New research warns that Africa’s tree-planting campaign poses a double jeopardy as it will damage ancient CO2-absorbing grass ecosystems while failing to fully restore depleted forests, the Financial Times reports.
The article, published in the journal Science, focuses on one particular project, the 34-Country Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), explains the FT: “The initiative aims to restore at least 100 million hectares of degraded land – an area the size of Egypt – in Africa by 2030…
Among the supporters of the initiative are the German government, the World Bank and the non-profit World Resources Institute.
However, according to the document, about half of the approximately 130 million hectares that African countries have committed to restoring through the AFR100 are designated for non-forest ecosystems, mainly savannah and grassland.
The researchers say they were able to find evidence of only one AFR100 project – in Kenya – dedicated to grassland restoration. More than half a dozen non-forest countries have made AFR100 commitments, including Chad and Namibia.”
Lead author Prof Kate Parr told the Guardian that “ecosystem restoration is necessary and important, but it must be done in a way that is appropriate for each system.
Non-forest systems such as savannas are misclassified as forests and are therefore considered to need restoration with trees…
There is an urgent need to revise the definitions so that savannas are not confused with forests because the increase in trees is a threat to the integrity and sustainability of savannas and grasslands.”
Trees can harm these ecosystems by providing too much shade, writes New Scientist: “This can prevent smaller plants from photosynthesizing, which would have knock-on effects for other ecosystems.”
Illustrative Photo by Dawid Sobarnia: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-working-at-a-coffee-plantation-14894619/
On February 16, at the meeting in the ancient monastery “St. George” in Cairo the H. Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria decided to depose Bishop Constantine (Ostrovsky) of Zaraysk from the Russian Orthodox Church.
On October 11 last year, he was appointed acting “Patriarchal Exarch of Africa” in place of Metropolitan Leonid (Gorbachev).
The latter was deprived of his episcopal rank on November 22, 2022 by a decision of the Synod of Alexandria for similar canonical violations: entering the canonical jurisdiction of the Alexandrian Patriarchate, distributing holy ointment, seducing the local clergy and inciting them to schism, as well as promoting ethnophyleticism.
Prior to this, the Alexandrian Patriarch Theodore II repeatedly appealed to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, with a request to abolish the Russian “exarchate” in Africa.
The official ruling states:
“The Holy Synod proceeded to depose the acting “Patriarchal Plenipotentiary in Africa”, former Bishop Constantine of Zaraysk, from the high rank of bishop, who, after settling arbitrarily in Cairo, Egypt, within the seat of the Holy Archdiocese of Alexandria, committed a number of canonical violations : encroaching on the jurisdiction of the ancient cathedral, handing out antiminses, buying with money local clergy and even excommunicated ones, creating factions, ethnophiletic divisions, etc., while (the synod) again condemned the new ecclesiastical-political “theories” for the pastoral care of the “Russian World” around the world on the basis of nationality”.
Photocredit: European Commission. Screenshot of video.
Brussels, 22 February 2024. In a significant meeting at the heart of the European Union, President von der Leyen welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, highlighting the importance of their discussions. The President expressed her gratitude, stating, “It is a great pleasure to have you here, Prime Minister, dear Ulf, at the heart of the European Union. We will certainly have a lot to discuss. So thank you very much for taking the time to meet here.”
One of the key topics on the agenda was the unwavering support for Ukraine. President von der Leyen commended Prime Minister Kristersson for Sweden’s recent announcement of a substantial military support package for Ukraine, valued at EUR 710 million. She acknowledged Sweden’s steadfast support for Ukraine, stating, “From the very beginning on, you have been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and thank you for that.”
The discussion also revolved around the topic of defense, with a focus on enhancing European defense capabilities. President von der Leyen emphasized the importance of European involvement in defense, stating, “European citizens want more Europe in defense.” She highlighted the upcoming European defense industrial strategy and welcomed Prime Minister Kristersson’s insights, noting Sweden’s strong defense industrial base and its path towards NATO membership.
Addressing the pressing issue of climate change, both leaders discussed strategies to combat climate change and ensure economic competitiveness. President von der Leyen underscored the significance of achieving climate goals and transitioning to a clean and circular economy. She emphasized the need to focus not only on the ‘what’ but also on the ‘how’ of reaching these goals, highlighting the importance of improving economic competitiveness while pursuing environmental sustainability.
