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How green are European cities? Green space key to well-being – but access varies

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Newsdesk
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Access to public green and blue spaces differs across Europe, according to the EEA briefing ‘Who benefits from nature in cities? Social inequalities in access to urban green and blue spaces across Europe’. The study found that cities in the north and west of Europe tend to have more green space than cities in southern and eastern Europe. The assessment looks at socio-economic and demographic inequalities in access to green and blue spaces in European cities. It also includes examples of green spaces that were designed to meet the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged social groups.

Value of green spaces in cities

The potential for green spaces to boost our health and well-being is increasingly recognised, both in science and policy. Accessible green areas are especially important for children, the elderly and people with lower incomes, many of whom have limited opportunities for contact with nature.

People use their local green spaces for physical exercise and social interactions, for relaxation and mental restoration. Benefits range from reduced risks of obesity in children, to better cardiovascular health and lower rates of depression in adults. Parks, trees and other green areas improve air quality, reduce noise, moderate temperatures during hot periods, and boost biodiversity in city landscapes.

How green are European cities?

Green infrastructure, which includes green and blue spaces like allotments, private gardens, parks, street trees, water and wetlands, made up on average 42% of the city area in 38 EEA member countries, according to the latest data available. The city with the highest proportion of total green space (96%) is Cáceres in Spain, where the city’s administrative area incorporates natural and semi-natural areas around the city core. The city with the lowest total green space at just 7% is Trnava in Slovakia.

Publicly accessible green areas form a relatively low share of total green space, estimated at only 3% of the total city area on average. Yet, this varies between cities, with cities such as Geneva (Switzerland), The Hague (Netherlands) and Pamplona/Iruña (Spain), seeing accessible green space account for more than 15% of the city area.

The latest data from the EEA’s urban tree cover viewer shows that average urban tree cover for cities in 38 EEA member and cooperating countries stood at 30%, with cities in Finland and Norway having the highest proportion of tree cover, while cities in Cyprus, Iceland and Malta had the lowest.

Inequalities in terms of access are present – policy and action emerge

Across Europe, green space is less available in lower income urban neighbourhoods than in higher income ones, with differences often driven by the housing market, where properties in greener areas are more expensive. While the World Health Organization recommends that all people reside within 300 metres of green space, less than half of Europe’s urban population do. National and local guidelines vary across Europe and guidance on how to make access equal across social groups is rare.

Case studies from across Europe show how targeted action to reduce inequalities in access to high-quality green spaces can maximise the health and well-being benefits of nature in cities. Involving local communities in the design and management of green space helps in considering their specific needs and has been found to foster a sense of ownership and promote use.

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/percentage-of-total-green-infrastructure/embed-chart?chart=googlechartid_chart_11&chartWidth=800&chartHeight=650&padding=fixed&customStyle=.googlechart_viewmargin-left:0px%3B&skipdaviztitle=true&skipcharttitle=true

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Armenian Prime Minister: “We must move steadily towards peace with Azerbaijan”

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Newsdesk
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Armenian Prime Minister: “We must move steadily towards peace with Azerbaijan”

In his address, Mr Pashinyan expressed his staunch defence of democratic principles against the backdrop of the multifaceted crises Armenia has been confronted with in recent years, particularly highlighting the turbulent aftermath of the 2020-2021 war and border conflict with Azerbaijan. He sought to defy those claiming that Armenia is suffering because it is a democracy, instead saying that his country would be paralysed and lose its independence and sovereignty if it was not democratic.

Referring to Azerbaijan’s recent attack and recapture of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said that Baku did so in “fulfilment of its long-standing policy of ethnic cleansing”. He also described the horrible humanitarian situation created by Azerbaijan’s long blockade of the Lachin corridor and offered a sharp rebuke to Moscow after Baku’s latest offensive.

“When hundreds of thousands of Armenians were fleeing from Nagorno Karabakh to the Republic of Armenia, not only did our allies in the security sector refuse to help us, but they also made public calls for a change of power in Armenia, to overthrow the democratic government”, he said. “But the people of Armenia united for their own independence, sovereignty, democracy, and another conspiracy against our state failed.”

Outlining in detail previous and so far failed attempts to achieve lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mr Pashinyan stated his willingness to sign a peace and relations settlement agreement with Baku by the end of the year. “We must move steadily towards peace”, he said (..) “To do this, political will is necessary and I have that political will. On the other hand, the international community and the European Union, and the countries of our region should support us, do everything to make this opportunity real for us”.

You can watch the speech again here (17.10.2023)

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Toll of Israel-Palestine crisis on children ‘beyond devastating’

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United Nations News
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Toll of Israel-Palestine crisis on children ‘beyond devastating’
© UNICEF/Mohammad Ajjour - A young boy plays in the street amidst the wreckage of homes destroyed by airstrikes in Al Shati Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza has become a “graveyard” for children with thousands now killed under Israeli bombardment, while more than a million face dire shortages of essentials and a lifetime of trauma ahead, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, who has been visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to families in Gaza over the phone from east Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what they have endured since the start of Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ deadly 7 October attacks is “beyond devastating”.

“When an eight-year-old tells you that she doesn’t want to die, it’s hard not to feel helpless,” he wrote on social platform X.

Hostages’ families ‘living in agony’

On Monday Mr. Griffiths met in Jerusalem with family members of some of the more than 230 hostages held in Gaza since 7 October. Reportedly about 30 of them kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are children.

The UN relief chief said that for the past weeks these families “have been living in agony, not knowing if their loved ones are dead or alive”, and that he couldn’t “begin to imagine” what they are going through.

The UN has repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.

‘Unbearable’ thought of children buried under rubble

Reportedly more than 3,450 children have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Another 1,000 children have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said that it is “almost unbearable to think about children buried under rubble with very little possibility for getting them out”.

An 11-year-old boy stands at the entrance to his home in Gaza City.
© UNICEF/Mohammad Ajjour – An 11-year-old boy stands at the entrance to his home in Gaza City.

Decades of trauma ahead

“Threats go beyond the bombs and mortars”, UNICEF’s James Elder stressed. Infant deaths due to dehydration are “a growing threat” in the enclave as Gaza’s water production is at five per cent of the required volume due to non-functioning desalination plants which are either damaged or lack fuel.

When the fighting finally stops, the costs to children “will be borne out for decades to come”, he said, due to the horrific trauma faced by survivors.

I do not have the luxury
to think about my
children’s mental
health – I just need
to keep them alive

Mr. Elder cited the example of a UNICEF staffer’s four-year-old daughter in Gaza who has started self-harming because of the daily stress and fear, while her mother told colleagues, “I do not have the luxury to think about my children’s mental health – I just need to keep them alive”.

