much better a real Theragun is, but this knockoff didn't magically soothe my sore hip) caused a complete disruption of my bedside power strip.This is probably a familiar experience to you: having a device, a cord, and a charging brick, yet not the right combination of those three things. Perhaps you have stormed around your apartment or house, rifling through drawers and pulling out chargers from other sockets (which you'll regret later) or leaving something charging where it shouldn't be charging (which you will forget later).<div type="image" title="charging plugs" height="884" width="1178" msid="112385137" hostid="261" sizebytes="21198"></div>The other culprit is the tech companies. In 2020, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-12-launch-without-wired-earbuds-box-2020-10">iPhone 12 was the first to ship without a charging brick</a>, ostensibly to cut down on e-waste. At the time, I wasn't too mad: I was already awash in charging cords and bricks from past purchases. When I'd get a new device, I often wouldn't even bother taking the plastic seal off the new brick and just toss it in a drawer. A decade of iPhone ownership had left me with an overflowing bounty of charging bricks.But slowly and surely, over the last four years, my charging brick supply has dwindled. I imagine this is what it must've been like to live in the Midwest in the late 1800s, and see the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://blog.history.in.gov/flocks-that-darken-the-heavens-the-passenger-pigeon-in-indiana/">flocks of millions of Passenger Pigeons</a>, so massive they could darken the skies for hours, and then witness the creature go extinct within years.At some point, my husband purchased a few multi-chargers, a single brick that could handle several cords at once. One of these broke, and we still have an Anker brand multi-charger, but it does have a significant problem — it tends to slip out of the wall (according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/7/24215215/anker-prime-charger-usb-c-gan-power">The Verge, Anker is redesigning</a> its plug to solve this problem).Yes, buying new multichargers is the logical answer to my problems. Please don't email me and tell me this. I am aware this is a problem that can be solved by throwing money at it, which is, I suppose, better than a problem that can't be solved at all. But I resent having to buy these — they're not cheap! The multi-charger sitting in my Amazon cart is over $80. That's not a lot to pay for peace of mind, but it's a lot to pay for something I used to get for free.I know I'm not the only one rotting away in Cord Hell. I know there are other people out there just like me. Maybe you, even. Responsible gadget owners who haven't significantly changed how many devices we use, but suddenly find ourselves searching around for the right plug, quibbling with their partner over who has the lower battery and greater need to charge the plug next to the couch.I see you. I hear you. You are not alone. We have strength in numbers, we just don't have, uh, power.

