Why Are Workers Striking For Black Friday Sales?
Black Friday Sale – Amazon And Royal Mail Workers On Strike After Thanksgiving One of the US’s busiest shopping days of the year is now the day after Thanksgiving, sometimes known as Black Friday. To draw customers into their locations, national chain stores typically offer a limited number of money-saving discounts on various products while also providing comparable offers online. The idea that businesses operate at a loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving when enormous sales eventually enable them to turn a profit or put them “in the black,” is thought by many to be the origin of the name “Black Friday.” This is untrue, though. So why is it that several workers in Britain holding strikes on Black Friday? Black Friday is already losing its appeal due to Britain’s rising cost of living. Now, strikes pose a further risk to the annual shopping extravaganza by delaying deliveries, dampening online sales, and dealing another hit to the faltering economy. This week, over 235,000 workers—from those employed by schools, universities, and the postal service—went on strike throughout the United Kingdom. Amid rising food and energy costs, workers are calling for improved wages and working conditions. Recession Warnings As employees struggle with an economy that is entering a recession and a deteriorating cost-of-living crisis, strikes have rocked the United Kingdom this year. The stagnant and now 41-year high wages that have not kept up with inflation have created a hostile work environment for both companies and employees. However, the situation can worsen once again before improving, with the disruption continuing well through Black Friday and into the holiday season. Strike activity will increase losses for businesses and can lead to additional job layoffs. Small businesses, in particular, are experiencing “enormous damage” as a result of the postal strikes as they “rely on an efficient mail service for so much of their trade,” Amazon Workers Strike 40 different nations’ employees of Amazon.com, Inc. have planned demonstrations and walkouts during Black Friday sales. Workers in the U.S., U.K., India, Japan, Australia, South Africa, and all of Europe are calling for higher pay and improved working conditions, according to the “Make Amazon Pay” campaign. To be heard, employees chose to demonstrate on the busiest day of the year. More than ten American cities, including New York, will witness protests. Additionally, coordinated strikes by labor organizations in France and Germany are planned for 18 large warehouses. The Make Amazon Pay campaign has sponsored a worldwide day of action on Black Friday for the past three years. Black Friday deliveries are not anticipated to be impacted by protests that are scheduled to take place on Friday evening in Coventry, England, at an Amazon facility.
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Snacks In The Colosseum
Hidden In The Colosseum: Archaeologists Find Ancient Roman Snacks Beginning in 27 BCE, the Roma Empire was one of the most developed and massive empires of its time. Archaeologists have discovered that spectators at Rome’s ancient Colosseum may have indulged in food including olives, grapes, and nuts. Food remains from figs, grapes, cherries, blackberries, walnuts, and other fruits and vegetables have also been discovered there. Additionally, enormous cat and bear bones that were apparently utilized in the hunting contests in the arena were discovered by archaeologists. Archaeologists who were looking through the sewers of the 2,000-year-old landmark uncovered the finds. The Study And Team The project, which started in January, required the excavation of some 70 meters of drains and sewers beneath the Colosseum. It is thought to provide insight into the Colosseum’s final years until it was abandoned around 523 AD. 50 bronze coins from the late Roman era, which is around 250–450 AD, and a silver commemorative coin commemorating Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ ten years in power were among the ancient coins found in the dig. The finds “deepen our comprehension of the experience and habits of those who came to this site during the lengthy days dedicated to the performances,” according to Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park. The Colosseum, the largest amphitheater in the Roman Empire, was abandoned in the year 523. It was renowned for holding public events including gladiatorial battles in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
Russia Gives Green Light To Bill Banning “Gay Propaganda”
