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We are here to provide up-to-date world news analysis. Covering topics from East Asia, China, Hong Kong, middle east, to political events in the UK and US, we aim to bring the most satisfying world news analysis to the general public. 

In recent years, the topic of AI regulation has been a hot topic, especially within the European Union. It was within this context that there have been rumblings about the promotion of a crackdown against the most problematic elements of artificial intelligence, or having a particular focus on human-centered approaches. Given the impact that EU policy often has on the broader world of tech, a question can be posed about the efficacy, and legitimacy, of such measures, both within the short and long term. A focus on the most pressing issues associated to AI must be harnessed, and the EU’s current ambitions, whilst challenging, seem to be a step in the right direction.

The growth of the importance of the internet, and particularly social media, has become ever more ingrained into the day-to0day existence of humans. A primary consequence of this has been the development of analysis concerning disparities between countries with regards to internet accessibility. Facebook has been one company which, for better or for worse, has gotten directly involved in the collaboration on the matter of  improving accessibility to Facebook’s products internationally. The often cited issue of data privacy has thus reared its head within this context, and most specifically within the Global South. Looking to the future of the ever greater participation of corporations within contexts fraught with conflict or poverty makes this topic all the more important to critically evaluate the righteousness of their actions.

In September 2023, Azeri forces launched what was deemed to be a military intervention into the hotly contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. This region, claimed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been a disputed area since the collapse of the USSR and the respective Soviet administrations within both countries. This conflict, one often perceived as a forgotten conflict by most of the world,  has been plagued by civilian persecution, and a swathe of war crimes comitted by both sides. This instance of conflict has proven to be particularly vicious, leading to an exodus of ethnic Armenians from the region, and some somewhat tepid international condemnation. Looking at how this might affect the future of the entire Caucuses remains an issue fraught with tension.

China’s economic performance has become a major concern for domestic and overseas investors after property Chinese development giant Country Garden declared that it is not able to repay external debt on time. Country Garden is not the only Chinese property developer to face financial difficulties, with competitors such as Evergrande and Sinic Holdings all declaring similar liquidity problems. However, for the past 2 to 3 decades, the real estate sector has similarly been growing at exponential rates,  becoming the largest single contributor to China’s domestic GDP in 2023. Click here to learn why the crisis occurred when real estate developers seemingly received glaring financial successes. 

Courtesy of the World Bank.
https://flic.kr/p/3jP9wP

While China’s property sector debt crisis emerged partly due to the industry’s common use of  high-leverage financing, the state’s fiscal policy and regulations also played a role in creating the crisis. The state set up tight borrowing limits for the property sector, which prohibited developers with a high equity to debt ratio to continue finance their projects. While the policy is enacted with the purpose to prevent the burst of economic bubble in mind, it did not deliver as favourably as its regulators intended. Click here to learn how China’s constant use of fiscal control and market intervention have affected its own financial stability. 

With citizens becoming less inclined to support military interventions, the US and its allies have resorted to using trade sanctions as an alternative to retribute their opponents. Nevertheless, in the recent years, the increasingly complex political scenario made it difficult for such tactics to be effective. The strong economic connectivity between states made sanctions harmful not just to those on the opposite side, but to those opting for these measures. Diverse economic interests also made it impossible for sanction policies to be agreed upon all strategic partners. Click here to learn more about how the effectiveness of trade sanctions might have met its bottleneck in the 2020s. 

Courtesy of Advantus Media.
https://www.agenzianova.com/

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