EU nations have agreed on an emergency plan to slash gas consumption
EU nations have agreed on a controversial scheme to slash gas consumption in preparation for a possible complete stoppage of supplies from Russia, diplomats have told German news agency DPA.
Some members – led by Hungary and Greece – have expressed strong objections to the proposal.
With the level of reliance on Russia gas varying between member states, the proposal by the European Commission had been met with criticism from many governments within the EU.
The emergency plan will see member states voluntarily reduce their consumption of natural gas by 15% between August 2022 and the end of March 2023, the sources said.
The hope is that the measure will help “to soften the impact of a potential total stoppage in Russian gas supplies,” according to DPA.
The plan will likely be approved during a summit of EU energy ministers in Brussels later on Tuesday, the diplomats said.
As she arrived for the meeting in the Belgian capital, European Union energy policy chief Kadri Simson said she expected the ministers to reach a deal on gas rationing.
She argued that Russian gas giant Gazprom’s announcement that gas supply to the EU would be cut further this week due to the need to fix a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was “politically motivated.”
“We know that there is no technical reason to do so… And exactly for that reason, the pre-emptive reduction of our gas demand is a wise strategy,” Simson insisted.
The so-called “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” proposal had been proposed by the European Commission a week ago. It urged all EU member states to lower their gas consumption by 15% by switching to renewable energy or even coal, oil and nuclear power, as well as by instructing their citizens to ration their use of energy.
The idea caused a lot of protests within the bloc, especially in southern Europe. The Spanish minister for ecological transition insisted the plan was “not necessarily the most effective nor the most efficient nor the most just,” while the Portuguese secretary of state for environment and energy slammed it as “unsustainable” and “disproportionate.”
France, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland were also among the countries that spoke out against the cuts.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended the plan again on Monday, insisting the bloc “must be prepared for the worst-case scenario: a complete halt to gas supplies, sooner or later.”
In an interview with DPA, she described Moscow as “not a reliable partner for Europe’s energy supply,” claiming that “Gazprom has deliberately kept its storage levels low.” The company had reduced or cut off supply to 12 EU member states, von der Leyen added.
Von Der Leyen expressed confidence that the EU energy ministers would support the plan, as they “understand their responsibility” to see Europe safely through the winter.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected claims that gas supplies could be cut off to the EU completely. Despite tensions in relations between Moscow and Brussels over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Gazprom was “ready to pump as much as necessary,” but it was the EU that “closed everything themselves,” he argued.
Research concludes that hair loss and sexual dysfunction are among the potential long-term effects of Covid-19
Hair loss, reduced libido and sexual dysfunction are among a wide range of symptoms that can follow a Covid-19 infection, a new study released on Monday suggests.
According to a peer-reviewed study in the Nature Medicine journal, the most common long Covid symptoms include loss of smell, fatigue and shortness of breath. However, hair growth and libido can also be impaired, among other previously unrecognized symptoms.
“We explored the effect of Covid-19 on 115 symptoms of which we found 62 symptoms to be statistically significantly associated with Covid-19 at 12 weeks [or more] after infection,” Anuradhaa Subramanian at the University of Birmingham in the UK, the lead author of the paper, told New Scientist.
“Some of these new symptoms, like reduced libido, sexual dysfunction and hair loss, are really new. They had not been attributed to Covid-19 in the longer term before,” she added.
The study analyzed the health records of 2.4 million people across the UK, comparing almost 500,000 patients who had contracted the virus with around 1.9 million who had not tested positive. The researchers also used the data of patients who had not been admitted to hospital.
For now, it is unclear how exactly the illness may lead to hair loss, although it’s known that the condition can be triggered by other infections or stress. The problems with sexual function can apparently include ejaculation difficulties.
“People with other chronic illnesses frequently experience sexual dysfunction and we find the same with Covid-19, suggesting Covid-19 is a chronic illness,” Dr Shamil Haroon, the study’s co-author and associate clinical professor in public health at the University of Birmingham, told New Scientist.
The identified symptoms spanned multiple organ systems and could generally be split into three categories: respiratory, including coughing and shortness of breath; mental health and cognitive problems such as anxiety, depression and brain fog; and a wider range of symptoms including pain, fatigue and rashes.
In addition to identifying new health problems linked to long Covid, researchers also outlined the groups that are most likely to suffer from the disease in the long term. They include women and people of African ascent, as well as some other ethnic groups. People from poorer backgrounds, smokers, and overweight sufferers also run a higher risk of long Covid.
“This research validates what patients have been telling clinicians and policymakers throughout the pandemic – that the symptoms of long Covid are extremely broad and cannot be fully accounted for by other factors such as lifestyle risk factors or chronic health conditions,” Haroon concluded.
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 26 (IPS) – Like so many others, Africans have long been misled. Alleged progress under imperialism has long been used to legitimize exploitation. Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.
KINSHASA, Jul 26 (IPS) – The writer is the International Project Leader for the Congo Basin Forest, Greenpeace AfricaFrom the fall-out of the pandemic to the interlocking cost of living and energy security crises currently gripping the world, it has been fascinating to see the world’s richest governments bending over backwards to help fossil fuel companies.
