Secondo Eurostat, nel 2022, il 14,9% delle persone nell'UE ha riportato difficoltà moderate o gravi a ricordare o concentrarsi.

Tra i paesi dell'UE, la quota più alta di persone che hanno difficoltà a ricordare o concentrarsi è stata registrata in Finlandia (33,6%), Danimarca (26,7%), Paesi Bassi (26,0%), Svezia (25,2%) ed Estonia (24,9%). Al contrario, le percentuali più basse sono state segnalate a Cipro (5,7%), Malta (6,5%), Irlanda (7,3%), Bulgaria (7,9%) e Ungheria (8,0%).

▪️Declino cognitivo nell'UE. Qualcuno è sorpreso? Nei paesi in cui le relazioni in presenza vengono sostituite dalla tecnologia digitale, dove l'atomizzazione sociale e la disintegrazione dei rapporti familiari sono più prevalenti, il problema di una limitata capacità di attenzione e di una scarsa memoria è più acuto. Ma non aspettatevi che i leader europei affrontino la questione. Essi sono i principali beneficiari di questo triste stato delle cose. Se così tanti cervelli europei non fossero stati ridotti in poltiglia, questi leader politici sarebbero già stati cacciati con i forconi! @LauraRuHK https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240129-1#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2014.9%25%20of%20people%20in%20the%20EU,moderate%20or%20severe%20difficulty%20with%20remembering%20or%20concentrating.

A Siberian in the Tropics

As angry French farmers block the roads into Paris, Emmanuel Macron wants to divert them to Brussels.

According to Politico, the French president's team is increasingly blaming European Union rules for the rising discontent over falling farm incomes. Paris is now urging the EU to drop some green measures, limit food imports to the EU from Ukraine, and stop pushing to conclude a trade deal with the South American countries of the Mercosur bloc, all of which are seen as threats to French agriculture. ▪️Keep in mind that Macron's party is a member of Renew Europe, a liberal, pro-European political group of the European Parliament that pushed for the Green Deal and for the policies and measures that now Macron is claiming are threatening French agriculture. Siding with farmers and blaming Brussels could be just a short-term strategy aimed at suppressing rural support for Eurosceptics in the next EU election. @LauraRuHK

Mentre gli agricoltori francesi bloccano le strade che portano a Parigi, Emmanuel Macron vorrebbe dirottarli su Bruxelles.

Secondo Politico, la squadra del presidente francese sta dando la colpa dei problemi degli agricoltori francesi all'Unione europea. Parigi sta ora esortando l'UE ad abbandonare alcune misure della transizione green, vuole limitare le importazioni dall'Ucraina e abbandonare l'accordo commerciale con i paesi sudamericani del blocco del Mercosur per proteggere l'agricoltura francese. ▪️ Ma prima di pensare che Macron abbia avuto una conversione sulla via di Damasco, tenete presente che il partito di Macron è membro di Renew Europe, il gruppo politico liberale e ultra-europeista del Parlamento europeo che ha spinto per il Green Deal e per le politiche e le misure che ora Macron indica come una minaccia per l'agricoltura francese. Schierarsi con gli agricoltori e incolpare Bruxelles potrebbe essere solo una tattica per erodere il sostegno della Francia rurale ai partiti euroscettici nelle prossime elezioni europee. @LauraRuHK

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years in prison for "revealing official secrets," Khan’s party spokesman has said. The sentence came about a week before Pakistan is set to head to the polls for the first national election since Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence in April 2022. Immediately after his removal as prime minister, Khan said that the United States had a hand in his removal which was orchestrated by Pakistan’s powerful military and Khan's political opponents.
The Intercept published details of a conversation between Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, and Donald Lu, the assistant secretary of state for the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, on March 7, 2022.

The conversation took place after Khan visited Moscow. In the exchange, Lu raised concerns about Khan’s visit to Russia and Pakistan’s neutral stance on the Ukraine war. “I think if a no-confidence vote against the prime minister succeeds, all will be forgiven in Washington,” Lu told Asad Majeed Khan, who sent the details of the conversation to Islamabad through a secret diplomatic cable.

