Champion young people as ‘drivers of change’, UN chief urges

By

-

16 July 2022

Champion young people as ‘drivers of change’, UN chief urges

Young people must be recognized around the world as “drivers of change” and empowered to become “fully engaged in decisions affecting their future,” said Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday, World Youth Skills Day.

From climate change to conflicts to persistent poverty, young people are “disproportionately impacted by interlinked global crises,” his Youth Envoy, Jayathma Wickramanayake, told a commemorative event in New York, speaking on behalf of the UN chief.

“Today, we highlight the importance of transforming youth skills for the future of work,” she said, delivering his message from the top.

Table of Contents

Youth at risk

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated fragilities, leaving 24 million young people today, at risk of not returning to school and accelerated the labour market’s transformation, “adding uncertainty and widening the digital divide”.

“We must ensure the right of young people to effective and inclusive education, training, and lifelong learning…[by] ramping up youth skills development, while investing in technical vocational education and training (TVET), broadband connectivity, and digital skills,” the message continued.

Countering learning disruption

To this end, top politicians, and leaders from youth and education non-governmental organisations, will meet in September during a Transforming Education Summit at UN Headquarters in New York.

Guided by the UN Youth 2030 strategy, the UN chief urged everyone to “act for youth skills development as a priority, at the Summit and beyond”.

“Together, let us build a more just and thriving workforce, rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leave no one behind,” his message concluded.

Build skills

As it stands, millions of young people, especially those most vulnerable and marginalized – such as young women and girls – continue to bear the brunt of social, political, economic, and cultural upheaval, General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid said in his video address.

Reminding that these challenges “eliminate jobs and opportunities, reduce access to education, and impede the reskilling and upskilling of young women and men,” he spelled out: “More must be done”.

As “a proud champion of young people,” he upheld that youth must be empowered to build skills through policy making, education, technical and vocational training.

“Let us explore how to increase youth employment opportunities while sustainably reducing the number of uneducated and untrained young people…[and] act collectively to ensure an inclusive and brighter future led by skilful, educated, and well-trained youths, while leaving no one behind,” he said.

‘Be the change’

Speaking via videoconference from Geneva, Martha Newton, Deputy Director-General for Policy at the International Labour Organization (ILO) stressed the importance of fostering digital transformation skills to reach the scale of today’s unmet labour market needs.

To help young people “quickly adapt” to these “rapidly changing demands,” she advocated for quality apprenticeships and internships that would equip them with “skills for life”.

Investing in a world where decent work is the reality of every young person requires scaling up action for youth employment while also protecting the rights of young people. This in in turn, will spark healthy lives and equality for all.

“Be the change you want to be, be relentless, be bold…we can’t transform efforts without you,” she encouraged young people around the world.

Empower youth

Speaking on behalf of Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Division Director for Education 2030 Support and Coordination, highlighted that skills for the future of work must be identified to empower today’s youth.

She cited innovation in entrepreneurship; promoting flexible pathways to foster lifelong learning; bridging the digital technology gap; and promoting open education resources.

“Encourage youth to think of themselves as agents for change and understand the complexity of sustainable development,” the UNESCO chief’s message said.

During the Education Summit, “we must use all of our power” to provide an opportunity for youth to develop skills for the future and give them “a centre place” at the decision-making table.

Youth: Greatest treasure

Co-chair Peter Mohan Maithri Pieris, Sri Lanka’s Permanent UN Representative, described youth as “the greatest treasure we have on this planet,” adding that if the right decisions are taken at the right time, young people could have a “meaningful” impact around the globe.

In his video message, co-chair, João Gomes Cravinho, Foreign Minister of Portugal, underscored that youth must have a say in their own future and shared his country’s “guiding principle” of “nothing about youth without youth”.

Dark Matter: Is a Revolution Coming to Physics?

By

SciTechDaily.com

-

16 July 2022

4

Dark Matter: Is a Revolution Coming to Physics?

What is dark matter? Does it even exist, or do we just need an adjustment to our theory of gravity?

