The honorary doctorate awarded by Swiss university to former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini will not be revoked, although it is a “serious mistake”, said a commission dealing with the case.
The University of Lausanne (UNIL) honored the fascist leader in 1937 for “conceiving and implementing a social organization in his homeland … that will leave a deep mark on history.”
The university has been repeatedly asked to withdraw the controversial award of the holder, who was an ally of Adolf Hitler during World War II.
An expert group tasked with investigating the case concluded that the decision to award a doctorate “was a serious mistake on the part of the academic and political authorities” at the time.
“This title represents the legitimacy of a criminal regime and its ideology,” the report said on Friday.
The expert group did not recommend revoking the title, saying it would give the false impression that the initial decision to award a doctorate could be “corrected today”.
The university said withdrawing the award could lead critics to say it wants to erase the past.
“Instead of denying or deleting this episode, which is part of its history, university officials want it to serve as a permanent warning,” the statement said.
Mussolini, who lived in Switzerland from 1902 to 1904, was executed by guerrillas in April 1945.
Gas shortages force EU governments to rethink leak closures
At a crisis meeting, the Austrian government decided to reopen a shut-down coal-fired power plant due to power shortages caused by reduced gas supplies from Russia.
The Melah power plant, the country’s last coal-fired power plant, was shut down in the spring of 2020 as the government phased out polluting energy in a bid to switch to 100% renewable energy. Now, however, it will be reopened.
For the sixth day in a row, Italy will be left with a reduced supply of natural gas from Russia.
So far, Hungary is one of the few countries in the European Union that continues to receive full Russian gas.
Gazprom explains the reduction in the quantities supplied for both countries with technical problems. However, the authorities in the affected countries are adamant that this is political pressure from Moscow related to the war in Ukraine and the imposed Western sanctions.
Two hundred and seven years ago, on June 18, 1815, Napoleon’s last battle took place – the Battle of Waterloo, in which the French troops were defeated by a coalition of allies under the command of Wellington and Blucher. The course of hostilities is thoroughly analyzed in numerous sources, it makes no sense to repeat it in detail. But the analysis of the results of the battle is still a difficult question.
Disputes over the number of casualties in a particular battle are always going on, and the Battle of Waterloo is no exception. But most scientists agree that Napoleon lost about 24-26 thousand killed and wounded, and Wellington and Blucher – about 23-24 thousand. In addition, about 15 thousand Frenchmen were missing (most likely, most simply fled to France) and about five thousand coalition soldiers.
But no matter how detailed historians analyze the course of the battle, no matter how reliable sources contemporary to the event are, there is almost always a question, the answer to which must be sought for centuries. In the case of the Battle of Waterloo, this is the absence of military graves around the battlefield.
The tradition of carrying the bodies of the fallen back to their homeland had not yet been established: as a rule, only those who distinguished themselves in battle or those who had wealthy relatives were awarded such an honor. In any case: who would take care of transporting the bodies of the soldiers of the losing army? That is, the French who died and died from wounds were to be buried not far from the battlefields.
Director of the Scottish Center for the Study of War and Conflict Archeology at the University of Glasgow (UK) Tony Pollard (Tony Pollard) studied private letters, memoirs, and sketches of people who visited the vicinity of the Belgian village of Waterloo shortly after the battle. The results are presented in a paper published in the Journal of Conflict Archeology.
It is well known that Waterloo attracted its first visitors almost as soon as the smoke from the cannons cleared. They were both marauders and ordinary onlookers. Both those and others hoped to grab something on the battlefield as a keepsake – by that time in Europe there was even a resale of such “souvenirs”.
The Scottish merchant James Ker lived then in Brussels and was among the first at the battlefield. He left memoirs in which he described both the people who died in his arms and the places of burial. These memoirs speak of three mass graves, which together can contain up to 13,000 bodies.