With a packed agenda encompassing support for Ukraine, defense cooperation, and climate action, the meeting between the European Union and Sweden promises to pave the way for enhanced collaboration and shared goals in the realms of security and sustainability.
ROME – “There is an architecture and there is a craftsmanship of interfaith dialogue” that is, the major themes underlying the relationship between religions and their connection to daily living, as reported by the TusciaTimes.eu
It was from this interesting starting point, born of the cultural vivacity of presenter Paolo Bonini, that on Saturday, Feb. 17, a meeting entitled THE DIMENSION OF UNIVERSALITY: A CROSSROAD FOR UNDERSTANDING, SOLIDARITY AND MULTUCULTURALITY was held at the Church of Scientology Auditorium in Rome.
An event in line with the intent of the United Nations General Assembly resolution in 2010 that proclaimed World Interfaith Harmony Week, on stage, prompted by Bonini’s questions and reflections, interacted in dialogue: Maria Rosaria Fazio, professor of Biblical Hebrew; Assem Migahed, intellectual researcher of Islamic spirituality and science; Giuseppe Cicogna, vice president of Fedensieme ApS and spokesperson for the Church of Scientology; Fabio Grementieri, creator of the educational theme park in Santiago Estero (Argentina); Gustavo Guillerme’, president of the World Congress of Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue; and Massimo AbdAllah Cozzolino, of the Italian Islamic Confederation.
Also diverse was the audience composed of religious and non-religious people, including representatives from Theravada Buddhists, Catholics, Scientologists, Soka Gakkai Buddhists, Anglican Church of Europe, UAAR (Union of Rationalist Agnostics Atheists), Afghan Community and cultural mediators.
Themed musical interludes by Maurizio De Simone (guitar), Francesco Passarelli (vocals) and Samuele Bonini (vocals) punctuated the rhythm and melody of a cultural crossroads where the pinnacles of religious and secular thought find harmony and build tangible peace on the ground, despite the current context in which even talking about peace might seem paradoxical.
If a common summary could be drawn from the various speeches and testimonies, perhaps it would sound like this: “Wars have seemingly endless propaganda, means and material interests that are difficult to surmount. But peace can and must be cultivated and made to grow within each one of us; and it is thanks to moments like today’s [last Saturday Ed] – which occur continuously in different forms and in different places in the world – that we can and must continue to build a better present and future.”
Evolutionary biologists report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?
The answer appears to be an adaptive increase in the size of the cerebellum in some fossil vertebrates. The cerebellum is a region at the back of the bird brain that is responsible for movement and motor control.
“We found that when birds transition from rest to flight, circuits in the cerebellum are activated more than in any other part of the brain,” said study co-author Paul Gignac, an associate professor in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, studying neuroanatomy and evolution. He is also a research associate for the American Museum of Natural History.
“We then looked at the skull corresponding to this region in dinosaur and bird fossils to track when the cerebellum enlarged,” Gignac said. “The first pulse of enlargement occurred before dinosaurs took wing, which shows that avian flight uses ancient and well-conserved neural relays, but with uniquely elevated levels of activity.”
Scientists have long thought that the cerebellum should be important in bird flight, but they lacked direct evidence. To pinpoint its value, the new research combined modern PET scan imaging data of ordinary pigeons with the fossil record, examining brain regions of birds during flight and braincases of ancient dinosaurs. PET scans show how organs and tissues are working.
“Powered flight among vertebrates is a rare event in evolutionary history,” said lead author Amy Balanoff, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
In fact, just three groups of vertebrates, or animals with a backbone, evolved to fly: extinct pterosaurs – the terrors of the sky during the Mesozoic period, which ended over 65 million years ago – bats and birds, said Balanoff. The three flying groups are not closely related on the evolutionary tree, and the key factors that enabled flight in all three have remained unclear.
Besides the outward physical adaptations for flight, such as long upper limbs, certain kinds of feathers, a streamlined body and other features, the team designed research to find features that created a flight-ready brain.
To do so, the team included biomedical engineers at Stony Brook University in New York to compare the brain activity of modern pigeons before and after flight.
The researchers performed PET scans to compare activity in 26 regions of the brain when the bird was at rest and immediately after it flew for 10 minutes from one perch to another. They scanned eight birds on different days. PET scans use a compound similar to glucose that can be tracked to where it’s most absorbed by brain cells, indicating increased use of energy and thus activity. The tracker degrades and gets excreted from the body within a day or two.
