I like the interactive graph because it shows something I've been saying for a while, some of the biggest jumps in house prices were during covid when the immigration tap was turned off:

🔗

There have been no donations for 8 days, and in this freezing cold, our situation is becoming more desperate every day.

We are struggling just to survive, without proper shelter or warmth. Please help us stay alive by supporting us so we can buy winter clothes and blankets.

You are our only hope. Even the smallest donation can make a real difference and help us endure these harsh conditions.

Please don’t leave us alone. 🙏 https://gofund.me/f6e9cc9d

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/39708119

Recently, the Lowy Institute, which is an independent Think Tank revised it's Asia Power Index. And after revision, it increased India's Ranking to No.3 and hence giving it the title 'Major Power'.

This Index ranks countries in 4 categories:-

Superpowers- As we know the big players, they shape the region with their decisions

Major Power- It strongly influences the region with it's capability and decisions, not as much as a superpower but still, comparable

Middle Power- They strongly influence the region around them but lag behind beyond it.

Minor Powers- They have very low influence even in their own region

The revised Index gave India the title of a major power which was previously owned by Japan, Russia climbed up a rank to become 5th overtaking Australia, Malaysia Overtook Thailand and got the 11th Rank.

In Indian context, I would even say that the timing of revision is really good because it hasn't been that long sich Indo-Pak Conflict has ended, in broader terms it still continues.

This Index shows that in a direct conflict and without Chinese support India does have a upper hand.

It shows that now India cannot be ignored or beliitled by China or US.

I feel India is on the right track, what do you think, feel free to give your opinion in comments.

For Further updates and similar content, please join our community 'BharatReforms'. We are a new community and really need your support to grow and continue.

Glory to Mother India

The world’s biggest weapons-producing companies saw a 5.9% increase in revenue from sales of arms and military services last year as demand was fed by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as countries’ rising military spending, according to a report released Monday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, said the revenues of the 100 largest arms makers grew to $679 billion in 2024, the highest figure it has recorded.

The bulk of the increase was down to companies based in Europe and the United States, but there were increases around the world — except in Asia and Oceania, where problems in the Chinese arms industry led to a slight fall.

China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracted in November, according to a private survey released Monday, as soft domestic demand continued to cast a pall over the world’s second-largest economy.

Scientists believe they have recorded electrical activity in the Martian atmosphere for the first time, suggesting the planet is capable of lightning.

Lead author of the research Dr Baptiste Chide told news agency Reuters: "These discharges represent a major discovery, with direct implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, habitability and the future of robotic and human exploration."

I’ve got a server, a friends got a server, what’s the best way to share stuff between the two?

@nostupidquestions How many guys did Peter Thiel call the anti-christ?

and he is not done yet part 2 cumming next year

"What up this is Mr. Beast, and today we're seeing if we can assassinate Fidel Castro with an explosive cigar!"

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/54104530

A former senior British officer has told a public inquiry that British special forces in Afghanistan appeared to commit war crimes by executing suspects and despite widespread knowledge in the chain of command nothing was done.

A former senior British officer has told a public inquiry that British special forces in Afghanistan appeared to commit war crimes by executing suspects and despite widespread knowledge in the chain of command nothing was done.

A U.S. official briefed on the shooting investigation and a former senior Afghan National Defense and Security Forces member told CBS News that the suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, had been part of a "Zero Unit," an Afghan intelligence unit and paramilitary force that worked with the CIA. The units were exclusively composed of Afghan nationals and operated under the umbrella of the National Directorate of Security, or NDS, the intelligence agency established with CIA backing for Afghanistan's previous, U.S.-backed government. They were considered by the U.S. and its international partners to be among the most trusted domestic forces in Afghanistan.

Those units are often labeled "death squads" by human rights groups. The units were known in Afghanistan for their secrecy and alleged brutality, and members were implicated in numerous extrajudicial killings of civilians, particularly during night raids.

The U.S. official briefed on the investigation confirmed the suspect had been disturbed by the casualties in this unit and, more recently, deeply troubled by the killing of his close friend overseas.

The image of the ID badge also carries the words "Firebase Gecko," which was the name of a base used by the CIA and special forces in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, inside what was previously the compound of the Taliban's founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Thursday the suspect had previously worked "with the U.S. Government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar."

Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat, a former commanding general of the Afghan National Special Operations Corps, told CBS News that Lakanwal worked for the "03" unit for eight years. A former senior Afghan general under the U.S.-backed government told CBS News on Thursday that "03 unit, also known as The Kandahar Strike Force (KSF), was under special forces directorate of NDS. They were the most active and professional forces, trained and equipped by the CIA. All their operations were conducted under the CIA command." Lakanwal was part of the unit's operations team, Sadat said.

"He was known for being responsible and professional within his team and had strong anti-Taliban views," Sadat said.

"While we could not establish any connection between him and any terrorist organization, we also cannot completely rule it out," Sadat said. "However, we can confirm that his background does not show any links to terrorists."

Lakanwal's family faced serious threats from the Taliban, which led him to relocate them from their native Khost province to Kabul, Sadat said. In the U.S., Sadat said Lakanwal was "generally calm and maintained a clean record, though he suffered from PTSD."

As a member of a Zero Unit, the suspect would have been virtually guaranteed a route to asylum in the U.S. because members of these elite units were high on the list for Taliban retaliation after the group retook control of the country. Many members of these units played key roles in the August 2021 evacuation from Kabul, in return for a guarantee of space on a flight for themselves and their families out of Afghanistan.

this bit fucking sucked

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/39522209

Wonder if there's a spin cycle. Ha.

Seriously though. This should really help the elderly or those with a physical limitation.

Buried beneath an ancient volcanic crater on the Nevada Oregon border sits an enormous deposit of lithium rich clay. Scientists now think this quiet landscape may hold enough lithium to influence the global battery market for decades.

A new study argues that McDermitt caldera may host about 20 to 40 million metric tons of lithium, likely the largest deposit yet identified.

Using the recent United States’ average contract price for lithium carbonate, about 37,000 dollars per ton, that estimate comes out to be nearly $1.5 trillion.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/56091617