Pollard, relying on the testimony of local residents (from private letters from the first visitors to Waterloo), compiled a map on which he noted not three, but many more places where the dead were buried. Apparently, in the first days and months (Walter Scott, for example, visited Waterloo two months later), it was the locals who served as guides for visitors. They showed not only the places of the most intense fighting, but also the graves.
But here’s the problem: archaeological research conducted by Waterloo Uncovered, including geophysical surveys and excavations, has not yet revealed any burial sites.
In 2015, during the construction of a new museum and car park near Waterloo, a human skeleton was discovered. Then in 2019, while excavating the main Allied field hospital, archaeologists from Waterloo Uncovered found amputated human leg bones. The museum at Waterloo also houses a skeleton of uncertain provenance. And that is all. Where are the rest of the bones?
“The bodies of the dead were apparently disposed of in numerous places across the battlefield,” writes Pollard. Who and how disposed of the remains of the fallen?
“At least three newspaper articles dating back to the 1820s mention the importation of human bones from European battlefields to make fertilizer. These battlefields could serve as a convenient source of bones, which were then ground into bone meal, an effective form of fertilizer. One of the main markets for this raw material was the British Isles,” the paper says.
Pollard suggests that some of the early visitors may have been agents of the bone supplier. Their main purpose would be mass graves, since the more bones they contain, the easier it is to pay off the effort of excavation. In addition, Waterloo is one of the closest major battles of the Napoleonic era to Britain, and transport costs in this case would be minimal. It is possible that local residents indicated the places of mass graves to agents.
This is a bold hypothesis, but it requires confirmation. Tony Pollard and Waterloo Uncovered are planning a comprehensive archaeological survey of the Waterloo battlefields. If human remains have been removed on the proposed scale, then at least in some cases there must be archaeological evidence of the pits from which they were recovered, however truncated and ill-defined they may be.
In the south of France, archaeologists have discovered a sunken 1300-year-old ship.
It is reported by NBC News.
Partial remains of an “extremely rare” vessel, 12 meters long, radiocarbon dated to between 680 and 720 BC. AD, found in Villenave d’Ornon near Bordeaux.
The French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research said the boat was “an exceptional example of the maritime architecture of the High Middle Ages” and was able to navigate the rivers as well as the Atlantic coasts of France.
“In order to limit the destruction of the wood of the sunken ship, especially now that it is in the south-west of France, it is extremely hot, we pour water on it every 30 minutes. Excavations and dismantling of the sunken ship should be completed by mid-September. At the moment, we are on schedule, and each piece of wood dismantled allows us to learn more about the shipbuilding techniques of the early Middle Ages, ”said Laurent Grimbert, who leads the excavations at the institute.
The ship was discovered in 2013 in a silty creek bed. But only now it is being carefully examined piece by piece to find out its true nature and purpose.
A British company has signed a contract to supply a Spanish airline with helium-powered airships. In the future, these airships will carry tourists to resorts in Spain instead of planes, although the ship was originally intended to monitor intelligence gathering in Afghanistan, Hybrid Air Vehicles said.
A small company based in Bedford, Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), announced that it has closed a deal to provide ten of its unique helium airships to the Spanish airline. It was clarified that each aircraft can carry 100 passengers. A new ‘green’ manufacturing aerospace facility is expected to be built in South Yorkshire, which could provide an incentive for green aviation.
“Hybrid aircraft can play an important role as we move towards cleaner forms of aviation and it’s great to see the UK at the forefront of technology development. This agreement enhances the flight capabilities of the revolutionary British-made and designed Airlander 10 aircraft in the skies of Spain,” said Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.
A company spokesman noted that the airship would have a carbon footprint of about 4.5 kg per tourist compared to a jet aircraft’s 53 kg per passenger.
Spanish carrier Air Nostrum hopes to have airships in the air by 2026. This could be an exciting innovation for air travel. The head of the carrier, Carlos Bertomeu, said in this regard: “Airlander 10 will significantly reduce emissions, and for this reason we have entered into an agreement with HAV. Sustainability, which is good news for everyone, is already an indisputable fact in the daily operations of commercial aviation.”
