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09/09/2022 ---- 23/09/2022

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23.09.2022
THEME: HEALTH

First study shows that foetuses in the womb react to flavours and smells of the mother’s diet

A study led by Durham University’s Fetal and Neonatal Research Lab in the UK has studied, for the first time, the reaction of foetuses to the flavours and smells of the mother’s diet. Foetuses can experience taste and smell through the inhalation and swallowing of amniotic fluid in the womb. Scientists performed 4D ultrasound scans of 100 pregnant women and looked at how the foetuses reacted to carrots or kale - just a few minutes after these were ingested by the mother. It has been observed that foetuses exposed to carrot showed more “laughter-face” responses while those exposed to kale showed more “cry-face” responses. These evidences help to understand the development of our taste and smell and the related perception and memory. Scientists have now begun a follow-up study with the same babies post-birth to see if the influence of flavours they experienced in the womb affects their acceptance of different foods. The same approach is likely to give, in the next future, understanding of what reactions foetuses have to alcohol and smoking, and if these exposures will impact the newborn too. How do foetuses react to mother’s smoking or drinking alcohol? It will be interesting to learn.

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21.09.2022
THEME: WORLD

Referendums announced to annex 15% of Ukraine to Russia: Putin strengthens mobilisation while Ukraine counteroffensive continues

Yesterday the Russian-installed leaders of four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine - Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk - have reiterated urgent calls for referendums to join Russia, to be held between September 23 and 27. It means around 15% of Ukrainian territory - an area about the size of Hungary or Portugal - would vote on joining Russia similarly to how Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, after a vote that drew international condemnation. Annexing more Ukrainian territory would also enable the Kremlin to claim Russia itself was coming under attack from Nato weapons. This acceleration of events comes shortly after other leaders, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SOC) meeting last week, directly met with Putin. In particular, president of India Modi expressed concern, while president of Turkey Erdogan has recently said convincingly that the Kremlin "wants to end the war as soon as possible". Authorities in Russia have already declared the interest in the legitimacy of the accession referendum procedure, and in their approval by the SCO and BRICS. They also declared that representatives of the media, including foreign ones, will be invited to the referendum, and the regions also requested organisational aid from Russia and other states. This is how Putin justified further mobilisation of Russian troops starting today. On the other hand, president of Ukraine Zelensky declared that "Our positions are not changed by noise and announcements from somewhere, and our partners fully support us on that," promising a continued effort to regain these territories and Crimea. The progress of the counteroffensive means Ukraine could soon launch an assault on Russian forces in the occupied Donbas region.

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19.09.2022
THEME: ENVIRONMENT

Natural catastrophic events are happening around the world: a sign of climate change?

In the last months we witnessed natural catastrophic events around the world. More recently, an heavy storm provoked a severe flooding in Italy on September 15, causing deaths and several missed people. On Monday September 19 the typhoon Nanmadol - one of the biggest storm in years - barrelled through southwestern Japan. It killed 4 people and injured more than 100 others. On Sunday 18 hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic causing floods. In Italy extreme weather occurred in August, with temperatures peaking at 48.8 Celsius - breaking the European record. In early July, 11 people were killed when a huge mass of ice from a glacier on the north side of the Marmolada mountain in the Dolomites broke away, causing an avalanche. This summer, the Mediterranean sea was five degrees warmer than its average. Record heatwaves this summer were recorded in the whole Northern Hemisphere, with severe droughts in China and central EU. Scientist are currently investigating whether climate change could increase the frequency of these events: as it has been reported that events as hurricane are subject to a number of climate change-related influences, such as warmer sea surface temperatures and sea level rise, a correlation is likely.

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18.09.2022
THEME: POLITICS

The European Commission recommends cutting funds to Hungary in amount of Billions

