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As one group of B-2's headed west pver the Pacific, another group quietly headed east to bomb the Iranian nuclear weapons development sites. The intent was to carry out the decision made by the US and the EU and tacitly supported by Russia, China, India, and the world, to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It is now evident that since the beginning of 2025 the number on priority of the DJT administration in foreign policy was to end Iran's effort to get a nuclear weapon. This is why the US DJT administration brought together Gulf regimes Qatar and UAE, Saudis for $2 trillion in business and economic deals in a DJT visit in May 2025. It is also evident that when India launched air strikes on Pakistan terrorist bases in June the US president DJT ended the war quickly in 72 hours. The Pakistan military head met with DJT in the White House a week back. This was preparation for the plan to take out the nuclear sites with minimal regional instability, a goal of the American people after Reagan/Bush miscalculations in supporting Hussein in Iraq and creating the Middle East wars Americans have had enough of. It may close a chapter of violent conflicts in the Middle East to be replaced with US support for India, UAE/Qatar/Saudi, Pakistan economic deals economic agreements. Much of the Indian media fails to understand this. The job of a US president if done right has responsibilities to the Nation and the World, after all the missteps of his predecessors DJT is stepping into this role. ...

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The longest serving senators as Majority Leader includes Joseph Robinson Democrat of Arkansas who was Minority and Majority Leader form 1923 to 1937 and helped put the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt through the US Congress. That role is also being played by McConnell and now Thune in this period of change in the 2020's with cyber security, tech monopolies, pandemic and cost of living issues.

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How is the oil price cap by the US, EU and G-7 countries working and what is its impact on Russian oil revenues, is the subject of this report in NYT. The gap between the price of Brent Crude  the global oil benchmark and Urals Crude for Russian oil is now about $40 in January 2023. Russia's finance ministry says the average price in January for Urals crude was $49.50, half of what it was a year earlier. 

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Emissions from China of ozone depleting chemicals such as from this refrigerator factory shown in NYT, have hurt the earth's ozone layer. This has been stopped says this UN report cited in NYT, CFC-11 emissions were a major issue at one time - the stopping of such emissions is a move in the right direction to allow the ozone layer to recover by 2040 say experts. NYT says that small factories in Eastern China were the source at one time.

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McGurn looks at a time when population growth was seen as an existential threat in China. China's population declined by 850,000 in 2022. An accompanying article in the NYT by Hawon Jung describes the views of South Korean women, which also reflect views of Chinese and Japanese women, about the uneven burdens of raising children between men and women, the discrimination against married women with young children in the workplace, the other challenges women face that have led to a marraige strike.

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The new Noida International Airport, Asia's largest when completed in 2024, will be a model for connectivity with connections to high speed rail, bullet trains. It will also be developed as an export hub for the country to provide needed logistics for India as a manufacturing hub in the new world supply chain. As part of the Master Plan for Gati Shakti it will be integrated into the development of the country as a whole over the next two decades.

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Queen Elizabeth's voice is heard on the microphone before a meeting of the Welsh parliament: "We only know about people who are not coming to the Glasgow Climate Change Summit, its very irritating that they say but they don't do." China had promised to peak coal use by 2030, and help achieve reducing global warming under Paris summit goals. This looks like a remote possibility today as China faces blackouts and factory closings from reducing coal use.

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The Biden Infrastructure plan aims to put $400 billion into home healthcare for seniors shifting away from hospitals and institutions. By 2030 one in every five people will be at retirement age in the US, as the aging population surges. Studies show seniors can - if supported by services and the resources allocated by the government - live better quality lives at home for an extended period in retirement. This is an important issue for seniors and the Biden administration after the pandemic.

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Governor Yuko Koike has set 2050 as the date for Tokyo to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has put out the plan in "Tokyo Zero Emissions Strategy." All vehicles will be using electricity or fuel cells. And all buildings will use solar and other forms of renewable energy. The govenor called on all Tokyo residents to fight climate change. Also planned is an effort to reduce use of plastic and other materials that consume large amounts of energy.

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Moderna has made the initial batches of doses of the vaccine for the variant of coronavirus including South African variant, and shipped these to the National Institutes of Health in the US. If the test results are positive the vaccine for variant could be given authorization by the third quarter of 2021. It is becoming crucial to stay ahead of variants developing from the coronavirus and pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, J&J, Astra Zeneca are working on the technology to tackle this.

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The $1.2 trillion spending bill to cover the budget for 2024 for defense, health and human services, education and other parts of the US government passed the Senate 74-24 with Republicans joining Democrats to pass the bill. It came in the wee hours of the morning just after the midnight deadline for funding the US government. Disagreements on funding programs between the 2 parties led to this situation of delay till the last minute as each side sought to improve its position. 

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Charles does a walkabout at St George's Chapel on Easter Day 2024, after a traditional Easter Service. He greets wellwishers who say they have the royal back. Charles and the Princess of Wales have boosted the spirits of many with their sharing of their own stories dealing with cancer. On Easter Day Britain comes together with the royal family in spirit just as it did when Queen Elizabeth gave her message to people in the early days of the pandemic.

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Gerard Baker in the WSJ says the abortion rulings of the Supreme Court and the Inflation Reduction Act, Climate Change bills have energized Democrats. He says that as the chances of president Trump running as the nominee of the Republican party in 2024 increased in August, the electoral prospects for Congress of the Republican party have diminished. He says the Mar-a-lago taking of documents by FBI and investigation are also now seen as part of national security issues.

