Sweden has announced a scholarship opportunity supported by the Swedish Government, aimed at achieving and contributing to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Swedish Institute Scholarships for Global Professionals encompass extraordinary opportunities. Participants become lifelong members of the Future Global Leaders, developing relationships within the Swedish Alumni Networks. This scholarship program is fully funded by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The candidate must have work experience of a minimum of 3000 hours.
The candidate must have demonstrated leadership experience from the employment.
The candidate must be engaged as a leader in civil society engagements.
The candidate must be able to get admission to an SI Scholarship-eligible master’s program.
How to Apply?
1. Visit UniversityAdmissions.se and apply for your master’s program(s) by January 15, 2024. After submitting your application, you will receive an eight-digit personal application number. Keep this number for your SI Scholarship application to ensure accuracy and avoid disqualification. 2. The candidate has to apply for SI scholarships separately after completing the admission application. 3. You can apply for up to 4 master’s programs for SI Scholarship in Sweden 2024. 4. Once an applicant submits his or her admission application, he or she will receive a personal application number. 5. A candidate must save this application number for applying to the Global Professional Program (Swedish Institute Scholarship).
Benefits of the Scholarship:
The scholarship will cover the full tuition fee.
The living expenses will be covered and a monthly stipend of SEK 12,000 will be given.
Medical insurance will be covered.
A travel grant of SEK 15,000 will be provided for the entire period of study.
The fellows will get membership in the SI Network for Future Global Leaders.
Required documents for the scholarship: 1. Motivation letter 2. CV 3. Letters of reference 4. Valid and completed proof of work and leadership experience 5. Copy of your valid passport
Deadline: Applicants can apply for the Global Professional Scholarship from 10 February to 28 February 2024.
The new year is just over one month away and it is going to be the biggest election year in history yet.
40 countries are scheduled to vote in 2024 across the globe which, as calculated by Bloomberg Economics, represent 41% of the world’s population and 42% of its global GDP.
The marathon will begin with Taiwan in January and end with the US in November.
Here are some of the prominent countries lined up for elections: Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gambia, and Libya in Africa; Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Venezuela in the Americas; Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Australia, and Pakistan in Asia and Oceania; Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in Europe.
There are, however, four elections that the world has eyes on — elections that are expected to alter geopolitics in the next decade.
Russia will elect the new president in March who will govern until 2030, putting Russia-NATO relations at the forefront.
In April-May, India will hold elections and as per analysts, Modi’s loss can push back investors.
The European Union will conduct bloc-wide polls in June to appoint members of the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 which will be pertinent for the increasing friction between right-wing and left-wing policymakers on issues like immigration and Ukraine.
The United States will hold legislative and presidential elections in November for 2025-2028, while everyone curiously waits whether Republicans will return to the White House or not.
As the War on Gaza is entering its fifth week, calls for a ceasefire and an end to genocide can be heard all around the world but the most striking is the response from the Western countries where people are principally supporting Palestine. However, their governments are either responding diplomatically or are siding with Israel.
USA
Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony before the Senate committee was interrupted by protestors calling for “ceasefire now”. Blinken was there to ask for emergency funding for Israel by the administration. The demonstrators kept shouting “Save the children of Gaza, cease-fire now. Where is your pride in America. Stop the brutal massacre.” Their hands were painted red. Protesters also chanted in unison, “From Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have got to go.” They were arrested and dragged out of the hall.
This isn’t it. Hundreds of protestors have come to protest outside White House and inside the Capitol Hill building while many more are on the roads marching and protesting against Biden’s administration, questioning the aid of $14.5 billion that has been given from taxpayer money.
Our government sends Israel $10 million in American taxpayer dollars per day, but politicians want to pass hate speech laws to stop the American taxpayer from criticizing it.
If my money’s funding it, I should be able to say whatever I want about it.
