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zvaigzdelasas · 2 months

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With a history of short-term governments in Nepal’s 15 years of democratic progression, the current reconfiguration is no surprise, and it will be no surprise if the Maoists get back again with the Nepali Congress in months and years to come.

Power sharing, political discontent, ideological differences, underperformance, and pressure to restore Nepal to a Hindu state – a long list of reasons reportedly forced the Maoists to sever ties with the Nepali Congress. While the Nepali Congress expected the Maoist leader and current prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (also known by his nom de guerre, Prachanda) to leave the alliance, it did not expect an overnight turnaround. [...]

Dahal reportedly conveyed to the Nepali Congress chair, former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, that external pressure forced him to join hands with CPN-UML and form a new government.

If this assertion is true, China emerges as a plausible factor, given its historical inclination toward forging alliances with leftist parties in Nepal. This notion gains credence in light of China’s past efforts, such as its unsuccessful attempt in 2020 to mediate the conflict between Oli and Dahal.

On the other hand, India has enjoyed a comfortable working relationship with the Nepali Congress and the Maoists. Although Maoists were a challenging party for New Delhi to get along with when Dahal first gained the prime minister’s seat in 2008, the two have come a long way in working together. However, the CPN-UML has advocated closer ties with the northern neighbor China; Beijing suits both their ideological requirements and their ultra-nationalistic outlook – which is primarily anti-India. [...]

India faces challenges in aligning with the Left Alliance for two key reasons. First, the energy trade between Nepal and India has grown crucial over the past couple of years. However, India strictly purchases power generated through its own investments in Nepal, refusing any power produced with Chinese involvement. With the CPN-UML now in government, Nepal may seek alterations in this arrangement despite the benefits of power trade in reducing its trade deficit with India.

Second, India stands to lose the smooth cooperation it enjoyed with the recently dissolved Maoist-Congress coalition. During the dissolved government, the Nepali Congress held the Foreign Ministry, fostering a favorable equation for India. Just last month, Foreign Minister N.P. Saud visited India for the 9th Raisina Dialogue, engaging with top Indian officials, including his counterpart, S. Jaishankar.

As concerns arise for India regarding the Left Alliance, there is also potential for shifts in the partnership between Nepal and the United States, a significant development ally. Particularly, there may be a slowdown in the implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) projects. Despite facing domestic and Chinese opposition, the Nepali Parliament finally approved a $500 million MCC grant from the United States in 2022, following a five-year delay.

China perceives the MCC as a component of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific strategy, countering its BRI. Hence Beijing aims to increase Chinese loans and subsidies to Nepal to enhance its influence.

To conclude, the re-emergence of Nepal’s Left Alliance signals a shift in power dynamics, impacting domestic politics and regional geopolitics. With China’s influence growing, Nepal’s foreign policy may tilt further toward Beijing, challenging India’s interests. This shift poses challenges for India, particularly in trade and diplomatic relations, while also affecting Nepal’s partnerships with other key players like the United States.

[[The Author,] Dr. Rishi Gupta is the assistant director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, Delhi]

6 Mar 24

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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The Best News of Last Week

TikToker raises $186,000 for woman, 81, to pay off her mortgage and finally retire. He saw her on break at Walmart and recorded her clearly having a bad day.

Devan Bonagura, 19, works for a third-party company that sells products to Walmart, and it’s at the retailer where he met 81-year-old Nola Carpenter.

One comment read: “GOFUNDME ASAP” — before going on to receive 130,000 likes. Devan would honor the request of his followers, and later set up a GoFundMe to help Nola retire. Needless to say, the response was overwhelming.

2. Grandma and man she accidentally texted for Thanksgiving to reunite for 7th year

An accidental text message has led to a Thanksgiving tradition that is now continuing into its seventh year.

On Tuesday, Jamal Hinton confirmed in an Instagram post that he will spend this Thanksgiving with Wanda Dench, who in 2016 thought she was texting her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving when she actually texted Hinton.

3. Flossie, 26, officially crowned world's oldest living cat by Guinness World Records

British-born Flossie has set a new record as the world’s oldest living cat. Guinness World Records have officially awarded the title to the feline, who was born in 1995. The cat has had a number of owners during her lifetime, but currently resides in southeast London.

But she’s still got several years to go if she wants to beat the oldest cat ever recorded. That title goes to Creme Puff, who lived to an incredible 38 years and three days in Austin, Texas.

4. Nano-robot antibodies that fight cancer enter first human drug trial

Scientists in Israel have created the first nano-robot antibodies designed to fight cancer. The first human trial for the new nano-robots will start soon, and it will determine just how effective the antibodies are. What is special about these particular antibodies, too, is that they are programmed to decide whether cells surrounding tumors are “bad” or “good.”

The trial is currently underway in Australia and if it goes according to plan, the nano-robot antibodies will be able to fight cells around tumors that can help the tumor while also boosting the capability of the cells inhibiting the growth of the cancerous cells.

5. Nepal Fights Deforestation, and Wins

This transformation is visible across Nepal, thanks to a radical policy adopted by the government more than 40 years ago. Large swaths of national forest land were handed to local communities, and millions of volunteers were recruited to protect and renew their local forests, an effort that has earned praise from environmentalists around the world.

