World
CHINA 2023: Chinese Balloon Soars Across US; Blinken Scraps Beijing Trip
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Friday, a huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon flew over the United States. The Pentagon accused China of spying, but China denied it. Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, abruptly canceled a high-stakes trip to Beijing that was meant to ease tensions between the United States and China.
People using binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it flew east over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet. Fuzzy videos flooded social media sites.
Despite China’s claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had blown off course, Blinken was canceled. The Pentagon didn’t believe that at all, and neither did China, which said that the balloon, which was about the size of two school buses, wasn’t used for spying and couldn’t go very far.
The balloon was found over sensitive military sites in Montana. By noon, it had moved east over the center of the United States and was expected to stay there for several days, according to officials.
The news made things even worse between the US and China, which have been getting worse for years because of many things. Nonetheless, U.S. officials maintained that diplomatic channels were open and that Blinken was willing to visit China at “an appropriate time.”
Biden Delcined To Comment About The China Balloon
President Joe Biden declined to comment when asked about the matter at an economic event. Former President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is running for reelection in 2024, said the U.S. should pop the balloon right away.
According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden was first briefed about the Chinese surveillance balloon on Tuesday. She should have explained why the administration waited until Thursday to express its concerns.
According to a senior defense official, the United States has prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered. The Pentagon eventually advised against it, noting that even though the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size could create a large debris field to endanger people.
On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder refused to say whether there was any new consideration of shooting down the balloon.
Ryder stated it was about 60,000 feet in altitude, maneuverable, and had changed course. He stated that it was no longer a threat.
Blinkin Trip Cancelled
Regarding Blinken’s trip, Jean-Pierre stated that a diplomatic visit to China was unnecessary. “The presence of this balloon in our airspace… is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this happened,” she said.
According to a State Department official, Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman protested to the Chinese Embassy’s top official on Wednesday, the day before the Pentagon announced the balloon’s discovery.
According to Pentagon officials, it was spotted over Montana, home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Several Republican lawmakers have chastised the administration for not taking stronger action against China before this. And allowing Blinken to go ahead with his trip could have made Biden even more vulnerable to their complaints when he is dealing with the new Republican-led U.S. House.
According to weather experts, China’s claim that the balloon had gone off course was not implausible. China’s account of Westerlies carrying a balloon to the western United States was “absolutely possible – not possible, likely,” said Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric chemistry professor at the University of Washington.
Nonetheless, multiple U.S. officials called the presence of the balloon “unacceptable” and said Blinken delivered that message to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi when he told them he was postponing his trip on Friday.
China Denounces Surveillance Attempts
According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, Blinken told Wang that the “U.S. is committed to diplomatic engagement and maintaining open lines of communication and that he would be prepared to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allow.”
Blinken’s long-awaited meetings with senior Chinese officials were seen as a possible way for both countries to find some areas of common ground amid major disagreements over Taiwan, human rights, China’s claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade policy, and climate change.
Even though Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to the trip at a meeting in Indonesia in November, it hasn’t been officially announced yet. However, officials in both Beijing and Washington have been talking about Blinken’s arrival on Sunday and Monday for meetings.
China, which angrily denounces surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory and once shot down an American spy plane and imprisoned its crew on Hainan Island, was relatively conciliatory in response to U.S. complaints.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that came close to an apology that the balloon was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research. According to the report, the airship had limited “self-steering” capabilities and had “deviated far from its planned course” due to winds.
“The statement said that the Chinese side regrets that the airship accidentally entered U.S. airspace due to “force majeure,” which is a legal term for things that are out of one’s control.”
SOURCE – (AP)
World
Do Microplastics in the Atmosphere Endanger Your Fertility?
(VOR News) – It is quite possible that the presence of small microplastic particles in the air may be a contributing factor to a wide variety of health problems, including malignancies of the lungs and colon.
This is something that needs additional research to be determined. There is one more item to take into consideration, and that is the potential that this is the exact circumstance.
A recent study found that tires and debris that are decomposing shed minute fragments of plastic that go airborne, so creating a form of air pollution that is not particularly widely known. This type of pollution is caused by the degradation of plastic. An example of this type of pollution is that which is discharged into the atmosphere.
The industry refers to microplastic as “air pollution.”
According to the findings of a researcher named Tracey Woodruff, who is a professor of obstetrics, gynaecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, “These microplastics are basically particulate matter from air pollution,” and it is common knowledge that this particular type of air pollution is particularly hazardous.
The researchers who supplied background notes stated that the size of microplastics is less than 5 millimetres, which is smaller than a grain of rice.
This information was provided, according to researchers. These details were supplied by the researchers who conducted the study. These particulars were provided by researchers who were responsible for carrying out the study.
The amount of plastic that is created on a yearly basis by enterprises all over the world is roughly 460 million tonnes, as indicated by the data that were provided by academics all over the world. The forecasts indicate that by the year 2050, this quantity is anticipated to have increased to 1.1 billion tonnes.
Driving is a substantial contributor to the amount of plastic that is floating around in the atmosphere, according to the conclusions of the experts who conducted the study about the phenomenon. When tires are worn down to the point where they scrape against the surface of the road, they allow microplastics to be released into the environment.
As a result of the tires wearing down, this occurs. This impact is brought about as a consequence of the inevitable amount of wear and tear that tires are subjected to.
A study that was published on December 18 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology was the result of researchers conducting an examination of data collected from over 3,000 previous investigations.
The paper was published as a consequence of this procedure. The review was constructed with the help of this analysis that was carried out.
Microplastic used this analysis to put together the review.