Of the 26 regions, one area – the cerebellum – had statistically significant increases in activity levels between resting and flying in all eight birds. Overall, the level of activity increase in the cerebellum differed significantly, compared with other areas of the brain.
The researchers also detected increased brain activity in the so-called optic flow pathways, a network of brain cells that connects the retina in the eye to the cerebellum. These pathways process movement across the visual field.
Balanoff said the team’s findings of activity increase in the cerebellum and optic flow pathways weren’t necessarily surprising, since the areas have been hypothesized to play a role in flight.
What was new in their research was linking the cerebellum findings of flight-enabled brains in modern birds to the fossil record that showed how the brains of birdlike dinosaurs began to develop brain conditions for powered flight.
To do so, the team used a digitized database of endocasts, or molds of the internal space of dinosaur skulls, which, when filled, resemble the brain.
They then identified and traced a sizable increase in cerebellum volume to some of the earliest species of maniraptoran dinosaurs, which preceded the first appearances of powered flight among ancient bird relatives, including Archaeopteryx, a winged dinosaur.
The researchers led by Balanoff also found evidence in the endocasts of an increase in tissue folding in the cerebellum of early maniraptorans, an indication of increasing brain complexity.
The researchers cautioned that these are early findings, and brain activity changes during powered flight could also occur during other behaviors, such as gliding. They also note that their tests involved straightforward flying, without obstacles and with an easy flight path, and other brain regions may be more active during complex flight maneuvers.
The research team plans next to pinpoint precise areas in the cerebellum that enable a flight-ready brain and the neural connections between these structures.
Scientific theories for why the brain gets bigger throughout evolutionary history include the need to traverse new and different landscapes, setting the stage for flight and other locomotive styles, said co-author Gabriel Bever of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Other study authors include Elizabeth Ferrer of the American Museum of Natural History and Samuel Merritt University; Lemise Saleh and Paul Vaska of Stony Brook University; M. Eugenia Gold of the American Museum of Natural History and Suffolk University; Jesús Marugán-Lobón of the Autonomous University of Madrid; Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History; David Ouellette of Weill Cornell Medical College; Michael Salerno of the University of Pennsylvania; Akinobu Watanabe of the American Museum of Natural History, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine and Natural History Museum of London; and Shouyi Wei of the New York Proton Center.
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.
This summer, Paris will be the capital not only of France, but also of world sports!
The occasion? The 33rd edition of the Summer Olympics, hosted by the city, is expected to attract over 15 million people from around the world eager to witness new sporting records and achievements.
To mark the upcoming event, France has released a series of 3 commemorative €2 coins dedicated to the Olympic Games.
Which other member states have issued special sports-themed euro coins over the years and what is the story behind each one?
1) 100 years of basketball in Lithuania
The first official basketball meeting in the country is believed to have taken place on April 23, 1922. The image shows in the center the outline of the map of Lithuania represented as a basketball court. The coin also features the inscriptions “LIETUVA” (Lithuania), “1922-2022” and the Lithuanian Mint logo, located in a semicircle around the center. The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 750,000 coins
2) Portugal’s participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The coin features a stylized image of the symbol of the National Olympic Committee of Portugal. Around it are written the words “Portugal nos Jogos Olímpicos de Tóquio’20 2021”.
Mintage: 500,000 coins
3) Ski World Cup Finals 2019
The 2019 Ski World Cup Finals took place in the Principality of Andorra from 11 to 17 March 2019. For Andorra, it is one of the most prestigious winter sports events ever held in the country and a turning point in its history as a sports destination.
