10 Billionaires and their wealth in 'Dubai'

Rights group warns the Digital Silk Road is enabling China to export its brand of digital authoritarianism across the world. China is exporting its model of digital authoritarianism abroad with the help of its far-reaching tech industry and massive infrastructure projects, offering a blueprint of “best practices” to neighbours including Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam, a human rights watchdog has warned. In 2015, two years after kicking off its massive Belt and Road initiative, China launched its “Digital Silk Road” project to expand access to digital infrastructure such as submarine cables, satellites, 5G connectivity and more. Article 19, a United Kingdom-based human rights group, argues that the project has been about more than just expanding access to WiFi or e-commerce. The Digital Silk Road “has been just as much about promoting China’s tech industry and developing digital infrastructure as it has about reshaping standards and internet governance norms away from a free, open, and interoperable internet in favour of a fragmented digital ecosystem, built on censorship and surveillance, where China and other networked autocracies can prosper”, the watchdog said in a report released in April. The 80-page report describes how the Chinese state is inextricably linked to its tech industry, a key player in the Digital Silk Road project, as private companies like Huawei, ZTE, and Alibaba serve as “proxies” for the Communist Party. China has signed dozens of technical standard agreements with 49 countries participating in the Belt and Road, while other countries in the region including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Thailand have agreed on further communiques with Beijing on digital infrastructure. The Asia Pacific region is particularly important to Beijing, Article 19 said, as it holds a “strategic significance for China as it rolls out next-generation technologies and seeks global partners in normalising its authoritarian approach to internet governance”. Some countries, like Cambodia, have modelled their digital governance on China, according to Article 2019. Since 2021, the Southeast Asian country has been working to build a “National Internet Gateway” in the style of China’s “Great Firewall” that limits access to many Western media outlets, Wikipedia, and social media sites like Facebook and X. Others have also expressed concern about the project. “The Cambodian government says this will bolster national security and help crack down on tax fraud. But the impact on Cambodian network connections will affect anyone who connects with those networks, which could have serious consequences for social and economic life, as well as potentially endanger free expression,” the Internet Society warned in December. Nepal and Thailand are both reportedly interested in building a similar firewall, according to Article 19, and have played an active role in monitoring ethnic minority Tibetans and Uighurs living abroad on behalf of Beijing. Under President Xi Jinping, the line between the Communist Party and the Chinese state has blurred considerably. The Party has also extended its influence deep into the private sector, with cells established in more than 90 percent of China’s top 500 companies, according to Article 19. These companies, including tech giants, have been drafted into Beijing’s “united front” influence campaign to improve China’s image abroad and expand its global influence, Article 19 said, despite promises that they are independent of the state. Concerns about data, privacy and potential influence campaigns have helped energise a push in the United States to ban TikTok, the wildly popular China-owned video app. Those behind the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act argue the app could allow the Chinese government to access user data and influence Americans. Security concerns have also affected the businesses of companies like Huawei and ZTE not only in the US but in other democracies including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the UK. In the US, the two firms have been designated “national security threats” and banned from the construction of critical infrastructure. Beyond China’s borders, the closer ties between the state and tech companies have also raised questions about how issues like data privacy or censorship will be handled abroad by Chinese tech companies, who operate undersea cables that grant them de facto control of huge swaths of global internet traffic. Article 19 said it was “plausible that China would share such data with allied authoritarian governments or exploit it as part of its influence operations over others. Without greater transparency and oversight, it is impossible to rule out these concerns.” Source: Aljazeera  

The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) on Wednesday released a statement appreciating the voice raised by the United Nations for the release of 43 Uyghur refugees held in Thailand, a statement by the WUC stated. The UN letter urged the Thai government to provide information on the decade-long arbitrary detention of the Uyghur men, their access to medical care, and the detention conditions where they are being held while expressing their concerns about the held Uyghur prisoners. Additionally, the letter seeks information from the Thai authorities on their prolonged incommunicado detention and asks if measures are being taken to facilitate communication and visitation rights with families and legal representatives. According to the letter written in February this year, the detention conditions of 43 Uyghur migrant individuals may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or even torture which has reportedly caused the deaths of five Uyghur migrant detainees, including two minors. The UN experts also expressed "serious concern" regarding the forcible return of 109 Uyghurs in 2015 "without an assessment of their protection needs under international human rights and refugee laws" They also urged the Royal Thai government to safeguard the human rights of migrants, ensuring full adherence to the principle of non-refoulement. "There needs to be an end to the indefinite and arbitrary detention of the Uyghur men in Thailand. they should not be detained for fleeing from a repressive environment out of fear of the genocidal policies in East Turkistan." Dolkun Isa the president of World Uyghur Congress stated regarding the matter. The same press statement in by the WUC mentioned that, Uyghurs are increasingly recognized as a persecuted group in East Turkistan, who face arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, separation of families, torture, forced labour and other human rights atrocities. Those residing outside China continue to face state-led repression abroad. Uyghurs living in third countries without firm settlement status are particularly vulnerable to detention and forced return, with many experiencing harassment and intimidation from local authorities, often acting on behalf of Chinese authorities. Additionally, since March 2014, at least 43 Uyghur men have been held at the IDC Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, Thailand under inhumane and overcrowded conditions. The men were part of a larger group of 350 Uyghur refugees who fled China in 2014, attempting to reach Turkey through Thailand to escape persecution in East Turkistan. In July 2015, 173 Uyghur women and children were transferred to Turkey, while 109 men, women, and children were forcibly returned to China, where their current whereabouts are unknown. Since 2014, a reported number of five Uyghurs, including two children, have died within the Thai Immigration Centres due to catastrophic conditions. Detainees are confined indoors 24 hours a day in overcrowded, unsanitary cells without access to adequate food,physical exercise, or appropriate medical treatment, according to WUC press statement. The WUC conclusively urged the Thai authorities and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to immediately release the detained Uyghurs and to resolutely avoid refoulement, while enabling resettlement options as soon as possible.  Source: Beijing Bulletin

