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Understanding Time in Europe: A Comprehensive Guide

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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Confused about the time in Europe? This guide provides a clear explanation of the time zones and daylight saving time changes across the continent.

If you’re planning a trip to Europe or need to communicate with someone in a different time zone, it’s important to understand the time differences across the continent. This guide will provide a clear explanation of the time zones and daylight-saving time changes in Europe, so you can stay on schedule and avoid confusion.

Introduction to Time Zones in Europe

Europe is divided into several time zones, ranging from UTC-1 to UTC+4. The time zones are based on the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) system, which is the primary time standard used across the world. Each time zone is one hour ahead or behind the adjacent time zone, with the exception of some countries that have chosen to adopt half-hour or quarter-hour time differences. Understanding the time zones in Europe is essential for scheduling meetings, flights, and other activities.

Time Zones in Western Europe

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Western Europe is divided into four time zones: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Western European Time (WET), Central European Time (CET), and Eastern European Time (EET). GMT is the standard time zone for the United Kingdom and Ireland, while WET is used in Portugal and the Canary Islands. CET is used in most of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. EET is used in countries such as Greece, Romania, and Ukraine. During daylight saving time, the time zones shift forward by one hour, except for GMT which does not observe daylight saving time.

Time Zones in Central Europe

Central Europe is located in the Central European Time (CET) zone, which is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1). This time zone is used in countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland. During daylight saving time, which begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, the time zone shifts forward by one hour to Central European Summer Time (CEST), which is GMT+2. It’s important to note that not all countries in Central Europe observe daylight saving time, such as Iceland and Belarus.

Time Zones in Eastern Europe

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Eastern Europe is located in the Eastern European Time (EET) zone, which is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+2). This time zone is used in countries such as Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Ukraine.

During daylight saving time, which begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, the time zone shifts forward by one hour to Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), which is GMT+3.

However, some countries in Eastern Europe do not observe daylight saving time, such as Belarus and Russia. It’s important to check the specific time zone and daylight saving time practices of the country you are in or travelling to.

Daylight Saving Time Changes in Europe

Daylight saving time changes in Europe vary by country and region. In general, daylight saving time begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. However, some countries, such as Iceland and Belarus, do not observe daylight saving time at all. Other countries, such as Turkey and Russia, have changed their daylight-saving time practices in recent years. It’s important to check the specific daylight saving time practices of the country or region you are in or travelling to in order to avoid confusion and ensure you arrive on time.

Patriarchal and synodal message on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews

By
Guest Author
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On the tenth of March, the institutions of the Bulgarian state and our public commemorate the day when, in 1943, in the darkest hours of the Second World War, when its outcome was not at all clear, with its collective efforts, our people stopped the deportation of our compatriots of Jewish origin, the Bulgarian Jews, to the Nazi death camps.

The role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in this work has never been forgotten and has always been emphasized, especially by the Jewish community, for which we are grateful. Therefore, there is no need, and it is not appropriate for the Church to point out its merits, even less for the fact that in a certain, difficult historical moment, it acted in the only way possible for it, namely – in harmony with the commandments of the Orthodox faith .

The truth is that when, on the night of March 9-10, 1943, Metropolitan Stefan sought an urgent meeting with the state leadership to express the Church’s disapproval of the impending deportation, and Metropolitan Kirill entered the imprisoned Jews at the school in Plovdiv and told the guards, that if they were taken he would go with them, these were not isolated acts of civil position, but the result of a systematic, firmly held line of the Holy Synod. In accordance with the Christian teaching and the thousand-year-old practice of tolerance, empathy and love, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has always rejected any form of anti-Semitism, racial or religious hatred towards the representatives of the Jewish community, as well as in principle towards every person. As early as the adoption of the anti-Semitic Law for the Protection of the Nation, in the minutes of the Holy Synod of 1940, the warning words of the Bulgarian bishops can be heard: “The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which carries out among our people the saving truth and commandment of our Savior that we are all sons of a heavenly Father, cannot fail to draw attention to the factors responsible that this bill, in some of its decrees against the Jewish-Israelites, contains provisions which cannot be considered just… Every man and every nation must protect from dangers, but in this justified pursuit, injustice and violence against others should not be allowed”.

And more: “The question of our attitude towards the Jews is clear. We are Christians, and as bishops of the Holy Bulgarian Church, we cannot but stand on the ground of the Holy Gospel and Christ’s teaching about the equality of all people before God, regardless of origin, race and culture. Therefore, we must stand up for the Jews.”