Welcome to Charging Cord Hell. Population: you

Having been declared a global health emergency by <keyword id="6366244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="who" source="Orion">WHO</keyword> just a few weeks ago, the dreaded <keyword id="20965747" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mpox" source="keywords">Mpox</keyword> (formerly <keyword id="7616951" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="monkeypox" source="Orion">monkeypox</keyword>) has slowly been closing in on India. And now, days after our neighbour <keyword id="19899252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pakistan" source="keywords">Pakistan</keyword> confirmed its second Mpox case this month, India has also reported its first one this season. While feeling uncertain is understandable, the situation is far from dire just yet. On Monday, September 9, 2024, the <keyword id="19896140" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-ministry" source="keywords">Health Ministry</keyword> confirmed that a previously suspected case of Mpox was a travel-related infection. The patient, a young male, recently returned from a country experiencing ongoing Mpox transmission. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the West African clade 2 of the Mpox virus, which is distinct from the more dangerous clade 1 currently under a public health emergency. In its statement, the Ministry emphasised that this case is isolated and in line with the 30 previous Mpox cases reported in India since July 2022. The Ministry clarified that this case does not contribute to the WHO-declared public health emergency associated with clade 1 of Mpox, which has spread primarily in parts of <keyword id="19924003" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="africa" source="keywords">Africa</keyword>. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112542249" title="WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency. What happens next?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Patient condition and response measures </h2>The infected individual is isolated at a designated tertiary care isolation facility. The Ministry reports that the patient is clinically stable, with no systemic illness or pre-existing conditions. Public health authorities have initiated contact tracing and monitoring to ensure the infection remains contained, stating that no widespread public health risk exists at this time. <h2>Mode of transmission and symptoms </h2>The global Mpox outbreak has primarily affected young males, with a median age of 34. The main mode of transmission has been sexual contact, followed by non-sexual person-to-person contact. The most commonly reported symptom is a rash, which can manifest either systemically or in the genital region, followed by fever. WHO data shared by the Ministry indicates that approximately 51.9% of Mpox cases involve individuals living with HIV. This underscores the need for targeted healthcare and awareness, especially in high-risk populations. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112561654" title="WHO calls for increased surveillance, sharing of data, vaccines to combat monkeypox outbreak" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Increased vigilance and preparedness </h2>Following the confirmation of this case, the Health Ministry has issued directives to all states and union territories, urging healthcare workers, particularly those in skin/STD clinics and NACO (<keyword id="20887701" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-aids-control-organisation" source="keywords">National AIDS Control Organisation</keyword>) clinics, to stay alert to the signs and symptoms of Mpox. These clinics must be prepared for immediate isolation, clinical management, and treatment of complications, adhering to established protocols. The Ministry has also advised enhanced screening and testing of suspected Mpox cases, especially at airports and other points of entry, to prevent further transmission. <h2>Awareness and risk communication </h2>The Ministry has issued guidelines to state AIDS control societies, urging them to be vigilant in identifying suspect cases, especially among vulnerable populations such as female sex workers (FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Communities must be made aware of the disease’s transmission and symptoms, as well as the importance of timely reporting. Clear risk communication, particularly to healthcare workers and intervention sites such as skin and paediatric clinics, is crucial to prevent the spread of the virus. While the Ministry advocates for robust preventive measures, it also stresses the importance of avoiding undue panic among the general public. For now, the Ministry’s actions aim to ensure that India remains well-prepared to handle isolated Mpox cases, while working to prevent any major outbreak in the country. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112550492" title="Danish monkeypox-vaccine maker surges 17% after global health emergency declared" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Mpox has finally infiltrated India, but how worried should we be about the viral disease?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US and its allies are focused on preventing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. </li><li>A new report argues there's a lack of readiness for other ways China could take control of Taiwan.</li></ul>With the US and its allies focused on what a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could look like, and how American forces could defend Taiwan if necessary, they're missing a glaring alternative strategy China could employ to capture Taiwan, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/coercion-capitulation-how-china-can-take-taiwan-without-war">a new report argues</a>.Defense experts say that an aggressive Chinese coercion campaign, short of war but still threatening, is more likely than a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/red-flags-tell-us-when-chinas-ready-to-invade-taiwan-2024-4">full-scale invasion</a> and the US needs to prepare for such an event.A new <a target="_blank" href="https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/From-Coercion-to-Capitulation-How-China-Can-Take-Taiwan-Without-a-War%20%281%29.pdf">report</a> co-authored by war experts from the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War explores a scenario where China undergoes a "coercion campaign that remains far short of invasion but nevertheless brings Taiwan under Beijing's control," identifying such an event as a "significant gap in US strategic thought."Elements of such a campaign are already underway and include China's military exercises both in the Taiwan Strait and around the island, which are growing in scale and raising worries about escalation. Economic and diplomatic pressure is notable, and Chinese misinformation operations and the potential to slowly set up a blockade of Taiwan are also concerns.The increasing Chinese military presence around Taiwan, the report says, could exhaust and overwhelm Taiwan's military and fuel a narrative that it is unable to defend the island, decreasing "trust in the military and feelings of security among the Taiwanese populace."<div type="image" title="Taiwan's AAV7 amphibious assault vehicle maneuvers across the sea during the Han Kuang military exercise, which simulates China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) invading the island, on July 28, 2022 in Pingtung, Taiwan." height="3703" width="5554" msid="110187979" hostid="261" sizebytes="1821822"></div>The report identifies four things key to resisting Chinese coercion. The first is a US-Taiwanese strategic relationship that foregoes concerns that "cooperation directly precipitates further escalation, whereas peace and prosperity are just around the corner if this partnership is halted."Second, Taiwan's government must function despite Chinese efforts to undermine it in the eyes of the Taiwanese people through things like "economic warfare, cyber warfare, sabotage, rigorous (and pseudo-legal) inspections of ships carrying goods to Taiwan, air and sea closures, electronic warfare, and propaganda critical of government mismanagement."These efforts include significantly degrading Taiwan's essential services, like clean water and electricity.The third point is that Taiwanese people must resist Chinese "cognitive and psychological campaigns" aimed at breaking their rejection of the Chinese government, including "intimidating supporters of resistance, sowing doubt and fear among the population, and generating demands to trade political concessions for peace."And lastly, there has to be resistance against "widespread information campaigns" that "aim to decrease the US public's and political leadership's willingness to support Taiwan." Such campaigns are already occurring, prompting anxiety that the US public and government may see getting involved in defending Taiwan as heightening risks of war at a significant cost with little to gain. The AEI and ISW experts argue that is not the case.Notably, the report says that "Taiwan is strategically vital to the larger US-led coalition to contain" China, arguing that a US-friendly Taiwan links America's allies in the northwestern Pacific with US partners and allies to the south."A China-controlled Taiwan, however, "would become a springboard for further PRC aggression and would seriously compromise the US-led coalition's ability to operate cohesively."<div type="image" title="A US-made AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter launches flares during an annual drill at the a military base in the eastern city of Hualien on January 30, 2018." height="2504" width="3730" msid="110187980" hostid="261" sizebytes="277338"></div>The authors of the new report present coordinated actions China could pursue to prompt Taiwan and its partners to accept reunification, referring to it as a "short-of-war coercion course of action."Some of Beijing's biggest problems are Taiwanese resistance to China, which continues to grow, especially after the <a target="_blank" href=" https://www.businessinsider.com/what-taiwans-election-results-mean-for-relations-with-china-us-2024-1">historic election</a> of Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Ching-te, who is currently the vice president, in January, and continued support from the US and its regional allies.The new report looks at a hypothetical timeline that begins with the inauguration of Lai this month and leads into 2028, imaging how China and Taiwan could, by that point, come to a "peace" agreement. China could ultimately be successful in such a campaign, the authors say, if the US and its allies fail to recognize Beijing's coercive tactics or strategically plan to deter them.The US must clearly "recognize the possibility and danger of a coercion campaign that is far more intense than the one currently ongoing against Taiwan and develop ways to prevent Taiwan's isolation through means short of war," they write.The report's authors argue that "increased efforts in the information domain will be key to ensuring that the US government and friendly international audiences do not fall prey to [Chinese] information operations intended to reshape the way Americans and key international actors think."<div type="image" title="CM-11 tanks fire artillery during the 2-day live-fire drill, amid intensifying threats military from China, in Pingtung county, Taiwan, 7 September 2022." height="1325" width="1988" msid="110187981" hostid="261" sizebytes="121014"></div>US-Taiwanese relations and concerns about an aggressive China in the Pacific region are often at the forefront of the minds of US officials and experts, but the focus is frequently on hard power elements, even if there is recognition of some of the coercive aspects of Chinese behavior.In March, US Navy Adm. John Aquilano, then the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, stressed that China was pursuing a massive military build-up not seen since World War II and "all indications" pointed to it "meeting President Xi Jinping's directive to be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-building-military-scale-not-seen-wwii-invade-taiwan-aquilino-2024-3">ready to invade Taiwan by 2027</a>." He also told the US Armed Services House Committee China's actions indicated it would ready to unify Taiwan by force, if necessary.Aquilano urged lawmakers to intensify the US' military development and posturing in the Pacific in order to deter such a fight.And, earlier this month, over a dozen US lawmakers wrote to US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, raising concerns about what preparations were being made to harden the US presence in the Pacific and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-pacific-bases-aircraft-vulnerable-to-chinese-missiles-lawmakers-2024-5">deter military action from China</a>.Of the lawmakers' concerns, the most prominent appeared to be the lack of active and passive defenses protecting US bases in the area, specifically on Guam and in Japan. "We are concerned about the alarming lack of urgency by the Department of Defense in adopting such defensive measures," they wrote, adding that "it is apparent that the Pentagon is not urgently pursuing needed passive defenses" to harden US bases and airfields from a vicious, preemptive strike by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-china-missile-problem-getting-worse-2024-5">China's threatening missile force</a>.

