Russia: the AntiWar concert of pianist Alexei Lyubimov and Yana Ivanilova was attended by police officers
SOTA Telegram Channel reports that a concert “Songs against Time” based on compositions by Valentin Silvestrov was being held at the Rassvet Culture Centre. The event was visited by the police, allegedly following a bomb threat, and was disrupted. This was reported by one of the audience.
A video was provided by a visitor to the event.
Civil Society (CS) is the direct way in which citizens express themselves and participate in consultation before making a decision in a state. It is an additional structure in the whole organizational chart of the rule of law with a complementary role to that of the executive and the legislature. The manner, immediacy and degree of participation of the CS determine firstly the degree of democracy and secondly the level of effectiveness of the rule of law in each country separately. The institutionalized participation of the CS in the structures of the state and international organizations through consultation/dialogue is essential.
More specifically, states that have good practices in relation to CS participation operate more smoothly with enhanced democratic processes and vice versa, while states with lower CS participation lag behind, resulting in this significant absence of citizens from dialogue affecting their functioning.
The CS through its complementary role can also bring other powers and state structures face to face with the real problems that are a priority for society and man. A simple successful example is highlighting the global problem of climate change. The control of other state powers is a stabilizing factor of the rule of law. At the same time, the CS through its role can restore social justice and contribute to the self-regulation of the control of powers in a state. In particular, the participation of the CS can have various purposes such as for example as a defender of Human Rights and Freedoms within the rule of law by criticizing all the powers within it.
Particularly and proportionately important is the role of the CS in international organizations which should be role models through their own operations. I observe that the UN Secretariat, the Council of Europe and the EU, even with different structures, have the inclusion of the CS in an ongoing dialogue. In the case of the OSCE, there is a lot of work to be done, since, at the governmental level, there is still no compromise on how the CS can participate in its work. The OSCE General Assembly has appointed a special representative for the CS, who will prepare a report on the good practices of the CS in the Member States and a mechanism for participating in the work of the assembly.
There is no fixed and universal way of utilizing the CS by the states, which applies differently to the participation of the CS in their wider organization. Others have institutionalized the inclusion of the CS in the wider state structure, while others have not. Unfortunately, in some states, even if they refer to the CS, in their day-to-day operation the CS does not receive the appropriate respect.
The organization of the CS varies from state to state. Some examples of expressive Institutions for CS are the ombudsman, the Commissioner for Legislation / Human Rights, etc. Institutions that have a different degree of independence from other state powers, while also having a different role. In relation to the above, the expression and organization of the CS through NGOs varies from country to country where we observe models of enhanced cooperation between NGOs, while elsewhere NGOs operate completely uncoordinated between themselves.
In addition, digitization as a technological development makes the participation of the CS much easier and financially painless. Online meetings facilitate dialogue, discussion and consultation, especially for all those Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that have limited financial resources and human resources. In addition to the fact that teleconferences enrich the knowledge, relationships and collaborations of CS.
Unfortunately, there are many states that even impose prosecutions on the CS under the pretext of national security, crime, the imposition of a state of emergency, but also the instrumentation of different national laws in order to prosecute CS defenders. Regarding the latter, there is a particularly large number of people from NGOs who are prosecuted after tax audits or other minor offences in order to be blackmailed and not to play their role.
The orderly and legal activity of NGOs is a necessity so that their activity does not run counter to the rule of law. The main reason why a number of NGOs are treated with great caution by the states is the illegality of their activities. A number of NGOs involved in illegal economic and political activities give rise to states and international organizations refusing to integrate them into their decision-making processes. Once their legitimacy has been verified, then the state should fully respect the operation of NGOs as a separate institutional cell of democracy.
Some states keep a register of NGOs based on which an NGO is registered. A number of states also require the inclusion of a code of conduct and ethics in the statutes of NGOs. However, it should be emphasized that the criteria applied by the states need a comparative study, in order to determine whether and to what extent irrational and unnecessary obstacles are imposed in the registration of an NGO or not.