Since Orban's ruling Fidesz party came to power in 2010 the conflict between the EU and Hungary - one of the main block’s beneficiaries - has steadily grown. In 2018 a resolution of the EU Parliament declared a violation of Article 7 of the EU Treaty: breaching of EU's founding values. The report raised concerns about a long list of fundamental rights considered to be under threat, including the electoral system, the independence of judiciary, privacy, freedom of expression, media pluralism, academic freedom, LGBT rights and the protection of minorities and asylum seekers. On September 15 Members of the European Parliament further voted to condemn the “deliberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” to undermine European values - 433 votes for, 123 against, and 28 abstentions. The situation has deteriorated such that Hungary has become an “electoral autocracy”. The EU Council can now decide to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting, representation, and block financial support now amounting to billions in the context of the ongoing recovery plan. Financial penalties would be imposed due to alleged fraudulent behavior and rule of law violations. All this in a moment where Hungary's economy is experiencing its highest inflation in nearly 25 years, while its currency recently reached record lows against the euro and the dollar. “I find it funny," Orbán said. “The only reason we don’t laugh at it is because we’re bored of it. It's a boring joke. It’s the third or fourth time they’ve passed a resolution condemning Hungary in the European Parliament. At first, we thought it was significant. But now we see it as a joke." It is with these premises that on September 18 the European Commission called for an estimated € 7.5 Billions in European funds to be withheld from Hungary over corruption concerns. The Council now has one month to decide whether to go ahead with the Commission's recommendation - in which case Commission could freeze funds to Budapest from 19 November at the earliest. Yet, the Commission left the door open for remedial measures by 19 November. To date, additionally, Hungary is the only member state not to have had its plan to receive some of the €800 billion of post-COVID recovery funds approved by Brussels. The Commission has asked for reforms in exchange for green-lighting the plan. Overall, it looks like a lot of hard work for president Orbán, on top of what has been defined a “boring joke”.

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16.09.2022
THEME: POLITICS

Asian and Middle East leaders met in Samarkand and discussed cooperation and international issues

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was set up in 2001 as a political, economic and security organisation to rival Western institutions. Member countries are China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This year, among others, also leaders of Belarus, Iran, and Turkey participated to the meeting - which took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. President of China Xi Jinping, president of Russia Vladimir Putin, president of India Narendra Modi, and president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan were present. This meeting marks another milestone towards a more intense financial, economic, and political cooperation between nations in Central Asia. Russia has closed deals with Turkey, India, China, and Mongolia to increase significantly energy export towards Asia. President Xi, during his keynote speech, outlined several priorities going forward for the SCO state members, including enhancing solidarity and cooperation, maintaining strategic independence and safeguarding regional stability, pursuing inclusiveness and shared benefits in promoting development cooperation. On the situation in Ukraine, with counteroffensives underway against Russia, some contrasting views were shared: while Putin confirmed Russia’s will to endure until reaching “liberation of Donbas”, no direct support was offered by any country - China included - and India’s president Modi further expressed concern. In his words: “I know today’s era is not of war. We discussed this issue with you on phone several times, that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world […] Today the biggest worry before the world, especially developing countries, is food security, fuel security, fertilisers. We must find ways to these problems and you will also have to consider” he said to Putin. The meeting concluded with leaders signing a declaration containing statements of shared effort on safeguarding global food security and energy security, addressing climate change, and maintaining a secure, stable and diversified supply chain.

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15.09.2022
THEME: HEALTH

New hormonal contraception methods for men: sharing responsibility for birth control.

Whereas women can choose between many methods of contraception, so far the choice for men is reduced to condom or vasectomy - which implies permanent infertility. To overcome this barrier, scientist at the University of Minnesota developed a male pill soon to be tested in a human clinical trial. So far, the data showed that the pill is 99 per cent effective in mice without causing adverse effects. Another option is coming from the University of Edinburgh, where a team developed a shoulder gel releasing the hormone progestin, able to block testosterone production and therefore reducing sperm production. The gel is being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials in US. Getting these new options to the market will take between 5 and 10 years mainly because the trials must not only demonstrate the efficacy of the product in preventing the pregnancies, but also the reversibility of the effect - meaning that the couples must manage to conceive once they decide to stop the treatment. With female rights debate on the rise, especially after the decision of the US Supreme Court about the right of abortion (June 24) and the anti-abortion laws passed in Hungary (September 15), male contraceptives may slowly become important to political and societal debates.

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14.09.2022
THEME: HEALTH

Monkeypox virus continues to spread: another confirmed fatal case in the US

Currently up to 21985 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the US and 23000 cases in Europe. Although monkeypox is rarely fatal, people with a weak immune system are more likely to get seriously ill or die. It was the case for a Los Angeles resident who died last Monday after being hospitalised. It is the second fatal case monkeypox certificated in the US since May 2022. On September 13, in occasion of the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety and WHO Regional Director for Europe declared that the virus, previously only linked to person-person spread in non-endemic countries, now represents a public health emergency of international concern. EU and WHO reconfirmed their joint efforts to prevent monkeypox from becoming endemic in Europe and better protect the citizens.

