Iran and Britain have reportedly exchanged ambassadors for the first time since 2011 in another sign of warming relations between the two countries.

The Islamic Republic named Hamid Baeidinejad, the director general for political and international security affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, as its new ambassador to Britain, an informed source said on Monday.

Baeidinejad had also been a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team with the P5+1 group of countries which led to striking a historical nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 14, 2015.

“On Monday evening, Hamid Baeidinejad, our country’s new Ambassador to Britain and Nicholas Hopton, the new British ambassador to Tehran, appeared at the countries’ foreign ministries simultaneously and met with the two foreign ministers and handed over a copy of their credentials to them,” the source at the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

Hopton had previously served as Britain’s ambassador to Qatar and Yemen.

The source added that the Iranian and British embassies have been operating over the past year and the two countries’ charges d’affaires have been managing all affairs.

However, Tehran and Britain decided to appoint their ambassadors after grounds were prepared for the two sides to improve relations, the official noted.

The informed source further said the improvement of mutual relations is not tantamount to the settlement of issues arising from some differences between the two countries.

Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran in August 2015 as a sign of improvement of mutual ties between the two countries after hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the embassy in 2011, censuring the expansion of UK sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

“The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement on Monday.

“I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Iran’s role in the region,” it added.

In a telephone conversation between British Prime Minister Theresa May and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on August 9, the two sides said mutual relations have developed positively since the signing of the JCPOA and that both sides should continue to advance the relationship.

The Iranian president said Tehran welcomes the further development of cooperation with London.

Britain shut down its embassy in Tehran in November 2011 and withdrew its diplomatic staff after hundreds of Iranian students staged a protest outside the British embassy in Tehran against the expansion of UK sanctions on Iran, pulling down the UK flag and demanding the expulsion of the British ambassador.

In late November 2011, Iran’s parliament (Majlis) approved a bill to downgrade the diplomatic ties between Tehran and London to the level of chargé d’affaires, and limit all economic and cultural collaborations to the minimum level.

Nearly two years after their diplomatic ties were severed, Iran and Britain agreed in October 2013 to appoint non-resident chargés d’affaires as a first step toward reestablishment of their ties.

Original article

Your typical wage is below what it was in the late 1970s, in terms of what it can buy. Two-thirds of you are living paycheck to paycheck. Almost 30 percent of you don’t have steady employment: You’re working part-time or on contract, with none of the labor protections created over the last 80 years – no unemployment insurance if you lose your job, no worker’s compensation if you’re injured, no time-and-a-half pay for working more than 40 hours a week, no minimum wage, and you have to pay your own Social Security.

Over 37 percent of you have dropped out of the workforce altogether because you’ve become too discouraged even to look for work. That’s a near record. As if all this weren’t enough, the schools and infrastructure on which you rely have been neglected, and the ravages of climate change – droughts, fires, and floods – are worsening.

Yet the American economy is twice as large as it was in the late 1970s. As a nation, we are richer than we’ve ever been. We could afford to do so much better.

None of this has happened by accident. Those with great wealth have translated it into political power. And with that power they’ve busted labor unions (to which a third of private-sector workers belonged in the 1950s but now fewer than 7 percent do), halved the taxes they pay (from a top marginal rate of 91 percent in the 1950s to 39 percent today, and from an effective rate of 52 percent then to 18 percent now), cut safety nets, deregulated Wall Street, privatized much of the economy, expanded bankruptcy protection for themselves while narrowing it for you, forced you into mandatory arbitration of employment disputes, expanded their patents and intellectual property, got trade deals that benefited them but squeezed your pay, and concentrated their market power so you pay more for pharmaceuticals, health insurance, airfare, food, internet service, and much else.

This is bad for everyone. Even those at the top would do better with a smaller share of an economy that was growing because the middle class was expanding. And they’d do better in a society that hadn’t become so angry and susceptible to demagogues blaming immigrants and imports for what has happened.

But none of this will change unless we change it. No single person – not even Bernie Sanders, had he become president – can do what needs to be done, alone. You and I and others must continue to organize and mobilize.

Do not find refuge in cynicism. Change is slow, and at times seems hopeless. But change is inevitable. Do not wait for politicians to take the lead. We are the leaders.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent speech on immigration really missed the point. I understand Trump’s frustration over the US government’s inability to control the US borders and keep out those who would come to this country illegally. Trump was right that the media ignore legitimate questions we have on our immigration policy and he is right that special interests have a great interest in maintaining the status quo.

However when it comes to really solving the immigration problem he gets it all wrong. And instead of making us more free and prosperous, his solutions will accelerate our downward slide toward authoritarianism.

First let’s consider his idea of building a big wall between the US and Mexico. It is said that all one needs to get over an eight foot fence is a nine foot ladder. Or perhaps a shovel. So walls are never very good at keeping people out. But they are very good at keeping people in. Just ask the East Germans. The communist government claimed in 1961 that it had to build a wall around the portion of Berlin it controlled to keep the population safe from the evil capitalist wreckers and saboteurs. It didn’t take long for the world to realize that the real threat to the East German leaders was that the people trapped in East Berlin would try to get out. We have all seen the horrific videos of East German civilians risking – and losing – their lives to escape that prison of razor wire and cinder block.

Is this really what we want for our own future?

What a wild conspiracy theory, some may claim. The wall would never be meant to keep us from leaving. Well ask the IRS. Under a tax enforcement provision passed in 2015, the US government claimed the right to cancel any American citizen’s passport if Washington claims it is owed money.

Trump also made E-Verify the center of his immigration speech. He said, “We will ensure that E-Verify is used to the fullest extent possible under existing law, and we will work with Congress to strengthen and expand its use across the country.”

While preventing those here illegally from being able to gain employment may appeal to many who would like to protect American jobs, E-Verify is the worst possible solution. It is a police state non-solution, as it would require the rest of us legal American citizens to carry a biometric national ID card connected to a government database to prove that the government allows us to work. A false positive would result in financial disaster for millions of American families, as one would be forced to fight a faceless government bureaucracy to correct the mistake. Want to put TSA in charge of deciding if you are eligible to work?

The battle against illegal immigration is a ploy to gain more control over our lives. We are supposed to be terrified of the hoards of Mexicans streaming into our country and thus grant the government new authority over the rest of us. But in fact a Pew study found that between 2009 and 2014 there was a net loss of 140,000 Mexican immigrants from the United States. Yes, this is a government “solution” in search of a real problem.

How to tackle the real immigration problem? Eliminate incentives for those who would come here to live off the rest of us, and make it easier and more rational for those who wish to come here legally to contribute to our economy. No walls, no government databases, no biometric national ID cards. But not a penny in welfare for immigrants. It’s really that simple.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

In his main stage speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Rudy Giuliani, a former New York City mayor and current advisor to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, predicted, “What I did for New York, Donald Trump Will do for America.” That does seem to accurately state Trump’s intention, at least as far as expanding Giuliani’s stop-and-frisk police activity across the country is concerned.

On Friday, NBC10 reporter Lauren Mayk asked Trump what police in Philadelphia “are not doing that they could be doing” for dealing with “gun violence,” Trump’s response included asserting that “stop-and-frisk,” which Trump credits to Giuliani, “is a very positive thing.” This is not just some one-off statement by Trump regarding stop-and-frisk. In July of 2013, Trump posted the following message on Twitter:

Stop and frisk works. Instead of criticizing @NY_POLICE Chief Ray Kelly, New Yorkers should be thanking him for keeping NY safe.

Adhyl Polanco, a New York City police whistle-blower, has provided a disturbing picture of the stop-and-frisk quota system employed by the New York City Police Department. Polanco explained in a 2013 Democracy Now interview that 600,000 of the around 700,000 police-initiated stop-and-frisk incidents the previous year would not have occurred but for improper encouragement by the city government, police department, and police union. The quota system, he says, even would result, near the end of a work shift, in some police just arresting “whoever’s at the corner.”

Trump’s statement in July that he would reinstate “in a heartbeat” the full flow of military weapons from the United States government to state and local police that President Barack Obama had limited fits right in with Trump’s promotion of stop-and-frisk. Together the two positions provide a window on how Trump would deal with police powers as president. In a nutshell, Trump favors expanding police power in America. As Trump told host Bill O’Reilly in a Fox News interview this month, Trump’s solution to the crime problem in Chicago is for cops in that city to be “very much tougher” than they are now.

Trump’s desire to expand police power extends beyond state and local cops to US government’s cops as well. In a Wednesday speech in Phoenix, Arizona, Trump declared his intention to “triple the number of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] deportation officers” and “hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents,” a nearly one-third increase. Some people may object that all these new cops will be focused on countering illegal immigration, but, as Robert Wenzel cautions in a Target Liberty article regarding Trump’s Arizona speech, “It is really difficult to believe that a person who is so willing to expand the Federal police state in one sector is going to be more cautious in other areas.”