In conclusion, the participation of the CS necessarily contributes to democracy and the rule of law and, consequently, to peace. The aspect of CS participation should be highlighted as a priority for both states and international organizations. The development of good practices for the integration of CS into the processes of states and international organizations is essential. After all, the CS has significant reserves of “calm” power that can positively influence the agenda and rules of national and international policies.
Freedom of Religion or Belief in North Korea is certainly not a “boring” issue, even if it might be frustrating. The Member of the European Parliament Mr. Bert-Jan Ruissen, an expert on the subject, has accepted to be interviewed by The European Times.
We have been in touch with the London-based NGO Korea Future in the autumn of 2021 and during our talks we discussed Korea Future’s new Report on religious freedom in North Korea. The idea was raised to bring this report under the attention of a greater public in Brussels through a conference in the European Parliament in March 2022. Not much attention has been paid to the situation of religious freedom in the DPRK since years, so the release of the new report was for us a good occasion to put the issue on the agenda again.
According to the report, DPRK’s Ministry of State Security proactively gathers information on perceived threats to North Korea’s political system, with a focus on those of domestic origin, which includes Christians. The hardcore of Kim-dynasty’s policy is the total submission to and the unconditional glorification of the ‘ divine’ Kim Jong Un (as well as his late father and late grandfather). Christians obey the King of Heaven and do not want to be involved in the divine glorification of an earthly atheist leader. They are therefore accused of undermining the political system and being an existential threat to it. The authorities persecuted religious believers on a variety of charges, including religious practice, religious activities in China, possessing religious items such as Bibles, contact with religious persons, attending religious services, and sharing religious beliefs. Christians and other religious adherents reportedly suffered from arbitrary surveillance, interrogation, arrest, detention, and imprisonment, punishment of family members, torture, sexual violence, forced labour and execution. For more information, I would like to refer to the aforementioned report.
The resolution states that the DPRK regime is systematically targeting religious beliefs and minorities, including Shamanism, Korean Buddhism, Catholicism, Cheondoism and Protestantism. Examples of such systematic targeting include the execution of some non-foreign Catholic priests and Protestant leaders who did not renounce their faith and being purged as ‘American spies’. The resolution also refers to the songbun system (the nation’s surveillance/security system), according to which religious practitioners belong to the ‘hostile’ class and are considered enemies of the state, deserving ‘discrimination, punishment, isolation, and even execution’. The text mentions that documentation from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) shows that followers of Shamanism and Christianity are especially vulnerable to persecution. It also stresses that there have been reports on the severe repression of people involved in public and private religious activities, including arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, forced labour and execution and that kwanliso (political prison camps) remain operational because they are fundamental to the control and repression of the population.
The resolution condemns the severe restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, information, peaceful assembly and association, as well as discrimination based on the songbun system, which classifies people on the basis of state-assigned social class and birth, and also includes consideration of political opinions and religion. The parliament is deeply concerned about the systematic violations of freedom of religion and belief affecting Shamanism and Christianity as well as other religions in North Korea. It denounces the arbitrary arrests, long-term detention, torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence against and killings of religious people and urges the DPRK authorities to cease all violence against religious minorities and to grant them the right of freedom of religion and belief, the right of association and the right of freedom of expression. It further stresses the need to hold the perpetrators of these violent acts to account, including the Ministry of People’s Social Security and the Ministry of State Security which are instrumental in the persecution of religious communities;
Given the closed nature of the country little is known about the actual prevalence of Covid-19 in the DPRK, with a government denying the presence of the virus in the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has however been used by the DPRK to further isolate the country from the outside world, resulting in exacerbated entrenched human rights violations and a negative impact on its people’s health. The DPRK has closed its borders to all external crossings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 and has not distributed any COVID-19 vaccines to its people
On 22 March 2022, the EU imposed asset freezes and a travel ban under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on two individuals and one entity in the DPRK. It is remarkable that in a country with so many reported human rights violations, so little people are being sanctioned. This is probably partially due to the closed nature of the country with limited to no access to foreign organizations. It is important to hold all perpetrators of grave human rights violations to account for their deeds, including their sanctioning, to pursue efforts to refer the situation in the DPRK to the International Criminal Court. Before that can happen, it is very important to collect evidence and documentation of gross human rights violations. It is therefore very important that the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea, humanitarian organizations, and civil society get access to the country. The resolution also encourages the EU and the Member States to develop a strategy complementing the EU’s sanctions regime and taking into account the resumption of the political dialogue with North Korea (stalled since 2015) when the time is ripe, with a view to integrating human rights, denuclearisation and peace initiatives into its engagement with the DPRK.
