On Thursday, Irene Shashar, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, will address MEPs during a plenary session in Brussels, to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will open the solemn sitting at 11.30, followed by a musical interlude by bandoneon player Mr Marcelo Nisinman.
After Ms Shashar’s speech, MEPs will observe a minute’s silence. The ceremony will close with a musical performance by Sheva Tehoval, soprano, and Mr Marcelo Nisinman of “Kaddish” by Maurice Ravel.
Irene Shashar
Born on 12 December 1937 as Ruth Lewkowicz, Irene Shashar survived the Warsaw ghetto. After her father was killed by the Nazis she escaped the ghetto with her mother through the sewers to another part of Warsaw where she was a “hidden child” for the rest of war. She and her mother then moved to Paris. After her mother’s death, she moved to Peru where she was adopted by relatives. After studying in the US, she moved to Israel at the age 25 and became the youngest faculty member to hold a post at the Hebrew University. Today she lives in Modiin, Israel. In 2023 she published her biography “I won against Hitler”.
The new year has brought no respite to Ukraine, with recent weeks seeing some of the worst attacks of the nearly three-year war, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Rosemary DiCarlo underscored the UN’s steadfast commitment to support all meaningful efforts towards a just, sustainable, and comprehensive peace.
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 and the Council has met more than 100 times to discuss the “harrowing consequences”, she recalled.
— UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (@UNDPPA) January 10, 2024
War must stop
“And yet, here we are, on the brink of the third year of the gravest armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War – with no end in sight,” she warned.
“The toll of this senseless war – in death, destruction and destabilization – is already catastrophic. It is terrifying to contemplate where it could lead us. It must stop.”
Since the start of the war, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, has verified 29,579 civilian casualties -10,242 people killed, including 575 children, and more than 19,300 injured, including 1,264 children.
Recent wave of attacks
Ms. Dicarlo said between 29 December and 2 January, 96 people were killed and 423 injured, according to OHCHR.
Country-wide drone strikes on 29 December alone killed 58 people and injured 158 – the highest number of deaths in a single day in all of 2023.
Meanwhile, at least 25 civilians were reportedly killed, and more than 100 injured, in strikes on 30 December in the Russian city of Belgorod, which were attributed to Ukraine. Cross-border attacks have reportedly continued, prompting some civilians to evacuate the city.
This past Saturday, 11 civilians were reportedly killed in a missile strike in Pokrovsk, a town in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which the authorities attributed to Russian forces.
Ms. DiCarlo said civilians in frontline communities bear the heaviest burden of the missile, drone and artillery barrages, with nearly 70 per cent of civilian casualties recorded in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Concern for children
The war’s impact on children is “particularly appalling”, she added, noting that nearly two-thirds of young Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, while an estimated 1.5 million children are at risk of post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions.
The missile and drone attacks are also causing severe damage to civilian infrastructure, and thousands are without electricity and water supply in frigid winter weather.
“Even as the fighting rages, Ukrainians are working to rebuilding their lives and homes, investing in areas less exposed to direct hostilities,” Ms. DiCarlo told ambassadors.
She said the UN, in coordination with government partners, continues to support local recovery efforts, including in the energy sector.
Ms. DiCarlo also pointed to a recent positive development – the long-awaited exchange of more than 200 prisoners of war each by Russia and Ukraine that took place on 3 January, marking the largest such exchange since the start of the war.
Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefs the Security Council meeting on maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine.
Humanitarians under fire
The Council was also briefed on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, where more than 14.6 million people, roughly 40 per cent of the population, require assistance.
Attacks and extreme weather have left millions of people in a record 1,000 villages and towns across the country without electricity or water, said Edem Wosornu, Director of the Operations and Advocacy Division with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.
The latest wave of attacks has further impacted aid operations and affected humanitarian workers. She reported that the number of aid workers killed has more than tripled, from four in 2022 to 15 last year, while another 35 were injured.
“The spike in attacks on aid storage facilities over the past two months has brought the number of incidents negatively impacting aid operations in 2023 to more than 50, the majority of them bombardments that have hit warehouses,” she added.
Healthcare and education hit
Ms. Wosornu said in December alone, five humanitarian warehouses were damaged and burned to the ground in the Kherson region. As a result, tonnes of relief items, including food, shelter materials and medical supplies, were destroyed.
