Up until 1804, less than one billion people lived on planet earth. In 1927, more than a century later, the population passed the two billion milestone. Since then, due to the advancements in modern science, medicine and public health, the world's population has increased at an exponential rate.

The most recent milestone was accomplished on Tuesday, November 15, just 12 years after it exceeded seven billion when the UN announced that the world population has surpassed eight billion.

The worldwide growth rate, which is anticipated to diminish over the following decades has been unequal. Population-rich countries with slowing growth rates, like China and the United States, have raised concerns that their societies may collapse. Rising birth rates in less developed countries pose a hazard to already stressed systems.

This growth poses more challenges for the planet. The poorest nations, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, are responsible for a large portion of the population growth.

According to the United Nations, low- and lower-middle-income nations, the majority of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for around 70% of the increase from seven billion to eight billion people. In the years to come, the inclination is anticipated to increase.

However, future growth will be slower, according to experts. The United Nations predicts that eight nations—Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania—will account for half of the population growth up to 2050.

The UN urged countries with aging populations to modify their public programs to address the issue, such as enhancing the sustainability of social security and pension systems, creating universal health care, and putting in place long-term care systems. The demographic changes pose significant challenges to nations.

There is also a risk regarding our levels of production and consumption, since it has an unsustainable impact on the environment. Resource constraints may result from population increase. Rapid population growth puts more people in competition for limited water supplies and increases the number of hungry families as climate change adversely affects crop output in many regions of the world.

Environmental concerns surrounding the 8 billion mark should, according to Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, concentrate on consumption, especially in rich countries. We need to alter our consuming habits, he continued, noting that population growth is not the issue, but how we consume.

Turkey has manufactured its newest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) the Bayraktar TB-3 which is in the TB line of assault drones. The Turkish private defense company Baykar which specializes in UAVs and AI has recently received the new PD170 turbo diesel engine for their latest version of the TB-line of assault drones Bayraktar TB-3, from TEI- a leading Turkish engine manufacturer.

Prof. Dr. Mahmut Aksit, the general manager of TEI announced at the SAHA Expo 2022, that the PD170 engine is considered the world’s finest turbo diesel aircraft engine. He further stated that this engine has been used in another drone called Aksungar that was manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and that the drone could stay in the air for 49 hours at a height of 30,000 ft with an output power of 126 – 168 kW (up to 220 Horsepower).

In the last decade, Turkey has been improving its arms industry to reduce its dependency on external imports from allied countries.

Possibility of embargoes being imposed on Turkey was not far after purchasing the S-400 Defense system from Russia, which caused distress among NATO members.

This action also made the US remove Turkey from the F-35 Fighter Jet Programme as a response to the purchase saying that "F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities".

Turkey also continued providing arms and special forces training to Libya and its soldiers this year in violation of the UN security council resolution and declined to provide complete information on the UN-requested report.

Statistics from the Turkish Defense and Aerospace Industry Manufacturers Association (SASAD) show that in 2017, Turkey spent $1.8B spent on exporting arms. Mevlut Cavusoglu, The former Turkish foreign minister stated in 2019, Turkey “now produces over 70% of its own military equipment and is also a significant exporter of arms”. Another source said that Turkish arms exports during the period 2014-18 had increased by 170% compared with the period from 2009-13.

Turkey has violated many rules set by its allies and continues to do so, it has its sophisticated arms industry, is still a NATO member, and above all deals with Russia, while also exports arms to Kyiv in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Many might wonder how climate change might impact women thinking that climate impacts everyone. Climate-related disasters have struck every region of the world this year. No country or region on earth is safe from the effects of our rapidly deteriorating climate, as evidenced by recent floods in Pakistan and Nigeria along with record-breaking droughts in the Horn of Africa and Iraq. It is undeniable that climate change indeed does impact everyone on earth, however it has an indirect impact on women that many might not realize.

From Al Jazeera's reporting around the globe, we know that climate change affects women and men differently. Women and girls are repeatedly pressured to leave school or enter into early marriage in order to help alleviate the financial strain on their families caused by natural disasters like droughts and floods.

As another example of how women are affected by global warming, think about how heat waves are getting worse due to climate change. Women who are expecting a child are at risk of having a baby with low birth weight, as are the women themselves. Due to droughts, some women need to travel further to find water.Climate change is also increasing gender-based violence and negatively impacting women's mental health, according to new research by ActionAid in Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, and Nigeria.

Nonetheless, we know that women's voices, especially those on the front lines, are not adequately heard in the grand halls and behind closed doors where the big decisions are made, including at the current COP27 climate change conference. In 2022, when the effects of climate change are expected to be at their worst and especially when  international support for women is at a historic low, this is cause for grave concern. Collective and individual action is required immediately; the question is, when will climate action become a priority for nations before it is too late to avert disastrous outcomes?

