Erzurum’s police, in eastern Turkey, arrested 15 people after a group of people threw stones at an opposition campaign bus. During the provocation, the candidate for vice president from the main opposition bloc of the National Alliance, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is also the mayor of Istanbul, spoke at an impromptu rally from the roof of the bus.
Teams from the Erzurum Provincial Police Department reviewed the camera footage of the attack and identified 19 suspects. Police detained 15 people as investigations continue into the capture of the other four people, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Accordingly, the identification of the participants in the attack continues.
However, a Turkish court released 14 people shortly after being detained under judicial review measures, one of whom was released immediately after testifying.
Meanwhile, 17 people who were wounded with daggers in the attack have been discharged from hospitals.
A group of ultranationalists threw stones at the election bus of Istanbul’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) mayor and vice presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu as he addressed citizens during a rally in the eastern province of Erzurum on May 7.
Istanbul’s mayor said after the incident that he was fine but would file criminal complaints against the governor and security forces for failing to prevent the attack. The opposition complained that the police officers who were nearby watched the attack indifferently.
Leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Istanbul’s mayor of instigating the attack on himself.
Photo: Ekrem Imamoglu / Credit to The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola´s address at This is Europe -debate with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Europe Day, 9 May 2023.
On Europe Day – this day of symbolism, of history and of the future, we welcome Germany’s Bundeskanzler, Olaf Scholz.
“World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it” – so begins the Declaration presented by Robert Schuman on 9th May 1950. It rings true today.
Every year, on this day, we celebrate Europe. An unprecedented project of reconciliation fundamentally based on solidarity. A project that brings people together without trying to make us all the same. A project that lit a light that permeated through iron curtains and concrete walls.
Europe Day reminds us of what is possible when we come together, of the responsibility that we have to keep moving forward.
The Schuman Declaration, our European Union, took bravery. Change takes courage.
The European Union is not perfect, I know many share our frustrations with some of our processes. But the fundamental pillars of hope, of possibility, of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, make this political project unique. We cannot take what we stand for, and we have achieved – and what we must achieve still – for granted. We must keep evolving.
European progress, was made possible thanks to daring solutions. And more daring solutions will be needed moving forward.
I know that we can count on Germany for just that. Yours, dear Chancellor, is a Member State, which shows unwavering commitment to the betterment of Europe.
So let me thank you for Germany’s support for Ukraine; for Germany’s contribution to the construction of new EU security architecture; for Germany pushing new technologies, for Germany defending human rights, such as the rights of women and men in Iran, and for so much more.
Chancellor you have said “We have every reason to be more optimistic about our future”. That is the spirit that must drive us forward.
We must reform. Anticipate change, not suffer it. We must find that courage that underpinned the Schuman Declaration again. We must help that light keep shining brighter.
We know that we are so much stronger, when we are together. And we will look to Germany – as to all Member States – to help reform and prepare our European future.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz debated with MEPs during the ‘This is Europe’ series, calling for a united Europe capable of changing to secure its place in the world of tomorrow.
Chancellor Scholz stressed that Europe has a global responsibility beyond its borders “because the well-being of Europe cannot be separated from the well-being of the rest of the world.” The world of the 21st century, he said, “will be multipolar, it already is”. Chancellor Scholz identified three lessons for the EU: “First, Europe’s future is in our hands. Secondly, the more united Europe is, the easier it will be to secure a good future for ourselves. And thirdly, not less but more openness and more cooperation are the order of the day.”
To secure Europe’s place in the world of tomorrow, the EU must change, the Chancellor said. “We need a geopolitical EU, an enlarged and reformed EU, and an EU open to the future”.
On Russia’s war against Ukraine, he said the EU must now set the course for the reconstruction of Ukraine. A prosperous, democratic, European Ukraine is the clearest rejection of Putin’s imperial, revisionist and illegal policy.
In a multipolar world, the countries of the global south are important partners, Olaf Scholz continued. Europe must stand up for food security and poverty reduction and it must keep its promises of action on international climate and environmental protection.
