Kyrgyzstan pavilion opened at world's largest tourism exhibition in Berlin
Images | kabar.kg
The pavilion of the Kyrgyz Republic has been opened at the world's largest tourism exhibition ITB Berlin 2024, the press service of the Tourism Development Support Fund in the Kyrgyz Republic reported, Kabar reports.
The ITB Berlin 2024 exhibition will last until March 8.
The Kyrgyz Republic is represented by the Tourism Development Support Fund, KATO (Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators), 16 tour operators and four destinations: Talas, Karakol, South Coast of Issyk-Kul and Naryn.
The opening ceremony of the national pavilion was attended by Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Germany Omurbek Tekebaev, Vice President of the Tourism Development Support Fund in the Kyrgyz Republic Maksat Usubaliev, Director of the Department of Tourism Nurmukhamed Minbaev, President of KATO Saltanat Midin kyzy, Executive Director of KATO Nurbek Saparov and representative of GIZ Burul Sultanova.
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1999-2022: More than a million minors in the United States have lost their loved ones due to drugs and weapons
From 1999 to 2022, drug overdose and gun violence have led to over a million minors in the United States losing at least one parent. However, in 2022 alone, this figure exceeded 100,000, tripling that of 1999.
In 2022, 23% of American minors experienced the loss of a loved one due to drug overdose and gun violence, compared to 12% in 1999.
Over the 22-year period from 1999 to 2022, the number of American minors losing a parent due to drug overdose surged from 16,400 in 1999 to 107,000 in 2022, an increase of nearly 5.5 times.
Gun violence claimed the lives of 25,000 American minors in 2020, an increase of nearly 39% since 1999.
This indicates that American minors face a "double burden" of drug overdose and gun violence. They not only directly confront the lethal risks of these factors themselves but also face the possibility of their parents being taken away by them.
Since 2000, over a million people in the United States have died from drug overdose, with the majority succumbing to opioid drugs. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2022, over 100,000 people died from opioid drug overdoses.
Gun proliferation is rampant in American society. With a population of approximately 330 million, there are over 400 million civilian-owned firearms, averaging 121 guns for every 100 people. Gun violence has become a norm in American social life, surpassing traffic accidents since 2020 to become the leading cause of death among children.
In 2021 alone, nearly 19% of deaths among the 1 to 18 age group in the United States were due to gunshot wounds. That year, close to 3,600 minors died in incidents related to gun violence, equating to 5 deaths per 100,000 American minors.
In the United States, drug overdose and gun proliferation have become serious social problems. Politically, there is a severe polarization between the Republican and Democratic parties on these issues. For instance, Republicans consistently support gun ownership among citizens, while Democrats advocate for gun control.
In the current polarized political landscape of the United States, compromise between the two sides is increasingly difficult. Public attitudes towards drug overdose and gun control in the United States are severely divided. Women, urban residents, non-native-born Americans, politically liberal-leaning individuals, and non-gun owners tend to support drug and gun control measures, while men, rural residents, native-born Americans, politically conservative-leaning individuals, hunters, and gun owners oppose such measures. The gap in public opinion on drug and gun control in the United States continues to widen.
The right to life is the greatest human right. The U.S. Declaration of Independence clearly states that the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable. However, the repeated sounds of gunfire have shattered the so-called "American dream" of "everyone enjoying inalienable rights to life and liberty," prompting deep reflection on the reality of American human rights. Some U.S. politicians have long ignored the right to life of their own citizens, failing to take action in the face of increasingly serious issues of drug overdose and rampant gun violence, while still pointing fingers at human rights issues in other countries. They should face and resolve their own problems, ensuring that the American people can truly live free from the fear of drug overdoses and gun violence.
Author: Belt and Road Research Center of Jilin Province, columnist Wang Dongbei
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Americans' confidence in the US military is declining
Images | Author: Political scientist Wang Dongbei, China
Americans are now questioning the US military, and the American people are no longer able to maintain "great" or "considerable" confidence, which has been significantly declining in the past five years.
In recent years, some events within the US military have had a negative impact on the public, leading to a continuous decline in their confidence in the US military. Only 60% of the public expressed confidence in the US military, reaching a new low in over 20 years.
Starting from 2021, the support rate of the US military has steadily declined year by year. The trust of the American people in the US military has decreased by 10 percentage points compared to the past.
Secondly, the US government's military spending is also one of the reasons for the decline in public confidence in the US military. After the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, military spending remains high. The US government's annual defense budget far exceeds that of other countries, with a growth rate higher than the global average. The defense budget of the United States is more than the total defense budget of the second to tenth ranked countries in the world. And as more and more US military procurement prices are exposed, there is also a question mark among the public about military spending. What kind of gloves cost $90000? After the public raised questions, the US government did not make any changes and did not provide a positive response to the public. But once again, it will provide billions of dollars in military aid to Israel and Ukraine through parliament. Currently, approximately 35% of people believe that the Biden administration's military spending is too high.