Analysts are sure that the fall of the ruble is temporary. It will strengthen due to the sale of foreign currency by exporters
The Russian ruble weakened sharply in turbulent trading on Monday, wiping out some of the previous week’s gains after the central bank decided to ease temporary capital controls aimed at limiting the currency’s fall.
Late Friday, the central bank said it would lift a 12% fee for buying foreign currency through brokerage houses from April 11 and lift a temporary ban on the sale of cash foreign currency to individuals from April 18.
The ruble fell to 82.09 against the dollar at market open in Moscow from 71 rubles hit on Friday, the strongest reading since Nov. 11.
By 07:27 GMT, the ruble was down nearly 5% on the day to 79.90 against the dollar and 4.3% against the euro to 86.35.
The decision to waive the 12% FX transaction fee means that speculators will be able to trade again, Alor Brokerage said, adding that market participants are eager to take even small profits.
The ruble remains supported by the mandatory conversion of 80% of foreign exchange earnings by export-oriented companies, as well as high interest rates, despite the fact that the central bank unexpectedly cut its key rate from 20% to 17% last week.
Analysts at ITI Capital said Russia was generating about $1.4 billion in export earnings per day and the ruble could appreciate even more given Russian capital controls and reduced imports.
The rate cut by the central bank supported OFZ Russian government bonds. The Treasury Department said over the weekend that it would not borrow on local or external debt markets this year.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also said Russia would sue if the West tried to force it into defaulting on its sovereign debt.
The yield on 10-year OFZs, which move inversely with their prices, fell to 10.62% on Monday. This was the lowest since February 22, two days before Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, prompting unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia.
On the stock market, the dollar-denominated RTS index fell 4.5% to 1031.4 points, but the Russian ruble-based MOEX index rose 0.8% to 2614.0 points, supported by the ruble’s fall.
According to Thomson Reuters
For years, scientists have sprayed oxytocin, known as the love hormone, on the noses of lions. The result: royal animals become much friendlier to their neighbors and less often roar against unknown lions.
The study, published in the journal iScience, could provide valuable help amid urban sprawl, forcing some animals to regroup in reserves.
“I’ve always loved lions,” said Jessica Burkhart, a neurologist and lead author of the study. After studying the brains of these animals in a laboratory, she wants to observe them in real life.
While cats have a reputation for being independent animals, lions do not have this trend. They live in groups, conquering and defending territories in the African savannah.
“Male lions, for example, leave their group when they are a few years old, meet other male individuals they do not know, and with whom they will form relationships for life,” explains Burkhart.
Such behavior shows that lions, unlike lone leopards or cheetahs, are biologically programmed to be social in certain situations, making them interesting animals for studying the effects of oxytocin, which strengthens social bonds. It appears in the brain of the mother, who looks into the eyes of her newborn child, causing a sense of happiness and well-being. Some therapists even suggest that couples with marital problems look each other in the eye to release oxytocin.
Similar effects have been observed in other species, such as humans and their dogs.
Jessica Burkhart and her colleagues worked at the Dinokeng Reserve in South Africa, using pieces of meat to lure lions.