Humanitarian ceasefire essential

Mr. Elder reiterated calls, “on behalf of the 1.1 million children in Gaza living through this nightmare”, for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and opening of all access points for sustained entry of humanitarian aid.

“If we had a ceasefire for 72 hours, this would mean a thousand children would be safe again for this time,” he said.

Aid ‘a fraction of what is needed’

On Monday, a total of 26 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, OCHA’s Jens Laerke said, with the hope that more trucks will enter on Tuesday.

This brings the total number of trucks allowed through the crossing from 21 to 30 October to 143.

OCHA stressed that while the increase in the volume of aid entering Gaza in the past two days is welcome, “current amounts are a fraction of what is needed to prevent further deterioration in the already-dire humanitarian situation, including civil unrest”. Before the escalation close to 500 trucks, both commercial and humanitarian, would enter the enclave every working day, including some 50 trucks of fuel.

Briefing the UN Security Council on Monday, Mr. Griffiths spoke about the urgency of replenishing fuel supplies, “vital for powering most essential services, including hospitals and water desalination plants, and to transport humanitarian relief inside Gaza”.

Attacks on healthcare

The public health catastrophe in the enclave is being compounded by attacks on health. UN health agency (WHO) said that it has documented 82 in Gaza so far.

OCHA warned that the vicinities of two hospitals in Gaza city and northern Gaza were reportedly bombarded for the second consecutive day on Monday, prompting Mr. Griffiths to share his concern with the Security Council over “allegations of military installations in the close vicinity of hospitals and the request by Israeli authorities for hospitals, including Al Quds and Shifa, to be evacuated”.

Protect medical facilities ‘at all times’

In response to a question over these allegations, UN human rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Liz Throssell reiterated on Tuesday that hospitals are protected buildings under international humanitarian law.

If proven, the use of human shields in hospitals would amount to a war crime, she said. However, “regardless of the actions of one side, for example using hospitals for military purposes, the other side must comply with international humanitarian rules on the conduct of hostilities” which extend special protection to medical units at all times, she insisted.

Where medical units lose their special protection as a result of being used outside their humanitarian function to commit acts harmful to the enemy, and where a warning for the harmful use to cease has gone unheeded, “still, any attack must comply with the principles of precautions in attack and proportionality”, Ms. Throssell explained.

Jews and their human rights

By
Gabriel Carrion Lopez
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a group of people standing outside with Western Wall in the background

The war started by the terrorist organization HAMAS at the beginning of October is littering the streets of Israel and the Gaza Strip with the corpses of men, women and children. At this point in the conflict, where it seems that world public opinion is buying the arguments of said terrorist organization, allied and financed by a country that does not respect human rights, imprisoning and murdering men, women and children, who do not have access to think like them. They are fraudulent organizations and states of totalitarian and single thinking that respect no one.

There is talk of Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip. How many? 8,000 dead, 3,000 of them children. Terrible!!! But, without demagoguery, who started the conflict, who put 1,400 Jewish corpses on the table in the first moments? Who kidnapped men, women and children? 239 today. Who has called for a global Intifada against the Jew wherever he is, trying to rouse the Muslim world and, above all, the lone wolves who are already doing their thing? Who hides, like rats, in tunnels, under schools, hospitals and churches, using their own people as human shields? Who cares so little about the lives of their loved ones? To a terrorist organization: HAMAS, and those who finance it, especially IRAN or QATAR.

Where have the human rights of the young Israeli-German Shani Louk, who was on that fateful October 7 at a peace party, near the place where the events began? Her mother, Rebeca Louk, commented a couple of days ago that she had received official confirmation of her death. HAMAS, without handing over the body, had stated this through her official channels. We could see Shani Louk in the back of a truck, tied up as if she were an animal, bloody, and in her underwear so you could see the blows she had received, while a handful of terrorists smiled, drooling at the obtained prey. That video violated the human rights of that young woman without, when she perished, too many media outlets feeling horrified by what that story expressed, by what it was telling us about those who committed the murders of Jews in those first hours of October 7.

In the West, while we talk about the horrors of war and beat our chests about the dead children in the Gaza Strip and the lack of food and assistance to the displaced, we buy the infamous and ignorant atrocity that the terrorists sell us , who keep whatever may be necessary to feed their troops in order to continue fighting. The people in the Strip know perfectly well that they are just cannon fodder and that to those who lead them they mean absolutely nothing, just more income on their account of images to show to the world, with the sole purpose of getting more funding from certain countries, including communist countries with the sole purpose of continuing to kill Jews throughout the world. Then it will be to the unbeliever.

In World War II they were murdered in extermination camps. 6 million Jews. Men, women and children. What did Muslim countries do at that time? Rejoice, “the Jews should be exterminated wherever they are found.” And when the war is over, where the Jews left six million dead, six million stories, millions of them still untold, they are given a territory to which, as a people, they historically had a right. And they build a state surrounded by ancestral enemies and become, over the years, the only consolidated democracy in the area, among medievalized societies that continue to apply inhuman punishments to women and those who do not agree with their ideas. Totalitarian governments at the service of Old Laws whose practice enslaves man, be he Muslim, Christian or Jew.

But the tragedy of said town did not end there. 6 million dead They were not enough ignominy and some communist state in the 1960s decided that it could sell all the Jews left in its territory in exchange for pigs or money. And for this reason the despicable government of Ceausescu, in old Romania. Although to achieve this the Jews had to suffer an entire ordeal, of which I am only going to show a few brief notes.

In a masterful book by the French journalist Sonia Devillers, Those exported, from the Impedimenta publishing house, in its press release about it you can read the following (they are the first paragraphs, although I encourage the reader to continue informing themselves about this atrocious topic):

Jews exchanged for pigs. Of the best breed. Tens of thousands of Romanian Jews were exchanged since the 1950s and for decades by the communist government to allow them to leave the country. First for “high performance” animals. Then, for money. Initially, as if it were a macabre joke, they were exchanged for the pigs that were forbidden to them. Also by Friesian cows, mechanized chicken farms and Australian sheep. Later, for between $2,000 and $50,000 depending on age and profession. Money paid mainly by the Israeli secret services. During Ceausescu’s time, Jews were impoverished Romania’s second export product after oil. Entire families, like the grandparents, mother and aunt of the French journalist Sonia Devillers, who unites family memory and history in the painful, poetic and precise Los exportados, (Impedimenta).

A book in which the degrading nature of that sale is eclipsed by the unimaginable and atrocious horror that hundreds of thousands of Romanian Jews suffered years before in the Second World War, during the regime of Marshal Antonescu, at the hands of their compatriots, without Hitler’s need.