The airline has not specified which routes it will use the airships on, but they could be used on domestic Spanish routes as well. For example, trips from Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca, which HAV says will take about four and a half hours. However, HAV said that its model is suitable for intercity travel and can be used for travel between Belfast and Liverpool or intercity routes in the US.
“Airlander is designed to provide a better future for sustainable aviation services, create new transportation networks and enable rapid growth opportunities for our customers. Our partnership with Air Nostrum Group as the airline launching the Airlander 10 paves the way for this future,” CEO Tom Grundy said hopefully.
The company hopes to sell 265 Airlanders over the next 20 years. The calculation is simple: the world is fighting climate change, many airlines are looking for greener options.
Air travel is one of the world’s major sources of pollution and accounts for about 2% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Many airlines have made commitments to cut their carbon emissions over the next decade, but progress has been extremely slow. Moreover, tourists in first-class seats emit an average of four times more emissions than an economy seat on the same plane.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced support for plans to modernize EU structures and decision-making. Ten days ago, the European Parliament activated a process to amend the EU Treaties, including the “abolition of the right of veto”.
“It will not be possible to solve everything that is decided today with unanimity, again with unanimity in the future,” the German chancellor said in an interview with DPA, quoted by BTA. He said he hoped to present his proposals at the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, at which the candidacies of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will be discussed.
According to him, the European Union should make it easier for new countries to join. It is time not only for the candidate countries, but for the European Union itself to prepare for the club’s expansion, Scholz said.
In the interview, Scholz called on Russia to alleviate the global food crisis by helping secure grain supplies from blocked Ukrainian ports.
“Russia must provide safe transport while giving assurances that it will not use the invasion corridor,” Scholz said.
On Thursday, after meeting with Scholz and other European leaders in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Russia for causing a food crisis in parts of Africa and Asia by blocking grain exports with its naval blockade. Russia, for its part, says exports have been suspended due to sea mining and sanctions.
In an interview, the German chancellor supported UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts to create an export corridor, but declined to comment on the possibility of a UN mission to provide access to Ukrainian ports such as Odessa.
According to the European Parliament’s press office, Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on the European Council to agree to launch a process of revising the EU Treaties.
Given the many ongoing and recent crises, MEPs have taken advantage of their prerogatives to call for amendments to the Treaties by:
• reforming the voting procedures in the Council in order to increase the European Union’s capacity to act, including the transition from unanimity to qualified majority voting, in areas such as sanctions, the so-called “Transition clauses” as well as in the event of an emergency;
• adapting the EU’s powers, in particular in the field of health and cross-border health threats, to the completion of an energy union based on energy efficiency and renewable energy and established in accordance with international agreements on climate change mitigation , as well as in the field of defense and social and economic policies;
• ensuring the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and inclusion in the Treaties of social progress under Article 9 TFEU, linked to a protocol on social progress;
• strengthening the resilience of the EU economy, with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and competitiveness checks, and encouraging investment in a fair, green and digital transition;
• giving Parliament the right to initiate, amend or repeal legislation, and full co-decision rights on the EU budget; and
• strengthening the procedure for the protection of the values on which the EU is founded, clarifying the identification and consequences of violations of fundamental values (Article 7 TEU and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union);
The resolution was adopted by 355 votes to 154, with 48 abstentions, following a debate earlier in the day.
Next steps
The Heads of State and Government of the 27 Member States will be able to decide on the establishment of a Convention by a simple majority during the European Council. Many MEPs called for this to happen as soon as possible, ie. at the EU Summit on 23-24 June to ensure that citizens’ expectations are met and that the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe are put to good use as soon as possible. The Convention should include Members, Commissioners, Members of the Member States’ parliaments and EU leaders.
