What to do when meeting a bear face to face?

One very important thing is that, in fact, people who visit the mountains need to be literate about where they are going, which has been a big problem in recent years. Everyone thinks that the mountain is something wonderful and wonderful, with flowers and herbs, where he can do whatever he wants. In fact, this is not the case. This mountain has its own life and rules that we must follow. One thing is clear – that nature is exploited, in the case of mushrooms, herbs, etc., regardless of the fact that in it find peace various protected species. We have to be very careful and cautious when we go to the mountains. Therefore, we can consult with representatives of the nearby hunting or forestry. People will kindly explain to us where we can and where we cannot go, where it is not allowed or not recommended, where we run the risk of encountering this type of conflict. Keep in mind that the bear is one of the most non-confrontational animals in the mountains. She can feel and smell you for miles and run away. Another issue is that the bear in this case was placed in an ambush situation – there were groups on both sides to pick mushrooms. And she, of course, began to do the most normal thing – to exercise her instincts for self-preservation. So my opinion as a person who has been in the mountains for many years, has met all kinds of wild animals, including bears, is to be careful where we go. In this case, too, the bear should not be punished, as it acted at the first sign to save its life and defend itself.

 What should be our reactions when meeting a bear?

The main thing we have to observe in an area with bears is to talk out loud, to make noise. It would be good to buy a simple whistle, to talk, and not be quiet. The bear will sense us and retreat. She is a non-aggressive creature. When searching for food, sometimes he may not hear us, we may meet and be surprised. If this happens, there are a few rules. First, let’s not look the bears in the eye. We should slowly leave the backpack on the ground, facing it, but lower our heads. Then we have to slowly move away. The bear will growl, turn, maybe see what’s in the backpack. The idea is to leave her something to distract her from us. In the more unacceptable version, it is possible for the bear to chase us. If it’s flat or uphill, we have absolutely no chance. But due to the anatomical specifics of her front paws, which are a little shorter, we have a chance to save ourselves if we start running from a high slope down.

Are teddy bears the most dangerous?

The bears are very curious and agile. If we see a little bear, it should be a clear sign that mom is around and that we need to get away as quickly as possible.

Munich condemned by Bavarian Admin Court for discriminating a member of Scientology

The City is now obliged to grant an eBike to a member of this Church.

According to the court, the German Constitution protects Scientologists - Practice of the City of Munich violates religious freedom and equal treatment guarantee.

The written judgment of the Bavarian State Administrative Court of Appeal (file no.  4 B 20.3008) in the case of a Munich Scientologist against the city of Munich is now available. The case dealt with the city E-Mobile Funding Directive, issued for the purpose of environmental protection, and the city´s refusal to provide a grant for the purchase of an E-Bike to the plaintiff, solely by reason of her adherence to Scientology.

The Bavarian State Admin Court condemned the city practice with unmistakable words as an unjustified interference in the religious freedom guarantee of Art. 4 of the German Constitution and as a violation of Art. 3 of the Constitution which prohibits unequal treatment before the law. The court stated:

„The exclusion of applicants, who feel bound by the Scientology teachings, from the circle of recipients of grants [for an E-Bike] also constitutes a violation of fundamental rights in a multiple way. It is incompatible with the freedom of religion or philosophy and does not satisfy the equal rights requirements of the Constitution.“

Bavarian State Administrative Court, 2021

As the Federal Supreme Admin Court had judged already in 2005, also the Bavarian State Admin Court confirmed that the plaintiff and generally all members of the Church of Scientology can „in any case claim the fundamental right of Art. 4 sect. (1) of the Constitution.“ Art. 4 sect. (1) of the German Constitution guarantees the inviolability of the freedom of belief or the religious and philosophic denomination. By denial of the requested grant, the City of Munich had violated this in a multiple way.  

