From May 29 to June 2, 175 countries reached agreement on an international treaty to combat plastic pollution.
Speaking during the opening on Monday, UNEP chief Inger Andersen bluntly stated that “we cannot recycle our way out of this mess”, adding that “only elimination, reduction, a full life-cycle approach, transparency and a just transition can bring success.”
And in his introductory speech, Emmanuel Macron described plastic pollution as “a time bomb”: “Today, we extract fossil fuels to produce plastic, which we then burn. This is ecological nonsense.
After five days of laborious negotiations, a first version will be examined in November at a meeting in Nairobi (Kenya), with a view to a definitive treaty by the end of 2024.
At the latest meeting, led by France and Brazil, the proposed resolution was adopted in plenary session at Unesco headquarters in Paris on Friday evening.
According to the text, “the International Negotiating Committee (INC) requests its chairman to prepare, with the assistance of the secretariat, a draft of the first version of the legally binding international treaty”. The negotiators, who had been meeting since Monday, were only able to get to the heart of the matter on Wednesday evening, after two days of blocking by Saudi Arabia and several Gulf countries, Russia, China, Brazil and India. This blockage was linked to the question of whether or not to resort to a two-thirds majority vote, in the event of a lack of unanimity during the future examination of a draft treaty. In a five-line statement acknowledging the divergences, the subject was postponed.
The discussions revealed contradictory approaches: on the one hand, the advocates of an ambitious agreement, who want to tackle plastic from production to disposal. The latter, led by Norway and Rwanda and including the European Union and Japan, are betting on binding targets for reducing plastic production, and on banning the most problematic uses (including single-use plastics). On the other hand, a group of countries that are major producers of oil and plastic are focusing on the issue of waste, and advocating recycling or other technological solutions to alleviate the problem. These countries, including China and the United States, are pushing for a less restrictive text.
According to the French newspaper Mediapart, 190 lobbyists tried to put the brakes on progress. They defended the interests of global giants such as Nestlé, Lego, Exxon Mobil and Coca-Cola, and French companies such as Carrefour, Michelin, Danone and Total Energies.
As well as their representatives, notably the European Plastics Europe association, behind seemingly green structures such as the Alliance to End Plastic Waste NGO (founded by the oil industry) were well represented at Unesco. But all the professional, scientific and associative observers who had turned out in force were unable to get in each day, due to lack of space.
Did you know?
More than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year worldwide, half of which is designed to be used only once. Of that, less than 10 per cent is recycled.
An estimated 19-23 million tonnes end up in lakes, rivers and seas annually. That is approximately the weight of 2,200 Eiffel Towers all together.
Some 11 million tonnes of plastic waste flow annually into oceans. This may triple by 2040 and more than 800 marine and coastal species are affected by this pollution through ingestion, entanglement, and other dangers.
Microplastics – tiny plastic particles up to 5mm in diameter – find their way into food, water and air. It is estimated that each person on the planet consumes more than 50,000 plastic particles per year equivalent to a credit card –and many more if inhalation is considered.
Discarded or burnt single-use plastic harms human health and biodiversity and pollutes every ecosystem from mountain tops to the ocean floor.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama walked from the gates to his residence to the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple, to give a teaching by way of celebration
Dharamsala, HP, India, 4th June 2023
Today is the full-moon day, the principal day, of Saga Dawa, the fourth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when Tibetans remember the birth and enlightenment of Buddha Shakyamuni. His Holiness the Dalai Lama walked from the gates to his residence to the Tsuglagkhang, the Main Tibetan Temple, to give a teaching by way of celebration. As he made his way up the middle of the temple courtyard, he walked from side to side to greet and wave to people gathered there.
Reaching the temple, he greeted a group of Theravada monks who were seated to the right of the throne and in the front row of monks before it. From the steps to the throne, His Holiness raised his folded hands to pay his respects to the Buddha and paused a moment in silent prayer. The ‘Heart Sutra’ was recited in Tibetan as he took his seat, followed by a mandala offering. Tea and bread were served.
“Today, my Dharma brothers and sisters,” His Holiness began, “is when we followers of the Buddha remember the Buddha’s attaining enlightenment.