The European Commission is expected to announce in mid-June how it intends to take further action on the Conference. The Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament (AFCO) will continue to work on the changes that Parliament will seek to make to the Treaties, pending the Convention.
Context On 9 May in Strasbourg, EP President Roberta Mezzola, French President Emmanuel Macron on behalf of the EU Council Presidency and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen received her final report from the Co-Chairs of the Conference’s Executive Board. It includes 49 proposals, including more than 300 measures on 9 topics, based on 178 recommendations from European Citizens’ Panels, contributions from national panels and events, ideas from the European Youth Event and 43,734 opinions on 16,274 ideas recorded on the multilingual digital platform.
The World Drug Report 2022 also details the environmental consequences of the illicit drugs trade, the expansion of synthetic drugs to new markets, and an all-time high in cocaine production.
“Numbers for the manufacturing and seizures of many illicit drugs are hitting record highs, even as global emergencies are deepening vulnerabilities,” saidUNODC chief Ghada Waly.
“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”.
The report outlined that some 284 million 15 to 64-year-olds used drugs in 2020, indicating a 26 per cent increase during the course of a decade.
Globally, 11.2 million people were estimated to inject drugs, around half of whom were living with hepatitis C; 1.4 million with HIV, and 1.2 million with both.
In Africa and Latin America, those under 35 represent most of the people being treated for drug use disorders.
Repercussions of cannabis legalization
In North America, legalized cannabis on a state level – especially new potent products containing elevated levels of high-inducing THC – appears to have increased daily usage, particularly among young adults.
In addition to increasing tax revenues, it has also caused a reported surge among people with psychiatric disorders, increased suicides and hospitalizations while generally reducing possession arrests.
Cocaine, meth and opium
In 2020, global cocaine manufacturing grew 11 per cent from the previous year to 1,982 tons and, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, seizures increased to a record 1,424 tons.
Nearly 90 per cent of cocaine seized last year was trafficked via land and/or sea, reaching regions beyond the regular markets of North America and Europe.
Methamphetamine (or meth) trafficking continued to expand geographically, with 117 countries reporting seizures between 2016 and 2020, versus 84 from 2006‒2010, with volume growing an astonishing five-fold, between 2010 and 2020.
While the global area being used for opium poppy cultivation fell globally by 16 per cent to 246,800 hectares between 2020 and 2021, increased Afghan production triggered a seven per cent jump to 7,930 tons during that period.
Key drug trends
Most people in drug rehabilitation throughout Africa and South and Central America are primarily being treated for cannabis abuse while those in eastern and south-eastern Europe and central Asia, most often require help for the misuse of opioids.
In the United States and Canada, overdose deaths, predominantly driven by an epidemic of the non-medical use of fentanyl – which can be fatal in tiny doses, and is commonly used to ‘cut’ other drugs such as street cocaine – continue to break records.
Estimates in the US point to more than 107,000 drug overdoses last year, up from nearly 92,000 in 2020.
Conflict zone magnets
Meanwhile, the report reveals data from the Middle East and Southeast Asia suggesting that conflict can act as magnets for synthetic drug manufacturing, which may increase if the violence is close to large consumer markets.
Historically, parties to conflict have often used illegal drug profits to finance war.
Conflicts may also disrupt and shift drug trafficking routes, as has happened in the Balkans and most recently in Ukraine, since Russia annexed Crimea and separatists took control of areas of the east in 2014.
Reported clandestine laboratories in Ukraine have skyrocketed from 17 dismantled in 2019, to 79 in 2020 – 67 of which were producing amphetamines – the highest number of disassembled labs reported in any given country, in 2020.
Environmental impacts
The carbon footprint of indoor cannabis is between 16 and 100 times greater, than for outdoor cannabis, on average, according to the report – due to the intensive energy demands of artificial cultivation. And it is 30 times greater for lab-produced cocaine, than that for cocoa bean production.