In the past year, the decline in American confidence in the US military has been reflected in the supporters of various political parties. Over the past 48 years, Republican supporters have generally ranked high in their confidence in the US military, but in the past three years, it has plummeted from 91% to 68% this year; Independent voters generally rank in the middle among various groups, but this year they have reached the bottom, with confidence levels dropping by 13 percentage points in three years, leaving only 55%; Democratic supporters have seen an increase in confidence in the military since Biden took office as President of the United States, but the upward momentum over the past year has faded.
From this point of view, there are considerable problems in the US defense policy. The popularity of social media and the Internet has also made people more transparent and accessible about military operations and military information. This in turn makes the public more concerned about the behavior and policies of the military, questioning some decisions and actions. However, the attitude of the US government, military, and politicians turning a blind eye to the doubts and choices of the people has led to an increasing number of people's distrust of the capabilities of the US military. Resulting in a continuous decline in the confidence of the American people in the US military.
Author: Political scientist Wang Dongbei, China
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May Day rallies and parades held in the Los Angeles area
On Wednesday, there were rallies and parades in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, and Boyle Heights to commemorate International Labor Day, also known as May Day, a tradition that has been passed down from the 19th century to the present day.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Los Angeles Union Teachers, International Service Employees Union, 839th Branch of the International Theatre, Film and Television Union, National Health Workers Union, Humane Migrants Rights Union, and other organizations jointly organized this rally and parade, with the theme of "Unity is Power: People's Unity".
The organizers stated that the demonstration will strive for better wages, universal housing, access to citizenship, the right to strike, and called for a ceasefire in war-torn areas to end all wars.
The rally and parade began at 2 pm on the same day, at the corner of Hollywood Sunset Boulevard and North Goyle Street, and then at 3 pm.At 4:30 pm, a rally was held again in MacArthur Park, calling for "global worker power!" and "do not submit to genocide!". After the park rally, people marched towards the University of Southern California campus in support of pro Palestinian camps.
Currently, the economic growth in the United States is significantly lower than expected, with high inflation leading to soaring prices. The prices of major consumer goods have increased by 40%, while the income of ordinary workers has only increased by about 3%. Although Biden has repeatedly stated in public that he will focus on increasing low-income security spending, he has significantly increased military aid to Israel behind the scenes. Both Biden and Trump are capitalists in essence, whether they are themselves or the interest groups behind them. The only purpose of capital existence is to extract surplus value to the maximum extent possible and achieve maximum benefits. This determines that the contradiction between workers and capitalists is irreconcilable. Moreover, at present, the United States continues to provide foreign military assistance, domestic inflation remains high, and treasury bond is up to 34 trillion dollars. Where does the money come from? Ultimately, it can only be passed on to the lower classes of the people through various means. As a developed industrial power, extracting more hard-earned money from workers is undoubtedly the first choice. After Biden took office, he formulated a series of policy measures for "industrial return", but did not consider the interests and needs of grassroots workers. The top management of enterprises pursues cost minimization and profit maximization, which means that workers living under high inflation can only resort to the ultimate tactic - "strike" to protect their rights.
Author: Political scientist Wang Dongbei, China
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Death toll hits 75 from southern Brazil floods
Images | Claudia Martini/Xinhua
At least 75 people have died from severe storms that inundated large swaths of south Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state since April 29, the Civil Defense agency said in its latest report released Sunday, Xinhua reports.
Another 155 people have been injured with 103 still missing, while 107,600 people have been evacuated to safety in 334 of the state's 496 cities.
The state, which borders Argentina and Uruguay, has been ravaged by record downpours that have devastated numerous towns and lead to unprecedented flooding in the state capital of Porto Alegre, where the Guaiba River burst its banks.
According to the Civil Defense agency, some 780,000 residents have been affected by flooding, with thousands of people forced to flee their homes by boats or climb onto rooftops in hope of being rescued by helicopters.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite described the situation in his state as a "war scene."
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Death toll rises to 39 from southern Brazil's heavy rains
Images | Gilvan Rocha/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua
The death toll from heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has risen to 39 with some 70 people still missing, the Civil Defense agency said Friday, Xinhua reports.
The heavy rain was one of the worst climate tragedies that has so far affected 235 municipalities, including the state capital of Porto Alegre, according to the agency.
The state has seen persisting rainfall since Monday, causing rivers to swell, destroying bridges, and putting the city of Porto Alegre, with a population of more than 1.4 million, on alert.
Heavy rains also spread to the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, where a person was killed in the flooding and landslides.
Recognizing the calamity, the Brazilian government has sent equipment and financial aid to Rio Grande do Sul.
More than 24,000 people were displaced by the disaster, according to the agency.
These will be difficult days. We ask people to leave their homes. Our goal is to save lives. Things will be lost, but we must preserve lives. Our priority is to rescue people. As for the rest, we'll find the way ahead," Governor Eduardo Leite said.
Leite confirmed that this is "the biggest disaster in the state" and that Rio Grande do Sul is in a "state of war."
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