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Trans-European transport projects: first go-ahead to new rules

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Trans-European transport projects: first go-ahead to new rules
Vote on Revision of the Regulation on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)

Major EU transport infrastructure projects should focus more on sustainable transport, avoid delays and establish links with Ukraine and Moldova, say transport MEPs.

On Thursday, the Transport and Tourism Committee adopted its position on the review of trans-European transport (TEN-T) rules. This is the EU’s plan to build a network of railways, roads, inland waterways and short sea shipping routes connected through ports and terminals across the European Union. Current TEN-T projects range from Rail Baltica, connecting Helsinki and Warsaw, to Brenner Base Tunnel, linking Austria and Italy, or the Lisbon–Madrid high-speed rail line.

Sustainable transport

The Transport and Tourism Committee advocate for unified technical and operational standards for each transport mode and stress that intermodal transport should be primarily done by rail, inland waterways or short-sea shipping, while any initial and/or final legs can be carried out by road. This should translate into fully electrified railways in the core TEN-T network, running with at least of 160 km/h passenger and 100 km/h cargo trains, which could cross internal EU borders in less than 15 minutes by the end of 2030.

MEPs ask member states to adopt sustainable urban mobility plans by the end of 2025 to integrate different transport modes, including cycling or active mobility, reduce congestion and improve road safety. This plan should become one of the conditions to get EU funding.

No delays

MEPs reaffirm a need to complete major transport infrastructure projects by the end of 2030 on the core TEN-T network, and by the end of 2050 on a comprehensive network focussed particularly on eliminating bottlenecks and missing links and better empowering 11 European Coordinators. To incentivise a quick roll-out of these projects, MEPs support the introduction of an intermediary deadline of 2040. In the event of a significant delay, MEPs suggest the Commission should immediately launch an infringement procedure and reduce or terminate funding.

Partnership with third countries and military mobility

Following Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Transport Committee backed cutting transport infrastructure projects with Russia and Belarus and enhancing instead the partnership with Ukraine and Moldova. MEPs also want EU governments to exclude non-EU businesses from participating in major TEN-T projects, if the Commission deems them to be a security risk.

When constructing or upgrading TEN-T infrastructure, EU countries would have to ensure seamless transfer of military troops and material within the EU, say MEPs. Within one year after the new rules enter into force, the Commission would conduct a study on short-notice large-scale movement to facilitate military mobility planning.

Quotes

Co-rapporteur Barbara Thaler (EPP, AT) said: “Everybody is talking about shifting transport to rail. However, while cars, trucks or planes can cross EU borders without any problems, trains, especially cargo ones, are forced to stop at borders, sometimes for hours, to adapt to the requirements of different member states. That is why it is particularly important to ensure that rail border crossings should take no more than 15 minutes, and there should also be slots for freight trains allocated across borders. It is ambitious, but necessary if we want to succeed in shifting traffic from road to rail.”

Co-rapporteur Dominque Riquet (Renew, FR) added: “Transport infrastructure is essential, serves as the backbone of our economy and prosperity, while increasing cohesion and contributing to achieving the Union’s climate targets. However, we are facing too much delay on the ground; Europe is starting to lag behind our international competitors, and the Union is suffering from too little investment and a lack of political will from the member states. As such, Parliament will make sure that we have a TEN-T regulation which works and delivers for our businesses and citizens.”

Next steps

The draft negotiating mandate was approved by 44 votes in favour, none against and one abstention. Transport Committee MEPs also unanimously (44 votes in favour) backed a decision to start talks with member states on the final shape of the legislation, once plenary gives its green light next week.

A world champion died in defense of Ukraine

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Vitaly Merinov, a four-time world kickboxing champion, died last week in hospital as a result of leg injuries sustained while fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces in Luhansk. The athlete joined the Ukrainian army as a volunteer just days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the war, he was assigned to Ivano-Frankivsk.

Mayor Ruslan Marcinkov confirmed the death of 32-year-old Merinov, who leaves behind a wife and a small child.

The authorities in Kiev estimated that 262 Ukrainian athletes died defending their homeland against Russian aggressors.