What is dark matter? It has never been observed, yet scientists estimate that it makes up 85% of the matter in the universe. The short answer is that no one knows what dark matter is. More than a century ago, Lord Kelvin offered it as an explanation for the velocity of stars in our own galaxy. Decades later, Swedish astronomer Knut Lundmark noted that the universe must contain much more matter than we can observe. Scientists since the 1960s and ’70s have been trying to figure out what this mysterious substance is, using ever-more complicated technology. However, a growing number of physicists suspect that the answer may be that there is no such thing as dark matter at all.

The Backstory

Scientists can observe far-away matter in a number of ways. Equipment such as the famous Hubble telescope measures visible light while other technology, such as radio telescopes, measures non-visible phenomena. Scientists often spend years gathering data and then proceed to analyze it to make the most sense of what they are seeing.

What became abundantly clear as more and more data came in was that galaxies were not behaving as expected. The stars at the outer edges of some galaxies were moving far too fast. Galaxies are held together by the force of gravity, which is strongest at the center where most of the mass is. Stars at the outer edges of disk galaxies were moving so fast that the force of gravity generated by the observable matter there wouldn’t have been able to keep them from flying out into deep space.

Scientists thought that there must be more matter present in these galaxies than we can currently observe. Something must be keeping the stars from flying away, and they called that something dark matter. They couldn’t really say what properties it might have except that it must have gravitational pull, and there must be quite a bit of it. In fact, the vast majority of the universe (a whopping 85%) must be dark matter. Otherwise, galaxies wouldn’t have been able to stick around as long as they seem to do. They would have broken up because there wouldn’t have been enough gravity to keep the trillions of stars in place.

When it comes to science, the trouble with something that you can’t observe is that it’s hard to say much about it. Because dark matter does not interact with the electromagnetic force — which is responsible for visible light, radio waves, and x-rays — all of our evidence is indirect. Scientists have been trying to figure out ways to observe dark matter and make predictions based on theories of it but without much success.

A Possible Solution

Newton’s Theory of Gravity explains most large-scale events fairly well. Everything from throwing the first pitch at a Yankees game to the movements of constellations can be explained using Newton’s theory. However, the theory is not foolproof. Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity, for example, explained data that Newton’s theory couldn’t. Scientists still use Newton’s theory because it works in the overwhelming majority of cases and has much simpler equations.

Dark matter was proposed as a way to reconcile Newtonian physics with the data. But what if, instead of reconciliation, a modified theory is needed. This is where an Israeli physicist named Mordehai Milgrom makes an entrance. He developed a theory of gravity (called Modified Newtonian Dynamics or “Mond” for short) in 1982 that postulates gravity functions differently when it becomes very weak, such as at the edge of disk galaxies.

His theory does not simply explain the behaviors of galaxies; it predicts them. The problem with theories is that they can explain just about anything. If you walk into a room and see that the lights are on, you can develop a theory that cosmic rays from the sun are hitting hidden mirrors in just the right way to light up the room. Another theory might be that someone flicked the light switch. One way to separate good theories from bad ones is to see which theory makes better predictions.

Recent analysis of Mond shows that it makes significantly better predictions than standard dark matter models. What that means is that, while dark matter can explain the behavior of galaxies quite well, it has little predictive power and is, at least on this front, an inferior theory.

Only more data and debate will be able to settle the score on dark matter and Mond. However, Mond coming to be accepted as the best explanation would shatter decades of scientific consensus and make one of the more mysterious features of the universe much more normal. A modified theory may not be as sexy as dark, unseen forces, but it may just have the advantage of being better science.

Archaeologists thaw a block of ice containing the remains of a warrior boy who lived 1,300 years ago

By

Petar Gramatikov

-

16 July 2022

0

In the laboratory of the Bavarian Monuments Authority in Bamberg, scientists have begun thawing a block of ice containing remains from an elite 6th-century burial. The block was specially created by archaeologists using liquid nitrogen in order to be able to fully study the burial.