“As it is said, ‘the Sages do not wash unwholesome deeds away with water, nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands. Neither do they transplant their own realization into others. It is by teaching the truth of suchness that they liberate beings.’
“Motivated by compassion, the Buddha’s intention was to teach to lead sentient beings out of suffering. For many aeons he thought of benefiting sentient beings and ultimately became enlightened. He taught that suffering comes about as a result of causes and conditions. Those causes and conditions are not related to an external agent, such as a creator god, but come about because of sentient beings’ unruly minds. Since we tend to be overwhelmed by attachment, anger and hatred, we engage in actions and create karma, which gives rise to suffering.
“Although things are merely designated and have no objective or independent existence, they appear to exist from their own side and we grasp at that appearance of independent existence. That is to say, we grasp at a distorted view. To help beings clarify this distorted view, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, that suffering must be known and its causes eradicated, cessation must be actualized by cultivating the path.
“He also taught that suffering occurs on different levels of subtlety: the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change and existential suffering. The direct causes and conditions of suffering lie in our actions and mental afflictions. Our distorted view that things have an objective, independent existence is at the root of our mental afflictions. The Buddha taught that, contrary to this, all phenomena are devoid of a substantial core or essence—they are empty of inherent existence. Understanding this acts as a counter force, and the better we understand it the more our mental afflictions are reduced.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the congregation gathered to attend his Saga Dawa teaching at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 4, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
His Holiness took up the ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind’, He pointed out that most of us are subject to pride and arrogance, but this text advises us not to see ourselves as better or superior to other people. The second verse says: ‘Whenever I’m in the company of others, may I regard myself as inferior to all.’ Other human beings, he pointed out, are just like us; they have faults too, but that’s no reason to dismiss or feel disdain for them. If you think of yourself as lower than everyone else, you’ll sow the seed of greater qualities. Humility leads to high status.
The next verse advises, “Don’t let yourself be overcome by mental afflictions.” The Buddha and the great masters who came after him showed how to overcome negative emotions.
“After Buddhism came to Tibet,” His Holiness remarked, “several different traditions arose, such as the Sakya, Nyingma, Kagyu and the Kadampas following the great Indian master, Atisha. The Kadampa masters were renowned for their humility. One of them, the author of these ‘Eight Verses’, Geshé Langri Thangpa was known as Lang-thang with the long face. He wept at the plight of sentient beings. His cultivation of bodhichitta, the awakening mind, was such that he was determined to be of help to others. I recite these verses of his every day.
“As the third verse says, whatever you’re doing and wherever you are, when negative emotions or mental afflictions arise, counter them. When others criticize or abuse you, don’t think of retaliating, offer the victory to them.
“Where the sixth verse says if someone does great wrong by harming you, see them as an excellent spiritual friend, it means that instead of being angry with them, generate compassion. There are communist leaders in China who criticize me and condemn Tibetan culture, but they act this way out of ignorance, short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness—that’s why I feel compassion for them.
“Verse seven says, ‘may I take all their harm and pain secretly upon myself’ and refers to discreetly engaging in the practice of giving and taking quietly in your heart. Finally, verse eight concludes, ‘May I see all things like illusions and, without attachment, gain freedom from bondage.’”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama commenting on ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind’, the subject of his Saga Dawa teaching at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 4, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
His Holiness asked, “What is the main cause of a Buddha? —bodhichitta, the altruistic mind of enlightenment. On the basis of such a mind, the Buddha accumulated merit and wisdom for three countless aeons. Because of bodhichitta he became enlightened. We too should make bodhichitta our principal practice.
“As soon as I wake in the morning, I generate bodhichitta, which often brings tears to my eyes too. The Buddha’s key message was to cultivate bodhichitta. The point is not just to overcome our mental afflictions, but to reach the end of the path by attaining enlightenment.
“When you have bodhichitta, you feel at ease. Anger, hatred and jealousy subside, consequently you can be relaxed and sleep soundly. As people with faith in Avalokiteshvara, you can think of him at the crown of your head, aspire to develop qualities like his and then fall peacefully asleep.