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13.09.2022
THEME: WORLD

Ukraine proves strong counteroffensive against Russians invasion in South East

On September 12 Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that "since the beginning of September our soldiers have already liberated 6,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in the east and south, and we are continuing to advance". It is yet not clear if this counteroffensive could be the tipping point of the war. However, it is confirmed also from Russian sources that Kremlin’s troops have lost key cities in the north-eastern Kharkiv region and are under pressure in other key locations in the South. To date Russia still holds one fifth of the country and maintains troops and munitions in Ukrainian territory. Eastern media argue that this will lead to a prolonged conflict. In the meantime in Russia the sentiment that the “special military operation” was a mistake is mounting: dozens of municipal deputies from Moscow and St. Petersburg have called on President Vladimir Putin to resign in an open letter published Monday, despite the signatories being now at risk of severe punishment. “President Putin's actions are detrimental to the future of Russia and its citizens” reads the petition. Even more notable, such criticism seeped onto state-controlled Russian TV. “People who convinced President Putin that the operation will be fast and effective ... these people really set up all of us,” Boris Nadezhdin, a former parliament member, said on a talk show on NTV television. “We're now at the point where we have to understand that it's absolutely impossible to defeat Ukraine using these resources and colonial war methods.” Despite this criticism the Kremlin continues to state that the objectives of the special military operations will be achieved as Russia’s forces are now being reinforced.

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12.09.2022
THEME: ENVIRONMENT

Paris agreement objectives are essential for Earth’s survival, scientists found out

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. A study published on September 8 on Science highlights the importance of such objectives: by reviewing historic records and more than 200 peer-reviewed works, scientists determined that multiple climate tipping points could be triggered if global temperature rises beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. By “tipping point” is meant the minimum amount of warming that might trigger a catastrophic shift in a system. The team found that at the current level of global warming - 1.1°C since the preindustrial era - Earth has already passed the low-end risk estimate for five tipping points, putting coral reefs, permafrost, and polar ice at risk. For polar ice sheets, however, the authors estimate that 1.5°C is the more likely tipping threshold, and that the sheets might be able to withstand as much as 3°C of warming without irreversible decline. Despite the study also indicates that a lot of really bad tipping points are still avoidable, lead author David Armstrong McKay from Stockholm Resilience Centre, University of Exeter, and the Earth Commission says that “the chance of crossing tipping points can be reduced by rapidly cutting greenhouse gas emissions, starting immediately”.

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10.09.2022
THEME: HEALTH

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency for polio

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency on Friday in a bid to accelerate efforts to vaccinate residents against polio after the virus was detected in wastewater samples taken in four counties. In early August a health official in New York State had already announced that there could be hundreds or even thousands of undiagnosed cases of polio. The vaccination is the only weapon against this virus. In the state of New York polio vaccination rate is only 79% - some counties having even lower rates. The position of the World Health organisation is clear and states that "All children worldwide should be fully vaccinated against polio, and every country should seek to achieve and maintain high levels of coverage with polio vaccines in support of the global commitment to eradicate polio." In some areas of US the access to health care and therefore vaccination are limited due to the high cost of health insurance.

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09.09.2022
THEME: ECONOMY

A united and determined EU at the extraordinary meeting of energy ministers in Bruxelles

Yesterday the European Central Bank raised three key interest rates by 75 basis points each: such drastic measure was implemented to fight the high inflation across the continent, mostly due to the ongoing energy crisis. With this premise, today September 9 the energy ministers of EU countries met in Bruxelles to discuss a series of exceptional measures to curb soaring electricity bills. The focus was on five points: (1) introduction of mandatory savings during peak hours, (2) a revenue cap for new producers, (3) capturing excess profits from fossil fuel companies, (4) liquidity aids to utility businesses, (5) a price cap on Russian gas imports. The outcome of this meeting gives to the European Commission a clearer political mandate on how to proceed: there is agreement on necessity to introduce energy saving measures, guarantee liquidity to utility businesses, capping revenues for new producers, and to take a solidarity contribution from fossil fuel companies. The ministers also “expect the Commission to propose emergency and temporary intervention including the gas price cap” said Jozef Síkela - EU minster of Industry and Trade - at the press conference after the meeting. In conclusion, in his words: “When Putin started his energy war he expected to divide us and damage our democratic societies and economies. Hi will not succeed, Europe is united against his aggression”. Concrete legislative proposals on these aspects are expected by the Commission within days.

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