For this reason, the Ukrainian government has asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in Paris next year.

Merinov is not the only kickboxer who died fighting the Russians – Ukrainian world kickboxing champion Maxim Kagal died in March last year in the battle for Mariupol as part of the special forces of the dreaded “Azov Battalion”.

Mykola Zabchuk, also a kickboxer, died during the Russian invasion. Among the other famous Ukrainian athletes who lost their lives are the football player Sergey Balanchuk, Ludmila Chernetska (bodybuilding), Alexander Serbinov (athletics), reports the magazine “Sports Angels”. This is a magazine that was created last year with the help of the Sports Committee of Ukraine to report on the situation of athletes in the country, and which has so far published all cases of dead Ukrainian athletes.

Economic recovery pushed EU emissions up in 2021 but long-term trend remains positive, final data

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Economic recovery pushed EU emissions up in 2021 but long-term trend remains positive, final data

Official data, published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA), confirm that the economic recovery in 2021 increased the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions but their level remained lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the EU has reduced its emissions by 30% since 1990. 

The EEA has published the ‘Annual EU greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2021 and inventory report 2023’, which is the EU’s official submission of greenhouse gas emission data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  

The emission inventory shows that EU greenhouse gas emissions increased considerably, by 6.2%, from 2020 to 2021 but remained at lower level than before the pandemic. According to the EEA analysis, the main reasons for the emission increase from 2020 to 2021 were the overall economic recovery after the 2020 lockdowns, increased coal use in the power sector and higher transport demand. 

Considering the entire 1990-2021 period, there is still a clear, long-term trend of decreasing emissions in the EU. The total net greenhouse gas emissions of the 27 EU Member States have decreased by about 30% from 1990 to 2021 while the EU economy has grown by 61%, the EEA report notes.

Annual European Union GHG inventory 1990–2021 and inventory report 2023

Main contributing factors to the long-term decrease include the growing use of renewables, burning less coal, improving energy efficiency, structural changes in the EU economy and milder winters. Despite the increase of 2021, the use of coal in public electricity and heat production has been halved in the EU since 1990. 

Most economic sectors in the EU have reduced their emissions from 1990 to 2021, with biggest cuts in public electricity and heat production. Emissions have increased in transport and cooling sectors, and net removals have decreased in forest land due to increased harvesting and aging and slower growth of forests. 

Later this year, the EEA will publish its annual ‘Trends and projections’ analysis on the EU progress towards its climate and energy goals, and the approximated greenhouse gas emission data for 2022. The EU has committed to an at least 55% reduction in net emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. 

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Remove browser hijackers to improve your online security

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Remove browser hijackers to improve your online security

Browser hijackers are an annoying and potentially dangerous problem that can disrupt your browsing experience and compromise your online security. It occurs when a malicious program or website takes control of your web browser, changing its default settings and redirecting you to unwanted or harmful pages.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to remove browser hijacking and protect your online privacy. Let’s go over some effective methods to remove browser hijackers from your computer.

What is browser hijacker? 

To a full understanding of the issue, it’s best to start with the explanation of what a browser hijacker really is. 

A browser hijacker is a type of malicious software that can take control of your web browser without your permission. Once installed on your computer, a browser hijacker can modify your browser settings, such as your homepage and search engine, and redirect you to unwanted websites or advertisements.

Some browser hijackers can also track your online activity and steal your personal information, such as your login credentials, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. They can be very harmful and can compromise your online security and privacy, making it important to remove browser hijacking as soon as possible.

Identify the Symptoms of Browser Hijacking

The first step to removing a browser hijacker is to identify the symptoms that you are experiencing. Here are some common signs of browser hijacking:

  • Your homepage has been changed without your consent.
  • Your default search engine has been replaced with a different one.
  • You see unwanted toolbars, pop-up ads, or new tabs opening up automatically.
  • Your browser runs slower than usual, and pages take longer to load.
  • You are redirected to unfamiliar or suspicious websites.

If you notice any of these symptoms, it is likely that your browser has been hijacked. In this case, it is important to take action as soon as possible to remove the hijacker and restore your browser’s settings.