Also, remember that police patrolling the borders or enforcing immigration laws across America can surveil, harass, detain, search, injure, and even kill illegal immigrants and American citizens alike. With a president who cheers the New York City model of stop-and-frisk, who wants to remove limits on providing US military equipment to police, and who calls for police to be “very much tougher,” there is little reason to expect that his administration will place a high priority on restraining the liberty-endangering actions US government police may take.

This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

When President Obama received the Dalai Lama through the back door in his office a few months back, many eyebrows were raised. Many people justifiably thought that President Obama lacked the courage of conviction to receive the Dalai Lama properly in a manner befitting his stature and reputation as a man of peace.

Obviously, President Obama wanted to receive the Dalai Lama, but was afraid of any adverse reaction from the Chinese government. This act of President Obama created considerable suspicions around the world as to whether the US government makes its policies based on exigencies rather than principles and convictions. This single act of President Obama has damaged the image of US around the world considerably as a champion of freedom.

World silent on China’s aggression in Tibet

Tibet is a victim of aggression and onslaught by China, which occupied Tibet by force, with the least consideration on what would be the world opinion about its expansionist policies and acts.

China’s acts of aggression was not effectively challenged by any country in the world including US . Several countries including US only paid lip sympathy to the Tibetans. There were several inconsequential debates in UNO on Tibetan issue which ultimately ended as a mere academic exercise , with speakers talking and leaving the hall and perhaps, forgetting immediately what they spoke.

While the fact is that as of now evil has triumphed over good as far as Tibet is concerned, Tibetans living in exile around the world are frustrated and distressed that the world is not coming to their rescue, to enable Tibetan’s to control their lost mother land.

Are the Presidential candidates concerned?

By President Obama showing timidity by receiving the Dalai Lama through the back door, many Tibetans wonder whether the US could act any time in the future in support of the sovereign rights of the Tibetans. Upon this backdrop, there are great expectations as to what could be the stand of the next US President with regard to Tibet.

Unfortunately, in their campaign speeches, neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump have made any purposeful reference to the plight of Tibetans and the need for the US to help the Tibetans get their mother land back. This makes one wonder as to whether the Tibetan issue is in the back of their minds at all. Even in the US media there is no reference so far to the apparently lack of concern of Presidential candidates to the plight of Tibetans.

Already, there is considerable criticism that despite its commitment to protect human freedom, the policy approach of the USA in the past has always been based on its geopolitical self-interests and not based on its much claimed commitment to freedom and liberty.

In such circumstances, the near silence of the US government in the past on the Tibetan issue and the present Presidential candidates appearance of ignoring Tibet in their strategies and plans, makes one think that Tibetans cannot anymore expect the US government to help them in freeing Tibet from Chinese occupation.

Of course, the next President will also receive the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan personalities (by the front door or the back door), but it may be a cosmetic exercise to window-dress the US government’s policy of commitment to freedom and democracy. But, will it be of any use to the Tibetan cause?

Have the Tibetans campaigned enough?

While the US presidential candidates have not made any reference to the cause of Tibet so far, is it possible that they have failed to do so due to a lack of adequately loud and strong campaign by the Tibetans in exile, seeking such assurance of support from the presidential candidates?

In any case, better late than never, Tibetans and their friends around the world should appeal to the US Presidential candidates to make a public statement on their stand on Tibet.

As the election is not far away, Tibetans have no time to lose and certainly there will be understanding and support from a cross section of US citizens, if Tibetans would voice their expectations to the presidential candidates.

Moscow and Riyadh are negotiating an oil output freeze deal, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said in a statement after talks with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China.

“We have agreed with the Saudi Arabia energy minister on joint action aimed at stabilizing the situation in the oil market. We consider a production freeze the most efficient tool, concrete parameters are being discussed at the moment,” Novak said.

According to Novak, Saudi Arabia is considering capping production for one month, three months or longer.

The world’s biggest producers are considering freezing production at levels of July, August or September of this year, said the Russian energy minister.

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih called on other big players in the oil market to join the agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

“I have to say all other producers are expressing interest in coordinating… with Saudi Arabia and other like-minded countries to reach a consensus,” Al-Falih said at a briefing with Novak on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

“We are optimistic the Algiers meeting will provide a forum, and pre-Algiers consultations taking place bilaterally and in groups will bring us to Algiers with some sort of coordinated decisions. But the two countries agree that even if there is no consensus, we will be willing to take joint action when necessary,” he added.

On September 26-28 Algiers will host the International Energy Forum. Venezuela, Ecuador and Kuwait initiated a new round of talks on capping oil production after similar talks failed in April.

As a result of global oversupply, crude prices have fallen from a 2014 high of $114 per barrel to the current price of $45-$50.

By Ramesh Jaura

The fact that President Nursultan Nazarbayev shut down the Semipalatinsk test site “against the interests of the Soviet military authorities” even before the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan became “fully independent”, is not widely known.

The decision reflected a strong political will, the courage to translate it into reality, and put a series of follow-up measures in place which, as Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov says, give Kazakhstan “the moral right to push for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, both globally and regionally”.

The huge site, in the east of the country, was the centre of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapon testing programme. Its first-ever nuclear test took place there on August 29, 1949. Over the next 40 years, 455 additional nuclear explosions followed, says Idrissov, Foreign Minister in the Government of Kazakhstan since September 2012, a post he also held from 1999 to 2002.

When those first nuclear devices were exploded, the potential effects of radiation or contamination, even when known, were seen as far less important than the arms race. “Elderly residents tell of being encouraged out of their homes to witness the first explosions and mushroom clouds,” recalls Idrissov.

As a result of this ignorance and failure, according to United Nations estimates, up to 1.5 million people in Kazakhstan were exposed to high radiation levels. Not long before, many began to suffer from ill health, early deaths and birth defects.

This dreadful impact remained hidden for many years from the wider public. But as the health and environmental damage became better known, it fuelled fierce opposition at every level across the country to nuclear testing. This led President Nazarbayev to issue a decree closing the nuclear weapon testing site.

As a follow-up, Kazakhstan renounced voluntarily the world’s fourth biggest nuclear arsenal, which it inherited on the break-up of the Soviet Union, says Idrissov, briefing foreign journalists in Astana on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests, commemorated each year on August 29. This year it coincided with the 25th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.

It was at the initiative of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and co-sponsors that the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 2, 2009 unanimously adopted resolution 64/35 declaring August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

Closing the testing site and ridding Kazakhstan of nuclear weapons, working “meticulously” with the Soviet Union was only a first step. Both soft- and hardware were involved in ensuring the safe disposal of the weapons and materials.

The persistent need to prevent nuclear material from falling into the hands of terrorists called for unprecedented – and at the time secret – cooperation between Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States, as well as other countries and organizations, over several years.

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, emphasizing peace, dialogue and international cooperation has been guided by the recognition of the “immorality” of nuclear weapons, “the vision of security”, and “ensuring a healthy environment”, says Idrissov.

It is with this in view that the Central Asian republic has been in the forefront of the global campaign to end nuclear testing and to warn against the dangers of nuclear weapons.

“We have also shown that international influence and stature do not depend on nuclear firepower,” Idrissov adds. Kazakhstan’s election as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018 – and good relations with a wide range of countries – is evidence of the country’s standing in the world, he says.

“We would bring our perspective to contribute to the work of the Security Council and the UN for the cause of peace and development.” The focus will be on ensuring global nuclear, water, food and energy security.

Kazakhstan will serve on the Council beginning January 1, 2017 as one of the 10 non-permanent members along with Sweden, Bolivia and Ethiopia. The newly-elected countries will replace Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Angola and Venezuela.

The Security Council has 15 members, including five permanent members, each with the power of veto: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other current non-permanent members are Japan, Egypt, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Together with Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Idrissov chaired the Ministerial-level Conference on September 29, 2015 in New York for Facilitating the Entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was adopted by the UNGA in 1996.

Kazakh President Nazarbayev and Prime Miniser Shinzo Abe of Japan reiterated in a statement issued on October 27, 2015 in Astana the reasons behind their commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) becoming a law.

“As countries which experienced and are fully aware of the threat of nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan and Japan share the moral authority and responsibility to raise the awareness of the people throughout the world about the humanitarian catastrophes nuclear weapons have brought about. With this special mission in mind, Kazakhstan and Japan are determined to work together closely pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons,” the joint statement said.

This objective remains valid, says Idrissiv, adding that concerted efforts would be undertaken to enable the coming into force of the CTBT, which is crucial for ushering in a world free of nuclear weapons. “It’s a shame” that the treaty has not yet entered into force.