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Senators Lankford (R- Oklahoma) Murphy (D-Conn), and Sinema (I- Arizona) are working hard to negotiate a deal which combines aid to Ukraine with an agreement to tighten border security. This report in The Washington Post shows how hard it is to reach a deal on intricate details and how it might not take place till January 2024. It is important to reach a deal as migrant push across the border has happened under both parties and a common solution is needed. 

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A study published by UNICEF shows that of 55 countries only three showed increase in popular perception of the importance of children's vaccines- India, China and Mexico. The Vaccine Confidence Project is conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The study says a total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021 the years of the pandemic, vaccination coverage decreased in 112 countries, and much backsliding in vaccination happened that needs to be corrected.

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The SUNY public university system is giving each student $2000 in aid to reduce college dropout. It is using simple approaches that include transportation money, and other aid to keep students from dropping out. It is called Accelerated Study in Associate Programs that has doubled graduation rates at the City University of New York since 2007. it provides textbook fees, transportation stipends, academic advisement, free tutoring, tution funds. In return the students commit to full time study and meet with their advisors regularly.

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Amazon's efforts to expand into fields outside its logistics, Prime, online retail, Amazon Web Sevices (AWS), search Advertising, which make up 90% of revenues. This includes the forays into devices with Kindle, healthcare, grocery retail stores Amazon Fresh. Amazon has less success with these ventures. Most of the success is in retail, online, Prime and AWS with 40% growth in 2019-2021. Amazon is struggling in new business  outside core online retail, logistics and AWS.

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In the middle of the pandemic US Congress approved $190 billion in aid to schools. Of this 20% was to be spent addressing learning loss for children. The pandemic period taking 50 million children out of schools is now seen as the biggest disruption in history of American education. It set student progress in math and education back by two decades and widened the gap between wealthy and poor children. These learning gaps remain unaddressed even as money runs out in 2024.

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The workforce participation rate reached a high of 84.5% in 2023. WSJ points to how the flexibility to work from home, remote work, is playing a role in bringing more women, and men into the workforce. More jobs are being created 275,000 in February, and the economy is resilient with inflation coming under control with a larger supply of labor productively used in the economy. Additional immigration, though the need for it to be organized is clear, has added to supply of labor.

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Three solar farms in the east of England get approved in the first week of the Labour government. At present most of the solar energy is generated in the north without transmission capabilities to get it where it is needed in the south. Starmer's Labour government is planning a major expansion of solar energy with rooftop panels for homes so that households can cut energy costs. Plans are to triple solar energy by 2030 and quadruple wind offshore energy.

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"When the Legends Played in the Leagues" is the Wisden Book of the Year. The Guardian shows Gary Sobers, the West Indies cricketer from the sixties and the seventies who is one of the most famous cricketers of all time. It shows English cricket in the English Leagues for 1950- 2000. Included here are West Indies cricketers Lance Gibbs, Wesley Hall and Rohan Kanhai. What Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver were to tennis Sobers and Kanhai were to cricket in that era.

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During Euro Cup soccer 2024 Germany's faltering rail system Deutsche Bahn presents challenges with frequent cancellations and delays. So frequent are the delays that they are announced matter of factly as if it was standard way of operating the trains. One can see this in Frankfurt, which has a vast rail network operating connecting most of Europe from its main rail station. It is a result of failure to invest in upgrading rail systems and signalling, tracks, rolling stock. 

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The FDIC report in Feb. 2012 shows improvement in bank lending to $130 billion, for the 4th quarter of 2012. This is an increase of 1.8% over the previous quarter. Lending to commercial and industrial borrowers increased by $62.8 billion, or 4.9%. Smaller commercial and industrial loans of less than $1 million increased for the first time since 2010. Banking profits for 2011 were up to $119 billion, up 40% from the prior year. Banking revenues for 2011 declinedby 4.5% from 2010, as a result of low rates and slower loan demand.

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There are 240 Norwegian and Finnish companies in India, says this report in The Hindu. Nordic countries are providing green technologies to India. At the Nordic-India Summit held in Copenhagen in May 2022, the five Nordic prime ministers and prime minister Modi agreed to intensify cooperation on digitalisation, renewable energy, maritime industries and the circular economy. Denmark is helping India with ports and logistics. Trade ministers of Norway and Finland visiting India together  Feb 9-10 describe the efforts to provide Nordic technology solution in green transition to India. Trade between Norway and India has doubled in the last 3 years and the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund is likely to become on the largest investors in India at $17.6 billion. Vestre us Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry, Skinnari is Finnish Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. 

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Elections to France's 13 regional councils is showing weak support for president Macron's En Marche party that was newly created by Macron. Macron's party won less than 10% of the vote in the regional elections. The Republicans, former president Sarkozy's party were written off after Macron's win. Instead the Republicans who are conservatives and represent the Gaullist tradition have revived under Sarkozy's health minister Xavier Bertrand. Mr. Bertrand now remains the main candidate with Macron for the French presidential election in 2022. Terrorist attacks, the sense of a lack of law and order, and the pandemic, have revived the conservatives in France. Brexit nationalism, the failure of the socialist Labor party and a shift of laborites in the north of England to the conservatives under Boris Johnson led to a Johnson win in British elections. A similar situation is unfolding in France. Xavier has served under presidents Chirac and Sarkozy, both in the Gaullist tradition. He was Sarkozy's spokesperson in 2007 and helped run Sarkozy's election campaign. He was Health Minister from 2010 to 2012. ...