The Holy Synod declared this position as early as 1940, and it found its most vivid expression in the action of the ninth against the tenth of March 1943, as a result of which not a single Jew living on the territory of the canonical diocese of the Bulgarian Exarchy at that time time, was not sent to extermination to the death camps.

This action would not have been possible if the Bulgarian people had not been churched, if they had not been firmly united around their metropolitans, if the voice of the Church had not been so strong, because it was the voice of the faithful, Christ-loving and philanthropic Orthodox Bulgarian people of God. Not someone else, namely the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, has nurtured in its people the strength and determination to oppose evil – qualities that are a manifestation of their belonging to the Christian faith and its values. The power of faith was demonstrated by the people, led by the bishops of their Orthodox Church, in the frosty days of 1943, and with their faith they saved their compatriots – Jews. People’s power is impossible without the Orthodox faith, and this is a very important lesson that we must learn for ourselves today from the case of the tenth of March.

We cannot but mention with deep sadness that, despite this, more than 11 thousand Jews from neighboring territories, temporarily under Bulgarian secular administration, were still taken and many of them died in the flames of the Holocaust. We mourn for them. We regret that the Exarchate did not have the strength and opportunities to take care of the Jews in those dioceses that were forcibly separated from its body 30 years earlier, in the same way as for the Jews in Bulgaria. We are sincerely sorry!

Usually, on this day, the names of only some of the metropolitans, who especially manifested themselves in the holy and philanthropic work of saving the Bulgarian Jews in 1943, are mentioned. However, we are obliged to recall the names of all worthy bishops who were members of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Exarchy, who were gathered in the name of Christ and God was among them and blessed their work, and the Holy Life-giving Spirit dictated their decisions. These are: Metropolitan Neofit of Vidin – Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia, Metropolitan Mihail of Dorostol and Cherven, Metropolitan Paisiy of Vrachan, Metropolitan Boris of Nevrokop, Metropolitan Sophronius of Turnovo, Metropolitan Yosif of Varna and Preslav, Metropolitan Kirill of Plovdiv, Metropolitan Philaret of Lovech, Metropolitan Evlogii of Sliven and Metropolitan Kliment of Stara Zagora.

Eternal and blessed be the memory of these ancestors of ours! Let their work be an inspiration and an example to us when we have to face contemporary manifestations of xenophobia, anti-Semitism or human hatred of any nature and against anyone. Their faith is our faith, their strength is our strength, their convictions are our convictions. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church will always educate its pious and Christ-loving people in love for neighbor, tolerance, solidarity and humanity. It has been so since Bulgaria became an Orthodox Christian state and, as far as it depends on us, it will be so here forever and ever.

May God forgive our archpastors who died blessedly, who helped save the Jews in the exarchian dioceses on the territory of Bulgaria and thus protected the dignity of the Orthodox Church and preserved the honor of our Motherland.

Short address of this publication: https://dveri.bg/da6qk

The rare sport car of Hitler’s deputy is for sale

By
Gaston de Persigny
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A 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Cabriolet is up for sale. The car belonged to the Nazi warlord, Adolf Hitler’s deputy in the National Socialist Party, Rudolf Hess.

Rudolf Hess decided to buy a Mercedes-Benz 500 K at the end of 1934. He ordered the cabriolet in the rare Offener Tourenwagen four-seater version from the Sindelfingen atelier. Of the 342 Mercedes 500 Ks produced, there were only five such cars.

Rudolf Hess’s car is equipped with a 5.0-liter supercharged “eight” with a power of 160 hp. pp. and a 4-speed manual gearbox. The convertible Mercedes-Benz 500 K Offener Tourenwagen is capable of developing 160 km/h.

In the United States, a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K convertible has been offered for sale by Gooding & Company.

The car belonged to the Nazi warlord, Adolf Hitler’s deputy in the National Socialist Party, Rudolf Hess. This is reported on the website of the auction house.

Rudolf Hess decided to buy a Mercedes-Benz 500 K at the end of 1934. He ordered the cabriolet in the rare Offener Tourenwagen four-seater version from the Sindelfingen atelier. Of the 342 Mercedes 500 Ks produced, there were only five such cars.

The high-ranking Nazi used the Mercedes sports car until 1941. As is known, then he went alone to Britain, ostensibly for peace talks, where he was arrested.