The UK is seeing a very hostile political environment. Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition, is under fire for siding with Israel’s destructive tactics. He said, “I understand the calls for a ceasefire, at this stage, I do not believe that is the correct position.” Protestors gathered outside his residence and got their disapproval registered.
More than 60 Labour MPs have called for a ceasefire while one of the Labour MPs Andy McDonald has been suspended because of seeming “deeply offensive” comments at a pro-Palestinian rally. Masses are protesting in huge numbers on the road and criticising the politicians who are opposing the ceasefire.
France
France has banned citizens from pro-Palestine marches but according to the leading newspaper France24, thousands of demonstrators have joined the pro-Palestinian march in Paris, calling for an urgent ceasefire even though the President of the country flew to Israel to show his solidarity with its government. They remain uninhibited by the country’s official allegiance with Israel.
https://youtu.be/18OPeZtWgX0?si=NYF1oRB1qQW36nwx
Germany
Germany sees the pleas of Palestinians as synonymous with the activities of Hamas because it has banned all activities of Hamas from the country. This is the government’s attempt to hamper all the pro-Palestinian marches and protests. Additionally, schools in Berlin have been given permission to ban the traditional Palestinian headdress, the keffiyeh. Palestinian activists however have dubbed this as coming from a place of “historic guilt”.
Italy
Italy’s Georgia Meloni also paid a visit to Israel and stated that the real purpose of the Hamas attack was to create an “Unbridgeable gap between the Israelis and Palestinians, meaning that the target is all of us and we cannot fall into this trap, which would be very stupid.” Contrary to the opinion of the PM, Rome saw a protest of thousands chanting, “From River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.”
https://youtu.be/a07wKfUm0gs?si=7a–SbnRUkHKUlPg
Spain
Spain is one major country from Europe which has gained the ire of Israel but has persisted in calling out the atrocities befallen by Israel on the Gaza strip. Spanish Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belorra, asked for bringing Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court for all the crimes he has committed.
We ask our partner that, as the Government of Spain, we bring Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Here is my official statement pic.twitter.com/Wuu8nnKfVp
The Israeli government in response accused them of siding with Hamas. Unfazed, Spain’s premier Pedro Sanchez echoed public opinion by calling for a ceasefire. Thousands of people in different cities of the country also came out in support of Palestine.
Ireland
Ireland is leading the demands as always, having supported the Palestinian state since the 1980s. Irish leadership along with the Spanish heads have raised their concerns on the grander scale of the EU in favour of Palestine. Irish PM (taoiseach) Leo Varadkar has openly called out Israel for subjecting Palestinians to collective punishment. “What I’m seeing unfolding at the moment isn’t just self-defence. It looks, something more approaching revenge,” Varadkar said.
Scotland
Scottish First Minister Hamza Yousuf has repeatedly expressed his support for Palestine. His in-laws were trapped in Gaza leaving him fearful of the situation at the strip.
The major showdown that happened was at the Celtic Park arena in a match between Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid. The crowd of more than 60,000 went against the warnings of the administration and literally showed up as the “Green Brigade” holding flags of Palestine. They wanted to prove themselves to be on the “right side of history.”
The response by the West has been rather calculated and gets tweaked from time to time but the purpose here is to show that the stance of the governments is hardly a testament to public sentiment when it comes to international issues. The overwhelming response of the public manifests that better sense must prevail and that an immediate ceasefire is the need of the hour.
Pakistan has been ranked top in the world for number of scholarships awarded for 2nd year in a row, EU Pakistan has stated on Wednesday.
The European Union to Pakistan shared the news on Twitter, stating that a highest ever number of 192 Pakistani students received scholarships to study in European universities under the EU Erasmu this year.
Highest ever no. of 192 students received scholarships to study in European universities under ’s @EUErasmusPlus this year. We celebrated their achievement at the pre-departure event at @hecpkofficial. 2nd year in a row ranked top in for no. of scholarships awarded. pic.twitter.com/n72TqkQCTC
“We celebrated their achievement at the pre-departure event at the HEC Pakistan,” stated EU Pakistan.