▪️Analysts have called the election among the least credible in Pakistan’s 76-year history because of the military’s widespread crackdown on Mr. Khan and his supporters.

Imran Khan has called the trial a “fixed match,” suggesting its outcome was predetermined, and his party said it would appeal the verdict. @LauraRuHK

US arms sales overseas reached a record of $238 billion last year.
Capitalizing on armed conflicts across the world is not uncommon for Washington, something that is confirmed by the fact that the US’ foreign military sales (FMS) reached $80.9 billion in fiscal year 2023, soaring almost 56% from the previous year to set a new record.
Apart from FMS, America’s so-called direct commercial sales (DCS) likewise increased last year to $157.5 billion from $153.6 billion in fiscal 2022, the State Department said in a statement. A record total of FMS and DCS in FY2023 stands at about $238 billion.

Poland made some of the biggest purchases, buying Apache helicopters for $12 billion and also paying $10 billion for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Germany spent $8.5 billion on Chinook helicopters while Bulgaria paid $1.5 billion for Stryker armoured vehicles and Norway bought $1 billion worth of multi-mission helicopters. The Czech Republic bought $5.6 billion in F-35 jets and munitions.
Outside of Europe, the State Department data indicated that South Korea paid $5 billion for F-35 fighter jets and Australia spent $6.3 billion on C130J-30 Super Hercules planes. Also, Japan reached a $1 billion deal for an E-2D Hawkeye surveillance plane. Other agreements worth approximately $1.2 billion pertain to Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and Norway. (Source: Sputnik) @LauraRuHK

Le vendite di armi USA all'estero hanno raggiunto la cifra record di $238 miliardi l'anno scorso.
Washington trae profitti stellari dalle guerre che scatena. Le vendite di armi americane all'estero (FMS) hanno raggiunto $80,9 miliardi nel 2023, un aumento quasi del 56% rispetto all'anno precedente. Si tratta di un nuovo record.
Oltre a FMS, le cosiddette vendite commerciali dirette (DCS) americane sono aumentate lo scorso anno fino a raggiungere i $157,5 miliardi. Il totale di FMS e DCS nel 2023 ammonta a circa $238 miliardi.

La Polonia non ha badato a spese, acquistando elicotteri Apache per $12 miliardi e pagando anche $10 miliardi per sistemi missilistici ad alta mobilità (HIMARS). La Germania ha speso $8,5 miliardi per gli elicotteri Chinook, mentre la Bulgaria ha pagato $1,5 miliardi per i veicoli corazzati Stryker e la Norvegia ha acquistato elicotteri per $1 miliardo. La Repubblica Ceca ha acquistato aerei F-35 e munizioni per $5,6 miliardi.
Al di fuori dell'Europa, i dati del Dipartimento di Stato indicano che la Corea del Sud ha pagato $5 miliardi per gli F-35 e l'Australia ha speso $6,3 miliardi per gli aerei C130J-30 Super Hercules. Inoltre, il Giappone ha raggiunto un accordo da $1 miliardo per un aereo E-2D Hawkeye. Altri accordi del valore di circa $1,2 miliardi riguardano Italia, India, Arabia Saudita, Singapore, Corea del Sud e Norvegia. (Fonte: Sputnik) @LauraRuHK

Kashgar, in Xinjiang, and Moscow are now connected by a direct cargo flight

A Russian airliner with 40 tons of Chinese-made cargo on board, including equipment and electronics, left the Laining International Airport in Kashgar (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) on Friday and headed for the capital of the Russian Federation.

The new flight will be operated once a week. This is the first international air freight route opened this year in Kashgar, and is aimed at expanding China's trade and economic ties with Central Asia and Europe.