The burial was found in October last year during excavations at the site of future construction in Tussenhausen. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Roman-era building that was reused in the early Middle Ages as a burial site for a boy. He was buried in a chamber grave with a brick floor and thick stone walls and ceiling. Rich accessories have been found on his skeletal remains. At the boy’s feet lay the skeleton of a dog. The presence of milk teeth indicates that the child was no more than 10 years old when he died, but despite his tender age, he was well armed. A sword and a belt for weapons, decorated with gold rivets, indicate that the boy belonged to the local elite. Silver bracelets, spurs, gold leaf crosses and a bronze vessel were also found in the grave.

The stone walls and ceiling of the tomb were so tightly connected that no soil deposits penetrated inside for 1300 years. Thanks to this, the burial was preserved in excellent condition, the remains of organic materials, including leather and fabric, were visible in it. However, this luck became a problem for the restorers because the remains were not encased in relatively stable soil, which could be cut into a block of soil for laboratory excavation to be able to preserve even the smallest traces of archaeological material, as modern archaeologists usually do. Without soil filler, the precious, fragile remains could have been damaged in transit.

To preserve materials with minimal wear and tear, archaeologists have developed a new technique. The stone walls of the tomb were removed and replaced with wooden panels. Another panel was placed under the grave above the brick floor. The surface of the remains was flooded with water and layer by layer the water was frozen with liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen temperature ensures that the water instantly solidifies and turns into ice without expanding as it does when frozen at a higher temperature. Then the soil around the burial was cut with heavy equipment, and an ice block weighing about 800 kilograms was lifted with a crane. The whole process took 14 hours.

The frozen burial was transported to the laboratory, and now scientists have begun controlled thawing. “The block with the child’s skeleton was kept in the freezer for several months. Now the nickname of our little “Ice Prince” will soon become obsolete. His protective ice armor is carefully and consistently destroyed by targeted heating. Our team of restorers carefully prepared this process,” explains the general curator, Prof. Mathias Pfeil, head of the Bavarian Monument Protection Authority.

Defrosting is carried out in a special room with controlled humidity. So that the escaping condensate does not damage the finds, it is drained using a special suction device. During breaks in processing, the cooling hood ensures a constant temperature of -4°C. The thaw is expected to take several days. After that, experts, in particular anthropologists and archaeobotanists, will analyze the first samples of the material. “Numerous remnants of fabric and leather have been preserved, for example, from scabbards, sword belts and clothes. They promise an extremely interesting introduction to grave decoration and early medieval textile technology,” says Britt Nowak-Böck, Head of the Archaeological Restoration Workshops of the Monuments Conservation Authority.

Photo: Controlled defrosting of the Bayerischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege ice block

Buried in three coffins made of gold, silver and steel: scientists continue the search for the tomb of Attila

By

Petar Gramatikov

-

16 July 2022

0

The famous ancient military leader died at the age of 58 on his wedding night, after marrying his new wife.

The leader of the ancient tribe of the Huns, Attila, terrified the inhabitants of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. The Huns constantly invaded the territory of both ancient states and devastated their settlements. But scientists are still arguing whether Attila died naturally or was killed by his new wife, and most importantly: where is his tomb? Several scientists expressed their assumptions in an article for Live Science.

Under the leadership of Attila, the Huns reached their highest peak. They were able to subjugate many different tribes and, as a result, create a state entity that stretched from the Rhine River in the west to the Volga River in the east. Attila was a constant threat to the capitals of two empires – Rome and Constantinople, but he never sacked either of these cities. The Romans called Attila Flagellum Dei or “the scourge of God”. He forced the emperors of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires to pay him huge tribute in exchange for peace, which, as a rule, did not last long.

Under the leadership of Attila, the Huns reached their highest peak. They were able to subjugate many different tribes and, as a result, create a state formation that was wiped from the Rhine River in the West to the Volga River in the East.

According to historical sources, Attila was born in 395 and ruled over the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. It is known that he died on his wedding night, after marrying his new wife named Ildiko. But scientists are not completely sure whether it was a natural death or whether the leader of the Huns was killed by his “beloved” wife.

