Approximately 129 billion masks are used worldwide every month, most of which are disposable.
The problem is that in 2020 alone, about 1.6 billion masks ended up in the oceans, the decomposition of which will take about 450 years, and the microplastics will enter the organisms of animals. Over time, their number in the water area may exceed the number of jellyfish.
In order to somehow reduce the harm, experts call for switching to reusable and more reliable (non-fabric) masks.
<<< News Feed March 15, 2022 >>>
The European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs has rejected a proposal to limit the mining of cryptocurrencies using the proof-of-work (PoW) principle, writes Coindesk.
The PoW system requires huge computing power for cryptographic confirmation of transactions and creation of new blocks and, as a result, is very energy intensive.
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The music service «VK Music» cannot add the latest releases of Western artists to its library, the press service of «VKontakte» said.
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The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that Europe has become the world leader in arms import growth over the past five years.
According to the study, from 2017 to 2021, experts recorded a decrease in the total volume of international arms supplies in the world. It decreased by 4.6% compared to the previous five-year period. At the same time, European imports grew by 19%.
The volume of arms purchases from Great Britain, Norway and the Netherlands increased especially noticeably.
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The European Union approved the fourth package of economic and personal sanctions against Russia, according to the French EU presidency.
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The ambassadors of the EU countries also agreed on a statement to the WTO with a call to suspend the most favored nation treatment of the Russian Federation.
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The ambassadors of the EU countries agreed on a call to the WTO to suspend consideration of the application for admission of Belarus to the organization.
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Rospotrebnadzor will analyze complaints from consumers affected by the departure of foreign companies to form class actions — statement
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Roskomnadzor demanded that Google remove restrictions on the channels «Soviet Television. Gosteleradiofond» and «Soviet Radio. Gosteleradiofond» on YouTube. The State Duma stated that if the company does not comply with the requirements of the ILV, then blocking of hosting in Russia is not excluded.
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In Ivanovo, a child found a mistake on the memorial stone to Pushkin, installed 20 years ago. The mayor’s office has already promised to reward the child.
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The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the certificates of Russian civil aviation enterprises, according to the regulator’s website.
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«United Russia» stands for the introduction of criminal liability for the management of companies for the implementation of sanctions against Russia, the relevant amendments will be made in the near future — Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Andrey Turchak. According to him, some companies began to refuse to work with banks and businesses that fell under the sanctions.
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Slovakia is expelling three employees of the Russian embassy in the republic. This was announced by the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic Yuraj Tomaga, whose words are quoted by the TASR news agency.
«Slovakia has decided to expel three employees of the Russian embassy in the republic,» Tomaga said. «The reason is their activities, which are incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations»
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The British Supreme Court has denied journalist Julian Assange the right to challenge the decision of the High Court of England to extradite to the United States, WikiLeaks reports. The final decision remains with the head of the British Ministry of Internal Affairs.
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The US State Department sent a document to the allies saying that China is ready to help Russia. It is reported by The Financial Times with reference to American diplomats.
The Financial Times wrote about the corresponding Russian request on Sunday, March 13. Whether China is going to help the ally in the future or is already providing support, the document sent to the allies does not specify.
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The US is considering imposing a total embargo on trade with Russia and blocking its access to international shipping lanes. Among other sanctions measures are restrictions on the export of nickel, uranium and aluminum, as well as work with cryptocurrency assets. These proposals are «on the table» in the US government and may be included in the next package of sanctions, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told CNBC.
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The US delegation warned the PRC at a meeting in Rome about the consequences of possible support for Russia. The State Department said the US would not allow any country to help Russia offset its economic costs.
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The British company Entertainment One, the copyright owner of the Peppa Pig cartoon, filed an intellectual property lawsuit against a Russian entrepreneur for using images of Peppa and Papa Pig.
The Arbitration Court of the Kirov Region dismissed the claim, citing Putin’s new decree «On the application of special economic measures in connection with the unfriendly actions of the United States and foreign states and international organizations that have joined them.»
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Binance Receives Cryptocurrency Licenses from Dubai and Bahrain
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Major European insurance companies are leaving Russia. German Allianz refuses to conclude new deals in the Russian Federation and reduces its presence in the country. Swiss Zurich Insurance and Swiss Re, the second largest insurer in the world, also announced the suspension of activities.
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Korean Air has extended the suspension of passenger flights to Moscow and Vladivostok until the end of April
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Japan imposes sanctions against 17 individuals from the Russian Federation, including State Duma deputies, businessman Viktor Vekselberg, relatives of businessman Yuri Kovalchuk — Foreign Ministry of the country
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The sanctions list includes eight deputy ministers of defense of Russia, the head of the National Guard Viktor Zolotov, the director of the FSMTC Dmitry Shugaev and the general director of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheev
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Citi Corporation will stop working in Russia in a number of areas, said the company’s vice president of public relations Edward Skyler.
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Games from the Ukrainian GSC Game World will be available only to those users who have purchased the digital version in advance. The company no longer accepts pre-orders in Russia
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Reducing dependence on energy resources from Russia is “extremely difficult,” but possible, said EC Deputy Head Šefčović. This requires 50-60 billion cubic meters. m of natural gas from other sources
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China has begun negotiations on the development of oil, gas and copper deposits in Afghanistan — WSJ. The start of negotiations was confirmed by the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan.
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Chinese Haval raises prices for cars that are now rolling off the assembly line of a factory in Tula by one and a half times. Haval, Kommersant’s sources say, has encountered difficulties with logistics and a shortage of components.
