The meeting was held in the city of Bologna (Italy) and was dedicated to the foundations of the new ENP strategy for 2022-2027.
Ukraine for the first time joined the meeting of the European Polar Council (EPC) – an organization dedicated to the strategic development of polar research and other initiatives in the Arctic and Antarctic in Europe.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the National Antarctic Research Center was invited to take part in the event as a new member of the Council, because in April this year the NASC received full membership in the ENP.
The off-site meeting of the European Polar Council was held on June 13-17, 2022 in the city of Bologna (Italy) and was dedicated to the basics of the new ENP strategy for 2022-2027.
In particular, the participants discussed the details of the new strategic vision and mission of the Council, which will be divided into thematic blocks for more effective coordination, cooperation and interaction of the ENP members both among themselves and with other interested organizations.
During the summer, the draft Strategy will be developed by a working group of experts and agreed with all ENP members. It is expected that the final version of the Strategy for 2022-2027 will be approved at the next EPC plenary meeting in autumn 2022.
The ENP has been referred to as Europe’s “elite club” for Antarctic research. The main goal of the Council is to promote multilateral cooperation of participants in the study of the polar regions. It acts as a single point of contact for European polar explorers to communicate with each other and with international partners.
The National Antarctic Science Center became a member of the European Polar Council on April 5, 2022. This will provide new opportunities for Ukrainian scientists to study the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as improve the integration of Ukrainian science into the European research area.
Kazakhstan requested 100,000 tons of sugar from other countries, Kazinform reports with reference to Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov.
According to Sultanov, sugar reserves in the country as of June 2022 amount to 350,000 tons. “Brazil, India and Vietnam are one of the major suppliers in the world. But India has also limited, so we are negotiating,” the minister said.
Sultanov noted that on July 15 a meeting of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission will be held in Belarus, at which the participating countries will consider the issue of sugar exports.
In early March, Russia banned the export of grain and sugar to Kazakhstan and other EAEU countries until August 31. The Ministry of Trade of Kazakhstan reported that sugar reserves would last for three months. In 2021, Kazakhstan imported 506.9 million tons of sugar, of which more than half – 275.8 million tons – were imported from Russia.
Some Kazakh cities have introduced restrictions on the sale of sugar. For example, in Atyrau, only one kilogram is released into the hands. Residents of Uralsk complained about the increase in sugar prices and its shortage. On May 27, the press service of the Ministry of Commerce issued a message that there is no shortage of sugar in the country. But on May 31, the head of the department, Bakhyt Sultanov, admitted that the shortage of sugar was caused by Russia’s ban on the export of the product and raw materials.
According to Energyprom analysts, against this background, the cost of sugar in Kazakhstan increased immediately by 34.3% compared to February. The rise in sugar prices continued in the following months: for example, in April, sugar rose in price by another 4.5%, in May – by 5.7%. As a result, the annual increase in the price of sugar (May 2022 to May 2021) amounted to 60.5%.
In June, due to a shortage of sugar, Rakhat, the largest confectionery factory in Kazakhstan, announced the suspension of the plant in Shymkent and stopped the production of hard candies and caramel. The chairman of the board of the factory, Konstantin Fedorets, said that they lacked 20,000 tons of sugar for work.
There is hardly a person who has not had sleep problems at least once in his life. Those who are almost accustomed to waking up at midnight know how painful it is to maintain a normal rhythm of life if the night’s rest is lame.
We also know that waking up at three in the morning has a very logical explanation. But how to fall asleep most easily if it happens?
Woman and Home consults with specialists to give us the most useful advice on this. And they remind us that it’s good to first identify the reasons for waking up – from increased levels of stress through the need to visit the toilet to the snoring of our partner.
Deep breathing
The first key piece of advice when we wake up in the middle of the night is not to look at our phone to check what time it is. This is a sure way to wake up even more. Instead, we should try deep diaphragmatic breathing and tell ourselves that even if we don’t fall asleep right away, we will use the time to relax. This relieves the stress of waking up.
The rule of 20 minutes
If more than 20 minutes have passed and we still have not fallen asleep, sleep experts advise us to get up and do something different. For example, to open the window and take a deep breath, take a sip of water or walk around the room for a few minutes. Then we can try to go to bed again.
No blue light
We will not tire of repeating that the light from the screens of electronic devices is a sure way to reduce the production of melatonin – the sleep hormone.