“The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, the Perfection of Wisdom and the nature of the mind, but the essence of all his teachings is the altruistic mind of bodhichitta. If he was to appear among us today, his advice would be the same, develop the awakening mind of bodhichitta. All of us want to be happy and to avoid or to overcome suffering. The way to bring that about is to cultivate bodhichitta. Think of all sentient beings across the expanse of space and aspire to become a Buddha for all of them.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama joining in prayers at the conclusion of his Saga Dawa teaching at the Main Tibetan Temple in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 4, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
His Holiness led the congregation in reciting the following verse three times to formally cultivate bodhichitta:
I seek refuge until I am enlightened In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly, Through the collection of merit achieved by giving and other (perfections) May I achieve Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings.
“The Buddha is our teacher,” he observed, “and it’s because he had Buddha-nature that he was able to train in the path and become a fully awakened being. We too have Buddha-nature and through study and practice can overcome all obstacles to attain enlightenment as he did. If we cultivate bodhichitta steadily, our lives will become worthwhile, meaningful and we can feel at ease—and that’s all for today.”
The Chant-master led a number of prayers that included the thanksgiving mandala, a prayer to the Dharma protectors, a prayer for the flourishing of the Dharma and the Prayer of the Words of Truth.
Having stepped down from the throne, His Holiness came to the edge of the platform and led a threefold recitation of the verse from the end of Jé Tsongkhapa’s ‘Great Treatise on the Stages to the Path to Enlightenment’:
“Wherever the Buddha’s teaching has not spread And wherever it has spread but has declined May I, moved by great compassion, clearly elucidate This treasury of excellent benefit and happiness for all.
This he followed with the last two verses of the Prayer of the Words of Truth:
Thus, the protector Chenrezig made vast prayers Before the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas To fully embrace the Land of Snows; May the good results of these prayers now quickly appear. By the profound interdependence of emptiness and relative forms,
Together with the force of great compassion in the Three Jewels and their Words of Truth, And through the power of the infallible law of actions and their fruits, May this truthful prayer be unhindered and quickly fulfilled.
Smiling and waving to members of the audience, His Holiness continued to repeat the final verse as he walked from the temple towards his residence.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama greeting a group of Theravada monks as he arrives inside the Main Tibetan Temple for his teaching commemorating the Buddha’s birth and enlightenment in Dharamsala, HP, India on June 4, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
Organized under the theme, Realizing the dream: A UN declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent, the Permanent Forum heard from experts and leaders from around the world, including Ms. Nascimento, explaining the challenges they have faced, and the dreams they have for the future.
Her dream is for Black women to “break away from the madness” and “have the power and possibility to decide”.
Activist Valdecir Nascimento at the second session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
“My whole life has been dedicated to the racial struggle. My encounter with the Black movement was a turning point for me. I was 19 or 20 years old when I found the movement.
I went looking for a barber shop to cut all my hair because my straight hair no longer fit me. I could not continue with those aesthetics after what the movement told me.
My whole life is attached to this relationship: the existence of the Black movement, as a subject.
I was born in the stilt houses of Alagados in Bahia during the first stilt house occupation in Latin America. What brought me to the global level was essentially being born in that place, and knowing that you are born fighting.
If the real colonized Brazil was born in the northeast, we experienced processes, including the liberation and autonomy struggle, much earlier on than in the southeast.
When the resources come and if resources are limited, they get taken away. Resources are not always distributed based on regional struggles. Resources also get distributed according to narratives folks want to hear. And I used to say, and I used to talk to Nilma Mendes, who is a colleague from Belém do Pará, from those days in the 1980s.
She used to ask me, ‘Val, how many enemies do you make a day?’ I said to her, with my eyes filled with tears, that where I came from, I learned that we can’t just let anyone walk all over us.
Empowering Black Women: Valdecir Nascimento’s Vision for Equality
‘This is my dream’
Part of my dreams for Black women of today, still have not come true the way I would like, but they slowly are.
I want Black women of today to break away from this madness that we are all goddesses, and we need to come up with all solutions for the world.
We are not all goddesses and don’t need to come up with all solutions for the world. We can enjoy life, and life can be the simplest thing in the world, but I want us to have the power and possibility to decide.
This is my dream.”
Poster for a meeting on Black rights in Brazil in 1987.
Of this number, 2.4 million “have needs so severe and complex that their survival and dignity is at risk,” Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the CAR, told journalists in Geneva.