In any case, Attila died at the age of 58, but his tomb, or just a grave, has never been found. And scientists are still speculating where it might be. Indeed, much more historical data has been preserved about military campaigns than about the place of his burial.

“The only surviving written source that mentions the funeral of Attila is the work of the Gothic historian Jordanes, who lived in the 6th century AD. This historical work is called “On the origin and deeds of the Getae” or simply “Getica”. In this book, Jordanes wrote that Attila was buried in a triple coffin.The first, in which the body lay, was made of gold, the second was made of silver, and the outer coffin was made of iron.According to Jordanes, precious metals were a symbol of the wealth that their leader acquired for the Huns, and iron symbolized the military power of this ancient tribe,” says Zsofia Masek from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

According to the records that Jordan left, all the people who built the tomb for Attila were killed. This was done so that no one would know about the place of his burial. According to the book of the Gothic historian, Attila was buried along with various jewels and jewelry, as well as weapons.

Scientists believe that the exact location of the tomb of the leader of the Huns is very difficult to find. And even if this happens, and this tomb is found, there is no certainty that it has not been looted and destroyed for a long time.

“I assume that he could have been buried somewhere on the territory of the Great Hungarian Lowland (this plain occupies almost half of the territory of modern Hungary and is also called Alfeld – ed.). Somewhere here, Attila, in modern terms, had her own headquarters. And perhaps the tomb of the leader of the Huns is located next to this place, it seems to me that we need to look for this place near the river. Perhaps this tomb survived, unless of course it was looted hundreds of years ago, “says Laszlo Vespremi from the Catholic University of . Pazmani Peter in Budapest, Hungary.

According to the scientist, many people have been trying to find the burial place of Attila since the 13th century. But this place was searched mainly near the ruins of ancient Roman settlements. But no one ever found anything.

Žofia Masek also supports the idea that Attila’s tomb should be looked for in the Great Hungarian Plain. But perhaps this grave is located on the territory of modern Serbia or Romania, where there are also parts of this lowland, the scientist believes.

“There is a possibility that the tomb of Attila has already been found. It’s just that this burial was not connected with the leader of the Huns in any way. human remains were found and it is still not clear who these items were intended for,” says Valeria Kulchar from the University of Szeged, Hungary.

According to Masek, it is possible that Attila’s grave will never be found, and this will forever remain a mystery.

Photo: Live Science | The famous ancient military leader died at the age of 58 on his wedding night, after marrying his new wife.

The Egyptians asked to be included in the Constitution of North Macedonia too

By

News desk

-

16 July 2022

0

“The members of this community make their constructive contribution to the development of our country, starting with the Ilinden uprising…”, reads the request of the Egyptian associations in the country

According to the 2021 census, 3,504 Bulgarians, 2,406 Egyptians, 2,145 Croats, and 1,023 Montenegrins live in the Republic of North Macedonia. With the possibility of “opening” the country’s constitution so that the Bulgarians can be included in it, and according to the Prime Minister of the country, Dimitar Kovachevski, the Croats, the Montenegrins, and the Egyptians in the country today asked to be included in the preamble of the basic law in the country, BTA reported .

“All citizens and communities living in (Republic of North) Macedonia,

should be equal without any discrimination and especially on the basis that they are not mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution,” wrote the Egyptian community.

“We remind you that the community of Egyptians in the Republic of Macedonia is indigenous to the Balkans,

with its own identity and self-awareness, with significant traces left in the material and cultural heritage, as well as the fact that the members of this community

make their constructive contribution to the development of our country, starting with the Ilinden Uprising,

through the national-liberation struggles and constitutional changes in 2019, as well as the entry of the Republic of Macedonia into NATO in 2020,” wrote the request of the Egyptian associations in the country, referring to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the final act of the OSCE, the Convention of the Council of Europe and other international documents.

The request has been sent to the President, the Parliament, the EU Mission in Skopje

and was signed by Rubin Zemon – a university professor and former MP, as well as representatives of several associations of Egyptians.

In fact, there are no Egyptians in North Macedonia and they turned out to be a translation error. And they want to include Gypsies in the constitution.