Just Passed Russian Law Bans “Gay Propaganda” Russia’s lower house of parliament has unanimously voted to extend its ban on so-called “gay propaganda”. Apparently, we are living in the 21st Century. Apparently the world has witnessed tons of revolutions and we stand together as the wise homo-sapiens of today. Apparently some parts of the world are still stuck somewhere in the past. Under the latest version of the law, any promotion of homosexuality – including in books, films, and online – is illegal and carries heavy penalties. After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced it as a “blow to freedom of expression,” the law earned the moniker “Answer to Blinken.” Activists claim it is an additional effort to oppress the LGBT community in Russia. In Russia’s lower house, the Duma, it was adopted by 397 votes to 0 with no abstentions. When the contentious “gay propaganda” law was first introduced in 2013, it outlawed “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations,” which includes representations of same-sex partnerships, among children. Any positive portrayals of same-sex partnerships in media or advertising are categorized under the same heading as spreading pornography, encouraging violence, or escalating racial, ethnic, and religious conflicts. What Is The Bill? Any kind of positive LGBTQ representation- in the form of media (films, posters, campaigns, social media), or text (books, newspapers, research papers) will be banned straight away. This bill has already raised concerns for traditional Russian literature and publishers. Any discussions online about LGBTQ topics can be blocked and the sale of goods with LGBTQ slogans or symbols would also be prohibited Anyone who breaks the law will face a fine of up to 400,000 rubles ($6,600), while companies could have to pay up to 5 million rubles ($82,100). Foreigners and stateless people risk being imprisoned or expelled from Russia if they do not comply. The Response Human rights campaigners and LGBTQ groups have said the extension means that any act or public mention of the LGBTQ community is being criminalized. Kseniya Mikhailova of the Russia-based LGBT support group Vykhod (a play on words to mean “coming out”) said the original ban nine years ago triggered a wave of attacks on the gay community. Twitter users compared it to Florida’s “don’t say gay” bill in an analysis. Another raised their concerns by saying it is an “unbelievable” step for the “diverse” world we live in.
A Brain Stimulator Powered By Breathing Instead of Batteries
New Techniques For Depression, Parkinson’s- Brain Stimulators Powered By Breathing In the never-ending search for highly effective yet less painful treatments, new experimental, battery-free, surgically implanted brain technology is boosting optimism. Today, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease are treated with neural implants that electrically activate deep brain tissue. Recent studies have also demonstrated the effectiveness of deep-brain stimulation in the treatment of mental illnesses such as addiction, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) implants have three years’ worth of battery life. Surgery to replace the large batteries, however, can be expensive and increase the risk of infection. A DBS system that powers itself by gathering and storing energy from the motion of breathing lungs has been created by researchers as a solution for that issue. “Deep-brain stimulators are energy monsters so the battery runs out very quickly,” says Islam Mosa, a chemist, and chief technology officer of the University of Connecticut How Does It Work? Electrodes are surgically inserted in the deep interior region of the brain during deep brain stimulation to convey electrical impulses at various frequencies. The electrodes are fired through a wire under the skin that goes up the neck to the skull by a pulse generator positioned immediately below the collarbone. The brain would receive those electrical pulses in a controlled manner. Previous attempts to create battery-free DBS systems that rely on capturing the body’s mechanical energy failed to deliver pulses at a controllable frequency or to produce enough power to activate the electrodes. “We wanted to make this fit in with the rest of the available technology in the usual way. In principle, if someone already has a deep brain stimulator, we could just replace the battery with this generator without having to retrofit them with a wholly new device,” says UConn chemist Jim Rusling. Testing The scientists put their triboelectric nanogenerator to the test by placing it inside the chest of a model pig with a pig lung attached to a pump. The pig’s lung pushes against the nanogenerator during breathing and exhaling, forcing two layers inside the device to rub against each other and generate electricity. The deep brain stimulator electronics are located outside the rib cage and are powered by a supercapacitor that receives electricity through a tiny wire. The brain stimulator produced pulses 60 times per second using the supercapacitor’s stored electricity, much like a commercial device would.
Are Big Tech Employee Lay-Offs Start of a Global Recession?