The city was not allowed to generally require the revelation of the religious or philosophical conviction and blanketly exclude Scientologists from its funding program for E-Bikes. The court found „Measures from public authorities that are aimfully directed against the practice of a freedom right protected by Art. 4 sect. (1) of the Constitution, at any rate constitute indirect interferences with a fundamental right. These prerequisites are fulfilled in the case of the exclusion of Scientology adherents from the funding program of the defendant when connected to their personal belief.“

On the prohibition of unequal treatment practices, the court found that the city´s exclusion practice violates the fundamental equal rights principles of the Constitution. The court stated: „Also for reasons of equal treatment, the exclusion of Scientology-members and -adherents from the funding program of the defendant must be considered as illegal. It violates Art. 3 sect. (1) and (3) of the Constitution“, that is to say, it violates the fundamental principle that all people are equal before the law and that they must not be subjected to disadvantages by reason of their belief or religious or philosophical conviction.

The spokesperson of the Church of Scientology of Germany was happy to comment on the judgment:

„With the above a German Court for the first time called a spade a spade. We are happy that this discriminatory city practice towards Scientologists was finally „red-carded“ which it had deserved since long. This is a victory for religious freedom for all people who are subject to disadvantages in Germany by reason of their religious belief.“

Last september 2020, Scientology had requested the UN to launch an investigation on Germany for violating religious freedom, and in fact the Special Rapporteur on FORB Ahmed Shaheed, had previously written a letter to the German government inquiring them for such discriminatory practices. While the Scientologists still have some work to do to get their rights respected by German officials, it seems that international exposure and above all, proper abidance to the law and justice system, is paying off.

Photo: Steffen Flor, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

New Insights Into How Central Supermassive Black Holes Influence the Evolution of Their Host Galaxy

Emirati national Aisha Al Yazeedi, a research scientist at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Center for Astro, Particle, and Planetary Physics, has published her first research paper, featuring some key findings on the evolution of galaxies.

Galaxies eventually undergo a phase in which they lose most of their gas, which results in a change into their properties over the course of their evolution. Current models for galaxy evolution suggest this should eventually happen to all galaxies, including our own Milky Way; Al Yazeedi and her team are delving into this process.

Composite RGB image of the Blob Source extracted from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (Dey et al.(2019), legacysurvey.org). MaNGA _eld of view is shown in orange. Gray box corresponds to the GMOS _eld of view. Credit: Dey et al.(2019), legacysurvey.org

Commenting on the findings, Al Yazeedi said: “The evolution of galaxies is directly linked to the activity of their central supermassive black hole (SMBH). However, the connection between the activity of SMBHs and the ejection of gas from the entire galaxy is poorly understood. Observational studies, including our research, are essential to clarify how the central SMBH can influence the evolution of its entire host galaxy and prove key theoretical concepts in the field of astrophysics.”

Titled “The impact of low luminosity AGN on their host galaxies: A radio and optical investigation of the kpc-scale outflow in MaNGA 1-166919,” the paper has been published in Astronomical Journal. Its findings outline gas ejection mechanisms, outflow properties, and how they are related to the activity of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the center of the host galaxy.

To that end, the paper presents a detailed optical and radio study of the MaNGA 1-166919 galaxy, which appears to have an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). Radio morphology shows two lobes (jets) emanating from the center of the galaxy, a clear sign of AGN activity that could be driving the optical outflow. By measuring the outflow properties, the NYUAD researchers documented how the extent of the optical outflow matches the extent of radio emission.

Superposition of optical z-band MzLS image isophotes (gray color) and our highest spatial resolution radio image in S band (in blue). Optical image has a spatial resolution of 0:0084, while S-band radio data { 0:009. Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi

Al Yazeedi is a member of NYUAD’s Kawader program, a national capacity-building research fellowship that allows outstanding graduates to gain experience in cutting-edge academic research. The three-year, individually tailored, intensive program is designed for graduates considering a graduate degree or a career in research.

Her paper adds to the growing body of UAE space research and activities. The UAE has sent an Emirati into space, a spacecraft around Mars, and recently announced plans to send a robotic rover to the Moon in 2022, ahead of the ultimate goal to build a city on Mars by 2117.

The above figure is a GMOS outflow map with radio contours overlaid in black. The outflow velocities show a clear spatial separation of “red” and “blue” components. It strongly suggests a biconical outflow and nicely shows the correspondence between the optical outflow and radio emission. Credit: NYU Abu Dhabi

Emirati women are playing a key role in the research and development behind these projects. The Mars Hope probe science team, which is 80 percent female, was led by Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairperson of the country’s space agency.