Vienna (Austria), 27 June 2022 – Cannabis legalization in parts of the world appears to have accelerated daily use and related health impacts, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s World Drug Report 2022. Released today, the report also details record rises in the manufacturing of cocaine, the expansion of synthetic drugs to new markets, and continued gaps in the availability of drug treatments, especially for women.
According to the report, around 284 million people aged 15-64 used drugs worldwide in 2020, a 26 per cent increase over the previous decade. Young people are using more drugs, with use levels today in many countries higher than with the previous generation. In Africa and Latin America, people under 35 represent the majority of people being treated for drug use disorders.
Globally, the report estimates that 11.2 million people worldwide were injecting drugs. Around half of this number were living with hepatitis C, 1.4 million were living with HIV, and 1.2 million were living with both.
Reacting to these findings, UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly stated: “Numbers for the manufacturing and seizures of many illicit drugs are hitting record highs, even as global emergencies are deepening vulnerabilities. At the same time, misperceptions regarding the magnitude of the problem and the associated harms are depriving people of care and treatment and driving young people towards harmful behaviours. We need to devote the necessary resources and attention to addressing every aspect of the world drug problem, including the provision of evidence-based care to all who need it, and we need to improve the knowledge base on how illicit drugs relate to other urgent challenges, such as conflicts and environmental degradation.”
The report further emphasizes the importance of galvanizing the international community, governments, civil society and all stakeholders to take urgent action to protect people, including by strengthening drug use prevention and treatment and by tackling illicit drug supply.
Early indications and effects of cannabis legalization
Cannabis legalization in North America appears to have increased daily cannabis use, especially potent cannabis products and particularly among young adults. Associated increases in people with psychiatric disorders, suicides and hospitalizations have also been reported. Legalization has also increased tax revenues and generally reduced arrest rates for cannabis possession.
Continued growth in drug production and trafficking
Cocaine manufacture was at a record high in 2020, growing 11 per cent from 2019 to 1,982 tons. Cocaine seizures also increased, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, to a record 1,424 tons in 2020. Nearly 90 per cent of cocaine seized globally in 2021 was trafficked in containers and/or by sea. Seizure data suggest that cocaine trafficking is expanding to other regions outside the main markets of North America and Europe, with increased levels of trafficking to Africa and Asia.
Trafficking of methamphetamine continues to expand geographically, with 117 countries reporting seizures of methamphetamine in 2016‒2020 versus 84 in 2006‒2010. Meanwhile, the quantities of methamphetamine seized grew five-fold between 2010 and 2020.
Opium production worldwide grew seven per cent between 2020 and 2021 to 7,930 tons – predominantly due to an increase in production in Afghanistan. However, the global area under opium poppy cultivation fell by 16 per cent to 246,800 ha in the same period.
Key drug trends broken down by region
In many countries in Africa and South and Central America, the largest proportion of people in treatment for drug use disorders are there primarily for cannabis use disorders. In Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and in Central Asia, people are most often in treatment for opioid use disorders.
In the United States and Canada, overdose deaths, predominantly driven by an epidemic of the non-medical use of fentanyl, continue to break records. Preliminary estimates in the United States point to more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, up from nearly 92,000 in 2020.
In the two largest markets for methamphetamine, seizures have been increasing – they rose by seven per cent in North America from the previous year, while in South-East Asia they increased by 30 per cent from the previous year, record highs in both regions. A record high was also reported for methamphetamine seizures reported from South-West Asia, increasing by 50 per cent in 2020 from 2019.
Great inequality remains in the availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical consumption. In 2020, there were 7,500 more doses per 1 million inhabitants of controlled pain medication in North America than in West and Central Africa.
Conflict zones as magnets for synthetic drug production
This year’s report also highlights that illicit drug economies can flourish in situations of conflict and where the rule of law is weak, and in turn can prolong or fuel conflict.
Information from the Middle East and South-East Asia suggest that conflict situations can act as a magnet for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, which can be produced anywhere. This effect may be greater when the conflict area is close to large consumer markets.
Historically, parties to conflict have used drugs to finance conflict and generate income. The 2022 World Drug Report also reveals that conflicts may also disrupt and shift drug trafficking routes, as has happened in the Balkans and more recently in Ukraine.
A possible growing capacity to manufacture amphetamine in Ukraine if the conflict persists
There was a significant increase in the number of reported clandestine laboratories in Ukraine, skyrocketing from 17 dismantled laboratories in 2019 to 79 in 2020. 67 out of these laboratories were producing amphetamines, up from five in 2019 – the highest number of dismantled laboratories reported in any given country in 2020.