The US is worried about an invasion, but China could take control of Taiwan without firing a shot, war experts warn

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some of the world's biggest brands are weighing a manufacturing shift away from China.</li><li>But some major American fast-food chains are keen on China's market of 1.4 billion people.</li></ul>There's been no shortage of tough news for China's economy as some of the world's biggest brands consider or take action to shift manufacturing to friendlier shores at a time of unease about security controls, protectionism and wobbly relations between Beijing and Washington.Count Adidas, Apple and Samsung among those looking elsewhere.But as a tumultuous 2023 for the Chinese economy comes to a close, there has been at least one bright spot for Beijing when it comes to foreign investment: American fast-food chains have decided a market of 1.4 billion people is simply too delicious to pass up.KFC China's parent company opened its 10,000th restaurant in China this month and aims to have stores within reach of half of China's population by 2026. McDonald's is planning to open 3,500 new stores in China over the next four years. And Starbucks invested $220 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility in eastern China, its biggest project outside the U.S.This is surely not what Chinese President Xi Jinping had in mind as he made the case to American CEOs about the upside of China's "super-large market" last month while he was in San Francisco for a summit of world leaders. The investments in fast food and other consumer goods, while Washington is curbing exports of computer chips and other advanced technology, don't fit into China's own blueprint for modernizing its economy."As you try to interpret the signals from McDonald's and Starbucks" and other chains, says Phil Levy, chief economist at the supply chain management firm Flexport, "note what the industries are: These are not high-tech burgers.''And while some U.S. companies are increasing investments in the world's second-largest economy, overall foreign investment began falling this year. In the July-September quarter, net foreign direct investment in China sank to a deficit of $11.8 billion, the first quarterly deficit since Beijing began publishing the data in 1998.As tensions simmer between China and its Western trading partners, many multinational companies are shifting investments to other places, such as Southeast Asia or India, or repatriating their earnings. That has sapped China of a key engine when its economy has yet to fully recover from the disruptions of the pandemic and a property industry crisis that has been a drag on growth.Beijing puts some of the blame on U.S. government policies.Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting said recently, "The U.S. side has repeatedly politicized economic, trade and technology issues and overstretched the concept of security, abused export control measures, and restricted trade and investment in China by its own enterprises, which is forcing enterprises to give up opportunities in the Chinese market and opportunities for win-win cooperation."A survey released in September by the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents American companies in China, suggested that the uncertainty has taken a toll: 43% of its members said China's business environment had deteriorated in the past year, and 83% said they were less optimistic about China than they had been three years ago. Twenty-one percent said they were investing fewer resources in China, versus just 10% who were investing more.Surveys of European and Japanese companies have shown similar results.While China's market is gigantic, it's ailing. Unemployment among young Chinese rose to over 20% by June, the last time the government released that data. Housing prices are falling and the stock market is down nearly 15% since the summer. That's left many Chinese feeling nervous about spending.Still, bullishness for China as other industries try to de-risk and detangle from Beijing may be a profit-increasing strategy for the fast-food industry."We believe there is no better time to simplify our structure, given the tremendous opportunity to capture increased demand and further benefit from our fastest-growing market's long-term potential," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said as the Chicago-based company announced in November it was increasing its minority 20% ownership of its McDonald's licensed stores in China, Macau and Hong Kong to 48%.Burgers and lattes don't raise the sorts of friction that more high-tech industries have in the complicated U.S.-China relationship. Those strains have persisted under the presidency of Joe Biden, who took office vowing to do more to counter China's expanding military clout and its menacing of neighbors, to improve the country's treatment of Uyghur and other ethnic minorities, and to crack down on intellectual property theft.Relations hit a low point in February when Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental United States to be shot down. Beijing, which claims self-governed Taiwan as its own territory, also protested a stopover in the U.S. by the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen, earlier this year. China answered fresh U.S. controls on exports of advanced computer chips and the technology to make them with limits of its own on exports of vital commodities like graphite, gallium and germanium, all metals used in making semiconductors, solar panels, missiles and radar.The relationship appears to be stabilizing somewhat as 2023 winds down, highlighted by last month's Biden and Xi meeting outside San Francisco. But since then, Biden's top advisers have said there are no plans to shift the strategy of tightening regulations and blocking U.S.-based high-tech investments in China, citing the need to safeguard national security.Both former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, and Biden have worried about depending on China, a potential adversary, for supplies of critical materials used in many high-tech products. Both have sought to reduce America's reliance on Chinese factories and have encouraged companies to shift away from China to other countries — so-called "friend-shoring."Still, Biden administration officials have said they don't want to see a total decoupling of the world's two biggest economies."De-risking, yes. Decoupling, no," Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, said at a recent event in Washington. "We want to continue a major trade and investment relationship with China, just not ... in the realm that might help them leapfrog over us sometime in the next 10 years in military technology."Rosemary Coates, executive director of the nonprofit Reshoring Institute, noted that decisions to expand or retrench are relatively easy for a company like McDonald's or its fast-food rivals.Franchises "can be opened or closed," Coates said. "It's not like you're investing in an auto plant or some kind of machine shop."China's vast market is vital for many foreign companies: At their annual investors day gathering this month, McDonald's executives noted that 70 million of the 150 million customers active in its customer loyalty program are in China.KFC China says growth in its new outlets has averaged more than 22% over the last five years, and it plans to open 1,200 additional stores in the next three years. The chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen relaunched its brand in China in August with a flagship restaurant in Shanghai and plans to open 1,700 stores over the next 10 years.But for all the promise of China's huge market, U.S. businesses have other reasons to think twice about expanding in China.In July, the U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has warned Chinese leaders that U.S. businesses might stop investing in their country if they do not address complaints about worsening conditions due to raids on firms, unexplained fines and unpredictable official behavior.While insisting that China is keen to have foreign investment, Beijing has given no indication it might change trade, market access and other policies that irk Washington and its other trading partners."Where do you draw the line?'' asked Levy, a former White House economic adviser in George W. Bush's administration. "Someone might say: For sourcing sensitive computer chips, this has to be done in a place I really trust. … The other extreme is: We're OK selling them lattes and burgers. But where do you draw the line for the stuff in between — say, automotive parts? What about ball bearings?''___Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok. AP writer Ken Moritsugu contributed to this report from Beijing.