The conflict in neighbouring Sudan has further exacerbated needs, and a $465 million humanitarian plan for the country was amended to include support for some 25,000 Sudanese and CAR nationals fleeing the fighting, as well as local communities hosting them.
“Our priority remains assisting the most vulnerable sections of the Central African society,” he said. “In addition, we will continue to support those suffering from the consequences of the conflict in Sudan, both from the displaced and host community.”
Mr. Ag Ayoya provided a background to the humanitarian crisis in the CAR.
Repeated military confrontations between various armed groups have uprooted one in five people from their homes, forcing them to find refuge elsewhere in the country or across the border.
Flooding last year also affected more than 100,000 people, almost three times more than on previous occasions, and more than 6,000 homes were destroyed.
“The country is also marked by decades of lack of investments in adequate socio-economic infrastructures, services and livelihoods,” he added.
“Basic services are often unavailable to the population, worsening people’s living conditions and eroding their resilience to the point that a large majority is forced to adopt negative coping mechanisms.”
A ‘devastating human cost’
As a result, three out of five citizens lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and only 55 per cent of children complete elementary school.
There is also a “devastating human cost” as every hour, two women or girls fall victim to gender-based violence. Nearly 5,000 cases were reported in the first quarter of the year alone.
War and pandemic pressures
The humanitarian situation has worsened due to the conflict in neighbouring Sudan, he reported. Vulnerable families were already finding it hard to meet their basic needs due to the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The arrival of nearly 14,000 Sudanese asylum seekers and Central African repatriates in the northeast, as well as the end of commercial traffic across the border, puts additional pressure on the limited resources available to the 130,000 extremely vulnerable people in the region,” Mr. Ag Ayoya said.
Racing against time
He also highlighted the difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid in the CAR, which “is often a race against time and a volatile security situation.”
During the rainy season, large parts of the country are inaccessible by road, requiring air lifts, while “since 2022, approximately every second day, an aid worker experiences violence or a security incident.”
Despite these challenges, humanitarian partners continue to find ways to support vulnerable communities, he said.
Mobilizing for emergencies
They reached nearly two million people in 2022, or more than 90 per cent of those targeted, and 658,000 people during the first three months of this year alone.
Aid partners are also quick to mobilize in the face of emergencies, he added.
“In the first few weeks after the start of to the conflict in Sudan, humanitarian partners prepositioned 155 tons of emergency cargo in the northeast ahead of the start of the rainy season and have since distributed live-saving assistance,” he said.
An addendum to the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for the CAR was also developed.
This was done to reflect additional budgetary needs of $69 million to assist some 25,000 people fleeing the fighting – both Sudanese citizens and returning nationals – and roughly 25,000 members of host communities.
Omar Harfouch, leader of the initiative ‘Third Lebanese Republic’ and anti-corruption fighter, has denounced the anti-Semitic decision of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to cancel the Lebanese State’s contract with French lawyers seeking to recover the Lebanese funds looted by the political class, passed illegally and hidden in European banks, recently frozen, because one of the lawyers belonged to the Jewish religion.
The leader of the initiative « the Third Lebanease Republic « and anti-corruption fighter, denounces the anti-Semitic decision of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, to cancel the Lebanese State’s contract with French lawyers seeking to recover the Lebanese funds looted by the political class, passed illegally and hidden in European banks, recently frozen, because one of the lawyers belonged to the Jewish religion.
For Harfouch, the whole world must shed light on the racist, sectarian and anti-Semitic Lebanese laws which pursue any Lebanese woman or man if he communicates, treats or is by chance next to a Jewess or a Jew anywhere in the world, and it is completely against human rights, according to the UN.
Ahmadi spokesperson interviewed by Willy Fautre for The European Times (about members of the "Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light")
On 24 May, over 100 members of the Ahmadi Religion – women, children and elderly people – from seven Muslim-majority countries, where they are considered heretics, presented themselves at the Turkish-Bulgarian border to lodge a claim for asylum with the Bulgarian Border Police but they were denied access to it by the Turkish authorities.
A few days later, a Turkish court released a deportation order concerning over 100 members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light from seven countries. Many of them, especially in Iran, will face imprisonment and may be executed if they are sent back to their country of origin. On 2 June, the lawyers of the group lodged an appeal.