6. Amazing quote from Richard M. Fierro, the Club Q hero that probably saved dozens of lives

“These kids want to live that way, want to have a good time, have at it,” he said as he described the night. “I’m happy about it because that is what I fought for, so they can do whatever they hell they want.”

7. First Drug to Delay Type 1 Diabetes Approved by FDA

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug to delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes.

That’s it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Have a great week ahead :)

#best news of last week

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earlymornings · 2 years

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regarding sumeru...

hi friends! this is my quick take on what's happening with hoyoverse, the general design of sumeru, and the stream of racism allegations that have resurged recently. i think it's worth trying to analyze why hoyoverse designed sumeru the way it looks like so far (and because i want to add my two cents to the discourse lol).

here are some context:

hoyoverse is a chinese game dev company

sumeru is inspired by the people, religions, architecture, and cultures of south asian countries (india, nepal, pakistan, etc.) and countries in SWANA* (egypt, iran, the UAE, turkey, etc.)

we are only getting a portion of sumeru and 3 new characters in the 3.0 update

here are some of the main problems players have with the current status of sumeru:

the combination of the different countries and their cultures and religions

the lack of diversity

the general lack of effort put into sumeru's design, given the release of the fatui harbingers and the outstanding quality demonstrated in the interlude teaser

in order to address these concerns, i think it's important to think about hoyoverse and the stances its employees have on this issue. this does not mean i am playing devil's advocate or excusing the company's ignorance, but i think it's critical to understand the potential root causes.

because hoyoverse is based in china, their standard of diversity is much, much lower compared to that of other countries, such as the US and canada, which experience decades worth of immigration and are known as melting pots. coupled with east asia's internalized colorism and xenophobia, mainland folks simply do not get much exposure to POC. this means two things. first, they might not understand why global players are so adamant about POC representation and diversity – the developers may not even know how to go about bringing diversity because what they think is diverse is different from our understanding. second, hoyoverse will prioritize its east asian, particularly its chinese, fanbases, and let's be real, any character that's not flour-pale will not be as popular with the latter.**

the lack of popularity then becomes a financial issue for hoyoverse. hoyoverse generates a large portion of its money from the wishing system. it's thriving because so many people whale for 5-star characters and C6-ing them. if hoyoverse's largest community stops pulling for characters, they won't be able to keep up and maintain high quality with future productions (both for genshin and other games).

i promise y'all that there are at least a few designers and staff members in hoyoverse who want diversity in the same way that we do, who want unique characters with intricate lore, and who are willing to put in the effort. but at the end of the day, they are just designers and many of them will be forced to revise darker-skinned character drafts.

besides literal money, another currency that hoyoverse is limited to is time. one thing that i think hoyoverse hasn't disappointed fans in is the consistency of the game. there is always new content, and even during its hiatus in response to the shanghai mass quarantine in may, they provided mini events and extended the banners to make it more accessible for F2P players. while having constant releases is wonderful and retains interest, that means quality will be compromised in other aspects.

in this case, it means the design and intention put into sumeru. to elaborate, by design, i don't just mean character designs (though this is debatable because the community has a pretty bad habit of hating new characters, especially 5-stars, but then growing to love them) but also the geography, architecture, and personality of sumeru.

as sumeru is marketed right now, its concept is that it is a collage of all the aforementioned countries and their respective cultures. unless sumeru is separated into geographical sections to represent the distinct cultural influences, to mish-mash these countries' religions, peoples, and traditions together is disrespectful and reinforces harmful monolithic stereotypes.***

sumeru will be a literal game-changing region because it has so much information to bring: in-depth lore, the dendro element and everything that entails, etc. this is a pivoting point, so that's why it's frankly saddening and anticlimactic for hoyoverse to not put in the effort. i understand that in update 3.0, we will only be getting a taste of sumeru, so while it's hard to judge the production of the region with the limited information we have right now, it's important to push for diversity and representation while we still can and also give hoyoverse time to make the necessary changes correctly.

to summarize: i don't think hoyoverse is being intentionally or actively racist. i think it comes from a place of ignorance, so i personally think it's better to approach this problem with constructive criticism than to send hate messages to hoyoverse staff members who work so hard regardless. if we don't tell them why and what they're doing is wrong, then the game developers won't know how to resolve the concerns. furthermore, sumeru hasn't officially come out yet, and what we have seen in the teasers will be more refined and polished in the released product. i don't think we need to panic or retaliate, i just think we should remind hoyoverse so that they don't put representation on the back burner.

as for solutions, sending messages through different media platforms, emails, etc. has worked in the past (e.g. during genshin's 1st anniversary).**** but it doesn't stop there. just like every other region released so far, sumeru isn't just limited to the 3.0 patch; we will continue getting content for it for the rest of the game, so unless we see results, we have to be consistent with the feedback. that looks like continuing to send messages until we see tangible, permanent change, not being complacent in the lack of POC representation, and more.

i probably missed a lot of great points out there, but this is all my last brain cell can come up with. please repost and add your own thoughts because the more ideas, the better! (if you want to repost this onto other platforms, just make sure you credit me!!)

hope everyone gets their kazuhas, heizous, and yoimiyas in 2.8!!!