Altogether 183 member states of the UN have signed the Treaty and 164 have ratified. But it will enter into force only when 44 countries complete their ratification procedures. Particular attention is being paid to eight countries – China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the U.S., which have signed the Treaty, and North Korea, India and Pakistan that have until now refused to put their signature on the CTBT.

Nevertheless, with the exception of “ugly” tests carried out by North Korea all countries have abided by the de facto ban on nuclear testing. Despite being pitted against each other in South Asia, both India and Pakistan have declared unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. The next positive step would be to declare a “bilateral moratorium”.

Kazakhstan’s global status is also underlined by the country’s choice to host the international low enriched uranium bank under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which will start operating next year. The ‘bank’ will ensure supply of uranium for civilian purposes such as building nuclear power plants.

Of equally great importance is the Universal Declaration for the Achievement of a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World tabled by Kazakhstan and co-sponsored by 35 countries. President Nazarbayev initiated the proposal at the first Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. in April 2010. He reiterated it on September 28, 2015 at the general debate of the 70th session of the UNGA in New York.

The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked hard from 2010 to 2015 with all interested parties to agree on the text of the Declaration, which was finalised at the session of the UNGA First Committee held in October and November 2015.

“The Declaration was not adopted unanimously,” says Idrissov but 133 countries voted for its adoption, 23 countries voted against and 28 abstained.

The document itself calls for a series of steps. First: the total elimination of nuclear weapons as the only absolute guarantee against their use or threat of use. Second: the adoption of a global multilateral and legally binding document that provides for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Third: the redirection of the investment of human and economic resources that now go toward the development, maintenance and modernisation of nuclear weapons into strengthening sustainable development, peace and security, as well as saving millions of people from poverty.

Finally, it calls for compliance with the norms of international law, including international humanitarian law, because of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences from any use of nuclear weapons.

Among Kazakhstan’s important activities is the support for the UN’s Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG). 107 nations expressed support for the convening of a UN conference in 2017 to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. This proposal formed the key recommendation in the working group’s report, adopted in Geneva on August 19 with overwhelming support.

The world has also seen a reduction in the global threat to human lives from nuclear weapons. But there are still 15,000 in existence – enough to destroy humanity many times over. Still, there has been progress.

“We have seen the growth of nuclear weapons-free zones as we now have in Central Asia. The number of weapons, too, has been reduced.” But the threat from nuclear weapons has scarcely ever been as great, because violent extremist groups are actively trying to get their hands on nuclear weapons and technology. If they succeed, they would not hesitate to use them. In their view, the greater the loss of life and destruction the better.

With this in view, President Nazarbayev has called for the mankind to set, as its main goal for this century, ridding our world of nuclear weapons by 2045, the centenary of the United Nations. With his Manifesto: The World. The 21st century, he has produced a blueprint to show how this goal could be achieved.

The last 25 years have shown this won’t be easy. But, as Idrissov rightly points out, “we must step up our efforts to rebuild the trust needed”. The example of Kazakhstan shows both the price to be paid in case of failure and also what can be achieved with vision.

This is underlined by the Declaration adopted by conference on ‘Building a Nuclear-Free World’ ‘The Astana Vision: From a Radioactive Haze to a Nuclear-Weapon Free World’. The Declaration recalls that closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was “the first such step in the world history of disarmament”.

By Sandip Kumar Mishra*

The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) was held in Vladivostok, Russia, on 2 September 2016, a day before the G-20 Summit Meet in Hangzhou, China It was attended by the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the South Korean President Park Geun-hye and the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. On the sidelines of the EEF, a bilateral meeting between the leaders of Russia and South Korea was also held. During this meeting, the Russian leader surprised his South Korean counterpart by giving her a special gift. It was a work of calligraphy, written in Chinese, by Park’s father, the late former President Park Chung-hee in 1979 (the year he was assassinated), which read, “with strong teamwork, let’s move forward together.” It was indeed a special gesture from Putin. Ahead of the bilateral talks, South Korea was concerned that its consent for the US-led THAAD battery on the peninsula meant that Russia-South Korea relations would be strained beyond repair. It was a pleasant surprise for the South Korean leader that even though Russia had gone along with China in its criticism of the THAAD installation on the Peninsula, it wanted to continue economic and other cooperation with South Korea.

Putin stressed after the meeting that he “had in-depth discussions about the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and reached an agreement that the two nations do not accept the self-proclaimed nuclear status of Pyongyang.” Furthermore, both the leaders also agreed to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The feasibility study on this has already been concluded and the process of negotiations may begin in October 2016. In addition to this Russia and South Korea signed 24 MoUs, thereby expanding the range of their bilateral cooperation.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe was also bold in proposing an annual summit meet with Russia’s top leader and appealed him ‘to act as a visionary’. This proposal by Japan was encouraging for Russia as most of the G-7 nations have shunned Putin since imposing sanctions over the Ukraine crisis in 2014. It is also interesting to note that the two leaders had a summit meeting in May 2016 and Putin has planned to have another summit meet with Japan on 15 December 2016 in Yamaguchi, Japan. The upcoming visit is going to be special as Yamaguchi prefecture is Shinzo Abe’s home. There are definite positive vibes between Japan and Russia in recent times and it may lead to the resolution of their long-running dispute over a group of islands, which Russia calls the Kuriles and Japan, the Northern Territories. After a resolution of the island dispute, it would be easier for both countries to sign a peace treaty. The Russian leader, however, did not commit on the Japanese proposal of an annual summit meet.

The EEF was attended by the current as well as former Prime Ministers of Australia and this means that Russia is willing to get involved and engaged with Australia at least through economic exchanges. It is obvious that Putin has been working on an economic and political strategy to foster economic ties with South Korea, Japan and Australia and appears to be ready to provide an alternative to China’s economic dominance, while increasing trade in sanction-hit Russia.

In various scholarly speculations, it has been presented that Russia is ready to go along with China and be part of the China-Russia-North Korea-Pakistan nexus. However, the pictures and pronouncements of the EEF, just one day before the G-20 Summit, weaken this proposition. Russia appears to be distancing itself from a confrontational and assertive China. It seems that Russia may have an uncompromising stand in its western neighbourhood though it is ready to work with US allies in the eastern theatre. It is important to note that Putin’s deliberations with President Barack Obama over the Syrian issue on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting did not produce any substantial results.

Although it is still premature to say that the new phase in the Russian overtures in East Asia is a permanent shift in its foreign policy, the continuation is definitely going to worry China, which would get more isolated in the regional politics. During his meeting with President Xi Jinping at the G-20, Putin tried to reassure China with all the right gestures but a gap between Russian and Chinese policies in the East Asian region is quite visible. Although China wants to have Russia on its side, Putin seeks an independent approach for Russia. For example, in an awkward move, China announced just few days before the G-20 summit that the Russian President would be the “number one guest”. However, it was not able to dissuade Russia to not discuss geopolitical issues at the Summit against the Chinese wish and to discuss only economy and environment. In this context, it should be keenly watched how both the countries calibrate their foreign policies as most of the countries of East Asia would try to take advantage of this gap.

* Sandip Kumar Mishra
Associate Professor, Centre for East Asian Studies, JNU & Visiting Fellow, IPCS

The Eastern Gorilla – the largest living primate – has been listed as Critically Endangered due to illegal hunting, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released today at the IUCN World Conservation Congress taking place in Hawaii.

Four out of six great ape species are now Critically Endangered – only one step away from going extinct – with the remaining two also under considerable threat of extinction.

Today’s IUCN Red List update also reports the decline of the Plains Zebra due to illegal hunting, and the growing extinction threat to Hawaiian plants posed by invasive species. Thirty eight of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed for this update are listed as Extinct and four other species have been listed as Extinct in the Wild, meaning they only occur in cultivation.

The IUCN Red List now includes 82,954 species of which 23,928 are threatened with extinction.

Mammals threatened by illegal hunting

The Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei) – which is made up of two subspecies – has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered due to a devastating population decline of more than 70% in 20 years. Its population is now estimated to be fewer than 5,000. Grauer’s Gorilla (G. b. graueri), one subspecies of Eastern Gorilla – has lost 77% of its population since 1994, declining from 16,900 individuals to just 3,800 in 2015. Killing or capture of great apes is illegal; yet hunting represents the greatest threat to Grauer’s Gorillas. The second subspecies of Eastern Gorilla – the Mountain Gorilla (G. b. beringei) -is faring better and has increased in number to around 880 individuals. Four of the six great apes – Eastern Gorilla, Western Gorilla, Bornean Orangutan and Sumatran Orangutan – are now listed as Critically Endangered, whilst the Chimpanzee and Bonobo are listed as Endangered.

“To see the Eastern gorilla – one of our closest cousins – slide towards extinction is truly distressing,” said Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realize just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating. Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet.”

