The LuLac Edition #4,654, December 28th, 2021

 

TOP TEN INTERNATIONAL STORIES OF 2021

1.       The U.S. army withdraws from Afghanistan after spending over $2 trillion, Taliban retake control. After 20 years of digging in the trenches and fighting the almost imperishable Taliban, the U.S. has finally given up on Afghanistan, bringing a sordid close to its longest war in history, and the Taliban retook control of the country. The U.S. has spent approximately $2.26 trillion on the war in Afghanistan, according to the estimates made by the Costs of War Project at Brown University this April, when Biden announced full U.S. troops withdrawal. That translates into over $300 million per day over the past two decades.

 2.       Commercial space tourism race ramps up, space economy unprecedentedly hot. After decades of deferred promises, the space tourism industry started, beginning with sending the super-rich and celebrities on short flights aboard privately-funded craft. It started with Richard Branson, who took a 90-minute suborbital flight aboard his Virgin Galactic space plane. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came a close second when he rode in his firm Blue Origin's New Shepard. Then New Shepard flew again on October with new passengers, including Star Trek actor William Shatner. Meanwhile, in September, SpaceX sent a spacecraft into orbit without any government-trained astronauts aboard, paid for and commanded by billionaire Jared Isaacman.

 

3.       COP26 agrees on implementation details of Paris Agreement, China actively promotes global climate governance. The 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26) opened in October in Glasgow, Scotland, the first conference after the five-year review cycle under the Paris Agreement inked in 2015.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who made remarks in a written statement for the World Leaders Summit at the COP26 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, called on all parties to take stronger action to jointly tackle the climate challenge.

 

4.       Countries face supply chain disruption as COVID-19 still challenges our worl. Despite forecasts of a rapid recovery in the global economy this year, it still faces several severe and unexpected challenges.  No one anticipated that there would be a shortage of semiconductors or containers, an energy crisis and a record rise in natural gas prices, and now also significant problems in the global supply chain.  Analysts warn that problems with global logistics and distribution will continue until 2023.

 

5.       Supply and demand imbalance worsens transition pains, countries sound energy crisis alarm.  Oil and natural gas prices have soared to multi-year highs recently, sending power prices surging to record levels as widespread energy shortages engulf Asia and Europe. The International Energy Agency in October said a global energy crunch is expected to boost oil demand by half a million barrels per day (bpd), add inflation pressure and slow the world's recovery from the pandemic.

 

6.       Global auto giant accelerate transition, new energy car market see explosive growth. Carried by decarbonization goals most leading nations now take seriously, 2021 has been a game changer in the history of EV sales. A total of 6.4 million vehicles (EVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles combined) are expected to be sold globally by the end of the year, which would represent a 98-percent year over year increase, database platform EV-volumes said.

 

7.       Countries face supply chain disruption as COVID-19 still challenges our world. Despite forecasts of a rapid recovery in the global economy this year, it still faces several severe and unexpected challenges.  No one anticipated that there would be a shortage of semiconductors or containers, an energy crisis and a record rise in natural gas prices, and now also significant problems in the global supply chain.

 

8.       Angela Merkel on announced her resignation  as German chancellor. She sought to draw a line under a series of political crises that have rocked her fragile coalition. Taking a decisive step towards the end of her political career, the veteran leader who has led Germany for 13 years said she hoped her planned departure would end bitter fighting in her coalition and finally focus it on its task of governing Europe's biggest economy.

 

9.       Russia edges closer to war as new arms arrive on Ukraine’s border A recent sighting of Putin’s notorious Buk missiles on their way to the frontline does not bode well for talks.

 

10.   Pope Francis criticizes desire for Latin Mass. Thirteen and a half years ago, Pope Benedict XVI boldly granted permission to priests and groups of Catholics to have their patrimony back, what’s commonly called the Traditional Latin Mass, and not just the mass, but the ancient prayers and liturgies for baptisms, confirmations, and ordinations. The result of this permission was a massive growth of interest in the traditional rites and prayers of Catholicism, the growth of liturgical arts, the formation of choirs, and scholas equipping themselves to sing the Gregorian chant, or the great polyphonic compositions of Monteverdi, Mozart, Tallis, Morales, and so many others. Unsurprisingly, Pope Francis is telling traditionalists attached to the traditional prayers of the Church, “It’s this or nothing.”

(BBC America, AOL News, AP, LuLac)