With regard to enlargement, the Chancellor said, “an honest enlargement policy implements its promises – first and foremost to the states of the Western Balkans”. He also announced to push for extending qualified majority decision-making to more decisions dealing with foreign policy and taxation.
Speaking about migration and asylum, he said, “we are united by the goal of better managing and regulating irregular migration – without betraying our values.” In many parts of Europe, workers, from third countries are needed he continued, and if Europe links regular migration with the demand that countries of origin and transit also take back those who have no right to stay in Europe, “then all sides will benefit”.
Reactions from MEPs
Reacting to Mr Scholz’s EU reform proposals, MEPs demanded courage from Europe’s leaders to take the EU into the future and called on Chancellor Scholz to push for a Convention before the 2024 European elections. Several MEPs demanded the continuance of support for Ukraine in the Russian war of aggression until a just peace is secured, while others criticised Germany for providing tardy support to Ukraine, and the EU for providing more money to the arms industry.
A number of MEPs stressed the importance of fighting the economic impact on European citizens of the Russian war in Ukraine and some called for new legislation to ensure social justice as well as for a reform of the EU electricity market to guarantee fair prices. Some speakers stressed the importance of Europe’s green and digital transition and requested more investment in these areas so that Europe can lead on technological breakthroughs.
L. Ron Hubbard’s “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” made its debut on May 9, 1950, and the results of the technique contributed to its swift rise to the top of bestseller lists. Numerous Scientology Churches, Missions, and organizations across the globe mark the book’s release date, as do countless others who have just picked it up, read it, and found comfort and hope in it.
“In Europe, we are experiencing the understatement that Dianetics is needed like the water in the sea, in a moment in which too many people in the higher echelons of society continue to let themselves succumb to their reactive minds rather than acting analytically. Misery, hunger, corruption and war should have never happened again in our world” says Ivan Arjona, EU and UN representative for Scientology, “and Dianetics can greatly contribute to this still today”.
In an article published in World Religion News, “Dianetics is Still Needed and Timely After 73 Years” it is explained that the postwar world groped for answers; that the United Nations came into being essentially to forestall any future global conflagration by bringing the combatants to the table rather than the battlefield; and that scholars and philosophers, theologians and scientists alike knew that politics and diplomacy alone could not provide a permanent solution to the problems of insanity, criminality and their ultimate fruits, conflicts and bloodshed.
It is with the above introduction that the article signals two quotes from the author of Dianetics, “Attack unreason, not the society or the man,” and “There is a higher goal, a better goal, a more glorious victory than gutted towns and radiation-burned dead. There is freedom and happiness and plenty and a whole Universe to be won,” and so many Scientologists in Europe have come to think that, according to Arjona:
“there was not a better time to publish such a brilliant ‘weapon’, a weapon against irrationality and cruel behaviors.”
Dianetics and the European Union
Asked about the relation between the launching of Dianetics and the creation of the European institutions, in view of the coincidence, Ivan Arjona stated that
“By coincidence or not, the fact is that it was also on May 9th, 1950, the same day as the call for a European Community to repair the devastation after World War II. L Ron Hubbard launched the most popular book on the power of thought and the human being, which began helping each person to spread a smile. That book is the bestseller Dianetics.”
He also stated that Hubbard’s discoveries on the field of the mind and the spirit
“led to the birth of the Scientology religion in 1952. Since then, millions of people in more than 160 countries celebrate this religious holiday every May 9th as the milestone of the book that today, as it celebrates its anniversary in a world on the verge of hysteria, fear and despair, it continues to help spread a smile toward a better world”.
A religious holiday
Dianetics is so accepted as the founding stone of the Scientology religion, that its publishing date is even marked in the religious holidays’ calendar that the Spanish government publicizes through its Foundation Pluralism and Convivence.
