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After Viktor Orban's 16-year rule in Hungary, international investors say they are primed for the once unthinkable prospect that the firebrand Prime Minister and thorn in the EU's side could be voted out of power
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Erwin Chemerinsky, Tribune News ServiceSenate Democrats are absolutely right in doing everything they can, including holding up funding for the Department of Homeland Security, to impose limits on behaviour by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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It’s really time to take our mind off our troubles. I read somewhere that if you are in a panic or extremely stressed about a situation, one of the most effective things you can do
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I recently visited a government hospital in Sharjah to see my friend, who was admitted for his treatment. I was amazed to see the way the Sharjah hospital took care of patients. The hospital was
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The thrice holy season has been disrupted by unholy rows as Israel has denied Muslims and Christians access to their holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem and Hebron. At the end of February, Israel closed
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Feel-good films have a way of doing exactly what their name suggests, lifting your mood without demanding too much in return. This week we take a look at some of the best movies to settle
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As Nasa’s record-breaking Artemis mission bolsters the US path back to the moon, China’s bid to land astronauts there by 2030 is taking on greater geopolitical significance and putting pressure on Beijing to meet or beat its timetable. Four US astronauts on the Artemis II mission this week flew past the moon’s shadowed far side, travelling deeper into space than any humans before them and setting the stage for Artemis IV to land on the moon in 2028. The planned US return after more than half a century is being closely watched in China, which is developing the full architecture for its first crewed landing on the moon, from the Long March-10 rocket to the Mengzhou spacecraft and Lanyue lunar lander. Beijing has made significant advances in recent years by becoming the first country to return robot-taken samples from both the near and far sides of the moon, and its crewed spaceflight programme has become proficient in operating space stations and handling emergencies in orbit. “There is no bigger prize for China on the table today than landing people on the moon, this is the essential next step for China on the road to preeminence in space,” said Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Washington and Beijing are also competing in institution-building efforts in preparation for a future when humans have a permanent presence on the moon, with the US-led Artemis Accords on lunar exploration matched up against the Chinese and Russian-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). “The question now is no longer simply who gets there first, but who can stay longer and do more,” Kang Guohua, an aerospace professor at the military-linked Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told China’s state-backed Global Times last week. ENTIRELY NEW HARDWAREA major hurdle for Beijing will be proving an entirely new lunar mission architecture within the next four years, demonstrating all of the hardware being developed for the 2030 mission, from heavy-lift rockets to spacesuits, can work reliably on first use. China’s manned space agency said in 2023 that the mission would rely on two Long March-10 rockets, one launching a crewed spacecraft and the other a lunar lander. The two vehicles would rendezvous and dock in lunar orbit. Two astronauts would descend to the surface on the lander, collect samples, then return to lunar orbit, redock with the spacecraft and head back to Earth. The Mengzhou spacecraft can carry up to seven astronauts, according to China’s manned space agency, which has not yet announced the size and members of the 2030 mission team. China’s recent robotic lunar missions have given it valuable experience in communications, rendezvous, and docking operations around the moon. But crewed missions impose far stricter safety requirements and critical parts of the mission chain are still being tested, including the rocket and spacecraft. In February, China carried out the first low-altitude escape test for the Long March-10 with a Mengzhou spacecraft aboard it at a launch site on Hainan Island. The vessel’s return capsule successfully separated after an abort command and splashed down safely at sea. Last year, the Lanyue lunar lander’s ascent and descent capabilities were also tested in Hebei province. While these were important milestones, the pace of testing will need to accelerate if China is to certify the system for a crewed landing by 2030. Still, CSIS’ Swope said China appeared to be making steady progress and it seemed “very plausible” it would meet its deadline. “China has a history of setting deadlines for space activities and closely meeting those deadlines, there are no public signs of any missteps or setbacks to Beijing’s crewed lunar landing plans,” he said. GEOPOLITICAL STAKESThe stakes are not only technical but geopolitical. As the US-China rivalry deepens across trade, technology and military power, lunar exploration has become another arena of competition. US analysts point to China’s rising defence spending, use of space diplomacy to increase its influence overseas, growing private launch sector and successful robotic lunar missions as evidence that Beijing is highly motivated to reach the moon quickly, even if it avoids race rhetoric in public. “China might avoid directly using language that suggests there is a lunar or space race, but their overall strategic goal is to be the hegemon in space,” said Kathleen Curlee, a research analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. At the same time, China may be moving faster than it admits. Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, told Reuters last year that the 2030 goal was intentionally conservative. “Eastern peoples always leave a little room when they speak,” he said. “If I can do a 10, I tend to say eight or nine.”
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Australia in December became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram and Facebook. The ban comes amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children’s health and safety. Here is a summary of what countries and companies are doing to regulate access to social media. Austria will ban social media for children up to the age of 14, the conservative-led, three-party government said on March 27. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and junior digitisation minister Alexander Proell said draft legislation for the ban would be finalised by June. Similarly, Britain is considering an Australia-style ban on social media and tighter AI chatbots safety rules for children under 16 as early as this year, technology minister Liz Kendall said in February. Social media bans, curfews and app time limits will be tested in the homes of 300 teenagers to gauge the impact on children’s sleep, family life and schoolwork, the government said on March 24. In Asia, China’s cyberspace regulator has put in place a so-called “minor mode” programme that requires device-level restrictions and app-specific rules to restrict screen time depending on age. In the Indian state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, on March 6 became the first Indian state to ban social media for children under 16. Neighbouring states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh are also weighing restrictions. India’s chief economic adviser called for age restrictions on social media platforms in January, describing them as “predatory” in how they keep users engaged online. Indonesia will restrict access to social media platforms for children under 16, its communications and digital ministry said on March 6. From March 28, accounts owned by children under 16 on “high risk platforms”, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Roblox , will be gradually deactivated, Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said. France’s National Assembly in January approved legislation to ban children under 15 from social media amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks. The bill needs to pass through the Senate before a final vote in the lower house. In Germany, minors aged 13-16 are allowed to use social media only if their parents provide consent. But child protection advocates say controls are insufficient. Greece will ban access to social media for children under the age for 15 from January 1, 2027, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on April 8. Children under the age of 14 in Italy need parental consent to sign up for social media accounts, while no consent is required above that age. Malaysia said in November it would ban social media for users under the age of 16 starting from 2026. Spain will ban access to social media for minors under 16 and platforms will be required to implement age verification systems, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said early in February. It was unclear if the proposed ban would require approval by the country’s highly fragmented lower house. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act in the US prevents companies from collecting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent. Several states have passed laws requiring parental consent for minors to access social media, but they have faced court challenges on free speech grounds. The European Parliament in November agreed on a resolution, which is not legally binding, calling for a minimum age of 16 on social media. It urged a harmonised EU digital age limit of 13 for social media access and an age limit of 13 for video-sharing services and “AI companions”. Social media platforms including TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat say people need to be at least 13 to sign up. Child protection advocates say the controls are insufficient, and official data in several European countries shows huge numbers of children under 13 have social media accounts.
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From L-R: US Vice-President JD Vance, President Donald Trump, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House last September. Kamran Rehmat,