KINSHASA, Jul 26 (IPS) – The writer is the International Project Leader for the Congo Basin Forest, Greenpeace AfricaFrom the fall-out of the pandemic to the interlocking cost of living and energy security crises currently gripping the world, it has been fascinating to see the world’s richest governments bending over backwards to help fossil fuel companies.
EU nations have agreed on an emergency plan to slash gas consumption
EU nations have agreed on a controversial scheme to slash gas consumption in preparation for a possible complete stoppage of supplies from Russia, diplomats have told German news agency DPA.
Some members – led by Hungary and Greece – have expressed strong objections to the proposal.
With the level of reliance on Russia gas varying between member states, the proposal by the European Commission had been met with criticism from many governments within the EU.
The emergency plan will see member states voluntarily reduce their consumption of natural gas by 15% between August 2022 and the end of March 2023, the sources said.
The hope is that the measure will help “to soften the impact of a potential total stoppage in Russian gas supplies,” according to DPA.
The plan will likely be approved during a summit of EU energy ministers in Brussels later on Tuesday, the diplomats said.
As she arrived for the meeting in the Belgian capital, European Union energy policy chief Kadri Simson said she expected the ministers to reach a deal on gas rationing.
She argued that Russian gas giant Gazprom’s announcement that gas supply to the EU would be cut further this week due to the need to fix a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was “politically motivated.”
“We know that there is no technical reason to do so… And exactly for that reason, the pre-emptive reduction of our gas demand is a wise strategy,” Simson insisted.
The so-called “Save Gas for a Safe Winter” proposal had been proposed by the European Commission a week ago. It urged all EU member states to lower their gas consumption by 15% by switching to renewable energy or even coal, oil and nuclear power, as well as by instructing their citizens to ration their use of energy.
The idea caused a lot of protests within the bloc, especially in southern Europe. The Spanish minister for ecological transition insisted the plan was “not necessarily the most effective nor the most efficient nor the most just,” while the Portuguese secretary of state for environment and energy slammed it as “unsustainable” and “disproportionate.”
France, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland were also among the countries that spoke out against the cuts.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen defended the plan again on Monday, insisting the bloc “must be prepared for the worst-case scenario: a complete halt to gas supplies, sooner or later.”
In an interview with DPA, she described Moscow as “not a reliable partner for Europe’s energy supply,” claiming that “Gazprom has deliberately kept its storage levels low.” The company had reduced or cut off supply to 12 EU member states, von der Leyen added.
Von Der Leyen expressed confidence that the EU energy ministers would support the plan, as they “understand their responsibility” to see Europe safely through the winter.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected claims that gas supplies could be cut off to the EU completely. Despite tensions in relations between Moscow and Brussels over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Gazprom was “ready to pump as much as necessary,” but it was the EU that “closed everything themselves,” he argued.
Research concludes that hair loss and sexual dysfunction are among the potential long-term effects of Covid-19
Hair loss, reduced libido and sexual dysfunction are among a wide range of symptoms that can follow a Covid-19 infection, a new study released on Monday suggests.
According to a peer-reviewed study in the Nature Medicine journal, the most common long Covid symptoms include loss of smell, fatigue and shortness of breath. However, hair growth and libido can also be impaired, among other previously unrecognized symptoms.
“We explored the effect of Covid-19 on 115 symptoms of which we found 62 symptoms to be statistically significantly associated with Covid-19 at 12 weeks [or more] after infection,” Anuradhaa Subramanian at the University of Birmingham in the UK, the lead author of the paper, told New Scientist.
“Some of these new symptoms, like reduced libido, sexual dysfunction and hair loss, are really new. They had not been attributed to Covid-19 in the longer term before,” she added.
The study analyzed the health records of 2.4 million people across the UK, comparing almost 500,000 patients who had contracted the virus with around 1.9 million who had not tested positive. The researchers also used the data of patients who had not been admitted to hospital.
For now, it is unclear how exactly the illness may lead to hair loss, although it’s known that the condition can be triggered by other infections or stress. The problems with sexual function can apparently include ejaculation difficulties.
“People with other chronic illnesses frequently experience sexual dysfunction and we find the same with Covid-19, suggesting Covid-19 is a chronic illness,” Dr Shamil Haroon, the study’s co-author and associate clinical professor in public health at the University of Birmingham, told New Scientist.
The identified symptoms spanned multiple organ systems and could generally be split into three categories: respiratory, including coughing and shortness of breath; mental health and cognitive problems such as anxiety, depression and brain fog; and a wider range of symptoms including pain, fatigue and rashes.
In addition to identifying new health problems linked to long Covid, researchers also outlined the groups that are most likely to suffer from the disease in the long term. They include women and people of African ascent, as well as some other ethnic groups. People from poorer backgrounds, smokers, and overweight sufferers also run a higher risk of long Covid.
“This research validates what patients have been telling clinicians and policymakers throughout the pandemic – that the symptoms of long Covid are extremely broad and cannot be fully accounted for by other factors such as lifestyle risk factors or chronic health conditions,” Haroon concluded.
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