The coin features a skier descending a slope in the foreground. In the background, four curved lines from the official logo of these ski world cup finals represent the slopes on which the competition takes place. Several snowflakes complete the image along with the inscription “FINALS DE LA COPA DEL MÓN D’ESQUÍ ANDORRA 2019”.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 60,000 coins
4) 100th anniversary of the birth of the famous Estonian chess grandmaster Paul Keres
The coin depicts the great Estonian chess player Paul Keres with several chess pieces. In the upper left, in a semicircle, is the inscription “PAUL KERES”. Under it, the name of the issuing country “EESTI” and the year of issue – “2016” are located in two lines.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 500,000 coins
5) Portugal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The coin features an image based on the famous artwork of the author Joanna Vasconcelos “The Heart of Viana”, inspired by the traditional jewelry of Northern Portugal (around the city of Viana do Castelo). It symbolizes the support of the Portuguese people for the national team at the Olympic Games. To the left and right of the semicircle are the inscriptions “JOANA VASCONCELOS” and “EQUIPA OLÍMPICA DE PORTUGAL 2016” respectively. At the bottom is the mint mark “INCM”.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 650,000 coins
6) Belgium at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The inner circle of the coin depicts, from top to bottom, a stylized human figure, the five Olympic rings and the inscription “TEAM BELGIUM”. On the left side of the coin is an inscription indicating the year “2016”. On the right side of the coin, between the Brussels mintmark (helmeted head of the archangel Michael) and the mintmaster’s mark, is the inscription “BE”, indicating the nationality.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 375,000 coins
7) The 2016 European Football Championship.
The fifteenth European Football Championship was held in France from June 10 to July 10, 2016. The winner of the competition was awarded the Henri Delaunay Cup in miniature format, named after the initiator of the competition.
The image of the coin features the Henri Delaunay bowl in the center of an outline depicting the map of France, together with the two hallmarks of the Paris Mint. The designation “RF” (République Française – French Republic) is located to the right of the map of France, and the name of the competition “UEFA EURO 2016 France” is located above it. Below the card in the foreground is a ball. In the background of this ensemble are graphic elements representing the competition.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 10 million coins
8) 75 years in memory of Spiros Louis – the first Olympic champion in the marathon in the history of the modern Olympic Games
Spiros Louis and the cup he won are depicted in the background of the Panathinaiko Stadium. On the edge of the inner part of the coin there are two inscriptions in Greek – “REPUBLIC OF GREECE” (the name of the issuing country) and “75 YEARS IN MEMORY OF SPIROS LOUIS”. The year of issue “2015” is inscribed above the bowl, and a palmette (the mark of the Greek mint) is placed to the right. The artist’s monogram (Yorgos Stamatopoulos) is placed at the bottom of the image.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 750,000 coins
9) 150 years since the birth of Pierre de Coubertin, initiator of the revival of the Olympic Games and first president of the International Olympic Committee
In the inner circle of the coin is the face of the young Pierre de Coubertin against a background of stylized Olympic rings. They are a framework for silhouettes symbolizing the Olympic sports. To the left of the portrait, the letters “RF” denoting the issuing country are located above the year of issue “2013”. The name “PIERRE DE COUBERTIN” is inscribed along the upper edge of the inner circle of the coin.
The 12 stars of the European Union are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Mintage: 1 million coins
10) World Summer Special Olympics Games – “Athens 2011”
The first minted commemorative €2 coin is dedicated to the return of the modern Olympic Games to their homeland – Greece.
The 12 stars of the European Union, located on the outer ring of the coin, surround an image of an antique statue representing a discus thrower at the moment of swing. The base of the statue continues onto the outer ring of the coin. The logo of the Olympic Games “ATHENS 2004” with the five Olympic rings is on the left, the number “2” above the word “ΕΥΡΩ” is on the right. The year of issue, in the middle of the lower part of the coin, is separated by a star as follows: 20*04. The mintmark is located at the top left of the athlete’s head.
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held during Summer 2011 in Athens, Greece, from 25 June to 4 July 2011. Special Olympics is a non-profit organization that was officially founded in 1968, giving form to the vision of it’s founder, Eunice Kennedy-Shriver (1921-2009), sister of USA President John F Kennedy. The center of the coin shows the emblem of the Games, a radiant sun the source of life that underlines the excellence and power of the athlete that takes part in the Games. Excellence is depicted in the olive branch and power in the spiral form in the center of the sun. Around the image is written the sign XIII SPECIAL OLYMPICS W.S.G. ATHENS 2011 as well as the issuing country
Mintage: 1 million coins
11) Second Lusophone games
The coin was issued on the occasion of the 2009 games for Portuguese-speaking countries. It depicts a gymnast spinning a long ribbon in a spiral. The Portuguese coat of arms and the name of the issuing country – “PORTUGAL” are located in the upper part. At the bottom is the inscription “2.os JOGOS DA LUSOFONIA LISBOA”, between the initials “INCM” to the left and the artist’s name “J. AURÉLIO’ on the right. The year “2009” is written above gymnastics.