The once widespread and abundant Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) has moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The population has reduced by 24% in the past 14 years from around 660,000 to a current estimate of just over 500,000 animals. In many countries Plains Zebra are only found in protected areas, yet population reductions have been recorded in 10 out of the 17 range states since 1992. The Plains Zebra is threatened by hunting for bushmeat and skins, especially when they move out of protected areas.

Three species of antelope found in Africa – Bay Duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis), White-bellied Duiker (Cephalophus leucogaster) and Yellow-backed Duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) – have moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. Whilst the populations of these species within protected areas are relatively stable, those found in other areas are decreasing due to continued illegal hunting and habitat loss.

“Illegal hunting and habitat loss are still major threats driving many mammal species towards extinction,” said Carlo Rondinini, Coordinator of the mammal assessment at Sapienza University of Rome “We have now reassessed nearly half of all mammals. While there are some successes to celebrate, this new data must act as a beacon to guide the conservation of those species which continue to be under threat.”

Hawaiian plants threatened by invasive species

Invasive species such as pigs, goats, rats, slugs, and non-native plants are destroying the native flora in Hawai’i. The latest results show that of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed so far for The IUCN Red List (out of ca. 1,093 endemic plant species), 87% are threatened with extinction, including the Endangered ‘Ohe kiko’ola (Polyscias waimeae) – a beautiful flowering tree found only on the island of Kauai. Thirty Eight have been listed as Extinct, including the shrubs ‘Oha Wai (Cyanea eleeleensis) and Hibiscadelphus woodii. Four species have been listed as Extinct in the Wild including the Haha (Cyanea superba) last seen in the wild in 2003. Invasive species are the main threat to all of these species, with many being threatened by more than one invasive species. The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group anticipates the remaining species to be assessed will also be highly threatened.

“Hawaii is an example of nature at its best with spectacular examples of evolution, yet it is facing an uncertain future due to the impact of invasive species – showing how unwittingly, human actions can make nature turn against itself,” said Matt Keir, a member of the IUCN SSC Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group. “What we see happening in Hawaii is foretelling what will happen in other island or contained ecological systems. Hawaii and other nations must take urgent action to stop the spread of invasive species and to protect species with small population sizes”

The Critically Endangered flowering Haha plant Cyanea remyi, is one of the 105 extremely rare Hawai’ian plant species on the Red List with less than 50 mature individuals. Alula (Brighamia insignis) has moved from Critically Endangered to Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild), and is one of 38 Red Listed species with less than five individuals remaining. The Alula has been so impacted by invasive species and landslides, that only one plant remained in the wild in 2014 and it has not been seen since.

This new data will be used to influence action such as listing species on the US Endangered Species Act which will assist in securing funding for conservation programs to target and control invasive species, and to fence wild areas to protect them from large mammals. Improved biosecurity to stop invasive species entering the country is essential, according to IUCN experts.

Good news for Giant Panda and Tibetan Antelope

This update of The IUCN Red List also brings some good news and shows that conservation action is delivering positive results.

Previously listed as Endangered, The Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is now listed as Vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation. The improved status confirms that the Chinese government’s efforts to conserve this species are effective. However, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35% of the Panda’s bamboo habitat in the next 80 years and thus Panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades. To protect this iconic species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed. The Chinese government’s plan to expand existing conservation policy for the species is a positive step and must be strongly supported to ensure its effective implementation.

Due to successful conservation actions, the Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) has moved from Endangered to Near Threatened. The population underwent a severe decline from around one million to an estimated 65,000-72,500 in the 1980s and early 1990s. This was the result of commercial poaching for the valuable underfur – shahtoosh – which is used to make shawls. It takes 3-5 hides to make a single shawl, and as the wool cannot be sheared or combed, the animals are killed. Rigorous protection has been enforced since then, and the population is currently likely to be between 100,000 and 150,000.

Other conservation successes include the Greater Stick-nest Rat (Leporillus conditor), endemic to Australia, which has improved status, moving from Vulnerable to Near Threatened. This is due to a successful species recovery plan, which has involved reintroductions and introductions to predator-free areas. This unique nest-building rodent is the last of its kind, with its smaller relative the Lesser Stick-nest Rat (Leporillus apicalis) having died out in the Twentieth Century. The resin created by the rats to build their nests is so strong that they can last for thousands of years if they are not exposed to water.

The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata), has also improved in status, having moved from Endangered to Vulnerable. Endemic to Australia, this once common species had a dramatic population decline during the 19th and early 20th centuries due to the impacts of invasive species and habitat loss. A successful translocation conservation programme establishing new populations within protected areas is enabling this species to commence the long road to recovery.

Yesterday, IUCN, its Species Survival Commission, and nine Red List partner institutions forged an exciting new commitment to support The IUCN Red List. These organizations will jointly commit more than US$10 million over the next five years towards achieving an ambitious strategic plan that aims to double the number of species assessed on The IUCN Red List by the year 2020. The institutions include: Arizona State University; BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University and the Zoological Society of London.

Results from one of the longest-running and most extensive experiments to examine how climate change will affect agricultural productivity show that California grasslands will become less productive if the temperature or precipitation increases substantially above average conditions from the past 40 years.

That’s one conclusion from a new study in this week’s Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from Rice University, Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. The research team analyzed data from the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment, which has run continuously since 1998. The experiment simulates the effect of warmer temperatures, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, increased nitrogen pollution and increased rainfall on a 1.8-acre tract at Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

“There’s been some hope that changing climate conditions would lead to increased productivity of grasses and other plants that draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” said study lead author Kai Zhu, a global ecologist and data scientist at Rice “In northern California, it was hypothesized that net grassland productivity might increase under the warmer, wetter conditions that are predicted by most long-term climate models. Our evidence disproves that idea.”

The Jasper Ridge experiment involves 136 test plots where scientists can study how grass will grow under conditions that are predicted to occur later this century due to climate change. The experiment allows scientists to test four variables: higher temperatures, increased precipitation, increased atmospheric CO₂ levels and increased nitrogen levels. The plots are configured in such a way that scientists can test each of the variables independently and in combination.

“Global change is quite complicated,” said Zhu, who spent almost two years analyzing Jasper Ridge data during a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford and the Carnegie Institution for Science from 2014 to 2016. “It does not just mean change in temperature. There are also changes in rainfall, atmospheric CO₂, nitrogen and many other things. If we want to get a comprehensive understanding of everything, it is important to have experiments like Jasper Ridge, which manipulate more than one variable, both singly and in combination.”

One clear finding from the data is that increased levels of CO₂ did not increase grass production. Instead, the amount of grass grown at sites with elevated CO₂ remained flat, even at CO₂ levels almost twice the present atmospheric concentration.

“The nonresponse to CO₂ is as important as any of our other findings,” Zhu said. “That finding may surprise people because a lot have said that if you have more CO₂ in the atmosphere, you’ll get better growth because CO₂ is a resource for plants. That’s a popular hypothesis.”

By examining data from all the test plots, including those where CO₂ increased in conjunction with higher temperature, rainfall and nitrogen levels, and incorporating more than 40 years of climate records from the Jasper Ridge site, Zhu was able to deduce the optimal temperature and moisture levels for production under all conditions. His analysis showed that average conditions from the past 40 years are near optimal for grass production, and any significant deviation toward warmer or wetter conditions will cause the land to be less productive.

“Experiments like Jasper Ridge are designed to examine the interactive and unexpected effects that are likely to arise from global environmental change,” said study co-author Chris Field, the founding director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. “The nonlinear, interactive effects of temperature and precipitation on grassland primary production revealed by this analysis highlight the value of this experimental approach and suggest that it could be useful in studying how global change will affect other types of ecosystems.”

The sustainable production of pathogen-free crops is one of mankind’s most pressing concerns, given projected population growth and the threat posed by climate change to arable land. Incredibly, the study of a species of unassuming tree-dwelling beetles could hold some answers.

Certain species of beetles have been successfully farming and harvesting fungi for at least 40 million years, keeping destructive bacteria at bay and developing a lasting and sustainable relationship with both their crop and environment. The success of the tree-dwelling ambrosia beetles could therefore hold lessons for humans who have been cultivating crops for a mere 10,000 years.

A lesson in sustainable farming

The ambrosia beetles, which live in social groups inside trees, transport fungi spores from their natal nest when they settle new trees. The spores are then ‘planted’, and once the fungus has developed fruiting bodies, these are harvested. Just like humans, the beetles must deal with pathogens that can harm their crops and ensure a sustainable, healthy environment for crop growing.

“My ultimate goal in this project has been to identify possible solutions that can be taken up by scientists and researchers in forestry and agriculture,” said project coordinator for the EU-funded FARMING IN BEETLES project, Dr Peter Biedermann from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany. “Just like in the beetle nests I am studying, fungal pathogens pose a huge threat to human agriculture, so understanding the beetles’ success might provide insights that are relevant for our agriculture as well.”