American fast-food companies find China's 1.4 billion population too delicious to resist

<ul class="summary-list"><li>When Puerto Rico became a colony of the US in 1898, much of its population was living in poverty.</li><li>The US government and Puerto Rico's appointed government instituted an economic development strategy for the island called "Operation Bootstrap."</li></ul>In 1898, the United States government acquired Puerto Rico through the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War. This was only one year after Spain had granted the island the power to self-govern. But after Spain lost the war, they ceded control of Puerto Rico.At the time, <a target="_blank" href="https://archive.org/details/reportoncensusof00unitiala/page/40/mode/2up?view=theater">Puerto Rico's population</a> was just under 1 million. Most were living in poverty. It wasn't uncommon for families to spend the majority of their income on food. Many people worked for only cents per day harvesting sugarcane. Others owned farms or worked inland on coffee and tobacco fields."Imagine that about 90% of your income is spent on food, and you're still malnourished. There's no money for clothes. Shoes were basically non-existent among the peasantry. And that was before the Great Depression," Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera, a Latin American History Professor with a focus on Puerto Rico at Bloomfield College told Business Insider.<div type="image" title="Laborers cutting sugarcane in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, circa 1950." height="3805" width="5400" msid="106356539" hostid="261"></div>In tandem with the appointed Puerto Rican government, the US government drew up a plan to develop the island. In 1947, US Congress passed the Industrial Incentives Act, which became a part of "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40992748">Operation Bootstrap</a>," the name given to a number of projects that aimed to industrialize Puerto Rico's agrarian economy.US corporations were lured to the island through tax exemptions and a cheap labor pool, which pushed agricultural workers into urban areas where newly formed factories were. However, that also led to fewer jobs and higher <a target="_blank" href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/operation-bootstrap">unemployment</a>, creating what was described as a "surplus population" on the island.To address this issue, the government came up with a two-pronged approach. In the short term, they would encourage Puerto Ricans to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.history.com/news/puerto-rico-great-migration-postwar">migrate</a> to the mainland and surrounding islands in the Caribbean. In the long term, they would encourage <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2633177">sterilization</a> and birth control, which bolstered the burgeoning <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harvard-slavery-integral-history-disturbing-eugenics-experiments-and-tk-2022-4">eugenics</a> movement in the US.<h2>Sterilization was the only form of contraception accessible to many Puerto Rican women</h2>Beginning in the 1910s through the 1920s, the economy in Puerto Rico was industrialized by pushing rural workers to urban areas where there were new factories. Some families were able to get the newly-formed factory jobs, while others weren't so lucky. Following the landfall of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.puertoricoreport.com/page-history-hurricane-felipe-1928/">Hurricane San Felipe</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-caused-the-great-depression">Great Depression</a>, by the 1940s the <a target="_blank" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=DChqCAAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT111&amp;lpg=PT111&amp;dq=This+produced+a+stagnant+economy,+and+unemployment+shot+up+from+11+percent+in+April+1940+to+a+high+of+37+percent+in+September+1942&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=mEbjGjBnvg&amp;sig=ACfU3U3rxgIVPYcw21RJpdLajOMQgL9GSw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwikn6jylqODAxWeCnkGHVMsBZYQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&amp;q=This%20produced%20a%20stagnant%20economy%2C%20and%20unemployment%20shot%20up%20from%2011%20percent%20in%20April%201940%20to%20a%20high%20of%2037%20percent%20in%20September%201942&amp;f=false">unemployment rate</a> on the island was around 37%. Many residents were forced into poverty.In 1937, contraception and sterilization was made <a target="_blank" href="https://pasquines.us/2015/09/01/sterilization-the-untold-story-of-puerto-rico/">legal</a> in Puerto Rico. When signing the bill, Acting Governor Rafael Menendez Ramos made <a target="_blank" href="https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2850&amp;context=lcp">a statement in support</a> of the legalization of sterilization, citing the problem of "surplus population," writing that "the inevitable consequence is increasing unemployment, growing poverty and mounting misery."<div type="image" title="Puerto Rican women register to vote on the territorial constitution, San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 1950." height="3788" width="4882" msid="106356615" hostid="261"></div>Some women chose to undergo sterilization because it was the only option for contraception available to them. Others were coerced into doing so by their doctors."In Puerto Rico, it was a class-based society," Franqui-Rivera said. "So imagine a doctor in Puerto Rico in the 1930s telling a woman from the peasantry that she should have or recommend that she get sterilized. There is no way for them to say no."Sterilization or "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/ourmotherstoo-reckoning-with-my-abuelas-coerced-sterilization/">La Operación</a>" as it was called, was one of the only options for birth control women had available to them in the early 20th century. Birth control trials began on the island in the 1950s — well after contraception and sterilization became legal.One survey from the <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3259513/#:~:text=21%25%20of%20these%20women%20expressed,being%20consulted%20about%20the%20operation.">1982 Puerto Rico Fertility and Family Planning Assessment</a> found that, of the women interviewed who were sterilized between 1954-1982, 21% said they felt some regret and 11% felt definite regret for having been sterilized.Sterilization and birth control efforts were effective in reducing fertility rates on the island. In 1950, the average Puerto Rican woman had given birth to an average of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2134751?read-now=1&amp;seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">5.2 children</a> by the age of 50. By 1977, that average had dropped to 2.7 births per woman.<div type="image" title="A group of Puerto Rican women, trained in household work by the Puerto Rican government, arrive at Newark Airport to work in homes in New York, 1953." height="1841" width="2454" msid="106356616" hostid="261"></div><h2>Some Puerto Rican nationalists feared the US had plans of a physical and cultural genocide</h2>Puerto Rico's birth control movement had strong <a target="_blank" href="https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/latinxreproductiverights/2018/04/10/16/">opponents</a> and supporters. On one side were the Catholic Church and Puerto Rican nationalists, who opposed sterilization. The Catholic Church took their position on birth control based on religious grounds. The nationalists feared that the US as a colonial power had plans of physical and cultural genocide of Puerto Rico.On the other side of the sterilization debate was the US federal government, the Puerto Rican government, public health officials, and private elite, who held the belief that the underdevelopment of the island was due to poverty and in order to develop the island, the population had to shrink.Even within the ranks of those who supported sterilization or birth control, there were progressive and conservative factions. Progressive factions supported some amount of birth control and sterilization for those living in poverty, but they didn't agree with the genetic inferiority argument that many conservative eugenicists believed. Progressive groups wanted to institute birth control, but they also wanted to strengthen education, combat crime, and develop welfare benefits for poorer families, Dr. Laura Briggs, Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote in "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520232587/reproducing-empire">Reproducing Empire</a>."Dr. Iris López, a sociology professor and director of Latin American Studies at City College of New York and author of the book "Matters of Choice: Puerto Rican Women's Struggle for Reproductive Freedom," said most people who were a part of the birth control movement held a progressive ideology."The sterilization in Puerto Rico had to do more with the whole overpopulation ideology versus the general view of eugenics that people are targeted, genetically inferior, or unfit to reproduce," López said. "It was largely driven by the Puerto Rican government and the Puerto Rican people themselves wanting to help 'our people,' the poor people on the island."<div type="image" title="Women lined up at police headquarters during a roundup of suspected nationalists after an aborted revolt in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1950." height="2308" width="3077" msid="106356618" hostid="261"></div><h2>Many women did not know the sterilization procedure would be permanent</h2>The process of sterilization involves a woman's fallopian tubes being tied or cut through a procedure called tubal ligation. While today it may be possible for women to undergo surgical reversal to try to become pregnant, the reversal process was not pioneered until the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tubal-reversal.net/blog/history-of-tubal-reversal-surgery/">1970s</a>. For most Puerto Rican women, sterilization was permanent.Because of the colloquial language physicians used telling women they needed to get their "tubes tied," some women were under the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20628205">misconception</a> that the procedure would be <a target="_blank" href="http://palante.org/Women%27s%20Position%20Paper.pdf">reversible</a>.As López writes in her book, while sterilization in many cases was not forced onto Puerto Rican women, many women felt they did not have an alternative because of government policy and the social conditions they were subjected to. Some factories may have also <a target="_blank" href="https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/apulidolats3/2018/04/22/reproductive-genocide-a-look-into-sterilization-in-puerto-rico-and-east-los-angeles/">encouraged</a> their employees to be sterilized to reduce turnover.While <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12279870/">projected rates</a> of sterilization on the island between 1930 and 1970 vary somewhere between 30-40%, López said there were higher rates of sterilization amongst married women. A 1982 <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3259513/#:~:text=21%25%20of%20these%20women%20expressed,being%20consulted%20about%20the%20operation.">survey</a> found that 42% of married women interviewed said they had been sterilized.The sterilization law and eugenics board were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2633177">repealed</a> in Puerto Rico in 1960, but high rates of sterilization continued on the island until the late 1980s, according to a Family Planning Perspectives study released in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2135873?origin=crossref">1992</a>.Today, the effects of the economic development plan that led to the birth control movement reverberate on the island. Puerto Rico's population is <a target="_blank" href="https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/62/7/964/6607773">aging rapidly</a>, and people have continued to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/puerto-rico-outmigration-increases-poverty-declines.html">move away</a> from the island in recent years in the wake of Hurricane Maria and as the economic situation worsens. The average number of births per woman was <a target="_blank" href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=PR">0.9 in 2021</a>."The Puerto Rican age, on average, is a huge problem," Franqui-Rivera said. "Even when the labor market was so good, incredibly good, it was a tough labor market."

