European Parliament Approves Seven-Year EU Budget

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29 December 2020

European Parliament Approves Seven-Year EU Budget

After much deliberation, the European Parliament has approved a seven-year European Union (EU) budget that will provide funds for 2021-2027. The importance of this budget passage is underscored by the need for a strong recovery mid- and post-pandemic as well as for Europe’s continued success and prosperity. The budget was approved earlier December 2020 with 550 votes in favor, 72 against, and 73 abstentions.

The EU’s budget includes €95.5 billion in funding in current prices for Horizon Europe, the next EU research funding program and the section of the budget that funds the European Research Council (ERC). ERC will receive roughly €16 billion. For reference, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe’s predecessor, had a budget of €80 billion. The new program’s budget accounts for inflation over the seven years of approved funding.

The original budget, which in July had proposed a 15% cut to Horizon Europe, drew concern among EU Member States and the scientific community alike as the need to fund research and protect science became more evident than ever with the gravity of the global pandemic. In November, the program received an unexpected €4 billion boost which was welcomed by those advocating for the restoration of funds to the Horizon Europe budget, although the boost still has not satisfied the ERC and the scientific community’s continued call for more ambitious investments in research. ERC will be receiving €1 billion of the €4 billion boost in additional support.

Through the efforts of ERC and the scientific community, frontier research, defined as research that combines basic and applied elements to advance fundamental understanding, continues to have a strong backing. ERC does note that it has seen a worrying trend of individual countries shying away from frontier research, which makes a global focus and commitment to supporting frontier research even more important going forward.

ERC continues to be an important funder of basic research, including psychological science, in Europe.

An ERC statement on the approval of the budget can be found here.

Read more writing about different stages of the EU’s budget process at the links below.

After year of ‘trials, tragedies and tears’, UN chief sends message of hope for 2021

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officialinstitutions

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29 December 2020

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After year of ‘trials, tragedies and tears’, UN chief sends message of hope for 2021

Praising the kindness shown by people around the world, the tireless efforts of frontline workers, the scientists who have developed vaccines in record time, and the countries making new advances to save the planet from climate catastrophe, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his wish for a year of healing.

Against the backdrop of persistent suffering and grief, in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic marked everyone’s lives, Mr. Guterres said in his New Year’s message that we shall work together “in unity and solidarity”, so those “rays of hope can reach around the world”.

“So many loved ones have been lost — and the pandemic rages on, creating new waves of sickness and death”, he noted. Adding that poverty, inequality and hunger are on the rise, with jobs disappearing, certain sectors struggling to survive, debts mounting and children struggling, Mr. Guterres raised his concerns regarding the increased violence in the home and insecurity.

Table of Contents

A transition to a sustainable future

But a New Year lies ahead, he continued, and if we work together in unity and solidarity, the rays of hope can reach around the world: “people extending a helping hand to neighbours and strangers; frontline workers giving their all; scientists developing vaccines in record time; and countries making new commitments to prevent climate catastrophe”.

“That’s the lesson of this most difficult year”, he said, “both climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are crises that can only be addressed by everyone together – as part of a transition to an inclusive and sustainable future.”

Resolutions and goals for next year: time for healing

As for the UN’s plans for 2021, a central ambition is to build a global coalition for carbon neutrality – net zero emissions – by 2050, Mr. Guterres spelled out, adding that “every government, city, business and individual can play a part in achieving this vision”.

Urging the world to act together, the UN Secretary-General called on people to make peace not just among themselves, but also with nature, tackling the climate crisis, stopping the spread of COVID-19 and making 2021 a year of healing: “healing from the impact of a deadly virus. Healing broken economies and societies. Healing divisions. And starting to heal the planet”, he noted.

“That must be our New Year’s Resolution”, the UN chief concluded, sending his wishes for a happy and peaceful 2021.