Launched in March 2015, the two-year project, funded through a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship grant, has already uncovered new findings. The relationship between the beetle and the fungus involves not just one but several fungus species, which are likely planted within the nest in order, i.e. in a crop rotation scheme that would be familiar to human farmers. Most remarkably several bacteria play a major role both in inducing fruiting bodies and in fighting pathogens.

“It was also really surprising to find out that in the fruit-tree pinhole borer, the ambrosia beetle species that I mainly study, the major fungus crop consists of a single strain that can be found across the whole of Europe,” said Biedermann. “Humans also grow a few very successful cultivars of their crops. Another fascinating result was that fungi are only found in beetles that colonise dead trees. Beetles that dwell in trees that are still alive do not carry fungi as they would probably kill their host tree.”

The project also built on the discovery that plant growth can be enhanced through certain microorganisms (endophytes) that live within the plant tissue and can help to repel herbivores.

“Uncovering the role of bacteria in the beetles’ gardens might help us to understand the role of endophytes associated with our crops as well,” said Biedermann. “Finally, antibiotics produced by bacteria also seem to play a major role within the beetles’ nests, so there is the potential to perhaps transfer knowledge for medical applications or even detect novel antibiotic substances.”

Applying new techniques

After confirming the complexity of the beetle-fungus system, the remainder of the project, due for completion in February 2017, will be focused on unravelling these interactions in more detail.

“For example, what chemical substances are involved, which of them are produced by the bacteria and which by the fungi themselves?”, asked Biedermann. “Which bacterial species occur within the nests; are they always the same or is there variation across the geographic range of ambrosia beetles?”

Biedermann also wants to explore in depth the parallels between beetle and human agriculture, to see what these two – traditionally distinct – research fields can learn from each other.

“I want to bring researchers that study insect farming and agronomists together, with the aim of stimulating each other´s research,” he said. :For example, it would be very interesting if we could apply bacteria to our crops in order to produce antibiotics against crop pests. This is exactly what the farming beetles seem to do.”

Source: CORDIS

New research from the Cass Business School, the University of Warwick and the University of Wisconsin shows that women ask for wage rises just as often as men, but men are 25 per cent more likely to get a raise when they ask.

Using a randomly chosen sample of 4,600 workers across more than 800 employers, the research is the first to do a statistical test of the idea that women get paid less because they are not as pushy as men. The researchers found no support for the theory.

The authors of the study Do Women Ask? also examined the claim that female employees hold back for fear of upsetting their boss, and again found no evidence for this theory either.

Co-author Andrew Oswald, Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the University of Warwick said, “We didn’t know how the numbers would come out. Having seen these findings, I think we have to accept that there is some element of pure discrimination against women.”

Various ideas have previously been suggested as to why women might be reluctant to ask for an increase in their pay packet. These include: women don’t want to deviate from a perceived female stereotype, and they may fear being less popular at work.

Co-author Dr Amanda Goodall at Cass Business School said, “Ours is the first proper test of the reticent-female theory, and the evidence doesn’t stand up.”

When like-for-like men and women were compared, the men were a quarter more likely to be successful, obtaining a pay increase 20 per cent of the time. Only 16 percent of females were successful when they asked.

The research uses data gathered in the Australian Workplace Relations Survey (AWRS) which covers the period 2013-14 which is a representative sample of Australian employees and workplaces. Professor Oswald said: “We realised that Australia was the natural test bed, because it is the only country in the world to collect systematic information on whether employees have asked for a rise.”

The survey has the distinctive feature that it asks individuals a set of questions about whether their pay is set by negotiation with the company, whether they have successfully obtained a wage rise since joining the employer, whether they preferred not to attempt to negotiate a pay rise because they were concerned about their relationships, why they decided that, and about their levels of job satisfaction.

Using statistical methods, the authors’ analysis shows that it is crucial to adjust for the number of hours worked (because part-time workers feel hesitant to ‘ask’). The analysis also took into account the nature of the employer, the industry, and the characteristics and qualifications of workers.

Despite the dispiriting findings, the authors pinpointed one encouraging sign in the data – young Australian female employees get pay hikes just as often as young Australian men.

Dr Goodall said, “This study potentially has an upside. Young women today are negotiating their pay and conditions more successfully than older females, and perhaps that will continue as they become more senior”.

The research is a collaboration between the University of Warwick, Cass Business School, City, University of London and the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, USA.

The US government should keep in place sanctions on Burma to deter the Burmese military from derailing democratic reforms, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch has learned that the Obama administration plans to announce the lifting of key sanctions during Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Washington, DC, which begins on September 14, 2016.

“US sanctions are focused on the Burmese generals and their cronies in order to encourage democratic reforms,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The sanctions are crucial for pressing the military to end rights abuses and transfer power to a fully civilian government. They shouldn’t be fully lifted until the democratic transition is irreversible.”

Many of the sanctions restricting Burmese financial institutions, imports, and US investment in Burma were already eased or removed entirely between July 2012 and May 2016. Most of the remaining sanctions specifically target the Ministry of Defense, state or non-state armed groups, and individuals and entities on the US Department of Treasury’s “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDN) List.

In August, Burma’s lower house of parliament voted to reject a legislative proposal that would challenge US sanctions. U Hla Moe, a senior official in Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy party, told the media after the vote that “there’s no reason to discuss it, because the sanctions are imposed for those who are obstructions to the country’s democratic movements, not for the [whole] country. So the parliament doesn’t need to urge to ease them.”

During a joint news conference on May 22, 2016, Suu Kyi, State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of Burma, and US Secretary of State John Kerry both appeared to suggest that relaxing sanctions would not occur until Burma’s military allowed the country’s fundamentally flawed 2008 Constitution to be revamped. The constitution reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the military, empowers the military to appoint the ministers of defense, home affairs, and border affairs, and allows the military to dissolve the government during a national emergency.

Kerry said at the May news conference that “the key to the lifting of the sanctions is really the progress that is made within Myanmar in continuing to move down the road of democratization… it’s very difficult to complete that journey – in fact, impossible to complete that journey with the current constitution. It needs to be changed.”

Suu Kyi said: “We’re not afraid of sanctions. We’re not afraid of scrutiny… I understand and I accept and I believe that the United States is a friend, and are not keeping the sanctions to hurt us, but to – that it would help us. And I’m ready to accept that; I’m not afraid of sanctions.”

Core sanctions include the gem trade, with which the Burmese military has long been involved in illicit and abusive exploitation, Human Rights Watch said. Key provisions in the current sanctions regime aim to prevent US companies and individuals from doing business with military officials and military-owned enterprises, prohibit the import of Burmese jade and gemstones into the United States, and restrict businesses and persons from involvement in that sector. Recent legal reforms in Burma that address the jade and gemstone sector have not yet been fully implemented. As a result, on August 23, US Customs and Border Protection reportedly updated and renewed its rules prohibiting the importation of gemstones from Burma.

The US Department of the Treasury maintains on its “Specially Designated Nationals” (SDN) database an extensive number of Burmese people and entities with whom US companies and persons are barred from doing business. Several are individuals who the US has determined threaten the peace, security, or stability of Burma’s political reforms, or are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses in Burma.

“Many of the Burmese on the US sanctions list are criminal suspects and human rights abusers,” Sifton said. “The US should assist Burma in promoting genuine economic development, not help those who made ill-gotten gains during military rule.”

Human Rights Watch also urged the Obama administration to keep in place the underlying “state of emergency” that allows many parts of the sanctions regime to stay in place. If current executive orders imposing sanctions are lifted or amended, they should be replaced with a new executive order under which sanctions could be re-imposed.

Congress has long played an important role in imposing and maintaining sanctions on key human rights abusers in Burma, particularly those related to the Jade and gem sector. Regardless of administration actions, the United States Congress should continue its leadership and maintain relevant sanctions legislation, which will be particularly useful in the event of backsliding on reforms by the Burmese military.

The US and other donors should also press for fiscal transparency in connection with Burma’s mineral sector and state- or military-owned enterprises, Human Rights Watch said. All donors and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank should make revenue transparency a prerequisite for budget support to Burma and investments in the extractives industries.

The US and other governments should retain restrictions on military assistance and training, and make increases in bilateral and multilateral assistance conditional on key reforms and military withdrawal from civilian government.

“Sanctions were always intended to press the Burmese military to relinquish power and embrace reforms,” Sifton said. “Now that real progress has been made, it’s crucial to keep up the pressure until those goals have been achieved.”

Over the past decades forests in different parts of the world have suffered sudden massive tree mortality. Now an international team of scientists led by researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands have found a way to spot from satellite images which forests may be most likely to fall prey to such die-off events.