The environmental impacts of drug markets
Illicit drug markets, according to the 2022 World Drug Report, can have local, community or individual-level impacts on the environment. Key findings include that the carbon footprint of indoor cannabis is between 16 and 100 times more than outdoor cannabis on average and that the footprint of 1 kilogram of cocaine is 30 times greater than that of cocoa beans.
Other environmental impacts include substantial deforestation associated with illicit coca cultivation, waste generated during synthetic drug manufacture that can be 5-30 times the volume of the end product, and the dumping of waste which can affecting soil, water and air directly, as well as organisms, animals and the food chain indirectly.
Ongoing gender treatment gap and disparities in drug use and treatment
Women remain in the minority of drug users globally yet tend to increase their rate of drug consumption and progress to drug use disorders more rapidly than men do. Women now represent an estimated 45-49 per cent of users of amphetamines and non-medical users of pharmaceutical stimulants, pharmaceutical opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers.
The treatment gap remains large for women globally. Although women represent almost one in two amphetamines users, they constitute only one in five people in treatment for amphetamine use disorders.
The World Drug Report 2022 also spotlights the wide range of roles fulfilled by women in the global cocaine economy, including cultivating coca, transporting small quantities of drugs, selling to consumers, and smuggling into prisons.
Further information
The 2022 World Drug Report provides a global overview of the supply and demand of opiates, cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants and new psychoactive substances (NPS), as well as their impact on health.
The EU fully supports the G7 Partnership on Global Infrastructure and Investment. The reason for this is simple. We have always been a leader in cooperating with developing countries. 46% of global development aid comes from the European Union. And every year, almost 70 billion euros go towards funding more peace, more prosperity, and more development.
The G7 is committed to values, standards, transparency, principles, and so, too, is the EU. We focus on smart, clean and secure investments in sustainable infrastructure as well as in digital infrastructure, climate, energy and transport. We also invest in the power and potential of people, in their education and health as well as in cutting-edge research.
The EU is a project of peace and prosperity. It is anchored in the rule of law and multilateralism. We rally our partners around high standards in human, social, and workers’ rights.
Our G7 Partnership wants to drive forward infrastructure that is sustainable, inclusive, resilient and high quality, in emerging markets and in developing countries. One example of this is the EU’s investment in vaccines and medicine production, in particular in African countries. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) will play a catalyst role in mobilising private capital along with our public support.
The European Union is promoting its Global Gateway initiative, too. At our EU-Africa Summit, last February, we announced an Africa-Europe Investment Package of 150 billion euros. We are investing in many projects, in Africa and with Africa. The submarine EurAfrica Gateway Cable and the local pharmaceuticals cooperation are two good examples of this. In addition, in the Indo-Pacific region, we are very engaged in the field of sustainable connectivity in transport, energy and technology.
In conclusion, we need values and standards. That is why we are fully on board. I am convinced that the G7, and the EU, are taking the right direction for a more stable and forward-looking partnership.
The governmental “cult watchdog” CIAOSN published a text that was methodologically faulty and included false statements, the judge said.
The Palais de Justice of Brussels, the seat of the Justice Court of Brussels. Credits.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have obtained another legal victory in Belgium on June 16, 2022, this time against the governmental “cult watchdog” called CIAOSN (Centre d’information et d’avis sur les organisations sectaires nuisibles, Centre for Information and Advice on Harmful Cultic Organizations), an independent center established by the Belgian law of June 2, 1998, amended with the law of April 12, 2004, at the Belgian Ministry of Justice.
On November 30, 2018, CIAOSN produced the report “Signalement sur le traitement des abus sexuels sur mineurs au sein de l’organisation des témoins de Jéhovah” (Report on the Treatment of the Sexual Abuse of Minors Within the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses). The report was shared with the House of Representatives and the Minister of Justice. In the following months, news about the report were published by several Belgian media, claiming that a CIAOSN official document had indicated that the Jehovah’s Witnesses were hiding cases of sexual abuses of minors happening within their congregations, and a public investigation was needed. In fact, in February 2019, a parliamentary Working Group investigating the issue was created. On April 5, 2019, the Working Group issued an interim report, which recommended that the “study of the CIAOSN report” will be continued by the Parliament.
At the same time, also based on the CIAOSN report, a criminal case was started. As reported by Bitter Winter last year, on October 5, 2021, after an investigation and a search at the national Belgian headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Tribunal of First Instance of Brussels dismissed the accusations against the Belgian organization of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and individual members of the organization, who had been accused of not reporting to the police allegations of child sexual abuse in their congregations they had become aware of, thus violating Articles 422 bis and 442 quarter of the Criminal Code of Belgium, which make reporting mandatory.