UN recently announced that the world might go into a recession in the coming year. 2020 was a pandemic-stricken year that caused significant markets and economies to crash. As we stand today, 2 years after the pandemic, is that situation changed? Has the world risen from that state? Recent reports and economic analyses say differently. Fears of an upcoming global recession have increased as a number of tech giants, like Amazon and Disney, have announced mass layoffs as part of their reorganization plans. Silicon Valley experienced a wave of layoffs in the third quarter. According to a recent count by Crunchbase, which offers insights into the current state of business, US-based IT companies had let go of more than 45,000 employees as of October 2022. These layoffs include Twitter’s most recent round of mass layoffs, which affected about half the company. After a few companies, it has become a trend for companies to lay off employees with no notice period or warning. Recession Not So Far? The world economy is currently experiencing its sharpest slump. The three major economies in the world—the US, China, and Europe—have been startlingly slowing down since the pandemic crisis. A thorough research by the World Bank suggests that if central banks raise interest rates simultaneously to combat inflation, the world may be creeping closer to a worldwide recession in 2023. “Global growth is slowing sharply, with further slowing likely as more countries fall into recession. My deep concern is that these trends will persist, with long-lasting consequences that are devastating for people in emerging markets and developing economies” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. Meta After Meta’s stocks disappointingly went down- seen at their lowest since 2016, the company decided to lay off around 11,000 employees which make up to 13% of their workforce. The company will continue these layoffs through the departments. The current team will be roughly affected by this and later will be restructured “more substantially”. In a message to staff members, Zuckerberg stated that individuals who lose their employment would be paid for 16 weeks and two more weeks for each year of service. For six months, Meta will pay for health insurance. Twitter Everyone is familiar with the Musk-Twitter drama. Soon after owning Twitter in a $44 billion deal, it was Musk’s first decision to lay off many employees including the CEO Parag Agrawal. Claiming there was “no choice” Musk has already laid off more than 75% of its employees. While there were 7500 employees working for Twitter on November 1, not even a month later, Twitter has around 2500 employees left. Musk stated that the platform is losing $4 million per day causing him to take the step of layoffs. Shopify After its stock prices went down 78% in 2022, the e-commerce company announced laying off 1000 of its workers making 10% of its global employees. The company claims to have misjudged how long its pandemic-driven sales would last and they are hit by a wave of losses- monetary and raw material. Netflix Netflix witnessed its stocks going down by 58% this year. Caused by both its high subscription prices and customers’ attraction to competitors, the streaming platform announced two rounds of layoffs. In May, eliminating 150 jobs and later in June around 300. The platform claims to be adjusting its costs to grow in line with its slower revenue growth. Microsoft The company laid off around 1000 employees in multiple divisions. “Making structural adjustments” was the reason behind the layoffs as claimed by the company. The company says it wants to “realign” its workforce and will continue to invest and hire in key growth areas in the year ahead. Post-Covid Hits COVID forced a lot of people and companies to work from home. Even after the pandemic got over, many employees found work-from-home comforting and beneficial. Post-pandemic many employees continued the arrangement which gave birth to a hybrid work situation. Many employees (and employers) desire some time at the office for teamwork, idea sharing, and developing a corporate culture. We’ve moved past the days of having every meeting hosted automatically online, even though tools like Zoom and Google Meet are still widely used. The final outcome? Too many individuals were hired by tech companies. And these are highly skilled software engineers and developers earning low to mid-six-figure salaries, not part-time administrative assistants making $10 an hour. “Recent IT sector layoffs can be read alongside the contemporary global uncertainty coupled with the Russia-Ukraine war. The global situation is quite poor. However, Twitter layoffs are likely to be linked with the company’s current situation… “ said Prof. Pupapre Balakrishnan, former director of the Centre for Development Studies.