Medical facilities also have been hit relentlessly throughout the war. Some 1,435 attacks on the healthcare system have been verified since February 2022, including the killing of 112 health workers, and at least 10 facilities have been damaged in the latest wave of aerial attacks.
Additionally, more than 3,000 educational facilities have also been damaged or destroyed, and many that remain are now being used to accommodate displaced people or as aid distribution centres. As a result, nearly one million children have no safe and reliable access to continue their education.
Sexual violence and trauma
Ms. Wosornu said the war has also exposed millions of Ukrainians to heightened risk of gender-based violence, trafficking, and exploitation, with reports of people from ages four to 80 subjected to conflict-related sexual violence.
“This leads me to a deeper point about this war. Underneath the very evident physical repercussions for Ukraine and Ukrainians, there lurks a much less visible but no less damaging impact: signs of a deeply rooted psychological trauma that could affect millions of people for years to come,” she warned.
Last year, humanitarians reached nearly 11 million people across Ukraine. They had requested $3.9 billion to support their operations in 2023 and received over $2.5 billion.
The 2024 humanitarian plan for Ukraine will be launched in Geneva next week, which seeks $3.1 billion to support 8.4 million people.
Prada’s silver money clip, measuring 6.25cm long and 2.25cm wide, won’t change your life or be a good luck charm, luxurylaunches.com reports. However, it can serve as a reminder that you can afford a paper clip for $400 instead of 30,000 pieces of regular paper clips. Crafted from 925 sterling silver, this elegant money clip features an engraved logo.
The Italian design house released the product in 2017 for $180. Those who got their hands on it almost seven years ago were in luck, as now that little paper clip has been affected by inflation and costs a whopping $400.
It’s hard to justify using this product. Perhaps it could be used to hold high profile divorce papers or life-changing multi-million dollar deals. Still, Prada’s paperclip received quite a bit of criticism on Twitter.
Bulgaria is the owner of 66 properties in Rila mountain, which are part of the case study with the so-called “royal” restitution. The Sofia District Court recognized Bulgaria as the owner of 66 real estates after more than ten years of legal battle, according to the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The properties represent forests and lands from the forest fund in Rila mountain with a total area of about 16 thousand decares. and are in the last pending case regarding the case with the so-called “royal” restitution.
The proceedings in the case were initiated by claims of the state through the Minister of Agriculture and Food against the heirs of the former kings Ferdinand I and Boris III. In 2019, a court settlement was concluded with some of the defendants, representatives of the royal family, and the case against them was terminated. With the rendered decision, the court recognizes that the state is the owner of the trial properties ex lege, by virtue of the current Forest Laws, and that there was no basis for the restitution of the trial forest properties. The decision of the Sofia District Court can be appealed.
If the court’s decision remains in force, S.B.S. and his sister M.B.H. (i.e. King Simeon II and his sister Princess Maria-Louise) will have to reimburse the state the compensation awarded to them by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for pecuniary damages in the amount of 1,635,875 euros, as a result of the moratorium imposed by the National Assembly in 2009.
Photo: The Royal Palace “Vrana” (Sofia, Bulgaria) in the first decades of the 20th century. Source: State Agency “Archives” – Sofia.
On January 15, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced the start of the International Scientific Conference “Apostle Paul in Antalya (Turkey): Memory, Testimony” organized by the Pisidian Metropolis in the city of Antalya, Orthodox Times reports.
In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch referred to the universality of the Gospel of Christ and the importance of the preaching of the Apostle Paul, within the framework of which the Ecumenical Patriarchate has taken various initiatives today to promote ecumenical relations and dialogue.
“We have repeatedly emphasized that unity is not just an internal matter of the Church, precisely because it is inextricably linked to the unity of all humanity. The Church does not exist for itself, but for all humanity and, more broadly, for all creation,” the patriarch emphasized and added:
“However, at this critical moment in history, universality is not a luxury or an advantage. It is imperative and necessary for us as Christians because the survival of the world depends on the broad interpretation and broad application of the Gospel. The ecumenical mandate [dialogue] is essential to its existence and sustainability. We are called to be universal. Otherwise we cannot breathe, we cannot exist!’
Elsewhere in his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized that in our world, religion is being exploited, manipulated and instrumentalized for various reasons, including nationalism, fanaticism and fundamentalism.