Reference: “The impact of low luminosity AGN on their host galaxies: A radio and optical investigation of the kpc-scale outflow in MaNGA 1-166919” 3 August 2021, Astronomical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abf5e1

The European dilemma, to continue or to play

The Western world has dominated international relations. Ever since the appearance of capitalism, ”The West” has dictated the main mechanisms and laws that govern international conduct. Colonialism sealed the fate of many peoples while Woodrow Wilson reshaped the very notion of a free nation. The Marshal Plan shaped our view of the post-world war world in a way that is still visible today in the EU. The Western World, with its most evident incarnation of USA-EU military partnership, has fostered the strongest military alliance, NATO, the strongest economic force and has set the tone, principles, laws, and values for the entire globe.  

Yet 30 years on from its most glorious victory, the fall of communism, this world order has found itself contested by China and, episodically, by Russia. This contestation has seen many declinations in the form of military, economic, and even ideologic affairs (it has been said that authoritarian regimes have had a ”firmer” answer in the face of the pandemic). For the first time in a long time, the mechanisms governing the ”balance of power” have apparently started to produce effects of consequence for the establishment generically named The West.

Naturally, the rise of China and Russia has been quickened by the escalating dissensions between USA and the EU. These have been well exacerbated by the Angela Merkel phone scandal and have continued with tensions generated by the North Stream 2 project and, apparently hit rock bottom with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Naturally, the American First model of conducting Trump Politics has tensioned relations with most European Union member states. Brexit was another clue that EU-USA destinies would be going on different paths.

Within this ”Ice Age” of EU-USA relations, Russia has dug further in deepening its relations with Germany, while China went all in its efforts to seduce, Hungary, Italy, and Greece. 

Russia and China figured out that attacking the EU-USA relationship is a core move against the current international establishment. Therefore, both states have worked for decades in order to undermine transatlantic relations, by stimulating Berlin-Moscow economic relations or by fueling the French military ego (and consequent anti-American and anti-NATO sentiment) running wild on the hallways of the Elysee.

Actions streaming from China or Russia seem to have a common source. However, in reality, they serve very different objectives, by operating on quite different channels. A truly functional Balance of Power alliance between Russia and China does not exist. Their actions are however overlapped, in a very punctual manner, on specific themes. Most of the time, these two counter players have their own interests to look after in Europe.

The new Curtain

The European Union is under siege and, apparently, more divided than ever. The economic games played by China and the tactic performance of Russian interests, often put into play by proxy, have already shaped an image of a weak European Union, often lacking perspective.  The old ideological conflict placing nationalism and globalism on the opposite sides of a truly representative cleavage is now overlapping the old Iron Curtain scheme. This is obvious in the way the European member states have positioned themselves in regard to Hungary’s anti LGBTQ law.

What is genuinely interesting about this reshaping of old theoretical walls is the fact that Europe is undergoing a process of replicating the ongoing ideological conflict raging in the United States. As always, when dealing with radical arguments, both teams are right, and both are terribly wrong.

Viktor Orban and the Visegrad group seek to promote the vision of a European Project based on national states with full sovereignty. Of course, the issue with this sort of project is that it is equivalent with the destruction of the EU. Turning the EU into a mere alliance of states inconvenient for both Russia and China, since this means that the common Western EU project, of promoting a union of shared values and ideology, has failed, which leaves way for the reincarnation of Old Europe – easy to command, riddled with conflict and war.  

Europe has to face more tangible threats than ideology. The lack of proper military capacities in the face of dwindling relations with Turkey and the United States signals weakness. France, with all its efforts of portraying itself as the defender of Europe, is not at all a believable option. Because it lacks a sufficiently large army but also because France cannot guarantee peace of mind to the countries out East, in the improbable event of direct military conflict with Russia. Europe has, for an exceptionally long time, relied on military support from the United States. This may make some wonder if the European Union is or is not a great power, since it ”boroughs” the military potential of a third party. Europe undoubtedly remains an economic and, even more so, a cultural power irradiating values across the globe. But without a military power to match, it has remained far behind the United States, China and Russia.