Willy Fautré interviewed Ms Hadil El Khouli, the spokesperson of the Ahmadi asylum-seekers, for The European Times. Hadil El Khouli is a member of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light community in London and she is the human rights outreach coordinator at the religion.
European Times: For several days, over 100 Ahmadis from seven countries have been stuck at the border between Turkey and Bulgaria. What is their situation?
Hadil El Khouli: I woke up on horrible news this morning that literally made my stomach turn.
Just as we filed an appeal yesterday against a deportation order by Turkish authorities to return 104 members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, reports emerged of physical violence, torture and threats of sexual violence by the Turkish police in Edirne, against our members in detention.
A health report put together by the legal team representing the group shows that 32 out of 104 members in detention reported injuries and bruises from the beating, including 10 women and 3 children.
European Times: How did you get to know the testimony of one of the victims?
Hadil El Khouli: Through a leaked audio recording from inside detention, Puria Lotfiinallou, a 26-year-old Iranian youth, recounts harrowing details of the severe beatings he and other members endured.
Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light – Puria Lotfiinallou is on the right. He was threatened with sexual violence by the Turkish Gendarmerie – Photos provided by Hadil El Khouli
He said:
“They hit me and knocked my head on the ground. They took me to the police station, pulled my hair, hit me on the ground several times and beat me.”
Physical violence was not the only form of abuse the group was exposed to. Puria then proceeded to narrate how Turkish Gendarmerie threatened him with sexual violence, asking him to perform oral sex on him, and saying that they would kill him if he tells anyone.
He said:
“Then they took me to the bathroom and here he told me that you should give me a blow job…they told us to falsely say that we are fine and if we don’t say that we are fine, we will hit you and kill you.”
As Puria’s disturbing account was heard over the phone, I could not get his voice out of my mind, a visible stutter could be heard out of fear and shock of what he witnessed.
European Times: What sort of violence were other Ahmadis subjected to?
Hadil El Khouli: Puria also added how even the most vulnerable people were not spared. Elderly men and women with bad health conditions, were beaten until they fell unconscious.
“They treat us like prisoners. Where I was, they beat a 75-year-old man and bruised his leg, and they didn’t even spare an old man. They even took sister Zahra (51 years old) and beat her. She fell unconscious on the ground and her condition was bad, but no one was even looking at her.”
Puria’s account is just one of many we have been receiving over the past few days from men and women of various ages and nationalities, showing Turkish authorities’ deliberate targeting of our members in detention. It is an outrageous violation of international human rights law, international refugee law and freedom of religion.
European Times:What do the Ahmadi asylum-seekers risk if they are sent back to their country of origin?
Hadil El Khouli: The 104 asylum seekers, including 27 women and 22 children from over seven different countries, come from Muslim-majority countries where they are considered heretics and infidels. They are at risk of cruel and inhumane treatment, imprisonment and even death sentence in a country like Iran if Turkey deports them back to their countries of origin.
European Times: How do the Turkish and foreign media cover this issue?
Hadil El Khouli: The tragedy of this pressing situation is being made worse by the media’s absence on the spot and lack of reporting on this issue. There was however a Scottish journalist who tried to cover the issue. He was beaten by the police and detained.
We have been struggling to get international media’s attention to properly report on such an urgent humanitarian crisis. The Turkish state media is reporting false news accusing the journalist of being an agent and a spy for the UK.
Turkey must be held accountable for these grave human rights abuses, the perpetrators must be prosecuted, reparations must be delivered and justice must be served for the victims.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Shall anyone seek contact with Ms. Hadil El Khouli, her contact are: [email protected] or +44 7443 106804
The Mediterranean diet – scientists have examined this popular diet at the cellular level and found that its specific components and possibly the overall diet can increase life expectancy by up to 35 percent.
This promising extension of life expectancy was demonstrated using a model laboratory organisms – worms. But the effects most likely exist in humans, too, researchers argue.
The Mediterranean diet has gained popularity beyond the region it is named after, as more evidence emerges reinforcing its reputation as a nutrition plan that promotes longevity and excellent health.