In 2019, the Jehovah’s Witnesses sued the author of a particular vicious article published in the Belgian newspaper Le Soir and the publisher of the newspaper. On November 16, 2020, the Court of Brussels found against the Jehovah’s Witnesses, arguing that the newspaper had based its article on a report by CIAOSN, a reliable governmental agency. The Jehovah’s Witnesses then proceeded to sue the Belgian state, which is responsible for the activities of CIAOSN, on June 17, 2021.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses noted that the CIAOSN report was based on a faulty methodology, which led to unsupported conclusions and to false and slanderous information spread to the media.
CIAOSN stated in the document that, “In June 2018, CIAOSN received a notification according to which three of the 286 testimonies received by the Foundation ‘Reclaimed Voices’ in the Netherlands concern facts which have allegedly taken place in Belgium.” It would seem that this was one of the elements that caused the production of the CIAOSN report.
However, on March 9, 2021, the Brussels-based NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers reported that, “A Dutch-speaking member of the board of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) contacted Reclaimed Voices in The Netherlands to check the credibility of this information and get more details about the three alleged cases of sexual abuse in Belgium. In his answer, the head of Reclaimed Voices in the Netherlands denied such a news made public in Belgium, saying in a private correspondence dated 10 February 2021: ‘The information in the report of the CIAOSN is not correct. On 29 March 2019, we sent an email to CIAOSN about this inaccuracy. At that time, it came to our attention that Koen Geens, Minister of Justice (CD&V), had said on Radio 1 in Belgium: ‘It is the CIAOSN itself which has gone to the Netherlands to find this information and has stated that among the 286 Dutch complaints there were three Belgian ones.’ Something similar was said on television at ‘Van Gils & Guests.’ In the Dutch media, we have only testified about the situation in the Netherlands. The figures that were mentioned are only alleged victims of abuse in the Netherlands.”
How the data for the Netherlands were collected and compiled is highly questionable as well, but as far as Belgium is concerned the fact of the matter is that the three Belgian cases in the Reclaimed Voices list never existed. In the Brussels case, the Belgian government recognized this fact, but claimed that this did not invalidate the report as a whole.
Apart from the incorrect reference to three Belgian cases “found” in the Netherlands, CIAOSN mentioned that it had received other “direct or indirect” complaints, but most of its report did not deal with Belgium, there were no specific cases quoted, and most of the “information” offered came from press clippings.
The CIAOSN report.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses also relied on an expert report criticizing the CIAOSN text prepared by the undersigned (Massimo Introvigne) and by American scholars Holly Folk and J. Gordon Melton.
In its decision of June 16, 2022, the Court of Brussels sums up the main point of our criticism as follows: “lack of discussion of the methodology; a selective use of a few reliable academic sources; a subjective appreciation of certain beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses as peculiar or bizarre, when these beliefs are shared by many Christian denominations; the predominance of newspaper clippings as sources of information, and the omissions and errors that such sources have caused; a lack of contact with the national office of the Jehovah’s Witnesses; the lack of verification of the truth of the allegations; the lack of evidence of an alleged connection between sexual abuse and disfellowshipping of those who report it; the reliance on the controversial Australian Parliamentary Commission’s [Royal Commission] report, whose figures are based largely on unconfirmed allegations of abuse within the family and outside of any institutional context; the reliance on CIAOSN’s biased theory that their dualistic worldview makes Jehovah’s Witnesses an ‘at-risk’ organization, whereas this worldview is shared by most religious communities.”
The decision reports our conclusions as follows: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are singled out because the anticult ideology stigmatizes them as the quintessential ‘cult,’ and creates a climate where “cults’ cannot hope to be treated fairly. The CIAOSN Report is methodologically problematic, and relies largely on press clippings and information supplied by anti-cultists, some of them connected with FECRIS, an organization an official American commission has denounced for systematically spreading false information about groups it labels as ‘cults,’ particularly the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The claim that there is a vast number of cases of unreported sexual abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses in Belgium is not substantiated by the report’s own content. Unfortunately, CIAOSN’s Report cannot be regarded as an objective, unbiased report. The fact that no representatives of the Jehovah’s Witnesses were interviewed during the preparation of the report, that Reclaimed Voices cases were accepted at face value without an effort to investigate whether they really happened and were correctly reported, that press clippings, as well as information from anti-cult organizations, were largely and uncritically used, are all elements pointing to a bias. We recommend that no governmental or other action be taken based on this document [the CIAOSN report].”