*i recognize that the name "the middle east" has colonial roots, but because the region is so popularly known as such, i'm using it so that no one gets confused. edit: thanks to @najmaviper for pointing this out, but a decolonized term that is often used is SWANA. you can find more information at the initiative's website: https://swanaalliance.com/about#:~:text=S.W.A.N.A.%20is%20a%20decolonial%20word,contain%20and%20dehumanize%20our%20people.

**this is not to say that all individuals from south asian or SWANA are darker-skinned, but it's crucial to push for change to help gamers who are tan, brown, and black. this is especially important to do with games as popular as genshin impact because it can cause ripple effects.

***here's a tweet that states this argument eloquently: https://twitter.com/timelysumeru/status/1546500639970435072

****i know another method that has worked has been leaving a bunch of bad reviews in app stores, but i don't think it's applicable right now since we know so little about sumeru. if the problem persists, sure, but i think sending bad reviews right now just antagonizes the situation even further.

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emprexxluxaic · 2 years

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ᰋ ׅ࣪ ꒰ possible profession ♡︎ where your future spouse live ꒱

⠀ׅ ♡⠀࣪ emprexxluxaic ⸺ your angel ׅ ࣪ 𝅄

──⠀۪ ఌ︎ ۫ 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚕𝚎 ୨୧ ( 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 )

ᴾᴵᴸᴱ ᴼᴺᴱ ᪶ ᴾᴵᴸᴱ ᵀᵂᴼ ᪶ ᴾᴵᴸᴱ ᵀᴴᴿᴱᴱ

⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝

THE TWO CUPS IN A BALCONY

⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜ ︵ ୨୧︵ ⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜

This might be someone who doesn’t want to be honest and open. They don’t prize communication, but would rather run from the truth.Most of the time they are cool, calm and unemotional.Someone who is clever and acutely aware to their current situation.They know how to control their lives and quite determined for their short term goals.In terms of communication they know when to speak and right words to use to make it easy maybe they like hosting party?,they are responsible and down to earth person,hardworking person and very commited to their jobs or studies,they can be very organized and likes to spend there time in library who loves to read books and interesting articles online.a pet and nature lover,may be they own a pet and likes to plant.They appreciate the beauty of our nature and enjoy simple walks in parks or hiking,also loves food and going to picking fruits in summer/spring or autumn,they found it enjoyable.if this a woman they very conservative into their clothes maybe because of their beliefs/culture,you probably don't them showing there skin alot or wearing trendy clothes but likes to buy good quality clothes that will last longer.Also they think about what decisions she will make and don't like to be quick,they will rather spend time weighting the pros and cons.they move very slowly but very patient they make sure that everything is perfect cause they always like it to be perfect , a perfectionist.

THEIR PROFESSION :

WHERE THEY LIVE :

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan , Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka , Scandinavia , Paraguay , New Zealand , Portuguese , Argentina, Bolivi, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay [ SOUTH EAST AND EAST ASIA ]

⠀♡⃝ ࣪ ۪ છ۪ to support and donate 𓂂 ׄׄ ᘡ 𝅄 to leave a tip

♡︎ ◦ യ ﾟ꒰˚｡ masterlist : other pick a card readings ۫ ⋆

⏜⠀like , reblog and follow me for more pac readings⠀☆⠀ ｡ ˚ ⠀♡

⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝

A CAT UNDER THE SHADY CLOUDS

⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜ ︵ ୨୧︵ ⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜

This person is someone calm, non-confrontational, and placid. They have learned to get along with almost anyone and make great partners and friends,only few things upset them.In any problems they work towards a peaceful resolution that will benefit everyone,this people simple life and avoid busy places and crowds,they need quiet and peace to think better their thoughs also tends to seeks relief from very tiring day they really love day offs and breaks from daily life. they make choices from their heart and puts effort on how they appear maybe they like fashion because they care how you/other people think about them and their appearance and image Whenever this people in a relationship they put effort for being witty and appealing,often wants to feel the relationship is whole,they have balanced approach in life or to people that surround them.They naturally an excellent communicator and mediators who brings best into other lives.They can be over confident and may brag their abilities to others,they love attention and often expect everyone to gave them recognition (can have narcissistic traits) when people are not affected by their charms they feels something is wrong with them.

THEIR PROFESSION :

WHERE THEY LIVE :

Honduras,Saint Barthélemy,Antigua and Barbuda,Dominica,Nicaragua,Cayman Islands,El Salvador,Bermuda,Saint Pierre and Miquelon,Greenland,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Costa Rica,Montserrat,Panama,Sint Maarten,Guadeloupe,Belize,Bahamas,Turks and Caicos Islands,Saint Martin,Canada,Martinique,U.S.A.,British Virgin Islands,Jamaica,Barbados,Puerto Rico,Caribbean Netherlands,Saint Lucia,Guatemala,Curaçao,Anguilla,Trinidad and Tobago,Mexico,Haiti,Cuba,Grenada,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,Dominican Republic,Aruba,United States Virgin Islands,Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen,New Zealand, Australia, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Chile, and Argentina [ EUROPE ]