Other environmental impacts include substantial deforestation associated with illicit coca cultivation; waste generated during synthetic drug manufacturing, which can be 5-30 times the volume of the end product; and dumping other waste that can affect soil, water and air directly.
Other organisms, animals and the overall food chain, suffer indirectly, said UNODC.
Gender treatment gap
Although women remain in the minority of drug users globally, their consumption rate increases more rapidly than men on average, said the report, and fewer get treatment.
They use an estimated 45-49 per cent of amphetamine and non-medical pharmaceutical stimulants, pharmaceutical opioids, sedatives, and tranquilizers.
And although women represent almost one in two amphetamines users, they constitute only one in five people in treatment for amphetamine use.
Moreover, they play a range of roles in the global cocaine economy, from cultivating coca to transporting small quantities and selling to consumers.
“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,” said UNODC chief Ghada Waly.
UNODC
Global drug users as estimated in the World Drug Report 2022.
On Monday, thousands of people gathered at Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal, for the first day of the long-awaited UN Ocean Conference. Riding on the global momentum generated by the event, experts are pushing for a new international commitment to combat pollution, including at sea.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the amount of marine litter and plastic waste, has been growing rapidly. And without meaningful action, emissions of plastics into aquatic ecosystems, are projected to nearly triple by 2040.
Pollution cuts across several sectors and is strongly interconnected with the other planetary crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Combatting marine pollution is a global challenge, that needs a global approach if it’s to be mitigated, experts remarked.
“Sea-based pollution, including discharges and spills from vessels and the presence of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear, continues to be of concern, with plastics and microplastics from numerous sources, untreated wastewater and nutrient run-off still polluting the oceans”, said a statement published by organizers of the event.
Speaking in Lisbon, Janis Searles Jones, Chief Executive Officer at the Ocean Conservancy, in Portland, Oregon, stressed that “life below water is essential to life above water”, and underlined the urgency of reducing single-use plastic, and faster action.
‘Scream loud’: ban single-use plastic
On the sidelines of the Conference, the UN educational and scientific agency (UNESCO) named giant-wave surfer and two-time Guinness World Record holder, Maya Gabeira, Champion of the Ocean and Youth.
Maya Gabeira is a Brazilian big-wave surfer, best known for setting the 2020 World Record for the biggest wave ever surfed by a woman.
Speaking at an event in the SDG Media Zone – “Empowering youth for the Ocean we need” – the Brazilian athlete shared that even in her most remote surfing spot – which she can only reach after travelling for 55 hours – she finds plastic surrounding her when she is catching the waves.
“It is very sad when you are surfing and the tide turns and all that plastic moves into you, and you are trying to make space, or put whatever you can in your pockets to bring to a recycling trash, but we know that’s not even a dent, and that is not the solution.”
Speaking to UN News, Ms. Gabeira reiterated the importance of educating herself and of learning ways of creating less of a footprint – not just by using less plastic, but also by using her platform to “scream as loud” as possible, to drive change, adding that every single one of us, can make a difference.
At the event, UNESCO’s Director-General Audrey Azoulay reiterated the commitment to integrate ocean education into national curricula of all Member States by 2025, underlining the importance of ocean literacy.
Changes in consumption patterns needed
According to UNEP’s most recent data, and despite current initiatives and efforts, the amount of plastic in the ocean is now estimated to be 75-199 million tons.
Population increases, changes in consumption patterns and other types of behaviour, and greater market accessibility lead to higher waste generation, while the resources and technical capacity for sound waste management are limited in some countries which decide they have more pressing public spending needs.
All these pollution challenges require national and regional cooperation and knowledge-sharing among diverse stakeholders, experts warned.
For fashion designer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Oskar Metsavaht, fashion is also a way of changing attitudes and behaviour, just like any other art form, such as cinema and music, he told UN News.
Marine plastic debris has impacted over 600 marine species.