From left to right: Massimo Introvigne, J. Gordon Melton, and Holly Folk.
The judge noted that all what the Belgian government and CIAOSN had to oppose to the experts’ critical analysis was that “the disputed report ‘is based on cross-checked and reliable sources, cited in the footnotes.’” The judge was not persuaded, and concluded that “the simple allegation by the Belgian state that the report is the result of meticulous research work by the CIAOSN does not allow to deny the critical analysis prepared by the experts.” Indeed, the judge found that press clippings and biased accounts, including the controversial Australian report, were the only sources of the CIAOSN report. A governmental “research center that claims to be objective and impartial cannot reasonably base most of its assessment on press clippings or television reports, the judge said. Such a posture defended by the Belgian state ignores the principles of the scientific method and reverses the roles. A serious scientific discourse cannot find its source in the media.”
In conclusion, the Court of Brussels, in addition to ordering the Belgian state to pay the legal expenses of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, found “that the CIAOSN committed misconduct in drafting and disseminating in December 2018 the report entitled ‘Report on the Treatment of the Sexual Abuse of Minors Within the Organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses’.” The court ordered “the State to publish, at its own expense, the present judgment on the homepage of the CIAOSN website, for a period of six months from the expiration of a period of eight days from the date of service of the present judgment;” and “to publish a mention of the present judgment with a reference to its full text in the ‘news’ section of the CIAOSN website.”
The judgement will surely become a key precedent. It states that scholars of religion are a more reliable source on these matters than journalists and anti-cultists, and that governmental agencies dealing with the alleged “danger of the cults” are not above the law and can be legally prosecuted when they spread false information and slander.
The monkeypox outbreak does not currently constitute a global public health concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday, though “intense response efforts” are needed to control further spread.
The announcement comes two days after WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus convened an Emergency Committee on the disease, under the International Health Regulations (IHR), to address the rising caseload.
“The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the multi-country monkeypox outbreak and, at present, does not determine that the event constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC),” the UN agency said in a statement.
The PHEIC declaration is the highest level of global alert, which currently applies only to the COVID-19 pandemic and polio.
Monkeypox, a rare viral disease, occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, though it is occasionally exported to other regions.
Since May, more than 3,000 cases have emerged in 47 countries, many of which have never previously reported the disease. The highest numbers are currently in Europe, and most cases are among men who have sex with men.
There have been few hospitalizations to date, and one death.
“The Committee unanimously acknowledged the emergency nature of the outbreak and that controlling further spread requires intense response efforts,” the statement said.
Members have also recommended that the situation should be closely monitored and reviewed after a few weeks.
Conditions that could prompt re-assessment such as evidence of an increased growth rate in cases over the next 21 days, occurrence of cases among sex workers, significant spread to and within additional countries, and rising caseloads among vulnerable groups such as persons with poorly controlled HIV infection, pregnant women and children.
Other situations mentioned include evidence of reverse spillover to the animal population, or significant change in viral genome.
Rapid spread a concern
In a statement, Tedros said he is deeply concerned by the spread of the disease, and that both he and WHO are following the evolving threat very closely.
“What makes the current outbreak especially concerning is the rapid, continuing spread into new countries and regions and the risk of further, sustained transmission into vulnerable populations including people that are immunocompromised, pregnant women and children,” he said.
He underscored the need for both collective attention and coordinated action through public health measures including surveillance, contact-tracing, isolation and care of patients, and ensuring vaccines, treatments and other tools are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly.
The WHO chief noted that the Committee had pointed out that Monkeypox has been circulating in a number of African countries for decades and has been neglected in terms of research, attention and funding
“This must change not just for Monkeypox but for other neglected diseases in low-income countries as the world is reminded yet again that health is an interconnected proposition,” he said.
WHO has convened hundreds of scientists and researchers to speed up research and development into Monkeypox,
The UN agency urged countries to collaborate, share information, and engage with affected communities, so that public health safety measures are communicated quickly and effectively.
Fiona Bruce MP outlines plans for the UK-hosted 2-day ministerial conference and explains the role of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
Greetings from the UK Parliament. I’m delighted to be speaking to you as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief. And I’m equally delighted to be able to talk to you about an international ministerial conference which the UK is hosting on 5 and 6 July this year. It’s a conference about freedom of religion or belief or ‘FoRB’ for short.