As Glaciers Melt, Pandemics Dangerous than Covid are Closer
Melting Glaciers Contain 15000 Virus Microbe, New Study We don’t need a reminder of how and what the pandemic of 2020 was. From online offices and schools to fighting for essential goods, to hospital entries. We were a part of a historical event that our future generations will read about and term us brave for surviving the biggest pandemic in the history of pandemics. Things have slowly but steadily started coming back to normal- not entirely as some places are still recording COVID-19 cases and putting restrictions in some regions. Experts now say that the next pandemic may have melting ice as a cause. New studies say that viruses and bacteria buried in glaciers may reawake and infect the wildlife around. Due to climate change, especially if their ranges move closer to the poles. This finding is not farfetched as just in 2016, an anthrax outbreak hit northern Siberia killing a child and infesting around 7 people. A heatwave that melted permafrost was what caused this outbreak and exposed the population to this virus which had its last outbreak in 1941. Glaciers all over the world are melting rapidly and intensely as global climate change intensifies. Genetic research on soil has discovered risks of viral spillover and viruses infecting new hosts. When a virus encounters a new host, it may infect it and spread chronically in this new host. This process is known as viral spillover. Virus JackPot? 33 viruses that were frozen for more than 15,000 years have been found by scientists examining glaciers, of which 28 are unique viruses that were previously unknown to humans. The recently discovered viruses were identified in a glacier in Tibet that is melting as a result of global warming. The novel genome sequences found in the frozen time capsule may provide insight into how these microorganisms have evolved over thousands of years and how the climate has altered. Nearly 22,000 feet above sea level in Tibet, the ice samples were taken from the summit of the Guliya ice cap. The current discovery may offer researchers enticing new insights into historical environmental changes since it is thought that the preserved viruses may have originated from soil or plants. “Glaciers potentially archive environmental conditions and microbes over tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Unfortunately, glaciers around the world, including those from Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas, are rapidly shrinking, primarily due to the warming of Earth’s ocean-atmosphere system,” researchers said.
Information Warfare—The New Face of War and Destruction
The world has witnessed two world wars, civil wars, and several other inter-nation wars. Every country has their own set of strategies, procedures and operations to approach such situations. Some approach it with a bang and declare war, while some prefer a mutual settlement beneficial for both parties. Information warfare has enormous political, technical, operational, and legal implications for the military. Therefore, here we will try to define IW, identify potential military uses and applications, as well as the problems that are responsible for the implementation of this new doctrine. What is Information Warfare? Now such terms can be quite hard to process. And such concepts like politics and military already scare the eyeballs out of us as the thoughts of world war flood our brains. So to narrow it down, Information warfare (IW) is a deliberate attempt to undermine and disable the enemy’s command and control infrastructure with the goal of securing and coordinating the operations of the friendly forces’ command and control infrastructure. Electric Warfare These electromagnetic signals are interfered with or eliminated through electronic warfare. These could be jamming techniques and electronic countermeasures used to interfere with military communications or weapon guidance systems. An effort is made to interfere with or divert the enemy’s electronic systems, including their communications and radar networks. In order to obstruct navigation, it may also involve faking GPS signals, damaging computer circuits remotely, and blocking radio communications. We are all too aware with internet-based cyberattacks against digital networks that can render companies unable to function. Information warfare was used in previous periods, at least in terms of practical application. In order to implement foreign policy, for instance, airplanes would drop leaflets or other materials over towns or villages throughout the industrial era. These mediums were utilized in information warfare as the industrial period gave way to the radio and television era. Today, digital media is used in almost all essential projects. Examples of contemporary information warfare include attempts to protect IT systems against cyberattacks as well as offensive tactics to infiltrate or impede an adversary’s IT infrastructure. Social Media as Information Warfare Social media is a rising concern in information warfare due to the spread of misinformation there and the illusion truth effect. The illusion