Tree cover is one of the most defining aspects of landscapes, said Jan Verbesselt, lead-author and a specialist in remote sensing.

“It is therefore remarkable how poorly we can predict where trees are most likely to succumb to drought and other stresses. However, our planet is permanently monitored by satellites in detail, and we are proposing a new way to use that information for detecting the fragility of ecosystems to environmental perturbations,” Verbesselt said.

For the first time researchers were able to derive evidence for such changes from long-term satellite time series observations of tropical forests.

According to Martin Herold, “Global satellite archives are getting longer and denser every day. Together with free and open archived data, this provides a rich source of information that only now is starting to be used for tropical forest resilience analysis over large areas and increasing time spans.”

Slow recovering

“The basic idea is simple,” said Marten Scheffer, who leads the research program on resilience of complex systems. “As a system loses resilience it becomes slower to recover from small perturbations. This also happens as a system approaches a tipping point. Now we found that the natural fluctuation in greenness of forests, as driven by weather changes, may actually reflect such slowness. This is the first time, we are able to generate indicators that can anticipate the fragility of forests to future climate changes and disturbances”.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it is very worried about the constant decline in respect for freedom of expression that has accompanied the growing economic and social crisis in Venezuela since the start of the year. After the recent big demonstration in Caracas by political parties opposed to President Nicolas Maduro’s government, which several leading foreign journalists were prevented from covering, RSF has sounded the alarm and looks back at recent key events.

The international reporters denied entry to Venezuela on the eve of the protest included Marie-Eve Detoeuf (also known by the pseudonym of Marie Delcas), a reporter for the French daily Le Monde, who was put on a flight to Bogotá after being deemed “inadmissible” under Venezuela’s immigration laws.

The same vague grounds were used to deny entry to Colombian reporters César Moreno of Radio Caracol and Dora Glottman of Caracol TV and US reporters John Otis of NPR and Tim Wyss of the Miami Herald. Al-Jazeera’s Teresa Bo and Lagmi Chávez also suffered the same fate.

Also related to the the opposition march, several journalists from TV News channel NTN24 reported that they were targeted with threats and verbal abuses by the National Gard.

These acts of censorship are just the latest in a series of disturbing developments for media freedom in Venezuela:

• 30 August: The headquarters of El Nacional, one of Venezuela’s leading dailies, was attacked by masked men who threw Molotov cocktails and excrement at his facade and left a leaflet entitled, “Is the 1 September protest the beginning of the end?” It was signed by “Chama Pueblo en Rebelión,” a pro-government group that previously vandalized the newspaper’s headquarters in June.
• 24 August: Gunmen fired about 30 shots at the entrance to the headquarters of the Diario de Los Andes, a newspaper based in the western city of Valera, without causing any injuries.
• 20 June: Two individuals on a motorcycle threw a grenade at the headquarters of the Maracay-based daily El Aragüeño, scattering leaflets with the message, “Digan la Verdad” (Tell the truth). Fortunately, the grenade did not explode.
• 14 June: Five individuals vandalized the headquarters of the Ciudad Guayana-based newspaper Correo del Caroní, whose editor, David Natera Febres, was given a four-year jail term in March in connection with its coverage of alleged corruption involving a state-owned company.
• 2 June: During street protests in Caracas against the economic crisis and food shortages, local and national media representatives were targeted by soldiers, police and some demonstrators. At least 19 journalists were the subject of various forms of aggression – including physical and verbal attacks, threats and the seizure or destruction of equipment – in the space of two hours, according to the NGO Espacio Público.
• 21 April: The national guard forcibly expelled 13 journalists who were covering an event involving several parliamentarians at the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is examining the opposition’s application to hold a referendum to recall President Maduro. The journalists then had to flee from a group of pro-government demonstrators at the entrance to the CNE building. Stones were thrown at CNN en Español reporter Osmary Hernández’s vehicle, breaking three of its windows.
• 19 April: Unidentified individuals smashed the windows of the premises of VTV, Venezuela’s state-owned national TV broadcaster, in the Caracas suburb of Sucre. Unlike other attacks on media outlets, this one elicited strong condemnation by several government officials.
• 17 March: The Valencia-based daily El Carabobeño, one of Venezuela’s oldest newspapers, announced that it was printing its last issue because of the newsprint shortage that has affected the circulation of at least 46 newspapers in 15 of Venezuela’s states since August 2013.

“Venezuela’s grave political and economic crisis does not in any way justify this series of attacks and acts of intimidation against the news media,” said Emmanuel Colombié, the head of RSF’s Latin America desk.

“The argument of a ‘media war’ often raised by President Maduro in order to discredit the national and international media’s criticism of his government is unacceptable. It just exacerbates an already very tense climate for journalists. The provision of news and information is more essential than ever in these troubled times. The Venezuelan authorities must therefore do everything possible to guarantee an acceptable environment for the media.”

As well as the emblematic cases cited above, there have been many other cases of attacks against journalists, arbitrary arrest, public insults by senior government officials and actions designed to block information.

According to the Press and Society Institute (IPYS), a local NGO that monitors respect for media freedom, there have been no fewer than 13 attacks against media outlets since the start of the year. The National Press Workers Union (SNTP) has reported 176 media freedom violations since the start of the year, including 62 cases of intimidation and 22 acts of aggression.

The police are acting in an increasingly hostile manner towards reporters covering demonstrations and food lines. The protests – which have steadily grown in frequency and have received increasing media coverage since 2014 – are systematically accompanied by acts of aggression towards local and foreign reporters, including threats, insults, theft of equipment, destruction of equipment and arbitrary arrest.

Foreign reporters who wanted to cover last December’s parliamentary elections had to sign a good conduct pledge in which they accepted that their accreditation could be withdrawn if they fail to comply with certain conditions.

The United Nations and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights special rapporteurs on freedom of expression wrote to the Venezuelan government on 4 August expressing deep concern about the erosion of media freedom in Venezuela.

RSF pointed out that the Venezuelan government never implemented any of the 12 recommendations on freedom of expression that were made during Venezuela’s Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011.

Venezuela is ranked 139th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution in 1956, the Cultural Service of the Embassy of Hungary in Brussels, the Balassi Institute, is organizing the Hungarian Freedom Film Festival at Cinéma Vendôme between the September 7-13, which will be projecting feature films on the revolution.

The Hungarian Freedom Film Festival will be the opening event of the large-scale program series organized by the Cultural Service of the Embassy of Hungary to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of independence in 1956. Several events – concerts, exhibitions, memorial point inauguration – will be parts of the program series in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The Film Festival will be hosted by Cinéma Vendôme in Brussels, where the opening projection and the preceding reception will be held on September 7, with the opening film of the festival the film Children of Glory will be screened. The Hungarian ambassador in Brussels, Zoltán Nagy will open the event, in the presence of Mr Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in charge of Beliris and the Federal Cultural Institutions.

At the festival, the following films will be screened: Whooping Cough (1987), Time stands still (1982), Eldorado (1988), The unburied man (2004), Daniel takes a train (1985), The last report on Anna (2009), Diary for My Mother and Father (1990), Love (1970).

The films, made in different decades and from diverse points of view, recall the events and the spirit of the revolution saluting the courage and determination of those who fought for the freedom of the country.

This program is being realized in the framework of the Memorial Year of 1956 and with support from the Memorial Committee dedicated to the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight in Hungary.

The Program of the Hungarian Freedom Film Festival

Children of Glory/ Szabadság, szerelem (2006) – 07 September 7 pm
2h 3min | Drama, History, Romance, EN subtitle, 12

In 1956, Karcsi Szabó had been named captain of the national water polo team than would represent Hungary in the Olympics held that summer in Australia. However, many of Szabó’s countrymen had more on their minds; Hungary had fallen under the oppressive rule of the Soviet Union, and a growing number of Hungarians were demanding independence. However, the uprising is crushed by the Soviet war machine, and matters become worse for the Hungarian people. When Szabó and his teammates discover that Hungary will be competing against the U.S.S.R. in the Olympics, they see an opportunity for a symbolic victory over their oppressors…
Director:  Krisztina Goda Stars: Kata Dobó, Iván Fenyö, Sándor Csányi

Time Stands Still (1982) – 08 September 7 pm
1h 43min | Drama, EN subtitle, 12

Time Stands Still (Hungarian: Megáll az idő) is a 1982 Hungarian film about two brothers and the woman they both love, all living in Budapest during the uprising of 1956. Popular among audience and critics it won the Award of the Youth at Cannes, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the award for Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Director:  Péter Gothár, Stars:  Anikó Iván, István Znamenák, Péter Gálfy

Eldorado/ Eldorádó (1988) – 09 September 7 pm
1h 44min | Drama, EN subtitle, 12

Eldorado (Hungarian: Eldorádó, also known as The Midas Touch) is a 1988 Hungarian drama film written and directed by Géza Bereményi. The film was entered into the main competition at the 45th edition of the Venice Film Festival. For this film Bereményi won the European Film Award for Best Director at the 2nd European Film Awards. Director: Géza Bereményi, Stars:  Károly Eperjes, Judit Pogány, Enikõ Eszenyi.