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Kommersant writes about the appearance of the shadow currency market in Russian social networks
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In the near future, tougher penalties for citizens for selling and buying currency on the black market may be discussed, Senator Kovitidi told RIA Novosti. Deputy Chairman of the Chamber Zhuravlev claims that they will not toughen the punishment
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Tobacco company Imperial Brands will transfer the business to a Russian company.
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The Government of the Russian Federation has introduced a temporary ban on the export of grain to the EAEU countries and the export of sugar outside the EAEU. The decree on a temporary ban on the export of grain and sugar was signed by the head of the Russian government, Mikhail Mishustin. Restrictions on grain will be valid until June 30, on sugar — until August 31, 2022.
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Norwegian Equinor decided to stop trading in Russian oil
«This means that Equinor will not enter into new deals or transport oil and oil products from Russia,» the company explained.
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In Spain, a yacht worth 135 million euros was arrested. Now the country’s departments are investigating whether the 85-meter Valerie vessel under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines belongs to the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, who fell under EU sanctions. The fact that Chemezov is allegedly the owner of the yacht became known after the publication of Pandora’s dossier, writes El País.
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Bloomberg: European banks are ready to instantly disconnect their Russian divisions from their main IT systems in an attempt to reduce vulnerability to possible cyber attacks. Commerzbank has already prepared an «emergency switch», Deutsche Bank is transferring the solution of important IT tasks from the Russian Federation, the French BNP Paribas has disconnected Russian divisions from its systems.
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Welsh scientists are developing a groundbreaking treatment for people born without body parts or with facial scars from burns, trauma or cancer. They plan to implant the cartilage of the nose and ears, printed on a 3D printer.
To do this, first determine the ideal cell combinations for growing new cartilage, and in three to five years, clinical trials of facial reconstruction in humans will begin. The total cost of the study is estimated at £2.5 million.
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Turkmenistan has elected a new president. They became Serdar Berdimuhamedov, the son of the current head of the republic, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. In the elections, he won 72.97% of the vote
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According to CIAN, the number of apartments for rent in Moscow has increased dramatically in just a month. If on February 10 there were about 8.7 thousand lots in the company’s database, then on March 10 this number reached 12.3 thousand.
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The electric car from Tesla has not yet gone on sale, but it continues to be upgraded. The American startup Cybercat has developed a kit that will turn the Cybertruck into a catamaran. There is no working prototype yet, but the developers are counting on a top speed of over 40 km/h and a range of 80 to 185 km.
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The European Union introduces a new set of sanctions:
- The EU will impose a ban on the import of certain steel products, which could result in a loss of €3.3 billion in export earnings for Russia;
- Certain bans on new investments in oil companies and the energy sector, comprehensive restrictions on the export of equipment, technologies and services for the energy industry;
- Additional restrictions on trade in iron and steel;
- The ban on the supply of luxury goods to Russia will affect expensive cars worth more than €50,000 ($55,000) and jewelry;
- A ban on any transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises;
- The EU will also ban European rating agencies from assigning ratings to Russia and Russian companies;
- Expand the list of individuals associated with the Russian military-industrial base who are subject to more stringent export restrictions on dual-use goods and goods and technologies;
- Personal sanctions against key “oligarchs, lobbyists and propagandists” promoting the “Kremlin narrative about the situation in Ukraine”;
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In Sicily, they will launch the production of an organo-mineral fertilizer that will help Italian farmers abandon chemical mixtures, Agrifood today reports.
The technology was developed by the Italian company Sbs Steel Belt Systems Srl under a grant from the European Union. For the production of fertilizer, waste from the processing of orange and industrial sulfur is used. The production capacity of the pilot plant in Sicily will be 20,000 tons of fertilizer per year.
The effectiveness of the product will be tested on various crops, including peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli and durum wheat, on a total area of 27 hectares in Calabria, Abruzzo and around the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
According to media reports, the cost of the project will be 4 million euros, the implementation period is until February 2025.
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In Spain, a yacht worth 127 million euros was detained, registered to the stepdaughter of the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, through a company in the Virgin Islands, writes Reuters. According to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the yacht was arrested in the port of Barcelona. According to Reuters, we are talking about the 85-meter yacht «Valerie»
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The UK has imposed a ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia and Belarus. In addition, an additional 35% duty was introduced on imports into the country of a whole range of goods from Russia and Belarus.
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The state prosecution asked to sentence Alexei Navalny to 13 years in prison on charges of fraud and insulting the court. The prosecutor’s office also demands payment of a fine in the amount of 1 million 200 thousand rubles.
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According to Kommersant, the planned revenue of Rosatom for the removal and disposal of toxic waste in Russia in five years could amount to 86 billion rubles. Of this amount, 40% will go to cover the costs of third-party operators. The profit of «Rosatom» can be about 4 billion rubles.
Rosatom considers the calculations economically justified and verified. However, businesses are asking for a moratorium on new recycling rules to reduce the financial burden on the industry.
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The Ukrainian railway «Ukrzaliznytsia» begins the nationalization of Russian cars located in Ukraine, UNIAN reports.
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Tigran Khudaverdyan, managing director of the Yandex group of companies, has been appointed to the post of CEO of Yandex in Russia, the company reports.
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Europe’s largest international automobile checkpoint Kukuryki-Kozlovichi (Poland-Belarus) was blocked for the passage of trucks with Russian and Belarusian numbers. Managers of transport and logistics companies told RBC about this.
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Japan has expanded the list of goods and technologies that are prohibited from exporting to Russia, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan said. Now the list includes not 57, but about 300 items. In particular, this includes semiconductors, equipment for ensuring maritime and aviation security, telecommunications equipment, communications equipment, etc. The export ban comes into force on March 18.
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