Saudi Arabia has announced new restrictions on issuing Hajj visas. The visa will only allow travel to Jeddah, Madinah and Mecca. According to the Gulf News report, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has clarified that pilgrims will only be allowed to perform the formalities of the Holy Hajj in 2024 on Hajj visas. Saudi Arabia has announced new restrictions on issuing Hajj visas. Where it is mentioned that the visa will only allow travel to Jeddah, Madinah and Mecca. According to the Gulf News report, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has clarified that the visa will only allow pilgrims to perform the formalities of the Holy Hajj in 2024. The ministry said the visa would only allow travel between Jeddah, Madinah and the cities of Mecca. This visa will not be valid outside the three designated cities. This visa will not work for work or residence in the country. This visa will be valid only for the Hajj season. If the restrictions are violated, the person who violated the rules will be deported to his home country and may face a possible ban on participating in the Hajj in the future. 

FirstElement Fuel, the largest hydrogen refueling provider in California with 80-percent market share has recently opened the world’s first hydrogen fueling station for heavy-duty commercial trucks just outside the Port of Oakland. FirstElement is opening the first ever commercial heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station, which opened to the public this week for tours and demonstrations, the first of its kind for the first time ever. The company claims that its hydrogen pumps can “fill” a truck’s hydrogen tanks into ten minutes per 80-kg fill, they are expected to fill 200 trucks hydrogen tanks per day. On Tuesday, a ceremony to mark the station's opening was held, and the  ceremony was attended by state officials including Liane Randolph, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Tyson Eckerle, clean transportation advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s business development office. CARB and the California Energy Commission provided primary funding for the Oakland station. At least 30 Hyundai Xcient semi trucks using the fueling station currently, as well as a number of Nikola hydrogen fuel-cell-powered trucks, according to the company. The Xcient trucks of Hyundai have a 400- to 500-mile range depending on load weight and onboard storage capacity of 68.6 kg of hydrogen at 700 bar of pressure. The 6x4 tractors have two 90 kW hydrogen stacks, a 72 kW/hour battery and a 350 kW motor. Fuel cell tractors hold several advantages over similarly spec’d battery electric vehicles. At 500 miles of range, a fuel cell vehicle has an available payload of 52,000 pounds. A battery-electric vehicle with similar range requires an additional 9,000 pounds of powertrain weight, resulting in just a 43,000-pound payload capacity, says Jerome Gregeois, director of commercial vehicle development at the Hyundai America Technical Center. However, FirstElement Fuel’s Port of Oakland station uses a cryopump to convert liquid hydrogen into cold, compressed hydrogen in a single stage. To retrofit the station with Bosch’s next-generation cryopump capable of dispensing 100 kg in 10 minutes, the company is partnering with Bosch Rexroth. Dave Hull, regional vice-president, Bosch Rexroth says  "Cold is like gold,". "You've got all this cold energy. All my career I worked to get rid of heat. You can take that energy and run a whole station's refrigerators for Rock Star energy drinks, or air conditioning. Bosh has a whole division of heat pumps and building technologies." Notably, hydrogen costs continue to rise. Added efficiency is essential to actual energy and cost savings, rather than a lifeline for the gas industry and tier 1 auto suppliers like Bosch.   