The outer ring of the coin features the 12 stars of the European Union on a background of concentric circles.
Mintage: 1.25 million coins
Photo: Greece 2 euros 2011 – XIII Special Olympics World Summer Games.
“WFP, with our partners, are working tirelessly to reach millions of Ethiopians at risk of hunger in the first quarter of the year to help keep a major humanitarian catastrophe at bay,” said Chris Nikoi, the agency’s interim Country Director in Ethiopia.
“WFP is extremely concerned about the deteriorating food security in northern Ethiopia, where many are already facing severe hunger,” he stressed.
Activating more robust delivery mechanisms to its operations in Ethiopia since late 2023, the agency is working to ensure the delivery ofcritical food assistance to the hungriest populations affected by drought, flooding and conflict.
The food agency’s refugee operations are also crucial, the agency reported. As the conflict in Sudan that began in April 2023 continues to drive flows of refugees, an additional 200,000 Sudanese refugees are expected to arrive in Ethiopia, putting a strain on WFP’s refugee assistance if no additional funding is received.
To date, more than six million people are already receiving food and cash across affected areas, but large gaps remain, OCHA warned on Friday.
Since resuming food distribution in early December, WFP has made deliveries to 1.2 million people in those regions, with a view to reaching three million people in the coming weeks, of which almost two million are in Tigray.
However, the agency urgently needs $142 million to replenish its limited food stocks in the country so it can keep reaching and delivering assistance to the most vulnerable people until June 2024 and to respond to the drought at scale.
“If WFP doesn’t receive additional funding, we will have to cease food distributions to refugees in April,” Mr. Nikoi said.
Children having porridge following the resumption of refugee food assistance in the Bokolmayo refugee camp in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
Partnering to feed millions and build resilience
The Government of Ethiopia’s most recent assessment of food security needs projected that 15.8 million people will face hunger and need food assistance in 2024, including more than four million internally displaced people and 7.2 million who have high levels of acute food insecurity and need emergency assistance.
The overall goal is to provide food assistance to 40 per cent of the 7.2 million, if resources are available, while the government and other partners will support the rest, WFP stated.
A key element of the agency’s response is transitioning from humanitarian relief to resilience programmes.
To that end, WFP aims to reach 1.4 million people in 2024 with activities that strengthen livelihoods and food systems in Ethiopia, including schemes to harvest water, irrigate land and improve access to markets as well as providing training on agricultural best practices and post-harvest loss technologies.
Learn more about how WFP is helping Ethiopia here.
In a decisive move within the European People’s Party (EPP), the submission period for lead candidate nominations for the Presidency of the European Commission closed today at 12 pm CET. EPP President Manfred Weber received a singular nomination letter from Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU, Germany), putting forth Ursula von der Leyen as the lead candidate. This nomination was further bolstered by endorsements from two EPP member parties, Platforma Obywatelska (PO, Poland), and Nea Demokratia (ND, Greece), solidifying von der Leyen’s candidacy.
The upcoming steps in the selection process, as outlined in the “Procedure and Timetable for Candidacies,” entail a review of the nomination at the EPP Political Assembly scheduled for 5 March 2024. Following validation, the candidacy will proceed to a crucial vote at the Party Congress in Bucharest on 7 March 2024. With no other candidates put forward, all eyes are on the EPP’s internal proceedings as they pave the way for the selection of their lead candidate for the prestigious role of European Commission Presidency. The nomination of Ursula von der Leyen sets the stage for a significant moment in European politics, marking a pivotal juncture in the path towards determining the future leadership of the European Commission.
The process of selecting lead candidates for the European Commission Presidency, also known as the Spitzenkandidaten process, gained prominence in the 2014 European Parliament elections. This innovative approach aimed to enhance the democratic legitimacy of the European Union by linking the election results directly to the appointment of the Commission President. The lead candidate of the political group that secures the most seats in the European Parliament is traditionally nominated for the Commission Presidency, subject to approval by the European Council.
While the Spitzenkandidaten process has faced challenges and debates over its legitimacy and implementation, it remains a significant mechanism for engaging European citizens in the selection of the Commission President. The nomination of Ursula von der Leyen as the EPP lead candidate underscores the continued relevance and evolution of this process in shaping the future leadership of the European Union. As the EPP progresses through its internal review and voting procedures, the outcome will not only determine the party’s candidate but also influence the broader political landscape of the European Commission.
