All posts tagged: Erosion

‘Erosion of a country’s future’: What has the war cost Sudan? | Conflict News

‘Erosion of a country’s future’: What has the war cost Sudan? | Conflict News

Published by Sam Flores

Three years into its civil war, Sudan has become unrecognisable with more than 40,000 people killed, about 14 million of its people – a quarter of the population – forced to flee their homes and civilian infrastructure across the country extensively damaged. “We are not just facing a crisis – we are witnessing the systematic erosion of a country’s future,” Luca Renda, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) resident representative in Sudan, told Al Jazeera. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list A report by the UNDP and the Institute for Security Studies lays out the scale of Sudan’s economic collapse since the war began in 2023 due to a power struggle between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Even under the most optimistic scenario of peace being achieved in 2026, Sudan would still lose an estimated $18.8bn in its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2043, the report said, illustrating just how deeply the war has already reshaped the country’s economic trajectory. The report warned that the damage goes beyond lost …

The House Article | MPs Urge Support For Homeowners Threatened By Coastal Erosion

The House Article | MPs Urge Support For Homeowners Threatened By Coastal Erosion

Published by Sam Flores

Illustration by Tracy Worrall 11 min read2 hr After a year of unprecedented rates of coastal erosion, Matilda Martin visits a Suffolk village where she finds homeowners left liable for the costs of demolishing their own homes – but only after a bat survey Steps hang from the cliff leading to nowhere; fencing, too, curves into thin air while the skewed foundations of what was once a house slide down a sandy slope to the Suffolk sea. This is Thorpeness, or what is left of it. The village is being eaten by the waves at a far faster rate than anyone expected and becoming emblematic of the increasing challenge of coastal erosion. “On New Year’s Eve, we were dancing on those rocks in the garden,” says Roger Hawkins, the owner of a home apparently doomed to follow its neighbours, pointing to shoreline rubble. “The next morning, we were literally watching them fall into the sea.” Hawkins and others at the water’s edge face not only losing their uninsurable homes but liability for the …

Anonymity and the Erosion of Kindness

Anonymity and the Erosion of Kindness

Published by Jenni Sidey

Throughout the year, we all have particular events that mark the passage of time. Birthdays, holidays, special events. As professors, we have a few unique days too: some fun, some not. There’s the first day of classes, where we still (20+ years in) get the jitters. The last day of classes, when we are often just as, if not more excited, than the students. And then there is the day our course evaluations arrive. Typical of many universities, the courses we teach have an anonymous evaluation at the end. These are usually a combination of multiple-choice questions that ask students to rate components of the class on a scale and open-ended questions that allow for additional feedback. In theory, the purpose of these evaluations is to provide useful feedback to the professor. In reality, they do not do that at all. Instead, they have become a place to say all of the things unsaid throughout the semester. We have gotten comments that range from genuinely kind to downright cruel. As much as we would like …

Erosion Of Freedom In The EU: From Censorship To Centralized Power

Erosion Of Freedom In The EU: From Censorship To Centralized Power

Published by Jenni Sidey

Submitted by Thomas Kolbe The European Union has increasingly fallen on the defensive in foreign policy. Domestically, the Green Deal has significantly damaged the economic foundation. Together with its main pillars Berlin and Paris, the Brussels-based EU Commission is pushing forward the systematic construction of a censorship apparatus to suppress its own failures from public debate. The heated discussion in recent days over the censorship of unpopular platforms like Nius is far more than just a warning sign. Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister-President Daniel Günther offered a deep insight into the strategic toolbox of current politics during Markus Lanz’s ZDF show. The politician’s subsequent, at times desperate, attempts—alongside the host and state-affiliated media—to retract his openly stated censorship demands toward critical platforms and media such as Nius illustrate the seriousness of the situation: Germany is slowly but steadily sliding toward a surveillance state. The Vulgar Side of Censorship The debate over controlling public opinion, particularly in the digital space, also has a vulgar, unrestrained side—as Apollo News experienced a few months ago. At that time, the local branch …

‘Erosion of credibility’: Malaysia defence minister slams recent scandals and warns against corruption ‘cancer’

‘Erosion of credibility’: Malaysia defence minister slams recent scandals and warns against corruption ‘cancer’

Published by Sam Flores

Khaled on Monday urged the MAF to stop all forms of bullying and oppression, as well as eliminate “immoral hedonistic culture”. “Call it whatever you like – ‘yeye’, ‘yaya’ or anything else – it is degrading, immoral, and contrary to the traditions of Islamic life,” he said. “Such unlawful and immoral activities should no longer occur in any of our camps. No one should tolerate any form of human rights abuse. No woman should be treated as a sex object or entertainment in our mess halls and servicemen’s residences,” he stressed. Anyone involved in such “immoral transgressions” will be punished and “disgracefully dismissed” from service, Khaled warned. The minister also took aim at service personnel who misused their official work hours by engaging in leisure activities, warning that they will face disciplinary action for this. “Those who spend time playing golf outside permitted hours, or idling in coffee shops during working hours – we will enforce military discipline firmly,” he said, eliciting murmurs in the audience. “Return to conduct befitting noble warriors … Work hours …