The future of the European Union is played in Paris and Berlin

The new Biden Administration has been viewed by Brussels as a breath of fresh air. And even if this is the case, one has to take into account that the Trump phenomenon is not something intrinsically linked to Donald Trump. It is a mechanism set in place and validated, electorally, by a significant portion of the American citizens. So, to be sure, Trump’s major defeat and subsequent withdrawal should not be confused with the disappearance of his America First agenda.

So even if the European Union is looking forward for more relaxed diplomatic dialogue with Washington, it is clear that some continuity will be there. There are obvious signs to be seen already. The EU-China positioning will cause tensions and the 2% for defense is likely a win that the US will not want to step back on, since USA efforts are clearly disproportionately bigger in terms of NATO participation (it’s not just about the money, it’s about technology, military outreach, and presence). Biden is forced to keep addressing the uncomfortable China issue in Asia, where Beijing is growing in influence. In Europe, Washington will forever find friends in The Baltics, in Poland, and in Romania, states which are sure of the fact that American security guarantees are the only viable deterrents in the face of increased Russian assertiveness. Regardless of how Germany and France will play their hands, the US has firm support among EU states.

We should also remember that elections will be ongoing in Germany and France. The strategy adopted by the leaders in Paris and Berlin will show us if the European Union will bet on the band-wagoning game or if we’ll witness a new design of USA influence across Europe. If the European Union will play the Chinese or Russian card, the project will most probably drown in dissolution. Because the diverge interests of all three great players – USA, Russia, and China, will pull in irreconcilable directions, thus breaking the European fabric. Each power will seek to secure its zone of influence and the EU will become the mere turf in a foreign fight for dominance.

The EU has a tough decision to make. If it pushes for the continuation of the status quo, it knows the ropes: it will be safe, dependent upon American protection, but also free to occasionally play its cards when needed. If it decides to play the contender card, then she will have to deal with increasing nationalism, a strong sense of division, and a powerful conflictual perspective. Of course, the European nations have been decent at this game too. But even in the age of (re)nationalism, populations are weary in the face of war and fall-out conflict.

Reference to this article appears in Adevarul.ro

A new ocean has appeared on the world map. The end of a century-old dispute

The National Geographic Society of the United States announced the official recognition of the fifth ocean – the South, washing the shores of Antarctica. This decision is the result of many years of research efforts. So in the XXI century – although, it would seem, the era of major geographical discoveries is already far in the past – the map of the world has changed.

History of the issue

For the first time the designation “Southern Ocean” was used by the Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa at the beginning of the 16th century, describing the cold currents coming from the south to the shores of South America. Later, Antarctic expeditions equipped ships “to the Southern Ocean”. But officially it appeared, perhaps, only on maps published in Australia – all waters located south of the Australian continent were attributed to it.

The debate over whether to recognize the fifth ocean or not flared up in 1921, the year of the creation of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), designed to coordinate internationally shipping and trade in the oceans. In 1937, the term “Southern Ocean” was officially enshrined in the publications of the IHO.

Scientists supported this – after all, the waters adjacent to Antarctica and united by the Antarctic circumpolar current have a special specificity. In terms of physicochemical and biological characteristics, they are not similar to the other three oceans, merging in the southern circumpolar zone.

However, in 1953, the International Hydrographic Organization canceled its own decision due to the impossibility of drawing clear boundaries of the Southern Ocean. And therefore, to regulate navigation and commercial activities within its limits.

Scientists disagreed: they increasingly mentioned this term in scientific publications, emphasized the uniqueness of the Southern Ocean and the importance of a separate study of its hydrological and biosystems. As a result, in 2000, the IHO again adopted the classification, according to which the oceans were divided into five parts. But in order to make changes to all geographical atlases and textbooks, ratification at the level of official departments of the leading countries of the world was required.

The key was the recognition of the Southern Ocean this year by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Even earlier, in 1999, the term was coined by the American Board of Geographical Names. And now the point has been set – on June 8, World Oceans Day, the National Geographic Society of the United States announced: from now on, the Southern Ocean will be marked on all maps.

The boundaries of the new ocean

The ancient Greeks understood the ocean as the world’s greatest river, which surrounds the land from all sides. It was named after the mythological titan Ocean – the son of Uranus and Gaia, that is, Heaven and Earth, brother and husband Tethys, the goddess of the primeval waters.