“We see this before our eyes in Ukraine, where Orthodox Christianity is unethically and unjustly used against other Orthodox Christians with the blessing of the Moscow Patriarchate. We see the same violation and outrage in the Middle East and North Africa, where hostilities and wars are waged in the name of religion at the expense of civilian lives and human needs.”
Bishops, clerics, university professors and theologians from different countries participated in the conference.
Illustration: Icon of Saint Ap. Paul by Theophanes the Cretan from the Stavronikita monastery the smallest of all athonite monasteries built in its present form in 1533 by the Abbot Gregorios and the ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah I.
Mr. Lai is the founder of the campaigning pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, which was shut down in 2021 in the wake of the June 2020 National Security Law clampdown in the region.
He has spent much of the past three years in solitary confinement after campaigning for decades for freedom of speech and democratic space in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).
Arrested in August 2020, he was charged with sedition and foreign collusion under the new legislation. Charges related to tweets, interviews and articles he published in Apple Daily outlining the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong’s fundamental rights and freedoms, the experts said.
Mr. Lai’s trial on allegedly breaching national security measures got underway after lengthy delays in December. He faces life in prison if found guilty.
“Jimmy Lai’s arrest, detention and series of criminal proceedings over the past few years appear to be directly related to his criticism of the Chinese Government and his support for democracy in Hong Kong SAR,” the experts said.
“We are alarmed by the multiple and serious violations of Jimmy Lai’s freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association and his right to a fair trial, including the denial of access to a lawyer of his own choosing and the handpicking of judges by the authorities,” the four Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteurs added.
Mr. Lai was convicted of unauthorized assembly in 2021 for taking part in previous protests and sentenced to 17 months in prison. He received an additional five years and 9 months for fraud in October 2022.
The UN rights experts previously raised concerns with authorities in 2020 and 2023. In their statement, the rapporteurs said they appreciate and have considered the extensive government responses of 10 July 2020 and 1 May 2023 and stand ready to continue their dialogue with the authorities.
“We expressed our concerns about the National Security Law before it was enacted and will continue to do so, as we believe it is not in line with international legal obligations,” the experts said, echoing the Human Rights Committee’s call on the Hong Kong SAR to repeal the law.
Mr. Lai is the second defendant to be tried under the controversial National Security Law following last year’s trial of 47 pro-democracy activists, who are awaiting a verdict reportedly due next month.
Law ‘misused’
“We reiterate that national security legislation with criminal sanctions should never be misused against those exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association and of peaceful assembly nor to deprive such persons of their personal liberty through arrest and detention,” the experts said.
Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They do not receive a salary for their work and serve in their individual capacity.
Scientists have engineered the microbiome of plants for the first time, boosting the prevalence of ‘good’ bacteria that protect the plant from disease.
The findings published in Nature Communicationsby researchers from the University of Southampton, China and Austria, could substantially reduce the need for environmentally destructive pesticides.
There is growing public awareness about the significance of our microbiome – the myriad of microorganisms that live in and around our bodies, most notably in our guts. Our gut microbiomes influence our metabolism, our likelihood of getting ill, our immune system, and even our mood.
Plants too host a huge variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microorganisms that live in their roots, stems, and leaves. For the past decade, scientists have been intensively researching plant microbiomes to understand how they affect a plant’s health and its vulnerability to disease.
“For the first time, we’ve been able to change the makeup of a plant’s microbiome in a targeted way, boosting the numbers of beneficial bacteria that can protect the plant from other, harmful bacteria,” says Dr Tomislav Cernava, co-author of the paper and Associate Professor in Plant-Microbe Interactions at the University of Southampton.
“This breakthrough could reduce reliance on pesticides, which are harmful to the environment. We’ve achieved this in rice crops, but the framework we’ve created could be applied to other plants and unlock other opportunities to improve their microbiome. For example, microbes that increase nutrient provision to crops could reduce the need for synthetic fertilisers.”
The international research team discovered that one specific gene found in the lignin biosynthesis cluster of the rice plant is involved in shaping its microbiome. Lignin is a complex polymer found in the cell walls of plants – the biomass of some plant species consists of more than 30 per cent lignin.