"Russia will do everything to prevent global confrontation, but we will not allow anyone to threaten us," Vladimir Putin told soldiers in Moscow. May 9 is a public holiday in Russia, marking Nazi Germany's capitulation. Russia holds major annual Moscow military parade marking Nazi Germany's capitulation in WWII. President Vladimir Putin told troops that Russia was trying to prevent global confrontation, but that it would not tolerate threats. He said the country's nuclear forces were 'always' at combat readiness. Western leaders are not attending but several of Russia's allies dispatched delegations. Russia marks the anniversary a day later than western Europe and the US, and Ukraine, which changed from May 9 to May 8 last year Putin says May 9 'unites all generations' President Vladimir Putin praised what's become Russia's most important secular holiday during Thursday's speech.  "The Victory Day unites all generations," he said. "We are going forward relying on our centuries-old traditions and feel confident that together we will ensure a free and secure future of Russia." Some 9,000 troops took part in the event, and around 1,000 of them had served in Ukraine since the 2022 invasion.  Missiles and other hardware, plus a notably smaller number of tanks than usual, perhaps suggesting the toll of attrition in Ukraine, were also on display. 

The event, which happens every quarter century, will attract over 30 million pilgrims. But the Italian capital's infrastructure is in a sad state, leading many to ask if it can cope with the influx. Pope Francis on Thursday, used the Feast of Ascension to preside over the reading of a papal bull at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, declaring 2025 a Holy Year for Catholics around the world. The event, which happens every 25 years, will begin on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024; and continue through Epiphany, on January 6, 2026. In the official edict, Francis proclaimed that the theme of the celebration would be "hope," and called on wealthy nations to forgive debts owed them by poorer ones, suggesting they, "acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to pay them." He also pointed to the, "ecological debt connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time." "Hope," said the pontiff during a vigil after the official reading, "is needed by God's creation — gravely damaged and disfigured by human selfishness. Hope is needed by those peoples and nations who look to the future with anxiety and fear." The tradition of the Holy Year, which was begun by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300, begins with the pope throwing open the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica and inviting pilgrims to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul. The Jubilee involves indulgences for the forgiveness of sins and requires pilgrims to visit four of the city's major cathedrals (St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls). Though Francis declared an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, the last major Holy Year, the Great Jubilee, was held in 2000, in which Pope John Paul II led the Roman Catholic Church into the third millennium. Rome in need of a miracle to finish construction projects by Christmas Nearly 25 million pilgrims attended the 2000 Jubilee. Organizers expect that number to be between 30 and 32 million this time. Although the massive volume of so many additional tourists is a boon for the Church and the city, many are voicing concern over whether they can all be accommodated by Rome's overwhelmed and outdated infrastructure. Notoriously congested, the city is currently one enormous 24-hour construction site — with major infrastructure projects around St. Peter's but also along the Tiber River, central boulevards and squares — all bringing traffic to a standstill. Rome stands to receive some €4 billion ($4.3 billion) in public funds (€1.3 billion in special Jubilee funds and €3 billion in public and other EU post-pandemic funds) to complete works aimed at modernizing roads, public transport, subway and telecommunications systems. All of these projects, especially those involving underground work, are made extremely difficult by virtue of the need to protect the city's rich archeological heritage. Currently, only two of the city's 231 projects have been completed, yet Mayor Roberto Gualtieri is confident that "essential projects" can be finished before pilgrims begin arriving. Gualtieri said the collapse of the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi in 2022 had hampered their start but added, "We have recovered a lot from the initial delay."  "In a beautiful city, you live better," said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who has been tasked by Pope Francis with coordinating Vatican Holy Year planning.  "Rome will become an even more beautiful city, because it will be ever more at the service of its people, pilgrims and tourists who will come," Fisichella said.

Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul is expecting more rain this weekend, as it grapples with the fallout of last week's fatal floods. At least 126 people have died and many thousands have been displaced from their homes. People in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul were bracing for more rains this weekend, as efforts to rescue people stranded by last week's flooding in the state continued Saturday. The state capital, Porto Alegre, was virtually cut off as the worst flooding in 80 years submerged entire neighborhoods. The airport and bus station remain closed. Five of Porto Alegre’s six water treatment facilities were not working as of earlier this week, with the mayor issuing a decree to conserve water so it can only be used for "essential consumption." Rains to persist until Monday Brazil's national meteorology institute forecast on Friday afternoon that more than 15 centimeters (roughly 6 inches) of rain could fall over the weekend. Rains would persist until Monday, it said. Authorities said there was a high likelihood that winds would intensify and water levels would rise in the Patos lagoon — the largest in Brazil situated just south of Porto Alegre. Hundreds of thousands displaced from homes Authorities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which is home to some 10.9 million people, say that at least 126 people died during the flooding. More than 230,000 people have been displaced from their homes, with thousands living in makeshift shelters in schools and gymnasiums. Another 136 people are still missing. In Canaos, one of the worst hit cities of the state, over 6,000 people were staying in a college gymnasium that has been turned into a temporary shelter. olunteers carry dogs that have been evacuated from a flooded area in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil May 10, 2024.