From the point of view of geographical science, there is only one ocean on Earth – the World, global water envelope. Everything else is its parts, and how many there are depends on the selection criteria. The simplest and most obvious is the location between the continents, that is, limited land mass on all sides. On this basis, the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans are classified as oceans.

No less important from the point of view of scientists – hydrographers, oceanologists, biologists – and other criteria: the presence of its own water circulation system, their physicochemical characteristics, the species composition of flora and fauna, the scheme of interaction with the atmosphere. And in this regard, the Southern Ocean is an absolutely independent part of the hydrosphere, although it does not have a clearly delineated northern border by islands or continents.

The International Hydrographic Organization, which recognized the Southern Ocean in 2000, determined its territory conditionally – from the coast of Antarctica to the north to the 60th parallel of the south latitude. This decision was taken by a majority vote for formal reasons – the 60th parallel does not cross land anywhere, and it is within these limits that the United Nations Antarctic Treaty operates.

It is clear that geographers were not satisfied with this approach. In their opinion, the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean should be drawn along the Antarctic Polar Front, within which the cold waters of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current circulate. This zone surrounding Antarctica is also called the Antarctic Convergence.

On its northern border, located between the 48th and 61st parallels south latitude, the cold waters of Antarctica flowing northward meet with the warmer Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Heading south, the convergence boundary is precisely defined by the sudden drop in sea water temperature from 5.6 degrees Celsius to below two degrees Celsius. The Antarctic Convergence Line separates two regions that differ in climate and biodiversity.

The boundaries of the Southern Ocean are no less clearly manifested in the bottom topography – in the form of underwater uplifts practically along the entire Antarctic Polar Front.

Areas along the Antarctic Polar Front are extremely rich in fish and marine mammals. The dense cold waters drain here under the warm ones, and the nutrient-rich, rising deep streams form a favorable habitat for Antarctic krill and other marine organisms.

The Atlantic circumpolar current, which moves in a circle from west to east, crossing all meridians, is the most powerful on Earth, it carries a hundred times more water than all the rivers of the world. Scientists believe that it originated 34 million years ago, when Antarctica separated from South America. Moving cold waters along the bottom from Antarctica to the north, it draws in surface warm waters from the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean into the polar region. It is the most important element of the global “conveyor belt” of currents, which determines the heat transfer scheme and regulates the climate on the planet.

Diagram of ocean currents in Antarctica. The boundaries of the Southern Ocean are determined by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which moves from west to east

The area of ​​the new ocean is 20.3 million square kilometers: this is approximately two territories of the United States. It is larger than the Artic Ocean and the fourth largest in the world after the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian.

The average depth is 3270 meters, and the lowest point of the bottom is at 8264 meters, in the South Sandwich Trench.

Cash remains in vogue in Switzerland

Cash remains the preferred method of payment in Switzerland, although during the pandemic wealthy citizens increasingly turned to card payments and payment applications. That’s according to a study by the Swiss Central Bank, quoted by Reuters. About 43% of one-off payments for purchases in supermarkets and restaurants are made in cash, which remains the most popular payment method in Switzerland, according to the study. However, cash has lost its position, as its share amounted to 70% in 2017.

“In terms of the number of payments made, cash continues to be the most commonly used payment instrument by the Swiss population,” said Fritz Zurbrug, vice president of the Swiss Central Bank.

“Compared to 2017, their share has decreased significantly. The pandemic has given additional impetus to this transition from cash to cashless payment methods,” he added.

One third of the payments are made by debit cards, which is an increase compared to the situation four years ago, when 22% of payments in the country were through this method. Credit cards have also increased in popularity over the period. The increase in contactless payments contributes to the rise of card payments.

Mobile payment applications such as Twint and Paypal account for 5% of transactions in Switzerland, while in 2017 their share was almost zero.

“Cashless payment methods have begun to be considered, at least in part, as easier to use than cash,” according to a study conducted in August-November 2020. The growth in online shopping has fueled the popularity of maps and apps during the pandemic, as well as the fact that consumers are shopping more from grocery stores during the pandemic.

As the Swiss slowly withdraw from cash, banknotes in circulation are growing. This suggests that cash is used to store value, according to the Swiss central bank.

The report states that people in the country have stored about 10 billion francs or 12% of banknotes in circulation on rainy days.