Youth is essential
A major concern among environmentalists is what happens during the breakdown of plastics in the ocean, chiefly in the form of microplastics – which are small pieces of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter – and chemical additives, which are known to be toxic and hazardous to human and wildlife health, as well as ecosystems.
“Youth [needs] not only to question the system, but changing their behaviours of consumerism, and using nature, conservancy, and sustainable development, oceans and forests, to be inspirational”, the creator of the lifestyle brand Osklen added.
“New fabrics, new materials, and new technologies need to be implemented in a sustainable way – we still need to find a solution to avoid the microplastics in fashion”, Mr. Metsavaht concluded.
CEC General Secretary Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen commended the EU-initiated Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). However, he stressed that European churches and faith-based communities would have liked to see their concerns, especially related to freedom of religion and belief, featured in the final report that articulates results from the CoFoE.
Dr Sørensen made an online intervention at the EPP Working Group Intercultural and Religious Dialogue on 22 June, addressing the theme “Outcome of the Conference on the Future of Europe”.
The aim of the meeting was to deepen the understanding of the role of religions in Europe, as well as to exchange views with academic experts in the fields of religion, history and culture.
“A democratic and just future for Europe is a concern for all our 114 Member Churches,” said CEC General Secretary. “This is the basic reason why CEC was among the first to mobilise when the Conference on the Future of Europe was launched by the European Institutions in 2021.”
In early March, CEC informed all Member Churches about the Conference, encouraging them to take an active part in the deliberations ahead, he shared. The foundation for this move was the view that the CoFoE offered a great opportunity for CEC and its Member Churches to bring forward a Christian perspective in the debate on the future of Europe and European societies.
Sørensen reminded the participants that churches’ engagement with CoFoE is rooted in the longstanding Article 17 tradition in the European Institutions, signifying that churches are recognised as credible dialogue partners to the EU.
“In line with the provisions of Article 17, we would have appreciated an explicit concern for churches and other faith-based organisations as legitimate voices in a European discourse on our future societies,” he said.
He went on to say that European societies are moving towards an increasingly secular and more pluralistic nature. This allows for more voices to be heard. However, secularity and plurality also mean that established authorities of former times are being challenged.
“In dialogues with our Member Churches, we experience that, in recent years, strong signs of ‘religious illiteracy’ are emerging throughout Europe. Religion is regarded with suspicion. Therefore, CEC with its Member Churches will continue working to secure and maintain a Christian and other faith-based voices in the future of Europe,” he added.
The meeting was opened by the co-chairmen of the EPP Working Group Mr Jan Olbrycht MEP and Mr György Hölvényi MEP. Among others who presented were Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE), Very Rev. Archimandrite Fr. Aimilianos Bogiannou, director of the Brussels Office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (CROCEU), Ambassador Ms Ismat Jahan, Permanent Observer of the OIC Mission to the EU and Rabbi Avi Tawil, director of the European Jewish Community Centre.
Morocco-Spain border – Following the tragic incident that occurred on 25 June 2022, when around 2,000 migrants crossing from Morocco tried to break through the Melilla border fence, Fr. Manuel Barrios Prieto, General Secretary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), releases on Monday 27 June 2022 the following statement (EN – ES).
“COMECE laments the death of dozens of migrants and asylum seekers near Morocco’s city of Nador, while trying to cross the fence into the Spanish city of Melilla, as well as the loss of two policemen’s lives.
We pray for them and for their families. COMECE calls for the identification of the victims and the return of their remains to their families, and for an independent and trustworthy investigation of what happened in this tragic episode.
The EU and its member states’ management of migration cannot consist in giving a blank check to neighbouring countries that don’t respect the inalienable dignity of migrants and refugees.
COMECE also condemns the use of violence by people trying to cross borders and calls for a proportionate use of force by law enforcement agents and the absolute respect of the human dignity and the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees, as well as the facilitation of an appropriate screening of persons that are legitimate asylum seekers.”