First, the researchers observed that when this gene was deactivated, there was a decrease in the population of certain beneficial bacteria, confirming its importance in the makeup of the microbiome community.
The researchers then did the opposite, over-expressing the gene so it produced more of one specific type of metabolite – a small molecule produced by the host plant during its metabolic processes. This increased the proportion of beneficial bacteria in the plant microbiome.
When these engineered plants were exposed to Xanthomonas oryzae – a pathogen that causes bacterial blight in rice crops, they were substantially more resistant to it than wild-type rice.
Bacterial blight is common in Asia and can lead to substantial loss of rice yields. It’s usually controlled by deploying polluting pesticides, so producing a crop with a protective microbiome could help bolster food security and help the environment.
The research team are now exploring how they can influence the presence of other beneficial microbes to unlock various plant health benefits.
In November 2023, negotiations between the EU and Australia for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) collapsed. This was primarily due to stringent demands from the EU on protected geographical indicators – the ability to market wines and other products as being from a particular region – as well as an inflexible approach to market access for agricultural exports.
A few weeks later, it became apparent that the ongoing impasse in the EU-Mercosur negotiations – largely due to environmental and deforestation demands from Brussels – had not been resolved, with Brazilian President Lula saying that the EU “lacks flexibility”.
At the same time, EU negotiators completed another round of negotiations with Indonesia linked to the proposed FTA: virtually no progress has been made for almost six months, and this latest meeting was no different.
The picture is clear:
trade facilitation and opening up markets has stalled. This is a particular problem because Indonesia is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing consumer markets. With our exports to China and Russia falling (for obvious and understandable reasons), opening up huge new markets should be a priority. It doesn’t look that way.
The evidence shows this is not a problem with our negotiating partner. In the past 12 months, Indonesia has completed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (in less than a year). It recently upgraded its existing agreement with Japan, and is negotiating with Canada and the Eurasian Economic Union, among others. It is only in negotiations with the EU that Indonesia has found the progress to be slow and difficult.
It’s not only the FTA negotiations: a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against the EU, filed by Indonesia is expected to rule soon. This case, in addition to existing disputes over the Renewable Energy Directive and nickel exports, means Indonesia sees our policies as protectionist and anti-trade. Presidential elections are scheduled for February: the frontrunner Prabowo has said quite clearly that Indonesia “does not need the EU,” highlighting “double standards” in EU trade policy.
So, what is the path forward for the relationship?
The EU elections, and appointment of a new Commission, need to herald a change of approach. Promoting EU exports, and expanding market access to future giants like Indonesia and India, needs to be a priority. The technocratic obstructionism needs to be replaced with strong political leadership and commitment to new trading partners.
Engaging these partner countries on areas of EU policy that affect them – such as the Green Deal – is also essential. The Commission seems to have misjudged how big a reaction the EU Deforestation Regulation would trigger: 14 developing nations, including Indonesia, signed an open letter denouncing it, and WTO challenges are surely imminent. Proper consultation and diplomatic outreach could have prevented this from becoming a problem. That consultation needs to reach beyond Embassies: Indonesia has millions of smallholder farmers who produce palm oil, rubber, coffee, and will be badly affected by the EU regulation. A lack of outreach means that those voices are now outright hostile to the EU.
Indonesia overall is not antagonistic. It continues to pursue negotiations with the Commission, and some Member States – notably Germany and the Netherlands – are having positive bilateral discussions. But the direction of travel is a concern: we cannot afford another 5 years of stasis in the trade discussions, while political tensions rise around EU trade barriers (most of which have not even kicked in yet).
The elections could, and should, provide a fresh start for both sides. The same is true for India (elections in April-May), and maybe even the United States (November). The key point linking all of these is that they only work if the new Commission is serious about promoting EU export opportunities – and reducing trade barriers rather than erecting more of them.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has signed a decree to allocate funds for the legal protection of real estate of the Russian Federation abroad, including those of the Russian Empire and the USSR. At the same time, funds are also allocated for the search for Russian properties abroad.
Russia allocated funds to the request, layout and legal protection of property belonging to a foreign country, including the times of the USSR and the Russian Empire. An order about it was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 18, Izvestia reports.
Subsidy for these purposes was received by a foreign property management company, which is part of the Presidential Administration (UDP) of Russia. It is assumed that the funds must cover all financial costs of carrying out the necessary actions.