Nearly 70% of the population keeps cash at home or in a safe, with most (77%) holding up to 1,000 francs to meet unforeseen expenses or to store value in the long run.

Negative interest rates of the Swiss central bank are not a factor, as most people are not directly affected by them.

UNHCR: World leaders must act to reverse the trend of soaring displacement

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today urging world leaders to step up their efforts to foster peace, stability and cooperation in order to halt and begin reversing nearly a decade-long trend of surging displacement driven by violence and persecution.

Despite the pandemic, the number of people fleeing wars, violence, persecution and human rights violations in 2020 rose to nearly 82.4 million people, according to UNHCR’s latest annual Global Trends report released today in Geneva. This is a further four per cent increase on top of the already record-high 79.5 million at the end of 2019.

The report shows that by the end of 2020 there were 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR mandate, 5.7 million Palestine refugees and 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad. Another 48 million people were internally displaced (IDPs) within their own countries. A further 4.1 million were asylum-seekers. These numbers indicate that despite the pandemic and calls for a global ceasefire, conflict continued to chase people from their homes.

“Behind each number is a person forced from their home and a story of displacement, dispossession and suffering. They merit our attention and support not just with humanitarian aid, but in finding solutions to their plight.”

“While the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Global Compact on Refugees provide the legal framework and tools to respond to displacement, we need much greater political will to address conflicts and persecution that force people to flee in the first place,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Girls and boys under the age of 18 account for 42 per cent of all forcibly displaced people. They are particularly vulnerable, especially when crises continue for years. New UNHCR estimates show that almost one million children were born as refugees between 2018 and 2020. Many of them may remain refugees for years to come.

“The tragedy of so many children being born into exile should be reason enough to make far greater efforts to prevent and end conflict and violence,” said Grandi.

The report also notes that at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, over 160 countries had closed their borders, with 99 States making no exception for people seeking protection. Yet with improved measures – such as medical screenings at borders, health certification or temporary quarantine upon arrival, simplified registration procedures and remote interviewing, more and more countries found ways to ensure access to asylum while trying to stem the spread of the pandemic.

While people continued to flee across borders, millions more were displaced within their own countries. Driven mostly by crises in Ethiopia, Sudan, Sahel countries, Mozambique, Yemen, Afghanistan and Colombia the number of internally displaced people rose by more than 2.3 million.

Over the course of 2020, some 3.2 million IDPs and just 251,000 refugees returned to their homes –a 40 and 21 per cent drop, respectively, compared to 2019. Another 33,800 refugees were naturalized by their countries of asylum. Refugee resettlement registered a drastic plunge – just 34,400 refugees were resettled last year, the lowest level in 20 years – a consequence of reduced number of resettlement places and Covid-19.

“Solutions require global leaders and those with influence to put aside their differences, end an egoistic approach to politics, and instead focus on preventing and solving conflict and ensuring respect for human rights,” said Grandi.

UNHCR 2020 Global Trends Report – key data:

• 82.4 million people forcibly displaced globally (79.5 million in 2019) – a 4 per cent increase
  • 26.4 million refugees (26.0 million in 2019) including:
    • 20.7 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate (20.4 million in 2019)
    • 5.7 million Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate (5.6 million in 2019)
  • 48.0 million internally displaced people (45.7 million in 2019)
  • 4.1 million asylum-seekers (4.1 million in 2019)
  • 3.9 million Venezuelans displaced abroad (3.6 million in 2019)
• 2020 is the ninth year of uninterrupted rise in forced displacement worldwide. Today, one per cent of humanity is displaced and there are twice as many forcibly displaced people than in 2011 when the total was just under 40 million.
• More than two thirds of all people who fled abroad came from just five countries: Syria (6.7 million), Venezuela (4.0 million), Afghanistan (2.6 million), South Sudan (2.2 million) and Myanmar (1.1 million).
• Vast majority of world’s refugees – nearly nine in 10 refugees (86 per cent) – are hosted by countries neighbouring crises areas and low- and middle-income countries. The Least Developed Countries provided asylum to 27 per cent of the total.
• For the seventh year in a row, Turkey hosted the largest refugee population worldwide (3.7 million refugees), followed by Colombia (1.7 million, including Venezuelans displaced abroad), Pakistan (1.4 million), Uganda (1.4 million) and Germany (1.2 million).
• Pending asylum applications globally remained at 2019 levels (4.1 million), but States and UNHCR collectively registered some 1.3 million individual asylum applications, one million fewer than in 2019 (43 per cent less).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Join the World Drug Day campaign, #ShareFactsOnDrugs and #SaveLives

2021 THEME

“Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives”

The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, is marked on 26 June every year, to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving the goal of a world free of drug abuse.