truth effect claims that information is more likely to be seen as true after repeated exposure. Artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of producing articles with incorrect information that are subsequently made available to the general audience. Social media being the primary channel. This invasion of misleading information will undermine trust in the sources from which people get their news, eroding faith in democracy in a similar manner. With the use of social media, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing, misinformation might be spread and understood quickly. The development of technology capabilities will further integrate social media into information warfare during the next ten years, in novel and perilous ways. The US must study social media’s use in information warfare and incorporate it into its strategies if it is to be effective. This essay will show how the illusory truth effect and misinformation may make social media an effective instrument for information warfare. When you combine social media, fire, and opinions, you get Twitter. Twitter is a forever hot, active, and bubbling with people throwing shade at the other, popping their own trumpet, attacking a whole group of individuals because one person made a lousy comment. So. Basically a very “interesting” place to say the least. Lately with everything going on with Elon Musk, many have come at him claiming it to be a ‘Ongoing information warfare campaign” Another recent ocassion that the netizens are claiming as an IW is Donald Trump’s overturn. “The New Face Of War” For defense planners and politicians, information warfare (IW) constitutes a quickly developing and, as of yet, ill-defined topic of considerable concern. The so-called information revolution, which is being driven by the continuing rapid development of cyberspace, microcomputers, and related information technologies, is the source of both fascination and uncertainty in this sector. The American defense establishment is adapting quickly to seize the new opportunities created by these changes, much like the American society as a whole. Additionally, potential and existing U.S. adversaries (as well as friends) are interested in using the developing global information infrastructure and related technologies for military operations. The fact that over 80,000 cyberattacks followed the demonetisation of banknotes in November 2016, while over 40,000 cyberattacks followed Sino-India clashes in Galwan, aimed at stealing sensitive information, is significant evidence that Chinese cyberattacks have been in sync with internal developments in India. On the India-China border, a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet belonging to India crashed in May 2017. The tragedy was caused by a cyberattack while the plane was in the air, according to an inquiry by the Indian Air Force. Both Russia and Ukraine make considerable use of social media to share their views of the events as they happen and amplify opposing narratives about the war, including its origins, effects, and continuation. Information is now being uploaded on a variety of platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Telegram, by government officials, ordinary residents, and state agencies. It can be challenging to estimate the precise volume of stuff that these different actors have posted, but there is a staggering amount of information on the battle being shared on social media. For instance, videos from a variety of sources on TikTok with the hashtags #Russia and #Ukraine had accumulated 37.2 billion and 8.5 billion views, respectively, in just the first week of the war. This review should include elements like strategic target sets, IW effects, and concurrent vulnerability and threat assessments. Without such a risk assessment, there is no solid basis for presidential decisionmaking on strategic IW issues in a context of dynamic change in cyberspace threats and vulnerabilities. However, it must be recognized that strategic IW is a relatively new idea that is posing a whole new set of issues. These issues may very well
Are Human Rights Really ‘Universal, Inalienable, and Indivisible’?
Where after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home –so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory; the farm, or the office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity, without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have meaning anywhere. – Eleanor Roosevelt, National Coordinating Committee, Universal Declaration of Human Rights 50th Anniversary On December 10, the world commemorates Human Rights Day. On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This historic document is regarded as the first major international instrument affirming individual rights. Though this document is not legally binding, its contents have permeated hundreds of international conventions, agreements, and domestic laws from various countries. Human rights are defined as certain fundamental or natural rights that are inalienable and necessary for the development of human personality. They can also be considered fundamental rights