In 1945, Rudolf Hess’s car was confiscated by the US military and soon ended up in the United States. There, the Mercedes 500 K Offener Tourenwagen changed hands several times, with one owner keeping it for 50 years.

The car has not been restored, so scratches and rust can be seen in places on the body. However, she has won awards at vintage events several times.

The asking price for the Mercedes 500 K is significant – it is slated to sell for $1.25 to $1.75 million.

Flagship UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis

By
United Nations News
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UNEP/Lisa Murray - A boy collects water from a rehabilitated catchment basin in Sudan’s southern White Nile state.

Launched ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, the new edition of the UN World Water Development Report focuses on twin themes of partnerships and cooperation. Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report highlights collaborative ways actors can work together to overcome common challenges.

NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE ACTION, YOU CAN HELP COMBAT THE WATER CRISIS! SAVE WATER BY:

🌿 NOT OVERWATERING YOUR PLANTS
🍎 BUYING LOCAL & SEASONAL FOOD
🛁 AVOIDING TAKING BATHS

AHEAD OF WEDNESDAY’S #WORLDWATERDAY, TELL US HOW YOU’RE TAKING #WATERACTION 👇HTTPS://T.CO/36SMS2KA2K PIC.TWITTER.COM/P3IKOSMXO3 — UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) March 20, 2023

“There is an urgent need to establish strong international mechanisms to prevent the global water crisis from spiralling out of control,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “Water is our common future, and it is essential to act together to share it equitably and manage it sustainably.”

Globally, two billion people do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation, the report found.

The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to potentially double from 930 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion people, in 2050.

The rising incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species, the report said.

‘Global crisis’ looms

Richard Connor, the report’s editor-in-chief, told reporters at a press conference at UN Headquarters ahead of the launch that “uncertainties are increasing”.

“If we don’t address it, there definitely will be a global crisis,” he said, pointing to rising scarcity that reflects reduced availability and increased demand, from urban and industrial growth to agriculture, which alone consumes 70 per cent of the world’s supply.

Building partnerships and cooperation are key to realizing human rights to water and overcoming existing challenges, he said.

Explaining the landscape of such shortages, he said economic water scarcity is a big problem, where governments fail to provide safe access, such as in the middle of Africa, where water flows. Meanwhile, physical scarcity is worst in desert areas, including northern India and through the Middle East.

Answering reporters’ questions about possible “water wars” in the face of a global crisis, Mr. Connor said the essential natural resource “tends to lead to peace and cooperation rather than to conflict”.

Strengthening transboundary cooperation is the main tool to avoid conflict and escalating tensions, he said, noting that 153 countries share nearly 900 rivers, lakes and aquifer systems, and more than half having signed agreements.

image1024x768 - Flagship UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis
UNEP/Lisa Murray – A boy collects water from a rehabilitated catchment basin in Sudan’s southern White Nile state.

Up and downstream

Detailing experiences – both good and bad – of partners’ efforts to collaborate, the report explains how accelerating progress on achieving related 2030 Agenda goals hinges on enhancing positive, meaningful cooperation among water, sanitation, and broader development communities.

Innovations during the outset of the COVID 19 pandemic saw partnerships form among health and wastewater authorities, who were together able to track the disease and provide critical real-time data, he said.

From city dwellers to small holder farmers, partnerships have produced mutually beneficial results. By investing in agricultural communities upstream, farmers can benefit in ways that help the downstream cities they feed, he said.

Running dry

States and stakeholders can cooperate in such areas as flood and pollution control, data sharing, and co-financing. From wastewater treatment systems to protecting wetlands, efforts contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions should “open the door to further collaboration and increase access to water funds”, he said.

“However, the water community is not tapping into those resources,” he said, expressing hope that the report and the conference can trigger productive discussions and on-the-ground results.

Johannes Cullmann, special scientific advisor to the president of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said “it’s a question of investing wisely”.

While water resources and how they are managed impact almost all aspects of sustainable development, including the 17 SDGs, he said current investments must be quadrupled to meet the annual estimated $600 billion to $1 trillion required to realize SDG 6, on water and sanitation.

“Cooperation is the heart of sustainable development, and water is an immensely powerful connector,” he said. “We should not negotiate water; we should deliberate on it.”

Water, after all, is a human right, he said.

Common good, not commodity

Indeed, water should be “managed as a common good, not a commodity”, a group of 18 UN independent experts and special rapporteurs said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

“Considering water as a commodity or a business opportunity will leave behind those that cannot access or afford the market prices,” they declared, adding that progress on SDG 6 can only happen effectively if communities and their human rights are at the centre of discussions.

