The Uralic deity is the oldest and largest wooden monument in the world

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2021-03-24 18:22:21

• In photos: Olympic torch relay finally under way in Japan

  The Tokyo Olympic torch relay began Thursday in Fukushima prefecture, Japan, one year after the world’s largest sporting event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) allegedly gave family members including CNN anchor Chris Cuomo 'special access' to state-administered COVID-19 tests in early 2020, the Washington Post first reported Wednesday.Read Full StoryJapanEconomyCdcGermanyPublic HealthFukushima PrefectureCNNThe Washington PostAstraZenecaNIAIDCDCAmericansJohnson & JohnsonFordAxios-IpsosAndrew CuomoChris Cuomo

• Receiving reparations showed me why the U.S. must provide them for Black Americans

  I was born in America and have lived here all of my life — and now, eighty-three years after my family fled Nazi-controlled Austria, I’ve become an Austrian citizen, too. Here’s how it happened. In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria in what’s called the Anschluss. My great-grandparents, my grandparents and my father — Jews and proud Austrian citizens — lived in the heart of Vienna. My grandfather was a young physician, and our family led a happy, productive existence. But the Anschluss was the end of my family’s life there. My grandparents fled south to Italy with my father, who was an infant at the time. They then made their way to Portugal and, after a difficult trans-Atlantic boat journey, found safe haven in America. My great-grandparents weren’t as fortunate: they were seized in Vienna, then sent first to the Terezín concentration camp outside of Prague and, later, to Auschwitz, where they were killed just months before the liberation. Sadly, it’s a story told millions of times.Read Full StoryBlack AmericansBlack PeopleU.s. CitizenRacial InjusticeU.S.JewsSlaveryAustrianAuschwitzSwastikaBrookings InstitutionScope ReparationsNazi GermanyProud Austrian CitizensAnschluss

• Electrically charged paper goes from firm to soft at flick of a switch

  Taking inspiration from the way sea cucumbers can strengthen their exterior when in danger, scientists in Germany have developed a novel wafer-thin paper material that can transition from firm to soft via an electrical switch. The researchers envisage a number of uses for their creation, including adaptive damping materials that harden when subjected to heavy loads.Read Full StoryNature CommunicationsEnergy StorageGermanyPower SupplyElectricity SupplyStandard PaperGlassHeatHeavy LoadsCellulose NanofibrilsCuttingManual InterventionScientistsTransparentSource

• Merkel to not initiate confidence vote in her govt

  Berlin [Germany], March 25 (ANI/Sputnik): German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not initiate a confidence vote in her government in the parliament over the situation around the coronavirus-linked Easter lockdown. In an embarrassing U-turn, Merkel told a news conference on Wednesday she had reconsidered forcing Germany into a five-day...Read Full StoryGovtAlternative For GermanyBerlinFederal ParliamentPolitical PartiesANI/SputnikFree Democratic PartyJohns Hopkins UniversityLeft-wing Die LinkeLiberalDas Erste BroadcasterLogistical PreparationsTodayNews ConferencePeopleAngela Merkel

• Germany’s confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 22,657: RKI

  BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 22,657 to 2,713,180, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday. The reported death toll rose by 228 to 75,440, the tally showed. (Reporting by Berlin Newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)Read Full StoryGermanyKochClarence FernandezPublic HealthInfectious DiseasesReutersThe Robert Koch InstituteBerlin NewsroomRKIBERLINReportingRoseEditing

