Latest news with #GSI
Ya Biladi
2 days ago
- Business
- Ya Biladi
GNV announces major investments in Morocco during Tangier event
GNV, the MSC Group ferry company, organized a special event in Tangier on May 27, to present its new vessel, GNV Orion, and announce significant future investments in Morocco, the company's second-largest market after Italy. The GNV Orion, which departed from the GSI shipyard in Canton, China, on April 30, made a symbolic stopover in Tangier before heading to Italy for final preparations ahead of its late June service launch. The timing coincides with the upcoming Operation Marhaba 2025 (June 5 - September 15). The event brought together institutional representatives, key partners, including Banque Populaire du Maroc, and local media. GNV CEO Matteo Catani attended alongside the company's Moroccan partner, Mohammed Kabbaj. Catani announced the company's fleet expansion plan, adding eight new vessels between 2025 and 2030. The first two LNG-powered ships, GNV Virgo and GNV Aurora, will enter service by year-end with over 50% CO₂ reduction. Four additional vessels expected from 2028 will accommodate up to 2,500 passengers. Infrastructure limitations at Moroccan ports, including Tangier Med's 200-meter length restriction, currently prevent the deployment of these larger vessels. GNV transported approximately 455,000 passengers on Moroccan routes in 2024.
Epoch Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
China's New Security White Paper: CCP's Blueprint for Control at Home and Abroad
Commentary China's new national security white paper reveals the sweeping plan of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to merge internal control with global ambition, framing ideology, sovereignty, and economic resilience as tools for reshaping the world order. Beijing has released a new white paper on national security, titled 'China's National Security in the New Era,' marking a major shift in the CCP's approach. While previous white papers focused narrowly on military and defense, this new report presents a sweeping framework that redefines national security as the foundation of all state policy. It formalizes Chinese leader Xi Jinping's doctrine as a central pillar of governance, guiding both domestic priorities and foreign strategy. The paper presents a broad vision of security that extends beyond traditional defense to encompass political stability, economic development, technological self-reliance, and control of emerging domains. Central to this vision is the concept of 'holistic security,' which combines conventional priorities such as sovereignty and military readiness with next-generation concepts, including cyberspace, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, public health, and food system resiliency. The CCP frames political security as the 'lifeline' of national security, asserting that internal and external threats must be addressed together to preserve regime stability and economic continuity. The paper underscores the Party's insistence on ideological conformity and its intolerance of dissent, calling for political control across all areas of governance. It advocates early threat detection through Party networks embedded in institutions and strict regulation of public discourse, especially online. The white paper promotes China's Global Security Initiative (GSI) as a counterweight to Western-led security frameworks. Introduced by Xi in 2023, the GSI lays out Beijing's vision for reshaping global security governance, rejecting what it calls Cold War mentality, unilateralism, and bloc politics. Related Stories 4/1/2025 12/17/2024 While the CCP accuses the United States of forming divisive blocs, it presents its own initiatives—including the Belt and Road (BRI, also known as One Belt, One Road), BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and partnerships with ostracized countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea—as inclusive efforts that promote what it calls multilateralism and global equity under a rules-based international order. The paper places special emphasis on emerging security domains, including cybersecurity, outer space, maritime rights, and the protection of overseas infrastructure tied to Belt and Road projects. It also identifies national grain reserves, seed technology, and energy diversification as strategic priorities for reducing reliance on foreign supply chains. Beijing pledges to strengthen its risk management systems to guard against external threats, such as economic sanctions—measures clearly aimed at the United States. Xi is positioning the Chinese economy to endure a prolonged trade conflict with the Trump administration and has drawn lessons from the sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, preparing China to withstand similar pressure should it invade Taiwan. For Washington, the document signals Beijing's deepening commitment to authoritarian governance and its resolve to challenge U.S. influence, particularly in the Indo–Pacific. The emphasis on sovereignty and ideology foreshadows more aggressive diplomacy, continued These concerns were echoed in recent testimony before Congress by retired U.S. Army Gen. Charles Flynn, who warned that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is 'no longer distant or theoretical.' Viewing Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te as a disruptive force pushing the island toward formal independence, Beijing has intensified its pressure campaign. The CCP has launched unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan, including large-scale naval and air operations simulating blockades and rapid-force deployments. These drills now occur with little or no warning and involve the Chinese navy, air force, coast guard, and maritime militia, reflecting preparation for a range of contingencies, U.S. partners in Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines and Vietnam, should expect ongoing friction in the South China Sea. The white paper defines the CCP's maritime claims as a core national security issue, asserting Beijing's right to defend what it views as sovereign territory, regardless of international rulings. This position is reinforced by the Foreign Relations Law (2023), which codifies the CCP's control over foreign policy and permits countermeasures against actions deemed harmful to the Chinese regime's sovereignty or development. Under Beijing's doctrine of lawfare, even military seizures of disputed territory are framed as acts of self-defense, as the regime views regions like the South China Sea and Taiwan as integral parts of the Chinese homeland. Ultimately, the CCP's new white paper lays out a security framework that is expansive, ideological, and authoritarian. Its release formalizes the idea that communist China's global rise is inseparable from the Party's domestic grip on power and its ambition to shape a new world order led by Beijing. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
New Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Science
- New Indian Express
GSI study had warned NHAI of faulty road work on NH-66 in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent caving in of roads and crack formations on several stretches of NH-66 in the state are the result of the failure of NHAI to identify susceptible sectors and implement site-specific engineering solutions. The Geological Survey of India, Kerala unit, which carried out a prima facie site assessment during September 2024 at Bevinchi, Thekkil, Veeramalakunnu and Mattalayi hills in Kasaragod where NH-66 road extension works and excavation was under progress had warned about probable landslides along the cut slope as 'moderate to high.' Incidentally, it was very near to the study area at Mattalayi, near Cheruvathur, that a hillock collapsed during construction resulting in the death of a person, and leaving two others injured on May 12. According to the GSI study, the soil thickness and composition vary significantly throughout the road stretch. The susceptible sectors should be identified, and site-specific engineering solutions should be implemented based on on-site situations. A detailed study must be carried out on the stretches, the GSI study had recommended.
Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
BMC asks slum dwellers in landslide-prone areas to shift to safer locations
With the city bracing itself for the onset of monsoon and amid ongoing pre-monsoon spell, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Thursday appealed to slum dwellers in the landslide-prone areas identified in Vikhroli and Ghatkopar west (N ward) to relocate to safer locations. Directing residents of the area to exercise caution, civic officials said people in the identified areas have also been issued notices to vacate their homes along the slopes and migrate to safer pockets. During the course of heavy showers and strong winds in monsoons, several reports of house collapses, landslides, flooding are reported in the slums built along the hill slopes of the city, each year. While no major catastrophic incident has been reported in the past few years, in 2021, 32 people lost their lives in a series of landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli in the suburbs. As per surveys conducted by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), the highest number of landslide–sensitive areas have been identified in the eastern suburbs' Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup among others. This year, the civic body has identified landslide-prone homes in the N ward such as Vikhroli's Parksite, Varsha Nagar, Ramnagar, Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Rahul Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Khandoba Hill. Azad Nagar, Prem Nagar, Anand Nagar among others. Issuing precautionary notices to the residents of the area to relocate to safer places, the BMC said that the responsibility of the residents continually residing here without migrating lies with the inhabitants. 'The BMC will not be responsible for any accident or loss of life or property due to a natural disaster,' said the civic body. The slopes of these hills consist of informal settlements inhabited by Lower Income Groups (LIG) and members from marginalised communities, who continue to reside in their perilous zones owing to lack of alternate means of residence.
NBC News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
Fanatics will host a skills challenge between fans and celebrities, with $2 million on the line
Sports giant Fanatics is pitting fans against greats Tom Brady, Kevin Durant and Alex Rodriguez at an upcoming marketing event. The company announced Tuesday it is introducing a skills-based competition at Fanatics Fest 2025, taking place June 20-22 in New York City. Fanatics says more than $2 million will be given away in prizes, including a $1 million cash prize for first place, a Ferrari 812 GTS for second place and a Lebron James collectors card worth $250,000 for third place. If no fans finish in the top three, falling short of the celebrity competitors, the highest-scoring fan will receive $100,000. If a celebrity competitor comes in first, they take home the seven-figure prize. 'I think the thinking was, how do we create even more of an insane environment where fans and athletes and streamers are all running around, in this case, quite literally, having a great time and showcasing all of that,' said Lance Fensterman, CEO of Fanatics Events. It's the second Fanatics Fest after the inaugural event last year drew more than 70,000 fans and brought together major sports leagues and hundreds of current and former athletes. The offerings last year included league activations, autograph sessions and a trading cards and collectibles show. This year, Fanatics is hoping to go even bigger — with a goal of bringing in 100,000 attendees — as the company continues to broaden its reach in sports marketing. Michael Rubin acquired Fanatics in 2011 after merging it with his company, GSI Commerce. What began as a sports e-commerce platform has evolved in recent years into a diverse sports platform offering trading cards and sports memorabilia, live shopping, betting and gaming, as well as an events business. Fifty fans will be selected to compete at Fanatics Fest 2025 against top talent that also includes comedian Kevin Hart, former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski, Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard James Harden and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles. The competition will include Major League Baseball pitching accuracy, National Hockey League slapshot accuracy, National Football League passing accuracy, a National Basketball Association shooting competition, a FIFA goal scoring challenge and a golfing contest. Fans can apply to participate by submitting a short video in the Fanatics app. While Fanatics' events business represents just a small fraction of business — last valued at $25 billion, according to a person familiar with the company — Fensterman said Fanatics Fest creates a lot of positive sentiment around the company. 'It's incredibly impactful in terms of bringing the entire ecosystem together for the sole focus of delighting,' he said.