Dianetics, an adventure in 50 languages
Most bookstores (physical or online) have “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” and it exists and is acquired worldwide in 50 languages. The experience might easily be started with “The Dianetics Seminar”, which was launched in 2009 by Scientology’s ecclesiastical leader Mr David Miscavige. There are Scientology Churches, Missions and organisations all throughout the world that offer the Dianetics Seminar but “if you don’t have one near, you can always watch L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘What is Dianetics?’ on the Scientology Network to learn more” concluded Arjona.
In the book’s first few pages, L. Ron Hubbard penned the words:
“You are beginning an adventure… Treat it as an adventure. And may you never be the same again.”
L. Ron Hubbard
As a last statement, Arjona explained that “In celebration of this 73rd anniversary of Dianetics, the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights, located in Brussels, is organizing showings of introductory videos for people who want to either help themselves, their families, friends or society at large”.
In the month of April alone, more than 600 people were killed in violence in the country’s capital, according to information gathered by the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). This follows the killing of at least 846 people in the first three months of 2023.
BINUH said that overall, the number of victims of killings, injuries and kidnappings increased by 28 per cent in the first quarter of the year, with a total of 1,634 cases reported.
Mob killings and lynchings of alleged gang members are also on the rise, as “vigilantes take the law into their own hands”, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said. At least 164 such murders were documented in April.
The latest report from OHCHR and BINUH points to the emergence of vigilante groups, “following calls by some political figures and journalists for citizens to form self-defence organizations to fight gang violence”.
Commenting on the findings, the UN rights chief stressed that vigilantism will only “fuel the spiral of violence”.
Extreme violence
The report notes that gangs use snipers on rooftops to “indiscriminately shoot people carrying out their daily activities”. In some instances, gang members burst into neighbourhoods on a killing spree, “burned people alive in public transportation vehicles” and executed “everyone perceived to be opposed to the gang”.
The report also documents the use of sexual violence, including collective rape, “to terrorize and inflict pain” on populations under the control of rival gangs.
According to a local human rights organization quoted in the report, at least 652 women and girls were “subjected to individual and collective rape in gang-controlled areas over the past year”.
Root causes of a ‘human rights emergency’
The UN rights chief underscored that poverty and the lack of basic services were among the root causes of the gangs’ stranglehold over the country.
Earlier this year, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had warned that half the population of Haiti, or some 4.9 million people, were struggling to access food.
“The Government, with support from the international community, must do its utmost to comply with its obligation to provide people with regular and unimpeded access to clean water, food, health and shelter,” Mr. Türk said.
He said a “robust response” was needed to what he billed as a “human rights emergency”.
‘Coordinated international action’ required
Mr. Türk reiterated his call on the international community to “deploy a time-bound, specialized and human rights-compliant support force, with a comprehensive action plan to assist Haiti’s institutions”.
Last month, the country was on the agenda of the Human Rights Council, which adopted a resolution calling for the appointment of an independent rights expert on Haiti.
Sponsored by Haiti itself, the resolution called for “coordinated and targeted international action”.
In line with the resolution, the duties of the new independent expert on human rights in Haiti, William O’Neill, include focusing on the situation of children and of human trafficking and providing advice and technical assistance to the Haitian Government, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations to help promote and protect human rights.
Independent rights experts appointed by the United Nations rights chief in accordance with Human Rights Council resolutions are not UN staff nor are they paid for their work.
More than 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, High Commissioner Türk said, making the country “one of the world’s highest executors”, with at least 209 people executed since the beginning of the year according to sources quoted by the UN rights office (OHCHR), in a press release.
Executions are carried out “mostly” for drug-related offences. Mr. Türk said this was “incompatible with international human rights norms and standards”.
OHCHR said that minorities were over-represented on Iran’s death row, and said that according to sources, at least 45 people, including 22 from the Baluch minority, were executed in the last 14 days alone.
“Most were executed for drug-related charges”, added the UN rights chief.
‘Abominable record’
“At this rate, Iran is worryingly on the same track as last year, when around 580 people were reportedly executed, said Mr. Türk. “This is an abominable record, particularly when you consider the growing consensus for universal abolition of the death penalty.”
Only a small number of States still impose and apply the death penalty, said OHCHR.