Between 1930 and 1970, around one third of all women in Puerto Rico were sterilized to address concerns of 'surplus population'

A parliamentary committee has recommended setting up population-based cancer registries in rural areas to help data-driven and evidence-based policy formulation. It has also suggested raising taxes on tobacco products citing that increasing their market price would make them less affordable. This will result in lower consumption and decrease the risk of tobacco-related diseases, including cancer, the panel said. The <keyword id="46535" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="health-ministry" source="Orion">health ministry</keyword> must pursue with the Department of Revenue to expedite the decision on raising taxes on tobacco products, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare said in its 147th report. It was presented in <keyword id="48510" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rajya-sabha" source="Orion">Rajya Sabha</keyword> on Friday. It said for better policy formulation on cancer treatment and uniform distribution of cancer care, there is an urgent need to have realistic information about the incidence and type of cancers across the country. The committee said that the health ministry should take appropriate steps to persuade state governments to participate in the formulation of the cancer atlas so that the entire Indian population is covered under Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs). This will help in data-driven and evidence-based policy formulation, it said. It suggested that PBCRs can be linked to the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to record data of cancer patients to get real-time information on cancer-related illnesses. "The committee has taken note that currently PBCRs cover 16 per cent of the Indian population only. Therefore, it is quite necessary that the National Cancer Registry Programme cover the population of India extensively, in order to have a unified national database for scientific understanding of epidemiology of cancer," the report said. Stressing a robust screening mechanism for cancer, the committee suggested that one day in a month can be fixed for cancer screening. While appreciating the government's impetus on an institutional framework for cancer care and management and financial support for combating cancer, the committee said cancer must be dealt with separately instead of being a part of other lifestyle and non-communicable diseases. It recommended the demerger of the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) from the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) to have a better focus on screening, early diagnosis and management of cancer. In its report, the committee said that in all the leftover districts Non-Communicable Diseases (<keyword id="131571" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ncd" source="Orion">NCD</keyword>) clinics should be set up at the earliest and more healthcare professionals be trained for screening of common cancer. The panel highlighted that adequate human resource in cancer centres is crucial for their complete operationalisation and recommended setting up subsidised or free accommodation for patients and their relatives near cancer hospitals. The National Health Authority (<keyword id="672062" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nha" source="Orion">NHA</keyword>) should consider including all types of cancer diagnostic tests under the Ayushman Bharat <keyword id="6524177" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pradhan-mantri" source="Orion">Pradhan Mantri</keyword> Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), it said. It appreciated that in compliance with the committee's recommendations, the NHA has approved the inclusion of diagnostic tests under the AB-PMJAY with respect to breast, cervical and oral cancer. The committee noted that the health ministry has set up the e-Sanjivini Ayushman Bharat-Health Wellness Centre (AB-HWC), where doctor-to-doctor telemedicine services can be delivered through the hub and spoke model. It recommended that this model should be strengthened so that the opinions of experts can be provided to cancer patients in isolated and backward areas. The ministry should instruct National Cancer Grid (<keyword id="1502308" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ncg" source="Orion">NCG</keyword>) officials to explore group negotiation of commonly used high-value cancer drugs with pharmaceutical companies through a transparent central tendering platform to have substantial discounts on cancer drugs. Since the mandate of the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority is to ensure the availability of drugs at affordable prices, the committee reiterated that the pricing of cancer drugs should not be guided by profit as in the case of the other businesses. If it is not possible to reduce the profit margin of such drugs, the government may subsidise it, it said in its report. "The committee feels that the submission made by the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceutical, before the committee that over a period of about eight years or so the actual price increase in the drugs had been only between two to four per cent, does not mean that each manufacturer keeps the price of the drug below 10 per cent, as the mechanism permits them to make the hike up to 10 per cent," the report said. The committee said the government should rationalise the annual price hike limit of cancer drugs from 10 to five per cent in order to rescue poor cancer patients. It also suggested the ministry look at subsidising the healthcare cost for cancer patients and declare radiotherapy service as an essential commodity. The ministry should take the matter on board immediately and declare radiotherapy service as an essential commodity so that patients can get some relief from bearing the high cost of the service, it said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-puts-curbs-on-laptop-and-tablet-imports-heres-how-it-could-impact-you/articleshow/102430014.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-puts-curbs-on-laptop-and-tablet-imports-heres-how-it-could-impact-you/articleshow/102430014.cms" target="_blank">India puts curbs on laptop and tablet imports – here’s how it could impact you</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-smartphone-market-sees-a-declines-in-q2-vivo-in-the-lead/articleshow/102417485.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-smartphone-market-sees-a-declines-in-q2-vivo-in-the-lead/articleshow/102417485.cms" target="_blank">Indian smartphone market sees a declines in Q2; Vivo in the lead</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/electric-two-wheeler-sales-recover-in-july-2023/articleshow/102347978.cms">Electric two-wheeler sales recover after spending June in the pitlane</a>