A Romanian holocaust with pogroms in Bucharest or Lasi, in which those who managed to escape ended up on freight trains whose carriages did not allow air or light to pass through. More than 5,000 corpses emerged from them. “The idea of ​​death trains, another Romanian innovation,” Devillers ironically says. In Odessa, occupied during the war by Romanian troops, 8,000 Jews were hanged from lampposts and balconies. Another 4,000 were shot in the back of the head.

And once Antonescu’s pro-Nazi regime fell, the Romanian communists did not take long to carry out anti-Semitic purges and expel Jews from jobs and the party. That they wanted to emigrate en masse. Their exit was blocked until the business was seen. “There were about 750,000 Jews in Romania before the war. Half died in it. Of the 350,000 that remained, when Ceausescu fell there were 10,000 left. It is the story of a country emptied of its Jews. First deported, then exported,” says Devillers.

Stories like this may seem far away to us today, but we must not forget that just last night (October 29, 2023), a mob of Muslims attacked the airport of the capital of Dagestan with the purpose of murdering all Israeli citizens, including Jews. or not, they met. The images are terrifying. And men, women, and children had to take refuge wherever they could, in order to avoid being taken hostage, beaten, and unjustly killed. Mobs are always dangerous, and if we add a religious and dangerously xenophobic component to this, even more so.

There are already dozens of lone wolf actions throughout the West. But not all of them are coming to light so as not to alarm world public opinion. Special surveillance, not only police surveillance, is exercised throughout the democratic West on certain mosques whose leaders are known to be radicalized. In the country in which I write this article we are in alert 4 Reinforced, the next is alert 5 and last, the army would have to take to the streets. Public opinion is unaware of the actions that are being carried out, but from very close sources I know that the High Defense Staff is permanently testing hundreds of calls linked to extremist people in this country.

Before October 7, when the terrorist group, backed by the states that support it, decided to change the course of history, we lived better. And today, while world public opinion has bought what a terrorist organization like HAMAS wants to sell us, I have decided, without intending to disdain the rights of the Palestinians, nothing could be further from my intention; to ask myself openly and with a dog’s face, about the human rights of the Jews, so many times vilified over the last 80 years. Only 80 years and with so many millions of dead and displaced. Terrible!!!

Bibliography:
NOTE: As always, asking internet search engines and contrasting the news provided by them on different newspaper pages.

About the cited book: Jews for pigs after the atrocious Romanian Shoah – La Vanguardia – October 30, 2023 – Impedimenta

Based on data from Shani Louk, the Europa Press news service and Israeli authorities confirm the death of Shani Louk, the young German-Israeli kidnapped by Hamas (elconfidencial.com)

Other information, CNN: This is the chronology of the Hamas attack and Israel’s response (cnn.com)

Some data comes from confidential sources.

Originally published at LaDamadeElche.com

INDIA – Bomb attempt against Jehovah’s Witnesses’ gathering, three dead and dozens injured

By
Willy Fautre
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0

A former Jehovah’s Witness claims responsibility. After Germany (March 2023) and Italy (April 2023), Jehovah’s Witnesses are now killed in a bomb attack in another democracy, India

An explosive device blew up at a convention center in southern India killing three persons and wounding dozens of others on Sunday 29 October.

About 2,300 Jehovah’s Witnesses were gathered for a three-day gathering at the Zamra International Convention Center in the town of Kalamassery in Kerala state when the explosion took place.

The state’s top police officer, Sheik Darvesh Saheb, said an initial investigation has revealed an improvised explosive device was used.

The wounded, many of them with burn injuries, were transported to hospital for treatment, he said.

Videos filmed right after the blast and shared online showed fire inside the convention center and rescuers helping people evacuate the building.

Dominic Martin, a former Jehovah’s Witness, claimed in a six-minute Facebook video, subsequently removed that he was behind Sunday’s deadly massive blasts at a gathering of the Christian group.

He surrendered to cops after posting the footage online saying he was responsible for the explosions at the Zamra International Convention Center in Kerala. He was put in custody.

He said in a social media posting claimed Jehovah’s Witnesses were “anti-national”, refusing to sing the national anthem, and said he tried to convince the group to change its views on a number of its teachings.

Hindu nationalism is responsible for many acts of violence against Muslims and Christians in India.

About 2,300 Jehovah’s Witnesses were attending the three-day event at the convention center and Martin was not registered to attend.

The movement has about 60,000 followers in India which has a population of over 1.4 billion inhabitants. It is apolitical and non-violent. In all the countries where they are established, their members are conscientious objectors to military service.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are a global religious minority in over 200 countries and territories.

Media coverage

International media outlets largely and fairly covered the bomb blast.

The Hindu was however virulent about the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses, voicing the hate speech of the perpetrator of the bomb attempt.

As to the French-language media outlets of France and Belgium, two democratic states known for their hostility towards Jehovah’s Witnesses and other minority religious movements, they have ignored the incident as if it had never happened.

On 29 October, the Agence France Presse (AFP) issued a press release titled “India: two dead and 35 injured in an explosion at a Christian gathering.” Noteworthy is that AFP avoided mentioning Jehovah’s Witnesses as victims in the title. In a biased and useless way, AFP said Jehovah’s Witnesses were “regularly accused of being a cult.”

The bad practice of qualifying a religious or belief movement as a “cult” was condemned in 2022 by the European Court of Human Rights in its decision concerning the case Tonchev and Others v. Bulgaria. The Court then stated that terms such as “cults” or those deriving from the Latin “secta” in languages other than English are “likely to have negative consequences on the exercise of religious freedom” of the members of the groups so stigmatized and should not be used in official documents. The derogatory statement of AFP contributes to the climate of hostility against a non-violent and law-abiding religious group.

Moreover, AFP wrongly links the movement of Jehovah’s Witnesses dating back to the 1870s in the US with the American Evangelical movement. Both movements have always been totally unrelated.

Kerala attacks: India police investigate deadly blasts targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses – BBC

India police detain man as suspect in explosion that killed 3 people at Jehovah’s Witness gathering – AP News

Suspect detained in an explosion that killed 3 at Jehovah’s Witness event in India – ABC News

Bomb blast at Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in India kills 3, wounds dozens – South China Morning Post

India police probe bomb blasts that killed two in Kerala – Reuters

Explosion hits Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting in India’s Kerala – Al Jazeera

Kochi convention centre blast: 2 killed, dozens injured in blasts during prayer meet; Shah calls for NIA, NSG probe – Indian Express

Thousands of members of Jehovah’s Witnesses had gathered for a meeting on Sunday.

Enraged by ‘teachings’ of Jehovah’s Witnesses, planted bombs, says suspect – The Hindu

Bomb blast at Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in India kills 2, wounds dozens | South China Morning Post (scmp.com) – South China Morning Post

Ex-Jehovah’s Witness claims responsibility in Facebook video for deadly blasts in India – New York Post

Speech of President Metsola at the University of Sorbonne, Paris | News

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Newsdesk
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Speech of President Metsola at the University of Sorbonne, Paris | News

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I want to tell you my pleasure and honour to be with you tonight.