“It is time to stop a technocratic approach to water and consider the ideas, knowledge and solutions of indigenous peoples and local communities who understand local aquatic ecosystems to ensure sustainability of the water agenda,” they said.

The commodification of water will “derail achievement of the SDGs and hamper efforts to solve the global water crisis”, the experts said.

Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, are not UN staff, and operate independently.

Pakistan Forced Conversion situation

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Guest Author
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By Sumera Shafique

Every year, human rights estimate that several hundred minor girls are forcibly married in Pakistan. While this is an issue that affects minor girls from all communities, girls from religious minorities are particularly vulnerable. Several reports also found that the minor girls were also forcibly converted to Islam

Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), found that 162 cases of questionable conversions of minority girls were reported in Pakistan’s media between 2013 and November 2020. CSJ found that more than 54 percent of victims (girls and women) belonged to the Hindu community, while 44 percent were Christians. More than 46 percent of victims were minors, with 33 percent aged 11-15, while only 17 percent of victims were above 18. The age of the girls was not mentioned in more than 37 percent of the cases.[1]

There are also special laws concerning the marriage of minors such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), the Majority Act, 1875 and the Muslim law of personal status and other laws related to certain states or provinces.

Forced marriages are a crime under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Section 365-B[2] of the PPC penalizes the kidnapping, abducting, or inducing woman for marriage with the imprisonment of life sentence and a fine.

Some minor girls elope with older Muslim men against their family’s wishes and if they belong to different faith traditions such as Hinduism and Islam they first convert or are converted to Islam before the marriage. While, parents claim that the girl is forced to convert and marry, to prove this is difficult. Local police are usually unwilling to act if they believe the girl has eloped.

In its report for the year 2012-13, the Council of Islamic Ideology unambiguously declared that marriage of a child can be contracted at any age and for the girl-bride rukhsati can take place at age nine for consummation, provided she has attained puberty.

In the case of Pumy Muskan[3] in 2019, the Lahore High Court ruled that a 14-year-old girl, whose family claimed she had been forcibly converted by her employers, should be returned to the care of her family.

The court ruled that a 14-year-old did not have legal capacity to change her religion, but her conversion was not invalid since it was a matter of her personal conviction and there was no statutory authority prescribing it as unlawful. In effect the court refused to give effect to the conversion for certain legal purposes while not holding the conversion per se as unlawful.

The court held that, “The question as to whether Pumy Muskan’s conversion is forced or otherwise has lost significance in view of my holding that she lacked the legal capacity to make such decision.”

In Pumy’s case she was not married.

Where a minor girl is married along with the conversion, courts have been reluctant to restore her to her parent’s custody.

In July 2021, the Lahore High Court has upheld a ruling in Pakistan granting custody of a 13-year Christian girl, Nayab Gill, to a Muslim accused of kidnapping her, forcibly marrying her, and converting her to Islam. Justice Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry rejected the girl’s official birth documents showing she was 13. The court instead accepted her claim, considered to be made under severe threats of harm to her and her family, that she was 19 years old and married 30-year-old Saddam Hayat, a married father of four children, after converting to Islam of her own free will in Gujranwala on May 20.[3]

In April 2021, A 40-year-old Muslim man allegedly abducted a 14-year-old Hindu girl in Chundiko in Sindh and married her forcibly. The abductor, Mohammad Aachar Darejo, got himself photographed with the minor girl. The picture also showed him and the girl displaying an alleged ‘nikah-nama.’ She was also converted to Islam.[4]

International law

Pakistan has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Article 16 (2) of the CEDAW expressly prohibiting child marriage stating that “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory” [5]

Furthermore, under Article 16 it says that member countries to the convention must protect their citizen’s rights to choose a spouse and enter the contract of marriage with their full consent.

In marriage with a minor, there is no clear consent as the minor girl is incapable of giving their free consent due to lack of their maturity

Pakistan has also ratified the Child Rights Convention (CRC) and while the CRC does not directly address the issue of child marriage, it defines a child under Article 1 as “a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, the majority is attained earlier”. Article 14 (1) of the CRC also states that state parties need to respect the right of children to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

[1] https://www.ucanews.com/news/the-curse-of-forced-conversions-in-pakistan/92096#

[2] Section 365-B of the PPC states that : Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage, etc.: whoever kidnaps or  abducts any woman with intent that she may be compelled, or knowing it to be likely that she will be compelled, to marry any person against her will, or in order that she may be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, or knowing it to be likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine, and whoever by means of criminal intimidation as defined in this Code or of abuse of authority or any other method of compulsion, induces any woman to go from any place with intent that she may be or knowing that it is likely that she will be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall also be punishable as aforesaid.