Thousands Of Montenegrins Protest Government Plan To Amend Controversial Religion Law

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Newsdesk

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28 December 2020

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Thousands Of Montenegrins Protest Government Plan To Amend Controversial Religion Law

… amend a controversial law on religion.
Protesters chanted “Treason” and “This … .
Under Montenegro’s new religion law, adopted in January, religious …

Be prepared for another, more severe pandemic: WHO officials

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officialinstitutions

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28 December 2020

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Be prepared for another, more severe pandemic: WHO officials

“The next pandemic may be more severe”, said Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO Emergencies Program, adding that we need “get our act together”, because we live on a fragile planet, and in an increasingly complex society. “Let’s honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do”.

Let’s honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do Dr. Mike Ryan, Executive-Director, Emergencies Programme, WHO

The WHO Technical Lead on COVID-19, Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, noted that some of the countries that have coped better with COVID-19 have not necessarily been those with the highest incomes, but those that have lived through other infectious disease outbreaks. Those countries, she said, have used the “muscle memory” of traumatic events to kick their systems into gear, and act to comprehensively tackle the virus.

Dr. van Kerkhove joined Dr. Ryan in calling for the world to be better prepared for the next health crisis, with well-trained health workers able to take full advantage of innovative technology, and informed, engaged citizens capable of keeping themselves safe.

Table of Contents

Understanding new variants

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists that the UN agency is learning new things about the virus every day, including the ability of new variants to spread, make people sick, or have a potential impact on available tests, treatments or vaccines.

Dr. Tedros singled out work taking place in the United Kingdom and South Africa, where scientists are carrying out epidemiologic and laboratory studies, which will guide the agency’s next steps.

“Only if countries are testing effectively will you be able to pick up variants and adjust strategies to cope”, said the WHO chief. “We must ensure that countries are not punished for transparently sharing new scientific findings”.

Thanking the many partners with whom WHO has worked this year, Dr. Tedros looked ahead to 2021, and to the fair and equitable distribution of the treatments and vaccines discovered this year.

Learning to live with COVID-19

However, the officials warned that it may be premature to imagine a world in which COVID-19 has been eradicated.

Guest speaker Professor David Heymann, a disease expert and member of a WHO “surge team” deployed to strengthen the COVID-19 response in South Africa earlier this year, said that we now have the tools at our disposal to save lives, allowing us to learn to live with the virus.

Dr. Ryan agreed that COVID-19 is likely to become endemic in the global population. Vaccinations, he explained, do not guarantee that infectious diseases will be eradicated.

Societies would do better to focus on getting back to full strength, rather than on the “moonshot of eradication”, concluded the senior WHO official.

Read out of the phone call between President Charles Michel and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

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Council of the EU and European Council

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28 December 2020

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Both leaders welcomed the fair and balanced agreement reached on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union with a view to the upcoming signature, which is scheduled for 30 December. The agreement is essential as it creates stability and predictability for citizens and companies.

In the fight against climate change, both leaders agreed to intensify the future cooperation between the UK and the EU. They agreed to take work forward with a view to the COP 26 in Glasgow. The recent EU decision to adapt its 2030 target was welcomed.

Both leaders agreed to intensify work on the global response to pandemics. In this regard, the idea of a possible treaty on pandemics, which could help to strengthen global preparedness and response was discussed, notably in the framework of the UK presidency of the G7.

On foreign affairs, President Michel and Prime Minister Johnson stated their common interest to continue exchanging views and seek cooperation on specific issues based on shared values and interests.

Unrest continues to blight Horn of Africa regions – Vatican News

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officialinstitutions

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28 December 2020

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Unrest continues to blight Horn of Africa regions - Vatican News

By Nathan Morley

The state-run news agency cited the state governor as confirming the troop deployment. South Darfur in western Sudan, suffered a bitter conflict that broke out in 2003.

The area has witnessed several clashes between tribes over the last few years.

Also in Africa, it is now almost seven weeks since the conflict started in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It has fast escalated into a humanitarian crisis, drawing the concerns of the United Nations.

Since Early November, the Ethiopian government has been undertaking military operations against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controlled Ethiopia’s Tigray state in the north.

Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) deployed humanitarian assessment teams to Tigray.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced or have fled across the border to Sudan. At the same time, the World Health Organization sent emergency health supplies enough to treat more than 10,000 patients for three months.

Listen to the report by Nathan Morley

Chi-Med Initiates Rolling Submission of NDA to U.S. FDA for Surufatinib for the Treatment of Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors

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Newsdesk

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28 December 2020

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Chi-Med Initiates Rolling Submission of NDA to U.S. FDA for Surufatinib for the Treatment of Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors – Book Publishing Industry Today – EIN Presswire

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European Union gives green light to post-Brexit trade deal with the UK

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28 December 2020

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European Union gives green light to post-Brexit trade deal with the UK

BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) gave the green light on Monday to its post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, clearing the way for it to come into effect in the New Year.

The British parliament will have to ratify later this week the deal to cushion the economic shock of the divorce. Brussels will apply it on a provisional basis until European lawmakers consider the agreement in the coming months.

Customs and regulatory controls on cross-Channel commerce will still come into effect on Jan 1 after Britain leaves the EU single market. But there will be no immediate return to a regime of tariffs and quotas that could have disrupted trade after Britain’s decision to quit the club.

Sebastian Fischer, spokesman for the German presidency of the EU, said: “EU ambassadors have unanimously approved the provisional application of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”

Under EU procedure, the decision by ambassadors from the 27 member states to endorse the plan will take effect at 3pm (1400 GMT) on Tuesday. But there is no expectation that any EU members will now slow the adoption of the trade deal, the fruit of a tortuous 10-month negotiation.

Germany holds the rotating EU presidency and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said the coalition government has no objection to the text.

“Germany can accept the negotiated accord,” she said. In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron‘s office announced that his government had also backed the deal.

“The accord will come into force on January 1. From the first day, France will be vigilant that it is put in place correctly,” the French government statement said.

Separately, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke by telephone with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

“I welcomed the importance of the UK-EU Agreement as a new starting point for our relationship, between sovereign equals,” Johnson tweeted.

The European Parliament will want to study the deal even after its provisional application and was expected to convene a session in the first quarter of next year to ratify it.

But on Monday, MEPs were discussing the possibility of pushing that date back further to give themselves more time to study the text and to watch how relations develop.

The member states’ provisional approval will last until the end of February, but EU parliamentary leaders asked on Monday for a few more weeks to arrange a vote in March or April. But if London refuses this delay, they have agreed to hold a special plenary session on or around Feb 23.

Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier met the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli and the MEPs coordinating EU-UK ties on Monday.

He described the exchanges as “fruitful” and thanked the MEPs “for their trust and support throughout this extraordinary negotiation.”

British parliamentarians are to meet on Wednesday to debate the accord.

Although the 2016 Brexit referendum that set the divorce in motion proved to be extremely divisive, the vote is expected to go smoothly.

The MPs have not had long to study the 1,200-page text, but Johnson has a comfortable majority of Conservative MPs in the Commons and has hailed the accord as a victory.

The minority Scottish National Party will oppose the deal – as it opposed Brexit – but bulk of MPs from the main Labour opposition will back it to avoid further disruption.

The deal offers the British duty-free and quota-free access to its market of 450 million consumers, and gives European fishermen access to UK waters for at least another five-and-a-half years.

But it provides for Europe to impose compensatory measures on British business if London backslides on standards for state aid, the environment, labour law and taxation. – AFP

Recognise Sarna religion, include separate code in census: Adivasi outfits

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Newsdesk

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28 December 2020

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Recognise Sarna religion, include separate code in census: Adivasi outfits

Ten Adivasi organisations met here on Monday and submitted a memorandum to the state government demanding that it ask the Centre to recognise “Sarna” as an Adivasi religion and include a separate religious code for it in the 2021 census. The demand was unanimously backed by the Santhal, Munda, Oraon, Ho, Bhumu, Bedia, Savar, Kharia, and Mahali communities.

Last month, the Jharkhand government convened a special Assembly session and passed a resolution to send the Centre a letter recommending it to recognise the Sarna religion and include a separate code for it in the next census.