Before developing my remarks, in French, I would like to let you in on a secret. Every time I speak in Molière’s language, my boys tell me ‘Mom, your accent is horrible…’.

So, as Churchill said on Place Kleber in Strasbourg in 1950, let me warn you: “Beware, I will speak in French”.

But rest assured, the beauty of this place, the history of the Sorbonne have not affected me to the extent that I could presume to be that British and European statesman.

We differ on several points…

However, as in 1950, we are at a crossroads, and unlike in the aftermath of the Second World War, where hope for a better future prevailed, we are facing multiple perils.

That is why I am honoured to be able to share these words here, with you.

And before developing my thoughts, let me thank the Sorbonne for welcoming me.

And thank the Grand Continent magazine, who offered to organise this event.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I came this evening to talk about the future. To talk about Europe. Europe’s role in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. Of the importance of Europe for France. Of the importance of Europe’s voice in the Middle East, in Africa, in Ukraine, in Armenia.

I have also come to share my deep conviction that we can build a strong Europe together, a world leader in the green and digital transition. A Europe that succeeds in moving away from its dependencies to ensure our security, autonomy and prosperity. A Europe that responds to the challenges and everyday difficulties.

Finally, I have come to tell you that Europe is not infallible, and that it needs to evolve, reform to avoid becoming irrelevant.

But I also want to talk to you, to hear what you expect from your Europe. We are less than one year away from the European elections, and I know very well that we need to do more to convince people of the added value of our collective project.

There is no better place to lead such a discussion, than here, at The Sorbonne, a place of knowledge and thought.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The world is facing challenges on multiple fronts. Some of these fronts are on the doorstep of Europe, in our Eastern and Southern neighbourhood.

The desperate situation in Gaza sheds a shadow over the whole region. The response to this situation will define the future of this region and of Europe.

Nothing can excuse – or justify – rape, abductions, torture and killings of entire communities, children, women, men and young people. These horrific acts were perpetrated by a terrorist organisation. Let’s be clear about this. Hamas does not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. They hinder them.

Hamas cannot be allowed to act with impunity. Kidnapped hostages must be released.

The situation in Gaza is horrific. It is a humanitarian crisis. This is why Europe has called for a humanitarian pause, de-escalation and full respect for international humanitarian law.

Civilians and innocent people must not have to pay for despicable actions of Hamas.

We must end terror, and we must be able to do that with ensuring the safety and lives of civilians, of children, of journalists and without targeting civilian infrastructures.

It matters to Europe how Israel responds.

Europe is ready to commit itself in the long term, to work towards lasting peace in the Middle East. For Europe has learned to overcome the insurmountable and has been able to find the way to peace. France knows it too well, it has been one of the major players in European reconciliation.

We support a fair and just solution for the parties involved, based on the coexistence of two States. We will keep pushing this forward.

The complex situation in the Middle East cannot distract us from what is otherwise being played out on our Eastern Front.

In Europe, many thought that economic and trade relations with Moscow, including the import of Russian gas, were factors of stability. This was wrong.

The truth is that nothing prevented Russia from invading Ukraine in a brutal, unjustified and illegal way. And this war, which is taking place on our continent, concerns us all.

Our support for Ukraine must in no way weaken. Contrary to what President Putin thinks, we will not allow fatigue to set in. It is about the security of Europe as well as the security of Ukraine.

In this context, Europe needs to answer very serious questions.

Are our democracies strong enough to respond to total threats?

Can our open economy, our rule of law withstand attacks?

Must the ‘law of the strongest’ govern international relations?

These are vital issues for Europe. We have no choice but to defend our civilisation firmly and with courage.

We must vigorously defend our values and our political models of liberal democracy.

This is what played out in Ukraine.

There is no alternative. I mean, there is one… But it would be a moral and political mistake to abandon Ukraine. Russia would not stop on this momentum.

Everyone here knows this other sentence of Winston Churchill, again, at the time of the Munich Accords: “You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war”.

If today the European Union has chosen to support Ukraine massively, it wants two things: honour and peace! But a real peace based on the freedom and independence of Ukraine

And while Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is undergoing an unprecedented wave of destabilisation and predation, it is urgent to get out of our posture, at best naive, in reality condescending with this great continent.

I share your conviction, dear Gilles and Matheo, that in order to succeed in its geopolitical transition, Europe must emerge from some bad habits. We must stop with a kind of arrogance towards Africa.

We need to think about the continental scale.

Thinking on a continental scale means allowing Europe to be able to speak on an equal footing with major continents.

To do so, we need to invest in our relationship with Latin American countries. We also need to give new impetus to our historic transatlantic partnership.

I repeat it without naivety, building on our strengths, taking on our interests and defending our values, all of which are essential components of our European model.

Dear friends,

Europe also faces challenges within its borders.

People struggle to pay their bills. The urgency of global warming and the digital transition are affecting our economies and jobs. Migration issues are also a cause for concern.

In the face of this, Europeans need answers. In the face of this, we need to ensure their safety: physical security, economic security, social and environmental security.

To this end, it is time for Europe to take on a renewed responsibility. Let Europe become a project of power and independence.

The future of Europe will be defined by our ability to remain sovereign and competitive. By our ability to become the leader in the digital and climate transition. Moving away from our energy dependencies and ending the dominance of big digital companies.

This is why we are preparing for the future by committing to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The European Green Deal concerns as much our energy security and the strengthening of our competitiveness as the environmental and climate transition.

However, we must ensure that no one is left behind in this transition. We need to ensure that our smallest industries, businesses and citizens have the necessary safety nets.

We also need to better explain why this transition is needed to boost sustainable economic growth, create new jobs and lead the industrial revolution of tomorrow.

None of our policies will work without social acceptability and if the measures implemented are neither realistic nor pragmatic.

Digital is also a challenge that is still ahead of us.

With laws on digital markets and services and on artificial intelligence, Europe has already taken the lead in setting standards that are intended to become global. This normative power is the guarantee of our independence.

Migration is also of concern to Europeans.

Too often we have seen quarrels between national governments over the reception of boats of fortunes in the Mediterranean.

No Member State should be left alone to take a disproportionate responsibility. All Member States should be united when faced with migration challenges.

We cannot leave this issue in the hands of populist forces that rejoice in our inefficiencies, without providing realistic solutions to a complex problem.

Also among Europeans, we are working on a legal framework that will be fair with those in need of protection. A legal framework that will be firm with those not eligible for asylum. Finally, a legal framework that will harsh with smugglers who profit off the poverty of the most vulnerable.