The Macedonian word for Gypsies is “Gyupci” (Albanian: Egiptian, Serbian: Египћани/Egipćani or Гипћани/Đupci, Macedonian Literary Language: Đupci), which is a pronounced pronunciation of Egyptian, similar to the English “Gypsy” and the French “Zitan”.

Although no one yet knows the exact origin of the Gypsies, a large number of them are defined precisely as Egyptians – descendants of Egyptian Copts who practiced divination. And it is no coincidence that in most languages analogous words are used.

Source: BTA

Roscosmos and NASA agreed on cross-flights to the ISS

By

Newsdesk

-

16 July 2022

0

Roscosmos and NASA have signed an ISS cross-flight agreement under which the agencies will launch mixed crews of Russian and American cosmonauts on their spacecraft. The first two flights under the agreement will take place in the autumn: Anna Kikina will join the Crew Dragon crew, and Francisco Rubio will fly on the Soyuz.

This happened shortly after the dismissal of Dmitry Rogozin as head of the Russian Space Corporation was announced

Shortly after the dismissal of Dmitry Rogozin as the head of the Russian space corporation “Roscosmos” was announced on July 15, it and the American space agency NASA announced that they had concluded an agreement for joint flights of manned spacecraft crews of Russia and the United States , the world agencies reported.

Russia and the United States have vast experience in joint space flights. The first such missions took place back in the mid-1990s: in 1994, Sergey Krikalev flew into orbit on the Discovery shuttle, and in 1995, Norman Thagard went to the Mir station on the Soyuz TM-21 spacecraft. Cross-flights made it possible to develop cooperation in general, and also increased the reliability of the Mir and ISS programs. In case of problems with the ship of one country, its astronaut could fly to the station on the ship of another. And besides, in an emergency situation, all members of the expedition had experience in controlling a spacecraft.

After the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, U.S. astronauts flew to the ISS exclusively on Russian Soyuz spacecraft until NASA got the U.S. SpaceX-designed Crew Dragon. After its first crewed flight at the end of 2020, there was only one joint flight in early 2021, and then the Soyuz flew only with a Russian crew, with the exception of one flight with Japanese space tourists.

Until recently, NASA paid for the flights of its astronauts on Russian spacecraft. So, in 2020, the agency paid $ 90 million for one seat on the Soyuz, and also promised to deliver a total of 800 kilograms of Russian cargo. The new agreement between Roskosmos and NASA does not imply payment for flights, but the exchange of seats on spacecraft.

Now we know about at least a couple of cross flights, the first two will take place this fall. So, Anna Kikina will become a crew member of the Crew-5 mission along with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, as well as JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata. This is the first flight by a Russian cosmonaut on an American spacecraft since the days of the shuttle, and also the first flight by Kikina, who is now the only woman in the Russian cosmonaut corps.

The exact date of the flight is not yet known, but it is expected to take place in September. Another crossover flight is scheduled for the same month: Soyuz MS-22 will travel to the ISS with NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin. The next pair of flights will take place in 2023, when Andrey Fedyaev will go to the ISS as part of the Crew-6 mission, and Loral O’Hara will take part in the Soyuz MS-23 mission.

Probably, in the future, the second American manned spacecraft, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner, will also be used for cross-flights. His first flight was unsuccessful, but in May 2022 he successfully flew to the ISS and returned, so at the end of this year or early next year he should start carrying astronauts to the ISS.

Photo: Roscosmos

Key UN forum closes with ‘enthusiasm, passion and high-energy’ to reach the SDGs

By

United Nations News

-

16 July 2022

0

Key UN forum closes with ‘enthusiasm, passion and high-energy’ to reach the SDGs

Following two years of virtual meetings due to COVID-19, the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) closed on Friday at UN Headquarters in New York with delegates showing “enthusiasm, passion and high-energy” for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

“We have advanced the substantive programme of the [Economic and Social] Council (ECOSOC) and initiated concrete foundational action to implement the decisions of the General Assembly” in resolutions on strengthening the HLPF and ECOSOC, said the body’s president, Collen Kelapile.