International Santhal council president Naresh Kumar Murmu said, “We met minister Purnendu Basu and submitted a memorandum to him and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. We want the government of West Bengal to take a similar step like the one taken by the Jharkhand government.”

Murmu said a “Sarna Dharma Mahasammelan” would be held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on January 3 on the birth anniversary of Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda, an Adivasi leader who was a member of the Constituent Assembly.

Murmu added, “The population of the followers of Sarna is more than the Jain religion and ‘Hital’ is our religious text, which was written by our spiritual guru and inventor of Ol Chiki script Guru Gomke Pandit Raghunath Murmu. Adivasis have no caste system, do not believe in idol worship. Adivasis believe in nature worship.”

DKG’s ’The Book Club’ continues to meet by Zoom

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Record Herald

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28 December 2020

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DKG’s ’The Book Club’ continues to meet by Zoom

A book club that is associated with the membership of Alpha Delta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG) of Washington Court House simply named “The Book Club” is composed of 10 DKG members, including Marie Fetters, Cassandra Furlong, Nancy Mowery, Sandy Sowash, Susan Stuckey, Kim Bonnell, Dianne Junk, Debra Wing, Christy Eckstein, and Cathy White.

The Book Club was formally established in October of 2013. The club currently meets on the fourth Monday of the month and due to the pandemic has been meeting by Zoom in recent months. The club has found that there are advantages to meeting by Zoom.

The two members, Marie Fetters and Cassandra Furlong, who now live out of state can meet with us in person on a regular basis. Another advantage is the connection and friendship with Suzanne Lucey, the owner of the “Page 158 Books,” a book store in North Carolina. The club was introduced to Suzanne by DKG member Marie Fetters, who now lives in North Carolina.

Suzanne visited the book club by Zoom this past October when they decided to read “One Good Mama Bone,” by Bren McClain for the next meeting in November. Suzanne Lucey arranged for the author to visit with the club in person during the Zoom meeting on Nov. 23. It was a delightful meeting with wonderful insightful discussion with Bren about her book. It was interesting to hear her tell how her life experiences and interactions with others reflect in her writing.

Bren McClain grew up on 72-acre cattle farm near Anderson, South Carolina which was a great influence throughout her book One Good Mama Bone. She earned a BA in English from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. She wrote for her local newspaper in Anderson, worked in radio and television, taught high school English for one year, and had a career in media relations before becoming a full-time writer.

Bren has won several writing awards, including the 2017 Will Morris Award for Southern Fiction, the 2019 Patricia Win Award for Southern Fiction, and the Great Book Reads by Women’s National Book Association. She is now working on her next book, “Took,” that also includes farm animals, which should be published within a year to a year and a half and has already won the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Prize for a Novel in Progress. Bren said she hopes to visit the club in person by the time Took is available. The Book Club can’t wait!

The Book Club is also looking forward to its continued friendship with Suzanne Lucey and her promise to bring new book titles and introduce us to other authors to visit in the future to discuss their books. In dark and difficult times opportunities often present themselves. In dark clouds there can be silver linings.

Delta Kappa Gamma is a sorority of professional women educators.

Latest news of Europe and the world.

European Parliament Approves Seven-Year EU Budget

After year of ‘trials, tragedies and tears’, UN chief sends message of hope for 2021

A transition to a sustainable future

Resolutions and goals for next year: time for healing

Thousands Of Montenegrins Protest Government Plan To Amend Controversial Religion Law

Be prepared for another, more severe pandemic: WHO officials

Understanding new variants

Learning to live with COVID-19

Read out of the phone call between President Charles Michel and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Unrest continues to blight Horn of Africa regions – Vatican News

Chi-Med Initiates Rolling Submission of NDA to U.S. FDA for Surufatinib for the Treatment of Advanced Neuroendocrine Tumors

European Union gives green light to post-Brexit trade deal with the UK

Recognise Sarna religion, include separate code in census: Adivasi outfits

DKG’s ’The Book Club’ continues to meet by Zoom

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