Daniel takes a train/ Szerencsés Dániel (1985) – 10 September 3 pm
1h 27min | , Drama, Thriller, EN subtitle, 12
Comedy
In December 1956 there is a chaotic situation in Hungary. The revolution is put down by the Soviet army. People leave the country in large numbers for fear of revenge. A young soldier who also took a part in the revolution, takes a train to Vienna together with his friend.
Director:  Pál Sándor Stars: Péter Rudolf, Sándor Zsótér, Katalin Szerb

The Unburied Man/ A temetetlen halott (2004) – 10 September 7 pm
2h 7min | Drama, History, EN subtitle, 12

The life story of Imre Nagy is one of the defining stories of 20th century Hungarian history. He was the first communist leader to become the symbol of a national revolution, who, in addition, withdrew from the Warsaw Treaty and stood up for democracy based on a pluralist party system. Many argue that the role he assumed in the revolution of 1956 and his continued loyalty to the notion of the revolution, which prevailed until his death, did not clearly follow from his communist convictions and his past experiences in Moscow. Director:  Márta Mészáros, Stars: Jan Nowicki, György Cserhalmi, Marianna Moór

Whooping Cough/ Szamárköhögés (1987) – 11 September 3 pm
1h 31min,  Comedy, Drama, EN subtitle, 12

The story of 10-year-old boy and his family against the backdrop of the bloody events of 1956, in Budapest. Children do not yet understand what is going on, but they’re happy because the schools are closed. But gradually, to adults and children comes the understanding that something terrible is happening. Disappearing relatives, friends, and even some killed. An army arriving to put down the counterrevolutionary rebellion. Director:  Péter Gárdos, Stars:  Mari Töröcsik, Dezsö Garas, Judit Hernádi

The Last Report on Anna/ Utolsó jelentés Annáról (2009) – 11 September 7 pm
1h 43min | Drama, Romance, EN subtitle, 12

This film is the first one since the political changes in Hungary to deal with the topic of informants. It vividly depicts the atmosphere of Hungarian society in the seventies. The protagonist is Peter, a literary critic, is tasked by the secret police to persuade Social Democratic politician, Anna Kethly, who has been living in exile in Belgium for decades, to return home. Kethly, once a minister in the government of Imre Nagy, has been fighting since 1956 to preserve the memory of the revolution and to unmask the true nature of the Kadar government. The meeting between Anna and Peter is a duel of minds, summoning up old memories and historic eras, while bringing deeply buried emotions to the surface.
Director:  Márta Mészáros Stars:  Enikõ Eszenyi, Ernõ Fekete, Zsuzsa Czinkóczi

Diary for My Mother and Father/ Napló apámnak, anyámnak (1990) – 12 September 7 pm
1h 59m , Drama/Biography, FR subtitle, 12

This story follows a young student, who is orphaned as she grows to adulthood in the shadow of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Coming from the Communist intelligentsia, she sees her friends and family reacting differently. Her lover, a married factory manager, supports the patriots and later assists fellow workers in staging a strike. Meanwhile her sister and others express anger at being forced from their homes during the revolution and continue to express a hatred for the rebels afterwards. But in the end they realize that for all people, real life is not possible after the revolt and its brutal suppression by the Soviets and their collaborators.
Director: Márta Mészáros, Stars: Mari Törőcsik, Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Jan Nowicki, Ildikó Bánsági, Adél Kováts

Love/ Szerelem (1971) – 13 september 7 pm
1h 25m, Drama, EN subtitle, 12

Love (Szerelem) is a 1971 Hungarian drama film directed by Károly Makk, based on two short stories by Tibor Déry, Szerelem (1956) and Két asszony (1962). It stars Lili Darvas and Mari Törőcsik. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 44th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Today, Love is considered a classic of world cinema by critics including Derek Malcolm and Roger Ebert. The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Director: Makk Károly, Stars: Darvas Lili, Törőcsik Mari, Darvas Iván

By Matt Hadro

Young Catholics are leaving the faith at an early age – sometimes before the age of 10 – and their reasons are deeper than being “bored at Mass,” the author of a new report claims.

“Those that are leaving for no religion – and a pretty big component of them saying they are atheist or agnostic – it turns out that when you probe a bit more deeply and you allow them to talk in their own words, that they are bringing up things that are related to science and a need for evidence and a need for proof,” said Dr. Mark Gray, a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

“It’s almost a crisis in faith,” he told CNA. “In the whole concept of faith, this is a generation that is struggling with faith in ways that we haven’t seen in previous generations.”

Gray recently published the results of two national studies by CARA – which conducts social science research about the Church — in the publication Our Sunday Visitor. One of the surveys was of those who were raised Catholic but no longer identified as Catholic, ages 15 to 25. The second survey was of self-identified Catholics age 18 and over.

In exploring why young Catholics were choosing to leave the faith, he noted “an emerging profile” of youth who say they find the faith “incompatible with what they are learning in high school or at the university level.” In a perceived battle between the Catholic Church and science, the Church is losing.

And it is losing Catholics at a young age. “The interviews with youth and young adults who had left the Catholic Faith revealed that the typical age for this decision to leave was made at 13,” Gray wrote. “Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed, 63 percent, said they stopped being Catholic between the ages of 10 and 17. Another 23 percent say they left the Faith before the age of 10.”

Of those who had left the faith, “only 13 percent said they were ever likely to return to the Catholic Church,” Gray wrote. And “absent any big changes in their life,” he said to CNA, they “are probably not coming back.”

The most common reason given for leaving the Catholic faith, by one in five respondents, was they stopped believing in God or religion. This was evidence of a “desire among some of them for proof, for evidence of what they’re learning about their religion and about God,” Gray said.

It’s a trend in the popular culture to see atheism as “smart” and the faith as “a fairy tale,” he said.

“And I think the Church needs to come to terms with this as an issue of popular culture,” he continued. “I think the Church perhaps needs to better address its history and its relationship to science.”

One reason for this might be the compartmentalization of faith and education, where youth may go to Mass once a week but spend the rest of their week learning how the faith is “dumb,” he noted.

In contrast, if students are taught evolution and the Big Bang theory at the same school where they learn religion, and they are taught by people with religious convictions, then “you’re kind of shown that there’s not conflicts between those, and you understand the Church and Church history and its relationship to science,” he said.

With previous generations who learned about both faith and science as part of a curriculum, that education “helped them a lot in dealing with these bigger questions,” he explained, “and not seeing conflict between religion and science.”

Fr. Matthew Schneider, LC, who worked in youth ministry for four years, emphasized that faith and science must be presented to young people in harmony with each other.

A challenge, he explained, is teaching how “faith and science relate” through philosophy and theology. While science deals only with “what is observable and measurable,” he said, “the world needs something non-physical as its origin, and that’s how to understand God along with science.”

“It was the Christian faith that was the birthplace of science,” he continued. “There’s not a contradiction” between faith and science, “but it’s understanding each one in their own realms.”

How can parents raise their children to stay in the faith? Fr. Schneider cited research by Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, who concluded that a combination of three factors produces an 80 percent retention rate among young Catholics.

If they have a “weekly activity” like catechesis, Bible study or youth group; if they have adults at the parish who are not their parents and who they can talk to about the faith; and if they have “deep spiritual experiences,” they have a much higher likelihood of remaining Catholic, Fr. Schneider said.

More parents need to be aware of their children’s’ beliefs, Dr. Gray noted, as many parents don’t even know that their children may not profess to be Catholic.

The Church is “very open” to science, he emphasized, noting the affiliation of non-Catholic scientists with the Pontifical Academy of Science, including physicist Stephen Hawking.

There is “no real conflict” between faith and science, Gray said.

“The Church has been steadily balancing matters of faith and reason since St. Augustine’s work in the fifth century,” he wrote.

“Yet, the Church has a chance to keep more of the young Catholics being baptized now if it can do more to correct the historical myths about the Church in regards to science,” he added, “and continue to highlight its support for the sciences, which were, for the most part, an initial product of the work done in Catholic universities hundreds of years ago.”

By Mohammadreza Sardari

Figures at various levels of the Islamic Republic continue to react to the release of audio files involving conversations between the late dissident cleric Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri and top government figures regarding the “death committee” in charge of the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988.

Ayatollah Montazeri who in the 1980s was positioned to succeed the leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was sidelined and put under house arrest for his challenge to the mass execution of dissidents in the country’s prisons.