[3] https://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/high-court-in-pakistan-upholds-girls-forced-marriage-conversion.html and https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/13-year-old-hindu-girl-forcibly-converted-and-married-to-abductor-in-pakistan-s-sindh-1777947-2021-03-11

[4] https://newsvibesofindia.com/minor-hindu-girl-abducted-forcibly-married-in-pakistan-18920/

[5] (Article 16 (2), Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination

Sumera Shafique Pakistan Forced Conversion situation

Sumera Shafique is a senior lawyer at Get Justice Law Firm in Pakistan, practicing in constitutional law and human rights with a special emphasis on minority rights and religious freedom in Pakistan. She is member of the National Lobbying Delegation for Minority Rights. She works to secure justice for Christian girls who are victimized by rape, kidnap and forced marriages. Ms. Sumera speaks across the country on the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. In addition, she served Chairperson Minorities Rights committee high court Bar association and General secretary and vice president Christian Lawyers association in Pakistan.

Pollock’s painting discovered in Bulgaria was for the actress Lauren Bacall

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Newsdesk
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The discovered painting believed to be by Jackson Pollock was of American actress Lauren Bacall, wife of Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart. This was announced by the deputy city prosecutor of Sofia, Desislava Petrova.

It said that the canvas was for her birthday. Her real date of birth was also written, and there was a signature, Petrova also pointed out.

“Dedicated to my very talented and dear friend Lauren Bacall, Happy Birthday,” reads the back of the painting along with the date September 16, 1949, and a signature. The date coincides with the actress’ birthday. This was explained by Deputy City Prosecutor Desislava Petrova, spokesperson of the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office at a media briefing.

Petrova added that so far there is a conclusion and expertise that indicate that the canvas may be original. An analysis of the paint binder would be useful but was not possible at this time. In order to establish whether the canvas is genuine, the tools of international cooperation will also be used.

The Bulgarian who held it indicated that he did not know whether it was authentic or not. Therefore, the process of selling the canvas had not yet started. The painting was not wanted and is not known to have been in Pollock’s catalogue.

Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Persky (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress and model known for her signature voice. In 1999, the American Film Institute listed Bacall at number 20 on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

Bacall, now deceased, was named one of the 20 most powerful women in Hollywood. She was the wife of the legend Humphrey Bogart for 12 years. Then she had a relationship with Frank Sinatra.

Prosecutor Petrova announced that in connection with the painting, an expert report has been prepared by two experts from the National Art Gallery, as well as expertise made by a three-member commission.

According to her, the expert report says that in terms of style, execution technique and artistic specificity, the painting corresponds to the aesthetic features characteristic of Jackson Pollock’s paintings from the period 1945-1950.

The expert said that the fluorescence analysis carried out, which allowed finding the exact chemical composition of each colour used in the painting, showed that the pigments in it were similar to the pigments used by Pollock in other works. “This is an important but not decisive element to the author’s identification,” the experts add, and say that it would be useful to analyze the binder of the paints, which research requires taking a sample.

Further examination of the seized painting is to be done to determine whether the painting is an original work and a movable cultural asset. The tools of international legal assistance, including European investigation orders, will be used to establish all the circumstances related to the possible movement and path of this painting, prosecutor Desislava Petrova also commented.

It is also yet to be established whether the painting has anything to do with Romania, the prosecutor’s office added, adding that it had not been declared wanted or catalogued.

However, Romania has not yet confirmed the version that the picture has something to do with him.

To BNT, the Romanian art critic and expert on state art collections, Adrian Buga, said that until now, in the archives of the Romanian secret services Securitate, there is no evidence that a painting by Jackson Pollock was part of Nicolae Ceausescu’s collection. The Romanian police have already contacted him for more information on the case.

“Ceausescu’s collection consists exclusively of Romanian paintings. Communist art that extols the Romanian spirit. Ceausescu lacks a taste for American art, especially in the style of Pollock,” said Adrian Buga. Each painting in this collection is stamped and numbered on its back and label.

“If the painting came from America, there is a good chance that some trace will be found in the archives. I have not found any foreign paintings in his house. He may have received gifts, but there is no trace of such paintings,” said Adrian Buga.

