Waking up on a cold winter's morning to find your car battery is flat, is dispiriting, to say the least.
What would be more devastating is to wake up to find your country's battery is flat.
A fossil fuelled world is becoming less attractive and sustainable with the passage of time,
particularly with the dire warnings of the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) ringing in our ears.
The move to electric is progressing, but currently too slow to achieve the target set for net-zero
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The Bank of England is exploring a UK Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It will be used by households and businesses for everyday payments and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits. It would be a digital representation of the pound and would be backed by the Bank of England, much like physical money is today. This will be different to cryptocurrencies, which are issued privately and are extremely volatile. A £10 digital will be the same value as a £10 banknote. Read more
The Secretary General of the United Nations expressed his views recently on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The Israeli ambassador took extreme offence at his comments. Whether the views expressed by Antonio Gutierres were right or wrong, he believed he was right to express them. What do the member states of the United Nations expect from their organization. What is the purpose of the United Nations? Read more
Are journalists becoming a threatened species? Is this why so many organizations are keen to keep tabs on them? Indeed, it is a threatened species, but not in the way we usually use the phrase. Draft legislation by the European Union wants to allow national security agencies to spy on journalists. The legislation, “The European Media Freedom Act,” would permit them to install spyware on journalists’ phones if necessary for national security. The original document had written in solid safeguards against the use of spyware against journalists and the media. The leaders of the Council of Europe now want to provide a general exception against surveillance. The act was first proposed in 2022, and they are about to take a decisive vote on it. Read more