How to remove the browser hijackers

If you suspect that your computer has been infected with a browser hijacker, there are several methods you can use to remove it.

First and most recommended method, as it will do the job for you, is using a reputable anti-malware software. It will not only identify any malicious software present on your computer, but also remove it. 

It’s also important to reset your web browser to its default setting, as despite using anti-malware software there may be some unwanted extensions installed or settings changed by the hijacker. You may follow the tips on how to safely open apps on your Mac device. 

Last but not least, update your computers operating system and web browser to the latest version. It’s crucial for the latest security updates. 

Following these steps can help you fight against hijacking effectively. However, to avoid further similar issues, it’s important to know what you may do to prevent the attacks. 

How to prevent browser hijacking 

There are plenty of ways hijackers may get access to your computer. It doesn’t mean you can’t do anything to prevent it, quite the opposite. Following these simple tips may prevent lots of problems arising from browser hijacking. 

One of the most important rules, when you’re online, is to avoid clicking on any email links when you are not sure where they may lead you. Ignore any pop-up adverts, encouraging you to update your Flash Player or your system. 

Downloading any software or app, always use only trust-worthy websites, as free download pages are most likely to infect your computer. 

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Poland demonstrated in defense of the good name of Pope John Paul II

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Poland demonstrated in defense of the good name of Pope John Paul II

Thousands of Poles demonstrated today in defense of the good name of former Pope John Paul II, who was recently accused of covering up pedophile crimes while he was an archbishop, AFP and Reuters reported.

On horseback, in period costumes, or simply with the Vatican flag in yellow and white or the Polish flag in white and red, several tens of thousands of Poles flocked to Warsaw to take part in a National March for the Pope, who died in April 2005. , an AFP journalist reported.

Like all other such initiatives, this march was organized by Catholic organizations with the open support of the government and the ruling nationalist populist Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak also took part in the procession.

Just as every honest person protects his children, his father and mother, so every Pole protects Pope John Paul II, read one of the placards carried by participants in the march.

The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, wrote on Twitter that the Poles are passing the test by being bearers of the truth to oppose lies, slander and insults.

We thank God for the immeasurable gift that the Polish Pope was and remains to the Church, to Poland and to the world, stressed PiS chairman Jarosław Kaczynski in a letter to his party members.

We are standing up to protect his honor and good name, Kaczynski said a few months before the parliamentary elections in Poland.

On the same day, a statue of John Paul II was vandalized in central Poland’s Lodz – the figure’s hands were painted red, and the monument’s base was inscribed with “Maxima Cupa” (“The Greatest Guilt”). The text is related to the title of the book by the Dutch correspondent in Warsaw, Eke Overbeek, “The Greatest Guilt. John Paul II Knew”, published recently in Poland.

In this book and in a report on the private television Te Pau En, it is alleged that the future pope covered up cases of pedophilia. This sparked a heated debate in Poland between the executive and the Church on the one hand, and liberals and the left on the other.

Copenhagen Zoo is implementing a new strategy to encourage the love lives of its two pandas

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Gaston de Persigny
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Females are fertile for only 24 to 36 hours in the spring

Concerned that its two pandas are late to breed, Copenhagen Zoo is implementing a new strategy to encourage their love lives, as the species are known to have difficulty reproducing, AFP reported.

The zoo in the Danish capital decided to put the pandas in the same enclosure a month earlier than usual, so that they can get used to each other before the moment of breeding, instead of quarreling noisily during the fateful period.

The zoo’s website posted a photo of the two animals staring at each other with disdain – a sign that love is not yet “in the air”.

On loan from China for 15 years, Mao Sun and Xin Er arrived in Copenhagen in the spring of 2019. Since then, all attempts to breed them have failed.

“We are trying an approach that has been successful with our polar and brown bears – to collect them now, even though Mao Sun will not be ready for love for several weeks,” explains veterinarian Mads Frost Bertelsen.

A panda’s break-up period lasts only two to three days, and zoo officials hope their new strategy will allow the animals to get to know each other again, fight and vent their frustrations before the moment of passion arrives.