On Saturday, Iran executed Habib Chaab, a Swedish-Iranian citizen from the Ahwazi Arab minority, the rights office added, who had been charged and found guilty of “corruption on earth” – a capital offence under Iran’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Reports on Monday, said that Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare had been executed for crimes including blasphemy, said OHCHR.
Speaking before the Human Rights Council last month, Mr. Türk had called the death penalty an “atavistic relic from the past that should be shed in the 21st century”.
Speaking at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, IOM’s spokesperson Paul Dillon said that according to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, more than 700,000 people were now internally displaced by the fighting, which began on 15 April.
The number of IDPs increased in many areas, including the capital, where clashes were continuing, he said: “Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000. And, of course, prior to the fighting, an estimated 3.7 million people were internally displaced in Sudan.”
Responding to a question about where internally displaced persons were heading, Mr. Dillon said the data was currently preliminary and being analysed. They were moving into multiple states, including White Nile and Khartoum.
Decisions to move were influenced by many different factors, including whether there was conflict in any given area. However, it was difficult for the people to find money, with cash distribution stalled, and the banking system, in effect, shut down.
Fuel is also difficult to come by and expensive, according to IOM.
Deliveries thwarted
“The IOM has stocks of non-food items in six warehouses around the country,” said the IOM spokesperson. “But to date, we have been unable to deliver to those in need.
“The fighting must end and humanitarians must be allowed to resume their work, providing assistance to those most in need before the situation spirals further out of control.”
Secretary-General António Guterreson Monday condemned looting at the main compound of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Khartoum over the weekend. This was the latest targeting of humanitarian facilities since the start of the crisis, now into its fourth week. Most, if not all UN agencies and humanitarian partners, have been impacted by large-scale looting.
Information vacuum
“At this point, we don’t have any information, we aren’t even able to confirm the extent of the looting in the Khartoum office, but reiterate that the food, the vehicles, the fuel, the assets that have been looted from WFP, go towards the response for the people in Sudan. And this directly hurts the people of Sudan,” said Isheeta Sumra, WFP’s Communications Officer speaking from the agency’s headquarters in Rome.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reported attacks and looting of healthcare facilities in Sudan.
“Since 15 April, WHO has verified 28 attacks on health, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries. More reports are under verification,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević.
“These attacks include looting, obstruction of access to healthcare, violent attacks using weapons and the forced occupation of facilities. Unfortunately, the looting is affecting healthcare facilities. And this is something that severely undermines the possibility of Sudanese people to seek healthcare.”
At the same briefing, the WHO said 604 people had been killed and more than 5,000 injured since the violence erupted in mid-April between the rival armed factions, although the UN has repeatedly said the figures are likely to be an underestimate.
When Fuminori Tsuchiko arrived in the Ukrainian city last year, he told himself he wanted to do something to help people
An elderly Japanese man decided to open a free cafe in Kharkiv, Reuters reported.
When Fuminori Tsuchiko arrived in the Ukrainian city last year, he told himself he wanted to do something to help people after the Russian invasion.
Motivated by the plight of people forced by Russian shelling to take shelter in subway stations, the 75-year-old Japanese man from Tokyo decided to stay.
He says he lived in one of the subway stations for months and volunteered to deliver food to people hiding in the subway.
He, together with a Ukrainian they met there, opened a cafe in “Saltyvka”, a district of Kharkiv, mainly thanks to donations from his compatriots made through social media campaigns.
“For seven months, from June to December, I lived underground – in the subway, together with so many Ukrainians,” says Tsuchiko.
FuMi Cafe serves about 500 people a day, he says.
Tsuchiko says he visited Ukraine as a tourist in February 2022 when the Japanese embassy asked him to leave the country because Russia was already preparing for the invasion. He left for Warsaw, but returned after two months.
One of the visitors to the cafe – Anna Tovstopyatova says that she came to make a donation.
“It’s wonderful that there are such honest people with open hearts and souls who sacrifice their lives and time to help and give to others,” says Tovstopyatova.