Ceausescu’s son-in-law, the husband of his daughter Zoya, told the BBC that he did not remember seeing abstract works in their home. “Ceaușescu was not an art collector. So there is no way,” said Prof. Mircea Operan.

Despite these claims, information has already appeared that, according to Romanian media, our northern neighbour will also have claims for the painting. Jackson Pollock’s family foundation announced to the Bulgarian media that no one had sought them from Bulgaria in connection with the find.

Photo: Lauren Bacall in a 1944 publicity still from Howard Hawks’s “To Have and Have Not,” her first film. Credit…Warner Bros.

Physicists Confirm 50-Year-Old Hypothesis About Selfish Behavior

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SciTechDaily.com
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Physicists have verified a fifty-year-old hypothesis that explains the formation of herds as a result of selfish behavior.

“Surprisingly, when individuals act out of purely selfish reasons, this can lead to a fair situation within the group,” says physics professor Clemens Bechinger. This was demonstrated in a recent study by his team at the Center for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior (CASCB) at the University of Konstanz, which is part of the Cluster of Excellence.


The researchers used computer simulations to explore how herd animals can reduce their predation risk. The study is based on the idea suggested by W.D. Hamilton in 1971, that individuals in a herd position themselves so that their own predation risk becomes reduced at the expense of their neighbors. The results were published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology.

The reason why many animals organize themselves in herds is not necessarily the result of gregariousness or social behavior. One example is seals: On their own, they are easy prey for orcas or sharks. Instead, it is much safer within a group, because then the danger of an attack is spread out among many individuals. It is safest in the middle of the group where animals are crowding together in a very small space and an attack there is more likely to target a close neighbor than oneself. At the edge of the group with only a few neighbors, on the other hand, the predation risk is considerably larger. Each animal, therefore, tries to get to one of the coveted spots in the middle.

Selfishness leads to a fair distribution of risk

With the help of artificial intelligence (reinforcement learning), Clemens Bechinger and his colleagues studied how individuals must alter their positions optimally to keep the distance between themselves and others as small as possible, which, in turn, reduces their own risk of being attacked.


“Because this strategy increases the risk for neighbors, it is clearly considered a selfish motivation,” says Veit-Lorenz Heute, who is working as a doctoral student on the project. Just as Hamilton predicted, the physicists observed that individuals that were spread out at first then formed a dense herd, because this decreases their distance to neighbors and thus reduces the individual risk of being attacked.

“Considering reinforcement learning for collectives opens up a range of new possibilities in understanding animal behavior,” Iain Couzin, speaker of the CASCB and Professor for Biodiversity and Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz adds. “It provides an elegant way to ask how adaptive behaviors may emerge in the complex social context characteristic of flocks and swarms.”

The researchers were surprised, however, to see what happened after the herd had formed.

Their simulations show that the time-averaged predation risk is exactly equal for all individuals. Obviously, members at the center of the herd are not able to defend such advantageous positions as other animals push toward this coveted spot.


“This is a result of the high dynamics within the group which makes it impossible for individuals to maintain specific optimal positions,“ says Samuel Monter, who is also involved in the study. Another interesting observation is that, as a result of this permanent competition for the best positions, the group begins to rotate around its gravitational center, similar to what is observed in many herds of animals.

“Our study shows that the formation of groups does not necessarily result from their gregarious behaviors but can also be explained by the entirely selfish motivations of individuals to gain an advantage at the expense of others,” Bechinger concludes. “Not only does our study help to understand collective behaviors in living systems, but the results may also be useful in the context of finding optimal strategies of how autonomous robotic devices have to be programmed to master collective tasks.”

“We have long observed vortices in animal groups and this work provides an insight into why that may be the case,” Iain Couzin adds. “If each individual acts to reduce risk, by approaching others, but is also penalized for collisions, rotating swirls, as we see in fish schools and even some herding animals, naturally emerge.”

Reference: “Dynamics and risk sharing in groups of selfish individuals” by Samuel Monter, Veit-Lorenz Heuthe, Emanuele Panizon and Clemens Bechinger, 2 February 2023, Journal of Theoretical Biology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111433


The study was funded by the Cluster of Excellence “Center of the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior.”

UNICEF alert to save millions from desperate hunger in Yemen

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United Nations News
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UNICEF alert to save millions from desperate hunger in Yemen

Eight brutal years of conflict have left around 11 million children in need of humanitarian assistance and many of their families facing serious malnourishment.