Why is this conference so important? Well, it’s important because all around the world today, even in the 21st century, millions of people are being deprived an education or a job or a home or access to justice or liberty, even to life itself, simply on account of what they believe. And so we’re hosting this conference here in the UK so that we can bring together people from around the world to look at how we can address this situation.
We’re inviting government ministers. We’re inviting faith leaders and representatives. We’re inviting civil society activists from around 50 countries from across the globe to come together and not only to discuss the issue of freedom of religion or belief, but also to look at how we can agree some practical solutions to address it.
And I’m pleased to say, too, that we’ve not just got an official government-organised conference with about 500 delegates and will be based in the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in the QEII in Parliament Square, but we’re also involving civil society grassroots organisations, charities and NGOs concerned about freedom of religion or belief, and they’ll be given their own space in the conference centre where they’ll be able to host exhibitions and hold their own meetings and sessions.
And so what will the conference involve? Well, we’ve got sessions across the 2 days looking at, for example, freedom of religion and belief and education. How can we introduce it into education syllabi? So that young people can begin to understand what freedom of religion or belief is and how important it is? We’ve seen how, for example, they’ve got hold of the importance of climate change and addressing that. Can we do that in the same way for freedom of religion or belief to help the millions of people around the world who are suffering. Can we see young ambassadors develop so that young people will use social media to champion freedom of religion or belief?
And then we’ll have another session on looking at women and girls and how they have a double jeopardy. Often they they are abused because they are women and girls, but also on account of what their beliefs are, and they’re vulnerable. How can we better help them in countries where this is happening?
And then we’re going to look at early warning signs. There are early warning signs that happen often when that’s the beginning of tension in communities because of differences in views and beliefs, which can then lead to friction, violence, even at worst case. Well, how can countries how can communities start to recognise these early warning signs and address them? And of course, we’re bringing people here from across the world because we recognise that no one country, not least the UK, has all the answers.
Only by working together, by collaborating will we be able to begin to start to solve this this growing issue. We’re looking at not just governments working together either, but governments working with civil society with organisations going forward, taking forward some really practical suggestions, which we hope will be brought out during those 2 days, and which we can then build on over the months, weeks, years to come.
And in addition to the official 2-day conference there’s a lot else going on here in the UK around 5 and 6 July, so that anyone who’s not invited to the conference will still be able to join in. We’ve got dozens and dozens of events focusing on freedom of religion or belief organised by charities, by non-government organisations (NGOs), by civil society activists, not just in London, but around the country.
And to the ministerial conference itself will be livestreamed so that anyone from anywhere in the world will be able to join in and watch and will actually be able to interact, because that will be an opportunity not just for delegates in the conference centre to interact with the sessions and make their contributions and their suggestions known, but also for people to comment virtually from right around the world.
So do join us on 5 and 6 July here in London, the lots of information on the website and by a lot more information coming on over the next few days. And I’m particularly delighted that the UK is hosting this conference this year in 2022 because this year to the UK is the Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
What is that Alliance, you may ask? Well, it’s an alliance of countries committed to promoting and protecting freedom of religion or belief and to preventing its abuses, to working together to do so. It was founded not long ago, in February 2020 with just a handful of countries. It’s now grown to 36 countries and more are coming on board.
And I’m pleased that the ministerial is proving a springboard for more interest in the Alliance day by day. And so we hope to see the Alliance grow so that they’ll really will be a strong collective global voice of countries who together can have more impact than our individual voices alone.
So I’m looking forward to greeting many of my Alliance contacts from around the world who up to date because of the pandemic I’ve only ever met virtually. This will be an exciting conference. It’s exciting for everyone and there’ll be something for everyone. Please do join us on 5 and 6 of July here in London.”
Roe overturned // “Catholic charities and Catholic healthcare services are going to compete with the abortion industry with good web-based care, and we are going to redouble our efforts as laypeople working with the Church to offer more paths to pregnancy help.”
Peggy Hartshorn, the Chairman of the Board of Heartbeat International, offered that assessment on the path forward for the pro-life movement in the United States, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson.
The Court decided 5-4 on Friday to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, stating that abortion is not a constitutional right and giving states the power to legislate on the issue.
Love and support for expectant mothers
In response, the Bishops of the United States praised the Court’s decision and said the Church must “serve those who face difficult pregnancies and surround them with love.”
Heartbeat International, which Dr. Hartshorn chairs, and other Church-run programs already turn that commitment into concrete care, in the form of crisis pregnancy centers. The interdenominational Christian association supports a network of over 3,000 centers in 65 countries, with around 1,700 centers in the US.