Table of Contents

Urgency and ambition

Although the COVID pandemic continues, “we are moving on in the road to recovery and…looking far ahead, beyond today’s daunting challenges and crises,” he said.

Reversing the pandemic’s negative impacts on the likelihood of reaching the ambitious SDGs; transforming socio-economic and financial systems; addressing the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine on food security and energy supply; and halting climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, are “a calling we must work much harder to achieve,” the ECOSOC president added.

He reminded that we have the tools and means, but needed to work “together in solidarity” as a “global family”.

Mr. Kelapile said the new Ministerial Declaration, which the meeting adopted by consensus, provides an “unwavering commitment to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

Overarching calls

Sharing some of the main messages of the HLPF, he described today’s challenges as a threat to the SDGs but also an opportunity for renewed multilateral action and the quest for innovative solutions.

And while the pandemic has exposed inequalities between and within countries, it has also underscored the importance of universal healthcare coverage supported by proper healthcare systems – without which, “there can be no sustainable development”.

The ECOSOC President spoke about the need to bridge the financing gap by reforming international debt and taxation architecture.

He also underscored that education is “a human right and a common public good, not a privilege,” noting the upcoming Transforming Education Summit in September to address obstacles that hinder SDG-4.

Mr. Kelapile reminded that no country has achieved gender equality and that the needs of women and girls must be addressed “more comprehensively” to build back better, including eradicating violence against women and implementing national gender budgets.

He then stressed the importance of engaging local authorities for “an inclusive implementation and review of the 2030 Agenda” while pointing out that vaccine equity and production in developing countries “is critical to economic recovery”.

Turning to the environment, the ECOSOC chief highlighted that a “whole-of-society” approach was required to effectively address global deforestation, land degradation, biodiversity loss, poverty eradication, food insecurity and climate change, adding that the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, showed that there are still opportunities for comprehensive ocean action.

Ground for optimism

“I am particularly heartened that during this HLPF we launched preparations for the 2023 SDG Summit to be held in September 2023 at the mid-term point of implementation of the 2030 Agenda”, said Mr. Kelapile.

Pointing to HLPF debates and the Ministerial Declaration, he saw “strong grounds for optimism”.

“Let us all go back to our countries encouraged and re-invigorated, to continue efforts to recover from this pandemic and build back better through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs,” concluded the ECOSOC President.

‘Special day’

“Today was a special day,” Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) told the meeting, outlining how the morning session discussed ideas on how to improve multilateralism and make it more inclusive, networked and effective.

And afternoon discussions looked in detail at the pandemic’s public health response; finance and debt relief; and climate change and social protection, including labor rights and education.

“We studied future scenarios to ensure sustainable development and what we can do now to make our future better…[and] sustainable development paths, long-term vision and scenarios,” said the DESA chief.

Unity ‘laid out’

The forum has demonstrated that if we are well informed of demographic, social and environmental changes that are coming our way in the years ahead, “we can anticipate them and make the needed policy changes now,” he observed.

Against that backdrop, he expressed pride in seeing that the Ministerial Declaration was adopted to provide clear guidance on how to address future challenges.

“Our unity is laid out in great detail in the Ministerial Declaration, and I congratulate you on this achievement. I am pleased that the strong commitment to the fulfillment of the goals that we set in 2015 is still vibrant. This will accelerate our travel on our common road to recovery and resilience,” Mr. Liu concluded.

Europol busts a Vietnamese smuggling syndicate

By

Newsdesk

-

16 July 2022

0

Nine people were arrested

With the support of Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Center (EMSC), parallel investigations in five EU Member States have broken up a criminal syndicate smuggling Vietnamese people into and through Europe.

Between 20 and 22 June, a series of coordinated raids took place in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Belgium, with international activity coordinated by Europol and Eurojust. A total of nine people believed to belong to this gang were arrested and nine properties were searched. Several motor vehicles and cash amounting to several hundred thousand Czech crowns were seized.