“The lives of millions of vulnerable children in Yemen remain at risk due to the almost unimaginable, unbearable, consequences of the crushing, unending war,” said Peter Hawkins, the agency’s representative in the country.

“UNICEF has been here, providing desperately needed support throughout the past eight years, and before, but we can only provide so much support to children and families affected without a lasting peace.”

Perpetual cycle of hopelessness

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen stems from 2015, when Houthi militias clashed with the forces of the internationally-recognized Government, dividing the country, displacing millions and destroying essential services and infrastructure.

Despite a long truce and recent progress along the road to peace, a devastating convergence of compounding factors has unfolded: eight years of fierce conflict, economic collapse, and a crippled social support system, denying the vulnerable essential services.

Between March 2015 and November 2022, more than 2.3 million children have been displaced, 11,000 have been killed or seriously injured, over 4,000 have been recruited by the warring parties, and there have been more than 900 attacks on – and the illegal military use of – educational and health facilities. These are verified figures, but the true toll is likely much higher, UNICEF said.

“After eight years, many children and families feel stuck in a perpetual cycle of hopelessness,” Mr. Hawkins said. “Visiting a family recently who have been displaced from their homes for over seven years, you realize that for too many families, little of their situation has changed beyond the children’s faces.

Children have grown up knowing little but conflict, providing these children with some room for hope of a peaceful future is absolutely critical.”

© UNICEF/Moohialdin Fuad

A young boy plays while his mother lines up at a water point in a camp for displaced people in Aden, southern Yemen.

‘Hope, not fear’

UNICEF urgently requires $484 million to continue its life-saving humanitarian response for children in Yemen in 2023. If funding is not received, UNICEF might be forced to scale down its vital assistance.

“The children of Yemen should be able to look to the future with hope, not fear,” Mr. Hawkins said. “We call on all parties to help us deliver that hope by committing to the Yemeni people, and pulling a country, and a weary population, back from the brink.”

 

Reaching millions in Yemen

Despite ongoing challenges, in 2022 UNICEF was able to:

  • Treat more than 375,000 children for severe acute malnutrition in 4,584 primary health care facilities and 34 therapeutic feeding centres.
  • Dispense emergency cash transfers to 9 million people.
  • Provide access to safe and sustained drinking water to 6.2 million people, including fuel to support the production and distribution of clean water to 36 local water and sanitation corporations in 15 governorates.
  • Inoculate more than 2.1 million children with measles and polio vaccines.
  • Support psychosocial services for more than 478,000 children and caregivers in conflict-affected areas, and life-saving mine-risk education for over 5.2 million children and community members.
  • Reach more than 2.7 million people living in remote rural areas with access to public healthcare centres.
  • Provide support for mother, newborn and child health services in 24 hospitals.
  • Scale up malnutrition services at 4,500 static outpatient therapeutic programme centres and 288 mobile teams.
  • Provide individual learning materials to more than 538,800 children to enable them to continue their schooling.

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Leena Ylä-Mononen selected as next Executive Director of the European Environment Agency

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Newsdesk
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On 23 March 2023, the Management Board of the European Environment Agency (EEA) decided to nominate Leena Ylä-Mononen, a Finnish national, as the next Executive Director of the EEA. The decision was taken after the Management Board interviewed shortlisted candidates, as a result of a pre-selection by the European Commission following an open call for applications.

Leena Ylä-Mononen currently holds the position of Director General at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. Prior to this, she has held a senior management position at the European Chemicals Agency, after working at the European Commission’s DG Environment. Leena Ylä-Mononen holds a Master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Helsinki.

Laura Burke, EEA Management Board Chair, said, ‘Congratulations to Leena Ylä-Mononen. I am confident that the Management Board has selected an outstanding candidate to lead the European Environment Agency. We look forward to working with Leena Ylä-Mononen to further strengthen the role of EEA and its Eionet network in support of Europe’s environment and climate policies.’ 

Leena Ylä-Mononen and Laura Burke on 23 March 2023

EEA Executive Directors are appointed for five years, renewable once. After ten years in office, the current Executive Director Hans Bruyninckx’s term will end on 31 May 2023.

Leena Ylä-Mononen may be invited to provide a statement in front of the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee, followed by an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament.

The formal appointment will be made once the required formalities have been completed.

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Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania

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Torsten Hjelmar
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Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania
Crédit photo : Daniel Bone de Pixabay

The International Mock Trial on Human Rights of Ernst Rüdin was held in the plenary hall of the Romanian Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 22nd March.