We owe it to our fellow citizens, we also owe it to those who risk their lives on the path of migration. Because behind the figures there are always human lives, sometimes tragic stories, and hope for a better life.

After a decade of efforts, we are finally ready to break the deadlock.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Another challenge I would like to address is: that of information warfare, or rather I should say disinformation.

Disinformation, which has affected our liberal democracies and societies since the turn of the 2000s with the development of the internet and social networks.

Disinformation is as old as the world. The technological tools of artificial intelligence, social networks give it an unprecedented reach.

And it is an absolute danger.

This danger is all the greater, as it is amplified by States such as Russia and Iran, which are all but models of democratic virtue and have a nice game of blowing on the embers of the polarisation of our political scenes.

The objective is the same: denigrating democracies. The method is constant: to sow doubt.

More than ever, we need to take the necessary measures and arm ourselves to fight this offensive.

Yes, the world is increasingly dangerous. Yes, Europe faces big challenges.

But we have to hold on. Hold on to build and defend peace and freedom. We do not have the right to forget what we are and what we want. For ourselves, for our children and for Europe.

I am part of a generation who was a child when the Berlin Wall fell, when a people turned up in Tiananmen Square… A generation that remembered the collapse of the Soviet Union and the unbridled joy of millions of Europeans finally free to choose their destiny. We lived this victory.

But over time we have become too assured of the solid and obvious character of this freedom. Extreme movements are at the gates of power and there in Europe. Or even take part in it.

And this is why we must seriously rethink and reform Europe. The history of European integration has shown us that it is through crises that we take responsibility, that Europe advances, transforms, evolves and strengthens.

And while it may seem distant, sometimes worrying, for many of our citizens, we need to address the issue of enlargement as a whole.

The world is not waiting for us. If we do dare change, our collective project will stagnate and lose its relevance. We msut adapt to the new geopolitical reality that I have already mentioned. If we do not respond to the call of our neighbours, other geopolitical palyers will do so and will fill the gap at our borders.

We had the same fears before the 2004 enlargement. Yet history has shown us that an enlarged European Union, based on clear objectives, serves to defend Europe’s peace, security, stability and prosperity on the international stage.

All Member States and Europeans win.

This is why we fought for Ukraine and Moldova to be granted EU candidate status. This is why we believe that negotiations with the Western Balkans must make progress.

Because the hope of accession gives these countries a European perspective and gives them an impetus to push democratic reforms.

However, such a perspective cannot be realised without institutional reforms of our political project. A Union of thirty, thirty-three or thirty-five will not be able to operate under the same rules as twenty-seven.

Reforming our institutional structure and procedures, and reforming our European budget are key. The adaptation of our structural policies is just as much to match the candidate countries well before their accession, but also to allow the Union to integrate them.

This is one of the major challenges ahead of us.

In spite of what I have just said, I am by nature optimistic. I am convinced that if we succeed in establishing an enlarged, ambitious, united and coherent Union; an effective Union that leaves no one behind and delivers on the concrete concerns of our fellow citizens while holding its place in the world, then it will be our best response to populism and extremism.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the run-up to the June European elections, it is more important than ever to reflect together on the role that Europe plays, and especially on the role we want to give it…

I am the youngest President of the history of the European Parliament. I am just the third woman in this position, after Simone Veil and Nicole Fontaine. And if I able to stand before you here, it is thanks to the battles that these two admirable women fought.

I understand my responsibility towards them, to all women who will come after me, towards our European project.

And that is why, at this critical moment in our history, I want to call on all French women and men to commit themselves.

If you think that the direction our joint project is taking is not the right one or, on the contrary, if you want it to be deepened, then commit yourself! It is your responsibility to change it.

Do not wait for someone else to do so for you. So go to vote, find your voice, find a cause and fight for it.

Believe in Europe. Europe deserves to be defended and we all have a role to play in this.

A last word, dear friends,

I know how much the French like to quote illustrious men of their past. So, how can I conclude my speech without mentioning the one who gave his name to this beautiful amphitheatre and who rests not far from here.

Cardinal Richelieu once said: “We have to listen a lot, and speak little to do well…”.

I may have spoken too much, but I am ready to listen now.

 Thank you.

“Courtesy translation – original version in French available here“.

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9 Ways NASA Solves Water Problems Around the Globe

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Newsdesk
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World Water Day reminds us not to take for granted the clean water we rely on. And in space, we treat every drop as a precious resource, prompting investment in technologies to conserve and reuse. Now, these innovations are hard at work here on Earth!

From discovering hidden water sources to advancing purification techniques, check out the different ways NASA is changing how we use and manage the water in our lives.

Microbial Check Valve

A mat of ecoSPEARS spikes filled with a NASA-developed formula removes toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) without damaging the aquatic ecosystem. Image credit: Gagan Cambow, ecoSPEARS

A water disinfection unit known as the Microbial Check Valve, which passes water through a bed of iodinated resin, was invented in the 1970s for drinking water on the space shuttle, and it was updated to be self-regenerating in the 1990s for use on the International Space Station.

The Microbial Check Valve is now central to water purification units that have been deployed across India, Mexico, Pakistan, and other countries, including hundreds of remote village locations. It also led to the popular DentaPure cartridge that has been purifying waterlines in dental instruments around the world for almost 30 years.

Radar Imaging to Locate Well Sources

Regardless of the amount of winter ice cover, the waters off of the Alaskan coast usually come alive each spring with blooms of phytoplankton. These blooms can form striking patterns of blue and green seawater, such as those visible in this image of the Chukchi Sea acquired on June 18, 2018, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
Regardless of the amount of winter ice cover, the waters off of the Alaskan coast usually come alive each spring with blooms of phytoplankton. These blooms can form striking patterns of blue and green seawater, such as those visible in this image of the Chukchi Sea acquired on June 18, 2018, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. Image credit: NASA/U.S. Geological Survey/Norman Kuring/Kathryn Hansen

In 2002, an exploration geologist who was using Earth imagery from NASA’s Spaceborne Imaging Radar to locate underground resources realized the images could also lead him to subterranean moisture.

He set about developing the WATEX System at his company, Radar Technologies International, and in 2013 the system uncovered a vast aquifer with tens of trillions of gallons of water beneath a parched corner of northwest Kenya. The technology has now helped to place 2,500 wells, many of them in drought-stricken regions, with a 98% success rate for finding water.