All the parallel investigations focused on the same criminal group, which organized the trafficking of illegal migrants from Vietnam since at least March 2021. Migrants arrived by plane in Europe with a work visa issued for a specific country. Once in Europe, the victims were smuggled through Europe to reach their final destination, usually France or the United Kingdom.

The suspects were said to have transported their victims in their own vehicles and in some cases used inflatable motorboats to reach the final leg of the journey, which endangered the lives of the victims.

Europol prioritized the case at an early stage and appointed special officers to support national investigations.

Its European Migrant Smuggling Center organized three operational meetings to bring together national investigators and establish a joint strategy, provide operational intelligence and analytical support and facilitate the exchange of operational information needed to prepare the final phase of the operation.

During the day of the coordinated action, Europol’s EMCDDA facilitated a broad exchange of information between all parties involved and cross-checked evidence in real time. Two Europol officers were seconded to Belgium to assist in the retrieval of forensic data.

Eurojust provided financial support and assisted the authorities in setting up a joint investigation team. In addition, the Agency organized three coordination meetings and a coordination center during the action.

Testing of weapons to “kill” enemy electronics, but not soldiers

By

Gaston de Persigny

-

16 July 2022

0

HiJENKS weapons are capable of “frying” enemy vehicles like a microwave.

The US Air Force recently tested a new weapon not designed to kill people or destroy buildings. The device, called “High-Power Cooperative Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Impact Weapon”, HiJENKS, is designed to purposefully destroy electronics, according to popsci.com.

HiJENKS is the “successor” of CHAMP’s advanced super-powerful microwave rocket. Both weapon models were designed to disable electronics without the use of physical force, such as an explosion or the kinetic force of an impact. To put it simply, HiJENKS “roasts” electronics with pulsed bursts of microwave energy, due to which it disables “smart” weapons.

The publication reports that HiJENKS can be launched using a bomber, mounted on a cruise missile, but it can also be equipped with UAVs – the platform for the gun has not yet been finally selected. The military will select the best option as a platform after testing, said Geoffrey Heggemeyer, head of AFRL’s Electromagnetics Division.

“HIJENKS should be the solution to the operational problems that the CHAMP development team once faced,” wrote Jack McGonegal of the Air Force. “The claimed innovations most likely involve a reduction in the size and weight of the [powerful microwave emitter] payload while increasing the maximum power.”

No matter how the HiJENKS project develops, risks cannot be avoided. For example, the enemy will not be able to determine whether a missile is fired at him – “lethal” or not, and in any case will take action as if he was attacked by a “normal” missile.

“In combat, such weapons may not matter much at all. Military and politicians hope that non-kinetic weapons such as HiJENKS can enhance their capabilities during armed conflicts, but they will still be perceived as a common threat,” writes the media.

Lena Perminova, From prison to a billionaire husband and а fashion icon

By

Newsdesk

-

16 July 2022

0

The story of Elena Perminova – Walking through the latest fashion shows in the Tuileries Garden in Paris, it is impossible to miss the crowd of stars in Russian style. They are girls with delicate gaits, fierce, sharp cheekbones, and fashionable clothing from which the tags have been removed only minutes ago.

Whether they are the wives of billionaires, businessmen or the heiresses of hereditary oligarchs, these queens of the Russian fashion scene are the cream of the haute couture clientele.

Table of Contents

Elena Perminova

At the center of this paparazzi frenzy is 35-year-old Elena Perminova, wife of Russian oligarch and media mogul Alexander Lebedev, who watched the Chanel show with her friend Miroslava Duma, also one of Russia’s most followed fashion influencers. It only takes two selfies of the girls on Instagram to generate unprecedented interest in the clothes.

“It’s exciting when people from all over the world can meet for a week and present their clothes. Fashion speaks all languages,” Perminova told Harper’s Bazaar.

The story that brings her to the front row of luxury fashion, however, is more dramatic than romance author Danielle Steele can imagine.

Born in Siberia to a poor family, as a child Lena Perminova never dreamed that she would ever wear Chanel clothing. There was never enough money at home, and when she found a boyfriend much older than her, he convinced her to sell ecstasy together in Russian discotheques.