⠀♡⃝ ࣪ ۪ છ۪ to support and donate 𓂂 ׄׄ ᘡ 𝅄 to leave a tip

♡︎ ◦ യ ﾟ꒰˚｡ masterlist : other pick a card readings ۫ ⋆

⏜⠀like , reblog and follow me for more pac readings⠀☆⠀ ｡ ˚ ⠀♡

⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝ִ︶⏝

SOMEWHERE AWAY FROM THE CROWDS

⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜ ︵ ୨୧︵ ⏜ ︵⊹︵ ⏜

This is someone with a gentle nature being both generous and abundant,might be introvert or they just love their home and loves gardening,they enjoy spending time in decorating , cooking , and gardening.Often do well in their chosen field and people that who knows or surrounds them loves to pay a visit into their house also they love to entertain other people and has big heart.They desire for success and will do anything just to achieve it, no matter what challenges they ben through they sees life as passion and inspiration .Always has new or fresh ideas and they don't hesitate at moving forward ,they are strong and have the ability to succed the all odds,confident and accomplised people.They geniunely love their family and loves kids ,they are nurturing and often makes a good parent in future or now?.This person is very grateful ay anything they have whether it's material or not indeedreally loves their family and family means alot for them (maybe a family oriented).for other who choose this pile they will might get a wealthy spouse or a spouse coming from well stablish or wealthy family or will get wealthy after marriage.They good at working an might reaping their awards and share it with less fortunate people.

THEIR PROFESSION :

WHERE THEY LIVE :

COUNTRIES IN AFRICA , FIJI , PAPUA NEW GUINEA , SOLOMON ISLANDS , MARSHALL ISLANDS , MICRONESEA , NEW ZEALAND , VANUATA , AUSTRALIA , SAMOA , PALAU , KIRIBATI , TUVALU , NAURU , TONGA , UNITED KINGDOM , IRELAND , SCOTLAND , ANTARTICA , VICTORIA(SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA)

⠀♡⃝ ࣪ ۪ છ۪ to support and donate 𓂂 ׄׄ ᘡ 𝅄 to leave a tip

♡︎ ◦ യ ﾟ꒰˚｡ masterlist : other pick a card readings ۫ ⋆

⏜⠀like , reblog and follow me for more pac readings⠀☆⠀ ｡ ˚ ⠀♡

dedicated song :

ᵃˡˡ ʳⁱᵍʰᵗˢ ʳᵉˢᵉʳᵛᵉᵈ ᵇʸ ᵉᵐᵖʳᵉˣˣˡᵘˣᵃⁱᶜ ᵒⁿ ᵗᵘᵐᵇˡʳ ²⁰²²

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mariacallous · 2 months

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In the waters of the South China Sea, Chinese coast guard vessels have clashed with Philippine ships. In the air above the Taiwan Strait, Chinese warplanes have challenged Taiwanese jet fighters. And in the valleys of the Himalayas, Chinese troops have fought Indian soldiers.

Across several frontiers, China has been using its armed forces to dispute territory not internationally recognized as part of China but nevertheless claimed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In August 2023, Beijing laid out its current territorial claims for the world to see. The new edition of the standard map of China includes lands that are today a part of India and Russia, along with island territories such as Taiwan and comprehensive stretches of the East and South China Seas that are also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

China often invokes historical narratives to justify these claims. Beijing, for example, has said that the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which it claims under the name of the Diaoyu Islands, “have been an inherent territory of China since ancient times.” Chinese officials have used the same words to back China’s right to parts of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese government also claims that its sovereignty over the South China Sea is based on its own historic maritime maps.

However, in certain periods since ancient times China has also held sway over other states in the region—Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Vietnam. Yet Beijing is currently not laying claim to any of these.

Instead, Beijing has embraced a selective irredentism, wielding specific chapters of China’s historical record when they suit existing aims and leaving former Chinese territories be when they don’t. Over time, as Beijing’s interests and power relations have shifted, some of these claims have faded from importance, while new ones have taken their place. Yet for Taiwan, Chinese claims remain unchanged, as the fate of the island state is tied to the very legitimacy of the CCP as well as the vitality of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s political vision.

Many of the CCP’s territorial claims have roots in the 19th and 20th centuries during the late rule of the Qing Dynasty. Following diplomatic pressure and repeated military defeats, the Qing Dynasty was forced to cede territory to several Western colonial powers, as well as the Russian and Japanese empires. These concessions are part of what are known in China as the “unequal treaties,” while the 100 years in which the treaties were signed and enforced are known as the “century of humiliation.” These territorial losses eventually passed from the dynasty to the Republic of China and then, following the Chinese Civil War, to the CCP. As a result, upon the CCP’s establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the new Chinese state inherited outstanding territorial disputes with most of its neighbors.

But despite the humiliation the Qing Dynasty’s losses had caused, the CCP proved willing to compromise and reduce its territorial aims during times of high internal unrest. Following the Tibetan uprising in 1959, for instance, the CCP negotiated territorial settlements with countries bordering the Tibet region, including Myanmar, Nepal, and India. Similarly, when unrest rocked the Uyghur region in the 1960s and ‘90s, Beijing pursued territorial compromises with several bordering countries such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward in the early 1960s and the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, the CCP also pursued territorial settlements with Mongolia, Laos, and Vietnam in the hopes of securing China’s borders during times of domestic instability. Instead of pursuing diversionary wars, the CCP relied on diplomacy to settle border and territory disputes.

But China has changed quite a lot since then. In recent years, the CCP has avoided the inflammatory domestic political chaos of previous decades, and its once-tentative hold over border regions, such as Tibet and the Uyghur region, has been replaced by an iron grip. With this upper hand, the CCP has little incentive to pursue peaceful resolutions to remaining territorial disputes.

