Новости за 10.03.2021

China and Russia have announced plans to build an 'International Scientific Lunar Station' on the moon, in its orbit, or both, in a joint statement by the Chinese National Space Administration and Russia's Roscosmos. The move comes amid a new space-race reminiscent of Cold War-era Russia-US competition. The US recently said it would send the first woman to the moon by 2024, while Turkey promised a manned moon-landing by 2023.

Financial products firms, such as insurers and pension funds, who market themselves on backing environmentally-friendly investments, will face tougher reporting requirements from Wednesday onward, Reuters reports, as the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) enters into force. The SFDR regime, to be rolled out over two years, aims to divert €1 trillion into more sustainable sectors and to prevent "greenwashing" - false claims by firms that they are doing good.

Belarus has expelled a Polish diplomat from its consulate in Brest because he took part in a ceremony, on 28 February, honouring Polish WW2-era resistance fighters, on grounds those fighters were guilty of "war crimes" and "genocide" against Belarusian people. Poland indicated it would expel a Belarusian diplomat in response. The row is the latest bid by Belarus to provoke tensions with its EU neighbours amid anti-regime protests at home.

The EU and UK have reignited a row on vaccine exports, while Italy has defied EU warnings in a new deal to manufacture Russia's vaccine at home.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that at least 80 percent of EU adults should have basic digital skills by 2030, by when there should be 20 million people employed as ICT specialists in the EU, with a higher share of women. In 2019, 42 percent of citizens were unable to perform basic tasks. In less than a decade, the EU wants all key public services available online.

One-in-four women and girls around the world have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or male partner, according to the largest study yet on violence against women, The Guardian reports. The report, conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), found that domestic violence started young, with a quarter of 15- to 19-year-old girls and young women estimated to have been abused at least once.

Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard attempted to recruit British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert as a spy "many times" during the more than two years she spent as a prisoner in the country, offering to free her if she "made a deal" with the regime, she has claimed according to The Guardian. She was arrested in Tehran in September 2018 after attending an academic conference in Qom.

"The Kremlin is creating a mental image of a Germany, where a few sane voices are heard among a chorus of irrational 'Russophobia'," the report said.

John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy, was in Brussels to discuss how to tackle climate change with the European Commission. His appearance also marked a major shift in relations after the previous US administration under Donald Trump.

Global tobacco watchdogs and pro-transparency campaigners in a new report have outlined seven industry tactics used to influence EU legislation in the European Commission. The tactics include promoting untruths, postponing regulations, playing the victim, and protesting against regulators, among others. "Insufficient EU transparency has long allowed tobacco industry lobbyists to avoid scrutiny," said Olivier Hoedeman, head of Corporate Europe Observatory, an NGO in Brussels.

The time for euphemisms is over. The attack on media freedom in Poland clears the way for an all-out assault on fundamental EU values. You need to protect them, writes the editor of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza.

The charlatan is "like a doctor who brings relief from suffering and pain". The word charlatan comes from the Italian 'ciarlatano': someone selling herbal brews and rejuvenating waters at street markets, often also pulling teeth and doing magic tricks.

I know first-hand how difficult it is to take a firm stance against Turkey. As Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, I engaged in tough discussions with Ankara, wrote highly-critical reports, and tried to rally member states.