Research shows that individuals who adhere to the principles of the Mediterranean diet, which includes consuming abundant plant-based foods, fish, and reducing the intake of red meat and dairy products, are generally healthier in many respects and boast better life expectancy compared to those who do not follow these principles. Their overall health is typically assessed based on the risk levels for conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and average lifespan.
However, the specific mechanisms by which the Mediterranean diet yields these results are not yet clear. While there is a wealth of evidence supporting its health benefits, the exact ways in which specific combinations of food components can extend human life remain uncertain.
Fish is a very important component of the Mediterranean diet. Image credit: Micheile Henderson via Unsplash, free license
A study led by researchers at Stanford University aimed to provide some answers by investigating the effects of the Mediterranean diet on life expectancy at the cellular level. The study focused on the impact of a single product, a source of healthy fats, on the lifespan of nematodes (roundworms).
Understanding this mechanism is a significant achievement, according to the researchers. It can provide insights into the effects of various types of fats on health and help understand why dietary habits can contribute to longevity.
“Fats are generally thought to be detrimental to health. But some studies have shown that specific types of fats, or lipids, can be beneficial,” commented geneticist Anne Brunet from Stanford University.
The Mediterranean diet, as defined by its guidelines, is particularly rich in beneficial fats known as monounsaturated fatty acids. These substances can be found in products such as nuts, fish, and olive oil.
One of the healthy fats, oleic acid, became the focus of the aforementioned study where researchers aimed to find connections to life expectancy in lab organisms. It is worth noting that oleic acid is the main monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil and certain types of nuts.
The results of this research could be important for those who aim to life long and healthy lives by extending their life expectancy. Image credit: Nikoline Arns via Unsplash, free license
Through their observations of the effects on the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, the team discovered two advantages of oleic acid: firstly, it protects cell membranes from damage caused by lipid oxidation, and secondly, it increases the levels of two major cellular components called organelles.
This effect turned out to be significant: roundworms fed with oleic acid lived approximately 35 percent longer than those fed with a traditional diet.
One type of organelle, lipid droplets, which act as reservoirs for fats, played a crucial role in accurately calculating the number of days a worm would survive, and directly related to their life expectancy.
Lipid droplets participate in metabolic processes by helping regulate the utilization of fats, converting them into cellular energy.
Biochemists explained that the quantity of lipid droplets in certain worms can serve as an indicator of their remaining lifespan. Worms with a higher number of lipid droplets tend to live longer compared to those with fewer droplets.
The researchers fed roundworms either oleic acid or elaidic acid, a monounsaturated trans-fatty acid found in margarine and processed food. Despite their similar molecular structures, these two acids have fundamentally different effects on health.
Trans fats, such as elaidic acid, are considered unhealthy or “bad” fats as they increase the risk of heart disease, dementia, and other health problems, leading to lower life expectancy.
It was confirmed that worms that were fed oleic acid showed an augmentation in the presence of lipid droplets within their intestinal cells, and this occurrence is directly linked to a prolongation of their lifespan.
On the other hand, worms fed with elaidic acid did not experience an increase in lipid droplets and did not extend their lifespan.
When scientists blocked the gene responsible for producing proteins involved in lipid droplet formation in roundworms, the effect of increased lifespan disappeared.
Both lipid droplets and peroxisomes were more abundant in younger worms, and their levels decreased with age, according to the researchers.
The abundance of lipid droplets and peroxisomes varies based on inherent characteristics, but the worms that naturally had more of these organelles lived longer, similar to the effects of oleic acid.
Oleic acid not only affects organelles but also protects cells by inhibiting lipid oxidation, a chemical reaction that damages cell membranes. In contrast, the effect of elaidic acid is opposite, as it promotes oxidation and compromises cell integrity leading to lower life expectancy.
This is the connection between diet and longevity, according to the researchers who attempted to explain in detail why and how specific components of the Mediterranean diet can extend lifespan.
The conclusions drawn by the researchers can be useful for improving dietary guidelines. They can also provide insights into how to effectively combat aging processes by mimicking the protection against oxidation provided by oleic acid.
However, the researchers acknowledge that these findings should currently be regarded as promising discoveries that require further comprehensive studies to determine if similar results can be obtained by observing humans in terms of improving their life expectancy.