To reach the brain directly, the hormone must be injected directly into their noses using something that looks like an old perfume bottle.
Researchers have found that the 23 lions exposed to the hormone were more tolerant of their peers, sharing their space, especially when they have a desired object.
“Oxytocin-exposed lions also no longer roared when listening to recordings of intruders roaring, unlike untreated specimens or others that were sprayed with saline alone,” said Jessica Burkhart.
This reduced aggression towards alien lions is particularly encouraging, according to the researcher, as oxytocin is known to have the opposite effect in humans: although it provokes positive feelings towards loved ones, it can also increase rivalry with outsiders.
According to Jessica Burkhart, the use of oxytocin may be useful in several scenarios.
First, he can help lions rescued from circuses or zoos in military zones, and then housed in reserves.
In addition, lions are facing a growing problem: cities are expanding and entering more and more of their territory. As a result, animal rights activists have to transport them to reserves where unknown groups are forced to communicate with each other. In this case, oxytocin can help prevent conflicts.
Finally, treatment could help return lions to the wild to better adapt to their new social environment, making Burkhart “more curious and less timid.”
However, the treatment also raises concerns that unscrupulous people – like zoo managers described in the documentary series “In the Kingdom of the Beasts” – could use it to allow visitors to pet animals. This practice has been strongly criticized by associations.
“There are indeed corrupt people. However, we can hope that oxytocin will help more than it will harm,” she said.
A team of Canadian scientists from the University of Waterloo have found signs of ancient life inside a 2.5 billion year old ruby. Corundum was found in Greenland.
The oldest rubies on the planet – gemstones composed of a mineral with a red tint – are found in Greenland. While searching for corundum in the North Atlantic Craton in southern Greenland, a team of researchers discovered an amazing find in one of them: graphite, a pure form of carbon. Scientists are confident that these may be the remains of ancient microbial life.
“The graphite inside this ruby is truly unique,” said Chris Yakimchuk, professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. “This is the first time we’re seeing signs of ancient life in ruby-bearing rocks.”
After conducting research, scientists found that graphite originated from an ancient form of life. At a time when ancient bacteria probably lived, there was not a lot of oxygen on the planet – an essential element for complex life. This is why the only organisms that could survive were tiny microbes and algae. It is believed that cyanobacteria were among the first living things on Earth. Over billions of years of converting sunlight into chemical energy, they gradually produced the oxygen needed for complex life to eventually evolve.
Graphite-containing corundum, while ancient, is hardly the oldest evidence of life on Earth. However, this is the first time that its remains have been found inside rubies. The results are published in the November issue of Ore Geology Reviews.
Photo of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada
The desire for the end of life is far from limited to the emotional or mental state of a person. There is a long list of diseases and conditions that can be the basis not only for the patient’s wishes, but also for obtaining approval from a medical commission to perform euthanasia.
The term so familiar comes from ancient Greek and literally translates as “easy and beautiful death”. To date, the full definition of euthanasia, though less lyrical, is: “Consciously and purposefully accelerating the death of an terminally ill person.”
It is important to note the types of euthanasia according to the methods used. The term active euthanasia is used when taking specific medications that lead to the cessation of vital processes in the body. In contrast, passive euthanasia is the deprivation of the patient of supportive procedures and the shutdown of equipment related to his life processes.
Assisted euthanasia is a third type, which is the provision of the necessary medication to the patient, along with instructions on how to take them.
Statistics show that the number of patients who want to be euthanized in countries where this is allowed is growing at a relatively rapid pace.
For example, in the Netherlands, which is the first country to have the procedure carried out – only in 2019, the applications that have been submitted have increased by 22% compared to the previous one – 2018. But the presence of desire, in having a considerable amount of money is not a sufficient argument to obtain approval for euthanasia. Only 1/3 of the submitted applications in the country reach the approval and finalization of the procedure.