Parliamentary panel recommends setting up of population-based cancer registries in rural areas

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Israel is stopping food, fuel, and medicine from entering Gaza after announcing a "complete siege."</li><li>An NGO said the move may "lead people to going hungry, thirsty, and ultimately towards dying."</li></ul>Following Israel's announcement of a "complete siege" of Gaza, fears are mounting over an impending humanitarian crisis in the territory.Hamas' surprise attack on Saturday, which Israel said <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/israel-hamas-palestinian-war-attacks-gaza-strip/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has led to the deaths of at least 1,200 Israelis</a>, prompted Israel to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-formally-declares-war-on-hamas-seeks-full-control-gaza-2023-10">declare war on the group</a> and increase airstrikes on Gaza. Palestinian authorities say at least 950 Palestinians have been <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8035a4b4-1d0d-4cb6-b855-fd3260a06f68" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a> so far.Even before Hamas' attack, Israel controlled most of the Occupied Palestinian Territory 's food, water, and power. The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2023/07/special-rapporteur-says-israels-unlawful-carceral-practices-occupied-palestinian#:~:text=The%20Special%20Rapporteur%20said%20the,their%20status%20as%20protected%20persons." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">UN's special rapporteur</a> described the city as an "open-air prison."And conditions in the territory now look set to get even worse.Israel's defense minister reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-gallant-announces-complete-siege-gaza-no-electricity-food-fuel-2023-10">said on Monday</a> that Gaza will get "no electricity, no food, no fuel," adding that "everything is closed."Israel has since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-airstrikes-hostages-bf6c42f84526c4d9416978c8effd932a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped</a> food, fuel, and medicines from entering the territory, The Associated Press reported.Ivan Karakashian, the head of advocacy in Jerusalem for the NGO Norwegian Refugee Council, condemned Hamas' attack but told Insider that Israel's announcement amounted to "a policy of starving" Gaza's roughly <a href="https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/MAPS/movajdladpa/">2.2 million population</a>.Karakashian, speaking to Insider from Jerusalem on Tuesday, said the organization had 52 staff in Gaza, who report depleted stores of basic goods, and that his group believed the siege would create a "humanitarian catastrophe for Gaza's besieged civilians."Around 80% of the city's population depended on humanitarian assistance even before the weekend's events, according to the <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/gaza15-years-blockade">United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)</a>.Food could run out by Saturday, Karakashian said, adding that water capacity had been reduced to 40%. The siege will "quite literally starve the population and lead people to going hungry, thirsty, and ultimately towards dying."One Gaza resident told Insider he fled his home after a warning from Israel, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gaza-resident-fled-israel-attacks-unsure-how-food-water-2023-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">doesn't know where his family can stay or get food and water</a>.Karakashian also said that <a href="https://www.insider.com/children-rights-gaza-palestine-israel-human-rights-united-nations-2023-10">almost half of Gaza's population was under 18</a>, "and cutting off these essentials would represent a grave breach of international humanitarian law."The head of the Gaza Energy Authority said Wednesday that Gaza's only power plant will stop at 2 p.m. local time due to a lack of fuel.Without that power, hospitals will also struggle to treat patients, Karakashian said.<div type="image" title="A man works to remove causalities from under the rubble, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip" height="1333" width="2000" msid="104345435" hostid="261"></div>UN Secretary General António Guterres, who condemned Hamas' attacks, <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm21984.doc.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's siege announcement. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially."Israel has told people to move from some areas before attacks, but those in the city — one of the world's most densely populated areas — say it is so small and tightly packed that there is nowhere safe to go.Israel and its neighbor Egypt also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-israel-response-hamas-attack-devastating-for-gaza-2023-10">control movement from the city</a>, stopping almost everyone from leaving.Humanitarian workers in Gaza <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2023/10/09/amanpour-gaza-israel-omar-ghraieb.cnn#:~:text=Watch%20CNN-,'No%20shelters%2C%20no%20bunkers%20and%20no%20safe%20zones',in%20Gaza%2C%20says%20humanitarian%20worker&amp;text=Christiane%20Amanpour%20speaks%20to%20Oxfam's,being%20affected%20by%20Israeli%20airstrikes." target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> there are few safe areas, while the UNRWA <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-4-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that 175,500 people were sheltering in 88 of its schools in Gaza as of Wednesday, adding that these numbers were continuing to increase.Karakashian said nowhere in Gaza provides proper safety."Residents don't know where to go to get to feel safe and secure as Israel widens its bombardment of large areas," he said. <div type="image" title="A relative reacts next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Gaza City" height="1294" width="2000" msid="104345438" hostid="261"></div>Giora Eiland, a retired Israeli security official and former general, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231010-no-place-is-safe-in-gaza-as-israel-lays-siege-to-hamas-held-enclave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said causing a humanitarian disaster could be justified</a> to "completely eliminate the threat of Hamas." "The only way we can achieve this is by using all the aggressive measures that we have — including, if needed, to create a terrible humanitarian crisis in Gaza," he said, per <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231010-no-place-is-safe-in-gaza-as-israel-lays-siege-to-hamas-held-enclave">France 24</a>.Karakashian called for humanitarian pauses and humanitarian corridors to get aid to civilians. "But right now, it doesn't seem that there's much interest in negotiating such terms."