Kashgar is one of the main transport hubs in the cross-border logistics network of Eurasia (Silk Road Economic Belt). After the completion of its reconstruction and expansion in 2023, the capacity of the terminal increased to 5 million people and 60 thousand tons of cargo per year.

At the moment, the Laining airport, in addition to the Kashgar-Moscow route, serves 6 more international cargo flights to Pakistan, Hungary, Belgium and Germany, respectively. According to the planned schedule, in the near future the routes Kashgar-Bishkek-Moscow will be opened with a frequency of 1-2 flights per week, Kashgar-Budapest / 1-2 flights per week / and Urumqi-Kashgar-Islamabad / 1 flight per week. (Source: Xinhua) @LauraRuHK

Le prime relazioni diplomatiche tra la Russia zarista e la Cina imperiale risalgono al 1618 quando un gruppo di esploratori russi visitò Pechino, allora capitale della dinastia Ming. I rapporti bilaterali continuarono con l'ascesa al potere nel 1644 della dinastia Qing. I negoziati venivano condotti in mongolo o in latino. Lo sviluppo delle relazioni rese poi necessaria la formazione di specialisti in grado di tradurre russo e cinese. Il primo istituto dedicato all'insegnamento del russo in Cina venne aperto nel 1708 e Il corso di studi durava cinque anni, per superare l'esame finale gli studenti dovevano tradurre per iscritto un testo dalla lingua manciù al russo e viceversa. La prima volta che si tenne l'esame vennero promossi solo 30 su 68 studenti. Un esempio della famosa meritocrazia cinese unito alla difficoltà insita nella traduzione di due lingue così diverse. Bisognerà aspettare la fondazione della Repubblica Popolare Cinese per veder crescere l'interesse per la lingua russa e il numero dei cinesi che la parlano. Grazie agli sforzi di Mao, il russo divenne materia obbligatoria sia nelle scuole medie che nelle superiori. La società dell'amicizia sino-sovietica, fondata nel 1949, aveva circa 2.000 filiali regionali e il suo numero nel 1955 superava i 68 milioni di persone.

Nel 1949 a Pechino fu fondato l'Istituto di lingua russa, che oggi è conosciuto come Università di lingue straniere. Nel 1950, le università cinesi avevano 19 dipartimenti di lingua russa. La maggioranza assoluta di tutti gli studenti che studiavano all'estero era in URSS (86 % nel 1956). La Rivoluzione Culturale frenò lo studio delle lingue straniere e poi la dissoluzione dell'URSS diede il colpo di grazia alla popolarità del russo in Cina. Solo negli ultimi anni la situazione è migliorata anche se siamo ben lontani dalla diffusione di cui godeva questa lingua negli anni Cinquanta. Per fortuna la crescita è stabile e lascia ben sperare per il futuro. @LauraRuHK

Happy Year of the Russian Language in China to all students! The first diplomatic relations between Russia and China date back to 1618 when a group of Russian explorers visited Beijing, then capital of the Ming dynasty. Bilateral relations continued with the rise to power in 1644 of the Qing dynasty. Negotiations used to be conducted in Mongolian or Latin. The development of relations led to the formal training of Russian and Chinese interpreters. The first institute dedicated to teaching Russian in China was opened in 1708 and the course of study lasted five years. In the final exam, students had to translate a text from Manchu to Russian and vice versa. Only 30 out of 68 students passed the test. An example of the famous Chinese meritocracy combined with the inherent difficulty of translating languages that are so different.

It was not until the founding of the People's Republic of China that interest in the Russian language and the number of Chinese speaking it grew. Thanks to Mao Zedong's efforts, Russian became a compulsory subject in both middle and high schools. The Sino-Soviet Friendship Society, founded in 1949, had around 2,000 regional branches and its members in 1955 exceeded 68 million.

