Author: Alejandro Bowers

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), announces the establishment of Maker Innovation Spaces (MIS) at three prestigious Indonesian universities: Universitas Hasanuddin (UNHAS), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), and BINUS University. With the goal of fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship and providing students with the tools and resources to turn their ideas into reality, inaugurations of these MIS mark a significant milestone in the collaboration between Indonesian and U.S. higher education institutions, aligning with Indonesia’s ambition to improve the quality of teaching and programs to help students become job-ready before graduation.…

“One Piece” is about to become an anime series — again. On the heels of the immense success of the first season of its live-action “One Piece” TV series, Netflix has teamed with “One Piece” creator Eiichiro Oda, publisher Shueisha, Fuji Television Network and Toei Animation Co. for a new anime adaptation of Oda’s “One Piece” manga series. Yes, this project is completely separate from the existing “One Piece” anime series, produced by Toei Animation, which has been running since 1999. The remake, titled “The One Piece,” will cover the same story told in Oda’s manga, beginning at the same point as both the…

HÀ NỘI — Minister of National Defence General Phan Văn Giang hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Wednesday for Philippine Undersecretary of National Defence Irineo Cruz Espino, who is in Việt Nam for the fifth Việt Nam-Philippine defence policy dialogue. Giang affirmed that Việt Nam attaches great importance to consolidating and strengthening its strategic partnership with the Philippines, and is determined to work with the country to bring the bilateral relationship to a new level, for peace, stability and prosperous development in the region and the world. Emphasising the enhanced defence cooperation, the minister suggested the two sides work harder to make it…

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Abortion access is expected to play a central role in the 2024 elections. The preview comes next week, when Ohio voters decide whether to enshrine reproductive rights in their state Constitution. The amendment is the only abortion question on any state’s ballot this year, a spotlight that has generated intense attention from national groups and made Ohio a testing ground for fresh campaign messaging — some of it misleading. The amendment has drawn more than $60 million in combined spending so far. Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, said Ohio offers a vital proving ground heading into next year’s presidential…

A “door is open” for New Zealand to “engage” in the AUKUS alliance, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and US, said the US secretary of state on Thursday. Antony Blinken, who arrived in Wellington after a stopover in Tonga where he opened a new US embassy, met with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “As we further develop AUKUS, the door is open to engagement,” ABC News quoted Blinken as saying. “As we continue to work on the second pillar, the door is very much open for NZ and other partners to…

Copenhagen (14/11 – 40) The massive mobilization and sustained pressure jolted the Sri Lankan presidency of the previously all-powerful Gotabaya Rajapaksa, prompted mass resignations from the government at the time, and solidified existing spaces and created new spaces for dissent and discussions on much-needed reforms. Sri Lanka is facing an exceptional political and economic crisis that has sparked months-long protests across the country. The new leadership under President Ranil Wickremesinghe struggles with the economic situation and seemingly failed to uphold basic human rights and pursue accountability for grave crimes towards the people of Sri Lanka. Despite troubling trends of authoritarianism,…

After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, there was a clear contrast in the reactions from the world’s two superpowers. In the following days, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the attack as an act of terrorism. Chinese President Xi Jinping remained silent. In an initial statement on Sunday, China’s foreign ministry did not mention Hamas and instead called for “relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians.” On Monday, the foreign ministry added a general statement condemning harm to civilians and said that China is “a friend to both Israel and Palestine.” Israeli government officials have been openly critical…

Spanish government announced the plan to invest $5.1 billion in electrical vehicles. The plan includes support of automotive companies that manufacture the vehicles, battery suppliers and charging stations. Kenes Rakishev considers the idea a brilliant one for a couple of reasons. Some of the reasons are technical in nature, some are purely economic one. Kenes Rakishev considers the following technical reasons to approve the decision Spain has amazing automotive industry. But the home brands are now under pressure and it’s hard to reach superiority without relying too much on foreign important parts. Contrary to the popular beliefs, in fact EV’s are much…

The knotty problem of Ukrainian grain flooding Central and Southeast European markets is back on the agenda as Hungary and Poland both threatened they are ready to unilaterally reintroduce bans on Ukrainian grain imports after the current ban negotiated by the EU expires on Friday. “Poland will not allow itself to be flooded by Ukrainian grain,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an election video published on Tuesday. “No matter what the Brussels bureaucrats decide, we will not be opening our borders.” In the video, Morawiecki stressed that Poland had helped Ukrainians when needed, but that now the interests of Polish farmers must…

Novak Djokovic continued his perfect record at this year’s US Open on Wednesday when he defeated Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round. The Serbian won his opening match in straight sets to guarantee his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday 11 September and was impressive again against Zapata Miralles, saving all six break points he faced to advance after two hours and two minutes. The 36-year-old has dropped just 11 games in his first two matches. “He started off solid,” Djokovic said. “We had some rallies. We kind of had to reach out for…