For people in Gaza, life is about to get even worse, with Israel's siege about to 'starve the population,' NGO says

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6355833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Nations" source="Orion">United Nations</keyword> suggest that the global <keyword id="48933" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="population" source="Orion">population</keyword> could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.</li><li>According to the World Population Prospect report, the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950.</li><li>It took 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion.</li></ul>The world's population is projected to reach 8 billion people on Tuesday, according to the UN estimates, which consider this a milestone in human development. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the global population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100. The annual World Population Prospect report, released on Monday to coincide with <keyword id="203146" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-population-day" source="Orion">World Population Day</keyword>, also notes that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen to less that one per cent in 2020. While it took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion, it will take approximately 15 years--until 2037-- for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing. In 2022, the two most populous regions were both in <keyword id="21718" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asia" source="Orion">Asia</keyword>: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 2.3 billion people and Central and Southern Asia with 2.1 billion. <keyword id="1334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="China" source="Orion">China</keyword> and <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="Orion">India</keyword>, with more than 1.4 billion each, accounted for most of the population in these two regions. More than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania. Disparate growth rates among the world's largest countries will re-order their ranking by size. According to UN estimates, India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country during 2023. Population growth is caused in part by declining levels of mortality, as reflected in increased levels of life expectancy at birth. Globally, life expectancy reached 72.8 years in 2019, an increase of almost 9 years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average longevity of around 77.2 years globally in 2050. Countries with the highest fertility levels tend to be those with the lowest income per capita. Global population growth has therefore over time become increasingly concentrated among the world's poorest countries, most of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. In these countries, sustained rapid population growth can thwart the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which remain the world's best pathway toward a happy and healthy future. Even though population growth magnifies the environmental impact of economic development, rising per capita incomes are the main driver of unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. The countries with the highest per capita consumption of material resources and emissions of greenhouse gas emissions tend to be those where income per capita is higher, not those where the population is growing rapidly. Meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise, while achieving the SDGs, critically depends on curbing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, according to UN. Yet, slower population growth over many decades could help to mitigate the further accumulation of environmental damage in the second half of the current century. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/this-bio-engineered-houseplant-claims-to-clean-the-air-as-efficiently-as-30-air-purifiers/articleshow/95507043.cms">This bio-engineered houseplant claims to clean the air as efficiently as 30 air purifiers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/research/news/scientists-create-remote-controlled-cyborg-cockroaches-that-can-go-under-search-and-rescue-missions/articleshow/94022392.cms">Scientists create remote-controlled cyborg cockroaches that can go under search and rescue missions</a>

World population to hit 8 billion people today

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia was apparently able to establish air superiority over Avdiivka as its forces pushed to take the city, war experts say.</li><li>It's likely the first time Russia has been able to control the skies since the start of the war. </li></ul>As Russia's ground forces pushed to capture Avdiivka, its air force appeared to establish air superiority over the war-torn town, clearing the way for critical close-air-support missions, conflict analysts assessed.Although only <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-superiority-only-possible-short-bursts-us-air-force-officer-2024-1">temporary and localized</a>, it appears to be the first time Russia has taken control of the skies in a front-line area since their full-scale invasion began almost two years ago. And if it continues or expands, a real possibility as Ukrainian air defenses are under significant stress, it could be "devastating," war experts said.On Saturday, Russia claimed victory in Avdiivka, a Ukrainian town northeast of occupied Donetsk. Despite it being hailed as Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest victory since the fall of Bakhmut in May 2023 — and a timely one given the upcoming Russian presidential elections next month — it came at a high cost. Moscow has suffered severe losses of both troops and equipment since focusing its forces on Avdiivka last fall.Confirming its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-troops-pull-out-key-eastern-town-avdiivka-russia-2024-2">retreat from the area</a>, Ukraine said it was saving troops from being fully surrounded by Russian troops. Over the past few months, geolocated footage of the area had shown Russia slowly and painstakingly advancing to encircle Ukrainian defenders fighting to hold the town.Upon Russia's capture of the town, reports said its air forces had been operating in the skies above Avdiivka, supporting ground troops in the last days of the offensive operations and eventually allowing them to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses.According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.iswresearch.org">The Institute for the Study of War</a>, a Washington DC-based think tank, this was likely the first time Russian forces had been able to do so in Ukraine. Air defenses, particularly ground-based surface-to-air missile systems, have prevented either side from achieving this key element of offensive operations, even locally.Over the final days of fighting, the Ukrainians reported an increase in the number of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-shoot-down-russian-planes-f16-glide-bombs-military-2023-5">Russian glide bombs</a> dropped by fixed-wing aircraft, George Barros, the geospatial-intelligence team lead and a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, told Business Insider. This activity appears to indicate the employment of a combined arms tactic involving having air forces support maneuver elements on the ground."It was this combined arms approach which degraded the Ukrainians' ability to defend Avdiivka," Barros said.Footage out of Avdiivka shows the industrial town, once with a population of over 30,000 people, practically reduced to rubble. The few hundred civilians still there said they huddled in basements and move to quickly collect water and food during any lulls in fierce fighting.<div type="image" title="Soldiers on the Armored Infantry Vehicle 2 (BMP-2). The road to the city, the outskirts of Avdiivka on February 14, 2024 in Avdiivka district, Ukraine." height="683" width="1024" msid="107862408" hostid="261"></div>Unlike the the ground forces, which have suffered substantial losses, Russia's air force remains relatively intact <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-says-destroyed-2-russia-jets-6-in-3-days-2024-2">despite losses of its own</a>, but it hasn't been able to use them to their full potential.Ukraine's air defenses have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-air-problems-show-early-setbacks-still-problem-intelligence-2024-1">largely denied Russia air superiority</a>, preventing its jets and aircraft from conducting significant air campaigns since the beginning of the war.It is unclear if Ukraine can continue to do that, especially considering delays in further Western security aid. Ukraine has said its air defenses and missile stockpiles are running critically low, forcing them to ration and make tough choices on which front-line areas should be prioritized and protected.Russian missile and drone strikes on major civilian population centers, too, such as Kyiv, are likely forcing Ukraine to prioritize defending those areas over others.What's most concerning, Barros said, is whether Ukraine can continue denying Russia unfettered air superiority throughout the theater. If they are unable to do so, then there is little stopping Russia from conducting devastating bombing campaigns, decimating Ukrainian cities and forces on the ground.Even "recurring temporary localized and limited Russian air superiority," ISW explained in a recent update, "would likely allow Russian forces to more aggressively pursue operational advances along the frontline."It added that "widespread interrupted air superiority," the kind Russia could achieve if Ukraine cannot better employ its air defenses to prevent it, "would allow Russian forces to conduct routine large-scale aviation operations and bomb Ukrainian cities beyond the frontline to devastating effect."<div type="image" title="A view from inside a vehicle with hands on a steering wheel shows a damaged armored vehicle" height="1333" width="2000" msid="107862409" hostid="261"></div>Avdiivka was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-backed separatists before being retaken by Ukraine. Since then, it's endured harsh conflict.Over the last few months, Russia has largely prioritized capturing the city because it wants a logistics and operational maneuver hub in the Donbas area, specifically in the Donetsk region, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday."They believe that it will give them a stepping-off point, if you will, to conduct further operations in the Donetsk and even in the Luhansk areas. Now, whether they're capable of actually doing that, we'll see," Kirby said."I mean, they have struggled with logistics and sustainment, command and control, since the very beginning of this conflict. It's not likely that they've sort of reached some breakthrough capability here in terms of sustaining their troops on the battlefield, but that's ostensibly what they were trying to achieve by getting Avdiivka."<div type="image" title="A general view of smoke rising from the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant behind the village of Lastochkino, which is under fire from MLRS &quot;Grad&quot; on February 15, 2024 in Avdiivka district, Ukraine." height="683" width="1024" msid="107862437" hostid="261"></div>It remains to be seen what the exact fallout of losing Avdiivka is. Experts and analysts have suggested the town is not as operationally significant as it is informationally, fueling Russian propaganda against Ukraine and giving Putin fodder for his upcoming presidential election."It will not change, in the aggregate, the kinds of defensive works and the defensive operations that the Ukrainians are going to be capable of conducting," Kirby told reporters, but that doesn't mean Ukraine isn't facing a number of problems right now.Kirby said that Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka because it faced dwindling supplies, including artillery ammunition. Kyiv's decision was the result of "congressional inaction," he said, referring to the aid being held up by US politics. Russia does not appear to have capitalized on its capture of Avdiivka yet, and it's unclear if it can or will.ISW said Monday that "the tempo of Russian offensive operations" in the area had "reportedly dramatically slowed," suggesting the capture of the town could be the culmination of Russian operations, just as it was with Bakhmut. This would align with reports on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-lost-thousands-of-personnel-and-400-tanks-in-avdiivka-2024">extreme Russian casualties and equipment and vehicles losses</a> in the area and questions about Russia's ability to sustain operations under those conditions.