Patients go through two independent teams of medical professionals to give an opinion on whether the procedure should be performed. In addition, another important step during the approval procedure is going through a psychiatric consultation, which determines whether the person is able to make the decision on their own without being prompted by temporary depression, for example.
In diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, which are related to compromising the patient’s adequacy, the person has the right to leave a formal request for euthanasia in case of deterioration.
In addition to the Netherlands, euthanasia also takes place in Japan, Canada, Colombia, some US states (Washington, Montana), as well as Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and others. It is important to note that in some countries not all types of euthanasia are allowed to be performed. In some, only the assisted form is allowed.
Another important point is that not all countries allow the euthanasia of citizens from other countries. Switzerland stands out, where assisted euthanasia can be performed not only on persons with Swiss citizenship, but also from other countries and continents.
One of the most liberal euthanasia laws is in Belgium. In the country, the procedure can be activated even in patients under 18 years of age, as long as they are approved.
The largest genetic study of modern Qatari population in history has expanded the data bank to study the migration of early human communities from Africa and the impact of the Arab conquests on the formation of many modern populations of the planet.
Researchers from the Qatar Department of Human Genetics (Sidra Medicine, Doha) and Cornell University in the United States have sequenced 6,218 genomes of the Arab population of Qatar. Such a large array of data on the modern inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula was obtained for the first time. The genetic material was selected at random from the Qatar health database. Scientists have compared these samples with the DNA of modern people from other regions, as well as the ancient population of the African and Eurasian continents. An in-depth analysis of the genomic data of more than 6,000 people from a small state in the east of the Arabian Peninsula has shed light on the history of the Arabs of the entire Middle East region.
Archaeologists and paleogenetics consider the Arabian Peninsula to be the most important base for the spread of modern humans around the world. In recent years, research centers in many countries have been collecting and analyzing genetic evidence for this theory. Qatari scientists confirmed the migration of early Africans through Arabia about 90 thousand years ago, and the isolation of the local community from the populations that continued to move to Eurasia occurred later.
The Arabian population separated from the migration flow of future Europeans 42 thousand years ago, and from the ancient conquerors of South Asia – about 32 thousand years ago. It is with this that scientists explain the extremely rare appearance in the genome of the Arabs of the DNA of the Neanderthals and Denisovans, with whom the ancient people met later, having already left the Arabian Peninsula.
Geneticists claim that the formation of the five main branches of the modern Arab community was completed 12-20 thousand years ago. The population of their ancestors has undergone several fragmentation and displacement associated with climate change. The settlers in fertile lands laid the foundation for agricultural communities, and those who remained in the desert became nomadic herders.
D-statistic histograms of the contribution of various ancient human genomes to the origin of the peninsular Arabs PAR in comparison with other QGPs and world populations, inferred using Patterson’s D-statistic (Dstat).
Results are grouped by archaeological period. Abbreviations:
QGP – Qatar Genome Program, PAR – Peninsular Arabs, GAR – General Arabs of Seven Arabia and the Levant, WEP – Arabs of Western Eurasia and Persia, CAC – Asian Arabs, AFR – African Arabs, ADM – Mixed Arabs. Razali et al./ Nature, 2021
The rise of the Arab Caliphate in the 7th century AD and the Arab conquests over the next 1400 years saw the DNA of European, South Asian, and even South American communities receiving significant contributions from the Middle East Arab genome.
The Qatari Whole Genome Sequencing Program has identified a large percentage of inbreeding in the Arab population due to the isolation of early tribal groups and limited opportunities for intermarriage. Scientists believe that this information will help diagnose, identify genetic disorders and treat hereditary diseases.
Photo: Handwritten illustration of the Arabian tale “Hadith Bayyad and Riyad”, 13th century (Biblioteca Apostolica, Vatican City)
Eden’s Gate experts decided to study the lifestyle of the oldest people on the planet to find out exactly what helped them live a record long time. It turns out that the secret lies in nutrition, writes “Eat This, Not That”.