• EU races to catch up on Covid-19 vaccines as Brazil deaths cross 300,000

  Brazil's coronavirus death toll has crossed 300,000, and the nation's hospitals have been pushed to the brink /AFP The European Union will look for ways to end its vaccine struggles at a summit on Thursday, as a Covid-19 surge takes the death toll in Brazil past 300,000. A crucial tool in the fight against the pandemic, vaccines were in the spotlight again with AstraZeneca revising down the efficacy of its shot from 79 to 76 percent after a US agency raised concerns about outdated numbers. AstraZeneca's jab is also at the centre of the EU's vaccine woes, with an infuriated Brussels tightening export controls after the firm failed to deliver the doses it had promised to the bloc. EU leaders will meet via videoconference on Thursday to discuss AstraZeneca supplies, as well as new vaccine export rules that will weigh how needy countries are in terms of infection rates, how many jabs they have, and how readily they export doses to the bloc. "Open roads should run in both directions," said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. One week of new Covid-19 cases /AFP Britain, which has raced ahead with its immunisation drive, is seen as one of the targets of the new export rules after a bitter spat over vaccine supplies. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the EU risked long-term damage to its reputation if it imposed "a blockade". The talks come as Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands tighten restrictions to control surges in cases. Mass vaccination programmes are considered vital to ending the pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.7 million lives around the world, hammered the global economy and left much of humanity under punishing restrictions. "We were just waiting to be all together again because we were really sad to be divided like that, floor by floor," said Lydie, a 91-year-old resident of a retirement home in France's Val-de-Marne, where vaccinations have allowed an easing of curbs. "There was no joy. Now it's very good. We are happy." - 'Locked up' - Governments are trying to ramp up vaccinations, racing against the virus which is surging once again in many parts of the world. Mexico is pressing on with its vaccination programme as coronavirus deaths near 200,000 /AFP Brazil's Covid-19 death toll passed 300,000 on Wednesday, the second-highest number of fatalities in the world, with its hospitals pushed to the brink. At a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro marking 300,000 virus deaths in Brazil, protesters held signs that read "Shame" and laid 30 roses on symbolic patient beds in front of a hospital. Mexico, another hard-hit Latin American nation, neared 200,000 deaths, as authorities pressed on with a vaccination programme. "How have we spent (the pandemic)? Locked up," said Miguel Molina, 75, who got a jab in Mexico City. "I have (spent) a year and three months locked up, without going out. This is the first time I go out. - 'Bump in the road' - The AstraZeneca shot was hailed as a breakthrough because it is cheaper and easier to store and transport compared with other vaccines. While the EU's vaccine rollout has stuttered, there hasb een huge progress in the United States -- the world's worst-hit nation /AFP/File But beyond production and supply issues, it has faced other challenges that have dented confidence. AstraZeneca was forced to review its US trials and then slightly revise down the jab's efficacy from 79 percent to 76 percent, after an American agency raised concerns about outdated information. Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had said the discrepancy was a "bump in the road" and that data would show it is "a good vaccine". Where the EU vaccine rollout has stuttered, there has been huge progress in the United States -- the world's worst-hit nation. Around 70 percent of Americans aged 65 or over -- more than 38 million people -- have received at least one dose, and hospital admissions for Covid-19 in that group are down 85 percent since early January. But the pandemic threat is far from over, illustrated by the recent decision to bar overseas fans from the already delayed Tokyo Olympics. The torch relay for the Games got off to a low-key start Thursday and organisers hope it will build excitement. But Tetsuya Ozawa, among a small group of fans, told AFP it was not much fun without spectators. "There would have been more excitement if there wasn't coronavirus." BrazilCovid-19 VaccineEu CountriesVaccinesPublic HealthVaccination RatesVaccine DosesEU LeadersGermanyThe European UnionAstraZenecaEuropean CommissionLatin AmericanAFP/FileAmericansUrsula Von Der LeyenBoris JohnsonAnthony Fauci

• EU fears 'alarming' third wave, as bloc back in lockdown

  The European Commission has raised concerns about the 'alarming' epidemiological situation in some member states, warning that it could worsen in the coming weeks as a third wave of the pandemic hits the continent. 'We are facing again an exceptional situation,' the EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told a press...Read Full StoryEuropean UnionEu CountriesPolandLockdownsBulgariaPublic HealthHungaryGermanyThe European CommissionThe South AfricanBrazilianEU CountriesLockdown RestrictionsStrict LockdownCroatiaAngela Merkel

• European Under-21 Championship: Spain and Germany off to strong start

  Spain and Germany beat Slovenia and Hungary in their opening Euro U21 fixtures, while Italy and the Netherlands were both held 1-1. Spain and Germany eased to 3-0 wins over Slovenia and Hungary respectively in their opening 2021 European Under-21 Championship fixtures on Wednesday. Holders Spain found Slovenia tough to...Read Full StoryGermanyHungaryItalyCzech RepublicEuropeanEuro U21CzechsAzzurriGroupAnderlechtHolders SpainNetherlandsRomaniaSloveniaIgor VekicJuan MirandaLukas NmechaAndrei CiobanuPerr SchuursGianluca ScamaccaGiulio MaggioreSandro TonaliRiccardo MarchizzaBote Baku

• Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 22,657: RKI

  BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 22,657 to 2,713,180, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.The reported death toll rose by 228 to 75,440, the tally showed.GermanyKochPublic HealthInfectious DiseasesReutersThe Robert Koch InstituteRKIBERLINRose

• Lunar cave explorer

  What might look like a dangling hamster ball is actually a robotic sphere to explore the depths of lunar caves. Designed by a team coordinated by Germany's Julius-Maximilians-Universität of Würzburg (JMU), the Descent And Exploration in Deep Autonomy of Lunar Underground Structures, DAEDALUS, robot is being evaluated by ESA's Concurrent Design Facility, as part of a larger study of lunar cave mission concepts.Read Full StoryGermanyLaserAstronomySurface WaterDeep UndergroundDeep WaterWater IceIce WaterDAEDALUSESAWi-FiJMULunar CavesPristine Lunar MaterialLunar Settlers