because they cannot be revoked by the government or legislature. Many scholars argue that human rights are not created by legislation because they are natural rights and that the source of human rights is acceptance of the human person’s worth and dignity. The fundamentals of human rights have been incorporated into the American Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, and other significant documents. Human rights were generally considered to be within the internal sphere of national jurisdiction until the nineteenth century. However, during the twentieth century, international human rights law began to take shape. Whence did Human Rights come into the picture? Given the history of humanity, we tend to believe that the term “human rights” is a relatively new concept. The United Nations, on the other hand, dates the origin of human rights to 539 BC. Cyrus the Great’s troops conquered Babylon at that time; Cyrus freed the slaves, declared that everyone had the right to practice their own religion, and established racial equality. Nonetheless, history seems to repeat itself, and slavery was legal in the United States for less than 200 years. Unfortunately, slavery has not been abolished, and modern forms of slavery continue to exist around the world. Debt bondage, in which a person is forced to work for free to repay a debt, child slavery, forced marriage, domestic servitude, and forced labor, in which victims are forced to work through violence, intimidation, and abuse of vulnerability, are examples of such practices. Can we therefore still accept Kofi Annan’s assertion from 2000 that we are living in the “Age of Human Rights”? Or do the global atrocities committed in the last few decades, which continue to occur, speak for themselves? Some academics argue that human rights are merely a vehicle for the White Savior Complex. Others argue that the end of the Cold War marked a turning point in human rights, allowing advocates to push for the implementation of international law and the establishment of global courts Human Rights as a Universal Principle According to universal human rights theory, human rights apply to everyone simply because they are human. The most obvious challenge to the universality factor is ‘cultural relativism,’ which holds that universal human rights are neo-imperialistic and culturally hegemonic. While this viewpoint is appealing, the relativist argument contains a crippling self-contradiction: by assuming that the only sources of moral validity are individual cultures, one is barred from making any consistent moral judgments. Human Rights as Inalienable Early philosophers and scholars such as Locke, Mason, and Lilburne discussed natural rights in terms of inherentness, natality, and inability to be surrendered, assisting later thinkers in better conceptualizing the core of inalienability by asking who the ‘human’ in human rights is. Constant debate on this topic has elicited the best and worst in contemporary philosophers. One scholar, for example, observes that in order to be a person with rights, one must contribute to both self and society in an autonomous capacity. Along these lines, against the backdrop, Hannah Arendt articulated one of the most timeless perspectives on inalienability. Noting refugees’ lack of tangible access to rights as a result of their statelessness, Arendt concluded that the only true right was ‘the right to have rights,’ in the sense that modern rights had become inextricably linked to the emancipated national state. Given today’s challenges of displacement and statelessness, it appears more helpful to abandon abstract arguments about inalienability and recognize that rights are inextricably linked to statehood and citizenship in the international human rights system. According to Arendt, “inalienability has shown to be unenforceable.” Human Rights as Indivisible In terms of indivisibility, this concept holds that the simultaneous execution of all rights is required for the human rights system to work properly. Beyond talks of violations, indivisibility refers to the premise that no human right can be completely implemented or realized unless all other rights are fully realized. Those who support indivisibility argue that without a commitment to indivisibility, human rights enforcement is arbitrary and incomplete and that anything less than simultaneous implementation of all human rights may fuel dangerous rights prioritisations by governments (i.e. emphasizing first or second-generation rights while neglecting third generation ones will mean that all rights values suffer). Does Human rights stand around its definition? As a result, it is clear that several of the most commonly accepted and basic principles of human rights – universality, inalienability, and indivisibility – are very disputed when examined closely. However, rather than undermining the entire notion of human rights, these criticisms just remind us to constantly revise our assumptions about rights in order to make them more inclusive and tangible to those who remain on the outside, looking in.
G20 Summit 2023: What World Expects From India’s Leadership?