Speaking to Vatican News, Dr. Hartshorn highlighted the witness her organization offers, which she said is one of “love, care, and support for pregnant moms and their babies and their families that are struggling.”
That caring approach, she added, can help people resolve their internal conflicts regarding abortion, besides helping pregnant women carry their baby to term.
“Once they understand that abortion is not their only alternative, they are so relieved many times that they don’t feel they have to choose an abortion.”
Listen to the full interview
Overcoming coercion to have an abortion
Dr. Hartshorn says studies have shown that “the vast number of women feel some kind of coercion or pressure to make an abortion decision.”
“They may say they think abortion is what they need,” she said, “but when you get right down to the deep-down feelings, women will say they don’t want to have an abortion.”
The pregnancy help movement can offer women assistance in these situations, according to Dr. Hartshorn.
A crisis pregnancy center helps connect women to “a faith-based network”, which includes Catholic healthcare and social services.
“The body of Christ has risen up to really provide the help and support women really, truly want. And they are choosing life in bigger and bigger numbers.”
Public opinion and laws
Laws have a significant influence on people’s opinion on issues, says Dr. Hartshorn.
She has been involved in the pro-life movement since 1973, and saw how “as soon as the Supreme Court decision [in Roe v. Wade] came down and abortion was declared legal in all 50 states, the public attitude dramatically shifted”.
Prior to the Roe ruling, a majority of Americans thought that “abortion was a bad thing.” But afterwards, public opinion shifted in favor of access to abortion.
Walking with moms in need
Catholic dioceses across the US also offer another service to women and families with an initiative called “Walking with Moms in Need.”
Julie Dumalet, J.D., Director of Pro-Life Activities for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas, said the initiative offers Catholic laypeople the chance to “walk in the shoes” of local expectant mothers and mothers who are in need of financial assistance.
She told Vatican News that “Walking with Moms in Need” seeks to assist parents with older children, including toddlers, school-age children, and teenagers.
“What we are blessed to be able to do,” said Dr. Dumalet, “is expand on what we have done with our pregnancy help to make a culture of the whole life and to embrace parents at all levels of need.”
Since June 18, Lithuania has stopped allowing freight trains with a number of goods in transit to and from the Kaliningrad region. What was banned due to sanctions, reports a material of “Klops”.
Goods prohibited forimport, import are defined by the latest version of EU Council Regulation No. 833/2014 (on sanctions against Russia due to events in Ukraine). The ban also applies to transportation by road. The restrictions included products made from iron, steel, alcohol, timber, glass containers, caviar, non-ferrous metals, fertilizers, and cement. The list includes petroleum products (gasoline and diesel), but automotive fuel can be transported until February 5, 2023.
Governor Anton Alikhanov estimated the restriction of cargo turnover at 40-50% of all cargo transiting through Lithuania by rail.
How is the Kaliningrad business doing with the import of cosmetics, building materials, alcohol and other goods
On Tuesday, June 21, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Kaliningrad Region posted an expanded list of goods prohibited for transit through Lithuania. The list included, including cosmetics, alcohol, flowers and even red caviar. “Klops” talked to local entrepreneurs and found out how things were going.
The closure of transit through Lithuania at the moment has not affected the supply of flowers to our region, since flowers are purchased in Holland, and do not come to us from Russia. This was told by the leading florist in the delivery service “Romashka39” Nadezhda Polyakova.
“It is more difficult with fertilizers, they are all from big Russia, as long as there are reserves. We hope for the ferry and are waiting for the price increase, the cost of delivery to our region has already increased 3 times. So far, the most difficult thing is the EU ban on the transport of potted plants and herbs, which will come into force in early July. Workarounds not yet found, most likely there will be a shortage for some time. Therefore, if you have long wanted to buy a palm tree or a cute cactus, now is the time, ”Nadezhda explained.
As the flower growers say, the biggest difficulty in the sphere is the lack of clear delivery dates. Since April, “everything is in floating mode”, it is difficult to plan weddings and large orders. But, according to Nadezhda, there are also pleasant moments – mutual assistance has grown between representatives of the industry.
In matters of cost, the florist shares good news. She said that Holland had slightly reduced the price of flowers for Russia to help offset the increased shipping costs, which had quadrupled.
“Now the prices are at last year’s level, which pleases. This applies to cut flowers. Potted plants and fertilizers will rise in price unequivocally, it is not yet clear in what percentage terms and how we will bring them to Kaliningrad. This question remains open … ”, Nadezhda said.
