All posts tagged "4"

European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday called for the United States and European Union to create a "new founding pact" for their transatlantic relations. To do so, he invited Joe Biden - who is set to be sworn in as president of the US on Wednesday - to Brussels for a summit. "Today is an opportunity to rejuvenate our transatlantic relationship which has greatly suffered in the last 4 years," he said. "On the first day of his mandate, I address a solemn proposal to the new US president: Let's build a new founding pact for a stronger Europe, for a stronger America, and for a bet......

With millions more working from home and fewer people taking daily commutes in cars, you might assume pollution levels in cities dropped dramatically during the pandemic restrictions of 2020. But new research shows the impact was far less pronounced than initially thought, and air pollution in cities around the world declined less than expected during the first widespread lockdown restrictions of early 2020. It had previously been reported, for instance, that the NO2 level in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus was first detected, dropped by 93 per cent during its lockdown. However, when w......

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny's detention upon arrival at a Moscow airport is "further evidence that Russian authorities are seeking to silence him," Amnesty International's Moscow office director said late Sunday. "His detention only highlights the need to investigate his allegations that he was poisoned by state agents acting on orders from the highest levels,” said Natalia Zviagina. The Kremlin critic was travelling home after spending five months in Germany, where he received emergency medical treatment following his poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok. The 44-year-old was detained ......

As if the world needed any more alarming headlines, each day brings news about the new "mutant" strain of the coronavirus identified in Britain, where health officials have proclaimed that it spreads far more readily than the microbe that has been criss-crossing the globe for months. Well, maybe. Scientists who study the biology of viruses say that so far, there is no proof that this new strain is more transmissible, only what amounts to circumstantial evidence. Human behaviour and random chance also could explain the sudden emergence of the strain. And even if the new strain turns out to spre......

It's said that light can brighten your mood and banish gloomy thoughts. The truth of this becomes evident when sunlight grows scarce in winter, and many people start feeling lethargic and low-spirited, a condition popularly known as "the winter blues." "This is an age-old subject even found in the literature of classical antiquity," says Dr Andreas Hillert, head physician for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy at Schoen Clinic in Prien am Chiemsee, Germany. "In pronounced cases we call it seasonal affective disorder (SAD)." Seasonality, in this case wintry cold and darkness, is just one ......

Several members of the German parliament have called on the British government to intervene in case a court decides that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to the US. "Extraditing Julian Assange to the US, where he faces no fair trial and up to 175 years in prison, would endanger his life and set a precedent for journalists and whistleblowers around the world," members of the Bundestag working group "Freedom for Julian Assange" told dpa on Sunday. A British court is set to announce its decision on extradition on Monday. Assange is currently in a British prison; he evaded arr......