The German Ambassador to Pakistan also shared the tweet by EU Pakistan, giving thumbs up to the selected candidates.
192 Erasmus Mundus scholarship awardees are ready to leave for different countries to study under the @EUErasmusPlus Programme. https://t.co/UlWAZ6v56w
The overcrowded fishing vessel capsized off the Southern Peloponnese while on course to Italy from the Libyan town Tobruk, according to state broadcaster ERT. Nearly all the victims were men from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Alarm Phone, a trans-European network supporting sea rescue operations, published a transcription of the vessel’s contact with them. The passengers were only able to send their location coordinates two hours after the first distress call was received Tuesday afternoon.
The Greek coastguard and EU border agency Frontex were alerted immediately, yet state those on board refused assistance offered by Greek authorities late on Tuesday. They claimed that the passengers accepted food rations but wanted to continue their voyage. A few hours later the boat capsized and sank.
The survivors were taken to the southern port city of Kalamata, where the deputy mayor indicated that there were more than 500 people onboard, according to the information he had received. The UN’s migration agency provided an estimate of 400.
ABR, a body set up to monitor and report issues related to migrant movement in the Aegean Sea, tweeted that the vessel could have had about 750 people onboard. ABR noted that the testimonies from survivors give indicators of around 400-750 passengers, rendering the exact figure unknown.
The Mediterranean Sea and the countries bordering it have long been perilous routes for refugees fleeing from conflict and poverty in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. UN data suggests that about 72,000 refugees and migrants have arrived to countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus just this year.
Humza Yousaf has made history by becoming Scotland’s first Muslim First Minister.
Yousaf has ignited considerable curiosity in Pakistan as to his roots and political inclinations.
Digging deep, we found a very old tweet of Humza and it seems like he had been an admirer of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. In 2012, the newly-elected Scotland leader attended Khan’s jalsa and met him.
He wrote: “Great rally amazing energy at Imran Khan rally and very good meeting with him afterward.”
Great rally amazing energy at Imran Khan rally and v good meeting with him afterwards – a wave is coming @PTIofficial#PakistanNeedsChange
Recently, when Imran congratulated Humza on being elected, Scotland’s First Minister ignored the tweet, however, he replied to current Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari instead.
The minister wished him well saying, “Wishing you all the best for your term in Bute House and looking forward for strong partnership in the domains of trade, investment, culture and education.”
Congratulations @HumzaYousaf on becoming the first Pakistan-origin First Minister of Scotland. Wishing you all the best for your term in Bute House and looking forward for strong partnership in the domains of trade, investment, culture and education @PakinGlasgow@FCDOGovUK
In response, Humza mentioned that “Pakistan will always have a special place in his heart”.
“Scotland’s relationship with Pakistan is a friendship that has blossomed through many generations, I look forward to it growing stronger, ” he added.
Thank you for your kind words @BBhuttoZardari , Pakistan will always have a special place in my heart.
Scotland’s relationship with Pakistan is a friendship that has blossomed through many generations, I look forward to it growing stronger. https://t.co/Q6V0oMeVBt
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, have returned to London with their family after concluding their tour of Europe.
According to Geo News, Nawaz, Maryam, and their family returned from Geneva and landed at Heathrow Airport. They left London for the tour on November 20.
It was reported that the Sharif family will visit five European countries during their 10 days trip.
Three years after her passport was confiscated, Maryam Nawaz travelled to London in October to spend time with her father and the rest of her family.
One of the best-known and most imitated monuments in the world— the Eiffel Tower— will shut down its lights earlier than usual due to the ongoing energy crisis in Europe.
The decision was announced by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. The government’s plan includes aiming to save 10 per cent of Paris’ energy consumption during winters. Not just the famed tower but all of the city’s municipal buildings will turn off their lights starting at 10pm. However, public lighting will remain switched on in the city for the safety of its citizens.