“China’s national power has increased significantly, reducing the benefits of compromise and enabling China to drive a much harder bargain,” said M. Taylor Fravel, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In this context, the CCP has expanded its irredentist ambitions. After the discovery of potential oil reserves around the Senkaku Islands, and the United States’ return of the islands to Japan in the 1970s, Beijing drew on its historical record to lay claim to the islands, even though it had previously referred to them as part of the Japanese Ryukyu Islands. Similarly, though Beijing and Moscow settled a dispute over Heixiazi Island, located along China’s northeastern border, in 2004, the 2023 map of China depicted the entire island (ceded, along with vast Pacific territories, by the Qing Dynasty to the Russian Empire in 1860) as part of its domain, much to the ire of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Collin Koh Swee Lean, a senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, argues that the Chinese mapping of Heixiazi Island shows that Beijing holds on to certain core interests and simply waits for the opportune time to assert them.

“Given the current context of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s increased dependence on China, it might have appeared to Beijing that it has the chips in its pockets because, after all, Moscow needs Beijing more than the other way around,” Koh said on the German Marshall Fund’s China Global podcast.

This raises the question of whether territorial disputes that were settled during times of CCP weakness can be revisited and become subject to irredentist ambitions should power balances shift in China’s favor.

According to Steve Tsang, the director of the China Institute at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, there is currently a limit to how far the CCP will push territorial claims against Russia, since President Xi will need Russian support to sustain his grand ambitions for Chinese leadership on the global stage.

Although it would be a long shot, even Russia may not be safe from these ambitions indefinitely. Given that large swaths of Russia’s Pacific territories were part of China until 1860, “China could claim back the Russian Far East when it deems the time is right,” Tsang said. Such control would grant Beijing unrestricted access to the region’s abundance of coal, timber, tin, and gold while moving it geographically closer to its ambition of becoming an Arctic power.

While there is plenty of historical evidence pointing to former Chinese control over the southeastern portion of the Russian Far East, the historical record is less unequivocal about Chinese control over Taiwan. Anything resembling mainland Chinese control over Taiwan was not established until after 1684 by the Qing Dynasty, and even then central authority remained weak. In 1895, the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to the Empire of Japan following the First Sino-Japanese War, and by the time Chinese authority was restored in 1945, Taiwan had undergone several decades of Japanization.

These details have not prevented the CCP from claiming that Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. Yet more than any other irredentist claim, Xi has made unification with Taiwan a major component of his vision to rejuvenate the Chinese nation.

Unification, however, has little to do with ancient history and more to do with the challenge that Taiwan presently poses to Xi’s aims, according to Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor who teaches about Chinese foreign policy at the National University of Singapore.

“The CCP pursues a Chinese nationalism that emphasizes unity and homogeneity centered around the CCP leadership while they also often claim that their single-party rule is acceptable to Chinese people,” Chong said.

In contrast, Taiwan holds free elections in which multiple political parties compete for the favor of a people that have increasingly developed an identity distinct from mainland China.

“The Taiwanese experience is a clear affront to the CCP narrative,” Chong said.

Control over Taiwan is also attractive to Beijing because it is key to unlocking the Chinese leadership’s broader ambition of maritime hegemony in waters where almost half of the world’s container fleet passed through in 2022.

As with the case of Taiwan, the CCP’s historical arguments regarding its claims on island groups and islets in the East and South China Seas are likewise much weaker than many of its land-based claims.

Instead, Chinese territorial intransigence in the maritime arena is more about a strategic shift in the value of the seas around China, Fravel said.

Today, it has been estimated that more than 21 percent of global trade passes through the South China Sea. And beneath these waters are not only subsea cables that carry sensitive internet data but also vast estimated reserves of oil and natural gas.

Although it may say otherwise, Beijing’s unwillingness to let up on its tenuous territorial maritime claims suggests that China is pursuing long-held ambitions and global aspirations rather than attempting to reverse past losses. So long as the CCP wields its historical record selectively and changeably to serve its aims—and is willing to back its claims up with military action—China’s neighbors will remain at risk.

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lgbtpopcult · 10 months

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#same sex marriage #politics #india #czech republic #Thailand #nepal #greece #japan #south korea #lesbian #gay #lgbt #lgbtq #wlw #bi #girls who like girls #lgbtqia #sapphic

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fatehbaz · 2 years

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Mid-2022 gharial news round-up.

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus, the large, conspicuous, and extremely unique fish-hunting crocodilian of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra river systems) is extinct in Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The crocodilian now only survives in small populations in India and Nepal, with perhaps only 200 breeding-capable wild adults surviving.

But now Pakistani land managers are formally requesting that Nepal provide gharials for reintroduction in the Indus river system in Pakistan, where they’ve been extinct for nearly 40 years. [Source: Abhaya Raj Joshi. “Return of the king? Pakistan moves to bring gharials from Nepal to its rivers.” Mongabay. 2 July 2022.]

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For the first time in nearly 20 years, new wild-born gharial hatchlings have been spotted in critical gharial habitat in Nepal’s Karnali River. [Source: Abhaya Raj Joshi. “First gharial hatchlings spotted in nearly two decades in Nepal’s Karnali River.” Mongabay. 20 June 2022.]