By: Baniz Wasman

Extreme weather disasters displaced three times more people than war, with 59.1 million people internally displaced in 2021 worldwide; most were displaced by climate-related disasters, far higher than displacement due to armed conflict. It is estimated that at least 15000 people died explicitly due to the heat only in 2022. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress. The world population just hit 8 billion on the 15th of November due to progress and development in controlling diseases and producing food. Yet the climate crisis threatens to undo the last fifty years of improvement in global health and poverty reduction and further widen existing health inequalities between and within populations. In answer to the climate crisis, on November 7th, 2022, the UN unveiled the early climate warning system for the entire world, investments of 3.1 billion of USD over the five years would be used to advance the four key Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) pillars:

- Disaster risk knowledge (374 million USD) - systematically collect data and          undertake risk assessments on hazards and vulnerabilities.

- Observations and forecasting (1.18 billion USD) - develop hazard monitoring and early warning services.

- Preparedness and response (1 billion USD) - build national and community response capabilities.

- Dissemination and communication (550 million USD) - communicate risk information, so it reaches all who need it and is understandable and usable.

The plan identifies critical areas for advancing universal disaster risk knowledge and outlines the priority actions required to achieve this, building on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It prioritizes the top technical activities needed to enhance the capacity to detect hazards, close the observation gap, and advance global forecast data processing systems and data exchange, optimizing international efforts. The plan indicates how key foundational financing mechanisms will be scaled up to support the achievement of the goal, including a new framework developed by the Climate Risk and Early WarningSystems (CREWS) Initiative and Green Climate Fund and the operationalization of the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF). The plan also calls for increased coherence and alignment of existing and planned investments from international financing institutions. The program recognizes current successful two-sided funds for early warnings and calls for accelerating these mechanisms. Tracking progress, informing decision-making, and measuring success are all key to ensuring effective implementation. Our only home planet, the earth, is becoming uninhabitable. It is our responsibility to restore what we destroyed; even a simple action like reducing plastic, saving energy at home, and walking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can help.

With the uprisings against the existing regime in  Iran, minorities are given the opportunity to utter forty years of suppression by the Iranian regime. Sunnis, a multilingual and multi-ethical  religious minority of Iran, do not enjoy the same civil rights as a Shiite. For instance, Sunnis cannot hold authoritative positions in the government, and they cannot practice certain religious events publicly. Despite the fact that every city in Iran, whether it is populated with Shiites or Sunnis, has a Shiite mosque in it, the Sunnis living in the capital, Tehran, are not allowed to have a mosque of their own with a Sunni Imam administration.

Molavi AbdolHamid, a well-known Sunni Imam who has been the voice of the Sunni minority, leads the  protests against the existing regime after each Friday prayer.

What Sheikh AbdolHamid promotes is the idea of an internationally monitored referendum to determine the political system in Iran.His speeches did not become softer after several attacks were conducted on Friday protests. On the contrary, his criticisms against the government became even stronger.

Sheikh AbdolHamid has supported some of the conservative presidents during previous presidential elections, but it is noteworthy to say he also criticizes them after witnessing their unfulfilled promises. He criticized the fundamentals of the regime and the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic. The vitality of Sheikh AbdolHamid’s opposition is in the critical frame of his speeches. He demonstrates that the Islamic regime, besides the social and economic failures, has also failed to practise  Islam and he focuses on unity and brotherhood among muslims in his speeches.

By: S.R

The Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and ground systems will all be tested during Artemis I, at the  Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Artemis I, the first of a series of more difficult missions, will be an unmanned flight test that will lay the groundwork for human deep space exploration and show our willingness and capacity to take human civilization to the Moon and beyond.

The spaceship will take off from the most compelling rocket on the planet and travel farther than any human-built spacecraft has ever gone. Over a four to six-week journey, it will travel 280,000 miles from Earth and thousands of miles beyond the Moon. Orion will return home faster and hotter than ever before, after spending more time in orbit than any other ship for astronauts has without docking to a space station.

Artemis 1 will launch an unmanned Orion capsule on a journey to lunar orbit and return. Later Artemis missions will send people to the lunar south pole in 2025 or 2026 with the goal of establishing a long-term human settlement there by 2030.

“This is a mission that truly will do what hasn’t been done and learn what isn’t known,” said Mike Sarafin, the Artemis I mission manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission.”

The mission had some bad luck earlier this year after two failed launch attempts on August 29 and September 3. After discovering a hydrogen leak on board and some other technical issues, it was canceled.

However, now that they’ve fully prepared the rocket, NASA will attempt to launch Artemis 1 on November 16, that’s if the storm does not prevent them from postponing the mission.

In addition to the planned launch attempt on November 16, two backup launch options are available on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 1:45 a.m., and Nov. 25, both of which are two-hour launch windows.

If Artemis 1 does launch on November 16, the mission would last approximately 26 days, splashing down on December 11 in the Pacific Ocean.