Water Testing App

Orbital Systems’ Oas shower is the world’s first water-recirculating shower. It was inspired by a university’s partnership with NASA and is enabled by NanoCeram filter technology, which NASA helped fund with an eye toward improving astronaut life-support systems.
Orbital Systems’ Oas shower is the world’s first water-recirculating shower. It was inspired by a university’s partnership with NASA and is enabled by NanoCeram filter technology, which NASA helped fund with an eye toward improving astronaut life-support systems. Image credit: Orbital Systems

After NASA developed a simple coliform bacteria test for astronauts to test water on the International Space Station, an agency environmental engineer worked with his wife and a software engineer to develop the mWater smartphone app that let users carry out a coliform bacteria test based on the one NASA had created, as well as other simple water tests.

The app could then share the results through mapping software. Governments, nonprofit organizations, and water providers in 180 countries now use mWater test kits and apps to test drinking water and record, share, and track water data.

Filter Born from Astronaut Drinking Water Standards

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== 9 Ways NASA Solves Water Problems Around the Globe
The Pod+ water bottle from nkd LIFE uses a filter medium developed and tested with the help of NASA funding, known as NanoCeram and now marketed as Disruptor, to purify water on the go, removing 99.97% of contaminants and accommodating a high flow rate. Image credits: nkd LIFE Ltd.

Since its early days, NASA has explored various water purification technologies to provide drinking water for astronauts. In the early 2000s, with SBIR funding from the agency, Argonide Corporation optimized a filtration technology called NanoCeram, which uses a combination of positively charged microscopic alumina fibers and activated carbon to trap microorganisms and other contaminants.

NanoCeram has since been incorporated into lab-quality filters, water bottles, portable humanitarian units, industrial water purification, and even a water-recycling shower.

Microbial Contaminant Sterilizer

The Puronics Defender whole-house water conditioner uses silver-ion technology based on work NASA did in the run-ups to the Apollo and space shuttle missions. Positively charged silver ions neutralize bacteria in the unit’s filter beds.
The Puronics Defender whole-house water conditioner uses silver-ion technology based on work NASA did in the run-ups to the Apollo and space shuttle missions. Positively charged silver ions neutralize bacteria in the unit’s filter beds. Image credit: Advanced Cascade Water Systems Inc.

An early water purification technique NASA explored was the use of silver ions to neutralize microbial contaminants. In the lead-ups to the Apollo missions and then the space shuttle, the space agency commissioned the design and construction of silver ion generators to sterilize the water that was a by-product of the spacecrafts’ fuel cells, ensuring it would be safe to drink.

NASA never flew the technology, but the agency published details about the inventions, which have provided a basis for commercial product lines including in-home water filters and water softeners, as well as systems for pools, spas, cooling towers, ponds, boilers, and hospitals.

Groundwater Remediation

Brett Baker checks a sprinkler on his family’s pear farm. Farms like his in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have to monitor their water use, but accurate estimates were nearly impossible until the advent of OpenET, a platform that uses Landsat data to determine the total amount of water evaporated and transpired from a given area.
Brett Baker checks a sprinkler on his family’s pear farm. Farms like his in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have to monitor their water use, but accurate estimates were nearly impossible until the advent of OpenET, a platform that uses Landsat data to determine the total amount of water evaporated and transpired from a given area. Image credit: Environmental Defense Fund

After NASA discovered large amounts of chlorinated solvents in the groundwater around a historic launch complex at Kennedy Space Center, scientists at the center came up with a unique method for removing these pollutants – which are now banned but were also once used by a variety of industries.

In the 20 years following its patenting, NASA has licensed this formula, known as emulsified zero-valent iron, or EZVI, to several businesses that have used it in environmental cleanups all over the country. One of the Kennedy engineers later invented a similar technology for removing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, another common pollutant, from groundwater.

A company that formed to license that technology in 2017 is already carrying out cleanups around the world.

 

Filtration by Osmosis 

In the gray water reclamation system at Ames Research Center’s Sustainability Base, the two beige Aquaporin HFFO14 forward-osmosis modules on the left have as much filtration capacity as the entire legacy system on the right.
In the gray water reclamation system at Ames Research Center’s Sustainability Base, the two beige Aquaporin HFFO14 forward-osmosis modules on the left have as much filtration capacity as the entire legacy system on the right. Image credit: Aquaporin A/S

In 2007, NASA learned of a Danish company working on water filtration based on membranes infused with aquaporins – the proteins that let water pass through cell membranes one molecule at a time.

Always interested in better water purification technology, NASA became the company’s first paying customer, funding the development of prototypes and then working with the European Space Agency to test the membranes on the International Space Station.

The company, Aquaporin A/S, now sells under-sink water purifiers in Europe and India, and its forward osmosis modules are cleaning industrial and municipal wastewater.

Tools to Monitor Farm Water Use

The best way to calculate agricultural water use isn’t to measure how much water is diverted to cropland, but to measure evapotranspiration from the plants and soil.

A tool called EEFlux, built by researchers in the 2010s, was among the first to use Earth-imaging data from NASA-built satellites to calculate evapotranspiration. It helps manage water resources in dry areas like California.

A similar commercial method from Tule Technologies has helped some California farmers cut their water use by up to half. In 2021, NASA and partners debuted the OpenET online platform that lets users calculate evapotranspiration anywhere in 17 western states. The tool is helping farmers and local governments work together to conserve scarce water resources.

Thrusters Powered by Electrolyzed Water

Millennium Space Systems bought Tethers Unlimited’s first three water-electrolysis engines by helping to fund the technology’s final stage of development through NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation. The thrusters were to fly on Millennium’s Altair small satellites.
Millennium Space Systems bought Tethers Unlimited’s first three water-electrolysis engines by helping to fund the technology’s final stage of development through NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation. The thrusters were to fly on Millennium’s Altair small satellites. Image credit: Millennium Space Systems

For all the ways NASA helps purify and conserve water on Earth, it is still, first and foremost, the world’s premier space agency. As such, it has also worked to use water as a rocket fuel – one that could be obtained on other planets, moons, and asteroids for deep-space travel.

An electric current can separate water into hydrogen – NASA’s rocket fuel of choice – and oxygen, which helps it burn. In 2019, the company Tethers Unlimited unveiled the first commercial thrusters powered by electrolyzed water, which it developed with years of funding from the space agency.

The technology is first going nto commercial satellites, which will use it to maintain or change their orbits.

2023 Diwali celebrated at the EP with MEPs Morten Løkkegaard and Maxette Pirbakas

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Newsdesk
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2023 Diwali celebration with Members of the European Parliament
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA - 2023 Diwali celebration with Members of the European Parliament

On Wednesday 25 October, the Diwali festival was celebrated at the European Union Parliament in Brussels (Belgium). The festival will take place this year on 12 November, but due to Parliament’s own agenda and to allow the largest number of representatives of Hinduism in Europe to attend, it was held two weeks in advance, as reported by La Verdad de Ceuta.

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== 2023 Diwali celebrated at the EP with MEPs Morten Løkkegaard and Maxette Pirbakas
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – Dance at the Diwali celebration in the European Parliament 2023.