Swiss archaeologists conducting exploratory excavations in the Schaarenwald am Rhein nature reserve earlier this year discovered the location of an ancient Roman watchtower.
It was a site surrounded by a moat (possibly additionally reinforced with a palisade or other wooden structure), almost square, measuring seven by seven meters, the walls of which were about one meter thick. It seems that the Romans built this facility in the late 3rd – late 4th century to protect the northern border of the empire from raids by Germanic tribes. This is clear from a message on the website of the Swiss canton of Thurgau. The exposed tower probably belongs to the system of numerous fortifications built by the Romans between the modern cities of Basel and Stein am Rhein – on the so-called High Rhine, which now partially runs the border between Switzerland and Germany.
Previously, the remains of an observation tower, as well as other evidence of Roman residence – for example, coins or typical items of equipment – have already been found in the research reserve. Of the recent find, not much has survived to the present day. These are mainly mortar residues and a small amount of stone. The reason is probably that the facility was later demolished to reuse the building material.
Let us recall that in Switzerland there is also the Forbidden Mountain, which is connected with the Roman presence here – Pilatus.
The mountain is named after Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death. Therefore, for the local population, it is scary and mysterious, and legends say that it is inhabited by spirits and giants. Legend has it that the spirit of the Roman prefect who condemned Jesus to death took refuge in one of the mountain lakes. For years the ghost was blamed for the storms on the mountain.
In 1387, the fear of him caused the then government of Lucerne to ban the ascent of Pilatus, and this ban was not lifted until several centuries later.
Pilatus, also known as Mont Pilatus) is a limestone mountain in the Emmental Alps region, near Lake Firwald. It is crowned by several peaks, the highest of which is Tomlishorn (2128 m). It is located south of the city of Lucerne, from where it is easily accessible.
MEPs warn meddling in democratic processes will increase in the run-up to the 2024 European Parliament elections - arnaud-jaegers-IBWJsMObnnU-unsplash
Parliament calls for a coordinated strategy to increase the EU’s resilience to foreign interference and manipulation of information, as well as protection of 2024 European elections.
Foreign interference, disinformation, and attacks on democracy are likely to continue in ever-greater numbers and to become more sophisticated in the run-up to the European Parliament elections in June 2024, say MEPs. The warning comes in a report by the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation, adopted by plenary by 469 votes for, 71 against and 75 abstentions.
In the text, MEPs highlight interference on online platforms, protection of critical infrastructure and strategic sectors, interference during electoral processes, covert funding of political activities by foreign actors and resilience to cyberattacks. The report focuses particularly on Russian and Chinese interference in the EU, in countries applying to join the EU, including the Western Balkans, and countries in the Global South.
Meddling in electoral processes
Parliament condemns the dangerous phenomenon of disinformation-for-hire, whereby providers offer disinformation services to government and non-government actors, for example over the dark web, to attack electoral processes. To counter prohibited financial transactions from non-EU countries entering the EU’s political system, MEPs urge the Commission to facilitate the tracking of donations and call on the member states to urgently address the issue of donations from third countries to national political parties.
Critical infrastructure
MEPs also highlight the risks of economic dependence, espionage and sabotage, when foreign companies acquire influence over EU critical infrastructure. Chinese shipping companies have acquired majority or sizeable interests in over 20 European ports, they add . MEPs also recommend banning TikTok at all levels of national government and in the EU institutions and call on the Council and the Commission to exclude the use of equipment and software from manufacturers from high-risk countries, particularly China and Russia, such as ByteDance Huawei, ZTE, Kaspersky, NtechLab or Nuctech.
Coordinated EU strategy
Parliament wants a coordinated EU strategy to include new initiatives alongside improved enforcement of existing provisions, and calls for adequate funding to tackle disinformation and uphold democratic processes. MEPs are requesting the Commission to develop an effective Defence of Democracy Package together with legislation to counter hybrid threats in the EU, taking into account proposals from the Conference on the Future of Europe They also want a permanent European Parliament body to monitor and fight foreign interference.