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In 2016, it was discovered for the first time that gharials had been successfully nesting in the Gandak river system. After the release of another 148 gharials, as of 2022, it has been determined that the Gandak river is now home to the second-largest population of gharials in India. [Source: Patna News. “‘Gandak now second largest gharial population in country.’“ As published at The Hindustan Times. 3 July 2022.]

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More discussion of wild gharial hatchlings in Nepal. [Source: Abhaya Raj Joshi. “New gharial hatchlings in Nepal a hopeful sign for the critically endangered reptile.” Mongabay India. 28 June 2022.]

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Reintroduced gharials are expected to begin successfully breeding in the wild in the Punjab. [Source: Vikas Vasudeva. “Reintroduced gharials thriving in Beas reserve: experts.” The Hindu. 18 December 2021.]

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For context.

Historical distribution range of the gharial:

And current distribution range.

Gharials are now extinct in Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh:

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nitewrighter · 3 months

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Hi! I'm very new to the overwatch Fandom and am currently obsessing over your fan kids (specifically Seye bc I don't see a lot of doom content and I love him) ANYWAY, doomfist does die, right? If so, who is it that kills him, and how do Seye and his mother react? I did read the post about Seye eventually destroying the doomfist with some help, but am super curious about some of what happens in between and after :>

Wow! Asks that make me dig through my ancient 'Marsey' tag.

To be honest, I used to be SUPER protective and vague when it came to stuff at this stage of the story I wanted to tell with my fankids, and was also being sadly dangled along by Blizzard's breadcrumbs of lore---I was in a dance with Blizzard where, I did have a very strong idea of how I wanted the story to end, but I was also dependent on Blizzard for canon lore so that I could make my ending the most accurate, the most satisfying. But seeing as there's basically only lore drops now because Blizzard no longer gives a shit about continuity or quality, and basically the cast has expanded so much since I initially plotted it out that I'll probably have to reconfigure this ending in some capacity anyway, I can talk about it now.

Basically there were two avenues I could have taken with Doomfist, the first one, that actually had those Marsey fics, where it was basically a 'continuation' of the Doomfist cycle, that is, some guy challenges Doomfist for the gauntlet and is able to kill him and take the gauntlet, which obviously puts Seye into a lurch as Doomfist's son and the previously assumed successor. I literally didn't have a name for this would-be killer, and in a way, it didn't really matter because you as the reader weren't supposed to see Doomfist's killer as the rightful bearer of the mantle and Seye's whole arc would be defeating this guy (with Marti's help) and then basically shutting down the weird Metal Gear-esque war cult that's risen around the Doomfist gauntlet as a symbol.

The other option was that Doomfist would be killed in the Final Battle™ at Nepal by... drumroll... Junkrat and Roadhog. NOW BEFORE YOU YELL AT ME, Junkrat and Roadhog would also die in this fight. Roadhog would die before Junkrat, but Junkrat would basically be talking to a very clearly bled-out-past-the-point-of-no-return-and-unconscious Roadie like, "It's okay, Roadie, you can take a nap. I can wrap this up," Before pulling all of the pins on all the grenades on his little chest harness while clinging onto Doomfist. Okay you can yell at me more now. But mostly I loved the combination of dramatic irony of Doomfist being consumed in these fires of chaos, and of the ~Junkers~ of all people going out in a blaze of glory against one of Overwatch's Final Bosses. I had this in my brain for years before Junkrat even got his "I killed the Doomfist!!" elimination line, btw. Doomfist views conflict as its own sort of order, but ends up getting killed by the wacky Mad Max randos who have kind of been the comic relief this whole time. Basically the fact that the Doomfist gauntlet itself would also be destroyed in this kind of fight would aslo be the thing that ends the cycle. That was also the battle that was vaguely referenced in this fic.

In both potential deaths for Doomfist, Seye becomes disillusioned enough with Talon as an organization to basically split off and form his own splinter mercenary organization (I was going to use my Talon Goon OC's as his starting lineup, haha), and he also attempts to create his own mantle as "Earthshaker" but he's still deeply affected by Doomfist's death because that's so much of his identity and he's had this enormous fear of irrelevance all of his life. Like this isn't just the grief of losing a father, this is the threat of oblivion that he's dreaded his entire life. As for Seye's mother, Tejuka, it's less of a blow to her--she more or less came to terms with the fact that Doomfist really doesn't have the philosophy or lifestyle to "go peacefully in his sleep," and that's one of the reasons why they divorced and she put so much effort into grooming Seye to actually be the successor of Ogundimu Prosthetics. Dying is easy, living's harder, etc, etc.

#overwatch #doomfist #son of doomfist #A SEYE FAN OH MY GOD YAAAAAY #Me: I love stories of healing and redemption!!#also me: I have to kill off the Junkers because they're Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

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beardedmrbean · 9 months

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An endangered red panda has given birth to two cubs in a zoo in southern Germany's Baden-Württemberg state.

The Karlsruhe Zoo announced the birth of the male and female cubs on Friday in a Facebook post. It said the birth was the first for a red panda inside the zoo.

What do we know about the offspring?

The two cubs were taken out of their den on Friday for their first checkup with a veterinarian, a zoo spokesman told the German DPA news agency.

The zoo added in the Facebook statement that they were both microchipped.

"The offspring of the red pandas are developing very well," the zoo said, adding that they were born on June 25. They currently weigh 410 and 500 grams.

