Geneva, 27 June – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Netherlands have announced the launch of a new phase of the Cooperation on Migration and Partnership to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) program. Building on its achievements since 2021, COMPASS will continue its mission to guide safe migration while protecting and upholding migrants’ rights until the end of 2027. “This new phase marks a significant step towards our goal of creating profound systemic change for vulnerable migrants,” says Yitna Getachew, Director of IOM’s Protection Division (ai). “I am confident that the next…
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Election integrity is back in the news as Canadian political party leaders react to an explosive report released by a top-secret parliamentary committee. Concerns about China interfering in Canadian elections emerged in February 2023. As a result, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue was tasked in September to lead a public inquiry on electoral integrity and foreign interference at the federal level. Provincial governments have been touched as well, with allegations resulting in the exit of Vincent Ke, a member of provincial parliament, from the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus. Ke has denied any wrongdoing and is suing a news outlet for defamation. Less…
If you have no shelter and are arrested for sleeping outside, are you being punished for something you did – or for being homeless? On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the Oregon city of Grants Pass may prohibit camping, even if there are no free shelter beds in the area. Critics have argued that this policy was a form of “cruel and unusual punishment,” in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A lower court agreed, saying it is unconstitutional to arrest people for a normal and necessary human behavior – sleeping –…
She told the Aviva Stadium crowd: “I haven’t been able to play a show in Dublin for over five years.“Nobody does it like you, you know this.“People in the crowd should be winning awards for their performances, their facial expressions, their choreography.”The 34-year-old pop superstar emerged on a hidden platform at 7.15 pm to thunderous applause and screams.Swift introduced herself to the audience with an understated: “Oh, hi.”“Does anyone here happen to know the words?” she asked during Cruel Summer.Taylor said: “Dublin. This was wild. That made me feel amazing.“Tonight, I get to play a sold-out show in Dublin on…
Large-scale solar power generates about 4% of all electricity in the U.S. Capacity has almost doubled in the last year. Smaller-scale installations – including solar panels on things like homes and public buildings – have also seen sharp growth. The new Center survey asked Americans how common three different types of solar panel developments are in their community: small-scale solar development on homes, somewhat larger solar developments on buildings and in parking lots, and large-scale solar panel farms. Americans report that home solar is the most common of these three types in their community. 18% of Americans say solar panels…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $600,000 to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions to continue employment and training services for workers dislocated by layoffs in 10 counties after a fire led to the closure of the QVC Rocky Mount Inc.’s distribution center in December 2021.In March 2022, the department announced the award of a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $4 million – with an initial award of $1,333,333 – to enable the Division of Workforce Solutions to provide services for nearly 2,000 laid-off workers in Beaufort, Bertie,…
“This already a sign that he, at least openly, is not a supporter of appeasement of Russia through Ukrainian territorial concessions,” Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign relations committee, told POLITICO. According to Merezhko, Trump may still have illusions that the Russian invasion can be stopped through an agreement with Putin. “If he becomes president, this illusion will quickly pass when he realizes that Putin is not interested in agreements, he is only interested in one thing — the destruction of Ukraine’s statehood,” Merezhko said. Trump used the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion to make Biden appear weak, saying that…
Overall, 54% of Americans say artificial intelligence programs that generate text and images, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, need to credit the sources they rely on to produce their responses. A much smaller share (14%) says the programs don’t need to credit sources, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. About a third say they’re not sure on this question. Pew Research Center published this analysis as part of its ongoing work to understand attitudes about artificial intelligence. This analysis draws on a survey of 10,133 U.S. adults conducted from Feb. 7 to 11, 2024. Everyone who took part in…
(Getty Images) People in advanced economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Majorities across 19 countries say social media on balance has been good for democracy. But in nearly all these countries, most also say social media has led to manipulation and division within societies. In emerging economies, views on these topics are not that different. In 2018, majorities in 11 emerging and developing economies surveyed said that social media has both positive and negative sides. Results from the two surveys are similar in other ways, despite differences…
Choir members attend a religious service at the Methodist Church of Trinity in March 2020 in compliance with government restriction on social gatherings in Lagos, Nigeria. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images) During the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world restricted large gatherings to reduce the spread of the virus. Religious events, including in-person worship services, were banned in many places. In every region of the globe, at least some religious groups protested these regulations. Pew Research Center’s 13th annual report on restrictions on religion in 2020 includes a new analysis of how public health measures related to the coronavirus…