Authorities are urged to engage with provincial and local leaders in a dialogue to achieve durable peace and respect for human rights in the remote Highlands region.
The appeal follows the latest outbreak of violence between warring tribes in the Pacific Island nation, which occurred on Sunday in Enga province. At least 26 people were killed.
OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said conflicts among 17 tribal groups have progressively escalated, since elections in 2022, over a range of issues including land disputes and clan rivalries.
“The clashes have increasingly turned deadly due to a proliferation of firearms and ammunition in the region,” he said. “We call on the Government to ensure the surrender of all arms, particularly mass-produced firearms.”
OHCHR urged the Government to take immediate measures to address the root causes of the violence, and to work toward tribal reconciliation.
The Highland communities, particularly women and girls, must be protected, and further harm to them prevented.
A woman walks past her damaged home in Horenka village in Kyiv Oblast.
Ukraine: Ongoing war prolongs uncertainty among displaced people
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine enters a third year this week, prolonging uncertainty and exile for millions who have been displaced, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
Almost 6.5 million Ukrainians are now refugees globally, while some 3.7 million remain forcibly displaced inside the country.
UNHCR recently surveyed some 9,900 of the refugees and internally displaced people.
Preliminary findings revealed that the majority still expressed a desire to return home one day. However, the proportion has declined, with more expressing uncertainty due to the ongoing war.
Displaced Ukrainians cited the prevailing insecurity at home as the main factor inhibiting their return, while other concerns included a lack of economic opportunities and housing.
UNHCR is seeking $993 million to support people both inside Ukraine and those living as refugees in host countries. The appeal is currently just 13 per cent funded.
$2.6 billion appeal for DR Congo
Humanitarians and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have launched a $2.6 billion appeal to provide life-saving assistance and protection to more than eight million people in the country.
New outbreaks of violence, particularly in the volatile eastern region, are forcing affected populations to be repeatedly displaced.
There are currently some 6.7 million internally displaced people in the DRC – which is also facing serious flooding and a resurgence of measles and cholera epidemics, thus increasing the vulnerability of people affected by more than three decades of armed conflict.
Beyond the immediate crises, chronic needs and vulnerabilities persist in the DRC.
Estimates indicate that nearly 25.4 million people will be food insecure this year, while 8.4 million will be affected by acute malnutrition. Additionally, more than a million children no longer go to school due to armed conflicts.
By Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116010713
On Wednesday, the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (President and political groups’ leaders) made the following statement on the death of Alexei Navalny.
We the leaders of the Political Groups of the European Parliament express our outrage following the murder of the 2021 Sakharov Prize laureate Alexei Navalny in a Siberian penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle serving an unjustified prison sentence. We pay tribute to his memory and express our heartfelt condolences to his wife Yulia Navalnaya and their children, his mother, family and friends, his collaborators and countless supporters in Russia.
The full responsibility for this murder lays with the Russian state and its President Vladimir Putin in particular. Truth must be told, accountability must be ensured and justice must be served. We demand that the body of Alexei Navalny be returned to his family immediately. Any further delay increases even more the responsibility of the Russian authorities for the death of Alexei Navalny. We demand an international and independent investigation into the exact circumstances of the death of Alexei Navalny.
Alexei Navalny became the embodiment of the struggle of the Russian people for freedom and democracy. His death only underscores the importance of his fight for a different Russia. Since his arrest, he had been subjected to ill-treatment, torture, arbitrary punishment and psychological pressure. Although imprisoned in inhuman conditions, Alexei Navalny tirelessly and courageously continued his fight, denouncing the corruption of the regime.
We the leaders of the Political Groups stay united in our condemnation of this crime of the Russian regime and its imperialist and neo-colonial policies. The EU and its Member States and likeminded partners around the world must continue the political, economic and military support for Ukraine. In this light we welcome the very recent 13th package of sanctions adopted by the Council.To honour the legacy of Alexei Navalny, we must stand with independent Russian civil society and the democratic opposition, continuously calling for the release of all political prisoners.
We feel encouraged by the reports about Russian citizens paying tribute to Alexei Navalny in cities and towns all over Russia. We express our hope that similar actions will continue to show that the Russian people do not support a regime that stands for draconic repression inside the country and for a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. Alexei Navalny’s life, political work and death are a testimony to the fight against apparent apathy, indifference and surrender. May it continue to encourage and inspire.
