Week #54 {August 22 '23}
- The Bulletin Buzz
- Aug 22, 2023
- 8 min read
Articles by Rain Jha, Mahin Puri & Misaki Tomiyama
Articles:
Ukrainian grain exports destroyed by Russia: Could this lead to a global food shortage?
Article By Mahin Puri
Recently, in a development that has sent shockwaves across the international community, the Russian military undertook a series of attacks upon many vital storage and export facilities in Ukraine. These installations were responsible for exporting many essential food commodities, with grain being the foremost of them. This led to grain being the commodity that was most prominently targeted. Such actions were taken by Russia following a contentious withdrawal from a deal that the United Nations had painstakingly mediated. These measures have not only raised alarms worldwide, but have also ignited a cascade of concerns about the implications of such actions on global food stability.
In a provocative move that has further exacerbated tensions, the Russian defence ministry issued a stern warning. This warning indicated that any vessels en route to Ukrainian ports would be viewed as potentially harboring military cargo. This proclamation effectively served as a pretext to justify potential military engagement with these vessels, fueling an atmosphere of uncertainty and heightening the risk of a larger conflict between nations that embark upon trade with Ukraine.
The magnitude of these actions has not gone unnoticed by Western leaders, who perceive Russia's calculated approach as an attempt to sidestep the sanctions that have been imposed upon them since the beginning of their war with Ukraine. By manipulating the vital lifeline of global food supply, Russia appears to be leveraging its control over food exports to create a domino effect that could eventually lead to a catastrophic global food crisis. This action not only challenges diplomatic norms but also suggests the potential for weaponizing food security which could lead to instability for other nations.
The abandoned deal, which was originally an initiative aimed at maintaining equilibrium in the global grain prices, held the promise of safeguarding food security in regions particularly vulnerable to scarcity, such as Ethiopia. The deal could have also mitigated the impact of climate-related disasters on food production. Regrettably, what could have been a seed of hope for international cooperation crumbled under the weight of geopolitical complexities.
The foremost impact of these devastating events was concentrated acutely in the port city of Odessa. Oleh Kiper, the local governor, voiced his distress over the obliteration of critical grain terminals within the Odessa region. He noted that the repercussions of the bombings were losses of over 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley.
In conclusion, the recent attacks orchestrated by the Russian military against vital food export facilities have led to uncertainty on the global stage. The manoeuvre to exploit food security as a strategic tool not only jeopardises diplomatic norms but also threatens to cause a food crisis of unknown proportions.
The Historic U.S.- South Korea- Japan Summit
Article By Misaki Tomiyama
Last Friday 18th August, Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, and Yoon Suk Yeol, leaders of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea respectively gathered at Camp David (located in Maryland, USA) for a historic meeting. Pressing concerns regarding North Korea’s continuous nuclear and missile threats have made the three countries decide to strengthen ties.
The reason this first stand-alone meeting among the three countries has especially gained so much media attention lies mainly in the preexisting fraught relationship between Japan and South Korea. This is due to the unsolved historical troubles between the two countries since Japan’s colonial occupation of Korea from a century ago. Now, as the three countries aim to strengthen their ‘trilateral strategic collaboration,’ many are beginning to see the efforts of the two resolving their past hostilities. Some people, however, have raised concerns about whether this relationship will be long-lasting.
Another issue brought up at this meeting was China’s accelerating aggression on the global stage. China’s political issues regarding Taiwan and countless accusations of human rights breaches in the past have raised concerns amongst many nations.
This newly formed cooperation among the three powerful democracies will potentially mean future agreements in diplomacy.
“Under such circumstances to make our trilateral strategic collaboration blossom and bloom is only logical and almost inevitable and is required in this era,” says Biden.
Wildfires in Tenerife, Canary Islands cause mass evacuation
Article By Mahin Puri
In the past few days, Tenerife, a serene island retreat, often cherished for its natural beauty, has been plunged into chaos. On the 17th of august, unrelenting wildfire outbreaks wrought havoc across its picturesque landscapes. The inferno surged uncontrollably, fueled by the dry weather and wind conditions. Consequently, local authorities launched a mass evacuation operation to safeguard lives amidst the crisis, with over 3000 people evacuated during the day.
In accordance with the escalating emergency, local authorities rapidly executed a phased evacuation strategy, prioritising the safety of residents and visitors. The elderly, disabled, and those with medical requirements were swiftly relocated to temporary shelters within community centres and schools. With the threat of the wildfire still looming ominously, officials are remaining vigilant and ready to begin further evacuation efforts as required.
Additionally, the environmental toll of the wildfire extends beyond immediate human safety and property concerns. Habitat devastation and the displacement of local wildlife have raised alarming questions about the long-term impact on the island's delicate ecosystem. The fire, which broke out on Wednesday, burned through at least 3,273 hectares (8,088 acres) of land.The outcome of the fires serves as an ever-present reminder of how imperative it is to address climate change and its far-reaching consequences, which Tenerife is currently facing.