"The cubs will spend the next weeks in the den and will be cared for by their mother Akuti," the statement added.

Only thousands of red pandas remain

Red pandas are among the world's endangered species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says fewer than 10,000 of them remain on Earth.

Only a little larger than a domestic cat, the pandas are also characterized by their bear-like physique and thick-russet fur.

Their name is believed to derive from the Nepali word "ponya," which means bamboo/plant-eating animals. Despite the name, they are not closely related to the bigger pandas.

The species mainly lives in the Himalayas, in countries including Nepal, India, Bhutan and Myanmar.

#nunyas news

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ya-zz · 7 months

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A lil scenario in my head, it's messy and eh, I just have no idea how to write war scenes as you can see, anyways, have my creation

Ramattra canonically woke up in New York, and watching genesis again, it gave me an idea.

You were one of many, but at the same one of not so many.

This war has been going on for years, and humanity was at a bring of exhaustion. Many children, women and men, died, their bodies never to be found. And soon, you will join them.

In a desperate move to make evacuation of children and wounded, any adult capable of walking and holding a weapon was ordered a suicide charge into the enemy forces to buy time for others, more important to flee. Overwatch forces and what was left of the army were too far away to help. You only had a few hundreds soldiers and around three thousand of volunteers willing to go. You were one of them, hoping silently to end your pain, and die in a fight. Useful.

You hid behind a piece of concrete rubble and sat down, your breath being ragged and uneven from the earlier run. Your hands trembling, yet not from fear, holding a rifle.

You got used to fear. To having to be afraid. You knew that the omnics that once took care of your child self were just machines after all. No matter how many funny backstories and meaningful names you gave them as a child. It was sad, really. To pity your now enemies. But now, you were just tired. You weren't sure if you wanted to see another day.

You turned your head to the right, and saw a ravager, who fell to the ground, aiming their weapon at you. Almost automatically you aimed your weapon at it, somehow faster, and...

You both stopped before pulling the trigger.

You watched shocked, as it's LEDs started blinking blue, as it's motion stopped.

You saw that it probably fell down, probably from the force of the explosion earlier, covered in mud and scratches. Part of its faceplate was broken, showing an optic that currently was widening and shrinking as if there were two sides fighting for dominance.

And then, it dropped the weapon, almost... Confused. Like suddenly this murder bit was a child, looking around in wonder. It touched its face, feeling around, and dropping it's weapon in the process. It slowly started standing up as well, it's LED's glowing soft blue instead of bloody red that you grew to hate.

You also got up, careful to not reveal yourself from behind your cover. You noticed that shots were quieter, almost at the standstill.

"I..." You looked down at it, as it spoke. To you. A human.

They never spoke out loud. They could, since they had a voice box that could mimic human speech, but R-7000, in your experience they never used the voice range that was mimicking human voice. They usually spoke commands in omnicode, humans being only able to hear a quiet hum.

"I am sorry..." His voice was surprisingly deep, yet still had this robotic echo to it, as all omnics did.

You did not say anything. You kept staring at him, flabbergasted. You never thought that whatever Overwatch planned in Nepal would actually work. Ever.

It was known to you that Overwatch was doing an operation meant to turn the tides of the war, something about making omnics able to disable their programming. But this... You felt that you witnessed something. Whenever good or bad, it was something.

You did not know to this day why you did what you did.

You slowly made your way to the sitting ravager until you were standing in front of him. You then tore material from your coat and tied it around omnics head, covering the damaged faceplate and optic. It just stared back at you, unmoving, as you finished it with a bow.

"You are... Not what you are" you said out loud, not really knowing what you meant at the time.

It titled it's head and raised its hand to touch the cloth. It looked like a child, scared, but curious.

This was the beginning of a new future that none ever expected to happen.

I read this in between the busy parts of my shift when it came through and I just stood there like :0

This is such a cool idea! Being there to fight and then witnessing the sentience-y of omnics… ooo boy I’d read this hands down-

#overwatch #ramattra #askyazz

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ppenvs3000w24 · 4 months

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Blog 1: First of Many

Hello! My name is Pratik, and I am a 5th-year Zoology Major and Plant Science Minor. This is the first of hopefully many blog posts that I will be writing weekly for at least the next 3 months.

My current relationship with Nature is deeply rooted in my heritage and culture. I was born in Nepal where I spent the first 12 years of my life before immigrating to Canada with my family. Nepal is a country that focuses on agriculture and tourism and houses the tallest Mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest. Most of the people I knew grew up as farmers and villagers who deeply cared about their land and natural resources. This allowed me to grow up intertwined with nature where I both respected and feared the jungles of Nepal as they are home to Bengal tigers, Indochinese rhesus macaques, leopards, wild boars, and the Big Four snakes.

Kathmandu, Nepal where I grew up.

When I first started exploring the parks and conservation areas of Canada, I found it interesting how visitors did not fear the wildlife. This baffled me at first as I assumed Grizzly bears, cougars, and wolves roamed most of Canada and frequently clashed with the local populations like in Nepal. After doing some more research, I realized that none of the 3 animals roamed the parks near my place, and I, too, had nothing to fear like the local visitors. After 10 years in Canada, my fear of nature has eroded away, and nowadays, I frequently find myself exploring off-the-path trails and making my own path when exploring Nature. However, my respect for Nature persists as Nature, when disrespected, can be very unforgiving based on the countless tales I have heard from park naturalists, guides, and locals.