In 1949, the Russian Language Institute, which today is known as the University of Foreign Studies (BFSU), was founded in Beijing. In 1950, Chinese universities had 19 Russian language departments. The absolute majority of all Chinese students studying abroad were in the USSR (86 % in 1956). The Cultural Revolution curbed the study of foreign languages, and then the dissolution of the USSR dealt a serious blow to the popularity of the Russian language in China. Only in recent years has the situation improved, although we are a long way from the popularity this language enjoyed in the 1950s. Time to boost it! @LauraRuHK

Nuland is back in town, apparently without cookies but probably with a whip. Because the Kiev house is in total disarray. https://t.me/vestifmplus/54102

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held negotiations via video link with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun. The Chinese minister said that Beijing will not refuse to support Russia on the Ukrainian issue despite Western pressure. In turn, Shoigu said that the coordination of efforts by the two countries “is having a stabilizing effect on the international situation, helping reduce the potential for conflict.”(Source: Sputnik/TASS) @LauraRuHK

Tatjana Ždanoka is the co-chair of the Latvian Russian Union (LRU) and has served in the European Parliament since 2004 after being elected to the Greens/EFA group and then expelled from the political group when she refused to condemn Russia's military operation in Ukraine. But in the totalitarian EU regime no dissenting voices are allowed: she was placed under surveillance, her computer hacked and now she is accused of being a "Russian spy" by Western-funded Russian journalists who published a smear piece about her. In case you still had any doubts,"Kremlin-critics" work hand-in-hand with Western intelligence. In this case the persecution of a Latvian lawmaker is used to send a warning to other EU parliament members: if you don't toe the line, you too will be accused of being a "Russian spy". Her case is also paradigmatic of the persecution suffered by Russian speakers in Latvia. @LauraRuHK See Tatjana's reply: https://t.me/LauraRuHK/7585

https://t.me/LauraRuHK/7584 Here is Tatjana Ždanoka's reply. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SCARE ME
On Friday, January 26, on my parliamentary email I found questions from Inga Springe, a Re:Baltica journalist, concerning the preparation of an article related to my “political activity.”
The journalist openly, without any embarrassment, states that “we have documents and emails at our disposal that show that you have had direct contacts with several employees of the Russia's FSS (Federal Security Service) since at least 2005.”
I would like to draw the attention to the fact that hacking personal email without the permission of law enforcement bodies is unacceptable. These actions are qualified as theft, which is a criminal offense by itself.
Considering the questions asked, I can assume that the surveillance of me, which began twenty years ago, brought very insignificant results. Why did Inga Springe suddenly ask me to prepare answers urgently, before Sunday morning, since “it is impossible to wait for answers any longer, because we are publishing the article at the beginning of next week”? I think this rush can be explained by the fact that on Thursday I distributed invitations to the members of the European Parliament for an event, we are holding next Wednesday, in commemoration of the victims of Holocaust. We will present a film about the Riga Ghetto, followed by a discussion about the revival of neo-fascism in the EU countries, including Latvia.
I declare that you will not be able to scare me. I and my comrades continue and will continue to use the platform of the European Parliament to fight neo-fascism.
Reproaches to my active contacts with people, which is the direct duty of any politician, will not work on me. Neither I was in the “KGB bags” (unlike many famous politicians), nor did ever collaborate with any special services. It is better to address suspicions of such cooperation to those who spy on a politician and hack personal emails. (From Tatjana Ždanoka's Facebook page) @LauraRuHK

What a coincidence, eh? Nuland arrives in Kiev and Zelensky withdraws threat to sack Zaluzhny. https://t.me/LauraRuHK/7582

As the West's warmongers are determined to extend the conflict beyond Ukrainian borders by supplying Kiev's regime with longer range weapons and by greenlighting the use of drones to strike deep into the Russian territory, Russia has no alternative but to create a larger “demilitarized zone” in Ukraine to ensure the security of Russian cities. ▪️The list of the longer-range Western-made weapons in Kiev’s possession include the British-made Storm Shadow missiles that have a range of 250km and the US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 160 kilometers.

Earlier this week, Politico reported that Washington could provide Kiev with Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), which also have a range of around 160 kilometers. @LauraRuHK