Another subsidy for the reimbursement of expenses for the maintenance and operation of federal Russian real estate abroad was allocated to the company by decree of the state government.
“To designate the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Enterprise for Property Management Abroad” under the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation as a recipient of a subsidy provided by the federal budget for financial support of expenses related to the search for real estate of the Russian Federation , the former Russian Empire, the former USSR, the correct registration of the rights of the Russian Federation in relation to the existing federal real estate and the open real estate of the Russian Federation, the former Russian Empire, the former USSR and legal protection of this property,” the document reads.
According to the decree adopted in 2015, the State Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation must deal with the search and layout, as well as the protection of foreign real estate in Russia, within the limits of their competence. A state subsidy was allocated for these purposes. However, starting in 2021, the rules for the allocation of funds were adjusted, and a request for similar property ceased to be the basis for the allocation of new funds. The current decree restores subsidies and appoints a specific authorized enterprise.
Recurring denials and severe access constraints continue to paralyze aid teams trying to respond to the immense needs in northern Gaza, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, has warned.
The rate of access denials by Israel so far this month marks a “significant deterioration” over December, OCHA said in its latest update, issued late on Wednesday.
Between 1 and 10 January, only three out of 21 planned deliveries of food, medicines, water, and other lifesaving items to the north of Wadi Gaza got through, it revealed.
Denials, delays and insecurity
Partners on the ground were forced to cancel or delay missions in two instances due to excessive delays at Israeli checkpoints or because agreed routes were unpassable.
The @UN and partners are delivering food, water, blankets, health supplies and more in #Gaza.
But we need safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to help people in need wherever they are and at a meaningful scale.
“Humanitarian partners’ ability to respond to extensive needs in the northern side of Gaza is being curtailed by recurring denials of access for aid deliveries and lack of coordinated safe access by the Israeli authorities,” OCHA said.
The UN agency noted that Israel has denied multiple planned missions this week to deliver urgent medical supplies to the Central Drug Store in Gaza City as well as fuel to water and sanitation facilities, both there and in the north.
‘Significant deterioration’
Since 26 December, requests to reach the Central Drug Store have been denied five times, meaning that “hospitals in northern Gaza remain without sufficient access to life-saving medical supplies and equipment.”
Fuel delivery has been refused six times, leaving people without access to clean water and increasing the risk of sewage overflows and the spread of communicable disease.
“Overall, the rate of access denials seen in January so far presents a significant deterioration when compared to those of December 2023, where more than 70 per cent (13 out of 18) of planned UN missions to the north were coordinated and undertaken, where needs are estimated to be the highest and most severe,” OCHA said.
The agency added that “every day of assistance missed results in lost lives and suffering for hundreds of thousands of people who remain in northern Gaza.”
Meanwhile, OCHA reported that 193 trucks carrying supplies entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings on 10 January.
A cash-for-work pilot project ran by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has also started at Al Quds University in north Gaza, where 100 workers will be paid to support the cleaning of solid waste and sanitation over the next three months.
People gather at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Fighting and fatalities
The update noted that intense Israeli bombardments from air, land and sea continued across much of the Gaza Strip on 9 January, resulting in further civilian casualties and destruction.
Palestinian armed groups also continued to fire rockets into Israel, and ground operations and fighting between the sides were also reported across much of the enclave.
OCHA cited the Gaza health authorities, who said 147 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and 243 injured, between the afternoons of 9 and 10 January. Israel said one of its soldiers was reportedly killed in Gaza during the same period.
The update further noted that the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that four staff and two injured people were killed when one of its ambulances was struck at the entrance of Deir al Balah on 10 January.
Deadly toll
At least 23,357 Palestinians have been killed, and 59,410 injured, since the start of the conflict on 7 October, according to the Gaza authorities.
The hostilities were sparked by deadly Hamas attacks on southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 hostages seized, with roughly 136 still being held in captivity in Gaza.
Since the start of the ground operation, 184 Israeli soldiers have been killed, and 1,076 others injured in according to the Israeli military.
Overall, 1.9 million in Gaza, or nearly 85 per cent of the population, have been displaced, with many families uprooted multiple times as they repeatedly move in search of safety.
More than 1.7 million people are now sheltering in facilities belonging to the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA.