Russia apparently got control of the skies before seizing victory in a front-line fight, and it could be 'devastating' for Ukraine if it continues, war experts say

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Israeli government on Sunday formally declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas.</li><li>Hamas controls the blockaded territory of Gaza, which is home to roughly 2 million people.</li></ul>The Israeli government has formally declared war on Hamas, hours after the country's military began bombarding the Gaza Strip with a stated goal of eliminating the militant group and seizing full control of the Palestinian territory.US officials, meanwhile, said they expect <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/evanhill/status/1711108856032399438?s=46&amp;t=iOIV8ywEMGbSNPGadP_xcA">Israel to launch a full-scale ground invasion</a> in the next 24 to 48 hours.The vote to formally declare war came over night and was announced Sunday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said there would now be "significant military activities," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/security-cabinet-confirms-israel-at-war-can-undertake-significant-military-activities/">The Times of Israel reported</a>.More than 600 Israelis were killed over the weekend in a shocking cross-border raid by militants based in Gaza, which is home to roughly 2 million people. Videos show elderly women slaughtered as they waited at a bus stop in southern Israel, as well as the lifeless bodies of people attending a music festival near the border.About 100 people, including women and children, are also believed to have been abducted and taken back to the Palestinian territory.Even before the formal declaration of war, Israel was taking action against alleged Hamas targets in Gaza, where it is urging civilians to avoid areas occupied by the militant group, which has controlled the territory since 2006, the last time residents of the territory voted in an election.But civilians say it is impossible to reach safety in the densely-populated enclave, where Israel accuses of Hamas of deliberately placing weapons and militants near civilians.On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike leveled a 14-story apartment building in Gaza City. More than 300 Palestinians have died in the fighting thus far, according to local health authorities.In a statement on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it was bombarding targets in Gaza with one goal in mind: "To control the entire enclave and kill all the terrorists in our territory," Lt. Col. Richard Hech told reporters, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-gaza-attack-10-08-23/index.html">per CNN</a>.Israel had previously occupied the Gaza Strip, but in 2005 then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon oversaw a strategic withdrawal from the territory and the dismantling of the last Jewish settlements there. The strip has been largely blockaded ever since.The last major war between Israel and Hamas occurred in 2014, leaving 2,200 Gaza residents dead.

Israel formally declares war as leaders vow to wipe out Hamas and take full control of Gaza

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Afghanistan's afghani has surged 9% against the US dollar over the past three months.</li><li>The Taliban's tight controls have made the currency the world's best performer since July 1.</li></ul>The best-performing currency of the third quarter isn't <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/dollar-dominance-dedollarization-currencies-federal-reserve-interest-rates-inflation-investing-2023-9">the surging US dollar</a> – it's Afghanistan's <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currency-converter/usd_afn">afghani</a>.The Taliban-controlled medium of exchange has jumped 9% against the greenback since July 1, according to data from Refinitiv, meaning it tops the global rankings for the period.The strong run means the afghani is now up 14% year-to-date – making it the world's third-strongest performing currency of 2023, behind only the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currency-converter/usd_cop">Colombian peso</a> and the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currency-converter/usd_lkr">Sri Lankan rupee</a>, per Bloomberg.Since it retook Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed tight currency controls that bar locals from using the US dollar and Pakistani rupee, and banned online trading in a bid to prop the afghani up.While those measures appear to be working, Afghanistan's economy has suffered mightily since the Islamic fundamentalist insurgent group toppled Ashraf Ghani's government.A massive spike in unemployment has worsened the country's humanitarian crisis, per a recent report by the <a href="https://www.icrc.org/en/document/afghanistan-unemployment-people-disability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Committee of the Red Cross</a>. 79% of the population live in poverty, and 44% of people don't have enough food to eat.The Taliban's economic policies have also been unable to stave off deflation, with year-on-year prices falling at a rate of over 9% in July, according to data from the <a href="https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/8cd4001da4ac981a9d239f5536b173ea-0310012023/original/Afghanistan-Economic-Monitor-31-August-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Bank</a>.

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