On September 9–10 of next year, India will host the G20 Summit. Starting on December 1 of this year, India will also assume the leadership of the strategic multilateral forum, which unites established and emerging economies. Previously held by Indonesia, India will have the presidency from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. The country will be hosting around 200 meetings across the nation. What is the G20 Summit? The “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy” is the official name of the G20 Summit. The G20 has consistently worked to achieve strong global economic growth as the “primary forum for international economic cooperation” (as agreed by leaders at the Pittsburgh Summit in September 2009). The G20 represents more than 80% of the global GDP. The recent G20 summits have focused not only on macroeconomics and trade but also on a wide range of global issues that have a significant impact on the global economy, such as development, climate change, energy, health, counterterrorism, as well as migration, and refugees. As globalization advances and various issues become more intricately intertwined, these recent summits have become more and more important. Through its contributions to resolving global issues, the G20 has aimed to achieve an inclusive and sustainable world. The members of the G20 are- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. The main economies of the world are gathered under the G20. More than 80% of the world’s GDP, 75% of the world’s trade, and 60% of humanity are represented by its members. The G20 presidency, which runs from December through the following November, is held by the nation hosting the summit. Additionally, the G20 presidency schedules meetings of pertinent working groups and ministers. Negotiations Lead By India In her most recent press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “made it clear that today’s era must not be of war,” referring to the Ukraine-Russia conflict that erupted in February of this year. She added that India played a crucial role in the negotiations leading up to the G20 Summit declaration. Top world leaders attended the two-day G20 conference, which was held in Bali, Indonesia, and ended earlier this week. Among them were US Vice President Joe Biden and UK Foreign Secretary Rishi Sunak. One of the most important talking points was the conflict in Ukraine. G20 Summit and India’s Priorities India, Indonesia, and Brazil would make up the troika during our Presidency. Three emerging economies and developing nations would make up the troika for the first time, giving them a stronger voice. India has set priorities and key points to discuss and push forward in the summit. These priorities are expected to initiate further conversations, not just at the summit, but throughout the summit in the rest of the world as well. The ongoing conversations have been around inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth. Though these topics have been in talks through the years, the world as a whole still lacks efforts and planning to achieve them. Nothing is set to stone as a “theme” or agenda yet, but the conversations will be around these points. Women’s empowerment will also be discussed at the summit. Following the recent and ongoing movement by the strong women of Iran, women empowerment is still very much a topic that needs discussions and development, despite living in the 21st century. Following the notion of sustainable growth, digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture, and commerce education are also on the agenda list. Inclusivity is kept as a crucial conversation with developmental cooperation, the fight against economic crime and multilateral reforms are also on the checklist. Relations And The Summit India would also need to pay close attention to how US-China relations develop. After their one-on-one summit in Bali, leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, stock markets throughout the world rose the following day (helped also in some measure by China dialing down its stringent covid lockdown rules). In addition, though they did not have a bilateral meeting, Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands. They exchanged pleasantries against India’s tense relations with China over the previous two to three years. Twitter And G20 Summit Every highly opinionated person exists on Twitter. Ever since the announcement of the summit, there have been bubbling threads and tweets about it. Although it may be too soon to consider the G20 platform as a replacement for multilateral institutions soon, its influence may undoubtedly be used to improve chances for the Global South. Here is another reality check: it took at least 7-8 years for all of the aforementioned G20 triumphs to materialize.
LG Introduces “Rubber Band Like” Stretchable Rollable Screens
We started with foldable phones, and now we have foldable mobile screens that miraculously don’t break in two halves when you fold them. Behold. Now you can fold your screen in a neat little fold and push it down your pockets! LG brings this marvel of an invention who’s latest screen can not just be bended, but can be twisted, distorted, wobbled and rolled up without any damage. Announced through a press release, “Stretchable Display: can display full-color RGB and has a 100ppi resolution. The micro LEDs utilized in the prototype had a sub-40 m pixel pitch and put together into a silicone substrate material that is commonly found in contact lenses. This gives it a consistency “similar to that of a rubber band,” according to LG Display, and enables it to be stretched in any direction by up to 20%. Previously, we have seen flexible screens have in smart phones, TV screens and even in smart wardrobes. The company Although the company hasn’t announced any product announcements featuring the technology, they anticipate it will eventually utilized in sectors like wearables, mobility, smart devices, gaming, and fashion. As part of a government-sponsored development effort, LG Display is now working on the first prototype of a stretchy screen with the goal of advancing display technology by 2024.“Innovations like the Stretchable are important as it builds a bridge to connect display technology to countless other industries, ultimately providing a more convenient lifestyle for consumers.” –L.G via their press release.