At 16, Elena was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for drug distribution.

“I was in a small prison cell with a stinking toilet, no soap and an iron bed fixed to the wall with staples,” Lena Perminova says.

Her daily life in this cell continues until her father meets Alexander Lebedev, then a member of the Russian parliament, begging him to help her daughter. And Lebedev agrees.

With his close-cropped gray hair, thin glasses and branded sneakers, the then 43-year-old Lebedev (now 62) looked more like a chess grandmaster than a media mogul. And his story is no less exciting than Perminova’s.

Former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev

Former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev amassed his wealth through securities trading in the 1990s. In 2006, together with the former president Mikhail Gorbachev, they bought a 49 percent share in “Novaya Gazeta”, and a few years later, they also bought the British newspapers London Evening Standard and The Independent, whose leadership is now taken over by his son Yevgeny Lebedev.

In 2013, Lebedev was put on trial for assaulting a businessman during a televised debate. He was accused of “hooliganism motivated by political hatred” and sentenced to 150 hours of community service.

When he meets Elena, Lebedev leads a witness protection campaign and therefore agrees to help her get out of prison. The two immediately like each other. Under the influence of Lebedev, Perminova abandoned her dream of a career as a model, returned to school, took a diploma and then enrolled in “Economics” at Moscow State University.

Three years after they met, Perminova and Lebedev became a couple, and a decade later they got married and raised their four children together.

“First of all, we are good friends. And with each passing day, we become closer,” says Lena Perminova.

Along with her husband’s money, she gets a chance to attend major fashion events such as the Council of Fashion Designers of the USA Awards, where in 2008 her style of dressing was noticed for the first time. One of the photographers at the event mistakes her for a model, takes some professional photos of her, and after sharing them on Instagram, her followers skyrocket to 155,000.

Today, there are over 2.5 million profiles that compare their fashion watch to Perminova’s style.

“My clothes have always been a combination of ‘low’ and ‘high’ fashion. On my first trip to New York, Alexander told me, ‘Go to Bergdorf’s and buy something,’ but all the clothes were so nice that I couldn’t decide. I remember that I bought some jeans and wore them with his sweatshirt. I was walking in New York and everyone around me was looking at me. That’s how I began to understand what I wanted,” says Lena Perminova.

Part of the appeal of her profile is that she knows how to combine clothes few people can afford with affordable items from Zara and H&M, hoping that her example will usher in the end of brand slavery.

“Russian style began to change, and thank God. In the past, only labels mattered. Everyone wanted to show that they were rich. I never liked that. Fashion is above all a way to express yourself, regardless of money. The most “It’s important to have individuality. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in the crowd,” says Lena Perminova.

Latest news of Europe and the world.

Champion young people as ‘drivers of change’, UN chief urges

Youth at risk

Countering learning disruption

Build skills

‘Be the change’

Empower youth

Youth: Greatest treasure

Dark Matter: Is a Revolution Coming to Physics?

The Backstory

A Possible Solution

Archaeologists thaw a block of ice containing the remains of a warrior boy who lived 1,300 years ago

Buried in three coffins made of gold, silver and steel: scientists continue the search for the tomb of Attila

The Egyptians asked to be included in the Constitution of North Macedonia too

Roscosmos and NASA agreed on cross-flights to the ISS

Key UN forum closes with ‘enthusiasm, passion and high-energy’ to reach the SDGs

Urgency and ambition

Overarching calls

Ground for optimism

‘Special day’

Unity ‘laid out’

Europol busts a Vietnamese smuggling syndicate

Testing of weapons to “kill” enemy electronics, but not soldiers

Lena Perminova, From prison to a billionaire husband and а fashion icon

Elena Perminova

Former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev

Members/Partners of

Google News

About Us

Popular Category

Editor Picks

World News in Brief: Yemen detainee appeal, Typhoon Yagi impacts, ease asylum seekers’ plight, mpox cash boost

World News in Brief: Sudan food crisis update, justice in Thailand, UN can solve global problems