Cosmetics, perfumery
There are also beauty products on the list, but they are in the “luxury” section. The cost per unit must be more than 300 euros. Yulia Semyonova, director of the Chic and Shine network, said that the ban does not apply to mass-market products, that is, to what the average consumer uses.
“We both transported and will continue to transport by road, we do not fall under this sanctions list, there will be no shortage of goods in our region. Many partners who booked a place on the ferry are told to go from there to the ground customs, because they need to carry sanctions, ”shared Yulia.
She said that if there are no problems with gasoline, then the cost of goods should not rise either. The rise in prices occurred a few months earlier, when the goods were held at customs for a long time, the trucks stood for 2-3 weeks and drivers had to pay for demurrage.
“We do not predict big increases, everything that was possible has already increased. One of the suppliers even said that he lowered prices, we will also lower them, ”the representative of the network assured.
Red caviar
Although the product was included in the sanctions list, the director of the Kamchatka company, Yevgeny Timofeev, said that this problem did not affect their area.
“There is and will be caviar in the store, our product is delivered to the region by aviation from Kamchatka directly, so there is no need to worry,” the entrepreneur assured.
Eugene is now in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. He said that sockeye salmon is the first to spawn, there are already caviar. It is impossible to send by ferry “perishable”, only by air and in compliance with the temperature regime. Delivery by plane through Moscow takes two days. The first caviar of this year was sent yesterday, today it will be brought to the region, and tomorrow it will be put on the counter.
“The price of caviar has not changed. Fresh sockeye salmon is sold in the region of 7500 and above, last year’s chum salmon is 6500-7000, and it was before, ”said Evgeny.
Suitcases
This product was also included in the sanctions list – it cannot be transported either by train or by trucks, now suitcases will go across the sea. The head of Chemodan39.ru, Anton Rodionov, said that part of the cargo has been sent by ferry since the beginning of the year – then there were queues at the borders. Instead of the usual 3-4 days, the goods had to wait for two weeks without any guarantees. The sea route definitely takes no more than two weeks.
“Now we will transport all goods by water. It will be 30 percent more expensive. The cost of suitcases brought by land and by sea was the same for the end consumer. At the expense of own funds had to compensate for the increased costs of transportation. From the 18th, when ground transport was no longer allowed, we began to systematically raise prices, ”says the head.
According to him, there are companies that still transport luxury goods through Lithuania. There is no confirmation of this information, in addition – officially this category of goods was included in the list of “prohibited”.
Alcohol
Representatives of companies involved in the transportation and sale of alcohol declined to comment on the situation. Many of them are waiting for July 10, when the EU must clarify the specific positions that will fall under the sanctions.
Petrol
It is too early to buy fuel — restrictions on the transportation of petroleum products should come into force no earlier than February 2023.
Cement
In Kaliningrad construction stores, they noticed an increased demand for cement and an influx of visitors. “Klops” talked with representatives of retail chains. The situation with building materials in stores was told in Baucenter, Trade House Stroitel and Leroy Merlin.
The head of the press service of the regional government, Dmitry Lyskov, said on Wednesday, June 22: “There is no shortage of cement in the Kaliningrad region.” The authorities advised not to panic and not create an artificially high demand for certain types of goods, in particular, for cement.
Due to Lithuania’s restriction of transit to the Kaliningrad region, not only the delivery time of goods, but also the price may increase. This was announced by the founder of the BMK group of companies, the general director of the Investment Metallurgical Union Oleg Chernov. He is quoted by Business FM Kaliningrad on Monday, June 20.
“In the future, the worst option is an increase in the price from 10 to 20%, depending on the transportation format: either it’s a ferry, or it’s a container. Delivery times will also increase – plus 2-3 months. So far, we predict this for ourselves, ”said the expert.
The representative of the press service of the Rastsvet Group of Companies, Olga Skovorodnikova, suggests that a shortage may arise:
“From the moment Lithuania announced the restriction of transit through its territory by the Russian Federation of a number of goods, mainly building materials, there may be some shortage of them on the market and, perhaps, prices for them in the region will rise again. But from experience, regulators from the authorities work, as well as measures to support the construction industry. We are confident that the situation will be resolved.”
Marketplaces
The press service of Ozon said that the delivery of orders to the Kaliningrad region is carried out as usual and mainly by sea.
“We introduced delivery by water about a month ago. The average delivery time for goods from other regions is about 7 days. In the Kaliningrad region, we have about 200 Ozon pickup points. Customers, as before, can order goods from the marketplace at the nearest point and pick them up at any convenient time. The cost of delivery has not changed,” commented the press service.