“Pandas live alone and don’t like the company of others much, except for the few days a year when the female is driven away. During the first few days they are together, there can be serious clashes. We hope that the extra time that will spend together will allow them to stop fighting and focus on mating when the time is right,” says Bertelsen.

Breeding pandas is particularly difficult in captivity. Females are only fertile for 24 to 36 hours in the spring, according to the International Panda Conservation Organization.

“The problem is that they don’t really know what to do and they only have one time a year to train,” adds the vet. He adds that animals also have a problem with synchronization.

According to the organization, the panda population numbers 1,864 specimens, of which 600 live in captivity worldwide.

Source: Zoologisk Have København Instagram (@copenhagenzoo)

Illustrative Photo by Diana Silaraja:

Artificial intelligence can predict depression and anxiety

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Newsdesk
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It has been found that mental health problems are often reflected in the language used by sufferers

Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil are using artificial intelligence and the social platform Twitter to create predictive models for depression and anxiety, which in the future may help detect these conditions before clinical diagnosis. This was reported by the electronic edition “Medical Express”.

The results of the research were published in the magazine “Language Resources and Evaluation”.

The first element of the study is the construction of a database called “SetembroBR”. It contains information from a Portuguese-language text analysis and a network of connections involving 3,900 Twitter users who, before the study, said they had been diagnosed or treated for mental health problems. The database includes all public posts of these users, or a total of about 47 million short text messages.

“First we manually collected the posts, analyzed the tweets of about 19,000 people, equivalent to the population of a village or small town. Then we used two sets of databases – of people diagnosed with mental problems and a randomly selected control group,” said the head of the study by Ivandre Paraboni, a lecturer in the College of Arts, Sciences and Humanities at the University of São Paulo.

In the study, tweets of friends and followers of the participants were collected and analyzed. “These people are attracted to each other. They have common interests,” said Paraboni, who is also a researcher at the Center for Artificial Intelligence.

The second phase of the study is still ongoing, but there are already preliminary results. According to them, it is possible to predict whether a person is prone to develop depression based only on his friends and followers on social networks, without analyzing the content of his personal posts.

Previous research has found that mental health problems are often reflected in the language used by sufferers. Most of these studies analyzed texts in English.

Photo by cottonbro studio:

Ukraine weaponized pickups – tiny Grad on the go

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Ukraine weaponized pickups – tiny Grad on the go

Western countries are supplying a lot of weapons to Ukraine, believing that Ukraine can win this war. In addition to weapons, SUVs and pickup trucks are also sent to Ukraine. While they are mainly meant for logistics, pickup trucks sometimes are transformed into real multiple launch rocket systems.

Pickup serves as a good platform for a light multiple launch rocket system. Image credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 2.0)

It’s like a tiny BM-21 Grad – this is how you can jokingly describe these improvised missile systems. But maybe not so jokingly – both Grad and these armed pickups are considered to be rocket artillery and are designed to destroy everything in a certain area. These weapons can be highly effective.

Pickups with their rocket launchers are very fast compared to other self-propelled weapons of this type. And, depending on the engine and the chassis system, they find their way off-road as well.

What are these pickup trucks launching? Defense Express explained last June that S-8 rocket launchers are being mounted on pickup trucks in Ukraine.

Developed back in the 1970s, the S-8 is an 80 mm rocket originally designed for aircrafts. The S-8 rockets are used by various fighter jets, attack aircraft, and helicopters. Since S-8 rockets have been in service since 1984 and were adapted to a huge variety of Soviet aircraft, Ukraine has a considerable stockpile of them. And the defenders of Ukraine found ways to launch them from pickup trucks.

The type of pickup doesn’t matter – the vehicle is just a base for the launcher. Image credit: 129th Territorial Defense Brigade of Kryvyi Rih City via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)

The S-8 is not some guided missile, but that only makes their improvised use easier. S-8 rockets can carry many different types of warheads, including anti-armor, fragmentation, incendiary, smoke, and others.

It looks like the defenders of Ukraine are mounting multiple S-8 air launchers on a simple welded frame. The good thing is that the S-8 missiles were designed for volleys – there are both 7 and 20 rocket launchers.