A number of diseases, such as cancer, lung problems, and infertility, may be influenced by the presence of microplastics in the air, according to the data, which led to the conclusion that this may be the case.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of the studies that were incorporated into the study were carried out on animals, the researchers claimed that it is very certainly plausible that the findings can also be applied to people. The fact that the majority of investigations were conducted on animals does not change the reality that this is the case.
“We urge regulatory agencies and policy leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms from microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” stated Nicholas Chartres, the principal investigator and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.
The organisation reported this comment. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) issued a press release on behalf of the organisation that contained this statement. The news release was disseminated to the public. We are convinced that state officials will act quickly to make sure that no leaks of this kind occur, which is of the highest importance.
SOURCE: USN
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World
Russian Oil Ships In The Kerch Strait Are Undergoing Rescue Operations.
(VOR News) – Following Sunday’s powerful storm, a Russian oil tanker carrying hundreds of tonnes of oil products ultimately broke apart, causing an oil spill into the Kerch Strait below. Additionally, Russian officials reported that the damage was causing problems for another vessel.
Sunday, Russian authorities announced an emergency rescue operation.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, which claimed the Emergency Situations Ministry as its source, the Volgoneft-212 tanker, carrying fuel oil and carrying thirteen crew members, ran aground and suffered damage to its bow. A shipment of fuel oil was being transported by the tanker.
Authorities have told the public that the damage was brought on by the extreme weather conditions that are currently occurring.
A second tanker, the Volgoneft-239, was damaged during the storm and is currently stranded in the same area with 14 crew members on board, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The tanker was discovered abandoned and alone in the same spot.
Additional tankers also suffered damage. The 132-meter-long cruiser, which was constructed in 1973, hangs the Russian flag around its neck.
The footage posted by state media showed the 136-meter Volgoneft-212 tanker, which was cut in two with its bow underwater, and waves crashing over its deck. At least one person lost his life as a result of this tragedy. This led to the opening of two distinct criminal investigations by the Russian authorities to look into potential violations of certain safety regulations.
Having flown the Russian flag since 1969, the yacht was finished.
Rosmorrechflot, the Russian government agency in charge of water transportation, reported a petroleum product spill.
It is believed that the cargo capacity of each tanker is around 4,200 tonnes of oil products.
The magnitude of the leak and the cause of the substantial damage one of the tankers received were not specified in the official remarks. This is in accordance with the official remarks.
Several news sites cited Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying that President Vladimir Putin directed the formation of a working committee to handle the rescue effort and lessen the effects of the oil disaster.
Peskov recommended that the government appoint the working committee’s members. This comment was made public right after Putin met with the ministries responsible for ecology and disaster management.
The Russian government has said that it will be sending more than fifty individuals and pieces of equipment to the area in response to the current crisis. Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats are examples of these people and tools.
The news that experts are presently investigating the damage at the event site was announced by Svetlana Radionova, who is in charge of Rosprirodnadzor, Russia’s natural resources regulating entity.
Kommersant reports that Volgoneft-212 used 4,300 tonnes of fuel oil.
The footage, which showed a partially submerged ship and murky water on rough seas, was posted to Telegram without the owner’s consent.
The warships were located in the Kerch Strait, which separates Crimea from the Russian mainland, when the distress signals were sent out.
The Kerch Strait is a crucial international marine passage that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, allowing for easier traffic between the two bodies of water. It also acts as a border between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, which is under Russian occupation. The Kerch Strait is located in the centre of the two nations.
The peninsula has remained a major source of contention between the two national governments ever since Russia annexed it from Ukraine in 2014. Russia was the one who seized the peninsula. Ukraine brought legal action against Russia before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016.
Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that Russia intended to illegally take over a location. The argument was supported by evidence pertaining to Russia’s conduct in the region. In 2021, the Russian Federation closed the strait for several consecutive months
SOURCE: VN
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World
Japan List Cannabis as Narcotic Criminalizes Recreational Use
TOKYO – Japan updated its cannabis and narcotics control legislation on Thursday, criminalizing cannabis (Marijuana) use and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), imposing a maximum seven-year prison sentence.
While the possession, transmission, and cultivation of cannabis and THC were already prohibited in Japan, the new rules will classify them as narcotics and criminalize their use as well, with a prison sentence of up to seven years for violations.
The amended regulations also legalize medical items containing cannabis-derived compounds that are beneficial and safe.
In 2019, 1.8 percent of the Japanese population had used cannabis at least once, making it the country’s second most popular illicit substance behind methamphetamine.
In 2023, a record 6,703 people were probed in cannabis-related criminal cases in Japan, topping methamphetamine cases for the first time, according to the Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry. Seventy percent of instances involved people under the age of thirty.
A nationwide poll performed the same year by the ministry’s research group estimated that approximately 200,000 people had consumed marijuana within the previous year.
Japan previously did not penalize cannabis usage, apparently taking into account farmers who may have accidentally ingested the drug while producing cannabis plants for use in hemp products.
The amendments will also lift a restriction on cannabis-derived medicines, putting them under a licensing system similar to other drugs used for pain relief and other purposes.
Drugs derived from cannabis plants were only allowed in clinical studies in Japan, but patient groups have been advocating for access to cannabis-derived cannabidiol treatments already licensed in Europe and the United States for illnesses like severe epilepsy.
Cannabis cultivation dates back to the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory, roughly six to ten thousand years ago (source: Wikipedia).
Cannabis hemp, as one of Japan’s first cultivated plants, provided an essential supply of plant fibre for clothing, cordage, and Shinto ritual goods, among other uses.
For much of Japanese history, hemp was common for fabric and food before cotton emerged as the country’s dominant fibre crop during industrialization during the Meiji period.
Following the end of World War II and the occupation of Japan, the Cannabis Control Law prohibited cannabis possession and manufacturing.
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