Hassan Khomeini, son of Ahmad Khomeini who is referred to in the audio files as one of the chief initiators of the executions has challenged the veracity of the statements attributed to his father and questions the objective of releasing what he refers to as “lies and unfounded statements” on the website of the late Ayatollah Montazeri.

Other figures loyal to the House of Khomeini evoke knowledge of Ahmad Khomeini’s “gentle and peaceful nature” as a challenge to his possible link to the “death committee” of the 1988 executions.

Meanwhile a day after the posting of the file on the website, Ahmad Montazeri, son of Ayatollah Montazeri was directed by the Ministry of Intelligence to remove the files from the late cleric’s website and his own Telegram page.

Soon after the releasing of the audio file in august 2016, the judiciary also got involved and summoned Ahmad Montazeri for a three hour interrogation session.

He later told Persian BBC that he has been told that since his father, Ayatollah Montazeri was a government figure at the time of the recordings, revealing these audio files is akin to revealing classified government information which is a crime. Ahmad Montazeri is due back for interrogation in the coming week.

Meanwhile top reformist figure Mohammad Tajzadeh has extended an apology for the executions of 1988 in his Facebook page and called on the government to adopt mechanisms to prevent such catastrophes from recurring.

In general however many of the figures loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini represented by views expressed in Jamaran website, continue to defend the mass execution of the political prisoners by referring to the armed operations of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MKO) dissident group.

However many of the executed prisoners were not in any way connected to this group. In the audio file those involved refer to Mujahedin-e Khalq prisoners as serious threats to the system and speaks of possible threats of conspiracy transpiring from inside the jails by these prisoners.

But Jamaran website administrators know full well that the mass of political prisoners executed summarily in 88 were not all Mujahedin-e Khalq members and their omissions regarding the events has systematically impeded the process of truth finding in this matter.

Now a large spectrum of individuals, human rights activists and relatives of victims and even Green Movement journalists or activists are probing into the truth of this catastrophe and a file has been opened in the international court at the Hague to hear the evidence of witnesses in this regard.

So far the evidence suggests that the members of “death committee” responsible for perpetrating the executions stretched well into members of the House of Ayatollah Khomeini. It is not yet been established who issued the order to execute non-Mujahedin-e Khalq political prisoners.

It is possible to attribute the failure of the reformists in the Islamic Republic system to their chosen silence about the truth of the mass executions and lack of contribution to the process of truth seeking regarding this crime.

The mass executions of 88 may be regarded as the largest systematic massacre in Iran’s contemporary history and some have referred to it as the “Iranian Holocaust”. It is therefore necessary for the House of Khomeini to face the truth and avoid further deepening their culpability with silence and secrecy.

A large group of Indonesians were arrested in Manila and sent back to their country after they sought to go to Mecca using Philippine Hajj passports that they purchased through a scam, say media reports.

The Daily Sabah reported that 168 Indonesian pilgrims were deported from the Philippines on Sept. 3 after they were held for several weeks by Filipino immigration for being caught with Philippine Hajj passports that would allow them to travel to Saudi Arabia.

The passports were acquired through “fraudulent means” in exchange for $6,000-10,000 each, reported the Daily Sabah. A further nine people are being held by Filipino police to assist with further enquiries.

Indonesia’s ambassador to the Philippines, Johny Lumintang, told detik.com that large numbers of Indonesians become victims of fraud syndicates that offer opportunities to travel to Saudi Arabia using the unused Hajj quota allocated for the Philippines.

While Indonesia has the world’s largest annual Hajj quota — 200,000 people — the country still has a waiting list of 2 million people.

While China’s quantum science satellite (QSS) project is part of the Strategic Priority Programme on Space Science, the country’s first space exploration programme intended purely for scientific research, its experiments have significant military implications.

By Michael Raska*

On August 16, 2016 China launched the world’s first quantum communications experiment satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert. The small satellite, recently named Micius after an ancient Chinese philosopher, is tasked to establish a hack-proof communication line – a quantum key distribution network, while performing a series of quantum entanglement experiments in space for the first time.

The quantum science satellite (QSS) programme is the third mission of the 2011 Strategic Priority Programme on Space Science that includes a series of satellite launches between 2015 and 2030 to explore black holes, dark matter, and cosmic background radiation. Research on quantum technology is also a key priority, including in the 13th Five-Year Plan, China’s latest economic blueprint for research and development released in March 2016. The QSS is sponsored and managed by the China Academy of Sciences (CAS), and led by chief scientist Pan Jianwei. Its mission payload was developed jointly by the CAS’s Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics (SITP) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

“Quantum Internet” and Communication Experiments

While the QSS will advance research on “quantum internet” – i.e. secure communications and a distributed computational power that greatly exceeds that of the classical Internet, Micius’ experiments will also advance quantum cryptography, communications systems, and cyber capabilities that the China’s military (PLA) requires for its sensors and future strike systems.

Micius’ experiments are designed to advance communication between space and Earth using quantum information technology, which relies on transmitting photons, or tiny particles of light. In particular, rather than using radio waves by traditional communications satellites, a quantum communication uses a crystal that produces a pair of entangled photons whose properties can be manipulated to perform cryptographic tasks.

For example, one can encode cryptographic keys in the discrete properties of a pulse of light, such as its polarisation state, or the continuous aspects of an electromagnetic wave, such as the intensity and phase of the wave’s electric field. In doing so, the complex quantum properties cannot be measured or reverse engineered without destroying the particle’s original quantum states, so the embedded cryptographic keys, in theory, cannot be copied, stolen, or manipulated.

In this context, Micius will conduct three rounds of experiments in the next two years. The first phase includes testing a secure transmission of data to targeted areas on Earth, including three ground receiving stations located at Miyun (Beijing), Sanya (Hainan), and Kashgar (Xinjiang), and processed by the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) of the China Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. These ground stations will then beam the photon chains with cryptographic keys back to Micius, which the satellite will then relay to other ground stations to decode the message.

More Ambitious Goal

The second and third round of experiments are more ambitious, focusing on complex challenges related to particle entanglement – i.e. if two quantum particles are entangled, a change of quantum state of one particle triggers a counter-change on the other, even for systems that are too far apart to physically interact. Particle entanglement is theoretically possible across any distance, however, the fragile state of entanglement currently limits that distance to around 100 kilometres. With the QSS, Chinese researchers hope to increase that distance to more than 1,000 km.

If this phase succeeds, the QSS third round of experiments will attempt to implement the idea of teleportation of quantum information, a phenomenon described by Albert Einstein as “a spooky action at a distance”. Scientists will generate a pair of entangled photons at a ground station; one photon will be transmitted to Micius, while the other will remain on the ground.

Altering the quantum state of the particle on the ground – such as a clockwise spin – may simultaneously trigger a counter-clockwise spin in space. While theoretically possible, such ‘teleportation’ carries significant challenges, including compensating for atmospheric turbulence and movement on the ground. It also requires advanced precision technologies to synchronise both ends.

Strategic and Military Implications

China plans a network of quantum satellites by 2030, which will augment a ground-based quantum computer network, which will likely be extended from the currently operational 2,000 km link between Beijing and Shanghai. If successful, China’s quantum communication network will serve as a dual-use strategic asset that may advance PLA’s capacity for power projection through a constellation of space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, tactical warning and attack assessment; command, control, and communications; navigation and positioning, and environmental monitoring.

In the PLA terms, establishing “space dominance” (“zhi tian quan”) is an essential enabler for “information dominance” (zhi xinxi quan) – a key prerequisite for allowing the PLA to seize air and naval superiority in contested areas. To this end, the PLA and civilian-defence R&D community have been developing multiple types of satellites to enhance PLA’s military effectiveness: electro-optical (EO), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electronic intelligence (ELINT), Beidou navigation satellites, microsatellites, and also quantum communication satellites. In the PLA’s strategic thought, as reflected in the 2013 Science of Military Strategy, the ability to enter, control, and exploit space serves not only as a force enhancement, but also as a deterrent factor.

Specifically, integrated space-based electronic reconnaissance and secure communications enables PLA’s long-range precision strike capabilities, including its anti-ship ballistic missiles such as DF-21D. An SAR satellite uses a microwave transmission to create an image of maritime and ground-based targets in real time and in all weather conditions. Quantum communication satellites could be then used as data relay satellites to securely transmit targeting data to and from command centres, while evading cyber interceptions. These capabilities may in turn shape the direction and character of US carrier strike group operations at sea.

China, however, does not have a monopoly on quantum technologies. Both Russia and the US have large-scale cryptologic quantum computing development programmes, attempting to exploit the potential of quantum computing in future warfare. Military space operations together with quantum computing and cyber warfare will likely shape the contours of strategic competition as well as competitive strategies between great powers and their allies.

*Michael Raska is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.