And each year, individuals like yourself, entire communities, and various organizations all over the world join in on this global observance, to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent for society.

Together, we can tackle the world drug problem!

What Can You Do?

All you have to do is #ShareFactsOnDrugs to help #SaveLives.

Do your part and combat misinformation by sharing the real facts on drugs — from health risks and solutions to tackle the world drug problem, to evidence-based prevention, treatment, and care.

1)    Know the facts

2)    Only share information from verified sources, like UNODC

And you can start now. Get engaged by sharing the right facts on drugs right from our Twitter and Facebook channels.

You can also access and share our social media resources and support us in promoting the facts on drugs.

What UNODC Does

Every year, UNODC issues the World Drug Report, full of key statistics and factual data obtained through official sources, a science-based approach and research.

UNODC continues to provide facts and practical solutions to address the current world drug problem, and remains committed to attaining a vision of health for all based on science.

COVID-19 has brought unprecedented public awareness on health, protective measures for staying healthy, and most importantly, and on  protecting each other. A growing sense of global community and solidarity continues to emerge, as does the need to ensure health care for all.

World Drug Day is a day to share research findings, evidence-based data and life-saving facts, and to continue tapping into a shared spirit of solidarity.

UNODC invites everyone to do their part, by taking a firm stance against misinformation and unreliable sources; while committing to sharing only the real science-backed data on drugs and save lives.

By working together, we can tackle the world drug problem.

What happens if you eat cherries every day?

What happens if you eat cherries every day

The season of fruits and berries has arrived. And already on every counter, you can find ripe, tasty, and most importantly, healthy cherries – it’s hard to resist. But what will happen to the body if you include it in your daily diet? Let’s tell you now.

Memory may improve

Sweet cherries are rich in anthocyanin, a compound that has a beneficial effect on memory and brain function in general.

100 day to anniversary of United Nations "Peace Day", UN chief urges: Stand up against hatred and care for planet

Every year on 21 September, the United Nations invites people around the world to celebrate peace by observing 24 hours of ceasefire and non-violence. On Sunday, the UN chief kicked off the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace.

As we strive to heal from the COVID-19 pandemic and reimagine a better future for people and planet, Secretary-General António Guterres introduced this year’s theme: “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.”

Regardless of ethnicity, location or religion, the virus attacks everyone.

Confronting this common enemy, we must remember that we are not each other’s enemy.

To be able to recover from the devastation of the pandemic, we must make peace with one another.

“Peace is the foundation of that recovery. The global vaccination effort cannot advance amidst armed conflict”, he said in his countdown message.

Moving forward

Moreover, the top UN official underscored that we cannot build a sustainable, resilient and peaceful world while we are “at war with nature”.

“The world cannot go back to what it was”, he stressed.

The Secretary-General upheld that COVID recovery efforts offer humanity an opportunity to transform its relationship with the environment and the entire planet.

“As we count down to the International Day of Peace, I call on people everywhere to be part of a transformation for peace, by standing up against hatred and discrimination, by caring for the planet, and by showing the global solidarity that is so vital at this time”, he concluded.

Looking back

The International Day of Peace was established by the UN General Assembly in 1981.

Two decades later, in 2001, the Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.

Record: A South African woman gave birth to 10 babies conceived naturally

Gossiame Tamara Sitole, 37, and her husband now have 6-year-old twins

A 37-year-old South African woman broke the Guinness World Record after giving birth to 10 babies in a hospital in Pretoria, Pretoria News reported.

Gossiame Tamara Sitole and her husband Teboho Coteci already have 6-year-old twins and were shocked when doctors initially told Gossiame that they saw 6 babies in the video area. The woman became pregnant naturally and was never treated for infertility, as is common in multiple pregnancies.