The Canary Islands' regional leader, Fernando Clavijo, recounted a challenging beginning to the night, marked by a flurry of phone calls warning of the fire's threatening proximity to residential areas. He expressed with great relief however, that, despite these dangerous and unforeseen circumstances, no homes were consumed by the flames. His opinion suggested he saw this as an almost miraculous turn of events
Furthermore, in comparison with how wildfires impacted countries in the EU, similar to last year's pattern, Spain found itself once again at the forefront of wildfire impact in the European Union. While the country accounted for 40% of the EU's burned land in 2022, it has already seen 75,000 hectares ravaged by fires this year. This means it has already surpassed both Italy and Greece in terms of the extent of destruction it has faced due to wildfires.
In light of such circumstances, it is important to understand the underlying consequences of global warming, and how significantly it can impact the planet in the long run. Some scientists have even suggested that such heatwaves and other large-scale weather-related events may occur more frequently, last longer and be more severe as global warming advances. These findings bring light to an eerie reality we must face in the wake of climate change.
Earth’s Hottest Day Ever Recorded
Article by Rain Jha
Just a few weeks ago, the Earth experienced its hottest day ever recorded, with the mean global temperature reaching 17.23 degrees Celsius on July 7, 2023. This is the third time in four days that the previous record was broken, 17.18 and 17.01 on July 5th and 4th respectively.
But why has this just happened? A combination of short and long-term factors is to blame, the most obvious and prominent being climate change due to pollutants and greenhouse gases, bringing with it extreme weather events and drastic temperature spikes. As for the short-term factor, a strong El Niño event is the main reason, which is causing warmer than normal temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, heating the atmosphere.
How can we solve this problem? Many might think that people caring more about energy, switching off lights, and using plastic straws might help with these vast problems. However, the blame lies solely on huge corporations. The surefire way to combat global warming would be to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases directly at their sources, and instead choose to invest in renewable energy such as water and sunlight. The future of our lives on Earth depends on it.
India Successfully Launches Chandrayaan 3
Article By Rain Jha
On July 14th, 2023, at 2:35 pm India Standard Time, the Chandrayaan 3 lunar exploration module was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft consists of a lander, a propulsion module, and a rover. The lander will be responsible for safely landing the spacecraft on the Moon, while the propulsion module will provide thrust for maneuvering the spacecraft in space and during landing.
The rover, named Pragyan, painstakingly manufactured and designed by engineers and scientists at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), is built to conduct numerous valuable experiments on the lunar surface. It is equipped with a variety of scientific instruments; these include a spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of the lunar soil, instruments to take readings of the lunar atmosphere, and a spectroscope to collect data on the presence of specific elements in the surroundings. Pragyan is expected to operate for approximately one lunar day, or 14 Earth days, after landing.
On its 42-day journey, the rover will follow its predetermined orbital path, and eventually land on the Moon. Scientists at ISRO found the landing sequence to be the toughest challenge, especially considering their past failure with Chandrayaan 2, which crash-landed on the Moon’s surface during a landing in September 2019.
This marks a huge moment for India’s space exploration program, and, if successful, will make the country the fourth to successfully land a craft on the Moon, placing itself as an upcoming contender in the global space race.
Review of the Anime “The Promised Neverland”
Review by Misaki Tomiyama
At the orphanage Grace Field House, young orphans lead happy lives with their loving and caring ‘mother’. Although the young protagonist Emma and her childhood best friends, Norman and Ray, aren’t blood-related, they find pure joy in living with each other and other young orphans, as they go about their days studying and helping with chores.
All their happiness is short-lived however, as Emma discovers that all of the orphans who were sent for "adoption" were sent to be killed and sold to cannibalistic creatures outside the orphanage to be eaten. Emma discovers that the ‘mother’ operated a children’s plantation’ under the guise of a children’s orphanage, shipping off children to be sold and eaten when the time comes. To prevent more of these so-called ‘adoptions,’ Emma vows to abscond from the plantation, taking every other orphan with her.
The story, at first glance, is heartwarming- watching the young orphans find joy given their difficulties is beautiful to watch. The sudden twists and turns were something that I didn’t predict at all, greatly shaping the direction of the anime, and making viewers have a high expectation of subsequent plot developments in the coming episodes.
The shock and emptiness Emma feels when the moment the facility that was her home suddenly becomes a "cage" is heartbreaking to watch. The children still can’t accept the fact that their loving mother, all this time, had been killing her children, and even nearing the end of the anime, Emma continues to try to find faith in her mother, who resorted to subterfuge to trick the innocent children who she thought lacked guile. The anime is a stunning psychological thriller, one that is greatly different from ‘Death Note’ or ‘Attack on Titan,’ as the story is delivered from a child’s point of view. If the anime had been depicted from the viewpoint of an adult, our overall perception of the storyline would have been completely different.
Post Edited by Misaki Tomiyama
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