They can be modified, adapted to a different number of rockets. The frame designed by the defenders of Ukraine is not complicated – the rockets are aimed by hand. The switchgear is located in the cab of the pickup.

On April 15, 2023, a new video with pickup truck MLRS was published online:

 

It’s hard to say what the range of a system like this is. Some time ago Belarus developed a ground-based multiple launch rocket system based on the S-8, capable of launching a salvo of up to 80 such rockets. It was claimed to have a range of 3-5 km.

By comparison, the BM-21 Grad system can aim at targets of up to 52 km away. However, the S-8 rockets are quite cheap and smaller (the Grad uses 122 mm rockets), allowing for a greater number of them to be launched for more destruction.

In the case of the Ukrainian pickups, 3-5 km is a good combat range, because having launched its rockets the pickup can peel off at high speed before being noticed.

 

Source: Ukraina 365 Telegram , Wikipedia


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Number of M109 howitzers in Ukraine substantially increased, after the latest arrivals

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Number of M109 howitzers in Ukraine substantially increased, after the latest arrivals

Ukraine now operates around 80 units of M109s self-propelled howitzers of various configurations.

Italian battery of M109L self-propelled howitzers in entrenched firing positions. Image credit: SGT. Brian Gavin, U.S. Army

The number of M109s in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces jumped up after Italy donated 30 vehicles from its own stocks.

A batch of Italian M109L howitzers was spotted several days ago, en route to Ukraine. Apparently, they were part of a larger delivery – different media sources already mentioned that the first units have been operating in Ukraine “for several weeks”.

This military assistance from the Italian Army took some time to arrive to its destination. The decision to donate M109Ls was made back in 2022. But before they could be sent, these machines had to be refurbished, and the funds for this purpose were provided by the United States.

The situation for this move was very favorable, because Italy had recently phased out their M109L artillery units in favor of the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000). In 2010, Italy operated 221 units of these self-propelled howitzers. There is a real chance that more of them could be provided to Ukraine in the future, following the successful delivery of the first batch.

Despite being an older platform, M109 remains a very capable vehicle. The Italian version corresponds to the M109A3 modification, but uses a domestically made 155mm 39 caliber gun from Otobreda (Oto Melara) instead of the standard M185 cannon. This machine can reach 60 km/h (37 mph) speed on the road, and 25 km/h (15.5 mph) off-road. Its total weight is 28 tons. Its operational range is up to 320 km (around 200 miles).

In terms of combat performance, M109L has a firing range 24 to 30 kilometers (15-19 miles), depending on the type of artillery round. It can shoot up to 4 rounds per minute in a maximum mode, for a period of 3 minutes, or 1 rpm in sustained mode.


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SpaceX Starship flight to test today

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SPACEX. SpaceX will be launching today Monday, April 17 at 8:00 a.m. CT the first flight test of a fully integrated Starship and Super Heavy rocket from Starbase in Texas.

The official website explains that “Starship is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond. With a test such as this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship”.

To date, the SpaceX team has completed multiple sub-orbital flight tests of Starship’s upper stage from Starbase, successfully demonstrating an unprecedented approach to controlled flight. These flight tests helped validate the vehicle’s design, proving Starship can fly through the subsonic phase of entry before re-lighting its engines and flipping itself to a vertical configuration for landing.

In addition to the testing of Starship’s upper stage, the team has conducted numerous tests of the Super Heavy rocket, which include the increasingly complex static fires that led to a full-duration 31 Raptor engine test – the largest number of simultaneous rocket engine ignitions in history. The team has also constructed the world’s tallest rocket launch and catch tower. At 146 meters, or nearly 500 feet tall, the launch and catch tower is designed to support vehicle integration, launch, and catch of the Super Heavy rocket booster. For the first flight test, the team will not attempt a vertical landing of Starship or a catch of the Super Heavy booster.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin ~45 minutes before liftoff. As is the case with all developmental testing, this schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to stay tuned to our social media channels for updates.

As we venture into new territory, we continue to appreciate all of the support and encouragement we have received from those who share our vision of a future where humanity is out exploring among the stars!

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