Eden’s Gate is a British company founded to produce cannabidiol (CBD) products that can improve people’s quality of life by helping them feel happier. Because this company wants to help people live happier lives, it decided to explore the secrets of longevity on the planet.
In particular, the organization’s experts study the lifestyle of six people over the age of 100. They found that nutrition, exercise, stress levels and socioeconomic status were important factors in their longevity.
The oldest person on the list and in history is Jeanne-Louise Calment, who lived to be 122 and is the only person in the world to have survived more than 120 years. What is her secret to longevity? Three foods play an important role.
Chocolate, port and olive oil
Jeanne-Louise Calmen is a mystery while she is alive, and remains so even after her death. She died in 1997 at the age of 122, and when asked about the secrets of longevity, she replied: “Chocolate, port and olive oil.”
This is not surprising, given that many people over the age of 100 living in so-called “blue zones” (regions with the highest concentration of people over the age of 100) do consume olive oil and red wine on a regular basis. . Studies show that cold pressed olive oil helps control weight, lowers blood pressure, reduces inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It has been found that red wine and dark chocolate also contain powerful antioxidants that help improve overall health if consumed in moderation.
Low stress levels are probably also an important factor. Kalman was a wealthy woman and in all her 122 years she had relatively little stress in her life. She has never worked full time, so it can be said that her stress levels were much lower than those of the average person. Because she did not have to work much, she was able to pursue active hobbies such as tennis, swimming, playing the piano and cycling.
So the valuable lessons we can learn from the oldest person in the world are: eat chocolate, drink wine, use olive oil and pursue a favorite hobby.
It is estimated that the number of cases of dementia will skyrocket in the next 30 years, but we can do a lot to prevent this. Dementia is caused by the fact that neurons lose their ability to communicate with each other. There is now growing evidence that certain foods and beverages can accelerate neuronal death. Researchers warn that drinks with a high sugar content have an extremely harmful effect on the brain: if you consume more than two servings of these drinks a day, your brain will age by 11 years, writes Solen le Net in the British newspaper “Daily Express”.
Pure sugar has a bad reputation for being associated with obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is because the consumption of sugar raises blood pressure and triggers chronic inflammatory processes – two of the harbingers of the disease. Neurological health research shows that sugar can potentially have detrimental effects on brain function. The addition of sugar is a dietary supplement based on carbohydrates, which contains a certain amount of calories. A well-known example of such foods are high-sugar drinks, which provide an influx of calories to help satisfy hunger quickly. But it can have devastating effects on the brain, eventually leading to shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex.
There is also evidence that sugary drinks accelerate the aging process of the brain. Some studies even show that sugary drinks can reduce brain size and impair memory function. In a study by Boston University School of Medicine, researchers observed a group of 4,200 people who were periodically tested for cognitive ability and memory. Study participants were asked to provide information on the amount of sugary drinks they consumed, and the researchers used this data to calculate possible damage.
The scientists’ conclusions are shocking. They have calculated that if a person drinks one or two glasses of sweet drinks a day, his brain will age by 1.6 years. If we evaluate the aging process in terms of memory function, the results were even worse. If a person drinks one or two glasses of sugary drinks a day and if he drinks more than two glasses, this leads to aging of the brain by 5.8 and 11 years, respectively. The researchers noted a noticeable decline in memory function and a decrease in brain volume in those study participants who regularly consumed sugary drinks, comparing their performance to that of people who did not drink such drinks. Sudha Seshadri, a professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, said: “The findings of these studies are inconclusive, but they are convincing evidence to support conclusions. It turns out that there aren’t many positive results from sugary drinks, and replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners obviously doesn’t help. ” It is difficult to measure the exact amount of sugar consumed in one or another person’s diet, so we used sugary drinks as a guide, “he said. the relationship is causal.
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