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Russia Condemns Potential Pelosi Visit to Taiwan as ‘Provocation’

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Russia Condemns Potential Pelosi Visit To Taiwan As ‘Provocation’

On Tuesday, Moscow condemned a possible visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a provocation, expressing full support with partner China.

“What is associated with this tour and a potential visit to Taiwan is pure provocation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He said that the prospective visit was causing a “increase in tension” in the area and accused Washington of taking the “confrontational course.”

“We want to underscore once more that we stand in complete solidarity with China; its approach to the situation is reasonable and entirely acceptable.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova again accused the US of being confrontational in relation to the possible visit.

“Washington is causing global destabilisation. There hasn’t been a single settled disagreement in recent decades, but there have been a lot of them “She stated this on social media.

Russia has sought deeper connections with China and voiced support with Beijing over Taiwan as it faces unprecedented sanctions and international isolation as a result of its military war in pro-Western Ukraine.

China considers Taiwan to be its territory and has repeatedly warned that a visit by Pelosi would be viewed as a grave provocation.

American politicians frequently travel to Taiwan to express their support, but Pelosi, who is presently on a tour of many Asian nations, would be a more visible visitor than any in recent memory.

Democratic Taiwan is constantly threatened by Chinese occupation.

Moscow’s onslaught on Ukraine has fueled worries that Beijing would follow through on its promises to absorb its much smaller and outgunned neighbour.

UN Report Fails to Recognize Major Child Abductions in Parts of Nigeria

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UN Report Fails To Recognize Major Child Abductions In Parts Of Nigeria

In its most recent annual report on children and armed conflict, the United Nations confirmed the abduction of 4,278 children in 21 countries last year, but it omitted to recognise massive kidnappings in northwest and north-central Nigeria documented by one of its own organisations in 2021.

According to the study published by the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict office, over a quarter of all abductions last year — 1,030 — were recorded in Somalia, the nation with the greatest toll.

The General Assembly designated the office in 1996 to advocate for the protection of children who get unknowingly involved in hostilities. Virginia Gamba, a former UN official who specialised in disarmament in her native Argentina, heads the office as a special representative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Her team conducts the research for the study, yet it is distributed under his name.

Although Somalia’s data are included in the analysis, at least 1,004 kidnappings from 25 school raids in northwest and north-central Nigeria recorded by Unicef as of November 2021 were not included.

It is a bleak, numbers-heavy compendium of some of the most heinous crimes committed against children in crisis zones, including abductions, recruiting of children as armed troops, murdering, maiming, sexual assault, and attacks on schools and hospitals. (Maiming was the most common atrocity, caused by land mines and other explosive devices.)

The research identifies which nations should be prioritised by the UN in its mission to safeguard and advocate for children’s human rights in conflict zones.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, made stunning headlines and sparked a global movement in the aftermath of the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno state (in the northeast), capturing the attention of Michelle Obama, the American first lady at the time. But the issue, which hasn’t gone away, has returned to the shadows.

“I don’t enjoy speculating. If I had to guess, I’d say the international community hasn’t taken seriously the fact that terrorism has spread from northeast Nigeria to other parts of northwest and north-central Nigeria,” said Confidence McHarry, a security expert with SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical analysis firm, from Nigeria. “As you may recall, schools were even closed as a result of the assaults.”

June 29 Was The Shortest Day In Recorded History — A ‘Wobble’ In The Earth’s Sin Shaved Off 1.59 Milliseconds

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June 29 Was The Shortest Day In Recorded History — A ‘Wobble’ In The Earth’s Sin Shaved Off 1.59 Milliseconds

The 29th of June was the shortest day in recorded history, thanks to a ‘wobble’ in the Earth’s spin that shaved off 1.59 milliseconds.

This summer, the Earth had its shortest day ever, due to a wobble in its axis that allowed it to complete a single spin in a fraction of a second less than 24 hours.

According to the website timeanddate.com, June 29 was 1.59 milliseconds shorter than 86,400 seconds, or exactly 24 hours.

In recent decades, the Earth has slowed down, resulting in somewhat longer days. However, in recent years, this trend has reversed, and the days have become increasingly shorter.

If the Earth continues to speed up, it may be necessary to remove a second from atomic clocks for the first time. The Earth is not without flaws.

The Earth frequently wobbles – the spinning that we perceive as night and day does not always occur exactly in line with its axis, the line connecting the North and South Poles.

This is due to the fact that it is not an exact sphere.

The equator has a bulge, while the poles are somewhat squashed, indicating that Earth is slightly elliptical.

Other forces, like as ocean tides and moon gravity, can also interfere with the spinning.

The “Chandler sway”

Leonid Zotov, a mathematics professor, argues that the planet is rotating faster due to a periodic movement known as the “Chandler wobble.”

The wobble was discovered in the late 1880s by astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler, who noted the poles wobbling during a 14-month period.

According to the Telegraph, the wobble began to diminish in the early 2000s, hitting historic lows in 2017.

And, according to Zotov, “it vanished” between 2017 and 2020.

According to timeanddate.com, Zotov will propose this concept at the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society. It is yet to be peer-reviewed.

In everyday life, the Earth wobbles barely alter. However, they must be monitored in order for the atomic clock to stay accurate enough to properly synchronise GPS and earth-observing satellites.