In the Kharkiv region, the Russian armed forces were stopped, after which the Ukrainian army pushed them back across the Russian-Ukrainian border. Despite the retreat, Russian attacks on the city continued.
There’s no denying that modern tech has massive advantages and benefits in life. Technology can be as simple as a phone app or as complex as automated AI systems. But for work, it can play a key role in providing safety, reducing costs, and helping you find the best resources.
Automation has been around for decades. CNC machining, car manufacturing robots, and tablet press machines are perfect examples. Yet automation has seeped out from the factory floor and into all aspects of work and industries. For example, modern HR consultancy firms use automation to reduce staffing costs and increase efficiency. But your employees can also use the tech to access wage slips, check their work hours and ensure they know what to do.
AI is Reducing Common Challenges
AI has no place in the hiring process at any company. But it does have its uses when it comes to modern work capabilities. Rather than replacing workers, AI is best used to help your staff with complex tasks. One recent survey found that 41% of staff believe AI, if managed properly, will actually make more jobs available instead of taking them. We will just have to wait and see about this. Yet you cannot deny that AI makes common tasks easier, including stacking boxes.
Modern Tech Helps People Learn
No matter the sector, new technologies are everywhere. And when they are used correctly, they are a huge benefit to any business. But there must be a balance that strikes accordingly. And tech is better used when it serves a purpose such as improving safety, increasing efficiency, and helping workers learn. Ongoing learning and training is the best way to reinforce existing skills. And modern engagement with automated solutions such as Cobots is driving the way forward.
Reduced Costs to Your Business
Some believe that replacing humans is inevitable. And it has been proven that for many things, AI can do a better job. And the costs are lower in the long term. But the economic impact through job loss could be a disaster. However, you don’t need to replace anyone. And you can use automated technology to reduce costs through better efficiency. For instance, some of the top staffing agencies run at a lower cost of around 20% because they use digital technologies.
Getting the Balance Right
Of course, there needs to be a balance when we, as a society, begin to replace people with machines. AI is advancing so fast that key tech developers recently met with President Joe Biden to discuss new laws and regulations regarding its use. But from a staffing and business point of view, immediate changes can be made. While AI can aid us with some of the worst issues. There will be a global digital divide that continues to get wider if we don’t use caution.
You can use an array of modern tech to make your life and work easier. Automation has many benefits, and AI can assist with the learning and skill development of your staff. But we must proceed with caution and limit the advancement and deployment of AI to avoid job loss.
European nature is not in a good state and it has shown few signs of improvement over the past years. According to European Environment Agency’s (EEA) briefing, published today, restoration efforts and better ongoing management of ecosystems are needed to safeguard a range of benefits delivered by a healthy nature — to people’s health, food security and effective climate action.
The EEA briefing ‘The importance of restoring nature in Europe’ sums up key evidence on why European ecosystems are in urgent need of concerted restoration efforts both inside existing designated protected areas but also outside these spaces, such as in managed forests, agricultural lands, seas, and urban areas.
Restoring damaged rivers, lakes, wetlands, forests, grasslands, marine habitats and other ecosystems would not only improve the overall resilience and quality of nature in Europe, but would bring many broader societal benefits. For example, the health of habitats for pollinators, such as bees and beetles, is critical for long-term food security in Europe. The condition of forests and wetlands is vital for climate change mitigation, and healthy ecosystems also provide better protection from extreme weather events and pollution, the EEA briefing highlights.
However, despite commitments over several decades, EU Member States have not yet been able to achieve long-term policy targets on nature or change the overall negative trend of declining biodiversity, the EEA briefing reminds. To change this course, it is imperative to restore damaged ecosystems to a good state while also maintaining efforts to protect the healthy ones.
According to the EEA’s latest ‘State of nature in the EU 2020’ assessment, 81% of protected habitats, 39% of protected birds and 63% of other protected species are in a poor or bad state. Many cumulative factors contribute to the pressures on nature in Europe, including intensive agriculture, land take, pollution, unsustainable forestry and climate change.