A distinguished panel of Judges consisting of two judges from the Constitutional Court of Romania and the vice-President of the Romanian Senate preceded over this educational Mock Trial. Judge Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei summarized the decision stating that if the defendant former Eugenics leader and prof. of psychiatry, Ernst Rüdin (1874-1952) would have been standing before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, we would have heard these words of the president of that tribunal: “ERNST RÜDIN, The Tribunal finds you guilty of charges 1, 3 and 4 consisting of incitement to crimes against humanity; inciting as well as directly causing the crime against humanity called sterilization; and membership of criminal organizations [the Association of German Neurologists and Psychiatrists] defined according to the Nuremberg Principles.”

Constitutional Court Judge, Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei, pointed out that the defendant Ernst Rüdin, was one of the founders of the Nazi racial hygiene movement, promoter of eugenic ideas and policies in Germany, of the Nazi eugenic sterilization law and other policies that aimed to kill children and patients with physical and mental disabilities considered genetic defects, in a heinous extermination program euphemistically called Euthanasia.

The International Mock Trial on Human Rights of Ernst Rüdin was held in the plenary hall of the Romanian Parliament’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 22nd March. It was a first for Romania and Europe. The International Mock Trial on Human Rights which is an action part of an educational program for young leaders initiated by Dr. Avi Omer from the Social Excellence Forum had previously been held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 31st January.

The initiative to hold the Mock Trial in Romania was taken by the Magna cum Laude-Reut Foundation and the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex, together with the Social Excellence Forum team and the Embassy of the State of Israel in Romania.

The prosecution and defendant litigators consisted of pupils and students from the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex and other colleges and universities in Bucharest, Iasi, Ploiesti, Buzău and Sibiu.

A struggle of all those who believe in freedom

“I greatly appreciate the openness of the Romanian Parliament to bring to the fore and shed light on a difficult page from the past. Today we are facing a historic moment and a first in Romania – a mock trial of one of the Nazi criminals directly responsible for the racial genocide. It is a trial that was necessary to take place even post-mortem for past, present and future generations and for the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and their families (…) It is a constant and assumed struggle of all those who believe in freedom, dignity and moral values. This struggle is also fought through education. With today’s simulation, I believe that we have made a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the truth and with it to the fight against anti-Semitism and extremism”, said Tova Ben Nun-Cherbis, President of the “Laude-Reut” Educational Complex.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, underlined that the action in the Parliament brings back into focus the importance of learning to use international human rights instruments and the historical reparation made in memory of the generations of victims of the Holocaust.

The Minister of Culture of Romania, Mr Lucian Romașcanu, pointed out that: “The fact that we are in the Parliament’s plenary hall and not in a court of law, this mock trial is more than symbolic, because in this hall people elected to be here can vote on laws, can do things that do not allow what you are called today to judge. It is again a symbol that over the years, no matter how many have passed, bad things are not forgotten, and the Holocaust, the great crimes against the Roma, against the communist prisoners must remain in memory. (…) No matter how many years go by, guilt surfaces and the guilty are punished.”

The distinguished panel of Judges consisted of:

Mr Marian Enache – President of the Constitutional Court

Ms Laura-Iuliana Scântei – Judge of the Constitutional Court of Romania

Mr Robert Cazanciuc – Vice-President of the Romanian Senate

O8A0752 1024x683 - Former Eugenics leader Ernst Rüdin on trial in Romania
Expert Witness Dr. David Deutsch, International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. Other witnesses included Prof. Alon Chan, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Prof. Marius Turda, Department of History, Philosophy and Religion, Oxford Brookes University. Photo credit: THIX Photo.

Promoters of racial hygiene played a major role in the Holocaust

Israel’s ambassador to Romania, Mr Reuven Azar, put it straight when he said: “Today’s conference is meant to evoke an obligation on all of us not to forget the horrors that happened just 78 years ago. (…) During the Nazi regime, more than 400,000 people were forcibly sterilised and some 300,000 of the patients in psychiatric institutions were killed, while 70,000 of them were killed in gas chambers. Promoters of racial hygiene, including Ernst Rüdin, played a major role in the Holocaust, which victimised Jews as well as Roma, Slavs, coloured persons and people with physical or intellectual disabilities. The consequence of the Nazi regime was the Holocaust. This is a unique phenomenon compared to any other genocide in human history.”

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