In the recently adopted Matera Declaration, the world’s largest economies committed to addressing global food security and nutrition. But as the latest Food Sustainability Index (FSI) shows, this effort must begin at home. A new assessment of the G20, which includes among others the UK, the US, France and Italy, found room for improvement on food sustainability not only for their own sakes but also to set an example for the rest of the world as the UN prepares to host the first Food Systems Summit. With the latest figures…
Read MoreYear: 2021
US COVID Deaths at Lowest Level Since March 2020: Harvard, Stanford Professors Explain
If you judged the US’s current COVID-19 situation only by the headlines, you’d come away thinking that we’re spiraling back into pandemic disaster. Localities like Los Angeles County and St. Louis have reimposed mask mandates on their citizens, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just revised its “guidance” to say that, actually, fully vaccinated individuals should still wear masks in certain situations. Meanwhile, mainstream media coverage of the rise of the “Delta variant” is soaked in alarmism. Yet at the same time that all this alarm is mounting,…
Read MoreHeat and power bills may grow 130 euro more next year
Energy prices could go up by as much as €130 in the coming year for customers with a variable contract, the federal regulator CREG has warned. A variable contract is one where the cost of electricity and gas is adjusted either every month or every quarter, depending on the contract, in keeping with the price movements on the world market. About 40% of Belgian households have a variable contract. The comparison was made by CREG on the basis of prices in the summer of 2019, before the pandemic hit. The…
Read MorePortuguese government to review legislation against racism
Portugal has said it will review its anti-racism laws, including those concerning fines and sanctions, the government announced in its national plan against racism published on Wednesday. In the National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination 2021-2025 – Portugal against racism, the government has committed to “assess the possible revision of the legislation on combating discrimination and hate speech […] in the scope of administrative offences.” The government has also announced the goal of “strengthening the system of sanctions for misdemeanours, reviewing the framework of fines and sanctioned conducts.” Article…
Read MorePoland to build fence, double troop numbers on Belarus border
oland will build a fence along its border with Belarus and double the number of troops there, the defence minister said on Monday, to halt a flow of migrants the European Union says is being driven by Minsk in retaliation for EU sanctions, write Kacper Pempel, Alan Charlish, Alicja Ptak and Pawel Florkiewicz. Poland and fellow EU states Lithuania and Latvia have reported sharp increases in migrants from countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan trying to cross their borders. The EU says Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is waging “hybrid warfare”…
Read MoreThe need for change to be the main motive at the annual EAPM meeting
Good morning, health colleagues, and welcome to the first European Alliance for Personalised Medicine (EAPM) update of the week – we have news of an upcoming EAPM event in September that will take place during the ESMO Congress, writes EAPM Executive Director Denis Horgan. ‘The need for change’ The conference, EAPM’s ninth annual event, is entitled ‘The need for change – and how to make it happen: Defining the health-care ecosystem to determine value’. The event will take place on Friday, 17 September from 08h30–16h30 CET; here is the link…
Read MoreDecline and near fall of Italy’s Monte dei Paschi, the world’s oldest bank
Four years after spending €5.4 billion ($6.3bn) to rescue it, Rome is in talks to sell Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.MI) to UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and cut its 64% stake in the Tuscan bank, writes Valentina Za, Reuters. Here is a timeline of key events in the recent history of Monte dei Paschi (MPS), which have made it the epitome of Italy’s banking nightmare. NOVEMBER 2007 – MPS buys Antonveneta from Santander (SAN.MC) for €9bn in cash, just months after the Spanish bank paid €6.6bn for the Italian regional lender. JANUARY 2008…
Read MoreHow to ditch friends and make enemies: a class from Ukraine on the 30th anniversary of Independence
On August 24, one of the largest countries in Europe – Ukraine – celebrates the 30th anniversary of Independence. In 1991, the world witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the emergence of fifteen new states. Ukraine got a generous share of the inheritance: a developed industry, aircraft construction, ship industry, space enterprises and fertile land. But instead of developing these riches while looking for allies, things went wrong in Ukraine: the industry was plundered by the newly-appeared oligarchs, the land began to be depleted by businessmen hungry for…
Read MoreLuxembourg receives EU funds to feed poor
Luxembourg received €460,000 in aid from the European Commission to help provide food and basic assistance to poor households as part of coronavirus relief measures. The money forms part of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). It supports member countries to provide food, clothing and other essential items, such as shoes or soap, to those in need. “Between 2014 and 2020, the FEAD in Luxembourg supported 71,640 beneficiaries with an envelope already incurred of some €3.5m,” the Commission said in a statement on 20 August. “The…
Read MoreCall for candidates ‘Solidary refrigerators’
The Be Cool Support Team offers support to all organizations, associations, companies or persons who want to open a ‘Solidary refrigerator’ in the Brussels Capital Region. Candidates should apply before the end of September 2021. At the end of 2013, the first ‘Solidary refrigerator’ in Brussels was opened. Today, the Brussels Region already has 9 of them. The Be Cool Support Team wants to expand this network and is launching a call for candidates. What is a ‘Solidary refrigerator’? The concept of the’Solidary refrigerator’ stems from the concept of ‘Food…
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