In adopting this report, Parliament is responding to the expectations of EU citizens to step up the fight against foreign interferences and counter disinformation, online threats and propaganda in an objective and factual way –as expressed in Proposals 23(5), 27(all), 28(2), 33(4), 37(4), 46(2) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Rapporteur Sandra Kalniete (EPP, LV) said: “Foreign interference in democratic processes represents a growing threat to the security of EU member states and the EU, particularly against the backdrop of rapid technological development and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. We must act urgently and implement our recommendations quickly. Significant and lasting investment must be made in our democratic resilience, drawing on the experience of our partners like Ukraine and Taiwan.”
Background
The report follows up on the implementation of the Resolution on foreign interference adopted in March 2022. While preparing the new report, MEPs met with national, European and international policy makers, with intelligence services of EU member states as well as with NATO StratCom in Riga, the Hybrid CoE in Helsinki, with the Australian government and authorities and respective bodies at the UN in New York, and as well with relevant counterparts and authorities in Kyiv, Ukraine.
French MEP Maxette Pirbakas, a member of the Committee on Regional Development and national president of the Rassemblement pour les français d’Outre-mer (RPFOM), was invited to take part in the monthly programme and discuss the problems facing agriculture in Europe.
Hosted by journalist Radouan Bachiri, the programme aims to discuss current affairs within the European Union, as well as topics such as neighbourhood policy, immigration, security and defence, human rights, regional development, international trade, fisheries and agriculture, women’s rights and gender equality, strengthening the integrity of the European Parliament and civil liberties and home affairs.
The MEP was invited to discuss the European Union’s agricultural policy because of her recent visit to Réunion on 25 and 26 May. In her capacity as MEP for Overseas France and national president of the Rassemblement des Français d’Outre-mer (RPFOM), she met with beekeepers from Réunion at the Saint-Philippe town hall.
The beekeepers outlined the challenges and problems facing their sector, including the problem of destroying hives infested with the small beetle.
“Bees have many parasites. One of these parasites is the small hive beetle, which is a colony pest. So in France, there is a systematic policy of eradication as soon as a case is detected. Clearly, if a small beetle, even a single one, is discovered in a hive, the hive is destroyed along with the bees. And not just that hive, but all the neighbouring hives. So it’s no coincidence that for one unfortunate little beetle detected, the government burns down 50 hives, killing millions of bees”, explains Ms Pirbakas.
This parasite poses a serious threat to hives and bee colonies, and beekeepers have asked Ms Pirbakas for help in talking to the European Parliament about this problem.
As a member of the Committee on Regional Development since 2019, the MEP returned in her interview to the objectives and certain fields of action of the REGI Committee.
“The Committee on Regional Development, known as the REGI Committee, is one of the most important committees in the European Parliament. It is important because it implements what is known as cohesion policy, i.e. aid for the development of the least favoured regions to bring them into line with the most favoured. To do this, it has at its disposal ERDF funds, dedicated to aid for innovation and research, digital technology and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The REGI Commission also has access to cohesion funds, which are dedicated to trans-European transport networks and environmental infrastructure projects. Finally, and very importantly, the REGI Committee has the ESF +, the European Social Fund, which finances projects linked to employment, training, apprenticeships and social inclusion”, says Maxette Pirbakas MEP.
🎥 J'étais invitée de #TheEuropeanMonthlyBriefing animé par @BachiriRadouan. Apiculture à la Réunion, avenir de l'octroi de mer dans les Outre-mer, poids de l'agriculture dans l'UE, nous avons balayé un large spectre de sujets. Emission à retrouver ici ↘ https://t.co/ONZJTV7YEn
— Maxette Pirbakas (@MaxettePirbakas) June 4, 2023
The European Union’s agricultural policy is a major issue that requires particular attention. The challenges faced by beekeepers on La Réunion are just one example of the problems facing farmers across Europe. It is crucial that MEPs continue to support and defend the interests of farmers, finding effective solutions to ensure the sustainability and prosperity of the agricultural sector.
“What I stand for is a Europe that is open but not naïve. We need to protect our internal market, but not against all types of imports, only those that are not in line with our values. Other types of agricultural goods are welcome. We’re not afraid of any competition when it’s fair, and I’m telling you this as a farmer”, concludes Mrs Pirbakas.
Discussions and exchanges of information such as those that took place during The European Monthly Briefing help to raise awareness among the public and political decision-makers of the challenges facing European agriculture. Working together to develop agricultural policies is essential.