As it stands now, my relationship with Nature is built on respect and a tiny bit of fear where I plan to center my future career around Nature and Academia, hoping to make them more accessible to the public.

Holding a Garter Snake for my Field Course Paper in Algonquin Park

The two people that offered me a sense of place in Nature were Steve Irwin and Jeremy Wade. Steve Irwin was my introduction to wildlife outside of Nepal, and he taught me that wild animals, specifically snakes, are not evil by nature. They are, instead, misunderstood due to their appearance, causing humans to cull them from their local range. In Ontario, the Timber Rattlesnake was extirpated by hunters due to the snake being venomous even though conflicts were rarer than perceived. Steve Irwin showed me that wildlife does not like to be bothered, and their actions against humans are often justified (hunger, young protection, habitat loss).

Jeremy Wade was a professional angler who hosted the TV show known as River Monsters. He traveled the world, searching for freshwater-inhabiting creatures mentioned in local folklore. I remember vividly that his show was one of the first to showcase Nepal outside of the Himalayas. He showed me that the local population is more than often the most educated regarding wildlife inhabiting their lands. Jeremy would always listen to the stories of the local population and explore any leads they provided no matter how fictional they sounded. He taught me that working with the local population is the best way of studying Nature in a new environment and their opinions should not be ignored.

Remic Rapids Park, Oattawa

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mybeingthere · 1 year

Photo

Tsherin Sherpa (born in Kathmandu in 1968) began studying traditional thangka painting under his father, Urgyen Dorje, a renowned thangka artist from Nyalam, Tibet. After six years of training, which included a comprehensive education in Buddhist philosophy and practice, he moved to Taiwan, where he studied Mandarin Chinese and computer science for three years. Afterwards, he returned to Nepal and worked with his father, creating thangka paintings and wall murals for local monasteries. In 1998, Sherpa immigrated to the United States, where he started working as an artist in California.

Once in the US, Sherpa began to explore his own style, reimagining traditional tantric motifs, symbols, colours and gestures placed in resolutely contemporary compositions. Often, the artist appropriates globalised icons and logos of mass culture and luxury branding, which he derives from the Internet. He has exhibited across the US and Europe, including in the 2010 exhibition Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. He currently lives in Oakland, California, where he continues to teach classes in traditional thangka painting.

http://www.tsherinsherpa.com

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ognimdo2002 · 8 months

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Red Panda – Red Cuddler

The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), or Lesser Panda, is one of the species of carnivorans found in mountainous forests from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Later, DNA analysis suggested that red pandas might belong in the bear family. However, later genetic research placed red pandas in their own family: Ailuridae.

Distribution and Habitat

The red panda lives in Nepal, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, southern Tibet, and northern Myanmar. The red panda's maximum global habitat size has been calculated to be 47,100 km2 (18,200 sq mi). This habitat is in the Himalayas' moderate climate zone, where the average annual temperature ranges from 18 to 24 °C (64 to 75 °F). It has been observed at elevations between 2,000 and 4,300 meters (6,600 and 14,100 feet) throughout this range. The red panda prefers steep slopes with dense bamboo cover close to water sources. It lives in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests as well as coniferous forests. It is mostly arboreal and solitary. In addition to fruits and blooms, it primarily eats bamboo shoots and leaves.

Conservation

The species has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015. It is protected in all range countries. Their main risks include poaching, human meddling, and habitat loss and degradation. The total number of red pandas has reportedly decreased over the past two decades by 40%, according to researchers.

Lore

This is the only member of the Ailuridae family; the family consists of the red panda (the sole living representative) and its extinct relatives. The red panda was first formally described in 1825. The two currently recognized subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones, or "false thumbs," used for grasping bamboo. The evolutionary lineage of the red panda (Ailuridae) stretches back around 25 to 18 million years, as indicated by extinct fossil relatives found in Eurasia and North America.

The red panda's role in the culture and folklore of local people is limited. A drawing of a red panda exists on a 13th-century Chinese scroll. In Nepal's Taplejung District, red panda claws are used for treating epilepsy; its skin is used in rituals for treating sick people, making hats, scarecrows and decorating houses. In China, the fur is used for local cultural ceremonies. At weddings, the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. Hats made of red panda tails are also used by local newlyweds as a "good-luck charm".

In western Nepal, Magar shamans use its skin and fur in their ritual dresses and believe that it protects against evil spirits. People in central Bhutan consider red pandas to be reincarnations of Buddhist monks. Some tribal people in northeast India and the Yi people believe that it brings good luck to wear red panda tails or hats made of its fur.

In Turning Red, the story follows Meilin "Mei" Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who transforms into a giant red panda when she experiences any strong emotion due to a hereditary curse from her ancestor in ancient China. Sun Yee was the ancestress of the main protagonists, and she was the poet and the member of a hybrid from the Assassin Order and Templar Order, the real enemies of Conservationist Hunters, the peacekeepers of planet Earth that either hunt or preserve creatures or people from extinction.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_panda

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_Red

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/red-panda

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/red-panda-bear-and-more-red-panda-facts#:~:text=Red%20pandas%20were%20first%20described,in%20their%20own%20family%3A%20Ailuridae.

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