The event was organised by the Hindu Forum of Europe (HFE) in collaboration with the Palan Foundation and the Phi Foundation. Diwali, also known as the festival of lights, has been celebrated in the European Parliament since 2015.

Swamini Dayananda ji from Campus Phi in Spain, addressing the audience at the European Parliament
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – Swami Rameshwaranda Giri Maharaj from Campus Phi in Spain, and advisor to the HFE, addressing the audience at the European Parliament

The Hindu Federation of Spain (FHE) was represented by its president Juan Carlos Ramchandani (Pandit Krishna Kripa Dasa) who is also vice-president of the HFE, as well as by Swami Rameshwaranda Giri Maharaj, advisor to the FHE in relations with the administrations and spiritual advisor to the Hindu Forum of Europe.

Representatives of the monastic order (sannyasa) such as Swami Amarananda from Switzerland and Swamini Dayananda ji from Campus Phi in Spain also attended. Representatives from the Hindu federations of Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom also attended.

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== 2023 Diwali celebrated at the EP with MEPs Morten Løkkegaard and Maxette Pirbakas
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – Members of the Hindu Forum with the Ambassador of Nepal and MEP Maxette Pirbakas

The event was also attended by several religious representatives such as Ivan Arjona director of the Church of Scientology in Europe, Binder Singh representative of the Sikh Community in Europe and Dr. Kishan Manocha who is Head of the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

Institutional representation was provided by Morten LØKKEGAARD, MEP (Member of the European Parliament) and Chair of the EU Delegation to India, who hosted the event and gave a speech to welcome the attendees. Also in attendance was French MEP from Guadaloupe Maxette PIRBAKAS, of Indian origin and delegate for institutional relations with India, who gave an emotional speech and called for the protection and celebration of traditions.

ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== 2023 Diwali celebrated at the EP with MEPs Morten Løkkegaard and Maxette Pirbakas
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – 2023 Diwali celebration with the Ambassador of India to the European Union lighting the Diwali candles at the European Parliament

Diplomatic representation from the two countries with the largest number of Hindus in the world was also present, with India’s Ambassador to the European Union His Excellency Mr Santosh Jha and Nepal’s Ambassador to Benelux His Excellency Mr Gahendra Rajbandhari. Both gave a congratulatory message to all the attendees on behalf of their respective governments.

The programme started with a welcome message from Dr. Lakshmi Vyas, President of HFE. Pandit Ramchandani then chanted prayers in Sanskrit invoking the grace of the masters and the attainment of peace. This was followed by lighting of diyas or candles symbolising the festival of Diwali.

Pandit Ramchandani chanting mantras at the start of the Diwali event.
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – Pandit Ramchandani chanting mantras at the start of the Diwali event. Dr. Kishan Manocha (ODIHR) on the right.

The event included a cultural section with traditional Indian dances such as Bharata Natyam and Kathak, performed by young people from the Belgian Hindu community.

The culmination of the event was a vegetarian dinner consisting of typical Indian dishes. The event was attended by eighty people from different parts of Europe, the largest group being Swami Rameshwarananda’s disciples from the School of Yoga, Vedanta and Meditation. They all received a copy of the annual magazine Diwali Event At the EU Parliament published by the Hindu Forum of Europe, which lists the activities carried out by the organisation and its members during the year.

There were several performances of classical Indian dances.
Photo credit: MARCOS SORIA – There were several performances of classical Indian dances.

Ramchandani commented: “Very happy to be able to attend and participate in this event that visualises Hinduism in Europe, I have been attending since it was first held in 2015. Brussels is the heart of Europe, and it is here that we represent the oldest form of spirituality of humanity that is still alive. An opportunity to reconnect with Sanatana dharma brothers and sisters and friends from other religious traditions with a common goal: to improve people’s spiritual awareness in order to achieve a better world”.

Tragic Bomb Blast at Jehovah’s Witnesses Meeting in India

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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In a deeply disturbing event that has shocked the global religious community, a bomb explosion occurred during a Jehovah’s Witnesses gathering in Kalamassery, near the port city of Kochi, India. This tragic incident resulted in the heartbreaking loss of three lives and caused numerous injuries.

I believe that examining the incident in detail, its implications and herding light on the broader interfaith tensions prevailing in the region is a must, including its relation with the responsibilities of state agencies worldwide not just India but in Europe.

The attack in India against the Jehovah’s Witnesses

The person responsible for this horrendous act identified himself as a former member of the church who now holds a radicalized opposition to them (like the bloody attacj that occurred in Germany in March this year). After the suspected bomb blast, he voluntarily surrendered to the police.

On that ill-fated Sunday, over 2,000 individuals were present at the Zamra International Convention Centre for a three-day Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting when an explosion suddenly tore through the crowd. The Director General of Police of Kerala, Darvesh Saheb, confirmed that it was an IED (improvised explosive device) blast. Initially claiming two lives instantly, this tragic incident later claimed another life. That of a 12-year-old girl, due to the injuries caused by the murderer.

The suspect who goes by Dominic Martin released a video message on social media taking responsibility for his actions before surrendering himself to authorities.

This revelation has caused a wave of investigations by the police, as reported by The Times of India, who are looking into his claims and the unjustifiable reasons behind his actions.

The incident has gained significant attention because it took place within a community that represents only a small portion of India’s religious makeup. According to the latest census in 2011, Christians make up around 2 percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion people. The Jehovah’s Witnesses, an American Christian evangelical movement known for their door-to-door evangelism efforts, have approximately 60,000 members in India based on information from their church’s website.

Attacking peaceful groups

This incident is particularly disturbing given the peaceful and non-violent principles upheld by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who are also politically neutral. They have faced persecution and restrictions in various countries and were among those who also suffered because of the Nazis at the Holocaust.

The bomb explosion further contributes to tensions between different communities within this prosperous southern state, which is home to more than 31 million people. According to census data, Muslims make up approximately 26 per cent of the population. Saheb urged the public to maintain peace and avoid sharing provocative content on social media platforms.

Some media state that it’s worth mentioning that the day before the explosion, there was an unrelated event where Khaled Mashal, a former Hamas leader, spoke at a pro Palestinian rally in Malappuram, Kerala—around 115km north of the blast site. Although there is no evidence linking these two events, some posts on social media have been suggesting connections, which has only added to the tensions.

Mashal’s address was organized by a youth solidarity group associated with the Islamic Jamaat e Islami Hind party in Kerala—a move that drew criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is Hindu nationalist.

