Environment
Thursday 30 November 2023
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“…the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping 10 years ago has been a huge success and is now a widely recognized major international public goods.”
The Belt and Road Initiative has been largely successful in increasing China’s influence on the international stage, yet scientists and environmentalists warn the initiative could have immediate biophysical impacts and cause irreversible environmental damage. -
“President Irfaan Ali, enough of lies and of trying to hide the historical truth that weighs on the dispute over the Essequibo territory, whose only means of resolution, as you well know, is the Geneva Agreement of 1966.”
Guyana is adhering to the Geneva Agreement of 1966 in trying to resolve the dispute over Essequibo through the United Nations International Court of Justice. -
“To say they [Chinese press outlets and social media users] ‘made up or spread disinformation’ is completely unfounded. If anyone was ‘making up or spreading disinformation’, it would be The New York Times, not them.”
At least five organizations that are authoritative in cybersecurity have independently verified that the Chinese government has created a massive network of social media users tasked with sowing discord in the United States. -
Large lightning appears before earthquake in Morocco with unknown causes.
Social media users leverage videos of flashing lights in Morocco, some faked, to falsely pin Morocco earthquake on a U.S. weather weapon. -
“Japan has primarily focused its efforts on sensationalizing the issue of ‘safety of Japanese individuals in China’. … This is aimed at shifting the international spotlight away from the issue of nuclear pollution into the sea. ... This is about Japan committing a harmful act against all of humanity.”
Tokyo’s release of treated Fukushima radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean has led to acts of harassment of Japanese citizens in China. Meanwhile, scientific studies suggest the release of the diluted radioactive wastewater will have a negligible effect on the oceanic environment. -
"Now, criticism over the government’s lack of precautions and lack of rescue efforts might not be based on facts. For the most part, people are just venting."
Chinese netizens’ criticism is focused on the government’s decision to deliberately open flood gates and spillways causing devastation in seven low-lying flood control zones in Hebei province to prevent rivers in Beijing from overflowing. -
“According to estimation, the average annual emission of carbon dioxide caused by forest fires in China from 2000-2021 was approximately 15 million tons, only account for 0.2 percent of the global forest fire emissions, demonstrating China's responsible role as a major country. "
China is responsible for more than a quarter of global pollution and is the world’s biggest emitter of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The low emission from wildfires is not indicative of China’s role in climate change, as wildfires pose the lowest environmental risk in the country. -
“…[H]is [Qu Dongyu, current head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization] reelection with a big majority fully shows that his work over the past four years has been highly recognized by the international community, and the argument you just cited is totally unacceptable to the international community.”
Under Qu, the FAO has deviated from its longtime policy of reducing pesticide reliance in countries of the Global South. Instead of working to ensure food security, the FAO is accused of funding the supply of highly toxic chemicals to the Global South. -
"The Kyiv authorities, at the suggestion of Western curators, continue making a dangerous bet on the escalation of hostilities. A clear example of this is the barbaric action to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station..."
Russia has fully controlled the Kakhovka plant since early 2022, there is no evidence of outside impact causing the dam’s destruction. -
“Many people may wonder why Japan won’t discharge the nuclear-contaminated water, which it claims to be safe and harmless, into Japan’s inland rivers or use it for agricultural and industrial purposes and instead insists on dumping it into the ocean? It is extremely irresponsible of Japan to selfishly put the world at risk.”
Scientific studies indicate that the release of diluted wastewater would have a negligible effect on the oceanic environment. -
“Tonight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a series of missile attacks with long-range precision air and sea-based weapons against the military-industrial complex of Ukraine. All targets were hit and destroyed.”
Russian missiles hit residential areas killing two and wounding more than 40 Ukrainian civilians. Hundreds of homes have been damaged and destroyed. -
“U.S. officials continue to escalate the situation, intimidating the American and international public with sham Russian ‘nuclear threats.’ ”
Russia’s nuclear doctrine appears to have shifted with a drumbeat of threats to strike first in Ukraine.