The earlier shutting off of the Eiffel Tower lights will begin on September 21. All lights will be switched off at 11:45pm when visiting time has ended.
It is pertinent to mention that the tower makes up about 4 per cent of the monument’s annual energy expenses.
Earlier, it was usually illuminated in golden hues within less than 10 minutes of nightfall and has an hourly 5-minute show of dazzling sparkles until 1am.
Other actions in the mayor’s plan include lowering temperatures in public buildings, reducing water temperature in swimming pools, and axing hot water in administrative buildings and some public buildings.
Europe’s energy crisis is one of the many setbacks of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. When the war broke out in Ukraine, European nations overwhelmingly supported the young country in its defense against Russian forces. But, historical reliance on Russian energy exports has left the continent reeling under rising energy costs.
Europe is facing its worst drought in at least 500 years. According to the most recent Global Drought Observatory report, 47 per cent of Europe is in “warning” conditions, which means the soil has dried up.
This summer’s record-breaking temperatures in Europe have disrupted transportation, displaced thousands, and resulted in hundreds of heat-related deaths. The recent heatwave has also fuelled destructive wildfires.
“The combination of a severe drought and heatwaves has created an unprecedented stress on water levels in the entire European Union,” European Innovation Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in a statement.
The low water levels have exposed long-submerged treasure and ancient stones across Europe. German World War II ships have also been exposed to drought.
Have a look at the pictures:
Wreckage of a World War II German warship in the Danube in Prahovo, Serbia
World War II bomb was discovered in the dried-up River Po in Borgo Virgilio, Italy, on August 7
Remains of a bridge on the Tiber River near the Vittorio Emanuele
“Hunger stones” revealed by the low level of water in Worms, Germany, on August 17
The dolmen of Guadalperal, also known as the Spanish Stonehenge, in the outskirts of El Gordo, Spain, August 3
Similarly, receding water levels of China’s Yangtze has revealed ancient Buddhist statues. They are believed to date to some 600 years ago.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari appealed to the media that the number one priority at the moment should be the flood-affected people across the country.
“Whatever tamasha that is going on in Islamabad should be kept aside during this national calamity that has hit us. Those who have been affected by floods don’t have food or roofs over their heads anymore. Floods have taken everything from them. So I appeal to media owners, politicians, federal government and the provincial governments that all attention must be given to the people suffering right now,” said Bilawal Bhutto.
“اس وقت ہماری اولین ترجیح بارشوں سے متاثر افراد کو فوری مدد پہنچانا ہے۔” چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی میڈیا سے گفتگو@BBhuttoZardaripic.twitter.com/GFpNqdZVRp
Larkana: Chairman PPP @BBhuttoZardari along with Sindh CM @MuradAliShahPPP interacts with the people at a personal level and mixed with the rain-affected people at embankment of historic Rice Canal at Nazar Mohalla. pic.twitter.com/HCHqFgf058
‘I will live among the people in this difficult situation,’ Bilawal postpones official visit to Europe
Bilawal postponed his official visit to four European countries due to the calamities across Pakistan caused by the ongoing heavy monsoon rains and flooding.
“My countrymen are suffering and I cannot go abroad in these circumstances,” said Bhutto in a statement. “I will live among the people in this difficult situation.”
Bilawal Bhutto also instructed elected representatives of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to stay among the people in their constituencies.
According to a statement by the foreign ministry, Bilawal delayed his European visit due to the heavy damages to lives and property caused by the torrential rains in the country.
The FM was set to depart on a four country-trip including Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway in a bid to strengthen Pakistan’s engagement with Europe and share its perspective on regional and global issues from August 22-26.
Bilawal’s visits to these capitals will be rescheduled at mutually agreed later dates in consultation with the host governments, said the ministry.
At least 400 people have died in floods caused by heavy rains in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. According to the data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 216 people have lost their lives to rain and flood-related incidents in Balochistan and 216 people have lost their lives in Sindh.