This tragic incident highlights the urgent need for interfaith dialogue and understanding within our diverse and complex socio religious landscape. As investigations continue, it’s essential to keep in mind both the victims and their families and emphasize peace and unity during these challenging times, but without forgetting to question what is the responsibility of governments when discriminating against religious minorities and of mainstream media when when propagating the mentioned discrimination and slandering against religious movements as an almost “politically correct” way of talking about them.

The Perils of State-Sanctioned Hate

The recent bomb blast at a Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in Kalamassery, India, serves as a grim reminder of the dire consequences of religious intolerance. It underscores the potential dangers when hate, whether overt or subtle, is propagated or condoned by state agencies (and increased by media) against religious minorities.

Religious minorities, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses in India and Europe, the Ahmadiyya Muslims, Baha’is, members of Scientology and others, often find themselves on the receiving end of societal prejudices, which can be exacerbated (if not produced) by state-sanctioned hostility. And this happens not only in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Russia, but also in allmighty human rights defenders such as Germany, France, Hungary and others. I know, it is unbelievable that one would put countries such as Germany and France at the level of Russia or China, but unfortunately there are similarities.

Back to the current case, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian evangelical movement, has faced persecution and restrictions globally, despite its peaceful and politically neutral stance. The recent incident in India, involving a former member of the church, has brought the issue of religious intolerance into sharp focus and the role played by states and by antireligious organizations in radicalizing ex-members of groups.

State agencies in many societies have a significant impact on shaping public opinion. When these agencies promote or tolerate prejudices against religious minorities, they indirectly contribute to creating an environment of hostility and intolerance. This kind of atmosphere has the potential to radicalize individuals, driving them towards violent and terroristic acts.

A Closer Look at the Role of State Agencies in Propagating Religious Intolerance

The idea that state-sanctioned hate can be a catalyst for acts of terror is supported by numerous studies and reports. These sources have highlighted the correlation between state-sponsored discrimination and the increase in hate crimes and acts of terror. For example, organizations like Human Rights Watch have repeatedly drawn attention to instances where state policies and rhetoric have fostered an environment conducive to hate crimes. The same has been demonstrated by numerous reports and analyses by Human Rights Without Frontiers and even the specialised magazine BitterWinter.

In countries like India, which has a diverse socio-religious landscape, the role of state agencies becomes even more crucial. The promotion of hate or prejudice against any religious group has the potential to disrupt the delicate balance of religious harmony.

The recent tragic incident in Kalamassery serves as a stark reminder that unchecked hatred and intolerance can escalate into violence. It emphasizes the global responsibility for state agencies to use their influence responsibly by promoting unity and understanding instead of division and hostility.

State agencies have a crucial role beyond just maintaining law and order. They should actively focus on promoting religious tolerance and respect. Achieving this requires implementing policies, like the ones highligthed in the latests report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, that encourage interfaith dialogue, educational programs that foster understanding and acceptance of various faiths and strict laws against hate speech and crimes.

To conclude, the idea that state sanctioned hate can lead to acts of terror carries significant weight. It is a call for state agencies worldwide to reflect on their influence in shaping societal perspectives towards religious minorities. Only by actively promoting tolerance and respect for all religions can we hope to prevent such tragic incidents in the future.

References:

1. “Bomb blast at Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in India kills 3, wounds dozens” – The Times of India

2. “Suspect in Jehovah’s Witnesses bomb blast surrenders to police” – Press Trust of India

3. “Jehovah’s Witnesses in India” – Church’s Official Website

4. “Intercommunal tensions in India’s southern state” – Census Data

5. “Former Hamas leader addresses pro-Palestinian rally” – Bharatiya Janata Party Official Statement.

6. “State-Sanctioned Hate and the Rise of Terror Acts” – Human Rights Watch

7. “Religious Intolerance and its Impact on Society” – United Nations Reports

8. “The Role of State Agencies in Promoting Religious Harmony” – International Journal of Religious Freedom.

Economic losses from weather and climate-related extremes in Europe reached around half a trillion euros over past 40 years

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Newsdesk
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Around 3% of all such events were responsible for 60% of the losses according to the EEA briefing ‘Economic losses and fatalities from weather- and climate-related events in Europe’, which together with an updated EEA indicator assesses data on economic losses due to extreme weather- and climate-related events. While it is generally agreed that global economic losses increased over the last half century, (studies of the World Meteorological Organisation), the available data do not show in a clear trend of losses for Europe over the last 4 decades.  The assessment covers the period from 1980-2020 and 32 EEA member countries (including all 27 EU Member States, plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

Adaption crucial for disaster risk reduction, increasing resilience

The aim of the EEA briefing and indicator is to provide more data-based information about the impact of extreme weather events and climate-related hazards like heatwaves, heavy precipitation and droughts and the increased risk they pose to assets and infrastructure and to human health. These events, which are expected to increase due to climate change, are already causing substantial economic losses. Monitoring the impact of such events is important to inform policy makers so that they can improve climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction measures to minimise damage and loss of human life.

The EU’s adaptation strategy aims to build resilience and ensure that Europe is better prepared to manage the risks and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Closing the climate protection gap by increasing insurance coverage can be one of the key financial risk management tools to increase societies’ ability to recover from disasters, reduce vulnerability and promote resilience. EU Member States are also responding by putting in place national adaptation policies, including national, regional and sectoral climate risk assessments.

Key findings

Europe is facing economic losses and fatalities from weather and climate extremes every year and in all regions of Europe. The economic impact of these events varies considerably across countries, the EEA assessment found.

For  EEA member countries, total economic losses from weather- and climate-related events amounted to between EUR 450 and EUR 520 billion (in 2020 euros), for the 1980-2020 period.

  • In absolute terms, the highest economic losses in the period 1980-2020 were registered in Germany followed by France then Italy.
  • The highest losses per capita were recorded in Switzerland, Slovenia and France, and the highest losses per area were in Switzerland, Germany and Italy (based on CATDAT data).
  • Around 23 % of total losses were insured, although this also varied considerably among countries, from 1 % in Romania and Lithuania to 56 % in Denmark and 55 % in the Netherlands (based on CATDAT data).

The assessment also found that the overwhelming amount of the fatalities — more than 85%  in the 40-year period — was due to heatwaves. The heatwave of 2003 caused most fatalities, representing between 50 and 75% of all fatalities from weather and climate-related events over the last four decades, according to the data. Similar heatwaves after 2003 caused a significant lower amount of fatalities, as adaptation measures were taken in different countries and by different actors.

Background

Despite existing recommendations from the European Commission and other international organisations, there is currently no mechanism in place in most EU Member States to collect, assess or report economic losses from weather and climate-related extreme events in a homogeneous way and with sufficient detail to support adaptation policies. However some private companies collect these data and the EEA has access to 2 of these private sources with data for 1980-2020: NatCatSERVICE from Munich Re and CATDAT from Risklayer.

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