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CairoScene
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
SouthMED by TMG Brings World-Class Thinkers to Egypt's North Coast
SouthMED by TMG Brings World-Class Thinkers to Egypt's North Coast At SouthMED by TMG, a new chapter in cultural curation unfolds—bringing global thought leaders to Egypt's North Coast for an unprecedented speaker series. What happens when you bring some of the world's most compelling minds together—not in Davos, not in Silicon Valley, but on the shores of Egypt's North Coast? This summer, SouthMED Talks by TMG is answering that question with a bold new speaker series that reimagines intellectual engagement as part of the summer lifestyle. Set against the backdrop of SouthMED by TMG, this private event series invites an exclusive audience into close conversation with some of the most influential thinkers of our time. The lineup is nothing short of remarkable. On July 4, Paul Collier, the celebrated Oxford economist behind The Bottom Billion, will unpack the future of development and global responsibility. One week later on July 11, Jason Silva, the viral futurist and former Brain Games host, will guide guests through an electrifying exploration of consciousness, creativity, and emerging technology. On July 18, Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer at Google X and author of Solve for Happy, brings his visionary framework for engineered happiness and AI ethics to the North Coast. On August 1, the series welcomes tech legend Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and a cornerstone of the digital age, reflecting on innovation, invention, and the future of human-machine collaboration. Each of these names has graced global stages—from TED to the World Economic Forum—but this marks the first time any of them will speak in Egypt. And the lineup doesn't end there. Further speakers will be announced in the coming weeks, expanding a summer programme already poised to reshape the cultural rhythm of Sahel. With SouthMED Talks, TMG is creating space for conversations that go beyond entertainment and escapism—championing a summer of ideas, dialogue, and curiosity.
Japan Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Killings at European schools fan concern U.S. problem is spreading
A spate of school killings in Western Europe has raised pressure on authorities to tackle a problem long seen as a largely U.S. phenomenon, increasing momentum for tougher gun and security laws as well as more policing of social media. While mass shootings remain far more common in the United States, four of the worst school shootings in Western Europe this century have occurred since 2023; two of them — a massacre of 11 people in Austria and another in Sweden — have taken place this year. Last week's killings in the Austrian city of Graz sparked calls for tighter gun laws by political leaders, mirroring the response of the Swedish government after the 11 deaths at the Campus Risbergska school in Orebro in February. "Mass shootings, of which school shootings are a part, were overwhelmingly a U.S. problem in the past, but the balance is shifting," said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama. "The number in Europe and elsewhere is increasing." Part of the rise stems from copycat attacks in Europe often inspired by notorious U.S. rampages such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, according to shooters' own comments or their internet search histories, Lankford said. "It's like an export from America. These attackers see other people do it and it has a snowball effect." According to research by Lankford and his colleague, Jason Silva, shootings carried out by people eager for notoriety were twice as numerous in the United States as in the rest of the world between 2005 and 2010. By 2017-22, the rest of the world had caught up. Their data also shows that Europe accounts for a bigger share of mass shootings than it used to. It should be easier for European politicians to act against mass shootings than in the United States, due to the central role of guns in American culture and identity, Lankford said. The European Union has left gun laws and regulation of social media up to member states. Recent killings have seen a drive by several countries to apply tougher rules. In Sweden, the government agreed to tighten the vetting process for people applying for gun licenses and to clamp down on some semi-automatic weapons following the Orebro killings. Incidents of violence and threatening behavior in junior high and high schools in Sweden rose over 150% between 2003 and 2023, according to a report by the country's Work Environment Authority. In Finland, where a 12-year-old shot dead a fellow pupil and badly wounded two others in 2024, schools practice barricading doors and hiding from shooters. The government has also proposed stricter punishments for carrying guns in public. Following a deadly December knife attack at a Zagreb primary school, Croatia's government tightened access to schools and mandated they must have security guards. Germany has gradually imposed tighter controls on gun ownership since school massacres in 2002 and 2009, and last year introduced a ban on switchblades and on carrying knives at public events following a series of knife attacks. Tightening gun ownership was the only way politicians could show they were taking the issue seriously, said Dirk Baier, a criminologist at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. "There will certainly be resistance to this, from hunters, sport shooters, or other lobby groups," he said. "However, I think the arguments for tightening the laws will outweigh the arguments against." Gun laws have also been a hot political topic in the Czech Republic since a student shot dead 14 people at the Charles University in Prague in December 2023. The country made it obligatory for gun sellers to report suspicious purchases and requires doctors to check whether people diagnosed with psychological problems hold gun permits. Britain is holding a public inquiry into an attack in Southport in which three young girls were stabbed to death last year. U.K. drama "Adolescence," a story about a schoolboy accused of murder, explores concerns about toxic online culture. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron this month pressed for EU regulation to ban social media for children under 15 following a fatal school stabbing. What motivated the Austrian school gunman is still under investigation. Police said he was socially withdrawn and passionate about online shooting games. Most such shootings are carried out by young men, and criminologist Lankford said there was a global phenomenon of perpetrators seeking notoriety that eluded them in real life, driven in part by social media. "Even if the shooters expect to die, some are excited about leaving behind a legacy." Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said after the attack that the country's relatively liberal gun laws deserved closer scrutiny. Broad support in Austria for tightening gun ownership laws looked probable, although a general ban on private weapons seems unlikely, said political scientist Peter Filzmaier.
